Post by Luna on Apr 27, 2010 15:11:17 GMT -5
Overlaps with Ute Pack, not sure if a log will be posted there of what Ciqala and Toyo were doing before and after.
Present:
Ciqala, Juvenile Male Wolf
Toyo, Juvenile Male Cougar
Luna, Mare
Nukpana, Mare
Ciqala knows what deer look like, at least. That allows his mental image of horses to look a little bit less monstrous, less dripping fangs, glowing eyes, and demonic horns. Well, okay, maybe the demonic horns remain, but Ciqala still grows slightly calmer. He still doesn't speak much as he follows Toyo gradually southward, his eyes focused on the distance for any sign of movement.
On his wide furry paws, Toyo creeps southward to where he'd first spotted the strange, tall creatures that were later described to him as 'horses'. Since reporting their presence to the pack and hearing of the challenging equines, he's been dying for a second look, and he's now brought company. "...ssh... smell that?" He hisses ever so quietly to the young wolfdog beside him. "...I think it's them." His belly all but dragging on the ground, he picks his way in a steady stalk under one of the old leafless bushes to peek outward.
When the wolfdog's cougar companion speaks up, Ciqala perks his perpetally floppy ears as high as they'll go. Almost immediately, even before the unfamiliar scent that Toyo was pointing out catches his nose, the small canine's stomach does a couple flips. He drops back just a little bit further behind Toyo and mimics the cougar's movements as well as he can. The thin snow that has reached the ground, where it wasn't blocked by plants, softens the inexperienced canine's movements.
Luna certainly doesn't look like much a challenge, or a challenger, or at least she wouldn't to a grown wolf or cougar. To inexperienced youngsters who have never seen a horse before, she just might look absolutely terrifying. Half again the size of a doe, and with an odd black and white coloration never seen on deer she's probably a strange vision to behold indeed. She lacks demonic horns and fire, though the dry twigs and grasses she's uncovering under the snow to eat just might be perceived as long fangs in the corners of her mouth, especially to adrenaline-pumped young minds.
Since coming to this patch of trees Nukpana has discovered the signs of nearby predators. But while that does worry her a bit, she's more relieved that they've ended up somewhere they can get out of the weather. Hopefully she'll either live thanks to the order of her priorities or despite them. At the moment she's standing next to Luna, also nibbling on whatever plants she can find. Of the two, the blood bay may is definately larger. And obviously pregnant to judge by the belly, not that the young predators know what a pregnant mare looks like.
Toyo is nearly forced to step on his tail to keep the black-tipped appendage from waggling back and forth. Terror is second only to a cat's overwhelming curiosity, and even with his fur fluffed up like a dandelion seed the young cougar remains stalwart in his insistence on getting a good, honest look at the hoofed animals. His nose takes in the familiar scent of the borderline set by the alphas, the the pungent equine scent threatens to override the odor of wolf. "... /see/... toldja they're big." Mumbles Toyo to the ear of Ciqala.
Although the young wolfdog's instinct urges him to turn around, Ciqala continues to creep forward until he is crouched side by side with Toyo. His eyes widen as he looks over the two horses that he can see, and although he has seen the size of some of the creatures the adults in his pack have taken down, he cannot imagine himself /ever/ hunting one of these. Still, the boy's stomach grumbles as he entertained the thought of a full belly that he would certainly get if one of those were brought home. "Where did they come from?" His voice is almost too quiet to be audible, and he asks what he does because, even at his tender age, he's surprised by spotting something he has never seen before.
Luna hasn't yet noticed the two cubs. The wind carries straight down between the two young ones and the horses, making it near impossible for either group to scent the other. She's busy scraping away snow to uncover edible grass, old leaves, anything that can keep her and Nukpana fed. The others of the herd are nowhere to be seen right now, off somewhere trying their own luck in finding food.
Against all odds, the youngsters seem to have passed the doubly difficult task of getting within view of both mares without either of them smelling or spotting them. However, Nukpana swears she heard something, so her head is lifted high as she double checks her surroundings just to be safe. Having oriented on the sound, her face turns squarely in the direction of the predators. But that doesn't mean that she's spotted them, even though it probably looks that way.
"Dunno. Think the grownups can catch o-- oh! Ssh!" Responds Toyo to his companion just before Nukpana's head swings to look their direction and his words are cut off in an alarmed hiss. The cat goes as stiff as a board, ears back and fur bristling along his arched spine. Even his tail goes dead, like a fawn-colored pipe stuck out behind him. His wide eyes, youth-blue rimmed in amber, are so wide the light-flooded pupils shrink to razor-thin slits.
As Ciqala's ears remains perked in Toyo's direction and his eyes on the horses, the young wolfdog freezes, nearly paralyzed with a very familiar fear. He opens his mouth, wanting to ask what they should do, but nothing other than a very quiet whine is produced. He wants, so badly, to retreat, but that desire isn't fulfilled, as some part of him trusts that Toyo's response of remaining still has to have some merit. That, and he's not entirely sure he remembers /how/ to move.
Luna raises her head as well, chewing her latest mouthful of grass and twigs slowly. She turns to look in the same direction Nukpana is, very quiet as her experienced eyes slowly move from bush to bush, trying to figure out what it is her herdmate has spotted. If she spots them or not is hard to tell; at least she lowers her head a bit to continue eating.
The larger mare takes much longer to inspect the situation before she too lowers her head to continue grazing. But Nukpana does give one hint as to whether or not she spotted something; there's a clear look of amusement on her face when she returns to her meager meal. Her tail flicks behind her as she casually starts to move, as if needing a better angle on her forage. With a slow-motion turn, her hindquarters are angled so that they just so happen to be pointed right in the direction of the young observers.
Toyo remains stock still as the horses search and seem to overlook their hiding spot under the brush and bramble. The cougar isn't so experienced as to know a bluff, but he's smart enough to even think he can approach the mares. Slowly he shifts himself uncomfortably, a glance passed towards Ciqala. "...maybe we should go back." He murmurs as his ears lay back along his skull. Suddenly, he's not feeling quite so brave, even if he feels even hungrier for seeking the massive animals.
Ciqala nods his head, perhaps far too eagerly. He has scarcely taken a breath since the large horse seemed to be looking directly at them, and as she starts to turn, Ciqala begins to back up slowly. Once he is certain he can turn around without getitng his fur caught up in the bush, he does so. After turning, he refuses to look behind him, and his occasionally overactive imagination convinces him he would see an angry, huge beast practically right on top of him. It is that image that encourages him to run, with little concern about how much noise he might make.
Luna looks up again at the sound of snow being crushed under small paws, in time to see at least the wolfdog making his escape - and if Toyo's running as well, of course the both of them. "Wolves and cougars together," she muses with interest. "Not sure if that's a good or bad sign for us."
On ear flicks backwards as Nukpana hears someone making their getaway. "Pity," she comments. Had this been a better time of year and had she not had the burden of her pregnancy, she'd have tried harder to make sure that the two youngsters were more properly punished for their curiosity. But, as it is, she simply can't afford to use that kind of energy. Oh, well. "I don't know how that could be a good sign," she replies, "But I don't imagine we'll see any /adult/ wolves and cougars working together. That's unheard of, and strange friendships among youngsters of different species isn't." Still, there's definate worry in Nukpana's expression showing that she's not entirely convinced of her own words.
Toyo slowly backs out of the cover he and Ciqala had occupied, turning to begin creeping away in that classic feline slink. He does pause, though, risking a glance over his shoulder for one last look and spies Luna looking directly at them. He then decides haste more important than valor, and he turns and bounds after the already retreated wolfdog to the north with the black-tip of his tail the last to disappear among the clustered trees.
Luna watches quietly until the two cubs are gone, taking good note of their direction. That's where most of the guards need to keep their attention, which is a good thing to know in advance. "I won't hold my breath, but it might be a sign that they have a "live and let live" policy." She shrugs. "Or it might mean we'll be ambushed by both at the same time."
Nodding grimly, Nukpana's worry still remains low. 'Let them come!' she thinks to herself, but more due to her determination to survive whatever happens than to arrogantly assume they'll get away scot free. What she says is, "Nothing for us to do but wait and see what comes. I don't imagine they'll ignore us; this winter must make hunting difficult and they're all probably half starved so they'll at least test us. Question is, when and how many?" Some tests their tiny herd will pass, while others would simply be beyond them.
Luna nods, standing still and looking thoughtful while looking in the direction of the wolf pack. Somewhere out there is potential trouble. "Those two cubs can't have been scouts," she says finally. "Far too young and scared. With a bit of luck they'll be telling their herd there's a hundred of us, each one strong and aggressive."
The hint of amusement returns at Luna's comments, "No, those weren't scouts, unless their situation is more dire than we can hope for." Turning to look in the direction they ran, she adds, "But I don't think we'll be that lucky; even if they tell such a tale they'll probably send a real scout to verify it instead of trusting such a story." Turning back, she frowns thoughtfully, "Then again, perhaps we can hope they were wandering about without permission and this whole thing will be our little secret." That one at least sounds plausible to her, though once again she doubts they'll have that kind of luck.
Luna keeps gazing off towards where the wolf pack must be. "Should we keep moving?" she finally asks, turning to look at you. "With the risk of not finding new shelter before the winter is over? Or do we stay and hope for the best?" The food may not be good here, but there's enough to get by on, enough to stay alive.
Considering the question for a moment, Nukpana eventually says, "Well, we have food and shelter here, and both are too important to give up whether there's predators or not. Unless, of course, you know of any other place nearby that might be better?" Nukpana simply hasn't been in the area for long enough to have more than a vage idea of the layout of the land, which is useless in guessing where the snow might be thin enough for them to find food and marginal at best for shelter or knowing where the predators are.
Luna shakes her head sadly. "I don't," she admits. "Like I told you, I only just passed through here ten summers ago, and it's ... well, the memory's foggy as it is." She looks around, from east to west and back. "I wouldn't have the first clue where to lead us from here." And there's something in her voice that suggests this fact really annoys her, the not knowing.
The other mare's irritation actually amuses Nukpana. "Well, don't beat yourself up about it. This should be sufficient; I'm sure that whatever happens, we're already faring far better than those that stayed behind," Glancing to the southwest, the large mare gives a noticable shivver at the memory of that walk through the blizzard and the thought of what must have happened to those left behind. Nope, much better here.
Luna forces herself not to follow that line of thought, or even the gaze. She tenses a bit for a moment, then relaxes. "We most likely do," she admits, reaching down to some of the dead grass she's uncovered, ripping it off and chewing it. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see, pay attention. Maybe be ready to act if they send a single scout." Her eyes narrow a bit. "Hate to say it, but if a scout is send to investigate and doesn't return ..."
Actually, Nukpana had a similar thought earlier. "Of course! If it can be managed," she says with a small smile, "Pity those two weren't a hair more foolish, or we'd wouldn't be worrying about what /they'll/ say to their parents." But killing a single wolf who's there just to look and not to hunt is tricky business, so she'll not count on that. No, they'll probably have to do things the hard way: keep their guard up and hope for the best.
Luna thinks for a bit longer, but eventually nods. Catching a wolf would be completely unheard of. It'd have to do something fundamentally stupid, like approaching them directly asking for permission to eat their dead. Like that'd ever happen. "We'll see," she says softly. "We ARE on the border of their territory, and if they come hunting we might just have to make a run for it."
A run for it? No problem! Why, the very idea of running has both halves of her bloodline foolishly begging her to run right /now/, and she knows she could outpace enough of her winter weakened herdmates that she's an unlikely victim even with her pregnancy so close to being finished. However, in deciding to team up with Luna to lead this small band, she recognises that she's responsible for more than her own welfare. "Hmm, perhaps we should make greater effort to become more familiar with the area - we could use every advantage we can get," she comments.
Luna nods again. "Wouldn't hurt. Obviously their herd must be in that direction." She indicates the roughly northwestern direction in which the cubs ran. "So whoever watches over those sleeping has to be aware of that. We probably won't see attacks from behind so close to their borders." She thinks, looking around. "Need to find a good place to sleep at night with a good, open view in that direction."
Nodding her head at that wisdom, Nukpana adds, "Yes, though there's not much we can do if they choose to come by day. We /have/ to spread out to eat, though perhaps we can make sure that the strongest of us always forage north of the others. Still, that's also when our eyes are better than theirs, so perhaps they'll avoid that time of day." She actually finds trying to think like a predator rather difficult, though that's a necessary exercise for figuring how they're vulnerable so they can correct it as much as possible.
Luna narrows her eyes. She hasn't dealt with wolves in a while. "They rarely attack at day. When they do they're usually so starved they make lots of mistakes. And unlike a cougar, wolves prefer to run you tired before they move in for the kill." This, of course, can be an advantage, giving time to gather the herd to defend itself.
An invisible shudder grips the larger mare as Luna describes their hunting technique. Really, does she have /describe/ it? "Well, in any event we should do what we can to prepare. I'd very much prefer to have no losses this winter," she comments. Well, besides all those she presumes are lost because they didn't come with them.
Luna mmms, thoughtful. She does need to describe it, that way it won't come as much of a surprise, and predators win and fail on the element of surprise. "We won't," she says, sounding rather convinced. "We made it this far, we can survive whatever gets thrown at us here."
Present:
Ciqala, Juvenile Male Wolf
Toyo, Juvenile Male Cougar
Luna, Mare
Nukpana, Mare
Ciqala knows what deer look like, at least. That allows his mental image of horses to look a little bit less monstrous, less dripping fangs, glowing eyes, and demonic horns. Well, okay, maybe the demonic horns remain, but Ciqala still grows slightly calmer. He still doesn't speak much as he follows Toyo gradually southward, his eyes focused on the distance for any sign of movement.
On his wide furry paws, Toyo creeps southward to where he'd first spotted the strange, tall creatures that were later described to him as 'horses'. Since reporting their presence to the pack and hearing of the challenging equines, he's been dying for a second look, and he's now brought company. "...ssh... smell that?" He hisses ever so quietly to the young wolfdog beside him. "...I think it's them." His belly all but dragging on the ground, he picks his way in a steady stalk under one of the old leafless bushes to peek outward.
When the wolfdog's cougar companion speaks up, Ciqala perks his perpetally floppy ears as high as they'll go. Almost immediately, even before the unfamiliar scent that Toyo was pointing out catches his nose, the small canine's stomach does a couple flips. He drops back just a little bit further behind Toyo and mimics the cougar's movements as well as he can. The thin snow that has reached the ground, where it wasn't blocked by plants, softens the inexperienced canine's movements.
Luna certainly doesn't look like much a challenge, or a challenger, or at least she wouldn't to a grown wolf or cougar. To inexperienced youngsters who have never seen a horse before, she just might look absolutely terrifying. Half again the size of a doe, and with an odd black and white coloration never seen on deer she's probably a strange vision to behold indeed. She lacks demonic horns and fire, though the dry twigs and grasses she's uncovering under the snow to eat just might be perceived as long fangs in the corners of her mouth, especially to adrenaline-pumped young minds.
Since coming to this patch of trees Nukpana has discovered the signs of nearby predators. But while that does worry her a bit, she's more relieved that they've ended up somewhere they can get out of the weather. Hopefully she'll either live thanks to the order of her priorities or despite them. At the moment she's standing next to Luna, also nibbling on whatever plants she can find. Of the two, the blood bay may is definately larger. And obviously pregnant to judge by the belly, not that the young predators know what a pregnant mare looks like.
Toyo is nearly forced to step on his tail to keep the black-tipped appendage from waggling back and forth. Terror is second only to a cat's overwhelming curiosity, and even with his fur fluffed up like a dandelion seed the young cougar remains stalwart in his insistence on getting a good, honest look at the hoofed animals. His nose takes in the familiar scent of the borderline set by the alphas, the the pungent equine scent threatens to override the odor of wolf. "... /see/... toldja they're big." Mumbles Toyo to the ear of Ciqala.
Although the young wolfdog's instinct urges him to turn around, Ciqala continues to creep forward until he is crouched side by side with Toyo. His eyes widen as he looks over the two horses that he can see, and although he has seen the size of some of the creatures the adults in his pack have taken down, he cannot imagine himself /ever/ hunting one of these. Still, the boy's stomach grumbles as he entertained the thought of a full belly that he would certainly get if one of those were brought home. "Where did they come from?" His voice is almost too quiet to be audible, and he asks what he does because, even at his tender age, he's surprised by spotting something he has never seen before.
Luna hasn't yet noticed the two cubs. The wind carries straight down between the two young ones and the horses, making it near impossible for either group to scent the other. She's busy scraping away snow to uncover edible grass, old leaves, anything that can keep her and Nukpana fed. The others of the herd are nowhere to be seen right now, off somewhere trying their own luck in finding food.
Against all odds, the youngsters seem to have passed the doubly difficult task of getting within view of both mares without either of them smelling or spotting them. However, Nukpana swears she heard something, so her head is lifted high as she double checks her surroundings just to be safe. Having oriented on the sound, her face turns squarely in the direction of the predators. But that doesn't mean that she's spotted them, even though it probably looks that way.
"Dunno. Think the grownups can catch o-- oh! Ssh!" Responds Toyo to his companion just before Nukpana's head swings to look their direction and his words are cut off in an alarmed hiss. The cat goes as stiff as a board, ears back and fur bristling along his arched spine. Even his tail goes dead, like a fawn-colored pipe stuck out behind him. His wide eyes, youth-blue rimmed in amber, are so wide the light-flooded pupils shrink to razor-thin slits.
As Ciqala's ears remains perked in Toyo's direction and his eyes on the horses, the young wolfdog freezes, nearly paralyzed with a very familiar fear. He opens his mouth, wanting to ask what they should do, but nothing other than a very quiet whine is produced. He wants, so badly, to retreat, but that desire isn't fulfilled, as some part of him trusts that Toyo's response of remaining still has to have some merit. That, and he's not entirely sure he remembers /how/ to move.
Luna raises her head as well, chewing her latest mouthful of grass and twigs slowly. She turns to look in the same direction Nukpana is, very quiet as her experienced eyes slowly move from bush to bush, trying to figure out what it is her herdmate has spotted. If she spots them or not is hard to tell; at least she lowers her head a bit to continue eating.
The larger mare takes much longer to inspect the situation before she too lowers her head to continue grazing. But Nukpana does give one hint as to whether or not she spotted something; there's a clear look of amusement on her face when she returns to her meager meal. Her tail flicks behind her as she casually starts to move, as if needing a better angle on her forage. With a slow-motion turn, her hindquarters are angled so that they just so happen to be pointed right in the direction of the young observers.
Toyo remains stock still as the horses search and seem to overlook their hiding spot under the brush and bramble. The cougar isn't so experienced as to know a bluff, but he's smart enough to even think he can approach the mares. Slowly he shifts himself uncomfortably, a glance passed towards Ciqala. "...maybe we should go back." He murmurs as his ears lay back along his skull. Suddenly, he's not feeling quite so brave, even if he feels even hungrier for seeking the massive animals.
Ciqala nods his head, perhaps far too eagerly. He has scarcely taken a breath since the large horse seemed to be looking directly at them, and as she starts to turn, Ciqala begins to back up slowly. Once he is certain he can turn around without getitng his fur caught up in the bush, he does so. After turning, he refuses to look behind him, and his occasionally overactive imagination convinces him he would see an angry, huge beast practically right on top of him. It is that image that encourages him to run, with little concern about how much noise he might make.
Luna looks up again at the sound of snow being crushed under small paws, in time to see at least the wolfdog making his escape - and if Toyo's running as well, of course the both of them. "Wolves and cougars together," she muses with interest. "Not sure if that's a good or bad sign for us."
On ear flicks backwards as Nukpana hears someone making their getaway. "Pity," she comments. Had this been a better time of year and had she not had the burden of her pregnancy, she'd have tried harder to make sure that the two youngsters were more properly punished for their curiosity. But, as it is, she simply can't afford to use that kind of energy. Oh, well. "I don't know how that could be a good sign," she replies, "But I don't imagine we'll see any /adult/ wolves and cougars working together. That's unheard of, and strange friendships among youngsters of different species isn't." Still, there's definate worry in Nukpana's expression showing that she's not entirely convinced of her own words.
Toyo slowly backs out of the cover he and Ciqala had occupied, turning to begin creeping away in that classic feline slink. He does pause, though, risking a glance over his shoulder for one last look and spies Luna looking directly at them. He then decides haste more important than valor, and he turns and bounds after the already retreated wolfdog to the north with the black-tip of his tail the last to disappear among the clustered trees.
Luna watches quietly until the two cubs are gone, taking good note of their direction. That's where most of the guards need to keep their attention, which is a good thing to know in advance. "I won't hold my breath, but it might be a sign that they have a "live and let live" policy." She shrugs. "Or it might mean we'll be ambushed by both at the same time."
Nodding grimly, Nukpana's worry still remains low. 'Let them come!' she thinks to herself, but more due to her determination to survive whatever happens than to arrogantly assume they'll get away scot free. What she says is, "Nothing for us to do but wait and see what comes. I don't imagine they'll ignore us; this winter must make hunting difficult and they're all probably half starved so they'll at least test us. Question is, when and how many?" Some tests their tiny herd will pass, while others would simply be beyond them.
Luna nods, standing still and looking thoughtful while looking in the direction of the wolf pack. Somewhere out there is potential trouble. "Those two cubs can't have been scouts," she says finally. "Far too young and scared. With a bit of luck they'll be telling their herd there's a hundred of us, each one strong and aggressive."
The hint of amusement returns at Luna's comments, "No, those weren't scouts, unless their situation is more dire than we can hope for." Turning to look in the direction they ran, she adds, "But I don't think we'll be that lucky; even if they tell such a tale they'll probably send a real scout to verify it instead of trusting such a story." Turning back, she frowns thoughtfully, "Then again, perhaps we can hope they were wandering about without permission and this whole thing will be our little secret." That one at least sounds plausible to her, though once again she doubts they'll have that kind of luck.
Luna keeps gazing off towards where the wolf pack must be. "Should we keep moving?" she finally asks, turning to look at you. "With the risk of not finding new shelter before the winter is over? Or do we stay and hope for the best?" The food may not be good here, but there's enough to get by on, enough to stay alive.
Considering the question for a moment, Nukpana eventually says, "Well, we have food and shelter here, and both are too important to give up whether there's predators or not. Unless, of course, you know of any other place nearby that might be better?" Nukpana simply hasn't been in the area for long enough to have more than a vage idea of the layout of the land, which is useless in guessing where the snow might be thin enough for them to find food and marginal at best for shelter or knowing where the predators are.
Luna shakes her head sadly. "I don't," she admits. "Like I told you, I only just passed through here ten summers ago, and it's ... well, the memory's foggy as it is." She looks around, from east to west and back. "I wouldn't have the first clue where to lead us from here." And there's something in her voice that suggests this fact really annoys her, the not knowing.
The other mare's irritation actually amuses Nukpana. "Well, don't beat yourself up about it. This should be sufficient; I'm sure that whatever happens, we're already faring far better than those that stayed behind," Glancing to the southwest, the large mare gives a noticable shivver at the memory of that walk through the blizzard and the thought of what must have happened to those left behind. Nope, much better here.
Luna forces herself not to follow that line of thought, or even the gaze. She tenses a bit for a moment, then relaxes. "We most likely do," she admits, reaching down to some of the dead grass she's uncovered, ripping it off and chewing it. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see, pay attention. Maybe be ready to act if they send a single scout." Her eyes narrow a bit. "Hate to say it, but if a scout is send to investigate and doesn't return ..."
Actually, Nukpana had a similar thought earlier. "Of course! If it can be managed," she says with a small smile, "Pity those two weren't a hair more foolish, or we'd wouldn't be worrying about what /they'll/ say to their parents." But killing a single wolf who's there just to look and not to hunt is tricky business, so she'll not count on that. No, they'll probably have to do things the hard way: keep their guard up and hope for the best.
Luna thinks for a bit longer, but eventually nods. Catching a wolf would be completely unheard of. It'd have to do something fundamentally stupid, like approaching them directly asking for permission to eat their dead. Like that'd ever happen. "We'll see," she says softly. "We ARE on the border of their territory, and if they come hunting we might just have to make a run for it."
A run for it? No problem! Why, the very idea of running has both halves of her bloodline foolishly begging her to run right /now/, and she knows she could outpace enough of her winter weakened herdmates that she's an unlikely victim even with her pregnancy so close to being finished. However, in deciding to team up with Luna to lead this small band, she recognises that she's responsible for more than her own welfare. "Hmm, perhaps we should make greater effort to become more familiar with the area - we could use every advantage we can get," she comments.
Luna nods again. "Wouldn't hurt. Obviously their herd must be in that direction." She indicates the roughly northwestern direction in which the cubs ran. "So whoever watches over those sleeping has to be aware of that. We probably won't see attacks from behind so close to their borders." She thinks, looking around. "Need to find a good place to sleep at night with a good, open view in that direction."
Nodding her head at that wisdom, Nukpana adds, "Yes, though there's not much we can do if they choose to come by day. We /have/ to spread out to eat, though perhaps we can make sure that the strongest of us always forage north of the others. Still, that's also when our eyes are better than theirs, so perhaps they'll avoid that time of day." She actually finds trying to think like a predator rather difficult, though that's a necessary exercise for figuring how they're vulnerable so they can correct it as much as possible.
Luna narrows her eyes. She hasn't dealt with wolves in a while. "They rarely attack at day. When they do they're usually so starved they make lots of mistakes. And unlike a cougar, wolves prefer to run you tired before they move in for the kill." This, of course, can be an advantage, giving time to gather the herd to defend itself.
An invisible shudder grips the larger mare as Luna describes their hunting technique. Really, does she have /describe/ it? "Well, in any event we should do what we can to prepare. I'd very much prefer to have no losses this winter," she comments. Well, besides all those she presumes are lost because they didn't come with them.
Luna mmms, thoughtful. She does need to describe it, that way it won't come as much of a surprise, and predators win and fail on the element of surprise. "We won't," she says, sounding rather convinced. "We made it this far, we can survive whatever gets thrown at us here."