Since the pit idea had failed, Az was moving on to the next plan. Snares, he said. Aslatiel hadn't used a snare so her brother would have to show her how it was done. She was looking forward to the lesson and wondered what they might be able to catch.

The diminutive wolf had her mouth full of vines. The long tendrils snaked out on each side of her body and made travel a little difficult. More than once she stumbled and had to right herself. By the time she reached Azure, she was more than a little grumpy.

Spitting the vines out on the ground, Asla walked a few circles, taking a breather and collecting herself. Once satisfied, she locked purple eyes on her brother. "Okay, what do we do?"

With the pit-trap failed, Azure and Asla moved onto his next plan. He'd learned from his capable father how to craft snares to catch rabbits, and planned on copying the idea but with larger snares to catch a wolf. He couldn't quite snare a wolf's entire body the same way a rabbit could be caught, so instead he'd decided to make paw-sized snares. They'd make multiples of them, enough so that if Resin walked by she was bound to be caught by at least one. Asla arrived with the vines in tow, and Az nodded at her. "OK so, first we gotta make sure the vines are really strong." He moved forward and motioned for her to hold a vine, then grasping it in his mouth and tugging to feel it's strength. They felt strong to him, at least. Next he motioned to a bunch of sticks that he'd found. "I'll put the sticks in the ground, and then you can tie one end of the vine around the stick. The other side we'll make a loop with, so when her paw catches it it gets stuck." He nodded, proud of his plan and unless she had further questions grabbed a stick and began to work it hard into the ground. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

As Az explained the process, Asla nodded. It seemed simple enough. The tying part might prove to be a little tricky, but together they would manage. The girls small paws worked more easily over the vines than her brothers wide paws. First one snare was made, then another.

Aslatiel want sure how many snares they were going to make, but she didn't complain. Azure had proven just how loyal he was to her. There was nothing that she wouldn't do for him.

One of the snares that she was tying snapped and lashed her across the paws. It was as though the world was telling her that this was a bad idea. Rather than give up, the determined child got right back to it. As many snares as Azure wanted, he would get.

Asla was good at tying, her claws being much more nimble then his own wide ones. He looked over at her work occasionally, nodded to her, then went back to jamming the sticks into the earth. The whole point of the trap was to keep the wolf bound, to prevent her escape. He couldn't strangle her with the vine like he might have tried with a rabbit as her neck was too far off the ground to properly trap. It was frustrating, but he was determined to make the trap as inescapable as possible. If he was lucky, a predator would show while she was stuck and do the dirty work for him. As Asla tied the vines, Azure went back to the sticks and jammed them in even deeper. He had to be sure that they wouldn't simply be pulled out of the ground with her weight. More and more he was wondering if this would even work at all, and the pup was becoming more moody and sullen as he worked on. "I hope these are strong enough." He worried aloud, knowing Asla always had the best ideas and hoping she could help him further. Carefully he packed mud around the stick, pushing down on it with all his weight to try and cement it into the ground. The next worry was the vines, whether they'd simply snap or not. "Can we make these stronger?" He wondered to his sister, poking at them with a claw. Could he encase them, too in mud or clay? Perhaps there were pieces of leather still in the communal storage that he could steal to strengthen them. The boy wasn't sure, but something felt off to him. It had to be very very strong, his plan would not be foiled a second time. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

The work on the snares felt like more work than the pit had been. Digging was a mindless task. Tying took concentration and attention. More often than not, Aslatiel's tongue protruded from the corner of her maw, a sign that she was paying absolute attention to her knot work.

Azure broke her from this concentration, asking if they could make the snares stronger. "Hmm," she said aloud, her focus broken. The girl tilted her head in thought. To make a vine stronger... She remembered Aunt Io's harness for her cart; the one that she used her little reindeer to pull. "Aunt Io winds the vines together to make them stronger. They're the same on Dad's cart too." Taking up a few of the thinner vines, Aslatiel did her best to recreate the wound vines that she remembered.

After a while of work, she showed her finished progress to Azure. Because she'd used three thin vines, the rope came out about the same width as a standard vine, but it was much stronger. Almost impossible to break. Impossible for her, at least. "If we make the snare the same way, it will be stronger. We might need some oil or fat to put on the loop so that it slides past all of the bumps." Again she tilted her head, looking towards her big brother. "What do you think?"

Asla took her time thinking, and Azure looked to her expectantly to hear what her opinion might be. She got to work twisting the vines to strengthen them, and the pup's lips upturned in a grin as he saw what she was doing. It was a brilliant solution, and he nodded to her proudly. "Yes! Perfect. Okay, Lets attach those to the sticks. I'll make sure the sticks are super hard in the ground, you make sure the vines are strong." His tail began to wag behind him, and he imagined the result of their beautiful trap. He moved further from the first two sticks, and jammed another one in the ground a distance away. When he was happy with the spread, he moved to jam a fourth even further. "We want to make sure we have a lot of them, and that they're far enough apart that if she misses one that she might step in another." It sounded right to him, and so he got to work cementing the sticks hard into the ground with his muddy clay mixture so that they'd hold the weight of the wolf securely while Asla tied her vines. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Az worked with sticks. Asla worked with vines. She braided them together, gaining more skill with each rope. In time, they had a plethora of snares laid about. They would be easy to reset once set off as well. The girl had confidence that her ropes wouldn't break. Or at least she hoped they wouldn't break. Again, they had worked so hard on this trap.

"We should test them first, don't you think?" It wouldn't be smart for one of them to test out a snare lest they couldn't escape it, but what if they could chase something into it? Aslatiel raised her little tan nose to the sky, scenting lightly. Far off was the musty scent of pigs. "Pigs. We could run one into the trap." Aslatiel knew that she could kill a pig. She'd done it before. With the pair of them working together to herd said pig, corralling it into the channel that led to the scares should be relatively easy. Without waiting for a reply, Aslatiel set off in that direction.

As they'd finished the snares, Azure stepped back to get a good look at them and the wide area they covered. They'd placed them perfectly, just in the center of a natural path that bordered by trees and boulders and hill, would be the first choice for any prey - pig or wolf - to run through. Asla suggested a test, and Azure agreed easily. He'd not hunted a pig yet, but it sounded like his sister had enough confidence for the both of them on that front. She led him away from the traps and the two stalked their prey. The pigs had gathered in a small huddle and were happily foraging for food, unaware that the two wolves had set their sights upon them. He crouched low, emulating Asla's perfected stalking stance. With a hushed whisper he spoke to her. "We don't need them all, we need to scare one away from the others and then lead it down the path. I'm bigger than you, the pig is more likely to run from me. You spook them - it won't take much I think, they're stupid - and try to cut one out. I'll chase it down to the traps." The plan seemed foolproof to Azure, and he watched his sister carefully to see if she'd agree. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Azure crouched along with her and the pair stalked towards their porcine prey. Her brother spoke low and she nodded. "Make sure you stay on one side and I'll stay on the other while we run it. Pigs can turn really fast." Leaving Azure where he was, the girl crept around the side of the sounder of swine. Deep purple eyes roamed over each one, gauging its potential for the task at hand. They didn't need a huge pig since this was just a test. A huge pig might damage all of the work that they'd put in. A baby pig might set off a trap, but it wouldn't really let them know how strong the snares were. In the end, Asla chose a big that bordered small and medium. It would serve the task of setting off the snares, but wouldn't make them do much more work other than resetting said snares.

Searching for her brother across the area where the pigs were rooting, she gave one subtle nod, telling him that she was ready. Muscles bunching, the girls tail gave a little wiggle before she burst from the taller grass with a snarl. Clawed paws helped the little wolf be more agile. The pigs squealed and scattered, but she was right on the tail of the one that she'd chosen. It was pointed in the right direction. All Az had to do was come up on the other side and they would run it right into the chute of snares.

Asla chimed in with her own input and Azure gave her a proud grin, nodding. The pair had become - in Azure's opinion - the best hunters in the Armada, for sure. They worked perfectly together, and he was convinced they'd one day feed the pack all by themselves. "Sounds good!" He responded in a hushed tone as Asla broke off towards the pigs. Remaining crouch he slunk forward through the grass towards the side she'd gestured to. Once she spooked the pigs and cut one off, Azure broke into a sprint to give chase beside it. Between the two of them it was not difficult to run the pig towards the snares, though Azure didn't think of the difference in speed. He couldn't keep up to the pig, though it was lucky it ran straight in the direction they wanted it to. As he fell further and further behind Asla and the pig, he paid more attention to the sounds up in front. The rustle of the grass, the panicked squeals of the pig, and then finally the snap of vines sliding through the brush. The pig cried louder, and when Azure finally made it to the area he saw the creature was successfully ensnared. "Yes!" The pup cried out with joy, his tail wagging hard behind him. He turned to give Asla a beaming smile, and then ran up to the creature. He moved in to try and deliver the death blow, but the creature's flailing was dangerously swift. No matter how Azure tried to squeeze in, it's neck was always turned away from him and it's rear legs kicking angrily towards his face. After a few attempts, the pup growled and snapped - his jaws clamped hard around the pig's back leg and it's bucking and kicking was much slower with the boy attached. "Nrow krill it." Azure said, failing to enunciate his words with the flesh held hard in his jaws. He dug his long claws into the ground for traction, trying to hold the thing steady so Asla could deliver the killing blow. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Though Azure wasn't as fast as the pig, Asla was much smaller and her speed level was fairly close in short bursts. Head held level with her spine, she was on the swine's tail right until the end. When the snare snapped around the pigs leg and hauled it into the air momentarily, Aslatiel whooped aloud and skidded to a stop. She took a moment to catch her breath. The pig wasn't going anywhere.

Tongue lolling, the girl's sides heaved. Her little legs ached from running so hard, but it was worth it. They had caught a pig! Her break was cut short as Azure tackled the pig. It was kind of comical as he tried to kill the flailing swine. The girl grinned and watched as he struggled. Eventually he realized that it would be easier to hold while she killed the pig. He talked with his mouth full and she snorted before rising and striding forward.

Learning from her previous kill, she avoided the flailing legs. The girl timed her leap well and sank her teeth into the softer skin of the pigs throat. Whereas last time she had cut off the pigs breath, this time she ripped and tore, shaking her head back and forth to rend flesh. In no time, their kill was... killed. Asla was covered in blood, her cream colored pelt running red, but she laughed like the little maniac that she was. She would never get enough of killing. Never ever.

It didn't take long for his sister to leap in, and he held the pig's hind leg steady while her jaws came down upon it's fleshy throat. As the pig screamed it's last, the pup couldn't take the adrenaline any longer. He crunched his teeth upon the leg hard, and shook his head with all his might. Even if it was Asla delivering the kill, that didn't mean Azure couldn't pretend that he too was bringing about the creature's end. When she pulled away his poor sister was splattered in blood. Azure found himself not sad for the state of her pelt, but jealous of how fierce she looked. "Great job!" He beamed at her, tail wagging with excitement. They'd done it - the trap had succeeded, and now they needed only to reset it and lead Resin in for her turn. "You look very scary, too. If you go get Resin now she'll definitely come running without thinking." The cogs in his mind turned, excited for the kill that he was confident would soon be his. Resin would never get to hit him again. He moved to the pig, unwinding it from the snare. Thankfully the damage to the vines were minimal, and it didn't take long to get them separated from the kill. Grasping the pig, he began to heave with all his might to drag it into the nearby bush. He didn't want Resin to see it on her approach, after all. "OK, if you go get Resin I'll reset the trap while you're gone!" "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Azure got into the kill too, shaking his end of the pig and this brought greater joy from the tiny murderess. Now this was bonding time. Asla couldn't think of anything more enjoyable to do with her sibling than hunt and kill things. Compliments were given and the bloodied child beamed. "We make a good team!" Leaning forward, she licked her siblings bloody chin affectionately, unable to hide her giddiness. Once she settled back, Azure instantly wanted to go ahead with the next step of the plan and she sighed, licking a bit of blood from her dark lips. "Ugh, okay, okay." He really was rushing this. She understood, but the girl wanted to enjoy her kill. Giving the dead pig a pat with one dark paw, she cast it one last glance, making mental promises to eat it later. Dark paws carried her across the territory in the direction of the scarred woman's den. As she drew close, the girl shook out her coat, making herself look even more disheveled. She thrust some fake fear into her eyes and called out. "Resin! Resin! Come quick! There's trouble! Azure needs your help!" Her tiny, shrill voice should do the trick. "We were hunting and... just come!" Leaving it vague, the girl made eye contact with the woman, motioned for her to follow, and ran off in the direction of the trap. Lips peeled back in a grin once she knew the one-eyed bitch couldn't see. "Speech"

With Dunkan patrolling, Resin had decided to take the time to fortify her den. She had been rolling great rocks up against the sides of the hill when the screeching tones of the girl child met black ears. Turning her head, the woman blinked. The girl was covered in blood. She began babbling about Azure and hunting and help. The situation felt... off. Arching one dark brow, the woman followed the child that was already scampering away.

The previous week, the giantess had filled in a pit lined with spikes. It had the smell of Azure and Aslatiel all over it. This whole situation smelled similar, so she was going into it warily. She would keep the girl in front of her the whole way there and would watch for subtle signs. If this was yet another attempt on her life, there would be repercussions for their actions.

"World-breaker..."

Coding:Alice. Art:Resin.

Asla turned to leave, and Azure quickly got to work resetting the snares. He thought he'd got it perfect, but felt the heat of adrenaline upon him and knew there was not much time left. Backing up to see his work, his back paw pressed upon the warm meat that lay dead in the bush. He spooked - suddenly terrified Resin had arrived too soon - and leapt up with a squeak of terror. Backing away from what he was convinced was the one-eyed bitch, he felt a tightness upon his chest. He'd caught himself in his own snare, and as he squirmed it only tightened. His worries escalated, he couldn't let Resin see him here! He needed to be free to deliver the killing blow. Azure wiggled harder and harder, only tightening the noose around his chest in the process. He turned to try and bite at it, but it had caught itself behind his shoulder blade and he could not reach it. Suddenly a snapping sound came from the bush, and out prowled a hungry cougar. It had been drawn from the scent of the fresh kill, but decided that the live prey was a better option. He snarled at it, though his body shook with fear. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

With Resin on her tail, the girl rushed back towards the awaiting trap, her brother, and their kill. She couldn't help but wonder what he did with it. Aslatiel was developing this weird thing about food. She didn't like food from the storage cache. The girl was all about fresh kills. The fresher, the better. If it was still kicking while she was eating it... A little shiver ran through the striped fae.

Arriving back at the trap site, Asla's purple eyes widened. Azure was swinging from one of the snares. So much for the surprise... She was just about to cast a sheepish glance back towards Resin when the snarl of the cat sounded. Fear hit the girl hard in the stomach. There was nothing that she could do against a mountain lion. Because of their deception, she doubted that Resin would help them. She wouldn't if she had been on the receiving end of their pranks. The girl was frozen in place, eyes wide as she watched the cat approach her trapped sibling.

The girl led and she followed. Though Aslatiel ran, Resin's long strides kept her at an easy clip. It was no different than the distance eating pace used when patrolling the extensive borders. It didn't take them long at all to arrive where Azure waited. And boy, was he waiting.

That lone eye fell upon the hanging, struggling form of the little troublemaker. It was rather comical to see him in such a predicament. Resin almost sat to watch him swing about when the scent of the cat hit her dusty blue nares. On instant alert, the giant woman growled low to Aslatiel. "Go home." It was an absolute order and one that the girl followed instantly.

With one less thing to worry about, Resin strode forward, though her pace was slightly casual. It would do well for the boy to feel fear. Fear was a very good teacher. As she walked, a snare that she hadn't seen snapped around one powerful foreleg. The snare lifted her leg off of the ground, but the rest of her body stayed with solid footing. Resin stared at the snare hooked around her ankle for a moment before slicing through the vines with one bite.

With the other badly hidden snares easily avoided, the behemoth put herself in the lions line of vision, hoping that her mere presence would ward off a fight. Thanks to the pig blood in the air and the swinging hors d'oeuvres that was Azure, the cat refused to back down. With a slight sneer of irritation, Resin snapped her teeth through the boys tether, letting him crash to the ground.
"This is your mess. Prepare to clean it up." The order was given and the gargantuan wolf settled her body into a well used battle stance.



Coding:Alice. Art:Resin.

The sight of Asla sprinting back over to him made Azure's heart soar. His sister was here, she'd help him. When she got him free, he'd kiss the ground she walked on. Close behind however was the massive one-eyed woman whom they'd had such specific intentions for, and Azure remembered that the situation was much worse than it originally felt. Asla was sent away, and Azure - swinging on the vine snare - could only reach out his paw and call her name out sadly as she departed. As Resin snipped the vine and Azure tumbled forward onto the ground, his attention was upon her. His ears fell flat and he cowered slightly into the earth, stepping away from the cougar that snarled at him. The warrior was doing enough intimidating that for now it wasn't leaping, and for that he was thankful. And then she told him to clean up his mess, and he looked over at her with an expression of sheer puppy betrayal. She sunk into a battle stance and Azure emulated her. Was she here only to watch? Would he live or die on this fight? Azure had no idea, after all they had tried to murder her. He did his best to look fierce, but ended up only appearing rather fluffy and angry. "Go away, cat!" He growled, trying to fake the confidence in his tone and willing it to convince his body that he was not afraid. He darted forward to swipe at the air in-front of the cougar, an incredibly half-hearted attempt. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

At least the boy tried to not show the fear that she knew he felt. Of course she wouldn't let him do this alone, but everything was a lesson for one so young. As the boy darted forward to swipe at the cat, Resin stood close behind him in case the beat lunged, which it did. Airborne, the feline aimed for the child, but met the full grown warrior instead. The lion slammed into Resin's wide chest, bouncing off of her heavily muscled form.

Casting that single eye towards the boy, she spoke in her gruff tones. "Don't taunt. When facing a predator, make every move count." The cat had regained its footing, but wasn't on its feet for long. Resin darted forward, slamming her forehead into the mountain lions face like a ram. The cat screeched and crumpled, clawed paws flying. She caught one in her mouth, teeth sinking into flesh to tear away skin and sever tendons. A claw had ripped the corner of her mouth, but she seemed not to feel it.

With a few backwards steps, she was beside the boy once more. "A three legged cat, bloody and angry. What do you do?" She wanted to know how he thought. Which way his brain took him.

Azure saw the cat lunge for him as he made his feint, and swore it would be his death. He froze, waiting for the pain when instead Resin intercepted and the cat flew back from him. He jumped slightly, panicked gaze glancing around the field as if to look for an escape. Her words brought him back to reality, and he realized he wasn't forced to fight it alone. "Dad would want me to run." The boy responded softly, still watching the cat for any sudden moves. Although he knew his parents would firmly disagree with him fighting the cougar, a part of him wanted to anyways. Resin had injured it already, whatever advantage in speed it had it had lost when she took away the use of one of it's legs. Taking a deep breath to center himself, he shot forward. Staying low to the ground to protect himself from the cat's bites, he maneuvered until he was up close enough to try and land a bite upon it's throat. The cat backpedaled, sending a stray paw his way that hit him upon the head and rolled him away. A quiet 'oof' was pushed out from his chest, and he groaned as he righted himself. How could he possibly kill this thing? He was just too damn small. As the cat turned back towards Resin, Azure took another shot. He threw himself towards the back end of the beast, landing his jaws upon the fleshy thigh of it's rear leg. His hold was too weak however, and as the cougar kicked out hard Azure was easily detached, he slid back across the ground with the momentum and pinned his ears, quickly becoming defeated in spirit. "I can't." He complained quietly. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."