Blacktail Deer Plateau we are the crazy people.

Hi new packies! :)

My God... they had gotten BIGGER! It had been nearly a full year since Finley Blackthorn had laid foot upon the Teekons, and yet there she stood in the same position she had, eyeing the same herd of prey and absolutely tingling with eager anticipation. Her eyes cascaded across the reddish brown heads of what seemed like a thousand deer, slide down their lean backs and onto the black tufts of tail. They were so peaceful, so sweet, and so delectably unaware that they were being stalked by a silver fox of a wolf crouched beneath the brush some miles away.

It was exactly as Fin had remembered, and that was exactly what had inspired her to join the pack that had claimed this place as their own.

While she had played the part of the innocent, helpless young wolf, she was pretty certain the alpha that had greeted her had seen right through her. She never could reel in the mischief that sparkled in her honeyed chocolate eyes. Fortunately, it seemed the wolf had seen it for the fire it truly was and had welcomed her to join their ranks. After leaving her to explore on her own, Fin had made a beeline for the lake that she recalled being surrounded by the most delightfully succulent ungulates she had ever seen (she had never seen a whale... no doubt the ecstasy would kill her).

And there they were. And there she was, creeping slowly forward until her nose just poked into the outer layer of leafy green shrubbery. With a belly full of rabbit babies, her desire to take chase had little to do with hunger. It had a great deal more to do with that dazzling fire in the Blackthorn's eyes and the toothy grin that slowly unfurled upon her face.

Hi!

He had been on the other side of the lake when Dante caught sight of a strange wolf creeping along. His curiosity had gotten the better of him and thus he had approached, keeping silent so as not to alert her of his presence just yet. He waited first until he caught a whiff of her scent, confirming her as a packmate and non-threat, before letting his presence be known. If he'd had to chase her off a sneak attack would have made a more lasting impression. As it was, that was hardly going to be necessary now.

He crept into what he supposed to be her line of sight before stopping. He remained silent, unsure as to what her motives were in skulking about but not wanting to ruin whatever it was she might be doing. Instead he waited, patiently, for her to finish up. It appeared she might be stalking something, though what he hadn't the faintest clue.

Thanks for joinin'!

Finley's tail begun to flick back and forth at the tip like a kitten waiting to leap on a ball of string when suddenly she froze in surprise as another wolf entered her line of sight. Immediately her mind went on over drive. What was he thinking!? He was right in front of them, any second they were going to see him!! Well no, the grass was decently tall and the deer herd was downhill... But they would smell him OH GOD OH GOD!! Wait. The wind. The wind was blowing their scent away from the herd. If only she were less oblivious when she was engaged with something that excited her. She'd probably have fewer heart attacks.

"Hi!" Fin whispered eagerly as she crept out from the bushes she had called hiding spot. "I'm Fin, I'm new around here." She wagged her tail with a friendly smile, still looking up at him because she had yet to stand up. And apparently she wasn't going to either.

The scent of deer hit him the moment that the look of panic flashed across the female's face. It was gone as soon as it came, but Dante still crouched down to hide even better from her prey, which he now knew to be a herd. He was surprised he hadn't scented them sooner. He had been so focused on her unfamiliar presence though.

"Pleasure to meet you, Fin. My name is Dante, Gamma here on the Plateau." She was still down, understandably so however. He liked the impression he got so far, in any event. She was perfectly friendly and seemed enthusiastic. He looked out at the deer. They were a lofty goal for a single wolf. It was possible, but not in any way easy. "You taking them on solo?" He asked, not questioning her abilities but more curious than anything.

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She liked him. Fin wasn't sure what it was about him, but something about the strange male made her feel comfortable. It was nice that the first pack mate she came upon made her feel this way, she reflected for a second with a smile. That was about as introspective as she got as his next question stole her intrigue.

"Oh yeah!" She responded in whispered enthusiasm, "I do this all the time, don't you?" It somehow failed to occur to the Blackthorn that he thought she planned on hunting them. In her mind, everyone just knew things. She often took giving the benefit of the doubt to a whole new level. The fact that others probably didn't make a game of chasing deer and trying to get the stag to charge was beyond her comprehension.

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"I mean, I have, but not usually." Dante didn't understand her meaning, still thinking that she would be attempting to take down the deer. He still wasn't great on the ideas of playing or doing things purely out of enjoyment. The whole not having a childhood thing meant he was still catching up on some of those concepts.

He had to see this, though. If she did this often, perhaps she had a method or some skills that could prove useful in learning. And if something went wrong, he could always jump in to help. "Mind if I watch?" He asked, curious. He wouldn't be offended if she told him to get lost.

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Finley smiled as her packmate responded. Of course he had played this game before, everyone had. It was one of the best games out there! Her tail began to wag swiftly as he asked permission to watch. She couldn't help but wonder at how perfect this new pack was that she had joined. Were all of the wolves here so similar to her in their hobbies? Not a single part of Fin doubted that it was so.

"Sure!" the Blackthorn responded happily, "Maybe once I'm done, you can take a turn too! Well, unless I succeed too well." She gave her companion a wink and turned to scamper off towards the herd without waiting for a reply.

In Fin's world, to succeed too well would be to piss the stag off so badly that it refused to stop chasing her even after she had escaped the herd. It wasn't all that typical--usually it chased her only till it was satisfied that she wouldn't be coming back. Then it would return to its herd and follow them as they thundered away to safety.

Sometimes though, she got lucky and the chase lasted rather a while. Hopefully today was one of those days. She didn't want to fail to impress her new packmate by not at the very least getting herself nearly impaled on an antler tine after all.

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"Perhaps so!" He responded, still incorrect in his reading of the situation. He was excited to see this. He doubted she could catch every deer in the herd if that was what she was referring to but liked her fire. It was a bit catching.

Dante took a few steps forward and prepared to watch, remaining standing. If anything went wrong he would need to be ready to be there in an instant. Maybe overly paranoid but Dante was a cautious guy. He hadn't lived this long by leaving things up for chance, and she was in a pack now. Backup came with the package.

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She could feel her excitement like electricity flowing through her veins. Fin loved showing off almost as much as she enjoyed the actual activity she was doing in order to show off. The silver woman never said no to a challenge, and she definitely never said no to an audience either.

The woman crept slowly towards the herd, her gaze shifting across antlerless heads until upon a handsome set of tines. Oh how glorious would be her prize, and how sweet her victory. Closer and closer she stalked them. They were so beautiful, so strong, so delightfully unaware of her presence. Finally, she came to a point where she knew she could go no further without them discovering her. Unfortunately for them, they were going to do it on her terms and hers alone.

Finley bided her time for as long as her body would allow her. The deer wandered apart from each other as they were grazing, suddenly leaving a path open between her and the stag. In an instant she was off, heading straight into the herd, and straight for that beautiful rack of antlers.

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Her excitement was catching and he too felt the electricity even as he simply watched. This soon turned to shock and then alarm as she immediately took off for the largest buck in the herd. Was she insane, taking on such a creature herself? She was going to get herself killed! All hunters knew that one only took the weak... Even Dante's birth pack had only taken king stags on special occasions. Life needed to continue and the herd needed him to reproduce.

What was she thinking?!

Dante headed towards her and the herd at the quickest charge he could manage. He knew he wouldn't be quick enough to intercept her but perhaps he could help when things inevitably turned ugly.

Feel free to PP the stag and/or any other deer! I was thinking we could use the dice roll thing, except I have no idea how to do it or how it works Xx;;

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Black eyes seemed to lock onto hers of warm chocolate as the girl ran, avoiding hooves and legs as the herd noticed her at last and took flight. All except for the stag, who planted its hooves and lowered its antlers as though accepting her challenge. Finley's brows furrowed and her lips peeled back from her teeth in a grin you'd only see on the face of an adrenaline junky like her.

She slowed her pace as she approached the stag, knowing better than to run full throttle and impale herself on that tantalizing rack (...of antlers). It wasn't the sterling woman's intent to bring the beast down by any means. She just wanted to play with him a little, and what was more fun than a game of chase where one's life was at stake? As she neared him, she suddenly switched directions and ran in a wide circle around it as it realized her game and began to thrash its head at her in rage. It was then that she noticed with absolute delight that her new packmate had joined the game!

Finley slid to a stop as the stag turned to face her, stamping its hooves madly. She bowed playfully, her tongue rolling out of her mouth as she barked happily to Dante, her tail wagging to show her pleasure. Turning back to her opponent, she gritted her teeth and grinned, her joyfully wagging tail turning from a waving banner to a serpent flicking back and forth as it waited to strike its prey. Now the games were really about to begin.

The stag reared and stamped its hooves as though in agreement.

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Ugh, sorry on the wait! Life has had me jumping! For dice roll you simply do /roll *1d8 but without the asterix. It makes a random number: 8
I am all for using it on critical movements if you like! I also don't mind just going with whatever you want to happen either ;)

At Finley's playful bark Dante pulled up short, staring at the girl, the deer momentarily forgotten. Was she... was she actually playing right now? She had been running from, not after, the deer. Her stance was not that of a hunter either, nor were her antics in line with trying to take down any of the prey around her. Instead she was posturing to the stag as though in a spar with it, pose challenging but not lethal.

This girl was off her rocker. Dante wondered that she hadn't gotten herself killed yet doing such things. He wondered if he should leave her to it, but he couldn't do that. She was pack, one of his family, and stupid though she may be he wasn't about to leave when she was trying to face off against a stag.

He opened his mouth to say something, but shut it once more as one of the does bumped against him in it's efforts to get away. Honestly he doubted he'd be able to talk any sense into her anyway. It was too late for that. The stag was challenged and answering back, the stamp of its hooves a clear indication as to its inclinations right now. Right then.

Giving a loud growl, he caught the stag's eye when its head turned to locate the noise. That's right, come on. Stiff legged and menacing, he advanced, hoping the deer would either come at him instead of her or think twice of the entire thing and skidaddle.

Thank you for explaining that to me! :D

For a moment, nothing else seemed to exist as the stag and the Blackthorn stared each other down. Anticipation trickled down the long black streak upon her spine as they held each other's gaze, each waiting for the other to make the first move. It didn't occur to her to wonder what her packmate must have thought of her in that moment--bowing to a lethally antlered, powerful stag as though they were just two pups about to get into a spirited wrestling match. The only thing that mattered was the next move, which came very suddenly as the stag lost its patience and charged.

Stag 2 & Fin 3

Finley hesitated only a moment, simply because she was a lover of the art of close calls, before she darted to the right. The stag thrashed its antlers as it charged, just barely catching her on the flank as she leaped out of harm's way. Fin ran a few yards before she twisted around to face the deer again, laughing all the way. The hit had just barely grazed her skin, so it went unnoticed by her. She slid into a crouched position as she turned, her eyes dancing from the stag as it turned again to face her to her packmate.

"Alright, it's all you this time!" Fin barked to him as the stag turned again to stamp and wail furiously in their direction. For a moment, it seemed as though it was going to charged again at the sterling female, but suddenly (3+ it's after you!) Stevie rolled a 4, and its attention turned completely to Dante as its legs began to move and it lowered its rack to face pointed tines against the gamma's flesh and fur.

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Dante's breath caught as the stag charged at Finley, the crazy wolf barely getting out of the way in time. She was actually laughing right now. Dante had a good sense of humor, for sure, but he was no thrill seeker. His personality was too calm, more of a steady solid presence than the fire that surrounded his packmate at the moment. She was practically glowing. And Dante? Dante was nervous.

Imagining all of the scenarios where this game could take a seriously wrong turn, he braced himself, snarling at the stag whose attention turned towards him. He could tell there was no way that he was going to get Finley to see reason if the present situation was any indication. Nor could he leave her. His only course of action was to try and chase the stag off before anyone got hurt.

Stag: 8 Dante: 4
Oh my...

The stag, however, was not impressed. Maddened by the creatures that dared oppose it, the magnificent creature let loose a throaty bellow, then charged, rack held low and aiming to gore the Gamma should he stay where he was. Leaping out of the way, Dante hit the ground in a roll, then bounded back to his paws. That hadn't gone as planned, not one bit. For a moment it seemed to consider them both, then once more seemed to focus on the smaller target: Finley. "I really think we should get going," Dante called to her, an attempt that he didn't put much faith in. He had to try.

Finley could scarcely breathe from excitement as the stag turned its attention to her new packmate. She turned to Dante with a huge grin shining on her muzzle, fully expecting him to be just as thrilled as she was that it was his turn to face him down. She couldn't see his face from where she stood, but she had no doubt that he was just as excited. The silver female growled in frustration as she was forced to leap a few bounds away from him as the rest of the stag's herd went streaking by, but she turned just in time Dante roll out of harm's way.

Finley barked a few happy barks that swept into a joyful, short howl. She literally was bouncing with glee. It took her a moment to realize that the stag's gaze was on her again. Dante's words were not lost upon the adrenaline-crazed female. Maybe it was time to get going. After all, the rest of the herd had passed and it wouldn't be long before their leader went with them, as angry as it was with the two wolves that had ruined their peace.

Finley shot a glance at Dante and gave him a huge wink that was meant to reassure him that they could be on their way, but instead probably suggested that they had only just begun. The female turned her attention to the stag just in time to see it charge, but Fin luckily didn't need a dice roll to decide that she would make it away safely. In the same moment it began to charge, she turned and bolted in the other direction, barking to Dante to follow suit. She sprinted harmlessly back towards where the pair had begun the "hunt", listening as the stag's footsteps slowed an changed direction.

Finley ran until she had reached the brush where she had been hiding not too long before then where she slowed to a stop, turning quickly to see how her packmate had fared in their escape.

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When her only response to his comment was to give a large wink and turn towards the enraged animal once more, Dante felt a wave of exasperation come over him. This changed to relief when, instead of running at the stag as he half expected her to do, she charged in the opposite direction, her barks indicating that he should probably follow. Like he wasn't.

Taking off after her, he in no way was going to surpass her, but did not fall too far behind either. In any event, he got well away from the stag, his only goal at the moment.

"You.... you are crazy," he said when he caught up to her, breath short from the sprint and from adrenaline. "What the hell?" He was sincerely curious what possessed her to take up such a dangerous pastime... there was no way in hell Dante would ever do something like that himself. He couldn't fathom it.

Fin smiled broadly as Dante returned to the sidelines with her, wagging her tail expectantly of the joy he was about to share with her at their little rendezvous with danger. His attitude when he came within reach of her threw the girl for a moment, but she brushed it aside and carried on with her excitement, though a little hesitantly.

What do you mean? she asked, shaking her head though still smiling. I thought you said you'd done that before..? Her mind raced back to when she had first come upon him. Fin distinctly remembered him saying he had played this game before, although he did admit that he didn't typically do so. Was it possible he hadn't known what they were about to do? No, of course not. Of course he had known. She watched him, puzzling over what else she could have even been talking about?

She seemed a bit put out by his reaction, which caused him to take a breath and shake his head. "No offense, but that's not something I normally do." He laughed a bit at the misunderstanding. "I thought you were going to hunt the deer, not antagonize them! Is that something they do often where you come from?" He was seriously wondering where the heck she had learned this from. He had never seen a wolf play with their food quite like that.

Some wolves were thrillseekers, though. They sought the fight, the challenge, the next exciting thing. He had been one when he was younger, so really, he could understand the drive. But that had been a long time ago, and he had changed much since then.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

His words rang a bell somewhere in the female's mind, and she responded with laughter. What a silly misunderstanding! She could only imagine what must have been going through his mind as she took off after the stag. Thinking back, he had looked rather intense as he ran out to join her. And not in a super-focused-on-the-game kind of way.

"Oh my gosh... That is hilarious..." she chortled, but stopped suddenly as she finally correctly interpreted the look on his face. Her ears fell slightly and she gave a meek grin, "Sorry... I guess... I have some kinds of different hobbies..." She turned her gaze down to her paws, suddenly feeling very dumb. Her first act as a new member of the pack probably shouldn't have been to nearly get the gamma killed.

He chuckled back, hopefully helping her to realize there were no hard feelings behind the misunderstanding. Despite the fact that they had wildly different opinions on what was 'fun', he couldn't deny that he enjoyed the blood racing through his veins currently. Finley had some guts, he could respect that.

"It takes all kinds, right? Nothing wrong with that. Just please do try not to get yourself killed?" He responded, somewhat joking, somewhat not. Hopefully she didn't regularly face off with dangerous beasts. A little excitement was all well and good but they needed packmates who knew their own value. Somehow he doubted she was really looking to injure herself though. Just a bit of sport.

Fin leaned her head over and scratched behind her ear with a back leg to calm her nerves the wolfy way. She felt a little anxious now that the mishap had been brought to the surface. And also, the fact that her first interaction with a packmate was to make him face something that wanted them dead. That uh... that wasn't great.

The wolf seemed to be fairly good-natured about it, though. His soft laugh made the Blackthorn feel more at ease. Relaxed enough to not be embarrassed when he offered some words on the matter. She gave a tiny smile while biting her bottom lip as she nodded in agreement.

Haven't died yet and hadn't really planned on doing it anytime soon, she quipped, But just for you, I'll double my efforts for survival.

Last post from me! Finley is adorable, thanks for the thread! Love her so much XD

"I appreciate the thought," he responded, enjoying her spirit. She seemed an upbeat personality and would likely do very well here. There was something about her that put one at ease and made their day just a bit brighter. His was, despite the stress of the encounter. She was obviously quite the adrenaline junkie.

"I look forward to seeing you around, Finley. Maybe next time we can do my idea of a chase," he said, turning to go. If she was practiced at taunting stags then she probably was a pretty decent hunter. The thrill, he found, was more fun when there were actual stakes involved. He'd enjoy testing her out sometime, even though as a pair they would likely come home empty. It would be fun to make an attempt.

Fin giggled as he responded. She liked this man, as little as she knew about him. There was something just... likeable about him. She could tell fairly well by his demeanor that he was not the sort that enjoyed the type of extracurriculars that she did. But that could change... Fin could see to it.


Her brows lifted slightly as he suggested they try his version of a "chase" sometime. She was intrigued by the idea, but it struck her as being more adorable than formidable. I look forward to it, the Blackthorn replied with a grin as her gave her a final smile and parted her company. She pondered after him for a moment after he was gone, then turned away herself and headed back to the tracks left by the departed herd. Somewhere there was a stag that she wasn't sure she had gotten all of her enjoyment out of.