Shadewood is that what a dinosaur would do.
461 Posts
Ooc — Stevie
Birdcatcher
Warrior
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#1
All Welcome 
The first thing Artaax had done upon leaving the company of the Redhawks was to sleep. He felt drained completely - emotionally, physically, mentally, you name it. His fury had held him aloft long enough to carry him out of the Plateau's vicinity and into the Shadewood, but there it had stopped. He finally could go no further, so he had found himself a little nook amongst the tree roots where he'd settled in for some much needed recovery.

He had hoped his exhaustion would lead him to a dreamless sleep, but of course, it hadn't. His mind was too wired and his heart too sore for sleep to offer him any relief from the events of the past few days. When Artaax awoke in the early dawn hours, it was with a start and only after hours of mental torment as Wildfire and Thuringwethil appeared in his nightmares. He shook himself groggily and stretched out across the forest floor with a heavy sigh as the last scenes of the nightmare played themselves over again in his mind. Artaax standing over a bloodied, dying Wildfire while heda towered over him, commanding him to finish it. As he laid there, he could almost feel the dampness of his mother's blood upon his fur.

When he looked though, it was only melted snow weighing his fur down, and the only sound besides his own throbbing heart was the mournful hoot of an owl somewhere overhead. With a sigh, the feisripa stood to continue his journey. If sleep would grant him no relief, then there wasn't much point in lying around anymore, was there.
 
330 Posts
Ooc — Talamasca
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#2
After discovering where the Rosings were calling home he had half a mind to return to his mountain, but there was one more location he needed to check on first. His path led from the forest where he'd found Effie and wound north, first alongside a twisting river and then, crossing it, he was keeping close to an impressive little mountainside as he worked his way through the ice and snow.

The floodlands weren't exactly dense with marsh water at this point - rather, every step was made heavier because he was dragging his heels through ice. Some patches were so frigid that they were solid and he'd have to precariously creep along, while others were so weak that he sank in to the muck without any effort at all. Night fell earlier and earlier as the season progressed, and so when Tulimaq finally made it in to the depths of some dark and twisting woodland, it was black as pitch all around him.

There was the satisfying, light sound of snowfall all around him. He only noticed the flurries when he ducked out from beneath a spreading bough and caught some flakes upon his nose; otherwise, the forest was soundless.

As Tulimaq investigated the forest for signs of wolves (or a pack as Bat had mentioned), he found a fresh scent hidden among the shadows where the snow had been flattened out, likely used for sleeping. He followed the trail as it presented itself, sometimes though it seemed to vanish and he was left to roam the forest without a clue; eventually he caught sight of something moving just beyond a break in the trees.

Rather than do the logical thing and call out or try to make himself known, Tulimaq fell back to old habits - and stalked after them at quite the distance.
461 Posts
Ooc — Stevie
Birdcatcher
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#3
Artaax usually was far more attentive to his surroundings. He prided himself in never letting anything escape his notice. From an early age, he had trained himself to employ every sense at his disposal to cataloguing every piece of his surroundings. He felt the earth's vibrations beneath his paws. He smelled each and every scent upon the wind, heard every whisper in the woods. Seeing everything was harder because he couldn't exactly look in every direction what with not being a chameleon, but he did his best on that front too. Nothing ever escaped his notice, when he set his mind to it.

His mind was not set to it. It was no where near it. Artaax was too weary to put his mind to anything but moving forward and trying to make sure that it was in the right direction. So, he remained oblivious to the fact that he had managed to attract himself a stalker as he picked his way through the trees.
 
330 Posts
Ooc — Talamasca
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#4
The wolf reminded him of a winter hare, or something bigger — ah, his mind flashed to the north-bound bears with their powerful, stocky strides. In Tulimaq's estimation the stranger he crept after was young, perhaps full grown or perhaps not, but they were formidable in size already and he thought - perhaps arrogantly - that he could coerce this snow-beast to join him on his mountain; he slowly adjusts his speed so that he's able to track after them and gradually stops paying attention to how stealthy he is. Tulimaq does not have the best skills when it comes to stalking (even though he does a lot of it). He is a large fellow in his own right - it is easier to remain hidden if he gives a wide berth, but as he closes in on the pale wolf he becomes more obvious, and wonders just what the boy will do as he drifts closer and closer.
461 Posts
Ooc — Stevie
Birdcatcher
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#5
Eventually, it came that not even Artaax in his oblivious state could ignore the fact that he was being followed. It began with nothing more than an intuition. It just felt like he wasn't alone. But it evolved quickly into more than that - and when I say "evolved" I mean he turned around and looked and saw the guy. His hackles prickled immediately and his lips peeled back in a warning snarl. He did not like strangers, and he definitely did not like strangers that snuck up on him. Especially when he was already emotionally frayed and full of anger and hurt feels. 

His tail flashed over his hindquarters in a display of aggression as he took a defensive, and also somewhat belligerent, stance. The other male seemed to take the hint and decide it was better to not push any further. Artaax watched with steely eyes as he disappeared. He waited a few minutes to make sure the other was gone before turning away and continuing on again towards home.