And It's The Stars That Shine For You

After Star finished setting up camp and making sure they had a nice warm place to stay the Aracari set off to document the movements of prey through Ashen. While it would take time to do one prey source was already making itself know. Star's ears perked up as they heard an elk bugling not far from the shrine. Autumn was an excellent time to hunt for animals that rutted during the fall. There would be a good chance to catch a male elk with an injury or completely unawares. Eager to see what the hunting forces of Ashen were like and to start earning their keep, Stjarna howled loudly, calling for the start of a pack hunt.

Shuriken knew the call for a hunt when she heard one and the tall princess hurried towards the voice. Tanto ran alongside her, but much more gracefully if not with as long of strides. She was tripping only every tenth step instead of every ninth, slowly but surely gaining control of her massive paws and impossibly long legs. Maybe one day she would grow into her awkward limbs.

Her almost chimeric form appeared first, quite the surprise considering her stumbles. Her mismatched ears perked behind her little twigs disguised as baby antlers. They too were slowly reaching from her brow, they could almost be considered antlers but they were more akin to small thin spikes. Probably not as much use as her eagle-like talons on her paws in a hunt. The Scout had her full attention, dual toned eyes took in the black and white coat of the stranger, but could easily tell from lean muscle this was no amatuer like she was. Ike offered a polite dip of her head and a smile.

"Konichiwa, I’m Princess Ike” She used greetings from her mother and father’s native languages interchangeably as she did many of her family’s honorifics. Her speckled tail wagged at her hips as she lowered herself ot her haunches, doing her best to look poised and less like she was too excited to stay in her seat.


"Kiyohime Shuriken Ōritsu Abraxas"

Malachai was bored, he was often bored. That last hunt that had been called had been the giant wooly creatures he hadn't even been allowed to get close to and the young man wasn't about to let himself be sidelined again. Compared to the imperial princess Malachai was a beast of a young man, having grown from his awkward adolescent frame to filling out his considerable bulk, though he wasn't totally full grown yet he was now taller than his mother and clearly was going to rival the shogun when he reached his peak. Mismatched gaze rolled over the two wolves still there, his lips pulling slightly as he approached. He wasn't really sure he liked the royal children, in truth he felt like many of his cousins had a bit of an attitude problem, which was probably ironic coming from him but it felt to him like they all thought they were better than him for reasons he couldn't really understand let alone agree with, though he supposed Venom's brood were better than Toxcity's, at least they didn't take every silence as a chance to try and convince him some sort of sky daddy gave a shit what any of them did. Malachai slid his attention to the smaller black and white wolf, clearly the adult who'd called the hunt so far, he gave a little grunt with a slight dip of his head before settling himself, wondering if this was it, the entire hunting party. "Speech

Art by Cloudy!

Kuroki made a habit of being fashionably late, he didn't want to set a precedent that he was easy to boss around or he was eager to do as he was told. Sure, the idea of a hunt was enough to draw him out of the shadows but he wasn't gonna skip along and bounce about on his paws all eager. Like he had something to prove. Rolling onto the scene, his dark, seemingly bottomless gaze took in the sight of those who'd gathered to fill the pantry. His sister Ike always seemed to be the first on the scene to these kind of things and clearly had something to prove, but he hadn't seen Malachai in a long while. "Yo." Kuroki padded onto the scene, pausing to wave a paw before he plonked himself right down to his little sister. Who wasn't quite so little any more. He made no move to introduce himself, anyone who knew anything about these parts knew Kuroki and his siblings were. It was hard not to know, unless they'd been keeping their head buried in sand. "So what's the plan?"

Takeshi had been roaming around the edges of the territory alone to clear his thoughts, and failing he might add. It was much quieter when he roamed alone and it was much less likely that he’d form a migraine from the lack of noise. He wasn’t sure what else to do, considered he felt pretty useless doing anything else. His father had pretty much ignored him for months because of his illness, and his mother, grandmother and siblings could only give him looks of pity. It was the last thing he wanted, but he wasn’t sure how else to fix it.

A howl rose into the air, summoning the wolves of Ashen to a hunt and he paused, considering whether or not he should go. One one paw, he could end up just disappointing his father further. On the other hand, maybe he wouldn’t get a migraine and he’d actually be of help. The hope inside of his chest with the prospect of making his sire proud out weighed any other worry and so he turned in the direction of the shrine and took off at a lope. When he arrived, he found 2 of his siblings had already arrive and he greeted them with a chuff. To the scout and his cousin, Malachai, he offered a dip of his head. He sat and waited for them to flesh out a plan.

"Thoughts/expression intention"

And It's The Stars That Shine For You

Stjarna settled in to wait but soon the first hunter arrived, one of the princesses. Star dipped their head in a respectful bow and even though a few of the words were lost on them they could recognize a greeting and introduction. "A pleasure to meet you princess. My name is Stjarna, or Star if you prefer." Soon another youth arrived, a boy that looked to be a yearling. He was soon followed by the princes, an easy guess for they seemed to take strongly after their father.

Stjarna was a bit apprehensive about leading such a young hunting party, but they were about Ike's age when they first started hunting large prey and so Star could see no reason not to continue. "Thank you all for coming, my name is Stjarna. There is a herd of elk down by the shrine, the males are battling for attention from the does. There is blood in the air and likely wounded. I want to pick off one of the injured bucks. If you'll follow me."

Star slipped away toward the herd as another haunting cry pierced through the air. Testing the wind, Star shifted course to keep them down wind of potential prey. Soon they were on the edge of a clearing looking out at a couple dozen elk. Two large males currently had their horns locked but Star's focus was on a younger, inexperienced elk that was limping badly. No doubt it had tried to take on the old chief and paid the price. The left front leg was bleeding significantly. Star gestured toward the bull and spoke in low tones. "Do you four think you can herd that bull towards me? If you have an opportunity to drag it down then do so. I will leap out to assist otherwise if you can get it to me I can trip it up enough to bring it to the ground." A herding exercise would be a good opportunity for the four to begin learning to hunt together.

Though not always the most agreeable when it came to figures of authority, Kuroki was willing to play along. Star seemed to know what they were talking about and wasn't overly pushy in getting everyone to join in, regardless of their age they didn't sugar coat it or try to talk down to them. Young or not Kuroki and his siblings-plus Malachai- were capable of getting the job done, they'd just need a bit of guidance is all. Nodding along, Kuroki was quick to fall into step behind the Ashen scout. The scent of blood lingered strong in the air, wafting in from between the trees as the group headed further into the pale treeline. His ears tipped forward as he caught the sound of antlers clashing, hooves stomping against the ground as they tested their might against one another. He glanced over at his sister's antlers, and wondered whether it was worth trying to lock his horns against hers. At the very least it looked like it might be some fun, and he was always willing to test his mettle against his siblings, to prove that being the eldest made him the strongest of the lot. The best of the best, despite what his parents might think. Spotting the wounded target, Kuriko rocked back on his heels, he'd done a bit of herding before but he couldn't say it was his favourite part of the hunt. "Sure." He agreed easily enough, stepping aside so he could loop around and get into position. His steps were surprisingly quiet and considered as he took the long path, pressing his sides against the trees to mask his approach. He was closer now and watched the bucks fight for a moment longer, interested in how all the other elk were standing around and enjoying the show. He waited for the others to gather beside him and only when everyone was in position did he kick off into a sprint, sending the elk scampering in all directions as he made a beeline towards the wounded buck.

The male greeted her kindly and returned her greeting with a name in return. The little princess gave another bow of her head as the rest of the eager young hunters arrived behind her. Ike was bar far the most formal, not that Take could really speak anyway. She grinned at her two big brothers as they appeared. Her attention was swiftly returned to their teacher and the leader of their hunt. He introduced himself again and the little princess pulled her attention together as the plan was laid out.

They were going after elk today. Ike’s eyes widened slightly but she realized as she looked around the young of Ashen were much larger than when they had taken on the mammoth. This group had less experience but they had the strength. Ike listened and gave a short nod of agreement as their instructions were given. She easily followed after Kuroki, though much less gracefully, and trekked after the bull.

She stood beside Oki before the signal and when everyone was in place her long legs took off after the wounded deer. Shuriken stayed in Oki’s tracks, but provided the backup he needed to make the animals begin to move.

"Kiyohime Shuriken Ōritsu Abraxas"

The wolf with the bicolored eyes was quick to cut to the chase, something he was grateful for. The sooner they got this over with, the sooner he could go back to what he was doing. Hopefully he’d pull through and not make an idiot of himself, but only time could tell.

He followed after his siblings, cousin and their packmate, who introduced themselves as Stjarna, dutifully, ever the silent knight in a sea of chatty kathies. They told them of the plan once they’d reached the designated area. As they'd described, the scent of blood was only growing heavier in the air and the sound of clacking horns could be heard. Their gaze was turned toward the bull they'd indicated, limping on an unsteady leg. He’d clearly been bested by a younger, more agile bull, as was the way of nature. It weeded out the weak, and for a moment he wondered if that would include him.

He pushed the thoughts away for the time being, knowing they would only hinder him. The boy could ponder on his situation later. At that moment, he had a responsibility as a child to the Empress and Shogun to help put food in the bellies of their packmates. He was a bit perturbed to the thought of chasing after the bull, as he wasn’t quite as fast or agile as his lighter siblings, but he would do his best. As they took off, so did he, chasing after their food.

"Thoughts/expression intention"

A few more of the royal brats would file in, the only one he really knew anything about was the white horned boy, a slight smirk pulling at his lips as he watched his cousin wave, followed shortly by a boy who gave him a short nod and Malachai shrugged at him, his disinterest clear as he swung his gaze backtowards the wolf that had called them over. They seemed to be assessing the group before them, and Malachai couldn't blame them, though he had no doubt his cousins would grow to an equal height with himself he was still clearly the tallest of the young wolves, having passed his first year he was now mostly out of his awkward stumbling phase, his figure filling out nicely and he was confident in his visual strength. He listened as the scout spoke, following them when they moved, a frown deepening on his face as they spoke. It reminded him too much of the previous hunt when they'd been kept at the back, though as they told them they could take a stab at leaping after the buck Malachai couldn't help but feel his hopes lift a little, he was determined to be the one to bring their kill down, a thrill of competitiveness moving through him. He nodded, not bothering to speak words as he agreed to help chase their target away from the herd. His mismatched gaze moved hungrily towards the target and he silently plodded to join his cousins in their hiding spot. And when they all started running Malachai burst forward, not bothering to slow his running as he had during the hunt of the large wooly creatures, his long legs starting to pull himself a bit ahead of the group, his ears pulling back slightly as he tried to make sure none of his cousins overtook him. He was going to get the kill and finally prove himself! "Speech

Art by Cloudy!

And It's The Stars That Shine For You

As the youths took off to get into position Stjarna did the same, sheltering in a clump of tall grass. While their coat might not make the most sense in a hunt, many prey animals were colorblind and Star's swirling black and white coat blended in well with the grasses swirling in the breeze. Once everyone was in position it was time for the hunt to begin. Star watched carefully as the yearlings sprinted toward their target, scattering the other elk as they gave chase. Star tensed, legs coiled and ready to spring in the moment they were needed. While they had plenty of experience the younger wolves hadn't and would get more out of the hunt if Star didn't leap immediately to their aid. Around them elk scattered and the wounded bull was starting to panic as it failed to keep up with the majority of the herd.

Leading the charge-as though he had any right to- Kuroki was hot on the elk's tail, teeth snapping as they harassed and bit at its haunches. If it wasn't in a panic before well it certainly was now, eyes wide and nostrils flaring as it huffed and puffed, running right into the carefully laid trap. Honestly, it was a whole lot of fun running with his siblings-plus Malachai- and he felt as though it was a bit of a shame they didn't do this more often. Ah well.

Continuing to drive it forward, Kuroki knew Star would be forced into action soon. That they'd have to use all their combined weight to stop it in its tracks and drag it down. Overly cocky and a little impatient, Kuroki kicked it up a notch and made a lung for the side of its throat, his talons digging into its shoulder as he struggled for purchase. It wavered beneath his weight, legs wobbling as it cried out in pain.

"Kuroki Tantō Ōritsu Abraxas"

Shuriken wasn’t graceful on her feet but she was fast and she kept up with her brother as best she could, hot on the trail of the animal they aimed to best. The young princess kept up, harrying and harassing their target, enjoying the hunt and the camaraderie it bred with her pack mates. Her long stride held true, and her position gave her a great view of Kuroki taking the initiative and lunging at the deer. His weight was enough to slow the animal down.

Ike would take her chance here, she made her own approach then. Coming on the animal, and knowing the others would join in like she did, the girl leapt to the other side of the beast as her brother. Her own sharp talons sunk into flesh. Ike wouldn’t release until the elk was fully subdued and their victory was assured, but with the teamwork of her fellows the task was swiftly brought to completion.


"Kiyohime Shuriken Ōritsu Abraxas"

Takeshi ran along with his siblings, his jaws open as pants came from his mouth as he exerted himself. He had a lot more meat on his bones than either of his siblings, though Malachai matched him quite closely. Still, this meant he didn’t have as much speed as them. They surged ahead and he fought to keep up, glowing red gaze watching as the rest of the elk herd split, leaving their intended target wide open for the taking. Oki and Ike got there before him, latching onto either side of its neck with their sharp fangs and combined weight, the beast staggering under their combined weight as it let out a shrill shriek that made him wince. But, he was now close enough to do what his weight provided him: become an anchor. The large boy leapt, his claws and teeth digging into the hindquarters of the elk which emitted another shriek. It tried to stagger forward and buck him off, but its already weakened limbs stood no chance against the weight of the three of them. It collapsed to its belly, but the three of them needed to keep it pinned. He growled, eyes looking for their cousin. He would need to finish the job for them.

"Thoughts/expression intention"