ooc: This hunt is mandatory for all Celestial wolves. First round is due one week from now, April 10th

It was time for Celestial's first pack hunt, and the Destruction, still trying to get around the pack's customs and laws, would be the one to lead. It was such an honour. New to the pack and she was already carrying such a responsibility upon her shoulders. But it wasn't a burden. It wasn't heavy at all. She carried it with pride. She carried it with her head held high and confidence in her step as she found an area of the plains just south of the special hunting grounds the Archangel had shown her. Without further ado, she tipped her head back and let out a graceful howl - a call for her pack mates. All of them were expected to attend, just like the alphess told her. They needed all the hunters, all the skills and smarts for this hunt. This was Celestial's first hunt. It had to be perfect.

"Speech"

Things had been awfully quiet lately. After the spars the pack had lulled into a stagnant tranquility, if it really could be called that, and everyone seemed to be keeping to themselves for the most part. For Creed, a wolf who thrived on community and interaction, it bothered him to an extent. He knew Celestial would never actually be a replacement for Glaciem, but it was home and he still wanted this to be a close knit family just as much as Surreal did. So when the howl came from their only hunter the fluffy wolf was quick to his paws. He fully believed a hunt would be good for them. So he raced from his den, paws thudding across the earth, as he headed towards where Varda had called from. Upon arriving he grinned at her before taking a seat to wait for anyone else who would show up. "Hello Varda." He greeted warmly. "Excited to be leading the first pack hunt?" It surely had to be an honor. He knew he'd be pretty excited if it was him. Walk, "Talk" Think

Faite was feeling pretty good about herself. Ever since her mother had promoted Miksa and her she'd held an amount of pride within her that wouldn't go away. Granted she'd had her own negative feelings about sparring her own mother but she was more than glad she'd proven herself. She was aware her mother expected a lot out of the entire pack so she knew she'd have to involve herself in more spars than just the ones her mother had planned to prove her worth. In the mean time though it seemed there were other plans. A howl rang out from Varda and her ears flicked towards the sound with interest. Well a spar would have to wait. It didn't sound like missing out on a hunt was an option. So with a fair amount of glee she headed towards the hunting grounds as fast as her paws could carry her. Upon arrival she saw Varda and then Creed. She glanced around to see if anyone else had shown but it seemed like they were earlier than the rest of the pack. She turned her attention back to Creed and Varda and smiled at them both. "Dia duit Creed! Dia duit Varda!" She greeted them both excitedly before taking a seat. Walk, "Talk" Think

ooc: next round is due on the 18th of April. For those who haven't posted their characters yet, now is a good opportunity to do so.

It wasn't long before her ears perked at the echoing thuds of distant paws, her head swivelling in the direction of a thundering canine. As he approached, she studied his frame and fur, soon identifying the man to be Creed, the same male she had met shortly after Threar had fallen. The sight brought a small smile to her lips. It pleased the huntress to see one of her pack-mates so eager to contribute in the hunt. If only everyone shared such a mindset. "Hello Creed," she returned the greeting with a dip of her head. "I am. This shall be a memorable hunt."

Another wolf raced towards them, this time someone of a younger and feminine figure. She recognised the mocha pelt and bicoloured eyes, though the name of this woman had somehow slipped. An Adravendi she had to be, one of Surreal's children surely. Was her name Faite? She felt foolish for not remembering. "Dia duit," she greeted the woman in her native tongue, forming the strange words and sounds not as eloquently as her pack-mates who frequently used it. Who knew Celestial would give her the opportunity to learn another language?

Then she waited. She waited a while. When she first started growing impatient, she reminded herself that some of her pack-mates were probably on the other side of the territory and were still making their way over. So she waited some more, until it got to the point she was certain no-one else would arrive. Her paw tapped the ground as she frequently scanned the surroundings for sight of another canine. There was no-one else. Not even Miksa or Regulus or Baine or Falk or even Surreal.

This was not good.

"I don't think anyone is coming," she bluntly stated, returning her gaze the two who had actually made an effort to show up. She tried not to sound too saddened by the outcome. It wasn't that bad, after all. She'd just have the adjust the hunting plan; no big deal. "Anyway, welcome to Celestial's first hunt. I'm relieved you've both shown up." She nodded to them, offering a weak smile. "While we give everyone a few more minutes to arrive, I'd like to get an understanding of your strengths and weaknesses in hunting so you can be assigned a position. If no-one else shows up we'll need all the skills and expertise we have, whether it's leading the prey away, chasing or being the first to attack."

"Speech"

He was glad that Varda was excited about leading their hunt. It was good that they could all do something together that wasn't a meeting. Maybe Surreal would even be pleased enough to promote her if that was what Varda wanted. He definitely knew there were some higher up positions that needed to be filled. It was definitely an exciting prospect. That was always the nice thing about being a part of a pack from the beginning. It left open some great opportunities. Faite soon came along after he did and he offered her a bright smile in return. She seemed just as eager about it, or so he believed, and he was definitely ready to see who else turned up. So they sat and waited and then waited a bit more and as the minutes ticked by Creed felt himself growing impatient and worried. Surreal, Regulus, Zuriel, Baine, Miksa.... where was everyone? He didn't seem to be the only one who believed no one else was coming. He looked to Varda who seemed to not want to wait anymore. He nodded when she spoke of no one else coming. Maybe they were just late... well he wanted to believe that. If they were then maybe they'd show up soon. Until then he listened to her talk while they waited just a little bit longer. "Ah S'pose Ah'd be more of tha muscle. Ah'd be better ta wai' till tha prey is chased ta me." He was better to wait hidden downwind of an animal to try and damage it with brute force. He definitely wasn't the fastest creature out there. Walk, "Talk" Think

Varda greeted her similarly and she smiled. It sounded a bit foreign coming from the other female's mouth but the fact she was trying was definitely interesting. Celestial was a good place to pick up another language, even if you weren't expecting to. She smiled at the other two before settling down on her haunches to wait for the others to arrive. At first she was excited but then the longer and longer they waited she grew more and more impatient. The smile on her face slowly dwindled into a frown. Where were her siblings and her mother? Where was everyone else? Varda finally spoke up saying she didn't think anyone else was coming and she nodded sullenly. "I guess not." She muttered as she glanced around once more to double check. Well this sucked. Maybe more would tag along before everything got started. She tried to offer an encouraging smile to Varda before they finally got down to business. She listened as Creed offered his suggestion of his strengths and she already knew hers. "I'm pretty fast so I can always do some chasing." She said, the excitement starting to return. This would be fun anyways. She was also eager to know what part Varda would be good at while hunting. Walk, "Talk" Think

ooc: really sorry about the wait! next round is due 1st of May.

She couldn't help but let her gaze wander as she spoke, not being able to relax. The tension was evident in her words. How could she calm herself? More than half the pack hadn't showed up, and Surreal promised her that she would be here. She was the alpha; she had to! All faint hope of seeing someone arrive late diminished when the two wolves replied. She gave a nod of acknowledgement, finding disappointment in their sullen features. Oh, why did it feel like this was all her fault? She had been hoping to lead Celestial's first hunt, her first hunt, with ease and confidence. Now it was just a failure.

"Alright then. We'll have Faite and myself as our primary chasers and Creed as our primary attacker. We'll all help out whether it's chasing or attacking, as we seem to still be a bit...light on." She gave one final scope of the surroundings, and with not a soul or scent in sight, she rose to her feet, meeting the eyes of her fellow hunters with a forced smile. "But thank you for showing up. I don't know what I would've done if no-one came," she stifled a nervous chuckle, clearing her throat before continuing. "We'll make our way over to Surreal's hunting grounds. Many herds of elk graze there at this time of the year." And with that, she began to walk, hoping the other two would follow closely behind. Many worrisome thoughts danced through her mind as she led the hunting party (trio?) to the special grounds the alphess herself had shown her. What if the elk wouldn't be there? What if three wolves weren't enough to take down an animal? What if they failed? What if she failed?

They approached from the southern side of the grounds, travelling upwind. That was good; the elk wouldn't be able to scent them. And there it was - the mouth-watering scent of the elk practically blowing into their faces. Alright, so their prey was actually there. Good. Past the row of dense bushes, the land gently sloped, and that was where the elk grazed. A nice lookout point, she had to admit. Crouching by the bushes, she observed the herd, finding a couple calves, injured and elderly elk. A few potential targets - that was a relief. "Can you see any likely targets?" she asked quietly, checking to see if they were able to identify ideal prey.  

"Speech"

Well it seemed like no one else was showing up for the time being. If anyone else was coming they'd just have to catch up as they couldn't sit around here and wait forever. Varda would need to report to Surreal about the horrible turn out. He was glad he and Faite had shown up though. He couldn't imagine how horrible she would have felt if she'd called and no one had shown up at all. He was more than surprised that Baine hadn't at least shown up. He'd expected a lot out of Surreal's youngest daughter as both his apprentice and the daughter of an Alpha. Zuriel, Regulus, and Surreal herself weren't here either. As much as that was disappointing there was still three of them. It would be a bit harder but they'd be able to accomplish it if they were careful about it. He listened to the hunter as she took the lead on assigning who would do what. He nodded and offered her a smile as she cleared her throat. She seemed a bit more nervous now but that was to be expected. Her first hunt wasn't going according to plan, but there was till time to make this a great hunt. He had faith they could pull something down and still manage to feed the pack successfully. He rose to his paws as she mentioned going to the hunting grounds Surreal has suggested. he followed her at an easy pace trailing behind her as she led the way. The scent of the elk herd blew in their faces and he took the measures to quiet his heavy footfalls. She crouched and Creed mimicked her. She asked them if they had an suggestions and he scanned the herd before finding an older elk. As it moved it had a limp and as he studied it he could see the graying on it. It was old and would be weaker. "Tha' old one with tha limp. We can tire it before we take it down." Walk, "Talk" Think

Faite listened to Varda and nodded softly. While her strengths would be her speed and chasing it she was more than happy to help attack it as well. Though others hadn't shown up they would just have to make due with what they had. Varda thanked them for showing up and the girl offered a soft wag of her tail. She was feeling rather optimistic about this hunt. With the three of them she was sure they could pull something down. "We couldn't leave you hanging. I have a feeling this hunt will be great though." She'd have to be sure to praise Varda in front of her mother. Whether this hunt went well or not Surreal would surely want to know how well she was doing and her effort to rally enough wolves to feed the pack. Without any further thoughts on the matter she trotted after the other two quietly as she tried to keep up the positive vibes hoping they'd leak onto the other two. She mimicked the other two as they slowed and she kept her paw steps quiet as they came upon the herd. She listened to Creed's suggestion and she glanced at the old stag that he was talking about and noted the limp. That did seem like a good suggestion. The herd would run when they attacked and it wouldn't be able to keep up. She could easily outrun it and then when it got tired they'd make the kill. "I agree with Creed." She whispered softly. Walk, "Talk" Think