Moonsong Glacier no body, no crime

Round one will be open until 12/19!

She'd decided to take a short break from the ulaq to stretch her legs, and shortly into her walk, she came across the scent of a wayward caribou. From what she could tell, from the scent alone, it was alone, and something about it smelled weak; she couldn't discern if it was age or sickness through her stuffy nose.

Unable to pass up the opportunity, although she was sick, injured, and unable to participate, she tipped her head back and summoned her village with a howl: Come to me, village Moonsong! I've found something that needs to be caught!

The call shot a chill down the panther's spine. He hastened toward Ariadne's voice, fearing he'd somehow misread her tone. But no, she seemed fine when he arrived.

"Caribou?" he said as he drew near, breathless after his run. He hoped sincerely that Ariadne would not try to chase after it, but the call of such a big meal soon distracted him from his worries. He wanted the pack to eat well before Chakliux called him away.

Dutch prowled forward, beginning the process of tracking the creature down while cloudwoman gathered the rest to her.

When he arrived, he was not the first to heed her call and that irked him; but Kaluktuk had been busy with a patrol of the upper reaches, places where they had yet to really explore as a village, and it had taken him longer than anticipated to return. Now he came upon Dutch with Ariadne, and they were both invested in something further from them.

Kaluktuk came drifting to Ariadne's side just as Dutch was departing to give chase. He watched the man go, more focused on the man than the caribou; and then he looked to Ariadne and before she could stop him, gave her a blatant, possessive nip to her cheek (like a sneaky kiss) and then peeled away to help.

He went charging after the other hunter, then deviated his path so that he could also help herd the creature. If it veered off course, he would be there to harass it back towards Dutch or any other hunters that appeared.

jr is patrolling the borders when, her energies focused upon the sights and the smells, ghost dives down from arial recon and grabs a tuft of the fur at her nape in his good talon and tugs. it jolts her out of the hyper focus she's extended and her golden gaze snaps to ghost as he takes flight in a direction.

she assumes, then, that a call had risen for her.

she follows in ghosts' shadow; steps slowing as the scent of others soon gives way to ariadne and the scent of dutch still too fresh and strong to be far away; mingling with the scent of caribou.

-a hunt?- jr signs to her leader, guessing.

The hunt was on[mdasdh]Dutch and Kaluktuk raced by, the later sneaking a kiss that caused her to blush, and only Towhee Jr stopped to confirm what she suspected. -Yes- she signed in return. -Caribou. That way- she pointed in the direction the others went.

While the others hunted, she would wait; unfortunately, she couldn't participate. There would be other hunts, but this was their first as a village, and she had to sit it out. While it put a damper on her heart, she refused to allow the feeling to surface. This was an exciting day for Moonsong!

He did not run far before Kaluktuk joined him. A wide grin conveyed his pleasure as he recalled their last hunt; the man was easy to work with, and possessed a powerful build readily capable of taking down such prey. With a caribou, either one of them would likely still struggle on their own. With the two of them, however, it would likely feel like a sport.

And then Towhee appeared, and despite a jolt of anxious misgiving, his tail gave a jaunty little wave.

-stay afraid from back paws- he instructed, along with a verbal warning to keep clear of the the creature's sharp hooves. -brother and I will slow it. bite neck when safe-

His ptero was still clunky, but she had been adept in the past at reading his lips, too. His words had been called out to Kaluktuk as well, but he turned his face and ears back toward the other hunter once more. "We can try to hamstring it for her," he said, offering a plan he felt needed no more elaboration. Even so, his tone offered a small measure of deference — he could easily change his plans to suit the other man.

Tulugak had taken the long route home, and so when Ariadne came into view, she was left with only the scents of Dutch and Kaluktuk and Towhee Jr mingling in the proverbial dust. 

"Ariadne!" she greeted, tail plumed as she raced to greet her friend with a warm embrace. The air buzzed with excitement - for a successful hunt would bring good fortune to the new village and prove their bonds. Though she itched to join in, she enjoyed the company of the red woman and was quite content to settle nearby, besides, three strong hunters was likely more than enough to come out victorious.

Soon enough they were three; but Kaluktuk did not know this shadow and had not yet hunted with them yet. She looked young and able-bodied, but it wasn't until Dutch motioned in a strange way that Kaluktuk took notice of something missing. He refused to let his attention deviate from the hunt for long — it only took one moment of indecision, or one missed step, to lose track of a target even if it was as large as a caribou.

He went on ahead, not waiting for Dutch or the shadow. The herd wasn't nearly as vast as those of the north—he recalled when the caribou returned to the range of Natigvik fondly—but there were enough bodies here that the glacier wolves could be choosy. Many lacked crowns and that was the best method for discerning their genders; that, and the roundness of bellies which would birth new caribou in the spring.

None stood out to Kaluktuk as being particularly vulnerable so he rounded one way, and sought out Dutch with a small shake of his head, to convey as much. They would need to split off in another direction and see the other side of the herd before a choice could be made.