It was an oppresively hot midsummer day, without even so much as a cloud in the sky to offer shade from the sun at its zenith. The river that was normally such a godsend to the members of the human encampment was now akin to a torment as the moisture in the air only added to the muggy atmosphere. Some, of course, knew a sure way to gain relief...and not all of those walked on two legs.
Sandor was wallowing happily in the shallows of the river, soaked to the belly and feeling energetic enough to snap at the silver shadows of fish as they darted through the current. It was futile, but the heat had a way of dulling the appetite anyway. The big youngster gave up the chase easily and began rolling in the water.
The want to explore the vast wilderness that she had not roamed since taken in by Hige and Loki was too much for the growing Tatiana and she fled past the boundaries, eyes never looking back as adventure beckoned her on. Traveling had been weary work but the ever present thought of meeting others was too great to cause the old 'pup' to return to the safety of her father's pack. The sweet scent of salt slowly drifted away before dissapaiting all together to the senses and the air became more hot and humid with little breeze floating through the air. Every now and then a ripple in the grass or undergrowth would cause the spotted youth to stop and inspect only to find small prey which did little more to delay her mere minutes.
Oblivious to the many scents that lay heavy in the moisture enriched air, Tatiana drifted closer and closer to the creatures that had taken her mother and siblings lives but knew not of the danger that was lurking in the village not lying far from her current playground. A flick of her ears and she caught the sound of running water which called to her with all it's might. Tongue rolling out of her mouth she picked her way through the foliage littering the forest floor, tiny twigs snapping under the weight of her paws, Tatiana craved the sweet liquid and drew closer to it with each step.
The steady rush of the current -- and Sandor's own splashing -- kept the lavender, magenta-banded wolf oblivious to the female's approach until he finally caught sight of her out of the corner of his eye. He'd scrambled to his feet in a moment, growling. Even with his fur plastered to his frame, it was clear that the youngster would be a large wolf when he was done growing -- he was a large wolf at the present.
Blue eyes slid to the clear liquid as it tripped and fell over the stones littered in its way but she had little time to dwell on what such pristine water would taste like when the vocalization of another made her direct her gaze. A blur of white and black and Tat had repositioned herself, head low, enamels bared fur bristled as she payed close attention to this stranger. Stubborn orange orbs remained locked with the arctic blue. The soaked, stripey male had obviously been eating well...along with his great size, his coat was thick and he was well-muscled.
It took a few more moments of snarling and posturing before the male relaxed. He had *not* been startled...of course not. He just hadn't expected to see a non-pack around here. He sneezed and let his hackles drop, though his ears kept their assertive set.
Tat was far from being frightened by the obviously larger male teen. Though she herself was well nourished and the ripples of her pelt indicated well formed muscles she was surely half a head smaller that the striped male but that did little to deter her protective stance. No, she was not going to let this male get the better of her.
Lobes turned suddenly as the strange male's stance changed from startled protection to a less tense and atease posture. Curiosity winning over her desire to protect herself Tat also allowed stiff muscles to relax and fur to return to it's normal position. She made to take a step towards him but his sneeze caused an involuntary reaction which caused her to leap back, muscles tense once again. Angry with herself for doing such a ridiculous thing Tat willed herself to calm and made up the distance she had created between her and the male. The bit of worriment left in her slowly dwindled away as she approached the striped wolf. His scent was lingering in the air, barely moving in the heavy air. Lobes twitched as she stepped on a small twig but little attention was given to the dead wood under her paw. Stopping only a mere 3 feet from the youth Tat's head cocked to the side, ears pricked in his direction. "Who are you?"
The stranger had been relaxing -- his tongue had actually lolled out in a huge canine grin when Tatiana had startled at his sneeze. When the she-wolf poke, however, the change was immediate and violent -- the stranger snarled viciously, every tooth bared to the glistening pink gums, his ears pinning back against his skull and his coat bristling as well as it could in the wet and humidity. Every line of his body spoke the same warning -- "Not one step closer, or we will clash."
Tat, once again taken by surprise by the abrupt change in attitude was quick to react. Lips rolled up revealing rows of teeth as she bristled herself up once again, tail held flush with her back. Muscles moved under the snowy white pelt dappled black as her legs splayed out ever so slightly to allow her the best grip on the earth under her paws. If this wolf was going to attack she was ready. There was no way she'd let him intimidate her, in fact, in her own opinion it should be the other way around.
At her retreat, the male backed down slightly, going silent and covering his fangs, though relaxation seemed far too much to ask for again. He watched her with suspicion and retreated to the far bank. He flicked his notched ear as he backed away. He was not so foolish as to make a stand on slippery river rocks, or to turn his back on one of the unnatural not-pack.
As the wolf retreated Tat calmed down once again. Instead of being interested in him though she was drawn back to the liquid slipping over the earth. Tongue hanging from her mouth she moved towards it, eyes settled upon it's mesmerizing beauty before lowering her head to lap up the coolness. Her body greatly appreciated the moisture that it needed. Tat felt much better all the way around once she had taken her fill, but as she swung her head back up from the bank artic orbs caught sight of the male once again but at sucha great distance she felt no need to worry instead she found a rather thick patch of grass and flopped down into it. Eye drifitng closed, though ears were quite aware of everything going on around her.
Sandor snorted. He could go get his pack and chase the noisy thing away at any time. It wasn't doing anything right now, though...and it was so *hot*. He didn't want to fight or run or do much of *anything* except swim. Which he had been doing before she showed up. Hrumph. In a sulk, he rolled over onto his back to expose his wet belly to a cooling breeze.
Tat cracked an eye open at the sound of grass being squashed under a body. Peering through the green blades surrounding her the form of the striped male was barely seen through the greenery but none-the-less spotted. A yawn escaped her as she stretched herself out more comfortably, paws splayed out in front of her and head curled slightly to her chest. She had no worry in the world.
Sandor rolled onto his belly again, head snapping up at the sound of the she-wolf moving again. All right...only stretching. He sloooowly lowered his head again and rolled back onto his back to help with cooling. He could watch her just as well upside down.
Tat curled herslf up a bit more, the humidity in the air causing the salt residue on her coat to create a strong scent of the ocean. Taking comfort in the familiar smell the fatal slowly began to drift off. The buzzing of a bee near an ear pulled her from near slumber with an aggrivated growl as she twitched the offended lobe.
Sandor's head shot up again. Growling? What? Where? Did he need to bite something? Oh. He snorted and let his head hit the ground with a thud. *Her* again. Annoying female. Probably had nits or cooties or something to boot. And she smelled funny.
Meantime, a breeze was bringing the scents of woodsmoke, leather, dogs, and herd animals across the river. Uncurled from her position, the scent of the ocean was beginning to be overwhelmed with others that were very odd. Lifting her head from the ground her body wasn't far to follow as she rose to her paws, stepping towards where the smells were coming from. Oddly, a few of them smelt familiar, though they were buried deep within her memories and were unretainable. Lifting her nose to the air the she-wolf took the scents in trying to siphen each one carefully.
They were all very faint...residual almost. It was likely only the heavy moisture in the air that brought them out at all. And they seemed to originate at a certain point on the opposite bank -- that point being the soaked, grass-stained, striped lunatic with his belly pointing at the sun and sky.
Tat followed the scent, trapsing through the clear liquid to the relaxed wolf. She padded up to him, head low as she slowly sniffed the grass that surrounded his form, soaked in the water and scents that he had been present in. Cold, black nose lighlty tapped him in the process but she seemed not to care, and her body showed no signs of ill intent. In fact, curiosity was the thing that driving her now, that and the nagging at the back of her mind that she had smelt these scent in the past.
One orange eye opened and rolled up toward the female. He'd heard her coming, of course, but he wasn't scared of her. He snorted in her direction.
Tat spooked slightly at the snort but snorted back before continuing her inspection. Her nose eventually led her right to the male and away from the foliage surrounding him. The gentle movement of air and carbon dioxide from her nose causing the pelt of the male wolf to move slightly as her nose hoovered inches from his side.
Well, that was just rude, sniffing without even offering a play-bow. Some people's puppies! Sandor rolled upright and "whuffed" at her reproachfully.
Tat shook her head and lifted it from the male, giving up on the scents that continued to nag her, but her puppy side was kicking in and the need to play and enjoy herself was becoming a much more important task. Looking to male she pounced forward and nipped him playfully before retreating, tail moving behind her happily. She barked lowering her front half to the ground in a mock bow. "You're it!"
It was amazing to watch -- the male had been visibly gathering himself to return play, the beginnings of a grin on his face -- growing up without siblings had left Sandor with a nearly perpetual desire for an honest playmate. All it took was the oddness, the unnaturalness, and suddenly he was snarling again, following the threat with a snap this time.
To say Tat was confused would be an understatement. What had she done to create such an action, especially when the stranger was just about to play with her? Stumped Tat let her haunches weaken under her, causing her rear end to hit the ground gently. Yes, Tatiana was complete clueless as to the nature of this odd wolf.
Recovery was not so swift this time. Being half-domesticated might dull the survival instincts a bit, but it certainly didn't kill them off completely...not in a full-blooded wolf. The male edged off down the bank, still growling under his breath.
Tat couldn't believe he was leaving. "Where are you going?" She shouted to him, rising back onto all fours planning to follow him.
He whirled and snarled again. His fur had dried and his thick ruff was all a-bristle now. She was trying to follow him!
Her own snarl answered the male as she continued to follow him, but picked up her pace. Eventually she passed him, making sure to keep a few feet in distance just-in-case, as she moved in the direction that the male was going and in which some more odd smells were drifting from.
The male paused and growled softly, but didn't try to chase. Instead, he lifted his head and gave voice to a howl. One day, it would likely be a deep, mahogany tenor coming from that broad chest...but for now, it wavered.
Lobes swiveled upon a white head before Tat stopped to peer back at the male. A slight tremor of fear flickered through her at the thought of a pack that may soon come tearing from the woods to surround her.
The adolescent still didn't move to chase or hinder. He just stared, expression wary, but leaving her a clear path to escape.
Artic blue orbs drifted around cautiously as the fatal's sense of smell went into action. If there were any pack members, than Tat would high-tial it out of the area with her tial between her legs, but if this stripped wolf was the only one, and he was bluffing, she much rather explore where the odd scents were coming from up ahead.
There was no scent or sound of other wolves as of yet, but the striped male didn't seem worried about that. He also wasn't crowding, though his posture hadn't relaxed very much at all.
'You can still run,' his attitude seemed to say. It was still too damn hot to actually fight if it could be avoided.
Tat waited for several minutes, during which her posture grew more lazy and unalarmed until she finally decided that she would wait no longer. With a yawn she turned to trot off where she had previously been going with her black, wet nose leading the way to a new adventure. She only hoped that it was something more intriguing than the male she had just come across. He only served to confuse her with his strange attitudes.
Sandor followed Tatiana as she followed the course of the river. He didn't repeat his howl; he didn't need to. His pack was alerted. If this one wanted to wind up like the other not-pack or the not-pack two-leggers, he wasn't going to stop her.
Sandor's trailing did little to bother Tat as she moved along the bank, every once-in-awhile she would splash in the cool water to lower her body temperature if only for a few minutes. With each passing moment the scents began to grow stronger as other strange smells began to mingle with the others that had previously sparked her interest. What could be up ahead?
She finally neared the edge of the treeline. The forest came to a sudden stop and found herself looking out into a meadow full of large, horned animals grazing peacfully. Beyond that was a palisade of sharpened tree-trunks rooted into the ground. The ground wasn't high enough for her to see what the sturdy fence hid, but the scents were coming from there. Now the male was growling, warning her off from the herd animals.
Eye roamed over the pasturelands and the animals grazing upon the vegetation. Now those certainly looked good for a meal but a low growl from behind pulled Tat from such thoughts. With a small yipp, pretty much saying 'Ok, Ok, I won't touch 'em' she hurried off through the short grass to the odd structures that looked similar to trees but sported no branches or greenery. With the scents as strong as they were Tat's excitment grew and she ran head long towards her destination, stopping here and there to sniff and odd scents that littered the grassy ground. Reaching the top of the small hill Tat sniffed happily at the post that was covered in many scents. Tail moving frantically behind her it stopped as her eyes set upon what lay in front of her.
The sight of a strange wolf loping over the grazing area was like shouting "Fire!" in a longhouse. The cattle began lowing and bellowing at once, milling about. The cows with calves pawed the ground and charged the spotted beast.
Tat didn't know what to do at first. The sight of a prey animal attacking her was quite new but after getting her bearing she took off away from the large four-legged creatures, glancing over her shoulder every now and then as she tried to dart around the herd. Hoping no other crazy creatures would come after her
This time, the stranger was hard on her heels, snarling, and in full attack posture. This not-pack had officially trespassed. He lunged for her shoulder.
Tat was not expecting an attack from the striped wolf and the impact on her shoulder sent her reeling to the side, her body clashing hard with the ground. Dazed and still slightly unsure what had exactly happened the spotted femme rose to her feet, instincts telling her to get her arse off the ground and stand ready for an attack.
Sandor was already pressing the attack, snapping at the stranger's throat. He looked up suddenly and leapt to the side as a bull thundered toward them. He might not ordinarily bother the cattle much, but they were riled now and not inclined to make distinctions between meat-eaters.
All Tat could do was keep her head low and back up as the male lunged repeatedly for her neck. The precious area couldn't be touched and Tat was doing her best to keep the strange wolf away but the sound of thunder, drawing ever closer was the only warning the femme got before the huge bulk of a bull appeared. With a yelp she darted away. Even though the horns of the creature were pointed to Sandor, the hooves were just as dangerous and Tat wanted nothing to do with them. Tat kept running in the direction she had darted away in. Drawing closer and closer to her once desired destination though it was far from her mind. The only thing she needed to focus on was getting away from those mad cattle with her life.
Sandor was overconfident, but not suicidal. Trying to take down an enraged bull was definitely suicidal. He lit out like there was a fire under his tail, making a wide circle. With any luck, the bull would lose interest after a short charge and he could make it back to the interloper.
Another snarl reached Tatiana's ears, but this one was in front of her and closing quickly. A long-legged, yellow-coated female was speeding toward her from the fence.
If Tat knew any better she would have turned and fled from the area but the choice of raging, bulking cattle behind her or the fatal in front of her helped make up her mind fast. The bold, yet idiotic, teen barreled straight for the canine in front of her teeth bared, but as the distance closed Tat did not attack, instead she just tried to get around the other.
The newcomer snarled and aimed a snap at Tatiana's hindquarters in passing, but there was just no time for a standing fight with the cattle riled up as they were. A black-ticked white female joined the yellow-coat in harassing the stranger, but all three of them were busy dodging the bull -- who, thankfully, looked to be tiring. It might have made an amusing picture if the stakes hadn't been shattered limbs and crushed ribs.
Lack of knowledge of the creatures only increased Tat's fear as the bull continued to attack her and others with it's large, somewhat venisin like extensions. She herself would rather take on a full grown, in prime buck then this huge brown creature that kept barreling around the pasture. Not only were the horns dangers but the hooves could do some serious damage and to top it off she had three other canine after her!
By this time, Sandor had made his circuit, leaving the older bull puffing for air, though pawing the ground and lowing angrily at anything that came near. He could see Aletta and Bonita tag-nipping the stranger while trying to avoid the younger bull and ran to help. It just took a n** to the hock to get the bull to round on the young male, and then Sandor was off and running again with another cow on his heels.
Tatiana had come to the conclusion that these creatures, whatever they were, needed to be avoided at all cost. With her paws hitting the ground and claws digging into the earth to help propel her forwards she continued to dart around the pasture to avoid the massive bull and other cattle that tried to wacks at her. her tail would have been firmly tucked between her legs if she didn't need it to keep herself righted as she darted around, stopping suddenly to change patchs as a cow kicked out at her.
Sandor was quick to lead the second bull back to the first and let them bellow and posture at each other for a while. By the time he galloped back to his packmates, however, the stranger was dodging and weaving between cows again, running flat out.
Tat wanted out of the hell she was in and once free of the cattle that had taken numerous kicks at her, one which had grazed her flank, and into the woods she slowed to a stop, breathing heavily. A little bit of a rest was what she wanted. Those strange beasts were preoccupied elsewhere and her body was beggining to tire now that her andrenaline rush began to die.
