Blacktail Deer Plateau When we were kings

Well, it was finally time to do something he had put off for far long enough. Wintering winds were already starting to blow and the nights were swiftly growing colder. Dante really needed to pick a densite somewhere. He'd lived here long enough that it should have been done long ago, but as a habitual creature he hadn't taken the time to make the change.

Currently he was scoping the central forest of the plateau, wanting to be within easy calling distance of all edges. He'd found a couple of promising spots but was starting to enjoy the search, so he kept on. Once he found a good spot he'd set to work hollowing, widening, and reinforcing. Dante was not a small wolf, so the time spent doing so may be considerable.

Enter creeper Kaihra :D Figured she had to meet Dante one day or another!

Kaihra had been spending more time away from the Plateau. Though she'd been drawn to the land in the summer months, the arrival of colder days paired with the land's uncanny resemblance to the one she'd left behind reminded her too much of home. So the dark woman took to wandering the flatlands, searching for prey beyond their borders and only delving into the territory's heart when she had meat to store in their common caches.

Such was her aim today as she slipped among the Plateau's trees, stripped naked by the recent autumn gales. The legs of her catch dragged through the fallen leaves, a skinny hare she'd brought down earlier that morning. It was nothing spectacular, but since her fishing failure at the river, she'd kept her paws firmly on land. Skinny hares seemed to be the most abundant prey these days. She imagined they would only get thinner.

She moved through the trees in silence, but soon her ears turned at the sound of movement and she flashed her gaze to the right. Catching a glimpse of furry movement through the spaces between the trunks, Kaihra lowered herself on instinct, unwilling to be seen until she identified the other. Her habitual departures from the Plateau had rendered many of her days to be ones spent alone, and she had come to lack the social graces that seemed to come so naturally to her packmates even more. So Kaihra remained hunched behind the trees, watching him through calculating eyes and hoping for the wind to blow her way so she could identify the packmate who travelled nearby.

sorry dear! I'm falling behind in a big way. Thanks for joining!

Dante was completely oblivious as he walked past Kaihra, unaware that he was being watched as he searched for a new resting place. If possible, he hoped to find one near Blue Willow's as well. Having the leaders in one location would make it easier for the pack to seek them out and it would also allow Dante to help once the pups came. A fact he was both excited and terrified for. Pups were something he hadn't had much exposure to... At all. Only Junior and her kin and they had been older.

He caught sight of a rocky protuberance and made his way towards it, circling the base of the stony form that jutted out a short ways from the Plateau floor. It was short and wide, and initially Dante did not think that it posed any potential. However, a closer inspection showed that the right side of the stone was not embedded in the earth below. With some digging he could hollow out a nice little sheltered nook beneath it.

Making a mental note, he inspected the space a bit more, wondering if the stone would shift at all with the weather. It looked solid enough, but he may have to think of a way to test that theory.

You and me both! D: Please let me return your apology with one of my own D:

The wind did not favour her position, but through the boughs she caught a better glimpse of him and she soon placed a name: Dante. She shifted her weight, taking from his stance he had not noticed her yet, and gently placed the hare on the ground. She took a moment to nose a pile of soggy leaves over the prey before turning her attention back to the man and the trail he'd left through the barren trees.

Kaihra did not have to steal far before she came across him again, circling a jutting stone. The rock didn't look like anything of interest, but from his entrancement Kaihra felt a sparking curiosity and she hunkered down again. Having little bravado for grand entrances, and not knowing the man enough to disturb him, she resigned to watch from a distance. If he sensed her presence there, Kaihra imagined she could slip away easily enough. The desire to be with her packmates grew stronger the more time she spent out of their presence, but so did the aversion to their contact. So she simply watched, half aware of their lives and certain they remained none aware of hers, convincing herself she wouldn't want it any other way.

Dante continued studying his potential densite, liking it more and more as he did so. With a sudden motion he leapt atop the lower end of the flat stone, making his way to the raised end and leaning down to put some weight on it. It did not budge and inch. Satisfied for the moment, he hopped back down with a dull thump, stretching after he did so. He would dig out the space later and perhaps reinforce the stone roof with some additional rocks if they could be found. For now he would check out a couple of other areas, but this one showed the most promise.

First, however, Dante looked out into the surrounding trees. He could see nothing, but the fur along his back prickled with the uneasy feeling that the shadows contained a spectator. "Hello?" He stated as a response, the question an obvious request for whoever it was to reveal their presence. And if it was no one, well, there would be no one to know of his folly would there?

With keen eyes she traced his movements, attempting to gather from his antics the purpose for his behaviour on the jutting rock. Certainly not hunting, or searching for herbs. As for patrolling, she imagined the stone would prove a lousy lookout. There wasn't much height to the outcropping, and Kaihra could count a dozen better places to survey the land than from atop this unformidable rock. She imagined Dante could, too.

But these speculations were quick to vanish when Dante gave a sudden look her way, and Kaihra pressed her belly against the forest floor. From the question in the greyscale's voice the dark woman surmised the man had not seen her. Good. She still had chance to slink away. But something rooted her there, that inconvenient desire to be with her packmates, and wouldn't you know it would show up the moment she'd been stalking the leader of her pack?

A grunt escaped her throat and she froze, cursing herself silently with the hope he'd not heard her slip.

A soft grunt in the direction if his sights did indeed clue him in to the fact that someone was there. They had not made themselves known yet, though, and Dante scented no threat amongst the familiar plateau scent. Not one to intrude on his packmates' space unless absolutely necessary, he therefore held back, simply looking for a moment.

Finally he turned. "If you wanna keep hidden that's fine. But you know I don't bite right? Least not usually." He shook his head, bemused. Perhaps they were playing with him? Or maybe they were hiding from another? He couldn't think of why any in the pack would wish to stay hidden from him, but then, there were a couple he did not know well.

A soft fear churned her belly, despite the geniality that laced Dante's words. She lingered a moment, awaiting his approach - but his approach never came. He remained in the clearing, and she in the cover of the brush, concealed in shadow and evergreen leaves. Reason's quiet voice told her to just stand up, but a stubborn protest rose within, one which drowned reason and froze her body to the ground. A heartbeat passed, then another, and still no movement she made.

Yet in that moment she made her choice. Impulsive and foolish and against better judgment she drew away, ensuring every back pedal fell silent upon the ground.

No further sound was made, nor did any approach. Once again Dante tasted the air, but no foreign scent pervaded. Apparently whoever for whatever it was had no interest in him, for one reason or another, and he hoped it had little to do with him personally. He hated to think one who dwelled on his lands would fear or feel intimidated by him. That was not the type of rule he wished to hold.

With a small shake of his head he let it go, turning his attention once more to his potential den and to assessing the shelter it would provide in the coming days of cold.