Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. What? Shapeshifters get hungry too! Especially a big boy like Rian! And it's not like any prey is out there at the moment. To early in the morning, to cold. But within a few hours they would awake... and hopefully end up in one of the traps our wolfey friend was setting. If they don't just eat the rice cake crumbs instead of the actual bait. Huh, maybe he didn't really think all of this through. Those treats were just so darn good! It wasn't often that traders came up north. When they did, usually at least one would get lost. Occasionally they'd pass right by Rian's village. When that happened... well, everything turned out great! The poor lad/lass would get a place to stay for a few days, and some of their goods would find their way into the hands, paws, and claws of the shifters. Just two days ago our messy eater here helped a man find his way back to one of Hyoite's larger towns. Now he was hunting on his way back. Pastries had been his prize.
Now the remains of several were scattered about on the ice... and his fur. Luckily there weren't any pretty lasses out here to see him! Currently all he could see was snow. Maybe some people would come out later in the day, but for now, it was just him and the cold. Along with rice cakes, animal traps, and a 'few' dozen crumbs. It was a little lonely out there. Though he'd soon finish setting the snares. After that... well, a little 'cat' nap would do him good. Waking up this early isn't very fun! Some moments of rest would do Valerian good. Maybe he'd even- oh! Before he could finish his thought, the last of his traps were set. There was a total of ten, placed near, but not to near, hunting and sleeping areas of various animals. With luck he'd catch enough to feed his family for a week or two. Other hunters were out as well, of course. The only ones he knew were rather far away. Hopefully he wasn't intruding on anyone's 'territory'. That would be rather impolite.
And he isn't the impolite type.
All that was left to do was find somewhere to sit down for a few hours. While most of this area was flat, there was a small snow bank nearby. Trudging to the top would allow him to survey a little more of his surroundings. Plus he'd have a bit more snow to make a 'chair' with. More of a bench, really. There's probably a better word for it, he just didn't care much at the moment. Shaking loose crumbs from his fur the wolf-man started to make his rather short journey. That fun lasted about a minute. Then it was time to build a snow-seat. To help pass the time, Rian started singing a upbeat song. Hopefully it won't scare any prey away... or attract any predators.
"Oh, once upon a time, in a land of snow and rhymes,
There was a hungy wolf, who was a mighty cook,
And he sure did love to dine!"
