Northstar Vale pale widows

a storm brewed distantly, maybe a day or more away, and it turned the sky an ominous shade of gunmetal, descending the valley into a muted, snowed-over darkness. mingling down in the temporary reprieve, stigmata lurked, following the recently paved treadmarks of a massive ungulate crowd. he had taken a break from recruitment efforts in order to take stock of the herds traveling through the mountains, and after staking them out to discern the weakest among them, he called out with a booming howl, that would sound more like a echoing dinner bell to any wolf listeners.

his voice beckoned keenly to those familiar with him - for @Mahler and @Finch - who were out recruiting and familiarizing themselves with the land on his behalf; and to any other wolf in the vicinity, his cry was haunting and powerful; an enchantment to the hungry. he wondered if @Piper still lingered in these peaks, or if she had decided to return to her family even after he had revealed what had become of bearclaw in her absence. he had no idea how far out his comrades might be, if they would even be able to join him at all that afternoon, but the time to merge was upon them. the time to bond as a unit over a large feast loomed near.

he quieted, perking to listen for any native responses; watching out the corner of his eye as the milling herd below him began to migrate in bounds for safer ground - away from the source of his howl - now that they had heard the death song. good - let them tire themselves out running from phantoms; from a grisly fate that would not come for hours, perhaps days, and it would not come until their weakest were frothing at the mouth, driven mad by exhaustion and fear. the warhound began to hike in a slow canter after the fleeing horde, and left an easy trail in the snow for another to find him.

those tagged are not obligated to join and potential new pledges/interested parties are also welcome :)

the howl sends the herd into a panic. he knows this because he lingers in the snow-kissed brush nearby, pale eyes waiting for an opportunity. stani has been cloaked here for quite some time, and to see his hours wasted—to feel his stomach still empty—is an affront, nothing less than a brutal tragedy.

but then, he has always trended toward the melodramatic.

still, he bursts from the evergreens much like the storm above, of many grays and blacks and clearly on the rampage. his ears swivel rapidly, trying to pin down the source of the noise. stanislav is doggedly traveling against the echo when a dark shape against the snow catches his eye, clearly lupine in form and following the herd.

with a snort, stani breaks into a gallop and charges toward the wolf, his weathered but still-handsome face creased in irritation.

you are the man who scared away my dinner? he demands, his accent, like always, placing emphasis on all the wrong syllables. clipping each word like teeth against tiny bones. he falls into step beside the stranger without question, chin thrust out stubbornly. well, then you will help me hunt it down. i will not starve this week.

he surges ahead, tail lashing in a silent command for the other to follow.

edited to reflect the previous post since i was ninja'd. ^^;

the golden fae prowled amongst the mountain range, it hadn't been long since she had stigmata in her presence however she found herself missing him slightly; maybe it was how he was so stark-opposite of her own self. the foggy sky rolled overhead, clouds rumbling with anticipation of blessing the land with their heavy snowfall. winds whipped against her golden pelt as a faint scent crossed into her senses; it was an old scent. more than a fair distance away, more od a distance than she would be comfortable going alone.

finch bounded over rocks, farmiliarizing herself with the area as well as she could on stigmata's behalf, their last interaction although a rocky start became smooth near the end, she was feeling confident as she remembered the glinces she had of his admiring gaze. before she lost herself too deep in her thoughts, a ghastly call was carried thoughout the winds-- an infinite call, a call that she answered promptly with her own song. with her tail wagging behind her, finch leaped in the direction the howl came from eagerly, taking great strides whilist following a trail of what seemed to be nearly-fresh pawprints-- before stopping abruptly near the end of it. stigmata was there, yes, but although happy to see him there was a peculiar sight. a darker wolf was on the scene, one she hadn't recognized-- she was unsure of what was happening, the man seemed to be bickering about something. cautiously she approached the two of them, half-circling around stigmata before stopping a safe distance away from the stranger before the words he spat out came to an end, and he had bolted in another direction.

he had told takiyok where he now resided, and spoken with the dark woman. now mahler returned to diaspora, following the crisscrossed scents of stigmata and others, until the slate creature's dirge rang strong. close.
beneath the promise of pregnant stormclouds, mahler took up his companion's trail, finding stigmata not alone, but cutting a path through the deeper snow. an aureate woman was with him; the two were approached by another, one who rippled with anger.
as the stranger turned away, mahler descended the stone rise and joined the pair to flank stigmata on the opposite side. jaw clenched with the urge to go after the loner, spill his blood scarlet upon the snow for the seeming affront. but it was the herd who drew his attention, and the golden woman who had joined stigmata in his absence.
therefore, he said nothing, merely stared after the strange man for a long moment before churning his own legs powerfully through the drifts.

as he turned his ears towards the sounding of finch's call, stigmata caught the aggressive approach of a rapier male, ruffled and thinned from solitary travel, out the corner of his narrowed eye. he continued on, letting the provoked wolf come near out of curiosity (and a bit of vanity) towards the duskhound he thought looked rather like himself. he was not as brazen, surely, but he could appreciate the attitude - sometimes.

this was a lucky moment; because though stigmata was not an incautious creature - and was, by nature, particularly aloof - he had grown overconfident in his decision to claim the mountains, and it was this mien of superiority that staved a typical response to the pompous stranger. the knowledge that finch was nearby kept him calm too; there was nothing like knowing another set of teeth would be there to support him at a moment's notice.

he remained reserved in the face of the male's ire, though stopped moving entirely as the trotting brute sought to lead him forward, which the smokewraith did not accept. he stood still, and lifted his own chin, ears twitching backwards in a quiet flicker of defiance, before pressing them forward once more and lifting his tail. finch came near then, and he didn't need to turn to know it was mahler's virile gait as the gargoyle came to flank him.

they were but two, but they were steadfast behind stigmata, and as a raw awareness of pride coiled through him, he knew that he would not waive their loyalty without a massive effort on the challenger's part.

"you will not starve," he asserted; the resident serpent of eden. "but let us not be confused about who is helping who." his tail lashed.

he turns, incredulous at the man's bold words, and stops dead in his tracks. he had been curious as to why his assertion was met with such indifference, but now—curious no longer. for there were three, now, a pair of wolves steadfast and silent by his side.

the prey-stealer and his acolytes. how. . .charming.

stani's lips curve in a smile without warmth, revealing a row of sharp, yellowed teeth. i was never confused, sir, just insistent on reaping what i have sown, he says diplomatically, staring down the trio. shall we hunt?

he is tired of an empty belly, of sleepless nights. he will have flesh and he will have it today.

Hope this is okay! She followed Mahler back, so she wouldn't be far behind. Let me know if I need to change anything. :)

Most of the trip here passed in silence--at least on her end. Taki was never one for small talk, so she was even less interested in conversation as she left her destroyed home behind to follow Mahler back to whatever he and Stigmata had going on in the mountains. 

When they reached the apex of the peak they had hiked, she found that she needed some time alone before throwing herself into an even more uncertain future. She urged Mahler to go on ahead of her and she turned to look once more towards her ruined home. She couldn't really see it from where she was, but she still felt it there. She spent a few silent minutes there and with a deep breath, she gathered all of her resolve and steeled herself for whatever would come next. Without another glance behind her, she made her way back down the other side of the peak and into the valley below.

She wasn't too far behind the lavender-eyed male and was able to track him to the strained meeting. She felt the tension immediately and moved to stand on Mahler's other side. She couldn't be sure quite what was going on since she had missed any words exchanged between Stigmata and the stranger, so she said nothing--just fixed the source of everyone's attention with shrewd glare, waiting to see where this was all going. Greetings and introductions could come later when she was sure she wasn't about to be in the middle of a fight. She would, of course, love a fight, but she'd kind of like to know why she was fighting first.

a darker wolf-- erupting out of the shadows, flanked stigmata on his side; the confidence this creature had poised led finch to the assumption this wolf was stigmata's companion-- someone she could trust, as long as he could. stigmata observed this stranger with caution, indifference-- she wasn't here for the initial encounter and as a result her curiousity piqued, stigmata's tail lashing about as he responded to this peculiar wolf; displaying his dominance over the land as a stranger urged him to follow. clearly, this was something the basilisk was not fond of and she could understand why.

finch lowered her body near the ground whilst coiling up as if she were a viper. the tension in the air was thick as wind thrummed against the trees, setting the atmosphere-- she wasn't necessarily looking for a fight, but by god, if this stranger were to lay fang or claw on stigmata or his unnamed companion she would unleash all the pent-up hell in her gut directly at him. a pretty face, yes, merciful? sometimes, but dare anyone lay wrath on her charges the regret would follow them as far as they go.

the darker wolf speaks, the word 'hunt' rings in finch's ears as they swivel. she then remembers the faint scent of prey the wind carried alongside the ghastly song of the warhound, perhaps this male was tracking the same herd? maybe stigmata's call had scared them off? she pondered this, does this wolf really think he could take on a herd alone? her tail lashes slightly behind her, uncontrollable, to her-- the potential threat against someone she had just met but felt a bond with-- her adrenaline was rushing, it was a feeling she fought against enjoying. she remained quiet as yet another, a white wolfess, approached from afar. this snow-colored fae rushed to mahler's side, finch shot her a quick look before locking it back on the darker wolf in fornt of them.

his eyes were upon the stranger, senses attuned to stigmata's sharp-ended words, but the man's broad, scarred muzzle swung toward takiyok as she joined them, and he reached to nudge her pale shoulder silently. he did not trust the newcomer; so long as he submitted to the diaspora wolves, the gargoyle found no reason to strike.
amused by the shift in the other's tone upon the sight of those who had come to accompany stigmata, mahler gave a low chuff, but made no other move to answer the would-be hunter. he had made the mistake of garnering the shadow's annoyance; it would do well for the man to remedy this before they moved off as five to pursue the herd.

stigmata, keen as the devil himself, did not often find himself impressed; but he was amused by the concept of this solitary wolf taking on a herd alone, and the expression shone in a bright flash of his eyes. "we shall indeed hunt, sir, but you mistake us still." his jaws parted to continue, but an ear twitched as he noted the approach of another - one too many by his count - and he turned his muzzle to spy takiyok, and her position at mahler's side.

he recovered from his shock with mild-mannered grace and lifted his tail in a belatedly happy wag. he eyed the pair of them rather cheekily, his "betrothed" especially; emoting to them a brand of mock betrayal. stop cheating on me with each other.

the warhound glanced finch then, who seemed about ready to jump out of her goldspun pelt, and rend their relatively harmless company from his mortal coil. stigmata motioned for her attention. "easy now, my lady," he warned with a soft growl. "we will meet many threats to us, surely, but this is not one. hunger makes for a sharp tongue and a dulled mind. we must not be eager to react, or let ourselves be rash with wolves acting out of need." he swung his lean muzzle back towards the stranger. "you will help us, if you want to remain on this territory and partake in our patronage. we are not here to nurture the withering."

holding the stranger flatly in his sights, stigmata motioned in the direction of the traveling herd. "so you have more sowing to do. plow the way forward and coordinate this hunt. do so successfully, and you will have earned your right to dine." simply taking him along, letting him act as a toothy drone wouldn't do. he was so eager to forge the path, let him do the grunt of the work, and let diaspora reap the benefits. all they had to do was follow and bite; it would be a meal as they came if the rogue was any good at all.

yet another comes, apparently beholden to the man. and they are defensive, ha. he knows winter brings out the worst in beasts, but god. . .how unsettled they are, over just a single wolf! stanislav resists the urge to laugh, for he knows its edge will be knife-sharp, not suited for the tension that has fallen upon them.

instead, he hears out the ringleader, words going in one ear and out the other. damned if this wasn't wasted time and energy all for the sake of a meal. he preferred action, not conversation.

hunting is all i wanted to do today, stani announces, meeting the man's measured stare, his own ice-blue gaze gimlet. not battle, be it with words or with teeth. i am hungry.

he wheels and takes off, plowing through the snow that has blanketed the valley so early in the season. he does not keep his pace slow, only turning his ears back in idle curiosity as to whether they'll follow. suicide mission or group project, he cares not. the former was the only thing on his agenda when he rose today. anything more is just. . .oh, how to put it?

icing on the cake.

the herd has traveled far, scattered by the leader's summoning howl. but not so far that stanislav finds himself hopelessly trailing. with some time and effort, his long legs churning, he finally catches up, and darts like a lead bullet through the panicked animals, avoiding the sting of their hooves. his nostrils flare, eyes wander, looking for sights and smells of weakness. a stumble here, the scent of decay there. . .

there. an older female, too ancient to breed in the coming season. her life has been fruitful, and now it will end. she ambles along but slower than her youthful counterparts, her eyes half-glazed over. stani begins to nip at her ankles, drawing her away from her family.

on and on. relentless. how terrible it must be to die this way—a demon at your feet, never ceasing. she begins to veer off path, putting distance between them and the rest of the herd, too frightened by his presence to stay close.

will the man and his followers come, now?

She offered Mahler a quick nod in response to his greeting, offering the same to Stigmata when he realized just who exactly had shown up to join the party. She merely raised an eyebrow at the look he shot in her and Mahler's direction before her attention was drawn to the coiled female at his side, eyebrows creasing some as Taki wondered why she was so riled up. She didn't know what had transpired before her arrival, but neither Stigmata nor Mahler seemed too worried about the situation, so she was content to remain where she was until the situation called for more. 

Her gaze found the stranger again as Stigmata fitted him with the task of leading a hunt. The situation was a little confusing to Taki, having arrived in the middle of it, but whatever. She figured he had his reasons--most likely looking to see how capable he was. She listened while the unknown male talked, unimpressed with him already, her feelings about him only worsening when he simply turned and took off. What the fuck? Leading a hunt usually meant giving some direction to your partners, but okay. She shook her head and rolled her eyes and with a quick glance to the rest of the group, she took off after the dumb-ass. At the very least, it felt good to run.
 
Taki sprinted across the vale, slowing some when she caught sight of the other wolf herding his chosen prey away from the rest of the herd. She continued to move forward, making sure to glide between the herd and the doe the other wolf was attempting to push in the other direction. Then, she turned and quickly made her way to the pair on swift paws, coming up beside the deer and jumping up to graze her teeth along its flank, hoping to drive it farther from its herd and give the rest of the group a clear opening. Hopefully this ill-planned hunt would prove fruitful and not a waste of all their time.

a sharp warning was given to her-- a hushed warning growl from stigmata was enough to slightly calm the fae. if stigmata wasn't worried & didn't see this man as a threat, she could trust him. her position relaxed, listening as the basilisk posed the demand to the stranger. not even a request, an option the stranger could have, no. it made enough sense: this dark man seemed so intent on hunting down the herd anyway. sharp looks were shot all around-- the tension in the air didn't seem to be thinning out any time soon. hunger really does have the tendency to warp others.

the irritated wolf speaks few words before taking off into the opposite direction. such impatience. her body uncoiled, snarl dissipating as finch takes a deep breath in. she looks to the side to see the white wolfess veer off after the man. finch, too, erupted into a sprint after them. her stride long as she leaves behind her trail in pawprints. before long of running, she notices the two wolves, day and night, herding one of the weaker animals away from its family. nostrils flared as the sylph rushes the doe from the side-- keeping to the left of it, blocking off the rest of the herd from the beast's bloodthirst. she coaxes the deer further towards the two, giving crocodilian snaps of her teeth in the air near it.

it was perhaps the longest speech he had yet heard stigmata give. mahler was amused anew; it seemed his steel-ice companion was rather flowery, though the man remained undiminished in the gargoyle's eyes. it was the cunning, the force, the ambition that burnt like a sacrificial fire within stigmata that stirred and kept mahler. 
therefore, he was content to watch the scene play: his kill-brother to issue a command, the stranger to follow, still proud, still unaware that he would follow diaspora. the growl in the krieger's throat for the goldmint woman at his side. she was a hotheaded one, it seemed, and mahler was pleased to see it would not yet come to blows.
their hoary counterpart struck out and the ghosts followed, the she-wolves finding their place at the quarry's side, worrying her as she raced on. they would do well to wear her down; for now the shadow stayed his own blows, keeping pace easily with the rest of the others.

and hunting is all you might do today, sir, stigmata refrained from revealing, as this wolf did not seem to care or understand that he was under trial; not for a position among them permanently, but for one that was at least temporary, and he didn't seem to have many fans in the crowd. he might've been better off hiding out and trying to scavenge later, at this rate.

he surged forward, plowing the way for his wolves, though the diaspora band followed almost reluctantly; stigmata careful to bring up the rear - lazily so. the stranger cared not for the interim comrades under his command, and he proved that he had both no mind for coordination, and a rash temperament that did not stop on the social level. such a blunder - he thought - choosing a target after making his charge.

he watched as takiyok sought to correct the early mistakes made in a wicked show of her own speed and power, flanking the creature with razoring fangs plucking at the old doe's side. finch is there too, a golden spear, more vicious looking than he could remember her - probably blowing off some much needed steam. mahler hung back, like himself, wise and calculated. in no rush to finish the inevitable. fear would be the end of this grazer, more than any physical wound the pack of them could deal.

only when the doe inevitably turned, frothing and exhausted, did stigmata shift gears to add his teeth into the fray. he went for her hindquarters and latched on to a tender hip, dragging her to the ground and leaving her flailing, yet prone to a killing blow.

they do follow. one by one, they join him in the chase. he smiles, tail wagging slightly in exuberance. solo hunts are all fine and well, but there is no better feeling than running down game in a pack. even if they don't like him—

well, perhaps, if he proves himself, they'll like him. with time.

the white wolfess is with him in shepherding the aging female away. then the other woman comes, blocking off its escape. the two men are next, one shadow darker than the other, lingering just out of reach as they nip at the quarry. then the leader seizes a hip and pulls, and the doe begins to stumble.

almost. . .almost at the tipping point. stanislav can taste her tender flesh. his lithe body darts in, like a snake, reaching for her leg. just a snip of that achilles tendon and she will go down like thunder, down down down HE FINDS IT!——

the animal's other forehoof connects with the wanderer's head—even as weakened as she is, a blow like that is still powerful. his skull cracks instantly, fragmenting into his brain, and he drops in the blink of an eye.

perhaps the others continue on—they must, for their own sakes—but stanislav cannot. he is still, blood and brains oozing slowly out to mix and cool in the snow.

a shadow crept behind them, keeping careful watch on the animal; looking for an opportune moment to strike out. in what seems like the fraction of a second, their leader launches himself at the doe's hip, drawing the injured animal downwards towards the frigid ground. the dark loner lifts his pace in anticipation as their hunt draws closely to a ftting climax. the doe, flailing in what might be the very last moments of its life-- she lets out one final lash at the unfortunate animal closest to her hooves, succumbing them to the depths.

finch's pace abruptly stops as what had just happened sinks in for her-- the stranger, this lone wolf, who demaned stigmata join his hunt, fallen, bloodied & broken at the mercy of the animal he was pursuing. she stares at the shell of what used to contain a living being and oddly enough, she can't find any empathy for the wolf. he was the one who wanted to take on the herd alone to begin with, he was the one who dragged them into this in the first place. the snow lightly falls on the dead body, dappling red & black with white, almost heavenly. the golden idol twitches her ears as the growling & snarling of her companions become the only sound she cared for hearing. she turns away, catching back up with the rest of them, grazing her teeth amongst the deer's haunches to drag her down more.

blinks

The rest showed up soon, the girl she didn't know jumping in first to help steer the doe further away from the herd. Mahler and then Stigmata joined in last, and she knew the old beast wouldn't be able to fend them off much longer so she kept her pace, dealing another graze of her teeth to its side. 

Then, the doe was falling to the ground, pulled there by Stigmata's efficient bite to its hip. Taki circled around, ready to jump in and and deal further injury to the creature, but then the stranger launched himself at one of its rear legs, connecting with the sensitive spot behind her ankle. His victory was unsurprisingly short-lived as one of the deer's flailing front limbs caught him in the head, sending him back to lie motionless on the ground as the contents of his skull seeped onto the snow. Taki wasted no spare thought on the dumb-ass--he deserved it, and she was glad it hadn't been one of them. She quickly jumped in to take the chance he wasted and connected her jaws with the doe's neck, teeth tearing into flesh and ripping open the major vessel there. She held on tight against whatever weak attempts it made to break free, blood staining her white chest before dropping onto the snow. The struggling got weaker, and she knew it would be over soon.

o.o

when stigmata lunged, mahler swept past him toward the front of the doe's body, his heavy jaws snapping soundly 'round her mouth and nose as he leapt and bore her down. it was not until the animal's cheek touched the snow that the gargoyle realized what had transpired: the bitter tang of wolfsblood sours the sweeter scent of the hunting fragrances in the air, and he glanced between the churning legs of his fellows to the sight of the stranger's cracked skull.
turning back to the weakly moving doe, mahler seized her muzzle again in a crushing vise just beneath her chin, brushing alongside takiyok, beginning to suffocate in hopes her flashing legs would lose their strength and thus threat for the other wolves who followed stigmata. between the concerted efforts of himself and takiyok's rending of the great veins, it would not be long.

the doe had died - weighted by finch and stigmata; bled by takiyok; suffocated by mahler - before the ironstar noticed what finch had paused in their harrowing pursuit to witness. the deceased form of their one-off companion, whose crumpled body looked kinder than what the wolves of diaspora would have likely had done to him once this hunt was complete. he had not earned any of their respects in his efforts, but his prime had been well-rewarded by a swift death.

stigmata could only hope for so much.

he turned back to the treasures of the living, relief swallowing him as he saw to it that his mates were well and full-bellied.

): i wanted a twin *pouts* - hopefully everyone's ok with ending this here <3