Red raced back into pack lands in a state of obvious excitement, his molten-and-iron coat bristling from spiney hackles to tail. He skidded to a halt before the ravine leading into the caverns and threw back his heavy head to call out in a deep, echoing call to his packmembers to come together. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, like nothing he'd ever seen before. He knew there were creatures called 'elephants' in Auster and thought he'd caught a glimpse of them far in the distance when he and Aurielle had gone to explore the castle down there, but this was something different. Something, dare he say, from another age. There were stories in his homeland about an age of ice long ago when wolfkind was fairly young and the strange creatures that competed with those ancient wolves - he knew he himself resembled a creature they'd called a scimitar cat or something similar - and among those creatures the massive elephantine beasts known as mastodons and mammoths.

He was certain, absolutely certain, that the creatures he'd seen further north were exactly those beasts, and that their appearance now had something to do with the icy grip the weather continued to have well into spring. He was morally afraid that this presaged another ice age like the one of legend... and if it did, Valhalla would need every advantage they could get to survive it. Taking down one of those creatures would mean a store of supplies beyond anything they could hope to achieve in one hunt otherwise. As he'd made the long run back to the pack lands, a plan had formed itself in his mind.

Now, as his call died away into echoes, Red spun neatly on his heels to race into the caverns, rummaging through various stores for what he'd need and dragging each back to deposit them messily in the area outside the ravine, where there would be plenty of room for everyone to gather to work on what they'd need for his plan.

Ardyn Cadeyrn Aodhán Phoenix Adravendi

He’d been practicing his writing skills when his father’s voice called out to the pack from outside, and Ardyn’s head perked up from the parchment, paw poised with a stick of charcoal ready for the next stroke as Red dashed into the cave and began gutting the alcoves for supplies. After a beat of watching he rose to his paws and began helping, grinning at his father with a cheerful, if curious, "Dia duit, Da, cad atá ar bun?" His father seemed excited, and definitely urgent in his tasks. Ardyn took some of what his father had extracted from one of the alcoves and carried it out,, head cocking curiously. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Fidelias, gangly-legged and stub-tailed beneath his lingering winter coat, was heading out to join his mother in a patrol when a call came from the direction of the pack alpha's den. Not Aurielle, but someone whose voice Fili didn't entirely recognize, so had likely not done much interacting with. Someone with authority to call them together, though, and since his patrolling with his mother was unofficial rather than assigned, he thought he should probably answer the call rather than continue on his way. His brow creased, but he followed the call of obligation and turned towards the ravine with reluctantly plodding steps. Even so his legs - long now with adolescence - carried him to the meeting faster than he'd have hoped and before most anyone else. Only Ardyn and the wolf Fili vaguely recognized as being Ardyn's father were already there, ferrying out an odd assortment of goods that were messily strewn there in the rush. Fili hesitated but felt that he'd be more conspicuous lurking there doing nothing than if he were doing something, so he busied himself stacking the various items more neatly and accessibly. If he looked busy and kept his head down no one would talk to him and he could pass unnoticed until Red's... whatever this was... was over and he could slink away again.

She was in her part of the den putting away some bits and bobs she had found around the territories when her father's called echoed from outside. Next thing she knew, he came barreling in and practically ransacked the place as he grabbed everything he possibly could before making a mad dash outside again. She froze for a moment, ears perked as she watched Ardyn abandon his writing practice and moved to help their dad instead. She remained where she was for a moment, a couple of thick blue glass shards still held gently in her mouth. After a moment and a beat of silence after the pair had exited the cave, she hurriedly placed them into a pocket she had dug into the wall of her den before racing out to join them. She didn't know what was going on, but she was gonna find out. "Cad atá ar siúl, da?" As she approached though, they were joined by one of the other pups who she hadn't spent a great deal of time getting to know. Then again, asides from her immediate family, she hadn't exactly gotten around to getting to know everyone since she'd been immersed in her own little world.

You couldn't kill me if you tried She was lingering nearby when she heard one of Valhalla's members calling. She didn't recognize the voice at all, though she hadn't yet met anyone other than Ardyn and Aurielle. She wasn't sure what they were calling for, but whatever it was kinda sounded urgent? She wasn't sure. She didn't have much experience with social pack stuff quite yet, but her curiosity got the better of her. The wolves here seemed friendly enough, so she traipsed across the plains until she spotted a small group of the pack wolves, and of course, she recognized Ardyn right away. "Hi! Can I help?" She didn't know what she was asking to help with exactly, but whatever it was had to be important, right? She had yet to see any of the ice age creatures wandering around considering she hadn't done any wandering herself due to the season's weather, but she was here for it regardless. "Speak"

Kaija didn't really know what was going on but she knew she wanted to be involved. The thought of other people hanging out and doing cool stuff without her kind of rubbed her the wrong way; heck, just the thought of it didn't settle well with her. As she headed toward Red's call and she caught whiff of her brother's scent she only picked up her pace, now dead-set on going to whatever this gathering was intended for. Even if she decided she didn't care once she got there, well, her curiosity would probably keep her around just to see what happened. She broke into a near-sprint as the group came into view, skidding to a sudden halt and nearly barrelling into Fidelias in the process. "Sorry!" She chirped, wide-eyed as she leaned in to give him a messy lick to the side of his face. Surely that would fix the near-collision, right? She expected him to recoil from her touch but she didn't mind, nor would it stop her. Instead she just grinned at him as she settled down and waited for Red to start the meeting.

He was busy with removing the snow from outside his den once again, an annoyed frown plastered on his face as a flurry of snow flew out behind him as he worked. Enzi was perched on one snowy mound watching him work with her features fluffed in amusement and her golden eyes nearly gleaming with laughter. His oceanic blue eyes flicked towards the hawk and he flashed a fang in protest to her apparent joy if his annoyance but obviously his warning was a weak one as the bird took no heed of it. Drachen huffed and rolled his eyes, damning this cold winter under his breath before a call rung out, calling any Valhallans that cared to answer. His tan brows curled together as he tried to put a name to the voice and finally remembered that it belonged to a man named Red, Aurielle's mate, and he could hear the excitement in the man's voice. Curious about what would get the red male in such a tizzy and using any excuse to stop shoving out snow, Drachen turned and swiftly made his way to the Ravine.

There was already a group of wolves there and Drachen was happy to see Ardyn there helping his Father with the supplies gathered. There were a few of the rambunctious pups and then a stranger who did not smell like Valhalla and whom he had never seen before. Black hackles rose along his spine as he slowed to a stop a few strides near the group and he stood silently, his gaze hard and sharp on the stranger as he assessed the situation. A few moments later Drachen began to relax as he realized that despite the stranger's massive size, she was only a pup judging by her scent and seemed to know Ardyn. The Vaekhal male huffed a breath and shook out his pelt before he join the group and made his way to Red and Ardyn while giving the young pups a warm smile along the way. "What's all the excitement about, Red?" Drachen rumbled in his hushed but respectful tones, his oceanic eyes flicked to Ardyn warmly before looking over the supplies gathered.

Dómari focused on patrolling the borders. He traveled along the wall around Valhalla's border, keeping an eye out for the giant wolves that had been seen roaming about Boreas. While he had yet to see one himself he'd heard several reliable reports that led him to believe they were more than just a rumor. He paused as he heard Red's call and immediately abandoned his patrol to answer the call. It sounded like a hunt and it felt like awhile since he'd been on a group hunt. He'd been working on solo hunts mostly, working through some of his thoughts and hang ups. He arrived to see a number of wolves already gathered. Grinning, he nodded at Red and settled down. "What is our prey today?" "Speech"

Rhaegara had admittedly been a little spaced out as of late… not in a bad way, just in an intensely focused kind of way. She had been focusing on getting stronger and getting better. She wanted and needed to fight her way to the top, not in any sort of coup, but simply to be the best she could be. All she wanted to do was be better. When the call rose, she was eagerly hearing it and accepting it. She made her way along, Carlys following closely behind as her faithful friend always did. She arrived shortly after Domari, dipping her head in greeting as she waited to hear what was going to be hunted. She was a decent hunter, though she felt herself a better fighter, but she would help however she could. Really hunting was just fighting food, right?

Lee's russet face shot up from her paws when she heard her father's call, her ears perking on top of her head as her face tilted slightly to the side as she heard the pure excitement in his voice. Curiosity pulled the girl to her paws and she took off, dark tail streaming behind her like a banner as she ran full gallop to the ravine. She skidded to a stop once she was close enough to see the faves of those who had gathered and a bright smile lit up her elegant features as she greeted everyone. There was a stranger amongst those who had gathered but the other girl seemed to know her brother and she gave Ardyn a playful questioning look. But it now wasn't the time for her to tease her sibling and the obvious excitement that coursed through her father was infectious and Laoise felt her own heart begin to race, her charcoal tail waving behind her was she waited patiently for her father to explain what was going on.

The Sentinel had just finished off his patrol for the day until evening when he heard Red’s call. His dark ears perked with interest. Red sounded excited, and the tone was definitely indicative of a hunt. Something Cai could never resist, and he picked up his pace into a lope, spotting others ahead as they answered the call, too. Cai came in to bustling, and threw himself into preparations alongside Ardyn and his father, carting out whatever tasks were tossed his way as he called over his shoulder, “What’re we hunting, Red?” His tail waved cheerfully after him as he added his supplies to the arrangement, bumping Rhaegara’s shoulder in greeting with his own as he went about arranging the supplies for ease of gathering. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Red was pleased to see so many gathering at his call, but he didn't pause in his equipment gathering to do more than grin at everyone before diving back in. Finally everything was gathered to his satisfaction, and even somewhat organized thanks to Fidelias and Cairo's efforts. A quick moment with some charcoal and sticks and tinder, a spark from his firestarter to get the tinder burning to get the sticks burning to get the charcoal burning, then he nudged the pot of pitch towards it to begin to heat before he turned towards the gathered group. "A long time ago," he began with a grin towards the wolves who were undoubtedly not expecting a history lesson, "the world experienced an era of darkness, ice, and snow. Much like we are experiencing, but far longer than the longest lives of wolves. There were many strange creatures that were specially adapted to live in that time that, when it passed, died out. Or..." he paused for dramatic effect. "Or so we thought. There is a creature far taller than a moose or elk, far larger and bulkier than an ox. Bigger than nearly any creature we have now. A leathery skinned quadruped with a long flexible nose and huge tusks - far larger than Kaija's, sorry Kaija - and covered in shaggy hair. They were called mammoths, and somehow there is a herd of them to the north of us! They must have been surviving somewhere far more north than wolves go, somewhere cold enough for them to live, and somehow made their way here, maybe because of the unusually cold weather. And we are going to hunt one!" He didn't mention his fears that the cold, and the return of mammoths, heralded another ice age, and that they might later have desperate need of the preserved meat and fat and hide and hair of a giant beast like that. Let them all think of it as a big adventure.

"My plan was to make torches and set fires to drive them over a cliff," he said, nodding towards the stacked materials. "We could build barriers as well to funnel them towards where we want them to go. Big as they are, they might be able to outdistance us and I don't want them going in a direction we don't want them to go. We'll need relays of wolves to keep them running too fast to think so they don't stop in time. If we're lucky maybe we can get more than one, but either way we'll need to bring them back here, so there's materials here for all of us to put together travois, and maybe add some panniers over the poles for the older wolves to carry even more. I don't want the younger wolves carrying that much weight at their age," he added apologetically to his children, and Justice's, who he was sure would be so very disappointed not to do unexciting manual labor like the grown wolves. "There should be more than enough material here for a torch for everyone, with extras if they burn out, and travois material for everyone. If you all can pitch in we can get them put together quickly and we can head north before they move on. We'll build barriers out of junk trees, brambles, sagebrush, whatever we can get our paws on to pile together in lines to funnel them towards the gorge to the north, so we won't need to carry any supplies for that. We'll make due with what we've got there."

He quickly demonstrated how to make a torch, taking a fairly green wooden limb and combining pitch and moss into a very flammable blob wrapped around the end, ready to be lit. The travois wouldn't be needed until they'd finished the hunt, so those he simply bundled poles and hides together to be carried slung to each side of the simple, makeshift leather harnesses like cart horse poles. He could help the kids with theirs, but he hoped the adults would pick it up quickly enough that they could all get their kits put together without wasting any time. They'd need all the setup time they could get in the north.

OOC: this round they can build torches and ask any questions or concerns or whatever and round 3 we'll fastforward to them working on the barrier in the north, if everyone could get in this second round ASAP that would be great so we can maybe finish before the deadline despite me being gone

A bunch of other wolves trickled in and Kaija let her gaze follow them as they settled down and waited for this little meeting to start. Her eyes widened when Red finally began to speak, giving a little backstory into what was going on. She found herself gawking a little, her jaw visibly unhinging at the mention of how big their tusks were. Whoa! That sounded equal parts cool and scary, she decided quickly. She let out a little gasp of surprise, nudging Fidelias slightly to see if he was as excited about this as she was. The plan sounded complicated but she knew she could listen, so she decided she'd do just that; follow along and listen as best as she could and try not to get too distracted along the way. It sounded like a lot of work too though and she wondered if maybe she should've stayed back with Arne... though she supposed she'd already volunteered herself and she couldn't really back out now.

Grumbling quietly to herself she followed Red's instructions, snatching up some materials to get to work marking a torch. It wasn't an easy task for her and she found her tusks getting in the way more often than not, so more than once she let out a little annoyed noise as she struggled. Kaija was stubborn enough though that she wouldn't give up until she figured things out at least half-assed, so she squinted and continued fumbling about with her materials until she'd constructed at least one usable torch.

Ardyn Cadeyrn Aodhán Phoenix Adravendi

Others gathered, and he smiled at each between loads of supplies, flashing a quick, encouraging grin at Tel, and as the last load was set in place, and his father settled and lit a fire, Ardyn listened with perked ears, intent on the story and words his gold-brindled sire gave them. They were going to hunt one of those? Count him in! As Red laid out the plan, he nodded, and once his father was done speaking, Ardyn took to the process of making torches. His nimble digits were perfect for the task, taking each stick and soaking it in the heated pitch and wrapping it with dry fibers, then soaking once more, both to make the wick stay on the stick, and to add something for the fire to catch on when the torch was needed. “Where’s the gorge you wanted to use?” He nudged the first few completed torches to one side in a neat stack, an ear swiveled toward his father as he reached for a couple more sticks, eyes flicking to Kaija with a faint twinkle at her grumble. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

As he finished arranging the supplies, Red struck a fire and Cai listened intently, ears alert with interest. He didn’t miss the parallels the Heart drew with his story, and nodded quietly to himself, silent acknowledgement that even one of these creatures would be an incredible boon the pack’s wellbeing. Pity the creatures were too large to be contained, if he was imagining them right. Taming some like that would mean a food source for a long time but, he conceded to himself, keeping them well fed would be too costly. He glanced over the others gathered before he watched Red’s demonstration, then gathered his own portion of the supplies, using the bear claws on his bracers to comb the fibers for ease of wrapping into the pitch. The claws certainly helped to keep the pitch from his toes. He listened as he set aside his first completed torch and started on another, waiting to see where Red wanted to undertake the hunt itself. He hadn’t seen much of the north yet, having mainly gone east when he explored. He’d seen the Redwoods, and that was just about it. "If we erect sharpened saplings at the bottom that should make the kill even simpler if it - or they - survives a fall from a cliff." Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Fili was surprised when his sister collided with him, nearly shoving him nosefirst into the sticks he was carefully piling up as busywork. She then managed to steal a swipe of the tongue across his face - his fur fluffed out in alarm like the hair of a startled cat - and he jerked back quickly enough to nearly send himself into the pile of hides he had just finished stacking. Blah! Blugh! Sisters, were they all like this or just his? But the contemplations of sibling dynamics would have to wait, since the group had apparently finished gathering and Red was ready to talk. Fili perked up slowly as the alpha's mate spoke, because it seemed that the obligation was fast becoming interesting to him despite his reluctance to be in strange company (and it was strange company, as there were several wolves he'd never even seen before). The idea of hunting such an odd creature appealed to the budding young hunter, though he harbored a concern about Red's story. An age of ice and snow that lasted beyond the lifespan of any wolf? And that was when these... mammoths lived? And they were back now so... was it going to be snowy and icy forever? From his mother's complaints he knew that it was already far later in the year than it was supposed to be this cold... The dark male sat back, eyes going distant and broody as he considered that.

He wasn't given long to brood, though, as they were set to making torches. With the tip of his tongue caught thoughtfully between his teeth, he did his best to copy what he'd seen the ginger brindle doing, twisting the pitch-soaked moss around one of the sticks he'd been stacking earlier and then shoving it into itself to glue the whole sticky mess together. It wasn't pretty, but it seemed like it would stay on the stick pretty well, so it would probably be ok. He carefully set it aside so that it wouldn't get sticky pitch on anything else, then copied Red's method of bundling poles and hide together for his own travois, which was kind of exciting. Luckily he was large enough even at his age that the poles would be the right size for him and not ridiculously big or anything. Learning how to make and use one would probably be really useful in the future, as he got old enough to range further out on his quest to learn to hunt and take care of his family. He'd be able to carry back more than what he could fit in his mouth with this, that was for sure.

After all the supplies had been gathered and placed into piles, Drachen reclined to his haunches as Red began to tell a story about massive tusked animals that once roamed the earth and now somehow managed to make their way here. Drachen's tan brows curled together in concern as Red explained the long winter that had lasted generations. Drachen glanced his blue eyes at Enzi who had landed next to him durning the scramble to gather supplied and he saw her feathers fluff up in worry as well. Red then explained that they were going to hunt one of these creatures and Drachen nodded his head in agreement. If there was indeed another long winter lingering on the horizon then they could use the meat, hide, and bones from these creatures to help the pack survive. The black and tan male's dark ears perked up as he listened to Red explain how to make the torches, intently watching and learning before gathering the needed supplies for the task. It was quite difficult for him at first but the Vaekhal male quickly found a way to use his paws and teeth to wrap the branch with the material and dip it into the pitch. Once he had made several torches he gathered the necessary supplies and bundled them into a make shift harness so that he could carry the supplies on his back. Once that was done, Drachen then went around the group to see if anyone else needed help in making or organizing their supplies. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Laoise Adravendi

Lee quickly settled herself down when her Father made the fire and listened intently when he started to tell a story about a long winter and massive creatures that once roamed the land. Her dual blue eyes widened when Red told them they he had seen a herd of them! How cool was that! She glanced around at the other wolves gathered and she noticed a mized reaction amongst the crowd. The younger wolves, like herself, seemed to be in awe while some of the the older wolves seemed to shift in uncertainty with concern darkening their faces. She didn't have time to really ponder the mixed reactions when her father quickly moved the conversation on to making the torches and the harnesses to carry the supplies to where they were going. Lee nodded her russet face to show that she understood and began to make torches and set them aside. As she worked her mind drifted and she began to picture the creature her father described, massive longed nosed beasts with massive dangerous tusks. Suddenly she let out a small gasp and said to herself. "I should bring my healing supplies!" The brindled russet and charcoal girl darted off to her room in the nearby ravine and grabbed the bag she had made but only carried for special circumstances. Quickly she stuffed varies herbs into the bag with several bandages and wraps with a few smaller but strong branches cut to the size of a wolf's leg. She hoped with everything she had that her bag would not be necessary but she wanted to be prepared just in case. Once she stuffed everything she needed, she nosed the strap of the bag over her head so that it rested around her shoulder and darted her way back up to the group. By then everything had been pretty much settled into where it needed to be and she went around helping others who were still finishing up. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Dómari listened quietly as Red explained what they were going to hunt. Massive creatures thought to be extinct? Sounded like a long shot but he was game to try anything once and if anything it was a nice event to get the pack together for a hunt. Red laid out the plan and Dómari swiftly got to work gathering various sized branches that they could use to make torches or travois'. His foxes would do the scouting while he did more of the brute work. Hopefully the gorge wouldn't be far. Dómari wondered how long they'd need to run these beasts and being more of a home body these days he wasn't as familiar with the surrounding terrain other than there were a lot of dry desert areas in the west. "Speech"