Wolf RPG

The light was dimming and the air was cold and still. After all the snow that had been dumped upon them, this was a welcome reprieve.  The powdery snow had left tracks that didn't even need a nose to track and Arbiter wound her way after this trail that had been left the night before.  When she had found it earlier in the afternoon, she'd decided it was time to follow it diligently, that she would find where the deer slept, and that they all would truly eat their fill for the firs time in ages.

And now, finally, there they were in the dying light.  A pair of deer -- probably a doe and last spring's fawn -- picking through the snow-covered underbrush around a copse of trees.  They were not far from the lake at the heart of the territory, but again must have come from the northeastern edge where less wolves were.  Arbiter licked her lips at the thought, watching from afar where she was no danger to them.  Yet, at least.

And so she lifted her head and howled, calling for the pack.  This was their chance.

From prowling not too far away, Jomyo first flicked an ear and listened--a summons, obviously, not only for their presence, but did she hear right? For a hunt? True, she had been coming into better luck lately when it came to her own personal pursuits, and, it did not seem so bleak in the wilds around. She knew they needed more good sizable take-downs to really pad their caches and for a newly-organizing group, what better way to bring morale together than to fell a beast and dine merrily.

Now that they were well within a break in the recent snowfall, this really could be their best opportunity for who-knows how much longer--she supposed. Winter still had plenty of time to stick around, stay cozy, and keep prey harder to come by. Best not turn their nose up to any chance that came along, so Jomyo was already on her way to hopefully join their fellow hunters.

Shifting gears when the time came, she arrived and surveyed the situation already. She soon went to Arbiter's side to await the next cue to come from there.

His journey to and from the West had been fruitful in a way, though not in the way he had hoped. Kaertok had done what he set out to do (with an added bonus), and he returned several days after to the pack he had pledged himself. From now on, he planned to stick a little more close by, at least until they got their bearings and had a more stable claim.

A night passed with him back "home," if that's what it could be called, and the next afternoon came the summons: a hunt. Kaertok was quick to respond, jogging up with an alert aura about him. He slid up alongside Jomyo, who herself was next to Arbiter. Sungiwok cast them each a fleeting glance, accompanied by a nod, then set his sights on their prey. Two deer. Getting just one of them would do the pack wonders and would keep them strong against any trespassers.

She waited. Jomyo and Kaertok were first to show.  There was a short call from @Terance that he and Pike were farther out.  Whether they'd make it in time? That was partially up to the deer... If not, hopefully they'd be here by the time it was ready for eating.  Then Spook, followed by @Brouhaha.  Most of her short instructions were at the latter, including a particularly sharp stare. This was not time for her daughter to act out of line. Follow, help with the chase -- no attacking until it's down. Learn. You hunt the next one. She turned away, then started forward towards the deer.

She signaled them to move forward towards the deer. Aside from the near-enough-adult kids, they were experienced enough to be able to do this hunt without too much explanation, were they not? They knew the stakes, they knew that they all needed the success.  As swift and silent as they could be, they would go, together.  Arbiter looked back a couple of times, making sure the two youths were far enough back for her liking.

But here they were, a group of wolves moving across the snow, and no matter the speed or stealth, they were doomed to be noticed eventually.  But that was how hunts went. Long ears tipped forward, a snort, and the two sprinted off. They were away, and it was time for the wolves to follow!

She was relived when Kaertok's snowy form appeared to join them not long after she had arrived, though did not aim to show it as she panned sights to the prey. Towards the young wolves that followed she was more skeptical, but Arbiter's instructions would hopefully keep them within bounds. Plus, hopefully, Terance and Pike were well enough on their way--the call did not sound far. Jomyo had good faith that they could manage something with this, at least.

After a good deep nod in the direction of her leader, then a glance that lingered on her fellow ranger, she fell into place among them as things began to get underway after the signal said so. She cruised along lightly, easily finding herself a place near the outskirts of the gathering. With a little time, she started to loosen up into the groove of it all. It was a hunt of firsts, somewhat, now that Legion had prey like this to pursue finally. She thought it obvious where her strengths were going to be here: speed. Thankfully, the others beside her covered a different range and they all brought determined, hungry teeth to the scene.

Once the deer sprinted, her ears pricked and she gave a low little rumble before flattening out for a solid dash now--swinging wide, out towards the left of the fleeing deer's pathway to cover them from that direction. She knew she was fast so she hoped she could place her vantage far enough ahead before they gained any more ground. Distantly she kept an ear turned, listening for where the rest of the Legion hunters went precisely, but most of all, it was the prey she had to keep track of while she slipped along after them. Her next move depended on their positions (all of them, really) and every breath brought her closing in.

To the younger ones, Kaertok paid little to no mind. He was mildly perturbed that Terance had yet to show up, but he kept that to himself. If he was meant to be a leader, he was not doing a very active (or good) job of it in the Tartok's opinion. That, too, he kept to himself. It was better that way, at least until he had a moment to reflect on it. Nevertheless, the three adults and however many juveniles took to their prey without much hesitation.

He noted that Jomyo was built for speed, and speed along she did. Kaertok hung a bit further back, pacing himself until the prey was closer to being taken down. His lope was long and steady, and he licked his lips between strides, already looking forward to having his fill of the feast. That is, assuming they caught their feast.

terance showed up a bit late, having been on the opposite side of the territory teaching pike a little bit of sparring... though he'd admit, arbiter was better at sparring lessons than he was. he historically was a bit too soft with the kids, but this time terance tried to up the game. pike was a big boy, almost a year old by now, and he'd tried to be a little tougher... but who knows, pike probably preferred sparring with his mother, and terance didn't blame him.

anyway, terance showed up with pike at his heels, giving a bark to arbiter as he did so and taking his place within the pack of wolves. he recognized a few, recognized all of the scents, and gave a nod in particular to the ones he didn't know. the white male, who was hanging around the back. terance nudged pike to go forward with the other faster wolves, and hung back, knowing his place among the pack lied in defense and smarts. he'd wait for arbiter to tell him what to do, but kept up with the group.

The older of the two deer was in the rear of the group, though neither seemed to be making headway against the wolves. Perhaps it was the depth of the snow providing more resistance to the long-legged, small-hoofed beasts than it was for the large-pawed carnivores. Whether it be that or some unseen ailment that made this pair slower than they should have been, it was a welcome break for the wolves.

Thanks to the famine, Arbiter wasn't exactly at her heaviest, she moved along at a good clip likely at the lead of wolves-not-named-Jomyo, keeping turns tight to save distance. Her attention was primarily focused on the doe -- if somehow they could get both, that would be wonderful, but that would almost certainly take more of the pack appearing from nowhere or just dumb luck on their part. Like the deer tripping over its own hooves kind of luck. 

She had noticed their lack of speed and that urged her on. Perhaps they could end this quick... She barked to signal Kaertok and Terance to move forward with her and picked up the pace a bit, trying to close the distance before the deer managed to get up to full speed. It came with its own risks, sure, but being within striking distance would be far better if the deer were as weak as they seemed.

Spook had moved up and was shadowing Jomyo now -- he had always been the lightest-built of the trio, so matching her speed was easier than just about everyone else in his family. He was just about following in her footsteps, letting the wide arc keep everyone in view.

Keeping his ears and eyes open for any signals, he spotted the black wolf, Terance, as he joined them. Another younger wolf showed up with him, although Kaertok had yet to learn the younger ones' names. Casting them only a fleeting glance, the Tartok wolf refocused himself on the hunt, picking up the pace when Arbiter barked the orders. Quick to oblige, Kaertok pushed himself faster (which wasn't all that fast to begin with) as the pack began to close the gap between themselves and their feast.

When he saw an opportunity, the white bear surged forward, leaping as he attempted to grab a rear haunch of the older hoofed animal. Either he wasn't close enough, he hadn't leaped far/high enough, or the deer had simply evaded him. He hit the ground with nothing to show for it and kept on running, hoping that whoever took the next go at it would be able to do more than he had done. Some might have blamed themselves, but Kaertok had hunted enough that he knew it took a pack to bring down one of these beasts. No one wolf made or broke the outcome.

Now that this was moving forward, she didn't want to get greedy but experience had taught her that hesitation had no place in the heat of the hunt. Her glances jumped from one deer to the other, then back again, lingering longest on the older one. Another fleetingly look back told her a few had joined her cause of speed, and that others were hanging back--good spots, for her. They even came with the numbers to provide a solid middle-ground too, so she was feeling honestly a bit uplifted about this and their odds of something good.

So, with that in mind, she wanted to make for a good role-model for any of the younger few that chose to speed along with her, and let them see the applications of different sorts of going fast given the circumstance. To see how she could shift between roles of guiding the flight, keeping the pressure on the prey, and being a bit of a distraction depending on what it needed. Plus, in an instant, she could become a valuable surprise strike too, able to disappear with some well-maneuvered landscape and timing. But, every hunt was different and none of it meant anything without thinking on the go.

When she saw Kaertok swing for the older one, but inevitably miss that time, she took that as a sign and on another burst of speed, she ran ahead only to abruptly close in circling back on the deer's current trajectory away from the wolves. She approached from head on, tail up and teeth first in a snarling snap for its front shoulders that were meant to surprise, startle, whatever--and most importantly, no matter the means of execution, encourage it to turn back into the waiting jaws of her fellow hunters today--all while hopefully keep her from its hooves, but she could (mostly) move lightly over the snow at least where it sunk. Above all, she was eager to see them get something good done here today, together.

Kaertok was the first to make an attempt, valiantly so, but at least his failure didn't put him out of the chase. She saw that sort of attempt as the sign of an experienced hunter: knowing how to try without risking explosive failure. Not that she really doubted him or anything, more that she hoped that her children saw, she'd have to note it to them later. And what felt like barely a breath later, Jomyo swept in from the side as the element of disruption (Spook gawked from his position farther afield), snapping at the deer.

Both deer balked, the younger one kicking up snow as it spun away in terror, putting on an extra burst of speed. The elder twisted to turn away from Jomyo, causing enough of a delay for Arbiter to throw herself forward to sink her teeth into its haunch, trying to use her weight to slow it. Its kick went into the air near her, and at least for now Arbiter's bite held. Hopefully it would be enough for the rest of the group to catch up. There were always chances of failure, but with the four of them, this should be doable.

When Arbiter made her move, Kaertok was quick to assist. Now that the beast was slower, his aim was more true, and the white bear's bite came down on the opposite side. He used his legs as much as he could to brace himself against the body of the animal, and he could feel it slowing beneath him as his back legs skimmed the ground every few paces. He assumed Jomyo or one of the others would be quick enough to run out front to make the killing blow.

It had taken her a little longer than usual to arrive, since she might have taken Arbiter's dutiful scouting as a chance to go push a boundary or two of her own, without momma's watchful eye hovering over her. A hunt, though, a real hunt! That was not to be missed.

Her excitement soon dwindled however as Arbiter quite naturally set in with another of her lectures. Brouhaha manfully held back the weary sigh rising in her chest as her tail started to droop and her ears swiveled out flatter in disgruntlement. Help chase, don't attack unless it's down, blah blah blah, fine right whatever. Couldn't Mom see how big and mature she was? Practically a grownup already, but here she was still being treated like a baby! Even after she'd made it to the new territory on her own four paws and everything, it was just as bad as if she'd had to be carried all the way there, for all the ways her mother was acting. Life just wasn't fair. But hey, at least she was being allowed to participate...sort of...and at least they had spotted some deer. Brou started salivating a little as the scent wafted towards her; it felt like forever since she'd tasted venison. Though hopefully if what Arbiter said was true, there would be more opportunities for that here soon, very soon, and next time Brou might finally actually get considered a real hunter for a change! Though Brou had to gloomily wonder when that chance was going to arrive, and if Arbiter might change her mind in the already-looming-too-long-for-Brou's-tastes interim. Ugh. So unfair.

So it was not entirely with good grace that Brou hung back and wove fretfully to and fro mostly about the rear of the small gathering crowd. Her ears flicked up and down and up again in indecision and building excitement, however, and her spirits couldn't be held down too far for too long. She was even almost able to brush off the look Arbiter threw back in their direction. Almost. As Brou put on her own jittery burst of speed she spied her brother moving up toward the other female, uh, "Jomyo" Brou thought she vaguely recalled hearing. Determinedly the black youngster dug in her paws; no way any stinkin' brother of hers was going to beat her to the chase! Brou moved up, haste making her a bit clumsy as she opted for speed over style, nearly tripping right into Pike as she tried to cut in line. The young bitch scrambled along and heard the littler deer bawling intermittent cries of distress ahead of them as, wild-eyed, it arced out away from them, then darted indecisively closer, then several strides away once more. It saw the danger, but didn't understand why its mother wasn't helping it escape.

Brou hesitated half a second before charging in in wild-eyed excitement of her own. She remembered before she lunged forward to sink her teeth in that she was supposed to wait until the kicking and flailing beasts were actually down before joining in, damn it all!—and with difficulty arresting her forward momentum, obediently she opted to smack her outthrust paws forward towards the poofy white male's nearest side instead of the encumbered but still-up-and-moving doe. Hurry hurry take it dooowwn already! she urged in shrill excitement, hurling her overexcited squeals in the vicinity of the white dog-wolf's handiest ear before she herself darted off toward the indecisive fawn. Its shrieks added to the cacophony of her own, and its mother's, as it saw her coming and bounded back off into the bushes with Brou in hot pursuit. The young wolf managed most of her not-terribly-well-thought-out goal, as she managed to pull even with the uneven-gaited little deer's side; the young ungulate squealed again and turned, crashing back through the underbrush mostly toward its mother, but only at an awkward angle which would send it shooting past the other wolves if none of them were paying attention. Brou didn't want to let it get away, but did sullenly hold that line in her mind: I'm not touching it Mother, see?! NOT touching it! which dumb instructions had sure better not let it escape. Surely one of the other wolves would, like, catch it though, as it came bleating past on its panicky stick-legs? Brou could only hope but really, they all seemed to be taking far too long about it already, if you asked her, and surely if they just put her in charge of the next hunt this would all have played out oh so much better—

In the midst of her maneuvers, it seemed like the younger deer practically vanished once she startled them both back. Arbiter was there to catch the older of the duo right where it stalled thanks to her, thankfully, and though she had to loose a little momentum thanks to everything, her packmates were quick enough to pick up her (hopefully momentary) slack. Just afterward, Kaertok was there to also clamp down on the deer and with it further slowing, she had her own chance to seize.

She didn't want to give it time to get loose, or injure one of her pack, so after another deep breath of her own she ran for its front and lunged for the deer's chest--then neck. First, she just wanted to get a grip on it and was determined to see this through. So long as at least a few of them continued to weigh down the deer, she could make the direct hits of a final blow without much disturbance from the dying beast.

Everything after that became a mess of teeth and fur then turned into blood and dying cries. Hopefully soon, it would still, and stop fighting back against her. She was getting tired of hearing it, and challenged this energy into the ferocity of her bite until it all finally could go quiet again.

Terance had joined them too, taking hold with Arbiter and Kaertok to force the rear half down into the snow -- so that each kick of its legs, each struggle as the older doe tried to move forward sank it farther to a place of no recovery. Spook and Pike circled from a distance, watching for their opportunity but following instructions. Brou, on the other hand...

Through her teeth, Arbiter growled. -- And then she disappeared, but with her own hyper-focus on ending this much-needed hunt successfully she missed that instead her daughter had gone off after the younger deer. So she focused on pulling it down. Jomyo had the position to end it officially, and she waited with quickly fading patience for it to stop moving.

Once it had, she let go, licking her lips before locking her eyes onto Brou, and from the looks of it, she meant business. Her ears had tipped forward and her lips peeling back into a snarl. She had not followed instructions again -- or at least not to agree that her mother was happy with, and this was far too important a situation for that to go unnoticed. Brou wasn't a child any more, and so Arbiter was ready to treat her like any other subordinate in the pack stepping well out of line. And if she hadn't figured out what was wrong...

Oh shit, that loud low growl from Arbiter sounded like it meant business. The daughter stopped short, digging her heels in and half-dropping to the earth, even as her dilated eyes roved after the baby deer in dismay. I didn't touch it— I di'n't touch either of 'em, Brou whined in dismay, but at a much softer volume than her usual, as her ears folded unhappily back and her head drooped a little. And now the little one's gone, she added in a sulky mutter. Why hadn't anyone else jumped on that opportunity? Darn it! Even the bigger one looked so skinny, and as one of the youngest of the pack Brou was lowest on the totem pole when it came to taking her turn to munch. (Especially now if mom was going to get all persnickity about it with her to try and teach her another freaking lesson... ugh!) She hadn't had venison in ages and ages and ages and now who knew if there was even going to be anything but gristle left when Brou finally got a bite!

Why hadn't anyone grabbed the little one as it ran past, seriously. It just didn't seem very pack-spirited of the rest of them, harrumph, especially when they surely all knew that Arbiter's stupid rules were keeping her kids from grabbing any of the morsels for themselves while the critters were still up and running. Seriously, if Brou was going to miss out on lunch from this failure on the other wolves' parts she was not gonna be happy.

Brou's eyes widened just a fraction as her attention was pulled away from their prey by Mother's stalking towards her. Oh shit. Brouhaha flattened the rest of the way down, even laying her chin in the dirt as she tucked her white tailtip down inside the curve of her left hind leg. A tiny whimper escaped her. Her blue eyes darted unhappily up to Arbiter, then submissively away; they couldn't resist slipping over to linger on the big doe the others were making sure of even now. Brou pulled her gaze away when she noticed and shifted it off to the right, away from Mom and all the delicious distractions of the day, but she had to dart her tongue out and run it over her upper lip in a tiny motion to catch the gathering saliva before it could fall and betray her. ...The big one's down now...at least... she murmured, but sank her jawline deeper into the upchurned cold dirt even so, half-shutting her eyes and resigning herself to wait until Arbiter relented and gave her the explicit go-ahead, this time. Damn it, this was so unfair! She'd been stuck here forever and ever with all that stupid made-up murderers business, she'd held back as much as Momma said to no matter how hard it had been, hadn't touched even a hair of either of these stupid deer, and now she was going to miss out entirely on getting more than the merest taste of venison haunch, just watch.

There was still the tunnel vision of the hunt, but Arbiter's only target now was her Daughter receiving a proper amount of scolding. While Pike milled around like a hungry fish of the same name and Spook merely lurked farther away, Brou now cowered. She'd done a good job adding her own little bit of chaos, and again Arbiter had done her best to prove it wasn't the best idea to do so. They needed to work together, but did she just not realize what had been at stake? Why did she so insist not following instructions? We all pick one target, we take one target, together. Chase two and we may get none, she growled. Do you want none? A pause then, to see if she'd answer, but regardless, she turned on heel then back to the deer. If more needed to be discussed, then it could be done later.

Back to the kill. She cleared her expression, nodding to those who had actually helped with the kill. Other than that interference, it had been good. She licked her lips. A good hunt, which perhaps would ring somewhat hollow after that bit of a show. She and Terance had the rights to eat first, but once they had made their selects along the side of the deer, she wasn't going to demand they wait longer. Even troublesome children could take their pick.

Only once she was sure the beast was good and gone did she let her jaws go slack, and finally panted, regrouping. Of course, since scolding the young was not her business here, she was keen to just let that happen uninterrupted. She instead glanced to Kaertok, and Terance, nodding softly for a job well done among them all, and with that said, she simply waited her turn to take her share--not worried, because this was more than plenty for the lot of them, and a much-needed morale boost after a long, tiresome winter.

And so all was good. Food for the pack. She raised her head and howled for the others -- if they'd been far during the hunt, perhaps they'd be able to make it now. If not, there'd be some left in the caches later. She wasn't going to promise it'd be a lot given how hungry everyone had been recently, but there would probably be something.

This was progress. This was a step to the future.