There is hope within despair

Excitement vibrated in Brandr's chest as he headed back toward the border of the thicket closed to the Serpent Plains. He'd spied a herd of elk moving through the area with a few young calves. It was a perfect hunting opportunity and with summer in full swing he felt it was a good time to get the pack together to do some community hunting. Not to mention there were new mouths to feed. With the addition of Caelum and her family as well as Lark and Lillie's pups he felt like things were finally starting to turn around for Abaven. Even the threat of the Abraxas seemed like a distant memory.

Slipping through the misty haze of a warm, summer afternoon Brandr worked out a few different strategies. He'd never hunted elk before but he hoped it would be a similar process to hunting deer. Tipping back his head he howled for the pack and any that were interested in joining him on a hunt.

OOC: Hunting threads started for the spring fling event can get double points! Due Date: March 24

Winter had come and gone, spring had come and gone, and now it was summer. She was officially another year older, even though that brought fourth her first heat season. Before Storm had left she had taught her what to do and Corentine had been taking herbs to help ease her through it. She had stuck to the pack's territory so far this season and planned to do so in order to stay away from trouble. She had been checking herb stocks which were in great shape right now. She had already restocked the herbs that had been used so far this season and things were looking good. So with all that being done she had decided to do some cleaning in her den, pushing out old moss bedding and bringing in new bedding. She already had a new collection of small pelts to add to the top of her bed so she was glad to get that done today. She was just sitting down to ponder what to do next before Brandr's howl rang out calling together a hunt. A jolt of excitement zipped through her and she jumped up from her spot. It felt like forever since she had done any bigger hunts and was excited to hear him calling one together. She ran through the territory and slowed as she grew close. She was the first one there and smiled to Brandr as she trotted over and gently tried to nudge his shoulder with her nose. She was excited to know what he had planned, what game were they trying for today! "Talk" "You" Think

Having successfully tidied up the den her small family shared - refreshing the bedding with newer pelts and the like, as well as doing a little digging to widen it some in more cramped areas - Caelum was feeling rather accomplished as she lounged in front of the entrance. She had even managed to catch her seemingly tireless child and give her a few warm kisses, washing dirt from the troublesome girl's face amidst loud protest before the girl went off to look for someone to go exploring with. The kid never stopped going on adventures, did she? Shaking her head at the memories of her feisty, independent youngest child, Cae smiled and stretched. If she wasn't careful she'd make herself sad thinking of how Caelestis would likely move into her own den soon.

Didn't take long after the thought crossed her mind for the sound of a summoning howl to reach her ears. Thank goodness age hadn't taken her hearing, for the call was the perfect opportunity to get up and start getting involved in the pack. Getting to her paws, she hurried to meet the call, greeting the two already gathered with a friendly smile and a wave of her ivory tail. Taking a seat, she waited to see who else would show up.

Brandr was holding a hunt? Good on him! Sparrow figured it was about time she tag along. Besides, if things got too heated, she could offer healing afterwards. Coming to the clearing, Sparrow saw Brandr, Caelum, and Corentine. She smiled at the trio, taking a seat and waiting for whatever was next.

Sparrow thought, a tad bitterly, that it would be a good opportunity for some of the lesser-acting members of the pack to show up. She was always running into the same familiar faces while the others stayed hidden. She had warned them at the last meeting, but until the next, she would just have to see.

A hunt, huh? Something that Lillianna wasn't terribly interested in, but figured she ought to do; despite the fact that the pups had only just stopped nursing - not that they didn't stop by for a snack every now and then. It was beginning to irritate her, actually, which meant she growled more and more as they tried to get a quick, lazy snack. They were approaching two months; they didn't need milk snacks anymore. However, that did mean that Lillianna had to go and do stuff. It was quite, quite reasonable for her to not while she was still nursing, but with her encouraging the trio to not nurse anymore, it meant she'd need to interact with the pack.

... Something she wasn't entirely thrilled about, honestly. Still, she heaved herself up and trotted towards the call. It wasn't that she didn't want to go and do anything; it was that she didn't want to go and do anything with the majority of the pack. The idea of stretching her legs sounded fantastic - dealing with Sparrow and such almost made it worth not going. But, perhaps she wouldn't be there.

Of course, Lillianna was wrong. Sparrow was there. Ah, well; it was simple enough to give Sparrow no acknowledgement, though with the other three she did greet with a simple, wordless nod.

Kassander had returned from another herb hunting trip happy and laden with clay jars he'd taken the opportunity to craft and fire while he was out. It wasn't, sadly, particularly reasonable to keep a fire going in Abaven's territory for him to be able to easily build a kiln, but there were several places around the continent that allowed for easy access to fire, mostly places where the earth had rent and allowed liquid fire to rise up. A stick poked in that substance burned quite satisfactorily, and he'd been able to light a small fire in a clay structure to bake it dry. Putting his clay jars in the structure with a fire seemed to make them stronger, and he was considering trying different materials in the fire to try to make it hotter, or coating the clay with something and reheating it to see if that would seal it like the jars he'd come across in some old human structures. If he could seal them, he'd be able to store liquids more easily...

He looked up from putting his jars in his herb alcove, blinking, as a familiar call filtered down. Oh, he'd gotten back just in time; it seemed Brandr was calling another hunt. Well, he was happy to help out again. Their successful hunt last time had been a boost to his confidence with Brandr, Corentine, and Lark - a minute relaxation in his anxiety when dealing with the other three hunters in the party.

But his confidence was slightly deflated when he arrived - sans Rommel, who'd hurt his paw on the trip and needed to rest it - to find that there were a great deal more members in the hunt this time than there had been last time, including the alpha herself. Kassander nearly tripped over his own paws as he hastily nodded at her before hesitantly moving to hover near Corentine and Brandr, wanting to be nearer wolves he was comfortable with but at the same time not wanting to be near the center of attention, as Brandr as the hunt leader surely was.

Despite feeling slightly alienated within Abaven now - a pack he once considered as central to his being as anything else in his life - Lark was quite honestly too busy and distracted to think about it for long. Though Sparrow had helped with Lillie's birth, it was obvious she wasn't happy at all with the situation. To what extent, though, he hadn't quite figured out. And truthfully, he wasn't sure he would any time soon unless he confronted her about it, and Lark had never been very good at confrontation to begin with. He supposed he'd figure it out in due time, though it did pull slightly at his mind. He tried not to let it weigh him down too much. The pups were still sleeping on this warm afternoon, and he didn't anticipate they'd wander off too far without him or Lillie, so when he heard a call for a hunt he figured he ought to respond to it. Slowly he rose and stretched, trailing after his mate after a long moment. Quite a few wolves had already arrived, including a few that had participated on the last hunt.. as well as his sister. He felt a slight bit of anxiousness flutter in his stomach, but he quietly padded to Lillie's side and sat down, waiting for Brandr to issue orders for them to begin.

There is hope within despair

Brandr grinned as he saw Corentine approach. She was usually the first to arrive and he knew he could count on her when it came to hunting for the pack. She trotted over and gently nudged his shoulder. "Hey Corentine!" Man it was good to see her but man her scent was sure… different. He didn't know what to make of it but he couldn't ponder it for long for Caelum arrived next. He dipped his head respectfully toward the older woman. To his surprise Sparrow was the next to arrive and he felt a familiar stirring of nerves but also excitement. He returned her smile. Excellent! They already had a good group but to his utter delight more wolves arrived. There was Lillianna the new mother and she was followed by Kassander and Lark. He dipped his head in greeting to all of them and he was particularly pleased to see Kass and Lark again. What a hunting party!

Brandr's tail wagged lightly back and forth as he stood confidently before his packmates. "Thank you all so much for coming. I've spied a herd of elk moving through the plains. They have some young calves with them that are ripe for the taking. With a group this large an adult might also be possible. We have the whole plain to work with. My thoughts are to get as close as we can then get them running. The weakest calf should fall to the back, likely with it's mother. We'll need one team to distract and separate the cow while the other's take down the calf. Does that sound good? Or do you think we should try for an adult or more than one calf?" Brandr was open to several ideas with a group this large and wanted to know what they thought.

OOC: Tally ho! Due Date: April 3

"Hey Brandr!" she replied back. She was vary glad to see him and even better to hunt with him again. It had been far to long since she had gotten to hunt with him. Yes she loved the pack hunts, but they wouldn't be the same if Brandr wasn't apart of them. She was excited to know what he had scouted out, what his plans were, and who all would show. Last time it had been then and two other males, but they had successfully brought down a large kill. Would it be the same this time or would more show up? Her bright gold eyes watched at wolves began to trickle in, her happiness growing with each addition to the hunting party. This was going to be a big hunt and hopefully a successful one. Sparrow was even joining them this time which was great news to the young women. Kass moved in to the hunting party and her gold eyes focused on the older male. He was great on the last hunt and she was eager to see what moves he made this time. He came over to hover near her and Brandr and she moved over to him to lightly bump him with her nose if he so allowed. She couldn't help it she was so energetic when it came to a hunt. She grinned at him with her bright gold eyes before Lark's movements caught her attention. He was participating again which meant they had a highly good chance once more to bring home a decent meal for the pack to share. She settled down in a sit as Brandr addressed everyone, stowing away her energy for the hunt. She needed to calm herself down and get her focus in line so that as a team there would be no injuries and that they would be able to bring something down. His plans were good, they could definitely handle one calf with no issues, but she feared with all that were here and the pups in the pack that maybe the meat wouldn't be enough. Surely the mother would also fight a bit instead of being just chased away from her calf. She counted the number of wolves here and tried to remember the size comparison from a female elk to a young bison. They should have enough to bring down both mother and calf. Though she was still young and didn't want to put anyone in risk, but a suggestion wouldn't hurt at all. "Wouldn't we have enough to take both mother and calf? Two to three on the calf and the other four on the mother?" she asked looking to Brandr then to the others to see what the thoughts would be. "Talk" "You" Think

Well, Lillianna and Lark decided to make an appearance. Sparrow's jaw set and she made no attempts to greet the others that entered. She waited for Brandr to speak. It was for the best of the pack that Sparrow pretend that Lark and Lillie were just ordinary, regular members- and omega- of the pack for now and she intended to keep it that way.

Brandr suggested they take on a calf while Corentine voiced a more ambitious idea. Sparrow was apt to appeal to both.

"What if we just take an elder? A mother would be fine, or perhaps even both, but it's better safe than sorry. We don't want to spread too thin, right? If we kill a mother, it's calf will surely die later, but then we miss the chance for that meal growing fully. I suggest..." Sparrow looked quickly around the group.

"I think with the numbers we have we could take on an adult. We just need to find on weak enough. If there isn't one, I'm all for taking on a new mother."

Sparrow flashed a toothy smile. She was getting excited about the hunt.

"If anyone needs healing, I'm sure Kass or I can tend to them."

It was nice to watch so many wolves arrive to participate in the hunt. Caelum couldn't remember the last time she was part of a hunt with so many wolves - or maybe she'd rather not dwell on it. Somber thoughts were cast aside as Brandr began speaking, saying they would be hunting elk and discussing plans. Corentine proposed taking a mother and calf, not a bad idea, but Cae had to agree with Sparrow about spreading themselves too thin. Working as a large group rather than splitting might be safer and offer a higher chance of success.

Pondering the options a moment, she eventually chimed in, "Hm, maybe a mother and calf would work supposing the mother in question was already ailing, elderly or injured. If there's one who'd unlikely to raise her calf to adulthood I'd say that would be a good plan, but otherwise I agree with Sparrow." After that she'd wait to see what the others had to say so they could reach a decision and begin the hunt. Excitement flowed through her veins, only showing in the way she shifted her weight back and forth between her front legs, letting one paw tilt off the ground before shifting back onto it and raising the other slightly. Back and forth, eagerly awaiting the beginning of the real action.

There is hope within despair

Brandr pondered over the suggestions of his pack mates. They could take both mother and calf and an elder elk was also a good option. He was fairly confident they could take both mother and calf but once the herd started running it could get difficult to keep track of which pair they were targeting. As for an elder, he wracked his brain trying to think if he'd seen any elderly animals with that herd.

"Ok, I think since this is a rare opportunity for us so lets try for an adult. That should be enough to feed everyone. However, I don't recall seeing any elderly elk in the herd but its not out of the question for some of them to be ill or injured and its possible I missed analyzing some. So here's the plan. Lets stick to the time honored tradition of chasing and testing. We'll fan out and get them running, if you spy weakness or illness call out for the rest of us and we'll move in. If those that end up falling behind are a mother and calf then we'll seek to target both."

He gazed around at the others. "I know it's not the clearest strategy but I find hunts rarely go as planned anyway. I'll try and hang back and call out a strategy as we move. Be alert. Whoever's in the best position when the time comes gets the kill shot. Let's get started!" He turned and slipped off into the thicket. He could feel his heart hammering in his ears and he hoped he was doing alright. He knew his methods tended to be a bit looser than some but he was adaptable and he was sure the rest of the pack was to.

Soon Brandr spied the herd grazing contentedly in one of the lower dips in the terrain. He worked his way closer, stalking along. He waited for a moment then grinned before bursting forth with a joyful yell to get them running, his golden eyes alert for any signs of failing health.

OOC:  Sorry for the wait! Due Date: April 16 AM (I plan to post in the evening)

Lillianna waited quietly for the decision to be made. She didn't really have an opinion on it - she would go after whatever. They certainly had enough members present to go for a calf or a mother, or even just another adult- maybe not a bull, but those were always the hardest to get anyway, and typically were few in the herds regardless. Soon, though, a decision was made, and she nodded. That was more than fine with her.

She started to run. Oh, to feel the wind in her fur; to have a purpose and to be searching. She first followed Brandr, to approach the elk, but then fanned out just like he said, eyes keen as she searched for the elk. She herself let out a strong howl-bark thing as she ran towards the elk, grinning as they started running away. Perfvect - just perfect.

And what was even more perfect - quickly, her eyes zeroed in on an elk. Something was different. Something wasn't right - there. It was just a limp, a small one, but one that caused her to lag behind the others. And there - she had a calf with her as well; that could be both good and bad. If they could kill the calf first, maybe, the mother wouldn't fight so hard and they could quickly take her down with the lame leg. "Found a possibility!" she called out. "Maimned leg on a mother. Has a calf with her."

Due Date: May 4 I know the Abraxas thing kind of stole the thunder but we're close to getting it wrapped up!

There is hope within despair

Brandr barreled forward in steady and powerful movements as he closed in on the elk. They scattered and he searched them, letting the obviously strong and healthy animals maneuver around and away from him. He spied an elderly bull but there was still a bit too much spring in his step to make Brandr feel confident about taking him down without someone getting injured. It was then that Lillianna called out. He grinned. "Good find! Keep them running. We'll flank either side and wear them down." He dove toward the mother, jaws snapping to put the pressure on her to use her wounded leg more. "Corentine, Sparrow, can you get the calf separated from the mother? I'll leave the calf to you two and Lillianna. Caelum, Kassander, can you help me with the cow?"

Just as the words left his mouth a well aimed kick from the cow clipped his shoulder causing him to stumble but he was able to recover. Putting on a burst of speed he continued snapping at her hind legs hoping someone else could get closer to her front.

OMG SO SORRY



Sparrow followed Brandr and fanned out as he had asked. She tried to zero out her mind onto the simple task of the hunt: chase, test, target, and attack. After some pack searching, Lillianna called out a target. Sparrow tried not to wrinkle her nose at the mere suggestion, even if it was an okay one.

Brandr motioned for Corentine, Lillianna, and Sparrow to separate the calf while the others went after the cow. Just then, a swift kick nicked Brandr's shoulder, but he was able to steady himself. With one last worried glance in his direction, Sparrow broke off and aimed to target the calf.

Sparrow drew closer to the calf, knowing its energy would surely run out before hers would. She aimed to keep herself just on its left side, hoping her presence would be just enough in its view to drive it to the right and away from the crowd. From there, Corentine and Lillianna could charge up on its right side and attack.

ooc: I'm not sure what to do with this thread so I'll leave it up to you guys. Feel free to carry on without Brandr or stop to get him some medical attention.

There is hope within despair

Brandr drove the elk cow hard, his fangs continuing to snap. His goal was to make the creature stumble and in that moment of weakness the wolves would be able to take her down completely. The cow turned sharply to his right and Brandr had to dig in and twist to keep up with her trajectory.  This was a strong herd despite the weaknesses and he couldn't help but be impressed.  Brandr hoped everyone was moving into position quickly as the cow was giving him some trouble. He'd been pretty lucky as a hunter so far. He'd only had a few minor scraps and bruises and it seemed fate decided the tables needed to be flipped.

As Brandr moved in to try and seize the cows right ankle she shifted suddenly, the leg was lifted out of his reach as she shifted her weight to her front limbs. Brandr's jaws snapped over empty air where her leg had been and BAM! She kicked straight back, her hooves cracking into the left front of his skull. He  yelped and went down hard. Pain lit across his vision before he blacked out.

-exit via unconsciousness-

Discussion went back and fourth for a little bit and she had to admit it was hard to fallow. She kept glancing to Brandr trying to judge what his thoughts were on everything. When discussion stopped Brandr made the final call. They would chase and test, look for the best target then zero in on that. It was a good enough plan to her. She fallowed Brandr's lead, slipping into cover and getting closer to the herd and waiting until Brandr took off. She took off as well helping to get the herd moving so that they could pick out a target and get a kill. She heard Lillianna call out, finding a suitable target for them to go after. Brandr's words then rang out, giving new orders to cut the calf off and her eyes zipped around to find the target that was being talked about. She was able to catch the sight of the kick and her eyes widened with worry, but he seemed to recover rather easily. She re aimed herself fallowing Sparrow's lead to cut out the calf. Sparrow cut out the calf and she charged towards the right side of the calf. Opening her jaws She aimed to grab onto the calf's snout to weigh it's front half down and to attempt to smother it. She left plenty of room for Lillianna to attack the right hind part of the calf to bring that part of it's body down. Jaws snapped around the snout and mouth of the calf, to pinch off it's airway to smother it and to bring it down. Keeping her hold and staying with the calf as best as she could while she hoped someone would take on the hind end of the calf. In this position her eyes watched as Brandr drove the mother hard, pushing her and snapping at her. She was impressed by him, just like she always was, but as the cow lifted her leg from reach and threw her weight on her front leg her eyes widened as the elk kicked straight back and she witnessed the hoof contact Brandr. Her heart dropped as he went down, unmoving. Her heart began to hammer in her chest as she abandoned her target. Releasing her weakened prey to try to catch it's breath as she ran to Brandr's side. The female elk had moved away by now and Corentine's attention was fully on Brandr her nose gently pressing against his chest to check for a heartbeat to make sure he was still alive. Instincts kicked in and she howled alerting all the others. She wouldn't be able to move him to safety on her own and he needed treatment. NOW! She pranced in place as she checked the rest of his vitals and looked to the spot where the hoof had made contact. "Talk" "You" Think