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 Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 5:02 pm
Nishikigoi was hungry. The lone wolf loped along the well worn forest path, stopping to sniff occasionally at the faint markings left from a herd of deer. Not that he would be able to take one down even if it was right in front of him. Nose to the ground he left the trail, drifting into the trees, tail swishing idly from side to side. Most days were hungry days. He survived on rodents and the occasional scavenging he could do from an old pack kill. Not such a bad life; at least one his own he never had to worry about being bitten and attacked by his fellows.
Stopping at a small stream, Nishikigoi, otherwise known as Koi, took a moment to splash about in the water. Tongue lolling out the side of his mouth he chased dragonflies along the stream until he was tired, soaked but pleased with his activities. He flopped over in a patch of sun and licked his paws thoughtfully. Maybe he could nose up some frogs? They were usually buried under rocks this time of year and easy to grab. Yes, he’d take a look later.
He plopped his head down on his paws and yawned, drifting into a light snooze.
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Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 11:00 pm
 Embry padded along a line of trees, her gaze listless but her movements swift. She glanced at most things that passed her eye, ranging from the ladybug perched atop a blade of grass to the hawk soaring overhead, a more unfortunate bird clasped in its hooked feet. However, these things did little to rouse her interested and, in fact, not much did, which contributed to her expression. Some could even say she was stoic, but that was far from the case. She was perfectly capable of being just as animated as the next. It was simply finding something, or someone, that would trigger it that was the problem.
A sigh left her lips as she continued on her way, shifting in her direction so that she began to head towards a glistening stream. It danced in the sun and sang over rocks but, despite that, she noticed, as she leaned down, that her face did not pick up any pleasurable features, that her expression remained the same, and that the stream, too, failed to stir anything from her, even with its cheerful complexion.
Unaffected, she ignored the sleeping wolf she saw dozing along the stream's edge on the other side of the banks and waded into the waters. Positioning herself so that the direction it drifted was towards her tail, she leaned down to drink, taking care to make sure none would rush into her nose as she did so.
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Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2011 2:33 pm
Nishikigoi’s dreams were of his puppy hood; remembering the comfort of his siblings and his mother, his nose nuzzled up against her warm side. But he was soon brought back to reality by a creeping bug along his nose. The wolf awoke from his short nap and snuffled, batting at the insect until it had dropped to the ground and scurried off into the undergrowth. Ha, take that!
Yawning lazily he shifted his head to look towards the stream, thoughts of frog hunting returning to mind as he belly gave a light growl of complaint. It was as he gazed ponderously towards the water that he spotted the other wolf as she drank and he froze, entire body plastered to the ground as if he could slip into it and vanish with a great enough force of will. Panic raced through his mind; his first reaction to every other wolf he met these days. He had taken his naturally cautious nature to the very limits until he was as jumpy as a jack rabbit with his own kind.
Thoughts raced quickly through his mind. She must have seen him. He was out in the open and an easy target, but she hadn’t attacked, so maybe she wasn’t interested; which meant he could escape.
The wolf let out a breath and lifted himself up slightly, creeping carefully sideways towards the trees. All the while he kept his gaze on the drinking female. When he was nearly there, in his panicked gaze she seemed to move threateningly and he turned to race away. He barely got two steps. Instead he collided with a tree and went sprawling across it roots dazed.
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Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2011 9:00 pm
Embry had been quite thirsty and stayed in the water for some time. Her swiveling ear let one know that she had noticed her companion's awakening, yet she did nothing but drink. It was only when she had quenched her thirst did she raise her head, but the action seemed to have startled the wolf, for she saw him quicken, and then promptly fall over. She quirked a brow, wondering why he had gone so far away, and if she had been the reason for his quick retreat.
She looked over her shoulder but could see nothing. Perhaps it truly had been her who caused such fear from him, but this made no sense to her, either. What had she done? Had the stream been poisoned, so that any who drank from it would receive a disease that could spread through air or contact? But he had slept so close to it, so the waters couldn't have been the cause, either. After a few more theories, she figured that, since she could find no logical reason for it, it was unimportant, and finally decided to simply ignore it.
Slowly stepping out of the stream on the male's side, she approached the fallen figure, the small spark of curiosity batting at her boredom. Her expression did not change, and her gait was slow and casual, but she did not go near him. Instead, she settled a few feet away, from which she simply said, "Good morning."
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Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2011 4:51 pm
Nishikigoi shook his head to clear it and when could once against see without weird patches of light fluttering across his vision, he realised the female had stepped out of the water and was even closer to him. Oh dear. After her greeting he was silent for a long time, remaining in the sprawled position he had fallen into and staring at her with wide eyes. Eventually though he scrapped together what remained of his dignity and courage, as little as those were, and replied. “Ah yes... good morning.”
The lone wolf gave her a positively silly smile as he picked himself up, though his gaze kept flicking sideways towards various avenues of escape. “Good morning indeed. The water was nice, yeah? I liked it. Took a long drink earlier. You’re not going to hurt me are you?” She sure didn’t look dangerous; perhaps his hunger had just left him slightly more... jumpy than usual. Either that or he was spot on and her appearance was deceptive.
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Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2011 7:40 pm
A length of silence followed Embry's greeting, during which she nonchalantly scratched at her ear, wondering if the male would pick himself up and reply, or if he had even heard her in the first place. If his ears were dull, it would explain his fearful nature, but he soon disproved it with his response. It seemed hesitant, and then almost frightened when he continued, with his quick influx of questions and comments, with no time for her to respond to any of them, save for the last.
"...I won't," she replied, a pause between his words and hers as she wondered if she should respond to his other inquiries first, until she had decided that his most pressing concern seemed to be his immediate safety and, therefore, one that should be addressed first. She hoped it would calm him, at the very least, so that his childish smile wouldn't seem so forced, or his eyes so afraid.
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Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 5:54 pm
When he realized her response had been in the negative, Nishikigoi began to feel a little better about the situation and his tail began to wag. It flicked rapidly back and forth as he finally picked himself up and stretched lazily, as if he hadn’t just tried to flee for his life. “That’s good yeah.” He wrinkled his nose and perked his ears up, playful grin looking a lot more natural this time around. “Hey, hey, you’ve gotta be careful. You never can know these days.”
Of course he was still wary and there was a certain distance he would keep, but for the most part he trusted this female had no ill intentions and was willing to spend some time talking or… rather, finding food in her presence. “I was going to hunt for frogs. Can’t catch them any time but now.” Tail happily curling up he padded over to the stream and splashed into the water.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 9:20 pm
Embry was surprised, but not altogether displeased, with the male's sudden change after the reassurance of her response. He reminded her of a pup, with their tendency to be readily assured, easy smiles, and constant talk of food. Of course, the latter had yet to be seen, but for the moment, it appeared to be that way.
She wondered how old the male was but thought little of it, instead shifting in her sitting position so she could watch curiously as he splashed about in the stream. "Frogs?" she asked soon after, holding an ear in his direction and wondering if she had heard right. She had seen them before, of course, but had never considered them a meal due to the light coating of slime covering them and her uncertainty towards her ability to determine which were poison and which were not.
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