King Elk Forest neanderthal

maybe @Laika?

there were other wolves here, and Cas found himself to be the only male in the pack. Luke had disappeared, and the boy suspected it was not due to his own desire to be gone -- he had adored Saena and her children. while he was no alpha male, with no want to claim the rank, the boy nevertheless asserted himself as the only man among them and patrolled often, intending to block rivals if they threatened the sanctuary Saena had chosen for her wolves.

today he discovered the brown bones of what he was sure had been a great and verdant forest, flush with game and densites. but it was nothing now; locusts buzzed feebly here and there. Casmir scented for wolves; finding nothing, he pressed into the wood warily, wondering if there was anything to be hunted here.

Yo! Good to rp with you again!

The white woman padded silently through the barren landscape, weaving through the depressed, leafless trees. It was odd to be so exposed in the spring time with the sun beating down upon her through the twisted branches. Even in the winter -- when most of the trees were stripped of leaves -- she had the evergreens to take refuge under. Now, even they were whiped clean of their needles and Laika had a strange yearning for greenness that she'd never felt before.

Soon, the white canine was making her way towards a large, but seemingly lifeless forest. Once she was safely amoung the thickly entangled branches that provided a least a little shelter, she noticed a scent. Immediately she recognized this smell. It was Casmir! She had grown accustomed to him after they patrolled the Horizon Ridge together, and actually slightly admired him. She was amazed that he stuck with the pack -- even now that he was the only male. But she supposed one of the things that kept him here was his dear cousin Saena but she still was surprised. He even put himself out there more since Luke had disappeared and had taken to patrolling the borders quite often and seeming to explore, though Laika had no way of knowing where exactly he went. She hurried along, hoping to catch up to him. Her tail swayed gently as she trotted along, but she was still a way back. Still, she continued on.

u too!! <3

the gentle trudge of steps caught his remaining ear -- he swept it backward, turning his head in time to see Laika tagging him. a smile of relief creased his lips -- he hadn't wanted to be out here alone, and it was nice to have the company. he paused, waiting for her to catch up. "hey," the boy greeted, glancing into the pierce of her blue-green eyes with his own golden stare.

he moved on at a slow pace, walking quietly across the dead bugs on the ground and the dried twigs that littered the earth. ever so often he paused to take the scent on the air, but he found little in way of food. however, water he did smell, and he grinned at Laika. "thirsty?"

he led the way down a steep bank toward a stream running over shelves of rock, though the earth at either side was churned mud and pebbles. he stood at the edge watching it intently, hoping to spot a frog or a fish.

:3

Laika smiled as he greeted her, giving him a chuff of greeting. "Hey." She repeated. The two padded together in silence as they made their way thrugh the rubble that mostly consisted of dirt and dead twigs. Finally, Casmir broke the silence, asking her if she was thirsty. He began to move before she could reply, so she didn't, following after him quickly. They reached the beautiful stream, and the soft babble evolved into a quiet gurgle. The water splashed upon and along a carpet of rocks, creating an elaborate display. The she-wolf was indeed thirsty so she padded up to the bank, lowering her head to let her pink tongue shoot out, lapping up a few droplets before rising again. She turned to gaze a her surroundings, peircing blue eyes dragging along each and every bare trunk. She noticed a deeper pool further downstream and nodded her head in that direction. "There may be some fish down there," She suggested. She didn't know if he was on his way to hunt, but she knew that was what she was here for in the first place, so why not try?

i figured in keeping w realism they would miss this kill ;__;

Cas watched as Laika took the first turn at the stream, her rosy tongue darting out toward the clear liquid. he was fairly focused on his tasks, but she was a welcome distraction, and he grinned secretly to himself as he stepped forward to take a drink of his own.

raising his muzzle, droplets falling from his chin, the Mayfair's eyes followed Laika's own as they roved around the area. "yes, i bet you're right." falling into step alongside her, he waited for the pale girl to lead on, and in spite of himself, glanced at her shapely hips.

Sure, sounds good.

Laika nodded one more, leading the way. Her tail swayed gently from side to side as she padded down to the the small lake. It consisted of crystal blue water, unlike anyhing Laika ever had seen before. The water shimmered as the sun's rays bounced off of it, creating a silvery surface -- not unlike Laika's pelt. Her blue eyes travelled along the outer rim, amazing by it's looks. She then crouched down, tail still, and gazed into the water, searching for any source of life. There had to be some sort of prey here! "There has to be something.." She mumbled almost to herself, but it was loud enough for him to hear too.

he walked slightly behind her -- the better to sneak looks -- but soon he turned away from that and stared at the wide crystalline expanse of water that spread before the pair. "whoa," he breathed, stooping down with Laika to peer into the clear basin.

trout, fat and shimmering, flipped in the depths -- the boy's stomach clenched with hunger and his mouth watered. instead of speaking, he nudged her, motioning that he was going to move around to her other side -- maybe they could work in a pincer movement and capture lunch.

Laika's skin tingled where he nudged her and she watched him as he moved to her other side. Finally, the female caught sight of the fat trout twisting and swimming about in the depths of the body of water. She wore a troubled look as she gazed down into the water, staring past her reflection into the deep blue bottom. "How are we going to do this?" She wondered aloud, turning her blue gaze to Casmir. Maybe he has fished before and knew how to do this. Laika has definitely never, ever done this before in her life. 

She reached forward and dipped her paw into the surface, testing the temperature of the water. The temperature was fine, but that didn't matter anymore for the fish noticed the movement and had darted away. Despair flooded Laika, her stomach grumbling. "Oops." However, the fish soon came back, but they were obviously more alert. Well that just lowered their chances. She shot Casmir an apologetic look. 

Oh Laika, she's clueless about this kind of stuff. :D

lol at laika

he had just started to creep around the back of her -- fine, he looked again, he was a rump man, apparently -- when the girl reached out to dip one delicate paw into the water. the ripples spread across the surface of the lake and the fish darted away in a scared shoal. they returned, but hung just out of reach.

Cas gave a lengthy sigh of long-suffering and flopped on the bank, but he couldn't be angry with Laika. "you're lucky you're cute," he chuckled, shooting her a glance. "c'mon. maybe we'll have better luck in the forest." he stood as he spoke, pausing to let her accompany him before moving back up the bank into the shadow of the bared trunks.

Laika frowned and grumbled as she stood, turning towards him. She smirked at his words, taking it lightly, although she held a lingering thought at the back of her mind. She accompanied him into the forest, walking at his side and glancing around. Maybe, just maybe there would be something around. "We have pretty low chances of finding prey here too.." She growled in frustration then turned to him. "You seem to have some knowledge of hunting fish?" She began, jumping to yet another topic. She wanted to know if he was skilled enough to teach her. She needed to learn those skills now that most other prey was gone. She kept her blue eyes hopeful and bright, watching him as she waited for a reply.

she seemed frustrated -- the anger lit her eyes prettily, and he stared at her for a second before gibbering a belated reponse. "oh! um! yeah. yeah, i do." my mommy taught me! his mind sneered at himself, before he squashed the self-mockery and nodded. "do ... do you want me to teach you?" he asked, stumbling a bit -- there was a question in Laika's eyes but he didn't quite understand what it was.

his gaze traced the features of her face as he waited for the Creek wolfess to respond -- she was finely made, shy despite the direct brightness of her gaze.

Laika gave a warm smile. "Well, as you witnessed, I am absolutely horrible at fishing, so yeah, maybe you could teach me?..."  She trailed off, shooting him a quizzical glance as his eyes seemed to be locked on her face. Once again, she took it lightly, continuing on in her speech. "I need to learn because of the scarcity of land prey. This might be Silver Creek's biggest food source and I want to be able to participate in helping feed the pack as much as possible. So if you do have the time, that'd be great." 

She finished and gave him another smile - this one sheepish. Usually she was one of the better hunters but when it came to aquatic prey she failed horribly. She studied him for his reaction, eyes wide -- like usual.

why were her eyes so wide? they were like twin pools of questioning -- Casmir suspected he could drown in them. Laika's voice formed a sweet backdrop for his questing thoughts -- the exhaustion of the march, the founding of the pack, and the duties he had taken onto himself suddenly fell heavily upon his shoulders, and he tore his gaze away, trying to remember what she had said while trying to avoid a yawn.

"uh, yeah, fishing! fishing. i can teach you, sure thing," he stammed awkardly. "so we should go back down to the lake, yeah? maybe at a different angle. the shallows are the best place to start," he explained, moving back down the embankment.

Laika grew a bit worried about him. He had gone from sure footed and confident to awkward and stumbling upon his words. Was asking to be taught something a bad thing? "Are you okay? We don't have to start now. We can do this later." She informed him as she followed the male down the river. She felt guilty. Had she caused this? She didn't know. Her eyes narrowed in thought, very different that the once wide eyed girl she had been.

She kept close to his heels, following him into the shadows. She protested no more in fear the fish could hear her. She didn't want to ruin this again. Wait.. could fish hear?

she followed behind him, piping with concern -- Cas' ears burned beneath the dark fur with embarassment that he'd acted like such a spazzy nutcase in front of her. "nah, i'm good, i'm good," he assured her, circling around the lake at a slow trot. "just tired." that was always an excuse, right? now that he wasn't directly facing Laika, his neglected stomach twisted with a hunger pang and he paused to let her come alongside him if she wanted. 

"first, you gotta wade into the shallows, like this," the boy stated, padding into the shallows until the cool water lapped above his ankles. "and then, you have to wait." he looked at his pallid companion and chuckled. "fishing is mostly waiting."

Laika padded after Casmir, taking the chance to come alongside him as she walked to the bank of the pond. He waded in, explaining to her what he was doing and why. She copied as best she could, stepping into the shadowy water as quietly as possible. She stopped when the water lapped at her legs just above her ankles, tugging at her white locks. She watched the liquid for a couple moments before turning back to Casmir, listening to more of his explanation. 

Suddenly, she grew worried again. She knew that most of fishing was waiting, but it was nearly impossible to go for a decent period of time without making a noise. She leaned over to the grey wolf to make sure he could hear her. "Can fish hear things?" She whispered, just in case the fish were listening in now. They could be more intelligent than she thinks.

she liked to talk, didn't she? Casmir raised his head from where he had been staring intently into the water and grinned at Laika and her stage whispering. "i think they feel more than anything," he stated, for that was how he had been taught. "keep your legs still and your voice low. they'll come." 

as if on cue, a smaller trout finned lazily toward the pair, cutting a ripple in the water. the Mayfair boy didn't try to catch it, but cast a look to his pretty compadre, one corner of his mouth quirking in a 'go for it' smirk.

For the hunt, Laika rolled a 5. (I'll add the link later, I'm on my phone and it won't let me. >:p

Laika nodded and turned back to the water. As if Casmir was magical, a small but fat trout swam its way towards them, completely oblivious of the danger it's in. She fought the urge to crouch down, for that would cause ripples and lowered her head little by little as she watched it. She glanced quickly at Casmir and caught his smirk, immediately understanding the message.

She leaped. She was one of the better hunters in the pack, she used her skills with land prey with aiming at the fish. She sailed across the gap separating her and the fish with surprisingly graceful movements and landed back into the water were the fish is. Well... was. She forgot the fish could see the shadow of her body coming toward it, and feel the ripples of her lifting off and landing back down. The scaly skin of the aquatic animal brushed her paws and whacked her legs as the slippery body got away. "Fuck!" She snarled, her angry side getting the better of her. Her blue eyes were wild with frustration as she looked back at Casmir. "Sorry."

her body arced, a graceful white bow against the transluscent blue of the water, but the fish escaped, having spotted her slim, pretty shadow moments before she struck down upon it. Casmir chuckled, though his stomach clawed at itself again. "good try, Laika!" her swear interested him; he'd kept it reined in because of her nearness, but maybe he could cut back a little too.

"fuckin' bastards," he drawled, suddenly overcome with sleepiness. the boy turned and loped up the bank, suddenly struck with a horrid weight of sleepiness. "god, i'm beat," he complained, settling down against the broad trunk of an aspen tree.

Laika couldn't help but smile as he added his own input. The silver female didn't swear all to much, but she definitely did sometimes. She followed suit as he loped up the bank and mustered a few words before lounging against the trunk of a tree. Laika wasn't too tired, but she settled down on her stomach a few feet away, deciding to stay with him. Maybe she could try to hunt more while he rested, but for now she would stay put. 

A long one sigh escaped her maw and her blue eyes narrowed and she rested her delicate head on her paws. She glanced at Casmir in amusement. He did look exhausted. "What happened to you?!" She joked. "You just hit a wall didn't you?"

he folded his forelegs under him and yawned, blinking toward Laika. "yeah, man," he mumbled. "guess it happens when you are hungry and patrol your ass off hunting." he managed a half-hearted smile before lying his chin on the ground, gaze flicking sideways at his hunting companion. "don't be a stranger," Cas jested, referring to the space she'd put between them, and if he was being honest, a strange little flame licked at his heart when he thought of her pale fur against his dark coat.

but he wasn't being honest, and told himself he was just cold. in the warmth of spring.

Laika chuckled as he complained about how much he patrolled. Honestly, She didn't patrol enough. "Maybe you should take me with you next time you patrol. I'll try to scare the fish away for you, and then maybe you won't be as tired." She joked, her tail thumping against the ground and her blue eyes twinkled with amusement. When he jestured for her to scoot closer, she did, but not too much. Their fur gently brushed as she readjusted her position, tail still thumping upon the dirt as she closed the gap between the two until they were less than a couple inches apart. The two lay in silence for a couple moments before Laika spoke again. "So... What's you're background Mr. Casmir?" She just wanted to know more about him in general. Something about being here and talking with him made her feel like nothing she'd ever felt since Zaavier was around. She was perfectly content sitting here beside him and listening to him speak, but she kept on telling herself that it was just because they were good friends!

she moved closer and he smiled at the warmth of her fur before lapsing into a doze. Laika, however, didn't seem keen on that, and so he pulled himself together attentively. "my family lives on the coast. donnelaith. my parents are the leaders. they came from a place farther inland, though, called blacktail deer plateau." there. that was his entire history, as concise and pointed as he could make it. 

"what about you?" he asked politely, though his lids were screaming to drop over his eyes and let him sleep, even just for a siesta-length. if he was lucky, Laika would be brief too, as pretty as her voice was.

Laika could tell that he was tired, and his briefness proved her theory. She decided she'd be brief herself, to spare him from falling asleep as she droned on about her rather uninteresting past -- at least it was uninteresting to her. So, she opened her mouth to reply. 

"I wasn't born in the Teekon Wilds. I grew up by the Great Lakes." She doubted he knew of them, for she hardly had any knowledge of them herself. "I was cast out, travelled for a while, and settled down here." She said without much emotion. It didn't bother her too much anymore. She didn't feel the remorse or unhappiness she once did. She just felt hatred toward her parents and her former pack, but she masked it well. She rarely thought of them anyways. 

She reclined to one side so her soft belly fur faced him. She didn't want to squash Casmir against the tree anyways. A long sigh escaped her lips as her blue eyes fluttered closed. "You better rest," she muttered to him, although that probably wasn't needed. Maybe she would even rest for just a little while. The mixture of the sun upon her fur and the steady sounds of Casmir's breathing relaxed her. She lay there to rest, but she never really drifted into a full slumber.