A Feast Fit for a King

[Cascade]

As Sigil crouched in the tall grass of the hunting plain, he wondered absentmindedly if the deer here would be neon green. His new friend was doubtlessly not far behind him, perhaps practicing his aloofness and his unreadable stares. Regardless of his idiosyncrasies, the extent of which Sigil felt he hadn't even scratched the surface, he considered Prince a lucky find. Not only was he the only other wolf in this god-forsaken land who wasn't rainbow-colored, but Sigil could tell that he was rare in other ways.

The hunt was just an excuse. This was all about two wolves who were intrigued by each other trying to learn more about each other, and he was determined not to let Prince get in on any information that would let him get one over on him. Still, he was curious and information was a give and take. He just had to be mindful of what he gave.

[Deleted]

Prince trotted up casually behind Sigil, ignoring the other wolf's attempt at stealth. Instead he held his head high, surveying the plains, though there was no prey to be found as of yet. Hopefully they could find something to pursue that wouldn't gorge them in a fit of sexual frustration.

He sniffed the air, but the wind blew from same direction that they traveled, telling him nothing new. Finally, he slunk down next to Sigil, figuring if prey did show up he wouldn't want to scare it off by sticking out against the horizon like a big, black "danger" sign.

"So," he whispered, his ears pressed against his skull as he peered over the blades of grass surrounding them. "What's the plan?"

[Juice]

.:It is full blown rutting season and there are many males sparring in the fields. Two in particular are only a few yards away from the wolves. They are young and distracted as they fight each other but their hormones make them extra aggressive and dangerous. To the east are a few wild turkeys plucking around. They are fat from the lush grasses of the plains but also on high alert due to the rutting deer:.

[Cascade]

Sigil nodded towards the turkeys, "Well, we could do it the safe way..." he pointed his muzzle at the rutting deer, "Or we could do it the fun way." He flashed a grin at Prince, "I don't know about you, but I'm not on a diet. Some deer would fill me right up." Even if it was the rutting season, Sigil figured he didn't deserve to call himself a wolf if he couldn't even take down a deer with someone else helping him. The turkeys were a sure meal, but he wasn't as concerned about his belly right now as he was about putting on a good show. He'd gotten Prince's attention, now he needed to keep it.

[Deleted]

Prince smirked, eyeing the deer. He was fast, but... fast enough to dodge those antlers? The deer were distracted enough, if he and Sigil could just sneak downwind they might get the jump on them. But what then? They'd need a plan. And for all he knew, Sigil was still a wildcard.

"What isn't fun about getting impaled, after all?" he teased, after a few moments of silent contemplation. "How easily do you think they'd spook? If we can get one to run, it shouldn't be hard to ambush the other."

[Cascade]

"I can hardly think of a more interesting afternoon," Sigil replied in a hushed voice. The deer probably couldn't hear them what with their hormone-fueled battle and all, but he didn't want to risk scaring them off before they even got an attempt at them. "We won't have much of a chance for an ambush if one of them spooks, the other will know we're coming. Our best bet is to rush them while they're still distracted and grab one by the back legs. With any luck, the other one will take it as a victory and run off to mate with his new herd of females. I mean...no reason to try and defend his opponent's life, right?" That's certainly what Sigil knew he would do, but he didn't know if deer were quite smart enough to come to the same conclusion. Still, it was worth a shot.

[Deleted]

Prince nodded. Deer typically fled predators if they could, right? No reason to think the lucky un-chosen would stick around for the bloodbath. Still, a small part of him wondered if, in the heat of confusion and hormones, it would choose fight over flight.

Well, he reasoned with himself, you've got a greater chance of that if you try to scare it off. As long as we don't corner it, it should want to put as much distance between itself and us as possible.

"All right," he said at last, after weighing the options. "We'll do it your way."

[Cascade]

Perfect. This would be a great opportunity, he just needed not to blow it. "Okay, I'll go in first, you make sure you're right behind me."

He crept forward silently, thankful that the yellowed grass afforded him some decent camouflage, until he was about ten yards away from the deer. Then, he broke into a sprint towards the two deer, aiming for the one closest to him. Leaping forward, he grabbed with his jaws at its back legs, hoping that it had been occupied enough with its fight not to notice him until he was in striking range.

[Deleted]

Prince slunk after him, taking the long way around so he could flank the deer on its other side. He kept a wider berth of the duelers than Sigil, keeping his eye on the one that wasn't their target. Hopefully Sigil was right and their attack would spook it, but if not Prince wanted to be the first to know.

He hunkered in the tall grass until Sigil lunged. That must be the signal, he thought with a smirk. Then he sprung forward, running at the target's side. He darted in, nipping at its haunches in an attempt to distract it from Sigil's assault, then out again, trying to steer clear of both horn and hoof.

[Juice]

.:When Sigil launches his attack, everything around him is made aware of his presence. The turkeys gobble in a panic but quickly fly up into the branches of a nearby tree. As for the deer that are spread about in the plains, they immediately break apart and make a run for it. The two males that were sparring break apart from each other but are both still raging with aggressive hormones. One breaks away and runs for safety but the other-the subject of the attack-won't back down as easy. Sigil grabs a hold of the deer's back leg but the buck rears up, whips around and catches Sigil with his antlers. Sigil's left shoulder is sliced open as he falls to the ground but the injury is only minor. Prince attacks quickly enough to catch the angry buck off guard and nips him a few times without getting injured. The buck has a large gash in its leg from Sigil's attack and cannot effectively run away. It stands its ground:.