Great Bear Wilderness Honest Mistakes

@Fox

Mara sniffed around the grassland at the base of mountain that housed the Red Hawk pack. It seemed awfully uncomfortable to live in a hollowed out volcano, but she guess they could do what ever they wanted. Mara focused back on her sniffing and of scented a rabbit that had passed through here less then ten minutes ago. Jack pot.

Following the trail on silent paws, she spotted the fluffy grey creature nibbling on some piece of food it had found. She crouched, ready to spring when something moved near the rabbit. Her prey shot off into the grass and Mara sprung after it, her russet paws pounding across soft grass in hot pursuit. Her stormy grey eyes sparkled with the thrill of the hunt. She was less then a leap away and she pushed her hind legs in one final attempt to catch sprinting blur. Her claws hooked in its soft grey pelt and it stumbled to the ground, Mara coming down on top of it in a heap of sunset fur. She snapped its neck in one twist and it stopped struggling beneath her.

Mara huffed and lifted the hare in her jaws. Looking around she realized she had come to the base of the mountain. She could smell the scent marker close by. She hoped the caldera wolves wouldn't be mad she was this close.

Fox had taken to the base of the mountain today, her eyes ever-searching for potential threats and the like. She had never been—and likely never would be—a terribly friendly creature to those outside of her friends and family at Redhawk Caldera. They were a protective lot, and she had grown close to nearly all of the wolves who now lived with her on the mount. There were a few newer additions that she had not yet closely bonded with, but it would happen in time.

With winter in full bloom, and their lack of luck with hunting recently, Fox knew that they would have to fend off non-members even outside of the caldera. They could not risk going hungry this winter, even a little bit. Fox intended to be with child by the time spring rolled around. So when she spotted somebody she did not recognize, Fox observed from afar—higher up on the mountain—for a few minutes, trying to get a feel for whether or not it was worth chasing off the stranger. When the small figure darted after a rabbit, and subsequently caught it, Fox knew that it belonged to her and her wolves.

Fox rushed down the side of Redhawk Caldera, the scar on her face likely enough to scare of the other girl who was too close for comfort. The Alpha did not speak, only went straight for the rabbit which was hanging in the stranger's jaws. If she relinquished it without a fight, Fox would let her go freely. If she did not, there would be violence.

Mara was extremely startled when a red-furred wolf rushed from the side of the mountain and lunged for the limp rabbit hanging in her jaws. Mara had surely though she had caught it on the outside of the caldera border. Where these wolves so desperate that they would claim prey that wasn't even on their territory? Mara knew that the small gray creature hanging from her jaws was fair game so she dodged out of the way of the oncoming wolf. Having been in a fight recently, she didn't exactly want to begin a new one.

With her jaws full of gray fur, she sprinted away from her attacker and further into the grass. If the enemy she-wolf stopped, Mara would stop and try to reason with her, but if she continued her attack, Mara knew she might be able to get back to her own territory before the attacker caught her.

Borders weren't lines drawn in the ground, and as Redhawk Caldera grew in numbers, Fox felt more and more at ease with chasing off and heckling anybody who attempted to hunt from the lands around them. While they would not chase off or bother others who merely roamed the neutral territories that surrounded them, those who hunted there would revoke their kill, be chased off, or they would be killed. It was nothing personal, just the way that Fox viewed things. The lands around the caldera were needed, especially during the colder months when prey was less abundant.

Fox continued to chase the female, head lowered as she buckled down and raced toward the enemy as fast as her little red legs would take her. If the girl managed to escape, at least it would be a reminder that outsiders were not welcome to hunt so close to the home shared by Fox and Peregrine.

The red wolf, about the same size as Mara(tiny), continued her pursuit on short legs. Mara yelped and continued running, her prize clamped strongly between her jaws. She thought back to her fight with Runt but she had a feeling that this one wouldn't end the same way, that this female would fight to the death. Not wanting to risk that while she was at a disadvantage, she continued running, her body lowered to the ground in a streamlined way. There was no way Mara was going to turn and fight with the rabbit in her mouth, but this was most definitely not the end of it. Reaching the end of the field she sprinted into the trees near the spine, zigzagging in a serpentine pattern. The adrenaline from the attack pumped through her veins as she reached the border of her pack. Not stopping she continued running, her paws pounding on the needle strewn ground. She had stopped paying attention to the wolf behind her a little ways into the spine territory so she wasn't sure if she was still on the attack. Still not stopping, Mara flicked her russet ears back to see if she could hear any signs of her opponent behind her.

RHC is really, really far away from OS. At least a day's travel at wolf jogging speeds. Taking that into account with this post, so it'll be my last one.

Once Fox had been running for ten or fifteen minutes, she had slowed, watching the girl disappear into the landscape. She had not gotten the food which was rightfully hers, but she was also fairly certain that the stranger would not be coming back anytime soon. Wherever the girl had come from, it was a long way off, and Fox wasn't willing to spend any more time running after the small kill. Satisfied that the stranger would not return, she huffed, her breath coming out in a cloud as she turned and headed back to Redhawk Caldera.

She would make sure to tell Peregrine of this, and to ensure that the whole pack was on high alert for scavengers. Fox felt it important that they were all on the same page when it came to handling those who were not of Redhawk. Such things had gone awry while she had led Swiftcurrent Creek, and she did not wish to repeat that fiasco.