Sleepy Fox Hollow Well, where else to go?

Hiraku gazed on the surrounding meadow with a bit of annoyance. He had more trouble in this place than any of the others, despite the fact he was a red fox. Territory disputes and just plain hatred was all he encountered so far. He sat against a tree with a defeated expression on his face. Of course the one place he should've fit in with would shun him, and why shouldn't they? While the human scent was definitely gone, he instead smelled mostly of wolf. Why would I spend so much time with wolves, he thought, oh, that's right, I'm half-crazy. He found out that "white wolf" following him was a mere figment of his imagination, as the thing was able to run through a tree. He sighed, thinking of his options. The forest a bit north from here was interesting, and the glade seemed reasonable. Another sigh escaped his mouth as he leaned against a tree. It isn't like he needed to go anywhere in a hurry.

Meiken was sunning herself on the bank of a small brook, basking in the warm sunlight. She had recently eaten a fat rabbit, one who had gorged itself on the fresh influx of spring greenery. She had no permanent residence and led a nomadic existence, scavenging for her food in the woods away from the other larger canines who weren't so friendly to her.

She blinked up at the blue sky, sighing as she wondered what was to become of her. Would she forever live alone, crawling off to die when she could no longer find her own food? Shaking off her morose thoughts she climbed to her feet. She paused as the wind shifted, bringing with it the distinct scent of canine but not one she knew of.

It was neither dog nor wolf nor coyote, something else she had smelt vaguely on her adventures. She followed it, nose down only to find a male who was not so much larger than she. He was odd looking but his coat was beautiful, as pretty as her own though that was a subjective term with Meiken. Some found her beautiful though most wolves found her repulsive. 

She approached shyly, sniffing him as she craned forward. She didn't want to get too close in case he was aggressive and she needed to make a quick escape. "Hello," she greeted, her tail wagging eagerly.

His ears perked up a bit as he smelled an odd scent. He fearfully snapped his head towards its direction, hearing a hello. He managed to relax a bit, letting out a sigh of relief that it was merely a dog. He offered a relieved smile, as he wouldn't be involved in more running. "Hi..." he didn't really know what else to say. He got to his feet and made sure that if this dog had some kind of evil intention under her facade, he could get out of there. The dog could definitely overpower the fox if she felt like it. Still, she seemed friendly enough.

"I'm guessing you're new around here?" Might as well start a conversation.

She perked up at his friendly response, he wasn't going to hurt her. She had had her fill of aggressive canines. Her run in with the female wolf had been tenuous to say the least, she had tried to eat poor Meiken! After had been the encounter with the wolf at the pack territory. She had been lucky enough to be intercepted by a kind wolf who had explained borders and territories to her.

"Hi," She greeted exuberantly. "I'm new to this area in particular but not the wilds." She beamed up at him, happy to make a new friend.

It was hard for Hiraku to keep his guard up, since she seemed just too...friendly. It sounded as if she was a pet, but has long left wherever she was at. "I see," he said, letting a yawn escape his mouth. "Where did you come from? And what's your name?" He knew he was a bit straightforward with it all, but he was merely curious. Other than himself, none of the others he have met were possibly raised around humans.

"So, why did you come here?" He might as well ask. He had no other ideas to talk about, so what's the worst to happen?

"I am Meiken. Who are you?" Her head cocked in intrigue. She had never met what he was before, but had smelt his kind vaguely about the wilds. "What are you anyways? You don't look like a dog.." 

"I came from a human's house outside the forest. I came because I wished for freedom." She wondered about his own story, had he always been in the forest? "And you?"

"Call me Hiraku." Meiken was an interesting name. It was a bit odd and he has never heard it before, but with his stranger name, he couldn't really complain. 

Just hearing that he could be a dog made him smirk a bit. It quickly went away though. "Yeah, I'm what you would call a fox. Though, I might as well be labeled a small wolf. All the foxes here seem to think that I'm a threat. They probably also gave you a bit of trouble too..."

Her story wasn't anything too grandiose, not that he expected such. He broke eye contact when she asked the question afterwards. "Actually, I used to live around a village a long ways away from here. A freak storm washed it away, and I've been looking for my brother...but I found him, so we went on our separate ways, and now I decided to just live here." He was relieved that he didn't start crying, rubbing his scar with his paw. "Nothing really more than that though."

Her ears flattened in sympathy, "Oh, I'm sorry. Forgive me, I didn't mean to upset you." Smooth, Meiken. This is why no one ever sticks around to be friends with you. She couldn't truly emphathize, she had no family. The days of living with her mother and littermates had been numbered, being ripped away from them at eight weeks old and delivered into the custody of her human master. The days with them were blurry when remembered.

Living with her human was lonely. He had hit her on occasion but never much. Usually he was just cold and uncaring, leaving her out chained to a small wooden house and forgetting to feed her. Life had been lonely for Meiken and that was what she sympathized with him for.

"I've been bothered by no foxes. You're the only that I met and I quite like you," she beamed.

Hiraku chuckled. "Thanks. I guess the foxes are too scared of you, but I'm a bit more careless around others. And don't worry about that. It has been a year, so I've gotten over it." The thing that bothered him was finding his brother. Another yawn escaped his mouth, making his ears droop. Even with the white wolf now fake, the monster in his night terrors were replaced with giant wolves and cats. His scar ached at the thought. "So, other than wolves, have you met anyone else in this place? Cats maybe?" Might as well see the chances of him coming across a cat. He hated cats.

She shook her head, settling onto her haunches to get comfortable. "No cats. But I met a wolf who tried to eat me," she told him with a grimace. "I also wandered into a pack territory. A wolf there intercepted me but she was kind and didn't hurt me," she wrapped up the little story of her adventures.

Suddenly she remembered the dogs she had met. "I met two dogs, Newt and Winema. They're nice," she added on. "Have you met anyone beside me?"

It wasn't new that wolves were mean or nice, but he was rather relieved to not hear about the cats. "That seems right. The wolves here tend to be a varied bunch. Some may be friends, some may comfort you, some may use you, and then some will tear you apart at the slightest opportunity." A bit of venom and regret was noticeable at the end, and the fox noticed it.

Recollecting himself with another yawn, it took him a few minutes to think about her question. "So many wolves. Most of them were alright, though I terrified one, another terrified me away, and I'm pretty sure a third has me in some kind of debt. Then there was that quiet fox-wolf. There was a one-legged coyote, an annoying raccoon, and this tiny bird. Oh, and two foxes." He groaned at the thought. "I accidentally left one when I got excited about something, and the other just seemed to hate me. I doubt the foxes here count, because they were hostile before I could even talk." He made a half-hearted chuckle. "I really suck at being a fox." He realized what he was saying and shook his head of the thought. "Sorry about being moody. I haven't ever been in the best of moods as of late..." Another chuckle, before adding, "You're not planning on dying anytime soon, aye?" While the question came out clean enough, he knew the "aye" at the end was something his brother would say. Guess he's really becoming a part of me, he thought, trying his best to not have sadness cross his face.

Meiken could have very well become as moody as her new friend. She hadn't had an easy life, though not as hard as some. She could have easily let it drive her to depression or to harden her heart. It was persisting optimism and good nature that had kept her from becoming a defensive, cold woman. 

She smiled warmly, "That's quite alright, you've had a rough go of it." She shook her head in affirmation,"I don't plan to die anytime soon. I'll stick around for a long time if I can."

Her cheerful demeanor made him feel better, along with the dog's reply. "Thanks." Another yawn came up, annoying him. He wanted to change the subject. "Anyways, I'm finally thinking of settling down. My thoughts are either the glade in the east or the vale in the north. Have you had any luck with settling down?"

His question confused her slightly. When asked that by other dogs it had always been in relation to finding a mate and/or having pups. Meiken hadn't had any luck with that so far, most dogs found her too wild while wolves despised her for whatever reason.

Glancing at Hiraku she wondered idly if they could become mates. It didn't seem likely as they were completely different species, even if they did it most likely wouldn't result in pups. She wasn't interested in Hiraku that way, she didn't know him well enough to be, it was only an idle thought.

"You mean like finding a home?" She hadn't had luck with that either, everywhere she went just about she was forced away or just found no reason to stay by herself all alone.

I think I'm going to wrap this up soon.

"Yeah. What else do...oh." The realization hit him like a brick. "I'm not friendly enough to have a mate." It wasn't something that ever bothered him, really, and it was probably for the best. He didn't want to attack anyone while he was asleep, especially if said animal had a good chance of ripping apart his insides.

Another yawn came out. He groaned, irritated that he was this tired during the day. The thought of sleeping was a bit of a double-edged sword to him, but it was effective for getting rid of the yawning. "Hey, Meiken, I'm going to go to sleep now, if you don't mind. I didn't really get any sleep last night..." Or the night before that, or the night before that, or the night before that... Another yawn escaped the fox's mouth. He really had to find a better way to go to sleep.

It was an odd statement she decided. Being mates had nothing to do with friendliness, she knew some wolves mated and they all seemed quite unfriendly to her. She didn't push it though, she knew better than to pry as she had learned from the other's in Teekon just what being nosy could get you.

She nodded,"It was nice to meet you. Night." She turned then and loped off into the woods, fluffy fur catching on twigs and various plant life that she would have to painstakingly remove later. Her tail wagged as she dissapeared, happy to have met someone who was friendly for once.

Curling up, Hiraku quickly went to sleep. He had no fears of being attacked, as his senses always alerted him of any incomers. Odd that they would work much better when he slept than when he was awake. He was glad that Meiken left, as he could be irritable when waking up. He already began to drift away into sleep, wondering if he will meet her again. As of now, he hasn't really met any of the others on his trips. He didn't pay much thought into it; he was too tired to care.