Kildeer Rest Winterkill

Frigid dawn gave way to a frosty morning. Snow came down steadily, and all the world was powder.

The great woolly prancers loomed ahead; Wake could hear them slowly plowing, the sound of them not unlike the distant rush of rapids, or an approaching storm. The scent of Saatsine laced through the musk of caribou, and every now and again he would see a pawprint overlaid in snow paved wide by countless hooves.

The rogue called for them.

For the lord of venison, @Sun Eater. For the mistress of his heartstrings, @Suliya. For the nameless domina (@Sulukinak). For any and all of the reindeer-chasers to greet him. Unknowingly, he called also for the emigrant Morwenna, as well as a captive @Shadowpaw.

The soulful invitation announced:

Winter’s Wake has come to hunt with Saatsine.

suliya froze, her pale form stark against the powdered world as the call reached her ears. it was unmistakable—winter’s wake, his voice as familiar as the frost that clung to her fur. disbelief coursed through her, a sharp chill even colder than the snow underfoot.

what are you doing here? she breathed, her voice barely above a whisper, as if the words might vanish in the icy air. she stepped forward, her gaze scanning the horizon, searching for the rogue among the endless white.

her heart beat a frantic rhythm against her ribs, a mixture of shock and something unnameable. he had come to the saatsine lands—of all places, of all times.

behind proud suliya came sun eater, for his territoriality extended also to the other she-wolves among the saatsine. he could not mate them all, nor was there wish for each, but to have men lingering close was to proclaim perhaps his own weakness.

he did not crowd the lanzadoii woman; his single eye fell to the young male and he howled a single note for the others before he strode to meet the companion-hunter with a long, proud stride.

@Ice Diver @Kekoa @Ridgeback @Sulukinak @Gjalla @Ghelan @Meleys for visibility and/or joining! <3

cameo

it was a surprise for sulukinak too, as she had not expected the man to follow them, or to come in such a forthright way so that her uncle might intercept.

she watched as suliya arrived; more intrigued by the shift of her posture, and the seeming awareness of each person towards the other.

as sun eater arrived sulukinak slipped from cover and kept close, not quite to heel, but also not eager for exposure.

cameo, skippable

being a good wife was harder than she imagined it to be. one that's foreign with their ways, walking, but sinking on the water they so easily glossed over. k'edghildza heard her husband's call through the woods, but she had other tasks.

tasks that he didn't so much think of! she had been spending most, if not all, of her time collecting herbs that grew in such harsh conditions. she thought of @Ghelan, how much he would appreciate a caribou belt inside his den, around his shoulders.

but she was not a mother. not anymore. not yet. through clenched teeth she ripped a hide from an old bull, fur white with dappled browns. she speckled with oils from the lavender flowers she'd taken from the creek territory. a good gift for him, maybe.

skippable also!

Ridgeback assembled with the others, who trickled into view when summoned by one who thought to join them. Ridgeback carried a caribou femur with him- one he had been chewing on when the call had caught his attention. The great hunk of bone fell to the earth as he milled about with the others, eyes moving to Sun Eater as he expected the initiation, or interrogation to begin.

i am so sorry for the wait!!

The radiant graystone of Suliya's pelt captured his gaze at once, and gooseflesh made itself known across the winterwolf's body as he watched her. And though his eyes remained sly upon her, withholding their secret, he made no familiar move towards her— for Sun Eater was also on the horizon.

Wake paid his respects first to the coal leader, then to those who had assembled: Suliya, the nameless shadow, and an unfamiliar male toting the leg bone of a reindeer. His gaze lingered curiously on this last attendee, with his woods-at-night face and ermine cape.

Ave, hunters! he greeted them boisterously. Chief, he grinned to Sun Eater. I have come to learn the ways of your chase and show you what a fine hunting partner I am. How great of an ally I am! I should like to follow you until a kill has been made.

He would only fill his belly the once, while Saatsine would eat for days. Not that they needed his help for all the blood they shed, but some of them could rest as he worked in their place.

suliya. sulukinak. keda. ridgeback. a low snort; a rumble; he listened with slitted slate stare as the man spoke. it would be good to have another hunter, always. but sun eater allowed a silence to stretch, to prevail, until he snapped its thrum with a loud grunt.

wheeling, the long-legged lanzadoii led the hunting party up the snowy slopes. "i watch big male. think too much of himself. strong but young. we take," he decided, for the charming man who might gain the eye of saatsine women must prove himself with blood flowers.

their hunt would begin in the next moments; he searched among the herds until he found the tall blonde shoulders of the caribou male and the uncommon coloration of green eyes in that proud velveteen face. "him."

suliya wasn't impressed. she stood back, moving to the quieter end of the others. she did not want to be seen. disrupt such a rapt hunt. so be it, then.

sun eater spoke. claimed the caribou he wanted.

she would listen, and surely enough, would follow.

If we want to go with a posting order, I’ll post regularly again with RB for the hunt.

The guy seemed friendly enough- a bit dramatic, but his enthusiastic greeting appealed to the good-natured Bloodhunter. He seemed keen to learn from their hunting strategies, though it seemed as though he hinted that he might shadow, rather than be engaged, which Ridgeback found a bit strange. 

Shadowing was for pups- who could watch and learn from a safe distance, and then eat until their bellies were full. Allowing an adult to do so in the name of learning a new strategy seemed generous. 

All the same, it was Sun Eater’s call, and he seemed to appreciate the praise and willing enough to humour him. Ridgeback licked his lips as the chosen target was described, and then began to limber up for the hunt.