Hard Luck with Rabbits

A young wolf braced himself as a gust of wind surged past him. It kicked up flecks of snow that stuck to his light coat. Sekel shook his body to get some of it off as the wind quieted. Hunting proved difficult today, and he had been at it for hours now. Still, he padded atop the crust of snow and kept his head low to smell for prey.

Sekel spotted a large snowdrift in the distance, and began to walk towards it, aiming for the very top. His legs quickly ached as he made his way up the steep incline. Somehow, he grinned. After weeks of mostly spending time by himself and feeling awful, it felt good to give himself a purpose. Even if he did it alone, he would help a pack mate. He glanced back on his paw prints in the expanse of snow and found himself thinking of determination instead of the usual desolation.

When he reached the top of the snow bank, he peered over the side. A grin pulled at his mouth when he spotted a rabbit on the other side, cleaning itself. Sekel propelled himself into the declining slope and ran at the small animal. Although he didn’t shout, the sound of his charge reached the rabbit’s ears and it took off as well. Even so, Sekel had a head start, as well as some ridiculous momentum building up. He moved his legs with a quick rate of turnover, but he tried to slow himself when he began to lose control. He felt fear, as was his typical state of being, but this fear came with a certain amount of enjoyment. Sekel let himself grin as he zipped down the snowy hill.

Sekel moved so fast that he tackled the rabbit and kept running past it. He tried to skid to a halt, but he ended up tripping over his own legs and rolling once in the snow. Sekel sneezed the snow particles out of his nose and attempted to reclaim control of the situation. He searched for the rabbit, soon locating his prey not too far away from him. The poor thing appeared just as dazed as he felt. Just as he was about to pounce at it, a large flash of brown zoomed across his vision. Sekel blinked, and then watched as an eagle carried off his stunned prey. The bird made a shrill cry as it flew away, and Sekel felt as if it was meant to mock him. “Oh come on,” he complained with a growl. He pouted, lying there in the snow, until all he could do was lift himself up and try again.

He wandered again, purposely avoiding areas with too many other wolves or dens. They were his pack mates for the better part of a year now, but old habits die hard. His paws lightly crunched the forest duff – leaves and pine needles – as well as the scattered snow. Sekel’s nose twitched as he picked up an interesting scent. He sniffed at the ground and followed it. Soon he could see it as well. Light flecks of blood dotted the ground, smelling fresher as he pressed onward. He saw the rabbit in question resting in the nook of some tree roots. It already stared at him back as soon as he set eyes on it. Its nose moved at the slow rhythm of calmness. Its leg looked mangled and dark with blood.

Sekel approached the rabbit with a similar calmness. He moved slowly and never broke eye contact. At some point, the animal decided he drew too close and it took off limping. Sekel also ran now, but at full speed. He could very easily have toyed with the poor thing or took his time, but he didn’t. He caught up with his injured prey and bit down on its neck with full force. He looked down on his kill and sighed. Sekel had seen coyotes get left behind because of injuries. No one wanted it, but it had to happen. “Sorry,” he said to his kill, “but this is for someone we have the luxury of taking care of.”

With the dead rabbit gripped gently in his jaws, Sekel began the hike to Yuuko’s den. He salivated at the food in his mouth, but he didn’t take any of it. On the way, his ears swiveled forward as he heard a noise from above. He set his front paws on the side of a tree to angle himself for a better view. The eagle from before stood on the branches of a small pine tree, greedily devouring the rabbit it snatched away from Sekel.

The pale wolf groaned, and then paced around the tree before lighting up with an idea. He set down his kill – out of sight this time, just in case – and backed up a bit. Then, he charged, flinging his body at the pine tree. He heard an angry cry from the bird and the flapping of its wings. Clumps of snow on the branches of the tree slipped off, hitting Sekel and knocking him to the ground. He stood up, shook off the snow, and noticed half of the somewhat eaten rabbit had fallen as well. The eagle took off to find another spot, with the other half in its talons. Sekel chuckled and stuck his tongue out at the bird as it left. He then wagged his tail as he ate the remains of the rabbit.

Once done, he licked his chops and picked up the whole, plumper rabbit he killed for Juniper. At least now, his stomach didn’t growl for the remainder of the trip. As he thought about his hunt, he remembered the last time he hunted for Yuuko. In a way, he helped her feed Juniper back then too. While he hunted alone – and with less success – this time, Sekel at least felt useful and happy for helping. He sped up his trot and hoped that his efforts made Yuuko and Juniper happy too.