Activision Blizzard

Diana was north again, though she wasn't totally sure why. She knew where to go now, where at least one of her brothers is, but maybe it was the challenge or that she felt she hadn't properly connected with a spirit recently. She wanted to approach the warlord with something to actually offer, and so she'd turned her attention towards the harsher climates. For a few days she's tracked various scents and followed snowy tracks, her heart yet to be set on anything. Then she'd stumbled upon the elk herd, and well, Diana was only one woman. She couldn't exactly go against a herd of herbivores that towered above her like that. But she had noticed a young buck, probably just over a year and he was hobbling along on the outset of the herd, his right hind leg lifted from the ground when he was standing and barely touching the earth when he walked...

He'd be perfect. Even injured Diana could work with his spirit, he was young, virial and desperate to live. That willpower would offer her more than enough strength for a few months, and once she was in the pack she'd have more options to keep adding to her collection.

So she tracked the herd for a few more days, waiting, the male was smart enough to not wander too far on his limp limb, he slept among the bulk of the herd and was often on high alert. The longer she tracked them the warier they became and Diana knew she'd have to make her move soon or she'd lose any element of surprise she had left. Diana waited until the male was off from the herd a bit, the wind whipping at her fur and the sky growing dark with snow heavy clouds. She'd have to move quickly, the last thing she needed was to be trapped in a snow storm. Diana approached the herd slowly, but deliberately, trotting across the open ice field she angled herself to stand at the edges of the open space between the herd and the male. Snorting and pawing hooves greeted her approach, the ice amplifying the skittish movements of the herd as they observed her. Black beady eyes followed her approach and as she came to rest a still safe distance away but clearly between the male and his herd she kept her attention on him.

His ears flicked and she could see him calculating, as much as she figured an elk could, trying to decide if he could outrun the predator towards the relative safety of his herd. The wind was picking up, whistling dangerously through the branches of the submerged pines poking out of the ice sheet. The snow was starting to fall from the sky and she could hear the herd becoming more and more anxious, sensing the impending storm and wanting to move onto more sheltered lands but unsure if they should leave the trapped male behind. For a tense few moments, Diana and the male squared off, watching each other, waiting. But Diana knew she couldn't wait, the snow was already starting to blow, obscuring the horizon and stinging where it hit her. With a sharp bark Diana burst towards the elk, he let out a distressed bray and turned tail dashing away from her.

The blizzard had whipped up quickly, and even a few steps into the chase the visibility had dropped significantly and was quickly growing even worse. Diana had to rely on the sound of pounding hooves and what little scent she could catch on the wind, which wasn't much. The panting of breath and sound of the retreat were growing closer and a pale shadow materialized out of the all-consuming white, then it took more solid shape and color, she could only make out the elk when she was nearly on top of him. Diana skirted around to his right side, knowing he wasn't likely to kick out at her with his injured leg. Diana put on speed, racing up beside him, as she drew close to his shoulder she leaped, jaws extending and her full weight crashing onto his right side, though she missed her mark a bit and her jaws didn't hit his neck as she'd hope, still it was enough to unbalance him and with his wounded leg, the elk toppled. Diana frantically scrambled from his falling form, not wanting to be trapped under the large animal.

He hit the ground with an audible thud and the vixen quickly turned to dash back towards the elk, this time her fangs struck flesh and she felt his arteries puncture under her grasp. The elk struggled and Diana clamped down, holding to just maintain her hold long enough for the elk to grow weak enough she could drag him out of the storm...

For what felt like an agonizing lifetime the two struggled, then slowly the elk's protests grew slower and weaker and Diana gave her head a good shake just for good measure. Diana took a moment to catch her breath, she needed to get out of the storm, real bad. She cast around quickly, a pale shadow poking out of the ground just a few feet off was probably the only shelter she was going to find. It was slow going, the elk so much larger than herself but finally she managed to shove herself and her catch under the branches of one of the firs. It was cramped and she'd had to pull pine needles out of her fur for days but for now, she could at least hunker down, and start the process of harnessing the elk's soul.

WC: 945

Speech