Nomads Pass moths to the flame

Random Event: A mysterious fog rolls over relic lore.

July 23rd; Early Morning, Foggy, 73°F, 22°C

The scent of prey had lingered on the breeze far too long for the lone male to ignore. Hunger gripped at his insides, causing his stomach to groan in protest as he wandered further into unknown territory. Nanuk had made it to the woods, escaping the prickly heat of the lichen-covered lowlands for the cooler temperatures provided by the dense canopy of alpine conifers. The shade had offered the arctic wolf much relief; shielded from harsh sunlight, the terrain was more forgiving on his dry, cracked paws which afforded them the opportunity to heal.

Nanuk spent days tracking down the deer herd; guided by their musky scent on the wind, the male followed them as they abandoned the dense cover of the woodlands for steep mountain slopes. Although they were more exposed, the terrain was more treacherous. Still, the wolf pressed on, guided by their droppings and hoof prints in the dirt and gravel, he was determined to stay on their heels.

He finally caught up to them as they approached a mountain pass. Surrounded by steep cliffs, the ungulates were forced into a bottleneck, slowing them down enough that he could stalk at a leisurely pace behind them. The thick fog that had rolled in earlier that morning now played to his advantage, offering him the opportunity to remain unseen as he circled in closer to observe the queuing herd for signs of weakness.

Nash hadn't ventured beyond the pack's borders in some time, but with his desire to help provide for Aleister's children and the man's current inability to do so himself, Nash decided it was time to roam further. It didn't take long for him to catch the scent of a deer herd and set off on search of it.

A fog had rolled in, and dewdrops were beginning to gather on the ends of Nash's fur. He shook himself, then stood upright as a new scent wafted over him. Another wolf was nearby.

Nash altered course; the deer had wedged themselves into a bottleneck and they were upwind of the wolves -what little airflow there was at the moment, anyway - so there was no fear of them getting far.

Nash quietly chuffed out a greeting, not wanting to startle the other man but not wanting the sound to carry to the prey, either.

The white-tailed herd contained around twelve individuals, from what Nanuk could tell, consisting of seven mature does and five fawns. The sound of their huffing and bleating could be heard echoing against the cliffside as they jostled for position, calling to each other for reassurance as the herd stretched out to form a queue through the mountain pass.

Hidden behind a veil of fog, Nanuk stalked quietly behind them from a safe distance, his footfall slow and precise as he tried to avoid startling the prey. As his brown eyes strained to visually scan the group through the low lying cloud cover, and his nostrils flared to inhale their collective scent, hoping to catch the tang of blood or infection on the breeze.

Suddenly catching the scent of another wolf, the male immediately glanced around him, his ears pinning back to display his uneasiness. A quiet chuff reached his ears before a dark figure emerged from the fog. Relieved that the stranger had not startled the herd, Nanuk accepted his presence with a small huff of his nose and lick of his lips. Advancing forwards once more, Nanuk's tail rose high as if to assert his authority over the situation and encourage the stranger to follow.

Feel free to pick out a target, but I believe we will need one more wolf to join the hunt to have a chance of succeeding

I was waiting to see if any other SC members wanted to pip over since they're not far, but I'll reply now anyway. They could probably bring down a fawn by themselves, but we could also use the bot channel in the discord to essentially "roll" for successful attempts too

The stranger seemed unsure of Nash at first, but quickly raised his tail and took the lead towards the herd. Nash's skin prickled at the instant display of dominance and allowed his own tail to rise as he followed, but otherwise he didn't challenge the other man. They were well beyond Sanguine Cove's borders, and Nash had nothing to gain by starting a fight over something like who led a hunt.

He came up beside the pale man and murmured, "There's a fawn on the edge, there." he pointed with his nose. "With the rest of them mostly in the pass, we can easily separate it from its mother." he glanced at the man. "You'll blend into the fog better than me; think you can get close?"

Nanuk's shoulders rolled back, a display of confidence to the other male, as he stalked forwards in the direction of the deer herd. The arctic wolf did not bother to glance back to see if the stranger would follow after him, instead choosing to trust that they now had a mutual understanding to work together.

Nose held to the wind, Nanuk continued to sample the scents which drifted towards him from further up the mountain pass where the prey congregated. The herd smelt healthy, strong. There was nothing to suggest that they had an injured animal hidden amongst them.

The dark male was quick to offer an alternative target as he caught up and paused alongside him. Dark brown eyes darted across to focus on the fawn that had been spotted. It was clinging onto the edge of the herd, without the protection of larger adults surrounding it, it would be easy to single it out.

At the suggestion that he try to get in close, Nanuk nodded silently in agreement. Once again leaving the darker male's side, the pale wolf stalked forwards. He crouched low to the ground and moved slowly, tentatively, at first to ensure that he would not be smelt or spotted. The thick fog worked well to keep him visually concealed. As soon as he came within lunging distance, the arctic wolf leapt forwards, his neck reaching out to grip his jaws around the right rear leg of the fawn.

His sudden movement and the pained cry of the fawn caused the rest of the herd to panic. Trapped between him and the mountain cliffs, the deer battled to break free from their bottleneck, pushing and shoving each other out of the way in a desperate attempt to escape. Nanuk continued to hold on tightly to the fawn's leg, even as hooves kicked all around him.

Nash had spoken quietly, but the other man clearly understood him because he nodded and circled around toward the herd. Nash circled opposite him, wanting to line himself up correctly to intercept the fawn should it get away from his hunting partner.

He'd failed to consider the other deer's reaction.

Nash was elated when the shape that was the other wolf in the mist appeared to latch onto the shape of their targeted fawn, but then the baby's squeal alerted the herd and they panicked. Unable to scatter because of the canyon, they turned back toward the hunters and darted their way.

Suddenly terrified the stranger would be trampled, Nash jumped forward into the frantic deer. He didnt dare make more noise; thanks to his own movements, he would only scare the already frightened herd right into his partner.

He dodged around the moving bodies, snapping in the direction of any deer that got too close to him. There weren't many, but it only took one lucky hoof in exactly the wrong place to end a wolf's hunting career - or their life - early.

He was almost there, close enough now that he felt safe enough to risk a sharp bark to ward the adults away from the caught fawn.

Nanuk was clueless as to the dark wolf's actions, unaware that in their attempt to assist him they had actually startled the herd even more. Now cornered between two wolves and the towering stone cliffs, the deer battled more desperately against each other, their terrified cries echoing up from the lingering fog.

Crouching down low, Nanuk curled up as tight as was possible whilst still clinging onto the fawn he had captured. The young deer struggled to slip free from his jaws, crying and screaming out to the adults who were too panicked to stop and acknowledge it. The fawns struggling only encouraged the arctic wolf to tighten his grip further, and as he moved to back up towards one side of the cliff wall he could taste the metallic tang of blood against his tongue.

Through the sea of jostling bodies, it was impossible for the male to determine where the other wolf was amongst the crowd of deer. Concerned that he might lose hold over the fawn as he ducked and squirmed to dodge the numerous kicking hooves, Nanuk whined. He hoped the high-pitched sound could be heard above the loud rumble of the move herd. A moment later a sharp bark caused the deer which were still close around him to scatter, revealing the dark wolf who had accompanied him on the hunt.

Dark eyes widened in recognition at the other male before he moved to shake his head sharply; an attempt to shake and disorientate the fawn in that moment. "Kill it, quick!" Nanuk snarled through clenched teeth, hoping the dark male would be capable of bringing an end to the whole ordeal.

(This post was last modified: Jul 21, 2021, 09:50 PM by Nanuk.)

His bark succeeded in clearing the space around the stranger and the fawn of jostling bodies with dangerous hooves. Miraculously, the was unharmed and still clenching the flailing fawn by it's back leg. He growled something at Nash, eyes wide with meaning, and though the Eastfall could barely hear him, let alone make out the words, he understood.

Nash lunged forward, and the fawn shied away from him, cries growing higher pitched and more frantic. With it's leg trapped, its efforts weren't enough to escape the reach of the wolf's jaws, which closed soundly around the fawn's throat.

It was lower than Nash had been aiming for, but he clenched his jaw and violently shook his head back and forth. The warm tang of blood that filled his mouth fueled his frenzy and he twisted his body, hoping to use his weight to bring the fawn fully to the ground. It only worked partially; he managed to force it's chest down, but it was somehow able to keep it's feet under it.

Still, with blood spurting from its throat and another wolf hanging onto its leg, the fawn slowly ceased it's yammering and its struggling grew weaker.

The dark wolf stepped forwards and quickly seized the fawn's throat between his jaws. The young deer struggled for a few moments, its body squirming between the pair of wolves as they held onto it from either end. Rising onto his feet now, Nanuk stood up to grasp a better hold on the fawns leg as the dark male attempted to shake their prey into submission. The fawn was dead by the time the last deer had fled the scene, the herd continuing up the mountain pass towards the south.

Only when the fawn fell still did Nanuk finally loosen his jaws from its hind leg, allowing its body to collapse awkwardly to the floor as blood spurted from its throat. Confident that their meal would not get up and run any time soon, the male's attention turned to the other wolf.

Dark brown eyes narrowed on the larger male before he moved to place a possessive paw upon the fawn's ribcage. Nanuk's ears pricked forwards and his tail lifted; a dominant grin was flashed as his charcoal lips curled back to expose his blood-stained teeth.

A low growl rumbled deep in his throat.

Mine.

I consent to a fight ending with unconsciousness or surrender, with Nanuk instigating the attack.

The fawn finally died, and Nash silently thanked it for its life. He slowly lowered it to the ground and extracted his teeth from the meat of it's neck and stood up to see his hunting partner possessively plant a paw on the fawn's haunches. He raised his tail into dominant stance and growled.

Nash was taken aback. They'd just hunted together; now he was going to... What? Chase him away? Make him wait? Fight just because?

Confused thoughts flickered through Nash's mind over the next several seconds. He could just leave; take the loss and go home with another story to tell. But as much as he didn't want to fight, he had to admit he was a bit miffed. He'd put effort into this hunt too. He'd run through a panicked herd of deer and risk injury to make sure this stranger didn't get trampled in the chaos.

And he wasn't about to tuck tail and back off with home so near, with puppies to protect. He had to represent Sanguine Cove.

He stood up straight and lifted his own tail into a dominance display of his own, though he didn't growl or otherwise show signs of aggression. "We worked together for this," he said, trying to be reasonable. "We shared the risk, we can share the meal." he planted his feet firmly, determined to stand his ground.