Stormrunners & Others

The trek from the Aspen Grove to the pack's favored hunting grounds had helped to clear Stormrunner's head. He wondered if his decision to strip Megatron of his beta rank would make things worse or not, but it was clear that using fangs and force against his elder sibling was not working, and neither were words. 'He may just fight whoever takes the-'

"Your nose isn't to the ground." Darling's soft voice snapped Storm out of his thoughts. He turned to his sister with a puzzled expression and she chuckled, "If you're trying find moose tracks, you're going to have better luck if your nose is to the ground, not idling in the air?"

A sheepish grin wrinkled Storm's gray maw, "Right, I just got a little lost in thought." And so saying, Storm dropped his muzzle to the ground and strove to push his focus on the task at hand.

Behind them, Waterlily had fanned off to the side, disappearing in a swath of cattails and reeds.

After seeing her brother was bask on task, Darling broke away as well, taking to slightly higher ground as she prowled through a stand of saplings.

Hawk & Iopa

Hawk was a few dozen yards behind Stormrunner, moving in a zig-zag across the boggy ground near the water's edge. His thoughts were still with the escalation back at home, and every once in a while he'd glance back over his shoulder as if expecting to see Megatron or Blackout heading their way.

Iopa had rendezvoused with the group as well, and traveled the higher ground ahead of Darling. Her auburn-gray sides looked particularly swollen today, but the bundle of pups she had on board didn't seem to slow the fae down. She dutifully searched for any scent or sign of prey that she could find.

Kurok

Kurok and torek followed but they weren't happy with their alpha. His words didn't stick Mega or blackout would be beta when they got back and they would eat after the alpha. Kurok and torek knew however they could not remind Storm of a true alpha place because he doesn't listen to them. So they just followed.

-Prey-

Iopa would come across the fresh tracks of yearling female moose. There were no clear signs of distress or illness from the tracks, but there also didn't appear to be a mother with her. She was alone.

Hawk's zig-zagging would scare up pair of mallard ducks, revealing a nest of eleven eggs...

Darling, with her nose to the ground, would also come across another potential meal. The scent of slightly rotten meat hung faintly on the breeze, indicating a potential carcass to scavenge...

Hawk & Iopa

Hawk's eyes lit up with happy surprise at the lucky find, and he wasted no time crunching into five of the eleven eggs, helping himself to a little pre-hunt snack. He left the rest where they were, deciding he could offer them to Darling should the hunt turn fruitless, so at least his eldest cousin had something to fill her belly.

Up on the higher bank, Iopa was busy analyzing the tracks she'd come across, trying to glean what she could from the scent left behind. A single moose, and a younger one at that. A healthy one may be hard to take down, but it would still be an easier kill than a mature adult. Iopa raised her cinnamon-gray dial and gave a yip to gather the attention of the pack, "Head's up." She pointed her muzzle in the direction the tracks were heading, "A young moose came through here recently, she should still be somewhere nearby."

Stormrunner, Darling, & Waterlily

Storm heard a distant, muffled crunch, but didn't realize the sound had come from his cousin stumbling across a mallard nest. He had spotted Turok and Kurok though, and was glad to have his two uncles on the scene to help with the hunt, since Darling probably wouldn't be able to offer a lot in the way of muscle if they came across something large. What he didn't see was Blackout or Megatron, and that cemented Storm's resolve to reprimand the pair, and have a discussion later with his elder brother.

Hearing a yip from his mate, Stormrunner's thoughts were once again jolted back to securing food for his family. "Hawk, take point." He commanded, urging the other wolf to join Iopa in finding and flushing out their prospective prey. "Kurok, Iopa, spread out. Darling, Waterlily, and Turok, keep to the bank - we don't want to flush her into the water."

Darling had been about to investigate the scent of spoiled meat when Iopa alerted the pack to her find. Fresh meat would be more welcome than days old flesh, any day. Giving up her find, Darling headed for the water's edge and push forward ahead of the pack, ready to be a buffer between the moose and a potential escape in the water. Waterlily readily joined ranks with her, following the older female's movements as best she could - this would be her first major hunt with the pack since her leg had healed.

Stormrunner meanwhile began to head down the trail with Iopa, placing himself somewhere between her and Kurok...

Kurok

Kurok moved to head in the direction of the smell. if they are here he'd bring some of the better portions back for blackout and megs they would need it.

Turok moved to the bank

*Moose*

As the pack began the first phase of the hunt, Hawk would be the first to come across the young cow bedding down a dense thicket roughly fifty yards from a deeper body of water. The breeze was faint this evening, and so far, in the pack's favor - she hadn't noticed the wolves approaching.

Hawk & Iopa

As soon as he set sights on the moose, the hunt was on. The wolf made little effort to keep silent as he charged for her, for his job wasn't to bring her down, but to keep her distracted. He splashed through mud and water as he neared her, looking as though he fully intended to leap and take a bite out of her, but that was not the case. If she turned and ran, he would follow suit, yipping and snarling. If she stood her ground, he'd steer clear of her striking range and begin to circle her.

Iopa waited a few moments while Hawk rushed in, and once the younger male had the cow's attention, she sprinted forth with a speed to belied her pregnant belly. She swung wide around the moose before charging in to attack her rump...

Stormrunner, Darling, & Waterlily

Darling continued her course along the edge of the back, moving steadily to keep up with the rest of the pack. She briefly fell out of sight with Hawk and the others when trees and dense foliage came between them, but as she emerged on the other side, her ears perked to the yaps and snarls of Hawk, and she new the cow had been found. Darling picked up her pace until she'd passed the trees and the cow came into view, followed by a whisp of a cinnamon-silver tail streaking through the grasses behind her - Iopa. And there was Hawk, starting his dangerous dance with the moose.

Darling didn't charge forward. She put herself back with one paw in the water of the marsh while her eyes remained on their prey. Only once the cow was properly secured would she rush in and help with the kill.

Waterlily again followed the actions of her elder packmate. Though she was eager to join in on the action, and a quiet whine played through her vocals, the younger fae skirted past Darling and took up a defensive position a few yards down the bank to further block the cow's access to safety.

Stormrunner had waited until his mate burst forth before he rushed from the undergrowth. Like her, he circled around to try and catch the moose's flank...

Kurok

Kurok may be older but he still had the strenght of his beta days. If maybe a little less muscle. He stalked toward the cow as the others began to lung and harry her. His intent was to g et her front shoulder if not her neck. Her legs would be dangerous but the sooner they brought her down and ended her the better. He begins to move toward her slowly gaining speed until he is in a full out runn. When he nears her he lunged for her muzzle from the side as she hopefully was too keen on the others to really pay much attention to her face at the time of his attack.

Turok followedd position himself a bit in front of darling and to her right.

*Moose*

The moose rose from her resting spot with panic, her eyes setting on the first wolf to dare challenge her. Instead of running as any smaller ungulate might, the young cow turned to face her attacker and charged him, hooves flying. Fortunately for Hawk, he kept just enough distance to out maneuver this first strike, and he was hit only by droplets of water and flecks of plants that had been torn by the violent strike of her weapons...

The distraction was a success, and combined with the cow's lack of experience, left her wide open for the rest of the pack. Kurok snagged the side of her throat, just past the base of her skull. It was a risky location, but if he managed to hang on and avoid any strikes, he could bring her down much more quickly...

Iopa and Storm also hit their targets, with Iopa's being particularly successful. The scent of blood was now in the air, spilled from three different wounds, and the cow began to panic. Seeing a wall of wolves blocking her exit into the water, she turned and began to run in the opposite direction, trying to shake the wolves from herself while lashing out where she could...

Hawk & Iopa

A shiver of both delight and fear ran down the wolf's spine. He danced away from the prey's hooves and doubled back just as quickly, yipping and snarling and gnashing his fangs at her, but always just out of reach. He kept up this ploy until Kurok successfully snagged his fangs into the side of the cow's neck. Only then did he dare cross that line and dive into the fray himself, going for the other side of the cow's face, where he could help Kurok pull her down. If they could bring her front end down, they could nullify those deadly hooves of hers.

Iopa dug her teeth in, trying her best to maintain her hold on the cow's rump as the creature began to move...

Stormrunner, Darling, & Waterlily

Stormrunner felt the same thrill as his cousin as the pack pulled together to tackle their prey. The taste of blood soon rewarded his tongue and he bit deeper, aiming to use his weight to slow the cow down and make it harder for her to thrash about and shake them off...

Once the moose pivoted away from them, Waterlily surged forward. Like Kurok before, she picked up speed and launched herself at the creature, going for the soft spot just past the shoulder...

Darling lingered just a little bit longer where she stood, just in case the cow tried turning back around.

Kurok

Kurok liked to end their preys suffering as fast possible no point for her to suffer after all. He bit harder and pulled down with all his might occasionally his front paws being lifted up off the ground.

Turok then left Darling to be the last at the water edge and ran in he attempted to snag a hind leg. A dangerous move but one that should slow her more.

*Moose*

With a burst of strength and desperation, the cow managed to pull her head free of Kurok's grasp and swivel sharply to the side, kicking violently at Waterlily. The strike narrowly missed the wolfess, but it did prevent her from reaching the cow's coveted shoulder. That, however, was the end of the moose's luck.

Turok's bold lunge for the cow's hind leg stalled her next effort to kick at Hawk and Kurok, and gave Hawk the time to latch onto her face. The rest of the pack had managed to keep their positions, and with the combined weight of four pulling down on her, she finally buckled and collapsed into the reeds. After that, the fight was not a long one, and the young moose quickly lost her fight against the pack.

Stormrunners & Others

Stormrunner stood panting next to the kill once the moose had gone quiet. He first took a survey of his pack, and was happy to see that no one appeared to be injured during their fight against the cow. They had worked together well, with everyone doing their job and pulling together as a team, and that had made for a quick, successful kill. "Nice work, family. Eat your fill and take time to cool down, then we'll bring as much back as we can for the others."

Storm started at the neck and shoulder, tearing chunks off for himself while his tail was held high and proud behind him. Darling moved in cautiously, glancing first at her brother, and then to the others to see if she would be permitted to eat with them, or be forced to wait. When she saw no aggression from Storm, the elder female minced closer and began to feast on one of the limbs.

Waterlily wasted little time moving in on the kill, taking up a position near the haunch. And as she filled her own belly, the young wolfess also made sure to save plenty to carry back for Blackout.

Hawk & Iopa

"Well done, everyone. That was quick and clean." Iopa voiced her praise to the pack and then joined her mate in the feast, though she went for the tender underbelly.

Hawk scooted in towards the cow's back, taking a spot that may not be ideal, but he wasn't worried. There was enough meat to go around, and they'd all leave with bulging bellies today, and still have more than enough to carry back for the elders and the injured.

Kurok

He had moved away as soon as his grip was lost. He moved to the stomach once allowed and ate his fill before pulling off some of the better bits for blackout or megatron. Turok would do the same.

Stormrunner, Darling, & Waterlily

Once his belly was full to bursting, Stormrunner tore the biggest chunk of meat he could manage and started back for the Aspen Grove.

Darling and Waterlily followed suit, each gorging themselves on well earned meat before selecting a manageable piece to cart back.

Hawk & Iopa

Hawk and Iopa finished their meals in record time, each scarfing down an impressive quantity of moose. Iopa tore away a section of shoulder meat to take back, while Hawk removed a hunk of leg meat with the bone still attached before following after the others.