Ghastly Woods Hunters day

Sorry it's short. Backdated to before A game of Marco Polo @Bellavinne

Neo felt the cold morning air brush against his face. The sensation felt like needles prickling against the exposed skin on his nose. Dawn had barely started to break the horizon as he'd set for the shadowy forest. He'd attempted to wake up Vinnie believing they could find and kill something bigger if they worked together. Sure he could have hunted rabbits on his own but if he was lucky he'd catch one. Unfortunately, one rabbit wouldn't fill two wolves he doubted it would even fill one wolf completely. So he was hoping they could track down deer within the forest. He knew they tended to gather in the dense woods during winter when snow-covered their normal feeding grounds. Not that he was a good hunter or a hunter at all. But he'd been thought how to survive and survive he had...

His large paws were moved with care to not disturb the forest floor as his eyes scanned the snow and branches around him. He was sure the trail had been around here somewhere.... That he'd seen tracks lead deeper into the woods.... but were? He slowed down slightly and looked back hoping that Vinnie had followed him so far... "You there?" He spoke in a soft whisper trying to not disturb the silence too much.

(This post was last modified: Feb 18, 2021, 08:52 AM by Neo.)

It had been early when Neo had woken Vinnie, and she'd reluctantly followed him out into the cold. He led the way into the forest, and Vinnie quietly stumbled along behind him, trying to wake up the rest of the way. The cold certainly helped with that. The silence was oppressive, but Vinnie was okay without talking. She didn't want to disturb the early dawn quiet.

Vinnie contemplated why Neo would have woken her. He probably said, but she was so tired she hadn't been listening. The only conclusion she came to was that they were going to try to hunt. The prospect both excited and terrified her; she'd never been much of a hunter and actively avoided getting selected to go on pack hunts. Failing a hunt was worse than simply not going, and if she was forced to go she usually ended up on the receiving end of her father's teeth.

Finally Neo slowed to a stop ahead of her and quietly called back. Vinnie sped up and came to his side. "I'm here," she said softly.

She was there, her quiet confirmation earned a satisfied and happy wagg from the marbled man's tail. Though perhaps if he had known of her past experiences with hunts he would have reconsidered bringing her along for this. Or at least have done some small stuff first.... but he didn't so here they were hoping to find deer. Guess he should have told Vinne that earlier shouldn't he. The marbled man kept pushing on his eyes returned to the forest floor trying to find tracks or some other sign that perhaps they were on the right track.

As he moved something started to change, not much but the snow had been shifted or trampled down. The trail wasn't that wide but the Hervok couldn't tell if it was deers who had made it or some other being.

Neo looked back a smile on his lips before he made a motion with his head following the trampled trail. Hopefully, it would lead them to something good, something edible and not something that would try to eat them.

Neo acknowledged her presence with a soft swish of his tail and turned his gaze back ahead. Vinnie trembled in the cold and waited, watching her companion for a signal. What signals did he even use? Were they similar to the Sevak pack's? Even though she didn't hunt much she was at least familiar with their hunting signs; everyone had to be.

Clearly Neo saw something, because he was suddenly smiling back at Vinnie and nodding ahead. She peered around him and saw a tramped trail in the snow. What made it, she wondered? Hopefully nothing aggressive - and hopefully something they could eat. She nodded back at him, ears flicking, and followed.

They moved on, the large marbled wolf tried his best to move silently. The snow under his paws likely did him a favor as he wasn't really that much of a hunter. The trail as he reached it and dipped his nose to the edge didn't smell fresh. Neo looked ahead towards the direction the trail lead and started to move along it though not as carefully as before. If they were lucky it was still nearby or maybe they could track it for a while and find it. Neo hoped so... As he followed the prints became less mangled by the snow and the two-toed tracks of a deer lead him ahead. He hoped it was a young one, anything too big and they would have trouble hunting it just the two of them...

Though the further he went the stronger the stench in the air...

blood...

Neo felt his tail wag in quiet anticipation, interrupting a hunt could be dangerous but this scent was.. off... As he pushed through a bush no longer focused on being quiet he found himself faced with quite the sight. Blood covered snow around a carcass mostly devoured already a coyote face deep in what was left of the white-tailed deer. Wit the amount is already eaten he doubted that this small pest had killed the deer. A more likely story was that it had been killed by something else eaten and abandoned. The air was mostly clean, only deer, blood and now coyote stood out to him.

The marbled Hervok pushed forward hoping, but not checking, that Vinnie would follow him. Two wolves should have little trouble securing a carcass from a single coyote. His lips peeled back and a low rumbling growl vibrated in his throat as the smaller canine tore free from its meal a surprised yelp swept into a snarl as it faced him.

Neo Hervok

TEMPLATE © NDA OF RCR & RPG-D

The carcass is what's left of a white-tailed deer doe, it's mostly eaten. A single coyote is eating from it/turned to guard it

(This post was last modified: Mar 20, 2021, 09:30 AM by Neo.)

They were quiet as they moved through the snowy trees, the white powder muffling their footsteps. Vinnie suspected it was muffling much more; winter was always so quiet. She supposed that was both comforting and frightening; other things couldn't hear her as easily, but she couldn't hear them either, and tracks could both be helpful in avoiding things or harmful in helping things follow her.

She really needed to stop overthinking.

A new scent hit Vinnie's nose even as Neo sped up, and she hesitantly picked up her pace as well. He was clearly following the blood smell, even though they couldn't see any signs that an injured animal had come through. Was he planning on interrupting someone else's hunt? What if it was a bear, freshly woken from hibernation? What if it had cubs? What if it was more wolves? What if-

Neo stopped and Vinnie very nearly ran into him. She managed to swerve to the side and stand beside him instead, and her ears flattened against her head. A coyote was eating the remains of a deer that was mostly gone. All the best bits had been consumed, but there looked to still be enough meat for them to have a decent meal if they could fight the coyote off. Vinnie glanced nervously at Neo and was dismayed to find him pressing on, heading towards the snarling coyote with intent. She trembled. He could fight it off by himself, right? He didn't need her to fight, right? She wasn't a fighter. She was just likely to get herself hurt.

But she couldn't leave her only friend to fight on his own. She might know a bit about healing, but she was still learning what plants were local and which ones grew during winter. And Neo was teaching her to be brave.

There was nothing for it. She had to fight with him.

Vinnie squared her shoulders and raised her tail, hoping the stance would give her confidence she didn't have, and peeled her lips back from her teeth as she followed Neo forward.

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Vinnie was there, the pale she-wolf stood by his side and Neo felt proud on her behalf. He knew she was a timid young girl, he knew she didn't trust in her own abilities. So to have her standing by him with her frame squared and tail raised had him feel proud and strong. They could do this, if they worked together they could win. Besides, it would do Vinnie great to win, to see for herself that she was not useless that she could be strong if she set her mind to it. Though it didn't appear that the coyote was going to abandoned its meal as it remained standing in front of the carcass snarling and grumbling at them. Neo had already made up his mind, he would fight it and help Vinnie see her wroth. So he lowered his head ears pinned back against his skull as he approached the coyote a deep rumbling growl leaving his lips as they parted showing his ivory teeth.

The marbled Hervok would turn to slightly circling the beast trying to scare it further. Trying to make it unsure of its own defense, which it was right to be. There were two of them and only one coyote. Then he would lunge forward a deep growl in his throat as he aimed to get a grip of the coyote's shoulder. The closeness however also brought the smaller canines teeth with range of him. The coyote stuck in a fight for its food screamed by the attack before biting at him, teeth snapping into his shoulder and leg.

Neo Hervok

TEMPLATE © NDA OF RCR & RPG-D

Injuries: Bites to shoulder
Attack: Grabbing the coyote shoulder

(This post was last modified: Apr 11, 2021, 03:55 PM by Neo.)

Doing this "Talking about it"

Vinnie could not recall a time she'd ever been angry. Anger was the prerogative of her father. Being pugnacious was only an invitation to trouble in her birthplace, so Vinnie had always been meek and quiet. She avoided trouble, ran away from fights, and kept to herself. She'd always been frightened, sad, numb; never angry.

So it took her by surprise when, as the coyote's teeth closed around Neo's shoulder, a flash of red-hot fury swelled in Vinnie's chest.

She'd hesitated again when Neo began circling and lunged in to attack without appearing to pause. She'd been afraid, even though Neo's tactic had turned the coyote's flank to her and left her reasonably safe to dart in and out again. She'd held back in self doubt.

But then the coyote hurt her friend.

Vinnie couldn't really explain what happened next; the rage inside her was foreign; she could barely process it, let alone coordinate between that emotion and her actions. One moment she was standing there, hesitating, and the next thing she knew she was surging forward and snapping her teeth over the coyote's back leg. She heaved backwards, flinging her entire body into the motion in an attempt to haul the coyote off of Neo. She was larger than their quarry, but she wasn't strong, and her feet slipped in the dirt, but at least her attack made the creature let go of her friend and whip around toward her instead. She only just managed to let go and scramble back as its fangs snapped closed a hairs-width from her face. She backed away, growling, hackles and tail raised.

Attack: Bite to back leg, pulled back

The bloody pest wasn't going to give up, was it? Fangs in his shoulder tore free as it was pulled at from behind the vermin spun away from him to face its second attack which left it wide open to the blond Hervok. Neo wouldn't let the coyote hurt Vinnie.. never... But pride swirled in his chest as she had joined him in fighting. That she had overcome the fear of fighting and joined him to secure the food and to aid him in combat.

With his strength surging by adrenaline and pride he pushed himself forward with a loud snarl intending to try and grab it from behind while drawing its attention away from Vinnie again. Neo aimed to grab its hind leg as Vinnie had and even with the coyote aware of his attack he managed to grab a hold of the vermin as it tried to turn and face its second attacker. Neo would tug it backward trying to drag it off its feet as it wiggled and snapped at him trying to get free. But his hold wasn't great the wiggling coyote tore free with a while and Neo snarled tail raised like a flag over his back lips pulled back and ears flat against his head. He was done playing there was two of them and failure was not an option not with Vinnie fighting beside him... So the coyote better fuck the hell of or he would be tearing it in half... which hopefully wouldn't worry Vinnie too much...

Neo Hervok

TEMPLATE © NDA OF RCR & RPG-D

Injuries: Bites to shoulder, front legs and minor bites to his muzzle.
You can have the coyote run off in your post or keep the fight going :)

(This post was last modified: Apr 22, 2021, 08:10 AM by Neo.)

Doing this "Talking about it"

She could smell Neo's blood.

Vinnie was no stranger to the smell of wolf blood, given her father's method of discipline. Usually it was her own she was smelling, or that of one of the oldest members of the pack who'd grown too slow for her father's preference. She'd never reacted to it other than to collect her herbs and aid the injured, or slink of and tend herself. This time it was different. Her vision was prickling with red dots that wouldn't seem to go away. The taste of the coyote's own blood on her teeth drove her forward again, even as Neo launched his second attack. Her teeth closed on empty air, and then pain drove into the side of her neck. She yelped and jumped back, pulling herself free of the coyote's jaws before it could get a grip on her. She shook her head, still snarling, and surged forward again. She used the coyote's own tactic against it, only she had the advantage of size and weight. Vinnie wasn't a large wolf, but she was still larger than a coyote and she used it.

Seeming to sense the futility of the fight, the coyote wisely turned and ran, throwing a last snarl over its shoulder as it vanished into the trees.

Injuries: minor bite to left side of neck.
Attack: bite to back of coyote's neck.