Otatso Wetlands tell it like it is

Ovaltine had spent the night in a forest just outside Redtail Rise. If it had a name, he did not know it. He had crossed the plains, heading south and was now trudging through murky wetlands. During winter, the place must have been a different kind of hell. In this hot weather, though, Oval welcomed the cool water that came up to his stomach in most places. He wondered if the whole thing froze during winter and if wolves ever found themselves frozen in the low waters. That would have been a terrifying thing to experience, no doubt.

He had managed to hunt and kill a rabbit while he'd been traversing the plains, which would fill his belly for a time. The time between his meals was always longer than he would have liked, but it was not his to determine. The world around him tended to have more control over that. Ovaltine made his way to a boulder that jutted from the ground, leaping atop it and shaking the water free from his coat. If he didn't find the other side of these wetlands soon, he be forced to go back the way he had come.

By this time he had grounded himself once more, with worries and bothers becoming like water off a duck's back, as they had been before, should have always been, and will remain. The park had been the first area that he had not simply passed through, and the first time he had begun establishing new relationships since he left home. He could not fault himself for getting caught up in them. So with his mind and heart clear, he opted for a game of chase the frog.

Many did not prefer wetlands, but the blue-nosed wolf did. For one, frogs were delicious, if one could catch them, and they were bountiful in these places. Luke loved the water and did not mind the mud, so as he made his way through the wetlands snapping at frogs he was as content as could be. His gaze was so trained on the marsh in search of his quarry he almost did not notice the light brown wolf headed his way. His teeth closed on a plump bull frog, and it was when he lifted his head with long flailing legs jutting out either side of his mouth did he spot the other.

"Hey!" he called around the still-struggling prey.

*points at avatars* Let's chew on sticks together! ;)

A voice called out, and Ovaltine tilted his head to one side while located the source. The white-coated, blue-nosed wolf was easy to spot in the damp darkness of the wetlands. The other male seemed to have nabbed a rather large bullfrog, a feat that Ovaltine had not been able to accomplish. Perched atop the boulder, Ovaltine leapt down onto the marsh floor, which splashed further muck on his legs and underbelly. If anybody had ever called this place home, Ovaltine pitied them.

"Nice catch," he beamed, eyeballing the other's muzzle where the frog was currently pinned between two jaws. Ovaltine had no intention of stealing another man's prey, though the thought did pass his mind. "Do you know this place well?" the drifter inquired. A name for it was what he sought, though Ovaltine would have been satisfied with more knowledge about the area in general. The other was downwind from him, or Ovaltine might have noted that the frog hunter was a loner as well.

YES!

Mercifully, Luke brought his teeth down onto the frog with enough force that its legs twitched a few more times and then dangled, still. It was not in his nature to let his prey suffer, although he had no problems with stealing from other animals or chasing prey around for his entertainment. He had even thrown a turtle around with Peregrine, but it was in no pain as he did so. It was hard for a predator to draw too hard of a line between what was acceptable and what was not. For the blue-nosed wolf, he had a general sense of respect that he relied on a case by case basis.

He dropped the frog on a small bank of tufted grass and mud. "Thanks!" he replied. He grinned and his tail wagged (but of course). "I don't know this place at all," he admitted. "I haven't explored much of this area, I was just visiting with a friend who runs with a pack north of here. I'm Luke."

"Oh, bother," Ovaltine said, mock disappointment in his voice, though his face did nothing to darken at the news that Luke was not familiar with the area. The drifter had all the time in the world, and he could always find somebody else to draw a name from. "I’m Ovaltine Driftwood," he added, wanting to return the favor of the rather generous introduction. The mention of another pack had piqued Oval's interest, so he ran with it.

"Which pack would that be?" he inquired, curious to know if it was one he'd already encountered. Already he'd been to Redtail Rise and Nova Peak, and although he'd noticed a few others nearby, he hadn't explored them (or met their members) as of yet. That would come with time... and exploring. Two things he was happy to have more of.

Ovaltine Driftwood the man introduced himself as. He bobbed his head. It was a suitable name for one who seemed to have drifted here, with no discernible pack scent on his brown coat. Perhaps he was looking for one. In which case, Luke had a proposition for him. "Redtail Rise," he answered first, and quickly followed up. "But hey, if you're looking for a pack, there is going to be one founding—" a brief pause. He had almost said the word soon but it felt like a lie. He was still optimistic, but realistically there was no approximate time at all. "My friend's, that is. Always room for new recruits."

He passed a sidelong glance to the frog on the bank. It had not been forgotten. He was intent to ask the other wolf if he had ever eaten frog, and offer to share. So long as it did not ressurect itself and take off and before some sly predator snuck up and grabbed it. But, business first.

Redtail Rise. Why, that was the pack he had just visited! Not entirely remarkable, considering he wasn't far away from it just yet, but it was interesting. Luke then went on to explain that his friends were founding a pack—but he cut himself off there, apparently either forgetting something or deciding it was better not to reveal any more of the situation. But it looked like Luke was trying to recruit him. As always, Ovaltine brushed it of amiably.

"I’ll keep that in mind," Ovaltine replied with a thump of his tail. "I actually swung by Redtail Rise. Met a fellow there, and while he was happy enough to tell me the name of his home, he wasn't terribly keen on telling me his name," Ovaltine explained. It hadn't been the worst thing in the world, of course. The nameless guardian had done his duty and not mangled the loner at his borders, so perhaps Oval should have been happy with the outcome. "Never understood the secrecy of folks like that."

The brown wolf said he would keep it in mind but Luke took it for what he believed it to be: a friendly dismissal of the offer. Oh well, it was out there if indeed he thought of it again. He chuckled at the follow up comment, for he was all too familiar with just such a scenario. "You'd swear you could take their name and hit them with it, for how guarded some folks are eh!" He shook his head. Like Ovaltine, he did not get it. He understood and respected privacy, but could hardly think of a situation where a name was better off not shared.

"Have you e—" movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention, but it was too late. He caught sight of a crow just as it swooped in, wrapped its black talons about his frog, and was taking off again. "HEY!" Luke barked as he made a high leap for the crow's tail feathers, but it was a complete miss. The thief had been taken by his own game. He stared off at the crow for a moment, then turned back to Ovaltine with lopsided grin. "Well," he said with a half chuckle. "I was going to ask if you ever tried frog, and offer you a bite, but..."

*fixes typos in last post, oops*

It looked as though Luke was about to say something or another before a rather wretched crow swooped down and took off with his kill. Even with the weight of the slimy creature, it was able to soar above the original hunter's head and make an escape without so much as a single lost feather. "Oh dear," was Ovaltine's reply as he stifled a chuckle by clamping his mouth shut. Luke revealed that he was willing to share his meal, to which Ovaltine was flattered.

"Generous, aren't you?" he asked, though it was clearly a rhetorical question. "I've certainly had a frog or two in my day, though it has been a while. Not my favorite; I can tell you that much." Ovaltine preferred rabbits to all others. One could starve by only eating rabbits, though, so he had to supplement his diet with other creatures... namely, whatever he could scavenge.

He was generous, when he could afford to be. It would be different if he was starving, although even then there was conflict between his nature and his instincts. He was a social wolf through and through.

"Oh yeah?" He said. In his experience, not many were in the habit of eating frogs. The blue-nosed wolf could make a meal out of them if he could catch enough. He liked their taste and their texture, but then he was not particularly fussy either. "So what is your favorite?" His was fish, of course, but he waited for the other male's answer before sharing that tid bit of himself.

"Rabbits," Ovaltine replied, speaking his previous thought aloud, "although I wouldn’t turn down any food that was offered." The drifter had learned long ago that rejecting a meal, no matter the delicacy, was a foul choice. It often resulted in an aching, starving belly for days, if not weeks. Ovaltine was accustomed to hunger, and he rarely felt it any longer, but to go weeks without food was hard, even on a vagrant like himself.

"What’s your favorite?" he asked, content to make simple, polite conversation with this blue-nosed Luke. Sometimes, easy talks like this were a nice break from constant introductions, gathering of names, and so on.

Rabbits. He could not argue with that and nodded in approval. They had a lighter taste than some prey, more akin to an upland bird like grouse than other small mammals. It was succulent, delicious, but it could never take the place of a fresh fish for the blue-nosed wolf. "No, me either," he commented. His life so far had been spent equally between pack and lone wolf, though the latter was soon to over take pack life in duration (he inwardly frowned). He had learned to eat when he could, which had been more important before he came here to this paradise of bounty. Carrion, frogs, mice, whatever could be found or caught he had eaten before.

"Fish!" he answered enthusiastically, his tail happily flicking from side to side. "To the point that I am not content to live anywhere I can't fish. Well," he paused, grinning. "I love the water so that's part of the reason too." Perhaps it was evident in his nonchalance about traipsing through wetlands.

Fishing was a skill that Ovaltine had never quite mastered. He had dabbled, of course, but he had never truly gotten the hang of the skill as he assumed Luke had. It usually took him the better part of an hour to catch a single fish, even in the most populated waters. Perhaps the reason he liked rabbits best was because they were some of the most abundant and easiest creatures to catch. Rabbits, in a sense, were the cop-out of prey. Not that Ovaltine was perturbed by this.

"Is there an end to this swamp?" Ovaltine asked, pointing his nose south. He had come from the north, so he had known the way back, but he was not sure how much longer he wished to slog through the boggy water to his next destination.

The wetland was a large, impressive thing, but so long as one did not travel in circles it did not go on forever. "Sure is," Luke nodded. "Just follow that," he gestured with his muzzle toward a small creek channel. It was the artery of the wetland, where it ended the wetland did not stretch much further except in flood conditions. He knew for certain where it ended in the north, as it was here that he entered. He did not follow the channel closely, but it was there, just off to the side of them. To the south, he would guess that a lake or larger stream could be found.

"Not a fan?" he questioned with a silly smile and a cant of his head. He flexed his toes, feeling the muck between them, and his nose breathed the pungent smell of the soggy territory. It was a different beast; certainly not for everyone. He himself would not want to live here.

"Not particularly," Ovaltine replied with a shrug. While he had an appreciation for all sorts of landscapes, he had to admit that the less... mucky ones were more appealing. He was thankful for the information on how to evade the muddy waters, even if he was hesitant to see his new found acquaintance off just yet. But that was the life of a drifter. Brief glances into somebody's life, then on to the next adventure.

"Are you heading that way?" he asked, wondering if perhaps they could extend their time together just a little while longer. If not, Ovaltine would go on his own, but a traveling companion certainly would not be refused by the wanderer.

Luke considered the question for a moment. Truthfully, he was not headed that way. He had come from there, and had been making his way south to his usual haunting grounds where he would wait (and wait some more) for a call that could not come soon enough. But time was something he had a lot of, and company something he sorely lacked on many days. So with a graceful jump and pivot, he spun so that he was now facing that direction with Ovaltine.

"I am now," he winked. "Race you!" Without waiting even a breath to see if the other male was game, the pale wolf bolted. Chunks of muck and grass flew into the air behind him, water drenched his fur and the wetland painted the lower half of him in muddy brown. Frogs made haste to leap out of the way and marsh birds took flight. His tail swung wildly to and fro, as his long sprinting strides were punctuated with intermittent leaps and bounds, done out of sheer joy.

I'm going to go ahead and fade here if that's ok! I don't want to drag this out too long. :)

Ovaltine grinned widely, taking off after Luke a few strides behind him. Water splashed every which way, and it actually made running really, really difficult. Not fifteen minutes into it, Ovaltine managed to lose Luke, and he panted heavily, searching for the white, blue-nosed wolf who had seemed so very friendly. It was no use, though, especially with the land covered in water. Scents didn't stay very well this way, and Ovaltine continued on his journey solo.