Haunted Wood c-c-c-caught again, in the mystery

the jolt that reverberated through the woods sent birds fluttering, and with it astara’s hope of a meal. cursing in silence, astara was quick to quit the trail. the rumbles were becoming increasingly unsettling, and the absence of prey even more ominous still.

astara set her sulky gaze west. the angry simmer of the westering sun flared once, and then dismally sank behind the horizon. 

engulfed in hunger and in no mood to appreciate the scenic atmosphere, astara prowled through the redwood, absentmindedly trailing the scent of @Serem.

She had simply been patrolling the borders today and stocking the cache with whatever she came across on her short journey today it was a hare whose blood still lingered on her breath. It wasn’t much but it was something and that’s all that mattered, soon they would all hunt as a pack and only time would tell with how that went. However if the earth continued to get pissed off and shake as it’s been doing prey may not be in abundance this winter. 

As as she walks on she catches the scent of a wolf and soon sees the figure; the pack scent vaguely on her pelt. A little bit on the young side from what she saw but not by much. “I don’t believe we’ve met yet.” She said simply.

before long the trail parts from the pine straw, and there hulking in the wildwood stood the strapping figure of serem.  astara measured the woman in a single glance — amazonian, tall, and smelling of blood. 

the scent prompts astara’s muzzle to salivate.  hungrily, her nose twitched — serem’s dark jaws were empty, yet the scent of kill and flesh remained. ignoring the nightstalker’s greeting astara drew her head along the ground, sniffing the heady soil to figure out where the woman’s cache was.

The female at least to Serem seemed to be hungry as well as a woman of few words it seemed or was just rude regardless Serem set it aside. “If your looking for food, I just caught a rabbit it’s over there.” She pointed her nose towards where she put it. It was the pack cache after all and since food was becoming scarce a rabbit would only sustain a small wolf anyway.

Just as she had hoped, the Haunted Wood was the ideal environment for her. The expanse of forest through which she now traveled was dimly lit, allowing for plentiful coils of mist to wrap around her legs. She scanned through the trees, and beyond. Plenty of places to lurk in secrecy, should she desire. 

Today was not the day for such antics. With the pack still relatively new, there was work to be done. And with her addition to the ranks, the need to prove herself worthy. Tzila fretted not over this. Time was on her side, as was experience in her past. Her long standing good relationship with Vengeance only bolstered her confidence. The sense of pressure placed on her shoulders fueled her...made her more ambitious. She delighted in knowing she could be herself, all while in the company of supposedly kindred spirits. 

Two of whom, she was about to meet. Typical of her nature, she had been lurking some lengths away in the shadows, silently observing the two obsidian wolves analytically. The rumbles that shook the earth beneath their feet were growing more frequent...more persistent. Something wasn't right with the land. One of the females seemed hungry...set on getting a meal. The other, who pointed to the main cache, less so. Making her move, Tzila slipped seamlessly out the shadows, eyes serious. "With the way things are going, prey will become more scattered." Her undertone hinted that some sort of action - ideally a hunt between the three of them, would be practical. She sat down, expressing no interest in the cache. "I don't believe we have met. I am Tzila." 

astara's ruminations came to a halt as the spearing figure spoke of her caches; ears pricked ahead, the wraith turned and made a bid for serem's hidden wares. she was nary two steps when a new figure emerged, a wolf as black as either of them, sporting a startling cowl of scarlet.

the blackbird recoiled with a hiss, a singular paw raised in surprise. she may be among pack-wolves, but she had yet to adjust to the sudden burst of company -- and all of these wolves seemed remarkably capable of emerging from relative obscurity with ease. glancing towards serem, astara read enough from the she-wolf's face to ease her suspicions and so, continued in the direction of a hopeful meal.

her nose did not lead her astray. with an ear tilted towards whatever ensuing conversation happened between tzila and serem, astara pulled the hare from its crude deposit of earth, and ate with sickening crunches.

The other ate and watched the two and Serem paid no mind to the female who seemed to not want to speak. With a short turn of her head she now looked upon the wolf whom had introduced herself as Tzila and spoke. “My name is Serem.” She stated simply to the female in case her introduction to the other was not heard. “The quaking of the ground have scared most off. Though the rabbits seemed to stay or at least some. “ She hadn’t spotted any deer but maybe the other female had. “I was thinking about venturing out a bit farther from the territory in search of a bigger animal and compromise a big hunt.” She stated

Astara's wordless yet somewhat hostile reaction to her presence was met with only a flick of a dark ear. Tzila did not perceive her as a threat and more importantly, was not interested in taking the cached rabbit for herself. Serem on the other hand, was more engaging. 

"So I've noticed. Situations like these usually get worse before they get better." She spoke from experience. Her eyes were not on Serem or the feasting Astara, but on the distance. That look...she was thinking. Forming plans. To her credit, Serem already had a similar idea in motion, to the one she had brewing. Tzila turned her inky coated head towards her, face devoid of emotion but not brimming with her usual arrogance. She had long since mastered the fine art of acting, from her time in Elysium. "Then you and I are already on the same page. Rabbits aren't going to cut it...not for long. We will inform Vengeance..." She began, careful of usage of the word 'we', since she and Serem already had the same idea. "It'll be a fine test of our strength."

it may have looked as if astara was paying her company no mind as she ripped hare limb from limb, but it was not so; her spine flared momentarily as she caught tzila's pondering glance. astara was not there to be watched -- with a thick growl the girl took the remains of the hare and settled on a stone nearby. this move was not without its intention; from her perch she would easily fend any packmate that attempted to take the meal from her.

in quick almost defensive snaps, the girl gobbled the rest of the hare, fur bone and all. licking her lips, she crossed one paw in front of the other and rested her head -- her aubergine gaze focused on the two women conversing among themselves. astara cared little for diplomacy or advancement. in her eyes it was often best to let the hale squabble among themselves, weary their energies, and then she would come in like a little thief to steal their glory. that's how the smart wolves played it, in her opinion.

She like this female much better than the rest. "Indeed it will. I've experienced these before when o was young it's be best to tread carefully in the days ahead." These tremors were unpredictable and she wouldn't want to get caught off guard. "Rabbits can only get us so far and majority of us are larger than wolves I've seen and rabbits can't feed all of us." Especially not vengeance he was massive a rabbit wouldn't even be considered an appetizer. "Test of strength and ability to work together as a pack."

Tzila could say for once, the feeling was mutual. They thought alike. Seemed to plan things out. "Yes. With wolves our size and Vengeance's appetite..." She allowed a small smirk of humor at this. "...we'll need to have the caches well stocked. I'd much rather plan ahead and be prepared, for when these tremors get worse." Empty tummies and wolves with a violent disposition were never a good mix. They might very well make a meal out of one another.

She stepped past Serem and Astara, who had been busily munching on her own mini meal, but no doubt listening. "Let me know when you've decided to arrange the hunt. In the meantime, I expand the radius further out, beyond the reaches of Haunted Wood, if need be in search of smaller prey." She paused mid step to glance over a scarlet tinted shoulder. "I'm looking forward to this test." Then assuming they were all evenly on the same page, she departed to continue going about her day.

so they talked; astara turned an ear to their conversation, but lent no further interruption. the tall wolf had served her purpose in the little shade's eye; she had at least offered her a meal. the scarlet cloaked wolf, however...

astara allowed her gaze, dull and almost insectile, to rake across tzila indifferently. deciding there was little here for her to pick over, the blackbird held up the hare's gristly head, raised her own jaws in prideful contempt, and marched off -- gruesome token in tow.