The sun had woken Niernan, the bright light filtering through the sparse foliage that adorned the trees at the edge of the road where they had camped. His fur was pleasently warm and he felt that he could very easily go back to sleep, yet upon checking the suns location in the sky he leapt to his foot paws, letting out a quiet but high pitched yelp of shock. The sun was high in the sky, almost directly above him. How had he slept until midday?
His mind wandered back to the previous nights events and he then realised why he had slept so late; Saul and the two brothers had talked very late into the night, and indeed the hours of early morning had crept up on them as they had chatted, leaving them all exhausted and falling asleep where they sat. As he remembered his cousin with fondness he recalled one of the last things that they had discussed. His hand paw groped at his throat and he felt the warm, smooth wood of the carved otter that Saul had given him, the rough leather of the thong that it hung from easily hidden in his rough, scruffy mane. He grinned as he examined the small otter once more, very pleased with his gift.
A mew at his feet and the gentle sensation of a furry being winding itself through his legs alerted him to the fact that Ciaran was awake. Nier crouched and fussed his cat, noticing the small remnants of mouse fur around Ciarans mouth, reminding him that he hadn't eaten since last nights boar bacon. His stomach chose that moment to rumble loudly, confirming his hunger. He gave Ciaran one last fuss before straightening up and shaking out his fur, he glanced over to his still sleeping brother and then back down to Ciaran. I won't wake Bran, keep an eye on him Ciaran, I'll bring back food.
Nier unbuttoned his pale grey shorts, allowing them to pool on the floor, before stepping out of them and falling to all fours. The change between his forms was seamless, his body changing to his large Secui form, the leather thong around his neck tightening slightly, but not enough to strangle him. He shook again, settling the cord to a more comfortable position and puffing his neck fur up for a brief moment before it settled back to its wild spikes.
He gave ciaran one last look, his azure eyes meeting Ciarans green-grey before he set off at a lope into the thick undergrowth and tree cover of the woods. He dodged the thick boles of the trees, flitting like a shadow in the half light. He stopped and pricked his ears at the sound of a large creature moving through the undergrowth. He raised his nose to the wind and scented deer, the musky odour of wild ungulate almost assaulted his sensitive nose, the deer must be very close. He sank into a hunting crouch and moved silently through the brush, sticking to the shadows, his dark pelt blending him into the blackness at the base of the trees.
He stopped beneath an Ironwood and huddled against the bark as he stared down into a small, well lit clearing. The sun shone through the canopy and highlighted an area of the forest floor where a large Whitetail buck was rooting through the leaf litter, snuffling away the leaves, revealing a small crop of wild mushrooms. Niernans bright blue eyes focussed on the deer, and all of his muscles tensed ready for the leap that would bring him to the deer.
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