Wapun Meadow huir

they spill out into wapun.

his pelt is slick with blood. the breath of the bear-coven hot on his heels.

@Ameline’s teeth seize at his tail. @Ancelin looms in too close for comfort.

he’s given them hell where he can, but he is outnumbered and knows if they are clever, he could be theirs by sundown.

he winces into a coasting gallop, ears trained to the pursuers behind.

Ameline conserved as much as she could of her strength, knowing that in the close quarters of the passage into the valley, the man would only have one direction to go. But when they flew out into the open, sending a flock of birds into flight, she knew they could lose him if they did not keep him wedged between themselves. 

She made a grab for his tail in an attempt to slow him down momentarily, but only a moment later he opened up his pace just as she had anticipated he might. 

It was now that she wished they had another member on their team; one to cut off his escape so that they could circle him and punish him for his trespass. 

The best she could do now was push herself into a gallop, and claim one hip as hers- so that he would not be able to veer to the right.

admittedly ancelin was flagging a little, though he wouldn't be pressed to admit this.
the man sped out into their meadow and he watched his mate nimbly fall to the right, her teeth glittering. he struck left then, pounding the ground along the man's flank as if they were racehorses taking a curve.
his own jaws parted, a snarl bubbling as he bit for the coursing flesh.

he was lucky for his hard months of travel; the way the terrain shaped his lean limbs a boon in this race for his life. 

soto felt ameline’s breath hot on his snapping jocks. she moved to block his right, and the cursed male moved to block his left. their teeth dragged along his burning backside. they moved in formation that suggested they planned to pinch him forth. 

and if they caught him they would surely kill him. 

he would tire soon. 

soto veered erratically, but never so much he leaned into any waiting jaw. mid stride he did the unthinkable and —



with all of his power soto pulled out the handbrake just as it seemed they would close in. he hopes they fly past his brake-check, but he doesn’t pause long enough to watch the satisfying maneuver  play out. 

with a grunt betraying his near exhaustion he pushes his limbs to move, pirouetting into the opposite direction in the hopes it would place too much ground between them for them to possibly recover. 

soto’s throat burns as he presses on in a flogging gallop.

In her peripheral vision, she could see the glint of Ancelin’s bared teeth as the trespassers hips sank with each thrust. She knew from the redness in his gums that his heart raced as fast as hers, and that he listed for another taste of the man’s blood. 

But all too suddenly, the man’s hips rose- and Ameline saw his shoulders sink as he suddenly slid to a halt and fell behind. She braced her shoulders and splayed her toes, using her hooked claws to grasp the earth as if to keep it from spinning- so that she too could pivot and race after him.

The air in her throat was cold and harsh, and even with the taste of the stranger’s blood on her tongue, she knew she could taste blood on her own breath as well. As brutish and wiry as she was, she couldn’t keep up a breakneck pace for forever. 

Still- there was something to be said for tenacity, and she would not give up in her chase until the man was free of the meadow.

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he and ameline were so fucking hot together was his last nonsensical thought before the man pulled what was known as a pro gamer move and did something that would live inside ancelin for years.
blood in his throat, on his breath; his chest felt like it was going to burst, and it was all he could do just to come to an inelegant, flopping stop.
ameline was off again before ancelin had even gotten up; he was so impressed by both of them that he didn't realize he was moving again, in no hope of catching up with the man but wanting to at least rejoin his mate.

to his relief it works; the two wolves sail past in a curtain of fury, dust and scree clattering behind them.

he does not even waste a molecule of his energy looking behind him. its waning fast; he can feel it sink back like the sucking waters of a tidal plain.

the wolves of bearclaw have left their mark on him. his chest is sodden with blood, a new scar across his muzzle, and a deep puncture at his hip.

he trains an ear behind him. they are pursuing still, but their steps are measured. he is tiring. they must be tiring too.

he tests their attentiveness by dropping to a loose canter, ready at a moment’s notice to put another burst of speed between them though he feels his steps flagging.

Ameline coughed as her mate kicked up a spray of dust. Shaking her head she continued to pursue the male, who cut a course for the edge of the meadow. Tongue lolling she pursued, grateful when the loner slowed his pace. 

Rather than put on more speed, she adjusted her pace so she could trail behind at an even distance. She would need to conserve her energy if he should turn to fight again.

the fool slowed, and ancelin wanted to use the very last gas in his tank to see if he could pull off a last minute kill.
but a tremble in his foreleg said absolutely now. ameline slowed and without her impetus he put his away. still his eyes remained locked to the man, gait continuing with a confidence that said keep going to the would-be raider.

soto continued, muscles quivering in protest with every reaching stride. an ear trained behind him informed him his pursuers have not ceased their stalking.

he continues straight, visually mapping the path to take him out of the rolling valley and into thick hinterland. out of great conservation he avoids going uphill — he trots down a gulley where the plants lean thick on the path, brushing their damp leaves against his wailing limbs.

the thud of escorting paws never ends. after a while his hammering heart settles and he catches a second wind. but if he’s recovered, so have his pugilistic pursuers.

with the last of his sapping energy soto pushes his exhausted body into a second sprint, diving into underbrush that leads him south to the red dunes.

he’a certain these hellhounds would follow him to the end of the earth if they could. later he would have to lick his aching wounds; for now, his adrenaline kicks in long enough for him to stave off crumbling exhaustion.

Thtupid…..Thtupid….Thon-of-a….Garbage. 

Between breaths, Ameline cursed. She had not been willing (or able) to put on another final burst of speed and overtake the trespasser as he had, before he’d disappeared into the bushes. Blood lingered red upon the leaves. She huffed, and puffed, and left a smelly lump of feces on the ground beneath the bloodied leaves. 

She turned back and kicked dirt over it with her hind paws before her eyes sought out her husband. Tired as she was, it ignited her to see him after a brawl.

"did you see that shit!" ancelin hooted as he turned from wetting a patch of grass very thoroughly with a hike of his leg. he jogged back toward ameline, blood still dripping from his face.
"stupid dude. real dumb. but that thing he did? not dumb. that's ours now," he declared, exuberant now that the threat had been very well dispelled and they were both safe.

As always, Ancelin was the one to see the good in the situation. Ameline turned one ear toward him so she could listen to him explain exactly why he was in such high spirits while she licked at the re-opened scar on her shoulder. She smirked and chuffed at his reasoning, and looked back toward him, whiskers pushed forward and ears splayed.

It’th a move for a wolf bein’ chathed, She said, lifting her chin. A wolf who’th runnin’ away…That ain’t uth. 

She gave him a smug smirk, before she shook her head, shrugged, and nodded. 

….But yeah, we’re totally thtealin’ that move. That wath kinda thick eh?

"maybe we can use it in hunting or something," ancelin exulted, too delighted by their success to be blunted by logic.
"oh, fuck. i guess we should head back now, huh?" the rex mumbled as a wince over his torn flesh passed. tossing his head, stancing his shoulders, ancelin winked reassuringly at his mate and waved his tail, claws digging possessively at the ground for a moment.

She chuckled softly, and cleared her throat with a huff. The running left her feeling fresh, though they now bore pounds that would lead to sore muscles in the morning. To her mate’s suggestion, she nodded. 

We should get back to the girlth. She said, before she kissed her husband’s face, carefully cleaned a bit of debris from his wounds, and made her way back to the Valley.