Firefly Glen [BWP P5] WHITEOUT v1

WHITEOUT PART ONE: Large game opportunity with a twist! Any can join. All participants roll 1d15 and link their roll on-forum, before their post. Anyone who rolls a 10 or higher, brings this guy down in one post and can PP doing so. All other rolls equal unsuccessful attempts. This will be TN's only post in this thread. This doe has enough meat to feed four wolves regardless of age/size, but cannot be dragged or cached. You cannot join and eat the doe entirely in one post. Keep in mind the weather widget says BLIZZARD WARNING at the time of this post. Assume whiteout conditions: very little visibility, difficulty scenting/finding tracks, and extreme exposure. Have fun. :)

Alone in the glen, the call of a panicked doe sounds. Caught by the blizzard and already on her last leg, things look grim for the solitary cervine. Her time is short, and the storm rides fiercely at her heels.

Already the snow has piled to three feet of accumulation. It stings her eyes and whips at her senses, and she is so exhausted, so spent of energy, that she finds herself circling drunkenly in a staggering gyre. The snow is too deep to press onwards, and she has not eaten or slept well in weeks. She jumps and bounds, but her thin legs barely break snow - eventually, she is just leaning against the whiteness, calling hoarsely into the storm. 

Barely breaking the scale at 60 pounds and falling, it is evident this doe is on the brink of total organ failure by starvation - and the snow just happens to be the wind to her sails to push her to her end.

written by Caiaphas

Link to roll, rolled 15! Consent to PP given. Entrance post

 

Hydra oft explored and patrolled the Glen, it being an extension of Moonspear's territory; the Queen ranged within it now, accompanied by @Arcturus. Tracking seemed futile, but she had caught wind of something. There were no tracks to go by however, and with visibility being what it was this was no easy task before them. But she was nothing if not persistent and did not give up in the task at hand. The snow itself was nothing she was not used to traversing within, and though it was bitterly cold Hydra was not deterred by it and warmed by the exertion of their task. Several hours went into the task at hand, and the going was all the more slow due to the inclement weather.

Miles they ranged together, as was the way of the wolf—though upon drawing nearer to Moonspear, the Ostrega she-wolf heard its panicked sounds. From there it did not take them long to find it; she blinked past the snow and assessed, circling loosely. The lack of movement made it clear that their quarry was entombed by the snow. For a time there was a standoff; in that timeframe, the duo tested the creature before them that looked so lethargic. Even still Hydra was mindful as she drew nearer, knowing that one good quick was the other needed to injure either of them; in far better health than the doe, and recognizing there was no fight left at all in the squalling thing before them, Hydra closed in for the kill. Its scent revealed that the animal before them was not carrying anything adverse, and so she, she acted.

This part of their hunt was quite quick, the takedown itself anticlimactic. Her brother helped where needed, though the animal seemed to have accepted its fate the minute her teeth found it. A lower note invited Moonspear wolves to join them here, though offered little explanation other than that. She wanted her hunters to eat; it seemed fortune was shifting, and perhaps this meant the return of its kind. To feed the bellies of her children, she would need to feed her pack. Hydra glanced to her brother, on guard as she stepped protectively over the animal, though left room for him to begin to tear into it. The thing was still living, and now they were at its back. Its cloven-hooves could be an unpleasant surprise for any who rushed in to their prize as it flailed futilely, but they could begin to eat here. Red bloomed against snow-white, and it could no longer sound off its alarm.

arcturus is arriving as of this post! <3 next post will be him (attempting) eating

drawn quick on the heels of his sister, arcturus fled through the snow. it was blinding, bitterly cold - so cold even his nose seemed to have ceased working. but his ears... he heard, as hydra had heard, the distress call of a doe somewhere in this blinding storm -- a siren note between sheets of endless white.

the doe was found quickly. already the snowfall had eaten their tracks, and little scents pervaded through the gale of snow and ice - but the calls had been frequently enough that the doe unwittingly lead her murderers to her.

a quick bite was all it took for hydra to dispatch the animal. arcturus noted her sorry state in solemn silence. it was troublesome that even their kills were hardly more hale than them. "won't be much for us to eat," he remarked to his sister, assessing the doe that was scarcely more than a bag of flesh stretched over bones. "and i am not sure how easy it'd be to drag her back.." the snow was piling high and hard - it was difficult enough to ford the snow as one, let alone dragging the dead behind them.

he looked around them; the white had an eerie luminosity to it, and he found himself liking being out here less and less. "best we eat and quick." she was his leader and so, would eat the spoils first. arcturus would stand guard.

Oop, jk; now, 1/4 wolves eating!

 

Hydra looked to her brother, who gestured for her to eat first. No, she agreed, we cannot take it with us. They could hardly see where they were going; any obstacle could be detrimental, even despite the potential benefit. She nodded, too, to his words, and began to eat her own fill; she was far from picky as she tore into the still breathing thing, ripping and tearing away and eating what she could here and now. Hydra would eat for as long as she could until others arrived; scant though the beast was, it would do its job and clear her mind enough for her to eventually find more and provide her with the energy and strength to complete the tasks. She would not eat more than her fill, though, mindful of Arcturus. Once he began to eat, Hydra would stand guard so that none could come against him.

Maia wasn't faring well this winter.  She'd gotten herself lost again, after her encounter with the boy in the cave, and since then had encountered a string of bad luck.  She hadn't eaten in days, and the blizzard that suddenly arrived had caught her in the middle of the open.  She was reaching her limit, pushing through the snow, and desperation was beginning to lend frenzy to her movements.

Cmon Maia.  Just a little further.  And then you'll find a nice snug cave and then maybe you can sleep.  Yeah.  At first she'd merely been filling the silence, but at this point, she wasn't sure that she wasn't actually convincing herself to keep going.  This was literally the worst.

Dumb luck brought her running smack dab into Hydra and her brother.  Well... maybe not luck.  Because the sight of food was too much for her.

She hovered, poised, staring.  She could die in the snow, starving, or she could risk it.  At this point, whatever they did to her couldn't be as bad as this.

She lunges towards the food.  They'd share or they'd attack her... whatever.  She was past caring now.

Ephraim makes #4 I think? Rolled a 6 on a 1d6 for a critical success since he's probably smaller and faster than everyone here, resulting in him getting a small piece of meat unscathed in his next post, but they can definitely go after him in subsequent ones!

For Ephraim, the blizzard was a stroke of luck.

Sure, it caught him out in the open without shelter and was blisteringly cold, but it also nearly guaranteed that other wolves would be hiding away in the hearts of their territories, granting him relatively safe access to their claims so long as he didn't go too far in. With such limited visibility and harsh conditions, Ephraim wagered he could get away with the contents of an outer cache or two without the resident packs even realizing he'd come and gone. All he had to do was find such a pack.

He unwittingly passed by Moonspear, made invisible by the conditions, and was on the errant scent trail of some wolf or other in hopes it would lead him somewhere fruitful when his tall ears twitched. At first he thought the doe's bleats were a trick of the wind, but as he strained to hear, Ephraim caught it again: definite sounds of distress. Taking on a doe alone at his size was idiotic, but he made a beeline for the sound all the same, hoping to profit from someone else's good fortune if necessary.

And what luck: two dark wolves had already dispatched the thing by the time he arrived. It was hard to see them through all the blowing snow, but their coats stood out like beacons, which was helpful. Ephraim was slow to approach, gliding easily across the snow like a fox might, thankful for his mostly pale fur as he awaited an opportunity ... and one soon came in the form of Maia. She was even less visible than the other two in the blizzard, but the lunge was unmistakable.

Ephraim seized the moment in an instant, darting toward the doe's midriff with his jaws parted to grab anything he could.

arcturus was nervous as he watched, waiting for his turn to eat. the snow came in miserable droves, the wind that accompanied it often forcing him to turn his muzzle aside. so forceful was the constant change of the wind, that he felt it played tricks on him - scents he would normally smell were obscured or diluted, and things he would normally see entirely invisible.

at the very least, the shifting snowstorm provided some measure of cover. arcturus started as his sister finished - wordlessly he sprung upon the doe, devouring what he could without bothering to chew. rip, tear, snap — the hot blood on his muzzle frosted nearly immediately, riming the beta’s dark chin in thin pink.

having ate what he could (a pitiful amount too - his stomach had grown small and lean) arcturus made to move, and it was then he saw a dark shadow lurching from the parting snow. arcturus did not recognize maia for who she was at all — as far as he knew she was just another stranger. with a belligerent bellow arcturus made to move over the doe, teeth flashing as he struggled to pull aside hydra.

so trained was his focus on the newcomer, and so drowned were his senses by the snow, that arcturus did not spot the pale dart of champagne to the side of him — and he foolishly left the doe woefully exposed.

The duo ate together for a time in peace; but the peace did not last long. Rather than any Moonspear wolf for which she had called, two strangers came; a risk she had understood and anticipated both. It was why her own figure had hunkered over the meat so, and first to meet them was Maia; the bitch rushed, foolishly, and Hydra would have been less inclined to attack had she not approached so aggressively. As it were, it was Arcturus who decided to meet her firstly. 

Hydra, to his right, was sufficiently distracted for a moment... enough to snap at Maia as she stood hunkered over what else of the beast there was, baring her teeth and lifting her plume in a demand that she stand down. Fortune was in the favor of Ephraim in that either wolves attention was, foremost, for Maia... 

And the weather conditions, too, made his belated approach less visible. Sensing something other, though, Hydra turned to bear her teeth and prepare for it; Ephraim emerged, then, and seeing coyote, Hydra felt only fury that one would be so bold as to do what he was doing. Hunger, even the dull sort, had clouded her judgment enough... she would not make the same mistake twice.

Shocking, that, but not new; these animals oft tested what they could get away with. Another hunt did not sound like too terrible an idea; where were @Lyra and @Alya? Should the beast get a hold of anything solid, then Hydra hoped it could run swiftly through the Glen that she knew so well, else it would lose both what it sought to stole and its life in one fell swoop as she mulled through what her best recourse might be here and now. Hydra snarled a singular warning, slow to shift and more considerate of Maia here and now while she debated. 

I'm not sure, if he's grabbing only a smolllll amount that may be okay insofar as I know it was mentioned it can't be dragged/cached so there... may be room for another eater? Hydra's largely regarding Maia here for his clean getaway that go, but if you're down maybe we could roll for "takebacks" if Hydra decides to give chase (100% mistaking him for a coyote... with a debuff due to visibility???//). She might not though, depending on her preoccupation with Maia... which, in this post, is her present priority! Lawd knows what she'll actually do, but we can roll for all of that if it comes to it <____> I m sorry she's so extra. TLDR; this post: standing guard over exposed area closest to Maia with Arcturus; exposed area ripe 4 the taking for Ephraim! Edit in: To clarify, Ephraim ain't doin' nothing wrong—I think there may be room for another participant eater, though :thonk: 

She was starving, and the promise of food put her beyond reasonable thought.  If the blizzard weren't obscuring her, it would be apparent she was not up for a fight... but fortunately she had at least that going for her.  

She didn't see Ephraim.  She barely saw Hydra.  Her sole focus was the deer, and she attempted to shove recklessly past Arcturus in a bid to take a bite.  Just one... please, just one.  

Her own dive for the doe would have the opposite effect of Ephraim's.  Were she thinking straight, she might have tried to make a run for it as well.  But instead she rooted herself, a target for both wolves who were protecting their claim.

He's only grabbing a mouthful to bolt down while he runs, my dice roll was largely to determine how risky his situation would be and how easily the others would be able to harm him. Ephraim is a speedy character, not a strong one, so a hit-and-run is his style when larger wolves are around. I don't think that counts as dragging the carcass or caching it, but someone in charge is welcome to let me know if I did something wrong! I'm good with dice rolls for a glancing hit or two as he runs.

Success! Ephraim's sharp teeth found the doe's belly, and in the blink of an eye and a tug, he scissored through hot skin and peeled away with a mouthful of flesh, ignoring the warning grumble of the black beast hunkered over it. The other two hadn't noticed him, but she had. Piss on her, Ephraim thought; she was big and fat and probably had to plow through the blowing snow, while he was little and swift and could fly right over it. He spun on a dime and was off, long tail ribboning behind him, whipped to and fro in the wild wind.

The bite of meat barely touched his tongue as he wolfed it down, ignoring the threat of choking while he ran in favour of swallowing it. It would have been nice to be strong enough to stay and jockey for a little more of the meat than just one bite, which would torture him more than it would nourish, but Ephraim was no fool. One solid blow from any of those wolves would bring him to his knees and that would be the death of him, and he couldn't trust in a stranger to side with him over them. Starvation and desperation drove him to risk his neck diving into the midst of them for a mouthful, but his sense of self-preservation would never allow him to risk any more than that.

So he fled blindly into the howling gale, running just as swiftly as Hydra hoped he would and praying to every god there ever was that his paws would not fail him now. Or that a tree wouldn't materialize right in front of him.

Popping Katya in :)

It seemed that the snow had materialized out of nowhere, blinding her sight and limiting her senses to an extend that she contemplated returning to the safety of Moonspear to wait out the storm--that is until she caught Hydra's call. As luck would have it, she wasn't far from the downed doe and made her way toward the shrill cry of the dying deer which just so happened to be in the same direction that Hydra had called--despite the blinding snow, she would be one of the few to arrive.

The blizzard did not let up, in fact it seemed to pick up in speed with fat snowflakes that piled up quickly, creating inches of snow that were becoming harder to walk through. It didn't help that her eye sight was limited and therefore she had no pawprints to follow, she had to rely on her hearing alone and headed toward the commotion that was wolves sparring and eating at the unfortunate doe. Through the white out, she made out the figure of someone dark and assumed and rather hoped it to be one of her pack members as she made a beeline toward them, her posture neutral. It didn't take long before the scent of Hydra and one other from Moonspear hit her senses, it seemed there was one other as well, a loner but Katya paid them little mind, wanting instead to make it to the deer to take off a bite worth satsifying her intense hunger.

Moriko sniffed the air for a moment as she drew closer, now realizing that the shapes moving softly in the blizzard before her were her comrades. She knes she had recognized the smell.

She approached, quietly, and calmly, halting at a far enough position as to not interfere with her higher ranks if she was not granted to. She sat there in the snow, which made her appear more ghost like then normal, observing the others in a calm manner, recognzing some of their usual tics and movements. Then it hit her, another smell.. Her tail gave a small short plop at the enticing smell, but she stopped her movements and waited patiently, awaiting her turn if there was one. For now she would keep observing th others happily, learning more about them as they went about.

arcturus noticed the hare-footed wolf too late. his attention had been focused on maia -- and even as he noted the fleeting champagne of the wolf's backside, arcturus would have been powerless to stop ephraim.. for maia had now shoved past him, and he turned to the wolf with a loud roar of fury.

these were desperate times -- and arcturus cared only for the wolves of the spear. this outsider would get none of moonspear's kindness, and all of moonspear's might. he staggered in the snow after maia, his progress impeded by its depths. bounding after the sterling backside of his opponent, arcturus only barely registered the forms of katya and moriko in the snow.

his aim now was to haul the stranger off of the doe, but it was likely she had already snagged a mouthful by the time he rounded upon her.

Hydra was quick, but here the coyote was quicker; with a snarl, Hydra snapped halfheartedly at a retreating hindquarter, though whether it yielded anything at all was all but forgotten as she turned in time to see Maia, the brute of a woman, dive. Hydra had firstly thought her intent was not to gain purchase on prey but whatever else was in her way. 

At present that was Hydra herself, after she managed to move what seemed like through Arcturus—

Hydra only heard his roar. 

Words could not describe what the sound did to her. Then and there, Hydra feared the worst. Maia had quickly become the most wicked of women to the she-wolf who only was sister as she heard the sound. The winter winds had distorted the sound of him. Anguish, had that been what she had heard? The Ostrega's features were devoid of feeling, it seemed. Her eyes narrowed and ears thrust forward—these were the things in which precluded her violence—before they fell flat upon her skull. Hydra was nothing, then, but for a thrusted sword and she moved as Maia had, moving to meet her low with parted jaws that intended to grip around the muzzle of the thoughtless beast that might have done harm to Arcturus with her own defenses set. The move might seem harmless enough, but the thought behind it was anything but. She was malevolence without tether, raging;

Let my teeth find my mark, you will choke to death on this meat for your gluttony if my brother has fallen! 

And then she saw black rise against the tide of Maia's coloration; she was tempered by this, felt peace within her heart to know he lived and fought on. Her rage shifted, not at all benign in what it became... but Maia would live another day, unless she fought on; Hydra's drive was aggressive, still, for her family would eat before Maia, and she would put this lone wolf in their place. 

At the absolute bottom. Maia would eat last; the muzzle-grab, she hoped, would deliver that point in the basest of ways. Her grip, should she hit, would be none-too gentle... but neither was it harsh enough to cause too much damage. In a perfect world, it would be strong enough to hold the other in place and stabilize the situation as only one who could command was able... but Hydra knew well this world was far from such a place.

But she was the weapon who would see to it that such a place could be. For her family, Hydra would whittle the place into existence however long it took.

More wolves showed up but Maia didn't notice.  She was quickly and completely overwhelmed by the two who did hold her attention.  Her teeth had scarcely reached the doe before Hydra's muzzle caught hers, fangs scoring across and grabbing hold to force her away.  As Arcturus grabbed her from behind she flattened, and immediately all of the fight left her.  She let out a low whine, but desperation wasn't enough to drive her to get herself killed.

Maia had fancied herself a valkyrie many times, but in truth she was no fighter.  To her fighting was a game and war was glorious, and by sticking with stories she kept it that way.  In real life, she had no interest and no ability.  She caved immediately, and allowed herself to be backed out and away.  Likely she'd turn to depart into the snows before they even finished.  It was clear there would be nothing left for her.

this can be her last unless they take issue with her slipping away!

The gut wretching sound that came from her Beta stopped her dead in her tracks and the thought of filling her belly became a fleeting memory, replaced instead with interest and fear over what had caused the sound occur. She was not a confrontational wolf, instead she rather preferred to run before things got heated to the point of needing to defend herself and today was no different; stuck in mid stride, she searched to see what was happening around her and afraid of what she would, or rather could, see through the blizzard.

A blur of dark fur moved with a swiftness that swayed her attention from the doe, and the familiar stench of Moonspear brought her closer to the commotion that brewed between those of her pack and a lone female. She pitied the woman, hoping that instinct would kick in and allow the stranger to understand that she had become outnumbered and it best to flee or risk injury. She watched as the dark figures of her higher ranking packmates chased after the loner, seeking to put her immediately in her place.

Katya took the brief moment of silence to abandon the fallen doe, seeking out the familiar faces of Hydra and the equally large male, dark in color, next to her. It didn't take long before she caught sight of Moriko as well, though the female was lingering near the doe, most likely getting her fill while the commotion raged on. She recalled the words of Hydra and having to earn her keep by defending her pack and with a deep breath, nervous for having to defend the kill, she focused her energy on Maia who would have to be driven from this kill. It didn't take much effort, in fact the woman had come to her senses before Katya had to do much, and she watched as the woman disappeared as quickly as the commotion had occured. Satisfied with the outcome, she turned back to her comrades who could now eat without the need to defend and she felt happy that they could eat in peace as a pack. She looked to Hydra, then Arcturus and waited her turn to eat into the doe, knowing her position and minding her posture, her rank meant that she ate once the two darker wolves ate to their fill.

Moriko watched all the commotion that had been occuring as she approached closer, making her presence more known and visible. She was hungry gor sure, but could wait for her turn to approach. She kept her eyes on Maia, her gaze cold and unblinking. Almost as if this wolf was testing Moriko without knowing it. Moriko wouldn't lose her cool unless another action was taken. But her pack continued their activities and she awaited her turn, she kept her gaze, somewhat narrow eyed both from snow and disapproval. She was waiting for permission to react or eat. Whichever came first. The she wolf stood her ground confidently as she felt the cold snow and whistling wind, as well as the various vibrations around her.

hydra rose from the snow like a blackened bludgeon; arcturus saw her teeth flash terribly out of the corner of his eye before the wolf he assailed sunk to the ground immediately in submission. this was all it was needed to placate the beta immediately; he was no ruthless killer -- he understood her need to eat, but his own came first.

he stepped back, allowing both katya and moriko a chance to eat should they wish. he had not eaten much at all before maia had arrived, and he supposed while there was not enough to fill the corners of all of their stomachs, a half-meal was better than none.

keeping an eye on maia, arcturus squinted into the storm, wishing they would collect themselves and make for home soon. he hated being out in such conditions.

The stranger soon realized their error, and retreated; the matriarch did not pursue, as that had been all she had wanted. Not blood, not death—simply respect. Having dealt the killing blow to the beast, Hydra would not have relented in contesting her position here as head bitch with the stranger... fortunately, they realized sooner rather than later and neither of them were worse for wear from their altercation, brief as it had been. One simply left hungrier. Hydra watched them fade into the white, and then continued to eat herself. Having eaten her fill, she stepped aside to allow the rest to eat as well; she stood alongside the corpse protectively, heeding her surroundings as best she could given the circumstances. Moriko and Katya could eat their fill too, now, and Hydra would stand guard as they did so. Once they were finished, they would head home. Her own belly full, Hydra was sated... though she would not rest until her family was as well.

Silence came once Maia was no longer and the dark woman watched as Hydra took to protecting the kill, as did the dark male whose name she was unfamiliar. She understood that they were waiting for her to gain her fill, she assumed that they had previously taken their own share of the doe and were generous enough to give their bodies as a shield as she and Moriko did the same. She did not hesitate and took to the doe immediately, tearing into the cold flesh without knowledge of where, what mattered instead was how much. She ate quickly, swallowing the meal without really tasting until she felt her own stomach grow full. She licked at her lips after satisfying her hunger and turned toward Hydra with an appreciative smile, the male alongside her she dipped her head with respect and went to cleaning her fur while waiting for Moriko to finish. She had forgotten about the weather around them, so focused instead on the kill and the commotion around them but once finished the storm once more was center stage and she was nervous about venturing out once more within in. At least now she would have company on her return walk home.

Moriko approached what was left of the carcass and began to eat, still trying to keep a watch and observe the area due to the snowstorm making sight more difficult- but she immediately felt the pit of her stomach grow with warmth as she continued to eat. She didn't realize she was as hungry as she was until she began to eat. Her stomach felt like a warm fire as she continued, still planning to leave some behind, and not to be ungrateful of the food she was given. She began to feel her energy rise again.

hunger flickered in arcturus' belly as he watched katya and then moriko consume what was left. it was slim pickings -- but it would do.

he turned to hydra, who already was watching the storm and the way home. the pass would soon be snowed in; already heavy snow tongued along the high walls of the stony cistern. arcturus' gaze was uneasy as he looked between his crew, and the culvert.

bending his head to the oncoming storm, arcturus forged the way home -- leaving a long cut in the trailing snow as he went.

Fading and archiving <3 Thanks y'all!

 

Once all had eaten, Hydra took the end of the path to guard her subordinates from the rear. There was no other danger present, and fortunately they made it home without further aggression needing to be employed. Once they arrived to the Spear Hydra bumped her subordinates, tail waving; she was glad for them being able to eat and filling their bellies. They would search for more when the weather cleared; in the interim, Hydra deigned to let herself rest. Her energy was restored, but she thought it best to conserve some of it now; she lay and let the snow bury her as she took a brief siesta.