He begrudgingly made his way back across the continent when the tunnels near the Shimmering Shore had collapsed. Katsu told himself it wasn't a move driven by fear, no, it was motivated by the desire to find more answers. It felt better that way. Less shameful. His fiery red back made him stick out like a sore thumb against the terrain of the blisteringly icy north, even as he tried to stay under cover. All of the animals had begun acting strangely - he'd even seen, disgustingly, a walrus trying frantically to dig beneath the ice with its blunted tusks. They had been chipped and bloody, the animal gored by its unnatural efforts. He shuddered and avoided the bloody scene, trekking around the long side of the massive structure of the ship. A similar thing laid off the shore of Auster, and it was a frightening reminder that beneath all of this ice, the cold and unforgiving ocean still waited.

Kat's eyes roved the tundra, locking on to another troubling sight: a large musk ox was battering the frozen ground with its horns, baying loudly with the effort. Again and again it lurched back, bringing its face back into the ground to try and scrape beneath the ice somehow. Blood dripped from its nose and he thought he could spy more injuries scattered across its body, but he was too far away to be sure. This was worth investigating. Katsu sunk into a hunter's crouch and began to track closer to the ox.

"speech"

coded by NachoMumma

She made her way North just before the lands of the Shimmering Shore began to collapse. Whew! That would've been quite the conundrum to have gotten stuck in! With Seymour guiding the way, Medusa arrived, winded and feeling a little more tired than usual. But of course she would be after making such a long trek pregnant and all. Still, it wouldn't deter her. The tang of blood lit up the air as the ship came into view, the stench of rust mixed with the blood as strange, and as the small group approached, she realized why. Animals were acting strange here...she spotted a musk ox frantically digging at the ground, its face blooded and its legs scraped and cut from its efforts. Not far off, a walrus in a similar state. It's tusks being whittled down from its strange behavior...what were they doing? She had hunted many creatures before, but none had acted so strange before. Dual-toned gaze scanned the nearby tundra and found a splotch of bright red. Blood? No...it didn't look like blood, but another wolf! She approached, a grin on her face as she hungrily eyed the musk ox. With it already injured, no doubt it'd be an easier target. Or at least, she assumed. She drew closer to the yearling wolf, casting a smile as she came into view. "If fire wolf wants to hunt it, Medusa can help!" "Speech"

Winter nights, we sang in tune The tunnels were eventful in their own adventures. Iris, Scald and Identification had found a way free from them. Thank goodness, the thought of them being trapped honestly gave the creamy woman nightmares. Nightmares she couldn't shake even within the confines of the damned tunnels. She needed answers and it's what drew the woman all the way North, the frigid air whipping this way and that. Bellows loud and clear called out over the frozen landscape. Droplets of blood scattered as taking notice to the prints it was a large mammal. Something that could be dangerous should she go about it alone. But she wasn't, and thankful she wasn't, as eyes trained to another not far away, she cuffed to the large male. Allowing him time to see her, it wasn't loud enough to disturb the ox. Worry washed over her as she moved closer, the woman allowing her body to hug against the ground, but the cold is what would get to her first. Which Identification known. But man, she needed answers. Why was the ox alone? And already bleeding like it was from its face? She casted the stranger a look then turned back to the ox. The huntress known that it wasn't normal for one to be alone but within a safety net of others. "Answers, we need them." Her hummingbird wouldn't travel with her this far north. "It's actions are strange to say the least. Don't they travel with another or others? And not alone?" Fic's movements were cautious and careful. Walk, "Talk", Think Played inside the months of moon

_{Art by Sin; Code by Asena}

Unable to make much headway and wary of the sounds of something down below the ground at the Shimmering Shore, Éldi opted to return to Vedia to focus on the hunting stores and items of trade. After a good meal and brief resupply he headed north on a long hunting mission, seeking to get a few hides unique to the Boreas region. However, during his expedition rumors met his ears of prey animals that did not burrow frantically digging, much like the wolves had been doing at the Shimmering Shore. It made his fur stand on end. Was there something going on in the far north? Further more it seemed a number of the animals had odd lesions. Was there something in the earth affecting them?

As he moved through the region that held the great human cave he heard the bellowing of a musk ox. It seemed to be in distress and as Éldi slunk through the tundra he saw the large creature bashing its horns into the ice, pausing every so often to stop and and chip with its hooves before frantically going at the ground with its horns once more. As he neared he could see patches of its fur missing and the sight of bloody sores. In addition he spied three other wolves watching the distressed beast. As he approached he heard the pale woman speak and gently cleared his throat to alert them to his presence. He nodded. "Yes, they are herd animals. That one should be off on its own like this speaks of illness. We should release it from its misery and perhaps in doing so gain some insight into what is happening in the north."

It didn't take long before a small crew began to gather in the shadow of the ship, watching the beast in distress. Katsu winced each time it slammed its face into the ground again, seemingly desperate to get under the ice. Frankly, it turned his stomach a bit to watch it. A cheery pregnant woman who seemed to refer to herself as third party arrived first, followed by a shrewd female looking for answers and finally a wise, older wolf. Katsu nodded as Éldi spoke of the ox's condition.

"Yes, it only seems appropriate to put the creature down... being careful of whatever diseases it may carry. Try not to put your mouths near any of the open wounds as we go, only tear new flesh, " He suggested. "Miss... perhaps we will subdue it, and you can land the killing blow?" Katsu addressed Medusa. If they could get it weakened enough, it would lessen the chance of her being buffeted by a stray hoof or horn. "I'll begin - stay on guard, this beast seems unpredictable at best," he murmured, turning and scrambling across the ice towards the ox. Katsu darted in towards its hind legs, trying to severe some of the muscular tissue that held the beast upright. From what he could see of its limbs, there were fewer open sores near the bonier extremities.

"speech"

coded by NachoMumma

Her ears flicked when she heard the approach and the familiar Insomnian scent of Fic. She turned to her briefly and flashed a grin, tail thumping at the presence of the woman. She hadn't seen her around much, but was glad to see her packmate join them nonetheless. After her, another arrived, this one bearing the scent of another pack she wasn't very familiar with, but she knew Enki had made contact at some point with their pack, and the one the first girl belonged to. They had a decent hunting party now, and as the yearling laid out a plan, Medusa nodded in agreement. The plan sounded solid, probably for the better since she was pretty far along in her pregnancy by now.

With the plan in mind, Medusa stalked closer, body low to the ground as her companions moved forward to help subdue the beast alongside the other wolves. Her shadow cat ran in, a fierce sound slipping from her throat as the cougar leapt atop the ox's back, claws tearing flesh from its back as she clung on while her wolverine aided in attacking the legs. Seymour would distract from the front, harassing the ox's head with his talons and keeping just out of potential striking range as his wings kept him airborne.

"Speech"

Winter nights, we sang in tune Identification didn't like the fact that Medusa was out instead of relaxing with the whole pregnancy, but the woman was glad to see The Wraith up and about. It gave the cream woman more sense of respect for the bone queen. The plan was soon laid out as Identification looked towards the wolf of ivory, then towards the last one to show up. Giving a brief nod. Identification known to be awfully careful around the hooves of the beast and those horns. Snow and ice crunching under her own frame, her lips curling up as a low growl rumbled out. She had to protect that of Medusa and her unborn young. That was her task at hand now. Although Identification understood Medusa felt the need to protect the home she had made. It was still an act that may cause her to get injured. Identification's emerald pools landed upon the musk ox, scanning it as she went full force towards the mammal. Ears pinned back tightly blocking any other sound. Listening to her own heart thump with excitement and wonder. Knowing all to well to not go after a area that was already opened due to a wound. Twin harks flick forward quickly. "Tire it out!" The woman called out. Sure it would take a while, but it would allow them time also. She didn't know if it carried madness within it's mind. What else would cause it to be acting completely out of character? That's when Medusa's companions went in for the attack, Identification followed suit. Twisting her frame so she'd slide the rest of the way towards a hind leg across from the masculine that first took notice to the musk ox. Her jaws snapping at the powerful legs, hoping to land a bite or a few.. Hunting on the ice was much more harder than one would think and that could always not work in their favors, but soon the taste of blood formed where teeth had connected. Walk, "Talk", Think Played inside the months of moon

_{Art by Sin; Code by Asena}

Éldi nodded softly as the youngest of their group spoke, mentioning to avoid whatever disease it carried. Indeed the sores were concerning, and without knowing their cause it was hard to know how it was spread. The plan was simple, heckle it and wear it down until the skeletal marked woman could make the kill. "That sounds good to me. Musk Ox can overheat if driven for too long. The more we can keep it moving the more quickly it will tire." Ideally they would get the beast to run and wear it down from there, but with its almost mad determination to bash its head and hooves into the ground they might not get it to leave the spot. His own raven took to the air, joining in with its talons striking the top of the ox's muzzle before the bird took deftly back into the air. The oxen bellowed and kicked.

As the other's moved in, Éldi watched their placement before picking a spot for himself. He slunk forward at first then shifted off to the ox's left side. While its focus was on the other creatures attacking it Éldi kicked off hard, driving himself forward in a sharp angle toward the back fo the ox's left front leg. His fangs lashed out toward the elbow, grasping hold as his teeth tore into the ligaments there. His abdomen tensed, body pulling in sharply. He hoped to be close enough to the front leg to keep out of reach of a hind leg kicking out at him. Between the assaults on its front and hind legs the oxen began to stumble.

Katsu grunted as he dodged a blow from the ox's back leg, but he worked in tandem with the cream woman beside him as they worried at the creature's hind legs. It was blowing hard, great gasps of air going up in fog and condensation. The wise older male's words rang in his head - tire it out, overheat it. That he could do. Again, it gave him pause that a wolf so heavily pregnant was here to help take it down, but she'd brought some fierce companions along for the fight. Surely that would help end this quickly. Maybe one of these days he'd wrangle some companions of his own.

He dived in again towards the ox's hind leg, jumping up this time to latch on to the sensitive skin headed towards its rear. If he could open it up good there, the beast might really feel it. Kat grunted and notched his teeth into the tender flesh beneath its tail, sinking in to mostly fat. Blood filled his mouth and he grunted with satisfaction.

"speech"

coded by NachoMumma

She watched with (im)patience as the others wore it down. She so badly wanted to rush in and help with all of the dirty work, but she knew well enough that she had to be careful, especially since she was so far along in her pregnancy these days. Ugh. What fun suckers! She couldn't wait till they popped out so she could resume her dirty deeds again! Ears flicked at the Avalon wolf's words, wise idea, of course. Though it would be her companions and the other wolves doing that bit for now.

As the party wore it down, the beast bellowed, kicked, and seemed to try and fend off the attackers, but with the way it was acting so strangely, she couldn't be sure. With Umbra tearing away at its back, her shadow cat lunged for a careful bite at the back of the neck, her weight pressing down on the beasts head in an effort to slow it and tire it out further. Medusa would take that opportunity. She hurried closer, rushing in once she was within a few feet and practically threw herself at the ox's neck, sharpened claws clinging to the underside of its jaw while her teeth sunk into its neck, blood gushing from the artery as it spilled all over her. She had no doubt the beast would fall within mere minutes, if not seconds.

"Speech"

Winter nights, we sang in tune Identification was focused on helping with the woman had held on as she felt the kicks of the musk ox's hind legs trying to get Identification free from the grip she held. The wind that bellowed out over the frozen land causing her to shiver. The woman released and only to grip down once more. Her front paws and claws digging into the flesh of the ox, twin peaks twisted back. Eye narrowed as she pulled backward, tugging and yanking. Blood pouring from the wounds she gave forth to the musk ox, every chance she got she was able to spit the blood out. The legs were strong but she also had to be careful so she wouldn't get injured also. The male she worked beside went for the rump of the massive creature. Identification watched carefully as Medusa's companions began to work together. The raven doings it's jobs with trying to dig at it's head with sharp claws. That's when Medusa came right in, taking her chance at the neck. The beast would fall soon enough and Fic known that. After the beast would fall Fic would have to look over Medusa incase if she was wounded. Walk, "Talk", Think Played inside the months of moon

_{Art by Sin; Code by Asena}

Éldi clung tight, feeling the muscles in his neck stretch and contract as he tried to maintain his grip. Each pull of the ox's legs caused more tearing as his fangs shredded deep. So close to the creature's chest he could hear the lungs laboring, the gasping of an ill and tiring creature. The stumbles became more frequent as Éldi's hunting partners shredded into the flesh of its hind legs. Soon now, if the could keep it going a little longer.

Moments later the skull marked woman leapt at the beasts throat. The scent of blood hung thick in the air. The clear sight of its mortality laying before it the ox gave a mighty bellow and surged forward in one last attempt to tear free of the wolves. Could they hold it?

Failure!

The hunting party, try as they might, doesn't succeed in taking down the musk ox. With a final surge of strength, the prey animal tears off across the tundra away from them, giving them no answers about what's going on.