Misty morning hunt

[Inari]

The sounds of snapping branches and rustling undergrowth broke the otherwise quiet of the early morning. The panicked bleating of a deer rang through the air, muffled only by the mist that clung to the forest floor.
Inari panted as she ran after the deer, snapping at it's heels when she got close enough, all the while trying to avoid a kick to the head. While she was considerably larger than the regular wolves that were around the area, hooves to the face still hurt.

Perhaps it was due to being focused on the hunt, perhaps it was the mist clouding her senses, but neither Inari, or the deer it seemed, noticed they were running right into a hidden camp.
"what the-?" Inari's focus dropped from her prey for a moment as she swerved to avoid running right into a wooden building. She quickly caught sight of her prey again, which was running through what little crowds were out in the early morning hours.

"Coming through!" she barked at them, cutting through a group of individuals as she tried to close the distance that was put between her and the deer.

[Hikaru]

The deer careened headlong through the camp, not caring what group it needed to nearly dash through. People were dashing here and there, some not knowing what was happening. A few panicked thinking that they were being attacked again. It was a bubbling pot of madness.

That was pierced by a single deafening crack.

The deer toppled, dead before it even crashed into the snowy earth of the camp. If it weren't for the sound of the gunshot, it almost seemed as if the deer had dropped dead from the stress.

A few dozen yards away, Hikaru knelt in a shooter's crouch, rifle raised to her shoulder. The faintest plume of smoke issued from the barrel marking her as the gunman. With out blinking, she lined her sights towards the dire wolf that had pranced through their camp. But she with held from firing. It was precautionary measure. It seemed as if the wolf had just chased this deer into the wrong place. But with everything the Dawnseekers have been through?

There was no such thing as being -too- cautious now a days.

[Marahute]

Massive wings carried Marahute through the skies with ease, the enormous Golden Eagle relishing in the freedom to be able to come and go as she pleased once more without her wings aching from wounds that had finally healed completely. Despite this Marahute still preferred to remain close to the Dawnseeker camp just in case anything happened and this morning she was glad of that decision when she heard a gunshot emanate from the camp's direction.

With practised ease Marahute tilted her wings to turn and swoop back towards the camp, folding her wings against her body to speed her descent before flaring them as wide as possible suddenly as she landed atop the wooden barn house with a loud scree, crimson hues quickly identifying Inari as unfamiliar and potentially a threat.

[Veir]

The cow elk reared. Although she was small for her species, she was plenty big enough to knock most humans down as she dove through them. Veir was acting solely on instinct at that point. Something startling had happened: she startled. She lowered her head to butt those in her way aside. All that was on her mind was to put distance between herself and the movement.

But then she froze at the sound of the gun.

When her body released from paralysis, she turned her head. Dark ears folded back. Veir had undoubtedly spent most of her life sheltered, but she wasn’t completely ignorant; she knew what guns were. Hazel eyes spotted the deer, a taxonomic cousin, laying on the ground. Narrow pupils then fixated on the perpetrator. Why? Abuse of power.

Veir blinked and looked at the wolf next. Honestly she wasn’t keen to step in and defend it either. She had every reason to believe it might try to snap at her, especially considering what just happened. The elk just stayed where she was and watched, slowly lifting her head and fanning her ears.

Of course, Veir wouldn’t say what she was thinking, far too shy and too concerned that being honest about her feelings would make her seem mean.

[Inari]

Paws skidded to a halt at the sound of the gunshot, the deer dropping with a loud thump in front of her.
Tounge lolled out slightly, Inari caught her breath, eyes scanning those present to find who had taken down the deer. She caught the sight of the smoking gun first, then the human holding it.

Flopping her hindquarters down on the dirt, she flashed a grin at Hikaru's direction,
"Thanks for the assist."
Normally she would be a bit more peeved about her kill being stolen, but it was clear this was their territory, and it wasn't like they were a rival pack or anything.

The nearby bird cry made her look up, curiously. Inari was quite a bahemoth compared to a regular grey wolf, but this eagle very much dwarfed the dire. Colour her impressed.
She noticed the elk too, but didn't pay her much mind. She had her breakfast, and the deer would give her enough energy for a couple days.

An ear flicked, and she spoke again, addressing those gathered more so as a whole than anyone in particular,
"Sorry about encroaching on your territory, I didn't smell any scent markers around, had no idea this place was here. If you want, I'll just take my breakfast and go."

[Amaraq]

Amaraq's presence within the camp had been understated since their arrival. In action they were quite average: pulling logs and providing support for the groups sent out to collect game every few days. Without direct orders the wolfdog tended to simply... Exist. Sleeping, eating, chasing the occasional rabbit that dared encroach on the Dawnseeker camp grounds.

Taking the infrequent piss on the corners of the log-constructed dens.

It was this particular action that they were interrupted during, leg half-cocked as a shot rang out. Amaraq's head swiveled while the rest of them stilled, resulting in a comical sight as the hybrid blinked owlishly. Gunfire had become commonplace on hunting trips even for an animal whose origins laid in much more primal times, but never within the camp itself.

Paw thumping back to earth Amaraq turned and padded towards the source -- only to be confronted with the sight of the most absolutely gi-nor-biggous wolf they'd ever come across. Amaraq couldn't even take them in at a glance, eyes instead flicking from feature to feature.

Paws. Muscles. Head. Eyes.

Oof. Muscles.

Amaraq's mouth thinned into a pursed line as their tail fluffed up.

[Moana]

She had been helping patch up a few of the canoes she had brought with her from Motunui which had gotten damaged after a storm had blown in the night before when, like many others, the sound of the loud gunshot had sent Moana running. The noise was so loud it had caused her to jump and she was half curious and half afraid of what it could have been the cause. She had only recently been introduced to the concept of a gun, a much more powerful weapon than the bows her tribe had used, but it was her understanding that they were too dangerous to be fired in the camp and were only supposed to be used by hunting parties foraging for food.

The first thing Moana saw when she burst into the clearing was Hikaru, gun still smoking from her shot. Her first thought was to angrily demand why Hikaru had been so reckless as to fire in the camp, risking injury to animal and person alike. However, then her eyes follwed where the rifle was being pointed and saw the massive wolf that made her heart leap to her throat. One thing she was still not used to was how massive the animals could be here, easily dwarfing any native creature she had ever known from her home.

"H-Hikaru?" Moana called out to her "What is going on here? Who's that?"