Golden Glade Dance

Skydance had backtracked a bit.  Recently she'd ended up on the path of a wounded deer, hoping that it'd end up keeling over dead so she could have a nice meal all to herself.  After a few days tracking it became clear the wound wasn't going to be fatal if it was just her on the hunt, so she veered off in a different direction and had found a hare instead.

Hell, maybe she could just manage through all this on her own after all if things kept going this way.  She could dream, at least.  For now, she was quite content after her meal and turned to investigating other local scents.  It rather seemed like a few more wolves had moved into the area, so maybe it would be good to stick around?  Or not?  She still wasn't sure.  She just needed to know her choices and then certainly something would become clear.

Oh, and another warren!  She stuffed her head into the entry, getting a nice whiff of the residents that were all well out of her reach at the moment -- besides, she didn't need another.  Honestly, Skydance was mostly just bored right now, as her current plan was to hang out a day or so then head back the way she'd come to try again in the most densely populated area.  Maybe she'd speed up the timeline.

the further away from the creek that he managed to trek, the more he felt as though he had found a peculiar sense of freedom in the wilds. while he had used the excuse that he would hunt out there, he had done very little of that since having ventured beyond the forest near the creek. with winter upon them, the pale charmer knew that it was best to fill caches and remain close to their intended claim. grayson would certainly want him nearer to their territory, knowing his brother. all work and no play certainly made for a dull boy, though.

the scent of deer had pulled his attention out of mere travel. he had caught that it was wounded and had followed until he had lost track of the scent. after puttering around for several long minutes, harrison had cursed the animal and turned himself toward another familiar aroma: hare. the warrens were plentiful there, and though a deer carcass would have been promising, there was something more satisfying in the thrill of a rabbit chase. so, the pale snake followed the trail of the hare, but it was not hare that he found.

the cinnamon-dusted figure of a stranger caught his eye, and harrison held his ground for a moment before he fixed the girl with his standard schmoozing expression and flagging tail. with a friendlier appearance, the man approached and called out in a bark once he had closed some of the space between them.

Doing threads in any sort of order is for nerds

Skydance stuck one slim foreleg into the hole, reaching to see how far she'd have to dig.  It seemed pretty much like forever -- geez these critters could sure build a hole!  Yeah, better to just come back later on this one, the earth was probably pretty hard too.  Retrieving her limb, she stared into the depths a bit more, and that's when the guy approaching announced his presence.  Oh!  Hum.

She stood up and shook the dirt and snow out of her pelt before turning to face him.  Skydance did her best to look presentable, as had been taught -- you could only ruin others' opinion of you by looking slovenly.  At least from here, he seemed friendly enough, so she responded with a wag of her own tail and a few steps forward to meet him partway.

Good day to you, she said with a polite bob of her head.  Skydance seemed to be of pretty good cheer, maybe because the decision to just stop caring about some things was pretty freeing at the moment.  This guy seemed to carry the scents of a number of wolves -- had another pack appeared here?  There was only the one when she was here last. It'd be good to find out -- then maybe it might be worth considering staying in the area instead of returning.  Asking outright without allowing for him to return the greeting would be pretty ill-mannered, though, and if she wanted information it'd probably be best she was on reasonably good behavior instead of throwing things to the wind.

agreed!

well, she sure was pretty to look at. while it may have been piggish and assuming of him, the pale charmer did not refrain from trailing his gaze along her frame. the dusting of russet along her crown and nape was especially appealing against the pale cloak of her underside. even the blood orange of her gaze was enough to draw him closer to her, only to inspect further – if she would allow him.

harrison remained pleasantly aloof in his closing of the distance between them. he sauntered with the greatest of care, making sure that he did not seem overbearing or intrusive. a crooked smirk adorned his dark lips, curling his features up ever so slightly along the right side of his face. the end of his tail wavered between his hocks until he was close enough that he could scent the foreign terrain that she carried on her frame. there was no prominent aroma of others, so his mental assumption was that she was on her own.

“how are you doing on this fine winter day?” the snake inquired with a spreading grin that revealed a pointed canine from beneath his lip.

He did smell like other wolves but not the pack that she'd passed by previously -- his scent seemed closer to this land than up there on the plateau.  

In all honesty, she hadn't really seen anyone normal since she'd arrived here.  She now expected the weird, and this guy didnt seem quite average either. She couldn't quite place why, but it was enough that she knew to keep her wits about her.  Skydance's words were somewhat flippant but after how many failed meetings, could you blame her? Continuing south started sounding better the longer time went on.  Oh, well enough, you know.  Starting to feel like I'm out of places to explore.  What about yourself? Are you from around these parts?

harrison was probably about as average a man as she would find. sure, he was a pig, but weren’t all men? he had some good qualities about him too. he sure did know how to make a woman feel pretty, and he could definitely keep them safe in times of trouble. beyond this, the charming fellow was nothing more than a snake in the grass and he was constantly waiting for his opportunity to strike. whenever that moment arose, he would take it. until that time came, he only wished to continue chatting it up with the pretty sort in hopes that he could find something better to do with his time.
 
the woman mentioned that she thought she was running out of places to explore. he grinned at this comment and chuckled softly. the world was such a vast thing, but he didn’t expect a woman to know much about any of that. she then asked him if he was from around there. “no, i’m from a ways away, but my family and some others are looking to settle by the creek back that way,” he responded to her, motioning with a swing of his muzzle in the direction of their temporary home.
 
“you could swing by sometime. it’d give you something more to explore.”

So another forming pack then, eh?   Winter lurked, but did she want to bother?  She shrugged, pondering, I might wander on by, depending on what I decide.  What'd be so fascinating over there, then?  She quirked a brow.  Honestly, from all of her adventures in the region, nothing had really proven to be interesting enough to make her stay.  But then again she wasn't entirely sure what she was looking for in the first place.  Something, though.  She'd know it when she found it, and she had pretty much given up.  The world would drive her on, whether she wanted to or not.  Skydance was definitely getting tired of wandering one way or another, but she wasn't sure where she'd end up in the end.  It very well could be beyond these Wilds.

the snake wasn’t sure how he felt about her vibe. he didn’t think she was necessarily too much for the likes of the rosings wolves, but he felt like there was something that stirred beneath her. it was as though the woman didn’t do anything that she didn’t want to do, and that would have been something that proved troublesome for the forming pack. still, he thought it wiser to ask questions so that he could get a grip on her personality before jumping to conclusions that weren’t well-founded. surely, the woman wouldn’t have liked to hear his thoughts on her the first impression she’d given him.
 
“well, i could tell you all about the lovely view of the woods and the creek that runs through, but you can find things like that just about anywhere,” he began with a crooked smirk and a shrug of nonchalance. it was true, after all; no matter where she wandered, the wilderness would likely appear very much the same. it was just land, wasn’t it? “we’ve got some good company, and i think that’s what really entices someone to come by,” harrison offered her.

Yeah, Skydance wasn't exactly demure, especially not in the mood she was in.  Sure, she was educated to have class and generally be nice and polite, but there was a certain amount of not giving a hoot buried under the surface.  Right now it was pretty close to ground level.

She was somewhat curious though.  Was that an actual fact or was he just hyping up his family in general?  Oh really?  Is your family a whole troupe of entertainers or perhaps courtiers?  That may indeed be fascinating.  Her birth pack had been a pretty awesome place when it came to amusing sorts of people, so if they were much the same that might actually be a good fit for her.  If he was just fibbing to get her attention, well.  Not so much.  There were some things she could tolerate and others she could not.

her question caused his brows to lift over his eyes and his smile to stretch. he was already positive that she would not have made a good addition to their group, but he was enjoying the conversation that was taking place anyway. when she inquired about their pack being a band of entertainers, harrison could hardly hold back the booming laugh that filled the air. he shook his head as the remainder of the chuckle faded away. only then did he latch his eyes to the cinnamon-dusted female and answer with, “well, they are entertaining... in their own right.”

realizing that it was getting rather late and he should have been returning back to the weak women who had been left alone by the creek, he offered the woman a dip of his head. “come by sometime and i'll show you around,” the charmer offered with a quick wink and a wag of his tail. without anything further to say, harrison turned himself toward their home and bounded away.