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The Marino girl had lost herself in some mindless exploring earlier in the day. The majority of her time since the official foundation of the artistic pack had been spent lingering around the small town of Thornbury or beside the calm waters of the small pool tucked away within their forest. She had finally decided that she spent far too much time being idle and she convinced herself that getting to know the lands of her home better had been put off for far too long. So that morning the girl had set aside her guitar, pushed the frustrating practice of the instrument aside, and let her feet take her where they would.

Everything seemed quite ordinary up until she stumbled upon the old, three-story lodge sitting serenely amongst the trees. The building was weather-worn, but it had clearly withstood the tests of time, and for this it drew her attention. Lucia had spent time searching through a number of old human buildings in various pack lands and within the concrete jungle of Halifax, but this one had its own distinct flavor. As she stepped inside she discovered that it smelled very natural, like the forest, and she soon realized that that was due in part to the various pelts and heads around the main room. While she could understand the reasons behind the usefulness in salvaging the pelts from prey, she couldn't quite grasp the reason why anyone would want to hang their heads around the walls like that. It was just creepy, like they were watching her from beyond the grave.

Despite the strangeness of it, the sight of the various hunting trophies within the lodge only made her realize how hungry she was. Perhaps it was time for a hunt. Lucia hurried back outside and away from the unsettlingly lifeless gazes of the mounted heads, stopping to shift down to lupus form once she had soil beneath her feet. The changes were swift and practiced, and within a few short minutes she was back on all fours. The girl began her trek away from the old wooden building, jade eyes watchful for any signs of nearby prey.

It's fine. ^^

Heavy footfalls sounded just ahead, and for a moment Lucia was certain that she’d managed to stumble upon some significant prey. Whatever it was, it was big, and despite the fact that the petite girl would not be capable of taking down anything large on her own, she was determined to investigate. She slowed her pace and took careful steps forward, ears perked and eyes alert. The footsteps seemed to be drawing closer to her as well, but as she scented the air, she discovered that it wasn’t prey after all; it was Shawchert.

He came into view seconds later, calling out her name. “Shaw!” she parroted back, picking up her pace once again to hurry toward him. The Marino girl halted a few paces in front of him, nodding to him in further greeting. She wondered what he had been up to before interrupting her little impromptu hunt. She was still eager to find herself a meal, and as she looked up at the large male, an idea struck her. “We should hunt together,” she said, though it was less of a suggestion and more like a general announcement. Two wolves were better than one, after all. With her speed and his strength, the two of them should be able to do well if they could track down something.

Nuuu, short posts are fine. My delays are fail, tho. :[

Lucia was pleased to hear Shawchert agree so quickly to her suggestion. To be honest, she hadn't really expected him to deny her, but she was surprised at how quick he had agreed. He must not have been all that busy before their little encounter. Or maybe she was just that persuasive. Yes, that must be it. She grinned up at him, happy to have enlisted his help in this little endeavor.

She nodded at his suggestion of prey. "Of course." She had seen plenty of deer around the area in recent weeks, so it shouldn't be too hard for them to track down a small herd within the forest. And if they could snag a deer, it would provide a much bigger meal than Lucia could have ever hoped to secure on her own. Shawchert certainly had arrived at the perfect time. "When we spot some, I can go on ahead and try to split on off from the herd and chase it over to you," she suggested. It seemed like a logical use of their strengths; Lucia was quick enough to provide a decent chase for their prey, and Shaw's size and strength would be ideal for catching it by surprise and taking it down.

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Lucia followed Shawchert’s lead, taking off again into the forest without hesitation. All of her senses were kept sharp, each of them eagerly searching for a sign of any nearby prey. Hopefully the duo wouldn’t have to search for very long, but with the constant wandering of the herds that passed through their territory, it was hard to know for certain. However, it wasn’t long before her leaders seemed to catch the scent of what they were looking for, and she followed him closely. She nodded in silence once he came to a halt and pointed out the small herd to her.

Without a word, the Marino girl took off again. Her aim now was to circle around to the other side of the herd and scope them out further. Lucia’s paws took her through the trees in silence, and within moments she had arrived at the other side of the gathered herd. She glanced over their numbers from where she was crouched behind the tree line. There was a fair number of the deer gathered, most of them looking quite healthy. There was a smaller one that lingered a little too close to the fringe of the herd, grazing idly. Lucia watched and waited for another nearby deer to wander just a little farther off from the one she had targeted.

Finally, she found her moment to strike. She slinked forward in silence at first, but the herd was quick to catch on and began to run. Lucia then broke out into a run, veering her course toward the smaller one. It tried to follow after the rest of the herd, but Lucia was quick to position herself between it and them, forcing the small deer to double back and dart for the other side of the tree line, a short distance from where Shawchert had stopped to wait.