Wolf RPG

OOC: Jinx wants to hunt stuff so anyone can join!

IC: She had done a lot of speaking the last few days, and a lot of explaining that she felt largely unnecessary. With all that done, Jinx had retreated to the solitude of her den, a veritable hut built beneath the roots of one of the territory's majestic sequoias. There, she had made a concoction of sea water and shrivelled berries to hold in her mouth and soothe the rasping of her throat. She had not spoken in three days when she finally emerged, resolved to offer no further explanation to anyone.

She loped easily through the Ridge's spacious rainforest, with plans to visit her altar in mind. These plans were changed as soon as her stomach rumbled hollowly, and her very walk changed as she shifted into tracking mode. She loped along with body lowered and tail at half-mast, ears erect and nose darting between ground and air in feverish search of prey.

She caught their fresh scent and located their trail just as midday came upon Horizon Ridge, and promptly lifted her head to summon all hungry wolves to her to hunt. A wolf tall as she could take down a deer single-handedly, but it was too risky for Jinx's taste, and she could not consume an entire deer to herself even if she could kill one. Better to share with pack mates and be brought into their favour for it than to risk injury.

When the sharp summons rang through the air, Naga slipped out from a small cavern she had discovered and claimed as her den and began the treacherous climb up the ridge, towards its rainforest. Winter had made an already steep climb worse, for ice and snow caught and glazed normally secure footholds—but as a Kesuk-Nereides, she was no stranger to cliffs and the way their moods changed with the seasons. When she reached the flat surface of the ridge, Naga's sides heaved only slightly harder and faster than usual. She wasted no time in approaching the rainforest.

Perhaps five or ten minutes after her pack mate's song had pierced the seaside, Naga came upon the white female and offered a small whuff of greeting. Although they were half-sisters, no recognition lit the Kesuk-Nereides' features—Jinx Kesuk was a wolf she had heard of, but never met. As far as she knew, that wolf still reigned over a place called Shearwater Bay.

She noted there were no others in their presence, and she did her best to dispel her disappointment. Though Lysianassa knew how to hunt and was approaching her first birthday quickly, she was perhaps not the aid that her pack mate was looking for. She had seen the tracks left by a small herd of deer, could taste them in the air—this was likely why the white woman had called, and the almost-yearling remained quiet so as not to alert the creatures to their presence.

From the moment her howl grazed tops of the trees, Jinx waited. She stood on antsy feet, commanding her legs to keep her still so she was easily located... But nobody came. Two minutes turned into five, and nobody howled to announce they had heard her. Five minutes crept toward, and no rustle in the undergrowth announced a wolf's approach. Her patience wore thinner and thinner with each second that ticked by, until finally she had had it waiting for her supposed pack mates to show up to assist her.

It was with judgement in her eyes that she turned around, ready to make a haughty and empty-handed retreat from the herd's trail, when she was presented finally with a participant. Unforunately, it wasn't the kind of participant Jinx had been hoping for, but after a moment's careful consideration of her companion — a yearling, by the looks of it, though she overshot her estimate — decided she would have to suffice.

After all, at seven months, Jinx and Kaskae had assumed the mantle of leadership, fresh out of learning to hunt with the pack. Certainly this female, who was surely several months older than that, was capable enough. Her relation to Akhlut and Jinx's own mother was unknown, else she would have been absolutely certain of her capabilities; instead, the Kesuk assumed she had some experience.

Wordlessly, the Kappa turned and gestured for Naga to follow. They would not be able to take down one of the healthier, stronger deer like Jinx had initially wanted, what with there being only two of them, but if they could spot a sickly doe, together they might have a chance. Her nose flicked between path and air as she trailed it deeper into the forest, hopefully with her new hunting companion on her tail. The herd couldn't be more than a mile away — droppings were fresh and the scent was strong — but with their scant number, they would have to move quickly to maintain advantage.

Upon arriving, the two found the thinning herd, but after extensive observation, determined none of its members weak enough to be taken down by two wolves. Disappointed, Jinx led Naga on a hunt for something smaller, and that day they took down a raccoon, which was meagre fare in comparison but nonetheless fed them that day.