Víðarr had shaken his false son loose, bolting into the red abyss. The boy would know better than to follow him, surely. Know better than to chase after him, know better than to come looking. Erik is no son of his-- no. The betrayer. He'd betrayed Víðarr's trust, and the shadow railed against it. Through the relative chill of the northern summer he runs, a bat out of hell. For once, he feels good. Slowing only when he can see the ship in the distance, the viking king allows himself to drink in the strange environment. Craters dug, far larger than any burrowing beast that comes to mind. The surfaces was strange, raw, like an open scab... very, very odd. Prey animals were acting strangely, and there's only one way to sort out the root of the issue. Catch them. Icy gaze sweeping the relatively barren landscape, Víðarr scents the stiff breeze. Elk... good enough. Taking off in the direction of the herd, the shadow runs until they come into focus through the red distance. A herd of them, with a few stragglers to boot. Excellent. Time to get down to business, clarity through his scattered thoughts. In Víðarr's mind, he's still young, spry-- no different than he was when he hunted these lands as a new arrival to Boreas. "Víðarr"

He heard from Wilder that there was some strange activities in the prey. With a nod to both the Warlord and Wilder Oleander set out with Wilder to take a look. In order to cover more ground they split off and Ollie made his way toward some elk.

He sunk down to the cracked snow to watch them carefully. His brows knit together at the strange scene. They were digging and pawing at the snow but with their backlegs? Or their heads? Some would dig with their antlers, and some with their noses! All he could smell was Elk, snow, and... A stranger. Maybe they could hunt together.

The white wolf padded up to the charcoal elder, a hunting partner hopefully. Oblivious as to who he was. They needed to down one of these creatures so he could see what was going on. Hopefully, the blight of last season was not affecting this herd!

"You got your eyes on one already? It's not right, their acting so strange." He said, with his eyes on the elk, speaking quietly to the ink black male.

"Speech!"

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Lumine had tried to avoid her father as much as possible. After her fate had been revealed, and all else that had transpired, the resentment she felt toward him blackened her heart. Deep down, she still loved him and worried for him. Especially with his scent leading north where more and more animals were acting strange. If he died alone up there, she’d never forgive herself.

Trailing after the shadow with utmost care to not be noticed, Lumine waited until she too saw the herd of elk. This group was also behaving oddly for whaat was considered normal. The realization didn’t settle well in her. Neither did the youngster who approached her father with an almost lackadaisical air about him. Did he not know who he was approaching?

Lithe steps carried her forward, expertly placing herself between Vidarr and Oleander, shoulder leaning in to briefly grace her father’s. “Which is why we need to take one down,” she nods to the boy in white, a grim smile upon her charcoal lips before she glances to her father. “If we gain one more, we can set out,” Lumine says, hoping her father is at least sane enough to not torment the stranger.

It wasn’t long before the uncomfortable news of what was happening to pray animals trickled down to the Armada. Whether this was linked to the red sun and the prominence, or the plague that had finally started to heal in the Mile high woods, he didn’t know. Regardless, he set out to investigate. He had to, with how close this was to home.

He trotted to the north and caught the scent of a creature he did not usually find in the region, an elk. Had it travelled here for the same reason it attempted to dig the earth? Regardless, he would hunt it. Perhaps Oleander could make connections with clues found on its body. He started to track the scent of his prey, and encountered others who had clearly come for the same reason. It wasn’t long before he realised his lead hunter had joined this hunt.


"Speech"

Víðarr doesn't need to study the elk alone for long. A boy, the same age as his own pups, appeared from the bleak landscape. The viking king's gaze is stony as it sets on the child, though his tone is incredulous. "Of course they are acting strangely. Ragnarök is coming-- the end of days. The end of us all." The prey could feel it, much the same as the wolves. Everyone can feel it, the unease that lives in their bones. Víðarr's gaze is sharp, unblinking. Unshaken, in the face of the fates. It's when Lumine appears, that his gaze is pulled off the herd for the first time. Chin setting on his daughter's forehead briefly, a warm greeting for the girl. How she'd grown... how long had he been away? Dragged south by the betrayer, with no hope of watching his rightful children grow into themselves, become the adults they were meant to be. Had Erik sent her? There's no scent of wretched boy hanging on her, and it seems she has the same goal in mind. She's right. One more... ah. There's one more nearby, though its shape is distorted. A man, but something that isn't quite right. Maybe he's paranoid, maybe it's another sign that he's not... not all there. "Det är inte en varg," spoken only to his daughter, where she stands at his shoulder, the words are quiet. His mother tongue still tasted like home in his mouth. The closest they'd get out here, within the barren landscape still cold enough to rouse life in his bones. The large stranger would still likely be useful in a hunt-- Víðarr would take it, regardless. Squeezing his eyes shut for only a moment, allowing the pressure there to build through his sinuses. When Víðarr opens his eyes again, blood begins to drip down his face. A fearsome image, a marauder taking flight. "The doe, in the rear. She limps." Addressing the party with his observation for only a moment, and offering Lumine a nod before he takes off at a dead sprint. Any notion of the soreness in his bones long forgotten, the shadow sweeps across the land as he always has. Fast enough to close the gap, Víðarr's heart pounds in his chest. Quickly, he's upon the elk that he'd sighted before. No antlers on this one, a safer target than most, especially if they've destabilized in some way. With gnashing teeth and a snarl deep in his throat, the viking king grabs at his prey's shoulder. Raw violence, and the pursuit of a singular task. The feel of warm fur in his mouth and the panicked cry of the beast spur him on. "Víðarr"

Fascinating, this guy was quite off his rocker! Oleander tilted his head as a new form appeared between him and the dark stranger. The first had a scent of Hallows the other was Hemlock, where Maki came from. He smirked as it became obvious they were related somehow, probably father-child with the way the other male bent down to her. Much the same way his father would have bent down to him.

He turned to see Bas joining them as the related pair began speaking in an unknown tongue to each other. He dipped his head and turned back to the older male as he offered a good mark in the common tongue.

Oleander took off behind the crazy bloody eye's stranger and flanked the doe on the other side. The whole herd started stampeding. He reached out to nip and snarl at the doe's heels, driving it forward. Its hoof nearly nicked his teeth as he barked and gnashed his teeth.

"Speech!"

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When the Warlord approaches, Lumine gives him a once over as her father murmurs in their native language. She clicks her tongue against the roof of her mouth as her gaze sweeps over to see the blood trailing down his cheeks. ”So dramatic,” she whispers under her breath. While she can’t disagree about the last one of their group being not exactly a wolf (he was indeed huge), he still had wolf-like qualities and appeared to know the smaller white male. Maybe her father was right. Maybe the end times were coming for them.

Thankfully, there wasn’t time given for small talk or even exchanging of names. Lumine thought that a bit odd, but she knew her father wasn’t stable as of late so it didn’t entirely surprise her.

At her father’s nod, she takes off after him. Her golden eyes scan the herd as it balks at the sight of four large wolves barreling toward them. Their paws thunder across the tundra, ice crackling beneath their weight as they neared the limping doe. As sad as it was that the herd would abandon one of their own, she knew it was simply a matter of life. They could not risk more when all they wanted was one.

Staying a step behind her father, Lumine too nips at the heels of the doe as she attempts to limp away. Too distraught by the shadow attached to her shoulder, she’s able to chip away at the precious tendons of the doe. Her blood begins to stain the snow behind them.

Basilisk agreed with the assessment of the black wolf. Following the older wolf's lead, the Warlord joined the hunt. As they moved to cut the doe off from the rest of the herd, Basilisk’s heavy set paws tore across the icy landscape. Bringing him into the space between the doe and the herd. Ensuring that if they had any ideas to rescue her, he would be able to stop them. He did not need the taste of blood on his tongue, he needed the safety of his wolves.

For the moment, that was Ollie. But in the bigger picture, it was an understanding of what was wrong with the prey animals. His move allowed the other wolves to single out the elk and attack her. Working together to bring her down.


"Speech"

The theatrics are warranted, in Víðarr's mind. In light of world-ending events, he needs to show them. Nonbelievers would be swept up, the same as those prepared. He knows it. He knows it in his bones. The early signs were all here, and they should be prepared. Everyone needed to brace themselves. Víðarr would revel in the endtimes, just as he's reveled in life. Pressure building in all his facial muscles, grounding his rear legs as best he can, the viking king throws his shoulder into the doe. It's relentless, heart pounding in his chest. A spray of his own blood coating the beast as she gives another panicked cry, steps beginning to stumble as Víðarr applies as much drag as he can. Rocking on her feet, it wouldn't be long now. He'd make every effort to control the descent, ensure it didn't fall on his daughter... or the rest. Right, the rest. "Víðarr"

The team came together like practiced veterans. Oleander was vaguely aware of where each member of this hunting party was. His paws dug into the earth as he raced behind the doe. Teeth snapping at her heels to egg her on. He tried not to get distracted by the bloody eyes of the weird guy, hopefully, it wasn't some kind of contagious sickness, but his daughter didn't seem overly worried.

The doe was slammed to the side and her cry was swallowed up by the air around them. The white healer leaped! He aimed to grasp her tail and drag her down into the snow. Once she was killed he would be able to start an autopsy.

"Speech!"

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Lumine is both aware of the frightened doe in front of them and the rest of the wolves. The largest of their group keeps the rest of the frenzied herd away; which by the looks of it, was a good thing. Distracted for a second by the strange actions of the others, Lumine worries if these prey animals are sick with something contagious…

They wouldn’t know unless they caught this one. Priority number one for now! As her father and the white boy leap onto the doe, tearing at her skin, Lumine continues to snap and tear at the ligaments and tendons. With the doe stumbling and Lumine almost getting kicked in the face, it wouldn’t be long now.

Once basilisk had ensured the rest of the herd had fled and left the wolves to take down the doe in relative safety, he turned back to the creature they harried.


He joined the fray, pulling the deer down with the rest of them as it's struggling slows and eventually stops. Dead beneath the wolves, and dead by their actions. He turned his attention to the healer and spoke mostly for the benefit of the others. “Oleander, lead healer, see what you can figure out.” He directed him, keeping watch on the area around them to ensure no other affected prey decide to do something odd.

Success!

The hunting party successfully takes down the elk. Up close, they're able to get a better look at its lesions, but the cause of them is uncertain. Getting a better look at its insides though is where they'll find something truly strange- its bones are riddled with small, spiky calcified growths.

While hunting, Víðarr finds the following item: Firefly's Favor. It has been added to your OOC account.