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 Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 11:36 pm
Wind traveled everywhere. It whistled through the trees, wound its way over the mountains, and far into the land of Men and even beyond. If there was a way to listen to the wind, it could whisper secrets beyond a person’s wildest dreams, and, knowing how wild some dreamers can be, it may be a good thing that wind-whispering is fairly unknown. This wind in particular made its way over a snowy plain. Winter had gripped the land by now, and it wasn’t keen on letting it go too early. This wind, however, did carry a message, and not even a whispered one.
The howl rose and then fell in a cadence. Occasionally, the tan wolf who had started it would stop to listen and hope for a reply. He whined softly before sending up another howl, this one louder. Normally, a lone wolf wouldn’t want to advertise his presence, but he was getting a little desperate for company out here. So far, the only answers to his howls had been the wind. Wolves weren’t meant to run alone. Cathal knew this. This was good hunting ground, a land just waiting for a pack. It was just… well… deer were far too much for one wolf to handle, except for the newborn fawns and calves. And, unfortunately for Cathal, the younglings of all the nearby herds were too closely watched for him to get a bite at them.
That and he simply liked being with other wolves. It was comforting. Once again, he tossed his head back and let out another howl, trying to contact any other wolves. Any wolf would do, really. This was a large land; there had to be something else out there besides preybeasts. And Men, of course. It had been a good long time since any of them had come around though, making Cathal hope that the species had finally gone away for good.
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Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 11:50 pm
The wind ruffled the wolf’s thick fur and sent up small flurries of snow that dances across the clearing. Steam blew out from her muzzle as she let out deep breaths, her body rapidly cooling after the run she had taken through the forest. This was a rotten time to be alive. Where Shina has traveled from, food was scarce. Her once sleek coat was becoming more scraggly as the days went and Shina herself much more short-tempered.
For a while she had stalked the deer herd, but they taunted her. Fresh, juicy meat that she would never get her jaws upon. Living alone meant you were restricted to much smaller meals. Shina shook her body and yawned, pink tongue curling upwards. As she traveled higher into the highlands, she hoped to find something more substantial to keep her belly happy. While she wasn’t starving to death, she was getting sick of mice.
Green eyes snapped wide as a sound drifted to her upon the wind; a howl from one of her brethren; a beautiful, lonely sound. Shina sat up straighter and considered her options. She mulled carefully over things before lifting her nose to the sky and letting out a long, low howl in answer to the unknown wolf.
When she stopped Shina listened for a reply and began walking in the direction the first howl had come from.
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Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 12:04 am
By now, Cathal was beginning to think this was a hopeless quest. And of course it should be! Any intelligent creature wouldn’t be out in this freezing snow and ice! No, they would be at home, all safe and warm with their pack. Even the stupid preybeasts understood that and stayed in groups at this time of year! And most wolves were smarter than to wander off from their own packs. Cathal shivered once more, trying not to think of his stupid past mistakes. While he was busy feeling sorry for himself, his brain was operating on a slightly different level. And it heard the answering howl and kicked the rest of him into gear.
Lifting his head up, he listened carefully to the echoes, trying to figure out how far away this other wolf was. He answered the howl quickly, as loudly as he could, just in case the other wolf was far away. It didn’t sound too far, but one could never tell with this weather. Still howling, he started to trot towards where he thought the sound came from. It was rather awkward, to be honest, because he had to breath and howl at the same time.
Luckily, it didn’t have to go on long. Apparently, he was far closer to the other wolf than he thought and it wasn’t long before the gray female came into his view. Cathal stopped, tail straight out behind him as he pondered his next move. Instinctively, his tail dipped in a show of submission, just to show that he wasn’t a threat. “Hello. I didn’t think I’d see anyone else out here,” he started to explain. His ringed tail wagged slightly; clearly, despite his thoughts, he was happy to see another wolf anyway.
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Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 12:14 am
The other wolf was howling now, so Shina’s increased her speed, moving swiftly towards Cathal’s position. When he finally came into view she stopped dead in her tracks, watching him uncertainly. This tan furred wolf didn’t look any better off than her. It was clear that he was alone and possibly quite sick of it.
Shina slowly let her ears rise; they had fallen flat against her head without her even noticing, and relaxed her muscles. At first her approach was slightly cautious, green eyes looking him up and down, but it wasn’t long before she began to feel more in charge. Rather aggressive by nature, her tail was lifted arrogantly as she moved towards him, sniffing in his scent.
“Neither did I.” She finally answered, sitting down in the snow and curling her tail around her legs. Her gaze was sharp, but otherwise she seemed content. “What is your name?”
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Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 12:27 am
Despite her aggressive approach, this new wolf didn’t seem likely to attack. That was a relief to Cathal. Once she was sitting down, he approached and sniffed at her slightly before laying down nearby. Sure, it was cold, but it was better than standing up. And he didn’t want to seem like a threat, not when he had finally found another wolf. Not the wolf he had been following, but another wolf all the same.
“My name’s Cathal,” he said. Some other wolves probably would have demanded to know the stranger’s name first, but… well, that just wasn’t his nature. “Am I intruding in your pack’s land?” Somehow, he doubted it. The female’s gray pelt was probably glorious on a good day, but these days were never good to lone wolves. It had a certain scruffy look to it, one that Cathal was all too aware that he was developing. If this was a pack’s land, then this female certainly wasn’t part of it. More likely, she was simply another lone wolf. Well, that was far better than attracting a whole entire pack! Packs were very protective of their territories. Cathal had been chased off by a pack before. Luckily, his fur had grown over the scars.
“What’s your name?” he asked, once he felt it was safe to go ahead.
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Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 12:41 am
Shina had come to the conclusion that if this Cathal decided to get violent, not that she considered it at all likely, she could easily match him. With that thought firmly in mind, she seemed quite happy, enough to poke fun at somebody she had only just met. “Cathal, eh?” She wrinkled her nose to show her distaste. “Sounds like something a rabbit would be called.”
Lifting a back leg she scratched idly at her side and dropped it to the ground again. “Certainly not.” She replied with a snort. “Me and packs don’t mix well.” Shina and her last pack had fallen out fairly quickly after she’d grown to adulthood. She was simply too domineering and overly aggressive and so the alpha female had eventually run her off. They had all been annoying anyway.
“You can call me Shina.” Her ears flickered slightly and she leaned towards him a little, deciding to get straight to the point. “I’m hungry, let’s go hunting.”
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Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 12:56 am
“It’s what I’ve always been called,” came the calm reply. “If you think it’s a rabbity name, feel free to think so. I’ve always simply called rabbits ‘dinner’. Unless it’s morning, in which case they get to be deemed ‘breakfast’.” Of course he couldn’t be offended by Shina’s simple words. If that was what she thought of his name, he could hardly change her mind by being angry at her. Not even if he was super-ultra-angry-unhappy-face at her.
If Shina had only recently left her pack---and from the looks of her, she had---Cathal assumed they were about the same age. Well, that made things easier. Approaching wolves older than he was always made the tan male anxious. Lots of things made him anxious, actually, and Shina’s suggestion (or order) made him a little antsy as well.
Still, he got up obediently and shook himself off to dislodge the snow from his fur. “What should we hunt? I suppose there are deer.” Several kinds of deer, actually. The type Cathal was thinking of were the small relatively undefended roe and fallow deer. The red deer were simply too large and muscular for two wolves to handle. “Have you seen any other wolves around?” he asked, wondering if maybe it would be possible to get a small group together, if only for a single hunt.
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Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 1:16 am
At his reply to her taunt Shina looked less than happy. She had been hoping for something a little more interesting, so she gave him an unhappy frown. The frown was short-lived. With the prospect of food in the air she couldn’t stay annoyed for long. When Cathal stood up she quickly followed, tail giving one small wave.
“We’ll check out the smaller deer herds.” Shina thought for a moment. “Our howling earlier probably spooked them, so we'll have to be smart.” Ready to get moving, the female began trotting in a random direction and then stopped. She stood in the same position for a while until finally looking behind her at Cathal.
“The roe deer. Do you know where their herd is?” Shina growled out. She hated asking for directions, but she hated wandering aimlessly in search of a scent more.
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Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 12:51 pm
Following Shina’s lead, Cathal sniffed the air, trying to catch a scent of the roe deer. It was tricky, hunting the small deer. At least this was a good time to hunt them. They were much darker in the winter and the males generally had lost their antlers, thus becoming easier prey for the wolves. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a single scent of them on the air. All Cathal could smell was snow and wind. Still, he knew preybeasts well and turned towards a small thicket of woods which was actually in the opposite direction that Shina had been wandering in. Cathal made a point of not mentioning this, however, given that he really did want to eat tonight, preferably something more substantial than mice. They tended to stick in one’s teeth.
“There. They won’t be anywhere in the open at this time of day.” All the better for the wolves, since it would allow them to set up an ambush. Or whatever it was that Shina would decide. Assuming that Shina’s question had been less of a question and more of an order to go where the roe deer were, Cathal started to trot away towards the small forest.
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 2:09 am
Shina watched him with her needle-sharp gaze, waiting until he pointed out the direction they should hunt in. Cathal seemed quite the meek creature, he didn’t respond to any of her taunts or attempts to create friction. It was both annoying and something she was secretly glad about, since it meant she wasn't yet again scaring off companionship. Maybe she should drop the level of her hostility for a bit then? Naah. He seemed able to take it.
Giving her body a shake to free up the fur, she then trotted after him. It wasn’t along before she came up beside him, making sure that her muzzle reached past his. Shina stared at the small forest with narrowed eyes, her mind ticking away. As they got closer, her muscles began to tense and her senses came on high alert.
“We locate the deer and I’ll circle around. When I am in position you scare the deer towards me.” The plan she gave him was said quickly and simply. She figured he would understand exactly what she needed from him; this hunting technique was a common one.
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Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 6:57 pm
If Shina’s insistence on leading bothered Cathal, the male wolf didn’t show it. In all honesty, he was quite happy to accept just about any treatment so long as it meant he didn’t have to be all alone again. That, and this wasn’t really bad. It wasn’t like she was trying to attack him or anything, and letting her go in front really wasn’t that important to Cathal. Food, now that was important.
Cathal’s ears flicked and he nodded at Shina’s plan. Sure, it wasn’t original, but they didn’t need originality. It was a tried and tested technique. “Should I try and chase them all towards you or separate the weakest and focus only on them?” It wasn’t a question that he usually had to ask; typically, it was expected that the chaser would focus on the weakest and herd the selected victim towards the killer, but Cathal had an inkling that Shina was the type of wolf who liked to control everything, including her choice of kills. There was certainly no question about who would be eating first.
Cathal stopped, sniffing slightly. While the cold wind deadened the scents slightly, he could still smell the dark brown-red tang of deer. As Shina had worried earlier, they were nervous and were already moving further away, but not at any fast pace. Shina and Cathal had plenty of time for the female to circle around and wait for the chase to begin.
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Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 10:55 pm
At first Shina wanted to tell Cathal to send all the deer her way. But their situation meant that she couldn’t be picky about things. If she had a whole bunch of deer running all over her there might be a chance she’d miss one or that the one she decided to strike at was strong enough to escape her grasp. “The weakest.” Shina really wanted to eat and she wasn’t going to take any chances.
“Let’s begin.” Shina gave one hard look to Cathal, which translated to ‘don’t screw up’, and then entered the small forest. She moved like a ghost, paws making no sound when they were placed down and her grey fur helping to blend with the shadows. The scent of deer was stronger when she stopped to take in a deep breath. She made sure to remain downwind.
Shapes were moving beneath the trees, making a slow but steady progress. Her ears caught the sounds of their movement and tracked them. Keeping a careful distance she waited, moving with them until the deer stopped to feed. She took the chance to quickly move past them and crouch down in a position that was most advantages.
Now it was up to her companion.
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