Hunting was part of Elwood's weekly routine, which usually meant he concentrated his efforts on smaller prey, like rabbits and squirrels. He typically found himself hunting alone, but sometimes he liked to set his sights on something a bit more challenging. Larger quarry meant that a hunting partner was needed, and it was a companion that he was in search of at that very moment.
There was a small group of deer that had congregated near the base of the caldera itself, seeking shelter among the trees and underbrush and grazing on the sparse spring grass that grew along the mountainside. Elwood had spent the better part of the morning stalking them, counting them -- three females and a male -- and preparing for the hunt. Although his main goal was always to feed the pack, he had a particular reason for selecting this prey: Finley's recent and seemingly insatiable hunger.
He had promised to provide her with a grand feast, and he intended to follow through with that vow. So it was on silent paws that he crept along a rocky ledge, peering down at his targets and simultaneously keeping an eye and ear alert for any sign of packmates that might be willing to help.
Hunting was the only thing that Pantaleimon was any good at, in her own opinion. It was nice to have a pack to hunt with once more, no longer needing to risk her life getting injured on her own, or sticking to small game with low risk, but low reward, too.
Presently, Pantaleimon was looking at the same herd of deer that the pack's Beta was. She kept low to the ground as she watched their move, counted them, and kept an eye open for other wolves that might join in and help her pick one off. Pantaleimon usually preferred sticking to weaker, wounded creatures, but in this case she could find none that looked weak, wounded, old or young; Pan decided to observe a while longer in hopes of finding one that was one of the aforementioned so that it would make for an easier prey.
At that moment she noticed Elwood on the rocky ledge, also observing the deer. Pantaleimon did not want for the deer to see her and could do not much more than look up at Elwood and hope that he would notice her so that they could hopefully bring down one of the beasts together.
As luck would have it, Elwood wasn't the only caldera wolf keeping an eye on the deer. He soon noticed a white figure down below, out of the prey's eyesight, and identified the wolf as Pantaleimon. He didn't know the quirky male all that well, but had interacted with him on a handful of occasions. It seemed that they were on the same wavelength, and as their gazes locked over the heads of the grazing animals, he gave an almost imperceptible nod.
With that, he began to prowl down the mountainside, careful not to dislodge any rocks and alert the deer to his presence. He couldn't very well tackle them from above, so he knew it would be best to join Pantaleimon on the flat ground. The silver Beta followed a well-worn trail, weaving his way down until the earth leveled out beneath his feet. Then, he moved in a wide arc, circling around toward Pan while leaving a considerable amount of distance between himself and the quarry.
"The smaller female," he whispered once he was within earshot, gesturing with his snout towards the littlest of the three does. She stood a few feet away from the others, clipping at the short grass while her large ears twitched atop her head.
Pantaleimon followed Elwood with her eyes as he came down the mountainside from where he had observed the deer and joined Pan on ground. For a moment, Pantaleimon thought they might just go and attack the herd of deer and pick one out, that he had already picked one; Pan was ready for action in case he would go, but when he came towards her, Pantaleimon realised they would discuss tactics first. Pan followed Elwood's gaze towards the doe, absorbed into the role of hunter, the one thing that she was very good at, and nodded.
"We should go together and chase the rest of the herd away from it," Pantaleimon whispered at Elwood. "We're fast enough to catch up with it after." Pantaleimon had often hunted with a system where one or a few wolves would chase the deer and one or a few others waited in the brush to cut it off and jump it. Since it was just the two of them, however, and they would easily be detected were they to circle the herd, Pantaleimon thought it a better idea to go together on this one and win on speed after dividing the animal from the herd. Pan looked at Elwood to see if he agreed with the plan, or if he had better suggestions.
For the first time in Elwood's experience, Pantaleimon demonstrated confidence. There was no stutter when he replied to the Beta, speaking in hushed tones as he made a suggestion. Elwood liked this side of Pantaleimon; he respected his opinion and found that his idea was a good one. It would be much more effective for the two wolves to work in tandem instead of separating. They would be able to sever their target from the rest of the group, then use their speed and endurance to exhaust the doe and bring her down.
With a firm nod of his head to show his agreement, Elwood turned away from Pan and started to trot towards the deer, his stride long and slow. The animals stirred as he neared, their round eyes rolling as they shifted and started to move, bunching together initially. The grey wolf snaked closer, snapping teasingly at the ankles of the deer; their chosen quarry lingered near the back of the group and he soon focused on her, occasionally glancing to the side to make sure that Pantaleimon was nearby.
Elwood nodded to show that he was in agreement, and the two wolves soon moved out. Pantaleimon stayed a small distance away from Elwood, staying near the other side of the doe from Elwood, in case she would suddenly go left or right in a desperation attempt. The herd huddled close and started to run. Since the doe that Elwood had pointed out was at the back of the group, Pantaleimon did not doubt that they would be able to catch it; they just needed to find the right moment to separate it from the group.
At some point, the doe tried to go left, right towards Pantaleimon, and Pan waited in her tracks while it flew by. Pan quickly looked at Elwood to make sure that he would place himself between the rest of the herd and the doe as he followed through the turn -- hopefully the herd would forfeit the life of the doe then and move away, glad to survive another day; once it was separated properly, the two of them would easily be able to catch up to the doe and kill it, Pantaleimon knew.
The pace picked up quickly and Elwood focused all of his attention on the deer, though he tried to keep Pantaleimon in his peripheral vision at all times. He swerved as their target dropped back and sliced to the left, putting itself directly in Pan's path. When Elwood glanced over his shoulder and saw that his packmate had everything under control, he sped up and continued to nip at the heels of the other animals, effectively herding them away from the single doe.
Once it was clear that neither the buck nor the other females would interfere, the Beta wolf circled back, his legs propelling him towards Pantaleimon. His hunting partner was gaining on their quarry, and Elwood began to salivate freely in anticipation as he closed the gap. There was no doubt in his mind that they would be successful.
Elwood split off to take care of the remaining deer, the rest of the herd, and Pantaleimon focussed fully on the split off doe. Each performed their task, and Pantaleimon did not look back to see if Elwood had returned to her side yet; she just kept running, chasing the doe until it grew tired.
When Pantaleimon's ears caught the footfalls of Elwood closing in on them, she quickened her pace without looking back. Once by the doe's side, Pantaleimon threw herself at its side, aiming for its neck.
With a startled cry, the doe fell to the ground, and upon impact Pantaleimon's teeth were ripped from the wound in its neck, from which blood now tricked. Pan somersaulted as she was flung away by the impact of the fall, and hoped Elwood would be fast enough to attack and finish it before the doe could get up.
The two wolves bore down on their prey, running in tandem. From the corner of his eye, Elwood saw Pantaleimon lunge for the deer, successfully seizing its neck and dragging it down. Both wolf and deer tumbled, and nimbly Elwood dodged around the bodies to avoid falling. He quickly pivoted and dove onto the animal's wounded neck, using the force of his weight to hold it down while it flailed.
Hooves kicked out at the air close to Elwood's shoulder, but he luckily managed to avoid any direct blows. With claws and teeth, he tore at the deer's throat, tearing open the laceration that Pan had inflicted. Blood was seeping onto the ground around him, and the deer's motions were becoming weaker and weaker, though it continued to struggle and kick until it physically couldn't any longer.
When he was satisfied that they had been successful, Elwood straightened, one red-stained forepaw firmly resting on the doe's withers. He licked his lips and looked to Pantaleimon with a congratulatory chuff. "Nice work," he said with a bob of his head.
Pantaleimon crashed to the ground, and when she looked up she saw that luckily Elwood was already upon the doe, tearing at the gash that Pan had already created. Pantaleimon got up, but when she was on scene the deer's movements had already weakened and the danger of Elwood getting hit was gone. They had done it, they were successful.
Pan's tail wagged a meek beat while Elwood said that she had done well. Hunting was the one thing that Pantaleimon was good at, that gave her confidence -- well, beside swimming. "You too," Pantaleimon murmured softly, and she sat down beside the doe with head low, waiting for Elwood to eat first, for he was Beta.
Pantaleimon returned the sentiment, and then settled himself to the side in order to allow Elwood to eat first. He wasn't normally so formal -- especially when the hunt involved as much teamwork as this one had -- but he didn't want to push Pan out of his comfort zone. So instead he stepped up to the proverbial plate and crouched, using his teeth to tear at the tender flesh and eat his fill.
When his stomach signaled that it was full, he reclined onto his haunches, licking his lips. There would be plenty of meat for each of them, plus a good amount to store away in a cache. The Beta gestured towards his friend, indicating that it was his turn to dine, and once they were both finished they could go about disassembling the carcass for storage.
Elwood ate first, and Pantaleimon waited patiently until it was her turn to eat. There would be plenty, and they would have meat left over to bring to the caches or allow the rest of the pack to feast on. Once Elwood was done and signaled that it was time for her to eat, Pantaleimon pushed her nose into the meat and tore off some pieces to eat.
Once Pantaleimon was done eating, the large white male looked at Elwood. "Shall we uhm, bring the rest to a cache?" They could preserve it and keep it for later, or they could share it with the pack; whichever they chose was up to Elwood.
Elwood busied himself with grooming his messy paws as Pantaleimon ate. Only once the other male was done and had addressed him did he look up, satisfied that his toes had been restored to their natural charcoal hue. "You read my mind," he replied with a grin; he had been in a good mood before, but the success of their hunt had raised his spirits even further.
"There's a spot not too far from here," he said as he took to his feet and stepped back towards the carcass. He nudged at a leg bone with a considerable amount of meat still clinging to it, then took it in his mouth. They would have to make a couple of trips in order to store all of the remains. He then turned and padded towards a copse of short trees.
One of the bigger trees had a large hole in its trunk, formed by a gap between the roots and the ground. Within, there was already the leftovers of what appeared to have once been a squirrel. Elwood pushed aside the old corpse and deposited the deer's thigh, then backed up to let Pantaleimon leave his share.
want to just fade this out? :) if so, feel free to write an ending in your next post ^^
Pantaleimon smiled softly when Elwood said that she had read his mind. When Elwood mentioned a spot nearby, Pan nodded and started to tear off one of the deer's front legs. Once Pan had gotten through the bone and muscle that kept it in place and had managed to tear off the meat, she followed Elwood to the nearby cache.
After Elwood had deposited his thigh, Pantaleimon stuffed in her front leg and shoulder. After that, she exchanged a quick look with Elwood before turning back towards the carcass to get more meat and transport it.
Thanks for the thread! :)
The two wolves worked diligently to put away the remainders of the meat, taking a few more trips back and forth. Once they were both satisfied with the end results, Elwood thanked Pantaleimon for his help and excused himself. He was happy to have spent some time with the subordinate, and to have seen a glimpse of his confidence. Pan was an excellent hunter, and Elwood knew that he would be an asset to the pack.