Wapun Meadow You can't be late until you show up.

The caches were low. They'd made small kills here and there but with the pups growing larger and stronger everyday, there was a constant need to keep Tonravik fed so she could, in turn, feed the kids.  Their failed hunt hadn't helped this week. Yes, as a pack, they'd managed to find a few things here and there, but in his mind it simply wasn't enough. They needed something a little bit bigger. Something more substantial that snacks. He wasn't going to find anything like that on the Spire. There was too much blood in the air for any creature to feel safe enough to fall into the jaws of a wolf.

He removed himself from the packlands and ventured lower. The jagged spires that served as trenches to the pack were difficult even for him. With time, stubbornness, and the patience that came with his persistence, he eventually made it to the foothills and into the valley below. He'd seen the meadow. He turned his paws towards it now as he had bird on the brain. A pheasant. Hell, a turkey would be fine. Anything a little fatter that he could drag along and haul back up the rock face toward home.

Paw over paw, he approached the meadow and found no sight of bird. Or rather, fewer traces than he wished. Instead, there was the scent of something else. Not deer. They were smaller than that. Golden antelope with their pronged horns that looked nimble and built for speed. He lingered in the grass, sinking low so he might stalk them more effectively. If he were to steal one of them, he'd best be go about it quickly before they detected his presence.

He gathered his strength, coiling like a snake before he sprang and gave chase. One of them. All he needed to fell was one. He ran. He chased. He hunted.

dating this to be on the afternoon of 8/27, y/n?

Warm sunlight spilled over the meadows, illuminating the richly flowered meadow with an almost ethereal glow. Shimmering heat waves ebbed and flowed over lush vegetation, but the heat was a liquid one, continuously tempered by the occasional blustery gust. Sien had stretched herself out leisurely amongst the taller grasses, largely hidden from view in part thanks to her flaxen coloration. Relaxation was a luxury she rarely partook in, but she’d had a string of good luck with prey lately, and it seemed wasteful not to enjoy a moments’ repose while she still had the chance.  Less than an hour ago, she’d made a meal out of a plump cottontail – after thanking the rabbit for its life – and now, satiated and somewhat little drowsy, Sien groomed herself, thoughts spinning idly.
 
As her teeth worked gently to untangle a knot of matted fur, she found herself yearning, as always, for Cerise’s company. If Cerise were here, well…she’d be as restless and talkative as ever, Sien supposed. Smoothing her tongue over the straightened strands, she wondered, rather abruptly, what Cerise would’ve - no, would think about Niall and the Sect. She’d be curious, Sien decided, and skeptical. Cerise was always asking questions, probing, wanting to know details, specifics; she thrived on information. Sien had never seen the point before, having always accepted things at face value until proven otherwise – but now, left with all these unanswered questions about the Sect after Niall’s untimely death…the value was certainly more than apparent.
 
This never would’ve been a problem for Cerise, Sien thought, swiping her tongue in a broad swath across her side. She would’ve gotten all her answers upfront, asking things like “Why is the Creator a ‘he’?” That inquiry in particular was one Sien had never even thought to ask until it was too late. She supposed it must’ve had something to do with duality and Terra, or maybe she’d been right in the first place and it didn’t really matter at all. Where ‘overthinking’ seemed to bring clarity and contentment to Cerise, it merely gave Sien a headache. Dispelling the thoughts before she actually developed one, Sien paused in her efforts and merely rested, laying her face against the ground and relishing the unique contrast between the warmth of the grasses and the residual coolness of the earth.
 
And then the vibrations began. Her enjoyment was doomed to be short-lived, it would seem. They started as a faint trembling, but even that was enough to put Sien on edge instantly. Her head was up in a flash, and she scanned the horizon for signs of trouble relentlessly, pale eyes peering over the tops of the grasses. She found it soon enough, even before the trembling intensified to actual shaking and the gradually rising chorus of dozens of thundering hooves reached her. A herd of pronghorn was rapidly approaching, plumes of dust curling upwards in their wake. Hackles raised and bristling, Sien leapt to her paws and issued a throaty warning growl, warding off their advance. The antelope turned sharply in response, putting on an additional burst of speed as they shied away in confusion from her sudden appearance.

The pronghorns were swift creatures. They ran relentlessly, moving together as hoofed animals often did. Iqniq was not a wolf built for speed. His body was thicker, broader, slower. He was no competition for the tiny golden antelope as they retreated in whatever direction they thought brought safety. Still, he sprinted. Determined, he chased and hoped one of them might prove to be lame or sickly or stumble. Something. Anything to make his efforts worth the sacrifice in energy.

He was losing them. They escaped some distance before suddenly the herd shifted and turned almost without warning. Something had disturbed them and the herd erupted into chaos as their once clear direction broke into disorder. Some split to the left or right. Others turned around completely. In their confusion he gained a significant amount of lost ground and was able to steal close and nip at a heel. The pronghorn wailed as it kicked. He drew back, narrowly avoiding its hooves only to leap inward once he was clear of its feet. As luck would have it, the pronghorn's ankle rolled. He had mere seconds to champion this kill and Iqniq leapt, throwing his body weight upon the creature as he road it down to the ground.

The female pronghorn was down. It kicked and flailed with its sharp hooves as he shifted his body to dodge the brunt of their blows. His teeth snatched, thankful this female had no horns as he went for its neck and crushed powerful jaws around its throat. He grappled with her. He lost purchase for just a second before he adjusted his grip on her neck and leveraged the rest of his body to hold her down. Hold her still. She struggled, but in her fight she exhausted what breath she had left in her body. It felt like forever, but eventually she stilled and fell lifeless beneath him. Success. If luck had not been on his side, he'd not have been able to claim this victory.

Exhausted, he slowly eased himself from the corpse. He lay atop her, claiming her as he panted with lolling tongue and waited to regain his breath. In and out. He focused, slowing his breathing until the heaving of his lungs was satisfied that the chase was over. To eat now? To replenish that spent energy? Or to start dragging it back home? It would be easier to carry if it were lighter, but more blood and death upon the air would attract an audience. He grit his teeth. It'd be a long journey home. Lighter it was.

He turned towards the neck where his teeth had claimed the pronghorn's life and began to devour the flesh there.

Only after the last pronghorn had raced past her did Sien stand down and notice the other wolf’s presence. The herd’s scent had washed over her as they pounded past, a heavy musk brimming with sweat and fear and prey. Dimly, amongst that muddle, she’d picked out the aroma of a male; this orange wolf she was tracking with her gaze now. Pack wolf, her mind had registered. It was a fairly familiar smell by now; she’d noticed it many times as she edged her way around the marked borders, and it was the same one carried by the stranger she’d met in the tarns. What was his name again? Tasya? she wondered briefly, before casting the thought aside. It wasn't important; she doubted she’d ever see him again.
 
This new wolf was an ambitious one, hunting pronghorn alone as he did, but Sien supposed pack wolves could take risks like that. It wasn’t as if she herself hadn’t been tempted… but not only had she already eaten, she was also far too slow to take down an antelope without the benefit of surprise – and in this case, the pronghorns themselves had been the ones to surprise her. Not to mention, engaging even a single individual on her own promised a risk decidedly heavier than the slim chance at potential reward, let alone going after an entire herd….and one without a guaranteed weak link besides. Bravery…? Sien mused, observing as the male finally managed to tackle a female to the ground, grappling with it in earnest. More like suicidal, her mind concluded, as he narrowly dodged a flailing kick.  
 
It wasn’t until the fight was nearly over, with the male coming out on top, pinning his prey down, that Sien realized she probably should’ve made an attempt to aid him in some way. It'd slipped her mind; she was still so used to looking out solely for herself, so used to taking action only if they benefited her in some way. She winced slightly, suddenly somewhat abashed for her biting thoughts and inaction. I helped, she thought, trying to reassure herself. Just indirectly, without meaning to. Sien cast her eyes towards the sun guiltily, just for a moment, then averted them again, returning her gaze to the orange stranger, noting that he’d started tearing into his kill. I thank you for your life, your sacrifice, she prayed towards the pronghorn’s spirit in the stranger's stead, knowing he would not. For the next minute or so, Sien idled, torn over whether she should simply leave as she’d arrived, unnoticed, or if she should approach the stranger and try to form a connection, as Sect ideology willed her to. 

At last, she turned and retreated several paces – then turned again, heaving a sigh as she made her way down the slope toward the stranger. She wished, not for the first time since her alightening, that she’d been blessed with a more gregarious personality; it’d make being properly devout so much easier, so much more natural. But what is life without challenge? Niall’s voice, faintly humorous, rang through her mind as she approached the male. Not this, Sien thought in response, but it lacked any real bite; she'd already resigned herself to her fate. ”Hello,” she greeted simply, after coming to a halt a few respectful meters behind him. Now that she was here and had made herself known, Sien was, of course, at a loss for something more substantial to say. As always. ”Thanks for almost running me over with a herd of stampeding pronghorns?” her mind quipped suggestively – but she discarded the proposal almost immediately. No, too many words. Also too accusatory. It wasn't intentional…probably. She thought, frowning slightly. After another half-beat of silence, she decided on to start with something neutral – a question she’d been asking herself since she first noticed him. ”Why hunt alone?” And then, almost biting her own tongue for forgetting, ”Your name?”

A few quick bites and he felt instantly rejuvenated. He knew the food had not had enough time to settle and begin to fill him, but there was something about knowing that would soon happen that was instantly satisfying. He devoured the windpipe, teeth tearing through the flesh as he dined and ate just enough to lighten his load. He gave the pronghorn a glance as he drew his tongue about his lips. Perhaps it would be lighter still if he removed the head... options.

The crushing of grass underfoot reached his ears first. With a startled growl he lifted and turned to hover protectively over his kill. His fangs pulled back, teeth exposed as he straddled the golden brown body beneath him. For now, the plains deer would keep its head. He had another wolf to deal with. Female. A similar hue to the golden grass that needed a touch more rain to truly thrive. She was easy enough to overlook. But she'd snuck up on him... and that was very much unappreciated.

His ears pinned back as she ventured into conversation. With narrowed eyes, he debated with as to whether or not he wished to lower his guard to humor her or attack outright until she ventured away. He snorted, exhaling sharply so that he might taste her scent. Female. Unclaimed by any local pack. He stared long and hard before he silenced his snarls. His posture remained unchanging however as he barked out his next words. "The fuck did you come from?"

The male snarled at her, showing his teeth as he guarded the body beneath. Sien flinched in surprise and began to bare her own fangs in response before catching herself. Tolerance, she reminded. ”The fuck did you come from?” he snapped, eyeing her with suspicion. Tolerance or not, her ears flicked themselves backwards for a moment upon hearing his words, betraying her annoyance, before she was able to compose herself and straighten them once more. Maybe he didn’t know I was coming, she pondered, trying to excuse the male.
 
And yet, she was doubtful. It wasn’t as if she’d made a point of being particularly quiet or stealthy, and her bulk was considerable enough to have made some noise in her approach, even if he’d been somewhat preoccupied with his meal. Maybe he was just an oblivious sort? But Sien had difficulty parsing how a wolf so lax in maintaining awareness of his surroundings was still alive. To her, failing to remain alert spelled death. Perhaps it was another one of those pack wolf things – always having someone else to watch your back might make you soft, she supposed.
 
Either way, it was irritating to be met with such antagonism when she’d deliberately approached with only good intentions in mind. His defensiveness over the felled prey was understandable, but she had followed etiquette in maintaining a satisfactory distance, had she not? Then again, these lands were still fairly new to her; there was a good chance rules were different here – or merely within his pack. Sien didn’t care enough about the distinction to pursue the matter. 
 
”Was here first.” she replied instead, trying hard to prevent the residual acidity she felt over having her initial words overridden and ignored from tainting her speech. She inclined her head slightly in the direction of the rise behind them where she’d perched just moments before to indicate where, exactly, 'here' meant. Yes, there. Before he showed up and tried to run you over with pronghorns, you mean, her mind sniped. T o l e r a n c e, she reminded herself more forcefully. To make up for the mental transgression, Sien arranged her features into a faint smile.  She was well aware it just about screamed ‘contrived politeness’, but she was doing her best, and that must count for something.

He looked her over as he ran his tongue across his bloodied. Lips. Sloppy. He'd eaten in haste with full intent of dragging the rest of this pronghorn back up the mountain before sundown. All the licking and snapping of his teeth muddled his ears. His nose was still a touch blood blind with the corpse beneath him, but he was slowly putting this picture together. She was, for the the most part, amicable though he noted the strain it took in order for her to do so. Pinned ears. The slower, clipped snippets that seemed to suggest she was forcibly choosing her words.

He followed her gaze, glancing towards the hill where he'd chased the herd towards before they'd been spooked and fallen back into his jaws. He glanced back at her then, easing the aggression from his posture though he continued to assert himself over this kill. He could put two and two together. "You startled the herd." Just a sentence. A few choice words to show he understood what she'd meant by that.

His eyes narrowed at her for a moment as his mind spun over a few things. She'd helped, even it was indirectly. If she hadn't been on that rise, the herd would have kept running and escaped him and he'd currently be empty handed. That, and she could have been trampled. Could have been. But she wasn't. The herd had run back into his jaws and now he had something to bring home to his pack.

Slowly, he eased off of the pronghorn and took a few steps back. It seemed she'd helped him catch this one and he wasn't the kind of wolf to ignore a helping hand when he saw one. "Hungry?" he asked, tipping his head towards the kill. "Sounds like you helped me catch this one." He took a few steps back and seated himself on the ground to reassure her he'd not attack should she decide to take her portion of the prize.

soft screaming,,,, sorry for making you wait so long! things've been pretty busy for me but here's a long post to make up for it uwu;;

Forced as her cordiality was, it appeared to be working. Once the male had visibly relaxed, some of the tension left Sien’s own frame. She was not fool enough to relax her guard entirely however and, she noted with some measure of approval, neither was he. The male continued to hover defensively over his carcass, and so Sien continued to give him space. She wasn’t interested in his kill – only his company – but he didn’t know that. Were she in his position, knowing only what he did, she would naturally do the same. ”You startled the herd.” he commented at last, having reached that conclusion after some complicated mental machinations, she was sure. Not on purpose, Sien thought immediately in response. But she refrained from giving voice to the comment, lest any accusation buried within it managed to worm its way out. ”Yes,” she said instead, a simple response to a simple statement.
 
He regarded her apprehensively with narrowed eyes, apparently still mulling things over. As he did so, Sien likewise kept her focus on him, attentive to any potential changes in posture that might indicate imminent violence, on the off-chance he decided to change his mind about her. She felt slightly guilty even accounting for the possibility, but Sien was not yet at the point where she could override her instincts and give complete strangers the unconditional benefit of doubt, like Niall had – she wasn’t sure if she would ever reach that point, but she certainly wouldn’t stop trying. In the meantime, it seemed the male had come to some sort of conclusion. A flicker of surprise crossed Sien’s face when he dropped his defensive posture and slowly retreated a few paces. ”Hungry? Sounds like you helped me catch this one.” he said, backing up even further, before settling on his haunches.
 
Bewilderment gave way to understanding upon hearing his words. Still, Sien hadn’t expected him to be so…gracious. In her experience pack wolves rarely were – at least, not to loners. Sien eyed the male thoughtfully as she considered his offer. Even though she’d eaten not too long ago, the antelope was already dead. There was no point in sparing its life to avoid wastefulness if it had no life left to spare. At this point, the only waste would be not taking full advantage of its death. Likely not a problem, she mused. Surprised the whole pack isn’t here already. His pack wasn’t here and he'd offered second dibs to her, which on some level was inherently suspicious – but his actions had clearly indicated that this wasn’t meant to be a trap. Of course, it still could be, she thought. But it was a risk she was willing to chance. Sien had never been one to look a gift horse in the mouth, and the timing of her next meal was always up in the air; better to load up now than regret turning down the offer later.
 
”If you’re sure,” she enunciated carefully, making eye contact. She waited a full minute to give the male a chance to object before advancing forward. Mindful of her status, Sien refrained from going for the best parts. Instead, she went to work tearing a sizable portion from the shoulder, remaining acutely aware of the male’s position the entire time. After successfully detaching the slab of muscle from the rest of the antelope, she quickly backtracked. Only after she’d put several additional feet between them did she feel safe enough to start wolfing down her portion. Sien ate quickly and efficiently, finishing her meal within minutes. Her only regret was that she hadn’t had a chance to savor the taste – but she’d take security and a full belly over risky slow enjoyment any day.  ”Thanks,” Sien offered, once she’d finished cleaning stray blood and gore from her lips. ”Name’s Sien,” she continued on a whim, inspired by her newfound gratefulness to find out more about this stranger. ”Yours?” Maybe this time, he would actually answer.

He'd been a loner several times before. He knew the difficulties of hunting alone. There'd been more times than he could count when he'd sacrificed a meal for safety in the presence of pack wolves. One, would never be able to compete with a hungry half-dozen. There were times when survival had meant sacrifice and hunger. It was simply one of the trade-offs of the freedom of living alone. Smaller, more infrequent meals, less safety, but one hell of a big world to explore. For a wolf with wanderlust such as his own, the benefits had outweighed the risks.

Things were different for him now. Food was a frequent and collective effort. With a pack, the game they chased could be larger and more filling. They stocked their caches frequently so a quick bite was always available if needed. Likewise, the constant patrol of their own lands provided a safe place to hunt without fear of losing ones dinner to the fangs of an unpredictable outsider. The natural predation was still present, but all and all, a pack did offer its safety.

Still, Iqniq recognized the efforts of another, even if they were unintentional. Just as he did with the wolves within his own fold, he was not about to leave another wolf's endeavors unrecognized. She'd helped. He knew this now. Her share was reward enough. He'd not threaten her unless she grew too greedy. He could offer kindness, but he would not let that kindness be taken advantage of.

She looked to him with question. Was he sure? "Mm," he murmured with a nod. "Leave the liver, if you don't mind." The liver was the choice portion of his mate back home. As she was still den bound, he went out of his way to save her favorite pieces for her to devour later. To him, the liver was Tonravik's. All else was fair game. He observed the female as she stepped cautiously forward and stole a shoulder for herself. She retreated and Iqniq turned his gaze so she might eat in peace.

When the sound of her eating came to a slow, he redirected his gaze to the corpse. He contemplated it, trying to decide if he still wished to decapitate the beast when he realized its horns would make an excellent contribution to their new bone pile back home. It was lighter now that they'd both eaten. He could drag it back without too much issue.

His ears flicked as she thanked him. Saying nothing, he nodded again. If anything, she'd helped make the remains lighter for him. It was a win-win for the both of them. She spoke again, this time offering her name instead of interrogating him as she had before. He found this sufficiently more amicable and replied in turn. "Kero," he offered. It was a shorter version of his birth name and still one he wore while outside of the pack lands. Sawtooth Spire kept to themselves. The first rule of the Spire? Don't talk about the Spire. Kero it was.

"Have you been in these wilds long?"

Food. He wanted food, and he wanted it now. The Munchies were gnawing at his stomach like a tiny fiend. His throat vibrated with a perpetual rumble, irritated with the fact that his stomach was empty. He would need to change that. First though, he would need to track food down. His mouth opened as he scented the air, pausing as he picked up the faint scent of wolves. Perhaps... he could have wolf for dinner. Mm...

His ears craned towards in anticipation for the golden female's reply. Before she could speak, a scent crossed through the air that demanded more of his attention. Puma. His head turned sharply, as he spied the golden lion in the distance. There was no more time for words. He was going to get the rest of this meal home before it was stolen from him.

He dismissed himself with a few vague words and departed, hauling the small antelope along with him. If nothing else, the Spire would have something else to tide them over until their next real meal.

-fade thread-