Fireweed Rise and you're the sky

The filtered rays of afternoon sun warmed the ebony patches of fur that cloaked the majority of Enoki's embodiment as smoldering amber eyes followed the grazing movements of the caribou. Another sentry trip to watch rather than hunt leaving the piebald wolf to be found deep within the embrace of the rise, flame likened flowers pressed firmly to her hunkered sides. Once more the herd had chosen to migrate further from where the huntress last reported their location to be, the mousy colored animals settling nearer and nearer to the base of the mountain that loomed deviously in the background. If they continued to push themselves further from the Ridge's hunting range, the she-wolf pondered the realistic hardship of keeping the caches stocked properly for the approaching winter. There was so much preparation yet to be done in so little time and winter's chilling grip waited for nobody. Either you were ready, or you weren't.

All around the stalking wolf the sound of muffled snorts from noses nudging what little succulent vegetation remained filled the warm afternoon which issued the simplest of twitches from Enoki's audits. The occasional sentinel raising its head from near the earth to scout for danger on the horizon, swarthy audits quickly returning to a slicked back position. Inside the natural instinct to chase and kill somersaulted in the woman's stomach, muscles fighting to remain relaxed despite their motionless posture needed. Today was meant solely for scouting the herd, not pursuing. Hell, it would take a lot more strength that she just didn't posses to bring down a creature of their magnitude. Nothing exciting would happen today..or so she assumed.

With the shifting of the breeze a concoction of unfamiliar odors trifled her nostrils causing them to flare before her gaze captured the sight of a small band of wolves descending the rocky base of the mountain on the opposite side of the herd. From the distance between them it was mere blurry colors that identified the strangers. One wolf glowed in the afternoon sun, a pelt of stark ivory making them a sore sight against the dreary monochrome backdrop of the mountain. The other two seemed one in the same holding what she imagined to be the agouti pattern similar to Angier's, although, one was easily lighter than the other. It wasn't until the poachers reached the vibrant knolls of the rise did Enoki catch sight of a fourth wolf black in color. This wasn't good.

Alarms began to ring within her cranium, ears becoming erect at the idea of these trespassers defying the power of Willow Ridge to make a kill in their hunting grounds. All thoughts of studying the herds migration pattern was lost as her body quickly lept to all fours before turning to dash back for the ridge to alert the others. Muscles rippling under her patchwork pelt as the wind from her speed ruffled the strands of opposite tinted hairs. Her jaws were about to part to release a warning signal to the pack when a howl erupted the airwaves portraying her vary thoughts. Morganna. A small wave of relief washed over the Ashrelle wolf at the notion the pack was being rallied, dull nails pounding away feverishly at the ground until the gathering of familiar wolves filled her sights. Only then did her limbs fight to slow her hurtling speed to avoid crashing into her fellow subordinates. Morganna, Elettra, Ravenna, Sven, Nicolo and a newer member whom remained unknown to the huntress all rallied to defend their hunting grounds.

Panting heavily, salmon tongued lulled between the points of her teeth as she fought to catch her breath and relay her findings all at the same time. "On the...rise...strangers..-" Another deep breath cutting off her words. "I counted..four...of them. Maybe more coming." Amber optics darted between the Ridge wolves gathered before finally settling solely on the fill in queen, knowing what happened next would fall upon her shoulders. It would be her call to make on what happened next.

-jumps in late- Sorry! 

Her sandy gaze narrowed in on the herd, refusing for the moment to let it stray. @Morganna had told both Enoki and herself that a herd had been spotted and the chocolate woman had taken it upon her shoulders to scout the herd and take notice of its movements. She and Enoki had set out that very morning for what they knew would be a tedious task. Watching caribou wasn't the greatest entertainment after all, but it had to be done. It was long past the time for a pack hunt, for since Adele and her brother had joined, there had not been a single one since the one with their allies. It was now more important than ever for a pack hunt to be called, for winter was coming. And it would be coming soon. The pressure weighed heavily on the Archer woman's mind, but she knew that food would be found. Her and Enoki would make sure of it. The woman's brows furrowed in confusion as she caught scents that definitely weren't of caribou, breaking her from her train of thoughts. Lifting herself to her full height, the chocolate woman scanned the fields before her and caught sight of a group of wolves. What were they doing here? Scanning the field searching for Enoki, her ears pricked attentively as she heard the call of Morganna. Making her way towards the call, the woman soon sidled up besides her brother. She heard Enoki's words and nodded. "Yes, I saw them as well. They are not our allies," she stated, looking at Morganna for confirmation. If they were, they would have informed the Ridge of their hunting plans. It was odd to see Morganna in a position of power, instead of seeing her sister, but this would be a test for the young woman. What were her orders concerning these strange wolves? "Speech"

Dawnthieves.de - Table by PuppyThief

Sorry for the tardiness! I'll be prompt with responses!

HECATE LIAR



see it through a liar's eyes

Hecate was around to hear the bark, an ear flicking towards it soft sound. It seemed to be edged with urgency, a brow furrowing deeply over her right eye. She hurried to get up, but was then at a loss of what to do next. The voice sounded like Morganna, maybe Elettra? She took a few stride forward before the crisp sound of crushed foliage whizzed somewhere off to the left. A minute passed as the crunching sounds continued, the shapes of other pack members taking place in the deep oranges and reds. Hecate made her way to the sound following up with the rest of the gathered men and women.

She stood on edge, listening to the conversations that took place as she neared. Other wolves had apparently taken a brave step over into the territory, crushing the life beneath their paws. Something about strangers on her turf had the pale woman rumbling with vexation. 'They are not our allies..' Adele appointed with ease, causing a crick in her lush tail. Hecate took a few lengthy strides out of the leaves, taking her place among the rest of the Ridge wolves; her velvety voice sounding with protective edge. "Did th'not notice our stench ridden in th' ground?" She gave a broad smile to Morganna and Elettra, eyes reaching out to Sven with a nod. It had not dawned on her that these wolves could perhaps become partners; unlikely for they did not know the meaning of borders.

the armed queen

Athena Moon

All of your ways and all your thunder, got me in a haze running for cover. Where we gonna go from here? 

A few of them joined her, enough to have a fighting chance of taking down a caribou, but she would have rather had more able bodies. Athena waited to answer the questions that arose with her call until she was satisfied nobody else was joining them. Though, when Namid arrived, the female that she has yet to meet that took Vespertio's heart away from her, her demeanor changed at the sight of her beside him, though nothing showed on her face of her change in emotion. Jealously spread through her at the bump she gave him and the sight of their bodies close. It hurt, but her conscious reminded her it was her turn to move on. Her eyes swept the three that surrounded her, clearing her raspy throat before answering their questions. "I found that the herds have moved from our usual hunting areas. One large herd now resides in the Fireweed Rise currently and I have targeted several weaker individuals that would provide us with the most success in our hunt if you all would join me." She stated, her mind quickly deciding who should chase and who needs to be there to take down as she turned to make her way back towards the Rise to begin their hunt.  

The four Lake wolves made their way along the Pass and carefully down to the Rise where Athena's fiery gaze settled on the large herd, her eyes catching sight of the ones she had targeted earlier. "Vespertio and Kajika if you two could settled behind up ahead, hidden behind the large knoll up there, Namid and I can target and run down that injured bull 20 yards ahead. Once we are in distance to you, you two can move in to the side of it and try to take it down." She planned, her body ready to move, but she would wait for any questions. Her heart questioned the fact she chose to run alongside Namid, but it was purely to be more successful in the hunt. She would have certainly loved to spend those moments with Vespertio instead. 

Before any of them were able to make it far from their post, a long war cry came from short distance from them. Instantly her body froze, her fiery gaze looking for the owner of call. They had company. Glancing at Vesper for a moment before returning her gaze upon the dark silhouette that appeared to be the caller. Soon after the howl was issued, more came to the strangers side and Fallen Tree Cove was quickly outnumbered 4 to 9. Though, she was always one for a fight, she knew better to know that this could turn ugly for them quickly. "I didn't know these lands were claimed..." She murmured, her gaze looking towards Vespertio wondering what he was thinking. "They outnumber us, we need to leave," she finished, her burnt gaze looking towards Kajika for a moment. They weren't in a position to try to defend this place she knew that for certain. 

There's only one half of us that I'm saving, so I'm praying just to let it go

(This post was last modified: Nov 16, 2015, 03:08 AM by Athena.)

|| Ash is welcome to make an appearance in any thread. ||

There are several fresh rabbit tracks in the mud. Hunt Opportunity

"Hello, my love." the casual greeting to his mate rolled off his tongue effortlessly despite the hidden glance of his golden optics offered to Athena in the wake of what she had to witness. A clenching of his heart at the idea of how painful it had to be for the woman he once loved to watch him adorn another with the affection that could have so rightfully belonged to her had she stayed. Burying the length of his muzzle into the plush fur of Namid's shoulder in a return gesture. The agouti male pulled back shorter than usual to spare the Moon woman any further discomfort, easily brushing it off with the motion of following suit down the winding Pass to the awaiting fields of flowers that to the Vuesain, resembled miniature licks of flames. All the while, Vespertio listened to the plan the ivory wolf had in mind for the day, opting for a pack hunt.

Sadly, that was not meant to be as the Cove wolves reached the first few yards of the fireweed knolls and a plan of attack was in the early stages of development. Not long after their arrival did a war howl breach the stillness in the air, rust tinted audits quickly pivoting forward in alert. They had been spotted and if this pack of wolves were as aggressive as the howl sounded the band of wolves present would be in deep shit. At first a wave of anger began to fill the tawny man's veins at the notion Athena had put those gathered in danger by her lack of proper scouting when the vixen should have ensured no others had claim to these parts. How foolish of her, but anger would not see them safely home. "You fool! It is reasons like this that you scour the entire area for indications of the land being claimed." Anger lacing his words.

In truth Athena was right in the knowledge they were sorely outnumbered and should leave, but the brute couldn't turn his back, tuck tail and run. "We haven't done anything wrong yet. Perhaps I can talk to whoever is in charge and smooth things over to prevent further damage." A hard glare was shot towards Athena before golden optics turned to observe the horizon, watching the darkened dots mingle about the tree like silhouettes. It couldn't hurt to try and turn the situation around, right? If things began to look hairy then the Vuesain would force them to retreat back to the lakeside.

Her grin only grew wider as Vespertio returned her greeting, humming as he buried his head in her thickening pelt. The queen of the lake was growing paler as her winter coat came in, dousing her in the creams and whites of snow instead of the earthy greys and subtle browns of the summer environment. She paid hardly any mind to him pulling away sooner than normal, attributing it to the fact that the scarred woman had begun to speak. Mismatched gaze turned toward the woman curiously as she began to lay out the plan, sitting silently but attentively. She was perfectly okay with her setting up the hunt, as it seemed only proper since she had been the one to call it. Perhaps the Lady of the Lake was a bit jealous of her finding the herds first, but she put that aside and instead was just grateful that they had found them at all. A nod was given in response to her given position, but not a moment later she froze as they all did. A call had rang into the air and her attention snapped towards where it had come. A single dark wolf lined up at the hilltop, and shortly after others began to line up. Growls and agitated barks flew through the air down to their position and Namid’s auds fell to her skull. Nose lifted to the air to scent it, and her eyes grew wide as she realized that the land around them was claimed. How had they all been so stupid to not have noticed, and most of all the woman who had called the hunt!

Athena attempted to tell them something they already knew, but Vespertio was quite to put her in her place. Her previous grin was replaced with a deep frown and narrowed eyes, quite obviously not happy with the situation. Her King suggested that they try and explain themselves to the wolves who claimed the area, and she hesitated for a moment thinking back to the times she had tried to do the same thing. But, it would be even worse for them to run. “I agree, it would likely be better to try to explain. We will all have to go up, less they think we are sending Kajika and Athena for reinforcements. Keep all postures neutral. We are in the wrong here,” She said, her tone sharp and brusque. Her mismatched gaze turned sharply to the one-eye’d lady before back to Vespertio, then up to the party ahead of them. A certain sense of unease welled up within her chest, but she swallowed it back and began to move forward at a slow and respectful pace. This could go very badly if they weren’t careful.

Shortly after he arrived at Athena ' s side Vespertio and Namid did as well. Kajika offered both alpha ' s a polite bow before averting his gaze in an effort to give then some semblance of privacy as they greeted each other. Finally Athena made them privy to the reason she had called them, she'd found the missing herds. This was good news, with winter approaching they would need to stock up on as much food as they could if they were going to make it through. With this new information he was on board with the pack hunt that it seemed would be taking place. He listened to the plan that Athena had worked out which seemed to him to be a sound plan. Just as he was about to acknowledge he understood his role in the hunt a war cry reached his ears. Kajika ' s gaze went immediately to where he believed the call to have come from. There on the hilltop he saw many wolves gathering and as Athena spoke once more of them being outnumbered his surprised gaze drifted back to her m meeting her gaze. He couldn't believe he'd forgotten to check himself to see if the lands were claimed, something that as a loner was second nature. He looked to his leaders for instruction on what he should do and for the first time he was a little disappointed with Vespertio' s behavior but he did not allow this to show on his face. He would not deny that Athena had made a grave mistake. One that could get them all killed but he did not think it appropriate to speak to her as he did then. It was something that should be done later and in private. Despite whatever he might have been feeling in the moment he was glad to hear that his alpha ' s seemed to have a plan to handle the situation. He hoped that they would be able to explain themselves and get out of the situation. However if that did not work... "Should we have a plan B in case they aren't in the mood to listen?" He asked cautiously.

~Table by Ace

(This post was last modified: Nov 12, 2015, 04:34 AM by Kajika.)

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Trouble is one more fireball,
when I'm already lit and its last call

Heavy steps behind her were acknowledged with a swing of her head, wry smirk offered to @Sven for his dutiful response. Next to follow was her sister @Ravenna, passed over (but not dismissively) with a wave of her tail as she offered a dutiful bump of her muzzle to her mothers cheek. She did not need to answer the silver girls question, her mother did so for her and she did not take offence. Regardless of her own position within the pack, she would always respect her mothers final word. Next to follow were @Nicolò and @Pickerel, her chest welling with pride as each new arrival came. Maybe - just maybe she could do this.

The next to join them was @Enoki, approaching from the rise, her report met with a low growl of displeasure at such an intrusion, @Adele adding that these wolves were most certainly not their allies. Even @Hecate joined them as Morganna's fiery eyes focused on the strangers. It would seem they had been spotted. Instead of turning tail and running, they began to move closer. As if it wasn't enough of an insult that they had expected to hunt here uncontested. They truly were fools.

Words weren't needed to voice her intentions. The savage spikes that rose over her shoulders and her banner of a tail arched over her back should have been enough. They were the wolves of Willow Ridge and they would not take such insult laying down. "Seems they're lost. Let's escort them out." She suggested as her strides lengthened from a walk to a purposeful trot and then a hunters lope. Words were cheap. It was too late for them.

There was no hope for a peaceful escape by the intruders now as the flames of war danced behind the peachy irises of Morganna. Savage spikes adorning her shoulders and aggressively arched tail lending aid to the judgement call to come before such words were wove on a coral tongue. It was time to escort these vagabonds from their home turf and no sooner had their fate been sealed did the young matriarch begin her pursuit. Gradually her limbs maneuvered from a lengthened walk, to a trot into a full hunter's lope, Enoki following at the younger woman's swarthy side.

Smoldering amber optics were stoked into a full inferno as they targeted the slowly approaching band of wolves, embodiment shifting into full warrior mode now. Muscles rippled under the silky patchwork pelt of the Ashrelle woman as she continued her advancement, leathery lips beginning to lift to display the glistening pearly whites concealed beneath ready to sink into the first foolish beast to come within snapping distance. The wolves of the willows were not so easily trifled with, let alone persuaded by elegantly woven words with no true value. What carnage could come would be the fault of the strangers alone if they refused to heed the warning war was coming and set paws into motion fleeing the awaiting battlefield of the rise. A well placed paw step allowed ebony and ivory clashing fur to brush briefly against the equally dark hairs shielding the rear hock of Morganna, a subtle indication conveying to her recently crowned leader she had the older woman's support in this endeavor.