Snow was falling in light flakes that clung to Brandr's fur as he returned to the densite.  He'd been out scouting and a herd of bison were grazing on the autumn grasses of the Serpent Plains.  This was a perfect opportunity to get the pack good and fed before the weather took a nastier turn and winter storms started moving in.  The air was also cool enough that hopefully, if there were any leftovers, they might last a few meals. Brandr shook out his coat and howled for Abaven, hoping this pack hunt would turn out much better than his first.  He could understand the hesitancy, the constant shaking up of leadership was making life difficult on everyone and he news of Storm and Tyrannis leaving hadn't helped.  His thoughts drifted to Corentine, how was she holding up?  If anything, they all needed a good distraction right now and he hoped this hunt could offer that. "Talk" "You" Think

Ok guys, for a bison hunt we need 4 participants and 3 rounds! Due date for this will be the end of the day Oct. 29

The remainder of her family had left Abaven a few days ago and the young girl had been keeping herself busy. She had been torn how to truly feel about the situation. Several emotions swirled within her making it hard for her to decide how to feel. In some ways she was happy, knowing how unhappy her mother had been since Bass had left, but in other ways she was jealous. Upset that she decided to go with Tyranis instead of staying with her own remaining daughter. Instead of dwelling on it she did her best to keep herself busy deciding to make a new den, which took lots of her time. She was still digging it out, perfecting the size she wanted, the room she wanted, and it took her a while to find the right spot also. Once done she would have to find bedding, which are a few pelts that were currently in her spot in Storm's old den. Her ears perked at Brandr's call to the pack a smile forming on her lips. This would be the perfect thing to distract her and to get out some pent up frustration, plus it was with the one person she felt she had been neglecting lately. She needed to spend some time with him again.Wagging her tail she didn't hesitate to drop what she was doing and run to join him in the plains. She slowed down to w quick and quiet trot as she got close to him, knowing there had to been prey nearby. When she saw him she moved over and in a friendly and quiet manner brushed against him with a smile on her lips. Looking off in the distance she could see the hulking forms of the bison and her eyes shined with the thought of the challenge. She sat down beside him to wait for others to join. "Talk" | 'Think'

Abaven had significantly quieter as of late. Many of their old members had left, some when Vali had initially taken the pack and then even more when it had been passed to Sparrow. All Lark could think was good riddance -- if they no longer wanted to be here, well, screw them. His loyalty for Abaven was unwavering, and he only wanted his sister to rule over wolves who were devoted to her and their packmates just as he was. Despite those feelings, it didn't stop him from wishing things were how they had once been. He truthfully wasn't even completely sure who was left, but when he heard Brandr's call, he was relieved - he a relatively newer member, at least in comparison to some, and he had chosen to stay. Pride welled in his chest as he responded to the call as quickly as his paws would allow, picking up his pace to travel in his direction. He'd called for a hunt, and Lark would participate. Only Brandr and Corentine were there, and he nodded somberly to the both of them, finding a spot to recline to his haunches and wait for any others to (hopefully) arrive.

Kassander had not been in Abaven long enough to have gained a real impression of the pack, nor to have come to know any of the members except by the vague memory of the faces at the meeting he had joined in. Still, he had gotten the impression that they were much fewer in number than when Bass had been alpha, and those few seemed much less... rambunctious and loud than he'd grown used to among Chaos' crew. It was with almost a sense of relief that he heard a stranger's call for the pack's hunters, a strange thing for Kass in general to feel relieved at the idea of needing to interact on a personal level with others but he had been starting to wonder if he had joined a dying pack after all so the voice calling was a very welcome sound.

Remy remained in their den in the thicket, puttering around with jars and herbs, while Rommel ghosted beside Kass as the wolf crept shyly up to the small group gathering in the plains. there hadn't been any need yet for his skill as a healer, and he was still settling in and gathering supplies from his old cave in the Maw so he hadn't yet begun crafting anything, so being able to put at least one of his skills to use added to the relief he felt. Anxious he might be, yes, and shy, but Kass hated to feel useless, hated to let his abilities sit fallow as he had for way too long. They were like muscles that had not been stretched for far too long, and he would finally be able to flex them once more and work himself back into shape.

Still, he didn't know any of the wolves gathered, and he licked his lips nervously as he and his fox companion took their places quietly among the group.

ooc:  Thanks guys!  Next round due end of the day on November 13th, no posting order.

Brandr was delighted that Corentine was the first to show.  She'd become a dear friend and a trusted hunting partner and it wouldn't be quite the same without her.  She moved next to him quietly, her fur brushing against his in greeting and he leaned over to gently nudge her shoulder in a return greeting.  He wasn't to worried about making noise.  The bison were grazing in the field and would not easily bolt at the presence of wolves… which was exactly what would make this hunt such a challenge.  Dividing the herd would be dangerous work but they could not succeed otherwise. Lark was the next to show and Brandr dipped his head in a respectful greeting.  He knew Lark was one of Bass' children, one of a royal line.  Though they had not interacted much he respected the older man.  The last to arrive was Kassander, the old wise man, or that was at least what he made Brandr think of. Brandr addressed the group, keeping his voice low out of habit. "Thank you all for coming, for those that don't know me I'm Brandr Scylding, Cacciatore of Abaven, its lead hunter.  We have a great opportunity today.  There is a herd of bison grazing in the plains."  He gestured with his head to where the dark shapes of the great beasts could be seen moving in the distance.  "We'll want to approach quickly and quietly so they do not stampede before we are ready, though when they see us they will likely group together.  Our challenge will be to separate them and get them running while avoiding horns and hooves.  Whichever bison falls the farthest behind will be our target.  I'm afraid this will be a bit off the cuff."  So much relied on how the bison reacted that it was hard to plan in advance.  Ambushing on the plains would be useless.  "I will take the task of cutting our straggler off from the rest of the herd.  The rest of you attack where you can, whatever you can get to cause the most damage but stay safe."  There wasn't much that could be done about a 'kill shot' when it came to bison.  If one of them could safely get their mouth around the bison's muzzle perhaps they could suffocate it but Brandr had never tried such a tactic and he was skeptical about its practicality.  In his family they relied on massive traumatic injury, going for the gut and the thicker veins in the legs.  "Let's go." Sinking low Brandr slunk off into the dying grasses of the plains as heavier flakes of snow began to fall.  He got as close as he could but a shift in the wind betrayed the presence of the wolves.  The bison began to bellow and stomp, clumping together.  The younger bison were grouped in the middle, the older ones surrounding the young, their horns facing out in a circle as the stamped.   Brandr's hackles rose and he snarled darting forward and snapping at the bison as one lowered it's head and lunged at him before shuffling back into rank. "Talk" "You" Think

Her tail wagged and her smile grew brighter as he nudged her shoulder. She was so thankful to have such a close friend in him and a great hunting partner. Looking ahead her eyes danced from figure to figure. They were big and it was making her excited. She had never hunted more of the bigger prey before, the biggest she had gone was a deer, but these were alot bigger. Gears were turning in her mind and as she waited for the others. Trying her best to look for any injured or weaker bison from the distance she was at. No doubt this would be a vary difficult hunt, but she was prepared for it. Ears twitched back as she heard another arrive, and then the last to arrive. The whole time her eyes were on the herd taking in what information she could. Then her ears moved again towards Brandr as he addressed and spoke to the group about this hunt. Then the order to go was given and she moved fast and quietly. It was an attempt to keep the herd from finding out of their presence. Though something had already alerted them, the wind had shifted and brought their scent to the creatures. Her eyes watched as they huddled around their young to protect them. Brandr began to taunt them making her stomach drop. No offense to Brandr, but he had a greater risk of getting hurt because he was bigger and heavier. He may be okay for now, but his size would catch up with him. In fact she was the lightest and smaller compared to the boys in this hunt and would work better at being the taunter. She would naturally be quicker in her movements. Moving up beside Brandr, she nudged him lightly, while keeping focused on the bison. "Go! I will taunt them and try and confuse them," she said. She then darted forward with a snarl snapping her jaws towards one of the bison, then jumping back out of the way as it charged forward. She continued to do this, going left and right, bison to bison. Trying to create confusion amongst them and to break their lines. She needed to create an opening for the boys to get in there. She looked for the Bison that seemed to be head of the herd and made a brave and risky move. Darting forward, she snapped her jaws grabbing the bison's nose. It let out a angry bawl before Corentine jumped back away from it. Her move made the herd lead angry enough to charge and to keep charging despite her getting out of the way. This broke the circle, confused the rest of the herd into fallowing the herd leader. Hopefully this would be the prime opportunity for the boys to get in and find their target. Because now Corentine would need to run to keep herself from getting hurt by the pissed off bison in front of her. Whirling around she shot off with the lead bison and the herd fallowing behind. This would be the time to cut out the bison they wanted. She needed to keep them distracted long enough for the boys to do so. "Talk" & 'Think'

Kassander listened carefully to the youth as he gave them a vague plan to follow. Vague by necessity, he knew from his own experience. You never could really KNOW how a herd would react, so a detailed plan was really only going to get in the way. Once you took that first step towards the herd, you set so many variables in motion that any plan was moot. Wolves would only get confused trying to continue to follow a plan that had already been outdated from the start.

He and Rommel separated off from the group a little to keep from getting in anyone else's way, though once the wind shifted to bring their scent to the bison and they began to bunch up Rommel then separated further so he and Kassander had room as they circled wide of the herd. Circled up as they were with as few wolves hunting them as Abaven had... They'd be a tough nut to crack, unless someone did something... very stupid.

The little yearling female induced a charge out of an overeager group on the outside of the group, and Kassander took that as his cue to fulfill that "very stupid" requirement. The males had already realized their mistake and were retreating to fill the gap they'd left. If they were allowed to do so, the hunters might never get the herd moving. Thus - something stupid.

The sturdy auburn male took a deep breath, pivoted, and raced back to plunge directly into the small gap they'd left. Rommel was at his heels, but the fox broke off to the right, behind the outermost rank, while Kassander plunged straight towards the center. A series of high, staccato barks issued from the fox, then that eerie screaming fox-howl that put even Kassander's hackles up in alarm despite all the time he had spent hunting with his friend. The fox was nipping at ankles and hocks with his needle-sharp little teeth, howling and skipping about to dodge stamping hooves and the threatening horns of the second rank. A particularly large fox, he was the size of a small wolf but much slimmer, and with a much lower hunting crouch that allowed him to squeeze under the bison much more easily.

Kass on the other hand was much taller, much bulkier, and had a wolf's naturally more-upright hunting style, so rather than sliding under and slinking, he bulled his way right in. He was no match for the strength or bulk of a buffalo of course but with the momentum he'd built up he was able to slam through the gaps between the second rank before they could close them up to compensate for the missing males, and then he was through - right into the center with the young buffalo. Right in the middle of all those tossing horns and stamping hooves.

With slashing teeth and snarls he drove the bawling young things away from him, the weight of their fearful jostling bulging the circle of bison out away from him, until like an overflowing dam it burst. Between the teasing yearling drawing off part of the ring, the attacking males, the yowling fox nipping at their heels, the herd's nerve broke.

The sudden surge of bison away from him carried Kassander dangerously along in their midst, threatening to crush him as the bison jostled against one another, until Rommel appeared to scream in the face of one of the bison closest. The elderly cow shied sideways away from the startling sound, opening a gap for Kassander to drop through to get behind the herd and keep them running.

He almost made it out unscathed, but a big, angry bull swung his head to the side as Kass dropped back, and in dodging he came barely into range of the bison on his other side, earning a glancing kick to his shoulder that sent him rolling. Had he still been in the middle of the herd, that would have ended it for him right then, but the last of the herd was passed him now and he had some space to roll without going under hooves, but he lay dazed for a moment.

Only one more arrived, a male named Kassander that he'd seen at the last meeting but knew nothing about. It mattered little though - if he was willing to contribute, Lark was happy. He turned back to Brandr, acknowledging his nod with a short one of his own, his ears perking once the younger man started to speak. Hopefully a hunt would bring them together as a pack, even if only the four of them had shown up - something done for camaraderie as much as for necessity in keeping the pack fed. He wasn't quite so sure about how much success they would have in taking down a bison, with four of them - but he supposed it was worth a shot. So long as one separated from the group, Lark was sure they could have a good go at it. He listened carefully to the plan. Brandr would task himself with the possibly dangerous task of cutting one of the bison from the group, and the rest of them would trail and wait for the opportune moment to strike. He nodded in understanding, noting that Corentine and Kassander both seemed to follow the plan. He trailed somewhere in the back of the group, closer to Kassander. Sadly things didn't go perfectly as planned, and the herd seemed to figure out their presence before they made a move. Brandr made the bold move to rush forward and snap at them, Corentine following suit and daring to go a bit closer and snap at one of the bull's faces. The action was bold and surprising enough to cause them to charge - but she was young and agile and could easily outrun them, for now. Kassander used the opportunity to push through the group, another bold move that could definitely lead to injury - or worse - but he was old enough and skilled enough to know his limits. The pressure from both him as well as his fox companion seemed to be the breaking point for the group, and the herd slowly broke, the bison finally moving to make a run for it - particularly encouraged by the group that had started after Corentine and also simply panicked at what had befallen them here. Lark lingered away from the others, noting Kassander had fallen, but he crouched still and teetered closer to the herd as he waited. As the bison started to stream out, he waited for a moment until most had gone, eyeing a particularly anxious looking one near the back of the group. He took the opportunity to barrel forward, with as much speed as he could muster - pushing forward to nip at the right side of the bison's feet and hoping to send it in a parallel direction away from the rest of the group.

ooc: Last round, due by the end of the day December 6. I'll post and have Brandr conclude the hunt and call the rest of the pack to eat.

The bison Brandr was facing stomped its hooves but he didn't back off. Fangs snapped, spit flew and he could see that the vicious display was slowly starting to wear away their resolve. He could smell the fear starting to leak from their pelts. Everyone was hard at work and it felt good to be working as a unit. Corentine pulled up beside him tell him to go. He shot her a questioning glance wondering what she was referring to. There would be no going anywhere until they got the bison running and it would take all of them to do so. One tiny wolf was not enough to strike fear into the hearts of a dug in herd. However, if she wanted to work on this side that was fine with him. He nodded then darted several feet away to start harassing the bison there, each time growing bolder in his advances. His fangs ripped into ones leg sending it shaking back. Had he nicked a tendon? It was hard to tell and he'd scrambled out of the way so quickly he couldn't check. That bison turned and started pushing at its fellows. Yes, c'mon…. The herd was growing more restless, swelling and shifting and Brandr could feel the tension longing to break. Kassander lit the match and the bison were stampeding at last. Brandr moved swiftly alongside them, keeping his eyes on Kassander and praying the male got out safely. For a heart-stopping moment he was afraid he'd gotten one of his own packmates killed when fate showed him a kind hand and the other was able to make it out. Pounding hooves seemed to echo in his chest as Brandr gave chase, he was built for this sort of thing. The bison would be hard pressed to beat him in a game of endurance and his patience was rewarded as they began to string out. The stronger ones pulled ahead while the weak and the young fell back until at last at the back of the line was a struggling, wheezing, yearling. Brandr let out a bark, signaling the target to the others. Putting on a burst of speed Brandr pulled ahead of the yearling and then pressed in closer to it. It panicked and started to turn to its right. He continued to snap at it until at last it was separated. Now they needed to bring it down. The yearling lowered it's head and charged at him but Brandr danced out of the way and instead sunk his fangs into the creatures left shoulder, letting his body weight pull on it. This was dangerous, to be so close to horns and hooves but he was far back enough he'd be difficult to reach and he hoped the others would join him soon and they could make short work of their quarry. "Talk" "You" Think

Hunts were always good at getting his mind off things. Abaven, once a thriving kingdom, was now.. much smaller, and much less impressive. The only one he blamed for it was his father, but it didn't stop him from feeling a bit down sometimes. At least now, he was free of those pesky thoughts, the adrenaline coursing through his veins essentially eliminating anything but the concerns of the moment. Which were mostly taking down the bison and making sure they all made it out of this hunt alive.. and relatively unharmed. He was grateful when their target moved as they'd anticipated it might, separating from the rest so they could focus it down. Brandr pressed in on the beast's left side, pushing up to grab at its shoulder, while Lark continued to nip at its hind legs the best he could. He wanted to keep pressure on it, but not so much that it sent the bull tumbling over onto Brandr - now that would be a sure death sentence and a damn awful way to end their hunt. Instead he followed his packmate's lead and leaned up to also latch on higher up on the bison's flank, hoping it would help bring the beast down.

(sorry, just wanted to get something here even if it's not great ._.)

With the constant egging on by the others the herd trampled forward thundering the ground. Her ears flattened against her head and she made herself push on running with the lead bison on her heels. The boys continued to poke and prod the herd making sure all of them moved and trying to cut out the right one to take down. She couldn't look back to see the progress, fearing a misstep in her stride. She then tapped into a surge of speed she had been holding back, lengthening her strides before making a sharp right, separating from the front of the herd. Tongue lulled from her mouth as she made a wide birth before coming back, not in front, but running along side the middle of the herd continuing to taunt and push them forward. Brandr's bark made her drop her speed allowing the herd to thunder by as she dropped back to fall in line with the target. Brandr had already had the yearly cut off from the herd and she spun on her paws to the right, pushing her body towards the target, her eyes. Brander latched into the Bison's left shoulder using his weight to try and bring the animal down. Then Lark Joined in grasping at the Bison's flank. Corentine got right in between the boys, pushing to be up on her hind legs, claws raking into the Bison's side before launching off of her back legs and snapping her jaws onto the top of the bison's back, digging her teeth into either side of it's spine, just behind the ribcage. She was getting a grip and attempting to put pressure in the creature to fall, not on it's side but straight down so it would be unable to fail it's legs and hooves and hit any of them, though she worked with her pack mates, if she felt their pulls in any other direction she worked with them. They almost had him, he was weakening under the pressure. "Talk" & 'Think'

Kassander sat up, shaking his head dazedly. That was a close call, but if he'd learned anything from his time bouncing from pack to pack, hunting with and observing each one, it was that close calls were only to be expected when hunting big game. Close calls were almost a game themselves with Crew, after all. He made a quick mental check of his physical state and decided that he'd live, so even before Rommel reached him the auburn male clambered to his paws with a wince. Yes, he would certainly be feeling that one. Walk it off, Xanilov.

Carefully he worked his way back up to a sprint, slowly enough to make sure the badly bruised muscle in his shoulder wasn't going to knot up and send him sprawling. Nothing was broken or sprained, so he should be fine. Might even make for a good test of some of his new concoctions later. Finally he made it back up to a full sprint, and cut in across to intercept the rest of the group. The other three had gained grips on the buffalo and were beginning to slow it down, which helped him catch up. Taking Lark's place at the beast's hindquarters - though off to the side rather than straight behind, so it would be a little harder to be kicked again - he set himself to clamp down on the bison's rear tendon. Rommel darted out in front of the young buffalo, shrieking that weird fox battlecry and snapping at its nose. Even at his height and weight, unusual for a fox, he would not be able to drag the bison down like a wolf would if he got hold of it's tender nose, but he made for an efficient distraction and the slicing of the sharp little teeth combined with the weight of the other three was throwing the bison back in confusion. In this moment of hesitation Kassander was able to obtain that bite, slicing through the tendon and crippling the leg so the yearling bawled and sagged down.

Now! Now would be the time for those in front to end it. This buffalo would make for more than a simple, single meal for a pack as small as Abaven. But he pushed aside thoughts of tanning buffalo hide, ignored the tantalizing ways he could use buffalo horns and bones, buried thoughts about ways to preserve this much meat if they could not finish it before it went bad... It was not quite over, and any distraction could spell death for himself, his companion, or the other three hunters. Instead he grimly bit down again, switching to the other leg, to try to gain a grip that would hold the bison down long enough for his packmates to finish it off.

Brandr was holding on for dear life as the bison struggled, fearing his jaws would dislocate with the task of hanging on. Thankfully, his packmates swarmed the bison in rapid sucession. With jaws snapping at its hind legs the bison came to a halt and instead took to kicking and thrashing. A particularly violent twist dislodged Brandr and sent him crashing to the ground. He shook his head, shaking the little white dots from his eyes before pouncing again with a snarl, jaws digging into the beasts shoulder again, just below where his first bite had landed. He hadn't seen Kassander's attack on the yearling's tendon, all he knew was suddenly the creatures weight came crashing straight down as it fell. Yes! He heard Rommel's shrieking and it made his fur stand on end but thankfully it didn't sound like the cry of injury. Brandr cared more about the lives of his packmates but all the same he would be grieved if poor Kassander lost a companion in this fray. As soon as the bison was solidly on the ground Brandr made his move. He leapt onto the creature's neck, jaws thrashing violently as he ripped through fur and hide and into the soft flesh of the throat just below the corners of the creatures jaws. All the time it flailed and stumbled, clipping Brandr's left shin with it's hooves though Brandr hardly reacted. He was too focused on what he was doing, the adrenaline running to hot for him to realize the nasty gash on his leg. The struggle continued until finally at last the bison breathed it's last breath. Brandr pulled his bloodied muzzle back with a grin and let out a victory woop that quickly turned into a celebratory howl. They'd done it! Abaven was going to be well stocked for the winter. "Excellent work everyone! That was a fantastic show of skill, I am suitably impressed. After this I say any prey within Abaven is well within our grasp when we work together as a team." He let out another howl to let Sparrow know what they'd accomplished. -end? let me know if you want them to continue and have some sort of feast. Thanks everyone for participating!- "Talk" "You" Think