Spectral Woods foxes & hounds

For @Alphaeus, but others are welcome to join as well! Serach is headed out of OTB territory and is maybe 5-10 miles away and heading West towards the mountains.

Afternoon, light rain with darker storm clouds in the distance.

A rain drop fell onto Serach's nose with a resounding "splat". Irritably, the youth shook his whole body, sending more droplets flying to the air. But it was no use, the rain continued to fall and he could not shake himself dry forever. In truth, he should have known better. He had seen the dark clouds gathering in the west, making their way closer and closer to his part of the woods. Rather than stay tucked away beneath the shelter of his makeshift den, the yearling had decided to venture out - right into the oncoming storm. Grunting, he resolved to ignore the water falling on him and continued his run through the woods, doing his best to avoid slipping too much on the mud underfoot.

His self-assigned task today was to see if the small moose herd that had taken up residence in Spectral Woods had migrated too far out of the pack's reach. During the winter famine, the Oak Tree Bend wolves had ventured far and wide to find sources of food, but now that @Zera and @Darrah were with them, they were firmly tied to the pack territory and its immediate surroundings for food. The pack had felled a moose not too long ago, but it was important to keep tabs on where its herd had traveled. Serach had taken his uncle @Triell's word to heart, and had started considering scouting a useful skill that he could provide to the pack. So with a huff, he bounded through the woods, his black nose pushed to the ground, searching for any sign that the herd had wandered nearby.

In all honesty, Alphaeus wouldn't know what to do with a moose if he even got close enough to see it with his own two mischievous eyes. He had no experience hunting on his own, nor did he have the intellect to realize this very same fact. Pride and desperation clouded the boy's logic as he pursued the intoxicating and dilute, scent of what was unbeknownst to him 1500lb bull in the prime of his life. Had it been autumn, Alphaeus would have been tracking his own death. Luckily for him however the rut was far off and in all likelihood the bull probably wouldn't even register him as a threat, but a small annoyance similar to how Alphaeus himself felt about the trivial sprinkle of rain. After a few hours heading northeast the scent of the bull waned and new scents began to populate the undergrowth. There was no question about it, there was an established pack living somewhere in these ghastly woods, and curious as a troublemaker can be, Alphaeus abandoned his search for food and began to wander in the direction where the scents seemed to be the strongest. Before long he could make out the their distinct collective scent as well as the scent of one of its members out on his lonesome. His birth pack had during his departure easily twice as many wolves as this one, and survival was really just a numbers game. Immediately disinterested in making himself available to them--as if they would want him anyway--Alphaeus opted to pursue their lone representative instead. Wheeling about he headed in the direction of the youth and set to following the individual...loudly. Lacking any restraint he began sprinting through the forest, whipping past tree after tree at reckless speeds until he could see a smudge of pale wolf through the foliage. He was not slowing down.

The youth's scouting skills left much to be desired, if Serach was being honest with himself. He still remembered that fateful day with @Drestig, when they had lost the scent of an entire herd of deer. Now he had the rain to deal with, damping any scents that he might have come across. His nose was smeared with mud and grime, and his underbelly might have been brown for all anybody knew. Serach was determined to not come home entirely empty handed, so he trudged on, forcing himself to stay hopeful that he was in fact, on the right track.

Crack. Snap. Crunch.

The fur along the youth's back rose, and he immediately froze in his tracks. His pale eyes darted from side to side, searching for the source of the loud noises. He didn't think it was loud enough for a moose, lumbering through the woods. It was far too urgent sounding for that. Whipping his head around, his mud covered nose was hit with the stench of wolf. Serach's eyes widened in surprise as he watched the brown colored wolf come charging towards him. Unfortunately, it took Serach too long to realize that he was possibly under attack. With the space between the two male wolves disappearing, the Oak Tree Bend yearling tried to scramble his legs and paws into action. But the muddy ground did not provide enough traction for him, and after a second or two of trying to slip and slide his way to safety, he lost his balance and fell.

His front legs slipped out from beneath him, and the rest of his body followed. Doing his best to scramble back up to four legs, he turned his head away from the oncoming stranger, braced himself for an attack, and shouted, "STOPPPPPP!"

Insurmountable joy emanated from Alphaeus' expression as he bound towards the pale boy at maximum velocity. It was obvious to him now that there was no possible means by which his would be prey might escape the situation. The footing was awful. Alphaeus watched as the stranger floundered pitifully in viscous earth before fate demanded the boy clatter to a heap amidst the mud and undergrowth. So tragic for the pale yearling but all the more satisfying for Alphaeus. It was all so very perfect. Tongue floating gleefully out the side of his mouth, Alphaeus prepared himself for one final leap which would bring the two into contact just as the stranger gathered his feet beneath him. At least the stranger would be able to take the onslaught standing like a respectable wolf, he thought nobly. Aching stomach be damned, he would have himself a good old-fashioned scuffle with someone his own speed. Now one might think, "But this strange wolf did not incite such a ruthless attack!" but you would be absolutely wrong about that according to Alphaeus' logic. In fact this new wolf asked for this quite prominently. If the strange wolf didn't want Alphaeus to play with him as such, he probably shouldn't have been standing there. Though the pale stranger's cry for mercy rang through the air, it fell on deaf ears. Fueled by a cocktail of adrenaline and delusions of grandeur, Alphaeus pressed off the earth with all his might his fore paws outstretched, and his maw seeking the defenseless flesh of the youngster's nape.

(This post was last modified: Jun 20, 2014, 07:53 AM by Alphaeus.)

Serach's cry fell on deaf ears. The russet colored stranger didn't stop - didn't even hesitate. The adrenaline was screaming in Serach's ears and his whole body shaking in anticipation for the attack that was now inevitable. With his head turned to the side so that his shoulder would bear the brunt of the attack, he gritted his teeth. When the impact came, Serach found himself, for the second time in as many minutes, on the ground. The two wolves were close in size and strength, but momentum had been on the stranger's side, and his force had sent the Oak Tree Bend yearling sprawling. Shivers went up and down his spine as the stranger's hot breath sunk into Serach's neck. Despite his thick coat, he could feel the sharpness of the bite. Had it been @Sceral, the Donata boy would have merely laughed and shrugged it off, but this was not his brother.

Instinct kicked in. Lifting his head from the mud, Serach snarled and growled, his own teeth clicking together in a warning. Shifting left and right, he tried to pull away from the grip around his nape. He had fallen onto his left side, so he wiggled his body and flailed his legs - anything to get the other boy to let go. @Nayeli had done her best to teach the yearling how to spar; he desperately hoped she would never know just how easily he had been ambushed and thrown from his feet.

@Serach Apologies for the wait O:

Contact. Alphaeus' body struck the cream boy squarely and that was that. In only moments his teeth fell around the boy's nape and a fit of ecstasy coursed through his body. Alphaeus had never "caught" anything on his own before. To think that his first prey as an adult would be another wolf like himself was the greatest thing he could ever possibly dream of, they were after all, one of the primary things to fear in life. Giddy with his success Alphaeus rattled back and forth from forepaws to hindpaws in a quasi victory dance before the combination of his prey's flailing and his own frolicking severed their connection. Alphaeus, fell to his hindquarters with an audible thud, and though his rump was sore he was not visibly perturbed. In only an instant his prey was free and no worse for wear. With a nauseatingly arrogant smile plastered across his face, Alphaeus rose to his full heigh, snapping his jaws audibly in the stranger's direction mockingly. "You make a pretty stupid face when you're scared. " he exclaimed through a charming chuckle, his words being anything but. Alphaeus opened his eyes as wide as possible, his jaw unhinging to form an "O" as he attempted to imitate his strange new friend's face at the moment he had seen Alphaeus rush through the trees. Alphaeus was indeed a hard one to love. It was no wonder that his family so supportive of his departure.

hope you guys don't mind me throwing Scee in here!
he's a little bit angry. :x

Sceral's ears flew back and pressed against his skull as Serach's cry engulfed him. He'd been trailing his older brother, mostly out of curiosity. He hadn't had a proper conversation with his twin and desperately sought one. Thank the stars that he had decided to track his ghostly sibling as he was now in danger and nowhere near the borders.

The younger Aesir dashed forwards, stumbling as he tripped on twigs and sprawling flora. From between the trees, he saw his brother. And then he saw a copper figure collide full force with Serach, grabbing at his nape as if ready to kill. Anger and hatred boiled in Sceral's blood—who the fuck did this asshole think he was? How dare he! No one touched his brother like that, no one disrespected any wolf of Oak Tree Bend in such a cruel and callous way. The fact he had grasped at Serach like he was some kind of fat, overgrown rabbit … it was disgusting. Insulting. Unforgivable.

The rage that chewed at his logic flooded him with a feeling of immense power, adrenaline kicking in as he burst from the bushes with a snarl, his voice laced with the rumbling in his throat. “Get the Hell away from him!” Spittle flew from Sceral's jaws as the self-appointed knight flung himself recklessly at the rust coloured stranger, hoping to ram him full force with his shoulder. He wanted to send the shit bag tumbling down so that he could give him a taste of his own medicine.

No problem! :)

Water drops from the rain fell into the boy's eyes. His flailing was slinging mud in all directions, and he had no doubt that he would be grooming mud clots out of his fur for days afterwards. His real discomfort, though, was the wolf sitting on top of him. Through it all, Serach never stopped growling, and eventually his captor let go and the Oak Tree Bend yearling was able to push him off. Blinking the rain from his eyes, the youth forced himself onto his stomach and then onto his feet. He was tired and a bit sore, but in reality, it was his pride that had been the most injured by his ordeal. Narrowing his green-yellow eyes, Serach glared daggers at this stranger, his anger only growing as the red and brown wolf openly mocked him. "Shuddup!" he snapped, clearly irritated and pissed off.

The rush of snapping twigs and rustling of leaves was enough to send Serach's anxiety into overdrive. Not again, he thought as he whirled around to face his newest tormentor. But the wolf that was rushing them now was no stranger, and even as Sceral shouted for the lone wolf to get away, Serach couldn't help but smile. He was so happy to see his brother that his pride barely registered the fact that he was being saved by his younger brother. That didn't matter. The fact was, this stranger would pay for what he had done.

Sceral didn't slow down and Serach immediately knew what littermate had in mind. There wasn't time for him to react, so instead he shuffled backwards and out of the way. Lowering himself into a crouch, he waited, muscles poised and ready to throw himself into the fray if an all out brawl broke out.