Hunting for Spring

[Tiny]

Tiny bounds in in urhan. He is a simple grey wolf with some red striping along the haunches.
But here in the hisil, his face glows with Renown. Including some new brands on his face, demonstrating his honor and purity. They join the other brands on his chest and arms, showing a well rounding of following in Luna's steps.

He sees the pack and howls loud and clear in the twilight of the hisil. <<Glory to Clarion's Call!>>

He has a plan today, and makes steady pace to Bleeds Well. The oath Master should be pleased to hear of this. Who knows, perhaps others would join in as well.

[Hector]

Hector growls. This is not the deep throated rumble of an angered or affronted predator; rather, it is the lupine equivalent of a purr as the Alpha greets his beta in turn. Maybe - at last - some of their Totem is bleeding over into the Alpha.

Bird gives Hector pause. Not in a bad way. Hector raises a paw and looks at the omega with a head tilted to one side.

<<You honor me much>>

The Alpha uses the First Tongue, speaking slow so that his lupine jaws can enunciate the ancient language. Hector returns Bird's greeting in the intonation of his voice and in the posture he assumes.
Tiny approach - and howl - snatches Hector's attention away. His whole body shivers with a burst of energy; his fur ripples as the howl frizzes through him. His posture shifts; he stands tall, head alert, ears swivelling. He pants in excitement and his eyes spin in their sockets. Unable to contain himself, the Alpha howls back!

5 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-04-07 06:23:24	Hector can howl rolls 8 to Presence + Expression + Spec (10 Again)	9, 9, 5, 3, 10, 4, 4, 10, 1, 8	5 successes

Yeah... This is why Hector is Cahalith

[Bird]

Bird's response to Hector is in the language of wolves. The cant of his head, the set of his shoulders and angle of his tail; all of it says: <Respect.>

Tiny's howl breaks through the strange atmosphere of the Hisil, joined by Hector's masterful voice. Bird adds his own howl to the pack's, though his is brief as it is fierce. He breaks off and trots over to Tiny, greeting him with a sniff before bounding off to once again investigate some odd feature of their phantasmatic environment.

He keeps an ear cocked to the activity of the pack, even if they lose sight of him every now and again.

[Bleeds Well]

Bleeds Well stretches.

Bastion howls and Hector joins the chorus. A chill of excitement runs through the midnight wolf, but rather than howl with the his pack mates, a growl rumbles within his chest.

<Sister?>

The Oath Keeper is ready to hunt, the howl's end leaves excitement coiled up inside him like a spring compressed.

A puppy would bound and leap with the energy, but the Rahu is a still as placid water.

[Tiny]

Tiny feels nothing but awe in his chest as Hector howls, and he matches his own howl back, though the harmony is less pleasing and more boring than anything else.

failure

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-04-09 00:00:16	Tiny rolls 4 to Presence+Expression (10 Again)	1, 7, 4, 7	failure

Tiny coughs, a touch embarrassed by his poor showing, before loping up to Bleeds. His question about Emily Makerith is met with a shrug of shoulders. The beta runs when she wants.

<<Before the hunt, I would swear an oath, Oath-Master.>> Tiny uses the formal name Hudinim, to address Bleeds Well for this.
<<And issue a challenge, to any in the pack who would take up this oath with me.>> He looks first to Hector, then Bleeds, then Bird, reaffirming the pack order.

<<The challenge and oath are simple. To vow to follow the tribal oath of all of Luna's tribes, for a year and a day. Will you hear my oath, Hudinim? Who among you will you accept this burden, Clarion's Call? Know that this is not easy task, and each oath is hard in its own right. But as an Elodoth of a pack from nearly every tribe, I must understand them all. And so I will follow in all their footsteps.>>

[Emily Makerith]

The "problem" with their territory, Urhan-Emily thought as she loped crankily through the huge sewerage tubes of the silent building site, was it was a sprawling area covering dozens of blocks. This was fine when it was just a railyard and leftover railway and you could run from one side to the other, but the urban renewal project was raising walls, alleyways, and the natural fences that sprouted up around building sites.

What kind of message was a steel tooth anyway? Sure, it was from Bleeds Well, obviously, but a note saying "Meet here at X time" would be nicer. Especially when the only guess she could come up with was "somewhere in the territory".

She had been back and forth and it had only been a lucky glance into the Hisil that had caught site of Tiny wandering across. So she had been forced to double back, find a focus, force herself across...

Just in time to hear an echoing howl ripple through the Spirit fauna.

The silvery shape of Emily's Urhan form made it's way into the clearing with the others. <<There's got to be a better way of sending a message>> the Crescent Moon muttered irritably. <<There are. Many. Why do you call? Do we hunt?>>

[Hector]

Hector holds his pose for a few moments more, letting his voice fade away into a simple exhalation of breath; a breath he lets slowly roll completely from his lupine maw before breathing in once more.

He opens his eyes.

Lowers his head.

His posture frizzes, then calms, when Emily Makerith approaches.

<<We hunt!>>

Energy throbbed through the Alpha as he spoke. Significantly his eyes dropped to Tiny and Bleeds Well

Oath's Bastion speaks and the Alpha has to consider the question. His eyes narrow and he paws at the earth. Eventually he huffs.

<<I take Oath>>

Adapt. A challenge. A test. The weight could be intolerable. Yet so could the reward. Plus, he was Alpha - he probably should, even if no one else did, to give some respect to the Elodoth. And to share the burden.

I am assuming this is the victory hunt for Tiny?

[Bird]

Emily's appearance draws Bird back from his investigation of the pack's wider surroundings. Fa-ninna's wolf head, tongue lolling, swings between the Ithaeur and the Rahu as Emily airs her thoughts on the invitation.

When Hector affirms that it's time to hunt, Bird almost whines in anticipation. Manages somehow to stifle his excitement, puts nose to ground instead, sniffing at now-stale scents.

And then there's Tiny's challenge. Good sport for Elodoth and Rahu, even Cahalith. But Irraka? A New Moon walks too many dark paths, finds themselves in too many interesting situations. If he's going to do his job, fulfill his role, adopting more rules isn't the way to go about it.

Accordingly, his body language communicates something along the lines of: All due respect, I decline. Not a dismissal, but a polite refusal to participate.

If pressed, Bird will answer for passing on the challenge. Otherwise, he watches how the others react. Specifically Emily. If nothing else, this will be interesting.

[Bleeds Well]

Bleeds Well studies the Elodoth as Bastion makes his proclamation. In a step towards Tiny, Bleeds Well is standing on man's legs of Dalu, his purity brands creating an eerie glow from under his t-shirt.

<I hear your oath, and would join you, for a year and a day. Say the words.> Urum da takus. Imru nu fir Imru. Sik sehe mak; mak ne sih. Ni Daha. Uratha Safal Thil Lu'u. Nu hu uzu eren. Nu bath githul. <Offer no surrender you would not accept. Pay each spirit in kind. Let no sacred place in your territory be violated. Honor your territory in all things. Allow no one to witness or tend to your weakness.>.

Bleeds Well turns, eyes falling on each of the pack whether they swear with him or not, <We are a blessed pack, from tribes representing most of Father Wolf's get.> Bleeds Well seems to get fervent as he shifts once more in the broad shoulder Urshul, glowing brands of purity on his chest, <Purity Brands on all.>

The Oath-Keeper approaches Bastion, rubbing shoulders with the other wolf, <thank you brother> he says quietly.

<Bird, find prey. Oath's Bastion first bite.> Roles dolled out his eyes turn to Hector, Alpha will approve or he will be put in his place. Clearly there is some pack hierarchy posturing going on.

[Emily Makerith]

We hunt.

That was all that needed to be said. The silvery wolf had something resembling a smile. But then she looks back and forth among the pack, especially Bird, who seems to be watching her.

<<Oath? What Oath?>> She looks to Bleeds well as he recited the Tribal vows, sitting demurely.