Wolf RPG

Peregrine roamed his borders, his demeanor a little listless. He had been in a funk these past few weeks but he knew he needed to shake off the rust and focus on the upcoming winter. He still felt sore about losing Wildfire, not to mention the neverborns. To put some pep in his step, the Alpha reminded himself that he and Fox could (and would) expand their family at some point, probably closer to spring.

The sky was a seraphic blue and there was a bite to the November air. His muscles were warm but not quite limber, so Peregrine mentally coaxed himself into a run. He would never be fast, yet his gait was steady as he swung around the foot of the caldera, the shores of Lake Rodney suddenly sprawling in the distance before him.

The Redhawk Alpha wasn't the only one in a funk. His Beta pair was struggling to reconnect, and Elwood was beginning to wonder if the damage to their relationship was beyond repair. It was something that he wanted to push to the back of his mind, though, so he set off from their little homestead that morning. He told Eljay where he was going in order to quell the boy's fears, then slipped away, heading towards the southernmost borders.

He reached the base of the caldera where the ground leveled out and gave Haunted Wood a cold glance, before turning and loping clockwise with the squat mountain at his right shoulder. This direction carried him towards Lake Rodney, but before he spotted its shores, he saw the figure of Peregrine moving in the distance. The dark male was running, though his pace did not seem particularly driven; he did not appear to be chasing prey or another wolf.

Elwood accelerated, his paws thumping the ground as he closed the gap between himself and the Alpha male. As he drew nearer, he chuffed loudly, but did not speak; his body language indicated that he did not want Peregrine to stop running and instead wanted to join him. The burn and pull of his muscles was therapeutic.

He heard footfalls drumming behind him and glanced backward without slowing. He smiled briefly, then faced forward and slowed ever so slightly to allow the Beta to catch up with him. As soon as he felt Elwood's warm breath on his right flank, the swarthy Alpha sped up again. The ground sloped slightly underfoot, which helped with acceleration. His ears practically disappeared against his skull and his tongue lolled from his mouth as he enjoyed the mindless pleasure of running beside a pack mate.

A glance backward indicated that Peregrine was aware of Elwood's presence, but the Alpha didn't break stride. He slowed just enough to let his second-in-command catch up, then increased his speed. Elwood stretched his forelegs to match Peregrine's pace, his haunches tucking beneath him to give an extra burst of acceleration from his coiled muscles.

They were veritably flying, their paws scarcely touching the ground. At one point, Elwood misstepped, losing his balance for half a second. He nearly stumbled, but managed to regain his footing. He pressed his ears forward eagerly, feeling the wind rushing around them and carrying his tail about behind him like a banner.

He felt like he could run like this forever. If he kept going straight, would he eventually reach the ends of the earth? This thought briefly flickered through Peregrine's head before he began to curve around the caldera's sprawling base. He had no desire to run away from anything, least of all his homeland. Fittingly, the caldera would mark the heart of the circle he and Elwood created.

They swung past Haunted Wood on their speedy trek but Peregrine barely looked in that direction. If that pack of miscreants was still trying to set up camp, he didn't bother worrying about it anymore. If it came down to competition for resources, he was confident the caldera would win every time. He did snort at the thought, yet soon the woodland was in their proverbial rear view mirror.

As they began to swing north, Peregrine slowed down just enough to allow him to speak to his comrade. "This is exactly what I needed," he whooped to the Beta, glancing at him as if to ask, How about you?

Although it was clear that Peregrine had no particular destination in mind, Elwood allowed him to guide their course. They moved in a wide arc around the base of the caldera, the landscape blurring on either side. The only thing that seemed to stand still was the squat peak itself.

The two wolves skirted along the edge of Haunted Wood, and Elwood wondered briefly if Peregrine would come to a stop there. But the Alpha didn't even spare a glance at the gnarled trees, so Elwood did the same. Only when Peregrine began to slow his pace slightly did Elwood notice how cold the air was as he sucked it into his lungs; it was almost painful, but simultaneously exhilarating.

"Me too," he agreed over the sound of their paws as they loped along at a more conversational speed. When his mind started to wander to Finley and Eljay, he accelerated again, though not so quickly as to leave Peregrine behind.

They appeared to be kindred spirits on that token. Peregrine flashed Elwood a companionable smile, then focused on the scenery in front of him as he continued to slow somewhat. He wondered what was on his Beta's mind. He weighed asking (and probably unloading his own issues as well) but decided against it, at least for the moment, and just focused on the more physical aspects of their current endeavor.

Finally, the Alpha decelerated to a loping trot. "You in the mood for a hunt?" he wondered conversationally, his tail lifting into a wag, the tip wiggling.

The pair of wolves continued for a short while longer, until the darker of the two slowed considerably. Elwood shifted gears, his tongue lolling from the side of his mouth as he caught his breath now that his muscles were not working so hard. He tilted his ears towards Peregrine, immediately latching onto his friend's suggestion.

"Absolutely," he said, bobbing his head. "Anything particular you have in mind?" he asked, his gaze surveying their surroundings even as he spoke. It likely wouldn't be too difficult to track down a meal; both of them were experienced gamekeepers who made a job of keeping tabs on the resident herds and other wildlife.

Elwood was game (pun unintended) and queried about the type of prey. Between the two of them, they might have a chance going after something larger, though Peregrine chewed it over a moment and proposed, "Wanna raid the warren?" He took it for granted that the Beta would know he was talking about the resident rabbit community on the caldera's outskirts. It made him think briefly of Magpie, though he blinked and the vision of her was gone.

"Let's have a contest," he pitched as he turned and began striding in that direction. "Whoever kills the most rabbits in an hour gets to, uh..." He trailed off, then blinked over at Elwood, wondering if he could come up with some parameters.

Elwood nodded as Peregrine suggested that they make rabbits their target; then, the Alpha took it a step further and proposed a contest. With a grin, Elwood nodded his head as they moved in the direction of a well-known and large warren, chewing on his lower lip thoughtfully as he tried to think of a prize for the winner.

"The winner gets to..." he mused, trying to think of something that would mutually benefit the both of them. The first thing that occurred to him was offering babysitting, as his mind was so trained to think of Eljay first, but the firebirds were way past the age where they required a caretaker, and Eljay himself was even becoming gradually more independent. Granted, he rarely separated from either of his parents, but Elwood didn't feel so anxious about leaving him alone now that he was almost six months old. He hummed thoughtfully.

"The loser has to serve the winner breakfast in bed?" he finally suggested with a shrug. He wouldn't mind having a meal delivered to his doorstep by Peregrine.

The winner would receive breakfast in bed. Peregrine's lips twitched at the creative idea. "Deal," he said simply, then hastened his step. The sooner they got to the warren, the quicker he could school his fellow Gamekeeper. But no matter who won, so many rabbits would die this day.

When they arrived at the underground burrows, the Alpha male quickly dropped his nose and began scouring the ground for scents. His nose brushed one of the many entrances and he snuffled. A flash of movement then distracted him and Peregrine darted after it, teeth clipping the empty air behind a rabbit's tail even as it quickly vanished into yet another hole.

Now that the reward had been decided on, it was time to get down to business. They approached the warren and suddenly became two separate entities, when previously they had been moving in unison while running. Elwood's nose skimmed the ground as he veered away from Peregrine, inhaling the rich smell of rabbits.

He investigated the first hole he came across but there were no leads, so he moved on. It wouldn't take long for the hares to be alerted to their presence; he could only hope that they would try to flee rather than hide within the confines of their tunnels. He shoved his nose into a second entrance, huffing loudly, and was rewarded with movement to his right. As he withdrew, he spotted a small head with long ears poking out of another exit.

Quickly, he darted towards the lapin, but it disappeared back into the warren. Elwood began to dig at the opening, his paws moving furiously; if he at least managed to collapse one of the holes, it would make it easier to trap his prey.

He didn't waste time bemoaning the failure. Peregrine loped back to the fringes of the rabbits' realm, turning his head to scan the grounds with his single good eye. When he spotted movement, he darted toward it with a flash of teeth and several predatory lashes of his tail.

Two frightened rabbits abruptly veered, weaving in and out of his legs. Taken by surprise, the Alpha male did a strange pirouette and then came crashing down, his broad paws flattening one of the hares to the ground and breaking its back with a loud crunch even as its luckier cohort vanished into the earth nearby.

He blinked, then abandoned the corpse. One down! he thought gleefully, stealing a glance toward Elwood to gauge his competition before frantically scouring his surroundings with eyes and nose, already searching for a second victim.

Elwood didn't pay any attention to what Peregrine was doing; he focused wholly on the task at hand. Soon enough, the soft earth fell in on itself, closing up what had previously been an escape route for the rabbits. Now, they would be forced to use other exits, hopefully making it a bit easier for him to increase his odds of success.

As if on cue, a single hare squeezed out of a nearby opening. Elwood zeroed in on it immediately, paws churning up dirt as he darted after it. It zigged and zagged, leading him away from the warren, and he briefly considered letting this one go. But with a few powerful strides, he was close enough to slip his jaws around its body, severing its spine before flinging it to the ground and turning back to search for another target.

He watched as the Beta expertly dispatched a rabbit by severing its spine. Elwood didn't even spare him a glance and, taking his cue, Peregrine shifted his attention back to his prey. The warren would be onto them now, yet surely there were some members of the rabbit community that had ventured further afield. The Alpha would nab them as they made their way back home.

Indeed, three rabbits hopped into view, spotted the two wolves trotting around above their underground village and immediately split up, each running in a different direction. Peregrine unleashed a growling bark as he gave chase to the largest. Unfortunately, it quickly disappeared into a hole, so he pivoted and tried to go after one of the others. But they, too, had successfully sought refuge.

Damn it! he thought, ignoring the urge to check on Elwood again and focusing his frenetic hunting energy by locating one of the myriad entrances and beginning to dig.

Elwood loped back towards the congregation of burrows, his gaze straying towards Peregrine who was now digging. The sight of his friend pulling at the dirt was enough to motivate him further, and he bore down on the nearest hole in the ground.

There was no sign of movement from within, however, and he huffed with frustration, moving to the next opening. This one was much larger, almost wide enough for him to fit his shoulders into, and he leaned inside. He heard the sound of flat paws thumping the earth, moving away from him, and leaped back, looking around wildly as he tried to anticipate which exit the hare would use.

It bolted out of one to his left, and he made to chase it down. He clumsily managed to step right into the big hole he had just been investigating, however, and fell to the ground unceremoniously -- giving the rabbit just enough time to disappear into the underbrush.

The Alpha heard a muffled thump! and looked up from his digging just long enough to assess Elwood's condition, make sure he hadn't broken his neck or something. Peregrine then growled under his breath and began clawing at the earth again. The hole had started the size of a dinner plate but now it was ripped open as wide as a trash can lid. His muscles were whining in protest but if just opened it a bit further, maybe...

Something struck him right in the face. Taken totally by surprise, the Alpha leaped backward with a surprised half-bark, shaking his head like a madman. It was only than that he realized a rabbit had sprung at him like some sort of face-hugger, only to drop now and dart away.

Collecting himself, the leonine hunter spun and lashed out a broad paw, just barely managing to catch the fleeing rabbit's large back feet. Despite the glancing blow, the force of it flipped the hare onto its back, allowing Peregrine to leap in and crush the life from it. He bit its neck with such force that his upper and lower canines clicked into place like the jaws of a steep trap. When he let go, the head nearly came apart from the body, clinging by a few thready shreds.

He was grinning victoriously, yellowed fangs stained with blood, when he glanced up and wiggled his brows at the Beta.

Elwood groaned audibly as he righted himself, carefully testing his paws to make sure that he hadn't injured anything. His right front ankle twinged a bit when he stood, but it didn't seem to be anything too serious. More than anything, his pride was bruised -- especially when he looked up and saw Peregrine's triumphant grin.

"White flag," he called, dropping into a sitting position. He shrugged his shoulders, glancing at what should have been his pile of rabbits -- it only consisted of one carcass. "What's your final count?" he asked, even though he knew that Peregrine definitely had more than he did.

The cocky leer on Peregrine's face clearly took the wind out of Elwood's sails. The Alpha chuckled, sheathing his lips and licking the blood from his muzzle even as he placed a broad paw over the freshly killed rabbit. The other was nearby. He had to turn his head sort of severely to locate it with his good eye. He picked up the fresher one and trotted over to his first victim, laying out the carcasses side by side.

"Eleventy-four," he joked in response to the Beta's question, then shook his head lightly and said, "Two. By the look of it," he continued, nodding his snout toward Elwood's singular catch, "some room service is in my near future."

"Impressive," was Elwood's joking response to the false number that Peregrine provided. He then gave the real count, and his suspicions were confirmed: Peregrine had won. He had only scored one more rabbit than Elwood had, but that was enough to seal the deal.

Nodding agreeably, Elwood said, "Just howl for me, and I'll gladly come serve you." He stuck his tongue out playfully, then made to gather his kill. "I'll catch you later?" he said, then scooped the rabbit into his mouth. He wanted to store it, then go check on Eljay -- and he hoped that Finley would be asleep.

"Well, I'm glad you'll do it gladly," Peregrine teased playfully, then bobbed his head. "Good times. Catch you later." His eyes followed Elwood was he plucked up his kill and loped away before dropping to the two dead bunnies at his feet.

Once Elwood was gone, reality set back in and it was like Peregrine's world dimmed slightly. He would take these to Fox, even if she didn't need them to nourish pups growing inside of her. The Alpha muffled a sigh in folds of velveteen fur as he grasped both carcasses and meandered in the general direction of the rendezvous site.