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Floppy ears fell back a moment when his lip lifted, afraid for just that moment he was displeased with her, but when he stepped forward and nuzzled her with Reassurance she smiled and returned the gesture. "That's good..." she murmured softly.

His eyes darkened and concern flitted across her countenance for a fleeting second and she thought for a moment, Maybe it's you, A'Cuil, that brings the wolf from territory borders... but she never spoked the words. She nodded when he mentioned the deer. "You're right, we should hurry." she said, taking point and going quietly and quickly now in the direction of the deer, nose to the ground and tail raised as she concentrated.

She came across print and let out a very soft whine of excitement to let him know they were close. "I can chase it to you, if you'd like to make the kill... I'm pretty good and making things go where I want them." she said ever so softly near his ear as they neared where the deer were standing in a small herd, grazing.

A'cuil told himself again that it was only strays, packless wolven still wandering the woods, that Alley had smelled. This set his mind easier; and he trotted after her with only a moment's suspicious stare at the lines of trees on either side of Delta. He was no hunter, especially not in this sparse lushness - so letting the fae take point was no issue at all. He kept the dark banner of her slim - there was another difference, her tail had a the smallest brush! - tail in sight as they flowed over the scenery without a break.

He focused in on her whine with a smile, pressing his nose into the small print as he spoke. Forest deer were so much more slender than the thick herd-beasts that roamed the snowtops. "I have no doubt that you are," A'cuil whispered back, his smile making his voice a smoldering warmth. He sunk into a slow crouch right where he stood, his tail just barely waving over the grass. Both ears flicked at the hunting dog with A'cuil's approval. "Your show now, my friend," he growled.

Alley walked swiftly and soundlessly around the clearing where the deer grazed, blissfully unaware that one of them would be lost this day. She started a slow growl and the deer stopped, lifting their heads in surprise. She slowly stepped out of the grass, now directly opposite of A'Cuil and an adolescent buck released a bellow of warning. The Fawns were beside the does immediately, little squeals of alarm escaping them. She growled and stepped closer and the larger buck bellowed angrily and stepped towards her, but she was ready.

She released the coiled muscles in her hind legs and leaped at the male, sending him backwards in fear, pursuing him and corralling him until he was stumbling towards A'Cuil. She snapped at his heels and his hind quarters, his entire herd had already fled, led away by the younger buck. She growled and watched, tail wagging as the large male tottered into the grass A'Cuil was hiding in. "Here he comes!" she barked, watching attentively.

The bubbling of ruthless water cloaked the sound of Sjunheal's anxious grunt, brought on by listening to the females' words. His ears pitched forward and wide nostrils flared in the bearwolf's contemplation. "Domestic." He said it, frowning, as if the very word left an ill taste in his muzzle. "So these dogs could be what happens to a wolf when they are no longer free?" The thought sickened him horribly. He knew what it was to be domestic; often he had heard his mother speak of it, claiming she knew what it meant from a grandsire long gone. Words like 'leash' and 'collar' had been horror stories for him growing up.

"We must be on our guard, if there is a strange dog with our boy." He was looking at Clio as he spoke - but that did not stop him from pacing to the riverbank, in front of Loki, and warning her back with a firm (but no less soft) stare. "Must we ford? Speak well, Hunter." This decision he left to the muddied fae. She was the one following the scent: she was the wolf on point.

Clio brushed her tail along the side of bear-wolf, attempting to comfort her teacher in a way. She had felt the grunt more than she had heard it. The stories behind those words had not traveled far into her generation, but she knew that they held nothing of good. "Seems so, Sjun. But one so far out means it has become free." Blue-orange eyes peered at the other side of the River, trying to imagine what kind of creature befitted the name of dog. Sjunheal had brought up a good point, this creature was with A'cuil. Goodness knows what could have happened. Though, for now she knew that there was no scent of blood in the air, at least none of wolf-blood.

Clio turned her head downwards, towards the water that sprayed white. Wave after wave smashed into the large, solid rocks, which kept still even under such force. The huntress set her jaw. "It seems that the rocks form a path." She said, just loud enough to keep her voice from being stolen by the noises. Off-coloured eyes judged the distance between the rocks. The journey would be rather safe for Sure-Claws such as herself and Sjunheal, but the matter of the pup crossing safely was something completely different. "Teacher, do you think you'd be able to jump with little sunset riding your back? I can see a rock-path below, but a pup would be unsteady." She turned to face her companions, wondering how they would cross.

Suddenly a brief -but loud- cry cut through the air, immediately drawing the attention of the swirling femme. Her tail bristled as she recognized the warcry of a Sure-Claw that had rung through the air. It was not too far, that was for certain. Without asking for confirmation from her teacher, Clio took the chance and jumped down along the river bank. With precision, the fae landed on a large rock closest to the bank and peered up at the bear-wolf for a moment before continuing along the rocks.