Sex: Female
He agreed to search for the carcass, which the she wolf thought, because of its particular odor, was that of a moose. She withdrew her paws from the pool and felt the stab of cold in her front limbs. She had asked for it, however, and with no more than a wince she fell into step behind the large male. They traveled up a slope, through the trees, and soon, Lyris heard the sound of yapping coyotes. Her large eyes widened with fear, hackles raising along her ruff and spine. She became absolutely terrified, knowing in her heart that violence was near.
Nevertheless, she remained behind Kajika, the rumble of her stomach stronger than her fear. They would have to fight. It was part of their beings, part of being wolves. As they drew closer, Lyris lowered her posture and, hoping the male would do the same, came up beside him. Lemon yellow eyes peered through the trees, spying upon two coyotes who tore at the flesh, yelping in between gulps. The fae gazed up at the male and spoke in a very soft whisper.
Are you prepared? It was a silly question. Being a very large male, she assumed he would be more ready for this than she ever could be.
The thought of food had removed any sadness that Kajika had regarding what had happened with his family. So much time had passed since everything had happened he didn't think it mattered much anymore. The scent of the carcass somewhat strong meaning they wouldn't have too far to go to find it. Once he had risen to his feet he trotted off in the direction the scent was coming from. He stopped briefly to make sure Lyris was with him before continuing the search for the moose carcass. Mingled with the scent of blood was another scent of coyotes and it was strong. This didn't please the beta suspecting they would have to fight for the right to eat. Once they had come through the trees the sounds of the scavengers could be heard high pitched and irritating for the male. Kajika hoped the scuffle would be over shortly and then he and Lyris could eat.
A glance at the woman next to him told Kajika all he needed to know, she was afraid of this altercation bit to him it was just a fact of life. He has fought off coyotes many times in the past, the only difference here he had a little help. Seeing the two scavengers through the trees Kajika smiled a little there were only two of the which meant one for each wolf. Her voice beside him brought his gaze back to her.
“Always,” he told her confidently not bothering to keep his voice down hoping it might scare off the wolf wanna he’s. “I'm thinking we charge down there and see if that scares them. If not then we will have to fight them.” He hoped the sight of two wolves coming at them would be enough but he also knew they were stubborn creatures.
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Lyris felt the struggle of her past strongly. It ate at her on a constant basis, and there were times when she could not shake it off. This, fortunately, was not one of those times, and she was able to forget and let go. It seemed that Kajika had no issue shrugging off the pain of the past, his focus diverted upon the coyotes and their terribly irritating yaps. The she wolf, hunkered down low, heard his voice and the low timbre of it soothed her. She felt a surge of energy deep in her bones and she suddenly was ready to fight. With a nod, she proceeded, rising up and stepping into full view of the smaller canines. They currently were in a scrabble between themselves, snapping at one another with gusto, but when they heard the approach of the wolves, they stopped amid their arguing and looked up at them with blazing eyes.
A snarl rumbled from within her throat, a sound that terrified even Lyris. She lowered her front half as well as her chocolate-brown ears, her snarl transforming into a low growl. She became aware of her physical form, average in size and slightly weakened from lack of nutrition, but still intimidating. The coyotes, after all, were slight in comparison. However, if the she-wolf had not been enough to scare the coyotes, surely the big, strong, well-fed male to her right would be.
The coyotes held their ground. They stared the pair of wolves down.
Lyris looked up at her partner, allowing him to give her some signal to attack. He was male, and he was stronger, so the female gladly put the lead into his hands.
One obstacle stood in their way of filling their bellies, coyotes which had become quite the pest as of late. Kajika disliked the idea that they were so close to the cove but perhaps chasing them away from the carcass would keep them away for a little time at least. He was only slightly worried about the fear that his companion was showing,his hope was that she would see there wasn't anything to fear. “They are more afraid of us,” he told her in hopes it would calm her some. It was then time to make their presence known to the scavengers. The coyotes were quick to notice the two wolves stepping out of the cover of the trees. However, they did not seem to want to give the carcass over freely, which was fine with Kajika. He was certain the carcass would be theirs soon enough.
Hackles raised and lip curled in a snarl Kajika poised himself for attack and from the corner of his eye he saw she had too. The growl that left her reached his ears telling him she must have gotten over her fear and was just as ready to take care of the coyotes as he was. Still with the displays of aggression from the wolves did not persuade the scavengers to leave peacefully. It left them with only one choice and that was to fight for the carcass. Kajika didn't want to give such a find up, once they had filled their bellies he could take some back to the pack and she could have some as well. Like the fish on the pool that he and Vespertio had found this was a gift to help the pack through the winter.
Kajika let a growl escape his throat as another message to the coyotes to leave but they didn't heed it. “Looks like they don't know what's best for them,” he stated letting his gaze fall to her once more. He then nodded his head as a sign that it was time to take action and with that he charged at the coyote's tail high over his back as he ran down the slope ready to engage in a scuffle with the scavengers.
What she feared was not the coyotes themselves. Surely all wolves knew that coyotes were nothing but pests, silly things to be chased off and shown that wolves were the top predators of the lore. Lyris knew this instinctively. What she feared was the violence itself. She did not like hurting other canines, and coyotes, whose species was in the canine family, were so much like herself. She didn't want to hurt them, to hear their cries of pain. Lyris was young, and not yet jaded against the necessity of fighting others like themselves.
She pushed these thoughts out of her mind rather successfully. A week ago she was nearing death from starvation, and even now, she was weakened still. Lyris needed to eat, and she wished to assist Kajika in helping his pack flourish by bringing the remains of the carcass to his pack. Again his voice soothed her. She felt his empathy, and suddenly felt that everything would turn out in their favor. The coyotes did not have to die, as long as they obeyed the laws of nature and backed off.
From her hunt with Askan, it was ingrained in her mind to await the leader's signal. When at last Kajika gave it, Lyris sprung into action. She leapt towards the coyotes with a vicious snarl, reaching out to grasp one of their pointy muzzles with her jaws. Serrated teeth sank into the soft flesh of the coyotes snout. She held tightly, until the salty taste of blood trickled upon her tongue. Disliking the taste, Lyris let go, hearing the furious cries of pain and lament. She had not seen what action the other soot-furred wolf had taken, but the coyotes were now beginning to back off.
If he had his choices in the matter he would much prefer not to have to deal with the coyotes, they were a nuisance that he could do without. Perhaps if they weren't so close to the cove or if the meat they had wasn't so important to the survival of not only his pack but the woman standing next to him he might have let it go. Unfortunately for the coyotes it was important especially to Lyris, he hadn't been oblivious to her current condition and had she been in better he might have suggested a hunt. The moose carcass was easy food and she could fill herself whereas a hunt might not have gotten them as much to eat. At least she wouldn't have to fight the scavengers off herself he would make sure of that.
The beta didn't see the scuffle would be a long one, one the coyotes realized the wolves were much stronger then them they would run. Kajika didn't have any doubt in his mind that it would go just as he thought. Having faced his fair share of them and the same thing happening time and again he was confident they would be eating shortly. The grumble in his stomach only reminded him further how important it was to chase the creatures away. Once he felt they were both ready for the confrontation that was coming he gave the signal to charge with a nod. Tail held high he raced beside Lyris down to face off with the coyotes.
His many pack hunts had given him practice in seeing what his companions were doing while keeping his eye on his target at the same time. He saw Lyris grab the coyotes muzzle in her jaws for a moment before letting go. By that time he had reached the coyote he was meant to chase off. He only stopped his forward motion when he had the the smaller animals scruff grasped I'm his jaws. He then gave it a hard shake using his size to his advantage. Yelping could be heard as the front half of the coyote moved involuntarily through the air. Once Kajika felt the animal had gotten the picture he dropped it to the ground where it quickly got to its feet and joined its companion in retreat from the area.
Kajika had overtaken the other coyote. His great jaws had clamped down upon the creature's ruff and he gave it a rough shake. Lyris only saw it from the corner of her eye, but she was impressed by the strength and power of the dark-furred male. Both wolves relinquished their grip around the same time, and stood beside one another watching the coyotes retreat into the forest, yelping in unison in pain and disappointment. Lyris glanced over at her partner and gave a knowing smile.
We did it! she exclaimed. Not that it had been a difficult feat. Not only were coyotes smaller animals in general, but these particular individuals had been weakened by the winter's hunger. Lyris then turned her attention to the carcass itself, walking around to its flank, which already had a small lesion where the coyotes had been eating. The chocolate she-wolf lowered her ears and dipped her muzzle inside the crevice, pulling a small chunk of flesh with her jaws. She backed away and chewed it up, before returning to the gash for more. She continued to eat, leaving the entrails for the male out of respect.
It hadn’t been very hard for them to send the coyotes on their way just as Kajika thought it would go. All he and Lyris had to do was show that they were clearly the stronger parties and deserved the carcass more than the scavengers. Lyris came to stand next to him once they had both released their grips on the smaller canines to watch as they retreated back into the forest. Kajika however knew they wouldn’t be far staying just out of sight until he and his female companion had finished their meal and taking what they wanted. Then the coyotes would feast once more on whatever was left. When he looked to see that she was alright he was met with a knowing smile which brought a smile to his maw too.
“Of course we did,” he said with a chuckle, “Was there any doubt in your mind?” He asked giving her a friendly bump to the shoulder. He watched as Lyris walked around the carcass before getting her first helping. Though he was clearly the higher ranked of them he didn’t mind, out here rank didn’t matter she was a lady and it was her right to have the first bite. Once she had gotten what she wanted he moved in to take his share. Ripping at the Moose’s stomach he was able to tear a hole large enough to pull some of the more delicate parts of the animal out which he began to eat while she returned for more. “Please take as much as you need,” he told her between bites. Making sure that she got as much as she could was important since he knew how hard it was living alone in the winter. Besides it wasn’t often if ever that she would get moose.
She smiled warmly at his words. She had not had a doubt in their success, rather she spoke of their victory as a means of celebration. Easy though the fight had been, it was worth celebrating, for now the pair could feast upon one of the rarest meals. Moose had its own special flavor, one she had only tasted on one other occasion.
She told the store between chunks of meat. My pack once brought down a moose calf. It was one of the most tender and delicious things I've ever eaten. She grinned at the memory, the dove back into her meal. Lyris was a neat eater, licking her maw almost obsessively to keep from making a mess of herself. Her mother had been adamant about her eating habits, teaching her to eat with grace. Lyris had been the only female in a litter of three other males, and it had been important to her mother to raise a lady.
The chocolate-furred fae soon finished eating her belly full and satisfied. There was energy in her body now, deep in her bones. I have not felt this well in weeks, she remarked mildly. Thank you, Kajika. Do you want me to help you get the carcass to your pack borders? I could... help you drag it, and chase off the coyotes if they keep bothering us.
The moose Carcass was theirs now that the coyotes had made the better decision to abandon it to the wolves. Though the dark man was sure they weren't far off waiting for their chance to move in he was sure they wouldn't be back until he and Lyris had left. Kajika's mouth started to water some at the thought of eating the moose meat since it was rare that he got to partake in it as he imagined it was for his companion. They both set to work on the carcass.
As they did so the woman shared a story about her pack with him between bites. The dark man smiled as he listened, “It is one of the best meats I've had the chance to taste,” he agreed, “You're lucky to have been able to have it so fresh though.” Kajika didn't recall ever having had the chance to have moose immediately after it was killed. All of the times he had it were few and they were carcasses that he had found and took advantage of. Once she had finished her story the beta went back to eating a little more until he was satisfied. There was still the pack to think about and it seemed Lyris was thinking of them too.
She asked if he would like her help in dragging the carcass back to his borders. Something as big as what they had he would need the help so that hopefully he could bring most of it back to the cache for everyone. “I would appreciate the help and when we get it there you can take your share and I can have the others help me get it the rest of the way.”