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 Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 9:06 am
Orion stood atop a small, grassy hillock near the Ice Edge river. From this watch point, just past the dense forest which spanned the pathway from the inner territory, the young male could see right down the sloping valley which led out of the Aves pack territory. His slate grey eyes surveyed the land critically, noting where the trampled ground suggested something large and herbivorous had come by in numbers recently and, more generally, noticing the burgeoning budding, readiness of the land as it began its long run towards the growth of late spring and summer.
Spring always came late to these northern lands, the reason for his unusually plush fur, but once it had come, the valley burst into life, starting at this most southern end. The trees here had come into leaf, the grasses, like those at his feet, had begun to grow again and, amongst the tall, green leaves were spring meadow flowers. Orion could smell their soft, sweet scents as he started to move forward again and his legs brushed against their soft, pastel blooms. Less beautiful were the burrs and sticky ends of some plants which caught a little at his fur, readying themselves for later in the season when their seeds would be transported thusly across the whole of the land nearby.
Orion's 'mission' was to scout to the south of their border, to see if there were any new wolves there and if so who, how many, and what their disposition was - his mother had been a little worried to send him so far with no accompaniment, but Jove's patient insistence that he was more than capable and that she should treat the youth as an adult, not the small pup she had reared, had finally won her over. Mu'sha was a mother, but she was also proud of her children and did not want to smother them. She herself had been brought up with a lot of responsibility and it had strengthened her!
So, here he was, heading south into the unknown. Orion wasn't a natural wanderer - he loved his family and cared greatly about the future of his pack - but he was curious about the 'southern lands' which he'd only heard about...
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Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 12:58 pm
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Oh by the wind, it was absolutely freeing to be an adolescent. For one, she could boss Yue more now that she was easily a size that needed but to sit on her to crack her fragile bones. For two, she was now open to very new feelings, as some of the males in Aves might have witnessed. And for three, longer limbs meant more ground travelled per stride - always a plus! More and more Li Ming found herself away from her family, more and more wanting to explore the flatlands below . . . None of the spirituality the pack was based about seemed to seep into her, although on occassion she did wonder if perhaps when she died she'd be reincarnated into the most beautiful jewel in the world. Then they'd set her up high in the mountains for all to see, and she could always catch the light of the moon and sun . . .
But then Li'd shake her head from such things, snort, and move along. This newfound power of flirting was something to explore! No wait, land first, new land first! Who knew what sort of jewels lied about, waiting to be discovered!
As it was, she was just exiting the fringes of the Barrier Forest when she spied a grayish figure headed south. It took her a moment to remember that his name was . . . Oreo? Something like that. She'd seen him chatting it up with the alpha, and a few words had been blown to her: something about going south. Perfect! Grinning, Li Ming ducked into the trees until "Oreo" had made some distance between them, then cautiously began to tail him. The last thing she needed was to be sent back to the pack, and frankly the teen loved to sneak about. How else would she become a world-class jewel collector? Or, well, so she assumed.
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Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 1:21 pm
Orion moved swiftly through the grass, head bobbing up and down as he moved between sniffing air and ground - storing away the scents and what they were associated with for the future almost unconsciously. His body was not large and his muscles not pronounced but he could move at a fair pace, a ground devouring trot that was common to most wolves.
It wasn't for quite some time that he realised someone was tailing him - he hadn't been expecting it and realised that had been rather lax. One would never expect when one was being tailed, but should always be alert. At first a flash of annoyance welled up - the thought crossed his mind that, despite what had been said, his mother had decided he was not to be trusted on his own and should be followed to make sure he was 'ok' or, worse, to make sure he was competent.
As he continued, though, he began to realise this was not the likely reason. The one following him was not bad at stalking but simply seemed to be more heavy-footed than any of the hunters Orion had learned from. Maybe one of his siblings? He didn't think any of them would be sent. Var and Tolero were good hunters and he had hunted enough with either to know their step. Besides, he figured either of them would have come right out and walked beside him rather than sneaking. The girls? No, he didn't think either would follow him.
When he walked into a particularly tall strand of grass he moved off to the side, keeping his movement soft and fluid so as not to disturb the grass enough to show where he'd moved to. The wind, as was his luck, was blowing crosswise so whilst he couldn't smell who was behind him yet, neither could they smell him. He crouched down, waiting.
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Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 1:29 pm
The land was particularly beautiful, she realized. Not always crags and dirt and rocks and snow, but capable of hosting a gala of colors and scents. Distracted easily as she ever was, Li Ming didn't notice that her target had disappeared momentarily from her line of sight, pleased enough to just be sniffing about. "So spring isn't so bad after all, Jade," she told her necklace after a while. "I have no idea what these flowers are called, but they aren't half bad to sniff. Just goes to show that it's better to leave the pack every once in a while, get a better view of things besides the same ol' faces!" Sure, they were technically still in the Aves territory, but if this was all within those confinements, imagine what outside of it looked like!
Right then and there she forgot about her gray target and began to trot on forward, looking quite pleased with herself for the day's schedule.
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Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 1:49 pm
Orion sat for a while, waiting. When nothing arrived, he wondered if the one who'd been stalking him had seen his moves. A little while later and he began to wonder if they'd simply decided that they couldn't see him any more and so turned back. Just as he was about to stick his head up, another wolf walked right past him.
It took him a minute to figure out who it was - one of the young of the green and orange pair who were currently residing with the pack. Li Ming. An odd name, but he'd made sure he knew all of them, so as not to appear discourteous to the visitors.
The couple had seemed odd to Orion - his parents had made every effort to welcome them and show him that friendly strangers, even strange southern ones, should be very much welcomed alongside the pack. The pups, when they came, held little interest for a young male and he'd been too busy learning his own way in the world to worry about theirs. He was actually surprised at how big the young female was - he was sure the last time he'd seen her she'd been barely big enough to reach her mother's belly.
At least, then, he was somewhat sure that his follower did not have any ill intent - though why she had been following him and now seemed to be heading south he had no idea.
Cautiously, he raised himself up out of his crouching crawl and started after her - he wondered if he should say hello, though he didn't want to get tied up in all of the pleasantries expected of a scion of the pack, but just following her would be odd, discourteous. As he pondered this, he had already begun unconsciously following her - not staying entirely out of sight but not really making himself know either.
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Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 1:57 pm
Careful not to get too close to the river - stars, it might be frigid still, and her poor Jade couldn't possibly get wet again! - Li Ming continued onward as a casual pace. Maybe she'd run into one of those pups she'd met a long while back again: Urban, the boy she'd managed to work with to acquire her beloved possession in the first place, or Brooke, the oddly quite boy who just liked to stare at her most of the time. Or maybe that teen who had weird clockwork markings . . . "gears" or something; humans had such strange names for their creations! Though preferably Urban or . . . stars, what was her name again? Skip something. Well, Skippy had given her a nice little ride about, so she wouldn't midn that again; though her new size probably wouldn't allow for it . . .
Drat! Well one drawback amongst many positives wouldn't ruin her good mood. Li Ming decided to turn about and see what the mountains looked draped in Spring's regalia . . . and instead was met with Mr. Oreo, the one she was supposed to be trailing. Without being seen. "Oh! Well. This is something," she mumbled, blinking, and then continue at a regular volume. "Crap. Er. Don't mind me, just was moving south myself at the same time. This is south, right? I'd hate to get lost again."
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Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 2:10 pm
Ugh. Just as he'd been pondering whether or not he should make himself known or slip off quietly, taking a long way 'round, she'd made the point moot.
She seemed a little flustered, though, not angry at him following her but, he thought, she had been following him to start with. She didn't even seem to know where she was going.
He wondered why she was headed south. Maybe her family was planning on moving on, sometimes soon? Or maybe, given her tone, they didn't know she was gone.
Orion raised a grey eyebrow. "Hey... do your parents know you're headed this way?" Wow, that sounded somewhat lame and had the overtones of his mother in it. To mollify the bit of him, inside, which railed against the strict adults who had been such an instrumental part of his upbringing, he added "Yes - so long as you follow the river away from the packlands you're always heading south".
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Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 2:17 pm
Phew, so she didn't look completely lost . . . right? Li affected the air of confidence once more. "Thought so, but had to be sure of course. Can't be too careful, right? One wrong step and I could be miles away from where I wanted to be." The mention of her parents made her scoff. "I'm not a pup anymore, I can take care of myself. I've been outside Aves anyway, so it's not like I can't handle a stranger."
Thankfully, "Oreo" didn't know about the incident with the humans, not as far as Li Ming knew. When she and Urban had infiltrated the camp, they had been spotted and nearly mauled by one of the guard dogs. Needless to say, she now hated the mutts and never spoke of the embrassing and almost fatal encounter. "Not like I'll be gone for long," she added with a small shrug. "My parents say go for freedom, so freedom here I come! Till dusk anyway. Then Yue will be chittering on and on about how I left without her too." She sighed.
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Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 2:32 pm
Orion took in the wall of chatter with a hint of disbelief covering a shred of awe. He'd never been outside the packlands and here was this young female telling him she took sorties out all of the time? He did wonder, though, how much of what she said was bravado - she wasn't that big, yet, and though she looked as though she might eventually overtake Orion in size, she wasn't there yet and skinny to boot. That, and he'd been able to come up on her without her realising, made him think there was more wishful thinking to her words than fact.
Still, he wasn't the type to call someone a liar without knowing the facts - sometimes things could surprise you, as could easily be learned by any wolf hunting for 'defenceless' prey.
The idea of parents who would let their young free to roam until dusk was something he had often yearned for. His childhood had been full of intsruction, order and, when he expressed an interest in hunting: training.
"Well, if you head much further past this ridge you won't be able to get back before dusk" he said, trying not to sound like his mother with every syllable. He paused before adding "who is Yue?" He knew the young female didn't have any sisters - only had two brothers.
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Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 2:39 pm
"And why not?" Li Ming challenged. "I can rock climb, thanks; kind of a neccessary skill here. And I'm good about night vision too! Besides, the nights are getting shorter, so I have even more time before dusk anyway." She huffed, looking offended. Ooo, she bet "Oreo" thought she couldn't do it just because she was younger and . . . and a girl! Well she'd show him! She'd show all of them!
"Yue's a squirrel who watches over us; like that means anything," she explained with a little roll of her eyes. "I think she's just trying to act like she's doing something so she won't get eaten. Reminds me sorta of your parents, though way mroe black than white, but she's rocking the purple too. Anyway!"
Before she could get distracted again, Li Ming turned about and began to follow the river again. "South!"
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Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 2:49 pm
"I just meant..." he started, as she gave him a chance to get a word in, then promptly headed south. Brow furrowed in consternation, he trotted after her "I just meant it's quite far from the den and after that it takes a good few hours walk back." The Aves territory was surprisingly large, though he supposed she might manage a bit further before dusk than the ridge if she could run a good bit of the way back. He hadn't meant to be offensive, only helpful.
"A squirrel?" he wondered aloud "Is she your totem?" Orion was not familiar with the concept of animals as companions - they were food or perhaps interesting to watch for a little while, but not something you kept as a pet unless, perhaps, there was a spiritual bond there.
Unintentionally, he had begun to walk alongside her - mission half-forgotten as he tried to keep up with the new ideas he was being exposed to.
"Why do you want to go south, anyway?" he asked, curiosity piqued, wondering what would come out of the mind of this strange, young, orange female, who seemed to be cannoning through life at a fair clip.
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Posted: Wed May 05, 2010 9:41 am
His explanation didn't deter her. "I'm used to walking for a good few hours anyway; good exercise! Can't be a dainty damsel in distress," Li said as-a-matter-of-factly. Stars, then she'd have to be rescued! What manner of wolf let that happen? The kind that didn't have the skills to take care of themselves, that's who!
"My to-what? Oh, totem? Heck no," Li Ming went on with a snort as they walked. She didn't seem to mind that she was being accompanied now, since it seemed obvious he wasn't about to stop her. "Never really bothered with the spiritual stuff, no offense. Just doesn't get on me, you know? Too 'materialistic' or whatever." She shrugged - like liking jewels was a bad thing! "Not a really deep wolf either. Weird that I was born in a pack all about spirituality and finding yourself and stuff, huh? Really I just keep her around as an excuse to snap at her nagging. If that makes sense?" Li had a weird relationship with Yue, like it'd be too strange to not have a little conscience on her shoulder to pummel when she felt like it.
"As for why I'm going south, well . . . 'Cause I feel like it? I mean, it's pretty enough here in Aves. I want to know what the world's like outside, and I've got wanderlust, man, wanderlust! What about you?" Li asked, playing oblivious to what she overheard between him and Mu'sha. "Were you about to leave too?"
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Posted: Wed May 05, 2010 11:20 am
Orion smiled at her bravado - knowing that at her age he'd been trying to prove something to himself, and others, too. He'd have never admitted he ever needed help ever - he'd now mostly grown out of that, though he knew a touch of his annoyance at the idea of being accompanied on this mission was the last lingering touch of that youthful pride.
Her views on the pack spirituality didn't entirely surprise him - her parents, whilst interested in the beliefs of the Aves, had never attempted to integrate into the pack - they were and were happy with being, visitors. It was a little odd that they didn't believe, but well within his scope of 'understanding'.
"So... you have a squirrel that follows you around and bothers you... and you don't eat it?" his curiosity was piqued. Even though he said the squirrel was good for venting at, he still thought the idea was a little odd.
"I want to see what's outside too" he agreed "but I'm just going to check the borders, see if there's anyone nearby we should know about". He didn't have to go into details, he figured.
Despite her rapid-fire chatter, the grey male wondered if there was more to the young female than at first apparent - she seemed to have ideas beyond her age - even if they didn't gel with his own beliefs.
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Posted: Wed May 05, 2010 12:58 pm
"Preeeetty much, yeah," Li Ming said with a nod. "I mean, she came over when I was a pup and has been there ever since. I think of Yue like another annoying sister - well okay, I only have brothers, but still. Normal wolves don't eat their siblings even if they're really annoying. They just snap at 'em and stuff. It's sorta like that, I think." She giggled a little. "I have a midget sister who looks nothing like me! Works out anyway, since I barely look like I'm related to Cethin and Radek. All we have in common is some spare orange and black and all the uneveness. Not that I mind looking like I do," she added with another small shrug. "Plainness is rare now with everyone looking so dazzly. I can sneak around better if I don't have all those . . . epic markings."
Riiiight, enough of that. Boy, she was chatty today! "Well, guess I can come check the borders with you for a bit," Li Ming told him. "Didn't catch your name. It's Li Ming in case you don't know."
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Posted: Sat May 08, 2010 12:14 pm
Orion found the idea of a squirrel as almost a sibling more than a little weird, but each to their own - she already seemed a little eccentric, so it didn't seem somehow... out of character. "I think sometimes I could have taken a bit out of some of my siblings" Orion joked, smiling. He got on well enoug hwith most of them now, but there had been times when the bunch of them had fallen prey to the usual problems of pups holed up together in a den at the end of winter.
He eyed the young female. "You look a lot like your mother to me" he admitted. All he could see was orange and black, he hadn't looked much closer. The young female's brothers were pretty dazzly, but he thought that Li Ming sort of outshone them just by virtue of being able to be seen from a mile away with a coat so bright. He wasn't sure if she'd like that or not, though, so he held his tongue.
His smile became indulgent as she suggested accompanying him "Sure, I guess I wouldn't mind some company. And it's Orion".
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