Heartleaf Creek I did it all

Time for the DEB pups first hunt, First round will end on October 4th
RE: Viorel you hear bull elk bugling nearby.
Midmorning, Light rain, 4C/39F

This was not Viorel’s favourite time of the year, at least not here. The autumn had so far been rainy and the days had cooled down quickly, and he found himself missing the dog days of summer. Even today, he had woken up to frost on the grass of the territory and the trees were beginning to drop their colourful leaves. It reminded him that soon it would be winter and he was responsible for feeding many mouths throughout the toughest months.

As if the sea gods had heard his concerns about keeping the caches full, the sound of a sudden bugling caught his attention. It didn’t take him longer than ten or fifteen minutes to find the source, a lone bull elk, separated from his herd and making quite the racket. Normally the bull was not the target of their hunts, but if it was alone and seemingly a little disoriented then maybe this was the perfect opportunity to celebrate the pups being old enough to join them.

Sneaking back away, so he was not too close to alarm the beast, but close enough he could keep track of it if it took off, Viorel called for his family. They will eat well tonight.

The young Valle girl was very involved in chewing on a bone she'd saved from her breakfast. It'd been a long time since she'd been able to take the time for such an activity. Her attention was drawn from her bone when she heard Viorel's voice through the forest. It would ve her first pack hunt since her return and she wasn't going to miss it. 

Quickly she tucked her bone away for later before going to meet up with Viorel. She was feeling much better since her absence from the territory so it was easy for her to cut through the forest to reach him more quickly. 

When she finally found him by himself. So she was the first which left her to wonder if anyone else would come. She made her way over to him, "Hey Vi, what's rhe target today?" She asked sitting back on her haunches to wait.

Archer liked to sleep in; an unfortunate side effect of his late-night habits. The mornings were just so much busier than evenings, and he liked to listen as things quieted down, rather than wake up as everything else did, too. Today it was a little chillier than normal and he was having a hard time staying asleep. He could smell the rain, light as it was, and he was just debating whether or not to spend the day tucked away somewhere when he heard Da's call.

That had him fully awake and on his feet, sprinting his way towards the call. He was getting really good at pinpointing where sounds came from - especially when it was Da calling him.

He was disappointed to find that he was not the first one to arrive, but since it was his aunt and not one of his siblings he was able to more successfully quash it down. Rather than skidding to a stop as he'd usually done in the past, Archer controlled his approach and trotted up to them in a more mature fashion. "I'm here, Da," he said proudly, tail wagging. He looked at aunt. He hadn't interacted with her much, but he was pretty sure she was Shar... shar... something.

"Hello Auntie," he said.

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

what i really need now is a double shot of crown

Vayko was finally starting to feel normal. His paw had been on the mend and he was starting to feel like himself again, snarky comments and all. He was sure his attitude returning to him would be heartbreaking information for some, but ultimately, it was a good sign. The Valle man was back, and ready to do what was needed to see the pack continue to thrive. He heard his cousin’s call for a hunt, eagerly making his way. It would be the first pack event since his paw had healed. He could fully participate and it made him quite eager for the opportunity.

All of the pups were growing big, and they were getting old enough to start learning hunting techniques themselves… unlike his cousin, Vayko liked the rainy and cooled down weather that came with the fall. He arrived, dipping his head politely to all of them though he said nothing, remaining stoic in appearance while he listened for a game plan. This was not a hunt he had called, so he could bite his tongue and simply listen.

She had been lightly dozing near the medicinal den underneath the overhang of the trees, unaware of the rain that lightly drizzled down from the sky, when Viorel called out. Blinking the sleep away, Clover took a few moments to orient herself before heading towards him at a gentle lope. His call had not sounded urgent so she took her time to get there, arriving seemingly not long after a few others. "Morning everyone." She gave Sharlee, Vayko, and Archer all quick nods and smiles of greeting, then turned her attention to Viorel where he stood, waiting for him to begin speaking, and wondering what creature they would be hunting. As it would be the first time the children would join in, she hoped it was nothing too dangerous.

Eros' continuously plumpening form was not too far behind. His gluttonous ways when it came to food were starting to catch up to him, and the young boy found himself more easily winded than his siblings. He'd yet to put the two together, however. Thoroughly confused on why he was always bottom of the dog pile, he'd chosen to pretty much ignore that fact and put all of his chubby might into always trying harder.

As such, he did not whine or complain when he appeared before the group with a heated face and huffing breaths, instead pretending as though he were perfectly fine and totally ready for whatever Dad had called them for all the way out here. What had Da' called them for anyways?

Eros passed from wolf to wolf, greeting each in turn by pressing into them and licking their chins until he was at Archer's side. To his brother, he said 'hello' by shoving his shoulder into the other's and sitting all but on top of him before lifting his peach eyes up to their father's face. Dad never kept them waiting long.

Sorry for the delay! The next round will be posted on October 17th

They didn’t keep him waiting long after his call, but the number that arrived was definitely smaller than he had expected. For a brief moment he worried that he was more disconnected from the pack than he realized, or maybe they were all disconnected from each other. Shooting a quick let’s talk later to Sharlee, he brushed the feeling off. Four adults and two pups should be more than enough to take down a single beast, even though it was a bull.

Wagging his tail enthusiastically he announced, ”The sea gods are smiling on us today, a lone bull elk has wandered close to the borders and seems confused to be by himself.” Looking towards his sons, he felt a pang of guilt that they would be the only ones of his children to experience this, but he had called for them all. Viorel still had a lot of worries that he was messing parenthood up.

But, that was not the task at hand, ”As usual I think I am best on the take down team, where is everyone else the most comfortable?” Maybe he should have assigned the pups to a spot, but the thought of that did not even cross his mind.

The other pack members began to arrive, and Archer recognized one of his uncles and the other mother. His own failed to make an appearance, but that was okay; it meant he could regale her with all the details of his victories in his first hunt later. His attention was drawn by the arrival of his brother. Archer watched him with amused fondness as Eros - as usual - greeted everyone individually before coming over to join him.

And then, the little traitor of a brother knocked into him and sat on him!

Archer shrieked in protest as he was pushed over and the greater weight of his brother was pinning him down. He wriggled ferociously, shoving his older brother off of him and straightening up, shaking the dirt off his fur and trying to look dignified. Glaring at Eros, he knocked his shoulder back into his brother's - but not hard enough to knock him over in kind and risk starting a tussle. There were adults at hand, and more importantly, Da. This was a big day. They needed to keep their cool.

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

She returned Eros' greeting warmly, glad to see that at least two of the pups had showed up. Her gaze wandered around, looking for signs of her own children showing up, still hopeful that maybe they had just been busy with a task rather than choosing not to appear. The first hunt was always important, not just for bonding, but a teaching moment and to prove to themselves that they were ready to face things that were more for adults now that they were becoming older.

When Viorel began speaking she reluctantly shifted her gaze to look at him, hoping just one of them would arrive before they began the hunt. Clover's ears pricked up at the mention of a lone bull elk; it would be more dangerous than the average doe, but between all who showed up she was sure they would be able to take it down without too much trouble. He announced he would be on the take down team, and after a quick glance at the others she spoke up to the group. "I'll be on the chasing team, and would be delighted to teach either of the boys how to chase down the prey if they would like to join me," she said with a hopeful smile at said boys. If they wanted to rather take down the prey then they would have Viorel there to show them how it was done. Both parts were equally as important, and each wolf had their own strengths to use, so she would be content with whatever option they chose, as long as they were ready to participate.

Sharlee was happy to see two of her nephews had shown up for the hunt. This would be an important day for them, she hoped that all went well. Archer was the first of her nephews to arrive, "Hello Archer," she returned smiling. Her brother and Clover had also joined them which brought her back to the very first pack hunt. Unfortunately Vanadis didn't seem to he coming. A lick on the head was given to Eros when he arrived and licked her chin. 

Before Viorel started speaking she nodded at the sentiment he sent her. She was curious about what he wanted to speak with her about but there woukd be time fir that later. Now she needed to be fully focused on this hunt. 

"Put me where you need me," she told wanting to give the boys their chance to be where they wanted. This was their chance to learn, she didn't want to stand in the way of that.