At last her wounds had healed! Birna strode from her den, stretching and rolling her shoulders as she walked. It had been awhile since she ripped the eyes out of the twit who had been foolish enough to threaten her family. However, since her return Fiori had grown rather quiet. It wasn't a bad thing she supposed, a little peace and quiet was welcome after the siege as well as some, in her opinion, much deserved rest. But now that the Head Sentry was over her wounds it was time to stir up the pack a little. While not a lead hunter persay she did feel she was of a high enough rank to call the others together for a hunt even if it was not her area of expertise. Letting out a howl, Birna called for the wolves of Fiori. What their target would be she did not yet know. Birna also was not sure she wished for a serious hunt as much as a challenging one. Perhaps they could attempt to whack some moles and see who could catch the most? She was open to ideas. "Speech"

ooc: So... hunts have a reputation of being boring and rarely finishing so I'm looking for thoughts and ideas to make this thread a bit more interesting. Should we have some volunteers for injuries? Invasion of another predator during the hunt? Weird prey? I'd love to here your guys thoughts. No posting deadline for the moment, kind of waiting to see how skills develop and maybe we can put this toward that idk.

Ooc:: I'd be up for having another predator entering the thread. :3 I think that has the potential to add some interest to it.

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The rank of Initiate did weigh on him a little, but in all honesty, well, he was in a wonderful state of mind. Arian. She had become a light to him, a sign of hope. The young man had promised to stand by her through anything and everything, and that he would. Arian was his mate, his love. Even if their union had been a bit strange, in the end he felt lighter. What was the point of being alone in the world when you could have someone you could count on and talk to? Someone who could rebuild your future? Not only that, but knowing that he could have someone to protect, someone who needed him as much as he needed her, well, that was the greatest feeling.

The call of another Fiori member would sound and Cypress would cock his head to the side. What was this? He didn't have a name for the call, but he would answer all the same. One did not summon the pack without cause. The young man would give a loving nudge to Arian and then leave, heading off to where the call had sounded from.

The woman he found was well, massive. Cy felt strangely small near her. He would give a tip of his head, a single word coming forth from his mouth; "Greetings."

Ritselli was excited! The moment she heard the call from the pretty tall lady she wanted to go too! Sure the girl didn’t know what Birna was calling about, but the child had decided she liked her. She was nice, and she liked the fact that Ritselli could catch bugs, so she liked her too! The girl was off towards the call at a run, her little tail wagging back and forth happily. Fun fun fun! She had a smile on her face, settling into life in Fiori without too much trouble. She was honestly a little disappointed to see she was the second to arrive to the woman’s call. But, paying no mind to the silver man, she pranced up to the Xanilov woman with a big grin on her face. “Missus Birna what’cha doing? Can I do it to? Please please pleaseeee?” The child would beg. Her eyes were shining as she looked up at the other, ears giving excited twitches. It was hard to believe this was the same child who had needed to be left behind by her father. "Talk" "You" Think

Table by:: Shelby

The tall boy had been in his favorite of places, the cool pool of the hot springs, when he heard the call summoning the wolves of Fiori. He found himself curious, as well as restless. What could he possibly learn if he answered the call? He was a year old now, he would be expected to participate in pack life more than he had previously. They'd surely want him to choose a field to really excel in. His father had told him to get strong so he could protect the ones he loved, unlike his sire. He had every intention of becoming a warrior, but that didn't stop him from wanting to learn other skills as well. He'd lift himself from the water and shake out his pelt before finding his way back into the mangroves. He'd carry himself proudly, like he usually did, as his large paws brought him into the clearing. Though he was obviously awkward (with his too-big paws and gangly appearance), but his future girth was imaginable. His eyes would fall on the other wolves that had appeared, none of his brothers were present but he would nod in greeting to each other his pack mates. Taking a page out of Vitus' book Bacchus would remain silent until given his orders. Not that he would have any idea what to do once they came. ""

ooc. we could do a practice run of the hunting game if you wanted =]

Bjorn's ears pricked up at the sound of his sister's voice, and the sound of it drew a stab of guilt. Since their return from Ebony's war, he had been doing a fantastic job of resting on his laurels and a terrible job of being a brother and a head sentry. Birna was clearly finished with the whole resting thing and was moving things along without him. He stopped to pluck an autumn flower, debated leaving it at her den for her to find after but since he didn't know how long this would take and he didn't want it to wilt he carried it with him as he sped up to join his sister. Casually setting it at her paws he moved to sit beside her and move his light gaze over the group. One adult, one yearling, and one... pup. It was like they just got younger and younger as you moved to the next wolf. "I do not see us taking an elk with this assistance," he murmured quietly to his sister. "Do you believe any of Epiphron's children will join us?" He found himself doubting it; they had been very quiet since Epiphron had informed them of Jupiter's death and her own inheritance of the pack. ""

v

A howl caught Leo's attention and his two-toned ears would perk. Ever since his talk with his mother he had been trying his best to stay around the pack as much as possible and help out when he could. He still hadn't brought himself to seek out Arian or Caeto though... He wasn't sure why, but he didn't feel like he could approach them like he did his other siblings. He would do so soon enough... but for now his focus was on answering the call that pulled him forward. He trotted to where the wolves were slowly beginning to gather. Both of Mother's main guardians were there along with one pup and an adult he didn't recognize as well as one of Athena and Amalia's boys. He couldn't quite place the boy's name, but he easily recognized him with his slate blue coloring and size. His pale ear twitched as he heard Bjorn speak to his sister just as Leo approached from behind him. Leo smirked and came up along side him, amusement in his voice as he whispered, "At least one of them will." He gave Bjorn a grin, showing that it was all in jest before he trotted over to where Amalia's adopted son sat. He hadn't had a chance to really meet the boys yet, but he felt like as the boy's uncle he should at least socialize and look out for him... even though the white splattered boy easily towered over Leo even as a yearling. "Hello there," he said quietly with a small smile as he settled on his haunches next to the boy. He then let his sapphire gaze look forward to rest on Birna and Bjorn, waiting to see what their mission for the day would be. "Talk" "You" Think

He was a year old now. A year older and he still wasn't real sure he knew a whole lot. That's why when he heard the howl that was calling them together he was eager to rise to his over-sized paws so he could lope in long strides toward the gathering. He had kept to himself for the most part since he had come back from his trip out of the territory when he had met Arivae. It wasn't really on purpose, he just hadn't really felt very social since then. He thought about the smaller, dark colored woman a lot though and part of him wondered if he might find her again some day. Doing his best to come back to the present and keep the past out of his thoughts he found the small gathering. He arrived just as a smaller, dark russet man said hello to his brother and it was easy to guess that this was Momma Amalia's brother. He vaguely remembered seeing him at the meeting they had all gone to when they first arrived anyway. Tib didn't talk to any of the other wolves there, but he would give them all a polite smile as he passed them to sit beside Bacchus. He bumped Bac's shoulder with his and gave his brother a small smirk. It had been a while since the two of them had really hung out and he was glad that they had both come to the hunt today. Speak Thought Others

The nudge was enough to get Arian to wake up. She and Cypress would be leaving soon, so there wasn't one thing she wanted to miss. One thing no one could deny is that crippled or not the daughter of epiphron had learned her way around hunting and fighting on three legs. She was not totally useless, and today she was having more of an up day than usual. Her chest puffed out as the woman stood up and started towards the meeting. Her eyes spotting her brother and speaking about children. "Make it two. Hi Leo." she spoke a little softly. Leo she hadn't seen since he was little, after all Arian hadn't interacted with the pack much other than cypress. It made her feel better to flock over to him and press herself against him. She was trying but still felt nervous. Her brain was under recovery, she felt fine now but there was no telling when it would make her crawl into a hole again. Arian's dependence seemed to be slipping away, after all it had been an entire season. It made her take in a deep breath, knowing she wouldn't feel like this forever she knew she had to make the most of it. She reminded herself, she could do this. She had to be a leader so she had to concentrate. "Talk" "You" Think

Though not unsurprising to hear Birna's call ring out across the lands of Fiori, she still hadn't expected a group hunt. Pleased with her Head Sentry's taking initiative, she decided to join in the hunt with the rest of them. Her demeanor was quite animated as she approached the group, happy that they wanted to work together despite many of them not specializing in hunting. Even still, they had mouths to feed and it was pleasing that they were ready to work for one another. "Afternoon, everyone," Epiphron would give a general nod as she drew near the group. She was grateful that Bacchus, Tiburtius, and Ristelli had shown up; some hunting practice, in a big group, would be good for them. Arian and Cypress had arrived as well -- it seemed they hadn't quite left Fiori yet, though she figured this might be the last time she saw either of them for some time. Leo had arrived as well, and Bjorn was here too, as expected. A pleased smile would be offered to both of his Head Sentries in turn. They seemed quite content since coming back from the war that Ebony had held and she was happy that they had come back mostly unscathed. "What will we be hunting today?" she'd question Birna, wondering if she'd scouted ahead of time or if this hunt would be on a whim. (Maybe we can try to take down some larger game? A bison or musk ox or something? Only a few actual hunters here but figured it'd be good to get them some skill points :) )

EDIT:  I don't want to work and Tea's occupied so taking this back over.  Whoo procrastinating like a boss over here, y'all!
• predator or larger prey sound good to me, I asked an admin and heard the hunting game wasn't quite ready but we should totally try it when it is.

Birna waited with both patience and excitement as the wolves of Fiori came to her, even little Ritselli.  The blue-eyed femme could help but smile at the girl.  Something about her bright spirit just made her grow on Birna and the older woman was starting to become rather attached.  Birna chuckled and shook her head.  "I'm afraid you're still to young to participate Ritselli, but you can watch us work and take notes, though you must stay hidden, still and very quiet" She hated to disappoint the girl but logic would win out.  She was simply too young and easy to trample.  The gathering was still small when her brother appeared, bringing a flower, one of the last of the season.  She moved to lick his cheek. "Thank you, brother.  How sweet." Birna leaned down and gently grasped the flower in her teeth before setting it at Ritselli's paws. "Ritselli, I have a important task for you, can you look after this flower for me til we return?" Her attention returned to her brother and she smiled mischievously. "I don't know brother, we may be few but we are fierce." A few moments later more Fiorians joined the throng.  Birna took a moment to dip her head in greeting to each new wolf that arrived, including the alpha.  Well now, this was a much more sizable group! "We have a couple options.  There's a bison herd moving through to the south of us and I've found some fresh elk droppings on the west side of the mangroves. The elk may make for easier prey, the bison are still strong and their calves have grown, I think waiting for winter snow to slow them down would make for safer hunting.  We'll likely need to pick off an older elk or an injured one.  Follow me!" With a grin she started heading to the mangroves, nose to the ground until she recaptured the scent of the scat.  Falling silent she continued walking until the dense trees parted to a small plain where the elk were gathered around the river, drinking.  Hmm... this would be tricky.  They needed to get the elk running to test them for weaknesses and there were three directions the animals could go, right across the river, down the bank or back into the mangrove forest.  Both the river and mangrove would impede the movement of the elk though it would hinder the wolves as well.  Now the soft river bank on the other hand, well that gentle earth was much more forgiving to paws than hooves.  If they were lucky one of the elk might stumble but luck was a rare thing to come by. Birna turned to the wolves and gestured for Ritselli to hide and watch, she lowered her voice, thankful for the gurgling river that might help mask their sound.  She made a note to hold lessons later on developing soundless communication for hunting.  She and Bjorn had their own gestures and body language to communicate hunting and battle strategies but it was unfair to assume the others might know what she meant.  Birna really needed to get to know her pack more, so long it had only been her and her brother and developing a strategy for all of them was both nerve-wracking and exciting. "Bacchus, Bjorn, Leo, Tiburtius, I want you four to run at the herd and get them going so we can look for potential targets.  Bacchus and Bjorn, run along the edge of the mangroves to try and keep them from seeking shelter in the trees unless you deem it a reasonable strategy to let the target get caught in the brush.  I'm hoping we can chase them down the bank and overtake the target in the loose soil.  Leo, Tiburtius, try to get between some of the elk and the river.  Arian, Epiphron and I will keep to the west of the herd and will help to drive them east.  Epiphron, I leave to you to select the target.  Once the target is selected we'll all move in to restrain the animal and leave the killing bite to our Queen.  Any questions?" "Speech"

ooc:  I wasn't sure how to bump this so... have a tiger  xD   I suppose he can be the interfering predator to, though I'd hate for him to be maimed.  I was thinking a bear or something but anywho if anyone wants to bring in another predator feel more than free!

Stripes blended perfectly with the dappled light of the Lover's Mangroves.  He had yet to learn why they were called such but it was lovely terrain for a water-loving cat.  Shame this part of Alacritis always seemed to be so densely populated with wolves.  Stretching contentedly the tiger's jade green eyes surveyed the landscape, ears flicking as he enjoyed the fading autumn warmth.  It was about time he head back north or to his home base in the Rustling Thicket.  Just as he was about to move he noticed movement in the trees.  Wolves?  Seemed a band of them were hunting.  Quietly he shifted his legs underneath him, back arcing like a spring as he watched.  It seemed they hadn't noticed him but it never hurt to be ready to fight or run if the situation called for it.  For the moment he sought to simply observe the other beasts. "Speech"

It seemed Birna had plans to take down something quite large, and she told Ritselli quite gently that she wouldn't be able to participate today. Still, she'd be able to watch and learn, but having her actually try to help in the kill would likely be more dangerous than it was worth. Epiphron's ears would perk as Birna began to speak. She and Bjorm were both natural leaders, she'd noticed, which was why she'd promoted them so quickly. Neither seemed the least bit hesitant to dish out orders, and Birna was no different in organizing the hunt. After considering her first words, she'd add her two cents in. "The elk are more suitable prey," she'd agree with a curt nod. Perhaps in the winter they could take down a bison, but they hadn't hunted game so large together as a group.. it would be better to start small rather than risk unnecessary injury. Happy to be led this time, rather than do the leading, she'd turn to follow Birna as she began to lead them toward the mangrove. Her steps would grow silent as they grew closer to the elk herd. She assigned wolves to run at the herd, as well as wolves to keep them from veering off course. A nod was offered, signifying her understanding of the formation that Birna had decided upon. As soon as they began to push the herd, the weaker ones would be obvious and she could signal the rest to close in on the target. Her limbs and core muscles tensed as she waiting for questions from anyone. If none were given, she would veer to the west of the group and begin to move in that direction with Arian and Birna.

It seemed even as he spoke, one of Epiphron's children appeared to counter his words, quickly followed by another - and more in the way of young wolves, as well as the alpha herself - and though Epiphron's son grinned at him in jest, Bjorn just regarded him impassively in return. He wasn't going to give the guy a cookie for showing up to feed his own family, why would he? Just meant the guy wasn't taking advantage of his mother's good will quite as much as the rest of her children were, nothing more. He found himself more often than not feeling sorry for her...

He did bend his neck in a nod of respectful acknowledgement to Epiphron herself, though, before his sister began to speak and he turned his attention to her. Her plan was, as he'd always expected of her, a solid one, and eagerness stiffened the ursine Bjorn's limbs as she gave her orders. Chase the herd, keep them out of the mangroves unless he saw a good opportunity. He cast his gaze evaluatingly on the boy she'd indicated as his partner in his mission. He was young, just a yearling, but nearly as tall as Bjorn himself. It would be interesting to see how this kid worked, if he had any sort of training or if he'd be carrying him through this. Well, he'd see. If the kid didn't perform up to snuff he'd take him aside later to give him training so that next time he'd be a real asset next time instead of a drain... He followed along as Birna and Epiphron started for the herd, though he paused, frowning, to lift his muzzle and sniff deeply as an odd scent struck him when the wind shifted slightly... what in the world was that? He kept a suspicious eye out, following Birna distractedly as the group readied themselves to go after the elk.