And It's The Stars That Shine For You

Stjarna paced alongside the great river, scouting for signs deer or other prey that might have wandered to the river for a drink. Sources of water were crucial to check for hunters. All living things needed water so it made an easier area to check for potential prey. However, with a river this vast and long it would take time. Star was hunting with the young Fireside boy, Úlfr. This time they were hoping to find deer. With a yawn Star settled down in the sand to take a quick break. They'd been walking for quite awhile. Star set about removing burrs from fur, oblivious to the large crocodile emerging from the water. The massive reptile swam closer to the shore then with a mighty swipe of its tail it propelled itself up out of the water. Star yelled and dove to the side, just avoiding the massive jaws of the beast.

Úlfr bounced along after Stjarna in a wandering zigzag. Every so often something would catch his attention and he'd have to go and investigate it. Once that was done he'd race along the shore to catch up with his traveling companion. He was excited to hunt deer and hoped they'd have luck finding one. Then maybe Star could teach him more about skinning animals and tanning their hides. He wanted to be able to make skins for his moms. Autumn was here but so far it didn't feel much like autumn. The sky was sunny and the air warm. They stopped for a rest but before they could get comfortable a massive crocodile lunged out of the water at Stjarna who just managed to get out of the way. Úlfr yelled and scrambled out of the way. "What the heck is that!" It was horrendously ugly.

The young Klein boy was stepping out of the pack lands for the first time, not that he planned to go far, simply that he knew it was time... he needed to get out, find out who he was. He was drawn to the water as he walked, he'd grown up on the ocean's shore and so he felt comfortable wandering beside the winding delta. At least he was until he heard shouting up ahead, Mojito picked up his pace, spotting three figures on the horizon, two were lupine while the third... Mojito had seen a few crocodiles in his time in Ashen, though they were not common, choosing to avoid the pack of predators. He'd never seen one up this close before! He'd learned they were dangerous and knew enough to normally not get too close... and yet something spurred him on, running towards the reptile, lowering his head, tipping it forward so the horns upon his skull were pointed straight at it, and he ran, headlong into the reptile, feeling his head jar as he hit home. Then the panic hit, and Mojito realized what he'd done... and suddenly tried to scramble back, just barely escaping the quick swing of the crocodile's head, two small shallow holes in its thick neck where he'd just pierced its hide. "Speech"

Image by Ulfeid3

And It's The Stars That Shine For You

Stjarna's hackles rose, defenses swiftly fell into place as the wolf eyed the giant reptile that had just tried to snap them in half. Hearing Úlfr's question, Star spared the youth a glance. "I think it's a crocodile. Its huge though. Maybe it will leave-" Star's words were cut short as the crocodile lunged again. Star dodged to the side as the creature slid past. Turing sharply toward it, Stjarna bit down hard on the crocodile's right hind leg. Thrashing violently, they succeeded in tearing off a large chunk of flesh from the crocodile as it swirled around to try and bite the starlit wolf. Then a horned yearling came barreling in out of nowhere, ramming into the crocodile. Star cheered. "Nice shot!" Dancing away from the crocodile again the older wolf eyed the crocodile, barking wildly to keep its attention.

Úlfr filed away the name of the beast. A crocodile. Bleck! It sure was ugly but he imagined something could be made of its hide if they wanted to kill it though at this point he was happy just to drive the thing away so they could back to their hunt. Suddenly, Star dove in for the croc's hind leg. Úlfr took a risk and as it twisted its head he dove forward to bite at the reptile's side. Fangs pierced flesh but Úlfr quickly abandoned his bite and backed away to reassess this fight. The crocodile's hide was thick and it was much faster than it looked. Suddenly, another wolf dove in and rammed his horns into the beast. Now that was a bit more effective. Stjarna drew the crocs attention while Úlfr circled, looking for a good place to attack. The back looked more heavily armored than the underside, but how was he going to get under there?

Mojito glanced at the two wolves, panting for a moment as he spotted one of them barking to try and get the giant reptile's attention. Seeing an opportunity to launch another attack, this time he slunk towards the tail of the crocodile, keeping a careful eye on the head of the thing. Then with as much force as he could muster he launched himself at the base of the crocodile's tail, using his jaws this time, his fangs scraping against the hard hide as his paws scrambled at the ground, a growl pulling from his open jaw. He tried to keep his grip on, pulling at the tail, though it began to trash in his mouth, heavy and muscled and he had to fight back the urge to gag, the side of his head getting thrashed by the length of the tail. "Speech"

Image by Ulfeid3

And It's The Stars That Shine For You

Star's eyes scoured the creatures form but he didn't see a great way to attack. It didn't have the soft vulnerable throat like prey though enough damage to the throat would surely kill it. The problem was how to get at the throat when it was already so low to the ground. Killing the creature would be difficult but perhaps they could chase it off. Surely, getting hassled by three wolves would drive it back into the water eventually. The yearling dove for the crocodile's tail and got a hold of it. Immediately the crocodile began to thrash and flail. It arced back, jaws slamming shut but failing to seize the yearling. The moment the jaws shut, Star dove forward and clamped their own jaws over top of the crocodile. Star hadn't expected it to work as well as it did. They figured the crocodile would open its jaws with such force they'd lose their grip and this would only be a tactic to buy time. However, Star found the crocodile was unable to open its jaws!  

Úlfr watched the crocodile carefully, searching for a good target he could sink his fangs into. When the horned boy latched onto the crocodile's tail and Stjarna seized it's closed jaws Úlfr dove down low and bit deep into the crocodiles neck. Or, at least what he assumed was the neck. He'd bitten just behind the corner of the jaw and held on fast. The crocodile continued to twist and flail until suddenly it began to spin. The force of the spin ripped it right out of Úlfr's jaws but the force also resulted in a deep gash on the side of the crocodile's neck. It twisted toward the water as if it was going to try and make an escape. That suited him just fine. Úlfr didn't care much for the creatures and they were difficult and weird to fight, unlike the usual land predators he'd run into.

Mojito was suddenly and violently thrown by the Crocodile's roll, his mind filling suddenly with stories of the creature's infamous death roll, and the boy back-peddled quickly away, feeling the strain of the forced removal in his jaw. He groaned as he shook his head, trying to shake the pain out and snapping his gaze on the retreating reptile. He took a brief swipe at it as it retreated, smacking it's back with a paw and then skittering away, turning towards the water in case the thing was planning on coming back, his body heaving from the effort of breathing. "Speech"

Image by Ulfeid3