It was definitely warming up now. The last time he'd passed through this place, it had still been covered in snow. Now, there were only a few remaining spots of white, usually clinging to the cold stones that jutted up from the ground in every direction. This place had been beautiful in the winter, but Alarik had to admit that it seemed even more beautiful now. Even the grasses here seemed a bit unsaturated, adding to the stark and monochromatic beauty of it all. Ever since Alarik had made up his mind to actually do something about his boredom and frustration, things had seemed to be changing. He'd met several new wolves, seen plenty of interesting places... even partnered up with that woman Pyralis and had a really successful hunt. That had been the highlight of these last couple weeks. Hunting small prey like fish and rabbits could be fun, sure. But nothing was as thrilling as bringing down something bigger, like an antelope. And when you did bring it down, the meal that followed was only that much sweeter. He wanted to do it again. But he didn't know when he'd see Pyralis again. He'd walked her back to the place she called home, and that was it. Still, it shouldn't be too hard to find a hunting partner. ...right? "Talk" "You" Think

The brute had been travelling about for sometime now, familiarizing himself with the eastern area of the Boreas region. He came across a rather new region this time though. Taking his time to explore the area a bit and make note of the sights, smells, and sounds. His ears twitched when he could hear another creature nearby, a wolf in particular. At first he wanted nothing to do with whoever was out there but then he took another sniff and realized that the scent was familiar. Slowly he would round one of the stones and realized it was that younger brute he had met not too long ago.

// tell your friends to sharpen their teeth

alarik 108 <3

credit to kenz.

It was very quiet here, no sound but the wind and the occasional call of a bird. So Alarik heard right away when another wolf approached him, and he turned his head to the sound. Nose twitching as he tried to gather information from the scent. It was familiar. And just then, the wolf in question rounded one of the larger stones nearby and came into view. It was Vulcan! Alarik couldn't help chuckling a bit. "Well, I guess we did end up seeing each other again," the young man said, walking closer. "How have you been?" Maybe this was more than a coincidence. After all, Alarik had been wanting to find a hunting partner. Maybe Vulcan would be up to it? "Talk" "You" Think

you keep me on the edge of my seat
i bite my tongue so you don't hear me

“I guess so,” Vulcan said, flicking his tail and holding in a sigh as the younger brute asked how he was doing. “Fine, I suppose,” he said, “How did you find yourself here?” he asked the male, no he wouldn’t ask how Alarik was going because he didn’t care. Rude? Maybe, but once again, he didn’t care. Maybe he could get some sort of use out of knowing this wolf though. Perhaps if Vulcan got too lazy he could ask some favors out of him or something, but for now he didn’t really see much of a need to. At least not yet, and he looked around for a moment before his eyes locked on the other individual again.

Well, Vulcan didn't seem very happy to see him. But Alarik tried not to take it personally. Even in their first meeting, he'd never seemed to have a very pleasant or friendly personality. Alarik wouldn't let it bring him down. He was asked how he found himself here, and he shrugged. "I continued exploring, and I guess that just brought me here." He wasn't sure what else to say. The last several seasons had been full of just... exploring. He never really had a reason. He just enjoyed seeing new places and meeting new people. "But I decided to stay here today because it's a good place for hunting," the young man said. "and I'm hungry. Any chance you'd like to join me? We could bring down something bigger if we work together." "Talk" "You" Think

you keep me on the edge of my seat
i bite my tongue so you don't hear me

Well, the younger brute was just exploring around this place. So he guessed it was just coincidence that they had run into each other, whatever. Alarik then asked if he wanted to hunt with him and Vulcan shrugged, he couldn’t take down the offer of a meal now could he? “Sure, why not,” he said, “What type of prey is around here?” he asked, as he was still relatively new and if he had to be honest he had sort of been scavenging. He did remember that he took a bite into a whale once and he never wanted to do that like, ever again. So maybe some fresh prey could do some good for the dark male.

He thought back to when he and Pyralis had hunted down those antelope together. He'd been surprised that the two of them had hit it off so well. After all, in terms of morals, they were basically opposites. But still, they had gotten along awfully well. And that had translated to an excellent hunt. But with Vulcan... needless to say, they didn't have as much chemistry. That could make for a difficult hunt. But hopefully it would work out. He smiled a bit when Vulcan asked what kind of prey was around here. "I think around here the only kinds of large prey are elk and maybe caribou," he said. "But they're plentiful, so we should have no trouble finding a herd to target." "Talk" "You" Think

you keep me on the edge of my seat
i bite my tongue so you don't hear me

Alarik noted that there was probably only elk or caribou around the area and he nodded. Vulcan had not taken down a large prey animal like that in a while, in fact he had only done that a few times with his father and that was it. His muzzle moved upwards slightly and he sniffed the air, it was spring now so the animals were plentiful. “I can smell a herd not too far away,” he grumbled, flicking his tail, “Follow me,” he said and turned around towards the scent of the elk. It would probably be best if they took down a female so they wouldn’t have to deal with the horns.

Yes, this was going to be very different from hunting with Pyralis. She had acknowledged that Alarik was an experienced hunter and had let him take the lead, whereas Vulcan just assumed the position of leader without giving Alarik a second thought. Again, not surprising at all. And Alarik really didn't mind all that much, as long as he had a partner to hunt with. But as he followed Vulcan toward the herd of prey, he idly wondered if this hunt would be as fruitful as the last. The two wolves drew nearer to the herd, and already Alarik was getting more excited. "Before we get too close, did you have a strategy in mind?" It would be good to work everything out before they were too close to speak at a regular volume for fear of scaring away the prey animals. "Talk" "You" Think

you keep me on the edge of my seat
i bite my tongue so you don't hear me

Strategy, yes that’s what they needed. “There’s only two of us, so we should probably take down an older or weaker looking animal,” he said, “We’re not a huge group and an entire elk can feed one, so we don’t want to overkill and go for a buck. A female should be good enough, what do you think?” he asked and looked over at the over brute. Getting a nice kill was always nice and validating, it kicked in the predatory instinct and such but logically they did not need that much food. Unless Alarik planned on sharing for a week straight and Vulcan did not sign up for that.

Vulcan made a good point. It made no sense for the two of them to aim for the strongest, fastest, or most tasty looking animal. They were only a hunting party of two. It wasn't practical for them to try to bring down such a kill, because not only would that be risky and difficult, but it would also leave them with much more food than either of them really needed. He and Pyralis had brought down a fawn and had still ended up with enough left over to feed the scavengers. Even a female, as Vulcan suggested, might be too much. "Yes, a female would be fine," he replied. "But if the herd we find has young, we should target them." It made the most sense to bring down the smallest animal available. "Talk" "You" Think

you keep me on the edge of my seat
i bite my tongue so you don't hear me

He nodded, “A younger animal is fine too,” he said, and looked forward, “We can wound it, break a leg or something to bring it down, and then make a quick kill,” he said and looked at him, “Sounds good?” he asked, as he really didn’t care about it or anything and he really just wanted some food if he had to be honest and wounding the animal was really the only way that made sense to him. He doubted there would be overly aggressive animals out there that would get in there way. Because even prey animals were smart enough to not fuck around with predators, even when a member of their own group was being slaughtered.

Vulcan seemed to agree with Alarik. Taking down a younger animal would work just as well. Alarik nodded, listening as the other brute spoke of injuring or incapacitating the prey somehow. Breaking a leg or doing some other such thing that would make the killing blow easier. It was a good idea, so he smiled at Vulcan, saying: "Yeah, sounds great. Do you have a preference as far as who makes the kill?" He figured it'd be polite to ask, or whatever. "I only ask because, if you do prefer to make the killing blow yourself," he began. "then I could try to chase down our target and direct it toward you. Cornering it." "Talk" "You" Think

you keep me on the edge of my seat
i bite my tongue so you don't hear me

The younger male would ask if Vulcan wanted to make the killing blow and he nodded, “Sure, I can kill it,” he said and flicked his tail, the plan seemed pretty clear and such to him so he took in a deep breath, “I think we’re ready, let’s go,” he said and lowered his skull so it was parallel with his shoulders. His eyes wide and trained in on the view, the scent got stronger and stronger the closer he would get and he could begin to hear the noises of the elk. Hearing their grunts and their hoof steps as they would walk around and graze. Vulcan waited for the other brute to follow behind him and catch up.

The other man had no problem being the one to make the kill. Alarik nodded, just glad to have the details worked out, because that meant they were ready to hunt. He followed close behind as Vulcan lowered his head and stalked closer to the herd. Elk. Soon they were close enough to hear them snorting and grunting as they grazed. Alarik lifted his head just a little, to get a better look. He wanted to know how many they were dealing with, and whether or not they had younger members in their little herd. When they were within counting distance, he saw that there were six. One male, three females, and two fawns. Good. He was glad there was more than one fawn, because that gave them better chances of taking one down. If there was only one and it slipped past them, that was it. This way they had two to choose from, and inevitably one would be weaker and slower than the other. He lowered his head again and glanced over at Vulcan. The next move was up to him. Either he could stay here and have Alarik chase the elk in his direction, or he could go somewhere else and have Alarik chase them starting from right here. "Talk" "You" Think

you keep me on the edge of my seat
i bite my tongue so you don't hear me

Vulcan could see the herd before them, luckily it was a rather small one and not a huge one of twenty or more animals. He examined them for a bit, seeing that there were two fawns. His sapphire gaze piercing and noticing one fawn was already wandering away from it’s mother. He looked at Alarik and then at the fawn, signalling that he wanted to go for that one. Mainly because it was easier to separate it from the herd since it was stupid enough to leave the side of an adult.

His muscles tensed, and then he would take action. Alarik would be the one herding it towards him, so he would slowly move into a position that was easier for him. He flicked his tail, trying to get Alarik to make the first move as he moved ahead and near the sided of the herd, where Alarik could chase it towards him and such.

He saw the little gesture Vulcan was trying to make, looking from the fawn and to Alarik and back again. When Alarik looked back at the herd, he saw the fawn that had strayed from its mothers side, and he knew exactly what Vulcan wanted. They were on the same page. He gave a small nod, and with that, the darker male broke away and moved to a place on the other side of the herd where Alarik could more easily herd the animals toward him. When he was ready, Vulcan flicked his tail. Alarik directed his attention back to the herd, lowering his entire massive body into a crouch and focusing his eyes on their target. And then, in one fluid motion, he launched his body forward. Running as quickly and gracefully as possible toward the herd, being quiet so that they wouldn't be alerted to his presence until they actually saw him coming. And eventually they did, scrambling to get away from him and running right into the trap the two hunters had set up for them. "Talk" "You" Think

you keep me on the edge of my seat
i bite my tongue so you don't hear me

It was time to move. Alarik was on the same page as him, which he was actually thankful for because Vulcan didn’t like to work with idiots. But this boy was actually a skilled hunter, which was good. He watched carefully as the younger brute would ready himself and then launch himself towards the herd. He was surprisingly quiet about it which was nice, and he actually got pretty close before the herd realized he was near and he watched them scatter.

Vulcan’s muscles began their work, he began to run beside the herd. Making sure his speed was about the same as theirs so he didn’t tire himself out. They were only hunting one creature, not the entire group, so there was no need to care about the ones who were getting away. Instead, he snapped his jaws at them so they would get away from him and so he could focus on their target. Carefully maneuvering through the terrain and keeping an eye on the fawn, readying himself for when Alarik would bring it towards him.

The herd began to retreat, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Vulcan start to move to keep pace with them. He ran right alongside the herd as Alarik ran right behind it, watching as his hunting partner snapped his jaws to frighten away the animals that they weren't planning on targeting. It worked well. Soon Alarik had a clear shot to the fawn they were after. He ran faster, getting closer and closer to the fawn. He came at it from an angle, trying to guide it closer to Vulcan and snapping his jaws as the darker male had done. He knew it could be risky to go after the legs, but it would make it easier to bring the animal down. So he snapped at its legs, trying to get a firm grip on one so he could twist and break it. "Talk" "You" Think

you keep me on the edge of my seat
i bite my tongue so you don't hear me

He could see that the herd was beginning to leave the fawn behind and Alarik would speed up. Vulcan would keep his pace up with the other wolf and the fawn, watching as Alarik tried to get a grip on his legs. Vulcan knew that they could probably take it down without fatally wounding it, and he wasn’t going to completely wait.

So he would close in on the fawn, drawing nearer and nearer so it would run faster, so it would tire out. He came into its side, snarling and his jaws snapped at its side. Getting a taste of blood as he ripped away a small amount of flesh. It would spook the prey, so it would go into panic mode if it already wasn’t and disorientate it. It had nowhere to run and maybe it would trip up or something, but he didn’t want to go for the kill yet until it was on the ground. It was too risky to try and go for the blow now while they were still in motion.