Fox's Glade Won't you come and change me?

The glade itself was like a ethereal setting one would only find in fairy tales — soothing stream noises, birds chirping in the distance, and flowers that challenged a rainbow's vibrant colors. It was a lovely place to sit and relax in, though Āzoniol would be lying to himself if he said he'd stumbled upon the glade just for that — no, he came at the yowling sounds of foxes.

The idea was crazy to him at first; attempting to catch a fox, because they reminded him of a smaller version of his own species (only louder....and more annoying). Though with a little self-coaxing and a reminder that they were, infact, not just freakishly small wolves that he'd be cannibalizing, the prince's natural hunting instincts led him further into the trees.

Āzoniol's odd-colored eyes trailed the green floors while his nose was glued close to the ground. He knew he wasn't all too skilled at this hunting business, but it was still worth a try. Besides, he'd already managed to catch plenty of food before (one could say by pure luck), so what could possibly go wrong this time?

Tag(s): @Aliana
Setting: Fox's Glade (of course lol), Early afternoon. Mild winds (77°F)
Note(s): Thread can go anywhere you want, whether it be a trade or just a regular 'ol interaction. I'll be backdating this to the 10th. If you wish to change this, let me know!

Aliana never settled in one place, she seemingly bounced around the Valley. She would be at Morningside Cuesta for a day or two then over at Swiftcurrent Creek after a day of wandering. But she always returned to this glade after a while. 

She couldn’t help it; the Glade was rather beautiful, seemingly in a world all on its own, outside the one beyond its trees. No greedy little whelps snatching her food. No crazed no-tongue assaulting her. Just her and the gentle sounds of the babbling brook...

At least until the foxes come out and start baying their screechy barks. 

Gods, they're annoying. 

If she could claim this land, the first thing she would do was evict them. If they can't be quiet neighbors then they could look for another hollow to nest in elsewhere. She desired some peace and quiets, especially in her favorite spot.

A humble mossy hill overhanging the river that ran through the Glade with a willow tree rooted in it. It leaned heavily on one side as if it was going to topple over at any moment but was suspended in place by some unknown force. It cast a generous shadow over the hill and the river. 

A perfect relaxing spot.

Aliana clamored up the hill and lets out a yawn before plopping down on the hill. A crisp autumn breeze swept through her flowing wavy mane; in a deep breath, she eagerly takes in the surrounding scents that were on the wind. Calming at first until she picked up the scent of another wolf on the wind, she sat up with a brief growl. 

It didn’t smell like a pack wolf, then again any pack wolf could wipe off the distinctive scent of their pack with enough vigor. Either way, she smelt a wolf was here.

I swear ... if it's that black no-tongue she-wolf again...

Aliana leaped off of the hill, landing on the other side of the river, and loped through thickets and ferns. Head low, moving as gracefully and quietly as her burly, amazonian body would allow.

Then … she saw him. 

A wolf as white as freshly fallen snow and just as big as her; his nose was down to the ground, sniffing, hunting. But for what? Deers don’t pass by here often, what was mostly here being those annoying Foxes.

Aliana ponders for a moment before climbing over a stout boulder she had tucked herself behind and calls out ❝ Hey, Stranger.❞ in a friendly manner while she approaches.

These foxes — they were faster than the barrel-chested man originally thought. Fair enough to assume so due to the size comparison between a wolf and a fox, but Azon would've thought that his quiet movements might've at least given him a good start. Unbeknownst to him though, every fox was hauling ass before he could make a move because hunting wasn't Azon's strong suit. And by no means was the brute as "sneaky" as he thought he was — his large paws never ceased to make some kind of noise after all. This clown fest of a hunt lasted a few minutes before Ignis decided to throw in the towel, silently cursing obscenities that should not exist to innocent ears. The pheonix still wasn't able to wrap his head around why hunting wasn't as easy as combat is. The task required a track down and take down tactic — similar enough, right? Well, clearly not if it was still a struggle. Oh well, leftover scraps it was then. 

"Hey, Stranger."

The audits on Azon's pale cranium immediately stood up as a voice made itself heard, sharply turning to see who it was. The phoenix's heart nearly leaped out of its chest when laying eyes upon them: brown, burly, and sporting a docked tail. Azon could've sworn a grizzly was heading straight towards him and for a moment, he was the one who felt like a fox being hunted down. Before Azon could start hauling ass himself though, he squinted to take a better look. 

Her scent....that was no bear, it was a she-wolf. Just as large as Ignis was, and the plume of her thick coat did a great job at resembling the ursine she was mistaken as. A slightly relieved sigh left him and he turned to face his new company, remarking the woman's presence with a simple chuff and tip of his head. The movement was neither aggressive nor friendly — it was the femme's intentions that Azon was truly curious about.

My trash post took too long, sorry XD

Aliana saw that; a burst of instinctive terror that flared across his dual-colored eyes. That was standard - at least to her. A large, short-tailed, dark-furred beast was more at home on an Ursine then a canine, and she employs that to her advantage sometimes. 

Once she had chased a couple of wolves off of a recently killed Elk carcass, all because she had instantly sprung out of nowhere. As one would expect, they came back and chased off after it clicked in their brains that it was another wolf and not a bear. But not after she had hastily consumed a decent amount.

It’s a bountiful blessing and an eternal curse. One she was used to.

Aliana stopped a good several bounds away from Snow White, a fair distance, ❝What were you doing?❞ She reasonably questioned with plain curiosity, ❝Herds don’t pass by here often. With there being two wolf packs close by and all. It kind of this area a ... predator hotspot.❞ Small prey was rare too, at least in the Glade with the foxes running about. So she genuinely doesn't know what the male could be hunting in the Glade. 

Two packs, huh? Āzoniol knew there was a pack close by, you'd have to be scent deficient not to acknowledge that. But hearing that he was surrounded by two packs at the moment was fresh news -- made him wonder if it was safe to hunt here just in case food aggression came into play. It was best for the pale pheonix to keep an eye out when trudging through this place.

"No herds, I know, but there are foxes. Surely they couldn't taste that bad if they're noisin' up the place and basically asking to be heard by a predator, no?" Āzon explained to the ursine woman, though that logic even sounded a bit strange coming from his own mouth. A wolf hunting for foxes? What was he, a damn hound dog?

He let out a sigh and turned to face the she-wolf from afar, keeping his distance and eyeing her suspiciously -- just in case danger were to arise. "Though I don't suppose I'm being approached for no reason either, aren't I?" She certainly didn't give off the smell of a pack wolf, but who knew? Mabey she'd come from either of said packs to ward him off. And to avoid any unnecessary conflict, Ignis would have no other choice but to abide. Either way, he wouldn't know unless she explained herself first.

Aliana raised an eyebrow at the snow-white wolf; hunting foxes? Really…? Not that the very thought of it ‘disgusted’ her pre say. When a wolf is hungry, meat is meat but hunting foxes… 

Well, it just didn't settle right with her, for some reason. She didn’t know exactly why; it may be because foxes were,  in some unknownst way, just a smaller, noisier, more inferior version of a wolf? No better than the mangy coyotes, no doubt. But they all come from the same branch of life. But Aliana wasn’t going to start ranting and raving about ‘how eating foxes are bad and you should feel bad’! When it came down to it if she was hungry and there was an injured fox laying in front of her. She'd eat it, too.

❝  True, but I doubt those wiry little things would provide much of a meal.  ❞ She replied with a small dismissive wave of a paw, too many places the little rats can tuck themselves into, rather save her energy for a bigger catch if she can help it. 

Now to his other question, ❝  Oh, don’t worry... The reason came here is because I thought you were...someone else.  ❞ She gave a westward glance to the meadow beyond the trees and huffs slightly before looking back at the male, ❝  But since I’m here and you seem to be hungry—we could hunt some fish out of the river.  ❞Aliana proposed.

She had hunted fish before, sparingly. Instead of stalking and chasing, she was waiting and watching—frankly it was a bit boring but the possible pay off could be worth it.

❝  Unless, you know, you're not into fish?  ❞

"Wiry as they might be, I can't afford to be much of a picky eater considering my....lackluster hunting abilities...." lackluster was one way to put it -- best to keep the word "Suck" out of it with what little pride he held onto. The burly female, despite his previous assumption, didn't seem to carry ill-intent in her words and even offered to help him hunt. Not that Āzoniol was complaining about the offer but goddamn; did he look that foolish trying to catch his meals?

The dark woman mentioned something about mistaking Āzon for someone else and to that, he'd quirk a brow questionablly as she turned her head away. "Don't know if I'd either be lucky or royally fucked to be this 'someone else' of yours, but I don't believe we've been acquainted before in the past..." the pheonix said, odd eyes peering the direction she was looking as if trying to find the person she was looking for as well.

It took a moment for Āzon to think about the woman's offer, though eventually gave with a huffed chuckle -- he'd rather that than sitting in the grass being hungry and miserable. "I'm not the picky type, so I'll gladly take you up on that offer." The white sire finally said, approaching where the ursine woman was in slow, heavy steps. "Th'name's Āzon, by the way..."

❝   A black she-wolf with purple eyes. Silent type; literally. Most likely a part of a pack—maybe one of the High Ranks by the way she acted. She attacked me because I didn’t roll over to her bratty pup when they were growling over a WHOLE meadow full of food.   ❞ Did she instigate it? Probably. But she wasn’t about to bend the knee to a greedy little brat of a pup, she could only imagine what they’d be like as a yearling. ❝   Heed this. If you see her, don’t give her the time of day—turn around and walk away.   ❞

She didn’t know how good of a fighter the she-wolf was, but obviously, she was either overconfident or mad enough to attack one as big as her. Wolves like that don’t last long in the Wilds; attack the wrong wolf and you’ll most likely make enemies with a wolf you don’t want as an enemy. 
 
With that out of the way, she greeted back with a gentle tag wag, ❝   Name’s Aliana.   ❞ She turned around then glanced back at the snow-white male, ❝   The river’s back this way.   ❞ As they walked, assuming the male was following her back through the forested area, Aliana tried to spark up some idle conversation,  ❝   So, how long have you been out here on your own? If you don’t mind me asking.  ❞

The burly pheonix couldn't help but snicker at Aliana's explanation on who this was. Just the image of some crazy wolf and her angsty pup trying to guard an entire meadow of food sounded like a joke. He nodded in agreement to her declaration as well -- Āzon may have not had the most....pleasant of upbringings, but even he knew that was no way to raise a child. You'd just be asking for them to trigger the wrong wolf with pixie-thin patience by the time they grew older...

The ursine gave her cautions to Āzon and he'd take them -- albeit not by too much. Unfortunately the he-wolf was not as smart as Ali was and was more inclined to "Stubborn dumbassery" in situations like those (even if he did get torn up in the process). Subject switched, and in no time the pheonix was following the girl to a river with the promise of fish.

Well shit -- how did Āzon even manage to make this 'First impressions with a stranger' thing go smoothly for once? Usually he was terrible at it."Hard to say, but a couple months would be a good estimate. What about you?"

❝  Mmmm...A year, maybe two? Stumbled upon these Wilds when I got separated from my ...Birth pack.  ❞
She replied plainly. Aliana didn’t know whether her family was still in the clutches of the humans or they somehow managed to escape as she did in the commotion. If they did, she’d be happy but didn’t know if she’d happily leaping back into their arms. As loving as her family was, they were...strict and expected a lot out of her. A lot of stuff that she doesn’t know if she could live up to in one lifetime. Out here, she didn’t have to worry about those expectations lingering over her head like a massive boulder ready to crush her. 

❝  Though one of those years I was in a Pack, it has dispersed since now.  I have just been bouncing from place to place since then.  ❞ She continued.
Elysium. Such a nice place though she didn’t quite approve of their Open Border policy to any old wolf that comes stumbling through. She could only hope that the younglings haven’t been completely stunted by that and found a living in packs.

❝  … I plan on joining a pack before Winter hits.  ❞