Northstar Vale You don't swing it like you used to, man

A pack hunt! Tagged you all for visibility but don't feel obliged to join if you're busy, this is non-mandatory. This activity will happen in rounds, and this round will end on December 23rd!

The wolves of Duskvale were a motley bunch, but all of them listened to their instincts and were making Duskvale a most wonderful pack indeed. Saena thought of them proudly as she stood atop a hill overlooking a herd of elk. She, mercurial and generally good-natured, alongside the stoic and no nonsense @Warbone and offset by the pair of opposites that served as seconds: @Dagfinn the optimistic and @Tryphon the melancholy. @Indra, her quiet and considerate child, whose resolute hope that Laurel would find them burned brightly and inspired the first. @Rhys, an enigma whose nature she had yet to discern. @Zephyr Maverick, a wolf driven by the wilderness. @Rigr, with his stories writ in scars across his face. @Jax, whom she hadn't formally introduced herself to, but saw among the pack. And their newest, @Dragon, with his queer way of speaking and his rascally nature.

The howl Saena loosed was for all of them. It was a beacon indicating her location and inviting them to converge on it. For Saena stood upon a hill overlooking a herd of elk, and she intended to get in there and do some damage. The huntress had been out of commission for far too long and yearned to stretch her legs again in a timelessly classic hunt, and she invited each and every vale wolf to join her in this. They were close, she knew, and she turned to receive them with a bright and jubilant loll of her tongue.

Rhys, even if he was just beginning to care about his temporary home, was always busy. He hunted more than he slept in the hope that the months he would spend here would not be filled with disrespect and a low rank. If he was going to be here for a while, he might as well give it his all. Always looking - always listening, he was perhaps one of the first to react to the call of Lady Saena. His gray tale twitched in excitement and he ran toward the hill without a second thought.

With his tongue lolling out of his mouth and a respective stance he joined his superiors with a wag of his tail, catching sight of the herd not long after. He liked where this was going...

Dragon came to stand beside his leader, sliding back his ears and ducking his head in deference. He stood staring at the elk, and could not help but drool. Ropes of saliva dangled from the corners of his mouth. Large game was a rarity where he came from. His proficiency in small mammals, birds and scavenging was not a coincidence — it had been a necessity. He was already spoiled here, having fed on the pack's last kill though he had not participated in it, but now the opportunity for fresh hot meat was before him. Anticipation and readiness gathered in his muscles, and he quivered noticeably as he stood transfixed.

Dagfinn had quickly developed a feirce admiration for Dragon, his newest packmate. Their first meeting had started off a little rocky, but Dag's first impression of the older male - that he would be fun - had been entirely correct. The dark youth had found (in his mind) a kindred spirit in Dragon, a wolf who seemed to take as much joy in pestering and mischief as Dagfinn himself.

So... he'd been following him around. A little bit. And he was only a few seconds behind the blue-toned male when he answered Saena's call. Dag barked in greeting to the first female, but stuck close to his Best Friend as they waited for the rest of their brothers to arrive.

He lagged behind Warbone and Saena by a few lengths after the call hit his ears. He was already near, but had slackened his guard of Saena as soon as the strength of Warbone became apparent. There was no need to watch her at this point. Tryphon was so accustomed to it now, though, that he couldn't stop. Even with the rest of the pack slipping closer, coming out of the woodland or ducking out of shadow, he kept his attention rapt upon her.

The hunt was important. Besides filling their bellies, it was the onset of winter and every ounce of their kill would be of use to them — and, most importantly, it would signify their unity. Tryphon only cared about the safety of his leaders. He trusted his packmates to be of use, to be strong, and he believed both Saena and Warbone to be the strongest — but they were the head, and it was his job to keep that head intact.

He paced behind them, slipping from the dark to meet Dagfinn's side when both he and Dragon came forth. Without a word he trailed the pack, and took up a position nearer to Saena, waiting.

Happy holidays, everyone! The last day for this next round will be December 28th. Feel free to have your character select an elk for the pack to go after or team up or whatever you feel is fun in the "chase" stage of the hunt—I imagined this playing out kind of like the first few minutes of this video when I wrote it!

Several wolves came forth from the main Duskvale pack to join in the hunt: strange Rhys with his pessimistic outlook on life, quiet Tryphon with his stalwart silence, the newcomer whose name she couldn't remember at the moment and Dagfinn, his shadow. Absent from the list was both Warbone and Indra, which made Saena twitch her ears and glance around, but she could only assume the two were together somewhere. Indra seemed quite intimidated by Warbone, while the heavyset first male seemed intent on winning her daughter's trust. Either way, neither of them showed up, along with several others.

It didn't really matter. There was more than enough of a hunting party here to take down a hale and healthy elk. Turning, Saena looked out over the herd and selected a female from among those lagging near the back—"That one, if we get the chance," she told them with a jerk of her snout, "but we will break them first and see who leaves the group"—and then she led them down the hill.

Saena's hunting had never been overly strategic. Back home on the plateau, there had always been a plan of action, but Saena rarely planned her hunts ahead. She was instinctive in that respect: she preferred to run among the herd animals, see how they scattered and how they bunched together, and go in for the kill when the opportunity presented itself. That was how she led the hunt now. With a gruff bark and a joyous bound, the first female invited the Duskvale wolves—all male at this gathering—to join her in streaking through the herd and sending the elk running.

It was very much like a cue ball hitting a perfectly arranged stack of billiard balls.

Eyes now fimly fixed on the indicated prey animal, Dag bounded joyfully after the first female, tongue lolling gaily out the side of his mouth. His intended target was kept always in sight, but for the moment, the dark male decided to enjoy the thrill of the chase. Snapping indiscriminitely at the ankles of the powerful beasts, Dag dodged between their legs with practiced finesse, intent on scattering them to all corners of the earth and having a good time doing it.

Occassionally, he would draw near to his packmates and snap at their ankles as well, making sure to never catch more than a few hairs between his teeth. It was only play, and probably not the smartest thing to do during a hunt, but Dag was yet young and had too much fire in him to restrain himself.

His eyes soon found the female in the herd that Miss Saena probably wanted dead at her feet, and he already felt the fire in his legs rushing to his head. He had never hunted in a group this big, but it was exciting. When the first female began running, he did so as well, keeping close to them and yet far enough to do his own bit of scaring the herd.

He watched everyone - what they were doing and for which of the prey the went for as Dagfinn seemed to be on drugs or something. Rhys had never seen someone run as wild as him with so much energy, and it was encouraging. He, too now, snapped at many ankles, making sure to notice when Miss Saena picked out a suitable meal. 

Tryphon was no hunter. He could kill enough to keep himself alive of course, but mostly he picked at old kills and fell in to his old habits of digging up caches. Rotten or not, a meal was a meal. Except now, with Duskvale to support him, he was learning. It was this sense of comfort that kept him from leaving the hunting party behind as they scoured the area in search of the herd; it was his sense of connection with Dagfinn which led him to stand beside the dark boy, listening with rapt attention to Saena. And it was his attachment to her — his devotion to her, and Warbone, and all of them — which urged Tryphon to keep trying. To do what needed to be done. To learn.

He found a position and waited for the order to charge.