Neverwinter Forest In A Week

Song filled the air as spring finally blew in. The ground littered in spines softened her steps as the ghostly female lightly trotted her way through the darkened forest of pines shadow. Pine pricks jabbed into her plush pads, already she missed the soft snow, but the chill in the air clung as the pines barricaded the sun from reaching below - for now.

There was no rhyme or reason behind her trail, with no home to call her own, no family or leader to wait for her - the young damsel simply followed the same path as a little colourful bug. Wings as large as paws, colours unbelievably bright and light as it glided in the air in a wild dance. Traces of a smile graced her pale lips as she padded quickly behind the insect.

@Arcturus Open for anyone to join! I swear, I'm more creative once my characters get more settled into a site lolol bear with me.

arcturus did not notice the bug that reiko stalked, but he did notice her. she seemed to pass through the pine-forest like a pale clad naiad, her attention wholly on something in front of her. intrigued by this, arcturus drifted closer, following in step behind her footprints at a loose trot.

after a while it became apparent she was stalking an insect, for her path was rather erratic and full of unpredictable turns and stops. annoyed by this, arcturus halted and scowled after reiko's form. "hey! what are you doing?" he could not help the faint accusatory tone that edged in his words.. what kind of wolf chased after a bug like a puppy?

Every now and then as she neared the bug, she wanted to paw at it. To touch it; but she restrained. Knowing very well that even under her lightest touch, the bug would die or at least be very uncomfortable. Oh but the temptation was there. She'd zig, and it zagged - it was fun to say the least. As if she was a pup again playing with her sister as they chased one another back in the good old days. 

"Hey!" The call immediately caught her attention, dragging her eyes from her target to the male behind her. His tone was noted, but for the time being, the young damsel in white brushed it off. Gave him a smile and responded in a very light, carefree attitude. I'm following the bug! With her response she gave a small wag of her tail, and turned her head back to where the insect was originally going... and...

Oh. Her figure slumped a little. Reiko had no intention to hide her emotions, even from a stranger. I've lost it. She turned her attention back to the stranger, eyes lighting up with excitement once more before she trotted a little closer, just by a couple steps and stopped as the words slipped from her maw.

Did you see where it went? Her tail swayed lightly again, hopeful that her chase wasn't over yet.

so, she was following a bug. arcturus' ears splayed in confusion - that was what all of her effort was for? the boy snorted just a titch judgmentally. he had been taught to preserve his energies, and not to expend it unnecessarily. to him chasing a bug was the height of unnecessary energy expenditure.

"why?" arcturus responded unhelpfully, looking past the pale yearling. he did not see the bug anymore, but even if he had, he probably wouldn't have pointed it out. not to be a jerk, but just because arcturus felt there were better things worth doing than tracking something as unrewarding as a bug.

Cyan gaze shifted from the darker male and back to where she believed the insect went, her neck stretching as she tried to do both.

"Why?" he asked. What an odd question. She was certain the answer wold be so obvious to see - but maybe this boy never did such a thing before. Because it's fun, silly. She beamed as she responded to his, as she would see, odd question. 

Think of it as... practice for the chase. She tried to explain it.  Getting the right footing, following a target, like playing tag with your siblings! Sure she didn't really see it as much more than just fun and games, but maybe this explanation would make sense to him.

because it’s fun, she explained to a rather judgmental arcturus. he did not see the benefit. a butterfly was not a bear, it could not harm you — it was slow and insipid, nothing like the prey he often stalked. he did not need a butterfly to practice his wits upon; he needed something that would test him. 

there’s better things to hunt. arcturus said with an air of finality, still scoffing at the idea of ‘fun’ and bugs being in the same sentence. maybe that’s why he was being such a wet blanket right now — he didn’t have much fun in his life.

It's not 'hunting.' She pursed her lips and pouted, this guy was being such a stick in the mud. Actually, she's had more fun with a stick in the mud than this guy was being. It's supposed to be just a fun pastime. This time she spoke mostly to herself, tone a little lower but not quite enough for him not to hear her backtalk. 

Then what is it that YOU do for fun, hmmm? She was interested to hear what this guy did for fun seeing as he had such a hard time grasping the concept of a simple game of chase the bug.

if it wasn't hunting, and it wasn't for polishing some sort of skill, arcturus didn't see the use of it. his ears folded back as the pale faerie's eyes landed on him; her lips were pursed in disgruntlement. arcturus didn't like he had a hand in that, but he was in too deep now and wasn't about to apologize for being a dick either.

what did he do for fun? arcturus scoffed at the question. "fun is for puppies." he answered stiffly, his gums curled. "i do what my family asks of me. that's what i do." was it fun? definitely not. arcturus shrugged his shoulders, glancing away with his gaze darkened by a scowl.

You're never too old for fun. Defending herself against this young man, Reiko found herself getting a little annoyed, and yet also feeling somewhat sympathetic for him. No fun anymore? That's ridiculous! You don't even play fight? She said while making the classic bow, head low with hips in the air, tail wagging so show him the stance of initiating a play.

That's so boring. If you wanna play, I won't tell anyone, I promise. Winking, she didn't want to target his upbringing or he himself and start making him feel awful. Instead, she tried to call out to the pup in him, no matter how far deep down he was buried. The boy was still here after all, maybe there was a chance for her to bring back that fun, even for a moment.

no, arcturus did not chase butterflies for fun.. or do anything fun really -- but play-fight? the woman's graceful bow caught the boy's attention, and his ears pulled forward as he swung his gaze around at her arching form.

with a growl and a snap, arcturus responded to her invitation and roiled ahead like a surging dark wave. he aimed a driveby nip at one outstretched paw, and then carried on in a thundering canter past her.

A soft curve in he lips expressed her glee that finally the young man's stoic and borish attitude had broken, even slightly from how he immediately stoped back talking, and seemed to focus on her movements. 

Her ears folded back to protect them from hard, but the smile never left her face to ensure that he would always know that she was only playing and nothing more than just a couple scrapes and bruises would become of this. 

The drive by nip had her swinging around, using the same targeted paw as a pivot point, swinging around by using her back legs to push and face him again. Immediately she bounced toward him, maw comically wide as she threatened to softly bite at a part of his face, or nape.

it only took seconds for the ostrega to shed his recalcitrant composure; maybe it was the playful smile lingering on reiko’s lips, or the need for an outlet that did arcturus in. 

she pivoted as he flew by, her teeth coming within range of his dark muzzle. pushing off with his hindquarters, arcturus performed a semi-levade, heaving a quick jawspar in reiko’s proximity before once again moving past. thus far their contact had been minimal and the play tentative, but as the seconds went by arcturus became more and more focused on rough housing.

feel free to get rough if thats what you think he'd do! she'll tell him to stop if he goes too far >w> we can end it soon if you'd like now that Rei has had her little victory of getting stoic boring Arcturus to play a little :P

To and fro, the boy was quick with his nips and Reiko tried to keep up by nipping him in return as he zoomed by, even if it was just grazing his tail. Mostly she would get a mouthful of air, but she hopped to nick him from time to time in a painless clash. After a while she tried to bump into him as he zoomed by, trying to knock him off his rhythm and get some kind of win on her part, even if it was to mess with his footing.

the pair of them whirled like little eddies; he dark of fur and quick of fang, she pale and nimble as a woodland sprite. 

time and time again their teeth cracked harmless against fur. a nip to a leg here, a rough tug of scruff there — arcturus’s breath came in heavy pants as he studied his opponent methodically, attempting to learn her preferred moves so he could counter them sooner.

they played and sparred a bit longer before arcturus tired. feeling replenished by his vigorous exercise, the boy gave one last curt playbow and made for home at a casual lope.