Ravensblood Forest the real kicker

For @Ellie.

Delicately, Fox had made her way down the plateau and had headed northwest. It was not an area she had been before, nor had she ever had any reason to. Saying she had a reason to now was a bit of a stretch, but she had found exploring the immediate lands nearby her new home to be somewhat entertaining. The yearling had followed the river that bordered her home, and began heading into the shady forest that was Ravensblood. She sought nothing in particular; this was merely a way to whittle away her day before she returned to the comforts of the plateau.

The yearling did not seek out anthing in particular just yet, although she would have her eyes, ears, and nose open for signs of prey. While she had no plans to hunt, it would be good to know where the herds mingled and where rabbits kept their homes. Finding meals within the plateau may become increasingly difficult in the cold of winter, and Fox wanted to make sure that she explored other possibilities. Her pace was slow, but steady.

Ellie padded silently through the forest by the sea, only vaguely aware of anything around her. She knew she was in a forest and that forests had trees in them, and that she was passing a lot of said trees. Other than that, her mind was quite blank and bored and quiet. She really had nowhere to be and nothing to do. She wasn't even hungry, which left hunting off the list of possible boredom-stoppers. She supposed she should join a pack, as that's what her impulses told her to do. But she hadn't met many wolves yet, and had no idea where the nearest pack was to begin with.

She caught the scent of another of her kind on the slight breeze and it took many moments before it registered in her brain. She stopped. The scent was... female, probably a pack wolf, as she carried the smells of others on her pelt. Ellie didn't know how to proceed from here. She had absolutely no reason to go tailing down some wolf she didn't know, and she wasn't one for conversation anyways. But the decision was made for her when she saw the red wolf up ahead. She sighed and moved forward, letting out a quiet chuff of greeting, waiting to see how this meeting would pan out.

The soft (perhaps hesitant) greeting of another female caused Fox to search around for its origin. After a few moments, she spotted the tawny wolf and gave pause, examining her from afar. From what she could tell, the girl was of similar size, in good health, and probably could have passed as a sister to Fox herself. The Beta tested the air with her nose, filling it with whatever whiff of the other girl she could catch. No other scents mingled aside from her own, so Fox could only assume that this was no pack wolf.

Coming to the conclusion that she had little to lose (and a potential pack-mate to gain), Fox strode forward with a bounce in her step. When she was a few feet away from the stranger, she let her forelegs bend toward the ground, and she waved her tail back and forth behind her. It was the classic play-bow, and something Fox often used when she was meeting strangers outside of her homeland. She enjoyed this way of greeting more than any other. It didn't require formalities, the language was clear without words, and no wolf could possibly see her as a threat.

Ellie recognized the play-bow for what it was, and though she was glad that the other female did not present a threat, she really didn't have it in her to play -- although she couldn't be sure that the female actually wanted to play or was only using the greeting to show she was non-threatening. Either way, it didn't matter much to the girl. She gave a small, half-hearted wag of her tail in response and then looked away, not knowing how to proceed.

After an awkward pause, as introductions were not Ellie's strong strong suit, she said, "Hi. I'm Ellie." After which, she said nothing more, as there was nothing else to say in her opinion. It was now up to the other female to give her own name -- or not. The tawny she-wolf really couldn't care less. At the very least, this meet-and-greet was a way to pass the time as she willed away her boring life one day at a time.

WOW that ending was emo.

Using her body language, the other girl declined. Fox was disappointed, and she made no effort to hide it. The redhead gave a defeated sigh, but she looked up when the stranger introduced herself as Ellie. “Fox Redleaf-DiSarinno,” the Beta replied. It was the first time she had introduced herself as such, and it sent a rush of warmth through her. She was Peregrine's, and he was hers. Or... half hers. The other half belonged to Lasher. Or did it? Fox was still a bit unclear on the rules of the thing, but she was adapting better than she had expected.

“Not into playing with strangers, are you?” she asked, direct and to the point, as always. “I find it’s a good way to get to know somebody, y’know?” But perhaps Ellie didn't want to get to know her. Maybe there was something wrong with her. Or maybe Fox was just making snap judgements. It wouldn't be the first time.

"Maybe there was something wrong with her." I can't tell if that was you saying maybe there was something wrong with Fox, or maybe there was something wrong with Ellie. You wanna start the sparring thread? [size=xx-small]And do all the numbers for me because OMG numbers.[/size]

Ellie blinked slowly at Fox when she was asked about playing with strangers. So she did wanna play-fight. The tawny she-wolf shrugged and half-nodded at this revelation. "I'll play-fight with ya," she said. "Though I completely suck at it so you'll have to go easy on me. I'm not much one for fighting... or really anything for that matter. I'm a loner. Have been for... at least a few months now. I'm much better at running away than at fighting. But sure. Why not."

After this, she got into the proper stance which instinct was telling her to take, bowing her upper-body close to the ground and holding her rump somewhat in the air, tail wagging. Her face, though, still held the expression of someone completely bored out of their mind. That wouldn't change, though. Ellie was always bored. Now it was up to Fox to make the first move...

It was purposefully ambiguous. ;)
I'll start the thread! We can go ahead and do the spar first, then come back and write out the rest of the posts (if that works for you). Then we don't have to wait to go back and forth.

Fox agreed with a simple nod of her head. There was no need for her to do anything that would result in damage. In fact, it would be a good way to test Ellie's fighting skills and see what kind of pack-mate she would make... if it came to that. Of course, losing did not necessarily mean that Fox wouldn't try and coerce her into joining the plateau, but it would be far more likely if Ellie was able to beat her. It had been quite some time since Fox had done any faux battles, and she was eager to get started.

Once Ellie was in position, Fox darted toward her, ready to take her on.

---

In the end, Fox was victorious. She managed to best the girl, though not without some struggle. It did not seem as though Ellie was interested in coming back to the plateau, though, and Fox parted with her once she realized that was the case.