Gyrfalcon's Keep Angry Falcons!

OOC:This a continuation of my last post, Refuge.

IC: After a few hours' rest in the evening, Macawi began to feel restless inside her shelter of leaves and moss, and began to get up. Anyone passing by at that moment would have seen a snout suddenly pop up from the ground - or what they thought was the ground. When she was done shaking the leaves from her fur, Macawi let out a short howl and a yip to let the world know that she was awake and ready to begin a new night in a new place.

Having seen enough of the forest for the time being, she picked a direction and began running, reveling in the cool night air and loving the sound of crickets and the scent of the night mist on the grass. As long as she kept her speed, the chill would not bother her, as it was not cold enough to snow and not wet enough to rain. The night was her favorite time. Things seemed, to her, so much clearer by the pale, cool light of the moon than the glaring, blinding light of the sun.

Her run through the forest soon brought her to the base of a mountain. From what she could see, it was small compared to other mountains, but still bigger than the mountains she was used to. A challenge! she thought to herself, and, with a grin, began the climb.

So focused on her task was she that she did not even notice the gyrfalcons circling overhead, hunting for small animals, like mice and squirrels. Little did Macawi know that she had unintentionally angered the whole lot of them! In their eyes, she was an intruder. And intruders deserved one thing and one thing only.

Macawi yelped when she felt the first splat drop down onto her head. She jumped nearly ten feet in the air in surprise, and looked up to see what it had been. This was the worst thing she could have done. She was greeted by another splat, right in the maw, as the offending bird cawed at her from above, as if laughing.

With a narrowing of her eyes, the coyote grinned, ignoring the foul-smelling odor now coming from her fur. Macawi will get you for that, she thought. She quickly scanned the surrounding area, and, finding what she wanted, bounded away up the mountain, keeping low and going in zigzags to avoid becoming the birds' toilet again. Eventually, she came to what she had seen in the distance: a nest. Inside were four eggs, sitting perfectly. Gingerly, Macawi took one egg from the nest, and then jumped back just in time as the mother of the eggs dive-bombed right where she had been a second before.

Without giving it another thought, the coyote turned tail and fled down the mountain with her prize, knowing she was going to be enjoying a nice late dinner once she found somewhere to eat it.

These 'Teekon Wilds', as they were called by the locals, had promise. There were 5 packs in the area, but there was still open land for lone wolves such as her to roam. Food was plenty, especially now as spring painted the fields with colorful flowers and drenched the trees with green leaves. Best of all, there was no human interference whatsoever.

Erika skirted the foot of the mountain, swivelling her head to get a good look at her surroundings. The mountain was not as tall as the others she had seen in the area, but was a source of creeks and home to dense forests. Several hares bounded about, letting the she-wolf know she could find a good meal if she searched for it. Overall, it looked like a peaceful place to live...if not for l'gerfauts she saw circling the peak. Her previous experiences with said falcons were....sanglant to say the least. She made it her priority to make it seem like she was ignoring the gyrfalcons, since they divebombed anyone who even looked at their nests. She did not want to risk another annoying and painful attack. And if she killed one then they all came after her.

It was then that she saw a coyote running from the gyrfalcon's nests, an egg clamped in its jaws. She gave an audible scoff and rolled her eyes, knowing that the coyote would not run for long before an entire horde of falcons would come flying after it. Erika knew that from experience; the tears in her right ear was a testiment to that. The coyote, like most of its kind, was stupid enough to steal from such dangerous birds. Erika put her head down and kept walking, hoping to avoid the gyrfalcons' gaze. Unfortunately she looked back up at the coyote, and suddenly realized that the coyote was running at breakneck speed towards her.

"Sacrebleu!" She hissed as she jumped back, narrowly avoiding the egg-thief. "Watch where you are going, vous piégeur sale!" She snapped at the coyote's tail for good measure. Behind her, a screech, most likely coming from the mother of the stolen egg, was echoed by its mate, and then its neighbours, and a horde of gyrfalcons rose into the air and flew in the coyote's direction.

Which was also her direction.

"Merde."

As Macawi barreled down the mountain, egg in mouth, head turned to watch the gyrfalcons as she ran, she barely turned her head in time to see the black wolf in front of her, who was barely visible in the backdrop of the night. She swerved at the last second, as did the wolf, the two narrowly missing each other.

Without dropping her prize, Macawi called as best she could, "Follow me, Cousin Wolf! Macawi will share half of this egg with you if we escape unharmed!"

Without looking to see if the wolf was following, she charged headlong down the mountain, back to Ravensblood Forest. Why she was being nice to this wolf she did not know. A sense of boredom, perhaps? Her adventurous streak coming through? Either way, she did not mind. Whether the she-wolf followed was up to her. If she did not, then Macawi would have the delicious golden contents of the egg all to herself. If she did follow, then perhaps the coyote would make a new friend.

"Follow me, Cousin Wolf! Macawi will share half of this egg with you if we escape unharmed!" The coyote yelped, muffled by the egg in her mouth as she sped past Erika. The black wolf opened her mouth, about to say something in return when a gyrfalcon's claw clipped her ear. Yelping in surprise, Erika ran after the coyote in sudden fear*.

Erika closed the distance between her and the coyote, who called herself Macawi running alongside it, if not a little ahead of the scavenger. She positioned herself on the left side of Macawi, so she did not suddenly trip in fear of the disfigurement on the right side of her face. As the two kept running, she started berating herself in her mind.

Erika que faites-vous la suite de cette coyote! Une bête stupide misérable! S'enfuir dans les ombres et sortir d'ici. Vous n'avez aucune écoute d'affaires à ses promesses d'un moitié un oeuf. She hissed at herself internally. An egg is not a carcass of meat, nor is a coyote a good friend to have, nasty vultures without wings. And yet...this was the most exciting thing she has done in a long time. Mieux profiter du plaisir pendant que ça dure... Perhaps she could just steal the egg from the coyote once they were out of danger...


*OOC: It rhymes!

Macawi really couldn't believe that this wolf had honestly decided to follow her, but she was happy because of it. Perhaps they could become friends. As the black wolf came up on her left side, she gave a muffled bark in greeting and yelled around the egg, "Run, Cousin!" She stifled a laugh of pure joy. "Run!"

Finally, they made it into the trees, and the gyrfalcons stopped chasing them. Macawi found a nice patch of grass to rest, lay down, and put the egg between her paws. She looked up at the beautiful she-wolf. "Would this one like the first taste?" she asked.

When Erika had run up beside the coyote, Macawi yelped, "Run Cousin! Run!" Which made her confused. Why did this coyote call her cousin? She was no where close to being related to such a creature. Overhead she no longer heard the furious flapping of wings, which gave her a mix of relief and slight disappointment that the chase was over. The coyote skidded to a halt and laid down in a patch of grass. She looked up at Erika and offered her the first bite of the egg. Erika turned the right side of her face away from Macawi's gaze. She would only show her that side when she was ready to steal the egg away from her. She was still curious as to why a member of another species called her family.

"Why do you call me cousin, larron d'oeuf?"

Macawi gazed at this wolf with a curious expression. "Does Wolf not know that Coyote is cousin in species? Macawi and she are both Canine, are they not? Besides," she continued with a grin, "Macawi is a quarter wolf on her father's side. Her grandfather was a pure-bred wolf, and her father was half. And so Macawi and this pretty black-coated female are closer than one would think."

After finishing her tale, Macawi studied this female closely, and immediately noticed the way she was eyeing the egg with a gleaming look. She also saw that the wolf was hiding one side of her face. But she knew better than to ask questions. Sighing, she stood and nudged her prize closer to the wolf. "Go on then, and take it. Macawi does not feel like fighting over something so trivial. If this one is hungry enough to steal from Coyote, then she needs it more."

"Of course I know wolves and coyotes are related. I am not stupid. It iz very obvious. It iz zat I 'ave never encountered a coyote zat called referred to wolves with such a familiar 'onorific." Erika snapped at the coyote. But, as the coyote continued to talk, her eyes widened a bit. "Your grandfather was a wolf? But, why would a wolf mate with a coyote?" The thought both disgusted her and intrigued her. Did the wolf really love the coyote or was it just a tryst? Intéressant ...

"Go on then, and take it. Macawi does not feel like fighting over something so trivial. If this one is hungry enough to steal from Coyote, then she needs it more." The coyote had seen her glare, and yet was kind enough to offer the egg to her instead of getting into a fight. Yet again, this coyote intrigued her. The black wolf sighed and slowly shook her head. "Non, coyote. You can keep ze egg for yourself. I will just find a little lièvre to eat later. You deserve it more zan I."

Macawi stared openly at the wolf before her, thinking very deeply about something. For a moment, there was silence between the two of them, and then she said, quietly, "This Wolf is the first of her race to ever be kind to Macawi. Coyote has eaten her share of eggs in her life. Has this one ever tasted an egg? Please. Take it. It is a gift of food in exchange for Wolf's kindness. Never has Macawi been so hopeful that Coyote and Wolf could get along together."

Slowly, she picked the egg up in her jaws, padded right up to the black wolf, and placed it gently between her paws. Then she backed up and sat upon her haunches. "Is this one part of a pack?" she asked the wolf. "Macawi has had no luck with pack wolves. They are all so territorial and quick to anger. But this one smells of nothing but herself and nature. That means she is not part of a pack, no?"

With a deep breath, the coy-wolf continued. "Perhaps… Perhaps Macawi and Cousin Wolf can form a pact. We will not harm one another, and, in return, we will hunt for each other, and watch each other's backs. Macawi knows she is being forward. Feel free to say no. But Macawi hopes you will not. She is tired of being alone, surrounded only by those who hate her. My grandparents were, as far as Macawi knows, genuinely in love. If that can happen, then perhaps a friendship between Macawi and this one can happen also?" She looked up at the wolf with openly pleading eyes, waiting eagerly for a response that she was half afraid of.

Erika stared in surprise as Macawi pushed the egg towards her. It was a gift of her kindness. The heavily scarred wolf blinked in awe. A gift? She has not recieved such a thing ever since she was a yearling in her birth pack. Did the coyote...no, her name was Macawi, really like her that much? She watched Macawi as she padded forward and placed the egg in between her paws. Then, once she sat back on her haunches, she gave a proposition, a pact; if we do not harm each other, then we could hunt together and watch each others back. The black wolf sighed sadly. Once she showed the disfigured side of her face, this new friend would be gone in an instant. She knew it. It has happened before. It has happened so many times.

"Non, Macawi. I am not a part of a pack any longer. I was born a pack wolf, but I was taken away when I was 'alf way through mah first year. Zen..." She slowly turned the disfigured, maimed, scarred half of her face towards the coyote. "Zen zis 'appened. I 'ave not found any pack to join, nor 'ave I found any friends since..... I 'ope your are not scared of me, Macawi. I would gladly join you, if you'll accept me et mon moitié de visage de crâne."

OOC: Oh my gosh, I finally get your signature thing! That is clever! Clever!

IC: Macawi flinched when she finally saw the side of this wolf that she had been hiding. Then she forced down her horror and studied the old wound carefully. "How did this happen?" she asked quietly. "Who did this to you, friend? Macawi will eat them alive for such a thing!"

She looked the wolf in the eyes. "And what is this one's name? Macawi does not know it yet."

She looked closely at the wolf for a moment, and then said, "No matter what anyone tells this one, this Wolf is beautiful. Macawi will gladly join her on many adventures." She gave a barking laugh. "And who knows? Perhaps she and Macawi can form their own pack one day! Eh?" She glanced down at the egg again. "Now, go on, friend. Eat. You will like it, Macawi thinks. Eat and tell me all about yourself. Coyote does not judge. She is glad to have any kind of friend."

OOC: Thank you! :D By the way, have you played any of the Elder Scrolls games? Macawi's speech pattern reminds me of a race in that universe called the Khajiit.

IC: She tensed when she saw Macawi's reaction and she was about to run away like she had many times. But, instead, the coyote simply studied the wound and threatened to 'eat them alive'. Erika chuckled a bit at the threat. "My name iz Erika. Erika de Les Fantômes is my full title. Les Fantômes being my birth pack. It means 'Ze Phantoms'." She laid down, cradling the egg in her paws, studying it for a bit.

"Create our own pack? Non. I am not ze leadership type. Per'aps we could join one, eh? If, 'owever, a pack would let you in. But do not fret, mon ami! I will find a way." She flipped the egg onto one of its ends, waiting a bit to make sure its contents found its way to the bottom. Then, she cracked the top off, placing it nearby her. Her light pink tongue lapped the yolk of the gyrfalcon egg.

"You wish to know about me?" She said as she ate. Well...I was born in L'Meute de Les Fantômes, which was in a territory called La Vérendrye. Zere were a few other packs in La Vérendrye, but none of zem ever fought or challenged my pack. Mon père, Erik was a 'ealer, et mon mère, Christine was a naturalist. I 'ave 3 siblings, all boys: Raoul, Armand, et Philippe." Naming her family brought back bittersweet memories....playing with her brothers by the river as her father and mother laughed. She shook her head to rid herself of the sombering thoughts, as if they were flies buzzing around her head. That life was behind her.

"Anyway....I was training to become a naturalist like mon mère. I took a walk one day when I was a yearling, and I was captured...by a 'uman. Do you know what a 'uman is, Macawi?"

OOC: Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry I took so long to respond! For some reason I thought I already had and I was waiting for your response, and then I double-checked it and it said that you were the last one to respond! >.< Also, did you get my PM about Macawi's accent?

IC: "Do you know what a 'uman is, Macawi?"

Macawi chuckled. "Yes, Macawi knows what a human is, Erika. She has seen many of them during her lifetime. Some have been kind and some have not. Coyote has stolen food from a few. And, one time, when she broke her leg, a group of them took her in and fixed it for her. They were an odd group, living out in the wilderness with the scents of animals and nature on them. They were the ones who named Coyote Macawi. Coyote liked it so much that it stuck."

She chuckled again at the memory, and then came back to herself and looked at Erika. "But Wolf says she was captured by a human? Why did they capture Erika? What did they want with her?"

Macawi had heard the horror stories that sometimes seemed to follow the humans around, as if they were monsters. Sometimes she believed the stories, and sometimes not. She had a bad feeling she was about to hear another one.

OOC: It's alright! I'm a rather patient person anyway. Yes I did get your PM. :3 Glad to see some people who play Elder Scrolls. :D Have you played the Elder Scrolls Online? I can't play due to some internet issues.

IC: Erika tilted her head a bit at Macawi's description of her interactions with humans. A human, no, a group of humans healing her injuries? Though she did know that not all humans were evil, like the one who had captured her and the one who had enslaved her. Some humans she saw stared at her with a mix of fear and curiousity; one had even left her food to eat. But actually approaching her and touching her? Never!

"In La Vérendrye, we called zese types of 'umans les braconniers, but I do not know ze word for it in zis language. Ze man captured me and took me away to another place. 'e gave me to another man, who took me to 'is den. I was not 'appy to be taken from my 'ome and given to zis 'uman, so I fought back against 'im....and because I did zat, 'e 'it me. Often." The wolf shifted uncomfortably. "Zen one day...I bit 'is 'and 'ard. Straight to ze bone. In 'is defense, 'e grabbed a glass, I zink ze word iz. 'e threw ze contents at my face, giving me zis." She turned her disfigured face towards the coyote more for emphasis.

OOC: I have played a very little bit of ESO, because my ex-boyfriend got into the Beta for it and he let me make my own character on it, but I didn't like it. It doesn't feel like an Elder Scrolls game at all. It feels like WoW and I don't like WoW, especially not as compared to the single-player ES games.

IC: Macawi flinched as, in her mind, she saw the contents of the glass splashing across Erika's face. She wondered what had been in the glass to eat away the wolf's face like that… She shook herself. That was not the best thing in the world to be thinking about. Instead she said, "Does Erika mean he was a poacher? You used a word earlier… braconniers. Macawi doesn't know what that means, but she does know that humans who steal animals are called poachers. Or perhaps he was a hunter?" Macawi shrugged. "But this word does not matter."

She shuddered once more, and then asked, "How did Erika escape? Or was she let free? And how long was she captured? That must have been horrible! Macawi cannot stand to think of it!"

OOC: Ah well. I guess I'll have to wait for ES VI then. Also, were you interested in having Macawi join the Silvertip Mountain pack?

IC: The word poacher was unfamiliar to her, but from the definition, it sounded like the correct translation of braconnier. A new word to add to her second language's dictionary. It bothered her a bit that she still did not know much of this language. It drew more attention onto her, which she, as a lone wolf, did not like much.

Macawi asked how she escaped, something she really wanted to keep to herself. She did not know how others would react to her method of escape. So she did not tell the whole truth. "I managed to escape one day, through one of ze entrances of ze den. I zink 'e kept me in zere for six moons. I entered in summer...but I escaped in winter." The wolf bent down to finish off the egg, swiping what was left of its contents off of the egg shell. "Since I told my story, what about you Macawi?"

OOC: Yes, I was, if they will take her.

IC: "Macawi's story?" the coyote repeated. "This one would like to know about Coyote now? Very well." The coy-wolf settled herself down in the grass and got comfortable to tell her tale. "Macawi was born to a litter of four. There were three females and one male, though Macawi's brother died not long after his eyes and ears opened.

"Macawi does not know who her father is and she does not care. For the first year and a half of her life, she was happy traveling with her sisters and mother. Macawi traveled all over! Her life was an adventure. Well - it still is. Only it is now tinged with sorrow. You see, Macawi's mother died about six months ago, which is why Macawi came here, to the Teekon Wilds. She came in the hopes of finding new adventure. When Mother died, Macawi and her sisters split up and went off in different directions, and Macawi has not heard from any of them since."

The coyote sighed and stared glumly at her paws for a moment, and then seemed to perk up again. "But there is no point in dwelling on the past. For now, all Macawi wishes to do is explore her new home, and perhaps join another pack - if they will have her. Erika can come too. She is Macawi's only friend in the world. Macawi thanks her for this."

OOC: I was interested in having Erika join as well. She already met up with Jinx, and I am giving her a few days to make a final decision. Maybe Erika could hop into the 'Precarious Situation' thread to vouch for Macawi? (not sure if that would work but YOLO right? ;D *shot*)

IC: Erika listened respectfully to Macawi's life story, just as the coyote did for her. It was rather sad really, not to know your father. She couldn't imagine her life if she never got to know the white-masked obsidian wolf; he was such a big influence on her. But some creatures, she knew, did not get the luxury of meeting the man who took part in creating them. The black wolf was grateful for having a chance to know him, even though she may never see him again. It pained her a bit more to hear that Macawi's mother died, leaving her alone. Then to have her sisters leave her made the wolf feel a bit more sympathetic towards the coyote.

Suddenly, the coyote in question perked up, saying that there was no point dwelling on the past. It was something the both of them shared: a family they could no longer see, a past they must forget. Then, Macawi said something that warmed l'cœur de la mort vivante.

"She is Macawi's only friend in the world. Macawi thanks her for this." Erika's tail began to wag happily, and the wolf's eyes gleamed. "You too, are my only friend. I am grateful to 'ave you, mon ami."

OOC: I'm going to make this reply my last on this thread so that I can archive and use it to get EXP. Afterwards I will request to have it archived, but feel free to make a last reply yourself. Then you can jump over to my "trying to join the SM pack" thread that I made. ^_^

IC: Macawi have her famous coyote grin and stood. "Macawi is glad to have found and talked with Erika. But, alas, she must say goodbye to her Wolf friend now, for she has something important to do." In a rare moment, Macawi broke her normal speech pattern. She only did this for those she cared deeply about, for it was hard for her to form sentences in the odd way that most creatures did. So she spoke slowly:

"I... Hope to meet Eri- no - you again soon, friend. I... hope we will be friends forever. And now I... must go see about joining a pack. I hope you enjoyed... your egg."

With a last bow of the head in respect, the coyote turned and headed in the direction of the Silvertip Mountain...

OOC: Alright! See you there!

IC: Erika smiled a little at Macawi's coyote grin. It warmed her heart to know that she had someone to care about her outside of her family. She was about to say farewell and depart, but then Macawi began speaking very....verrryyy slowly.

"I... Hope to meet Eri- no - you again soon, friend. I... hope we will be friends forever. And now I... must go see about joining a pack. I hope you enjoyed... your egg."

She was speaking in first person! The black wolf chuckled a bit, slightly amused by the oddness of her speaking in such a way. Internally, she knew that this was something reserved for friends and close ones only, which is why it was so strange for her.

"Au revoir, mon ami. I hope to see you soon." Erika called to her new friend before slipping off into the forest.