Grizzly Hollow perhaps my heart is fast

RE: Grizzly Hollow, an injured, angry moose is wandering about your territory.

If the sickly sweet stench of infection wasn’t a siren’s call, then the moose’s bugle most certainly was.  With the turn of seasons, the rut had arrived, and the sound of low groans and high-pitched wails were of the moose seeking a mate.  It could be a dangerous time for a wolf, especially if he were alone and faced with a large, healthy bull jacked up on testosterone.  Veho would never dream of hunting a moose this time of year under normal circumstances – but these weren’t normal circumstances, were they?  The Ancestors had blessed Grizzly Hollow with a tremendous prize, and it would be an insult to let it go to waste.

Trotting a rough perimeter around the injured animal, the medic took several stolen glances at the angry animal, trying to size up the beast and its injury.  Many lengths away, he issued a call for the others – it would hear him, yes, but with such a limp in its right hind limb, it couldn’t get far.  Only the short bark escaped.  Wolves in the area would be able to hear (the blessings of being a wolf).  Hopefully the other members of would understand the urgency and join up soon.  Even an injured bull would be foolish for Veho to attempt alone, but the pack’s cache could certainly use the addition before the winter rolled in.

Hunkering low, the silver male slithered back into the brush, moonlit eyes back on the bull moose, Veho continued to trail after him – as soon as others arrived, they could begin.

Pack hunt!  For clarity, I'll be writing the moose!  First round will end Sept. 29th or when three other wolves have joined.  Please bold any wolves you are addressing.  (Or the moose.)  This is for ease of reading and interaction!

Soft brown paws patted around near the northern reaches of the territory she now called home when the call rose. Her ears perked up as her head rose from staring at a peculiar plant. She hadn’t taken the opportunity to meet any of her packmates apart from Gaheris, and she found it allowed her to remain objective when she found herself on diplomatic missions, which she had yet to do yet. She considered seeking out @Rook in the near future to see how she was to be used. She had been exploring nearby lands for informational purposes but hadn’t run into another pack apart from the woman she had met just before joining the Grizzly wolves. Now, she had the opportunity to take part in a pack activity, and she would use it to her advantage. Besides, she was far from wayworn and she had the energy to hunt.

She tipped her head up, letting out a howl as if to say she was on her way before she broke into a run, allowing herself to feel the wind flowing through her fur, knowing soon the harsh and bitter feelings of winter snaps were soon going to float on by and leave her freezing and seeking warmth. Her feet raced through roots and trees of the territory she now felt comfortable in, leaving her with a grin on her face as she slowed her pace, catching the scent of a pack wolf, and more importantly a piece of prey. She would arrive to the scene, a small dip of the muzzle as her tail dropped to an appropriate level to match her rank.

She examined him for a second, silver fur and slate colored orbs stood out to her, alongside his medium frame. They were technically the same rank, though she didn’t carry much weight to hers due to the fact she could be bumped down by any adult who joined the pack, carrying the rank of yearling. “Greetings.” She let out the soft murmur, allowing that to be the only word she spoke.

(This post was last modified: Oct 05, 2015, 08:52 PM by Katariina.)

The stink of it hadn't eluded her, and in fact it had really permeated parts of the territory. An injured moose might as well have been a gift-wrapped present to the whole of the pack, and the fact that it was so close made it even more vulnerable as a target for the wolves of Grizzly Hollow. Quil had recently taken up a new interest in border patrol and other duties that her time away from Tomen had afforded her. At his age, he was able and more than willing to head off on his own during the day and it gave her a chance to finally do things she'd been missing out on these last few months ─ things like rounding the borders, checking in on Borden, and answering the healer's call to hunt. Leaving behind a freshly marked stretch of land to the west, Quil made her way to him expressly.

The Leader approached the pair of pack mates as they stood gathered, her body language designating her position in the hierarchy as well as her eagerness. The smell of their prey hung in the air and made her mouth water and her belly rumble and her amber eyes shine with a predatory alertness. "Veho," she greeted, looking him over before eyeing the girl opposite him. Nothing about the look-over was critical, but warm instead. Quil hadn't met the russet-stroked yearling before, but she did have an appreciation for her presence at the hunt and in the pack, for that matter. Perhaps they could get to know each other better in the near future, and until then she was content not to dwell on their undeveloped relationship to one another.

Awaiting the arrival of the others, she tested the air with a flick of her tongue. The bull was nearby ─ the hunters would surely have little trouble in securing a promising meal, and wouldn't be wayworn when it was said and done.

 

Waiting to find my place

Several long weeks had passed since that night. The night when Jynx was forced to return to the CedarWood Forest, with only Rook, a stranger, as company. While she was quite unaware of his true identity just yet, she did have some lingering suspicions. But none of that mattered now. He had extended her an offer, one of aid from his two Medics, and in her condition, she had no choice but to take it. Her only other option was to stay alone, stranded in the FireWeed Rise with an injured leg, unable to hunt. She would do what she must to survive, even if it meant following the heels of the very wolf who had driven Kisla, Maksim and his family away from this very place. Jynx, who was still known merely as "Wacipi" by the others of the pack, had been a good patient and did as she was told by Veho and Titan. Which mostly, was nothing more than resting, curled up in a private little den, familarizing herself with the new, yet not entirely foreign scents of the forest. A sprained leg took time to heal, and every once in a while she would receive a visit from either of the Medics, just to monitor her progress. By the second week, the swelling had all but dissappeared, yet she still remained cautious. Gently, she began testing her newly healed foot, only by applying the slightest bit of weight to it. As soon as she felt the slightest bit of discomort, she eased off and went back to resting her leg.

After all this time, she was no doubt, a member of the pack at this point. It was by no means the traditonal way in which an outsider such as herself would normally have been welcomed into the ranks, but she was here nonetheless. Along with her days of chosen isolation, with them came an overwhelming mixture of contradicting emotions. Guilt, indifference, bitterness, sorrow and hope. Could she start anew here? Surely the Baranski's would never take her back if they knew what she had done. They'd see her as a traitor, although betraying them was never her intention. Yet she did not feel terribly distraught about her choice. Jynx had never felt like she quite fit in with those wolves. Everyone was always so busy, and there were hardly any wolves her own age. And the one who was...well, he had made his way onto her black list. She wanted nothing to do with Karpos Slayer. Maybe here, among wolves who were supposed to be her enemies, Jynx would finally find her niche.

A gift from nature was nearby, the scent of infection and moose filtering into her nostrils, causing her stomach in turn, to rumble. Her bright pink tongue swept over her lips in anticipation of a fresh, proper meal. And in her eyes, the timing couldn't be more perfect. Auttumn was beginning to set in, which meant everyone would have to work overtime to make sure the caches were well stocked for winter. The moose also presented the perfect opportunity for Jynx to prove herself as an assest to the pack...not just a bag of bones lazing on the sidelines. She may not have been one hundred percent healed yet, but with her love of hunting, she would be damned if she didn't try and help out. Her leg felt sturdy enough to walk on, to even run with, for short bursts of time at least. Taking her chances, she sifted towards the call from which Merlin sounded the dinner bell. The closer she got, the stronger the stench became, although she could not yet see the injured beast. Oh how the tables had turned! What did catch her eye though, were two other wolves already present. Both females, one colored similarly to herself, while the other was much darker. Jynx knew without words, who the highest ranked wolf was here. Her typical shyness around new faces and crowds kicked in, and the most recent addition to Grizzly Hollow approached slowly, almost timidly. Head tucked level between her shoulder blades, ears back turned. This was not just plain display of submission...Jynx also was not sure if Merlin would approve of his paitents arrival at such an occasion, so early after her injury had healed. So she hung back, yellow eyes darting from wolf to wolf, ready to turn should anyone dismiss her.

Thanks for joining! Next round ends on 10/ 7 or when everyone posts, whichever comes first. There is still room for one other wolf if someone wants to hop in. Also, when referring to others or the moose, please bold their name, so it's easy to tell who's where and what they're doing! I'll be writing Gunthor, so look for his posts at the bottom of Veho's!

Unable to identify the red yearling immediately, Veho still acknowledged her as one of Grizzly Hollow’s, the deep scent of pines hanging from her guard hairs as she answered the howl. Bobbing his head, he offered her a quick smile. “Welcome,” he murmured, indicating for Katariina to fall in line with him. Before he had the chance to introduce himself, the lady alpha made herself known, and was immediately afforded a deep drop of his head. Ears pricked forward, he chuffed softly, tail at half mast while swung in a wide arc. Never would he question Quil’s authority, and today was no different. The small group was completed by the arrival of Wacipi, the young woman the medic had treated for a sprain recently. He studied her more intently than the others, but unable to detect any hitch in her stride, greeted the third female with another bob of his head.

Four, he thought, should be enough. The bull moose was already injured, and clearly angry – while he would be dangerous and frantic, he’d probably lost his ability to run, and if they worked together, they could avoid that dangerous front end and full rack of antlers. Hunkering around his packmates, he bobbed his head to the alpha. “Quil and I are the largest – we should focus on taking the moose. His right hind is lame, so we should focus there.” Veho paused for a moment, ears swiveling in the event any of the ladies gathered round had any additional input. After another moment, he glanced towards the pair of slender runners. “You two can flush the moose towards us, yes? Stay at his heels, so he can’t swing for you – much harder to kick when you’ve a lame leg, as well.”

With a plan set, Veho began to move again, searching for a hiding spot where he and Quil could wait to ambush their prey.

------MOOSE TRACKS-----

Gunthor was having a terrible time. Gunthor was having a terrible season. Not only had those mad dogs driven him from the nice territory he’d carved out for himself, but the bull had found nothing but trouble in his hurry to stake a new claim. Normally, he would pace himself, not wishing to pick up any old scrap when there might be better earth elsewhere, but it was the wrong time of year to be without a home. The rut was upon him, burning feverish and hot, and whatever anger he felt at being pushed from his home was only amplified tenfold by his inability to court a cow and call her his own.

Never before had he such trouble!

Releasing another hoarse bugle, the male stumbled forward, tripping over a downed cedar with his head held so high. Cursing to himself, Gunthor narrowly managed to avoid falling to the forest floor, his crown whipping around. Had anyone seen that? Curse those wolves, for leaving him in such a state, and such a condition! His old forest had been ripe with women, he’d have had his pick, and here he was, slumming it among wet pines and slippery rocks. How did life get worse from here?

tl;dr: Veho suggests he and Quil wait to ambush, while Jynx/Kat flush the moose out. The moose is in rut and bugling for a mate, and his clumsiness continues. Poor Gunthor.

Hope this is okay! Feel free to skip him in following rounds since he's not strictly participating.

Something was happening. He had heard the bugle, the sound alien and far too close to home. It sounded like it came from inside the territory, which was crazy - nobody who lived here made a sound like that! It definitely wasn't a wolf! Thoroughly torn between fleeing from it and desperately wanting to know what on earth could make a noise like that, it was when he found his mother's fresh trail leading directly towards the scene was his mind made up.

Feeling a little as though he was walking on air, for he had no idea what lay ahead (except mother was there so it would be okay), his ears pricked at every call made from one Hollow wolf to another, obviously about whatever this intruder was. A hunt, he thought, excited at the prospect of one happening right here. He wasn't allowed to join any, and hadn't had the opportunity to watch, but maybe this would be different! It was gonna happen right here, he wouldn't even have to leave the pack's borders or anything!

More than a little giddy, the dark boy crept onto the scene just as the wolf who he suspected was probably that medic man moved off, and, worried that he had missed his chance, slipped up behind his mother and nudged her hock with his nose. "Can I watch?" he asked, sheepish, hoping that she wouldn't be mad.

A lynx has left behind the remains of a deer. +5 Health

Kat had arrived first, but not by much time as another woman made herself known.  However, she fell into like as Veho had silently instructed for her to do. This woman was older than Kat, and the way she held herself left no doubt in the girl’s mind – this was the other leader, the one she had only heard about but never met. Perhaps after the hunt they could talk and Kat could get to know her a bit better. She felt like an odd-man-out because she had not had the chance to talk to many of her packmates, with the exception of the young prince whom she met whilst out on a morning run. She dipped her head, tail lowering further as she placed herself in the hierarchy. Another woman would arrive soon after, also older than Kat and thus more dominant than the yearling in the rankings.

With three of them and the prey they were hunting being injured, tasks started to become divided as she was assigned a role she had always enjoyed as a child – the flush. Kat nodded, keeping a silence as to not scare off the prey or make too much noise, as her mother had always scolded her for being a loud child. She preferred the term naturally loud wolf, but that didn’t matter much now, did it? Kat stretched out her leg muscles, quickly, moving them in front of her as her head reared back for a few seconds before she stood there, waiting for the right time to start making a move… then the prince arrived.

Kat smiled gleefully at the boy, though she looked towards the leader for a final call on the matter, as  there was no doubt in Kat’s mind that Tomen was Quil’s son. If it hadn't been obvious by the fact she was the leader and he was the prince, then it was their eerily similar coats that called it out loud.

Regardless, Kat multi-tasked as she kept her plans running in her head, looking briefly over at Wacipi, the other flusher, then to the prey, and then towards the prince and the queen.

(This post was last modified: Oct 05, 2015, 08:51 PM by Katariina.)

Titan couldn't help being more than a bit late to the call. Heck, the only reason he had heard it was because the wind blew the notes in his direction. The male had been not too far off of their territory searching for herbs in the thick western forests over their border. The male left what he was doing and turned around to head to the others. He tried to get there as fast as he could without making himself useless for a hunt. The dark wolf was the last to arrive, and unfortunately he had no idea what he was doing. He had no clue who was leading this hunt or what any plans were. The dark wolf spied a few of the wolves off in the distance and headed in their direction. His banner waved slowly back and forth glad to see the others all together. Titan was excited because hunting was another role he had been trained with. Though he didn't have as much experience with that role as he did with healing, the dark Thorben was sure that he would be helpful.

"Good morning guys!" He gave them all a charming smile before slowing to a stop before Kat, Tomen, Veho, Jynx, and Quil. Then he dipped his head in greeting to each before giving Tomen a wink then looking to Veho for guidance.

Learn from these streets, it can be bleak,
Accept no defeat, surrender retreat...

Wellll, it’s been an extra week – trying to move this along so we can claim points! Next round to end on 10/23.

Tomen’s arrival was met with mild surprise, though perhaps he shouldn’t have been so shocked. The boy was getting quite large now, and was of the proper age to observe hunting. If it were not an angry bull moose they were after, he might have invited the only heir to Grizzly Hollow along for a proper hunt. After all, it wasn’t as if the boy had a teacher at this point (and just as well, for that wolf would probably meet Rook or Quil’s ire that they did shirk such important duties while their son continued to grow), so the medic did not see the harm. Bobbing his head, he smiled. “Of course you may watch,” he replied easily, “unless your mother says otherwise. Stay back here with us. When we charge, you stay in the bushes.” Veho glanced from the queen to Tomen once more, making sure the boy understood the instructions before looking at the rest of his packmates.

Before they could disperse, another familiar face joined them, and the man met Titan with a smile. They could certainly use another strong, healthy wolf – his help was quite appreciated. “Good morning,” he murmured softly, careful to keep his voice down. “You will stay with us, to ambush the bull.” Veho bobbed his head at Quil, indicating that the Lady of the Hollow would be the other wolf to help take down the male moose. He was confident that, between the three of them, they would have enough wolf power to pull down such a massive animal, especially one that was already favoring a limb.

Now that the plan was set, he nodded towards Katariina and Wacipi. The women were young, yes, but they were lithe and agile – he had faith they would be able to startle the moose forward. While the animal was probably too belligerent to convince to run on an extended marathon through the thicket, they could at least drive it forward enough that it would be paying attention to the predators behind, and not the wolves who had hidden themselves behind a visual barricade. With a silent indication, he bobbed his head in the direct of the prey, hoping the two women would be on their way.

Once they departed, he made quick work of disguising himself among the remaining brush. Dead leaves clung to branches, and Veho chose a place were the sticks did a better job camouflaging him. Titan and Quil would have better luck lurking in the shadows being of darker pelts, but his own misty coat had something shimmery and oneiric about it, leaving him obvious where they were masked. Lowering himself, the medic slunk behind a fallen log and glanced around, trying to place the other two hunters as well as the prince. There were plenty of hiding spots for Tomen, especially being a bit smaller than adults – hopefully he could find a safe place with a fine vantage point, good for learning, and good for keeping him from harm’s way. A moose in rut was not keen for a pup’s first hunt.

tl;dr: Moose has not moved since no one's interacted with him yet. Veho has instructed Jynx and Kat to go flush the moose. Veho is hiding and expects Tomen, Quil, and Titan to do the same. Can make this only another round or two -- 8 posts of "hunting" required to call it a hunt!