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 Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2010 1:29 pm
She had never been out on her own before.
Glancing over at Istanzi, Nendiya smiled and reconsidered her thoughts. She wasn't alone. This was the first time she had been away from her human partner and her pack, but she wasn't alone so long as Istanzi was with her. And if having her meant that Nendiya had to take her far away from the only home Nen had ever known, so be it. They would be enough pack for one another.
Playfully, Nendiya nudged Istanzi with her hand-marked shoulder, all of her regrets tucked neatly aside, soothed for the moment. The two females were the only wolves for a great distance, as far as Nen could tell, and that made the forest almost... peaceful.
"I think we're far enough away that even your tracker will give up looking for us." Her tone was cheerful, and she flicked her ears. "We're well on our way."
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Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2010 1:57 pm
Screw it, she was away from all that now, she wasn't gonna let it bring her down. She glanced at her companion, tail wagging furiously, as they sped through the wilderness. They didn't know where they were going, didn't know what they'd end up doing, but whatever they did or wherever they ended up, they'd be there together.
"I hope so, Nendi~" she replied to her companion "I mean, I dunno, I think he'll be angry but he loved me in his own way, y'know? He never let me go hungry or anything" she'd seen some kept wolves and 'dogs' who had been so skinny their bones showed "I don't think he'll come out all this way, he'd have to be back by dark" she pondered aloud, hoping she was right.
Zizi was positively dizzy with cheerfulness and the 'power' of being under her own control.
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Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2010 6:01 am
"Good humans are hard to come by outside the tribes, but we were born to be able to survive without them." She smiled. "Even if he could follow, we would evade him. The forest is large, and even if he were focused on getting you back, there are ways to lose him." There was a tiny bounce in her step for a moment. The tribe-- and it's in-tribe wolfpack-- had taught her and her companion how to survive, together and apart. "We are not ordinary wolves."
A thrush called from somewhere above them, and Nen tipped her head back to look for it among the leafy branches. "We'll head north. It's the safest way for now." She lapsed into silence for a moment, letting the wind in the trees quiet her thoughts again.
"We'll need to hunt once it gets dark. Are you hungry, Zizi?"
Nen had eaten the night before, out hunting for the last time with the other wolves of her pack, and had spent the night with her human-partner. Nen had been lucky in that her human was one of the few in the tribe who was almost as nocturnal as the wolves. It meant a great deal of time spent together, saying goodbyes. Maybe they could return someday, when the threat of Istanzi's owner was gone, to show the tribe they were doing all right. Maybe by then they would even have had puppies to make the trip back with them. Of course, all that assumed they hadn't joined a wild pack that needed them to stay. With her recent attachments still fresh, Nen hoped they wouldn't.
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Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2010 6:47 am
"That's true, I suppose, though I don't remember any other wolves... any of my own kind from before." She lapsed into silence behind her partner, only nodding a little when Nen indicated they'd go north. She barely knew the land here and was happy to let the silver-filigree wolf take the lead.
When Nen asked about food Istanzi thought about it for a moment. She didn't feel all that hungry, but she knew the roiling flutter in her stomach would settle eventually and she'd need something to eat. "Maybe, a bit.... not yet, though. It'll be odd, to hunt with another do...wolf for a change" she smiled at her companion. Her only hunting, before they had met, had been done at the side of a human and more often he had brought her something back, whilst she was left to watch his 'home'.
Sensing her companions mood, the brighter of the pair turned her soft golden eyes on her companion. "Are you missing them, Nen? You're not sorry we left, are you?" her face showed her concern. The last thing she wanted was for Nen to be unhappy and, worse, to cover up that unhappiness to let Zizi herself feel better.
"Do you think there might be a pack near here? Others?" ears were a little flat as she asked - showing her trepidation about meeting new wolves.
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Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2010 7:22 am
Another little breeze carried sunset clouds over the little gaps in the canopy. The forest was darkening far more quickly than the village would have, the trees cutting off the sunlight before it was even fully gone. The last birdsongs had faded off, as if the thrush had heralded nightfall. "Hunting is meant to be a group experience. I can teach you how to work as a pair, and you'll see. It is better with others."
She met Istanzi's eyes with her own silver pair, smiling to ease the worry away from her mate's face. "Of course I miss them. The tribe is my home and my pack. I will miss all of them. But how could I be sorry I left? I would have been sorrier still had I left you with your human and he had taken you away from me."
She nuzzled her mate without slowing her pace. "There are no wild packs close to the village. I don't think we've gone far enough that we're likely to encounter any. Don't worry so much, when we find another pack, we'll smell their borders before we run into any of them. Nothing will happen to us."
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Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2010 5:11 am
Istanzi nodded, thankful, for the hundredth time, of how much Nendiya had done for her. If it hadn't been for her mate she'd still be tied up, begging for scraps from a human. It hadn't seemed such a bad life, at the time, but, then, she'd never known any other.
Out here, in the wild, free, she was learning there was another way - it just annoyed her that she didn't know how to do half of the things already. She was determined that she soon would. She had a willingness to learn, a strong body, and a stubborn mind - all these things would help her as she strove to throw off the shackles of her 'captivity'.
Leaning into Nendiya's nuzzle she grinned. "I'm sorry I'm being such a worrier, I guess it's just all so much at once. I'll be a bit more chilled when the adrenaline's worn off".
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Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 7:38 am
Nen smiled and pressed briefly against Istanzi again, her tone suggestive, but playful. "Not too chilled I hope." She glanced at the dark canopy and then back down to where she could still vaguely see the gold of Zizi's eyes. Her eyes would adapt to night vision soon. "That wouldn't match your pelt, or your personality, at all."
They would need rest eventually, but they could take that the next day, sleeping through the dawn and the morning, if not longer. The night was the time for wolves, and she intended to take advantage of the time to show her mate how to hunt and to give them some added distance while they could travel. Anything that would make it harder for the trapper to follow them was a good idea. They could hopefully find a place to den down for the night as well if they continued. Nendiya remembered being told of rocky outcroppings from several wolves who had gone on a long journey with their human-partners. She hoped they weren't too far.
"I'll take care of you," Nen promised, "And I'll teach you how to take care of yourself, at least until we decide if we want a pack or not." It was a desire that lay in the heart of every wolf she had ever known, an ingrained yearning to be a part of a larger group, but it was something that had been kept from Istanzi. Nen was happy just to be with her mate, but if Istanzi ever expressed even the slightest desire for a pack... Nen would find one immediately.
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Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 5:58 am
-=O Later That Week O=- The white of Zizi's fur was tinted a glorious orange-red as it reflected the multi-faceted colours of the sun. She was a resting on a nice, shaggy, soft patch of soft summer-rich grass, enjoying the warm, earthy scents and, with closed eyes, was letting her wiry muscles relax. She wasn't a huge wolf, but she was decently sized for a female and the weeks intensive running and training were beginning to show in her more developed muscles. She had always been a pet, and though she'd been taken for exercise and allowed to run, she had not had the lifetime on the paw that most pack wolves experienced.
In fact, she'd had very little of a true wolfish experience in her life, so far, but that was changing rapidly. Nendiya, although she'd also been brought up in and around humans, was a trained hunter and knew the land better than Zizi. She'd had access to other wolves knowledge and more free reign to try, and fail, and learn. All of this, she was now funnelling to the rainbow-coloured female.
It wasn't all work, though, and even when when she was weary, it only took a smile, a touch, a nuzzle, from her mate and she was renewed.
Her golden eyes snapped open as she heard paws approaching, but a smile was instantly on her lips as she recognised Nen's green coat.
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Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 6:10 am
Zizi's mentioned renewal came the moment Nendiya was close enough to offer her mate a teasing lick on the nose and a quick nuzzle. She had no interest in getting more of the heat, so she found a nice shady spot close to her mate and opted to take up residence there instead.
"What have you been up to while I was gone?" She stretched out on the grass, extending her forelegs in front of her to let the cool plants beneath her exchange some of their "cold" for the heat of her body. "Just sunning?"
She glanced up at the nest of chirping bird in the tree above her head. She could just barely make out one edge, but the chicks' voices were loud and clear. They should probably know better than to make such a racket with predators around, but they had apparently gotten used to her and Istanzi's presence over the last few days.
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Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 7:30 am
"Mostly... and thinking of what we've managed in the past week." She grinned, following her mate's eyes up into the trees. "But also... what we're going to do from now on" she admitted, hating to break the wonderful fuzzy feeling that underpinned most times when she was nearby Nen.
"I mean. Hmm. I don't know. I guess I wonder even if, well, even if we get into a pack and settle there and are the most normal of wolves we can be" her lolling smile showed the likelihood she felt at her ever being considered truly 'normal' by other wolves "we... can't, well, have a family. I mean... I love you, but I'm not so naieve in the way of wolves to know that between us we can't make pups..." the thought distressed her a little, but she didn't want her mate to feel like she thought there was something lacking between them.
"Don't get me wrong, I love you and I would live without them but I always imagined, when I was alone with my master, that some day I might have a litter of my own to keep me company..."
That feeling, of loneliness, had partially shaped Istanzi and was one of the few things which could dampen her otherwise bright personality. She never wanted to be truly alone again. Even being with one other wolf was more rich in so may ways than being with the trapper - they could talk, scent, hunt, and see differently, communication wasn't just orders she was expected to follow, and there was a mutual bond of love, rather than just 'care'.
Her golden eyes, a little troubled, moved down towards her mate's, worried that Nen might be angry with her, worried that her admission might cause her to be rejected. Part of her knew that was silly, but a core in her wriggled, distraught, at the thought of the beautiful teal-pelted wolf leaving her side - especially because of her own stupidity.
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Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 8:11 am
Oh. Well.
"Hn." She commented, tilting her head at her mate. She loved puppies, but Zizi was right. Two females couldn't have pups without a male being in the mix. "It's too bad we can't make pups of our own. I would have loved to have pups that were a mix of our coats." She grinned at her mate to ease the nervousness she saw in her eyes. "I understand the feeling."
She set her head down on her forearms, looking thoughtful. A family would be nice, though she hadn't started thinking about it yet. There had always been something else going on, some event for them to get through. Family hadn't become an issue, until now. But they would want pups, someday. Beautiful, multi-colored pups.
"I always loved seeing what the pups' coats would look like. Which parent they would take after more," she confessed. "There is always the option of a surrogate father, or mother when there are two males who are mated. We could try to find a surrogate, but as lones that may be hard, even actively looking for one. We may have to consider finding a pack before looking at prospective fathers."
Then the idea came to her, like a brilliant flash of light. She lifted her head off of her legs so fast the birds above her stopped cheeping. "Why don't we make it a game? A very serious game, but a game." As the details worked themselves out she fell silent for a few moments before she looked at Istanzi and let them tumble out. "We could look for males, but we will be selective about it. We will find males with pelts we like, pelts we think would mix well with one of ours. Then, if I found him, for example, I could bring you in to approve, and if he agrees after we ask we will have him try to be the surrogate for that litter. Then we can change the male every litter so we get different looking litters every time, rather than having the same male father our pups every time."
Her tail beat a rhythm on the ground. "It'll be a chance to see how the pups change depending on their father."
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Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 8:33 am
From a world in which she would never birth a family of her own, to one in which she might be allowed to have many broods to look after, and even the prospect of Nen having little ones too. She hadn't been sure if Nen had considered children of her own - maybe the reason she liked Ziz had been that she didn't have to worry about that.... but apparently not so.
The grin that had been growing over her face turned to a blush, though, as she considered the practicalities of such an arrangement. "It's all well saying we'd have a surrogate but we'd have to... you know" she looked away, trying to keep down a childish urge to snicker - she was an adult now, she should take this seriously. Still, her amusement showed in her eyes as she continued. "I've never... with a male..." She didn't really love the idea of that, either. Could she do it, for a chance at pups of her own? "They'd have to be nice, too, or at least not horrid. I can't imagine letting some male who was horrid do... that... even if he was the prettiest male in the world". Slowly, though, the idea was catching fire in her mind. She loved her mate's pelt and wasn't shy of her own bright coloured one - to mix that as a choice, to take a male for his colours seemed delightfully naughty and, at the same time, rather liberating.
As much as she'd have liked to see her own and Nen's coat in a child that was part of each, she knew that that wasn't possible and this might be the next best thing. She could always look for a male not unlike Nen, afterall, and... if she did find one, it'd be all the easier to do what needed to be done.
"I love the idea, Nen, I love it!" she exclaimed finally, her mind set on it entirely, now.
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Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 9:18 am
Nen grinned at her mate's shy reaction to the thought of sleeping with a male, and then beamed at her mate when she agreed, pleased that she like the idea.
"I was with a male once, long before I met you. Thankfully, there were no puppies from that union. I would rather have all my litters for you, than for anyone else." She smiled lovingly. "We can always find a pack still. They have males, and it would allow us a safe place to raise our pups after we've found suitable partners."
Already, she was planning what colors would look best with her own coat, trying to decide what the males might look like she would choose. Maybe she could pick one wild card, just to see how the colors would clash.
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Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 9:26 am
Zizi was lost, for a little while, in dreams of little ones around her paws. The family she'd grown up without. She would hold them close, make sure they knew they were loved, let them know, every night, that she was there for them... In her mind, she imagined them as mixes of herself and Nendiya and they would be - in spirit if not in colour.
She snorted, though, at the idea of Nen with a male. She wasn't jealous, though "I just can't imagine you with some male on your back" she giggled and then was mortified for a few seconds, realising what she'd said. She had come so close to her partner in such a short time that she let her innermost thoughts slip out unbidden, but she forgot that her partner had a far more complex and rich life before Zizi had come along and, despite her own disparaging remarks about the relationship she'd emtnioned, it wasn't the rainbow femme's place to put them down or make such indecent remarks.
It was a funny thought though, and she couldn't help but tilt her head a little, imagining her mate as the focus of a male's affections. She tried to keep her face straight and contrite but her mouth quirked up at the edges. Trying to hide it, she crawled over pup-like to her mate, wriggling on her belly and pressed her grinning maw against the other female's ruff, nuzzling tenderly.
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Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 10:06 am
Nendiya laughed at her comment, but held it back to a giant grin as Zizi crept over, mock-guilty. "It does seem odd now. It's hard to imagine it at all, so I try not to. For pups, though, it seems a worthy cause."
She accepted Nendiya's caress and happily shifted over to snuggle up against her. A family sounded wonderful, and it made her mate happy. Now they could enjoy the day, and perhaps have another hunting lesson tonight. Or, maybe, they could just settle into their den tonight. She set her head down and closed her eyes, intent on taking a nap. If her dreams featured puppies more than usual, she didn't remember it later.
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