by Robin Roseau
I had never played with Angel before, and she was surprised by it. I waited a second, tensed my muscles, and flew at her.
She stood there, staring at me. I tried to bowl her over, but she stiffened at the last minute, and my thirty pounds of fox bounced right off her hundred and thirty pounds of wolf. I landed in the pine needles, and Lara was immediately over me, sniffing at me.
I pushed her away and climbed back to my feet, chuffing.
Angel was looking at me too, lying down now with her chin between her feet. I walked over and nudged her until she stood up. Then I walked away, bowed, and flew at her. Again, I bounced off her. I flew at her twice more, and each time I felt like a tennis ball being thrown at a brick wall.
The last time I climbed to my feet slowly shaking my head. I walked over to Angel and cuffed her nose with a paw, then licked her.
I didn't give Scarlett any warning at all. I bounced twice and landed directly on her. I caught her by surprise and managed to flatten her to the ground, but I hadn't knocked her over. She shook me off. She was actually gentle about it. I tried it twice more, and it wasn't much different than bouncing off of Angel.
The other wolves were all watching me. I think Lara was convinced I'd gone insane.
I walked away from Scarlett, sat down, and eyed both of them. They both lay down, watching me, perhaps wondering what insanity I had planned next.
I had actually thought I could knock one of them over. Thirty pounds of fox may not be much compared to a wolf, but I had thrown myself pretty hard at them. Okay, time for a new game.
I stood up, turned to Lara, and then began pushing her away from Elisabeth. She stepped to the side, then sat down when I stopped pushing. Then I shoved Elisabeth away from Francesca. I turned to Scarlett and bowed to her. She didn't bow back, so I barked at her. Finally, she bowed to me, and I turned to Angel, and got her to bow.
Then I ran away from both of them.
The two of them immediately set off in pursuit.
I used the adult wolves as my obstacles. It took them a moment, but Angel and Scarlett realized I was playing the game I usually played with Lara. Catch the fox.
If they worked properly together, they might be able to catch me. I wasn't sure. What I was hoping to do was get them to tangle each other up. It took them only a couple of leaps before they began working together, but they weren't perfect at it yet. I feinted left, and Angel made a leap at me. I shifted to the right, and Scarlett was waiting for me. I barely danced away from her, then ran directly underneath Angel, Scarlett in hot pursuit. She knocked Angel over for me, and I dashed underneath Elisabeth. Scarlett ran right into Elisabeth, and I circled around and threw myself on Angel just as she was getting to her feet. I was too late, and didn't knock her over, bouncing off, but now they knew the real game.
Lara started chuffing in amusement.
Twice more I got Scarlett and Angel to tangle each other up, but neither time badly enough that I could take real advantage of it. But then I feinted around Francesca, and Angel bowled her mother over.
Angel immediately rolled onto her back, turning submissive to her mother. I still had Scarlett right behind me, but I ducked underneath Lara and threw myself on Angel, wrapping my small fox jaws around her throat for just a moment before I bounced off of her and ran away.
Francesca immediately pounced on Angel, pinning her to the ground. Angel had been tagged, and now only Scarlett was left.
She chased me mercilessly, but she was very, very careful not to run into any of the adults.
I bounced around the clearing. Scarlett managed to trip me a few times, and I tripped her once, but neither of us caught the other. I noticed that Francesca had allowed Angel to roll over and watch us, but she was still pinning her daughter to the ground.
Finally, I let Scarlett trip me until I went rolling underneath Lara. I immediately began yipping, climbing to my feet slowly. Scarlett came to a stop, a foot away from Lara. Lara looked down at me.
I was trying the same trick I'd used on Elisabeth. I wondered if Lara would let me get away with it.
Lara looked at me, and I really hammed it up, yipping and standing on three legs, holding the other limply. Lara looked at Scarlett, gave her a big lick, then bent down and gave me two big licks. She chuffed.
Well, it was worth a try.
I made a feint out from underneath Lara away from Scarlett, then dashed back, running directly underneath her. She tried to follow me but I tangled her legs and she went down. I immediately pounced on her. I tried to get my mouth on her throat, but she rolled us both over and immediately pinned me to the dirt.
She didn't put her mouth to my throat, but she gave me a quick lick and settled her weight more firmly. She'd caught me. She licked me once more before climbing off of me.
I climbed to my feet, chuffing repeatedly. That had been fun. I licked Scarlett, then pranced over and licked Francesca and Angel. Elisabeth got a shoulder bump, and then before Lara knew I was going to do it, I jumped straight up and landed on top of her. I wrapped my legs around her as best I could and buried my teeth in the skin at the back of her neck, determined to hang on.
I had surprised everyone. Lara was actually slow to respond, but then she went nuts, trying to knock me off of her. I held on for about five seconds before she realized all she had to do was roll over. As soon as she went down to her side, I jumped away then immediately pounced, landing on her chest and diving my mouth to her throat. I actually got my teeth around her throat before she rolled us both over and settled her weight on me completely, squishing the wind out of me. I let go immediately, then she adjusted her weight, holding me down but letting me breath. I gave her my throat, which she took leisurely, then she tightened just as leisurely until I whimpered my submission.
Then she held me there until everyone had licked me.
I climbed to my feet, chuffed twice, then froze. I cocked my ears as if I were listening, then I dropped to my belly, facing northwest, my ears swiveling.
I hadn't heard a thing, but I was sure I could convince Lara and Elisabeth I had.
I slinked forward, my belly in the pine needles, three steps, then I turned to them. I used a gesture Lara had used on me before. I reached out with a claw and dug a line in the dirt. Well, in the pine needles. But Lara understood. She crept up next to me, her toes just against the line, and chuffed very quietly.
I swiveled my ears, listening for nothing, then slinked out of the clearing traveling directly upwind. All the wolves let me go.
I sped up once I was out of sight then was running. I found a fallen tree, set an obvious false trail leading away to the west from it, then took off north, circling east and south, downwind, and finally came to a rest thirty yards to the east of the clearing where I left them. I'd been gone about two minutes, and they hadn't moved yet.
It was at least another minute before I heard Lara shift to human. "I don't smell anything. I don't smell the fox anymore, either." I heard the other wolves sniffing. Then Elisabeth huffed displeasure twice, and Lara swore. "That little fox! Go!" Lara shifted back to fur on the run, and I listened as all seven of them took off on my trail out of the clearing.
Silly wolves.
I waited until I was sure they had all left then I crept quietly back to the clearing and lay down, listening to them and waiting for them to find me.
It didn't take them that long. Lara knew my tricks well enough by now. When they got to the tree I had used, I listened as Elisabeth, Eric, Angel and Scarlett followed my false trail. Lara, Karen and Francesca sniffed around the tree, searching for my real trail. Elisabeth huffed her displeasure at losing my trail the same time Karen chuffed at finding my real trail. Soon all seven of them were racing along my real trail, but they were forced to follow the same path I had taken.
By my guess, it was five minutes when they found the place I had stopped and waited for them. Lara immediately howled and ran straight for the clearing. She dashed into the clearing, saw me, and pounced on top o
f me. I think she expected me to evade her, but I waited for her and let her roll me over without resisting. Once she'd settled her weight over me, I shifted to human. I had shifted underneath her before, and she adjusted her position, using her body to offer me some modesty and being careful not to scratch me with her claws.
"Lara," I said, "I don't care if that was over five minutes or under. Alpha's call. I just wanted you all to stay with me when we ran. You normally dash off without me."
She chuffed at me, and I couldn't tell which way she had decided. I wrapped my arms around her neck.
"I want to catch a deer. If I find one, will you catch it for me?"
She chuffed.
I shifted back to fox, took some licks from the wolves, and then Lara let me up. I ran off to the northwest, listening intently.
The wolves were loud, louder than a fox, that's for sure, but not so loud I couldn't listen for deer. I heard rabbits and squirrels, but it was twenty minutes before I heard what I thought might have been a deer. I brought us to a stop.
I listened intently. I thought it was a deer, still quite some distance. I began moving us closer, stalking rather than running, and taking a path oblique to the deer, aiming us for a point more directly downwind. I thought perhaps the wolves would begin to smell the deer about the time I was sure whether it was a deer or something else.
Lara stopped and began sniffing intently. Elisabeth joined her, and they both chuffed, turning approximately in the direction of the deer. They were off a little, or at least I thought so. I turned in the correct direction and drew us closer. They let me keep the lead, and I hunted fox style, with stealth, rather than wolf style, in a rush.
I took us another three hundred yards before I was sure. It was a deer. I couldn't tell how old, but I had direction and distance.
All of the wolves had the scent now, and they were facing the right direction, but still they let me lead the hunt, and I halved the distance. We were directly downwind of the deer. It was moving slowly through the wood, traveling east. The wolves wanted to head directly to the deer, but I turned us more to the east, keeping us directly downwind, and soon I had us within seventy five yards.
I sat down and shifted to human very quietly then spoke even more quietly. "If it's young, let it grow up," I said.
Lara licked me then nudged the other wolves into motion. I shifted back to fox and followed them.
It was a short hunt. Elisabeth and Francesca cut to the east. Lara sent Angel and Scarlett to the west. She sent Eric all the way west and then north, and I could tell the instant the deer smelled Eric. The deer ran straight at us.
I immediately dashed behind a tree. Karen hot on my heels. She jumped between me and the deer. Lara glanced over once, making sure I was safe, and then she was bounding through the woods to meet the deer.
It was a large buck. Lara didn't try to kill it. Instead she scared it directly towards Angel and Scarlett, then stayed on its heels. The deer ran straight into the other two wolves, Elisabeth, Francesca, and Eric closing in as well.
I couldn't tell who got the kill. I heard both Scarlett and Angel leap. Two wolves and a deer went down, and then I heard Lara leap. There was a brief struggle, and then silence.
All this may seem gruesome, but they're wolves, and even I am a hunter.
Angel and Scarlett began the howl.
I stepped out from behind the tree and licked Karen in thanks for watching out for me then led us through the woods. When we got there, the deer was down and still. We got there about the same time that Eric did.
I shifted to human and asked, "Whose kill?"
Lara also shifted to human. "Angel and Scarlett stopped it. I killed it." She looked at the girls. "You two will spend time with Elisabeth. You are both old enough you shouldn't have needed help. Scarlett, I saw it kick you. Are you all right?"
Scarlett chuffed. She was fine.
Elisabeth and Francesca stepped into the clearing. Lara turned to Elisabeth. "Angel and Scarlett stopped it, but they couldn't kill it. You will fix that."
Karen stepped forward and huffed mild displeasure. Lara turned to her. "Karen, if you want to teach them, talk to the head enforcer. I am fine with her decision. Understand you would be responsible for their safety." Karen chuffed.
"Alpha," I said. "It is my opinion we should bring the deer back and share with everyone for dinner."
Lara turned to Francesca. "How about fresh, roast venison for Saturday?" Francesca chuffed agreement. "Angel and Scarlett, do you want to gut it?" Two chuffs. "Karen, make sure they do it right." Then she turned to Elisabeth. "I don't want to drag it. Pick someone to go get transportation. We'll need a four wheeler to get it to the road and then be able to toss it into a car without anyone seeing. Stupid humans and their stupid hunting seasons."
Elisabeth turned to Eric, and he turned south for the compound.
Lara turned to me. "How much warning can you give us of an oncoming car on the road?"
I laughed. "If it's going slow, a mile. If it's going fast, a lot more than that. Lara, how is it that there are always deer?"
She smiled. "The pack owns three deer ranches. That's where most of our venison comes from, and we release enough deer every now and then to make sure there are always deer but not so many it doesn't take at least a little work to find them. We run the ranches so the deer think they're wild and not tame. This guy would have been a trophy buck. Stupid humans."
I laughed.
Karen huffed twice, catching Lara's attention.
"Oh good lord," she said. "Angel what did you get your paw caught on?"
Angel was half disappeared into the deer carcass, and she began to whine. I started to laugh. "I wish I had video!" Angel whined louder.
Lara climbed over the deer and crouched down next to Angel. "I'm here," she said quietly. "You're all right. I'm going to reach in and see what you're caught on." Lara knelt closer then slid her hand into the deer, reaching in almost to her shoulder. "All right, relax, Angel. Come on, Angel. Relax. If you yank out, you're going to rip my arm open. Okay, better. A little more. All right, I'm going to free you. You do not want to rip me open when I free you." There was a shift, and then Lara and Angel both withdrew from the deer. "Your claw was stuck between the ribs," she explained. "That happened to me, once, too."
They were both bloody now. If it looked gruesome before, it was even more so now. Angel nursed her paw for a moment.
"Let me see it," Lara said. Angel gave Lara her paw. Lara looked at it carefully. "Extend your claws, honey." Angel's claws slowly extended to their three-inch length. Lara manipulated the paw. Angel winced once. "I think you'll be fine if you shift a couple of times," she said. "Even on three paws, you shouldn't have any trouble keeping up with the fox."
"Hey!" I said.
Lara looked over and grinned at me.
"Scarlett," she said. "Finish cleaning it out. Don't repeat Angel's 'trick'."
Lara stood up and walked over to me. I stared at her. She was so beautiful, with rippling muscles that I never got enough of. She sat down on my left, her left arm the messy side. "You knew where the deer was long before I smelled it."
"Yeah," I said. "Almost ten minutes, but I wasn't positive it was a deer, and I didn't have the range until about when you smelled it."
"That's amazing," she said. "You made it easy."
"You guys were probably bored, doing it my way. You've never watched me hunt before. I never let you watch because you scare the rabbits."
"I loved watching you," Lara said. "I knew when you found it. I couldn't smell anything except forest, but you shifted direction. I thought you were taking us straight to it."
"I took us directly downwind," I said. "I wanted you to smell it and him not to smell or hear us. I doubt we found it any faster than you would have, but I got to be a part of it. I've never helped hunt a deer before."
She leaned against me. "Thank you for taking care of your own safety."
"Hey, an adult deer can kill me a
lmost as fast as a wolf can," I said. "Were Scarlett and Angel in real trouble?"
"I was going to let them struggle with it, but he got a real good kick at Scarlett."
"That's evasive," I said.
Lara thought about it. "I don't think it was life threatening, but they weren't winning, either."
"You drove it to them."
"Yes. And it was a good take down. I think their first, and it was beautiful to see them in action together." She bumped me. "What was that game you tried to play with them at first?"
"I really thought I could knock them over, especially if I surprised them. They were both like brick walls. Was it okay I played with them?"
"Yes. It was fun to watch. But honey." She paused. "Don't do the fake hurt trick again. If you sound hurt, you need to be hurt."
"All right," I said. "I almost had Scarlett."
"Almost, but she got you."
"She did. I was proud of her." I put my head on her bare shoulder. "Lara, the truth. Is the reason no one catches me because you're all trying too hard not to hurt me?"
"It's a factor," she said. "But you are damned hard to catch. In open ground, Elisabeth and I can catch you easily, even without hurting you. Karen, too, and probably Eric. Don't get too cocky."
"So if I were as tough as Angel but as small and agile as me, I'd be easier to catch?"
"Yes. Every time I trip you, I worry."
"I notice it doesn't stop you from chasing me."
She laughed. "No, it doesn't."
I cocked my ears. "They're coming," I said. "Damn, the four-wheeler is loud. It's going to destroy the vegetation."
"All right," Lara said loud enough for everyone else to hear. "Shove the good bits back in, then the girls can drag the deer a short way." Lara pointed. "Back to the open field."
Still sitting, I watched. Angel and Scarlett took hold of the deer with their mouths and began dragging it, walking backwards. They dragged it ten feet then each went around opposite sides of a sapling. They kept trying to drag it. I immediately started laughing.