up beside her, but didn’t stop. He raced up to match Colm stride for stride.
That was more than enough of merely following the leader. She slowed and stopped. Looking around, she thought about calling to them to let them know she’d decided to take a different direction. They kept going and didn’t seem to notice she’d left them. The two tiron were gone before she could decide what to do.
Looking around the area, she tried to decide where to go. A run through the forest didn’t ease her tiron. The animal within needed the hunt and chase. She didn’t see anything that she could chase right off, but what she heard was interesting. The faint sound of something moving slowly through the forest drew her attention.
Her ears pricked up and swiveled as her anticipation surged. She crouched and crept off the path. She moved slowly and silently as she edged closer to the sound. As the noise of hooves grew louder, she crouched near the base of a flowering bush. Peering between the dark-green leaves, she spotted an arilla. The long-legged, hooved animal grazed on grasses and flowers growing in patches of sunlight. Its short, black fur rippled with each move.
Cami’s muscles bunched and her vision narrowed to the animal eating so peacefully. She knew the animal had more endurance than she did, but if she could catch it by surprise and take it down before it bolted out of reach, she had a good chance. Her claws dug into the ground and her lips pulled back from her teeth as she leapt forward.
* * * * *
Linc glanced in back of them, curious to see if Cami was having fun. He hadn’t heard anything from her since he’d run up to join Colm. He skidded to a stop and growled to get Colm’s attention. She was gone. At first, it seemed unreal. She’d been following them.
“Where is she?” Colm trotted up beside him.
“Would I be standing here staring at the trees and bushes if I knew? I don’t even know when she left.” Linc’s lips pulled back in a snarl.
“We’ll find her and don’t get snappy with me. I didn’t know she’d go wandering off the first time our attention wasn’t on her either.” Colm slashed a narrow-eyed look at Linc. “Let’s start backtracking and find the point where she left us. There’s no mistaking that muddled scent of hers. It shouldn’t be too hard to find her.”
Linc had to agree with Colm about her scent. It wasn’t similar to anything he’d ever smelled. They had to go back farther than he expected. He wondered why she hadn’t simply called out if she wanted to go some other way or do something more than run. That was something he’d be asking her when he caught up with her. Just because they were sure that Laed and Kynar weren’t on the planet yet didn’t mean that it was safe for her to go running around alone. On top of that, he wanted to be with her.
They found the spot where she’d left the trail and followed the scent into the forest. Soon they found the spot where she’d crouched beneath a bush and the mixed scent of her and an arilla. It didn’t take long to discover why she’d left the trail. She’d wanted to hunt. He remembered her saying something about hunting last night, but she hadn’t mentioned anything this morning.
As they followed, they found the arilla had managed to outrun her. She’d turned in another direction when the animal escaped. They tracked her toward the river. Linc thought they’d be tracking her for a long time until he spotted the brown fur among the tall grasses near the side of the river. She crept slowly toward a small herd of animals drinking from the river.
No way was she making that kill when she’d pulled the disappearing stunt. Linc roared. The animals tensed and bolted. Cami came to her feet, and even from this distance, he saw her eyes narrow and heard the rumble of a growl. He didn’t want her furious at him. Still, it was better than letting her believe it was perfectly acceptable to ditch them and go hunting on her own without even a “do you want to come”.
She stalked up to them and looked from one to the other. “What did you do that for?”
“You didn’t invite us.” Colm grunted and padded over to her. He rubbed along her body and then stepped back.