Mudfoot was having a lazy night. He wanted to put himself to some use, but so far he hadn’t been able to come up with something good, that wasn’t wasteful. Hunting just for himself didn’t seem like a good idea, and he didn’t think he wanted to just go and find a rabbit or something. He wanted to do something fun, and hunting rabbits was not it.
Not any more, anyway. When he was a pup it would have sufficed. More than so, as they were fast and difficult to track. But now he found them boring, as they mostly got away into their burrows and that was no kind of sport. Plus the others always complained when he brought back ripped up hides, and they couldn’t do anything with them.
No, it just made more sense that he was meant to hunt bigger things. But not alone, because he didn’t want to waste the meat. He had to wait until someone came up to him and told him they were hungry, or if he saw someone else going out to hunt as well. So he was just resting on his back, yawning.
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It wasn't often that Swiftthinker was called upon by Wisdomchaser. Her skill, while essential to the pack's survival during the cold nights, wasn't in much demand of their leader's attention. The two females were heading towards Mudfoot just then, relatively silent, more because Swiftthinker was on the quiet side than anything.
"Mudfoot, you seem a bit bored." Wisdomchaser smirked softly at the other.
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Mudfoot kicked his paws in surprise and rolled over to his side. He looked up at the two ladies, shaking his head and offering them an awkward laugh. He was still a bit dumb around girls, though he liked to tell himself he was getting better.
“I am a bit bored,” he admitted, getting up. He looked at them, wondering why there were out and about together. He wagged his tail, hoping it would present something for him to do, at the very least.
“Are you guys hunting?” he asked, not great with conversation. He tended to get right to the point, instead of asking how dogs were, or commenting on the weather. Which wasn’t always a bad thing, though sometimes it left the conversation dead and awkward.
“I mean… uh… what are you up to tonight?”
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Swiftthinker simply arched a canine eyebrow at him, but he was rewarded by Wisdomchaser's laughter.
"In a manner of speaking we are. Come with us, Mudfoot. There's something I need your help with."
But she wasn't going to say what within earshot of any over zealous pups.
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Mudfoot nodded, eager.
He wasn’t sure what he might be needed for, but he was certainly eager to offer his help. He had always imagined himself growing up to be something useful to the pack, and now he wanted to find his chance to do just that. If this was it, even in some small way, he was going to be a very happy dog. Wagging his tail, he made to walk with the two ladies.
“What are you guys doing, then, huh?” he asked excitedly, though he was trying to keep his youthful attitude down to a dull roar around Wisdomchaser, unless she start to think he wasn’t taking anything seriously. That wasn’t it at all, he was always serious. He just got excited.
But he was no pup. No, sir.
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"You'll see soon." The Chieftess chuckled, leading the small band further from the pack.
"Curiosity has been the leading cause of death for quite a few felines." Swiftthinker spoke up, teasing in a way as she snuck a sideways glance over at Mudfoot.
"Felines are in general an overconfident lot, it seems to me. Even a troll knows better than to stick it's head out in the scorching heat." Wisdomchaser laughed again in reply.
When at last she felt they had gotten far enough from the pack her mirth slowly melted away again, though you couldn't really accuse her of becoming stiff faced and irritable or anything. It was just time to get down to business.
"One of them has been lurking around the borders the last few days. I don't know why, but Dapplespot saw him yesterday morning. I want to drive it off before it decided one of our pups will make a good meal."
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Though he was certainly not a cat. The opposite! But the rules probably still applied. He was thinking about it rather hard, which was a good distraction from wondering where they were going and what they were doing.
Noting the change in Wisdomchaser, Mudfoot stilled his tail and watched her curiously.
“A feline?” he asked, to make sure he was following. A lion or something like it was out here, close to the pack? That wasn’t something he heard every day. The last thing he wanted was for one of the young pups to be eaten by a beast.
“So we’re chasing it off? Awesome. Let’s find it and get it out of here!”
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A nod. Exactly. That was exactly the plan. A large cat of any kind was a threat to the pack, be it a cheetah, leopard, lion, or hybrid. They might decide that even if dogs didn't make a good meal then the pack was a threat to what it perceived as it's hunting grounds. Best to chase it away now before there was a problem.
"We need to be cautious... She thinks it may have been a lion. Even if it's as young as she says we shouldn't underestimate it. There's a lot of power in those paws, and they're fast..." She added a bit grimly, remembering the stories from her childhood about how her father had earned his previous namesake, Lionclaw.
"Yes. It was lions that wiped out the decedents of my sister's pack. At least if it's alone there's less risk of it coming back looking for revenge."
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“A lion, huh?” Those were the biggest cats, as far as he knew. They would have to be careful, to chase it off before it got bold and started to chase them off. He swung his tail behind him, wondering why Risktaker wasn’t there to help them out.
“Okay, so we’ll be careful. Scope it out. Run it off. I’m sure it’ll be fine, with the three of us at least. If it looks like too much trouble, we’ll go back and get some more help, huh?”
He flicked his tail, thinking they could do it.
Padding along with them, he slowed as they got closer to where the lion had been spotted. He was not going to barrel in there like an idiot, if he could avoid it. But he was eager to help and get rid of it, before it caused them problems.
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This little venture was so much more than just driving off a threat, honestly. There hadn't been much opportunity for her to see these two in action. She wanted to see how well Swiftthinker lived up to her name, but also knew she'd be a good choice for this. Mudfoot was eager to prove himself but not foolish, she wanted to find out to what extent he could be trusted, but she would not have brought him this far into things if she thought he would charge in foolishly. Glad to see that she was right she led her selected band to where the scent lingered, dominant, but not familiar.
What they'd find that day would turn out to be only part lion, a hybrid, which made the threat much less urgent for them but still urgent enough for the pack to warrant driving it off their lands. One way or another she felt she had gotten some answers. As they went they'd discussed strategy, once near enough to the area.
Yes, if her gut was serving her properly she predicted that Mudfoot might be finding himself with a howl of his own to share that night.
"A sound plan, Mudfoot. Let's hope it goes that smoothly."
