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 Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 10:57 am
He made his entrance upon the slender female in silence, gliding across the forest floor until at last his eyes settled on her own. Despite their wavering countenances, neither Harlequin nor Marley took the initiative to attack. A soft featured female of many off-the-wall habits remained fixed to her seat, eyes just as adjusted on the foreign male as her rump seemed to be. As if bewitched by a hard, calculating, and frankly charming emerald glare, Harle looked on quietly and waited.
Finally, Marley gave her a smile and parted his lips, watching as her fine black hairs rose rigidly.
“Hello there.”
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Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 9:25 am
She was impartial to intruders, especially those who showed up with little warning and crossed some widely known personal boundaries, but had grown accustom to their sporadic entrances after the year spent scout--spying. (Harlequin had to remind herself of that fact routinely.) Harle was an experienced weasel and knew just how to size an enemy up before there was an attack...so she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that if things got a little too touchy for her taste here, her escape would be precise and simple. Yet, she had often found it benefited her to stick around situations like this, ones that would otherwise call for immediate action to be taken, and see where the pieces fell.
Her eyes were harsh, her tiny frame hunched over in her seat, the hairs along her spine pointed accordingly, but the curiosity was easily read when her lips parted and she retorted frankly,
"Hello."
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Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 9:37 am
His smile was distorted by the dark luster in his eye. Marley was readying himself for a fight, although not one so physical as those he had enjoyed some time ago--during the younger days of his lifetime. He was scouting for something specific, something that would ensure his portion of the pack would benefit from war and onslaught just as Dunn's would. Surely, the Commoners side would need wolves clever enough to convince others of many things...be it treason or murder, or patronage for the sins they may or may not have committed.
Finding wolves with intelligence would be the difficult part, however taming their loner ways or, perhaps, taking them adrift from a pack they once knew and loved; now that would be simple. Marley's posture did not slack in his stance while he noted the females heckled form. He had been watching her hunt, coming forth through the shadows just as she settled down to take a quick breath, and knew there had to be at least an ounce of sly in which he would favor.
His muzzle flared with excitement when she did not flee the scene, and when she spoke...it sent tingles down his spine. Rounded ears twitched aloft his head, registering her small yet powerful tone.
"I'm sorry to have encroached on your immediate territory, but I am a bit puzzled by something..." Marley's charm came into play, letting his alpha tendencies fall for a moment to furrow his brow and shake out his tail. "Such a wolf as yourself, who could surely gain entrance to a number of packs, is running a muck on her own. Why is that?"
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Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 9:55 am
Harlequin was surprised by the males question and his nonchalant reaction to informality. She was used to names first, chatter later, but this was so different. She wondered why she hung on to the days of old so dearly, but then realized it was because she felt comfortable back then; because she was not ready for moments such as these.
Catching herself mid-gasp, the females black face grew narrow with suspicion. She was familiar with an act when she saw one, hell she played off the emotions of others so often that a true Harle identity had all but vanished. So when he acted cute, and by cute she meant ravishing, the she wolf was anything but persuaded.
It further irritated her to know he had been stalking her, which was evident when he knew she had been hunting. When she became the victim to being watched and followed there was no holding back the aggravation that would ensue. Tucking her neck within her shoulders and drawing her hind legs up off the soil, Harle could hear her heart pulsing.
"Why would you be studying me?" Suddenly her white teeth flashed. It was meant to have been a thought, but as her mind tended to its crazed status she could not differentiate between words or mental notes.
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Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 10:07 am
Marley looked the part of being surprised by her outburst, arching his neck back while his face contorted to appear mildly hurt. But while she moved he continued to watch. Her limbs were strong, her eyes focused, and although he could not hear it himself he knew her blood was rushing and her chest pounding.
There was a fighter in this one, perhaps suitable for Dunn's military...but Marley was fascinated by her and would not let the female go so easily. "Studying you? No, you have it all wrong; I was merely passing by you see and I heard a ruckus! The pounding of hooves against fresh dirt is not a sound most wolves would ignore, and due to hunger I could not let an opportunity slip through my paws, not again at least. Living the life of a loner is difficult...You know?"
His neck stretched out some with his question, while a subtle sniff made note that she was indeed a lone wolf.
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Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 10:17 am
Harlequin's golden gaze flickered, doubt pounding against her gut and telling her to make the exit now...but she was equally intrigued by the male as he seemed to be with her; what did he want? The snarl on her lips did not fade, but in between them she spoke and coughed up one chuckle.
"You expect me to believe that, stranger?" Harle remarked, a slight lift to the ends of her maw hinting to a smirk.
"You are some kind of con aren't you? Slick, smooth, charming...you're covered in dirt which could mean one of two things; you are clumsy, and fell on your back during a leisure walk or you've tried to drown out the smells of your followers by rolling in mud and sprinting through the rivers. That would explain the drying fur nearer to your pads, and the dark brown splotches that go against the ones you were, perhaps, born with."
It felt...refreshing to do it again. To analyze and put details together until an idea fleshed itself out and then, to put a stop to a phony facade that she had already came to know was false. Some genuine shock swelled in her eyes as she spoke, indulging in the moment while her guard relinquished its strong hold.
"You were watching me...hungrily, maybe? Cannibalistic are you--or more likely, you are a leader looking for stray wolves to claim your own. If that is the case..." She snapped her teeth together several times, watching him mock her and flinch in response.
"You should move along. I am not available."
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Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 11:53 am
And so it was laid out in the open for him by the female who supposedly wanted nothing to do with packs and plans. He smiled wider, teeth glinting passively; she was what he had hoped, a smart cookie.
Marley indeed pulled back even more so when she flashed her wit and attention to detail, but his shock was genuine. "My word...you are perfect." In between his thoughts, the mumble came about low and sinisterly. He didn't mind if she had overheard him, but he hoped she hadn't. “Wasted on the rogue lands.”
Finally he fell back to his rump and sighed. "I have deducting skills of my own sweet girl and it is clear that you put your skills to use once upon a time, perhaps with a group of wolves you banded together with. Perhaps you are no more a tough she wolf with too much pride, then a lost member to an ancient pack, whose boundaries and ties have long since been forged and broken.” He became very still, daring her to show even a drop of interest more, before letting his jaw slack yet again with one brow raised in question.
“Are you sure you wouldn't be interested in what I have to offer? You would be a great asset to the congregation...It would bring life back to light, I'm sure."
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Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 12:07 pm
Harlequin grumbled, but did not deny his claim.
The female had worked so hard to keep her true emotions concealed, so hard in fact that she hadn't noticed the cracks forming. Deep within her a working wolf howled. It beckoned to be let loose onto the world once again; and reluctantly she had been cutting its ropes.
Just like her once-upon-a-time alpha had, this strange leading male saw potential that should not be 'wasted'; he saw the want to be needed, and he fed off her words as they spewed out subconscious desires. Her fear had always been just this, yet she could not turn the other cheek--not now. She was too close, and despite her devotion to Phib; he was gone, and his pack with him and all the ties she had with it should too be sent on their way.
Harle put forth her paw and stamped it in the earth, releasing frustrated snarls directed toward no one in particular. She was interested and she was hopeful...she was the Harlequin who questioned and held suspicion and trust above all things. Flicking her ears forward, her golden gaze kept its squint as she took on the persona of olden days and replied.
"Tell me what your name is. Tell me what exactly you want from me and then I will consider your plea."
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Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2010 1:23 pm
"My name is Marley, but I am no beggar. Do not be confused dear, my offer is not out of desperation. I am merely suggesting to you a way out of this limbo." A subtle glance around the forest made it clear he meant her current, loner status while the sharpness of his words never wavered even after he grunted in some amusement. The male marked her suggestions with disapproval, dismissing it by rolling his eyes and blowing air through his nose before again, grunting. He never did enjoy being accused of things.
Then he rose up and began to pace to his left. His tail hung between his thighs stiffly, the excitement rising within him as he pondered the possibilities of this female and what drama could ensue, if he managed to make a great enough appeal. His black lips pursed before speaking. He had a feel for her personality already... "You are right on all accounts otherwise, of course. I am one of two leaders looking for followers." Black strands of hair made their way into his eyes, covering one and leaving the other to stare at Harle continuously.
He moved to his right then, the slow switch of his paws as elegant as a dance. He watched her heavy breaths, that threw her chest into a fit of rising and falling, die down to soft sighs before speaking again.
"I stumbled upon this forest by accident. I have done a number of things by accident, but you; I've come across you with a purpose. Our hope is to bring justice to an old friend of ours...a partnering alpha figure who was lost some time ago."
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Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2010 5:51 pm
She had fallen back onto her heels some, and her chest had slowed it frantic roll, but Harlequin was not about to forfeit her presence. The female was dignified and proud of her prowess; she refused to lose sight of it even for a stranger’s sake. Harlequin arched her neck and dipped it low all at one time, finding his defensive response a bit alarming.
Leaders should not often let their feelings seep through their words. It could put them in great peril if the wrong individual happened to overhear the barricades crumble. It did interest her to hear of a pack forming however, one lead by this individual and—another? He also seemed to make up for his fumbling front when his charm continued to lure her. That alone could shift the minds of thousands. Harle wouldn't admit it now, but she was impressed.
Lifting her brows, she bobbed her head once in acknowledgment. She wanted him to continue; she hadn't heard enough to speak her mind just yet.
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