Wapun Meadow Two roads diverged in a yellow wood

Please read this thread before joining. By joining, you are confirming that you have read this post, my regulations regarding Acer, and will abide by the guidelines set and the dice rolls I'll do.
@Constantine. 
This thread will be closed to new joiners at 10:30pm on Friday, Feb 1, or after 4 wolves join.

Having travelled through the woodlands, the herd moved out into the open to scrape through the crust of the snow and nibble on the grass in the meadow, not far from the mountain range. The temperature had dropped, forcing them to come down  from the mountains where they'd be safer so that they could forage for food more safely. They traveled carefully, with his wise hind, Ginger, leading the grounp and Acer following at the rear, every now and again giving the reluctant Lupin and her yearling calf a nudge to keep them close to the rest of the group. The yearling was proving to be difficult, and Acer knew that once the summer months came, he would take the cows further south to where their rutting grounds were- and he'd do his best to get the unruly youngster pawned off on some other bull, or convince him to join a band of elk that were more his age. 

Once they reached the meadow, the bull elk and his seven does stayed close together, with the more vulnerable Trilium and Chicory sticking to the middle of the group, and the keen-eyed Buttercup and skittish Foxglove keeping watch even as they pawed through the snow's surface. The one among them who seemed more at ease than the others- and only so in the winter- was the white-pelted Daisy, who finally seemed to be coming into her own after having had a harrowing Autumn. 

And flanking the herd was Acer; the mighty Imperial elk, who stood with his still growing rack jutting out from above his temples. Of course, it would be months before his rack was fully complete, but even now it was impressive, even though it was still covered in velvet. At his prime, in rutting season, he sported 7 long, sharp tines; his brow tines had grown to be 18 inches long the previous year, and the tips of his whale tines were set so far back that he could scratch the top of his rump with them if he tilted his head back. He took pride in his status, which had earned him mating rights with more than just these 7 does he brought with him now; he'd have calves dropping all over the valley when May arrived, but these seven cows had chosen to follow him for the winter, rather than staying in the valley where they risked starvation due to the vast amount of them. 

In the gleaming mid-morning light, he watched over his small harem, chewing absently, his clever auburn gaze watching the woodlands that hemmed the meadow, knowing that if danger were to come to them, it would be from the darkness of the trees.

Nunataq had been on her way to Easthollow to call @Arlette out for a play, when fresh footprints and a trail of scent and deer-droppings caught her attention and postponed her initial plan until later. It had been a while, since she had had deer for lunch, her winter diet consisting of old meat she scavenged from caches or the rodents she managed to catch (and occasional dead bird, who had succumbed to the perils of winter), she gave into the temptation just to take a look at the herd.

The almost-yearling had hardly any illusions about hunting solo beasts that were way larger than her and the two previous attempts by two different adults to teach her the art of taking these beasts down with speed and iron-wrought tactics had been unsuccessful. Nevertheless, when the mute girl took notice of the herd, she drew closer and closer, until she came to a halt few strides away from the nearest doe and lied down on the ground to blend with the surroundings (how successful that might be) and keep an eye on the prey.

The feast was out of her reach, but she could still daydream about the juicy and fresh steaks put on display.

Because no one else joined within the time alotted, I'll leave this open for another 2 days, closing it on Monday, Feb 4 at noon mountain time. If nobody else joins, then I'll do a roll then. Watch Nunataq get a lucky roll XD

It was Foxglove, the flighty cow elk that Nunataq had approached. The herd had watched her draw nearer, but Acer didn't necessarily rule the young wolf as a threat. From what he could tell, she was alone, so he wasn't going to waste energy on her. She was small, young- and he could have killed her in an instant...But elk weren't vicious animals. Predator and prey could walk alongside each other and read each other well enough to know that one wasn't intending harm. Acer and the other cows did not deem the young, dark wolf to be a threat- but Foxglove certainly didn't like it, and began to throw a fit. 

For an elk, a fit wasn't much of a thing; more of a display than anything. Her fine-featured head came up and she exhaled sharply, a high-pitched expulsion of air that circled around her head in na soft mist before it disappeared. She regarded the young wolf with keen, dark eyes and stamped one of her sharp forefeet into the ground as a warning. If the wolf took one step closer to her, she'd be forced to react. Acer stood in the background and watched the interaction, keen to see what the young wolf made of this, but prepared to intervene should he need to.

Nunataq should have realized that a pelt, which was made up of blacks, browns and some grey streaks as well, was hardly any camoflouge against the white background. Quite the contrary, but with her lack of knowledge, it did come to her as a surprise, when one of the does reacted to her presence with signs of unease and discontent. This should have been a good place to retreat, but - again - no one had given her a proper lesson in the art of understanding the hooved beasts. Instead of getting up and walking away, the brown she wolf got up and regarded the beast with a friendly, curious gaze and a wagging tail. She even went as far as dropping down on her chest in a playbow and aimed some shrill yips in the doe's direction, when she raised back and pranced around a little

Is it possible to continue this thread, until it has 3 replies from Nuna? I could use it towards Nunataq's hunter trade.

Oh, we can keep it going for sure! I did the rolls in this thread and unfortunately, Nunataq's presence will get their attention, and she won't have a successful encounter. The roll for injury was a 5/5, meaning serious injury, which you, of course, can decide.

The elk were content to allow the young wolf to remain in their presence without consequence- until she stood up. Even then, Acer himself did not feel threatened- but Foxglove, the fiery one, did take offense to the young wolf's actions, and she wasn't the only one. Acer kept watch on the young wolf, but he chose to turn his attention elsewhere- lest the young wolf he a distraction, and a larger danger lurked elsewhere. His cows could handle the young wolf, but he would scan the distance for scents and signs of other wolves. He gave the attentive Buttercup a nudge, and whispered in her ear that he wanted her to do the same, flanking the herd at its other side. 

Ginger paid no attention to Acer or Buttercup, but joined Foxglove at her side, though both cows snorted in surprise when the wolf dropped into a play bow. The pale Daisy was interested as well, more curious than anything, but Ginger and Foxglove were offended; and stalked closer to the wolf. By then, Acer had begun to circle a path past the wolf, hoping to cut off her exit, with Buttercup doing the same in the opposite direction. Though elk were not violent creatures, they could see no harm in teaching a young wolf to fear them, and possibly ward it off as a predator when it grew up by giving it an experience it would never forget. 

Foxglove struck out with one fore hoof, stamping it aggressively against the ground, willing the young wolf to come closer.

So... not a playful kind, huh? Nunataq got back to her feet and watched the two big animals before her. They apparently had not understanding of canine body-language etiquette, which was a little more confusing than usual for the young wolf. She had considered that her form of speech was universal, interspecies one, if you want to give it a name.

She took an involuntary step back though, because the frustration these animals felt about her was a message that cut across clearly, even if the rest was a foreign language to her. Might be a good time to turn around a leave, but - oh - wow... what was that? She saw that her role from a predatory, but harmless observer had changed to the one, who was about to be bullied.

For the first time in her life Nunataq felt something akin to fear. She sank back to her haunches slowly, crouched and with ears flat against her skull, she averted her gaze from the beasts. A peace offering.

***

Eventually Nunataq got out of the situation - she did not remember exactly how, but the sore ribs were a painful reminder for the next two weeks, why one should not test their luck against a herd of deer.