Dragoncrest Cliffs o, tempora! o, mores!

she's been scarce lately. one couldn't help but probably think she's taken off from Sapphique, but she's only been hunting the deer—and with nothing to show for it. when she comes trotting across the border, she is empty-jawed and sour of temper, indigo eyes burning in dissatisfaction. 

the first small animal that comes across her path is a squirrel, and she dives for it, seizing the creature between her jaws and beginning to shake, viciously—

she feels the spine snap and yet still shakes, each vertebra popping in turn. teeth digging in, blood filling her mouth, the squeal having faded to silence in mere seconds. anger at her failed hunt, taken out on this poor thing.

and she devours it, muzzle stained suddenly, starkly crimson.

it should be a deer.

it should be more than this meager morsel.

It made the tips of her ears burn with shame, including the one she no longer bore. She had thrown the sealskin on the cave floor in anger, then forgotten about it for several days, and now it was ruined. She had wasted her leader's gift. For the next while, Haunt walked around kicking herself about it, taking momentary breaks to pine for her brother's presence.

Today, she decided to do something more constructive with her time than inwardly spiral. She left the territory to scout the Broken Antler herd, making notes on the growing fawns among them. There were still three of them, two of them belonging to one doe and the other to another. All six does were accounted for along with the stag, whose current summer rack belied the herd's name.

Feeling uplifted after such productive use of her time, Haunt made her way back toward Sapphique. She couldn't help but think about one of the fawns, one of the two in the pairing. It looked a little sickly compared to its sibling and cousin. Perhaps it would make a good target for the pack, if they could be organized and mobilized in the near future...

The sound of a shriek made Haunt stop short and blink to a focus. She caught sight of the red she-wolf from a distance, shaking the life out of a squirrel. She shook it so long and so violently, the pale yearling actually took a step backward. She paused when the woman devoured her kill, her single ear tilting backward uncertainly at the brutal display.

the crippled girl. she meets the other's gaze as she chews, muzzle further stained ruddy with the creature's blood. bones snapping, crumbling beneath her teeth. all but the tail, and she lets the bushy thing fall at the last, running her scarred tongue along her jowls.

then begins to stride forward, still staring at her pale packmate.

you? she asks in question, lifting her chin. it's a stunted greeting, but a greeting nonetheless; she hadn't gotten her name at their last brief encounter. new, though not as recently come as Avicus. but she doesn't know the other's history here.

does it matter, though? in her eyes, they stand on equal ground—no, uneven, with the crimson yearling lording over the other. she may be half-mute, but at least she has all of her legs.

The red she-wolf finished with the squirrel and marched over to her rather imperiously. Haunt blinked, her muscles slowly tensing. She didn't know where they stood in the respective hierarchy; she paid so little attention to it, outside of leadership. Haunt maintained a neutral demeanor, entirely uninterested in offering either dominance or submission, though part of her did shrink inwardly away from this woman.

Careful not to let it show, the yearling stood her ground and replied, "Me?" She really didn't know what was meant by that, though she offered only slightly haltingly, "I'm Haunt." Who are you? And what's your deal? she wondered, though she left it at that for the moment.

Haunt. the girl intuits what she wants, even though the question is vague. Avi, she introduces herself with a sweep of her tail, then continues to clean the blood from her chops. only after a moment's hesitation does she speak again.

hunhh'? she asks, canting her head toward the abandoned squirrel's tail. the last syllable is guttural, harsh, but not quite a 'tee.' her tongue's not long enough to snap against her teeth. she drops into a crouch, then mock pounces, trying to illustrate what she means. 

then she turns and heads deeper into the forest, craning her head to glance back at Haunt with a query in her eyes. should the other yearling follow, they will hunt.

Avi, she mused silently, still braced for anything, or so she thought. The other she-wolf still caught her off guard by inviting her to hunt. At least, that's what Haunt thought Avi meant. Her speech was difficult to understand, yet her gesticulations left little to the imagination.

She peered in the general direction of the massacred squirrel, then back to Avi. But in that split second, the other wolf had moved deeper into the forest, causing Haunt to do a double take and then pivot, eyes tracking after her. She hesitated for a beat, then loped after her pack mate. She could think of no good reason to turn down a hunting opportunity.

When she caught up to Avi, she exchanged a look with her but didn't say anything as they moved in tandem. Haunt wondered if her makeshift hunting partner had a speech impediment of some sort and thought briefly of Chacal. Licking her lips, she tried to school her thoughts and focus on the promise of game.

"Do you know of the herd that roams this region? I was just watching them. There's some fawns, one is sickly..." She wasn't entirely sure the two of them could handle it on their own. "We may want to find a third, if we go that route. Otherwise, I'm fine with whatever you want to hunt."

she was thinking squirrel, but—

she turns to Haunt with an intrigued gleam in her eye, nodding at the words. she's noticed the deer scent but has been too weak to pursue it. at least, pursue it alone. but with Haunt. . .

fawhn, Avicus repeats, and shakes her head emphatically. nothing more she can say; she waits and watches the pale woman expectantly, ready for her to lead the way. if there is no response—

i foh-yow, she adds.

her tongue slips from her mouth, revealing bloodstained ivory fangs. she cleans the crimson from them, still holding the other wolf's gaze.

Avi made her vote clear, even though her articulation was anything but. Haunt hesitated, yellow eyes tracking the other female's movements as she licked her bloody chops. As fierce as she appeared, it would really be most sensible to tackle this as a trio. She made up her mind.

"Okay, but we need to call in some backup first." She paused a beat, then threw back her head, requesting help with a hunt and giving their current location as a rendezvous point.

Tags for visibility! @Erzulie @Rosalyn @Zephyr @Hyacinth

leaving her children in the care of their elder sisters, erzulie attended the call.
she found the red-and-white pair anticipatory and observant. the obsidian gleaned their need as well as she was able from the position of their bodies, gold-green eyes flicking first to haunt and then to avicus.
she sniffed the air, waiting for one of them to speak on the manner of prey.

made sense. Haunt called, but only one answered—Erzulie, leaving her growing children. Avicus lingers back but then nods, finding a competent hunting party among the three.

herhh, she says, shaking her head at the futility of the botched syllable. fawn. foh-yow. . . she looks at Haunt, waiting for the maimed pale young woman to take control.

language—she could hardly abide it, and even less since losing half her tongue.

everyone seemed to depend upon words. . .

for her part, she stood tall and strong, waiting, fur rippling across her spine. the scent of deer wafted across her nostrils; was it imagined, or were they close by? her eyes darted. it's time.

Of course it would be Erzulie who turned up to help them. Haunt bit back a sigh as she was inevitably reminded of the sealskin. She couldn't bring herself to look at the leader too directly, though hopefully the Obsidian didn't notice.

Avicus made an attempt to convey the plan, though it was so hard to follow her articulation. Hoping she wasn't being too rude, Haunt cut in to add, "One of the fawns in Broken Antler is looking rough." Hopefully Erzulie recollected the herd. "They're currently grazing between the sound and the ravine."

Hopefully that was enough information to get them going. Haunt glanced briefly at either woman and then turned, trotting westward toward where their prey fed on the summer grasses just a few hundred yards inland from the shore.

avicus attempted, but it was haunt who took the speech over. the fawns. the herd. haunt had followed them for weeks and months, and now they would reap again one of the cultivated beasts. 
when haunt move, the obsidian slid smoothly to haunt's side. before the girl had needed her help, but now — she would take the lead if wanted, but thought the pale girl had it rather handled.
erzulie, then, was content to be directed.

Avicus nods, though inwardly she's seething at herself. she will never be able to bark orders the way her father does, her brother, too. she's been rendered silent by the moonwoman—

(but is not your mother speechless, too? and how dare you suggest she's powerless)

she snaps to attention as they depart, moving off at a steady, albeit slightly limping, trot. the scent of deer assaults her, suddenly, and she allows herself to take a deep inhale before moving on, a little quicker. Haunt and Erzulie are taller and broader than she is; she's best suited to the chase.

so chase, she will.

i runh fawnh over here, she declares, and is delighted to find it comes out fairly clear. offering no room for argument, Avicus slips away, a ruddy shadow, making a wide circle 'round the herd, gaze locked upon the weakest-looking youth.

without any further preamble, she charges, startling the creatures into bleating frenzy—but she only has eyes for her quarry, and the path back toward her hunting party.

The instant they arrived, Avicus spoke and then slipped away. Haunt pulled up short, blinking after her. They hadn't even discussed a strategy. Haunt let out a breath, eyes skirting over to Erzulie, her disapproval likely evident on her face. This hunt wasn't likely to go very smoothly if they didn't communicate and work together.

But she was left with no choice, especially when Avicus began chasing without warning. Caught entirely off guard, the yearling could only pivot and try to play the world's worst game of catch-up as she sought out the sickly fawn from among the rest of the scattering herd.

Fortunately, the other deer quickly fled the scene, leaving the youngster straggling behind. But it was not alone; its mother hung back, nervously circling her baby and trying to coax it toward safety. Although this presented a challenge, Haunt was at least able to close in on the quarry.

She stood back, keeping a watchful eye on the protective mother. The trio of wolves would have to cooperate to separate her from the fawn. Haunt felt a lick of anger as she looked around for Avicus, then tried to get eyes on Erzulie as well. She just hoped the former wouldn't act before she and the latter could prepare themselves this time.

erzulie had chosen long ago to lead with an indirect touch when it came to the hunting of younger wolves. she wanted to see them in immediate situations from which they must lead themselves away. her presence was a buffer and a sharp one against the slings and arrows of a harsher turn.
so when the red yearling dashed away after their quarry without more than a string of words, erzulie yipped to gain the girl's attention, meaning to summon her back to where the obsidian stood with haunt. there was no need for quiet now; they had been spotted.
"i t'ink two of us should keep her attention, an' one go for de fawn, haunt. what do you t'ink?" she asked of the pale girl, arching a brow in the red child's direction. avicus had made the first gambit. they would look to her counterpart for the next.

she doesn't know others are disapproving. only the chase is before her, and when the deer moves to protect her fawn, Avicus moves for the former. if she can drive the mother away. . . 

she's limping, slightly, still favoring her injuries from the fight at the grotto. but, fearless, she charges toward the doe, teeth snapping hard and fast, making sharp sounds even in the heavy summer air. she moves closer, trying to grasp the doe by her shoulder.

go! she insists, eyes rolling toward the others, for surely the fawn is unaccompanied now. she worries the doe at her shoulder, nipping, grasping, jaws slaving.

a hoof grazes one ear and she shakes her head, dizzied by the near-miss. she lunges forward, hoping to reach the soft belly beneath the doe's hind legs.

She hoped in vain. Although Erzulie tried to consult with her subordinates, Avicus took it upon herself to chase after the doe. That left Haunt with only seconds to make a decision. She ground out, "Get the fawn," to Erzulie even as she pivoted to join the redhead in keeping the mother separated from her babe.

Avicus nearly took a hoof to the head, though she ducked the blow. Haunt wasn't so lucky. The instant she came within snapping range, the doe aimed a kick that connected with her left temple. The yearling cried out sharply and retreated, her vision going spotty before blacking out entirely, if only for a heartbeat or two. She saw a flash of yellow eyes the instant before her vision began clearing up.

Angry and in pain, Haunt spared a glance to Erzulie, hoping she'd managed the fawn. It wouldn't make this whole thing worth it, yet at least Haunt wouldn't be injured in vain. With a snarl, she retreated further, unwilling to continue aiding Avicus or have anything more to do with this godforsaken hunt.

the red girl's methods are something with which erzulie was far more familiar, but haunt's frustration did not go unnoticed.
the woman turned smoothly, though her cinnamon ears folded back at the sound of haunt's cry. her teeth cut for the tender backside of the animal's neck, and with a thrum of her sea-hardened muscles, the wolf pinned the young ruminant quickly.
grabbing its throat before the poor thing could struggle to its feet, erzulie searched the horizon. haunt retreated and avicus — the girl was a whorl of reckless flame.
the fawn breathed no more. erzulie peeled away from its carcass with a look to haunt, that the pale girl should guard their hard work.
she leapt for the doe's muzzle.

yes, yes!

Erzulie takes down the fawn, and sets upon the doe, work not yet done. Avicus has no thought for Haunt now, only blood, and she continues her assault upon the older deer's hindquarters.

she tastes blood. she's connected with a haunch, peeling back skin and sinew. a piercing bleat—

she leaps and tries to seize the doe's back in her jaws. if she can grasp tight, wound some vertebrae—no, she is too low down upon the spine, she needs the neck—

now she's riding, half-slung, upon the galloping deer. churning hind legs graze her belly; she clings, then falls;

she hits the ground and sees stars.

She saw the silent command from Erzulie and let out a breath, keen to do the woman's bidding despite everything. But when a bleat pierced the ear (that was a typo, but I'm going to leave it), Haunt froze as a hot blade of pain seared through her temple. She gasped, mindless to anything else as the two she-wolves attempted to finish off the doe too.

The agony swelled and then ebbed, taking with it any sense of the yearling's awareness for several moments. She stared unseeingly at some random spot in the distance before slowly coming back to herself, at least in part. She blinked dully at figures moving in her peripheral vision but her focus was fuzzy at best.

In the end, Haunt simply drifted away, vanishing in the midst of all the commotion.

erzulie cut and cut until blood arced and spurted against the air.
a thump of scarlet as avicus struck the ground. too dangerous in this moment to turn away. erzulie veered inward, driving the doe into a harder and harder left until the long legs of the animal started to tangle and nostrils foam.
she snapped upward for the ear and yanked hard, finding the wellspring within her to use it as a choking rein.

when she comes to, Haunt is gone, and Erzulie wrestles with the doe.

she staggers to her paws and leaps forward, back into the fray, striking the deer's jugular with snapping teeth. blood spurts them both, and the panicked animal begins to slow.

after a few breathless moments, the deer sags to the ground, its heaving sides falling finally still.

for her part, Avicus inhales in gasps, desperately trying to clear the black spots in her vision. she blinks, muzzle coated with blood, and looks 'round. where. . .? she asks faintly, seeking the other young woman's pale form.

but their meal awaits, and she steps back, bowing her head toward Erzulie in a gesture for Sapphique's leader to dine first.