Muddy River — The Shape of Dreams

The sweep of his paw and bow of his head as he called her by her preferred title made her smile grow. She would have never guessed that Caedwyn could offer up so much charm. The sarcastic prankster had a side to him that she felt lucky to get to know. It made her feel special. He moved off to investigate the direction that their prey had escaped off to, and Enya fell in step behind him as they made their way with solid pace towards their target. Each time he looked back to check on her, she added pep into her step with an extra bounce. When he looked away, however, her bounce disappeared. Tracking took a while, and it was nearly unavoidable unless they got lucky, but it sure killed the vibe of an exciting hunt underneath the moonlight. She felt exhaustion sweeping over her - much stronger than before - and let her legs lag, taking shorter paces over long extended once. She didn't particularly bother to match her tracks with Caedwyn's long strides.  When Caedwyn sniffed at fresher tracks, she joined him, her tongue once more working the odor. A stag, she picked up. Her heart started to thump faster in her chest as the excitement of the hunt grew within her once more. Again, the weariness edged its self away, but not entirely. There was some strange feeling that loomed inside her - part of her and yet not all in once. She lowered her head and slinked through the underbrush of the forest with all the stealth she could muster. Here her slender frame and long legs benefited her greatly. It was easy for her to step over fallen logs and obstacles that might interrupt her stealth. Soon enough, her eyes found the figure of the buck standing not far from them. Her forked tongue scented the air once more, and she recognized a familiarity to the odor. Definitely Stag - Red Stag at that.  There was a pause in Enya's steps as she looked and stared at the buck standing before them, hosting small nubs for antlers due to the season of the current. There was no collar strapped around the buck's neck. There was no indentation in the buck's fur to indicate that one had been worn within the recent at all. In fact, the closer she looked, the more she realized that the scars he wore did not seem to be visible, either. Caedwyn took the opportunity to (she assumed) move around to the other side of the buck. They had a better chance at catching it if two of it's sides were covered. If it bolted away from her, perhaps he could catch it on the other side or vice-versa. After a few moments, Enya anticipated Caedwyn's approach from the other side. Her head stayed low as she crouched, ready to spring and charge forward. Movement exploded from the other side, and suddenly Caedwyn was on top of the Buck, sinking deadly weapons into the stag's body.  Enya's own cover was suddenly blown as she felt a sharp pain erupt through her back. She raised her head and cried out with a furious, high pitched snarl through barred fangs. Her body twisted as she leapt up into the air, jumping away from where the pain had come from (in her head). All thoughts of the deer were gone in that moment, and only returned when she heard it cry out as well, simultaneously alongside her. Open wounds formed along her backside. "No! Stop!" she cried out not just to Caedwyn, but to the buck as well. No, not the Buck. She cried to Buck himself. Within her mind echoed one angry word, spoken so furiously that if anger could kill, she would have flopped over dead. "WOLF!"  "Caedwyn!" Enya cried out, hoping to direct him away from the hunt and to join her side - which she now laid on having landed poorly after her leap up into the air. Buck whirled on Caedwyn, trying to throw him off, bucking wildly like the ferocious animal it was. Enya tried to get to her feet and succeeded, just in time to look and see Buck flailing like a crazed animal. "Stop it!" she shouted louder, but something strange was happening to her. Something strange she hadn't noticed until just now, after the wounds across her back had opened up. This was her Buck, but she could hardly sense his tie to her. The pain, the impact of sudden weight on her had been present, but otherwise it was like sand running between her toes, just slipping through her grasp. Normally one to obey her commands - even if he fully desired to defy her - he ceased to listen now. Regardless, she had to make the fighting stop.  "Speech."