[Ikaika]

       The forest was quiet except for the rustling of branches pulled by the wind and the ambient noise one would expect for the snowy wilderness. Among the trees a herd of deer roamed through the white forest, their slender legs aiding them as they traversed the snow-laden ground and pawed for the green that lay underneath. Several does walked through the trees and were joined by a pair of fawns that seemed to be playing. A couple of paces away from the herd was an aging matriarch with scars marring her body that told of her past struggles to survive to this age.


       Unbeknownst to them, the herd was stalked by a predator. The creature was massive with a pair of ivory daggers extending from his upper jaw. Upon large, wide paws designed to travel through the snow he padded with little noise to warn his quarry of his approach.  He was broad-shouldered with a wide frame layered upon by strong, thick musculature and a warm layer of fur. With the gait of a hunting feline, he stalked his prey, keeping low to the ground. His fins were pressed flat against his neck and the wings on his shoulders were folded as to minimize any noise he could made. His long tail hovered inches above the ground and the movement was minimal as he could not stay completely still. His crimson eyes were fixed on the deer before him.


        When the giant was several bounds away from the deer, an alarm was raised by one of the does and within seconds they bolted. Within those seconds the beast made several powerful leaps and sprung upon the only deer left, the elderly hind who seemed to accept her faith before a pair of ivory sabres descended upon her.



       Ikaika silently thanked the goddess Artemis for his success in his solo hunt before he pulled his sabres from the doe's neck. He plopped down next to the deer as he looked around to see if he could see the light-colored form of his sister. The siblings traveled together for now but Lyra'eve insisted that they hunted apart since often success was easier with one less cat to scare away prey. Both yearlings knew how to hunt and were fairly successful on their own. The sabretooth had already heard his sister's success a while ago.

       "See! I can hunt on my own!" The behemoth said to himself as he sniffed the prey that he had caught before ripping into it.