Deepwood Weald What is this, wash and wear?

@Oliver
Takes place after this thread 

http://wolf-rpg.com/showthread.php?tid=39125&pid=417919#pid417919

After she had shot off into the woods Oliver called for her to slow down, and for the moment she did. Only enough so she would stay in his line of sight. That is until she decided it was time for their first 'lesson'. Holly ran faster in the hopes of getting out of his line of sight.

She ran so fast that the snow was flying up behind her, a tsunami of bitter flakes. She ran ahead and then suddenly jumped off to the side; leaving no tracks towards where she went. She landed silently in the brush, waiting for Oliver to turn the corner and find her gone. Holly did nothing to disturb the quietude that enveloped her, the silence was forever lasting.

(Maybe @Bronco could join too at some point if they want? They did say they wanted a thread.)

Oliver raced after Holly and, for a moment, seemed to be closing the gap between them. But then Holly kicked it into high gear and left him behind eating snow. He too picked up speed in an effort to keep up, but Holly just kept gaining ground.

"Hey!" he called out over the thundering of his paws against the frozen ground. "Slow down!"

He was already running as fast as he could, but he knew he couln't maintain this speed for long and Holly showed no signs of slowing down.

He followed her into the woods, zipping through the maze of tree trunks at breakneck speed. At this point, he was only catching brief glimpses of her through the trees. Then he turned a corner, and she was no where in sight.

He skidded to a halt, bewildered. "What the hell?" he wondered aloud. He was panting hard from the exertion of running so hard, so he sat down to catch his breath and make sense of what was going on. A quick scan of the area gave no clues as to her whereabouts, no prints of anything. It was as if she'd disappeared.

"Holly! Where are you?" he called out. Surely she couldn't be too far. He thought he heard a noise somewhere closeby and he stepped in the direction of the sound. "Holly?" he asked cautiously.

Bronco is surely welcome!! He can jump in any time!

Holly's plan had worked seamlessly, the last part being hopefully just as easy. She stopped and waited for Oliver's reaction, and it came beautifully. Her friend stopped in the tiny clearing and her chance was obvious. She waited for the perfect moment and when it came she jumped from her hiding place within the brush and slammed into Oliver in the hopes of knocking him down and pinning him to the cold Earth.

If she did so successfully she would commence the first lesson "Lesson number one... Always watch your back"; a smirk plastered upon her muzzle (If she doesn't just ignore that). If she failed, she would hope to land on her feet and praise him for his observation skills. "Well done. There is no need for lesson one then!" a kind smile complementing her genuine words (If she does succeed ignore that part!!)

Oliver continued to approach the rustling branches. He suspected Holly may be hiding in there, waiting to ambush him. Wouldn't she be surprised if he found her first? The thought made him grin.

Once he was in range, Oliver pounced. He stuck his head into the brush, hoping to catch Holly off guard. "AH HAH!" He yelled triumphantly. But there was no wolf. Oliver had surprised a squirrel who had been foraging for food in the undergrowth. The rodent streaked up the nearest tree trunk, chattering harshly at the wolf as if hurling insults at him. Oliver frowned, disappointed.

It was then he heard Holly approaching from behind. He started to turn around to face her, but she was too fast.

"Ooof!"

The force of her body slamming into him knocked the wind out of him. His legs turned to noodles and gave out, sending him crashing into the ground on his side. He groaned and rolled over onto his back, looking up into her proudly grinning face. "What have I gotten myself into?" he asked himself.

"Lesson number one... Always watch your back!"

So this was a test? Oliver covered his face with his paws, his pride slightly wounded. "Point taken," he said.

Oliver had covered his face with his paws and Holly immediately thought she injured him and she rushed to step off him.  As soon as he stood she would walk around him, at one point nosing as his side where his body had met Earth if he allowed her to. The golden lady figured if anywhere, that would be the painful spot. Holly knew from experience that when something painful was touched, usually you would whine; betraying even some of the strongest wolves.

That had been a tactic she used when she thought she hurt somebody, she had to be sure they weren't in pain because of her before continuing. Of course, it could also be something mentally or emotionally but how the flippity flappin' crackers was she supposed to know that? Once she made it around one time she went again; this time prodding the side where the phoenix had rammed into him, once again going for the same goal. His health came before any lesson, she would put that record straight right now.

He peeked up at Holly through his paws and noticed the concerned look on her face. He wasn't seriously injured, just a little winded and possibly bruised, but he decided he'd play it up a bit and get a little revenge.

He stayed on his back and let out a small, pitiful whine. "Owie. I think something's broken." he whimpered.

He intended to keep up his ruse until he was sure Holly thought he was really injured, then he would take his paws off his face and swipe a pawfull of snow at her.

Unfortunately, Oliver didn't even move to stand up, instead whining on his own accord. Owie. I think something's broken. That's what the shadow had said to her. Holly never would have thought that she would have any strength to injure somebody like that, nor had she known anybody to say owie but she shook it off. Her mild concern turning into deep fear and worry as the golden one carefully nosed his chest (as that was all she could really do so without the fear of him rolling onto her snout).

Raking her muzzle through his fur she even decided to murmur things as she went along. Things like: "stay still...", "shh", "hold on just a second Oliver", "I'll be done in a second", "I'm just checking", "Just one more second okay?" as she decided to even add in the cheesy "it'll be okay" and "you're okay shh". Her words and phrases replayed as if somebody had made a playlist of probably not so comforting sounds and placed it on shuffle. But she didn't much care what she sounded like. If he was hurt she would never forgive herself.

She fell for it! Holly began checking him for injuries, frantically reassuring him that he was going to be okay. He whimpered and groaned pitifully as the she-wolf nosed through his dark fur. A couple times he found himself holding back laughter. It tickled when she touched certain areas.

He could sense that she was starting to feel panicked, and that made him feel a bit guilty. He decided his prank had gone on long enough.

He removed his paws from his face and grinned up at her, a mischievous glint in his bright yellow eyes. "Gotcha!" he declared as he swiped his paw at the snow, showering it all over Holly's golden fur.

Gotcha! The sound rang in her ears and it wasn't until after he covered her with snow that she realized the prank he had pulled on her. "Oh you little-" Holly yelped as the joke set in, it was on! She backed up and pushed his side forcefully hoping he would roll over and she could return the wave of flakes before pinning him to the ground. 

"How rude!" the golden lady scolded, though it was obviously a jest by the smile on her face. "I was worried! Didn't your parents ever teach you it was rude to mess with people's feelings?" she practically growled at him, her smile faded. If he was gonna act as if she hurt him, she would pretend he upset her; and it would be brutal.

Oliver watched the realization set in. He laughed, rolled over and jumped to his feet only to catch some snow in the face. He shook it off and was about to fire back when he noticed the serious look on her face.

"I was worried! Didn't your parents ever teach you it was rude to mess with people's feelings?"

Oliver paused, unsure of how to respond. Was she messing with him again? Her body language and tone of voice said he was in real trouble.

"You were really worried, huh?" he asked her. He was honestly a little flattered by her concern. "She cares about me?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." he said apologetically.

Oliver apologized and for a second Holly thought of ending the trick but on the other hand... it could go on for a second more. "Well you did!" she fumed with pained anger. Of course, this was all a ruse in favor of revenge, but still, she made it sound real. Or, as real as she could manage. Then she sat in a huff of bittersweet breath and pouted. The golden one dropped her head in what seemed like remorse as she hid her amusement. 

"I- I was worried Oliver..." she pretend choked out, faking that that was all she could manage to say aloud. This time though, there was a hint of honesty to it; less fabrication required. In truth, she was incredibly worried, just not enough to go pouting about it. Holly now determined to make him worry started to suck in shattered breaths, hoping her bogus crying wasn't as see-through as her usual jokes.

"I- I was worried Oliver..."

Holly slumped over and began sobbing. Oliver froze. This was definitely not the result he had been hoping for. "Oh shit, what do I do now?"

Oliver swallowed nervously. "Well, I'm all right so no need to worry, okay?" he reassured her. He stepped closer and lowered his head to be eye-level with Holly. It was then he noticed that while it sounded convincing, there were no tears streaming down the girl's cheeks. Was she pulling a fast one on him? "Wait a minute.. are you messing with me again?"

Oliver came closer and started to reassure Holly, a kind gesture and it wouldn't go unnoticed. He bent down and got eye-level with her, that's when things went downhill. Wait a minute.. are you messing with me again? The golden one decided that instead of saying something like 'Yup! You aren't the only one that can act!' she said something more honest. 

"For the most part." She shrugged and balanced snow on her paw before placing it gently on the shadow's head with a kind smile; she looked into his eyes, sorry if she made him worry. "I like your hat" she mused, giggling quietly.

"For the most part," she replied. He wondered what she meant by that, but he was relieved that she wasn't actually upset with him. He shook his head at her and laughed, allowing the tension he'd been feeling to leave his body. "I knew it," he said, grinning. "You can't fool ol' Oliver."

Holly placed a lump of snow on his head and giggled at him. "I like your hat," she told him. He chuckled. "Yeah?" he said, striking a pose. "Does it make me look more dashing?"

Holly let out a sigh, relieved he didn't get mad at her for trying to mess with him again. Oliver pranced around like some kind of model and claimed the flakes upon his head 'made him more dashing'. "Yeah yeah whatever." She rolled her eyes playfully as she stood. 

"Don't go stroking your ego there tough guy!" an obvious jest as she laughed again, louder this time. Holly walked over to him and swiped his hat off his head and began showering the black dragon with more cold snow.

Holly rolled her eyes at him. "Don't go stroking your ego there tough guy!"

Oliver laughed. "You just know I'm right," he retorted. It was odd. Oliver was usually very self-conscious about his appearance, especially around the opposite sex. Throughout his life, wolves of both sexes had constantly reminded him of his inadequacies; males taunted him for being skinny and weak and females judged him for his messy fur and general awkwardness. Holly hadn't made any remarks about his skinny body or his fur at all, so he felt he could be himself around her.

Holly walked up to him and swiped the snow off his head. "Hey!" he exclaimed as the snow ball hit the ground and disintegrated. He growled playfully at the she-wolf. "You'll pay for that!" he declared, attempting to pounce on her and push her into the snow.

You just know I'm right. "As if!" the golden lady countered as she, once again, rolled her eyes. Holly was always quick to call others friends, but she hadn't enjoyed herself so much with others. Usually, you hear the saying 'opposites attract', now that seemed out of place. Oliver and Holly seemed so much alike considering their personalities, yet the two were having a blast with nothing but snow.

The shadow didn't look too supportive of her hat-smashing ordeal though as he declared that she would pay for the life of his snow-fedora. Oliver jumped atop of her and smashed her into the ground, a simple but effective gesture. "Oh will I?" A smirk spread across her face as she attempted to kick his back legs out from underneath him and get the upper hand.

Oliver pinned Holly down with his front paws. "Gotcha!" he declared with a victorious grin. "Now you're in big trouble."

He intended to give Holly the tickling of a lifetime, but he hesitated, suddenly unsure of himself. Would that be taking it too far? The last thing he wanted to do was come accross as some kind of manhandling creep.

He didn't have to wonder long, however, as Holly used the pause to counter attack by kicking his back legs. He lost balance and tumbled off. "Ooof," he grunted as he hit the ground. He curled up defensively, anticipating an attack from above. "Oh noooo!" He cried out in mock terror.

Holly had taken her chance of knocking him off and had succeeded but couldn't figure out what to do next. So instead, she simply snapped above Oliver's face. An empty threat of sorts before (if she had time) pinning him to the ground. "Who's in trouble now?" the golden one retorted after her jaws had clamped shut on nothing but sweet air. Holly had tried to keep herself held together through this endeavor but she couldn't keep herself from collapsing in laughter.

It'd been a while since she had been this care-free, especially around somebody she had technically just met. At this moment the flaxen woman felt like she could fly, the weight of the world and her worries had drifted away so what was stopping her now? Nothing. She would soar to greater heights than she could ever imagine, a simple fantasy of life.

Oliver flinched slightly as teeth flashed inches from his face. "Okay, okay, you win," he conceded to his female companion. "Just don't bite my face off please."

Holly lost her composure and started laughing, giving Oliver a chance to squirm out from underneath her. He watched her for a moment. She was a lot different from the girls he'd known growing up. For one, she was not ashamed to be seen with him, and for another she kicked total ass. Where he was from, most girls expected to be doted on.

Oliver yawned, feeling quite fatigued from all the chasing and rough play. "Jeez, you've worn me out," he told her.

The golden one slowly recomposed herself, although it took a moment for her to stop randomly laughing, and plopped herself back into reality. She hadn't heard his surrender, nor his terms of not biting his face off. Holly did hear his yawn and admittance to being tired. "Cheese and crackers! Guess I did tucker you out!" she mused, promising not to lose herself in another fit of giggling. Holly stood and shook the snow from her pelage. "C'mon we'll find a spot to rest." 

She turned and looked for a nice direction to go before deciding to just keep the way she was heading before, making progress while getting Oliver a nice napping spot. Holly didn't take off this time though, she steadied her pace to a reasonable walk and continued her journey, a friend in her wake.

@Holly, sorry for the delay, I've been so tired from work

"Cheese and crackers! Guess I did tucker you out!"

Oliver chuckled at her response. "I'm not used to this much.. activity," he said. He preferred quiet, non-physical activities like sleeping, dozing and napping. He took a step back when Holly shook the snow from her fur to avoid having his own pelt showered with wet flakes.

"C'mon we'll find a spot to rest."

Oliver smiled. "Good plan," he said in agreement. He fell into step just behind her as she led the way.

Don't worry about it!! Get some sleep please! Archive?

The two set off, two friends on a journey. Their steps a rhythmic pattern as they trudged through the snow. The golden lady in front, the shadow trailing behind. The sun sinking behind the horizon, the sky yawning after a long day, golden and orange hues set the background of the clear coming night. Stars one by one appeared, peaking around the corner of light as they twinkled and danced, choreography unmistakably beautiful as the pair continued.

Crunching snow beneath and lovely sky above Holly finally found a place she found suitable enough for her companion and simply nodded; "Here" A hint of question in her electric eyes as she gazed into Oliver's yellow ones. Was this good enough for him?