Alpine Lake Take a sip from the cup of life

       Just a little closer. Just another step.. and...... There! She pounced and landed square on the rabbit. Lunch for me today she thought. She felt kind of bad sneaking up on the bunny while it was asleep but she was hungry. So she got over it. 

       Holly had been wandering what she was pretty sure was the Tuktu Hinterlands for a while. It was only just this morning that she found Alpine lake and got to drink some of it's glistening water. That had been the most refreshing drink she'd had in a long time. She figured she would stay near here for a while, it wouldn't hurt! "I'm so smart sometimes... sometimes" she said sarcastically to nobody but herself. The she giggled and picked up her future meal and strolled back to the lake, contempt with her progress today. 

        When she arrived back at the lake she took another drink of cool, wonderful water and sat down. Perfect! "Oh dang it!" she squawked. She had never even thought about where to sleep, especially if a snowstorm came. Which was very likely to come some day in the near future. Then she stood back up and buried her kill and walked off, she wouldn't be gone long.

Of course Sugar would disappear.  Everyone seemed to be okay disappearing nowadays.  The girl has been her guide when Fig couldn't, and with Towhee and everyone busy combing the wilds, Fennec was left to her own devices.

She knew she shouldn't, but Fennec decided she'd been afraid long enough.  She took huge care in memorizing the details of her route, and that morning she had set out from the borders.  She wouldn't wander far, but with so many leaving her life, for the first time she was beginning to consider what it might be like if she needed to live without help.  The chill she felt at it wasn't exactly a result of the snow, though that definitely made it worse.

She listened intently as she traveled to the songs of the birds around and the feel of the wind.  No trouble seemed to be around thankfully, judging from both, and it was easy enough to reach the base of the sharp incline that led to the lake, and to taste the water in the air.  She'd found water! On her own!

By the time she had carefully picked her way to the lake and leaned down to take a hugely satisfying drink, Fennec had completely failed to notice the stranger doing the same.  She was too excited by her find to approach with caution.

It had only been a few moments since she'd returned from her adventure. She'd been off looking for shelter, which she found within a huge tree. Her new temporary home would be in the trunk of a tree, a huge hole was situated at the base of the tree, enough room for her and possibly another young wolf if needed. Which was more than she ever expected to find.

     When she arrived back at the lake she walked over and took a sip of it's luscious water. Halfway through her drink though another wolf seemed to just walk up to the water and take a sip! The weird thing though was, it didn't seem to be affected by her presence. The stranger just seemed to go on drinking from the lake, obviously not aggressive. No extreme actions should be put in place she decided. Growling or attacking was both too far and excessively rude, plus this wasn't exactly her land. 

     Holly eyed the wolf for a second more before deciding to say anything. "Um hello ma'am?" she stated, maybe something was bad if she truly hadn't noticed Holly. "I'm sorry but are you okay?" Holly exclaimed, she didn't wanna seem rude considering she had been a little lonely lately. Maybe a new wolf wasn't a horrible thing.

When Holly spoke, to say Fennec was startled was an understatement. Her head shot up and she sucked the water she was drinking so fast she started immediately coughing.  She was fortunate the voice sounded friendly, because she couldn't talk for a minute.

Hey *cough* there.  She managed to eke out.  Then Fennec took a beat, a few breaths, and listened closely for any sign of Holly moving closer.  I'm fine, yeah.  Just drowning myself on dry land, same as every day.  There wasn't much inflection to differentiate the joke from a statement.  Who're you?

As soon as Holly spoke the stranger's head rocketed upward, in what Holly presumed, fear. Not only that but her sudden movement made Holly jump as well, making the whole conversation an awkward ordeal. Okay something is  definitely wrong she decided as the wolf starting choking. "Ma'am are you okay!" she exclaimed careful to try and not startle her again. 

When the stranger began speaking, Holly was reassured once again, things were different but okay. She could tell the wolf was still halfway choking when she spoke at first, but got a hold of her senses. Holly decided to take her approach carefully, so she crept a few steps closer then sat. She did all this gently, her steps glided as if she had somehow rehearsed this. Hoping she wouldn't startle the wolf again she spoke up, making sure she kept her relaxing but confident tone. 

"My name is Holly ma'am. I'm sorry I startled you, I didn't mean too." she said apologetically. "Who are you?" she asked plainly, knowing the question would have to come. Then Holly took a deep breathe, steadying it as best as could. The stranger seemed to base her actions on sound, might as well try to keep the sounds she made quiet and relaxed. Maybe it would help.

Wait, what?! Ma'am!?  Was this wolf for real?  Fennec couldn't help but snicker as soon as she heard it, though she likely did so around the tail end of her coughing fit, so it might have passed unnoticed.  Uh, yeah.  I am, dearie. She responded with an open smirk and a definite emphasis on the end term.  She had no clue how old the wolf was who was speaking, but she didn't sound young.  It was jarring hearing that term applied to her - even if she was older than she currently was, she still felt it would not be a fit.

I'm Fennec.  She was more than a little bemused by the violence that the girl seemed to be taken aback with.  Yeah she'd been startled but she'd also been spacing off so it was kind of her fault?  I'm not going to burst into flames or anything, if you were wondering.  I only do that when I'm startled by rude wolves.  She said that in her typical deadpan, and her eyes didn't track to where Holly was at any point.  Possibly disconcerting, but she never minded putting anyone off.

Holly watched the wolf carefully, noticing when Holly finished her last sentence the wolf seemed to smirk. Dearie. Oh yeah. Ma’am was probably strange to this wolf. What’d she say her name was? Fennec. 
“Haha. Glad you were amused” Holly stated in her best sarcastic tone. Then she processed Fennec’s last remark. 
“Oh I hope not. That would be such an bother to clean up. But i guess since I am such a rude wolf, I could just walk away without throwing away your ashes now couldn’t I?” Holly remarked as she pretended to stifle a yawn. Holly’s mother may have taught her all this “ma’am” crap, but she also taught her how to end petty arguments.

Something shifted in the way the wolf spoke, and Fennec's ears pricked to listen carefully and try to determine why.  She'd been misunderstood, she imagined, which made her smile even more.

I was saying you aren't rude, so we didn't have to worry about it.  Unless you disagree and think you are?  Fennec tilted her head, listening for movement.  Because rude wolves are pretty interesting, and I'm definitely rude.  She wasnt horribly so, but it was a title she wore proudly.  At least rude was honest.

I can probably make an exception either way, just this once.  Fennec knew she at least hadn't crossed a claim, which meant she could be less formal about this.  She didn't want help or assistance getting home, so that made it even easier to give less courtesy.  Before she'd had to play nice to convince the stranger to let her follow; now, she felt more confident in her location.  It was a good feeling.

So she misunderstood. She had figured by the way a smile had crept onto the wolf's face. "Well good. I didn't wanna clean up ashes anyway." she stated with a slight drawl in her voice. "I'm only rude if I need to be. Or if I think I do at least" Holly remarked with an I'm sorry tone. She wasn't really sorry, but she needed to seem like she was.
Fennec seemed to be enjoying this conversation, she didn't mind it, but she had better things to do. So Holly stood, strode over to where she had buried her kill earlier, and dug it up.
"Would you like some rabbit?" she asked quizzically. Then without giving Fennec a chance to answer, she gracefully tossed the rabbit in front of Fennec's paws with caution. "Bon appetit Fennec. I didn't deserve that anyway. It was a cheated kill. I don't want it." Holly stated as if she didn't care about the kill at all. She only added the last part because of this wolf's hint of pride and independence. She figured if she gave her a reason to take the rabbit other than what this wolf would probably take as pity, she would accept. Then Holly wandered back to the lake and sat. Waiting for her chance to catch a fish. When the chance arose she dipped her head in the water like a copper bullet. The fish had no chance, she had extinguished the fish's flame of life.. forever.

She was an interesting wolf.  Her tone was all over the place and Fennec had a hard time placing how she was reacting to much of anything.  It unsettled her, and she decided she wasn't hugely fond of this wolf, no matter what she might give her.

But that didn't mean she was going to be unfriendly.  The opposite, actually.  She was indeed going to turn down the offer of food on the account that she didn't really want to owe this girl a favor, but then she continued speaking and Fennec was intrigued.

What's a cheated kill? How do you cheat at hunting?  Now that seemed worthwhile! Fennec saw nothing wrong with using a shortcut to her own advantage in her condition.  She heard a splash as she nosed to pull the rabbit in and begin nibbling on it, but wasn't sure if she was fishing or simply taking an oddly cold swim.

She could tell Fennec was confused, so she took this chance to even herself out. Holly steadied her tone and volume and converted it to be relaxed and casual. Then the wolf asked a question, she didn't know what she meant by a cheated kill. 
So Holly took her question and pondered how to morph it into words. 

Cheated kill made sense in her head, but she had no idea how to say it. So instead, Holly pretended to be knowing exactly what she was saying. She kept the tone she fixated earlier and said simply: "Ya know, something you didn't deserve.". That made sense she thought. 

Holly decided she should clear things up completely, "I killed that rabbit while it was asleep. It had no chance. I don't deserve the food.". Her reasoning sounded really strange. You killed it, you should eat it. But it just felt wrong, she knew what it felt like to be so contempt then something rip you to shreds. "So eat it, or take it somebody who will." Holly said, she didn't care what Fennec did with the rabbit, as long as she didn't give it back.

Fennec was hoping for a shortcut she could personally take advantage of, so was vastly disappointed when it turned out it was more a lucky break. Oh.  I don't think that's cheating.  She replied, pausing in nibbling at the food.  It was the one dumb enough to fall asleep where you could get it.

We could share, but if you're sure, ok.  She wouldn't argue against having some good to take home with her and share with her mom.  She could probably even convince Towhee that she had caught it, if she wanted. The idea crossed, then she immediately tossed it.  Anyone else she'd lie to, but probably not Towhee.

Are you living here or just traveling?  Fennec lifted her head and scented the wind, but still caught no markings.  She had figured there was no super solid claim when she was able to walk right in, but best to confirm.

It worked.

Fennec had accepted her offer. Holly listened to the wolf's reasoning, and, she was right. But she would rather just eat the fish at this point, so she decided not to comment. "I'm sure. I don't want it." she piped when the wolf finished speaking for the time being. 

Fennec seemed content at the moment so Holly decided it was fine for her to stay put. "I mostly travel around. Go here and there. Stop for a bit and hang around. Ya know?" she managed to explain between bites of her fish. This wolf had gotten out a few questions, it was her turn for one. Earlier she smelled others on this wolf. She assumed those were pack-mates.

But just to be confirm, she inquired, "Part of a pack right?". The answer was yes, she figured. But she asked anyway, no harm in that.

It was always tempting to lie when someone guessed something correctly, if only to be difficult.  Yeah, close by.  What tipped her off?  Fennec thought wryly.  She assumed her blindness was written on her face at this point and didn't realize that, occasionally, other wolves could miss it.  

The next question would be if Holly was looking for a pack, but Fennec wasn't sure she wanted to offer a place.  Do you like wandering?  Fennec knew it wasn't exactly feasible for her, but that's why she wanted to know.

So she did belong to a pack. Holly also figured the wolf was blind, considering she was using all other senses except sight. But, she also assumed Fennec might take it as rude to ask, so she restrained. She looked over the wolf again. Fannec most likely assumed she was looking for a pack, which she wasn't. But it never hurt to lead her on for a minute or two.

      Did she like wandering? Of course. She wouldn't be doing it if she didn't like it. But she could just... not specify. Not really anser the question, maybe make the wolf think something that wasn't necessarily true. She could. But then, Holly would have to handle that later and didn't want to deal with that so..

      "I actually do. Always get to see something new. People, places. Every time it's something different and interesting." she said with a bit of wonder. She always got excited talking about the beautiful things she'd seen. "Plus, you always get to try different food" she said with an amused drawl. That really was a positive to traveling, if she was honest. "Do you like packs?" she questioned Fennec. Probably a little more sassy than she desired but this wolf didn't seem to mind sarcasm, so she shook it off.

That sounded alright, though fortunately not amazing.  Fennec filed that away, but was glad to hear she wasn't actually missing out on much.

I like my family, she answered, with a tone that sounded like she might have shrugged if she still took visual cues.  Over the months she'd lost much of the body language others practiced.  So yeah.  It wasn't a hard question to answer.

No home, no friends sounds kind of dangerous.  Even with the food.  She'd caught the sass and decided to toss a little of her own back.  Truthfully she didn't know how dangerous the world truly was; she'd been alone once and it had gone horrendously before.  But from what she'd heard, the life of a lone wolf was a risk.

Packs weren't Holly's kinda thing. It was really just personal preference. Family would be a plus, but Holly didn't mind missing out on that. Safety would be the only reason to stay in a pack at this moment, in Holly's mind at least. She listened to Fennec's opinion, and she was right. Not only that, but she had also gifted Holly with some returning sass.

      "Being a lone wolf has it's risks. But, it doesn't mean it'll go awful. You just gotta learn to live with it." she said with a slight shrug of her shoulders. The kind of body language she noticed Fennec barely ever used. Holly had learned that if you stay out of marked territory and away from suspicious creatures that brawls didn't occur often. You hunt and wander. "Packs have their own issues too." Holly stated. Right now, nobody could tell her she was wrong.

Little easier for her to say that, Fennec thought, but she didn't disagree with it.  Maybe if she could still see she'd be a lone wolf too, but she had a hard time even imagining it.  She didn't remember what it was like anymore when she could use her eyes.

What problems did your pack have? she asked outright.  Every wolf came from a pack by Fennec's understanding, so she assumed Holly did too.

It'd been a long time since she had last thought about her pack. What problems did her pack have? "Too many mouths to feed. Not enough hunters. Constant joiners. In-fighting. Too much trust. If we were missing one person the whole pack was disoriented. Unless of course, we managed to have two of the same trade." she answered plainly. All packs had their issues, her pack relied on each other too much. It was debilitating. 

       Holly walked over to the lake once more and took another drink. She knew that with the snow around it might be extremely difficult to find food later. If she didn't get some in time, she would starve. The rabbit was an easy break, it wouldn't happen again. "I'm going to go hunting again. Just in case I can't find some later. Have to be prepared" Holly stated in a sarcastic tone. 

      "Prepared" wasn't always her thing, it was just something her sister had always told her. "You can come with me if you want. You could take most of the kill back to your pack. I won't take more than I would need" she promised. Holly had no problem sharing her food. Plus, two wolves were better than one.

---

If you wanna come I'll start a new thread. If not, this will probably be Holly's last post. Possibly her second to last. This is a really long thread! <3

Since it's been a while, we can fade and assume she taught her a trick or two! Unless you want another thread, in which case we can totally have another!

That sounded about right, but to Fennec that was just family stuff.  She couldn't imagine being alone being better, but she couldn't imagine being alone period outside of once.  And that once was by far the worst, most traumatizing time of her life.  She'd forgotten most of it.

Fennec deliberated.  On one hand, she really didn't want to like this wolf.  On the other, there was an undeniable cool factor that she carried that made the blind girl want to emulate her.  And, third... she was hungry.

Yeah, I can come.  She listened for movement and fell in step beside.  But you'll have to tell me what to do.  She'd learned partly how to hunt when given directions, but she'd never done so with a stranger.  Perhaps she shouldn't trust so easily, but it was a requirement of her condition that she assume help.

Since I have no life, I'll make another. A hunting we go! <3

      Holly was somewhat surprised when Fennec actually agreed to join her hunting mission. But, she ignored her bewilderment and stood as the wolf came up beside her. Tell her what to do? Holly didn't really understand that but she didn't mind. If what Holly had observed during their conversation was true, she couldn't go exceptionally fast. 

      But, Fennec's pride seemed to be precious to the wolf. Holly wouldn't dare disturb it. So, Holly took off into the woods at a steady pace. Not too slow, not too fast. "We need to make sure we stay quiet so we don't scare off any prey we find" Holly explained. At first, Holly contemplated whether to use the voice she used to talk when teaching kids. But then decided against it, this wolf was grown, she knew how to keep quiet. Instead, she said it in a whisper, in her "just-in-case" voice.

Fennec snickered a bit when she went on to explain a bit.  I know that she said, keeping up.  I mean you have to tell me where to go.  It didn't occur to her that Holly couldn't tell that she was blind; everyone could always tell, because she'd not met many strangers before.  At home they all already knew.

Whatever she replied, Fennec would follow, ready to try out this partnership and maybe even take something home with her.  No way would she tell anyone how she had gotten it, but it would be pretty neat to be able to say she'd managed to contribute.

Last from me here!

Holly could hear the snicker in the wolf's voice when she had given her the most basic of instructions. "You're the one who said 'what to do' instead of where to go" she sneered back. It was a playful tone, not actually criticizing the she-wolf. Where to go? So there was something wrong with her vision. Holly didn't mind giving directions, it was quite simple as long as the pursuiter knew their right and lefts. Determined on sending the wolf back with at least some food, especially in the harsh winter months, Holly took lead. Quietly padding along the snow-covered ground Holly headed in one direction; making sure to not lose her way.