Sequoia Coast One life

@Tachyon 

Ever since Osprey's return to the pack, she was very careful not to stray too far away from the group. The fear of getting lost and not being able to find her way back to them again was still too big for her to risk it and return to her habit of exploring. Donnelaith covered quite a territory, therefore there were still a lot of places that needed to be found and seen. When she was not too tired, she would spend a whole day wandering around, seeking out the best spots for smaller hunts and scavenging. Sometimes she would join Dante on the patrols, walking quietly next to him, but she was very careful not to "over-crowd" him and give plenty of personal space. 

However, old habits die hard and a day came, when she finally left the safe confines of the pack territory and walked along the sandy coast, that - due to wind and water - was not covered in snow. And a good thing it was, for she soon found out that the ocean was a master at bringing the most peculiar and interesting items to the shore. Pieces of wood, seaweeds, shells and she even found a rotting carcass of a seal, but it's state was so bad that even Osprey was not desperate enough to give a try. This did not deter her from being there and examining it curiously.

the cold of the ocean didn't really jive with tachyon's senses - with a girlish squeal the male leapt away from the lapping water, issuing little snaps at each new wave that rippled towards his toes. he wasn't going to be caught - no! he sprung up as one persistent wave slid too close, contorting his body with a grunt of effort as he did his best aerobics to avoid getting wet.

he landed and spun, catching sight of a wolf down the strand. his ears shot forward with a hopeful look -- lusca? he frowned at the detritus around him - none were suitable as flowers and she had spurned even the best of his offers before.. he shrugged, picked up a smoothly carved welt of driftwood, and turned towards 'lusca' with an idiotic smile besieging his countenance. excited to wow "his lady" with his newfound treasure, tachyon launched into a bouncy gallop towards osprey. the driftwood in his mouth caused his cheeks to puff and flap with each breath and a nice length of drool flew from his cheeks as he made his way towards her.

Had Osprey not been so caught up with examining the corpse thoroughly (which would make any forensic pathologist proud of her), she would have caught sight of the young wolf, frolicking around not too far away. But she did not, therefore to her great shock she noticed a tad bit too late that somebody was dashing in her direction and there was no time for either fleeing or put up an "angry face" to scare the other off. 

No, she remained standing, where she was, staring at the approaching figure with wide eyes and mouth a bit agape, while her mind frantically searched for the most proper solution to this uncomfortable situation.

sorry for the wait.. i didn't see i owed posts on tachy ;=;

his strides grew more boisterous with each passing, his tail more excited with each foot he covered -- until at last he came to the chilling realization that it was not lusca at all. the sea, glaring and brilliant, had deceived him -- as he drew close the contours of shade and glare had faded and he was left staring at a woman that was clearly not his intended and beloved.

tachyon fumbled for a minute, a weak smile pressing his broad snout. "mghfhmggm." he offered by way of apology, his face blanched as he realized the brush in his mouth served no purpose save to muffle his words. he dropped the driftwood quickly, yelping as it slammed down on one of his toes. "fEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE." he leaped backwards, holding the paw upright as an embarrassed frown worried his features. "h-hi." his gaze was adverted shamefully to the ground and he felt a hot flush of embarrassment override him.

Perplexed by the order of the events, Osprey drew her ears back, went down to a half-crouch, while holding her tail low. She jumped a bit and snarled, when the wolf had dropeed the piece of wood on it's foot and screamed. And the only thought that entered her mind at that moment was, how many other weirdos like this the world housed.

The supposedly apologetic greeting didn't do much to thaw the icy glare she regarded the young man with and for a while she pondered, whether she should just lunge forward and attempt to scare the other one away. Taking a bite or two at him didn't sound that bad either, but the rational-her won over - she eased up a little and sat down, tilting her head to the side, waiting for the other one to do the explaining.

as if the sting in his paw was not enough, the female issued a snarl that lanced through him like a hot blade, her gaze icy and form more frigid than that of the teat that presumably suckled lusca. tachyon nearly disappeared into his fur-ruff, his head retracting awkwardly into his neck as he bent himself as far back from her as possible without moving. in some ways the recoil mimicked that of a tortoise -- slow, ungainly and embarrassing.

if she had remained passively aggressive for a moment longer tachyon would have melted into a puddle of discomfiture -- but luckily, she relented -- tentatively he peered at her though he made great care to avoid meeting her gaze. "i thought you were someone else." he mumbled pathetically, peering at his bruised toes with a frown worrying his brow.

At least the young wolf was not a total nut-case - he just had mistaken her for someone else. That was a relief - Osprey sighed. Perhaps he had just as bad eyesight as hers - in recognizing faces that is. She enjoyed the sight of him feeling ashamed by not saying anything just a bit longer and then broke the silence by asking: "So - did you plan to scare the friend of yours to death? Or that is a way you greet everyone you meet along the way?"

Not that she was particularly into the subject, but she decided to keep the conversation going and make it easier for the young wolf by beginning it with a joke.

mew i really let this get behind and i am really sorry about this -- do you mind if we archive? i can start a recent one in donnelaith if you are interested!

suitably chastened by his egregious mistake, tachyon started to backpedal. while the stony wolf wasn't hostile, (she had even issued a joke to loosen the tension between them) tachyon felt too mortified by his blunder to really act in a normal, healthy manner. "i'm really sorry -- no, wasn't planning on scaring anybody." he mumbled, casting his gaze to the ground. he couldn't really recover from this.

"i gotta go.." he pushed the driftwood towards osprey and offered a weak smile. "see you around.. gotta find my friend." with that, the slate wolf turned tail and beat a hasty retreat, embarrassment hounding him every step he took.