The Sentinels We've made it this far

a few people welcome, hunting thread :)

Pearl had tracked a herd of deer through the wintered forest of towering sequoias over the course of a few days, keeping note of the weaker ones. She had found that there was not much game in these forests, so it was good to make the best of this opportunity. If she got a good number of wolves here, they could probably take down a couple of them. As she was sure she probably couldn't take down a deer on her own yet, she sent a howl up for a casual hunt.

She weaved in and out of the massive trunks, waiting for others to join while keeping the herd in sight. Pearl formulated a good attack plan, but it all depended on who showed up.

The cough he'd thought to simply ignore had grown a bit worse, settling deep in his chest, and the frigid air only made it harder to contain it. The cold had never to his memory had such an affect on his lungs and if this was growing old they could keep it. Irritably he tried to get the rattling bark under control, Pearl's call to hunt one he didn't want to ignore. He just might have to take it easy in the getting there.

A stab of anxiety struck him, but he forced it down. Perhaps after the hunt he'd speak with Blue, see if she had anything that would help. A slow trot brought him up to where she was, and he felt the threatening tickle in his throat, but swallowed readily, nodding as he caught Pearl's eye and would wait to see what the plan was.

*cough cough* subtle hints for more people ;)

 


Pearl met her Beta's eye after pausing her pacing around the trees. Keeping the herd in sight, she dropped her voice so only Dante could hear. "Depending on how many others show up, I have a pretty good idea of what to do. If it's just you and me, well, I'll work that out in the next few minutes." she said with a lop-sided grin. 

Trailing the herd a short distance away, she sent up another howl to make sure she was heard by everyone. This would really help with the caches, if they could get at least one or two even. Two to one seemed alright, and she trusted her packmate's hunting skills.

Upon hearing a call to hunt, the white female perked up happily. It was the bark of her den mate, Pearl. Feeling well acquainted (finally) with the territory, Aria followed after the voice, her head high as she latched onto the scent of her friend, making her way to the area that Pearl waited.

When she caught up to the white women, the young girl found the older face of Dante, her Beta. She enjoyed the company of both of the wolves, and felt her tail wagging as she grew more excited for the hunt. The girl was mature for her age, but was still a pup. She grew easily excited and it was always clear when that was so. She dipped her head in both respect and greeting to the two, her gaze falling upon both of them. She was curious what they were there to hunt. She stopped her trot to face the two.

White-blue eyes bright and excited, Aria spoke directly to Pearl, as she was the one who organized the hunt. "You howled?" she woofed playfully, her tail wagging, but confidence and eagerness clearly ringing in her voice. 

They waited, and after a while passed, Dante wondered if any would join.  The time was getting close for them to make a go of it alone when Aria popped up, and Dante's tail swayed happily behind him that there would be three to try.  They were a group that hadn't hunted together before, but he felt they would perform well, and was excited to try out the fun.

"Pearl has found us a hunt," Dante said quietly, looking first at Aria and then back to the hunt's leader.  She had discovered the prey and called the summons, so despite his rank, for the next actions he would defer to her and whatever plan she made.  He had, after all, thrown in his role as huntsman, giving the chance at expertise instead to those better and more impassioned about the craft.  His strength was what he offered now.  Pearl could use it as she would.

*cracks knuckles* Let's see what we can pull off here

Pearl's ears shot up when she heard Aria, and quickly turned and regrouped the small hunting party. Small, but experience never came from backing down. She accepted the role of the hunt's leader from Dante with a small sense of pride, which she quickly squashed with the intent to hunt. 

She looked from Dante to Aria, assessing each individual's strengths. Pearl could only assume what Aria could do, so she improvised. "Alright, here's the plan. Let's try and get two here, at least one. Aria, you and I will go after different ones to try and injure the legs. Dante will follow close behind and take down the one that falls first," she said, making up parts of the plan on the spot. She motioned to her pack mates, then started off by stalking the herd from the right, Aria to the left.

yikes, my bad. i totally didn't even realize it was my turn for this and have been waiting for someone else to post. set before behati returned right?

Pearl instructed and the white wolf followed directions with ease. "Got it," she barked in repsonse, telling the girl that she had indeed understood the directions. She did either way, but better to reassure than to go in with a worried leader, she thought. 

The other white girl moved off to the right, Aria took the left as instructed and laid low as she went. Her tactic was somewhat cat like, moving swiftly forwards and staying close to the ground. It was similar to a feline stalking prey, which was close to what they were doing anyway; but she had her methods. The pretty wolf liked to attack low anyway, she always went for chest and legs when fighting so it was perfect coincidence that she would be taking out legs in this task. She mirrored Pearls movements on the other side, but did not strike until she saw Pearl do so, and especially not until Dante was in position.

Sorry!  short short short, he's just kinda following them :D

The plan was a solid one and Dante fell in step as they did, making sure to stick close behind without getting in the way.  He'd hover back and follow while they struck first, picking the mark with a hopefully practiced eye.  And when he saw an opportunity, he'd leap in to help.

When the deer were close, he kept his gaze trained on their movements and the movements of his fellow hunters.

Yep! set before the drama. Roll individually? 

Pearl shot Aria a questioning glare when she barked acknowledgement that nearly alerted the herd to their presence. She continued on despite, and looped around to pick out a nice looking doe. Momentarily, she considered doing the momentum tactic, but switched midway through her stalking. Once she got in position, her eyes narrowed in on the choice deer. Signaling with her tail and a motion of her muzzle, she herself got into the mindset of logical hunter.

sure! did mine from 6 and 4+, going off of what your before edited post had suggested. ;)  

5 woop! get's murder ! 

Pearl shot her a look, and Aria gave her one of confusion. Her response was not loud, she was not a moron, but somehow the white girl didn't seem pleased with her reply. Whatever, the snowy princess thought, irritated. She was here to hunt and would do so regardless.

Aria turned from the group as Pearl did and made her way towards the other side of the herd. She stalked silently along the back of them, her eyes gleaming with eagerness as she did so. 

no shh you didn't see that (I just figured out how to properly roll okay ;)
Sorry I forgot about this XD and I got 5 for mine! Killin' time! 

Once seeing Aria in set position, Pearl sunk down into her stance, preparing to spring off the spot. 
her peridot eyes never leaving her moving target. A million ideas ran through her mind before settling on a newer method. One that did not, in fact, bring the deer down with her. She eagerly awaited the blood in her maw and the smell of hot, steaming meat. 

She finally gave the signal with her tail, and small explosions of snow were all that could be seen. Pearl had learned to use her speed in more concentrated spaces and bend it to her advantage. The doe was only mildly aware of something moving towards her until it was too late. Pearl modified her previous strategy, which now looked slightly more distinguished than the first. What it looked like, however, was a blur and the doe falling, all within about two to three seconds. In those few seconds, Pearl had run at the deer at full speed and strength, bending at an angle in order to latch on to the unsuspecting deer's hind leg, and using the momentum to break its leg. Once she felt the snap in between her powerful jaws and her (and its) body hit the ground, she bolted up, barked for Dante, and rushed around to the thrashing neck, where she latched on.

Sorry guys omg this is down in my threadlog x.x  I'l try and wrap a bit

He followed closely behind, blowing hard as they picked up to run the herd down.  When they parted, he stuck on Pearl's heels, watching her head and focusing in on her intended direction - that one.  With a grunt he cut left slightly, watching anxiously as she sprang for the kill.  Success!  On three legs the deer fumbled, crying out in a sound every hunter reveled in.

Taking advantage of her opening, he ignored his tightening lungs and latched onto the deer's haunches, dragging her down and forcing her into the dirt.  As he did so he tore into muscle, knowing the fight was done.  She couldn't move now.  The others could help him to finish it and they would have their prize, a large kill to bring back to the wolves of Donnelaith.