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 Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 4:44 pm
 Well, today had proven a little dour for the aspiring alpha. From the failure at fishing, to the wash down river, to the meeting of a very tempermental female, to the mess that was mud, and now the bittersweet growls of his stomach, Fantasia's outlook and mood were quite in contrast with the shining white rose upon his shoulder, and the pup's brow was downturned into a dark expression as he continued to bob down river. Silhouette's goodbye had been nonexistant, that selfish and impolite runt; he had even offered to help her hunt and try to find her pack! Yet she enjoyed to change from agitated to sarcastic to clingy in their exchange within minutes of each attitude.
Girls. Fantasia was happy to be rid of her and be allowed the time to concentrate on his meal once more.
As he had hoped, yesterday's rain had not taken all remaining exits from the shore from him, and in time the pup found himself a dryer bank on which his paws did not slide nearly as much upon as that mud wall upstream. Shaking himself several times, Fantasia headed upland and immediately put his nose to the ground, yet he was having not much luck. The rain had washed away many of the prey scents he was used to following, and he was hunting blind in what was a different area of the forest than he was used to. It was lucky he was the adventurous type as far as exploration came.
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Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 11:34 am
 Among the low-lying ferns and foliage a mass of white fur shone eerily with the faintest tints of silver and blue – nigh ghostly colors when surrounded by the deepest hues of green, brown, and black of the saturated forest floor. The dim sunlight that filtered through the treetop canopy gave an eerie cast of twilight to the afternoon, as if time itself were suspended in this neck of the woods. And indeed the world seemed to grind to a halt as he spotted his prey sniffing about in the grass. Ginger fur beaded with water, the animal’s ears flicked slightly in his direction, but the hunter knew his body was masked in the muddy haze of woodland scents. Even now he crouched down onto the ground, disregarding the discomfort of the wet earth beneath him as his prey drew closer . . . closer . . . closer . . .
A streak of white lunged out of the bushes, and his prey hardly had the time to see its death closing in before jowls found its neck. There was a sickening ‘crack’, and the bundle of fur lay limp in the wolf’s mouth. It was all so innate, hunting. Somehow he could always find prey, even in strange lands like this. Even now his mind wandered to other things as he feasted upon his kill swiftly, efficiently – the third for the day. Once he finished this meat he would have plenty of strength to pursue his previous objective for hours. It was a smooth operation he upheld, one tempered by discipline, endurance, strength – all of which he possessed in profusion from many seasons of hardship. One that made the blood in his mouth taste even sweeter as a reward in its own right. Yes, solitude was a lonely path, but he would not walk it for much longer.
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Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 9:28 am
And there it came, the scent of blood drifting from an area not too far. Rustles. An instinct was to flatten himself, make himself smaller should the hunter decide to come in his direction and make a second snack of him. Yet Fantasia also grappled with another basic urge, the need to feed before he collapsed. But certainly he could not hope to find a generous wolf out here, not having had much luck as of yet, and he did not wish to press even false aspirations upon himself when he was already weakened by the mere smell of available food.
He could try. And get killed for it, the pup thought wryly as cautiously he crept towards the scent. But perhaps he could unleash some hidden reservoir of energy should he need to flee, as he had heard was possible when one's life depended on it. Would that be enough, though, if the situation turned dark? Fantasia peaked from within the bushes: a single white male feasting upon the recently killed hare he must have heard dying just now. It didn't look too large . . . Yet the ginger pup found that his tongue was wetting his lips regardless. Were there more nearby? He ducked back down and began to back away -
- then froze as he broke several small branches underpaw.
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Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:09 pm
The sound alerted the older wolf to the pup's presence, and his ears flicked in the direction of the sound. What was this? Another creature to hunt? Or maybe one of his own kind. The white wolf lifted his head slowly from the rabbit and stood tall, moving a paw over his kill in an unspoken claim of morsel as his own. Sharp amber eyes fixed upon the clump of fur he could see in the ferns, and a voice emitted from the adult's bloodied maw, "Show yourself." The tone was rich and strong, bearing weight even at a conversational volume.
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Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 7:23 pm
Well enough. There was no point in hiding himself, if that deep voice meant anything, and the pup unhinged himself from the ground to stride forth from the bush as if it were nothing, several leaves of a vivacious green clinging to his pelt. It was a disconcerting effect to see the older male pristine in white save for the bright crimson blood dripping from his muzzle, and immediately Fantasia's ears flattened, though he kept his tail tucked. "Just looking around for a meal myself," he said, glancing towards the protected meal briefly before finding the pair of amber. "Is there a warren nearby?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 9:54 pm
So it was as he surmised: a sodden pup in search of something of substance to consume. The golden gaze of the loner glided across Fantasia's frame and posture, assessing him with unbiased accuracy. Wisely, the young one had taken the mannerisms of an inferior when speaking with one older than himself, but there was a stiffness in his motions that betrayed fear or hidden hostility. Did this whelp think himself capable of pilfering a meal from him? He hoped not. It would be a pity to have to beat the child over such a thing. Yet none of these rapid-fire thoughts manifested in the white wolf's posturing. Instead, he smoothly sat back on his hind legs, a less defensive position now that he deemed this one of little threat, yet still claiming the prey as his. "Alas, I know not." He declared calmly as he returned his stare to those copper eyes. "This one appears to have been alone."
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Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 6:42 am
"Curses." Fantasia sighed darkly along with his stomach's chorus of growls, almost swaying on the spot in weakness with the news. He had strayed too far from home and now - the possibility entered his mind like a cold touch - that he could wander like this until his dying breath, and that very thing could be coming soon. How far from the rose den was he? To the north, northeast, that was all he recalled if this river meant anything to him . . . But would it be too late?
He had to delay the very possibility, though. Something. Anything. The pup's voice restrained his hopelessness weakly, in contrast with the strong look in Fantasia's eyes. "I can make you a deal," he said. "Help me find food for myself and my family. Help me return to them safely. I can make it worth your while if you are a patient wolf."
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Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 11:36 am
That was quite bold. This little one intended to bargain with a stranger - and quite eloquently for one so young. A possibly dangerous option for the both of them. Judging from the guttural noises rumbling forth from his stomach cavity and the slight unsteadiness of his placement, the boy was limited in his options regardless. But could this be an elaborate trap? Was this babe to act as bait and lead him to his 'family' only to turn on him for his servitude or his flesh? He had seen wolf turn on wolf in the madness of starvation before . . . He would like to think this strange pup spoke the truth, but such dark thoughts of survival still swirled in his mind.
After a moment's deliberation in searching the youth's eyes for any hint of savagery or falsehood, the white wolf relented, taking a paw off his kill. "Patience is a virtue of which I am well acquainted, child of the white rose, though I have none for those who lie. If you be honest and forthright in recounting the name and status of yourself and that of your family, I shall be glad to aid you in returning to them." The sober warning in his words was softened by his offering of help.
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Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 12:58 pm
Lie? Sure, he supposed, desperation could call for a fabrication or two. But the idea of lying made his throat constrict on a normal basis, let alone when he was depending on the kindness of a stranger. "Fantasia. My name is Fantasia," he recounted, the cogs in his mind sputtering for a moment. "My parents are Disneyana and Allah, my siblings Terabithia and Yensid. Our family lives somewhere north of here, where many roses of different colors grow; you can still smell them on me even. They should be near a body of water due to the plants . . ." He paused again to consider any more details, eye twitching at the hunger pains. "We live on our own, our parents both being loners without packs or family to go to."
This, he hoped to change one day.
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Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 1:42 pm
At once the wolf set about memorizing the information as best as he could. Fantasia, the pup with the fantastic flower on his flank, had given him quite a bit to process at once. He approved of the efficiency. So they were to head due north, fair enough. The child had even given him a scent and sight to look for in the roses. Already he was concocting a simple plan to reach this family when he saw the yearning for food in the young one's face. "Very well. Eat, Fantasia. You need the strength more than I." He nudged the prey forward toward the pup with a paw before going on, "The river seems to reach north. Perhaps we can follow it until you recognize the land or find your family."
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Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 1:59 pm
Without another word the pup threw himself upon the half-eaten hare, finding no humor or irony in consuming an animal the very same shade as he. Within minutes Fantasia could feel strength flowing to his limbs again, mind swimming yet again momentarily from the sheer amount of meat finding its way into his stomach; he swallowed hard and picked his head up when he found he had had enough of the carcass to at least keep going without being stuffed. "It sounds like a better plan than I can come up with. Your name, stranger?" The pup began to stand, licking his maw clean and hating the notion that it could grow sticky.
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Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 2:13 pm
"You may call me Lucifer." The white wolf had already begun to walk toward the river as the pup finished his meal. He dipped his muzzle into the water to wash the blood from his muzzle and get a quick drink before treading upriver. The sky was too clouded for him to discern the hours of daylight that remained, but he guessed it was late afternoon. "Drink if you must, but I advise you do so with speed. We should move before it grows dark."
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Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 2:23 pm
With speed he did, quickly dunking his head into the river up to where his snout met between his eyes, enjoying the cool sensation running down his throat as he gulped down several times before lifting his head, satisfied. "All right. And thank you, Lucifer," Fantasia said in genuine gratitude as he joined the white wolf in their walk. "Are you alone or with a pack near here? I've heard that there is one some distance away, having met with a lost pup myself earlier."
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Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 2:37 pm
"You are welcome, Fantasia." Lucifer kept a brisk pace, his long, lithe figure almost gliding across the ground as he spoke to the pup. It would seem that this child knew some manners too. "I am alone, save for present company, and know little of these lands. Perhaps you would be so kind as to enlighten me?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 2:49 pm
"I don't know much myself," the pup replied, "since I try to wander from the den and my dad or mom usually finds me before I go too far. This would be the first time I managed to break away; stupid move, I now know. But like I mentioned earlier, there must be a pack nearby if the girl I met earlier meant anything. I wonder just what kinds are out there." Fantasia gazed up at the grayed skies with some disdain, hoping that if the clouds had any intention of rain that they would wait until he was in the dry den once more. "There must be something that lurks out there as an agent of darkness, right? My mother is frightened of the forest deeply, for instance, but I've never seen sign of any creature that would cause her that degree of fear."
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