Pheral

The weather was growing colder now, but her coarse fur was getting thicker to cope, as it did every winter since she was brought to the Valley. She rooted around in the bank soil, finding an array of tubers and other fat roots to eat. Along with them, what ever little grubs and foliage that came to her attention. Food would be harder to come by in the winter, so now was the time to be putting on the fat.

Ethan, Ben, Goodwin, & Pack

Thirteen hounds comprised of the group that began to close in on Pheral. Six of the hounds belonged to Ethan, while the other seven belonged to Ben. Each human rode atop a horse- Ethan on his strusted Harthrou, and Ben on Hydra. A third man, Goodwin, rode behind the group, helping to keep a lookout for danger. Each man had a riffle with him, while Ben carried a small tranquillizer as well.

The two target hounds from each pack, choosen and trianed specifically for their suberb tracking and sight abilities, were the first to locate the sow. "She's huge... not originally from around here." A grizzled, wolfy-colored king hound whispered, meticulously going over the odors he could pick up. Beside him, a light-copper king hound lifted his head. "We'd best be careful then. No telling what she's capable of. Ben might want to keep her, being that she's unique."

Dip, a blue merle king hound, came forward now. He was the leader of Ben's pack. He wasn't the largest, but at 225 pounds, he was a force to be reckoned with. "Get ready, Honder, Stave..." He rumbled to his sister and a member of Ethan's pack. The two Tagger hounds, choosen and trained for their speed. They were responsible for catching the quarry and making sure it did not escape.

Kong, with his sepia-black coat and silvery guard hairs, stood out in the group. He was by far the largest, and the leader of Ethan's group. "Daisy, Linn, keep watch. We are close now." He advised the two Sentry hounds. So choosen for their keen observation skills. It was their job to ensure the pack wasn't led into an ambush, and to warn their fellow members of sudden attacks.

And then there were the fillers- the rest of the pack members without a defined task. They were there to fight, kill, or harry their master's quarry. A job no less important than the others.

Harthrou tossed his head suddenly, his inward-curved ears flicking at a distant sound. "I heard something." Beside him, Hydra nodded once, "Ben knows it- get ready for a tussle. By the sounds of it, this pig is massive..."

Cabras suddenly stopped body tense and nose quivering. His tail shot up- an instant sign to the others that he had spotted their quarry. A moment later, Casper did the same thing as he spotted Pheral. The rest of the pack became silent and still, noses twitching and eyes flickering, trying to see and smell what the Targets had already discovered.

Ethan and Goodwin moved slowly forward, easing their horses into a quite, creeping trot to close ranks with Ben. Ben moved forward, guiding Hydra with exceptional skill to get a view of the hog. The man raised his hand slowly, his fingers spread out in a silent signal to the dogs. This meant 'hold the prey at bay'.

Then they charged, all thirteen hounds rushing forward. Stave and Honder pulled forward, sweeping around at either side. The pack meant to circle around Pheral and prevent her from escaping.

After the pack rushed in, the three men headed in as well, moving to circle around the dogs.

Pheral

Just as she was nosing up a tasty day lily tuber, the subtle pawfalls of canines captured her attention. The starchy food was forgotten as she raised her bulky, mud-splattered skull to see who was coming. About that time, her half-floppy ears picked up on more noise, quiet as it was. There were many, many canines it seemed... maybe a pack? Pheral grew nervous now, for a large pack could bring her down, whereas a wolf or two would be easy enough for her to dispatch on her own.

The sow tensed up, straining to hear the approaching pack. Then dread hit her as she heard the unmistakable plod of horse hooves hitting the mucky ground. That could only mean one thing- these were hunting dogs, not a wolf pack. And by the sounds of it, it was a large group. Fangs were one thing, but bullets were far harder to fight against.

Pheral lowered her head now, long jaws partly ajar in a feral snarl as she waited for their appearance. She knew she could not outrun them, and that they had already found her trail. She would have to bunker down and fight them. "You'd be wise to stay clear of me..." She warned, her voice low and rumbling as Stave and Honder circled around her sides. Fear mounted as the entire pack came out, followed by the men and their horses. Dark, beady eyes sized up the two-leggers and their guns. Then she surveyed the dogs- they were so huge! She was three times their size, but still, they were more intimidating than the average hunting dog by a long shot.

Pheral scraped the ground with her hoof and flashed her four tusks at the encircling party. And then, without warning, she shot towards Goodwin and his horse. Her head was still lowered as she aimed to bowl through any dogs that stood in her way. Unable to do much of jumping, the sow thrust her head upwards, trying to impale the horse's tender stomach and send it to the ground. And then, she was seek out the man. It was a long shot, but she was determined to do damage.

Ethan, Ben, Goodwin, & Pack

Jackman, a creamy colored king hound with all the proper black markings of his breed, was in the sow's direct path. For a brief moment, he wavered under her fierce charge. Then he sprung at her with a defiant snarl and snapped at her muzzle. However, he was no match for her weight and strength, and was plowed to the ground with two long gashes along his shoulder to show for it.

Before the other dogs could reach her, Pheral was able to sink her tusks into the soft underbelly of the horse. With a squealing cry, the stallion reared up before falling to his side. The tusks had dug deep into his abdomen, leaving fatal wounds to his organs. Goodwin was thrown off, and scrambled quickly to stand up.

Ethan swung his riffle about, aiming it for Pheral as she attacked. Before he could fire, however, Ben barked out an order, "Stop!" He waved his hand, then brought out the small dart gun and shot it at the pig's shoulder as he wheeled Hydra around to face her.

Ethan was taken aback for a moment, but lowered his riffle and switched gears. "Keep it at bay!"

The dogs, already going for the attack, picked up on the newest command. They weren't to kill Pheral, but to keep her away from Goodwin. And prevent her from escaping, as Ben had made clear from the beginning.

Kong, Dip, Honder, and Stave were the first ones in, snapping at Pheral's ears, muzzle, and flanks. The others swarmed in, snarling and growling savagely at the pig, snapping lightly at what ever part of her they could reach, without doing too much damage.

Pheral

She could not fend off so many attacking canines, but that was not her plan. Dogs or no dogs, she would be dead regardless while the humans had their guns. Barely registering the sting of the dart, Pheral barrelled forward over the fallen stallion and went straight for Goodwin. With a vicious growling cry, she twisted her head to the side a bit and drove her tusks straight for his chest. Bearing down with all 600+ pounds, she hoped to not only pierce through his skin and ribs, but to crush everything beneath.

As she drove for the downed man, Pheral could feel the pain of teeth ripping at her flesh, tearing her ears and flanks. Whether she managed to crush Goodwin or not, Pheral turned her tusks on the dogs nearest to her head, swinging left and right.

Capida

The largest rodent in the world the capbara watched the going ons but was unsure what to make of it.She stayed in the water and watched.She moved a bit back in the water seeking the comfort of it she was now mostly submerged except the top of her head.

Ben, Ethan, Goodwin, & Pack

Goodwin was just about up when Pheral plowed into him, sending him to the ground as if he were no more than a weak sapling. Strong as he was, a large sow with razor-sharp tusks and blind determination to kill was more than he could handle. With a gasp, he felt the sharp tips bore into his chest before the full force of her thrust crushed in his chest. In mere seconds, he was dead as a trickle of blood escaped his mouth.

Kong sprung away as Pheral lashed out, evading her deadly tusks. Then he was in again, snapping at her ears and face to try and drive her back. The others were relentless as well, ripping at the sow with powerful canines. Meservea, a black king hound, was caught along the side of her head. A tusk went straight to the bone, causing profuse bleeding. Yelping, the hound backed off. But then she sprung back into the fight, not wanting to dissapoint Ben.

Ethan urged Harthrou closer, shouting as Goodwin was killed. He grabbed for his riffle but was again stopped by Ben.

Guided by her master, Hydra cantered gingerly around Goodwin and the dying stallion. Fear showed in her eyes, but she remained as steady as if this was no more than a walk in the park. It wouldn't be long before Pheral would succum to the drugs.

A sharp bark from Linn drew the pack's attention to the water. The Sentry hound had spotted Capida in the water. Linn barked again before letting her voice trail into an excited howl.

Ben turned and spotted the capybara. He was surprised to say the least, but wasn't slow in acting. Drawing out the dart gun, he fired a shot at her. It was hard to aim since only the top of her head was visible, but he did his best to aim for the submereged shoulder.

Capida

Her cover was blown and she soon felt somethin peirce her shoulder.The capybara made a capybara squeal and got out of the water and started running towards them out of pure rage though all she had were sharp teeth with in her and her small hoof like feet.But soon the drug kicked in for the drug hit the right spot and the capybara went down but she tryed to stand back up but went down again.It wasn't enough to knock her out but her legs were too weak to allow her to stand.She squeeled and tossed her head violently.

Pheral

A rumbling squeal came from the sow as the dogs tore relentlessly at her. She swun furiously about, swinging her tusks and snapping her long jaws at any canine that was unfortunate enough to be too close to her deadly weapons. She was hardly aware of Capida's takedown, for the drugs were taking their tole. However, because of her larger size, she didn't fall so fastly to the sedatives as the cabybara did. By the time her legs failed to keep her standing, the sow was shivering as shock began to take a hold of her. Pain jolted over her side as she fell down, unable to stand up. She kicked and snapped, but her movements became more restricted and sluggish. And finally, she could move no more.

Ben, Ethan, & Pack

"Off!" Ben shouted as Pheral went down. Sliding off of Hydras, he walked to Goodwin and stood silently near the dead man for a moment before looking to Ethan, "Notify the others; I'll get Tom to help me, while you go to the mountains." The man reached down and removed something from Goodwin's pocket before moving towards Pheral. He tied a series of ropes around her muzzle and legs, and then did the same with Capida.

Meanwhile, Ethan made a few phone calls, then tended to the dogs. A few of them carried some fresh wounds from Pheral, but none were too serious.

After a while, three ATVs came tolling through the marsh, guided by a GPS that Ben and Ethan carried with them. Goodwin was loaded onto on ATV and taken away, while Pheral and Capida were loaded on the others. They were taken to the Nef Labs.

Getting back on their horses, the two men separated as they went on to continue their hunting.