Blacktail Deer Plateau found my way downtown

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Pack hunt! Paging @Grayday, @Pema, @Aditya, @Engel, @Raid, @Kieran Adrien, @Aliac and @Aviana, as well as pups Easy, @Lavender and @Dauntless if they wish to tag along / spectate. The first round will end on December 16th.

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The blood was black on the snow, dark divots fresh and the laboured sounds ahead sure signs that the huntress had closed in. She stopped now, ears pressed forward and gaze sharp in the gathering darkness, wishing it had been a little lighter. She'd seen the sheep fighting in their ruts for the past few weeks, seen them skid and tumble down the icy slopes. The cracks of their horns had been heard over the plateau before finally falling largely silent in the past few days. This one's tumble had caught her attention a day before, and upon investigation, appeared to be labouring. 

The ram moved into the clear, and the woman got her first clear look at it. It dragged a mangled limb, head hung low. But it was aged, and hardy, it's horns were heavy and certainly dangerous. And very little rivalled the danger of an animal driven to desperation. She tilted back her muzzle and called then, song loud and clear and calling the pack to her. The creature before her could bolster their caches well, though it certainly would not go down easy. He caught sight of her then, twisting back to fix her gaze with his own, huffing low under his breath before turning away and resuming his laborious travel north.

Gonna tag @Spiritwalker as well, in case they want to join in!

When the call rose through the territory, Easy hadn't thought much of it. It was a call for hunters, and she had nothing to do with that. But for once, her father didn't stand and shake off his pelt. Instead, he looked at her with a sad little smile and gestured for her to go. Go?

"Really?" she asked, eyes wide. Without waiting for an answer, she darted off, barking for her brother and sister as well. She quickly quieted as she drew nearer to her elder sister, however, and was completely silent when she reached Dawn's side. It was not a deer, like the pack normally ate, but another of the sheep that Sunny and Grayday had brought back one time. But unlike that one, this one was fully grown. Easy was intimidated, but tried not to show it as she looked to Dawn for instruction.

At the sound of Dawn's howl Pema was quick to head over. She wanted to be even more involved in the pack activities with her new role, and even though Dawn would be the one to run more of the hunt orientated events she was eager to be a participant and help Dawn in any way. They were both new to their positions and Pema thought that they would work better together then apart. 

It was getting dark as the amount of day time dwindled as winter progresses, but Pema found Dawn on the slopes along with Easy. A more moutain terrain then forested or meadowed areas of the territory. She looked over and saw the ram that they two had their eyes on, not doing so well. She walked over to Easy's side and nudged her slightly with a smile. 

"We got this." she said to both of them. She said it to Easy knowing that this would be her first pack hunt, and to Dawn to boost her confidence. Not that she needed it. She had done a great job the last time, but just incase she had any nerves left.

Aviana's ears perked at the howl. She hadn't been here a day, and it seemed the opportunity to prove herself was already here. Baby sitting and traveling weren't high on the list of needs for the pack, but hunting was number one, she knew. So, she turned on her heels and quickly headed for where the call came.

She was the fourth one there. Her head and tail lowered in respect to the others, but her tail swayed back and forth. She was certainly excited for this. She looked to Dawn, a familiar face, and gave a soft smile to her, and then to the other female and pup. 

She held back from the group a bit, allowing them to stay in the forefront. But, she did peer around and get an eye at their intended target. The bighorn sheep looked well battered up, with a limb already broken. Still, it didn't look like it was ready to give up. It would be a fight, for sure, but Aviana was ready. Her mouth already watered in anticipation of sinking her teeth into its flesh.

A lone howl traveled through the tree's, breaking the long silence. Aliac heard this and immediatly stood up and listened for it's direction. She ran towards it whole heartedly, this would be both her first ever pack hunt and her first time doing anything with a pack. Aliac had been on many hunts before but they had always been by herself and they hadn't been anything bigger than a hare or a fox, if she was lucky enough. The young she-wolf slowed her pace as she aproached the wolf who had called them all together.

At the sound of Dawn's call, he eagerly headed that way. His paws itched - he wanted to do something. It seemed like the chance to was being handed over to him, and he would be a fool to pass it up. Kieran, on arrival, smiled at those around. Some... he didn't know all that well. Probably his own fault, he supposed, but still it was suprising to see some less recognisable faces. He slid in beside Dawn, still smiling.

This was exactly the kind of thing he needed today. His gaze swept over the bighorn sheep, looking battered, and he felt the excitement form tingles that crept up his legs and made him eager to hunt. That, and the smell. Kieran looked to Dawn again, assuming she might already have a plan thought out.

as usual, aditya had been patrolling the borders when dawn's call rang out from fairly close by. giving one last look over the horizon--where was she?--he broke into a trot, then a lope, as he made his way toward where his mate had howled from.

this must have something to do with a hunt; the scent of blood and fear was in the air, and he could faintly hear the sounds of strained breathing, a prey animal in distress. dawn must have either found one that was already injured or had done harm to it herself.

when he arrived on the scene, several other pack members had gotten there already--pema, naturally, a man he thought was named kieran, two females he did not know yet, and, to his delighted surprise, easy, excitement sparkling in her eyes. he gave her a warm smile before padding up to the women he did not know.

"you two must be new members," he said cheerfully, nodding in turn to both of them. "my name is aditya, but everyone calls me 'adi.'" waiting for them to introduce themselves, he sat beside them, looking at dawn and waiting for her plan.

Aliac looked around then looked at the she-wolf who had introduced herself as Aditya and decided to step out of her comfort zone and introduce herself as well. "My name is Aliac, nice to meet you." She said in a kind voice as she waited for the other to speak.

Engel's ears perked up as he heard it. His tongue was lapping at water, and he had paused to hear it. After that, he headed out to find the source. He found Dawn, Aditya, Kieran, Pema, Aliac and a couple he did not know. Almost everyone he did know was here. When he sighted what they were called here for, he made a quiet groan. 

"A hunt is what we're here for, eh?" he said rather openly, getting down low. "Who's leading?"

No one could say why the voice booming through the territory roused Burr from his resting spot in the rendezvous. Hunting hardly interested him, but even so, his broad ears swept up to catch the sound and with a grunt he rose to attend. With his injured ankle held aloft, the young wolf progressed at a ponderous pace, arriving at the designated point dead last or very near to it.

Although he expected not to recognize any of the faces present, Burr was pleasantly surprised to see that there were only a few he wasn't at least familiar with. Dawn and her mate were in attendance, as were Pema and Easy. Two unfamiliar wolves with the same ruddy brown coats as the majority of the pack were also present, as well as one with a dirty off-white pelt. The youth surveyed the gathered quietly from afar for a moment, marveling that he knew more of them than he did of his own home pack's wolves without counting his family, then limped toward the darkly painted Easy, whom he felt most comfortable with.

He knew he wouldn't be participating, but he flared his ears forward attentively even as he seated himself to merely watch. He hadn't ever been invited to a pack hunt in Easthollow; if he hoped to be a functional pack wolf someday in the future, he needed to know how to hunt with his pack mates. Even if he wouldn't be running with them now, the boy understood the value of listening as though he was.

They came quickly, first Easy, who she greeted with a grin, and then Pema, quick with her motivational words. There came Kieran, and the two newest women to the pack, all greeted with a dip of her head and a quick grin. Aditya's smile was returned warmly, and she waited but a few more moments before the last of the hunting party arrived, including Engel and the boy, who sat beside Easy, something she noted with dim interest. Perhaps Burr had made a friend in her younger sister.

 "I am," She replied to the male's question, moving to her feet and surveying those attended. "our target is over there," She said with a deft turn of her muzzle to where the ram moved slowly towards the range. "we'll drive it west, however we can, just get it moving. it's injured, and tired, and the run should weaken it to the point where we can make our move. be careful, though; it has a nasty set of hooves and horns and won't hesitate to use them if we slip up." She paused a moment, continuing, "if it gets too standoffish, back off until we can get it moving without risking it charging. Easy, stick close to me."  She glanced to the girl, knowing that she ought to keep an eye on her. It was her first pack hunt, and Dawn didn't want her bruised up. Her gaze slipped to Burr a moment, wondering briefly if he'd try to participate, but he seemed comfortable merely watching and learning. "any questions?" She said finally surveying those which had gathered. Should no one speak up, she'd lead them down the ridge, towards the brutish ram as they set their hunt in motion.

sorry for the delay! next round will begin once everyone has replied, or the 23rd

More and more wolves seemed to show up, and Aviana wondered if there was an end to the amount that would come to Dawn's call. They weren't joking when they said the pack was big. For a moment, Aviana wondered what she had gotten into. Was joining a pack this big a good idea? But, as most of them had their attention on the prey, she stifled her fear. At the very least, in such a large pack, she could blend in to the background if she needed to. 

As a male padded confidently up to her and another new member, Aviana took several steps back in a very "nope" fashion and turned to distance herself. But, she did not leave the group. She thought about going to Dawn's side, but there seemed to be too many already around her. So, Aviana stayed to herself in the back of the group, her ears perking as Dawn spoke. Even injured, it would be dangerous taking down the animal. But, it would be well worth it if they were successful. 

almost as soon as he had opened his mouth, one of the two females backed away from him, padding to stand farther away. aditya flicked one ear in bewilderment--and slight annoyance--but put that aside when the white-pelted woman gave him a warm greeting. aliac.

"it's a pleasure, aliac," adi responded, smiling once more.

then dawn began to speak, explaining the details of the hunt that was to come. pretty straightfoward--they just needed to tire out this already-wounded animal, running it down to its ultimate demise. adi nodded at her words, giving her an encouraging grin. let's go! his gleaming eyes said.

Aliac who was already glowig with excitement was happy because this was her first hunt with the pack and she wanted to make a good impression. The others were super friendly and she was glad that she had chose this pack. The white wolf's ears perk forward as she listens to Dawn as she explains the plan to everyone.

The next two members of the pack to arrive were the two newer member. She didn't know their names yet, but Adi was quick to ask, always going out of his way to introduce himself to others. One seemed alot more willing to share then the other, but at least she wasn't too skidish that she up and left the pack gathering all together. Pema would make some time to introduce herself more completely some other time. But for now she gave both of them a friendly smile.

She was also happy to see that Kieran was there to join them. She felt as though she hadn't seen him in awhile and made another note in her head to set aside some time to chat with him later as well. Then Engel came, asking who was going to lead the hunt. Dawn had done this one other time before, so some of the pack already knew she was most likely to do it. Or they assumed she would because she was the one making the gathering call. 

When she say Burr arrive she looked at him with question. Not sure if he planed on participating in the hunt. If he did, she would have been quick be the bearer of bad news, knowing that his ankle wasn't healed fully yet. But luckily it looked like he was satisfied with simply observing. 

She listened to Dawn's plan, nodding along the way. It was a sound plan, weaken the prey rather then fight it head on. Especially with it's specialized protective characteristics. Another thing to consider was the rocky terrain. There wasn't too many nasty rocks but Pema thought it was something worth mentioning. "Make sure to watch out for the terrain. This is his domain, where he thrives. If we do what Dawn say we should dive him into less rock terrain. Force him to give up an advantage. That's when we can make our move." she cautioned and encouraged before following Dawn and the others towards the sheep.

Engel looked to the daughter of the alpha, Dawn. Both leaders, like father like daughter he thought to himself. Not too alike, at least he though that. Although, those thoughts went when he saw that this was to be a hunt. And he was not one for hunts. 

He followed her gaze to the injured ram. Now that he could at least attempt to help with. But normally when he tried to chase something down, his legs got sore. 

What Pema said about the terrain, that worried him. Plenty of areas to slip and fall, with it being winter. He felt like asking a question to Dawn's offer to questions, but he forget it rather quickly. "Well...this is going to be fun" he said, then he started to follow along from behind. He knew well that his joints were going to ache for a few days after this. But a full belly was well worth it.

Easy hung off of Dawn's every word, thoroughly impressed by her elder sister's easy command of the large gathering of wolves. Even when Burr's arrival briefly distracted her, she did not allow her attention to waver, lest she miss something of vital importance.

The meeting was soon broken up, and Dawn was leading them off to hunt - that was so cool! And, although she sort of wanted to hang back with Burr instead, she didn't hesitate to follow after her fearless sister. She knew better than to disobey Dawn!

Her gaze slipped sidelong to Pema as she spoke up, ears flicking in the slightest as the words hit a nerve. Normally, she wouldn't have thought twice about the warning, but the seeds of doubt planted in her mind had her analyze the girl's words more thoroughly than she ought to. It wasn't as if they were going after the ram in his element; the mountains, nor did she-

Dawn shook the thoughts from her mind, shoving them back into its depths where they belonged. She shot a grin at Easy, falling into step beside her favorite sister and moving to lead the rest of them towards the ram, beginning the task of running it down the open foothills, aiming towards a cluster of trees. Surely it wouldn't be used to such terrain, and they had a better chance of it slipping up. It was not long, however, before the ram became obviously distressed and turned on them, breath coming hard. They were near the trees, the rish of the river that fed the pond audible over its heaving breath. The huntress came to a stop quickly, moving to stand near to Easy and glance briefly at the others. It was growing desperate; the run had weakened it, but not quite enough to stop it from lowering its head of horns and glowering towards the pack wolves. Its breath blew out in twin columns of mist and fog, fresh blood splattering the snow as the girl eyed it warily, still beside Easy as her gaze flickered between the ram and her packmates. 

next round to begin on the 4th! feel free to have the ram lash out or even charge if you're looking for whumps or excitement.

the beast was wounded, but he was still a powerhouse. they must take care not to anger him so much that he'd charge; a blow by his head and horns could prove fatal. aditya trotted briskly to a point far left of the ram, looking over at his packmates.

"if we spread out a little, we're harder to attack," he called softly out to the others. "more targets he has to focus on, and less open space to get away from us. he'll only be able to go one direction: that way." his nose pointed toward the rolling plains in front of the ram.

his lips pulled into a snarl, adi crouched low, snarling, then gave his best chilling, hair-on-end howl, the notes ringing briskly through the cold air. that startled the animal slightly, who began to amble forward, away from the pack.

aditya followed, hoping that he would not alter his course and decide to bowl over a couple of his attackers.

Aviana listened intently, her eyes darting to whichever wolf was speaking at the moment. Good advice was given, and Aviana would make sure to heed it. She wanted to help with the hunt, not get injured during it. She allowed the ones leading this shindig to go first before following the group, her eyes on the prize.

She found her spot among the hunting party as they drove their prey on, wearing it out until it could run no more. It turned on them then, not willing to give up the fight for its life just yet. While it was focused on the others, Aviana circled wide to come up behind it. She lowered her body and extended her neck, placing a hard nip on the hock of the animal's back leg. The bighorn turned on her instantly, but Aviana was faster and was out of its reach before it could harm her. She hoped the rest of the pack, which the bighorn had turned its back on, would be able to make a move on it. She taunted it from the front, charging when it would have turned it attention to the others. She made it focus on herself instead.

Engel listened to Aditya and his suggestion to the plan. The older male waited till everyone began sprinting forth, he also did. He didn't manage to keep up as the others did, as he was slower than everyone else. He could only watch as the bighorn tried to hit off attackers. He tried to get in there, but almost got hit by the bighorn as he tried to nip at it's ankles.

Not quite knowing what to do, Easy hung back a bit, cataloguing her packmates' every move. It was very different from hunting rabbits and turkeys on her own, and she was worried that moving forward would put her in the path of one of her packmates.

But it also felt strange to hover behind the rest. The action was up ahead, and the angry scent of the ram made her want to bite down and taste blood. Excited yips echoed Dawn's every move as Easy watched her older sister. One day, she'd be exactly like Dawn.

She followed along with the rest of the pack. Chasing after the injured ram. They managed to wear it down, but in a last stitch effort tried to face the pack rather then run from it. Something that would make this hunt just a tad bit more difficult. Wolves thrived of the chase, taking down a target when it ran away. But ones big and able to defend ones self was much harder to take down. 

She saw the ran turn around facing Dawn and Easy alittle ways behind her. Adi and Aviana were at it's sides taking chose lunges at the creature. There was only one opening and that is where Pema wanted to drive it. She stood next to Dawn barking and growling at the creature. Encouraging it to turn and run towards the opening. In the direction the pack wanted it to go. 

She make small nips at it's ankles when it looked as though it might go after Adi or Aviana at it's sides, but was carful to never put herself in real danger. An injured pack member was one things, but an injured healer could be even more detrimental to the pack. Especially with current injuries still needing to be tended to.