a broken rose with laughing eyes.

[Emmanuelle Brenna]

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Word Count → 423 ; For anybody.

It had been an unfortunate, but one she regarded as luck even so. The fate of the fledgeling eagle had come about and here she was to reap up the leftovers. The woman watched from the underbrush carefully, being cautious less a mother eagle came back to guard her dead eaglet. However, it seemed that it had been abandoned and she crept forward. Emmanuelle grunted as she moved over the ground slowly, trying to keep low to the ground. It was difficult now that she was so pregnant, she had less then a few weeks to go and her pups would be here. Her stomach jutted out like a sore thumb, but she had thinned out in other parts of her body. Pregnant women couldn't hunt very well, and without a mate she had to rely on her lynx. Both Gabriel and Kimbrah had tried to help out as much as they could, but they usually brought back rabbits.

While that did fill her stomach for a short time, there was not much fat on the slim rabbits. Even the chickens she had traded from Amy were lean meat, and her face was starting to look a little gaunt. The stress and worry that constantly bounced around her mind were not helping, and more often then not she simply stayed in her bed, too exhausted to do anything. This little trip was already tiring, but she wanted to grab some feathers to make toys for the pups. Finally she was where the carcass was located, and she picked up the still warm body and seated herself with a little huff. A little leather satchel was placed next to her and she began plucking the bird, grunting as it was not easy. Each feather went into the bag carefully, and once it was clean she regarded it a moment, wondering if eagle meat was particularly fatty.

With a sigh she threw the carcass away and lay down for a nap, suddenly very tired. This lack of food thing was becoming a problem, she was worried about the health of her pups. If she wasn't getting the proper nutrients, she doubted they were. The coywolf dozed in the afternoon sun while troubled thoughts ran through her mind. Another nearby eaglet nest held a few more that had yet to test flight, and one of them gathered courage before looking over the edge. He made an attempt but it failed, his wings not being able to bear his own weight as he crashed to the ground.