Post by Therdde on Aug 8, 2011 18:27:45 GMT -5
Characters:
Ikuna - Juvenile Male Wolf
Malia - Female Wolf
Angard - Male Golden Eagle
Pauwau - Female Bobcat
Onatah - Female Wolverine
Anoki - Juvenile Male Wolf
- Lone Crabapple Tree -
This is going to be the best trap ever. Ikuna is busily digging away, not paying much attention to anything beyond scrabbing in the dirt and kicking it out behind him. The hole is big enough that he's halfway inside it now - the efforts of three young wolves made a good start on the soft loam of this secluded spot. It's half-hidden by brush, especially in the direction of the den, so the prying eyes of adults won't discover the pups' secret plan. Now Ikuna is the only one digging; the others have left to go fetch more crabapples to join the pile heaped near the entrance. All the crabapples nearby have already been collected, though, so it will likely be a while before Tala and Ahiga return.
Ever since she made that deal, Malia has been quietly lingering near the trio of Ute pups as they run wild around the packlands, filled with youthful energy. It hasn't been hard; she's been laying low the past number of days, and with the alpha male's permission to stay on pack lands she's acquainted enough with the other wolves to both avoid suspicion around as well as learn the names of the pack's young. Now, however, one of them is finally separated from the other two, and the off-white she-wolf makes her approach, loping forward with a few panting gasps. "Ikuna!" she calls out to him with a desperate look in her eyes, the brushy fur of her tail standing on end. "Your sister! She's in trouble!" Malia glances back over her left shoulder, then back to the juvenile pup. "You have to come with me!" she beckons, looking ready to bound away in the indicated direction as soon as she's sure he'll follow.
In the time since Angard made a deal with on of the Ute pack members, of sorts, he has only been gone for short periods in order to hunt and keep his own compatriots informed of his situation. Particularly, he has kept an eye on Malia, but from afar, lurking and biding his time.
Ikuna jerks his head up sharply at the sound of his name in that frantic tone. So sharply, in fact, that he hits it against the side of his little hole, getting dirt in his fur. "Tala?" he says, his voice anxious. Did she fall in somewhere? Or was there a mean wolf or a monster? He quickly scrambles out, not even pausing to shake the dirt out of his fur - or stopping to consider why, if Tala's in trouble, someone came to get him instead of the other adults. There's no time for that! His sister is in trouble! And so he bounds after Malia, just as quick as his puppy paws can carry him!
Malia runs at a pace that's not too fast for the pup to keep up, but keeps him a few feet behind her lead, heading quickly towards the riverbank where the woodlands grow more thickly than over by the hillside. She slows to a stop just beyond the forest's shade, glancing up towards the trees to scan for what isn't immediately seen; Malia starts to announce their presence, but then figures the bird knows well enough on his own already.
Angard does not stay hidden for long, once Malia and the pup are clear of the heart of Ute. After landing on a branch that allows him to see both wolves clearly, he calls out, simply, "Hello, Malia." After speaking, the eagle looks closely over the pup that she has brought him.
Ikuna races along after Malia, stretching his legs and narrowly avoiding stumbling a few times. He can keep up, but it takes all his effort to do so. There's no leftover breath to ask awkward questions about exactly what happened. He pants, after they stopped, and looks around anxiously. This place doesn't look very familiar... He looks up at the big bird, then away to Malia again without seeming especially frightened of it. Sure, it's bigger than him, and it has talons - but it's just saying hi, not attacking, and he has far more pressing concerns. Like... "Where... where's Tala?"
Malia is somewhat surprised when the eagle doesn't immediately swoop down to snag his desired prey, but she's happy to take the opportunity to remind him of their pre-set terms of contract. "Here's your pup. Remember what we agreed on, or my companion and I shall be dining on fine fowl soon enough." She can't say she's entirely /pleased/ with offering a little wolf up for whatever nefarious deeds (or dinners) this raptor has in mind, but he's not her pup...and he's one less heir to get in the way of her own plans. When Ikuna arrives, she turns to answer his panted questions with a bitter smirk that looks more like a sneer. "Oh, she /was/ in trouble...but since you'll be taking her place instead, she's safe now." With that, she begins to pad away, ensuring the bird has a clear shot at the lured juvenile.
"Don't you worry about that. I am a creature of my word." Malia's portion of the deal complete, Angard wastes no further time in abandoning his perch in order to grab at the wolf pup, hopefully before he has a chance to realize what has happened and attempt to run off.
What they agreed on? Her companion? Ikuna stares at Malia in confusion as she talks to the big bird. What's going on here? The female's answer to his question does little to ease his confusion. Tala /was/ in trouble, but now he is, instead? His fur starts to bristle up, a little grr forming in his throat. Malia tricked him! She's a badwolf, and she tricked him and made him do a bad thing and run away from home. Everyone is going to be so worried, and they'll think he's a bad puppy, and... and Angard is swooping down toward him! Ikuna's first, startled reaction is to freeze - the wrong response, in this case, as it lets the eagle finish his swoop.
- Undisclosed Location -
It is a long, arduous flight, and when they near the covered den, Angard is none too gentle in placing the pup on the ground, though he keeps his talons wrapped around the young wolf in order to keep the pup from escaping while his companions move the large debris placed over the den opening, keeping his wings spread and held slightly low, more to rest them than so that he can get the other pup into the den quickly.
Ikuna doesn't try to talk, on the journey. What good would it do him? This is definitely a mean bird. But... at least Tala's is safe. He may not be, but the pup can take small comfort in the fact that the rest of his beloved family is. When the eagle lands, Ikuna looks around curiously, despite his fear. He tries to squirm a little - but it doesn't take much to convince him that he's firmly caught. He grrs softly.
There's only two of them left now, besides their avian companion, and both of the smallish mammals are working to push the logs blocking the den's entrance out of the way so that they can add this latest addition to their collection. Pauwau turns to pad towards the tired eagle and his captured prey. "At least you got another pup this time," the bobcat murmurs, before moving in to help 'direct' the young wolf towards the den as well, likely using the same sharp-clawed tactic as Angard. Onatah meanwhile lingers back by the den, guarding the entrance.
Ears twitch; in the long hours since his abductors had left, Anoki has lain in the dirt, paws stretched before him, still feigning pain in them. He's found that as long as he pretends he's still in pain, he can take a slow time walking to and from the lake that Angard has walked him to daily-- or at least WAS walking him to until the big lazy pig disappeared. Something has changed since then, and a sense of urgency has come to him. His cat friend is too easily scared by the large bird.. but Anoki is still defiant. He keeps telling himself, his daddy is bigger than that darn bird, and his Daddy will be really REALLY angry about what it's done. That.. uncanny sense of 'something is different' and 'urgency' has had him thinking. As the logs move away, he climbs further out while crouched on his belly, toward the entrance, towards light, yellow eyes peering out into the harsh daylight.
Angard does not do a whole lot of talking himself. There is no point. His companions know what to do, and he lets slide the gentle criticism about his last choice of captive. Now is not the time, not until the pup is in with the others and the den opening has been covered again, and Angard works tirelessly to see that done efficiently, keeping his talons wrapped around the pup and tugging him in the direction of the den opening.
Ikuna grrrs. It's as fierce a sound as a small, rather frightened wolfpup can manage - which is to say, more pathetic than fierce. He's no real threat, and he knows it - and so he lets himself be herded toward the entrance to the den by sharp talons and claws. It seems there was a trap here - and it was effective enough to catch Ikuna.
Pauwau begins to pad her way back towards the den on dainty feline paws, though it's still a few feet away from where the eagle landed. "Now now, no need for that sort of thing, puppy. You'll have a couple of playmates...for a little while longer, at least," the silver-marbled bobcat murmurs in a rather ominous manner. The stocky wolverine by the den is so distracted by the newest arrival that she doesn't yet notice the slight signs of movement and sound starting to come from within its entrance.
Fear. Anoki can /hear/ the fear of Ikuna before he can see it, reaching the hole, and keeping low to the ground, staring out. The hairy snarly thing's backside is to him.. And the cat and the bird are concentraiting on the other wolf pup. Anoki doesn't recognize Ikuna. Which means that there might actually be other wolves in the world beside his own family! .. Anoki, however, has an odd sense that now is not the time to be struck by wonder. Now is the time to creep, and crawl and wait until the right moment to-- suddenly lunge out of the burrow, and start running. He hasn't got an idea /where/ to go.. but he can follow smell, and every time he's gone out with the eagle, he's made a point to make a small puddle somewhere along the route. The water. If he can just get to the water, maybe he can .. he doesn't know. But the water first.
Perhaps tired from the journey he took, Angard finds himself taken by surprise when the other wolf pup leaps from the den and begins running. He tightens his grasp Ikuna for a moment, then tugs forward one more time to try to finish encouraging him into the den. "Go! And watch him!" Of course, valuable time is being wasted now, trying to make sure that Ikuna is secured, but he has no intention of letting the other pup just go. He did not suffer through bringing Anoki here just so they could trade one wolf pup for another. Nevermind that he has yet to recover from the flight here, but he fully intends to leave the others to cover the den and make his way after the rapidly disappearing pup.
Ikuna had playmates! Very good ones! He doesn't need different ones. "I -" he starts to protest, and then catches himself. If these creatures have gotten not only him, but other pups, he's not about to remind them of the existence of the others among his own pack. He goes silent, dropping his head for a moment - and then looking up sharply as he sees motion from the den. Another wolfpup! And he's making a break for it! Ikuna grins, his own fear forgotten. Go, little wolf, go! He grrrs again, more challenging and less afraid, and he tugs against the talons in his fur. Maybe, if he helps make a distraction, the other wolf can get away. So, as he's shoved toward the den, he tries to make a break in the opposite direction, yanking against Angard's talons until it brings a tear to his eye. Not that he has any idea where he'd go, if he succeeded - but that's not the point.
Pauwau and Onatah spot the escaping pup almost simultaneously, which is a second or two after the eagle-eyed Angard does. A couple of seconds that Anoki has to get a head-start on the trio. The bobcat does remain near, intending to help wrangle the other pup inside, but the wolverine immediately breaks out into a loping run after the escapee...which is probably for the better, given how the other pup's begun to act up as well. Without warning, Pauwau's paw swipes out to smack at the juvenile's smaller frame, aiming to strike her needle-like claws at whatever part of his body is most easily hit. Onatah, meanwhile, tries to chase down the quick little pup heading north, growling loudly in her hot pursuit.
Water, water, follow the smell to the water. Anoki just runs, ears laying back as he hears the sounds of the other pup's struggle-- guiltily, he begs for Ikuna to fail in escaping so someone can at least take care of the couger cub being left behind; but at the same time he's also rooting for his fellow wolf. Give them heck! He does not shout this; shouting would take air, and air is more time he can run, yes. He keeps running even when he hears the lumbering beast following after him. he begins to wildly scan ahead as best he can. A hole, a tunnel, some rocks, a cliff, something, anything..
Angard is kept dealing with the new pup long enough that Onatah beats him to his intent to chase down Anoki, and Angard is silently grateful. He releases the pup to land on the ground, cutting off his escape routh, as Pauwau swipes out at the wolf, both to keep himself safe should that paw not land on its intended target and to block the pup from running off, opening his sharp beak in a silent threat.
Ikuna struggles against those talons, squirming and tugging and putting all the skills gained from wrestling with his big brother and friends to use! Unfortunately, friendly wrasslin' isn't quite the same, and the pup's at quite a disadvantage. Still he's tossed down to the ground. That's like breaking free, right? He pushes himself back up to his feet to look for an escape - then yelps at a sharp and stinging pain as Pauwau's claws encounter his shoulder. That hurts! Bad, mean cat! He grrs to her, and backs up a step, looking for somewhere to get away, to get past those wide-spread wings. Angard is there, though, with wide-spread wings - and a terrifying beak. Ikuna hadn't gotten a good look at it, before, and now he kind of wishes he still hadn't. It's scary. He grrrs again, but it's a little less fierce than before.
Pauwau takes the opportunity presented by the eagle's frightening stance to pounce the captured juvenile, attempting to grab him by the scruff and hold him in place with her pinprick teeth, yowling throatily as she does so to try and coax him further into submission. Onatah dashes after Anoki, biting after his heels and tail whenever she manages to get close enough to lunge in for a chance attack. Unfortunately, the stocky wolverine is built more for ambush attacks than running down prey, and it takes but a moment or two of sprinting before she starts to stumble at a much slower pace. "Angard..!" she cries out in her panting exertion, hoping he'll be able to catch up with the escaping wolf pup himself.
A yelp erupts as his tail is snapped at-- Onatah manages to catch the tip, and Anoki stumbles slightly at this; but he's quick to regain his footing and keep running. as the eagle is called for, Anoki closes his eyes, gulping. Oh, please no, not the bird. He tries to pick up the pace, and tries frantically to swerve as the wolverine starts to falter, winded. Run. Gotta run, gotta find a place to hide long enough that he won't be seen, gotta get to the water, maybe if he can get to the water he can swim..
Angard jerks his head up when the wolverine calls out to him. He easily spots Onatah losing speed, but he wastes futher time in making sure Pauwau has Ikuna secured before he leaps into the air again. Unburdened, Angard takes to the air easily, but in the time that has passed, Anoki has placed a good amount of distance between himself and the den, and though Angard's eyesight is very keen, it is his main method of hunting. If he loses line of sight, he loses his ability to track the little wolf, and that's rapidly becoming a possibility.
Two against one isn't fair. While Ikuna's looking for a gap in Angard's defenses, Pauwau pounces. The pup tries to roll away, but he only succeeds in making Pauwau's bite land off-center, prickling painfully into his flesh instead of properly on the loose fur of his scruff. He lets out a soft whine, trying to shake his head free, but each motion makes it hurt a little more. This is awfully hard for a pup, and he soon stops struggling - though he does peer anxiously in the direction Anoki ran off. Did the other pup make it? He hopes so...
"Go!" Pauwau growls out to Angard, her irritation clear despite her voice being muffled by a mouthful of pup. Once he's stopped struggling so much, however, she releases her fanged grip only to keep him pinned down with a forepaw between his shoulders. "Don't try anything stupid like that, puppy," the bobcat warns, glancing towards the den before lifting her weight away. "When we catch him again, he'll be the first to go." With that threat delivered, Pauwau quickly trots over to the nearby den, gesturing curtly towards the dark entrance with a no-nonsense command: "Inside. Now." Onatah lingers behind where she left off the chase, ambling after the runaway pup for a little more before starting to lope back towards the den; with the eagle busy, she'll need to help make sure the cougar cub doesn't try to make a break for it too.
Running, fast, fast as he can, the eagle will be coming soon, and the scruffy pup doesn't want to feel those evil claws. He keeps running, searching for anything anything he can hide in or under or behind, and also for any way out. And then things start to get steeper; and the steeperness is making him pant, and making him flag some. No no no no, he can't stop now, he can't. He forces himself to keep running, even though now his lungs are hurting and his legs are sore, and he's making his paws hurt for real again. He is wild in searching for anything. Another smell-- and closer to the lake, he can faintly tell the smell of the water again. Water. If he can just find the water maybe he can find some place to hide nearby..
As the bobcat shouts out for him to go, Angard takes off after the pup, flying high to attempt to be able to spot where the small, furred creature has disappeared to, since he has temporarily lost sight of the once-captive. Even tired as he is, his wings do carry him quickly through the sky, but from here on out, he has to rely as much on luck as on his eyesight and speed.
Ikuna growls softly once those jaws release his scruff. Maybe it's not too late to get away? The eagle's gone, after all... but a glance around tells him that the wolverine is returning. Maybe he could get somewhere... but it's looking increasingly unlikely. He doesn't know this area at all, and at a quick glance, the only good route seems to be the one the other wolfpup took - straight toward the wolverine, and right where the eagle's looking. Much as he might hope to get away, Ikuna doesn't think he has much chance. Not now. And so, once he's been dragged over to the den, he slips inside with many a backward glance.
Pauwau looks after the defeated pup with a rather smug look on her ever-grinning feline maw, and quickly starting to roll one of the logs into place over the den once more, sealing in the still-trapped cub and her replacement puppy playmate. "That's a good boy. Think they deserve a big trout tonight," Onatah murmurs approvingly as she returns, moving to help shove the other heavy pieces of wood into place; she's much too tired to try her paw at fishing just yet, but perhaps the cat can make herself useful.
Ikuna - Juvenile Male Wolf
Malia - Female Wolf
Angard - Male Golden Eagle
Pauwau - Female Bobcat
Onatah - Female Wolverine
Anoki - Juvenile Male Wolf
- Lone Crabapple Tree -
This is going to be the best trap ever. Ikuna is busily digging away, not paying much attention to anything beyond scrabbing in the dirt and kicking it out behind him. The hole is big enough that he's halfway inside it now - the efforts of three young wolves made a good start on the soft loam of this secluded spot. It's half-hidden by brush, especially in the direction of the den, so the prying eyes of adults won't discover the pups' secret plan. Now Ikuna is the only one digging; the others have left to go fetch more crabapples to join the pile heaped near the entrance. All the crabapples nearby have already been collected, though, so it will likely be a while before Tala and Ahiga return.
Ever since she made that deal, Malia has been quietly lingering near the trio of Ute pups as they run wild around the packlands, filled with youthful energy. It hasn't been hard; she's been laying low the past number of days, and with the alpha male's permission to stay on pack lands she's acquainted enough with the other wolves to both avoid suspicion around as well as learn the names of the pack's young. Now, however, one of them is finally separated from the other two, and the off-white she-wolf makes her approach, loping forward with a few panting gasps. "Ikuna!" she calls out to him with a desperate look in her eyes, the brushy fur of her tail standing on end. "Your sister! She's in trouble!" Malia glances back over her left shoulder, then back to the juvenile pup. "You have to come with me!" she beckons, looking ready to bound away in the indicated direction as soon as she's sure he'll follow.
In the time since Angard made a deal with on of the Ute pack members, of sorts, he has only been gone for short periods in order to hunt and keep his own compatriots informed of his situation. Particularly, he has kept an eye on Malia, but from afar, lurking and biding his time.
Ikuna jerks his head up sharply at the sound of his name in that frantic tone. So sharply, in fact, that he hits it against the side of his little hole, getting dirt in his fur. "Tala?" he says, his voice anxious. Did she fall in somewhere? Or was there a mean wolf or a monster? He quickly scrambles out, not even pausing to shake the dirt out of his fur - or stopping to consider why, if Tala's in trouble, someone came to get him instead of the other adults. There's no time for that! His sister is in trouble! And so he bounds after Malia, just as quick as his puppy paws can carry him!
Malia runs at a pace that's not too fast for the pup to keep up, but keeps him a few feet behind her lead, heading quickly towards the riverbank where the woodlands grow more thickly than over by the hillside. She slows to a stop just beyond the forest's shade, glancing up towards the trees to scan for what isn't immediately seen; Malia starts to announce their presence, but then figures the bird knows well enough on his own already.
Angard does not stay hidden for long, once Malia and the pup are clear of the heart of Ute. After landing on a branch that allows him to see both wolves clearly, he calls out, simply, "Hello, Malia." After speaking, the eagle looks closely over the pup that she has brought him.
Ikuna races along after Malia, stretching his legs and narrowly avoiding stumbling a few times. He can keep up, but it takes all his effort to do so. There's no leftover breath to ask awkward questions about exactly what happened. He pants, after they stopped, and looks around anxiously. This place doesn't look very familiar... He looks up at the big bird, then away to Malia again without seeming especially frightened of it. Sure, it's bigger than him, and it has talons - but it's just saying hi, not attacking, and he has far more pressing concerns. Like... "Where... where's Tala?"
Malia is somewhat surprised when the eagle doesn't immediately swoop down to snag his desired prey, but she's happy to take the opportunity to remind him of their pre-set terms of contract. "Here's your pup. Remember what we agreed on, or my companion and I shall be dining on fine fowl soon enough." She can't say she's entirely /pleased/ with offering a little wolf up for whatever nefarious deeds (or dinners) this raptor has in mind, but he's not her pup...and he's one less heir to get in the way of her own plans. When Ikuna arrives, she turns to answer his panted questions with a bitter smirk that looks more like a sneer. "Oh, she /was/ in trouble...but since you'll be taking her place instead, she's safe now." With that, she begins to pad away, ensuring the bird has a clear shot at the lured juvenile.
"Don't you worry about that. I am a creature of my word." Malia's portion of the deal complete, Angard wastes no further time in abandoning his perch in order to grab at the wolf pup, hopefully before he has a chance to realize what has happened and attempt to run off.
What they agreed on? Her companion? Ikuna stares at Malia in confusion as she talks to the big bird. What's going on here? The female's answer to his question does little to ease his confusion. Tala /was/ in trouble, but now he is, instead? His fur starts to bristle up, a little grr forming in his throat. Malia tricked him! She's a badwolf, and she tricked him and made him do a bad thing and run away from home. Everyone is going to be so worried, and they'll think he's a bad puppy, and... and Angard is swooping down toward him! Ikuna's first, startled reaction is to freeze - the wrong response, in this case, as it lets the eagle finish his swoop.
- Undisclosed Location -
It is a long, arduous flight, and when they near the covered den, Angard is none too gentle in placing the pup on the ground, though he keeps his talons wrapped around the young wolf in order to keep the pup from escaping while his companions move the large debris placed over the den opening, keeping his wings spread and held slightly low, more to rest them than so that he can get the other pup into the den quickly.
Ikuna doesn't try to talk, on the journey. What good would it do him? This is definitely a mean bird. But... at least Tala's is safe. He may not be, but the pup can take small comfort in the fact that the rest of his beloved family is. When the eagle lands, Ikuna looks around curiously, despite his fear. He tries to squirm a little - but it doesn't take much to convince him that he's firmly caught. He grrs softly.
There's only two of them left now, besides their avian companion, and both of the smallish mammals are working to push the logs blocking the den's entrance out of the way so that they can add this latest addition to their collection. Pauwau turns to pad towards the tired eagle and his captured prey. "At least you got another pup this time," the bobcat murmurs, before moving in to help 'direct' the young wolf towards the den as well, likely using the same sharp-clawed tactic as Angard. Onatah meanwhile lingers back by the den, guarding the entrance.
Ears twitch; in the long hours since his abductors had left, Anoki has lain in the dirt, paws stretched before him, still feigning pain in them. He's found that as long as he pretends he's still in pain, he can take a slow time walking to and from the lake that Angard has walked him to daily-- or at least WAS walking him to until the big lazy pig disappeared. Something has changed since then, and a sense of urgency has come to him. His cat friend is too easily scared by the large bird.. but Anoki is still defiant. He keeps telling himself, his daddy is bigger than that darn bird, and his Daddy will be really REALLY angry about what it's done. That.. uncanny sense of 'something is different' and 'urgency' has had him thinking. As the logs move away, he climbs further out while crouched on his belly, toward the entrance, towards light, yellow eyes peering out into the harsh daylight.
Angard does not do a whole lot of talking himself. There is no point. His companions know what to do, and he lets slide the gentle criticism about his last choice of captive. Now is not the time, not until the pup is in with the others and the den opening has been covered again, and Angard works tirelessly to see that done efficiently, keeping his talons wrapped around the pup and tugging him in the direction of the den opening.
Ikuna grrrs. It's as fierce a sound as a small, rather frightened wolfpup can manage - which is to say, more pathetic than fierce. He's no real threat, and he knows it - and so he lets himself be herded toward the entrance to the den by sharp talons and claws. It seems there was a trap here - and it was effective enough to catch Ikuna.
Pauwau begins to pad her way back towards the den on dainty feline paws, though it's still a few feet away from where the eagle landed. "Now now, no need for that sort of thing, puppy. You'll have a couple of playmates...for a little while longer, at least," the silver-marbled bobcat murmurs in a rather ominous manner. The stocky wolverine by the den is so distracted by the newest arrival that she doesn't yet notice the slight signs of movement and sound starting to come from within its entrance.
Fear. Anoki can /hear/ the fear of Ikuna before he can see it, reaching the hole, and keeping low to the ground, staring out. The hairy snarly thing's backside is to him.. And the cat and the bird are concentraiting on the other wolf pup. Anoki doesn't recognize Ikuna. Which means that there might actually be other wolves in the world beside his own family! .. Anoki, however, has an odd sense that now is not the time to be struck by wonder. Now is the time to creep, and crawl and wait until the right moment to-- suddenly lunge out of the burrow, and start running. He hasn't got an idea /where/ to go.. but he can follow smell, and every time he's gone out with the eagle, he's made a point to make a small puddle somewhere along the route. The water. If he can just get to the water, maybe he can .. he doesn't know. But the water first.
Perhaps tired from the journey he took, Angard finds himself taken by surprise when the other wolf pup leaps from the den and begins running. He tightens his grasp Ikuna for a moment, then tugs forward one more time to try to finish encouraging him into the den. "Go! And watch him!" Of course, valuable time is being wasted now, trying to make sure that Ikuna is secured, but he has no intention of letting the other pup just go. He did not suffer through bringing Anoki here just so they could trade one wolf pup for another. Nevermind that he has yet to recover from the flight here, but he fully intends to leave the others to cover the den and make his way after the rapidly disappearing pup.
Ikuna had playmates! Very good ones! He doesn't need different ones. "I -" he starts to protest, and then catches himself. If these creatures have gotten not only him, but other pups, he's not about to remind them of the existence of the others among his own pack. He goes silent, dropping his head for a moment - and then looking up sharply as he sees motion from the den. Another wolfpup! And he's making a break for it! Ikuna grins, his own fear forgotten. Go, little wolf, go! He grrrs again, more challenging and less afraid, and he tugs against the talons in his fur. Maybe, if he helps make a distraction, the other wolf can get away. So, as he's shoved toward the den, he tries to make a break in the opposite direction, yanking against Angard's talons until it brings a tear to his eye. Not that he has any idea where he'd go, if he succeeded - but that's not the point.
Pauwau and Onatah spot the escaping pup almost simultaneously, which is a second or two after the eagle-eyed Angard does. A couple of seconds that Anoki has to get a head-start on the trio. The bobcat does remain near, intending to help wrangle the other pup inside, but the wolverine immediately breaks out into a loping run after the escapee...which is probably for the better, given how the other pup's begun to act up as well. Without warning, Pauwau's paw swipes out to smack at the juvenile's smaller frame, aiming to strike her needle-like claws at whatever part of his body is most easily hit. Onatah, meanwhile, tries to chase down the quick little pup heading north, growling loudly in her hot pursuit.
Water, water, follow the smell to the water. Anoki just runs, ears laying back as he hears the sounds of the other pup's struggle-- guiltily, he begs for Ikuna to fail in escaping so someone can at least take care of the couger cub being left behind; but at the same time he's also rooting for his fellow wolf. Give them heck! He does not shout this; shouting would take air, and air is more time he can run, yes. He keeps running even when he hears the lumbering beast following after him. he begins to wildly scan ahead as best he can. A hole, a tunnel, some rocks, a cliff, something, anything..
Angard is kept dealing with the new pup long enough that Onatah beats him to his intent to chase down Anoki, and Angard is silently grateful. He releases the pup to land on the ground, cutting off his escape routh, as Pauwau swipes out at the wolf, both to keep himself safe should that paw not land on its intended target and to block the pup from running off, opening his sharp beak in a silent threat.
Ikuna struggles against those talons, squirming and tugging and putting all the skills gained from wrestling with his big brother and friends to use! Unfortunately, friendly wrasslin' isn't quite the same, and the pup's at quite a disadvantage. Still he's tossed down to the ground. That's like breaking free, right? He pushes himself back up to his feet to look for an escape - then yelps at a sharp and stinging pain as Pauwau's claws encounter his shoulder. That hurts! Bad, mean cat! He grrs to her, and backs up a step, looking for somewhere to get away, to get past those wide-spread wings. Angard is there, though, with wide-spread wings - and a terrifying beak. Ikuna hadn't gotten a good look at it, before, and now he kind of wishes he still hadn't. It's scary. He grrrs again, but it's a little less fierce than before.
Pauwau takes the opportunity presented by the eagle's frightening stance to pounce the captured juvenile, attempting to grab him by the scruff and hold him in place with her pinprick teeth, yowling throatily as she does so to try and coax him further into submission. Onatah dashes after Anoki, biting after his heels and tail whenever she manages to get close enough to lunge in for a chance attack. Unfortunately, the stocky wolverine is built more for ambush attacks than running down prey, and it takes but a moment or two of sprinting before she starts to stumble at a much slower pace. "Angard..!" she cries out in her panting exertion, hoping he'll be able to catch up with the escaping wolf pup himself.
A yelp erupts as his tail is snapped at-- Onatah manages to catch the tip, and Anoki stumbles slightly at this; but he's quick to regain his footing and keep running. as the eagle is called for, Anoki closes his eyes, gulping. Oh, please no, not the bird. He tries to pick up the pace, and tries frantically to swerve as the wolverine starts to falter, winded. Run. Gotta run, gotta find a place to hide long enough that he won't be seen, gotta get to the water, maybe if he can get to the water he can swim..
Angard jerks his head up when the wolverine calls out to him. He easily spots Onatah losing speed, but he wastes futher time in making sure Pauwau has Ikuna secured before he leaps into the air again. Unburdened, Angard takes to the air easily, but in the time that has passed, Anoki has placed a good amount of distance between himself and the den, and though Angard's eyesight is very keen, it is his main method of hunting. If he loses line of sight, he loses his ability to track the little wolf, and that's rapidly becoming a possibility.
Two against one isn't fair. While Ikuna's looking for a gap in Angard's defenses, Pauwau pounces. The pup tries to roll away, but he only succeeds in making Pauwau's bite land off-center, prickling painfully into his flesh instead of properly on the loose fur of his scruff. He lets out a soft whine, trying to shake his head free, but each motion makes it hurt a little more. This is awfully hard for a pup, and he soon stops struggling - though he does peer anxiously in the direction Anoki ran off. Did the other pup make it? He hopes so...
"Go!" Pauwau growls out to Angard, her irritation clear despite her voice being muffled by a mouthful of pup. Once he's stopped struggling so much, however, she releases her fanged grip only to keep him pinned down with a forepaw between his shoulders. "Don't try anything stupid like that, puppy," the bobcat warns, glancing towards the den before lifting her weight away. "When we catch him again, he'll be the first to go." With that threat delivered, Pauwau quickly trots over to the nearby den, gesturing curtly towards the dark entrance with a no-nonsense command: "Inside. Now." Onatah lingers behind where she left off the chase, ambling after the runaway pup for a little more before starting to lope back towards the den; with the eagle busy, she'll need to help make sure the cougar cub doesn't try to make a break for it too.
Running, fast, fast as he can, the eagle will be coming soon, and the scruffy pup doesn't want to feel those evil claws. He keeps running, searching for anything anything he can hide in or under or behind, and also for any way out. And then things start to get steeper; and the steeperness is making him pant, and making him flag some. No no no no, he can't stop now, he can't. He forces himself to keep running, even though now his lungs are hurting and his legs are sore, and he's making his paws hurt for real again. He is wild in searching for anything. Another smell-- and closer to the lake, he can faintly tell the smell of the water again. Water. If he can just find the water maybe he can find some place to hide nearby..
As the bobcat shouts out for him to go, Angard takes off after the pup, flying high to attempt to be able to spot where the small, furred creature has disappeared to, since he has temporarily lost sight of the once-captive. Even tired as he is, his wings do carry him quickly through the sky, but from here on out, he has to rely as much on luck as on his eyesight and speed.
Ikuna growls softly once those jaws release his scruff. Maybe it's not too late to get away? The eagle's gone, after all... but a glance around tells him that the wolverine is returning. Maybe he could get somewhere... but it's looking increasingly unlikely. He doesn't know this area at all, and at a quick glance, the only good route seems to be the one the other wolfpup took - straight toward the wolverine, and right where the eagle's looking. Much as he might hope to get away, Ikuna doesn't think he has much chance. Not now. And so, once he's been dragged over to the den, he slips inside with many a backward glance.
Pauwau looks after the defeated pup with a rather smug look on her ever-grinning feline maw, and quickly starting to roll one of the logs into place over the den once more, sealing in the still-trapped cub and her replacement puppy playmate. "That's a good boy. Think they deserve a big trout tonight," Onatah murmurs approvingly as she returns, moving to help shove the other heavy pieces of wood into place; she's much too tired to try her paw at fishing just yet, but perhaps the cat can make herself useful.