Duck Lake :o :p :3

Based off a 'realism topic' I read on this thread, I decided I needed to try this out, it will be fun! (in my opinion, anyway) I'm looking for a friendly or at least non-hostile wolf/creature for Ilya to encounter. 

• Get back to your roots! Try using only body language and noises to communicate.

The black wolf let out a loud cry, mostly of exasperation and boredom. The hollow hadn't seen much action, despite a nasty cougar attack on her alpha, the past few days and she was growing restless. She laid along the beach of duck lake, her blue eyes staring into the water at her reflection, occasionally pawing at it and watching the ripples distort the image.

Ilya groaned again, her tail sweeping against the ground with agitation. She looked at herself as she wondered if her pelt needed another cold bath, but she'd already washed herself once that day, and once the day before... and perhaps even the day before. She was clean enough and running out of things to keep her occupied. She let out a hot huff of breath, her hears flattening to her skull.

With the threat of the cougar over their heads, Ukko is hesitant to leave the pack lands.  He doesn’t want to leave his pack mates stranded should the creature show back up to finish the job and do more damage.  He isn’t much to travel, he likes staying home, but there’s been this urgency to search and find the cougar, to find answers.  He knows he can’t take on the creature on his own but if he’s able to find the source, they could recoup and figure out what to do.  A blood thirsty cat with a taste for wolves isn’t a threat he wants hovering over his head.

He’s careful as he travels, ears up, nose sniffing constantly.  Any sign of the cougar and he’d know it, following along with the wind so his own scent is in another direction.  It makes it easy for him to note the scent of another as the wind blows cold on his face, letting his own in the opposite direction.  If she knew about the feline, she wouldn’t be haphazardly  lounging around in a neutral territory, unprotected, but he doesn’t speak out.  Not yet anyway.  Instead, he offers a deep chuff to draw attention to himself as he stands several yards back.

While fully aware of her stupidity for being out of her own territory, Ilya's boredom only drew her further from safety. She remained only cautious of scents, and even then she remained rather off-guard. The female was restless and needed a bit of wandering, perhaps a bit of danger would be good for her as long as she remained safe in the end. Of course no one could garuntuee that, and it was pure luck that it was a male from a pack that encountered her rather than the bloodthirsty cougar.

Ilya stood quickly, caught off guard that her silent hopes for interaction were answered, however she thanked no Gods for the new encounter. She let out a slight woof in return, her tail wagging to show her friendly intentions. She watched him curiously, looking him over. She sniffed curiously. By now he was close enough that his scent wafted just barely around him, but not close enough she could really tell where he was from. She remained slightly on edge, as she was unsure of who the wolf was and what his intentions were.

Her gaze paused and she focused on his face, woofing against with a light tone, she waited for him to perhaps make some sort of gesture, either friendly or hostile, and from there she'd react. She inwardly hoped for a friendly approach, as she felt she was much better at handling such.

The wolf takes note rather quickly, standing to attention and offering a few shakes of her tail. Friendly. Ukko's ears remain stiffly forward, looking over the much smaller female. She isn't a threat to him, even if she hadn't been friendly. Ukko's frame is larger and he at least has thirty pounds on her, if not more, but his thick fur makes him look much larger. His winter coat had grown in rather quickly, making it much thicker than it usually is, and he's thankful for the extra advantage it brings him. The wolf remains still as he watches her but he doesn't let his eyes linger for long.

His gaze turns to his right with a sound in the distance. It doesn't bring him any worry, it didn't sound forceful or accidental, and he puts it off as some small animal making too much of a ruckus nearby.

Still, it is enough to distract him for a few seconds.

Her scent speaks of others as he draws in a breath, mixed with male and female, and he only concludes she's apart of a pack he's unaware of. He realizes he hasn't met the wolves that claim to be their neighbors, he is barely aware of their existence, but it seems he's only met wolves at the borders of his home or loners with no affiliation. Being apart of another pack doesn't interest him, either, because he cannot easily recruit when they have their own home, but he remains standing just to be in her presence should the cougar come out of no where. A chance to take a moment and rest his feet and take a drink and ease his weary mind. Carefully, Ukko makes a wide half circle around her to lower his snout to the water and drink.

some silence is good for ilya. it's harder to ask a bunch of random ass questions and piss people off ;)

Ilya was disappointed in the males lack of interest in her. She only wanted something to do, and it didn't seem that this male was going to take her boredom away. Her tail slowed a bit, and her ears fell slightly in proof of her disappointment. However, she could tell that the male was a bit wary of something, especially when he looked towards the woods. Could he possibly be thinking of the cougar? It was definitely a threat to the area, Ilya was well aware of that, but having little interaction with the creatures she wasn't sure exactly where they'd find one. She only knew of their more nocturnal nature, and perhaps didn't give it a second thought for the cats to be roaming free in broad daylight. But then again, what did she know?

The male circled her a bit, and at first the black female grew rigid, expecting the worst. But he settled by the water for a drink and her shoulders loosened as she let out a soft sigh of relief. She couldn't help but study the male, and she hoped it didn't make him uncomfortable. Everyone in her pack was so friendly, and the only bad encounter she'd had in the territory was with a loner (whom she believed was seriously taught a lesson) and she hadn't seen her since that day. Not in some time had she come in contact with such a passive wolf, especially one in a pack. But maybe she was just a bit ignorant to everything and everyone outside her bubble which, then again, wasn't necessarily untrue.

She let out a low woof to the male. It was a signal just to get his attention, but she waited for him to stop drinking. She didn't wish to bother him too much, or aggravate him, but she pointed her nose in the direction of the Hollow, hoping he would understand it was where she was from. She stood a bit taller, thinking of her rank in the pack, before dipping her head to him. Perhaps he too would share his whereabouts, she hoped. But he may just ignore her all the same. 

It's a lot harder when they don't know each other, haha.  You can have her follow if you want.  He's headed NW, toward Emberwood.  Just as a reference. ;)

The boy quenches his thirst, ears cupping forward as she draws his attention.  He takes his time, lapping at the cold water until he can feel it all the way down his stomach.  It is just as cold inside as it is outside, for the moment, as he slowly evens out his temperature.  Ukko licks at his lips, lifting his head to glance at the female without much interest.  If he strays far from her, he loses the security of another wolf.  He chuffs back, making another circle around where he’d been heading.

He looks back to her, raising an eyebrow, and heading off.  He looks back around with a quick shake of his tail.

Frustrated with the wolf's lack of communication back at her, she simply watched with a narrowed gaze. It was when the male began away that her ears perked. Ilya watched as he raised an eyebrow at her before turning. She took this, almost right away, as an invitation to follow, and did just that.

She padded rather quickly to catch up to him, and when she did she remained either directly beside him, or a few pawsteps behind, but never ahead and never too close. She remained silent as she did, curious where he was going. 

The woman remains silent but does decide to follow.  He trots along, moving a little faster than he had before.  With a swish of his tail, he turns to see if she still moves with him with the new speed.  A grin appears on his muzzle, hidden from the other as he focuses ahead of him.  Ukko is able to forget about the cougar, for a moment, as he turns follow the leader into a game of chase.  When there’s a stretch of flatlands ahead of him, the dark wolf turns his leisurely trot into a full speed sprint.

Tail wagging as she followed, Ilya realized that the pack had indeed been picked up. Was he running from her? She thought he made it a clear indication to follow. Perhaps she was wrong, it wouldn't have been the first time... No! She was right! The male broke out into a sprint, and that small girl recognized the game of chase right away. She began after him with a loud yip and a lolling tongue, her black feet pushing hard off the ground to catch the male. She liked to think that she was pretty fast, and in truth her agility was much better than others. But the male had longer legs, so Ilya was not sure. She held her grounds though, chasing after with delight sparkling in her eyes.

He hears her foot steps catch up to him, matching his speed as he runs.  His feet hit the ground, sending snow flying in his wake and targets the forest up ahead.  He’s able to keep up his speed, just ahead, as he barrels to the tree line.  He doesn’t look back to see if she’s still there, lost in the momentum.  One screw up and he might trip and fall on his face and he’s not ready to embarrass himself like that.  Orange eyes scan the range, finding the biggest entrance with enough to not worry about what’s around him.  

He disappears into the trees, running through unfamiliar territory.  Eventually everything thickens and he’s being hit by brush, the path narrowing as he winds in and out of trees.  Fire rises in his chest and he wants to stop to take a breath.  Ukko turns his head and looks back to see if the other is still on his heels and—just as he’d predicted—he trips over something jutting from the ground buried in snow.  

The large wolf hits the ground, leaving a skid of snow and dirt in his wake.  He groans as he tries to pick himself back to all four feet.  Ukko turns around to see if the other wolf had seen what happened but he’s suddenly startled by what he’d tripped over:  a frozen bloody carcass.

The woman was right with him, lost in the chase as well and unable to will herself to slow. She knows where she is and the terrain does not catch her off guard. It's a heated chase, at least to the black wolf, and she's ready to run for days, wherever the male wants to go she's keen on going. She just wants to run. 

The male turns back only once, but this one time was a mistake, and Ilya watches as he trips over something. She skids to a halt, not concerned that he had fallen. She looked to what he had tripped over, an expression of shock and guilt washed over her face. The black wolf whimpers, and she attempts to communicate what she is feeling, but she can't. She feels nothing but shock and guilt, sitting and staring with her jaws parted. Did she do this? Is this her fault? She whines again, nosing at the stiff body. She did not know this wolf. She was not her friend, she was not even a passive loner. She was hot-headed and rude, and Ilya disliked her. But now, seeing her as she was, the black female was unable to think. She only felt guilt. She wondered if her running partner had known this wolf, she wished to know her name. 

His attention jerks from the carcass to the dark wolf as she approaches but her expression varies heavily from his own.  She drops to the body, touches her, and cries.  There isn’t much left of the wolf, slain and torn apart.  The scent of a cougar is no where to be found but he knows it’s feline, unable to tell the difference in wounds given by wolf as those of large cat-like claws tore her to shreds.  Likely the same one that had nearly taken Scarlett away from them.  If they hadn’t reacted so quickly, she might be on this end too.

Ukko’s face twists and he whines, dipping his head sympathetically as the wolf mourned.  He doesn’t notice the guilt that rattles her.  He’d high tail it home if he were alone but something keeps him still, rooted to the spot.  The cougar had been here once and likely it would come again.

The claw marks catch the attention of Ilya soon after they did the male, and a slight weight is lifted from her. She knows now that this was not her doing, but she knows that she did not help. The black female looks to her companion, unsure of what to do now. Should they leave? Should they stay? The girl never was great at tracking, and wasn't sure how close the scent of the cat that attacked was. Surely it was the same one that was beginning to rule the valley, and this was not an act of survival; it was an act of hatred. 

Ilya stood, whimpering softer this time as fear replaced the guilt, and she looked to her companion. Would he leave? Surely the adrenaline of playing was gone. She let out a soft sigh, glancing around quietly. She was unsure what to do now, and unsure of what to do about the loner. Should she even bother? She glanced to it with a sad gaze, at least at ease with the fact that perhaps this was not her doing. She looked once again to the black male, standing speechless and concerned.

Ukko watches the realization wash over her face as cougar sets in, or at least what he assumes she comes to the same conclusion.  He shakes his head and lowers his tail.  He wants to turn and go back home, wash this from his mind and get back to his regular life but the cougar sits at the forefront easily.  Scarlett isn’t the only time the creature has attacked and he doubts it will be the last. He knows where wolves tend to gather and remains just away from pack borders, testing his range against the rest of the wolves.

He bites his lip and takes a few steps back.  He doesn’t want to leave the other wolf by herself in the forest but he doesn’t want to crowd her while she mourns.  A dark tail swishes a few times behind him, jerking his head to lead her back out of the territory and out onto their own again.

With the male so keen on leaving, Ilya decided to leave the body of the loner to rot. Not specifically for that reason, but because she could sense his fear and even she felt it too. She was scared. What could have caused such a mess? And to not even be decent enough to eat her, it was evil. She did not know the name of the cougar that stalked the valley, but she knew that it was his work. She let out a sigh, nosing the body once before looking to the brute and turning. 

Ilya did not turn to see if he was following, she only assumed he was. She lead them from the area with the fur along her spine risen slightly, her head low and her shoulders squared. She was not sure if she were frightened as much as they moved out of the area, she was just in shock by now. She kept moving, eyes opened wide and alert, paranoid for any sort of attack. 

Ukko stands there for only a moment after the female decides to leave. He isn’t able to shake the sinking feeling in his stomach but he pulls away and trots along behind her somewhere far away from their discovery. With his stomach in knots, he deviates only a little but, for the most part, comes out on the same side the other does. His frown is prominent, twisted into confusion and disgust, but he doesn’t speak.  The dark wolf shakes his head and rolls his shoulder, pointing away from the direction the female wanted to go.

With a final look, Ukko chuffs his goodbye and safe travels, and leaves the woman to do the same.

<3

Even though she wished to know his name, Ilya says nothing. Too shaken from the incident to even think about asking, she was hardly even aware when she returned his goodbye. She let out a light bark in return, and left the male headed towards his territory, and she towards hers.