Neverwinter Forest And look what I found

Hunt time! Any and all welcome, this is an optional event but I want to send out special tags for @Vallkyrie and @Haoniyao since I don't have up-to-date threads with you guys! I'll close round 1 in a week unless I forget in which case, as soon as I remember after that. :P

He'd been keeping an eye on the deer as one of his jobs. He'd noticed one of the local stags had disappeared for a while. Mal had noticed int he past few days that he'd returned, and the scent had attracted the spotty alpha -- likely a good sign, it meant something was probably off. It meant the deer was probably gonna be food.

After tracking it through the forest, he spotted the stag at a distance through the maze of trees -- he wasn't as impressive right now as he had been in the winter, his antlers were short and covered in velvet. Still might be a bit of a danger, but it seemed blunt and small enough that maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Well, there was that and the whole fact that it otherwise smelled like dinner. It didn't look horribly injured or anything, but he could tell something wasn't quite right. Maybe it was a little bonier looking than it should have been.. Maybe. 

He backed up a little then, into the cover of a deeper grove, then howled for whoever of the pack wanted to join him. The deer didn't scatter -- they lived in the land a pack owned, after all -- for now, at least.

He heard Mal's call and answered quickly, breaking away from his patrol and heading towards his alpha's voice as soon as possible. He was the first to arrive it seemed, with heavy pants lacing his words. Uwindaji? He could smell deer in the air, lingering as it was.

The alpha's call summoned her from the borders as well, and she answered it immediately. She changed the direction in which she had been headed, altering her intended destination to be where the call had come from. The howl was not to alert them of danger but to call them all to gather for some reason she was sure she would find out whenever she got there. 

She wasn't the first to arrive, which tugged a little at her competitive streak. Still, she dipped her head to Yao as she moved towards them. She came to stand at Mal's other side, brushing against him in greeting. The scent of deer filled her nose then, and she realized he had called them here for a hunt. She had been itching to try another hunt since she had failed so miserably with Vallkyrie. A mixture of excitement and nerves made her shift restlessly on her feet beside Mal as she waited for his instruction.

A gathering, one of excitement instead of mourning. 

After the sudden death of one of their own, Ying's disappearance and Belharra having left the lands to travel (as the pirate she was) once more, Vallkyrie had been a bit off of sorts. She hadn't hunted with any others for larger game, sticking to smaller kills she could handle her own. She stored the caches and watched for trespassers though did not engage unless needed. If anything, during this slump she had kept up with her sister, @Valencia only really. 

But she needed to get back into her groove, mingle with her packmates in hope that knew relations with them could be formed where others now lacked. 

When she arrived it was to the sight of Mal, a man she only knew by scent then name and Simmik, the only wolf left other then the Leader himself who remained from the group who had been here when Kyr first joined. Hello everyone. She spoke, breathing in the scent of deer not far off from their point.

Lenny had been close to Kyr and Yao over the last few weeks, leaning on her sister and learning Kiswahili from - and, to a less important extent, teaching accents to - Yao. It had really helped her get out of her funk, for the most part, and she felt more like herself now. Less sad and down, though she did occasionally flash back to the sound Mathieu's body had made when it hit-

The black wolf shook her head as she padded up to the others, a crooked smile on her muzzle. "Jambo!" she greeted intentionally, brushing against Kyr's side and offering Yao a wink. The main goal she had with surpassing the language barrier was to help him feel less isolated; more integrated to the pack. More like he had a friend. "Jinsi kila mtu - everybody doing alright?"

Yikes, what a week for me, sorry for the delay! For ease of things, no post order but we'll do rounds. If anyone wants to hijack things and ICly lead the hunt, feel free to have your char speak up! We can tweak rounds based on that if needed. -- This round is planning stuff, next round starts the chase.

He had no idea what Haoniyao said, but Mal made a guess and pointed towards the target in question, with a 'oh yeah, definitely that one,' kind of nod.  It wasn't long before Simmik, Vallkyrie, and Valencia (who also was saying weird things, what was up with that?) weren't too far behind. A good showing, and should be plenty for them to successfully take down a weakened deer -- even if it was a buck.

Mal was quiet but made sure everyone could hear him, I think it's time we take this guy down. Our caches definitely could do with some major filling. And some food for Miriam and Aibreann -- maybe bring Caerus to the kill when it was caught too? Something like that. Not sure what's wrong with him, but something's off, and definitely with all of us, think we're getting a good dinner today. A grin at that.  We should chase it more towards the heart of the territory, it'll make it easier for when we catch it. Floor was open though, and he looked around for agreement and/or other ideas.

Though there was but a single pup within their ranks at the moment, two other women swelled with children to come - one seemingly ready to pop in the next few days... Yes, this definitely meant needing to fill the caches because there was a possibility that sometime soon just as many pups would be in the ranks as adults and it would not be long at all before they switched their taste for milk to taste for flesh. 

The huntress looked over those who arrived. She would flash a smile at her sister, who spoke out in an odd tongue that she ne er heard before. Was she learning from this new fellow, hmm? Kyr would make sure to ask on it later...

It looked like everyone savor the three mothers and with five wolves it would definitely make taking down one deer rather east enough so long as they didnt get in one another's way and the deer outrun them. Vallkyrie would do her best to make sure that didnt happen. I think that would be good. May as well bring the food close while we can. It will be easier on the mothers, too. With swollen bellies, they wouldnt have to go far at all for food and could even enjoy it super fresh with the rest of the pack. 

Simmik, She spoke, turning her attention to the white woman, far different then the majority of 'darkies' gathered. Want to give a shot at saving your strength for the take down? The guys can back you up. She shifted her attention then between the new fellow and Mal. If the sister could pull ahead to get the deer slowed and tired, the rest of the group could follow suit at a more even pace until the deer tired and was at a good timing to start attacks.

She wasn't the wolf to be in charge of this situation, and so she was happy to follow the lead of Mal and Vallkyrie. Mal suggested that they lead the buck farther into the forest, towards the center of the territory, which seemed like a good idea, especially when Vallkyrie pointed out that it would be easier for the mothers to get to it once they took it down.

When Vallkyrie addressed her and asked if she wanted to be the one to take the buck down once it was tired out by the guys, she immediately nodded. Definitely, she replied. She was grateful for the second chance, especially after she had failed so miserably the first time. She was also grateful that her packmate hadn't held that against her and was still willing to give her a chance. Excitement coursing through her veins, she waited for her instructions, ready to do things correctly this time.

The guys, huh? Lenny smiled a bit, slightly amused at being lumped in with them, but shrugged it off noncomittally. She assumed she'd be among the ones attacking it after one of the quicker wolves had tired it out or something. 

Hunting wasn't something Lenny was super great at. Sure, she could do it, but she wasn't a big fan. Her favorite things to take down were other wolves - wrestling and tussling and fighting. But she supposed a buck could do, too. It was bigger anyway. 

"Got it," she announced with a smile, angling her ears toward the herd.

Kinda nonsensical but needed to pop in

 

He nodded, knowing that the jist of what he said had been understood. A hunt was exciting, especially with this new group that he considered his pack. He smiled at Lenny, hearing Kiswahili rolling off her tongue like it was nothing. He was glad that she had actually kept to it and practiced the language. It felt comforting.

He did not recognize the other female, but the resemblance between her and Lenny was there. She sounded as if she was the lead huntress here. He looked to the buck that they were targeting. He didn't see anything immediately off about it, though he was wary of the creature. He would not take Simmik's role, but he'd keep a close eye on the buck as they moved in. That is good.

Lessgo! We'll trim a round or so, I think. :P So setup is folded in to this round with the start of the hunt, so feel free to continue on into the chase itself (including any attack attempts) as you wish!

It all sounded good to him, a nod to Kyr. He knew that she definitely knew what she was doing as far as hunts went, they'd had good luck before so hopefully this would be good luck again. Back to the rest, Let's go. We might have to chase it a little before it really shows how we take it down but I know we can. Mal had known that particular deer long enough that he knew something was off, he just wasn't entirely sure what. Maybe it got sick or something, they just had to push it a little so whatever might be broken finally cracked.

Looking around to make sure there were no final questions, he flicked his nose towards the stag then slunk forward. They'd be able to spread out a little in the trees before getting noticed -- or so was the usual plan when hunting anything. Looking around for familiar shadows, once it seemed everyone was ready, he barked and dove forward to signal the start of the chase -- the buck looked back, then bolted. The hunt was on!

Everyone was in agreement and as Mal began slinking forward and moving quietly through the trees, Vallkyrie moved around to the other side of their target. Mal had been studying the herds within the forest perhaps even more so then Vallkyrie, who had placed her time on the herd of pronghorn outside their forest along with smaller game in the open fields she could catch on her own to feed the pack. Today, with the Gods on their side, they would have a much larger kill to eat off of. 

Mal barked out and ran then, singling their start. Vallkyrie matched his pace, opposite of him as they moved in towards the deer. The pair of wolves did as they could to keep the deer moving straight- towards the more central part of their territory. Anytime it tried to turn, the wolves would snap back and keep him where they wanted him. 

Between pants, Vallkyrie barks out and tosses her head with a jerk of her muzzle, singling the three larger wolves (and their guardians) to come closer in now and round the deer from all around. Vallkyrie kept to the buck's side, snapping at his heels to keep him in place.

She was quick to follow after Mal and Vallkyrie, fanning out some so that she was close enough to hear direction but far enough away to cover more ground. Instinct was a good guide, that and her packamtes helped her to know where she should be as they pushed the herd deeper into their territory. 

At Vallkyrie's call, Simmik picked up speed and moved to where her packmate was working to herd the buck. She came up on his side, her attention split between his formidable antlers and planning what her move would be. Her heart raced in her chest and adrenaline surged in her veins as they got closer to the moment of action. 

A few times, she jumped up and snapped her teeth at the air or glanced her jaws along his side just to help tire him out. She was careful to avoid any retaliation, narrowly missing a swipe of his horns at one point when she got too excited. She took that as a cue to pull back a little and focus. 

All she needed was her cue, and then she would attempt to actually sink her teeth the vulnerable flesh of the buck's neck; she knew it would be easier once they had sapped more of his energy.

Luckily for her, the faster wolves were slowing the buck down. Lenny wasn't too big to be speedy - only outweighing her sister by about ten pounds - and long limbs carried her at a decent speed to catch up with the beast. 

It took several tries, aborted bites and nips and chunks of flesh ripped out, but eventually Lenny managed to grab where she wanted.

Lunging forward once more, Lenny fastened her teeth in the soft spot between the buck's right foreleg and ribs, jaws locking in place and muscular body stiffening up to become like an anchor, attempting to slow the animal down to a point where the others could get good bites in on him as well.

He was far from a quick runner, the muscle that he was beginning to put on slowing his run speed. In his previous hunts where it was only him and a partner, that had been a struggle, a good reason for him to pick up the pace and push his limits, but here, with four others, he did not feel the same drive, letting those naturally quicker than him take the lead in chasing down the buck and cornering it. His strength came into use towards the end, with the buck surrounded by his fellow hunters. He aimed for the buck's hindquarters, his teeth gouging in one leg between its thigh and knee as it struggled, it's terror beginning to become paramount as they surrounded it. With bites and barks coming from all sides, the buck was surely distracted enough and weakened enough to allow Simmik to land the final blow.

Sorry for dropping the ball on this one! Ended up slipping to page 2 of my threadlog. I'll leave this up another 1-2 weeks and just archive.

It wasn't as fast as it should be. That part was clear as soon as it had been running more than a minute, pace dropping from a healthy speed to something that made it easier for the wolves to catch and chew chunks out of. Kyr guided, Simmik made a few tries, and then Lenny was able to make a hold that took. Mal had been just nipping at it when the chance arose, but he wasn't in a position to hold for long on his own -- he'd just get a hoof to the chest if he had.

So, it was when Lenny grabbed, as did Haoniyao and Mal, the pace fell like a stone and the buck faltered. Here was the chance for Kyr to join in and Simmik to take the head. Mal threw on the brakes as best he could, growling beneath his breath. Impending doom for the stag, victory for the wolves. It was going to go down and the pack would feast. All would enjoy the spoils. The wolves would strengthen, and by culling this weakest of the herd, so would the deer. It was a win for all -- who lived at least.

Wow this is way overdue!!

Alas, the stag finds his strength and stamina waining, the wolves taking turns as they remained hot on the lone deer's heels. The quickest of the group kept close by as Lenny took purchase and the prey slowed, Hao and Mal then found themselves finding a good hold. While Lenny had one side, Kyr had taken the other, grasping onto the meat above the deer's elbow jointed. He thrashed with each bite of the wolves, but he was slowing, coming to a stop as he tried to desperately fight them off. 

With the ssta's head swinging, threatening with horn, Kyr bites upward at the deer's neck and face, barking and growling loudly. Enough to cause his head to swing her way and enough time for Simmik to grasp the side of vulnerable neck on the other end.

Just final post to wrap

Now this was how to bring the pack together! The stag was downed, Simmik taking the final strike while the rest of the pack helped keep it down and from kicking. The spirit drained from it in a period of time that seemed like forever but was far less. And then it stopped. Food for them all, congratulations all around, and then Mal lead them in a howl to call the others over -- or at least those who could. They'd all get to eat, and Mal made sure that all those with pups got a good share as well. Probably a nice change from small prey.

The end. Much delayed.