Lost Lake fit for kings

OOC: So sorry you guys for the wait on this.

Anthem waited for things to be decided as he watched the deer move among themselves. He wasn't all to concerned about what deer his sister chose. She knew from experience what was better to hunt with less chance and what could leave them empty handed. Hearing that their prey had been chosen he noted its form among the others. That one would meet its end today. He watched the too females leave before he turned to Tagg and nodded in encouragement. This was it the two of them just needed to be ready to attack when the deer came their way and then to hold it while the others came. After that it would only be a matter of wearing the young deer out and then ending its life. 

Moving away from the bushes though he was still behind them Anthem lowered himself into a crouch his gaze focused on were the deer were. He didn't want to be hit by the branches if a deer decided to run through them instead of jump them. But now it was up to the younger male to now decide when the time was right and to make a signal to start the hunt. Anthem's mouth began to water at the thought of fresh meat and how they could proudly bring it back to their leaders. Thinking of it that way made him much more determined to have this hunt succeed even if he wasn't the one in charge. His gaze slid to Tagg and he gave him an encouraging nod before once more directing his gaze to where the deer lay. Anthem was ready whenever he was.

I am the Anthem we sing,

  

My sister the Angele we follow,

     

My brother ,Nathaniel, our guide

Together we shall not stray.

Word Count: 217

Tagg watched the females slip off and felt his heartbeat pick up.  Was he nervous?  He wasn't ashamed to admit that he was.  He had only just finished healing and didn't want to tear open his wound again.  He didn't want to make a fool of himself in front of his beta, whom he admired.  He wanted Anthem to be impressed with his skills.  He wanted to prove that Vespertio had done the right thing in allowing him to join the pack, even though Rift had vanished soon after.

Tagg took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.  He saw Anthem give him an encouraging nod out of the corner of his eye.  He was glad he was Tagg's right so he could actually see the motion.  It helped.  Anthem had his back.

He knew Desideria would be making the first move, and had given her instruction to do so.  Angele had selected their target, and now all they had to do was wait for the females to move, pushing the deer towards them.  He shuddered when he thought about the small antlers on their target; they weren't huge, but they would be dangerous none-the-less.  He flexed his paws and tensed.  Any moment now, Des would appear from the foliage and the hunt would begin in earnest.

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Just like that, everything began to fall into place. Tagg gave the order, and (a bit surprisingly), both the older, larger wolves agreed to his plan without complaint. While Tagg was her opposite but equal among rank, Anthem was the proud beta – and Angele, while a newer face among the Fallen Tree Cove pack, as no less proud than her littermate. Wisely, the rogue kept her mouth shut about the observations, and kept all thoughts to herself as a prey item was selected from the small herd that had unwittingly stumbled into the wolves' lair. There were a few options, she noted. The lead buck was given no more than a cursory glance – Desideria hadn't the slightest inclination to attack an animal that big, nor one so armed with obvious weaponry. A rack like that could do serious damage to a wolf's softer bits. The smallest one she watched the longest, clearly interested in the button buck, she only tipped her head to one side as the white female indicated she wished to hunt the middle animal of the trio. Still a bit large, in the timber wolf's opinion, but then, she was a fair bit smaller than most of the canines she met. Bobbing her head once, she waited until Angele slipped into position before the tawny woman began her own movement. Slipping through brush and amongst dead pine needles, she closed the gap between herself and their prey before exploding forth, hurtling a log as she sprinted for the chosen deer. Snapping her jaws near its hind legs, Des sought to break it away from its small herd – she ran as hard as she could, narrowly avoiding a kick as she remained along its left side, forcing it to run straight instead of turning deeper into the thicket like the other two had done.

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Desideria exploded forth from her hiding place, and Angele paused only a moment to allow the smaller hunter to do her job.  Within moments, her hiding place was empty and the large white-grey wolf was charging beside their prey, hemming it in with Des on the other side.  She nipped at its legs, keeping it from turning her way and driving it away from its family - and towards her brother and the hunt leader.  She glanced at the other wolf with her and couldn't help but admire her speed and agility.  She was doing well, despite her diminutive size. 

Though her eyes left their prey for only a moment, when she looked back she almost barked with surprise.  The deer had decided to do something about her presence and had lowered its head to the side, antlers aimed for her chest.  She threw herself sideways out of harms way, but didn't quite make it.  She yelped as the deadly antlers caught the side of her chest and threw her off balance.  Pain exploded through her, doubled as her weight came crashing down on her shoulder.  Despite the pain, Angele rolled as she landed to avoid the crushing hooves she knew were coming.

She pulled herself to her feet, struggling to regain the breath that had been driven out of her.  She tested her weight on her wounded leg and nearly collapsed again.  She cursed herself.  She should know better than to allow herself to be distracted at such a crucial moment!

But she wouldn't be kept from the hunt.

Hobbling foreword, Angele snarled at the buck and snapped in its general direction, hoping to frighten it into going the direction she wanted.  "Anthem!" She called, "We need you!"  Even if her ploy worked and the deer shied away, there was no way she would be able to give pursuit, and she was almost certain Des wouldn't be able to handle it on her own.

Angele continued growling, hoping to at least keep the buck from charging her again.

"Speech"

My brother is the Anthem we sing,
 
I am the Angele we follow,
   
My brother, Nathaniel, our guide

Together we shall not stray.

He was waiting patiently and at first he only heard the deer going about their business and then their was chaos. He heard the sound of hooves against the ground and then the sound of teeth snapping. Anthem face shifted to a more serious one as he waited for the moment he would need to make his move. Patience he thought to himself. He needed to be patient and trust that Des and Angele would do their jobs. Then the surprising sound of his sister's yelp filled the air. Anthem didn't even wait for her to call him before he was moving forward.

He watched as his sister roll on the ground to avoid the deer who had decided it was going to try and fight back. A growl rumbled in his chest as he rushed forward while Angele snapped her fangs. The young buck seemed unsure as to what to do but it began to lower it's antlers once more, seeing as how his first results had been successful. Anthem was having none of that a snarl of anger bubbled in his throat as he launched himself at the deer's hip with the intent of hitting it and throwing it off balance so that it wouldn't be able to go after Angele again and get it to focus on him instead. He was starting to actually hate deer. They had taken Felrai from him and now here was one that was trying to do the same with Angele. He sure was going to make sure that this deer didn't have a chance to repeat itself.

I am the Anthem we sing,

  

My sister the Angele we follow,

     

My brother ,Nathaniel, our guide

Together we shall not stray.

It was all falling apart, and Tagg could help but feel responsible.  He had made the plan, and they had followed it without question.  How could it not be his failure?

He had been sitting with Anthem, tense and ready to begin the hunt when they heard Des strike.  It didn't take Angele long to join her, and for a few moments everything was going according to plan.  Then Angele let out a cry of pain, and Anthem had surged foreword.  Tagg couldn't blame him; Angele was his sister, and he too had once had a sister to protect.  He'd failed.

Not wanting to be left from the hunt, and knowing that the plan had to change, Tagg followed the beta out to the temporary area.  Angele was climbing to her feet, but unable to put weight on her front leg.  Anthem was blindly charging the buck, throwing himself at its hip.  The deer stumbled, losing its balance.  Distracted from Angele, it turned instead toward her brother.

Now it was Tagg's turn.  He circled around, running low to the ground until he had a clear shot at the deer's unprotected shoulder.  He jumped, teeth scoring along its pelt. He was in and out quickly, not giving the beast time to turn its antlers on him.  The smell of fresh blood filled his nose, informing him of his success.  

The hunters now surrounded their prey, and with any luck and a bit of teamwork, they might still be able to take it down.

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For just a moment, things seemed to be going swimmingly. Between the chosen buck and the rest of his small herd, the numbers had divided perfectly. Where the others fled, Desideria had their prey running straight, right towards the trap the males had set. Within a matter of strides, the white female had joined her efforts – two wolves were much more effective when it came to steering prey. And all at once, the stag decided to take things into his own hooves. Where the rogue flanked the animal, smaller and more lithe, Angele had pulled up beside it to keep it running in a straight line. An error, it seemed, as the ungulate moved to gouge her and seek his freedom. While the female escaped the most drastic harm, the larger wolf had been injured to some degree. A shot of panic sparked up the desert dancer's spine – how was she supposed to keep this animal running towards the others when Angele could not? Fortunately, the males took heed of the other female's cry and came charging forth. Anthem flung himself at the buck's hip. When it stumbled towards her, the tawny she-wolf darted out of the way, just in time to see Tagg lunge for the animal's shoulder while it was distracted. No longer able to chase, Des decided to follow suit – where the small male grabbed higher up on the body, she lunged right next to him for the deer's forelimb. Sharp teeth grabbed hold and she pulled, throwing the animal off-balance enough that one of her packmates might be able to move in for the kill.

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Angele limped foreword as her brother charged from the undergrowth, recklessly throwing himself at the buck in his fury.  She felt a stab of anger.  Just because she was mildly hurt didn't mean she needed him to go and get hurt too.  Protection was the last thing she needed.  She watched as the other wolves swarmed around their prey, trapping it.  Desideria took advantage of the deer's loss of balance and sank her teeth into its foreleg, holding fast as the creature struggled.  Angele saw an opportunity to put her size to use, and decided to use it.

Though she couldn't move as quickly as she would have liked due to her shoulder, her back legs worked just fine.  When she got close enough, Angele launched herself at the deer's back end, opposite of Des.  Her unexpected impact and the deer's inability to stabilize itself caused the animal to tip over.  The air was filled with a sharp snap as the leg in her counterpart's mouth twisted unnaturally.  

Angele knew it would be over quickly then.  Even if it managed to regain its footing, it wouldn't be able to escape - or use its back legs to ward off its attackers.  Without both front hooves to put weight on, the only weapon it would have would be its antlers.  While she knew - from recent experience - antlers were still dangerous, the wolves would be able to keep the creature turning without putting themselves at too much risk.

As she hobbled backwards, Angele glanced at the young Tagg.  Her original thought that the male should have been in her place was now subdued.  Had they switched places and the same turn of events taken place, he might have been able to dodge the attack, but if he hadn't things might have been worse. He was much smaller than she, and his younger age meant he likely didn't have as much experience with serious injuries as she did.

Looking at his blinded eye reminded her that he did.  Even so, she preferred that she got the injury; she was more likely to recover than he might have been.

Angele quickly returned her eyes to the hunt, searching for another opportunity to help her new packmates.

My brother is the Anthem we sing,
 
I am the Angele we follow,
   
My brother, Nathaniel, our guide

Together we shall not stray.

Their hunt had turned out differently than they could have planned and Anthem was ticked about it. His shoulder slammed into the deer's hip and he felt it stumble. He felt a grim satisfaction as he jumped away when he landed from his attack. Baring his fangs he let out a growl as their prey turned to face him. He wasn't going to let his sister be attacked more than she had if he could help it. Before the deer could try and attack him Tagg was their dragging its attention to him instead. It seemed that they were all moving at once as Des grabbed hold of a leg and then Angele did the same. 

Moving quickly as the deer began to fall Anthem slipped out of the danger zone. He could be reckless sometimes but he didn't want to be squashed. Slipping to the front of the deer while the others still held on he noted that it's leg were broken. He didn't waste anytime putting it out of its misery. With three wolves holding onto it ,even if briefly as his sister let go and stepped away, and bleeding from its wounds, it had to be in a lot of pain already. Throw in the fact that it was still trying to struggle to get up and away from the predators with its legs still broken. It had to be very painful. Stepping forward as the deer through it's head back in fear he found its throat and quickly bit down. He felt the deer's chin hit his cheek but he held on firmly as the light began to fade from it's eyes. 

He held on longer than was probably necessary before he let go to look at the others, his muzzle stained red. The hunt was over and they were all alive, though his sister was hurt. Overall he would have considered it successful but the fact that Angele was hurt left a very bitter taste in his mouth.

I am the Anthem we sing,

  

My sister the Angele we follow,

     

My brother ,Nathaniel, our guide

Together we shall not stray.

Even as Tagg backed away from her strike to the deer's shoulder, Desideria was beside him, sinking her sharp teeth into their prey's leg and yanking on it.  He admired her bravery; she was still in a position to get hurt by the other legs or the animal's antlers.  Before he could rush in to help her knock it over, however, Angele had thrown the entirety of her body weight against its back end and it tipped.

Its leg broke in Des' mouth.

Even as he moved in, Anthem appeared at their prey's head, clamping his jaws down on its throat and holding on until it stopped struggling.  Even then, he didn't let go for another few moments. Finally, he released his grip and looked around at them, disgust in every inch of his posture.  Tagg shrank back a little.  He hadn't been able to control the deer, and he didn't make it attack Angele, but his plan had put her in a place to get hurt.  She was Anthem's sister.  He felt that he would get a talking-to later, and that he had let down not only his pack, but Anthem as well.

So much for trying to impress him. He thought glumly.  

Even though the hunt was a success, Tagg wasn't happy.  Angele's injury seemed serious, and he wondered if the benefit of the hunt would be able to outweigh the cost.

"Are you okay?"  He asked her.

"Speech" Thought

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