Blacktail Deer Plateau in hearts we are guaranteed a victory

It's pack hunt time! Today's prey will be some wandering elk between Whitefish River and the borders of the Plateau. This is a non-mandatory hunt for giggles obviously and participants will be eligible for EXP. I prefer quick paced group hunt threads, so short posts are welcome and a round time limit will be established once a few folks have joined in.

Tagging everybody just because I'm a jerk like that: @Dante @Blue Willow @Lasher @Osprey @Saena @Finn @Pura @Koda @Kesuk @Kesuk @Niria @Lupa @Valtyr

It would have figured, in the midst of his own healing that the herd he had been keeping loose tabs on would come into range of the wolves lingering across the Plateau. Mordecai had spied them early in the morning through the hazy fog and mist. The ungulates moving when the weather conditions were poor did not surprise him, but he also hoped that they had not anticipated him to have spotted them all the same. His venture towards the river for a cold dip was cut short as he returned to the borders of the rising plateau.

Wanting to make good on the desire for them all to carry on with a feasting hunt, Mordecai threw out a tentative call for the wolves of the plateau, only hoping that this go around the turn out would be much better than before. Last time it had only been himself and Saena in pursuit of some stray deer; this time, he hoped a fair amount would rally to him. Certain he would hear Dante rally them all the same, the tawny Ostrega turned his attentions to the flatlands that sprawled out beyond the thinning treeline. In just a short jaunt of a couple of miles, he knew the elk would be travelling through soon.

me vs. hero — can you count, suckers?

Even as the heavy weight of his personal grief mixed with the thick mantle of the morning fog to simply create a greater sense of weight above the platinumn Ollivander's back, it was with quick movements that he pulled himself from the secluded resting spot he had chosen overnight. As he pulled himself up from the ground, the moisture of the dew drops, still freshly laid upon the layer of grass clung to his  coat, giving him a glimmering cape that would just wear off once he began to run.

And so he did.
With little more than a stretch and a yawn, the Ollivander took off in the direction of the other man's call. While he was not acquaintained with him in particular, it was with no hesitation that the slicked-back, groomed man attended his call.
A hunt was a hunt regardless of who summoned it, and with death clinging so closely to his mind perhaps it would be killing what would precisely serve to take him out of his sad reverie.

With his paws moving softly, and silently over the fresh grasses Finn arrived at the scene, noting that once again he was the first on spot. He slinked around a bush, keeping his tail at a neutral stance and his olive eyes on the man as he approached him, an slightly crooked smile taking over his lips as he finally came to a stop in front of him.
"Came to help -- Finn Ollivander, nice to meet ya" he barked quickly, his voice gruff and raspy betraying the fact that he had been lately, if not recently, keeping quiet. 
Grief did that.
Pain, and exhaustion took a toll.

But never one Finn, the prideful, trouble-bottling man, would refuse to pay.
"What's the plan?" he asked then, allowing for the first time since arriving at the spot, his nose to make its own assessment.

Throwing this up to get it on the ol' threadlog!

Mordecai had taken Dante up on his word, and the Alpha was glad of it.  He hadn't the desire currently to lead a full hunt, but the pack needed one rather badly.  Not only could it serve to pull them together, but it would give them a successful start to spring.  One they may just need.

Finn was already there when Dante arrived, and he caught the last words spoken.  Giving both a smile of greeting and Mordecai a silent nod of approval and encouragement, he awaited the telling of the plan as well.  He would follow as best as he was able, and observe as well, ever adding tricks to his repotoire.

Finally, I'm gonna put Lupa's lazy butt in gear!

 
 A call flooded through the quiet wood. The call of a hunt. She mumbled lazily to herself, "Erm... five more minutes..." She forced herself to wake from her slumber. Her paws carried her towards the call.

 When she arrived, she slunk down, crawling over to the others. It was Mordecai. And Dante. And the silver male she hadn't caught the name of. "Hayo," she whispered, careful not to alarm the elk, "Hope I'm not late."

The sun was hitting Niria's head, while her body was in the warm water of the river. With her ears laid back, she suddendly turned them to where Mordecai was calling them from. It was a shame they hadn't had enough time to know each other properly. And even though Dante would be there, probably it was going to be the first time Niria met as many of her packmates. Before left the water, Niria dived to the border, and with agile moves, she jumped off while shaking her body. Once her paws where in earth one more time, she started to run to Mordecai's call.

 When she arrived, there were only four wolfs then... it wasn't that bad. With a quick nod waved Mordecai, and bent her head as a sign of respect to Dante.

This round will end on April 8th! Late comers are still welcome as well. Feel free to help with some of the progression of this thread too -- especially waiting and scouting stuff out, or even spotting the elk as they draw close. Happy easter, everyone!

Out of the breadth of woodland before him, a small band of wolves assembled easily. Of them there was only one he hadn't met before and likewise, he was given a brief introduction to remove that blockade. "I'm Mordecai," he offered in return, though anything else he could have said was short cut by Dante's arrival to the group. A loose smile turned up on his features for a moment before dissipating — Mordecai had said he would make good on his word, and he had. Whether or not their hunt would be successful was another story and largely up to powers higher than themselves.

Lupa and Niria brought up the last of the band; the former's submission in light of their last encounter appeased him surprisingly. "Neither of you are late, so it's all right," he moved to offer, though it did seem that Niria didn't consider herself late by any means. He lingered for a moment to see if anyone else turned up, and when it seemed that they had (or hadn't), he progressed their situation without prompt.

"There's a small band of elk just beyond the last of the incline behind me. Dante and I had spoken about getting some of us together for a hunt, and well, I guess this is it. The conditions aren't the greatest, so we'll have to scout out the elk to find where the weaker ones are. If we hunker down in the hills, we should be able to spot them when they move past to figure that out." And provided that the elk hadn't picked up their pace since he had spotted them last, he hoped they would still arrive before they came that close.

With a glance to Dante, a subconscious check that he wasn't overstepping himself, Mordecai turned towards the direction he had been explaining. "We don't have much time left before they get there, so we should get moving. Stay quiet, and stay low once we're up in the hills." And with that, he set off to lead them towards a scouting locale.

im back e___e sorry for being such a ghost
also sorry i ramble about finn's momma, char development is slow and i figured i'd fire it up heh -- ignore all that if you want

Almost instantly, the fast rank-climbing stranger became a stranger no more.
 With a small, uniterested even, response the two were now aqcuaintained with one another. Ah, just in time for Dante to see. With a quick turn of his head and a slightly more enthusiastic woof (as enthusiastic as a grieveing man could muster) he greeted his greyscale friend, allowing himself to shuffle to the side to allow the man room to join the so-far stale conversation. 

But Dante did not come alone.
Like a couple of innocent lambs marching behind their shepherd, two females whose identities were ignored came into the scene, their body showing their disposition and eagerness to take part in the hunt. With a simple chuff, not directed at any one of them in particular, Finn awknowledged their presence. After that, all his attention was pretty directed at the brief ground plan Mordecai had to lay before the movement began. 
As a titled, yet not seasoned, Gamekeeper himself the Ollivander did not find pertinent to make further suggestions to the tawny male's plan.
It sounded fine, but as he had painfully recently learnt, words could be treacherous.
The messanger, the bastard that had come to deliver perheaps the most painful news, had said -- assured even-- that in her death bed, his mother had not suffered.
How could she not?
Since the day Finn had rebelliously taken the decision to leave them all behind to eat the dust of his wanderlust, his mother had been caught in a perpetual state of agony.
She had suffered.

Again, the thoughts of the recent ocurrences in his personal life began to smother his mind, making him feel like again his nose was going underneath the surface, leaving him breathless and choking until he, painfully yet brusquely kicked the image of his dear mother out his head. 
Though Finn was not one to usually get engrossed by a particular subject or event, he had had a history of being pulled by the magnetism of certain events -- or individuals in said case.
But now, knowing better than to mourn the crude departure of women, he knew he could not remain stuck to the puzzle  that was the female enigma or death.

He needed to get up and get going.
So with his head nodding, despite his true lack of attention to the Ostrega's words, he flexed his muscles, signalling that he was ready to go whenever the cue was given.
He was ready for all.

quickie ;.; I am so not going to band tonight

The alpha was rather happy to see a sizable group join for the hunt, for five of them would hopefully be more than enough to take down something good. The hunt distracted him from Finn's state, which he took to be quiet awareness. As his own world shook and became increasingly high-strung, oftentimes the troubles of others slipped by. It was a flaw in the counselor, and though he did not realize it, one that could do serious harm at times.

Mordecai's plan was a good one, so Dante moved to get in position along with the others, staying low as best he could. When the prey got into position, he'd be ready to charge.

This round will end on April 12th! Once again, feel free to progress this along if you'd like. :)

As they headed off and silence descended between them all, Mordecai set to mentally preparing himself for what lied ahead of them. He went with some haste, though there was a certain part of him holding back; he didn't want to take them in all rushing if it would have ended in spooking their prey. He climbed through the narrow passageways that made up squat foothills, snaking and priming himself as he settled into position where he hoped that the elk would emerge from the lingering fog of the morning.

And after several minutes of particular nothing, he began to hear the hoofbeats and calls of the traveling ungulates. Ears perked atop his head, he allowed his gaze to meander from there to where his partners were tucked away and wondered if they had observed the same. With another call in response murmuring out of the fog, that once over was cut short as he returned to the hazy view before him. Steadily and aware, the elk began to press out like darkening silhouettes against the smoky fog, and he began to study them keenly.

But where the lame participants were among them, he had yet to find.

later,may I reply after Dante or should I wait Mordecai?

Altough Niria's paws hurt, after Mordecai had explained his plan, she stood up quietly and started following him with the rest of the pack. It was obvious it wasn't the best moment to start a conversation with noone, and with a calm wave with her tail, she took for granted her introduction to her mates. 

The lack of sleep didn't help following the path Mordecai was making in the fog, but the idea of an exciting hunt just as she used to see on her last pack, kept her awake enough to start feeling the creepy shadows of the elks. With pointed ears, she just dug her nails into the ground waiting for Dante's signal.

The movement of his feet above the ground and the flow of blood inside his veins kept his mind from going back to the mournful thought of his mother. He too, like Dante, had (attempted at least) to shift his focus of the grief and onto the beef omfg waiting prey they had ahead. 

Silently, the silver Ollivander moved along the dew-kissed grasses, his ears twusting and turning towards both Mordecai and his friend Dante as the small hunt group continued to flock down the foothills where the elk had taken refuge. While in this hunt Finn had decided to be a helping body and not an active participant of the ambush, it was with urging desire to run that the greyscale male began to scout the bodies of the animals for weakness or disabilities. 

Then as if illuminated by a ray of heavenly light a good sized doe with an apparent discomfort on one of its hind legs caught his olive eyes. Their four-member team, if well managed, could easily bring her down...
Quickly, Finn sought Dante's eyes before remembering this was Mordecai's hunt and that it should be him who he should be seeking instead.
Still, not thinking his action as a defiance to the Ostrega's authority in the hunt, he motined the Alpha towards the limping doe, his muscles tensing expectantly as he waited for his cue to lunge.

ah shoot sorry.  I normally don't do posting orders in hunt threads XD since some people then get blocked from responding in time.  Is that the case in this one? Short short

Dante caught Finn's eye and followed where he indicated, noting the limp as well.  Silver gaze was cast to Mordecai then, to see if he had taken note. Unconsciously he sidled to the side, readying himself to run on Mordecai's command. He assumed they would flank the herd, but the where and how would be up to the current hunt master.

Carefully watching Mordecai so as to not miss any cues, he tensed.

I'm not concerned with posting orders during hunts either so no worries on that front! Also a day late and a dollar short on my own deadline, oops. This round will end Thursday, April 16th.

Though the herd moved steadily, Mordecai did not immediately spot the doe. It wasn't until Dante shuffled into a better position that his attention was withdrawn from the herd, and subsequently his return to study what his greyscaled alpha had spotted brought her to light. Mordecai watched her at length for no more than a few seconds, before slipping from where he rested to break down the uneven slope. But he did not charge just yet, wanting to be sure that this was the best they could find in the grouping.

Only when he was near the bottom of the slope did he check to see that the others were with him and upon confirmation of that, he motioned for someone to start the chase. This he did not enjoy doing, but in light of his own healing scrapes and bruises, he felt he was less suited to take them head on. Someone smaller and faster would suit such a task while the rest of them gathered their own abilities to help separate and bring their chosen quarry down.

Let's pp this puppy to a close

Dante allowed one of the slighter wolves to take the chase, for he was better suited to the take down than the agile rounding up.  Instead he broke left, noting the direction the herd was now fleeing and moving to cut off their chosen prey.  He noted the others working with as well and was glad they had so many to keep her apart.

Coming up on her flank, he snapped at her side, teeth catching hold before quickly releasing and jumping back to avoid a solid kick. He would continue to worry her until she fell from wounds or exhaustion, a fact that would likely not take long in her current state.

I've been wondering why this never got replied to... never bothered to check and see if the other two were removed pahhhhh. Oh well, we get EXP right? LOL. I figure we can go back and forth a round or two more and fade it out. :)

As the hunt progressed, Mordecai was met with the aches from his still healing injuries. But they came second to everything as he was so caught up in the moment of the hunt, the premise of blood yet to spill. He hung back from the others as they honed in, only bringing up the rear as Dante snapped after the doe. That was the moment he had been waiting for and to see it first hand from a distance brought the same feeling he had the first time he had ever watched a hunt in action. That moment where flesh tore from bone just a bit, the wounded ungulate bellowing out at the herd that suddenly veered away from her.

He swung in close to her from the other side, snarling and snapping at her hooves merely to keep her running. Where the females had gone, he couldn't have said but from the way he and Dante were singling her out, he sensed they were keeping the small herd at bay from following their meager numbers to try and rescue their doe. A fair move on their part, as no one would have liked to be on the receiving end of an antler attack from behind. Pushing himself just a bit more at the cost of searing muscles, Mordecai shoved himself roughly against the doe's hindquarters, sinking his teeth into her lower back. She faltered, sinking towards the earth but still with the power to keep pushing forward — this would take more than just him to pull her down towards the earth.

The alpha saw the doe falter as Mordecai sank in, and he leapt for her shoulder, judging that she would not have the energy to use those hooves for damage.  Luckily he was correct, and the others kept the rest of the herd well at bay.  There was no help coming for the unfortunate prey, and dinner would be a success this day.

Gripping the shoulder, he dug in deep as well, and instead of tearing the chunk away he held on.  Unable to continue with the weight of two wolves to pull her down, the doe fell heavily, and Dante ducked sideways as her head came round in an attempt to take a snap at him.  She was not yet gone, though her life was fading fast, and desperation was clear in her labored attempts to get free.  Her doom was set, and there was no escape.  Now he tore his teeth from her shoulder, licking the blood from his chops as he looked upon their prize, still struggling without hope to find its feet.

Fade on your next post maybe? @_@

The doe came down, freeing Mordecai from the grip he had to land safely somewhere himself. Once his feet had hit the ground he had spun around to strike himself. Dante had made the probable fatal blow at that point in his eyes; the thrashing of the doe was dwindling steadily. Briefly he grew his gaze to his leader, only to sweep it out and spy out the other wolves in their grouping. It was only then that their natural pecking order of sorts would stir to life, as Mordecai had begun eyeing them to steer them clear of the kill. Though he wanted a good piece of it for himself, he knew better than to jump order and let Dante begin.

The prize was theirs, and he dug into the still-living flesh, taking the edge off of his hunger before he collected some to the side to be delivered to the pups and parents. He would bring it to them once the rest of the pack had eaten. He then gave a nod, allowing them to join him as he set about to eating his fill. The doe was not a small one and they would all easily eat well. It was his right to taste the flesh first, but he would not force them to wait for him to finish.

I will archive this when I get around to doing the exp, so don't worry about posting in maintenance ^^