The Hunting Grounds Role-play

(roleplay for the hunting grounds here)

Near the waterfall of the Main Camp, there is a large field wit hgrass stalks taller than most wolves. The elk often come here all year round, shaded by a few large trees and feasting on the lengthy grass. This is the perfect place to hunt. The Pack comes here fro mtime to time, often in large groups that can easily take down even the strongest elk. Tyros hunt the rabbits that live in burrows deep into the fields, while older wolves try for elk.

The Hunting Grounds- http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2133/1779400193_20945640a4.jpg

Esther crept through the tall grasses, hoping not to make them stir too much. Although the stench of grass and barley was strong, the scent of a field mouse was detectable.Esther suddenly saw a flash of brown, and she knew that now she had to run.
She galloped forward, the grass rustling as she went. She leaped and pounced on the mouse just as it entered its nest, her hind-legs and tail flailing wildly in the air while under ground she snapped at the horrified field mouse. Her teeth clicked at the air, and the horrified mouse froze in fear. The last thing it saw was teeth.
Esther dropped the mouse, sighing with her hindquarters finally lying still. Her sides heaved as she breathed deeply. She then grabbed her catch and pulled it outside, trotting joyfully with her head and tail raised high. She reached the secret entrance to the camp and entered, ready to eat.

Firestar saw Esther proudly carrying her catch back to camp, and he decided to hunt as well. He walked slowly through the grass, looking for something to go for. He saw a small vole busying himself for the coming winter. I crept silently through the stalks of grass, making sure not to make any noise. Suddenly, there was a noise coming from behind him. The vole squeaked in fear, and ran for its burrow.
"Dang, I almost had it!" Firestar said to himself, turning around to find what had scared away his prey.

"Dang, I almost had it!" She heard Firestar snarl in frustration. Rilak peered over his shoulder to see the vole scuttering into a hole. Amused and embarassed, she padded away and soon caught a nice rabbit as an afternoon snack.

Firestar could see nothing around him. He wondered what had scared his vole away, but he decided not to press the matter further.

Firestar stalked through the tall grass, looking for more prey. He saw a rabbit nibbling on a piece of the tall grass, and he decided to go for that instead. He slowly walked around the rabbit, wanting to get it from behind. But, the rabbit saw him circling it in the corner of his eye, and bolted. The rabbit ran quickly through the grass, but Firestar easily caught up with him. He bit it in the neck, thankful that is was plump and juicy despite the winter months coming. He decided to hunt more and bring some back to camp for the pack, after he ate this one. He ate quickly, and he felt strength coming back to him. He stood up, getting ready to hunt some more.

Esther's mouth watered. It was elk right before her eyes. Because of how incredibly tiny she was, it was hard to spot her through the tall grass. The grass was so incredibly thick that the heavy scent wafted through the air. It was so close she could even snap at the elk's foot and chew on it. She just had to report that to Rilak. Leaving as silently as she had come, Esther headed home.

Firestar quickly caught much more prey, and carried it back in his mouth, making many trips. Soon, he was back at camp, and laid down, getting ready to eat another meal.

Alkara walked between the trees in the outside of the field, She lifted her head a bit higher to see if she could see over the tall grass that swayed in the wind, but found no luck. She inhaled and sniffed the scents of the area, she could smell Elk but she knew that herself and Esther could not possibly take down one unless it was really wounded or sick, She smiled and stood waiting her friend to come up.

A sharp scent stung Esther's nose. She frowned in concentration; what was this? She had scented it before... Bison! Bison were the toughest prey in Yellowstone. They were huge and equally muscular, and they preferred to fight. Once a wolf appears, they would group up, weaker units in the center while a strong male leader would start fighting. Herds were large, so once one male was killed, another one would step up and fight. And they defended their herd members, too. But the rewards was marvelous.
'Psst, hey, Alkara," I whispered. She lifted her head and glanced at her.
"Do you smell that?"

Firestar finished his fill, and left the rest of the prey at camp, in case anyone wanted it. He then went out to do more hunting and exploring. He scented a strange scent he had only smelled a couple times.
"Bison!!!" Firestar realized.
He lifted his head again, taking in all the forest smells.
"Elk too!!!" Firestar murmured.
He didn't know which to go for. Bison were stronger, and harder to catch, but they DID present more of a challenge.

Making up his mind, he slowly wandered through the tall grass toward the bison.

Alkara listened to Esther a small smile on her black lips, she scented the air again and smelt strongly what Esther talked about. She turned to her friend and winked, then looked back towards the tall stalks of grass and could see in the distance large brown shoulders moving through the grass. She crouched down low, natural instinct taking over, Back in her old pack's Alkara had always been a huntress but she knew that it was Esther job here so she turned her head back at her friend
"You want to lead the way?" she asked sweetly. Alkara could hear paw steps in the grass and smelt the air quickly, it was FireStar. She called out to him quietly "FireStar over here!" and then turned back to Esther.

Esther shakily watched the bison snort and roll in the dust. She knew only too well of their strength, that crescent shaped scar she once had on her side was enough to teach her a lesson. They would need the whole pack... three wolves was nothing versus a whole herd of bison.
"Um... this isn't such a good idea..." she whispered quietly, "we need the whole pack. Should we report it to Rilak?"

Firestar heard Alkara's voice, and wandered over to where they were hiding. He saw Esther was there too. He also saw she was staring uneasily at the bison herd, and he realized what she must be thinking.
"I'll go get the rest of the pack.." He hissed softly, turning and running back toward pack camp.

Alkara nodded to Esther, she knew that they would have no chance against the herd and she was glad to see that Esther knew it as well. Smart girl indeed, she turned to see Firestar explain what he was going to do and run off. Alkara smiled and nodded as he left. She turned back to Esther and smiled "Well now that that is taken care of, we should think of a good strategy:" She said quietly.

Esther watched the herd grazing and spotted a weak cow with a twisted ankle. She winced at how horrific the sight was; it was impossible to save her leg anymore, and she tottered pathetically, grunting as she put pressure on her injured leg. Time to put her out of her misery.
"See that one, with a twisted leg?" Esther whispered, "If you'll join me, I'll roll in carrion... not that I want to, then my scent will be hidden; they'll just think it's a raven. I'll lie down on my back and wave my paws in the air. I guess we just have to hope that they'll get curious, and then when she comes close enough... her throat's in my teeth. I won't be able to kill her, but she'll panic and so will the rest of the herd. Others will quickly come out and chase them around, scaring them and making it impossible to group up, while more wolves help take down the cow. After the bison have been chased a while and are still panicking, the rest of us will all go and bring it down. A stronger wolf with do the throat-puncture, and then we'll need a couple of wolves to stand sentry, guarding the carcass from more bison and coyotes while we eat. How about that?"

(I like the idea but make sure we don't get to carried away, it is suppose to be as realistic as it can be. But i can let this one slide because it is pretty thought out.)

Alkara let her eyes widen at the thought of Esther's plan, it was really well thought out and it made her shake with excitement. "Wow that is perfect!" Alkara whispered, she liked that it would be really unexpected and the herd would really have no idea what to think of it.

(well... I read in a book that a few wolves that were annoying Mongolian herders would lie down, their paws waving with the grass, and when a baby gazelle or livestock would, being naturally curious, come forward to investigate, the wolf would bite it's neck and end of story; it would die silently and they would drag it away. But these are grey wolves, and the prey is an adult bison, so yeah.)

A smile was etched across Esther's face. She didn't get praised much in her former pack, but now that she had friends who cared for her, that was all forgotten.
"Thanks... All we need to do now, is wait," she whispered.

(okay then, just making sure )

Alkara smiled and laid down in the grass making sure to keep low, she watched the Bison move about their large brown shoulder moving sluggishly but she knew that they could become something else in a flash. She turned to Esther and sighed "Waiting it a rather boring thing, but it is worth it every time"

"I know," Esther grumbled quietly, curling up and looking up at the clouds. Her eyelids slowly flickered, until they shut completely on my eyes.
"Wake me up when the pack...come...."
Next thing she knew, Esther was drowning in her thoughts as she fell asleep.

"Wake up!"

Rilak growled into her friends' ears, as they had fallen asleep- right in front of the elk herd. SHe shuffled her paws, itching to chase them but waiting for her friends instead.

Esther snapped awake at the sight of Rilak, then laid her ears back and whimpered quietly.
"Sorry," she whispered submissively.
Slowly turning to face the bison herd, she too was itching to sink her teeth into one of them. She shook her head; the pack were focusing on an injured bison, and it was time to put her out of her misery. Not only would she no longer suffer, but her meat and decaying body would be useful to the ecosystem. Patiently waiting, she sat down and relaxed, not daring to go to sleep again.

Ether couldn't resist wagging her tail. She dropped to a crouch and sneaked through the grass, her light-weight, lithe body barely making a noise. Suddenly she flopped onto her back, her paws flailing in the air. This was risky business; she could easily be trampled over by a bison, having her soft belly exposed. She waited patiently until she felt the hot breath of breath of a bison on hedr paws. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut and began gently waving her paws. A snort sounded out, and she could smell something injected towering over her. Her heart bleated ever faster. She could sense the weight of a three feet of the bison tottering towards her. It was near impossible to ignore the weaker bison calves, but such a young thing shouldn't deserve to feel pain or death. The injured cow was what needed to be put out of its misery. It panted and towered over Esther. She could see her throat, and her nostrils were about to twitch when Esther reached forward and clamped her jaws on the cow. It honked loudly, and the curious calves scattered with their mothers as they formed a circle. Esther attempted to swish her tail as a signal, but just before she noticed she had made a terrible mistake; she forgot that bison have nasty kicks.
With its heatlhy foreleg, it brought it down onto Esther's chest. Normally she would try to ignore the pain, but this was simply unbearable. She lifted her head and let out a piercing screech that was impossible to keep inside and ignore.

Firestar ran back through the grass, mission completed. He saw the heavy bison leg crash down on Esther. He growled in rage and raced toward the bison. He jumped on its back, distracting it from Esther. He bit it in the neck, then realized this wasn't the one we were supposed to go for. He jumped off, hearing the calf bleating. He chased after the weak bison, hoping he wouldn't be trailed by the rest of the herd.

Esther gasped and stood up, staggering away. She dragged her hind-legs pathetically. That injury would be a serious reminder of how dangerous this was. Staggering until she reached as far as possible, she collapsed, whining and licking her chest.