Thicket of Secrets Strength of the Hunters

Hollow listened intently as Sloane laid forth a plan of attack, all the while his eyes trained upon the specs in the distance,. They were much larger specks but they were there. He moved to Iopah's side and prepared for an attack. The others sprang away and the air surrounding the cluster became deathly still. Every sense trained on the slightest hints that his friends were moving toward the elk. They all seemed to pick up speed well, until at last they burst forth from their respective places, tails streaming behind them. The yearlings eyes remained averted from the golden girl that ran near Kashi.

Hollows muscles tensed, the doe moved away as planned and Nina's sharp bark sent thrills of adrenaline through his veins. Every muscle tensed and prepared. He gazed intently at Sloane all the while with one eye still on the female racing away for her life. There would be no room for error today. He breathed a thank you silently to the elk for it would soon feed the pack that he was ready to call "family". "Ready?" He questioned Iopah without looking to her. Any sign from Sloane and they would be off, though the honor of taking down the beast would be reserved for the massive male. Hollow was still ready to take it down if need be.

The group split, each pair disappearing into the thinning underbrush that bordered the meadow. Hollow and Iopah moved together, aiming for the area Sloane had indicated. As they threaded forward through the trees, Iopah caught the occasional distant glimpse of the elk. They were still unaware of the danger, their target still by herself. Iopah smiled confidently to herself. The two wolves picked up speed.

Suddenly they were free of the thickets. Iopah crouched, not wanting to give away their presence prematurely. The meadow was reassuring quiet, so she waited. The silence held for a few breaths before Nina's bark rang out. Iopah could see the doe start off and feel the vibration from her approach through the ground. She whined in anticipation as they neared. The sound was lost in the riot their comrades were making and the bellows of the elk cow. She only barely heard Hollow's query above the noise. "Yes" she said comfortably in response.

She rushed forward to meet them, her fathers mantra ringing in her head. 'Drag it down, hold it.' The cow was exhausted, having had half a wolf pack chase her through the meadow, but as Iopah approached she found the energy to turn and attempt to run. Unconcerned, Iopah followed swiftly after her. There were still four fresh thicket wolves to finish the job. Iopah leapt for her hind end, aiming for a thickly muscled area to sink her teeth into. The cow bellowed at the feel of sharp teeth and turned to try and knock her assailant away with her head. Being, well, attached, Iopah turned with the elk, letting herself dangle by her jaws. But this wasn't enough, the cow needed to be down. 'Drag it down,' Iopah shook herself violently, trying to force the elk off her feet with every jerk. Finally the hind-end sank to the cold earth. Iopah anchored her hindfeet and gave a great tug. They needed to keep her off-balance and distracted. Iopah did not have enough weight to take the elk down single-handedly, but she could keep her companions safe from those sharp hooves when they approached.

(Finally got this one up)
Ashanti lunged at the wolf as the others did, unable to hold back the desire for some fresh meat to carry into the caches. Her size slowed her down, though she still made it to the deer with much time to spare compared to the others and their positions. As soon as Nina had given the signal was when she had taken off for the hunt. A hunting wolf was never to be deserved or another topic on the hunt would be thrown into play. She sunk her teeth into one of the legs and the blood made her bite down with even more force behind her. The deer would die soon as the others started to attack it. She had narrowly avoided the kicking that it had presented to the wolves as a challenge. She culled the job with the leg. She loosened her grip a bit. Others had hold of it too.

She wanted to finish the hunt so they could all eat. Yet at the back of her mind the question rang in her head, what had happened to Isen? She would have made an excellent attacker on the hunt and so would the rest of her family. But with a heavy heart, she had to assume that the rest of her family was dead. That included Isen whom she led to the random assumption that her aunt had caught up with her sister and her plans then killed her. She knew that her aunt thought that she herself was dead. It would remain that way for who knew how long too. She was alone, no, she was never alone. She was with her new family hunting.

Since most of the pack participating in this fell inactive, I am going to PP the ending so we can archive this.

The pack moved together, as if they had been together their whole lives and that each and every one of them knew the exact movements of the other. It was unheard of and she was sure in her own mind it was just her fantasy because in truth…it was. The pack definitely did move together, but the unforeseen tension between one another was palpable in the air. It would not stop them for getting their first kill though, Nina knew this in her heart and in her soul. Sloane raced forward, his red form a blur to her eye as he clamped down on the doe’s windpipe, crushing it within seconds as she fumbled to the ground. The four wolves in pursuit jumped away just in time as the female’s legs kicked around frantically before finally slowing down and stopping. Flushed with pride for her fledgling pack, she trotted over to Sloane, the slight ache not gone unnoticed by her. Gritting her teeth, she bumped her nose against her partner’s side, ready to get the rest of their kill home so they could feast.

Once the pack was settled among their kill, they all picked up a portion of the deer before heading home. It took them a few hours, but once they had all settled down the many hours of work turned out to be worth it. Each member of the Secret Woodlands pack had a fair amount of share among the meat that they had gathered. By the end of their little gathering, Nina was happy with the way everything had turned out among them. Everyone was fed and content with the life they were living. And if one of them was broken then the rest would happily be there to help fix it. Nina was definitely happy in this moment in time. Now it was time for her to fix everything else that needed to be put in order.

{End of this thread}

(This post was last modified: May 11, 2013, 03:18 AM by Nina.)

It seems when you're around, my life is complete.