Broken Antler Fen Cihiro

Valtyr's hunting journey had yielded little reward, and though he gained satisfaction from dividing the catch between members of the pack, he couldn't help but think about the rumbling in his stomach. One rabbit wasn't enough to endure the famine. This fast was trying his strength and soon the day was spent from his hunting efforts.

He laid near the water's edge of one of the more defined bodies of water in the Fen. The sandy ground was dry and warm, and the freshwater lake lapped softly at it shores. However, the green reeds surrounded the area had been stripped away and had taken much of the place's beauty with it.

"So hungryyyy," Valtyr mumbeled pitifully to himself as he watched the water dance beneath the sun. Did he even have the strength and patience to fish?

Pearl had been more or less wandering aimlessly around the territory. Some life was returning to the fens, but everything still looked pretty beak. Her stomach gave a loud rumble, making her grimace. She was an alpha now, and had to keep up the morale, no matter how lightheaded and grouchy was getting as of late. 

Maybe she could focus enough to catch a meger meal for the pack. Sure, there were stillheaping mounds of crunchy carcasses everywhere, but those were getting harder and harder to get down. Changing her random course over to one of the lakes in the fens, she made quick time for one as weak as she. 

She found one of the newer members with a similar idea, though he seemed to still be deciding what to do. She only ever really talked to him when she was in heat, but she couldn't quite remember everything that happened. Quietly, she came up to his side in time to hear him mumble something. "Are you holding up alright here?" she asked, knowing the response would probably have something to do with the lack of food.

Valtyr rested his chin on the sandy ground, wondering how dirt would taste and if it would even sate his bottomless hunger. He reflected on what that old wolf, Palestrike, had taught him about catching the rabbit with a tag-team method. What other hunting techniques had he missed out on? In fruitful times, Val was an okay hunter, but the famine truly tested his skills and revealed them to be not-so-pretty. Sloppy, in fact. It wasn't like there were warrens in the Fen, anyway, he resolved. The ground was too soft, too wet, for the hares to build their home. Valtyr grumbled, under his breath as he fantasied about a fatty boar butt for dinner.

Salivating, he heard the paw-steps of another wolf approaching. He knew, by scent, that the newly crowned alpha female approached. His flame-orange ears swiveled before his head turned to face the alabaster woman, thinking about those saucy times when he had first joined Broken Antler Fen. She was hot, and a part of him envied Sebastian, though Valtyr didn't dare to intone that fact in his day-to-day conversation.

"Heyyyy, Pearl," he greeted her, still prone on the lake's beach. She asked, probably out of courtesy, how everthing was going. "Yeahhhhhhnnnoooooo," he drawled, good spirits quickly sapped by the famine. He so wanted to give her a positive answer, but it was challenging to act blithely unconcerned in these meager times. They were past saving face.

"Ugh, I dunno, Pearl," Valtyr groaned as his head sagged, "I've never seen it as bad as this. Anywhere." His sooty muzzle twisted in a frown. "I went far North - past Moonspear - and there wasn't a lick of big game to be found. No tracks... nuthin'. All I could bag was that measly rabbit." The Fen's topology didn't lend itself well to big game, to begin with. Only Moose really visited the wetlands in good numbers, and there was none to be found. "It's not looking good," he added dismally.

Though she was somewhat disapointed at his lack of usual wit and enthusiasm, Pearl couldn't help but snort at his drawling words. It was certainly a change to listen to all of her packmates now, as many's attitudes were either different or growing more into an annoying realist. She fell into either irritated grump or lightheaded giddyness with not much inbetween when the hunger pangs really hit her. For now she was in front of a packmate who wasn't well known to her, so she retained some of her control over herself. 

Her hunting skills had been affected only slightly, the only factor not allowing prey was the sheer lack of it. That and she was tired most of the time. She sat next to him, listening to his hunting recounts. It didn't look good at all, but the greenery would grow back in time. If they survived until that time came, however, was the real question. 

"All we can do is hope for the best, and wait until the plants grow again," she said with a sigh, as it really was all they could do. Unless there was a magic little cave that miraculously survived the unexpected invasion with unlimited fat rabbits hopping about that was around here somewhere that they could find. Her mind pictured the little heaven, which all it did for her was make her stomach angrily rumble at her. "Ugh, shut up." she said to it. Looking straight up, she let out a long, frustrated, "aaaaaagggggghhhhhhhhhhhh." Pearl titled her head to see Val. "Sorry. Just so ready for this to be over and for things to get back to normal."

When Pearl snorted, Valtyr realized what a sad-sack he was being. Yet, the pale leader was patient and offered a sincere response to quell his concerns. However, her noble repose was interrupted by the famished gurgled of her belly. Valtyr flopped onto his side as one long, burnt-orange leg reached out to playfully swap at his packmate. "But mommmmyyyy, I'm hungry noooowww," he bellyached sarcastically. I mean, this was training for when Sebastian and Pearl would have kids, right? It was only reasonable to play the part of man-child.

the man-child is perfect lol

Pearl had to laugh, although being called 'mommy' was a first. Experiencing a man-child, however, was not. She sat and swatted back, relaxing and having fun, as this famine had drained the air of playfulness of this place. She matched his tone, saying "I knowww, you gotta deeaall with iiit." Was she playing the parent for a grown wolf now? Yes.

"UGH!" Val proclaimed melodramatically as he rolled onto his back, all four fire feet stuck straight in the air, "NoooOOooOOOoo, I'm gonna starrvveee!" The Fen pack could technically starve, given the state of Teekon, but the Theta was determined to make light of the situation -- if only to make up for his original dismal tone. He was a wolf who found happiness easily. Nothing of great consequence had transpired in his life... unless you counted being seperated from his original birth family. 

He shimmed closer to Pearl (wriggling like a worm, all the while on his back), tail thumping the ground. Suddenly, his tone became very serious. "Pearl... if-if it comes down to it," he started, swallowing dryly, "...if there's no other choice..." His eyes queezed shut, ears turned away, "I give you permission to..."

Pause for dramatic effect.

"Eat Aduin."

Pearl couldn't help but grin as Val kept the act going, putting a lighter spin on what was going on around them. Her tail happily beat the ground, and she went down into a play bow at her conversational queue. "Nahhhhh, we wouldn't eeeverr let thaaatt haaappen," she said, the sentance dripping with sarcasm, with an eye roll tossed in to enhance it. 

She watched him immediately switch tones to a serious tone, but seeing a grown wolf shimmy over to her on his back threatened to cause a grin. Pearl knew to anticipate a joke from him, but you never really know what to expect from others during hard times. Observant as ever, she watched him build the suspense and lead her to guess that he was giving permission to eat him. Possibly. 

Apparently not at all. As Aduin would have been her last guess, she bust out laughing, but promptly regained false seriousness. "And I suppose..." she mimicked, not quite as unexpected now, but she had her own humor, "If it's the last possible resort..." looking dramatically away, sounding dead serious, sighing like it was the hardest choice she had ever made, "I can offer you the privilage...of..." Turning her head back, she looked dead into Val's upside-down eyes.

"The location of the magic moose."

:3

Valtyr's tail beat the ground when Pearl guffawed at the joke, a wide and silly grin plastered on the firefoot's sooty muzle as his pink tongue stuck out a bit. 'She thinks I'm funnnn-yyyyy,' he sang in his head Miss Congeniality style, mouthing at one of her paws (as goofy dogs often do) while she struck a play-bow pose. The pale woman was cajoled into his melodrama, lapsing into an over-the-top serious tone. Valtyr's drew in a sharp breath as she looked him in the eyes, waiting to hear what the previlage could possibly be.

"The location of the magic moose?!" he proclaimed in faux-bewilderment, jerking his body right side up in one sudden twist. "I-I don't know what to say," he said, feigning embarassment. "Pearl, this... this is so sudden," he turned away bashfully as if she had just gotten down on one knee and proposed. His copper eyes looked deep into her shamrock gaze, "but for you, anything." Pushing comedic bounderies was the closest Valtyr could come to flirting with Pearl and still feel "okay" about it, after all.

Sure it was the first stupid thing that came to mind, but Val's reaction seemed to portray that they were actually talking about something serious from a distance. But it was so far from serious that Pearl had to fight off a grin. 

Playing along with faux-sincerity, she touched her paw to his, still keeping eye contact. "Thank you. You're the only one I trust with this information." she said in a low voice. She couldn't very well keep up the facade, so a smile finally grew as the serious that was never really there faded. Feeling paticularly goofy today, she bent down and booped her nose on his. "Boop," she said playfully.

Last post for me! :D

An impish smirk made Valtyr's sooty muzzle twist as Pearl's inflection ambled into a serious time. One ivory paw brushed his own and for a moment he imagined actual sincerity in Pearl's delivery as opposed to their playful farce. Valtyr could feel his face suddenly grow hot when the alpha female booped his nose, his bumbling expression candid for a moment he gathered his scattered wit. "Miss Pearl," he gasped in a faux southern dandy drawl, "I do delcare!" Valtyr suddenly rose and stamped one foot with conviction, "so un-lady like!" Part of the Sveijarn wished he was smooth enough to enter an "innocent game" of chicken, but he felt emotions on his sleeves. Crash and burn was imminent and so he swiftly opted out, not adept enough to hide the starkest of impetus. Yet, as he left Pearl on the banks he would turn his head and flash a wanton leer towards the woman. "Why don't you take me out to dinner sometime," he lilted, gaze half lidded as he faked the most over-the-top seductive expression (but srsly tho, was he fakin'? THE READER DECIDES) before disappearing into the treeline towards the borders where he would cringe at himself the rest of the day.

Pearl grinned stupidly as Val adopted an accent, clearly amused by all of this, and noticing none of his jumbled emotions. He rose quickly and without warning, surprising her into just staring at him as the male began to leave. She didn't know quite what to do with the obvious seductive vibes he was throwing off (albeit dramatically), so naturally she responded likewise.

"I may take you up on that, sunshine," she said with a wink. But when it was obvious he wasn't returning, she simply shrugged and went to sniff out Sebastian.