Firefly Glen not giving in

Time to wrassle some turkeys in celebration of the pack's formation and Atlas and Antares's promotions!
Each round of this hunt will last 4 to 5 days—depending on how quickly everybody replies. 
The next round will be posted on 11/28/2020. 

Osiris had never intended to lead Firefly Glen alone. He had always figured that @Atlas and @Antares would take up the mantle with him once the pack had been established. Now that that had happened, it was time to ask them. He'd been dropping hints to them (in the form of random, out-of-place questions) in the previous days, sussing out whether or not they even wanted to lead. When it seemed like they were on-board with the idea, he went to Moonspear to tell @Dirge and @Hydra to get their blessing as well.

Finally, the time had come to formally promote them. It was an ordinary autumn day—overcast with a pleasant, rolling breeze.

Before summoning his brothers, Osiris paid a visit to @Bronco and @Toad Amelia to discuss the glen's prey prospects. They shared what information they had, detailing the news of a flock of turkeys within the woodlands surrounding Heartspear Lake. After thanking them for their time, he set off in the direction of the woods. Osiris heard the turkeys before seeing them; they chattered loudly as they prowled, still unaware of the nearby threat. Not wanting to scare them just yet, he settled upon the treeline and called for his brothers. He held his breath for as long as it took for Atlas and Antares to arrive, and when they did, he greeted him with fond-nips to each of their chins.

"Thanks for making it," Osiris said, taking a step back so that he could regard them both. "I'd like to officially promote you both," now that he had asked, he felt like he could breathe again. "You both are more than worthy of the raise, and I would like nothing more than you have both of you lead beside me." After some vague conversation (because I'm not going to assume anything about their conversation here), they officially accepted the offer. "We have a lot to observe—the pack's founding and your promotions..." he trailed, thinking of their good fortune so far. "I'd like to celebrate with a hunt. Toad and Bronco told me about a flock of turkeys in the woodlands, and I think they'd make for the perfect prey." A single turkey would satiate the hunger of multiple wolves.

When their game was agreed upon, Osiris invited his brothers to summon the pack with him with an excited chuff. Tipping his head back and howling, he rallied Bronco, @Leta, Toad, @Lunaria, @Dhalia, @Astrid, @Meerkat, @Mesa, and even... @Charles. 

Today, they'd all celebrate—except for the turkeys. 

The night huntress' ear's flicked upwards at the sound of a howled symphony in the glen, and with most of the upperranks missing from where she could see them, it was only natural to assume there was some sort of meeting being held. 'Must be important then...' Luna pondered as she rolled from her lied position and stretched her limbs to trot towards the noise source. As predicted, Osiris, Antares and Atlas were gathered here, yet it didn't seem like the others showed up yet -- Well, so much for being fashionably late....

Her moonstone gaze shifted around to see if she could spot the ones she recognized: Bronco, Toad, Charles -- not here yet, but she can wait. For now, the raven's attention shifted back to the trio as she watched and tilted her head to decipher what was going on.

Turkeys. And more! Toad was excited when she heard the howl that she had been expecting. She knew that Osiris was planning some sort of event, else he wouldn't have come to her and Bronco to get information about the status of prey animals in the glen. In response, Toad smiled, threw her head back, and gave a short answering howl. She took off toward the woodlands, tongue lolling as she loped. She was careful to conserve her energy by not running, though she would have liked to for all of her excitement.

When she arrived, Lunaria was there with Osiris, Antares, and Atlas. The four of them looked quite formidable together. Grinning ear to ear, she waved her tail and greeted all of them with sniffs. Toad wasn't entirely sure what the occasion was, but she knew that food would be involved. I see you found the turkeys, she said playfully, addressing Osiris.

Charles opened his eyes and blinked, shooting into awakeness quite suddenly. He'd been taking a nap and muttered something about Mr High-And-Mighty before getting up and stretching. A long, big yawn split open Charles' face and he smacked his lips while he set off towards the rest of the pack. It would be so weird seeing Osiris again, what with these weird.. dreams.. he'd been having lately. There were a few wolves in the pack that he'd gotten to know, although one of them had already split anyway. Good on her, this place sucked. Charles, though, he wasn't as good as just up and leaving without anyone prompting him. So he pretty much just stayed, even though he felt like he was unfairly treated like shit... by the object of his darkest and most secret admiration.

As he arrived he quickly scanned for Dhalia, but as she wasn't there he instead turned his attentions to Lunaria, who was the next person he didn't know. Osiris was there — over whose presence Charles' gaze flitted, causing his stomach to turn in a way that was both pleasant and horrible, and he quickly looked away — with two dark-pelted dudes that Charles didn't know yet. Leta wasn't here yet. Some other chick was talking to Osiris, which kinda instantly labelled her as part of the lame-ass-drooling-over-Osiris-squad in Charles' mind (or maybe he was just jealous that it wasn't him?), so he ignored her and turned to Lunaria instead. Yo, how you doing Luna-girl? he said casually as he bumped shoulders with her.

She wasn't gone very long and, and as far as she knew, nobody had even noticed her absence. Meerkat chewed thoughtfully on the inside of her cheek as she meandered around the glen, pondering what she'd discovered: the moors were empty, with no sign of Rusalka. Evidently, moving was all the rage around these parts lately. She wondered if anyone in the glen might know about them and where they might've gone. Heck, maybe someone around here knew Kaertok or Raleska personally.

Osiris's summons effectively sidelined her mission and all thoughts thereof, at least for now. Breaking into a trot, she quickly followed the sound of his voice, wondering if they were having a pack meeting of some kind. But when she arrived, Meerkat quickly figured out they were hunting. She felt a tiny measure of trepidation until she clued in on their prey: turkeys. They didn't seem very big or dangerous. Apparently they couldn't even fly properly.

Her brown eyes sought her brother, her sister too. When she didn't see them, Meerkat sidled closer to Toad, bumping her friend's shoulder with her pale snout. Her attention quickly strayed to the fore, where Osiris held court, flanked by his darker brothers. Heart suddenly swooping in her chest, she tried to catch Atlas's gaze to wink at him.

wc:409

He would have rather spent his time combing the area between the Caldera and the Glen for Fennec's scent. And he'd been doing just that- but he still needed to return home to do his duties along the borders, and to hunt for the pack. The days passed him by one after the other, and he could feel the stone of doubt and worry as it grew as cold and heavy as lead drawn from the heart of the mountain, sinking its way into his chest. He'd seen no sign of Fennec yet, and it was beginning to pain him greatly. He attempted to continue contributing to the pack- and had done a bit of prey scouting with Toad Amelia, as she was always a joy to be around, and while he had other places he would have rather been, he was summoned by Osiris' voice, calling the pack toward the lake so that they could hunt down the turkeys that had been spotted.

He arrived shortly after Meerkat, having found her trail leading directly toward the lake. And his sombre gaze fell over the small gathering, noting the three brothers who had collected together, and the small assembly of others who had come to the meeting area before him. Among them were Toad, Charles, Lunaria and Meerkat, so he chose to go and sit by his sister's side.

What halted him though, for a moment, was seeing the way her gaze glimmered as she brazenly beamed at Atlas, and sent him a wink. This did not go unnoticed by her brother who had more or less forgotten about the infatuation she'd once confessed to- and he was impressed very little by the fact that she was now openly regarding him with the very hairiest of eyeballs. Given how dismayed he was with his own current relationship (or lack thereof) he was not keen on seeing his sister fall into her own first heartbreak. So he cast a glance to Atlas- wondering how he might react, and regarding him with somewhat of a cold warning as he moved to Meerkat's side. She might be of age to begin courting- but that didn't mean that she should be. She was still his little sister.

So he moved to her side and purposefully sat so that he could block her view of Atlas even just a little bit, reaching out to affectionately nuzzle her muzzle while also potentially redirecting her gaze.

It had been an eventful autumn for the trio of brothers with the fortification of the Glen, and all else. Even in the midst of all this ongoing business they had all found themselves wrapped up in, Antares caught on quick when Osiris began to make his hints about what was going on in his head. Even worse when he picked up a clue from his parents that made him size up the situation in a new light.

Ultimately, he decided, it was inevitable and a natural route of things for now. A step that his interests could align with, so long as they understood him, fundamentally--and who better to do so than his brothers, and the wolves that chose to follow them? 

Still, things were new yet even if very little would actually change. Now, he had come to his brother with a vicious appetite, freshly returned from his most recent roaming. No sign of Fennec to report yet; he needed the morale boost of a good meal, so, was in agreement here on all accounts. Of course, was all that needed said for now, the rest of it unsaid. Antares' had been clear with his stance before. Soon--he raised his voice to voice to the others, and thought he sounded a little unfamiliar there for a instant; he was not often one to make such a reaching summons, after all. His rasp said so... but he'd have to get over it, now newly minted as officially beta-ranked here. After howling tapered off, the dark Ostrega sat neatly beside Osiris, hawkish, and waited for the pack who arrived in turn.

Soon wolves were beginning to mingle around him and he was still quiet, not particularly sociable, and very much preferring to just watch and listen--take in it, mostly. He noticed Bronco's arrival most of all, which brought attention to Meerkat by association. Hm. There was the narrowest of glances to his side, checking on Atlas after, but he really only wanted to think to the upcoming hunt instead--too hungry to try to get to the bottom of all of this when he was more interested in who else would come run down some turkey with them.

Dhalia sneezed the dust from her nose and shimmied out of the canyon crevice she'd thrust her way into just seconds before Osiris' melody struck the air. Jeez, he couldn't have found a better time to call? Cool rock tugged at her shoulders and threatened to trap her, but with a final shove, she skirted backward and blinked in the bright autumn light. So much for exploiting the secrets of exploiting the canyon today, but alas, for what prospects awaited her at the end of her packmate's howl, what was another day of waiting?

A sizeable group had already rallied by the time the Ostrega arrived. She recognized a few faces - Osiris, of course, Bronco, Meerkat, and Charles. Others looked familiar, but only from a point in passing. She observed the crowd for a long second before she jaunted up to Osiris' collective and chose one of his shadows at random. She had caught the last word of Toad's statement, and strung the line together with the other facts she knew, two and two. "So we're hunting, eh?" her question came with a crooked smile she aimed at Antares, since Osiris was otherwise occupied, and standing in front of Atlas gave her that strange feeling that someone's eyes were on her back. "You ever gone after turkeys before?"

Last to arrive, so far, was Mesa. He hung back from the group as soon as he spotted them—winding his way along their outer limits as stealthily as he could, although he was hard to miss, being so large-bodied. He did not know the other wolves despite having lived with them in the glen up to this point; having spent most of his time hard at work tracking resident prey, hunting that prey, or sleeping for long hours as the cold came upon them... Now he was facing the entire group at once and was unsettled. The call had been to gather their forces and so Mesa thought, maybe, he'd see some action; so far as he could tell there was no present danger, but some kind of excitable energy flowed between the youths.

The day was a confusing one for him. First, the promotion of himself and his brother Antares had left the inky hunter feeling out of sorts. He could not help but repeat the conversation he'd shared with Fennec in his mind. As the brothers prepared for the turkey hunt, Atlas seemed distant and quiet. He nodded his head and made sure he offered himself to assist with the tracking. It was to be his specialty, after all. Still his anxieties weathered him and jumbled his nerves. 

It was not until Meerkat showed up with the earthy hunter Bronco that Atlas felt a wave of fresh air sweep through him. He locked eyes with the young girl immediately and returned her smile, offering a charismatic wink of his own. He flagged his tail, intent to go and talk to the brown-eyed girl, but halted in his tracks by the cold stare of Bronco and the protective stance he seemed to take over the younger figure. Flustered, Atlas returned his attention to the task at hand and prepared for the hunt. He could not help but to cast a few pathetic looks toward Bronco, unsure of what he had done to deserve such treatment.

Sorry for the delay and thank you all for joining! We're going to keep the next few rounds simple:

1. this round— antares and atlas take the lead
2. next round—stalking turkeys
3. round after—killing turkeys and feasting to wrap it up! 

This round will end: 12/5
Permission to PP Leta was given by her player.

With the members of Firefly Glen gathered, Osiris was able to reveal their course of action. He noticed @Leta's just before he began to speak, and his heart skipped a beat. He was happy to see that she'd join them, too. 

"Yes, I found an entire rafter of them," he replied to Toad, motioning with his muzzle to the woodlands behind him. "They seemed well-fed and ready for our bellies," he added, addressing the crowd now. "I have asked for @Atlas and @Antares to take the lead on this hunt, so I will direct your attention to them," he said, bowing out for now. He joined the crowd, deciding to stand at Leta's side. Shyly, he bumped his shoulder to hers. 

After his brother's plans had been presented, Osiris moved with the crowd in the direction of the forest.

Like a swarm of ants, more wolves began to gather until what she believed was the whole pack had settled in after Osiris' call. Her head remained canted to the side as her eyes wandered to figure out what exactly what was going here, but the tail behind her rump couldn't help but sway in excitement to find out -- because clearly this wasn't some normal gathering. 'Please be a pack hunt, please be a pack hunt, pleeeeease....'

Toad came sooner or later to sniff her, and she'd give the she-wolf a freindly nip on her shoulder as a greeting of her own. Out of nowhere, the feeling of a bump on her shoulder nearly made her stumble, followed by an oh so farmiliar voice that she was rather happy to hear. "Luna-girl -- already have a nickname for me huh, Charlie-boy?" She quipped at the coywolf with a childish snicker, playfully tugging one of his ears as payback for almost making her fall. Bronco passed by as well to sit beside his younger sister, though she did wish to bully greet him too before things started. Oh well.

The ears on Luna's head pricked forward at the sound of the alpha speaking up again and when she listened, her waving tail whipped the air faster in sheer joy. HELL YEAH. PACK HUNT. If it was nothing the raven loved more than hunting, it had to be hunting parties. Tracking prey was much better in groups. So the dame's bright teal gaze would then turned to Atlas and Antares in waiting for them to take lead -- because oh boy was she ready.

Others arrived, too. Bronco seemed super preoccupied with Meerkat, like obsessively preoccupied, so Charles decided to ease off him for now. Dhalia arrived too, but she seemed preoccupied, in turn, with the Osiris butt-kissing club, so Charles decided to stick with just Lunaria for now. Charlie-boy... That's what Leta would call him. Charles glanced over to Leta as she arrived, but she too seemed too preoccupied. Look like Bronc's too busy for the return get-together of the tree rat hunt club, Charles said with a grin as he turned back to Lunaria.

Not long after Osiris explained they were going to hunt, and then turned attention to Antares and Atlas, whoever the fuck they were. As Osiris and Leta bumped shoulders Charles glared at them and muttered under his breath, Yeah, forget all about stupid Charlie, though he couldn't quite pinpoint which of them he was the most jealous of. Ugh, why was he such a mess? He should just forget about both of them, and maybe leave this dumb-ass pack altogether. Leta was supposed to be his best friend, not smooch it up with the guy who hated him the most in the entire world!

The coywolf turned his attention to the wolves who were given spotlight to hear them out, though his attempt at listening to them was half-assed at best in his present state of mind.

He winked back at her and her entire body tingled. But then someone stepped in between them, to her utter distraction. Meerkat blinked and grinned, happy to see her brother. Oblivious to the look he gave Atlas—and the deliberate positioning of himself to cut off their mutual line of sight—she touched her muzzle to his shoulder.

"Hey," she managed before Osiris spoke in response to somebody's question, his answer ringing loudly with the tone of a formal address as he included the whole group. Meerkat fell silent, listening, her heart pitter-pattering a bit when the Alpha pointed out his brothers as the leaders of the hunt.

Pushing gently at Bronco, Meerkat craned around his butt in the hopes of catching Atlas's eye again. This time, she offered up a beaming grin and the wolfish thumbs dewclaws up. "You're gonna do great," she mouthed.

He heard what he thought was a portion of his name spoken, and flicked an ear in Charles' direction, but he was too preoccupied with keeping Meerkat in his peripheral vision, and trying to also pay attention to Osiris while shuffling himself a bit closer to Meerkat as she tried to cast her lovestruck gaze past him, directly at the dark Ostrega. This was uncomfortable. He didn't dislike Atlas, not at all- but Meerkat liking him just felt...Strange. Awkward. It was also hard not to notice, once Osiris declared that Antares and Atlas would be taking over the hunt, as his sister visibly mouthed encouragement directly to Atlas. Bronco cleared his throat, the way a parent might when trying to hint that their child should settle down, or they'd get a look. Though he kept his gaze pointed toward the two dark Ostrega brothers, waiting for their guidance on how they might try and tackle a rafter- whatever that was- of turkeys.

Um @Antares if Antares agrees with the plan you can begin the search that leads them into the tracking portion! <333

The dark young wolf pulled his gaze away from Bronco and Meerkat to focus on his brother addressing their group. The plan was to follow the gathering of turkeys that had been sniffed out; there was very little tracking left to do and it was a good point to call the pack for the hunt. Atlas listened with an unmoved expression, nodding his head once when Osiris motioned toward himself and Antares. He had pointed them out as the initial hunt leaders and the idea of it had released a sea of butterflies in his stomach.
 
“We should split into a main assault group and then flankers. Antares can lead the main assault and I will take the smaller numbers to the side of our targets to surprise them,” he said, looking then to his inky sibling with a tilt of his head. He wanted to know if Antares found this plan to be reasonable. If they were fortunate enough to catch the birds off guard, they would likely find success in catching several of the noisy birds.
 
Regardless, he was ready to begin their hunt. The inkwell glanced toward Meerkat as she offered him mouthed words of encouragement. He felt his cheeks burn hot and he bowed his head to her slightly, his dark lips curling into a smile. His coach… They would all do fine.

Meerkat bumped her shoulder, and Toad poked her back playfully. The weird exchanges that followed between Meerkat and Atlas did not go unnoticed by Toad, who delighted in such gossip. Everyone started to flood in, including Charlie, who sidled in on Lunaria's other side. The black she-wolf gave her a friendly nip, which Toad responded to with a girlish grin. Charlie had the raven woman distracted, however, and Toad was sure she heard him say Bronco's name in a nasty fashion. Words were being exchanged all around her, and she quickly lost track of things.

For a moment, she felt her age all over again. Meerkat was preoccupied with her own things. Once again she felt quite out of place, but knew that this day was not about her, and let it go.

Osiris confirmed her suspicions and told the group that it would be Atlas and Antares leading the hunt. This shouldn't have bothered her, but it did. Again she let it go pretty easily, knowing it would be nice to not have to tell people what to do. It felt just generally strange to have two yearlings decide what she, who had been training to hunt all her life, would do and how she would do it. To Toad, these two seemed like very capable young men just like Osiris, and she trusted his trust in them, but she felt...
inadequate.

Toad kept her smile going despite her inward hurt. When Atlas spoke the plan, her ears perked, and she willed herself to switch into hunting mode. When hunting, her focus was only on that. When hunting, she couldn't feel hurt. She stood at attention, soldier at the ready.

Truth be told, the crowd that came was quite a lot to take in. Some of the faces were more familiar than others, but all were welcome to him, all good.. despite his underlying nerves. He was new at this still, not so good at socializing, but thankfully good at faking it. Antares gave a knowing nod; just wait.. 

Smoothly, his agouti brother passed the focus onto them. Antares aimed at Atlas one last lingering look before he faced the pack at large, his own expression shifting just enough--determined not to focus on any one thing. He straightened, and stood a little taller from there on out. Now, it was the hunt.

It was fitting that they split themselves into two parties, one headed by each of the newly-minted betas. Antares answered first with a dip of his head. Sounds good, he said to his brother. Those who follow me, we will stalk on ahead, and get ready once we can see them--hopefully downwind, he added as he began to step away from immediately beside the others, waving his tail to rally the others interested in this portion of the hunt--and begin their momentum forward to track down these birds. We can get more if we keep them close... surround them, he suggested. Maybe this many wolves could help corral them expertly. He had never hunted quite this sort of quarry with this many sets of willing teeth before. Time to find out.

Before he went striding off into the woods full, he couldn't help but visually search out Bronco first, though he had a good suspicion he would go where Meerkat went... who would probably want to go ogle his brother some more. Maybe her brother could help steer it otherwise if he needed that to happen, hence the lingering look at the earthy Blackthorn. After that silent offer he wasn't sure if he'd pick up on, the new beta sought out Toad next, selfishly hoping for her experience on his side of the hunt. Osiris could take either side, he knew. Lunaria was pretty enthusiastic, maybe she'd do good on Atlas' aspect. Leta and Dhalia could probably hold their own wherever. Charles and Mesa.. he had no idea. Antares simply didn't know how some would work together well enough to place them accurately yet; this hunt would teach him plenty about that, he suspected.

Once he was sure he had any volunteers beside him, he set to the trail.

I am a dingus—sorry for the delay, all! This round will end December 16th. (Yes, I will remember this time, I promise!)

 
Atlas and Antares came up with a plan that Osiris agreed with. When the group was instructed to disperse and pick a side, he stuck with his golden-eyed brother. Atlas was skilled in the act of putting on a brave face, often smothering his anxieties with a facade. Osiris pulled himself away from Leta's side with his decision made and offered her a sidelong girn, inviting her to join him if she wished. 

Osiris situated himself next to Atlas, greeting him by bumping his shoulder against his brother's. "Lead the way," he encouraged. The other group had begun to move, and he watched in silence, waiting for their turn.

Unaware that she might be making a slight spectacle of herself, Meerkat's cheeks ached when Atlas dipped his head to her, a bashful smile on his own face. From there, it was all business as the two brothers coordinated a game plan. She paid attention, mostly because of who was speaking rather than what he was saying. Of course she would go with Atlas's group. She had no experience in either task but, her attachments aside, Meerkat did not want to be part of something titled "main assault group."

Naturally, she wondered where Bronco chose to go, Toad too. Meerkat couldn't help but think of their ill-fated hunt a few months ago. She wanted her loved ones to stay safe and flank with her and Atlas. But it was ultimately up to them. She padded after her swarthy beau (of sorts), eager to get closer to him. She paid attention to the goings-on too, despite her distraction, knowing that part of being Atlas's life coach was caring about the things that mattered to him and doing everything she could to support his endeavors.

He couldn't recall ever thinking poorly of Atlas. But at the moment, with the painfully obvious hairy eyeballs being tossed back and forth between Atlas and Meerkat, he felt quite uncomfortable with the notion that Atlas might be flirting with his younger sister. True- she was nearly an adult, but still on the cusp, and therefore, he sought to protect her from offering her heart to someone who might someday run off, or disappear. He was projecting his own experiences onto her, of course, but had no idea he was doing that. 

So when Atlas spoke up, Bronco did his best not to frown, and was at least somewhat relieved to see that he handed the role of leading the main approach over to Antares, rather than casting himself in that role...Until he realized that that would likely mean that Meerkat would be more comfortable joining as a flanker, or member of the second attack. It was also handing the responsibility over to Antares and Bronco wasn't sure if this was Atlas' method of ensuring that Meerkat was on his team, or his way of shirking responsibility. There was a possibility of both, he thought, unfairly. 

So when the moment came for him to make a decision for himself, he was torn. He was working toward gaining himself a trapper specialty, so he considered himself to be a capable hunter- and probably best placed with the first group to attack, as he wasn't the most subtle of all creatures. Meerkat left his side and meandered toward Atlas and he stood as though to follow her. He felt then that he might have preferred to have been assigned a role, rather than having to make a decision for himself. Meerkat didn't need his protection from turkeys. But he couldn't help but want to wedge himself somewhat between her and Atlas, as unfair as that was. 

He halted, and Meerkat continued toward Atlas. She'd be safe enough with him; these were only birds, and he felt that perhaps, this was her choice to make. Maybe she wanted to be a part of the second flank because she felt that was where she would be most useful. He, on the other hand...

He raised his gaze, and found his eyes drawn to Toad. Unassuming and cooperative, Toad was an excellent hunting partner, and had both knowledge and confidence on her side. While their first hunt together had been a very painful fluke, he felt most confident in having witnessed her skills first hand. So, he lowered his head and padded to her side, looking her to make the decision for the both of them.

The brothers explained the hunting plan, and Atlas said that he'd take the 'smaller numbers' (whatever the fuck that even meant) while Antares would take the brunt for the main assault. Main assault seemed less pressure and also, the first few wolves — Osiris and Meerkat — joined Atlas' side right away, so Charles figured he was one of the main assault boys then. It was settled.

Since he was still with Lunaria Charles decided to make the decision for both of them at once. She probably also didn't realy know which one she was supposed to join, anyway. Let's go main attack, Luna-girl, he said to Lunaria. Just as he said this, Dhalia decided to join up with them as well. Hey, didn't think you'd make it to the cool squad, Charles said with a grin and, presumably followed by Lunaria and Dhalia, he then moved over to Antares' side, who he greeted with a nod and he waited for him to start the assault. Seemed an easy enough job to just follow the lead of some dude, even if it was some dude that he'd never met before.

Keeping this vague I think in order to let everyone make their move and get ready for the actual hunt portion of the thread. <3

Antares was quick to agree to the plan, willingly accepting the position of lead attacker. This was relieving to the inkjet hunter, who felt as though his skills would better serve the group if he were placed as a flanker. After all, no matter what petty little thoughts ran through his mind, the purpose of the hunt was to feed their members. If he could not bypass any feelings or thoughts he had to focus on their task, he had no place there. The same went for any of their other members.
 
Even though the presence of the brown-eyed Meerkat had turned his head, it had also granted him a bit more confidence. When she arrived at his side, the dark yearling turned to her with a soft smile and reached out to nudge against her cheek supportively. He remembered that the last hunt she’d experienced with them had been rather high-spirited. Atlas hoped that the turkeys would not give them any trouble.
 
After gathering his group, the shadow nodded softly to Antares and began carving a path in a wide circle that would allow them to approach from the outside and close off any means of escape their prey might have had. He did what he could not to think about Bronco’s glances, or the protective stance that he had taken over Meerkat. After all, the young Ostrega wasn’t capable of causing that much trouble. He only wanted to prove himself… to those who mattered most in his life.

Powerplaying Bronco with permission ;)

It was validating to have Antares seek her out with his gaze. This rather delighted her. Bronco seemed to have trouble making a call, even though Antares had also looked for him. As Bronco came up beside her, she softly nipped at him and bumped his shoulder, grinning like a school girl anticipating the Fall Ball. For Toad, there was no decision — she swiftly found her place amongst Antares' crew with Bronco along for the ride.

Suddenly, the group had split in two.
Antares nudged them forward, and Toad transformed as she always did into what seemed like a completely different person. Her eyes were wide, their warmth replaced with a calculating, dilated stare. She moved forward swiftly, keeping a close eye on her fellow packmates and watching occasionally for mistakes. Though with such a large group, they had tons of power on their side, there was also a much higher risk of spooking the birds before their flankers were in position.

In particular, she kept an eye on Charles, ready to sharply correct with a stare should he attempt to be disruptive. When she heard the calls, she slowed her pace to a near silent stalk — a surprising feat for her frame. They might have made ridiculous sounds, but they were not stupid animals and would be ready to take off should someone make the wrong move. Keeping herself toward the center of the assault wing, Toad stayed at high alert, watching Antares closely for direction as they found their position.

starting the next round officially here. after this, next round will be posted on 12/21/2020!

i figure begin to spook the turkeys now and after my next post, we can start to nab them :)

Designated head of the main assault where he was quite comfortable to go, Antares felt as ready as he would ever be. He had to be, be decided, and at least next time, he could go into it with better assurances of where everyone belonged--maybe enough to simply order them there himself, but he was still learning, and this was important grounds for all of them. He'd be lying if he said there wasn't a bit of tension as he waited for the Glen wolves to make their split. Osiris and Leta with Atlas, Meerkat starry-eyed after him too as predicted. Bronco seemed to hesitate, and thankfully at least the coyote omega had sense enough to gather Lunaria to his side. Thankfully, cue a mental sigh of relief, Toad joined him and brought Bronco too.

Okay. He suddenly felt a lot better once he knew that, his confidence bolstered by his company as he settled into the role of spearhead--leading them closer, quickly, but carefully so not to go disturbing this precarious balance. He had ranged these woods before and it let him try to keep an eye on the others, at least, hopeful that they all could sneak along well enough. To him, he wanted to learn about them more, see how they could flow together, cooperate, and more. If they managed to botch this entirely, then lesson learned; next time would be better

If his nose was correct, he was pulled towards a good vantage and slowed up when he liked the cover. His chuff to tell the others was so quiet and so low, but he couldn't risk more than that with how close it was--maybe his actions would simply have to speak the loudest. Scatter out some he willed them, swinging his muzzle towards the rest of their nearby shrubbery that could conceal them. The turkeys were close, so he had to be careful as he skimmed the distant forest to see if Atlas' group was truly opposite them to begin startling them their way. He gave it a few more breaths, ears tilted, and got ready to launch their assault once the birds were properly spooked.