Wapun Meadow turnabout

@Star hunt? :P when we get to close to either killing whatever prey, we can roll dice and see if star and dovev catch it or not. the chances of them catching it will probably only about 15%, so I will incorporate that into the roll

Leathery toes upon dried fall grass was the only sound in the sturdy pine-speckled landscape as Dovev traveled southeast. The sun was bright, but it's heat never seemed to reach the earth as he felt cool dirt underneath the weeds. Occasionally, a raven would drift over the orange landscape, but even then it ignored the white wolf and let out only the sound of feathers against air.

He hoped Star had been following, however far behind. Dovev could suspect the young ivory wolf had enough of a brain and a good nose to follow his scent trail leading from the main part of Creek territory and out into the sprawling meadows and forested stands of Wapun. He stopped in the crest of one bowled meadow, pale eyes peering about. The breeze tossed wild barley and grass stems in the wind, blowing various aromas to his nose. The Creek member waited for his packmate to catch up, wondering if she had picked up the same smells he had.

Sorry, The tag didn't work for me, even though it is like a link and stuff.

She had, indeed, followed his scent. She was currently following him and decided she needed to catch up if they were gonna do that hunt. Star trotted forward faster until she could see his white coat. "Dovev" she called softly as she caught up to him, standing beside him. It was an acknowledgement. She had caught the scent of something drifting faintly on the breeze. It was something she had smelled before, but she didn't think she had hunted it or eaten it. It was something like deer or elk or caribou, perhaps.

With the sound of rustling grass, Dovev lifted his neck to catch Star coming into view. The wind had been blowing cross-ways, and he hadn't been too wary of tracking her progress. But it seemed she hadn't been too far behind him.

I think it's elk, Dovev murmured in response to her greeting, swiveling to position his nose in the breeze. The constant rush of air was intermingled with the smell of dry grass, pine, and scent-markers. But it was there, an undercurrent, but fresh. He would suspect whatever elk there was to be about a half hour away, due southwest.

She nodded. "I thought something like that." She said, and watched as he pointed his muzzle towards the scent. "Let's go." She said quietly. Without waiting for a response from the cloud-white wolf, she set off at a fast, steady trot in the direction of the scent. Star had a lot of stamina and could travel like this a ways, which was actually how she made a lot of her progression from her old life to her new one. She liked this new one better, but she would always miss her sister Moon.

Through the sound of rustling yellow grass, Star's voice floated towards him and confirmed his thoughts. Elk had a little bit more of a woody and airy scent, and deer were more musky, although it had always taken a wolf a bit of time to distinguish the smell of their prey. The two snowy wolves had turned, and Dovev fell in step behind Star as she took the lead. She was much quicker, and sometimes Dovev lost sight of her, but it was easy enough to stay on the trail of her lingering aroma.

The sun had barely moved from it's position when they came close to the elk herd. They had been following the line of pine forest, sticking to the open ground but trotting underneath the shade of the swaying needles. Here they had stopped, and to the left the meadow curved downwards slightly to hold a small basin of water. Just across it Dovev could make out the towering shape of elk. Rather than make a suggestion, he glanced over at the female to hear what her first move might be.

Star came upon where the elk were and Dovev stopped beside her. He looked at her for what to do next. They hadn't discussed a signal, so Star made the most obvious attempt to communicate her thoughts. She pointed towards herself with her paw, the motioned to a smallish elk near the edge of the herd. She quickly swiped her paw to the side, away from the herd. She pointed to him, and after a pause, pointed towards the elk. Star was hoping they could target this small one on the fringes. She wanted to separate it from the group and then have him charge in. Then they could catch it together. Without waiting for a reply, she stealthily crept along the side. The elk continued to stand around, some grazing. She quickly raced towards the small one on the edge. The elk noticed her quickly and began to make whatever noise they make very nervously and loud. They began to move away. She tried to keep up to them. The one she'd motioned to was still on the edge, in the back. Perfect for her. She lept as far as she could, and although she didn't hang on long, her jaws caught the elk's haunches. It made an elk noise in pain, like a wail. It slowed down a little and was kinda hobbling along, trying to keep up. She was kind of succsessful. It had slowed down and was falling behind, but still quite close to the rest of the herd.

I set up our roll

As they stopped, Star cast her light blue gaze towards him, keeping her voice quiet. He was appreciative of her silence, not wanting to spoil their unlikely chance of catching an elk. Dovev wondered how much experience his fellow packmate had at hunting. He had worked hard to transition from tundra hunting to this, where the obstacles were vastly different. Circling reindeer and musk ox were replaced with the bolting and fanning herds of elk and deer.

Star had caught on to a prospective young elk who dawdled at the edge of the pond. She had moved first, her movements lithe and crouched low against the sweeping waves of grass. Dovev waited a moment, knowing she would use her obvious speed to help scare the elk off. Following her path through the bent grass, his ears rested alertly on his skull as he kept his eyes trained on the furry white spine moving towards their target.

A squeal rung out in the chilly autumn air, and Dovev's skull snapped up. Star had successfully taken a bite out of the elk haunch, and Dovev was spurred into action. He poured speed into his paws, and although he wasn't as agile as Star, and she tailed the young elk ahead as it struggled to rejoin the herd. Feeling the nip of wind in his open mouth, the male charged over the cool earth, skirting rocks and over fallen logs. Surpassing Star, the male launched himself at the elk, throwing his weight into the lunge. His jaws twisted sideways as he snapped at the back leg of the elk, aiming to latch on and use the friction of his paws to pull the prey backwards.

Dovev charged up behind her, right on time. She would've called out a thanks or good job, but she couldn't waste he precious breath on congrats right now. Star watched as he attempted to snap at the elk's back leg again. She swerved to the side where he wasn't, and she leaped and bit down hard on its side. It squealed loudly and for a moment she felt bad. She told herself not to though, because it was her prey. She couldn't feel bad for it. She leapt and attempting to bite again, but it swerved a little, so her fangs only scraped its side.

after your next post I will roll to see if the hunt was a success or not (does the elk get away or no)

He had hardly sunk his teeth into the elk's lower leg when it let out another call and shook it's legbone from his mouth. Stumbling, the Creek male kept up his pace and dashed alongside the prey, running towards the main herd. Swerving, he ran in front of the elk, aiming to cut the creature off and steer it along a different path. They were in the southern part of the meadow lands, and just beyond he could see the slopes of the Rising Sun Mountains rise, coated in riparian forest.

A white frame flashed out of the corner of his eye and he saw Star leap, scraping furiously along the tan hide of the elk. But he could see the prey begin to slow her lope, and they were heading for a good spot. The ground was becoming more steep and rocky, and the elk's long legs could easily trip her up. The male had been trotting in front them, catching a few breaths. Now he stopped, glancing over his shoulder and preparing to rush at them for another, and perhaps the final, assault.

Star was also glad for the new terrain. Her thoughts were similar with added thought that her paw pads had been made for running on stone and gravel, and she was used to this. The mountain she'd been raised on was rocky, and she knew how to control her feet on it. She watched as Dovev stopped for a few moments. She realized he might be ready to make an attack from behind. Star slowed a little but still kept further up than Dovev. Again she leapt at it for what, the third time? Her pearly white fangs sunk into the elk's side again and it squealed in pain. Crimson squirt from the gash onto Star's face. She kinda hoped it didn't stain her fur.

o:surprise! rolled a success! yay!

With a leap, Dovev surged upwards at the elk's neck. He had used his position in front of them to his advantage, waiting for the moment where his opportunity was clear and the opening to the elk's vitals were open. At that moment, he watched Star jump from the corner of his eye towards the elk. Subtly twisting in mid-air, Dovev's back paws hit the earth first before his jaws found purchase on the elk's darkened mantle. Although he swung only briefly before the elk tossed him off, the onslaught of the two white wolves on her tired body was beginning to give way.

Star had chosen a good target, and the land had been on their side. He couldn't imagine what would've happened if the elk had taken refuge in a river and waited out the wolves, or found some way to regroup with her herd. The cow didn't bother to stop and face the wolves and use her powerful hooves to warn them away, but kept up her slow, tumbling walk as the wolves jumped and dodged by her again and again. It was obvious she was young, this was probably her first- and last- encounter with wolves.

Dovev leaped forward, having fallen behind. Blood was willingly streaming from various wounds on the elk. They had gained the upper hand.

woo hoo! Btw, I'm going to bring down the elk here. If you don't want that to happen yet, please just tell me and I'll change it.

Star noticed the crimson droplets, no more like splashes of crimson spurting from the wounds. The elk was struggling to keep going with each movement. Star leapt once more onto the young elk fiercely, digging her fangs into her neck this time. The elk let out one of its final cries before it fell to the ground. Her herd seemed to let out a mournful sigh together while they kept speeding away from the scene. They would sacrifice one for the good of the herd, but personally Star thought this was cruel to the one. She looked into the dying elk's eyes. At least you did your best. You were too young to survive a first wolf attack anyways, especially from two wolves. She let out a sort of low moaning sound before her eyes glazed over. Now it was creepy, those dead eyes still staring at her. She quickly pushed the eyelids down to protect herself from the young elk's dead gaze. She looked around to see where Dovev was, and perhaps help her drag it to a cache. With just one wolf, they might not of caught it, but team hunting was usually very successful. And Star was glad they had been successful.

ok, last post from me!

With her speed, Star had been the one to deliver the final blow to the young elk. The cow collapsed as the white female dragged her down, head lopping to one side as her gangly elk legs folded underneath her. Dovev let go of the back haunch he had been dutifully clamping down on, tongue running along the bloody sides of his jaws.

It was a small elk, but the male guessed the pack could feed on it for four days or so, perhaps longer provided the higher ranking wolves had no qualms about driving some of the newer members off of it. It would be good to cache some of the meat, even if the Creek currently had no mothers or young pups to feed. The adults could make the trek out to the Meadows to eat what they wanted off the elk, and then bring small strips of it back to hide amongst the territory.

He still was pleasantly surprised the pair had been able to bring down the beast- Dovev guessed the stars were aligned. He grinned at his packmate.

Good job, he spoke with a wave of his tail. Dovev admitted to himself that he had let the female do most of the work, but then again he was no speed demon and probably wouldn't have been able to catch up to the cow elk if Star hadn't been slowing her down. Looking down at their prize, he could feel his stomach growl. Dovev wouldn't usually have a problem eating some of it, but the pack had been rather unsuccessful with their past hunts. Someone needed the food more than he did.

ok, my last post! Sorry for the shortness here! I'll archive this.

She smiled a little. "Thanks, you too. Teamwork, right?" She said. She glanced down at it. With Winter coming, this was a blessing. It would probably feed a good amount of wolves and, with the failure of the recent pack hunts, this was helpful. "C'mon. Let's get this to the caches." She said. With that she bit into it's pelt and began to drag the carcass towards Swiftcurrent.