Blackfoot Forest And it comes with a shove

for @red exploring/outrider thread assuming he mentioned to Red he was going for an adventure to this place and she came with.

It was time to explore. The recent events unfolding within the packlands filled Fang with a need to offer assistance any way he could whilst avoiding the disturbing amount of drama that followed. He couldn't understand the dynamics behind the issues, they had captured juveniles, and the incidents seemed to revolve around the beta, Jace, who he had no real experience with. As it was He had told Ferdie he would explore and determine what threats, if any existed, around the lands. He managed to recruit Red as a follower on his little expedition. Fang hadn't spent a lot of time with the coy-wolf, she had shown him the emberwood, a breath-taking lay picturesque location that she frequented, if the ever present scent of aspen was any a indication. Otherwise she was little more than an acquaintance, however she was one he enjoyed nonetheless. It was late afternoon when they reached the outskirts of Blackfoot forest. The heavy scent of fox, the apparent local populous, hang in the air as the evening sun broke through the nearing canopy of trees casting broken rays to the dense floor. the half-breed stopped before they entered, he turned to his travelling companion, ears swivelling this way and that, keenly picking up the late days bird calls, broken by the occasional fox call. Well, it's not quite as inviting as your forest As he thought of the emberwood. He gave a little flick of his tail, waiting on her reaction to the path ahead. Speech <style="font-family:georgia;font-weight:bold;color:#4220C1;font-size:14px;">thoughts

I finally got the table to work! Like it?? :D Also, what happened to your table? At the bottom, the word “thoughts” is in white. Isn’t is supposed to be in blue…? Also, I’m sorry but because of our location, I CAN’T HELP IT. “What Does the Fox Say?”

Red stood beside her friend, Fang. Although he considered them only acquaintances, she was known for growing overly-attached to others much too quickly, and so considered most everyone her friend after only one meeting — provided said meeting went over well and didn’t end in fighting or running away in fear. The two of them were currently at the edge of Blackfoot Forest, and the eerie calls of the foxes who made this place their home were sending chills up the coywolf’s spine. Although wolves and foxes tended to leave each other alone, that didn’t mean that a whole mass of them all living in one place didn’t freak her out a little. Though, the more she thought about it, the less that reaction made sense. After all, wolves all lived together in one area, didn’t they? So why would Red get freaked out by foxes all living together in one area?

”Well, it’s not quite as inviting as your forest,” Fang said, breaking Red out of her thoughts. Being one of few words, all she did in response was give a chuff, and a wag of her tail. She was happy that Fang thought of Emberwood as inviting. That was certainly a word she would use, also. Longingly, she thought of its white-barked aspen trees and its lake and its birdcall and the rustle of prey animals in the underbrush. And the way the forest would soon turn ablaze in the autumn. It was here that she shook herself. She needed to concentrate on what was here now, in front of her.

Eagerly, she took a few steps forward, and then turned back to Fang, ears swiveling to the forest and then back to her friend, to say, Ready?

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Love it, and I just copy pasted wrong on the last post. :P. Also power playing them moving into the woods. If you want I can change just pm me

Once again a smile spread over his features at Red's enthusiasm, for himself this was a simple explorer task, the beckoning calls from within caused more than a little trepidation. As Red moved onward he followed before overtaking after a few steps they set into the woods. No sooner had the sun began to fade behind the overhead canopy did the feeling of being watched sweep over the half-breed, instinctively he closed the gap between himself and his companion. Not sure whether it was paranoia or a genuine concern. He simply padded forward assuming Red was nearby. The baying of foxes echoed around adding to the feeling of impending danger. In short order they made there way into a clearing, an unremarkable location where the trees had decided to thin their growth allowing the afternoon sun brightening their position as he paused. this place gives me the creeps. He admitted quietly to his travelling companion. Speech thoughts

ooc]I’m powerplaying a bit because I make Red run into Fang, but not hurt him or bowl him over or anything. Don’t worry. You’ll see.[/ooc]

Red didn’t mind it when Fang overtook her as they traveled through Blackfoot Forest. And when he drew nearer to her, she smiled. Was he being protective? She liked that. Although her initial awkwardness about possibly having a crush on him was now gone, that didn’t mean she had stopped enjoying his company. In fact, subconsciously, she still had a crush on him. Her conscious brain just hadn’t caught up with those feelings yet, and they remained only a tickle in the back of her mind for her to wonder about late at night.

Suddenly, a screaming noise filled the air, causing Red to jump and skitter right into Fang. He may have been a hybrid too, but he was slightly bigger than she was, so he didn’t even stumble when it happened. The coywolf didn’t notice what she had just done, either. She was too busy whipping her head around, trying to pinpoint the location of the screaming sound, which was soon joined by many other creepy sounds. Red pressed herself against Fang, her ears flat on her head, tail tucked and curled around a back leg. She whimpered, not knowing what the fuck those noises were, though it should have been obvious that they were foxes. What else could they be? Still, Red scared easily, and once she was afraid, her brain sort of turned off.

She whined again, glancing at Fang, and her message was clear: Can we go now?

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minor power playing is fine :3

No sooner had the words escaped did the shrill scream rip through the air. His head whipped this way and that as Red bounced into him searching for the offending source of noise. His hackles rose as Red pressed against him, his own concern kept in check. The following noises that echoed through the forest did nothing to alleviate the feelings. Why did I think this was a good place to explore.The need to flee itched in his paws as he shuffled on the spot. The Coywolfs whine brought on a sudden feeling of bravado. Sure, he was more than a little scared himself but the ongoing companionship with Red was stirring odd feelings, the need to not act like a pansy, for one. It's...it's just the foxes, they're harmless, but we can leave if you really want. The odd quake in his cadence would give way to the fact he didn't really want to stay, as his golden eyes looked around trying to convince himself of his own words. The feel of Red pushing against his own frame in fear wasn't helping him. Nonetheless he stood fast. Bravery. Bitches love bravery Speech thoughts

I think I literally choked on laughter when I read that last part. Uh, also Red is TOTALLY crushing on Fang and there doesn’t seem to be a way for me to stop it. XD

”But we can leave if you really want.”

Red was tempted — sorely tempted by these words to bolt. To run, flee, with her tail between her legs, ears flat on her head. Except… then she remembered that she had faced down Fox and her minions not but a few weeks before now. And she had — somehow — not been afraid then. So why be afraid now? The Swiftcurrent Alpha’s namesakes were most likely harmless. Generally wolves/coywolves and foxes left each other alone. They probably felt a little annoyed at having their forest barged into, but they’d get over it.

With a whoof, Red removed herself from Fang’s side and moved a few paced forward, farther into the forest. She turned to look back at Fang over her shoulder, to invite him along, and suddenly realized how close they had just been. She gave him a shy smile, tail wagging a little bit. She wasn’t always confident in exactly what emotion she felt around Fang. Sometimes it was friendship. Other times it felt more than that. He had not pushed her away from him, either, which made her curious, She did not think that maybe the reason he hadn’t pushed her away was because he was too busy being afraid. She didn’t think he could be afraid. He was always so relaxed about everything.

She shook her head, facing forward again. Now was not the time to figure out her emotional/relationship status with Fang. Now was the time for exploration. And she would keep it that way… as long as she made herself never look into his pretty, pretty golden eyes…

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Heh, Fang's having his own turmoils about Red.

The bravado lingered as the warmth of her body pressed into his, adding a comforting feeling despite the fear that tickled at him, urging him to move off. When she moved away his thoughts wandered from the forests baying inhabitants to watching his small companion move away. The smile that ran over his features when she looked back was amplified by the one she wore. He moved alongside the coy-wolf close enough to brush his pelt in hers before continuing on their 'adventure'. Minutes passed as they moved along in silence, or as silent as the woodlands allowed. Trying to put the distracting sounds out of his mind he struggled with the idea of saying something. Completely uncertain what to say, how do you talk to someone who didn't like talking? So uhh...He managed before swallowing nothing and continuing quietly. I thought this would be a nicer place, you know, like your woods. Sorry to drag you along... Before the words even finished he was cursing himself stupid for speaking them. He let out a soft sigh, not really expecting an answer. He instead kept close to her as they continued. Speech thoughts

The sound of the foxes died down over time as the two of them continued on through Blackfoot Forest. The coming sunset as the ball of fire lowered in the sky only made this place even creepier, though Red said nothing about it. Of course, she wouldn’t. Speech was not something she enjoyed, as had been made obvious countless times before. So, despite being a little nervous here still, she kept her mouth shut and simply padded along quietly beside Fang, whom she was still having conflicted emotions about.

“So, uhh…” he began, and the coywolf could hear the awkwardness in his voice. I thought this would be a nicer place, you know, like your woods. Sorry to drag you along…"

She smiled in amusement as he sighed. Though she didn’t plan on answering him with words, she appreciated his attempt at conversation nevertheless. She walked a bit closer to him, nudging his shoulder with her snout in goodwill. He had said “your woods”, as though Emberwood belonged to her. In a way, it sort of did. She had been the one to discover it, after all. And the longer she was away from it, the more she missed it. But she did not say this out loud. She was still trying to sort out her emotions about wanting to leave the Sunspire, and she didn’t want to drag Fang into it.

Instead, she looked around, noticing the eerie quiet that had overtaken the forest. There was a particular sound that had gone missing quite a while ago. She stopped, whining at her friend and looking around. Her body language asked the question: Where did all the foxes go?

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She touched his side once more, and once more he wished the feeling lingered. He was having a hard time playing the charmer, the witty banter that normally came forth when he was tangled up with others was cast aside entirely. She barely spoke, her lack of words only amplified his feelings of stupidity if he even tried some suave coo. Another low sigh escaped as she looked around. He struggled to articulate any words to try and get her to divulge something that would let him express his own thoughts. I thought this'd be a great place to get you alone, a dark, creepy, fox ridden wood at night. No no, I swear I'm not a serial killer. He snorted a small laugh at his own thoughts, his eyes once more turning to the coywolf, who seemed to be offering concern about something. his attention diverted, returning to the surroundings, the fox calls had faded, he assumed they were just now used to the encroachers. A half smirk spread over his maw, his tail lifted as his head went up, his chest puffing as he spoke. Clearly they are afraid of a dashingly powerful male like myself! Closing his eyes he gave a quick shake of his head, lifting his chin. A pose of superiority clearly. Stopping he looked back at the female the smile still smeared over his features. Once again he suddenly felt incredibly stupid in front of this small red half-wolf. Why? Speech thoughts

”Clearly they are afraid of a dashingly powerful male like myself!”

Red stared at Fang for a few long seconds, watching him go through the motions of realizing his words and shaking his head at them. She continued staring for a few more seconds, and then quite suddenly burst into giggles, which was an odd thing for her to do. She didn’t normally giggle. She didn’t normally laugh, either. Most often, her show of amusement was a wag of the tail or a smile. Giggles were rather unusual. However, she found that once she started, she couldn’t stop. She tried in vain to catch her breath, but with every intake of air, another fit of the giggles would burst forth from her and cause to lose all the oxygen she had just sucked in.

She looked briefly at Fang, trying to convey with her eyes that she was sorry for laughing so much. Her stomach began to hurt from it, and that was when she decided she’d had enough. She sucked in a big breath and held it for a moment or two, and then slowly let it out. By the time she was done blowing the air from her chest, her giggles had receded completely and she was back to a relatively normal state of being.

Her ears went back against her head, tail remaining low, but wagging slightly, to convey the meaning: Sorry. Wasn’t laughing at you. Don’t know why I was laughing. Awkwardly, she cleared her throat. Hopefully, he’d understand and wouldn’t be offended at her sudden outburst. After all, it had surprised her just as much as it had probably surprised him.

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He stood for a moment as Red began her giggling, his own laughter soon adding to hers. At first a nervous laugh that eventually faded to a hail of genuine amusement. As the laughter faded he found himself feeling a warmth build up inside at the sound of her laugh, he looked at her with warmth in His golden eyes. Before him was this slight female, who had barely said more than a dozen words to him in the time they've spent together. Odd feelings were stirring in their quiet time but he had no idea who she was. Red, I really want to know. ..something, anything about you. Tell me something Pausing, he wasn't entirely sure she'd tell him anything, but at least he tried. Speech thoughts

Red was glad when Fang’s laughter joined her own. It made her feel less awkward. The forest now seemed much less scary and she wouldn’t mind if they stayed for a while longer yet. The foxes could do whatever they wanted for all she cared. When he looked at her after they were done with their giggling fit, she felt herself melting on the inside. His golden eyes were staring into hers, and they were gorgeous. He had never looked at her that way before — at least, not that she knew of.

”Red, I really want to know… something — anything about you. Tell me something.”

Aaaaand her good feelings came crashing back down to the forest floor. Of course he wanted to know something about her. And it wasn’t as though she minded sharing. It was just that… there was nothing to share. She didn’t remember anything about herself outside of her time in the Teekon Wilds. Nothing at all. Not a wisp or a speck of information. So what would she say to him?

Red sighed, looking down, her ears going back against her head. I don’t… know what to tell you. I’m an amnesiac. Who you see now is who I’ve been for as long as I can remember, which hasn’t been for much longer than a few months. I woke up one day at Duck Lake in Rising Sun Valley with no memory of who or where I was before. I can’t tell you anything else. She kept her head down after this. It was the first time she had ever admitted to anyone that she had amnesia. She wondered how he would take it. Would he give her pity? She didn’t want it if he did. She just wanted to lead as normal a life as she could.

Sighing again, she awaited his response.

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Amnesia? The surprise was etched on his face as she explained, a sense of admiration built up in him. He leant and offered a small nose-bump when she finished. Nothing before these lands? I'd be terrified, not knowing things. You've done better than I could. He offered a smile when he finished. He looked around the forest they were in once more, the fading sounds as night approached and the day cooled let his mind wander for a second before he realised something. Turning his gaze back on Red. Can't be all bad, at least you don't remember what you're afraid of, hey? A playful tone flecked his words. except for those foxes earlier. He added the mock insult with a small chuckle. Speech thoughts

Gonna wrap it up, if you don’t mind. I’ll let you have the last post.

Red smiled at Fang’s words. Somehow he always managed to figure out how to make her feel better, and she appreciated him for it. Then she sort of laughed when he mentioned her not remembering what she was afraid of. I do know one thing I’m afraid of, she said softly. And it has nothing to do with foxes. Here, she laughed again before continuing. I’m afraid of thunderstorms. Deathly afraid. I start running around like crazy until I find somewhere to shove my head into. I hate the sound. It’s too loud and I can’t handle it…

The coywolf glanced at Fang before looking away again, giving an absentminded smile as she looked around at the forest. We should get going, I think. It’s getting dark and I would much rather be back at the Sunspire than here with the foxes tonight. Even if you’re with me. She paused to let him give his two cents, and then turned and began to trot away back to the mountain.

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fine by me, andddddd exit post

He nodded in agreement about the idea of storms, once again stifling a laugh at the idea of Red's skittish behaviour causing her to jump from one spot to the next everytime a lightning strike happened. When she mentioned leaving, a small pang was felt inside, he had wanted to stay longer. Dismissing the thought he began to follow. Foxes are pretty obnoxious I guess. Catching up so he could trot alongside. Even if I did scare them all off. He added with a small laugh. Actions Speech thoughts