Blacktail Deer Plateau Finding Bambi

@Grayday @Kieran Adrien @Sylvas Streiter @Moonstone @Dauntless @Easy. Pema calls out to everyone for an option hunt working towards The Lost Herd special event. (Feel free to start your own thread if you want this isn't the only one) Keep posting order, but there's no need to wait for others to join in the thread. First come first track. Role will be conducted here Good Luck

The last few days had been excruciating painful for everyone. Especially Howl who had spent most of his time linger in the den where Heartha had been when she... passed. Pema felt terrible, she wished there had been something she could have done, but she couldn't dwell on it now. Many were still mourning and greaving and so was she. For the time being she needed to think of something else, something she could focus on other then the current mood of the pack. 

She let out a howl calling out to any pack members willing to join her in a hunt for the herd of black tail deer Grayday and her had tried to track down days prior. Heading back to the last spot they had found their scent she found the same tree which worn down bark from the deer scraping their antlers against it. But again just like before she couldn't pick up where they had headed after that. She hoped other of the pack would reply to her call and help her find the herd.

Grayday had invited the pups along, this time, deciding that it couldn't hurt to give them a lesson. If they ended up finding the deer, he'd make sure they knew to stay hidden and well away from the herd during the hunt. Easy, of course, was up for anything, and Lavender seemed excited to be out and about.

"Hey, Pema," the male greeted, only slightly more subdued than usual. He was hurt by Heartha's passing, but he knew he had to be strong for his cubs, who did not yet understand the sting of death. "Find anything?" he asked, already scoping the area himself. The cubs were sniffing along right behind him, and neither he nor they detected any sign of the herd.

She could hear multiple foot steps approaching her and looked over her shoulder to find that Grayday along with Easy and Lavender was heading her way. Her tail swayed lightly under the circumstances and greeted them all saying "Hey everybody." with a cheery voice.

Her nose still hadn't picked up anything in the time she last checked and the time it took for Grayday and the pups to show up. "No nothing yet. Seems as though they've stayed rather elusive since last we tried to track them down." she said with a sign.

Moonstone had found herself drifting closer to Grayday's family as the days went on; she needed something to cling to, and his tiny was tribe was just big enough. When she heard Pema's call, she rushed to the scene, figuring that she'd be able to find them there, too. Hi there, sweetpea, she whispered as she rubbed her nose against Lavender's, then, Leading lady, as she did the same to Easy. Moonstone bumped shoulders with Grayday, then with Pema, before settling down somewhere between them. 

What're we tracking? she asked, slightly embarrassed to be behind on the news. Hunting wasn't something that she prioritized, so it made sense that she'd be a little late to remember the meat of the week.

After exchanging fond and enthusiastic greetings with Moonstone, Grayday and his daughters got back to the serious business of tracking. He was just showing Easy what deer scat looked like when Lavender called him over, chattering excitedly about a big smell. Sure enough, when Grayday arrived, it was to find Lavender standing over the faintest traces of deerscent.

"Blacktail deer," Grayday replied, tail wagging high. "Me and Pema tracked the for a whole day before... y'know... but we didn't find them. Hopefully we'll have better luck today."

He was glad that Moonstone had arrived, both because he wanted her to get used to being involved in the pack - and in hunts especially - and because he simply enjoyed having her nearby. If he couldn't have Sunny and Dawn around to be examples for his Three, Moonstone was the next best thing. (Even her name suggested that she belonged in his family. Grayday was pretty sure he had an aunt Moonstone around, back when he was young.)

"We're rolling dice in this thread over here," the leader added. "Make sure you read all the rules, and PM me with any questions."

Pema had come up empty and couldn't seem to pin point the direction the blacktail deer were heading. Luckily for her, there was more then one of them on the search. One of the youngest of them, Lavender had found what she described as a big smell. Pema trotted over to the little brown and white pup to see what she had found. Indeed it was the scent of the blacktail deer they were after. "Good job sweetheart. I knew you and Easy had that magic in you." she said tapped the pup on the nose with hers. Lavender, understanding the reference Pema was making wagged her tail and eagerly proceeded to continue the search.

The sound of an unfamiliar voice caught Pema off guard as a white female began greeting everyone and even bumped her shoulder. This must have been Moonstone, the other new member to the pack who she hadn't had the chance to meet yet. "They were one confusing herd of deer." she added looking over to Grayday a moment, knowing he knew exactly what she meant.

"You must be Moonstone then. Your the only member I haven't meet yet. My name is Pema." she introduced herself. Completing the goal she had set for herself.

the trees were beginning to feel like home. Dawn had wandered through the territory enough now that she had a fairly accurate knowledge of where everything lay, but she still had the potential to be surprised. the howl sounded, and knowing the challenge that had been set, the girl wasted no time in approaching. however, she had become distracted by the sight of a small, sheltered pool she had not seen before, and, intending to make a quick detour, investigated. 

her nostrils flared, the scent of water and earth, small animals, and rotting things tinted with the elusive scent she had been on alert for, ever since her father had announced the elusive animals. deer. the scent here lingered, not exactly fresh, and yet, hardly old. fractured sunlight lit the little glade with a gloomy cast, and what might be hoof-prints by the water's edge, or simple shadows, caught her eye. confident she had found something, her gaze cast over the pool once more before she tilted back her muzzle and called for whoever had delivered the first summoning, her father, and any other in the area. as the last notes of her call faded into silence, she moved towards to pool, intending to locate the elusive scent and discover if, perhaps, it was trackable.

Pleased to meet you, Moonstone said, a half-smirk on her maw. It was clear that she wasn't the only one who had taken a liking to the pups, but she appreciated having someone around who she could secretly gush over them with. Deer, huh? She'd never had a chance (or a reason) to hunt something as large as a deer, nor had she been trained to, but she figured that one could never learn too much. Another call sounded, one that Moonstone hadn't heard before, but one that she was quick to answer. 

Before making it completely to the source, she looked around for the rest of her crew for an added bit of confidence, then proceeded with a low, Find anything?

They followed the scent lavender found for a while, but when Dawn's voice sounded up ahead, Grayday abandoned the trail to head toward his eldest daughter, since her call had come from the direction they'd been heading in. Soon enough, the hunting party found itself at the catfish pond, meeting up with Dawn, who'd found hoofprints nearby.

"Looks like they definitely passed through here," he agreed, having greeted his daughter with a wag of his tail and a doting grin. Not realizing that Dawn hadn't yet met a portion of the hunting party, he simply moved past her, nose-to-the-ground and tail-in-the-air. Easy and Lavender mimmicked this stance on either side of him. "Seems recent enough," he added, lifting his head to appraise the area. "Let's spread out and see which direction they went in."

The light wolf Moonstone, returned Pema's greeting, but then continued to talk about the deer they were hunting. Pema was a bit disappointed that their conversation didn't flurish into something a bit more meaningful, but she could understand if Moonstone wasn't that social or was simply very focused on the task at hand. The group searched around the area some more, but couldn't seem to track anything else down from their location.

Then a familiar voice echosed through the territory. It had come from Dawn and the tracking party followed along. On their way there Pema walked along with the two pups, Easy and Lavender. When she got there, Pema walked up to Dawn and smelling the scent of the deer she knew that she was onto something. "Nice going Dawn." she smiled her way as she complimented her.

The scent of the herd was very strong here, now it was just a matter of sifting through and figuring out which was the most recent of them all. Everything was so fresh Pema couldn't really pin it down too easily. She walked up next to Grayday seeing what he might find while the others of the pack were fanning out in the opposite directions.

The hunting party does not leave her waiting long, and they are quick to appraise the situation. She does not recognize the pale woman and offers her a curious glance, but greets her father and siblings brightly, Pema with a grin and a bob of her head. They are quick to fan out, and Dawn sets out on her own, moving through what just might be a trail to the pond. There are scents here; and as she moves further away from the pond, they strengthen. Excitement tugs at her growing when she comes across the fresh scent. She picks up speed, careful to stay quiet until she is suddenly at the edge of a glade. The scent here is strong, overpowering the other scents of earth and rot and greenery. Sunlight filters lazily downward, this place is bright and peaceful. Most exciting about her discovery, however, are the deer. There are about 7 here now, but the scents speak of more, elsewhere, perhaps. Her gaze glints and it is difficult to stop her tail from lashing in joy. Song bursts from her muzze, happy and summoning, and the deer a distance away stir, but do not flee. Their nostrils flare, and at this distance, she can see their gaze darting about, ears roving and dark tail flicking. They've been found, and the creatures almost seem to know it. Her packmates gather, and her gaze flicks to her fathers, pride in her gaze, and a kind of hunger, too.  Soon, they will hunt.