Drooping Willows Sound The Bugle Now

<blockquote>Within moments Raigo and Valiant had closed in on the foundering bull's compromised position. In the background, the growls and snapping of jaws resounded. For a split second he could see Borden in the periphery, and Elettra who was fighting brilliantly to rip the legs from the other group's target.

He would release his hold on the bull's hide, subsequently falling to his feet almost to be trampled down. A vicious snarl ripped throught the air and in an instant he was back on his feet. The conditioned muscles of his limbs and back propelled him forward as he swiftly pocketed around Valiant's huge, fluffy form.

The bull moaned in distress as Valiant tore through its flank, stumbling wildly as Raigo successfully took hold of one of its forelegs. Bogged down and critically injured, the beast now stood no chance.

The move was calculated. Dilated pupils would lock to the rippling musculature of the caribou's thick neck, pinpointing the location of the windpipe which was now conveniently exposed. A few powerful bounds would close the space between the killer and the victim. The black and silver blur lunged forth, securing the bull's jugular in his powerful jaws, and in a moment it was done. Hot, dark blood gushed into his nearly full mouth, trickling down his throat as he held his grip expertly. Though his forelegs could not touch the ground, the wolf's hindquarters served as an anchor, a weight added to the dying bull's load. Using his raised plume as a counterbalance, Kade shook his head violently, tearing further into the victim's neck to deliver the kill.</blockquote>

There was just so much noise, and the world around him just felt like a massive blur. He could hear various wolves snarling and the helpless bleating of the caribou. Dodging a kick to the skull, Raigo's teeth found their hold on the bull's forelimb, tearing through the tough skin like it was butter. There was nothing protecting him now, and within seconds, Raigo's tan muzzle was completely covered in blood. But despite the instant satisfaction, he refused to let go from his quarry. Positioned as he was, Rai lost track of where the rest of his pack were, but he could smell them and hear them. And then all of a sudden, the beast was toppled, Kade hanging inches from Raigo's head, tearing at the bull's neck. The resulting tear caused blood to drop down onto Raigo's head, forcing him to close his eyes.

Finally releasing his grip, he took a step back as the bull fell to the ground, the thud loud enough to be heard above the snarls. Shaking his head, he tried to clear the crimson liquid from his golden eyes. Only semi successful, he turned his attention to the other group. Satisfied with their actions, he decided to say out of that particular fray. But he didn't go back to touch the bull in front of him. Instead, he lunged over it and into the meadow. Prowling along the edge, to serve as a backup should the other group's target get free of them.

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oh god, just ignore Val’s epic failing. He’s being a lazy arse and I just want to post so we can wrap this up.

<blockquote>It all seemed to move in slow motion. The bull went down, Jayse and Elettra were still after the cow, Jayse was kicked and Elettra managed to trip the cow up. It would seem one was not enough and he would have to force himself to keep going. His speed was next to non-existent but at least he had some stamina.

The cow was struggling to get back on her feet, it would seem Elettra had taken a blow as well and the large male pushed himself to get close enough before the cow found her feet. The poor beast finally managed to get its feet beneath itself as the pale wolf made for her throat and held on for dear life. Hoping that if she had the strength to drag him across the marsh that someone else would be able to assist.</blockquote>

<blockquote><ul><span style='font-size:7pt;line-height:100%'>Kiche is an idiot.</li></ul></span>
In an instant it was over.

The red man skidded to a stop at the bellowing, gurgling, bull that had collapsed on the ground. He came a little late to the party. WIldfire danced in Kiche's eyes as he watched the Hollow wolves tear the fallen beast apart. He wanted to be a part of it. Excited yips burst from his lips as his tail began to beat the air in a heathen tempo, his blood rising to a boil. The wolf's head was empty but for a singular purpose that drove him forward: <i>blood, blood, blood</i>. The lust shone in his eyes, dripped from his tongue. As one of the wolves — names were no longer important— leaped away from the corpse, Kiche saw his window. The others hadn't quite caught up yet. They wouldn't mind if he started a little early, would they?

Scrambling over the caribou's lifeless hindquarters, Kiche dove for the stomach of the beast without knowing why. Warm, metallic blood gushed into his mouth as his canine's sank into the hide. In recesses of his mind, his soul stirred fretfully. It cried out for him to stop, for him to repent, for him to run away... But his soul's worries were faint, easily drowned out by the bloodlust that flooded his senses, the insatiable hunger that drove his teeth deeper and deeper into the beast's stomach. With a firm grip on the belly, Kiche's head tossed and turned violently, and the entrails spilled out onto the muddy ground.
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like my art? comission me!

the suns going to shine, and sometimes the clouds will rain.

She was in pursuit of her mother when she saw the impact of the blow. A gasp she pushed her paws harder against the ground trying to close the distance. She did not continue to chase the caribou. She stopped, dropping down to make sure Jaysyek was alright. She wasn't exactly capable of knowing what to do, but seeing her mother fall like that...she wanted to make sure she'd be getting up. "Mom?" she questioned, carefully nudge the base of her ear before inspecting the shoulder. There was some blood, and Lettie's empty stomach grumbled a the sight. "Mom?" She said a little louder wanting to meet her familiar gold, and blue eyes. She briefly lifted her head looking for Elettra, but she had hold of the cow, an was soon being helped by Valiant. Somewhere she thought she saw her father, while everyone else was ripping into the bull caribou. She thought everyone else was oblivious to her, but she spotted Raigo and gave him a questioning woof. She felt confused, and vulnerable in the battlefield now.

Taking in a quick breath she waited for the cow to die, and her mother to show her she was alright. Until then she nestled herself close to her white body, starting to clean at the small wound to keep herself from being taken by fear. It wasn't bad, she kept telling herself. Maybe Borden would finish the cow, and by then Jayse would be telling her to go eat.

<i>Super delayed. Apologies abound and all around. Kinda lost track what's going on last round... sorry if it seems jumbled.</i>

<blockquote>Just as quickly as everything had taken flight and put into action, the commotion slowed to a halt. Instead of the old bull, the cow beside him eventually went down then... <i>so did Jayse.</i> At first he had thought it had been Arlette that had tripped up on something - mud or some unseen rock - but he did not dare to lose the opportunity that was presenting itself to him... but he struggled to keep up and Elettra and Valiant were quick to hinder the doe's path to escaping. Around him, though he was absolutely oblivious to it, the herd was thinning out and the members of the pack were coming to a standstill. The cow that still dared to keep moving, to deny its death, hobbled about with its injured limb with Valiant at her throat.

A growl reverberated through him and as soon as he closed in on the cow he lurched forward to finally topple the second target down. To the side of where Valiant had his jaws clasped tightly, Borden added the deathly grip of his jowls. Twice he clenched his jaws, only satisfied once he felt hot blood pour from his mouth, staining his chin a vibrant scarlet. Gradually the cow ceased in fighting them - trying to raise her neck or move her legs - and once he was certain Valiant would not be left with a still lively victim, Borden limped over to where a mass of white fur laid out in the open. His daughter's voice repeated the word again, trying bring the leader back to her senses, <i>"Mom?"</i> The strings about his heart gave a forceful tug and it seemed for a moment that it could have dropped to the floor of his ribcage with a heavy thud. His eyes instinctively went to Kade in the distance for a brief second but rather than shooting a glare or anything of the like in the man's direction, he turned his attention to Jaysyek. <b>"It's okay,"</b> he tried to reassure Arlette at first. <b>"She's fine."</b> He gently pressed his nose to the leader's muzzle, a whine sounding from the back of his throat. <i>"Jayse... Jaysyek?"</i></blockquote>

Well, what do you want from me?

She was faintly aware someone was speaking to her, and her ears started to twitch feeling like they were under water. She flinched at the touch around her head, her eyes slowly opening to see Arlette's familiar face. At least she was not hurt, and Jayse meant to sat up but trying to lift herself made the world darken before her eyes. She held still, waiting for the blood to rush faster to her head. She heard mom again, and her tail made an attempt at wagging but flopped on the ground. Borden's voice broke against the strange daze, and she tried again to see. She opened her eyes in time to see his, feel his breath upon her muzzle.

"I'm fine," she manged to get out, daring to pull herself to a sit. Her shoulder was tender, but nothing worse than bruised muscle tissue. She eagerly licked his muzzle, and offered another to Arlette. "It'll take more than that to get the best of me," she said in a light tone, gently ruffling the side of her daughter's cheek. She tried to be discreet in testing the muscle, and the weight upon her paw. It hurt, but not as bad as other shots she'd taken at Lettie's age so she easily walked forward. She saw the cow was dead, and turned her head to see the bull to was not going any where. Vaguely she saw Kiche looking quite strange painted in crimson, the leader had to smile at this. Was he at last becoming a wolf?

"Come, let's go eat," she says not wanting them to fret. She slowly jogs to the place of the female caribou. Before taking a bit she raised her head, sounding out a call of victory and for everyone to take their fill.
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