Spores which had fallen on the grounds were disturbed as a tan colored nose sniffed at the surface. Pulling everything towards itself with a breath inwards, before sending it some ways away with an equal breath out. With his nose close along the ground Zephyr continued to move in a winding path as he followed a hidden marker of scent. What he was looking for had been here though it had been half a day or more, as the smell was inconsistent and disappeared at points. "Cos, are you sure we can do this? I've never been hunting?" The brown Tsabhua looked to the only other adult currently in the colony. "We can do it, I'm not taking a whelp out to hunt, so you are the only option til the others grow older. You must learn eventually in case the skill is needed. Two is always better when hunting, it's not like foraging." Zephyr nodded in understanding with a hum, "I understand Cosette, I just am not confident that I will be of much help." Both Tsabhua stopped talking as they heard footsteps, they weren't close per say but close enough. Zephyr looked to Cosette, who held her paw above but parallel to the ground and then as she crouched to the ground brought her hand down. So Zephyr also slowly ducked his body downward. Both Tsabhua essentially laid on their chest while listening to the sounds. There were many footsteps, but Zephyr was focusing on counting them. He closed his eyes, tilting his nose downward and his ears forwards with their tips skyward. Nukap were loud little creatures, with 8 legs Zephyr imagined it was quite difficult to not be. It was odd to hear them wander through the forest especially when there was more than one. There were maybe four Nukap by his estimation, and so he reached his claw out and scratched four lines in the ground. Cosette, who was also listening, tapped the ground to catch his attention before making only three scratches. Zephyr frowned slightly before nodding, a little upset that he had gotten the number wrong though he was close.

Cosette quietly got up and began to quietly move in the Nukaps direction. Zephyr followed in Colette's footsteps, getting up as quietly as he could. He was a little louder than his peer, though she had hunted before and knew how to stay lighter on her feet. Before leaving the colony grounds, the two had discussed the most likely plan. Cosette would move around the prey waiting low to attack, and since Zephyr was less experienced he would be the one to frighten or chase the prey towards Cosette. As the Nukap were currently searching the ground for tasty mushrooms to each, they were currently focused on the ground, and were making quite a lot of noise. Zephyr stayed close to the ground, watching the Nukaps through the foliage waiting for Cosette to be in position. Watching the flat noses of the Nukap, lift slightly from the dark ground, nostrils flaring and thinning as they surveyed their surroundings only to return once more to the ground. Small new growing mushrooms were crunched beneath hooves, and small leaf-like litter and debris was blown away from the Nukap's path as they nosed along the ground. Their sounds were soft but not very quiet as they snorted along the ground. One Nukap seemed to find something special, as it began to dig into the dark ground, revealing different colored soil below. Four of its hooves were being used to dig further into the ground, and pushing its nose to the ground to dig deeper for something hidden from sight. The other Nukap came to the same area, sniffing all around the ground before beginning to help dig alongside the original Nukap. The three now continued to dig down, all three becoming covered in the dark colored soil. Over the sound of the Nukaps, Zephyr heard a sharp high pitch click, which was the signal for him that Cosette was in position. The Nukap stopped for a minute, falling silent and holding still waiting for a sign they needed to bolt, but no further sound was made and so they continued to dig.

Zephyr kept his head down and body low as the Nukap were distracted once more, allowing him to push forward towards them. Their sniffling and snorting along the ground continued until Zephyr stepped on some leaf litter made up of the broken gills of larger mushrooms along the path, causing him to slip and fall downwards with a curse as he was caught off guard. When he looked back towards the Nukap, they all were staring at him. Zephyr took a chance that he now had his footing and launched towards the Nukap to push them towards Cosette. His claws bought purchase in the ground even if he would've slipped while walking, his thundering steps left little time for slipping. The Nukaps struggled for ten seconds, startled by Zephyr and unable to get their own footing on the slick ground. Two ran in the direction of Cosette, while the third peeled off from the group, running off elsewhere. Zephyr stayed pressuring the two that were headed towards Cosette. When they were within three strides of Cosette, she popped up and aimed to the one coming up on her right. Zephyr changed his direction slightly going for the one on his right, at least one of them should be able to get "their" Nukap. If they both succeeded then double the bounty for the same amount of work.

Cosette had her Nukap trapped and finished off before looking up to see Zephyr closing in but not quite caught his Nukap yet. She then heard a loud squeal as Zephyr got a hold of the Nukap he was chasing, though it was quite a struggle for Zephyr before the encounter was over. In the end, both Cosette and Zephyr had caught their Nukaps, while the third ran off free back to the larger group of Nukaps. The swampy forest erupted in noise after the lone Nukap returned, and they could be heard trampling through the forest scattering to get away from their possible attackers. Cosette and Zephyr each grabbed the Nukap they had caught, helping to bundle them in a way to make the trip back easier. After which Zephyr made a comment before stepping back towards where the Nukaps had been. "I want to know what they were so interested in…" Cosette waited a moment before responding, "there's likely nothing there Zeph. Sometimes they just smell something that isn't there anymore." Zephyr continued over to the freshly dug dirt and carefully dug into the dark soil himself. He dug down into the soft soil, though didn't find anything within the next ten swipes through the soil. Afterwards he simply brushed off his hands and walked back towards Cosette, "Okay Cosette, you were right. I didn't find anything…" Cosette then replied, "It's alright, better to check than not. Alright you grab this one, and I'll grab the other one." The two of them then worked their way back towards the colony's base with their Nukap carcasses in tow.