Wapun Meadow Lacrimosa

The hunt for @Almalexia continued. She tracked the dark witch beyond the borders and put into the wilderness. From what she could tell, the woman’s scent lead to the meadow, where she had  been in the company of another wolf- a male, who smelled of Kvarsheim. 

She followed along- more questions coming to mind. They had sent word to the other two packs warning them of her threat- and here, it seemed, one had crossed her path, or perhaps had simply been following it very slowly. 

She did not know she tracked the man named @Germanicus but she wondered where his affiliation truly lay. Did he sympathize with the witch? Or was he merely hunting her, the same way Moss was?

She continued on, searching.

germanicus moved back into the meadow.

he felt that he had put to rights what had been stirred. he had carried the witch to the den.

and now he carried her fur and her blood as proof of his agreement fulfilled.

it was not so many paces into wapun that he came across an amazonian swiftcurrent wolf.

"she fled southwest. not without injury," he said, setting down his trophy.

Another scent lingered in the area- one she ignored, noting the familiar trace of one of their allies on the male’s pelt, until he came into her line of view. She studied him for a moment, her blunted nose quivering, her hackles prickling when she noted the scent of blood, and the wafting scent of the witch-woman as well.

He seemed to know who she was looking for- but Moss narrowed her eyes slightly at him and frowned. Aside from him belonging to Kvarsheim, she had no reason to believe he wasn’t a spy, and she fell too easily into her own suspicions. 

Still- he had some proof of his good intentions and she stepped closer so she might investigate him further. She bristled defensively, but would hover her muzzle over the traces of blood and fur which did not belong to him. She stepped back, calming slightly.

”You hunt her too.” She stated. Twice now, the sleek woman had somehow managed to avoid her own demise at the hands of perfectly capable wolves. Akavir seemed like he could hold his own in a fight, and this silver-ticked man had a sturdy look to him- the steadiness of one who well how to wield himself in battle. Still- he too had failed.

”She seems to get out of every fight somehow. She runs?” Moss asked. Perhaps the men were suited to fighting, but she might have outpaced them.

germanicus stood for her investigation. "she runs. she hides. she must know this land well, to return over and over."

"i hunt her because i was asked." the imperator had become a mercenary in an ironic twist that was not wasted upon her.

"she can be trapped. it will take poison."

germanicus kept the small bundling of her fur trapped beneath a forepaw as he spoke.

She was swift, which had been Moss’s guess. The man seemed to know her movements well, though he did not seem quite as intense about hunting her down as she was. 

She thought to suggest that they hunt together- and then he mentioned another alternative. Moss squinted, but didn’t wave the idea off. 

”How can you poison a wolf who runs? Surely she would not scavenge from a kill that smells like one who hunts her.” Moss responded. ”We should hunt her together. Which way did she go last?” Moss asked.

Cornered, the vixen would have nowhere to run.

"you starve them of prey."

germanicus indicated the blood. "she is injured. she has gone southwesterly, but she will not go far if she is unable to hunt." the eagle gestured toward the proud sprawl of the sunspire in the distance.

he lifted his head to look out across the terrain. "a pursuit is allowing the target to tangle themselves with enough rope."

now to the woman of swiftcurrent. "let her starve. she will consume whatever is given when she is lured into the open."

He did not seem to share her keen desire to hunt the witch- allowing her to starve seemed a ridiculous notion to Moss, and poison seemed to gentle a death. 

In the very least, she would deny the woman of sleep- keep her running on her feet, and no doubt her injury and starvation would catch up with her, and make it easier for Moss to do the same.

The direction was appreciated, though she would take it with a grain of salt; she found the man suspicious, still- she spared no stranger of her own paranoia and projections. 

So she gave him a nod. ”I will continue tracking her. Take care.” She said, and began to rove away.

<3

"good hunting," he said to her.

germanicus would patrol until she faded from view, and then wait another hour before he turned back to the valley and the prisoner kept within.