Redhawk Caldera Fun and games

round 1 ends 25 April!

Today was the day that Ashmedai would hopefully fully integrate with the pack, and meet with the elusive Alpha female he had not seen. Surveying his chosen site with relative pleasure, Asgmedai nodded his furred head and began his work. To his right lay a pile of squirrel carcasses (he'd decided rabbits would have been too hard, considering how small he was) and to his left, a circular marking he's made with a stick. Holes he'd dug all on his lonesome were surely sufficient - there were fifteen round pits waiting for the game.

And, if wolves wondered how it was all possible, Ashmedai would attribute it to his wonderful planning skills *cough cough*. He'd dug the holes a day prior, and had squirreled (heh) his afternoon away hunting the squirrels. Guiltily burying them away from the pack had been a hard decision, but today, they would feast upon the glorious ruins of squirrel.

Beginning his work, Ashmedai did his best to move around in the Low light levels, poking squirrels onto Low-lying tree branches (poking then on the branch like a stick), hiding them in bushes and burying the rest in more holes. He led a trail of squirrel scent away from the main group, a dead end. Then, just as the sun began to rise, Ashmedai threw his head back and howled, oranges and reds painted behind his dark silhouette. It would be cool and bright for his hunt/training/game. Great.

pactivity! Kat said to tag and puppies are welcome to join! @Allure @Peregrine @Fox @Whip @Gannet @Ferret @Peter @Eljay @Elwood @Finley 

Howdy! I think this probably throws a wrench in plans, but...

Fox had never been an early riser, and it was actually Peregrine that poked her awake for the howl. She air-snapped at him, grumbling something or another while the four children kicked in their sleep. No doubt they would be awake soon, too. Peregrine explained that somebody had howled for them, and she rolled her eyes. "Can't it wait until the afternoon," she groaned, but knew that it could not.

The matriarch picked herself up, squeezed through the mouth of the den, and finally came face-to-face with the early riser. She was still groggy when she arrived, and she stood looking at one of the new recruits with scrutiny. "What is this?" she asked flatly.

Having found himself the perfect den, Shrike had been stretched out, lying flat on his side in a bed of soft fluff and feathers he'd collected when the howl rang out. The only time Shrike was ever still was in his sleep, but a deep sleeper he was not. He was often up several times throughout the night but always returned to his den to sleep, as he did not particularly like sleeping out without having some form of shelter. He licked his chops and nose, scenting the wind to see if he noticed anything different before he stood, shook the fluff from his coat and moved out of his den and into the gleaming morning light. 

He picked up a lope and moved off toward the howl. It hadn't belonged to Fox, the only pack member he'd met thus far- instead, it belonged to a male, but rather than being a call of authority, which led him to believe this was not Peregrine, it was an invitation. Though he wanted to meet Peregrine quite a bit, he would settle quite happily for meeting the other members of the pack, and followed the male's scent until it mingled with Fox's. He was pleased for a moment, but also perhaps a bit disappointed- if Fox was there, Peregrine would not be as one of them would have to be with the pups. Still, he could get to know her better, which was not a bad idea. 

He caught the scent of squirrel as he approached the meeting sight, and was still sniffing the air hungrily when he came upon the two wolves. His posture shifted, to show respect for both the alpha female and the male he glanced at, just long enough to take in his features, but he was still somewhat distracted by the smell of squirrel. He didn't see any, or hear any, but he could smell squirrel. He was sure of it. 

"Morning," He greeted, nodding his head first to Fox, and then to the male. His senses begged him to find where the squirrels were, but he ignored that instinct for now. "'M Shrike," He said, by way of introduction, and shortly thereafter: "Smell squirrels?" Instinct wouldn't be hidden for long.

He was greeted by a very red female, grumpy and demanding and Ashmedai saw the good sense to lower himself submissively, his respect for her obvious rank showing through. This, was the elusive Fox, beloved to his alpha and mother of the puppies Elwood spoke of. And she was tiny, somehow even smaller than him. Ash rejoiced inside, but his demeanour remained calm.

"A game, ma'am." He said, and was about to explain before he was cut off by another voice, this time male and sleepy-sounding. The newcomer happily introduced himself, bleary eyes turning on the two smaller wolves. "I was just getting to that," Ashmedai added, then proceeded to explain the workings of the game.

They would hone their hunting skills, finding the hidden squirrels and depositing them in the dug out holes, storing them as points. The one with the most squirrels at the end of the game won, but Ashmedai went on to further detail his plans. He would cause trouble here and there, creating false trails and others to spice up his activity.

The howl had risen in the morning, and hesitating as she did not recognize the voice, the bi-toned she-wolf allowed this pause for only a moment before her paws quickened in the direction of the call. She came upon a rather sour looking Fox, and with a swift glance about, two other males she did not recognize. Hesitantly, the girl moved closer, her nose quivering at the scent of squirrel.

A tawny wolf mentioned it was a game, and she felt her heart quicken with a nervousness. Uncertain as to whether or not she wanted to participate, Allure pushed herself forward, her muzzle submissive to the regal Alpha before quietly taking a stand closer to the group.

She barely just made it to the explanation of the game, her eyebrows arching upward in quiet question. Lackluster at best at the thought of this game, the girl was only keen on the idea of the puppies and mother of the pack gaining the morsels – shouldn’t that be where they had gone to in the beginning?

Shrike listened quietly as Ashmedai began to explain exactly what was going on, though Shrike felt he might be missing the important concept, as he couldn't quite see the point of the task at hand. What he was missing, of course, was that this was a game. Shrike's sense of humour was somewhat lacking, and as a highly practical wolf, he couldn't quite understand why they should do an activity that would have been much better suited for pups. Did Ashmedai honestly think that they could not track? Why should he waste his energy looking for prey that was already dead when he could go off on a hunt by himself, and use that energy to further stock their caches? Shrike did not understand why this activity was a good idea, given that he didn't really catch on to the fact that it was a game, but he awaited Fox's verdict. 

Meanwhile, though, he found himself distracted by a new face, one that belonged to a strikingly beautiful female. He didn't stare at her, but took a few glances to assure himself that she was, in fact, real. He felt his heartbeat speed up, and was suddenly more nervous and self-conscious than before. If they did end up playing this game, he wanted to impress her.

Fox is a poo poo head. <__<

Fox listened to Ash, though honestly it was difficult not to just turn around and go back to her family. These "games" were not particularly useful to her children, nor was it a particularly good use of Ash's time. Fox flashed a fleeting glance to Allure, whom she had barely thought was around anymore. Her attention returned to Ash once he'd finished explaining the "game," and Fox gave him a nonplussed expression.

"The pups aren't really old enough to go this far away from the den." They were close, but Fox didn't trust them more than a few yards away from where they'd been born until they were moved to the rendezvous site, and that wouldn't be for several more days. "I need to get back to them," Fox added. "Shrike, Allure," she said as a form of good-bye before turning tail and heading back toward the den.

As the only one who might be able to rally the wolves before him turned tail and disappeared to who-knows-where, Ashmedai gave a bleak grin and almost decided to pack up his hidden squirrels and go (though he didn't like the thought of having to get the particularly high ones down).That, was probably what convinced him not to, although he still wanted to be able to play his arranged game. He had not, after all, hunted all those squirrels for nothing.

Don't worry, came the dry tone of his words, probably voicing the concerns the others had in him. Did they think he was stupid or careless? Ashmedai knew every place he had hidden his squirrels; every nook and cranny he stuffed them into. Those untaken he would place into the caches; those that had been found he would leave to the winner to decide what to do with them. They could either eat their prizes or put them to better use somewhere else. Still, the male made a note to collect some and place them very surreptitiously near the Alpha's den.

If you want to leave, though, he continued, giving them free reign to go and do their business elsewhere, you can. This was meant to be a small bonding activity. Plus, that means more squirrels for the caches.

Fox gave her no more than a fleeting glance – more than what Allure had received from the fiery woman as she had been understandably with her youngest litter the past few weeks. And, understandably, the woman also did not have time to play games that were better left served for the puppies to help them in the ways of scouting and hunting.

She kept these thoughts to herself – as opinionated as she could be, the bi-toned girl was never one to wish to hurt another’s feelings, and as Fox took her retreat, she did not miss the dry tones of the older male’s voice as he began to speak.

Releasing a soft breath, the girl figuratively rolled her shoulders back, pushing down the desire to traipse back to the borders or practically ‘nope’ her way out of here as quick as she could. “I’m sorry – I missed some of your explanation. We’re just supposed to track the squirrels and put them in the holes?” She paused then, her tone gentle before giving a soft nod to both of her remaining companions. “I’m Allure, by the way.”

Elwood was late. Nonetheless, he still felt compelled to respond to Ashmedai's call, so he hastened towards his packmate's location. On the way, he passed Fox, who was heading in the opposite direction. He raised his brows and gave a shrug of his shoulders, but didn't stop the Alpha female to chat. He suspected she was returning to her children.

When he did finally arrive, there were only two other wolves with Ash. He recognized Allure, but the other wolf was unfamiliar. "Sorry I'm late," he apologized, coming to stand next to Allure. He caught the tail end of her request to have Ash repeat his explanation, and he attentively turned his eyes and ears towards the small male, curious to see what he had in store.

Now what was he supposed to do? Given that Fox had chosen to leave, and had confirmed the same suspicions that Shrike had had, he wasn't inclined to stay. He would have left shortly after her, probably with his tail in the air as though to offend Ashmedai for his choice in activities. Organizing a pack hunt would have been a good way to start, not killing a bunch of squirrels and expecting the pack to want to use up their energy finding prey as though they were pups again. 

But he couldn't leave now- no, the pretty, two-toned female had decided to stay. Allure. He should have figured she'd be named something like that, it was a name that suited her well. Shrike cast a glance her way, partially wishing that she'd chosen to leave so he could tail her and get to know her better, but for now he'd simply have to stay and enjoy her company. Maybe he could steal her away afterwards, and get to know her better. "I'm Shrike," He said softly, a gentle smile lingering on his lips. Alright, for you, I'll stay. He decided, and was surprised when another wolf showed up and asked Ashmedai to explain more clearly. He quieted, then, and sat, awaiting their final instructions.

Adding a narrative conclusion since this packtivity won't be continuing. :)

Once Ashmedai gave the instructions, the game began. It was fairly straightforward and reminded Elwood a lot of another activity his friend Somnia had hosted long ago. The wolves scattered, searching for the hidden squirrels and depositing them in the holes until all of the carcasses had been collected.

The Beta couldn't speak for any of his opponents, but he had enjoyed himself, and departed at the end of the day with a belly full of squirrel meat.