Lost Lake Elk River Blues

Fallen Tree Cove, a male elk in rut has taken up residence in your territory -- he's so bold, he's even ready to chase off you and your packmates! I think it's high time for another pack hunt and a perfect opportunity for the pups to learn as well. @Namid @Moonshadow @Kajika @Draven @Cernan @Neha @Ismena @Lunette

Golden eyes watched in mild interest as snowflakes flitted and twirled like tiny dancers on their decent from the puffy grey clouds above to the monotone colored world below, some landing on tips of his fur as Vespertio lay sprawled upon the top of the communal den within the small divot he liked to call his personal throne. The flakes didn't last long, though, upon his fur. The body heat he produced proving too much for the frozen water crystals as they vanished almost as quickly as they landed. Winter was yet to fully reach the land of Relic Lore, but the Great Plains alpha knew that wouldn't stop the land from transforming ahead of time. Soon enough the lake would become frozen, assigning the pack with a daily task of keeping a hole punctured among the glassy shoreline to allow a readily available source of water for drinking. Of course, that was unless everyone was content to eat snow whenever their throats grew parched.

A drawn out yawn escaped Vespertio's maw as he gave his outstretched limbs a good stretch, dull nails scratching against the rocky surface with each small inch forward they took similar to how a cat would. Movement off in the distance soon caught the patriarch's eye though, as a beige hued figure made quite a ruckus bulldozing it's way through the collect of mountain pine and spruce trees that made up a good majority of the pack territory. Lids narrowing, the figure came into focus more and a groan left his lips in the form of smoky tendrils. What was it with the deer being so reckless this year? Then the most absurd noise most similar to a badly played bugle echoed off the snowy landscape forcing russet ears to pin back against his skull. Correction, why were the elk now following in the way of the deer and acting just as stupid, or brash? Then an idea struck. It was time for a pack hunt and the girls to learn a crucial skill.

Standing up, the agouti male tiled his head back and sent forth a beckoning call to his subordinates, his howl deep and bubbling with excitement to spark the same within his members. They would rally, they would feast.

So much had changed within the pack in the past few months and Kajika wasn't really sure how he felt about it. As the snow fell in the morning he went about his normal routine hoping it would take his mind off things, at least for a little while. It worried him that the snow seemed to be early and their pack was still so small. There was an upside to their small numbers which was less mouths to feed but there was also the downside and that meant less members to hunt to feed those mouths. He had also doubled his hunting efforts recently to try and help stick the caches as much as possible.

It was on one of his hunting trips that Vespertio’s voice rang through the trees calling for his presence. Whatever thoughts he had been trying to escape crept back in but there wasn't time to dwell on them. His presence was needed, he hadn't let his pack down yet and didn't plan to start.

He made his way as quickly as he could through the forest in the direction the call had come from. He felt it was taking a little longer than usual and hoped that he wouldn't be late for whatever his alpha needed. Finally he saw the figure of Vespertio ahead of him and slowed his pace as he approached, “What's going on?” He asked as he came to a stop in front of the alpha.

(This post was last modified: Nov 22, 2016, 08:04 PM by Kajika.)

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A pair of warm brown eyes, likened to sweet chocolate, gazed up into the vast, never ending expanse of the sky. One by one, she watched each little ice crystal fall from the drab gray clouds, seeming to twirl and dance in it's descent to earth. Such freedom, unbound by the cares and worries of the world. Their existence was simple, but short, unlike those whose fur they landed on, only to melt away. Wolves lives were anything but simple. They were complex by nature, with shifts or disturbances rippling through their lives. Something which they all had to accept and adapt to, in their own way, differing from individual to individual.

Neha was again, locked in one of her more solemn moods of deep thought. Gazing skyward seemed to soothe her mood, as if looking up to the heavens above would yield some answers to the many questions probing at her mind. While all was peaceful within the pack, she could not help but feel that something was out of place. She had grown accustomed to Moonshadow now filling in as the lead female, but Namid's scarcity continued to worry her. And it was not just her mother whom the eldest Vuesain daughter had noticed was seldom found, either. The same could be said for Cernan, her closest friend. And Draven too, who she had only glimpsed once, perhaps twice, since her return. A small knot of worry formed in the center of her chest. Had she done something wrong to upset them that she hadn't been aware of? Or had her long stay in Grizzly Hollow stretched thin the bond between her and these wolves?

The cold surface of the rock that she had been resting on, overlooking the lake, was of no discomfort to her well insulated body. It had been here, that she was relaxing for this part of the day and taking time off to sort through her thoughts. Her eyes still turned up to the sky, neck gently craned back, she didn't immediately respond when she heard her father's cry. Her ears only twitched back slightly as she remained poised a moment longer. With a soft sigh, the female became animated again and rose to her feet, jumping down from the rock to land on the lightly snow dusted ground. She wondered what he wanted, as she headed in the direction of the communal den. Soon her thoughts would be answered, after her timely arrival. Noticing that Kajika was already there, with Vesperito waiting, she slipped up along the dark second's left side to give him a comradely bump to the shoulder. Brows lifted inquisitively, she opened her mouth to speak, but a deep bellow from the rutting bull elk answered any questions she may have. Smirking slightly in the direction of the animal, she addressed the two males. "This is just what we need. Fresh meat to fill our caches before the snow locks us in. And some training lessons for the girls..." She said in reference to her sisters. Neha herself would not mind sharpening her hunting skills as well. But with their numbers as small as they were, and the elk in the full aggression of rut, this particular hunt may pose a challenge.

Neha can often be found close to Aleister's side and therefore may appear in any of his threads.

OOC! Out of character comments here

Snow had been thickening lately all around the dark matriarch. The cool crunch beneath her paw pads had come as a bit of releif from her warming winter coat. Everything was changing in the world around her. From the cool down in temperature to the changing landscape to the shift in ranks to the scarcity of seeing her paackmates. The dark woman tried her best to keep busy to keep her mind off things. Today she was refreshing the boarders after noticing that the snow weakend the scent. She didn't want to think about the possibility of others being uncomfortable, or angry, or untrusting about her stepping up. It wasn't like she was trying to hold the position permanently. Moon is only trying to do whats best for this pack and hold it together.

Her boarder patrol was interrupted by the call of her co-leader. Ears shot up to capture the summons as feet took off towards it. The ebony woman was on the far side of the territory so even at a brisk trot she arrived third. As she reached the end of the clearing she slowed taking a deep breath. It still was nerve wracking to be alpha. As she inhaled, the scent of a male elk filled her nostrils. A small smile grew upon her inky maw as she assumed this was why Vespertio had called them. As she approached she caught Neha's words and agreed with them. The midnight woman greeted her packmates with a smile and quick nod as she went to sit besides Vespertio. As alpha Moonshadow was going to have to help lead in this hunt. Which was something she had very little knowledge of doing - but was about to learn by trail by fire.

There are several fresh rabbit tracks in the mud. Hunt Opportunity

Draven had been where he spent the majority of his time, within the infirmary. Sorting and memorizing and memorizing and sorting the best that he possibly could with his minimal training. Vesper's call had been muffled by the walls of the medical area, furthermore by the plants that lined the majority of the surfaces. Still a single dark ear flicked in response to it and without hesitation the yearling stood and stretched his stiff muscles. He had moved out of his grieving and depression but still spent the majority of his time alone, not because he necessarily wanted to, this had just become his routine.

Leaving the infirmary the dark lad made his way towards the communal den where they had all been summoned. Behind him the warm pads of his paws left crisp imprints in the dusting of snow that adorned the stone. Hesitating only slightly at the sight of rabbit tracks the yearling decided to keep moving towards the alpha. He could go chasing rabbits later, the last thing he wanted to do was be late after his lack of socialization the last few months. Coming upon then the yearling nodded his respect to Vespertio and Moonshadow, green eyes scanning for Namid. He respected the current leaders but she had been the reason he had joined, she was the reason that he stayed.

Instead his gaze landed on her daughter and immediately he dropped his eyes in embarrassment. He knew he had to have hurt her feelings when he stopped visiting her and had spent no time with her since her return. Draven just had no idea how he was supposed to fix any of it.

Finally a pup arrives...

Lunette Vuesain

I’ve got my love stuck in my head

Lunette didn't like male cervids. They were big and noisy and ..big and noisy, as one of them was quite close, calling out his.. whatever. Lunette didn't know why they made so much noise as they did, she just knew that she preferred it when it was quieter. She could hardly think through the din of it.

It was almost as bad as Ismena snoring. Almost.

Groaning, Lunette turned over on her back in the den, paws and legs propped up against one of the walls. Her pale ears were flat against her head and she closed her eyes. She'd been enjoying a nap—because snowfall sucked—but the elk had cut it short, and with the commotion it was causing there was no chance of her drifting back into the blissful serenity of sleep. It eluded her, but she didn't know what else to do, because, uhm, hello, it snowed? And snow meant you stayed in the den and waited for it to stop but it just .. wasn't stopping...

Frustrated, she pawed at the rock wall, blunt claws scrabbling over it. She was just about to flop over in some other direction, or maybe try to punch her ears flat with her paws, when papa howled, and quite nearby. Startled, Lunette yelped and shot up, hitting her head in the process. "Wha-whaa..." she mumbled to herself, crouching down to avoid hitting the low-slung ceiling again. Figuring he owed her a moment for the pain, she lifted a front paw and rubbed it along the side of her cheek. She couldn't quite reach her own forehead. With a frustrated grunt she swept out of the den, all sterling elegance, and—sort of halted in her tracks.

It was all Neha's fault, of course. Because Neha looked a lot like Lunette figured she'd look when she was bigger, because Neha was brown-eyed too, and with a coat as pale as mama's. Lunette still hadn't decided whether she was okay with it or not, but didn't really dare to do anything about it in the meantime.

So with her tail tucked against a leg and her head low, she went up next to papa, shoulder brushing against the side of his chest. She pressed her face into his thick scruff. "What's happening?" she whispered softly into the warm comfort of his fur.

Well, that answered that question. Cernan had only just picked up on the peculiar scent while out along the pack's border. Something had stomped quite boldly across their lines; something prey rarely did. Their markers were a great big “wolves live here” sign so, that was understandable. Predators could be relied on to ignore it from time to time, but this was an elk, something he only discovered in faint changes of the snowy wind. He had been criss crossing the creature's path when its tell-tale squealing shriek rung through the pines ahead of him. The Prince's ears pricked forward. This was really weird alright. It was close to the den of all places. Was this one sick?

He thought to tip his head back for a howl, but Pa had that covered as well. Obediently and swiftly the tawny boy struck out toward the summons, carrying himself at a brisk trot. Perhaps he could spot the thing before he got there? Sure enough, the scent grew stronger, and his keen golden eyes picked out a variation in the myriad of rough tree trunks ahead. Branches bent and snapped, and Cernan swung to its right. He went wide, lowering his head and ears and avoiding the animal's space by a healthy margin.

A good portion of the pack was gathered before him as he swept inward once more, a single round ear still cocked backward to hear the bull's movement. He only assumed that this was what Pa was going to talk about. His tail made a few sweeping wags at his hocks as he glanced about silently and cast a knowing and expecting glance toward the King of the lake. 

Moving this along

Sure enough the beckoning howl hadn't had time to become fully absorbed by the mountainous terrain nor Vesper time to shimmy his way down the fallen tree that served as his ladder onto the granite throne to intercept the first arrivals before the Cove wolves made their appearance, unsurprising that the always punctual Kajika was the very first silhouette to breach the treeline. A single cream brow arched skyward slightly in response to the man's question, the patriarch's charcoal dusted tail swinging at a faster pace behind his rump. "It has been far too long since the pack has hunted together and I'd like to change that. Plus the girls are old enough now to start learning the ropes of hunting, an essential skill to anyone's survival." Now was indeed a crucial time to begin their lessons.

Speaking of his daughters it wasn't long after his final words left his lips that his eldest, Neha, joined the two men. Golden gaze shifted from the ebony man to settle on her and a low chuckle passed over his lips when she parted her jaw to speak only to be drowned out by another bugle let loose by the Elk that thought the Cove territory belonged to himself. Oh how sorely mistaken he would soon be. Eventually she did manage to get her words out and her sire nodded his head in agreement, glad that she was quick to assess the situation and find herself on the same page as himself before Vespertio acknowledged Moonshadow's arrival on the tail end of his daughter's words with a nod. "Exactly, sweetheart. It's an opportunity we can't pass up."

Gradually more of the pack came to answer his cry leaving only Namid and his youngest daughter Ismena left to arrive, giving both Draven and Cernan a respectful nod of acknowledgement before lowering his gaze when he felt a body rubbing against the fur of his chest. Allowing a small rumble to sound within his chest, Vespertio scrunched down slightly to run the length of his muzzle across the silvered shoulders of Lunette as she brushed against him, tail thumping against the ground once he lowered his haunches into a seated position. "We have an Elk that's decided to intrude on our land as I'm sure all of you have heard and its time that you and your sister learn the basics on how to hunt." With that being said he lifted his head to settle his gaze on his pack mates, shifting between each of them. "Lunette and Ismena are too young still to actually participate in the actual hunting process, but it is crucial the girls watch how the pack works together cohesively to bring down our target. Someone will need to hang back to keep them safe, though. Do I have a volunteer?"

He was the first to arrive after Vespertio’s call, his question was quickly answered. A pack hunt was exactly what they needed, it would provide them food for the winter and the girls the important lessons they needed but it also could help boost the packs moral. They couldn’t pass up this chance. “This opportunity has come at a perfect time,” he stated in response to his leader's words just as Neha appeared coming to sit next to him as well as the elk sounding another bugle. The bump ofthe shoulder she gave him was returned with a bump to hers. She voiced the same thoughts he was having. Moonshadow arrived soon after Neha taking her place next to Vespertio since the rank change, he returned the smile that she gave.

Soon others of the pack arrived though Kajika noticed that Namid wasn't in attendance which was very weird for him. She'd been to every pack hunt that he could remember. Vespertio was explaining to everyone about the pack hunt and about the pups being too young to do any actual hunting and would need to he watched before asking for volunteers. “I would volunteer but I think I would serve us better during the hunt.” He told his alpha. His size would be useful in bringing such a large animal down and he didn't want to jeopardize their chances by not being there if the needed him.

(This post was last modified: Jan 03, 2017, 02:39 AM by Kajika.)

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