Lost Creek Hollow you have some like this in your own vault

he was out again, frolicking; this time though it was for a hunt.
he meant to grow alive with his fierce corvid again;
he slunk through the underbrush, prowling with lustful restlessness, seeking if not interaction then a body of warm blood upon which he might vent his growing insatiability.

Now this place was familiar. Tambourine dimly recalled Spur showing him around this quiet hollow, though he quickly banished that memory. He didn't want to think of his former partner, lest he be tempted to turn back again. Now that he was here, on his own, he wanted to look forward and embrace all the possibilities. Chiefly, he wanted to find somewhere to call home and lay his weary head to rest, something Larkspur never would've allowed.

Of course, he didn't want to avoid his entire past. He had made so memories in these lands, which he reminisced about as he continued plodding though the woods. Tambourine only surfaced from his thoughts when he found the creek. Not so lost, after all, he mused as he bent for a drink.

the smell of water drew merrick forward; he obeyed his wild thirst when in the open. within ursus he bore a mantle of responsibility, though it would not be seen as such by any other.
but the bear-king was not alone; his cunning lamplight eye surrounded by scars fixed pointedly to the tall stranger. bedraggled but with charming lines.
oh,
he had an eye for beauty but today his body belonged solely to the raven queen.
"a beautiful place," merrick purred, stepping forward and setting his lopsided gaze upon the water. it would be vibrantly green here when the summer came.
an ugly place he remembered only bitterly.

He drank sloppily and at length. When he lifted his head, water streaming from his chops, he saw he was not alone. A black wolf stepped closer, across the creek, commenting on their surroundings. Tambourine finished licking his jowls clean and then his open mouth curved into a smile. Even after all this time and the curve balls life had thrown at him, he had never met a stranger.

"Hey, yeah, I bet it'll look a lot nicer in a couple few weeks," Tambourine replied, his tail swaying softly. "Name's Tambourine," he added with a nod of his head, "Tam for short. Tambo if you're feeling frisky. You live around here?"

heyo! Also joining if that's ok :>

 



The silent fury had also come out this way, feeling a pull to explore the surrounding land. After all, she hasn't been here too horribly long. 

Absentmindedly, Solaria noted the scent of Merrick, not thinking he'd be so close when she plodded with purpose up to the creek.

Then she heard voices. 
One recognizable, Merrick. 
The other, not. 

Dutifully, Vesta came up beside her leader, hovering at his side with inquiry in her sunset hues as she flicked her gaze between the two men.

charmed, at once, by the sly slipping syllables. coupled with the open smile, the bearking found himself responsive, lured closer by the promise of easier talk — or blood. "merrick, of ursus" he purled back. "merrick if you're feeling frisky as well." teasing glint to his single eye, and then he was joined by their silent newest.
"ah, vesta." as much for his ear as for introduction to the other man. "i was just about to invite tambourine upon our walk." merrick canted his head, directly seeking as he anticipated how this one might respond to a sudden pressure.

A friendly laugh escaped him at the other man's retort. "Nice to meet you, Merrick," Tambourine replied with genuine warmth, preparing to ask him about his pack when another wolf appeared, coming to stand beside Merrick.

She was tall and willowy, with a pale coat and a shock of red fur at her nape. The sight of it made his lips part and his mouth go dry. What were the odds of running into a she-wolf with the same marking as Larkspur?

He drew in a breath, willing his suddenly pounding heart to calm as he coaxed his cheek muscles into a smile. "Hello, Vesta. I'm Tambourine. Are you from Ursus as well?" he inquired, his curiosity authentic. "Whereabouts do y'all live?"

Merrick had mentioned a walk, so Tambourine gestured with a foreleg, indicating that he was quite happy to tag along with the two of them if they didn't mind his company for a bit.

didn't think it was my turn ;3;

 


Solaria offered a slight smile as her King explained the goings on. 
Looking to Tambourine as he introduced himself, she hesitated at first at his questions.
After a second, she nodded.
Yes. Of Ursus also.

And where did they live? Vesta looked to Merrick, a clear resignation from answering. Did the Bear king want this fellow to know?

<33

merrick, with the air of a man comfortably taking his arm from a pocket, gestured vaguely back toward the smudge of stone upon the horizon. "a valley, shaped in the paw of a bear." eye glittered. "you can't miss it."
to the red-nape he gave a toss of his head, bestowing a fond glance upon her. "a strong and silent type." merrick set a path around the edge of the hollow, heading in a vaguely eastern direction. "tambourine. do you often feel musical?"

Vesta nodded affirmatively, then glanced to Merrick, effectively passing the mic. His response made Tambourine cock his head inquisitively. How did a whole valley resemble a bear's paw? He almost asked, then wondered if it was a silly or maybe even rude question and ultimately decided against it.

Merrick remarked on Vesta's silence and Tambourine chuffed, then again as the trio resumed a leisurely pace and the other man posed a question. "Most of the time," he quipped in reply. Although Merrick's name made no such implication, he couldn't resist asking, "How about you? Do either of you enjoy a little song and dance?"

merrick was merrystruck by the happy tambourine. vesta remained silently appraising, and the bearking was glad to have her along for this particular foray into the springing land. "i think i find a note here or there," he hummed, "though it might take a different form than you would realize."
he had seen the first look of consternation, and meant to inspire another. merrick who explained nothing, only glinted and grinned and nudged vesta with his shoulder. "do you count sparring as a dance, tambo?"
the nickname, held a moment between his teeth.

Vesta remained mum, though Merrick entertained the question quite cheerfully. If there was an ominous note to his answer, Tambourine didn't pick up on it. Nor did he think anything of the following question, which he answered unthinkingly.

"Nah, I'm a lover, not a fighter. I can scrap when I have to," he said, then abruptly intuited the implication in Merrick's question. "Sorry," he added with a sheepish grin, "it's really not my th—"

This time, his voice cut off a little more abruptly as he spotted something over his company's shoulders. "Whoa, check it out," he said sotto voce, gesturing at a doe who'd wandered into a sun-dappled clearing ahead of them along the stream, freezing when she spotted them in turn.

Solaria prowled close behind, ears and eyes attentive. 
The two males conversed, and then... 

A doe. 
Sol perked her ears, looking to Merrick with the question: Do we chase? 

merrick would have liked to speak more, but the promise of a hunt belonged to the trio of wolves, and swiftly. always pleased to turn the reins of a hunt to another, for the sake of his own observation, the bearwolf grinned toward their companion, and nodded at vesta. here he was still her king, but not his; he would hold back until jolly tambourine had directed the supplicants of the bear.
let them see how this man could draw blood.

As they stared at one another, Tambourine couldn't help but notice her sides looked a little rounder than normal. Although some wolves might've seen this as an opportunity for an easier kill and more meat, his school of thought was to leave pregnant does alone so they could birth their fawns, which resulted in more prey. And though it likely didn't make sense to many of his own species, Tambourine simply didn't enjoy the idea of killing a mother and babies.

When he glanced at his cohorts, he saw that Vesta was looking expectantly at Merrick, who was gazing at him in anticipation. Tambourine's lips parted in an expression that said, Who, me? He shook his head. He wouldn't try to stop them if they chose to go after her, though Tambourine wouldn't be participating in this particular slaughter.

ah, their third left off the hunt, and the bearking relaxed. "we could find another diversion," he suggested, grinning at the pair of them as he pressed onward. the landscape was sloping now into a flatter green, and here the ursus wolf relaxed for a moment. "what about a race, tambo?" he suggested. 
vesta was strongly built but he had seen the red-nape spar and hunt. she would be a formidable opponent. "if you accept, what should our prize be?" merrick, sparkling and athrum with a giddy sort of energy.

He was preparing to quietly depart to leave them to their hunt when Merrick surprised him with a suggestion to race. Tambourine blinked, glancing between him and Vesta. His attention then briefly flicked to the doe, who turned tail and bounded away into the hollow.

Must be feeling frisky, he noted, a little caught off guard but nonetheless willing. "Sure, I'm game. And that could be the prize: the losers hunt for the winner?"

The doe fled. 
Her king then brought up a suggestion that earned him a tilt of her head. A race? 

Vesta looked to Tambourine then, listening to his outward thoughts. 
Sunset scarlet gaze back to Merrick, she offered a shrug and a nod. Sounds fair to me

rolls here!

so tambourine enjoyed competition, not bloodshed. merrick was stung with disappointment at his internal assumption, but this was only vague and passed quickly. he stared gently at vesta, nodding once to take her silent assent into account. 
"i accept," he grinned, the pattern of it laced with a swift and pleasant intrigue.
winner hunts loser
the thought of vesta's jaws snapping toward this one as she had done with him;
lips licked and he motioned toward a clearing just ahead where they might begin. "i have no route in mind. we should run until we cannot," and he grinned at tambo.

Challenge and terms accepted, the trio moved to a makeshift starting gate in a clearing. Merrick mentioned one last rule for this game: there was no particular route, they would simply run until they couldn't anymore. Tambourine returned the grin, though inwardly he wondered what would happen if the three of them ended up with very different gas mileages.

It was all in good fun, so he shrugged inwardly and crouched a bit in preparation. When the race began, he shot off into the woods alongside the other two. He fell behind almost right away, then went somersaulting down an embankment into another leg of the stream that wound through the hollow. Soaking wet and a little sore from his tumble, Tambourine nonetheless leaped back onto all fours. He began running in the stream bed, letting the current nip at his heels.

Awhile later, he realized he had subscribed to the territory's name; he was lost. In fact, he might not be in the hollow proper at all any longer. Tambourine spun in place, peering around, and considered calling for the other two. But, well, one of them would win and the other could hunt up that snack. In the meantime, Tambourine would continue his journey.

I hope it's cool if this is my last. :3

fading this! ping me if u want to reopen it, liv! <3

they rushed.
merrick found that his hard feet recalled the details of the place indra had brought him, when bearclaw had fallen.
it was with an angered heart he rushed, faster and faster, until he lost both tambourine and vesta.
panting, heaving, thrumming with the long anger of what felt to be a thousand years, merrick looped back, seeking the red-nape woman. their companion had gone, and the bearwolf did not look for him as he turned their steps toward ursus.