Chimera Fields This guy rushes me with a spoon...

A bee buzzed around his ear. He flicked it, hoping to ward the insect off before it stung him. He didn't need a bee sting, he needed something else that flew, or clucked around, or something other than buzz around being a nuisance. He could do without the flies and gnats, but the butterflies could stay. They flitted around and were nice to look at. Picky much? Yeah. Just a little. The lady bugs were fine too.

Except the flowers. It was the beginning of summer, but the flowers were still in full bloom. Their pollen messed with his nose. He sneezed. Once. Twice. Three times until he moved to a different patch of grass and hunkered down low, scenting the sweet blades before he slunk forwards and stalked a pair of grouse he'd found taking advantage of the bug fest. They were unsuspecting. He was hoping to keep it that way until they'd fattened themselves up with grub.

His tail swished as he stalked them, waiting for them to alter their course and step a few paces closer. Just a little bit more... Eyes narrowed as he waited, ears forward and attentive. He was gonna bag one of these birds. It was just a matter of when.

He'd spent a week or two just mulling around, not making any progress on his information gathering. But then, he had no timeline to stick to, no deadlines to meet. Nobody was expecting him to be anywhere at any given moment. He had made no promises to anybody, and so he was free. Drifting, as he tended to do, from one place to the next. Sometimes, the drifting was slow. There was also the fact that he'd found a rather large sickly caribou that he'd been stalking for at least a week now. Eventually, it would fall, and Ovaltine intended to feast on that day. In the meantime, he got by with squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, and other small prey.

A flutter of wings broke Oval's train of thought, and he found two birds fleeing from the area. He hadn't been paying them any mind, so lost in his own little world. He'd left the caribou back a ways, but intended to return to it within the hour. Tracking it was reasonably straight-forward and it couldn't seem to move terribly fast anyway. A few moments after the grouse had departed, Ovaltine realized that he was not the only one here. "Oh dear," he said, slicking his ears back, "Did I chase away your dinner?"

They were getting closer. Closer. He watched them like a cat. Stalking them with his eyes as he mentally willed them just a few more paces... almost... almost. They stilled and fluttered, suddenly taking off in a low glide as they fled for the covey holes. Damn. What the hell had caused that?

Lifting his head, Kero looked up, ears swiveling until his eyes settled on another wolf. Well that explained it. Wolf was prancing around like nobody's business and seemed to be out and about on an afternoon stroll of some kind. He sighed, frowning for a moment before he shook off his disappointment and hoped he'd have better luck next time.

"Yo!" he said, rising to a stand as the wolf suddenly realized he was here. Kero shook the dust out of his pelt and shrugged towards his question. "Afternoon snack. No big." There were more birds where those came from. "Prancing around in the flowers for funsies?"

"Just one of many summer activities I enjoy," Ovaltine replied with a sheepish smile. "I’m Ovaltine Driftwood. You live around here?" he asked, letting the conversation move naturally forward. The loner let himself settle his rump on the ground, curling his cinnamon tail around his forelegs. He saw no need to be anything but peaceful and respectable around this guy. In fact, there were few wolves in the world that could really rile Ovaltine up. He was a gentle, peaceful kind of dude.

Still, he had no notion that all the wolves of the world were as kind-hearted and lax as himself, so he knew better than to let his guard down completely. More than once, he'd been taken advantage of in some manner. Perhaps they did not think that he was smart enough to understand that things like that could happen. Not that he immediately expected this particular guy to be an ass to him, but it was always a possibility.

Heh. Kero smirked, grinning as his ear flicked off a gnat and listened to the wolf introduce himself. Interesting name, Driftwood. Seemed appropriate considering the lack of a scent he found on this wolf. Kind of fun. Definitely entertaining. He appreciated this one's ability to roll with the punches. To many of them were too stiff to recognize good humor when they saw it.

"Not too far," he murmured, reclining and lifting a foot to scratch at his ear. Damn bug flew into it and he wanted it out. Kero scratched for a bit and set his foot back now. "Name's Kero." He didn't often offer his full name. There was little use for it. "You looking for a place, Oval? Or still wandering around for the fun of it?"

He lived not far, offered his name, then offered what many wolves had offered Ovaltine in his wanderings. Most wished to recruit him. A few wished to chase him out. Ovaltine preferred the former to the latter, though he'd take either over being stagnant any day. "I've found my place," he replied, "and it is on the path that winds its way around this great world." Ovaltine had been traveling for so long, he scarcely remembered what pack life was. Settling back into it was not something he had in mind to do. He was content to live the life of a loner, pausing on occasion to refuel when his health required him to.

"This meadow, does it have a name?" he asked, head tilted to one side. Ovaltine had always loved to hear the creativity of the locals. They often thought of the most befitting names for their homes. He was curious, too, about the name of Kero's home, though he would queue that up for later. If there was one thing Ovaltine was not, it was impatient. He had all the time in the world and no reason to rush.

Kerosene grinned. Not too long ago, he might have said the same thing about his place in the world, but now things were completely different. For the better, definitely. Things were shaping up nicely and in such a way that he could be proud of his accomplishments. When he'd been a lone wolf? He'd been content to just cruise around and enjoy life for what is was. He was nothing more than a creature of the wind, drifting in whatever direction it happened to blow. "I bet you've had a great many adventures then," he mused. There was nothing quite like wandering to create a number of new and exciting circumstances.

As for the name of this place? "I'm going to guess something field," it was all he could really take a gander at. "I'm not much of a names guy, so I don't think to ask." It wasn't as if this area could whisper whatever name the common tongue of the region had given it. This place? Heck, any wolf could call it whatever they so desired and as long as more than one wolf agreed on what to refer to it as, the name would be valid and true for them. Names were fickle and therefore meaningless to him. "What would you call it?"

*dusts this off*

Ovaltine nodded politely when Kero mentioned his "great many adventures." Everybody seemed to think that he led this grand life and there was something exciting around every corner. It was certainly different than pack life, but it was no more (or less) exciting. Eventually, everything became routine... it just happened to be a different routine.

"It's not in my nature to name things," Ovaltine admitted, "though if I had to, I suppose I could name it after something that held some significance in my life... or perhaps name it after something that happened while I was here. As I haven't been here long, I'd have to go with the former. Perhaps Green Skeleton Field would do." His birthplace, where he had spent the first two years of his life, had been named Green Skeleton Ridge. Was it odd for two places to be named almost identically?

Thanks for the reply!

Kero nodded, listening as this wolf sorted through his thoughts out loud. A significant event or landmark would certainly be enough to name this place by. Something personal would make it a little harder for everyone else to remember it by, but that didn't much matter. A place was still a place. It didn't matter what it was called.

"Green Skeleton?" he repeated, adding inflection to his voice as though to make it a question. he tried to imagine what something like that might look like. A skeleton... overrun with plant life perhaps? Bones that somehow hardened instead of decomposing and were covered over by moss or ivy? He chuckled lightly. "Did you bury any bodies here I should know about?"

"Now there's a morbid thought," Ovaltine replied, giving Kero a grin. "Green Skeleton Ridge is where I was born. I suppose I'm not all that imaginative." But then, Ovaltine had never claimed to be. He was a simple fellow, content with naming things similar to "big field", "small field", "dark forest", "pine forest", and so on. He had seen so many places in his lifetime, it felt as though all the good names had been used up. "And don't ask me why it's named that, either, because I haven't a clue." The ridge had gotten the name long before he was born, and he assumed the name would remain long after he had left it.

"Perhaps we could call it Kero Field instead," suggested Ovaltine. "Since I met you here and all." Was that too sentimental? "Unless there's somebody you'd like to honor instead." Perhaps Kero had a lost loved one that he'd like to name this grassy expanse after, rather than himself.

He grinned. Perhaps that was a bit morbid, but eh. If he was naming after a place he knew, that was good enough for Kero. While he was curious to know the story behind the name, if this fellow didn't know he supposed the story would only be left to the imagination. Green Skeleton. He wasn't sure who was more morbid now. Him or this wolf.

Kero didn't ask why it was called Green Skeleton. Instead he lifted a paw as if to deny naming the place after him. "Oh no. I don't need any place named after me." He was insignificant. Plus, he didn't need any notoriety added to his name. He was content remaining incognito. For the most part.

"Why don't we just call it Flowering Field?" he suggested instead. Keeping it simple. There were tons of wildflowers all over the place. Plus the name had a nice ring to it. "Or... Bumblebee Garden?" Just a thought. Those yellow stingers were floating around everywhere, no doubt drawn in by the fresh nectar everywhere.

We could fade with them going off to hunt, since I know this thread is getting old. :)

Kero was obviously much better at this than Ovaltine had ever been. He suggested two names right off the bat that were loads more satisfying than his own. "Oooo! I do like that last one. Bumblebee Garden." It was cute, cheery, and certainly rolled off the tongue with ease. Those were fine traits for a field such as this one. Ovaltine gave a prominent nod after a thoughtful look around. It was such a fitting name, and he was glad that Kero was around to give it. "I suppose I'll have to spread the news about the name of this place," Ovaltine mused, making a mental note to tell anybody who happened to ask him in the future.

"Say, I was tracking a sickly caribou for the better part of a week. I knew I couldn't take it down myself, but... perhaps you'd be interested in helping? I'll only take a leg, and you can call your pack to the rest of it." It was an offer that Ovaltine knew could backfire, but he was the optimistic, trusting sort. He believed most had good intentions. And if Kero simply snuffed him and took the dying caribou for himself... well, it wasn't that much of a loss. Ovaltine could always wait to see if anything was left behind.

Works for me! Thanks for the thread!

Kero laughed. Bumblebee Garden. Easy to remember. Bit of a mouthful. But they could run with it and the name was something other wolves might easily be able to associate with the area. Those were the best names after all, weren't they? Something that could be identified by others? "Do it," Kero encouraged. "This time of year? With a name like that? Might make this spot pretty popular." Or ward other wolves away, because let's face it. Bees were not something any wolf wanted to mess with.

The conversation drifted when Ovaltine mentioned caribou. His ears lifted instantly, piqued by the wolf's offer for a hunt. "Can't say no to that offer," he decided, lifting to his paws and giving himself a quick shake to rid himself of any muscle stiffness. The suggestion was in both of their favors and impossible to pass up. Ovaltine was being generous, and Kero'd reward that in turn. He was welcome to more than a leg if he so desired it. There'd be plenty to go around.

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