Spectral Woods void and devotion

@Jessie
RE:"You discover a fresh kill and feast to your heart’s content." Might as well use Spieden's holiday random event, with a bit of a twist :) The fresh kill belongs to some coyotes.

Just as the long night was beginning to make way for dawn, Spieden was already up and walking through the territory. By the time she made her first circuit the sun had risen, glowing between the small cracks in the grey clouds. She was nearly about to turn back towards the heart of the packlands when she heard a faint yipping from the woods to the west.

Her silvered muzzle crinkled as she grimaced and a rumble started deep in her chest. Damn coyotes. With so few wolves on this side of the mountain now, it was easy for the little scavengers to move in. And judging by the multiple voices she heard, they were starting to band together for the winter. She knew if you gave the coyotes and inch, they'd take a mile, and she had no intentions in letting them get a hold on the lands surrounding the Bend.

Spieden gave a few alert barks that grew into a wavering howl that called for her packmates. She would do this alone if she had to, but help couldn't hurt. Not waiting for a response, she started at a lope towards where she'd heard the verminous howls. With how slow she was, she didn't want the coyotes to slip off before she could get there. As she neared the edges of the pack's territory she made sure to leave a marking of her own scent behind.

Spieden could already smell the coyotes' foul stench on the wind, they were much closer than she'd thought. And more troubling was the scent of blood. Either they had hurt someone, or they had killed prey that could have otherwise belonged to the Bend. Neither option was good.

Let me know if something needs to be changed. <3

Jessie had been doing her duty since her return from the other side of the mountains. The Tainn hadn't seen much of Drestig since her return and had successfully avoided Hotei thus far. Still, Jessie had only heard the name of her most current alpha and still had no sign of her. Of course, Jessie was once again not pleased by this change, she hadn't even known the girl before her departure, and the fact that she was now above Jessie made an uncomfortable twig of uncertainty surround her. She had meant to try to find the newest alpha but had failed this far in her goal, the gray woman was to preoccupied trying to avoid her love. However, thoughts of that vanished when a call echoed throughout the territory. Immediately, the woman's ears flickered forward, her body moving towards the call before her brain processed it. Obviously someone was calling for pack mates as if they were familiarized with the pack, that could only mean that perhaps it was another pack mate.

Her paws moved quickly over the familiar terrain, not breaking to see if she was going in the correct direction. It didn't take her long to come to where the call had originated from but there was no one there. Before she could even question it, the scent of a pack mate entered her nose, allowing her to track the woman easily. Snorting softly under her breath, the Scout was quick to follow the trail,  not bothering to see if someone else was coming, it was obvious that whoever this was didn't have the decency to wait for when she called for another. However, when Jessie heard the familiar sounds of coyotes as she continued on, her nose wrinkled in disgust, the reason she was being called out her obvious.

Finally, she found the woman that she was looking for and remained silent as she slunk up to the other woman's side. She didn't care who this woman was, both of them had a current goal: to eradicate the coyotes, or at least get them away from their lands. Her nose twitched, trying to determine how many of the coyotes were actually there. The woman could get a general estimate, but she could never be sure until her eyes confirmed her thoughts. She spoke softly to the other woman, her voice firm, "I can scout ahead and see how many there are and we can decide what we will do from there. You can come with me if you like...it might make it either." Jessie glanced briefly at the woman, hoping that if she did end up coming with her, she would at least be able to be silent.

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity

@Jessie So sorry for the wait! I'd like to finish this if you still do. If not, that's OK too! Also sorry for Spieden sass xD

The Coho woman wasn't sure anyone would come, and was wholly prepared to take on the vermin herself. Overly cocky, perhaps, and fueled by anger at coyotes so close. Her senses were focused on their scent, the distant yips and growls, that she didn't notice someone coming up from behind her. Her brown coat fluffed out on end in surprise, body flinching as the smaller, silver woman quietly sidled up beside her. She didn't expect someone to appear so suddenly, nor so silently, and for a fleeting moment almost thought the little female was a coyote herself. The familiar scent, and somewhat familiar appearance spoke otherwise, and without missing a beat Spieden kept on jogging at her steady plodding pace as if nothing had happened. She didn't like to be caught off guard, but even more than that she hated showing any sort of vulnerability.

She flicked an ear to listen as Jessie spoke up at her side. Apparently, Spieden could 'come with if she liked'... The hell? Spieden couldn't help but snort. What, did this woman think Spieden was just gonna sit behind and wait on her butt while coyotes were doing whatever the hell unattended coyotes got up to? Unlikely.

"I'm coming with," She replied brusquely. It was likely the sprightly little scout was faster than her, but Spieden would do whatever it took to keep up. She didn't plan on making a reputation for being a useless figurehead leader. Not daring to waste time that she knew they didn't have to spare, Spieden kept on moving. Her thick limbs did double-time, strides stretching to her limit to keep up a good pace.

@Spieden Sorry this post is crap.

Had Jessie not set her mind on a particular goal, she would have stopped in her tracks and given a hardy glare at the woman beside her. Instead, a simple curl of her upper lip displayed her displeasure with Spieden's tone. Her pace wavered because she pushed forward, moving at a quicker pace than she generally would. Jessie surely hoped that the other woman would fall behind but the other woman's insistence stirred an ounce of Jessie's approval. It would seem that the woman did not wish to fall behind. While it irked Jessie, she still remained calm, the scent of the coyotes growing stronger. It did not take much longer for the pair of women to reach the area.

The Scout's emerald eyes observed the coyotes, her lips pulled back into a sneer.  There were three of them. While Jessie was not use to fighting, she was familiar with hunting. If they worked together, it might have been possible for them to chase the coyotes away, and if they were lucky, would get away with no scrapes or bruises. In a brief moment of companionship, Jessie's judgmental gaze settled on the other woman, her voice soft,"What do you think we should do?" There were a few options but the two women would have to have the same plan if they were going to be successful. It had been awhile since Jessie had been in a fight and if it turned to that, she would have no qualms with that option.

@Jessie

Spieden quick pace slowed to a more cautious tread as the chattering yips of the coyotes grew closer. Spieden couldn't quite understand them, but they definitely sounded way more excited than they had any right to be. She shifted her weight downwards, trying to shrink her considerable size down to something that would be less noticeable through the sparse winter flora that separated the canines. She glared through the shrubbery at coyotes, seeing now that they cavorted around a downed deer. In stark contrast to the white snow, red smears of blood surrounded the carcass, matching the bloodied marks across the coyote's narrow muzzles. Spieden lifted her lip in a grimace, ears folded back as she counted them up. Her and Jessie were outnumbered by one, but she still thought the coyotes wouldn't be a match for them.

Spieden would have charged in that very moment were it not for Jessie's question. Her ears flicked and she softly in response, her eyes sweeping sideways to meet Jessie's emerald in a stare. "Chase 'em off, what else?" Spieden quietly grumbled, fiery eyes flicking momentarily from Jessie back towards the coyotes. Spieden wasn't a planner, and the solution seemed more than obvious to her. Besides, what else could they do? The mangy beasts certainly wouldn't sit down for a conversation. But now the seed of doubt had been planted, and Spieden hesitated, waiting to see if Jessie had an answer towards her somewhat flippant "what else".

When Spieden’s response processed in Jessie’s brain, she was once again reminded of why she hated working with others. Her goal to meet with other pack mates to try to get to know them better was quickly becoming further away from her grasp. If all of the recently accepted members were as unreasonable as the black woman, the Tainn wanted nothing to do with them. They could all rot in whatever hell they made for themselves. To show that she was displeased, Jessie’s lip curled, happily displaying her pearly whites for the bitch in front of her. Her answer pissed her off more than the situation did. Of course they were going to chase the disgusting bastards off, Jessie wasn’t stupid. When she spoke, her voice was firm but held an edge of irritation, ”Of course we’re gonna chase them off, but I say one of us kills one and the other chases the other two off. We get the rest of the kill and we send out a message so they won’t return.”

Perhaps her way of thinking was a little bit harsh but it was winter and competition was high. It would be easier on Oak Tree Bend if they would not have to deal with this for quite some time. Jumping in and chasing them off would get one job done, but what were the chances of them coming back after a while? Plenty. Coyotes and wolves both wanted to same thing: to survive. Her tail waved behind her confidently, her muscles relaxed and ready to sprint into action. If Spieden refused her plan, they would just chase them off and Jessie would have no problem returning home so that she would not have to stay in the presence of the dark woman any longer. There was something that just pushed Jessie the wrong way and she couldn’t understand what it was. So silently, she waited for the response, more than ready to sink her jaws into anything they could reach.

@Jessie We're in the home stretch!

The show of teeth from the silvery woman prompted Spieden's tail to raise, lashing a high banner to hold her position though the flattening of her uneven ears betrayed her lack of confidence with all of this. She did not like to lead, but to let this female walk all over her would be another thing. The timber-colored bridge of her nose wrinkled in distaste, but she kept her teeth covered. There were more important things to deal with at the moment rather than whether this female liked her. As long as they could get this over with and get back to doing their own thing.

"Fine." Spieden spat, replying with equal portions irritation to what she'd been given. "I'll do the killing, you can do the chasing." Spieden said with a bitter tinge. They'd go with Jessie's plan, but Spieden still wanted to call the shots and not let her subordinate push her around. Plus it meant she would be able to vent some pent up frustration over it all on some hapless coyote. Spieden lurched forward, heavy paws crushing the snow beneath her. The yipping and yammering had quieted, and it seemed at least one of them was looking her way.

Bursting out from the foliage cover and not caring whatever it was Jessie was doing, Spieden sprinted as quickly as her thick limbs would allow. The trio of coyotes scattered and danced around the carcass, obviously hesitant to give up a winter feast when they still had the benefit of numbers. Light footed and fleet, they circled Spieden as she charged in, her snapping jaws closing on air behind one of the little scavengers. She felt a sharp nip at her hock as one had managed to skirt behind her, unnoticed in the chaos. She whirled in place, a snarl tearing from her throat in more insult than injury as she lunged towards the one that had bitten her ankle.

The slippery coyote had already turned around and was trying to beat a retreat, but Spieden managed to clamp her teeth onto the brushy tan tail before it had gotten up to speed.