Population Control
Manea ♡
08-28-2021, 12:17 AM
Alastor had been through these lands once a long time ago, almost another lifetime. He had wandered eastern Boreas with a pup he now believed was long gone or dead, vanished along with his former betrothed. She didn't deserve to have her name take residence in his head, and so he didn't give her the satisfaction of thinking it. Now, as he walked through the autumn woods with Manea at his side, Alastor couldn't help but feel like his life had finally found the direction it needed. He glanced over to his beautiful wife with an affectionate smile, grinning ear to ear with every sharp tooth on show. They had come out this way in an effort to scout out lands where their future pack would take up residence, and because Alastor had heard of a pack out this way closely tied to Ashen. Knowing Manea's obsession with the Ashen monarchy, he thought that any excuse to form alliances with Ashen's offshoots would bring a smile to Manea.
As the two massive wolves worked their way through the woods, Alastor caught a glimpse of tawny brown and white through the trunks of the trees. He slowed his gait, peering with abyssal eyes through the forest to a small herd of deer milling about, blissfully unaware of the wolves nearby. Alastor's grin shifted into something nefarious, and he got Manea's attention with a silent tap to her shapely rump. He caught her gaze, then gestured with a flick of his head to the herd of whitetails. The prey animals were basically vermin given how dense their population was, and he would never pass up the opportunity for more indiscriminate killing. He gave her a waggle of his eyebrows to ask wordlessly if she was interested in taking down a deer or two or ten. He knew how hard Manea had been working to get her body back into a form she was pleased with after giving birth (although he thought she looked even better now with her curvier hips and voluptuous ass) and a quick sprint through the woods to snuff some deer sounded like a delightful way to keep those muscles lean and taut.
08-28-2021, 04:58 PM
Manea had discovered the hot springs in her travelings through the areas that were near to the prairie where they had made their home - at least for now. It most certainly was plentiful in prey and the valley near by had all the herbs that Irilyth could want, but she still wasn't set on it for the eventual permanent home of their family and pack. It didn't strike her as a place where they could rule from, not in the way that Ashen held the mystic, pale forest or how some other packs she had passed by seemed to hold dominion over a territory of significance. Another that came to her mind was the pack border she had made note of around the base of a volcano and while she wasn't sure how hospitable a volcano could be, it certainly made a statement. She wasn't willing to settle so her exploration and searching continued while she laid the ground work for their future.
When Alastor suggested that they go scout out the pack she had noticed before she was all to eager to do it, especially when he mentioned how they were linked with Ashen. It did seem like there were multiple packs associated with the Empress and it made her feel like building a relationship with them had been a wise choice. Beginning that relationship would in turn link them to so many others and give them a support system of sorts as they got their paws on the ground. Besides, she was also just happy to go back to the hot springs where she could soak her sore muscles in the warm water again.
As they passed thorough the trees that surrounded the springs, she felt Alastor tap her hip and she glanced back at him with a curious look only to have her aqua gaze directed toward the deer that they could peek at through the trees. A knowing grin pulled across her lips and she glanced back toward her murderous husband with a small nod. She was never one to turn down a bit of hunting, especially not now when she was working so diligently to hone and sharpen her skills. She motioned him onward with a nod of her head, beginning to silently creep through the trees toward their newest target.
Manea | Temno | Ciemny
When Alastor suggested that they go scout out the pack she had noticed before she was all to eager to do it, especially when he mentioned how they were linked with Ashen. It did seem like there were multiple packs associated with the Empress and it made her feel like building a relationship with them had been a wise choice. Beginning that relationship would in turn link them to so many others and give them a support system of sorts as they got their paws on the ground. Besides, she was also just happy to go back to the hot springs where she could soak her sore muscles in the warm water again.
As they passed thorough the trees that surrounded the springs, she felt Alastor tap her hip and she glanced back at him with a curious look only to have her aqua gaze directed toward the deer that they could peek at through the trees. A knowing grin pulled across her lips and she glanced back toward her murderous husband with a small nod. She was never one to turn down a bit of hunting, especially not now when she was working so diligently to hone and sharpen her skills. She motioned him onward with a nod of her head, beginning to silently creep through the trees toward their newest target.
08-28-2021, 05:19 PM
It didn't take much goading to get Manea on board with the idea of detouring for a small sporting hunt—actually, it hadn't taken any goading at all! As soon as Manea spotted the deer, she returned his wicked grin and gave him the approval he needed in a nod. That was all it took to set the demon-hued brute off on his own devices. Alastor turned smoothly to disappear into the trees, slipping seamlessly into a low crouch while he crept up towards the grazing deer. Despite his size, Alastor was an effective hunter. He knew to avoid sticks and loose rocks, he knew how to move his massive form so he was as a giant shadow, silent and deadly. Empty sharklike eyes locked onto the deer closest to him like a heat-seeking missile. He crept closer... closer... until he was right on the edge of the clearing.
Alastor waited until Manea had gotten into position, and then he struck. Like a viper, his attack was fast and lethal. Alastor burst from the brush as a deer came too close, his jaws wrapping around its neck before it could even think to bleat. He bit down with all his might, the pressure of his jaws crunching the deer's spine like it were a twig. The deer's body crumpled to the ground with a heavy thud, its legs spasming as its nerves were separated from its brain and the creature died instantly. The sound of the body hitting the ground alerted the other deer which all looked up at him with those big, pathetic eyes, and then began to run, some turning right for Manea, others splitting off towards the hot springs.
Unsatisfied with one easy kill, Alastor dropped the deer corpse unceremoniously and sprinted after the others, grinning like a maniac while he chased the fractured herd headed for the hot springs. Heavy paws thundered across the ground while he dodged and dipped through the trees after the bounding herbivores. He was a wolf possessed, and he would have one more kill before he was done here!
08-29-2021, 10:59 AM
Manea slipped silently through the trees, parting from Alastor as they went to lay in wait on opposite edges of the clearing. Her aqua gaze scanned the herd of unsuspecting prey, picking out which ones she might want to go for while she waited for Alastor to make the first move. She didn't have to wait long before he sprung from his hiding place among the undergrowth, moving like a shadowed missile that latched lethally onto the neck of one of the deer. The sound of one of their herd members hitting the ground made the others bolt, scattering through the clearing to get away from the predator. Unfortunately for them, there was another just waiting to get her claws into one of these tender little prey animals.
A few of the deer bounded toward her and the moment one was within her reach she sprang forward out of her hiding place, nimbly reaching over the back of one of the does and hooking her claws into is shoulders to yank it down to the ground. Her teeth latched onto his throat, biting down hard and feeling tendons snap and break under the pressure before she ripped back and tore open its windpipe. The animal flailed and struggled for a moment before the massive damage Manea had caused caught up with it and it fell still, dying quickly and leaving splatters of blood across her muzzle and chest. She glanced up and saw Alastor dart off after the other deer that had run to try and escape, a wicked grin pulling across her lips as she jumped up to race after him and join in on the chase.
Manea | Temno | Ciemny
A few of the deer bounded toward her and the moment one was within her reach she sprang forward out of her hiding place, nimbly reaching over the back of one of the does and hooking her claws into is shoulders to yank it down to the ground. Her teeth latched onto his throat, biting down hard and feeling tendons snap and break under the pressure before she ripped back and tore open its windpipe. The animal flailed and struggled for a moment before the massive damage Manea had caused caught up with it and it fell still, dying quickly and leaving splatters of blood across her muzzle and chest. She glanced up and saw Alastor dart off after the other deer that had run to try and escape, a wicked grin pulling across her lips as she jumped up to race after him and join in on the chase.
08-29-2021, 09:21 PM
Alastor had seen Manea kill a deer of her own as he went sprinting past like a bolt of black lightning, a noir flash through the fiery autumn woods. He pursued the fleeing deer, snapping jaws and snarling aloud to get the group to break up into fewer and fewer deer, until he had one in his sights. A fairly large buck with a decent rack of antlers, doing its best to stay ahead of the powerful mass of lupine muscle and teeth giving chase. Alastor's abyssal eyes narrowed as he locked in on his target. Bloody teeth gleamed in a macabre grin while he pushed his body harder, leaping over a fallen log and narrowly missing a snap to the deer's legs. Suddenly the trees began to thin out, and then both predator and prey were out near the hot springs. The wolf and deer galloped around the pools of scalding water, the deer bounding this way and then that to try and shake Alastor off its tail. Unfortunately for the cervid, its hunter was tenacious.
Alastor ran up on the deer, and as they passed by one of the larger pools of water, the ebony behemoth leaped onto a small boulder and kicked off to tackle the deer, landing square on its back and wrapping his forelegs around its neck to pull them both tumbling down into the hot spring. Hot water surrounded Alastor all at once, and the dire brute, instantly held his breath, doing all he could to keep from ingesting the water. The deer, on the other hand, was already kicking and flailing to try to get away. Alastor released the deer to swim up to the surface, emerging with a deep breath of fresh air, his face dripping wet. He spotted the tips of the deer's antlers poking from the surface when the animal righted itself, but as soon as it popped its head back above the surface, Alastor was making his move. He leaped for the deer and grabbed its antlers, shoving down with all his might to force the buck back underwater.
The buck kicked and thrashed to try and break free, but the pool of water was one of the deeper ones, and it could only just reach the bottom when Alastor stood on a rocky ledge and held its head under. Alastor snarled with the effort, using his weight to keep the deer under the hot water, giving it shakes and jerks whenever it tried to bring a hoofed leg up to the ledge to save itself. Bubbles erupted from the screaming cervid's mouth, but no sound came other than the popping of its air bubbles as they left the prey animal's lungs. Gradualy Alastor felt the fight leave the buck, its wide eyes going glassy and staring up at him as if pleading him for mercy. Alastor merely grinned. The deer received none.
Once the struggling had stopped, Alastor held the deer under the water for a few blissful moments more, watching the last of the air bubbles cease, and then a minute later he let go, the buck's body floating lazily in the hot spring. He was panting hard from the run and the scuffle, but he had triumphed. The rush of adrenaline made him feel alive, and seeing the lifeless corpse he had created made him feel giddy and energized. Deciding he didn't want to litter this popular bathing spot, Alastor grabbed the buck's antlers again and hoisted the drowned animal out of the pool, tossing it across the ground while he climbed out as well, his dripping wet fur clinging dark to his body, emphasizing every outline of muscle in the brute's powerful, apex form.
08-29-2021, 10:38 PM
Manea ran and bolted through the forest, following Alastor as he chased down one of the escaping bucks. Alastor always amazed her with the dexterity he had despite his size and bulk and he kept up with the nimble deer quite well. She kept up with the pair easily, but she resigned herself to not making a second kill as well, instead simply keeping up so she could enjoy the show. As they neared the hot springs she slowed a bit, watching her husband curiously as he navigated between the steaming pools of water while the buck attempted to lose him. It was all in vein though and a few moments later Alastor tackled it and drug it down into one of the pools. A slightly concerned frown pulled at her lips as she ran over to the edge of the pool they had fallen into. First the icy arctic waters and now the scalding, poisonous hot spring... She was beginning to wonder if perhaps her mate did in fact have a death wish.
But a few moments later he bobbed back to the surface with a gasp and she sighed with a little shake of her head. The deer's antlers popped out of the surface of the water shortly after, but that was as far up as it was going to be allowed to go as Alastor grabbed ahold of its antlers and forced it back down into the water while it flailed and struggled to get away. Manea chuckled, the grin returning to her lips as she settled down at the edge of the pool with her forepaws dangling over the edge into the water to enjoy the show that Alastor was putting on for her whether it was intentional or not. Any time she got to enjoy such a blatant show of his strength and abilities she was more than happy to sit back and enjoy.
Eventually the struggling buck fell still and the now dead deer bobbed to the surface. She waited as Alastor tossed the deer out of the pool and emerged with his fur clinging tightly to his perfectly formed body and she made no effort to hide how her aqua gaze roamed down his body to take in every muscled, chiseled inch of him. "You're always so entertaining," she mused with a grin as she rose to her paws, sauntering over to press her lips to his in a firm, lingering kiss. "Though perhaps you can stop falling into bodies of water?" she teased, tapping his nose with her paw before she turned to move further into the territory and start making their way toward the pack they had come here with the intention of scouting.
Manea | Temno | Ciemny
But a few moments later he bobbed back to the surface with a gasp and she sighed with a little shake of her head. The deer's antlers popped out of the surface of the water shortly after, but that was as far up as it was going to be allowed to go as Alastor grabbed ahold of its antlers and forced it back down into the water while it flailed and struggled to get away. Manea chuckled, the grin returning to her lips as she settled down at the edge of the pool with her forepaws dangling over the edge into the water to enjoy the show that Alastor was putting on for her whether it was intentional or not. Any time she got to enjoy such a blatant show of his strength and abilities she was more than happy to sit back and enjoy.
Eventually the struggling buck fell still and the now dead deer bobbed to the surface. She waited as Alastor tossed the deer out of the pool and emerged with his fur clinging tightly to his perfectly formed body and she made no effort to hide how her aqua gaze roamed down his body to take in every muscled, chiseled inch of him. "You're always so entertaining," she mused with a grin as she rose to her paws, sauntering over to press her lips to his in a firm, lingering kiss. "Though perhaps you can stop falling into bodies of water?" she teased, tapping his nose with her paw before she turned to move further into the territory and start making their way toward the pack they had come here with the intention of scouting.