The white-furred fox hadn't expected the hawk to swoop down - or for Remi's voice to echo brightly in his head again. The leggy canine stumbled in his charge in shock, twisting to snap upwards in a futile gesture of defiance. Again he pulled his thoughts deep, sinking into a bristled crouch as if he could hide against the snow, shivering a little in fear and anger at the violation.
He looked to Rory for support, but the blond man was frowning - at him? Somehow, Jigano found he could sink further into the snow. He could feel the whine of unhappiness in his throat, and it was all he could do to stifle it. This day had started with such promise, but so far nothing good had come of it. With the hawk's eyes they had no need of his nose, and he was too small to be useful in bringing a deer down by himself, as the humans with their bows could. At best, he might scare the deer a short distance into an ambush but... even that, it appeared, wasn't what Rory wanted.
For a moment, as his friend prepared to dress the animals, Jigano considered leaving the true hunters to their bounty. There was no shortage of work to do at the Atheneum, and he could actually be useful there--
Wolfsong rose, sweet to the fox's canid ears, which perked up immediately and swiveled in the direction it came from. Wolves on his world didn't howl on the hunt - not, and risk alerting their prey - but the low timbre of the howl might have been to reassemble the pack so they could begin a chase, if they'd spotted the deer that got away. It was too early in the winter for them to be desperate enough to attack humans...
Or at least, that was how it had been in his northlands. Here? There were stones and deer that glowed and gourds that hopped around biting people. Who knew what differences the wolves had undergone as well? Cautiously the leggy fox rose to his feet again, anger at Remi temporarily forgotten. He looked from Rory to Vervain, ears laying back again as he remembered the blond man's annoyance, and rather than approach the humans he shied away, trotting instead towards where he'd heard the howls coming from. He couldn't fight multiple wolves and win - probably not even against one - but he didn't need to. He'd played this game before, albeit with slower, stupider gourds. All he had to do was distract them and lead them away on a merry chase long enough for his friends to get to safety - or at least, to gut the deer and get them stashed up in a tree, out of reach. Depending on how sharp Rory's knife was, it might not even take too long!
And just maybe he could finally do something to prove himself useful to the friend he wanted to impress...
He looked to Rory for support, but the blond man was frowning - at him? Somehow, Jigano found he could sink further into the snow. He could feel the whine of unhappiness in his throat, and it was all he could do to stifle it. This day had started with such promise, but so far nothing good had come of it. With the hawk's eyes they had no need of his nose, and he was too small to be useful in bringing a deer down by himself, as the humans with their bows could. At best, he might scare the deer a short distance into an ambush but... even that, it appeared, wasn't what Rory wanted.
For a moment, as his friend prepared to dress the animals, Jigano considered leaving the true hunters to their bounty. There was no shortage of work to do at the Atheneum, and he could actually be useful there--
Wolfsong rose, sweet to the fox's canid ears, which perked up immediately and swiveled in the direction it came from. Wolves on his world didn't howl on the hunt - not, and risk alerting their prey - but the low timbre of the howl might have been to reassemble the pack so they could begin a chase, if they'd spotted the deer that got away. It was too early in the winter for them to be desperate enough to attack humans...
Or at least, that was how it had been in his northlands. Here? There were stones and deer that glowed and gourds that hopped around biting people. Who knew what differences the wolves had undergone as well? Cautiously the leggy fox rose to his feet again, anger at Remi temporarily forgotten. He looked from Rory to Vervain, ears laying back again as he remembered the blond man's annoyance, and rather than approach the humans he shied away, trotting instead towards where he'd heard the howls coming from. He couldn't fight multiple wolves and win - probably not even against one - but he didn't need to. He'd played this game before, albeit with slower, stupider gourds. All he had to do was distract them and lead them away on a merry chase long enough for his friends to get to safety - or at least, to gut the deer and get them stashed up in a tree, out of reach. Depending on how sharp Rory's knife was, it might not even take too long!
And just maybe he could finally do something to prove himself useful to the friend he wanted to impress...
