she'd not forgotten the icy words of her mother when it came to the sheltered lifestyle of village living.
pull your weight, make your bed, do not become a burden.
she'd abided by these words for the majority of her life, knowing only a brief freedom from the weight of them during the last few months. like a well crafted music box, she wound up the handle and watched the ballerina spin.
she would work until the song came to an end, only to wind it back up once more and spin anew.
the focus of her labour would be directed in the form of a hunt today. her prey in the shape of a particularly grumpy badger.
Wanting to make a name for himself, Hototo went out into the rest of the territory to meet with some of the other pack members. Today, he wanted to meet with another relatively new member, Nephele. He knew very little about the wolf, only for the fact that she was looking for a mate.
Sniffing the ground to look for her scent, he came across a heavenly sweet aroma. "I guess that must be her." Hototo thought to himself.
He arrived on the outskirts of one of the clearings, surrounded by needled trees. He tilted his head up to the sky, and let out a howl letting Nephele know that he was nearby. His tail wagging and big goofy smile waiting for her to arrive.
she rounded the badger, frame pressed low as she crept forward. stomach brushed against the cool earth as the muscles in her legs tensed, sight fixated on the jugular of her target.
jaw clenched as she prepared herself to pounce — only for a howl to send the creature running.
an irritated grumble rolled it's way past her lips as she felt the thumping of annoyance pulse along the side of her temple.
breathe nephele, they didn't know. the words spun in her head like a washing machine as she approached the figure of a man who sat looking way too cheerful.
"you interrupted my hunt," she said with plain displeasure once she was within a short distance of him.
Hototo turned around, startled to find Nephele so close to where he was. "Wait...what? Oh! I'm so sorry ma’am." He looked over to see a magnificent and beautiful wolf looking pissed at him. Her magical white coat of fur almost seemed to disappear right into the snow, her cold eyes staring daggers at him.
Apologetically he said, “I had no idea you were this close to me or that you were out here huntin’!”. Still stunned by her beauty, he made the quick remark “But I do say, you are prettier than the first spring flower out of winter! Woo-hee!”.
Coming out of his stupor, he realized how out of line he was. Blushing, he said to her “That was completely uncalled for. I’m sorry, where are my manners? The name’s Hototo. And you must be Nephele. If you want, I could help you out with the huntin’. I am the best hunter that is out there.”.
an apology was offered, which soothed some of of her ire, though his poor attempt at flattery caused a roll of her eyes. she cared little for pretty words or brandish praise. men were always the same, thinking they could say a few compliments and get themselves out of the shit pile. at least this one had the sense to realize it was uncalled for.
he introduced himself and was seemingly aware of her name, so she did not offer any words of her own. instead she lifted a brow at his proposition to help her hunt, only for it to be immediately followed by a sigh at his claim of being the best hunter around.
typical, arrogant men. "we'll see about that," she let out with a huff as she turned to return to where she'd seen the badger scurry off to. "well come on then," she let out as she set off, expecting him to follow.
Nephele seemed to be quite disgusted with him, but Hototo wasn't quite sure why. He did say an apology to her about what he said, right? "Then why does she look at me as if I'd bitten off her right paw?" He contemplated. He'll just have to be even nicer around her!
Uncomfortably and regrettably, Hototo bowed his head slightly, letting Nephele take charge. “I’ll let you lead the way madam.” Following her close behind, he desperately wanted to sprint off toward whatever was the closest prey, but Nephele was being slow and stealthy with her approach. Quietly whispering, Hototo asked “So what were you hunting for in the first place? For me, I love freshly killed white tail deer. Their jumping makes their meat nice and tender in my opinion.”