Shadow Mountain Rockclimbing fiend

Small, silvery paws tapped against the hard rocks lining the mountainside, paw pads hardened and slightly chipping as they rubbed against the rough material. Stinging pain stabbed his aching paws as the coyote jumped again, claws scrambling on the smooth stone as he dragged himself upwards to an unsteady perch. Pluto was both out to explore and to prove to the world that where others failed, he could excel in. He was small and light enough to leap across the boulders with little worry of them crumbling and sending him plummeting back into the earth. He was about six feet up now, and with every jump, it was getting harder to find a firm, safe place to hang onto. His tufted haunches wiggled, rump raising into the air before he leaped again, four paws skidding and claws hooking onto another rock as he grunted quietly to himself. For a moment, he laid down and sighed, catching his breath before rising back to his full, unimpressive height.

Pluto's scarred muzzle poked over the edge of the boulder, dark eyes flicking down to the earth far below before fully returning back onto his platform. He sat, rump planting onto the rough rock as he proudly raised his head towards the sky. Yes, this was where the coyote belonged, looking down on the dumber, slower, cowards that were other canines. This was where Pluto belonged. He was witty, swift, and prideful; able to survive on his own and do other tasks that other canines could not. Perched on his throne of stone, the figurative king of the forest nobly curled his tail around his paws and lowered his head slightly, once again staring downwards at the earth far below with his usual snide smirk etched into his lean muzzle, pride and distaste mingling in his ebony optics in a constant battle for dominance. Pluto could almost hear his imaginary subordinates cheering his name, waving their tails and accepting him, a coyote, as the proper King of Canines. It was quite enjoyable, the male couldn't lie.

Hallo!

Like the brazen coyote adventuring the mountain, Ishi was small, nimble, and out for exploration. He hadn't traversed any mountains recently, sticking instead to forests, valleys and flatlands, and so had decided on a whim that if he wanted to be a Scout he needed to get some heights under his belt. And so he traversed this one — a great mountain, handsome as you like. He didn't have to go all the way to the top, but he wanted to get a good idea of what this mountain was all about. And it seemed to have a coyote on it. Did it, though? Ishi was upwind, a few dark crags to his left, gazing at him with his large gold eyes and trying to figure out if that was definitely a coyote. He wasn't familiar with the smell, and didn't want to judge a book by its cover.

Shortly, he decided that this was a coyote, but that brought about another question — was it proper for them to be in the same vicinity? Were wolves and coyotes mortal enemies? Ishi had no idea. So — Psst! — he decided to ask, Are we allowed to talk?

Hello!

Pluto's small nose twitched, nostrils flaring before his pale tongue wet the area, enhancing his sense of smell as a strange waft seemed to float by. The scent of a male wolf could suddenly be detected, and after pricking his large ears, the small canine turned his gaze towards the source of the scent, being of course, a male wolf. It was a small, dainty one, though his fur was very thick and a bright ivory, which probably made hunting difficult. Pluto slightly sneered as the sight of him, lip raising to expose one or two yellow fangs much like a displeased feline, tail twitching slightly. Almost as if he was afraid or unsure of something, the young wolf quietly attempted to catch Pluto's attention, barking in a low tone and inquiring if the two of them were...allowed  to speak? Pluto released a raucous laugh at that, maw opened to expose a mouthful of sharpened, dirty fangs as he cackled, voice echoing across the empty lands like a siren, which was mostly on purpose. 

Once Pluto's laughter finally died down, he lifted a small paw and wiped a tear from his dark, scarred eye before finally barking out a response. "Allowed?  I'm guessing you're one of those saps in one of those five hundred or so packs out there." He snorted, raising a paw again and gesturing disdainfully down at the lands below, nostrils flaring again before he furrowed his brow. "You sure reek like one." Pluto continued, finding pleasure in taunting the other canine, corners of his lips slightly turned up into a mischievous smirk. The small male rose to all four paws, arching his spine and stretching his long legs like some ragged streetcat, muzzle parting again as more words erupted from his small form. "Hah...allowed. Unless you're afraid to talk to a coyote, go ahead and speak." He snorted, bouncing from paw to paw lightly, gaze settled firmly on the other male.

The boy gave his own amused smile — naively so. He was faintly aware that the coy was mocking him in his laughter, but Ishi didn't have the type of pride that got damaged by reactions like this one. He saw the stranger as a happy chappy, deciding that laughter was laughter, and laughter had always been a good thing in his experience. Woo, he concluded good-naturedly, springing up to the same long ridge as the stranger. And yep, I'm one of those saps, he added with another smile. Were wolves and coyotes mortal enemies...? Apparently not, because they were allowed to speak and neither of them had just been killed. But this coyote certainly didn't seem to like wolves much. Fair enough — wolves had claimed so much of the land down there, Ishi didn't half blame him for his bitterness.

My name's Ishi, he said brightly. I bet you're called Fang or Shadow or something. Or, like... The Interceptor.

The other wolf seemed to be slightly dim, either not noticing or not caring that the sly creature was poking fun at him, at least that was how the situation appeared through Pluto's eyes. As the boy spoke about being one of those poor saps trapped down there in their little herds like cattle, Pluto shook his head slightly and made a small tsk-ing sound, smirk still stretched across his muzzle as his gaze flicked down across the lands stretching before him, the land where most coyotes were chased away or even killed just for surviving near some stray pack. Bastards, all of them! Pluto's eyes rolled back towards the rambling wolf perched besides him, light paws having carried him over to their now shared boulder, much to the small coyote's displeasure. He spoke his name, continuing on by guessing his new companion's own name. "Those names are so stupid that if a pup was punished with a title like that, their own mother would punt them down a cliffside." Pluto snorted, head fully turning towards the larger canine with his smirk slightly melting into a condescending sneer, tail tip twitching before he continued.

"You've been listening to too many stories, Ishi." Pluto finished, sitting down again a little further away from the pack reeking wolf, preferring to maintain his own personal space on this small hunk of rock. He then fell into silence again, not saying anything more as he curled his short tail around his hip, dark gaze settled on the land stretching down underneath him, struggling to pretend as if he was alone. Perhaps the wolf expected him to say his own name after he said his? Hah, as if. He didn't even ask, and if he had, Pluto probably wouldn't have told him. He was a coyote, Ishi was a wolf, and a natural barrier separated them, just as the bluish silver coyote liked.

He both agreed and disagreed. He agreed with the implied suggestion that maybe it wasn't right to judge a book by its cover (hell, maybe the devilishly cool coyote was called Angel or Flowerknickers), but he disagreed that they were objectively bad names. Fang was an adorable name, and Shadow was epic. As for The Interceptor... you'd have to be pretty badass to pull it off, but it was possible.

I actually don't know any stories about coyotes, he admitted cheerily as he gazed out briefly across the handsome valley before returning his golden eyes to the sinewy form of Flowerknickers. Maybe you could tell me one? he requested, the tip of his tail flickering cheekily.

Pluto gave the younger canine a side glance as he spoke of never hearing any stories about coyotes, which was honestly quite surprising. Weren't most pups warned about going too far out of the den lest be swiped up by some hungry coyote jaws? Or maybe wolves in these lands were just too dumb or too concerned about their pups being frightened to tell them so. Hm. This land really was different. Ishi then inquired if Pluto could tell him one of these fabled tales, and the thin coyote dramatically cleared his throat before beginning. "Once there was a mother and her pups. The mother went out to catch a hare. When she came back, she saw that the coyotes had eaten her newborns. The end." Pluto barked, dark eyes settled on the ivory wolf before slightly snorting, flicking his tailtip from side to side. "I'm pretty sure that one is true, actually. Father always had a taste for young pups. He said that you just needed to wait until the mother was gone and...snap!" Pluto rambled, ending off his statement by sharply clicking his jaws together and baring his yellowed fangs.

The small male then chuckled, rotating his body so that he could naturally face off the small wolf without having to constantly crane his neck to the side uncomfortably. Pluto chuckled slightly, the story was always a silly one in his eyes. I mean, what mother expected her pups to be safe in Wildberry Plains? Coyotes were everywhere down there, their numbers even rivaled wolves'! Maybe that was why there were more stories about blood thirsty, rat bastard coyotes down there instead of up here. Pluto had hardly caught the scent of any coyotes around these parts. Part of him was disappointed, while the other half was thrilled. He had all this territory to himself, with no other coyotes to compete with. Perhaps he could sometimes grow lonely, but that feeling always faded.

Ishi listened quite happily to a story that he knew (deep down) was likely to be dark and gross. The type of story spoken by someone called Fang or Shadow or The Interceptor. And sure enough, the coy did not disappoint, telling a brief tale of infant slaughter that (of course) Ishi didn't take as a tale of infant slaughter at all. He basically heard it as a ghost story. He was too light-hearted and naive to genuinely imagine that this fellow's dad had killed cute little puppies. Ew! he chuckled.

His soft white tail flickered gladly again when the coyote faced him. Whoa, that was one hell of a badass face. Where'd you get all those scars? he asked politely. Did a wolf pup scratch you up, he added with a cheeky smile.

Pluto's smirk did not vanish as the young wolf giggled at his story, obviously not fully understanding the true meaning of the story, perhaps only accepting it as a fable. The coyote decided not to elaborate, the small wolf probably wouldn't fully accept the tale of the skinning procedure as well, which was much more gory in detail than the rest of the story in general. At least Pluto and his family had gotten some nice bedding from it. He still missed those fuzzy, pup soft pelts, much easier to rest on than just feathers or rabbit skin. Ishi then posed another question, asking why the coyote had those two main scars crossing down his left eye. With a cheeky grin, he asked if the smaller canine had received those scars from a mere pup. "That seems like something that would happen to you, Twinkletoes. I got these scars by stealing a rabbit...from a bobcat." He spoke, a glint of pride flashing through his darkened gaze.

Pluto's tail twitched back and forth again, slightly thumping against the smooth stone as he batted away one or two stray flies. "You look like you've never been in a fight before." He snorted slightly, overgrown, curled claws scraping against his perch absentmindedly as he barked. Even he had been in a few scraps before with other coyotes, wolves, and even other animals such as raccoons and of course, the bobcat. He had only taken one hit from the feline before snatching the rabbit and running, but he still considered that a fight.

It was so funny, in more than one way, the two levels of laughter working in tandem. On one level, the cackles of the coyote, a mocking creature whose joy came from putting Ishi below him. And on the other level, the amusement from Ishi, whose laughter wasn't mocking, but came from a currently-roguish desire for fun. He did acknowledge that the scrappy stranger could fight him here and now if he wanted to, but he was also enjoying this clash of cultures and the entertainment that came from speaking to someone who wasn't a boring, sensible snob.

The nickname Twinkletoes was kind of perfect — Ishi was a very dainty boy, and, speaking of fights, would twinkle those toes all the way down the mountain in an effort to escape one if he had to.

But there was something more interesting on his mind: you stole a rabbit from a bobcat? he asked, genuinely impressed. Definitely a story I want to hear.

Pluto's large ears swiveled forwards as the boy's slightly teasing attitude quickly melted into one of admiration, swiftly barking and stating that he would like to hear that story as well. The coyote smiled again, the glint of pride in his eyes practically glowing by now as he began his tale. "Well, it was a cold winter, and there was hardly any prey. A bobcat had moved into the meadow, and was eating everything. One day I snuck out and found it setting down a rabbit to eat, and I ran out and snatched it!" Pluto exclaimed, snapping his jaws again before continuing. "It clawed me right in the face and blood was everywhere, but I jumped away and it only got one more hit. I slept with a full belly that night, and I never saw that cat again." He cackled, rising to his small paws and turning his body to the side, flashing his left hip which was sliced with deep, pale scar tissue where the feline had bitten him.

The coyote had been lucky that the bobcat hadn't bit far enough to reach bone, or else he may not have been there  at the moment to tell the very same story. Sure it had hurt, but after a month or two of healing, Pluto was ready to head off again and continue his explorations. "What about you? Got any stories of yer own?" He asked, raising his brow slightly at the thickly furred, ivory yearling. Just looking at him, Pluto could tell that he'd never been in a real, drawing-blood fight. But maybe he had some family story passed down from generation to generation or something.

The story was awesome, no lie. It had a proper beginning, a good bit of action, and a nice pay-off. Hell, the coy even had the scars to prove it, and Ishi looked at the healed wound wide-eyed. Cool, he enthused genuinely. He didn't care if he was inflating egos or whatever else: the guy deserved to know that it was a great little story.

Hmm, Ishi mused at the question, gazing over the landscape as he had a think. He did have some stories... but he got the impression that the coyote would only like a certain type of story. Aha! It clicked. He had the perfect one.

There was this girl in my old pack, she was like this rangy outrider who always ran intro trouble. One day she came back with a live snake. She said it was a gift for this sleazy guy whose name was literally 'Snake'. He kept winking suggestively at her, which she found gross because he was her granddad's best friend. Anyway, she gave Snake the snake, and of course he ran away. Later, when the snake was nowhere to be seen, he headed to bed and saw the girl — "nice try", he said, and winked. But as he lay down in his sleeping place, he turned over and saw the snake... right there! It bit him right in the eye, all the way through, and it clung on there. He had a snake stuck in his eye for like half an hour before the healer could get it off... and it took the eyeball with it. Snake's still alive, as far as I know, but he doesn't wink at that girl any more.

Pluto's chest slightly puffed outwards, already inflated ego blossoming into an even greater size at the small boy's compliment. He then let his chest fall again, gaze still lingering on the other canine as he visibly thought, eliciting a small amount of interest in the small coy as he waited. Ishi seemed to have a story for him, and although he hid most of the fresh interest running through his veins, he did reward the other male with alert ears and brighter eyes just so he would know that Pluto was listening. As he told his tale, Pluto did begrudgingly accept that it was a fine story, even if it hadn't happened to the ivory pelted boy himself. As he finished, the coyote smacked one of dull paws against the stone beneath in a form of applause, swiftly halting his clapping as he barked. "That was a nice one, heh." Pluto spoke, chuckling slightly at that interesting form of revenge. If carrying a snake wasn't such a dangerous procedure, the coyote probably would attempt to do it some day. Alas, he wasn't stupid enough to possibly lose even more of his eyesight by some snappy little serpent.

Ishi smiled brightly at the response. He wasn't so much proud of it as simply happy — for it was nice to cause a genuine bit of laughter.

As to the boy's own response to the story, he didn't have much of one. He hadn't actually witnessed it himself — it had been a legend in the pack for months, and would likely continue for years. If he thought about it carefully, he would conclude that it was gross and mean and shouldn't have happened, but at the moment it was just a story. An awesome story.

As this piece of conversation came to a natural close, Ishi's interest was once more captured by the glorious view. Hey, do you want to join me in exploring some of the mountain if you haven't already? he invited the coyote, or are you hanging around up here for a bit.

The two males fell into silence as the two of them allowed their gazes to stray across the land below, sunlight sparkling across the darkened trees, trickling streams, and glimmering white snow. It was a glorious sight, a special glimpse of the world reserved for only the bravest of climbers. Ishi then began to speak again, snapping the coyote out of his minor trance before he shrugged his thin shoulders, rolling them as he once again proceeded to stretch out his lanky limbs. "I have nothin' better to do. Let's go." Pluto barked, turning away from the ivory pelted wolf as he took a leap towards a new, higher boulder on the mountainside. His dull claws scrabbled across the dull surface, scratching shallow furrows into the stone before he pulled his body fully onto the new object. Without looking behind him to see if the other male was following, he took another leap and once again scrambled onto a new surface.

Pluto continued upwards, huffing and puffing as his thin chest swiftly rose and fell, using precious energy to continue hoisting himself upwards. After a few minutes or so, the small male dragged himself onto his final target, hind legs dangling for a moment before he pulled himself upwards with a small grunt. Panting, Pluto rose into a sitting position and proceeded to slouch against the rocks behind him, dark eyes flicking across the now much higher view of the world.

Adventure was fun on one's own, but doubled by a double. Casual and sprightly, the coyote sprang up onto the high road and Ishi took the low road — there wasn't enough room for them to walk side by side, but neither were likely attracted by such a cuddlesome arrangement anyway. So on they went, heading upwards, the coyote silhouetted blindingly above whenever Ishi glanced up at him.

The cliffside was bare, but a handy windbreak, and Ishi nipped from ridge to ridge, memorising the best way up and noting any landmarks... not that there were many, besides one big skeletal tree.

Soon they reached a zenith and stopped for a breather. Ishi sat neatly, and pushed his slim muzzle up to the cool breeze. They were gazing out over the East. I can see the top of Lost Creek Hollow from here, he observed, and that snakey river beyond it is Mudminnow River... I reckon those trees to the West of that could be Jade Fern Grove. He loved that he recognised so much! What about you, do you know any landmarks? he asked his companion.

The coyote was pleased that the other male decided to choose a different route to the top, not wishing to be traveling side by side with the thickly furred, ivory wolf. They managed to meet up again, with the slightly larger male tilting his head up elegantly as he gazed across the horizon, with Pluto gazing out at the same sight with much less grace, posture naturally hunched over and bony. Ishi began to speak, pointing out many different areas as his gaze flicked from place to place. He then inquired to the smaller canine if he noticed any landmarks of his own. "It all looks like forests and water to me." Pluto stated blandly, pale tongue flicking out from his maw and running across his dark nose to enhance his sense of scent.

"I never really stay in one place for too long to learn its name; don't wanna be one of those lazy saps rotting away in their little corner of the world." Pluto snorted, inching closer to the edge of the rock and digging his claws as far as they could go into the smooth stone before sticking his head outwards over the ridge. He ignored the sharp drop below, not really a canine that feared simple things like heights or falling. Dying was a natural thing, not something to be feared. Gotta live life to the fullest! Pluto's eyes narrowed, struggling to see if there were any living creatures lurking below. Nope, it was too far up to see any, if there were any other animals down there. Pluto shuffled back upwards back onto a safe area of the rock. He yawned slightly, tail tip flicking lazily as he basked in the slightly warm sunlight, which countered the chilling winds slicing through the calm air.

Forests and water... yep, that was about right. Bang on, in fact. The lands to the West were far different, but Ishi hadn't ventured over there yet — and he couldn't even see it at the moment, given the jagged cliffs and tall grasping trees in the way. Still, the East of Teekon was beautiful and he loved it. Ishi wasn't exactly a dreamy romantic, but he could be called that in comparison to Mister Blunt over there! Ishi smiled, amused by it.

Too right, he added with a firm nod when the coyote sniffed at the idea of wolves who stayed in the same place. It's important to get out there and see the world... or at least as much of it as you can. I've travelled a fair bit, but I bet you've travelled more than I have, he admitted.

Pluto was pleased that he had met another traveling soul, having met a surplus of homebodies in his previous lands. All they had done was hide in their own little areas and refused to let others join them, and Pluto had a dark feeling that he would meet more of those creatures someday. "Hell yeah, I've been traveling for years." The coyote grinned proudly, smirk curling up the sides of his muzzle in a signature, rotten coy grin. Pluto sat in silence then, catching his breath before planting his rump onto the stone, resting his weight on his haunches as he sat. His shortened tail found its place curled around his scarred hip as he rested, making sure that he would have the energy needed to continue his climb.

"So, what's the difference between wolf packs? never really understood 'em, but I figured since you're one of them, maybe you'd know." Pluto off-handedly remarked, having always been curious about why some wolves chose one group over the other. Weren't they all the same? 'Stick together like cowards and blah blah blah' always seemed like the main focus of packs in Pluto's eyes. Perhaps it was a species difference, or perhaps it was because of his traveling, loner mindset. Either way, his opinions on groups sticking together and most wolves in general was very low.

Although his prime interest was exploring and mapping the lands (oh, and learning all he could about mountain lions), Ishi also had a youthful curiosity that had him paying attention to the ins and outs of a species he'd never encountered before. But of course this all begged the question: was this your typical coyote, or a complete anomaly? Either way, the situation was pretty interesting.

Ishi turned his gold eyes from the landscape to regard his scrappy pal again. He'd only ever been in two wolf packs himself, but he'd heard of many others. Some of them are pretty samey, he began. An Alpha or two, and a hierarchy of subordinates who work together in hunting, marking, and keeping happy. But I guess there's two main differences, he continued, thinking about it carefully. One is the type of territory. One pack could claim a shoreline and live off fish, sleeping in caves, smelling of seasalt, and having pretty strong swimming skills. While another pack might live in a woodland and smell of flowers, using trees to hide from prey. As for the other difference... I guess you could call it temperament. Some packs are super nice, inviting in newcomers like long-lost relatives. While other packs are... er, less so! I've heard of some Alphas that would sooner skin you as look at you, and some packs that just throw you out if you're not perfect.

Pluto listened to the other male speak, nodding affirmatively as he stated that some of them seemed mostly the same, distaste once again creeping back into his eyes as his lip slightly curled. He would never understand those wolves... Everything that Ishi said seemed to boil down to one main idea in the older canine's mind, and he waited patiently for his question to finally be answered before spitting out a few words of his own. "So basically...all the same but with different environments and temperaments?" Pluto asked, already knowing the answer as he visibly and audibly spat downwards at the territories before. Disgraceful? Yes, very. Did he care? No, duh. It wasn't his land, it wasn't anything he cared about. Besides, that land all belonged to wolves it seemed. One step into their precious territory and his skin would be used as a blanket for some snot nosed brat.

"At least you have some common sense, at least enough to keep you traveling. Not enough to keep you from joining one of those clusters in the beginning." Pluto huffed, his statement unclear to whether it was a compliment or an insult. Either way, it was probably the closest thing to a compliment he was ever going to give to a wolf.

At the follow-up question, which was more or less a summary of what had been said, Ishi shrugged one narrow shoulder good-naturedly as if to say, "yep, I guess that's more or less it!" He would have been curious to know if the coyote had been looking for one answer in particular — maybe he'd been looking to be enlightened, rather than to have something confirmed that he'd probably already guessed.

Ew, he uttered when the coy did a spit, but he chuckled immaturely at the action.

As for the coyote's conclusion: Joining a pack is a wolf's common sense, to be honest, he mused. Cluster creatures by nature! he summed it up chirpily.

So I guess I can be pretty sure that coyotes aren't pack creatures, then? All solitary roamers, like yourself?

Pluto flicked one ear as Ishi continued, stating that wolves were naturally the sort of creatures to stay in groups together. In the coyote's ears it translated to: "We're too weak to live on our own so we need help." It was a rough translation at best, definitely not the small male's best work, but it did validate his opinions further. Now however, it was the coyote's turn to explain himself, and inform the larger canine about the nature of his own species. "Some of us form groups, but they travel and don't become lazy lounging in some territory. It's not even like a pack, we're individuals that choose to move together. A lot of us however, are loners." Pluto smirked, proudly choosing to add on, "like me." Obviously basking in the glory of having no one to tie him down, the coy allowed his tail to raise slightly (well, higher than it was by default) as he continued to gaze downwards.

Despite being disgusted by such herd-canines, Pluto would be lying if he said that the territory they chose to claim was poor. Beautiful forests and hills, trickling rivers, and lush green grasses stretched over the horizon, capturing the holding his attention like a moth drawn to a flame. He was many things, and an admirer of a good view was one of them. After all, no one was composed of all negative qualities.

By now he was desensitised to the little insults, and didn't rise to them the way others might. He didn't even hold them against the coyote. He called wolves lazy for settling in one territory, but Ishi knew this to be false, and also knew it'd be a huge and silly waste of time to try and explain this to a coyote who was clearly very settled in his opinions. Instead, he preferred to concentrate on other aspects of their conversation.

Don't you get lonely? Ishi asked the self-proclaimed loner, and fully expected a laugh, but was also looking forward to elaboration.

Lonely? Well, that was an interesting question. Most of the time it wasn't brought up in conversations with the insensitive coyote, and he visibly seemed to think for a moment before finally just shrugging. "Yeah. Ya get used to it, though." Pluto barked, gaze not tearing itself from the beautiful view below. "Most wolves hate coyotes, and most of us feel the same. Haven't seen nor smelt many coyotes since comin' here, all wolves. I suppose talking to another coyote would be...pleasant? Or not, I'm not sure." He barked, shaking out his short, tufted pelt as he continued to think. His conversation skills were poor...and what else could he talk to a coyote about? They might have been the same species, but they could have totally different mindsets. "I guess I'm just fine with being lonely." He laughed, coming to a conclusion quite quickly.

After all, he didn't have to risk his rear end for others, worry for some other numbskull he had somehow grown attached to, or have to share his kills with another. Yeah, the loner life was actually sounding pretty good to him again. Loneliness was a simple side effect o such a lifestyle.