Wild Rye Fields Cat and Mouse - Printable Version

They’d gone hunting. They did that all the time, the grown ups, leaving the pups to handle their own, alone; Bored! They never got to be part of the fun, but always had to keep hidden away, safe. Such a drag. So, as always, Gale had to find his own fun. Which was getting increasingly hard, it wasn’t like there was that much to do around the FIelds. Even tormenting Kas and Silva grew tedious after a while, he wanted something new; Something exciting! That was why he set out from the den, as always not giving a damn about his parents instructions.

He didn’t make it all that far though, as it seemed today, finally, adventure found him. Whether the beast was too stupid to even notice the stench of wolf, or to bold to care, no one would ever know, but the fact was that it had caught the scent of blood and was determined to snatch itself a piece. But it didn’t get that far, before crossing paths with a little, mousy-brown pup, out on a hunt of his own.

The large, sleek body, of smooth, sandy fur stood out starkly among the stunted cedar trees, easily catching the eye of the youngster. He’d never seen such a creature before, big as a deer, but so different from the stiff, meek prey. Naive as he was, he watched in wonderment as it paused the advance, turning its full attention to him. Every movement was fluid, yet precise, the large frame seeming to be one, continuous curve. Why had he never seen this creature before? The little nose quivered, eager to see if he could identify the scent of meal brought by the adults, too far removed from its original form to be recognized by the eye. All while the beast carefully coiled itself - it might have come to steal, but who would ignore an easy snack, walking right up to you like that?

All too late, Gale met the shimmering, yellow eyes, finally seeing that this was no prey, ready to run at the mere scent of wolf. For the first time in his young life, the pup stood across from another predator, looking at him, not with fear, but hunger. A single, terrified shiver ran all along his back, down to his buckling knees and the skinny tail stuck between them. Then he turned, and ran!

Word Count: 401

"Speech" Thoughts.

dawnthieves.de

Things here in the Field were good. With yet another successful hunt under their belt, Askan was starting to think the swell in numbers wasn't such a bad thing. That wasn't to say that he trusted the new comers as much as those who'd been here from the start, but maybe he was being a little unfair. They'd all done well in the hunt, played their parts like well oiled cogs, but still it was still a little to early for him to give them the thumbs up. If they were still hanging around-and doing their damn jobs- when winter was here then he'd cut them some slack. For now, the Guardian would be as stiff as ever.

The rye tickled his elbows as he pushed on through it, heading south towards the communal den at a leisurely pace. He'd finished his patrol and figured it was about time he checked in on the runts, to make sure they weren't getting into too much trouble. He trusted Sphinx of course, but her brothers were a different story. He didn't see them as a problem per se, after all he wasn't the sort to deny them their nature. But couldn't they be a little more quiet and less mischievous, even for one blessed day? Because if Gale scared the living hell out of him one more time when he was taking a drink from the pond he'd push him in there himself. Just to see how much he liked it!

As the Selwyn drew closer to the communal space the scent of blood lingered thick in the air. Not unusual, that's where they'd left the bounty of the hunt, so everyone could take a piece of it if they wanted. What was unusual however was, well the sight of Gale running-no sprinting along as though his little life depended on it. Who had he pissed off now? Reyes maybe? He wasn't the sort to tolerate his tricks.

Rolling his eyes he continued on and the closer they got the more wrong this felt. He was starting to worry that something was wrong then he saw it. That behemoth of a cat, unlike anything he'd ever seen. Pale like sand but with a body strong and lithe like some sort of mutated lynx that was way too big for it's boots. It took Askan a moment but then he realised just what it was, it was a cougar and it looked pissed.

The beast kicked off into a sprint and Askan's ears flickered down to rest against his skull. Really? What had he done to piss it off, was his presence alone enough to infuriate? He spread his gate, the fur along the line of his back standing on end as his blood ran cold. No, the trajectory was all wrong. The cat wasn't gunning for him, it was after little Gale!

Over his fucking dead body.

The cat practically glided over the ground in it's pursuit of the Rye pup. It was so fast, like a lightning strike but with teeth, claws and an intent to kill.

Askan had no time to think, to consider what to do, or who to call for. He had to act and he had to to it there and then. He gritted his teeth and let out a resounding, sharp bark of warning, which roughly translated into 'GET THE FUCK HERE RIGHT NOW !'

Kicking himself off into full speed, Askan with all his strength-and a mighty, thunderous snarl- barrelled into the beast and they both tumbled to the floor in a tangle of swiping claws and snapping jaws. It wasn't clever nor was it particularly pretty, but damn if this wasn't an effective way of buying time. He knew he couldn't take this beast alone but that's what his pack mates were for, right? Right?

The Rye wolves' hunt had been successful that morning, bringing down a large elk to fill their bellies momentarily and the rest of the caches for later. Winter was slowly making it's way upon them, the nights drawing colder each day. Every hunt helped them whether they were successful are not - though the beta hoped each one was as successful as their latest. They were able to scout out the herds for their weakest links even if they were able to take them down. Tracking the herd's progression across the lowlands before winter hit would put the Rye wolves in the best position once the snow started to fall.

Taking some meat from the carcass, the Rye beta went to her few private caches to refill them before she started to head back to where they left their prey they dragged in. Humming softly to herself, her salmon tongue licked off the excess blood that covered the pale fur of her muzzle as she moved through the tall rye closing in on the trees ahead. Casually she was making her way back towards the communal den, until someone seemed off. Stopping midstep, pale ears perked forward as her nose quivered. Blood, rye, cat! A cougar!

Before the Snow woman could take off in search of the feline intruder, her eyes spotted them. Askan running before howling for help as the cougar rushed through their lands. Bursting from through the rye, the beta took off as fast as she could towards the tumbling pair. Easily able to tell the difference between her friend and the intruder, her snarls were mighty as she didn't think twice and collided her thick shoulder into the sand body of the cougar hoping to knock it off it's course of whatever attack it had planned for Askan.

The mother knew there was a reason she had put Reyes on pupsitting duty. Jessie was on her way towards the borders to do her daily patrol when an alarming bark traveled across the open fields. Not knowing what to think, the Tainn burst forth, legs taking her as fast as they could take her. Wide emerald eyes scanned the Rye quickly, first settling on her son, before looking over at her subordinates that were gathered, and then settling on the cougar. Thoughts of Ruiko and Kisla settled in the monochrome wolf's mind. It only sparked the worry and anger that fueled deep inside her and she desperately tried to keep hidden throughout the days. When she spoke, her voice was assertive, "Neko, take Gale back home and make sure Silva and Kasai are safe." Risaela had gone home with Lachesis, deciding that she had been away from her family long enough.

Trusting that Neko would keep her children safe, the woman focused back on their attacker. The one that had tried to get to her son. The Rye Queen's lips pulled back into a snarl as she witnessed the beast successfully melee Aleksei, albiet not blood - another part of her family. His words reverberated in her mind. Yes, go for the hips...and eventually the windpipe. Jessie bounded towards them, emerald gaze burning with the desire to kill. The woman had her fair share of fight - both while she was in Swift River and Oak Tree Bend. She had also killed before, for Drestig's revenge, in particular. She spoke with authority, body in a defense position, "Circle around it when you get the chance. It can only face one of us and when you get the chance strike, but be careful!" She spoke in a rush, hardly having a time to get a word in. The Rye Queen ran Aleksei's right, flanking him but giving enough room for either of them to dish out any attacks.

foxstox @DA & Dawnthieves.de

Was it weird to be worried about Cottongrass? Because he was. They were friends, but it wasn’t like they were tied at the hip. They were friends, but it wasn’t like Cottongrass was an adopted brother, or kid, or something. They were friends, and packmates, and he knew something wasn’t quite right with the pale yearling (even if he’d never solved the kid’s problems when he’d asked for help) – and it ate at him.

Surely, he wouldn’t just run away. Right?

Reyes was just over the border, nose in the grass as he continued trying to track the younger male down when the call when up. It washed over him like frozen rain – Askan, Askan, Askan.

Deron couldn’t be back, could he? No, surely not. He’d broken the man’s muzzle. Pulled his throat right out of his neck. Ate it. Enjoyed it. There was no coming back from the dead. But was there someone else, another Selwyn? What had Askan done to attract this kind of—

Oh. Oh.

It was a cat. In the flurry of colors and grasses, all Reyes could pick out was Neko and Gale off just a ways, with Adelayde, Aleksei, and Askan at the center of the fray. (Hah. A cubed.) It reeked of blood and mountain monster, and Reyes arrived just in time to fall in line behind the Queen, easily circling as she did. While the cat lunged for Aleksei, he lunged for one side – if it grabbed for him, someone else would have a chance.