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 Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 2:20 pm
 Raz had been expecting to keep his ward for maybe one, two days at most. Help her get back on her paws, show her a direction to go, and part ways with a couple of nice memories. He hadn't expected to hit the fourth morning and wake up to see that familiar splotched pelt.
Granted, now Ransom didn't look as bad as before, having helped her learn some hunting tricks he had picked up during his solo time, so he guessed that was something. She kept to herself for the most part, but that was alright as he did most of the talking anyway. They had migrated to the east some, each day feeling a bit heavier as they drew away from Tomkin's borders. This was unfamiliar territory, and it made his fur twitch. Or maybe that was the cold.
In either case, Raz yawned quietly and stirred without making much noise as he usually did, keeping to his first quirk: a bath before the day really began for him. Luckily the nearest body of water wasn't far from their location, so the male slid out of their temporary shelter to clean himself off. Maybe the twitching would stop with some cold water.
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Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 5:08 pm
 Ransom was...confused. In truth, she hadn't spoken much during their time together because she wasn't entirely sure what was going on. Cipher was being plenty nice to her, of course, and that was the problem. He still had not made it clear what he had wanted from her, or when he would collect on his debt.
That was the way the world worked, wasn't it? Wolves accrued debt? Once you become indebted to another, you needed to pay them with whatever you could?
She hadn't been taught very much by her mother, but she was pretty sure that "there are no free lunches" is a lesson that had been ingrained in her from day one. Lesson two: the way you get comfort and shelter is by using your god-given talents and make the most of what you have. Wasn't that how Ransom herself had been born? Or was she just projecting?
Well, at any rate, the splotched wolf had been very kind to her indeed, and she felt it time for her to return the favor, to put them on an even keel as it were. Of course, she had been expecting him to make the first move, but maybe he was shy.
Wondering when he might be back, she arranged herself into as comfortable and inviting of a pose as she could manage, and waited eagerly for his return.
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Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 5:29 pm
Aaah . . . The sting of cold water woke his senses in a most brutal fashion, but it was the sort of pleasure one could derive from rubbing sore muscles - painful, but satisfying. Raz emerged himself fully in the pond with a mighty shiver, making sure that the smudges on him were part of his coat, not dirt, and once he was finished he waded out and shook himself vigorously.
Ooooooohgodshewascold. But he also felt clean.
His fur would take a long time to dry in the weather, so Raz decided to return to the den to see if he could wake Ransom up and decide on what to do. When his fur-plastered self arrived, however, the sight greeting him was . . . a tad interesting. "Ah, you're awake! Damn. I was gonna flick some cold water on your face and see how you'd react," he said with a chuckle. "Sleep okay?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 8:14 pm
Her tail gave a slight thump as she rose to her paws to greet him, closing the gap between them rather quickly. "You still can, if you want," she offered, and touched her nose to the hollow behind his ear as she brushed her body against his damp side. Her tail flicked, touching his flank.
Was she doing this right? Oh, now she was wishing she'd spent more time watching her mother...or any other wolf, ever, for that matter.
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Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 8:40 pm
Her willingness to press her warm fur against his cold one made him shiver in more ways than one, and he passed Ransom a brief, strange look. Then her suggestion was granted as Raz's tail gave a wet slap against her thigh. "And there you go, your alarm for the morning~" he said with a smirk, prying himself from her to turn back and face the outside. "Hope you're ready to walk for a while - I think the weather's finally favoring us for once." The sun was out, the snow wasn't quite so cold, and he felt rather invigorated after his cold bath.
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Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 9:31 pm
She yelped as the cold, damp tail struck her leg, and jumped away slightly, crouching ever-so-slightly into a playful pose. "Walking?" She asked, cocking her head. "So soon? I'm not in any hurry, if you want to stay for awhile..."
Uncertain how to proceed, or what he might want from her, she decided that perhaps playing coy was a bad idea. It was always better to get these things out in the open.
"I haven't properly thanked you for your kindness," she said, and offered him what she hoped was an appropriately sultry smile. Once more she pressed her shoulder into his, touching her nose to the fur above his shoulder and giving it a tentative n**.
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Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 9:41 pm
Not in any hurry? It was the first time in a while Ransom had voiced her opinion even remotely in an assertive way. Raz shrugged his shoulders. "I don't think there's a . . . really proper way to thank me?" He had been momentarily distracted again by the funny smile on her face, her wet nose to his fur, the light tug. Something was up, and though he had instinct telling him some things, he wanted to hear it from her mouth. "Er, Ransom? Are you sure you're okay?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 11:15 pm
Her tail gave another sultry flick across his flank, but his demeanor was all wrong, and then he spoke.
She hesitated, her breath still warm against his damp fur, ears flopping back. "Yes. I'm okay, I just..." brow furrowing, she drew away from him, tilting her head. "...I just assumed...since you've been so nice...that....you...so you didn't want....?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 1:56 am
"Didn't want what?" Raz asked in that direct, confused manner of his. Though the final twitch of her tail pretty much cemented it in his mind. "Oh. Fox dung. Listen, er . . . If you're talking about what I think you're talking about, it's . . ." And once again the male's lower jaw began to move back and forth, the nervous tic. "It's not - I wouldn't mind - Blargh."
A quick shake of the head. More water droplets flung.
"What . . . made you think I wanted to do that?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 2:11 am
Head still cocked to one side, she watched as he tried to work his way through words, relieved that he was just as confused as she was. "I just...you invited me back to your den, and you've been so kind...and you don't have any reason to be nice...so I just kind of figured..."
She hoped she hadn't offended him.
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Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 12:51 pm
Put that way, it could definitely pointed to that one act that Raz was just going blank about; he hadn't thought of it. Honestly, he hadn't thought about the whole staying with a stranger thing either, which proved just about how much this guy planned ahead. "Wolves can be nice because that's how morals lead them to be," he pointed out, mostly to give him extra time to think. Only thinking wasn't very good at happening. How was he supposed to say yes and no at the same time?
"I mean, you could've, I dunno . . . asked."
No, no she probably couldn't have, Raz. And even if she had, it still would've brought the same conundrum to his brain.
His eyes went skyward for a moment, as if hoping a better answer was written in the clouds.
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Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 12:45 am
"Oh. Well. Sorry...you're not angry, are you?" Somewhat baffled now by his reaction, she cast around for a frame of reference. What did morals have to do with it? What was immoral about expecting something in return for a kind action? Surely wolves didn't simply act with kindness and generosity just because they wanted to?
Then again, that strange green female Youko had been the same way...helpful for no reason. It was all very odd.
"You, uh, said we were walking somewhere?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2012 11:04 am
Pulling his gaze back down from the clouds, Raz quickly asserted, "No, no, I'm not mad. Not at all. Hell, it's a compliment that you'd want to, er, do that with me. Really." It wasn't like the thought hadn't crossed his mind before - kinda hard for it not to, being two lone wolves of the opposite sex traveling together - but Raz wasn't one who easily breached lines that were unspoken like that. "S'for walking, I thought maybe we could discuss it with this other wolf who wants to come along."
Way to throw that in there.
"She seems pretty nice," Raz went on, "I think you'll be okay with her."
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Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2012 12:29 pm
 Youko picked her way through the forest, heading back to the rendezvous point. The place she had met that male, Cipher. They had agreed to meet there this morning.
For whatever reason, Cipher had not wanted to continue their acquaintance right away. A night to let his companion get used to the idea, perhaps? She wondered what the other female was like. Friendly, she hoped. However, since she did not have any intentions of staying with them forever, she could survive even if the other did not like her. Still, it would be ever so much better if they could all get along. She just hoped neither of them yelled.
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Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2012 10:50 am
"Other...wolf?" She blinked, quite unaware that her companion had been speaking with others. Not that she was jealous...just confused. Why did they need another companion? Were they all going somewhere?
Baffled, she turned her attention toward the path, and a scent caught her nose, causing her brow to furrow and her head to tilt. Well. That was funny. She'd just been thinking about Youko, and now...
...Oh.
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