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 Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 3:04 pm
Her adoptive parents had finally been able to birth their own blood-litter, and the restless pup had made sure to sneak away before she was asked to pupsit, or run an errand for her mother. Today would be her day, and she figured it would be happiest spent out of the territory.
It had been a while since she had been off the packlands and into the free-roaming forests that surrounded the northern side of her pack's territory. She had forgotten how beautiful it was, and how expansive it could really be.
The morning, and the dew that had clung stubbornly to her fur, had finally worn on, allowed her to dry out, and now the sun sent thin prisms of sunlight through the treeboughs that clumped high above her.
Today would be her day. Yep.
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 3:14 pm
As the morning settled into noon with the sun high in the sky, Stryder appeared in the forest's foliage. He had left the den to start scouting, even meeting a shaman-seer at a meadow and seeing his first friend Venda once again. He had moved out of the packlands, wanting to do something for his new pack alpha.
It was new times, maybe even bad times with what the shaman-seer spoke of. Scouting at the very least, seeing and hearing what was going on around and far away from the packlands was important. It was his duty to help keep a lookout for anything, anyone, worth noticing.
He slowed pace, smelling a scent of the air, foreign to him. Another wolf? It was fast approaching, so Stryder moved, trying to find a way to stay hidden... at least until he could determine what this scent was. It could be anything, maybe something of notable mention.
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 3:38 pm
Though Schatze had been a teen for quite a while, she was still getting used to having longer legs. She had been clumsy as a pup, but now things were only worse.
She was traveling a bit faster now, and not really paying attention to where she was going - oh the follies of the youthful. She could swear she smelled and heard something, but found it hard now to slow down. Her paws slid on damp pinestraw and other forest debris as she put on the brakes, hoping she could at least avoid collision with something dangerous, like a tree.
When she did slide to a stop, entangling herself in a bush with a loud "whump" sound, she peered around sheepishly. "Hello?~" she dared, trying to catch sight of what she had smelled. By her estimation, it was indeed another wolf, but she still hadn't seen the fellow yet.
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 3:49 pm
Stryder almost, almost chuckled as he watched a wolf almost barrel past him, getting caught up in a bush as the wolf stopped. He held it in though, no need to maybe infuriate the wolf. He peered closer under his hood, seeing that the wolf was a she-wolf, was female.
Now this was curious, the female didn't smell as if she had been away from other wolves for a long time. In fact, maybe in the past few days she was with others. Why was she barrelling around out here? As far as Stryder could tell, there wasn't a pack until at least half a day's run.
He came out, appearing before the female, making sure not to make any too sudden movements greeting, "Hello."
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 4:07 pm
In the safety of her home - her family pack - Schatze was high ranking for a teen. Being the Alpha's grand-daughter had its perks, even if she was adopted.
But out here? No dice... she was a loner like everyone else, and it was kind of fun to play the part. She slowly worked to untangle herself from the bush as the cloaked male appeared. How interesting he looked. She had a feeling of familiarity for a moment, but it passed quickly. It wasn't very often that the she-wolf met another so heavily adorned with un-wolfly belongings as herself.
When she was free of the offending foliage, she stepped aside from it and bowed her head at the stranger. "Glad I didn't hit you." she joked lightly, with a sideways glance at the bush. It was so embarassing. ;.;
All the while, she kept her tail and ears neutral. No need to offend anyone or cause them to think she thought too highly of herself. Neutral territory was just that. No wolf ruled out here, or at least, no wolf should on free land.
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 4:34 pm
Unfortunately, Stryder couldn't keep in the chuckle. He shook his head immediately, and apologized to the young she-wolf. So interesting, adorned with things he had seen two-leggers with but not those like the white pale ones. Made her almost cute... pretty. No no no. Where in the world did that come from? Noooot something he was supposed to ever think on, especially about a pretty young lady. There it was again.
He coughed, shaking his head, before gazing down at the young she-wolf. "No, no it's quite a good thing that you missed me. What's a young female like you doing out on free land? Where's your pack? I can't believe one such as yourself would be a lone."
((I can't believe I had him think that. It just came out when i was typing about the edits. Baaaad. ))
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 4:44 pm
Schatze grinned, glad that he had noticed her joke and laughed. She ducked her head once more, still slightly embarassed that she had skidded into a bush. Though it was most like her grandmother - she had told stories about her first few flings with her first mate. Loki had sat on a prickly bush, she had been so nervous and not looking where she was sitting.
Schatze shook her head, clearing the memories of the story that had been told to her when she had come to the pack as a puppy.
"Wandering, mostly, and trying to avoid hurting myself." she smiled big, and couldn't resist another joke - maybe it was the best way to heal bruised pride? "My pack lies to the South, established along the coast and ocean." she explained, giving herself a shake to rid her fur of any lasting leaves.
"Are you yourself lone?" she wondered aloud, almost certain that she hadn't accidentally wandered onto another pack's lands so soon. She also wondered if this stranger had a name. If not, she would just have to call him Mystery, she thought to herself with a gleam in her eye.
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 8:02 pm
Stryder gazed at the females adorning objects, still almost mystified by how cute they made the young girl. They fit her well..
"Until I just recently joined a pack, I was... What's your name? My name's Stryder..." He absent-mindedly said. He was taken in by the way she carried herself, how she looked. He shook his head... Oh no!
Stryder almost panicked, moving closer to the girl. "Please, please don't tell anyone that that's my name. I... I'm not supposed to let anyone know, for my and my pack's safety. Please, would you call me Jaeger out in free lands?"
Stryder hoped she would agree. If not... he might have to take drastic measures... and oh he couldn't. ;-; It would be so... so pitiful. He didn't think he could, could do much to hurt her... But it was his duty. If he couldn't protect the pack now, so soon after joining, it was not right.
((... I never realized I could ever make him ever seem any type of sappy *****. But he seems to come out that way. Baaaad. Baaaaaad))
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 8:31 pm
She noticed him staring immediately, and blushed a bit under her fur - well, at least, she felt her cheeks growing hot.
"My name?" she was cut off as he introduced himself, seemingly absent-mindedly, and then seemed to change completely in demeanor. She backed up a bit, but was taken unawares when he moved closer to her. Her ears flattened against her skull slightly with this new development.
"Stry..." she nearly choked out half his name, before calming herself. "J-Jaeger." she smiled weakly, trying to relax, and hoping that he, too would relax. It was odd, and it had startled her, but she was ok now.
In fact, the whole idea of it was highly interesting to the girl. She loved the idea, that a pack could be so... mysterious. There was that word again. Schatze liked that word, and loved how the day was turning out.
Str... Jaeger looked absolutely dashing, on the outside. She couldn't quite tell what was under that cloak of his, but she figured it was all well and good. His muzzle was so curious, but she would ask about that later - no need to bring it up, as she figured it could be a potentially sore subject.
"I'm Schatze." she smiled again, her eyes sparkling up at his. Her ears had finally unglued themselves from her head, and she was feeling better. She wondered - if the pack was so secretive - if she might be able to find them, and maybe even become a part of it all.
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:35 pm
Stryder tried to sound the name out. Such a nice name, for her. Schatze... Schatze. He was still curious. What was she doing out here... and how did she get the adornings she wore? He gazed at her, realizing that she had tensed because he had suddenly approached her. He let a little relieved sigh when she called him Jaeger. She accepted it, took it in.
"Schatze..." he tested the name out. He liked it. It fit her. "Greetings, Schatze." He almost grinned, madly, with the combination of the muzzle.
"Sorry," He said. "I... I can't have others knowing my true name. It would be bad, for the safety of the pack." He almost put his head down, but he couldn't. He couldn't tell her, because it was for the pack. He gazed down at her, not knowing if the adornings were not fit for a conversation like so.
"So... pretty... er uhh... So Schatze. What's a young female teen doing out on free lands, without any pack with you?" He shuffled, moving his leather clad paws a bit, nervous especially over the fumble.
(())
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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 9:47 am
She wondered briefly if new wolves to this pack got to choose their... their "public" names, or if they were assigned by the mysterious alpha. She didn't want to ask; she was almost sure she wouldn't get an answer. Not that that was a bad thing.
The stranger, Jaeger - she had filed his real name away in her brain for later - had a strange accent, well, strange to her anyway. It was possible that she was the one with the accent. Coming from different sections of the woods could do that to someone, and the thick salty smell from the ocean definitely stuck in her fur no matter how far she traveled. Who was to say there wasn't a strange accent on her tongue to go along with it?
In any case, how he sounded and spoke was very different from the way her friends and family in the pack did, and she enjoyed it. She loved the way her name sounded, coming from a different mouth, and grinned back at him with her tail swishing softly behind her.
"It's alright, Jaeger." she added his name in reassurance, "I understand it all, there's no need to explain further."
"Well," she started, not wanting to sound like a whining teen shirking responsibility, "Circumstances in my family pack have caused things to be so boring lately, and it's always nice to be able to run free - to scout the lands outside of the pack." It was a good idea, and the adults sometimes did it to find new members, or meet with other packs to discuss borders and alliances.
She wondered what he was doing out here, but again, was pretty sure she wouldn't get an answer, if it had anything to do with his pack.
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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 10:05 am
Stryder's tail waved in the air, hearing his false name out o her mouth. It eased his fears and he knew she was a special young wolf. The smell of salt water had been filling his nose, letting him know that she was running for quite some time, away from her family pack.
Stryder nodded his head, "Wanting some freedom from your pack, Schatze?" He said her name again, wanting to say her name so much.
"I... I'm out here to help my pack," Stryder fumbled a bit, putting one of his paws on the bush Schatze had been stopped by before quickly pulling the paw back. "Scouting... seeing if there was anyone or anything worth noticing or mentioning to my alpha."
Stryder shuffled a bit, inched closer, and then sat a little closer to the younger she-wolf. He peered down at her, and decided to do something stupid. He pulled at the feather to her ear, quickly and gently. Settling back he asked, "So... how did you get these?"
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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 10:23 am
"Just a bit of freedom." she kept her smile. "Sometimes you just have to get out, see new things, meet new wolves?" the statement was also a question - did Jaeger feel the same way?
"It's also good to help out. I used to leave the pack as a pup, trying to find new pups that had been lost, or didn't have family. Hoping they could join me in my pack, as there were no pups at the time except for me." she confided in him. There hadn't been any pups in so long, and now... her beloved adoptive parents had been able to have their own litter.
They weren't treating her any differently with the change, but she still felt a twinge of jealousy sometimes, late at night...
It surprised her when he moved closer, and even more so when she felt the smallest of tugs at one of her feathers.
"Nina..." she half-whispered, barely getting it out. Since the day Hannah and Johnny had pupnapped her, she had tried hard not to remember...
She missed the human girl terribly, but was unsure if she would ever find her again. She had just been a pup too, when they had been together. That day, Nina and Schatze had sat in the thicket playing, and Nina put the rings and feathers in Schatze's ears, and beaded the leather to wrap around her tail... and the special collar... the friendship so pure, they didn't need a shared language.
Schatze stood motionless as she remembered, tears welling in her eyes momentarily. Nobody understood the bond she had shared with the little native girl... and if she were to seek her out, would Nina even remember her?
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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 10:38 am
Stryder nodded, his pack and his alpha were important. It eased his hurting heart when he had been with the pale two-leggers. "Quite an important job there, Schatze. No pups at the time? Does... that mean there are pups now?"
Stryder's ears flopped forward at her distressing sound. He had made tears come from her eyes, and the word she half-spoke... Nina? It sounded... heart-wrenching. Stryder moved closer, keening a little. He didn't know what to do. He dearly wanted to know, to know more about her, maybe soothe her own pains. But... but wouldn't it hurt to speak of it?
Stryder remembered, speaking with Venda about his past hurts helped. Even when he couldn't say all of it. He nudged Schatze with his hooded forward, the stone necklace moving a little. "N...Nina? Was.. she important to you?"
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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 10:51 am
"She was like m... she was my sister." she sniffled, hiccuping a little. She wondered if Jaeger would understand the true meaning of the bond if he were told that Nina was a human girl, and not a wolf.
"My sister!" she fought the urge to be angry now, still crying. "Not those whelps that... that.." the pangs of jealousy over the new pups hurt her heart more now, now that she realized just why she was jealous. Not over Hannah and Johnny's attention, but jealous that they could have their family and keep it, but they took her away from her sister!
"I don't even know if she's still alive. Her pack was big and strong but she was weak... weak like me." she squeaked out. Her vision wasn't fading like the little girl's had been, but she had her own weaknesses all the same. She had felt that it was her duty to stay by the girl, and she had failed - scooped up into the caring jaws of a pair of wolf parents without their own litter to care for.
The she-wolf nuzzled closer to Jaeger, seeking comfort in the hidden world under his cloak. The cloth muzzle he bore felt strange against her own free muzzle, as she rested hers under his chin.
"But some day I hope to find her again. I can only hope she'll recognize me after..." she trailed off. The blind couldn't see, and Schatze had noticed that the humans didn't have the strong sense of smell that wolves had - a skill that allowed them to know each other without even having to see.
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