(OOC - Posting order is as follows: Eclipse, Shadow then Kat)

With Winter going underway, there was little hope that the harsh survival conditions as well as the weather would soon be over. As if some greater being had decided to amuse itself with a test for the Hunters of the territory, to press them even deeper towards the troublesome border of starvation for the pack, a snowstorm had been unleashed over the land and had lasted a week so far; seven days longer than what any wolf would have wanted. How hard they were already working to keep the kill pile stocked reasonably high, it was becoming a routine day after day: wake, hunt, sleep. It was not that the cold disturbed him at all despite him originating from the warmer southern country, only that it caused the herds to migrate in search of any nutritious grasses exposed from the depths of white and unscathed by frost. Week by week newer wolves happened upon the borders and many were accepted and serving amongst the ranks. Romance had arisen between mates which made the brute suspect that small paws will be running around Helidos come next Spring, getting into trouble and interrupting the adults whilst they try and do their duties. All in all things were looking positive for the start of next year, but in the meantime struggles were to be had, such as gathering together the team to hunt.

Eclipse lurked around outside of his pack's territory. Not a single trace to suggest prey inhabited the forest could he find within the grounds of his peaceful pack. Early morning it was and yet the storm still surged about the landscape, blowing up snow and shooting fallen sticks and loose soil into the path of the canine. A drift of snow fell from the branches of trees not far from where he stood, though he had purposely stood out in the open so nothing potentially dangerous could fall on him. A smoky exhale lingered on the air before a gust of wind dragged it away like a raging river would pull a fallen leaf downstream, twirling and twisting. Shuddering, the brute thought it best to keep moving so that he wasn’t just an immobile target for the debris and wind to hit. He shook off his pelt and trotted forward, not really knowing where he was headed for he didn’t know the unclaimed land all too well.

Eventually his paws met something wet as well as cold, which when he peered around he found himself to be on the verge of an expansive body of water. A lake? The clarity of the water was amazing to the extent that mountains and trees reflected on the surface seemed as clear as if he was stood before them. However he had to avert his eyes to the ground as another wave of air brought sleet towards him, covering him in sharp fragments of white. Only then did he notice the prints beside his paws, the cloven hoofed tracks of deer scampering clockwise around the lake. They seemed fresh judging by the fact that they were visible despite the snow blowing around. His nose twitched and caught a scent of male deer just barely. This was a good sign since the bucks were physically exhausted following their rutting season, which would mean they were easier to hunt. Silently his lips parted, salmon painted tongue slipping over his jaw to moisten his muzzle as he envisioned tearing into the animal’s flesh. Tail twitching, his eyes flickered closed as flurries swirled around him, tilting his snout to the grey sky as a call of the wild forced its way powerfully from his chest. Growing hoarse from the effort to make his song heard alongside the whistling of the wind, politely requesting the presence of Lead Hunter Shadow and others of the team he had not yet met for a group hunt to hopefully make their duty more fruitful. Whether the prey heard his tune or not was not an issue, for if need be the wolves would follow them for many days until the opportunity for the kill presented itself.

A hill. A very large hill and a black wolf. A she wolf at that. She sat and peered at the land around her. Ears swiveling in circles as he listened. The harsh wind blew her fur around in the currents. Bright orbs of sapphire watching the tree line and shadows as the sun moved across the blue sky. The she wolf sighed and stood, turning back to the tracks; but they were now covered with fresh snow. Nosttrils flared, she began to sniff again. Looking for a sign of anything. For the pack kill pile wasn't nearly as hefty as she promised herself she would keep it. It was low, and dangerously at that. With new pack members coming in and with other she wolves becoming pregnant with pups. The kill pile needed to be rather high to fill everyones needs, more so their energy needs; for wolves needed their energy to keep their duties up to date. Lots of energy. Her and her partner, Lead Hunter Eclipes; had been giving it their best. It had been hard with only the two of them, hopefully with the new hunters things would go smoothly through the winter months. Lead Hunter Shadow slightly hung her head, feeling as if she had failed her pack. Knowing that she could do better, but the herds where moving so fast in search of food themselves. The circle of life could be cruel at times, more so when the condition suited it well to be cruel. At the thought she slightly growled and looked up, turning her face away from the wind as it blew shards of snow at her. Once the wind died down again she lifted her muzzle to the sky and sniffed, hoping to catch a scent. Any kind of scent, that came from anything. At this point, she would have went after an elk by herself. Should one show itself, but with a sigh he padded onwards. Aimlessly walking about as she was just about to give up on her hunt. But convincing herself that if her and the others could only get together on a hunters hunting group, that maybe; just maybe they would have a chance. So she picked up her pace and headed for a cliff that she saw in the distance, stopping at its peck as she looked over the white blanket that covered the once green and lush land. It was beautiful, but dangerous at eh same time, just as most things beautiful were. Herself as an example, she was beautiful when friendly; but threatened or hurt she was dangerous and lashed out at almost anything.

As Shadow stood upon the cliff looking out over the snow covered land, she heard a song. A wolves howl of a song, male at that. Soon realizing that it was her partner, Eclipes; a grin drew across her maw as she heard his song play on the air with the wind as it blew about. Once his song was over, she lifted her head and let her own song play notes on the wind. It was long and well sung, slightly high pitched, but not to the point where it wasn't beautiful. Shadow held the notes a little longer and then slowly went back to her grin. Turning back and making her way down the cliff side that wasn't to steep. Her paws slid slightly as she placed all of her weight on her hind paws and then leapped over the last boulder she came to, jumping into a snow drift. Soon popping back up and on swift paws made her way to the large lake before her. Barking once to locate her partners pin pointed location. Once Shadow hit the waters edge she came to a complete stop. Seeing Eclipes's outline finally as she drew closer to the lake she ran to him, panting from her long run. She stopped before him and caught her breathe. "You howled for me?",her voice was slightly rendered from breathing in the cold, frosty air. Shadow sat as she waited for his response.

Katyusha stood at the base of a large tree, muzzle pointed down at the fresh snow and covered roots of the massive timber she stood before, the small wolf just slowly leaning back and forth, causing her head to bump against the tree roughly, not enough to cause any form of serious injury, but more than enough to get the newest hunter's attention "Stupid Stupid Stupid....you promise them you can hunt in the winter, it's your specialty even...and you make a stupid mistake." the huntress growled to herself, the chitter of a raccoon up the tree almost mocking her failure as yet another meal escaped her clutches, if just barely. At the sound the fae's ears would perk, her head tilting back and a growl leaving her lips, before the frustrated wolf caught herself and fell silent. Between the frigid cold, howling winds, blinding snowfall, and overall success rate of her now multi-day hunting trips in what was starting to seem a feeble attempt to find a herd, the wolf was lucky she hadn't succumb to gnawing the tree down to continue the hunt after the raccoon, at least she could claim to hold that bit of sanity in check, even if the rest of her had begun to slip.

In a mix of punishment to herself, and desire to maintain the food source for any who may be sickly or in dire need, the hunter had cut her own rations in half, picking only the smallest game in the pile to take and only about half as often as she should, hoping the hunger and self inflicted shame would drive her to a better hunt, although judging by the ever shrinking pile the fae felt it safe to assume the other's hadn't had much more luck, but they also hadn't claimed to be a expert cold weather huntress. With a final defeated sigh the fae would turn from the tree, giving one more harsh bark to the mocking creature it saved, before stepping into a small clearing, lifting her nose to the air and searching it for any lead, dropping her head again and sighing "There's a lake somewhere around here....if it isn't frozen yet it may be a lead." she muttered to herself, before sighing again, trying to convince herself she had always done that and wasn't just loosing her mind.

As the fae continued her battle to convince herself she was sane, a wolf's song would grace her ears, the two digits perking quickly as she twisted her head, trying to narrow down it's direction in the whistling wind, and trying to figure out if it was even real, although the quick response quickly sealed any doubt of it's existence. With a little grin the fae turned towards where she thought the first had come from, pausing for a moment "Should I reply....but what if they aren't Helidos....I guess we'll find out." she spoke again, making a mental note of the distance, and the terrain she remembered in that direction, as well as wind direction, wanting to take no chances of being surprised or attacked if outnumbered, before quickly putting paw to snow and pushing forward, making another mental note to stop talking to herself. Now that she had a baring, the fae still had her speed to brag about, skilled paws pushing through the snow as if it hardly existed, powerful thrusts sending her in bounds over the soft material below, before coming together and leaping again, avoiding any resistance it presented. This quick sprint regrettably came to an end shortly, as the glasslike surface of the lake came into view, as did the figure of a larger male wolf on it's shores.

Carefully the small fae would crouch, using a snow logged bush of some kind to take cover behind, carefully watching his actions while maintaining the best distance she could and keep visual contact, the heavy snow decreasing her visibility by more than she liked, although it worked both ways, making it a little easier to conceal herself. The small fae didn't recognize this wolf, and from the distance and heavy snowfall, she couldn't catch enough of his scent to determine pack. With slow, careful steps she started her approach, moving towards a large drift, before a familiar face did appear. She had met this wolf just once, but remembered it was her lead Hunter, who's name the hunter was still a little unsure of, but she believed it was...Shadow? After just another moment of hesitation, the fae saw there was no hostility between the two, and stepped out of her hide onto the clear bank of this lake, giving the pair a bark to alert her presence while she approached. Once the hunter cleared the gap, she gave each a light bow of her head, keeping silent for now until she knew what was going on.

There he stood, so dauntingly close to being able to provide the pack with a kill but still unable to do so without the assistance of another wolf, or two. Though the bucks were weakened from their fighting displays between each other for the sake of impressive their faes to mate with them rather than a rival, they still wore antlers and hooves which were capable of inflicting fatal damage. And it also had to be said that he himself was weakened from a lack of nourishment, so was in no state to be trying to maul a full grown male deer to death, alone at least. Eclipse stared longingly at the cloven marks beside his paws. After a few minutes he lowered his muzzle and sniffed around the tracks, attempting to determine the numbers within the herd and how long ago they had passed by. To his relief and utter delight, the deer had passed by just moments before he had arrived, and there weren't so many that would cause the hunting to be extremely difficult. With a lighter feeling in his heart, things were seeming positive. The hunter's head perked up from his investigation when a song funnelled through the harsh winds and fluttered by his ears. Perhaps he didn't recognise the voice, but it was hope all the same. To have his request answered so soon was a blessing as he needed to be hasty in their pursuit of the prey before they covered too much distance and gained a big advantage over the wolves.

Slowly, his patience was draining as adrenaline pumped in his veins. Another gust sent shards of icy snow raking against his face, in his eyes, and with a frustrated growl he turned away from it all, only to be faced with a slightly exhausted hunting partner. A disbelieving expression resided on his face, surprised by how swiftly she had gotten to him, and how easily she had found him. Well, she wasn't lead hunter for nothing. Grinning slightly as she took a seat, the male nodded "I did. I was hoping you would be available to help me hunt. Judging by how fast you got here, I suppose-" His sentence was cut off as a sharp bark sounded, and he quickly shot his golden-framed pupils towards the wolf whom it had come from. Head lowering, he took deep breaths through his brown nose, nostrils flaring until he deemed the fae as safe due to belonging to Helidos. Until now he had not seen her around but could  remember her scent from within the pack. She was a petite fae, easy on the eye, and one he figured was not to be underestimated. "Hello there. I'm Lead Hunter Eclipse. If you have come because you heard my howl, then you may assist us on the hunt. As for our target, it seems that when I arrived here some deer had sensed my presence before I had sensed them, what with the blasted weather" Flicking his eyes down to the ground, he pivoted and pointed out the tracks in the snow which had almost disappeared, being buried deeper by snow as it continued to cascade from the sky. "They headed west around the lake. I suggest we go for an old stag that has been worn out from the rut. But first, Shadow, do you need to catch your breath?" Glancing to the said fae who was panting, he assessed her to see if she had regained a steady pulse following her bolting towards him from whatever distance she had been from his location. It was better to wait for the team to be in their prime condition then to run after the prey as soon as possible with a tired hunter and the whole thing to become a shamble. Now they had the opportunity to make a successful kill, they had to do it right and support each other. Working as a pack of three within the larger pack; cooperating together to achieve the same goal.