Redtail Rise Ghost Buffalo

Once more, the inclement weather interfered with Masquerade’s hunting lesson. They led the pups back to the rendezvous site and thought about napping under their tree. But there was something enervating about the storm. As thunder shook the ground beneath their feet, the Caru loped to the highest point of the rise to get a better view.

They found a good spot and turned to face southward, a small gasp escaping them when they saw a herd of American buffaloes on the nearby plain. Masque blinked the rain out of their eyes and squinted, leaning in as lightning whipstitched across the sky. Was it just the stormlight or were those bison all white?

For anyone playing along, this is for the Sequoia Seashell prompt: “A herd of white bison [has] been noted in the area.”

jaws parted to expose the heavy teeth.

the ground shook with stormlight.

augur joined thorn caller with a rumble, butting his crown affectionately against the other's shoulder before he too peered at the pale bison.

they were his favorite sort of meat, and he scanned their herd with growing interest.

When Augur joined them, they tensed only to relax the moment his head made impact with Masque’s shoulder. Focus, they reminded themself, tail breaking into a slow sway as they nibbled at the Ulfhedinn’s jaw.

If there was anything that could perhaps unite the pack and restore its cohesion, it was a big game hunt. They could tell that Augur was not deterred by the storm. Their lips pulled into a wolfish smile as they took this cue from him.

Raising their muzzle, they summoned @Redsky, “@Fifth,” @Mulherin and “@Pupper” with a low, ululating howl. Masquerade knew the pack’s adult members would overhear and hopefully come as well.

They dropped their head and gazed at the herd, moving like ghosts across the plain. Thunder growled. Lightning snapped. Masque’s fur stood on end as their pulse quickened. They bumped eagerly against the leader, riling with bloodlust.

Dutifully, he answered the summons.

Weariness and turbulence radiated from him like heat from a bonfire. The storm had dashed all hopes of a peaceful night’s rest. He could not shake the feeling that something was off.

The sight that met his eyes confirmed it. A sea of ghostly pale bison, as if they were sent down by the raging heavens.

The boy approached, gaze flickering between the Caru and Ulfhedinn, waiting an explanation.

tagging @Lilia @Ancelin @Redd @Relic @New Snow @Saturdays Sunrise for visibility!

in the primal stem of his brain, augur had contemplated that the role of ulfhedinn had no heir.

his daughters were young. he had wished to train bobcat but the young wolf was content to be at the edges of the pack. without realizing it, he had begun to look toward thorn caller.

and it was that one he hoped would join them for the hunt.

he rumbled toward the boy, gesturing toward the bison. he was too young to chase in such stakes, but every redtail wolf learned the terrain and their prey.

augur would wait for the others, growling as he sought to fan thorn caller's eagerness into a hunting lust.

don’t let me hold this up <3 I’m struggling in group threads rn but wanted to be sure to get her in something

Redd heard the call for the hunt and attended, noting that the catch would require a fair number of them to pin down.  The beasts were large and dangerous, and silently she approached and shared a glance with Augur before joining her sibling at the side.

He would lead them and she would go where he wished.  Masque had tracked this quarry but the father was hunt leader.

placing her here to watch! skippable when appropriate <3  

sunrise is still too young to hunt, but perhaps it is a fact that she remains oblivious of. she would rather be out there where she can see augur and masque at, but instead is stuck on the sidelines with enough threatening adults. unbeknownst to the child, a hunt of this magnitude is something desperately needed by the rise now that the red woman has come to disappear.

so she waits, practically with a rock on her tail to keep her still. and through all of it, Sunrise does her best to stay quiet and not disturb the scene unfolding. observing these hunts would serve as a great benefit to her, but only if she proves herself willing and able to watch without getting in the way.

New Snow keeps with the young. Hunter though she is, she is mother as well—and she keeps her young safe and protected. But these hunts were important to watch and see to learn from, and now the girls were at the traveling time. 

She called back, and then nosed her girls and the rest watching from this distance. She had never seen a herd so pale before! New Snow thought little else of that, standing and watching with her young, ready to teach them many lessons.

Lilia ranged along the borders, but a quiet patrol left her feeling confident that no peril would invade if she left for a pack hunt. With the youngsters summoned to watch, they’d all be supervised, so she could shift from guardian mode and into hunter mode to help bring down something substantial as a meal.

Like the others, she felt herself grow vibrant with energy the moment she too sighted the herd. Any one of them would be an excellent meal. Their unique colour meant little to the ravenous woman- they looked just as edible to her. 

She hushed the instinct to pant, in favour of remaining quiet, especially in front of the excited kids. She moved forward to click her teeth together near Mulherin, knowing how excited the promising young hunter would be to witness the hunt. 

She moved to be yet another willing hunter alongside Redd, keeping Augur tight in her side-eye so the moment he motioned, she would snap to attention and follow his guidance.

Forward came the hunters, though not all of them. Masquerade huffed out a breath and squinted, as if they just couldn’t make out their shapes in the stormy air. But, no, neither their brother nor their cousin were here. Perhaps they had been further away and would join the hunting party shortly.

In the meantime, the Caru set aside their own zealotry to address the pups, only to see that Sky was missing. All the others were accounted for and Masque noticed New Snow lingering near her girls. They couldn’t help but feel something clench deep inside them, their own voice echoing in their head: “Do I belong here, Augur? Am I needed?”

If anyone should be responsible for the pups, it should be me, they said, striding toward her, submissive despite their insistence. I am Caru, they reminded her, though I also believe all of them know better than to interfere. They know they must stay put and watch.

Their eyes traveled from one youth to the next, giving each a meaningful look, before glancing at New Snow. Masquerade felt they should both be able to join the hunt at this point in the pups’ lives, giving the children and their own childrearing skills some due credit.

ancelin was late. he had been tracking a single elk along the far borders, but his cousin's call sent him into a run.
joining lilia, he nodded at the others and turned his eyes toward the buffalo. they were pale, oddly colored humps of white dotting the reaches below. a glance toward their huntlead, a kiss for his mate.
for once ancelin was in fine spirits.
relic did not come.

no posting order! <3

his yellow eyes shifted to new snow and to thorn caller. it did not seem a dispute, rather an assertion of the caru's rank.

he approved and would not interfere. having his mate beside him would dispel a good deal of the unsurety that clung to augur these days.

blood star. wolverine. new snow. skin tooth. and himself.

first, to test the herd with its short horns and heavy limbs. augur took a long breath and below the storm, he slipped into a gallop that aimed for the grouped core of the bison.

redtail would circle as the herd stood together. test with teeth. and when their nerve broke, when the snarling and tail-waving of multiple predators sent them on, the true chase would begin.

he had full faith in the rise.

Some were missing but still there was a good number of them.  Redd did not move as Masquerade went to tend to the younger members, though she hoped they would watch well.  Soon they would be needed to feed through the winter.

She followed where Augur led, watching closely, obeying his signals and mirroring his strategy.  First they would tire the chosen creature, the one who showed weakness and lagged behind the rest.  Then, when it was time, her teeth would be there.

Lilia flicked an ear as Masquerade withdrew from the group, overhearing quiet talk not intended for her. She exhaled as Ancelin came to her side and she reached over to trace her muzzle along his shoulder. They would run and feast and sup on adrenaline together.

She moved forward to cut around the group of bison, snarling and gnashing her teeth together to intimidate and test for any weaknesses. Should one balk or stumble, she felt confident they would find a target.

Despite their insistence that the pups had been reared for obedience and thus could be trusted to stay put, Masquerade sensed that the others expected them to stay behind with them. This inexplicably rankled the Caru, who gave the pups an overly severe look—don’t you dare move from this spot, it said—before running after the others to join the hunt.

Their indignation quickly burned off as they caught up with their comrades and melded into their primal dance. They slotted in where Relic truly belonged, their brother’s absence felt with another flash of angry dismay. But there was no time for feelings in the field, so the huntress focused on the task at hand.

Since it’s been a week, I hope it’s okay to post again to keep this moving? Please let me know if I need to edit or remove this though.

last from me unless acknowledged/stopped!

The skies rumbled and cracked. The clouds churned like a boiling potion.

He scanned his packmembers' faces as they slipped into an unsaid ritual. They assembled, beginning their advance on the herd. 

Before leaving, his Caru's gaze burned into his denmates and he. He understood the message loud and clear.

Though, an inkling of irritation wore away at him. Obviously. A buffalo could kill him with just a hoof. He knew better.

Yet that did not stifle the moodiness brewing inside of him.

Today would not be his time to shine, and subsequently irked him.

He skulked away from the grouping to observe the hunt from a spot hidden beneath the underbrush.

skippable!

Saturday’s Sunset’s small form stood beside her mother and sister as she watched the adults gather together. Bloodlust of this magnitude was a new thing to the young girl and she felt electricity in the air, amplified by the dark storm.

There, in the distance, a pale herd of bison moved together amorphously like light shimmering on water.

They will hunt! the spirit hissed.

Ranks shifted. Duties doled.

Unlike her sister, Sunset has no problem staying still. She was rigid; tuned in. Her amber eyes focus and fixated like a hunting cat. Predatorial, despite her youth.

She would heed the Caru’s instruction, even as her mother joined the hunting party. Shoulder-to-shoulder she watched with Saturday’s Sunrise.

so sorry D: lets make this last round! <3 PPing new snow

in the end, the odds fell to redtail.

teeth harried. he and his mate cornered a cow in that chaos of milling bodies and flashing paws. pinned there, the animal bellowed but could not turn back to her herd.

augur would rise with several bruises and a cut across his muzzle from the thrust of a short horn.

but he would rise bibbed with blood and panting, victorious; he called to them all and this time he would let the others feast first.

and toward the horizon would augur glance for red woman.

ending;
blood teeth mud muck rut hoof red.
heart racing, he looked for lilia.
his voice a proud bay, sudden and strong.

As soon as the beast fell to the wolves’ teeth, Masquerade trotted to the sidelines to catch their breath. Then they yipped for the pups to come, a command as much an invitation.

Their eyes glittered as they beheld the dead bison, the blood, mud and rain darkening its strangely pale hide. Masque licked their chops and skulked around the carcass, awaiting their turn to eat according to the hierarchy.

Where they might have reclined nearby to digest their meal, the rain drove them to seek shelter away from the storm. The Caru nosed at the feeding pups, rumbling an invitation to join them when they finished. A roll of thunder punctuated their growl as Masquerade loped back toward the rise.

The wild lashing of hooves kicked up mud and drew blood and painted the hallowed pelts of the white bison so they were auburn again. By the time the cornered cow fell to the ground beneath the harrying snaps of the wolves, it’s pale eyes looked heavenward once more, rolling back in agony. 

She shouldered her way toward Ancelin, panting, her chattering teeth close to his jawline a drum line of her adrenaline. Augur stepped back and gazed toward the horizon, but Lilia gave only a glance. 

The pack remained- as did Avicus’ legacy. Those who were here were the ones who needed to eat. Alongside those who had felled the beast she would feed, before moving away to lay and digest, head still held aloft to scan the area for competition so the pups could feed freely.

Saturday’s Sunset watched the hunters dance with the white buffalo, entranced.

It fell! It fought! It dies! The spirit whispered to Sunset with a bated breath.

She whetted her lips with anticipation but only moved from her spot when she spies Masquerade's signal to join the pack. Sunset nipped at her sister’s cheek before heading for the feast. She slunk in low, submissive, and claimed a chunk of meat for herself, growling as she satiated her voracious appetite.