OOC: All info can be found here. Lets get this ball rollin'.

Hattori lingered by the outskirts of the Prairie, his intense gaze set on the distant herd of giants. He was not sure what to call them, neither in his native tongue or the common language. They were massive and looming like elephants, but the brown shaggy fur that lined their form made it pretty obvious they were a different beast all together. Their tusks were curved like several metre long scimitars and despite the safe distance Hattori felt the earth rumble in protest with each step. Regardless of what they were, Hattori had no doubt that they played a part in the sudden influx of new and strange beasts to this land and whether they were here to stay was yet to be seen but he sensed an opportunity. A chance like no other to fill their larder to the brim and to give the children a taste of a true and proper hunt.

He turned slightly, glancing over his shoulder to see who was following in his footsteps. If anyone wanted to prove their worth and test their skills they would be behind him, ready and eager to get started. And only then he'd be able to start delegating, putting together a plan when he knew what he had to work with.

Panic wants far behind from the Shogun as she herself saw the unknown beast. They were huge, way bigger than anything she had seen so far, and wondered if small creatures like them would stand a chance against it. Wool covered their body, as enormous tusks sprouted from their Jaws. What was that thing? Not a clue but with Hattoris lead she didn't doubt they would miss. He was supposed to be the best around didn't he? And like that she attempted to stand behind the koi wolf but giving him the space. She may be goiing but she was a klein still, someone who could easily stand her own ground.

Hela was also there, with those pink eyes glancing at the elephant like creature. It was huge and never in her life time she's seen one like that. But either way she didn't feel scared of anything, just amused by the rare view. And she was here to help as needed, to offer her fangs to the cause. She wore her polar bear armor like a proud Klein would do. Her posture was confident with her expression blank all the time. She stood beside her daughter. Ready to attack upon the Shogun's word.

Her tongue left her mouth safety to pass over her lips, in expectation of what would happen now. But whatever it would she was ready to take part of it.

Kuroki really didn't know what he was getting into. His Father told him to follow...so he did, simple as that. The Shogun marched along with a sense of purpose in his stride, one that was near impossible for the little prince to emulate. As high as he held his head it just didn't feel the same but he did his best all the same. Eventually Hattori drew to a stop and Kuroki let out a tired sigh, wading through the snow was far harder than it looked but his days of playing and galivanting about had built up his stamina considerably so, he had a lot of energy left in him but he just needed an outlet. And it was then he saw them, beasts larger than life, ginormous so massive and towering that he couldn't help but let out an awed gasp. His Father had told him stories about monsters, sea dragons and creatures of the night, but from the sound of it all those things lived back in Nippon. He blinked rapidly, wondering it the beasts would vanish from his eyes, only for them to remain.

He swallowed thickly, staring up at Hattori as he watched the monsters with growing interest....he couldn't possibly want to fight those things? Right? Kuroki turned to the others who were already amassing, they seemed to already have the memo and accepted heartedly. Well....holy moly!! This was so bleepin' cool! It took all of Kuroki's will power to contain an excitable hoot as he began bouncing back and forth on his paws. He was so so so so so so ready!!!

Venom prowled along beside Hattori on the way towards the pack hunt. She too caught glimpses of the massive beasts and knew the prestige and resource bringing one down would be. The experience as a pack along with that of their young children. Both Empress and Shogun had trained from the first days out of the den, the same would be said for their offspring. Venom lifted herself to her full height as she took her place next to Hattori.

She could already tell their first born was about to come out of his skin with excitement. The Empress offered him a brief touch of the shoulder and a supportive smile as she silently praised him for his effort. Her sunset gaze turned to Hattori and allowed him the lead position. She was very nearly back to 100% but prefered her partner take point.

The young Empress gave a quick smile to her aunt and cousin as they too wished to test their skill against such a beast.

The little princess didn’t let anyone help her walk on the way there, she wanted to do it on her own. That meant she fell a little behind. And fell, but she wasn’t doing so bad her mom stopped to help her. Kiyohime didn’t miss the way Venom caught her out of the corner of her eye every few steps. So much different than the way she kept an eye on her brother. As though Ike wasn’t quite as trusted to perform as her brother. The tiny girl didn’t let it get her down, she bounced (and tripped) along and not so far behind her parents.

Shuriken eagerly made her way beside Oki, a grin playing on her baby face as she sat against his hip. Lifting her head and squaring her shoulders as she did so, looking both prim and lazy as her body leaned against her big brother with affection.

The small, slim Princess tossed her head in the air. Her little horn nubs had begun to gather an iridescent glow. Like little flames dancing in the sunlight. The smudge of red upon her brow had started to form a shape, like a little ball of fire. Her mother had taken to calling her Fire Fox, and she cherished the name like a beautiful gift.

She was growing so fast mentally, but in height… it seemed she was going to be vertically challenged. As her siblings started to grow and leave her height bracket behind. At least Ike was staying with her, they could be the short-sisters.

Lost in thoughts of the future, he bumped into Kuroki as he came to a sudden stop and looked out at something with an awed gasp. Frowning, the shorter wolf nudged under his belly and wiggled until her head was equal to his chin. If she was going to be short, she could at least make use of it.

Wait. What on earth were they! Speaking of vertically challenged, those beasts had the opposite problem. Kit would be like… like a flying buzzing at their paws. With a fearlessness of youth she let out an excited little huff and shot to her paws, banging the back of her head into Kuroki’s chin ouch! but she wanted to be in on whatever their father was planning. She still had that pick me, pick me! to... pretty much everything. Shaking out her head she glanced to the side and caught side of her little sister and shot her a wide grin.

"Speech"

The Ademre walked quietly with the group to the Prairie fields. Despite the season, the wintry coating of snow was still thick, and a feeling of frost lingered in the air. This by itself would be strange, but the most bizarre part of all were the creatures trotting with ground-quaking steps along the snow. It was lucky the surface before them was so flat, or he would fear the coming of an avalanche.

He watched the titan beasts as they stomped through the field in their shaggy coats. His people had a word for creatures such a thing. Draws old and faded, scrawled on stone near the communal space of his birth-land. “Mammoths” he whispered quietly. They should not be, they had not been for generations long before him. What was happening in the world?

"Speech"

"Speech"

His claw covers clicked lightly off the crust of the snow before Malachai almost immediately sunk into the snow. He was half a year old now, and already shoulder to shoulder with his mother, though he was clearly still growing, he had always been big and it was clear now more than ever that he was going to be a giant as an adult. He walked with what he thought was a sort of cocky swagger, but he hadn't really grown out of preteen awkward lankiness... because he'd really only grown taller, though he was slowly starting to fill out properly now too, already bulky.


Mismatched pink and blue eyes lit up as he spotted the group's quarry, a grin splitting his face. He came to rest next to his sister, jostling her with his elbow, then turned his attention towards the shogun, bouncing on his toes, shifting his weight from side to side, obviously very excited and ready to follow the man's orders.

Art by Skelle!

While not typically a hunter by trade, it sounded like this wasn't going to be your usual hunt so it had Plague's interest if nothing else. He was always looking for ways that he could do more and contribute more so when Hattori began gathering them to go take on this unnamed creature he jumped in without hesitation. As he gathered near the edge of the prairie near his family and pack mates, he caught glimpses of the massive beasts that Hattori had described, his brows lifting with surprise and interest. As he looked around the group that had come with them he was slightly concerned about the young pups that filled a bulk of the group. It would certainly be a good experience for them, but he certainly didn't want any of them to end up hurt by the end of it. He turned his attention away from the thickly furred, tusked, mysterious creatures in the distance ahead of them and focused in on Hattori to see what plan he had. Plague | Viridis | Procella

The Shogun waited a moment longer, his gaze lingering on his Empress and wife, knowing full well she would not protest if he took the lead on this. Even then he offered her a dip of his head, as though seeking approval to go ahead with it. His son shifted excitedly by his paws, the greyish-blue of his form bobbing up and down in the corner of his vision. Hattori knew the children were no doubt ready and raring to go but he would not start without everyone knowing their place and the expectations set upon their shoulders. As for the others they were not as outwardly keen but he sensed that they were prepared, for better or worse blood would be shed.

"Good." He rumbled, turned to look at the herd before them and with a flick of his snout gestured for everyone to do the same. The herd was large, a clustered mass of gigantic brown forms. If they hoped of even standing a chance of bringing one down they'd need to divide and conquer. "Initially we will move as one, use scare tactics to break up the group, try to isolate an individual. Do not engage at this point, do not act alone." He shot a sharp look at the younger members of the party, now was not the time to be a hero. "Maintain a line of commination, for this to work we must all understand what needs to be done and when. Once we have chosen the target the children will fall back and act as the rear guards and scouts. The adults will make the kill. Do you have any questions?"

As expected the Shogun was quick to explain how it was all going to go down. Kuroki understood, mostly, that they'd all have to group together as one mass of a wolf to scare the creatures into splitting up. But why the pups have to break off when the fun really got started? What was the point of tagging along if he wasn't allowed to help in a way that truly counted? Despite himself his lips pursed into a sulky pout, it just wasn't fair! Kuroki had killed before...on a much much much more small scale but still! His teeth and talons were sharp and he was ready to even use the nubs of his horns if he had to! His tail hung limp as his ears swivelled sideways, a protest stomping on the tip of his tongue. Grrr!!

Panic saw how more packmates arrived including her mother and brother to help to bring down the unknown but huge beast. Never she'd seen one and she was dying to prove herself with this. If it was for her she would just go ahead and attack, but her smart side stopped her from doing that. She would just make herself get killed or humiliated. "Initially we will move as one, use scare tactics to break up the group, try to isolate an individual. Do not engage at this point, do not act alone." Hattori explained, and Panic nodded agreeing with that. She waited for further instructions. "Once we have chosen the target the children will fall back and act as the rear guards and scouts. The adults will make the kill. Do you have any questions?" That thought pissed her off, yes she was aware of them being weaker but how will they learn like this? But for now, she took the displeasure to herself. "Speech"

Hela was excited but kept herself under a serene expression, even if deep inside she wanted to start already. But she wasnt a fool,she knew how to wait and not just do things recklesly(Thats what she thinks). Her two remaining children joined which gave her great pleasure. For some reason the oter two were gone. A shame but nothing she could do. And like that she waited to start. She looked around to see who else joined, almost the entire pack was even the kids. She hopped they wouldn't mess up with this, including her own children. The Klein lines weren't of losers, just of conquerers and the best of the best. "Talk"

Kuroki ignored her but it was better off for the little princess. She always wanted to copy her big brother but as he heard their father’s plan he obviously deflated. Kiyohime let her attention shift to Kitsune, the small girl leaned against her similarly sized sister. She leaned against her instead of Oki as their father and Shogun spoke to them. Bright dual toned eyes looked up at her father, her ears perked towards him as she listened to his words. The tiny Princess was just excited about being allowed to hunt, she knew there would be restrictions on such a big task like this. To believe otherwise was foolish, not that that stopped her brother…

Ike patted Oki’s shoulder and gave him a smile. She loved her brother, and wanted to be so much like him. But even she could see him getting away with himself. Then again Kiyohime always had to be the cautious one, there wasn’t a moment of her life she wasn’t in danger of tripping over her own feet and falling on her face.

Venom offered a nod of greeting to the adults of the pack as they filed in, especially Plague as his sleek form appeared. He was granted an extra smile as the last to arrive before her attention was fully encompassed by her mate. She returned the slight nod of his head, a simple blessing in his running of the bulls so to say. Venom gave him a quick grin and let her gaze shift to the children at their paws. They were quite young to be on such an incredible expedition, but she dared not deny them the experience.

Her gaze turned hard as Hattori let out the ground rules and she looked to each young wolf, aiming to make eye contact. She’d know to keep a special eye on them if they avoided looking at her. Kuroki was already failing at hiding his displeasure, but Venom was glad to see his sister aiming to help cheer him up. Thankfully for the young of the pack there would be plenty of opportunity to prove themselves as they got a bit of age under their belt.

”What do you think will be the most efficient way to kill the beast?” She asked her husband softly, that task alone would be the biggest challenge. That and keeping everyone alive.

(Tag @ Kuroki, Venom, and Ike:)
Her brother didn’t react to being used as a tunnel. He was clearly too enamoured by the great hulking beasts below to spare her any thought. She stifled a giggle as Ike managed to lean a little against Kit, having to go through Kuroki in order to do so. It meant the three pups were all piled together very closely. Kit rather liked being in the middle of a puppy pile.

She gave Ike a reassuring pat on the paw as she in turn had given Kuroki a pat. It made her feel like they were… a team. Today, they would really be working together in such a big way. Even if it was just as scouts. She would prove herself by listening to her parents, and then be allowed to do more in the future. That’s how it worked, right? She met her mom's eyes with true innocence.

"Speech"

(Tag @Venom and Hattori:)
It was not he that his Empress had asked, but he was close enough to hear the question, and the quiet hunter decided to put in his thoughts. “We would need a way to topple them. Perhaps if we could tie trip lines after isolating one of the beasts, to bring it down. They look like they would fall hard. Once we can reach the brain, it will be more possible.”

The immense beasts would be impossible to kill without being able to reach the heads. If trip lines weren’t a go, perhaps they could concentrate enough damage attacking their feet to bring it down. That way however felt more dangerous to everyone involved. He fell silent, his eye surveying their prey, knowing the decision was not his.

"Speech"

He could see how much the younglings of the group disliked being told that they wouldn't play an active role in the kill, but he was silently glad that they would at least be out of the line of fire, so to speak. Without really saying it, he had already decided that if someone needed to grab one of the pups to get them out of the way he was ready to be that guard for them. He nodded in understanding to Hattori's directions and glanced toward Lament as he mentioned that it would be easier to kill the beast if they were able to topple it. This was true at least - it would be difficult to reach any point on the furry creatures that would be lethal if they couldn't get it down to the ground. He looked back over Hattori's head at their targets in the distance, racking his brain for any additional solutions. There were very little trees or even significant rocks on the open prairie to tie trip lines to and he was fairly certain that with as big as they were they would just get pulled to the ground if they tried to hold the line themselves. He glanced at the dagger sheathed at his shoulder and started taking the idea in a different direction. "I wonder if we could find something big enough to cause some significant damage to its feet or ankles... I could try running in and cutting at its ankles to try and make it fall, but I don't know if just my dagger could cut through all that fur. It'd be better if we had some sharp rocks that could be hidden under the snow maybe that we could drive it over..." He mused with a thoughtful hum. "Either way, Lament's right. We're going to have to get it to the ground first before we can make any kind of kill." Plague | Viridis | Procella

"Speech"

As was clearly already the pattern Malachai was very much not keen on being kept on the backline, rearguard? He was the same size as his own fully grown mother now, surely he wasn't in so much risk of being crushed... at least no more than she was. He settled onto his haunches with an audible huff and rolled his eyes, listening but not really looking at Hattori as he spoke. Hard to believe he'd once looked up to him, or at least that's how he felt right now. How else were they even supposed to learn if they were being treated with kid gloves?

Malachai didn't really have a mind for strategy and though he could appreciate the need to come up with one under these circumstances his enthusiasm had been all but squashed. What did it matter to him anyway? He wasn't even going to get to do anything. The boy shifted as he sat, doing his best to keep his frustration, disappointment, and mounting boredom from showing too much lest he be kept from even the little he would get to do, which as far as he was concerned might as well have been nothing, he felt he was being placated, and it rankled him.

Art by Skelle!