Redtail Rise stoneward

masque was right, and ancelin had no reason to argue. he watched she and lilia exchange words, ears perking at the offer of pigs. the aspiring hunter followed eagerly, jostling first his cousin and then his friend with a playful nudge of his shoulders.
"smells like food," ancelin said with a toothy grin, eyes afire with anticipation.

Another wolf might’ve made an attempt at conversation as they walked along. Masque could’ve asked where Ancelin had been, for instance. But she wasn’t one for small talk. Anyway, every ounce of her concentration was already channeling into the upcoming hunt.

The wild pigs’ strong odor led the three young wolves into the undergrowth growing on the far side of the rise and into the adjacent territory. It was difficult to walk stealthily here, though Masquerade had been practicing nearly all her life and passed with ease, hardly making a sound.

Whether or not the same could be said of her two cohorts, they managed to get closer to the sounder of pigs. There were no males, only a handful of sows and their collective children. Several of the piglets were quite young. There were so many—perhaps two dozen, altogether—that the wolves might have their pick. It should be no great numerical loss to the group.

After assessing what she could see of the swine moving through the underbrush, Masque said, We could stay concealed and watch them a while, see if one of the babies strays from the group. Or two of us could rush the herd and a third could stay behind to snatch a straggler. What do you think?

The thought of boarmeat appealed to Lilia. Boars would have no feathers to pluck, and no thick pelt to chomp through in order to get to their meat. While the thought of a boar's tusks prickled her nerves a bit, she felt with the three of them, they might be able to work something out should one show up. Surely, they could outpace a boar- their legs were fairly short compared to the bulk of their body, there was no way they'd be able to catch up with a wolf. 

She moved along with the others quietly, content to follow Masque's direction. Every now and again, she stole glances toward Ancelin when she thought Masquerade wasn't looking; she wondered how he felt about their reunion being interrupted- but he seemed in decent spirits. 

She lurked, quietly, snatching glimpses of the animals, finding relief in seeing no boar among them. Still- the sows were still muscular and strong, a worthy opponent if they felt the need to risk their life for a piglet. The young ones milled about, snuffling and snorting, occasionally squealing when one bickered with another. With so many piglets, she imagined they could snatch at least one- but how to go about it?

Masque offered two options, and Lilia weighed them. She felt that there were enough piglets that if they ran in and spooked the sounder, they'd flee- and inevitably some of the smaller ones would be left behind...But what if a sow turned to protect the young ones? What if they all stood their ground? She didn't know enough about their behavior to know just how protective they would be, and she wasn't about to risk her own hide for the sake of pretending to be a know-it-all. 

"Maybe watch for a bit. I feel like we could thcatter 'em, but if the thowth all dethide to protect 'em, it'll be a shitshow." She looked to Ancelin to see his opinion.

ancelin too, looked toward lilia from time to time, though masquerade's clear focus on their quarry sharpened his attention until it too was was full upon their intended hunt.
the others spoke. ancelin didn't realize it was his turn to suggest anything until he saw lilia looking at him again; the boy did a double-take. "uh! uh, well, i think we should scatter them. the moms will protect them but they can't protect all of them if they're running."
they'd all seen what augur did: run headlong at a herd of something to test them. how could pigs be different?
he sank his claws into the cold earth and glanced first to masque, then lilia.

Lilia cautioned them about the hazards of attempting to scatter the pigs, voting to observe them for a bit first. Ancelin promptly countered her, putting Masque in a position she immediately disliked: she would have to be the tiebreaker.

Frowning, she weighed the options while idly keeping an eye on their quarry. Perhaps there was a compromise or a better plan altogether besides the two she’d proposed. While she mulled it over, she noticed a fight break out between two older piglets on the far fringes of the group.

Soon, the fight captured the attention of most of the herd. Masquerade’s muscles tensed as she watched a few of the sows moving toward the fracas, presumably to break it up. Many of the other youngsters also moved toward the fray.

Masque spotted an opportunity: one of the sounder’s youngest piglets bumbled about obliviously while the nearest sow’s back was turned, facing the brawl. It was wandering away from the group, heading right toward the trio of wolves hidden in the brush.

New plan, she whispered to Ancelin and Lilia, motioning at the wayward piglet. Knowing they needed to act swiftly, she added, You guys grab it. I’m going to distract the mom, who was the only pig still near enough to really pose a threat to the young wolves.

Rather than going forward, Masque slipped backward into the undergrowth. She found a better angle of attack, then rushed forward to reveal herself to the sow. She made sure not to get too close, braced to turn and flee if the pig rushed her. Hopefully she would buy her companions enough time to swoop in and grab their wee victim.

Ancelin offered an idea, and Lilia nodded thoughtfully. He wasn’t wrong, she’d admit that- but she was still wary of the animals she thought might be aggressive. And as if on cue, they proved her right, when they began to bicker amongst themselves.

Lilia watched, fascinated. Though she found the sounds they made were fairly obnoxious, they might be helpful as well; how would they hear the oncoming set of wolves over the squealing and roaring? 

Even Masque’s low tone could have gone amiss, had she not had an ear flicked in the wolf’s direction. Lilia sought out the wandering piglet in question, and nodded. Masque made off, and Lilia moved back to Ancelin’s side, giving him a cheeky side-eye for having come up with a plan that differed from hers.

Being challenged was nice when it came from someone she could respect.

When Masque darted toward the sow, Lilia crouched and bolted forward. Her aim was to zip in the area between the piglet and the rest of the milling swine, giving Ancelin an opportunity to go straight for the piglet when its retreat was blocked.

ancelin was prepared to listen. there was a thrill as he tossed a bold look toward lilia, perhaps adding a wink. the pigs' voices made his heart hurt.
his cousin was off. he watched with admiration and then it sharpened to see lilia speeding toward the same.
he saw her gambit and made his strides heavy. his teeth cut into the piglet's hide. what he had not expected was its weight, which slowed ancelin as he dragged it away from the others as swiftly as he could.
sharp hooves, screaming. he bit to wound and lifted his head to watch the others, worried, elated, ready to join them once the piglet was immobilized.

The sow scrambled backward the instant Masquerade appeared, though the sound of the piglet’s cry caused both animals to turn. She could see that the pig intended to charge at Ancelin, so Masque threw caution to the wind and leaped at her. She snapped at the beast’s haunch, making just enough contact to effectively distract the sow.

It worked. The wild pig let out an indignant squeal and turned on Masque. She only just bounded clear of her tusks as she swung her head, the palpable breeze ruffling her long tail. Swallowing, she dared a backward glance before sprinting forward just far enough to taunt the sow into giving chase.

It worked. The pig lunged after her, pursuing Masquerade into the nearby woods. The Ulfr paced herself, baiting the sow into a long chase to buy her pack mates time to execute the kill and get away from the scene. The pig would tire out long before Masque felt the first touch of exhaustion, though it would be a while before she knew if her efforts had paid off.

Feel free to continue and finish without me! :)

Ancelin came bounding into view and she saw red drip down the piglet’s side, heard the screeches of pain. I’m her peripheral vision, she saw more movement- and saw a cluster of younger piglets swarming in the confusion. 

Ancelin could handle the one himself, sure- she took a chance and charged the small group of younger piglets and sent them scattering, squealing. They put her agility to the test- but once she chose one and pursued it, she quickly closed in on the inexperienced creature that chose to run in a straight line in fear. 

It was small enough she could grab it by it’s shoulders and pick it up, clenching as it kicked and squealed. It’s movements ceased with a squeeze of her jaws. She ambled back toward Ancelin, as the sound of the panicked creatures faded into the distance. 

His piglet was larger than hers- but they’d still come away with more than what they’d expected to get. She’d be satisfied with what she caught- and thought perhaps Masque was owed part of it as well. She looked to Ancelin with warmth. 

”Glad yuh back,” she admitted, now that she had him alone again.

masquerade drew the others away. blood filled ancelin's mouth, and he bit harder than he he needed, savouring the crack of bone, the tearing of flesh.
lilia returned, and with her she brought a second piglet. his jaws were smeared with red; he parted them to congratulate her, but what she said sent a flush racing down his throat.
"glad to be back," he grunted, tipping her a wry look and one that connected their eyes for a long moment.
he broke the contact only to glance over for masque. "we should cache these and make sure she gets some," ancelin said, unwittingly echoing lilia's inner thought on the matter.

”Shuwah,” she agreed, glad Ancelin seemed to read her thoughts. She revelled in the wake of their eye contact, knowing now that Ancelin had returned- and that he was still very capable of being her knight. 

With a light chuff she leaned down to grab her piglet, waiting just for a moment for Ancelin to do the same, before she made to cut a path deeper into their claimed territory where their spoils could be safely stowed.