Dragoncrest Cliffs Skyfire

*gets the meat sweats* All welcome!

Not even a whole day after finding the sea lion carcass on the beach, Wildfire made another tasty discovery. She sniffed out a rabbit warren near the western edge of the forest, digging through nearly a foot of snow to break ground. Scrabbling at the frozen earth at least kept her muscles warm. Although she thought of giving up several times, the Bandrona was enormously glad she'd persisted when she the soil finally caved. She cleared it away and nearly gasped when she found no less than twenty rabbits buried inside, evidently having frozen to death sometime over the past few days.

Eager to share the abundance with her pack mates and get their help looting the hidden treasure trove of meat, Wildfire sent up a quick howl. Hoping her small voice would carry, she then began pulling the small corpses out of the ground. She jumped a little when she saw movement underneath the pile of bodies. There were two live ones among their dead, frozen brethren. The Bandrona quickly dispatched them and tossed the slightly fresher bodies on top of the heap of stiff lapins.

Permission from Mica to post :P

Kendra was brought to a cave upon arrival. She was very glad for the shelter and most of all the food that was brought in. The seal carcass did her well and after months she could finally fill her stomach till it could not take no more. Her slender frame wouldn't fill out with one big meal but it was a good start. The girl was glad for the choice to join a pack. And even though she had met many others the female was still not up to speed with all their names. At least she had seen them.

The next day however a howl rang out from outside of the cave. She was not sure who howled but she did remember the alpha female saying that she wanted loyalty. Kendra pushed herself to her feet and after gathering some courage she braced the cold temperatures. Her body couldn't stay out in the cold long but she would try and show her gratefulness. She howled in response and tracked down the howl. It was not easy and upon arrival there malnourished frame was shaky.

She woofed in greeting when seeing the red coated female. Kendra glanced over her questioningly, unsure what had to be done. She waited for instructions from the female.

By the time she finished looting the warren, Wildfire's blood felt hot for the first time in days. She spun to eye her handiwork when one of her pack mates, one of the new Kru members, appeared. The Bandrona paused to scrutinize the scrawny black she-wolf, who looked right back at her as if awaiting instruction.

Face breaking into an amiable smile, the trapper said, "Eat." She looked like she could use several square meals. "As much as you want. There's plenty here."

Curiosity strikes when Wildfire raises a call for the lot of them. She had already been out of the cavern to stretch her legs and so she began to lope through the snow as best as she can. Her toes burn against the cold and she’ll need to get back of the cavern sooner rather than later if she wanted to keep everything currently attached. Keeping herself in movement does wonders at times but it can’t fight the longevity.

By the time she reaches her mate, there has been another to approach and Thuringwethil stiffens when she does not recognize—right away—who has reached Wildfire first. After a beat she smooths out her coat and curves up nearby.

“You should be in the cavern,” Thuringwethil suggests, addressing Kendra when she notes how weak her form seems. She’d had a little time to rest and eat but it does not make up for it yet. She has an uphill battle with the winter breathing down their necks. Thuringwethil turns to look at the find, and the pleasing scent of warm, fresh blood and saliva pools in her mouth. She licks her lips and tugs one of the fresher kills for her own satisfaction.

Kendra's ears flopped back when the other female seemed... nice? She was not met with distrust but offered to eat. The awkward girl didn't know how to hold herself in front of the red colored female. She didn't expect her to be nice or offer her food. She was used to having to work hard for her food, in Blackfeather and when she was alone. However she did let the female say that twice and reached out for one of the carcasses. As she got one when the alpha female came she instantly dropped the rabbit.

Kendra's head was held low. She only wanted to respond to the call for help. To show her dedication. The Heda reached out for a rabbit. Kendra decided to take her rabbit again, and then another. "Twake thwemm bwaak," she let out. Which was basically her saying; 'Take them back'. She didn't wait for them to figure it out though and started to hastily trot off, she couldn't be exposed to the cold for too long, and frankly she felt rather uncomfortable being with the two higher ranked wolves. She dashed off in the direction of the cave, having one rabbit for Xan too.

The black she-wolf snatched up one of the rabbits, only to drop it a moment later when the commander appeared. Wildfire said nothing as Thuringwethil instructed the Kru to return to the caves. She plucked up two rabbits and hastily trotted away. The Bandrona's eyes followed her retreating figure for a moment before flicking over to her mate. She smiled gently as the Heda pulled one of the fresher kills toward herself and began to eat.

"It may be cold," she said conversationally, "but it's a time of plenty for us." Wildfire's lips pursed thoughtfully, eyes shifting away from the feeding Alpha and staring off into the distance for a few beats. She would have been several weeks pregnant by now. The subzero temperatures weren't ideal, of course, but all this meat would have done an expectant body good.

Forcefully shoving those thoughts aside—they would talk soon but right now she just wanted to enjoy supping with her partner—Wildfire dipped her head down low and began to eat the other fresh kill.

the call for food sent shivers down portia's spine. a feast? she hadn't eaten a real meal in a while-- granted she'd done nothing but sit inside and cover her rump all day, so that was more her fault than anyone else's. but she was nasty, she kept getting irritated at wolves for no reason, and though she hadn't snapped at anyone since the one minor incident with arlo, she was disgusted in her lack of patience and understanding lately... which really just made her ever more irritable.

but the opportunity to eat was too grand! from the sound of it, wildfire must've hit a jackpot. maybe a whole elk had died, or something. her let legs lifted herself from the cavern and carried her all the way to the bandrona, passing a skittish kendra along the way. her eyes narrowed at the yearling, but she did not stop her. she had rabbits in her jaws, which meant she was eating, which was all portia had asked of her. she saw thuringwethil a ways down next to her mate, and wagged her tail happily. she let out a light yap of greeting from a ways off, dipping her head respectfully as she approached.

her patchy fur was about 2 times its normal size in the current weather, and with her typical frame she looked more like a dirty cottonball with a head than anything else. but she was keeping warm best she could, and especially given the current circumstances, she was doing her best to stay healthy and distracted. she looked between the two women curiously, waiting for a chuff or something that signaled her being allowed to eat. the call seemed pretty open ended, but since thuringwethil was here she didn't want to overstep. when she was given the a-okay, she took a rabbit from the pile and bit in/

casually takes over

Thuringwethil gets a bite or two in by the time Wildfire speaks up. She glances over the kill in her direction, ears cupped forward, but she severs off the current bite and picks herself up. She doesn’t have time to consider a response—or if it is worth responding to—when the sound of crunching snow comes up behind her. She swings her head to see Portia approach and offers her a smile and nod of her head. The healer takes to getting one for herself and Thuringwethil forces the rest of her own down with little to remain.

“We should take these back to the cavern,” she says instead, licking her muzzle for any remnants of the rabbit. They had the seal the first time Wildfire came across something and with the rabbits, the abundance is clear but there is little to be made as far as her decisions go and she isn’t going to regret the call she made. She lowers her head and picks up as many as she can carry before she makes her way back through the sea-parted snow they’ve created to the cavern.

When Portia materialized, Wildfire shot her a quick smile and nodded as if to say, Eat up! The Bandrona finished off her own share, then bobbed her head in agreement when Thuringwethil mentioned toting the rest back to the caves. Her amber eyes watched as the commander gathered as many as she could carry, then trotted away toward the pack's gathering place.

There were still a dozen dead rabbits and there was no way Wildfire could carry that many in one trip. "When you're done, can you grab a few?" she said to the feeding medic before thinking aloud, "I'll send someone back for the rest... or come back and get them myself." With a shrug, she bent down and nabbed four of the rabbits. She ended up dropping one on the way and didn't bother fetching it right then, especially not with the polar vortex nipping savagely at her heels.

I think this'll be my last post. Quickie thread! :)

portia nodded with a wag of her tail, chewing happily on the meat. when she finished, she grabbed a mouthful (which was 3, since she held them by the ears) and began to pad off. she wasn't sure how many were left by the time that she made it to the cavern, but she took one of them and brought it back to her sleeping space, waiting for dio to come back so they could share.