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 Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 8:03 pm
 Marble loved this feeling. The feeling of his legs stretched to their fullest, the feeling of his muscles bunching, the feeling of his paws pads hitting the forest floor. The feeling of the chase.
He could see the doe and her scent was at the tip of his nose. He had staked out this herd for a day, carefully tracking them, and out of a dozen of her companions he had selected this doe as the weakest. Her light brown coat flashing just up ahead, the rustling of her footsteps as she disrupted the forest leaves and the scent of her fear-driven sweat. Her herd had deserted her, and now she was on her own. Marble was neither gaining nor losing ground but keeping a steady pace. Enjoying the morning run that would lead to several days of a full stomach.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 9:10 pm
 Permafrost enjoyed mornings as fine as this. The fall had arrived, tossing crispy leaves to the forest floor and altering the forest's usual green tones to that of browns, yellows and reds. The sun was out but it held no heat, leaving the day cool. Cool but not cold. Winter had not quite set in and the winds that usually swirled through this part of the forest were hiding this day. So Permafrost was enjoying the morning, and so was Taigafrost.
"Sssso you think you'll catchh anythhhing today?"The snake was coiled around Permafrost's front left foot. Head peeking up to address her wolf friend.
Permafrost shrugged. "Perhaps...I guess we'll s-" Her sentence dropped off as her nose caught a scent. Deer and close too. That would feed her for a few days at least. She broke into a trot which soon turned into a jog, following her nose.
Her attention was soon grabbed by something to her right. Headed her direction at a full out gallop. Paths intersecting, it was inevitable that they would collide if one of them didn't move. Permafrost did. She swerved out of the way, narrowly missing the bulk of a doe in full flight. However she wasn't fast enough to come away completely unscathed. A stray hoof clipped her right hindpaw. She yipped in pain, but instinct took over promptly, motivating her after the prey that was escaping her. She turned to the chase, following the doe, when she heard a growl behind her and turned, teeth flashing, prey forgotten. She was on the defensive.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 9:23 pm
Marble was slowly gaining. Closer, closer, closer. His eyes were trained to his prey, and so he was there to see it all. The she-wolf, of tawny and whites, better suited for the tundra then the forest, was in the direct path of his prey. He thought she'd be blindsided, trampled beneath the doe's hooves as they got closer and closer. Marble's mouth opened, on the verge of howling out a warning when she disappeared. A movement, a swift dodge, brought the she-wolf from fate's path. But not totally. He heard the yip of pain, and thought she would hobble off wounded. Yet, he was pleasantly surprised when she turned to take up the chase.
...and then he realized that she was after his prey. Not much of a problem to be sure, but he couldn't have her claiming it when he had worked so hard, had expended so much energy on it already. He had no idea who this she-wolf was and until he did, she couldn't be trusted. He growled, low in his throat. A warning. When she turned on him, all teeth, he passed her by, leaving her in his dust. The doe was his first priority. This was not the time for greetings or threats to interfere.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 9:36 pm
Permafrost paused, teeth bared, as the light brown wolf flew by her. He, for his bulk revealed his gender, was flat out running after the doe. Permafrost took a brief second to admire the strength in each of his bounds before she too was running, caught up in the moment.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 9:50 pm
Marble's world once again narrowed to predator and prey. Vaguely, somewhere in the back of his mind it registered that the she-wolf was somewhere behind him, following. But he would deal with her after.
The doe was slowing. It wasn't meant for such long, cross country distances, not to mention the forest obstacles it was encountering. Marble too, had to deal with the terrain, fallen trees and logs, but the pace was no problem for him. He could keep it up for hours if he needed to. However, it was time to end this game, this hunt. Before his luck ran out and something else managed to swipe his prey.
He speed up. Closed in the distance. It evaded. He followed. Closer. A few feet. Evasion. Closing. Evasion.
Success.
A stumble had brought it into range and Marble made the kill. It was clean, ending the doe's life quickly. He stood, panting, over it. He heard the soft, swift footsteps behind him, and turned to the next order of business. Keeping himself firmly planted over his kill he presented a full set of canines as the she-wolf came into view.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 10:13 pm
Permafrost was too far behind to make a difference. She was neither the most agile of wolves, nor the quickest, and coupled with her minor injury she was lagging further and further behind. But she persevered, running in the direction the male had gone.
It was the smell of blood that made her aware of his success. It hit her nose and immediately her mouth began to salivate. She slowed her pace to a trot as she got closer and came to a halt ten feet away from the male. He had positioned himself over the doe, with teeth bared and hackles raised. Permafrost dared not approach him as he looked positively brutish. So much so that she considered backing away and leaving him to his meat. She was unsure why she had bothered following him in the first place. Caught up in the adrenaline most likely.
She stared at him. He stared at her. A standoff. Yep it was definitely time to get going. She slowly started to ease out of the clearing, her eyes trained to him as she backed away.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 11:17 pm
Marble stared at the she-wolf as she stared at him. His fangs were still out and his hackles were still up, but it was all a show. He could tell that she fell for it though, as she began to back out of the clearing. Not a word was spoken. He watched her go, making note of her favoring her hindpaw.
He waited a few moments more. Expecting her to sneak back his way. When she remained absent, Marble finally began to settle. His hackles lowered and he dropped his muzzle to eat. Which he did. Until his stomach was bulging. Satisfied he moved a few feet away from his kill and ran over the events of the day in his mind. The she-wolf. She probably hadn't gone off too far, limping as she was. He surveyed his kill. There was plenty left. Enough for a certain she-wolf to eat anyway. She hadn't seemed dangerous and was obviously not interested in a fight.
Marble howled one note into the fall air and waited.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 1:13 pm
"Ssssso that went well didn`ttt ittt?" Taigafrost's sarcastic comment was the only sound as Permafrost retreated from the male's position. Her foot had begun to throb, probably bruised, and she was not in the mood for jokes. "Hmmm, not so much." She didn't say anything after that and the snake kept her quiet too, sensing the mood of her companion.
Permafrost walked for a bit, dejected, before finally settling down in a patch of leaves. Her paw hurt and she tenderly started to lick it with her large, pink tongue. Taigafrost uncoiled herself from her holding place and slithered down to the forest floor. "Well...I'm going to go find ssssome breakfassst at leassst. I will find you when I'm sssatissfied." The python didn't wait for a response but slithered off, barely disrupting the leaves in her wake. Permafrost watched her go, before turning her thoughts inward. Her stomach was still empty and now she was injured, this day was not looking to promising at all. Sighing, she rested her head on her paws and shut her eyes. Hoping that when she opened her eyes once again, somehow life would be just a little bit better.
So when she heard the long note of a male wolf, a light brown male wolf to be exact, cut through the fall morning, her eyes flew open and her brows rose. That was an obvious call. But was it to her? and what did he want?
"Hrmm..." She slowly rose and headed back the way she had come. Curious to see what this male wanted. When she made it back to the clearing, she surveyed the scene before her. The male was still there, and still guarding his kill. The only difference was the amount of meat left on the carcass. Obviously he had already helped himself.
"Were you calling me?" Her voice was light and airy, totally different than the tone she had used with Taigafrost. It was an illusion. A trick. A voice meant to sound harmless and weak.
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Posted: Wed May 09, 2012 11:06 pm
Now that he had the she-wolf here he really had no idea what to do with her. What did one say? Oh you looked hurt and I feel sorry for you, have some meat...yeah that would go over well. So instead Marble just stood there and looked at her. Like an idiot. Finally she started to move...to leave it looked like. This was his last chance. But how did he want to play this? Did he want to keep up his tough male act or should he actually show her his true self. He was craving the company of another wolf like usual, since he didn't get to meet that many.
He reached a decision, and let his tail wag a little bit. Then he gave her a tongue lolling grin. He could tell that he'd confused the she-wolf with his actions. She didn't leave, but stood silent watching him.
"Care for a bite? I'll trade you meat for some companionship." When her eyebrows lifted in surprise and her lip twisted in disgust he was taken by surprise. Did she realize that he was pitying her? He was thinking over his words again when her quiet soprano broke into his thoughts.
"Do not take me for a b***h in heat. I have NO interest in your companionship." She was once again turning to leave.
Dumbfounded, the only thing Marble could get out were, "Noooo! I didn't mean THAT!" She paused. He had her attention again. "No No! I just want to talk to you, nothing more. Share stories. I haven't seen another wolf for some time." He sounded somewhat sheepish, as he should be after such a blunder. If wolves could blush, he would have been. As it were, he moved to position himself a ways away from his kill, leaving an unguarded path from her to it. An invitation, a showing of goodwill. If she had been more dominant than him he probably would have canted his head lower so she would feel in charge; however, he could tell she was even more submissive than him and as such, it was all he could do to move out of the way and hope she took his invitation.
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Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 9:43 am
Well. This was awkward. The male didn't say anything. Why didn't he say anything? Was he dumbwitted or something? He didn't even answer her question. He just stared at her. Again, awkward. Finally she had enough. She would rather head back and find Taigafrost, where ever the snake had got to, than stay with this silly male.
As she shifted to leave, she noticed his tail start to move. To wag...and then he smiled at her, and she was totally confused. Why was he happy? She didn't know him at all so there was no reason for him to be delighted by her presence. Permafrost decided that the best way to deal with this male was just to watch him and see what he would do.
So at his proposition it was all she could do not to immediately flee or go for his throat. She couldn't repress her disgust totally and after the initial surprise had worn off, her lip twitched. She wouldn't bare her teeth at him, but oh how she wanted to. It all made sense now. No wonder he had been watching her so closely. Ick.
"Do not take me for a b***h in heat. I have NO interest in your companionship." She spoke the words delicately, flattening out her tone and hiding her suppressed rage. Now that she knew his intentions she had no interest in staying here. She turned to go when his words stopped her once again. She looked back at him. Hard pressed not to glare.
But when she caught sight of him, most of her rage dispersed. He looked stricken and mortified, like he couldn't believe what she had implied. Apparently, he had no such thoughts when he made her that proposition. Well, she felt a bit a fool as well, but it was mostly his fault for not being clear. When he went as far as to give her access to the kill, she started to feel a bit more at ease. Either he was a better actor than she thought or he was being genuine. Time to decide: Go eat or leave.
She decided to eat. Her stomach urging her forward. She watched him, keeping her eyes on him as she slowly approached, and once near the doe, she positioned herself where she could see him.
She ate.
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Posted: Sat May 12, 2012 10:29 pm
Well she was eating and that was a good sign. Marble was still mentally kicking himself for his stupidity. What if she had fled, he would've lost a chance to talk. Which was exactly what he wanted at the moment. He whined under his breathe anxiously, willing the she-wolf to eat faster so they could talk. She didn't seem to notice. Restless, he decided to pace instead, prowling back and forth, back and forth.
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Posted: Sat May 12, 2012 11:27 pm
The meat was delicious and solely took up her concentration. For a while at least. Once her initial hunger was taken care of, she idly chomped just to fill her stomach. Who knew when she'd eat again. This also gave her some time to survey the male while pretending to gorge herself. He had started to whine very low, and although she pretended not to hear, there was no mistaking that it was coming from him. He sounded almost forlorn and she couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
And then he started pacing. Prowling. Like some contained beast waiting to get free. Permafrost began to wonder if he was anxious about her feeding, maybe he was still hungry? Or perhaps he was eager for her to eat and be gone. Whatever it was, she'd soon find out. Her stomach was filled and she no longer had an excuse to continue ignoring him. She moves away from the kill in case he decided to have a second helping, before addressing him.
"Thanks." She paused, unsure what else to say.
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