Neverwinter Forest stretched out before her, rose up around her. It was a living, breathing thing with a thrumming heartbeat all its own. Sidonie was not a cultured creature prone to appreciating such refined concepts but she nevertheless recognized that in trailing through this great rainforest she was passing through something much larger than herself that had existed for centuries, perhaps eons for all she knew, and that would continue on just fine with or without her. The domineering woman who was rarely humbled felt, for a flickering moment at least, quite small.
Great tree trunks were all she could see in any direction, and on occasion, such as now, she came across a fallen log that literally required her to climb over. Its bark was slippery with lichen and moss, and all along its upperside were the tiniest of saplings, appearing little more than weeds, the future generation of the forest. They tickled her pale underside as she padded the width of the tree trunk, then she left them behind as she leapt back to the damp soil of the forest floor. Sidonie had surveyed much of this coastal land and looked upon it as something to be conquered, marked with her scent, tamed to her will. This woodland, however, could not be viewed in such a light; the mist that lingered thickly in its depths, the cacophany of birdsong and occasional screech of hawk or eagle, the nearly continuous rustle of life within its canopy of leaves--all of these would never fall under even Sidonie's considerable dominion.
All she could do, then, was continue to traverse the rainforest's lush center, her ivory form a striking contrast to the greenery that welled up around her. For the time being, she was silent and appreciative, two qualities that had rarely, if ever, been applied to the imperious young woman before.
He moved, expanding his patrols into the nearby forests. In all of their history, the Spine received the most visitors from that direction. The forest was appealing. It's thick bows and unspoken history attractive to anyone who wandered or roamed. And with the heat of the summer? The shade from the trees was a blissful thing. His pelt was not nearly so dark as many that he knew, but the heat effected him all the same.
This forest was something of a blessing. He lowered his nose, picking up fresh scents of deer and rabbits and various other forest creatures who'd passed this way. The scents were both fresh and old, suggesting this particular location was within a shared range. So many prey were left unconcerned by such things as they scavenged after different plants. Still, he liked to keep tabs on what lingered so close. His pack was strong and they were many. It took far more to feed their number now than it had before, but they were adapt and capable. He worried not.
In his travelings he found scent of a stranger. His nose lifted, curious, and he altered his course somewhat to intercept it... or rather not. A few minutes travel and he spied the white female lingering in the distance. He stepped purposefully, letting his foot fall on a twig, snapping it as he continued on his way.
Sidonie's stride through the forest was not her usual swift pace; she lingered here and there, meandered a bit. Dipping her pale snout to the roots of a tree, she nosed at owl droppings, encapsulating the remnants of a vole that despite their previously-digested nature made her stomach growl. The wooded wilderness was thick with prey; Sidonie just hadn't mustered up the desire to expend the energy necessary to hunt. Traveling had shed the few pounds of fat she'd managed during her last brief stay with a pack, and her usually bulky form was leaner than she liked. She'd hoped to find another creature's leftovers along her wandering path eventually, she would throw her alliance in with a pack hereabouts and prepare for the cold season. It seemed deceptively far away, with the thick heat of summer cloyingly laid over the land, but soon enough the leaves would turn, the salmon would run, and harsher weather would be upon them.
The snap of fallen foliage underfoot, coming from a direction off to her right, startling the ivory female out of her thoughts. She halted mid-step and tension snaked its way down her spine as she swiveled one ear uncertainly to catch any further sound behind her. Stormy blue eyes narrowed and honed in betwixt the tree trunks that encircled her in all directions. At first, she mistook him for a fox, with russet-brown coloring, but he was too large for any vulpine nature. Lifting her head, nostrils flaring, Sidonie caught a distinct scent. Wolf--male--mountain air--others--pack. She did not meet his golden gaze for long, only chuffed a bark-like greeting that he could ignore or acknowledge. Her frame remained frozen, head tilted uncertainly, chin dipping to subconciously protect her white-furred throat.
She'd heard him. Her footsteps stopped as he angled an ear to listen further as he moved throughout the brush. He knew himself. He could not blend here or anywhere else so naturally as his other wolves. He was not born of shadow, nor snow, nor anything else that might assist him. He was a creature of fire and so he burned through the foliage as he turned his path towards that of a looser circle around this female. He put himself in the background, while making his presence difficult to ignore.
A sound escaped her. His ears turned further only this time his eyes followed. His path turned, placing him in the distance before her. He stepped into a ray of light and passed through it before slipping back into the shadows of shade. Silent, he paused in his step as he turned and looked at her, lifting his gaze to catch her curious eyes as she tucked her chin as though he might suddenly become violent.
He watched her for a moment, tail flicking with mild interest into who she might be as he assessed her presence here. She was close to his home. Perhaps too close, but he knew not what her business was here. He'd scented the area. There was food to be poached here, but she didn't appear to have any interest following any specific trail. He lingered, watching her, but saying nothing.
The silver-grey fur at her shoulders quivered, half-stiffened, as she was undecided how best to respond to this stranger who approached. He was older than she and larger than she, moreso in musculature than in height; the pheromones in his scent bespoke authority, in his home pack. He was clearly a man in charge, and the few smatterings of scars she glimpsed upon his face bespoke no hesitation to defend that position. He seemed content, for the moment, to answer the flicker of her sea-dark eyes with no words, only a faintly curious expression that told her nothing of his intent or opinion of the pale young she-wolf he'd discovered in unclaimed forest lands. She'd met more than one uncivilized male in her travels who'd had untoward intentions towards her; and one or two males whose intentions had been fortunately aligned with her own.
Her interest piqued in this male not for sensual reasons, but practical ones. The ancient nature of this forest had subdued her natural inclination towards boisterous and loud behavior, but the arrival of another seemed to have released the wood's restraint on her tongue, and she spoke, injecting some of her usual haught into her greeting. "You have the coat of a fox but the boldness of a wolf, to approach a strange female out for a walk." Perhaps he would see she wished to know his plan for their interaction. If it was conversation he desired, it was an odd way to go about it; if it was to threaten her, he'd have to carry on with it and she'd defend herself. The curling mists might provide a cloak for her escape. Anything else would be a bridge they crossed when they got there.
She was large of frame and bold in stature. A stranger, a lone wolf in a forest such as this? He recalled back to those days. When he'd come here and taunted the alpha female that would later become his mate. He'd changed a lot since then, but some things were always the same. She was a lone wolf. Her frame was not as full as he imagined it could be. Hunger was the bane of a loner's existence and he could see that though she kept herself well taken care of, it was not nearly as satisfying as it might have been if she ran with a pack.
"You have the coat of late winter snow, but do not melt in this heat," he said. It was an obvious statement, but someone of her coloring was better suited for northern climates. That she would venture in this direction was a curious thing as wolves with full-grey or brown colorations tended to fair more naturally in these parts. Not that he was one to speak. His own hues didn't support much, if anything at all. Unless there was some kind of desert nearby... he'd do well there.
"What brings you to this forest?" She did not wear the perfume of any local pack. Instead she wore the scent of travels. He could see it on her. Smell it on her. The way she carried herself now suggested she was leery of any fell circumstances which suggested she'd been slighted on her earlier adventures. Guarded. Learning anything of her would be difficult.
Sidonie's ears swivelled back as the male spoke, a faint display of deference intended to catch his words and mollify any thought that she might challenge him, without blatantly groveling. She had decided to be moderately pleasant to the man in hopes of making a decent impression, should the winds of fate, and her own collected information and subsequent evaluation, steer her toward his pack. Of course, being pleasant was a relative concept with Sidonie, whose normally loud and, at best, sarcastic mouth was often too brash even when she was attempting niceties.
"I am walking," she pointed out, a hint of a smirk tugging the corner of her mouth upward. "Perhaps to somewhere, perhaps to nowhere. I don't melt generally, if I keep to forests and mountains, maybe a spring here and there." She hoped to coax information from him about his homeland, the place to which she supposed he laid claim or perhaps helped to lead. He was not as dominating as she had supposed most Alphas to be, so she was not quite certain of his position.
A haze of mist drifted toward and enveloped them, cooling the female. She had not admitted such to the yet-unnamed male, but her pale coat was indeed thicker than that of more southern-acclimated wolves, even in summer. The shade of the canopy was welcome, but the colder air of elevated mountainsides was more helpful still, and she missed it at times. This coastal region had enough variety to suit any of her whims, however, and so she had returned to it after many months of continued travels.
Sifting her attention back to the cinnmon-hued wolf, Sidonie placed a thoughtful gaze near the other wolf's chest. She was unwilling to goad him into anger, but into a friendly competition? She was not a bad sparring opponent and travel had sculpted her physique even as it had stripped her of her fat stores. Se had used the tactic to earn a place in more than one pack, and she wondered if it would be enough to earn her this male's good opinion, and a solid alliance in future even if she did not seek a place among his ranks.
"I do not melt and I will not break. I am no fragile thing, even if you did wish me harm," she boasted, tail flicking in a lighthearted manner to bely her snotty tone. "What brings you to the forest?" She lifted her gaze to his, a gleam of playful challenge in her deep-sea eyes.
She proved it. Her replies were just as noncommittal as he expected they would be. Once upon a time he'd done much the same. Now? He wasn't a lone wolf. He wasn't always looking over his shoulder and so carefully guarding himself from sharing too much information lest it be later turned against him. He simply was. In this moment, he was amused by her bluntness and decided on humoring her. It'd been a while since he'd tested his own wit against another. Challenge accepted.
Her words were composed of nothing valuable and so he replied with nothing at all. He merely nodded, a silent indication that he'd heard her before a light mist rolled through the area. It was refreshing and well received on his part, the mist. It rolled through and passed as they were both left in the comfort of silence.
He watched as she lifted her eyes only slightly to gaze upon his form. He made little indication that he'd seen it and didn't make a show of it. Out here? As far as he concerned they were on neutral territory and therefore somewhat equal so long as they continued to share a mutual respect for one another's space. If she wanted to size him up, she was more than welcome to take a look, but as he well knew, many wolves were far more than what they first appeared. He was no different from them.
Her voice rang out again, haughty and proud. There was a fire in her spirit that spoke to his own. The smallest of grins touched his muzzle as he listened to her go on. Wish her harm? Mm. She'd done nothing to win such attention from him. Until she spoke again, at which point they reached an impasse. "I asked that question to you first. Answer it, and I might also share." His lips were sealed. The Spine was a private pack. They shared none of their business with anyone.
Sidonie was disappointed that he would not rise to her bait. She still hoped to engage him in a spar, to test his worth and to prove her own, if good fortune was on her side. To get there, however, it seemed she'd have to parry him question for question first, deliver a fact to glean a fact from him in turn. That was if he intended to disclose any truthful or valuable information, which remained to be seen.
The mist drifted slowly away and she was able to survey his form.in its entirety. He did not seem to mind her inquisitive gaze overmuch, and so she took in the breadth of his shoulders and the sharpness of his eagle-gold eyes and the stance that demanded of her an answer, if their conversation were to advance. She dcided to give him the truth, carefully portioned out in small morsels. Easy to digest, easy to retcon if the need arose "I saw the sea once, near here, and I left it. Now I wish to be near it again."
Ah ha. At long last she provided a small summary with as to what she was doing in a place like this. Looking for the sea? He did not quite understand the draw towards such a location. He was not so fond of the salt or sticky air, but he supposed each wolf held their own preferences and he would not be the judge of that. What he could do, was assist her in her journey and point her in the right direction.
"Travel straight northwest from here and you'll hit the sea. There are a few other packs along the way that might interest you. One of which makes their home along the coast." If she was so enthralled by the waters, perhaps that place would suit her. Of course, it dawned upon her that she might have lost her way within these woods so he tipped his nose in one direction and pointed with a paw. "A few days travel that way."
Sidonie's ears cupped forward with interest she couldn't disguise as the cinnamon-duested stranger spoke of seaside packs. She extracted his directions and stored them away for future use; the tang of sea salt barely penetrated this far inland so she had known she was somewhat near, but not how close. Still, she wasn't entirely sure she intended to live so close to the ocean as to be at its doorstep; she was more a creature of mountain cliffs and rolling foothills, caverns and creeks.
So she asked, "other packs? What of your own?" Her brow arched as she again tried to carefully pull from him the information that he clearly guarded closely. She valued those who knew better than to sre their nature to just anyone. Sleepy Summit had been too chummy with its neighbors; in her experience, more secluded packs were stronger, more tightly knit.
@Sidonie Feel free to stop him or end/archive the thread as needed. :]
She listened attentively. There was something quick and witty about her that suggested she was apt to learn from anyone she encountered. A useful trait. Definitely something that contributed to a high level of survival which likely explained why, all things considered, she was still fairly healthy for a lone wolf. Her instincts were good. If she could learn, she would do well wherever she happened to land.
"Mm," he said warmly, dipping his head in the affirmative as she questioned his mention of other packs and asked why he hadn't spoken of his own. Well then, she had noticed the scent upon his fur and the proud posture that was so naturally worn upon his frame. As for an answer?
"You would not like it there."
He turned to leave.
Don't mind my delay--I worked 4 12hr shifts in a row and i was too beat to post! How do you do the OOC quote area you've got there? :3 Sidonie's a drama queen, fyi.
Sidonie's fur lifted in earnest now, silver mane bristling between her shoulder blades as the still-unidentified male blatantly disregarded her fishing for information and discarded her, smoothly deterring her by feigning that she wouldn't like his pack. It was obvious in the ivorn female's mind that he had decided upon first impression that she was unworthy of his ranks and he meant to dissuade her gently, even patronizingly. An incredulous snort escaped through the roof of the girl's mouth and the puff of air from her nose sent the light mist that lingered before her into a swirl.
"Presposterous," she huffed to the russet wolf's retreating backside, a bit of the demanding child showing through in her frustration. Her more mature side kept her from stamping her paws in outrage, but only just. "You know almost nothing about me, but you presume to know this?" It was tantamount to a challenge; tell the once-spoiled-princess she couldn't have something, and she only wanted it more, wanted to prove she could take whatever she wanted, if someone thought to deprive her.
The serenity of the great wild forest that had kept her subdued seemed shattered now as her temper flared, and Sidonie loped quickly to outpace the male, intending to cut around in front of him and prevent his departure. Now that he'd piqued her ire, she only wanted to capture his interest, prove her worth, test her mettle against him. Though she'd only had a faint curiousity about his pack before, she now wanted to be counted among his ranks, to show neither he nor anyone would deny her.
Boo working crazy long back-to-back shifts. Yay for freedom! I hope you recover quickly! That sounds intense. As for the ooc thing? It's just [*ooc]Text Here![/*ooc] without the asterisks. You can find other nifty reference codes here:
MyCode Reference
He'd only taken a few steps before her retort sounded in the air.
Preposterous. He kept moving at an even gait, unwilling to let her statements deter him from continued meanderings in this forest. There were herds to track and other wolves to chase off. He'd pointed her in the direction of the sea and her wanderings would eventually take her there... should they ever finish in this business. She seemed adamant in delaying his continued venture. Still. He couldn't help the small grin that touched his muzzle while his back was turned.
Because you use words like preposterous and presume... his mind rumbled. The thoughts never escaped his lips as he returned his expression to stoicism and continued on his way. It was the rustle of foliage and the pattering footsteps behind him that caused his own posture to shift and grow far more assertive than he had before. By the time she rounded on him, placing herself in front of his path, he'd grown in stance and figure as his fur bristled and a snarl tore across his muzzle, ripping through the air.
He'd gone from passive to visibly aggressive in no more than the time it took to blink. His growl gurgled within his chest, droning on with no small volume as he stared at her figure before him and flicked his tail to suggest she remove herself from his path. Angered or not, he would not tolerate such insubordination from one of his own wolves, let alone a young loner who was not content to let him pass.
[
Awesome, thanks!
Sidonie's cobalt gaze was fixed on the rust-coated male's features, searching for an indication of his response to her outburst; she did not have long to wonder, however, for the growl that rose seemingly from the deepest point in his chest. It compelled her to flatten her ears back, lower her head, though with her height she remained larger than other wolves might. She took a few steps back, enough to let him move past, but not enough to let him end the interaction; she would pad along beside him, if he thought to keep walking.
"You've judged me already," she accused, childish hurt underlying her words and accounting for the faintest tremble in the corners of her lips.
"I'm young but not stupid. I could go far in--" well, whatever his pack was named; he hadn't deigned to tell her.
"--in your pack." Her tail waved proudly.
"How can you say I wouldn't like it, all for a moment's conversation? I can prove my worth." She stretched briefly, dragging her claws through the loamy soil to display them, her stormy eyes hardening to fine glittering jewels as she hoped he would decide to joust with her.
Added an ending and archiving since this thread is almost a month old. If you'd like to continue, send me a PM. We can always resurrect this thread or have a new one. :]
Her submission satisfied him enough to ease up. His growls ceased, but his posture remained unchanged. Head up, chin slightly tucked so he might peer down and see her a little more clearly. His tail remained lifted as she took a few paces back and lowered herself. Much better. He took a step forward, fully intending to pass her by, when she spoke once more. His paws ceased. He turned an ear to listen.
She thought herself an asset. For him, only time could prove such a thing. Nevertheless, she lifted her tail and waved it, proud of her personal achievements. He growled again. Even low to the ground as she was, if she wished to be excited, she could wag her tail lowly and hoped he shared in her sentiment. As such, he was uncertain, but her determination was a curious thing. He decided to give her the conversation she wished for.
"We require all to be Warrior and Warden both," he said, turning to face her more squarely. He need not assess her talent there. Her skill in such areas would be groomed and honed should he find her worthy of their ranks.
"What else can you offer?" There were specialties within the Spine they still did not have, but all worked together to strengthen them as a pack. Together they were well rounded and functioned as a worthy whole.
He lingered, waiting for a reply and she seemed not to have an answer for him at this time. Not a problem. Joining a pack was a huge commitment and he wanted a wolf to be sure before surrendering their life to a family of any kind.
They parted ways.
-fade thread-