Walking the Wire [Nova]

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Jericho trotted back through the hills away from the Nytyte River, once again without prey to bring his pack. His pack. That thought sounded so good in his head, and he couldn’t help but smile to himself. However, this was no time for dilly-dallying. He had a task ahead of him, and had nothing as of yet to show for his efforts over the past few days, having given his last catches to a couple of loners. That thought made him feel guilty. It was probably something he should not have done. But he could not help but feel sorry for them. He remembered what it was like to be a loner. It was not like that had been forever ago.


With that on his mind, Jericho busied himself with the hunt. He bent his head to the ground searching for any sign of a scent or tracks that could lead him to his first kill of the day. The sun was still low on the horizon, the grass was wet with dew, the winds gently blew the scattered clouds in the sky in a westerly direction. That made things a little harder, the wolf observed, since the scents were traveling away from him.


Still it was not long before he could feel a rumble in the pads of his feet, the feel of at least a hundred hoof prints on the move. He crouched low, looking for the direction of the herd. They were not far, that much he could tell. In just a few seconds, it became obvious they were headed his direction. No doubt towards the lake for a drink. Jericho stood up and headed off in their direction, keeping a vigilant eye on the horizon for them. If he was to take down something as large as what he assumed these creatures were, he would need time to come up with a strategy to take one down, and he would definitely need the element of surprise on his side. They could not spot him before.


Slowly the pounding of hooves became audible, and then suddenly stopped. Jericho paused a moment before he trotted off in their direction, hoping he had not lost them. In a few short bounds up the hill he could see the herd. They were strange creatures--some sort of spotted deer, and quite large. He found a smaller one near the edge of where the herd was grazing that he targeted. However, as he approached it, it let out a loud cry, alerting the entire heard. They turned tail and ran back the way they had come.


Jericho pursued, following at a distance to keep track of where the herd moved without being noticed until they suddenly came to a stop. After a few nervous twitches of tails and ears, they began to graze again. Jericho found the smaller chital deer he had targeted before. It was still standing closer to the edge of the herd. But once again, as he got closer, a deer caught his scent, alerted the others, and they were off again.


This happened a couple more times, each time Jericho getting closer, but still not able to reach his victim. He repositioned himself downwind, was more careful to be quiet, all to no avail. This might end up being a chase and a straight fight. This time when the herd started running, Jericho dashed to one of the stragglers, followed it closely, running around it to separate it from the herd, and began nipping at its legs. Soon, the deer stopped running and turned to defend itself, kicking at Jericho. He could not help but think that this would be much easier if he were hunting with at least one other wolf, but he was confident he could do this.


He continued to dodge kicks and wear the deer down before he was able to jump on top of it and sink his teeth into its throat. Unfortunately, he couldn’t easily snap its neck to end it as painlessly as possible, but the deer quickly bled to death. It was the best he could do for it. Practicing his new found faith, he whispered a thanks to Elohim before trying to decide how he would carry the deer back to the rest of the pack.

Words: 718
Muse: meh
Tags: Nova Aviana Ulysses

[Nova Aviana Ulysses]

text speech thought

The light of the morning sun crested the hillside and pierced through closed eye lids straight into the sleeping female’s conscious. Her feeble attempt to close her eyes tighter in order to block out the sun’s rays was useless. Nova lifted her head off of her mate’s shoulder and yawned, salmon-hued tongue curling inside her gape jaws. Gracefully she gathered herself into a relaxed sitting position and blinked several times taking in her surroundings. The small family had nestled in for the night in one of the many valleys that made up part of the Nyjoro Hills, along the edge of small gathering of thick brush. Chocolate colored eyes settled on the sleeping forms of her beloved, Thanatos, and compared to who she was snuggled up against, little Kiara. She watched their chests rise and fall with every breath, their faces calm as they remained in dreamland.

Lovingly she thought to herself, You are such a good Father… her eyes on Thanatos. One day soon, should Elohim bless my womb, I will bear you a son, a proper heir my love. Leaning forward she planted a chaste kiss across his brow. Turning, she lifted onto all fours and within a couple of paces bowed down low, flexing her outstretched toes and her bushy alabaster tail curled over her hips. In one fluid movement she propelled her bodice forward, while her feet remained firmly planted. Raising her chin to meet the heavens her chest curled under her sloping back, hind legs outstretched. In turn she lifted both hind feet off the ground, flexing into her stretch. Finishing with a light shake of her pelt as she gathered her legs underneath her, she looked to her family again. She whispered a goodbye, “I’ll see you again soon,” and parted from her mate and adopted daughter, heading north.

The day before, she had expressed to Thanatos the concerns she held over her lack of knowledge regarding native vegetation. He was supportive and insisted that she go off and become acquainted with the local plant life, but warned her that the territory to the north ended on the banks of a wide river. He was always concerned with her wellbeing and insisted that if she stay within the safety net of the territory he had claimed she would be safe. Her mate had mentioned that they were relatively close to the northern border, so as Nova set out that morning she insisted upon herself that she should reach the river before days end.

Hours had passed between the time she left her little family and when she had happened upon the other wolf. The sun had risen higher in the sky until its movements were lost behind a haze of endless cloud cover. Once, she stopped to investigate a late blooming blue flower that looked remarkably similar to one her mother taught her about as a pup, back when she lived on Tas’alea… Although upon closer inspection she noticed the shape of the leaves were not the same and therefore the flower from her youth and the one planted before her were not the same. Regardless, the flower brought a flood of memories that she had all but suppressed. They were painful to remember, the faces of her mother and father, her brother and her dear friend… They were fading from memory, and that hurt worse than losing them.

She had pressed forward from there in a quiet gloom as she rounded the hillside and the scent of warm flesh and blood invaded her reverie bring her attention to the sight of a tri-colored male standing over the corpse of a freshly slain Chital hind (female). The smell went right to her stomach which now ached for a bite of the deer. She was unsure who this male was, although as she observed him from afar, she noticed him pause before beginning to rip open the deer’s belly and bow his head. Is he praying? she questioned. If that that was so, he must be a devotee of Elohism, and a member of Eden. “You, Sir!” she called to the male from her current position which was nearly fifty yards away; her tone when addressing the foreign male was light and feminine, less demanding than the words she had used. As the sound of her voice reached the male, his head snapped in her direction, golden eyes locking on to her. While she was confident that this male was a part of her pack, she still approached with some caution; she truly did not know him after all.

“Good day to you Sir,” she said by way of greeting as she strode closer to the male, pausing a few lengths away so not to alarm him with her presence. Chocolate eyes took in his features and Nova noted that he was a comely looking male, seemingly fit albeit a little out of breath from his struggle with the Chital. “Would you mind company as you broke your fast?” she questioned softly. She realized that as Thanatos’ Kimak that she did not have to ask to feast on a kill made on their lands, but she was not likely to throw her weight around in any circumstance, just as any proper minding female should do.

muse: high
words: eight-eighty
tags: @jericho

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You, Sir!

The light of the late morning sun shone in his eyes making him squint a bit and blink as his head snapped in the direction of the voice. He locked onto her gaze, quickly sizing her up to determine who she was. It was clear she belonged to Eden. No other wolf would be so bold on pack territory. And she was. It was quite a dominant way of calling him out, despite sounding feminine, and, still new to the pack and not knowing this female or her position, he lowered his gaze after a few moments. However, his body positioning and stance did not change. His ears remained alert, ready for her to continue, unsure what she was going to say.

Good day to you Sir

Had she been meaning to say something to him, or had she simply called for his attention to chat? He brought his gaze back up to hers, noticing that she had stopped approaching him. “Good day,” he replied, still somewhat confused by this encounter. But her next words shed the needed light on the situation.

Would you mind company as you broke your fast?

Jericho had not actually been intending to eat the deer now. He was not sure what the hunting policies of the pack were, and thought it was a better idea to bring his catch back before eating than to bring back half eaten prey. But if another member of Eden was suggesting a meal together, who was he to refuse her?

"That sounds nice,” he smiled, visibly relaxing and assuming a more natural stance, his shoulders lowering slightly, his tail emerging ever so slightly from between his legs. “Dig in.” He gestured to the deer with a nod of his head, giving her the go-ahead.

“Would you mind telling me your name?” he questioned, carefully, his voice conveying respect and submission, still not entirely sure how he was to handle himself in this situation. Submission seemed the safer approach, at any rate. He just hoped he did not come across as weak. “I am Jericho. I assume you are a member of Eden? A loner would not be so outspoken on these lands or look to share pack prey.”

Not wanting to appear audacious or entitled, he turned back to his catch, not waiting for her to make the first move, unable to keep his chest from swelling with pride at the accomplishment of having brought it down alone. Yes, he had a skill that could contribute nicely to pack life. It was good to know. He felt a sense of purpose and belonging as well as feeling useful and helpful.

“I was unsure how I was supposed to get the deer back to the pack, at any rate.” Jericho was also not sure where their home was, if they slept in dens or out in the open, if there was a consistent place of meeting and sleeping or if the pack liked to roam their lands. All these questions swirled through his head. At some point, he would learn. Perhaps he could learn from this she-wolf. But for now, he was content to stick to normal pleasantries and share a meal. It had been a day or more since he had eaten and shared prey with those loners. He had not really been keeping track of time. But now seemed as good a time as any to “break his fast.”

Words: 572
Muse: Good
Tags: Nova Aviana Ulysses
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