Drooping Willows bwp: our time has gotten stale

A wild pig has appeared!  Open to anyone!  What will you do???

      

The news had been good.  Both scouts had returned with very different tales, but all the same, the ladies had returned and shared information with the rest of their drift.  There was clean water for them to drink, their was plenty of space for all their family and more, and perhaps most importantly to the young male tromping through the Drooping Willows, there was a veritable smorgasbord of every type of food a wild swine could imagine.  That it had snowed a few days prior met little, for the frost was followed by rain, and the cold had yet to kill everything good growing on the earth. 

The chill hardly nipped at his thick hide as the youth rumbled through the forest, pausing at the edge of where the forest met the meadow to crunch on the remaining stalks of yellow rattle.  That it may or may not have any medicinal properties meant little to the pig – in fact, it might not have stopped him even to know the plant was toxic, for he was able to stomach much more than your average pig (and that was truly saying something about the strength of his gut). 

Without regard for others that may have taken up residence in the area, the pig continued to root, grunting as he tore through the edge of the meadow and leaving deep, muddy furrows in his wake.

(This post was last modified: Nov 05, 2015, 08:18 PM by Spirit of Wildwood.)

Peirus was not a man to be trifled with at the moment. The Asurn was already a dangerous creature to infuriate, but today - today, let all the mutts and beasts of the land flee before him! Bested by a wench and her mouthy little whelp, then forced away from a perfectly comfortable den by what had turned out to be a family of badgers - as if the things were capable of such bonds.

He had not stopped snarling since he had awakened that morning, his mind immediately focusing again upon his string of humiliations. No, not again; he had yet to cease thinking of them. No, he would keep the Willows pack secured within his memory, and when the day came - and yes, it would come, in a glory of blood and agonized howls - he would be revenged upon them. He would make every last hairball among them suffer for their show of impudence.

He opened his jaws and let out a long, grating snarl as his leg flared beneath him yet again, and the sound was neither of pain or pleasure, but rather some ghastly mix of both. Curse the wench. Curse her brat. Death to them both.

He knew not whether his ears or snout detected the wild boar first, but his maw twisted with relish when he did. Finally. Here was a simple, stupid beast with whose blood he might slake a little of his rage. The squealing would not be as sweet as any sounds put up by a dying mutt, but they would suffice for now. Peirus would attempt to console himself with the snapping of its bones once it had finally perished.

The Asurn towards his paw steps towards the hog, upwind of the hapless creature.

Word Count: 250

Template found here!

Hello, little one. Would you like to play a game with me?

@Elettra @Skoll @Adele @Enoki @Nicolò @Hecate @Craw @Pickerel @Isolde @Sven - bacon time!

Trouble is one more fireball
When I'm already lit and it's last call

Her concern for her Sven was the only reason the Asurn had been allowed to escape. When she had howled her victory to the sky, calling the rest of the pack to the area to gather the scent of the interloper on their next pass of the borders, her message was simple - if you find him, kill him. There would be no more second chances.

Morganna had been busy since, patrolling borders, and checking caches. They were running lower than she would like with the first snows already falling and so she had tracked down her pack mates one by one to let them know there would be a hunt the following day. She had slept fitfully, not entirely convinced that @Peirus's scent had been eliminated from the Willows. Surely he wouldn't be stupid enough to hang around after such a resounding defeat?

So here she was, nose to the ground trying to sniff out any sign of viable prey. A foreign scent wafted towards her bringing with it puzzlement. Enoki had spoken of the strange beast she had seen on the Rise, could this be something similar? Regardless it was the best lead she had so far, and nobody else had called yet. She tipped back her head with growing confidence, certain after their encounter with the strangers on the rise that the pack would heed her call.

It was time to hunt.

(This post was last modified: Nov 06, 2015, 10:47 PM by Morganna.)

         

The first wolf was ignored – he might have thought he was sneaky, but a pig didn’t have such a magnificent snout for decoration!  Even pressed in the dirt, he knew the predator was about, but what was one lone wolf to a soldier like him?  The remaining roots and sweet, squishy grubs still crawling about in the earth were a far more important matter, and he allowed the lone animal to stalk him as he chewed, plowing two more furrows before he so much as lifted his head to address the situation.  Beady eyes squinted in @Peirus' direction, offering the male a snort as his ears swiveled.

His nose told him there was another wolf, now.  They didn’t smell the same – they were either two loners, or unassociated packs.  No problem, he thought.  Canines were stupid, stupid animals, and did not have the same sophisticated ability to work together even when it would behoove them, unless they were commanded by the same leader.  Ignoring the woman for the first arrival, he pawed at the ground, gnashing his teeth as he grunted right at Peirus.  “You better run, boy,” he warned, something wicked gleaming in those beady eyes as he ducked his head low, powering forward in a charge.  No wolf would intimidate him!

The pig was not nearly so unaware of his presence as the Asurn had initially believed it to be, as the man soon discovered. He did not speak pig, and so the hog's words were lost on him as meaningless drivel - but he understood what it meant when a pig put its head down and came rushing forward. Even in his current rage, Peirus was not so foolish as to stand still and let the beast run him over. He only paused long enough for the pig to pick a direction to run in; it would not be to Peirus' advantage to move first and let the pig lock immediately onto him.

Neither had he missed the sound of another wolf's howl. Someone else was here, and although her voice boded ill for Peirus should he be discovered, the fact that another wolf was present did offer the man a chance to steer two adversaries at each other. That in mind, Peirus darted towards Morganna, eyes on the pig and ears swivelled to keep track of two different moving bodies. He was injured, and so this had the chance of failing badly - he knew that. He relished in the idea; the next creature to grab him would be conveniently in rage for his own teeth and claws.

Word Count: 218

Template found here!

Hello, little one. Would you like to play a game with me?

Pickerel had been scouting for prey when the call sounded through the lands.
His head lifts and he stands stone solid for a moment, nostrils twitching. No scent had tingled his nose
from his current position. His body angles left as he turns and takes off in the direction that Morganna
had howled. Light russet hued paws bring him along promptly, expecting to see the woman's dark figure
within minutes. Instead, he would have an interesting surprise awaiting him. As he creeps along, a loud
and unusual grunt sounds through the crisp air. Pike's head snaps to the right, his orange flecked eyes
peering about in alarm. He picks up the figure of something short and stocky. What the hell was
that thing? It was quite the distance away, but he wouldn't be able to come anywhere close to identifying
whatever it was no matter how near he was to the beast.

He doesn't pause. After taking in the figure of the boar, his eyes briefly pick up the figure of another wolf,
one who did not look familiar to him. Pike's hackles begin to raise in a mixture of annoyance and tension.
Pushing forward, he continues to hunt down the Willow Ridge woman. After many moments, he finally
spots her, and his paws pick up his pace as he nears her. "What the hell is that thing?" He almost
spits, his eyes narrowing. "I saw it standing off with another wolf coming this way. I've
not a clue as to who the wolf is." He teeters forward, anxiety gripping at him. He wanted to take action.
His teeth desired to meet flesh as his hackles remain prickled.

"Agouti in color. The beast, on the other hand, short and muscular. Couldn't get too good of a look..."
His voice trails off as he catches his breath.

(This post was last modified: Nov 12, 2015, 03:17 AM by Pickerel.)

SVEN ARCHER

& the night is closing in

Sven had been trailing behind his aunt, eager to be able to both assist her in her adult work as well as to learn from her how it all was done. She was quite impressive to him, from her scouting efforts to her easy defeat of Peirus to the swift transition she had made from princess to Queen. He could not know the anxiety that crawled under her skin, for to him, she made it all look so easy. That was what he wanted for himself, that natural confidence, born not just of arrogance but legitimate skill.

The scent was of course new to him as well, though for the growing ghost this wasn't such a conundrum as it was for his aunt. Sven's life still rather constantly consisted of new sights, smells and ideas. As she sent up the howl that beckoned the rest of the pack for a hunt, he closed the short amount of distance that had been allowed between them, standing at her side. His gaze stretched out of the land, seeking their target, but the deeper he breathed, the more something else laced subtly with the air.

It was Pickerel's offered information that cemented the identity within Sven's recognition.

"The parasite," he hissed under breath.

   

Ah ha!  He’d gotten the mutt to run!

Had Augustus not been involved in a full charge, he might have laughed victoriously.  As it were, he veered in his course, seeking to chase @Peirus as he dodged away.  The male simply picked up speed as he went, already relishing the sweet sound of bones crunching under his might – this wolf would be sorry he’d ever interrupted a soldier of the drift!  That he’d veered towards the second arrival was not lost on him at all, but the female wolf did not seem interested in aiding the coward in the least.  Perfect.

Where he the more generous sort, he’d offer an alliance.  The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and all that nonsense.

As it were, he lowered his head and threw his weight forward, every intention of using his snout to scoop Peirus up and toss him sideways.  If he could hit another wolf with his body, all the better.  Sven and Pike were largely left alone, left unnoticed, even, for the swine was focused the most on his original target, and the potential danger @Morganna might present.  Were they to attack, he’d been less than guarded, but who would ever attack Augustus the Ample?

ooc: If sommat needs changing, gimme a PM and I'll change it.

---

Peirus was not unaware of the presence of other wolves here. @Sven's scent was nearly as recognizable to the Asurn man as was @Morganna's, though the third wolf was unfamiliar to him. One of their pack mates, assumedly. No matter; he would deal with them after he had dealt with this great brute behind him. The pig had yet to realize it was now barrelling towards two wolves. If Peirus could steer it close enough to Morganna, the resulting collision would hopefully keep the two occupied while Peirus dealt with their two late-coming guests. He had a score to settle with that little white wretch, in particular.

Peirus' pace could not hold out long enough for that, however - his traitorous leg was slowing him down more and more as he ran. The pig was healthier and faster as a result; the Asurn may not be able to steer it away from himself after all. Instead the Asurn man stopped as well as he could and leapt to one side, hoping his momentum was enough to prevent the pig from catching him with those dirty tusks adorning its maw. Fine, Peirus would turn weakness into a different kind of strength. The pauses between each leap out of the beast's range would rest his leg sufficiently to continue steering the creature on - now it was time to see if the pig was equally as graceful.

Word Count: 250

Template found here!

(This post was last modified: Nov 24, 2015, 01:59 AM by Peirus.)

Hello, little one. Would you like to play a game with me?

Trouble is one more fireball
When I'm already lit and it's last call

The sound of paws and sharp cloven hooves against the earth was all the warning she needed to brace herself. When @Pickerel arrived she held out hope they could turn this around yet but all that was thrown out the window when the hunters words registered. Without laying eyes on the agouti stranger herself she couldn't be sure but if he was hanging around still there would be no mercy. "Never mind th' prey, go after th' stranger. If it is who I think it is, he got 'is warning ter leave when he attacked @Sven." Of course if the beast was confident enough to stand off with a wolf it could hinder their efforts - but with three sets of eyes they should be have it covered.

She turned her attention to her nephew, still nursing injuries from the previous encounter. "I know yer want 'im but I need you ter watch the beastie an' let us know if its comin' after us." As much as it frustrated her they would have to pass up this opportunity. "We'll pick up the trail with Pike an' @Enoki an' @Adele after this an' have ourselves a proper hunt..." but we have ter clear out the vermin first.

The sight before her might have been comical if she wasn't so enraged by the loners gall. "Run rabbit." was the only warning she would give before she sprung after @Pierus, knowing full well her sudden movement might attract those savage tusks toward her own hide but hoping her speed would be enough to let her escape unscathed as she closed in on the same wound she had opened up before with parted jaws.

No mercy.