Caribou Stampede

Next time was not in the cards for Cassia to get back at Warrick. When the pair of pullers went back out with Faerie the next day, the male thought it would be funny to set the whole herd of caribou stampeding after her. To make matters worse, he decided he wouldn’t help at all, instead going with the runner to go track down some foxes. The nerve!

To torment her further, the male puller kept sending her mental imagery through his magic, showing her how easy of a time he and Faerie were having just taking down foxes without a problem while she had to run. Asshole!

The opal puller had to pour on the speed as she ran. Keeping ahead of the beasts was difficult - their hooves were better suited for a trek through the snow, and she could barely keep from being trampled. She considered ducking to the side, she wasn’t sure if she could make it before those cloven feet crashed down on her, nor did she think Warrick would make it that easy on her. Just because they were military partners and possibly even friends, didn’t mean they had to be nice to each other, which meant that they spent a large majority of the time getting on each other’s nerves. 

Cassia summoned some of her ice spears and tossed them backwards without looking; hopefully it would take some of the pressure off of her.

***

Faerie had been concerned about Cassia when Warrick decided to come with her, but she had to admit, watching the sparkling puller get her just desserts for her impatience as the male called it, was quite amusing. She didn’t glance back too many times, and felt secure in the knowledge that the other female should be fine. Warrick didn’t seem that mean, and while he hunted alongside her, she knew his mind was carefully keeping an eye on the caribou and his female friend.

Instead she kept her eyes ahead of her, looking for the foxes that the other male said were around the bend. That mentalist skill of his was pretty dang useful.

He gestured up ahead for her to flush them out from the other side, and her runner build easily made it through the snow with less effort than he would have. She smiled as she considered her new hunting partners and how easy she made things out here, glad to have found them instead of hunting in Roenden’s tundra herself.

She felt Warrick on the edge of her mind, and he gently indicated when she was far enough, so she looped around to head back. From this direction she could smell the creatures, but she still wasn't far enough that she couldn’t hear the caribou off in the distance with their bellows, and Cassia’s swearing.

Putting the other female out of her mind, she stalked forward, slowly loping into a run, to scare the foxes right into Warrick’s waiting paws.

***

Warrick held the patience his other companion did not. He stood shock still in the snow, allowing the colors of his coat to blend him in as much as possible, as Faerie ran the foxes right to him. They didn’t notice his presence until it was too late, claws and teeth ending the creatures. A few got past him, which Faerie managed to pick up as she ran. 

Seeing their job was done, he paid more attention to the caribou. Cassia had taken a few down with her ice attacks, but she was starting to tire, as long distance running was not in the skillset of a puller like them. He let her run for a bit longer though, doing his best to control the beasts to run directly into her ice as she flung it behind her. Once he was certain they had gotten enough, he relinquished his control on them, instead instilling fear to make them scatter, making Cassia seem like a much scarier predator than she was to make them avoid her.

Not that she wasn’t a scary predator, and he was glad she couldn’t see into his mind like that. He’d never hear the end of it if she knew how he made them run from her.

He and Faerie started collecting the foxes before heading back to rejoin their companion. There were a few caribou that she had incapacitated but hadn’t killed, her ice not aimed well enough to take it down completely, so the two of them ended the large mammals on their way. 

When the pair finally reached their opal companion, she was sprawled out in the snow, panting and giving them the darkest glare she could muster. She shot dirty looks at the foxes they carried too, and it caused him to crack the tiniest of grins. Seeing that, the other puller just sighed and closed her eyes. 

Warrick dropped his foxes beside her, and indicated Faerie should do the same, while he turned to collect the larger prey. Cassia could have her rest for now, she earned it.

-End-

Hunt for Cassia 11637 | Warrick 10084 | Faerie 12614

Continent: Roenden

Prey: Caribou & Arctic Fox