.+.Jsuzaru.+.+.Jsissyui.+.

.+.The wind rustled in the grass and stirred the leaves from the trees; the water in one of the streams sloshed slightly and shifted around the eight paws of two wolves that waded carefully across, the icy surface prickling at their belly-fur. One was a darker wolf, a male, with a shadowy gray pelt and a paler underbelly; he paused to take a sip of water and continued on, his tail held carefully above the water level.+.
.+.His companion was his sister, a currently lone wolf like himself. Her color was paler than his, and her eyes a striking blue. She strode through the water as though she was stalking something, disliking the wetness, her ears flattened. When she reached the shore, she immediately shook herself vigorously and lifted her ears to their usual upright position. Her brother Jsuzaru presently joined her; she leapt out of the way of showering droplets as he shook himself too.+.
.+.They walked shoulder-to-shoulder, their eyes warily surveying the other wolves there. They were outsiders there; lone wolves; and they hoped that they would be accepted into a pack soon. They had been in a pack once, a long time ago, but years of traveling alone except for each other had erased their packmates's scents and they were no longer part of any sort of group.+.
.+.But for now, all they had to do was survive. Moving silently and in unison, they looked around for prey...+.

*Signs*

The wind carries a few scents. One is that of caribou. A small herd of them is up ahead a ways. The scents are vague though, so a closer inspection would be needed to see the status of the herd.

Another scent is very musky; a wolverine. The creature might be wondering around by himself or might lead to food.

There is splashing from a nearby stream; it could be one of many things; a closer inspection would be needed to find out the source of the splashing.

Shadow

The blackest of black fem watched. her yellow orbs watched curiously. She yipped at them, speaking of that she meant no harm - and hopefully they didn't either.

.+.Jsuzaru.+.+.Jsissyui.+.

.+.Jsuzaru felt his hackles raise slightly as the scent of a wolfess swept into his nostrils, momentarily drowning out the smells of the prey; he turned his head and caught sight of the midnight huntress. Her reassuring yip relaxed him, and he glanced over at his sister, nodding slightly to her and licking her muzzle.+.
You go on and find that wolverine. I'll talk to her and see if she knows anywhere we could stay..+. Jsuzaru said, and padded forwards toward the dark fatale, giving a friendly little yip in return.+. Hello. My name is Jsuzaru, and she is Jsissyui, my sister. We're lone wolves right now, so we're just hunting a bit here. Who are you?

.+.The pale she-wolf nodded in response to her brother's wishes and watched him go forward to meet the ebon femme. Satisfied that he would be fine, she lifted her head and sniffed the scents on the air; wolverine, carribou. There was that curious splashing sound, but that could be anything from a fish to a bear. Jsissyui lowered her nose to the ground and stalked slowly after the trail that the wolverine scent had left. Carefully placing paw over paw, she crept forward without a sound.+.

Shadow She listened intently.

:: I am a part of a pack - but i hardly stay in the lands. The alpha's have not been spotted in awhile. For the most part I live on my own. I am Shadow.::

She spoked calmly.

.+.Jsuzaru.+.

.+.Jsuzaru thought over her words and cocked his head slightly, interested in the dark fatale. He remained standing, just in case Jsissyui needed his help to take down their prey, but he wagged his tail slightly and smiled at the wolfess.+.
If the alphas have not been spotted, why does no one challenge for their positions? Surely it would be easy to take them if there was no one there to defend?
.+.The wind washed over the he-wolf, bringing Jsissyui's scent to him, along with the cloying odor of the wolverine. He held still for a moment, listening for her call- but it didn't come, and he relaxed once more.+.

Shadow

The fem lupine did not know the answer. It could indeed use new leaders. but, why had she not thought of this? She knew not - perhaps she was too busy in her adventures.

:: I do not know that answer. It is Toklat Canyon I haven't thoroughly inspected it myself, but it has a lot of prey. ::

Her ashen coat blew in the wind as it whisked by. She hoped the best for his sister, as wolverines could be quite mean at times.

.+.Jsuzaru.+.

How strange! Where Jsissyui and I come from, if there was the slightest weakness in any pack it would be attacked by a stronger one. But things must be different here. I'm glad, to tell you the truth; all the bloodlust made it a terrible place to live. .+.Jsuzaru got a dreamy, distant look on his face for a second, then snapped out of it and wagged his tail a bit.+. But I won't bore you with all that. Have you been here for very long?
.+.He shifted slightly to get his paw off an uncomfortable rock and smiled at the femme, glad that she had approached. It was nice to have a friend so soon. He hoped that Jsissyui would get along with her too; his sister could be difficult sometimes.+.

Shadow

She nodded. The pack was actually the weakest she'd ever seen.
:: I am from a farther northern place than here, and it was the same way.::
Her nose picked up a sent of a deer.
::A while. My homeland was destroyed by humans.::
How she despised humans. How she wanted to kill every single one of them. She took in a deep breath, as she sat on her hind haunches.

.+.Jsuzaru.+.

.+.A low growl started deep in Jsuzaru's throat just at the thought of the filthy two-leggers. Plenty of his old packmates had been killed by their guns, and he held nothing but sheer animosity for them now.+. Gah! I hate humans... they think they're entitled to murder just because they have their thunderous weapons and walk on only two legs... but they're no better than prey. I'd hunt them all down if I could.
.+.With an effort, he controlled his anger and sat back on the dusty earth, panting slightly in the head, his tail sweeping some of the dust up into the air as it wagged enthusiastically. Still not a sound from Jsissyui; but she'd let him know if she needed help. Probably not, considering that she was a much better hunter than he was, and very strong, though rash behavior could get her hurt too. Jsuzaru looked back to Shadow, sniffing the air slightly.+.

Shadow

She agreed with the hewolf.
::Indeed.::
The deer was moving closer. It was young, or a doe, and it smelled sickly.
She ignored it as best she could.
::But when it comes to war they do have the advantage. ::
Back in her homeland she was wanted for mauling a human, and killing several sheep. Eventually her pack died off and that is what brought her here. Humans were scarce, and she liked that.

.+.Jsuzaru.+.

.+.Jsuzaru nodded in reluctant agreement; he knew she was right, as much as he was loath to admit that the wolves had a disadvantege to the human scumbags. But as he was about to voice his opinion, he smelled the scent of a deer moving closer, and his ears pricked up in interest. There was a particular tang to its scent, though, that scent a shiver up his spine. He held still, sniffing again to make sure.+.
Why does that deer smell so unpleasant? .+.He asked, looking to Shadow worriedly. Under other circumstances, he might have simply attacked the deer, but he didn't like that scent.+.

Shadow

She stood, her nose raised in the air. It was not wounded, no. No scent of blood was traced.
::A sickness has come over the moose, and several others of our prey.::
She scented the air. That was not a deer, or maybe it was. The scent struck her curiosity, as she trotted off. her orbs caught the sight of the deer. It staggered, eventually stumbling as it's life came to an end.

.+.Jsuzaru.+.

.+.Jsuzaru blinked, wondering exactly what she was talking about, and just watched has she sniffed, looked thoughtful for a moment, and he followed her as she padded off. His molten lamps looked the way her's did, and he caught sight of the unlucky doe, bristling in alarm. A sickness, Shadow had said? He watched as the deer died, and a chill ran down his spine. He cautiously backed away from the corpse, disgusted and slightly horrified by the sight.+.
Ugh....

Shadow

:: A farmer must have missed a sheep with the sickness.::

She peered down. Her ruff flowing with the wind.

:: So are you coming to Toklat canyon?::

.+.Jsuzaru.+.

.+.Jsuzaru was suprised at her offer, and glanced gratefully over at the friendly she-wolf.+. I'll certainly come, and I'll try to get Jsissyui to come too. She's a little, um, opinionated sometimes... but I think she'll like you too. Anyway, thank you very much, I'm really lucky you came along.
.+.He cast a final glance at the deer and then turned to Shadow gratefully, glad of the breeze that ruffled his dark gray pelt, for it somewhat relieved him of the heat. Aside from the deer, the area felt nice; it was a pleasant spring, and the scents of fresh grass and new life were heavy in the air.+.

.+.Jsuzaru.+.

.+.Jsuzaru nodded to the wolfess and crept after Jsissyui; she was still silently stalking the wolverine. He walked quietly up beside her and muttered in her ear.+. The wolf I met, Shadow, offered us a home in the Toklat Canyon. I'm going to go check it out. You keep hunting if you want.
.+.Jsuzaru raced away, Jsissyui remained behind and continued hunting her prey.+.

*Wolverine*

After following the trail a ways, the dark body of the weasle appears at the bottom of a steep esker ridge. The scent of musk is very strong now, but there is something else mingled with it. The scent of a rodent that most wolves love to eat; ground squirrel. The wolverine hadn't noticed the wolfess yet and was busy using his powerful claws to dig at the loamy soil, trying to unearth a family of the squirrels.

.+.Jsissyui.+.

.+.Jsissyui stalked slowly closer, keeping her footsteps as light and silent as she could and opening her jaws in anticipation of the bite. If she could kill the wolverine, perhaps she could get the squirrels as well and drag a few back to her brother and his new friend. Even if she couldn't, a wolverine was enough meat for two wolves- maybe three, if Jsuzaru was feeling generous. Concentrating hard on her prey, she kept her muscles tensed and placed paw after paw.+.
.+.When she was close enough, she crouched low to the ground and held still for a moment, calculating her leap, and then sprang forward, aiming for the ugly creature's left hind leg in the hopes of wounding, or even breaking, the limb.+.

*Wolverine*

The wolverine was too concentrated on digging up the frightened squirrels to notice the danger lurking behind. But he was very confident in his strength, and so was less alert than he should be. The large weasle gave a shrill cry when the fangs hit his leg, coming down hard enough to break two of the bones there.

He was no push over though; his kind was known to run bears away from their kills and take down creatures as big as deers. Not wasting time, his power jaws swung around to try and land a bite to her muzzle or side of her head.

.+.Jsissyui.+.

.+.Jsissyui shook her head hard from side to side, jaws clamped tightly around the big weasel's leg. His fangs scored a long scrape on the side of her muzzle and she let go, giving one more shake and backing away slightly with a loud, ominous snarl. Her hackles rose and her blue eyes narrowed angrily at the creature; she lunged abruptly to the side and then plunged to the other, snapping at the back of his neck.+.

*Wolverine*

The wolverine tried to turn and face his attacker, but his hind limb was broken and he just wasn't fast enough. Jsissyui's fangs closed about his nape and the wolverine gave a thunderous snarl, thrashing about to try and free himself before it might be too late. He lashed out with his claws, but if the wolfess lifted her head up enough, his claws wouldn't be able to reach her from his position...

.+.Jsissyui.+.

A stubborn creature....+.Jsissyui let out a low growl, arching her neck and lifting her head away from the reach of his talons; she bit down hard, placing one paw on his back to try and pin him to the ground. Ignoring any attacks that came from him, the wolfess chomped at the nape of his neck, trying to find the bone beneath his flesh.+.

*Wolverine*

The wolverine thrashed and struggled, sending up the loamy soil in showers with his powerful, well-equipped paws. But these struggles were all ended shortly when Jsissyui's fangs found their mark. A moment later, against his defiant efforts to get free, the wolverine's neck was broken.

.+.Jsissyui.+.

.+.Jsissyui felt the creature go limp beneath her jaws and immediately released it, tearing a chunk of flesh from its side with a triumphant growl and swallowing. She nosed the dead creature, sniffed it a few times, and then settled in to have a replenishing meal. No matter how many times she hunted, the glory of the kill was never lessened... letting the wolverine's cooling blood wash over her paws, she tore at its carcass until her hunger was satiated. There wasn't much left by the time she was through with it, and the tattered remains would probably not be appealing to her brother or his new friend, so she gobbled up the remaining scraps and decided to let him hunt for himself.+.
.+.Climbing to her paws, Jsissyui sniffed the air, catching her brother's stale scent and tracing it to a while away. Taking one triumphant glance back at the dead animal, she turned and bounded after Jsuzaru.+.