Redhawk Caldera On the trail of a loony klepto.

Barely a day has gone by since the whole pack had celebrated their move. Scratch that - he celebrated too, but privately, not interested in the singalong that most groups dove head-first in to like a poorly planned karaoke night; he watched the stars for a bit, pissed around part of the borders that had weakened in the passing hours, and then tucked in for a bite to eat before bed.

In the morning Reyes ventured tot he same cache, shocked to find it exposed and nearly empty. He hadn't glut himself that much last night, had he...? He traced his way back to where he'd slept that night, a few meters starboard, and found the tibia that he'd munched on (and then spooned), knowing he hadn't taken more than his share by the evidence. Tired as he had been after the relocation antics, Reyes knew how to maintain a bloody cache!

He looped back to where the pit sat open, and this time on his approach something moved inside of it: a long brown body with little beady eyes popped up, chattering shrill notes, and they stared at one-another a second. The otter had bits of chewed meat soiling the fur of its throat and was mid-chew when it noticed Reyes.

Oh you nutter— but even before he can fully berate this creature with his choice expletives, it has jimmied itself free of the cache and gone tumbling in to the bushes as fast as it can; Reyes holds his tongue and dives after it.

Figment had spent his morning marking borders, as he did every morning. He still had yet to find a decent place to do his training since the bog was no longer an option. But, until the borders were more established here, he didn't have any intention of leaving to go location scouting.

He was on his way back towards the heart of the territory to rest up a bit before his afternoon patrol when he heard the disturbance. Curious, he turned his paws to follow the sound and had just heard the words Oh you nutter before spotting the newest member of their pack. Fig moved to approach, but paused in surprise when suddenly Reyes went darting into a thicket. The young wolf blinked, then picked up his pace to follow, calling out, "Reyes? You alright?" as he went.

The otter was able to flatten itself and scurry through the mud, bend around small gaps in the trees, and otherwise obscure the path of its long body with the natural growths in its path; meanwhile Reyes tore after it, taking mad leaps of his own over patches of moss, fallen logs half-rotted, crashing in to a pile of small mushrooms growing just off an embankment as he took off again in a new direction. Someone shouted something near him but he was so focused on the chase he did not hear it clearly; when Figment came racing up alongside him he didn't look, he just kept on target.

Reyes didn't stop, but nor did Fig. His eyes flew across the dug up cache as he cantered past, clueing him in at least a little to what was going on. He didn't stop to grab onto the scent to know that whatever they were chasing wasn't much of a threat, so in his mind, it became something grander and far more fierce than it truly was. It didn't occur to him that not being able to see it was a clue as to its size.

In any event, he picked up his pace swiftly and brought himself alongside the other boy, intent now on driving away the... coyote maybe? Didn't matter. Reyes clearly wanted it out of their territory, so Fig would help.

When the otter veered away from Reyes at the last minute it found itself nearly trampled by Figment; it let out a screech and doubled back again, this time driving itself in to a mess of tangled tree limbs which had nested themselves among some old conifers. There was nowhere else it could go—but to equal measure, neither wolf could reach it.

Reyes noticed the pile at the last moment and had to awkwardly leap over half of it, crashing down on one wrist so that it smarted. He ignored the pain that sank in to his forelimb and stalked on the other side of the makeshift hideaway, finally noticing Figment's shape mirroring his.

Hey! Its some long-bodied thing. He explained as he panted and bristled. Caught it eatin' from one of the new caches and damn is it fast. Can ye get at it over there?

Nope, not a coyote. Something much smaller. Something much easier to trip on as well.

Fig stumbled as the creature was suddenly underfoot, shrieking at him. The boy jumped to get away from it, blinking in bewilderment down at the noodle-y rat. He twisted and watched as it dove into the trees with Reyes not far behind. He came up behind the other, then shifted around the tangle of limbs to see if he could get to it.

"Let's see..." Fig said as he bent down and peered through the bark while the creature hissed, "It doesn't seem to have too much room. Maybe we can tear away at some of these branches and scare it back out." Not all of the limbs were too thick, plus they might have an opportunity to dig it out depending on how tangled they were beneath the surface.

They could starve it out, thought Reyes—but that would require constant vigilance and he wasn't too invested in the thought after that point popped in to his head. Maybe if they faked disinterest and baited it out with remains from the cache it had been pillaging they could snap it up quickly? He tried to think of various scenarios that could be employed and in the end, Figment's suggestion won. Reyes did not think too long or hard on the subject, he just wanted to get the nuisance and be done with it.

Alright, he agreed and paced along one side of the mess, grabbing at some of the smaller branches and tugging and shaking at them so they would come free. Meanwhile the otter continued to writhe in its hiding place, spitting and hissing almost like a snake; it was backed-up against the furthest surface and scrambling to keep away from them.

Reyes accepted the proposition shortly and went to work. Fig did the same on the other side of the roots, watching the little intruder warily as it hissed at them. He was surprised at its ferocity, having never been in this close of contact with one of these creatures before. He narrowed his eyes at it as he dug away a branch, eyeing its tiny, razor sharp teeth. Maybe it would be better to kill than thing rather than just drive it from their territory, teeth like that...

"I didn't even realize these things were carnivores," Fig commented as they worked, taking a little more care now to make sure his paws didn't come too close to it lest he lose a toe.

You've seen 'em before? How surprising. Here Reyes was thinking the critters lived by the sea, as he'd often find them sunning themselves on the beach or bobbing in the salt water. Either that or Figment was a traveler of some kind and had visited the seaside; but then again, the presence of this pest upon glen land proved they could survive elsewhere.

Reyes had another thought. It'll tire itself out eventually. Maybe we can scare it to death? He wasn't smiling when he made this suggestion, knowing it was pretty awful.

Just as the wolves began to discuss between themselves on how to properly deal with the otter, it took the shift of their attention as a cue and tried to duck under some of the tree parts, bolting along the forest floor in pursuit of shelter. Reyes threw himself after it but was a beat too slow.

”Once, at Frosthawks. It was a river otter,” Fig explained, remembering. He’d been so astonished to come across the creature while sating his thirst at the river. Larkin had pranced right up excitedly and told him all he knew of the creatures from Liffey. He felt a pang of remorse. He missed the young Frostfurs.

Reyes’s suggestion brought a wry smile to his lips. If they hadn’t scared it to death yet, Fig didn’t see how they might accomplish it. ”Know any good ghost stories?” he asked rhetorically.

Fig was also not prepared for the otter’s sudden escape. He too sprang, but was a hair slower even than Reyes. He darted after it though, once again returning to his thought that perhaps their best bet was to just drive it out rather than kill it, seeing as it appeared to be faster than them.

As the otter vanished in the surrounding mess of foliage, Reyes coughed a curse after it; he was winded so the syllables didn't mesh very well, losing the phrase to fragmentation. He stomped around a bit before returning to where the creature had wedged itself and there he grabbed a few of the craggy old branches and shook his head, rending smaller pieces free. Frustration clearly wrought across his face.

But the moment passed, and after a few more paces he went from violent and angry to simmering and resentful; a minimal difference, really. Brazen little shit.

So it was that their quarry finally escaped them. Fig slowed to a stop beside Reyes while the other boy cursed and stomped about. He padded forward to sniff at the foliage that had made its escape possible, soaking in the creature's scent and committing it to memory. He'd have to keep an eye out for little fiends like these. Perhaps he'd go down to the lake and explore the banks to see if there were more lurking in their waters. They'd be good for hunting, if they could learn the right tactics to be successful.

Satisfied that he at least had the scent memorized, he turned back to Reyes to hear his muttering. He smiled a little. "Perhaps it's at least learned a valuable lesson," Fig offered. It was likely little consolation, but it was something. "I suppose we have a cache to refill now?" he commented after a beat.

Reyes crushed bits of twig and leaflitter in his haste and frustration, only pausing when he noticed Figment was talking again. He missed the first bit due to some particularly dry and tinder-like debris; but he shot the other boy a sharp look and directed his ears towards him. 

I suppose we have a cache to refill now? Figment reminded.

Aw, shit. We do. I totally forgot about it! Turning, Reyes looked along the path they'd both taken and then back to where the otter had been hiding, frowning down at the spot as if he could will the creature to return and be culled. And of course this thing escaped, so we gotta find something else. You know of any good hunting spots in this place?

okay if we wrap up here? :)

Reyes agreed that they had more hunting to do. Figment half expected him to take the matter upon himself and take off. The other boy struck him as the independent sort that might have a hard shell to crack, so he was pleasantly surprised when the word we was used. He smiled and nodded.

"I know of a few. I'll lead the way?" he suggested before setting off into the territory. He'd take his packmate towards the evergreen woods where he had had some luck hunting grouse.