Redhawk Caldera IGNIS UMBRA
✝ november 27, 2015
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Ooc — Iris
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#26
Pan followed the others, mind racing and not all there, body feeling as though he didn't even control it himself. He tried to help once the separation started, to separate the chosen animal from the herd.

Just as Pantaleimon moved towards the elk to chase them away from their chosen prey, she noticed Elwood Junior racing forward. Not realising that he was racing towards his father and not into the fray of the fight, Pantaleimon shouted "Watch out!" to prevent the boy from reaching the dangers of the elk hooves. Pan started to run to intercept the pup, but while he forgot about the prey he was chasing for a moment, Pan dashed right into one's butt, causing it to kick up its hooves, hitting Pan in the side.

With a painful "oomph" Pantaleimon somersaulted to the ground. He lifted his head, but dropped it to the ground again since all it caused him was dizziness. Pan decided to stay on the ground, hoping the rest of the group'd bring the chosen prey down while he mentally kicked himself for not paying enough attention.
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#27
Eljay stayed back up until the point where it felt like he couldn't even breathe. His heart thudded in his throat, his breathing constricted, and he stared at daddy as he kept vanishing into the distance until he could no longer stop himself. With clumsy paws Eljay started to dash towards daddy, ears pinned against his head and tears brimming in his eyes. He didn't stop until he reached daddy, pressing himself firmly against daddy's haunch, feeling daddy's fur, for it seemed the only thing that could bring his breathing back to life, to let his heart slow back down to a steady beat; to make him feel whole again. He didn't even notice anything else that went on around him. Not the prey, not Pantaleimon; only daddy.
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#28
Suddenly, there was commotion ahead. Elwood's eyes shifted to Pantaleimon, who cried out and then darted away from the rest of his group. In the next instant, he collided with an elk, receiving a kick to the ribs. The white male went down, and simultaneously Elwood felt a presence at his haunch.

He knew who he would see before he even looked back. He glanced down at Eljay, whose face was contorted with the effort of trying not to cry, and knew that he had to drop out of the hunt. He couldn't endanger Eljay or the rest of the group by being selfish and continuing. Eljay was much too distraught to be left behind, and his presence could only cause more issues for the adult wolves. He especially didn't want to take away from Wildfire, Nightjar, and Raven's first hunting experience.

So the father slowed his pace, allowing his team to draw away from him. "Go ahead," he called to Peregrine, and then he circled back towards Pantaleimon with Eljay in tow. At the very least, he could check on his packmate, although he had no medical knowledge to speak of. "Come on," he murmured to Eljay as he trotted towards Pan.

When he reached the subordinate's side, he came to a stop. "You okay?" he asked even as he examined him, looking and smelling for signs of blood.
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Ooc — Chelsie
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#29
There was a brief moment when the pup in the group wailed that Nightjar considered turning around and pounding his spoiled ass into the ground for being a nuisance, once and for all solidifying his intense (unfounded) distaste for Elwood Junior's presence. Luckily, Peregrine was the one to turn first and Nightjar took it upon himself to remain focused on the action ahead. Raven called out a target and Fox confirmed it. His mother, sisters and Pantaleimon began to give chase, only for Pantaleimon to drop out of the hunt (literally). Nightjar winced when the white male was hit but, true to his usual "survival of the fittest" mindset, his concern was more for how this would affect their chances than for Pantaleimon himself, especially because the chosen cow was separating from the herd.

He didn't notice Elwood leaving the hunt. His eyes slid sidelong to Dean, but then they focused on Peregrine, the leader of both the pack and the hunt. His muscles tensed with Peregrine's whispered warning and he slowed to a trot, conserving his energy for the moment that one of the chasers would send up the signal. He watched the chase keenly, and would be surprised to realize that when the chasers finally did send up the signal, he'd almost known at the exact same time that it was time to go, so in sync with the wolves of his pack and the primal nature of the hunt was he.
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#30
Fittingly, it was Raven who eventually gave the signal (likely coaxed by her mother). Peregrine grinned, happy to see his youngest and quietest child taking point. All conscious thought then emptied from his mind as he barked to the other three and surged forward. Somehow, he didn't even see Pan's incident, as he was focused with laser precision upon one thing only: their target.

Using body language to communicate his intent, Peregrine motioned for Dean to move to the left. He then signaled for Elwood to go right (unaware that he had fallen back). The Alpha himself would take up the center. Together, the three of them would attack the cow's backside, putting weight on it and slowing her down so that Nightjar would get the honor of going in for the kill.

The Alpha wolf dug his heels into the earth and, with a final burst of speed, launched himself at the choice elk. His teeth sank into the meat of her haunch, though he unlatched quickly to avoid a kick. He fell back, then charged again with a loud growl. This time, he aimed for the softer tissue of her buttock, his fangs slicing deep into the flesh. He grabbed hold, then began to fling his head back and forth while simultaneously dragging his weight.
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Ooc — aerinne
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#31
With Pan and Elwood out of the chase, Fox decided to go ahead and do double-duty. She raced to where Peregrine had signaled Elwood to step up, heart beating a little faster with each thrum of her feet on the ground. Fox lunged at their prey when she was close enough, though she missed her mark and stumbled, racing to catch back up. The second time, her aim was true, and she found herself attached to the beast's other side—opposite of Peregrine.

Nightjar would be given the opportunity to make the kill, though somebody else would have to step up if he missed it. Fox had a pretty good feeling that her only son wouldn't fail to do his duty. Out of the three children, he seemed to be the one most in tune with the physical skills.
Pregnancy timeline (RHC members only)
✝ november 27, 2015
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Ooc — Iris
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#32
Pantaleimon lifted his head briefly to see what was going on, only to drop it again. He felt dizzy, but was glad that it seemed the animals had moved on and would not target him. From the corners of his eyes Pan saw the other wolves snap at their prey's haunches, and he remained still on the ground until he heard someone's approach. He just hoped that the pup was alright, but since the other wolves were still on the hunt, he guessed so.

It was Elwood that approached and asked if he was okay. Pan dizzily lifted his head and looked to find that the pup was fine; it didn't even look at him, just pressing its face into his father's hind leg. "Y-yeah," Pan muttered. "Sorry..." He knew he should've paid better attention and stuck on the hunt. Nothing probably would've even gone wrong, for now it became evident to Pan the pup had never intended to mesh into the herd; just to go to its father.
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#33
Eljay stayed close to daddy, who told him to come with. He followed very closely, ignoring the hunt and whatever else happened. He wasn't even sure why daddy dropped out of the hunt to tell him to follow, but it wasn't on the forefront of his mind, either. Eljay just followed, finally having his breathing and the rest of his panic attack under control now that daddy was nearby, until they reached one of their pack mates on the ground.

Not having seen the accident, Eljay didn't know why Pantaleimon was on the ground but he chose to ignore the whole ordeal, just staying close to daddy and pressing his face into the warm, comfortable fur on daddy's side as though a child would with a blanky.
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#34
Two major things happened nearly simultaneously: Raven gave the signal and Pan took a hit. Since she was not meant to be part of the final chase, Wildfire fell back and scurried to join those already gathering around the Gamma. Raven was there and so were the two Elwoods. The youth looked around for Fox but she had surged ahead to help Peregrine, Dean and Nightjar. She watched them close in for the kill, though her concern for their fallen comrade pulled her attention back to Pan.

It was established that the Gamma was more or less okay. "Rave should take a look at you," Wildfire murmured, offering Pan a small smile. Since there was not much she could do herself, the red juvenile moved out of the way, spinning to watch as the final few moments of the hunt unfolded. Strangely, it was somewhat difficult to see and when Wildfire raised her eyes questioningly to the moon, she saw that it was an enormous blood red splotch in the black sky.
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Ooc — Kim
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#35
"Don't apologize," Elwood said to Pantaleimon, even as Raven and Wildfire approached. He took a step back to allow Raven to take a look at their injured packmate, indicating for Eljay to do the same (although the boy probably would anyway, since he was quite literally attached to his dad's hip). "It happens to the best of us," he added in an effort to reassure Pan, before turning away to watch the hunt alongside Wildfire.

His eyes followed Fox's fiery silhouette through the shadows as she dashed in with Peregrine and Dean. Nightjar was at the forefront of their little group; surely he would be the one to make the kill. The experienced hunters worried the elk with their teeth and claws, and Elwood held his breath in eager anticipation as the final seconds of the hunt ticked away under the red moon.
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Ooc — Chelsie
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#36
I completely forgot about this and that you were waiting on me. So sorry guys.

It was like his ancestors took over control of his body. Had anyone asked, he never could've described the felling. Well, he wouldn't have been able to anyway, but Nightjar felt like a different wolf all of a sudden, wild through and through with no regard for manners or moods. The hunt drew out of him some spirit of long ago, a hunter, to take control, and he fell in with the rest of the pack almost seamlessly.

Peregrine and Fox managed to get the quarry's hind end under control. Nobody had to tell him what to do next, he just knew. It was an ordeal making it close enough to the fleeing animal, what with his lack of speed, but when he got there he lunged. He missed once, but with a frustrated snarl he pushed himself to catch up again and managed to grab hold of the prey's throat. From there, it was almost like he went into a trance. He must've torn wide the animal's jugular, for when his senses returned, he was veritably bathed in blood and the beast was felled.

His breath came in ragged gasps and his pupils dilated with the scent of fresh blood all around him. It was a frenzy if ever there was one, and his wild-eyed gaze went to Peregrine first. For a moment, he considered the wild possibility of brawling with his father for the right to feed first, but he retained enough of his social self to know it was not his time. Peregrine was the leader, and Elwood was next. But the other males? Nightjar would threaten to beat them to a pulp if they tried to eat before he did. The females were left alone, of course; they had their own hierarchy in his mind.
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Ooc — Kat
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#37
YOU BUTT! I kid, I don't think it held up anyone too much. :) <3

In lieu of +20 EXP (seeing as EXP = dead), I'll donate $20 in everyone's name. ;)

He didn't let go until the beast fell. Peregrine unlatched and leaped back then, good eye immediately seeking his son's figure and a fiendish sort of grin arcing his lips when he saw the blood splattered on Nightjar's chest. He blinked down at the kill, watching and waiting as the elk twitched a few times before finally falling still. His mouth watered, yet before he partook in the feast, he padded over to give his son a proud bump and then pivoted to address the girls too on a job well done.

Peregrine's brow furrowed when he saw Pan on the ground, the others gathered around him. He exchanged a quick glance with Fox, then moved toward the group. "Everything okay?" he asked worriedly, bumping against shoulders in an effort to get closer to the pale Gamma. He gave Pan a nudge, then a once-over. He appeared to be all right. There was a queer glow to his pale fur, yet all it took was a glance upward to explain that; the eclipsing moon had turned blood red.

"Good job to all three Firebirds," the Alpha male announced, motioning for the pack to move back toward the kill. Perhaps it would have been a nice gesture to invite them to feed first, yet that would only serve to disrupt the natural order. Wildfire and Raven might not mind, yet he knew his son would appreciate deferring to the hierarchy. Giving the freshly-proven hunter another grin, the Alpha did the next best thing by diving into the meat to show Nightjar his acknowledgement, approval and appreciation for a bloody good kill.
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Ooc — Kim
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#38
Elwood watched as Nightjar successfully brought down the target. It was exhilarating, even though his own paws were firmly rooted to the ground. He remembered his earliest hunts and how challenging yet rewarding they had been, and knew that the same feelings were coursing through Nightjar's veins.

Once the group came to a halt and Peregrine had checked on Pantaleimon, the Alpha indicated that it was time to feast. Naturally, he and Fox would eat first, but once they had taken their fill, Elwood moved in as second-in-command. He tore off a large chunk from the beast's flank and dragged it away from the carcass, intending to share it with Eljay. "In a few months, you'll be hunting just like Nightjar," he said as he settled next to his son and began to eat.
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#39
When her gaze dropped from the enormous red moon, Wildfire's eyes settled on her brother. For an instant, she thought the red splashed on his fur was a trick of the strange light. But then she saw the twitching elk at his feet and a decidedly predatory grin began to spread across her face. She began to walk, then run, her heart beating proudly in her chest. It was their very first hunt and it had been a total success!

"Way to go, NJ," Wildfire said breathlessly when she arrived at the kill site, surveying the freshly dead elk from up close before exchanging a glance with him. Her attention shifted to the rest of the pack momentarily as Peregrine guided them closer to the supper table. The youth took a deferential step back away from the carcass. The Firebirds might have taken point yet this was the pack's kill and as its king and queen, her parents would be the first to eat.

Wildfire waited her turn, then dove in alongside Raven. Was it just her or did the meat taste more tender, the blood richer than ever before? Perhaps it was just simply the victory that tasted so sweet. Soon her rusty pelt became a deeper shade of red and the charcoal smudge on the bridge of her snout disappeared entirely as the young she-wolf feasted, bathing in blood, glory and the red glow of the super moon.
✝ november 27, 2015
391 Posts
Ooc — Iris
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#40
Pantaleimon smiled when Perry came into view and nosed him over to make sure he was okay. Things were sort of weird between them, but at least he'd come. "I'm okay," Pan mumbled, still feeling like a bit of a dork for allowing his personal troubles to impact his hunting.

Pan shook his fur and shot Elwood another appreciative look before they moved towards the food. Pan waited his turn before eating. He ate little, feeling undeserving of the meal anyway and not feelign too well after being kicked around. He was going to be sore in the morning.
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#41
Eljay grouchily followed daddy as they moved back to the kill once it was finished. Wifi, Raven and Nightjar were rejoiced. Eljay looked curiously at Nightjar, who he barely even knew, but was soon distracted when daddy took something to eat and set them apart.

Eljay ate little of the meat, not feeling like eating much; he just wanted to find mommy. Hopefully now that the adults were done with their distractions, they'd get right onto the search. Eljay glossily stared ahead at the eating wolves while daddy told him he'd hunt in a few months, too. He nodded absent-mindedly while his thoughts were with mommy all the way.