Éldi had opted to remain in the north for the summer or until Hjarrandi moved out of its tropical location. He knew he was being obstinate but he was ready for fresh air and familiar terrain, something that reminded him more of home. He was still young but already he was starting to get an idea of what he wanted his future to look like. Of course he planned to be a raider, but he also wanted a family, and he wanted to reside in lands with sensible changes in the seasons and preferably nothing that had been so close to the volcano.

Askr called out and Éldi spared a glance at the raven. There was prey ahead but the raven's call did not sound that hopeful and as Éldi gazed into the valley he realized why. Musk oxen. A heard of about twelve, were grazing on grass finally revealed by the warmth of late spring and early summer. The were massive and he was hunting without Kaler. The odds of a lone wolf taking a musk oxen were so hilarious that he was tempted to laugh out loud. Instead he crouched down, eyeing the herd. There were young that had been born in spring and were now a season old. They were fair sized but not as monstrous as their parents. Perhaps a possibility lay there?

Aerndis was getting thin. It had been hard work trying to support herself through a winter alone. Well, not entirely alone. Above her flew her companion Griff. The pair had journeyed north to get away from the volcano and she'd been lingering there since she'd arrived. Aerndis was eager to get back to Legion's old haunts. Hoping that maybe there was some clue she'd overlooked as to where they'd gone or perhaps she could just stay there and wait for someone to return. She couldn't imagine her grandfather leaving his tractor. Surely, he'd come back for it. However, that was in the future. She had more pressing matters, namely what was she going to eat?

Griff flew down and alerted her to the prescense of musk oxen nearby. She frowned. Not the reasonable quarry she was hoping for til she noticed a brown wolf crouched down in the grasses. Aerndis followed suit and tried to sneak closer to the other wolf. "Psst, hey, are you hunting those?"

Though Lucretia was pregnant he was unable to keep her from working. She continued to gather herbs, and the two of them continued to hunt. He was recovering from his aversion to hunting, and he was becoming more confident in himself again. He was leading Luce to what he hoped was food, he followed after two birds that looked to be going in the same direction. Hopefully to some kind of prey.

He didn’t expect to see the two wolves looking down on the herd of a dozen musk ox. They were formidable prey, but with four of them taking them on maybe they had a chance at the usually well protected calves. Maybe they’d get lucky and run out a secret injury. He could barely hear the woman’s voice as she asked the other if he was hunting. Bourbon offered just as quietly, ”If you are, count us in.” He offered himself and motioned slowly to his mate Luce.

Their summertime gathering had taken them far and wide. Lucretia had demanded that they stock up as best as they could before the birth of their children, much to Bourbon's chagrin. He had given in to her desires, though, and accompanied her on this vast excursion. She'd never been this far north before, but she found that she rather liked it. The scenery was so different to what she was used to that Luce found it to be a pleasant change of pace. No more deserts or beaches, only deep and silent forests. Of course, it probably looked a bit different covered in spine-high snow.

Whereas she had once been able to forego food for days at a time, pregnancy made her hungry all the time. It was a confusing change of bodily signals. No matter how much she ate, there seemed to be a void that she couldn't fill. When they came upon the pair eyeing the oxen, Lucretia was grateful. She'd never been so starving. Unfortunately, this game big was more dangerous than the small prey they had been bringing down together she far. In her current state she couldn't attack or move as fast as she once could. "I can dive out the smaller ones, but I can't strike in my current state," she explained, a bit frustrated. The pregnancy was far enough along that she was showing but it wasn't obvious upon first glance. Her stomach let out a loud gurgle.

Éldi's ears flicked back at the sound of approaching paw steps. He turned and stared in surprise at an outrageously colored woman. He felt his stomach turn but then remembered that most prey were color blind and if they could see color it would be along the line of blues and greens. Still, he wasn't sure on musk oxen and he wasn't keen to have this brilliant beacon of a hunter giving away their position. On the other paw though he did need help if he wanted this hunt to go well, and she certainly looked like she was in need of a good meal. He nodded. "Yea, you want in?"

Before the girl replied two more wolves appeared… well, wolves? He glanced at Bourbon, a quirk in his brow. No, that was definitely not a wolf with a weird ear mutation, it was a dog! Strange company, but another set of jaws was welcome. He glanced at the woman who accompanied the dog and grinned at the horns and pregnant belly. Now this was a merry band of misfits. A screaming beacon of color, a dog, and a pregnant woman with horns! Yet, they all had fangs, and legs and were wiling to work and he needed help.

"Sounds good. Thanks for offering to help, this will be much easier with four of us and I'm fine splitting the kill equally. I would like half the hide if possible." He also wanted the horns but he didn't want to be too greedy. He nodded to the pregnant woman. "Ok, sounds good. We'll need to get them running anyway and utilize our endurance. Ideally, we'll want the calves to fall behind. If the ladies can get the herd going, then the men can separate the calf and I'll take care of the killing bite." He was the biggest of the group and with one of the women pregnant and the other looking partially starved he felt he was better able to take on the risk of getting gored. "My name is Éldi by the way. Ladies, you're up!"

Aerndis crouched down further as the man confirmed that he was indeed wanting to hunt the oxen. She nodded quickly in response to the man's question. She was starving and with a partner to help in the hunt she was hoping this one would yield food. She'd barely answered before a wolf with horns and a… a… a wolf with floppy ears came in. Well, the more the merrier. She was happy for anyone to join them if it meant an increased chance at filling her belly.

She listened to the man who laid out his thoughts and she nodded. "I'm just hungry, I'm here for the meat." If he wanted the hide he could have it. While Aerndis hoped to do more crafting and skinning she just didn't have the means to be traveling with wares. If she could just find where Legion had gone. She was desperate to go home. "My name is Aerndis." The man, Éldi, gave the women the go ahead to get the party started. She glanced at the other woman and grinned. Setting her sights to the oxen she suddenly sprang forward, paws pounding into the dirt as she dove toward the herd. A vicious growl ripped from her throat, startling the creatures who acted on instinct and began to run as Aerndis' long legs ate up the distance between them.

Lucretia was right behind him, and though he worried for her as she spoke softly to their new comrades he was heartened that she was well aware of her limits. He was sure that she was overdoing it, but at least she didn’t go too far. Bourbon didn’t miss the look the large male gave him, but mentally he shrugged it off. His teeth still worked. Éldi was his name, and he accepted their help with grace and got right into the plan. The two girls would do their work to separate mother from calf while he and the huge man came in and finished the hunt.

Bourbon nodded in acceptance. Sounded like the best plan. ”I’m Bourbon.” He nodded to the both of them before looking to Lucretia. ”We’d like the other part of the pelt.” Musk Ox had some of the warmest wool in existence, it would definitely be an asset to the pups that would be born soon.

Aerndis was quick to set off, and Bourbon encouraged his mate onward. He would hang back with Éldi while the women got the herd moving.

Lucretia was still feeling a little antsy about the situation but she knew that Bourbon would protect her and their unborn children with his life. They hashed out the details of the hunt quickly in a business-like manner that she deeply appreciated. No arguing over who-got-what, just a cleanly cut deal. Nodding to herself and trying to rally her bravery, she took off on Aerndis' heels after the herd. There was no way she'd be as quick on her feet so the shamyn took to yipping, yelling, howling, and generally making as much noise as she possibly could to startle the herd. Predictably the animals began to stampede away from the pair of growling females, the weaker and younger ones lagging just a little bit behind. Perfect.

Éldi nodded in agreement to Bourbon. He was good with that and more than willing to split the pelt from such a fine catch, even if it was one of the calves. The women got things going, swiftly chasing the oxen who immediately panicked and started running. Perfect! Éldi took to his paws and gave chase, seeking to catch up. Patience came into play as the oxen ran and the women did a marvelous job of keeping them going. Such large animals with such big coats would overheat if pushed hard enough and sure enough the calves started to fall behind.

Éldi barked out to Bourbon, indicating he wanted to go for the one on the right. He then dove between that calf and the other one, separating it from the other calf, but there was still the matter of it getting awfully close to catching up with the mothers. They needed to cut it off quick or the adults might decide it best to stop and circle up around the young and then the wolves would be shit out of luck. Éldi snapped at the left side of the calf, fangs just grazing its left thigh. It slowed as it kicked out of him and he hoped this would give Bourbon enough time to separate the calf.

Aerndis worked hard to keep the herd going. The wolves kept pace with the musk oxen until at last the young started to fall behind, she let the slip pas her as she focused on keeping the adult oxen panicked. It was best to keep them running for if they decided to stand their ground they'd be a terrible force to reckon with. She snapped and snarled at one of the cows, who kicked back violently. Aern yelped in surprise but she was not struck. However, the hoof came closer to her head than she would have liked and it served as a reminder that hunting wasn't all fun and games. This was serious work they were doing here.

ooc: We've made the word count. All we need is a kill! I will have Éldi deliver the killing blow in his next post.

They worked as a perfect team, though they’d never worked together before. They were all from different walks of life, and even different species. It was amazing team work to see their end goal played out. Bourbon ran hard and fast, though he was much smaller he was bred to herd and to control animals like this. The dog ran with Eldi as the two of them came upon their goal. The animal was chosen after the calves started to slow. Musk oxen were notoriously grumpy and stubborn but after being made to run in the heat of the summer season (even if it was colder than normal) the mothers were not as ready to rush to their offspring’s rescue.

Bourbon did separate the calf as it kicked out at Eldi, and though the viking had planned to take the kill Bourbon saw his chance to take advantage. Bourbon latched onto the animals face, and despite its young age the creature was incredibly strong. Its panic would be its detriment though and as the herd was harried further by the women. Bourbon’s attack caused the calf to tumble heels over head. It landed just right that as it tumbled to the ground it would break its neck. As it tumbled to the ground the calf wouldn’t move again.

The dog heaved his breath as he slowed and stood proudly over their catch.