Swiftcurrent Creek cowpoke

colt was annoyed. it was in every part of him. he flung down their meager things along the creek and turned to @Sadey. "sorry 'bout this. nothin' t'be done. yew know how it is."
and they weren't alone here. the scent of a man (@Akavir) drifted here. colt glared around him. "either we fight t'settle or we move on. whatcha think?"

Sadey eyed him and the river. It was a nice place, this was true, but could they do it. She wasn't sure if they wanted too. It would depend on how many they had and their claim. Though by smell it didn't seem much. And there were herbs and blood mingled near the one side of the river, though if it was from them or another creature she couldn't tell to degraded.

I'm always for a fight, you know this. But we need to see how many there are and if we can take them. It would be foolish to go into winter with wounds. worst case scenario, we lie low over winter and fight for it come spring. I'll have a few tricks up my sleeve you know in spring.

She grinned. He should know the implications well. What happened to a femme come spring and if you were smart enough what you could use it for.

Tag for Danni since I assume she'd want in on this!

The riddle of scars along his body had formed—the scabs removed and the wounds closed. The ivory angel he had come upon the other side of the mountain had helped him avoid infection, and while there was still some stiffness to his joints, Akavir would tend to his wounds time to time, but the skin remained raw in places—easy to open.

Not ideal for the scenario playing out before him. Tearing his eyes from the ragtag group that dropped their things near a creek he meant to claim, he cast his gaze upon @Arric, looking over the solid man with the hint of question in his gaze. “What do you make of this?” His voice low, a gentle rumble, but from their standpoint, he could hear the strangers talking—the discussion of battle in the air.

Did they fight for their own? Did they retreat for now? Or did they try to see if they could recruit. He didn’t relish the thought of another fight—but given his mate dead, his children gone, and all he had left was this despondent place… He didn’t have much lose going into a fight at this point. But Arric might have felt differently.

in reno's wake, sadey had become a second of sorts to colt. red was his self-named pet. but she didn't have the survival skills baked into any of the gang: not yet. she would.
colt felt watchers; he glanced around with a low growl. till gun and red came along, they would stay. "well well," he chuckled with a spurious lash of his tail. "aint that so, sadey? yew know i'm always up for a little wrasslin'." 
he winked at her but his face was guarded. colt was rather itching for a fight; the gang had been calm a while. but she was right. winter was hard enough without being cut up. "let's scout."

Sadey felt the lrickling of unease and watching as well and she nodded. She too had been complacent too long.

She shifted and began a gait to scout and seek and search. There were two scents on the land. At least prominent. Whether that was good or not was question.

The darker wolf's scars reminded Arric of his father who was peppered in them. He imagined in time he'd gain a few. And it seemed it was presenting itself now.

Arric narrowed blue eyes. I'd say they our foul mouthed and even fouler minded.

He tilted his head with a soft growl. I'm not averse to fighting it out you want, but it might set us back hunting wise. Hut i don't take too kindly to others threatening my home and my livlihood.

They weren’t seen yet—the general idea of the ‘intruders’ conversation certainly backing up Arric’s observation, and Akavir found himself faintly amused, despite the unfortunate circumstance. “Too bad we didn’t recruit a healer yet,” he surmised, recalling Arric’s suggestion they do so at their first meeting.

Bummer.

“Well. Prepare for the worst, I guess, and we’ll see how this goes.” It seemed there were only two of them—a fair fight, at least in Akavir’s mind, and he lifted himself, rolling his shoulders back to stretch the taut muscles before winding past, coming to the opening and view of the others.

“Beannachd leat,” he offered, shoulder squared up, champagne eyes stoical as they roved over the party before him. He was hopeful they didn’t speak his father’s language—and that it would deter them from lingering.

have been playing like @Indra III & @Gun are close but not currently present, mostly bc i didnt want to assume yalls presence for yet another group thread lol but u can jump in anytime! <3

colt, who had drawn his everyday ration of birchbark from their meager supplies, now tucked the strip into his jaw. "let me do the talkin'," he declared to sadey, who surely would not listen.
two brutes, two men. the gang members moved toward them. colt halted a good distance away, close enough for conversation but not close enough to strike.
he stopped, hip cocked and scarlet eyes missing nothing. "howdy." he spat a stream of birch juice and it arced into the air, splashing the edge of the streambank. 
"this yer patch, chief?" he asked, ignoring the foreign language and addressing the man with the white ring around his eye, not the one who had spoken. 
now that was deliberate.

Sadey wanted to growl and though every single fiber of her being wanted to tell Colt to shove it. She didn't because it would undermine all they were doing, but he'd hear it later honest to god.

She smirked at the big brutes, eying them up. Measuring.

Arric raised a brow and stared at the other. He said nothing. It was not his place. He was part of the pack, but not the leader.

He smirked and looked to Akavir. Refusing to say a word. Showing his place and his respect.

There was a hip cock, a stare down, and then an equally impressive and disgusting arc of saliva as it shot out of the man’s mouth in a casual spit. Now, where Akavir came from, spitting toward another was a sign of disrespect. Given the body language of the other man—it meant the exact same thing.

Arric took it in stride—smirk on his features and giving Akavir space to continue. A goading of sorts, almost, and he felt a certain eagerness at what was looking to be another fight.

Pretenses dropped. Why waste time?

“Careful,” he offered, a lazy grin spreading across his muzzle, revealing a flash of his canines. “Or I’ll make you lick that back up.”

ring-eye was the strong silent type. it was the yellow-eyed man that grabbed for the proverbial reins of the meeting. if more wolves flowed from the creeklands, sadey and colt would be fucked. as it were, they had the right numbers for what was surely to happen.
"i reckon yer not gonna do shit," colt shot back, his own muscles flowing into the familiar stance of a fight. he grinned with equal laziness at the pair of morons, then lunged for ring-eye.
best to take the biggest bastard on himself. sadey could handle prick-mouth.

And they were doing this.

Sweet white petite thing turned into a bristling banshee as she snarled and raced right towards the already wounded one, though scarred.

She aimed low and dirty. Teeth snapping at underarms dancing away from his teeth and clwa. Using her size.

roll if youd like 3 hp 30/30

Arric saw him coming and used his size and bulk to aim a sharp shoulder to the others chest and throat as hecran at him. Attempting to grasp his throat and make this ending swift.

6 30/30

When the red-eyed wolf (was he being haunted by red-eyed wolves?) lunged for Arric, Akavir knew the she-wolf would be upon him instantly. He would have to hope Arric made the cowboy eat his own spit instead.

She was small, but she was muscled, and the scars on her form a token of her ability. He ducked his muzzle and she snapped at him before nimble paws danced her away. He shifted, watching her, taking her tactic in before lunging forward, feinting where he believed her next move was and aiming to catch her with gaping jaws.

27/30 - 9

ring-eye did what big fuckers always did: lowered their center of gravity and hit hard. but colt briggs, by way of not being a big fucker, had learned his away around them. course it had taken quite a few ass-beatings for him to get the point.
colt's lunge ended in a duck as the massive jaws swung at him. they clipped the top of his ear and blood sprayed into the air. the shoulder caught him glancing as he dropped away. that was gonna bruise. but while he was low, colt snapped his yellow teeth for the planted massive paw, hoping to score it deep.

Throwing her in late!

She had kept her distance.
Shadows appeared; one after the other, seeking out Colt and Sadey. Before Indra could draw herself close enough to listen she saw more movement, and knew things were going downhill.
If there was ever a chance to prove herself to the gang, or to get Sadey to see her as a worthwhile investment, now was that moment. Redbird moved as if she were hunting a pheasant: low and quick, with her long strides sweeping her body through the shadows.
The girl snaked her way close and did not wait to flash her own teeth, snapping at the stranger who tangled with Colt first.

22/30--- 3

She did her best, but he was bigger. However, that didn't deter her. Her caught her right behind the ear, and she snarled. Paws scrabbling to get away from him. and then recircle and fight again.

Soon enough it was on both sides, and the tell tale tinge of red, began on teh edges of his eye sight, and he went for the girl with firebrand paws. Teeth dug deep into his paw, but he continued forward pressing his advantage, which in this case was his size. 

Teeth aimed for vital organs while he used his tail as a blinder.

He scored her—flesh in teeth but she was quick and spun away. He snarled—the sound a savage rumble from his chest and throat, turning with her, eyes sharp on her. She was too snake-like to look to Arric and ensure he was okay—she would strike. 

She danced, and she lunged, teeth grabbing to his shoulder as his own body twisted, a roll of his shoulder given while his teeth sought her once more. 

24/30. 10

blood filled his mouth. colt dodged away but the teeth were snapping for —
"HA HA!" the man exulted. "WEYOOO REDBIRD, GET 'IM!"
sadey was tangled with hotfoot. colt made the incredibly mature, merciful decision then to recall his troops before they took wounds into winter, as he and she had just decided.
"give it up, yew stupid bastards! yer outnumbered with more on th'way!"
he dashed in again, directly for the side of ring-eye's neck, hoping to drag him and his attention away from red.

The feeling of her teeth catching on bone jarred Indra a bit, but she tore away with a bloodied lip, only it wasn't her blood that stained her teeth but that of the black-furred stranger.
She heard the triumphant bellowing of Colt and was energized by it.
The man wheeled one way and then the other, and Indra had to move quickly to avoid being hip-checked. The man's tail was in the way and she snarled, dipping around him as he moved, vying for another spot to aim for.
Colt was shouting again — but Indra could only hear the racing of her own pulse in her ears, and feel the snapping of her teeth as she tried to grab hold of the ring-eyed stranger; Colt was there abruptly, at the same side, aiming for his neck.
PISS OFF, DEAD WEIGHT!
She skirted around his front with a holler of her own, trying to disorient with noise and motion, and shot forward to try and grab at his shoulder. He'd have to defend against Colt's neck jab or defend against the girl as she sought blood from the other side, but there was no way to do both.

12/30 -- 4

A sharp pain blossomed at her rib cage and she felt the blood well from the teeth that had scored and dug deep. She growled in absolute fury as her white fur began to change to the color of the little redbird.

But she sunk her teeth deeper into his flesh and would tear it from his body if she had too. If she died, she was taking this bastard with her. And then when he met hell, she'd be the screaming bitch in his ear.

She used her paws to scrabble upwards to anchor herself for moer leverage so that when she did pull from him, she took the biggest chunk of his sorry hide she could

The two creatures that were set upon him, were loud and obnoxious, but he said  nothing. Refusing to give into the absolute cacophony that they were trying to cause. Instead he saw what was coming and moving his head snake like. He covered his throat from the male wolf that was coming on his side. Meeting him teeth to teeth.

The girl would attach to his shoulder and dig, but he pressed on. Adrenaline spurring him on and the hot blood of his ancestors digging deep, proving more to him the worth of those with the blood lust of many.

He was made for this.

She held his flank, scoring teeth to it and tearing fur and flesh. Another scar, it seemed but he wasn’t about to give way to her. The pain was searing, red hot and he used this to fuel him further.

Not when his own fangs dug to her ribcage. If this were a game of chicken, he would have placed money on himself—and at the roar of the spitter nearby, his gaze caught sight of Arric, a force, but still outnumbered. 

And so, stocky and large, Akavir would make an attempt to pull the grey whe-wolf to his advantage and knock her into the little red wolf.

19/30  7