After the hunt with the purple guy and that group, Wade knew that there were more animals that still needed to be put down. Returning to the north, the red teenager found another such creature that was behaving strangely. Near the metal ship, an elk dotted with those same strange lesions was rubbing itself raw on the hull and the smell of tainted blood fills the air which has the young man making a face at the foul scent.

Tipping his head back, Wade calls out to any nearby hunters to join him in taking down this sick animal. As his call fades into the late afternoon air, he eyes the diseased elk and contemplates how they will should take down this creature. Biting is out and the teenager really, really hopes that someone with claws or cool mutations will show up so that he doesn’t have to risk getting sick.

Even with a wolf calling not that far away from the prey animal, the elk does not seem alarmed and is intent on rubbing away skin and muscle on the metal husk. Yep, this animal is definitely sick.


"Wade Praetor" | 'Sly' | 'Loki'

His hunger to find an answer to the peculiar behavior grew with every failed hunt. Each time another prey escaped, the more frustrated he grew. So Raumr stayed near that metallic ship covered in ice. His bold stare scanned the wasteland, observing, and taking note.

When a wolf calls for hunters to join in taking down an elk that’s behaving stranger by the minute, Raumr wastes no time stretching out his lithe muscles and approaching. “I must know what the cause is behind this,” he states, his typically deep honeyed voice stretched taut with concern.

Remaining in the North wasn’t a hard decision, whatever was going on up here would eventually affect her home, and so the young koi marked woman stayed.

When an unfamiliar howl went up calling a hunt, she moved towards it, wondering if it might be similar to the bison they had pulled down, all full of dirt… but she supposed there was only one way to find out.

Long legs ate up the distance as she approached the red coated male, dipping her head ever so slightly as she approached, if only to show she wasn’t here for a fight, although her stance softened a little when she spotted the lion from her first hunt, tail waving in greeting.

An elk this time. She took time forming her words “I wonder if this one will be filled with dirt too?”

Birna kept to herself as the world turned itself inside out. The sun gave off an eerie light, tremors shook the earth here and then and strange spires had appeared on the horizon. Birna wanted none of it and instead kept to the high north where she thought she'd be safer. Yet, it seemed even here the earth was afflicted as well as the creatures upon it. Prey animals began acting strangely, digging frantically and Birna's keen eyes had spied sores on some. A disease?

This was a serious threat to her lively hood and needed to be investivated. As she slipped over to the west she heard a wolf call together a hunt. Her whiskers twitched. This was a perfect opportunity. Birna followed the call to find a red and black wolf and the lion, Raumr, eyeing a herd of elk. She slunk forward and gave a node of greeting to her fellow feline. "We meet again." She glanced to the young wolf. "I wish to assist in this hunt. I too am concerned for the state of our prey populations."

The red teenager eyes the elk with distaste when a huge lion on stealthy paws appears and his voice startles Wade from his thoughts. Surprise creases his features as he looks to the feline, nodding in agreement to his statement as he adds, “Yeah, we need to figure this out and put a stop to it.” Another yearling appears and he grins in greeting until they talk about the elk being full of dirt. The grin fades as he stammers out, “Full of dirt?”

Teenage voice crackles and he dips his head in greeting to the snow leopard that rounds out the party. Once they are all gathered and have had time to look at the one elk in the herd that is currently rubbing away skin and flesh on the metal skeleton of the ship, Wade clears his throat and tries to infuse some confidence into his cracking voice, “Okay, so. As you can all see, that elk is covered in lesions and acting strange. We need to hunt it but I think it would be best to avoid biting it.”

A mouth full of puss is not a pleasant thought for the teenager. Looking to the two felines, he says, “I think it would be best if you two bring it down so, with that in mind,” he looks to his fellow wolf and grins, saying, “how about we all chase it down and let the cats handle it! Sound good?” Pale gaze travels around the group, waiting for their agreements before adding, “Stay safe and be careful.” With that, the red boy nods and peels away, walking toward the elk.

Paws slowly pick up speed until he is at a dead run and the elk herd quickly spooks running away from predators. However, the diseased elk is slower, still focused on rubbing out whatever itch it feels and it takes a few moments to register the threats. Blood mars the rusty steel as it pulls away, belting an alarm as it turns to try run away from the group.


"Wade Praetor" | 'Sly' | 'Loki'

Raumr looks to Mochi and then to Birna, giving both females a friendly smile and leisurely wave of his tail. He was quick to make friends unlike many large male felines. The more in his corner the better. “Let us hope it is not dirt,” his nose wrinkles at the comment, gaze moving to the other male wolf. “The last one we hunted down had been full of dirt as if it had been eating it for days,” there is a gravity to his words that send even a chill down his own spine.

“I believe Birna and I will be sufficient enough to take its final moments,” he speaks in an attempt at a jovial tone, smile flashing toward her, though it’s clear that the concern still lingers behind each word.

Once they’re all in agreement, Raumr takes off after Wade. His long legs and large paws eat up ice and snow, easily closing the distance between elk and their group. The loud alarming call does little to alert the others who are more content to itch, scratch, and dig at the ground and ship. Snapping his teeth at the elk, he grabs for one of its back legs.

Their last hunt had been with a healer and she had deemed it safe to bite the bison, and this one seemed to bare similar wounds. She supposed Raumr could suffocate it but despite it's illness it seemed quite spry. "I will bite it." It wasn't a suggestion, or up for discussion. She was not afraid.

At their approach, the herd began to scatter, and she increased her speed to further cut the sick elk off from its herd. The same wounds marked its side, squirming lumps beneath it's skin. Her stomach turned, but they had to get to the bottom of this.

Raumr grabbed at a rear leg, and Mochi targeted the elks underside, biting at the thin flesh where its thigh met it's belly. With the lion holding the limb she got bold tearing into the prey to get its blood flowing. If they weakened it, it would make delivering a killing blow easier.

"speech"

Birna raised a brow at the mention of dirt. She could only assume that meant the stomach was full of dirt. Were prey animals eating the dirt as well as digging it? That was not a pleasant thing to hear, for if the prey were not eating the nutrients they needed they could not feed the predators. Birna eyed the elk the young wolf pointed out. It was pawing at the earth, hooves clicking as it duck the chill earth. She listened while she watched, nodding at the mention of avoiding biting it. That worked for her. Her claws flexed in anticipation.

Birna nodded her agreement at the plan. At first she wondered if she should lay in wait for the wolves to herd it toward her but as the others moved away she shifted to tag along after Raumr. Stalking silently forward, when the others sprang into action she bolted forward, her short legs eating up the distance as she picked up as much speed as she possibly could before flinging herself up and not the elk's back. Her claws sank in deep in front of each shoulder, her hind ones digging into the back as her tail waved wildly to assist her balance.

When the other yearling states that she will bite it, Wade does not protest since it seems like it would be pointless to try. He simply grins and nods and soon, the hunt is under way. Long, gangly legs bring him up to the sick elk and he attempts to press it toward the felines, staying aware of his hunting party’s positions. Wounds are opened on the elk, filling the air with even more of the copper and sickness scent and his nose wrinkles in disgust but he does not shy away, instead lashing out with his maw and grabbing at one front leg, pulling it away from the body.

It grunts in pain, shrieks in anger as the leopard leaps onto of its back and then finally falls, flailing its limbs on the way down. Spitting out the blood that coats his mouth (so much for not biting!) Wade quickly makes his way to the head of the elk and works to pin it to the ground while also forcing it back so that it exposes the throat and easier for the felines to attack. Grunting from the exertion, his pale gaze darts around the group, making sure that everyone is still in one piece.


"Wade Praetor" | 'Sly' | 'Loki'

As the Elk came down, Mochi released her hold and moved to grasp a lower limb and pull it taught, doing her best to dodge the other leg that violently flailed. There were felines moving to end the creature, the other yearling was pinning the Elk down. She wasn't sure she could hold on much longer... Perhaps she should continue to try and open the elks stomach to expose it's entrails...

As the hoof flew on a collision course with her head she dropped her hold on the limb, pushing forward to rip and tear at the elks underside. She could only hope it would be over soon.

"speech"

The elk bucked sharply as her claws entered its flesh. She held on tight, resisting the urge to bite towards its neck. She felt her claws starting to slip, cutting lacerations as her grip started to weaken. Birna crouched as low as she could, her belly laying along the elk's back as she flexed her claws, seeking to dig them in deeper and hoping her weight would help to slow the creature.

Her hunting partners continued to attack and soon the elk stumbled, pitching forward. Birna shifted her hold, her front paws snaking closer to the elk's neck, digging in on either side as she pulled sharply back, hoping to assist in revealing its throat before it managed to fully get back to its feet.

He is thankful that the group isn't entitled. Isn't insufficient. They make taking the elk down easy. The poor animal's braying sounds of death pierce his ears as it begins to gurgle on its own blood. Skin and tendons slice and crush between his powerful jaw as he clamps down on the elk's back leg. Twisting his head just enough that the leg would snap and the elk would falter to a stop, he watches the rest of his group convene on the elk. Blood continues to soak open lesions that ooze with puss. The prey animal's bleating call drones to nothing as it fights to stay alive.

Raumr Regalus, the Third

table coding by bunni ♥

Success!

The hunting party works fluidly together to bring down the elk. The liger's grip on its limb sends it tumbling down, blood beginning to pool around its form as its life drains onto the frozen ground. It becomes immediately apparent that something is deeply wrong with the elk they've just put out of its misery- beneath its coat crawl dozens upon dozens of wriggling little worms, using the fresh wounds to begin to escape from beneath its pelt.