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 Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:48 pm
 She had said to Partridge that she was uninterested in joining up with the first pack she ran into, and that was true. She had phrased it as if she felt like the belle of the ball, a precious gift to be courted into joining, and maybe that was less true. She had been surprised to find herself given the creepy-crawlies at the mere sight of that busy clearing, made raucous with banter and orders and puppies play-fighting; who knew how much solitude and silence could grow on a wolf?
So, this had been something that deserved some thought. The little wolf groomed herself efficiently, methodically, regimenting the soft, ticked hairs of her dovey coat into proper order, and soothing her own nerves with the familiar touch. She didn't want to be alone, she was still sure. It was more a matter of picking the lesser evil, and this was hardly the evilest her choices had ever gotten. She could stay here a while, she thought, and see how comfortable she could get in a pack like this. See how well she could pass.
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:11 pm
 Adonai didn't know why he bothered staying, honestly. It wasn't like his so-called family cared much for his presence. They had made that very clear. Here he was, trying to do the noble thing, trying to make up for so many past transgressions, to settle down and take responsibility for his actions, and he was being rewarded with...what? Traps and snide comments and cold shoulders. He didn't deserve any of it.
But he was still here. And nobody was forcing him to stay, so there was no point in moping about it. He should make a decision and be happy with it. Accept it, anyway.
His ears swept forward, nose twitching. Ah, what was this? The presence of another wolf, seeking seclusion in the same place he had come for that purpose? He slowed on the approach, allowing his eyes to linger on the figure as he came upon her. Well now, wasn't she lovely. Thin-boned, he thought. Delicate. And she carried herself properly, not like those vile bitches he himself had helped to create. No....this was a classy lady, he decided, coming upon her. And that seemed to be a rare commodity these days.
"Oh, hello," he said, with a smile, dipping his maw in greeting to her. "Am I intruding, fair lady?"
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:46 pm
One good thing about being on your own, she thought quietly, was that you were so rarely interrupted. She pulled her head up from grooming her thigh, her foxlike muzzle coyly averted, and fixed the white wolf with one pale, calm eye. Exactly the kind of wolf you would find in a pack, she thought, and left it at that. She tilted her head, coming off not as friendly but pleasant enough, and spoke; once upon a time she'd had a voice as hushed and soft as a dove's cooing. She had precious little girlishness at her command now, but had remained incredibly soft-spoken. "Of course not," she obliged, pulling her tail about her paws. "I'm the one doing the intruding these days." Her eyes gleamed with laughter for a moment; she was the sort of wolf very used to relying on herself for amusement.
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:09 pm
He watched her thoughtfully, appreciatively. His gaze was not a lecherous one; there was no desire lurking behind those golden eyes. Only an appreciation for fine things, the way one would look at a piece of art or an expensive vase. "Ahh, you too?" he asked, settling himself down nearby and lifting his eyes to gaze around the area. Say what he would about these YMCA wolves, at least they had good taste in territory. "Though if what they say is true, around here, then there's no trespassing at all in a territory with open boundaries."
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:12 pm
Her eyebrows arched momentarily at the pack's idea of border safety; running a pack with an open-door policy seemed incredibly naive to her, but that was hardly something she could bring up at this point. "This area must be curiously clear of bullies," she replied instead, taking his gaze in stride. "You haven't been here long?"
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:35 pm
"Oh, there's bullies a-plenty," he said, thinking of a certain amazonian pack a day's walk north. "The trick, I think, is to befriend just enough bullies to ward off all the others."
He contemplated this for a moment, and forced his thoughts away before he started getting bitter again. "Not very long, no. And yourself?"
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:07 pm
"Of course," she murmured, although she didn't quite agree with his prognosis; this fellow looked like he might turn out to be an impassioned arguer, and the idea of going back and forth about bullies until something interrupted them was tiring enough in and of itself. She didn't miss that look, though - that little grimness in his eyes, his mouth. A little smile lightened her features; someone was bullying him. "I think I'm just passing through," she returned. "Or not. I met an adorable little wolf from a children's story and followed him here, and I'm trying not to write the place off too quickly."
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:16 pm
He smiled, ears sweeping forward. "Did you, now?" He asked, cocking his head. That was such a unique and adorable description, he was immediately intrigued as to who she was referring to, and what exactly was going through her thoughts. "And who would this be? I admit, I haven't met as many locals as I should. I wasn't expecting myself to stay either, but here I am."
He shrugged, then shook himself. "Anyway. The name is Adonai."
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 4:19 pm
"I did," she replied, her eyebrows arching as she smiled, looking demurely downward. "His name is Partridge." Partridge, who fussed around rather like the chubby little bird he was named after; she had wanted to both console him and his bubbly anxieties, and, conversely, to pounce on him, to pin down that scurrying little mouse. He was novel.
And Adonai, okay. Adonai might not be so bad, either. "What's keeping you?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 4:32 pm
Patridge, Patridge....the name didn't ring a bell. Further proof that he needed to pay more attention to things, to spend more time socializing in the pack. Except...what was the point of it all? Hadn't the whole reason he'd followed Terreis back to the pack was to try and get to know her better? And clearly that was one desire that wasn't reciprocated.
"Thought it would be the right thing to do," he said, halfway to himself, and then sighed. He looked back up at her, and his expression was almost pleading. He wasn't always the type to lay everything on his sleeve to a stranger, but he was still feeling a burn to his pride, the sort of bubbling-up pain that begged to be shared. He was just so completely out of his depth. "I was out walking one day and discovered that I had a family I never knew about. I always thought a man should take responsibility for his actions. But I guess I'm not as welcome as I thought I'd be."
Who was he kidding? Why did he even think he would have been welcome? If his own father came prancing apologetically into his life now, all these years later, he'd turn him away with the same scorn. And that had been the wolf who had raised him and taught him everything about being a man. Who was he? He was some....donor male.
"But, well. What can you do....ah...I didn't catch your name?
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Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 9:46 pm
Thush's head tilted sympathetically; she hadn't known she was in for quite such a painful answer, and she wasn't sure how she felt about the new ground they were treading - really, she didn't think he was comfortable with it, either. Her brow furrowed just a little as she gave consideration to his problem, trying to divine the right thing to say, the platitude that might actually be comforting. She came up with something worse, really, overstepping the acquaintance line by some distance. "My name is Thrush," she quietly provided, keeping an eye on his face. "I'm sorry you're having a bad turn of things."
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 3:21 pm
He shrugged, dismissively. Sympathy made him uncomfortable, maybe more uncomfortable than disdain. "Sorry. I don't know why I'm telling you all this. Things aren't so bad, really, and regardless they're hardly something to bother a stranger with." A moment's hesitation, and a soft boyish smile. Oh, what the hell. He could keep it together. "Especially such a lovely stranger. It appears my self-absorption has rendered me incapable of appreciating fine company. Forgive me."
Chin up and act like a man, dammit! Maybe his daughter's attempts to immasculate him were working after all.
"Thrush. A pleasure, m'lady."
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 3:44 pm
Thrush smiled, enjoying the fact that Adonai's turnaround involved an oddly boyish charm. "Awfully nice to meet you, too," she replied, pleasantly sardonic, her tail wagging briefly. Now, what might she be able to get out of him that would be interesting? "You're a traveler too, then, I take it - whereabouts did you grow up?"
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 3:49 pm
See, now? That was better. He still had it in him. "Oh, here and there," he said. "Mostly there."
He considered this for a moment, his eyes getting a sort of misty, nostalgic look. Was he old enough to be nostalgic now? When did that happen? "They say that living alone is suicide, but it's always worked well enough for me. Then again, I've always welcomed the company of others when it presented itself. Maybe that's the difference."
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