Porcupine Ridge Curiosity killed the cat

Ever since hearing the name of this place, Kesan had a certain interest in the inhabitants. No, not her pack-mates, but rather the animals they were sharing it with. While there was another special interest in looking at all the males in the pack, the universe had decided that this interest was more important, as Kesan had just stumbled upon the pack's namesake. She had been exploring some of the land at the lower elevations of the ridge when she had spotted the creature. 

The porcupine was in a pine tree not too far away from Kesan. If it had noticed her first, it showed no indication. She crept forward, careful not to disturb it. Once in a good location to watch it, she laid down, wincing as the snow crunched underneath her. The porcupine seemed not to notice. Once in position, she stared up at it with curiosity. There was at least one tree between her and the creature's tree, for safety precautions. Kesan didn't know if the rumors about them shooting their quills were true, but she didn't intend to find out right now.

The porcupine didn't do anything interesting at first. It moved to a lower branch, then over some, and back up. Her belly fur was wet with melted snow from her body heat and freezing before something interesting happened. What it was doing, Kesan couldn't say, but it was doing something to the tree. It was a few more minutes before realization dawned on her. It was eating the bark off the tree! Then, would it be possible to lure porcupines to the ground by collecting piles of bark? Would a wolf even be able to catch a porcupine without getting hurt?

Anwyl walked along through the forest, evergreens gave shade that sprawled across his silvery white back. The young male was having a good day so far, his belly full. He'd just finished a small grouse that he'd managed to ambush. He'd always been a good hunter. He was swift on his feet and quiet all the same. His light colored pelt kept him well hidden in winters months. 

He had heard about a couple new recruits for the porcupines, and decided to seek them out. One was supposed to be female, the other a male. He had met his other pack mates and intended to meet these as well. Finally he picked up on an unfamiliar scent, the female perhaps. He grinned in satisfaction of his accomplishments and set out in her direction, weaving his way through the trees and roots. Finally he came to see a fiery orange female with bright green eyes. He stopped to catch his breath and was about to bark to let her know he was there when he noticed her looking at something strange. 

The adorable little male cocked his head to the side to watch her, intrigued by the creature she was watching. He stood there for a few moments, watching her toy with the odd spiky creature before snapping out of his day dream and barking. What is that thing? It wasn't he friendliest intro, but he was too sidetracked to make much sense.

The porcupine stiffened as another wolf barked, and Kesan did too. How would it react? They were supposedly dangerous. Would it attack? Were any of them within its range if the myths about them shooting quills were true? Kesan held her breath for a moment, watching the porcupine snap out of it before continuing to pay them no mind. Apparently the idea of wolves nearby didn't threaten it. She cataloged the porcupine in her head as an egotistical little creatures that had a false sense of security between their quills and staying out of range. Kesan silently vowed to one day catch one so she could laugh at their species.

Turning to the wolf who intruded her porcupine watching session, Kesan almost growled at him in irritation, but she caught her tongue. It wouldn't be a good idea to growl at your new packmates. Besides, he seemed quite young. Definitely not mature. Kesan wouldn't exactly be mature until a couple months either, but that was besides the point. At least she didn't have the same young and innocent appearance. Based on said appearance, she would easily forgive him this time.

"It's a porcupine. Y'know, the creature this place was named after?" There was a slight tone of irritation in her voice, almost as if patronizing him for not knowing. But, it quickly faded away as she got to her feet to check him out. Kesan's tail rose just a little, and her ears angled forward, presenting her dominance over him. She stepped up to him before starting her analysis of him. Kesan sniffed his face, circled him once, than sat down in front of him. "You're cute." She said rather blatantly, but it wasn't a lie. Kesan intended to stick around here, but the thought of seeing him when older was definitely an encouragement to not getting thrown herself thrown out. "I'm Kesan. What about you?"

Anwyl was a little taken aback by the female's sharp tongue. He wasn't expecting it at all. Especially since the female was newer than him. But she was older, and by her stance possibly a higher rank than him. He bowed his head a little to her, showing that he was no threat and no challenge to her dominance. Oh cool. This is the first one I've ever seen. He justified himself quietly not wanting to sound rude, but also not wanting to seem like a total pushover.

The vibrant colored woman came over to sniff him and check him out. He let her do so, in turn giving her a quick sniff to get to know her scent. He blushed in embarrassment at her compliment. She was very pretty he couldn't deny it. She called me cute. The silvery white boy thought dumbly, looking at her for almost a bit too long. Thank you. You look umm... Very nice. He replied awkwardly, shifting his large white paws side to side. He wasn't used to flirting, and wasn't quite sure how to act around girls.

My names Anwyl. Anwyl Mac Tire O'Hara. It's Celtic. He gave her a peachy smile, though on the inside he was growling at himself for coming up with such a stupid introduction. As if she really cared.

By now, Kesan had almost forgotten her sharp words. It wasn't something that she did to purposely hurt people, it just sort of happened at times. Other wolves just didn't seem to see the beauty in watching nature, and couldn't understand her irritation at interruption. A mistake one would've thought she would've corrected by now, seeing how it had negatively affected her in the past.

Kesan watched him struggle over words as he tried to respond. It brought her amusement, how he awkwardly tried to reciprocate the compliment. However, she didn't outwardly display it, lest she scare him off by implying she was laughing at him. His inexperience and awkwardness only made him cuter. It also implied that he'd never been with anyone before. A turn on or a turn off, depending on who you asked.

Something clicked in Kesan's memory as he said his name. "Aren't there apples named Mac Tire...? No, aren't they McIntosh?" She pondered, not really expecting a reply.  Then Kesan said, "Celtic. Don't they believe in gods? Do you believe in gods?" Kesan did not believe in gods. However, she liked to learn about wolves with different cultures. They were quite intriguing.

Kesan's odd inquiry about his name led him to ponder it himself. Apple's are those red fruits right? He thought, giving the female a shrug. I don't know. Possibly. He thought it to be an odd question, but she quickly changed the subject to something he knew a bit more about. He himself changed his mind about his beliefs all the time. Sometimes when he needed something to believe in, he'd pray to a wayward god of his. But he'd always been a skeptic of his families ways. 

Well me personally it depends. I used to pray with my old pack. You know like 'Oh great Artio, make the prey bountiful in the forests in this time of great need' and stuff like that. But I don't know if I'd put all my faith in something like that. He said Ina matter of fact tone. He was very open about himself, mostly because he had nothing to hide. He was an open book. What about you. Do you believe in gods? The yearling boy asked her, he too found other wolves beliefs and cultures very interesting.

Kesan bobbed her head a little as she listened. She could empathize with Anwyl, even if it didn't directly correspond to her train of thought. Some wolves were a little wary of putting their full faith into things that couldn't be proven. Kesan could respect him for that way of thinking. Many others also shared that thought. The question was quickly turned back to her, so she then expressed her views. "I believe that there could be gods out there. If there's so many wolves out there who believe, well maybe their right, even if there is little proof. I myself am not very religious, discounting a few ways of thinking here and there that stem from religions. However, if a close friend or family member were to try to convert me, I wouldn't mind giving it a try." Like Anwyl, she didn't have anything to lose either by being honest.

With her end of the conversation coming to a dead end, Kesan had two choices. She could either wait for him to respond to her statement and ask another question, or she could change the subject. Well, if Anwyl had some lingering questions, it would encourage them to talk again, so she chose option number two. "Snow's a bit cold, isn't it?" Kesan said, forming an idea. "Ever have a snow fight?" She asked, a devilish grin appearing on her face. Not giving him a chance to respond, she turned around and started digging in the snow, kicking it up into him. She paused, bending her head down to look at him through the gap between her legs. How would he react?

Anwyl listened, nodding in understand as Kesan spoke. She had similar thoughts to his, but definitely not the same. She seemed pretty open as well, perhaps she'd make a good friend. Once again the female completely changed the topic, not really giving him a chance more to think. A snow fight? What's a- His train of thought was cut off as a bunch of icy mush came flying at his face. At first when it hit him, it was cold. But as it melted, it was colder. He leaped up, prancing on the frosty ground as he tried to warm himself up. The young silver boy stared at her in shock. How dare you? He thought, mouth agape.

But then he saw her own expression. She wasn't trying to be rude or anything, she was playing. Snow fights must be some weird game I guess. He shrugged, smirking back and losing his angry face. Anwyl grinned and decided to play along. This was his first real winter. So far he had had concluded that he didn't like snow. It made him trip when hunting and slow when sparring and cold all the time. But maybe this would change his mind about it. He shoveled his nose into the thick white powder and jerked it up in her direction, giving her bright orange pelt white tips.

He laughed, not sure how she'd react. He had just flung a lot of snow at her, maybe it wasn't such a good idea. He stood there staring at her intently, his tail wagging slightly and his ears perked. Whatever she rebounded with, he was ready.

Kesan got a glimpse of Anwyl's appalled face before it turned. Thoughts of apologizing occurred, along with a mental note to try and not act on her impulsiveness, but then he seemed to comprehend the idea and took a completely different expression. He even reciprocated, and Kesan let out a squeal as a small layer of snow landed on her. However, she next responded with instinct, slipping into a play-bow for a few moments to further reinforce the idea that it was play, and nothing personal.

Getting out of the position as quickly as she had dropped to it, Kesan started to analyze her surroundings. With a quick look around, she discovered a snow bank not too far from her right. However, there was a slight problem; Kesan was closer to it than Anwyl was. Kesan was a problem-solver though, and knew what she could do. She moved around Anwyl, almost seeming like she was going to circle him, but she stopped once he was between her and the snow bank. Next, she lunged forward, nipping the air right in front of Anwyl, hoping to drive him back into it.

Anwyl watched Kesan his tail wagging and his tongue hanging outside his mouth. He always stuck out his tongue when he was focused, a habit really. Kesan seemed to be analyzing her surroundings trying to come up with something. Anwyl caught on to that and prepared for her to kick up a snow pile next to him, or shovel some up into his face the way she had before. Well she did something he wasn't expecting. She began to circle him until she was completely on the opposite side then she'd originally been on. What is she doing? He though in confusion still prepared for an onslaught of snowy kicks.

Suddenly she lunged forwards and nipped at his face. Completely taken aback, he scrambled backwards to avoid being bitten and felt himself colliding with a root shelf. All of the snow that it carried tumbled down onto him like a sudden blizzard. He popped his head out of the snow pile, shaking it free of the flakes. He pounced out of the snow, prancing on his feet to warm up. He then stopped and gave her a impish smirk. He had noticed a branch above her own head piled up with snow. And he had managed to get right next to the tree that bore it.

The playful youngster rammed his shoulder into the tree, causing the snow to crash down towards his play mate.

A  satisfied smirk played upon her lips as Anwyl fell into her trap. Kesan snorted at him in amusement as he resurfaced from the snow. Her tail wagged as she replayed the moment in her head, basking in her success. For now, she believed that victory was within her reach, and that she could win this snow fight. There wasn't really a specific way to win. It was just fun to play until it either got boring or someone surrendered. 

A large thump! pulled Kesan back to reality as she realized what was happening a moment too late. A look of surprise froze on her face for a moment before it got buried along with her in a pile of snow. It was quite a big pile, and she internally swore at pine trees for not losing their needles like other trees did with leaves. After all, if more things connected to the branch, it made a larger surface that supported even more snow.

Kesan rose, orange dusted with white face, legs, and tail appearing as she balanced a pile of snow on her back. With a grin, she moved towards Anwyl, trying to go fast enough to reach him before he grew wary, yet slow enough to keep most of the snow heap from tumbling off her back. When a few feet away, Kesan attempted to body slam him, although not too hard to do damage, resulting in the snow on her back flying off to trap them both in a miniature blizzard for a moment before it settled.

Anwyl laughed as Kesan was bulldozed with snow. Ha! He thought, smirking as the  woman reappeared from the hill of white. As soon as she grinned however, Anwyl's smile became more of an 'uh oh' kind of frown. The orange huntress came quickly towards him, and the vet so wary diplomat stood on edge, knowing that she would soon make her move. He yelped in surprise when she lashed out, slamming into him and sending the snow on her back into their own private flurry. The snow fell around him, capturing in his thick soft coat. 

Anwyl retaliated to her strike by leaping forwards while she was still recovering from the slam. He attempted to pin her down and shake all the snow off his back onto her, then leap away to avoid her next plot.

Before Kesan knew what was happening, she was pinned to the ground with Anwyl shaking snow onto her. Before she could retaliate - not that she was planning too - he leaped away, leaving her laying on the ground with some snow on her. Truth be told, Kesan was running out of ideas. Soon, she would have to repeat tactics, and that would surely get boring. Variety was the spice of life after all. So, she did something completely different. Kesan let him win.

Kesan made no indication of moving from her position from the ground, but spoke, a playful tone in her voice. "I submit to you and your snowy tactics, Anwyl the Snow Lord. But someday I will challenge you again to claim the title. But for now, you are the winner." Her tone was not serious, indicating that it was part of the game, and that she was not literally submitting to him. If he needed any more indication, her posture was not submissive in any way, as she now rose to her feet, giving herself a light shake to disperse the snow from her pelt.

He had won! Anwyl gave a foolish grin before leaping off of her. She submitted playfully, adding in a little extra fluff to add to the game. He pranced about, giving her a royal bow and a silly bobble of his head. Till we meet again. He said in his best kingly voice, then laughed a little. She made it obvious that her submission was just part of the game, Anwyl found that he liked this game, even though it got messy and wet. But what could be done? It was winter and everything was covered in the sloppy white powder. Soon it would be spring, and it would all melt off.

The youngster looked over Kesan, making sure that she was alright. Then looked back up towards her face. That was fun! I like snow wars. Thanks for showing me.He nodded with a smile, giving her a nod. Where did you learn about snow fights? You umm, play it back at your old home? Anwyl was still very interested in Kesan, he wanted to learn more about her. He wanted to get to know all of his pack mates, but he felt like Kesan would be a very good friend. She was fun, and nice, and she was his beta after all.