-rubs hands together- let’s get this party started. Oh and LOL can you believe this is actually the first time I’ve had any of my characters hunt anything? I feel like a bad person xD

Anxious was an understatement. His heart knocked and railed against the bars of his ribcage, pleading desperately with Kiche to stop this madness and go home. The palpitations rose to an overwhelming crescendo, and finally the priest could hear nothing else. I don’t want to be here, he thought over and over, I don’t want to be here. But this was not a choice –this was a duty. And whatever happened, he refused to let Elettra out of his sight. He owed it Borden to keep an eye on her, and he owed to himself to stop being such a coward. His smoldering amber eyes gazed beseechingly at Jayse’s backside as she searched the herd of caribou for a sacrifice. Can we just get this over with? he longed to ask her as the minutes dragged on soundlessly.

When Jayse suddenly turned back around, Kiche was so on edge that he nearly leaped out of his skin. But all he managed was a fearful gasp. His pagan leader began to speak, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to hear her in the din. He caught only one word in ten. Hard. Antlers. Herd. Kade. Young. Limb. Fierce. It was becoming harder and harder to stay put. Injury. Oh God. Kiche could only gulp in response, too frozen by fear to do much else. Let me go. Get me out of here, he wanted to scream, I’m not meant to be here. Can’t you see I can’t do this? Part of him realized that she was talking again, and that his name was in that jumble of words somewhere. He would have followed her regardless, though. She was all he knew.

But suddenly she was gone, charging into the fray with a snarl on her lips. As the rest of his comrades charged after her, Kiche found himself hanging back, glued to the ground in terror. But he had to go. He couldn’t let… couldn’t let Elettra see him like this –like a coward. Mustering all the courage that remained to him, Kiche leaped out of the trees and raced after his packmates. In truth, he had no idea what he was supposed to do, but his instincts quickly took over for him. He growled beside Jayse, sinking down to his haunches before the injured bull. Without warning, he sprung from the ground, throwing himself at the bull, his jaws snapping. The hulking caribou bellowed once more as it leaped away from him, darting away to the left. Without a second thought, the saint took off after him, saliva flying from his snapping jaws as he blindly raced after the bull. Luckily, he was running it in the right direction.

The chase was on.

the suns going to shine, and sometimes the clouds will rain.

Early morning was usually a peaceful time of day for the male, who, as of late, had spent his days guarding the borders and the souls of those who belonged to Grizzly Hollow. An overdue hunt was to be the task of the day, and to his delight the gathering was mandatory. He was ready to see what everyone was made of.

The dark figure was covered by mud up to his hocks, and not without a notable, bodily splattering here and there, throughout. There was some quality of the swamp that the man enjoyed, and the sulforous odor was a reminder of his encounter with the ashen female a number of months ago. From his position, generally obscured from view (though in sight of his partners, Raigo, Borden, and Valiant), the man stood with a steady patience, counting the pulses of his own heartbeat in order to keep himself focused. Shifting his weight to the left, a flicker to the black and silver plume behind him, he wondered if, perhaps, something had gone awry on his counterpart's end. At this consideration his brows could come together for only a moment before a deep breath was drawn to pacify his needless anxiety. She was fine. They were all fine. Any minute now...

Silver eyes would settle briefly upon the Second before shifting to Borden, and back.

An easy breeze would stir the distal ends of the cattails and swamp grasses, then, carrying the foremost signal he had been waiting for - the scents of several pack wolves and those of a herd of caribou. They were close. Instinctually, his posture and mindset were transformed. The man would shift his weight evenly, taking a single step forward in adoption of a wider stance. A quivering would overcome salivating lips, and a sharp ridge of coal fur would form along the length of his spine. Proceedurally, his pale gaze would drift once more in the directions of his company, satisfying his questioning of their own preparation.

Vibration would mar the surface of the still marsh waters, and nearly as soon as the sight had met his vision did the rumbling meet his innards. Overhead, blackbirds would scatter from their perches, safe in the tops of the small, livening trees, and a low growl echoed in the male's chest - a fitting greeting for whichever beast was to meet it's death today. The moaning of the herd and the barking of the pack in the distance would be the last thing he would hear before sound faded into silence.

Several caribou finally exploded into sight, weaving a darting wherever they may see a fit escape. Intently holding his position for only a moment further, the wolf would become a black flash as Elettra came into view, hot on the heels of one of the does. From his place in the periphery, the brute would track parallel to the chaos, in the direction of the movement. With Kiche and Arlette deep in the chase, seemingly following the leads of Jaysyek and Elettra, his sights would zero-in on the elderly bull, sure to be handchosen by his packmates whose eyes were also glued to him.

The mud was thicker than he'd hoped for, but he did well in stepping lightly as came closer to the target with each calculating bound. The bull had managed to avert Kiche's attempt, but with Jayse right behind him, Elettra working to disconfigure the herd's structure, and a fresh garison ready in wait, he made his first move.

Unleashing his aggression was a natural act, and functional. Abandoning a parallel position, the ebony and silver blur would cut inward, flexing as large paws slid across the slime-covered ground before digging in, a spray of muck only adding to the commotion. The thundering of hooves and the heaving of his own breath would be the only distraction in his mind as he swiftly closed the distance between himself and the bull. Sprinting low in his last seconds of accomodation, a menacing snarl would bellow outward as robust hindquarters would launch him from the swaying grasses and onto the lateral aspect of the beast's back. In a split-second the brute's jaws would latch, deadly canine's sinking deep into the herbivore's thick skin. Hanging on only by the strength of the musculature serving his neck, chest, and back, and gripping with the claws of his forearms, his body would sway along the bull's side in rhythm with the beast's motion.

Since the pack meeting the only sleep Borden had been able to get was a 2-3 hour nap near the pack den. When he awoke with a start from hearing someone walking noisily nearby, he stretched and warmed-up with a half-hour round along the eastern side of the territory. By early morning, when the sun was just about to peek over the horizon, he found himself sitting silently beside a rotting cedar waiting for Kade. His eyes constantly scanned the surrounding tree-line, growing more unsettled as the minutes went past. Emerging from the forest, Kade came into view. The Lyall stood up quietly and met the dark man's gaze with a solemn glance of his own. If he was to fully gain the pack's trust back, he would heed his commands and follow his lead.

Birds took flight from the trees but Borden's gaze could not be torn from the area where Kade was waiting for the caribou herd to appear. The ground began to rumble underneath his paws and while the fur rose along his spine and his teeth clamped together in a vicious, determined, and hungry sneer. This was a chance to prove his worth - that he could pull his own weight, that he could function as a normal member of the pack - and he was committed to doing everything right. He took a few steps in Kade's direction, fighting hard to keep the growls in his system from climbing up his throat. As the herd emerged into plain sight, the dark man jumped right in to aid Elettra in her pursuit.

Borden's eyes scanned the shroud of galloping legs until a flicker of white, auburn and silver flashed before his eyes. He leapt into the fray, pushing his limbs to carry him as fast as he could after them. While he concentrated on assisting the duo to bring down Jaysyek's target, he also kept in mind the snowy blur that trailed after the leader. Arlette. The vigorous young cow at his opposite side was moving awfully close to the small group and he defensively turned his neck towards her with a snap of his jaws. She was much too close for his comfort and he was set upon keeping his daughter safe. The cow veered away from him and as Jaysyek, Kiche, and Arlette darted ahead of him, he forced himself to keep running. When and if their target went down, he would be right behind them to help deliver the old bull's demise.

It seemed that the pack meeting had barely ended when it was time to meet with his fellows once more. He had followed his newly chosen, ebony and silver haired leader. His role as the pack's Second was to follow instructions given by his leaders and enforce them, regardless of what they were or who those leaders were. Jaysyek had wanted a pack hunt, so Raigo refused to let her down, and was quick to follow on the heels of Kade as they left the Hollow, headed south into Drooping Willows. The others, the party led by Jayse and Elettra, was far ahead, but they would meet up soon, during the midst of the hunt. All the while, he kept scenting for them, golden eyes trained straight ahead, straining to catch sight of any movement at all.

Though the Akreon was the smallest of Kade's hunting party, he had no doubt that he would be able to contribute. The growing strength of the pack in turn had infused its members, and Raigo was rapidly approaching his prime. Unlike Trisden, Arlette, and Hocus, his youthfulness was guided by experience, and as the short call came from Jayse that it was time, Raigo couldn't deny himself the excited whine. Watching for only a moment as Kade and Borden dashed from their chosen hiding spot, Raigo followed suit, entering the fray.

The mud was slick under his paws, and he had a moment where balance was lost on him. But he regained it, only to find that the action was still very much going on around him. Kade had launched himself directly at the caribou, and was now riding atop of the beast. Snarling viciously, adding to the commotion, Raigo lunged towards the front legs of the wounded caribou. If he could take it out at the knees, then perhaps his pack mates would be able to finish the job.

Little bothered the fluffy male and so he had no problems falling fast asleep as soon as he found a patch of ground sufficiently soft enough for his large frame. Awaking with the sun however, was another issue. It was with a great deal of grumbling and growling that Valiant hauled his frame upward to answer the call to the hunt.

Trailing along slightly behind the other males, he trod carefully on the sodden earth of the Marsh. The rapidly retreating snows had left the ground as precarious as a frozen lake and he had no care to slip and break his leg... but this could work in their favor. He waited impatiently until the sounds of the approaching meal, and the snaps and snarls of the rest of the pack.

He had always found a way to avoid pack hunts back home and so the sudden chaos was almost overbearing for his simple head. He watched as Kade and Raigo made for the bull while Borden kept Arlette from danger. Taking his cue from Raigo he pushed himself to the bulls other flank, struggling to maintain enough speed to be of much use. Sinking his teeth wherever they could reach, he focused on attacking the flank and rear of the beast that with any luck, would soon be their meal. He just hoped that it was enough.