Swiftcurrent Creek The Hunter's Arrow Shines · Pack Hunt

Swiftcurrent Creek pack hunt! I figure fast paced rounds will be easiest to do this.

Round 1: Ends July 7th · The pack gathers.
Round 2: Ends July 11th · The pack travels to the mule deer and arrives. Scimitar briefly discusses the hunting plan.
Round 3: Ends July 15th · The hunt happens.
Round 4: Ends July 19th · If successful, the pack celebrates!

His eyes scanned the borders of the Creek, noting the light that shone upon the tops of the trees that littered his home. It was early morning – but the Creek had a big day ahead of them. His original intent had been to hunt the elk that had taken residence along Lower Arrow Lake, but then his attention had reverted to the excessive number of pronghorn in the meadow. Still, the travel was longer, and while the pack would rally, it would be more fitful for the meat to be killed closer to their home – easier for the pack to feed the pups and store the caches.

And so, when a scarce few mule deer trailed along the edges of their pack, he had stalked them early dawn. They were a healthy bunch, and it might have been an easier kill to take one of the more sickly from the pronghorn herd… but this would encourage an easier meal once the deed was done, and if he could gather enough members, the pack would have a victorious outcome.

After trailing away from them so as to not spook them too soon, the cinnamon Eta lifted his muzzle, beckoning the members of Swiftcurrent Creek to partake in a pack hunt. The thrill of what was to come encompassed him then, stirring adrenaline to his veins as his song faded on the horizon. The day was damp, which would make it harder for a sure foot.. but aside from that, he could foretell no issues.

Awaiting the arrival of others, his aqua eyes scanned the land before him – there were a few faces he could almost assume that would come.. but hopefully, others would surpass his expectations of them.

Shadow tore at the remaining flesh stuck to the bones of the fish and was just finishing his meal with a gulp of water when he heard the call from a fellow Creek wolf. A pack hunt! He had loved it when that happened in his old pack so he was eager to join it now.

His long legs skipped through the pebbles littering the ground as he rushed to meet the wolf who had called. The silver male skidded to a halt next to a cinnamon colored wolf.

"Hey." he said, his eyes scanning the male, he didn't think he had met him before but by his scent he was truly a Swiftcurrent Creek wolf.

Star had been, as regular, sitting at the edge of duck lake when she heard a howl. By now she had learned that it was not bad to go to a howl, even if the voice was unrecognizable.
She sped through tall grass towards the place where from. Standing there was Shadow and a wolf she'd never seen before. But he did smell like creek water and other wolves and tall grass, surely a pack member. "Hello sir. I'm Star, a juvenile." She introduced herself to the unknown wolf.

@Bazi @Danica @Scimitar & everyone -- feel free to pp Njal in the background.

When the call rose upon the air, Njal did not know what to make of it. At first he was disoriented, half-asleep and content within the den. But as the sound carried through his foggy mind, he woke up. The first thing his eyes landed on were the squirming bodies of his children - the second, his wife curled around them. The sound was distant. Perhaps only made distant by the earth that curved around their bodies. Curious (but also unwilling to leave his little family) Njal had to force himself away from their company in order to slip out of the den mouth, and pay more attention. He recognized Scimitar's voice just as the summons was fading - but that was enough. That, and the clear call for a hunt. The Gamma cast a brief look to the den as if to say, be home soon, and then took off with a lazy march towards the root of the song.

When he arrived at the edge of the plains, he spotted the bulky silhouette of Scimitar quickly. Early morning light framed his triangular years and traced around his face, moving as Njal walked. When he was closer he caught sight of two distinctly pale wolves; the younger one reaching the tail end of her introduction. Njal didn't bother saying anything yet. He did not wish to disturb the prey that Scimitar was likely targeting. Instead of speak, he passed by the other wolves and gave them a friendly nudge with his nose; however, when he reached Scimitar's side, the warden bumped his shoulder with his own as a means of friendly greeting.

Though Leaf was no hunter, she had taken her leader's suggestion seriously--something about a lack of gamekeepers in the pack--and had been focusing on tracking, hunting, and storing meat ever since. This focus intensified when she realized that the pack had a new litter that needed to be fed. So when she heard the call for the hunt, she was prompt in responding. She dropped her task at hand and left. Upon arrival, she was pleased to find a few familiar faces. She shuffled up to Star (Cottonball) and Shadow but soon left them momentarily as she attempted to greet her superiors. Both were of an immensely higher rank, and so she stooped low to the ground, rising only when proper respect had been paid. It had been a long time since the little red wolf had participated in a hunt, and she began to prepare her mind. It would be no good for her to create an impression by fact of her poor skills. She prayed for a fluke.

Danica's heart leaped as she heard a voice sound out; a hunt! She had never participated in a true pack hunt, always either too young or too low on the totem pole to actively join in. There was nothing worse than sitting on the sidelines and then feeling the glares as you tried to take part in a kill that you had no paw in taking down. Though, what did they expect? You couldn't bar one from hunting and then get angry when they did as you wished.

Luckily it seemed that here, everyone hunted. Literally everyone, she thought, noting a small wolf whom she had not yet met. Oh the comments she could make right now... but just before a hunt was hardly the time.

Scoping out the situation, she bounced a bit on her paws, ready to begin. They had so many gathered that they would be able to easily take at least two, if not more, of the creatures down. Definitely enough for them all to eat well and add some to the caches for harder times. Star and Leaf were the only ones here she had yet to encounter. The rest she knew from either their previous run on the Sunspire or more recent chance meetings.

The pack's older male rose to his paws when Scimitar's call echoed through the air. He had been drinking water at the creek that the pack it's name. Hours before he had been digging truffles as he thought it'd be a nice gift for the proud parents of the newest addition of the pack.

He had managed to collect a couple, and so he hid them under one of the animal skins he had found in his own den. Now leaving the truffle hunting behind he trotted to where the pack was called, to go hunting for something other than truffles.

Galileo arrived after Danica, he wagged his black-tipped tail at the sight of the familiar girl and walked over to greet her and his newly made friend, Leaf. "Hello little lady" he barked as he approached the red hair wolfess.

Farkas turned on his bed of leaves, littered on the ground. Ever since his time as a loner, he had always slept in the open for fear that once inside a cave or a burrow he could be easily cornered, that habit lasted till even now. Even when he had the safety of a pack.

A call from another wolf woke up and he immediately leapt to his paws, scanning the clearing for any intruders before he relaxed and listened, so a hunt was on. Never in his whole life had he hunted big prey for his parents were loners and in there small territory there was never big prey, he had survived all his live on small prey.

This would be exciting. A small lit up his face as he began trotting towards the source of the song. He soon arrived and realised how big the pack really was and how little faces he knew. He padded towards Shadow and nudged him affectionately with his nose before greeting his superiors.

Fox is just going to observe, because she's still a bit beat-up from her run-in with Jace. As a reminder, pack events (like this one) don't have a posting order, but you should only post once per round. So for every post Scimitar makes, you should make one after him.

At first, Fox had thought not to make an appearance at all. She was in no shape to actively participate in the pack hunt, given her recent brawl with Jace, and yet she skulked toward Scimitar's howl anyway. Even if she could not run or bite at their kill, she still reserved the right to eat first, due to her rank, so she wanted to secure her seat at the breakfast table. She and Bazi, of course, would get the choice meats. The next level down would be given to Njal and Tuwawi, and so on and so forth. It was the law of the wolf, plain and simple.

When she finally reached the gathering, she realized how great their pack had grown. She counted eight—eight!—wolves gathered here, and her eyes widened. Her expression quickly softened into a delighted smile, feeling quite proud of her abilities as a leader. There was a time when she had doubted herself, but that was now well behind her. Whatever words Ferdie and Jace had spat at her about being a terrible leader were far, far gone.

As the others mingled amongst one another, Fox remained on the outskirts to indicate that she was merely here to watch. This was Scimitar's test, after all.

Rach - slight powerplay of Scimitar's.. head.. position? I hope that's OK; if not, PM me to change it. :D

Almost the entire pack had gathered by the time Bazi reached the starting point. Tuwawi was understandably absent and Razo had not yet made an appearance, but they were the only ones. The Beta trailed in after Fox, who paused at the edge of the gathering - a clear sign that this was Scimitar's show. Bazi smeared a good few licks on her leader's cheek as she joined the rest of the wolves, equal parts eager and nervous about the imminent start of their first real hunt. She and Njal had taken down large prey before, but it wasn't particularly hard to coordinate two wolves. Three was a stretch, and eight was nigh on impossible - at least for Bazi, whose hunting prowess was.. lacking. It wasn't a weakness she was particularly keen on sharing with the entire pack, and sitting out was not an option - Fox had already claimed the role of observer.

Bazi made a bee-line for Scimitar, nudging the shoulders of her pack-mates on the way there. Leading made him look particularly handsome, and the sight of him there, at the head of the pack, made her heart flutter girlishly. If Fox claimed him, however fond she was of the sprightly little leader, she would.. no, this wasn't the time for such things.

"Scimitar," she greeted quietly, moving to the hunter's unoccupied shoulder and beckoning his broad, severe face down to her level before he could kick off proceedings. "Keep me on the edges?" she whispered, silently begging that he would offer her an entirely non-strategic role in the upcoming hunt. Worry flickered on the glassy surface of her bright, blue eyes.

@Fox: There's a bit of powerplay here that I'll happily change if you want. Specifically that she lets him get as close as he is without any action on her part.

The tawny stray might not have bothered to oblige the howl of a wolf he’d never spoken with, but it didn’t suit him to bypass the group when he was in such proximity. Bristling and agitated, he paced to and fro at a scent that faded and stole away from his grasp, then took off at a long-legged and easy lope with the immediate priority of latching himself on to some kind of distraction.

He strolled in, but no further than the outskirts, watching as Bazi whispered something in the ear of the wolf he’d once referred to as “the burly bloke” in her presence and noting the sheer number of faces he’d never seen before with a look that clearly stated that he was wildly unimpressed. The females he didn’t know drew his gaze simply because their physical qualities were far more obvious to pick out than the quite average-looking males—from excessively plush, to elfin-featured and fox-esque colouration, to striking gold. His eyes didn’t stay on any of them for long.

Instead, he loomed over Fox, settling himself at her left flank and facetiously feigning adventitiousness. His eyes moved almost immediately to the scabbing of her ripped up chest which he could only see from that particular angle due to his towering height and how incredibly close he was. He made a single tsk noise of disapproval that was too loud to be unintentional, followed closely by the slightest sly-eyed smirk that betrayed any actual concern as he directed his eyes to the front of the group. He thought she was an idiot, but also that she was an interesting idiot.

They began to flood in – the first arrivals were unknown to him, though each greeting was met with a dip of his own muzzle and a content sway of his tail. He did not break his silence, but he did not take an unwelcoming stance. When Njal arrived, a crooning growl escaped his jaws at the greeting before the younger wolf cast a friendly nip to the regal’s cheek, as well as a submissive nudge to the warrior’s chin.

About to repeat the process to the fiery she-wolf that came next, he stopped immediately when he realized it was not Fox – amusement rippled through him, wondering if the Alpha had a twin, though still, he was vigilante in his silence.

As the group trickled in, the cinnamon male was impressed by the size of the group. Fox made her appearance though chose to remain on the outskirts – her wound still clearly visible to him and the first thing to draw his gaze in. With a bow of his muzzle to the lady of the creek, his eyes then solely landed upon Bazi. A grin broke through the stoical mask placed upon his features, and as she spoke, he canted his muzzle down to better listen. While he did not understand why, he agreed with a nod, bumping her beneath the chin in submission after.

“Mule deer, anyone?” His rumble was a quiet question, though he did not leave room for an answer. With a small smirk, the large beast turned, beginning to lead the way to the group of deer a bit off. It was a quiet walk – any rumbles of noise were hushed by Scimitar, or at least tried. Minutes stretched on, though patience would win out when they came upon the herd.

Stilling, his eyes flickered over each, a deadpan seriousness within his gaze. Taking each of his comrades in to inspection, he quieted his voice. The group was so large, he held no doubt they could at least grab one. Nodding in the direction of the more sickly doe, he cleared his throat – they were wolf, and as such, they would only prey upon the creatures that would likely not reproduce again to continue the herds that fed them.

“Njal, Danica, Star, Bazi and… you,” he rumbled, his eyes falling upon Razo, a wolf he did not know. “You will take the sickly doe off to the side. Bazi and Star will keep it within your three’s reach – keep it away from the herd and make it’s death swift.” With another quick glance to those remaining he felt a pang at putting Bazi in another sub-party where he could not keep watch on her – but she wanted to be on the outskirts, and the next deer was further within the herd.

“Myself and you four will take the younger doe closer to the middle – follow my lead. If they are too spooked, hooves will possibly fly and we will move away.” There was a pause as he allowed the information to settle – with such a large pack, it was in their best interest to attempt a capture to two – and should any finish with their own deer prior, he could only hope they would attempt to help the other party.

“You, sir and you,” he murmured, nodding to both Galileo and Farkas, “will move to the attack. The other two will fan out and maintain the creature in its spot to keep it from fleeing.” Fox was the only one he had not given orders to – only because if she cared to join, he assumed she would do so on her own circumstances – her injury, however, might hinder her.

With that, he gave a nudge to Bazi’s cheek, if only briefly. Moving to his own group, he regarded each before leading the way to skirt around the herd and opposite the others – within moments, the hunt would begin as Scimitar made sure the other team was ready before traipsing out in the open, stirring the herd to quiet fear. Loping through the deer, he began to test them, some still in form as they did not fear him, others shifting. Glancing back to his own team to assure their readiness, he lunged to the deer he had targeted, causing her to flinch in protest before quickly bouncing away from him in the opposite direction.

The hunt had begun, and the adrenaline coursed through his veins.

Shadow nodded at Scimitar's orders and met his turquoise eyes with his own steely silver ones. He scanned the area and a faint smirk found its way to his lips before he followed Scimitar through the herd of mule deer. Soon he had found the deer and lunged, the deer bounded away to the opposite direction that Scimitar was and Shadow's eyes narrowed in concentration.

Silently, he ran through the herd, his eyes only on the deer that they had targeted. His paws made no sound as they made contact with the ground. In no time, he had arrived near the deer, cutting off one escape path.

His eyes lit up with the fire of the hunt and he smiled.

When the little red wolf spied Galileo, her heart jumped. This was perhaps her closest friend in the pack yet. Waving her tail in greeting, she attempted to lick him on the cheek. She greeted his female companion (Danica) with wariness, however. For her, no lick was spared. Instead, she returned her attention to the leader of the hunt (Scimitar) and noticed his submissive motions. Though she could not be certain, it was most likely he had mistaken her for Fox. She wondered if she would always be living in the shadow of the Alpha, who seemed more fiery and passionate than she ever would be. Her eyes grazed through the gathering of wolves and landed on said female, and to her surprise, the leader was wounded. Little did she know that the wound was from a wolf she had become quite fond of. Not allowing herself to linger on such thoughts, she listened carefully as Scimitar directed them. It seemed she would be in the second group with the young doe, and her job would be to reign the female in. Smiling a little as she realized Galileo would in charge of the attack, she once more attempted to nudge him in encouragement before taking her own position. Scimitar appeared ready, and it was not soon after that she watched his body fly into motion. Her heart jumped. This was too much. She watched as the doe bounced away and instinctively moved to stop her. However, one of the other wolves (Shadow) was able to stop her. Guessing where the doe might bounce to next, she met the animal head-on and barked in order to send it flying back imperfectly to the assigned attackers.

Danica nodded in acknowledgement at Galileo as he approached, offering a small smile. "Sunshine." He seemed preoccupied with Leaf at the moment, so she turned her attention back towards Scimitar, ready to hear what he was going to have them do. There were so many of them that she was glad, for once, not to be expected to offer any advice. This was a large undertaking and at the moment the idea of juggling so many didn't seem ideal. She was confident Scimitar could handle it, though. He seemed to know the ropes.

To her pleasure she was put in a group with Njal and Bazi. The other two she didn't know and wasn't going to comment on... not just now. Moving in beside the Beta and ex-Beta, she gave Bazi a light bump on the shoulder. The white wolfess didn't look entirely thrilled about this hunt. Danica, on the other hand, was glowing with it. "Just like with the foxes, right?" She winked, then looked over their soon to be prize. The doe they would chase was, as always, less than impressive. It was the natural order of things, though one would think nature would tell them to stay away from more sickly looking catches in fear of their own health being affected. Kinda curious. She didn't mind their being put on the less challenging prey. Any hunt was a good hunt and she meant to take this deer down by any means.

The signal was given and she broke off from Bazi with a final touch of encouragement, jogging to where she figured they would herd the doe. She would save her sprint for when it really mattered.

I'll start herding, shall I? :) Important hunt-related text in blue.

Bazi disguised a sigh of relief, and received the nudge with a thrilled little smile. Njal and Danica were wolves whose patterns, speed, and strengths she knew moderately well after chasing after various things - both separately and as a threesome, and that experience would make the hunt seem less of a logistical FUBAR. Razo was probably capable and Star was... fuzzy; she was as painfully bright as Bazi was against the green of summer, and the two beacons together would make good herders.

"Just like with the foxes, right?"

Danica bumped against her shoulder and earned a smile. "Just like the foxes," she agreed, and drew a long, preparatory breath. Scimitar gave the signal, and wolves began to move.

With a sweeping glance at the rest of Team B, Bazi began - at considerable speed - to cut a curved path between the herd and its malaise outlier, forcing the creature to start considering its options.

Before it could do much of anything - blending into the herd was out of the question now - wolves had started to flock in from every angle.

sorry I could not reply sooner! I had no wifi :(

One by one more of the creek's wolves scurried from their hide-outs, leaving behind their activities to join as one. The older male recognized few of the faces that appeared after Scimitar's call broke through the sky. He watched the light colored male that had recently entered the world of parenthood stride at the core of the meeting; Galileo didn't know his name but he made a note of having a proper introduction later when the hunt was over and he could personally give him the truffles.

His attention shifted to a red silhouette that stood at the margins, Fox -the creek's alphess. The senile male flicked his tail in greeting though he doubted she'd notice, she had Bazi by her side. It had been a while since he had spoken to the snow coated female. After she had recruited him she had sorta vanished from his life.

Slowly he turned away and focused on the other two females that hadn't forgotten about him just yet, Danica, and the little redhead --Leaf-- his newest friend. A soft thrumming in his throat accompanied by an enthusiastic wag of his tail conveyed the joy to recieve her gentle kiss. He then turned his face to give Danica a smile and one of his ever so charming bows.

Then before he could ask any of the ladies how they were, Scimitar's voice rumbled again demanding everyone's attention. He seemed to feel confident while handing out chores and instructions and for a second Galileo wondered if he was Fox's future mate; since well he was acting like it. Once his own instructions were given Galileo gave a short nod and prepared to go. He had done this stunt many times before, he knew he had to lock his fangs around the doe's neck and waltz away from the flurry of kicks the animal would provide.

The only difference from the other times he'd done it was that this time he'd have a whole team to back him up and cage the poor creature so that the chase wouldn't be so exhausting.

Edit: A pesky little typo was bothering me. :|

Razo listened lazily as Scimitar went over their division into teams and general roles—assuredly locking his amused eyes with the other male when he was sloppily indicated among the crowd—and considered much of what he said to be especially obvious. He wondered why he thought these wolves were so far removed from their evolutionary instincts that they had to be informed of a particular few of those self-evident details and decided it came down to either a bit of dimness in the designated leader of the hunt or a touch of unwarranted arrogance as he puffed his chest before the watchful eyes of Fox.

Or Bazi, he noted with a gleam in his shrewd gaze at their manifested interaction.

His eyes moved over the four other wolves he’d been assigned with, and then flashed over to Leaf whom he actually had met previously. Strategically, he wanted to swap her into his slice of the group. The weaker prey suited her far better and the other side could have used the startling white fur of Star as spurring compulsion to drive their doe where they wanted her. Ultimately, however, he opted not to bother going over Scimitar’s broad head, as failure for either group with such numbers was positively laughable. He doubted anyone else would notice the ignored potential for increased efficiency. Unless they got into trouble, Razo didn’t care how they got the job done.

As Scimitar set off to incite the clash of pack and herd, Razo lingered where he stood for just a moment. He sidled against Fox and brushed his nose through the soft fur behind her nicked ear before nipping it and striking off at a long lope to join the rest. It was his very particular way of singling her out and asserting that he hadn’t come close to forgetting her.

When he caught up with his team mates he looked to Danica first. I’ll take her left if you’ll take her right. Pull her down when I’m in a position to get my teeth ‘round her throat, he said. He had more weight to drop than she did, but when she lunged from the side she would be lethal and their deer would fall quickly. Razo then glanced at Njal and gestured with a nod of acknowledgement in the direction of the frail yet wild doe as they closed the distance towards her. He would know what to do with his quite solid weight.

With that, he sprung off far to the left, separating himself from the others and the deer although he kept a sharp eye trained on her. He was confident Bazi and Star knew exactly what to do and would push her off towards him. His pace was easy and deliberate, taking care not to spike the alarm levels of their prey.

You guys get post #500!

Fox observed, settling into her position as a watchful leader. She was keen to see how Scimitar handled himself during this hunt as well as the others who had decided to attend. The yearling wanted to know who would step up, if anybody. Who would oppose the hunt's leader? Who would attempt to go off course? Every one of their actions would be scrutinized, whether or not they knew it.

As the groups filtered out and assumed their positions, Fox stood to watch them. Her eyes were particularly drawn to Scimitar and Razo, two of the most logical choices for her children. And yet... the way Scimitar and Bazi acted around one another made Fox question his loyalty and his apparent desire to lead alongside her. Was he courting Bazi? The thought made her heart turn cold, and Fox scowled at the thought of it.

Why would he lead her on if he only intended to take Bazi for his own. And if that happened, would they not just split off into their own thing? The thought left a sour taste in the girl's mouth, and she made a note to keep a close eye on those two. If even once she suspected them of leaving her as Jinx had done, they would be out on their own sooner than their own liking.

Sorry for the wait! Work this week has = constant meetings + sick. :C

New rounds -
Round 3 ends: 21st
Round 4 ends: 24th

Despite the elation at joining with his comrades and the thrill of the chase, there was a nervous churn in his gut that something would go wrong – two deer did not seem ambitious given the size of the group, but what if someone got injured? Star was a tiny thing – as was Leaf. Fox, previously injured, did not seem willing to partake in the hunt itself. Bazi was even nervous, and while his bright eyes threatened to stray from his own task to watch her – reassure himself she was okay – he did not. Instead, his form lumbered heavily to his goal, and in turn, the silver male, Galileo, complimented him perfectly in the attack, and as he noted the other male was willing to grab the beast’s neck, he in turn pivoted to the direction of its rump.

The others maintained the youthful deer within its confines, spare the tawny male Farkas, who did not seem keen to aide his group. A rumbling growl pressed past the lips of the darker agouti male, though for now the wolf would be ignored. Instead, his eyes flashed to Galileo, notifying him that he would aide him for a killing blow as his own jaws sought to grip the deer’s rump, closer to the top of its haunch. The blood flooded, encouraging him, though with a swift buck, his grip was lost. Rumbling, he made to aim again, this time his jaws seeking to grip tighter and pull – awaiting the others to bring it further down.

Glad she could make Bazi smile despite her nerves, she eagerly paused, waiting for the rest of them to catch up. The moment Razo did, however, he issued orders. Danica felt a rush of annoyance at this, for though his rank was a bit higher than she, she had no reason to respect his authority. Fox, or Bazi, that would be different. But him? No way. His words were not a question but a straight up demand. Before she could tell him exactly where he could shove these, however, he sprang away.

She needed to push aside her annoyance, though. She wasn't about to lose this deer just because she let some cocky bastard get to her. Still, her eyes blazed as she went after their target with more determination. She had no choice but to take the actions he had laid out... it was what the group was expecting and to be successful here they needed to be in sync.

Dashing out in a wide arc to the right, she stayed well out of the way of the rest, glancing back once to see that they were getting into position before once more focusing on the doe. She would need to be quick to get around since she figured Bazi and Star would herd the deer more in Razo's direction. That was fine; she would be quick enough. Stretching out into a sprint, she set herself a course to intercept, heading where she was fairly certain that the interception would occur and adjusting as necessary, all the while attuned to where everyone else was.

Shadow flashed a faint smile at Leaf as the deer turned and headed straight to the assigned attackers. Quickly he raced towards the deer to stop it from fleeing again, his eyes gleamed as Scimitar lunged and fastened his jaws at the deer and blood flooded out encouraging all the hunting wolves though he got shook off Shadow was certain that he would get it sooner or later.

Shadow closed in and lunged, jaws snapping at the deer's leg, he leaped back a moment later just in time to avoid the leg kicking back at him. Though he might not have broken it, it drove the deer straight towards its attackers and Shadow could see a slight limp in its running now.

He continued to flank the deer hoping that Leaf was doing the same thing on the other side, she seemed like an intelligent wolf. The deer found an opening and was trotting away, the limp slowing it down. Shadow ran faster and cut away that path leaving the deer again, trotting back to the attacking wolves.

Being demoted to the lowest rank in the Creek was a hard jab for the old male. Even if he had never belonged to a pack, the fact of being in the lowest of the lows was humiliating for him --luckily no Creek wolf was rude about it. He knew it had to do with the fact he was old trash, as helpful as he tried to be Galileo knew he couldn't compete against the young males of the upper tiers.

His thoughts distracted him from the hunt for a brief second, enough to give the doe a couple leaps of advantage. Muttering under his breath, the senile male pushed himself to match the doe's speed. He then caught a glimpse of the male in charge of the whole spectacle, Scimitar, searching for him.

The peppered male nodded back and attempted to get his own teeth on the animal' hips but he aimed to strike at the same time as Scimitar, one of them was quicker to sink their fangs onto the skin and unfortunately it wasn't the secret Devereux

Though when the doe slipped from his companion's grasp, Galileo was quick to counterattack. Propelled by the thick muscles if his hind legs he reached the animal's shoulder, where he attached himself with all his might. Surely the male's weight would drag the prey down, or at least make it trip.

Long, powerful strides full of pent-up vigour created the hunter’s propulsion, and he calculatedly watched as the three females drove their fated prey towards him. When she was in position he waited, and waited, and waited. He kept a measured distance between himself and the ungulate, watching the other members of his team to ensure they were as ready as he was. He might have taken charge of the situation, but he wouldn’t move until he was certain that they were certain. Granted, this didn’t take nearly as long as it felt.

Then his eyes were only on the doe and every movement she made as he readied his body for the impact and snare. With an energetic bound he was shoulder-to-shoulder with their deer, and sickly or not her wild survival instincts were plain to see as a burning flame in her dark eyes. He lunged with every minute shred of strength in his reserves as his teeth made to rip her sleek throat open on the left side. She started to bleed, thick and heavy, but his jaws didn’t move except to close further, crushing the life from her and dropping his weight to slow her as much as he could before Danica and Njal would surely tear her to the ground.

Even if they couldn’t do it in an instant, the doe was finished. Her brain was oxygen-deprived the moment he’d effectively severed her carotid artery.

Blissfully unaware of the "politics" that threatened to interfere with the hunt, the yearling nearly yelped with pleasure as the first blood was drawn--only to realize that her friend Galileo had been dismissed in the process. Wondering if this was a cause for concern, Leaf also was distracted and belatedly realized that Shadow was looking for her to do something. But she did not know what! Seeing the limp on the deer, she figured she needed to either aim for the other leg or merely jump on the prey, though she was uncertain whether this would be effective at all. More actions took place, and before she knew it, Galileo had returned and was now on the deer, and she saw her opportunity to help. Sprinting upwards, she aimed to clamp on the deer's throat, where she could slowly choke it to the ground. The deer began to stumble and sink onto the ground. Leaf continued to leap up, using what little weight she had to pull on the deer's neck.