"Th' hell is it?" she asked, gaze swinging back and forth across the snow as she abandoned her crouch and stood up. She flared her nostrils; the scent was still there, was it the wind that was tricking her? She spun around, brow furrowing with a mixture of confusion and aggravation as she bounced between snuffling at the air and ground for any chance of something fresher. Now that she was standing above the ravine, her beady eyes caught sight of nearby churned snow that she would have missed while stalking beneath the hills. It must have heard them and took off earlier, maybe while they had been speaking.
"Shhhhit," it took a considerable amount of effort to keep her voice low, fresh anger bubbling against her throat as she stamped a heavy paw and curled her lip. A part of her--a selfish, childish part of her wanted to blame Maureen for distracting her, but it wasn't as if Ida hadn't willingly invited and participated in the conversation. It was her own damn fault, as much as it stung to admit to herself. The great dog snarled and gnashed her mandibles, but stomped forward to smash her nose into the earth again and fight to find a fresher scent on the churned snow.
From the corner of her eye she could see Maureen hesitantly following suite, but whatever has peaked her interest seemed to be on a different trail than that of the few loose moose prints Ida was desperately circling the trees to connect. Her back was turned when she heard the telltale cracking of undergrowth and a distant spray of snow, and her broad head whipped around on instinct to see the shape of something small and lean bolting away from the other dame. It wasn't the moose, but Ida bit back a groan of displeasure before setting her jaw and turning back to her own misadventure.
Moose couldn't just disappear; they weren't particularly stealthy creatures. The dog plodded heavily after the trails of churned snow, confusion bubbling into irritation as her own trail crisscrossed and intersected that of the elusive moose's and sent her tracking in winding paths around the pines. She bit back a yell, instead allowing her chest to rumble with the beginnings of a growl as she circled yet another tree where the trail seemed to end. Eventually however, Ida reached her limit and groaned, throwing her head backwards.
"Fucking god!"
It was at that moment when the tree itself seemed to jolt and shift, and Ida caught a glimpse of a frightened, hateful eye as the branches turned and revealed themselves as strange wooden antlers. The base of it rose from the snow, shedding ice and pine as it shuddered and twisted back into a shape more recognizable to her. Its camouflage had been discovered, and what seemed to be the moose brayed in cornered fury as Ida flinched and took a step backwards at the sight. It seemed to peel itself from where it pressed against the trunk, pelt rippling and shifting from the appearance of bark back into dark fur before it lunged out with a back hoof towards Ida's shoulder, snarling in a way she'd never heard a moose capable of before.
--
MYSTERIOUS MOOSE:
HP: 5
Dexterity: 2
Stealth: 5
Strength: 4
DICE ROLL: Dexterity
SUCCESS: Ida manages to duck and roll out of the way.
FAILURE: Ida is taken by surprise and hit by the moose's kick, taking 1 point of damage.
"Shhhhit," it took a considerable amount of effort to keep her voice low, fresh anger bubbling against her throat as she stamped a heavy paw and curled her lip. A part of her--a selfish, childish part of her wanted to blame Maureen for distracting her, but it wasn't as if Ida hadn't willingly invited and participated in the conversation. It was her own damn fault, as much as it stung to admit to herself. The great dog snarled and gnashed her mandibles, but stomped forward to smash her nose into the earth again and fight to find a fresher scent on the churned snow.
From the corner of her eye she could see Maureen hesitantly following suite, but whatever has peaked her interest seemed to be on a different trail than that of the few loose moose prints Ida was desperately circling the trees to connect. Her back was turned when she heard the telltale cracking of undergrowth and a distant spray of snow, and her broad head whipped around on instinct to see the shape of something small and lean bolting away from the other dame. It wasn't the moose, but Ida bit back a groan of displeasure before setting her jaw and turning back to her own misadventure.
Moose couldn't just disappear; they weren't particularly stealthy creatures. The dog plodded heavily after the trails of churned snow, confusion bubbling into irritation as her own trail crisscrossed and intersected that of the elusive moose's and sent her tracking in winding paths around the pines. She bit back a yell, instead allowing her chest to rumble with the beginnings of a growl as she circled yet another tree where the trail seemed to end. Eventually however, Ida reached her limit and groaned, throwing her head backwards.
"Fucking god!"
It was at that moment when the tree itself seemed to jolt and shift, and Ida caught a glimpse of a frightened, hateful eye as the branches turned and revealed themselves as strange wooden antlers. The base of it rose from the snow, shedding ice and pine as it shuddered and twisted back into a shape more recognizable to her. Its camouflage had been discovered, and what seemed to be the moose brayed in cornered fury as Ida flinched and took a step backwards at the sight. It seemed to peel itself from where it pressed against the trunk, pelt rippling and shifting from the appearance of bark back into dark fur before it lunged out with a back hoof towards Ida's shoulder, snarling in a way she'd never heard a moose capable of before.
--
MYSTERIOUS MOOSE:
HP: 5
Dexterity: 2
Stealth: 5
Strength: 4
DICE ROLL: Dexterity
SUCCESS: Ida manages to duck and roll out of the way.
FAILURE: Ida is taken by surprise and hit by the moose's kick, taking 1 point of damage.