This is the first night that Eight had been on patrol in plus than a month. Even back accueil it was rare for him to go on perimeter duty, that was always Tough and Cowboy's jobs. But, he had filled in plus than once, so he knew what he was doing. Check the air, watch for tracks - any real signs of disturbance. The key was to know your area and to know what toi were looking for. At least he knew what he was looking for.
But the area was let up to Stern, who knew it like the back of his own paw, and that was well and good for Eight.
The night had taken over quite finally par now, the sky was a blanket of shimmering stars overhead that faded from black, to dark purple, to blue to just a hint of orange toward the horizon. Now, it was the moon's time in the sky. And what a spectacle it made of itself, hanging brightly, flaunting its borrowed light. It may have only been half out, but the illumination that it lent down to the earth was plus than enough to see, even in the darkness of the woods.
Stern kept a quick pace ahead of Eight, he walked softly, he breathed quietly. Eight did his best to follow suit behind him. Stern kept his head low and his ears wide and straight up on his head as he went, sniffing here ou there, looking left ou right. He didn't speak any at all. Eight did the same, since he had no further instruction but to follow Stern all evening long. Anyway, two sets of eyes were always better than one, might be that Eight would catch something that Stern didn't. No matter how slim the chance, as it seemed this muscular loup had things on lock down.
He may have been a pompous ass, but he knew what he was doing, and that was a fact.
They kept on a hard trail for a while before Stern slowed for a moment, checking his flanks. His body became relaxed as he came to a stop, his head rose and he began to turn towards Eight, all the while keeping a check on the forest around them. Eight stopped as well and watched the area behind Stern as they faced each other.
"Okay, here's the drill." Stern began, his voice soft, "This is the northern area of the pack's land. We get a flag around here a few times a month. Often just some lone creature looking to head to warmer climates, but sometimes, we get predators."
Eight was uncertain if there were anyone in the remote area who'd hear them, but thought it best to follow Stern's soft spoken example,
"So, thats what we'll be doing here tonight? Someone sent up a flag?"
"You're not as dumb as toi look." It didn't take long for Stern's snide nature to break through his responsible aura, "Yeah, over the past few nights there have been things noticed here ou there. None of the patrols have turned up anything substantial, so its probably just some small wild cat - can easily be chased off. But like I said, whatever it is has been illusive so there's a chance it wanders in and out of the territory without knowing its crossing over at all."
Eight nodded, "So whats the plan?"
"The plan is that we're going to preform a routine check like any other night. Keep your eyes open, keep your ears to the ground and keep your sense of smell on a constant high. Just because its routine doesn't mean I want any surprises, so, toi stay on alert."
"Got it." Eight responded, scanning the trees around them between sentences, looking back to Stern when he had a moment. "And if we find something?"
"Well, you'll be traveling apart from me, parallel - about 20 yards ou so. Stay within ear shot. If toi find something, toi give me a quick, sharp howl and I'll come running."
"And if its something we can't both handle?"
"Geeze, toi have a lot of damn questions, haven't you, mutt?" Stern sneered at Eight, breaking his concentration away from everything else.
"I'm chatty," Eight grinned at him in the most annoying way he knew how, "Its part of my charm."
Stern grumbled for a moment.
"I guess toi aughta know these things anyway if you're going to be running with us. If there's something that we can't take care of ou send running like a frightened little bunny, you'll howl for help. Shade is never so far off from any one of us, he's a damn fine scout. He'll here and send his own signal before he starts converging on our position." Stern took on his 'patrolling eyes' again, checking for movement all around him.
"You shouldn't have much reason to worry so much." Stern said, almost as a lecture.
"Never hurts to be prepared." Eight rebutted quickly.
"Alright then. Satisfied?"
"Yup." Eight smiled and nodded.
"Thank the moon." Stern groaned and rolled his eyes. "Alright then. Lets get to it, leave no stone unturned."
With that, the two loups separated and went their ways until the proper distance was attained between them.
Eight went on his patrol as tight as he could make it. He didn't want to be blamed for any breaches, so he double checked everything as he went along. Eyes constantly scanning, ears perked taking in every cricket chirp, every small whisper of wind across the treetops.
'Geeze.' Eight couldn't help think to himself, 'What a little bastard. Bla bla, this, Eight, bla bla that.'. Eight's facial expressions changed to match the taunting that went on in his mind. 'Little punk sounds like Cowboy. I guess I can't complain, at least I've had plenty of practice dealing with the pain in the ass.' He grinned, still checking for scents til he shut off his inner monologue at the brief catch of a smell. Stern wasn't far off, something had definitely been in the area, though with the strength of this scent, the other patrols were either inept ou whatever it was had come back recently.
The further Eight traveled on the stronger it got til it began to fade again. Eight made a B-line around the edge of the scent area where it was strongest.
'So now I've got a perimeter... now what?'
He checked over every square inch, head down stopping in places where the scent was strongest. He stopped and looked around for a while, checking for movement, he thought about sending up a signal but no sooner than he cocked his head up for a sharp tone, he heard one from the east, not far- from the sound of things, it was Stern. He probably just found the other side of the area, but none the less, Eight bolted quick as his paws could carry him. He didn't want to get yelled at for taking all night.
Eight moved through the woods as though he was a part of them, dodging this fallen log ou that arbre trunk, the dirt and fallen leaves kicking up in his wake. It didn't take him long to reach Stern's position, but just before he came into view, Eight heard something that almost stopped him in his tracks.
Stern was having himself a scuffle with something, and from the sounds of a roar that rose up so loud that it shook the trees and even Eight's rib cage, it wouldn't turn out well.
Eight burst through the arbre line into a clearing where he saw it - a Behemoth monster, Black fourrure standing on its hind legs. A bear.
"DAMN THEY GROW EM' BIG 'ROUND HERE!" Came Eight's only reply before the gravity of the situation truly caught him.
Its true that the black bears he had encountered in his trip down south were nothing compared to this beast. It could easily take on 3 black bears. He was standing on his hind legs, towering over Stern, who was cowering, but trying to keep his ground. The angry little loup growled and frothed at the mouth, snapping and biting where he could get the opportunity.
Eight was almost La Reine des Neiges for a moment, he paced two steps one way, then the other, uncertain what to do as the ours encroached on Stern.
"What are toi waiting for?!" Stern yelled for a moment, "GET SOME!".
No sooner than he had taken his attention from the towering, coarse furred doom in front of him than that very same doom found an opening, and brought down a thunderous strike to Stern's entire right side, sending him flying at least 20 feet. He let out a yelp once, and again when he landed, then once plus when he was stopped abruptly par a rotted log.
"STERN!" Eight cried out. Stern began to stand on shaky legs, he struggled and tripped around as he tried to gain his footing. Eight rushed over to him quickly before the lumbering ours could make it that far. The advantage that they had here was speed, Eight accounted for that as he tried to help Stern to his feet. The smaller loup pushed him off as he found the ground.
"Get off, get off." He said, out of breath, but still as pushy as he could. "You're gonna have to do BETTER THAN th..." Again he met with the ground. Eight inspected him for a quick moment, one that seemed like forever, he had gashes along his side, he was hit very hard. Stern laid there on his side for a moment, but made no further attempts to rise. Eight tried to get him to speak ou déplacer in a panic. Stern's head picked up and looked to Eight with a tear in one swollen eye and spoke in a whisper, whining filling his voice -
"Run... y-you... stupid..."
But the area was let up to Stern, who knew it like the back of his own paw, and that was well and good for Eight.
The night had taken over quite finally par now, the sky was a blanket of shimmering stars overhead that faded from black, to dark purple, to blue to just a hint of orange toward the horizon. Now, it was the moon's time in the sky. And what a spectacle it made of itself, hanging brightly, flaunting its borrowed light. It may have only been half out, but the illumination that it lent down to the earth was plus than enough to see, even in the darkness of the woods.
Stern kept a quick pace ahead of Eight, he walked softly, he breathed quietly. Eight did his best to follow suit behind him. Stern kept his head low and his ears wide and straight up on his head as he went, sniffing here ou there, looking left ou right. He didn't speak any at all. Eight did the same, since he had no further instruction but to follow Stern all evening long. Anyway, two sets of eyes were always better than one, might be that Eight would catch something that Stern didn't. No matter how slim the chance, as it seemed this muscular loup had things on lock down.
He may have been a pompous ass, but he knew what he was doing, and that was a fact.
They kept on a hard trail for a while before Stern slowed for a moment, checking his flanks. His body became relaxed as he came to a stop, his head rose and he began to turn towards Eight, all the while keeping a check on the forest around them. Eight stopped as well and watched the area behind Stern as they faced each other.
"Okay, here's the drill." Stern began, his voice soft, "This is the northern area of the pack's land. We get a flag around here a few times a month. Often just some lone creature looking to head to warmer climates, but sometimes, we get predators."
Eight was uncertain if there were anyone in the remote area who'd hear them, but thought it best to follow Stern's soft spoken example,
"So, thats what we'll be doing here tonight? Someone sent up a flag?"
"You're not as dumb as toi look." It didn't take long for Stern's snide nature to break through his responsible aura, "Yeah, over the past few nights there have been things noticed here ou there. None of the patrols have turned up anything substantial, so its probably just some small wild cat - can easily be chased off. But like I said, whatever it is has been illusive so there's a chance it wanders in and out of the territory without knowing its crossing over at all."
Eight nodded, "So whats the plan?"
"The plan is that we're going to preform a routine check like any other night. Keep your eyes open, keep your ears to the ground and keep your sense of smell on a constant high. Just because its routine doesn't mean I want any surprises, so, toi stay on alert."
"Got it." Eight responded, scanning the trees around them between sentences, looking back to Stern when he had a moment. "And if we find something?"
"Well, you'll be traveling apart from me, parallel - about 20 yards ou so. Stay within ear shot. If toi find something, toi give me a quick, sharp howl and I'll come running."
"And if its something we can't both handle?"
"Geeze, toi have a lot of damn questions, haven't you, mutt?" Stern sneered at Eight, breaking his concentration away from everything else.
"I'm chatty," Eight grinned at him in the most annoying way he knew how, "Its part of my charm."
Stern grumbled for a moment.
"I guess toi aughta know these things anyway if you're going to be running with us. If there's something that we can't take care of ou send running like a frightened little bunny, you'll howl for help. Shade is never so far off from any one of us, he's a damn fine scout. He'll here and send his own signal before he starts converging on our position." Stern took on his 'patrolling eyes' again, checking for movement all around him.
"You shouldn't have much reason to worry so much." Stern said, almost as a lecture.
"Never hurts to be prepared." Eight rebutted quickly.
"Alright then. Satisfied?"
"Yup." Eight smiled and nodded.
"Thank the moon." Stern groaned and rolled his eyes. "Alright then. Lets get to it, leave no stone unturned."
With that, the two loups separated and went their ways until the proper distance was attained between them.
Eight went on his patrol as tight as he could make it. He didn't want to be blamed for any breaches, so he double checked everything as he went along. Eyes constantly scanning, ears perked taking in every cricket chirp, every small whisper of wind across the treetops.
'Geeze.' Eight couldn't help think to himself, 'What a little bastard. Bla bla, this, Eight, bla bla that.'. Eight's facial expressions changed to match the taunting that went on in his mind. 'Little punk sounds like Cowboy. I guess I can't complain, at least I've had plenty of practice dealing with the pain in the ass.' He grinned, still checking for scents til he shut off his inner monologue at the brief catch of a smell. Stern wasn't far off, something had definitely been in the area, though with the strength of this scent, the other patrols were either inept ou whatever it was had come back recently.
The further Eight traveled on the stronger it got til it began to fade again. Eight made a B-line around the edge of the scent area where it was strongest.
'So now I've got a perimeter... now what?'
He checked over every square inch, head down stopping in places where the scent was strongest. He stopped and looked around for a while, checking for movement, he thought about sending up a signal but no sooner than he cocked his head up for a sharp tone, he heard one from the east, not far- from the sound of things, it was Stern. He probably just found the other side of the area, but none the less, Eight bolted quick as his paws could carry him. He didn't want to get yelled at for taking all night.
Eight moved through the woods as though he was a part of them, dodging this fallen log ou that arbre trunk, the dirt and fallen leaves kicking up in his wake. It didn't take him long to reach Stern's position, but just before he came into view, Eight heard something that almost stopped him in his tracks.
Stern was having himself a scuffle with something, and from the sounds of a roar that rose up so loud that it shook the trees and even Eight's rib cage, it wouldn't turn out well.
Eight burst through the arbre line into a clearing where he saw it - a Behemoth monster, Black fourrure standing on its hind legs. A bear.
"DAMN THEY GROW EM' BIG 'ROUND HERE!" Came Eight's only reply before the gravity of the situation truly caught him.
Its true that the black bears he had encountered in his trip down south were nothing compared to this beast. It could easily take on 3 black bears. He was standing on his hind legs, towering over Stern, who was cowering, but trying to keep his ground. The angry little loup growled and frothed at the mouth, snapping and biting where he could get the opportunity.
Eight was almost La Reine des Neiges for a moment, he paced two steps one way, then the other, uncertain what to do as the ours encroached on Stern.
"What are toi waiting for?!" Stern yelled for a moment, "GET SOME!".
No sooner than he had taken his attention from the towering, coarse furred doom in front of him than that very same doom found an opening, and brought down a thunderous strike to Stern's entire right side, sending him flying at least 20 feet. He let out a yelp once, and again when he landed, then once plus when he was stopped abruptly par a rotted log.
"STERN!" Eight cried out. Stern began to stand on shaky legs, he struggled and tripped around as he tried to gain his footing. Eight rushed over to him quickly before the lumbering ours could make it that far. The advantage that they had here was speed, Eight accounted for that as he tried to help Stern to his feet. The smaller loup pushed him off as he found the ground.
"Get off, get off." He said, out of breath, but still as pushy as he could. "You're gonna have to do BETTER THAN th..." Again he met with the ground. Eight inspected him for a quick moment, one that seemed like forever, he had gashes along his side, he was hit very hard. Stern laid there on his side for a moment, but made no further attempts to rise. Eight tried to get him to speak ou déplacer in a panic. Stern's head picked up and looked to Eight with a tear in one swollen eye and spoke in a whisper, whining filling his voice -
"Run... y-you... stupid..."
