Rook & Others

The black wolf hopped down from his perch on an old water pump, a gentle splash echoing through the near-silent water treatment plant. The only other sound was the gentle babble of running water through the long-abandoned sewer tunnels. His reddish-orange eyes were adjusted to the darkness of his home; navigating this labyrinth was no challenge to him.

As he loped down a corridor, he let out a few yips to call the Delvers together. Orinoco, a yacare caiman, was already nearby, and responded with a low rumble. Lumina was quick to race through the maze of tunnels, familiar with each and every turn, to meet her distant cousin where he stood. Nyami, an armored rat, grunted at being woken from her sleep and thumped her foot to gather the other sewer inhabitants - mainly rats, who she knew were plentiful down here. She groomed the spines on her back before bounding off towards the tunnel that connected to the water treatment center. Whatever Rook was planning, it had better be good enough to rouse the pack.

Rosy , Marko, Juna, Inka & Oro

Rosy and marko had been grooming at the call and moved to join the others.

Inka, who recently gave birth to Nedo and Jinji followed the others.

Juna the muskrat and Oro the opoossum joined.

Blackfrost & Night Star

In the dimly lit world of the sewers, the wolfdog's pitch black fur blended in seamlessly with her surroundings. It was a trait she'd inherited from her father, along with her slender build, dense ruff, and almost absurdly large, tall ears. It was with those ears that she heard the yip's of Rook, and quickly leaped down from a workbench where she'd been napping. Though echoes could be tricky in their home, Black had adapted well to this environment, and honed in on the patter and splash of her leader's paws as he traveled through the shallow waters. Hanging her ebony tail loose behind her, Blackfrost carried herself in Rook's direction.

Night Star had been sunning herself under a sewer grate in one of the side tunnels when she heard Rook, and the assemblage of pitter-patter that followed. A bit loathe to leave her warm napping area, even if the thermal activity of the Valley assured a few hotspots in the sewers regardless of sunlight, the caiman gave a grunt similar to her mother as she pushed off into the waters and made her way for the gathering point.

Rook & Others

Rook watched as his pack - or most of it - gathered before him. Lumina stood beside him, her expression stoic. "It has come to my attention," Rook began, "that our food stores are running low." Indeed, Rook had been losing weight due to his promise to take care of the pack's needs before his own. "Prey is scarce down here and the surface is perilous, in that we cannot risk bringing attention to ourselves. Allies with other packs are a last resort. We should not get involved with surface politics. The foragers have been great at bringing in sustenance, and while the rations are useful and appreciated, we require more food, and larger prey. For this, Lumina and Orinoco had some ideas, and now I will let them speak." He took a step back, nodding to Lumina first.

The hybrid addressed the crowd, never breaking her serious demeanor. "To all go out at once is too dangerous. Instead, we should hunt in pairs, avoiding areas known to be frequented by other packs or humans." She sensed the apprehension from Rook, but continued nonetheless. "And to keep our home a secret, we should drop off our hunted prey and gathered vegetation down storm drains and have Orinoco and Night Star pick up the catch and bring it to the main chamber." She gestured toward the entrance to the dilapidated water treatment station that acted much like a large chamber in a cave. "This way, we avoid bringing unwanted visitors to the subterrane." She returned to her place beside her leader, waiting for Orinoco to present her idea.

The caiman raised her head and rumbled her own proposition. "At the far end of the southernmost corridor exists a weak, crumbling ceiling. Rook tells be that it is just on the edge of city limits and that deer and other prey feast upon the plants that are reclaiming the surface." Rook seemed unsettled at this idea as well, but he let the caiman continue. "If we chip away at the manmade terrain that is directly above this region, the ceiling will collapse, and we can place branches and other foliage above the hole. When the prey walk over it to eat the foliage, they will fall in and be trapped, ripe for the hunting." With that, she lowered her head and was silent, signalling for Rook to get a word in.

"Both of these ideas have their strengths and flaws, and either one could work, but our numbers are low. We need more pack members in order for these tactics to work without too much risk of exposure. For this reason," Rook gave a pause to consider if he really wanted to add to the pack, but he went on, "we may have to brave the surface and find more individuals to invite to our ranks. It is critical to only recruit loners without affiliation to any established pack." Lumina, Orinoco, and Night Star were exceptions to this rule, the caimans having been here long before Rook and Lumina being a relative of Rook who had cut ties with her family - or so she claimed.

Rook cast a glance at Blackfrost, but quickly averted his eyes. "We must also consider starting families of our own, just as Inka has." The hybrid finished his announcement and listened for any input from the pack. He knew that sooner or later, they had to ascend to the surface, and that crossing paths with another pack was inevitable.

Rosy , Marko, Juna, Inka & Oro

Rosy and Mark sat together listening to the canine. Well the hunting they couldn't really do too much of as they weren't built as hunters scavangers yes but not hunters.

Inka sat on her hind end, her sons romping around the group playing. Their father had been killed by a pack of dogs before they had been born. These two weren't scared of the reptiles that were present.

the others listened.Juna tilted her head.I can help aquire branchs and the likeShe said.

Blackfrost & Night Star

Blackfrost stood attentively during the announcements, nodding here and there to offer her support and interest to what was being discussed. And towards the end, after catching the hasty glance by Rook, she let her gaze linger a moment longer on the leader before shifting it and taking a step forward. "I believe all of these suggestions will work well for us. I volunteer for the partnered hunt and the search for further recruits. I know of a few choice areas to search, and have a decent understanding of where humans tend to travel." Her yellow eyes swept the group, falling briefly upon her leader, offering her services to him, before glancing to Lumina and the others.

Night Star's thoughts went to the crumbling ceiling, trying to recall the exact southern corridor that was mentioned. Once Blackfrost had stepped back and Juna offered her assistance, it was the hybrid reptile's turn to raise her lean snout up next, "I have suggestion." Her voice came in cool and rasping, "I obviously wont be of any help dismantling the hard stone in the tunnel, and I fear the canines would get injured trying to do it themselves. But, I've seen the handiwork of the local rodent population. The rats in particular." Night had a taste for the rodents, but also had a good deal of respect for their cleverness and utility. "If we can convince some onto our side, I think they're agile and intelligent enough to know just where to chew to get break it away safely."