Deer Hunt

“I thought you said we were going fishing”, an annoyed Chickadee growled. The cryo dragged herself through the dark forest with her twin sister taking the lead a tail-length behind her. “The river is located west of home. This is east!”

Her sister, Adrestia, didn’t turn to meet her gaze, but bellowed in response, “I didn’t say anything about fishing. That was your suggestion and you are more than welcome to turn back and catch some salmon tonight. I, however, am going to try my claws on something bigger for my first official hunt.”

“You’re joking.” Chickadee’s crests flared nervously and she picked up her pace quickly. “Adre, we are barely old enough to take on large prey and bring them down unscathed.” Though she tried to whisper to avoid detection from any creatures lurking near, her voice began to rise as she tried to get through Adrestia’s thick and stubborn skull. “What are you going to do, launch yourself on a rhino and fight it solo?”

Finally, Andrestia stopped in place and looked over her shoulder. “That is actually not a bad idea. Besides, I’m not alone. I have you with me.” The dark grey and black cryo spun around to face her lighter colored sibling with a glint of excitement in her fiery orange eyes. “Which way to the savannah?”

“No! That is a horrible idea!” Chickadee growled. “Just because they have poor vision does not make them an easy catch. Even dad struggles to fight those things and gets nasty gashes if he’s not careful. I do not want either of us ending up impaled tonight!”

Adrestia rolled her eyes with a sigh. “Fine, you’re no fun.” She turned back to continue on their hunt. Chickadee let out a begrudged snort the moment her sister’s back faced her.

I swear, you are going to get us both killed one day, Chickadee wanted to say. Her ruffled feathers flattened as she exhaled deeply, letting her frustrations slowly wash away. 

She wasn’t sure exactly how much time had passed, but she guessed at least ten to fifteen had gone by while the twin cryos wandered in the night. They couldn’t venture too far though as they only knew the way home from certain areas. Crickets and cicadas chirped endlessly from what seemed to be every corner. Finally, Chickadee’s patience was beginning to grow thin. “Okay, what are we looking fo—“

“Shush!” Adrestia silently barked as she raised her tail to cover Chickadee’s mouth. She lowered her haunches slightly to where they met the top of the bushes that hid her lower half. Her tail traveled to Chickadee’s back, hinting at her to do the same and take cover.

Chickadee mirrored her sister’s position and looked forward past her direction to see what caught her eye. A few yards from where they stood, a small clearing laid ahead past the dense greenery the carnivores hid within. A lake shimmered in the moonlight on the other side of the clearing, stars reflecting within it ripples.

Several deer could be seen drinking their fill from the lake shore while the rest of their herd remained a few feet behind and slept close together to share warmth and security. Chickadee counted at least over two dozen in her and Adrestia’s viewpoint, all of them seemingly blissfully unaware of their presence. A lone buck could be seen overlooking its does. Its pelt was darker and large antlers curled upwards as if it were wearing a royal crown. Like the rest of its herd, it didn’t seem to notice the cryos’ presence.

Chickadee could feel Adrestia’s tail lashing against the ground behind them eagerly. She could tell she was committed to bringing down one of the hoofed creatures and there was no talking her out of it. At least they won’t impale us.

She nudged at her sister’s shoulder until Adresta looked over to see her lifting her snout up slightly to imply that they must test the wind. Both of them sniffed the air, then looked at each other. Chickadee saw the confidence in Adrestia’s eyes and assumed she thought the same.

The wind is directed at us. No risk in them catching our scent. Remember what mom and dad taught us.

Adrestia opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She tilted her head towards a darker portion of forest greenery to the left of where the herd rested. Chickadee instantly understood her message. Her sibling had a darker coat and had a better chance at hiding in darker spaces. 

Then Adrestia pointed a talon at her, then towards the opposite side where the majority of the herd was with her tail. It was obvious. Chickadee would scare chase the herd towards Adrestia, who would then ambush them and catch the closest individual deer that ran by.

Once Chickadee nodded, Adrestia vanished into the shadows. Chickadee quickly, but quietly moved to the right side of the clearing. She carefully planted each step she took to avoid stepping on any twigs or knocking over rocks that would give away her position. She kept her haunches low. Her crests remained flattened on the back of her head.

As she got into position, she spotted Adrestia from across the clearing in the darkness she hid so well in. The only giveaways were her bright orange eyes, which looked like tiny burning embers from where Chickadee stood. A chirp mimicking that of a cricket could be heard from where she was hiding. A call to ask if Chickadee was ready.

Chickadee responded with a similar chirp, then went quiet. She kept her eyes on the deer. No alarms were sounded yet from any of them.

A couple seconds passed, then Adrestia let out another chirp, this one short and sharp. Go.

Rushing out from the forest outskirts, Chickadee let out a loud roar that shook the skies above. Several brown heads shot up from their resting place, black beady eyes wide in terror. Within an instant, the whole herd jumped into action and began fleeing towards the other side of the clearing. Of course they would aim for the trees around them. They had a chance of escape and could find places to hide from her. Their only other option would be bolting to the water and swimming as fast as possible.

Some does began to break from the herd towards the left where the cryos watched before. Chickadee picked up her paced and sprinted until she found herself running side by side with them, then let out another ear-piercing roar. One doe leapt away with a yelp. The others followed close behind back into the safety of the rest of the herd.

With each passing moment, they grew closer to the darker parts of the outskirts, closer to where Adrestia was waiting for prey to be within range. Chickadee snarled to implant more fear into the hearts of the equines just to give a little more motivation for them to run for the trees.

As the first wave of does touched the bushes of the darkened outskirts, Adrestia lunged forward, a growl emitting from her gaping maw as her head emerged from the shadows that engulfed her. A small younger deer ran straight into her. Her eyes narrowed and she bared her fangs as she prepared to bring a killing bite. 

The young doe reacted quickly, jumping out of range just as Adrestia’s jaws clamped shut, barely missing it by an inch. With her focus on the one she had missed, many more deer darted past her into the cover of the forest. Chickadee stayed behind near the ones that began to fall behind from the rest. She snapped her jaws at the rump of one that began veering away from the path. A sharp jump and it was back to booking it towards Adrestia.

The buck could be seen ahead, aiming to pass the predator like the rest of the herd. Adrestia saw it approach quickly, but instead of attempting to bite, she spun her tail and smacked it hard on the side of its head. It fell back and was completely knocked off its feet from the impact. Chickadee began to fall back as the last of the herd vanished into the darkness of the forest. The buck was left behind, struggling to stand, definitely stunned from the attack. Chickadee saw her sister quickly advance on the creature. Adrestia wasn’t going to give it the chance to recover and retaliate.

Without much issue, Adrestia clamped her jaws around the buck’s throat. It thrashed and squirmed in panic, but the cryo had a foot pressed down against its side. There wasn’t much it could do to get out of the situation. There was a sharp crack, then the buck fell limp with its head hanging low from the side of the carnivore’s mouth. A triumphant hiss slipped through Adrestia’s teeth and she let her kill’s head fall to the ground with a light thud.

Chickadee stared in awe at the result of Adrestia’s quick thinking. Her sister was a skilled hunter. Even though she failed to catch something directly in her teeth at first, she went for an alternative tactic. Chickadee couldn’t help but admire how quick and clean her sibling’s kill was either.

A troubled yelp could be heard several feet behind her. A lone doe was attempting to swim away from her and Adrestia in the lake. Chickadee was so focused on keeping the herd from fleeing into the woodlands that she didn’t notice one had decided to take its chances in the water. It struggled as it ventured further to where its hooves no longer touched the ground. It wouldn’t get far.

Seeing this as a chance for extra meat to bring back home, Chickadee pursued the panicked doe and caught up to it rather quickly. She grabbed it with her jaws before it could swim too far from the shallows and dragged it back inland. It kicked and bucked the whole time, but she kept her grip strong and inescapable. Upon reaching the shore, she crushed its throat with a single chomp and it was over in less than a second.

Adrestia bellowed in congratulation, already having her kill in her mouth, ready to take home and feast on. Chickadee could see a small glint in her eye that she knew all too well as to what it meant, Told you.

Chickadee snorted, but she couldn’t help but admit her sibling was right about being able to hunt at their age. This was technically their first official hunt that wasn’t fishing and they managed to kill both a buck and a doe in one go.

After exchanging nods to acknowledge that they were both ready to leave, the two sisters disappeared back into the shadows of the forest with their catches and began their voyage to the pond they called home.