Hunting of a different kind
#1
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West of CdM, fore-dated to 10th November

Keeping his muzzle to the ground Kostya trotted onwards, doggedly following the trail of his prey. He had spent most of the morning earlier hunting down a particularly tasty looking deer only to have it snatched from his jaws, almost literally, by a Cougar that had been hunting him it seemed.


The Cougar had made off with his prey and Kostya had followed, that was several hours ago and now it was more a matter of pride than Kostya actually wanting the food back; nobody stole his food and got away with it, especially after he had broken nearly a dozen arrows trying to catch the awkward piece of prey.


More surprising than seeing a cougar this far south, he had been on a trip to Halifax when the prey stealing had happened, was that the cougar continued to head south, into the Ethereal Eclipse, still Kostya didn’t argue with his nose and followed the beast south, which lead him to his current situation.


Namely walking along a well trodden path somewhere west of Cour Des miracles territory, nose stuck to the ground as he tried to keep a hold of the cougars scent amidst the others layering the track. However he was broken out of his concentration by the sound of something moving far behind him. Kostya was still quite a canny wolf when it came to interactions with the packs, preferring to avoid them whenever possible, so he quickly and quietly slipped into the bushes at the side of the path, using the shadows to hide his dark fur and the scent of the path to hide his own as he waited for whatever was behind him to pass.


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#2
Walking along the borders Terra paused when she smelled something that wasn't pack. Wiser wolves would have told someone. Braver wolves would have challenged the stranger to a fight. Terra, well, she decided that tagging along behind the stranger seemed like a good idea. When the wolf paused she got a good whiff of who he was.

Kostya! Terra came forwards happily, pulling beside her friend. It's been a while. What are you up to? Pleased to see her friend Terra couldn't keep her tail wagging like crazy. The last time she'd saw him they'd been trapped under a little ledge in a rain storm, Kostya almost killing himself over a bear. Well, she hadn't done much better. Terra had gotten an arrow wound from playing with the Inferni coyotes, but that was healed now. She was ready to seek out some new trouble.
#3
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OOC here.

Kostya's teeth parted in a slight snarl as the presence down the road resolved itself into a scent that he knew was associated with a pack, though he didn’t have a name to put to it. This snarl disappeared however when the source of the scent came closer, resolving it into one more familiar, and one accompanied by a voice.


Stepping out of the bushes Kostya was greeted by the sight of Terra coming towards him, tail wagging as she did so. Kostya's tail followed suit as he burst into a grin and he called out a greeting, "Terra! Long time no see!" Seeing terra certainly brightened what had been a fairly crappy day so far, and his behaviour brightened even more as he recalled something he had heard last time he was with Terra.


Namely Terra's insanity/ability to steal food from bears; Kostya still wasn't exactly sure how to categorise it. Cogs began turning inside his mind as he began to plot humiliating revenge for the Cougar.


Still, first things first, he had a friend to greet. As Terra got closer he bounded forward a pace to meet her, bumping his nose with hers in greeting. "Its great ta' see ya' Terra, 'ow've ya' bin?" He questioned, spinning around so that he was walking alongside her. After giving his friend his friend time to respond Kostya let a mischievous grin spread over his face, "Say, Terra, how would ya' feel about a little… excursion shall we say?"


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#4
From the instant he opened his mouth she knew he was planning something. Grinning back at him Terra smiled. Sounds good. I won't turn down a friend. She wasn't sure what kind of trouble he'd gotten himself into, but for Terra the fact there was trouble was more than enough to send her bounding to meet it. What do you have in mind? Whatever it was, Terra hoped she wouldn't have to fight. That was her weak point. Terrorizing others and stealing were her strengths.

Nosing Kostya Terra whined at the thought of playing with him. He smelled like he'd been traveling for some time, but Terra was quite sure he had a den. After all, he'd taken her there. Had he come to see her? No, or he would have howled at the borders. What had brought him down here?
#5
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OOC here.

Kostya smiled at Terra's easy acceptance, his tail drawing lazy zigzags in the dirt of the trail as he walked along the dirt trail. "Well Terra, you mentioned before that ya' used ta' steal food from bears righ'? Well how do ya' feel about taking a crack at a cougar?"


Sitting down on a handy patch of grass under a high surving bush he began to explain properly. "Well, earlier today I was hunting the tastiest looking deer you've ever seen. Crafty bugger it was as well, must'a broke nearly two dozen arrows trying to down the bloody thing, still it sure looked worth the trouble." That it had done, in fact Kostya was licking his lips at the thought of it, though that could also be influenced by his hunger generated from tracking and travelling for the better part of a day."But anyway yeah, really tasty lookin' thing. Problem is just as I managed ta' take it down with a lucky long distance shot, this bloody cougar jumps out of the bushes an' runs off with it! Been tracking it south but the bloody thing managed to get ahead of me." Kostya scuffed the ground, grumbling lightly at the thought of the cougar escaping.


"Anyway, I figure that with how far it went its den must be around here somewhere, I was gonna' try an steal the deer back if I could. Ya want in, i'll split the deer with ya if we manage to get it back." Truth be told with his bow and knife on his back Kostya could probably have gotten the deer back himself eventually, but to be frank he wanted a bit of company, and Terra was pretty fun to be around; one of the few wolves he'd encountered so far who actually joked around a bit.


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#6
A cougar? Terra had encountered cougars before, but she'd never stolen from them. Maybe it was because she respected the creatures. Or maybe it was because they looked like they could crack her skull open with a single blow. Either way, what she knew about them was limited, and most involved various ways to avoid them. Still, the deer was tempting, and Kostya had invited her along. She could take a bit of trouble.

If the den's nearby, it'll be easier to steal. A den meant the cougar would be relaxed, not expecting trouble. That was exactly the kind of thing she could use. Wagging her tail Terra agreed. I'll come along. This deer must be pretty good for you to come tracking it down here for! It could just be his pride, but just hearing about the deer made her mouth water. Maybe she'd be less hungry if she shifted less, but Terra had this ability and she was going to use it. Nose to the ground, Terra scented to see if she could pick up the trail.
#7
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Kostya fails at knowing the name of packs =3

Kostya smiled as Terra agreed to the venture and licked her ear gratefully, before rising to his feet and stretching."Thanks, I appreciate it. We'd better get moving then, get back on the trail before it gets cold." tail wagging, Kostya turned back to the path and began sniffing the ground, searching for the scent he had been following earlier. After a minute he found it and set off along the path, gesturing with his tail for Terra to follow, "Found it."

Setting off along the trail again Kostya half turned to terra, positioning his head so that he could see her but still follow the scent on the ground, "Noticed that ya had a pack scent on ya now, Four Miracles or somethin' righ'? How's being in a pack workin' out for ya'?." he asked curiously, wanting to spice the walk up with some conversation, the trail didn't look like it was going to leave the path anytime soon and walking in silence in a straight line wasn't a particularly interesting thing to do.


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#8
Wagging her tail Terra trotted to join up. It's easier. I'm not a very good hunter, and I can't run across bears all the time. It was true. She'd left her pack before they taught her how to properly hunt, only having her participate in a few group hunts. Terra could hunt just fine in a group, but otherwise she stole or went hungry. They're pretty prepared for winter as well. They're gathering food for storage, and reinforcing the dens, and apparently they're strong enough that they're not concerned about anyone going hungry.

Winter was a pain, and a chill wind confirmed that. Terra's coat had thickened out enough that she wasn't worried about freezing, but prey would grow more scarce. Worriedly she glanced at Kostya. He was a lone wolf, and winter wouldn't be kind to him. He was resourceful, but that wasn't much of a protection against scarcity and desperation. Silently Terra promised to herself to help her friend get through the winter the best she could, even if it involved fighting bears head on.

Why don't you have a pack? There must be a reason. The life was unattractive to her, lonely and hungry. If he wasn't worried about those things then there must be something pretty special about being on his own.
#9
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Kostya was taken off guard by Terra's question. Joining a pack wasn't really something that had occurred to him; between the odd lifestyle, the recent war and the horror stories he heard about several of the packs joining one of them had never really seemed like an inviting idea to him, though he might possibly change his tune after spending a winter alone.


"I'd say tha' lifestyle. A lot of tha' packs are very humanised, spend all their time in Optime form an wear clothes, that sorta thing. Human stuff is interesting an all but I wouldn' be able ta' live like that an I would feel awkward an outa place if I joined a pack but lived differently to everyone else." There were other reasons as well, but Kostya didn’t particularly feel like going into them right now.


"Anyway, tis' good fer you if you're happy there, at least I don' have ta' worry about whether you're going to survive the winter or not." Kostya tried to keep his tone light, despite the slightly depressing subject, and nudged Terra's shoulder, smiling at her.


Kostya's nose perked as the scent rail suddenly swerved off of the path and into the woods. He turned round to face Terra, grinning as he did so, "Looks like we migh' be gettin' somewhere."

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#10
Terra yipped happily as they moved down the trail, leaping onto the beaten path. She could understand why Kostya wouldn't want to join a pack since they're so humanized. It made her a little uncomfortable as well, though her curiosity drove her to try it out at least. She wouldn't turn into a two legger anytime soon, but she wanted to try the life at least. Hearing Kostya's affectionate words made her blush a little, glad for his friendship.

Entering a small clearing Terra looked around. She spotted a den just below a boulder. The earth had been scooped out below it, creating a den that would be hard to destroy. The smell of cougar permeated the air. Terra didn't spot the big cat, but she pulled into the bushes all the same. She looked behind for Kostya, hoping that he was behind her. Tackling the cat alone wasn't something she was interested in at all. Well, maybe if the deer was really that good. She was getting hungry.
#11
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Kostya was right behind Terra as she sighted the den. He was suddenly feeling a lot less confident about tackling the cougar now that he was actually here but he shoved his apprehension away, confidence would aid him here better than second-guessing himself.


Peering out at the den he whispered to Terra, "Can you see if its in the den? I could try and distract it while you sneak in and take the deer." A simple plan, if slightly risky. If he shifted to his Optime form and used his bow he could probably keep the cougar at bay until it decided he wasn't worth chasing.


While he waited for terra's answer he lowered his head to his shoulder using his teeth to tug on a small knot which made his harness slide off his back when he pulled it, freeing him up to move easier no matter what the two ended up doing. This done he dropped himself low to the ground, kneading the ground beneath his paws as he glared out into the clearing.


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#12
Terra shook her head briefly. I don't see the cougar, so it's probably in the den with the deer. Normally I'd say no problem for the distraction, but a cougar's different. Once they got their prey, they won't let go. For a moment she thought about it. If they were going to get the deer, the cougar had to leave the den. Maybe we can cause the den to collapse? It was risky, but the cougar would come out. If it came out with the deer, they could use Kostya's plan from there. If not, well, they could dig it out.
#13
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"Hmmm, tha' could work. Not gonna be easy though. Still I like tha' whole drop-a-boulder-on-tha'-cougar angle better than just plain pissin' it off, so lets give it a go." This said Kostya moved stealthily through the bushes, pausing to grab his pack, emerging on the far side of the clearing and behind the boulder, and started to shift into his Optime form, figuring that a seven foot humanoid had a better chance of moving a boulder than a normal sized wolf. With an ease coming from two years of practise Kostya shifted in his own way, focusing on the internal changes first and then doing the external ones last and as quickly as possible, allowing him to shift while loving and keep his stride.


While he waited for terra to move over to him he quickly put on his harness, stringing his bow and making sure that his knife was readily available to him in its sheath. He then looked over the rock, noting the sturdy foundation of dirt around it. Think ya can try an loosen some o' tha' dirt while I push?" he whispered to Terra, crouching behind the boulder in preparation for moving.

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#14
Winking at Kostya Terra set to work, scuffling at the dirt. If she just dug around it the boulder wasn't likely to fall, so she focused on the edges in front of the den. Patiently she scraped at the edges the cougar had probably spent a lot of time building up. She probably should feel sorry for the beast who's home they were destroying, but Terra didn't care. The boulder gave a little, jolting Terra out of her place. Thinking it was moving Terra looked up, only to find it had settled in further. Looks like your push will be the one needed. Terra whispered over to Kostya.

Carefully she darted to the other side of the den, hearing the cougar inside. The smell stank, clinging to her fur. After this she was gonna take a bath. Walking around smelling like a cat was not on her list of things to do. Then again, the scent could be useful. Silently she marked the spot in her mind before returning to digging at the dirt. It was hard work, but she managed to create a nice dip for the boulder to roll into. Ready.
#15
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Kostya watch Terra as she went about her work, waiting for her signal to proceed. When she called over to him he flashed her a quick thumbs up and then quickly moved against the boulder, squaring his back against it and pushing with all the strength he could muster in his legs. For a few moments he strained against the boulder to no avail, the large rock stubbornly refusing to move. Just as he was beginning to feel tiredness creep into his limbs and began to worry that the sounds of his exertion might alert the cougar, the boulder came free of the ground with a large squelch


The sudden loss of support sent Kostya tumbling to the ground, though he quickly picked himself up and into a defensive position. Crouched low to the ground with his left arm covering his face and his right palming his knife in its sheath Kostya stayed tense in this position, waiting for the large cloud of dust to settle so that he could see what had happened.

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#16
Terra jumped as the boulder was pushed into the den. She saw something rush out from the corner of her eye. Crouching she snarled, ready to fight. She shifted into secui form, feeling insecure. They hadn't just made the cougar mad. They'd made it killing mad. When the dust settled she stared at the beast. It was large, the deer laying in front of it. The tail was missing, caught by the boulder. Other than that the beast was uninjured, and crouched protectively over it's kill. It wasn't going to give up without a fight.

Alright, so we got the deer and the cougar out. Now what? Fighting was not her strength. She could distract the cougar, or steal the deer, but she didn't trust herself to be able to kill it. Tensed she studied their enemy. The cougar had noticed them standing near what used to be it's den, and had puffed up, making it look twice as big. At least we won't be digging for our meal. Terra grinned up at Kostya. This was a lot of fun!
#17
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Kostya grinned in anticipation as the cougar left its den. The earlier irritation he had felt at the beast had vanished now, replaced by the thrill of the hunt as he regarded the beast. It was a fairly fearsome looking specimen and not something that he would have normally tackled, though Terra's presence gave him a confidence boost. Speaking of Terra he gave the smaller wolf a worried glance, even her Secui form was fairly small compared to the large cougar in-front of them.


Quietly he whispered over to her, "Terra, try an' change inta' yer' Optime form, ya'll need tha' extra size." That said he stared straight at the cougar, trying to figure out a plan of attack. "I'll try an' get its attention, see if ya' can get behind it an' go fer tha' legs or tail. Go fer pain, we'll prob'ly drive it off before we kill it" Him being the distraction was the obvious choice, he had a lot more size and muscle to resist an attack if the cougar did manage to get a hold of him. And while he didn’t think it likely they would manage to kill the cougar it wasn't something that he would mind exactly; a nice piece of cougar hide would be useful for the cloak he was putting together for the winter months.


Staring the cougar down for a few seconds Kostya burst into action. He quickly drew his knife and threw it, sliding it along the floor towards Terra, who he had noticed was unarmed, before drawing his bow and loosing a fast arrow towards the cougar in a practised motion. Without waiting to see the result of the arrow he quickly leapt to the side away from Terra, howling loudly to draw the cougars attention. His plan was to try and draw the cougar into charging him, leaping aside at the last second. One of the reasons he liked fighting in Optime form so much was that his manoeuvrability greatly increased. In Lupus form when trying to make slow movements his large muscle mass often simply slowed him down when making the small, quick movements a wolf fight entailed, but in Optime form his bulky leg muscles allowed him to push off the ground quickly and with a lot of force, giving him a lot more speed and manoeuvrability.

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#18
So Kostya was going for a kill. Terra changed into optime form as Kostya charged out, yelling at the cougar. Grabbing the knife from the ground she ran behind the cougar, slashing the tendons in the back legs. An arrow stuck out from it's back, but the cougar was holding it's ground. Noisily the cougar roared, trying to look menacing. Normally Terra would have flinched back at such a display, but the adrenaline had kicked in, and her common sense was gone.

She was supposed to be the silent partner of the pair, so Terra bit back the growl she wanted to release. Instead she circled behind, looking for an opening to grab the deer. It looked like one more charge was all it would take, and they'd get the deer, if not the cougar as well. Carelessness leads to mistakes in everyone, and the cougar was no exception. If the cougar charged Kostya, Terra felt that he could take it down.

She darted in again, trying to reach for the deer. The cougar spat at her, reaching out. Terra rolled away, and waited for Kostya's next move.
#19
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Kostya let out a growl of triumph as both Terra and him managed to get a hit on the cougar without taking any wounds in return The cougar still stubbornly stood its ground, so Kostya decided to try and move it.


From behind he quickly drew and fired another arrow, sinking it into the back of the cougars shoulder. The cougar turned around quickly with a cry of pain and as it did so Kostya darted forwards, roaring in its face before backing off, trying to lure it away from its defensive position for Terra to get a hit in. Unfortunately he underestimated the cougars reaction times as the large cat lunged swiftly at him despite its injured leg, swiping a sharp clawed paw at him as it came.


Kostya raised his bow as though to try and defend himself from the assault, though it was in vain as the cats claw broke through the thin wood easily. Fortunately Kostya had just enough time to move to the side as the cougar crashed into him and the cats claws only scored a glancing blow as the two fell to the ground.


Trying to stave off panic as the cougar fell on top of him Kostya quickly raked his claws across its face and sent a double legged kick into its chest, sending the cougar rearing up just enough for him roll out from under it, bringing himself up into a defensive posture, claws outstretched, just in-front of the angry cougar.

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#20
As soon as the cougar moved away from the deer Terra darted in, claiming the prize. She dragged it into the underbrush, and dropping it looked for Kostya. Grinning triumphantly she searched for her friend to share the victory, only to find him pushed back by the cougar. Angry Terra loosed a howl as she launched herself at the cougar. It wouldn't be taking any victims this time!

Hitting the cougar's back Terra scrambled for the knife. The cougar tried to shake her off, but she managed to cling on until she stuck the knife in. The cougar threw her then, pinning her underneath the much heavier beast. At least she'd gotten it away from Kostya. Desperately Terra tried to slip out from it's grasp, but she was larger than she was used to, unable to execute the move. The cougar lunged in, taking a chunk from her shoulder. She answered with a blow to it's face.


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