Wolf RPG

The pack had been unable to do much with the elk, given the fact that the bull elk, strong and wise for his age, had caught on to the fact that the wolf population had returned and was ready to strike the herd again. He looked out for his herd, and did it well; his massive rack afforded the herd its life, as the Spine tested them out. But none shied when the elk bellowed, and the wolves, after hours of waiting, were left wanting.

Wolves could last a long time without food, and given that the Spine had succeeded in each hunt thus far during her reign, this one miss would cause none to starve with the great amount of meat in their stores. Still. The leader had caught onto the smell of blood from a smaller (than elk) but no less difficult prey. It was an injured doe, and the leader was on its trail. A kill was a kill. And if any were hungry, they would not be for much longer if all went well here.

Their hunt had been in vain. Kind of. They'd sort of moved the herd around until the bull elk stood up and proved himself too strong of hoof to really be reckoned with. It had been... a frustratingly long wait and unfruitful. Another time perhaps they'd be able to penetrate the fold. Until then they were left without which made Kerosene thankful for the summer and an abundance of other life.

They'd dispersed a bit, mentally recovering from their injured pride and then, like a small mercy rose the scent of blood upon the air. Tonravik was already upon it. She zeroed in on the creature, honing her finer skills as she pursued this alternative food source. Kero was in the area and caught on. He neared their determined queen and fell into her wake until it was time to fan out and trap their second chance at satisfied stomachs. 

The bull bellowed and after several hours in their stakeout, the wolves' prey swept away. The brown bear flicked his tail with a snort. His muscles had been tensed with readiness, patiently waiting for the chance to make a move, but they uncoiled now as the pack milled with empty stomachs. Fortunately, another card had been dealt, one that was in their favor. The tang of blood brushed his nose and his head snapped to it. Tonravik was already moving toward this new prospect. Iqniq, too, had caught the scent and moved to follow. Kodiak joined them, taking a position at his fiery packmate's shoulder.

Two were swift to come to either side of her. Iqniq and Arklark drew close to her side, and the trio prowled hungrily toward their quarry. The animal was not yet in their line of sight, but she could smell it, smell that they were drawing nearer by the moment. She and her two subordinates would find success on this day, for the good of the Spine. While they did not need their bellies filled, as all but this one had been a success, the strange foretelling of her soon to be insatiable need had struck and her drive had gone up tenfold. 

The sound of rustling nearby, of the cracking of wood underfoot, could be heard. There was no need for them to delay, or to hide; their stalking had been in quiet, and their prey unsuspecting. But Tonravik thinks. The three of them are large; surely quick, but could they be as quick as the fleet-footed deer they prowled after...? 

Tonravik pauses, hearing silence... but the deer ahead continued their trek, none-the-wiser. It is then she breaks into the small clearing that turned as quick as it began back into wood, alerting her troops with a quick shift of her ears, that had fallen forward, ready to fall on the offensive in this battle for their food. 

They crept closer, all three of them. Eyes on the prize, they skirted the herd and sought out the injured doe who lured them in like hungry piranhas. Somewhere in their number, the slower one was hiding. Somewhere in there, they'd find a snack to offer their wolf kind and hold them over until they could manage a more sustaining kill.

Kero lingered, settling in next to Kodiak as they flanked Tonravik's pursuit. They shimmied through a small clearing and passed back through to the covering of trees unnoticed. So far so good.

When Toni's ears slipped forward, Kero followed suit. Like any soldier awaiting their marching orders, he adjusted his own body language, switching from stealth to attack mode as he awaited the signal to begin this chase. Stir up the herd. Discover the weak one. Kill it. If everything went according to plan, their victory would be sweet.

She lead, they followed, until the trio of predators broke into a clearing. Here she signalled them with their ears, their stalk was about to become a chase. The brown bear distanced himself from his packmates then, remaining in a flanking position but a much wider one. He was prepared to approach at a different angle, to help drive the herd and separate the injured target. He glanced sidelong at his packmates, then focused on the deer ahead, keeping Iqniq and Tonravik in his periphery. Kodiak shifted, crouching as his muscles poised to sprint.

There was a minute of quietude that fell over the earth, moments before she rocketed forward. The birds chirped openly and the wind tickling the blades of grass could be heard, as could the sound of it sifting between thick boughs and thin branches alike. The pleasant hum of life was there, before the hounds of death unleashed themselves to do their work. Her muscles rippled beneath her furs as she reclined slightly, and in seconds she was out from the brush, moving in a long, loping stride not yet a sprint.

The herd had a delayed reaction, but it did so in a frenzy. They were simply keen to make a getaway; it was not clean, and she watched as two fell into one another, and as an antler of a young, inexperienced buck brushed against another. It did no harm, given it was in velvet, but in later times it surely would have. Tonravik was on the move, prowling through the herd with a hunger that would be slaked by the end of this.

The alpha followed the smell of blood, tail high, as she sought that weak link or else something weaker.

There was that moment. That soft, pensive quiet that fell around them and surrounded the few, precious seconds into nothing but one's own breath. Kerosene coiled, shifting a few second out of sync as Tonravik's body poised, curled like a snake. Kodiak skirted the edges, moving to herd from the edges. That would be enough. Kero lingered, near Tonravik for additional support in the front lines.

She sprang and Kero was right behind her. They moved, stealing through the herd as the elk slowly became aware of what was happening. They fled. The wolves moved with them, continuing their chase as it became a battle of endurance. The injured one would not last. Run them around long enough and it would emerge from the herd. It was just a matter now of finding it and separating it. He searched.

They moved in, scattering the herd in the suddenness of their appearance. Kodiak did not directly follow his packmates, he skirted off to their flank to snap at the heels of some of the tighter holding deer, splintering them into pairs or singles so that it was an easier task to search for the one that was injured. Or some other target just as suitable. He was focused, his eyes and nose shrewdly scouring the deer as they fled. Before him a pair of does split, and ahead of them as the gap formed between their body, he spotted the injured one.

The back of her leg bore a wound that said a coyote had had his try with her. She was weakened, but not deterred, the will to live as strong in her as ever. She was slower than the rest, but only just. Kodiak barked, his ears thrust forward, to alert his packmates to the target as it bleat in fear.

As the animals parted (some pairing, some grouping, most falling into a mass mob of their movement), Tonravik looked first to the pair bounding away from Kodiak. But they were quick and free of wounds, clearly healthy and bursting at the seam with their vitality. But a bark from the brown bear of a wolf caused Tonravik to divert her path, adjusting it to head toward him. There was no doubting Iqniq would do the same; Kodiak had found the one they would set after.

She noted that it ran well, but that it had a hitch in its stride. The natural width of it was stunted in its injury, and surely it would be its detriment as they ran with it for miles. For now, however, the trio sprinted after it as it ran and ran and ran, separating it from its herd entirely. It kept its pace, for now, and time would tell if it would slow... but the wolves themselves were made for this primal chase, and chase they did.

He searched, hunting, scenting, trying to home in on the target that was the injured doe. A bark. Kodiak spotted it from the outside of the fold. Toni turned, moving towards the injured deer and Kero rounded with her, pressing forward in that direction as their pursuit narrowed in on their meal of choice.

A wound to the leg. He noted it and watched as he ran. Training his eyes back and forth between the terrain to maintain his own footing while keeping the doe within view. It lingered, struggling to keep moving but its strength was failing and the herd was quickly leaving it behind.

Soon. Soon they'd be close enough to put it out of its misery.

They were with him, and the lethal trio chased their prey. It was wearing down fast, for there was panic in its sprints and bounds; it had already suffered at the jaws of another predator and did not endeavor to do so again. But the wolves' endurance prevailed, and as the doe's pace waned further the brown bear made his move. He bolted ahead of his pack mates and came upon the doe's flank, where he turned into it and clamped his teeth around its injured leg, angled to keep himself out of the way of a kick from the other. It bleated, terrified. The door was open for Tonravik or Iqniq to move in for the kill.

Tonravik kept in stride. Kodiak made his move and the animal slowed, immediately. Tonravik went for another leg. Gripping it by its joint, she held to the front leg, angling her own self so a back leg could not surge forward and hit her. She pulled and the animal stopped completely, emitting another sound of terror; Iqniq would effectively put it out of its misery.

Kodiak nabbed it. The creature instantly trembled and limped across the ground. Tonravik was right there, upsetting its footing even further as the creature tumbled and fell. Immediately, Kerosene was there, his teeth seeking out the beast's jugular as he locked fangs and clamped down, hard. He lingered, fighting against the doe's fading breath until he crushed further.

Faint breaths disappeared and became no more. The victory was theirs. The pack would still dine this week.

They came together and in moments the doe was dead. It was merciful for her; the wound was sure to fester her and haunt her for days to come. She would succumb to it eventually, slowly and painfully. It was the way of the wolf, they were stewards of the land by taking the sick and the old, and they would be fed well for it. He stepped back to allow Tonravik first access. He would eat a share when she had finished, cache a few others, and then wander off to rest.

The trio managed to bring it down. Its life was over in minutes, not so merciful as seconds, but its own struggling brought that on. Tonravik howled to the pack to alert them of a meal to be had, and then ate her fill of it. When she finished, the leader stepped away from the animal and watched Kodiak eat, rend the animal apart some to likely store, and then depart. She herself moved in a tight circle before laying down to nap. The leader would move to cache what was left of the meat later, when the rest of the Spine had their fair share.

The creature fell. Kerosene released his grasp upon its neck and stepped away. Tonravik would have first honors and, when she'd eaten her fill, he and Kodiak would take their turns. At that point, he'd eat enough to stave off his hunger and would linger until any of the summoned pack had their turn upon their kill. There wasn't much left. As Kodiak and Tonravik moved to store the rest of the remains, Kero slipped from the scene. He was done here.