Heron Lake Plateau Ma'am... Some other sunset

A small pack hunt for whoever wants to join!  I'm aiming for 2-4 additional people and the next round will start whenever we reach the cap or it's June 20th, whichever comes first.  Don't worry if you miss it, assuming this goes well I'm planning on doing more of these!  :D  It's up to individuals who join in if you want to roll for actions or just freeform it -- let's just have some fun!

The rain had tapered off as the day went on and now as the sun started its slow sweep downwards, occasionally peeking through the clouds, Quixote had gone searching to see if this would be the evening that the stars would align and they'd get something bigger than a lake bird in the cache.  Sure, it wasn't the greatest to be running around in the wet, slippery grass (as he had personally found out) but as all things in the wild, life rarely was convenient.  If an opportunity came, it should be taken.

He'd told @Raven of his plans, and that she should hopefully keep an ear out if she wanted to come take her share directly -- after all, she was the main reason he was even bothering.  Okay, sure, the pack could do with a sizable meal, but Quixote was still putting his own interests first, and that didn't bother him at all.  For now, though, he was heading through the northeastern corner of the territory, head low as he searched the scents to see if the deer had come back into their territory again.

Yes, they had.  He followed the fresh scents, the nibbled and trampled grass, up to the side of the lake.  There they were -- this was the herd that @Eljay and himself had been tracking previously -- a few does and fawns, a threatening-looking stag, and a couple of young males that hadn't gone off to find their own fortunes yet.  It was one of the latter that gained Quixote's attention -- though it was just lazily grazing along the shore, something seemed off about it.  Maybe injured?  He couldn't tell very well from his position, but instinct told him that this was what he'd been waiting for, so the alpha tipped back his head to howl.  Hopefully a few were in this part of the territory and would be willing to take it down.

Niamh was in her den, tending to Screech when Quixote called out. Her first thought was perhaps Raven had given birth- but when was she even due? Niamh had no clue how long it took to incubate pups...Butthat was simply a fleeting thought that passed through her mind when she first heard and recognized his voice- but the message was as clear as it needed to be. He was summoning others, and she licked her lips, glancing briefly at Screech who hadn't changed much since he'd woken up. Vague expressions, and he looked at her as though he wasn't sure who she was- or why she was even there. It took a toll on her- as she wondered now if perhaps he had brain damage...Maybe she'd screwed up the last few braincells he had. 

"I'll be back later. Gonna go check out what Quixote wants- I think it's a hunt. I'll bring back leftovers, if I can." She said quietly, voice somewhat flat in tone. She'd been talking to him for days now, and hadn't gotten much of a response. How much longer would he be like that? Would she be taking care of an invalid for the rest of her life? If it was anyone's responsibility, it was hers...But that didn't make it easy. She gave a lick to the top of his head and crawled through the low opening of her den, shaking her pelt briefly before she picked up a lope and headed toward the lake, where his call had come from. 

Her ears perked and she slowed when she caught sight of him, approaching carefully and quietly when she caught sight of the small herd of deer he was watching. Her eyes glanced over them...Some does had already dropped their fawns, which reminded her of the herd of elk she'd been tracking before the whole Screech-coma thing had happened. She wondered where they were now- and if she'd be able to find them again- but at least a herd of deer had chosen to pass through. 

She moved quietly to Quixote's side and lay down on the ground to keep her profile low. She licked her lips again and kept her gaze on the herd, so she too could assess them- their strengths and weaknesses- as they waited for more to come.

As soon as Colt heard the call, he too was quick on the jump... he was always up for a hunt, after all, and it had been a while since he and Quixote had hung out.  He was somewhat surprised, when he arrived, to see Niamh there.  Guess Screech's situation didn't get her a pass, or maybe she was glad to leave.  For Colt it woulda been the latter.  He wasn't the caretaker type.

Soon as he assessed the scene, he slunk down as well, and cast a glance at his friend(s?). So, what was the call? He'd be there for backup and to do his part, but he'd not done enough pack hunting to be a whole lot of use on the strategy part.

The rain earlier in the day had put a damper on Elwood's plans, so when he heard Quixote's howl, he set out to meet the Alpha. He still wasn't used to doing nothing, even in his retirement, so he was glad to have the opportunity to do something useful, even as dusk was falling. He made his way toward the lake, and was rewarded with a small gathering of his packmates and a group of deer a short distance away.

He glanced at Colt with a smile, remembering the last pack hunt that the two of them had participated in (the shit show that had been his children's first organized hunt), then greeted Quixote and Niamh with a quiet chuff and a respectful dip of his chin towards the Alpha male. His gaze then shifted to the quarry as he awaited further instruction.

Thanks for joining! LET'S GOOOO.  No posting order but next round is either on the 27th or when everyone posts, whichever comes first!

As he waited, he watched, hungrily dragging his tongue across his maw.  Though he hadn't been particularly hungry before, the anticipation of it definitely planted the idea in his mind.  Quixote kept an eye on that one young buck in particular, trying to figure out why it was his attention had been drawn there. Its antlers were pretty nubby, so hopefully those wouldn't be much of a danger.  It definitely was moving at a slower clip than the others -- whether that meant it was sick or pretending to not be hurt, he wasn't sure, but it definitely was ringing a dinner bell for any predator able to catch it.

Niamh, Colt, and Elwood all appeared, and he gave each a quick greeting as they joined him.  A fairly good group for this.   Not too many to wrangle, but certainly enough to take down a single deer.  He quietly set out the plan: The young buck that's closest to the lake.  Think it's sick -- more meat on that than the fawns.  If we sneak up and scatter the rest of the herd, it should be easy to chase down.  If we spread out and attack from here, I think they'll split pretty evenly.  Hopefully the stag will go the opposite direction of the target so we won't have to worry about him.  Set up and wait for my signal.  He looked around for acknowledgement, then nodded to indicate it was time to go.

The good thing about this time of year was all the grass -- even though there wasn't as much heavy cover here to hide behind as there were in other territories, the fact grass existed basically everywhere almost made up for it.  Quixote did his best to pretend just to be a stray shadow, slinking along until he got to a comfortable distance, at which point he paused and waited for the others to get into position -- he'd had the shortest distance to walk.

Niamh was pleased to see both Colt and Elwood show up- they had to be capable hunters, simply from experience more than anything. Colt had travelled on his own a lot, from what she understood, and Elwood had to take care of a pregnant mate every year, and Quixote- well, he just had the look of a hunter. He’d already singled out a buck, and Niamh’s eyes were naturally drawn toward it.

He suggested splitting up the herd and she nodded. She was quick on her feet, and would be able to scatter deer no problem. The less they could anticipate, the more they would panic and split up. Zig zagging would probably make them bunch together for security, but if four threats came at them like arrows, they’d split evenly into smaller portions. She made her decision, and headed beyond Quixote, sneaking with her body low to the ground to avoid being spotted before dropping to lay in wait.

Colt was gratified when, after showing up, Elwood gave him a smile.  He'd wondered if he'd be on the man's shitlist still for criticizing Towhee.... while the reaction he'd gotten had soured his own opinion some for a while (he hadn't meant to be an ass about it, but hey, he had concerns) he was over it.  He was glad to see Fin's mate seemed to be letting bygones be bygones also.

It was a good plan that Qui proposed, and Colt nodded once.  Then, when he and Niamh took one direction, Colt took another.  His brown coat came in handy here, blending well as he crept in a loose curve around.  He only popped his head up twice, gauging position, before he found the sweet spot.  Then he too waited... assuming there'd be a signal.

His gaze remained on the deer as Quixote quietly outlined his plans. They matched the suggestions that Elwood might have made; there were plenty of options to choose from, given the size and makeup of this particular group of deer, but the young male pointed out by Quixote seemed to be a perfect target. With four wolves working together, it shouldn't prove to be to difficult to separate him from the herd.

With an affirmative bob of his head that matched Niamh's and Colt's, he slung his belly low to the ground and began to creep away from his comrades, intending to move far enough that he could come at the quarry from another angle in order to maximize their chances of scattering them. When he was in position, he kept Quixote in his peripheral vision, waiting for the cue to spring into action.

Sorry for the delay on this! RNGing up the split... 17 (1= target goes into water, 2-9 = big stag is with target, 10-19 = target not with stag, 20 = target alone).

Feel free to make attacks and such on this round so we can keep things moving, but if you feel like rolling for it, you may want to make it a lower success rate this time!

They melted into the grass, preparing for the chase.  The great thing about them being wolves rather than say, lions or leopards or something was that they actually wanted their prey to run.  Beyond the setup, stealth wasn't particularly necessary -- they'd be able to run down any unhealthy prey with relative ease.  Flattening his ears for a moment, Quixote just barely peeked out of the cover of the grass, getting a better idea of where everyone was settling in to wait.  Seemed like it should work well.  He vanished again, waiting another handful of seconds until there were no further sounds of anyone moving through the grass.  It was time.

There was a whuff before he started towards the herd, the first few steps slow before he appeared out of the grass and quickly got up to speed, heading straight towards the deer that had been picked out.  Even just one wolf would have been enough to startle the herd a few yards on his own, but unless his packmates all got abducted by aliens, they likely would be close behind.  The group of deer would scatter around the edge of the lake, the weakened young buck in the smaller of the groups.  The chase was on.

The sound she heard startled her- but awakened her as well, as she recognized that sound as one belonging to Quixote, who'd signalled the beginning of the chase with a low chuff. As soon as she caught sight of a flurry of movement in the tall grass, she surged forward, snaking her way toward the deer like a golden arrow, as they spooked the herd into action. The dangerous looking stag went in one direction, thankfully, but their chosen target still wasn't quite alone. Their only hope, then, would be to pick off the other deer and separate them from its side. 

As the deer scattered around the edge of the lake, some stayed with their target, so Niamh made the choice to peel a couple away from the buck- a healthy doe and what she assumed was one of last year's fawns, as it was on the slimmer side for a deer. They'd been dogging their target quite closely, but Niamh was quick and like a sheepdog, she seethed forward, aiming for the gap between their heels and uttering a snarl, so that the two does would cut away from their chosen target, and make it easier for them to single him out.

Colt too took off at Quixote's signal, ignoring the buck and others as soon as he noted they were no longer with the chosen objective.  Instead he took note of Niamh, cutting in and harrying a few.

Figuring it was the best way to help, he took the other side, his pelt bristling and a low snarl rumbling constant from his throat.  He needed to spook some as well, and attempted to cut in between, snapping first at the injured target to frighten them, then at the following to force them to turn.  With any luck he'd serve as a sort of wedge, driving them apart and forcing the latter to follow the buck to safer pastures.

The Alpha's quiet command spurred the other three wolves into motion. As Niamh and Colt focused on the deer that had broken away with their chosen buck, Elwood stayed close to Quixote to start. They bore down on the target quickly, and as their companions worked to drive the other animals away, Elwood aimed to run near the quarry's left haunch.

He kept enough distance to avoid the buck's hooves as they churned the dirt and grass; rather than jump the gun and try to swerve close in order to snap at its flank, the experienced hunter waited and kept an eye and ear on his hunting partners. It would only take a split second for the real action to get underway.

I did some rolls to figure out what the deer did, but I didn't write them down, apparently, just the results.  Oops.

The harassment done by Niamh and Colt drove one of the does away from the lake and the deer that remained merely picked up the pace -- but not all of them.   The young buck they were chasing wasn't able to keep up with the final turn of speed and was starting to lag behind.  So there was something wrong with it.  Instinct hadn't been wrong.  A gap started to build as they raced along the lake shore.  The rest of the herd was almost to safety unless something went wrong -- as nature was prone to do, the weakest was being left to the predators.

Quixote would be the first but not the last to make an attack at the lagging buck, snapping at the deer's rear legs.  His teeth grazed its ankle but didn't hold fast.  There was too much movement.  But a tiny bit of blood was spilled, enough that the wolves would all be able to smell it.  Quixote hadn't done enough damage to mess up the buck's stride -- adrenaline kept it at a fairly even pace, even if that was slower than what would keep it alive.  An end to the hunt was within reach if everyone did their parts.

She took care to steer the doe away from their chosen target, with Colt aiding her on her other side. The last thing she'd want would be an overprotective herdmate to turn and help him escape, so she growled menacingly and snapped at the doe's heels, spurring her forward at a remarkable pace and away from the young buck they'd chosen, which had begun to lag behind the rest of them. 

Quixote had managed to get it off stride for a moment, but not quite enough to bring it down. Niamh didn't have the weight to sling around, but she was extremely quick with her long, spindly legs, so she veered back toward the buck, which had no choice but to go either forward or into the lake- and the latter was certainly a death wish. She was able to gain ground, coming in at an angle, and when she came within close enough proximity to make a snap at the buck's legs, she'd arrived at its fore, and leapt forward to snap at its near shoulder, hoping if nothing else to cause it to balk, so the others could catch up, surround, and take it down.

Colt wasn't able to successfully divert them all, but the gap was widening.  Seeing this, he continued to spur on the ones he was chasing, staying ahead of the one that Quixote was harrying.  With a few more snarling snaps to encourage them away, he wheeled about.

Now that he was in a position at it's fore, he lunged, hoping to force it to balk.  When it ran by, he would likely strike for its side, attempting to avoid any stray kicks in the process of tearing a piece and slowing it more.

In the next few seconds, Colt and Niamh refocused their attention on pursuing the target. A quick glance told Elwood that their attempt to drive the other deer away had been successful. The buck was essentially isolated, and between the four of them, he knew that success was imminent.

As Niamh and Colt lunged at it from the front, the deer faltered. There wasn't room for evasive action, with Elwood and Quixote flanking it towards the rear, and Elwood took the opportunity to sink his teeth briefly into its hindquarter. The deer stumbled but kept its footing as Elwood tore away and backed off to avoid its flailing hooves; surely the next attack by one of his companions would be the final blow.

Kill itttt! :P

Quixote apparently had pretty bad timing but if something was going to go wrong, of course it was gonna happen to him.  As Colt and Niamh made the deer reel away from them, he'd dove to try to get a bite in.  It was, needless to say, a complete miss and for his troubles one of the deer's rear hooves hit a glancing blow off his chest and shoulder.  He was probably lucky it didn't crack the forward edge of his scapula, but he was pretty sure that pain he felt now was a nice cut on top of the brand new bruises-to-be.  And he just healed up, too!

The hit had made him fall behind in comparison to the others, but it wasn't going to take him too horribly long to catch up catch up, especially since Elwood had scored a nice hit on the buck -- it slowed, starting to favor the leg that had been bitten.  It should be pretty easy for the rest to swarm it.  Given his proximity, Quixote would probably just have to bring up the rear and make sure it stayed dead when he got there, ignoring the pain thanks to a handy dose of adrenaline.  Give him a few minutes and he'd be limping along, too.

I did a roll to see if Niamh could go for the kill and she got it? I’ve also never been in a group hunting thread before where my wolf has gone for the kill so I’m OMG EXCITE

They had the buck right where they wanted it. Niamh’s heart raced as the creature balked and she sent Colt a look with bright, hungry eyes as he aided her in causing it to falter and double guess which way it should go. In any other situation, her brief gaze would have looked incredibly similar to a sexytime gaze- when in reality, she was just hungry- like, for food. 

As the others closed in, Niamh saw her opportunity and seized it, lest the buck wrest itself from their favourable position. At the buck’s fore, she cleverly dodged a strike from one of its ling forelegs and whipped around, using her own momentum to launch herself up into the air so she could catch the buck just behind its jaw where the flesh was softest. Her teeth found their mark, and she clamped down hard, allowing her bodyweight to pull the buck’s head down abruptly, causing it to stumble. She maintained her grasp on the buck’s windpipe as it gasped fruitlessly for air, and continued to dodge a few strikes with its closest foreleg, but before long, it began to tire; it would soon be all over for the deer, and the victorious wolves would at last begin to feast.

Yay Niamh!

In the next few seconds, it was all over for the deer. While Quixote and Elwood remained near its hindquarters (and Elwood glanced sharply at Quixote, making sure the Alpha was okay after sustaining a kick to the chest), Niamh was able to weasel her way up toward the animal's head. She made an impressive leap and Elwood watched as she sank her teeth into their prey's neck, just behind its jawline, and her attack was enough to break its forward momentum. It stumbled and as Niamh worked her magic on its throat, Elwood surged forward and managed to seize one of the flailing forelegs in his jaws.

He wrenched back and away, and the deer pitched forward, seeping blood from its neck wound and no longer able to battle the four wolves.

augh I forgot about this sorry! Luckily I got an hour <3

Colt didn't see what made the deer fall, from the opposite side.  He was to focused on tearing at whatever he could - mostly the hindquarters - to do his part in forcing it to slow.  But something did, and suddenly the buck buckled, confirmed as theirs now.

Colt hopped back and circled the now fallen and dying deer, wanting badly to howl because hell yeah, they'd done it! But he still wasn't sure how Qui was about all this authority shit, and didn't want his friend to feel like Colt was stealing his thunder.  So he waited instead.

Woo!  If anyone wants to make a cameo post now, feel free. :D  Other than that, we can pretty much wrap up now, so I'll archive the thread in another week or so, post if ya want! -- I swear completing hunts is the weirdest part, haha.

It was down.  Still struggling a bit but that would end by the time he caught up -- especially since as soon as it seemed they had things under control, Quixote's pace dropped to a walk.  The wound on his shoulder was starting to sting now that he was more aware of it.  Could have been worse, and this was definitely easy to patch up.

As he limped his way up to the now-dead deer, Quixote raised his head and howled.  Though he specifically called for Raven, there was an open call for everyone else to show up too if they wanted to partake -- otherwise they were just gonna have to deal with the leftovers.  Licking his chops, he went to sit down at the deer's belly and start trying to chew a nice opening into the hide so they can all feast.  It was kind of weird that he'd get to eat first, but he was also sort of taking his time to give Raven a chance to show -- he'd rather give her the first picks.  Either way, everyone would certainly get their turn and spend the rest of the day with a full stomach.

Last post from me.

Niamh clenched her jaws, moving occasionally to avoid the stag's movements, but the others were there to assist in keeping it still until the lack of oxygen did so. She eventually let the deer's head fall to the ground and she glanced around, assessing the condition of her packmates, and it was only when she was greeted with th sight of three healthy, uninjured packmates that she really felt the elation of a successful hunt kicking in. 

Quixote called for Raven and naturally, there was a feeding order that would be established regardless of the fact that she had been the one to make the kill. In the time she waited for her superiors to arrive and feed, she made her way over to Colt- a fair strut in her stride- and bumped her shoulder against his, tucking her muzzle beneath his chin affectionately and rumbled a low, proud growl. She was pleased with herself for making the kill- and hoped that it was something that attracted Colt, too. Once it was her turn, Niamh set in to feed, eating until her belly was full before she stole away with a bit of meat to put into a cache- a midnight snack, maybe, or breakfast.

My last post as well! Thanks for the fun hunt thread! :)

A feeling of accomplishment swelled in Elwood's breast when the chase finally ended. It was even better since the kill had required the teamwork of his packmates. A solo hunt was always satisfying, but bringing down larger game and working so intricately with other wolves always filled him with pride.

Quixote announced to the rest of the pack that there was a meal ready and waiting, and he specifically requested Raven's company. Following the hierarchy without any problem -- despite the fact that he had held Quixote's own position for over a year -- Elwood waited until it was appropriate for him to eat, and then enjoyed the fruits of their labor.

Once he noticed it (he was a little busy, after all!) he was in fact highly impressed with Niamh's display, and the strut seemed to him fairly well earned.  He shot her an appreciative look as she came in, but waited his own turn, looking off for the rest of the pack to arrive.  Soon as they did, he'd join as well, digging in with a gusto to the well won spoils.