Moonstone Quarry like a stone

Tracking thread for @Arcturus. Dated for 3/17.

 

The herd wasnt too far off - couldnt have been. The trouble was just finding them again. The group of white tailed deer which moved between the two forests of their home to the Weald were on the move it seemed. After Kyr and Mal's last hunt against them she could understand why they were in hiding. Vallkyrie had not exactly been within the Weald before and thought against it now. No use going into a thick, dark and tangled forest with a band of wolves on the attack, right? So she decided against it, allowing her curiosity take her elsewhere by another strange scent of what may be food - the quarry. 

From level ground her skull inches over the edge, icy eyes examining the grounds down below. It was more or less a large hole in the earth, a crevice like a gorge or cannon but rounded. It was similar in ways like the Spine next door but, leas filled with broken forest, water and of course, mud. The land here held dotted pools of water but dry and rocky earth. Along the slopes, she was hesitant how she might traverse down.

thank you for starting, and for backdating before arct gets whumped <3

arcturus was one of the beasts along the slope, his shadow cast in a black beam before him. he had followed the scent of a doe here, and now, hunkered under the camoflauge of a boulder, the beta measured the scene before him.

several deer, their scent faded and at least a day old. he scratched curiously at the surface, trying to discern which were male or female. by his estimate, they were mostly doe -- but the scent of a buck pervaded somewhere.

he heard the clattering of scree somewhere above and looked around, catching sight of a figure in the distance. the glare afforded him a poor view, so he turned and looked upon her neutrally, but ready unless she proved hostile.

Yw!

The scents in this area were interesting, both familiar and unique. She smelt deer, yes, but not at all her forest deer. Unknowingly to her it was the smell of pronghorn. She had never hunted them before. But it was older by a day anyhow. It was the smell of the wolf which was not old. No, not at all. 

She took a few steps downward. She tested her footing before committing though knew she had some advantage granted her slight size. Tall, yet willowy and limber. Below her on the slopes she would see an equally dark wolf. A male larger then she and straining from his placement to catch her view in the afternoon sun. 

Oh, another Spear wolf. Kyr did her best to keep from wrinkling her nose at the thought of that ghostly...Praim (?) girl. She had been a rude one. Would she even be able to talk with this guy, if anything she asked was met with suspicion? Hello... She decided on, her white breast heaving with a heavy breath. Here we go...

the figure in the distance moved close, her dark fur incandescent in the sunlight. arcturus remained rooted, his posture neutral as he tried to read from the stranger's face her intentions.

she appeared neutral enough, though acturus noted she was for a lack of a better word, rather intimidating. he flicked his tail in greeting, his ears cupped to hear her salutation. "hello. are you hunting?"

He questioned her and for a split second she thought to say some snarky remark. But nah... after all, not all Moobspear wolves had a stick up their ass. @Hydra, the Queen herself, was the first she had met of them and although she was serious and proper, she was never disrespectful and never rude. Vallkyrie acting as such would only be unbecoming and although sometimes she could be unconventional, especially around the bog-rat friend of hers, she was not unbecoming. 

Not quite exactly. Only to check up on them for any illness or injury for a later hunt. She explained, finding herself gliding down the slopes closer to him. It is a herd that moves between the two forests north of here. Surely he knew of the area she meant, granted he lived in the Great Wild. I lost track but, scented something else here, different herd entirely. She pronghorn, which she had yet not seen. Would he tell her to bug off? That is was his herd and only? Time would tell.

arcturus canted his muzzle upwards, watching as the she-wolf nimbly flitted down the slope like a forest nymph. he learned she was tracking a herd; arcturus wondered if it was the same herd he and hydra had observed on the peaks a few weeks before. given the location she provided, arcturus doubted it -- the spear's herd remained largely stationed on the mountain.

his ears perked as vallkyrie mentioned a different kind of herd. "oh?" arcturus found his interest piqued, for he had not scented any such strangeness yet. "where did you detect it?"

As the tall, slight woman would descend, coming to hop down and stand at the ledge which he did, she would be left face to face with he. It is only from this placement does she come to realize how tall he was. Even though she was tall to female portion he was tall to a male's and thus held himself higher then her. He was bulkier, too. Not the largest wolf she had ever seen (for alot of her family was on the medium to large scale and quite tall) yet he was a fitting mountain man to the mountain which he lived. 

Along the top of those slopes from where I came. Thought I might try my luck down here. I've never been in this quarry before. She spoke, icy pale eyes looking up into his golden amber hue. Though standing out over his black coat, his eyes were soft, warm gold with trials and sorrow, or so it seemed. I'm Vallkyrie Archer, from Neverwinter.

arcturus tracked the huntress as she prowled down the slope to him, inkjet fur alight with afternoon sunlight. he looked past her at her tracks as she mentioned the slope behind them. he had not canvassed that area in some time.

"a neverwinter wolf." arcturus replied, finding her presence more palatable than the other neverwinter wolves he had met in the past. "i'm arcturus of moonspear. our packs are allies, i believe." if not allies, maybe it could be described as tentative-you-scratch-my-back-and-i-scratch-yours relationship. "want to show me where you found the scent? i could help."

A Neverwinter wolf. Uh oh. Vallkyrie tried not to stiffen as the words left his inky lips. Just yesterday Mal had told her his prior experiences with the Moonspear wolves when she had mentioned forming a possible alliance with them. They had quite a harsh history when it came to anyone being anywhere near what they thought belonged to them - including children. Even by Arcturus' words it seemed that there was indeed some history between the two packs Kyr had luckily missed out on. 

Allies. Not quite at all, from what she knew and yet it seemed like the disagreements the two packs held between one another was slowly fading away due to a much larger danger at paw. Maybe they could be allies yet. I'd like to hope so. She spoke only on the manner, her long legs shifting to the side. Come along then, Arcturus. She smiles, turning herself fully now back from which she came and navigating upwards towards the slope where she had caught the scent.

Along the edges she sniffs the trail she found and juts her muzzle down one of the various thin quarry paths. I thought maybe down that way. She spoke, her ears perking at him in wonder of what he thought.

arcturus missed the shadow of doubt in vallkyrie's gaze, and was unaware of her skepticism of his claim. he would not have blamed her -- both parties seemed to have stepped on each other's toes and then started on the wrong foot.

according to arcturus, mal had been aggressive on neutral territory. the boyking may have an established pack now, but back then he had been one angry, lonely kid in the bush. arcturus had been less than impressed with the wolf's behavior among the moonspear cubs that had righfully been foraging in free territory. thinking about it made the ostrega annoyed, and he quickly switched gears to inspecting the myriad of scents on the stony path.

he started down the rise, eventually picking up the scent that kyr had mentioned. he sniffed a rock curiously, and then paused. "that's pronghorn," the beta announced, turning back to kyr with interest. "seems like a lot of them."

Pronghorn, he had said and she sniffs the ground once more where he had, taking in the scent to memory. A type of deer, yes? Curious ears perked forward as she lifts her head to meet the woeful gaze of Arcturus. I've been told of them though have never hunted them before. She was happy to have gotten a proper scent to the name. Now if only she could see one and, if she were lucky, catch one. She knew them to be a smaller type of deer, not like an elk or caribou. If there are many, then we have quite the news to share to our packs. She added, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Many also meant there was plenty to go around.

"sort of." arcturus did not know the true clade in which pronghorn belonged, but he had no other way to explain them. "maybe like a mix between mountain sheep and deer. they move differently than both, but taste and behave much the same."

in the end, still prey.

"it is good they are back. they were gone for quite a while." he wondered if they had roamed south, along the flatter prairies where life was less likely to be upheaved by earthquake.

She nods to his words though doesnt speak up on it. She figured that in the end, like he said, they were still prey. They were either a deer type, rodent type, bird type or fish type, mainly. Between moose, deer, bison... they of course had a bit different taste, some a little better then others and some a little tougher but in the end it was all good meat. 

Hopefully a sign of a good year then. She spoke, thinking on the pups that would be born this spring. With the deer lingering in the forests, the sheep on the mountain and glacier to the north and now pronghorn having come, surely there would be plenty of food to go around to keep the pack fat and happy. Maybe when we find them we can meet up and have a hunt some time? She did know how down he would be for sharing the spoils, but her hunting skills would make certain it was well worth the effort. Of course, Moonspear was a large pack, surely there were plenty of capable hunters...

a good sign. arcturus had lived through the famine -- that there were pronghorn at all was a good sign indeed. he wondered if kyr had experienced the famine and the earthquakes herself - hardship, he found, had a strange way of leaving its mark on you.

"i'd like that." arcturus meant it too - he thought maybe, a joint pack hunt might be something worth engaging in. it would solidify the nebulous ties between the spear and neverwinter, and perhaps foster a better understanding of one another. "maybe a joint pack hunt? you simply say the word when your pack is ready."

Vallkyrie smiles and nods, her tail waving low behind long legs. I'll keep an eye on them, track them down... As she thought he may too when and if given the chance. I'll call for you and you can bring along any who'd want to join in. Whatever other hunters or even those just wanting to get out and about of their territory and meet some neighboring wolves. Maybe even if there was a big group and a few good pronghorn to choose from, they could have two groups and two kills. Only time would tell, really.

I should start heading back though, She noted with a sigh, Before someone realizes how long I've been gone. And with the attacks having happened, surely they would only expect the worst. Vallkyrie would wait though, bright and pale eyes looking over the large and dark man for any response before she turned and made way back to the forest.

arcturus' gaze turned to the winding trail of pronghorn, as if expecting them to reappear any moment. he made note of the landmarks surrounding them, so he could return another time.

vallkyrie's suggestion prompted a nod from the ostrega. "sounds like a plan." he too, should consider turning back -- before the sun flew behind the darkening horizon. "see you soon." he waited for vallkyrie to leave, a firm nod given in farewell -- but then he too was heading home.