Shadow Mountain The endless search

Shadowfur struggled up the west side of the mountain. He was utterly spent, and his frame was startlingly gaunt. He loped on, searching for any prey on the barren mountain. The famine had hardened him, reducing him to creature driven only by the primal instinct to find it's next meal. And although the famine had passed, Shadowfur's luck had run dry. His last meal had been nearly two and a half weeks ago, and he had wandered endlessly since.

As hunger had continued to set in, shadowfur had become increasingly reckless. He flung himself against all the creatures he met, desperately trying to find a meal for himself. He bore a fresh scar on his left flank, a clash with a panther that had left him weakened and barely able to stumble away. His heart and spirit had become like stone, and he continued only through sheer determination. But that could only get him so far.

One misstep among the rocks had sent Banner stumbling forward with a quiet gasp.  Her front paw had the misfortune of landing on a smaller, lose rock nestled carefully among its larger neighbors.  The small brown female righted herself, thankful to not have suffered an embarassing fall, and glared at the ground briefly.  This place sure was beautiful, but apparently that came with a price for wolves unable to give their full attention to their surroundings.

Banner grumbled and moved forward, her bright green eyes alternating between the ground and her path ahead.  She didn't have a destination in mind, but her wanderings had brought her fairly far South today through more mountainous territory - she'd even passed right by Menta's new home.  The dark brown female made a note to visit her friend one of these days.  Maybe in a few weeks.  Life in these parts had only just come back around from the famine a short while ago.

She paused from her elevated position, her head lowering slightly.  A male larger than she - though most males were, come to think of it! - seemed to be having a difficult time traversing the terrain.  It wasn't so treacherous that passage was impossible, but he looked a bit.. haggard?  That probably wasn't the right word.  He seemed exhausted, really, and Banner's expression softened.  She wasn't sure what to say.  Should she say anything?  Her weight shifted from one paw to the other as an awkward air settled around her.

Shadowfur stumbled along exhausted. Loose gravel went sliding as the dark male lost his footing and fell, narrowly avoiding a tumble down the mountainside. Shadowfur growled in annoyance and continued on. 

He kept his head down, constantly sniffing the slight breeze. The land was dry though, and catching scent of anything was difficult. The land seemed to conspire against him, making it increasingly difficult for him to survive and and find food. 

Eventually however, he did catch scent of another creature. Shadowfur's head whipped up and around, and his dull eyes caught sight of a dark pelted female slightly above him on the mountainside. She seemed to be in much better shape than him, hardly a surprise. Shadowfur growled pointedly asking "Who are you?" Normally, he would be so direct, but hunger made him impatient and rude.

She swallowed a gasp as he lost his footing.  Apparently his travels were a bit more treacherous than she'd originally thought.  Banner lifted one paw to move forward but it froze in mid air.  What was she going to do, carry him down?  Sure, she was sturdy as hell, but this male easily had several pounds a couple inches oh her.  Small stature wasn't her friend in this situation.

But then, apparently the jet black male wasn't looking for anything friendly.   She jumped slightly in surprise, her paw returning to the ground to steady her weight.  His gaze was of a similar shade, but his eyes seemed a little cold.  Oh, and he was so.. rude!  Banner tilted her head to the side and took a moment before she bothered to asnwer him.  "Banner," she said flatly, clearly unimpressed with his boorish behavoir.

Shadowfur eyed the dark female, watching for any signs of hostility in her bearing. Her startled reaction to his statement should have clued him in, but the male's hunger driven mind wasn't what it had been. Her tone in answering was flat and disdainful, and it rilled up shadowfur. 

His hackles raised subtly as he responded to her. "Banner hmm," he mused. He had never heard a name like it,  "What pack do you hail from", he asked. He could smell the pack scent on her, but it was unfamiliar. Many things still were.

Her posture stiffened.  The dark male's hackles started to raise and Banner found herself on alert.  She had yet to meet an unfriendly wolf since re-uniting with her brother, but she supposed there was a first time for everything.  Banner couldn't help her sneer when he asked about her pack.  Marauder's Keep was well protected geographically, but each wolf was responsible for ensuring it stayed that way by being wary of outsiders.  Usually she'd give a general description of her home and leave out any telling details.  But for him..?

"What business is it of yours?" she spat out.  The short female felt her agitation continue to rise.  Her eyes narrowed as she glared at him.

The realization of making a mistake came too late, as it often does. In the back of his mind, shadowfur told himself that being so hostile certainly wasn't the best course, given his physical state. But that was the back of a desperate mind driven nearly mad with hunger and pain. Shadowfur saw the change in the female's posture, every muscle tense. Shadowfur himself stiffened slightly, preparing for whatever the female might do. Her sneer only served to increase his agitation.

"I simply want to inform myself of these lands," he growled, eyes narrowing as he glared at her. "Is that so wrong,"? Shadowfur was annoyed that she wouldn't just give him a straight answer. "I'm not a threat to your pack Banner, I simply want to learn what I can before moving on". It seemed like a lame excuse for his behavior, but shadowfur wasn't going to worry too much about her opinion. "If you'll tell me I-"

The dark male's head whipped around at the scent of a rabbit down the hill. Immediately he dropped into a crouch and began creeping towards it. Everything else had been cleared from the male's mind, he was focused solely on the hunt. But once again, he was to be thwarted. A sudden change in wind direction blew his scent towards the rabbit, which promptly bolted for a nearby hole. Shadowfur lept, but the rabbit just beat him to the safety of it's den.

A little voice in the back of her mind told her to disengage, that this pointless escalation could be halted by taking a proverbial step back and re-evlauating the situation.  Hell, even turning around and heading back up North to the Keep with no futher conversation would have been preferable.  But that voice was small.  Growing smaller by the second.  Her ears cupped forward when the haggard male spoke again and his words only served to increase her agitation.  The look on his face, the bite in his words.. yes, it was wrong!  She wanted to scream.

But before she could respond he was on the tail of a rabbit.  It was just out of reach for him and Banner would have felt something akin to compassion had he not been so overtly rude to her.  She watched his failure and instead felt nothing as the dark male missed his prey due to in part to an untimely change in the wind's direction. 

"No, clearly you aren't a threat to my pack," she stated dryly, her voice a bit louder to carry the greater distance caused by his movement downhill.

Shadowfur growled in anger and frustration at coming up short once again. "This day just keeps getting worse," he muttered to himself. He glanced back at the dark female, seeing nothing but disgust written all over her face. A small prickle of shame crept into in his mind, shame at his behavior and his miserable failure in front of her. But the feeling was quickly erased.

"Don't be too sure about that," he spat. The dark male’s eyes flashed, regaining some of their previous vibrance for the first time in days. He turned quickly, intending to show her just how threatening he could be, but as he twisted his left legs slipped and he stumbled. Normally, he would've regained his balance, but he was so angry and tired that it was beyond him.

Gravel went sliding down the mountain as shadowfur hit the ground and rolled, colliding with a sickening crunch against a large boulder. He snarled in pain, then lay there. Glaring up at the female, his eyes sent a clear message. Don't even think about coming down here.

His threat rang in her ears.  Immediately Banner's anger increased tenfold.  Her breathing became deeper and her stance stronger as she braced herself against the unsteady terrain.  The feeling flowed hotly through her blood, her skin tingling.  Her eyes closed briefly and she shook her head in an unconsious effort to clear her mind.  But she was too far gone now.  Her fur stood up on end and, with her dark coat being so thick, it made her look even larger than she was.

Even when the male suddenly twisted and fell she couldn't stop the anger causing her blood to sing.  The short female sneered again, her green eyes cold as she watched him land against a boulder in what was probably an incredibly painful way.  The look in his eyes, the nasty warning to keep back, only caused her to stalk forward.  Banner's pawfalls were unhurried as she made her way down.  She was breathing heavily and her eyes were fixed on his broken body - rational thought was pushed far from her mind as the anger took hold of her, the embrace of it wrapping around her very being like a tight, caustic hug.

Shadowfur saw the look in the female's eyes and immediately became fearful. The look in her eyes was murderous, and he knew that he was in no condition to fight, not now. Still, he wasn't going out on the ground. He tried to stand, but his left shoulder, which had hit the boulder, seared painfully. He faltered, then dragged himself to stand out of sheer determination. He knew he was licked, that a fight could only in his defeat, but he wasn't going to run from it.

The female walked slowly towards him, her breathing heavy and her eyes cold and full of hate. Shadowfur knew that any attempt at reasoning with her was long gone. Still, it was probably his only chance at getting out of this alive. "I don't deserve it, but let me leave. I'll be gone and you'll probably never hear from me again." He hated pleading with her like this, but swallowing his pride had helped him before. He stood, waiting for her answer, whether it be with words or fangs.

His voice registered in her mind as she approached, though just barely.  It was enough to give Banner pause a few feet away from him.  Her head shook, eyes blinking as she desperately attempted to clear the fog of anger from her brain.  Oh, it was a painful thing to fight.  Giving in was so simple, so easy.. too easy.  The image of her brother flashed in her thoughts.  The Beta, the responsible one who always had her best interest at heart.  She growled, the conflict clear as day on her face.

Ugh!  Her eyes flickered, the angry light fading away slightly as she looked upon the injured male before her.  She took a gasping breath and steadied her stance on the rocky mountain side.  Okay.  Breathe in, breathe out.  Banner closed her eyes and took a few measured breaths.  "You shouldn't make threats you can't back up," she ground out, unable to mask the remainder of her agitation in her voice.

The female approached, and every pawfall rang clearly in the male's ears. Then, he saw her pause, and a spark of of hope sprung into being. Perhaps he had gotten through to her. He saw the struggle clearly on her face. Which side will you give into. When the fire in her eys began to die, the male allowed himself to relax slightly. He was still ready, in case she changed her mind, but it was looking less and less likely. Her words however, still weren't devoid of anger.

At first, Shadowfur bristled slightly at her words. But immediately he forced himself to further relax. Fighting had gotten them nowhere, and he knew very well who would come out of one worse. In all honesty, he deserved much worse criticism. "No... I shouldn't" he grunted slowly, judging it was safe to speak again. "I need to apologize to you banner, for my atrocious behavior. Out of my desperation, I acted most shamefully." The male bowed his head, still angry, but at himself, not her. "I hope you can forgive me" he said softly.

Her eyes were still closed when he apologized, though Banner flicked one ear to let him know that she was listening.  She was simultaneously listening to the steady thudding of her heart and almost willing it to slow down.  Her breathing was measured and had now evened out considerably.  Thankfully her heartbeats finally began to slow as the rage emptied out of her.  That had been a close call - too close.

Banner opened her eyes again, her bright green gaze unfocused at first.  "Forgiven," she stated simply, her voice sounding as though she'd been dining on gravel for several days.  The small female cleared her throat and nodded her head.  "If you'll excuse me.."

She gave the dark, injured male a long look before turning around.  Not wanting to be entirely rude in her abrupt departure, Banner woofed a goodbye, though it came out clipped and hollow.  She shook her head again as made a beeline for the safety of the willow trees in Marauder's Keep.  It would be best for everyone if she hid herself away for a while - at least until she returned to a fully calm state.

Shadowfur watched her depart, relieved at her forgiveness. It had been more than he had dared to hope for. The injured male tested his left front leg and, satisfied that it would support him for a while, limped off towards the east. As he continued, he had a lot of time to think.

A large part of the blame rested on his shoulders. He accepted that immediately, even though it wasn't the easiest thing to come to terms with. If he hadn't been so rude initially, the entire situation could have been different. He promised himself therefore, that he would strive to do better.

Cresting the top of the mountain, Shadowfur saw a large valley that stretched as far as the eye could see to the east. Perhaps there he, could continue. Before he went down the other side, he threw his head back and howled towards the direction banner had departed. His message was simple, Thank you. He only hoped she would understand. Then the dark male headed down into the valley, to continue his endless search.