Wolves on the Hunt

[Johan]

Kym was remarkably limber, Maccabeus noted as she twisted and stretched, readying her muscles for a lengthy run. Watching her from his perch atop of Wolf, he didn't realize that she was talking, or more specifically what she was saying, until she had stopped.

She looked at him expectantly. "Ok." He said, not really knowing what she was waiting for. "Let's go?" He thumped his palm upon Wolf's neck, and he let out a quick gruff and leapt forward a stride. Alpha took up the decision and they were off. Maccabeus leaning low over Wolf's shoulders and flowing with the great animal's rhythm.

[Wildfire]

?Aye that we shall? Kym in a serious tone. ?I?m sure my father will want to know of this as well. Lead the way my hunter brother? she said to the alpha male. Alpha barked out orders calling to his loyal soldiers. Though Maccabeus could not rightly understand the language of the wolves it was plain for him to see that of the five that came forward, some were of Alpha?s bloodline and other were not. Some things about wolves are outrageously obvious.

Alpha stood next to Wolf with his tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth. His paws were restlessly padding the ground as if waiting for the word to run.

Kym sheathed her two gleaming sickles and squatted to stretch and warm up her legs. She raised her arms over her head and bent from side to side. While doing so she said, ?Maccabeus, You, Wolf, and Alpha should take the lead. I?ll bring up the rear. If anything happens to the front I?ll be able to hit them with my bow giving you cover. If something should attack from behind I?m probably more skilled at combat than any here. Besides I?d be willing to die before I see any of my family come to harm.?

?Let me know when you?re ready and I?ll give the word?well, sort of a word.?

[Johan]

Maccabeus surveyed the brightening sky, and considered this good timing for such a venture. "Under Kossuth's eye we shall go then, and good timing that is." He looked about at his new pack, fully two hands strong, including Kym, Wolf, and himself.

"What say there be but four or five of us?" He suggested. "A small team would make for greater stealth...we will hopefully not fight this day, but with some information, I'm sure that Jarmok and Maal will join us in the destruction of the defilers. Some of the city folk might also lend a hand...but this day we collect information." He collected his few necessities as he spoke: his sling, his knife, a water skin and his sturdy spear, both of which he strapped behind him. He then leapt upon Wolf's broad back and said, "Shall we go, my newfound family?"

[Wildfire]

Kym pulled her two sickles from her belt and held them up to her face. The crescent ends angled towards her face and down past her mouth giving her the appearance of having long fangs. Her auburn locks tumbled down her cheeks as her head slowly tilted to the ground.

Her eyes looked up to Maccabeus with a stern wildness and she said, "Anything that threatens this pack in turn threatens me, threatens you, and threatens Wolf. I'm going. Ashe will get the answers soon enough."

Kossuth was creeping over the east wall and as the sky grew lighter Maccabeus could see Kym in fuller light. Her dark brown and emerald green leather appeared to be soft and flexible. On her back was a longbow the likes of which Maccabeus had never seen. It shimmered like metal but was undeniably wooden. It looked to be of similar wood to Ashe's holy symbol. Decorated with goldleaf, it was clear that this bow was from the grove overlooking town.

Her boots were ornamented with fangs and claws. Maccabeus knew that this was the mark of respect to the spiritof a hunters kills. The sickles that she held were of a keen quality and had a green reflective sheen to them.

Looking at her eyes Maccabeus got the sense that he was looking not at human eyes but rather, wolfish ones. She looked ready to hunt. She looked dangerous.

"I'll keep up in the hunt. Mahiya will make steady sure of that. We have work to do in her name."

[Johan]

Maccabeus stroked Wolf's great head affectionately. "Oh, yes." He replied quietly, nearly under his breath. "That's actually what I was hoping for: a scouting trip instead of a fight." Maccabeus's normally genial mood was replaced by a calm, somber fierceness now. Outwardly he moved slowly, but his mind was rapidly moving, bent towards loose plans and possible outcomes. "No one should be harmed in this venture...at least not us."

He changed then, rather abruptly to speak with Vallenwood. "Ancient child," he said, "Should you speak with Ashe, please tell him that I have learned of more of the defilers and am gone to see where they have taken up residence. I shall come see him upon my return later this day."

Vallenwood chanted his understanding to Maccabeus, who then turned his attention back to the young Wolfjaw. "Any chance, my kindred lady, that you'd be willing to stay behind with the pack, or to return to your home?" He asked hopefully. "I don't know how fast you can run, but I know that a few wolves can flee at great speed should the necessity warrant it, and you can't ride a wolf as I can...I imagine. Perhaps you can go and relate to Ashe what has happened here this shallow morning?"

[Wildfire]

Kym drew in a breath making a hissing sound and said, "I'll ask but I'm not sure if they're going to like going. Ultimately they'll follow me to Avernus if I should ask but they'll be edgy."

Kym knelt down to Wolf, and the Alphas. Wolf understood that Maccabeus was distressed as well as he. He had accepted Maccabeus's charge of the Brambles and the Ring as his own and would fight to defend Mahiya to the very end. The two shared emotions as though they were twins in different forms.

Kym spoke to the Alphas and explained the situation and dispelled any confusion they might have. During it all, Wolf walked to Maccabeus and gave him a gentle nudge on the chin with his snout. A gentle creature Wolf was but Maccabeus knew well that he was also as fierce as wolves come.

Kym finished speaking with the pack and stood up. "Okay," she said, "They have agreed to go to the nearest place. It is abandoned so far as they didn't see anything living there. What they did see was...well, they described it to be unholy to their great maker. I have no idea exactly what that means but I imagine it's something akin to the Ring before it's rejuvination." Kym cleared her throat and took a draw from her water flask. "There is one catch though...only the strongest of the pack will go...including Alpha M. Alpha F would go but she wants to stay to insure her bloodline. I can't blame her for that."

Kym raised her eyebrow and asked, "So what do you think? Will that work for you?"

[Johan]

"Ach!" Maccabeus exclaimed. "There are others?!?! Fool of a gnome!" He smacked himself smartly upon his head. "Of course there would be others! Bastards always have brothers! You fool! You fool! You fool!"

Maccabeus berated himself for a long while for his thoughtlessness, until Kym barked at him, bringing him back to the present. "MACCABEUS!" She knelt in front of him, impeding his continued circuitous pace. "What is the matter? What are these defilers?" She asked with some intensity.

"Ach, sorry, Kymberly." He apologized. "On the very day of my arrival in Threshold, I met Maal at the edge of the town..." He proceeded to relate to Kym the (abbreviated) story of the Reclamation of the Bramble, omitting only the finer details, such as who hit whom, and the fact that the giant stag who came to Maccabeus in the night was in fact Ashe.

"...and after Istisha diverged from her normal ordinance, she revitalized the Ring of Mists. I have been here since, but haven't detected any further evidence of the Defilers. Such a fool am I! I didn't even try to track those few that had been here! Ashe needs to know this..." He rocked a little and chanted for a moment, until his eyes narrowed thoughtfully; an idea was clearly forming in his agile mind.

"But perhaps, before I speak with Ashe, we should scout a bit, eh? The pups will be safe here, only leave some adults for guarding. Perhaps we and the alphas might hunt a different quarry tonight? Can they show to Wolf and me where these Defilers are, that we might learn their strengths, and plan their fall?"

[Wildfire]

Kym glanced in thought and replied, "Well, now that you mention it, I'm not sure. I grew up just knowing how to speak wolfish. But I can certainly try to teach you but you have to try to learn. I'd say you have a better chance than most since you've been around wolves far more than most. Learning it would probably make your life easier methinks". She gave Maccabeus a playful wink and a smile.

While she was talking both Maccabeus and Kym could see that Wolf was speaking with Alpha male and female.

Kym continued, "Let me ask the alphas what is bothering them about the outsiders. They seems a little worried. Oh, it looks like Wolf has already asked."

Kym watched and listened to the banter between them and she began to translate, "Wolf asked her what the outsiders looked like. Are they Shadewolves, are they men, are they something else. Alpha F said that the pack has heard the shadewolves and have seen the men and they have caused concern but what they do not understand are the defilers. They poison the maker and their touch withers flesh. The abominations give her fear she's never known. She can feel the spirit of the land and life is in great pain."

Kym raised an eyebrow and looked to Maccabeus, "Wolf said that you two have seen these creatures before...here in the bramble. Alpha F said that there are others that are beyond the sacred thicket."

"What are these creatures Maccabeus? What exactly did you see here?" Kym asked with concern.

[Johan]

Vellenwood understood the goings-ons well; Maccabeus was correct in that he needn't have explained anything to the growing youngling. It was as though Vallenwood had inner knowledge of Maccabeus's mind and thoughts. Surprisingly, the thought of sharing his thoughts with another was in this case comforting for the dale gnome.

Then, as Kym spoke, Maccabeus listened with a mixture of happiness, excitement and unease. "Men?" He asked somberly. "I think that you'll find if you ask that she's talking about four-leggeds as opposed to two-leggeds. I fear that she's referring to the shadewolves that have been roaming these mountains of late. I've got the suspicion that they haven't been here long. From what Jarmok tells me, they are in league with the men at the old keep, but these wolves aren't frightened of men, I think. It is the shadewolves. I'll have to ask Bramble tomorrow to not let untended pups out of the Ring at all." He watched the rollicking pups swat each other, oblivious to the momentous happenings that eddied around them.

He wished that he could further speak with his new pack, but his voice had given on him and wouldn't return until at least the following morning. Kym had spoken differently with the wolves, though. For Maccabeus, it was more of a direct conversation. Kym adopted wolf postures, and emitted more precise wolf sounds than Maccabeus did...

"Kym?" He asked. "Can you teach me to talk to wolves the way that you do? Is that something that one can learn?"

[Wildfire]

"Aye" Kym said.

She stood in front of the pack circle with Wolf on her left and Alpha on her right. It was as though she was speaking at a tribal council fire. She made slight motions and sounds and the pack listened to her attentively...except the pups. They were frolicking and nipping with each other in a freindly lupine brawl that would later give them the skills to hunt.

Kym was moved by Maccabeus's generous offer as it would almost assuredly safeguard the rest of 'her' pack. She wondered what effects the sacred waters and tranquility would have on the younger generations of wolves. She was cetain that they would grow to be as big and strong as Wolf himself. Since Wolf was willing to to mingle his bloodline with them the descendants would be truly marvelous.

After Kym was finished addressing the pack she began to listen to alpha female and translated as she understood. "The alpha female appreciates the safety of the haven that you've offered. She says that this will become her den as it is your home. As of late she's been fearful for the pups from the 'outsiders'..." Kym furrowed her brow and cocked her head to the side in confusion, "...and hopes that her unease will lessen."

Kym turned to Maccabeus, "Outsiders? I wonder if she's talking about the men at the old keep..."

[Johan]

Maccabeus hacked again as Kym proffered to him her water skin. He took a hasty gulp of water, noting that she had drawn water into it from Mahiya?s pool; it more than slaked his thirst. The smooth, clean, clear water instantly rinsed the barbs from his throat and soothed him comfortingly. His last mouthful he kept in his cheeks and allowed the water to trickle slowly and gently down the back of his throat.

The wolves, apparently finished with their negotiations, lifted their muzzles in unison and sang to the morning stars. It brought Maccabeus instantly back to his clan days, when such a chorus was commonplace. He hadn?t heard so closely the wolfsong in many seasons. It raised a tender spot in Maccabeus?s chest, to hear that song.

"C'mon Maccabeus, you're part of the pack...howl with us and then we shall hunt!" Maccabeus realized that Kym was right; it was his duty to sing with the pack at this time, and he thrust his voice out to those divinities that yet rode the sky, and to Kossuth, still more than a hand away. False dawn was nigh.

The newly formed clan sang sweetly together for too short a time, announcing their forging to the forest and mountains. It felt good; thanks to Mahiya?s water, Maccabeus?s voice was well pitched and true. When the song was over, Wolf licked Maccabeus?s chin, and then Kym?s. The pack?s alpha male licked Kym?s face, and then Maccabeus?s. It was good to have a family again.

?Hold a moment, please, whilst I inform Bramble that we have a large, new family that he may allow to enter and exit freely. I would suggest, by the way, that our pack try to enter and exit the Ring by any way other than the North, where Little Threshold lay. Bramble will accommodate our comings and goings.?

He then sat next to Bramble, pushed his pointed nose into the vibrant fronds, and began to talk with the great shrub. ?Bramble,? he said, ?I am sure that you are keen enough to know that this starry morning I and Wolf have bound ourselves unto this wolf pack, and to this kindred woman as well. We are a family now. Much as I have to this day asked that you grant passage to the ones called Ashe and Jarmok, I ask that this pack of wolfkin and this young lady be granted passage unto the Ring of Mists. They are trusted allies of ours, and of Vallenwood.?

Bramble caressed Maccabeus?s face, embracing him as they communicated. And so it was.

?Sorry for the momentary delay.? He apologized, turning back to Kym and to the wolves. ?Kym, can you tell our brethren that as of this moment onward, Bramble will allow them to come unto and go forth from the Ring of Mists as they please? I will have a similar (although unnecessary) word with Vallenwood.

[Wildfire]

Agreed

Kym handed Maccabeus her water skin. During her quiet time while Maccabeus was dancing she had filled them with the divine waters that sprang from the center stone pool.

Wolf looked at both of the alphas and gestured as to speak to them. Miraculously the movements were translated to Maccabeus's ears as understood words.

"So far very few others have received an invitation such as this" Wolf said "My brother has an understanding unlike the others that live here. His great sire knows the antlered one. You can trust that this sacred grove of our maker will protect you."

The alpha male looked to the rest of his pack and replied, "We would all be honored great one. Our pups shall grr to carry growl legacy of the pack growl grr grr prodigy growl whine grr grr growl brother. "

As Maccabeus listened to the alpha speak with Wolf, his blessing began to wane into unintelligible gestures and sounds.

Kym leaned down to alpha and scratched him on the neck and thumped his side with her hand. She looked up to Maccabeus and simply said, "You truly are your great sire's decendant."

At once every member of the pack craned their neck high and began to howl with overwhelming joy. They sang out in their primal scream and Wolf joined them in their reverie. As Kym took in a deep breath she paused and said, "C'mon Maccabeus, you're part of the pack...howl with us and then we shall hunt!" Kym then began to howl feeling her deeply running instinct flow out of her.

[Johan]

Bear in mind that Maccabeus?s gift is ?Speak with Animal: Canine?, so his dialect is likely more rudimentary than proper ?Wolfspeak?. Maccabeus should be speaking a tongue that would be understood by any canine.

"This is as joyous news as any I've heard of late." Maccabeus answered Wolf. As he spoke he gestured respectfully to the male and female alphas of Kym's pack. "It is good to have a family at one's back. I am Maccabeus, soldier of Mahiya, and recent guardian of this holy Ring in which we now meet. Bramble and Vallenwood are members of my family here, as you now are." Maccabeus was talking quickly, knowing that he had but a short moment to communicate his desires.

"Forgive my rushed tongue," He apologized. "I am gifted by Mahiya to speak in your language for but a short moment, and must thereby speak quickly, and therefore poorly." He whined a bit, in the way of apology.

He turned then back to Wolf, saying, "As you and I have spoke over the last days, brother mine, I would like for this newly formed clan to join us in living here in the Ring and protecting it from our enemies...those allied with the foullings."

"I will likely need to leave to you and to lovely Kymberly the details of our invitation, though, as my time grows short indeed." Maccabeus coughed then, from the back of his throat, which was rapidly growing raw.

He turned in his last moments towards the two new Alphas, saying to them, "I thank you for the welcome to your pack, and please know that in the Dale of my kin, our two kinds live in close harmony with one another; I hope that we can thus live together here, and should you choose to call this Ring your den, then I will beg of Bramble that your path into and out of this Ring will not be impeded, and you will come and go how and when you please. My only request..." he coughed again, this time spasmodically and with a tear in his eye. "...is that the two leggeds and their tame four leggeds that dwell in this area may not be taken as food, but must live unmolested by either you or by me." At last his canine voice gave out, and he coughed raucously into the crook of his elbow.

"Water." He croaked hoarsely to Kym, his arm extended hopefully.

[Wildfire]

"Good morning brother...we have company." Wolf said in his way.

The largest of the pack stood noblely alongside and slightly behind Wolf. This gesture made it apparent to Maccabeus just who the leader of the pack was. He had a grey underbelly and and a black top. The fur crest on his chest was a snowy white. He was large by wolf standards but was small compared to Maccabeus's eternal friend. It became blatently obvious that the leader had respect for Wolf as being the stronger. It was as though all in the pack considered Wolf to be lupine royalty.

Behind them in a delegated circle stood the rest of the pack. There were seven males and ten females. Among them were three male juviniles and three female juviniles. The forwardmost female of the pack, the alpha female, had a slightly larger belly than the others and it was easy to tell that she would be giving birth to a litter of pups very soon.

Kym looked on with pride as a mother would on her grown son. She had reared the alpha male from the time that he was just a tiny ball of fur. To see him standing proudly with his pack filled her with joy.

Wolf continued, "They accept us as part of their pack and have asked me to mate with their females. I have yet to accept their offer. I wanted your feelings on this offer." Wolf looked back to the pack then continued with Maccabeus, "If you have anything that you would ask of them now would be the time."

[Johan]

Maccabeus's dance today was more energetic than he could recall. He left his conscious behind and leapt in spinning reels to the beat that Vallenwood established. He felt particularly feral this night, and the baying of wolves echoed in his soul.

But as much energy as his dance consumed, it returned twice that to him. Every leap imbued him with terrestrial resonance, every land filled him with the power of life. Deep in his mind he knew that this morning he was destined to meet new pack mates, and still later would he enjoy a hunt; his heart echoed the ancient rhythm of the lands.

The too-early end to his dance came as naturally as the beginning had: its time resounded in his being. He came spinning upon a zephyr to land kneeling before Wolf, sliding upon the lush grasses of the Ring to rest prostrate before his friend and brother.

Smiling widely, and his eyes aglow with ancient energy, Maccabeus greeted Wolf, adopting to the best of his own abilities Wolf's native tongue. "Good morning, my fine friend." He said gaily, then noted that Wolf was all but surrounded by a pack of his kindred, all of them sitting and surveying the little dale gnome. "And good morning to all of you noble clanfolk as well." He greeted them, unable to in that instant discern who was alpha and who was beta.