Wolf RPG - ulysses

For @Wip - keeping it vague pending acceptance (or not!) into SB. :)

Something wasn't quite right. Kovacs slept with one eye open that night, sheltered from the worst of the winds by a sharp dip in the sand. A fringe of tough grass above his head fought hard to stay erosion, but it was losing.

He hadn't seen anything, and there weren't any unusual smells - but something about the place irked him. When morning came and he was still alive, Kovacs chalked it up to paranoia. He had travelled alone since the start of winter, and it was clearly getting to him. Stretching his thick legs one at a time, then his back, the large male looked towards the forest. He needed food - ideally a lot of it.

Yaay

Wip had kept up her routine of waking before the sun. It was the only way to combat the cold, waking up early and getting her muscles going. It made her feel good about herself; to be productive by checking the borders, and cataloging any knowledge that could be gained from the nature that surrounded the pack lands. She had strayed a bit too far in the days past, and was resolved to limit herself around the Bay for now.

And so, she spent her morning walking quietly along the coast, enjoying the song of the Ocean, and the way its scent seemed capable of washing everything else away. She felt completely solitary out here, yet at times that feeling was deceptive. It was in this way that she did not know she was upon another like herself until it was too late to conceal herself. Her green eyes gazed over his mottled grey coat, and noticed several scars. Could this be Ragnar? Wip had yet to meet the leading male, yet, she had smelled Ragnar all around her. She didn’t think this could be him.

Still keeping her distance, she cleared her throat to announce herself, and kept her tail and head raised slightly. She was just beyond the borders, but still, the proximity to home emboldened her. Mornin’.

A crack from a stiff joint masked Wip's initial attempt to catch his attention, but Kovacs knew she was there. The salty sea breeze had the dual effect of masking scents and ferrying them around very quickly, and hers was sweet. Mornin', the spindly little female offered casually, standing there on her four sticks for legs. He looked her up and down once, noted her confident stance, and said in a gravelly but nonthreatening voice, "Do you make a habit of approaching strangers?"

She considered his question for a beat, and realized that yes, that was what she had been doing ever since she got to the area. She was surprised for a moment in realizing this, as her nature was generally shy, yet her recent arrival to these lands had brought on a more social side to her. Perhaps it could be attributed to the fact that she had spent so much time traveling in isolation, and now she was trying to make up for it. Yet, the question made her confront what others may perceive as somewhat brash behavior. She mumbled in reply, Well how else am I supposed to get to know folks? She twitched her tail and then added albeit coyly, Besides, you ain’t gonna hurt me are ya? She might have been slight of frame but she was all legs and at any sign of danger would peel out of here faster than a fly could fart.

Going to go ahead and hint at acceptance.. things are looking that way, anyway. :D

Fair point, he supposed, but she had certainly picked a risky target to begin her foray into socializing. The fact that he had sworn his services to Thistle Cloud did not matter - she didn't know that.

"No," he grunted, nodding his large head in the direction of the woods. "Not if you help me find breakfast. There are hares in there. They seem to be stupid enough to come out as far as the sand.. you wait here, I'll scare them out," Without waiting for agreement, Kovacs turned and lumbered away, intending to cut into the forest slightly further down the beach and come barreling through the trees back in Wip's direction. Most of the animals would disappear into the ground, but not all - and she looked like she might be quick on her feet.

Feel free to PP him tornado-ing his way through the trees.

Hehe, I’m starting to love him already!

She was slightly relieved at his agreement that he did not wish her harm, and was surprised when he suggested an impromptu hunt. Her tail wagged slightly in excitement, she had been hoping to contribute to the pack as gamekeeper, and thus took hunting very seriously. However, her slight frame meant she had to be more cerebral, rather than physical about the process, and was about to suggest an orchestrated plan of attack. Yet, before she had opened her mouth, the male had disappeared into the trees, lumbering about like the giant he was, probably taking down the whole forest as far as she knew.

This would never work, there was a process, didn’t he know that? They would track footprints, look for dens, and only then make a calculated—her green eyes darted as the white balls of fur fled the forest, and ran right at her feet. She had no time to think about it, and her limbs moved on instinct. She was upon the first in a second, and closed her mouth around its neck, snapping it. She dropped it, and jumped on another doing more of the same. In all, she managed to catch three, and watched as the others fled in terror. Well I’ll be damned. Good job you magnificent beast, but she didn’t want to say that out loud, not one to admit defeat.

He feels a bit like a hairy Lurch..!

Breakfast exploded into the open like feathers out of a punched pillow. Its rabbit population really was stupid. Kovacs couldn't work out why - hereditary retardation, perhaps, or blindness. Unbeknownst to Wip, he had spent the better part of a day observing their quarry before suggesting an attack, noting the animals' daring behaviour and strange movements - like they were compensating for something. When he charged, they scattered as any sensible rabbit might, but that was the extent of their intelligence - several stumbled into the light and the waiting jaws of his fleet-footed companion. She finished them off whilst their luckier relatives regained their bearings and disappeared.

Kovacs watched from the treeline, catching his breath. When breakfast was served, he lumbered up to the bloody pile and sat down heavily opposite his partner. "Well I’ll be damned. Good job," the whippet-like female chirped. Kovacs grunted something unintelligible in response and grabbed at part of her catch when it was offered to him.

They ate in silence, and parted ways.