The small girl had a different vantage point to larger wolves. Maybe it was being closer to the ground that had her picking up on the criss-crossing trails, steps shorter and sharper than usual. What might usually be a deer trail had turned into a rally track and it seemed like they were moving out, running from some unseen terror, but she couldn't quite put her paw on it. With that in mind, she had set about building a small fence of sorts. It wasn't very strong, but it would serve as a pen in a pinch. What she had been hoping to trap would be dangerous at the best of times, but when you were as small as Cricket, well, the risk was only compounded.

She had foraged for root vegetables and scraps and hauled them on a hide to the centre of the ring, and taking a leaf out of Macarbre's book she used a vine to prop the crooked gate open. Crooked so that when the vine was jostled, the gate would swing shut and catch the prey inside. She thought it was a pretty cool set up if she did say so herself. Now all she could do, was wait.

Each day she would run through the grasses, occasionally bouncing to get her head above the leaves, and each day she left a little disappointed. On the fouth day, when the vegetables were really starting to get stinky though, she could hear a distant squealing as she approached. It wasn't even just one, and she bought a paw up to slap her forehead dramatically, of course it wasn't! Pigs travelled together... Well, maybe she was in the shit now huh?

Cricket quickly howled for any nearby Insomnia wolf to come to her aid and kept bounding forward to see what she had managed to snare. Climbing up on a stump that she had conveniently built her fence against for just this purpose, her green eyes grew wide at the sight before her. A mumma pig and 8 fat little babies ran circles and squealed. Her brain couldn't comprehend the size of the adult, but maybe with some effort, they could get the babies home and make them fat before they ate them? She'd have to get them away from their tusky mother first, and she didn't have any guarantee that anyone was nearby, so with a grimace on her face and a wobble in her leap, she entered the colosseum of her own design to a chorus of piggy shrieks. Green eyes met beady black and she regretted every decision that had lead to this point, but she couldn't let the pack down, could she?

Mumma made the first move and it was all Cricket could do to try and keep out of her way.

”Speech”  ’Thought’

It's time to raise the curtain

469/1500

Ghoul did not keep tabs on the girl. Or at least that was what he told everyone if they were to ask. Not that they did because they didn’t care. Though it was obvious he kept an extra eye on the imp of a girl. Any time she left, he made note of the direction she went in. Even if he didn’t trail along behind her, he was sure to know where she went. A few times he had even sent one of his companions out with her to ensure her safety. Hiding behind the guise that he was just ensuring that no one of Insomnia found trouble, it was quite obvious he had taken a sort of liking to Cricket. Nothing like he might have felt before, but in a way, he was protective of the girl.

So when she left that day and was gone for longer than she had been days prior, he grew worried. With his legs healed and only aching on the colder days, he was at least fast enough to reach her. Ultimately, it was what he did as the afternoon wore on. Ghoul had already set out with his companions to search for her when her howl echoed over the valley. At first, he hesitated. Was that really Cricket? Worry etched across his brow before he picked up his step and hurried to her. He was no knight in shining armor, but he would at least ensure she wouldn’t die today.

Eating up the ground with his long strides, he enjoyed being able to freely stretch his legs. Unbothered by the slower pace of his caimans, Ghoul opened up as he dipped into the valley and saw a makeshift corral. The loud noise of squealing alerted him to the pen. His pale eyes narrowed out of curiosity and worry as he approached. There he finally saw Cricket face to face with a rather large and pissed off sow and her eight babies. Now what in the world had she gotten herself into?

“Cricket, what were you thinking?” He chastised in the moment as his lips pulled up into a sneer. Slipping into the pen she had made, he quickly came to her side. “You tell me how much help you need,” Ghoul says as he keeps his gaze on the mother pig who is now hesitant at the sight of a much larger wolf.

870/1500

Cricket had almost convinced herself that this would be her grave, and she would rot away and feed the animals she had thought to feed on. The mother was relentless in her charges, and the small wolf barely managed to keep out of her reach. Her breath was coming in pants when Ghoul arrived and his presence gave her a second wind and made the mumma a little more hesitant to continue her pursuit. Now she could really look at it, she wasn't sure her teeth would get through the thick skin and protective fat around the pigs throat to do any real damage, it would only bring her in range of those sharp hoovy feet and stinky tusks. The thought of what sort of infection they could leave had her stomach flipping.

"I'm gonna have to try and get her back end, was thinkin' we should take the piglet's home. I dunno what's goin' on, but animals that don' usually migrate are movin' out." It was the first time she had voiced her worries, even if her breathing was a little laboured. The seriousness of her concern was only emphasized by the lack of twitchy movements that came along with her statement. "If y' can help me cut 'er off, slow 'er down, I'll do m' best t' get 'er bleedin'." She trusted the giant man wouldn't let her get squished or gored on purpose, and that strengthened her resolve a little when it came to taking on something this large (particularly when compared to her own meagre height).

Taking advantage of the lull, Cricket moved first this time, snapping in the direction of a piglet to taunt the mother into coming at her, before cutting back the other way to get behind her. At least her lack of bulk made her quick, jaws snapping just below the pigs tail, where her leg met her belly. She had to work her jaw for the copper tang of blood to hit her tongue, and she could feel her feet leaving the ground as the sow swung to try and knock her free. Just a little bit more...

”Speech”  ’Thought’

It's time to raise the curtain

1231/1500

Ghoul’s paws practically danced as he edged the mother pig away from Cricket. Only to keep a distance until the green imp had her plan all laid out. With one eye on their prey and their other eye on her, Ghoul listened. He was good at that. Not good at talking. Not good at communicating. But he could listen and he could kill. Protecting was also another thing and he was glad that was what she needed.

Cricket had also made a good point. Animals were migrating. Where? He wasn’t sure, but he had noticed it too. On his walks around Insomnia’s lands and his hunts in lands farther away. More animals were moving and he saw some that he normally didn’t see. What had surprised him most had been the reindeer herd he had seen not a week prior. Did she know something about that? Did anyone? Concern laces his features which is rare as emotion doesn’t often cross Ghoul.

Letting out a huff and nodding his head that he agreed, Ghoul allowed Cricket to do her work. His own teeth went snapping toward a piglet as Cricket raced around the sow. His attention were on her babies so that her attention was on him. This would be important as Cricket’s teeth dug into the sow’s belly and legs. Bleed her out if they needed so they could take them all home. The babes would be easy enough. So easy that Ghoul allowed himself to let loose once more and his jaws to clasp around a piglet’s neck.’

As he shook his head until he heard the piglet’s squeals die to nothing, he felt the gore of tusks into his underbelly. Pain rocketed through him but he chose to ignore it. Medusa would have someone to help him - hopefully not his sister. Grunting through the pain, Ghoul tosses the dead piglet swiftly over the fencing toward his caimans before going for another. “You got her, or what?” Ghoul calls out to Cricket, hoping that the girl has found a good artery to finally bleed out the sow.

1500+ I promise

It seemed the sows' movements were becoming more sluggish and with a fall that felt like it rattled the earth, the behemoth went down. Cricket's legs were wobbly, and her jaw ached as she finally let go and allowed her rump to hit the ground with a disbelieving giggle. She'd actually managed to survive that!

Now how to get the piglets home? She wasn't too surprised to see they were down to 7, and 7 would be easier to wrangle than 8. Was it worth fattening them up if that was going to be what they had to go through every time they wanted a feed? She supposed she could talk to Medusa about making some sort of contest out of it.

Moving to grab the vine that had once propped the gate open, she considered resetting the trap then thought better of it. They should be able to fashion some sort of leash to get them home, and then once they were there, she supposed she'd have to build another pen. She was super grateful for Ghoul's arrival because there was no way she could drag the sow home otherwise... Although not all the blood in the pen was pig blood. She dropped the vine, the piglets forgotten as she rushed at the larger wolf. "Ah, stoopid, how're'yer gonna drag our food home now huh?" She fit under his legs without even ducking to check out the wound on his underside. "Was this from a tusk?" She asked seriously, taking stock of the injury with a click of her tongue.

”Speech”  ’Thought’

It's time to raise the curtain

With the sow finally crumbling to the earth, Ghoul exhales a sigh of relief. Even with the high-pitched squeals of the remaining piglets, he could care less. Both he and Cricket were still alive and that was all that mattered. Even his shoulders slumped forward as he glanced over to the rushing Cricket. His brow perks upward as she runs underneath him. Her tongue clicking and worried tones cause his chin to curl down toward his chest. Huh? He was hurt? Oh, right.

“Yes, the sow gored me a tad,” he replies honestly as he tries to also get a good look at the injury. “If you’re looking for an honest answer,” Ghoul pauses as he lifts his head to point his chin toward the companions. “I was hoping those bastards over there would herd the piglets back home,” there is a cheeky grin on his lips as he turns his chin back down toward Cricket. “What’s the damage?” He asks as he waits for her to assess his injury.