Fallen Tree Cove What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

@Cernan

Kajika didn't feel a constant need to keep going all day every day with winter starting to come to a close. They still had some time left before it was completely over but he felt the pack was doing well. They had made it through one more winter and with that came the spring and summer. He'd already been down to the lake and refreshed the hole they'd made for drinking before getting his morning drink. After that it was time to start the daily routine, he'd been doing it for so long that when he didn't do it his whole day felt off.

He started his patrol on the lake side of the territory and traveled around to the northern edge, he been taking his time and searching for prey while he went. He didn't expect to find anything right off the path along the border but there was always that chance. Besides if he could catch something now it was less he would have to later. As he was coming up the northern border he caught sight of movement through the trees. There were glimpses of an agouti pelt. But Kajika didn't think it was an intruder, what wolf would be dumb enough to cross the border of a pack by themselves. It was most certainly a wolf though and a packmate. Kajika barked to get their attention to see who it was and if they might want to join him since it seemed that they were doing the same thing and it was always better border patrolling with company.

(This post was last modified: Jan 05, 2017, 07:12 AM by Kajika.)

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He still hadn't managed to catch them. The coyote who's scent he'd found two days prior had left a trail that was proving difficult to follow, and more annoying still was that he had discovered evidence of a second. The little buggers had the audacity to be skirting the borders, even crossing them for short bits when the patrols weren't nearby. He might have only been able to track two, but Cernan wasn't foolish enough to assume that that meant there was anything less than a pack of them somewhere else on the mountain range. The boy's first thought was to strengthen the markers, but that took quite some time. His thick frame trotted along beneath the trees; pushing through the chest-deep snow that had already covered their elevated home. In the thick of the woods it wasn't so bad; thickly coating the pine boughs before the ground. He certainly preferred it. The powder was only easy to walk on after it had been on the ground a few days, and then only where sunlight had had a chance to melt the surface layers a little. The prince was standing with his legs half-submerged, black nose quivering as he pleaded with the wind to tell him if the vermin were nearby when the sharp bark shattered his concentration.  Golden eyes flicked to the left, managing to sense the movement of a familiar dark coat against the snow. The air carried his scent, at least. Cernan's tail lifted a bit to wag, recognizing the approaching party to be the Cove's male second, Kajika. The boy drew forward, dragging deep lines through the white footing as he walked. Snow still clung to his nose and whiskers from the last time he'd stopped to sniff it. "Hey," the young Vuesain called amiably; his tone cool but curious.

 

Seeing the mountain forest turn green again was something the Kajika was looking forward to, the winters always seemed so long. He knew it was because of the daily trudging through the snow and constant worry about food supplies. The cold was also a big factor but the cold was something he'd had to deal with all his life since it had gotten rather cold in the place that his birth pack had called home. After coming on to the snow packed path around the border he gave his pelt a shake to get some of the excess water off that had collect during his trek through the deeper snow.

Upon spotting a figure in the distance through the trees he wanted to know who it was that also seemed to be patrolling the border. As he drew nearer his nostrils picked up Cernan scent and he was able to recognize the agouti pelt as belonging to the young vuesain. This was a welcome development as he had been meaning to speak with the yearling.

“Hey, how are you?” He asked as he came up next to his pack mate, he took notice of the snow that was accumulated on the boys nose and whiskers. “Would you mind some company on your patrol?” He asked his tail wagging a couple of times. He hoped Cernan would accept his offer and then they could walk and talk as they completed the border patrol.

(This post was last modified: Jan 05, 2017, 03:42 PM by Kajika.)

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There is a moose carcass that has been scavenged by coyotes nearby. +15 Health

OOC: Lol SOW is on point. ^

There wasn't much in the man's approach that signaled danger or urgency, and when he casually asked how the boy was doing, Cernan relaxed. A faint smile pulled the corners of his mouth back. "Okay, you?" There was a moment for reply before the swarthy man moved on to another inquiry. It was not strange or really unheard of for someone else to come with him on guard duty like this, but it certainly wasn't a frequent occurrence with so much ground to cover. He used to do it a lot with Nate, actually...  But that was before he'd really been serious. "Sure," the prince responded, his tone of voice conveying a bit of a friendly verbal shrug. The tip of his fluffy beige tail couldn't help but waver a little as Kajika's did. He'd only begun to turn himself toward his previous path, when it occurred to the boy that it might be a good idea to let his pack-mate in on what he'd actually been doing.  "I keep finding coyote scent near this side of the border. At least two of them," a hint of bitterness seeped into the prince's words from the frustration of not being able to track or catch the things in the last couple of days. "Was thinkin' maybe we should re-mark it." Golden eyes flitted over to where his comrades own pools sat, curious as to the older man's thoughts.

 

(This post was last modified: Jan 08, 2017, 06:54 AM by Cernan.)

Starting to wonder if the SoW posts are really as random as I thought they were.

It wasn't often that he was able to speak with the Vuesain so not that he had run into him he didn't think he should pass up the opportunity to speak with him. So he caught up with the boy before greeting him and asking how he was. “Same, just the same winter worries I expect everyone has.” Kajika knew how much he liked the time to complete his border patrols alone so he was sure to ask Cernan if it would be alright to join him on his. He didn't want to impose if The yearling would rather finish it alone.

Kajika smiled when Cernan said that he could come along which would give him a good chance to speak with the boy. When he had asked to come along he hadn't been expecting the news of coyotes being close to their borders. While the Vuesain explained about finding their scent Kajika remembered a run in he'd had. “I've been finding their scents told and the other day I had one trailing me while I was hunting,” he told Cernan, “But that was a little ways from the border so maybe he had followed me from here?” Kajika wasn't exactly sure where he picked the scavenger up but he had been annoyed by it all the same. The dark Beta nodded, “Sure, maybe if they smell the both of us it might deter them more.” Unless of course it didn't care but they did need to get rid of it.

(This post was last modified: Jan 08, 2017, 07:56 PM by Kajika.)

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OOC: It knows  - Guardian post 1/3

Kajika's response was cool and casual, something the prince could appreciate. He nodded in agreement. More interesting was the information the older man had to share about the coyotes. He hadn't anticipated Kajika to have also found signs, much less have spotted one. The yearling's expression changed to one of acute interest while he drank in the rest of the Beta's words. His tawny brows rose in response to the first questioning statement, and he tipped his head a little in a shrug. That could have been exactly how the pest had come to the Cove's borders.  His suggestion about the markers seemed to go over well, and so the quiet prince turned to trot on towards that section of the borders with an inquiring glance backward, just to be sure that his comrade was coming too. It took longer than usual to trudge through the snow to the place where the pack's combined scents were strongest, but not terribly so. Cernan slowed to a walk, scenting the air again for vermin but finding it difficult to detect anything other than the borders themselves in this particular spot. Failing that, the Vuesain boy followed the strong fragrance with his nose to a familiar, roughly wolf-sized boulder who's top was now draped with white powder.     The smell at its base was strong, but it obviously hadn't been refreshed in some time. While apparently that was enough to keep most of their rivals out of the area, it hadn't stopped the coyotes. Cernan stepped back, drawing his bulky frame parallel with the stone's surface and stepping forward. He dragged his plush agouti coat along it's length, from cheek to hip as he'd seen his father or Nathaniel do on many occasions. Once past it, the boy turned to glance at his pack mate; waiting for him to add his own warning sign to the mix in whatever way he so chose.

 

It is the power that be after all.

It seemed that coyotes were starting to become a real pest for the cove wolves as he spoke with Cernan about them. It had been a few weeks since he had been followed by the one as he'd gone about hunting. It hadn't occurred to him that the scavenger had picked up his trail from Fallen Tree Cove since it had been some ways from the border when he had first detected it. Now that he thought about it it could very well have happened that way. What Kajika did know for fact was they needed to get rid of the coyotes before they started raiding the caches. The last thing they needed was to run out of food before winter was over.

Kajika agreed with Cernan about the markers and agreed to help, if the coyotes scented more than one wolf it might make them cautious about entering their lands. So as Cernan headed in the direction Kajika kept pace with him which was slowed some by the snow but they soon came to a place where the yearling slowed to a walk as did the beta. He joined the Vuesain in scenting the air for anything out of the ordinary but mostly for the scavengers. However nothing really stuck out to him besides the scent of the border, every other scent belonged there.

Kajika watched as Cernan went over to a snow covered boulder and sniffed before running his scent along it to make the marker stronger. When he was done Kajika took his turn doing the same to place his scent on the boulder as well, he hoped now it would be strong enough to deter the coyotes. In the back of his mind though he felt they might have to get rid of them completely if they didn't leave on their own. Turning to the young Vuesain he felt it was a good time to ask him what needed to be asked as a teacher. “I was wondering if you had decided on a pack role yet or if you might need help?”

(This post was last modified: Jan 11, 2017, 04:10 AM by Kajika.)

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