There were newcomers to Xiunus. And not just any newcomers, a family of royals belonging to a people no one who had ever met before. A people who were also currently starving, if their monarch's demands were anything to go off of.

Which meant the colonies were suddenly all paws and claws on deck. And the Sun Chasers were no exception. Once Sam heard the news, they turned to Onyx and Feldspar for assistance. The two had both agreed to help … even if neither had much prior hunting experience.

Best to start with something easy.

Feldspar led the way across the rolling sands, Onyx and Sam following close on his heels. The stretch of Issiq wasn't far from Mireh, which meant the soil underfoot was slightly more fertile. Enough at least for something other than tough grasses to grow.

Towering sand dunes calmed and bowed before a shallow watering hole stubbornly sticking out from the cracked earth. All around it grass clawed its way up from the sand to stubbornly coat the area. Not quite a gourmet meal, but definitely a good place for any animal braving the desert to stop.

If all went well, Feldspar hoped to get in at least a few hunts before they were forced to return home. As they walked he tried his hardest to recall the lessons his father had tried to teach him. Feldspar never had plans to be a hunter for the colony, so he had simply not paid attention. Now he was mentally kicking himself. He doubted instinct alone would help them here.

He drowned out the sounds of Onyx and Sam's chatter to scan the area. At first nothing seemed to be moving, no prey in sight… until something did move. A stocky nukap wandered snuffling towards the watering hole. Then another behind it. Another. Another still.

"Get down!" Feldspar hissed. Immediately Onyx and Sam both crouched into the sand, eyes wide. Feldspar kept his own fixed on the sounder. There were a handful of them all grunting and snuffling around the ground in search of food. Truffles maybe?

What they were searching for wasn't important. All that mattered was that they remained distracted long enough for Feldspar or Onyx to finish them off.

"Right, here's the plan," Feldspar hissed. "We try to pen them in between us. I swing around to the left. Onyx, you go right. And Sam… you take notes." They would need to know what worked and what didn't for next time.

The others nodded. Silently, the pair of tsabhuas split off to each creep around to either side. The whole area was low and flat, with only rocks and scraggly bushes for cover. But if Onyx and Feldspar were fast enough, as long as they stayed downwind, they may just be able to pull this off.

From their half-hidden vantage point Sam could only watch. Logically they knew the others needed to hunt in order to feed themselves and others. But the idea of actually watching it play out, watching an animal die… they didn't really know how to feel.

One of the nukaps suddenly snorted, head shooting up. Both Onyx and Feldspar tensed, muscles coiling beneath them as the pair prepared to pounce. It was now or never. Sam let out a silent sigh, leaned back, and prepared their recorder.

A moment later Onyx and Feldspar both lunged with gaping jaws. Onyx missed her target by a hair, leaving it to race squealing off into the distance and her chasing after with a roar. Yet Feldspar managed to pin his nukap down, ending it quickly with a single stab.

By the time Sam got to their feet the rest of the sounder had gone literally running for the hills. Presumably not the same ones Onyx was running through. Leaving just them, Feldspar, and the carcass that had been a living nukap just heartbeats before.

"Did it… hurt?" Sam asked. As much as they hated to ask, they had never seen something die in front of them before. Unease twisted in their chest.

"No, I made sure to hit it right in the heart," Feldspar answered honestly. "There may have been a half a second, but death came quickly." Sam nodded. It did make sense, they supposed. But that didn't make the sight of blood against the sand any less disturbing.

As if sensing their thoughts, Feldspar rested a hand on their scales shoulder. "I know it's hard to witness for the first time. But hunting is a part of life. You, me, Onyx, the others- we all depend on the death of another to survive. Everyone is, to one extent or another. That's simply how the food chain works."

Feldspar paused to let that sink in.

"As long as no unnecessary suffering occurs, hunting is nothing to despise. There's no use in letting an animal suffer more than necessary. Beyond that, it's just cruel."

"Right," Sam nodded. At the very least the Nukap's death had been quick. Who's to say other predators would be as merciful?

Dragging their thoughts away, Sam glanced to their right where one of the nukap was still running. And Onyx was still racing after it, even though Sam was starting to doubt she would ever catch up.

"Should we…"

Feldspar shook his head. "She'll find her way back." He paused to flash a half grin. "Besides, I want to know if she actually manages to catch it."