AN: We'll return to our [stalker?] Alpha CEO and Citra's encounter with her soon enough! But first…
Trigger Warning: Some descriptive, beastlike hunting and feeding upon another animal. Practically National Geographic level!
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My claws dug into the bark for stability. The branch creaked under my weight as I settled into position. Below me stretched a narrow game trail I'd found. Worn into the forest floor by countless hooves and paws.
I'd spent a full hour tracking the scent of deer before finding this perfect ambush spot along it.
Werewolves typically hunt in groups… even though they can run down prey alone with sheer stamina and overwhelming force. It's just easier that way. So the prey doesn't waste their time. So they can bring back more in the same period for the pack.
But I'm not really a werewolf, am I? My soul remembers being an exquisite fox - and we hunt differently. Alone. Stealth. Pounce. Smaller game… but I'm not limited to small food, now!
I remained perfectly still after climbing to my waiting spot. My breath is slowed to minimize sound and movement. My heightened senses tracked every rustle of leaves, each distant bird call, until finally… the soft crunch of approaching footsteps.
The young buck appeared where I hoped. His antlers were still not much wider than his ears, but the number of points on them suggested a healthy environment. He moved very cautiously… stopping every few steps to sniff the air.
> Silly thing is checking for predators at ground level. An advantage for us. <
My wolf still thought I was acting strange, but I had my reasons! The puma might sometimes eat or stash a kill up in a tree… but they don't usually attack from them. Beasts are rarely so desperate that they will risk being airborne without their feet on a surface to flee.
However, I am just that desperate. My muscles coiled slowly as I prepared. I waited until he was directly beneath me… then pushed myself from the branch and let the near silent fall do most of the work.
My weight landed squarely on his back. My claws dug deep underneath its throat as my jaws found the back of his neck all at once. Fangs struck firm on bone and the taste of hot blood filled my mouth. Then with that secure mount, I ripped and severed its windpipe.
The buck thrashed wildly underneath my hybrid form. But I held on for the little time it took for it all to end. Riding his death throes until his legs quickly buckled. Unable to breathe, unable to run. I jerked my head to try and sever the spinal cord just to be sure.
The crack was chilling and satisfying all at once.
I rolled clear, panting slightly from the rush of the hunt. The feeling was different than I was used to. But the kill had been swift. Cleaner and easier than I expected from a body I was unused to manipulating.
> Thank you. For not interfering. <
Perhaps Helene's wolf and I were finding more common ground than I'd have wanted, but allying with it is smarter. I may have needed the hybrid form to enact this plan of mine, but I shifted fully into a wolf to better feast.
Loath as I am to admit it, the four legged beast is at least incredibly similar to what I'm used to. The rich scent of fresh blood made my stomach squeal with anticipation. I feel like this body had not eaten in too long, even though memory tells me otherwise.
My fangs tore into the softest and choicest parts first. I hurriedly freed the tender liver, the nutrient-rich kidneys, the still-warm heart. These organs contained what my pregnant body needed most… but I would have eaten them first even without that.
I ate from my kill messily, muzzle dripping bloody excess onto the forest floor. But I kept myself alert for scavengers. For the possibility of being caught up to by other wolves. They will not be fooled by me forever.
Only after consuming the delicious organs did I turn to the muscles.
My first target - ripping chunks free from the haunches. The meat was strong in its wild flavor but so delicious right now after an entire day and night of nothing since I found myself here. This is what my body needed - sustenance to keep us strong on our journey.
My wolf gloried just as much as I in the meal, sharing in my senses. I preferred two of us looking behind my back, as it were. By the time I'd eaten my fill, the tension in my heart faded. I flopped onto my side next to the cooling carcass to guard it.
A pleasant fullness made me lazy and I knew it, but knowing I should hide and feeling like doing it are two separate matters. I absently licked crimson stains from my paws. Eventually the thought that I should try to preserve some of the remaining meat for later popped in my head.
About that same time, I noticed the pulsing of the cube glyph at the edges of my vision. It throbbed with its blue light… as if demanding my attention. I focused in the way that brought it to the center, curious what this System wanted to show me now.
The cube expanded into a grid just as before. But where there had previously been empty squares, there was now a small… icon. What looked like a representation of a deer - a much more impressive one than I just hunted was sitting in one of the spaces.
And in the corner where before it said zero, was now this world's number 37.
"What the...?"
I murmured and sat up on my haunches, feeling my tail brush the forest floor behind me as it moved entirely of its own accord. Or more likely, from my agitation. I concentrated harder on that part of the grid and additional information appeared at the top.
Wild Game (L)
I glanced at the half eaten deer carcass… realized that I hadn't truly noticed just how much I had eaten… then back at the grid. As an experiment, I ripped a large strip of meat from near its hind area. Around the femur I had been working toward.
Stomach still close to bursting, I chewed small bites off slowly while watching the number. After swallowing a few times my theory proved accurate. The number changed to 36, making it clear what this was for! Sort of…
> It's keeping track of resources. Wouldn't you agree? <
The wolf spirit only twitched its ear in my mindscape. Acting as lazy as I feel…
However, this could be useful!
If the System tracked what I had available, perhaps it would help me manage my supplies for whatever cataclysm that snowflake kept counting down to. I forced myself to eat more pieces of meat, watching the value for the very next decrease.
Helene's memory had a decent enough estimate for weight… but these numbers it is showing are approximately half of what I would expect. Maybe it is from another system in this world? It's not like she knew much, but I do recall a confusion about math for conversion rates.
Some sort of argument with… oh who cares.
I stood to my four paws, wanting much more to test something else than probe her memory. Walking about twenty paces away from the carcass was the first change. The deer icon remained in the grid but it seemed to suddenly dim.
Walking another thirty paces made the icon number disappear. At fifty more… about a hundred total, the entry in the grid vanished completely. I'm sure these details are important.
> It has range limitations. Just what should I make of that? <
If the System only tracked resources within a certain proximity, it may not be as useful as I hoped. Information could be crucial… and unreliable information can be deadly. If I wanted to maintain a stockpile, I'd need to keep the hiding spot close.
Or learn if there was some way to claim or mark resources for later on the map. After all, I'm pretty sure I wasn't just too hungry to not notice the moment I made the kill. It only began blinking after I thought about saving the rest of it…
Like it is reading my intentions and adapting. Yes, that is not concerning at all.
I returned to the half eaten deer, considering my options. I was too full to eat the rest for some time - but it wouldn't be wise to wait around to gorge twice. My beast instincts really want to bury it for later. That femur is absolutely coming with me in either case.
Cracking that bone open and gnawing… savoring the marrow before I lay down…
Ah - my wolf howls in agreement! It's definitely strange for a creature not actually eating to be happy about vicarious experiences. Wait, where did that girl learn the word vicarious? Right…
It's what someone accused her mother and father of doing. Wolfless Omegas living vicariously through their daughter's supernatural experience. As far as I can tell, that assertion was spot on. They'd even be the first to disown this body just to stay involved in the pack at all.
Thinking about other reasons to never return to this place is spoiling my meal.
Anyway, look forward not behind! I would not have wanted to pretend to be their normal daughter anyway. It's better to strike out alone this way. Yes…
My snout pokes towards the femur I want, the only thinking I might be able to take. I'm not equipped to carry meat with me. Even my clothes are gone after my fit of anger earlier. The hybrid form may be human enough for the baggy outfit to have somewhat survived.
But the large wolf?
Those tatters that remained ripped and fell off the body shape they were not meant for as I ran. A lovely piece of evidence on my trail, that I left behind while making those first loops. Actually, that's going to be a problem when I get to civilization, isn't it?
I can't trot in like this. If I approach as a human, I'll need clothes. Maybe I should…
I'd almost made it back when I noticed the check mark flickering this time.
TASK: Reach civilization within 48 hours
> Now it's giving me orders, is it? I knew I didn't like this place and its smelly wolves. <
My companion growled at my provocation and I tittered back.
After all, what good are allies that can't take a… well, maybe it wasn't entirely a joke.