Post by Atticus on Jul 22, 2011 17:48:39 GMT -6
The brush rustled softly as Atticus stalked through the trees of the old forest preserve. Outside, summer still lingered, but in the preserve the air was cool on his skin, shielded from the midday sun by the thick canopy. It was thick with scents—the soft, warm fur of rabbits and squirrels, the airy feathers of sparrows and cardinals, all over an undertone of wet earth and leaves.[/blockquote]
And Li. He caught Li’s scent on the air as well.
Over the past few weeks of them living together, hesitant glances and stuttered responses had turned into casual touches and easy laughter. There was no tension in Li’s shoulders when he spoke to Atticus now, and Atticus had stopped weighing his words and guarding his responses around the other man. They ate meals together, swapped stories; Li had progressed to the point where they could even hunt together. In a few more weeks he’d likely be able to go out on his own.
Not that he would have to, of course. Fall was slow in coming, but winter would be right on its heels. And no one wanted to be alone during winter, right? Right. It would be better for Li to stick with him for a bit longer. At least until spring came around. Maybe then they’d part ways.
Although breakfast would feel imbalanced without someone to share it with, and he wouldn’t be able to discuss Kon-El and Tim Drake’s interactions any more, and his nose would always be searching for Li’s scent and would get confused when it was nowhere to be found.
But all that was a long way off, still, and Atticus put it out of his mind.
The Hispanic Carrier halted as a new scent danced under his nose. A little musky, slightly darker than that of smaller animals. Deer. Atticus began creeping forward again, taking much more care with his steps than he had before. Li should be doing the same behind him; one of the first things they’d gone over was physical cues and how to react to them. A small swell of pride rose in his chest when Li’s footsteps quieted; then he re-focused on the deer’s scent and let his nose lead him on.
Atticus stopped again when he reached the edge of a clearing, and motioned over his shoulder for Li to move up next to him. The young buck was nibbling silently at the grass, nearly in the middle of the field; it had lost the spots of its childhood, but its antlers were still velvety stumps. At least they wouldn’t have to worry about getting gored.
“It’s probably going to try and run,” he murmured to Li, hazel eyes fixed on the deer. “Go around the clearing to the other side, but stay downwind. I’ll chase it towards you.” He glanced quickly at the other Carrier and smiled. “You’ll do fine. Remember, stay relaxed yet alert.” They hadn’t taken on anything this big before, but Li had mastered hunting smaller animals, and there was a decent amount of food saved up at the house. This was as good a time as any for him to try a new challenge.