With his uncle's challenge of leading a hunt for large prey in the near by nook on his mind, he decided that he wanted to scout a head a bit. It would only be a waste of time for himself and everyone involved if he brought them out here just to leave empty handed. No, he would go stake out the movements of the nearby herds to make sure that they actually came through the nook to make the location viable as a hunting spot. Maybe, if he was lucky, he would be able to time out around what time of day they moved through the area as well. It was a task he could have easily accomplished on his own if he had really wanted to, but as he was asking around the pack to figure out who would volunteer to be in this hunting party he came across the visiting young man from Elysium. While he figured it was probably better for the hunting party to only include members from their own pack just in case something went wrong during the hunt they wouldn't be sending back one of their allies skewered by a buffalo horn, but he would be a good extra set of eyes for a quick scouting trip.

He met up with Malico early in the morning, earlier than he'd usually be up on his own accord, and after a quick breakfast they set out toward the Redbud Nook. "We just need to see if there's any signs of these herds having a regular path through the nook so we know where to set up the traps for our hunt," he explained as they walked, moving at a brisk, but easy pace. "Shouldn't take too long. Buffalo hardly ever go anywhere without at least kicking up some grass or leaving some droppings somewhere." Animals that large were bound to leave quite a bit of evidence of their presence. Even the trees could be an indication of where they had been if they were close enough together to make the buffalo push them over or scrape their horns against them. "Lets fan out and see what we can find," he said as they approached the tree line made up of blossoming pink trees. "Call out if you find anything interesting." Breaking off from Malico and beginning to move slowly through the trees, he kept his eyes peeled for any kind of signs of life and dipped his head to scent the ground.

WC: 416/1500

"Arcturus Indarra"

The Mendacium siblings have been crashing on Valta’s metaphorical couch for a few seasons now and, while Mar works to further her knowledge about healing, Malico has been seeking out lessons on hunting every chance he gets. So, when huge, golden wolf had approached him about his interest and proposes going out to scout for a herd buffalo that may be nearby and gather intel on the prey, of course the purple young man eagerly agreed to go with him.

Early morning sunlight fills the sky and reaches its warm tendrils down to the pair of wolves who lazily walk to the land where the redbud trees wait. Turquoise eyes lift to find Arcturus’s blue gaze as the older male explains the plan and Mal bobs his head in understanding before shoots Arc a half-grin as the man splits off. They can cover more ground of they go they go sperate ways and the purple wolf begins to search for any signs of the huge animals passing.

Nose works as he wanders underneath the canopy of trees, the beautiful leaves breaking up the sunlight and causing it to dapple the vibrant green grass as his galactic form slips by them. Eyes scan the area, trying to find any indication that the buffalo have been this way but winding up with nothing. Frustration slowly mounts as the steps build with still no signs to show for it… until he happens upon a clearing within the trees.

There, stuck in the white bark of one of the trees on the outskirts, is a thick patch of shaggy brown fur. Excitedly, Malico moves to it and puts his nose near it, pulling in the scent and matching it to the markers he has stored in his mind. A smirk tugs at his lips as he realizes that this is a piece of buffalo fur and he quickly turns his attention over to the small clearing to search for further evidence.

Divots of earth have pulled up and tossed onto the grass and, where the fresh dirt does not mar the landscape, the grass shows obvious signs of having been trampled. Add to that, the semi-fresh droppings and Mal is tipping his head back to boom a call to Arc, letting the man know he has found some signs of their passing. With that done, he slowly continues to walk through the area, noting the direction that the heavy hooves seem to have gone while he waits for Arcturus to appear so he can explain what he has found.

The young man can’t help but wag his tail in excitement at his fortuitous findings.





WC: 440
Total WC: 856 / 1500


"Malico Mendacium"

Arcturus smirked as he watched Malico hurry off in the opposite direction as him so they could fan out and search for clues of the large prey animals they hoped to find. The young man had enthusiasm if nothing else and that was something he could appreciate about the Elysium boy. It reminded him of a time when he was young–probably younger than Malico is now–when he would go out hunting or have a training session with one of his parents. It was a bitter sweet thought that made his smile falter a bit before he turned to start moving off through the Redbud Nook. He had no idea if ever being a parent was in the cards for him or not, but there was a hope that one day he'd get to relive the hunting trips he took with his father but on the other side of the equation. In the mean time he was enjoying opportunities like this to take younger wolves out with him to show them the ropes and teach them what he knew. Malico seemed to be able to stand on his own already, but he had no doubt that he'd be able to find some bit of knowledge to impart before they returned to Valta's territory with the information from their scouting mission in tow.

He moved slowly and methodically through the cluster of redbud trees, sapphire gaze scanning the ground and the near by tree trunks for any noticeable signs that the large beasts had moved through here recently. He knew that they occupied the buffalo knolls which wasn't a terribly far walk from here, but the closer that they came to the pack's territory the easier it would be to get a hunting party together and it would be far less of a hassle to get the huge amount of meat, hide, and horn back to the pack to be used. Buffalo and other huge animals like that were a boon when it came to stocking up their supplies and food stores for a long stretch of time, but it was a lot of work not only to hunt them but also to prepare what they got from the animal to be able to keep for long enough that it wouldn't spoil before they could make use of it. He knew he'd not only have to plan the hunt itself, but also what they were going to do with the animal when it was all said and done. He wasn't really someone who cared to hunt for fun or for sport. He did enjoy hunting, but he never wanted to do it wastefully or without purpose. This hunt that he was planning was to make sure there was proof that this place would be a valuable asset to the pack, yes, but he also would make sure that the buffalo wasn't going to be hunted in vain.

It didn't take him long to find a series of deep gouges in the earth that had the distinctive shape of hoof marks. The grass and dirt was fairly disheveled from the herd moving through here at some point and it was obvious proof that he had been right about them at the very least passing through. Now he just had to figure out how recently that was and maybe find evidence that they moved through here more than once. If it was just a one off excursion for the herd then they would be waiting a very long time for them to never actually come back. He followed the hoof marks, spotting gouges in the bark of some of the trees where they had clearly hit or rubbed their horns on the trunks. Some of the marks on the trunks looked fresher than others with some even beginning to grow new bark or the exposed wood looking dried and slightly aged. Other marks were so fresh some of them were still slowly oozing sap. So not only had they moved through here multiple times, but he suspected it had been fairly recently. That was very good news for him and his plans. As he moved a bit further he of course found a large pile of their manure. Big animals meant big droppings after all. Just like the marks on the trees, some were more fresh than others, some more dried and some more... fragrant.

Just as he was wrinkling his nose at that and moving away from the stinking poop, Malico's howl surprised him and made him jump a little before he turned toward the call. Well... if any prey had been nearby they certainly were long gone now. Perhaps he should have been more clear about what he meant about "calling out" to him. With a chuckle he made his way back across the woods till he found the violet young man again. "I found plenty of marks on the trees, hoof marks, and droppings. How about you?" he asked as he approached and gave Malico his full attention while the young man showed off the fur he had found caught in the bark and the similar torn and trampled grass that he had found before. Arc nodded approvingly and replied, "Good! I think it's pretty obvious they've been here–and recently. Come on, let's head back. This is all the evidence I needed."

WC: 891
Total: 1747/1500

"Arcturus Indarra"