Random Event #7 — Feast & Famine

That time of the year has come again, when the Great Elk Herd of Relic Lore has made its migration to Relic Lore forest. Upon arrival, many subsets have branched off from the main herd in order to find better pickings. The warmth of the sun has drawn 12 individuals to Hush Meadow - 3 bucks, 5 does, and 4 calves. Currently grazing, they are completely unaware of any impending danger that may be lurking.

This is an All Welcome thread. You may react to this however you think your character would.

The members of the herd are NPCs, their actions will be controlled by the other characters in the thread.

Her travels had been long lived this past week, whilst she had finished the making of her den (for the most part) and had been preparing for the pack's well being (or even the stranger's she had come across) of her pack by gathering new herbal remedies, not all of which would of course, be in the cedarwood forest of her home. This gathering day, she had arced the lagoon as she traveled downwards from the forest and south of the pack's den in grizzly hollow. She was looking for plants to be considered cosher, though she had not come across anything of significance yet that she had not already found previously in the surrounding lands. Past the lagoon now and moving off to the east where she thought she might find something new (granted this part of the land was new to her) this is where she came across the small herd of elk- three buck, their women, she could only guess and the children which came of it. The simple thought crossed her mind of children and the fact that she had never her own before, nor a man of interest in her three years of life. She had much time, she was sure, though never thought of herself as the motherly type, anyhow. A scoff caught her, watching one doe nuzzle her babe before turning back to the grasses. For now, she only stood from the outskirts of the cedarwood forest, watching in mild interest. She was very aware that although bringing such a kill like this back home would clearly bring her more respect and trust, she could not handle these beasts on her own.

After a while standing there, did Elettra's gaze finally catch that of another- dark in color, even more so then her; stark black as the night's sky. Her pale gaze locked upon the woman's, watching as she too took interest in her with a look before making her way around the edge of the meadow and into her direction. Every so often would El's gaze shift once more to the herd, making sure the black colored woman had not been spotted. As she needed, the small nod was offered in return, her muzzle taking to sniff the air, searching the area before her. There were many to choose from, but only four calves. Each calf seemed rather close to their mother; two feeding, one wandering close behind her mother's footing as she grazed and another child lay in the grasses, asleep whilst it's mother ate somewhere at her side. It was this one, however, that Elettra took notice to. The mother and her sleeping child were at the edge of the herd, but not far enough from the group to be singled out so easily. However, it was the doe's youth which caught El. If she was a new mother, perhaps she would be more easily panicked- fearful of her own life that the protection of her child. In panic and without the experience of what to do in the given situation, it would be she who would be easiest to steal from. Taking advantage of a new mother, Elettra did not give this a second thought. Her muzzle dipped towards the pair before her eyes shifted once more to her young partner, wondering if she may be in agreement.

The other wolf noticed her without delay, and the unspoken communication began between the two females as though they were sharing brainwaves. Volkan took her subtle nod as a greeting and offered her a quick smirk, though she wasn't sure if the stranger would notice. The other female seemed older than she was, and by her apparent confidence, she'd been on her fair share of hunts; the lone wolf watched as her counterpart scoped out a potential target, and mimicked her actions. She too noticed the sleeping calf, and by following the other wolf's gaze, she could tell they were in agreement.

Volk slunk quickly through the brush, keeping low to the ground. Despite her relative inexperience with hunting— the Alpha pup and her brother had been trained to be warriors rather than hunters— she knew that giving away her or her partner's position would spoil the entire operation.

As she drew nearer to the other wolf, her scent hit her. The loner resisted the urge to stop in her tracks. This was another pack wolf, one with a different scent than Triell's and Indru's. So this was a wolf from the other pack in Relic Lore, huh? Were others nearby— could she have accidentally happened upon a herd that was already being hunted by the pack? The young female felt a little uneasy at this realization, but shook it off. Right now, what was important was that she participate. If there were other pack wolves around, hopefully they would offer her part of the kill as a reward for helping with the hunt...

Volkan reached the other female soon enough, certain that her rogue scent would betray her status. But she put that thought out of her mind and stopped, settling to her haunches, icy gaze now focusing on the sleeping calf nearby. "I'll follow your lead," she breathed, silently poised, ready to launch.

Within moments Elettra would find that the other, darker woman was in agreement, making way slowly and silently into her direction for grouping to find themselves a tactical approach. With a quick sniff, Elettra would easily noticed she was of another pack, the scent strong upon her hide as she was sure her own pack was to her. This (although it shook the other woman) did not phase El. This was all about the need to survive- hunger, the kill. She had hunted with rogues before and had assumed the situation would be as such; they would work together for the better of the party, eat what they could, split what was left and then part ways to take the remainder of the meal to their pack. It was simple enough and once the woman spoke of following, Elettra Archer was on the move.

Easing her body along the edge of the meadow, El aligned herself to be directly before the young mother and her resting child who settled at the edge of the heard. As she approached, she would pause enough only to allow her muzzle to jut in the direction of the 'right' for the woman to follow, whilst Elettra found herself arching to the left. They would take her by surprise by both angles, leaving her only the chance to run forward and away with her herd. Inching as close as Elettra was sure she could without being heard, she would offer the younger girl a small glance before darting forward, white lips pealed back, a bare upon her parted jaws as a roaring growl echoed from them. Panic would set forth in the younger woman, whilst the rest of the herd easily took off forward, escaping the wolves' jaws. For a moment, the doe would be hesitant (to Elettra's surprise) teetering between her need to rush off with the herd or protect her young child who lay still, frightened in the grass. Elettra would charge, jaws snapping wildly at the doe to get her moving and away from her kin, hoping that Volkan would take care of the calf.

Just as Volk had expected, the stranger gave her a signal: a quick nod to the right, which the yearling assumed meant she was supposed to cover the right side. In the moments before the other female took off, the rogue envisioned what would happen inside her head. It made sense. Volkan would cover the right angle, and this female would take care of the left side. A perfect ambush, even if it was only two of them.

When the stranger went on the move, Volkan followed close behind, soon letting her own path branch off from the other wolf's. As she was told, she veered off to the right, far enough so that she could close in on the calf, careful to keep an eye on her hunting partner to make sure everything was going according to plan. As they drew nearer the other wolf let out a growl, and Volkan kept silent, now sure of the female's plan; as Volk had surmised, the younger wolf would go for the calf while the older one distracted its mother. Sure enough, she watched the other wolf charge toward the mother, jaws snapping, but the mother hesitated. After what seemed like an eternity as Volk watched with bated breath, the mother began to canter away and circle them, though maintaining a short distance, seemingly unable to tear herself away from her child.

Volkan moved her attention back to the calf and snuck toward it quickly, frame low to the ground, gaining speed before launching herself from the brush with gaping jaws. Her aim was to land right on top of the calf and bite its shoulder or neck. At her size, Volk wasn't sure if she'd be large enough to take it down by herself— would the other female come help her once the mother was gone?

For now, no matter what past the packs may have held with one another, a firm detente developed between the two members as the hunt began. Elettra's hackles rose, teeth bared, she did well as playing as large as she possibly could in the face of the defending mother. The herd was far in the distance now, no longer a treat and the mother kept near, circling in fear and anger. Snapping her jaws still, offering a snarl every so often in the mother's direction, would Elettra make way to the younger dark lady. Whilst she went for the next/shoulder area, Elettra went for the middle, jaws coming down to lock upon the mid-section of the child; to crush it's ribs and perhaps, puncture it's heart or lungs in doing such a maneuver. Doing so in her attack, she would keep an eye on the circling mother as to make sure she did not have the guts to charge forward with blowing hooves.

Volkan's jaws clamped shut on the young animal's neck, and she held on for dear life, not knowing what else to do. Wide-eyed and snarling, she glanced in the other female's direction; to her relief, the other wolf was coming now, and soon the yearling felt their prey topple over to its side, losing its balance with the impact of the new attacker's force. It struggled to stay upright, but was soon on the ground, its legs flailing wildly.

"MMH— WACHOUT!" Volk attempted to scream through her mouthful of fur and tough hide, knowing she couldn't let go, but afraid one of them might get kicked. Meanwhile the mother circled, snorting and kicking at the ground, but kept her distance, possibly sure now that there was nothing she could do to save her calf.

The onyx female attempted to reinstate her hold somewhat. She had to cut off this thing's air supply if she wanted to kill it, right? Maybe the older female would help her now that the calf had been brought to the ground? There was little chance it could get up; while Volkan herself wasn't heavy enough to keep it on the ground, the combined weight of both wolves was enough to pin down their prey. A heavy growl resonated from her throat as she attempted to cut off the calf's air supply, silently willing the other wolf to help her end the calf's short life.

Down came the small beast (a boy who could never grow to a man), legs kicking and flailing as he struggled for his survival. Elettra had jumped back just as quickly as she had attacked due to this, a small limb skimming her shoulder but not doing enough damage so much as to clip the fur from her hide. Instantly would she circle around to the safe end (the spine's side) and take charge in helping with removing the calf's air. It was obvious the younger woman was struggling (probably very due to her youth) and now Elettra would dip down to a lay beside the darker woman, jaws aligning with her own in order to clamp down on the child's throat in helps to ease his now suffering.