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+--- Thread: Whitefish River What the night knows (/showthread.php?tid=279)
What the night knows - Koontz - August 12, 2013
The evening sun glinted off the surface of the river as Koontz drew up on its shore and relaxed back onto her haunches. Squinting her pale eyes, she angled her head toward the setting sun and could make out the silhouette of the plateau—her plateau—in the distance. The sight of it made the tip of her pewter tail stir. Although she couldn't actually see them from this distance, she imagined her pack mates running around up there, readying themselves for day's end.
With that thought, the she-wolf rose back onto all fours. After taking a drink, she began to pad northwest along the riverbank, looking for a good place to cross back over into the flatlands. Her shadow stretched behind her like a nightmare apparition and her icy blue eyes glowed in the gathering gloom of nightfall.
RE: What the night knows - Beckett - August 12, 2013
Night was approaching fast over the land, but this did not bother Beckett. He was sure he'd find what he was looking for soon enough. The bulky male was searching for an abandoned campsite that had supposedly been left to rot by the humans who set it up months ago. Perhaps he would find lots of goodies to take back to his collection!
"Damnit, that little rat's information better not be wrong... I put two day's work into that agreement," the large wolf grumbled, murky brown eyes scanning from side to side as he followed the riverbed south. He was told that he'd find a clearing opening up from the forest somewhere along this river, and from there he could follow a trail that would lead to the campsite. Beckett hoped he'd find it soon; Looking for something in the dark wasn't exactly the easiest of tasks. Too engrossed in his search, however, Beckett did not even notice that someone was approaching from the opposite direction.
RE: What the night knows - Koontz - August 12, 2013
In the distance, Koontz thought she saw a large shadow moving toward her. As they came closer, the silhouette took on the shape of a wolf. By the time they came within a hundred yards of one another, she could make out details. He was something of a powerhouse, with typical agouti markings and eyes so dark she could barely make them out in the dusky light. He didn't seem to have noticed her, though she quickly changed that by barking to grab his attention.
"Hi," she said when he presumably looked her way. "I was just heading home to Blacktail Deer Plateau. Where are you headed?" she asked conversationally, keeping her posture neutral. Her silver tail swayed and she cocked her head, looking at him without meeting his dark eyes directly.
RE: What the night knows - Beckett - August 12, 2013
The sudden sound of a bark sent Beckett crashing back to reality, and noticeably; He just about jumped an inch off the ground out of surprise. With his head swiveling forward, he spotted the source of the noise - a female wolf he had not noticed in front of him.
"SHIT!" the male exclaimed, "Jeeze woman, don't scare me like that! Just about gave me a heart attack..." Beckett now had a chance to size up who he was talking to. She was smaller than him, but still had an imposing figure herself - possibly with the way she carried herself. 'An Alpha, maybe?' he thought to himself. She definitely had a striking set of eyes, a chilling blue that he could easily make out through the dark. "Gee, where are my manners. Sorry for that outburst, I'm just a cranky old man who doesn't like being surprised." the brute stated with a chuckle, shaking his head. "I... uh.." Beckett stopped, looking around and realizing he had no idea where he was. "To be honest, stranger, I have no clue where I'm going. I'm looking for something, and going off a possibly unreliable source to find it."
RE: What the night knows - Koontz - August 12, 2013
Having grown up under the thumb of one March Owl, Koontz didn't flinch at swear words, even those hurled at her loudly. Her ears slipped back a notch or two, yet that was all. She regarded the stranger coolly, understanding that she had quite obviously startled him. She gave him a moment to collect himself, nodding when he fumbled through a sincere (and almost endearing) apology. She even favored him with a little smile.
"I forgive you," she said lightly. "I prefer Koontz over woman or stranger," she added with a gleam in her ice chip eyes. "Maybe I can help you. What is it you're looking for?" the young leader inquired, already wondering what it could be that he was seeking. A person? A place? A thing?
As she awaited his answer, she crept a little closer, just so that she could make out his face better in the low light. The river burbled beside them and a gentle breeze kicked up, soughing through their ruffs. It carried a variety of rich and interesting scents. Koontz wanted to tip her muzzle into the stream and really pore through it. Instead, she remained focused upon the large male, her gray tail twitching slowly back and forth like a pendulum.
RE: What the night knows - Beckett - August 12, 2013
Beckett exhaled sharply through his nose in a semi-laugh, smirking ever-so-slightly. 'Forgiveness is a precious commodity around here.' he joked to himself. "Koontz. Got it. The name's Beckett... you -may- have heard of me... and I promise I'm not nearly as bad as some people would make me out to be. Okay, maybe just a little bit." the male snickered, flicking his tail to the side.
The soft breeze that blew across Beckett's back gave him a small shiver. Even someone as cynical as himself could appreciate the feeling of a cool breeze on a beautiful evening such as this one. Perhaps he would go stargazing later that night. But that was the least of his concerns at the moment. "Maybe you can help." he started once more, "I'm looking for an abandoned human settlement. Apparently it's been abandoned for a few months, and you can say I'm somewhat of a collector of human stuff so I'm very interested in finding it. My contact told me it could be found by following this river south and locating a clearing which had a trail. But so far I've had no luck finding it." he added with a huff.
RE: What the night knows - Koontz - August 13, 2013
Koontz smiled awkwardly, trying to guess whether he was being serious or simply joking around when he mentioned that she might have heard of him before. Of course, she'd never heard his name in her life. Taking his snickers as a cue, she decided to interpret it as a joke and thusly and gave a light laugh, her tail waving in the cool air.
When he mentioned a human settlement, a frown took over the yearling's face. Like all wild animals, she harbored a severe distrust of mankind and avoided them at all costs. As far as she was aware, there were no humans anywhere in the park. The idea that they might be around here somewhere actually made her feel ill at ease. Naturally, she had no interest in trying to help Beckett find such a thing.
"I think your contact was misinformed," she said quietly. "As far as I know, there are no humans in this park. Thank goodness." She paused, letting out a breath, then looked shrewdly at the male's face. "Why are you interested in invading a human settlement? Even if it's supposed to abandoned, it could be incredibly dangerous. I mean, what do you hope to find there?" She was as skeptical as she was curious and it shone in her silvery facial features.
RE: What the night knows - Beckett - August 13, 2013
Beckett frowned for a moment. Either this female had no idea about the human settlement or his contact really was full of shit. His tail flicked from side to side in an almost angry manner. "You might have misunderstood me when I said 'settlement'. It's not like one of those permanent settlements they make where they congregate. More like one where they spend a few days at... I think they call it a 'Camp'. I know humans are not normally here but they have been seen every so often. Or so I've heard." he retorted, looking up at the sky and noting that the moon was starting to creep it's way into it.
The female was obviously discomforted by the idea of anything human; This was expected, most wolves harbored a disdain for anything to do with those creatures. Unlike Beckett, who was interested in them. "Like I said, I collect human stuff. It's just a weird hobby of mine, you could say." he paused, before a sheepish grin came over his maw. "Shit, I must be coming off as a psycho or something with all this, aren't I?" the male laughed, shaking his head.
RE: What the night knows - Koontz - August 13, 2013
Beckett explained the difference between a permanent settlement and a temporary campsite. Koontz still felt uneasy at the idea of humans infiltrating the park, whether they stayed for a day, a week or a year. She supposed she should feel relieved if they only passed through.
"No..." she said when he referred to himself as psychotic. "It's just strange to me. I've never heard of a wolf seeking out human settlements for any reason, much less to collect things. What types of objects do you collect?" Koontz couldn't even fathom a guess, as she was not personally familiar with humans; she'd simply been passed an instinctual mistrust directly through her bloodlines. As she stared at Beckett, she wondered if that knowledge could skip a generation.
RE: What the night knows - Beckett - August 13, 2013
The male managed a smile. Maybe he wasn't as crazy as some people made him out to be. "Well, I collect just about anything they make, really. The things they put on their bodies, whether it be the shiny objects or the soft ones they wear on their backs. Those weird, thin, see-through objects that they store food and other items in. Heck, I even got some of those false claws they use to cut things with. If it's man-made, I want it." Beckett replied, sitting on his haunches as he did so.
He could obviously still tell by the look on her face that Koontz wasn't too comfortable with the idea of anything human. But at least the fact that she didn't just disregard everything he'd said after mentioning humans was a good sign. However, he decided that he should steer the conversation somewhere else for now. "So what can you tell me about this territory? I'm assuming you belong to a pack around here?" Beckett asked, looking back down at her.
RE: What the night knows - Koontz - August 13, 2013
None of it made much sense to her, yet Koontz listened anyway, wishing she could understand but, at the same time, happy that she didn't. It wouldn't bother her if she remained ignorant about mankind.
The subject drew to a close and though Koontz was still curious, she happily enough answered his question. "Yeah, I'm one of the leaders of Dragonwatchers. We live at the plateau," she said, having mentioned it in passing a few moments ago. "The park is a great place. It's treated us well so far. There's plenty of resources to go around. Were you thinking of finding a home here?" she questioned.
Koontz wondered if she should try to feel him out as a possible recruit. Then she thought of her ranks, swollen as they were. The pack was bursting at the seams right now. She shook her head lightly to herself. Beckett was certainly an intriguing individual but there just wasn't room, so she might as well not worry about it. Instead, she would simply enjoy a no-strings-attached conversation with this newest of her passing acquaintances.
RE: What the night knows - Beckett - August 13, 2013
"I'm not even sure if the word 'home' is in my repertoire." Beckett joked, cracking another smile before adding, "I will admit though, this region sure is pretty. If I ever do feel like settling down - that is, if I don't get killed first - this would probably be the place I'd do it. You see though, I'm sort of a nomad. I go from pack to pack as a sort of... hired paw, you dig?"
The brute pondered what Koontz had mentioned earlier, about her being one of the leaders of a pack. He wondered if she was worthy of his respect as a leader - and maybe through further acquaintance he would learn. "You said you were a leader, yeah? Well, if you got any dangerous things that you need done that you wouldn't risk a packmate doing, I'm your man. I generally trade my services for a place to crash for a while - and some food. And if you haven't noticed by how fat I am, I sure do love food." he presented with a snort and a chuckle. Figured he would advertise his services while he had the opportunity; Besides, the wolf would be around for a while anyways. There were a lot of opportunities to be had in this park.
RE: What the night knows - Koontz - August 14, 2013
Beckett's proposition suddenly reminded Koontz of Key and she started. She hadn't though of the reticent she-wolf since their meeting in the springs some weeks ago now. She had passed the information along to Ariston and let him handle it. Had he gotten in touch with her? Koontz realized she had never followed up on the matter. Feelings of guilt and failure washed through her.
He'd made another joke, yet Koontz could only muster a distracted smile. "I'll keep you in mind," she said, "though I do like to retain my resources for those who are able to make a more permanent committment," she added honestly. "In any case, the pack's full to the brim at the moment." Despite feeling a little terrible about Key, she managed a modest smile and a wave of her tail, proud to be able to say that about Dragonwatchers.
"Speaking of which, I should probably be heading home," Koontz said a beat later. "I wish you the best of luck in your... endeavor. If you do decide to stay in the park, you should stop by the plateau sometime. I would be happy to fill you in a bit more," she finished, then paused politely, in case there was anything more Beckett wanted to say before they parted ways.
RE: What the night knows - Beckett - August 15, 2013
"Understandable. I could imagine with a full pack such as yours, you wanting to keep resource expenditure to a minimum. Smart." the brute replied, a hint of respect in his voice. Koontz sounded like a pretty decent alpha, from what he could gather. He'd make note of that for future reference.
Beckett smiled understandingly at the female; He himself needed to be getting back to his shelter for the night. Nothing good would come of roaming the wilderness alone in the dark, as his years of experience have come to known. "Yeah, I should be getting back too. And I may just stop by some time, I'll be around these parts for a while." the male turned north, and started off before turning his head back towards her, "It was a pleasure meeting you, Koontz." Beckett added before trotting off into the night. 'It was a pleasure meeting her, huh? You're such a polite person, Beckett.' he sarcastically thought to himself as he ran, chuckling.
RE: What the night knows - Koontz - August 18, 2013
Thanks for the thread! Let's have another sometime, yeah? :)
Although his words could have easily smacked of sarcasm, the intelligent and intuitive young leader heard the respect in Beckett's tone and she appreciated it. "Thank-you," she said. "It was a pleasure meeting you as well. Good luck on your search, Beckett, and I hope to see you by the plateau sometime," were her final words of parting.
Her pale eyes followed his large form until it disappeared into the darkness. She then set off again, sticking close to the river as it eventually led her back home.