Hi!
He had been on the other side of the lake when Dante caught sight of a strange wolf creeping along. His curiosity had gotten the better of him and thus he had approached, keeping silent so as not to alert her of his presence just yet. He waited first until he caught a whiff of her scent, confirming her as a packmate and non-threat, before letting his presence be known. If he'd had to chase her off a sneak attack would have made a more lasting impression. As it was, that was hardly going to be necessary now.
He crept into what he supposed to be her line of sight before stopping. He remained silent, unsure as to what her motives were in skulking about but not wanting to ruin whatever it was she might be doing. Instead he waited, patiently, for her to finish up. It appeared she might be stalking something, though what he hadn't the faintest clue.
The scent of deer hit him the moment that the look of panic flashed across the female's face. It was gone as soon as it came, but Dante still crouched down to hide even better from her prey, which he now knew to be a herd. He was surprised he hadn't scented them sooner. He had been so focused on her unfamiliar presence though.
"Pleasure to meet you, Fin. My name is Dante, Gamma here on the Plateau." She was still down, understandably so however. He liked the impression he got so far, in any event. She was perfectly friendly and seemed enthusiastic. He looked out at the deer. They were a lofty goal for a single wolf. It was possible, but not in any way easy. "You taking them on solo?" He asked, not questioning her abilities but more curious than anything.
"I mean, I have, but not usually." Dante didn't understand her meaning, still thinking that she would be attempting to take down the deer. He still wasn't great on the ideas of playing or doing things purely out of enjoyment. The whole not having a childhood thing meant he was still catching up on some of those concepts.
He had to see this, though. If she did this often, perhaps she had a method or some skills that could prove useful in learning. And if something went wrong, he could always jump in to help. "Mind if I watch?" He asked, curious. He wouldn't be offended if she told him to get lost.
"Perhaps so!" He responded, still incorrect in his reading of the situation. He was excited to see this. He doubted she could catch every deer in the herd if that was what she was referring to but liked her fire. It was a bit catching.
Dante took a few steps forward and prepared to watch, remaining standing. If anything went wrong he would need to be ready to be there in an instant. Maybe overly paranoid but Dante was a cautious guy. He hadn't lived this long by leaving things up for chance, and she was in a pack now. Backup came with the package.
Her excitement was catching and he too felt the electricity even as he simply watched. This soon turned to shock and then alarm as she immediately took off for the largest buck in the herd. Was she insane, taking on such a creature herself? She was going to get herself killed! All hunters knew that one only took the weak... Even Dante's birth pack had only taken king stags on special occasions. Life needed to continue and the herd needed him to reproduce.
What was she thinking?!
Dante headed towards her and the herd at the quickest charge he could manage. He knew he wouldn't be quick enough to intercept her but perhaps he could help when things inevitably turned ugly.
Feel free to PP the stag and/or any other deer! I was thinking we could use the dice roll thing, except I have no idea how to do it or how it works Xx;;
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Black eyes seemed to lock onto hers of warm chocolate as the girl ran, avoiding hooves and legs as the herd noticed her at last and took flight. All except for the stag, who planted its hooves and lowered its antlers as though accepting her challenge. Finley's brows furrowed and her lips peeled back from her teeth in a grin you'd only see on the face of an adrenaline junky like her.
She slowed her pace as she approached the stag, knowing better than to run full throttle and impale herself on that tantalizing rack (...of antlers). It wasn't the sterling woman's intent to bring the beast down by any means. She just wanted to play with him a little, and what was more fun than a game of chase where one's life was at stake? As she neared him, she suddenly switched directions and ran in a wide circle around it as it realized her game and began to thrash its head at her in rage. It was then that she noticed with absolute delight that her new packmate had joined the game!
Finley slid to a stop as the stag turned to face her, stamping its hooves madly. She bowed playfully, her tongue rolling out of her mouth as she barked happily to Dante, her tail wagging to show her pleasure. Turning back to her opponent, she gritted her teeth and grinned, her joyfully wagging tail turning from a waving banner to a serpent flicking back and forth as it waited to strike its prey. Now the games were really about to begin.
The stag reared and stamped its hooves as though in agreement.
Ugh, sorry on the wait! Life has had me jumping! For dice roll you simply do /roll *1d8 but without the asterix. It makes a random number: 8
I am all for using it on critical movements if you like! I also don't mind just going with whatever you want to happen either ;)
At Finley's playful bark Dante pulled up short, staring at the girl, the deer momentarily forgotten. Was she... was she actually
playing right now? She had been running from, not after, the deer. Her stance was not that of a hunter either, nor were her antics in line with trying to take down any of the prey around her. Instead she was posturing to the stag as though in a spar with it, pose challenging but not lethal.
This girl was off her rocker. Dante wondered that she hadn't gotten herself killed yet doing such things. He wondered if he should leave her to it, but he couldn't do that. She was pack, one of his family, and stupid though she may be he wasn't about to leave when she was trying to face off against a stag.
He opened his mouth to say something, but shut it once more as one of the does bumped against him in it's efforts to get away. Honestly he doubted he'd be able to talk any sense into her anyway. It was too late for that. The stag was challenged and answering back, the stamp of its hooves a clear indication as to its inclinations right now. Right then.
Giving a loud growl, he caught the stag's eye when its head turned to locate the noise. That's right, come on. Stiff legged and menacing, he advanced, hoping the deer would either come at him instead of her or think twice of the entire thing and skidaddle.
Thank you for explaining that to me! :D
For a moment, nothing else seemed to exist as the stag and the Blackthorn stared each other down. Anticipation trickled down the long black streak upon her spine as they held each other's gaze, each waiting for the other to make the first move. It didn't occur to her to wonder what her packmate must have thought of her in that moment--bowing to a lethally antlered, powerful stag as though they were just two pups about to get into a spirited wrestling match. The only thing that mattered was the next move, which came very suddenly as the stag lost its patience and charged.
Stag 2 & Fin 3
Finley hesitated only a moment, simply because she was a lover of the art of close calls, before she darted to the right. The stag thrashed its antlers as it charged, just barely catching her on the flank as she leaped out of harm's way. Fin ran a few yards before she twisted around to face the deer again, laughing all the way. The hit had just barely grazed her skin, so it went unnoticed by her. She slid into a crouched position as she turned, her eyes dancing from the stag as it turned again to face her to her packmate.
"Alright, it's all you this time!" Fin barked to him as the stag turned again to stamp and wail furiously in their direction. For a moment, it seemed as though it was going to charged again at the sterling female, but suddenly (3+ it's after you!) Stevie rolled a 4, and its attention turned completely to Dante as its legs began to move and it lowered its rack to face pointed tines against the gamma's flesh and fur.
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