Crucifix

Crucifix was 17 years old, he knw his time would come soon but not yet. He had greyed out considerably alot. His walk was slow but he still showed his strength. He sat near the edge and just looked out over the canyon.

Nadeem Tarak & Abhay

The wind was not blowing in the favor of Abhay today, which was good news for his rider. Unable to smell the old wolf further ahead on the trail, the equally seasoned old gelding had no reason to panic, and thus he continued to trot along at an easy pace while Nadeem took his time surveying the landscape around them.

Fortune also had it that Nadeem spotted Crucifix before his steed did. "Easy up, Abhay. Rukana." A gentle pat of the hand was given to Abhay's neck, along with slight pressure on the reins, bringing the gelding to a stop a good eighty yards from where Crucifix was perched at the edge of the Canyon. "Good boy, Abhay. Good boy." Another pat, followed by a calm voice, kept the flighty horse still, and gave the man time to drop one shoulder down and swing his pack around in front of him, where he retrieved a pair of binoculars.

"...Topee, is that you?" A smile spread across his face as he adjusted the gear on the binoculars and focused in on the ex-alpha. Sure enough, Nadeem could make out the tell-tale pattern of black spread across Crucifix's body, even if his coat color in general had faded with age. "Still alive, after all this time."

Crucifix

Crucifix was confident in his son Kalaber to lead the pack and keep it safe as well as continue their lines. His ears flick but nothing more at first when Nadeem arrives in a distance but he put it up to the small amount of wind. He soon stood up and began wondering in his direction, for the moment unaware that he was there. But then the wind really came and he paused his ears twitching. Was that horse? Human? He wasn't entirely sure. It did make him wary because of the boom sticks.

Nadeem Tarak & Abhay

Surprise lit Nadeem's dark eyes when Crucifix pulled himself up and started down the path in his direction. It was clear to the biologist that Cruc hadn't caught wind of himself or Abhay yet, and given the wolf's age, Nadeem wasn't entirely surprised. He kept his hands tight on the reigns, and with a soft touch of his foot, had the gelding take a few steps back.

"Hey there, Topee." In a projected but gentle voice, Nadeem made the decision to call out, letting Crucifix know he was there, rather than wait and potentially have the large wolf get startled by blundering into them. "How's my caped boy doing?" Abhay stepped back a little more, while Nadeem kept a sharp eye on the canine, looking for any sign of aggression; for all the years he'd been following Crucifix, he'd never known him to attack a human. But then, he'd also never seen Crucifix react to a human's presence.

Crucifix

Crucifix knew his time was growing nearer. He fathomed he was probably one of the oldest surviving wolves . His ears flick now at a humans speach. Sometimes he wished he could understand humans. But for some reason human langauge wasn't learnable per say. A few words he kinda picked up over the years but not much. He came to a stop now as he spotted the man and horse. Part of him wanted to attack, the other flee, and then what he does now just stares unsure what to do.

Nadeem Tarak & Abhay

He could feel his heart thunder in his chest, adrenaline coursing through his veins. This had been one of favorite subjects to study, and to be up close and personal with 'Topee' was the last thing he expected. Still keeping a tight hold on Abhay's reigns, Nadeem slowly guided his nervous steed backwards, directing the gelding off the trail to give Crucifix space to pass by if he wanted. Once he was a few yards off the path, Nadeem knelt down and slowly reached for the camera that dangled from a thick strap around his neck. With gentle movements, he raised the boxy device up to his face and began to snap a few photos.

Abhay's curved ears danced between laying flat against his head to darting upright and directed at the old wolf. "Hey, I don't know what you're thinking, but... don't you come any closer." He snorted, with fear evident in his heavy breath. "Nadeem, come on! We need to get out of here..."

Crucifix

Crucifix watched them both after a few moments he was about to walk by when he caught the horses words.

**is that a challenge **

He said with a slight snarl on his muzzle

Nadeem Tarak & Abhay

Through the lens of his camera, Nadeem watched the whitened fur of Crucifix's muzzle wrinkle back slightly. Just enough to catch a glimpse of the old, warn, but still plenty dangerous teeth held within those powerful jaws. The ex-alpha was giving them a warning, though Nadeem couldn't know that it had been his own gelding that had prompted the reaction.

"It's alright, Topee, I'm not here to hurt you." The man said softly as excitement began to spill over into fear. With movements that remained slow, he eased the camera back down and made an awkward attempt to shuffle back a few more paces while remained in a crouched position.

Abhay blundered back a few paces under Nadeem's urging, with branches snapping against his rump and haunches as he backed into them. The flighty steed pawed anxiously at the ground, "Yes... no! I mean, I'll stomp you if you get close!" And yet, despite his words, the horse looked ready to flee rather than stand around and put up a fight against the wolf.

Crucifix

He snorted his ear twitched at the human but he wasn't sure what the man said. Not before i get your humanHe growled. He licked his lips. I may be old horse but I can still do as i please. do not challenge a predatorHe said

Nadeem Tarak & Abhay

Nadeem could hear his pulse thumping through his ears. His fear had become palpable as he reached blindly behind him with one hand, try to guide himself backwards without fully standing or daring to turn his back on Crucifix. "Easy Topee, you're a good boy."

Abhay flicked an aud to the audible tremble that shook his master's words. It did little to bolster his own flagging confidence. "No wolf has ever been able to get Nadeem! Not even the cats!" He bragged foolishly, with little actual gusto in his own short, snorted words. He made to step back along with Nadeem, but the trunk of a small maple tree stopped him in his path. "I'm warning you!! One step closer, and he'll use a boomstick on you!"

Crucifix

He snared as he stalked them now one ear forward one back. Im sure he willHe said and then mocked lunged for nadeem.

Nadeem Tarak & Abhay

Crucifix's body posture spoke volumes to the biologist, and he knew a line had been crossed. He just didn't realize it was his own steed that had done so, but that hardly mattered now as the old ex-alpha began to stalk forward with aggressive intent. Nadeem had held off for as long as he could, but now he groped instinctively for the canister of bear spray clipped to the side of his belt, his movements slow and distinctly shaken.

Abhay was handling his fear with a little less control than his master, and didn't realize Crucifix's bluff for what it was. With a tree at his back, the gelding felt he had no other recourse but to plow forward, and so he rushed ahead in an explosion of panicked movement. Though it looked like he was charging at the wolf - and he might even run the old lupine down on accident if Crucifix weren't swift enough to dodge aside - the Mawari's only intention was to put space between him and the predator. Whether he struck Crucifix or not, Abhay kept running, his legs pumping and his hooves flying as he rush through the trees.

Crucifix

He wasn't entirely expecting the horse to bolt forward after his great speach. He did dodge mostly. But abhay stepped on the side of his left front. He snarled out as his toes that got stepped on made a crunching noise and he now favored that leg as he snapped at the passing horse but even if he wanted to chase he couldn't.

Nadeem Tarak & Abhay

The gelding squealed when teeth and hot breath brushed dangerously close to one of his legs, resulting in a shallow furrow across his hock as he flew by. In his great haste to get away from the predator, all thoughts of Nadeem had vacated his terrified mind, as did the opportunity to spin around and drive a few solid kicks at the now wounded wolf. All Abhay could think of was to run, and he did just that, crashing through the underbrush and around the trees until the beat of his hooves became a distant sound, and the surrounding foliage had swallowed him up from sight.

That left Nadeem alone on the Canyon trail, too afraid now to shout after Abhay in fear of inciting the wolf's aggression further. Unlike his steed though, the biologist had heard the faint crunch of bones giving way beneath eight-hundred pounds of flailing horse, and knew Crucifix had been seriously wounded. Whether this would make him more aggressive or not was to be seen.

With the bear spray in hand, Nadeem remained crouched in the underbrush, eyes fixed on the old wolf. "Easy up, Topee. You don't want Abhay, you're a good old boy. You've got a family out there to go back to."

Crucifix

Crucifix could not even place his foot down without pain. Bloody horse if he saw it again. But deep in his mind he didn't even know if he could make it home to his pack with this injury and being where he was. The canyon was no place for an injured wolf. HIs ears were back even as he heard the humans mumbled sounds. His teeth bared but he was trying to over come the pain to even move at the moment.

Nadeem Tarak

In his heightened state, it took Nadeem a few moments to realize that Crucifix was not on the verge of rushing him, and a few moments more to lower the hand that held the bear spray. He didn't put it away, having survived long enough in the Valley to respect the brutal power of its more formidable predators, but he did allow his focus to shift a little.

'That paw might be broken.' Despite the very real danger he was in, and an acute worry over his runaway steed, the man couldn't help but feel regret for Crucifix's predicament. The wolf was old, far from home, and now had a potential injury that could lead to a slow and agonizing death of starvation. It put the biologist and his overly-soft heart in a predicament as he crouched there against the tree, wondering what his next move should be. Should he just count himself lucky and take this opportunity to distance himself from the wolf while he was crippled? Or should he intervene, knowing that Cruc would almost certainly die if he didn't?

The former option wasn't realistic for someone like Nadeem. Not when he'd spent so many years following this old soul and rooting for him through his ups and downs. With his mind made up, Nadeem reached with slow movements for his backpack again, this time to pull out a cellphone and send a text for help. In a voice that remained softly quiet, he spoke out as his fingers worked over the digital screen, "It's okay Topee, we'll get you some help."

Crucifix

Crucifix wasn't sure what he should do, he could try to take the two legger out to atleast have a meal for a few days and hope his son and pack come looking in time to find him. Or he could just accept his fate, he was old and he knew he had little time left anyways. But he was still healthy other then a broken foot. His ear flicked at the human but was looking in the direction of home now. Wishing his howl could reach that far .

Nadeem & Others

His dark eyes darted frequently between Crucifix and the cellphone, keeping an eye on the wolf while he worked to coordinate a rescue with some of his coworkers. In the few minutes that it took to accomplish this, Crucifix hadn't made a move to attack, but Nadeem did notice the direct the old wolf was gazing off into. And knowing the Valley like the back of his hand, the biologist was acutely aware that the ex-alpha was looking towards his distant home. It was times like these that Nadeem wondered what might be going through the lupine's mind.

"We'll do our best to get you back there, Topee." He spoke again, knowing the wolf couldn't understand him, but hoping the gentle tones would calm the beast, or at least convey a lack of aggression on Nadeem's part. It was all he could do in the moment. It would take Kate and the others at least forty-five minutes to reach this secluded area, but if Topee hung around long enough, rescue would eventually arrive.

Crucifix

Crucifix let out a howl wishing for his son to be out looking but knowing it was unlikely. His tail was up and his ears back.

Nadeem & Others

Slowly, and with great care, Nadeem edged around the tree at his back and quietly put a few more yards of distance between himself and Crucifix while the elder wolf howled in vain for his son's help. Nadeem himself listened for a callback from the ex-alpha's pack, and when he didn't hear one, breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't sure of their temperament, but by himself and without the safety of a vehicle to hide in, the biologist didn't want to find out if they were human aggressive or not.

Once he was at a relatively safe distance, where he could see Crucifix but not be too close, Nadeem quietly snapped a few more photos of the old wolf while he waited for help to arrive.

Over forty minutes later, the fellow had kept tabs with Kate and Greg as they worked their way up the trail on horseback towards his location. Nadeem backed further off, keeping Crucifix just in sight through the foliage until he rendezvoused with his friends. After a brief discussion and a preparation of equipment, it was Greg who used a small blow gun to try and dart Crucifix with a sedative...

Crucifix

When the two ledger was out of site crucifix decided he'd lay down near a tree and rest for a bit.

It wasn't long though when he yelped and hoppled up ans a few steps before he fell back down unconscious

Nadeem & Others

One of the last things Crucifix might register before darkness engulfed him was the crunch of several feet moving in his direction, and the soft murmur of human voices...