The rabbit was clueless.
It twitched its ears around and rubbed its whiskers after a heartbeat of scanning, not noticing the wolf hunkered down in the foliage. The hunter’s mottled grey and taupe pelt blended with the dark shadows of the mountainside, and anyway the rabbit seemed more ready to trust its tall ears than its eyes. It hopped lazily across the stretch of grass on the first foothills of the mountain, swiveling its ears and nibbling on the cool grass in the shade. When the predator took a step forward, it straightened on its hind legs, nose twitching, and Pia softly receded back into the bushes again. She watched her intended victim carefully, her mouth dry from concentration.
Really, Pia had been hunting for the better part of the morning, rising even before the dawn to dab at the mountain streams for fish. She was adamant on teaching herself how to catch water prey—a skill her mother had left out during her teaching—but hunger called before she could set to her lessons. She’d wandered outside of Ichikan territory, sniffing about, catching a whiff of ptarmigan at last. The ptarmigan had fled in a burst of feathers, she’d missed a squirrel by a foot, and now she was far from her home, tobacco brown eyes set on a bunny rabbit.
Had the critter not appeared, she might have spent time beating herself up over her failed hunts; her mother’s lessons and hatred for failure had been hammered into her. Now, she sighed and focused, her breath rustling a leaf just beyond her nose. She could chance a chase if the rabbit inched a little bit closer to her hiding place. Her long body was awkward but good for a sprint.
As she watched, black ears pricked, the rabbit hopped that last few inches in reach.
Pia tensed, legs bunched under her like a crouching cat, her eyes narrow. Then she uncoiled like a spring and bounded down the rocky slope, her long legs crashing through the bush. Her tongue lolled as she followed the rabbit, hard on its heels, and she caught up with it after a stretched slide. Her mouth clamped down on it, and she dealt it a shake that snapped its neck.
She set down her catch immediately, turning it over with a pale paw. Smiling, she murmured a singsong prayer, blessing all the gods of the forest and of the hunt and of the rabbit for her kill, blessing the spirit of the rabbit as well. Such prayers were a custom within Ichika no Ho-en, but she had been saying prayers for her kills for as long as she could remember, since the first time Maze had cried when a slaughtered fawn had been dropped before them to eat.
Pushing aside memories of her sister, the mottled grey wolf began to nibble at the meat. Once her belly was full, she would perhaps explore some of this mountain territory around her pack grounds. She wasn’t too keen on being far from her new home, but a little trip wouldn’t hurt anything. She might even meet someone new!
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