Willow Ridge Tomorrow never knows

It had been a rocky start, but there was an understanding forming between them, and the tension was easing. Craw could have been more gentle about the whole matter but pussyfooting was not his way, and he was hardly in excellent spirits due to the whole unfortunate theft situation. They would fix it, though, they three. "Certainly," he crooned, glad to have his suggestion accepted, glad for the excuse to integrate Wraith just a little more quickly within the pack. The dark-furred man was easy company, and no doubt Enoki would find him more pleasant company than Craw.

He moved to give her space as the piebald woman stood, his eyes flickering briefly over her curious pelt; while he remained steadfast that it did not make her special, it was an oddity to be observed nonetheless. Just how did it serve her when hunting? Such a stark contrast could not help with camouflage in most ordinary situations, could it?

No matter; he would soon find out. Perhaps she was fast and cunning enough to be able to overcome that drawback from birth. Turning his head vaguely toward the centre of the territory, to best project his call, he let loose a low, short howl for @Wraith, not doubting for a moment that the man would appear as soon as he was able. In the meantime... "You have been with the Archers for a long time?" Craw asked, tone lighter and more conversational as his attention turning back onto Enoki, the words a question but also statement.

Only once the spider faced man opted to give her space did Enoki dare vigorously shake her pelt free of any stray flurries that clung to the tips of her fur and cast her gaze toward the heart of the territory. Dark ears pivoted forward in response to the man beside her rising a summons for this Wraith fellow into the chilled air, but not after catching Craw from the corner of her eye inspecting the splashes of contrasting colors that adorned her frame. A portion of her wanted to make a snide and rhetorical question asking if he suddenly found her pelt to be special now, but a coral tongue pressed firmly to the roof of her mouth to prevent such becoming reality. The original tension between them was starting to fade and there were more important things than to throw pointless verbal jabs.

An ebony ear closest to Craw rotated in his direction as the man's raspy voice filled the gap between them. His words seemed to hold a lighter, conversational tone, asking casually if she had lived among the Archer bloodline long. It was harmless small talk at a surface glance and the magpie resembling woman gave a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders. "I'd suppose you could say that. Almost two years give or take a brief vacation." Nightmare was more like it recalling the events of spring when she departed to cure her itching pads. Eventually she had found her way back to the willows as promised, but the Enoki they knew was not entirely accounted for once she did. A part of her was forever lost in the land beyond their home.

Anyways.. If he insisted on the small talk while the duo waited it couldn't hurt to ask her own curious questions to learn more about her fellow packmate. "What made you want to join Willow Ridge?" It was in a sense a harmless question, but one that could clear some of the fog surrounding this stranger, allowing a small peek into just who Craw was. A swarthy brow quirked curiously, smoldering amber gaze focusing on the intricately woven scars that adorned his pale face before meeting those bright yellow eyes.

(This post was last modified: Mar 19, 2016, 02:17 AM by Enoki.)

Wraith lifted his head, woken from his nap by the familiar call. The black wolf had taken to Fireweed Rise and curled among the snow-covered grasses there for a rest following the night spent patrolling into the dawn hours. He wasted no time with stretching or any other post-nap routines one would do to finish waking, shaking off the dredges of sleep on the run. The northerner sent out his own lumbering howl to answer Craw's to let the pale-furred male he was on his way. While it didn't sound particularly urgent, his friend's howl was not one he would willingly ignore. He practically flew down the rise, plunging back into the willows and racing for the call. The brute's pace slowed as his friend's scent grew. When Craw came into sight, Wraith's lope eased into a trot and then into a walk when he spotted the black and white female at his side. He woofed out a friendly greeting, though approached slow enough to allow the female to grow used to his presence. Wraith had grown used to others being intimidated by his size. Recognizing her as a packmate through scent alone, he offered a kind smile before approaching Craw and butting his head against his with familiar affection. "Is everything alright?"

Burtn @DA & Dawnthieves.de

Since Wraith was kinda far away, hope it's okay if I assume that Craw and Enoki just chatted while they waited? Their version of small talk anyway :P

He nodded at her answer, simple but concise. Two years was a significant length of time to dedicate her life to the pack, nothing to be dismissed. With that kind of history, Craw had to assume that it was @Elettra who had @Enoki's greatest loyalty, and as such he chose to treat the black-and-white woman with an extra measure of caution. At least until he found out what her opinion of Morganna was - and with how guarded and snipped Enoki was being, it was hardly a question to just blurt out.

Fortunately, Enoki offered a warm-up question of her own, a natural response, and Craw accepted it for what it was, a tentative attempt at making a connection with a packmate. Since he hardly had the history she did, the curiosity was not surprising.

"It was pragmatism, from my point of view," he said simply, curling his hocks under him as he came to neatly sit on the ground as they waited for Wraith. "Being on my own wasn't healthy, and it was chance that I came to the willows. I liked how mature the pack's scent was; the Archers have clearly been here a long time. I respect that. It was a good fit." And then, to continue the momentum of their exchange, finding himself soothed by the knowledge that Wraith was on the way and their unfortunate situation would be resolved soon enough; "Are you the pack's official hunter? I don't know of many within the pack with formal roles."

Their conversation was easy and avoided delicate topics, and by the time Wraith appeared, the pair of willow wolves had just a little more perspective on the other. Craw rose as Wraith approached, automatically moving into the greeting touch with a pleased growl. Then he turned, allowing Wraith and Enoki to have full view of each other, glancing between them. "Come on a hunt with us in the mountains," he crooned, and turned his attention on the huntress. "Enoki, Wraith," he said, content as he introduced them, not wasting time. "Most of the cache reserves were stolen this morning. There is a plan to replenish it with pronghorn."

(This post was last modified: Mar 19, 2016, 12:57 PM by Craw.)

See Craw isn't all bad ;P

As @Craw suspected it was true that the piebald woman's loyalty lay heaviest with the former matriarch of the pack, the dark queen herself having been the wolf to recruit Enoki in the first place upon that fateful meeting in Fireweed Rise. At the time she wasn't keen on settling down so quickly, but the two toned woman liked to chalk it up to fate that she managed to make a home for herself under the umbrella shaped canopy. Regardless of the unknown chaos looming in the future, though, this place would always be her second home. Her birth place always holding an everlasting place within her heart.

Ebony painted ear flicked idly as the pale man began to answer her question, attentive gaze watching him recline into a seated position while the duo waited for the arrival of Wraith. An answering howl on the air informing them that he was indeed on his way. His answer was nothing out of the ordinary, a typical mindset of survival fueling his desire to seek a place among their matured ranks. Simple enough. Enoki gave a small nod of her head in response, the corner of her lips even tugging back slightly to form a genuine smile before it was momentarily cast aside to allow a small purse of her lips to be present upon hearing his next question. Official hunter was not a role she official earned, but it was something she had ambition to pursue such a role granted her accumulated experience in the field both in and outside the pack. Not to brag, but a vast majority of the items buried neatly into random cache locations were of her doing if not Adele, another well skilled hunter. Allowing the small smile to reappear, a swarthy skull gave a small shake. "No. I would like to work my way towards earning that title, though. Hunting is where my true passion lies." One day she would be dubbed the official hunter if old age didn't rob her one joy in life beforehand.

Another curiosity bubbled at the back of her throat, jaws parted partially in preparation to bring it to light until the sound of soft crunching snow beneath approaching footsteps drew her attention to a nearing smudge against the ivory backdrop. Narrowing bright amber eyes to better focus on the advancing figure, an ivory dipped banner wove kindly at half-staff while a smile came much more readily to her dark countenance in the presence of @Wraith than it had with Craw. "Pleasure." Enoki greeted in a smooth tone, offering a dip of her head in further greeting after the brief introduction. "Pronghorn are quick, but not as agile as mountain goats, nor very good jumpers. If we can manage to trap one it'll make bringing it down easier." Back home, the Calarosa Mountain Range down south, pronghorn reigned supreme along the higher elevations and made for some good eats whenever the pack managed to make a kill. One of those should easily make up for the loss stolen today.

A mountain hunt? Wraith's tail wagged fully, windmilling like an excited puppy as his amber gaze brightened with delight. In truth, he grew weary of these plains hunts across flat ground that relied so much on speed or a large number of wolves for an effective take down. As sure-footed as any mountain goat, the northerner much preferred the steep terrain of the nearby mountains along Riddle Heights than the flatlands the normal hunting grounds of the Willow Ridge wolves offered. Pronghorn and mountain goats were a bit of a specialty for the large brute. His size beguiled his sure-footedness on harsh terrain; Wraith's toes were large and could splay wide, finding any possible cracks to make what could seem an impossible climb as easy as howling. The black male was a huge fan of ambushing prey in the mountains. It was safer, to some extent, as running flat out along steep inclines came with the risk of falling. However, landing on prey from above ran an equal risk of being tossed off the mountainside, so he supposed in reality, there was no lesser risk. But his weight always seemed to collapse the legs beneath an unsuspecting animal, so he'd yet to have trouble with the technique. As Enoki mentioned trapping it, Wraith nodded easily, pleased enough to have been entrusted with assisting them in the hunt to go along with whatever plan it was she wanted to try. "Sounds like a plan," he agreed, smile broadly. "Who stole our cache?" he wondered idly, the beginnings of annoyance churning in his gut. He'd contributed a lot to that cache! If there was a wolf - or other animal - responsible, he wouldn't mind taking back the loss in their hide. Leave them a good, deep bite to remember the Willows by. Maybe then, they'd reconsidered the next time.

Burtn @DA & Dawnthieves.de

@Wraith's obvious pleasure at hearing the location of the hunt had been easily predicted - it was because Craw expected the dark man to be eager for such an event that he had so readily suggested they include the man. Besides, Craw was looking forward to another demonstration of skill, now from both of them. Let's see what this aspiring Hunter's got in her.

As such, Craw fell silent as Enoki explained the plan, for the silvered man could readily accept that he was the least qualified in this situation; he was neither a mountain expert nor a naturally gifted hunter, but his role had been to facilitate a skilled gathering, and his participation would be plenty functional enough. There were many important talents an ambitious creature needed to perfect - and being able to delegate was one of them and listen to the wisdom of those more experienced were among them.

He could answer Wraith's question, though. "Coyotes, earlier this morning," he growled, the agitation of it still quick to bubble up. "But they're not likely to make the same poor decision again." The corpse of one of the three thieves was still likely laid next to the cache it had given its life trying to pilfer, and the thought of it soothed him. The last two would be fools to target the willows again, unless they desired the same fate.

Yellow gaze turning on Enoki, Craw dipped his head with a thin smile, acquiescing command to the piebald woman, doing so for Wraith by proxy. They were at her bidding.

No argument arose from either men present to counter her general plan to go about securing their quarry in question, dark skull nodding partially in satisfaction and partially in knowing leadership now befell her ivory clad shoulders. Well that was easy enough and truth be told Enoki had almost expected Craw to tack on a comment or something, but no words left his sealed lips except in regards to the question Wraith posed. One that actually only he could properly answer considering the pale wolf had not relayed such information to the two-toned maiden upon their initial greeting. A rounded ear swiveled atop her head toward the scarred brute, lips beginning to lift in the form of a silent snarl once he admitted the blame was to be placed upon their canine cousins. Banner giving a small flick in agitation at her rear despite the added words they would be less likely to try such an act again. Annoying those mangy beast were.

Catching the shifted gaze from Craw, wrinkled lips gradually smoothed back to a neutral expression before offering a smile of her own. Skull nodding to both in turn before tossing her head toward the general direction of the mountain. "Shall we boys?" Without further prompting ebony limbs pushed off against the ground in an easy lope, slender frame weaving itself in a zig-zag like pattern once the distance between them and their intended prey's domain closed. A scent trail greeting her flared nostrils once the terrain began to transform from flatland to more jagged inclines. Barren willow trees serving as nothing more than a scenic backdrop now.

Sorry for the wait! Hope this is okay! Lemme know if you guys want anything changed.

Coyotes again... The brute scowled, recalling his own run-in with the vermin harassing @Sahalie, the young pack wolf from east of the mountain they were headed for. Wraith would have thought with the beating he gave them that the lawless scavengers would have thought twice before approaching any wolf scent again, but it seemed they had short memories and grew bold. Craw's reassurance that they wouldn't do so again left Wraith with a nice image that had him snorting and nodding his approval. He had no doubt the pale wolf would have made sure their actions came to a permanent end. At @Enoki's prompting, Wraith's dark expression smoothed away into a smile. The mountain wolf needed no more encouragement to get a move on, leaping into a lope to follow along. Excitement had the male nipping playfully at @Craw's flank before he forced himself into a more serious hunting mode. Confidence rose the closer the trio came to the looming mountain and as soon as the terrain switched from soil to rock, Wraith carried his head higher to follow the feeling of his own self-worth rather than to communicate any dominance over another. The scent of their prey teased the black male's nares, sending Wraith higher up the slopes so that they could more effectively fan out before closing in on the animal. His paws were confident in each step, unfaltering despite the easily shifted nature of their terrain. Easily shifted it may be, but predictable, Wraith well knew. His path was far from straight as he avoided areas more likely to have loose rocks. Dark ears shifted higher up as he heard small stones skip down the sharp ridges. Amber eyes quickly followed until Wraith spotted the pronghorn already making its escape. Unwilling to let it end so quickly, the northerner recklessly put on all the speed he was worth to cut it off. While their prey chose its footing carefully, Wraith no longer took care in where he stepped, trusting his paws to know the way. A quick snap once he drew close sent the frightened animal hurtling farther down the mountainside and within easier reach of his packmates.

Burtn @DA & Dawnthieves.de

@Enoki, I'm happy for her to have given them instructions/etc on the way, Craw would have welcomed her sharing experience and tips. As with Vet, either of you let me know if you want anything changed!
Counting Enoki's post as the first hunting one, as it involves them actively searching and picking up a trail. So this makes 3/8 required posts for a successful hunt.

Both of them had similar reactions to hearing that coyotes were the source of their woe, which gave Craw a quiet, dark thrill. If only it was so simple to track down the last two thieves... he would have happily shared retribution with both Wraith and Enoki. Hopefully his own punishment would suffice.

At Enoki's prompting, Craw stood once more, a low, playful growl in his chest as Wraith snapped at him, returning the favour on the man's hocks as Wraith jumped to move after Enoki. Comfortable in his position as the least skilled in the trio - for Enoki was the talented hunter and Wraith the mountaineer - Craw loped along just a little behind the both of them, prepared to heed either wolf's advise for how to proceed. Craw could provide brawn and determination, certainly, but the most successful hunts were those with excellent coordination and forethought, and he was content to be directed muscle in this circumstance.

They were easy company, though bonded through sharing a common goal. While Craw was definitely keen to see Wraith working in his comfort zone, he was even more curious to see Enoki in action. He found her to be warmer than her initial impression, though he could accept that he hadn't exactly facilitated a smooth first meeting. As the terrain transitioned from willows to earthy rock and Wraith's footsteps were as effortless as ever, whereas as the slopes grew steeper Craw had to work to move with the same speed. Seeing that Wraith deliberately avoided certain paths, Craw chose to follow his route, trusting the dark man to know far more instinctively which footfalls were safe or not. To his pleasure, Craw did not slip or stumble once. Enoki herself had picked up a promising trail, and before long the skittering of stones from above them betrayed the presence of the tracked pronghorn.

Instantly Wraith peeled ahead, and subsequently Craw slowed - there was no point in trying to outpace his friend, and besides, he knew what the man was doing. With a chuff to Enoki so that she knew exactly where he was positioned relative to her (in case her eyes were fixed on the beast) Craw hopped down onto a flatter platform so that he could strafe along the mountain, following Wraith's position just many yards below. As the pronghorn began to skitter back down the rocky slopes, leaping around the uneven ground with uncanny ease, Craw intended to place himself such that it would veer more towards Enoki who was somewhere behind him, firmly placing the buck within a triangle defined by the three willow wolves.

On such precarious terrain, the normal level-ground rules he knew didn't entirely apply - there was danger of real harm coming to them if they were careless. But that applied to the pronghorn, too. Wraith could take the difficult paths to direct the beast, Enoki could use her experience to predict its actions and Craw would focus on using his strength to bring it down. They'd succeed if they played to their strengths.