[PRP] Fragile Memories (Hazel/Tokala)

[jinxgirl5]

Hazel stretched luxuriously, enjoying the cool sensation of moss beneath her. Not that this land had been spared from winter, no; snow still made a fine dusting everywhere and frost glittered from the branches of the trees.

The forest was rich in bounty though. She'd managed to find a good pine tree with branches that formed a skirt which brushed the ground. Some dried leaves, a bit of moss and old pine, and she had a fairly decent nest to sit out the winter weather. Prey here was in enough abundance that she didn't think she'd starve before spring came back.

She was pretty sure she was close to tribal grounds. Foxes would pass by her shelter every now and again, usually the same ones. Sometimes a brown female, but so rarely that Hazel's memory had trouble recalling her. More often it was a green and blue male, and usually he had kill of some kind in his jaws. Perhaps a hunter for a tribe? Well, whichever it was Hazel did her best to stay out of their way.

She laid there for a moment, loathe to get out of her warm nest, but knowing she needed to get some water at least and maybe hunt a little for the day. So it was with extreme reluctance that she pulled herself from out of the pine's sheltering branches.  

[SilverShieldwolf]

Tokala chased down the third snow hare. With a snap of his jaws he brought it back to his pile that was set up near a tree. For winter the hares had some meat on them and three should do the tribe well, along with the rest of the food stored. As he was headed back he had noticed there was another set of fox prints around the area.

Sniffing at the prints, he realized that this fox had been here some time for the scent lingered. Hesitation kept the male from going back to the tribe immediately, especially when it became clear that they all walked past at some point.

The food smeared some of the tracks, but his keen blue eyes found the correct set and he set out to find the stranger. As Tokala reached the pine tree there was movement from under the branches. He set the meal on the snow covered ground. "Hello," he called out.

 

[jinxgirl5]

Hazel made a squeaking noise and nearly jumped back against the tree. "Who's there," she called out wildly, unable to stop the gut reaction. She certainly hadn't expected to meet anyone out here, it had been very quiet so far today. Her eyes wildly scanned the reason, trying to find the source of the voice.

They landed on the blue-green male who had just recently been in her thoughts. In addition to being startled she felt a bit of chagrin; she was trespassing on tribal land, after all, she was sure.  

[SilverShieldwolf]

Tokala smiled softly so he wouldn't scare the mostly brown vixen. His ears swiveled to see if there were more around, but his tail waved high behind him. "I think that is my question," shrugged his shoulders. "But since you asked. I am Tokala."

Soft and slow steps brought him towards her, he took in how she looked. The white stripes in the brown accented her legs, sides and ears, with what appeared to be some purple spots. The forest seemed to have kept her well fed, but having been taught to be polite he offered one of the hares. "Are you hungry?"

 

[jinxgirl5]

Hazel shook her head, the chagrin winning over her expression now. "I-I was just gonna hunt later. I was only going to get some water now." She eyed the male with a few misgivings. He seemed to be really nice, but you could never tell sometimes. Certainly he was stronger than her, and probably faster.

"I'm Hazel," she said, voice a little quiet, knowing it was polite when given a name to give your own in return.  

[SilverShieldwolf]

Paw above the ground on his current step, Tokala stopped. He glanced at her body posture and sat where he was, a few feet away. "Nice to meet you, Hazel."

The paw prints around the pine told him she was alone here. "How long have you been in the area?" He was unsure of how to relax the female, since he was curious and had no intention of causing harm.  

[jinxgirl5]

Hazel reached into her mind to try to answer the question, and pulled up a blank. Oops. Under normal circumstances she didn't think she could have given a definitive answer anyway; the days just seemed to blur together in a monotonous streak.

"Uuuh," was her intelligable reply. If sweatdrops could spontaniously pop out of nowhere, she'd have a couple hanging around her. "Well, honestly. I can't remember." She chuckled in a slightly nervous and embarassed manner.  

[SilverShieldwolf]

He chuckled with a small smile. "That is fine. Sometimes this season does the same to me."

He turned his blue eyes away from her, so not to intimidate Hazel any more. "Would you like to help me get a larger source of food?" Maybe she would be more relaxed after a hunt.  

[jinxgirl5]

Hazel tilted her head, black eyes curious. Was he offering to hunt with her? Why would he do that? She was a essentially a stranger to him, and a trespasser on tribal lands. She'd always thought these kinds of things counted, but...

"I'd like that," she said, smiling a little shyly.  

[SilverShieldwolf]

Tokala looked around. He really wasn't suppose to be out by himself, but he sneaked out, sorta. He couldn't sense any of the other tribe around, so this one time he was safe.

"Alrighty! I seen some deer tracks up a little ways. If we take it down, I will put in a good word with the tribe leader that is nearby." He smiled at her, tail waving in the air some more.  

[jinxgirl5]

Hazel felt her expression morph into one of nervousness, though she tried to keep her face smooth. It wouldn't do to look like she was as skittish as a rabbit! Still... "Leader," she asked, trying to force herself to sound calm. "Ah, wouldn't that be bad for me to run into-," she mentally stuttered over the gender, then decided on, "-him." After all most leaders were males, weren't they?

"I mean," Hazel added, trying not to stutter or blush, "it's not like I'm that good a hunter!" She really hoped she hadn't given the male the wrong impression. She tried to go over her conversation to see if she'd said anything that might have sounded like bragging, but couldn't really remember what she'd said.

((Aw, she's embarassed XD))  

[SilverShieldwolf]

He caught a glimpse of something across her face. Tokala understood the thoughts of running into an elder when in tribe territory. "You don't need to worry about running into him today. It wouldn't be bad for you if we ran into him." A paw motion for her to walk with him as he continued talking.

"No worries about being a good hunter." A prouder stance came about him, "I can bring it down with some help." He gave Hazel a wide grin, "Lets go get us a deer."

((He is nervous.))  

[jinxgirl5]

"Aw, I'm sorry," she said, Hazel's face and body melting into a slightly fretting stance, expression creased with a different kind of worry. "Man," she continued, face still mournful as she looked at Tokala. For a fox who had irises as black as her pupils, Hazel's eyes were unusually warm and filled with emotion. They weren't the bottomless depths of a cave so much as a warm summer night under the trees with a new moon.

"I don't wanna get you in trouble, not when you've been so nice to me so far," she complained, though she did trot next to Tokala as she talked. "That would just be so horrible! If the elder shows up you should pretend to run me off or something!" Concern was alive in her eyes, and it was obvious she cared what happened to this male whom she had just met.  

[SilverShieldwolf]

Blue eyes turned to look at her. The sad face that gazed back at him made Tokala smile. He couldn't chase her off, even if it would be faked. His steps faltered as he thought of chasing her. The concern she showed, touched him.

He gave the idea a thought, "How about I act like I am bringing you to the elder? It would look better that way. And also.." His voice trailed off before he could say more. A blush grew along his neck.  

[jinxgirl5]

"Would that really help," Hazel asked, looking doubtful. Granted she had no real experience with tribes, cause she was pretty sure she'd remember something like that, but in a family group it seemed more likely to chase off an intruder rather than bring them to the center of the family. In fact...

"That seems more like something you'd do to introduce a girlfriend or mate, not a stranger," she continued, voice dubious. She might have been a stranger to courtship rituals, but generally to be considered "involved" it seemed prudent to know a little more about the other than just a name. She was betting she and Tokala didn't qualify.