< you do the math >

[narrow width=300]

---

[/narrow]

He sat on the bulging roots of a tree, admiring the bustle of abundant prey that thrived amidst their prime hunting grounds. There was more than ever though, at the moment. Each species now produced a secondary to their own, with a son or daughter a foot or even twins. He wasn't the most natural nor fluid of hunters and leant upon the shoulders of the pack's food donations frequently. 

So he just watched. Stewing on his pot of luck that one may trip and knock themselves out on one of the precarious numbers of boulders here and gain him an easy meal.

[narrow width=300]

---

[/narrow]

---

@Rea

the staff team luvs u

“AwoOoOoOooo!” Rea bellowed as she came thundering from her hiding spot among the shrubs, leaved and twigs and thorns entwined among tendrils of wild fur. She charged at the little heard of does with fawns with absolutely zero intention to practice safe hunting, but simply for the sheer thrill of spooking unsuspecting creatures.

Startled, the deer scattered. Babes rushed to their mother's and they sprinted off toward the woods and the bluebird, reckless as ever, continued her chase - right past her brother who she didn't even notice.


the staff team luvs u

[narrow width=300]

---

[/narrow]

Hell quite literally broke loose in the form of his sister -- along with a bush attached to her. And as she hollered and moved in a blur of lilac and winged leaves, there was a chaotic rout with the mingled flocks and herds, all fleeing in a disorderly fashion and the air filled with tumultuous bleats and brays as they frantically dispersed. 

Renn was quick to stand, his tail swaying gently with reserved enthusiasm. He wanted to join but envied his sisters' boldness, he could not match it.

When she continued her pursuit, Renn tentatively trotted behind at a distance, eager to watch and see what she did next.

[narrow width=300]

---

[/narrow]
the staff team luvs u

The deer were frightened and, naturally, faster than her. Rea pursued for a brief time longer, until the herd had thundered on ahead and dispersed among the foliage. She felt the thrum of her wild heart and the familiar pulse of adrenaline through her body, and she lived for it.

Seafoam eyes followed the white backsides of stragglers and she stood on gangly limbs that trembled with excited energy, tongue longing while she panted in effort to regain her breath. As Rea moved to seek entertainment elsewhere, she spotted the familiar firm of her brother lope her way.

Her face lit up at the sight of him, and she proudly lifted her chin. “I bet we could've dropped five of those if you'd joined me,” she giggled, clearly exaggerating. The mottled youth veered Renn's way and leaned in close to try mouth playfully at his snout, “were you scared?”


the staff team luvs u

[narrow width=300]

---

[/narrow]

He hopped and skipped after his sister, trying to keep track of her movements as the gang of prey spread out and withdrew themselves from sight. They were far too young to make any attempts at the larger prey, even the youngest of the sheep could easily manoeuvre themselves along the terrain with natural agility that surpassed their own. 

She eventually stopped her chase, and was about to go on to elsewhere, he noticed, when she spotted him lingering and shadowing her, as per usual.

His tail whipped behind him, eager to have joined her or at least watched her pursuits, wondering if he'd ever be able to make a chase like she did.
And when she inclined to have involved him, he smiled excitedly, 'Easily!'. And when she went to mouth him, he reciprocated it, with a few whines to accompany his attempts at grabbing her own muzzle, but retreated when she accused him of his weakness. 'No, not scared', he pouted, 'I'm just not as fast as you', he then remembered the time he went fishing and one of the few times he was actually successful at a hunt.

He looked beyond over to the deep stream that ran a path within the hunting grounds, 'I bet I can catch more fish than you though'. He was feigning bravado, to match his sisters own. Half-bluffing truly, since he still held a fear over entering the water. 

[narrow width=300]

---

[/narrow]
the staff team luvs u

Renn mouthed her back, and Rea growled playfully at his as she, unwilling to let him overpower her, clacked their teeth together. His fangs grazed her muzzle a couple of times, but their "fight" wasn't meant to harm, and it came to a swift end.

He was bigger than her by far, naturally, considering his sex and her genetic abnormality, yet he never seemed to want to wrestle with her for long. Rea often wondered if it was because he was afraid to bring her harm, harm that she still didn't really understand - just enough to know that her insensitivity to pain could make for disastrous consequences. She was yet to experience anything, save for the scarring inside her mouth where she'd gnawed her lips and inner cheeks as a teething infant and the odd scrape here and there, yet her parents fretted often over her safety.

In her rebellious youth, she felt very much invincible.

“You're on,” she sneered in acceptance of her brother's challenge, and raced off toward the stream with the benefit of a cheeky head-start, “last one there's a rotten egg!”


the staff team luvs u

[narrow width=300]

---

[/narrow]

He knew she'd take the bait, and he already regretted it. She shot off, 'Hey!', he tried to halt her but she would outrun him any day, she needn't the advantage, it was he that needed it between the two littermates. However, he was quick to run, this time into a full gallop rather than the brisk trot earlier. 

He was trying his best, managing to get a couple of metres behind her and keep to her tail, this was the best he could muster. Renn could see the bank ahead and he half-gulped and began to falter in his speed, knowing there was no turning back now and he would have to swallow his fear and summon an armour that gave him some bravery.

[narrow width=300]

---

[/narrow]
the staff team luvs u

She laughed jovially, stealing mischievous glances over her shoulders as they ran to catch a glimpse of her brother's pursuit. He trailed along behind her, hot on her tail but not quite fast enough to catch her as she lengthened her stride. Rea bolted on ahead and soon found herself at the shallows of the river's edge where she stopped to catch her breath. “So,” she panted, chin tilted triumphantly as she turned to face Renn, “how does it feel to be rotten?”

He was a sensitive soul and Rea was guilty of poking fun of him often. She eyed him, confident that he understood that she never meant any harm in her jesting. If he was displeased with her treatment of him then he surely would avoid spending time with her, right? The mottled Boesch shifted to focus on the water that flowed around her skinny limbs. Her splashing stop had scared any fish away, she assumed, so she looked briefly upstream with the quiet consideration that they might have better luck finding some elsewhere. “How d'you wanna do this?”



the staff team luvs u

[narrow width=300]

---

[/narrow]

He finally caught up, lingering behind on purpose but without voicing his real reason, his anxiety rocketing through him, and his sisters' digging actually cajoled him out of its depths slightly. Renn just stuck his tongue out in response to her remark. 

He knew her teasing was all in jest and never took it to heart, if anything, any attention he gave her he would roll around in like a happy piglet in mud. She took to the water with no sense of danger, and he didn't want her to see his hesitance. He took a deep breath as if the water were that little bit too cold for his liking, as he stepped through the shallows to keep to his sister's side. 

Renn would try to draw in her fearless attitude to life, and he started to walk slowly up ahead, hoping she would soon take over to win at that game of who goes first again. He withdrew a paw from the deepening waters, and pointed ahead, 'Dad takes me over there for fishing, its the best place', it was only a little further upstream, where the berth of the river grew wider, accommodating more currents and this is where the fish thrived and dined. 

He tried to look for a marker of sorts to time them. 'How about, time finishes when the sun reaches behind that tree over there?', his voice was a little uncertain, but this was his hidden nerves peeping through. The dawning light was escalating quickly, and it would give them an estimate of fifteen minutes to skillfully assemble their own pile of fish. 

The flower enthusiast had only done this a few times, but he daren't back out now, not with Rea of all siblings!

[narrow width=300]

---

[/narrow]
the staff team luvs u

Fading here.

---

Renn stuck his tongue out at her and she mimicked him, with an almost crazy look about her as she squinted her eyes and twisted one ear to the side, playfully suggesting that her brother looked ridiculous. She straightened herself and laughed again, raising a skinny forelimb to kick a spray of water droplets in his direction.

She followed his gaze toward another section of the river, and wondered why their father had never invited her on these fishing trips. Rea huffed through flared nostrils, her gaze lingering on the sunlight that reflected from the water's surface; it wasn't fair that her littermates got to do cool stuff without her.

Renn's challenge cracked a mischievous grin on her muzzle again, though. She eyed him, determination in her seaglass gaze, before stepping from the shallows and moving to lead him toward their designated fishing spot. She hovered over the edge, looking for the sleek silvery shapes beneath the surface, and struck impatiently.

By the time the sun had moved behind the foliage Rea hadn't caught a single thing. She revelled at whatever her brother managed to catch, however, and praised him - she'd carry the title of "loser" just this once, only for him.


the staff team luvs u