Heiress Loch carry on whistling in the dark

Though eager the young wolf put her energy to work. Focusing on keeping her steps light, remaining in the cover of shadow. Quiet, as quiet can be. But, stealth she found was one of her strengths, especially in the current landscape. Blue-gray eyes drifted to Aponi as she explained it would make it a bit harder to choose a target. But, the new information she stowed away should she need it.

She mimicked her mother, trying to see what she saw. Lila felt questions tug at her tongue, but she simply remained observant. She'd never quite seen a buck before, and took note of the weapons on its head, the warning her mother wanted them all to heed. There was only a small pinch of fear, the idea of what a wrong move could be. She was going to be cautious, and focused on the sudden movement ahead.

With the signal, she shoved herself forward, trailing Aponi,Nalda, and Tenebrae. To even it out she kept on the same side of her mother. Watching her so fiercely keep the deer in check. Running faster than Lila had known she could. A faint smile clung to her dark lips. It was a rush as her feet flew beneath her, trying to keep up. She would get close she tried to throw in snaps and growls of her own. Observe what she could for she hoped to be proficient.

So far they kept the deer right where they wanted it. Lila would watch in amazement as Aponi would strike. But, this time she did not let go. The young hunter could tell it was a brutal blow, the deer staggering, harder now with a wolf attached. Easier now to pad along side, she kept waiting for an opening. It was a natural instinct that wanted to take hold of the deer, and help her mother. It was hard to fight. It was only knowing Ice, and Serach would do so soon she held back.

The others joined them rather swiftly, and Ember's tail picked up to give a few polite wags of greeting as she saw them all trotting along. Ice even spoke their names, and the girl threw him a smile and a nod to return the acknowledgement before her expression grew more serious and her ears picked up to take in the instructions being passed out. It was admittedly odd for the girl to watch this man bark orders and head the group as though he were alpha, but she thought perhaps hunting was his specific role, or that this was the respect owed to wolves his age. She couldn't know; there had been neither specific positions nor wolves even near Ice's lifespan in the Pines.

So, she went along with the rest of them, because if her leaders didn't have an issue then neither would she. That she was tasked with the take down excited her, and she was determined to make a good impression. Serach's show of support was met with a grin as they moved after the herd, and she stuck just as close by Arion's side as he did her's.

As the group split to fulfill their separate roles, she followed Ice's lead and mimicked his actions. She had hunted plenty with her mother and sister, but never with a group so large before. All of this was certainly a learning experience for the young Reinier. With a sudden burst of motion and noise, they wolves laying in wait witnessed the other team separating the chosen sacrifice from its herd and heading it their way. Her muscles coiled and her paws kneaded the snow with anticipation. Closer and closer it came, but still she waited for Ice's signal, not wanting to be the one to break cover too early and spoil it all.

The pack split into their separate groups, but their collective spirits were high and eager. Although he had not particularly trained to become a hunter, Serach had always enjoyed the thrill of the chase and the adrenaline rush of charging towards an unsuspecting target. There was no greater power in his mind than to be the arbiter of life and death - it was unfortunate for the prey involved that so often the wolves enacted the judgement of death. Today, it seemed, would be no different. Pale eyes watching from their cover, he could barely make out the twist of shapes and flurry of movement as Aponi led her chasers into the clearing. He could feel the tension of the deer, even from afar, and the panicked bleats of one in particular signaled to him that his mate had found their mark. The following squeals as the Bend wolves took their first bites was only confirmation. Tensing his muscles, he crouched low to the ground, ready and waiting to leap and strike as soon as the fight grew closer.

And then the smell of blood was on them, and the shrieking bleats of the injured doe were loud in their ears. The wounded doe had reached the tree line, with the snarls and figures of the chasers right behind her. With a snarl of his own, Serach jumped up from his crouched position, quickly closing the couple yard gap between him and the doe. The poor thing had hoped the tree line might provide her protection, but it would only bring death quicker. At the sight of the wolves waiting in ambush, she tried to backpedal and turn in another direction, but they had surrounded her too fast. Taking a chance while the doe's head was frantically turning to look for an escape, Serach jumped up with an open mouth. His teeth connected where the back of her neck met her shoulder, and he dug in even as she began to scream and kick to try and shake him off. Already wounded, it wouldn't take much to knock her to the ground so they could deliver the final blow.

Golden eyes flicked constantly between the fleeing deer and the silver blur of her aunt on its opposite flank. The yearling watched closely, trying to mimic her leader's motions, baring her teeth and snapping her jaws, all the while fighting to keep up with their prize. Creamy paws pounded against the snow, tongue slipping out the side of her mouth as she gasped for air. Despite her lithe feet and strong lungs, she was having trouble keeping up, even on an injured leg the deer was freakishly fast. Panic seized her for a moment as it looked like it might slip away and she pressed herself even harder to try and keep up. Then a vicious snarl sounded as Aponi sprang up, tearing a nasty wound in the beast's thigh. Nalda would have hooted in triumph, had she had the air for it, instead she settled for a wicked grin, hurrying to catch up with their prey now that it was further stunted.

Out the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Lila, catching up as well, lips curled in a snarl to rival her mother's. The yearling smiled at her cousin, then bounded ahead, seeing her chance to make her own strike at their prize. Leaping up, much like Aponi had done moments before, the russet girl sank her teeth into the deer's hindquarters. Legs splayed across its back, she clung on with all her might, doing her best to weigh down the animal as they neared the tree-line where the ambush was waiting. But the beast was far from ready to give up, bucking and kicking to rid itself of the unauthorized rider. Despite her best efforts, Nalda felt her grip slipping, and then a particularly forceful kick managed to jerk her free, the thrusting back hock hitting her hard in the abdomen, knocking the air out of her.

She hit the ground hard, gasping for air and blinking tears from her eyes. Up ahead, she saw Aponi make another attack, latching on to the deer's stomach. And then the whole pack was there, surrounding their prey. The yearling quickly got to her feet, shaking herself lightly – she was sore from the hit, but nothing seemed to be seriously injured – and then quickly ran to join the circle around the deer, baring her teeth victoriously; There was no escape. Just as she reached them, Serach jumped, joining his mate in pulling down their prize. And Nalda knew they had won.

Word count: 413

"Speech" Thoughts

Because of work, my activity will fluctuate every other week. For more information and OOC preferrences check out my profile

I'm very sorry for not being better at pushing this. This is the final "mandatory" round and if it looks like I can I'll wrap it up again with my next post. :) @Nalda @Lila @Aponi @Serach @Ember

you do not know who is your friend

and who is your enemy

The air itself was taut and tense, a bow-string pulled tight and ready to be released—and they, the arrow. His veins thrummed with thrill and adrenaline, his eyes flicking from snowflake to snowflake upon its hard crust. He was waiting, patient, breath coming out in even, white clouds. Next to him, the Bend wolves were shadows, blocked from the moonlight—ghosts in the darkness.

The smell of blood reached his nose. It sent a shiver down his spine, white hair standing erect, ears forward. Soon. Hooves and paws stirred snow. Ice's smile was minatory, the mask of a predator, teeth shining faintly in the dark.

Go—everything suddenly seemed to shout, as Serach's pale body flashed out of cover. A half-noise, half-breath tore itself out of Ice's throat, the cue to get the kids going if they hadn't already; this is it, this is our chance, our time to shine. With more mass than his son Ice barreled in his wake, slower, a freight train, and where Serach bent the doe's head back with his grip, Ice went for her bared throat. She managed to knee him in the chest, once. A snarl rolled between his teeth and into her fur, her flesh, her blood—with the added weight of the wolves upon her, she fell, and Ice twisted to keep his grip. She kicked, feebly, in the bloodied, messy snow, evidence of their crimes laid out in a neat trail to follow. In the distance, the herd was already disappearing, the sound of their escape muted by the snow.

When the last of the life left her veins, and her heart stuttered to its final halt, Ice let go and took a step back; he licked his bloodied muzzle and inclined his head in the general direction of Serach and Aponi. It was done. It was over. His blood began to cool.

until the ice breaks.

let the stars above shine in your soul

Aponi held onto the deer's flesh in her jaws for as long as she possibly could as it staggered with her added weight. Eventually she had to let go but only after the meat she had been holding onto began to detach and strip from its body, effectively hobbling it. Landing heavy on her paws it took her a few strides to catch up to the circle that had formed around the beast and with a smile she saw that everyone had also fallen into position. Sides heaved with exertion as she added her snarls of warning towards their prey, but physically she held back. Her job was done, all she had to do now was scare it from trying to back away.

The ending was swift. Serach dealt the first blow from the ambush, latching onto the doe's head and exposing her throat and Ice ended it. Lifting her muzzle to the sky in celebration the alpha let out a victorious howl, the Bend had made their mark on the herd who now stood nervously along the tree line. One by one the rest of the deer began to disappear into the foliage, glad that they had not been the ones taken down in the attack. It was the way of the wild, the wolves took only what they needed and so kept the herds manageable and cleared them of their weak.

Aponi's head and tail rose proudly into their proper position as she stepped forward to take the first turn at the kill alongside her mate. When she had eaten her fill she stepped back to clean her jaws and paws while the rest of the pack fed. What was left would be carried back to the caches to be saved for later.

 

Serach could hear the growls and snarls of his packmates, and he could feel the heat of their bodies as they joined him in bringing down the doe. Above it all he heard the panicked bleating, as loud and frantic as the rapidly dying heartbeat he could feel beneath his paws. She tried to buck him, but his jaws were clamped tight around her flesh and he held on with a matching level of ferocity. He could feel the doe's body buckle as Ice's attack connected, one last scream giving way to death as life was torn from her.

The Bend leader let go, falling to the snow on top of their quarry. She came down on top of his right hind leg, and he yelped as the weight hit him. But the doe had come down only on his paw, and after a moment's struggle he was able to free his limb and rise to his feet once more. Raising a red and white colored paw to his eyes, he batted at his nose and face to wipe away the blood that had fallen there. Finally able to see, he looked around at his packmates, his smile filled with pride. They had all seemed to make it through just fine, and for that he was grateful. Aponi's victory song rang in his ears, and for just a short moment he joined his voice to her's before he turned his attention back to the kill. "Nice work, everyone. We should be able to rely on this for at least a week or two, maybe more," he told them as he stepped up to take his place next to Aponi and eat his fill before stepping aside to let the other's do the same.

you do not know who is your friend

and who is your enemy

He was ready to kill the deer a second time when it fell on Serach—his lips peeled back again, already bloodied fangs ready to sink deep into its lifeless flesh and rip it to a thousand pieces—

But before his demons had a chance to surface, Serach pulled himself free, and the hair along Ice's spine smoothed out again and the thunderous growl died in his chest. Aponi cried our their victory, and for a moment, he only stood there as the song of his family rose around him. It.. it made his heart race again, and the hair on his back prickle, demanding that he throw back his head and join them. The deep boom of his howl joined theirs, before one by one they dropped out, leaving Aponi's haunting voice to slowly fade into crisp silence.

They took their given turns at the kill, Aponi and Serach diving for the good stuff while the rest loitered, dug in the snow, or growled at one another to test the hierarchy. Ice hardly bothered, except to give warning growls each time someone came a bit too close.

The moment Serach and Aponi abandoned the kill Ice dug in, definitely not afraid to shoulder away anyone who tried to eat what he wanted, but also not afraid to share it with the yearlings, as long as they kept out of his way.

Hunting, feeding, and then dozing it off—it was the heart of pack life, at least in this season. The growls weren't things of evil or even cruelty, they were simply things that were, necessary to preserve the order of things and keep them from spiraling into chaos.

When everyone had had their fill, they took what they could and headed home to fill their caches.

[ The end. <3 ]

until the ice breaks.

let the stars above shine in your soul