Word Count:563
Cold air swept through her black nose, bringing in the scent of the forest and her prey. Red tipped ears moved slightly as she listened, the soft sounds of the rabbit before her. A small crunch of snow, a snap of a twig, the clattering of teeth as it chewed. Another crunch, another smell. Two rabbits, just perfect. Hotaru flexed her shoulder muscles quietly as she sat in the shadow of a bush. She wasn't far away, but she sat almost perfectly still in her lupus for and waited. Just a little closer, they needed to get just a little closer. High up in the trees, the scent of Fawkes drifted down, his own attention most likely focused on the rabbits as well. Another crunch, followed by a second. There.
Hotaru shot forward, her well defined muscles moving in perfect unison and exerting great power. A high pitched squeal shot out as the pounding of feet ensued. Hotaru shot after the sounds, following her nose and ears as the rabbits moved quickly through the forest. Fawkes could be heard winging behind. Hotaru was the first to reach the rabbits, her nose guiding her jaws as the clamped around soft fur. For the rabbit, it was over in an instant. Fawkes was next. A loud thump hit the ground and the mad rush of feet scraping the ground quickly followed. The other rabbit wasn't as lucky. Fawkes had caught the rabbit between his talons, but the impact hadn't killed it. The poor thing struggled for a full minute before it finally went limp.
She had done it, she had finally done it. The blind wolf had managed to catch prey on her own, no assistance from Light and minimal assistance from Fawkes. She had traveled through these woods so much that she knew them like the back of her hand. And in fact, they smelled like her, just as she smelled like them. Her tail thumped against the ground as she sat up, panting. Hotaru wasn't really tired, but those few moments had been incredibly intense and the adrenaline was still working its way through her system. Hotaru's heart raced and the blood pounded through her ears so hard that it was audible to her.
Once she had calmed down a little Hotaru turned her focus to the rabbit. With incredible grace and practiced footsteps, the grey wolf retraced her path back to her bag and walking stick. There she placed the rabbit on the snow to allow the slow, but painless process of shifting to begin. Several minutes later, the bipedal Hotaru stood and began to craft a fire. Hotaru had dug a large hole in the snow before she had set out on her hunt. It was there that she placed several dried pieces of wood and bark shavings. Using her flint, Hotaru started the fire. As the grey wolf waited for coals to form she worked on the rabbit. Carefully she removed the fur and prepared the rabbit to roast by the fire. .
It was a smaller rabbit, so it cooked rather quickly. Licking her chops, Hotaru picked up the roasted meat and began to dig in. Fawkes, who had followed Hotaru back, had already finished his meal and was lazily picking at the scraps. Although the meal was simple, to Hotaru it felt like a meal fit for kings.
Table by Chazza