Ouroboros Spine lxiv. if i promised to leave my gun at the door

random hunting thread for any interested members! (@Kukutux, @Aiolos, @Shikoba, @Inutsuk, @Sialuk, @Qadira, @Makan, @Samani, @Kausiut, @Muttn, @Dionysus, @Themis)

The botanist had been surveying the Wilds and watching the prey of the Spine closely. While the large grazers had been affected in the Taiga, it appeared that the herds here had remained healthy. It was the small creatures of the forest -- the hares, rabbits, pikas, those that burrowed -- that had fallen ill near their mountain.

They had been limited to hunting the birds that frequented Anik Lake and fishing its waters, to trapping the scavengers such as fox and coyote, and hunting the red deer and elk that shared the territories where the moonwolves prowled. But they were fortunate, the spirits had only cursed the little creatures. 

There was an older elk cow in the herd that lived amongst the conifers of the Spine. The herd-watcher had seen that she lagged behind the others, or often fell behind. Her meat would not be the most tender but the village would benefit from culling her. 

The cloudberry tracked the solitary doe, making a note of her general location, before hurrying back to the heart of the ulax. Here, she drew to a halt and called out for the others -- howling to draw out those who wished to hunt. 

a hunt.

kukutux had not dared to do so the first time she had carried children. 

but this was the third.

when her sister called, moonwoman answered. her growing sides would slow her as a runner this time. but she would do what she might for the good of moonglow.

she nipped playfully at the paintwife's shoulder and turned her jadestone eyes with interest toward their path.

Aiolos hunting skills had not been wasted. Aiolos, who's majority lifetime had been on the coast, knew the works of hunting fish, where to look to dig out crustaceans and how to crush them easier as well as navigating the shelves for eggs or killing seal and sea lion. There was none of that here in Moonglow, savor the fish which he did often collect for his pack.

Today, Lote sang out through the territory. Aiolos followed the scent of his first wife which would lead him to his second. Their relationship was still strictly platonic though he could see how much love Lote held for Kukutux. The Moonwoman brought the three of them together.

He touched his wet nose to the painter's maw and then goes to Kukutux to lick at the the bottom of one ear. He did not have the agility and swiftness to catch small prey well and often failed. Today his strengths would be a better match for the elk.

A hunter's call came, telling of elk, and the mercenary woman rose. She would eventually fall in step behind Aiolos, and she gave a bow to the trio, growling gruffly, "With four of us, I think we could take the beast." She would look to the others for their opinion, and she relished the chance to once again show her strength.

Lótë nosed at the jaws of both Alphas as they neared to join her party, heart warming to have their support. The third was a villager she had yet to meet, but Lótë dipped her head gratefully to the she-wolf all the same. 

"I think so too," she agreed with a light smile. "There is an older cow -- her years count too many to keep up with the herd. She grazes alone near the Lake now." 

With Kukutux in the late stages of her pregnancy, it was good timing. It would not prove too dangerous for her to chase the elderly elk. And the remaining three could fell the beast without putting moonwoman at risk. 

"you are a good hunter, sister," kukutux murmured in praise of lótë. her eyes moved to qadira and she gave a gentle brush of her shoulder.

moonwoman nosed her husband lingeringly before she padded to the cloudberry's side.

the babes stirred within.

but she did not wish to to be kept from the hunt today.

This would be good for his mate, he felt; the both of them. A hunt was always one to bring happy spirits. Kukutux loved the rush, the run of it. Stiff and sore muscles could be worked out from her pregnancy. She would eat well and sleep like a rock.

Aiolos gives the mercenary, Qadira, a dip of his chin in silent greeting. Spring was returning to them but she still remained. Aiolos hopes that she has found love and comfort in these lands to call it now home.

Now, as Lote speaks, Aiolos gives her his full attention. As Kukutux shifts to Lote's side, Aiolos comes there nearer Qadira. It seemed already silently a plan was in order of their positions- they knew what to do and awaited Lote's word.

Qadira nodded to Aiolos, giving him a brief half-smile. She'd not spoken to him in some time now, but she had decided to stay; Kukutux had seen to that. The mercenary looked to Lótë, then back to Aiolos as he moved closer to her. She knew one or both of them would have to be the one to fell the beast - this knowledge made her stand taller, prouder. "Ready when you are," she told the others with one last nod.

Lótë smiled her thanks to Kukutux, ears dipping bashfully in face of the praise. Nodding as well, the herd-stalker gestured with a jerk of her head, practically burning with exuberance as she burst into a lope and led the way back to the cow. She slowed when their group had followed the trail into the lowlands, instinctively dropping to a predatory prowl when they neared the clearing where the cow grazed. 

She stopped to glance at the others before whispering, "I think it might be best if Aiolos or Qadira landed the blow." Lótë was willing to be the one who attacked and ambushed the elk as the others chased it, yet she knew her frame was fractionally smaller and slighter than the guardians in their hunting party. Chances would be in their favor if she chased with Kukutux. 

Still, the dove waited patiently for the others' input -- thinking perhaps someone might have other ideas. 

kukutux nodded. she would not be of help at the head of this hunting party. and she might well slow them all. 

but she kept apace when lótë led. her jadestone eyes watched the cow, probing it to find the weaknesses that had come with age.

"i will run with you, nukatchiaga."

their village was fierce. she felt their success assured.

Their mercenary was comfortable at his side, standing tall and confident.

They moved together as a unit, slowly as they came into the clearing where the cow grazed. He would dip his chin to Lote's words and would turn to speak with Qadira at his side. We can move ahead and position on either side of her. This way they wouldn't be dumping into one another and could both try should one fail.

He would begin moving in an arch away from them.

Qadira knew what she had to do. Opposite Aiolos, she began to creep towards their quarry; with any luck, Moonwoman and Lótë would startle it, then she and Sunman could trap it between them. It would be almost too easy. Once in place, she waited for the hunt to begin.

Lótë's head bobbed in a nod once more, watching and counting the beats of her heart as Aiolos and Qadira inched away from her line of sight. Trembling with anticipation, Lótë waited a few moments to be sure the pair was in position before glancing to the pale duck to be sure she was ready. Once assured, the cloudberry darted from the cover of foliage at Kukutux's side. 

She raced towards the cow in tandem with moonwoman, snapping at the elk's ankles to goad it into fleeing towards the wolves who lay in wait. 

kukutux swept headlong into speed beside her sister.

white limbs kept pace, jaws reached to score and to blood-draw.

where her sister moved she lunged opposite, until the three of them were in a dance.

and her own heart raced, galloped, soared.

Patiently he crouched down low in the grasses alone. Out to the side of him, offering a wide birth of room, was Qadira. She was incredibly tall, far reaching over the height of himself yet her body was thin and stream-line. She would reach the neck of the beast far easier then any of them and so Aiolos thought of his own strategy in this. He must do better with large game then he could with the rodents and fowl.

Fawn and snow blurs of fur flashed through the land, giving chase to the brown elk which they hunted. Aiolos wriggled patiently, waiting for them to get closer...closer...

They rushed forth, the women and their prey. Emerald eyes watched Sunman, darting from him and the chase. They were of the same mind, the two waiting in ambush, and Qadira's eyes narrowed as she prepared to rush. Not yet.

The women were drawing nearer, teeth snapping, and she could see the panic in their quarry's eyes, even from here. It's death would be swift — she would be it's end.

At last they reached what seemed to be the climax of the short pursuit, two flashes of copper as the pair who lay in waiting burst into sight. Lótë slowed only slightly, for the elk wasn't escaping the small group now. She circled around, away from the hindlegs of the cow and leapt to sink her teeth into its tender underbelly. 

the hunters sailed up. her sister leapt forward.

kukutux dug her teeth into the cow. blood flooded her teeth. she yanked side to side, rending a larger wound.

sedna, we offer you this life

thank you, sister elk.

Aiolos then sprung. Qadira would not be far from him. The elk is forced to slow her run from being trapped. Qadira's long legs would be perfect to reach up and snag the beast's throat. Aiolos gave her room to do so and instead sought the lower portion of the elk's long and powerful neck. He lifts up and seizes the side of it and uses his weight to pull downward. Lote seeks her precious underside, Kukutux is coated in blood. The old elk would soon fall.

sorry for the wait, I was waiting on Qadira's reply but didn't realize she was currently on NPC status! Wrapping this up since its a bit stale.

The two russet wolves tore the cow's throat open, one ghost at the far side, and the dove on the other. It would've felled any creature but at the elk's age, she practically crumpled to her knees. There was no crying bleat, no low bellow of defeat -- only a rasping gurgle as the hunters brought her down and put an end to her pain. 

Her face painted in blood that spilled down her chest and across her shoulders, not unlike a fierce warpaint, Lótë finally pulled back -- panting with effort as her tongue rasped along her chops. Silently, she offered a prayer of gratitude to the spirit of the elk and its kin. The cow's death would provide for the lives of the village. Even so, her legacy lived on in the herd that shared their territory.

A brief look of victory was shared with her comrades before they fell into discussion on how to best butcher the carcass for preservation, a subject Lótë was well versed in.