Iridescent Lagoon the smell of red

The day was the worst sort of cold, enhanced by the strength of cruel winds and a delicate snow fall that served to coat every one and every thing in a layer of wet misfortune. Though it was daylight the sun was hidden deep within the clouds, giving off only the faintest brightness behind a layer of grey haze. It was a winter day not even pups would enjoy that Ava found herself mucking through the territory of the Lagoon, egged on by one spit of good news: the reek of blood was absolutely saturating the air.

The she-wolf did not travel long to find her intended target: an old buck had succumbed to the icy touch of death sometime early that morning. From the air she could tell his herd had long left him, and she could spot her competition through the flakes. A coyote pair had gotten lucky; perhaps they'd been in the area overnight and simply woken up to a free breakfast, but either way she knew that those mongrels didn't deserve it. She was a hunter and her stomach was empty. They were scavengers and they were getting their fill. Was that just supposed to sit right with her?

Hunger snarled in her gut, growing in intensity with every moment that passed. Her glare was fueled by a smoldering need to break skin with her teeth, to feel blood rush over her gums. It'd been so long since she'd eaten any substantial game, and he was relatively fresh considering the circumstance. Her patience was crumbling fast.

Ava drew herself upwards from her crouch, hackles raised and lips pulled back. A growl resonated from her chest as she began forward. The coyotes refused to lift their heads from their claim, continuing to gnaw at muscle while their dead brown eyes tracked her approach. Perhaps it was overconfidence that Ava believed she could take them both herself - there were only two of them, of course, and she was bigger than either of them, of course, and it didn't matter that she was lone wolf weak... of course?

There was no time left for second guessing. Her hunger was primal, her movements driven, and Ava was approaching trouble fast.

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A dark, dusty shape lingered near the looming, snow-covered trees at the edge of the area. She had been watching the lanky, russet coyotes eat the appetizing meal for an hour. They gladly ripped the dead elk's limbs off, eating intestines, chomping on his face. But, every once in a while, her amber eyes would curiously wander to the dancing trees that kept the breeze from intruding into the lagoon. No wind ruffled the perfect mirror surface, and the only moving thing in the glass were those two fleabags. They seemed pleased with the offer from mother nature.

No, Polaris would not wait and sit any longer. That food would be hers. Briskly, she let out a ruff snarl of warning to the mutts in the distance. She had no idea if the coyotes even heard her, not did she care. She gave them their warning. It was no game to her. Actually, it was life and death. She intended to live. Without depending on that pack of traitors. She would make it herself.

With tingling paws, the rebel girl soon found herself face-to-face with a dark mistress. No, this is mine! She immediately stepped back in surprise. This woman was just as hungry as she was. Maybe they could talk it out....Although Polaris had no yearn to help the other lady, she wanted to get her to go away. She wanted the elk. Between them stood two, probably confused, coyotes. They had fleas for brains, so Polar wasn't too concerned about them at the moment. This other wolf, though, was the main thing on her mind.

The girl would not be the first to speak. But she would be the first to sink her teeth into that meat. Sharply, the large woman moved towards the food. She was slow, though. Slower than most wolves. She on the other hand, looked fast and fleet-footed. Dammit. Frustrated at the thought of losing, Polaris began to gnash her teeth at the coyotes, trying to scare the hoodlums away. BEGONE!

In truth there was nothing that could stop Ava's march forward, but the appearance of the other she-wolf certainly gave fault to her soldier step. Her amber eyes narrowed as she looked away from the prize for the briefest moment to survey her competition, refusing to balk.

The she-wolf's brown coat held no mark of any pack, within the Lore or otherwise - or at least not one that she could distinguish. This, of course, did not bring her much relief. She was bigger than Ava by much and if this was her lone-wolf mode then Ava would have to hope they'd never be enemies as pack wolves. That was no matter now - it was obvious that neither of them had allies anywhere around. With that realization Ava furrowed her brow and matched her amber stare. There was a possessiveness in her gaze so astute that she doubted any amount of fear could falter it. No lone wolf had any desire to share, particularly a starving female such as herself, but the fallen elk could feed more than one of them easily... and she could stomach much more easily eating amongst wolves than coyotes.

Maybe the other she-wolf had no intention of allowing Ava near her find but it wouldn't make a lick of a difference if she couldn't get near it either. So she turned away from the dust-patterned female and rose her tail banner-straight, hackles puffing out in a desperate attempt to match her company's size. A jagged snarl climbed from her throat with a fury to serve as her warning. If the coyotes did not remove themselves from the scene she and her partner in crime would swiftly do so themselves.

One coyote held distress in its mud-colored stare, but its larger counterpart seemed less agreeable to the idea. A stand off could last hours if she let it, but the pit in her stomach gnawed at her with less patience than she'd have to have to deal with a gentleman's agreement. Ava paused a moment to see if the smaller one would take off and hopefully pressure the other into leaving as well - but nothing happened. Oh well.

Without checking the other wolf's reaction she bolted forward, neck outstretched to snap at the first bit of flesh that she could. An ear, a cheek, a jaw, anything to prove that her black jaws were more capable than a coyote could ever hope to be. It was not her intention to suffer any injury at such a mangy animal's teeth so she refrained from coming too close. Coyote blood was far less appealing than the elk blood she could smell so tauntingly close. Mostly, Ava just hoped that she could get them far enough away to eat in peace, and that perhaps she could garner the smallest amount of assistance from the rogue just behind her.

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Her sharp, yellow biters were evidently out for flesh and blood. It didn't smell good, but hell if she cared what the coyotes tasted like! Her black lips drew back to release an aggravated snarl. Her body raised itself to full size. Her large paws aimed to bash one of the coyotes in the head. The bigger one would die if he didn't move his asshole.

Her eyes scorned the little mutts. Their tan, thin faces and minuscule eyes darted around with confusion. She could see the black she-wolf before her intimidatingly biting the air, hoping to get anything she could. Polaris saw the little coyote before the other rogue shrinking fearfully. It would run soon. Right now, it obviously didn't get the severity of the situation, but it was unmistakably confused.

To encourage their flee, she roared, barking and growling at the little creatures as much as she possibly could. I mean, how tough could these suckers be? I swear to the skies that I could step on their little asses...Like ants.

(This post was last modified: Jan 26, 2013, 11:27 PM by Polaris.)

Neither coyote was too pleased to have their coat snapped up by Ava's jaws nor their bodies bashed by the other she-wolf's large paws. The growls crescendos among the four of them but Ava refused to discontinue her approach, taking each step with more grandeur than the last. The carrion was so, so close it made her mouth water with every inhale of the succulence that saturated the air. For a moment it clouded her vision, desperate to turn away from their ugly cousin and sink her teeth into the fallen buck and satisfy the cruel need in her gut. But a moment later her sights washed red and she felt more strongly than ever that the cur needed to be rid before she would feel even slightly complacent.

Vicious to the core the night-cloaked female lunged, jaws wide for her adversary's face. The coyote snarled as well, mistaking her intent for just a few more warning snaps and tugs of fur. This time Ava followed through, her teeth grasping at the other's muzzle. Unwilling to lose a jaw the coyote pulled back, leaving scrapes along her jaw as she did to him. This submission, of course, was too meager. She didn't even waste a moment to lick away the blood the coyote had drawn from her maw before she reared forward again, aiming a little lower to break the skin of its neck. Much to her disappointment she felt little more than the fur of its scruff slipping through the space between her sharpened teeth, but to her pleasure she noted that it was because the coyote had begun to withdraw. Head lowered and legs crouched, the canine wavered in its stance and paced away from the meal slightly. Surely she could see in its beady little eyes that it did not want to leave something so scrumptious, but it was rather conflicted about the idea of Ava taking its head today.

Ava had not gone without injury so she stood where her legs had landed, head raised and lip curled back to showcase as many teeth as she possibly could. Her amber gaze flickered briefly toward the other coyote that her wolf comrade had been smacking around to see if it was already on its way out. If not, she had no doubt that they would both be gone within a moment. Gone, or dead.

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The adrenaline in her body soared as she actually got the hit to the bit coyote. Although it didn't die, it probably suffered from brain damage. It yelped sharply, swooning sideways. Bet that gave it a headache! In moments, the little "ant" of a creation disappeared from sight. She glanced over to the black mistress who seemed to have her paws full. Eager to dine on the meat, Polar aimed to bite the lanky creature's small nuque. She let out no warning to the little prick in her side. Her head turned completely sideways . She lurched forward without mercy.

Her feet faltered, and she found herself falling INTO the coyote. Yeah...it was going to get either crushed and pinned down by her teeth, or it would be spared by the grace of god and it would run. But either way, Polaris was going to end up on the ground. Her immense weight was crashing down quickly. Ice and elk blood awaited to embrace her falling mass of fur and muscle.

Nice goin', Pol.

sorry ._.

From the corner of her eye she saw the coyote's partner leaping away with what little dignity it had left following the dark-furred stranger's assault. An equally wicked and pleased gleam bounced into her heated stare, turning her snarl on the remaining assailant. The outcome looked promising, fear ever growing in its eyes as her large-bodied comrade reared forward. Ava beamed crookedly as the small canine pivoted on his heel, outnumbered and out of bravado to fuel his useless fight. But just as his ratty paws began to heave away something occurred and suddenly the dust-colored stranger made an inverse change in direction and headed immediately for the ground. In an instant the coyote's tail was caught between wolf chest and caribou carcass.

The look on the creature's face was enough to suggest that at the moment his life, however dull and pathetic it had been, was flashing before his eyes. True, the situation looked futile - there was no way he could get away with his life, if it depended on him. Ever kind Ava pounced over and wrapped her jaws forcefully around the coyote's scruff, giving a ruthless tug to yank the vermin from beneath the trap of bodies it had fallen into. A yelp escaped his thin jaws that followed him through the field as he hastened away following her release. On one hand Ava's mind begged her to turn and ensure that the two idiots had left the immediate premise, but on the other there was a fresh meal right beside her and no competition. Well...

Quickly she rounded the buck's rump and placed herself on the opposite site of the elk, in case the larger female decided she would rather have the meat all to herself. Ears standing straight and hackles raising, the black-furred female claimed her dominance - only to a point. Her amber eyes were steady, but wary, as she lowered her head and sunk her teeth into the snow-dusted hide with a hungry snarl. Blood rushed between her teeth and coated her tongue with a heavenly intensity, provoking her to further her attack on the fallen prey. Ava wanted nothing more than to fill the emptiness in her belly, and she made that much clear.

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