Larkcall Lowlands this captain goes down with the ship

7/3 - Patchy rain nearby, 67 ° F - 20 ° C
Pack hunt in the lowlands to catch some caribou.
@Minka @Lugh @Cessair @Astraeus @Raela @Octavius @Kova

A splinter herd had taken respite at the water's edge of the river that marked the end of Stonewatch Timber's expansive forest. Approximately one hundred caribou stood along the banks, stomping the ground the tossing their heads. The constant bellowing was something of an annoyance to the Crest king, but their obnoxious presence was just further proof that no other packs had settled this far north in the Lore any time recently. The herds were obviously well accustomed to passing through this place relatively peacefully as they migrated and reared their young, a very good thing indeed for the wolves of Round Stone Crest.

Gent had gathered the pack, excepting Lugh and the children, on the opposing side of the river. The wolves remained hidden by the thickly clustered trees, peering from the darkness to observe their oblivious prey. Once they attacked, the great mass of caribou was likely to act as a single mind and stampede across the lowlands and away from the timbers. If their numbers were greater, with more adults in their ranks, the man would advise that they split into two groups in an attempt to take more than one beast down. As things were, he would be happy with a single caribou, and knew that the herd would not venture too far from their water source when spooked only once.

His pale eyes turned to his partner Minka then, aware of her accolades when it came to hunting. She would know best which ungulate to target and take down, and so from here on out he was willing to completely defer leadership of the party to her.

"Where do you want us, captain?"

(This post was last modified: Jul 27, 2015, 06:15 PM by Gent.)

let me know if the asusmptions I made about the river/what not are incorrect/inappropriate whatnot. thought at least someone should jump in???

It was everything that the golden boy could do to keep himself from shaking. Whether the tremors were borne from fear or excitement was hard to place. He had never see so many caribou in one place in is brief life. He had also never participated in a real hunt. And these two thoughts fought for control over his heart. Nervously, he gulped and surveyed the wolves at his side. He had known them for some time now, but had no idea how much he could truly trust them. Many were older than he and had probably done this before, but he found himself wondering if they would let a rookie like him get kicked in the face for the sake of a lesson. No one had spoken to him on the way here. Did they just expect he would know how it was done? Maybe they thought he would just figure it out if he didn't know. Maybe it was easy.

He was very sure he would be kicked in the face though.

He gulped once more as he stared out across the river. Were they going to cross it? It didn't look too deep, but it was still a river. There was not much coverage along the banks and, for sure one of those beasts would hear them coming and it would be all over from there. Gus was not good at swimming. Were any of the others good at swimming? He hoped that they were. He hoped that there would be some shallow spot with stepping stones for him. Please let there be stepping stones. Please let there be stepping stones, he prayed to whatever higher power was out there.

One leader turned to the other and asked for their orders. Gus pleaded silently for Minka to tell them all just to go home.

Posting availability
9pm - 10:30pm EST weekdays
Weekends sporadically. 

Let's get this hunt started, shall we? :3

The magnificent sight nearly took Cessair's breath away. She had been out this way on a scouting mission with @Raela not long ago, but they hadn't encountered a single living caribou on the whole trip. Now, right here at the edge of the timbers, there was an enormous herd! The animals' uniformity of color and shape and tranquility of movement as they swirled amongst each other was positively mesmerizing. Cessair could hardly look away, but look away she did. With their prey in sight, it was high time the hunters began strategizing. The inexperienced woman would leave that to her superiors, of course, but she figured that she might as well try to come up with a plan as a way of practice while @Gent and @Minka came up with the official plan.

Having never hunted caribou and having never hunted in a pack, however, Cessair could get nowhere with her own invention of strategies. She resolved instead to try to put herself in the mindset of hunting and to take mental notes when her king and queen announced their plan. Sweeping her copper-gold gaze through the hunting group, Cessair tried to assess her packmates' strengths and to interpret how they would affect her own actions and technique during the hunt. But the movement of her eyes stopped at her newest packmate, the yearling Gus. The older woman knew nothing of his personality, skills, or habits, but she could certainly see that he was nervous.

The sight of the bronze-colored boy all but trembling was almost amusing, as it was usually Cessair herself who was the nervous one. The only reason the fawn fae wasn't nervous now, she reflected, was because she was surrounded by capable packmates whom she had come to trust. Cessair felt she could understand the yearling's struggles, though, for if she were still as unfamiliar with her packmates as Gus must surely be, she would be just as nervous. With a compassionate smile adorning her muzzle, Cessair walked over to Gus. "Hey there. You look a little nervous." The older woman realized she hadn't paid her new packmate much attention yet, so she broadened her smile just a little, hoping not to intimidate him. ”We're a team here. I promise we've got your back!”

There is a rabbit\'s nest nearby. +1 Health

Let me know if the plan isn't clear or my pp of Gus wanting to stay with Minka isn't okay!

The thought of a real hunt had Minka's blood flowing hot within her veins, the queen could barely contain herself on the way out of the territory. As the lands got flatter she had to remind herself to contain her energy by keeping her pace to a trot rather than an actual run. While she loved being the alpha and having a pack, hunting had always been her natural calling, it had always been what she did to clear her head. There had never been a time in her life where she had needed to clear her head more than now, with Tokino gone she had come to accept and fill the role of single mother, but it seemed that she didn't need to. While she had never expected or asked him to Gent had seemingly easily stepped in and filled the role of father, and she was running out of time before she had to step in and explain what had happened to their actual dad. While she had told @Marianna, @Draven and @Kino about Tokino and who he had been as a dad to them she had iced over where he was now, just saying he wishes he could be there but wasn't. Minka knew this explanation wouldn't last forever, and the day grew closer and closer that the truth would need to be said.

Instead of focusing on this though Minka through herself whole heartedly into the hunt at hand, her mood only higher when she got to spend time with her children. Finally their group slowed as the large herd came into sight through the boughs of the forest surrounding them. At the sight of the stamping beasts Minka couldn't help the slow smile that spread across her muzzle, her feet itching to get to work. As Gent asked for further instruction she pushed forward so she had a clearer view of the herd, but they were still too far to pick out any defects.

Turning back to the members that they had brought with them she looked at the other six wolves, quickly assessing their strengths and weaknesses. That is until her golden eyes fell onto Datura who was clearly distressed, moving back towards him Minka felt her heart ache. He had been alone when she had found him, covered in dirt and obviously malnourished, was this the first time he had even seen a real hunt. Leaning down so only he and possibly Cessair could hear she murmured, "You can stick with me if you would like." Waiting for his answer before she nodded in acknowledgement she turned away to announce the plan. Looking to each wolf as she spoke their name she divided them, "Gent, Astraeus and Kova are on takedown, Raela, Cessair, Datura and myself will be the chasers. The water is shallower upstream so we can walk across relatively easily, the take down team can wait to ambush in the tall grass on this side of the bank there. My team will cross and make a wide enough loop towards the bottom herd once again using the grass as cover. Raela and Cessair will go to the very bottom of the herd and startle them into a run, this will give Datura and I who will wait parallel to them time to pick out the weaklings. We'll come in from the side and separate the weakest of the herd and drive them across the shallow part of the river and into the ambush. Any objections?" Minka paused then, looking each of the wolves around her in the eye and waiting for approval or disapproval.

click!

Kova lagged behind the others distracted by the thick scent of caribou in the air and his own thoughts. He was thinking back to the other hunts he had been on, and all the fishing lessons. He didn't recognize the scent of caribou from anything he had seen or ate before, so the young wolf figured this prey must be something new to him. He had hunted white-tailed, mule deer, and moose, as well as a variety of fish, and small mammals.  He was trying to picture what a caribou looked like while walking along slowly behind the others. Eventually though the pack stopped to look over the herd from a good distance. Kova nearly bumped into Cessair because he had not been looking too far ahead of himself, but thankfully veered to her left avoiding her before stopping. His curious blue gaze pulled away from his paws and the earth, switched to Cessair with apology running through them, then turned to look at the landscape.

It was a majestic sight. One that blew Kova's breath away.

Large spindly legged deer with strangely curved antlers milled about just across the river. Their mostly white coats glistened in the sunlight as they swept upon the banks of the river like a wave crashing at the beach.  “Woah...” was all Kova managed to say as he looked down at them past Minka, Gent and the others. His ears perked as his mother began to speak of a plan. This caused the boy to turn and gaze at her with a serious and determined expression.

While Kova didn't get the same thrill out of killing that his mother did, he overall felt good about being able to help provide food for himself and the pack. He would hunt with as much enthusiasm as she did. When he heard his name spoken Kova shivered understanding plainly what the take down was. Though he was a bit surprised that Minka would have him working with Gent and Astraeus on such an important task. He was also wondering if they might have to swim across, but then Minka mentioned the chasing group driving the caribou across the river where his group was to wait. Kova nodded gently before looking back at the caribou. There were so many of them! How would the chasing group single out one from the others?

“Question... Do you want me hanging back helping Gent and Astreaus? Or do you want me fully trying to help?” Kova asked quickly before turning his gaze back to Minka and Gent for an answer.

OOC: PPing Aeus' arrival with permission from Poppin. 

She padded along somewhere in the middle; content to keep pace with Astraeus until the leaders led them to the rendezvous. Raela was of course feeling the anticipation like electricity in the air; most of it radiating from their queen. She was well aware of Minka's hunting prowess, and she only hoped to see it in action. They drew right up to the forest's edge before stopping; leaving the great herd in full view while being concealed themselves. Curious as ever and feeding on the groups energy Raela stepped forward to get a better look, something the others seemed keen on dong as well. Her brilliant eyes traced their numbers; knowing already that this wasn't even the main herd. The breathy voice of the Prince sought to jerk her attention back to the others, and she chuckled at him with a warm smile. How could she forget; this was to be his first pack hunt!  She looked to the rest of them quietly, finding nothing out of place save for Datura's almost shaking. Her heart sank. Before she'd even figured out how to best soothe the child she found Cessair stepping in to offer her own condolences, and Rae's smile returned. She watched was even the Queen herself went to mother the yearling boy. It was the King's smooth voice that broke the tension next, leaving the stage up to Minka to decide their strategy. She wouldn't have had it any other way; the matriarch visibly glowed with readiness. Raela's gaze was already trained on her superior, and she was standing at attention before the words even fell from her mouth.  Immediately she felt more comfortable in being named a chaser. She expected no less from the queen than knowledge of where she would fit best, but it was reassuring all the same; cracking a faint grin onto her lips. The rest of the plan passed her ears with no hitching points. It all seemed perfectly water-tight, at least in theory, but that's how it always went wasn't it? In response she simply looked to the others, waiting to see if anyone truly did have an objection. Kova's voice again sounded, and she simply observed the coming interaction between him and his mother. It was a relevant question, after all. She only wondered if Minka's mothering instincts would win out, or if she really thought the prince was finally strong enough to tackle the task. She'd seen what he could do to a deer, but these were caribou; hardier and stronger still. She was a bit indecisive herself, but leaning toward the fact that it was still his first big hunt, and his first time encountering a caribou. Perhaps it was better for him to stay back a bit and learn this time.  Image © Chris Smith Photography Manipulation © Jenandra

            

This round ends on Sept 23rd.
I will be powerplaying anyone who does not respond by that time in my next post as having done their assigned task.
I'm also assuming no one will flat out object to Minka's plan in their next post 'cause yeah.

Gent listened intently to Minka's directive words, the teams and descriptions painting a moving picture within his head. It all made sense to him, though he felt nervous having Kova on take down. It wasn't necessarily that he doubted the boy's aptitude; he had been teaching him differing subjects on their own spare time and the youth was an exceptionally fast learner. But as he had admitted himself, sometimes there was a problem with the doing and Gent himself had very nearly been on the fatal end of that. As far as he could recall, and was aware of, that almost tragic hunt was the last time Kova had attempted big game. He hoped dearly that this would all go smoothly and that the heir wouldn't find himself on the wrong end of one of a caribou (or more, which was most likely).

After everyone had been doled out their position, the target of the king's concern rose his own voice up with a question. Given the diction of it, he had to wonder if perhaps the yearling was thinking along the same lines as he himself had been. There was a moment's hesitation on his part, though this could have been easily mistaken as the monarch waiting for his queen to speak first, before Gent's jaws parted.

"No need to hang back," he assured him, before jerking his head to signal both Kova and Astraeus to follow him while barking to the rest, "Let's get this show on the road."

As the men slunk through the grass, Gent threw out a few more words of hushed advice to the youngest of the trio.

"You'll never be able to really predict a hunt. You'll see patterns, over time as you get more an' more experience, but there's always gonna be surprises, things ya didn't see coming. When we're out there, don't think so heavily 'bout the plan, alright? Listen to your instincts. We have two goals; take down our target, and do it safely. However it all comes about doesn't matter so much."

When arrived to the designated spot, the leviathan had to be exceptionally diligent to ensure that he was hidden, but once accomplished the king lowered himself to a crouch and remained poised and silent. Only if a question was whispered to him by Kova would he respond, for this all rested on their secrecy. If the caribou knew their position in time to turn their course, this would just become a wild chase and their chances of catching their prey would diminish greatly.

Kova nodded to Gent then dove after his pack mates as they headed to their own position. He kept behind Astreaus and Gent by about a foot to watch them and make sure that he was doing everything right. Soon they slowed down and began to slink through the long grasses. Kova's fur snagged a number of times on the rough sides of the grass leaves, but this did not bother him in the least. It felt much like how another wolf might groom him. Gent then spoke up softly enough for Kova to have to quicken his pace a bit to get to the alpha's side and hear what he was saying. The dark brute spoke of patterns and predictions, and that eventually the more hunts Kova went on the more likely he would be to see them. Kova nodded silently completely aware of how close they were to the gigantic herd. Their hoof beats reverberated in his ears, distracting him enough that the boy turned to try and glance through the grass and see them.

Kova tried to think back on other hunts to see if maybe he had seen a pattern before. With the first hunt, the one he was only watching with Noble and his father, the rest of the pack had split a weak creature from the herd and chased it until it was very tired. Then they took it down nice and quick. The hunt hadn't been that scary back then. But was there a pattern? He then tried to think of the moose. The creature had scared the bajeezus out of him with its size and strength, despite the thing being injured. If less wolves had come to his rescue Kova wasn't sure f they would have been able to take it down. The moose turned around and fought instead of fleeing like the deer in the first hunt.. No pattern there... More thoughts swam around his head as the wolf looked to Gent and Astreaus quietly to keep an eye on them.

In the last hunt with Gent and Raela the deer had done the same as in the first hunt. It had tried to run, but when we got the baby it did what the moose had done and turned to attack us. Even when it was badly injured the deer tried to fight back.. Is that it? Most deer will run until they get hurt and then they feel that they need to protect themselves by fighting? The hypothesis formed clearly within his mind. Kova wanted to see if this same theory could be supported by the actions of the caribou in this hunt. He was much like a scientist testing an idea.

Given the absence of multiple characters present within this thread, I am archiving the hunt now.

It is still considered canon, despite being ineligible for LP claims.  To keep things simple, it should be assumed that the pack successfully killed and took home a Caribou, with all wolves correctly playing their part, and that no injuries were received.

Thank you for participating.

@Raela @Astraeus @Kova @Cessair