Boartusk Heights on the brighter side of grey

Counting toward Zsu's hunting trade requirement.

A rain of loose rocks cascaded down the mountain. The fur of the sable hued female was dusted in a sheen of grey; paws and legs dirtied more so than the rest. Jaws agape, her breath was ragged as she clambered up the ridge. Hot on the hooves of a boar that wandered down from the alpine zone, this was an opportunity for a meal more sizable than weasels she been accustomed to before joining ranks with the Saints. Zsuzsa ventured out of Hideaway Strath over to the towering crags of Boartusk Heights for the day. She was familiar with the Heights upon first venturing into the Wilds and knew there was a selection of goat and bighorn that traversed the Heights. Bighorns were out of her range for the time being and goats proved a challenge but doable. It was sheer luck on this day a boar would be discovered.
 
It wasn’t going to be easy. She first encountered the boar rounding a boulder, taking it by surprise, in which it lost its footing in a startling attempt to run and tumbled down the mountain. Zsuzsa slid down after it on the heels of her paw pads, although the boar composed itself quickly and began sprinting back up. Her movement was perfunctory among the sharp terrain, but the boar held more experience with a balance under slippery gravel. Overhead the Raven soared in a circular motion, surveying the hunt from the skies. It knew to stick around to enjoy leftover entrails of the hunt once done, but that could take some time. The boar was trailing higher with Zsuzsa in tow. This had to be quick or else the window of opportunity would disappear.

It was sheer chance. That's what she told herself, anyway. Higher up out of spite for the world, Wren had decided to climb until her paws ached. She would explore every part of the Teekons until she could map the routes and wilds by herself. The boar was a welcome distraction from her weariness. It appeared before her as quickly as it had come.

Without a single warning, she snapped. The boar cried in alarm, sandwiched between two wolves now as Wren advanced. The darker coat of the other woman came into view and the brunette raised a brow, silently giving a nod. She'd help, if she got a piece of the food in return. She'd lunge forward as the boar hesitated, trying to harass it.

Her goal was to keep focus on herself while the dark coat woman finished it off.

ooc; for hunter trade

As there was a startling squeal, Zsuzsa thought it knacked a hoof in one of the crevasses but come to find out it nearly ran into snapping jaws of another. Up ahead was a richly coated female of an agouti pattern. As she gave a silent nod of affirmation toward the Saint, it was a gesture of aid in this hunt. Although the lone female had ended up on unofficial territory of the Saints, that would be something Zsuzsa would deal with later. Her hunger was greater than the need for confrontation at the moment and it was sheer luck the female also appeared, as the odds became greater.
 
The boar seemed boxed in by the two females. Zsuzsa’s neck hunched low, a hungry growl emitting from Zsuzsa toward the boar. Steel eyes quickly surveyed the area. Boars were feisty with their sharp tusks. This one looked like it would be willing to put up a fight with either of the females as it grunted in outrage. The boar’s only option was to keep ascending if it wanted to escape. ”We need to keep it from climbing.” Zsuzsa declared to the other female. They would have to devise an unspoken plan to prevent it from wandering back up to the alpine level where it would only be more treacherous for the wolves to go.

The woman was right. The boar would use its options - limited as they were - and try to escape harm. That's what prey did. A squint of her eyes at the creature was all she needed to come up with a plan. Wren rushed forward. Perhaps the animal was shocked at this brazen display, for it could only balk at the female. She leaned forward and grabbed at its front leg, not so much tearing into it but pulling it awkwardly forward.

The boar slipped, or stumbled, toward her. It's tusk dangerously close. Wren let go and avoided those things, circling to the side and blocking it from escaping so easily. Anger was a strong emotion. It flooded reason - even the will to survive. She'd keep hassling it. "Injure the back legs!" she suggested to the woman "if it gets away, it'll just be limping." And easier to catch up with should it try to leave.

Unaware she was on a pack's land - official or not - Wren was ignorant of the many scents. If she knew, she would have left. But would she still help the other wolf? Probably. Winter was almost here and pack wolves needed to eat. She wouldn't take from their cache.

The chocolate hued female was bold to rush it from the front considering the rack of tusks, but she was able to successfully clamp onto a foreleg to drag it forward some. This gave an opportunity for Zsuzsa to compose herself, with breath and positioning for her next move. The boar squealed in protest as it stumbled forward and the other female had used herself as a shield to prevent it from climbing up. When the female announced for Zsuzsa to impair its hind legs, the Mackenzie gave it not a second thought as she launched forward.
 
Her jaws landed on the right meatier portion of its ham hip, sinking her teeth in. The boar was pulling forward while at the same time trying to buck and kick its free left hoof at her snout. This one wasn’t about to surrender so easily as it was a hardy choice of a boar. While Zsuzsa began jerking her head from side to side, severing tendons of its back leg, this gave an opportunity for the female to also dive in to inflict damage.

That's it! she thought as the dark coated woman darted forward. The damage to the boar was weighing it down already, but it was clear the animal was still going to put up a fight. Fine with her. Wren lunged again, snarling and biting into anything she could get ahold of. The side of the meaty neck was exposed to her and she went for it.

Real panic entered the boar's gaze now. So close to a jugular did the brunette bite did it squeal and kick weakly. Wren's muzzle was stained with its blood, so she couldn't tell the other wolf to watch out. The tusks bore into the side of her cheek, scratching and trying to deepen. She let go, unwilling to risk her life for the boar. She had to be smarter. Licking the blood from her mouth, she calculated quickly.

A cut formed on her cheek where the tusks had burrowed but otherwise she was still fine. Launching herself at the boar again, she wished she had the striking of a cougar. A few quick slaps across the face would do the animal in, claws out. But she was no cat. She was a wolf. Grabbing the side of the boar again, she placed her paws on its neck and tried to hold it down through sheer weight.

The animal grunted in pain and fear as she managed to wrestle it to the earth. Wren's blue gaze found the woman and uttered a silent now!

Couldn't help myself, needed to see this pig fly. Lol.

Feeling the strength of the boar begin to weaken while Zsuzsa remained clamped tightly at the rear, she caught a glimpse of the other female smothering the front of the boar, seeing a stain of red forming on her jaws. When the female had let go the Saint thought she must have lost her grip and didn’t readily know the tusk grazed the other’s cheek. It only seemed to phase her temporarily as Zsuzsa watched her lunge back at the boar’s neck for a second go. All the while Zsuzsa was like a landshark, vigorously shaking her head back and forth.
 
This one surely put up the fight of its life as it began to weaken beneath the weight of the two females but struggled fiercely under the smother of the chocolate female. Steel eyes met with blue, a silent demand from the lone female to put this hunt to an end. Suddenly Zsuzsa ceased the cruel tug of war. In one swooping motion, Zsuzsa put all her weight and strength in abruptly throwing the boar down the mountainside. It probably wasn’t what the other female had in mind to finish it off but the tumble down for the boar would snap its neck instantly against the jagged rocks.
 
She watched as the boar went squealing down the Heights before it rolled to a stop a couple of ways down, dust billowing up from the still body. She glanced over to the female, giving a lighthearted huff before looking back down again with ragged breath.

Well, that worked.

Wren huffed too, more amusement than anything as the boar was thrown down the mountain. It hit the bottom with a final squeal, pained and fearful. The sickening crunch was the end of it. She didn't wince, too practiced with ending prey to feel bad for them for long. What could she say now, though? Good job? Seemed a bit patronizing. She opted for silence - just for now.

Until she collected her thoughts. A nod was given to the female, still ignorant of the very faint pack scent here. The Teekons were an array of many smells and she was still adjusting. Coming from a different climate all together, Wren had to be more careful. She stood in relative quietness, a pink tongue peeking from her lips to lap idly at the bleeding cheek. It didn't hurt very much even after the andrenaline wore off.

Zsuzsa gave a shake of her fur. Steel eyes glanced over at the chocolate female, seeing how her muzzle was stained red from biting into the neck of the boar. The Saint did not realize right away one of the tusks happened to puncture her cheek until Zsuzsa’s nose caught the coppery scent of blood other than the boar in the air. Judging by the way her tongue flicked several times over a specific spot on her cheek, must have been nothing more than a minor flesh wound. The Acolyte decided not to call attention to it. Zsuzsa assumed she would be fine.
 
One thing she would call attention to was the female in proximity to the Saints territory and on their off the record area. ”Lucky the way things panned out. Otherwise I wouldn’t be as generous having a loner hunt on unofficial pack grounds.” Zsuzsa said curtly. The least the Acolyte could do was offer some boar in an effort of working together, but of course Zsuzsa would insist laying the first claim on the meatier bits. ”Where do you plan to take your portions?” She then questioned. The female smelled of some sweet kind of scent, almost like pumpkin spice, that was unfamiliar with the rest of the scents found around the region.

"If this is your land" Wren began, closing her eyes briefly at her own stupidity "then I don't want to take any portion" the name of the Saints was foreign to her, but she didn't care about that right now. "winter is almost here. Your pack needs it more than I do." She could argue about fair is fair, that she had taken down the boar as well as the other woman... but she didn't feel right taking any part of it.

Ignorance would only get her so far. She had to own her mistake. That meant no food for her - she'd find something different. Something far away from this pack. "I had no idea this was Saints land" she added, beginning to twist her body away "I'm new to the Teekons. Still learning what everyone and their community smells like." But would the other care? Probably not. Nobody ever gave her a free pass, so that's why Wren was going to leave as quickly as possible.

The loner seemed more generous and of grace than Zsuzsa was in nature. For a moment the Mackenzie silently contemplated this. True, these Heights may have been unaccredited land to the Saints and what was here was theirs at their disposal no matter who passed through. Indirectly, she did assist with the hunt after all. Indirectly, she was helping feed the hungry jaws of the Saints. Credit was given where credit was due in Zsuzsa’s eyes. ”If you want a leg or the jowls, take either.”  Zsuzsa offered with a light shrug. Those were pieces of the boar the Saints could live without since they would be getting nearly the whole ham. If she decided to decline, the Acolyte wouldn’t take offense to the gesture. If anything, this was a rare moment a Saints wolf would be willing to portion out anything to an outsider.
 
Having a gut feeling the female was a vagabond of sorts, she seemed familiar with the Saints already. ”You’ve heard of us then…” She mused. ”I’d advise caution around Black Morass and Cedar Sweep, those are also our unofficial grounds.” She further explained. This female wouldn’t be as lucky as she was today if she happened upon those territories and another Saint discovered her. Zsuzsa didn’t care to mention Bonesplinter Ravine as that was behind their official territory. ”Further west is Kingslend in King Elk Forest, in which they have some other grounds of their own.” If the chocolate female wasn’t going to take any boar, Zsuzsa would at least see her off with some tidbits of information for her travels.

She contemplated, having turned away and had every intention to leave the food as it was. Though her mouth watered a bit from the blood, she only paused when the woman offered some food. Looking back at her, she'd give a nod. It would be rude to actually reject again, anyway. "I haven't heard much" Wren explained "but if you aren't Kingslend, you're Saint." She knew that Kingslend had territory here, and had whispers of another pack in the area called the Saints.

Moving away from the dark coated woman, she'd descend the mountain quickly. A final word of 'thanks' was given before she approached the boar, grateful for the information provided. A leg was taken, albeit a small one in her eyes. But she did hunt fish mostly - fish were smaller. Wren took no more than that, a final wave of her tail the only thing happening since her mouth was full. She wanted to say 'sorry' for the trespass. She wanted to say more, but in the end it was easier to leave.

She didn't know how friendly the other Saints were. She didn't care to find out.

exit!

The conversation would be left at that then. Zsuzsa wasn’t the type to implore any further on matters. Her stone gaze watched as the chocolate female descended down the Heights to gather a leg for herself before taking off back into the Wilds. The Acolyte watched her until she disappeared amongst the foliage of the horizon. Perhaps this was the first and last time she would see of the female, perhaps she would meet her again down the road. Zsuzsa came to learn the Wilds was a revolving entryway for many wolves over time.

Skidding down the slope of the Heights, she went to the kill to savor the parts she would have for herself and harvest the rest for the pack. The Raven that had been circling in the skies descended down, landing on a boulder not too far from her. It would peck at any scraps left behind. The wolf and the avian would remain at the Heights until sundown and that was when Zsuzsa would carry the rest of the boar back to the Saints.