Sierra Hills Hunt Opportunity - East RL

She wished that this hadn't been the stage that they'd found themselves on. Borlla wanted nothing more than to speak to her brothers and smile and laugh with them. But all she could feel now was animosity as they moved after a single entity, stomachs grumbling. Would they fight? She wasn't sure. She hadn't bothered looking to see if the Bend wolves had taken up the hunt yet. They seemed to keep together for some of the distance, a single moving body, but golden eyes followed Zia's silver form as she broke away to launch a barrier, inevitably preventing their meal's escape. The woman barrelled on, a fire growing within her as they closed the expansive distance.

Her teeth would not be upon the heels and flanks of this caribou, a weapon to slow its escape. She would leave that for Zia and her crew. She wanted to take the damn thing down, punish the creature for showing up too late to feed her son. Jaw clenched, she pushed ahead, beginning to put distance between her and Phineas before he broke away. For a moment, she nearly followed after him, but her goal consumed her and she could only hope that they provided a successful roadblock. Her ears turned back against her skull, fighting away the cold. The faintest of thrumming sounds caught her attention, alerting her that the Bend wolves were not far behind now. Let them participate, she told herself. It would only aid her. She did all in her power to keep her mind upon the task at hand, and not what could follow after.

summary Borlla is moving in a "straight" line (implying that she did not break away to join Phineas or Zia) with intent to be the main offense to take the caribou down.

Lurking until the end of July - Please PM/tag me to get my attention

He didn't notice the others, not their words behind him, or their bodies as they started moving after him, all he saw was the caribou, slowly growing bigger as it attempted the impossible feet of outrunning him. His eyes were blazing like embers under half closed lids, protecting them from the cold wind as he pushed himself forwards.

It was only as the sounds of paws against the snow grew louder that the ebony lad flipped his ears backwards in confusion, a silent snarl baring his teeth as he assessed the situation; Blasted! They were spreading out, several bodies closing in on him. Fanned out like this they wouldn't be able to turn the bull; Only one thing to do then! Hurling himself forwards, stretching his muscles to their utmost, the dark man flew over the snow, jaws parting. His lungs were starting to burn in the cold air, and he could feel the strain of many weeks of hunger in his every fiber.

Doing his best to ignore all these difficulties, the dark wolf continued at peak speed, teeth bared. He needed to stop the bull before it reached the trees, skewering its hock should do the trick. His eyes blazed, his teeth glistened. He was hungry for blood!

Word Count: 210

Dawnthieves.de & Burtn @ DA

There was little reason to no for Neoma to stay crouched to the ground any longer now, especially as she glanced up and saw more wolves encroaching on the hunting spot. damnit, one bull wouldn't feed all of them. She fleetingly thought as she scrambled to her feet, following her pack mates examples and going after the beast. In a better season, where food was plentiful and where every wolf didn’t nealy look akin to a walking skeleton, such desperation would not have existed. Perhaps they would have even worked together, to take down the creature and shared it.

But not this time, not in this unforgiving chill and not when death gnashed its teeth and hunger gnawed at her stomach, reminding the dark fae that if this bull wasn’t taken down and her pack didn’t get to claim it, then they would all go hungry. Noticing where her leaders and other packmates were, Neoma moved accordingly where she would be helpful, stubbornly ignoring the strain on her limbs. Her female leader was moving in a straight line towards the caribou, seemingly determined to get this hunt over and down with. Neoma wished she had the bulk to simply go the prey and bring it down but her smaller stature prevented such a brazen attack.

Yet as her eyes scanned the area, it was noted that Phineas and another she wolf, who she believed to be from her own pack, were already looking to cut off the caribou should it dodge either to the left or right. So she either had the choice of joining either of the wolves and hope to cut the caribu off or run straight for it.

Deciding that it would be better for her to help prevent the caribou from escaping and hoping to cut it off, Neoma bounded quickly after Phineas, even if there was a small flash of fear that escaped into her at the thought of being so close to the male after their last encounter.

Summary: Neoma’s gone after the Caribou and is looking to help Phineas in cutting it off from the left.

Table by PuppyThief
STOCK: vivstock @ DA, BrokenWing3dStock @ DA & Dawnthieves.de

Young and inexperienced, Serach was rather unsure of himself. His bravado had been left unanswered, by everybody, leaving him more disoriented than before. So the juvenile stayed silent, sticking close to his two uncles. His hunting experience was woefully lacking - the winter stealing away from him all hopes of learning the tricks of becoming a successful predator. With few exceptions, his kills had been limited almost entirely to the smallest of game, so when Triell spoke up, the Aesir boy was quick to turn his head and listen attentively. Watch and see, Serach felt confident in his ability to do that, at least.

Still glaring after the direction the strange wolves had gone, Serach fell into step behind his two uncles. The snow was heavy, though, and Serach was still clumsy on his lanky legs. Even if he had complete mastery over his paws and legs, the young wolf took after his father in build, built for strength rather than speed. Triell and Ruiko were similar, but they had the advantage of age, and soon enough, the cub found himself falling behind the other two. But he continued to push through the snow, pushing his body at as quick of a pace as he could manage without tumbling face first into the snow.

The adrenaline certainly helped. He had no idea who these other wolves were, but their presence had lit a fire within the Oak Tree Bend wolves that had been lacking. Cold, both inside and out, Serach ran, tongue rolling out of his mouth and his sides heaving as he panted. For the first time since his mother had passed, the boy was beginning to feel normal, his own instincts for survival supplanting any other emotion. The clamoring of his stomach was audible and his salvia dripped from his mouth to the snow. He might not be particularly useful, but he was certainly hungry and prepared to fight for his piece of the kill.

Summary: Serach is following after Triell & Ruiko towards the caribou. His slow speed stat though means that he has fallen behind them.

Everything happened so fast, too fast, and her heart was pounding hard from adrenaline. Quickly she sped off towards her large white alpha. She could barley hear the sound of paws scraping the snowy ground over the thud thud thud in her ears. The blur named Jaden only, and swiftly for a practically tailless wolf, switched directions when Zia's command caught her attention. Lowering her muzzle she burst forward at an increased speed, fallowing the fellow silver women from behind. Her mouth parted to pant, cold air rushing in. *Winter sucks.* She thought bitterly.

*I am fast, I can catch up with her.* She told herself trying with all her might to decrease the distance. Slowly but surely it seemed to be working as she gained on her. She wasn't close enough to be considered a wolf length or two away, but she was now able to see her better. That was something, right? Yes.

Determination was all she felt. Sadly not for catching the prey, but instead keeping up with her pack. Hunting was a tad foreign to her; she knew how but had complications. Her job as her old pack wasn't helping with taking down prey. Oh no, she never got to do that unless it was apart of a lesson. Everyone always thought she'd screw them up with her tail, 'She'll loose her balance and topple us all over.' She remember the yearlings voice taunting her. *So what, they are the past.* With this she continued on towards Zia.

Summary: She is attempting to catch up with Zia.

This is the beginning of the third round. This is the last opportunity to jump into the thread The third round will begin on 3/6/2014 @ 9:21 PM EST

His hooves churned the earth underneath him as he continued at a breakneck pace towards the forest. In his heart he knew he stood a chance, he was faster than the wolves on a good day. But today was not a good day and he could feel that. Today was a very bad day. A thousand monsters poured out of the hills and into the valley at his back and their eyes were like brandished daggers that wavered and sparkled, waiting to cut into him. Dread overwhelmed him as searched every inch of his body for the energy to run faster. He came up empty — he was running on empty and he would not be able to keep this up. Defiantly, Tuqloq bellowed again, "You'll never take me!" He was as healthy and strong as a bull could be, God could not mean for him to die this day.

Could he?

The curiosity gnawed at him like the teeth of his pursuers. How far back were they? Was he going to make it? Were they gaining on him? He had to know. Carelessly, he threw a glance over his left shoulder and saw the vile demons fanning out behind him, branching out to the left and the right. Fuck. They were all around him, and he knew from experience that the caribou-killers could keep this up probably for longer than he could. Shit.

And just as his courage began to fail, his legs started to fail him too. He tripped.

Abruptly Tuqloq crashed to the ground, carried forward some feet by the force of his momentum. The bull cried out in pain, and tried to climb back onto his feet. But he would never be able to do it fast enough. The wolves were upon him. They would be here any moment. Dread overwhelmed him as he realized he was without his trusted weapons, his antlers. God truly had chosen this day for him to die.

He closed his eyes.

Tuqloq the bull is running WEST WARD (click here for visual representation). The closest to the caribou in order are Destrig (may attack this round, from left), Borlla (may attack this round), Phineas (may attack this round, from left), Neoma on the left with Nayeli and Jaden on the right (3.34 km away), Zia on the right (4km away), Triell and Ruiko (4.66 km away), and Serach (5km away).* Those who did not reply this round are assumed to be moving in the even that they pop back in. Caniri would be about where Phineas is (so they may attack next round) and Halgen and Rhysis are still a round away from catching the prey.

(This post was last modified: Mar 05, 2014, 03:16 AM by Spirit of Wildwood.)

Ooc: Figured I would post first since Drestig is closest to the Bull ^^

Luck was finally smiling on the wolves of Spectral Woods. After a winter of frost, hunger and death, snow covered lands empty as far as even the sharpest eyes could see, a meal big enough to fill all their stomachs had wandered into the forest, right into their paws, and they weren't gonna let it go!

The black wolf almost flew over the snow, his paws barely grazing the white as he ran towards his target at the front of the group of hunters. A flaming exhilaration ran through the lean mans veins, he had never lead a hunt but he liked the feeling; I'll take you down! As he thought it, bared teeth glistening in against his black fur, the caribou bellowed out its defiance, seemingly challenging him. Drestig snarled and continued his sprint, adrenalin drowning out his aching muscles and empowering his hunger-weakened body. This kill was his!

And then the bull tripped, its head turning for just a second to watch its pursuers, legs in that same second stepping wrongly, and the beast fell. The ebony lad cried out in triumph, his voice ringing in the vast space around them, echoing off the Sierra Hills in the distance; "Victory!" Finally his teeth would meet flesh, fresh, bloody flesh still filled with life; and he would savor the moment! The beast was down, its heavy body keeping it there, and Drestig went straight for the kill, aiming at the animals throat where he could get a solid grip and hang on tight, so even if the bull tried to get back up, the wolf could use his weight to keep it down and tear at its larynx.

Word Count: 274

Dawnthieves.de & Burtn @ DA

(This post was last modified: Mar 05, 2014, 10:03 PM by Drestig.)

(Not sure whether I should just pic up where he left off or should create some way to explain missing the second round. Not sure if my post is okay, let me know if I messed something up and I'll gladly change it :D)

The snow crunched beneath their paws. A thin layer of ice had built up over the top, making it easier to cross the normally soft surface quickly. Soft wafts of breath fogged the frigid air as they exhaled. The surroundings were quiet, almost as if the entire area was holding its breath, waiting to see what would happen. Caniri himself didn't even know but he hoped that it worked in the pack's favor and wished that it would turn out to be more than a fallacy. The animal would be big, there was no doubt about that, and he wasn't quite sure whether they would be enough to take it down. It all depended on what condition the animal was in.

He took a step away from Phineas putting some space between them and fanning out to form a more 'V' formation. He was glad to be hunting by his alphas' sides. It was actually rather strange considering he was so new. He thought he would have ended up doing the odd jobs, but it seemed that his diligence had paid off. By arriving quickly he had gained an opportunity. Maybe he would get the chance to really show them what he was capable of. He hoped that the other members would arrive quickly. The fewer wolves that were taking on the prey, the more likely they were to be hurt.

Suddenly a thud could be heard, though it was muffled. In a second Caniri knew what it was. The animal had fallen. Keeping up the their pace he hoped they got there before the animal had time to rise. It would be a great advantage to catch the animal while it was down. It would make things that much less complicated. The sound of the animal hitting the ground was followed by a sharp cry, and Caniri knew there was another wolf around. By the sound of it, it was closer. Coming upon the animal, they found that it was still down and a large black wolf was lunging towards the animal's throat. Glancing at his alphas, Caniri did the only thing he could, he sprinted towards the animal to help take it down. He didn't know who the stranger was but they were working towards a common goal at the moment, they could deal with him later.

Caniri lunged towards the animal's flank from behind it, aiming to sink his teeth into the flesh. This way, he could throw his weight backwards and hopefully keep the animal on its side and its feet out from under him while the dark one took care of business.

SUMMARY: Caniri is running with the alphas, hears the animal fall and Drestig cry out. They come upon the animal and he moves in to help with the kill.

The black she-wolf willed her paws to carry her as fast as she could go as she continued to sprint to catch up. Nayeli's lithe form was built for the task of running full-out, but Drestig, the caribou, and the others still had a healthy head start. So, Nayeli swept along behind them, coal ears straining forward toward the sounds of something happening up ahead. At this point she was fully cognizant of the fact that she might not be able to catch up in time to take the prey down, or to make any difference in the hunt. Still, anything could happen, and no matter what, she wanted to make sure that her pack mate wasn't alone, isolated among the wolves not of the Bend. She didn't know Drestig all that well, but they were not just mere acquaintances - they were allies if nothing else. Nayeli thirsted for the taste of something with life in it, it had been so long since she'd truly hunted as a wolf should. No doubt she wasn't the only one. Nayeli feared violence would be dangerously easy to spark among the ravenous wolves, and while she hoped it was not the case, she tried to prepare herself for anything as she raced towards them. The snow flew past beneath her and the trees blurredby on the edges of her vision - she was just beginning to hit her stride, but she felt she could not get there fast enough. [Nayeli spends the round running to catch up with the caribou, etc.]

(This post was last modified: Mar 09, 2014, 11:42 PM by Nayeli.)

They ran along in silence, each of them straining through the snow. It was not particularly easy going, especially not for the youngest of them. Serach's chest heaved with the exertion, and more than once he cursed his overly large paws and his lack of balance and control. Ahead of him, he could see Triell and Ruiko, a pair of silent giants. Triell had said they would watch and see, hanging back until they better understood what these other wolves were like. Not that they had much of a choice. Ahead of the Oak Tree Bend trio, Serach could make out the forms of other wolves, some of his pack and some not. The trio was too far behind to be able to do much more than continue to push on, ready to provide backup if the situation got dangerous.

Unable to see from the distance, Serach did not visibly see the caribou fall to the ground. He did hear the beast's cries, though. They were loud and terrifying, sending shivers of fear down the young wolf's spine. In his last hunt, his mother had been injured by the prey's flailing limbs. Was this caribou also fighting? Were the snarls of the attacking wolves in victory or in pain? Panting, the young wolf tried to summon more speed from his slow legs, and pushed himself further after his family. Even if he wasn't sure how he could help, he wanted to be there and do whatever he could to ensure that his family left with full stomaches. Surely, they had earned that.

Summary: Watch Serach run.