Snippet #2614293

Malakite gave a nod to his partner and turned his attention back to the wolf lapping up the water. When it stood at attention, Malakite sucked in a breath and just stared at it. It was beautiful. What was it thinking? What was it sensing? He wished he could just talk to the wolf but he couldn't let those silly thoughts distract him now. He needed to get close to that wolf. Was it going to defend or run away? He didn't think it was going to fight for the meal. It was a lone wolf against two men. The wolf would be cautious. It wasn't worth the risk. A wolf could always come back later when it was ready or find other pray. There was no use for a meal if one was dead.

Malakite slowly moved forward trying to see it better and find a good way to distract the wolf and get it closer. He managed to inch closer and was about to move away from the cover when the wolf tensed up with a growl, but the wolf wasn't look at him. What was it looking at? Another threat? Was it something he had to be worried about? When he turned his gaze to follow the wolf, the wolf bolted in the opposite direction. Shit! He scrambled to his feet and lifted his arms to attack the wolf with the shock but it bounded through the trees too fast. He managed to get one shot out but it fizzled away, tagging a tree before it faded away. The wolf howled in the distance but it was gone from his sight.

"Damn it," he said under his breath. They had been so close. What had distracted the wolf and made it bolt? In the distance he heard other wolves howling that didn't sound like the wolf that had been in front of them. Was this a territory thing? How close were they? They didn't sound close. He heard a much closer roar then and froze. That didn't sound like a wolf. He pressed a finger to his lips to signal his partner to stay quiet as he snuck towards the sound. He peered through bushes and trees and spotted a very very large black bear munching away on the dead animal. It was not going to end well if they pissed off that creature. Wolves were hard to fight off. Their fur didn't make it easy for the electricity to take a hold and their bodies were huge. They could take quite the thrashing.

He slowly moved away trying to be as quiet as possible and not disturb the animal. The last thing they needed was for it to get territorial over its meal. He motioned for Tev to follow him away to safety. He knew he had failed to capture the wolf, but they still had time. They could track the footprints. They'd just have to try it again. He wondered what remarks Tev was going to have for him.