The freezing wind blew favorably against Fel’s snout as she stood and waited, ears perked for a sign of movement. She had seen a rabbit enter, but did not know if it stayed in there. When she had last seen it, she was far away from and behind it so it definitely had not seen her. Fel had taken every precaution to keep the advantage given to her. Her shadow, given by the white winter sun that hung high in the sky, did not fall over the entrance to the burrow. When she had approached, the fae’s furry paws were spread wide and placed lightly, barely making a creak. The wind blew against her, and its howling masked her steps. It was perfect if the rabbit was still there.

A shuffle came from beneath the earth and snow.

It was.

The brutish fae waited for a moment more, letting the shuffle come closer as her body remained low and out of sight. Then a grey nose poked out, and she realized she had to act now or it would smell her close by. It did. Too late. She reared and dove into the hole with her maw, managing to snatch it by the leg and drag it out as it tried to bolt back inside. It squealed in pain, but the wind blew whatever screeches that escaped its own burrow far away and killed them in the air. Speaking of, that is exactly what happened to the rabbit. Fel brought it out and threw it to the snow, holding her catch with a paw as she quickly dispatched it and ended its violent, futile thrashing.

The demon showed no expression and lazily rolled her shoulder that had argued so much against that dive. What a nuisance that puma had been. But his skinned corpse had been a great addition to the kill pile, and this meager rabbit could never compare. In any case, it was better than nothing. Food was scarce, and their pile always needed filling. Fel huffed and stood up to look around for more. It was winter, and even the beta needed to help feed the pack.

Fel looked around and then stared at her kill in contemplation. It would feed one. That one would not be Fel. She was not hungry, having eaten this morning by the courtesy of Narla. This would go to someone who needed to eat. Not a minute later, a scent hit her nose. Then the sound of paws crunching on the snow. Then a greeting, a soft voice speaking to her respectfully as it approached her. Fel turned to it, noticing a familiar warrior. She dipped her snout in a silent return of greeting, sliding the rabbit to her. It left a little trail of blood between them, about the width of a string. “Hungry?” It was not meant as an insult, for both of them could hunt, but rather a genuine offer. The meal was still warm, and its blood had not stilled in its body just yet. It was as good as food gets in the winter.

Staring at the fae near her with her unyielding, empty eyes, she rumbled to her. “I don’t need help, but you’re free to help your pack. Winter’s a bitch… The kill pile is always low. Come hunt with me. I’ll be moving a bit farther out though. That rabbit’s screeching probably drove all of the nearby ones into hiding.” She rose and shook the snow off of her rump, looking at the hare. The kill was far from clean, but not awful either. “Damn that puma,” she grumbled to herself, rolling her shoulder. If Katyusha wanted to eat the fresh kill, she had every chance to. Fel would wait. But as soon as she was ready, the black beast would depart, trudging silently through the snow with her furry ears rotating in search of the sound of scuffles and her gaze scanning the surface of the snow.