The young bird had been about to burst with excitement for this day, ever since his dad had first told him of it. The promise of a hunt, a real hunt like the adult did for deer, but something bigger! It didn’t even matter that they were ‘only to watch’, it was still far more exciting than anything the little Avalon had ever experienced in his life. He practically flew over the grass as they set out, dancing along without even considering making trouble, too caught up in this, permitted adventure.

It was only once they arrived at the meeting place that things started to get boring, half the adults heading out to scout while the others just sat and waited. Gale felt every hair on his body start to twitch; How long’s this gonna take? Pale green eyes scanned the group, new joiners still trickling in, and a broad grin spread on his face as they fell on the two girls at the back - the larger of whom, at least, looked to be just as bored as him. Wagging his tail high, Griffin trotted over, smiling widely. “Hi,” He barked, easily; “‘m Griffin, y’ can call me Gale!” Hopefully the river pups were up for a bit of fun, to pass the time while the adults jabbered.

Word count: 219

He didn’t have to wait long before the River wolves began to arrive. First a woman he hadn’t met before, but who’s greeting received a nod and a soft smile nevertheless. And she was soon followed by Lachesis, who brought a full on grin to the dark mans face. “Lachesis,” he replied warmly; “Good to see you too!” Others followed quickly: A young female who he guessed to be Kisla’s daughter Inna, with a dark pup by her side, her own child; Then Adelayde, who’d made up the rear of his own group, joined them with Laike by her side; Just as Aleksei returned from a quick scouting, further ahead.

Drestig turned his smile on the young Baranski, ears perked eagerly as he gave his report. “Good, very good,” he breathed, a twinkle in his eye. Then he looked back to inspect their numbers. A few more stragglers had come from both sides, and a bit down the small hill, the pups were making friends. The elder man continued to smile, looking back to Lachesis now, as the other leader. “Plenty of us to make a good dent in any herd, I’d say,” he started confidently, then went on: “I reckon the pups will just observe, keep their distance? It’ll be safer all around.” With so many adults, the youngsters were more likely to get in the way, and keeping them a safe length from sharp antlers and trampling hooves would give their parents more piece of mind.

Once that was dealt with, the greying man looked around at the others again, his tail giving a quick, excited wag. Much like his son, the Rye king had looked forwards to this day, though maybe for different reasons. He would be happy to strengthen the relations between the two packs, and get some fresh meat in their caches along the way. Clearing his throat, he turned back to his young scout, smiling a little fiercer now; “Lead the way then Alek.” Already his nose was full with the scent of caribou, but there were plenty of other beasts in the vicinity, and Aleksei had the best idea of where they all were. “Something big.”

Once they’d started moving, he’d put himself shoulder to shoulder with the River leader, discussing tactics in a low voice; “I say once we find the right target, we split in three to cover it from all sides, put the bigger, slower hunters at the back to drive it forwards and have the faster wolves flank it either side, keeping the course and doing damage where possible. If we go for a bull ox or bison, the best move is to tire it out before going for the kill.” A brow raised towards the other alpha, asking his opinion, all while half his attention remained on Aleksei up ahead, and whatever prey might soon appear as well.

Word count: 480

Thoughts ”Speech”