Comet sits down and watches the deer try to figure out the tree root. The deer touches her nose to the wood, and... the wood moves all right, but it smacks her right in the knees and she falls onto the ground. The bleat of surprise coupled with the expression of disbelief was priceless.

The pup really, really wanted to laugh. But she held it in so as to not offend the deer. But a moment later, the sound of laughter was emitted from the deer, and Comet joined in, the sound echoing through the forest. Twice, TWICE the magic had failed. Three times if counting her own attempt. This was absurd! Perhaps it were best to not use magic when hunting.

"Yeah! I couldn't believe it. That spell always works. And the ONE time I need it to, it fails." Comet was about to continue talking, when she caught a scent in the air. "I smell something. Are you ready?"

@Marrow

Marrow
flowers growing in my lungs

Marrow lets one last chuckle out as she gets to her feet, twisting her head around to brush some of the dirt off of her side. Of all the absurdities…

...well, she's just glad her magic didn't do something worse. She's seen firsthand how forceful the plants can be, under her control—she would hate for Comet to have to see her with a broken limb instead of what did happen. An amusing accident.

"Perhaps today is just our unlucky day," she says, a smile in her voice. No use getting upset over misfortune, at least; there is plenty of other prey in the cave, especially in a forest as dense as this. What wildlife must wander through the branches…

"Mm?" Marrow says, glancing back up at Comet. "Yes, I think so. Let's hope our luck is a little better, this time."

@Comet

"Hopefully." Comet agreed, and followed the trail through the forest. There was something different about this trail, it sort of smelled like prey, but there was something strange about it. Perhaps it was just an animal that she hadn't encountered before, or had forgotten. But the latter was not possible, as wolves didn't forget smells very well, especially strange ones like these.

"This is a strange trail, I wonder what kind of prey it is." If it is prey.

@Marrow

Marrow
decay is an extant form of life

The wolf's comment has Marrow intrigued. New prey…? A new animal for her to examine, whether it be while living or through the bones of its corpse? Oh—she can't wait to see what it is.

Curiosity piqued, she leans down to sniff at the foliage, wondering if she can pick up the scent trail for herself. She doesn't practice her tracking as much as she should, she notes to herself; prey is usually quite obvious against the bones of Canis. Less so, among all this foliage; new sights bring with it new smells, unfamiliar smells, and she pauses in her steps for a moment as she tries to sift through everything that reaches her nose.

Ah—as expected, she can't particularly distinguish one important scent from another. She can't tell if what she smells is the scent of pollen or a rabbit's tracks, or even the direction of whatever had come through here at all.

But the wolf seems more than suited to tracking via smell—she'll leave the work up to her. "Let's find out," she murmurs, excitement tinting her tone.

❀
@Comet

Perhaps the odor they were following had once been something else--but now it changed. Ahead was the musky odor of a Golden Charger, though where it was in the thick undergrowth was not clear. It was possible that the scent they followed had been prey, taken in turn by the Charger itself.

The pair would need to proceed with extreme caution. Comet had but an instant to warn Marrow of the danger, of the familiar odor--though very likely, she'd never found out just what Charger venom did. Perhaps she still thought them weak, harmless, like the one she'd taken down so easily over a cycle prior...

@Comet

Comet keeps her nose to the ground, following the trail through the forest. She doesn't notice the subtle change in scent until the arrive at the bush, when she realizes the musky smell that she had been tracking was not the one she had started with.

But that was when it hit her. This was the same scent of the snake that she had fought so long ago! When she was small and crazy. Well, she was still crazy now. The scar on her jaw had been a reminder of that fight, and Comet had learned her lesson not to mess with this kind of snake. "There is a dangerous snake in there!" she warned the deer, and formed a shield to protect them.

@Marrow

Marrow
decay is an extant form of life

The air before the two of them shimmers with invisible energy, a mirage of magic, and Marrow stops in her tracks, glancing to the wolf beside her.

Danger.

Well, it should have been expected, both with their luck and the wild nature of the overgrown forest. Things liked to hide in the undergrowth—from tiny mice to venomous snakes.

Quickly, she's grateful for her hunting partner's magical shield. If anything goes wrong... at least they have protection.

She doesn't want to find out what the serpent's venom can do.

"One moment, then," Marrow says, eyes narrowing as she leans down on her front legs and focuses. Try as she might, she can't spot the serpent's outline through the foliage... she'll be striking blind.

Hopefully, this works. She directs her magic forwards, trying to tune in with the forest around her; trying to direct the plants to rise, rise and thrash, offensive intent stirring in her mind—at the very least, the movement will force the snake away from them.

No movement—no response. She shakes her head to clear it of her focus, beginning to rise back to her usual stance. Damn.
❀
@Comet

Aside from the odor, there was nothing. The Golden Charger was a creature to hunt smaller prey; so long as the Gembound left it alone, it would leave them alone. It remained hidden in the thick underbrush ahead, neither moving nor attacking.

@Comet @Marrow

"Let's turn back." They were quite lucky that the snake had decided not to attack them. Comet remembered that in her first encounter with such a snake the only reason that a fight had started was because she had mistaken it for a fruit. Luckily there would be no such mistake this time.

She left the area, looking back to see if the deer would follow. This was no prey, and their first attempt with catching some deer had not gone so well.

@Marrow