Wolf RPG

Though he was still immensely happy for his children--nothing would change that--Shale was beginning to be consumed by worry. Dauntless was gone, off to find his sisters, and though he respected his decision, he really wished his nephew would have stayed. That was one less able hunter, and the ratio of hunters to helpless mouths to feed was severely imbalanced. He was already hunting all the time, and had stepped up his productivity in recent days.

Now, Shale stood on a gentle rise, the wind rippling through his thick pelt, the Streiter siblings by his side. Together, they'd located an ailing buck in the herd, and had gotten close enough to make sure, by scent, that it was merely old age, not sickness, that plagued it. Perhaps once it had been the lead male, but it was aging quickly, and the sun was beginning to set on its life.

Sometimes, he felt the same way. Grayday's death had brought his own mortality to the forefront of his mind.

Tipping his nose back, he let out a howl for the remaining hunting members of Morningside, then looked over at Sylvas and Sybella, smiling. They were all thin, subsisting on either their own small kills or the meager bit of meat they got from ungulates taken down by the pack. Most of everything went to the nursing mothers; it had to, if they were to ensure a healthy batch of pups, the future generation.

He would not let his children go hungry. Not on his life.

The howl made Sunny's ears shoot up and he lifted his head, grinning. Shale had found something to hunt, which meant at least a few good bites for him to eat after the nursing mothers had gotten their fill. He stood up ready and eager to go and was met with a rush of dizziness. He knew what it was from, while he brought back whatever food he could to Pema,Cat and Aviana he did not feed himself. He'd eaten a squirrel or two since coming back home. Waiting for a moment for the dizziness to fade he set off to find shale.

When he did arrive he greeted Sylvas with a warm smile, remembering the man from when he was a pup and also smiled at Sybella before turning to scan the fields, nose picking up the scent of the buck. "Nice find" he said with a grin.

Aviana had heard the call. While she knew it may not be expected of her to join in on the hunt so soon after having gave birth, she also knew the pack was low on hunters, and low on food. So, since Faye was fed, she left her daughter in the capable paws of @Sebastian and set out to join in on the hunt. 

Several others were there already, and she greet the pack with a smile and a wave of her tail. The ailing buck would feed the pack well, and Aviana would do her best to help bring it down. With Dawn's question, her eyes turned to Shale for the answer, and she waited patiently to see how she could contribute.

Aliac heard the howl from her den and immediately got up and went to the source.  She noticed some of her pack mates were gathered.  She looks around at everyone,  they were all so skinny. Perhaps it was a hunt,  regardless,  aliac waits further instructions.

Everyone looked a little worse for wear, but they had all assembled soon enough, and Shale smiled around at the group. He was a little surprised, but happy, to see Aviana; another set of jaws would be a big help. "The old buck is tired," he said, "but so are we. We could run him to death, but we might also run ourselves to death, in the process. So we'll utilize each of our individual strengths to take him down."

He dipped his nose at Dawn, Aliac, and Aviana. "Ladies, we need your speed and skill to cut him away from the others," Shale continued. "Once he's away, run him uphill. We're more agile; we'll handle the incline better than he will. Once you're there--" Now he looked at Aditya and Sunny. "Sunny, Adi and I will be waiting up the hill. He'll hopefully be weakened enough from the chase to make a takedown easy. He won't be able to stand the attack of six wolves, three of them fresh to the fight."

Shale cast his eyes toward the herd. "Don't put yourself in needless danger," he instructed, voice stern. "We can't afford to lose a hunter. We don't need any heroes." He padded up to Dawn, pressing his nose to her shoulder in a brief touch before looking at her warmly. "You will lead Aliac and Aviana down to the herd. If you're having trouble, call for me. Best of luck, niece."

The grayscale man bumped shoulders with Aditya and Sunny, gazing at the entire group. "See you when it's over," he remarked, grinning. He set off, then, at a slow trot toward the peak of the hills, looking over his shoulder. "Adi, Sunny, let's go."

Aviana was excited about the turn out. Six wolves would hopefully be plenty to take down an old and tired buck. She was even more happy that Shale didn't turn her away. Being a new mother, she knew the pack took her health and safety to the next level, but Aviana would be careful. She wouldn't put herself in unnecessary risk. But, the pack needed as many jaws as they could spare. They needed food.

She listened to the lead hunter's instructions carefully, nodding her understanding. She would help run the buck towards the males so that they could ambush him. With a wagging tail, Aviana was ready to set out behind Dawn, who was to lead their chase.

Sunny listened intently as Shale gave the instructions. He sucked in a couple of breaths to prepare himself and then grinned, nodding eagerly. "Lets do this!" he said and moved to follow Shale out. He paused and ran to Aliac, pressing his nose to her fur and smiling "You got this, be careful" he said softly and then ran after Shale to make his way up the hill. He walked beside Aditya, ashamed to find that the hill was taking more out of him than he would have liked. It made sense, he had been starving himself and working hard to make sure everyone else ate.

The trio of males stood atop the hill, and Shale's eyes were fixed on the ladies, making sure all was in order. He was heartened to see Sunny so chipper, although his physical state worried him, somewhat. Then again, Shale was in much the same condition; Aditya was better, but the burly Sentinel had always carried more mass than the two Sameth men.

"Hopefully this'll go down quickly," Shale remarked, looking over at his companions. Aditya gave him a warm smile in response, then turned away, obviously lost in thought. Shale's attention was more focused on Sunny, anyhow; every so often, he caught glimpses of his brother within the young man, and seeing it filled him with a strange mixture of joy and pain.

Grayday would never return. . .but his children were alive and well, more than able to carry on his legacy.

In the end, the plan was successful, much to his delight. The ladies chased their quarry up the slope, and the trio lying in wait were there to tackle it. Together, they brought down the buck; it crashed upon the ground with a thunder he felt marrow-deep, as if it was his own life being extinguished. He kept such thoughts at bay, instead celebrating with his hunters the successful kill they had made.

They ate ravenously, and still had plenty left to take home and cache away. Blood-spattered and satisfied, Shale trotted home, meat for his wife and pups filling his maw. No man could ask for a better day than this.