Wapun Meadow caligulove

Hunting thread #2 — maybe a Diasporan?

She chose to expand her horizons — at first, not intentionally, she had just followed the river towards the mountains and then been distracted by the scent of deer, and veered towards the meadow. From her vantage point on the edge of the expanse Juria could make out the distant shapes of mothers with fawns, most of them grazing. If she wasn't careful she could easily be blindsided by a defensive buck, so she kept her eyes sharp. She lurked just out of range of the herd and lazily observed them. The group knew that a single wolf could be a threat (although not a large threat), and Juria wasn't about to put herself in to harms way just for a better look.

ask and you shall receive! i needed more tracking threads, so i'm glad i caught this

stigmata did not often come down from the mountains, and rising sun valley in particular was an area he largely avoided, but it could not be helped that he was intensely familiar with these placid lowlands and the quarry it housed. he wouldn't let emotions sully a chance to feed himself or drive meandering herds towards the lake for his family - so it was an opportunistic hound that trailed the ungulates into the sunken green meadow. an objective writ in his very steps.

he was quietly rounding the herd to chase them back the way he'd come, when he spotted a single, brown bear of a she-wolf ahead, loitering slightly closer to the herd's peripheral than himself. he paused to try and sniff her out, finding this fairly easy to do from his position downwind of her, but after determining she carried the packscent of swiftcreek, decided that their goals could not be common.

the general padded onward, keeping the stranger in the corner of his eye as he proceeded to take up position on the easternmost front of the herd.

As she began to boldly slip closer the deer turned their attention to her, even from afar, and then dropped their snouts to the dirt to continue grazing. They were not afraid of a single wolf - but she could make out the shapes of bucks with their massive crowns, and they drifted to align with her trajectory, so she stopped moving. The wolf locked eyes with the creature and wondered to herself about her next move - but then something changed. The bucks advanced quickly so that there was a small gathering of them between her and the mothers.

Finding this shift curious (mainly because she was no threat to them alone) Juria glanced over her shoulder in the other direction, and saw nothing, but then as she panned her eyes across the terrain she noticed the burly grizzled wolf, and realized the herd was reacting to the presence of two predators versus one. That changed things. Together they might've managed to take down something small if they had the element of surprise but the pair of them did not, plus, the stranger did not seem too eager to close the distance.

Juria glanced at the far-off herd one last time and then moved on an interception course with the wolf, deciding it would be worth it to forgo a proper hunt. Perhaps she could gather intel from this stranger.

as the herd rustled unsteadily, following the movements of the two large wolves flanking them, stigmata turned his head to see that the other wolf had given up her position, and was now advancing to thwart his progress. the general eased into a full stop and revolved slowly to face the broad, mocha she-wolf. he chose not to discourage her approach, but neither did he appear inviting; his expression grim and posture set rigid.

the only movements he made were the slight wriggling of his tail, and questioning cant of his head, once she'd come (what he deemed to be) near enough. but even these social gestures seemed to be more  like warnings than they were actual greetings, and his eyes fell steadily to her face as he waited mutely for her to explain the interruption.