Phoenix Maplewood I couldn’t sleep a wink

She couldn't sleep. Or rather, she'd woken to a terrible nightmare. For some reason or another, she'd dreamt of all the forest animals harmoniously calling to one another to pass some sort of greater message along from one howl to the next screech. It'd all been fine and dandy at first until it was the snake's turn to pass the news along. Unfortunately, that animal was far too quiet to send the memo any distance and so it compensated as the dream shifted and she woke up in a silent scream with that same dream snake biting at her neck.

The snake hadn't been real, but the unconscious spasms of her neck had been. She'd jolted to sudden awareness as she startled and shifted to sit. Her breath came heavily as she told herself over and over the dream was not real. She was alive. She was safe. There was no snake trying to strangle her. Eventually, she came to terms with the nightmare, but she couldn't change the fact that she was awake.

The moon was high. The sun was no where near to rising. She roused herself and took to walking beneath the twilight as she shook off the remnants of her dream and surrendered fully to waking. These woods were different at night. They were masked in hues of muddled blue and cloaked in far more shadows. Spooky.

She moved, following the direction in which she knew, or thought, to lead to a simple stream within these woods. A little water would help. She wished to splash it on her face and wash the remnants of her dream away.

Hey, I`m Cloud, uh, nice to meet you! None of my charries resided in Redtail Rise (try saying that six times fast xD), but I hope Hawk bonds a little with Citali, because technically she`s the first wolf he`ll pluck up the courage to meet, if not very cleanly. x3 No Marvel references please...  -_-`

Hawkeye was decidedly in a bad mood. First his creator`s den-claiming thread had been deleted `cos she accidentally pressed guidebook he had injured his foot on a thorn in some brambles. Then, after limping after a vole, caught up in the hunt, he`d found himself covered in steaming fox droppings.

With a sigh of disgust, Hawk cocked his head for the distinct sound of running water. He found it, just upwind, and growled at not knowing what or who was there. He nearly changed route to stay upwind of the distant stream, but the disgusting stench of fox coated his tongue and he blindly kept onwards.

Whilst loping through the forest, Hawkeye thought about the rest of the Pack. It was a big forest - he could avoid the other wolves as long as he liked, most probably.

Of course, Saena had given him the Packscent when she accepted him into the ranks of the Phoenix Maplewood Pack. Hawk doubted, however, if it was yet strong enough to stand against suspicious Packmates. He would have to meet them at some point, he supposed.

I imagine it would be impolite not to.

And so, as always, Hawk amiably let things happen, as the generally did.

When he finally found the stream, Hawkeye was not in a state to notice the she-wolf next to him. He barreled into the cool water, shattering the image of the moon into millions of glittering shards.

Hawk furiously splashed about until every last stinking bit of foxscent, and a little bit longer for fun.

You see, Hawkeye the wolf wanted only three things in life. To be as far away from fire as possible, to be as close to water as possible and to be able to taste the occasional water vole. Phoenix Maplewood offered all of these things, and so he was happy.

And that was when he saw the largest and possibly most beautiful she-wolf he had ever seen. He could only think of one thing to say.

"Oops."

Thanks for joining!

Whether it was luck or she was actually starting to learn the lay of this land, Citali managed to find that stream. With a sigh, she seated herself near the water's edge and dipped a paw into the shallows. Her foot came up wet and she used it to dab at her neck. The crisp water was a nice feeling. Perhaps if she was bolder, she could also dab at her face to cool her off further and shake away the remnants of that nightmare.

The sudden pounding of footsteps distracted her. Alert now, her ears lifted and turned in the direction of the noise. She hardly had a moment to climb to her feet when a wolf barreled onto the scene and began frolicking through the once tranquil water. In his fury, he'd near to soaked her. Ugh! As if her evening wasn't terrible enough already without this new wolf's presence.

It spoke. "Oops!? Oops!? Is that all you have to say for yourself!?" she roared at him as she gathered her fur up about her in a glorious display of hackles. Tail raised. Posture firm and unyielding. There'd be no mistaking here that his behavior was utterly unacceptable. She growled at him. "What kind of wolf in their right mind would ruin this perfect night with such child's play!?" She bristled. It didn't help that the water in her coat caused her fur to stand on end like the quills of a porcupine.

At that moment, it dawned upon her that she hadn't the slightest idea who this wolf was. Prancing in the water like that, he'd erased whatever packscent he might have obtained and was a perfect stranger to her. Citali's growl deepened into the likes of a snarl as she widened her stance just a little more firmly. Damn it. This pack was not supposed to have intruders so soon. They'd only just been founded. "Who the hell are you?" she snarled, bearing teeth. "You have five seconds to explain yourself before I feed you to the fishes."

Me: *remembers Citali`s aversion to boys* Aw, crap. Hawk: *sees Citali`s aversion to him* Aw, crap. xD Sorry for the shortest post in history - I wanted to make it more effective.

Hawk hurriedly replied, pure terror instilled within the yearling as he saw the she-wolf`s anger.

"Uh, Saena accepted me Packscent washed off fox droppings needed wash don`t want or like trouble please don`t kill me?" he gabbled. Fearscent rolled off him in waves, and he crouched submissively.

He didn`t want any trouble, and showed in in his body language. The she-wolf was bigger than him, older than him, and he implored her mercy silently, head down.

Her growl deepened. He mentioned Saena and scents and all things that were now washed off due to the water he splashed around in like a crazy wolf. Not that it would have helped much either way. Her nose was mostly reserved for plants, not the scents of pack or predator. Though she was capable of detecting such important scents, she not nearly as good at is as she was at picking out herbs. To believe him or not...

Narrowed eyes started long and hard at him as she scented the air. There was truth in his words riddled in a tinge of fear that satisfied her deeply. "How long ago?" she hissed. "And why was I not told of it?" She didn't consider herself important enough to be privy to members as they came and went, but some sort of inkling would be nice so she didn't nearly bite their heads off. Then again, kid had gone off and erased his scent which should have been notice enough. Should have been. If it existed. Smooth move. Smooth move.

It was then that she realized one of her initial questions had not been answered. "I asked who you were." Her voice was still firm. Still demanding. "Answer me and I might spare you." Since he was trembling in his fur, why not leverage it to her advantage?

Hawk saw the she-wolf`s pleasure at his fear, and came to the wise conclusion that he should stay in his submissive crouch.

What have I done?

Mr Amiable. That was him. Unless there was fire or an angry wolf involved. Ah.

"Hawk," he answered stiffly. "Saena accepted me into the Pack half a dozen sunhighs ago. I, erm, I - I didn`t think I was ready to meet the Pack - or that they`d be ready to meet me."

He chuckled nervously upwards at the looming she-wolf. She had a strange scent tinging the Packscent, the bitter and comforting smell his mother had always held. Hawkeye wasn`t comfortable now, that was for certain.

"I guess I was right," he muttered drily. "And now I`ve washed away the Packscent, I`ll be killed as soon as I move within a mile of any wolf."

At this moment, he came to another, even more wise conclusion. He should shut up.

"The hell is a sunhigh?" she wondered, only to realize she'd spoken her thoughts out loud. "You talking days, kid?" She counted them in her head. Six days. That was... "Almost a week?" It didn't seem so difficult to speak plainly. She exhaled sharply. Damn kids these days. They were always coming up with new words for things that didn't need new words.

With an exhausted sigh, she shook her head. This was a new member, one who was young enough that he needed a little guidance. Like all males, a firm hand would help with that. And clear orders. There'd be no mistaking them. "Fine, Hawk," she resigned to finally saying, though her words held Citali's very own version of sharpness. "What on earth are you doing out and about at this hour? Isn't it past your bedtime?"

So sorry for unexplained absence! I`m back with a vengeance :)

Hawk suppressed an angry chuff. "I`m twel- sorry, a year old. And sunhigh is what my parents taught me; Saena said things have different names in the Teekon Wilds...Oh, yes, day was one. And night, and year."

He muttered the names lowly. "And in my birth Pack, I was roaming at night before 10 moons anyway."

He nervously kneaded the ground with silvery paws, each dripping hair outlined in the moonlight dappling the ground.

"And as for what I`m doing out here...I - I don`t really think the wolves around here would trust me quite yet. I`ll just stay on the borders, respectfully, hunting, not messing around in rivers..." he started to gabble a bit before composing himself. "Ahem. The point is, I don`t even smell like you wolves now. I..." he sighed.

The pup that was undeniably still inside him, yapped and pawed to the surface of his mind, taking control away from the amiable, smooth adolescent wolf that Hawk imagined controlled his every movement. It crept into his voice, wavering and yipping.

"I`m scared."

Welcome back!

They were having a bit of a struggle with naming conventions. Citali's ears fell flat upon her head, unamused as she listened to the yearling explain himself. He was young. Yes, she'd gathered that much. He also, apparently, did not have the best of parental supervision if he was out and about past any sort of decent hour with no good reason. She sighed. What was this world coming to? The youth these days were simply out of control.

She said nothing as he rambled further. Unimpressed, as was typical of her over-seriousness to begin with, and more-so as she had been unable to sleep and was therefore tired and grumpy, she listened with blank expression and found herself yawning. Her jaws spread and she lifted a paw to try to hide her mouth behind until the reflex had passed. "I certainly don't trust a wolf frolicking around in the middle of the night when everyone should be sleeping," she affirmed once more.

Citali'd barely gotten the words out when he followed with a comment that made everything about her stiffen. Scared? The kid was scared? What did she look like? A nursemaid? She was the last wolf on the planet anyone should have run to over a feeling of any kind. "How very unfortunate for you," she murmured. "All the more reason to sleep, like any sane wolf at this hour, and simply forget about it."

*throttles Citali* Aw, craaaaaaaaaaaaam9aaaaaaaaaaaaaaap.

Hawk cocked his head and laughed. (OOC: A LITTLE BIT, OKAY? DON`T LET CITALI REFER TO IT AS "MANIC GIGGLING" or whatever pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees
aaaaaaase. Please.)

"Hahahaaaa! Imagine that, wolves who sleep at night and-" he let out a soft chuff as he struck his injured paw against the original log in his mirth, but dismissed it, "-hunt in the day! You are funny, Miss."

As he jolted his paw yet again, he inwardly cursed. But it brought back a memory to him, earlier than all others, and he thought about it for just a split-second.

The bitter medicinal smell of his mother`s fur as he rushed towards her. A gentle cuff around the head. "Respect me, Hawkeye. You`re my eldest pup-"(Hawk felt pride at this and yapped loudly) "-and you should remember to respect she-wolves. We might not be always big and strong, like Daddy, but without us there would be no Pack."

Hawk cocked his head to the side, before proudly yipping, "I know why! She-wolves like you...have puppies like me!"

His mother nodded, smiling. "So..."

Hawk leaped at the chance.

"Be extra nice to she-wolves and Mummy wolves!" he giggled, before composing his young face and dipping his head...

Hawk dipped his head as a sign of respect , looking at the ground (ensnaring a beetle in one paw for later) and choosing his words very carefully indeed.

"I apologize for not treating you with the respect a she-wolf deserves, Miss," he added hastily.

The wolf laughed at her. Laughed at her. She narrowed her eyes at him, a growl rumbling in the depths of her throat as he dared to insult her by claiming things that were normal and traditional were anything but. Her posture shifted. She'd throttle him. She would. If the boy needed a firm hand of discipline she'd go out of her way to give him a lesson well worth remembering.

Her lips curled, flashing fang as she posed herself to slip forward. Fortunately, he lowered his head and apologized quickly. She stayed put, but her aggression did not slip from her stance nor her form. She already could not sleep and now this wolf was toying with her in her tired state. Citali's growls did not cease as she watched him carefully. Very carefully.

"Off to bed with you," she snapped, pointing a paw in the general direction of the den site. "Do not make me repeat myself." She stared at him long and hard as she waited for him to realize what it meant to truly respect any adult.

Wanna fade out with a last post? If so just powerplay Hawk running away to camp. :)

Hawk was crippled under Citali`s stern words. He gulped and nodded quickly, before looking in the opposite direction to the camp.

"Um, yes, eh, Ma`am. I - I`ll just go to where the, er, the dens are now."

Hawk shuffled his paws, slowing as much as was physically possible as he ascended the slope. He was finally stood on the crest of the hill, young and scared, poised to bolt at any second.

The wolf appeared to shrink at her words and contemplate them for a moment. She stared back firmly at him, feeling something of a nursemaid as she waited for the child to comply. Her face was stern, flat as she pointed and watched him look in the other direction. She made a sound within her throat, refocusing his attention as she tipped her head towards the dens. That way. His attention needed to be that way.

Fortunately, his words complied and the wolf moved towards the dens. She watched him go, keeping her eyes upon his hide as he moved as slow as possible to go stand upon a ridge. "Good night!" she spoke back, lifting her voice so there was no mistaking what he would be doing next with the rest of his evening.

She waited for him to disappear completely before she turned her focus back to herself. She waded into the stream a bit, splashed a touch of water on her face and shook away the remnants of her nightmare. She should try to sleep. Should. She found her way to the garden instead and occupied her long pre-dawn hours there.

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