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 Posted: Mon May 05, 2014 4:37 pm
 Bright blue eyes blinked rapidly in the sunlight trying to take in the landscape before them. It was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. The dark blue male stood on a ledge overlooking a valley with a lake and mountains far off in the distance. This place was perfect. Such beautiful clear waters. And there were trees too! It had everything. After what seemed like forever standing in awe of the view before him, Mosi finally broke free of his daze and made his way down into the valley. The breeze kicked up around him, blowing cool air through his fur. He inhaled deeply and exhaled with an audible long sigh of contentment. This was a good day. Only thing that could make it better was food. Perhaps there was fish in that lake that would be easy to catch. Delighted by the idea of food, Mosi took off towards the lake below. It was a good ways away and he was quite tired by the time he finally reached the lake. The idea of fish replace by the need for water, Mosi skidded to a halt at the edge of the lake and drank deeply until he felt like his stomach would explode if he had another drop. He sat for awhile, just staring across the lake at the appeal of the land. If he could have, he would have sat there all day. But the growling in his stomach reminded him it had been to long since his last meal. Peering down at the lake, he knew that catching fish would be a lost cause. But surely there were other foods in this vast land. Bright blue eyes scanned the landscape again, this time in search of game. And he found it. A young elk, off on it's own. A male, antlers just coming in. Should be easy. Mosi's hunting instincts kicked in. Head down, he moved over the land to get closer, into the right position for attack. As he got closer, he realized this elk was not like the deer he hunted in other woods. It was bigger. Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea.... But his stomach begged to differ. Being so focused on the elk, Mosi failed to realize he was not the only fume in the area and that he had been noticed.
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Posted: Mon May 05, 2014 5:51 pm
 Steelspark was having an average day. There wasn't a need to hunt since she and Thundercloud had eaten well the night before, though she did keep an eye out just in case. A good kill tonight could mean no need to hunt for the next couple days. For the most part she was just enjoying herself. It was a fine day out, slightly cloudy but with the sun shining through more and more as it progressed, and a wonderful breeze that kept things from getting too warm. This jaunt was mostly about scouting, keeping tabs on the wildlife and making sure nothing had changed that would effect them, as well as spreading her scent so that other Fumes would know this land was occupied. With only two in the pack at the moment it was difficult to cover all the land they held, but then again there weren't many Fumes who came out this way to contend with.
Thirst made itself know to her and Steelspark veered from her course, heading uphill. Once she crested it there would be a bit of a steep decent, rocks and trees dotting the land, but nothing worth much effort to traverse and there was a lake at the bottom of the valley. She paused at the top of the hill to enjoy the breeze, then began to pick her way down. As she went something caught her eye. It was mostly the movement, since the color appeared to blend with the blue of the water. She sped up a little but worked harder at remaining unseen. Finally she reached a small rock outcropping, one that blended with her main fur tone, though there was little she could do about her bright pink hair. From her spot she watched with a touch of incredulity as a male Fume attempted to stalk a bull elk. It was young, true, but a foolish creature could kill you as dead as a seasoned one, and one Fume was hardly adequate to take down such a creature safely. She bit her tongue and shook her head, settling down to watch. Well this should prove entertaining, at least.
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Posted: Thu May 08, 2014 2:26 pm
The closer he got to the elk, the louder the little voice in his head shouted at him that this was probably a terrible idea. But the pain in his stomach drove him forward. Unfortunately, the elk was grazing in the middle of a small open plain. Mosi scanned the area frantically trying to figure out a way to sneak up on the elk without being seen but there was nothing but grass between him and the elk. This wouldn't work well, he knew. His coat clashed with the colors of the valley. It would take a miracle for the elk not to see him coming. Still... So much meat.
His mind made up, Mosi began stalking through the grass towards the elk. He moved slowly, taking each step with care. Each time the elk stopped grazing and raised it's head head, he froze in place, even holding his breath. After what seemed like hours but was more like minutes, he managed to cross half the distance to the elk.
So close now. Just another few yards.
The elk turned towards him and huffed, obviously aware of his presence and more obviously unhappy about it. Mosi froze, unsure of what to do next. If the elk took off, would he be able to catch it? He was fast, he knew, but that fast? The elk stomped his hoof on the ground and shook his antlers angrily in the air.
Mosi's heart sank. This wasn't looking good. This elk didn't seem intent on running away from him. The small deer he was used to hunting, even the males, always ran away from him. Maybe this elk hadn't gotten the memo that he was not to be messed with. Well. He'd show this elk who's in charge.
Adrenaline kicking in, Mosi took off in a flash of blue fur towards the elk. The elk charged at him as well, closing the distance between them quickly. The elk tried to bash the blue fume with his small antlers but Mosi dodged to the side at the last second. His claws dug into the ground and he launched himself at the elk. His teeth and claws sank into the flesh of it's hind leg. Mosi clawed with his hind legs, trying to get a better grip but the elk quickly threw him off.
He landed with a hard thud on the ground and a pain shot through left front paw. A light sprain, nothing he couldn't handle. He could just walk it off. But the elk was on him, swinging it's tiny antlers and trying to stomp him with it's hooves. It was slower now, the damage to his hind leg obvious in its movements. Mosi was on his feet in an instant, trying to evade the elks attack. Realizing he was in over his head, Mosi turned and tried to make a run for it after just barely dodging a hoof before it stomped his tail.
But the pain in his paw prevented him from taking off at full speed and the slight hesitation was all the elk needed to dig it's antlers into Mosi's side, tossing him into the air.
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Posted: Fri May 09, 2014 11:28 am
As soon as the bull started stamping his hooves and waving his horns, Steelspark changed position. It wasn't impossible for a Fume to take down an elk on their own, it was just dangerous. Especially since this one was young and strong. This male didn't seem to know the first thing about hunting large prey, that or he was just naturally reckless. Perhaps he could bring the young bull down on his own, but her instincts urged her to take a position that was more convenient to instant response.
She slipped off her work and began slowly working her way away from the lake towards the trees that ringed the open valley. Once she had more cover she wove through the foliage like a pale shadow, trying hard not to be seen. She got into position right as all hell broke loose.
For a moment it was a standoff. The male got in a good slash at the bull elk's hindquarters, causing Steelspark to wonder if the male could win this after all, but then the bull threw him and he landed all wrong. Slow as the bull was with the damage to his leg, the male was slower. He dodged a blow to his body, but couldn't save his tail from a hit. Steelspark broke cover and charge right as the bull lowered his head and charged. She couldn't reach the fight fast enough to prevent what happened next. As the body of dark blue fur flew into the sky, she was reminded forcibly reminded of how she killed mice as a kip, flicking them up in a toss meant to break their necks and stunned them as they landed in case she miscalculated.
Before the male landed the bull was on him, intending to trample the limp bundle into red pulp before he could recover enough to move. But Steelspark was on the bull. She leapt, aiming for the gash already inflicted by the male, and sank claw and tooth into it, ripping deep. The bull bellowed and shied, but she had jumped away. There was no need to hang on. The combined damage from the Fumes had left a huge wound that bled freely. If the bull didn't die from the blood loss he would still wind up a cripple. Steelspark interposed herself between the bull and his "prey", lips pulled back to expose all of her sharp teeth as she growled and snapped. The bull elk bellowed at her, angry and frustrated at being balked. He tried to drive the female away by flailing with his hooves, but she kept circling, nipping, retreating. Bloodied from small wounds and still losing blood from his hind leg, the bull finally retreated, bellowing and shaking his head as he slowly moved off.
Steelspark watched the bull go with little concern. It would be worth keeping an eye on him for later, after he weakened, but for now there was far to much fight in the thing still. She turned her attention back to the male, wondering if that trip through the air and/or subsequent landing had killed him.
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Posted: Sat May 10, 2014 5:16 pm
To say the landing knocked the breath out of him was an understatement. For at least a few seconds, Mosi couldn't blink, couldn't breath, couldn't even twitch a single muscle in his body. Spots clouded his vision and he was unaware of the situation entirely. When reality hit him, it hurt. The entire right side of his body screamed at him in pain. Finally he was able to take a gasp, but breathing hurt as well and his breath came up short.
Through the pain came that voice in the back of his head that urged him to move against the pain, to get up and run. Still dazed from the fall, he wasn't sure why he felt the need to run for his life. He managed the smallest movement of his head and eyes just in time to catch a glimpse of the elk preparing to trample him. The realization of the fact that he was about to die hit him hard and he balled in on himself, shutting is eyes tightly as if tensing would lessen the blow.
But the pain he expected never came. Instead, sounds of the elk in in pain flooded his ears. Confused, Mosi uncurled himself and stared in the direction of the elk. For a moment, he couldn't comprehend why the elk hadn't finished him off. Then he saw her. Standing between himself and the elk was a grey and pink fume. Had she just saved him? Where had she even come from? There was no way she could have been close enough to observe him, he would have spotted her.... Right?
Mosi rolled off his back and onto his stomach before tentatively raising to his feet. He made a quick assesment of the damage. A few sprains, lots of deep bruises but nothing seemed to be broken. Moving, especially walking, hurt but he knew he'd be fine in a few days. Deciding his was okay, he turned is attention back to the female and the elk. The elk was retreating and Mosi felt his hopes of dinner drop. A quick observation of the elk reviled that the newcomer to the fight had inflicted a nice bit of damage to his dinner. Perhaps it was still possible to take it down. He stared after the elk hungrily.
He had to have it.
"Thanks for the help, Sweetheart. I'll take it from here." Mosi said sweetly to the female as he limped up to her. He threw in his best smile as he said "sweetheart", obviously trying to impress her with his manly charm.
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Posted: Sun May 11, 2014 2:03 pm
Steelspark turned, gave the male a once over, and snorted. There was volumes of meaning in that single sound. She decided to ever so kindly translate though, in case his hearing was addled.
"You go do that. Of course I'm sure the fact that you can barely walk and that the elk is still plenty agile is of absolutely no consequence. Go ahead, chase after him and continue ripping up your own injuries. If you lose him I'll bet all the smaller prey slow down for you on account of your hurts. If you manage to win there'll be plenty of meat for you to lie flat on your back for a couple days healing. I doubt any predators would dare be attracted to the scent of the blood and come looking for an easy meal with your noble spirit lying in recovery nearby. I only live here and know this land like I know myself, who am I to try and use common sense when machismo is at stake."
Shaking her head she turned and moved towards the lake, mumbling under her breath. Most of it was incoherent, but the few words that could be picked out weren't complimentary. She could have swatted him where he stood! Lucky for the idiot she was too nice for her own good. Now all the small prey was probably hiding, which meant unless the fish were feeling pretty stupid she was going to have to find a new area to hunt. A drink would be nice while she was at it.
Steelspark snorted again, this time to herself. Sweetheart. She wasn't sweet to anyone, and if she was the male's heart she would have stopped until he came to his common senses. You couldn't do much if your heart refused to cooperate.
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