Sapphire wandered across her new home, looking at the forest and taking in the change of scenery. She hadn't been here very long but homesickness was far away and not something she was likely to suffer anyway - Sapphire wasn't one to regret and she wasn't exceptionally close to the other pack members enough to miss them.
As she wandered through she thought about where best to make her den. For now she had been sleeping under logs and in other natural shelters but she knew she needed something more permanent, she was here to stay. Her strong muscles pushed her through the undergrowth and pulled her over tree stumps to help her better survey the scene. The scent of prey whiffed past her nose but for now she ignored it. Hunger wasn't something to be noticed and, though she loved to hunt and stalk, she wasn't about to do it without needing to. She had thoughts about going for the Gamekeeper co-rank but figured that the Warrior one was more her style. It was, after all, what she had spent her life doing - but then she could twist the stick and go for the Warden.
As she pondered these thoughts, the sun crested, and for a moment she just revelled in the warm light it provided.
Viinturuth was a creature of the night. It was the darkness he thrived in, and so spent most of the daylight hours asleep. In the early hours, with the moon still bright in the sky, the dark Frostfur prowled the forest in search of prey. Since joining the pack he'd struggled to fell a decent meal, but he was confident that luck would soon find him.
And it did, sooner than he expected. Having fallen from its nest and with no parents nearby, a plump owl chick made a very easy snack. Viin killed it swiftly and with little noise to alert any nearby caretakers, and quickly carried it away to consume the flesh in peace.
He lay in the snow as the sun began to rise, licking his paws clean of blood and downy feathers. A flick of his tongue over his jowls concluded his grooming session and, with food and his belly and his hunger satisfied for the time being, Viinturuth was looking forward to a lengthy nap in the warmth of his hollow. Gathering himself on stiff limbs and giving his muscles a good stretch, he proceeded deeper into the forest to return to his quarters.
As he sauntered, he enjoyed the scenery. Despite how unkind the Winter had been to him during his time as a lone wolf, he could not deny its beauty. The suns rays made the untouched surface of the snow glimmer, and he was loathe to disturb it. He wondered how long the ice would remain, and if it would ever be warm in the Teekon Wilds, but these thoughts dwindled as he lay his champagne gaze on the tawny form of an unknown wolf. Curious, he veered in her direction.
Viinturuth greeted the young female with a low woof and a friendly sweep of his obsidian tail, and paused nearby to observe her response.
Rebel!!!! Yay!!! <3
Soooo sorry for the suckiness. Getting back in the swing of writing and totally feeling like a novice >_<
Sapphire watched as the midnight wolf approached and greeted her with a woof and sweep of her tail. A quick sniff in his direction told her that he was higher ranked than her and so she submitted as required.
When given the all clear to resume, she stood up and asked politely "Which would you recommend to a wolf attuned to fighting: Warden or Warrior?" Without waiting for a reply she launched into a brief explanation as the wind ruffled the trees, raising her gruff voice as it did so: "I'm used to sparring so I figured that a Warrior may be good to help the pack if we were to be called anywhere, but then the Warden does the same at home so maybe it'd be better to be versed in that. Unless, the option is available to be qualified in both - in which case which do I make the first priority?"
Ramble at an end she realised that she hadn't let her pack mate get a word in yet, the fidgiting of her toes was the only sign of her embarrassment. Sapphire wasn't one to show her emotions - even less when they were not in her favour. Weakness wasn't tolerated in her mind.
*snugs*! I know exactly what you mean, I'm feeling pretty rusty too. :P
Glad to see that the wolfess welcomed his greeting and offered one similar, Viinturuth let the corners of his mouth tug upward in a warm smile. He watched her quietly for a further few moments, giving her time to speak up first if she saw fit. When she piped up, the dark Frostfur blinked curiously at his rather random companion and wondered how he was supposed to respond to such a question.
Viin had been a member of Neverwinter for only a short time, and much had been explained to him in the beginning. He'd been so exhausted from his travels that the information provided had been too vast to take in at once, and so figured he would learn as he lived. As he plotted his reply, it seemed the female was giving him no opportunity to do so. He gawked at her, utterly lost.
"Uhm," he stumbled with his words, cocking a rugged ear backward as he pondered. "I... have no idea." Viinturuth laughed then, at himself, and felt himself growing unusually bashful in this bold wolfess' company. "How about you give me some time to get to know you, then maybe we can talk about your co-rank suitability?" He revealed a mischievous grin, satisfied with his way of recovering himself without appearing too much like an idiot.
The thought process was intriguing to watch and Sapphire studied Viinturuth intently. His ear cocked as he thought before laughing. Initially, Sapphire felt insulted and she felt her pelt begin to rise with irritation and embarrassment before the realised - which dawned pretty quickly - that he was laughing at something else. Probably the thoughts in his head judging from his next question.
She relaxed her stance, it disappearing as quickly as it had come and lasted and he grinned at her and she smiled back, suddenly aware and on par with the situation. "I'm sorry!" she exclaimed quickly, meaning both her recital and her reaction to his laugh (though she hoped he hadn't noticed), "Of course. I can get carried away with my thoughts, sometimes, and throw myself headlong into things!"
She fell silent a moment and let the silence wash over her. She felt it begin to enter an uncomfortable point as she looked around and tried to find a way to carry on the conversation. Meeting new people was definitely not on her list of strong points - something she'd managed to not notice until this point. After all, being born to a pack, living by yourself, and being accepted into a pack never really brought this situation to life. The birth pack everyone is known naturally, and an acceptance didn't have the relaxed social manner that this meeting did.
Once again, her toes began to fidget.
When the wolfess apologised, Viinturuth smiled warmly at her. "No need to be sorry," he announced, having not noticed his companion's reaction to his harmless chuckle. Viin let the silence linger then and he used this opportunity to examine the tawny creature before him, nicked and marked with battle scars. He found himself wondering where she'd come from, and why she seemed so adamant to pick up once more as a fighting wolf.
From above, tiny flurries of snow began to drift slowly toward the ground. Looking up, his pale eyes surveyed the breaks between the branches and found the sky to be overcast with the promise of a heavier snowfall. Huffing through his nostrils and not at all looking forward to a fresh load of snow on top of what they already had, Viin looked in his pack-mate's direction once again. "Care to walk with me a while? We'll freeze our tails off if we stand around here much longer," he grinned, making to turn away and begin their saunter. "What am I to call you? My name is Viinturuth."
The black pelted wolf suggested a walk and Sapphire nodded, happily. She was starting to feel the chill in the air - the reminder that even though the sun was warm, summer was still far away. A brief shiver ran through her from head to toe as she stepped forward to begin the walking and the male introduced himself. Feeling a little silly to have not thought of a named introduction, Sapphire eyed Viinturuth from the corner of her eye as she walked along and introduced herself as well: "nice to meet you Viinturuth. My name's Sapphire, so any variation of that is okay by me." She stumbled slightly over the pronunciation of his name but hopefully it wasn't too much of a botch job.
"How long have you been with Neverwinter Forest?" she asked, getting to grips with this introduction thing. Answer a question, ask a question - trying to keep it relevant. She found she was as interested in hearing his answers to her questions as she was in answering the questions herself. Strange. Through her musings a branch snagged on her foot, causing her to stumble slightly. Embarrassed, she tried her best to ignore it and pay attention to whatever Viinturuth was saying at the time.
Sapphire, she said. Her name was Sapphire. It was a pretty name, though not one he'd expect for a wolfess who claimed to be a fighter. He did not challenge it, however, and trusted her as his pack-mate, though he smiled at her comment regarding variation of her title. Viinturuth did not extend her the same courtesy - he did not mind being called "Viin", but any other variation of his name was not appreciated. It was up to her to discover that on her own, and let silence fall between them without elaborating further.
"Not too long," he answered, when Sapphire piped up once more with a question for him. "I'm actually pretty new." Still learning the territory, the ways of the pack, the hierarchy... it was all so different from what he was used to and, although it felt right to be a part of Neverwinter Forest, there was still much to know about the ways of life beyond Samarkand. "I came from the far South, and hadn't ever seen snow until I decided to travel further North. The Winters here are a lot harsher than I anticipated. Did you come from somewhere nearby, or...?" He did not acknowledge her little trip over the branch, having sensed earlier in their meeting that she felt a little awkward and embarrassed. Viin wasn't entirely sure why, but he didn't want to bring attention to it, and so he ignored it.
Suddenly things clicked into place. Even though he was higher ranking than herself, he was also new to the forest and she felt a little flustered at how she had assumed he knew everything about the pack. Then again, why would she have had cause to doubt?
The question she had asked rebounded back on herself and Sapphire, feeling a lot more comfortable, felt obliged to be as open as Viin had been. "I came from further North. Well, technically it's North East - but the winters were worse than here. It's then you're thankful for a thick pelt, even if you suffer a bit in summer."
"What prompted your travel, if you don't mind me asking?" Sapphire was curious as to what would make a wolf travel further North. Moving South made a bit more sense (getting away from harsher weather was her excuse) but North, into worse weather confused her slightly.
Hi guys. I hope you don't mind me joining - let me know if you'd rather I have Dwarth leave.
---
Yawning with the tip of his tongue curling upwards, Dwarth rubbed his left shoulder against a fir tree. He had been tracking a blackbird for a few minutes, crawling on his mostly grey-brown belly. His nose inhaled sharply, repeatedly, to draw in the most scent. The bird froze it's hopping, standing on the dead leaves cautiously. Dwarth perked his ears forwards, then round, listening for whatever had caught the bird's attention.
Somebody was approaching; their approach had upset a branch.
He stood up hurriedly, looking over his orange right shoulder towards the sound, triangular ears training in that direction. Glancing around hurriedly even as the bird flew off, Dwarth made a decision. He darted to the nearest wide tree and peeked out, waiting. The wind did little to aid him, throwing the scents away from him, but sending his own in the direction of those coming.
It didn't take long until his hazel eyes were upon those coming the same way he had been going - a large black wolf that looked older than Dwarth, and much larger in size, and another, whom was smaller in stature with an mahogany coat. He stepped out from behind the tree slightly, so that his front half would be clear on show whilst his tail and back legs would be hidden. He warily approached, eyes fixed upon the wolves, but approached in an arch - purposefully placing himself slightly behind them, but from where he could smell them without approaching too near. The last thing he wanted to do was offend anyone by coming too close whilst unknown, or get close enough to be attacked with little chance of defense. "Hello pack, he greeted, jaw opening to give away his grin. "I'm Dwarth. May I join you?"
She seemed to slacken as they walked, as though his presence became less awkward for her, and he smiled inwardly. Viinturuth had always been a social creature, one who made great effort to make others feel comfortable, despite his often stoic appearance. He enjoyed being part of a traditional pack, without restrictions on who he could be alone with, and had felt far more relaxed in Neverwinter than he ever had in Samarkand. He loved his family, of course, and he missed them fiercely... but the traditions and laws of Susa were not natural for him, and he'd never been able to truly accept them.
"My mother was a Northerner," he explained, in response to Sapphire's question regarding his decision to venture further from his desert home. "She met my father, a Southerner, and when their pack disbanded they made their way back to his birth-place to take over from my elderly grandfather." Viinturuth rolled a shoulder, content with the brief explanation of how his parents came to reside in Samarkand. He did not offer information on the pack's unusual ways, for fear of offending her gender. "When they left last Summer, my brother before me took the reigns of the pack and I decided to take my leave and see more of where my mother's family had come from. I never did get along particularly well with Sahrotaar, so it was best for us both."
The sound of paws on fresh snow made him paused in his tracks and his tall ears pricked forward. Viinturuth's pale eyes scanned the area and settled on the figure of an unknown, russet male. He seemed narrow of frame, and young, maybe just shy of a year old. Viin let him approach he and his companion, and soon he was content that the other wolf was not a trespasser. He relaxed considerably, and flicked his feathered black tail in silent greeting.
"Hello to you," the corners of his mouth tugged upward in a smile, welcoming the sleek yearling. "I am Viinturuth and this is Sapphire," he glanced her way, hoping he hadn't irked her by speaking for her. In the short time he'd known her, Sapphire seemed independent and he realised that she may not appreciate his sharing of her name. He moved on then, beckoning his pack-mates to follow as hunger gripped his stomach once more, figuring that together they could slay something that all of Neverwinter could benefit from.