Wolf RPG

Of all places they could've chose to settle. It had to be a forest. It just had to be a forest. Of all the various terrains in Teekon Wilds, the former Redtail Rise wolves just had to choose to settle in a deciduous forest. Wait, strike that, the former Redtail Rise leaders just had to choose to settle in this Maplewood. If Arion had known, he would have skedaddled the moment he escaped the inferno that ate up the ridge, he would never have met up with the ragged asshole and the ambitious yearling. It was all her fault, all Saena's damn fault. If she hadn't stopped him when he chose to leave Redtail Rise, this shit wouldn't have happened. Now he would have to stay here fo - wait, no, Arion could still leave now.

He could still leave right now, just before they officially claimed this land and find himself a new place to live, or maybe he would simply continue the life of a wanderer. Anything was better than living in this suffocating shit hole. Or was it? A dark scowl covered the chocolate warrior's face as he stalked through Phoenix Maplewood as silently as he could. Stupid, stupid forests. Maybe with time, Arion would be able to get used to this atmosphere, but for now, he was seething at Saena and Reek's choice and he felt the urge to rebel against them bubbling fiercely beneath his chest.

Right now. Right at this moment, nothing tied him to this soon to be pack.

Arion arrived at one of the various caves he had found when he was exploring Phoenix Maplewood and began pacing. His face betrayed none of his internal turmoil, but one could see that there was something wrong by gazing into his honey colored eyes which seemed to be burning with hellfire. Think this through before making any rash decisions, urged a voice in his head, so he tried thinking it through but everything seemed to end in anger. Stupid emotions. Damn it. What was wrong with him? Where was the rational Arion? Perhaps his lack of poppy taking had indeed triggered some kind of aggressive beast inside him, just as Reek thought, because what else would make him feel this way? Make him feel so uncharacteristically angry?

Just a bit of poppy won't hurt. Just take a bit...

The wolves formerly of the Rise relocated and had chosen this forest as their new base of operations. Of all the choices in the area, this was a far better location than a number of others she'd had the displeasure of roaming through. If it had to be north there were worsen places to settle. This would do. At least here plants grew, as was evident by the forest, which meant she could have a worthy garden in no time. Well, weather and seasons permitting. It was perhaps a bit too late in the season to start something new... She'd look into it.

In the meantime, she was scouting for her own selfish reasons. Where in this land would she consider placing a garden? What about her infirmity? Should she even bother consulting with the other wolves who thought themselves healers or just surprise them later after she'd taken all the thinking out of it? Hmm... permission or forgiveness? Screw it. She'd do her own thing, perfect it, and the rest could follow suit. Her garden. Her rules. It would be the way of things when it happened.

Nose to the ground, she sniffed out a few viable locations before her path twisted to fall in line with the chocolate male she'd seen a few times before. He was just inside a little cave and his body language radiated heat. Anger. Frustration. She knew all of those things all too well, and while she was in denial of said things in herself, she was fully capable of recognizing them in others. Silly males. Always so heated about something or another.

"You again," she murmured, announcing her presence. "Stay cooped up in there and all that angst might burn down your new home too." Too soon, perhaps? She didn't know. She was not the most tactful of females, nor did she care about sentiment of any kind. "At the very least come outside where you can blow off all that smoke in the open. Who knows? Maybe it will rain and put you out." She shrugged. It was hard to see the sky through the cover of these trees, but she supposed it could happen.

Come on Arion. Just a bit of Poppy won't hurt. I mean, you aren't like taking the extract. It's just a few poppy seeds, not even enough to put you to sleep. Come on, you have to admit, you need it. You're practically going insane without it, you're needlessly violent and aggressive and you're angry over such a mundane thing! Poppy will put everything right. Just a few seeds won't kill you, you know. You overdosed extract and didn't die, a bit of poppy seeds won't hurt, right?

Arion kept pacing, trying to reason with the voice in his head. He would not succumb to temptation once more, he was better than that and he would prove it. But...it's only a few seeds right. It really wouldn't hurt. Besides, this forest was sure to have a whole load of poppy flowers, Reek wouldn't miss it, he wouldn't know the stallion took a few seeds. But...did he want to grow addicted to that plant again? Did he want another terrible withdrawal? Not really. So what should he do?

The chocolate stallion was interrupted by a familiar voice. He scowled, turned around and was about to yell at whoever it was to get out when he realized who it was. Golden eyes alighted on her form and the blazing inferno changed into a smaller, tamer flame. The anger diminished at her sight and he exhaled softly. He was glad it wasn't Reek or Saena for he surely would have made a scene if that happened, his emotions weren't exactly stable now. But it wasn't them, instead it was the healer that he quite liked, and Arion didn't feel like exploding over her.

"Yeah, me again," he replied heavily, shaking himself as he did so. A smile touched his lips at her next statement. "What I would give for that to happen," Arion said, his answer probably surprising her, but then, he hardly even knew her. He shrugged then and offered her a smile, "Fine. Wanna accompany me outside?"

Whatever tension was within him immediately vanished when he spun around and realized whoever it was wasn't the source of his problem. She was almost disappointed that he sobered because now he'd be far less fun. Whatever. At least now he wasn't pacing holes into the ground and was humoring the idea of a sudden rain shower. Hmm. Wouldn't something like that be nice? Though truthfully, after the last spat of weather, she was thankful for the reprieve.

"If nothing else, I'm sure we can find a nice, deep puddle to shove you into," she said with humor in her voice as she turned back towards the entrance, now exit, to the cave he'd chosen to stash his frustration within. "This forest has to have some sort of water something within it." She'd explored a bit. Not much, but enough to know the scent of moisture was here and there and with far more substance than the humidity upon the air.

Her ears swiveled in his direction. Accompany him? "Forgotten how to leave already?" Her eyes rolled over his face. See? There was a reason why males could not be accounted on for anything. She was terrible enough with directions and if he was struggling with two, in and out, he was worser at it than she was. "Been burning that much daylight, hmm?"

She turned, casting a sideways glance over her shoulder towards him as she turned back in the direction of the mouth of this earthen hole. With a few quick steps, she moved toward daylight. Considering their conversation, she was under the assumption that he'd follow, but she'd been wrong a time or two before.

"Sounds exciting. Make sure you do that if we can't find any other larger water source," Arion replied with an amiable flick of his tail and a grin. He wasn't joking around this time; he meant every word of what he said. If it did not rain, and they could not find any streams or lakes or rivers or ponds or whatever, he would be extremely grateful, thankful and glad if Citali would kindly shove him into a puddle. It would be even better if it was muddy, though there wouldn't be much of a difference as Arion was already mud colored anyways. Figures. The Fates had to be mean.

"If it doesn't, that just adds to my list of how this suffocating forest is a terrible place for sane wolves to live in," a scowl decorated his features for a moment as he delved in his fury once more. The Greek could feel it surging through him, running through his veins and forced himself to stop thinking about it and focus on the present. Arion seriously did not need to get exiled from the pack for strangling a soon-to-be packmate. And he wasn't sure that Saena or Reek would forgive him if he told them honestly that he only did that because his mind had somehow changed Citali's image into their's. Nah.

Arion blinked and his face cleared. Thank the gods. Wait what? What did she say? The Greek's golden eyes met her silvery blue ones evenly as he walked closer to her, and would keep walking to her even if she moved until his face was only about half a feet away from hers. His eyes twinkled and he drawled, "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Citali." Arion smiled and withdrew, idly licking his ruffled chest hair.

"Shall we?" he gestured towards the forest in front of them, concealing the feeling of disgust that sought to overwhelm him.

She glanced at him. He'd given his explicit permission that he be shoved into something and she was going to remember that. She also remembered that he'd not added a specific number to that permission and would take advantage of that if necessary. Nevertheless, if this pack were to claim this land it would help for them all to explore it and claim it as needed. If finding this wolf a source of water to help him chill out would accomplish that, so be it.

He spoke again. She shot him a look. "Says the wolf who was just camping out in a cave. How on earth could a forest be more suffocating?" He made no sense. At least in a forest one could catch glimpses of the sky. A cave had a roof and offered nothing but perpetual darkness the further one drifted into the twilight zone. If he wished to argue, he'd better come up with a better supporting argument. Thus far, the judge was presiding and found fault in his logic.

He stepped closer. She quickly stepped further away as he groomed his chest and once again mentioned something about her sleeping at night. "You seem awfully concerned about my sleep schedule," she commented, thinking nothing of his snarky remark. She slept fine. She'd been a lone wolf long enough to catch a little bit of shut eye when necessary and the idea of joining up with this pack hadn't changed that. She still got her hours in and managed to make herself useful.

Arion decided then that it was time to step foot further into this forest. "Way ahead of you." She was already waltzing through it, unbothered by the canopy if only because they offered a reprieve from the summer heat. That, and there were a number of herbal specimens that craved shadows. A forest, was far better than the bi-polar mountain that composed her brief interlude in a previous home. Still, if this was to be their new home, it would be best to take the appropriate means to claim it. "Now be a good little wolf, lift a leg to that tree, and make yourself useful."

A frown marred Arion's chocolate features when Citali brought up something that had not crossed the Greek warrior's mind. She was right. How could the forest be more suffocating than a cave with its three walls and darkness? Confusion flooded through the man, though he did a good job concealing all of it from his face. Arion resisted the urge to keep pacing once more, instead dug his blunt claws into the earth; his eyes unfocused as he lost himself into his thoughts. Then he got it. "This cave is short term; I'm only going to be staying here for a short while. But this forest. They want me to call this place my home, and alright, it's plentiful and pretty and all sorts of nice stuff but I won't be able to run without dodging trees. I won't be able to see the sky through the thick canopy. Sure, I can catch slivers of it, but...it ain't the same." Arion shrugged. "That's just what I think."

A grin stole through the warrior's features when he noticed Citali quickly stepping away from him when he paused to groom his chest. "Don't tell me you don't get my quip..." Arion said with a mocking frown which vanished a second later. "I thought you were smarter than that, you know. But I guess you're head's muddled up because of all the plants you sniff everyday." Arion assumed a pitying look, though the faintest trace of a smirk played by his lips.

The Greek followed Citali, his shoulders no longer tense and for the first time since he arrived in this hellhole of a forest, he was not bubbling with fierce and unbridled anger. "You seem to like it here," he commented as he fell in step beside her. "Why?" Even if Arion didn't necessarily take other's feelings and thoughts to heart, he did like to collect knowledge and he really wanted to know how one could not feel even a slightest bit uncomfortable in a forest. Perhaps someday, the Greek would understand but right now....ain't happening.

Arion debated whether or not to piss on her instead when she told him to be a good little wolf and lift a leg to that tree. He decided against it and uncharacteristically obeyed her command. Lifting a leg and pissing on the tree. Once the stallion was done, he turned to Citali and smiled, albeit a bit sadly as if plagued by a sorrowful memory (which he wasn't). "Anything else, Lady Citali?" Arion teased with a good hearted bump to her shoulder.

He need not hide his expression. Her eyes were elsewhere. Her mind too drifted, more content to explore this forest once more as he spoke somewhere in the distance. At his words, her attention shifted, listening as he tried to dig himself out of a metaphorical hole. She found fault in his logic and, true to her own nature, was quick to correct him. "You must be half-blind if you're worried about running into trees. They're far enough apart that dodging them shouldn't be an issue." However... "But if you insist, be a better warrior and include dodging trees into your agility training." She'd seen his physique. There was strength within him that was quickly shifting to fat out of laziness. A shame.

"Have you explored this entire forest already?" she asked, curious. "If not, how would you know there's not a clearing somewhere where you'll be able to see the sky?" And that was only if he felt confined to living the rest of his life inside of this forest. "Just because you rest your head beneath these canopies does not mean anyone is holding you to them. Become an outrider. Explore a little. Get out from the trees then come back later. Or warden. Run your circles around the outside of this forest."

She shook her head. "Do you have any more excuses?" Her silver gaze looked to him. She was the queen of them. She was also divine royalty when it came to unweaving his own complaints. "If so, let me hear them. I'd be more than happy to dismantle them for you." She offered him a thin smile. Forced, but quaint none-the-less. If something else was bothering him and this half-hearted excuses were just distractions to cover up his true frustrations, better for him to come with those straight out the gate than all of these other red-herrings.

She snorted. His quip. About her sleeping? Citali looked to him and stared long and hard for a moment before ignoring him and setting off in another direction. Now that she thought about it, the last time she'd been in this forest she'd run into him then too. They'd found a stream somewhere in these woods and, if he'd been paying any attention last time, he'd likely remember where that was. Perhaps it fed a pond of sorts. Something where she could fulfill his promise of cooling off his hot-head.

Ignoring him came easy. Until he asked something somewhat smart. "It's not Frostfire," she replied instantly, rewarding him with a few words which were answer enough. Not ruled by a toddler pretending to be king. Not an area where the ground couldn't decide if it wished to be hot or cold. Not a place with too thin of air where no wolf seemed to be in their right mind. As for the area itself?

"The trees offer different protection than your once mountain. It's flatter, so seeing anywolf coming is harder, but there are shadows here. There is more natural life to alert strangeness. More tracks to be found within the dirt. Easier to tell what's fresh and old simply because the ground is damper..." Her voice drifted off as she glanced to him. He'd fallen into step with her and she pushed forward a couple paces before continuing. "Have you... lived... within a forest before?" she asked, curious.

No matter. If the wolves formerly of redtail rise wished to claim this forest there were preparations to attend to. She brushed herself against the trunk of a tree, pressing her own scent and oils into the bark as she prompted him to do his part in the claiming. She watched the struggle to comply fly within his eyes before he committed himself to the task and left a little bit of himself behind only to draw forward and wait for another command. He bumped her, she snapped at him with her teeth, but if he was going to listen to her, best to make a habit of it.

"Yes. Stop finding reason to touch me." Seriously. She wanted his scent on this forest to help claim it. Not on her person. "Then I'd like to see if you remember where that stream was." She put a few paces of distance between them before lifting her nose to scent the air. It had to be around here somewhere...

"At least I'll still be able to outrun Your Fatness even when I'm half-blind," he sneered, having ran out of better insults. Damn. Then, like the many times after his dear golden blonde friend/brother/assistant's disappearance, Arion wished that Chiron was here with him in Teekon Wilds just to supply him with good snarky comebacks. Compared to his foster brother, the Greek was just a beginner in snarking. Chiron seemed to have a never ending supply of sarcastic quips or malicious insults. Oh what Arion would give to have his best friend/brother and partner in crime back...... "Maybe I will," he shook himself out of his wistful reverie and lifted a shoulder in a shrug in response to Citali's comment about including dodging trees into his agility training.

"That's the first thing I do whenever I discover a new place," Arion replied with an air of smug superiority that vanished a few minutes later. "What? Do you want me to live in a clearing forever?" he asked, half disdainful, half genuinely curious. At her next words though, the Greek found his despair fading away, replacing by hope, however little it was. Obviously, his countenance remained as inscrutable as ever as it would sully his pride to let her know that he was actually kind of grateful for her 'advice'. "Come back later," he scoffed derisively; it was fake, as Arion actually appreciated her words, but he couldn't have her knowing that, could he? "I swear to the gods..."

He finished the sentence in his head for fear that Citali might hear and relay his thoughts to his dear Alphas: the queer colored, rather comely Alpha Female and the ragged, always emaciated, homely Alpha Male. While she didn't seem the type to suck-up to others, Arion didn't trust her enough to think she wouldn't betray him, though he did like her enough to allow her to hang around with him. She was likeable to the Greek in a way that many other girls were not; it was her attitude, he decided.

"Maybe," Arion shrugged again, meeting her gaze evenly, a boyish smirk playing at his lips. "I'll keep your offer in mind," perhaps he would put together a mountain of excuses just to annoy her the next time they meet. And he would keep doing it, given the fact that she hadn't told him there was a limit to the excuses he could pepper her with. Ah...how Arion loved annoying others. Somehow, it was hilarious to him when the others glowed red in their fury. It was just...hilarious. Something he couldn't explain.

Once again, Arion met her stare evenly when she looked at him with those silvery blue eyes. He was reminded distinctly of water and fire when their gaze met: silver blue and fiery gold. Though in terms of personality....maybe fire and water didn't really fit. He didn't know. He didn't know her well enough to place her in one of his categories in his mind but he promised himself that he was going to get to know her, whether she liked it or not. It wasn't because he was attracted to her — hell no — it was because it was a routine. Every time Arion met a new female, he had to place them in a category or die trying. Yeah. He had problems.

Arion's interest piqued once more and he turned to flash her a curious stare. "Frostfire...your previous pack?" he asked. "What's wrong with it?" The Greek made it his business to know the surroundings packs as much as possible because if the Redtail Rise wolves — no, the Phoenix Maplewood wolves were to prevail when others die, they had to know more about others, to know their strengths and weaknesses and other stuff...

"Personally, I prefer mountains," Arion said, though he listened to Citali's words, finding logical sense in them and grudgingly agreed to what she said...in his head. She asked him a question in return, though she seemed hesitant when voicing it. The stallion ignored the fact that she had made sure to walk in front of him and concentrated on her question. "No," he replied with a cant of his head. "I've lived in territories which had a bit of forest in them, but I've never lived in a territory that was all....forest, y'know."

Arion's amiable smile faded away when she bared her teeth and snapped at him, telling him to stop finding a reason to touch her. A look of hurt mingled with slight confusion passed through his countenance for a fraction of a second before a (faux but incredibly realistic) condescending smirk replaced it. "Touchy, touchy," he mocked, taking a threatening step forward. "That was only a bump to the shoulder. That was no touching. Do you want to know what real touching is?"

He ignored her words about finding the stream, instead stood there like a wall of flesh facing her, a crooked smile on his lips.

"Until you hit a tree," she murmured, mostly ignoring his jab as he again, made a comment about her physique. One she couldn't argue with. She wasn't about to challenge him, or anyone else, to a race. She knew her value and purpose in this life and none of her resume worthy attributes included running. However, if he was going to complain about trees, she'd do everything in her power to remind him his argument was faulty. If he was running out of things to snark about, it was evident he was simply looking to pout.

He confirmed that he'd covered every inch of this forest. Somehow, Citali very much doubted he'd had the time to look underneath every stone and hide-y hole this place had to offer. She lifted a skeptical brow in his direction as he went on about living in a clearing forever. She snorted. "Yes. You'll need all that space for your big head." And evidently... his ego. Though truth be told, if he ever did find a clearing, she'd like to steal a patch of it for a garden. Some plants required shade. Some liked a little more light. She wished to keep her options open for herbal remedies of all types.

"Or not at all," she piped in, stealing his moment of self-conversation to interject her own quip as she had no shortage of them. "It would be a lot more peaceful... quieter without all of your excuses..." Or he could suck it up, be a wolf, and move on with life. He was squabbling like a common canine.... she swore to his gods. Whoever they were.

She made no further comment towards him. It seemed as though they were content to escape from his cave and take the necessary means to help make this pack an official pack. She'd somehow managed to drag a little bit of compliance from him and while she didn't particularly enjoy the laborious task of marking, she did her part in the monotonous task.

Questions raised, he prodded her further about Frostfire. "Ha!" the humorous sound escaped her as she continued padding along, unwavered in her step. "Everything." It was reason enough. She did not imagine that pack lasting much longer and she wished it a swift disbandment. Until then, she didn't foresee that pack being of any trouble to them. They were struggling as was to stay a pack at all. There wasn't the time nor the resources for them to be a hinderance towards any other.

Their conversation drifted to the topic of forests. He mentioned that he preferred mountains, but had never lived long term within a forest. Which, in her not so humble opinion, explained everything. "So what you're saying is... because you're not wolf enough for the challenge of a new terrain... you've decided to be a miserable creature and pout until you get your change of scenery?" She looked to him, wondering if she'd finally landed on the reason for his excessive excuses.

Pressing onward, she committed herself to the task of claiming. She ventured a little ways away, excusing herself behind the privacy of a tree as she squatted before moving back to join him. Of course, he had to comment when she requested he stop touching her. Her ears flattened as she shifted her stance and squared her body towards him. "No," she said firmly. Her voice was void of any humor lest he try to confuse her word or tone for anything otherwise.

Velvety chocolate ears flicked towards Citali's direction, easily catching her murmur. He cocked his head then, a laugh rumbling softly from his chest. "Until I hit a tree," Arion nodded, a crooked grin spreading readily over his usually stoic features. A mental image of himself slamming headfirst into a tree nearly made him double over in laughter again; thankfully, that didn't happen. Instead, he kept chuckling softly for about thirty seconds before he reigned in his laughter and the grin slowly faded away from his face, leaving a faint smile behind.

Honey golden eyes flickered over to the brown healer's direction when she raised a skeptical eyebrow in his direction; he responded by flashing her a boyish smirk and when she snorted and said that he would need the space of a clearing for his big head, Arion merely lifted a shoulder in a shrug, an enigmatic crooked smile sneaking over his normally inscrutable countenance. "I found a clearing somewhere in this forest," he turned to look at her, "it'll be big enough for both of our egos and big heads. Wanna come and live there with me?"

Arion focused his attention back on the path in front of him for the time being, drifting in and out of his thoughts as they crossed his mind. He was pulled out of them, however, when Citali decided to withdraw her invitation for him to spit all his excuses at her and for her to resolve them. "What? Backing out so quickly? I thought you were braver than that..." he teased her quietly, honey golden gaze meeting her silvery blue ones.

The Greek's brows creased slightly in a frown when Citali exclaimed and told him that apparently, everything was wrong in Frostfire Ridge. "Is it really that bad?" he asked, curiosity creeping subtly into his lilting baritone as he padded silently across the leafy forest floor, twisting his head ever so slightly to lick a patch of ruffled fur on his shoulder as he did so. Arion had lived in many packs in his short life, and while they hadn't really been an enjoyable experience for the eccentric Greek, they weren't really....as terrible as Citali seemed to be describing Frostfire Ridge.

"Nah," Arion smiled, though this one seemed a bit melancholic and sad. "Forests....I've had bad memories from them." By his tone, it was clear that it wasn't something the Greek liked discussing. It wasn't a happy topic...in fact that was the last thing it was. Even now, years after that experience, it still haunted the man, evident by the slight shadow that descended over his eyes when the topic was mentioned.

Arion pushed the negative emotions away forcefully when she came back from pissing by a tree and commented on her comment about touching her. He watched calmly as her ears flattened and her stance shifted, firmly telling him 'no'. He grinned his crooked smile and continued trotting forward, "Lighten up, Cit," He told her, "you ain't going to live forever you know. Best enjoy life at its fullest." Then a thought entered the stallion's mind, and Arion turned to look at her so he was technically walking backwards. "If you're like this with me....are you even more awkward with others?"

He repeated her. Had she been unclear in saying, "until he hit a tree"? She'd thought she'd been pretty straight forward about that, but he appeared to be holding back a laugh. And then fully laughing. She stared at him, not entirely sure where it was all coming from. She didn't think herself amusing in the least, but either he was laughing at her, or he found her to be hysterical. She didn't think she was funny, but to each their own.

His announcement that he'd found a clearing caused her ears to lift. "Really? Where?" she managed to sputter, her interest piqued until he invited her to live there with him. Now why would she want to do a thing like that? She was perfectly content nestling down with her Amazon sister and had zero desire to curl up with a male of any kind. Oh. Because she had an ego too now? She cocked a brow at him. "Oh no. There'd not be room enough for the both of us. It's all yours." See. She could play along.

They wandered, roaming through this forest as they strengthened the claim of the pack here and there. He appeared to have misunderstood her quip, which was fine, but she was just as quick to correct him. "Oh no. The offer still stands. But while you're short of them, we'll all savor the silence." Which meant he had to think of another quickly, or they'd all find a way to be content with their present scenario.

"Really," was all she offered on the subject of Frostfire. It hadn't been her cup of tea and she had no desire to dwell on such memories. At present, she was more inclined to wander beneath the shadows of the trees and better acquaint herself with this forest. She didn't mind the trees. They were simply larger plants serving their own purpose. Her kinship with them as a healer, naturally drew her to admire all kinds of flora. She had no qualms with this forest and if he had a poor history with them? "Sounds like it's time to make new memories."

She was uncertain as to where her optimism came from, but perhaps it came with the promise of a home and the promise of a garden that went hand in hand. She had a goal. She was actively seeking it. There was something extremely rewarding about feeling as though she had some sort of purpose again.

Her thoughts drifted until he brought up a subject she would not budge from. She did not wish to know what "real touching" was, nor would she lighten up about the subject. She'd been bred and groomed to consider males as the lesser gender, and she did not foresee her opinion on the matter changing anytime in the near future. That meant, that while she humored him, she still considered him lower on the totem pole and she found it very strange that he'd taken it upon himself to preach on the matters of enjoying life when he'd spent the last little bit doing nothing but complaining about this particular location.

She frowned. "Cita, if you must shorten it," she snapped quickly. Cit sounded awful. Like some kind of disease or something. She shivered it off before he posed his next question, something which caused her to look long and hard at him before she finally resigned to answering truthfully. "Yes." In particular males with whom I'm trying very hard to be civil towards...Her social skills were lacking. She got along fine with Nochtli, but not everyone had the opportunity to spend a considerable amount of time roaming the wilds to get to know each other and their quirks that much better. "I'm an acquired taste."

Arion turned to look at her and cocked his head slightly, "Do you want me to lead you there now?" he asked her with a grin which only grew wider when she raised an eyebrow and told him that there wouldn't be any room for both of them and that it was all his. He scowled and pouted playfully for a moment, before lifting a shoulder in a shrug. "Come on, Citali," he said, "I'll be lonely. All alone in such a big clearing. A clearing that can house at least ten wolves...and I'm living alone there. Even someone like you should have sympathy right? I mean, even I have some sometimes." Arion hesitated for a fraction of a second then before continuing in a matter-of-fact tone. "You're a better person than I, so it's impossible for you not to have compassion."

Somehow his sarcastic words had steered to this direction. Don't ask him how that happened, because even he did not know. Arion swallowed, cursing himself internally for being so stupid and spitting all the words that come in his head without filtering it. But then, when had Arion ever filtered his words? Never. So why was he moaning about it now? It wasn't like he was insulting her, in fact, he was complimenting her. So why in the name of the gods of Olympus was he yelling at himself for not filtering words? Seriously, it was stupid. Reek and Saena must have influenced him more than he thought. Arion wasn't going to let it happen anymore. Not in a thousand years.

The two of them wandered through the forest, pissing here and there to show their claim of this forest. Their momentary silence was companionable and comfortable, at least, in Arion's mind. So he relaxed, falling into a familiar pattern of walking and marking and listened quietly to the familiar chirping of birds, the rustle of leaves, the steps of the animals scuttling by. He inhaled the fresh scent of prey, and for once, appreciated something about Phoenix Maplewood: that this forest had plenty of food

"Well, all the better then," Arion said, focusing on the path in front of them, the only indication that he had heard what she said was the subtle swivel of his ears. "I'll just pester you with excuses another day, you should be glad that I'm not conjuring a million of those right now." He told her calmly when he stopped to put his mark on another tree and moved on once more, enjoying the sounds of the forest.

"Okay then," was all Arion said when she said that Frostfire Ridge was really that bad of a pack. "I'll take your word for it." If Citali said Frostfire was terrible, then it some way, however big or small it was, there had to be something bad about it. The brown healer wasn't exactly the least bias of wolves, so the Greek knew he couldn't trust everything she said about it, but he knew that if she hated it so much she refused to dwell on it, then it must have been bad, somehow.

"Man," Arion made a face when Citali said that it was time to make new memories. "I didn't know you were this sappy. I would expect to hear someone like Reek say that; it's his kind of thing. But I never thought you'll say something like that," he allowed himself a smirk which grew serious when the initial amusement faded away. "But..uh...thanks anyway," Arion said awkwardly, not really knowing what to say after her sentimental sentence and decided to remain silent.

Perhaps others would think it was strange of him to tell her to enjoy life at its fullest when he was sulking about having to live in a forest but it wasn't strange for him. Arion didn't really care about himself, it wasn't extreme selflessness, it was just that he believed he didn't really matter. Obviously, he still cared about himself; everyone did, he just cared less...y'know. Arion lived life in the way he wanted to live life without caring about himself because as far as he was concerned, he didn't need to. It was hard to explain, so the Greek usually refrained from touching that topic at all, given the fact that he wasn't completely sure about it himself. What he knew was that he wanted her to lighten up and stop being so....stiff and awkward and stuff....

"Okay, Cita it is," Arion shrugged, focusing his attention on her answer to his next question. The stallion met her gaze when she stared at him for a long time with her piercing silvery blue eyes before she answered truthfully, which he was glad about and it showed in the appreciative gleam in his eyes. Arion's brows creased into a frown when she told him that she was an acquired taste. "No, you're not." he countered quickly. "I like you," he continued in a matter-of-fact tone, not realising what others would assume when they heard it because that wasn't what he meant. What the Greek meant was that he didn't think she was a terrible wolf to be with and that others should be more appreciative of her and that he didn't hate being with her. "I think you're good company," then Arion smiled genuinely. "Not everyone can match me word with word. Thanks for....helping me....relax..today."

He offered to lead her there. She eyed him for a moment, contemplating their current objective and this new option. Both were tempting. "Depends. Do you still wish to be shoved into a puddle?" She did have some desire to see this clearing he spoke of, but there would be time to visit a little bit of everything when this pack was officially up and running. Until then, so long as they were continuing to stake their claim, their daily activities were still somewhat up in the air.

He continued on some sort of long rant in which he was inviting her to join him in that clearing. Was he insane? She was certainly not the better wolf and compassion did not flow so freely through her veins. "Do not mistake me for having sentiment." The words were empty and void as she contemplated a civil way to sneak out of this one. She was, after all, trying to remain some kind of polite. "I prefer the cover of trees," she said simply. "I may place part of my garden in that clearing, but when it rains, I do not wish to be so exposed." There. Reason enough. "You'll simply have to get used to trees or get used to sleeping alone." That was all there was to it.

Their conversation on that topic faded as they drifted along in silence. Here and there, Citali would excuse herself behind one tree or another to mark with the illusion of privacy before rejoining him on whatever trail they were weaving through this forest. The river had to be around here somewhere. Or that clearing. She knew not which of the two they'd encounter first. Her sense of direction was terrible and she was not recognizing anything from their previous time here.

She left him to silence as he suggested he'd find her and bury her in excuses another day. She had no doubt on that. He seemed the type who needed something to complain about in order to fuel his internal fire and kindle that same spirit. It was just a matter of time before he grew frustrated again. Until then, she'd leave him to his thoughts and speak no more of Frostfire. The woods of present were far more important. She brushed herself against the lower trunks of a few trees before smoothing out her rustled fur and continuing.

Ears quirked when he spoke again, only to immediately fall. She was not a man. Not by any means. Insulted, she brooded as he continued and tried to compliment her somehow. She identified his words for their intention, not necessarily their smoothness (as there was none), and wasn't sure if she was satisfied with that line of thought. Whatever she said was far more important than the words of any male, but if he was mistaking them for advice then it was time she changed her tune. "I am not," she protested. "You are not welcome." She huffed and stole a few paces ahead, leaving him to his task as he trailed behind.

Of course, their silence was short-lived as her pout was erased by the next topic of conversation. Oh no. She did not wish to talk about herself or her poor social skills. There was a reason why she healed instead of any other task. Healing required a good morale with plants, not patients. She could tell her patients to sit down, shut up, and take it despite their protests and they'd still thank her for it later once they were all patched up. Win-win. She did not dilly dally with tasks that were any more verbose than necessary.

At the very least, he agreed to her version of a nickname. A small victory, but one that was short-lived as he attempted to compliment her. Her stubbornness caused her brow to furrow as he contradicted her opinion of herself. Her frown deepened as he elaborated, though internally it pleased her to know she was behaving herself appropriately with the opposite gender. She had little practice with it, but much to her dismay, she imagined she'd be having quite a bit more exposure to their gender.

"Still not welcome," she hummed, her tone lighter this time. Truthfully, she did enjoy their banter. Few could measure up to her level of wit and, while he needed a considerable amount more of practice, he was well on his way to mastering snark. "You may thank me by finding that stream. Or the clearing. I don't care which."

"Well..." Arion cocked his head slightly, contemplating her question then turned to look at her, a curious look in his eyes. "I wouldn't mind....but do you really want to shove me into a puddle?" he asked her then lifted his shoulders in a shrug and gave her a long, piercing look with his fiery golden eyes. "Shove me into a puddle if you have to," he told her as impassively as he could. "Just be careful not to do it too much.....I don't suppose you would like to get touched by me would you?"

The Greek smirked inwardly to himself and turned to look at the road once more, taking in the view around him. His ears lifted and swiveled towards her direction when she spoke, telling him not to mistake her for having sentiment. A chuckle rumbled from Arion's chest at that and he shook his head, "I said compassion, not sentiment," he reminded her quietly but said nothing more about that subject and listened silently as she spoke about her garden. He wasn't in the mood to fight with her as he was currently relaxing and he didn't want to ruin this day.

Silence to the Greek was just another way for conversation. Yes, no words were spoken aloud but somehow, he felt as if they were still conversing. However much Arion liked to talk and show off, he remained silent with some people as he believed they would be more...civil towards one another if they just conversed silently. With Citali, it was half half. Arion felt that sometimes remaining silent would express more of what they wanted to say while on other times, speaking was better.

Citali protested stubbornly, drawing Arion out of his reverie. The Greek blinked and glanced at her, noting her huff with a faint smirk. "Whatever you say," he told her with a grin and walked calmly behind her, not even bothering to overtake her knowing that if he did, it would just be an endless game of who walked first. It wasn't worth his time, and it was too childish. Arion didn't understand why she took such measures to make sure he was behind her at all times, and while he did want to know, he let it go.....for now.

Arion noted her frown calmly and did not back down but continued forward bravely, knowing that if he upset her in anyway, he might die sooner than he would like. It seems that the stallion was lucky this time for Citali simply told him that he was still not welcomed though this time, Arion detected a lightness in her tone that was not present before and grinned internally to himself. When she said he could thank her by finding the stream or the clearing, he flashed her a charming smile, turned and began moving towards the direction of the stream. "Yes, Your Chubbiness," he called behind his shoulder.

He seemed... uncertain of the puddle thing where as before he'd been all over it. "Now who's backing out?" she cooed, as he continued. Did she wish to shove him into a puddle? At the moment? Definitely yes. She was also hoping the puddle was connected to a stream so she could properly wash up afterwards. If she had to shove him into a puddle?"I will." Being careful about it? Ha. The way she saw it, there would be a quick shoulder jab with the bottom of her foot to his shoulder. Quick. Easy. Over and done with. Minimal contact. Easy peasy.

They continued on, walking beneath the cover of the trees. Oh? Had she heard him wrong? "Well don't mistake me for having that either." Though truthfully, of the two she was far more lacking in compassion than sentiment. Compassion was love for others. Sentiment was self-love. Her world did very much revolve around herself. Her day to day was guided by her own desires and very few were important enough for her to dedicate any thought towards.

While they idled her thoughts were mostly for herself and her garden. There were a thousand plant things in the world to consider and a thousand more when it came to proper upkeep. She needed both a thriving garden and an herb den. Both of which would need to be carved from the soil. She'd need a labor team for the heavy lifting and unfortunately she her options here were not as vast as they'd been back at the rise. Hmm. Perhaps she'd have to get a little dirt under her nails. The thought repulsed her.

Nevertheless, she was jerked back to the present by his voice and their following conversation. He was being compliant now. She wasn't sure which she preferred. The banter of before? Or the quietness of now? Either way, she'd not waste anymore precious thought on it as he turned to lead her elsewhere. Eventually, the sweet, crisp smell of the stream touched her nose and not long after, the trickling of the water met her ears.

Once there, she made true on her promise to push him into the stream before swiftly retreating along the waterline to clean herself of the bodily contact he'd had with her. There were simply some things a lady did not do in front of a male and bathing was one of those things.

-fade thread-