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Please do not post for now unless you are Tweek or Quinny ^_^

For teh Quinn! heart

A chance encounter?

Fall was here. The leaves were turning now. Green was slowly fading, changing, to red, orange, yellow, and purple spun with gold. The nights were cold, with mornings drizzled with frost, and Elphaba's coat was growing thick for winter for the second time. The chocolate brown she-wolf stood on the pebbled bank of the mountain stream just at the borders of her packlands, stooped for a drink. Her fiery green eyes, usually so watchful, so relentlessly alert, were downcast peacefully into the water's shimmering surface as her purplish tongue scooped chilled water down her throat. After a year in these lands, Elphaba felt a strong sense of home, stronger than she had ever felt in the freelands, or even in her birthpack. Here, under her two dear friends, with a loving mate, and a close new friendship, the beta had found her solace.

(( Man. How can you make the wind so adorable! xd ))

Still entrapped in a moment of serenity, the female raised her muzzle from her drink, cleaning beads of moisture from her whiskers with her tongue. A crisp autumn wind rushed by, running through her coat with a 'hssshh,' and the large female turned to face it, closing her eyes. Autumn. It had to be Elphie's favorite season. The brown wolf shook herself, her pointed ears flopping slightly, and her thick tail wagged a couple gentle beats behind her absently.

Well then. It was time to move on, give the rest of the borders her morning patrol. The beta didn't really suspect any danger, she hadn't seen new faces around the area for ages, but she still enjoyed her scouting duties, and revelled in her early morning walk. It made her feel alert and officious, and alive in a sense of duty. However, some odd feeling made her linger one more moment at the water's edge. She let a slightly gruff 'hmm' sound escape her throat, and arched into one last stretch before departure.

Elphaba started at the sound of a splash, her paws caught in a surprised dance as she turned to face the stranger. The shewolf's thick ruff prickled up, bristling slightly, but it seemed it was more out of shock than aggression, for the male in front of her showed no signs of a threatening nature, and the brown female hardly felt threatened by his presence. She was more unnerved than anything else.

He was a light colored fellow, with a crimson mask, a wispy rune shape on his shoulder, and incredibly clear blue eyes. Elphaba paused a moment in silence, waiting for the breeze to let his scent drift toward her. As she inhaled his small, she faltered a little. Though he appeared in his prime, something about him seemed older than time, and Elphie felt a buzzing tingle in her gut. It was the same tingle she'd felt when she'd encountered the wolf Isaac. The shewolf didn't know it, but it was the tingle of magic.

Her dark ears tipped forward and she squinted her eyes slightly, disarmed by a peculiar feeling. She was sure she'd never met this wolf before, but she couldn't still a feeling that he was somehow... a friend.

"Who are you?" She asked slowly, tilting her head slightly, as if she could possibly recognize him from a different angle.

If this had been any other wolf, Elphie likely would have passed him off as crazy, but somehow, something about the other seemed remarkably pure. He spoke with clarity, and the way he laid out his titles was more matter of fact than anything else. 'Young one'? Was she really much younger than the other? Though he certainly seemed worlds old. He told her not to worry, and oddly enough, she didn't. For a moment, the shewolf stood unmoved as the breeze caressed her sides, still taken aback by the chance encounter.

"Come--Come out of the water, you'll catch chill." She stammered finally, backing up a few steps to make room for him on the bank.

Elphie backed up another step daintily, avoiding the small shower from the other's pelt before seating herself in a polite manner. The shewolf rose her brow in surprise, her bright green eyes wide circles. The Wind? She didn't know whether to be confused or amused. Or maybe both. This was certainly one of the most unusual meetings she'd had, though she figured she should take the comment as a compliment.

"I'm.. Elphie." For some reason, the She was compelled to give her nickname, rather than her full name which she usually announced with much formality. She narrowed her eyes with a small wry smile. "And how would you know how the Wind speaks?" The question was more playful than aggressive, though it was marked by disbelief.

Elphaba stared at the other. How could he see that about her on their first meeting? Indeed, a long time ago, after she had been rejected by her friend Devvyl in romantic advances, she'd slipped off on her own for a couple months. In the solitude of nature, she'd occasionally awoken to the softest buzz, a nearly inaudible hum of energy she felt was resonating from her surroundings. It had scared her, and she had attributed it to her state of mind and had never told a soul. When she returned to the pack, she'd turned a blind eye on the events, and soon, caught up in other matters, she'd forgotten them all together.

Elphie couldn't deny that even now, happy with her friends, with Neka as a companion, she still couldn't help but be restless. It was a peculiar feeling that gnawed at her stomach, whispering of some chance she'd passed up, some fork in the road where she'd gone the wrong way. She didn't understand where it came from, but this wolf seemed to be able to tap that feeling. Elphie couldn't help but feel a flutter of excitement; of hope. Could he show her how to go back to that fork? Choose another path?

Suddenly his statement of talking to the wind didn't seem like such a metaphor afterall. She still couldn't quite believe it, but now she was doubting herself, and not the other. "How did you--learn how to listen?" Elphie asked unelegantly after a pause, her tone muddled with indecision.

Elphie felt as if she had entered a dream-land. The breeze rocking back and forth gently had taken on an almost mystic quality as it whooshed past the two and then seemed to drum through Sol-Lun like a heartbeat. The female felt slightly dizzy, and her stance faltered as the bright colored forest's leaves appeared to swim before her eyes like a crackling fire. Looking perplexed, Elphie shook her head violently, as if to clear it. Something was trying to speak to her, but she wouldn't, couldn't, let it. She didn't know how.

The female glanced at Sol-Lun, her green eyes appearing slightly glassy and distant. She looked utterly confused. "You... can show me how--?" Her earthy voice trailed off. Show her how to what? Truth be told, Elphie had never before appeared so helpless, so completely befuddled. She was entirely at the mercy of the wolf before her. Lucky for her, she seemed to be in good hands.

Elphie looked at Sol-Lun, one of her ears swiveling to side in either hesitation or consideration. The incredulity had faded somewhat by now. She still wasn't quite sure what Sol-Lun could do for her, but she no longer doubted that he could do something big. The pressure was still humming around her. Why hadn't she noticed it before, save those few times a long time ago? It was as if the other's very presence had shaken the veils the She had cast over her own eyes.

Her own heartbeat pounding in her ears, Elphie lay as instructed in front of the other, her cheeks flushing slightly under her fur as she awkwardly leaned forward to barely touch her dark nose to the other's. Her green eyes glanced to Sol-Lun's nervously, waiting for something to happen. If someone had been looking on who knew Elphie, who hadn't been able to sense the turbid powers of strange magic pressing to be discovered, they surely would have been shocked at how docile the female seemed to be acting.

(( xD Har, good thing Neka's not around! ))