Willow Ridge for snakes among sweet flowers do creep

RE: Willow Ridge, a rattlesnake has taken residence in your den.
Open to one or two other members of WR!  :D

It was mid-afternoon by the time Isuni had made her way back to the communal den.  She’d been out before dawn with an itch in her paws, and had taken several hours to trace the borders of the pack at least twice-fold.  When that did not sate her desire to move, the woman had diverted from the pack’s lands and found the meadow.  There she could exploded into a burst of speed, a wildfire racing across young grass.  It was easy to forget the world around you when all you could hear was the thud of your heart in your ears and the rasping of air against your throat.  Her lungs burned, her legs were sore, but Capable returned to Willow Ridge refreshed, and relaxed.

Unfortunately, it seemed her leisure would be short lived.

Only a stride or two away from the rocky entrance of the den, she heard a strange rattling.  The woman stopped dead in her tracks, ears craning forward as the sound bounced off could stone.  Given the time of day, it was unlikely anyone else was inside—

Bowing down, Capable peered further into the small cave, nose wriggling curiously.  It was then she found two beady eyes staring back at her from further in and she growled.

“Snake.”

bring me home, bring back what's stolen,

Capable

like you're supposed to

totally running with this

What exactly he had been thinking wasn't even clear to him. He'd simply woken up on the wrong side of the den so to speak, the one that was becoming far too cramped for his lanky bulk to manage fitting into comfortably. When he crossed paths with the rattler so close to the pack territory's heart, the idea had come nearly instantly and he acted impulsively upon it. Given the early season, the reptile was still sluggish, and with patience and ingenuity, was relatively easy to coax into the temporarily abandoned communal space.

The hopes were that @Niles or @Ravenna might stumble into the trap and follow their sister to the grave, but even a few others would do. It should be clear that Sven would not wish such a fate upon @Morganna or his own father, however, and so the boy had sense enough to stick around what might become his own crime scene to insure no unwanted casualties resulted. Sheltered by the budding boughs of the willows and the shadows they cast, he melted down into unnoticeable nothing to observe and wait.

When it was Capable that first approached the den, the boy cursed underbreath. He did not know much about the woman, certainly would be indifferent to her passing, but not at his paws. Sven slithered forward, jaws parting to shout out and distract her from getting too close, but then the other froze in her steps and the youth assumed she must have known. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why had he thought this a good idea?

"Hey," he greeted as he padded toward her, putting on a mask of boyish curiosity. "Something wrong?"

So focused on the pair of beady, black eyes staring back at her, the wolf did not head the approach of one her packmates.  Head whipped around as she peered over her shoulder, greeted by a wolf she was familiar with in name only.  Sven, she knew he was called.  Another Archer, though she was not entirely familiar with the exact nature of his lineage.  She took a few steps back, unwilling to leave herself within biting distance whilst distracted by the coming yearling.

“There is a snake in the den,” she huffed, glancing back at the small opening with a scowl.  “A rattlesnake.”

Worse than a regular snake by miles.  Any snake would bite, yes, but she’d been taught that rattle was a warning of impending doom.  If the rattle snake got you, not even the most talented of healers could do anything, except maybe ease your passing.  There was no easy way to do this, she thought, especially with only this one opening.  She glanced back at the younger wolf.

“We need to get it out.”  That much, she hoped, was obvious.  For a moment, she thought to employ Sven in her attempt to loose the snake from the den, but she paused.  “—are you old enough to do this?”

bring me home, bring back what's stolen,

Capable

like you're supposed to

A wild dissertation appears!

OOC! Evil Sven is evil

Ebony paws strode casually over the fresh spring grass that had sprouted as soon as the snow began to melt, the occasional pile of powder still found under shady spots that allowed escape from the sun's warming rays. Her path of travel habitually following an old, worn game trail that skirted about the edge of the Archer territory and the beginnings of Hush Meadow, but today the piebald female was not in search of suitable quarry to restock some of the lesser filled caches. Today was yet another in a set of many where her mind further churned and processed the conversation she had had with Nicolo along the Marsh's icy banks weeks ago. More so it was the offer he laid out before her to leave Willow Ridge behind and join himself and Adele elsewhere should things turn for the absolute worst that plagued her thoughts most.

A disgruntled rumble formed faintly against the back of her throat, smoldering amber gaze sweeping across the quaint scenery before her that contrasted so greatly with the war of thoughts raging within her mind. There was no denying Enoki had come to detest the chaos brewing among the willow boughs, the very presence of it grating harshly against her nature. She was a wolf that thrived on stability and order. Yet her home here felt anything but since her dear friend Elettra stepped down as matriarch allowing her now reigning daughter Morganna to take center stage. At first the Ashrelle woman held no doubts the groomed princess would do fine following in her mother's footsteps, but now? It all felt so wrong. The pack felt like organized chaos rather than just that. A pack. Unless things changed perhaps Nicolo's offer would be the best option for her when the time comes.

Another rumble in her throat followed by a shake of her head discarded the thoughts clogging her mind, the distant sound of chattering evoking a set of dark ears to rotate toward the sound unaware her limbs had started to carry her towards the heart of the territory while her mind was distracted. Deciding some social interaction would do well at keeping her former thoughts at bay her pace increased into an easy lope toward the communal den. A swift inhale brought forth both the perfume and cologne of Capable (@Isuni) and @Sven into her lungs, a lack of enthusiasm momentarily contorting the features of her muzzle in response to the latter. While a pleasant encounter was exchanged with the tawny female the same could not be said with Skoll's son. Blatant disrespect had earned him a near permanent spot near the bottom on her wolves to encounter list. Yet curiosity brought her closer this afternoon regardless.

Having missed the words exchanged swarthy brows knitted together in mild confusion once the two forms came into sight hunched near the den's entrance, ivory dipped tail swaying lackadaisically at her haunches. "What's going on?" Enoki questioned with a small tilt of her head, pausing once her limbs found an open spot to peer into the blackened den. Nobody was found inside, but a pair of equally dark, beady eyes glaring back followed by a well known rattle echoing off the cold stone walls instantaneously answering her own question while warranting a growl to echo against her chest. Luckily no one was inside, but what the hell was a rattlesnake doing in the communal den?! Having been born a southern wolf she had crossed the scaly nuisances one too many times in her homeland. Members of the pack educated the others about how to best deal with them; if avoiding them all together was not an option, and just how dangerous one single bite could be. Considering her knowledge, this situation just became serious.

(This post was last modified: Apr 05, 2016, 06:27 PM by Enoki.)

Morganna had been trying to keep herself busy away from the den, away from eyes full of judgement while she continued to allow @Hecate's pregnancy to slide. She didn't want to give away too much, but after their tussle before the Spring it was clear @Elettra was missing the physical stimulation she preferred, and so she thought it best to give her mother a heads up. She supposed @Angier should also be informed of the impending coup. He might have been blind but he was far from stupid, perhaps he could offer her some insight @Craw had not.

It would seem however, that her mother and father were out, dark brows drawing down at the odd gathering crowded about the entrance of the den. Skana's panicked It wants to kill you overlaying the bone chilling shake that the serpent issued forth. They were no mob of mongooses, nor birds of prey specialised in carrying the varmints off. A quick glance at the trees proved there was no majestic eagle poised to carry off this one. She didn't need to get close to see what was going on. "Yer should probably get back if yer want ter live." her voice was more unamused than frantic. "I'm sure he'll shove off eventually if yer give him some space. The pack scent must be rather off-putting." So why had it slithered in there to start with? Surely such a sleepy beast would rather be out in the sun warming its blood? Unless they had slept with it all winter and it was just making its presence known now?

Sven's eyes followed Capable's as she answered his question, brows rising in feigned shock. He took a few steps closer, lowering his head to peer in curiously. The hiss of its tail sounded again, and the boy wondered if the stupid beast could recognize him as the one that had antagonized it into this predicament to begin with.

We need to get it out. Sven stepped back again and shook out his fur before turning his gaze back toward the older woman. Yeah, he supposed they did. Dammit. He would have been happy allowing her to lead that little escapade, as though he had zero practice in dealing with reptiles at all, when suddenly she leveled that question at him.

His ghostly eyes iced over with glaring, and a scowl passed briefly over his face. Old enough? The fuck did she think he was, freshly weaned from his mother? Clearly intending to make a point, he walked past her without a word, directing himself toward the nearest curtain of willow tree limbs.

He heard Enoki's approach and question behind him, and mentally cursed Capable for being the one to show before the piebald woman. That one, the shit talker, he wouldn't have minded getting bit. The boy grasped one of the boughs in his jaws and pulled, putting all of his body into it so that the break would be high above rather than at his teeth. Sven had every intention of using the length to draw the critter from the den without being within striking distance, but then his aunt's voice entered the air.

If either of the other women had given the directive, he would have ignored them. Because it was Morganna, Sven released his grip, flinging the vine-like limbs through the air, and turned to face the trio.

"So what, someone'll just sit around and babysit the den 'til it fucks off?" It wasn't skepticism that emphasized his voice, merely disappointment that the solution would be so boring.

Sven’s look was not lost on the older wolf – she’d seen a similar mask on her brother a dozen times over and over again.  Who the fuck did he think he, so above such a question?  She did not pretend to assume how his parents raised him.  Brown eyes rolled as the pale cub stormed off to prove his manhood, and before she could come up with a plan, she found herself greeted by Enoki.  The piebald female was welcome, and greeted with a dry smile as she nodded towards the den.

“A rattlesnake has made its way into the pack den,” she huffed, relaying the contretremps as the woman leaned down to get a visual all her own.  The snake rattled again in warning, but when no wolf moved any further inward, stayed where it had been herded to in the first place.

Neither wolf had made any suggestions as the alpha appeared.  Capable was forced to fight back another roll of her eyes at dry tone; obviously, no one was about to go poking it with a stick.  Except Sven, it seemed, and she was correct in gauging his general lack of maturity.  He did make a good point, however, and she glanced back at Morganna expectantly.  They couldn’t actually consider just lounging around until the serpent decided to find its way back out, right?  What if it was nesting, looking for a place to spawn more demon young?

“I’d have to agree with Sven,” she grunted. “It’s a snake, not a mouse.  Clearly the scent didn’t bother it that much, or it wouldn’t have found its way in at all.  We need to flush it out.  Is there a way we can get behind it?”

bring me home, bring back what's stolen,

Capable

like you're supposed to

Let's cap it here.  Posting order is Capable --> @Enoki --> @Morganna --> @Sven.  To make it easier, maybe try to tag the next person in line so they know they're up?  :3

(This post was last modified: Apr 06, 2016, 04:34 PM by Isuni.)

A wild dissertation appears!

Backing up a step or two to ensure she remained well out of striking range should the serpent decide it had had enough of being made a crowd spectacle, an ebony ear twitched catching the sudden snap of a branch, her attention sweeping toward Sven in the near distance whom was now dragging back a large branch no doubt with the intention to use it to prod the sluggish creature out of the communal den. It took quite the restraint on Enoki's behalf to prevent an eye roll rewarding his amateur mistake. "Are you asking to get bit? If you use that you'll only piss it off more." Foolish pup Enoki thought before a new voice caused a swarthy ear to pivot sideways, smoldering amber gaze shifting to focus on the steady approach of @Morganna as she relayed a method on removing the pest.

Enoki had been about to offer a piece of advice when Sven cut her off with his two cents and for once she had to agree with him that they couldn't afford to just sit around and wait for the thing to shove off when it was ready. Who knew how long that would take and considering its current condition that could take forever once it did from the lack of heat absorbed by the sun. Then it was Capable that spoke her piece further solidifying the notion they had to flush it out rather than sit and wait. Waiting to ensure nobody else was going to speak, finally she spoke up to offer the advice she had originally planned on sharing with them and coincidentally fell along the lines Capable mentioned. Luckily she had picked up a thing or two about the dangerous rattlers back home growing up.

Shifting her attention from the tawny female to the darker face of Morganna she began to inform them her plan. "If you guys can distract it long enough for me to sneak inside I can remove it. We had to deal with them a lot growing up and learned the safest way to remove them from our dens. Keep its attention focused on you and I can grab it by the back of the head. Then I can carry it to a safer location." It was a pretty solid plan, but whether or not the others would agree to such a risky maneuver was unclear.

There is a rabbit\'s nest nearby. +1 Health

Morganna leaned back into a sitting position, paws stretching out to slide down and show she was in no rush to move. Pregnancy was exhausting and she wasn't about to go risking her own life, and that of her children to avoid a night under the stars. It was warming up now, it wouldn't kill them, but that snake might. "It's probably more likely ter fuck off if nobody was watchin' it, but we can't jus' have anyone wanderin' in there. A night under the stars won't kill yer, but that thing might." She could understand their distress, obviously. Perhaps she just had too much else going on for this to be a big deal.

There was a small gap at the back of the den but without significant excavating, a grown wolf stood no chance of squeezing through. As for distracting it, what did she expect them to do? Dress in drag and do the hula? Perhaps the could overwhelm it with numbers but there was an equal probability that it would panic and flee deeper into the den, and the poor lighting inside surely spelled out a recipe for disaster. 

Then the idea struck her, it wouldn't be a quiet distraction but hell with spring on the rise a bit more air in the den would probably be welcome. She rose to her feet and began to walk around to the far side of the den. "Yer might wan'ter step back," she warned before she began to paw at the small hole, the scraping of claws on stone and feet through dirt amplified by the den, no doubt sending frightful vibrations around the inner chamber. She paused for a moment to hear the fearsome rattle, a low hiss like air escaping a pierced lung, through the hole she spied the snake coiled to strike out at the sun that filtered through the main den entrance. She could only hope her pack mates were well clear.