Raissa was on her usual patrol, her nose to the ground as she walked around the base of the mountain. It had only been two days since the pack had formed and she could already feel herself slipping away. Her eyes had lost their sparkle and her steps had started to drag. She buried herself in work, doing everything she could to avoid interaction. Sure she tried to meet all the members of the pack and start good relationships, but it just all started to blur together.
Today she was padding along the border, her ears alert and her nose twitching, looking for signs of intruders or prey. The over cast sky showed her mood and the wind ruffled her fur with a slightly muggy breeze. After a good twenty minutes of walking with nothing interesting happening, she caught the scent of deer. It was odd, because there was only one scent, unlike the usual three or four that showed a herd. And even better, there was the smell of fresh blood on the ground, telling it was injured. Raissa's eyes lit up as she veered off her path and away from the base of the mountain, starting towards the flatlands. The scent got stronger and stronger the further she went and eventually she could make out the limping figure. It was a good sized doe, if not a little scrawny because of winter and it held it's back leg up to it's chest as it walked. A smile crept onto the she-wolf's face as she came up behind it, slowly and quietly, so she didn't make a sound.
At the last second, the agile wolf leapt from her crouched position and landed squarely on the deer's startled back. Raissa's weight combined with the deer only having three legs to stand on made it crumple to the ground in a shrieking heap, legs flying everywhere. However, before the deer could land a hoof on the nimble she wolf, she sunk her fangs deep into it's neck, shaking it as hard as she could. Slowly, the deer stopped struggling and lay limp beneath her claws.
Once she was sure it was in fact dead, Raissa climbed off it's body and raised her head, letting out a howl to call for all her pack mates to come and feast.
He was concerned for his mate but he didn't have a clue how to help her. He had been home every night, sometimes later than others, but he was always, always there. Yet still, Raissa didn't seem to be herself. She seemed disappointed and he was taking it personally. FitzDutiful was trying to think of some grand, romantic gesture - like when he had asked her to be his mate - but times were hard, his energy was low and his mind was empty. He needed a meal to boost his spirits and his energy.
Suddenly he heard his love howl, signifying food enough for them all. Pleased that it would be his mate to provide the first meal he howled a joy and dashed there at full pelt. "My love and my saviour," he said as he arrived on the scene. His eyes grew wide at the sight and sparkled as he looked at the mother of his future children.
"Your find, you can feed first." he said, giving up his position as alpha for the most nutritious part of their meal. He was slightly surprised she hadn't already started on it, he surely would have.
Little did she now, Fitz was taking her current depression to be his fault, when really, it had nothing to do with him. He had kept his promise perfectly, being home every night even though things were tough for him and she really appreciated that. She honestly didn't know what was wrong, she just felt like she was failing miserably, like she was bringing the new pack down.
So when Fitz was the first to arrive, his eyes sparkling with love and pride, it really lifted her spirits. Bringing the deer down made her feel like she could actually be helpful to the pack. Sure it had been pretty injured and an easy kill, but it made her feel better none the less.
She was quite surprised when he offered her the first bites of the deer, giving up his position as alpha for her. A big smile lifted the sides of her face and she licked him on the cheek, showing how much she appreciated it. She padded back over to the deer and separated a piece of meat from it's hind leg, carrying the chunk away from it and settling down, waiting for Fitz to get his so they could eat together.
Walks in on a potential love thread.*
Copper heard a howl in the distance. Food! The Zeta bounded toward the sound of the howl, salivating for the need of food. Until now, Copper didn't realize how famished he was.
Damned pack! He had thought. If they had taken down more game, the (potential) lower ranks wouldn't be near death from famine. HE realized then that he was the only lower rank...
The rusty wolf came upon Fitz and Raissa, exchanging love. He snarled quietly with disgust, and came up to the deer. What truly bummed him was that he would have to wait to get the leftovers. Gods such as him didn't have to wait for food! Although, he only thought this, as he didn't want to annoy Fitz further than he already was. When he wasn't kissing Raissa though. Copper smiled, and sat down, waiting for more She-wolves to file in.
On the other side, this was heaven. Him and Fitz were the only males, and he was taken. so Copper got to lay back and admire the ladies.
When a howl lifted into the air, the midnight wolfess was surprised to here it was from Raissa, for a feast. Nevertheless she was tired of eating cold meals from the caches and even though she had eaten a few small fresh meals, she wanted something more. The pack was still to tiny for her to host an official pack hunt, but she was to focused on finding sources of food, to host anything yet.
She trotted her way over to were the howl came from, and was a bit upset to see she wasn't the first here. She gave a nod to those present and gracefully walked over to were Copper was. It was then Bindi thought about the foxes her and Raissa had hunted, and even if she failed there, the tri-colored female defiantly did well here. "Those foxes might have got away" she said while looking down at the dear before adding on. "This sure didn't" she said to Raissa with a small smile, and plopped down on her rump, waiting for her turn to have a go at the meal.
Copper saw a wolfess he didn't know. He decided to risk going to get some meat. The got the most choice peice. The lower limbs. He then dragged it over to Raissa sat down, and chewed at the leg, gnawing on the hoof to sharpen his teeth. The infamous Mountain protetor was less than happy. Why did he have to risk getting growled at over meat? He should have the entire carcass and more!
The rusty wolf then sat down next to the two present she-Wolves, perking one ear to listen in on their conversation. Apparently they were talking about a failed Fox hunt. foxes were clever creatures. He didn't blame Raissa. But Bindi, she was supposed to be the big great warden. Copper huffed, still a bit angry about he had first met the Dark wolfess.
Posting an ending and archiving
The pack all came together for food and it was heartening to see. It had been a hard start to their pack lands but it was finally up and running. It was lucky that Raissa had found this food in order to feed them all. Taking his share over to sit by her, he greeted both Copper and Bindi informing them that they were free to eat without fear of repercussions.
As the night fell the wolves, with full stomach for once, returned to their homes to sleep off the food-induced tiredness and finally, finally, have some strength of overcome the rest of their trials.