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 Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 8:14 pm
 "Oh, but you are a damn food, Adriana," the bicolor she-wolf said to herself, watching the snow fall. She felt like she had been watching the snow fall half her life--it was at least half of the life she'd spent away from her former home. Back where days came in either wet or dry, but not cold. Certainly not so cold and so wet.
In her new pack, she had kept mostly to herself--in fact, she had not seen the alphas for some time. She knew where the border were, of course--that much was obvious, to any wolf--and she tried to stay near, but it was her inclination to disregard such formalities. This also meant she had not yet learned what any more arcticly-inclined canine already knew--how to stay out of a snowstorm. She was wise enough to crawl under the branches of a huge pine tree, but not to find better shelter or even have noticed the storm was coming in the first place. They didn't build on you the same way tropical storms did.
She curled her body over itself--she had learned to accept the less svelte form her body seemed inclined to take when the weather turned chilly--and lay against the bark in a lump, the howling wind blowing snow even between the needle-covered branches.
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Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 3:14 pm
 Blank strutted along in his normal carefree manner, which was a rather strange sort of style of walk as he also pushed his way through the snow which was quickly deepening across the forest floor. It hadn't been long since he had escaped his life under the two-legs rule. His scars where still present due to them, yet he thought nothing of them now, the pain of the injuries had long since subsided. For now he enjoyed being his own master.
His shackles clicked, the sound echoing in the snowy landscape. He was use to the noise now and they no longer bothered him, for they no longer held him. The snow did not bother him, he was use to such temperatures and in fact he often preferred them. His rich reddish-brown coat was freckled with snowflakes, though those fallen moments before now melted with his body temperature and rolling of the naturally greasy coat as water.
Catching a faint scent on the air he lifted his head higher and cast his amber eyes over the area in front of him. There off to the left he noted the outline of another wolf, the size dictated a female. Swaggering closer the scent became stronger, yes it was a female. Boldly he strode up to the creature whom was trying in vain to keep herself from the worst of the weather, smiling down at her, her back to him, he rumbled. 'You know, they say the best way to keep warm is to keep close to another for warmth.'
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Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 9:53 am
Amaury first heard the soft sounds emitted by the male's adornments, before she even saw him. They made a rhythmic noise, like music, and she wondered if some spirit of the snow was coming for her through the blizzard. Then she shook herself, surprised at the weight of snow that fell from her pelt. Stop with the melodrama.
She turned her head to look over her shoulder. While surprised at the male's size, she didn't get up lest she make it appear he was worth the effort. Maybe he was, but it wouldn't do to make him cocky.
"Yes," she replied, "but it seems th' only ones around are the wolves stupid enough t' get caught in the storm."
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Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 1:13 pm
He looked down upon the female as she answered him and chuckled, the sound a deep rumbling at the base of his throat, rich and good humoured. 'So are you implying you and I are fools for being here in this time and place?' He smiled down at her and then lifted his head slightly to look out over the snowy white landscape. 'You can't help the weather my sweet and things need doing whatever the weather chooses to do.'
Placing his amber eyes back onto the ebony and ivory coloured female, he smiled to himself and then walked about her in a tight circle. Stretching out, pushing his weight back on to his hind legs, his rump going up in the air and his head lowered to the ground. Slumping to the ground in a rather unceremonious manner, he placed his throat onto his forepaws and stared straight into the females olive eyes. 'So how come I find a pretty little thing like you out here by yourself then?'
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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 9:56 am
"Of course we're fools," Adriana snapped in reply. “This ain’t the kind of weather y’ go out t’ enjoy y’self in, and there ain’t nothing important enough that it’s worth freezin’ for.” She didn’t mind his flippant reply, but she was jealous of the way he seemed to ignore the biting wind. Jealous because it left her in a compromising position.
She tucked her nose back into the soft fur against her thigh, effectively turning away from him, and draped the tip of her tail over her snout. “If you really must know,” she said, her voice muffled by her pelt and the wind, “this is the edge of my packlands. I was trying to go home.”
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Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2009 12:13 pm
Blank kept his head rested upon his forepaws and kept his eyes to the side of the female's head as she had turned away from him as to catch her eyes as soon as she succumbed to his attentions and turned back to face him. He replied in good humour, 'Perhaps there isn't anything worth fighting for, though I'd like to believe there is my sweet. As for being on your way home, if your not far, what has stopped you? Push on...' He could not quite understand the logic in curling up here with the minimal amount of protection the above tree offered.
'Perhaps, if you would like, I can escort you back home, you may walk behind me and I'll take the brunt of the weather for you.' He chuckled, the sound a deep rumbling at the back of his throat, 'I think your small enough to hide behind me.' This sort of weather didn't faze him, in fact it was the best sort to be working in, he had hated working during the summer months and apart from the heat the days were longer.
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Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2009 5:41 pm
Adriana began to bristle at being called small, but then she thought about it. He was rather large. A good-sized male. She moved the tip of her tail, just a bit, so she could peek at him.
You know nothing about him, the voice of her mother rang in her head. His family, his pack, his background?
'Exactly,' she thought to herself. Besides, she didn't know, really, why she didn't press on to reach Liens territory. She'd been afraid of getting lost, perhaps, or buried in the snow. Really, all she wanted to do was get warm. For just a moment, she considered if there would be any consequences to allowing this wolf into her pack's territories. However, this pack only had a few rules--no violence. No betrayal. And no abnormals. This male looked as a wolf should, though, all neutral colors. There shouldn't be a problem.
She lifted her head completely to gaze evenly back into his golden eyes. "That's very kind of you," she answered, her voice suddenly honeyed. "My name is Adriana, by the way. Of Liens pack."
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Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 2:25 pm
Blank fixed her with his amber eyes which were now full of amusement. From such a cold dismissive creature she now thanked him with a voice which dripped sweetness, he chuckled. 'It is a pleasure to meet you, Adriana of the Liens pack. You may refer to me as Blank.' He often found the reactions to his name rather amusing and searched her face for her own response to the somewhat strange name.
Smiling with good humour he raked his forelegs through the snow as he drew his weight backwards onto his hind legs before coming to stand, towering down over the somewhat smaller she wolf. The mental shackles had taken on a chill from resting in the snow and he flicked his fore paws out in front of himself trying to circulate the blood in his extremities and give some extra warmth to the area bitten by the cold metal.
Returning his attentions back to Adriana he smiled charmingly down at her and rumbled in his somewhat gruff though warming voice, 'Shall we be off then.'
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Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 9:45 pm
Though her body complained at exposing more surface area to the biting wind, Adriana slowly unwound herself and also rose to her feet, again shaking off the heavy snow that had accumulated over her coat. "I may refer to you as Blank?" she asked skeptically. "Is that your name? Or am I s'pposed to fill it in? Keep in mind, I got little enough t' call you after. Brownie, maybe." She glanced down at where his shaking paws caused his metal shackles to clink. "Or Jingles."
While she would have liked to have taken the lead, that hadn't been their deal, and truly, she did not want to go headfirst into the wind. She even aligned herself so she was against his broadside and out of the cold.
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Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 1:10 pm
Blank watched as the female rose to stand beside him, a good head and shoulders taller than her, he towered over her, he twisted his head to an angle where he could catch her olive eyes with his amber and responded in good humour, 'Aye, my sweet, Blank is my name. Thus that is how you may refer to me as; though of course, if you have other names in mind... I'm an open sort of guy, whatever makes you happy, hun.' He gave her a quick, cheeky wink with his scarred eye, the full length of it being displayed as he winked and then rumbled, 'Shall we?'
Turning his head he face into the gail, bowing his head slightly to the force and pushing on. He set a reasonable pace, the female was smaller and still had to wade though the several inch deep snow. After a time he twisted his head once again, 'I do not know this land well, hun, you'll have to stunt me in the right direction should the need arise...'
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Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 7:52 am
Adriana snorted softly to herself. Well, he seemed intent on calling her by anything but her proper name… perhaps she would do the same for him.
The snow mated in her pelt, and it got everywhere, even the cracks between the pads on her feet. Soon, she couldn’t even feel the pads on her feet. However, the male who pushed on in front of her didn’t seem to be having any problems. Lucky guy. “Just keep goin’ into the forest, big guy,” she shouted against the wind. She was trying to follow as close to him as possible to cut down on the resistance; her face was almost touching his tail. “Go ‘til everything seems dead, an’ then keep goin’.”
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 1:34 pm
Blank tucked his head into his chest and pushed his shoulder into the wind. He could sense Adriana close behind her, very close. He wondered how the female coped with her pack lands in this territory if she did not know how to live with this weather. Grinning slightly to himself he pushed on. The snow was easing now, though the wind still howled about them and he could feel the cold biting the skin surrounding his old scars where his fur was thinner, but he ignored it.
He flickered his eyes up, casting them about the landscape. There was very little undergrowth in this area and the trees seemed starved of nutrients. He did not know how far into these pack lands the female wanted him to take her, swinging about to face his travelling companion his stood, with his left side sheltering her from the wind, he fixed her with his amber eyes.
'So honey, how much further do you wish me to take you?' His voice was deep, rich and rumbled through the howl of the wind.
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Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2009 9:58 pm
Adriana had been walking with her head lowered against the wind, and she didn't notice when the male stopped. She was so close behind him that she ran straight into him, and shook her head in confusion. Why was he stopping? It was freezing!
"Ah, um..." She thought rapidly. If they could make it to the mountainous area, there would be plenty of caves, but in this weather, it would be spring before that happened. She tried to remember what resources there were in this forest. "Head more... north." She hoped her directions were correct; in the whiteout, it was hard to tell. "There'll be a den, dug inna little hillside." It was a spring playden, built for pups who were old enough to run about but not old enough to sleep in the open. A poor place to shelter from a storm, but shelter nonetheless.
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 3:24 pm
Blank chuckled to himself as the female nearly walked straight into him, the sound a deep rumbling. He looked down at her while she considered where it was he was meant to be taking her. Finally she informed him of a small den, he wondered if it was going to be adequate to shelter her from the chilling weather, from the way in which she seemed to hesitate over the decision. But he would do as she had asked and see how it turned out, as with most things Blank was more a ’of the moment’ type of wolf.
He smiled at her and a brief flicker of humour lit his eyes, his mood good whatever the weather. ’Shall we continue then Hun.’ Not meant as a question he turned about once again and continued onwards, baring to the left slightly after looking to the sky and judging north.
A little way onwards he spotted a small outcrop of rock and up on the far side he noted a small over hang and then dug into the earth a way. His eye brow cocked upwards, the ’den’ wasn’t overly adequate to shelter from the harsh weather conditions but then he’d dealt with worse before, he’d slept in the open in such weather only the other dogs of the pack for heat and shelter.
Coming up the small incline to the mouth of the den he paused and looked back over his shoulder, fixing his amber eyes onto dusty green, ‘Get to the back of the den Hun, I’m in no rush to be off right now so I’ll remain with you to help shelter until the worst of the weather passes and then you can travel on again to the heart of your pack.’ He smiled quickly and before she could argue with him he circled back down the hill slightly.
Crouching down low he pushed a mount of snow up the incline with the broad side of his back to the mouth of the den, forming a small snow bank and now offering a little shelter in the den, from the wind. Sauntering about the wall he entered the den and grinned down at the female. ‘Well now, isn’t this cosy.’
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Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 9:19 pm
Adriana had begun to fear she wouldn't make it to shelter in time; she was quite sure her bones had turned to ice. To distract herself from the cold, she'd begun to rehearse her final words--at least Blank would be around to hear them. She'd have to confirm with him which way was west, first, so she could lay down properly and no one could bring her spirit back. She doubted anyone here would bother, as these northern wolves didn't seem to share her pack's beliefs in the dead, but it didn't hurt to make sure.
She was surprised when she made it to the den alive, though she tried not to show it. She couldn't help herself from hurrying to the furthest corner and curling herself into a ball, though, even without his prompting. Her tail pressed over her muzzle like a muff, she watched him curiously as he pushed the snow over the cave mouth. It did cut down on the wind considerably, for which she was thankful.
Cozy? Hardly, compared to her native climate, but it was certainly better than hiding under a tree. She thumped her tail once, momentarily revealing a thankful smile. "Yes, I… suppose I do need to move on, once the storm ends." There was little to do in this pack, but she didn't want to make it sound as though she simply spent her days wandering the territory. The dim light that filtered through the snow wall made the den a room of shadows; she tucked her body further into itself. Her earlier thoughts of death returned. Could the dead rise in a snowstorm? She knew they were usually quiet in the rain, but no one had ever told her about snow. "Cozy," she repeated. "Yes, I… suppose you could say that." She shook herself a bit. "Tell me, sugah," she said, echoing his hypocorism. "You know where I live; where do you hail from, that you were passing by?"
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