Getting down into the flat lands was difficult because of his soreness and stiffness, yet Peregrine couldn't stand the thought of lying around, like he had when he'd broken his foot. That had been miserable. He would rather deal with some pain than sit around like a bump on a log. Besides, this project was totally worth it. He was enjoying himself and his endeavor to locate alternative, non-meat food sources.
He roved around the plains beneath the plateau, venturing to the river's edge then back and forth in the grassland between that and his home. He found some strange growths and dug at them, only to reveal some very gnarled wild carrots. They were orange, though paler than the pumpkins. They were covered in earth, so he carried them over to the water and rinsed them. Even cleaned, they were unappetizing. Nevertheless, he took a nibble.
"Crunchy," he murmured to himself, chewing with his mouth wide open.
^.^
With the coming of winter, I couldn't wait for Tartok to settle into their new homeland. I needed to find the right place to set up shop, able to observe the land, skies, and seas as the earth tilted farther away from the Sun and the magnetic storm, known as the borealis, danced across the skies.
The forests of Blackfeather were far gone from my behind my shoulders as I trekked across the Kinta in a northwesterly direction, merely apt to enjoy the solitary journey. The grass was fully yellow now as autumn descended in full force, and the current temperatures in the base of the valley reached no higher than seventy degrees. With cooler air came more activity in wolves, whose winter coats were coming in strong. My own was plush and downy underneath short summer guard hairs. On hot days it was unbearable and I would lay for the most of the day under shade or near water, panting, but it seemed the days were finally giving up their sun in turn for coming snow.
The slopes turned more west, sliding down into the body of water known as Whitefish River. I would have to cross it in order to reach the coastal forests that held the small team holed up in a deep forested wash. It had been quiet at the camp, but I hoped it would only increase with the soft autumn winds and stir the Tartok wolves. Perhaps at the beginning of winter we could stake out some land and I could attend to my duties. As I padded down the hill towards the river, I idly consulted the idea that I might share a cave, or resources, with the older healer Ukiuk. His joints would be experience some strain with the damp and cold; it would be someone's duty to make sure he was comfortable enough to be with the pack.
I glanced upwards suddenly, my hair flattening along my shoulders, as my breath took in the smell of another wolf. Along the sandbank of the water a black creature stood with his mouth parted towards the lapping aqua. In his mouth rested some sort of vegetable, one, as I stepped warily closer, I could discern as a carrot. And judging by the pale hue, not quite ripe. I couldn't help but allow the twitching of my lips to turn into a small smile.
I don't think those were ready yet.
Per the Guidebook's
Quickstart guide, could you please write in third person past tense? Thanks! :)
Because of the level terrain, Peregrine saw the she-wolf long before she drew close enough to speak. His eyes followed her warily even as he continued chewing, though he didn't feel any particular apprehension. As she came closer, he could see that she was small and quite lovely. Her bright turquoise eyes were set into a cream face and she possessed a sylphlike physique.
"What do you mean?" he asked after swallowing, laying one paw possessively across his small vegetable harvest. He didn't intend to share with a stranger, even a pretty one.
Yes, of course! o: Didn't know that was a thing!
With a deft movement, the small ivory creature padded closer. He was eating them. Her blue eyes smoothed into glassy reflections of worry. Those could be harmful if they aren't ripe, she murmured, but the ebony male had already placed a paw upon his find. She stopped, tail tip twitching as if her conflicting thoughts were mirrored in her appendage. Should she try to take away the male's crunchy little snack? Or would it be best to avoid this confrontation entirely and leave the brute who might be wretchedly vomiting the next morning? It didn't matter. The female had already instinctively pointed out the dangers of this plant.
Thanks! It makes it much easier to write together. :)
His eyes flicked to her twitching tail, then back to her face. He followed her gaze and rumbled,
"Don't even think about it. These babies are mine." Despite his gruff warning, Peregrine's eyes glimmered mischievously. Was she so desperate for food that she would risk his wrath for these crunchy little snacks?
"Harmful? How?" he asked cautiously, his mind immediately going to those damned trippy mushrooms.
His shoulders hunched, the large brute's face angled to have one glimmering orb to challenge her own widened cerulean ones. His ebony fur was tousled in the wind, further proving his daredevil approach to something that could endanger his health. Ivev could only guess that this male's strategy to opposing her words was also how he organized his life. Structured chaos.
The thought of getting the carrots out of his mouth no longer burned in the snowy canine's agenda. The lithe, muscular stranger who had originally captured Ivev's attention had his now focused on the dreamer's, who seemed to relax as he growled.
Harmful? How?
The she-wolf glanced at the mangled carrot that had fallen from his jaws. It had a light, coral center that slowly turned to the darker pinkish orange of the skin. There's a reason why we wait for the leaves on a tree to turn green before we declare the arrival of spring. It was true- buds on a tree during winter didn't always mean the snow was gone. A late season blizzard could destroy all inkling of spring, and so one must wait before announcing the end of the cold.
She flicked her ears at the roots laying at his paws.
Carrots aren't ready till the true cold of fall.
When she mused aloud, Peregrine had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. He shifted impatiently, waiting for her to get to the point. In the end, she said that carrots simply weren't ready until autumn's first frost.
"There is a huge difference between 'not ready' and 'harmful,' though. Which is it?"
She seemed a little amused at his impatience, and held back a quip on how he had 'hunted' carrots instead of some actual prey. But the female mimicked his small shrug, knowing now that this creature was questioning her. He was re-evaluating a stranger's opinion, so Ivev might have gained some foothold in swaying him away from his food. Not like she was hungry, anyways. She would find some better source of food farther along the river.
I guess you're right. You're the one who'll be throwing up, she responded with a tilt of her head, glancing at the tubers. Why was he eating them, anyways?
Peregrine grit his teeth together at her reply. Her elusiveness was maddening. His eyes grew flinty and he huffed at her, illustrating his impatient displeasure even as he climbed onto all fours. If she didn't stop wasting his time, he was prepared to gather his carrots, possibly bitchslap her with them and then go home.
"Lady," he began, "can't you just get to the damn point? Your mysteriousness is not attractive. I'm trying to compile some alternative food sources to help my pack this winter. If you have some actual advice, spit it out. If not, I'll be on my way to get a second and educated opinion."
Her wry smile seemed complacent and sterile as the onyx brute seemed to spew anger and heat from his mouth. Although she was a little taken aback at the lack of etiquette in his tone, she couldn't help but note that perhaps his pack wasn't that well off and he was scrounging for any scrap of nutrition. Blue eyes swept slowly over his figure, as if to gauge his readiness for winter. He looked well enough, but Ivev had no clue as to what was going on in this male's family.
Bury the carrots. They'll ripen for winter. You should be able to feed them to your 'pack' without making them sick. It's your choice to risk eating them now. Does that make things more clear? Her voice was still measured and monotonous, but held a sharp edge as she felt a little threatened. She had tried to be as helpful as politely possible, but he seemed one for much more direct answers, apparently.
Her tail twitched, and her voice seemed to cool, much like a cloud passing in front of the sun. Why would I have any reason to flirt with you? I have no idea who you are, and you're not one for first impressions.
Thanks for the thread — and sorry Perry's a bit of a dick. :D
Since he was staring at her, Peregrine caught the sweep of her eyes and the scrutiny contained in them. His own gaze did not waver; it bored into her face, silently commanding a more direct answer. Was that really so much to ask? And it seemed he was no closer to one.
"No, actually, it doesn't. Why can't you explain why the carrots are harmful? It sounds like horseshit. And I feel fine, by the way."
When the cream she-wolf said something about flirting, Peregrine gave her a nonplussed look. Who'd said anything about
flirting? Writing her off, the swarthy male picked up his bundle of carrots and trotted back toward the plateau without another word. He would ask Blue Willow about the carrots; he trusted her much more than some ambiguous smarty pants.
haha of course! interesting thread for the books!
She couldn't explain why the carrots were dangerous, they just were. It was now that Ivev saw his reason for repeating himself so much. What made the carrots poisonous? Bad spirits inside them that leave only when the permanent frosts of winter arrived? She honestly didn't think about it, she just knew from eons of teaching. Deer lived in the forests in the fall, and mountain slopes in the summer. It rained more in the spring than it did the fall. Thistles bloomed in the summer and always had been. There was no use questioning it, because it wouldn't change the fact that bees had stingers or the ocean was cold.
Advice or not, the black brute bid a signature, reprisal adieu and took off with the carrots, loping off the rising lands to the north. The short-tempered, gruff stranger was gone, and her pale orbs tilted back up to her journey. Hopefully Ivev would not encounter him again, but if the spirits willed it, then she would bear his unpleasantness for another time. She could not think of a reason to why he was so defensive over the simple roots. He had mentioned a pack; surely they were able to hunt.
Perhaps finding out why things were unripe and dangerous to eat would be her next case-study. But that would be most likely in the spring, as the pack had yet to find a place to settle. Without lingering, Ivev set off on her own trail, a steady lope off to the ridges near the ocean.