Blacktail Deer Plateau A Stranger to This World

Kisu pushed foward, climbing the cliff in a lazy manner, though the effort it took to scale the slope was great. He had stopped at the river to drink, the cool water pulled into to his throat easily. He had enough energy to move forward, a certain wolf driving his desire. Pied had stuck in his mind, and the urge to talk to her outweighed the uneasiness of journeying into the foreign land of pack territory. They for sure had an Alpha this time, and he was unsure of the reaction that the white-and-blue dappled wolf would have toward him; her patience seemed thin the last time they had met, but this time he would possibly overstep what they had spoken about prior. He now wasn't interested in pack ideals, but in her status with a mate. He picked up his pace, head low as he moved forward in anticipation.

The trespasser did not get far into the territory before Pied—who'd spotted him from a ledge overhead—galloped down the sloping trail and blocked his path with her body. Even as she swung broadside, her head rose, her lip lifted and her tail arched. Her two-toned eyes flashed angrily and she loosed a low, threatening growl. Although she recognized the wolf, she did not give him the benefit of the doubt, especially because this was the second time she'd caught him trespassing, albeit in different places.

"Do you have a death wish, Kisu?" she asked rather brusquely. "Is your nose broken? We've moved to the plateau and you're trespassing," she pointed out to him, glaring, though her lip lowered to sheath her fangs.

Kisu cocked his head at Pied's reaction. Maybe she had only been somewhat friendly (if that was the correct term) last time because their leader had gone; but now she was completely defensive, letting a growl freely escape her throat.

"A death wish?" He pondered aloud, eyes trailing from Pied to the ground, and back. "Maybe so." His golden eyes met her mismatched ones. He felt slightly hurt that she had taken such a stance against him, but he completely understood why; he hadn't planned them meeting like this, though, so everything he had thought through internally disappeared.

"Pied," he spoke quietly, "what is your situation with a mate?" He flinched at his awkward statement, but figured it was better to get it out in the open. His ears flattened against his head in a moment of shame. It had seemed like such a good idea in his head while talking to Ame. What did he expect, to sweep her off of her feet? She was a wolf in a pack and didn't need him.

ooc: I really wanted to put "and she don't need no man!" hahahaha

He seemed genuinely perplexed, perhaps even hurt, by her defensiveness. The tone of his voice softened her even more and she let her rigid tail fall a few notches. She felt particularly protective of the plateau because of its recent establishment and her own promotion to a sub-leader position. She intuited that Kisu was of no threat, though; his blunder was that he was oblivious.

When he voiced a question, Pied blinked and stiffened all over again. "Excuse me?" she questioned softly, feeling both mildly offended and strangely awkward about the personal nature of the question. Yet, seeing the flinch and the shame in his eyes, she relaxed again and added, "Talk about a non sequitur, Kisu. Why do you ask?"

His ears, still flat, raised slightly in her momentarily relaxed demeanor. She seemed taken off guard by his question, which was something that he had expected. His tongue came from his mouth and licked his chops in nervousness; Kisu was not an anxious wolf in the least, but this female made something jump in him. Something he hadn't felt since his mate had been killed long ago.

"Pied--I--" He cut himself of and sighed in frustrated. His head bowed for a split second before he sat, making himself straighten his spine. Kisu refrained from covering his face with his paw. He was making a fool of himself -- born and raised a warrior, he should have been ashamed. "Pied, I have come to ask you to be my mate." He pushed the words from his mouth quickly and with false confidence. There, now it's out there.

Even as the question left her lips, Pied became suddenly suspicious. As she watched him fidget, comprehension fully dawned on her. She experienced a mix of emotions, from mortification to incredulity to bemusement. Is this real life? she found herself wondering, her lips parting slightly in a silent expression of bewilderment when he eventually spat out the question.

Pied struggled with what to say and how to react. Finally, a single word unwittingly popped out of her mouth: "Why?" As it hovered on the air between them, her brow arched quizzically. They hardly knew one another and did not even live in the same pack. What on earth had compelled him to come seek her out and ask him to be his lifelong companion?

He felt a rush of adrenaline as he watched her reaction. Kisu moved his head back in shock. "Why?" Why? He let silence fall for a moment.

"You are unique; everything about you. I like that you are different -- like it seems that there is something ethereal about you. There seems to be a glow in your aura, and wherever you go it stays. You are a balance between kind but protective, something that many wolves never master. And... and you are very beautiful in your quirkiness, Pied." He sighed once more, thinking about the words that just poured from his mouth. Kisu wondered if he should add more, but decided against it and nodded once to himself.

He went off on a spiel, a rather poetic one at that. Pied bit her lower lip to stop from laughing as he used his tongue like a paintbrush, painting a romantic portrait of her. You learned all of this in a single encounter? she wanted to ask but held her tongue. She felt flattered by his attention, yet Pied also felt it was misplaced.

"But you don't know anything about me, Kisu, much less everything," she pointed out, keeping her voice firm but gentle. "I'm flattered that you find me appealing but I am more than what I appear," she added, meeting his eyes to drive home her point.

Her tail switched and she shifted her weight, pondering how specifically to respond to his request. She'd never given Kisu another thought after their last encounter—which had also been their first—and simply hadn't ever entertained the thought of entering into courtship with him, much less mate-ship. Yet Pied didn't want to reject him without giving it a moment of thought, even if the situation was sort of laughably ludicrous.

"I'm going to have to decline your offer, Kisu," Pied said after a moment, then paused to let him absorb that before adding, "but I guess I wouldn't be opposed to getting to know you better. Let's start as friends, then see where that goes, if anywhere," she suggested lightly.

ooc: OH, MAN this is so great

His ears flattened once more when it seemed like she was merely amused by his response but raised again when she suggested they be friends first.

"I suppose you do have a point, about me not knowing much about you. I would enjoy being friends with you, Pied." And he hoped that it would lead to more. "I will leave you for now, then, to venture out west. Maybe we can meet up if you go scouting for your Alpha." He smiled genuinely at the blue-grey dappled female with mismatched eyes. He wouldn't give up just yet.

He took the rejection gracefully, heartened by the offer of friendship. He then abruptly announced his departure and Pied blanched at his total lack of social graces. If they became friends—or perhaps more, though she wasn't exactly putting money on that herself—she would have to help him brush up on his social skills.

"Hold on a second," she said, giving him a strange look. "What's the rush? You just got here. How are we supposed to get to know each other if you leave?" Pied questioned. She shuffled her paws to face him more directly, then sat right there on the incline. "And, for what it's worth, I have a new Alpha. Her name is Hawkeye. She's nearby if you want to speak with her," which Pied somehow doubted.

"So." Her eyes found his again and she canted her head ever so slightly. "Where do you live anyhow?"

His felt his chest grow with warmth as she ushered him to stay. He smiled again, mouth opening in an excited pant he could not contain. Kisu listened to her words carefully and then paused a moment before replying.

"Hawkeye... that is an interesting name. Does she have the eyes of a hawk?" The grey wolf paused a beat, finding that his little quip was probably right moreso than funny. He shouldn't try humor, he was terrible at finding the right words. A serious nature fit him more. "I do not have a home. I have roamed these lands for months, eating what comes along and sleeping wherever I can. I have been lucky to not starve, but I was taught great tracking and hunting skills by my father when I was young." This was the most Kisu had talked about himself since Terrapie. He usually only spoke when necessary, and his words to Ame had been short and to the point.

His silvery-golden eyes connected with Pied's and he looked away. Since when had he been a shy wolf? Should he ask something in return? He already knew where she lived -- up on this steep plateau with lots of food and fresh water nearby. An ideal home.

Pied merely shrugged at Kisu's question about her Alpha's name, figuring it to be rhetorical. She found his remarks about his home—or, rather, lack of one—much more compelling. Her brow furrowed. She could invite him to the plateau, since they could use more members, but she didn't know what that might mean regarding his pursuit of her.

Pushing aside this concern, she said, "We have room for you here if you're interested, especially if you're a good tracker and hunter." She licked her lips, pondering this information. She still harbored no particular feelings for Kisu, yet if she were to choose a mate, she would want him to be a skilled provider for their prospective pups.

"Unless," she said suddenly, "there's something out west?" She posed it like a question, then found herself asking, "How far to the west?" If Kisu left the region, Pied certainly wouldn't follow at this point, so she couldn't help but wonder if this friendship was doomed from the start.

Kisu hesitated at her suggestion of joining a pack. This is what he had wanted, wasn't it? A place to belong. And it would guarantee more time spent with Pied. "I feel like before I try to join this pack, that I should travel to the west first--" he paused "--there is a large sea that way. I saw the coast from the mountaintop. I would like to be near the water before I commit to anything.. I cannot join and then just journey on my own, for my loyalties would be to myself and not the pack at that point. I understand you cannot come with, but I hope your leader Hawkeye would be okay with us meeting now and then. I may stay here eventually, but now is not right." He smiled softly and looked down.

What am I doing? It's right here... everything I want. Am I just running, like I did from Terrapie? No. That had been different. Though, it was possible that he could lose Pied to another as well. But he felt that there was a calling for him to journey to the great body of water.

He did not want the conversation to end here, though. "Do you think your pack will migrate again, or stay here for good? And what made you follow this Hawkeye so far from Blackfoot Forest?" She must be a powerful figure to take over an old pack and make them move. He wondered if there was anything suspicious about her.

He mentioned the sea and Pied's insides clenched with sudden, unexpected and fierce nostalgia. She only vaguely listened to the rest of what Kisu said, as she was too busy imagining the shoreline back at Flightless Falcons. Until this very moment, Pied hadn't realized how much she'd missed the seaside. As images filled her mind, she felt an ache deep inside her. She could almost smell the salty air.

She snapped back to attention, her lips turning thoughtfully downward when Kisu mentioned that he didn't want to settle here just now. She then mentally backpedaled to the part where he'd suggested they meet up time and again. Pied surprised herself by feeling relieved about this. She realized she really was interested in forging a friendship with him and excited by the distant idea that, maybe, it could become something more.

"I'm sure Hawkeye won't care if we see each other from time to time," Pied replied. "I'm the Delta here, you know. Hawkeye wants me to be more, actually, but I don't know that I'm cut out for that..." She trailed off, not wanting to get onto that topic particularly. Instead, she said, "I followed her because she's my friend and we wanted to find a new place to settle. I imagine we'll be here for good, though we've found it's uniquely difficult guarding the borders of a plateau, even if the views are fantastic." She gave him a pointed look, because here he was illustrating this fact as a trespasser.

"How far away is the sea from here?" Pied wondered in the next beat. "I spent some time in my grandparents' pack and they lived by the ocean. I loved it there. I'd love to see it again someday..." Her voice trailed off again and she left that there. She hadn't known the sea was relatively close by and the information made her feel strangely restless.

Kisu smiled softly at her mention of being Delta, and the very personal part where she stated that she wasn't sure if she was cut out for more.

"I am sure if you were put into a leadership role by this Hawkeye, that you would do fine. Do not doubt yourself, Pied. You are a very strong wolf. And, though it is difficult defending against the likes of me, I am sure you will all do fine otherwise." He gave a toothy smile at the last part, eyes squinting. "And I would say the water is a day and a half trip. I will be traveling fairly quickly since I will not have anyone to weigh me down on my journey; but, I will be back to whisk you away with me so you can look upon the sea once more, Pied." The grey wolf looked into her eyes again, making sure she knew he told her the unfogged truth.

A few dozen protests jumped to her lips, yet Pied voiced none of them. It made her happy that others thought so highly of her, so much so that they didn't take her counterpoints seriously. Pied knew herself best, though. She'd seen her parents, then her grandparents, lead a pack and knew what it entailed. She didn't want that for herself, or at least she hadn't in the past. Pied knew she would have to sit down and revisit her own ambitions one of these days, to see how she felt about all of it presently. Wolves could change their minds, after all.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Kisu," Pied said. Her heart drummed excitedly when he said the ocean lay only a day or two's travels from here. Although his romanticism made her want to roll her eyes (albeit good-naturedly), she said instead, "I'd like that." Although she still wanted to found their relationship on a friendship, she found herself thinking that it would make for a good date of sorts.

Pied idly wondered if he'd bring her back a souvenir from his trip, yet of course she wasn't immodest enough to ask. She silently returned his gaze, easily managing a smile. She could see, just by the look in his eye, that he was truly taken with her. Although it still made her want to laugh, she appreciated the sincere adoration she saw on his face. It kind of made her want to flirt, though the notion was so foreign and awkward to her that she would've blushed and giggled were she a human.

"Well, the sooner you leave, the quicker you'll come back, right?" she asked after a beat, sweeping to all fours. "I look forward to seeing you again soon, Kisu, really. I think it'll be fun to get to know you," she said honestly, her tail waving lightly side to side.

ooc: I am dying over here. Mister chivalrous

Kisu's heart drummed in his chest at her mention of him returning soon. He nodded at her, then grinned at her. Moving a few steps forward, Kisu licked Pied's cheek. "I shall return, piebald wolf." He said the words gently, his promise to come back resting on them. He sunk his head low and bowed to Pied, tail flicking before he turned to walk his way down the slope of the high plateau.

He's adorable. :D

When he moved closer to her, Pied froze. For a moment, she struggled with the instinct to back away, yet she relented and allowed him to lick her cheek. She did not return the gesture, though she withdrew and gave him a quick smile. Her skin felt warm and prickly beneath her pale, splotched fur. She couldn't decide whether it was pleasant or unpleasant.

"See you later, Kisu," she said simply when he turned and loped down the towpath, already veering toward the west. Her eyes followed him until he disappeared into the distance, then Pied swung 'round and began to trot thoughtfully back to the top of the plateau.