Sawtooth Spire don't disturb the beast

Even though our hunt roll was a success this week, it seems we've encountered a little trouble to come along with it!  Grizzly Mama ain't happy. ;)  Next round will begin once all or the majority have replied, posting order is not mandatory to hold.  Forgive me for a little assumption powerplay going on, and for any disjointed wording... colds suck. ;_;

tagging: @Tonravik @Iqniq @Nanuk @Tatsuya @Aariak @Savik

The moose felled, the wolves ate.  It was an idyllic setting worthy of some nature documentary about their wild disposition.  Sure, there was the typical growling and snarling over choice pieces and pecking order, but for the most part Echelon took note of the contentedness that rolled through.  It was important for them to get their fill now; what they couldn't eat would be cached for later.

At least that had been the plan understood by one and all, until the growing sensation that they were no longer alone as a pack came into play.  It was a little hard to notice the approach of a thick-furred grizzly, especially when it arrived with fanfare.  Guttural and low were its call as it wasted no time in rising up to investigate them and size them up.  By then, Echelon had ceased her chewing and swallowed the last hunk of meat she held in her jaws roughly, eyeing it back.  She anticipated that the others were doing the same, discord open between them as the tension rose to a mounting threat.

Bristling as she rose to stand closer to their kill, she growled a warning.  They were many, the grizzly just one and old.  But bears did not live far through the years without knowing how to take that they wanted, and whether or not that meant they had to plow through a wolf pack to take their share did not matter.

a perfect circle — rose

They ate, a heap of growls and snapping teeth. Ravenous, sanguine, powerful. Tatsuya enjoyed their bestial interactions, kindled by their ferocity. Occupied though the Delta was, he could not overlook the bear's unwanted company. Expression dropping – lips sheathing ivory weaponry – Tatsuya guardedly peered over his shoulder. Shit. Would they ever afford to rest on their laurels? Backing away from their meal did the wolverine fully face their wayward visitor. A growl resounded betwixt pink teeth and carmine gums. Were these creatures capable of higher thought, they would mind their audible warning.
Judging by appearance and smell alone, Tatsuya assumed she was up there in years. A detriment the wolves will benefit from. Old age meant hindered dexterity, agility, endurance and a good deal of other properties. Even so, one swipe of her curved talons could easily rupture as any adolescent. Even partial blows could spell the end for any one of them. It might be best to let the bear have their well earned meal. To preserve their health and numbers. But then that would be giving up without a fight. And they were all for fighting for that which is theirs. No matter how dodgy the task.
The umber Delta awaited Iqniq's dictation. Flee? Or hold their ground at the risk of injuring or losing their own?

@Tatsuya I think Tonravik is actually sitting this one out since Steph's about to be absent for a while? I think @Iqniq told me that. Figured you should know :)

Echelon and Kapvik were not alone in their warning the gargantuan creature away from the kill that they had made together as a pack. No, Nanuk's own snarls were deep and vicious, unrelenting as the beast seemed to consider them and weigh its options. As the first large prey animal that the wolves of the Spire had successfully taken down, the Beta was not open to the idea of giving up their kill to this lone creature, especially since they had a mother Alpha and her pups to feed back at the den, and more hungry bellies to fill around the carcass. The other half of the leading pair, however, was present and it was Iqniq's form her eyes switched to for the briefest of moments. 

She bared her teeth, a significant gesture as she let her body language show what her opinion was. They should beat this one off, or better yet, kill it. More meat for their caches, more protein for the growing parasites. One less thing for any of them to form about for the time being. Overall, it was the red colored male's call though and her attention switched back to the bear as she moved off to the Alpha's left, widening their ranks just a touch. The method was to make the bear feel more surrounded, more threatened, perhaps to make it back down or feel that its chances for scavenging here were slim. Whatever the effect, she took a mental list of all the wolves with them today and vowed that she would lose none. Not again.

Woot! Time to take down one granmomma bear! Rwar!

@Tonravik was sitting this one out. They'd discussed it briefly, but both decided it would be best to give Aariak the opportunity to partake in the hunt which meant one of them had to stay back and watch the kids. They'd stared at each other long and hard until Iqniq'd licked her face and darted off before she had a chance to protest his decision. He'd take this one. She could have the next. While she was up and roaming now that the pups were old enough, he was still somewhat protective of her. Mentally she was ready to go. Physically her body was still stressed from the pups continued feedings. They were in the process of weaning, but the children still relied upon her for food here and there. He had a feeling she was more tired than she let on.

They'd hunted. They'd fell the lone moose with such grace this time it was almost as if they were finally figuring out how to function as a team. It was nice, seeing all of them work together to be successful in these victories. They'd need to keep up this co-op come winter when prey was more scare than they were of present. He was thankful for this victory, pleasantly full, and content to linger as the rest of the pack had their fill. True to tradition, he'd had his share and grumbled something about saving the liver for Tonravik before Nanuk took her turn. After that, it was a bit of a free for all. He lounged, watching over nearby area as the others ate. A bit noseblind from the blood of kill and slightly deafened from all snapping and growling as the others dined, it was the visual of the bear that first gave hint that something was amiss. Damn it. Everything had been going so well too.

He was on his feet in an instance. Instinct drew him up. It bid him to peel lips back from his teeth with raised hackles in a true display of aggression and dominance as he moved immediately to place himself as the first line of defense between their kill, his pack, and the beast who approached them. He had a split second to decide what to do with this threat. Their priority was to get that moose carcass back to the heart of the Spire so their wolves not present could dine upon it.

Iqniq sized up the bear. She was an old broad of many years. Elder and graying around the muzzle, she moved with lumbered force that seemed to creek a little despite her grace. Could they kill her and add her large corpse to their cache? If so, that would fill their stomachs for a long time yet. The thought of such a victory was nice, but at what cost would they be able to do so? They'd lost one of their own recently to coyotes. They'd gained a few members more, but their lives were not expendable. Not at all. He had no desire to lose another. Not on his watch.

"We heckle her," he decided then, keeping his voice short and clipped. "Divert her attention long enough get that moose out of here and decide it's not worth her effort." Some would distract the bear. Others would steal the corpse away. They'd have to divide and conquer in order to accomplish it, but Iqniq knew where he would stand. Offensive. His fangs would chase off this bear and if she proved weaker than her appearance, then he'd give the order to kill her too, but not until they discovered whether or not her prowess still remained.

He pushed forward, feinting towards the bear with a snarl of warning. Stay back.

Whichever task had been delegated to Aariak, he would have performed without question, whether it was looking after the brood while their parents hunted, or assinting the hunting party. Either was his duty, and he did not make questions when it came to duty.

Aariak took what was due from the moose. For once, the pack had been successful on a hunt, which had been a concern to all for weeks. It seemed like, after a long period of darkness, the pack started to see light again. That thought lasted no more than minutes, as it was silenced by a deep growl that made Aariak's chest vibrate.

Menacing and intruding, a Grizzly bear approached the pack of wolves, which in a matter of seconds had adopted a defensive formation. All of them alert to every move the old beast made. It seemed that the odds were in their favor noticing the bear's evident age, but with a Grizzly you'd never know. The tables could easily turn if a single wolf took a misstep, and that cost the pack their prey, along with their pride.

Iqniq was quick to plot a counterattack strategy, and Aariak promptly took the place where he thought he would be of best use. The male had been through a tough period after the storms, and his muscle was nothing compared to what it was before. He would not be a match to a bear. He would not fight today.

The male shot a side-glance at Iqniq hoping to get it in return and nodded. Aariak would take the carcass to a safe place with whoever else decided to follow, and then, if needed, he would come back to aid the warriors that confronted the beast.

Taking what remained of the moose from the nape, Aariak started dragging it away towards the closest cache he knew.

oh no round two; will reply as my time allows or when the majority have posted

Iqniq took control of the situation, just as Echelon presumed he would. From where she stood over the carcass, the bear seemed indifferent to his directions, but nearly cut off his instructions with a low growl, or roar, or whatever it was (she really didn't know what to make of it). And then he was off like a bolt of lightning and they were in motion, Echelon still — almost dumbly — standing over the carcass.

But she moved quickly as Aariak turned up near the prey, instead darting in towards the increasingly angered beast with decisive direction. She snapped after it from another direction, trying to draw its attention away from Iqniq. She was smaller and of fleeter foot, willing to dance to an violently eager song. And though she was strong, she felt her place was better there than trying to cart away the remains of their kill.

And though the bear was old, it proved for the time being it was willing to hold its ground against the wolves, testing its own luck by taking a tentative step towards the kill, swinging out towards the ones who came to it.

Tatsuya watched it all unfold in horror. They have not fed well since coming here. Their stores have dwindled exponentially. This moose – relatively healthy once the chase began – was theirs. It will continue to be theirs even if the grizzly got it's grubby paws on it. Nothing would change this fact. They would do well to ward the beast off; show her that this banquet was invitation only and she wasn't invited. snorts The Delta intended to do just that until Iqniq spoke. He wanted to move the male moose. The moose that is still intact save for a few internal organs. The moose that weighed all of nine hundred and sixty-something pounds. Maybe a hundred less. Nevertheless, its not going anywhere.
They did not possess the raw strength of a grizzly or the endurance of a cougar. Even combined, they would not be moving this thing. No. They would have to move every valuable piece of edible flesh left away from the bear's jaws. This, they could try to accomplish. If that's what Iqniq meant by getting the moose out of here, then Tatsuya would gladly oblige. If he meant actually dragging the whole thing...they'd need a miracle to carry through such a feat.
As Echelon flew past him, Tatsuya turned to Aariak. Trying to – in vain! – haul the carcass away. It's not going to happen. Knowing this, he leapt over the meaty heap to the Inuit's side, trying to shove him. They weren't going to move this thing, no way. To get his point across, he snapped clamorously, demanding the Inuit's attention. Stop what you are doing. Do what I do. In went the Delta's head, obscured by cartilage and shredded hide. Grabbing what he could, he withdrew from the moose's abdominal cavity, mouth bursting with an assortment of organs. Most of which were nutritious for them, the mother and/or her young. Grab everything of value you can. With that, Tatsuya sped off to the closest hoard. Dropping the meat there, he sped off again, returning to the scene.
If any of them were injured (or dead), the wolverine could not afford to look. His head disappeared back into their prey's yawning midsection, frantically grabbing what he could...

With a fierce snarl, Nanuk squared off to the bear, teeth displayed in threat as Echelon darted in. With Iqniq at the coywolf's side, she turned to assist Aariak pull the moose away. With even just two of them working together, the carcass would be moved much more quickly; two wolves could pull more than one could and three, even more. With the more than capable pair keeping the ursine busy, she, Aariak and Kapvik could take care of the moose.

Turning to do this, the Beta watched in mute astonishment as the Delta tore into the carcass there on the spot. At first, she admittedly thought that he was taking the time to eat, which she had a mind to kill him for. In the next moment, she stood corrected; he was trying to cart off the moose's large organs one by one. In theory, it was good, but in the heat of the moment, it was not as timely as just carting off the whole damn thing, especially since only one organ could fit in their jaws at a time.

Moving closer with quick steps, Kroc barked an order to them. "No time. Pull the carcass." Her words were gruff, and her intentions clear. With winter coming, they needed to stock up as much as possible, not pick piece-meal items. "If the three of us work together, it'll be quick." Why the dark wolf hadn't simply helped Aariak, she wasn't sure, but she didn't deign to know his thoughts either. Her goal was to help the whole pack thrive and while Tonravik and her pups were important, so was the rest of the pack; without food, they'd have no strength to protect them.

His feint towards the bear worked. It distracted her for a moment, allowing the rest of the wolves to figure out where they were better needed in this situation. Echelon, zippy as ever, moved to help serve as a decoy while the rest of them moved the corpse away. He trusted the wolves at his back to do the right thing, just as they put their trust in those on the front lines to hold off the bear while they worked. Teamwork. They'd managed it in felling the moose. They could manage it again in defending their kill and sharing it with the empty bellies back at the spire.

The bear roared. Iqniq snarled back, darting inward to snap at her flanks as the bear turned her attention towards the corpse. Her heavy paw swung, clipping his nose as he yipped and darted away to tag team this bear with the coywolf. He barked to Echelon for two reasons. The first? To distract the bear. The second, to encourage a little more intention to their endeavors. The bear was something of a tank and unless they did something a little more drastic, it would barrel through their wall of defense towards their moose.

Determined to prevent such a thing from happening, Iqniq leapt for the bear, treating it like he would any prey animal. The ursa's eyes were all for their kill. The red-wolf merely served as a distraction, sinking his teeth into the folds of her scruff as he rode the bear's back for a few seconds and made himself impossible to ignore. For the moment, this appeared to be working. The bear swung around to face him and approached him with a grizzly growl and another swiping paw.

Aariak was putting all his effort into moving the Moose, but he would have never done it alone. Moose is huge, and this one in particular seemed to be oversized, at least from Aariak's perspective as the one who had to pull it away.

It was a relief when Kapvik came to help Aariak. And then Nanuk joined them too. It gave the Caretaker the energy to keep pulling, and this time it moved more easily. But Kapvik didn't seem to think the same. He dropped the moose and started taking out the remaining organs. "What are you doing?" the male barked, but Nanuk seemed to know what was going on. She told the wolverine to go back to pulling, and Aariak nodded in agreement.

They would make it together. Back into pulling, Aariak put all his strength into his hind legs, which pulled him back along with the moose. He did not put much attention to what was going on in the defense line, it was well armed. Aariak was sure that Echelon and Iqniq would be a badass team against the bear so he focused on his part. If needed, he would return once the prey was secured.

Round three, yey! You guys are super quick and I appreciate it. :)

The bear turned away from them, so caught up in trying to deal with the nuisance that presented itself as none other than Iqniq. It was a half-turn at best, its desire to try and keep those eyes on the prize still present. But the opportunity left behind in that wake was one that Echelon did not let go of — she snapped after its heels and tried to spur it into moving more. She was confident that if she and Iqniq could at least get it to move, perhaps they could lead it on a little wild goose chase... and it would maybe forget about the moose carcass they were trying to haul further into their territory.

Quick post to keep this moving! 

Edit: post #400 wooooooo! 

Had she time to stop and thing, she'd have been pleased that Aariak did not hesitate in starting to pull the carcass again. This time, Nanuk went to stand shoulder to shoulder with him, teeth latching and taking hold of skin and flesh, jaws locking to secure her hold on their kill. Their kill. She was not of a mind to hand their kill over to the bear; if they could get the moose to safety, the Beta would not hesitate in joining the fray. 

For now though, her muscles tensed and bulged as she dug her paws into the earth to give her leverage. Whether they had the strength of two orof three, they would accomplish their goals as a team. They were wolves of the Spire; they had survived the toughest conditions and this would be no different. Not if she could help it.

The polar bear was there in an instant, insisting that they could move this hulking beast. Tatsuya remained unconvinced...up until it moved. What? Flabbergasted, he watched Nanuk and Aariak bend the laws of nature to their will. Were his eyes deceiving him? He blinked. Nope. They were still very much moving the moose. What spell did they cast to attain this strength? Was there some secret they were hiding from him? How is this physically possible?!
An earsplitting bellow from the grizzly interrupted his moment. Oh. Right. This asshole was still a threat. Hooking his fangs into the buck's haunch, he too began to pull alongside Aariak and the polar bear. To his amazement, the moose began to slide even faster across the sedgelike plane. Despite his incredulity, the wolverine appreciated this otherworldly power. Now they wouldn't have to go about this the long way.

The bear shook itself and spun. Iqniq was tossed from the bear's back. He tucked and rolled, reducing his impact with the ground as turned over on his stomach. He hesitated a moment, orienting himself with his new position and found his eyes upon the trio who were pulling the corpse away. Good. He knew his wolves were strong, but he was thankful they'd all finished eating so that moose was lighter than it had been. No doubt that made it easier to pull, but then, the wolves in this pack were all built like tanks. There was no miracle here, just raw power boosted by adrenaline and knowing that they all needed to be strong to survive. They were covering ground fast, or maybe he and Ech were just leading the bear further and further away.

He'd dallied long enough, perhaps seconds, but he was back on his feet and back to making himself an object the bear could not ignored. His snarls spoke volumes. His teeth, snapping as he harassed the bear further. It appeared to be working. Double teamed by both himself and Echelon, it had to deal with the threat of them before it could focus on anything else. The bear backed up, spinning on Echelon as she nipped at its heels. Iqniq was quick to dart in, snapping fangs upon the opposite flank so the bear was torn in two directions. Did she pursue the quick coywolf or the heavy hitter?

The bear appeared to be retreating, but hadn't entirely given up. He continued in his persistence as he was determined to prove this kill was far more effort for the bear to steal than it was worth.

@Nanuk @Tatsuya a bit of PP to move this along.
Just let me know if that's not ok and I'll edit, no trouble ;)
also, sorry if the post sucks too much...

Although his physique was not the same it used to be, Aariak's body still resembled that of a bear, indeed built like a tank. And just like Nanuk the caretaker had the ardor to keep their kill safe from the threat. There was a moher that still needed to be fed, and her offspring to protect; and allowing the first bear that comes up to take their kill was not exactly the best way to do so.

Shoulder to shoulder with Nanuk and, finally, Kapvik, they pulled the body to the closest cache there was, deeper into the woods, and there the three started digging even deeper to make space for the still-large-moose to fit in. Aariak was worried that without the three of them to aid Iqniq and Echelon, the bear would see a possibility of push in and get deeper into the territory, so he was doing what he could as quickly as his strong limbs allowed.

*crawls back in exhausted*

As the bear swung around towards Echelon, she bounded out of its reach just in case. Behind them in the ensuing chaos, she was unaware that the others had joined together to haul the moose deeper into the territory. Had she known, perhaps her dismay would have more been in the territory of about time. But she did not, and instead vaulted forward as the aggravated ursine stepped from out between the wolves. That simply would not do — keeping it at bay between two sets of jaws would keep it distracted. She snapped after it, trying to spur it to move on. Hopefully the aggravation would show it that dealing with them was not worth it. Perhaps it would move on to lesser creatures to hound for scraps.

No worries, @Aariak. I appreciate you moving things along! :D

Nanuk was particularly grateful that they'd all eaten a good portion of the moose already; the pack was comprised mostly of large specimens of their species so they required a significant amount of food. The carcass was lighter for it and that aided in the trio's work to drag it back within packlands. As soon as they stopped, her paws worked furiously to dig and create space for the meat. When that was mostly complete, she pulled away. "Finish storing the moose. I'll be back." She would leave to aid the other two, trusting that Aariak and Kapvik could work together and get the job done. 

Turning on her heels, Nanuk rushed back to where they'd come from, her power and muscle sure to assist in warding off the monstrous creature. Jaws snapping, the Inuit came at the bear from the side to nip at its flank, robust figure moving away before a swiped paw could land on her. She was not near as quick as Echelon but hopefully her surprise attack would give her enough time to vacate the dangerous space she had been before.

The bear was growing tired. It's movements were slowing. Its attempts at attacking had shifted to an effort to defend. She shuffled backwards, slowly retreating as Iqniq and Echelon harassed her further. Their relentlessness simply wasn't worth the effort. She could find an easier meal elsewhere. A meal that wasn't slowly slipping away.

A roar escaped her as Iqniq darted in again, exchanging Echelon's parries so the bear couldn't turn her attention to any one of them without being met by the jaws of another. He was growing tired of this, but the bear was working overtime and when Nanuk joined into the fray the fight within her vanished completely. The bear began to withdraw.

Nanuk's presence told him a few things. The first, that they'd dragged the corpse far enough away that they were safe to do as they pleased with this bear. The second, that Nanuk was satisfied with the status of their moose that she felt comfortable enough to aid in this effort. A question remained. What to do with the bear. Did they let it slip away on the off chance it returned on a later date? Or did they try to add this beast to their successful kills for the day too?

He kept up his pursuit for a while longer. If the bear gave him an opening, he'd take it. If not, better to let the beast go than to attempt something that wouldn't be worth it in the long run.

The ursine knew what they were doing but Echelon and Iqniq were good at fending off the tenacious beast. From his point of view, the scene grew indistinct the farther away they hauled this mass of flesh and bone before slipping out of sight entirely. The wolverine released a pent up breathe, relieving his stern clutch upon the buck's croupe. Despite having gorged themselves on their kill, it still weighed far more than all of them put together. To have moved such a giant was a momentous feat, worthy of praise. Alas, there was a threat rampaging elsewhere.
Nanuk's words hung in the air as she ran back to the grizzly. Tatsuya did just that, working in tandem alongside Aariak. Moving throngs of soil and detritus with his paws did the wolverine excavate some spoiled animal tissue. “Eugh.” It was rancid; past the point of safe consumption. He flung the scrap away, spitting to get the taste off his tongue. Nasty. With that out of the way, Tatsuya got back to work, digging and stocking the moose's nectarous entrails in a punctual, stately manner.
The wolverine approached the carcass to retrieve more meat, tongue drooping from parted jowls. Glancing over to his brother in arms did he see Aariak busying himself. Caked in dirt, blood and flyspeck pieces of meat. They both looked mad. Tatsuya felt like it, digging into the earth, caching the kill, all in the span of a few minutes. How frantic his movements, how frowzled he felt inside. Calm down, calm down...With a drawn-out inhale, he exhaled the chaos with a burnt-out 'whistle.' This peace of mind – hollow term, he thought wryly – would not last forever. At least he could throw himself back into the task at hand without suffering from a bad case of the jitters.

Final round! Ends 10/05. :)

Nanuk joined them and for a moment, Echelon was confident that the tides were sharply turning in their favor.  The intrusive ursine was giving up, but wasn't giving in.  Yet with the arrival of the Spire's bear-like female, Echelon knew it was only a matter of time before it backed off entirely.  It persisted slowly in steering away from the site of a fresh kill, carrying on with guttral calls and growls to protest.  It's lumbering went from something more than a slow pace away to something a little quicker as it realized that the wolves were relentless.

Slowly, Echelon began to back off her own throttle as the incline of the land evened out.  She doubted that it would leave the cover of the forests for the plains beyond, but she also did not feel willing to chase it that far away.  As her steps slowed to a stop, the dark coywolf scarcely paused for breath as she drew her muzzle skyward and howled.  It was a triumphant sort of call, but also one that she hoped would serve as warning.  That bear had only happened on a fraction on their numbers — but it would hear the entirety of a pack.

I MISSED THE LAST ONE D:

Aariak barked to acknowledge his Beta as she dismissed herself from digging. There was not much left to do other than put the kill under the same earth the'd dug out. Not even when Tatsuya complained about the rancid smell of the stored meat did Aariak stop digging, even when he too, had gotten just as much, if not more rancid meat out of the dirt. The kill had to be secured. He had a job, ONE job, and he'd be free to get back to the rest of the hunting party and fight off what little remained of the Bear's determination to steal from the Tartok.

Once Aariak was satisfied with the depth of the digging, he went around the moose to pull once again. "Help me." he called, shortly glanging at the wolverine before sinking his fangs on the moose and pulling back. It was harder now that Nanuk wasn't there, pulling with her ursine strength, but they made it quickly, and when it dropped, Aariak promptly went back to the dirt and started covering the carcass.

Only one thing concerned the pale caretaker. There was a chance the bear that was trying to steal from them was a mother, and the idea of hurting cubs, even from a fierce and dangerous competitor such as a bear was unbearable. He needed to get back to the rest of the Tartok crew and help them chase out the bear without putting it's life at risk. Foolish morality one could say.

Rushing his paws, Aariak -indeed looking mad- pushed as much earth on top of the carcass as he could, and when he was satisfied, knowing that he'd done his job, he sprinted back to the fight scene, where he quickly took an offensive posture shoulder to shoulder with his family.

Good run everyone! Feel free to post @Aariak twice this round if you feel the need!

They were wearing the bear down well enough between the two of them. With the addition of Nanuk as their third, the bear was quick to realize its efforts were more trouble than they were worth. It wasn't gaining any ground. It was losing a lot. That corpse was tucked away and trying to find it through the wall of wolves was more effort than it was willing to expend.

The return of Aariak to the fray sealed the deal. Four wolves against one bear was nothing close to an even match. The bear would lose if the wolves aggression turned from threats to full out blows. Life was valuable. The bear retreated fully and disappeared into the trees.

With their victory secure, Echelon was quick to howl of their success. Her call pierced the sky and he found himself lured into her cry. Iqniq's head tipped back to sing of their win today. They had a meal. They'd defended it. The Spire would not go hungry tonight.

yay we did it :D

They drove it off with their display of strength and unity. Their kill was safe and none of their numbers injured; tired maybe, but safe overall. Echelon's voice rose and then Iqniq's before Nanuk tipped her muzzle back and joined them. The Spire had won, ensuring their survival for that much longer now that they were learning to work together all over again, which would benefit them in the coming Winter. Pride surged, the recent failures fading in her mind for the moment as they sang their victory, voices chasing the bear until it was no longer in range.