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Post by Amanda on Sept 10, 2009 20:56:03 GMT -5
So, Larka lead them on. She had not heard the loner's call, nor was she aware that her daughter had attempted to catch up but had been thwarted by the lone wolf.
Pressing ever onwards, they set a steady pace for several hours until the scent became unmistakable.
Reindeer.
Slowing and hiding amongst the trees, her keens eyes and nose sought out the one weakness within the herd, an old she-deer who smelled of age and decay. Surely she was on her last legs, but could still put up a fight if she was not seperated properly.
With the faintest of noises and motions, Larka commanded her little group.
Lorkan and Cloud, you will flank the herd, seperate the aging one and drive her back this direction where Zena and I will wait to ambush her. Is this understood?
She hesitated just a bit, wondering if she had made the right choices before slinking off into the brush to find a vantage point from which she could observe and have cover at the same time. This location happened to be along an old game trail which she oped the deer would automatically take, either from memory or simply the path of least resistance.
Lying expectantly in wait, Larka watched to see what her family was doing, if they had obeyed her.
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Post by Kaziph on Sept 13, 2009 13:33:35 GMT -5
Cloud followed her leader, loping in her shadow as they moved through the forest lands in search of adequate prey. When the scent of deer rose temptingly in the near area, the fem's tassel stiffened and her ears pricked. Prey, and a weak hind. She glanced at Larka, reading her signals, then nodded and moved toward the side, hoping Lorkan followed. Even though her coat was pale in color and rather stood out, her pose was non-threatening, and even if she was spotted by their prey, they wouldn't suspect a hunt, perhaps.
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Post by Amanda on Sept 13, 2009 14:28:34 GMT -5
Lorkan moved steadily and easily by Cloud's side, comfortable in her presence. Surveying the herd, he easily spotted the doe, for though she tried to hide it as best she could, his keen blue orbs saw the slight limp. With a slight wave of his tail he slunk into the trees, his more grey-toned white coat blending in better with the dim undergrowth.
Searching for Cloud, he would await her signal, as she was twice his age. He felt he was in a good position to bolt and seperate the old doe from the herd, but if Cloud felt otherwise then he would move without question.
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Post by Tay on Sept 13, 2009 15:53:26 GMT -5
[glow=teal,2,300] Zena[/glow] Zena followed the group, when Lorkan brushed against her, she returned the gesture by touching her nose to his shoulder mid run. Feeling Cloud nudge her, she has brushed shoulders with the fem. I am Zena, nice to meet you pack sister. When Larka gave directions, Zena nodded happy to be with Larka. She was ready to prove herself to the Alphess. She followed in the footsteps of Larka, seeing the old game trail Larka had discovered, Zena was happy. She shared the hope with Larka, and quickly and silently dashed to the other side of the trail. She hide herself as best she could, her golden orbs switching from between Larka and where she assumed Cloud and Lorkan would hide. She waited for the signal, her body tense with the anticipation of the kill.
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Post by Kaziph on Sept 13, 2009 23:06:23 GMT -5
Cloud fell into position after some moments of consideration, wondering where both she and Lorkan would be able to do the most damage. She finally found the perfect spot and, pausing to glance to the male, realized he was already at her side and ready, too. She blinked calmly at him, but inside her emotions were churning with excitement. Come, pack brother. Let's do this, shall we? Dance with the deer.
She inched forward, hesitating only briefly to wonder if they should wait for Larka to specifically signal them. Cloud glanced back to the alpha's son, curious, for she didn't know the ways of this pack yet. Even though she was older, he knew better how his mother hunted. Tell me when, dear Lorkan.
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Post by Amanda on Sept 14, 2009 8:40:49 GMT -5
Lorkan read her message and answered without hesitation.
We are the herders, it is our move to make. She chose to put us here to test boh of us, to see how well I have learned and what your tactics are. Mother is a smart one.
A wolfish grin flashed across his muzzle before he became serious again. as a few herb members moved out of his line of sight, miraculously, she was slightly apart from the herd.
You go left towards the herd ill make sure she cant escape into the woods to the right.
Pausing a few seconds to make sure she understood his plan, Lorkan tensed his muscles and was off like a silver streak, his long limbs gaining so much momentum that he was a blur by the time he reached where he wanted to be.
The cow, startled, bleated in alarm before turning and trying to make her way back to the safety of the herd...
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Post by Kaziph on Sept 16, 2009 21:38:44 GMT -5
The white wolf nodded to Lorkan just before he turned and darted into the herd, startling the deer into a stampede. The doe, their target, cried out in alarm and hobbled toward her companions... but suddenly a white flash was there, snarling, and the hind backed fearfully away from its previous path. Cloud snapped her jowls threateningly, urging the wounded beast away from the others. But even wounded the deer was fast, and the fem twisted and darted like a snake to keep her from rejoining the rest of the herd or fleeing into the trees, where she couldn't easily follow.
The hind bleated and decided to escape the only way it saw open... right toward the ambush.
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Post by Amanda on Sept 17, 2009 8:59:54 GMT -5
Lorkan kept right on the doe's heels, his speed allowing him to get very close with little danger. He was confident in his abilities. as he saw her go down the way he wanted, he let off just a bit, letting the reindeer think that she was losing them, that she had made the right choice.
Larka had rubbed up against frgrant cedar trees, masking her scent. As she heard the pounding hooves and the snarling of her packmates her muscles tensed, as if she were an immense spring waiting to be unleashed.
The doe had indeed taken the path of least resistance, and although her leg hurt her terribly, she was gaining speed. Her spirits lifted as the relentless hounding had somewhat abated.
Perhaps they could not keep up with her speed?
Just as she was feeling as if she had made it to the home stretch, a white blur flew infront of her, startling her into another blind panic.
Larka had leapt from her hiding place, latching her firm jaws to the back of the doe's neck. clmaping down with all her strength she begean to thrash her body weight from side to side, hoping to topple the large deer.
Lorkan came up behind the scene, seeing his mother thrash angered him that she should have to work so hard. So, almost prancing with restrained motion, Lorkan began darting in and out, nipping at tendons and dodging flailing hooves.
Hopefully Cloud and Zena would step in...
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Post by Kaziph on Sept 17, 2009 9:07:40 GMT -5
She followed Lorkan's example, dropping back some to let the deer think she was escaping. Her eyes followed it, waiting, watching for the tell-tale sign of Larka's trap being sprung. It came suddenly, but to Cloud not unexpectedly, in the form of a white blur. The she-wolf saw Lorkan spring to help just as she darted forward, too, jaws gaping and snapping, a pale nightmare for the hind.
She threw her weight where she thought it would be most suited... the hamstring of the doe's hind legs. She sunk her fangs into the meat and jerked her head to cause the most damage. Blood began to pour, weakening the deer, but still it did not fall...
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Post by Amanda on Sept 17, 2009 11:43:42 GMT -5
The frenzying scent of blood drove Larka as she became a passive dead weight on the side that Cloud had crippled. Dragging downward, Larka could feel the deer weakening...tipping to her side, but still she continued the relentless downward pull, gravity aiding her task.
Lorkan realised what was going on and began to tackle the deer from the opposite side, using his muscles to push while his mother pulled.
The doe was a strong one, despite her injuries. she knew that if she went down, all hope was lost. Rooting her hooves firmly in the the earth, she begant to toss her head, dragging the three ghostly wolves with her. With a furious lasting blow she flipped onto her side, hoping to crush the pale figures that sapped her life from her.
Had she succeeded?
It seemed that she had as with her last seconds of conscious life she heard the haunting cry of a wolf in pain.
Lorkan had escaped the doe's revenge with his fleet paws, but to his horror he saw the pale form of his mother crushed beneath the heavy reindeer.
A short furious howl of agony escaped him as he sought desperately to remove the now limp carcass from his mother, but he could not hope to do it alone...
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Post by Kaziph on Sept 17, 2009 15:01:19 GMT -5
Cloud held on grimly as the deer struggled, and she thanked the River's guardians silently when Lorkan began to push against their target to bring it down. She experienced a brief moment of exhilaration when the doe finally toppled, but moments later she realized their goal had come at a price. Lorkan's cry made her release the hind leg and glance toward... the place where Larka had been.
Horrified, the white wolf leapt around the deer - having escaped it's weight herself by her strategic positioning - and began to dig at the carcass with her paws. She pushed and shoved at it, growling. Larka! Are you alright? Yet even with their combined strength, the body of the large animal wasn't moving away from their precious leader.
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Post by Kaziph on Sept 17, 2009 15:23:24 GMT -5
He knew Larka's call, and the other's whose voices he couldn't quiet place, had come from this direction, and so the logical place to hunt would be the open grasslands. He also knew Zena had departed from him and their meeting to head toward their alpha's summoning. He recognized his friend's scent as he moved along, and soon he was after them, directly on their track. He moved leisurely, figuring he would either catch up with them before they hunted or afterward, only hoping he didn't find them while they were in the middle of one. He wouldn't know what to do, then, and would have to sit it out... and of course that wouldn't put him in Larka's good graces.
When he did find, though, as he rounded the trail and came out to the edge of the forest, was the end of the hunt. Larka was holding a large, wounded hind near the neck, while what could only have been her son and another, newer member attacked. Zena was nearby, he could tell from her scent. Perhaps she just hadn't caught up yet. He paused, watching in the fascination of the hunt, as the three wolves scrambled, suddenly, and the deer began to fall...
To his horror, right on top of the pale alphess. Without thinking the massive wolf leapt into a run, pounding the earth beneath his large paws in a furious effort to get to the pack's side, to get to Larka's side. Lorkan called out in horror, and the other wolf leapt around the carcass to help, but it wasn't enough... Carrick knew he could change that. He doubted Larka's son would recognize or know him, and certainly the other didn't either, but it didn't matter. He jumped over the dying hind and landed in a flurry of earth and debris, knocked up from the scuffle and the other's efforts to help their leader.
Move, move! he snarled at Cloud and Lorkan, and without waiting for their response, he moved forward and closed his jaws on the neck-meat and set his rear legs against the earth. His strength, for all his size and power, was not what it had been in years past. It was, however, enough, with the help of the other two Ravilins, to drag the deer away from their leader's ghostly body, enough so that she could crawl out if able, or enough for Lorkan to pull her free. |
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Post by Amanda on Sept 17, 2009 15:40:54 GMT -5
Lorkan knew the large wolf by vague scent trails only, but he was a ravilin, and an elder, so Lorkan leapt out of his while, while still attempting to help somehow. As the deer came free of his mother, Lorkan grabbed her gently but firmly by the scruff, dragging her limp body a few feet to be well away from the terrible reindeer. Licking her face in a puppy-ish frenzy, Lorkan pleaded with those above to let his mother live.
Larka had been knocked unconscious by the force with which the cow had flung herself.
Kira being the eldest sibling calmed her brother's fears of their mother's death by placing her crania near her mother's muzzle. It was faint, but the delicate fur within her auds could feel the soft, unsteady breathing of her mother. Whimpering softly she willed her to rise, to be amongst them. She also wanted to shred the new packmember and lorkan to pieces for letting this happen, but suppressed all but the angered ruffling of her fur.
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Post by Kaziph on Sept 17, 2009 16:53:45 GMT -5
Cloud, relieved when the massive wolf approached and helped them to move the carcass, stepped back when Lorkan pulled Larka from her trap. Her muscles quivered, and she shook her head miserably. She didn't know the strange brute that had arrived aptly in time, but she glanced briefly, gratefully, at him. He carried the forest's scent, after all. Thank you.
The pale wolf, edgy now from the accident, flinched when another came into the clearing and rushed to the alpha's side. This one, too, carried Larka's scent, so the fem knew it was Lorkan's sibling. She saw the tension and agitation rolling off the younger female in waves, and Cloud whimpered, lowering her head. I am sorry, so sorry. She wasn't meant to be hurt. Cloud retreated from the scene, letting Larka's children and the large male tend to her. She crouched down a few yards away, looking sadly at the still white form, hoping and waiting for her to regain consciousness.
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Post by Amanda on Sept 17, 2009 17:36:39 GMT -5
Lorkan saw Cloud retreat and whimpered softly, consoling her before turning back to his mother. She was merely reacting to what she saw, im sure you would have done the same, remember that I will protect you.
A flinching gasping Alpha opened her brilliant golden orbs to a world of bright light and pain. Whimpering, she tried to stand and instantly collapsed, a pained and frustrated yelp escaping her. Attempting to move while laying on her side she concluded painfully that her back legs were injured, but didn't appear to be broken. remembering the hunt, she looked alarmed until she rested her golden gaze upon the still carcass.
So...the old she-devil fell upon me...is that what happened?
Trying to clear the foggy haze from her vision, Larka shook her head, which made her nearly black out again as a brilliant explosion of color and pain made her wince. getting her bearings, instinctively knowing that she had to move slower, Larka focused on each face that she could see, startled to see her daughter and Carrick. With her furious will to live driving her, she managed to sit, leaning heavily against her son.
Mmm...Sorry for the fright, I didnt expect an old cow to want to take me out with her.
A wry grin flashed across her muzzle before her face contorted in pain as she tried to move her rear limbs.
I am in an immense amount of pain, but it does not seem like my limbs are broken. Carrick...how did you...come here?
A look from Kira was all that was needed to convey the situation.
Ahh. All of you, I owe you my life, then. Carrick, my Knight, you have saved me again, please do not leave me.
Her brilliant golden orbs were molten fire, never fading in their intensity even in her weakened state. Her heart still ached for things to change, to perhaps return to what they once were,even if they could not be how they once were, at the very least he could be her mentor, her companion. He was always there, when everyone else failed.
All these feelings and more were conveyed in one electric instant, she herself looking away so as not to chase him away.
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