The forest was silent with the fresh smell of blood permeating the area. The animals had fallen to a hush, not even the wind whispering in the branches. A padding sound came from the distance, across the packed earth. Panting heavily, the pink tongue dangling from the side of it's mouth, the white wolf rushed through, cutting through a pile of leaves. A slight trail of blood had followed on her paws, and she knew better than to stay on a human trail. The leaves rustled, and were stirred up as the wind she caused created a tail of wild colors fluttering behind her. Her body weaved left and right, winding up and springing off as her feet left the ground. There were moments she felt like she could fly, but right now she had to rid the scent from her body.<br/><br/>Her black, gumdrop nose went in the air, closing her mouth long enough to take in the scents of the area. She had really wandered this time. The humans were invading the territory she had called home more and more. It was becoming unsafe, even for a being of her strengths. She caught wind of a stream nearby, the perfect place to rinse the blood and smell from her body.<em>Okay, Mika...enough fooling around, can't let them catch up...</em>she mused to herself, before springing forward at an even more incredible speed. She had once been referred to as the "Spirit of Wind" by an elderly woman. It had amused Mikazuki enough, she decided not to slaughter her. But if she had sensed even the slightest darkness, she knew she would have never resisted.<br/><br/>The evening light danced through the tree branches, painting a lovely mural of oranges and reds on the ground. Her paws glided across the packed clay earth, only leaving slight indents of claws with her grace. The light played off her snowy white fur, making her living art. Not much could have been more beautiful at the moment, besides if it had been the pale moonlight shimmering off her fur. Her feet quickly slowed, fighting her body's momentum and changing from her fast sprint to little less than a trot. She approached the riverbed, her mouth wide open, tongue dangling as she panted. The blood could still be seen dripping from her pearly canines, staining the fur around her mouth. She slowed to a halt as she reached the water's edge.<br/><br/>She stared down into it for a moment. She hadn't seen such clear water in a while, it seemed so beautiful. She stepped into the cool water, letting the slight current wash the blood from her paws. As it did, she gladly enjoyed a long drink of fresh water. It ran down her throat smoothly, cooling and refreshing. She drank greedily for several moments, enjoying herself before she would finish washing.<br/><br/>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br/><br/>A young girl was kneeling by a small fresh water spring. Her body was lithe, but her muscles very toned. The small cotton shirt she wore served for no protection, and nothing more than covering hr "womanly bits" as did the pants. Her short black hair was mostly covered by a black hat. Her heavy breathing could be heard as she carved away at the deer in front of her. The knife was pressed in, and carved through even the bone, helping her to section it off for easier storage. She wiped a bit of blood from her forehead. That had been a messy kill. The deer in the area seemed to be becoming more and more scarce. She would soon have to move on to the next area. She glanced up towards the sky. She could see the ring of treetops, and a black hawk fly overhead. The sun was already setting, causing the sky to grow red. "At least that means another day of good weather ahead..." she said, the red sky telling her there was stable weather for the next day.<br/><br/>She finished cutting the leg from the carcass. Sure, she could have just torn it off, but she preferred a clean cut. She lifted the leg, hauling it over to a cave. Unfortunately, there wasn't much way of preserving fresh meat, or cooked for that matter. She set the limb on the ground, next to a make-shift fire pit, before going and slicing off some more meat. She had already fed on the fresh, but was determined to make the leftovers last. When there wasn't much more than a few bones left, she carried it off away from the cave, throwing it for the wild animals to find and finish off.<br/><br/>She sighed, throwing her arms behind her head and returning to the cave. She picked up a few sticks along the way, for firewood. She piled the twigs onto the pit, tossing some dried leaves in as well for tinder. She had been alive long enough to learn how to do many things. She picked up two pieces of stone, made of flint. She cracked them together a few times, the sparks flying off and onto the leaves. It took several minutes before the leaves and wood decided to catch, but she eventually got there.She speared the meat onto several long, sharpened sticks, pushing them into the thick clay. The meat was angled over the open flame, letting them cook while Kumako leaned back, resting her eyes for a bit.