Drooping Willows That damn moose again!

Ravenna could smell it. It still mocked them by traveling the area around their home, being careful not to get too close to the pack's territory markers. The moment she was certain that the scent was but hours old, she sings out to her members for them to rally and join her on the hunt. Exiting the borders of her pack, she works her way into the direction of the moose. He had injured his ankle before and it only led to wonder how much his health had decreased since she had last seen him weeks prior.

It could not have been more then fifteen or twenty minutes of her trailing the bull that she caught sight of him, his head low as he dug at the earth looking for any signs of vegetation. The injured limb by now had swollen at the ankle and as he graze it was evident the limp he carried had become much more grave. Good. It would increase the chances of the pack's success now that they were doing it on their own.
This time around it would just be her and her pack. She felt that now it was going to be that way for a while and perhaps it was better like that. She didn't have to worry about her members stepping on anyone else's toes to keep an alliance if there was not one and she didn't have to worry about playing nice with others just to keep the peace, either. Somehow, someway, Willow Ridge seemed to have gotten a bad rep. Whether it be the wolves there were too serious, to mean, too bullheaded or that some still thought them weak minded, divided, a shadow of their once selves. Ravenna scoffed at the thought. Willow Ridge had outlast any other pack in all the Lore and it would last still after years had crumbled everything else to dust. It was created by the paws of Elettra Archer and it had so far proven to be just as immortal as she.

Silently, Ravenna prayed to the gods for protection and to her parents for guidance as she crept forward, remaining hidden from the view of her prey until her pack caught up with her. This time, she hoped, the pack would be successful unlike the other few failed attempts as a grouped hunting. Third time was a charm, after all.

Her morning had been spent on the borders, with he recent happenings Leotie felt it was good to keep a close eye on them. The lynx was still about so looking for signs of it was something she was also very active about. They couldn't afford the feline stealing their food or hurting the pups. She would make sure that everyone was safe if she had to fight the cat herself.

She'd been sniffing along the border when she heard Ravenna's call which brought her head up. Since Oak Tree Bend and what had happened to Triell Leotie had found a new outlook on hunts so she didn't hesitate to answer the call. As quickly as she could travel in the snow she went to meet the alpha. She soon found her and the moose they had tried to catch before. Hiding herself she watched the moose for a moment and saw that he was worse off than the last time she'd seen him. This was only good news for the pack especially now that they were down two members. She'd heard about Odin and Kip, it was sad to see them go but she couldn't disagree about the reasons that Sven had made them leave.

“Maybe this time we will actually be able to go through with the hunt,” she said quietly to Ravenna. She continued to watch the moose while they waited for the other members to arrive.

Luck was on their side. Mother nature had granted the Ridge wolves a second chance in having a go at the moose who had been their intended target in the Fireweed Rise. Foolishly, the animal lingered and grazed in the surrounding land just outside the heart of their home. Tempting fate, enticing the hunters who dwelled within. Filtering into his nose was the scent of an injured animal, one which was suffering. That and it's natural musky scent was a combination enough to make his mouth water. Inky tail flicking in anticipation, Blitz cleaned his jowls of any stray strands of saliva before they could escape with a sweep of his tongue. And, just like he knew she would, Ravenna sent up the call to the slaughter.

He needed no further summons. Already he had been shadowing the moose from a safe distance, using the protection of the trees as cover. Out in the open he would stick out like a sore thumb against the white snow. With a determined growl of excitement, the ex sea wolf heeded his leaders summons and flitted through the trees easily. Like a wraith on the prowl, zeroing in on it's latest victim. When he arrived, Ravenna was already there, as was the agouti female and male with the scars on his face. Slipping in just before him was a dark young boy with patches of white on his fur, who he hadn't seen before. "Course we will..." He replied smoothly to Leotie's comment. "We ain't got no frickin outsiders to distract us this time." Crudely stated as always, but not without a touch of humor in his voice. Coming to stand at the open side of Ravenna, his toxic eyes fell on the moose, drifting immediately to the swollen leg. It's limp was evident, his movements slower than they should be. An advantage for the wolves hidden in the trees, eager for a worthy feast to last them through the winter.

The last time there had been a group hunt it hadn't gone as planned. This one will be different. Eager, her paws whisked her hastily across the white terrain. She wanted to be swift answering her leader's call. She still felt like she was proving herself after all. The Ridge really needed a nice victory, and moose would surely keep them fed a good while.

With all her senses she honed in on Ravenna's location, the thick stench of moose teasing her nostrils. A sharp grin cut against her dark muzzle. If he'd had much choice he probably would have been long gone from here. Lucky for them he wasn't. Bright eyes flicked along open space, finally seeing the group. A soft chuff, she didn't hesitate trotting toward them. She offered a dip of her head, mostly to Ravenna, letting her gaze drift to Leotie,Lorcan and Blitz with a pleasant smile. Though she was surprised the youngest man had no want for action, and her golden gaze lingered on him for a moment. Somehow she felt it was the Archer name that set him apart. Making such a wise decision for one so young.

With @Adelta in PS at the time of this hunt and @Nicolò on bed rest, I figured I would post just to move this along. Light, still feel free to have Nicolo pop up on the sidelines with Romanov. Cade said she would get Sven in when she could.

Leotie was the first to arrive. As many times before, this came as no surprise to Ravenna. Leotie was a very active member of the pack, if not the most so. She was loyal to both her leaders and without a doubt loved her home here in the Willows. "It will be just us this time and with the size of this bull the pack won't have a worry about food for the rest of winter." With tensions high with the Aurora wolves and other elements such as frost bite and storms and trespassers, at least hunger wouldn't be on the Pack's list of worry. Ravenna thought to herself that winter was half over already and this year, she prayed, there would be no deaths like the two former.

Lorcan was next to arrive to the gathering, who with his smile and coming to stand near her, she returned the smile. Then Romanov came in, offering a dip of his muzzle and he settled down on the sidelines, excusing himself from the hunt yet readied himself for observation. With such a large prey, larger then Ravenna had hunted before, perhaps it was best the youth held back. Blitz was not far behind, as quickly as Lorcan and Romanov had arrived he was on their trail, commenting on Leotie's words. She couldn't help the smirk to her features though otherwise remained silent as he wiggled into a place next to her. She had thought to reach out and touch her muzzle to his cheek yet decided against it. The affection of their friendship was more often then not kept under wraps.

Then came Lilith. A woman, she had to admit, she saw of the least within this pack. The woman seemingly kept her distance yet at the same time the caches of their pack had never gone dry, so she assumed Lilith was doing her job well. An even harder one in the winter. She trotted into the direction of the group and Ravenna huffed in greeting to her. Silver eyes then looked between her group, deciding to get along with it.

"I'm sure Sven will be along soon and can fill in where is needed..." They all had been made aware Adeltra had been staying in the Lagoon until Revon was delivered and Nicolo wasn't capable of taking on something like this. "I've never hunted anything like this before..." She spoke, offering a pause in case someone wanted to pipe in on that. "I'm not sure if he will fight or flight. I figure, ether way, Lilith with your skill sets in hunting you should take the rear. You can keep up with him if he decides to run and would be the quickest to dodge a hit if he tries kicking out. Blitz and I will stick to his left side and Lorcan and Leotie to his right to he stays surrounded." That way too, they wouldn't be scrambling and bumping into one another trying to decide where to attack. Ravenna's gaze however did rest on Lilith, wondering if the huntress might have any input.

not looking for some fairytale bliss

Art by Marina!

Leotie was the first to find Ravenna watching the moose and she had good news for her, they would be the only ones to be hunting the moose that day. “It's better this way more for us and if we don't have to worry so much about food we can focus on other things.” Strengthening the pack and the search for Revon teaching the children more of their skills. There were plenty of things the pack could be doing if they weren't so worried about food.

Lorcan came after her and a glance was given to the man just before her attention was drawn by the arrival of Romanov and Blitz. She was glad they had been able to make it and a greeting was given to all three men with a dip of her head and wag of her tail. Their chances would be improved but there was one presence that Leotie had noticed wasn't there. She turned back the moose but was drawn away again when Lilith appeared and she too received a small smile.

Ravenna announced that she was sure Sven would be along a soon as he could which Leotie had no doubt. Ravenna explained she hadn't hunted anything like a moose before and Leotie knew that she hadn't either. The only thing that might kind of she doubted it would be similar was the boar she'd hunted with Zerxes. So the Agouti woman didn't say anything and instead took the orders she'd been given with a glance to the tawny man. She turned to Lilith as Ravenna's gaze rested on her, she wondered if the huntress had any words of wisdom for them.

i want something just like this