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Aion may have been old, but that certainly did not mean he was deaf. The sounds of a dying fawn were of particular interest to the aged alpha, for the same reason it might attract any other wolf with pangs of hunger in his stomach. Though he could have captured his own meal without much effort, there was no harm in seeing if there was a frail little whelp of a wolf he could scare off and attain food easier from. Conserve that energy for another day, when it might be genuinely needed.

At least that was the plan. Not foolproof in the least, but it had a time-tested sucess rate that made it worth using.

That was one thing he could say he had experienced, many cycles of time to be measured however one chose. It meant he knew the ropes, and though the wear of months made him rather sour, hell if he would be deterred from taking a meal from the ribby female he crept up upon. Any other day and he might have taken the last shred of pity he had and used it on her, but he had to keep his strength up, and remember that his son had to eat too. So the bond of family got in the way of compassion toward a stranger.

Aion was not a small wolf. At his first conclusive view that taking the fawn away might be an easy task, he did a good job making himself look larger. Ears went forward, hackles and tail went up, and the male stood slightly on his tiptoes as he approached. "I suggest leaving that carcass, little girl." His voice even was aged, gruff and direct. It came from years of barking orders.

His steps paused some distance away from her, far enough away to show he wasn't interested in a real fight for this. That would defeat the purpose of not hunting for his own. The sack of bones looked easy enough to scare from here, anyway. "You can go find a better one."

He approached his new gain with an air of triumph, the aggressive posture fading some. Tawny little cream colored wolfling only had words to try and get a rise out of him, and that was just fine. Better than having to bite her pretty little throat for it any day. Not that he would have without due provocation, but still.

"Yes, little girl, skinny whelp, who can't protect her meal from an old grump." Aion drew back his lips in a lupine equivalent of a grin, flashing her an excellent view of his teeth. It had been so easy. The female would probably back down from verbal trouble too if given enough incentive to do so. And old grump was an insult he'd heard before, since he fit the profile for one.

Aion tore into the fawn, ignoring the upset tone in the she-wolf's voice. He took down meat in great gulps, careful to keep his eyes on her the whole time. No way was he going to be jumped by some little snapper while he was filling his belly quick as he could. By the looks of it there would be plenty to take for later too. He might even leave her some food to fill that frame, if she decided to be a good little girl.

Okay, a little, tiny, just a glimmer of guilt there, even though the snappy comment made him want to step on her head. Which to do, then. No sense in backing out of the top position of the moment, compassion led to sharing. Aion whipped around and barked viciously, his maw stained with the blood of her kill. "Is that so. Maybe I should drag you along with the carcass then, so you can keep bringing them to me." His tongue ran along his muzzle and he sneered. "You can buckle under my authority, and I'll drag you home with the food like you were a little puppy. By your throat."

The quick eating had him full enough for it to count. Probably half a fawn remained, and the aged silver wolf took a step away from it, toward the female. "Or maybe," the gruff voice droned on, "you should stick around and see if I leave you enough to put some muscle back on that bony frame, girly."

Aion drew to his full height and bristled. He had offered her food as a scarce act of kindness, nevermind that she had caught it in the first place, and if this was an attempt at being the least shade of grateful it was the worst attempt he'd ever seen in a rather long lifetime. He took a few steps after her, really considering making good on his threat. After all, he hadn't directly said he'd kill her. It wouldn't be too much trouble to drag a whelp struggling and whimpering by her scruff across the length of the forest. Might even do her good.

"That a challenge, you tawny little wimp of a female? You've tested my patience quite enough, this grumpy old wolf is going to crack you back into place if it takes me all night." He took a leap at her, growling, chest puffed out in a move to just bowl her over on the spot using the advantage of size. So much for easy food. Good thing there was some left.

He wasn't one to menace a cowering female, but this one had genuinely started to piss him off. Yes, that settled it. He was going to find the worst briar patches imagineable and toss her into them. Head raised, tail up, he pounced to finish the act of knocking her over completely. It would be a good start for her to look up at him from the dirt.

"I'm making a special exception, think of it as taking the long way home. You'll find I'm spry for a senior member of society." He spat the words out in a snarl. Nevermind she was shaking all over and fully terrified. She had better start talking like it, because the alternative was lots of thorns. Aion wasn't sure that even if she gave up fully now, and cowered like a whipped puppy, he wouldn't slap her into at least one spiny branch, and drag her a little. "You've provoked me enough to where I think you might like getting chewed on, pitiful excuse for wolfmeat." He laughed darkly, teeth bared.

Aion hovered over her with nothing less than looming anger. However, he couldn't strike a completely vulnerable coward, tempting as though it may be. Instead he leaned his muzzle down, and stated as firmly and convincingly as he could, "I ought to clamp around your throat right now, except you're so much of a coward underneath all that sass that its not worth the trouble." He growled, breath from his muzzle ruffling the fur on her neck. The statement was clear. It was actually nice to know that after all these years he was still as intimidating as he felt. "Whats your name, whelp?"

He folded one ear back and looked at her deeply for a moment. No, he hadn't actually gotten the impression that she was lieing, and that would be good enough. Hiding something maybe, but that wasn't his concern. It was time to take food home to his only progeny.

"Well then, Osaqa, its been almost a pleasure bowling you into the dirt." He sneered some, and lumbered back toward the kill, trying to shake off the last of his aggrevation. It proved rather difficult, and in the end Aion only suceeded in making himself appear a little less sour in expression. He tore a chunk of meat from the carcass that would suit a puppy fine, and started back toward home. He did manage to leave enough for something of a satisfying meal, if only because he couldn't carry the whole thing the length of a forest. Aion whisked right past Fayina in a brisk walk, giving her a sidelong glance as he brushed by. He paused just past her, and rested the meat on his forepaws a moment. "Go on then, put some flesh on that frame of yours. Perhaps it'll give you a shred of courage too. You'll need that if you want to keep future kills."

He picked the food up again, and started the same brisk walk toward home, his joints creaking only slightly in protest at first.