Secluded Spring Show me something, anything

Bloodlust. It was something the female kept in check, but when there was prey to be killed, it clouded her eyes like a storm approaching. The yearling infront of her was injured somehow, for its back right limb seemed to be carried in the air as it moved along. It appeared a bit slimmer than the usual critter...perhaps it had trouble finding food in the winter. The red hued creature attempted to keep up with its mother, but Pakuna was right behind. They were running around the spring, and she was to put an end to this.

With adrenaline coursing through her veins, the gruff female ran along, her eyes narrowing upon her target. Her heart beat against her ribs like a drum, and she ran to this beat, staying in rhythm. After a minute, she could feel her muscles begin to burn, and she knew the hunt would have to end soon, and she did not want to return to the den site without food for the cache.

With this in mind, Pakuna now made her way towards the deer's injured leg, and snapped at it. The deer went off course, veering towards the water. With a slight smile coming across her muzzle, Pakuna followed the yearling, soon using her powerful hind legs to propel herself off of the earth and towards her prey. She snapped onto a hind quarter, and soon felt herself hit the surface of the water. Jaws remaining like a vice upon the deer, she could feel the panic eminating from the animal.

Water sprayed all about as Pakuna struggled for a better bite, her jaws working their way up the deer. The animal, although injured, put up a fantastic fight. The water slowed it down, though, and Pakuna had soon found her mark. Fangs sank into the neck of the animal as she slammed its head downward and under the water. Within minutes, the body went limp. Lifting her head upwards, Pakuna released a loud gasp, attempting to regain her normal breathing pattern. Eyes opening wide, she almost laughed at what she had done- that was a hell of a hunt. The water around the deer had turned red, surrounding it in an aura of its own blood. Reaching downward, Pakuna snapped onto a limb, backing up to drag it out of the springs. This would be harder than she had thought.

(This post was last modified: May 04, 2012, 04:31 PM by Pakuna.)

Copper Rock Creek was drastically falling in its numbers – a thought that should have concerned the regal wolf, though he found in the end, it mattered little. Aeylen was well fed, as was most important to him.. his pack members as well were not thin nor starved. They remained a strong set in terms of survival.. his only concern was the numbers that Rhysis might have gained in his pack. Should the ebony wolf ever come for Volkan.. Ruiko was uncertain to how far such a fight would go. Copper Rock Creek would protect the she-wolf to the end – but would their end come swifter with so little numbers?

His thoughts clouded with looming threats, the disappearance of Kinis and the upcoming birth of his cubs.. Life was a whirlwind, and Ruiko Tainn was unable to slow it down. His musings brought him to the outskirts of the spring, and lifting himself steadily upon his hind legs, his claws bore down upon a tall tree to bear the markings of his territory and thoroughly leaving his scent upon it. This was his home, and he would protect it and those that sheltered within it.

Moving onward now, the scent of blood grasped his attention. Lifting his muzzle, the Tainn regal inhaled the smell sharply, and felt alarm when Pakuna’s scent mingled with it. His paws picked up pace – with the disasters the pack had recently faced, automatically the tawny wolf assumed the worst.

Though as she came to view – the blood that had spattered upon her not her own but that of prey, the large wolf felt himself relax instantly, his stoical gaze locking itself upon the she-wolf. “Impressive catch,” he offered, his tail arching in dominance though not before giving a light wag of his gratitude to the she-wolf. The deer was smaller -- young, though he had never seen such a beast caught by one wolf alone.

As Pakuna worked at dragging the young deer out of the water, she did not realize the alpha had arrived. At his words, her body tensed, but she realized quickly that it was Ruiko. Lifting her head upward, and to the side, she smiled at the male, lowered her ears and tail in submission. "Thank ye, Ruiko." Her gruff voice cooed the words, her eyes brightening at the praise. "Takin' down an animal like this alone...me ma told me to always get 'em in the water, she did." A toothy grin now exposed itself upon her maw as she spoke of her mother. Oh, how she loved that woman. She taught her well, but most of the tawny lady's experience had come from thriving on her own.

Looking at Ruiko, she now wagged her fluffed tail slightly. "Would ye like to help me drag this beast out? A wee bit difficult it is." With these words she released a slight titter. Pakuna was relieved that Ruiko had arrived, for attempting to drag this creature out of the water by herself would be a real pain in the ass. Looking back to the deceased creature now, she lowered her head briefly towards it. Thank ye for givin' yer life, deer. She said within her head. Pakuna usually gave silent thanks to any animal that she had taken the life of. The scent of the fresh kill was enticing, but she wished to return it to the pack's den site for everyone to enjoy. Bringing her head back up now, she looked toward her alpha, waiting for his reply.

Sorry for the wait. <3 I revived this, as it wasn't really an archival thread as a dead one.. if you would rather we arched it, I can edit my post and put a fade at the end. <33

The male took her words thoughtfully, his eyes skimming the surface of the water and giving a nod of agreement. “It’s a clever move,” he agreed, realizing the water would greatly hinder a beast quite thoroughly; though he wondered how much it could affect the single wolf as well. Her request drew him forward quietly. Treading in to the waters, the male came before Pakuna and cast her ear a nip of affection and praise for her job well done, before he bent his muzzle down.

Gripping the beast by the neck, the large male began to tug up, slowly helping to pull the heavy animal to the shores of the Spring. Even with the strength of two wolves, it was a tedious job, and Ruiko knew there would be a few aching muscles on his part afterward; after all, the water hung to the creature as if unwilling to unleash it’s grasp upon it’s grave.

Once to shore, the tawny Leader released his hold from the animal, curious as to what Pakuna would do with such a prize. Eyeing her curiously, Ruiko rolled his shoulders back in a light stretch. “What was your mother like?” The question seemed random, but Pakuna was an interesting soul to him – her culture seemed to be much different than the one he had grown accustom to.

No problem :).

Pakuna gripped onto the hind leg of the deer, moving slowly with her leader to bring it to shore. The soaked fur made it even more of a task to drag, and by the time they had successfully brought it onto the soft sands, she released the animal and began to pant madly. Within moments, though, she had calmed, and lapped at the water to hydrate herself.

Turning, she smiled in thanks to Ruiko. "Aye, me ma was a good ol' woman. Very wise. Thoughful." She looked to the sky, pale green gaze watching a cloud drift by. Was she up there with several other wolves before her? Lowering her eyes back to her alpha's, she shook her head slowly. "Jus' dun know why me pack split. She was so discouraged...." This was her leader. She could tell him anything and know... no, hope it was safe with him.

"But ye. Left her at a year, I did. More knowledge that woman gave me than an elder has, I tell ye. Was ready to go on me own... I regret it. Wish I left when I be two, at least." A sorrowful look now tugged at her, bringing her dark lips into a slight frown. Releasing a sigh, her tail flicked before she nudged at the carcass. "Protected her from a crazy ol' bitch" Releasing a gruff chuckle, the earthen woman continued, "Attacked me ma outta confusion as to why the pack broke up. Hell was she s'posed to know? Fought 'er off, I did." Now, how to get this deer back to the den site...

The strained muscles from pulling the deer suddenly released tension as they let go of the body upon the shores. Pakuna allowed herself a drink and the male waited patiently for her return, briefly debating if it wise to try to drag the beast back to their den site or to call the pack for a feast; the remains would then be taken back and stored in the caches – a sure meal for the young ones that would soon grace them.

Her words wove part of a story, and the regal sat down momentarily, though his ears flickered in the direction of her voice. From what he gathered of the mysterious she-wolf before him, she had left her pack, but had returned to find it split apart. Blinking, he briefly wondered what Hidden Tree would have been like today; it was likely he and Indru still would have sought their own paths, their own mates and family.. yet, what would have been the fate of his siblings?

“Your birth pack broke up?” It was a quiet question, one that need not be answered should she not wish it and his gaze fell upon her, wondering if she ever missed the familiarity it brought to be with ones family.

Pakuna shook her pelt out, nodding to Ruiko. "Aye. Never knew why an' prolly will ne'ever know." Why'd she even open her yap? Now her mind was whirring with thoughts, guilt tugging at her heart as she imagine the face of her mother. What if she starved to death? What if she was mauled? It would be her fault. All her fault. No. Stop thinking about it. That's the past, and there's nothing you can do now. Besides... what if she were still alive? The flame of hope lit itself inside Pakuna's mind, and she pushed away the negatives that irked her moments ago.

She decided to change the subject. "Ye wanna tear it apart n' carry it back, eh?" Her right brow raised as she asked the leader the question. Perhaps it would be easier just to carry it limb by limb back to the den site. Dragging the whole corpse could take hours, and she would be spent for the night. It was something she wasn't interested in doing.

Pakuna’s response was fairly casual – something that implied to the male that the reasons as to why her birth pack had broken up was not much of a concern to her. The male put no further thought to it – to each their own, and while he had been upset over Hidden Tree’s demise, the larger part of the pain had been that his parents and Hotei had died within the flames.

Allowing the subject drop to the wayside, the she-wolf’s suggestion drew a blink from the male, who took another stolen glance to the carcass. It seemed the most logical, and while he was far more tempted to call the pack down for a feast, it would also benefit them to store the cache’s once more. With a silent nod as a response, the male bent down, setting himself to work on one of the large hind limbs so they could begin the tiring trek back and forth. It was an impressive catch, and Ruiko was going to be sure to take as much with him as he could, lest another animal come along and reap the benefits of Pakuna’s energy and time.

Going to wrap this up :).

Pakuna's tail wagged slightly as Ruiko began to tear at the flesh of the kill. Lowering her head, she helped out, working at one of the front limbs. Her teeth worked carefully as they ripped tendons and crunched bones. With a violent snap of her head, the leg finally broke free, drooping from her jaws. With the fresh scent of blood hanging within the air, the tawny woman knew they'd have to work quickly before other animals came to reap the carcass.

With the taste of the flesh ever so tempting, Pakuna's ears flattened as she turned away from the corpse. It would be dangerous to leave one of the wolves there while the other delivered food- what if a bear or pack of coyotes came? With a sigh through the flesh, Pakuna nodded briefly to Ruko as they began to take the meal piece by piece back to the den site...

[End.]