Stay in Shadow {Pack Hunt}

[nightblood]

{{It is not required for everyone to join in the pack hunt. It is not forbidden to make or participate in other threads while this is going on.}}

Much was on NightBlood's mind as she made her way to the meadow to meet up with the pack. As hard as the Beta tried, she couldn't put the matter of Anek and Army aside. She hoped dearly that Pollux would be able to talk sense into the black male. If she couldn't, she herself didn't have a chance.

Perhaps all this thinking was why Blood had slowed to a steady walk instead of racing to be the first one at the old oak at the north end of the meadow. With her mind distracted, she couldn't hope to avoid being seen by the deer if she got too close, so she took the long way around.

Being the last one to make it to the oak made it easier, though. She didn't have to bear the dead silence along with everyone looking at her. She'd get there, talk them through the hunt, then observe. Seemed simple when put that way. However, she also had the added need to keep focused on the members participating in the hunt, lest she end up assigning the wrong ranks to the wrong wolves.
__________

Ziro wasn't the first one to the old oak. He didn't plan on it either. There was no way his big paws were going to be of any help in this. He silently wondered why they had carried him here as he plopped his furry tail onto the ground beside an exposed root.
__________

The Beta growled at herself and shook her head as she entered the meeting area, attempting to shake the thoughts out of her mind. She had to focus. Concentrate. She'd be no help to the pack with her mind on an entirely different matter.

"Anything that runs is a target," she repeated as she took a seat in front of the old oak, staring out at the crowd that had gathered before her, "But it'd be nice to have a goal catch. Let's watch for now. Suggest any animal you see fit for a meal."

With that, NightBlood turned and gazed out at the many deer in the meadow. Her face hidden by the brush. She kept her ears perked for every whisper that came from the members around her.

[Squeeji]

Levy moved quicker than most would think his bulk and height would allow him to, but then again, he was quite capable in his own right...after all, no one hunted for him, but him. The dark charcoal colored male listened to the beta with his small ears perked, and then he sighed.

Well that certainly wasn't very helpful. He certainly didn't say it out loud, but he thought it as hard as could, seriously...whatever moved? He grumbled, what about...oldest, sickest perhaps the rough concept of a species? How would the pack move together if they didn't have a common target.

"How about a deer." Levy barked with a short sounding tone, he was bored and irritated, and the pack needed some sort of guidance. "or Arnlan will be without rabbits for a season with those sort of plans."

[Akree]

Everything felt right for a hunt, her whole body tensed with only the thought of hunting with the pack and what would be the best thing, is that she had the probability of gaining rank with it. Still something made its way into her thoughts, she was quick and hardy, yes, she could run for as long as it required, she loves running, she could chase a rabbit for ages, just for fun, not needing to stop, but she wasn't very strong any big prey she couldn't hunt alone, it was rare for a wolf to bring down a moose alone, but this kept bothering the timber wolf.

She pushed the thought aside and perked her ears forward, she wanted to hunt, her whole body began to shake with excitement about a hunt. She straightened herself and headed towards the old oak. She edged the meadow not wanting to spook the prey for the hunt to come, but she kept a brisk pace, not to fast not to slow.

Quickly her pupils darted from side to side as she saw the wolves waiting for the hunt. A grin formed on the female's muzzle, she hoped this would be an excellent hunt. She gazed to the faces and quickly recognized Levy, as if lead by instinct she sat near to him, she felt comfortable knowing that someone she knew was at her side. She greeted him with a nod and a kind smile.

-"Anything that runs is a target. But it'd be nice to have a goal catch. Let's watch for now. Suggest any animal you see fit for a meal." said the sentry.

Uin nodded and greeted the sentry with a smile, she saw a tiny ball of fur and quickly recognized as Ziro, which she greeted with a wide smile.

-"How about a deer." Levy barked "or Arnlan will be without rabbits for a season with those sort of plans."

-Uin quickly thought, a deer requires two wolves, she smiled "But that means there has to be at least two wolves to bring down a deer...in other words, groups." she said with a kind smile, she had not made herself noticeable in the meeting, but she felt more comfortable being this a hunt.

[sarhea]

Lyra was not surprised when the new beta was the last to show. Despite how much Blood tried to hide her feelings, the older female could see her pain. She felt bad for the younger wolf, but at the same time, reassured that Pollux had gone after the heartbroken young male. If any in Arnlan were qualified to deal with shattered hearts, it was Pollux. All the wolves were gathered and waiting on the beta's orders, which when they came, Lyra only stared in confusion. Whatever moved was a target? The younger female's mind was obviously preoccupied, but they would need more than that to get this thing organized. Her gaze fell to Phineas, the male who'd seemed rather appreciative of the art of strategy. Even now, she could see his mind calculating. She would be very curious to see what he had to say.

Lyra watched the younger male named Levy as he spoke somewhat sarcastically after Nightblood. There was a bit of ill feelings of some sort between the two of them.

"How about a deer." Levy barked "or Arnlan will be without rabbits for a season with those sort of plans." A good point, plus there was a field full of the beasts right on the other side of the trees. Lyra was about to speak up as noone else was seeming to when the young female called Uin did it for her.

"But that means there has to be at least two wolves to bring down a deer...in other words, groups."

Lyra smiled. Exactly. Uin's enthusiasm to begin and acknowledgment of the need for hunting groups made her smile. Now she would have something to add.

"I also would suggest to take the deer. Rabbits, while being easier prey for those of us who do not have the strength to take down a deer, waste a lot of energy for not much meat. If every one of us caught a rabbit, it would not feed us for even a week. Now a deer or two; that would a much better task to fill the stores with not nearly half the work." She paused, looking out at the abundant life grazing in the meadow beyond the trees. With this group, as long as they were willing to work together, they could take down several of the beasts in one swift assault. She turned back to the wolves.

"If you don't mind my input," the older female started, though she didn't care if they minded or not-she was going to speak her mind. "What has worked very well in my experience, is like Uin said, break into groups. There are those of us built for speed, who lack the physical strength to bring down a deer." Her gaze wandered over the group, before finally falling to the larger males who would be instrumental in her ideas should they use any of it.

"And then there are you powerful males with your blood thirst," she said, glancing directly at Cepheus. He was all worked up and ready to take out his frustrations-sending him in to kill a deer would hopefully release a bit that.

"I suggest we gather those of us who can run and chase down the deer somewhere up ahead of the meadow, positioning ourselves just before being upwind of them. You who have the strength, and wish for the kill, gather in groups spread evenly downwind. When you are in position to block their escape, us runners will move into position upwind and drive them to you. It is not guaranteed, of coarse, but has always produced better results than just blindly racing out after anything with 4 legs. And we would have to all decide which deer would be the main targets."

Lyra finished her lengthy spill, but if she didn't get it out, she would most likely loose the chance. Hunting had after all been the role she'd played in her captivity, and getting to do it now back in her home pack felt good. She knew Cepheus would most likely be grumbling at her, which he was giving her a bored look, but he kept unusually quiet for now. As did the younger Orion.

[Donn]

The Old Oak of which NightBlood spoke was a conspicuous piece of timber at the edge of the meadow, as she had said, North. Things had been fairly quiet with the order not to 'spook anything', which in Phineas' terms meant do your best impersonation of a shadow in order that one might not be noticed by any animal indiscriminately. He thought of many things as he travelled, of Levy and the distraught male that had screamed so, of Anek and that shrieking wolf that would no doubt cause some uproar that would foul the operation.

Faced with these thoughts Phineas considered also his own position within the pack. The way to rank would be somehow determined by the performance shown in this hunt. Phineas wondered shrewdly about what the criteria would be. They would look for runners, the strong ones, the wolves that could outmaneouvre their quarry, outrun it and outclass it in strength, those that could sense best which animal had some injury or illness that would make the job of hunting it down and performing the bloody business upon it most efficient.

Then where did that position Phineas? Obviously he was no bear of wolf, no mass strength to blow one's trumpet over. He was fast, granted, but Phineas decided his main forte would be in the detection of optimum targets, planning, execution and the most efficient delivery. No doubt managing resources was a factor. Who would do what, and when. It was a complicated process to Phineas. Then he thought to the male that had spoken about Lyra, who had scorned such forethoughts. Perhaps NightBlood would order no organisation at all. If that was the case, things did not look positive for a hunt, with wolves like Cepheus running around like lunatics in some chaotic free for all.

Upon reaching the oak, Phineas muttered to himself as he looked up at it's aged bark, "When shall we meet here again, in thunder, lightning or rain?" It seemed they had one shot to prove themselves to the powers of Arnlan, until after timeless periods of monotony in subordination they could become worthy in their eyes for a more generous position.

Then the pack members spoke amongst themselves. Levy was already proving himself to Phinieas that he was apt at stating the logically obvious, some unknown female to him was patronising the pack on the definition of a plural collective noun to describe two or more wolves and Lyra was proposing a very classic maneouvre that Phineas assumed the older members at least had seen before and were familiar with. At least there was someone else with their head screwed on straight.

"In the matter of the animals to shed blood for us, some observation is necessary from those of us whom have the sight and experience to select such deer, for the benefit of those that cannot." Phineas added. He wasn't going to get anywhere in the pack if he was going to be quiet and unnoticed. He hoped that his idea would be taken into account, rather than brushed off by the more aggressive members. But, Phineas had had experience with leadership before all this, and so spoke confidantly, though not arrogantly.

"I suggest, as the wind appears to be coming from the North-East, that the division marked for the chase, of which I would include myself, circle around to the North-West side of the meadow," here he nodded at the tree line to the pack's right, as they were at the North of the meadow, "And the other division that will perform the main engagement make their way to our opposite undetected, South-East. This formation will at no time allow the quarry to catch wind of us. Personally I would recommend an advance in a crescent formation for both divisions, but of course, that may not be possible to maintain." Here Phineas referred to an experimental tactic his old pack had been practising before it was disbanded. The two crescents would come at each other in opposite directions to form an oval like shape to trap the target.

[Akree]

((Sarhea, her name is Uin, not Uni, just thought a point that out))

[nightblood]

{{All participants in the pack hunt have until Wednesday to join.}}

[Blackfeathr]

((OSHIT SON srry. ;-)

The normally lightfooted Healer dragged her feet along at a snails pace, but seemingly in no time, she had reached the rendezvous point where everyone was meeting to discuss the events that lay ahead.

RavenShard was mainly a vegetarian. She ate berries and various other plants she knew were edible. She was raised by the monks and so learned their ways. Very rarely, maybe once every two months or so, her wolven body would crave the blood and flesh it was designed to chase and kill, and she would go out and hunt some small game, perhaps some fish or a rabbit. However, the Sage practices were still heavily engraved in her mannerisms, and she made sure to say the blessings customary to her pack before and after the kill, to ensure the animals spirit was returned to the earth safely and no bad energy would come out and spoil the land and the herbs that grew from it.

She eased her bottom down as if she were seven years older, a mere black shadow hanging behind everyone else, her crimson eyes staring at NightBlood, who spoke.

"Anything that runs is a target,"
"But it'd be nice to have a goal catch. Let's watch for now. Suggest any animal you see fit for a meal."

She half-listened to the strategies that her pack-brothers and sisters concocted, but was not involved in the decision making.
She knew she couldnt get out of this, she heaved a sigh.

It seemed the verdict was deer.
She looked at the herd peacefully nibbling at the grass down below. She thought of the souls that would be returned to the earth tonight.
Slowly, she brought her head down and brought her right paw up, touching the top of her head and tracing down with a claw to her eyes, stopping between them for a second, moving down her nose, and finally bringing it to rest on the ground.
"Anak't'a mieorus yetenii... Occidens et Orientis... V'talumi um Iskaji..." she murmured the blessing, a mixture of latin and Old Wolven, as old as the world itself. She muttered continuous lines of the long prayer, while meticulously drawing a strange array of circles and crosses. Her paw ceased movement, returning to its original location and her prayer stopped. Taking her left paw, she uprooted some nearby plants and grass, sprinkling the green leaves over the runes. The prayer for all the deers life energy to be safely spindled back to the earth without malicious deconstruction was done. She could breathe easier.
However, the question remained-- How was she going to hunt?
She hung back from the group in uncertainty, not leaving the ground she blessed, somehow feeling safer beside it.

---

Mordecai listened to NightBlood with a slight frown. If everyone was to go willy-nilly and attack anything with four legs, there would be little to no prey killed in time for everyone to return.
He scootched in closer to the group discussion about how to approach the deer grazing at the bottom of the hill. He was no good for speed, but he did have a few hunting tactics up his non-existant sleeves. He had a strong jaw, and a good bite. He could head the attack front if the runners round 'em up real good.
"If its set then, I volunteer to be on the attack front." his rich irish-toned voice centered on the group and no farther, keeping at a level so the deer weren't alerted.

[nightblood]

"How about a deer."

NightBlood had to force herself not to look at Levy in the way a big sister would to an annoying little brother. She kept her eyes on the deer, watching for any sign that they knew the pack was watching them.

"or Arnlan will be without rabbits for a season with those sort of plans."

The Beta rolled her eyes. She knew the pack was smart enough not to go after rabbits alone. Only the smaller or lighter wolves would go after them. The rest would choose deer. She only wanted to make it clear that any kill would help the food stores and that hose who didn't kill a deer weren't thought of as less than those who did.

"But that means there has to be at least two wolves to bring down a deer...in other words, groups."

Well, at least Uin wasn't trying to ridicule her orders. She was beginning to enjoy watching and listening to the ideas and judgments of those around her. Usually, it would be the highest ranks giving orders and hollering at anyone who thought otherwise. Since this was a pack purely of subordinates, there was not real reason they would have to fight one another.

"I also would suggest to take the deer. Rabbits, while being easier prey for those of us who do not have the strength to take down a deer, waste a lot of energy for not much meat. If every one of us caught a rabbit, it would not feed us for even a week. Now a deer or two; that would a much better task to fill the stores with not nearly half the work. If you don't mind my input, what has worked very well in my experience, is like Uin said, break into groups. There are those of us built for speed, who lack the physical strength to bring down a deer."

NightBlood was beginning to like Lyra more now. She had experience and good ideas. She had a feeling she could get more stories out of her. The more knowledge the better.

"I suggest we gather those of us who can run and chase down the deer somewhere up ahead of the meadow, positioning ourselves just before being upwind of them. You who have the strength, and wish for the kill, gather in groups spread evenly downwind. When you are in position to block their escape, us runners will move into position upwind and drive them to you. It is not guaranteed, of coarse, but has always produced better results than just blindly racing out after anything with 4 legs. And we would have to all decide which deer would be the main targets."

No that wasn't a bad idea at all. She'd heard stories of hunting patterns like that and often wondered if there was a main source everyone got it from. It was an ideal maneuver. Only tiring out about half the pack, and even then the runners would recover quickly, being so used to their job. The only real threat of injury was to the killers. But since the attack was so surprising, the deer would rarely have any time to react.

"In the matter of the animals to shed blood for us, some observation is necessary from those of us whom have the sight and experience to select such deer, for the benefit of those that cannot."

Phineas was on task today. But when wasn't he? Blood watched the herd, looking for what seemed to be the best choices of game and wondering if the pack would spot the same ones.

"I suggest, as the wind appears to be coming from the North-East, that the division marked for the chase, of which I would include myself, circle around to the North-West side of the meadow, and the other division that will perform the main engagement make their way to our opposite undetected, South-East. This formation will at no time allow the quarry to catch wind of us. Personally I would recommend an advance in a crescent formation for both divisions, but of course, that may not be possible to maintain."

"If we could have it be more of a U formation, those on the outer ring would be able to scare in the deer who might break out. We'd concentrate more wolves on the inside. When the formations converge, the wolves on the outer rings could join in bringing them down. We'd have them surrounded."

Perhaps is was a job for a bigger pack, but NightBlood looked at the pup in awe. Ziro, however, almost looked as if he had cursed in the sight of his mother. Why? Looking up at NightBlood, he gave a shy smile.

"It... was my brother's favorite maneuver," he said weakly.

Sooner or later, NightBlood would have to ask him of his background story. That was information worthy of a wolf double or triple his age.

"Anak't'a mieorus yetenii... Occidens et Orientis... V'talumi um Iskaji..."

The Beta's eyes moved to RavenShard. She was doing some kind of rite or spell. It was long known to her, way before she was a Beta, that the young, slightly off, wolfess would be a healer in the pack.

"If its set then, I volunteer to be on the attack front."

Blood turned to the Irish wolf and nodded. It was pretty much agreed that they would use Lyra's idea. All that mattered now was who would herd and who would kill and which were the selected bits of meat they would bring down.

[Squeeji]

"But that means there has to be at least two wolves to bring down a deer...in other words, groups."

"But it also takes two or three wolves to eat one deer...its fine if we work as one large group, But i would suggest all of us pair off...just in case the whole group divides and no one gets a kill..." Levy sighed, no one was going to take him seriously anyways, he hardly felt like explaining further."One strong wolf, one fast....one to herd it, the other to ambush. I mean if a large group of wolves just chase the herd, the deer will spook, and there will be a lot of injuries..."

"If we could have it be more of a U formation, those on the outer ring would be able to scare in the deer who might break out. We'd concentrate more wolves on the inside. When the formations converge, the wolves on the outer rings could join in bringing them down. We'd have them surrounded."

"Large group formations only work if everyone agrees with one another, and since this is the first time most of us have met...well that's hardly the case." The charcoal colored male shushed, and pinned his ears back, waiting to berated by the rest of the pack like he seemed to always be.

Besides, he was slow, terribly strong, but slow, his kills were made with patience, and ambush tactics, he wondering if he could even keep up with the group as one, again he grew quiet, deeply ashamed that he had even bothered to try...

[Donn]

Phineas turned his head to listen to Ziro intently. The pup seemed to already have witnessed the maneouvre he himself had mentioned. He wondered who the pup's brother was, and whether they had had much success with the idea. "Indeed, I do believe you have ably voiced a practical explanation of such a formation." Phineas might've gone on, but Levy was already making known his concerns.

"Large group formations only work if everyone agrees with one another, and since this is the first time most of us have met...well that's hardly the case."

"Hm, not necessarily. My previous pack was... say, experimenting with these ideas. We eventually decided that the best way to make the formation was simply to follow the person in front of you at a constant distance, until the two crescents were formed. The two wolves on the outer edges would lead, the second ones in would follow the outer edge, and so on and so forth. As much as I rarely aliken things to one's puppyhood, you could think of it as the most elaborate game of follow the leader invented." Phineas made a small smile. What a thing to aliken hunting to. But it was true, the best idea they'd had was simply to keep your focus on the person in front, until ordered to attack. "Before we venture further... should we not discuss whom is suited to what? This personage," here he nodded at Mordecai, "Has stated his position, those that would be interested in the attack must make a division between themselves and those that are apt for the initial move the drive the selected beasts to the other group."

[Akree]

Uin shifted around as she she sensed a female near her. Ah, she had seen her before, she had offered her services to NightBlood, unless she was mistaken. Uin turned her brown eyes to the beta than to the female yet again as she spoke.

-"I also would suggest to take the deer. Rabbits, while being easier prey for those of us who do not have the strength to take down a deer, waste a lot of energy for not much meat. If every one of us caught a rabbit, it would not feed us for even a week. Now a deer or two; that would a much better task to fill the stores with not nearly half the work."

-Uin gave a sharp nod "I agree." she half muttered, she could feel herself getting excited already, she wanted to hunt, it felt very long ago when the female has had the chance to hunt in groups.

-"If you don't mind my input. What has worked very well in my experience, is like Uin said, break into groups. There are those of us built for speed, who lack the physical strength to bring down a deer. And then there are you powerful males with your blood thirst,"

Uin nodded, there are many ways to hunt in groups. She pondered for a while, the easiest would be brake into groups of two or three, each group find a target, but this could be to chaotic, if they were going to get ranked for this it would be almost impossible to do is such way. The other of the most basic ways to do so would be getting the runners in a large group and turn the prey to run in the direction of the fighters, she turned to look at the ground thinking carefully.

-"I suggest we gather those of us who can run and chase down the deer somewhere up ahead of the meadow, positioning ourselves just before being upwind of them. You who have the strength, and wish for the kill, gather in groups spread evenly downwind. When you are in position to block their escape, us runners will move into position upwind and drive them to you. It is not guaranteed, of course, but has always produced better results than just blindly racing out after anything with 4 legs. And we would have to all decide which deer would be the main targets."

-Uin nodded "But we have to try to keep some order in all this, if a deer wanders off in the opposite direction and the rest follow it could mean trouble..." she said mostly to herself, looking firmly at the ground, still deep in thought.

-"In the matter of the animals to shed blood for us, some observation is necessary from those of us whom have the sight and experience to select such deer, for the benefit of those that cannot."

-"We should try not to hunt the youngest of deer so the herd can still expand and reproduce..." [/b]she said still thinking. "Old or weak could do, though I don't suggest hunting a sick deer, it could mean trouble if the illness where to spread through the pack, not that I'm completely sure there is a sick deer in that herd." she added while glancing at the cluster of deer. She listened carefully to the male as he spoke, but she didn't speak as she knew to well her only words would be those of agreement, she turned to the Beta.

-"If its set then, I volunteer to be on the attack front."

The voice of another male caught her by surprise, making her turn her head and ears high on her head in alarm. She shook her head and her own silliness and turned to the beta, half smiling, mostly to her overreacting panicked self. Good thing she hadn't squealed in surprise.

-"If we could have it be more of a U formation, those on the outer ring would be able to scare in the deer who might break out. We'd concentrate more wolves on the inside. When the formations converge, the wolves on the outer rings could join in bringing them down. We'd have them surrounded. It... was my brother's favorite maneuver," the young male added.

Uin gave a wide smile in the pup's direction, such liveliness. After Ziro's greatly appreciated comment, she turned to look at the deer and fix her gaze on the horizon, from here she could make out a few of the youngest of males, because of their antlers.

She turned to the male who had spoke, before, so true. She flicked her tail and shifted her paws around the earth, already wanting to hunt, but holding still at the same time, impatience would certainly not work at this moment.

-"I'm not made for strength, but rather speed and endurance, I know my limits, so I volunteer to attack from the back." she added cooly.

[Bandersnatch]

Crow was excited.
She was also rather on the messy side, the results of rolling to cover her smell leaving her splattered in mud and debris. How it must have looked didn’t fuss her; she wasn’t vain about her appearance.

Her thought had been to scout ahead, gather a little extra information that would make the whole hunt quicker.
There had been deer around recently she knew – they had crossed the border months ago to while it was relatively green. This time of year they’d have fawns, a few months old – larger, but still not enough to look after themselves. Perfect targets.
Of course even then her light form would have difficulty bringing down the large animals, but now was her time to shine.

But trying to roughly track down said herd had been interrupted.
By the smell of rather more interesting game.

The mute she-wolf scooped up a number of leaves that carried the distinct smell. They would be her means of communication, a signal for what she had found. There was only so much profuse tail-wagging could tell.
This wasn’t just a chance for a meal, oh no. There was more than that. A rare visitor.
She’d picked up tales somewhere, where exactly was long drowned out in her pool of memories, tales of naturally wild pigs – huge, hairy and terrifying. More likely though Farm pigs gone feral were not far off the descriptions she had heard. Most certainly they were dangerous and not to be taken lightly. But in these lands they were a rare delicacy, but not entirely non-existent, not with human towns near by. She had seen one when she was young, here in the dark lands. It was bought down to it’s knees with daring and cunning, providing a delicious feast for the pack. Crow had certainly not forgotten it.
Whether born wild or escaped made no difference, it had certainly picked the wrong day to make it’s misguided entrance to these pack lands.
And so this chance – it made her whole body tingle in excitement.

By the time she reached the agreed meeting place, it was obvious that most were ready to move out. She had only managed to get there in time to pick, but the talk made it obvious they were already set on deer, whose location was already known.
Crow shuffled over to Nightblood, next to whom she parked herself down uncomfortably. She gave a small frown, the collection of leaves hanging from her mouth fluttering uncertainly in reaction. Well… this is what she got for being late.

[anek]

It’s interesting to listen to them, thought Anek standing not far from the oak tree.

Many thoughts had crossed his mind while he headed off to the location of the hunt. The sudden change of his position, as he thought of it, kept coming back to him along with the face of Nightblood, taking his mind off of things much more important at the moment. But as he entered the place of the orientation, his mind was washed clear of all other thoughts, but that of the hunt.

When he arrived, Anek was stood at the side of the quiet little gathering in silence. While he was listening to the others he kept examining the herd as they were grazing in the meadow unaware of the coming trouble meant for them.

The words Night opened the hunt with were telling she was either still really disorganized, or just not the best choice for a leader. Anek honestly hoped for the first to be the case.
The comments of the chubby timber, although wise, their mocking tone irritated Anek’s ear. However he barely notified it with a slight wince.

There were mostly females in the herd, and also a buck. There were a couple of fawns too, and a rather young buck, probably son of the elder one. Their scent filled the air around them. Luckily this place was not in the way of any winds that could have brought their scent to them. Good place for the meet.

The silvery colored female was speaking cleverly. It was obvious that she had experience in the subject. Her tactics seemed to be coming out the best for them.
The black one was right about the wind, he admitted to himself.
How ironic, he thought glancing back at the herd, none of them has a limp.

He sat down near a grassless spot of dryish ground and with his claws he drew a rough picture of the meadow. It wasn’t perfectly round. Though shaped oval, it had several parts bitten out of it by the woods. It had an area which from the herd’s current position wasn’t visible.
A sly grin crawled up Anek’s muzzle.

He listened to the others words carefully and was glad to hear, an actual plan started to take a shape. However something still bothered him. With his paw he wiped the plan he drew and got up.

“You are still forgetting something.” he started loudly enough to hopefully get the others attention, after the one called Uin finished her words, walking up to them heavily “How will they react?”

“Run? If we only herd them into the woods at the border of the meadow, most can slip through.” he stated clearly. “Did you even take a careful look at them? Your prey? There are nine of them. Five females, two fawns and the two bucks. Two of the females are more weighty. Although probably more difficult to take down, they’d make a better meal. One of the lighter is the mother of the fawns. They won’t take much effort to take down. One wolf could do it. The problem is the father. The elder buck.”

He paused for a moment when he noticed another, dirt covered wolf arrive and walk up to Nightblood. He shook his head and continued.

“There is a spot of the meadow near the wood they cannot see from where they are. We could chase them there, and have an ambush on them. It’s a clever idea that you brought up.” he said looking at Lyra, “But they can escape through the woods. Although that way, at least the ones we catch can put up less of a fight, I admit.”

“We need two wolves on each side of the chasing party, who are--besides being fast--strong enough to control the ones trying to break out of the herd while running.” he stated deep in thought, but loudly, than turned to Uin. “Your idea of caution is clever about the illnesses. Although I haven’t seen that any of them would be sick of wounded . . . how lucky of us.” he added darkly.

“I say the fawns and those two females are our main food ticket.” he finished.

[nightblood]

NightBlood closed her eyes and listened to all the plotting that was going on around her. There was so much chatter that it almost drove her to the point of ripping someone's fur off. She remained calm, however, and allowed them to continue until she heard the stupidest thing she had heard since joining Arnlan. Pity it came from the soon-to-be father of her brood.

“I say the fawns and those two females are our main food ticket.”

"Have you gone completely mental?" the Beta asked harshly, turning her head to look at the blond male. It was a struggle to keep herself from yelling and ruining the entire hunt. "The females are the only two in the herd! If we kill them off, the whole food supply will die unless they find more does! Talk sense, for crying out loud."

Standing up slowly, NightBlood walked away from the bushes. She sat down on a patch of dirt and began clawing at the ground. Drawing a rough sketch of the meadow, she was able to get a clue of how much room they had to run. She drew two Us on either side. One downwind and one upwind.

"The killers will go downwind. Once in position, the chasers will position themselves upwind. You have a short window of opportunity. You must start the attack as soon as you're all ready."

Looking around, the dark female gave a guess as to which ones would be on either side. RavenShard would most likely stay with her. A smile graced her face as Crow appeared at her side. To shoe what they were doing, she took a claw and drew an odd-shaped deer in the center of the meadow-sketch on the ground and then two arrows pointing at it showing the path the Us would take. She lifted her head once more and looked at the faces before her.

"Pick your skill and pair up with an opposite. The two of you will choose a target. Once everyone has one, split off and wait for the killers to get into position. Once the chasers are ready, the hunt will begin."

Everyone had shown their ability to come up with different solutions to this problem. Now it was time to see if they could follow orders.