Lost Creek Hollow hunting for the little one

@Corvus Vlad

Grezig had been with the little group for a while now and was taking a break from their current area to explore somewhere else. She didn’t often get the wanderlust bug, but sometimes it struck her, and since she was truly not held to any one location, she used it as an excuse to go off for a little bit. She did not go far so that if they needed her, she could hear them howling for her still. She found herself in a hollow with many little streams here and there and stopped to look around. Perhaps she could do a bit of hunting here and bring something back for one of the members. Maybe Illidan. A rabbit wouldn’t be much food for a full-grown wolf, but it might tide over the three-month-old.

She lowered her head to sniff at the ground, trying to pick up the trail of some animal.

Hope you don't mind me picking a time of day! :v

After distancing himself from his scrap with the irritable pack wolf, Corvus had taken a much-needed rest. When he awoke, it was the morning of the next day. There went his sleep schedule, once again. A finicky thing, it was. But he felt relatively refreshed, despite the minor twinges that lingered from the fight. He was used to the feeling and simply ignored it as he continued on towards the forest up ahead.

The trees here were incredibly tall and offered a cool, shaded atmosphere, which he greatly appreciated. The sound of rushing water met his ears, and Corvus sauntered in its direction. Soon enough, the scenic sight of a waterfall graced him, and he basked in the mist that floated around it. Moving on, he came across a stream, which he took a generous drink from. Without the blood of prey to nourish him in the summer heat, he'd become slightly dehydrated. The thought reminded him of his need for food, and Corvus decided that he would try his luck here.

The wind had not been in his favor to scent the wolf nearby, but he did hear their footsteps in the distance. Following the sound, he soon caught sight of a woman trying to track something. Looking for something? He asked, stopping a short distance away. Perhaps she had the same idea as he did.

Grezig had heard the male’s approach and she lifted her head, ears turned on her head to catch his words. She turned around fully, then, and studied him for a moment. A simple black pelt with orange eyes. Some white on his chest. Scars. He was a fighter, then. But he seemed calm at the moment, and it was only the two of them, so she did not feel threatened by him. She kept her stance neutral. 

“Yes, I am. I’m trying to track some small creature to hunt. A rabbit, or some such.” She paused, studying him some more. He seemed fine, non-threatening. Perhaps two wolves would be better than one. “Do you want to help me?” She thought for a moment, wondering if there was a way to sweeten the deal. Right now, there was nothing in it for him except to feel good about his charity afterwards. “If you catch something first, you can have it. The next catch, if it is yours again, you would give to me. I will do the same for you. Does that sounds reasonable?”

She appeared to be studying him. Well, he couldn't blame her with his rugged appearance. He was pleasantly surprised to find that she cut to the chase and asked if he'd help her with hunting. She even made a fair deal with him. Corvus liked her already. It's as if you read my mind. You have a deal, He said, a faint grin forming on his face. I am Corvus, He decidedly introduced.

Then, he brought his own nose to the ground to begin sifting through the scents there. He found nothing of interest, so he continued to search, branching out from Grezig to cover more ground.

I rolled from a list of mammals in Glacier National Park and got a vole. Then I rolled a 1d4 to see if she would catch it (evens is yes) and got a 4. You don't have to roll for anything. I just do it cos it makes it more interesting.

Grezig nodded once at Corvus’ words. She had hoped that making a fair trade with him would make him more likely to help her, and she had been right. “I’m Grezig,” she said, exchanging names. Then she went back to sniffing the ground. A little while later, she caught the scent of something. She tried to find it in her brain’s catalog of scents, but couldn’t remember what it was. Shrugging, she followed it to its source and scared the daylights out of a vole who had been hiding out under a bush. It took off from its hiding place, but inadvertently ran closer to Grezig, rather than farther away. She lunged for it and caught the tiny thing in her mouth. It took effort not to crunch down and swallow it whole because it was so tiny, but she had made a deal with Corvus. She set down the dead vole and gave a low howl, calling out, “I caught something.”

He'd just caught the fresh trail of a rabbit when the sound of Grezig's howl caught his attention, and he regrouped with her. She said she caught something, but it took him a moment to see it. Ah... a vole. Well, it was better than nothing, and he appreciated her honesty. She could've easily gobbled it up, and he'd have been none the wiser. Instead, he was the one to take the morsel into his jaws, crushing its body with a few chews before gulping it down. Corvus wasn't one to hand out "thank you"s, but he did give a dip of his head. Holding up his end of the deal would mean more, anyway.

There's a rabbit with your name on it this way, He said with a smirk before turning back the way he came, nose lowering to the ground once more. Corvus found the trail again, and the rabbit soon came into view. Silently, he slowed to a stalk, fiery eyes wide and focused on his quarry. Once he got as close as he felt possible, he broke into a sprint. Its small, quick body was difficult to keep track of but he managed, locking his deadly jaws around its spine to break it. Then, he carried the prize to Grezig and dropped it at her feet, looking pleased with himself.

A rabbit was merely a snack for a wolf, and a vole was even less. Corvus expected them to keep searching, but he didn't mind having a shoulder to lean on out here. Shall we keep searching? He asked after she presumably began to dig in or do whatever she intended to with it.

Have my 50th post!

Grezig’s ears splayed sideways on her head in embarrassment. “Sorry,” she said to Corvus as she watched him eat the vole she had caught. “It was the first scent trail I picked up.” She felt even worse about the vole afterwards when he caught a rabbit for her and dropped it at her paws. “Thank you,” she said, feeling grateful that he had upheld his end of the bargain despite the tiny prey she had caught for him. She tore a chunk from the rabbit’s side and swallowed it nearly whole. When he asked her if they would keep searching, she nodded. “Yes. I will find you something better than a vole,” she promised. 

Quickly, she finished her rabbit, licked her muzzle to try and get rid of some of the blood from the animal, and went back to sniffing. After a time, Grezig caught the scent of something much different than a vole or a rabbit. She’d hit the jackpot. “Mule deer,” she said, lifting her head and getting the male’s attention. “Normally, I don’t think two of us could bring it down, but maybe we’ll get lucky and find one small or injured.” She watched him, waiting for a yes or no.

Yay! Congrats!! -tosses confetti-

Thankfully, Grezig wanted to keep hunting—and promised to find him something much more filling. His mouth watered at the thought. After waiting patiently for her to finish her meal, they went back on their way, spreading out to increase their chances of finding something edible. Corvus hadn't been too far away when she alerted him of a mule deer. Now that's what he was talking about. Once back by her side, she began to explain her thoughts. It's worth a shot, He replied with a nod. There were surely some fawns around, given the season.

A short walk later, the pair came upon a small family group of mule deer: a buck, a doe, and a fawn. Corvus stopped while they were a good distance away to murmur, I don't think that buck will take kindly to our presence. Do you still want to try and snag the fawn? I can distract him. Of course he was the one to offer to do the most dangerous bit. He lived for excitement, after all, though not for nothing: he needed a good meal.

Grezig was disappointed. She had been hoping for an easy kill, but it looked as if their hunting luck had run out. She was surprised when her hunting companion offered to distract the buck, and studied him openly afterwards, coming to a decision. “Too dangerous. If he gets angry, you’d take all the heat,” she said. “If there were more of us, then maybe we could take him, but this is stupid.” Grezig was not one to mince words. She never had been. “It is summer and there is plenty of prey. If we were starving, it would be different.”

She hesitated, then, thinking of something else. “I’m part of a group trying to start a pack. We have five or six among us, but we are still looking for members. You could join us. Then we could have a real hunt.” She waited for his response, wondering if he was even listening to her, or mentally glued onto the deer still.

She didn't want to go through with the hunt... pity. Corvus had no qualms with putting himself in danger for the sake of food; he'd do the same if in a group, and as long as the buck was distracted, the fawn should've been an easy snag. Ah well. Grezig did have a point that there was more prey elsewhere, so he respected her decision.

His interest was piqued when she mentioned a pack in the making and invited him to join. It made him ponder for a moment, ember-like eyes downcast as he thought. He'd wanted to remain a loner just a while longer or perhaps find another group of nomads. Corvus had been a traveler all his life, so settling down was foreign and thus somewhat... unwelcome. But perhaps it was time for a new chapter in his life. It felt unwise to deny this opportunity being presented to him, as spending the lean season alone would leave him worse for wear, if not dead. Besides—Grezig was the first face he had any trust in out here.

It was decided, then. I accept your offer, Corvus answered finally. Where is your group located?

Editing out the section with Thorleif. We're backdating this so that Corvus was invited to NSV before Thorleif.

It took time for the male to come to a decision, but Grezig was patient, and waited. Her face betrayed no emotion. This decision would be his and his alone. No look or twitch would help to sway him here. She hoped to be as impartial as possible when asking others to join. Eventually, he agreed, and asked where they were located.

“Not far from here, in a thicker forest than this one. Eventually, we will head to the mountains.” She stood. “My name is Grezig. The alphas are Liri and Kavik. There is a pup, Illidan. You will be friendly towards him or leave him alone. He is not your concern.” There was a slight warning in her voice as she spoke of the boy, but it was not an outright threat. She did not think this male would harm Illidan, or she would not have invited him to join the group. “There is one other. Elixir. She is a half-breed, part dog, but I would not judge her too harshly. She means well.” She thought about it for a moment, making sure she had counted everyone (she had not met Kenkou yet and didn’t know about him) and nodded to herself. “If that sounds all right, then follow me and I will take you to them.” She stood and waited.

Close here? o:

He noted that the forming group was not yet occupying the intended territory. The mountains... he'd never lived on a mountain before but was not entirely opposed to the idea. Grezig listed off names, which Corvus was sure he'd forget, though he attempted to at least get the alphas' names to stick. He was always better with faces and found it easier to just give others his own nicknames.

An amused look crossed his face when she mentioned a boy in a rather protective fashion. The way she talked about him suggested she weren't his mother, and Grezig didn't strike him as a motherly woman, so the shift in attitude at his mentioning was... unexpected. He said nothing nonetheless, allowing her to continue describing the others. Corvus cared none whether one had dog in their blood, so having a wolfdog amongst the ranks was just fine with him. So far, he had no issues with this group, from her description.

They sound like a fine bunch, He finally spoke, tone lighthearted but honest. Lead the way.