Fully recovered from his broken leg, Brandr was eager to get back to hunting. He'd been withdrawn and sullen, swamped with worries about being useless but thanks to his wife's skills he had made a full recovery.

Brandr started his morning, tracking along the monument rapids. The water here moved so fast it was unlikely to freeze during the winter and as such it drew prey from the surrounding areas in search of fresh water. It didn't take long before he picked up a trail in the foot deep snow. Bison had been breaking trail along this path and as he followed them he soon spied the group, huddled together on the plains. It was a good sized herd, about 25 strong and watched intently for signs of weakness before tipping back his head and calling for other hunters to join him.

Theo wasn't a hunter by nature, but she respected Brandr's craft. He used all parts of the animal in ways that both impressed and confounded her. When he called for assistance with the hunt, she decided to lend her skills. If there were large prey afoot there was always a chance of injury - the bigger the quarry, the more danger to the wolves involved with taking it down. Alouette flew point ahead of her high in the sky with an emergency kit tucked tightly in her talons. Every wolf could hunt, of course, but those like Brandr had it down to a science. No - an art! Theory arrived just barely out of breath, grinning with excitement. "What's the target?" she asked, nodding towards the herd ahead. She had some ideas, but it's likely he had a more concise take of the scene. There were some older bison and a few younger ones, but they seemed to be sticking closer to the interior of the herd.

Twig walked with a pep in her step as she made her way to the plains after hearing Brandr call out for the hunters. Too much time had passed since she had been in a group hunt like this. Along with the recent events of the pack the activity would help to adhere them as the pack that they were. Twig loped up to where the master hunter and their alpha stood looking out over the snow covered plains. Hopefully Corvus would be right behind her as well so they might have a full hunting team. Her sharp purple gaze didn’t miss the track of buffalo, of any creature this had to be one of the easiest to track in this kind of snow. Some of the best to hunt as well. Where they had to wade through the snow Twig could run on top of it for the most part to better tire the animals out. Twig came to a halt beside her packmates, expression expecting and alert.

Thalia knew she hadn't come to Abaven simply to spend more time with Theory; even if that was a driving factor in her decision, it was not the only one, and she'd admitted as much to Theory. She needed to gain the rest of the pack's trust - or at very least ensure they were not completely wary of her - rather than just Theory's. That was why she responded quickly to a call to gather a hunting party. If anything, Thalia was dutiful and could work tirelessly at any task given to her. Hunting was no exception. She quickened her pace as she neared the group, cursing silently at the snow that ahd rapidly accumulated in these territories. Having spent most of her life in Auster and the remainder in the west, snow was hardly something she was accustomed to. Thalia slowed as the few wolves who had gathered thus far came into view. All were strangers to her save for Theory. For a moment she hesitated, unsure how to greet her - or if at all - so she settled with something in between, loping a few feet from her and coming to a sharp halt. Her attention fell to the one who had called them, idly flicking snow off her nose as she waited for further instructions.

Brandr dipped his head in respectful greeting as Theory answered his call. "I'm not sure yet but there are a number of yearlings in the herd. I think one of those will make an acceptable target." Of course he was open to things changing as the hunt went on. It was possible there was some weakness or injury that he couldn't pick out that would show itself if they got the herd to stampede. Sooner or later the weakest would fall behind. He grinned as Twig joined them, knowing her to be a trusty hunting partner. She was soon followed by Thalia. He didn't know this last woman very well but that was no matter. They had enough for their hunt.

"Thank you for coming. There's a herd of bison in the plains with yearling calves. Currently, they are huddled together for warmth. We must get them to panic and stampede so we can try and split away one of the smaller ones. There's not much point planning further ahead. We'll need to work on the fly." With that he turned and headed toward the herd. There was no reason to try sneaking up on them. The snow flattened the grasses and with almost no cover they'd be seen coming and that was fine with Brandr. He wanted them to see him coming, a massive wolf intent on claiming one of their lives.

Brandr snarled and growled as he pressed close to the herd. A young male stamped his hooves and shook his head to show off his horns. Brandr began to circle the herd, trying to unsettle the bison, searching for a particularly nervous animal he could use to get them to scatter. The bison formed a defensive circle around the young. They were not interested in moving… not yet.

Corvus wouldn’t be the last wolf to finish out their hunting team. Twig tried not to look disappointed as she saw Thalia appear and Brandr began. At least she’d get a chance to test out their guest, and see what kind of skills she had. Twig gave the woman a quick smile as all of her focus swift shifted to their prey before them.

Twig gave a slight nod as the master hunter thanked them for being there. He laid what plan out that he could, starting with choosing their target. Once they started running the hunting party could clearly see what animal would best be taken. The Memoire woman knew how to run a beast and as Brandr led the way the slender she wolf raced after him. Carefully keeping her balance atop the backed snow Twig swung wide to the master hunter’s right side, her own teeth snapping and hackles raised as she aimed to look bigger to better make the bison move.

With the mass amount of snow the animals had little wish to run, but as the wolves descended their nerve was bound to break. Twig threw back her head and howled, the eerie sound working to disquiet the massive animals.

"Sounds like a plan!" she agreed as Brandr outlined his idea. It was simple and straightforward, but just as he admitted, things could easily change. After treating Beat's shoulder wound she had no illusions how dangerous large quarry might be, especially of the horned and antlered persuasion - which was why she'd arrived. Alouette rested in the nearby tree with Theory's med kit clutched in her talons. Just in case anyone got buffeted by the bison, they'd be well prepared. She was pleased to see Thalia arrive and shot her Abraxas girl a warm smile. "Nice to see you - bring up the rear with me and circle around," Theo invited with a wink before she loped off to the other side of the herd. She gave them a wide berth for the time being, watching Twig carefully for a signal. At the sound of the white hunter's eerie howl, Theory rushed forward to nip at the heels of the herd. With Brandr at their front and another pair of hunters at their rear, the herd began dancing on their hooves. Twig's howl had alerted them to their presence and now they were surrounded. Theory glanced out of the corner of her eyes to Thalia - now was the time to trigger a stampede.

While her attention lingered on Theory for a long moment, it shifted to the others that had gathered not long after. The one who had called them explained there was a herd of bison that were gathered. In order to pick a target they'd have to spook the herd apart and then try to split one of the smaller cows from the herd. Thalia nodded in understanding. They'd have to react quickly and work together to get the job done. Though there were many things she wasn't good at - such as conversation - she could adapt quickly when it came to things like a group hunt. Focusing on a singular goal always seemed to help drone out much of the white noise that had been occupying her thoughts lately, which was beneficial to her.

She moved quickly alongside the others toward the herd. Their arrival had no chance of going unnoticed, so once the herd reacted they too would have to move swiftly. At first they seemed resistant, hesitant to move at all even with the approach of the four hunters. For a moment she found herself dwelling on Theory's command, if it could be called that - but she didn't disagree with the role she'd placed her in. Veering around the rear side of the group at Theory's heels. Once Twig's call sounded she knew to react, watching as the herd began to ebb, clearly unsettled now. Casting a sideways glance at Theory she made to react - charging the group was a risky move but a necessary one. It was hardly any surprise that the role had fallen on her shoulders. Perhaps it was a chance to prove herself. Kicking off hard and sending snow spraying up behind her she made a beeline for the herd of bison, closing in as their formation began to crack and splinter, paws beating hard down on the snow-packed ground.

Brandr snarled again, lunging shortly forward then dancing back as a large bull tossed its head. As the wolves pressed in the bison grew more nervous. They shuffled and shifted, all the wolves needed was for a few to break rank to trigger the herd. Then Thalia darted forward at full force and a nearby cow panicked and turned, followed by a few more cows next to her. Brandr dove for the rear, snarling and snapping as the cows took off and one by one the other bison peeled away until they'd successfully triggered a stampede. Now they just need to find weakness in those that fell behind.

The bison barreled through the snow, kicking it up as they pushed through. Brandr loped after them, his long legs and heavier form helping him to push through the snow after their quarry. As the bison ran the herd began to string out, the stronger and faster animals gaining ground while the weakest trailed behind. One of the younger bison stumbled, falling even further behind and at that moment Brandr lunged, teeth sinking into its left hind leg as he forced his weight onto the creature. It struggled and flailed against his weight as the snow, struggling to regain its footing.

Finally the herd broke, but not until after much harrowing and pushing. The bison moved fast, even through heavy snow, but they couldn’t outpace the wolves behind them. Eventually a target was made obvious and Brandr took the lead in taking it down. Twig wasn’t a heavy wolf and couldn’t help in pulling it down but she trusted the two bigger she wolves to help in that task. Had there not been snow on the ground Twig would have tried to trip the beast up, but as it was her best bet was to distract it while the others works on killing it.

She got her chance at a snow bank, using the height of it Twig leapt at the creature’s ear. She got it in her teeth and had immediate ‘control’ of its head. The beast went to gore her. Twig suffered the horns and cried out as it tossed her away. Thankfully the snow cushioned her landing but she could already feel severe bruising where she was hit. She was lucky if that was all she got.

Thankfully the beast didn’t have much fight left in it and by the time she lifted herself to her feet the bison was dead and ready to be brought to the pack.