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 Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 9:39 pm
 Amaury didn't eat often. She was a small wolf; she could not hunt large game, nor did she need that much sustenance on her lonesome. The last time she had taken down anything of size was with the adolescent Abital.
She treasured her nights with the girl, a bright spot in her memory of the last months. Abital had been filled with the whims of a pup harnessed by the confident coolness of a young adult. And they had had conversation, something Amaury had been missing for a long time.
Enough. It was time to find food. Stalking on silent feet, her ankh glinting in the setting sun, Amaury paced to the edge of a Native village. Amaury had placed humans into two rough categories: the Natives, who lived with the forest, and the Settlers, who walled it out. There were exceptions. They were often not worth noting. The air was filled with a delicious scent; smoking meat. The hunters had brought back three huge deer; already one of the racks was in place above a young man's home. Three deer were more than enough for the village, and Amaury knew of this place. They respected the wolf and praised it for its attributes; if seen stealing meat to survive, Amaury would not be run off.
Still, it did not due to be seen. It was sloppy. Lying down in the tall grass that grew up around the clearing where the semi-permanent village sat, she kept her head erect and her ears up, motionless as she watched the human's activity. It would soon be night, and they would bank the fires and put what they had smoked indoors; she would have to move before then, but not while too many milled about. She could sneak between the houses and take what she needed; of that, she was certain. As long as there were no surprises, this would be an easy feast.
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Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 5:31 pm
Lite-Brite was wandering without paying attention to his surroundings, an act that was foolish and out of character. With his bright coat that screamed for attention he had learned early on to always be focused and aware of what was paying him any heed. His pink eyes gleamed in their sockets appearing all the brighter against his flashing yellow fur. He snorted softly, he couldn't even look at his own reflection without feeling like an eyesore.
The male was distracted by the mild throbbing pain that echoed from behind his right ear. Whatever had knocked him out had surely thought him dead, or not worth the effort. He had awoken in a small pool of his own blood surrounded by his beloved packmates, the breath long gone from their bodies. His alpha's body was not there, and he only hoped she had survived with a few others. He did not hold it against her that he had been left, after all he felt dead for weeks after. It was only by some miracle that he had managed to find his way to a river and pass out. He would wake confused as to the days and time passing. He would drink and snap up a fish if he was lucky, and then one day he managed to get to his feet.
Slowly he had healed, slowly he had regained the ability to hunt small game, the rabbit, squirrel, fish were his meals. He spent all day filling himself up, only to wake with a roaring hunger and a fierce pain behind his head and eyes. This was no way to live, he had to find whatever was left of his pack.
He looked up startled as he realized he was brushing the outskirts of a two legged village, not the closed in kind, this one they would spot him. He quickly threw himself low and tried to crawl behind some better form of cover.
((lol I just realized the yellow is eye raping, feel free to copy paste it elsewhere to read and respond after.))
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 2:32 pm
Amaury was not in a benevolent mood to begin with, being hungry and anxious, so when she heard the noise of another large animal like herself throwing itself into the bushes, she was upset. She did not want her cover blown. Her head snapped up, eyes narrowing to look at the poorly-camouflaged wolf beside her.
He looks like a… a fish, she thought, still not benevolently, but he did. Like a brilliant, bizarre yellow perch, his white stripes like the reflection of sunlight off water. If he had been quieter, Amaury could have mistaken him for a mirage.
Now, though, she was not so poetically minded. "What are you doing?" she hissed. "Do you want the two-leggers to kill you? Steal a child, then, and be done with it."
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 9:08 am
Lite-brite stared at the dark wolf to the side of him with shock, he hadn't even realized she was there! His pink eyes narrowed at her words and he growled softly his tone hushed and tinged with defensiveness.
"I didn't MEAN to come this way, I'm a bit...lost." He said the last word bitterly and huffed trying to get lower down to avoid being seen. Would those two leggers really kill them? He didn't want their pups, he didn't even want their food or water. Well...maybe a scrap of food wouldn't be too bad. He frowned to himself and tucked his tail against his side.
"I suppose your here for one of their pups? Can't have one of your own kind?" He grumbled.
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2008 10:29 am
Amaury blew hot air through her nose. A bit lost? Wandering around by the two-leggers with a coat that stuck out like a canary in a flock of blackbirds? He's either stupid, or brain-damaged. "I wouldn't call an action foolish and then go right ahead and do it, would I?" She lifted her head and ears, demonstrating her contempt at the idea. "I'm here because I'm hungry, and I know I can get a meal." She glared at him. "Or I could, if a fish-colored wolf doesn't blunder through the bushes and alert the hunters that I'm here."
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2008 9:12 pm
"Fish colored?" Of all the comments he could have focused on that one struck him, he glanced back at his own pelt curiously confused. He supposed there were some fishes he might resemble, not the common trout of course...but some. His mind was a confused tangle as usual unable to focus without the intense pain behind his ears. He looked back at her.
"I'm sorry...I don't mean to spoil your meal. As I said it was-" But he had quite forgotten what he had said and so he stood there looking confused as he searched his memories with twinges of pain. "It was..." He murmured and looked down before his head snapped up "An accident!" He nodded before crouching lower and looked at her apologetic.
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2008 10:23 pm
Though her own thought about brain-damage hadn't been serious, she began to realize that it might truly be the case. From the look in his eyes, she could tell he kept spacing out, losing the thread of the conversation and of his own thoughts.
"Yes," she said quietly. "You look like you're deep underwater. Very deep."
Now she didn't know what to do. This wolf was obviously confused, and while she felt a bit upset for being upset at him earlier, she was still hungry. She didn't want to leave him here, though; if he grew forgetful again, he might do something foolish. "Here," she said. "You can help me, if you want. These natives respect the wolf; if you wander through their village, they will watch you. I swear," she added. "I have done it before; you will not get hurt. And while they're watching you, and I can get enough meat for the both of us."
This would be funny: her, with her coat that blended in with the wood and mud, and him, with his coat that blared like a siren. Working together.
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Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 8:50 am
"Oh..." He murmured and her words made strange sense in his head, as if it was in agreement, everything felt underwater somehow. He snapped his head up with a soft gasp as if he had been drowning and coughed lightly downwards. He felt the throbbing pain behind his ear and looked at her his pink eyes using the dark of her coat as a soothing balm to the brightness left flashing from the setting sun.
"Okay, I can do that...enough for us both?" He looked at her slim frame a moment before nodding and wriggling away from her to walk into the village from the other side.
He wondered for a moment if she wasn't sending him to his death, an easy way to get rid of a wolf foolish enough to commit such a suicide, walking into the midst of the two leggers. As the pain behind his ears increased he realized he didn't care if she had sent him off to die, he would simply be meeting his originally intended fate after all.
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Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 2:18 pm
Amaury settled back into the tall grass to wait. And wait. When the brightly-colored wolf stumbled into the village, he got exactly the reaction Amaury had hoped for. Brilliantly-patterned wolves were common in these woods, but few were as unique as this one. The humans stepped out of their homes to watch him; they picked up their children and told them in hushed tones that wolves brought good luck to the hunters, and the wolves with strange pelts brought the most blessing.
Amaury did not know if this was true; she knew that many humans viewed wolves as a bane, so if they brought good luck, why wasn't it universally recognized? Perhaps they only brought luck to those who believed they did.
Amaury didn't believe in much.
She rose to her feet, stalking into the village, keeping low to the ground, her pelt matching the earth beneath her feet. She found the sticks of meat that hung above the fires; lifting her head, she gripped one carefully in her teeth, being sure not to let it clatter to the ground. The humans would not remain enthralled forever. She carried the meal back into the brush, hoping the humans would not recognize that it was the work of the wolf, and waiting for the male to rendezvous.
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Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 3:22 pm
Lite-brite was a bit caught up in the fact that he was being stared at by so many two leggers, on the other hand staring was better then killing. His tail lifted and he relaxed beneath their gaze. Maybe they weren't so bad after all, he gently nosed the foot of a smaller one and moved along through the village until he reached the end. He leapt into the brush and slunk away hoping his bright colors wouldn't be spotted or sought after.
His pink eyes picked up the dark she wolf a little ways away and he grinned as he realized she had managed to get the meat. His mouth instantly filled with saliva, and he tried to recall his last meal, sadly the time and days escaped his mind.
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Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 9:25 pm
Amaury saw and noted the ease with which the other wolf moved among the two-leggers. It was more like her own attitude toward than them other wolves, though she did understand that caution was the safest mindset. She herself, however, had rarely had much to fear, unless she was caught stealing their treasures.
Using one paw to hold the long stake in place, she clenched the chunks of meat in her jaws and pulled them off the wood, one by one. They had not cooked very much, and the blood still ran red when she bit into a piece. "Here," she said, pulling only a few pieces to herself. "You may eat as much as you need; after all, we both earned it, and you are larger than me."
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Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 4:56 pm
"It seems your plan worked perfectly!" He grinned and moved to share the meat with her tentative. He lay down across from her and pulled the meat from the stick feeling the tender pieces slide down his throat. How good it felt to get some nourishment, and how much better it felt to be sharing a meal. He sighed softly feeling the familiar pang, he missed his pack, he hoped that somewhere out there some of them still lived.
The pain behind his ears lessened and he looked over Amaury carefully "I suppose It was rude of menot to ask before, but what is your name?" He lifted his head and smiled "They call me lite-brite."
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Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 10:57 pm
I wonder if he glows in the dark? she thought to herself, but thought it best not to ask. If he were a normal wolf, she probably would have; at worst, he would have stalked away, angry, or began a confrontation from which she would have stalked away. However, he was not right in the head, and she had met wolves like this before. Certainly, his odd habits seemed to end at confusion, but she feared that confusion could turn swiftly to violence. Sad, that she pitied him as much as she feared him.
"My name is Amaury," she answered, tendons dangling from her mouth still. "It was good hunting, Lite-Brite."
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Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 11:51 pm
"Amaury, well thats pretty." He swallowed another chunk of meat and sat down licking his fangs. "Hunting? Well yes I guess in it's own way it was..." He smiled and let his tail waver.
"Thank you for splitting it with me. I must admit I was worried you had sent me to my death." He chuckled as if unfettered by his previous assumption. He had after all been certain that fate would be angry at his escape from death the first time around. He only hoped that whatever surviving packmates he had out there were doing alright.
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Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 9:06 pm
Pretty… it had been a long time since anyone had called her name pretty, if at all; her mother possibly had, though it did not stick in Amaury's memory. To her, a name was just what you were called--sometimes descriptive, but often nonsense. The compliment made her uncomfortable.
"Well, I said I would not," she answered after swallowing, a little offended. "I believe in making friends, not enemies, because enemies often have friends." That was her life's philosophy, to have everyone on her side. Not in a pack--a pack was too easily torn apart, from the outside and the inside--but everyone else she met.
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