Let the horns howl
#1
Putting everything into one post. Participants feel free to either copy and paste your posts out or apply to the maintenance thread for your +1 post count.

[Neela post - Thread starter]

OOC - This is a Non-Mandatory pack thread, cougars are in the area and Neela needs help to drive them out! 2nd August, 1:30 PM. Neela is currently a couple miles upstream from the fort, along the river that runs through it.

IC - Neela stayed completely still, not moving a muscle even when her hands screamed in complaint, or a splash of water went up her nostrils. If she moved, she was likely dead for just upstream of where the collie was hiding; anchored to the bottom by her hands and infinitely grateful for the mud coating what parts of her were exposed, was a full grown cougar. Normally not a massive threat to a smart Luperci it was more than enough to be a serious threat in her current state; being pregnant tended to make to harder for one to fight. Not for the first time Neela wished she had listened to the part of her instincts that had told her to curl up into a ball besides Tony at home, rather than the part that demanded she hunt down any possible threats.

Hearing about the Cougar attacking Alyssum had been bad enough for Neela’s state of mind but with Tony being injured something within her had snapped, driving her out to make sure that the territory, and more importantly her pups, were safe from roaming cougars. Unfortunately she had found that the opposite was true. A little snooping in places that one wouldn’t normally think to check had revealed to her that not only were there cougars still in the area, but there were a lot of them. In her time floating there Neela had seen at least 3 fully grown cats and an adolescent entering and leaving the place they had made their den; a partially submerged opening under an overhang that she assumed led to a cave. It seemed that the cougars had been travelling along the river, using the water and mud to mask their scent and escape detection by the Cavaliers.

Finally the cat that she assumed was a sentry looked away and Neela took her chance, fingers loosening from the thick mud and allowing the current to carry her downstream towards the fort. Neela drifted for about a mile before leaving the water.

Cougars in the territory, this close to the fort and in such great numbers, was unacceptable but Neela couldn’t stand to have the dangerous felines so close when she was pregnant. Thankfully the reckless part of her was now muted; the cougars needed to be killed or moved but like hell was Neela going to do it alone. The collie paused for a moment, nostrils flaring as she made sure that one of the cats hadn’t followed her before she leant back her head and howled, calling forth any that could hear her.


[Aro Post]

Aro heard the call, and he was aware of the urgency in the tone. He shot up, grabbing his belt and making sure his sword was firmly in place. He ran toward the call and his nose found the scent. Cougars. He hoped no one was hurt and but there was no time for that. He made sure to call buck back home, the fawn not testing Aro, took off to safety. He called for Raoth, as he ran, hoping the coyote was ready. The moment Raoth came Aro would make it a point to give him a hunting knife. His eyes found his brother's mate and it made it all that more important to be here. He would protect her with his life. He wasn't aware of the woman's skill, but he wouldn't test what the woman can do.

He came to her side. A hand falling to her back, "What's the status...I smell them.." He spoke, his deep voice a whisper and short as he looked around trying to trail where his nose could detect their scent. None were in sight yet, but he was ready to fight to protect the pack, and most importantly Tony's mate.

[Jazper Post]

Only two days had passed since Jazper found himself fighting and killing a cougar that had attacked and severely harmed Alyssum. He had instructed that she not leave Kingsbury until her wounds and the recent fever she was suffering from subsided. As for himself the Sole found himself unable to shift down from Optime form, his torso tightly wrapped with bandages covering the medicated cuts all along his back thanks to the beast. However the physical pain was easily bearable because his mind had been very preoccupied with the news that Skye was pregnant, and with his pups no less. What had started out as a one-night act of reassurance and friendship had turned into a long-term parental contract.

Lying in an open valley, looking up at the clouds in the sky, he wondered how they would raise them. Obviously the pups would have to stay in d’Arte with their mother, they would need the nurturing but where did he fit in? He knew that much like when Ghita became pregnant, he would need to step up to the plate and help provide for the pups, let them know he existed, but he wasn’t sure if he would be able to be as present as he would like. One thing was for sure though, in a months time his duties of running the pack and visiting the newborns would spread the male thin.

A howl near by rang out, interrupting his thoughts and sending his mind in a spin. Cougars. How could there be and cougars, hadn’t he killed the only one? Pushing his aching body to his feet her pushed himself in the direction of the call. It didn’t matter to him how badly his body yelled at him to stop, the Sole was very aware that Neela was carrying pups, pups who’s blood was his own, and that very thought pushed the pain far away from his thoughts. His own call bid forth his warriors, every able body in the area. Nothing would harm his daughter-in-law or the life she carried.

He arrived after Aro had, a hand reaching out to lay on the boy’s shoulder as his own ears flicked about listening for the steps of the wild cats. Luckily the Knight never left the Fort without his sword on his back and the knives in his belt. Concern filled eyes looked to Neela, “Are you okay? How many are there?” His nose sniffed at the air, the scent of cougars clearly in the area. How could he have been so stupid not to check the area for more after the initial attack.

[Raoth Post]

Raoth had been hanging out in his master's home, no interest in doing anything useful. He could be training, but Raoth didn't feel comfortable among all the pack members. Instead he was busy tearing up the wood beneath the bed, working on making a route from there to the outside. Another possible escape route. Raoth wasn't being watched that closely, and could easily escape in other ways. It was just pent up energy being spent destructively.

A call from Aro promptly pulled him out though. Believing Aro was in danger he ran out as quickly as he could, moving past obstacles as if they didn't even exist. As soon as he was at Aro's side he sniffed carefully at his master, expression questioning. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Minus the scent of cougars that another pack member bore. Raoth looked at the pregnant dog, expression empty of emotion. Accepting the hunting knife he fiddled with it, wondering what was going on.

Surely they weren't going to be hunting the cougars? Even knowing that Aro was a warrior, Raoth's training kicked in. He was to protect his master. Keep him safe from danger. If they went into battle, Raoth would make sure that Aro was kept from the worst of the attacks. He could take the pain. He had taken injuries that were pretty bad when in training. And when Amy got drunk. Or bored. He was ready for this fight.

[Adelle Post]

Adelle hadn't been back for very long. For the most part Adelle had been keeping to herself. Alone, she was sleeping out in the forest. Her fur was thick with burrs, unkempt. Tracking her down was difficult, as she was always on the move. Remaining in the pack, but not part of it any longer. She didn't feel connected, her emotions dulled by pain. The howl did awaken the part of her that remembered why she didn't leave. She was loyal to her pack, a warrior. And now they needed her.

Shyly she stopped on the edge of the group, looking them over. Neela, heavy with pups. Jazper, his torso bound up. Aro and his coyote, standing ready to fight. The smell of cougars could be picked up from any point. Stepping out she moved over to Jazper's side. She felt a little out of place, looking to the alpha for comfort. She wanted to help out, but it had been a while since she had actually come out. It felt strange, and very lonely.


[A reminder to the four that had already joined. From what the SA has said you will be able to apply for +1 post count in the maintenance thread for this thread. Since this was so new that will actually get everyone up to their correct postcount for this Big Grin]

[This thread will be left open until Thursday for any late joiners and will then be continued with an IC post from Neela. If you wish to make some form of post to regain your post count easily please do so before then.]



EDIT: I managed to recover all the responses through Google Cache. Working them into this now.
#2
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Looks like nobody else is coming. Sorry about the wait.

Word Count → 300


Neela sighed in relief when it was her packmates that answered her call and not, as she had begun to fear, cougars that had heard her and realised what was happening. Indistinct howls were common enough in a pack territory that the cougars had evidently started ignoring them.


Neela sighed in relief when not one, but two of the Knight males showed up. With herself not much good for fighting Neela felt much better about the whole thing with the two large males alongside her.”Aro. Jazper. I’m glad to see you two.” she said happily. Neela was just about to answer Jazper’s question when she picked up the sound of more wolves approaching. Neela waited for the other two to arrive, before she spoke.


“As ye can probably smell, there are cougars about.” she began, a little more confident and calm now that she wasn’t alone, “I caught a scent when I was by the river earlier. Clever bastards had been using the water to travel, hiding their scent.” Neela twisted her muzzle, jerking it opposite the flow of the river, “They’ve got themselves a hidey hole set up about a mile or so upstream. A cave running off the riverbed, last I checked they were all inside.”


Neela hesitated here, pausing for a minute to think before continuing, ”We’d need ta lure em out. The hole is pretty small and most of ye are very big. I might be able ta squeeze in but well… yeah that probably wouldn’t work out very well right now.” Neela patted her stomach, ”I was thinking of maybe finding some prey, a deer or something, and injuring it upstream. Hopefully if we let some blood go down with the current it’ll draw them out.” She gazed around the assembled Cavalierites, suddenly nervous, ”Sound good? Or anyone got a better idea?”


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#3
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Out of character

Word Count → 000


The tuxedo man looked back his eyes finding his father's. The touch making him smile a little, concern for Neela still in his eyes. His oceanic eyes looked back to the collie woman listening as she spoke, "..I don't ignore the calls of family, especially the expecting.." His muzzle moved suggestively to her stomach. He then gave a disarming grin before she continued as the others had arrived. His mind reeled with her words and he became rather pensive. Eyes cast down.


Soon he looked up to her, "We definitely need to lure them out...and give them the message that this isn't a place to call home...let's not worry about what kind of kill, I'm sure anything we gut of substantial size should get them....but what is the plan for when they come? Are we to execute them all...or is the plan to just make them leave the lands? How far are we going to go with this?" Aro was all for getting rid of the cougars, he just felt that if they didn't need to kill all of them, then he wouldn't. Perhaps they would run the moment they saw them. Aro hadn't had to fight against a mountain lion before, so he didn't know what to expect. "...it might benefit us to stay out of the water...we don't want to announce our ambush..' Aro felt like he was just blabbing his mind, oh well...


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#4
Raoth looked at the pregnant female, not caring who she was beyond the fact that she was the reason why Aro was here, and probably going to get hurt. The intelligence the cougars had displayed fascinated Raoth as he thought about it. That was a trick he'd have to keep in mind if he ever needed to move without being tracked. Aro's reference to the dog as family did tick Raoth off a little, as possessive as he was, but he managed to push that aside in order to concentrate on the information they were being told. The information was clean, letting them know. Cougars, in the pack? Dangerous. They'd have to be removed. Or killed. Or anything else he could think of.

The idea was stupid. Really stupid. Lure them out? It would be better to bottleneck them and kill them one by one as they exited the den they'd claimed. Or trap them inside, and let them starve to death. This way sounded dangerous, and rather foolhardy. He listened to Aro, agreeing that the prey didn't matter. They could probably get a good meal out of it at the end. The coyote was all for killing all of them, making sure that none of them could pose a threat ever again. Not that he could inform anyone what he thought of all of this. All he could do was stand at the ready, and hope they didn't do anything stupid. If danger struck, only Aro would be receiving Raoth's protection.
#5
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As Neela explained the situation his brow frowned. He knew the damage a single cougar could cause to even the largest of canines. They were powerful, swift and agile, a difficult opponent even singularly. With the cougars hiding in a den it would be suicide to march in and attack, they needed the home advantage and that meant tricking them. Aro continued the conversation and the Sole waited quietly, listening and thinking before he joined in, answering his son’s questions with his own opinions. “The large cat’s are very dangerous Aro, strong and fast. If they attack you must attack to kill and do not let them get above you.” Pausing he added, “Hopefully we wont have to kill them all though.”

The movement of the stream rang clear in his ears, a water attack would be fine but what they needed was an ambush. “We’ll stick to the trees.” His voice was calm, his words confident. “We’ll stay downwind and wait for them to find the prey.” His mind wandered to the catch now. Neela was in no condition to hunt and with cougars around he felt personally responsible for her safety. Golden eyes turned to his son, “You and Raoth go fetch us some bait. A ‘coon or a large hare will do fine. I will stay with Neela and wait in the brush until you return.” Turning his sun kissed face back to his daughter-in-law he hoped she had no objection, though he waited for her thoughts.



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#6
Her frame was tense, listening to the chatter around her. The position the cougars had taken was a strong one. Adelle wasn't too sure if she would be much help fighting when they were up in their den like that. She was large, but that didn't mean much when fighting in an enclosed space. She nodded her head as Neela spoke. Luring them out would be their best bet. A battle much like the ones she'd daydreamed about was about to break out, though their opponents were cats, not wolves.

Turning to Jazper Adelle nodded her head. They wouldn't be giving the cougars any chances. Not with how dangerous they were. She would fight, and do her best to kill them when she could. Nodding Adelle settled down, ready to wait with Jazper and Neela for Aro and Raoth to return with the prey. Adelle had thought they might need something bigger to catch the attention of the large cats, but perhaps a rabbit would work well enough.
#7
Yeeeaahhhhh I really dropped the ball on this. Business with Uni and plain forgetfulness are to blame, sorry Sad

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OOC.

Word Count → 000

Neela’z muzzle twitched at Aro’s statement; she didn’t particularly like the idea of killing the cougars just for living there but they were dangerous animals, easily capable of injuring a full grown wolf never mind a wandering pup. She didn’t like the idea of wanton death, but she would happily kill all the cougars with her bare heands if it kept her unborn children safe and she said as such, ”They’re dangerous Aro; if we can drive them off that’s all well and good but we have to clear them out.”


Neela nodded at Jazper’s instructions, though it niggled at her to do so. Neela wanted to help, to be useful but she could hardly hunt like this; really she would just have to be happy that Jazper wasn’t ordering her back to the fort. Jazper had given his orders and there was little more she could say so Neela simply strolled over to a comfortable looking bush and sat down, waiting for the preparations to be made so everything could get underway.


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#8
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Short and sweet...let's get this thing a rollin'-

Word Count → 000


Aro soaked in everyone's input. Taking to heart the fact he would have to kill if need be. That was fine, he could do that. It seemed his father was on the same page as him. He didn't want to have to kill, but if one came at him with the intent. He wouldn't hesitate. Aro nodded to both his father and to Neela, "...let's go Raoth! We need to hunt down some vermin..." Aro raced off some ways, knowing prey wouldn't been as close as he'd prefer it to be. His nose scanned for the nearest scent, and he found a squirrel. It was in it's nest not too far from the ground. It had to have been a new adult being not wise with the placement of the next. It was also a plump little guy, maybe he just couldn't get high with how fat he was. Aro snuck close onto the sleeping bastard and grabbed him by the tail causing a comotion before wacking him against the tree sharply knocking him out.


He rushed back to his father and Neela with Raoth at his side. "With this do?" He held the knocked out squirrel by the tail. Hopefully it would work, the squirrel was sure to have some brain damage if it wasn't slipping into death by now. It would make for a great snack.

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#9
Relief poured over his face as Jazper scolded Aro for suggesting something so foolhardy. Raoth would hate for his master to get hurt because he tried to do something as stupid as be merciful with a critter that was ready to tear them all apart. The request to hunt was simple enough, Raoth nodding his head. He could take down whatever was needed as a lure. The young coyote followed obediently after Aro as they quickly trotted into the woods. Raoth's senses were on high alert as Aro grabbed a fat squirrel and killed it.

They were fairly lucky, as Raoth managed to grab and kill a rabbit that had started out of the bush at the squirrels fight for life. With the double prey they headed back, Raoth dropping it down at Aro's feet without a second thought of who he really should be giving his prey to. He settled down close by and looked at the others with slight suspicion in his eyes. What would they do with the prey now to grab the attention of the cougars? He was ready to fight. Raoth wanted to kill.


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