Lake Hreint

The female began to tread through the deep snow, slowly nearing the lake as she continued. Her ears were still pinned, her eyes squinted, but she remained vigilant and alert. There was no telling what the weather could do to her members. She felt a wave of protectiveness flow over her and she raised her tail subconsciously. She wouldn’t let them down. She wouldn’t allow them to get hurt. Her muscles bunched as a memory and a voice threatened to intrude on her unstable sanity. A memory that she knew that contained loss, bloodshed, and an immense feeling of guilt.
Mentally, Kevser thought of herself grabbing the memory with her teeth and ripping it away from herself in a violent manner, as if the memory were a tangible thing. Reluctantly, the past subsided within her mind, but it lingered in the background, reminding her that no matter how strongly she resisted it, she could not escape from its truth.

Her sharp eyes travelled to what was right in front of her. Three strong wolves, three new wolves, wandering through her territory, following her lead. She could hardly believe it had come to this. Wandering for ages through her dead family’s empty territory, three lone wolves showed up one by one, accepting the fact that this was Kevser’s territory, allowing her to insert her dominance. It was like redemption perhaps. Her family was taken because of her ignorance, and here was a new one given to her to start again. Yet this second chance was accompanied with more responsibility. She was now the provider, the leader, the protector. If she could not bring these three through the winter, she would not be deserving of the company of any wolf for the rest of her life. She would have been proven useless as a pack family member.

Her eyes skipped to each of their figures, reminding herself that she knew very little of their past. She knew very little of the thoughts that whizzed through their heads, and the values that kept them moving. While they may be her new beginning, they were still separate entities, floating in this group with a sense of individualism, not togetherness. They needed to act as one unit, feel like one unit. Share a collective mind with the same set of goals, working as one with a similar thoughts. Kevser’s instincts reminded her that as alpha, it was also her job to tie them together into a family. The alpha huffed and trudged on, the drab lake now distantly in sight. She needed this group to be a family. Perhaps this hunt would allow them to do that.

Tagged: Atlas Cicuta Gethyn

Cicuta paces through the snow, a light snort escaping her as a bit of the powdery substance gathers upon her muzzle. Ignoring it in favor of scanning the lakeside, she is rather surprised to see a disturbance in the white blanket ahead. Almost dazedly loping in that direction, she stares blankly down at the indentations for a moment before the fur along her spine begins to raise in excitement. These were unmistakably hoof-prints, and if they hadn't yet been blown over by the wind and snow, then they had to be relatively fresh. This is only enforced by the musky odor of deer that enters her nostrils upon her next inhale, alongside the promise of food. Real food, not just some stringy hare that wandered too far from its burrow or a half-bare carcass. Pupils shrinking to pinpoints as adrenaline abruptly floods her system and sets her heart to pounding, she looks back over her shoulder with an ever-so-rare grin, for once sincere and not layered with sarcasm. "Looks like our hopes have been answered." She could feel saliva pooling on her tongue as her mouth waters, but swallows it down and begins to follow the trail at a steady pace, now brisk with purpose and light with enthusiasm. It had been a long while since they had began a tracking expedition with actual certainty of finding something at the end.

What with the lack of cover, it wasn't even ten minutes before the creature came into sight. Appearing to have been separated from its herd, a young buck stood less than a mile away, head lowered and snout sifting through the snow in an attempt to find greenery beneath. It's underdeveloped antlers curved proudly atop its skull, and the deer often lifted its head to look around before returning to its scavenging. Unfortunately, it looked like it wasn't naive enough to let its guard down when away from the herd, and her packmate's fur colors were like homing beacons against the dull white of the terrain. However, a slight twitch of her ears is he only sign of nerves that she shows, muscles tensing in preparation to run. Glancing over her shoulder, she briefly considers how to proceed.

"If it gets to the tree line, we could lose it. I think we need to drive it towards the lake." She says firmly. Frozen though it may be, the ice was still too thin to safely tread upon, and it was their best chance at cornering it. The thing was though, none of the wolves with her were known for their speed. Kevser had the stamina and could go longer than most, and Gethyn was one for strength rather than speed. Atlas seemed to teeter somewhere in the middle, but it was painfully clear that if they were to flat out charge for it, it would make it to the trees before they caught it. They could hunt among the woodlands, of course, but there was a good chance that the deer was more agile than them and would be able to use the sharp turns to its advantage. Banishing her misgivings, she utters, "Gethyn, Kevser, it would be best if you go in a wide circle to the left of it, so that you end up at the tree line. This way you'll be able to drive it towards us and the lake while cutting off its escape. Atlas and I will stay here - we'll be closer, and at this distance wouldn't have much of a problem catching up to it before it can break away. While we occupy it and slow it down, you two will have time to come in and land the killing blow." She shakes out her fur. Atlas and herself would need to stay in place until Kevser and Gethyn began their chase, of course, but that wouldn't be a problem. Patience was something easily managed, especially with a potential catch at the end of it. A thin, stringy catch, but hell, food was food.

OOC: Sorry if it's a bit confusing; I don't Roleplay hunt scenes too often. I'll try to clarify. If you look at the picture and say that it's view is from the wolf's eyes, the third tree off to the left of the lake would be about where the deer is. Cicuta is asking Kev and Gethyn to circle to the left of that to block the tree line, which is in the distance behind the small group of trees. Once they would charge the deer, driving towards the viewpoint of the picture or where Atlas and Cicuta would be, the two of them would join in the chase and intercept the deer until Gethyn and Kevser catch up and help bring it down. Hope that clears up any confusion ^_^

The small buck nibbled at the meager sprigs of dormant grass beneath his hooves. The howling wind cut through his pelt like water, and shivering had become an almost constant part of his day thus far. His two point antlers bobbed above his head as he plucked the stingy blades from the frozen earth. His haunches were tucked under his body slightly, and ice crusted over his lips and the bottom of his nostrils. The blizzard was not serving the young male well. However, his herd was not far off. In fact, they lay bedded down only a short distance away, under the cover of the tree line. The male stood here mostly on guard, though he was forced to eat. If he merely stood without movement, without some sort of sustenance entering his belly, he would surely perish. The dried blades gave him energy, and his body produced heat as it digested the contents. As such, the male was forced to spend half of his attention on the ground below him, efficiently serving to keep the nearby pack hidden from his awareness- at least for now.

The alpha female’s gaze reluctantly ripped away from the view of her pack to the view of the landscape as Cicuta spoke. Being the lead and being the most aware about the possible prey ahead, Cicuta had spotted something. Kevser squinted and huffed, a visible plume of vapor exiting her muzzle. It was hard to spot due to the blizzard-like conditions, but sure enough, far off sat a young buck. His antlers were still on his head, something that would make him distinguishable among a herd, and yet, no herds surrounded him. He was alone. It was strange, but she couldn’t’ spend time to think, for their opportunity would be surely cut short if they waited too much longer to make a move.

Cicuta began giving the orders and Kevser froze, feeling something inside of her shift. She was alpha. She was supposed to give the orders. Her instincts grumbled in discontent, though her calculating mind promptly quieted the uneasiness. Cicuta had spotted the prey, and she had the best view of it, so of course she was in a good position to call the shots, at least for this expedition. All of this happened within Kevser for a mere second, and the she wolf kept it carefully hidden away from her expression. Instead, the alpha merely nodded towards the hunter. In a way, perhaps putting Cicuta as the lead was more than just for safety purposes. The pack here had never hunted before, and Kevser was hardly aware of each individual’s strengths and weaknesses. This hunt would be a way for Kevser to analyze the pack, a way to find knowledge that she could store away until she needed it again.
Now more content with the occurrences, a small grin happened upon the alpha’s visage. She could feel the excitement rise between the other three wolves. She could smell the adrenaline wash through them, she could see, though barely due to the snow, the instinctual excitement in their eyes at the prospect of a hunt. She let the pack’s feeling’s wash over her, she let it swipe her away and carry her among its waves, until she was feeling the exact same way. For the first time, she felt some sort of comradery with the three, some sort of connectedness. It was faint for sure, but something she grabbed onto viciously in her head, something she savored. This was what it was like to be a family.

As soon as the feeling appeared, it slipped away, sitting now in the back of her head, teasing her. Her smile disappeared, and her ears pricked. Her mind took over once again and she was all business. “Cicuta, Atlas, do not make a move until you see the buck spook. We do not need a premature hunt.” Her voice was very low, and she was not sure if had been even heard due to the wind. She could only hope. Without another word, Kevser pivoted and began backtracking, away from Cicuta and Atlas. Hopefully at this point, Gethyn was following her.

She did this backtracking for a minute or two, and without warning, she split from the beaten trail, angling right and taking the left hand side of the buck. Her circling of their prey was very widespread, and she was not nearly close enough to the animal to be heard or smelled. She slipped behind taller patches of dormant grass and behind the trees that were being beaten by the storm. Continuing, the alpha weaved through the cover, making her way to the tree line. She was nearly there when an overwhelming scent hit her, and her eyes snapped forward and slightly to the right. There, among the tree line, lay the herd. They were bedded down together, dozing and nibbling at the fallen pine needles. Crap. The two wolves would not be able to fully cover the tree line, for it would prematurely startle the herd, and inevitably startle the lone buck. Instead, Kevser settled for her current location, where she crouched low. Her tail was tucked slightly and her ears pinned, assuming the least wolf-like position she could, so that she may not be recognized as a threat by the herd if they spotted her. So far, they had not seen her or Gethyn.

Kevser’s eyes flicked towards the male, and she assessed whether he had made the short trip okay. Silently, Kevser motioned her head towards the tree line, a clear warning within her gaze. She was trying to tell him that moving any closer at the moment would ruin the hunt. She remained crouched there, waiting for Gethyn to get into position, peering off into the distance to see if Atlas and Cicuta had spread out at all. She wanted to make sure everyone was in position before they struck.

Kevser’s plan was to jump up and run the length of the tree line, which would startle the deer. They would jump up and run the opposite way, and the buck would see that happening and would attempt to join his herd. But Kevser would attempt to cut him off, which would make the buck double back. Hopefully, Gethyn had a better speed than Kevser, because if she didn’t cut the buck off in time, the buck could slip by her and meet the other herd, and the pack would have lost.
All of this planning was happening in her head, while her body remained motionless. As soon as she determined that the pack was ready, she would make her move.

Tagged: Atlas Gethyn Cicuta
OOC: Once everyone posts once more, I will have Kevser initiate the hunt. After that, the posting order will be: Alpha Kevser Gethyn Nature Cicuta Atlas , unless you guys would rather something else. I chose that mostly randomly, so it doesn’t really matter to me :3 I’m also excited!!!

Atlas sat on his haunches, much like a cat. His fluffy, brown tail curled around his legs, providing him with a smidgen of extra warmth--not enough to make a difference, however. The cold and frosty ground stung his behind and front paw pads. A sting unlike anything but itself, it didn't so much hurt as just feel awkward. Of all things it could be called, Atlas settled on 'undesirable', as it didn't propose any sort of pain. Or maybe he spoke too soon. The longer his arse was in contact, the more unpleasant  this feeling became. It was actually beginning to hurt now, gaining small similarities to the sting of a bee. The brown wolf was becoming very agitated with the whole deal. For some creatures, sitting on ice was a treat. He was not 'some creatures', though, and sitting on ice was most definitely not a treat.

Atlas brought his back paw up behind his ear and began swiping lazily. He could barely keep his eyes from falling shut. Absolutely nothing yielded more pleasure than scratching behind his ear. After a good few seconds, he put his leg down and stood. Cicuta had gone a little ways away from him so she could attack from a different angle. Blitzing was never a bad idea. Kevser and Gethyn were not very far from their soon-to-be meal, Atlas would need to be ready as soon as they were. He wondered what was going through the deer's mind, if it was capable of thinking in the same way as himself. He'd always thought about prey animals as nothing more than food, never sentient beings. Maybe it was better that way. Keeping emotion and survival seperate definitely made life easier.

No matter how much Atlas fought the idea, it came on stronger. Surely, the deer had to have some sense of intelligence external to instinct. Did it see wolves as heartless monsters, incapable of love or emotion? Atlas knew that thought to be entirely false. In fact, wolves showed a stronger sense of family, love, and relationship than even humans. At least, based on the observations that Atlas gathered in his years of thieving. But prey never got to see this side of the wolf's ipseity. In fact, the majority of--if not all--encounters with prey resulted in something dying or fearing that it might. Atlas didn't want to be seen as a mindless, hunger driven monster, but this is the way it was, had been, and always will be, despite how he wanted his species to be perceived.

Mentioned: Cicuta, Kevser, Gethyn, and Nature.
Addressed: None.
OOC: This is the first I've actually felt good about a post I've written in a while, despite it not really furthering the plot. I think it captures Atlas's personality, though. He lives most of his life in his mind, but also enjoys simple things, like scratching his ear. 



 

Alpha Kevser’s sharp eyes never left the silhouette forms of Atlas and Cicuta. The snow was making it difficult to pick out details, but she could tell when they settled down and stopped moving. She gazed in that direction for a moment more, reassuring herself that they were in place, that they were ready. She then turned to Gethyn, who had luckily followed suit promptly and had dropped down beside her. She watched him as well, and he seemed intent on following. His last whispered sentence rung true in her ears, and she painfully knew all too well. They were growing weak, and they were a small pack. If they spent their energy here and failed, it could sign the waivers for their guaranteed deaths.

Kevser nodded curtly and turned her head. She did not discuss the plan, for talking too much would alert the deer of their presence. No, the only thing she could rely on was the pack’s instincts. The alpha took a deep breath in, her eyes closing momentarily, her auds shutting down most of the sounds around her. All that she could hear then was the wind and snow. It whispered and then screamed in her ears, moving about in some unseen dance, caringly carrying the snow within its performance. The sharp, little, white crystals made small noises when they hit the ground, and it was peaceful for some reason to the she wolf. It helped her clear her mind, until all that remained were her pack members and the deer. Adrenaline, blood, and oxygen. Instincts humming high within her head.

Snap. Kevser jumped out of her position with no warning, her tail steaming out behind her for balance, her ears folding flat due to the high volume of wind. Her body whipped around the young buck, at first heading straight towards the tree line, straight towards the bedded herd. And then, at the last moment, she turned, her paws bringing her forward in a focused haste. She positioned her body so that she was in between the buck and the rest of the herd, whom could have already been startled for all she knew. She was not paying attention to that. Kevser hoped that Gethyn would follow suit, and would help her cover this part of the escape route, which would hopefully push the buck towards the hidden Atlas and Cicuta. Please hold you positions…please… Her mind cried out silently towards her pack mates, though such a plea would obviously not be heard. Kevser did not want to assert too much pressure on the buck at one. She wanted him to think there was an escape route so that he would not act too rash. Once an animal was cornered, they called on instinct to act. A cornered buck was dangerous, what, with flying hooves. No, they wanted the buck to first run away from the herd.