Blackfoot Forest part two

Follow-up scouting thread for @Shadow

As they neared the edge of Blackfoot Forest, a gargantuan storm front bloomed above the Sunspire range, taking the wolves quite by surprise. Bazi scarcely had time to register the scent of impending rain before she caught sight of the dark, blue-grey clouds, heavy with the promise of a downpour.

"Well, that was sudden," she muttered to her grey companion, coming to a halt a few yards from the border between exposed grassland and sheltered forest. Standing there, they could just about hear the chatter of the territory's resident foxes - screechy, nervous babbling, occasionally punctuated by strange, whooping laughs. The pale Beta turned to Shadow with a wry smile on her slender little face. "We've got to cross through to get to the mountains, so.. what do you say we wreak some havoc with the foxes?"

:D

Shadow and Bazi had traveled for quite some time, as they neared the edge of Blackfoot Forest, the clouds were a dark bluish gray color, promising the wolves rain and storm. He shook himself as his thoughts wandered back.

Bazi had asked him about Trades, having traveled for quite some time, he had thought about them and the more he thought about them, the more he realised that he wanted to be the caretaker just as much as he wanted to be a warrior and an outrider (he had thought about warden and decided against it). Perhaps when he came back from this mission.......

Shadow's silvery eyes focused and he smirked for the first time in days, it lit up his whole face. "I never thought you'll think of something like this, guess that means I don't know you much, Beta," he avoided saying Bazi's name for though he wasn't angry, he still just didn't want to talk to her in a more casual way just yet. His voice lost the playful tone as he talked "but count me in."

Something like this? Bazi smiled at her subordinate, momentarily confused by his words. It took a few turns of the gears for her to remember that their interactions thus far had been very formal, consisting mainly of probing questions from her and elaborate answers from him. After that, the conversation had taken an awkward turn into the realms of 'love', promptly died on its ass, and neither wolf had manage to re-start it.

"I think that's normal, given that we've only just met. But you should know I'm not all business," she responded, winking at him. "Come on. Let's run through this forest and see what this little buggers do." With that, Bazi bumped her head affectionately against her comrade's shoulder and rushed headlong into the forest gloom.

Shadow's expression shifted from pure calmness to astonishment, it was there for the smallest of seconds before it vanished, replaced by the calm coolness again. Though if you looked closely into his gleaming silver eyes you could see surprise still reflecting in them mixed with happiness for the first time in a year. It was hard for the young wolf to be happy in his natal pack.

Did Bazi just bump her head against his shoulder? And if he wasn't mistaken, with a hint of affection?

He shook himself out of his thoughts as he bounded after Bazi, he soon caught up with her and decided to test the boundaries "Slow, aren't you, Beta, to let a lowly wolf catch up with you?"

Shall we decide the outcome of the race with the dice? If you type /roll1d8 with a space between 'roll' and '1d8', it will resolve into a number. I will roll first, edit my reply in, and if you beat my number, Shadow out-runs Bazi. :D

Shadow was quick to catch her, using his long, lean body to the best of his ability. Bazi met his challenge with a curt growl and pushed on lengthening her strides. She was smaller than him, and light, with a sure-footedness that would impress a mountain goat. Among the roots and brush, she banked on this quality to keep her from falling.

They rushed into the gloom of the forest just as the skies broke, leaving the sudden crash of a million droplets of water in their wake.

Roll: 5

Okay :D

Shadow kept running, dodging trees and bushes. He loved the feeling of the wind on his back, as they entered the forest, it started to rain, scattering millions of droplets of water onto the treetops and their coats.

The rain soon came down in waves and waves, watering all the plants in the forest but also showering the two racing wolves and blinding their eyes.

3, I guess I lost.

"Slow, did you say?" Bazi hollered from the front, maintaining her lead through the forest - Shadow was fast, there was no denying it, but on this day she had the edge. The rain was heavy enough to penetrate to the mulchy floor, but by the time they reached the older, denser parts, scarcely a dropped could reach them.

Here, Bazi slowed to a trot, stepping aside to allow Shadow to fall into step beside her. Unlike the exposed grassland that surrounded Swiftcurrent Creek, the forest felt.. safe. Oppressive, yes, but she could get over that. "Do you think a pack could live here?" she asked, gazing up into the dense crowns.

Shadow laughed as they slowed down, he gazed thoughtfully around. The towering trees offered protection, hiding them from any enemies yet at the same time hiding their own view. He knew that this was not a place for him.

"A pack of wolves who could get used to this could live here," he answered Bazi. He'll choose the grassland surrounding Swiftcurrent Creek over any kind of forest any day, he felt like he couldn't breathe when under the thick trees and away from direct contact with the sun and the sky.

As they trotted on, Shadow spotted two rabbits snuffling around on the leafy ground. He was hungry as he didn't eat anything before going on this journey, he dropped into a crouch and leaped. His teeth snapped the neck of one rabbit while his paw slammed the other into a tree.

With his mouth still around the rabbit, he mumbled " Do you want one?"

Bazi smirked at that, but nodded. She supposed he was right. The air had a different quality to it, and you couldn't go ten feet without having to dodge a branch or navigate a sprawling web of roots. She was a tundra girl herself, accustomed to open country and high visibility. Here, there were too many places to hide, and the security offered by the density of the trees was a false one.

Whilst she drifted off on a current of thoughts regarding the fortification of Swiftcurrent Creek, Shadow disappeared. He returned a while later, clutching two quite frankly retarded rabbits, who had chosen to linger in the area despite the obvious presence of two predators. Bazi shook her head at the unfortunate, limp little bodies in her packmate's mouth. "Keep one for Tuwawi," she told him. "Let's scope out the edge of the forest, see how easy it is to get up and down the Sunspire range from here." A gentle slope into the forest would make the area difficult to defend.

Shadow nodded and gulped down the last of the rabbit. It took the edge of his hunger away, he stared at the other rabbit before tearing his gaze away. "A brilliant idea, Bazi." he replied, his mind not on the idea but to get away from this forest as soon as possible. He vowed he would never enter another forest if it wasn't an emergency. He hated it.

He caught the scruff of the rabbit with his teeth and lifted it up as he trotted beside the Beta. Every now and then, they had to stop to avoid some branch or sometimes bashing into a hidden tree.

If Shadow disliked the forest, he hid the fact well. The further they ventured, the less convinced Bazi became of its suitability as pack territory. It reeked of foxes, and they lost their trail several times - one cluster of trees much resembled the next, and it was impossible to triangulate your location without so much as an inch of visible sky.

Where the forest bordered mountain, the Beta's frown intensified. The contact area between the two territories was vast and twisted. The dark world of foxes pushed further into the mountains than she had anticipated, and it would be impossible to guard the length properly.

"No," she eventually decided, and turned to her pack-mate. "Look at this." At this point, they stood at the neck of what, from the sky, looked like the head of a wolf. Bazi looked left, right, and straight ahead, squinting into the gloom. "If this had been a flat north-to-south wall, then maybe, but it makes this rocky bowl. We can't defend it." Better to face an enemy head on by the water than worry where they would climb down, blinded by trees. "Worth checking out," she finished with a shrug, and used an internal compass to face north-east. "Home, I think - whilst that thing in your mouth is still fresh."

The more they ventured into the forest, the more Shadow hated it and he was convinced that if any pack of wolves decided to settle in there as their territory, they are mentally insane. Who in the right mind would choose to stay in that kind of place? And it was impossible to find your location when trees cover your vision of the sky.

They finally arrived where the forest bordered the mountains, he had to say he wholeheartedly agreed with the Beta. "Too true."

Concluding! I'll have them head for home so we can have a more up-to-date thread.

Shadow was turning out to be a wolf of few words. Bazi angled one ear back, casting her subordinate a mistrustful look when his face was turned away. Why the sudden succinctness? Did he have something to hide? It never crossed the Beta's mind that the forest might be making him uncomfortable - or that their awkwardly stumbling conversation at the start of the journey might have affected the way he was interacting with her now. Long into its history, Swiftcurrent wolves would thank their stars that Bazi Swift had not attempted to be come a counselor.

The sky was far from done emptying itself onto the plains. Bazi hesitated at the fringe of the forest, but decided to push on - idle chit-chat was not on the menu, and that rabbit was not getting any fresher.

Shadow followed Bazi back to Swiftcurrent Creek. He had enjoyed this trip even though there were a few misunderstandings in the journey, it felt good to stretch his legs. Not that the Creek was small but he had gotten used to journeying every day and it still took time to get used to staying in one territory but he enjoyed it too. Now he had the pack's protection and backup too.

It was a good idea to leave, now Shadow knew he did not like any kind of forest. He'd stick to open areas for now and the Creek. Perhaps he'll stay a bit longer, he did not know but it was a good place to settle down.