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 Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2006 10:24 am
A cold wind blew through the night air, making the animals in the forest shiver. Even under his growing winter coat, the dark colored male could feel the cold sting of winters bite. He was used to it though, since he had lived in mountains almost his entire life. His coat had adjusted to the cold over the years and was always rougher than needed.
As he sat in the small cove of trees he had come to know s home, the lonely wolf sent his gaze up to the stars. They always seemed more brilliant in winter, as if the cold amde them shiver as well and shine brighter to keep warm. He watched as the stars twinkled above him, and he got the feeling of being small, a single soul in the huge world.
With a sigh the elder wolf laid his head down on his paws, his eyes still cast to the stars.
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Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2006 10:41 am
The young female, barely an adult, had ranged far from the place which she had stayed for the best part of a year. It was strange to be away from her mother's influence now but also slightly discomforting. It really probably wasn't the best time for her to have struck out on her own but she could not have stood to stay there any more. Maia shivered slightly. Her first winter coat was only just begginning to come in and she wasn't used to the biting cold.
She had tried to move as far as she could during the day - to get as far as she could in the hope that her mother would not be able to follow her. Finding this small copse she had padded into it, hoping to find shelter amongst them - even just somewhere out of the wind.
Hair tail drooped wearily, her orange and black coat was covered in muddy splashes and she looked generally bedraggled. Her senses dulled, she didn't see, smell or sense the male as she walked right towards the fawn and black male.
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Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2006 11:21 am
Khals keen sense of smell picked up the scent of another wolf, and he raised a brow curiously. His dark eyes scanned the surrounding and he picked out the bright femme in an instant. Even though her coat was dirty and dull, he wouldn't have been able to miss that orange color for a mile.
Moving to sit on his haunches, Khal let out a welcoming howl-bark. He wantedto make sure he wouldn't scare her off - she looked weary and he knew she would probably want somewhere to stay. Although, with the other females he had met in his past, Khal wasn't sure what to make of any of them. Couldn't judge 'em by sight alone.
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Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2006 12:26 pm
Maia stopped. Dead. Her nose sought out the scent. No... his scent. It was one thing to have met a lone young wolf but a fully grown male? He was bigger than the small female, too. Not surprising, really, but she'd never encountered a fully grown male before. Her old pack alpha, Kara, she'd been large but she was female...
Her eyes flciked up. She could see him, him her. She couldn't have run if she wanted to... Her small frame shuddered and she sat down on the spot, not going any closer. Male. Evil. Likely to harm. The cause of all her mothers problems. STAY AWAY from them. How often had she been warned? And now she had practically walked right into one..
It was he who had allowed her to know he was there. It made little sense if he was going to attack her... perhaps he wanted something else. Warily, the small female stared at the soft-toned male, not saying a word or making any more movements - somewhat like a rabbit in headlights.
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Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2006 4:14 pm
Khal perked his ears forward and tilted his head to the side. What was wrong with her? She seemed afraid of him, but he hadn't done anything threatening, at least to his knowledge. Khal decided to travel down the slight incline towards her, kicking up snow as he went.
When he came within about ten paces of the frightened female he stopped and watched her with kind eyes. "Hello." He said softly, his head tilted to the side as a gust of cold winter wind blew his fur around. He seemed not to notice it. "Are you alright?"
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Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2006 4:36 pm
Maia was even more uncertain what to do now. She couldn't just ignore him could she? Or could she..? No, his enquiry wasn't threatening, his manner seemed gentle... Perhaps it was all a show but she wouldn't show outright hostility unless it was shown to her.
"Hello.." she said uncertainly. Her voice was hesitant, soft. "I'm... fine. Just a little cold." she lied. It wouldn't be good for this male to know she was exhausted, tired, ready to collapse into sleep - even if she was. She drew herself up, tried her best to look like she would not be a pushover whilst, internally, squirming and wishing she could just flat out run from here or find a safe den to curl up in.
She wondered if she had stumbled into his territory or that of his pack. She'd certainly not want to stay if that was the case. Perhaps this lone male was a sentry? She knew some packs allowed males although her previous one had none. It seemed odd to her that females and males might live together - especially if males were so bad. But then her mother said such males were either domineering over the female pack members or were small, weak males.
"Am I intruding..?" she asked quietly, eyes watching Khal closely for any sign he might come at her.
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Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2006 4:40 pm
Khal relaxed his pose as much as he could. Shoulders loose, tail curled around his legs. He could tell she was nervous, though he had no idea why. "Not at all." He said with a smile. "I don't live with anyone, I'm alone here, to my knowledge at least." He tried a soft chuckle, hoping she would be more comfortable. He hated it when others were nervous around him. "You look tired. Have you been traveling long?" He asked, head to the side once more.
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Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2006 4:51 pm
His friendly manner was disconcerting to the young female. She had not expected it, really, and didn't truly know how to deal with it. "Mm a little while.." she said, noncomittally, still not wanting to give much about herself away. His soft laugh, the habit of tiltinghis head to the side made him seem slightly endearing to Maia but she refused to be taken off her guard.
If he was truly alone, though, that made things a little better. She couldn't smell or hear others nearby, now that she tried to do so, actually. Her red eyes flickered side to side whilst she did this, betraying the fact that she was. She had always wanted to be a stealthy, subtle wolf, her mother had encouraged it, but she was truly neither. It's hard to be terribly subtle or stealthy when you're bright orange.
Her eyes flickered back to the male and she remembered, vaguely, the multicoloured male pup she had once met. He was weak, quiet, didn't challenge her. Maybe that type of male grew up friendly like this one.
"I am a little tired..." she finally admitted.
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Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2006 4:58 pm
Khal gave her a soft smile, glad she wasn't as nervous. He wondered what made her fear strangers so, but he pushed the thought aside and concentrated on the present. He had a bad habit of delving into the past at inopportune moments.
"You're welcome to stay with me for the night, if you'd like." He said, smiling kindly once more as he stood. He was rather skinny, obviously hadn't eaten very well the past few months. He was still quite a large wolf though. "I've been living in a small den for a while here now. I traveled away from the mountains a while back." Khal figured that if he told her a bit about his life it would help her trust him more. "My family was rather... Well, let's say they weren't the most sane nor the most caring." He chuckled softly, though there was a bit of pain in his voice. He shook his head and his rough fur swung wildly around. "Well, anyway, I'll lead you up to it so we can get out of this cold, eh?" He smiled once more and turned, walking towards the hill he had been on before.
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Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2006 5:06 pm
Maia found herself having a bit of sympathy for the big, if skinny, wolf in front of her. She knew what it was like to have parents who seemed to care more about themselves and their own wants than their own offspring. Although at least she knew (or believed at least) that her mother had cared for her at least a little even after all she had put her through.
She continued to listen to the male's tale but a look of horror came over her face as he suggested that she stay with him, in a den. With him! At the same time!
A short whimper came at the back of her throat. Maybe he wanted to take advantage of her! (She still didn't know what that meant - her mother had always said she'd explain it when Maia was older but never had...)
"N..no!" she said, throwing the word out into the cold night air, breath misting in front of her. She got to her feet, shuffling back a little, her face still towards him. She didn't know what she'd do if he tried to force her - she had barely a scrap of energy left in her.
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Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2006 5:20 pm
Khal turned towards her and raised his brows once more. "What?" He could tell she was suddenly terrified, anyone could from the way the poor thing was standing and looking at him as if he had just said he ate little puppies for breakfast. "I won't hurt you." He said, sitting down and keeping his distance. He didn't want to frighten her off. "I'll even sleep outside, you can sleep in the den." He offered another kind smile as his mind wandered to what this creature had gone through to make her so scared of others. He pushed the thought aside again and looked at her with concern as he waited for her to answer. "I don't want to hurt you." He said again, looking at her with a sad smile.
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Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2006 5:30 pm
She was slightly mollified by his suggestion but was still uncertain. She took a hesitant few steps forward, watching him. He wouldn't hurt her, eh? Her weariness overcame a little of her reluctance.
"A..alright.." she could do with finding somewhere quiet, alone, somewhere she could curl up out of the wind. The cold was, now, beginning to work it's way to her bones and, young as she was, she didn't have the layers of fat and fluffy coat to deal with the biting cold.
She looked down, as if slightly defeated, and walked a little closer, staying at least a few feet away from the wolf with the kind smile. It had been a long, long time since Maia had seen any sort of smile. Scowls, sneers, angry grimaces she'd seen plenty of but very few smiles...
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Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2006 5:35 pm
Khal was glad she had agreed and he led her to the small den that could have barely fit the both of them anyway. He motioned for her to go inside. On the floor there was a collection of dry leaves in the corner. "That's the best I could do for a bed in this weather." He said a bit sheepishly with a smile. "It's not much but it's warmer than the bare dirt." He made a sort of shrugging motion and turned to walk outside. "Sleep well." He bowed his head a little to her and laid down in front of the den, though me made sure he was off to the right a ways so she didn't feel like he was blocking her exit. His dark eyes began to scan the stars once again as he pondered over his guest.
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Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2006 5:44 pm
The small she-wolf paused, looked nervously at him and then into the inviting, warm looking space. She scuttled in, quickly curling around to look out again where she could see him sitting awy from the entrance. Her small frame found the space reasonably spacious and despite his self-deprecating comments she couldn't have wished for a more comfortable bed.
She sagged down onto the floor of the den and let out a breath that was all relief. It had been some day.... running away from her home lands, all day running as if she was being chased until she could run no more, bumping into this strange male and now, despite her internal voice, which was shouting at her to get out, she was sleeping in a the den of that male.
Her small mind felt a stab of guilt for taking over the male's den in this cold weather as her body fell into sleep and she murmered a heartfelt "thankyou" Her sore muscles finally being allowed to rest, tiredness stealing her unusual neurosis away from her, she fell into a deep sleep.
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Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2006 8:16 am
Khal glanced backwards when he thought he heard her speak, but seeing her in a deep sleep he just smiled a little and set his own head down. He wondered what the female had gone through. With a soft sigh the older wolf laid his head down and fell asleep, ignoring the cold wind biting at him.
When Khaliki next woke up, the sun was just beginning to come over the horizon. He yawned loudly and stood, stretching out his front legs and dragging them through the frosted grass. Everything as white with frost, and he could tell it would snow soon.
Suddenly the fawn wolf remembered he had had a guest, and he turned and looked inside the den, wondering if she had left in the night while he was asleep.
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