The wolves had been following the deer herd since yesterday. After observing them for an afternoon and confirming that the herd's route had not changed, the wolves lay in ambush early this morning in a familiar place to carry out a premeditated hunt.
To await the arrival of the reindeer herd, the wolves lay in ambush. Hungry but energetic, they knew that in this cold season, it was hard to predict whether they would have a good meal. The reindeer migration was their only guaranteed food source, so even if the hunt was tiring, the wolves would never give up the opportunity.
As the deer herd entered the river, the wolves searched for targets, trying to alleviate their hunger. However, as their gaze swept over the tall adult reindeer and the innocent-looking fawns, they felt their hunger growing ever more intense.
The delicious prey was right in front of them. As they drew closer, the wolves silently lurked on the ice floes, their hungry, green eyes fixed intently on their target.
In reality, the reindeer, which appear plump to the wolves, have already consumed a lot of their stored fat after their long migration. At this point, the reindeer are much thinner than when they set off, and are far from being "plump." However, in the winter when everything else is losing weight, the large reindeer herd is exceptionally delicious and tempting in the eyes of the wolves.
The prey was right in front of them, slowly approaching with the ripples, ever closer...
Their gleaming eyes were filled with drooling desire, a greedy urge rising within them. Yet, the wolves managed to suppress the lust within their flesh, silently lurking, waiting for their prey to enter the perfect attack range.
Large male deer with hard antlers are mostly not among the targets of wolves. They keep their eyes fixed on adult female deer and young fawns, especially mothers and fawns crossing the river together, as these are the best targets for attack.
Closer... even closer!
The wolf on the ice clenched its teeth, watching as its prey entered its designated hunting range. With a leap, its robust and powerful silhouette burst forth from the ice, its gray fur whipping up snow, like a sharp blade, slashing towards the deer herd!
The frightened cries of the young fawns suddenly rang out, and the sudden appearance of dozens of wolves threw the herd into chaos. The experienced older deer hurriedly fled, their panic tinged with a hint of practiced skill.
The doe carrying her fawn across the river was panicked, but most doe would not abandon their fawns. In their panic, they protected their fawns, while the frightened fawns were disoriented and blindly followed the shadows of the deer beside them.
As soon as the chaos began, many fawns were separated from their mothers, and many more fawns lost their way in panic and became separated from the herd. Their lonely little figures came into the eyes of the wolves and became the best prey.
The reindeer leader, surrounded by the herd, ran towards the riverbank. It didn't have time to look around; its anxious cries were swept away by the torrent. Suddenly, many fragments of memories flashed through its mind, and these fleeting images made it feel disoriented.
"young---!"
A sudden, terrified cry of a deer reached the ears of the reindeer leader, who snapped back to reality and turned to look. He saw a fawn being bitten on the throat by a gray wolf, staring blankly and fearfully at the riverbank with its innocent deer eyes.
"Young one!"
Before the reindeer leader could react, countless urgent calls of deer rang out from all around, from the young deer, but mostly from the adult reindeer.
Countless reindeer sped toward the riverbank, not looking back, not glancing at their pitiful kin. They only wanted to reach the riverbank as quickly as possible, to return to the solid ground where they could run fast and leave the wolves behind.
At that moment, a sense of desolation arose in the reindeer leader's mind. It did not understand where this feeling came from, nor did it know its meaning, but this feeling made it uncomfortable and made it lose its will to live.
The stag, its antlers raised and head half-turned, remained in the same position as before, swept along by the herd of deer beside it, numbly pawing the ground as it continued to move towards the riverbank.
Once the chill had dissipated, the solid ground beneath his feet and the clattering of hooves brought the reindeer leader back to his senses.
As soon as the deer came ashore, they ran away quickly, leaving the wolves far behind with their superior speed, and the wolves did not give chase.
The wolves dragged their prey ashore and began to enjoy their hard-earned meal.
Running alongside the massive herd of deer across the barren land, the reindeer leader's gaze ahead had lost its final fervor.
Its mind, which shouldn't have had any extra emotions, suddenly had a strange thought: Is migration the right thing to do?
The annual journey, the attacks by ferocious beasts encountered along the way, a recurring cycle, a constant replay of the tragedies on the road...
At this moment, the reindeer leader, who had traversed the migration route countless times, was bewildered. Its survival instinct told it that migration was a necessary part of its journey, but its current state of mind told it that this was a journey destined to be sorrowful...
“Young…”
A fawn, lost in its escape and unable to find its mother, wandered to the feet of the reindeer leader. The fawn looked up dazedly, trying to confirm whether the tall adult deer beside it was its mother. Its innocent eyes looked at the fawn timidly, then closed again in disappointment.
Watching the fawn leave, it cried softly and ran towards the other members of its kind. Its small body weaved through the vast herd, searching for and calling out to its mother. Perhaps its mother was also anxiously searching for it among the herd, or perhaps... it had fallen forever into the cold river behind it.
The reindeer leader's bewildered state of mind regained a glimmer of light amidst the swaying. It couldn't understand the meaning of the migration, nor did it know whether the journey would be good or bad, but at this moment it understood that the survival of the herd was the most important thing.
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