Duck Lake ; chains

With Goose's latest disappearing acts and the russets desire to let the pale have more freedom, Oath had been gifted with just a little too much time to stew in her own juices. Too caught up in her own mind, trapped with nothing but herself and her pesky feelings. She was agitated, frustrated. Lonely, perhaps, and generally foul in both mouth and mood. The one loner that had tried to approach had been met with something as angry as a badger and as prickly as a hedgehog. Needless to say, they'd left rather quickly.

Presently, the small female was lounging on her new favorite spot - a small, but thicker than typical, aspen that had fallen and was carefully leaning against another tree. Precarious, certainly, but Oath didn't seem to mind. In fact, she was resting as high as she could get. A solid six feet off the ground. Away from any idiots. Her molten gaze tracked the birds that rested on the lake but she was in no mood to hunt. She sulked instead.

save this sad dumbass, pls

His recent explorations, although interesting, had started to feel like they were severely lacking; what exactly was lacking, he wasn't quite sure. He thought maybe he longed for the companionship of packmates, but he had his reservations about joining a pack just yet. He was, perhaps, gun-shy, afraid to be shackled by responsibility yet again. Still, he couldn't shake the ever-increasing loneliness that plagued his lone wolf life.

He padded aimlessly around the lake, trying to find something with which to entertain himself. He was actually about to leave and find something else to do when the scent of a stranger filled his nose. He froze, scanning the area with his militant gaze trained to spot anything out of the ordinary, but he couldn't find the source. Strange. He moved forward until he came to a fallen tree, and he sniffed around the base. The scent was strong here, like she had just walked past the tree, but when he lifted his head to scan his surroundings once more, he still saw nothing. Lowering his head again, he went back to investigating the tree, trying to find the beginning of a trail that would lead him to the stranger.

When he lifted his head again, his gaze was caught on the unmistakable form of a wolf perched just above him on the leaning aspen. He raised an eyebrow at her. Hiding from someone? he asked, amusement clear on his face.

The petite female had watched, with no small hint of amusement, as the tanned male snuffed around the base of the tree. She'd made no move to draw his gaze, but did little to shield herself from it, either, should he look up. It was rather funny to think that, as wolves, they never actually thought to look up. What a concept. Wolves in trees were not a common occurance these days, apparently. It was unnatural, odd - or so they said. Oath had never really thought her mannerisms strange until late. Until she was actively interacting with wolves outside of her maiden pack, she hadn't realized a lot of things. She still had much to come to terms with. Her former clan certainly hadn't behaved like her, they'd been rather monstrous, actually but.. Here, too, the other wolves didn't share her 'oddities'. They didn't think like her, act like her. And it made her feel more lonely than ever. Maybe a little bit mental, too.

When his gaze raised to meet hers she arched her own thin eyebrow in response. "You." She said, a teasing lilt to her voice. "Anyone. Everyone." Oath dropped from the branch to plop down somewhat gracefully in front of the male. Could have been smoother, but at least she hadn't crammed dirt up her nose. The russet shook her pelt out, glanced at him and then her brain stalled. Um. She blinked - he was easily three times her weight and likely stood a few heads taller. The small female hadn't actually realized until she was down at somewhat-eye-level with him. Maybe she shouldn't have been so quick to surrender her perch, but whats done was done and she mentally shrugged off her negative thoughts.

"Too bad. I lost." Oath quirked a smile.

Me? he asked, surprise lighting his face. His keen gaze tracked her movement as she jumped down from the tree and landed in front of him. The first thing he noticed was that their difference in size was dramatic; he outweighed her considerably and was quite a bit taller. He meant her no harm, though, their size difference only registering as something else to be curious about. 

He took a seat, hoping it might make him seem less threatening, although she seemed more irritated by his presence than scared by it. Why do you want to hide from everyone? he asked. Isn't that lonely? Life was kind of lonely for East, and he wasn't actively trying to avoid anyone like she claimed to be doing. He wondered what kind of pain drove her to seek the company of no one.

Oath wrinkled her nose as her lips twisted up at the corners. "You know that was a joke, right?" The russet settles down when he does, feeling her irritation ebb as he begins to speak. He didn't seem like a bad dude and she felt a little bad for her initial reaction. "Mostly."

The Fireband is considering his words, head inclined ever so slightly. "Why wouldn't you want to hide from everyone? Only about half of you are actually decent and I don't like to play with fire. Burnt a few too many times." The femme would drop a playful wink in his direction before continuing. "Besides, I'm not alone." Oath doesn't elaborate just in case he did turn out to be one of the other half of the population. She wouldn't give herself or her companion away. Luckily, Goose was elsewhere just in case things went south.

His brow raised once more, this time in intrigue. I suppose so, but I never like to assume anything with strangers, especially that their wariness of me is a joke. His voice was even and calm, clearly not offended by her words. If anything, her fiery nature drew him--stoked his curiosity and made him want to know more about her.

He shrugged a little at her next words. I can't argue with that, East replied first. You can never be too careful; there are many who have less than good intentions. He paused for a few moments, his expression turning serious. It seems that maybe you learned that the hard way, and I'm sorry for that, he offered gently. I mean you no harm, though. I was just curious, and it's been a while since I've had a conversation with anyone. He watched her while he spoke, attempting to figure her out and hoping she would stick around for a bit.

His curiosity spiked again when she informed him that she wasn't alone. A quick sniff in her direction  confirmed that she belonged to no pack. Well, that's good then, he replied, not pressing her to reveal whomever her companion was. I'm afraid I am not so lucky. It was usually just him and the land he explored, and he would have loved to have someone to travel with.