Horizon Ridge Housework can't kill you, but why take a chance?

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Julooke's head was held high as she carried the rabbit between her jaws. The blood pooled in her mouth and it was difficult not to tear into the carcass and eat her fill. But, she wasn't really hungry, and even if she was, the pack came first. Her trotting gait reached the cache in little time, and she unearthed the hidden food that was already there, adding in the fresh meat before covering it all again. Her head lifted and her eyes scanned the area around her, half expecting something to show. She had been on alert since joining the pack, knowing of the bear that the pack had fought off. Ragnar warned that he could return to finish what he started.

Satisfied there was no bear in the immediate vicinity, she turned and headed for the shore. Upon reaching the sand, and paused, looking around. Her eyes caught movement several yards in front of her and she quickly darted forward. The little creature was fast, but she had caught it off guard. She blocked its way, and when it turned, blocked it again. It tried to scurry this way and that, but her curiosity hadn't been appeased yet. It paused; so did she. Her tail wagging, she dipped her nose to sniff. An appendage reached out quickly toward her nose, but she was quicker, jumping back with a bark. She pranced around, angering the little crab. It skittered left, and suddenly disappeared into the sand. She leaped after it, sniffing at the hole, but it was long gone.

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Nerian laied upon the sandy shore her head up and ears alert but her eyes closed. She remained motionless breathing softly listening to the water clearing her mind. she lay like that for well over an hour until her ear twitched toward the scuffling noise, Nerian redoubled her meditation efforts clearing her mind. The scuffling persisted and she opened her eyes to look upon a white wolf she tilted her head until she realized what the wolf was doing, very pup like in it's antics. She chuffed softly and remained laying down a soft expression on her face but no smile nor frown. the wolf would not know but looking at her how annoyed she was her meditation had been interrupted.

Thanks for joining! :-)

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Julooke had been oblivious to the wolf relaxing by the shores until she heard the soft chuff. Her head jerked up in the direction of the sound while the rest of her body froze. When her eyes settled upon the other she-wolf, her tail began to wag. The crab was all but forgotten in hopes of meeting a new friend.

Her stance immediately went to respectful, her head lowering as her tail dropped, though did not cease to wag. She made herself smaller and smaller as she approached the stranger, until she, too, was on her stomach several yards away. The waves were a little loud, so Julooke spoke up above them. Hello, I'm Julooke. I've just recently joined Horizon Ridge, she said, oblivious that the she-wolf might want to be alone, and that she had disturbed her at all. Her speckled nose sought a scent, but the stranger was downwind and all Julooke got was the smell of the ocean behind her.

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Nerain watched the wolf before her change it's body language and it concerned her for a moment and then she realized with a start she must have some rank within this pack having been here a while. These wolves were not like her own breatheren and the hierarchy thing made her uncomfortable; however her emotionless visage would not portray that to this pack mate it would yield only acceptance of the other.

I am Nerian, I joined some time ago, she could have offered more to the story but the small cleric was not much for words

Crabs are good eating if you can break them open right Having lived close to the ocean at some point she had learned the trick. Did you want me to show you?

Nerian did not yet get up since if the wolf didn't care to learn she was rather comfortable laying down

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Julooke was aware of her current rank, and readily assumed that everyone she met within the pack was higher ranking than herself. Be it the Alpha or pup, she would show them respect. When the other wolf introduced herself, Julooke smiled, It's nice to meet you, Nerian.

When the opportunity to learn to hunt crab came about, Julooke's head nodded quickly, Sure! Thanks! she replied with enthusiasm. She waited for Nerian to lead the way. She didn't have much, really any, experience with hunting sea creatures, and it would be a great addition to her hunter's skill, especially since the pack bordered the ocean.

In an effort to learn more about the pack, and her pack mate, Julooke tried to make a little small talk. So, what do you think of the pack? Aside from Ragnar, Nerian was the only other pack member she had met so far, aside from Verrine, of course, who she joined with.



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Nerian stood up slowly, she thought about offering the wolf an answer but decided to err on the side of practicality and did not, for she did not want a long drawn about conversation about where she came from, or what she thought of all these wolves, these heathens.... The celeric moved to the tree line and found herself a rock about as big as a large male wolfs paw and brought it back in her maw

after she moved close to where the new wolf had been sniffing she set her rock down then she carefully gazed at the surface of the sand all around. The wolf might think she was serious about teaching when in fact she was avoiding humm... was the only sound though escaped her

Hump! A triumphant sound Nerian offered the Jalooke a wise smirk. About two feet away there were very very small bubbles rising to the surface of the sand. come she said she picked up the rock and very carefully side stepped to the bubbles and immediately they stopped, very quickly Nerian dug and exposed the very crab Jalooke had pestered earlier. She nipped up the crab and thew it on to it's back. on the flat surface of the sand next to her rock. placed her paw on the back end of the crab he pinned it effectively, it could not reach her with the pincers.

Grab that rock and drop it onto the crabs belly, the shell will crack and you will have a very tasty meal of course Nerian's paw was slightly in the way she planned on moving it at the las second.

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The other female neglected to answer Julooke's question, and Julooke knew to let it go, even if her talkative personality begged her to continue trying to converse. If she upset the other female, she may change her mind on teaching her to hunt crab. So, Julooke took her cue and didn't try to make any more small talk.

She watched intently as Nerian grabbed a rock and went to the spot where Julooke's crab had disappeared. Her ears perked when a sound came from the other female, and Julooke thought she might be about to say something, but she remained silent, as did Julooke.

Julooke's ears perked at the triumphant sound, and she grinned back at the other female, even though she wasn't sure what exactly was going on. Julooke continued to watch, obeying dutifully when she was told to follow. Nerian began to dig fervently. The crab Julooke had lost earlier was suddenly unearthed and grabbed up by Nerian. She effectively pinned the crab on its back. Julooke did as she was told without question, picking the rock up and getting into position, with the rock directly above the crab. She looked worriedly at Nerian's paw, but figured the other hunter knew what she was doing, and didn't want to offend her by questioning anything. Julooke opened her jaw and the rock dropped, seemingly headed straight for Nerian's paw.

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Nerian slipped her paw out of the way skillfully and the hard thunk of the rock was followed by a meaty crunch. Nerian raise her eye brow proudly at the young wolf and slid the morsel toward Jalooke one small crab did not a meal for two wolfs make. Nerian was not particularly hungry and the meat was rich, so she was going to enjoy watching the other take her first bite of the tender meal.

She sat down and regarded the other wolf, it was clear this is a good one, able to take and follow direction without question, she liked that. Gavrill had been the same, though the alpha was a hybrid she ran a well behaved pack, Nerian's perception of the alpha inflated just a bit.

Slince suited her just fine but she also know these heathen wolves loved to chatter, so she decided to offer up a question that may or may not be well received. Do you believe in any gods julooke? For this the cleric priestess was truly interested.

completely forgot a word and the sentence didn't make sense without it

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Thankfully, Nerian moved her paw before the rock could smash it, and instead it cracked the shell of the crab instead. Julooke's tail wagged when the other female slid the now dead crab towards her, and she lowered her head to get a taste of the meat. She had fish before, but never crab. It was delicious! Wow, that's good! It was a seafood taste, but distinctly different from the fish she was used to.

Julooke was a good follower, but she wasn't without backbone. She followed leaders that had the same morals as she did, and therefore it was easy for her to take instruction and do it. But, she was not blind, and didn't do things that hurt others. She also did love to talk, and pretty much no topic was off limits, so she was happy to answer Nerian's question. I was born into a culture that worships the stars, she began. When we're in need of guidance, or advice, we look to them and ask that they show us a sign of the right path to go. It had been a while since she look up at the night sky. After her parents' death, she hadn't exactly lost her faith, but she didn't actively practice, either. What about you? she asked.



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Nerian nodded fondly, That is something like what I believe in, My god lives in the heavens and we look to him often, which causes us to look toward the stars Though that was a huge understatement, she was going to leave it there unless the young pack mate wanted to continue that conversation. A talk about God could lighten her soul a little but it held little value to the wolves around here.

So Nerain offered another direction for the small talk to go, in truth she was trying to figure out her new pack-mate What is your favourite hobby, something you do in your personal down time? Nerian had been doing hers when Jalooke had stumbled upon her, that being the prelude to the question then she realized she had been giving this poor wolf an interview and she chuffed

Forgive me, for asking so many questions I to am fairly new here and I am just truing to find out how the pack works in my own way. You do not need to answer my questions if you don't wish to. Soon I will have to go back to the denning area anyway I need to complete my den before to long there will be rain soon.
Nerian glanced to the sky taking note of the clouds their size and shape and the humidity that clung to the air around them. [

b]If your own den is not complete you might want to get to work on that[/b] Nerian offered helpfully. Then finally turned her gaze back to the wolf before her wondering which route in the conversation Jalooke would take, The hard conversation about their gods, the easy one about hobbies or the lesser of them and leave toward the denning area, though they might travel together in that direction

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Julooke smiled softly to Nerian. It seemed their beliefs had some similarities, though Julooke was not familiar with this place called Heaven. Where is Heaven? she asked. After a few moments, she asked, What is your god like? While she may never veer from her own beliefs, she always enjoyed learning about other religions.

She tilted her head to the side when asked about a hobby. Hmm, she responded, thinking. I, uh... Like to play. That's about the only thing I do that isn't pack-related. Did that make her boring? She had never considered doing something just for the fun of it, besides playing. The majority of her time was spent on working on fine-tuning her hunting, healing, and caretaking skills. Was that sad? What's your hobby? she asked. Maybe she should get one... But, then, when would she have the time to do it?

Julooke quickly shook her head side to side. Don't even worry about it! I'm the same way! she said, laughing a little. I'm usually the one who's asking a million questions. I do it and sometimes don't even realize it! It was true. Julooke wanted to know everything about everyone she met. She just couldn't help herself sometimes. She nodded about the dens, At the moment, it's just a hollow, cave-like thing in the trunk of a tree. She knew they needed something more permanent, though. What about yours? Maybe she could get some ideas.

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Neiran blinked at the onslaught of questions back at her, she wasn't quiet ready for it, suddenly Jalooke became very vocal, It startled her.

Nerian waved her tail attempting to do her best and take the questions in stride, clearly this wolf was just overwhelmed with the need to speak now and the answers would not need to be in-depth. So Nerian would offer a very vague answer in relation to her gods. She was tired of having people ask about her religion and either not care or laugh at it. she was walling up her heart slowly, and that too was not something her god would want.

Heaven is all around us, but most believe it's above us in the sky beyond the stars She started to walk toward the denning area motioning for jalooke to follow with her head, she'd walk and talk until she got to the denning area.
My god is kind and the embodiment of love but he demands respect
Nerian nodded pleased with her answer
I enjoy Meditation which is what I was doing she we met and I have discovered I enjoy gardening, I am also a healer of sorts
as they grew close to the denning area Nerian lifted a paw and pointed toward her den on the far back of the denning area as far away from the others as she would politely get. She had piled rocks below an upright slab of stone. She had intended on tipping the slab down upon her piled rocks making a crude tee-pee like structure. However try as she might she and all her 60 pounds could not make that rock tip over, She had even dug at the base of the rock hoping that by removing enough ground from below might force the rock to tip but that was proving futile and ruining the inside of her ... den ...
My den is still a work in progress

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Julooke was a very talkative wolf, especially when on a subject that either interested her, or she knew nothing about. It was a way for her to get to know her pack mates and to make new friends. When Nerian said that heaven was all around them, Julooke took it literally and she looked around. Her gaze went back to the other female when she kept talking, saying that many believed it was beyond the stars.

Julooke followed Nerian, listening as she spoke. It seemed she had disturbed the other female when she first arrived, but she didn't sound irritating by it. What do you think about when you meditate? It wasn't something she had ever done, but she had heard of it before, just not in detail. It seemed to two had something in common, as well. I'm interested in becoming a healer, too. Thistle has been teaching me, when she can.

They arrived at Nerian's future den site, and Julooke looked it over. I could help, if you like, she offered. She would need to know exactly what the end point was supposed to be, but she was all for helping her pack mate finish her den. Every wolf needed a place to sleep, after all.

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Gavriil was helping but he seems to have gone inactive so I guess having Jalooke help would work

When you mediate you are not supposed to think about anything... you clear your mind, when you feel it wander into thought you remind yourself to clear your mind. It's very relaxing, you can do it with your eye so pen or closed, preferably open lest you fall asleep then the meditation is ruined Nerian sighed after such a long winded explanation and shook herself.

She faltered when Jalooke offered her service in den building You would help me with my housework?

sorry I couldn't help myself

Nerian paused and looked at Jalooke. I don't know if the two of us alone could do it but just maybe we can outsmart the stone. Nerian offered Jalooke a rare smile as she lead the way to her rocks and climbed up above the large flat stone that was to be her roof and stood upon it. Her weight alone did not budge the rock in the slightest.

She did not know how deep into the ground the rock went she hadn't found the bottom and was reluctant to dig in the inside of her den since it would ruin the integrity of the floor of her den.

Added pictures of inspiration for what we are building here

The pictures here are as inspiration for her crude stone den. she is built the supporting wall under a slab that will need to be tipped over to creature the roof, if will be much like the first one but her supporting wall is taller so she can go in comfortably

I know I responded to this, I just don't know what happened to it :-(

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Julooke held back a little chuckle. Falling asleep while meditating sounded a little funny, but she didn't want to disrespect Nerian. Must be difficult to do that. I can't sit still for too long- too much energy, she responded. Julooke would love to focus on healing and caretaking, but she needed hunting for the exercise of it. Without it, she could absolutely go crazy.

She smiled and nodded, Sure! That's what friends are for! Julooke liked helping out her pack mates, as it helped build trust and friendship. She looked at the unfinished den, her head tilting to one side as she took a moment to think. Nerian was standing on top of the rock she wanted to be her roof, and it gave Julooke an idea. You could stay there while I try to dig to the bottom of the rock. I don't think it can be that far, and I'm a good digger. If we reach the end, you can start jumping up and down. Maybe then it will budge! She looked to Nerian, waiting to see if she liked the plan.

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Nerian looked down at Jalooke and shook her head, digging hadn't helped her. She stared at the ground below, little did she know the pack might be moving soon and that this den building was going to be even more so an exercise in futility.

As she stared at the ground holding her frustration at bay, she yipped aloud.
Jalooke!! I've been digging the wrong side. The outside of the rock needs to be dog so the back of the rock has somewhere to go, digging the inside does nothing. She turned her back toward her rock wall and stared down the far side of the rock. Reaching down with her from paws as if to point Here dig here! The excitement in her voice was palatable. Her tail swayed showily emotion outwardly rather then keeping it reigned like she normally did.

Nerian had a great idea to start digging on the outside of the rock instead of the inside. Julooke jumped to it immediately, using her defined muscles to dig away the dirt as quickly as she could. It took a good few minutes, but then she reached the bottom of the rock. She paused a moment to look up at Nerian with a smile before she resumed her digging. It shouldn't take much now to get it to budge. Julooke turned her body so that her side was against the rock. That way, when if or when it started to move, she would be able to get out of the way quickly. Jump up and down! she commanded excitedly, still digging.

As the rock began to shift Nerian called to Jalooke, it wouldn't do to have her new comrade crushed by the rock. That'll do come up here and help I'm to light. The delight she felt, elation of finally succeeding at a task with help of course but such was life, sharing giving and taking.
She was living and breathing enjoying this moment in time with a wolf she barley knew, this wolf whom wanted her to have a dry place to lay her head. Comrades in heart. Her tail swayed over her back and she prepared to ride the rock downward when Jalooke jumped up, for the added weight was sure the make this a fun ride.

It was working!! Nerian hollered out for her to come help with her weight, and she obliged, jumping up swiftly next to her. Julooke began to jump up and down in place, feeling the rock move beneath her, inch by inch. One more jump, and the rock finally gave way. Julooke scrambled quickly to jump off, but it was awkward since the rock was moving. She landed less than elegantly, rolling several times before she was able to stop herself. She stood, shaking herself off and looked toward Nerian. You alright? she asked, hoping the other wolf wasn't injured.

Fade here, sorry for the ugly post

Nerian nodded and jumped down off the rock, she swiftly moved inside and ached in appreciation of their work. Returning from the inner den she came out and bumped jalooke's shoulder with the head,

Ever you need of me, just howl I am in your debt with that she smiled and returned to the inside of the den scent marking it for her own.

No prob! Thanks for the thread! I'll have this archived here :-)

Thankfully, Nerian seemed fine, and eager to see her new place. Julooke, tail wagging, walked over to the entrance, but was respectful of her space and didn't go inside. She knew some wolves were picky about who they let in, and Julooke wouldn't push it. The white wolf smiled as her shoulder was bump in acknowledgement of her favor. No problem at all! I hope it suits you, she responded.

Knowing Nerian would probable like to settle in, she made her farewells. I'll let you check out your new den; there are a few things I need to do. See ya later! She turned and trotted away, not really having anything to do, but she was creative and would find something.