the raven king
#1
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It was a dismal place, an eerie place, Hallow's Ruin. Sunlight filtered through the trees, landing on the forest floor in a creepy array of spectral glows, somehow out of place in the dark woods. The trees, ramose with branches and twigs, watched over the quiet clearing, empty but for old blood and strange markings no one could decipher.

Nathaniel traced his finger idly over one of the strange markings on the trees; they were just there, unknown, unseen except for those who ventured into the dark twisted array of trees and dead leaves. There weren't many who did so - there were other places, rich with prey and other Infernians, to be that did not involve strange relics, dim light, and eerie silence.

However, as every rose had a thorn, every dark cloud had a silver lining as well; occasionally, large game wandered through the Hallow's Ruin, which was usually so devoid of life. It was this fact that kept Nathaniel concealed in the undergrowth in his Secui form, the larger, hulking shape hidden in the darkness; it would be easy to sniff out game that wandered through, not expecting any predators to be lurking about.

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#2
Feel free to have Nate spot their prey 8D Wraith will follow!
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[/html]Wraith did not often venture out this far west. Although she enjoyed scouting the borders, it took her a long time to make it out this way and often would rather try scouting around other packs, as her rank dictated. Today, she was thinking about making the journey farther north to see what packs lay beyond Salsola. She recalled that they had allied with them--even if they were a pack of wolves, which did bother her a bit--against Boreas, so she was curious to know if there was anything else beyond their borders.

As she made her way west, she found herself entering Hallow's Ruin, an honestly rather creepy and quiet place. She felt out of place in her large secui form. She felt as though she was too big, too loud, and too noisy. It felt wrong.

She was considering turning east or west to avoid the mist and the thin trees, but she caught the scent of her brother not too far away. She wiggled in excitement and then headed out to find him.

He was well hidden, she realized. The air was very still and she would not have caught his scent if not for the sudden, subtle shift. It also happened that she was practically on top of him when she smelled him. It only took her a few steps before she spotted him, waiting. She grinned when she realized he was hunting. She quietly walked over to him and stood to his right so that he could see her. Then, she trotted over to find her own hiding place so that they could find something together.[html]
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#3
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Nathaniel's fur stood on end for a short time as he scented the smell of another life - but he quickly relaxed when he realized that it was Wraith, slowly approaching where he was. He saw her out of the corner of his eye and gave her a sideways smile, before she crept to a more discrete place to hide and lay in wait for prey.

Glazing over her scent with his nose, he reached out further with his senses, attempting to see what other creatures were hiding in the thick, dense air of the creepy place. While he did so, he slowly shifted back into his Lupus form - it was not as fast or strong as his Secui, but it was more natural, at least to him. It wasn't long before he smelled a smell of prey - deer, not too far from where they were. He silently walked out of the undergrowth, indicating with his tail for Wraith to follow his now-Lupus form to where he would find the prey.

Since the air was so dense, and the atmosphere so strange and eerie, few went here, making it prime real estate for prey animals to hide and live. Not for long, however, Nathaniel thought as he followed the trail that the deer made.

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#4
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[/html]Wraith was quick to find a new hiding spot after Nathaniel nodded his approval. She waited, quiet, watching for any prey that might wander near. She had chosen a hiding spot slightly uphill so that she would be able to survey the land around her with greater ease, but in the end, it didn't seem to make much of a difference since the area was so flat and treeless in general. There were small clumps here and there, and both she and Nathaniel had found the only sources of protection in the surrounding area. It was salt and open plains and little else.

She flicked her ear to one side when she heard Nathaniel shift and kept her eyes trained ahead. She could now see something moving farther off in the distance: deer. Nathaniel was quick to move out, so Wraith followed him, trailing behind. It would be best if they took slightly different paths so they could work together, with one driving the deer to the other to fell it.

It was a group of fix or six. Since it was later in the year, many of the youth had grown and were now full of spirit and hooves. She couldn't see an older, less agile deer among the mix, so she hoped that there was one after all. If not, they could try to push them into the mud to trap them, but even then, they would risk getting stuck themselves.

Wraith slowly moved farther away from Nathaniel, sleeking through the grasses silently and quickly. So far, none of the deer had spotted them.[html]
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#5
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He could hear Wraith following behind him quickly, her heavy footsteps betraying her Secui form and her quick speed showing the thrill of the hunt. As they broke through the thick forest and underbrush of the strange place, he could now see the group of deer - there were not a lot, but it was still food. They didn't seem to sense the coyotes yet.

He kept low and in the shadows, his Lupus form feeling sleek and hidden among the darkness. He could now see Wraith, further away from him; if he rushed at the deer, they would run straight towards the woman. Without a warning, he launched himself out of the bushes, barking at the deer and frightening them.

Blinded by terror, some of the small herd scattered, running in all different directions. One of the deer, a younger one with strong muscles, ran straight to where Wraith was lying in wait in the shadows; Nathaniel ran towards the deer himself, feeling the adrenaline rushing in his blood, waiting for Wraith to pounce onto the deer and end its life.

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#6
Had Wraith spot the badger Big Grin
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[/html]Wraith shifted anxiously. Since she wasn't sure which way Nathaniel would be directing their prey, as there was quite a lot of open space, she was worried that she had picked a bad hiding spot. Her fears were allayed, however, when she realized that Nathaniel knew where she was hiding and would do his best to drive one of the deer toward her. Still, she had to remain cognizant of her shortcomings: her pelt was a deep reddish-brown, so while she was able to blend in to her surroundings where trees dominated, in these grassy, muddy plains, she wasn't sure if she'd stick out or blend in. She would have to be careful, as the grasses could only conceal so much.

She heard Nathaniel bark at the deer and in a flurry of movement, saw a deer charging toward her right, she changed locations and moved closer. As she picked up speed and headed around to cut the deer off, she caught wind of a new scent and heard a low growl off to her left, triangulated between herself, Nathaniel, and the deer.

She didn't want to lose her prey, but she could tell something was not right. There was something else here.

"Nathaniel! Watch out!" she shouted, but couldn't quite figure out what she was warning him of, or whether it was coming for Nathaniel, herself, or their prey.[html]
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#7
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As the deer ran towards Wraith, he could see her darkish fur move from one end of the bush to the other, in a prime position to pounce upon the deer and finish it off with a blow to the neck - or so Nathaniel thought, in any case. So incensed and enthralled in the chase that he was, he did not notice the strange, almost threatening presence that permeated the area, nor did he think of anything but the chase until Wraith sharply barked out his name, snapping him out of his reverie.

Nathaniel's head whipped towards his kin, a bemused expression on his face. "Wha' was that for? The deer got awa -" he was suddenly cut off from his exclamation of indignation when a sharp smell filtered through his nose, causing him to look about the area in suspicion.

He neared Wraith, upper lip curled in aggression, ready to take on the strange, invisible foe whose scent he did not recognize - it was certainly not canine, nor was it feline, nor was it a prey animal - he had never scented anything like it, and it confused and angered him that he did not know what it was.

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#8
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[/html]When Nathaniel spoke up, Wraith knew he didn't understand. There was a moment--a slow pause--before everything changed. One moment, they were hunting deer and then Nathaniel's face fell and it was as though something was hunting them. Wraith could hear angry growling and it sounded like it was coming from everywhere all at once. It made her fur stand on end and she immediately tensed and lowered herself to the ground in a defensive crouch.

As Wraith heard the creature, Nathaniel smelled him. She could smell it now, too, she realized. It was some sort of rat; she'd seen them before and knew that they were dangerous.

She stepped back and bumped into something, and for a second, she thought it was the animal. She whipped her head around and saw that Nathaniel had slunk over to her side--for protection, she suspected. They wouldn't be able to fight this thing alone.

Just as soon as she glanced away, a new sound echoed in the grasslands. She turned her head back just in time to see a black and white creature hissing, spitting, and clawing at them. Wraith barked in response, her nerves screaming at her to run (or was it stay?). For a few moments, the thing kept its distance, but it seemed angry (even angrier than before, that was) and was moving closer and closer. [html]
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#9
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Nathaniel slid closer to Wraith, hackles raised and teeth bared at whatever was growling at them - he felt like a prey animal now, and he didn't like it one bit. His head swung from side to side, attempting to discern where the sounds and smells were coming from - and before he could form a cohesive thought, he heard the growl escalate into a snarl, and the gnashing of teeth accompanied the sound.

He whipped his head around, coming face to face with the strange, large creature that had been stalking them. It looked stocky, with a long body and a long face. It was black and white, but Nathaniel could not describe it any further than that, for it lunged forward quickly with its strangely long claws.

The coywolf scrambled backwards, but not before the creature slashed at his leg. The shallow wound began to bleed, and Nathaniel's aggression returned ten-fold, causing him to snarl viciously at the thing. He placed himself between it and Wraith, although he did not know how strong the creature was, or even what it was.

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