With each wolf nearing their positions, all they now waited on was for Benjamin and Eight to circle the heard. Jayne had already signaled the two, The location of the herd was known - about 30 yards ahead and they were in luck, being downwind already, they wouldn't have to change direction or take any longer than they needed to make the trek.
The pack had taken only minutes to get to where the herd rested. Twenty yards between them and the rest of the Lioness' territory was a ravine, only just deep enough to stall the mule deer as they needed to locate various narrow game trails to cross it.
The hunt team was in luck, the herd hadn't crossed yet and they had one easy direction to run in.
Benjamin had slowed to a crawl and Eight took pace just beside him, catching his breath as quietly as he could. Benjamin ran with a speed that Eight hadn't seen. The old, small Alpha didn't make a sound as he crept along, no breathing nor ruffling of brush or grass, no paw steps, nothing.
Eight did his best to keep as quiet, but it was difficult. Benjamin crawled as quietly as a funeral, his years of experience and skill showed through.
By this time, the two could look through the thick overgrowth of tall grass and see the herd. Just as ever, they were nearly 50 strong.
Benjamin turned to Eight and whispered barely audibly,
"We'll cut off about twenty of them, any more than that and we risk too much. The others will fan out to the left or right, they'll be gone by morning. We get one shot at this."
His voice was less harsh sounding when it was silent, there was no grating sound to it.
Eight nodded and the two picked up pace to the hind side of the herd's stomping area.
They were massive, each deer must have weighed easily 200 pounds. Hunting these behemoths was no joke, they could pummel a wolf Eight's size with little difficulty.
Through the tall, lightly swaying grass the two wolves hunkered and sat in their positions for just a moment.
"I'll go first, put the fear into em'." Benjamin instructed. It was clear he must have been one of the best hunters in the pack.
"Don't wait too long. When you do, take em' straight up the middle, split em' in two. I'll stay to the right and drive our half away. Just be sure to keep right on them, this isn't a normal hunt."
"Got it." Eight whispered back, watching the small, stout wolf crawl forward another few paces. He knew what he was doing, this much was certain. He had a plan worked out, and knew exactly what weak spots to attack from only a moment of observation.
He stood, now and took off straight into a dead sprint. His small, fast form was barely noticed before he emerged from the taller grass into the Deer's area. Eight kept low and moved forward, keeping an eye on the Blur that was now Benjamin. The Alpha showed no signs of slowing as he bolted, he made no sound either. His form came in direct contact with the first deer in his path, the closest to the edge before it ever noticed he was there. Down the Mule Deer came, with an audible Thud as his lifeless body hit the ground.
Eight didn't even see the killing blow it all happened so fast.
A few deer spooked and looked to what had just happened, Benjamin wasted no time in getting the attention of the rest of the herd. He stood atop the corpse and howled loudly. Heads now turned and jerked that way, ears perked, muscles tensed and eyes widened. He had their attention and now, Eight joined in.
The younger wolf did exactly as he was instructed, he headed straight up the middle, biting and gnashing teeth as quickly as he could. Here was the smallest concentration of deer, the path he cut with his teeth went along simply, the herd's mistake; separating themselves up the middle to begin with.
Just as anticipated, the herd broke into two factions, one fleeing to the left, and one to the right.
It took only a moments notice for the herd to straighten up toward Eight. He was taken back for a moment and had to slow briefly as not to get trampled. It was now that he knew that Benjamin was behind him, pushing them up.
From a distance, you could hear hoof beats now, they filled the air with like a continuous thunder. The ground shook as the herd was led, yelps, screaming, barking and growling could be heard across a huge distance, unobstructed by anything as they traveled across the open plain.
Eight kept up as best he could, but found himself losing ground slowly, a moment at a time. Every time the front of the herd that out-ran him would try to veer to the left. Benjamin was on the right and doing just as they had plan, keeping the herd in a tight pack.
Eight was lucky though, the duty wasn't left up to him solely, When a few deer started to separate, a tan flash would come from nowhere and push them back into position before falling back again.
Eight saw this and it filled his chest with pride, pride that he could be a part of this, which in turn, gave his legs strength, his lungs breath and his paws a speed that he'd not know before.
Before he knew it, he was back on his position, barking, biting and growling at the long legs of these beasts.
He felt the fatigue almost completely leave his body - it was no longer a concern whether or not he'd be able to keep up.
They traveled a short distance now, keeping the herd between them constrained, with very little running room, only the rear was left open but Jayne was sure to have that under control.
The others waited just ahead, well concealed from the eyes of the deer, it would only be a short matter of time before the two driving wolves were joined by two more.
This bounty was as good as theirs.
The pack had taken only minutes to get to where the herd rested. Twenty yards between them and the rest of the Lioness' territory was a ravine, only just deep enough to stall the mule deer as they needed to locate various narrow game trails to cross it.
The hunt team was in luck, the herd hadn't crossed yet and they had one easy direction to run in.
Benjamin had slowed to a crawl and Eight took pace just beside him, catching his breath as quietly as he could. Benjamin ran with a speed that Eight hadn't seen. The old, small Alpha didn't make a sound as he crept along, no breathing nor ruffling of brush or grass, no paw steps, nothing.
Eight did his best to keep as quiet, but it was difficult. Benjamin crawled as quietly as a funeral, his years of experience and skill showed through.
By this time, the two could look through the thick overgrowth of tall grass and see the herd. Just as ever, they were nearly 50 strong.
Benjamin turned to Eight and whispered barely audibly,
"We'll cut off about twenty of them, any more than that and we risk too much. The others will fan out to the left or right, they'll be gone by morning. We get one shot at this."
His voice was less harsh sounding when it was silent, there was no grating sound to it.
Eight nodded and the two picked up pace to the hind side of the herd's stomping area.
They were massive, each deer must have weighed easily 200 pounds. Hunting these behemoths was no joke, they could pummel a wolf Eight's size with little difficulty.
Through the tall, lightly swaying grass the two wolves hunkered and sat in their positions for just a moment.
"I'll go first, put the fear into em'." Benjamin instructed. It was clear he must have been one of the best hunters in the pack.
"Don't wait too long. When you do, take em' straight up the middle, split em' in two. I'll stay to the right and drive our half away. Just be sure to keep right on them, this isn't a normal hunt."
"Got it." Eight whispered back, watching the small, stout wolf crawl forward another few paces. He knew what he was doing, this much was certain. He had a plan worked out, and knew exactly what weak spots to attack from only a moment of observation.
He stood, now and took off straight into a dead sprint. His small, fast form was barely noticed before he emerged from the taller grass into the Deer's area. Eight kept low and moved forward, keeping an eye on the Blur that was now Benjamin. The Alpha showed no signs of slowing as he bolted, he made no sound either. His form came in direct contact with the first deer in his path, the closest to the edge before it ever noticed he was there. Down the Mule Deer came, with an audible Thud as his lifeless body hit the ground.
Eight didn't even see the killing blow it all happened so fast.
A few deer spooked and looked to what had just happened, Benjamin wasted no time in getting the attention of the rest of the herd. He stood atop the corpse and howled loudly. Heads now turned and jerked that way, ears perked, muscles tensed and eyes widened. He had their attention and now, Eight joined in.
The younger wolf did exactly as he was instructed, he headed straight up the middle, biting and gnashing teeth as quickly as he could. Here was the smallest concentration of deer, the path he cut with his teeth went along simply, the herd's mistake; separating themselves up the middle to begin with.
Just as anticipated, the herd broke into two factions, one fleeing to the left, and one to the right.
It took only a moments notice for the herd to straighten up toward Eight. He was taken back for a moment and had to slow briefly as not to get trampled. It was now that he knew that Benjamin was behind him, pushing them up.
From a distance, you could hear hoof beats now, they filled the air with like a continuous thunder. The ground shook as the herd was led, yelps, screaming, barking and growling could be heard across a huge distance, unobstructed by anything as they traveled across the open plain.
Eight kept up as best he could, but found himself losing ground slowly, a moment at a time. Every time the front of the herd that out-ran him would try to veer to the left. Benjamin was on the right and doing just as they had plan, keeping the herd in a tight pack.
Eight was lucky though, the duty wasn't left up to him solely, When a few deer started to separate, a tan flash would come from nowhere and push them back into position before falling back again.
Eight saw this and it filled his chest with pride, pride that he could be a part of this, which in turn, gave his legs strength, his lungs breath and his paws a speed that he'd not know before.
Before he knew it, he was back on his position, barking, biting and growling at the long legs of these beasts.
He felt the fatigue almost completely leave his body - it was no longer a concern whether or not he'd be able to keep up.
They traveled a short distance now, keeping the herd between them constrained, with very little running room, only the rear was left open but Jayne was sure to have that under control.
The others waited just ahead, well concealed from the eyes of the deer, it would only be a short matter of time before the two driving wolves were joined by two more.
This bounty was as good as theirs.
