hunt for himself after all; he wouldn’t be caught dead eating a clam.

“I can hear your stomach from over here… These are pretty good pickings here, Niju.” She talked with her mouth adorably full, so it came out rather muffled. She was so hungry that she’d stuffed her plush cheeks to the brim with such unappetizing food.

“You’re a disgrace to Aniu.” Niju still looked on in utter distaste.

“Whatever. At least I’m not going to starve out of pride.” She went on her merry way with the slippery clam meat.

“I’ll just wait until you’re done. Then I’ll give you a demonstration of the prowess of a real hunter.” Niju felt smugly above.

Aleu was beaming more than he was internally, though. She knew her plan had worked. She just hoped Niju wouldn’t eat all of what he caught, she hoped he’d only have to show her once and then she’d be proficient enough to not need the aid of anyone anymore.

“Hmpph.” She huffed, and made a show of eating a few more clams for effect.  Only then did she swallow her mouthful with one last shudder and make her way over to him.

He was making his way towards the evergreens that lined the shore and fed into the mountainous forest that laid out the land before them. The mountain was very worn down and could be climbed in a few hours probably. He could see much higher ones with snow covered peaks further in the distance. He had a feeling he would be climbing this minor one later. The pack might be on the other side, most of the land was hidden from view behind it. It was short but impressively broad.

Aleu yipped as she stumbled over a stray root. In her effort to stalk into the forest as he did, she only seemed to make things worse. She could almost see Niju’s eyes roll. Just as she thought she’d better pay closer attention to her footing, she crashed head first into Niju, effectively crunching her muzzle against his hip.

Okay…So apparently she’d failed to notice he’d stopped suddenly in her path.

“Hey! What’re you doing?! Why’d you stop in the middle of th-“ He ignored her collision and snapped his head toward her , cutting her short. “Shhh! be quiet, you fool!” She gave him a glare which he also took no notice of.

He lifted his head to his full height and took a powerful breath in through his large nostrils. He picked up her distracting and familiar scent, but moreover he smelled a moose calf. A calf would do very nicely, perfect place for a lone calf to be hiding too. Niju figured its mother must have abandoned it or perished because it was most definitely alone. He smelled no trace of another individual.

His proud demeanor had changed before Aleu’s eyes into that of a lowly croucher. He looked somehow more deadly now, as he narrowed his eyes and crept forward. Aleu made her best effort keep up with his silent stalk, but fell short as she fumbled through the underbrush. She was nervous yet excited when she saw the prey for the first time, she couldn’t help but stare. It seemed as if Niju has taken no notice of their young and vulnerable prey as it grazed unaware on the gradual slope.

“Niju there’s the ca-“ She had intended to whisper in the most silent of studious whispers, until he cut her off with a glare fit to turn her insides into the icy sea. She then understood how crucial this moment was when the calf abruptly stopped grazing to look straight at her.

Aleu held her breath and stayed stock still in the underbrush, she could see Niju was already edging closer totally undetected. For all the upfront rugged arrogance he possessed, it was odd to watch him stalk so masterfully.  Aleu was beginning to feel some dread; the calf looked fairly healthy for having been prematurely orphaned, perhaps there was a better and more aged target. Of course a large moose would be almost impossible to fell without a pack. Aleu was increasingly feeling torn, ready to be independent, yet glad she didn’t have to kill this one.

Niju was startlingly patient, until the moment was savagely shattered.  Rushing forward with grace she didn’t think possible, Niju was on the calf. Niju had gotten so close to the youngster that no chase was necessary. Aleu was close on Niju’s tail, but she quickly turned away as the youngster struggled. Its throat was gripped between two massive jaws. His massive claws tore at the underbelly of the calf, and it struggled futilely.

Aleu waited for the killing blow, she waited for the sounds of hooves scuffling along the grasses to stop.

His voice in the middle of it all startled her. “Halfbreed, get over here!”

Angry at being ordered about like a subordinate she growled at him while she made her way over to the still struggling youngster.  The calf was on its side and Niju was laying with it, its neck in his mouth.

“What Niju?!” She ordered irritably.

“Finish it.”

Even though his voice was muffled by the downy fur of the calf, Aleu could make him out loud and clear. The very thing she dreaded, of course he demanded it of her.

“No…It’s your kill, you finish it! “She wanted to sound merely confused, instead of how hesitant she really felt.

“Just as I thought…Weak, halfbreed…” He held the poor creature still- its blood began to stream down his chest.

“Niju, just do it! Can’t you see it’s suffering?! Stop it!” Aleu raved at him, not sure who she was angrier at, herself or him.

“I knew you didn’t have it in you! Pathetic, you’re a true disgr-“ It was Aleu’s turn to cut him off with a sudden fatal bite to the neck of the calf, effectively soaking them in warm blood.

Aleu was panting with exhilaration and looked over what she had just done. She’d done the most effective thing by ending the calf’s suffering and shutting Niju up. She still found Niju actions intolerable. As she turned to glare at him she was shocked to find that he was already digging into the warm flesh.

Aleu had no quarrels with the taste of their prey now that it was all over, she sought to dig in on the other side of the carcass.

“Mmmf…I should have you know, this is very generous of me.” Niju spoke while tearing shreds of flesh of from between the ribs. His face was a crimson mess now and Aleu’s wasn’t much better.

“Oh? Really…?” She spoke while she dug in further.

“This was my kill and I should eat first. But I figured the faster we eat, the sooner we get back to the pack.” As soon as he finished speaking he went back to eating so ferociously that bits of meat were flying in all directions.

A bit of meat hit Aleu on the muzzle, she wrinkled in distaste at her eating partner- before proceeding to lick it into her own mouth.  

“ But I’m the one who killed it.” Aleu quipped with her mouth full of meat.

Niju stopped to let out another obnoxious laugh. “Without me- you never would have even smelled it before scaring it off!” He resumed his beastly eating.

To this she didn’t respond, she merely made a futile attempt to out-eat him until the carcass was all but stripped. That was a lucky kill, a nice bit of meat for a minimal effort.  Very lucky indeed, hunting was usually a very dangerous affair for both hunter and hunted.

Aleu had filled herself up a good amount, but didn’t feel gorged. Niju was satisfied for now. They left for the pack in better spirits.