Laksha was insatiably hungry. Her stomach and head roared in anger, setting her to find food. NOW. Her pupils narrowed to mere slits as she roamed the mountains, looking for something! The voices grew louder as she took longer to find food. Consume, kill, kiilll.... They hissed. Her head swung wildly. Where was food? She turned to the sound of bleating nearby. A herd of mountain goats. She purred softly, tail twitching. Fooodd....
She hugged the mountainside, staying out of sight. Her bright white pelt was noticable by all. If she let them see even a glimpse of her, they would instantly bolt. The cougar climbed as high as she could up the mountain, attempting to drop on them from above. She succeeded in getting above them, purring as she looked down on them. She didn't bother choosing the weakest. She was so hungry...
With a yowl, she pounced, landing on the back of a female, who screamed in agony as her fangs and claws sunk into its body. Choking off her prey, she dashed after another, grabbing it by the leg and dragging it off the cliff and letting go, watching as it tumbled down the mountain. Laksha laughed madly, dragging the female's body over the edge, letting it fall down as well before she climbed down after them.
It had been an interesting handful of days here upon the Sunspire, and Amekaze's attention felt pulled in several different directions all at once. With Swiftcurrent matters having reached a curious climax, their captives here and Fox evidently keen to abandon even more than just a juvenile she brought to a fight -- but her whole pack as well, Ame's thoughts lingered to them more than once.
And, it was the intrusion of Danica that upped her vigilance accordingly. Despite smarting wounds from the altercation that had followed, she roved purposefully with her head low and stride long. A few scabbing gashes and bruises were not going to hold her down. Not with so much going on now.
When she was not so far off, a screech caught her attention. Ears pricked and eyes squinting, she wondered who was hunting the goats (successfully, from the sounds of it?), so she picked up a lope to carry her closer so that she may investigate.
But this stopped abruptly as she slowed up at the sight she saw, nimbly navigating the mountain surfaces in the meanwhile. Stark white against the scenery was a feline shape and Amekaze's instincts prickled angrily. Intruder came first, rival predator right along with it (killing their goats, no less!), but the glaring... oddity of it was quick on the heels of all these realizations. A cougar was ominous on its own, but one dressed unnaturally all in white was downright unsettling. Ghostly, almost. Amekaze frowned.
Carefully she lurked a wide arc around the beast, observing its motions from over the rocky terrain when she was able all while willing it to take its meal and leave this place immediately. She aimed to remain downwind, so long as the breezes did not shift suddenly, and moved delicately. Underestimating a cat's range of perception was what she wanted to avoid.
i want to bleed in the 「r a i n」
The goat stopped twitching then and the cougar's white front was stained red. Her blood red eyes wandered across the landscape, searching for any sign of a rival predator. Absentmindedly she bit into its stomach, chewing the flesh looking for something to be there, watching her, waiting. Then, she thought she got a glimpse of dark fur in the rocks. Her eyes flashed towards where she saw the fur. "Who'ssss therrreee....?"
The reek of blood was thick in her nostrils. The cougar would eat well on this day. Ame's frown deepened. Those were Sunspire's goats... but the felines did not adhere to boundary laws of a rivaling species.
Amekaze was increasingly uneasy. She watched the cat tear apart the goat and blood paint her ghostly white fur. Ame's hackles prickled. She had managed to skirt just a little bit closer, into a better vantage point, but it was not to last. The cat's red (more alarming) gaze then fixed in her direction.
And it was in that second she had a few options. Leave immediately, as was the wisest choice. But with this much distance between them still and a whole pack of wolves at her back, she had a few other possibilities to consider for now in this small window of opportunity before fear slammed it shut. Nothing about seeing this cougar here sat well with her -- and hunting, no less. Last thing she wished to see was this ghostly beast making a habit of this. How could the Sunspire flourish properly with something such as this going on? Not only was the ominous cat a threat to their safety, but to their resources as well.
Gentle breeze brought more blood-scent to assault her senses and proceeded to ruffle her fur with its cat-scented touch as well. Ame would proceed carefully...
She slid from the immediacy of cover in silent answer to the feline's question and appeared confidently poised, but not yet imbuing her posture with threat. Alone, she had less weight to throw anyway. Her expression was dark and stare sharp across the sloped landscape; she was judging her scenery best she could while not taking her eyes off the albino creature. She was up a ways, just above some rocks, and with enough space between them for now. However, she knew cats to have a powerful stride.. yet not one she had seen up close before to judge most accurately. Leave this place, 物の怪,
she called firmly across the way.
i want to bleed in the 「r a i n」
The wolf was still above her and the wind had not changed. She couldn't smell what pack this one belonged to. It didn't matter really, but she liked to know who she was dealing with. The female raised her voice, her eyes locked onto Laksha as she warned her to leave. She called the cougar something in a language she didn't understand, but the albino took it as an insult. "No." she growled deep in her throat, tearing into the heart of the goat. "You will have to make mee....."
Amekaze had never seen cougars here before. This in itself was abnormal and the fact that it had to be a beast so pale and bizarre to the sights only served to make her more uncomfortable. Albinism was a rare bloodline trait to see, as she understood it, especially in a fully-grown creature who obviously did quite well for herself.
She had never confronted the beasts, either. On Rikudou they had not been an issue. The forests took care of them so they may not ever put their grimy paws on her mother's mountain. It would have been too easy if it had just heeded her words, taken its meal, and carried on.
Her stare stayed cold and her furs bristled anxiously. The cat's words did nothing to appease her but knowing a whole pack worth of wolves would rise to the occasion to help did.. somewhat. But there was enough going array here lately. Swiftcurrent's harassment, their captives, Jace's injuries... Amekaze did not want to see unnecessary trouble come their way. Do you not have other places to haunt?
she growled, annoyed to watch the cat feast so openly here. Her tail lashed slowly. You have your meal and all the fur on your hide still despite hunting on pack boundaries.
Take it and leave she willed silently.
i want to bleed in the 「r a i n」
Exploration had always been Aleera's favorite part of new territory, having never traveled to this land before there was a lot to take in and discover. Her multi-pigmented coat made it easy to blend in and hid in some parts, yet exceedingly difficult to find stealth in other parts of the territory. After meeting Fang and Ferdie Von Pelt she had made her way across the territory, while not very far she was still amazed at all she had found. Her pelt showed satisfaction and curiosity, she was quite relaxed in her new home although still weary of the other wolves of this territory having never met them, she could not be sure how they might react to her.
She would stop suddenly and her entire demeanor would change, suddenly stiff and alert. Her ears would spring forward and her tail would rise, while her fur would stand on end, the scent of a cougar wafted toward her, yet she also smelt another wolf. As softly as she could Aleera would slowly approach, while she was be no means the stealthiest of hunter she could get by. As she approached she would catch sight of an albino cougar and what she could only hope was a member of the Sunspire Pack. On her pelt she carried the scent of Ferdie Von Pelt, she hoped that this would be enough for the wolf to trust her enough, should she need help in any way.
Amekaze scoffed softly. Whether or not this cougar had a place to stay was not her concern. So long as she was not here, the dark female wouldn't ponder her any longer. This place is already occupied,
she grated coldly. A wolf pack and cougar could not coexist without problem. She had never heard of it happening.
Before she was able to say more, her attention jerked to the other female's approach. Amekaze didn't like not having her eyes fully on the cougar, so made it brief and her surprise did register fleetingly to the unfamiliar face. She was seconds from a reaction when she smelled Ferdie, and freshly, on her. A new Sunspire wolf, then.. she thought, and absolutely hoped that this assumption was correct.
A fresh glance at the female questioned if she would rise to the support. Amekaze stood a little taller, and flagged her tail with an angry lash. Find a new mountain,
she snarled with snapping teeth at the end. She was emboldened by the presence of another wolf and moved closer by a few body lengths, all while waiting to see the other female's reaction -- if she would be bold enough to accompany.
i want to bleed in the 「r a i n」
Although the approach of the cougar and her aggression brought forth Aleera's own. Lowering her head dangerously, and raising her tail and deep growl would come forth from her belly. "Leave before it it to late for you." Aleera watched the cougar with a fierce glare, hard and cold, uncaring. Aleera had not come all this way just to be threatened by a cougar.
Aleera's silver orbs would flicker from the she-wolf slightly in front of her to the cougar, silently waiting for an order. Waiting for any sign of combat from the cougar.
Amekaze's glare grew steadily more threatening yet the cat made no motion to yield to them. She had asked twice now and still the ghostly feline stayed where she was, loitering here upon their mountain boundaries.
And while the other female remained a wild card, Ame drew a deep breath and mustered uncharacteristic trust -- all that she could here on short notice. She had to. After all, she was here because Ferdie deemed her fit and the dark Rikudou would trust him as well. He had never let her down, anyway.
As the multihued female backed her own words, Ame felt her faith grow. Yet the cat still refused them.
So she shot her packmate a look, a fleeting signal that asked of her to back her up in whatever was to come in the moments to follow -- even if they were not the most sensible of choices. It was for the pack's safety, simply put. Ame was about to take a chance, and if all else failed, it would be up to one of them to throw up a summons for more backup. But, ideally, they could solve this between themselves. Sunspire wolves had enough to worry about lately.
And with that, she began her lunge with a dead-on sprint for the cat's flanks, descending quickly from her former watch-spot. There was distance to close and stealth was not an option here, but boldly she proceeded with an ugly snarl accompanying her every stride nearer. The plan was to chase this bad omen away, with teeth and tenacity her strongest weaponry.
She snapped for the cat, aiming to force it to move away. She had given plenty of warning and no matter how reckless this seemed, she deemed it her best choice.
i want to bleed in the 「r a i n」
Amekaze was ready to give it her all. Should the cat take swings at her, she would attempt to dodge everything she could. She would not press it for long and tempt the risk of serious injury, for a cougar could easily disembowel her with one well-placed swipe of a paw, so Amekaze was on her guards.
She was strengthened when Aleera joined her, offering a much needed support and another set of teeth to discourage the cougar from making itself comfortable here. Together, they would see this bad omen away from their mountain.
Amekaze urged the cat to leave with everything she had. Eventually, it would have no choice but to take its kill and leave them alone, and they could return to guarding their mountain's safety in peace.
i want to bleed in the 「r a i n」