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+--- Thread: Bearclaw Valley iron defenses (/showthread.php?tid=64627)
iron defenses - Tvar - January 22, 2025
all welcome!
frost clings to the jagged edges of the stones underfoot, and the crisp scent of pine mingles with the faint musk of lingering intruders.
fucking coyotes.
the damned things had been bold lately, and with pups on the way, tvar wouldn’t tolerate any risks.
a bundle of sharp stakes lies scattered nearby, crudely whittled but deadly enough to deter anything foolish enough to trespass. he crouches beside them, selecting one and digging it into the frozen earth with a push of his paw, gritting his teeth against the resistance.
the mountain pass forms a natural bottleneck, an ideal choke point to reinforce. tvar works steadily, driving the stakes deep at irregular intervals to form an unwelcoming barrier. his breaths come heavy in the frosty air.
RE: iron defenses - Ameline - January 22, 2025
Scavengers sought the valley, it seemed. Unimpressed, the Regina headed toward the meadow to see how much they hunted in the expanse- they were already a threat to the borders, so she believed they would be a threat to their food supply as well.
There, digging holes and placing jagged wooden pikes into them, was Tvar.
She gave him a nod but showed more interest in the spikes. She meandered among the few already erected, pressed her cheek against one and felt its jagged, but sharpened tip comb through her fur.
Anthuhlin an’ I put a coyote’th head on a thtump onthe.She said, and sneered.
They thtart to thtink right away, but…We didn’t hafta worry about coyoteth for a while.She said.
It was gruesome- but perhaps a temporary measure.
I wanna thee three headth.She looked to Tvar.
Three coyote headth, an’ you’ll become Hedguard.
She doubted he’d need any more motivation- Tvar had children on the way. Eradicating the coyotes was important- and a promotion for the new father was just the way to ensure that his children would be given every advantage.
RE: iron defenses - Tvar - January 23, 2025
his gaze flicked briefly to the jagged stakes he'd been driving into the ground, then back to the regina. he didn't care for the promise of rank; duty was duty, and he'd do it, but ambition did not drive the man like it once had. no, that didn’t matter. all he knew was that she was asking him to deliver something—something the valley needed—and he’d see it done.
three heads,his voice is gruff, tense, threaded with the serious tone he had taken up as of late. a man stressed, a man scorned—he'd had it up to his neck with these coyotes, and add the pressures of amounting fatherhood on top of that?
i’ll get it done.
any excuse to bring more carnage to the persistent threat to everything he held dear—towhee, their unborn pups, the pack. he wasn't done here, but he could return easily enough. ameline had thrown gasoline onto the raging fire in his gut; he turns rather quickly, shoulders tense with prospective violence and he dips his head to the regina.
you up for some hunting, my liege?
a playful attempt at joking with her, and hopefully something to lighten his mood.
RE: iron defenses - Ameline - January 23, 2025
Tvar was tense, she could sense it. For a moment, she thought he might be irked, to have his progress halted, and another responsibility set upon his shoulders. She softened her gaze, when she realized what she was witnessing was a man probing every bit of his own worth both as a packmate and as a father.
She wondered if he battled most with how busy he was becoming, or the fear that grew unbidden alongside unborn children.
She snapped her jaws together.
Let’th go get the firtht one,She replied with a snap of her teeth, before she loosed a feral whoop, and with fur bristling, she bounded past the spikes and out into the meadow.
RE: iron defenses - Tvar - January 24, 2025
he followed the regina into the meadow. he was low, moving amongst the brush and snow, breath misting in the cool air. the scent of coyotes clung faintly to the wind, leading them directly to the source.
the tracks were faint but fresh, leading toward a cluster of dead shrubs at the edge of the meadow. he huffed softly, signaling to ameline with a flick of his tail, then whispered:
close.
he pushed ahead with enough care to avoid making unnecessary noise. the sound of rustling ahead confirmed their proximity. the coyotes were unaware—too focused on scavenging through a patch of frozen earth.
there were two of them, scraggly and lean, their heads low as they pawed at the ground.
RE: iron defenses - Ameline - February 02, 2025
Violence was an outlet that was not often a resort- it would have been too easy for her to succumb to the instinct to be feral and vicious, to keep words restrained and act with muscle, tooth and claw. But as a productive past-time and a team-building exercise? No harm done in shedding a little blood, especially if it meant keeping the pack's children safe in the future.
The verdict would be signed and stamped, and the coyote hunt began. She slowed her pace, and moved to Tvar's side, yielding the lead to him- feeding it to him, so he might find his own quest for release fulfilled. He moved forward and she fell in line behind him, squinting to avoid taking a branch to the eye. She moved step by step, in his tracks, synchronizing her gait with his so that if noticed, there might be the illusion of only one wolf prowling in the area.
She heard the scrabbling of paws. She moved closer to Tvar's side, tucking low to the ground so she might peer out beneath the shrub's lowest branches, to see the feet and legs of two coyotes- as well as their pale muzzles when they lowered their heads to scent.
A courting pair, perhaps. Just as well, then, that at least one of them should be killed- less chance there might be coyote pups in the spring.
She did not consider that they were canines, or that they had language and beliefs, that they had love, and hopes. She set all of that aside, and glanced to her companion.
Heads on spikes. That's all they would be.
RE: iron defenses - Tvar - February 03, 2025
tvar's eyes narrow as the scent thickens in the air. he catches sight of the coyotes through the underbrush, their postures relaxed, unaware of the danger. they're too close to the valley. too bold.
his hazel gaze shifts to ameline for a brief moment, meeting her eyes as if to confirm her thoughts.
you take the left,he whispers past caged teeth. he doesn’t wait for a response, his focus snapping back to the pair.
he moves slowly at first, circling wide to cut off their escape. his heart pounds, not with fear, but with the thrill of the hunt, the promise of retribution.
when he’s close enough, tvar lunges without warning, a snarl ripping from his throat. the coyotes scatter, yelping in panic. his jaws snap inches from one’s hind leg as it bolts, forcing it to veer straight toward ameline’s path.
RE: iron defenses - Ameline - February 03, 2025
A subtle nod and a shift in her gaze was all Tvar would be given as she agreed to his plan. She intended to invest faith in him- trust, and confidence would need to be given just as much as they would be earned. She could be putting her own safety on the line here- but it was time she put some stakes into her plan to promote the man.
He took the lead, and Ameline stepped into position, halting for a moment as he went long in an arc. Ameline veered left, emerging now that the coyotes had begun to bolt in that direction, shepherded by the larger, aggressive wolf. There had been fear in their eyes, and now it doubled- to see a wolf emerge in their path.
It forced a change of action- and without having time to coordinate, their pace slowed as they recalibrated. Ameline kept her gaze on one, and when it wheeled to bolt, she pursued, zig-zagging to cut down the distance between them, reading the micro-movements of the coyote and cutting the edge off every corner it made so she could gain ground.
RE: iron defenses - Tvar - February 06, 2025
giant paws eat up the ground below as he assails the coyotes, molding himself to the movements of ameline. making sure that neither managed to peel away, his teeth snapping at hocks in flight. he snarls, teeth flash, herding the scrappy creatures toward ameline’s path. fear floods their scent, thick and satisfying.
good.
he doesn’t waste time. he picks a target, one lagging slightly behind the others. it tries to double back, only for tvar to cut it off with a powerful lunge. his jaws snap, catching the coyote’s hind leg in a punishing grip. the creature shrieks and kicks, trying to break free, but tvar holds firm, wrenching it to the ground with a vicious yank.
the struggle is brief. his jaws close around its neck, crushing down.
RE: iron defenses - Ameline - February 13, 2025
The coyote moved like a hare in winter, desperate to outmaneuver a predator in heavy snow with swift diversions, knowing it could not outrun the wolf in a flat race. Such maneuvers might win the race between a hare and a wolf- for the smaller creature would be able to turn more quickly and bolt, to gain a bit of ground. The coyote made the error of assuming such tactics might work- but the Regina was a sporty, compact wolf- and maneuverability was her strength.
Each turn brought her closer. Each straightaway gave her an advantage. One last attempt was made by the coyote to veer out of reach- but the Regina was there, right there.
They collided in a tumbling mass of snapping jaws and grappling claws. She bullied the creature to the ground, grabbing it by the scruff and shaking. Disoriented the creature cried out for mercy- only to find none.
RE: iron defenses - Tvar - February 13, 2025
tvar drops his kill, breath steaming as he watches ameline make quick work of her own. his tail flicks once.
she glances at ameline, wiping blood from his muzzle with a shake of his head. he doesn't seem particularly happy about the whole affair—but who was? it was grim, necessary work. at the end of the day, these coyotes weren't much different from them.
they had their own lives. their own families. and tvar has to swallow bile and blood as he turns to look down at the crumpled body at his paws.
to distract:
good work, regina.and he does not wait for a response before leaning head down to begin the work. ears pinning back against his head in his best attempt to ignore the sound of flesh squelching within his own mouth.
RE: iron defenses - Ameline - February 14, 2025
The body slowly went limp, and the thankless task was over. She turned the coyote over, sniffing and inspecting its condition, finding only that it had been a healthy creature, and old enough to reproduce. She'd cut short what could have been a fulfilling life for the poor woman- but Ameline knew that there was a price to be paid, for her own comfort.
She looked up, as Tvar hovered momentarily over his own kill. The work would begin now; she answered him with a nod.
You ath well,Though her voice was joyless. The moment he began to mutilate the coyote's corpse, so did she. She flattened her ears as she set a paw on the tawny coyote's muzzle, and began to tear through fur, skin, tissue and muscle, exposing spine and windpipe, both to be severed.
Her bronze chest would be scarlet, her legs slick and sticky, the fur framing her face dark and gleaming. But when the work was done, it would be one less coyote seeking to make their home in the meadow- and one more coyote deterant for their borders.
RE: iron defenses - Tvar - February 15, 2025
his jaws tear through sinew, warm blood pooling in his mouth, the iron taste thick on his tongue. his breathing is steady, even as the coyote's head finally comes free with a sickening snap. he spits out tufts of fur, shaking blood from his muzzle before glancing toward ameline. she is just as bloodied, just as ruthless in her duty.
he does not revel in this, but he does not regret it either. their land will not be overrun, not while he still draws breath.
he grips the severed head by the scruff, lifting it.
where do you want them?
RE: iron defenses - Ameline - February 16, 2025
The similarities between the shape of the coyote’s face and those belonging to the wolves she loves most did not deter her from her task. If the coyotes struck, it would be her children who fell- and if she had to make the choice between a few dead coyotes and a single dead child, she knew what decision she would make; and had already made it.
Entranthe of the valleyShe said, before she spat out a clump of fur that had lodged itself between her teeth and her cheek.
I’m takin’ thith one to the edge of the meadow.Surely, the two coyotes had come from somewhere- if there were more, they’d need to be warned.
The pelt of the animal was otherwise fine; a prize for her to harvest later on. She looked to Tvar, and her gaze dropped to the clouded eyes of the severed head for a moment.
Tvar would be a father before long as well; his readiness to protect his children was something she prayed would never have to be put into action.
Two more with that one, an’ you’ll be Hedguard.She reminded him, before she picked up the second coyote’s head and made for the edge of the meadow.
last for me <3
RE: iron defenses - Tvar - February 16, 2025
tvar watches her go, her bloodied form disappearing into the trees. he then glances down at the severed head in his grasp, blue and green eyes quiet despite it all.
with a grunt, he shifts the weight of the coyote's head in his jaws and turns toward the valley's entrance. three heads, a warning, a deterrent.
he will see it done.
<3