Firefly Glen Scattered Arif

Date fuzzy - takes place before full formation

Osiris had asked her to perform a task, and jobs were something she was good at. Toad set off that day on a mission: find where the herds were that day and attempt to determine a pattern of movement. This would prove invaluable for the other hunters, many of whom were busy filling caches with small prey and helping to form and patrol borders. Toad was good at this.

It was chilly that morning and she could smell rain on the horizon, but she rose early from her place nestled beneath a large spruce tree. The days were growing shorter and the huntress knew that she would need to start taking advantage of every dawn and dusk to track the herds coming into the winter season. She gave a great stretch and a wide yawn, setting out just after the sun had lit the skies in sweet pinks and lavender tones.

She wasn't sure where @Bronco was staying, but knew he would be perfect for the task. So, she lifted her head and gave a short howl to let the hunters of the pack know what she was doing: tracking the deer herds. With that, she started at a trot, keeping her eyes and ears alert and heading for the last place she had seen the herds just beyond the interior of the Glen.

Bronco had been out travelling along the borders, still trying to get them marked well enough so that even a fairly nose-blind wolf would be ablt to tell they were near the borders. Just a few more days yet, he thought- and they'd have the perimeter secured, and enough wolves living within the Glen to call it a proper home. He'd yet to find a good new den with Meerkat, but he'd have to sort that out before the snow fell. 

He heard Toad's voice, and his stomach gave a small gurgle as he recognized the hungry tone of her voice. Morning was an excellent time to hunt, he thought- or at least, to go tracking to see what could be found. So he found his way along the borders until he caught Toad's scent, and tracked her down mostly just using his sense of smell. He chuffed quietly as he approached so that he could catch her attention without distracting her too much from the task at hand.

It wasn't long before Bronco joined her. She nodded with a quiet mmh in reply to him as he came to her side. She was in a state of focus. They would need to move quickly to catch the herds at the best time. As she moved, she briefly explained their task. I've been trying to keep up with the herd movements, she said, staring at the horizon ahead of her. The ground was soft and cold from the rain the evening before. I could use your expertise to find them this morning; we might even get a breakfast out of it, she smiled hopefully, glancing at her friend.

The last time they had gone hunting together hadn't exactly gone very well. The two holes in Bronco's side had of course healed up and were not visible, but Toad still worried that they might get unlucky.

Still, if they were to catch something, the caches would be easy to fill and the kill site would create a good secondary rendezvous for the pledged glen members. Though the air was cool, no rain fell just yet. Toad hoped it would stay that way.

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Toad's gaze didn't rise to greet him- or if it did, it was only for a short moment before she returned her attention to the trace of scent she was stalking. She gave him a brief explanation, before she extended an invitation for him to join her with the hopes of potentially catching something to eat. He licked his chops and nodded, consenting to join her in her efforts to start tracking the herd's movements through the Glen, so they might pick up on some vital information about the herds of deer that called the area home.

Part of him suspected that all the new activity in the area from the wolves who'd come down from the mountain might have some effect on the herd's patterns, and might even send them to roam elsewhere if they truly felt that they were in danger. But fortunately for them, the Glen was large enough that both predator and prey could coexist, so long as they were mindful of their kills, and did not over-hunt.

So he roved alongside her, zig-zagging this way and that as he assessed the scents left behind by the deer, and found his stomach gurgling lightly. The last time he'd hunted with Toad Amelia, things hadn't panned out as he'd expected, but he still felt fairly certain that something else had been the cause of the stampede, and that it hadn't been anyone's fault they'd gotten trapped in the gully amongst the stampeding mule deer. Perhaps out here in the open they might find the smaller, white-tailed deer, though he suspected that they too would still have their antlers- and still be potentially dangerous.

Bronco said nothing. They moved forward as one then, strutting forth. They searched for the trail that Toad knew was near and nothing more or less. They were in an area toward the Heartwood. The upper east had not been heavily trafficked, and so the huntress felt comfortable leading her comrade. No others bothered them.

Following the smells was intense and beautifully silent. Occasionally, she would glance toward Bronco to confirm what she felt, and he would merely agree in the way he did. He more than once directed her closer to the trail as the pair caught on. She followed him loyally, for it was clear his skill was great.

Eventually, what they found before them was a herd of whitetail deer at a great distance. It was impossible to tell exact numbers. However, it was clear that many were present and unable to acknowledge the predators stalking them. Toad maintained a careful downwind position, ensuring that no animals to the west might be able to capture their scent. It was here that she looked to Bronco. She had found them. It was up to him what they might do with the herd.

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He felt relaxed and confident alongside Toad, trusting her judgement calls and willing to follow her lead while he still remained attentive, and mindful of his environment. It was peaceful in their new home, and he found it easy to simply settle into a prowling pace, roving this way and that, mindful of Toad's movements as well as she searched for the telltale signs that they might be getting close to a herd. Like a pair of old friends partnered in a career for years, they seemed to work well together, and eventually, they found themselves prowling ever closer to a herd of deer which eventually became visible on the horizon.

He moved to Toad's side, figuring that if they stood together, they wouldn't be taking up as much space and might be less likely to get spotted. He followed her gaze, likewise keeping crouched so that he might blend in with the grasses, flattening his ears so that the fluffy triangles wouldn't give him away should a deer scan the horizon. Quietly, he licked his lips. Naturally, he hungered- and he wanted to attempt a hunt- but he wasn't sure if it would be a waste of energy to go after a herd unless they'd managed to spot something that looked like it could be both split from the herd and killed by a group of only two wolves.

There were roughly 13 or 14 deer- a decent sized gathering, but considering the fact that it was fall, it was also rutting season. Among the deer present were several stags of a decent size, with antlers sharpened for the rut. He studied them for a moment, looking for any sign of weaknesses amongst the herd, but the fawns that had been born that spring had grown strong, and he couldn't pick out any that looked old or injured. He looked to Toad for her assessment.

Reference tag

Bronco licked his lips. Toad mirrored him. They crouched, stalking, two hunters in unison gathering information on their quarry. As they moved in closer, she started to count the numbers. There were more than ten and fewer than twenty. They were strong. The fawns had grown quickly into juveniles that were alert to danger, as they were the survivors of many attacks by wolves. The older males were several. They were large and getting ready for breeding.

Toad had hoped that any bulls might already have been in full rut and thus tired from battle, but the timing was too early. This timing would certainly be the key to a future hunt that @Osiris was counting on. Now though, Toad wasn't sure that the morning hunt would result in spoils. She searched for a distracted member, for a doe or a juvenile that was at risk.

None were obvious, and as Bronco looked to her for direction, she looked ahead, eyes focused. They would need to be careful if they were to fully pursue. She wasn't sure if the best option might be to leave the herd and simply know their placement, or to give chase and see if they could single one out.

She decided on the latter.

Toad whispered now to her partner. It felt as though they had done this dozens of times before, so easily did she relay only necessary information, we'll run them and see if we can single out a juvenile, on my signal. For once, Toad was actually glad Meerkat wasn't here to spoil things. While she didn't blame the girl for Bronco's injury last time, she wasn't exactly well-practiced in the nuances of these things from what Toad knew.

Toad crept forward, moving slightly away from Bronco to give them better herding distance. This would allow for them to become two parts of a single beast, closing in on the herd. Despite her frame, Toad moved with an almost feline grace, careful with every step not to disturb the herd. When she felt she was in the right position, she looked to Bronco very subtly with the slightest tilt of her head. Ready?

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He wasn't keen on moving the deer, and it likely showed in the moment of pause he took before he responded to her suggestion. His expression showed doubt plainly- he hadn't noticed any deer within the herd that he thought that he and Toad Amelia could bring down with just the two of them present, without risking injury- and perhaps his last large game hunt had rattled him some, making him a bit more leery about taking on a large herbivore again, without having the full strength of several wolves alongside him. He didn't doubt Toad's skills, but he sincerely doubted he'd be able to take on a deer even if they were able to split one off from the herd. Not if she was busy keeping the herd at bay; ideally, he would have liked to have at least one other wolf present.

But- then he read further into her suggestion, and his expression shifted. If they did put the deer into motion, they could potentially spot one or two that perhaps wasn't as fast as the rest, or that had a limp. And it didn't necessarily mean that the two of them would bring it down- but they could always return at another time, with more muscle, and take it down then. “Oh, uh, sure,” He said, with a nod. He forced a bit of a smile, and looked out toward the herd, looking for the indivudials which were a bit more leggy and slim than the others. There were a few juneviles to choose from- but he'd be happy to see if any of them were skittish, and just how connected the herd was with one another.

Given the fact it was fall, he found it more difficult to creep up on a herd, with the grasses being more dry than normal, and he had to make sure that he avoided stepping on the dry leaves that were littered across the ground. He was impressed with Toad's grace, and how she seemed capable of scanning the entire horizon before her, expecting her clever paws to know exactly where to step, and where to avoid. There was not only skill behind her movements, but art- and he found himself reinvesting in the process all over again, despite the outcome of his last large game experience. With a deerstalker like Toad leading the way, he could relax and simply perform as he was meant to.

He caught the motion of her jaw and hesitated only a moment to mirror- before he moved with one stride to her side, and then forward with the next gust of wind.

Rolled a 19 on a d20

Toad knew that the call she made was unlikely to result in real results. With only the two of them and what looked like an alert herd, the chances were slim. However, Toad knew from experience that knowing the full health of a herd was impossible without running them. She figured that doing this would at least be worth it in the long run for Osiris's pack hunt, even if today it resulted in empty bellies.

Their approach was extremely cautious under her guidance. Bronco moved equally expertly, careful to avoid the dried grasses and noisy leaves that would give away their position. The herd mingled slowly ahead of them, browsing casually and surely conversing among one another. Bronco signalled his readiness to her subtly. They were in full focus. Toad's eyes were heavily dilated, watching for movement carefully.

The wind urged them forth. Toad launched from her position, spooking the herd and causing them to run. Two does sounded alarm calls as their tails flew up like great flags, telling the others nearby that something was attacking. Wolves were built to do this. Toad was built for stamina. Her powerful legs brought her close beside the herd. She looked for a target. The bucks had run to the front of the herd, leaving two juveniles at the back. They attempted to stay close to does that might have been the mothers.

One of these small deer had an injury at the ankle. Toad wasted no time. She aimed to close the distance on this one, hoping that the herd would not turn to face the pair of wolves. So far, they didn't know that there were only two. If Bronco and she managed to pin this one on its own, they just might get it.

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He scanned the herd from left to right and back again as they approached and as the herd spooked into motion, ignoring their calls of distress and the flash of their white tails. Those deer were generally the ones to avoid- as they were the lookouts, and were likely the strongest (and smartest) deer of the group. They made up the vanguard as the herd moved forward and away from the pursuing carnivores, while a couple of the younger ones straggled near the hind end of the herd, making themselves easily visible. He hadn't expected for their selection process to be this easy- but sometimes, luck was on their side.

And it certainly was, given the fact that one of the juveniles had an injured ankle. As soon as he saw Toad pour speed into her movements, his gaze was drawn toward that deer in particular and it was then that he too noticed that it had an ailment. They could always wait and call for reinforcements- but given the fact that this deer was already injured, if they didn't take it down, another opportunistic predator might just go ahead and do the same. He wouldn't be pleased if they simply let this one slip by, and go to the teeth of some loners who might've been prowling the outskirts of their founding pack.

So he moved with her, knowing that the first move would be cutting the one juvenile from the rest of the herd so that it could not be protected. He figured that by this age, though, they were less likely to have a parent who had any paternal instincts left for their growing juvenile- and by this time of year, they were already thinking ahead to next year's fawns. The one with the injured ankle continued to limp, and as the wolves put pressure on the herd, the majority of the herbivors sped forward- leaving their injured herdmate to fall behind, creating a natural distance that Bronco saw as an opportunity.

He drew near enough to Toad, aligning his strides with hers so that with each bound he took he could expel a word, piecing out a brief proposal. “If you can cut it off,” He puffed, “I'll attack it.” Speed was never his best quality- and while he knew he could put on a burst of speed and outrun the straggling deer, he also knew that that would cost him a good deal of energy- and he wanted to use that energy where it was best, which was slinging his weight around. As long as Toad Amelia could get the juvenile to halt up just a bit, he could slam into it, and potentially take it down with little more than his natural body weight and the momentum he'd built up.

As the chased, the distance between the able-bodied protectors of the herd and the injured one grew. Where in spring and summer they may have held fast as a formidable wall of flesh and antlers, now they were distracted, stupefied with the promise of the breeding season. She shouted, Got it! while Bronco kept his pace with her.

Toad did her best to use her thick legs to spring forward, just a bit closer. She was by no means a very fast animal, but she knew exactly what Bronco needed. She needed to slow the beast down just a bit before he could use his weight to pin it. It wasn't a particularly large deer, but neither was its injury a particularly bad injury. Toad moved swiftly, but found that the terrain made her fumble a fair bit for quite a distance.

At last, after many seconds of running, she was finally able to grasp at the injured ankle at the back. Nastily, she nipped hard, literally at its heels. Though she was unable to cut it off with an agile maneuver, the good ol' wearing down started to do the trick. Another hard nip and pull. One of its hooves struck out at her in desperation, kicking her in the shoulder, but even this movement was enough that the animal lost its sure footing and slowed.

It was up to him to make his move.

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Going with a success based on the roll you did earlier?

Bronco panted as he put in an effort to keep pace, veering away from Toad so that she might have a shot of weeding her way amongst the herbivores and putting a halt on the one they'd singled out, so that he could catch up and make a lunge at it. He trailed behind, still following behind the stragglers, watching as Toad closed the ground between them and the deer. She wasn't as quick as he'd thought she might be- he recalled seeing how his friend Vallkyrie could run, and assumed that she would probably have been able to outpace both him and Toad with ease- but she got close enough to bite at the juvenile's ankle and cause its pace to slow even more.

When it stumbled, Bronco flattened his ears and surged forward, hitting his top speed within strides and used the energy he'd managed to save up to draw even with the deer while its head bobbed with its lunging, pained strides. It lurched away from him and his first snap missed- but it wasn't in vain. In trying to avoid him, the deer stumbled again, having been made lame by whatever had caused it injury before and now, with the strike Toad had managed at its ankle. When it stumbled again, Bronco lunged, and grabbed it by the windpipe, using his body weight to bring its momentum to a dramatic, but messy halt as it feebly tried to stand, held in place by the predator clasping its neck.

Its jaw worked in a futile effort to pull in air, but Bronco held fast, clenching his jaws down and cutting off its airway. Stunned, in pain and in the threshold of shock, it struck out lamely with one of its forefeet, catching Bronco in the shoulder but he simply used that moment to haul the deer sideways, sending them both crashing to the ground where he could get a better hold on its neck, pinning it while its life slowly faded from lack of oxygen.

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The participants have indicated the following reason(s) for this warning: Hunting violence

While Bronco had a shot at the throat, Toad continued to pull at the animal's ankle, rendering it almost unusable after several nasty bites. Her shoulder was starting to hurt, and she lost speed from it. Thankfully by that point, the animal was pulled to the side by her partner. It fell with a light crash, its herd long gone. One of the bucks had stayed behind to observe, keep a very healthy distance from the wolves at large.

Bronco pushed his teeth into its windpipe while Toad took the opportunity to bite fiercely at its exposed flank and underbelly. She bit hard and tight, pulling at the animal ferociously. She was quickly transformed from a kind and gentle woman to a creature designed for killing.

While he suffocated, she grabbed the hindquarter of the animal, holding its leg at the base while it kicked aimlessly. It took longer than it should have for the creature to die. It choked. Gurgled on its own blood. Her own mouth was drenched in it, and the metallic taste gave her a shot of adrenaline, putting pressure on the leg, pulling, biting, ripping.

When the quarry was still, she released, licking her mouth, delighting in the flavour. Excellent job, Bronco, she said, quite pleased. She hadn't expected to actually catch anything. She thought that running the herd would at best expose something about the nature of the social ties between the deer. Such knowledge might have given them a leg up on the neck pack hunt, but this was much better. Anyone in the area who might be hungry could partake. The prize probably wouldn't last longer than a day given its small size, but she and Bronco would not be able to eat it alone.

Swallowing the blood, grinning, she raised her head, howling for her pack, announcing a fresh, morning meal. She looked to Bronco after, beaming.

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He felt a bit of doubt edge its way into the strain of his muscles as he pinned his weight against the deer but with every shrinking sign of strength it showed that it was weakening, and with Toad ravaging its belly and holding one of its hind feet back, there was no chance that this deer would survive even if they did let it go now. It was only a matter of time, and he ssimply had to clamp down and make sure that the young deer couldn't squeak in a breath.

He was surprised they'd managed to find one- and even more surprised that they'd taken one down, but the fates had been in their favour by presenting them with a deer that had an injured ankle. “Ouf, you too!” He replied, stepping back from the kill and licking his lips. After his last altercation with a hooved herbivore this certainly served to boulster his confidence a bit. He still wasn't keen on charging an animal that had a rack of antlers on it, he did know it would only be a matter of time until those antlers dropped- and the deer would be without their sharp crown of thorns for the winter. They might have even better luck hunting here in the Glen than he'd previously thought.

His stomach gurgled audibly but Toad had called for the pack, and he saw fit to wait for his packmates to arrive. They had put in the lion's share of the effort killing the deer, but it was always better to share with packmates- particularly those who were of a higher rank. And just in case any of their leaders were as aggressive as his mother was regarding a kill, he was definitely not going to take that chance. So as they waited for packmates to arrive he began to clean some of the blood off himself, and turned a deaf ear to the audible grumbles his stomach made.

Charles heard the call to announce food and he couldn't let that pass. He wasn't the best hunter and admittedly ate more from caches than from things he killed with his own teeth. The coywolf quickly made his way towards the scene, where he found howly-girl who he didn't yet know and Bronco. Oh, sweet! Did you do this? he asked both of them, clearly impressed with their hunting work. Assuming that by then they would've already eaten, Charles dug in too; he would try for some of the good stuff (after all, it looked like everyone else was late anyway, so it was a golden opportunity to get some), but he wouldn't risk his hairs for it, so if they wouldn't allow him to take any of the good stuff he'd simply settle for whatever he could get.

Can prolly wrap with a Bronco post?

Toad took Bronco's lead in not eating until at least one pack member arrived, though had he been anyone else she probably wouldn't have been so polite. She panted, pacing about the kill, eyes dilated in uncharacteristic savagery. Every so often she would sigh in anticipation and impatience, cleaning off parts of herself idly the way her hunting partner did, but finding it unsatisfying. The adrenaline in her still rushed.

When it was only Charles, she nodded silently and then abruptly dug in. While she was hardly a food aggressive beast in wolf terms, she was still very much a wolf. She ate before she would let Charles anywhere near the choice bits.

The deer was small and wouldn't last them all that long, but would become a temporary second rally point for the wolves of the Glen. A few ravens were already waiting to scavenge from the carcass.

Cool cool cool!

He waited, having to flick his tongue over his lips several times to keep the pooling saliva at bay, but once Charles showed up it seemed like a unanimous decision to take that as a cue to eat, and so they did. Charles had been ranked as omega- and such things were to be reinforced, certainly- but Bronco simply chose to select a better cut of meat for himself, rather than bothering with mediating how and when Charles ate. He liked the guy- he'd obviously done something to piss Osiris off, but Bronco thought he was funny. He liked wolves with a sense of humour. 

So they ate, and what was left over was stashed away, and the herd itself could be tracked again another day should they decide to revisit and pluck another from its midst. They had done well by the herbivories to select only the weakest, so that the strong could continue to live and procreate but like any prey animal...Their days were numbered.