Silvertip Mountain Attention vermin, you are in the presence of a colossus.

PACKTIVITY! Yay! There has been an evil little fox stealing our food! Steady will have none of that, and he is sure the rest of the pack won't, either! But, all work and no play makes for boring wolves! So, stayed tuned to this thread for more information! While this is not mandatory, your wolf will REALLY want the prize for the winning team, so participate already! No rounds, you may post once every 24 hours! @Ezekiel @Valette @Chaska @Niita @Anita @Grayday @Nanook

He had been stalking that damned vermin for days now. He didn't know how little thief was hiding so well from him. He was almost obsessed now with finding the fox and ending its parasitic life in this territory. It had been stealing from their caches for days now, and every time Steady thought he was hot on its trail, it seemed to slip away. It was almost like it knew he was coming. Well, now it would have bigger problems to deal with.

Steady had settled himself in the heart of the territory and raised his muzzle to call for the pack to gather. He wanted haste in their trots because every moment wasted meant that darned fox was probably stealing more from their mouths.

Chaska heard a call of urgency from Steady. That could have meant any number of things, but with it being urgent he sped along with a fast enough pace as to watch where he was stepping. he didn't want to end up tripping on something. He slowed to a steady pace when seeing Steady. "What is it?" He had no idea a fox was stealing food from them.

Anita's ears pressed forward at the familiar call, causing her to get up and investigate. She made her way to the heart of the forest, seeing that Chaska had already made it there before her. "What's up," she said to the two, giving Steady a respectful nod and Chaska a grin. The girl sat down, waiting patiently for the others to start filing in, curious as to what they were meeting for.

Niita had smelt the fox after returning what remained of the raccoon's body to the caches but unfortunately, the pale waif hadn't seen the canid nor found it. The call came to her as she was drinking from a stream, water dripping as she raised her head. 

It felt like it had been forever since she had seen Steady, Niita tried to give him space to deal with his nephew's unknown location and the other stresses of leading. Even so, she missed her mate. 

Approaching the small group that has gathered, Niita smiled at them all before taking a seat next to Anita in the audience of subordinates.

Valette didn't take long to appear, though she was a bit hesitant for the howl because it meant she would see Ezekiel again. The girl wasn't sure if she could deal with the heartbreak. What if his new girl friend was here too? At least these were wolves she all knew... Maybe it was someone she knew! Oh dear. She wasn't sure if she liked that. She decided to just suck it up for now. Ezekiel wasn't here yet, so the female just approached like she usually did. Often she wasn't showing any of her pain. Instead of asking what was up she just sat down and waited patiently for Steady to talk.

Ezekiel heard Steady's howl, and ran quickly. He sounded kind of urgent, and this being his first pack meeting as beta, he imagined he should probably be there asap. Rising from his den he hurried towards the center to the territory, two things occupied his mind. One being what the pack meeting could be about, the other, the fact that Valette would be here. He wasn't sure how she'd feel about seeing him again, hopefully she wouldn't be angry. He was still unsure of what he'd done, but he wanted to fix it. Perhaps seeing her here he could clear up the situation, and start over. 

When he arrived in the clearing, Steady had seated himself in front of the group. Chaska, Anita, Niita and Valette. Unconsciously he went to sit with his pack mates, almost forgetting that he was beta. He glanced pitifully at Valette, hoping for any sign of friendliness. He halted in the crowd, remembering his new position, then went to sit by Steady. He nodded to his alpha before seating himself in front of the others. It was a new feeling, leading instead of following them. He kind of liked it though, haha Anita. He waited patiently, grey tail swishing across the ground.

Nanook hastened after Steady's call. Since the pack hunt she had kept herself at a distance from the alpha - she hadn't forgotten the look he'd fixed her after they'd felled the deer. There'd been nothing special in it, and she didn't know what to make of it still, but that her alpha would pay her any attention was enough to make her stomach squirm.

Yet the ambition to belong here burned deeper still, and that fire pressed her forward to the heart of Silvertip despite the reeling anxiety. She recognized most of the wolves who gathered, and she identified each familiar face in turn - Steady, Chaska, Ezekiel, Anita, Valette. Heat scored her chest when she appraised the shadow of her sister, and her gaze lingered. She tore her eyes away when she caught herself staring and looked to Steady instead, taking her place among her packmates and squaring herself to listen. She wouldn't fail him this time.

Adeline heard the howl, wondering what it was all about. It seemed to call the whole pack, and debated for about half a second on whether or not she should go. She was a member of the pack, after all. Plus, she was bored and curious. So, she pulled herself off the ground and hastily made her way to where the howl had come from.

She arrived, and most of the other wolves were already there, except the wolf with clouds in his eyes. She wondered where he was, but remained quiet as she took a spot next to the Alpha. She looked up to him with big, green eyes, a bright smile, and a wagging tail, looking as adorable as she possibly could, hoping he wouldn't send her away.

@Grayday, I know you're on vacation. Feel free to jump in (to here or your team's thread) whenever you get back, if you want to!

One by one, the pack gathered, and Steady greeted each of them with a smile and a wag of his tail. Once they were all here, he explained what they were here for. We have a thief in our mists, he began. A fox has been stealing food from our caches for several days now, and I have not been able to locate him. So, I need your help. But, this will be no ordinary hunt. I'm going to divide you into two teams, one led by Ezekiel, and the other by Valette. His gaze

His gaze turned to Ezekiel. Your team will be Anita and Chaska (ooc: and Grayday if he pops in!). Turning his gaze to Valette next, he said, Your team will be Niita, Polaris, and... he paused, looking down to Adeline. Adeline. He could not resist her adorableness, and let her get in on the action, knowing the family wouldn't let anything happen to her.

He turned his attention back to the pack as a whole. Leaders, consult with your teams a moment to get an idea of where you will search. He's hiding somewhere and must be caught. The winning team will get the honor of eating first in the next successful hunt (which was an elk!), and the losing team must wait until the winning team is finished before they can eat.

He gave them a few minutes to talk, and when they all seemed to be waiting on his signal, he lifted his muzzle to the sky and howled, giving them the go.

Leaders, go ahead and begin your individual threads for your teams! I will do a dice roll on where the fox is hiding, and then a dice roll to choose the winner! The choices for hiding spots are: Glass Cave, Felsig Forest, Schläger Cavern, and Silvertip Hollow! I will PM the leader of the winning team to let them know, so that they and their team can play it out. Feel free to eat the fox when you find him, if you like!

Valette chooses Felsig Forest!

Valette was pleased to hear that she would be leader of the hunt. She was determined to hunt down this fox and take the prize. She was very ambitious and would need to think of where to search. Ezekiel got his members first, however then Steady told Valette her team. She nodded, so this grey female was Polaris. Curious. She stepped closer to the three. She hoped that they would do well.

The girl looked at all of the members. "Lets start in the forest," she spoke softly. Most foxes would stay in a forest she decided. Perhaps they would find it there. It seemed to most logical place to start at least.

Silvertip hollow pls!

A thief? Bloody foxes, Ezekiel had always hated them. They weren't like coyotes, these animals were just sneaky and annoying, and smelly. He would have no problem hunting down one of the things, but it seemed Steady had bigger plans. A game of sorts, putting Zeke against Valette. It would've been nice to be on the same team as her, so they could talk, but some friendly competition would be fine too. He had always been extremely competitive, so the fact that he was interested in her didn't change anything. Valette and her team were going down.

He nodded to Steady, flashing the alpha a grin. He quite liked this idea, good for pack bonding. His team wasn't that bad either, he'd become friendly with Grayday, even though they had their initial differences. Chaska had always been a good guy, and Anita was growing on him. Steady shared the prize, which only motivated Ezekiel more. When given the signal, the large male turned to his team, a ragtag group but he believed they could win. Girls versus boys+1, this would be an exciting task.

Alright, I know Gray isn't here at the moment so were down one man, but that's ok. We can still win this. I'm thinking we start at Silvertip Hollow, if it's been stealing from our caches, it might've set up camp around there. Plus Valette already took Felsig. He shot a glance at Valette, an excited look, before turning back to hear what the rest of his group had to say.

A fox? Must have been pretty bold. And now, it would pay for such boldness. He nodded to Steady's instructions. He was sided with Ezekiel and Anita. A funny pairing, looking back on previous assumptions he had made. He was about to ask the plan of action and make suggestions, but Ezekiel was way ahead of him. 

Silvertip Hollow. "Look into every hole a fox can fit in" Chaska added, just in case. "They are crafty, and most of the time have two exits. If we find one, we look around for another before hitting it."

She raised a brow, shooting a glance at Steady as she heard who her team captain was. She didn't mind, but couldn't help but wonder if the teams were completely random or not. Oh well. There was a fox to catch it, and her competitive streak was telling her they would catch the damn trickster.

"Where we are lacking in one man, there is me," she grinned, realizing that she did not have any other girls to chat with. It wasn't the end of the world, but it was sort of awkward being with Ezekiel and Chaska. Chaska was the one who rumored with Steady about a relationship with her and Ezekiel, and Zeke was just...well, he was Zeke. She silently prayed Grayday would show up.

Her attention was regained when Ezekiel spoke of where they would be going. Silvertip Hollow. Seemed like a good choice, seeing that Valette had already taken Felsig Forest.

"I agree. We look in every burrow that seems suspicious, but not every nook and cranny. That would take up a lot of time," she joined in, trying to provide a few thoughts.

Niita nodded with the others, resisting the urge to do some weird team breakdown thing. Padding over to her group which consisted of Valette, Polaris, and Adeline, Niita nodded along as Valette spoke with a small competitive grin fixed on her face. 

"Let's go," she agreed with the ebony furred female, silently thinking that foxes were likely to stay in the woods and surely her team would win by picking there to search. 

Nudging Adeline with a grin, planning to keep an eye on her husband's niece, she set off with the rest of her group.

Nanook couldn't stop the trill of excitement that quivered through her blood. A fox hunt - could there have been a better way to show Steady she was worthy to be in their pack? She eyed the other team with a swift glance and sized them up. Her first thought was indignation - the teams were hardly fair! The oldest wolf on their team was Niita; they were yearlings and juveniles apart from her.

It was like the time papa had pitted her against Xan. Looking at the competition now did nothing to soften the memory, and a deep frown set over her face. He'd been so sure he'd win that day, but he'd been foolish in his arrogance. She had beat her brother then, slow and steady. Today would be no different. Their team could win just the same.

Nanook gathered close to her teammates and blinked her compliance to Valette's suggestion. It still felt strange, looking at this dark female who looked and felt so much like her sister, but didn't all the same. Desna had been a hunter, and Valette seemed to share this bent. Nanook pushed the resemblance to the back of her mind before it could snowball into a greater confusion. She would probe its implications later - but the hunt mattered now, and she would not let herself be the weak link.

Adeline yipped with joy as her Uncle Steady approved her being on one of the teams. The pup didn't care which team it was; she was just excited to be included in the games. She immediately pounced over to Niita and stood beside her as they all huddled. She looked to the leader as she said they would take the forest. Yay! Adeline loved the forest!

Her eyes jumped from one wolf to the next on their team. She hadn't hung out with Valette at all, but she did know, and like, Niita, and the other female, she didn't even know her name. Her attention was moved back to Niita as the female nudged her. The pup's tail wagged, and she couldn't help but raise her front paws to the other female in play, her excitement over the game spilling over. She yipped again to show it, and raced ahead of the others to head towards the forest. 

I'm going to wrap up this thread <3

The teams paired off, and Steady was happy to see that they all seemed excited by this hunt. While it wasn't their usual prey, it was just as important, as this fox was steeling from them, and needed to be stopped. He hoped the pack was motivated enough to get the job done. Most of his worry lied with Adeline. She hadn't hunted with the pack before, and certainly not for a fox. He would trust the trio of females to keep her safe. 

After the teams departed, Steady waited a few minutes before going off himself, in a separate directions than either of the teams. If they happen to track him towards Steady's way, it would help to corner the little vermin.