Go fetch. Hunting grounds.

Denali stared out over the hills, abundant with prey, she was sure. "Patrick," she said softly, her voice filled with awe, "this is the place. This is it!" she exclaimed to Patrick. He was her snail, and her best friend. She traveled with him tucked in the fur on the back of her neck. She was frozen to her place, wonderstruck. 'Dare I step over the boarder?' she asked herself. Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the territory of whoever it was that lived here. "Patrick, do you realize how big this is?" but before he could answer, she started up again. "In my dream, this was the place where we lived out the rest of our lives, the place where I was an invaluable healer, the place where I found my true love, the place where my pups were born." She was overflowing with emotion. she quickly noticed some wolves. Her heart soared and she jogged towards the figures. Soon, she drew close enough to determine that they were indeed wolves, the wolves who lived here, but not all of them. They hadn't seen her yet as far as she could tell. "Hello!" she called out just before arriving next to them. "I finally made it here. I was sent here, in a dream. I am a healer, trained by a witch. I was called here, to help defend this land and serve this pack," Denali said all at once, waiting for a reply. Nothing could ruin this for her.

Wolves Addressed: Those at the Hunting Grounds
Wolves Mentioned: Those at the Hunting Grounds

Howie followed Jo, a puppy, and the crazy wolf, trailing behind several feet and wondering if he should turn back.

"No," he muttered quietly to himself. "You need to be useful if you don't wanna be alone, and besides, you need to learn to hunt either way."

“What's the most important thing in life?” Jo stopped suddenly. Apparently it was most important to have a conversation with the pup at this exact moment. “Girls”

He continued on an eye-roll-worthy harangue about how ladies were the best thing since air conditioning. Howie scowled silently, his distaste for Jo growing. The wolf was teaching his - son, maybe - to objectify women already? Personally Howie thought of females as automatically above males, but that might have been because they teased him less often.

The crazy little wolf spoke suddenly. “My, my if one were such as you are, they would be careful. That stirring speech, coupled with your constant harassment of the female kind one could be seen as a chauvinistic fool”

Howie's mouth dropped open. Was this the same fellow who had been shrieking about changelings a few moments before? This version was infinitely better; Howie snickered in agreement.

"Oh and child, I offer this advice; that you should make a point to disregard his words less you wish to live in idolatry to an inconstant beast of bigotry” the fellow made to lie down, then jumped up again and looked confused. Howie couldn't decide if he was crazy or awesome.

"Hello!" A lady trotted up to them; Howie's head began to spin - so many faces!

"I finally made it here." The girl continued. "I was sent here, in a dream. I am a healer, trained by a witch. I was called here, to help defend this land and serve this pack."

Howie stared blankly, and everyone else probably did too. What was a witch?

At last, Howie decided to speak... "Hi! I'm Howie."

WOLVES ADDRESSED: Denali
WOLVES MENTIONED: Jo and Chewbo and Gladbane.
NOTES: Yes Howie knows what an air-conditioner is.

Denali stood there, waiting for one of the the wolves to respond. For a moment, she wondered if she had shocked them badly. Finally, one wolf, a little male, spoke up, though he looked uneasy. "Hi! I'm Howie." "Hello Howie," she said and dipped her head to him. "Sorry," she apologized to all of the wolves."I got a little excited. Let me re-explain. I am destined to be part of this pack. I would like to join as a healer." She looked at the collection of wolves that stood before her. There was the little, fluffy male Howie, with brownish grayish fur. There was the dark gray male with the pup. Also there was a strange wolf, he was half gray and half white, and was behaving a bit strangely. She looked at them all. This was no ordinary pack, but she supposed that she was no ordinary wolf. After all, the last thing that the witch ever told her was that 'one cannot fight fate, she does as she pleases'.

Wolves Addressed: Howie, All Wolves There
Wolves Mentioned: Howie, Jo, Chewbo, Gladbane

(Denali, can you make sure you put wolves addressed at the bottom of your post please. (Like what Howie has done) Thank you.)

Wolves Addressed: All at Hunting Grounds, Denali
Wolves Mentioned: Denali

 

"Denali," she answered, "but you can call me whatever you want," she said with a wink.

She knew what kind of wolf he was already, and she had no problem playing those games. She was quite amused by flirty males. She wasn't one to be very serious about anything. Life was a joke. She would, someday, like to settle down, but not yet. For now she just like to mess around and enjoy herself. She actually preferred hanging out with males over females. She could already tell that she'd like Jo.

"Hey guys," she turned to see another wolf. "What's your name?"

Before she could answer or really even be sure who he was speaking to, he darted off after a rabbit. She giggled with amusement, as it was clear that he was showing off. For just a second, he looked up and their eyes met. A second later, he stumbled. His leg was obviously stuck in a rabbit hole, and she couldn't help but laugh. However, from experience, she knew how badly it hurt.

She trotted over to the wolf. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't suppress a smile. She looked down at the wolf, his leg deep in the hole. More than anything, she was thankful that it wasn't her stuck in that hole. It had been before. Oh, how embarrassing it must have been for him. She looked down at the male, figuring that she should help. She heard Jo begin to speak with amusement.

"Impulse," he announced to everyone. "Don't just chase any prey you see. You need one that you're sure you can take down. Pick the sick, the weak, and the old. It's easier for us and it helps natural selection or something like that. Never pick the strong, they are needed to make more prey for us." He made his way over and asked the wolf with his leg in the hole, "Isn't that right Fyrebane?" with a smirk.

"I'll get you out," Denali offered, knowing that she was embarrassing him.

She stretched out her neck and fastened her teeth into the scruff of his neck. With a heave, she yanked him free of the rabbit hole. She was sure that he would hate her for it, but, hey, the way she saw it, he couldn't stay stuck in that hole for the rest of his life, and he either hadn't or couldn't get himself out on his own.

"You're welcome," she told him. "Your leg will be fine, just walk it off." Then she added, "And by the way, I'm Denali."

Wolves Addressed: Jo, Fyrebane
Wolves Mentioned: Jo, Fyrebane

Wolves Addressed: Denali
Wolves Mentioned: Denali, Jo, Others

Fyrebane was the perfect example of why impulse control was key to a successful hunt. Jo couldn't believe his luck when the male got himself stuck in the situation that he was currently in. He smirked at him before turning his head to the rest of the pack. These lot were the weaklings, the runts, the omegas of the pack. However, he hoped that he could make them the underdogs. Someone who someone wouldn't necessary think was a threat, but the pack's secret weapons. He liked the ring of that. He liked the idea of having a few elite members who could stand up for then pack when the strong ones couldn't. Maybe they would come in handy in the near future.

“Right” Jo announced once Fyrebane has been freed by the females. “Hunting is no easy feat my pack mates” He grinned as he stared at each one in the eye before his eyes reached Denali and gave her a wink. “No, we're not going to hunt the normal game today. You're not ready. So, we're going to pick one of our members to be the prey for us” He grinned wickedly as he cast his golden eyes at Howie. He trotted over to the male and place a paw upon his back, looking back at the rest of the pack. “Howie has kindly offered to be our pray for the day.” He smirked as his cruel plan was coming today. Or so it seemed cruel. In reality, Jo really wanted to know what this wolf was good at. He didn't look very strong and speed wasn't going to be it with those scrawny legs. So what talents did this youngster have?

“You might want to run and hide, hmm?” He whispered into the feminine looking wolf's ear. He gave him a slight push before trotting next to Fyrebane. “Give him a few seconds head start and then you can all give chase” He chirped as he lay down on the ground. He would be the ref and make sure that no one got injured too badly or just stuck again. He didn't need to hunt, he was pretty good at hunting down the ladies anyway.  

Wolves addressed: Howie and All
Notes; Lame
Word count: 369
Music: Smash and grab- The Croods

"Right," Jo announced, "Hunting is no easy feat my pack mates."

Denali trotted back over to the others after hauling the male out of the rabbit hole. She sat down by Howie, and scanned the hills. She didn't see any prey, so she wondered what in the world they could be hunting. She watched Jo as he looked at each of them. Their eyes met for a second, and he winked. 'Oh boy,' she thought to herself. 'She could really mess with this wolf.' The thought of food made her run her tongue around her lips. She hadn't eaten well in a while.

"No, we're not going to hunt the normal game today. You're not ready," he said. 'Well, some of us aren't,' she thought with a glance at Fyrebane. "So, we're going to pick one of our members to be prey for us." With a cruel smirk, the male trotted over to Howie and put a paw on his back, "Howie has kindly offered to be our prey for the day." Denali heard him whisper, "You might want to run and hide, hmm?" before giving the little wolf a push. He then moved to Fyrebane, saying, "Give him a few seconds head start and then you can all give chase."

The alpha stepped back and plopped down. She supposed that he intended to watch and maybe act as a referee. She looked out Howie. He was small and kind. She felt bad for him. Right off the bat, she had taken a liking to him, though he seemed the nervous sort. She hoped the little guy could run though, because she was gonna enjoy this. Denali stretched out her legs and shifted her weight back and fourth. She waited anxiously for Howie to take off.

Wolves Addressed: None
Wolves Mentioned: Fyrebane, Jo, Howie, Others
 

Howie watched with little interest as Jo, immediately after his I'm-not-a-chauvinist-pig spiel, hit on the new girl. Then Fyrebane went after a rabbit and got his leg stuck in a hole. Denali pulled him out, and he skulked around in embarrassment.

  Howie sat down, waiting for the hunt to start - though he'd much rather be back at the den site, getting to know the girls. That was a very Jo-like thought, he thought to himself in horror.

 Finally, Jo started to speak about actually hunting. "No, we're not going to hunt the normal game today. You're not ready." Howie frowned, a sick feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. What were they going to hunt besides prey? 

 So, we're going to pick one of our members to be the prey for us” Instantly the Mexican was on his paws - he knew exactly what Jo meant, and he wasn't going to do it! Sure enough, the alpha's eyes slid to his. "Howie has kindly offered to be our prey for the day."


"You gotta be freaking kidding me!" Howie yelped, trying to back away until he was stopped by Jo's rough paw around his shoulders. They were going to kill him. Jo led him out here to murder him. They were going to tear him to shreds on these hills and nobody would ever know. What kind of sick game was this? 

 Jo's voice sounded in his ear. "You might want to run and hide, hmm?" Howie tried not to hyperventilate. Jo gave him a rough push, and Howie didn't need any more encouragement. His heart already racing, he sped off over the hill. 

 Okay, gotta think... A small part of his mind doubted if they were actually gonna kill him. Maybe they were just gonna rough him up, and that wouldn't be too bad. But the instinct of the pursued took over, and Howie sped faster, too frightened to risk slowing down and looking over his shoulder to see where they were. Instead he tore across the grass, searching for a hiding place, his feet making no noise as he went along. 
 
 Okay, he was quiet. Silent. He could work with that, if he could just get out of their sight for a minute... Turning sharply to the side, he headed back for the trees,  toward the den site. His lungs burned. He felt like a deer, being hunted down by a pack of brutish wolves. I'm becoming a vegetarian.


  Trees were in sight, but they were far away - Howie didn't know if he could make it that far, but he was going to try. His legs were already burning as he pushed his way up a small knoll. 

 Suddenly the ground disappeared beneath him; he rolled to a stop, landing in a pathetic heap. Leaping to hi feet, he saw that the ground had fallen away, perhaps due to a miniature landslide. He was invisible, but not for long. 

 Crouching, he crept along the "Wall", grateful of his ability to move so quietly. He took deep, slow breaths lest he pant and make noise (though they could probably hear his heart.) He would move along this until it ended, then head to the trees from there and double back to camp. Yes. Good plan. He hoped he had bought himself a few extra seconds before they ate him. 

 WOLVES ADDRESSED: Jo
 WOLVES MENTIONED: All hunters
 WORDCOUNT: 565
 NOTES: Howie's taking this very seriously.

Jo watched patiently as the scared wolf ran away from them. Maybe he was a little too rough with the little guy, but where was the fun if everyone played nice. Though, he better warn the others not to actually eat Howie. Rebby would not be happy if he came back with one wolf short. “Guys, do you actually eat him. I just want you to catch him and pinned him down.” He smirked as the wolf finally vanished from his sight. “Go get him” He announced from his position.

He waited a little while before cocking an eye at his pack. “You going to get moving?” He asked as he scanned across them. Maybe they didn't know what to do? This was a training session after all. Maybe they had never gone hunting before..well he highly doubted they went on one like this, but this was the way that Jo was taught. He had to chase one of his siblings and bring them down. Some of his siblings were fast and they remained champions and the others hated it when they were the prey. It always made them exhausted chasing after them. Father would chuckle madly when they arrived empty handed. Though, it was better than being the prey. He was fast and often out witted his brothers and sisters, but he always got cocky and lost that way. Though, he highly doubted that Howie was the cocky type.

“Follow my lead then” He ordered playfully as he bounded after the small male. He loved these chases. It made him feel totally wild and his blood was boiling hot with the joy of the chase. His tongue lapsed out and his tail wagged as he followed the scent of Howie. He slightly hoped that the male was smart and used his strengths to his advantage. He followed the scent until he reached the trees. His scent was faint, but he knew that he was still here, but he couldn't locate where. He failed to see Howie sneaking past him. “Come out, come out, wherever you are, Runt” He smirked as he pressed his nose against the roots of a tree.


However, sooner than Howie would have liked, the ground broke from underneath Jo's paws and he tumbled into the same part of the forest as Howie. He shook his pelt free from dirt and his wicked golden eyes landed on the female looking male. He smirked at the male and winked at him. “There you are.” He grinned with his purely whites before he let out a loud howl calling his hunters to him. “Lets get this party started.” In a lightning flash Jo pounced forwards and aimed for the male's back. Howie was his.  

Wolves addressed: Hunting party and Howie
Music: 90's music 
Notes: Took longer than it should due to Lennox's 90's music obsession. 
Word count: 457

The words played over in Fyrebane's head several times. They weren't hunting normal prey. No, they were hunting Howie, the little brownish grayish male wolf. He had never hunted a wolf before. This would be fun. It would be more fun, though, if his leg didn't feel like it was about to fall off. He tested his weight on it, and figured that if he was careful, it would be fine to run on.

While he was busy fooling with his leg, the little guy took off. Fyrebane glanced up and realized what had happened. Before he could do anything, Jo took it upon himself to demonstrate how to hunt. Yes, this day was like no other. He had joined a pack, gotten stuck in a hole, embarrassed himself in front of women, actually considered settling down, and now, he was getting a hunting lesson from a wolf no better than him. Well, he figured he'd just follow along.

Jo took off after the involuntary wolf prey. He took off after Jo, keeping his pace slower than normal. Every time his paw hit the ground, a sharp pain sot up his leg. Finally, Fyrebane was forced to stop. He sat down and started licking his paw pathetically. Today just wasn't his day. After a moments rest, he got back up, intending to continue the chase, but Jo and Howie were both out of sight. Finally, he picked up Howie's scent and eagerly followed.

Wolves Adressed: none
Wolves Mentioned: Howie, Jo

Finally, the little male took off. Denali was surprised at how fast he could go. This was going to be a blast. No one else went after him immediately, except her. Silently, she slipped away from the others. She went around behind them and stalked towards the trees. Based on the angle at which the male was turning, he appeared to be doubling back towards the trees. She trotted quietly along the line of trees, planning to intercept him before he could head into the forest. 

Glancing back, Denali realized that Jo and Fyrebane were following Howie's trail through the field. The reddish brute stopped to mother his paw, while the gray alpha continued on. Howie reached the trees faster than she had anticipated. She darted into the trees and hid in Howie's flight path. Jo was right on the little wolf's tail. He flung himself forward, clearly intending to pin the wolf down, but Denali wasn't going to loose to him. Neither of them seemed to have noticed her yet. Silently she darted out and snatched the little guy, who was much smaller than her, by the hind leg. She yanked him away from Jo and pinned him down, placing a heavy paw on his throat. 

She looked at the pathetic little beast with playful amusement. Her tail was wagging behind her, but her face was serious. She loomed over him and stared at him coldly, letting him feel her hot breath on his neck. The tips of her off-white fangs gleamed as her lips twitched in a mad snarl. Though she truly had no intentions of hurting him, she had every intention of scaring him to death. She flexed the claws of the paw that was on his throat, and their tips pressed against his skin. She wasn't going to tear his throat out or even put a nick in his ear, but she wanted to have a little more fun with him before the Howie-hunt was over. For just a second, she wondered how far she was aloud to take this, but as long as she didn't kill him, she was sure Jo wouldn't mind.

"Now Howie," she hissed, "Have you any last words?" Denali asked before her voice spiraled into a wicked laugh.

Wolves Adressed: Howie
Wolves Mentioned: Howie, Jo, Fyrebane, Others

Howie's tongue flopped out the side of his mouth as he slowed to a canter, trying to find somewhere in the trees hard and impassible for him to slither through without being followed. 

 A blood thirsty howl made him squeak and speed up again; Jo was obviously taking great pleasure in his brutal murder. The alpha said something else, causing Howie to look over his shoulder and found Jo suspended in the air, aimed to land right in the middle of Howie's back. Oh, so the fatty plans to paralyze me before he kills me. The Mexican thought grimly. How thoughtful. He screeched to a stop and collapsed, planning for Jo to sail right over him (and look stupid in the process.)

  Suddenly something sharp pierced his leg - he had forgotten the rest of the pack! In a flash, the new girl Denali had a paw placed on his throat. She snarled as the gasping Howie moved his head to the side so her claws would stop crushing his windpipe. They stared at each other a moment, panting, Howie's eyes like saucers. 

 "Now Howie," hissed the huntress. "Have you any last words?" She burst into unsettlingly uncontrollable laughter. 

 Howie stared, completely helpless. Then he started laughing too, a tight, breathless laugh. 

  "Hah... Geez." He stuttered, attempting to push her off of him with his trembly paws. "You had me for a minute there. Oh, gosh, that was weird. But nobody actually says that before they're gonna kill someone - I mean, come on. You're a great hunter though. Good job. Awesome. Can you get off me now?" 

  Now that he was actually in the process of 'being murdered', it all seemed a little silly to him. Jo might have been a jerk, but he wasn't going to kill Howie. Only freaks did that, and Jo seemed to have a pack going for him, which would be hard to do if he killed someone. Then again, there was always the everyone-was-in-a-cult theory, though that seemed a bit ridiculous. Howie's mind finally decided to use logic over panic - they probably were just messing around with him. Probably.

 WOLVES ADDRESSED: Denali
 WOLVES MENTIONED: all hunting
  NOTES: derp

(Grr. Didn't think about that. Won't happen again. Must. Read. Posts. More. Carefully. *slams face into keyboard*)

"Hah... Geez." The little wolf shuttered, paws fumbling against her. It was clear that this was a feebly escape attempt. Her wicked laugh quickly turned to a fading giggle. "You had me for a minute there. Oh, gosh, that was weird. But nobody actually says that before they're gonna kill someone - I mean, come on. You're a great hunter though. Good job. Awesome. Can you get off me now?" 

She lifted her paw from his throat and stepped to the side and jokingly added, "Ya know Howie, you'd make a pretty good rabbit."

Looking over at Jo, she wondered how he felt about this. After all, she had snatched away his prey. Then she wondered where everyone else could be. Fyrebane had stopped and she didn't know where he was now. Other than that, she wasn't aware of anybody else joining in. So much for a hunting lesson. Hoping she hadn't frightened Howie too badly, she was about to ask if she hadn't choked him when she noticed something. 

Upon further inspection, she confirmed her belief that this plant she was now standing over was undoubtedly chervil. How odd it was to find such a plant here, for they were only known to grow in human gardens. This plant had a sweet smell, fern-like leaves, and tiny white flowers. The roots were good for a stomach ache if eaten, and the leaves could be applied to wounds and would help heal infections. Denali then realized that she hadn't put any thought into the herbs she would need for her practices. Well, they were eventually bound to make their way back to the den. When they arrived, she decided that she could find a good nook to store her herbs in, and her stocks would grow quickly.

She immediately seized the opportunity to collect as much of the rare plant as possible, carefully pulling the intact leaves and roots from the ground to form a small pile. She was sure to leave just enough so that the plant could grow back. Once satisfied with her collection, Denali meticulously tucked the roots and leaves under her chin and trotted back over to Jo and Howie.
 
"Chervil," she explained, chin pressed to throat. "A rare find."
 
Wolves Addressed: Howie, Anyone Listening
Wolves Mentioned: Howie, Jo, Fyrebane, Others

Jo was about to land on Howie, but the small male was quickly pulled away from him. The Alpha landed dumbfounded. He was sure to make sure that Howie would be his. There was no way the male could move fast enough to escape him. Jo was an excellent hunter and barely anything escaped his path. He was good at sinking his teeth into his into the flesh of the animal and bringing it down. He was a pretty good fighter. Though, he preferred to leave the fighting to the bigger males. Jo was more slim than muscular. So fighting was not on his to-do list.

He cast his golden eye at the male before he saw that the new healer, Denali was on top of his with her paw at his throat. She stole his catch. He gave a smirk at the thought. At least he had one good hunter. The others will catch on soon...or so he hoped. He had a good pack. All of them had skills, just some had to find them first.

 "Hah... Geez." "You had me for a minute there. Oh, gosh, that was weird. But nobodyactually says that before they're gonna kill someone - I mean, come on. You're a great hunter though. Good job. Awesome. Can you get off me now?" 

“No one was going to kill you, runt” Jo chuckled as he made his way to the others. The male was clearly terrified as he tried to push the female off. He could clearly see his paws shaking against Denali. So Jo could clearly see that Howie would be no main hunter or guardian for the pack, but a spy or something else that required the skill of being silent would be a good asset to the pack. Jo liked to find out everyone's skills first hand. Rebby had brains and she was a calm, motherly soul that was good for comforting others and conjuring up plans. Boga was strong which would be good for any battles the pack may face and Shelyn was a bitch, end of story.

“Ya know Howie, you'd make a pretty good rabbit."

“Hey, calm down children. No one is going to be a rabbit tonight” He joked as he smiled down at Howie. “You did good, Runt. You're pretty good at sneaking around, aren't you?” He asked, but there was no need for an answer as Jo already knew it. Howie had skills, but he just didn't know how useful his skill actually was. Only when a dire situation arrived would Howie really be able to show how amazing his skills were, but the pack was calm right now, so there was no need to show off his skill quite yet.

His attention was taken by the female as she studied some sort of plant. He watched her as her fawn brown eyes focused on the small plant. She was rather beautiful and a healer was usually smart, right? They had to know all the different plants and the different ways they could treat someone. So Jo always thought of them as smart, maybe the smartest wolves in a pack.

"Chervil,"  "A rare find."

“You got a good eye, babe” He grinned as he nudged her gently. “Right, lets go find the stranglers, and then maybe go on a real hunt.” He announced before trotting back to where they had left the others. Hopefully nothing happened to them during his absence. Rebby would surely kill him if anything had happened to them. However, a scent blew over, one that Jo had not smelt before. A stranger was in his territory. He took his sniff to the sky and took another sniff. No. There was more than one. Two strangers in his land. Did he dare send out his troops to find the intruders or just return back to those left behind and wait for therm to come to them. The latter would be a better risk. He could fight with those with him than to leave them and battle on his own. “Hurry up” He encourage Howie and Denali. He wanted to get back with the hunting party before the intruders came pondering down.

Wolves addressed: Howie and Denali.
Notes: Lazy post. Lame
Word count: 703
Music: Croods ost

Denali stepped off, allowing Howie to pop up like a frightened rabbit and give his coat a good shake.

"Ya know Howie, you'd make a pretty good rabbit." Denali joked before wandering off. Howie just snorted and felt bad about his life.

“No one was going to kill you, runt.” Jo actually smiled, almost sincerely. “You did good, Runt. You're pretty good at sneaking around, aren't you?”

Howie shrugged. "It's my only talent, so I use it."


Then Jo got distracted. “You got a good eye, ba-" Howie stopped listening, because for a moment he almost liked Jo and he didn't want to ruin it. He moved off, casually looking about him.

 Suddenly he gasped, freezing in shock. Two massive wolves - larger than any Howie had seen in his entire life - stood at a distance; one was cautiously walking toward them.

"Uh, hey," announced the Mexican, who was probably less than half the size of these new intruders. "Um... Wolves are coming."


Jo seemed to have already noticed. "Hurry up," he was saying as he began moving toward the trees.

Howie followed, trying not to freak out at the giant monster wolves behind him. "Are we just gonna let them follow us home?"

WOLVES ADDRESSED: Jo, the world
WOLVES MENTIONED: Denali, the dire wolves
NOTES: lame post.

Again, Denali's inner healer had taken over. She knew the other wolves wouldn't understand, but she knew how lucky she had been. Chervil was a very valuable herb, as well as being incredibly difficult to obtain. It was great for injuries, infections, and stomach aches. With the collection of wolves she had met today, she could tell that she would need all the chervil she could get her paws on. Why, the big red brute had already hurt his leg today. She wondered what kind of damage had been done. Perhaps it was a simple bruise, or maybe just a little sprain. Well, if it hurt bad enough, he'd have to come to her. Then she could find out for sure. However, these were all thoughts for another time.

"Hey, calm down children. No one is going to be a rabbit tonight," Jo said comically. "You did good, Runt. You're pretty good at sneaking around, aren't you?" he asked Howie, and when Denali thought about it more, he actually was. Howie replied, "It's my only talent, so I use it." "You got a good eye, babe," Jo said, referring to her find. "Right, lets go find the strangers, and then maybe go on a real hunt."

She shot him a sly smile. Howie started to say something else, but she didn't catch it. At first, she didn't understand what he meant. What 'strangers' was he talking about? She hadn't caught any traces of other wolves. Then, it occurred to her that perhaps the chervil was dulling out the other scents. She decided that she would just take his word about the strangers. Denali set the precious chervil down for a moment though, just to see if she could detect anything. A faint scent came to her. Two unfamiliar wolf scents weren't hard to pick out. With that, she snatched up her plants once again. She wasn't worried about the danger they could bring. It would be three on two. Well, sort of. Howie could just run and hide. She was confident that she could handle herself. Jo looked like he could hold his own, too.

"Hurry up," Jo urged, encouraging them to follow.

With a glance back at Howie, she got up and followed Jo. It seemed as though they were heading back to the others. She guessed that his strategy was to get back to the group and wait for the intruders to find their way to them. It was not exactly how she would have done it, but it should work. As she trotted after him, Denali kept her chervil tucked safely under her chin. Despite the urge to yawn, she was not going to risk loosing her find. Her thoughts soon drifted around to Jo. She only had one word, 'flirt'. Not that she wasn't one herself. She did like to play around, have fun, and sometimes, get a little too wild. Then she thought of Howie. He was an awkwardly funny, sheepish little wolf, but she still enjoyed his company.

This made her realized how eager she was to meet the whole pack. In her dreams, the dreams that had led her here in the first place, told her much more. Apparently, this was where she would find her true love. She had no idea who it would be, but she knew one thing. It most likely wasn't going to be Jo or Howie. In her dreams, though, she had been told that her guidance wouldn't end yet. Ah well, she wasn't ready to be tied down yet anyway.

Wolves Addressed: none
Wolves Mentioned: Jo, Howie, Fyrebane, Others, Strangers

"Are we just gonna let them follow us home?

Jo almost tripped over his paws at the comment. He looked back at the two large wolves and looked back at where he had left the hunting party. If there was more than these two, they'd easily be able to get the others and kill them. Chewbo would not stand a chance, he was as good as dead. He wasn't sure that Glad was a fighter or if he'd be fast enough to run away. Fyrebane may be their only hope, but not even he could stop a pack of large wolves like them. However, Howie was right. Maybe he was just leading them to the others, maybe they'd be safe if he stayed away. He hated it when his job became life or death. He didn't like the safety of others under his belt. He hated his job as Alpha, but it was something that destiny had thrown upon him and there was no way out. He let out a frustrated breath as he looked in the direction of his son. His decision might end up killing him and that was no way for a pup to go, not after all the trouble he had gone through to get to the pack. However, he'd rather fight and protect his pup, then to let him die alone. “Not home, but back to the hunting party. I'd rather all my members be with me if things get hairy than to let them fight alone.” He commented with a serious tone, but a smile was added at the end in hope that it would calm the other wolf down.

With a single nod Jo made his way back to the others. They were still patiently waiting where he had left them. No harm had been brought upon them. “Yo guys. Having fun while we hunted?” He joked as he ruffled his son's head. He gave him a wink before standing beside him. He hoped that his decisions were right and wouldn't cost the lives of his pack. With that thought, Jo rose his head to the sky and let out a mighty howl. “If you bring peace, it's cool to chill with us. If you're here to crash the party, buzz off.” He hoped that the rest of his pack joined in with the invite/threat. He wanted them to know that he had a pack that was willing to run strangers that posed a threat to the pack.

He let his voice die out and waited with a puffed chest. He wanted to show that he was not a Alpha to mess with. Though, he kept a casual grin on his face also showing that he was welcome of those who would not harm his pack.

Wolves addressed: Howie, Cat, Rob and the rest of the hunting party.
Word count: 463

Senpell walked into the lands of the pack, the smell of many wolves alerted him and he began to think about howling, he was no enemy, but what if the pack was hostile? he didnt know and the only way figure it out was finding them. the male kept walking a few meters, it was a hard desition he hated hard desitions, a hostile pack would attack him and he was unable to fight, but he needed help anyways, his hind leg was driving him crazy, he didnt know if it was broken or what, it just was in an odd position.

the black male made his desition and after taking a very deep breath he howled, the distorted howl was the only thing that indicated his presence.

Wolves Addressed: none...the pack
Wolves Mentioned: none...
notes: guys...this is lame compared to your posts...please forgive me