Silverlight Terrace angry geese, a yummy feast or invincible beast

@Dashiell- sorry for short post, just wanted to go ahead and get it up

His aches and pains were healing rather quickly, something he hadn't expected. For a moment he believed it would linger forever, but that was a silly thought. For now, the wolf was on his own again, but occasionally he would remember his joyful spar with the almighty Buffalo to cheer him up. He must return to that wolf when he gets the chance. Atticus hopped around the open field before catching a glimpse of a "v" formation in the sky and being rather confused. "Those are some tough birds being so North during the winter." 

Tough birds indeed. 

He watched as they flew above his head before becoming distracted by other things, occasionally finding a fallen feather in the snow.

ummm are you kidding me right now? short posts are my FAVORITE! 8D

Snow, snow, and more snow... snow as far as the eye could see. Dash had escaped from the forest that the Coterie wolves called home, looking to spend a few days under the open sky. But what he had forgotten about the open sky was that it snowed a lot, and that snow was especially inclined to accumulate in bare landscapes such as this one. 

Quite suddenly, a shower of geese fluttered down from the sky and settled upon the snowscape in front of Dash. The boy was quite dumbfounded (which, to be fair, happens a lot with Dash). Weren't geese supposed to fly south for the winter? Dash was pretty sure the direction that they had been heading wasn't even close to south. Whoever was in charge of that flock had fucked up bad. Unable to help his curiosity, Dash snuck closer to the group.

He continue to approach until he heard an angry, incredibly LOUD honk directly behind him. He jumped about a foot in the air and turned, coming face-to-face with a very pissed-off goose. It snapped, and Dash backed up quickly, smacking his butt into yet another goose. That one gave an even more enraged honk. Uh oh.. looks like trouble, Dash...

Atticus's interest peaked at the abrupt HONK not too far away from him. His nose then flooded with the smell of another wolf- now this he had to see. Although spying was rather improper of him, occasionally he must give in to his urges...right? The wolf galloped after the scent and not long after his journey was completed. 

Two glaciers stared in awe at the geese he had just seen flying above his head and a rather clumsy stranger being in quite the pickle. 

Lord,  he had never seen such aggressive birds! At least, he didn't recall- but then again his memory didn't go farther than the past couple of months. Were birds always this hostile? He watched for a minute, definitely entertained by the stranger's predicament. It wasn't until he realized how unseemly it was for him to gain joy out of another's problems- he must help this wolf! Just as the other's had done for him, now it was his turn to be the night in shining armor. 

He leaped forward and (mostly for show) threw his head back and sang a triumphant howl. It felt so refreshing to use his vocal cords in such a manner again. "Avast you heathens!" Atticus shouted, sprinting towards the flock of geese, expecting them all the fly away. It was quite surprising to see none of them did so and instead he was met with a bite on his tail, forcing him to squeak in pain. Any show of knightly attitude had completely faded.

More birds were gathering around Dash, trying to get a piece of him, and each time a goose succeeded a short yelp pierced the air. Gods and damnation, why the fuck didn't they just fly away? Dash lashed out at one of the feathery bodies in front of him. He missed spectacularly, and the bird fluttered its gigantic wings in anger, battering poor Dash about senseless (well, even more senseless than he was already). 

A sing-songy howl resounded, and Dash was momentarily distracted by the approach of his rescuer. His distraction was short lived, as a goose immediately took the opportunity to nip him on the flank. Dash whirled around to set upon his aggressors once more. "Yeah, heathens!" Dash yelled, lashing out wildly to the left, and then to the right. "Avast! Avast!" Gods only knew what that meant, but it sounded good to Dash.

In any other scenario besides this one, Atticus would've been touched hearing a stranger repeat his words with such passion. This was no time to dwell, though, no, quite the opposite actually. He snapped his teeth around the goose'sn neck that nipped his tail and flung it around wildly before another bird bit his toes. "Ouch!"  He squealed, before throwing the goose clenched in his jaws into the snow. 

"Damn you! Damn you to hell!" The boy shouted before stomping his feet onto the body of toe-biter and locking his frosty eyes with the demonic orbs of this feathered beast. 

It had no fear. 

Being so frightened by its gaze he forced himself to clamp down on its chest with his canines and ripping its flesh, fearing his only chance to escape this devil bird was with its demise. It didn't take long for its friends to take notice and pile onto Atticus, nipping at his coat, ripping at fur.

The newcomer seemed to be having better luck at actually killing the demonic birds, teeth connecting with flesh in a shower of blood and feathers. Dash took the opportunity to slip into the space left by the goose, so he and his mysterious rescuer could fight side-by-side. When a goose reached across Dash to bite at the stranger, Dash snapped his jaws shut around its long throat.

He bit down hard, only releasing the dead goose when one of its comrades began an excruciating attack on his rump. Dash whirled around to meet his assailant. He and the other wolf were now fighting back to back, like true brothers-in-arms.

The connection he felt with this stranger was similar to the buffalo and his old friend Jack, but truly no link is as strong as two brethren fighting the same beast! The companionship sparked his energy throw these demons back to the hell they flew out of. 

Once he was truly sure the devil bird with no fear was dead, he focused on the others. His gums peeled back as he snarled, flailing his head around and barking intensely at the imps. One took flight, aiming for his brothers head. In a flash, Atticus leaped in the air, snatching its webbed, rubbery foot within his jaws and bashing it onto the ground.

The rapid flutter of wings behind Dash's head caught his attention, and he turned with the full expectation of coming face-to-face with another snapping beak. Instead, the stranger pulled the goose away from him by its foot, and it toppled forward onto the ground. Dash pounced upon it, making short work of the horrible creature. 

Now that four of their comrades were dead, the other geese seemed to be backing off a little. The circle around the two wolves had widened a bit, and the nips seemed to be coming less frequently. "C'mon, all of you scared?" Dash taunted, because he was just that much of an idiot. He snapped at the air in front of a goose for good measure, and it hopped backward. "Ha!" Dash crowed triumphantly.

Atticus stared in awe, had they truly beaten the feathered beast? Suddenly, a realization hit him- this was his moment, the only true moment he could speak the famous words. He gulped, readying himself for such an occasion-

"Get outta here!" He threatened, his voice teaming with the accent of an overly annoyed New Yorker (like he knew what that was.) His thunderous comment and snapping of his comrade finally scared the remaining geese, all hisses and waddling away before finally taking flight. 

Atticus fell to the ground, his back against the bloodied and feathered snow. Breathing deep breaths of relief, he glanced at his new brother in arms. "I'm Atticus, and you are?"

The stranger bellowed out his threat, sending the rest of the geese on their merry way. Dash just looked at the man in awe, deeply impressed by the show of vocal power. He was impressed by everything about the other guy, honestly. The dude had jumped into the fight seemingly without a single thought for his own self-preservation-- the sheer bravey of it was staggering to Dash. If their roles had been reversed, Dash probably would have just sat his happy ass on the sidelines and enjoyed the show. 

His companion flopped down into the snow, and Dash followed suit. "Dash," he answered through his panting. "You really saved my ass, Atticus." Thank the gods the name was a fairly easy one... some of the wolves Dash had met here lately had the most godsdamned complicated names.

The boy laughed, rolling over as he did so before shaking his head.  "Are we the biggest wimps on the planet or the greatest heroes?" He questioned, glancing at his newfound brother with confused, but amused eyes. He stood up and dismissed the question before it could be answered. "I don't wish to know the true answer behind it, let's just bask in the victory over the devil's spawn."

Dash. The name was simple enough, nothing he would forget.  "Saved your ass? You aided me as much as I did you, brother."  He insisted.

Atticus's sunny attitude seemed to shift, much colder and solemn than before. His frosted eyes locked with Dash's. "And if they are to return, we must solemnly swear to fight alongside each other once more,"  his lips trembled before bursting into laughter and falling to the ground once more. "What a strange world is it, Dash."

Dash opened his mouth to answer the question, but truly he had no idea what he was going to say. If the choices were two seperate poles on a continuum, he had to admit that he probably fell more on the side of "the biggest wimp on the planet." Before Dash could speak, the other man dismissed the question. Dash was grateful for that. He was more than happy to take the victory for what it was, and then maybe... never speak of this again to any other living soul. 

Atticus insisted that Dash deserved just as much acclaim as he did. True, they had both fought valiantly once engaged, but Dash had really been impressed that the guy had rushed to his aid in the first place. Who even does that-- just helps a complete stranger, risking life and limb (okay, mostly just limb?) to join a fight that wasn't his own to begin with? 

Atticus fixed him with quite a serious stare, conscripting him into what sounded to be a lifelong pursuit of goose-killing as brothers-in-arms. Dash's eyes widened. He probably would have agreed to literally anything this guy proposed in this moment, short of marriage perhaps (and who knows about the marriage thing, Dash was pretty open-minded). 

But Atticus was laughing now, which presumably meant he had been joking. Dash laughed along too, pretending for all the world like he wasn't just about to dedicate his life to battling deranged geese by Atticus's side. "Sure is," Dash agreed, still chuckling. "That was really nuts. What do you think got into 'em?" Was it just a flock of outstandingly dumb birds? Were they sick or something?

His inquiry forced Atticus to ponder the answer... truly, what could've gotten into those birds? Surely this wasn't a normal occurrence, Dash's equally confused reaction was enough explanation for that. He took a deep breath, swelling on the thought, hoping to come to some conclusion or at least educated guess. Alas, there was no answer to even graze by his mind. "They were figments of the devil himself, no other explanation."  Although he wasn't religious, such a battle had to convince some part of him there were darker things than he had originally imagined. 

What to do now? Atticus was truly enamored by this new wolf, hell- he'd even ask him to be his traveling companion. However, the smells of a forming pack lingered on his coat and he didn't wish to ask such drastic favors from an acquaintance. Well, Dash was no acquaintance to him, per se, in fact much more than that. He was a brother in arms! But, how was he to make such an assumption about this practical stranger? 

"I must admit, it was an honor fighting by your side, Dash." He sent him a proud smile, similar to one a father would give his son or eldest brother to the youngest. "Tell me about yourself, what pack are you with?" Even if this was to be their last encounter, Atticus had to learn as much as he could before their inevitable departure.

Dash nodded, assuming a serious expression as Atticus provided the obvious answer. The explanation sparked a memory. "Witches can take the form of birds, you know," Dash offered, expanding upon the theory. "I fought some of those once too." Or had that just been a dream? The memory was strangely hazy. 

"Yeah, that was a blast!" Dash agreed. Now that the geese were gone and the adrenaline from the fight was surging though his system, he was feeling pretty good. The fight hadn't really been so bad, had it? 

"Pack?" Dash echoed, his confusion evident. "Oh, you mean Cyclone's thing! It's not really a pack, or.. not yet, I guess. We're all just kinda hanging out together in that forest." Dash tossed his muzzle in a vague, northeasterly gesture. 

"Would you wanna hang too?" Dash asked hopefully. It had been a while since he'd had so much fun (fun? that had been fun, right?) and he was reluctant to let his new friend go.

Although the offer was tempting- tempting enough in fact for him to pause in consideration- Atticus knew well he had plans set in place. Were they written in stone? No, not at all but a gut feeling directed back towards Shadewood like the magnetic pull north on a compass. The buffalo had given him a finally clear vision of what was to come in his life amid a seemingly infinite haze. However, Dash had provided similar vividness and that was not to be ignored. 

He frowned for what had seemed like the first since his arrival to Teekon. "Unfortunately, I have other responsibilities first." What the young wolf said still did spark his interest, he didn't seem to address this group as a pack. Hang was such a loose term that he hadn't associated with a home before. This was quite a provocative thought, but Atticus knew well that at the moment structure was of the utmost importance in his life. 

The idea of separating from his new friend was disappointing, to say the least. His frown had turned up slightly, "However, I don't plan to be very far from here- perhaps we can meet up again soon?"  To Atticus's favor, he had fur to hide any redness forming on his cheeks that might give away his sheepishness, new friends were a commodity to him and he was still getting the hang of making them.

Dash's disappointment was evident on his features. He had other responsibilities? Dash had found that subscribing to the lone wolf life had abruptly freed him of all his obligations, but clearly that hadn't been the case for Atticus.

"Sure, I'll be around," Dash agreed easily to his new friend's suggestion. He wasn't the best with making plans-- or rather, he wasn't the best at remembering the plans that he made-- but if Atticus stuck around the area, Dash had no doubt they would run into one another again.