A steady drip made Wisp's ear twitch and flick. As he stared out of the den they'd holed up in, somewhere near the desert's edge, he watched rain drizzle from above. It wasn't a downpour, not by any means, but it was still... Wet. His lip curled back just a bit as he contemplated how he felt about wet today, either irritation at it or elation. On one paw, rain meant, well... Getting wet. Being cold. Having to wait for his fur to dry out. On the other, it meant puddles and splashing in them. It also meant flowers were coming, greenery that was perfect for hiding in. He huffed, then snorted as a fat drop of water landed on his nose. "Willo, what's your opinion today on the rain?" He reached up, rubbing a paw on his nose to scrub the feeling of the drop away.
"My opinion is no" The fox flicked his ears with a huff before he tilted his head considering, "though with it warming up, things will be out. Might be easy hunting." His green eyes danced with wicked glee. "We might even find some poor fools to lead astray."
Normally that'd be a definitive answer of staying inside until the rain stopped, but the idea of hunting, in multiple senses, had Wisp's lips curling back in a grin. "Oh that sounds delightful right there!" His tail flicked as he turned to his brother, his own eyes dancing with delight. "But where do we start? What area should we hunt in? Maybe the patch of trees? Or down by the..." He paused. "I don't suppose the creek bed is dry right now, which means something's probably gathered there to drink while it's running..."
"Ah! Then that's where we shall go! After all, where better to find someone to play with than were all the prey shall be?" Will'o grinned wickedly at his twin. "Besides...if we stay in the cave much longer, Rhiannon will curse us again and I for one have finally stop hearing the damned ringing in my ears. I am in no hurry to try her sweet temperament once again. What father thinks shaking up with that witch I will never understand."
At the mention of Rhiannon, Wisp's ears went back. While the vixen was fun to toy with, and her things were fun to go through, she was NOT fun to get on the bad side of. "We should hurry away from here, then. She didn't much like the snow, and now it's raining instead of just snow on the ground." Really, he would rather deal with snow. At least that, it didn't drizzle into his fur, settling in and making it soak through. Shaking his coat out, the fox slinked out of the cave, eager to get away and to the creek bed. "If we bring back something really good, do you think we'd appease her for a while?"[/img]
Will'o hurried out into the rain after his brother. At least it was a warm spring rain instead of that ridiculous cold drizzle that had come with the snow. "Your guess is as good as mine. I will never understand what father see in her. She is so cold!" Of course like all children, grown or not, the twins couldn't see into the workings of the adult relationship their father had with the vixen.
"Something something deep friendship?" Wisp shook his head, trotting along. After a bit, his mind began to wander just a bit. What if he or his brother found somebody like that? Or, well... 'Friend.' "We're a lot of things but I don't think we're oblivious like he is, for some reason he likes her." Wisp made a face as he said the last two words, ears flicking back. Then he made an aghast face, looking at Will'o. "I think he likes the prickliness!" He'd heard of others who were into that, but now he had the horrifying thought of their father being one of them. Well, horrifying in the way of any child thinking about their parent's love life, at least.
Will'o gasped in horror as his ears went flat back and he stared at his twin. "Don't SAY such things!! He might..he might court her!" He shuddered thinking of the vixen becoming their new mother. "No, let's just hope he never gets that into his mind."
Hurrying onward, the young shifter headed towards the river bed trying to outrun the idea of his father and her. Absently he noticed blossoms beginning to bud on the cacti, here and there were spots of color as the brilliant purple flowers of the sage and vivid yellow gold of the marigold plants bloomed. Spring and new life had started to appear in the desert.
Wisp's fur puffed up as he shuddered, scrunching back some into himself. "We should probably find some way to dissuade such thoughts..." He snorted, shaking his head, then followed Will'o. He paused, at one point, to paw at a puddle, admiring his pawprint in the mud. Then a lizard, invigorated by the moisture, scurried past, drawing the fox's attention for a moment.
The trek to the creek bed was full of distractions, proving just how much Wisp was like Jack. He noticed birds darting about, butterflies drifting on the breeze when the skies cleared some, and of course, the flowers. "I wonder if we'll find any fat rabbits soon..." His tongue darted out, licking his lips at the thought. Ah, such a wonderful little meal rabbit made... Both rabbits and hares.
Will'o huffed as he followed after his twin, eyes rolling at how easily distracted he was by everything. The young stallion found his thoughts drifting as he watched a coyote in the distance with her pups. "Wisp? Have you ever thought of the future? Like, do we want a mate?" It never crossed his mind that he and his twin should have separate mates. They were one being in two bodies, even their father had known this when he named them.
Stopping to watch the coyote, Wisp hummed and tilted his head. As he contemplated his brother's question, his tail curled just a bit. Finally, he nodded a bit, mostly to himself. "I wouldn't be opposed, if we find just the right someone. A lovely lady, perhaps? I wouldn't say no to a handsome fellow, either." Indeed, Wisp found both persuasions pleasing to the eyes to admire. Provided they weren't related, of course... Or Rhiannon. But he would follow his brother in a heartbeat, typically finding the same personalities as pleasing as Will'o did.
"A lady I think," Will'o nodded to himself. "Someone smart and elegant. Of course she will need to be a shifter as well." He shuddered trying to imagine a life with only one shape! How limited!!
At that, Wisp grinned. "Smarter than me, at least. And less distr-- Rabbits!" And there went Wisp's attention, following after the rabbits. Was there other game? Sure! There were plenty of fleet-footed antelope, a few fat birds. But birds could fly, and the antelope were quick. They also had the advantage of horns, great for jabbing at hunting foxes. Which, if the pair hunted in their feral forms, they were just too small for an antelope, even if they were quick enough and tricky enough to catch it. In their more equine forms, they weren't nearly fast enough, not having the advantage of speed. Rabbits, on the other paw... Oooh, rabbits were so perfect, just the right size! At the smallest, each was big enough for a fox, but fattening as they were on the spring growth, they were ideal for not only just one fox, but at least two, and a coyote! Wisp's grin was wide as he stared after the rabbits, eyes picking out the fattest of the bunch.
Thankfully Will'o's attention was just as snagged and between one breath and another he shifted to his fox form and darted after the fleeing rabbits. All this heavy thinking had made him hungry.
Wiggling, Wisp shifted as well, taking off after his brother and the rabbits. There was some mud, a bit of grass trying to grow, definitely some leaves and twigs, but the young fox didn't care. All that was on his mind now was food, catching the crafty little critters to make a good meal out of them. If they caught enough, they might even take some back to the den to appease the vixen their dear old dad was so enamored with, maybe a bit for their dad. But until then - FOOD.
Yipping and laughing the two young shifters darted back and forth as the chased the rabbits away from the warren. With a telling look the two seperated, Will'o picking out the two fattest ones and began chasing them towards where Wisp was now on alert to ambush the prey. Divide and conquer was their favorite method of hunting since they didn't have their father's brute strength. For all they were wary of the vixen, they had watched Rhiannon closely as they grew from kits to adult learning from the female how to hunt as a fox should. Of course unknown to them Rhiannon had always noticed the boys following and made sure they could watch her. They were annoyances but they were Jack's.
Still that wasn't something the twins were privy too, no just the results which as of the moment was rewarded by two rabbit running straight into Wisp's waiting jaws.