Broken Antler Fen and, oh, that heart

hunt dice roll
Conditions: mostly cloudy. 27°F.
Time: early morning

it was upon praimfaya's patrols of the borders that she initially came across the scent of foxes — pungent and unmistakable — leading into roangeda's claim. within the throes of the famine that now grips and leeches the life from the wilds like a parasite, praimfaya abandons her patrol for the sake of following the scent trail while it is still strong, if not a few hours old. life will be hell, evermore's words echo in her head. still, praimfaya is confident, roangeda will survive this. against all and every odd stacked against her, praimfaya, with the help of the kru she has welcomed into the fold has seen roangeda become reality from what had been an impossible mission. her. a child.

a commander is a commander, regardless of their age. linkoln's 'voice' in her mind briefly startles her. the claimed 'spirit' of the first wanheda was radio silent most days.

praimfaya pauses at one of the small streams that trickle thru the fen to lap at the cool, crisp water before she continues on the trail of the foxes. three, she thinks. there was a twinge of illness to their scents though whether it was from the famine or because they were old and pre-disposed to illness she couldn't glean from scent alone. nevertheless, she is patient in her stalking of them, waiting to see if any other roankru would join her on her hunt.

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On her own patrol, she had caught wind of the foxes too and decided it was a worthwhile enough venture to put her patrol on hold for now. She could return later, of course. The newly-minted skairipa came tracking them from a vantage point different from Praimfaya--but was bound to converge soon with every stride that she honed in on.

A few moments after reaching the creek, she realized she was not alone on the cause. She lifted her sights to spot the silvered girl and her own outlook bolstered, even without knowing in full what the young worlida could do--Opalia had no qualms, herself, trusting the swing of her own teeth (and perhaps a hint overeager, after having been laying somewhat low on the offense after heading south); now if only Dacio may be near, she knew they would get something done here today before the foxes could come to squander any scraps that belonged to Roangeda. She dipped her muzzle low over the trail once more and picked up her pace to move in closer to Praimfaya, quiet with her footfalls, but with a knowing look on her face and steps alike.

After a beat, she still thought she liked their outlook here so far and she was keen to shake loose. What she tracked on now was definitely warmer than her earlier efforts. They must not be far, now, speaking low in their tongue, she smirked and gestured towards the path leading on.

praimfaya, though determined to attempt to catch one of the three foxes that had come to call the fen home whether she was joined by another or not, was glad to hear the approach of footfalls. two sets of teeth were infinitely better than one and together they stood a higher chance of being successful. she expects to see aleks, dacio or ingram joining her because it is those three whom are often in her presence. she is pleasantly surprised to recognize that it is the pale form of opalia instead. aside from their initial meeting, there wasn't much opportunity for the two of them to really get to know one another. roangeda becoming an actual pack left praimfaya busy: busy with her wanheda training, busy looking for isi — whose life she believes to be in danger — with almost desperate abandon.

no, praimfaya murmurs in quiet agreement to opalia's observation. if we're lucky, the famine will have worn them down too. admittedly, nobody was at their full strength and knowing that their prey suffered as well would make the playing field as balanced as it would be would they not be stricken by famine. either way, praimfaya thinks confidently as she moves down the path opalia gestures to, they will be successful. they had to be.

her steps slow and then halt when the familiar bottle tail comes into view, streaking into the underbrush that rustles from impact. she lowers herself instinctively — though she doubts the dark green will do much to hide her. they yip at each other in their high pitched call that causes the worlida's guard hairs to prickle. the underbrush in the distance rustles again and two come tumbling out, nipping at each other. playing, praimfaya realizes with a rush of relief.

opalia and her still had the element of surprise then.

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When first he detected the scent of fox, Dacio felt the familiar spike of guard hairs along his dorsal. His lip curled briefly to reveal bared fangs in distaste, frustration gripping him at the possibility of these creatures robbing Roangeda of what little prey might still make their home in the fen.

He followed the trail, not at all surorisedsurprised to find that he was not the only one to pursue their most recent trespassers. Grey-green eyes swept over his sister and young ward as he moved in close to greet them both with a low growl of encouragement.

"How shall we do this?" Dacio asked in a hushed tone, lifting his speckled crown to look out across the clearing and see a trio frolic and yip together - just out of their reach.

Since she liked prospects here and now, she found she could find an acceptable stride easily enough even with all the unknowns she does still sense trailing her every move--ones from the lands themselves, the wolves among it, and all else between. But these are good bonding times, she knows, having felt the rush of brandishing teeth against prey and foe alike, and relishing the reward it may reap.

Thinking, next, of the foxes' welfare itself, her expression curved and she did have to wonder about what her silvered comrade mention--or did they subsist well enough on scraps? Did they struggle less in these lean times since they were small? She hoped that they were not far behind their larger canine cousins.. and that together, they might be able to get a jump on them. Her ears cupped forward and nose twitched, eager, anticipating the growing scents--and..!

She didn't expect to see them playing so casually, not that she had put much thought into what she did want from them besides being fresh, easy meat. It reigned her back for the second, and in this pause she realized her brother's proximity, there to further bolster her confidence and morale in one fell swoop. One of us could rush wide.. ambush-style, try to veer them towards the others next, she offered so very quietly, glancing first to Dacio naturally, then Praimfaya in case she had a better answer for him. Opalia could fill the role of speed, of course, and was used to it. Or, they could always just each pick one and run them down individually, charging them all at once. She was open to either, up for anything, and quick-witted to keep suggesting if both of her fellow hunters were outright against what she had brought so far. Or... we could all just go for it, of course, she snickered softly, confident that the trio of them could outwit and out-muscle their kind; though she preferred a little more thought behind it all at the end of it, she hadn't had an opportunity like this in so long--and why not get to know their worlida even better this way?

oof, sorry for my mega late reply on this.

for a long moment praimfaya is silent, content to watch their quarry in their natural habitat, wanting to think their kills would be easily won but not wanting to let confidence make a fool of her. dacio was quick to join them, and praimfaya looks to her klikalida at his hushed inquiry, her frostbound gaze flickering to opalia as she lays out potential routes they could take — one could herd them towards the two wolves waiting; ambush, versus just hurling themselves at the foxes and seeing who would run out of energy first.

the tacitician in praimfaya leaning towards the first option, the young worlida's mind is already made before she opens her mouth to speak, i say we go ambush style. in her mind, it made their chances of success slightly higher than the last option. who will chase? praimfaya asks, thinking that perhaps she is not the best suited for that. though she has not displayed too much clumsiness she isn't willing to pit her luck against her currently too-big-for-her paws. nevertheless, she allows opalia and dacio to choose where they will go first, content to take what position is left.