Two Rivers Isle the art of survival

Would love anyone to jump in but would love to meet a Kingslend member for neighborly fun!

Tuktu Hinterlands went generally undisturbed. The paw traffic in this region wasn’t as heavy as that in other territories such as Great Bear Wilderness, which offered a considerable advantage of tracking prey in these areas as prey fled to land where they went untroubled. There was much of Tuktu the Mackenzie had not explored yet and so would spend the next several weeks meandering through the more mutual areas of Tuktu. Zsuzsa was aware there was a resident pack, Kingslend, tucked away in the corner of the Hinterland. Currently, both packs seemed to be quite mindful of one another of not misstepping in the official or unofficial territory of each.
 
Making way to Two Rivers Isle on this day, there was a considerable amount of deer present in this area. Most would dash out to Heron Lake Plateau to drink and graze in the grasses along there, only to retreat back into Two Rivers or Grouse Thicket for cover. Zsuzsa was sniffing around at tracks she picked up, not in a rush to follow a trail of them, but alert on seeing what she was being led to. She had been gaining the confidence in hunting larger game and was on a particular path of following a male and female deer pair that were quite sizable. Obviously not able to take down both, she quietly strategized how to at least take down one.

no need to match length <3

in the spring, germanicus would be put to another sort of test.

it was not a concept he enjoyed pondering in any regard. he roamed out directly, heading north and then northwest. it was a poor decision to make when the pack held such turmoil, but he felt his abilities were compromised at best. alerting @Célnes with a mutter, not a howl or a bark — the centurion knew better than to announce his personal comings and goings to the family that rippled around the king — he had gone off with the thought he would hunt.

by the time the guard arrived, it was to behold an odd little island surrounded by rivers. his nape prickled at once, for germanicus had been raised with stories of the wildmen who lived in forests such as these. putting rout to armies and tearing heads from bodies. he was a boy no longer, but a healthy respect for care in such areas remained. 

honed senses razor-edge in the cold wind, germanicus too found the scent of deer. it was what he had come to do; despite the man's wariness, he forded the river at its thinnest point, emerged to shake off his pelt, and pressed into the near untouched territory.

the sheen of another's presence shimmered across the tripwires of his caution. germanicus drew to a halt, shifting into the shadow of a tangled, low-hanging trio of branches. flowergold eyes searched for the figure, and his broad shoulders followed a questing point of his muzzle as the soldier became visible again. a moonchased obsidian figure, moving with surety on the trail he himself followed.

germanicus was watchful, and said nothing, expecting the other to register him quickly.

Write as much or little as you want! <3

Her olfactory sense tore away from the tracks, picking up another scent on her radar. Perhaps it was the subtle rustle of branches for which the male attempted to conceal himself behind that caught her attention, as her ears instantly perked with interest. Slowing her haste to a standstill, her muzzle tilted up some to sniff the air more thoroughly. As the sense of smell was the first of the senses to uncover something or someone before the other senses, her nose led her silver gaze to the swath of a tall, grayed figure in the surrounding foliage.
 
The first notability was of his scent, Kingslend. Zsuzsa had not encountered anyone from that pack yet. She merely knew them as neighbors, nothing more and nothing less. The pack scent was easily discernable from what she smelled of the unofficial territories on her way up to these more mutual grounds. As the Saints were particularly possessive of their unofficial grounds (more so than other packs would be), the Acolyte had been mindful steering clear of tripping any landmines with Kingslend’s lands.
 
The second noticeable thing was how tall he was, from what she could see of him from behind the branches at least. He was coated in a drab pelage of grays and silver. She saw his pale-yellow gaze simply studying her in silence. Keeping a neutral stance about her, Zsuzsa turned to where she was fully facing him. ”Using that to your advantage I see?” Zsuzsa remarked with an alto lilt of a soft voice, referencing mainly to him attempting to blend in with the foliage. The deer was a couple of yards ahead some, so any light chatter wouldn’t disrupt hunting from a distance.

"every shadow is a tool," the centurion responded, shoulders losing some of their tension as he pulled from the obscurity in the woman's direction. now that he had heard her voice, he set it with the lithe sight of a body honed from scouring in allweather terrain. 

conditioned to assess each stranger as appeasement for his own sense of warning, the centurion did not find himself immune to vague admiration. he had halted a polite distance away, but what tinge of the huntress' scent he had caught brought germanicus to mind of arlette. they shared the same pack, so it seemed. the saints of the dying light. or, as the alabaster acolyte had said, simply the saints.

"would you care for a companion on your hunt?" the eaglebound intoned solemnly. eyes the color of a sword-edge, gleaming iron against the nightcast of her features.

He was certainly correct using the shadows as a strategy. ”You have the better advantage of both of us at the moment.” The Acolyte pointed out. She would be practically invisible if she was using the shadows as coverage in the dead of the night, but by the silvery tint of his fur, he blended in well with the earth tones surrounding him. Sometimes it could be a challenge to stalk if dark fur stood out with so much contrast in the earth-toned background.
 
With the male coming into view, Zsuzsa received a better assessment of his physique. He was naturally larger than her in genetics, and quite tall. Yellow eyes were a common feature but he had a distinct hue that was different from the run of the mill yellow gaze. She too held a sense of ambiguous esteem toward him for she was used to the company of the Saints on a daily basis. Since pledging to their ranks and residing in a tucked-away corner of the Hinterlands, she did not tap into her wanderlust as much as she used to as a lone wolf. This encounter would be refreshing.
 
He would offer no such challenge to her though as he extended comradeship toward the hunt. ”The deer that passed through shouldn’t be too far off. Seems there are others in the area if we lose track of this herd.” This was Zsuzsa’s way of accepting his offer.

what the huntress lacked in height was renewed by the fine build of her rangy limbs and the cool observation from steelspark eyes. something altogether wild in the shape and sound of her, feral in the way that the barest hint of an accent clutched the upswing of her voice. forged in the image of diana, he decided, satisified that he chosen always to note her among all the gods he knew to be real.

providing him with information about the nearby prey put her into higher esteem. germanicus inclined his head, silently granting her the rights to lead their quest. he chose to act in such a manner with all strangers met upon his travels. it provided the guard with more safety to provoke no confrontation, and often granted him information which he would be able to bring back unto kingslend.

and there was the haptic pleasure of hunting, and to be at the flank of another assured hunter elevated the experience. he was silent, rejuvenated.

With a voiceless motion from the daffodil-eyed male, the two were off to track. Neck hunched and head low to the ground, her snout hovered above the semi-most soil sniffing out the original herd she had pursued into the Isle. Keeping a steady stride, the Mackenzie may have taken the lead in the current moment to bring them to the source of the herd. Out of the peripheral of her silver gaze, she would keep watch of her hunting companion, noting any subtle movements or change in direction should he have an unspoken strategy to their stalking. Inclining to work more in unison than truly taking a sole lead, reading another’s body language and motions was a hunting skill Zsuzsa kept in her repertoire.
 
Eventually, the pair came upon the herd of the male and two female deer, alert but stealing away grazing amongst the foliage. Her pace slowed with her figure sinking down as stealthily as possible to the Earth, knowing that her sable coat could easily be detected. There was thick foliage in the area to which she slunk behind. Then, from afar concealing herself behind her cover. Steel gaze shifted over to her companion, observing his location and watching for any silent strategy or action he may want to execute.

it was easy to hunt with this saint. beneath the edge of her watchful silver gaze, germanicus attuned himself both to the wolfess and the quarry they followed. the two roamed in a tight union after the warm-blooded deer, and the soldier sent a silent prayer of gratitude that he should be led into the path of so skilled a stranger.

two females and a male. germanicus flicked his hushflower gaze over the three, noting that the second doe seemed to be favoring a leg. but the stag would move to protect her all the same. he shifted imperceptibly within the greenery, rolling a shoulder toward the antlered creature. he would place himself between the huntress and the tined weapons if she would speed their true prey off away from her fellows.

Zsuzsa stood in wait, intently watching the herd from afar. Noting the same tender limb of one of the females the daffodil-eyed male saw, the Mackenzie deemed that deer her chosen target. The stag had an impressive stack of antlers upon his crown, but Zsuzsa felt confident about this opportunity with the Kingslend wolf in support. She knew he was watching, calculating the stag’s moves just as much.
 
Slinking off so she could get a better side angle, Zsuzsa would ambush from the right of the herd. It was an open of window opportunity when the stag was body blocking the opposite side of the deer. Any complications, she knew the silver shoaled Kingslend member would offer reinforcement. That was when she thrust herself and bolted forth from the foliage.
 
Ears flattened against her skull, she rushed the herd, her eyes locked on the wounded. The other female dashed away, while this stag stayed to put its crown to the test. If the other male could intercept or perhaps spook the stag, it would think twice about impaling the Saint. It was a risky move she did to hurl yourself into the bramble of antlers, but times were desperate, and sometimes high risks yielded high rewards.

it worked as he had envisioned; he thanked the gods again for bringing a boon in the skilled huntress. germanicus turned now to the busywork of wielding away the stag; the male lunged for him and the soldier skipped only two steps ahead.

dodge now to the side; he paced the animal in a tight tiring semi-circle, flanks falling into the familiar rhythm of a marching breath. only the pair of them now, and the centurion must now disentangle himself to aid his fellow. the trick therein meant to confuse the stag and keep him from following; when the heavy animal feinted, germanicus came with it, snapping forward to drive the beast back and away.

Sad to see Germanicus leaving the game. D:

Entrusting the male had his state of affairs handled regarding the buck, her peripherals only saw a blurred figure dash to her side. The stag was visibly conflicted with the two lunging toward them, noting that in mere milliseconds it decided to retreat at the presence of two wolves launching toward them. Whatever would happen with the patriarch would be left to the grayed male to deal with, for her opportunity was now wide open to hone in for the kill.
 
The female was able to get a considerable distance forward to attempt to run, though the favored leg did not work in its favor at all. Bolting forward in a dash, Zsuzsa leaped to reach for the female, clinging onto the deer’s hips in an attempt to drag it down with her weight. Teeth sank into the upper thigh of the doe, a blurting cry coming from the deer as its surrender was rather unclimactic and quick. It may have been easy to drag down but now it was violently kicking beneath her, attempting to give a final fight.

me too D: perhaps he will be back <3

as the huntress surged beyond, leaping for the haunches of their quarry, germanicus searched for an opening in the armory of the enraged stag. he was struck at with a pair of sharp hooves; a controlled snarl burst from his own throat, and he surged directly for the lowered muzzle, teeth clicking upon air.

this was the impetus needed to drive the lead male off once and for all; the soldier watched, panting, before he whirled to pit his energies in another way. his companion pinned the creature beneath her lithe body, and germanicus slunk close 'round the whirling legs to grab for the lips and nose of the downed animal, cutting off its air as he lay atop the gasping muzzle and lent his own musculature to the fray.

it was soon over; he rose, flanks flickering with breath, to cast an appreciative and approving look at the huntress. "well met."

Apologies for the wait, I think this is a good place to wrap up!

Zsuzsa did not witness the male struck by the hooves of the stag, to which he successfully drove off. It happened all so swiftly as coming into view, the behemoth figure of gray closed over the deer’s head like an oncoming storm, clamping his jaws around its airway. A few last attempts of kicking and spasming before the deer finally fell limp and surrender.
 
Her breath bellowed in a ragged rhythm from the corners of her maw as even while the deer faded, she still clamped on for life. It was his words that made her jaw ease up and she released. Giving a stretch of her jaw by opening and closing in rapid successions, she shook her head, the adrenaline still pumping strong through her veins and the gloss of the passion of hunt tinted her silver gaze. ”I think you deserve most of the credit, chasing off the stag and putting her to rest.” He was surely efficient. When it came to portioning out their kill, Zsuzsa would be happy to provide him with as much share as he wished to bring back to Kingslend.

ur good! thanks for being a great thread partner <3

germanicus was caught by the impassioned snare of her moonsilk eyes; he breathed for a moment as they pitted themselves against the bearing of his frame, and then he politely glanced aside. and yet he was unsure that the heartbeat galloping briefly in his chest was due only to their kill this day.

"and yet i could have done neither without you managing our swiftness," the man deflected with a warm quickness to his lips; she must believe herself as he had seen in her, diana, and with no hesitation move to embody the goddess' blessing.

their words came to a shared barter; he gave a rare laugh here and there, and eventually retired toward kingslend with a light heart and a generous share of the kill, shelving the memory of the pleasant huntress within a close place to his spirit.