The day was young and the clouds floated intermittently overhead, some darker than others as they rolled in from the west. He watched the weather overhead for some time to see if a storm would come all morning, but so far, there seemed to be no threat just yet. While the weather remained good, he decided to trek out to the prairie to track down a potential meal. Today, he planned on doing something to potentially get the pack involved. Or at least, what members remained in the hopes of building the pack bond that should have been there, to begin with. He knew things might be tense within the pack borders what with his brother's victory and Hannibal's loss, but despite that, he still had his duties to tend to and one of them was to continue working for the pack and gauge the abilities of those who remained. He wanted to promote his sister knowing she was working hard and hunting with him on some occasions. Today, however, he just wanted to gather some friendly face and leave the tension behind. Whether it be pack member or not, they'd celebrate a victory in the form of a picnic.

A screech from his companion overhead alerted him to a nearby herd of bison. Interested, Cloud tracked them down with cautious steps. He knew the beasts could be dangerous, so he made sure to keep a safe distance as he climbed a small hill that overlooked their position. It was a herd of maybe twenty individuals. Some bulls and a few cows with calves at their side. He crawled onto his belly and watched them, eyes scanning the herd as he tried to decide which one he wanted to pick out. He uttered a soft bark, beckoning his companion to him so he could glean some information from the one with a bird's eye view.

Within moments, his companion landed at his side and Cloud turned to him. "What do you think?" He murmured while he continued to observe them. "There's an old bull on the other side of the herd. He seems to stray a little more than the others, I think he'd make a good target. I'd still be wary, however. He may be old but he looks like he might have plenty of fight in him, I hope you get a good team out here," Cloud nodded as he searched for the bull, and soon enough spotted the shaggy-coated bull grazing several yards from the main herd. It looked like he moved slower than the others, but he was large and even from this distance looked imposing. Cloud figured he must have lived quite a long time to grow to that size, but the bulls days would come to an end perhaps come winter. Even from this distance, he could see that the bull was too old to make it till then, especially if summer proved to be difficult, and who knew what fall and winter would bring. Taking a deep breath, he turned and slipped down the hill where he had just come from while his companion took flight again to keep an eye on the herd.

Tilting his head back, he let loose a loud and drawn out howl to call together any who might want to join him.

Word count: 554

"SPEAK"

Tyranis had won his challenge against Hannibal, and Erovrare still stood strong. The pack was smaller now, and some work would need to be done to rebuild its ranks, but Kori didn't see it as a task that they couldn't handle. She'd stood beside Tyranis since the beginning, and though he'd offered her a chance to leave - right before the pack challenge - she hadn't seen a point in it. She couldn't help but wonder if Tyranis would call them together to discuss his vision of their future, or what... but until then, she was going to keep on leaving just as she always had. The call came from the southwest, a fair distance from Erovrare's borders but not enough to make the trip cumbersome. It was a summons to hunt together, and personally Kori was both hungry and interested in who remained in Erovrare. Might as well get to know the few packmates that remained, the ones she hadn't really spoken with, right? Grinning, she started that way, making the journey to the prairie with ease. It was a gorgeous day, the perfect day for a hunt - the weather was quite pleasant, despite the clouds that loomed to the west. Occasionally they rolled overhead, but the sun still managed to make its presence known, creating a rather nice day. She moved as quickly as she could without tiring herself out, and before long she saw the figure of a familiar wolf. It was Ty's brother, a wolf she recognized as part of Erovrare from seeing him at the pack's formation, but hadn't really interacted with herself. The female wore a lazy grin as she closed the distance between them, her silver gaze inquisitive. "Think anyone else will join us?" She asked, curious as to what he knew about those that remained in Erovrare and those that had left them.

He waited patiently for any participants to arrive, and was pleased to see that one of Erovrare's pack members were the first to show up. He knew the woman in passing, but had never really formally talked to her or anything. That was one of many things he aimed to fix soon. Returning her gaze, he offered a smile and a soft wag of his tail. "I should hope so. My sister Thora should be joining us soon, at least." He expected his sister would show up as soon as she could. Being both a hunter and a healer, she was probably putting away some herbs or something before coming over. He wasn't sure if his brother would show up, but he hoped he would. If he didn't, that was okay. He could come after the bull was brought down, or they could butcher it and take it back home for a celebration feast. Turning his attention back towards where the herd was on the other side of the hill, he added "There's a large old bull on the outskirts of the herd. He might be tough to take down, but with enough wolves I think we can do it. It'd be nice to celebrate my brothers victory with a nice feast," And hopefully bring the remaining pack closer together. He hoped so, anyway. He doubted Hannibal's mate wanted nothing more to do with the pack, but whatever she chose, she was still a part of it for now. "Speak"

art by Risketch

She had been trying to find herbs when she wasn't stocking the kills pile, beginning her stash so that she could continue her studies as a healer. It wasn't the primary thing she wanted in life, but she knew having and practicing the knowledge would be extremely useful for herself and for the pack. As it was right now she didn't know of any current healers within the pack and it would make her the only one. Hunting also helped her and she would often study the wounds she inflicted on the prey she brought down, and old wounds if they had any. It aided her in having the knowledge of what a fresh wound looked like, an infected wound looked like, and even a healing wound looked like. She needed all of that knowledge to help her further herself in healing. Plus healing was something she wanted to do in favor of her mother.

Clouds howl abruptly drew her attention away from the task, a bundle of herbs hanging from her mouth. Tail wagged as she realized her was calling a hunt together. She knew they were due for a larger scale hunt so this would be perfect timing for it. Quickly shuffling away the bundle she took off in a hurry towards where the call had come from. She arrived right towards the end of Cloud's requirements for the hunt. She would dip her head to Korianna before gently bumping her brother with a smile and looking in towards the buffalo. They were all so big!! She scanned the herd looking over each individual until she spotted the old bull that Cloud had set his sights on.

"Any particular plan for this hunt?" she would quietly ask.

"Speech"

Immediately Cloud answered her, stating that his sister would be joining them. Her grin lingered as she nodded in acknowledgement, grateful for the opportunity to hunt alongside some packmates. Even in the heat of summer, which would doubtlessly present some challenges for them, at least the rain didn't threaten to spill quite yet. "Good," she responded with ease, following his gaze as he spoke up, explaining there was an older bull he wanted to take down. She nodded in understanding. "Sounds like a party to me," she added, her grin widening at the thought of a celebration of sorts in response to Tyranis's victory. She'd stuck by his side for some time now - it only made since to continue doing so, especially following a victory... Before long Thora had arrived, and Kori offered her a simple nod of greeting. Her gaze drifted back to the buffalo, searching for the one Cloud had his eye set on. Once Thora spoke, he looked back to the male with a questioning gaze. "Hopefully we can make this hunt a quick one," Korinna added idly, glancing to the sky."It feels nice enough now but once we start running..." She shrugged, figuring they'd know what she meant. It was still summer, and though the day was gorgeous now they could all easily get overheated if their hunt wasn't careful and properly executed.

He grinned when Korrina seemed to be in agreement, and when Thora joined them, his tail wagged for a moment as he nodded to her question. "My companion is hanging over our target," He hadn't missed Korrina's words, and she had a pretty good point there. "The goal is to get in and make the kill as quickly as possible, and it shouldn't take very long. The bull seems weak from age, his days are probably numbered so we'd be doing him a favor." The only thing they really had to be careful of was the rest of the herd, but that probably wouldn't be too hard. They were more likely to protect their own calves as opposed to a weaker member of their herd, and the more he observed, the more he noticed how the bull had already started to wander away. Was it an outcast? Maybe just lingering around the main herd and hoped to be protected? He wasn't sure, but whatever the case, they needed to act now before the rain came. "My companion will help distract it and try to push it where we need it to go, and that's away from the rest of the herd. I doubt they'll bother us, but just keep alert just in case. I'll get it running, and make sure it doesn't get to the herd. We'll herd it towards that hill over there, so by the time we reach that it'll be too tired to try to climb. After that, one of you can make the kill." He didn't care who did it as long as it was brought down. Taking a deep, relaxing breath, he glanced between the two. The plan was pretty simple. "Also this goes without saying, be careful of its horns. It may be old and weak but they can still be dangerous when they're frightened. And..." He thought for a moment before continuing, "Go for the legs. We might be able to get it to the ground before we even reach the hill if we do this right." Alright, that was all he could think of that the moment. He was sure they'd be able to do this quickly and easily. Nodding to the pair, he bounded down the hill towards the old bull. He would start the chase and get it going so they could finish this as quickly as possible. This task came easily to him. He considered himself a veteran hunter, after all. So at the first sign he made for his companion, the osprey dove down and screeched, talons extended as it jabbed at the left side of the bulls face. With a startled grunt, the buffalo veered away and Cloud pursued it. He ran along its left, making his presence known as he cut and herded it away further from the herd. "Speak"||Osprey