Merikh prowled ahead of the mare as they crossed the meadow. It had only been a few days to a week, maybe, since she had successfully bonded to the cougar and already his form was changing. Rather than looking gaunt and weak the cougar was building lean muscle. It helped that he had finally left the desert that everyone liked to call the Dragon's Throat in favor of her. She could take him where prey was plentiful. Dried blood caked her hooves and scarred forelegs from the animals she had slain to help feed the cougar to build his strength. She would not be bonded to something weak and if the cougar proved to be weak even with her aid she would kill him herself.

She watched as the cougar dropped down to his belly, nearly disappearing in the tall grass before stalking forward, his tail twitching as he moved. Histe stopped, her ears tilted forward and her eyes scanning the meadow until she spotted the deer that had caught the cougar's attention. The mare cocked her right hip so that her hoof rested on its tip as she watched the scene unfold just as she had since bonding with Merikh.

The wind was in Merikh's favor as he approached the deer and, unsuspecting, it lowered its head to graze. The cougar's tanned body had since disappeared in the swaying grass that was beginning to brown with the anticipation of Frostfall. Suddenly the deer's head jerked up, its eyes wide as it looked around, but it was already too late. Merikh exploded from the grass in front of the deer and with a frightened bleat it tried to turn. Tried to escape.

Strong jaws closed on the deer's throat, crushing its windpipe. Claws slashed at its shoulders and legs, making blood spurt from a severed artery. The sheer amount of blood pouring from the deer made Histe's heart race, not with fear or disgust, but with the desire to cause as much pain as Merikh was.

"Do it."

The voices had been surprisingly quiet for the past few days, much to Histe's surprise. Her mother's voice was welcome now, however. The mare strode forward easily, passing the bloodied grass and Merikh who began to pull the deer in the direction she was walking. Rather abruptly the tall grass disappeared and was replaced by a river bank. "Eat now." Merikh said in her head, to which Histe nodded subtly before lowering her head to drink. There was nothing quite like the sound of ripping flesh and cracking bones to make a morning anymore peaceful.