Stone Circle Start where you stand, never back down

Bison hunt for Easthollow! No posting order, but please do not post more than once every 48 hours. Wolves are welcome to join at any stage of this thread!
@Valette @Greyback @Kove @Laurel @Indra @Korei Julia @Vespera @Arlette @Merrit @Elken @Aerasha

The sun's rays had just begun to peak over the horizon, and Steph sat at the edge of Stone Circle. She watched the herd of bison below, waiting to see any type of weakness. The herd seemed exceptionally willing to hide any of their faults today, but Steph was dead set on the pack eating a fresh meal today. She had been watching them for a while now, and finally, she found the one. A slight limp, but it was something the pack could take advantage of. 

In an effort not to stir the bison up, Steph turned towards the forest, and let go a few low and quick howls to call the pack together. It would be just enough for the pack to hear, and hopefully low enough that the bison wouldn't think the pack was too close and start to scatter. 

Steph waited patiently for the group to form, and then gave the instructions. There is one limping bison that we'll single out from the herd. Watch out for the other adults, they'll try to protect the one we're going for. When you get the chance, take advantage of the injured leg, and the rest of us will help out. Any questions? she asked, looking to each of them.

Once they were all on the same page, Steph silently motioned for the pack to move out to the herd.

The female never felt more miserable than she ever did, she was finding it harder and harder to get up and move and she was feeling exhausted. Vespera heard the howl of Steph as it cracked through the air like thunder. The Easthollow wolf knew that this was going to be some sort of pack activity which she was very reluctant to join but she felt like she would never hear the end of it if she didn't. With every ounce of strength she had left, she forced her legs to walk in the direction of the call, her legs had started to become more thing than usual followed by her overall body mass. Her ribs were starting to show a bit and her eyes were beginning to sag but she avoided sight so that no one would notice. Vespera made her way over to Steph, the former Beta had gathered everyone but she avoided eye contact with every single one of them, she didn't want anyone asking her why she looked different, especially Valette.

Though Vespera greeted Steph with a small tail wag then quickly made her way over to her own spot not facing anyone but the Bisons. Her exhausted eyes laid upon the beasts, and if memory served her right, the last time she did a group hunt she almost got killed. But the more she looked the more she got entranced by them, the smell of their meat aroused in her nose and made her drool, however, this moment was short lived since it started to make her feel sick. Vespera decided to just look at her paws and keep one ear listening to Steph as she laid down instructions on what to do. One of the instructions was to distract the adults to which she devoted herself on doing that task, it was all she could do. The dark female had to catch her breath since she forgot to breathe for a moment, but she didn't take the time to devise a plan for herself, she would just go with the flow. Vespera than nodded to show that she understood Steph's plans and she kept her distance from the rest of the pack as she followed them down to the herd.

Even she, the miscreant was welcomed to the bison hunt? The plump lady came waddling through, still as easy-going as ever despite the rank drop. She honestly didn't seem to mind too bad, most likely to some displeasure, for all she can say that her schedule of eating, was thrown off loop. So the patience game begun, really, woes is her! A misery, for a poor Princess. A much deserved one, however.

If hands were to exist, she'd give a sailors salute to Steph in argreement, a 'yessireee,' and a follow. She wasn't one to really disagree with plans, and 'followed,' which usually was being a bit of a smartalick, and doing something similar to what was told. Though how could the Princess mess up a simple hunt? Surely not, for she is as fit as ever! So says her wobbling belly.

---

A pack meeting? Elken could do that! He was excited as he immediately showed up like he was about two inches away from the call. He almost vibrated in his skin with happy anxiousness. Sure, he hadn't encountered how big a buffalo was nor had he been a part of a group hunt before, but the male was sure he could figure something out. The wolf's bones were warm with anticipation, muscles ready to move. Sure, he would probably be last to eat, but this could be a good bonding moment for him and the others.

Elken arrived next to Aerasha, giving her a glance. He was out of the loop on her recent downgrade in rank, though it was still higher than he. Anything was higher than his rank, of course. "Hello miss." His greeting was sweet and respectful, trying to make small talk with someone he did not know the name of while also inviting her to speak. Her body seemed to be...plumper than a wolf would be had they done as much exercise as usual. Though, he had not cared too much upon it. He really didn't judge too much upon looks and the such, it was just basic decency to let individuals be themselves when they weren't trying to go after someone else. Though he would be a little concerned had he known her size was due to sloth, one of the deadly sins of course.

The young boy had heard the howl and by now he knew that mean he was supposed to be somewhere. Following behind the adults at a slower pace, his eyes scanned all the wolves that had arrived to his sisters call. He didn't really understand everything she was saying, but it seemed like they were going to eat the big food his mother had told him about!

West watched as one by one the adults slowly started to move towards the Bison. He wanted to help! But... he wasn't sure what to do. Everyone else seemed to already know where to go, so instead, he would sit at the top of the hill watching. He had picked up a lot of things by watching either his parents or his siblings, so maybe he would be able to help if he saw what they did!

Steph waited, greeting each family member that arrived with a smile, including West Tyree. She would instruct him to stay here and watch, since she knew the chances of him get trampled were far greater than the adults'. As they moved to the herd, Steph was quietly worried that with only four adults hunting, it would be too much of a risk to take down a bison. But, they really needed the feast, so she didn't call off the hunt. 

She led the team towards the bison herd. She started out at a lope and gradually increased her speed as they got closer. At first, the bison merely lifted their heads to watch the group of wolves coming towards them, but as they realized they were the intended target, they began to flee. First, they were scattered, but the bison quickly formed a tight-knit group as they thundered away from the pack. 

Steph started the work on getting to the injured bison, which had smartly gone more towards the center of the group. Steph would nip at the ankles of the healthy adults, getting them to move to the side, or risk further injury. It was time consuming, but she had to get to the injured bison.

one post cameo!

Laurel didn't join the hunt, instead staying with her three little wonders. She didn't feel much like getting out of the den since her run-in with Iliksis, had mutedly stayed close to home, protecting her pups, keeping them close. As the howl rose up she sighed lightly, listened to it, and then called back that she would stay with her babies. Laurel lay her head down again and looked at the pups, a sorrowful expression on her face as she tried hard to not see their father in their dark, wriggling bodies.

Vespera had noticed that others seemed to join in on the hunt which was expected. But she wasn't expecting West, one of Valette's young, was there with them. The young female grew a bit worried for the young one, but her fears were settled since Steph had signaled him to stay and he was going to stay where he was. Although, Vespera would keep an eye on him. The dark female's body shape was poor, so she wasn't sure how she was going to be of help, but she didn't want the others to bother her about her new condition. The Easthollow wolf pushed herself to keep up with the group, but this time, she wouldn't get directly involved with the hunt, instead, she would use herself as bait to keep the other bison away from the hunting group's target. Vespera watched as Steph had begun to nip at the bison's heels to drive them away, the young female opped herself to do the same.

The Easthollow wolf began to swiftly nip at their heals, but she found it hard to keep up with them. Vespera found herself almost slipping but she thankfully caught herself to prevent embarrassment. The young female seemed to be getting the job done, but she was having a hard time controlling where the bison went, they seem to zig zag for her, going from away and back to the injured one. The female hissed and bit at one of their tails with a hard snap, this obviously upset the bison she was chasing and the creature gave a swift back kick. Vespera leaped to the side just enough, but she felt its hood graze her cheek, she sighed in relief as she continued to chase them down.

Steph heard Laurel's response, and made a note that she would take some meat to the new mother. But, they would need to catch it first. With the group headed out, Steph hoped they would be successful. 

They worked together well, and as they herded away one bison after the next, the injured one came into clear view. Steph went for it, biting at its hocks as it ran and trying to turn it more away from the herd. Well, it turned. Around, that is, and faced Steph head on. Steph, for a moment, was taken aback and the brazen courage of their potential meal. But, it was fighting for its life, after all. 

Steph, fighting for meal for the pack, lunged and sunk her fangs into the bison's face. But, before she could let go, the bison's head swung up and over, whipping Steph off the ground and into the air. She flew, much more than a wolf should ever, and landed about a dozen yards away, and right into a large rock. The air was pushed violently from her lungs, and pain seared through her chest as she tried to move. 

She tried to suck air back into her lungs, and it was several moments before she was successful. With her out of the game, it was over. There would not be enough adults to take down the beast, whether it was injured or not. Re... Retreat! she shouted as best she could. She struggled to get up, eyeing the bison as it turned to return to its herd. Thankfully, it did not come after her again. 

It took a minute to rise, and even then the pain was excruciating with every step she took. It would be a slow walk back to the den.

The boy sat listening to his sister’s words. He had already been yelled at once for growing too close to the large beasts, he didn’t want anyone to get hurt because of him again.

Only a few wolves had joined the hunt, but to the small child he thought nothing could stop them. Unfortunately he was very wrong. The hunt had started off well as the four ran after the heard. Unlike his encounter with the beasts, they turned and ran.

It was hard to make out just exactly what was happening from his spot on the hill, but soon Steph was able to move towards the center where one bison seemed to limp.

Everything took a turn for the worse however as the injured beast turned to go on the offensive he could only cry out like Newt had when the heard turned on him. In one fell swoop his sister was sent flying only to land a good distance away. STEPH!

He had jumped to his feet the moment she hit the ground, frantically stepping in place. Last time he ran out his mom was hurt, but now Steph was likely hurt and he wasn’t even there! He was told to stay but seeing how the heard kept going instead of turning he decided it was safe enough for him to run down. By the time his short legs had carried him down the hill, Steph ordered the retreat and was slowly making her way to her feet. The round boy approached slowly with ears back and tail between his legs as he circled his older sibling. Are you ok?

Vespera was losing steam quickly, her energy was declining at an alarming rate and she didn't know how long she could keep up the chase. The Bisons were gaining and she was finding it hard to keep dodging, she had to look back at the rest of the group, her dull eyes were searching for Steph to take down the injured Bison. However, Steph would, unfortunately, be thrown by one of the Bisons and smacked against a rock. The young female's eyes widened, the chase was over and Steph was injured but Vespera had to get herself out of there. The Easthollow wolf had no choice, there was a bush near her and she decided to leap in it for cover, though she wouldn't know how well this would work. She crashed into the shrub with a thud, and it caused her more injury but she honestly could care less, the creature had noticed that Vespera had given up the chase and decided to put its focus on the injured one and ran back to its group.

Vespera scrambled to her paws and leaped out of the bush and rushed over to Steph, but the young West had already beat her to her. Steph had called a retreat to the rest of the hunting group, but Vespera was more focused on Steph, she noticed her breathing wasn't even. West was expressing his concerns for Steph and was asking her what was wrong, Vespera's gaze dropped onto the young lad, she made her way over to him although she wasn't a doctor she was sure Steph would recover, "your sister is a fighter, she won't go down so easily," she tried to assure him. But Vespera knew Steph was injured and knew she had to be taken care of immediately, the former Beta tried to walk back to the den. The young female beckoned West to come help Steph walk with the jerk of her head as Vespera walked up to Steph and used her weak framed to help support Steph but even Vespera was struggling with it a little.

forgot to mention this would be my last post

Steph saw West running towards her, and she glanced back toward the bison, ready to yell at him to turn back. But, the bison seemed to realize they were no longer being chased, and were heading away from the group of wolves. Steph turned back to West, nosing him in comfort. I'll be alright, she promised, and glanced to Vespera as she approached. 

She gave her pack mate a grateful smile as she helped calm down West, though it was half-hearted. Hard to smile through the pain. I think I'm alright to walk, I'll just be a bit slow, she said, noticing that it was tough on Vespera to help. I don't think anything is broken, just bruised. She figured it would have been a lot harder to walk if any of her ribs were cracked. 

She would go back to Valette's den and find a spot outside the entrance to rest. 

Last post from me! I'll give until the 20th for last replies, and I'll archive then. Thanks so much for participating!

last post from me too

Vespera was quick to follow him and reassure his worried, although she beckoned for him to help and he wasn't sure what he could really do. Luckily, Steph clarified that she would be fine on her own. That didn't mean the boy didn't want to do something for her though, he would have to think of something later. His sister's slow pace was enough that he could walk by her side easily until she took her place at the mouth of their mom's den.

hat was the second time now that someone in his family had been injured by the large creatures. One thing was for sure...His mom was right. Bison is not a creature you want to mess with. Attempting to give what support he could, the round boy would curl up at Steph's side eventually slumbering off for a mid-day nap.