From where we left off [Castien, open]

[Toiro]

The grey wolf lifted his head with a carefree expression on his face. Slowly he turned and surveyed the landscape around them. Toiro could smell a faint whiff of deer wafting on the breeze; perhaps there was a herd down in the valley. “Why don’t we try a deer?” Toiro rose to his paws and 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, the grass was growing well - so fresh and green that it almost made him wish he was a herbivore. 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. It was perfect. He turned to Castien with a grin.

“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.” He looked at the subordinate to make sure he’d understood, then turned and crept slowly down the slope, sticking to the cover of the short undergrowth. He made sure to keep firm control over every part of his body, and only moved forwards when the deer weren’t looking towards him.

He had 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 the ground running as the terrified deer bounded away.
Sharp grey eyes instinctively focused on a lame deer at the back of the herd, who had fallen back from the rest. He hoped Castien was near – 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 thundered on the forest floor as he ran, both eyes fixed on his prey. 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 was thinking if we took down the deer a cougar could come along and try to take it, and then Castien could prove his ability as a warrior?))

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[atrb=background,http://i1190.photobucket.com/albums/z444/spottystar/casbgTWO.jpg] Two grey brutes trekked through the forest, he almost thought they looked like brothers, had it not been for the size difference. But to him it was absurd to think of them as brothers. Toiro was his alpha, a packmate and because of this worth as much to him as a brother, but held on a higher respect. The other grey wolf lifted his head and Castien slowed to a stop, inhaling the scents around him through cracked jaws. 'Deer.' As soon as this thought crossed his mind, the Airila alpha suggested they try for a deer. Castien nodded, he couldn't agree more. That seemed like their best bet. He trotted after Toiro toward the orgin of the scent. This led them to a small valley, where a herd of deer grazed serenely, painfully unaware of their near fate. Cas couldn't help but feel nervous, he wasn't the strongest hunter and hunting with his leader didn't soothe him. But, he was determined to offer his best show to him, he had to prove her could be of some use to the pack. He had been here for many moons without a rank, which made him anxious to be named, even if it were as a hunter. If that was where Airila needed him to serve, that's where he would serve. Toiro barked orders to Cas, a perfect plan to bring the pack home a deer to feast upon. His gaze flashed over to where he would be placed, memorizing it, he wouldn't mess this up. His job was to creep down, unnoticed and help herd them to ward the forest. He grinned, that was easy. He nodded, silent, and turned to creep over to his side. He kept himself as low to the ground as possible, due to his size he knew he could easily be spotted by their prey, but he slinked close enough to almost taste one through open jaws. His heart was beginning to beat faster as the moment of action grew closer. Then, suddenly, something startled the group, and Castien gave his position away, racing around the side of the group, pushing them toward the trees, just as planned, snapping his jaws aggressively at them for intimidation. He caught sight of Toiro speeding after a weaker deer at the back edge of the herd and followed his lead. The other brute leapt toward the doomed deer just as adrenaline burst through it and it just barely escaped the wolf's sharp teeth, but it's energy led him straight into Castien's path. He took the opportunity at hand and pounced forward knocking the deer on its side, completely caught off-guard. It frantically begin kicking, catching Castien's ribs with a hard kick. He yelped in pain, hearing a crack and anger took over. He quickly dove for the deer's neck before it could regain its composure enough to stand back up. Blood flooded into his jaws, warm and fresh. He locked down and shook roughly, desperate to take the life of this miserable creature. Count --> 511 w. Muse --> Not bad at all Tags --> Toiro Notes --> n.a

[Toiro]

Adrenaline rushed through his veins as he watched the deer flee straight for Castien, spotting the large grey wolf too late. Toiro felt a swell of pride at seeing his packmate knock over the deer. Admittedly it wasn’t the hardest thing to do, but it was very good for someone who had said they hadn’t had much practice in hunting. He opened his mouth to congratulate Castien but the other suddenly yelped in pain, hit by one of the deer’s flailing legs.

“Are you okay?” Concern flooded into Toiro’s eyes and he loped over to the other wolf’s side. He really hoped a rib wasn’t broken, as it would be very hard to fix. To make matters worse, they didn’t currently have a healer in the pack; the closest was in Isata. Hmm… he’d heard rumours that the alphess of that pack had disappeared, so unless the beta had stepped up to take the position they were without a leader. Since Kastiel had departed to search for his lost sister, the beta position of Airila had been open. Ideas were beginning to form in his mind, but he quickly brushed them away and made himself concentrate on the present.

Castien had done the honours of ending the creature’s life, and it now lay there invitingly, the intoxicating aroma of blood wafting through the air. Toiro hungrily dug his teeth into the still-warm flesh, making sure there was room for his subordinate to eat too. Although the alpha usually ate first, he felt that Castien deserved an equal share for his performance. The meat was delicious – fresh and tender – and Toiro was glad that they had chosen to go hunting today.

Suddenly, Toiro’s ears flicked back. His head shot up and he was immediately the picture of alertness, sure that something had moved behind him. Yes, there it was again; the faintest crunch of leaves.
Cautiously, he turned his head to look, and then saw it. Cold blue eyes staring at him from a round face. It was like nothing he had ever seen before; either in Shyia or the lands he’d lived in when he was young.

His shock at seeing such a massive cat gave it the time it needed to pounce. Claws flashed through the air and he felt sharp pain at his shoulder as he tumbled to the ground under the creature’s weight. A tawny furred leg moved into his vision and he instinctively lunged for it, grabbing it with his teeth as if it were prey. He heard a yowl but the creature did not let its weight off him.


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[atrb=background,http://i1190.photobucket.com/albums/z444/spottystar/casbgTWO.jpg] The deer fell limply to Castien's paws and he felt a wave of accomplishment. He stared at the lifeless body of his prey and the stabbing pain in his side made itself known again and he grimaced. He heard Toiro come up to his side, eyes full of concern as he asked if he was okay. He nodded through the pain, putting on a mask that it hardly hurt, in fact, he couldn't even feel it anymore. "Don't worry about it, Toiro. I've had worse in the past," he answered, hoping to reassure his alpha, as well as himself. He stepped back, giving Toiro his right as alpha at first pick of the kill, while he was hungry when they started the hunt, his aching side sucked some of the joy out of being able to eat and he passed up Toiro's offer to partake in the prize and rested instead. Whatever Toiro couldn't finish he figured they could take back for the rest of the pack to share. But, something had disturbed Toiro, his popped up in alarm and Cas suddenly went on full alert. He rose to his paws and listened to the sounds of the forest around them. Crunch. His ears perked toward the sudden crunch, was that what the other male heard? He took a step forward to investigate, his ribs screaming in protest with each step, when a mountain lion burst from it's cover into the small clearing and toward Airila's leader. His thoughts flashed to his side, 'You have got to be kidding me.' He watched as the cougar overtook Toiro in slight shock before taking action. He pushed away the pain and launched himself at the cat's side in time to hear it yowl from an attack from Toiro, so he was still conscious, still alive. That was good news. The blow from Cas knocked the mountain off balance, he obviously wasn't expecting an attack from the other male. As he hoped, the lion released its grip on the alpha and turned on Cas, but the wolf wasn't afraid. The hair on his spine was erect and his teeth flashed underneath his snarl. He let out a growl to match the cat's own battle cry as it flung itself at Castien. It took all the speed he could gather and he barely dodged the cougar's blow, receiving a blow to his rump instead. He felt the sting, but made not a sound, it hardly compared to the pain in his ribs. he spun around as soon as he was out of the way and attacked again, jumping onto the cougar's still turned back and sinking his teeth deep into its right shoulder, causing it to scream in response. He wanted to yell, 'Toiro! Run!' But, with a mouthful of fur, that was kind of difficult. Count --> 491 w. Muse --> down the toilet today. Tags --> Toiro Notes --> my muse is horrible today!

[Toiro]

Toiro struggled underneath the huge beast, determined not to let it get a hold on a vulnerable spot like his neck. Its claws were jabbing sharply into his flesh, but the pain was nothing to him amidst all the adrenaline of battle. His only thought was to clamp his jaws down harder on the creature’s leg, so that even if it managed to beat him it would at least go away with a limp.

Suddenly, the great weight lifted off him and he thankfully drew in the breaths that his lungs had so craved. As fast as he could, he scrambled to his paws and turned to face the giant cat, fur bristling. And there was Castien on its back, clinging to its right shoulder with his jaws as it madly twisted in an attempt to get at him. Toiro bared his teeth, stained with dark red blood from the cougar’s leg.

With all the tangled mass of fur and flashing claws, he wasn’t sure how he could enter the fight, but he felt that he had to do something to help. His packmate was trying to speak through the cougar's fur, probably telling him to get away, but Castien had saved his life with that bravery; Toiro couldn't just run off and leave the other to an unknown fate.

The grey wolf crouched low and then barrelled towards the cat, and at the last second turned sidelong in the air so his momentum would carry him into the creature’s hind legs. His back hit them with a thump, and because Castien’s weight was on the other side, the cat lost its balance and tumbled over him to the ground.

Toiro closed his eyes against the scramble of paws against his face, wincing as something sliced across his muzzle. It was a dangerous position to be in; his eyes were vulnerable and he didn’t know how well Castien had coped. But Castien was obviously a good warrior, because when he had opened his eyes, the mountain lion was making a hasty retreat into the bush, covered in blood and limping.

Toiro rolled up onto his belly – so drained that that was as far as he could make it – and shouted after the oversized cat “That's right! Run! Run away and never return!”

He turned to his subordinate with a grin… What? Subordinate? How could this wolf still be a subordinate, especially after that display of skill? It was clear that he was destined to be a warrior. The alpha realised he had known this for a while, but hadn’t had the opportunity to test him. Well, Castien had passed this test with flying colours. Toiro’s grin broadened, but there was seriousness in his eyes. “Castien, how would you like to be a warrior of Airila?”



((OOC: Castien can smash it up some more while Toiro's asleep )