Post by Curiosity on May 9, 2007 23:36:26 GMT -5
Warning: Contains scenes of violence and death.
-- Characters Involved --
- Sangre Pack -
Verissimus, alpha male
Lilith, alpha female
Narcissos, heir
Tamanous, captain
Frost, member
Rayen, member
- Hawthorn Warren -
Myrtle, chief (spoofed)
Blackbriar, captain
Nightshade, officer
Sunflower, officer
- Lazuli Pack -
Rook, member
-- Cherry Orchard --
Sniff. Sniff. The lands smell of Man here, and Lilith is simultaneously afraid and excited over the idea. Man can mean pain and death, yes, but it can also mean the thrill of the chase when the furless two-legger is caught without his sticks, either the sharp or the boom type. She makes a mental note to explore these Man lands further. Her white paws are already spotted with red, a result of cherries crushed beneath them, but it is likely they will be stained with the real thing by the end of the night. It has been far too long since Lilith has had a chance to use her fangs on something more challenging than a typical prey creature. "We will make our new home here," she announces to the rest of the pack, not even bothering to ask her mate his opinion of the place. "These lands do not appear to have suffered the drought of our former territory."
The adolescent is close enough to his mother to hear, and far away enough from his father to eye him behind his back without worrying about any backlash. Narcissos sticks his nose to the ground, taking in the heavy scent of wet, rich earth and sneezing delightedly. The adolescent watches his mother, Lilith, as she suddenly speaks about their apparent new home, and offers her a twisting grin. Mm. The cherries haven't bothered his dark, earthy fur, although he's chewed on a few and his teeth are stained with a little pink. Narcissos runs his tongue along his maw, and continues to sniff around the bases of the trees, his ears ocassionally pricking forwards at the sounds of birds and the wind; no man, though.. not yet.
Whether or not Verissimus approves of Lilith's decision is hard to say; the large, gray-furred male is his usual stoic self, jaw tight and dark brown gaze set straight forward. He's not as young as he once was, and though he does not wish to appear weak in the eyes of his pack, he cannot help but ease back onto his haunches once his mate has made her proclamation. His sides heave and his nostrils flare, widening to accommodate all the strange new scents that are swimming in them. The journey has been long and arduous, and he would be a fool not to take this opportunity to rest - if only for a few moments.
Stalking through the orchard in the alphas' wake, Frost bears more than a bit of red dye upon her fur, looking like she either fell down or rolled in the cherries at one point. But what's another hue in her mosaic pelt? Pale-gold eyes lift to the trees, watch the small birds flit through their branches with little concern for the wolfish presence below. The lean wolf sneezes to clear her nostrils, then tips her head back and inhales deeply of the foreign air. Approval? Disapproval? Neither seem present upon feature or in posture; merely a calculating assessment of her surroundings.
The heavy scent of rabbit from the north draws the hungry female's attentions away, and the lack of comment from her pack only serves to reinforce her sudden new interest in finding a quick meal after their long travels. "Shall we pursue a snack, perhaps?" the alpha inquires with a toothy grin before turning and trotting towards the burrows to the north, once again not waiting for a reply from her pack.
Lifting his head and turning his ears to his mother, Narcissos grins again, his tongue lawling out of the side of his muzzle when she starts up her brisk pace again to the north, the heavy scent of rabbits growing stronger with each step. The adolescent's gait is purposfully measured, although his excitement is hard to contain at the prospect of a solid meal. The journey was long, and the boy is hungry. To his father, Narcissos only issues a steady blink, and the same to Frost. The dark wolf lopes ahead through the field, his eyes peering across the swaying grass, searching for the owners delicious scent.
They're eager. Perhaps a little too eager for Verissimus' tastes. The old alpha stays several strides behind his son, allowing Narcissos to take the lead alongside Lilith - his mother. He hasn't gotten this far so late in life by acting on his impulses; if it were up to him and him alone, they would wait and watch, observing the rabbits from afar before setting foot on the warren's land. Most prey species aren't dangerous, but one never knows what infectious diseases might be lurking underground in colonies like these; if any of their potential targets are acting strangely, he wants to know about it /before/ he sinks his teeth in.
The briefest glint of fang is Frost's response to the alpha female's inquiry; an expression lost upon Lilith as she turns away, but it doesn't matter. She follows without hesitation, ears perked forward, cherry-stained paws carrying the wolf out to one side, flanking the alpha and her son at some small remove. The better the chance to catch anything they might scare up.
-- Burrowed Meadow --
It's a bright, warm day - beautiful weather for silflay. A hrair of rabbits are doing such aboveground, as a result. Unfortunately, fate is not shining so brightly upon them as is the sun. Nibbling on some clover in the meadow just outside of the main burrow, Nightshade's prey instincts suddenly kick in, the dangerous scent of wolves suddenly infiltrating the area. Wolves? So near to the farm? But... She quite nearly goes completely tharn at the powerfulness of the smell, but manages to keep herself calm enough to fulfill her officer duties and rap out a quick series of heavy thumps of her hindfoot to warn the rest of the warren. "Elil!" she cries out in a shrill, terrified voice, staying aboveground as long as she can possibly stand to allow as many other rabbits down into the safety of the burrow - such as her children. "Embleer elil!"
It was warm, yes, and comfortable, and nearly all the warren was above ground and away from the gloom of the tunnels below. Nothing much has happened recently, and the place has settled into a kind of blissful routine that is suddenly interupted by the pounding of a hindfoot upon the ground. Blackbriar, nearby to Nightshade, perks up to his hind legs almost as soon as the doe begins her warning thump, feeling the itch of danger between his shoulders. The buck tries to stay calm, dark, wide eyes searching through the field until he spots the small pack of wolves. The rabbit cries out, a rough scream, and echos Nightshade's thump with his own. Rabbits scurry and dash everywhere, some for the entrance holes and some.. not.
Sunflower is above ground with the rest munching on some of the grasses grasses a short distance away from the main warren entrance. Her ears twitch as she glances over to her mother catching sight of the movement before the scent of canine's reach her as well. She remembers back in winter when the three dogs attacked but there is something different about this scent and she for sure doesn't want to stick around to find out who it belongs to. With her father's cry added to the mix she is quick to darts back towards the entrance her parents are at.
With a sadistic grin, her tongue lolling out the side of her mouth in a manner similar to that of her son, Lilith shifts into a romping gallop, flanking the rabbits and partially blocking off one of the larger entrances with a paw, seemingly daring the frightened rabbits to try and squeeze past into safety. Although she snaps at a few who dart too close, she's not really all that hungry. She just enjoys all the sensations that come with the killing of her prey. A wicked cackle escapes her throat as she watches the rabbits scurry about in a state of panic.
The chase! The hunt! Pointedly ignoring his father, Narcissos moved swiftly through the field towards the rising scent of rabbits, their small bodies coming into view just as he begins to put on an extra burst of speed. Their cries only excite the youngster more, and, paws drumming the earth, the wolf whines excitedly as he nears the prey dashing, apparently, haphazardly through the grass. His first potential meal slips underground, but Narcissos changes direction and snaps his jaws at a smaller, slower passerby. The rabbits' thrumming rings in his ears as he feels the body stiffen and then grow limp in his jaws, warm blood staining his already reddened teeth. The adolescent whips the body to and fro, slamming it visciously down on the ground before he takes off after another, and another.
Taking her cue from Lilith, Frost doesn't move in for a prompt kill. Though her pale-gold eyes seek out those rabbits that won't reach their boltholes before she can get there, as might any hunter, the lean wolf harasses them, teeth snapping in the air, sending several scurrying back in Lilith's direction. Most of the time, anyway. In the end, she reaches that hair further to close her jaws about a rabbit; the kill itself is a clean one, the body simply dropped to the ground as Frost looks for others whose retreats she can redirect.
Tamanous had been a little uncertain at first-- his preferred sort of prey is a good deal more of a challenge. Rabbits? Rabbits are small change, so to speak. Still, he's glad to be back with his pack-- enough so that he'd allowed himself to get, if not swept away by, caught up in the thrill preceding the hunt, the excitement of his packmates. Still. -Rabbits-. Give him another predator any day. Regardless, the sight of things -fleeing- from him -is- exciting. Like Frost, he doesn't go in for an immediate kill; rather, he chases, and pounces, and bites, but makes little effort to actually -catch-: he's playing, more than anything else, although his mouth is bloody soon enough. Little things -freeze- when he gets a little too close.
Her wide black eyes practically the size of large acorns out of pure fear, Nightshade quickly sights her children running towards her and ushers them inside, her maternal drive forcing her to stay out in the line of danger at least as long as they are. Most of the other rabbits have made it inside aside from the higher ranks at this point, but she hasn't yet accounted for -- "Myrtle-rah!" Nightshade suddenly screams, able to see the wolf coming up from behind that the chief cannot. But even before the scream has fully left her ragged throat, the doe has been snapped up in the jaws of a wolf, and the sight of her chief being thrown about so horribly almost causes her to go tharn once again. It takes all her strength to pull her eyes from the awful sight and to dive down into the burrow after her children, hoping desperately that Blackbriar makes it down behind her.
He doesn't wait around much longer than he has to, indeed, the tranquility of their meadow has been shattered and broken to a point where it may take some time for the entire warren to recover completely. As the wolves draw closer, Blackbriar tries and fights against all his instincts telling him to run, trying to remain where he is and continue the alarum. Nightshade's cry is echoed by his own, watching in horror and disbelief as his Chief and friend is killed before his eyes, and thrown to the ground as if she were nothing. As Nightshade bolts past, Blackbriar hesitates for only a second longer before his forepaws find the ground again and he darts for the nearest burrow. He doesn't want to find out if anyone else is behind him, shoving those underground out of the way as he tries to fill in the entrance and discourage the wolves from digging.
Sunflower scrambles down the burrow without a glance back, the thick scent of blood is in the air and she knows it all to well. She hears her mother scream out there leaders name and only assume what happens next. Once underground the moves down the tunnel a ways before turning around to wait for her parents to follow. Her gaze snap quickly over the rabbits that are around her trying to find her siblings and Chestnut, siblings found but her friend isn't and she can only wonder where he has gotten to. Her gaze turns back to her parents once there down in the warren.
With a gliding pace, Rayen enters the parameter, drawing steadily closer with a fair amount of speed. Her bare teeth sting with desire to crush blood and flesh beneath them, but the she-wolf stills her instincts, allowing the hunger to stew and boil in her gut. Instead, she holds back and enjoys just the scene of happy carnage unfolding before her. But once the majority of lapines have vanished beneath the dirt, she casually trots over, scraping and tearing at the dirt. If nothing else, but to make a nuisance of herself.
"Aww. They're all gone," Lilith pouts in a rather childlike manner, pulling her paw away with a kick that shoves some loose dirt down the hole she had been blocking, purely out of spite. "Oh well. Let's move on to bigger and better things, no?" the alpha intones, her bloodlust not nearly satiated enough, her peppered tail swishing about behind her as she turns to head southeast, following the vague scent of human - and the newly caught scent of other wolves. Her muzzle turns up in a cheshire grin. Whichever they discover first is sure to be plenty more fun. She's certainly an impetuous thing, though, isn't she?
Lilith moves off and her son follows, but not without his precious little cargo. The others might not've been hungry, but he'll be damned if he's going to leave a juicy rabbit behind. With it dangling limply in his jaws, the adolescent marches proudly behind his mother with his head held high, arrogance sweeping from every pore. Eh. Youth.
As the last rabbits vanish, Frost straightens, turning to look at Lilith. A quiet rumble and a swing of her tail is the wolf's response, head dropping to snatch up her kill before she pads out in the alpha female's wake. Like Narcissos, she's not leaving everything behind. As she walks, Frost's nose twitches, taking in the new and strange scents, like and yet unlike her old stomping grounds.
Tamanous ambles after the others, tongue lolling out between his teeth. He doesn't bring anything-- in the initial pause after the rabbits had disappeared, he'd had a brief chew of some of the little corpses, placing his paw on them to yank out a messy hunk of fur and bone and skin, but just as often he simply shook them, pleased by the snapping noises and the limpness. He eyes Frost's kill thoughtfully, ears tipping forward-- ought he to start a game? Glance towards the alphas, and he sneezes, licks his lips. Maybe not -just- yet. Still there's a spring in his step, a certain, decidedly, -prance-.
Rayen paws at the hole for a while longer, before leaping past it and trailing swiftly after the others. "Ffuh. Rabbits." She spits, clearly displeased with their first choice of prey. The lack of stains upon her fangs, as well, add to her frustration. She only eases her mind with thoughts of finding something, anything, better.
-- Stand of Wisteria --
Following her nose as it simultaneously leads her closer to the farm and the forest, refusing to let either scent go just yet, Lilith pads along towards the southeast, suddenly snorting as she ambles upon a terrain covered in small purple flowers, the pollen having been sniffed up just as well as the other smells. Pausing, she glances to the east, and then to the south, wondering where she should head next at this veritable fork in her path. Towards Man or Wolf?
It's rather unusual for Rook to stroll this far toward the edge of the wood. Something, however, had managed to lure him this way. He knew not if it was smell or sound, or either. All the young wolf knew was that he must investigate. Set on that course, he slinks northward, senses alert. He doesn't know what to expect, or even if anything is out there. All the same, Rook is careful, and even a bit nervous. As he always is.
The speculative glance Tamanous casts her way doesn't go unnoticed, and Frost delivers a cold electrum stare back his direction. Her ears angle back just a touch, but when the male doesn't actually -move-, she remains content to keep walking. Stopping long enough to pin her kill beneath a paw and tear out a mouthful, quickly swallowed before Frost picks the carcass back up and resumes moving. When Lilith finally halts, she drops her kill again and goes back to eating - keeping a wary eye out for Tamanous. And anything else that might come near.
Lilith pauses, and Tamanous does too, huffing out a breathing and stretching a little, tail waving back and forth once or twice. Expectant look, but when he sees Frost watching him the captain grins at her, big and toothy, his eyes narrow. "Where are we headed? Anywhere good? Rabbits aren't as fun as we -could- be doing."
At the sound of approach, Lilith's ears prick forward, her silver eyes sighting the dark wolf padding closer. "It seems our decision has been made for us, captain," the alpha intones, beginning to slink towards the stranger with a demeanor that's much less chaotic than the way she handled the rabbits. She intends to get at least some information about these new lands out of him, first.
Rayen stretches her hind legs in mid-stride, loosening a few of her tighter muscles. She begins to nod after Tamanous' words, before abruptly freezing, one leg still at a somewhat odd angle. Her eyes happen on the small, darkly furred wolf. "Just one?" She bemoans in a murmur, before fixing up her posture.
What is this? After emerging from the thicker foliage, Rook's gaze immediately widens, and her nearly backs off again. Where did these wolves come from? And even more importantly; where are they intending to go? Swallowing a breath, the Lazuli wolf presses on just a little closer, eyes bouncing from one to the other before they settle on Lilith. His muzzle opens, making several attempts at forming words. It takes some effort, but they do come out. "Who are you?"
They have company! Frost's ears tilt forward, swiveling to focus on the strange wolf. The rabbit carcass discarded, she moves a few paces forward and to one side, tail sweeping in a curve that only vaguely resembles a greeting. Her pale eyes watch him perhaps too intently for a bit; then the female turns away, tilting her head back to sniff at some of the hanging purple flowers. Which isn't to say her attention has similarly redirected. Not at all.
Tamanous is heading in a meandering sort of way towards Lilith when he, like the others, notices that they've a visitor. He blinks, peering at Rook as the other tries to speak. "Hallo there. Heard us coming, did you?" he wants to know, bright. He's grinning, not -unfriendly, necessarily, although he -does- show a lot of teeth.
"/We/ are the Sangre pack, stranger. And I might ask the same of you. You are alone...have you no pack?" the peppered alpha inquires in a tone that could almost be considered friendly curiosity. Almost. She pads closer, though not close enough to make the other wolf too uncomfortable with her nearness.
That name is unfamiliar to him. Nevermind that he hadn't even known there was another pack anywhere near, not that he can recall. "I'm not alone." Rook argues, tail swaying uneasily. So much for his tranquil evening walk. "There are others around." Somewhere. "If you were hoping for this land, it's already taken, so you'd best be on your way." He does his best to ignore the other wolves, and trying so very hard to keep himself from turning and running back to safety. Perhaps, if he showed a little bravery for just once, the others would be pleased in him.
Her nose liberally dusted with yellow pollen, Frost sneezes, shuffling forward a couple of steps. She shakes her head, then looks over at Rook and Lilith, ears pricked forward and tongue lolling cheerily out over her teeth. A couple more steps that aren't as absentminded as she tries to make them appear, and the wolf plants her feet. Watching. Waiting.
Tamanous glances briefly at Lilith and then wanders off to her right, adjacent to Rook-- not hemming him in just yet, but closer than before. -Much- more fun than rabbits! He hasn't seen this pack before in his wanderings, though-- although he -had- smelled another group, so perhaps this -is- it.
"Taken? Oh-ho, perhaps that is true for now - but not for very much longer, I assure you," Lilith retorts with a wide grin, retaliating to the verbal challenges by the other wolf. She begins pacing again, angling slightly so that she's approaching Rook from the side, as if flanking him in a movement similar to how she approached the rabbits. "But it's funny, I don't /smell/ any others nearby, and I don't /see/ them either. You sure you're not all alone, pup?" the white-and-black wolf taunts, beginning to make a lazy circle around the lone wolf along with Tamanous. Even if there is another pack somewhere close, and this wolf is part of it, they're not /here/, and that's all that matters.
Rayen has already decided in her own mind that the talking is nothing more than a waste of time. She doesn't even approach subtlety her teeth revealing themselves with a glint. There's no escape, she's confident of that. And this is far better than a rabbit, to be sure.
Rook's heart flinches in realization. This is even more dire than he first suspected. Yes, this is far over him. He begins to retreat, tail first. His eyes scan their changing position, worried. This does not bode well at all. "You won't... you won't get anywhere. The others, they'll stop you." He takes in a deep breath, before pivoting around to tear away. He has to warn the alphas.
"Neither do I," Frost states, finanlly speaking up, closing to walk an outer orbit around the two members of her pack who hem Rook in. True, her nose is still pollen-dusted even after her sneeze... but she can scent the wind all the same. Not that the ability is necessary to know Rook's going to try and flee. Frost promptly spurs her long legs into motion, the better to cut him off.
Tamanous's whole body tenses when he sees Rook flinch; his tail swishes once or twice and he takes a little aborted step forward, then pauses. His whole body -leans- forward, though-- waiting. Rook begins to move back, and the captain twitches visibly, but-- but-- And the other wolf turns, and kicks into motion, and the moment he does, Tam' does as well, with a delighted yelp and a little kick up of his hind legs-- a little slower than Frost, but he's also a little closer.
Lilith quickly dives in front of Rook as soon as he turns towards the forest - even if he doesn't stop completely to avoid her, he'll likely get tripped up over her body being in his way. When words turn to action, she is there to meet it head on and with relish. And the Sangre pack is so well trained that no command is necessary; verily, the image of half a dozen wolves simultaneously launching themselves towards you without a word must be somewhat of a frightening sight.
Ah, that's what Rayen was waiting for. Once again, she's on the move, joining in the bona fide lynching with enthusiasm and exhilaration. She's not content with the pursuit itself, but only of the joy what comes after.
Rook barely registers the blockade, before he instinctively tries to veer on a different route, berating himself for not moving fast enough. His turn is too sharp, however, and throws him off balance. With a terrified and hopeless whinge, he stumbles onto one side, and immediately scrambles to right himself. No, this is not good at all.
Rather than dive for Rook, Frost contents herself with sliding to a halt, almost smack dab in front of the hapless wolf when he rises. She's still grinning, tail waving jauntily back and forth, pale eyes gleaming at the cornered youth. Altogether too cheerful at his plight - and definitely not letting him escape this way. Or at all, really, but she doesn't have to tell him that.
Fangs already bared in a wicked grin, Lilith twists around to leap at Rook, aiming to use the force of momentum of her body to keep the lone wolf down and unable to escape - or even properly defend himself. When she's close enough, she begins snapping viciously at Rook's form, wildly biting and tearing at anything she can get ahold of.
Rook enjoys a moment of victory, when his forepaws find a stead foothold. But even that is denied. Lilith's assault returns the young wolf to the ground, where he soon finds shreds of flesh torn or even simply missing. He's a gentle, irenic spirit by nature; never before has he ever lifted a tooth against another wolf. Which is exactly why Rook is taken aback to find himself snapping around, his own fangs desparate to lock onto something, to get this crazy wolf away from him. His chances are bleak, but at this stage there isn't any other choice.
With a low growl rumbling in her throat, Lilith's bloodlust intensifies as the younger wolf struggles against her, increasing her level of attack from random bites to purposeful lunges, ripping at his flesh with savage jerks of her head. The retaliating bites are ignored; she's not a stranger to battle, and these pitiful attempts to inflict pain are no more hurtful - and no less annoying - to the alpha in her rage than a mosquito bite.
Now that Rook's down, Tamanous darts in too, keeping an eye on Lilith, careful not to touch her-- his own bites are quick, and come away with only fur as often as they leave with flesh.
It's perhaps the adrenaline that's keeping Rook conscious so long, despite the amount of abuse he's sustained. But even then, he's still slipping away. And he's terrified. He doesn't want to die, not now, not like this. Not with everything he hasn't gotten to do or see. Shivering with pain and fear, Rook ceases the attempts to save his own life and shifts his muzzle skyward, mustering the strength up for a single, and likely final, howl.
As the struggles cease beneath Lilith's form, all the fun of the kill subsides as well. It's only fun when they resist, after all. With a bitter sneer, the alpha reaches over to ever-so-casually rip out the dark wolf's throat, leaving him unable to howl, breathe, or do much of anything, really. Retreating from the body as its life slowly ebbs away, Lilith glances over to Tamanous and utters a macabre offer with a slight glimmer in her silver eyes: "Hungry, captain?" One can only hope Rook doesn't survive so long as to realize what, precisely, is meant by that invitation.
Tamanous had stepped back a short while ago, sneezing furiously-- all the fur, and the blood, getting quite up his nose. He's just settled when Lilith makes her final, killing move, and when she glances at him he straightens, hopeful, and grins broadly at her-- there's a tuft of fur, rabbit or wolf is uncertain, still caught between his teeth. "Absolutely. Keep your rabbits. This is -much- more fun for everybody!" comes the satisfied response, and he trots forward, settling down to open his meal up.
And with a gurgled, bloody heave, the era of Rook comes to a sudden and tragic end.
[OOC: As with the first TP log, rumors about random murders would likely spread quickly throughout the lands. Feel free to use this in your scenes and speculation - who did it? if you heard it was wolves, what pack? etc.]
-- Characters Involved --
- Sangre Pack -
Verissimus, alpha male
Lilith, alpha female
Narcissos, heir
Tamanous, captain
Frost, member
Rayen, member
- Hawthorn Warren -
Myrtle, chief (spoofed)
Blackbriar, captain
Nightshade, officer
Sunflower, officer
- Lazuli Pack -
Rook, member
-- Cherry Orchard --
Sniff. Sniff. The lands smell of Man here, and Lilith is simultaneously afraid and excited over the idea. Man can mean pain and death, yes, but it can also mean the thrill of the chase when the furless two-legger is caught without his sticks, either the sharp or the boom type. She makes a mental note to explore these Man lands further. Her white paws are already spotted with red, a result of cherries crushed beneath them, but it is likely they will be stained with the real thing by the end of the night. It has been far too long since Lilith has had a chance to use her fangs on something more challenging than a typical prey creature. "We will make our new home here," she announces to the rest of the pack, not even bothering to ask her mate his opinion of the place. "These lands do not appear to have suffered the drought of our former territory."
The adolescent is close enough to his mother to hear, and far away enough from his father to eye him behind his back without worrying about any backlash. Narcissos sticks his nose to the ground, taking in the heavy scent of wet, rich earth and sneezing delightedly. The adolescent watches his mother, Lilith, as she suddenly speaks about their apparent new home, and offers her a twisting grin. Mm. The cherries haven't bothered his dark, earthy fur, although he's chewed on a few and his teeth are stained with a little pink. Narcissos runs his tongue along his maw, and continues to sniff around the bases of the trees, his ears ocassionally pricking forwards at the sounds of birds and the wind; no man, though.. not yet.
Whether or not Verissimus approves of Lilith's decision is hard to say; the large, gray-furred male is his usual stoic self, jaw tight and dark brown gaze set straight forward. He's not as young as he once was, and though he does not wish to appear weak in the eyes of his pack, he cannot help but ease back onto his haunches once his mate has made her proclamation. His sides heave and his nostrils flare, widening to accommodate all the strange new scents that are swimming in them. The journey has been long and arduous, and he would be a fool not to take this opportunity to rest - if only for a few moments.
Stalking through the orchard in the alphas' wake, Frost bears more than a bit of red dye upon her fur, looking like she either fell down or rolled in the cherries at one point. But what's another hue in her mosaic pelt? Pale-gold eyes lift to the trees, watch the small birds flit through their branches with little concern for the wolfish presence below. The lean wolf sneezes to clear her nostrils, then tips her head back and inhales deeply of the foreign air. Approval? Disapproval? Neither seem present upon feature or in posture; merely a calculating assessment of her surroundings.
The heavy scent of rabbit from the north draws the hungry female's attentions away, and the lack of comment from her pack only serves to reinforce her sudden new interest in finding a quick meal after their long travels. "Shall we pursue a snack, perhaps?" the alpha inquires with a toothy grin before turning and trotting towards the burrows to the north, once again not waiting for a reply from her pack.
Lifting his head and turning his ears to his mother, Narcissos grins again, his tongue lawling out of the side of his muzzle when she starts up her brisk pace again to the north, the heavy scent of rabbits growing stronger with each step. The adolescent's gait is purposfully measured, although his excitement is hard to contain at the prospect of a solid meal. The journey was long, and the boy is hungry. To his father, Narcissos only issues a steady blink, and the same to Frost. The dark wolf lopes ahead through the field, his eyes peering across the swaying grass, searching for the owners delicious scent.
They're eager. Perhaps a little too eager for Verissimus' tastes. The old alpha stays several strides behind his son, allowing Narcissos to take the lead alongside Lilith - his mother. He hasn't gotten this far so late in life by acting on his impulses; if it were up to him and him alone, they would wait and watch, observing the rabbits from afar before setting foot on the warren's land. Most prey species aren't dangerous, but one never knows what infectious diseases might be lurking underground in colonies like these; if any of their potential targets are acting strangely, he wants to know about it /before/ he sinks his teeth in.
The briefest glint of fang is Frost's response to the alpha female's inquiry; an expression lost upon Lilith as she turns away, but it doesn't matter. She follows without hesitation, ears perked forward, cherry-stained paws carrying the wolf out to one side, flanking the alpha and her son at some small remove. The better the chance to catch anything they might scare up.
-- Burrowed Meadow --
It's a bright, warm day - beautiful weather for silflay. A hrair of rabbits are doing such aboveground, as a result. Unfortunately, fate is not shining so brightly upon them as is the sun. Nibbling on some clover in the meadow just outside of the main burrow, Nightshade's prey instincts suddenly kick in, the dangerous scent of wolves suddenly infiltrating the area. Wolves? So near to the farm? But... She quite nearly goes completely tharn at the powerfulness of the smell, but manages to keep herself calm enough to fulfill her officer duties and rap out a quick series of heavy thumps of her hindfoot to warn the rest of the warren. "Elil!" she cries out in a shrill, terrified voice, staying aboveground as long as she can possibly stand to allow as many other rabbits down into the safety of the burrow - such as her children. "Embleer elil!"
It was warm, yes, and comfortable, and nearly all the warren was above ground and away from the gloom of the tunnels below. Nothing much has happened recently, and the place has settled into a kind of blissful routine that is suddenly interupted by the pounding of a hindfoot upon the ground. Blackbriar, nearby to Nightshade, perks up to his hind legs almost as soon as the doe begins her warning thump, feeling the itch of danger between his shoulders. The buck tries to stay calm, dark, wide eyes searching through the field until he spots the small pack of wolves. The rabbit cries out, a rough scream, and echos Nightshade's thump with his own. Rabbits scurry and dash everywhere, some for the entrance holes and some.. not.
Sunflower is above ground with the rest munching on some of the grasses grasses a short distance away from the main warren entrance. Her ears twitch as she glances over to her mother catching sight of the movement before the scent of canine's reach her as well. She remembers back in winter when the three dogs attacked but there is something different about this scent and she for sure doesn't want to stick around to find out who it belongs to. With her father's cry added to the mix she is quick to darts back towards the entrance her parents are at.
With a sadistic grin, her tongue lolling out the side of her mouth in a manner similar to that of her son, Lilith shifts into a romping gallop, flanking the rabbits and partially blocking off one of the larger entrances with a paw, seemingly daring the frightened rabbits to try and squeeze past into safety. Although she snaps at a few who dart too close, she's not really all that hungry. She just enjoys all the sensations that come with the killing of her prey. A wicked cackle escapes her throat as she watches the rabbits scurry about in a state of panic.
The chase! The hunt! Pointedly ignoring his father, Narcissos moved swiftly through the field towards the rising scent of rabbits, their small bodies coming into view just as he begins to put on an extra burst of speed. Their cries only excite the youngster more, and, paws drumming the earth, the wolf whines excitedly as he nears the prey dashing, apparently, haphazardly through the grass. His first potential meal slips underground, but Narcissos changes direction and snaps his jaws at a smaller, slower passerby. The rabbits' thrumming rings in his ears as he feels the body stiffen and then grow limp in his jaws, warm blood staining his already reddened teeth. The adolescent whips the body to and fro, slamming it visciously down on the ground before he takes off after another, and another.
Taking her cue from Lilith, Frost doesn't move in for a prompt kill. Though her pale-gold eyes seek out those rabbits that won't reach their boltholes before she can get there, as might any hunter, the lean wolf harasses them, teeth snapping in the air, sending several scurrying back in Lilith's direction. Most of the time, anyway. In the end, she reaches that hair further to close her jaws about a rabbit; the kill itself is a clean one, the body simply dropped to the ground as Frost looks for others whose retreats she can redirect.
Tamanous had been a little uncertain at first-- his preferred sort of prey is a good deal more of a challenge. Rabbits? Rabbits are small change, so to speak. Still, he's glad to be back with his pack-- enough so that he'd allowed himself to get, if not swept away by, caught up in the thrill preceding the hunt, the excitement of his packmates. Still. -Rabbits-. Give him another predator any day. Regardless, the sight of things -fleeing- from him -is- exciting. Like Frost, he doesn't go in for an immediate kill; rather, he chases, and pounces, and bites, but makes little effort to actually -catch-: he's playing, more than anything else, although his mouth is bloody soon enough. Little things -freeze- when he gets a little too close.
Her wide black eyes practically the size of large acorns out of pure fear, Nightshade quickly sights her children running towards her and ushers them inside, her maternal drive forcing her to stay out in the line of danger at least as long as they are. Most of the other rabbits have made it inside aside from the higher ranks at this point, but she hasn't yet accounted for -- "Myrtle-rah!" Nightshade suddenly screams, able to see the wolf coming up from behind that the chief cannot. But even before the scream has fully left her ragged throat, the doe has been snapped up in the jaws of a wolf, and the sight of her chief being thrown about so horribly almost causes her to go tharn once again. It takes all her strength to pull her eyes from the awful sight and to dive down into the burrow after her children, hoping desperately that Blackbriar makes it down behind her.
He doesn't wait around much longer than he has to, indeed, the tranquility of their meadow has been shattered and broken to a point where it may take some time for the entire warren to recover completely. As the wolves draw closer, Blackbriar tries and fights against all his instincts telling him to run, trying to remain where he is and continue the alarum. Nightshade's cry is echoed by his own, watching in horror and disbelief as his Chief and friend is killed before his eyes, and thrown to the ground as if she were nothing. As Nightshade bolts past, Blackbriar hesitates for only a second longer before his forepaws find the ground again and he darts for the nearest burrow. He doesn't want to find out if anyone else is behind him, shoving those underground out of the way as he tries to fill in the entrance and discourage the wolves from digging.
Sunflower scrambles down the burrow without a glance back, the thick scent of blood is in the air and she knows it all to well. She hears her mother scream out there leaders name and only assume what happens next. Once underground the moves down the tunnel a ways before turning around to wait for her parents to follow. Her gaze snap quickly over the rabbits that are around her trying to find her siblings and Chestnut, siblings found but her friend isn't and she can only wonder where he has gotten to. Her gaze turns back to her parents once there down in the warren.
With a gliding pace, Rayen enters the parameter, drawing steadily closer with a fair amount of speed. Her bare teeth sting with desire to crush blood and flesh beneath them, but the she-wolf stills her instincts, allowing the hunger to stew and boil in her gut. Instead, she holds back and enjoys just the scene of happy carnage unfolding before her. But once the majority of lapines have vanished beneath the dirt, she casually trots over, scraping and tearing at the dirt. If nothing else, but to make a nuisance of herself.
"Aww. They're all gone," Lilith pouts in a rather childlike manner, pulling her paw away with a kick that shoves some loose dirt down the hole she had been blocking, purely out of spite. "Oh well. Let's move on to bigger and better things, no?" the alpha intones, her bloodlust not nearly satiated enough, her peppered tail swishing about behind her as she turns to head southeast, following the vague scent of human - and the newly caught scent of other wolves. Her muzzle turns up in a cheshire grin. Whichever they discover first is sure to be plenty more fun. She's certainly an impetuous thing, though, isn't she?
Lilith moves off and her son follows, but not without his precious little cargo. The others might not've been hungry, but he'll be damned if he's going to leave a juicy rabbit behind. With it dangling limply in his jaws, the adolescent marches proudly behind his mother with his head held high, arrogance sweeping from every pore. Eh. Youth.
As the last rabbits vanish, Frost straightens, turning to look at Lilith. A quiet rumble and a swing of her tail is the wolf's response, head dropping to snatch up her kill before she pads out in the alpha female's wake. Like Narcissos, she's not leaving everything behind. As she walks, Frost's nose twitches, taking in the new and strange scents, like and yet unlike her old stomping grounds.
Tamanous ambles after the others, tongue lolling out between his teeth. He doesn't bring anything-- in the initial pause after the rabbits had disappeared, he'd had a brief chew of some of the little corpses, placing his paw on them to yank out a messy hunk of fur and bone and skin, but just as often he simply shook them, pleased by the snapping noises and the limpness. He eyes Frost's kill thoughtfully, ears tipping forward-- ought he to start a game? Glance towards the alphas, and he sneezes, licks his lips. Maybe not -just- yet. Still there's a spring in his step, a certain, decidedly, -prance-.
Rayen paws at the hole for a while longer, before leaping past it and trailing swiftly after the others. "Ffuh. Rabbits." She spits, clearly displeased with their first choice of prey. The lack of stains upon her fangs, as well, add to her frustration. She only eases her mind with thoughts of finding something, anything, better.
-- Stand of Wisteria --
Following her nose as it simultaneously leads her closer to the farm and the forest, refusing to let either scent go just yet, Lilith pads along towards the southeast, suddenly snorting as she ambles upon a terrain covered in small purple flowers, the pollen having been sniffed up just as well as the other smells. Pausing, she glances to the east, and then to the south, wondering where she should head next at this veritable fork in her path. Towards Man or Wolf?
It's rather unusual for Rook to stroll this far toward the edge of the wood. Something, however, had managed to lure him this way. He knew not if it was smell or sound, or either. All the young wolf knew was that he must investigate. Set on that course, he slinks northward, senses alert. He doesn't know what to expect, or even if anything is out there. All the same, Rook is careful, and even a bit nervous. As he always is.
The speculative glance Tamanous casts her way doesn't go unnoticed, and Frost delivers a cold electrum stare back his direction. Her ears angle back just a touch, but when the male doesn't actually -move-, she remains content to keep walking. Stopping long enough to pin her kill beneath a paw and tear out a mouthful, quickly swallowed before Frost picks the carcass back up and resumes moving. When Lilith finally halts, she drops her kill again and goes back to eating - keeping a wary eye out for Tamanous. And anything else that might come near.
Lilith pauses, and Tamanous does too, huffing out a breathing and stretching a little, tail waving back and forth once or twice. Expectant look, but when he sees Frost watching him the captain grins at her, big and toothy, his eyes narrow. "Where are we headed? Anywhere good? Rabbits aren't as fun as we -could- be doing."
At the sound of approach, Lilith's ears prick forward, her silver eyes sighting the dark wolf padding closer. "It seems our decision has been made for us, captain," the alpha intones, beginning to slink towards the stranger with a demeanor that's much less chaotic than the way she handled the rabbits. She intends to get at least some information about these new lands out of him, first.
Rayen stretches her hind legs in mid-stride, loosening a few of her tighter muscles. She begins to nod after Tamanous' words, before abruptly freezing, one leg still at a somewhat odd angle. Her eyes happen on the small, darkly furred wolf. "Just one?" She bemoans in a murmur, before fixing up her posture.
What is this? After emerging from the thicker foliage, Rook's gaze immediately widens, and her nearly backs off again. Where did these wolves come from? And even more importantly; where are they intending to go? Swallowing a breath, the Lazuli wolf presses on just a little closer, eyes bouncing from one to the other before they settle on Lilith. His muzzle opens, making several attempts at forming words. It takes some effort, but they do come out. "Who are you?"
They have company! Frost's ears tilt forward, swiveling to focus on the strange wolf. The rabbit carcass discarded, she moves a few paces forward and to one side, tail sweeping in a curve that only vaguely resembles a greeting. Her pale eyes watch him perhaps too intently for a bit; then the female turns away, tilting her head back to sniff at some of the hanging purple flowers. Which isn't to say her attention has similarly redirected. Not at all.
Tamanous is heading in a meandering sort of way towards Lilith when he, like the others, notices that they've a visitor. He blinks, peering at Rook as the other tries to speak. "Hallo there. Heard us coming, did you?" he wants to know, bright. He's grinning, not -unfriendly, necessarily, although he -does- show a lot of teeth.
"/We/ are the Sangre pack, stranger. And I might ask the same of you. You are alone...have you no pack?" the peppered alpha inquires in a tone that could almost be considered friendly curiosity. Almost. She pads closer, though not close enough to make the other wolf too uncomfortable with her nearness.
That name is unfamiliar to him. Nevermind that he hadn't even known there was another pack anywhere near, not that he can recall. "I'm not alone." Rook argues, tail swaying uneasily. So much for his tranquil evening walk. "There are others around." Somewhere. "If you were hoping for this land, it's already taken, so you'd best be on your way." He does his best to ignore the other wolves, and trying so very hard to keep himself from turning and running back to safety. Perhaps, if he showed a little bravery for just once, the others would be pleased in him.
Her nose liberally dusted with yellow pollen, Frost sneezes, shuffling forward a couple of steps. She shakes her head, then looks over at Rook and Lilith, ears pricked forward and tongue lolling cheerily out over her teeth. A couple more steps that aren't as absentminded as she tries to make them appear, and the wolf plants her feet. Watching. Waiting.
Tamanous glances briefly at Lilith and then wanders off to her right, adjacent to Rook-- not hemming him in just yet, but closer than before. -Much- more fun than rabbits! He hasn't seen this pack before in his wanderings, though-- although he -had- smelled another group, so perhaps this -is- it.
"Taken? Oh-ho, perhaps that is true for now - but not for very much longer, I assure you," Lilith retorts with a wide grin, retaliating to the verbal challenges by the other wolf. She begins pacing again, angling slightly so that she's approaching Rook from the side, as if flanking him in a movement similar to how she approached the rabbits. "But it's funny, I don't /smell/ any others nearby, and I don't /see/ them either. You sure you're not all alone, pup?" the white-and-black wolf taunts, beginning to make a lazy circle around the lone wolf along with Tamanous. Even if there is another pack somewhere close, and this wolf is part of it, they're not /here/, and that's all that matters.
Rayen has already decided in her own mind that the talking is nothing more than a waste of time. She doesn't even approach subtlety her teeth revealing themselves with a glint. There's no escape, she's confident of that. And this is far better than a rabbit, to be sure.
Rook's heart flinches in realization. This is even more dire than he first suspected. Yes, this is far over him. He begins to retreat, tail first. His eyes scan their changing position, worried. This does not bode well at all. "You won't... you won't get anywhere. The others, they'll stop you." He takes in a deep breath, before pivoting around to tear away. He has to warn the alphas.
"Neither do I," Frost states, finanlly speaking up, closing to walk an outer orbit around the two members of her pack who hem Rook in. True, her nose is still pollen-dusted even after her sneeze... but she can scent the wind all the same. Not that the ability is necessary to know Rook's going to try and flee. Frost promptly spurs her long legs into motion, the better to cut him off.
Tamanous's whole body tenses when he sees Rook flinch; his tail swishes once or twice and he takes a little aborted step forward, then pauses. His whole body -leans- forward, though-- waiting. Rook begins to move back, and the captain twitches visibly, but-- but-- And the other wolf turns, and kicks into motion, and the moment he does, Tam' does as well, with a delighted yelp and a little kick up of his hind legs-- a little slower than Frost, but he's also a little closer.
Lilith quickly dives in front of Rook as soon as he turns towards the forest - even if he doesn't stop completely to avoid her, he'll likely get tripped up over her body being in his way. When words turn to action, she is there to meet it head on and with relish. And the Sangre pack is so well trained that no command is necessary; verily, the image of half a dozen wolves simultaneously launching themselves towards you without a word must be somewhat of a frightening sight.
Ah, that's what Rayen was waiting for. Once again, she's on the move, joining in the bona fide lynching with enthusiasm and exhilaration. She's not content with the pursuit itself, but only of the joy what comes after.
Rook barely registers the blockade, before he instinctively tries to veer on a different route, berating himself for not moving fast enough. His turn is too sharp, however, and throws him off balance. With a terrified and hopeless whinge, he stumbles onto one side, and immediately scrambles to right himself. No, this is not good at all.
Rather than dive for Rook, Frost contents herself with sliding to a halt, almost smack dab in front of the hapless wolf when he rises. She's still grinning, tail waving jauntily back and forth, pale eyes gleaming at the cornered youth. Altogether too cheerful at his plight - and definitely not letting him escape this way. Or at all, really, but she doesn't have to tell him that.
Fangs already bared in a wicked grin, Lilith twists around to leap at Rook, aiming to use the force of momentum of her body to keep the lone wolf down and unable to escape - or even properly defend himself. When she's close enough, she begins snapping viciously at Rook's form, wildly biting and tearing at anything she can get ahold of.
Rook enjoys a moment of victory, when his forepaws find a stead foothold. But even that is denied. Lilith's assault returns the young wolf to the ground, where he soon finds shreds of flesh torn or even simply missing. He's a gentle, irenic spirit by nature; never before has he ever lifted a tooth against another wolf. Which is exactly why Rook is taken aback to find himself snapping around, his own fangs desparate to lock onto something, to get this crazy wolf away from him. His chances are bleak, but at this stage there isn't any other choice.
With a low growl rumbling in her throat, Lilith's bloodlust intensifies as the younger wolf struggles against her, increasing her level of attack from random bites to purposeful lunges, ripping at his flesh with savage jerks of her head. The retaliating bites are ignored; she's not a stranger to battle, and these pitiful attempts to inflict pain are no more hurtful - and no less annoying - to the alpha in her rage than a mosquito bite.
Now that Rook's down, Tamanous darts in too, keeping an eye on Lilith, careful not to touch her-- his own bites are quick, and come away with only fur as often as they leave with flesh.
It's perhaps the adrenaline that's keeping Rook conscious so long, despite the amount of abuse he's sustained. But even then, he's still slipping away. And he's terrified. He doesn't want to die, not now, not like this. Not with everything he hasn't gotten to do or see. Shivering with pain and fear, Rook ceases the attempts to save his own life and shifts his muzzle skyward, mustering the strength up for a single, and likely final, howl.
As the struggles cease beneath Lilith's form, all the fun of the kill subsides as well. It's only fun when they resist, after all. With a bitter sneer, the alpha reaches over to ever-so-casually rip out the dark wolf's throat, leaving him unable to howl, breathe, or do much of anything, really. Retreating from the body as its life slowly ebbs away, Lilith glances over to Tamanous and utters a macabre offer with a slight glimmer in her silver eyes: "Hungry, captain?" One can only hope Rook doesn't survive so long as to realize what, precisely, is meant by that invitation.
Tamanous had stepped back a short while ago, sneezing furiously-- all the fur, and the blood, getting quite up his nose. He's just settled when Lilith makes her final, killing move, and when she glances at him he straightens, hopeful, and grins broadly at her-- there's a tuft of fur, rabbit or wolf is uncertain, still caught between his teeth. "Absolutely. Keep your rabbits. This is -much- more fun for everybody!" comes the satisfied response, and he trots forward, settling down to open his meal up.
And with a gurgled, bloody heave, the era of Rook comes to a sudden and tragic end.
[OOC: As with the first TP log, rumors about random murders would likely spread quickly throughout the lands. Feel free to use this in your scenes and speculation - who did it? if you heard it was wolves, what pack? etc.]