Emberflame Ridge bloody contemplation

For @Indigo. ^__^

It was dawn and the sun was astonishingly bright. A low fog had descended on the rich lands around the Sunspire Mountains, making the great crags of Thunder Dome look even more imposing as they protruded from blankets of ethereal mist. But the morning sun glowed like a spotlight, unabashed. Noctura surveyed it all with quiet admiration. He had tentatively taken up residence in the land, under the guidance of a young female who had faith that he could learn to control his instinctive aggression and become a useful part of her peaceful new tribe.

Noctura had been so endeared by Asterr’s articulate and romanticised beliefs that he had taken her on her word and had turned from staunch loner to aspiring packwolf in the space of an hour. But that didn’t mean he had taken to it like a duck to water. On the contrary, he was more like a shark in desert. He had not sought out his packmates or done anything you would expect from a collaborator, but had instead spent his time roaming and exploring, answering only to Asterr.

This morning he was following his nose. A family of rabbits was hibernating just below the roots of a willow tree just off Thunder Dome, and Noctura was in the process of massacring them. They barely had time to squeak in their sleep. But a few seconds after the huge wolf began his feast, he paused suddenly, standing up straight, blood drip drip dripping gorily from his dark maw.

He had just realised: what kind of packwolf didn’t bring food home to share?