Northstar Vale You don't swing it like you used to, man

Happy holidays, everyone! The last day for this next round will be December 28th. Feel free to have your character select an elk for the pack to go after or team up or whatever you feel is fun in the "chase" stage of the hunt—I imagined this playing out kind of like the first few minutes of this video when I wrote it!

Several wolves came forth from the main Duskvale pack to join in the hunt: strange Rhys with his pessimistic outlook on life, quiet Tryphon with his stalwart silence, the newcomer whose name she couldn't remember at the moment and Dagfinn, his shadow. Absent from the list was both Warbone and Indra, which made Saena twitch her ears and glance around, but she could only assume the two were together somewhere. Indra seemed quite intimidated by Warbone, while the heavyset first male seemed intent on winning her daughter's trust. Either way, neither of them showed up, along with several others.

It didn't really matter. There was more than enough of a hunting party here to take down a hale and healthy elk. Turning, Saena looked out over the herd and selected a female from among those lagging near the back—"That one, if we get the chance," she told them with a jerk of her snout, "but we will break them first and see who leaves the group"—and then she led them down the hill.

Saena's hunting had never been overly strategic. Back home on the plateau, there had always been a plan of action, but Saena rarely planned her hunts ahead. She was instinctive in that respect: she preferred to run among the herd animals, see how they scattered and how they bunched together, and go in for the kill when the opportunity presented itself. That was how she led the hunt now. With a gruff bark and a joyous bound, the first female invited the Duskvale wolves—all male at this gathering—to join her in streaking through the herd and sending the elk running.

It was very much like a cue ball hitting a perfectly arranged stack of billiard balls.