After hours of dark, somber wandering they had finally found a place of golden Apricity.....the sun peeked through the clouds upon the plains stretching out before them in a way that seemed endless. The sight was more than welcomed and Vida was quick to stride out into the patchy tussock smiling and exhaling an audible sigh of relief once they felt the golden light of the sun fall upon the fur along his spine, a shiver running through his limbs. There was nothing wrong with a good run through the forest but they hated being surrounded by trees for longer than a day...there was something about it that left them feeling caged in. The plains? Wide open spaces where he could run for hours on end, places where rabbits burrowed and could be spooked out or if patient caught popping out of....these places where heaven to them. Lifting their muzzle to the air to catch a whiff of the breeze they found their paws slowing to a halt, the breeze smelled of the Ocean though Vee couldn't see any ocean nor hear the sound of waves from where they stood. The more the breeze was sniffed at the more they became certain the sea was nearby and their heart set to thumping heavily inside their chest at the thought, something they'd only gotten to see once before in their puphood but never again.
Without a goal set out to strive for anything was on the table, life was ruled by whim for the wolfdog and as such they figured finding their way toward the Ocean was the next step. The world had a plan to sidetrack them first with a rustling in the distance to their right, a glance bringing their attention to a dusky brown hare darting out of a hole. Immediately their ears perked and tail flagged behind them instinct sending them into the chase if not to catch up and take the bunny down, then to enjoy the sensation of running behind such a fleet-flooted animal which in itself was something not every wolf could say they could do.
@Vida
The ivory wolf was not the only hunter wandering the plains. Dash often made visits to the lands surrounding the plateau, if only just to keep the ever-thickening border from closing in on him. He hadn't ever been much of a joiner, and the few times he had tried to settle down with a pack hadn't really worked out. The pledged wolves always seemed to tire of their efforts and move on... probably because they spent so much time marking borders, and so little time out in the world playing and exploring. All work and no play would burn a wolf out quickly, which was one of the reasons that Dash did his best to avoid work. It was his secret to staying young and energetic.
Speaking of...
Dash raised his head in curiosity as a white flash streaked across the plains. The stranger's pelt blended near-perfectly with the backdrop of snowmelt and dried grasses, and Dash hadn't seen him at all until he took off. Not that Dash was the most perceptive of wolves anyway. Dash trotted off after the stranger, following him at a much more laid-back pace. He would catch up eventually.
The wind whipped bitterly into their eyes and nose as the rabbit pulled a fancy maneuver leaping to the right and cutting sharply into a different direction so that Vida had to whirl into the gusts of wind blowing over the plains the speed at which he'd been going causing a slip on the snow soaked ground. Annoyed that their scent would now be spread absolutely everywhere by the gales and the fact that their pristine white fur was splattered with mud the hunt became more serious as they pushed their claws into the terrain, each stride from graceful legs sending them tearing after the hare with a vengeance. When they were within inches of the bounding fluffy meal they began to lean forward with jaws poised open to snap at any second...
The world had other plans. In a cruel and painful twist of fate their hind claw caught on the up lifted root of the tussock growing from the melted snow, twisting their paw causing a sharp cry of pain while they hit the dirt with a solid thud the quickly increasing sting in their paw signaling the caught claw had torn free. Eyes fastened on the disappearing tail of their lost prey a slow and weary sigh left their nostrils as they slowly rose to an upright position upon the ground turning to lick the bloody nail socket of his now missing claw. "Seems about right.." they muttered under their breath between licks while internally dying. This is a wonderful start to proving mother wrong.... their thoughts were interrupted by a sound in the direction they'd chased the hare from, multi-hued eyes lifting to see the wolf calmly striding their way. Not wanting to seem too alarmed Vee shifted so their uninjured hind leg was tucked beneath them in the scenario they had to get up while they continued to lick their claw a bit faster than before while keeping an eye on the approach with a silent tap of their tail to show they were friendly.
Up ahead, Dash heard the cry of pain and the thud of the stranger hitting the ground. Uh oh. Better check and make sure the guy was okay. Dash felt for them; not really one to pay attention to his surroundings, Dash had been there himself too many times to count.
The stranger came into view. They were on the ground, licking at a paw. That didn't bode well.
"Hey, you okay?" Dash asked, mirroring the ivory wolf's tail wag. He halted, knowing better than to approach an injured wolf, especially being a stranger and all. "It's not your ankle, is it? This field is full of all these damned holes.." One twisted ankle a year or so back had been enough to put Dash off of a lifetime of running recklessly through fields. He expected this young dude had just learned a similar lesson.
It was yet another wonderful reason why Dash avoided work. Work could be so dangerous.
No worries! Short posts are my favorite actually! <3
"Sure do!" Dash answered. He wagged his tail with enthusiasm.
Dash lived day by day, or more accurately, hour by hour. He wasn't one to put his energy toward anything productive, such as developing a trade, and so he was very rarely in the position to help someone else. This was exciting.
"If you can make it a little ways walking on that thing, come take a look at Ocean's Breath Plateau." He straightened a bit in pride as he spoke the name of the budding pack. He nodded westward, towards a cliff with a tuft of trees just visible peeking over the top.
When they had asked about herbs, Dash's thoughts went immediately to the little pool on the western edge of the plateau, right over the territory border. The pool was full of fresh, clear water, which meant that unique plant life abounded there. It was one of the only places on the shore that boasted the variety of plants that typically could only be found inland.
"What kind of herbs do you need? You a healer or somethin'?" Dash tilted his head in the direction of the plateau, inviting the young wolf to join him. They had mentioned something about "the risk of infection," which sounded like healer talk to Dash.