Stone Circle It's so much better when everyone is in; are you in?

Brynn needed to take her mind off things. She knew there were only two things that could do that for her: hunting or fighting. She had come to find recently that nothing kept her intrusive thoughts as bay quite like those two activities. She had seen some turkeys in the forested part of their territory earlier this morning, and thought she might like to take catch one. She was also currently keeping a keen gaze on the herd of deer that sometimes moved through their lands. 

She suddenly had an idea; @Kegana would hunt with her. They had already had one successful hunt, and the last time they patrolled the borders together, they had discussed doing it again. Brynn lifted her muzzle in the air then and howled a summon for her friend to come hunt with her. Maybe the pale female would have insight on something other than the deer since they had been there and done that. Brynn didn't care, she just wanted to sink her teeth into something.

The call for her attendance was not something Kegana had anticipated, it had been such a long time since any had called for her directly. Pausing in her path through the territory, she had been headed to the rendevous site to see who might be around, but this seemed to be something more interesting, especially since it was her friend Brynn that was calling.

Making swift work of the distance the stretched between them, Kegana made her way to Brynn. "Brynn." Ocean eyes scanned the trees that stood around them, "Are you alright?" She hadn't heard any urgency in the woman's call, but who knew?

Brynn's spirits lightened some when she saw Kegana headed towards her a few minutes after her call had left her chest. She wagged her tail as the other female approached, glad to be in her company.

Was she alright? Not really. The one wolf she had actually trusted since that day tragedy forced her to find a new life had thrown that trust in her face. She knew Howl hadn't done it out of malice, but he had still made a decision that had broken Brynn's heart, and for that, she didn't think she would ever forgive him. She had also decided that because she had opened herself up to be so badly hurt by another, she would not be giving anyone else that power over her anytime soon; that was one thing she was absolutely sure of.

She realized she hadn't answered her friend yet and, attempting to mask the hurt that had taken up residence in her heart since her conversation with Howl, she forced a smile on her face and said, "I'm...okay, I guess." her weak attempt at a smile failed as she stumbled over the word 'okay,' and she ended up just shrugging and looking away instead. "Sorry," she said, apologizing for the awkwardness. "I'm actually not really okay and was hoping you could help me find a distraction." Honesty was just easier than trying to pretend that nothing was wrong.

Kegana could see the fumble in her expression, she knew what it felt like to try and deny her emotions, and already her heart reached for the girl. The princess wouldn't pry, but instead mimicked the other girls emotion, empathizing with her. With a sad smile the mongol nodded, "That I can help with." A hunt was definitely in order, it had been many weeks since they had hunted last. Brynn's wounds had healed. 

Lifting her head slightly, Kegana scented the air for any form of prey that could offer her friend much need pastime. There were deer around, but they had been there and done that. There had been a large pack hunt not to long ago and the caches were pretty full. Times like this called for more abstract prey, when success wasn't necessarily required. She had heard of the wild turkey's, but had never attempted to catch one. Looking at Brynn with an amused glint in her ocean eyes, "Perhaps the pups would like a unique treat. We could attempt to catch one of those turkey's?" 

Providing distraction would not sooth the pains that Brynn held, and Kegana would make sure that her friend was ok in the days to come. She would be there if Brynn needed to talk, and hoped the girl knew she was there for her.

That's why she had called Kegana; she would offer support without asking too many questions. She gave her friend a genuine smile this time and relaxed a little. 

It seemed Kegana had also noticed the turkeys; their scent was hard to miss as you got nearer the wooded area. "Turkeys sound fun," Brynn said with an excited glint in her yellow gaze. She had hunted birds many times, but didn't think she had ever hunted a turkey before. "I scented them in the woods just this morning," she added motioning towards that part of the territory. As she turned to head that way, Brynn stopped to look at her friend. "Thanks by the way." It was nice to have someone to count on when you felt like you couldn't trust anyone.

"Let's head that way then." The woman interjected after Brynn mentioned scenting their prey earlier. Keg went to follow the woman, when she suddenly turned back 'round, he last scentence warmed the mongols fridgid heart. Brynn had definietly wormed her way in Kegana's heart, earning her loyalty and respect, a friendship that would last the test of time. "Any time my friend. Anytime." The princess smiled before continuing on toward the forest.

Upon reaching the tall trees, Keg dropped her nose to the ground looking for the turkey's. She had seen them around, but never had the gumption nor the desire to catch them. "Bird's of any kind are difficult. But I don't think these can fly, so at lease that will make it easier." Kegana wasn't a huge fan of smaller prey, but this was bound to be a good time no matter what. 

FYI:  they can run at 20 miles per hour, and fly for short distances at 55 miles per hour if they need to get away fast.

info for this hunt should come from THIS page

With Kegana's word's giving her a new-found peace, Brynn walked with her to the forested part of Easthollow. Once they reached the trees, Brynn, too, brought her nose to the ground to start picking up a scent to trail. Brynn nodded at her friends statement before replying, "I've never hunted a turkey before, but surely the two of us can catch one." She smiled and shrugged with her words. 

Brynn moved further into the trees, nose to the ground once again, taking in all of the scents. The most evident scents were those of their packmates. One scent in particular caused a tightening of her heart, but with some effort, she put it out of her mind. She would have to get used to scenting him around their territory; there was no getting around it. Finally, the distraction she so needed came with the fresh scent of a turkey. 

She stopped and picked up her head to look at the pale female beside her. "They're close," she said but knew Kegana had probably already deduced that for herself. Before they continued, Brynn thought they should have some kind of a plan. "What do think about one of us flushing the turkey into the direction of the other who will be hidden? Maybe an ambush will catch the bird off-guard and give us an opportunity." It sounded like a good plan, but she waited to see what her friend had to add. Maybe she had an even better plan.

"There are no wild turkey's in Mongolia." She meant her statement to say that she too had never hunted a turkey before. Kegana didn't lift her nose from the ground, they were very close, there were pellets of fowl dung around their feet.

Lifting her head Kegana nodded, "Sounds like a solid plan to me. Which position would you prefer?" The mongol was up to anything, she didn't mind the chase or remaining hidden. Brynn was the one that needed the distraction and Kegana would let her choose which role she wanted to play.

Brynn didn't need to think about it; she definitely wanted to hide and ambush the turkey. "I'll hide and wait for you to drive it towards me," she said excitedly. This would be fun. She thought all hunting was fun, though. 

Brynn walked a little further before stopping to look at Kegana. "I think this is a good place to hide," she whispered, not wanting to alert the birds to their presence. She looked around, searching for a good place to conceal herself. The colors of her coat would provide adequate camouflage in the trees, so that was good. Finally she saw a grouping of aspens with a mass of ferns at their base, and decided that was a good place to hide. She looked to her friend and motioned to the trees before heading over there to lie in wait.

Kegana smiled softly at the childish nature of her companion, glad that she wasn't thinking of anything to serious in the present moment. The mongol nodded, "Looks good enough to me, I'll go get the creatures. Stay alert." Kegana trusted the woman to get in the appropriate position, she turned.

Taking the long way around Kegana found the elusive fowl in a small clearing not to far from Brynn. Softly placing her feet on the mossy forest floor, the mongol got as close as she could. Only feet away and still masked by the bushes at the corner of the clearing. Taking a moment to get ready, her tail swished with excitement and her paws squeeshed the moss. 

Launching from her spot, she ran at the turkey's. In their surprise, they squacked and made a beline for Brynn. To confused the understand the plan they had set. One flew a short distance out of the way, as did another. There were only three left running for Brynn. Kegana didn't have the room to get up to full speed, but the turkey's were so slow that she was able to nip at their scraggly feet as they ran and flapped their panicked wings.

Rolls were done on tabletop

Will turkey fly at Brynn or run at Brynn? Even=fly; odd=run: 1d10 (9)= run

Will Brynn catch right away or have to chase? Even=catch; odd=chase: 1d10 (7)= chase

Second attempt at catching turkey. Even=catch; odd=chase: 1d10 (7)= chase

Brynn waited in her spot, tensed and ready to spring into action. It wasn't long before she saw three turkeys running at her with Kegana close on their heals. The first to reach her ran directly at the spot she was hiding, so when it was close enough, Brynn leaped out at the bird, who somehow dodged her lunge and went running to the right further into the forest.

Fueled by her adrenaline, Brynn immediately took off after her target hoping to still salvage the situation. The bird wasn't very fast, but the added obstacle of the trees prevented Brynn from reaching her full speed. 

She chased the bird for a few minutes before it changed directions to head back to where her friend had been. Brynn thought this was her opportunity to catch the turkey, but when she was almost close enough to end the chase, she had to dodge a low hanging branch, and the frustrating fowl was able to put distance between them again. 

Growling in frustration, Brynn pushed her legs to move faster, her goal now to flush the bird back towards her partner. Maybe then, Kegana could do what she had failed to do twice already and catch the damn thing. 

I left it kind of open ended. I didn't want to assume Keg would still be around waiting once Brynn came back. :)

rolls: 

Catch right away or chase, even=catch; odd=chase: 1d10 (5) = chase

Catch or not, even=yes; odd=no: 1d10 (5) = no

second turkey, right away or chase, same as above: 1d10 (10) = catch! YAY

Kegana could see the birds get spooked as Brynn lept from her hidden vantage. Using this to her advantage the mongol attempted to catch on of the birds that had gotten confused in the commotion and turned back toward the first danger of Keg's fierce jaws. The creature realized its mistake just in time as it was able to fly just out of the princesses teeth and skitter away.

Not one to give up easily the woman was quick to recover and launch at another bird that seemed to be having issues. Her speedy recovery lended itself to her success as she defly sank her teeth into the spreed wing of the odd creature. Swinging her paw around she was able to pin the fowls neck to the ground where she was able to transfer her jaws from the wing to the her neck and quickly snap it. Relieving the bird from suffering. 

Looking up, and holding the caron in her lips, Kegana realized her adventure had carried her away from Brynn's original position. Cantering back, the woman wondered if her friend had caught anything herself.

As Brynn chased the bird back to where she had originally been hiding, she caught site of Kegana with a turkey in her mouth. Brynn was was briefly distracted by her excitement for her friend's success and forgot to keep her eyes trained on her prey. When she realized her mistake, she looked to see the bird running into the trees. 

Brynn took off back into the trees to try and catch up with the creature, but after a few minutes, she realized that she has missed her opportunity. With a frustrated huff, she turned to make her back to her packmate. Trotting from the trees, she said, Oh well, better luck next time I guess. She may not have caught a turkey, but she at least learned more about the animals. Next time, she would hopefully be more successful. Thanks for hunting with me, though, and nice job catching one, she added with a smile. She turned to head out of the woods, then, glancing back to make sure her friend was following with her prize.

I rolled like four odd rolls in tabletop, so no turkey for Brynn today.