Whitefish River I can feel the touch from another world

At eight months old, Saena was old enough to not only hunt on her own, but join the pack in their pursuits as well. Her attempts did wonders for her confidence following her choice to take up the mantle of Gamekeeper, a decision she'd not made lightly. The trade made her think of her adoptive father and her flighty sister, but it was a necessity. The pack had only one Gamekeeper, and she'd never met him. She thought it safe to assume he was not reliable, and knew to be useful to her real family, she would need to step up to the plate.

The pack's most recent hunt had been successful, but Saena's appetite for cached flesh wasn't sated by the capture. She descended into the flatlands shortly after feeding, intent on bringing something back to add to the considerable amount of meat they'd secured. She followed the line of the frozen Whitefish Creek into the Heartwood, a new and unfamiliar place that she was sure housed hares and other small game.

As soon as she was amongst the bare trees, Saena thrust her head low and began to prowl in search of food. Her ears were thrust purposefully forward and her steps were quick and quiet, all signs that she was busy and didn't want anyone interfering with her. Her search paid off, for half an hour in, Saena caught the scent trail of a jackrabbit and began diligently following it, pleased with the chance that she might bring something home.

After a three hour long tongue bath, the insane puma's pelt was pure white, ready for hunting in the snow covered woods. The cat licked her maw as she stretched across the branch, watching the forest floor below for any immediate signs of prey. There was none to see, but she could certainly find it if she tried.

She pounced, landing in the white snow, tossing flakes into the air. Laksha's mouth opened in a fleman response, trying to bring fresh scents into her brain, but nothing besides snow and her own scent. The voices in her head whispered to her, urging her to find something to kill.

The White Ghost stalked through the bare forest, following dead trails for hours at a time, but soon finding a savory scent in the air. "Wollffff...." The puma purred, the voices rising into a crescendo. She licked her lips maliciously and followed the trail.

This is open to new joiners due to lack of replies. Laksha may still post if she wishes, but we will be skipping otherwise because this is a Gamekeeper thread and I'd like it to progress.

Saena proceeded quickly, but cautiously. She could not allow herself to be spotted by the hare when she came upon it, and that required a delicate step and a level of alertness she was only just learning. The transition from juvenile to adult was when many of a wolf's fine tuning occurred and they became hunters rather than just trainees. They became masters of non-verbal communication and skilled tacticians.

She was still learning, and so mistakes were bound to happen. Saena's job was to make them as minimal as she possibly could.

She was so focused on her tracking that for a time, she didn't notice the danger. The cat was well behind her, and they were stealthy creatures, capable of making little noise. However, they were not invisible, and so after approximately fifteen minutes of tracking, she crossed one of the mountain lion's earlier paths and froze.

The hair on the back of her neck stood straight up as suddenly she began moving again, but this time she was moving quicker, and no longer interested in the hare. While wolves could easily kill mountain lions when they were in a group, a wolf one on one barely stood a chance, and Saena was a small wolf to boot. She was wise enough to know to get the hell out of there, even if the cat was nowhere near.

Saw it in the Wanted thing, so I'm barging in! :) Could it be forward-dated to the present, or do you want it to take place at the date it was started?

The Heartwood quickly became Somnia's favorite hunting spot. Although it took some time traverse the land between Redhawk Caldera and the Heartwood, it wasn't a long enough distance to stop the grayscale wolf from coming. Hunting here was more easier for Somnia than the sometimes dangerous slopes of the caldera, as she had been raised in a forested valley, not a dormant, topless volcano.

There were a few scents nearby. One was the scent of mountain lion, which was never a good thing, as well as the scent of a wolf. Another wolf in a neutral territory could either be a positive, negative, or neutral experience. Somnia was a friendly wolf, unless you tried to somehow harm or take advantage of her. Whether wolves were friendly, wanted nothing to do with her, or wanted to somehow take advantage or harm her determined which category the encounter would fall into.

Hopefully this other wolf would be friendly. Not just because they could make good hunting partners, should prey show up, but because there was a threat: a mountain lion. The buddy system worked for a reason, right?

The other wolf wasn't hard to find. It turned out to be a young female, who didn't look to be fully grown. "Hey." Somnia barked quietly to grab her attention without grabbing any nearby predators' attention. "I'm Somnia." Whether the other wolf was friendly was up to the other wolf, but maybe she would be. Even she had to have enough sense to know that the possibility of facing a mountain lion alone was bad.

No problem, thanks for joining!

The scent of the mountain lion lessened and Saena cautiously slowed. She wasn't willing to become the newest victim of an unruly cat, but she also wasn't willing to return home empty-handed. A failed hunt would only bring her confidence down, something the juvenile really didn't need at the moment. Of course, she could never succeed all the time, but seeing as there was only one named Gamekeeper in the pack and she had no idea who he was, she wanted to be the best she could be for her Aunt and for her pack mates.

A rustling behind her made her turn around with her hackles flared, but it was only another wolf emerging from the underbrush. Her greeting was friendly, her body language open and inviting, but Saena's thoughts turned to hostility the moment that she smelled her father's scent on breeze. For a moment she teetered on the edge of outright attacking, thinking that sending a member of his stupid traitors pack home with injuries might teach him to screw with Blacktail wolves, but the threat of the cougar held her back. She needed Somnia, and so she narrowed and lowered her eyes and relaxed.

"Hey," she said, a little more stiffly than intended. "What're you doing out here? I'm Saena. I was hunting for our pregnant Beta, only... I thought something was hunting me, but it seems to be gone for now."

The wolf seemed to be a bit hostile at first, but then she relaxed a little. Saena turned out to be her name, and she even offered a bit of other information. The way she spoke implied that she didn't trust her. That was understandable, as there were wolves out there that would steal from others, especially during the winter when food was scarcer.

First off, they were equals here in unclaimed land, even if Somnia was older and more experienced than the juvenile. She made sure that her body language wasn't dominant towards Saena, but also not submissive. Somnia then took the questions and comments in stride. "Nice to meet you Saena, I'm also hunting. I've always found hunting in forests to be easier, as I was raised in one. Congratulations to your Beta, I hope everything goes alright. Yeah, the scent of the mountain lion doesn't seem as strong anymore." She paused for a moment to let it all sink in.

Somnia then cut to the chase. "Since we have the same purpose, why don't we work together? We can split what we catch half and half, and I'm also a Gamekeeper." Throwing that she was a Gamekeeper in there was to help sway the girl. Hopefully it gave the impression that she would be better at it. Then if she did catch more, she would split her earnings with Saena, so they both got half of the total that they caught together. There was also the chance that Saena could catch more.

Somnia responded to each and every thing Saena had said, a trait that the girl found pleasant for once. It meant that the other wolf was attentive. She couldn't allow herself to show any admiration for the qualities of a rival wolf, or in her world, an enemy, but there was a subtle appreciation there for Somnia's refinement. Unlike many of the wolves of her home lately, Somnia also seemed to view her as an equal rather than just a kid, which Saena met with the respectful waving of her tail at ease.

"Sounds good," she accepted, keeping it short and sweet to contrast Somnia's previous loquaciousness. Nothing else was worth commenting on—Blue Willow's status was a matter for the pack, just as any pregnant wolf's status was the business of their peers only. The mountain lion was of no consequence, and while Saena would have liked to say she was born in a forest as well, the conversation had moved past that point.

"I'm not one yet," she said quietly as she invited the other to walk with her until they found something, "never really wanted to be, actually, but it's best for my pack and... I'm finding I like it more the more I do it. I never really got it as a kid. My dad was a Gamekeeper, and my sister, and they were great at it, but... they turned traitor, so I've been teaching myself." She dared to think herself good at it as well. Her successes so far outweighed her failures. Little did Saena know that hunting was prime in the winter, for while prey was harder to come by, the wolves had the advantage of the snow when it did appear, an advantage that only snowshoe hares and small wild cats could also boast of.

Somnia listened as she walked next to Saena. Turns out that she was also an aspiring Gamekeeper. "I'm sure you'll get the hang of it quickly, it you haven't already." She encouraged. Let's face it, Somnia had a positive attitude, so most of the things that came out of her mouth had a positive connotation.

"That sucks. Maybe someone else in your pack could teach you? Not everyone has to be a Gamekeeper to be skilled at hunting. I would offer to help you myself, but I'm not sure if it would work out." Somnia truly would've helped Saena, as she had plenty of kind words and kind actions to share. Not to say that it'd be impossible, it would just be a whole lot harder in the winter to help teach a wolf from another pack while still working to feed your own pack.

Somnia actually knew nothing about Saena's relation to Peregrine. The most Somnia knew of the relations to other packs with the caldera was that Fox and Peregrine had been alphas at Blacktail Deer Plateau, and they left to do their own thing when Fox wasn't comfortable. Fox had also been an Alpha somewhere else before Blacktail Deer Plateau, but that wasn't relevant. Somnia didn't even know that Peregrine had any offspring besides the possibility of some currently forming inside Fox.

"Well, we only have one Gamekeeper at the Plateau, and honestly, he's hard as hell to find most of the time," she said conversationally as they took a turn around a copse of trees. The barren Heartwood was silent, but she had faith they would find something to split soon. Be it a measly hare or a doe, they would fell something. Saena refused to leave the forest before they did, even if it was inhabited by a mountain lion. Two wolves stood a chance anyway.

"But you're right. I guess others are probably good hunters. Our Alpha, I think." But I'd prefer a master, she added silently, but at that moment she froze and her ears twitched forward. She'd definitely heard a twig snap somewhere in the distance. She glanced sidelong at Somnia, judging whether the other had heard it as well, and then dropped her voice low and said, "c'mon."

There! As Saena slunk forward, she caught a flash of movement between the dark tree trunks ahead, and when the small doe's white tail came into view, the prey was unmistakable. She was small, though, smaller than the average whitetail... perfect for two hunting female wolves to take a shot at, Saena thought.

The conversation came to a sudden halt at the sound of a twig snapping. Saena must've heard it as well. Somnia gave a small nod when she said, "C'mon." She stayed a few steps behind Saena, letting the younger wolf take the lead.

Soon, the animal that had made the sound became visible as they got closer. It was a small, whitetail deer. Even if it was small, it was still healthy. The chances of catching it just from jumping out of nowhere and taking it by surprise were slim. It would be able to outrun them after the initial shock of seeing wolves was over. That meant an ambush would be better.

Somnia lightly bumped into Saena's side to get her attention. Once she had her attention, she went on to try and signal that she would go ahead, while Saena would be left with chasing the doe towards her hiding spot. Hopefully Somnia's sign language had been effective. Without any words, she slunk off to the right, going in a large semi-circle around the doe. If Saena hadn't understood her signals, Somnia would just have to hope that Saena understood what to do from previous hunts with similar strategies.

The older mountain wolf brushed by her with a conspicuous nudge that Saena understood to mean "wait", or something like that. She'd seen enough hunts in action, and participated in a couple. Luckily, she knew an ambush when she saw one, so she nodded subtly and remained crouched in the sparse cover of a twiggy once-bush. Somnia moved quietly away, leaving the juvenile to watch her nearly perfect stalking form with a mixture of envy and admiration. She would one day be as good at sneaking, she knew, but to see it in front of her was truly marvelous.

Her attention returned to the doe, who seemed none the wiser that it was being hunted aside from a twitch of its cone-like ears. Saena let out a slow breath, and through the haze of warm mist that unfurled she spotted Somnia, ready in position. She didn't need any visual cues; there was a nearly telepathic link between hunting wolves, the subtleties of their body language more than enough to speak a thousand words at once, that she knew exactly when to strike.

She cut through her twiggy bush like an arrow, straight and unwavering. The doe must have sensed her movement before it began, for by the time her paws hit the ground on the other side, it was already turning and readying itself to bound. Things seemed to happen in slow motion for Saena, the snow kicked up in beautiful arcs beneath their feet seeming to take hours to fall back to earth, but it took less than a heart beat. Her eyes lifted to see if Somnia had reacted to this millisecond explosion of action.

But then her focus went back to the hunt and she pounded after the fleeing doe, driving it in her partner's direction and waiting for the moment it would stumble in the thick snow.

Saena's timing was perfect. Somnia was prepared and focused with her full attention on Saena and the deer. She could sense that the younger wolf was about to charge a second before it happened due to the involuntary body language cues. But she restrained herself for a few seconds after the girl charged, not wanting to jump out to early. One... Two... NOW!

Somnia rushed out at an angle, timing it good enough to have one of the haunches easily within her reach for a second. No thought was required to decide about grabbing it, it just happened. Part of it was instinct, the other was a trained routine.

The one buttock of the doe had Somnia's jaws clamped on to it. The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth as she bit down as hard as she could. Her front paws scrabbled for a purchase while her back half jerked wildly in an attempt to unbalance the doe.

Somnia's aim was true, for the female veritably flew out of hiding and landed right on the doe's hock. The animal stumbled from the sudden impact, and soon blood flecked the snow and her hunting partner. During all this, Saena had slowed to a trot and hung back, waiting for the right moment to strike, but as soon as Somnia's hind legs bunched beneath her and the doe staggered from the weight of the clinging wolf, she was spurred forward again.

Saena galloped forward, crashing recklessly through bare bushes, and managed to get her own teeth locked onto a flap of skin and muscle on the doe's left flank. Now weighed down by two wolves, the animal began to panic and thrash, ultimately undoing itself by the shearing action of the predator's teeth.

When one of its legs missed her by mere inches, Saena let go and fell back again, patiently waiting for the moment when blood loss caused the doe to weaken and falter. At that point they could bring it to the ground and feast, whether it still kicked or not.

Somnia didn't see Saena attack the doe, but rather felt the shift in the doe's struggles as Saena joined in. The thrashing expedited the process of it going down by causing more damage. The wounds it received from the two should be enough to weaken it from blood loss. Thus, Somnia let go also.

With the threat of the wolves, the doe took off, but blood-stained fur suggested that it couldn't keep running for long. Somnia followed it, but didn't take any measures to catch up. All she had to do was follow the scent, and wait to see the stumbling, or possibly already felled, creature in her sights.

When Somnia did catch up to it, the doe was stumbling, and managed to fall over before she could do it. With a happy bark aimed towards Saena, she start darted forward to tear into the alive, but quickly dying, doe. Somnia tore into the stomach, aiming to get some of the organs. Saena was welcome to get whatever she wanted, as they were equals out here.

When the doe fell, the young Plateau wolf let Somnia go ahead. In her pack the children always got first pick, but the second they'd become contributing juveniles, they had to fight to eat. Saena had big dreams, but she was conditioned by her upbringing not to be rude. She hadn't cared about it mere weeks ago, but she was older now, and far wiser than she'd been.

Still, it was next to impossible to ignore the allure of blood, and soon Saena was jostling for a place at the doe's side. With only two of them, it wasn't difficult to get a spot, and she fed eagerly in the fashion wolves did: as though a famine was coming. When she was full enough, she stepped back to survey what remained.

"There should be enough for us each to bring some home," she concluded, willing herself not to think of the bright red stomach that meat would likely fill.

Somnia had been too busy stuffing her face to notice Saena not doing the same. However, the juvenile found the solution to that problem on her own, and it remained unnoticed by the older female. She finished eating a few moments before Saena, due to her head-start. When she did finish, Saena stated that there would be enough leftovers for each of them. "Yeah. You want to help me disable it, or will I be doing that alone?"

While most would assume that her question was sarcastic, it actually wasn't. Somnia was in a get-things-done type of mindset, so she was ready to disable the remains, whether Saena helped or not. She wouldn't take offense if Saena decided against helping her, even if it was a little rude for her not to help.

Though this would be a good place to fade out! One more post from you or can be archived as is if you'd like!

For once, the teen didn't read too far into what Somnia said. Considering the woman was from Redhawk Caldera, this was a rare miracle all on its own, for Saena was fairly (in)famous for assuming things that weren't actually being said. "I'll help," she offered, moving in to help with the dismantling of the doe, "but I don't have too much practice, so sorry if it looks like shit."

When they finally finished the task nearly half an hour later—with Somnia's pile of meat looking much less like a hack job than Saena's—she stood back, admiring the Redhawk wolf's work. There was still some left on the bones for scavengers, a donation from the good-willed wolves who couldn't possibly eat or carry any more. "I hope someday I can be that good," she said with a smile and a wave of her tail. The forest was growing dark, though, and she didn't intend to hang around for too much longer.

"Don't say hi to my dad for me," she said with a grimace, sort of assuming that Somnia would know who her dad was (after all, how callous would Peregrine have to be to pretend he didn't have kids already?). She bent to collect the scraps, but anything said in response was received and not answered, since her jaws were already brimming with meat. She only waved her tail in friendly farewell before departing, sweeping wide around the area where she'd smelled the mountain lion.

Somnia continued to dispatch the doe as Saena joined in. "It doesn't matter how it looks; it's still food." She replied simply to Saena's remark. The help was appreciated, and it made the task quicker. In what seemed like no time at all to the occupied wolf, but was in reality half an hour, they had gotten all that they could. "I'm sure you'll be after some more practice." Somnia encouraged after hearing Saena's other remark.

Today had been fun, but it was starting to get dark. Somnia watched as Saena departed with only a confusing sentence. "Don't say hi to my dad for me," What was that supposed to mean? Did she know her father? If so, how did she know? Saena managed to escape any questions by disappearing before Somnia could sort her thoughts out into questions. It wasn't any use lingering, so she set off for home. If she ever encountered Saena again, which she hoped she did for reasons other than her curiosity, she would ask about it.