Muddy River — The Shape of Dreams

When she leaped over to him, nipping at his chin and bouncing away again, he matched her movements. He jumped forward, mock biting at her and then jumping away again when she came at him again. She had corrected him on not referring to her as Queen and he had half a mind to give her a teasing response of 'well punish me then' but instead he enjoyed their little game. She had confirmed her choice and Caedwyn stood a little straighter, extending his paw in a gentlemanly fashion and dipped his head a bit. "Right this way, my Queen," he said, inviting her forward before turning to trot off along the dirt path that lead through the bushes. He stopped here and there, sniffing the ground and then lifting his head to scent the air. "The scent is stronger this way," he commented in a quiet voice, looking over his shoulder to make sure Enya was following before leading the way forward once more. They had moved quite a ways away from the river, travelling at a fair pace through the surrounding trees and had finally come to a clearing. Caedwyn paused, his nose dipping once more as he noted a fresh track in the dirt. The scent was fresh. They must've been close. He turned to Enya, nodding his head in a motion to beckon her closer and used his paw to point to the track. "It's close." He whispered now, not wanting to spook their prey. Waiting for her to observe the marking, he began to move at a much slower pace, pressing forward through the under growth to come to the edge of the clearing. His eyes scanned the tree line quickly, finally landing on his target. There on the far side of the clearing as a large buck. It's antlers had not yet fully emerged and sat atop the creatures skull like two misshapen knobs covered in soft velvet. Caedwyn's motions stopped and he crouched. "There." His voice was barely a breath as he nodded his nose to point out the deer to Enya. It may have been more practical to verbalize his plan to Enya, as he planned to go around the far side and drive the deer back to her, but without thinking he only said "Wait here" in a whisper before he quietly slunk away back through the underbrush. He hadn't watched to see if she had obeyed his instructions and instead started to make his way around the outskirts of the clearing. Coming up on the far side, he began his approach. The ground here was littered with an array of dried leaves and crumbly twigs, much to his disdain. Each step was treacherous and threatened to give away his position. He moved forward again, pausing when the buck lifted its head. When he was sure the buck hadn't noticed him, he started forward again. He was almost into position to start his charge. But there were so many twigs. His foot came down and he felt the brittle branch underfoot, too late for him to shift his weight back. The branch snapped. His eyes flicked from his feet as he cursed internally, then up to the buck. Shit shit shit. Had the buck heard it? Fuck. It was too late to find out now. If he waited, the buck might take off before he did and get a lead on him. Caedwyn jumped out. He wasn't quite in the right position but he had no choice. now. --- Sneak Roll: - Fail: Twig snaps loudly and the deer starts running before Caedwyn can get into position. Creative freedom for what this means or where the buck goes. Success: Twig snaps but the buck doesn't hear it. Caedwyn jumps out. Speech.