Broken Antler Fen Tomorrow we'll switch the beat, to avoid yesterday's dance

Meeting thread! AW!

 

Pearl wandered through her new home, a little alone and a bit homesick for the salt-tinged air of Donnelaith. She hoped to run into the new members that she saw at the meeting sooner or later, but for the moment she was content to explore.  

The sight of a rabbit dashed quickly across her path, instantly sparking her interest and diverting her from her intended random path. She began chasing it, snapping at it's heels.

Can we count this to Aduin's hunting trade?

Aduin was drawn to the sound of running paws. He followed them, smelling the scent of a wolf he had not met formally as of yet. He was curious to see what they were doing, and remained low in the underbrush, trailing along the muddy ground. Ahead, he finally spotted the wolf. It was the white on, who's name evaded him at this time, as he had not learned it yet. He prepared to follow her and greet her, then stopped when he spotted a rabbit in front of her. To go out now would ruin her chances. Instead, he stalked ahead of it, hoping to cut it off.

Sure thing :)

Not sensing the other wolf quite yet, she stayed on the rabbit, keeping pace behind it and zig-zagging easily behind it. She hadn't earned her trade for nothing. Nipping at the rabbit, she got hold of a chunk of fluffy tail, but useless, since it yanked right off. Spitting it out, she lifted her eyes around momentarily to see another wolf. Quickly turning sights back to the rabbit, it saw temporary refuge in a tree hollow. It had no way of escape, but they were crafty little bastards. Growling under her breath, she motioned for the other to come help.

Aduin watched the whole thing transpire. Rabbits sure were great at escaping the clutches of predators. One predator was easy. But when two efforts were combined, it would be much harder for the rabbit to escape. He slinked out of the underbrush, holding the most confident smile he could have. Which was ruined by the nervous twitching. He glanced over at where the rabbit was holed up. He had a plan forming already.

"How good are you at digging?" he asked. The plan Aduin had was simple, really. One would dig and dig towards the rabbit. And with rabbits being great at escaping, it would likely dart past the one digging. Right into the jaws of the other, who would wait behind. But first, he had to figure out which was the best digger.

The male came quietly, and was instantly recognized as Aduin. She smiled back at him, noticing the twitching but not acknowledging it.  "Good, what's the strategy?" she asked, seeing what he was getting at. Though she stood a better chance at catching it, Pearl wanted to see what the male could do, and besides, he was the one who needed a hunter trade. Assuming she was correct in her assumption that was what he was going for.

Aduin looked over at the tree hollow, then back at the other wolf. "I was thinking, if you could dig and I wait behind, the rabbit would be forced out. If it managed to pass you, I could snatch it up...What do you say?" he asked, feeling a little nervous at how he was the one giving a plan and not the other. His wagging tail said otherwise, as if it had a mind of it's own and was somehow congratulating his confidence. Perhaps it was just inner feelings.

She watched the nervous wolf give his plan, though he sounded doubtful, his tail deemed opposite. She grinned at him. "Sounds like a great plan!" she said. Turning to the hole, she prepared to dig. "Ready?" she yelled back. Waiting for the okay, as soon as she heard it she began to tear at the dirt under the hollow, sure to spook the rabbit into running off.

My luck, it sucks. The MIsc Rolls thread is an example of that

Her opinion gave him hope. He even wagged a bit, before focusing and readying himself behind her. He gave a nod, then realized she wouldn't have seen it, so tried to reply. The embarrassment when it came out as a squeak, "Yes." He quickly refocused, although his cheeks felt warm after having his voice go at such a pitch, and threw him a little off.

Her attempted controlled dig went well, getting far enough down to pause and stick her head in, snapping at the terrified rodent. It didn't want to get a move on, so she proceeded to dig farther down, until the rabbit finally recognized it had better get a move on or die. It bolted to her left, narrowly escaping the snapping of her jaws, and straight back into Aduin's zone.

Because the dice roll demanded it.

Aduin was ready. Or so he thought. In truth, he expected it to come from the right. When it came from the left, he dashed his jaws over, only barely clipping it with his teeth. He could taste blood, so obviously he had injured the rabbit. But still, that was not enough. Once more, he had failed demonstrating his skills. "Damn it!" he cursed, then realized what he had just said. He rarely said things like that, especially out loud. He turned to face the female that he had tried to aid. "Sorry."

:p

Pearl emerged from the hole, pale coat strewn with dirt, eyes darting to and fro to try and locate where the small fluffy bastard got to. Cursing didn't bother her in the slightest, and the prey getting away was disappointing, but she wasn't angry with him. Mistakes happen, especially in hunting. It was natural. Making a clicking noise with her tongue in the direction of the creature, she turned back to the male with a dorky smile on her face. "You're fine, it happens to the best of us. It was a pretty good plan, though. What's your name?" she asked, over the incident in a flash.

The grey boy watched the rabbit run off. he couldn't believe he failed again. But unlike the last time he failed in front of someone, she gave some words of comfort with a smile. He felt his cheeks go warm, his tail wagging. She then asked his name. Aduin answered with a bright, slightly goofy smile. "A-Aduin. I'm Seb's brother...of s-sorts" he said, flustered at her kindness.

She watched the nervous boy with a smile, observing his reaction. It was plain he wasn't used to receiving any type of uplifting feedback for failure in the past. Well, she'd fix that. "Pearl," she said, giving her name in turn with a smile.

Aduin cocked his head, having heard that name somewhere. Slowly, it came back to him. When Seb came to recruit him back at Redhawk Caldera, he had mentioned Pearl. Seb had said that she was a friend of his and..Haven. Just thinking the name forced the words out of his mouth. "You knew my sister..." he murmured, looking toward the ground. "Haven. Did you see Haven, my sister?" he asked, glancing back up to her face with a sense of hope. Even though Sebastian ahd said clearly many times to forget them, it was hard.

He brought up Haven - someone who she hadn't thought of since she'd come here. Her ears drooped a bit when she realized she couldn't help him. "I know her, but I haven't seen her since she and Seb were together." she said, glancing away. "Sorry I can't be more help," she said.

His own ears drooped. He was better off forgetting them, but he just couldn't. They were family. The memories resurfacing made a few quiet sobs arise. He did his best to turn his face away, but the way Aduin's body shuddered would give it away. "O-Okay..." He tried to think of something else to say. But he could not.

I am just so focused on another thread, I can't even think of what to write for this one

You're all good, no worries

She watched his shuddering body with sympathy, instantly moving to his side in an attempt to comfort him. "Hey, it's gonna be okay, I'm sure your sisters are fine." she said softly. She could relate, but she only had one capable brother that she didn't need to loose any sleep over.

He accepted the gesture of comfort, leaning a bit on her. "Thanks." He truly did hope that they were okay. For now, all Aduin could do was think about what they were doing now. But he had to focus on things here, in this pack. "Want to g-go after that rabbit?" he asked with a bit of added confidence.

Going to wrap it up here :) Thanks!

She smiled at Aduin, glad she could help where possible. Accepting the offer, she regained her footing off of him. "Sure, let's finish this stupid thing off." she said, putting her nose to the ground, starting to sniff it out. And off they went, determined to catch the one that got away.