Verdant Basin my feet shall run because of you

Going to be vague about some details because she has a trespassing thread ongoing at Silver Creek; however, this is part two of her first chapter and is open to anyone. This is set sometime on december 9th.

Hunger drove her towards the basin. The scent upon the air was crisp and damp. It was familiar because of the chill that it carried, like the ice flows and permafrost of her old home. She was nervous as she marched nonetheless, as the scents of wolves were more prolific here than they were within the Arctic. So too were the many indicators of prey.

With each new discovery Miyax felt her curiosity pique. While her hunger was great, she was ignorant of just what kind of life existed in this southern place. This ignorance made her more withdrawn than usual. The old Miyax would have been bold and confident as she crossed through the wilderness, the wind in her ruff, trailing after a bull elk — but the elk were not so populous here in the south. There was more small game.

For the time being she was interested in the basin; and when she neared the edge of it, she settled among the many strange plants to lurk and to learn. Before long she sighted a distant figure that reminded her of the beloved elk she used to hunt. It was smaller. The crown it carried looked like new growth, like a sapling which had not figured out yet how majestic it would become. She thought to play a wolf joke upon the deer, but her wariness kept her rooted to her hiding place among the fir trees.

While there was many a pack along the coast, there were far too little loners wandering the sandy shores. Athan pushed inland, delving into the Hinterlands, hunger driving him forth.

He figured that there would be more packs here, more wolves wandering. The land, even with the advent of winter, was fertile. He trotted past herd after herd of deer and elk, both large and small through his wandering. They were startled by his presence, but they were of little importance to him. He could not care less about them. In times of extreme hunger, perhaps he would have paid them mind, but there were plenty of wolves here to sate him.

Just like the female there, lurking in the grass near an expansive body of water. His ears perked as he saw her, a small smirk on his face. He was not desperately hungry, but he did not want to get to that point. Not in winter. He would take when he could, if he could. And now he weighed her, judged her body against his own, like she might be doing to the deer in the distance, the one he half ignored.

12/9/16—Weather: Snow Showers, 14°F (feels like 7°F); Anuniaq may be lurking in the background, as ever!

 

She and @Anuniaq had made their way down Mount Everfall without issue. Together they continued their ranging, and Silaluk was ever-alert. They followed the waterways that led to the Basin, and also a scent that caused their blood to race. By day, the world was again an overcast gray, but the crisp air and clouds foretold of the snows to soon come. It did nothing to deter the thick-furred Silaluk, nor her companion. The snow would betray her prey, tell her of their path. She, like her mother and sister before her, was an adept tracker, more proficient perhaps than others. As well as becoming a Warrior and Guardian, she had followed her mothers footsteps in becoming a Tracker. Tracker of strays and runaways, tracker of big and small game; she knew the ways of deserters and the patterns of the mammals that could hinder, or aid them. Silaluk was raised to be a survivor, and she excelled.

Silaluk could smell the wolf, though did not see her. One twitch of her ear signified to Anuniaq to cease his movement, and it was then Silaluk noted the stray prey animal from its herd. The large, bearish wolf was not used to such a meager looking thing; she was used to bison, to caribou—creatures that were surely hardier beasts than this! Her tail lashed behind her as she peered toward Anuniaq, whom she knew would be thrilled by the potential course of this day. The critter had not noted their approach, grazing idly on the final remnants of autumn. The scent of another wolf struck her then, and her eyes fell upon him before finding the outline of the other hunter. They both observed, though Silaluk could not then see that the pale one was not watching the prey but the she-wolf. She, furthest from the duo, finally began to move again, seeking to close the distance between them. She did not know of the mans disinterest in The Hunt, though The Hunt was all that she thought of. Her gait was more of a prowl, not wanting to warn the prey animal of what was imminent.

making a couple of assumptions about how the other thread will go!

 

Tûgar moved with Anuniaq and Silaluk, now. She had found her kin and was content and at ease in their presence. They were family. They were Tartok. Her tail flicked idly behind her as she trailed the two wolves, her snout against the earth as she snuffled at it, trying to pry information from the frost-bitten green. Something had caused them to stop and at once Tûgar was alert, drifting toward Silaluk's side with hard eyes. She was careful to keep her posture respectful toward the bitch who led them, and when Silaluk moved forward again Tûgar followed her lead. A low whine poured forth from her lips as she moved to investigate the male with her companions, whiskers twitching as they brushed against the black bears shoulder. Her eyes fell upon the wolf who observed the prey, and Tûgar knew then what Silaluk was thinking. Her mind synced to it, and Tûgar's eyes lit up. She appeared inviting, but her patience was terribly thin. These were strangers, and she was wary despite her excitement.

The air nipped at his skin, though he was not bothered, his thick fur shielding him from the worst of winter's bite. He followed Silaluk as she lead them from the mountain and into a valley, eyes and nose alert as ever for any signs of food. They had picked up a companion along the way, one who was like them. She did not share their beastly form, but had a fighting spirit and the scars to prove it. He felt the soft touch of her whiskers against his shoulder and cast her a quick look with a lifted lip, all too eager to remind her of her place should she overtake either he or his aunt.

He then looked to Silaluk as she suddenly paused and, at her subtle gesture, he too stopped. His golden eyes brightened as he spotted it too — a deer. It was a tiny, meagre-looking thing that he would have ignored if other herds were nearby. However, it was the only fresh game he had seen in a while that was alone and unaware. His heart started pounding with excitement, stomach rumbling with ever-present hunger. He faintly noted two other scents floating around, though ignored them in favour of his primary interest.

When Silaluk moved, the boy stalked forward, branching off slightly from her path as she made her way towards the other wolves. If they were to engage in a hunt, it would be easier split up.

The deer was as unaware of its onlookers as Miyax was to the growing collection of wolves around her. She was so focused upon the chance to give chase, to eat, that the signals upon the wind and sounds drifting to her sharp ears went ignored.

Miyax was a wolf of the musk ox. Her father had imparted his knowledge of them to his children, and so too would Miyax, if she ever were to become a leader. She did not know what to do when she sighted the deer — as said before, it was no elk of which she was at least familiar, and most assuredly it was no musk ox.

She roused herself from her stupor and began to creep ever closer. Her steps were swift and fluid, and she picked her way through the mess of trees and grasses until she was out in the open, staring in the direction of the deer. The thought of playing a wolf trick on this creature had appealed to her; and her tail whisked, her ears fell back upon her head instead of remaining tall and alert, indicating her sudden lack of interest in the hunt.

Next she turned her head. Every sense was aligned with keeping tabs on the deer, but to the unsuspecting prey, she was a distracted wolf without the means of pursuing such a goal — thus the deer felt safe. It ducked its own head when it spotted the pale figure of the she-wolf, and it continued to graze.

Yet when Miyax turned to feign her indifference, she saw something. A flash of an eye in the shadows of the trees. A figure obscured. The fur of her scruff began to electrify with nervous energy. She looked around carefully for more signals, and that was when she tapped in to the wind with her nose - discovering the many scents surrounding her. She was not as alone as she thought; but were they friend, or foe?

He was judging her, assessing her as someone who would be weak to his attack. He was grateful for the deer's presence, a distraction as he watched her, though there were no blessings without curses. The ungulate's lone position attracted others, three others, hungry and intent. They were strong and moved as one; a small band, perhaps? Whatever they were to each other, they had spotted him. The strigoi cursed to himself, knowing that he had no luck in finding a kill in the pale woman. He glared at her, wanting; she did not know how lucky she was. 

The others intrigued him more than just the contents of their veins, however. Their leader was a massive woman; he would never take her down on his own, or without her being incapacitated first. For that, he instantly gave her the respect she deserved. The second woman was average in appearance, save for her elongated smile. The third, a man, was just as large and broad as the first woman, with burning eyes. They were interesting.

His eyes turned to the ungulate, wondering if it sensed the growing throng of wolves around it. He had no true interest in hunting as the others did, but he could not get through the winter on blood alone.

Each, except perhaps for Daystar, held interest in the ungulate ahead, and each of them unwittingly played their trick upon it. It's head swung upward as it glanced toward them, but it seemed to sense their (feigned) indifference and interest in greater things--one another. It was Daystar she approached first, his looking away taken as wolfspeak for complacency in her scenting him. Should his attitude change, Silaluk would see to it that he would regret it, but such a thing seemed unlikely to those fluent in their wolf-dialect.

Short post to just get some immediate action across! Silaluk is just trying to sniff out Daystar!

Tûgar kept to Silaluk's hindquarters, ears shifting with her uncertainty of the other stranger. As Silaluk moved to one side, Tûgar drifted to his other, her posture one that was relatively tense and yet unaggressive. She was ready to snap into action, and the way her muscles quivered showed that as her nostrils flared and moved to drink the others scent in with her leader. Her eyes observed Anuniaq's own movement toward the strange, powdery white she-wolf, but she lingered with Silaluk and followed her lead.

The trio moved forward, led by Silaluk who sought out the silver male first. Anuniaq cast him a quick glance, noting the odd black stripe that ran down the length of his spine before turning back to the deer. It seemed unfazed by the throng of wolves that had gathered, though for good reason — they were paying more attention to each other than it. Well, most were. Anuniaq had his eyes glued to the prey, his attention solely focused on the prospect of food.

He hung low, the furtherest from the deer currently, letting Silaluk and Tûgar move ahead to inspect the others. The dark male's eyes quickly flicked to the arctic female who seemed aware of their presence, too, though his focus snapped immediately back to the creature as it took a step forward. He licked his lips hungrily, making an enormous effort to not set a hunt into motion until Silaluk motioned for them to do so. If she wanted them to do so.

Having determined that there was more to her surroundings than she initially anticipated, Miyax did become distracted from the goal of hunting. She no longer watched the deer. Her feigned disinterest became actualized, and then — without warning to anyone — she took off at an easy, lazy run. Her route went straight for the deer at first and the creature froze, its head up and eyes wide; but Miyax swerved and dispersed from the scene soon enough, leaving the deer on high alert, but alone. Perhaps the wolves milling around in the shadows would have better luck. Miyax was too nervous though, and chose to escape before having to deal with the swarm.

For now, it seemed, he was of more interest than the deer. Two thirds of the trip strode towards him, their noses sniffing at his fur inquisitively. While his head was turned away, the closest eye to her swiveled towards her, locking the lead woman in a cruel gaze. Why was she so interested in him? He was nothing compared to the prize ahead. A momentary through stiffened him. Did she know what he was? What his initial intent was? It was a brief jolt, but it lingered, setting the strigoi on edge for but a moment. 

His quarry departed, Athan was left clustered by this trio, a position he despised. He pulled away from the woman, snorting dismissively, trying to be free of their presence as soon as possible.