Whitestone Monadnock More than one way to skin a cat

Her children were thriving in their little dug out under the gold streaked boulders but that didn't mean they would stay that way, or that small forever. It was with this in mind that she had summoned Wraith to watch the den while she stretched her legs. They had been here almost a week and she was still yet to properly explore the place they had claimed so hastily. @Craw seemed happy though, and what else mattered? They were out of the Willows. That was enough for her.

Perhaps her hearing was finer tuned now she had children of her own, or maybe the kittens had wriggled their way to the perfect position to amplify their pitiful cries. The sound seemed to be coming from beneath her paws, causing her lips to pull taught in a worried line. She had not been aware that Wraith had disposed of a bobcat and kitten on the night her children were born. She had so much else on her mind she barely registered the presence of anyone else at all. So she waddled along, head trailing low, nose all but dragging through the grass while ears pivoted to catch the noise again.

There was a crack in the ground, barely wide enough to fit a paw into but as she followed it further along it widened, and a surprised squeak caught her undivided attention. A rush of air left her nose to clear it of the stink of confined kittens, her tail waving wildly at the thought of something to fight. Sitting still for so long didn't suit her at all.

Going to set this when he comes back immediately after this. @Wraith tag for mention and small PP, let me know if that's not ok!

The calf's leg was still warm, the smell of birth still clinging to it since it was still coated in a thin layer of amniotic fluid. It would have made for a tempting morsel had he not already fed on the corpse itself, and he knew a wolf who would appreciate the fresh meat almost as much as the starving loner @Askan had. Idly he had pondered what would become of the man as he stalked back through the swaying tundra grass, the sight of their proud rock steadily growing in the horizon. Not for the first time - and certainly not for the last - Craw admired its strong silhouette, the powerful statement it made in this otherwise flat landscape. A more suitable metaphor for this pack would be difficult to find.

Whitestone, they had called it, after those pale, gold-streaked boulders he had stood upon when claiming the monadnock, and the name pleased him.

Ascending the track which would no doubt become even more worn as the wolves made frequent use of it, Craw took satisfaction in every step as the scent of his allies came to him even through the thick musk of blood and birth right under his nose. There was no doubting that this rock was owned. Heading up the slope, he turned towards the small, crude den Morganna had used to give birth, expecting to find her there - but seeing only Wraith, instead. She had gone to stretch her legs, apparently, and to reward Wraith for his babysitting, Craw left the tiny caribou leg with his Second, offering a touch to his friend's dark cheek before trotting off in the direction Morganna had gone.

In the days following their claim, Craw had spent time trawling over most of the monadnock's flat plateau, but had equally prioritised exploration of the surrounding land. Morganna's trail led him to a part of the plateau he had not yet examined, and he spotted her shape from afar, head low and tail waving as she studied something in the ground.

Ears pushing forward in curiosity, he approached with ease, chuffing to let her know of his presence, still wary of that new-mother temper which he was all-too familiar with. The puppies were with Wraith, though, and there was an odd excitement to her manner rather than defensiveness. "What is it?"

There is a family of deer nearby. Hunt Opportunity

Morganna was so absorbed in trailing along the fissure in the ground, snuffling and snorting as she went, that she almost missed the familiar gravelly voice. Another squeak came forth as the dark wolf thumped the ground with an excited yip, only stopping in her tormenting of the hidden kittens to look over her shoulder at Craw with a savage smile. "Kittens... An' maybe a den." She was clearly pleased with herself for making such a discovery this late into their settling. With any luck the mother wouldn't be too far away and she could have herself some real fun.

Without waiting to see if the silver wolf would join her, a dark limb dipped into the darkness below, eyes finally falling on a wider opening concealed between two white boulders. Judging by the tumbledown path, it had once been completely enclosed, with the ceiling giving way to the now cave underneath. It was only two short bounds to reach the opening, charging rather foolishly headlong into the unknown.

It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness, but her ears and nose were working just fine. One of the fuzzballs had the gall to spit at her and a low growl of her own was offered in response. There looked to be two, starving and alone, only spotted as they wriggled back into a narrow crease in the rocky walls. Surely it could only be called a mercy killing if she managed to catch them.

Let me know if I've made any incorrect assumptions about the structure of this cave - I assume the entrance she's found curves down and around, so that the crack seen in that photo is the same as the crack she'd found? So now that she's inside, Craw is up on top, and can just about see inside.

The viciously excited look on her face when she glanced back at him gave Craw a chill. Now close enough, the pale wolf had caught the sound of distress from within whatever space Morganna had found beyond that crack in the ground. Kittens, she said, with glee, and instantly he thought of what Wraith had told him about that night they had claimed the rock - of the way the Second had been forced to deal with a bobcat and her child. Craw had wondered if it was typical for there to be only one kitten, but if there had been anymore, they had hidden themselves away well while waiting for their mother to return...

... and had been found by the wrong mother.

Craw stepped up to the fissure which Morganna had been poking at as the dark woman found the entrance and bounded into it, the spider peering into the space from this gap above. He could make out his woman's form as she moved in the small rocky cave, the heady scent of young cat filling his nostrils now. He considered the merits of joining her, but he doubted that there would have been space for two bobcat mothers on this monadnock. These kittens were as good as orphaned.

"They must be what's left of the family Wraith killed," he mused, loud enough for his gravelly tones to carry into the space below. He nosed along the fissure as it widened, fascinated by the strange formation, and wondered if Morganna had yet thought of appropriating it for herself. The crude den she'd claimed was adequate for now, while the puppies were tiny, but they wouldn't remain so for long - and that small space was hardly enough for one adult wolf, let alone a family.

His tail waved slowly behind him as he watched, waiting to see whether she would prefer him as a spectator to her sport or a participant, content in either role.

Warning for pretty horrendous graphic violence because Morg is a savage.

The turn of an ear was the only sign Morganna had heard the words Craw spoke, her excitement only fading a little as she realised the prospect of any real competition had been snatched away on that stormy night. Never mind, it didn't mean she couldn't blow off a little steam with what was left of the feline family.

A paw reached into the crack to try and scoop one of the furballs out - sharp claws and teeth taking the bait as she dragged the little fighter out while its smaller, weaker sibling backed into the now empty space with a worried shriek. Jaws clamped on the critters back with a satisfying crack but the kitten continued to wail and claw needle like paws at her muzzle. Much like an orca throwing a seal into the air, she flung the kitten with its broken back through the cracked ceiling before going back for the second, knowing the first wouldn't get far if Craw decided to leave it for her to finish off.

That left her with this one and this one had less fight. If she thought they stood a chance without their mother she might have even let the first one go for all the fight he had shown but this one? This one had to be dragged out as teeth finally found purchase on a hind limb. She didn't bother to adjust her grip as she left the den, wailing kitten hanging from her jaws. She would have some fun before finally putting it out of its misery.

(This post was last modified: May 30, 2016, 07:31 AM by Morganna.)

From this relatively restricting vantage point, Craw watched Morganna fish for the remaining hiding kittens. He could hear the feline hisses and shrieks and envied Morganna for her fun. When she hooked one and dragged it out of its hole, he heard, more than saw, the cracking of its back, tiny, fragile bones snapping and flesh popping as she crunched down. Unceremoniously the body was tossed up and out of the crack in the ceiling Craw had been observing from, the wolf stepping back as the broken kitten came flying up towards him.

It landed with a soft thud back down on the hard earth, eyes wide with pain and terror, its mouth opening to mewl except he doubted its lungs worked well enough to make much sound anymore. It grasped at the ground with its forepaws, trying to drag itself upright even though half of its body didn't work anymore. Craw tilted his head at it as he watched its struggles, one ear held high as the other flopped over in casual curiosity. He assumed that Morganna had stored it up here for a reason, and when he went to look back down the fissure, it was only to catch a glimpse of her tail leaving the space. Turning to look at the entrance she had previously disappeared into, her dark, gleeful face appeared from between those boulders, and Craw smiled at the sight of it.

"It's a shame Kara and Odin are not older," he mused, coming about to stand behind the deformed bobcat kitten on the ground, so that he didn't obstruct the view of it. They were her playthings, not his, and she deserved the chance to blow off some steam. "They would have made good toys."

They would have made good play toys... Oh that they would. Her answering smile was obscured by the downy fur of the young bobcat as she flung it up by its leg and caught it again, rather gently, around its midsection before lowering it to the ground with a paw across its back to keep it from getting too far - ironically very much like a cat might toy with a mouse. Oh it was good to be at the top of the food chain. "Soon enough." she answered with a smirk. "Perhaps we'll have to find them some coyotes when the time comes?" and while there was a tease in her voice and the arch of a brow it was clear she wasn't entirely joking.

Her smirk only grew with a new playfulness as an idea struck her. "We should give them names, the poor little dears..." While she had felt nothing but a certain level of relief the moment the Willows slipped away from view, she still had momentary flashes of frustration that simply couldn't be dealt with in her bloated, pregnant state. "How about we call this one @Hecate..." pausing for a moment before tilting her head at the other, "and that one @Skoll?" It was an invitation for him to join her in a little final torment before the starving creatures either stressed themselves to death or were eventually put out of their misery.

The word coyote made his lip curl in sick satisfaction at the idea, for while he didn't take particular pleasure in the mindless harm of other creatures, oh, he did hate coyotes. Briefly he thought back to the time he had captured one for Sven's sake - and what little had come of that - and looked forward to offering the same for Kara and Odin one day, when they were older and needed that kind of rough lesson.

Craw would have been content to let Morganna play with the doomed kittens, but as she teased about naming them only to promptly dub them after two very significant wolves, Craw laughed, a slow heh heh heh as he appreciated the sentiment. His yellow gaze dropped to little Skoll, mewling in pain and panic, and regretted that it was the bobcat and not the wolf... but perhaps that was a little too cruel. "You shouldn't tell me that... it makes me want to put him out of his misery." He lowered his nose to the floundering child, jabbed at it to roll it over onto its back (albeit that wasn't so clear-cut anymore, with its spine so broken) and the young bobcat's eyes met his and for a moment they just stared at each other.

Then the kitten bared its tiny fangs and hissed, a fighter until the end, and was rewarded with Craw's appreciative laughter. The kitten swiped at his nose with unsheathed claws and missed. "You named him poorly," Craw rumbled, pushing his nose closer, putting himself within reach of its weapons. "This one has far more courage." It latched its needles into his leathery nose and used that as purchase to pull its teeth closer, sinking them into his nose or lips or muzzle whereever it could reach. Craw allowed it for all three heartbeats before wrapping his jaws around its rib cage, squeezing a squeal from the kitten before clamping down hard.

The shock registered on little Skoll's face as it died, Craw squeezing until the heart stopped beating. The pale wolf didn't play with his non-wolfish rivals, not that he cared if Morganna did the same. In the end, he respected the bobcat's ferocity in the face of imminent defeat, almost more than he had ever respected the kitten's namesake, and had granted it a fairly swift death. Ultimately, it was of more use as a corpse plaything for the puppies, but he would just as readily toss it off the edge of the monadnock. He remembered @Wraiths harrowed expression that night, and had later learned what it meant. Funnily enough, Craw had been more merciful with his bobcat, for a long, slow tumble from this great height would be an unpleasant death indeed.

Indeed. He made a note to remember that in case it came in useful in the future.

The significance of Morganna allowing him to do as he wished with what was a stand-in for her beloved brother had not gone unnoticed, either. Maybe one day he'd be able to throw a real-life Skoll off this high place. One could dream.

Her tail waved as @Craw prodded the kitten, a low chuckle leaving her chest as the kitten swiped at his muzzle. "I suppose you're right," her reply was far from dry, because she knew he spoke the truth. "Asriel might have suited 'im better but he seemed pretty intent on hangin' around." Her contemplation was quickly brushed aside as the kitten under her paw finally found her teeth and latched onto Morganna's toe.

She smiled.

A quick glance at the sun told her freedom was quickly drawing to a close. Her children would need feeding and besides, she had only intended to clear the den to give it some time to air out before the children were big enough to move. Her head dipped low and she made short work of little Hecate before following the silver wolfs lead and flinging her to the stony ground below (heaven forbid she accidentally taint their only source of water). "We should give it a few days ter air out." Deceptive in its outward appearance it was large enough to fit the whole pack in once you got below the surface. "Better if @Wraith doesn't know who the former occupants were. When the children are old enough, I'll move'm here." She moved closer to Craw, resting her head across his shoulders for just a moment. Much like a teenager reluctant to get out of bed, she knew her children would need her soon but she wasn't ready to wake up just yet.