Bearclaw Valley tamerlane

a pack hunt! @Merrick @Astara @Aventus @Averna @Ashlar @Karst @Solaria (holy moly that's a lot of 'A' names) -- set for tomorrow morning

the dawn comes clear and crisp when a bugle sounds across the valley, reverberating off the stone walls. it rouses Avicus from her sleep, curled up not far from her mother. others must hear it too. her ears swivel forward, and then she is off, chasing the echoes of the racket toward the mouth of the territory.

a bull elk noses at the snow, long tongue seeking moisture. he has wandered into Bearclaw, perhaps from the fox glen; even from here, upwind but far off, she can smell the creatures on his pelt. and something else, too. . .

blood. Evien's face comes unbidden to her mind and she forces it back, squinting at the ungulate. he limps along, left rear leg coated with crimson. something has wounded him, grievously enough to break the flesh but not quite able to bring the bull down. he has escaped with his life intact—

for now. he has come to the wrong valley. 

Avicus hunkers in a cluster of bushes, watching him move. the others must not be far; they must have heard his cry. and if they can prevent him from leaving the territory, wear him down until he collapses. . .they soon will eat well.

she positions herself to his rear, near their border, and lets loose a howl, an eerie, shivering soprano note—sending him off at a gallop, inexorably and unwittingly into the heart of the bear.

Solaria heard the bugle of prey, not far from Avicus, as well as her howl. The silent woman took off at a gallop, pulling into a slow trot as she came closer to the princess, letting out a chuff of sorts as she pulled in stride to her with an inquisitive gaze as she briefly glanced for the king and everyone else.

What's the plan?

This was the second time Ashlar came eagerly to her hunting call.  He felt his blood begin to sing with the nerves of it the instant he decided to go, but he couldn't ignore a chance to help the pack. Last time he'd hunted with her, he'd embarrassed himself, and this time he was determined not to allow a repeat of this.

He stayed in back when he arrived and hung towards the trees.  He took in the scene with interest and his ears pushed forwards, curious... but he knew he'd be following and not leading.  He did not know enough of full pack hunts yet to drive the run or the kill.

modified again to fit the rest <3

The smell of blood was in the priest's nostrils and it fueled the maddening depths of the spirit world to which she had descended. All she had to do was follow the trail of blood, follow the trail of Sithis' maddening hisses as it lead her towards where the wolves were gathered. She did not know it was a hunt — had not heard a call — but when she arrived and saw their prey gallop off, she knew what was to happen. Of course. A feast, a slaughter.

She glanced at a tall, fierce woman with the inquiring gaze briefly and whispered, with a mad smile on her face, Just follow your gut. Do what feels right, that was always what hunts were about. And at the end, ah, at the end, they would be rewarded by bathing in the sickening roar of death and the fiery blood that would be upon their pelts!

With that in mind the priest did not await the signal from Thief's red child; instead, she set off after their prey, with or without the others.

while his family slumbered, merrick had turned evien's skull over and over, staring at it, waiting for the physician to 
"say something," he had snarled desperately to the unhearing ear.
aventus had asked the bear to kill evien. aventus had taken ursus for himself.
or would.
a lap of his tongue. "time someone takes your place," he grit, just before the elk sounded its voice and merrick attended. he arrived to see the priestess snaking off after the creature; he stepped to avicus' side. your brother wants the leadership that evien left. he did not speak aloud, only leveled her with a knowing look.
but they were here to hunt, to shed blood. where his redcub indicated, he would follow.

Aventus remained in the shadows, where he was most comfortable, and watched one by one as the wolves heeded his sister's call while the elk bleated, a sound not unlike a horrified scream. Hunting was something Aventus only did because it was necessary to live and be strong, but it was not a hobby like it was for Avicus. He joined primarily to study his packmates, and make his debut.

There was no jealousy now. He had surpassed her, and let his gaze linger on her red coat for only a brief moment. She would try to kill him, and she would fail. He lapped at his lips contemplatively, curious of the chocolate brown boy who arrived and hung near the treeline like him, and the strangely marked she-wolf he did not recognize. When Averna arrived and took the lead, Aventus broke from the shadows.

His gait was long and ground-eating as he galloped after the fleeing elk, veering off to the right to cover that side should it turn and attempt to run off the track they formed for it with their bodies.

two howls in short order; one the full-throated call of a bull elk -- the other the eerie, lonesome call of the wolf.

her daughter.

astara loped upon the scene in short order, but by the time she arrived the hunt was well underway. she saw her sister, pale against ribbons of snow, dash after the great form of the elk -- and she saw her son carry shortly after.

merrick was crouched alongside avicus. a new she-wolf flanked them, snowclad save for a thin stripe of deep russet. this wolf earned astara's attention only for a second before the intensity of the hunt claimed astara: she spun on her thin paws to flank the bull from the front.

she would play bait -- linger just close enough to frustrate the bull and slow him down for her packmates, but hopefully not so close she got tossed.

@Karst is still free to hop in :) no posting order -- next round starts when everyone has replied again!

she is joined first by Vesta, and she gives a brusque nod to the woman. well ahead of them, the pale form of her aunt surges after the elk, and Aventus, too, joined the chase ahead. her father, though, draws near. there is something in his gaze that she can't quite parse; she meets it for a long moment, then returns her attention to the hunt.

with a flick of her tail, a motion with her muzzle, she urges them all forward to join the pursuers up ahead. Ashlar. . .she smells the young man; where is he? no matter.

at a swift trot, Avicus finally sees her mother, who draws close to the bull. her deft movements seek to confuse, overwhelm, and the red girl's tongue falls from her mouth, lolling. mindful of the flailing hooves, she brings herself parallel with the elk's flank, then darts inward, aiming a nip at the tender flesh where belly meets haunch.

before them, the snow is deep. if they continue in this direction, the bull will have no chance.

There was something about the thrill of the hunt that was madness-inducing. All the rules were different out here. Bloodlust seemed like a thing most wolves could only accept in the hunt; perhaps that was it. The desire to see the blood of their prey burst forth from its body, the desire to be bathed in it — if not only to feed, for many of them — but the desire was there and it seemed a moment when all wolves agreed on one thing that they were otherwisely so divided on:
Killing is good.

With the wicked smile on her face the lithe priest danced through the snow, her form almost ethereal, as though she left no footprints at all, made little impact on the snowy palette she danced through. She followed the mighty bull, who had its role to play in this game. Of course it did not give up without a fight — of course! — but that was part of the game itself. A willing victim was no fun.

Life danced in her mortal eyes, losing their ghostliness but for a moment, when she snapped at it and felt but for a moment her teeth connect to its leg. Not what she intended — too close, perhaps — but she had not felt this sort of connection to her mortal body and soul for a long time when she then had to duck to avoid a kick in the teeth. She avoided, though felt the rush of the hoof past her fur.

Taking more distance would have been wise, but her bloodlust was fully awakened now and so she stayed at her risky distance.

She was Sithis', and only death could end this game and the bloodlust he fueled her mind with.

his huntress directs and he is off, coursing as lightly as he ever could; merrick, believing in the prime of himself, keeping pace with avicus and driving their quarry deeper into the snow.
averna and avicus now, plaguing the leg and flank of the thing; merrick dropping back and cutting to the side opposite of them. 
his raven-queen before them all, at the very horns of it, fearless; the purpleblack flash of pelt and eyes and merrick felt himself flush with a wild love.
solaria and ashlar he hoped now, close. the bearking ran along the shoulder of the animal, leaping to fill its ear with the sound of his thrumming growl, before lunging teeth to snap toward the straining flesh.

before her the bull thundered, its strong limbs punching through snow cover.

out of her peripherals she saw her daughter, merrick, and averna -- one blow landed, then another -- coercing the bull forward.

he came at a pace frighteningly fast -- his limbs were longer, stronger even, than her own -- slowed down by the snow, astara was struck by a mighty pass of the bull's horns.

pain throttled her senses but she staggered from the snow, pale white dusting her hips and backside. the bull thundered on past, with a cavalry of wolves besieging him. astara stiffly pursued, a throbbing in her hips with each step.

As more of Ursus came, Solaria met the gaze, briefly, of the Priest, before Sol took Averna's words quickly to heart, and kept streaking forward with the swiftness almost of a falcon. 

If wolves could run as fast as a raptor bird could fly, Solaria would be that fast. 
But as a wolf, and not a bird, she could only run as fast as her legs would allow. Which was pretty dang fast. 

Coming up on the bull's other side as he struck the Queen, Solaria snarled and lunged a risky jump at his foreleg, teeth gripping the ankle as she was jerked forth trying to get the damned beast to trip, to stumble, to fall just enough that her packmates could swarm and tear and rip and KILL.

Ashlar only hesitated a moment when they began to run before he coursed forth to join them.  The young wolf was eager to prove himself, but he doubted his own place in the hunt, and he was not sure he knew clearly what he should do.  Fortunately, as soon as the chase began, and he felt his muscles moving beneath his pelt to the rhythm of the elk's own harried running... he knew.

His head seemed to pound and thrum with the pulse of the hunt as he dipped in close, glancing only once at the bear king, before he snapped at the quarry's hocks.  He did not get in close enough yet to sink his teeth in, and instead veered sideways, running alongside in order to force their prey to maintain it's course.  He saw Astara struck, faltered... and kept on, though inwardly he quailed.  He would hold his portion of the side, and prevent the elk from breaking forth.  But he did not think he could strike a blow to fell it, and timidly he remained at the side.

Aventus sharpened his focus on the thunder-hooved beast, and became blind to all other hunt participants. Jostling bodies with red blood running in their veins just the same as his, the song of the hunt in their heads, that was all they were. He found his place among them, back alongside the bull's hind leg.

The elk strained to run faster, and Bruin-jaw's strides never faltered. When Astara was flung aside and Solaria dipped in to grasp the foreleg, Aventus swung in and sunk his teeth into the meaty haunch. The force of it wrenching its leg away took him off his feet; he tumbled unprepared into the powder and floundered for a moment, but was pleased with the taste of blood in his mouth.

When he regained his paws, he resumed a gallop, seeking to close in and take another chunk. If the bull would not be felled, then it would be bled out.

third round! I rolled a successful bite from Avicus. feel free to roll or RP freely; the bull should be coming down any time now!

they are besting the bull. he fights, but it is in vain. her heart jumps and then stops for a moment as she sees her mother bowled over, but she cannot—they cannot—stop now. she chances a fleeting glance behind and lets out her breath as Astara rises, moving after them, albeit a little stiffly.

and then Vesta draws blood, then Aventus. . . crimson spatters on snow in the mighty elk's wake, but he continues to gallop on. he is not yet wounded enough to quit.

they will see to that soon enough.

she flattens out, wind whistling over her as she accelerates to near-full speed. she draws even with the bull, twists her head and grasps at its foreleg, at the fleshy part between limb and ribs. she hooks on and can only run for a few strides, hindered so, before her teeth wrench and rip muscle and fat in a spray of blood that half-blinds her.

gasping, Avicus loses a little momentum, spitting loose the chunk of elk to prevent herself from choking, and moves up and inward again for another bite.

When the bull pivoted towards him, Ashlar internally shrank.  He had rarely faced prey this large; Ursus was his first true hunting, as he and baba traveling could never hope for such a catch.  He had only ever been told what to do.

Somehow he managed to stand his ground, to growl and to even snap back.  He did not catch flesh like his packmates did, but he circled and harried while fear and adrenaline drove him.  Something told him to stay back and to watch, so he did; he watched as both Aventus and Avicus leapt in and deftly came away bloody and victorious.  The scent of blood flooded him, heady and warm.

Consciously he was too caught up to think full thoughts, but instinctually, he learned.  And what he took away from this hunt would serve him in the future, an understanding in particular of how these wolves fought and what drove each to react.

Solaria didn't get the initial bite she wanted, but her teeth ripped flesh nonetheless. 
As the bull put his leg down again in his stumbling run, Vesta bit down as hard as she could, to the point she heard a small but audible snap as her teeth clamped into the ankle of the elk a second time. 

What will happen now? She wondered as she held on for dear life.

the bull with a thousand fangs in his hide, bellowing and streaming blood;
it filled the air, mingling like red dust with the reek of the animal's terror;
the beast staggering as avicus ripped into the foreleg;
merrick threw his weight behind its shoulder; he lacked the heavy cutting jaws of a larger beast, but struck into the juncture of leg to neck all the same, whittling away merrily as flesh serrated and blood splashed his face in thick droplets.

Others seemed to lose themselves in the madness, too -- oh, what a glorious day for Sithis indeed. The pale wisp danced around its hind legs, close, too close, taking risks;

If it was not for her pack mates losing themselves to similar degrees and distracting the bull she might have gotten hit, but she was lucky. Her mouth filled with blood and her nostrils with death; and her brain with a desire for both.

on they surged, harrying the elk to what would be his eventual deathbed in a thicket of juniper and pale snow. Astara kept pace, albeit slowly — while her packmates landed hits one after another.

soon they clung to the elk, driving him deeper into panic and pain; a few more stumbles, astara surmised, and his life would be over and their bellies full.

she pulled forward in one last attempt to cause the bull to falter; a show of fangs near the side merrick clung to. the bull’s sides heaved and thick wreaths of pale smoke blew from his nostrils like a forge; soon that spark would be doused by the might of Ursus and the wolves of the bruinwood would feast.

Aventus surged to catch up with the rest of the pack, but even as he did, he knew it was over. Avicus, Merrick, Averna, and Solaria all came away with blood steaming from their muzzles, and Astara closed in again as well. The bull bled from at least half a dozen wounds, and its panicked flight only made the blood run faster.
His legs churned more slowly in the snow, bringing him down to an observant canter. Aventus was, at his core, an efficient creature. The bull would fall sooner than later. No sense wasting further energy shedding more blood. He conserved it, instead, prepared for the moment the creature stumbled and the pack swarmed over it.

fourth round! may be my last but we'll see if anything of note happens here. PPing the elk falling for expedience's sake

it is all but over. the Ursus wolves are too many and too fierce. the bull carries on boldly, bravely, but to no avail. his legs are failing and he is losing blood at an increasing rate.

they reach a bit of ground that, beneath the snow, is dotted with small divots and he stumbles once, picks himself up; stumbles twice, and goes down. a mighty timber, felled by the axmen. his collision with the earth is hard and heavy and is accompanied by a loud thud, a thunderous groan and a spray of snow and dirt.

without hesitation, Avicus moves in and begins to devour him before he's expired, tearing wildly at the elk's belly, looking for the prize innards. she has broken wolf code in her fervency by eating first and she may pay for it; by rights, her parents and brother have first dibs.

but is she not the princess of Ursus? had she not summoned them here today upon hearing the bull's pained bugle?

she deserves this. she thinks nothing of hierarchy as she shoves her muzzle deep into crimson, into steaming abandon, into bliss.

The bull bellows and stumbles and eventually, falls.
Sol is nearly crushed under it, but leaps out of the way barely in time to see Avicus tearing into the bull as it's soul begins to fade away from this world. 
The mute fire-nape backs off with heavy pants, looking inquisitively to Merrick, his blackbird, and their son. Didn't they have first dibs?

She wasn't going to test it. 
Instead, Solaria backs off and stands as a sentinel, a guardian while the others would feast.

down, down, down.
the princess of ursus struck first, and solaria held back, a protector who knew her place while the red-girl did not.
merrick bore an eternal weakness for his daughter, but he suspected that her corvid mother would step forward if he failed in this.
a snarl warned his crimson child back; he spared her a snap or a nudge, respecting that she had brought them together for the hunt. yet there was blood to observe, and he intended to take his place where she had been.
better he than the new bruin-jaw; he sensed a heavy readiness in aventus to enforce the law of his position, and would leave avicus to that if she gave he himself a protest.

The scene of a feast was usually not one where hierarchy mattered; every wolf was entitled to feed, even the lowest ranked. Food was a great equalizer among wolves, and possessiveness of it was a right granted every member of the pack, from the mighty leader to the lowest subordianate. It was typical for them to swarm together and jostle among one another for the best cuts, but ultimately, they fed all at once.

Aventus would have swarmed forward with Avicus for his pound of flesh without thinking anything of her behaviour if not for Merrick's cutting snarl. That alone told him his sister had done something wrong, which in turn caused him to peel back his blood-frothed lips and advance on her position with a warning snap of his jaws.