Otter Creek Decode me

@Osprey :3

The scent of blood filled the air once Burke took down a small deer at Otter Creek. The large male was a smart hunter and had herded a group of deer onto the slippery stones of the shallow river. It didn't always work, since some jumped over the wet parts but today Burke had been lucky. One slipped and stumbled down, causing the tank of a male to grab the doe and clamp his jaws round the pulsing neck. The animal cried out but none responded. One the animal was not of his earth Burke dragged the animal on the bank. His docked tail moved proudly. It could be seen as a wagging tail.

The male licked his reddened jaws clean and started on the small doe. It seemed that it was one of last springs young. Unfortunately Burke had gotten the little doe before it turned one year in spring. Not that the brute was pitying his prey. He feasted on her organs first, the most nutritious of all meat. A guy his size needed quite some meat.

After spending some days with Peregrine and his kids at Caldera, it was time for Osprey to return home. Her nausea had finally ceased and she had been able to resume hunting and eating without having to vomitting every other moment. It was a relief, actually, because now her mind could focus on other - happier things - such as her brother's and his mate's luck this year. Their kids didn't look much different from others at this early age, yet it was endearing to observe them move, squeak, eat greedily and then sleep in a happy pile. This also had made her reconsider her earlier ideas about mateship and childbirth. The idea of having kids of her own... suddenly seemed tempting.

She was not that far away from home, when she caught a sight of a wolf feasting on a freshly caught deer. To be true, she was more interested in the prospect of stealing fresh meat, then actually getting to know the hunter himself. However, as she drew nearer, her step slowed, until she stopped few feet away from a very familiar face. "What do you know... Prince Charming..." she said loud enough for him to hear it.

Burke was eagerly eating from the carcass. His ears stayed alert for any wolves that came too close. His nose was invaded with the delicious scent of flesh and blood. Burke's stomach growled at the incoming meat. Happy to turn that into energy. The large male looked up when he heard a familiar voice. His maw smeared with blood then his head turned towards her. "My princess," he hummed with a cheeky grin. He could practically vomit if he would hear couples call each other that. But this girl, whom he didn't know her real name yet, was a special case. His pale blue eyes moved over her briefly before turning more towards her.

"We run into each other yet again," he spoke and tipped his head in a surprisingly charming way. The older male moved his pink tongue over his red stained lips. The male looked as calm as ever. It was really a talent of his to be always so reserved. It also made him a bit unpredictable. "I can be charming if I want to. I might even offer you a seat at this meal. If I would be in a nice mood, that is."

Really? Osprey raised her eyebrows at Burke returning her greeting. She didn't mind the "princess" part, but "my"? Sounded a bit possesive and quite honestly, obnoxious too. Then again they were not playing nice guys with each other and they didn't even pretend to be that way. Very honest and relieving for a change. Or - in the end - since being prone to dig deep in almost every thing, she probably saw hidden meaning, where there was none.

"Tempting," she replied, regarding the mauled and bloody corpse before Burke, then letting her gaze travel from his forepaws to his bloody muzzle. He did look horrible and there was a place to point out about table manners, but this would be a misplaced insult, since no wolf was known to be entirely clean after having a good meal. "But I will decline, even if you were in a good mood to offer me something," part of this statement was a blunt lie, but he didn't have to know that.

"You know the tale of the poisoned apple? Harmless in the beginning and yet so deadly in the end... it warns you not to accept food from strangers," a kid's tale, of course. "And I can't tell yet, if you are good or bad."

Burke frowned at the female's words. He wasn't such a bad guy that he would actually poison it for another wolf. He would kill by combat not some innocent like this grey female across from him. "I do know that tale," he returned shortly and in that calm tone he always had. "And how you expect me to poison this while I've ready eaten from it. I am not that quick," he returned and snorted. He wondered why he brought out annoyance with the female. Had his first impression been that bad. Probably.

"I am actually not that bad, but you probably don't believe me if I say that myself," Burke spoke. He was actually not that bad of a guy, surely he had his moments where his want for something was bigger than his manners but was not a total psycho. He was calm of mind. "I think everyone is more grey than white of black," he returned. "No one is pure white. No one."

It wasn't that Osprey thought Burke being any worse than other random strangers she had met in her life. She teased him for teasing's sake and enjoyed the role of being the nasty and evil person herself. Everyone needs a way to spice up their mundane life somehow - and this gray brute just happened to be such case. No hard feelings or prejudices here. Just fun on expense of the other.

"Well, the storybook tells that the witch ate from the same apple and didn't get poisoned," she pointed out in an annoying know-it-all fashion. Silly little Snowhite. "But quite honestly," she sat down and set bad jokes aside, "would you mind me taking a bite? I might as well die, but I would be happy and not hungry at least." She added with a good natured grin.

Burke moved from his sitting position into a laying position, a very relaxed laying one. The large male was satisfied with what he had eaten so far. He disliked having his stomach overly full, it made him sick. For a large guy he ate surprisingly less than you would think he would eat. "I know there a rumors of my alpha doing magic and witchcraft but I am not that magical," he pointed out and smirked a bit.

The large male looked over his fresh kill. "I don't mind. You can have it," he spoke calmly. Only because he thought she was pretty okay. That didn't happen often and he wasn't going to tell her that. The gesture was more than enough. He shared his food after all. This female was different in a way that she talked back, or went along in his teasing by teasing him back. Burke liked that. "Aren't you lucky you ran into me?," the male grinned, he couldn't help it. He had to say at least something.

"Is that so?" Osprey quirked an eyebrow in response to Burke telling her that his alpha was known for doing witchcraft and magic. If there were really rumors going around, then she had not heard them. Not the least. So either he lived very far away, which was ot impossible, but unlikely or this leader had not done anything that grand to have her famous accross the wilds. Like turn all the unlucky visitors or trespassers in her territory into pigs. Like in an old Greek story her father had told her once.

She then went over and tore a piece from the carcass and with it in her jaws, she retreated in a safe distance. She lied down, putting the chunk of meat between her forepaws, beginning to gnaw on it, while listening to what Burke had to say with one ear. "Oh, how am I ever going to repay you..." she said in sarcastic voice at the same time managing to sound a little bit friendly.

Burke slowly nodded with that smirk on his face. When he traveled to Teekon it had been like that. Maybe the wolves closer to Black Feather would know it wasn't true. Burke wasn't going to find out. He was quite comfortable in Black Feather ranks to leave them again. There was something now about the large male. The red paw print on his shoulder. He was a dark brother now. Not just any member but one who had an extra secret club. There were several ranks, assassin, spy or priest. He might go for the priest. Priest Burke. He liked the sound of that. "Well, those are rumors, I cannot confirm or deny if she is really practicing witchcraft." Although his alpha did seem good with herbs.

The large male studied how the female got closer and moved away from him once more. Somehow it amused him. It told him that the female indirectly might be intimidated by him. Burke's pink tongue licked over his lips. "I can think of a few things," he grinned. "But, for now. It is a gift from me. I would not want my verbal sparring partner to die of hunger," he bantered back, the lighter dots on his brow wiggling up and down.

"Verbal sparring partner"... Osprey lifted her head, studied the male's face for a while and repeated the combination of words in her mind few times and found this expression fitting to their relationship or whatever it was that was transpiring between them. Even though she didn't know the fellow that well, nor did she like him too much, she had to admit that tossing insults and "smart words" at each other was fun. She was enjoying herself.

"So, where are you exactly from?" she asked, shortly before leaning down to chew a bit of skin and fat from the piece of meat she has taken. If they were having a dinner together, then they might as well could have a bit of civil conversation.

Burke shifted his hind legs from under his belly so he was starting to hang more towards his side. His pale eyes casually glanced at the female. He liked that he could just verbally spar with this lady, without needing an actual sparring session because he offended her with his words. The large male looked like a warrior but he didn't always fought his way out of things. The tank of a male was ambitious, yes, but a tad lazy too. "Well, I am from Black Feather Woods. How about you?," he spoke, curious to see her reaction. They had a reputation after all.

He wanted to add that he wasn't one of the crazy ones, but then again, if he would say that the female would probably think he was crazy after all. Burke rubbed his front paws at bit against his muzzle and even tried to rub the side of his head against his paws. The drying blood was clotting his fur. It was the same thing when mud dries. On his legs he was fine but on his head Burke disliked it. That was the only downside. He missed grooming sessions, which he was ver secretly a sucker for.

The name "Blackfeather woods" didn't ring a bell to Osprey and, even if Burke had added that he was not one of the "crazy ones" it would have meant nothing to her either. Just words. Whether there was some truth behind them or not, didn't matter. They would probably not meet each other again. Come to think of it... just like last time. Oh, well... fate was something that played with you rather than other way round.

She didn't reply right away, being busy with chewing, tearing the meat bit by bit and pausing a little every time she gulped it down, waiting for it to pass to the stomach. "Well... I am the hag of a forest," she said with a mischievous grin, leaning her head down to have a sniff at her paws that were now covered with blood. "Can't tell which one though. People are known for hunting witches down and burning them," she added.

Burke didn't seem to get such reaction from the female. Maybe she didn't even know it. That would be really strange. Had this female been living under a rock? Probably. Burke didn't believe that she had not heard about it. She was just keeping herself very reserved while her female brain was rattling. That was how Burke saw it. "Oh should I call you Miss. Hag now?," he returned with a playful grin. She made herself out for a hag, why not.

"So now you are the witch? Haha, that is hilarious," he returned. "Show me some magic." burke didn't believe in that stuff at all and he was petty sure that the female was just having their friendly banter again to tease him. He didn't mind it was a nice distraction. Plus it would be interesting to see what she came up with.

"Hag will be fine, thank you," Osprey replied and swallowed a piece of fur the wrong way. It imediately got her coughing and gasping for breath. Seconds later the situation resolved and she spat out the offending piece on the ground. After giving it a nasty look, she turned her head to face Burke and give a proper answer to his request.

"It always amazes me that, whenever people hear the word "witch" they consider that they are going to wave a magic wand or click their teeth and make things happen," there was slight annoyance in her voice. "We are not fairies and magic can not just "happen". It has various forms and ways of expression and each witch beholds only one power to work with," she explained. "I come up with stories. That's my magic," she finished, giving the man a challenging look, as if saying - Can you do that?

That was actually my fault and not Burke's for seeing hag as a witchcraft/magic xD

Burke looked up when the wolfess seemed to choke on something, it raised his awareness level into one that was more alert. Since he was laying on his tummy the male crawled a bit closer, just a meter or so to look if she was doing okay. When she did the male placed his head on the ground, his pale eyes looking up giving the female a quite adorable look. Who knew he could look adorable? Burke was convinced he could not look cute. But in that moment he totally did.

"People huh? I thought we were wolves," he returned, smirking a bit as his chin was still resting against the ground. He raised it after the little challenge she put in her words. She still made him have his attention. How interesting. She was interesting in some way. "How kind of you to reveal that part about yourself," Burke returned with a hum on his tongue. "I'm afraid I do not have that magic. You have the power in that," the big male fairly admitted. What was his magic? Killing others, no. He was not quick to kill another. Was staying calm a magic power. "Tell me a story then," he returned, so he could think about his own magic.

ooc: well, I use "hag" as a more everyday word for "witch". I might be wrong, of course, but you got it right.

Osprey was a little confused by Burke's remark about people and wolves. Having never seen the Odd two-legged ones in her life, she used this term to refer to her kind. Each of them were a sentient being, a person, therefore people as a general term. Only a bit too late did she realize that in her rush to correct the gray brute's misassumptions about witches she had involuntarily revealed some details about herself. This was neither good, nor intended, but she would have to live with this and be more careful the next time. The last thing she wanted to have him nosing around the Blacktail deer plateau.

"Don't say that," she countered his idea that he beheld no magic at all. "Everyone does, they might simply not be aware of it," she shrugged, realizing that this was probably the first nice thing she had told him. "Well, that's not easy. What do you want to hear about?" Osprey let him have a moment of thought, while she quickly finished her meal and lied down too to wash her paws and muzzle clean.

Oh like Witch as in 'Uch such a witch', like mean person? XD Also loving this thread so much. You have no idea! :D

Burke had seen the two legged and their weird transportation devices. When he traveled from Alaska to Canada and when he came from Canada to Teekon. Burke felt indifferent about them only that they were very strange and called people. He figured the female knew that, but by her expression she might not have. "There is a kind, it walks on two legs. Most wolves refer to them as people, or humans. I thought you meant those," the large male explained.

Slowly a grin turned on his muzzle. "Awww. You think I am magical. Adorable," he returned. "I must have some magic, yes, yes. I meant I did not have the same magic you have. I am currently thinking about what my magic could be," Burke spoke. The masked male then realized that he was really protective. He patrolled every day and the wolves he did grow close to he would protect with his life. Kove, Meldresi, maybe even one of her pups. Burke was amazed that he just realized this. "I think my magic is protecting. At least, the ones I feel the need to have my protection."

Burke glanced at the female and noticed there was still some blood by the bridge of her nose. "You still have some blood-- um there," he pushed his paw to the bridge of his own nose. He wasn't sure if her tongue could reach that. "Are you sure you are done eating? There is still some left?" The large male then started thinking about what kind of story he wanted to hear. "Hmm. Can you tell me a story about.. me?," he asked, curiosity in his voice.

Light PP about the blood on her nose, tell me if it is unwanted :3

ooc: a hag the same as witch that can do magic. :D

Burke went on filling the gap in Osprey's knowledge about humans, by explaining, what they were. For a person, who believed all kinds of mad and impossible theories, her expression was a little too skeptical. Either because she didn't trust this guy one bit (and the fact that he had played a prank the last time didn't help much in changing this opinion), or because the description was too vague to make anything out of it. They could be trolls or devils or elves or something like that as well. He simply did not have enough imagination to be creative about that.

"You are so full of yourself," she rolled her eyes, when Burke considered her previous statement as a compliment to himself. On the other hand - maybe she was wrong in her assumptions and the man didn't hear that much of praise often. Not that he needed to boost his self-confidence. It was evident, that he had plenty of it at the moment. "And still you are far away from home now, how can your magic work, if you are not near anyone to protect?" she just had to do it, point out at the obvious. She didn't count herself as the one in need of protection.

"Really?" she asked, trying to focus her gaze on the bridge of her muzzle, but failing to see the fleck properly. "Well, everyone needs a bit of make-up. I will leave it there," and be prettier than I am already. "Can't talk with my mouth full," she declined his offer to eat. "Well... if you are so curt about, what you want to hear, then the story itself can be one-sentence-long. What else you want to have in it?"

Hahah. Alright, thank you! :D

It seemed the female wasn't impressed on the topic on humans. So he let it side. He wouldn't worry about it. He disliked humans so he wouldn't mind to skip the topic. The large male slowly tipped his head a bit. "If I don't believe in myself how do I make others believe in me?," he returned, grinning. His docked tail moving, it was almost like he was wagging his tail a bit. "You are not wrong in that statement. But I am also an aspiring outrider," he returned. He believed he already told her so. Maybe he didn't. Burke couldn't remember. He liked to protect and make sure everyone was okay. Since everything was calm Burke left someone else in charge.

Burke nodded slowly. He crawled closer to her instead of standing up and towering over her. His pale eyes were calm and relaxed before he leaned it and licked the bits of meat away with one lick over the bridge of het nose and between her eyes. There was still a bit of a red stain but Burke wasn't going to push it. He made sure to move his head away in time if the female would snap at him. His hind legs dragged out behind him. He gave her a pleased smirk before answering her question. "Alright. Alright. Hmm. I don't know. Tell me something exciting. Didn't something happen that you could tell about?," he wondered, genuinely curious. "A story of the hag and the protector." But since she named herself a hag in self mocking Burke wanted to make a correction. "No, wait.. Make that the had and the bunnybutt wolf," ginning still confident as ever.

Osprey had not predicted that Burke would move so close to her and his probably friendly meant gesture was met with a quiet rumbling growl and slightly bared teeth. She didn't felt at ease in this situation, because the male had intruded her personal space. Therefore, when he retreated, she got up and settled down few steps away from him. She gave him a warning look and said: "Watch it." Would he do something like that again she would get up and go. After all she had been here for too long anyway.

"The had? And bunnybutt... wolf?" she couldn't help and cracked a grin. Typos were such a great thing, when you said them out loud. "Alright then... The tale of the great Had-wig and Wolf Butt Bunny," she tilted her head to the side to see the man's reaction for her chosen title and then went. "But you will have to hop in the tale now and then - that is, when I tell you to do so - is that clear?" she laid out the rules. If he did not accept, then she was not playing.

Burke licked over his lips and just grinned at her. "What? Can't I just lick away some left over meat? Haven't we reached that level yet?," he wondered playfully. Well, guess not. It was worth a try. The male wondered why it bothered him so much. Normally he didn't care, normally he wouldn't even go the length of licking it off. The large male stayed where he was while the female backed off. He was still laying down but after a few moments the male shifted into a sitting position, too.

"The hag," he corrected. He probably mumbled again. He sometimes did mumble, maybe it was something that came with older age. The male snorted at the title but then nodded that he agreed with it. It did sound like a very original title. "Yes, m'am," he spoke in return, sounding like a soldier. The large male laid down on his tummy once more. He wondered if she expected him to think of parts in the story, she probably did. "Let's play."

"Well... I will stick with the Had, since there are so many tales about hags and not one about a Had," Osprey stated, telling him that she was not going to change her mind. Having an "x-factor" in the story, such as two characters with weird names, made things all the more interesting and complicated. Then again - Osprey had never been a girl that chose the easy way.

"Once upon a time in a forest nearby lived something big and giant. It was tall, had six legs, tentacles for a tail, two horns and a third atop it's muzzle, big, round eyes and one hundred and one teeth in his big and wide mouth," she told. The words flowed faster than her mind could picture things, therefore she was pretty clueless of what this character actually looked like either. "Since it could speak only two words - HAAAAD and WIIIIIIG, then all of the creatures in that forest had named him Had-Wig," so far so good.

"He was a peaceful and harmless creature, despite the fact that the forest dwellers made fun of him or teased him sometimes. Despite his very odd appearance," she paused a little. At this point in the story her eyes had a distant look in them, as if she was seeing something Burke could not. It was true in a way - while her body was here, her mind was traveling the realms of her imagination. "However, it would not be a story, if everything went on just alright, would it? Because one day a stranger appeared in the forest," her smile turned into a grin.

"It was a wolf-like creature with horns and scales and claws - all scary and horrible, except for one thing. He had a bunny's tail," Burke had wanted to be in the story - here he was. In all his glory. "He had once been a regular wolf, but had a very stupid thing. He had offended a witch and - as witches do, when they are angry - she had turned him into a monster beyond recognition. And... since she had a bit of sense of humor, instead of giving him a matching scaly and horn covered tail, she put the fluffy one of a bunny's. So - even though there were people, who were scared of him at first, they always laughed and joked about his tail. And - even though the wolf once had had a decent name, now everyone - far and wide - knew that he was "Butt bunny" or "Bunny-butt". Unfortunate..."

"And this is, where the story kicks off - the Had-Wig and Butt bunny met one day by a stream, where one was fishing and the other was... scuba-diving," here she fell silent and looked at Burke. Your turn.

Burke nodded courtly. He was fine with that name if the female wanted to. He was pretty easy going if he wanted to. His grey body calmly listened to the start of her story. It felt like a children's bed time story. That was until she described the creature named 'Had-wig'. Burke didn't realize that there was slowly a smile creeping on his muzzle. A rarity itself. His stump of a tail wiggled. He had tipped his nose down, his ears fully perked up, giving the female his full attention. The story continued. Burke was eager to hear what would happen in the story. But first the other one was introduced. The creature that was based on him.

Slowly a bigger smile cracked out on his face. Burke told her she could use Bunny-butt. So why the hell not. Her imagination about him was also rather curious. It made Burke's stump of a tail move even more. The large male wasn't even slightly offended. He even chuckled when she spoke about how stupid Bunny-Butt had been. It did sound like something that could happen to him, if he ever ran into a real witch. Burke believed that he never would. Witches weren't real after all. "That is unfortunate," he agreed with a smirk.

Burke stayed focussed on her for a few more seconds after she stopped talking. But then he got it. It was his turn. Burke cleared his throat and shifted on his spot. "While Bunny-Butt resurfaced from the water he noticed this weird creature close to him, fishing. Bunny-butt curiously looked at the immense creature. 'What are you doing here?' he asked. But the scaled wolf like creature was only answered with HADDD-WIGGGG. This offended the impatient Bunny-Butt. His laughable bunny tail still underwater."

Burke paused for a moment. "The had-wig saw he offended the scaled creature and with one of his six paws he reached out to the scaly one. 'Hatted--wiigggg' the one called out. But Bunny-Butt wouldn't have it--" Burke laughed, he actually laughed, because he thought of something funny. He decided to use it anyways. "Bunny-Butt was called Bunny-Butt because he had a bunny like tail. But what the witch didn't realize was that she transferred some of her magic too him. The fluffy tail started to inflate bigger and bigger. Slowly becoming bigger than the wolf like creature's scaly body. The special air inside of it made Bunny-Butt levitate into the air, higher and higher, until he was face to face with the Had-wig."

Burke didn't mind being ridiculed - he didn't look offended in any way. Quite the contrary, a bit smug, if Osprey was correct in her observations. And it also did well for her pride to know that he was enjoying the story so far, no matter, how odd and far-fetched it was. This was a good sign. It turned out also that he had a bit of imagination, because he joined the story telling game with ease. Where some would have added just a few words or sentences, then he went so far to add two, hefty paragraphs. However, since Osprey had decided not to show any appreciation or sign of liking the fellow, she kept her face neutral, only letting a little smile tug at the corners of her mouth.

The ball was tossed in her side of the field, therefore she did not hesitate to fill in: "But Had-wig got scared by the suddenly flying monster before him, therefore in order to defend himself, he batted at Bunny-but with one of the six sharp-clawed paws. One nail hit the air filled tail and it exploded with loud "boom"!

Bunny-butt fell back in the water with a very loud splash, splattering the water in every possible direction and making Had-wig even more scared. He began to wail very, very loudly - HAAD-WIIIUGGG! HAAAD-WIIIUG! The sound wave was so strong that it made the trees bend and sway and the water go in waves.

This, of course, didn't aid the Butt Bunny get out of the water, because, whenever he resurfaced, a wave hit him in the face and pulled him under. He would have drowned and the story would come to an end at that point, BUT..." she looked pointedly at Burke, as if adding - not the "butt" you might think of.

"... one wave was especially strong, the wolf was washed ashore and there he lied, gasping for air and having hard time to decide, whether he was still alive or not. This was also the moment, when Had-wig stopped wailing and drew closer to examine, what this monster was. When he had come very near, he extended one of his paws and poked the lying creature with his finger. "HAAD?" he asked," it was Burke's turn now.

Burke calmly listen to Osprey's part of the story. He didn't feel like his was any good but for now the female seemed to have enough information to continue. The large male never had a conversation like this. It all went so natural and without force. That was why he liked this female. He decided that he liked to be in her presence. He was not even going to deny it to himself. This nameless female who thought of herself as a hag was someone he liked to hang out with more. Burke even laughed when she made his tail explode. He can't even remember when he laughed for the last time, actually laughed. Smiling is different than laughing. 

"The Bunnybutt coughed up some water after he was poked by the Hadwig. He coughed loudly and hard to get his lungs freed from the cursed water. Having the creature so close by the BunnyButt was ready to jump on top of the big Hadwig. 'You made my tail explode'! The Bunnybutt bared his mouth with sharp teeth to scare the other kind creature off. It didn't seem to work. 'HAD WIGG WIIGGG. HADDDDDWIGGGG.' Bunnybutt was not sure what the other tried to tell him."

Burke thought of something how to continue. He wanted to be as creative as her but he just wasn't to his opinion. "The hadwig hugged the Bunnybutt all of a sudden. This startled the lizard like wolf with the fluffy tail. He had never been hugged before. Slowly the scales started to glow and a warmness spread through the Bunnybutt's body. The scales made way for fur and slowly the wolf like creature was back to being a wolf, while maintaining his bunny butt. "HADWIGGG HADWIG' was sounded excitedly by the hadwig. The Bunnybutt wasn't so excited about this because.."

The large male turned his eyes to Osprey, or well, they were usually on her but now he signaled it was her turn. He wondered what type of reasoning she could think off. A hint of a smirk mused his face, as he awaited her answer.