Whitefish River live fast, die young

Kaistleoki, you have a tresspasser! I took inspiration from this thread

The stench was obvious. The land through which the river snaked was claimed, with the boundaries refreshed recently—probably earlier in the day. Maksim approached the borders to investigate, walking over to sniff curiously at a heavily marked rock. The young male was interested to learn about the wolves who had set up home along the river. He wanted to get an idea of their numbers and their health; good information to know if he planned to stick around the flatlands for a few more days. 

Satisfied after giving the rock a thorough sniffing, Maksim proceeded to move away and go about his own business when a sudden change in wind direction caused him to stop and turn around. Along the stench of urine, another scent became apparent. One which was much more appetising. Maksim circled back around, suddenly spotting the piece of mangled deer carcass at the base of a nearby tree. Loudly his stomach grumbled. Glancing around, Maksim made a quick check to make sure no one was around before he quietly slipped past the marked borders and made an attempt to retrieve the meal. 

While everyone seemed busy (with preparing for a family, pregnant, with their lovers, etc...), Hiero was left to majority wander the borders. Now that he had promised to give Ira more space, he had little else to do than protect the borders. 

Thankfully, unfortunately for Hiero, he was the first to come up on the sight of a stranger who was within Kaistleoki borders. His pace quickened with perked ears as he focused on the stranger, now that he was closer he can definitely confirm they were no one he had never met before. With a growl to announce his presence, he stood stiff. Who are you? You're trespassing.

After their last trespasser, and remembering Evergreen's words, Hiero was on edge and was not as talkative as he normally would be in trying to talk them into leaving peacefully. He'll give them this one warning and that was it.

She didn't often patrol the borders, nor had that been her reason for being near them today. The plants had started returning, and she sometimes combed the edges of the territory for any important ones. Her abdomen had a slight, noticeable roundness to it, and she knew soon she wouldn't be able to leave to gather plants since it would be unsafe. She was more cautious than she should be, but she had reason to be. She knew Emrik would go with her, but even that would be too dangerous for her soon. So she tried to find what she could within the safety of Kaistleoki. 

Today had been kind to her. Her nausea wasn't too bad, and she had found something useful to take back to her herb cache. She held the bundle in her jaws and was about to head back, but she heard Hieronymous. She couldn't tell what he was saying, but he sounded upset, so she quickly made her way to him

She realized too late that her decision had been a mistake. She never made it a habit to greet strangers at the border. She had no fighting experience and she wasn't really built for it. Especially now, though, she wouldn't have entered this situation had she known her packmate was confronting a trespasser. 

She paused behind Hieronymous, placing her plants on the ground at her feet and then tilted her head to call for @Evergreen. Normally she would call for Ira too, but she was too close to having her pups to be here in the healer's opinion.

Maksim only just reached the mangled deer carcass when a growl startled him. Immediately the male lifted his head and turned to see who had spotted him. He would have quirked an eyebrow up at the peculiar-looking piebald male had @Hieronymous not shouted at him and visibly stiffened up, seemingly ready for attack. 

Realising that he had been caught in the act, Maksim had no intention of giving the pack wolf his name. Instead he decided to risk it and turned back around to quickly seize the leg of the deer carcass in his mouth. A hard pull released the limb from the rest of the decaying corpse, the flesh softer now after days of being picked at by crows. Holding the meat firmly in his jaws Maksim made a run for it, placing as much distance between him and the piebald male as possible as he attempted to escape back across to neutral ground.

A howl echoed up from behind him. He didn't dare glance back to see who might be chasing after him. 

since maksim is sticking around to steal & im assuming the extra weight will slow him, im pping a hit here! can change if its a problem <3

The call is for his mate, but the message is one he can't ignore, so he doesn't hesitate to answer. He turns from his border patrol with haste, pace picking up to a run quickly. Fortune brings the intruder his way, carrying a rotted morsel clearly pilfered from pack lands. His packmates are near, too, but he doesn't notice them. Only the stranger. A snarl bursts from him as he moves to meet the trespasser, snapping as he lunges. He isn't even sure where his teeth land, but when he makes contact, his grip turns to iron.

There was no answer from the stranger, instead, he was bold enough to turn around and rip a piece of the carcass and turn to run. He heard Speedy's call for Evergreen behind him, twisting his ears to take notice but nothing more. Instead, as the stranger ran, Hiero did too. Thundering paws ripping through the ground as he and Winterbourne both try to grab a piece of the thief with furious snapping jaws to try and pin down the poacher.

Again, normally Hiero was more generous and would let the obvious hungry male take some food - but he was trying to be sneaky. With the pregnant women around, Evergreen's orders and their previous trespasser, Hieronymous wasn't feeling all that generous today. Maybe if the other than tried talking things would have gotten along a lot more smoothly but now... he was out for blood.

She thought the stranger must be really hungry to go through all of this just for some rancid meat. There were plenty of other options that didn't include trespassing on claimed territory, and she wondered if something might be wrong with the man. Maybe he couldn't smell like Hieronymous? That wasn't likely; her packmate was the only wolf she had ever known like that. Still, she had to wondered if there was more to this than what it seemed.

It was something she probably wouldn't get to know, not that it really mattered. She wanted the trespasser gone just as much as anyone else, and had she been the only one there, she might have just let him leave with his rotten spoils. She knew it wasn't likely to go down that way, though, nor should it. She was relieved to see her call answered by Winterbourne, but her relief was short lived. The trespasser began to run, followed by Hieronymous and met with Winterbourne's teeth. 

She ran after them, not to attack, but to be there afterwards to tend to wounds. There were always wounds after these types of things.

Maksim has received an injury from both males! He's making an attempt to escape, but feel free to chase after him and nip at him some more on his way out!

Maksim ran as fast as he could, gripping tightly to the elk limb between his jaws as he raced towards the open fields beyond. He could hear the sound of the piebald male chasing after him, but he did not look back for fear it would slow him down. His aim was to put as much distance between them, with no care for the direction he ran in. Maksim thought he had gotten away with it, smelt the sweet smell of victory in the air, until a grey blur suddenly barrelled into his left side with a snarl.

Pain rushes to the right side of his neck as @Winterbourne clamps down on him. Instinctively Maksim yelps through clamped jaws and attempts to shake himself free, but only causes more damage in the process, leaving behind a chunk of flesh and fur for his attacker to chew on. Stunned, but fuelled by a sudden surge of adrenaline, Maksim clambers up and tried to take off again, only to receive a bite from @Hieronymous. Stumbling forwards, Maksim drops the meat and spins around to snap his jaws defensively and snarl towards the piebald male and anyone else who apprached him. Outnumbered, the male makes a final dash for freedom, his tail tucked between his legs.

Arriving next turn.

Ears perk at the sound of a summons—urgent, from the borders, and one of their expecting mothers. The bear is quick to his feet, enough so he stumbles trying to get from the river he loved so much. He drops the fish he’d caught on the shore, uncaring that dramatic splashing likely chased the prey from their waters for awhile.
He charges forth, soaked legs, chest and stomach. Wasting a precious second to shake off could very well be the deciding factor; as it was when Thistle had been murdered. He swallows thickly, and picks up the pace in the direction of the summons.

Pulling Hiero from this thread to finish his part in it

The pinching of his teeth against the skin of the stranger felt strange to the painted man, he hadn't done such a thing in a long time and it brought back some terrible memories. The taste of blood, the howling of the target in pain as they ran away. Hiero stopped his attack and let the stranger leave in the distance, picking up the ripe piece of meat and dropping it back down on the carcass. 

He had to go and think of today's action and how it affected him. He offered little in his departure and would try to remember to come back and get rid of the carcass if no one else does it before he does before it gathers more unwanted attention. For now, he wasn't quite interested in talking with the others. That would have to be saved for another time.

- Exit