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 Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 10:08 am
((can't find his larger img D8!!)) The usually sodden banks of the river nearest home were lacking of their marsh-like luster today, a beautiful plot of land perfect for sunbathing now suffering for its warmth and convenience. There had been very few downpours as of late, leaving his portion of the forest without much activity. This proved to be both a blessing and a curse, as the male preferred as much quiet time as was possible on most days...but food, any type of food at all was becoming as scarce as the rain itself, and it was due to this factor that the large, dark, pupil-less male named Hayden began to entertain the idea of a move.
Yet this land still thrived with beauty and wonder, and although Hayden welcomed a bit of change every now and then; he simply was not sure if he wanted to abandon it just yet...
Still, like the double-edge of a sword, the lack of anything but a few passing winds resounding in his vicinity was torturous. It beginning to leave the male in a state that enjoyed solitude more than it enjoyed the territory that housed it, and he was growing more and more frustrated with tiny things that nature offered in kindness...Such as the birds and the bees who chirped and buzzed about, disrupting nap time. Or even the rivers babbling, which Hayden was beginning to find distaste for on those glorious afternoons when the sun was high in the sky and yet still quite forgiving. He was getting older, his fuse much shorter and easily sparked and being conscious of all of this was bound to drive him insane one day. But Hayden was not as old as some might think, had they the opportunity to watch him on any given day that the world seemed determined to make him hate it.
However beautiful this forest was, the move was still looking a whole lot brighter at the end of the tunnel.
To add on to his frustration, Hayden was feeling incredibly lonely as of recent weeks--this need for companionship that dug deep within his wolf ancestry perhaps coaxing the rage that bubbled within him from time to time. Perhaps a friend would do the trick, not just someone seen in passing...of course he would have to be careful upon choosing his comrades, since love was almost completely out of the question.
The male did not want to deal with the problems that came with a female at his hip, even if he did enjoy the passionate company when it came to it. No, Hayden just wanted someone he could seek out on a rainy day to talk to. Someone loyal, trustworthy, who shared similar interests and would indulge in intellectual conversation if such a moment surfaced.
To be quite honest, Hayden was searching for another male.
And to him, this conquest was not strange or an indication of anything peculiar; it was merely a search for companionship in a gender he felt would better suit his needs. There would be no chance of an accidental romance, no temptations in the night...just hunts, and brawls, and races, and all of the things young pups did, things that Hayden so desperately wanted.
A bromance. Lots and lots of testosterone to bring life into him once more. (suggestive wut)
But still, the marveling brute stood nails deep in the hard sand of a drying river. He had not moved at all, staring at the thicket that surrounded him. At his tail end the den he had spent almost an entire year rolling and grumbling within was waiting for him...what if he could not find anyone that fit the bill? Or what if he ran into a spit-fire young male, clad in ripping muscles and holding up strong jaws with a neck so large it could knock him down and crack the earth...Hayden was strong, and Hayden would fight to the end, but Hayden was just not in the mood for such a battle.
Knowing no one would come to him made his decision difficult, but turning around and marching up the sandy dunes to a softer soil for his routine nap was, in the end, his best option.
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Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2011 8:13 am
When he finally came across Hayden's pawprints, the discovery sent a jolt down his limbs, and he tucked his tail down, suddenly worried. As far as he knew, his pack had no neighbors out this way, but...he sniffed attentively, forming a file on Hayden in his mind. A lone wolf, he thought. But male. Cas's wide face fell; try as he might to acclimate himself to life outside of Antianeira, he simply could not get the hang of meeting other males. On top of that, he was outside of his territory! He briefly scowled as he berated himself for being such a reckless goon, and began to shuffle back the way he had come.
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Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2011 8:47 am
But the noise left in this large males wake did not go without notice. Tall ears swiveled back as Hayden, concerned just as well, became very, very still. Things were not often handed to the male, and a prayer answered seemed almost unwanted now as his back was turned to whoever was around.
The shuffling of feet against cracked earth raised the hackles of his fine frame, centering his mind to concentrate wholly on the situation. Emerald eyes switched back and forth before being carried over his shoulder, squinting as a ray of sunlight slipped through the canopy...Every motion was slow and made carefully, even the sinking of his legs as they brought him closer to the earth...
It would have looked funny to those who could see him, but as it turned out the male who walked back down the river seemed oblivious of his company. Or in any case the stranger was not in the mood for confrontation. Tense muscles began to relax in their new crouched state, tail swaying slowly as thoughts began to flood once more. Although completely unexpected, this was exactly what Hayden had been waiting for. The traveling wolf left the scent of others hanging in the air, and the strength of it led the pupil-less male to believe he was part of a pack...but all the same, if the stranger was out patrolling claimed land, bloodthirsty in the least he would have pursued Hayden after stumbling across his trail.
But he was also walking back the way he came, or so Hayden assumed; perhaps it was for a good reason that the two did not meet.
…Then again...
Hayden snarled to himself, shaking his fur for a reason one might deduce was to rid of the indecisiveness…
Oh ******** it.
He was alone. The chance for thrill and excitement was trotting down a dry riverbed with what seemed to be no one else in sight; the other male was also alone. Taking to the thicket at a steady pace, Hayden rushed to catch up, finding it quite easy to stay silent and hidden when he put his mind to it.
And then he coughed when the significantly larger male was several steps behind him, a sound that could not be mistaken for nature itself…Hayden emerged from the woodwork and stood directly in the others path, blood pumping within his ears so loudly he felt it necessary to focus on the others lips. His face bore no emotion, but in that he hoped aggression would be put aside to allow curiosity. He wasn't quite sure what to make of things now, having had no real plan other than to find a way to present himself...
And now that that was done, the graying beta dug his nails into the soil and waited.
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 5:49 pm
Hayden was then treated to a little show that was quite serious for Cas, and reliably amusing to most of his new acquaintances. He was a large wolf, made larger by his dense and fluffy coat, with saucer paws, a wide face and a stiff, proud mane along the nape of his neck, but his size was ill-utilized; it only served to make him look comical as he ducked his head beseechingly, his forepaws lifting slowly, one after the other, in a subdued and nervous dither. He knew it was no longer really appropriate for him to react to strangers this way, but he could not break himself of the habit. After a few inescapable seconds of pitiful huddling, the maned wolf willfully pulled himself a little straighter, a sort of frightened and humiliated smile on his face, and made himself glance shyly at the other male. Calm down, he commanded himself, he's nothing to be frightened of. "Hah," he began, a little giddy, "you caught me!" Well, maybe more than a little giddy; now he found he could not wipe the grin off his maw.
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Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2011 11:55 am
Alright, what was that.
Hayden watched with a wrinkle to his snout, baffled by the antics in which this foreigner preformed. And yes, Hayden thought of it as a performance--not yet willing to accept that a grown male would act in such a way honestly. Broad shoulders and an elongated neck laxed some as the dance came to an end, and was replaced by the most curious of expressions Hayden had ever seen. The male lifted both of his brows when the other chortled aloud and then spoke haphazardly, tilting his head slightly to the side before...
God damnit he smiled.
This was not what he had expected at.all. The large, burly looking wolf who stood at least a few inches taller than he, was showing signs of uncertainty; pup-like uncertainty. He simply could not help but smile, and who would be able to fight the urge to do so when the awkward beast moved in such a way? Green eyes were thankful, however, as they pinched with the push of his cheeks...this wolf could have been a real problem, if he weren't so...so...
Hayden wasn't about to think it let alone say it, as it just seemed so wrong to consider a male wolf in any light except dangerous.
A proper response would have questioned everything that had happened, but what came around was simply: "Uh—Hello?" Before his head tilted to the other side.
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Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 5:22 pm
Oh, thank god, he was smiling! The green-eyed stranger's expression provoked an immediate change in Cas's demeanor; his tail wagged a loopty-loop behind him, and his broad face broke into a large and grateful smile. Once he had them smiling, he knew, he was golden.
Reining in his 100-watt beam, he glanced down to arrange his paws primly and sit. The motion was a little fussy, and more than a little feminine, and seemed wholly out of place on the big male - past his girlish posturing, there seemed to be a rather unfeminine wolf in there, albeit one who was finding himself plagued by nervous giggles. "Excuse me," he managed, "I'm sorry, I got off-course, and...well, I bet I ended up somewhere I'm not supposed to be." He glanced shyly up at Hayden, a move that required his head to be tucked nearly to his chest. "If you like, I'll pelter home with my tail between my legs."
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Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 8:20 am
"No it is quite alright." Hayden woofed rather quickly, nearly silencing the other male in his eagerness. He was cautious still, but as the moments passed he could not help but ease into a relaxed, confident state. An underlying distrust could be traced along his brow line as it furrowed and then rose several times, but for the most part Hayden seemed more or less interested in the other male rather than threatened by him.
Plus, he couldn't let his worry get the best of him; not when the other was appearing less and less of a danger to him...he felt it necessary to investigate this situation further, considering the circumstances. Mother Nature was offering him what he had silently desired for so long, and being a wolf who did not often take life for granted; Hayden could see this as clear as the daylight above them. This was to be a companion of sorts--one that would not, as it seemed, put his life on the line nor leave him bored on the most hottest and uneventful of days.
The clatter of nails against clay-like soil drew his ears up, watching as paws danced beneath the massive weight of fur and muscle that this other canine bore. He hadn't noticed until just then, but with what thoughts had filtered through his mind, he had arched over quite a bit with his jaw ajar ever so slightly and his eyes nearly glazed over. He had already settled into a seated position, but jerking out of his own thoughts caused him to straighten up suddenly, somewhat embarrassed by his own strange antics...
A warm smile took the place of the humored one, shaking his head to rid of any lingering ponderings as well as to disagree with the remark that had been made. Lifting a paw and gesturing it toward the wild around them, Hayden spoke fondly. "I only ever expect that my home is kept to myself and no one else. The woods are free to those who have yet to claim them, and for those who have already dubbed this thicket their own..." Giving to the other a strange, almost suggestive look--one meant to point out the fact that this wolf must belong to a pack already, the dark male prepared to continue.
"Well they are allowed to do as they please I suppose. In reason, of course...no unnecessary fighting with lone neighbors I would hope." The joke might have gone unnoticed, particularly because it was dry and mostly composed of what his head had been riddled with...and not by the conversation itself...but in any case Hayden laughed and then dropped his paw onto the ground once again.
"But if you must leave I understand. There are duties of which I must attend to myself, you see, and I am sure whatever course you were derailed from was one of great importance?" His tail swayed against the earth, catching at his hip before sliding toward the other side in a slow wag. The question made his head tilt again, features brightening with curiosity. "I am sorry I startled you, by the way. I did not mean to."
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Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2011 3:56 pm
Cas listened, and the nervous laughter pattering about in his chest subsided. "Don't even worry about it," he assured the other, "you keep your head in the clouds often enough, you get really used to being startled." He tilted his head, mirroring Hayden, probably unintentionally. "My name's Casimir, by the way. My pack is north of here, actually, it's called YMCA." His tail gave a thump, thump at the thought of it. "And believe me, I have not been given something of great importance to do." He grinned again, just tickled. "You live here all on your own, then?"
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