Ghastly Woods Aboria

<blockquote>She didn't notice the other deflect her question, she was far too absorbed in the scents around her. A small giggle escaped her throat at the thought of her golden brother healing. During their lessons he had always been so... reluctant was an understatement, but he was a second now? She had always thought he was more like her, laid back, happy to be a subordinate... It would seem however he was far more like Naira and Chulyin, born to lead in some capacity, with his own pack or supporting others in leading theirs. It made her wonder... How could they all be so perfect and her so broken? and wrong? Maybe she had been adopted...

She caught the scent just a moment after Volkan after letting her mind run off with her. Having been raised on a staple of Caribou and Moose, she hadn't often encountered deer, but remembered the experience as delicious. Inching forward so she was alongside the taller wolf, eyes searched the woods for any sign of their prey. The meandering herd eventually came into sight, it was a small group, mostly mothers and their young... but which would make the best target?

Her tiny size easily ruled at least half the herd out, they were either too big or too healthy. There were a few does that were barely yearlings amongst the bunch and one was rapidly losing its fur, shunned by the majority of the herd. She wondered what was wrong and then decided she didn't care. It looked like dinner to her.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Aniu had smelled the deer, too, and suddenly both wolves were captivated by the very real prospect of a meal. In her head, Volkan did the math, as she was sure Aniu was doing. Three adult does, three younger ones. One odd, maybe sick individual, with fur clumping and patchy. Clearly it was being alienated from the rest of the herd. The yearling deer would be healthier for them, but the sick one looked so weak that it could collapse at any moment. With two wolves, though, they could take down one of the smaller animals easily...

After a moment, Volk glanced sideways at Aniu, curious as to how skilled a hunter she would turn out to be. Eager to know her spin on the plan, Volkan watched her, silvery eyes narrowed first on her before her attention snapped back to the herd before them. Gauging Aniu's line of sight as best she could, she motioned only slightly with her maw at the sick deer, which now nosed aimlessly at the ground, checking the other female's expression for some sign of agreement. Surely the others in the herd would run for their lives once the wolves emerged, leaving the malnourished individual to its fate, right?

She watched the other female, a grim smirk crossing her weathered countenance. She'd let Aniu call the shots on this one— there was little risk of injury, so it was a perfect way to see what the other wolf was made of.</blockquote>

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<blockquote>Ani knew she had no chance of pulling down any of the deer but the smallest with her twiggish frame, but with the much healthier and larger female here they could probably manage the sickly one. Her strength was in the chase so she began to work her way around the deer to chase them back towards Volkan. Thankfully the air stilled for long enough that she could get in front of the herd and run at them.

She burst forth from the undergrowth, her speed allowing her to land a quick snap on the ill deers shoulder before it even knew she was there. As anticipated the rest of the herd turned tail and fled, the terrified beast in front of her unsure whether to try and follow the herd or avoid the smaller wolf's teeth. She delivered another tearing nip to the beasts ribs and that helped to settle its mind. It headed right for where Ani had left Volkan. She continued to tear at the beasts legs and the tender flesh near the insides of its thighs, coating herself in blood in the process. She only needed to keep up for long enough that the blood loss weakened it beyond standing, but hopefully Volkan would make her move before then. This was like being back home.</blockquote>

<blockquote>For a brief moment Volkan wondered whether she should show herself, make herself known in case the herd chose to stick around— but the rest of the deer bailed as soon as Aniu sprinted out of the underbrush. So the Creek female kept low, heart beating steadily in her chest and her ears, deep breaths keeping her calm as the pounding of the sick deer's hooves seemed to shake the earth. The image rapidly stampeding her way was a happy one— Aniu had managed to draw a lot of blood. Silent, Volk readied herself to launch.

Powerful yet slender limbs sent the wolf upward into the air just as the deer crossed her path. The moment seemed to happen as if in slow motion. Yet before she knew it, her jaws had closed down on tender flesh, and she clamped them shut instinctively. The sheer weight of her body was enough to bring the already weakened deer stumbling to the ground; its front legs seemed to give out on it, and it kneeled, skidding to a halt. Desperately its back legs flung out behind it, struggling to gain ground, but Volkan kept her hold on its shoulder with a low snarl of warning to her hunting partner. "Watcsh da legsh!" She tried to yell, unable to see around the deer to make sure Aniu wasn't in range of those flailing hind hooves.

Soon, hopefully very soon, the thing would bleed out, stop struggling, and be theirs for the taking. For now, Volkan kept her hold, tasting the ever familiar sensation of blood pouring from the wound her mouth created.</blockquote>

(This post was last modified: Apr 17, 2012, 07:36 AM by Volkan.)

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<blockquote>Volkan's warning came a split second too late as flailing hooves caught her flank in a sickening burn that forced the breath from her chest. She could already tell nothing was broken and she dragged herself to her feet, gasping for breath like a fool, because no air would enter her lungs just yet. Scrambling about making mild choking noises she hoped and prayed Volkan wouldn't release the kill to check on her, she was only winded and the air would return to her soon.

Finally, her rapid attempts to inhale found success as she loudly gulped in air, shaking herself momentarily before racing to provide whatever assistance she could render to the other female but her little incident got her there too late. The deer was dead. She felt terrible for leaving the other wolf there on her own at the end but it wouldn't have done much good for her to suffocate along with their prey. A dopey grin crossed her face at the sheer amount of meat on the animal. She would have to be careful not to make herself sick...</blockquote>

<blockquote>As Volkan bit down on the deer, some rather odd and disturbing noises came to her ears. Different from the groaning of the dying creature, they were breathless gasps, and all too soon, the tall female realized what had happened. Yet she couldn't look away, couldn't abandon her hold on the kill— the sooner its life left it, the better. A small pang of worry taunted her mind as she held on to the dying thing, but Volkan ignored it, desperation strengthening her bite. Blood now cascaded from the deer's wounds, and it fell limp at last, either unconscious or dead, but either way it was no longer flailing.

Gingerly Volk released her hold, surveyed her handiwork for a moment, and then looked to Aniu at last, only to find her grinning. That was a good sign, she figured, and a small wave of relief washed over her as she realized the other female hadn't been injured too badly. Their kill was dead, or at least seemed like it, and now they would be rewarded for their efforts. As Aniu waltzed toward her, Volk watched, unable to see any open wounds on the other wolf's body. "You okay?" She asked, just to be sure.</blockquote>

(This post was last modified: Apr 23, 2012, 03:38 AM by Volkan.)

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Oh goodness I’m a terrible person D: Feel free to leave it with them eating if you want, or just archive after this. I’ll leave it up to you.

<blockquote>Her flank was throbbing but her smile stayed in place. <b>”Just winded...”</b> she admitted with a sheepish grin. It was a yearling mistake, but it had been so long since she had hunted with another and these days, she tended to be scatterbrained at best.

At first she was unsure if she should just dig in. It was clear the girl before her held some sort of rank, and she was only a loner... But the smell of the blood, the sight of the still warm corpse... her hunger got the better of her as she moved up beside her companion, tail tucked and ears pinned before cautiously darting forwards to tear at the animals flesh. All it would take was a well aimed nip from the other lady to have her scattering back to wait her turn, but she was just that hungry.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Relieved to see that Aniu wasn't seriously injured, she shot her a messy grin as she approached. As far as she was concerned, they could eat at the same time; why try to show dominance to a stranger outside of the pack borders, especially to someone who seemed to be so nice? Volk began to settle in to their meal, content with their kill. Besides, Aniu had been travelling. Volkan wasn't about to force her down the pecking order unnecessarily.

With whatever left over meat there would be, if any, Volk would make the journey to carry some to the pack cache. It would be Aniu's choice whether she wanted to follow, but the Creek wolf wasn't about to force anything like that on her. She supposed she'd bring it up when they were done eating, or at least give her directions on how to get to the Creek, in case she chose to seek out Kanosak for herself. So, she ate alongside Aniu in relative silence, glad for her company.</blockquote>

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