Haunted Wood the darkness calls

Dusk. Twilight. Sunset. The stunningly beautiful time of day had many different names, but Chroma only knew it as her favorite. When the brightness of the blaring sun had finally subsided, dusk became king, showing that those who perfer to be secluded and stealthy could really shine and shed their skin, so to speak. Roma loved this; her deep ebony fur bleded in effortlessly with her surrondings, cloaking her in the forgiving darkness. It was, after all, a skill she had learned from her mother, who had shared the same dark fur as herself. Stick to the darkness, and you'll be all set. 

So tonight was no different from any other; Chroma, who had just arrived in these new, unique lands, had spent the day wandering, lazily, while often indulging in naps. Now she saw the sun going down and decided to venture out a bit more... bravely, perhaps. But not too much, no, she decided to stay within the comforts of the woods. 

Chroma found herself deep within the wooded area, calmly following along side a peaceful stream. Her silver eyes watched closely as she took each step, ears twitching with the sounds of breaking sticks and chirping wildlife. Deciding it was quite tempting looking, the female edged closer to the moving river for a brisk drink; slowly closing her eyes as her tongue gently dipped into the flowing waters.

He hated to leave Fox's side, yet he needed to attempt to find food for her and the pups (he didn't bother thinking of himself). He summoned one of the Blackthorns to keep an eye on things and trudged down the caldera's slopes, tentatively putting weight on his injured leg. It ached, so he occasionally hoisted it off the ground, but he knew he would just have to play through the pain at this point. The situation wasn't dire yet but he knew it was headed that way fast.

He approached the woods at the caldera's foot. The trees were stripped of leaves but since they grew so closely together, their bare boughs still cast the place in shadows. With his nose to the ground, the Alpha moved forward into the naked forest, sifting for scents. Surely the small game wouldn't have disappeared overnight. The woods were definitely less lively than usual—and it was difficult to even locate a scent—but eventually Peregrine struck the trail of a pika. He managed to capture it but it was a young, scrawny thing that would barely constitute a snack for the pups.

Not long after making the kill, Peregrine spotted the silhouette of another wolf through the trees. His jade eyes narrowed. He wasn't hungry enough to try to kill a wolf, nor did he want to risk the pika carcass being stolen from him, no matter how puny. And he was in no hurry to recruit more wolves to the caldera's ranks right now; they had enough mouths to feed. All the same, he took a step forward, curious despite himself.

Link to roll.

hi! :D

Chroma had been peacefully sipping from the flowing water, oblivious to her surroundings for that briefmoment. Her eyes were closed, enjoying the crisp dusk air and the silence that echoed around her. Thewater was fresh and cool, just the perfect picture of nature. But the quietness was interrupted when theshe-wolf’s black ears twitched and her nose tingled; closing her mouth and opening her eyes, sherealized she was no longer alone.

Slowly her lifted her head and turned around, only to be greeted by a stranger. Although, Chroma supposed, that all wolves in this new land were strangers. Nonetheless, her ears flicked forward, alert and cautious. Roma realized that this would be her first meeting of somebody in these lands, and perhaps they could be useful to her. She could learn something about the new place she’d be calling home, since she was bashfully unaware of pretty much everything.

Tipping her head forward slightly, she grunted to clear her throat. But, learning from her mother, she waited for the stranger to speak first.

Good be roleplaying with you again! :)

Soon enough, she caught onto his presence. They regarded each other warily. She did not speak. Nor did Peregrine, though that was mostly because his mouth was otherwise preoccupied. But after a few beats of silence, he gently lowered the dead pika onto his broad forepaws. It was within easy reach, in case she tried to make a move toward it.

"You should know you're very close to my borders," he said in a cool, neutral voice. It occurred to him, even as he spoke, that Peregrine should chase her away from this place, even though it wasn't part of the caldera's claim. His wolves would need whatever sustenance the woods could provide; these were prime hunting grounds now.

His body stilled, tensed, as he pondered whether to go ahead and attack.

:D yes, I am excite

Chroma had noticed that perhaps a pack was harboring near by. The scent of wolves clearly marked these lands from head to toe, but the scent of claimed territory was unique. The stench of urine and testosterone was nearly impossible to mistake – she knew when a wolf had laid claim to a land that it became sacred. Unfortunately, Chroma did much care for territories, claimed lands, or literal pissing contests. Taking in a deep breath, she knew these words were free and clear, no stakes being laid and no wolves living here.

Narrowing her eyes, she chuckled a bit, flicking her tail unimpressed. “Am I?” She answered back. “I hadn’t noticed.” Although a lie, Roma knew she would never give any hints that she was aware of theidea. “I’m new here,” she threw in last moment, perhaps to soften her somewhat sarcastic response.

Her eyes darted downward to notice the small dead rodent he had placed down to speak. Even though the lands seemed somewhat barren, the black she-wolf was not interested nor hungry for his food. Her silver eyes landed back on the male, waiting for his response.

His eyes narrowed at her response. Peregrine couldn't tell whether she was being sarcastic or truly obtuse. Either one was unacceptable, he decided. His lips began to skin back from his teeth in a warning grimace, his head rising a few notches, ears pressing forward aggressively and tail stiffening into a curl behind him. He made no move to attack right away, lest he lose his claim on the dead pika, but instead hoped to intimidate her into retreating.

"Yes. You must not be very observant, so I'm also going to point out the fact that locusts have recently eaten every scrap of foliage for miles around. Food is going to become scarce real fast. These are our hunting grounds now, so it would be in your best interests to leave. Immediately." His tail lashed, making it clear it was not a request but a demand. He wouldn't ask twice; his next command would be issued with his teeth.

The she-wolf uttered a gruff, deep laugh combined with a scoff at the strange male’s request. While it was true that perhaps a swarm of locust had recently traveled through these lands, and perhaps they had left things slightly worse off than before they arrived, Chroma couldn’t see why this fellows hunting grounds and his pack were any of her concern at all.

Chroma returned his warning with her own, ears pinned backwards and teeth showing. She took in a deep breath; the scent of the territory filled her nose as she smirked. “As far as I can tell, this isn’t territory you have claim to.” The hackles on her body rose up slightly. “I’m not concerned with your hunting grounds, don’t you worry now.” Chroma never did do well with authority.

There was an entire wilderness out there where she could hunt or loiter or whatever she was doing here, and no compelling reason to stay in this area specifically. Yet the she-wolf stood her ground. Of course she did. It came as no surprise to Peregrine, as much as it displeased him. The world was full of arrogant wolves like this one. They were a dime a dozen.

Ignoring the twinge in his leg, he lunged at her, aiming in the general direction of her neck. The stranger could insist he had no right to behave this way but Peregrine couldn't have cared less about her opinion. He was a highly territorial beast at the best times... and these were definitely not the best of times.

Although she should’ve expected it, Roma was completely taken by surprised that the strange male lunged at her. Perhaps she underestimated the situation she was in; which for the young, naïve she-wolf, maybe wasn’t that much of a shock. Chroma had no real social skills and the only teacher she ever had, wasn’t exactly Mom of the Year.

Considering the shock, Roma reacted rather poorly and attempted to jump backwards; this was unsuccessful as she rolled awkwardly, attempting to soften or even move completely from the angry male. While her mother had trained her extensively in combat, she wasn’t quite sure she had ever had to use any of those skills in real-time, with an angry, pissed off, territorially male who was hungry for what seemed like more than food.

Her surprise took him by surprise. It was as if she truly hadn't anticipated his attack. Expecting a counterattack, her retreat threw Peregrine off balance—literally threw him off balance. He hurtled forward and flung out both forelegs to brace his weight. This caused a horrific jolt of pain to shoot up the injured one. An involuntary howl of pain erupted from the Alpha's mouth. He flinched and crooked the leg against his chest, hissing painfully through his teeth as he awkwardly hopped backward several paces. He stopped when one of his hind feet stepped on the dead pika.

"Get out!" he bellowed in anger and humiliation, well aware that he couldn't back up his threats without hurting himself further. She would realize that too, of course.

As the blackened she-wolf regained her composure from her awkward fall backwards, her silver eyes never left the male and watched as he went off balance. With his forelegs bracing, she saw him cry out in utter agnoy. Her ears flattened against her head as the howl pierced the otherwise silent forest. His paw curled upward against his chest, and then he echoed his violent voice, demanding that Chroma leave the forest. 

Clearly, this male was already injured from some previous event. Although Chroma could possibly take advantage of the situation, she scoffed as she stood back up and starred intently at the male. She paused for a moment, seriously considering whether or not attacking him at full force was a good idea. The ebony female grinned, however, showing her shiny white teeth through an almost goofy smile, and instead nodded at him. "As you wish," she laughed as she turned away from the male and walked off, granting the males command.

He might be screwed, should she choose to attack. His leg was an undeniable weakness. She was big enough to pose a real threat, even if her combat skills weren't particularly impressive. The swarthy wolf braced himself even as he tried to breathe through the pain and prepare himself for the possibility of more.

But the she-wolf just laughed and turned, walking away. Although that was exactly what he wanted, her scoffing made his skin burn. He grumbled under his breath, his pride definitely wounded by the altercation. Although she had done as he asked, Peregrine definitely didn't feel as if he'd won.

He waited a while, letting the pain abate somewhat, before collecting the pika and what (little) remained of his dignity, then hobbling home.