Horizon Ridge Fox in the Rough

@Olive

---

Most of the snow had melted away and the sun had dried everything up for now so Sinopa trotted over the slabs of rock littered over land. Sinopa, being a fox, was light enough to travel over these slabs with ease. On occasion she even traveled under a few leaning against another. She soon got to an area with trees shading Sinopa with their leaves. She walked forward moving back and forth as she did sniffing the ground. 

As she sniffed the gound she also perked her ears, listening for even the slightest noise. She came acrosss a few bugs on the ground and snatched them up for a snack. After eating she circled a tree a couple times before jumping and gripping it with her claws. At first she slid down not having a strong enough hold on the bark. The second time she succeded and stood on a branch that could hold her weight surveying the area.

Olive was heavy and pregnant and was not a very good hunter; but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t going to try! As expected, the woman had long since developed quite an appetite for meat — the bloodier, the better. It pained her somewhat to do so, as she normally was a very selective eater , choosing to strip bushed of their tender leaves and berries instead of profiting off of others’ loss of life.  But her body was busily growing her babies and now Olive was nearly voracious. She sought more food than Dakarai could bring her from the caches and his own own hunts, so she supplemented with whatever  could catch: prey such as small field mice and similar vermin; the kind that could not outrun a wounded, clamoring woman such as herself. Olive followed her appetite out from Ravensblood Forest to the ridge that sat adjacent to the grove of bleeding timbers, but there she found something better than vermin: a quicksilver fox, trying and failing to climb a tree. Olive chuckled at the creature’s antics and she tried to stifle the sound by lifting a pale paw to her mouth, hoping she hadn’t offended the small woman.

Just before Sinopa climbed up on the tree she heard something resembling a chuckle from beneather her. She looked over her shoulder onto the ground and saw  a wolf there. She made her way further out onto a branch where she could better looked down on this female. This female had been laughing at her which Sinopa though was somewhat ironic as she commented "I'd like to see you try it." she remarked being somewhat sassy knowing most wolves don't climb trees and none could stand on the branch she was on withot breaking it. 

She felt safe enough to make this remark as she was abover her in the tree. Her black ears twitched as her tail swayed enjoying her positioning.

The tiny woman noticed her tittering but didn’t immediately respond, instead electing to venture further out on her branch and peering down at Olive. The ash and cream wolf stepped forward, craning her head upwards to peer at the fox, enjoying her new perspective.  Though Olive was intimately connected to the world in more ways than one, the druid had limited experience with animals of other species. Often, Olive kept her distance – for the most plentiful of creatures were often prey and Olive expended much energy trying to suppress her instincts to kill and consume living flesh, so she often avoided the forest game. However, this fox was not prey but a creature much like herself; only mini-sized.  Olive smiled, enticed by the quicksilver, ermine creature. She wanted to know more.
 
“Aye, I would…” Olive responded to Sinopa’s retort – though Olive knew very well that an attempt to climb a tree [on her part] would end in utter disaster. Unless the branch was low enough for her to leap upon… but while she was with child that was but a distant dream. The fae shrugged nonchalantly. “But whereas your feet are made for climbing, mine are made for travel.” Her eyes, faceted jade jewels against her pale coat, bounced around their milieu and fancied the freedom tree climbing would afford her.
 
“I would so love to explore the trees as you do, though.”

The cream colored wolf began to speak and mention that she would try and climb the tree, SInopa tenced for a moment. Although the likely hood of this wolf getting into the tree was extremely low, Sinopa wouldn't underestimate a wolf at its ability to hurt her. Soon after she claimed she wouldn't be attempting such a thing as she was made for travel rather then climbing. It was true many wolves traveled far distances to follow herds and other things, but foxes with their wide diet didn't need to travel as far and found food to be rather abundant at times. 

The wolf's next comment seemed familiar to Sinopa. She stated that she would love to explore the trees as Sinopa did. This reminded Sinopa of her past friend, wolf friend. Kate's curiosity of foxes was greater then her desire to hunt them, or least for the most part. This wolf also seemed curious of foxes.

No knowing what to say to this new wolf Sinopa made a simple comment. "It adds quite a bit to the terrain I can cover."

Olive cocked her head at the odd little lady, perched so idle upon her tree branch. It was one of life’s greatest joys, to meet strangers and make friends of them — and it ignited ever hotter when her cohort was of another species. The cumulative experiences of others seduced her and Olive always found herself starry eyed, hanging onto every word. To see how a life so similar to hers could experience the world in such different ways, to know that the variety of their world was unending — it was comforting. To know that this was never was never all their was. 

“Yet again, you make me jealous!” she chimed in just, a light laugh dancing upon her tone. Olive  tapped her toes one after the after, kneading her paws into the soft ground. “Nowadays, I’m quite limited in the terrain I can cover,” clearly she was speaking of her pregnancy and nothing more — when she was without child, Olive was one of the most dextrous rock climbers out there! — but with her swollen womb, there would be none of that.

“I’m Olive,” she greeted with a twist of a smile.

Sry for the late reply. Been having a really stressful week

---

The wolf below cocked her head to the side at Sinopa as she did the same. At the mention of this wolf's jealousy Sinopa's tail did a quick wag. She though it was nice that this bigger preditor envied her. One would often want to be bigger and stronger rather then more agile and light. This gave Sinopa a bit of a self esteem boost. The wolf went on to say that her terrain was more limited then normal. Sinopa was unsure as to why this was. From her position she couldn't view the females pregnancy bump. The wolf then introduced herself as Olivie.

Sinopa paused for what seemed like a long moment, thinking, wondering that her next step should be with Olivie. "Im Sinopa." then as if she hadn't said her name at all she asked "Why is your terrain limited?"

The mother-to-be chuckled as the small lady inquired as to why her terrain was limited. Wasn’t it obvious? Perhaps pregnancy was not a limited factor to the lithe and flexible foxbreed. ”You haven’t noticed?” she answered vaguely, but turned her body so that her protruding sides were visible to the fox in the trees. Olive cut a waifish figure and, for the longest time, her pregnancy evinced itself through nothing more than a soft convex curve of her waist… as if she had simply eaten too big of a meal. In her final week, however, that had changed completely.

“Sinopa,” she inquired. ”Where have you come from?”