Thicket of Secrets first time for everything

Fawn season had started. The does would leave their undetectable fawn in their most hopeful hiding spots. The fawns would stay until their mother came to collect them at the end of the day... or until they were found by someone else. They could be found by tracking the doe, following far enough behind to avoid any suspicion, or by scouring the fields nearby. For Iopah both methods had an equal success rate and she varied between the two.

Iopah moved through the thicket, dragging the newest victim. She was efficient, if not graceful, as it's long legs scuffed the soft earth and scraped against the surrounding vines. Her left ear flicked once as she came into sight of the cache. It had been quiet recently, but Iopah's own internal clock urged her to be ready. Soon there would be pups. She deposited it and growled softly in frustration. The scrawny fawns were vanishing faster than she could catch and deposit them. There was simply nothing to them, more bone than flesh. With a resolute twitch of her tail she set back out.

Her head confidently rose, black nose trained on the twisted canopy, and the first note lifted from her lips before she realized what she had done. Of course she would need help to take anything larger than a fawn, but Iopah had never initiated a hunt before and her surety had surprised her. She had seen her parents call and it came naturally to her now. She filled her lungs and sang out again. Her rally call resonated through the thicket, hopeful and proud. Finished her head lowered, even with one or two more wolves they had a chance. Her tail twitched in anticipation. For now she would wait.

(This post was last modified: May 09, 2013, 02:23 PM by Iopah.)

Io looked lonely so I decided to come say Hi.

Borders, borders, and more borders. Why do I enjoy this so much? Oh hey look, the tree I peed on yesterday. The thoughts running through Hollow's mind had no rhyme or reason whatsoever. It was another day, and another patrol. Since the extermination of the devil wolves, he had not seen anything out of the ordinary. No, just the sounds of the wilderness, all melded together, it was an odd noise, almost a singular call, the call of a whangdoodle. Regardless Hollow enjoyed it, as he moved through the tress and brush with almost perfect precision, hardly a single hair was left behind. The ebony male had been at it for so long he was but a ghost on the border, If Hollow did not wish to be seen, one would never know he was there.

After some time the young male heard the call of a pack mate, Iopah to be exact. As close as he was, Hollow began to trot towards the sound at a slow lope. A hunters call? That's odd. A few moments passed as Hollow continued his slow gallop, weaving through trees and leaping over obstacles. All at once he realized, Of course! She was made huntress recently! The young male could have almost died on the spot of his own ignorance. But as he approached Iopah, he stowed his thoughts and asked in a cheery voice, "Trying on the new title? I could stretch my legs a little."

Hollow is always welcome. Other SW's are still welcome to drop in.
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Iopah had quickly grown bored with staring into the thicket expectantly. Her gaze alone could not will someone to come any faster, so she set into scouting the area near the cache for a likely trail.

It was wonderful time to be a wolf. Everything smelt new and pungent. Loam. Rotting hardwood. Fungi. Rabbit. Wild thyme. Rabbit scat. All fascinating, but not what she was looking for. Her tail was proudly held as she wound a widening circle in her search. A friendly greeting pulled her head up sharply. Her posture relaxed, tail dropping, as she saw Hollow. In the absence of Kashikoi and Durai they had become equals. Though he was two years her junior, he had earned his position.

Her eyes danced, lips drawing back to reveal sharp canines in a wolfish smile. She stepped forward to press her muzzle excitedly to his side. She couldn't stop herself. It was an old habit that she fought against at the start of every hunt. Her parents, her family would gather before every hunt. The wolfen equivalent of a team huddle before a game. Pressing and milling against one another, whispering words of reassurance, encouragement to those that needed it. Iopah missed that feeling of camaraderie.

Coming back to herself, she backed up in embarrassment. "Think I could pull you away from the border?" In an attempted to cover her snafu she gently teased him, perfectly aware that had been his intention all along. She lifted her head briefly to listen for anymore arrivals before giving her left ear a flick. She turned slightly, indicating the direction with a broad movement of her head. "Let's get started then", was murmured softly. Her nose went back down to search for something large enough to be worth their time. "Let me know if you find something."
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In an effort to keep this moving you are welcome to have Hollow find something.

Her muzzle pressed into his side for a short moment before she backed up, looking embarrassed. The she wolf's words brought a smile to the male's face, "I'm sure I could spare a few moments." He huffed with laughter before her ear flicked an they began their search for some kind of larger prey to take to the cache. There was an abundance of small prey in this particular area but Hollow could not be bothered with those today, today his quarry would be much larger. It felt like an eternity tracking until he at last came upon one buck. It seemed winter had been somewhat harsh to the buck, but not harsh enough for it to be ignored by the hungry wolf.

Keeping down wind of the deer, Hollow crept stealthily through the thicket, thorns, just barely grazed his pelt now, no more did he feel a tug at his fur constantly from the thick cover. At last he came upon the tan form of Iopah. "Iopah, I found a buck, he's larger than a sickling but winter has not been kind, would you like to stalk him or take him where he stands?." The woodlands male waited for Iopah's response all the while with his nose angled towards a wall of dense shrubbery which obscured the buck, and it's scent from both of them.

The two wolves separated, being able to cover more ground and increasing the likely-hood of finding suitable prey. So, they split of into the Thickets, Hollow one way and Iopah going another. There was not a sharp sense of desperation in this task for Iopah any longer. Times had changed for her. There was only a growing sense of excitement, anticipation really. As she searched farther into the thickets she remembered those distant, barren ledges. Her past would never leave her completely, but as she thought back she was relieved to find she could evaluate those memories and calmly set them aside... though she was reluctant to pull any more memories forward.

Everywhere were signs that the thicket was bursting into new growth, soon their thicket would become even more secretive. Already the new leaves were obscuring sight through the forest. Being caught up in her task, the time passed easily for the she-wolf.

At Hollow's approach she turned comfortably, nose lifting from the ground. She nodded at his words, at his question she stopped to consider. This time of year the deer would have lost it's antlers. A buck would be able to flee through the thicket nearly as fast as two adult wolves, especially it it was familiar with the area. "Good Hollow. If it's inside the thicket our best bet is to get as close as possible without notice. We should be on opposite sides of it, that way when it runs either one of us will be all that much closer." With a plan sketched out she started in the direction Hollow had come from.

Suddenly she turned back to him. One of those bad memories had pushed it's way forward. As she gazed at Hollow she remembered Kele's death, and while there were few similarities between the two, worry anchored itself within her. "If it runs toward you be mindful of it's feet. I don't want either of us to be hurt. Understood?" The last word was said with a slight growl to back up her words. She remembered what it was like to be young and feel immortal. She did not want to see anything happen to Hollow.

(This post was last modified: May 25, 2013, 12:05 AM by Iopah.)

At Iopah's words, Hollow stepped aside to let her take the lead, he was not bad hunter but he was very sure her experience outweighed his youth heavily. As they moved through the thicket in silence Hollows black nose worked in overdrive, and once again the sounds of the forest rushed in upon him, and the familiar feeling of adrenaline began to pump through his veins, though more controlled than it had been months ago when he had hunted with Sloane. Just before he split from the she wolf he heard her words and the small growl that followed them and for a few short moments he snapped out of the feeling, long enough to reply, "Yes Iopah."

Something seemed almost off about the way she had said it, normally he would have made a humorous remark but her voice sounded almost wistful. As if there was a very particular reason she asked him to be careful. Deciding it was best not to pry he merely put his nose back to the ground and pricked his ears forward moving silently until they would eventually come upon their prey. When at last they did he waited silently for the she wolf to signal, a growl, a howl, anything to tell him it was time. Hollow's eyes locked on the buck, tracing the lines where it's antlers used to be. A steely glint shone in his gaze as he waited on baited breath to give chase.

Re: wait... sorry
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Had it not been for Hollow's response she would have continued without consideration. As it was she paused, fore foot lifted mid-step, mildly confused until she realized it was her. Or rather her warning. It had come out without any forethought on her part. It hadn't occurred to her how the direct comment would sound. She watched his form disappear into the thicket. His response was quick, the tone agreeable and polite. Yet, Iopah could hear the confusion in his voice. He didn't understand. She had never divulged the details of her past to Hollow, and vice versa. Iopah knew his past was dark as well. She was trying to forget her past. All the bad things that had happened did not matter here. In Relic Lore she had an opportunity to escape the poor hand with which she had been dealt.

Still, Hollow did deserve an explanation. She exhaled forcefully, frustrated with her thoughts. She hurried after him, veering from his path as the scent of deer was noticed. Her path was slow and cautious. They would only have one shot. If the deer spooked prematurely they might not catch up to it. She took up a spot roughly across from where Hollow's trail had lead. There was still ignorant peace on the deer's part. Likely Hollow was waiting for a signal from her.

As she considered her move a branch snapped somewhere to her right. The deer sung his head to listen, ears angle like two great satellite dishes. Iopah sprang forward, taking advantage of this slight distraction. As the deer leapt from her, Iopah let out a sharp bark in warning. The deer had turned to flee from what appeared to be a solitary threat, unaware that it was running towards another set of waiting jaws.

Silence, forest noises closed in and the dark wolf kept his gaze fixed upon the deer and held his breath. Somewhere in front of him a twig snapped and his left ear swiveled towards the noise. All at once Iopah came streaking towards the deer. Hollows eyes widened and his teeth bared in a nasty snarl. It was time to do this. His heart rate increased and the hot flush of adrenaline shot through his brain and body as he rose from his hiding place. Towards the deer he ran with dutiful purpose, every paw placed on a pinpoint as Hollow went in for it.

At seemingly an instant the deer turned right and Hollows killing blow glanced off it's neck, the warmth of blood graced the male second's lower jaw where his teeth had just barely caught. When he landed the deer had run directly into a dead end, where it was blocked off from every direction except for towards the two wolves. "He's going to fight us Iopah, be on your guard." He said to the female. Hollow moved to the deer's left and set his weight back on his hind legs prepared to fight, head tucked down slightly to keep his delicate throat covered.

Slowly he began to close in while the buck began shaking it's naked head at both of them and pawing at the ground ready to strike at any moment. Thoughts raced through Hollow's head, he could try and fake right so that the deer would lash out at him and he could dodge back to the left before leaping in for the kill, or he could aim straight for it's neck. First he turned his head, "What do you think, he won't wait forever, so you want to go from the left I'll take the right and you can deal the killing blow?" Hollow decided either way this one would surely feed all of them for a few days.

*Sigh. I have to find Io's table again.
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Time seemed to have slowed down. Iopah heard the slow, powerful rush of her own breath and saw every shift in Hollows attack. He sailed forward in slow motion. It was perfect and Iopah held her breath as he leapt for it's neck.

And then she blinked and the world shifted back. The buck sprang away nearly faster than she could follow and Hollow fell short. An ugly word left her muzzle. The deer raced away, coming up against a thick twist of vines, then spun to face them. Trapped. Iopah could see the fear and determination in it's glassy expression. She had to struggle to keep the second foul word unspoken. The pale form held back in a temporary stalemate. She didn't like this. Too many risks. Hooves and heavy skulls could both damage, break bones that were not as unyielding as either wolf would like to admit. At least with running animal there was no way for them to aim. The deer began swinging it's head and Iopah's angry growl rose. It's neck wound was dripping so slowly it may take hours to have a real effect. Time neither wolf could spare.

She heard Hollows question and the offer in it. Her response was a swift shake of her head. "No. I will distract it, turn it away. When you get your grip, use your weight. It's legs can't flail on it's knees." Her advise was short and clipped, she hoped Hollow could hear the explanation she didn't have time to give. If he could use his sheer weight to force it down it's legs no longer were a danger. She was glad for the excuse of his greater bulk, for she did not want him in front of these flailing hooves. She danced closer, aware that this was the same sight Kele had had back on their mountain. She did not want to join him tonight. She plunged forward to snap threateningly, then sprang back. Twisting to her left she flung herself forward again, only to pull up short and bark roughly. She wanted her unruly attacks to pull the deer's attention from Hollow. And slowly but surely, she half-lead, half-bullied the deer to her left, on foot at a time.

"Got it." Hollow replied solidly, as Iopah rushed forward and began to dance and nip around the deer. A strange light shone in his fellow second's eye's, a determination that made Hollow's respect grow. He watched for a few moments as Iopah expertly maneuvered and pushed the deer into position. Hollow's lids briefly slid over the blue orbs, covering the blue orbs and shielding the green ring from the world. A breath left his lungs before he mounted his charge, Hollow's heart rate slowed for a blink before it began to race. Sounds sharpened and his senses became charged with adrenaline.

He moved to the right of the deer and snaked around before it could turn it's head. One solid leap and he would have it. One, two, three! Hollow leaped at the deer. His jaws connected with the back of it's neck and for one terrifying moment his legs swung in mid air, brushing the legs of the deer. One stomp of those hooves and his legs could be snapped. He drew up if right fore leg and placed it on the deer's back as a brace so that he could draw his hind legs up high to center the weight on it's neck.

For a few more moments the bald buck thrashed, unknowingly driving Hollow's killing fangs further into it's neck. The dark male knew that if he clamped now the deer would die, but it also may fall on him, and if it did, it could very well kill him. So he waited with his eyes shut tightly, the healthy animal thrashed more violently than any he had hunted before and it truly scared the young male. When it seemed it was lost battle, Hollow felt the deer falter and collapse onto it's fore legs. He clamped his jaws tightly and warm blood rushed in over his jaws and teeth, he felt the spine sever and at last, it was done.

With a gasp of air Hollow stepped off of the buck and sat down panting, relieved that it hadn't gone badly as he thought for terrifying minutes that it would. "I thought for minute, that he wasn't going to go down." His blue eyes were stretched wide as he gasped his words to Iopah. It was the first hunt that had ever scared him. It was not a feeling he liked. The fear stuck with him as he stared at the lifeless body of the deer. He truly thought it was almost his end.

(This post was last modified: Jun 22, 2013, 08:20 AM by Hollow.)