Drooping Willows Time stands still

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The lively pawsteps heard behind her reassured the elder that her hunting companions were close at hand. All senses devoted to the task of finding prey, it wasn't long before the odor of elk had lead her to the edges of the forest. Through the drooping trees, a meadow of tall grass stretched forth. Dappled across the field stood the hulking brown forms of the elk, like dark ghosts outlined in the mist. They numbered over a dozen, with necks bowed in feeding. While the great number of elk they had found was reassuring in that the hunters had found something, it was discouraging in that just the three she-wolves would have to find a suitable target, and manage to split the prey from the herd. A single male elk was present, with a large spread of antlers adorning his blocky head, standing amid his harem with his ears and eyes alert.

Skana crouched down, stopping before she left the cover of the trees. The buck would be too dangerous to take on, and he would surely move to defend any attack from the wolves on his cows. The cows wouldn't go down without a fight either, and a well aimed hoof could do as much damage as an antler. The crone's gaze panned over the elk, searching for any which looked weaker, crippled, or simply strayed too far from the herd's protection. The left side of her vision was indistinct, the finer details lost in the haze of her cataract. The fog was bad enough, but with an already foggy eye her vision was practically useless for such distances. After hopelessly squinting a bit, she finally angled her head to look to Narime'. She hoped the young girl had sharper vision. "Do you see a good one?" She whispered, her breath trailing up in a wisp of vapor in the cool air.

http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/230/6/f/6fdf36f22e24f95e36c07739cb8591a2-d5bkwky.jpg) bottom center no-repeat #003377; outline: 5px solid #003377; border: 1px solid #fff;" valign="top"> The girl followed obediently watching Skana's and Rosealia's movements. She waited for a cew from either female on where to go and what to do. The scent of elk powered through the girls nose. Their smell was thicker than that of any regular deer, however the scent of the packs prey continued to entice Narimé. Her legs actually ached to run, her jaws ached to bite through flesh. The girls eyes feasted upon the sight of the elk herd. Elk was a new animal to Nari, but she would treat it just as any other deer since it still smelled almost the same. If they are anything like deer we will still have to seperate a weaker animal out from the group in order to be successful.. Nari twitched as she hid in the undergrowth with her packmates. The young woman did lack the experience of knowing that Elk, though looking and acting much like a normal deer, the bull might try to protect the cows from the wolves. This was very unlike a normal white tailed deer herd. However hopefully the hunt would be a great learning curve in that aspect for the young silvery she wolf. Narimé glanced around looking through the herd and along its edges. These big deer all looked pretty healthy, but her nose told her different. Someone in the herd had an infection, and though the scent of elk was different to that of a deer, the scent of infection was still the same. Blue eyes searched and searched looking for the elk with the infection, but she couldn't spot it. All she saw was one really big male animal with intimidating sharp antlers hovering around the outer ring of cows. Just then Skana whispered to the young wolf. The elder female asked if Narimé could see any unhealthy elk. Can she not smell the infectedone? The thought drifted through the yearlings mind as she renewed her inspection of the herd. <b style="color:#FFFFFF">"I'm looking.." She spoke quietly answering the darker wolf. A number of minutes passed as she gazed into and around the herd. She waited for certain deer to move out of view so she could see the ones farther near the back of the group. However she still had no luck locating the one with the infection. The only way we will find the infected one is if we run at them to get them moving. Once the hurt animal is moving we should be able to pick it out quickly, but as they are standing around now I can't tell which one to go after.. She thought silently then turned her head and whispered into Skana's ear. <b style="color:#FFFFFF">"I can smell one with an infection, but I can't tell which one it is while they are just standing around. We need to get them moving in order to see which one to go after." She spoke softly then stayed quiet pointing her nose back to the herd. She wondered what course of action Skana would have them take.

code by bryony

<blockquote><font style='margin-left:20px;'>Rose</font> felt the damp air fill her lungs more as they moved closer to the silhouettes of the fatty elk, which became more distinct as they neared the herd. But one sickening smell drifted from a certain elk, a limping mother. A young, excited fawn bounced around her limping feet. She twisted her head over to the other two, who seemed to be having a big problem with finding the infected prey. Narime had suggested moving them, but there was no need. Since she was all the way at a different angle, she could tell who was vulnerable.
<font style='margin-left:20px;'><span style='font-family:georgia'><b>"No need. It's a mother, she's limping in her back left leg, but we got a problem."</b></span></font> The cream and brown wolf murmured to the others softly, tail twitching just a tad inaudibly. <span style='font-family:georgia'><b>"The buck is right next to her...just...sitting there..."</b></span> She was pretty sure that they could tell this, because he was actually the reason they couldn't spot her. <span style='font-family:georgia'><b>"See that? There's a fawn at her feet, guys. He's also an option."</b></span> She whispered softly, glancing at Skana and keeping her glowing yellow eyes narrowed to slits.</blockquote>

WILLOW RIDGE FOREVAH!

So sorry for the wait! Let me know if it gets PPish and I can edit it... I just wanted to get things moving finally xD

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Skana's nostrils flared and her eyes closed a moment as she focused on the scent of the herd, catching the faint but pungent stench of infection. She opened her eyes again, but would have to trust Narime that the ill elk was not in sight. She tilted an ear as Rosealia spoke up and she silently nodded. Rosealia had picked out the sick elk and her calf, but the mention of the buck's proximity to the pair was troubling. Squinting her eyes, she could barely make out the lanky limbs of a calf behind the king. Maybe they could snatch them right out from under the buck's nose, but Skana wasn't willing to take those chances. Narime was right, they needed to get the herd on the move. When running, it would be easy to split out the elk who weren't well enough to evade the wolves. Even if the sick mother and her fawn were beside the patriarch now, they could easily fall behind in a chase. The elk weren't to tightly knit, and with some prodding they could pushed into flight rather than fight.

"So, we'll move around the other side away from the buck, and scare them into a run... The buck'll fight back if we come at him first... But I think the cows will bolt easily. Once one is running, they'll all run. In a chase, our cow and fawn should fall behind. Try to fan out as we chase, get them all moving first before we can hone in on one. They can't fight back if they're running." She murmured, her voice just loud enough for the wolves. She rested her gaze on her companions before turning to trot off into position. She was open to suggestions, but as it stood that was her orders. Crouching down at the opposite side, she could see just the tips of the buck's antlers across the group, as vague shapes in the fog. She waited until Narime and Rosealia were ready, before she barked "Go!"

Short post is short.. Sorry bout that.

http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/291/b/a/naritabletwo_by_terra_anne-d5i6qdf.jpg) top center no-repeat #02345e; outline: 5px solid #003377; border: 1px solid #fff;" valign="top"> Working out Skana's plan in her head Narimé flicked her ears ready to go. Her slender legs itched to burst forth and carry her towards the herd. However when Skana mentioned the elk fighting back she cocked her head a bit confused. So these big deer are elk? and they will try to fight us?<b style="color:#FFFFFF">"They won't just run from us if we go after the one doe?" She realized just after she spoke the question that the bull did indeed look like it was protecting the herd and not just standing by the cows for no obvious reason. The silvery girl wondered if some kinds of deer protected each other almost like a wolf would try to help their pack mates. Narimé listened on again. She shook her head forgetting her stupid question before and focused on their job. Whether the elk ran or fought she would listen to the older wolfs words. Skana has probably hunted these before so she know's what she's talking about.. She smiled while nodding to Skana's last words. With a final "Go!" from Skana's lips Nari sped off towards the herd barking and growling loudly trying to get them running. She didn't run right into the middle of the group. No, instead she galloped along at the left edge while watching her teammate Rosealia work opposite from her.The young wolf flicked her eyes back forth between the herd, the bull, and Rose making quick decisions on where to go and what to do. Perhaps fortune smiled upon the three wolves because the bull stood up then bolted towards the rest of the herd. Nari laughed giddy at the feeling of running along behind the small herd and watching the bull flee from them with his ladies in tow. The silver wolf sped along keeping up with the herd and watching for the sickly cow and her fawn. With a quick turn of her head Nari hoped to see her pack mates at their places sizing up the herd.

<blockquote><font style='margin-left:20px;'> Rosealia</font> felt like a tsunami about to hit the shore of an island as she glared at the herd. She waited for the bark from the much older huntress up ahead. Within a few moments which seemed like milliseconds, a signal boomed into the air around her and the young she-wolf bolted forward, fanning out from Narime so she could cover the southwest side of the herd. As if they were on cue, the small herd, including the bull, stumbled over their hooves and broke into a run gracelessly. She let out a few ferocious barks as her speed increased and the does and fawn fell back from the bull. They seemed to be a little higher up than they had all expected, but Skana was probably about perfect distance from the herd. Her heart probably sounded like a drumroll, yet the little lady kept pushing herself until someone made a move.</blockquote>

SORRY THAT IT'S EXTREMELY SMALL... SOOOO SORRY. LOW MUSE, BUT I FIGURED I SHOULD GET THIS THREAD OFF MY SHOULDERS.

(This post was last modified: Dec 10, 2012, 10:59 PM by Rosealia.)

WILLOW RIDGE FOREVAH!

<span style='font-size:7pt;line-height:100%'>OOC: Haha this thread really is "Time Stands Still". Very slight PP, let me know if any of this needs to be changed. Wanted to try to wrap this up in one more round or so? </span>

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On her cue the trio fanned out, the sudden emergence of wolves spurring the herd into a gallop as planned. The thundering hooves were echoes of her own heartbeat, Skana's heavy form running as quickly as her body would allow. She was fortunate in that her companions were more agile than herself, as Skana had the power to kill but not necessarily the speed to catch. Skana knew exactly what to do, her eyes sweeping over the herd out of habit as she ran. She ran a path centered behind the bunch, keeping her companions positions in her peripheral view. None of them were fast enough to snatch the fastest of the herd, but those weren't the ones they wanted anyways.

As planned, the sickly mother and calf were falling towards the posterior edge of the herd. Soon the wolves would need to pick which of the two they'd go for. While the fawn might put up less of a fight, Skana decided on the doe. It was late enough that there was a chance the calf was already weaned and could struggle through winter on it's own. The limping mother had more meat on her, and either predators or winter would be taking her soon anyways.

Running was beginning to take a toll on Skana's paw, pain edging through the adrenaline burst. Gritting her teeth, she galloped through the ache with her eyes locked onto the doe. A rough bark left Skana's throat as a signal to her hunters, 'this one'. The rest of the herd seemed to notice the wolves' new target, splitting off and shying away from the condemned.

The cow took notice as the hunters began to close in on her, her hooves frantically cleaving the earth in a futile attempt to escape. Panicking did not prove to be in the cow's favor, her weak, infected leg quivering under the exertion. Unsteady, the elk tripped and stumbled, still managing to keep on her hooves and moving forward but hindered enough that it would soon spell the end for her.

Nari never does a kill shot during hunts so this time she gets to. ^^ A bit of PP as well. I will gladly fix it if you want. Just PM me.

Time sped by as the three wolves circled the herd and seperated the injured doe and her fawn. Nari's heart lifted in excitement as the pair of animals dropped further and further back from the herd. She knew the time was coming soon. Skana's bark caught Narimé's ear and the silver wolf readied herself for taking on the target.

As they ran the wolves closed in on the doe. Nari could hear the creatures labored breathing. It excited her further. The need for blood aroused in the wolfs mind as she sprang forward. Then in an instant the doe tripped.

The End..

The young hunter lept forward using her strength rather than speed and ran beside the left of the doe. Jumping for the soft blood filled throat Nari's blue eyes took in the does frightened ones as she snapped down. Red liquid streamed down the chest of the doe and she stumbled forward. The velvet blood stained Narimé face as she used her power to shake her head ripping the throat out of the deer.

Stepping back the gray wolf watched the deer struggle on the ground trying to stand back up again. A few minutes more and her life blood would cover the ground ending her life.

"speech"

Rose can end it?