The hunter crouched at the head of the valley, his back wedged against a granite outcrop. Motionless, the grey of his bodyglove blended seamlessly with the rock surrounding him, his white hair and beard resembling a dusting of snow atop his seemingly frozen form. Despite the frigid temperature no plume of breath vapour issued from his nose or mouth. Had anyone been observing him, they could be forgiven for mistaking him for an outcropping of rock weathered into the shape of a man by the ceaseless push of ice-laden wind and snow. Only the motion of his eyes gave any indication of life, steel blue-grey reflecting the clouds above as they scanned the length of the trail running beneath him to the valley mouth.
Behind the clouds, the sun continued its slow march toward the horizon, marking the end of his third day of vigil. He knew that despite his enhanced physiology, despite the secondary heart that kept his blood moving and warm through his extremities and prevented the onset of frostbite, soon he would need to finish his hunt and return to The Fang. The thought of having to return empty-handed caused a scintilla of rage to flush hotly through his system. His fingers tightened imperceptibly around the handle of his combat knife. Magni would not suffer the dishonour of returning without a kill in hand. He would rather die on the hunt than return like a pup with empty jaws.
A spiralling howl carried on the breeze from further down the mountain. The wolves had been active the last few weeks, hunting in a frenzy of gluttony before the long dark of winter set in and the prey died off. As the chorus of the hunters echoed between the rock walls, it was answered by a deep bass growl issuing from the caves beneath his feet. His nostrils flared as he caught the scent of a predator, ammonia and old blood. He drew in a deeper breath, his hearts beating faster as they sought to push hot blood back into his muscles, preparing him for movement.
The ice bear was a young boar, just left his dam's den and not mated for the first time. Despite his tender age he was still a formidable beast even for a mighty Space Wolf. Magni watched slabs of heavy muscle move smoothly beneath the thick white pelt as the monstrous ursine ambled from his valley den. A head the size of a footlocker swung from side to side, the black nose flaring and lips curling back from ivory dagger teeth before loosing another ear-splitting roar. Before the echoes had died down Magni was on his feet and sprinting to the edge. A feral howl tore itself from his throat as he threw himself down to the valley floor and landed to the side of the great beast, baring his own fangs in a wide grin.
Wheeling about with surprising agility, the ice bear snarled in animalistic rage. It had not scented the Space Marine as he had sat in wait for it to emerge and this sudden attack was grossly confusing to its tiny, hibernation-ready brain. Magni snarled in response, circling slowly to one side, glaring into the tiny dark eyes. His hearts thudded a thrilled tattoo in his chest, adrenal glands pumping readiness through his limbs, lungs pulling the thin air deep into his chest and filling his blood with oxygen.
With yet another roar the monster lunged, muscles bunching then releasing like springs as half a tonne of animal tried to barrel the Astartes to the ground. Paws the size of a power armour helmet lashed out and sought to hook him with razor sharp claws. He pivoted easily on his back foot, whirling away from the attack and lashing out with his combat knife as the bear ploughed past in a flurry of fallen snow. The honed blade slid easily through the toughened hide of his shoulder before pulling free in a shower of steaming red blood. Droplets fell off the blade to the ground, freezing immediately like tiny red rubies at Magni's feet. Without stopping to think, he pushed off against the rocky surface, the bear turning on its haunches to rear over him.
The smell of ancient prey gusted from the bear's mouth, filling his genehanced nostrils with the stench of rotten blood and meat as he stepped into its embrace and ducked under one forelimb, thrusting his combat knife into the space between shoulder and ribcage. Genetically supercharged muscles trembled as Magni coiled his body, massive thighs pushing him upwards and into the bear's centre of gravity. Beast and man roared in concert as they toppled over into the snowbank. Magni's full weight landed on the knife, nearly 300 kilograms driving with terrible force, cracking ribs and sending another flood of scalding blood into the snow. A horrific scream pitched down into a low growling moan as the bear thrashed and bucked beneath his weight before finally slumping back into the scarlet-stained powder. Panting with exertion and adrenaline, Magni wrenched his knife from the wound in a final spray of dark blood before tipping his head back and howling his triumph to the gathering darkness.