A suppressed growl threatened to escape his maw. He was crouched in the snow, his dark brown eyes centered on his grey target. He supposed the rabbit hadn't spotted his dark coat against the white snow because he was moving ever so slowly and ever so quietly it paid no attention to the mass in its peripherals. He was growing closer now.. No more than three fox-lengths away from his victim. Victim was such a harsh word. Meal was more like it. But, he knew it would not be his meal. It'd go straight to the pack. His pack, his new family. One that would stick around.. Or he hoped.
His heart ached at the thought of his former family, his brother and his mate. 'Stop thinking like that. If you don't stay focused the rabbit will get away by some stupid mistake you--'Snap.
A twig gave under his paw, the rabbit perked its ears and ran in a matter of seconds. And the chase was on, he release his growl, held back no more and took off after the meal. He actually enjoyed the chase more than the stalking, liked to run, liked to become drunk on the adrenaline of it all. He had speed, and he knew he could outrun a mere rabbit, it was just catching up before it...
Disappeared into its hole. Damnit. He plopped down beside the rabbit hole and snarled. He was so close, granted he was never a very strong hunter.. His training as a younger wolf never focused on that, it was centered on fighting. He regretted it. He worked so hard to protect Tari... But look at her now? Wait. He couldn't. What was the point of vigorous training if it all went to waste anyhow? He wished he had spent time strengthening his hunting skill, maybe he could be worth something to Airilia Pack, instead of being a prime reason they'd all starve tonight.
He sighed and picked himself up, opening his jaws to breathe in the scents around him, trying to pick up on his next victim.
Count --> 359 w. Muse --> Good.. then ran out. Tags --> Toiro/open
Toiro loped through his forest, listening to the sounds around him. Every pawstep made a soft thwump, and he could hear the light patter of snow falling back down to earth after having been kicked up behind him. A few birds were singing to each other in the trees, but apart from those noises, the forest was eerily quiet. It was pretty nice, actually.
Toiro liked running. He liked feeling his muscles react to his commands, and the steady rhythm was relaxing. It cleared his mind of all the worries that being Alpha brought, and it made him feel good about himself too. Often, when he wasn’t doing anything, his depression came creeping back and he wondered what the point of it all was. He was luckier than most with his situation – he knew that – but that usually just made him even sadder. If he was feeling bad, those worse off than him must be feeling really bad. But today was not a day that he was burdened with those dreary thoughts; in fact, he was rather cheerful.
The alpha’s nose twitched as he picked up the scent of another wolf, whom he recognised as Castien, and he changed direction to look for him. He liked solitude most of the time but it was nice to have a little company now and again. Before long, the shape of a large grey wolf came into view.
“Castien” he greeted the wolf with a nod and a smile “It’s good to see you”
Toiro glanced down at the rabbit hole Castien was standing next to. “Are you hunting? Do you mind if I join you?” It had been a while since Toiro had really interacted with one of his packmates; aside from giving orders, that was. And it would be good if they could catch something. In winter, the pack always needed food.
((OOC: Haha, finally I managed to crank out a post xD))
Cas was breathing in the scents of the forest, trying to track down where he'd go from here. But all he could smell was here, the stupid rabbit hole and what cowered inside it. He was suddenly frustrated again. Why was he such a lousy hunter? Why was it that he could fight off multiple wolves at once but when it came down to chasing and catching food for his pack he just couldn't skillfully do it? He wanted so desperately to provide for his new family and to prove that he was worth keeping around, to prove he was useless.. But it was so hard when it took so much effort to catch a rabbit.
Maybe fishing was more his thing. He wanted to laugh out loud! He didn't have the patience to sit by a stream of water, waiting for some scaly, smelly fish to come swimming by at some point in the day, just to get wet trying to catch it. He didn't even like the taste of fish. How did that thought even come to mind? He knew he wasn't useless, and he knew he could bring something to the table that was worth something. But, that just wasn't hunting. Now, that wouldn't stop him from trying, of course. He would keep trying to provide for Airila for as long as that was his pack, and he was hoping to live out the rest of his life there. However long that might be.
He parted his jaws again to breathe in the scents around him more deeply when a familiar smell caught the roof of his mouth and made him lift his head. Toiro, his new alpha and leader, was nearby. Castien's ears perked and he dipped his head when the Airila alpha came into view. At first, Cas's heart began to race. Had the smaller male been out looking for him? Was something wrong? Was the pack in danger? But, he did not speak, he let Toiro speak first, as usual. He greeted him warmly, assuring him that it was good to see him. "As it is you, Toiro." His head was lifted now, in a casual manner as Toiro requested to hunt with him.
If Cas sucked at hunting before, he would be even worse now that he had the pressures of an important audience. Great, his first big impression on Toiro and it would be his hunting skills. Or, his lack thereof. Peachy. But, he smiled and said, "Of course you may. But, I must warn you. Where I am from we are trained either as hunters or fighters.. And, well, you could say I was a fighter." He let out a quiet, embarrassed chuckle at that. He could hear the nervousness in it, so he assumed Toiro could, too. Though, he figured the alpha deserved some sort of explanation ahead of time on his poor performance. Count --> 494 w. Muse --> Not too shabby. Tags --> Toiro
Toiro smiled encouragingly at the big wolf. “That’s okay. Just give it a go. You might be better than you think” He was now slightly curious about Castien’s childhood. His own had been relatively peaceful, if you didn’t count those bullies or the fact that his best friend had died because he’d been too scared to save her. Toiro glared down at the snow in disgust. He didn’t mind it in its present state (in fact, it was rather nice), but when it was liquid or swept up in a storm, there were problems. But why was he thinking about this now? It was all in the past. He had more important things to think about, like getting his pack fed.
The grey wolf lifted his head and let the carefree expression resume its position on his face. Toiro turned and surveyed the landscape around them. He could smell a very faint whiff of deer wafting on the breeze. “Why don’t we try a deer?” He began trotting towards where the scent was coming from, motioning with his tail for Castien to follow.
After a while they came upon a little valley nestled in the mountainside. Because it was well sheltered, not very much snow had fallen and some grass could be seen poking through. A small herd of deer were grazing peacefully at the bottom of the valley, unaware that the predators were watching them. Toiro lifted his muzzle to the sky, and felt that the breeze was on their side, blowing their scent away from the prey.
“You go over there, to the other side. On my signal, we’ll creep forwards. Try to get as close as you can before they see you. Then we’ll drive them down there, into the forest. Got that?” He looked at the subordinate to make sure he’d understood, then turned and crept slowly down the slope, sticking to the short undergrowth. He made sure to keep control of every part of his body, and only moved forwards when the deer weren’t looking towards him.
He’d made good progress and was pretty close to the bottom of the slope when suddenly, something startled the deer and they spotted him. Toiro sprang forwards, skidded down the rest of the slope, and hit theground running as the terrified deer raced away. Sharp blue eyes instinctively focused on a lame deer at the back of the herd, who had dropped back from the rest. He hoped Castien was keeping up – it would be hard to catch the deer by himself and it was a good opportunity for the wolf to practice his hunting skills.
Toiro’s paws thudded on the forest floor as he ran, one eye fixed on his prey and the other to see where he was going. Several times he almost hit a tree or a low hanging branch, but managed to dodge just in time. The lame deer was falling further behind with every moment. Soon it was close enough to attack.
The grey wolf leapt towards the deer, snapping at its heels. Frightened, it put on a burst of speed and swerved away from him, towards where the other wolf should be. And there was Castien’s chance! If he leapt for the deer right at this moment, he would be able to take it down.
((OOC: I’m assuming that Castien follows Toiro. Also, I was thinking that since Castien’s not much of a hunter he could miss or trip over and Toiro could run afer the deer and take it down himself (and then the cougar could come along while he’s alone) If you’d like Castien to catch it that’s fine too =D))
