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+--- Thread: Emberwood retracing his steps over and over (/showthread.php?tid=28818)
retracing his steps over and over - RIP Wintersbane - August 01, 2018
wintersbane gives a wide berth to moonspear which makes his journey to the territories at the heart of teekon wilds longer than he'd originally wanted it to be. he supposes that time-tables aren't really a concern: he has no where to be and no one that's expecting him. he's a vagabond once again. a lone outlaw left to no one's rules but those of his own creation. it's nice. he's missed it ...being in charge of himself, that was. playing the role of 'good subordinate' had became stagnant to him. he'd tried it and had failed at it. it was good for sharpening skills as a 'rogue' to avoid suspicion. complacency and obedience ...but those were not things that wintersbane naturally was.
the emberwood's a serene territory. no scent trails of large predators: no bears, no mountain lions that he can presently smell and the aspen and coniferous trees offer blissful shade from the onslaught of the hot summer sun. he crosses the trail of a doe and a fawn and tucks it away for later knowing that eventually the doe will leave her fawn in a place she believes to be secure for a couple of hours and will thus open up a window of opportunity for him; ultimately, though, he keeps moving forward with no real destination in his mind other than heading towards the heart of the emberwood.
the emberwood's a serene territory. no scent trails of large predators: no bears, no mountain lions that he can presently smell and the aspen and coniferous trees offer blissful shade from the onslaught of the hot summer sun. he crosses the trail of a doe and a fawn and tucks it away for later knowing that eventually the doe will leave her fawn in a place she believes to be secure for a couple of hours and will thus open up a window of opportunity for him; ultimately, though, he keeps moving forward with no real destination in his mind other than heading towards the heart of the emberwood.
RE: retracing his steps over and over - Sybil - August 01, 2018
oof, this got long, but the others won't be. probably.
Food, yes, the thing that you need to survive. Maybe she sucked at the whole "being cool" and "socially acceptable" thing, but at least survival was pretty straightforward. Find water to drink, shelter to sleep in, and food to eat, the last of which was the young girl's current task.
In the days since leaving her pack, she'd kind of been forced to sharpen her tracking and hunting skills, and though she was by no means an expert, she'd liked to think, upon sniffing her way to this rather prey abundant wood, that she'd done pretty darn good, if she did say so herself. The area was positively teeming with life, her ears constantly flicking to the sounds of rustling grass, her head always turning at the constant signs of movement, and her nostrils overflowing with the sweet scent of prey. A self-satisfied grin peeled across her face and her tail conducted a gleeful wag, mouth already salivating. Oh yeah, she'd find food here in no time, and for once in her life, actually felt proud and accomplished.
Of course, little did her starving ego want to acknowledge, tracking was just the first half of the job... Actually chasing down and killing was something completely different altogether.
Feeling a little cocksure, she immediately set to work seeking out an actual target, lowering her nose to the ground, crouching so as to better hide in the grass, and moving at a slow crawl that would hopefully lure the creatures around her into a false sense of security so she could just lunge out and knab them with their guard down. In this pose, she was not unlike a cat stalking its prey, and being aware of this, reasoned with herself that if it worked for them, it'd probably work for her, right?
Not long after, a small, brown lump moved in the grass ahead of her, drawing her eagle eyes to it and causing her attentive ears to perk. She crept forward... one step, two, three, four... slowly, patiently, that's it... theeeeeen... Her paw landed on a dry bit of grass, which snapped beneath her weight (forcing her to wince) and sent her target flying ahead. Dammit.
Without a second thought, she was off, bursting from her stealthy position and chasing after the rabbit, and ignoring all of the other, closer ones that were sent running away by her sudden movements.
She had to give the little thing credit, it was pretty freakin' fast. At first, she thought because they were small, they must be easy to kill and virtually defensive; y'know, like babies (er, not that she'd ever killed babies). It'd only take one good burst of speed and a precise snapping of her jaws, and she'd have it! But MAN, that thing was GUNNING, and not only did it show no signs of slowing down... it almost seemed like it was getting faster! Or maybe she was just slow... either way, the excitement she'd previously felt at the notion of finally catching some food was slowly starting to dim into mild annoyance and disappointment...
Then, to make matters worse, it wasn't long into her chase that the thing just seemed to say "fuck it" and dove into a previously unseen burrow, effectively vanishing from sight and forcing her to slow down, else she might run over it and get her paw stuck or something. Eyes widening and cheeks bulging with the quick breath of air she just took in, the girl awkwardly skidded and hopped to a stop, like some weird dance, and just barely managed to miss tripping over the small hill of dirt.
'Aww, come on!' She thought with a whine, brows knit in frustration as she turned her muzzle down to the burrow. "Get back here ya lil' shit!" Came her disgruntled grumble, proceeded by the bright idea of bowing down so that her rear stuck in the air and sticking her muzzle right into the hole. Admittedly, she had no idea how burrows worked, that they were not just shallow little dens but instead were a deep system of interconnected tunnels, so she was under the stupid impression she could just reach in and drag the little sucker out.
In the days since leaving her pack, she'd kind of been forced to sharpen her tracking and hunting skills, and though she was by no means an expert, she'd liked to think, upon sniffing her way to this rather prey abundant wood, that she'd done pretty darn good, if she did say so herself. The area was positively teeming with life, her ears constantly flicking to the sounds of rustling grass, her head always turning at the constant signs of movement, and her nostrils overflowing with the sweet scent of prey. A self-satisfied grin peeled across her face and her tail conducted a gleeful wag, mouth already salivating. Oh yeah, she'd find food here in no time, and for once in her life, actually felt proud and accomplished.
Of course, little did her starving ego want to acknowledge, tracking was just the first half of the job... Actually chasing down and killing was something completely different altogether.
Feeling a little cocksure, she immediately set to work seeking out an actual target, lowering her nose to the ground, crouching so as to better hide in the grass, and moving at a slow crawl that would hopefully lure the creatures around her into a false sense of security so she could just lunge out and knab them with their guard down. In this pose, she was not unlike a cat stalking its prey, and being aware of this, reasoned with herself that if it worked for them, it'd probably work for her, right?
Not long after, a small, brown lump moved in the grass ahead of her, drawing her eagle eyes to it and causing her attentive ears to perk. She crept forward... one step, two, three, four... slowly, patiently, that's it... theeeeeen... Her paw landed on a dry bit of grass, which snapped beneath her weight (forcing her to wince) and sent her target flying ahead. Dammit.
Without a second thought, she was off, bursting from her stealthy position and chasing after the rabbit, and ignoring all of the other, closer ones that were sent running away by her sudden movements.
She had to give the little thing credit, it was pretty freakin' fast. At first, she thought because they were small, they must be easy to kill and virtually defensive; y'know, like babies (er, not that she'd ever killed babies). It'd only take one good burst of speed and a precise snapping of her jaws, and she'd have it! But MAN, that thing was GUNNING, and not only did it show no signs of slowing down... it almost seemed like it was getting faster! Or maybe she was just slow... either way, the excitement she'd previously felt at the notion of finally catching some food was slowly starting to dim into mild annoyance and disappointment...
Then, to make matters worse, it wasn't long into her chase that the thing just seemed to say "fuck it" and dove into a previously unseen burrow, effectively vanishing from sight and forcing her to slow down, else she might run over it and get her paw stuck or something. Eyes widening and cheeks bulging with the quick breath of air she just took in, the girl awkwardly skidded and hopped to a stop, like some weird dance, and just barely managed to miss tripping over the small hill of dirt.
'Aww, come on!' She thought with a whine, brows knit in frustration as she turned her muzzle down to the burrow. "Get back here ya lil' shit!" Came her disgruntled grumble, proceeded by the bright idea of bowing down so that her rear stuck in the air and sticking her muzzle right into the hole. Admittedly, she had no idea how burrows worked, that they were not just shallow little dens but instead were a deep system of interconnected tunnels, so she was under the stupid impression she could just reach in and drag the little sucker out.
RE: retracing his steps over and over - RIP Wintersbane - August 02, 2018
i don't mind long! i enjoyed reading it! ♥
they don't immediately cross paths ...whomever is within a nearby radius of the tundrian. but wintersbane irrevocably hears them. he hears the small pitter-patter of frightened prey scurrying to get away and the sound of larger, heavier paws beating against the earth. he lets out a low hiss of breath, his head whipping around begrudgingly to the trail where the doe'd taken her fawn down hoping that the mother-child duo was far enough away that they couldn't hear the noise from nearby. he doesn't feel like tracking a spooked doe and her offspring ...or fighting the doe. the likelihood of him taking down a full grown doe by himself is a bit unrealistic and she could do plenty of damage to him even without protruding horns of her male counterpart.
he follows the sounds of the hunt, encouraged that he was quickly closing the distance when he hears the explicit aimed at whatever the other wolf — female, he realizes — grumbles at her prey. prey that, evidenced by those words alone, appeared to have slipped out of her grasp. wintersbane shrugs between two aspen trees, shoulders brushing against the rough bark and is greeted with the sight of the stranger's butt in the air and her muzzle shoved down the rabbit hole. for a few moments wintersbane struggles with whether he wants to laugh at her or not ...because it was, admittedly, an amusing sight. in the end he settles for a small sneer that doesn't linger long ( he had a veneer to keep up afterall ) and a snarky deadpanned reply of, "it won't lead to wonderland, if that's what you're wondering."
he follows the sounds of the hunt, encouraged that he was quickly closing the distance when he hears the explicit aimed at whatever the other wolf — female, he realizes — grumbles at her prey. prey that, evidenced by those words alone, appeared to have slipped out of her grasp. wintersbane shrugs between two aspen trees, shoulders brushing against the rough bark and is greeted with the sight of the stranger's butt in the air and her muzzle shoved down the rabbit hole. for a few moments wintersbane struggles with whether he wants to laugh at her or not ...because it was, admittedly, an amusing sight. in the end he settles for a small sneer that doesn't linger long ( he had a veneer to keep up afterall ) and a snarky deadpanned reply of, "it won't lead to wonderland, if that's what you're wondering."
RE: retracing his steps over and over - Sybil - August 02, 2018
The girl continued wriggling and writhing, doing all she can to shove her muzzle deeper and even using her paws to try and dig away some of the dirt... but something in her heart (likely the pessimist) already knew this was a lost cause. To say she couldn't smell the rabbit anymore was impossible, as this was a rabbit's burrow, so of course you'd smell the creatures when you put your nose in it— but she couldn't feel its heat or heart its little paws anymore, leading her to believe she was now just an empty-bellied idiot with her nose in a hole.
Nothing but the taste of defeat settled on her tongue, causing her to pout (though this much was clearly unseen) and for her hindquarters to droop a bit. Welp, guess she'd just have to get up, go back to a hiding place, and wait for another—
"It won't lead to wonderland if that's what you're wondering."
The sudden sound of a voice behind her caused panic to surge in her heart, reflexively forcing a muffled curse from her mouth and her body to jerk in an attempt to get up, get away, and turn around so as to face this sudden stranger... but she was still lodged in a hole, so that didn't exactly happen. Instead, her rear leaped into the air, legs scrabbling wildly to find some foothold to pull herself with, and her body tilted forward a little like it might pitch over completely. However, due to her wildly moving back legs, her rear was pulled back down as quickly as it moved up, and once she started to just feel more embarrassed than panicked, she was able to think more calmly, relax, and successfully pull her muzzle from the hole, kind of like a chinese finger trap.
Oh god, someone was there. Somone was staring at her a watching her be an idiot. Someone had seen ALL of that. Uuuuugghh, whyyy? Why can't people walk up on her when she's doing cool shit, like catching five rabbits at once, or diving fearlessly off a rock into a lake? 'Uh, maybe because you never do anything cool,' the ever-helpful voice in her head snarkily pointed out.
'Shut up.'
Now free from her self-made prison and adorning caked dirt on her muzzle as proof, she quickly and not at all nervously spun to face the wiseguy, feeling both the need to awkwardly laugh it off like it was all in good jest and bite his face for joking about it, and was confused on which approach to take. However, now that she saw him, the first thing she noticed was his deadpan expression, which was a bit unsettling and cleared all notion of a defensive approach right from her head. Then...
Oh. Oh great. He was attractive. Yes, of COURSE he was attractive! Her face and ears flushed, though if that was even slightly noticeable beneath her pelt, it likely just seemed like an accessory to the "hahaha wtf am I doing" look on her face.
'Say something you dunce, quick!' Right, yes. What... what was it he said again? Something about going to wonderland, right.
"Oh, no no, I was- ah... I was looking for, ah, food land...."
She made a scrunched expression like that comment was a thorn she'd just pricked herself with.
"Yeah."
Well, no going back now. Great job brain, nice work. He totally thinks you're smart and knew what you were doing.
Nothing but the taste of defeat settled on her tongue, causing her to pout (though this much was clearly unseen) and for her hindquarters to droop a bit. Welp, guess she'd just have to get up, go back to a hiding place, and wait for another—
"It won't lead to wonderland if that's what you're wondering."
The sudden sound of a voice behind her caused panic to surge in her heart, reflexively forcing a muffled curse from her mouth and her body to jerk in an attempt to get up, get away, and turn around so as to face this sudden stranger... but she was still lodged in a hole, so that didn't exactly happen. Instead, her rear leaped into the air, legs scrabbling wildly to find some foothold to pull herself with, and her body tilted forward a little like it might pitch over completely. However, due to her wildly moving back legs, her rear was pulled back down as quickly as it moved up, and once she started to just feel more embarrassed than panicked, she was able to think more calmly, relax, and successfully pull her muzzle from the hole, kind of like a chinese finger trap.
Oh god, someone was there. Somone was staring at her a watching her be an idiot. Someone had seen ALL of that. Uuuuugghh, whyyy? Why can't people walk up on her when she's doing cool shit, like catching five rabbits at once, or diving fearlessly off a rock into a lake? 'Uh, maybe because you never do anything cool,' the ever-helpful voice in her head snarkily pointed out.
'Shut up.'
Now free from her self-made prison and adorning caked dirt on her muzzle as proof, she quickly and not at all nervously spun to face the wiseguy, feeling both the need to awkwardly laugh it off like it was all in good jest and bite his face for joking about it, and was confused on which approach to take. However, now that she saw him, the first thing she noticed was his deadpan expression, which was a bit unsettling and cleared all notion of a defensive approach right from her head. Then...
Oh. Oh great. He was attractive. Yes, of COURSE he was attractive! Her face and ears flushed, though if that was even slightly noticeable beneath her pelt, it likely just seemed like an accessory to the "hahaha wtf am I doing" look on her face.
'Say something you dunce, quick!' Right, yes. What... what was it he said again? Something about going to wonderland, right.
"Oh, no no, I was- ah... I was looking for, ah, food land...."
She made a scrunched expression like that comment was a thorn she'd just pricked herself with.
"Yeah."
Well, no going back now. Great job brain, nice work. He totally thinks you're smart and knew what you were doing.
RE: retracing his steps over and over - RIP Wintersbane - August 02, 2018
wintersbane watches as she struggles to free herself from the hole her muzzle is stuffed down to no avail at first. he manages to stifle his laughter into a quieted snicker. she eventually frees herself — which is good because the tundrian isn't overly sure he'd have helped; life was cruel and so was he — and turns to face him. her blush goes unnoticed, hidden by the thick mousy brown fur that appears to be a grayer hue on her face. her eyes stand out in startling contrast against the darker coloration of her face wintersbane notes as his own blue eyes — the color chipped glacial ice — takes her in, in a quick assessment.
his ears cup forth as she speaks, explaining to him that she wasn't looking for wonderland — which was good because he was being sarcastic — only to correct him by saying 'food land'. food land? food land. wintersbane processes it and feels his brow furrow and then raise, completed with a short, amused snort. "food land." he repeats and that time the tundrian does chuckle. "well," wintersbane draws, leaning slightly to the side to peer past her to the rabbit hole her muzzle'd been buried into moments ago. "no offense but i don't think you're gonna fit in food land." he remarks.
the doe and her fawn comes to his mind then. there's a fifty-fifty chance they'd gotten far enough away to miss the ruckus she'd been making moments ago ...but there was also a chance they hadn't. "i noticed a doe and fawn scent trail a few paces back," he gestures over his shoulder with a quick jerk of his muzzle. "doe's are infamous for hiding their fawns in tall grass or thick foliage for hours while they go out and search. if mama's left the baby ...and they didn't get spooked off ...the fawn will be an easy catch." having to fend for himself for majority of his life made wintersbane into a well accomplished hunter ( of course, else he'd have starved long ago ). "i'm wintersbane." he offers his name then, as if it was more of an afterthought and less of an introduction; though it's true he's a bit more reluctant to offer up his name even if it was just an alias.
his ears cup forth as she speaks, explaining to him that she wasn't looking for wonderland — which was good because he was being sarcastic — only to correct him by saying 'food land'. food land? food land. wintersbane processes it and feels his brow furrow and then raise, completed with a short, amused snort. "food land." he repeats and that time the tundrian does chuckle. "well," wintersbane draws, leaning slightly to the side to peer past her to the rabbit hole her muzzle'd been buried into moments ago. "no offense but i don't think you're gonna fit in food land." he remarks.
the doe and her fawn comes to his mind then. there's a fifty-fifty chance they'd gotten far enough away to miss the ruckus she'd been making moments ago ...but there was also a chance they hadn't. "i noticed a doe and fawn scent trail a few paces back," he gestures over his shoulder with a quick jerk of his muzzle. "doe's are infamous for hiding their fawns in tall grass or thick foliage for hours while they go out and search. if mama's left the baby ...and they didn't get spooked off ...the fawn will be an easy catch." having to fend for himself for majority of his life made wintersbane into a well accomplished hunter ( of course, else he'd have starved long ago ). "i'm wintersbane." he offers his name then, as if it was more of an afterthought and less of an introduction; though it's true he's a bit more reluctant to offer up his name even if it was just an alias.
RE: retracing his steps over and over - Sybil - August 03, 2018
The look he gave her after "food land" and the quiet snort of clear amusement made the girl's fur burn even hotter— and not with anything good. She mentally cursed herself and cursed her inability to be natural, wondering WHY she was like this, and yet all the same, as much as she was embarrassed and ashamed, also held some odd ounce of defensive pride over her strangeness, perhaps thinking something like "hey, if I don't stick out for me, who will?" So, with that, despite wishing she could take the words back, she dared to angle her chin up a little and toss out, "Yep, Food Land," her tone suggesting that was her final answer and she was sticking with it.
Then, the handsome stranger chuckled and, leaning over so as to gaze past her, noted he didn't think she'd fit into Food Land, "no offense". To that, she merely smiled, eyes squinting from its wideness, and after briefly glancing over her shoulder at the burrow, cocked a brow. "Yeah. Me neither."
"I noticed a doe and fawn scent trail a few paces back," he starts, drawing her attention and wiping the sarcastic smile from her face, genuine interest now showing instead. He went on the explain the apparently "infamous" tendency of does to leave their young untended in tall grass while they went out looking for food, and promised that if this was the case (and if they hadn't been spooked off by their talking or her attempts to become one with rabbits), it would be an easy catch.
Hmm. Intriguing... She'd never really gone for anything big like a fawn before. There had been one time she and a few of her siblings went off to go play in a small clearing and, upon discovering the presence of a mother and her fawn, she'd been dared to chase after the baby... but she'd only taken a few steps in their direction before the mother instantly became aware and chased them all off. She'd never actually tried to hunt one, and though it sounded a lot more filling than some scrawny rabbit, she admittedly had her suspicions. Not of his claim, but more so of her hunting ability.
She scoffed and lightly kicked at the ground with one paw. "Well, yeah, but... rabbits were also supposed to be an easy catch, annnnd... Fooood laaand..." The last part had trailed off and been mumbled to herself. "But, I mean... if you want to?" Hopeful blue eyes turned to him in what could only be interpreted as, "I might fuck this whole thing up, but if you still want to try??"
Then, the handsome stranger chuckled and, leaning over so as to gaze past her, noted he didn't think she'd fit into Food Land, "no offense". To that, she merely smiled, eyes squinting from its wideness, and after briefly glancing over her shoulder at the burrow, cocked a brow. "Yeah. Me neither."
"I noticed a doe and fawn scent trail a few paces back," he starts, drawing her attention and wiping the sarcastic smile from her face, genuine interest now showing instead. He went on the explain the apparently "infamous" tendency of does to leave their young untended in tall grass while they went out looking for food, and promised that if this was the case (and if they hadn't been spooked off by their talking or her attempts to become one with rabbits), it would be an easy catch.
Hmm. Intriguing... She'd never really gone for anything big like a fawn before. There had been one time she and a few of her siblings went off to go play in a small clearing and, upon discovering the presence of a mother and her fawn, she'd been dared to chase after the baby... but she'd only taken a few steps in their direction before the mother instantly became aware and chased them all off. She'd never actually tried to hunt one, and though it sounded a lot more filling than some scrawny rabbit, she admittedly had her suspicions. Not of his claim, but more so of her hunting ability.
She scoffed and lightly kicked at the ground with one paw. "Well, yeah, but... rabbits were also supposed to be an easy catch, annnnd... Fooood laaand..." The last part had trailed off and been mumbled to herself. "But, I mean... if you want to?" Hopeful blue eyes turned to him in what could only be interpreted as, "I might fuck this whole thing up, but if you still want to try??"
RE: retracing his steps over and over - RIP Wintersbane - August 04, 2018
gradually, their conversation moves from the odd position he'd found her in and their light banter over the matter. wintersbane doesn't mind. it's a natural transition and her responses to his comments more or less wrapped it up. she doesn't immediately jump at the information he offers her: a smorgasbord in comparison to the rabbit she'd been intent to chase into foodland and his brow furrows as he tries to puzzle out her seeming hesitance on it. it was possible she didn't believe him. in truth, he'd have been pretty skeptical himself if he was being offered a gateway to a catch by a stranger. especially when said stranger had actually wanted the fawn for himself a handful of minutes ago. understanding dawns on wintersbane when she speaks again. that's a good point, the tundrian thinks but has enough courtesy left within him not to say it out loud, at least. rabbits were fairly easy ...but in her defense she'd stood no chance when it disappeared into it's burrow.
"well," wintersbane draws on a contemplative breath, turning glacial gaze skyward for a moment before it lowers and focuses back upon her. "at least a fawn's not fitting into foodland either." so that was an advantage for her already. if she didn't want to pursue the lead he gave her then wintersbane wasn't going to push. he'd continue exploring for a while and double back. except, the stranger turns her sky blue eyes to him, looking at him with hope in her gaze. it does something strange to the tundrian. it's been a long time since someone looked at him like that and for a second he struggles to process that what that simple look floods him with: charity. the desire to be worthy of that hopeful look in her gaze because he's been the antihero for so long he's forgotten what it's like to be anything else.
damnit.
"c'mon. their trail intersects with mine at a crossroads a few yards back." he turns and peeks a glimpse at her over his shoulder to ensure she was following before he assumes the lead and begins to retrace his steps ( ha. the irony @ the thread title ).
"well," wintersbane draws on a contemplative breath, turning glacial gaze skyward for a moment before it lowers and focuses back upon her. "at least a fawn's not fitting into foodland either." so that was an advantage for her already. if she didn't want to pursue the lead he gave her then wintersbane wasn't going to push. he'd continue exploring for a while and double back. except, the stranger turns her sky blue eyes to him, looking at him with hope in her gaze. it does something strange to the tundrian. it's been a long time since someone looked at him like that and for a second he struggles to process that what that simple look floods him with: charity. the desire to be worthy of that hopeful look in her gaze because he's been the antihero for so long he's forgotten what it's like to be anything else.
damnit.
"c'mon. their trail intersects with mine at a crossroads a few yards back." he turns and peeks a glimpse at her over his shoulder to ensure she was following before he assumes the lead and begins to retrace his steps ( ha. the irony @ the thread title ).
RE: retracing his steps over and over - Sybil - August 04, 2018
For the brief pause after she explains why she doesn't think it'll be so easy, the girl is almost certain he'll let it go, just continue after his "well" with "guess we won't then, see ya"; an idea that brings back more feelings of shame and internal questions of "why ya gotta screw everything up?". However, thankfully, the male doesn't desist, instead returning his gaze to her and pointing out that at least deer also can't fit into food land.
Her cheeks privately crimson again. Right... Right... She hadn't even thought of that... and that was sad because it was pretty obvious... Ugh.
"Thaaat... is... truuue," she awkwardly replied, trying to play it off like she didn't feel stupid for not acknowledging as much on her own.
Deer were a lot bigger than rabbits, so maybe that meant they were slower and easier to grab onto... Man, had she been wrong about hunting this whole time? Was it actually easier to take down larger prey than small, speedy prey? Then again, deer did have those sharp hooves and powerful kicks... not to mention mama deer... but still, the lack of potential for them to disappear down a literal rabbit hole did make it feel more plausible. Yeah... maybe she could do this! She was game!
"C'mon. Their trail intersects with mine at a crossroads a few yards back."
"Uh, yeah! Lead the way!"She readily replies, wasting no time in trotting after him when he turns to leave.
Cool, so, they were doing this now... yeah... Totally gonna be fine. She totally... totally wasn't gonna mess this up or make another fool of herself... totally... and even if she did, she was putting an odd amount of trust into this random stranger to carry her where she did fail and take down the fawn regardless of whether or not she messed up.
Oh shit! He said his name, didn't he? Wintersbane. Huh, cool. Never heard anything like that before...
"Oh, I'm Sybil, by the way. Sorry. Nice to meet you?"
Her cheeks privately crimson again. Right... Right... She hadn't even thought of that... and that was sad because it was pretty obvious... Ugh.
"Thaaat... is... truuue," she awkwardly replied, trying to play it off like she didn't feel stupid for not acknowledging as much on her own.
Deer were a lot bigger than rabbits, so maybe that meant they were slower and easier to grab onto... Man, had she been wrong about hunting this whole time? Was it actually easier to take down larger prey than small, speedy prey? Then again, deer did have those sharp hooves and powerful kicks... not to mention mama deer... but still, the lack of potential for them to disappear down a literal rabbit hole did make it feel more plausible. Yeah... maybe she could do this! She was game!
"C'mon. Their trail intersects with mine at a crossroads a few yards back."
"Uh, yeah! Lead the way!"She readily replies, wasting no time in trotting after him when he turns to leave.
Cool, so, they were doing this now... yeah... Totally gonna be fine. She totally... totally wasn't gonna mess this up or make another fool of herself... totally... and even if she did, she was putting an odd amount of trust into this random stranger to carry her where she did fail and take down the fawn regardless of whether or not she messed up.
Oh shit! He said his name, didn't he? Wintersbane. Huh, cool. Never heard anything like that before...
"Oh, I'm Sybil, by the way. Sorry. Nice to meet you?"
it all comes full circle~
RE: retracing his steps over and over - RIP Wintersbane - August 04, 2018
she trots after him and contented with the affirmation wintersbane turns back to the task at hand ...though retracing his steps is far from hard. his own scent trail is relatively fresh still. she doesn't fill the silence that lapses between them as wintersbane tracks ...well, himself. he doesn't mind. silence has never bothered the tundrian and he doubts it will start any time soon. he's not an inherently anxious creature and doesn't feel the need to fill silence with pointless and meaningless chatter. she introduces himself as sybil which is promptly followed by an apology. for a moment, it perplexes wintersbane whom has briefly forgotten that he offered her his own name.
"you don't have to apologize," the tundrian brushes it off with an errant shrug of his broad shoulders and a lazy flick of an ear. "half the time i don't give my name." he speaks, raspy voice of whiskey steeped in smoke accented with a light chuckle. although, it was often intentional more than it was accidental with him. and wintersbane ...it was more special to him than any other name he'd used or could ever use. more-so than his given name, even. it was a name that lotte had given him herself. unconnected to his gangster father's naming traditions.
his steps slow and come to an eventual halt as the duo make it to the crossroads he'd previously mentioned. underlying his own scent he picks up the scent of the fawn and it's mother and switches directions abruptly, taking a sharp left though his steps are slower as he concentrates on the new scent trail.
"you don't have to apologize," the tundrian brushes it off with an errant shrug of his broad shoulders and a lazy flick of an ear. "half the time i don't give my name." he speaks, raspy voice of whiskey steeped in smoke accented with a light chuckle. although, it was often intentional more than it was accidental with him. and wintersbane ...it was more special to him than any other name he'd used or could ever use. more-so than his given name, even. it was a name that lotte had given him herself. unconnected to his gangster father's naming traditions.
his steps slow and come to an eventual halt as the duo make it to the crossroads he'd previously mentioned. underlying his own scent he picks up the scent of the fawn and it's mother and switches directions abruptly, taking a sharp left though his steps are slower as he concentrates on the new scent trail.
RE: retracing his steps over and over - Sybil - August 05, 2018
She can't help the small, dorky chuckle at his insinuation that she didn't need to apologize, like that was suposed to be something she didn't know. Oh, she knew, but it could hardly be helped. Literally, any time she ever did anything even slightly wrong, the first word to fall from her lips would be sorry, and it was pretty habitual at this point, like some sort of self-redeeming knee-jerk reaction. Her brain seemed to think if she immediately covered up her social floundering with a sorry afterwards, all awkwardness and inappropriateness could be forgiven, and she severely doubted this would ever change, not unless she could somehow FINALLY hammer it into her head that it was OKAY to not be good at the whole "talking" thing.
So, yeah, she laughed, laughed because it was one of those quirks/faults of hers that had pretty much become an inside joke for herself. Psh, Sybil, not saying sorry, lol. Cool story bro.
Then she perked her ears to his next comment, and was genuinely a little surpirsed. She'd immediately assumed he meant that as in he was somehow ashamed of his name, and she couldn't begin to fathom why. Wintersbane—it just sounded so cool and badass. Who wouldn't want to introduce themselves with a name like that?
"Why? Your name's freakin' cool. I wish mine sounded that cool." She wrinkled her muzzle.
Sybil. Syyybil. Nope. it kinda sounded like a toddler trying to say "civil", or "symbol". Not very badass at all. Not to mention hearing her own name just reminded her of all the times someone had said it angrily, or tauntingly; such things like that had a tendency to sap the beauty out of a word, if there had ever been any to start with.
Then, as the soon came to a crossroads and her companion put his nose to a trail, she was suddenly reminded of what they were doing and forcibly lowered her own head. "Oh, yeah, I should probably be quiet," came her voice in a much more hushed tone. Didn't want to ruin this thing before it even started by just making useless chit-chat about someone's name... stupid...
Additionally, when she realized she also wasn't doing anything and Wintersbane was doing all the work, she kinda felt bad and decided to also put her nose to the trail. Not that two wolves needed to be tracking the same thing... but hey... it made her feel... not useless... even if she was still pretty much just following his lead.
So, yeah, she laughed, laughed because it was one of those quirks/faults of hers that had pretty much become an inside joke for herself. Psh, Sybil, not saying sorry, lol. Cool story bro.
Then she perked her ears to his next comment, and was genuinely a little surpirsed. She'd immediately assumed he meant that as in he was somehow ashamed of his name, and she couldn't begin to fathom why. Wintersbane—it just sounded so cool and badass. Who wouldn't want to introduce themselves with a name like that?
"Why? Your name's freakin' cool. I wish mine sounded that cool." She wrinkled her muzzle.
Sybil. Syyybil. Nope. it kinda sounded like a toddler trying to say "civil", or "symbol". Not very badass at all. Not to mention hearing her own name just reminded her of all the times someone had said it angrily, or tauntingly; such things like that had a tendency to sap the beauty out of a word, if there had ever been any to start with.
Then, as the soon came to a crossroads and her companion put his nose to a trail, she was suddenly reminded of what they were doing and forcibly lowered her own head. "Oh, yeah, I should probably be quiet," came her voice in a much more hushed tone. Didn't want to ruin this thing before it even started by just making useless chit-chat about someone's name... stupid...
Additionally, when she realized she also wasn't doing anything and Wintersbane was doing all the work, she kinda felt bad and decided to also put her nose to the trail. Not that two wolves needed to be tracking the same thing... but hey... it made her feel... not useless... even if she was still pretty much just following his lead.
RE: retracing his steps over and over - RIP Wintersbane - August 09, 2018
tacked on a small conclusion for archival. if you'd like me to revive this so we can wrap this up feel free to drop me a message on discord or a pm here on Wolf.
a soft snort of amusement leaves the tundrian's black, leathery nostrils at her seemingly genuine perplexity at him not always giving his name. he doesn't tell her that it's one in a long line of aliases he's gone by. she claims it's 'freakin' cool' and he gives her that. it is a pretty cool name but largely not why he chose it. easily, he could have continued going by roarke but no matter how hard he tries he feels no connection to that name. it was a name ceannasach had given him and there's no love lost between him and his father. he'd been closer to lotte; a designated 'mama's boy' from the get-go. he doesn't respond immediately aside from a lofty roll of his shoulders. only after a few more minutes of silence pass does he speak up and offer in vague explanation, "an exchange of names isn't always necessary." especially when it was unlikely to the tundrian that he would have need to call upon it in the future. sometimes, he mentally amends, he doesn't want to give it for whatever reason and alternatively sometimes he does.
the scent of the doe and fawn grows stronger the further along their trail the pair go and habitually, winterbane's steps slow and his movements become more cautious as he goes on immediately alert. his ears cup forth and then pivot atop his skull as he listens for any signs that the doe is nearby grazing, his movements ceasing all together. "listen. do you hear anything?" the tundrian asks his companion in a hushed tone. the mother's scent was strongly interwoven with the fawn's ...but that doesn't mean that the doe hadn't wandered off. it could be a diversion tactic, he considers. ward predators away by letting them think she stands a dutiful sentry.
when the pair arrives the fawn is no-where to be found. it's unfortunate but it's life, wintersbane has come to realize and he lets the disappointment go with a lofty rise and fall of his shoulders. "maybe there's something else nearby we can hunt?" he offers, which sounds a bit dumb when he says it. of course there's something else: the wilds was teeming with fauna, after all. the pair hunted for a little while longer before they eventually parted ways.
the scent of the doe and fawn grows stronger the further along their trail the pair go and habitually, winterbane's steps slow and his movements become more cautious as he goes on immediately alert. his ears cup forth and then pivot atop his skull as he listens for any signs that the doe is nearby grazing, his movements ceasing all together. "listen. do you hear anything?" the tundrian asks his companion in a hushed tone. the mother's scent was strongly interwoven with the fawn's ...but that doesn't mean that the doe hadn't wandered off. it could be a diversion tactic, he considers. ward predators away by letting them think she stands a dutiful sentry.
when the pair arrives the fawn is no-where to be found. it's unfortunate but it's life, wintersbane has come to realize and he lets the disappointment go with a lofty rise and fall of his shoulders. "maybe there's something else nearby we can hunt?" he offers, which sounds a bit dumb when he says it. of course there's something else: the wilds was teeming with fauna, after all. the pair hunted for a little while longer before they eventually parted ways.