The moments before a hunt starts are always something Astrid remembers with clarity. The way her breathing slows, her pupils dilate, her heart begins to race and adrenaline begins to take over her stocky body is a feeling she will never tire of. This time however, with at least two novices partaking in the hunt she must be more focused on them and less on her own self than usual which is quite foreign, but she is serious about the ranking among the pack and she must learn to change it that is the case. They fan out, silent ghosts in the woodland with all eyes on Jinan. He motions toward a smaller doe, and she nods in approval. It was positioned closer to them than the rest which was wise seeing as she was not particularly fast due to her size and as she had said to Zaphkiel long ago her power was in the sprint. For a split second her mind flashes back to that hunt over a year ago before she refocuses with a blink.

Her body curls beneath her, all of her weight on her toes as she is ready to spring. Jinan steps forward slightly and all of the energy built up inside her threatens to explode, but at the very last moment he falters and stops to look back to her for reassurance. A low growl of annoyance rumbles in her throat but she swallows it thankful he could not hear it anyway; this was a learning expedition after all and her typical form of chastisement wouldn’t be helpful here. Still she makes a note to harangue him about this later. His trepidation is understandable, but seconding guessing himself could well have cost them the entire attempt and he would need to be more self-assured in the future, though no doubt his handicap played a large part in all of this.

She stills, calming herself again as her two-toned eyes lock on to his and she gives a swift nod that they are all behind him. They all recollect for a split second and then he is off. He is small and lighter than the rest of them and quick on his feet, his build lending itself perfectly to the skills most hunters would need. The ghost of a smile crosses her black lips as she leaps after him, her large paws eating up the dirt as she races almost perpendicular to him. Her trajectory makes it clear that she expects Jinan’s initial approach to surprise the doe and in her panic she would wheel away and directly into her path. She barks once, the call clarifying this point to the others who may have missed it . The chocolate boy nears their target and her eyes alight as the deer does as she expected, her time hunting these animals paying off in full.

Too late the beats recognizes her mistake rearing back in surprise and dismay as Astrid’s thick, white form dances in amongst her flailing hooves. She leaps, grasping for one of the slender legs and growls with an odd kind of pleasure as her teeth connect with tissue and bone at the knee joint. She can hold on only for a moment as she and the deer come crashing down, the flailing of the other hoof catching her shoulder and she detaches with a grunt while leaping away as best she can, wincing at the pain now coming from her shoulder. She growls at the doe who now is attempting escape once more, limping heavily on its front, right leg but waits to charge in again to see how her students were faring.

((ooc: feel free to do whatever you like to the deer, hell they don’t even –have- to take it down. :D ))