Larkcall Lowlands bloodhound

Lorcan was growing more and more anxious with each passing day. Whitestone had become multitudinous over the last month and with each new member they gained yet another mouth to feed. @Saradathia had put herself in overdrive, every day it seemed, she was out trudging through the tundra in search of food. The healer had hardly seen her in the past few weeks. Other members too, new and old, had also contributed their time to the endless search for prey, yet on most occasions the bounty they returned with had been small, merely a morsel to silence their growing hunger for another day or so.

After pacing back and forth atop the edge of the monadnock, Lorcan was growing increasingly frustrated. They had to find the caribou herds soon. Perhaps if he were to travel further out he would be able to catch scent of them? It couldn’t hurt to try and these were desperate times. With his mind made up, Lorcan moved with purpose towards the old goat track, but on his way he caught sight of @Anaia. He deliberated asking her to join him for a moment, remembering her request to train as a scout. It wouldn’t hurt to see what she was capable of and if her leg should trouble her, well, he would be right there beside her to assist. “Anaia!” He called over, greeting her with a gentle wag of his tail. “I thought I’d try to scout out the caribou herds, care to join me?” He asked, offering her a small tilt of his head.

(This post was last modified: Jan 22, 2017, 12:39 PM by Lorcan.)

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

Sorry, I didn't get the tag.

Word Count: 224

Anaia was bored.  She thought about going for a hunt, but she didn’t want to head out alone.  It seemed she spent most of her time on her own these days; she hardly ever saw @Saradathia anymore, and while she knew the suddenly multitudinous pack needed food, she knew she couldn’t catch enough to make a difference on her own.  She wished her sister would take her out with her on a hunt sometime.

The small white lady was just making up her mind to at least try to find a small morsel when Lorcan approached her, asking if she wanted to join him in search of caribou.  “Yes!” She exclaimed, jumping to her feet to follow him.  This would be the perfect opportunity to show @Craw that she could be a good scout, and also one to do something to help her pack.  “Where are we going to go?” She asked, trotting so she was next to the healer.

Anaia was glad for the day’s weather; it was cold, but not as cold as it had been recently.  The sun was shining through intermittent clouds, though it wasn’t doing much to warm anything.  It was still too early in the year for that.  Still, the young woman was glad for its presence; today was a good day to explore.

"Speech"  Thought

There is a family of deer nearby. Hunt Opportunity

Lorcan was happy to see that @Anaia was immediately willing to take him up on his offer as she leapt up onto her paws. “Come on then.” He smiled, gesturing towards the goat track with his muzzle as he paused his movement momentarily to allow her to catch up to him. When she moved to trot along beside him, the agouti male didn’t waste any time in traipsing quickly down the old goat track and out into the tundra below.

Russet ears perked up her question just as his paws crunched against the snow blanket of snow. “I thought we could head east.” He began, once against gesturing his head past the great monadnock and out towards the vast expanse of snow which lay in that direction. “I haven’t explored that way in a while, thought it might be worth a look.” He admitted before turning back to glance at his female companion as a serious frown wrinkled across his brow. “We might be gone a few days though, you sure you’re up to it?” He questioned, hoping that she wouldn’t change her mind.

With or without her, he would need to let @Craw and @Morganna know that he may be gone for a few days. Lifting his head up to the sky, Lorcan let out a howl to let his superiors know. If Anaia agreed to join him then her voice alongside his would make them aware that they were travelling as a pair.

With everyone made aware, Lorcan wasted no time before setting off. It would be a long journey so they needed to make the most of the sunlight whilst it was still available. Moving into run, Lorcan kept his golden eyes peeled for any signs of life out in the stark white snow and lifted his nose to air so that he could test for any signs of the caribou as he ran. He would make sure to investigate any scent of the caribou he could detect, for any clue to the prey’s location was desperately needed.

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

OOC!  

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Word Count: 214

For a moment, Anaia almost forgot how scared she was.  “East?” She inquired.  She hadn’t gone east before; her tail sped its motion at the thought of discovering something new.  It wasn’t until he mentioned being gone for a few days that Anaia saw another opportunity.  She felt her excitement die down as the old feeling returned, but at the same time she was suddenly even more eager to go.

“Yeah, I can handle being gone for a few days.  Anything to help the pack.” She tittered nervously. At least it was Lorcan she would be with… she knew he was gentle and kind.  She wasn’t afraid of him.  What’s gotten into you, Anaia? She thought.  Why are you so scared all the time?

But she didn’t have time to worry about it, as Lorcan was suddenly howling to let their alphas know they would be gone.  Her chest clenched in terror, but she too added her tiny voice so they wouldn’t wonder where she’d gone and think she’d run away.  She wouldn’t do such a thing, but they didn’t know that.  She suspected Morganna was half-surprised to see her every morning.

Their call made, Anaia hurried to keep up with the healer as they set out in search of food for their rapidly growing pack.

"Speech"  Thought

Lorcan nodded and a smile graced his charcoal lips as @Anaia confirmed that she was happy to be away from the pack for a few days. It was good to see her demonstrating her willingness to work and her loyalty to Whitestone; perhaps in time she would earn the official role of scout and become a highly-respected member of the pack. Their little venture would provide the perfect opportunity for the young female to work on her skills.

With their call to their superior’s made, Lorcan immediately sprinted off. Anaia was quick to catch up with him and the healer moved in closer to brush his side against hers in friendly encouragement. The sound of crunching snow could be heard beneath their paws as they moved and although it was bitterly cold out, their fast pace kept his body warm. Much of his time was spent holding his nose to the air to sniff out the herds, but occasionally he was glance beside him to Anaia to give her a questioning tilt of his head, to silently ask if she was having any luck.

Hours had already passed and it was approaching mid-day. Lorcan had slowed down into a comfortable trot as he had grown too hot to run beneath the midday sun. So far he had smelt out nothing but snowshoe hares and other small mammals; nothing large enough to keep the pack going for any substantial period of time. Although he was beginning to grow despondent, Lorcan willed himself to keep going. They had to. But his mouth was growing dry and he knew that they would have to stop somewhere for a drink. He turned to Anaia, chest heaving as he struggled to catch his breath.  “Let’s slow down and see if we can find somewhere to get a drink.” He breathed, as he slowed down into a walk.

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

OOC!  

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Word Count: 216

Anaia was glad when they broke into a swift trot, and it only took her a moment to catch up.  She enjoyed running, and if she paced herself right she could keep going all day. The pace was swift, but she had no trouble keeping pace with the older wolf.  Since he seemed to spend most of the time sniffing the air, the pale woman did the same, shaking her head when he glanced at her.  There wasn’t much apart from the smaller prey they were used to.

The idea of a bigger hunt excited the scout in training.  She was so accustomed to tracking down rabbits and mice; something challenging would be a welcome change.

The hours melted away, and she was barely tired when Lorcan suggested they slow down for a drink. “Okay.” She shrugged, already feeling much better.  She sniffed the air again, hoping to maybe catch a whiff of something useful.

“What’s that smell?” She asked, wrinkling her nose.  It had almost a salty odor, but not quite.  It was something she’d never scented before.  It did carry some kind of warmth with it, though.  Curiosity piqued, she started to follow it, glancing only briefly at the healer to see if he was going to follow her.  They were out here; why not explore?

"Speech"  Thought

Feel free to forward it to the next morning/day

“What’s that smell?”

Circling back around to stand beside @Anaia, Lorcan lifted his muzzle to the air and inhaled deeply. It took him a couple of heartbeats to pick up on the strange aroma and his muzzle wrinkled at the peculiar earthy-mineral scent. Whilst it wasn't the caribou that he had been after, the scent puzzled him and so instinctively it demanded to be investigated. The younger female by his side seemed to have similar ideas and began moving off in the direction of the smell. Following her lead, the agouti male moved swiftly to trot just behind the smaller white-furred female as he followed her direction.

As they moved the scent grew more pungent which only spurred Lorcan to keep moving forwards, despite his dry mouth and growing thirst. More hours passed and daylight was soon being replaced dark grey clouds as the nighttime hours swept in. The salty-earthy scent was still present in the cool night air, but they had been travelling all day now and Lorcan beginning to loose concentration due to tiredness. His limbs were aching too from their constant impact against the crisp freshly fallen snow on the tundra. "I think we better stop for the night." Lorcan called forwards before slowed down into a slow walk.

Golden eyes scanned the through the darkness in search of shelter. There, not too far away, he spotted a tree illuminated beneath the pale glow of the moon. "We can take shelter beneath that tree.." He breathed, glancing across to Anaia. "It will do for one night, don't you think?" Slowly he traipsed towards the short naked tree. Whilst it did not have any leaves, it's thick trunk would be enough to shield them both from the freezing wind. Shaking his pelt, Lorcan slumped down lazily at it's base and let out a tired yawn.

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

OOC!  

-------------------------------------------------------

Word Count: 257  

The healer following, Anaia was encouraged to pick up her pace again. Her curiosity piqued and enjoying the space, the small wolf kept going until her companion called for her to stop for the night.  She’d barely noticed the sky going dark.

“It’s a good thing you’re here.” She grinned as he caught up.  “I might’ve kept going all night.” It was an exaggeration, of course; now that she was stopped her legs were starting to feel a little sore.  

She followed Lorcan over to the tree he’d spotted and paused as he curled up.  The cold wind gusting across the flat land buffeted her fur, and after being used to the warmth from running it seemed all the colder.  She hesitantly curled against his side.  The tree sheltered them from the wind, and they sheltered each other from the cold. Feeling more relaxed than she had in a few weeks, Anaia easily slipped into sleep.

Birdsong pulled Anaia out of her restful slumber.  She yawned and stretched, idly wondering where birds would even find food out here.  She looked around, but didn’t see anything that might have woken her. Shaking her fur to help fluff it up against the chill breeze, he turned to poke her traveling companion with her paw.  “Lorcan, wake up.” she said.  She waited for him to be ready, then turned and trotted off in the direction of the strange scent.  It didn’t take long for her to warm up, and after a few minutes of motion the soreness in her limbs faded.

"Speech"  Thought

Although he was incredibly tired, sleep did not come easily to the agouti male. Even with @Anaia curled up beside him, he was stir awake every few hours and peer out with one eye to check the darkness that surrounded them. He had grown so used to sleeping high atop the monadnock, that now that he was down in the open tundra, he felt horribly exposed and vulnerable. Fortunately, nothing dangerous appeared during the night and morning chirping of the birds was the only thing to catch his attention.

Golden eyes fluttered open as Anaia nudged him awake. Clambering up back onto his paws, he took a few moments to stretch before he moved to trot alongside the inquisitive female. "Sleep well?" He asked with a tired smile as he waited for her to pick up the scent that they had been following the previous day.

Just like the day before, the pair of Whitestone wolves spent many hours wandering across vast areas of crunchy white snow, with not a thing in sight. Obediently they followed the salty-earthy scent, both still curious about what it led to. As they travelled the scent grew more and more pungent and as Lorcan sniffed at the air another, much more familiar, smell caught his attention. "Can you smell that?!" He barked, leaping forwards to catch up with Anaia with an excited wag of his tail. The scent was unmistakable. It was caribou.

Leaping into a sprint, Lorcan raced after the scent, sending sprays of white powdery snow behind him. Then there in the distance, he noticed white steam rising from the ground and the white blanket of snow blurred into an area colour where the grass was exposed. His shot an excited glance across to Anaia as his tongue lolled from his mouth. Where there was grass, caribou were sure to be found. Lorcan raced towards it, impatient to see how many beasts grazed upon it.

(This post was last modified: Jan 26, 2017, 04:25 PM by Lorcan.)

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together