Hunts were getting harder, her distraction was becoming a disruption, she was good at taking down prey but lately she had been failing more often. Her first heat had gone by with her feeling desperate for some relief, but every time a male would approach her she instinctively sat on her haunches, unwilling or unable to let herself be explored by them. By the time her second heat rolled around she realized what she needed, and she had known Hearth long enough to be comfortable around him by now. They both had quiet and gentle demeanors, and she would sometimes join him to the edge of the territory as he went off to scout, sniffing and patrolling together before parting ways, when she would veer off and take the long way back home, keeping an eye and a nose out for anything new, mysterious, or suspicious.
That day she sensed he would be patrolling again, and so she rose and quietly started following him, falling in step as usual, even finding two rabbit kits hiding in a dimple of grass, normally she would have left them, but her body felt more ravenous than normal lately, she ate them swiftly and rejoined Hearth who had continued some paces ahead. The meal had made her feel playful, running up to Hearth's side she bowed and boofed at him, to which he responded with a raised tail and playful posture. She bolted and ran circles around him, stopped, and in return he bowed and nipped at her neck before bolting away, stopping, and spinning around to face her again. Ears back she approached and licked his mouth, he whined and buried his nose in the fur along her ruff and shoulders...
