the gods envy us

@Paarthurnax

He had woken up that morning, curled up beside a strong oak tree in the middle of the meadow and yawned, sneezing slightly as he did so before straightening himself and lumbering towards the river where he dipped his muzzle into the cool refreshing water and drank. Only when his thirst had been filled did he settle on filling the pack's cache, leaping his jaws crunched around the neck of a hare which he lugged towards the nearest cache and deposited it before settling down for a quiet meal of duck and fish meat.

He was not the best fisher around but he was 'passable'. The sun had fully risen into the sky when he had finished hunting in the lake, shaking his drenched fur, he settled down under a patch of sunlight and began tucking into his morning meal. He had met Flash beside the lake and he was pretty sure that the lake was a popular spot to feast in.

She followed the trail of crimson droplets that led to a burrow where wolves of Noctisardor often stored meat for the pack, and the scent of fresh blood fueled her hunger. Unearthing the collection of rabbit, fowl and fish that had been slain over the day, Paar plucked from it the broken body of a small duck. Kicking dirt over it once more, she looked past her mouthful of reddened feathers for any sign of scavengers before she trotted from the sight to eat her meal in peace.

Paarthurnax entered the meadow and made her way promptly to the proud oak near its center, though was surprised to see another wolf had a similar idea. Not concerned about interrupting him, she continued her jog in that direction and settled a comfortable distance from the dark male where she sank to a sphinx-like position in the grass. Propping the duck beneath her forelimb, she set about yanking the down from its skin with her teeth, and spat them onto the ground beside her before tearing into the meat.

Farkas's ears swiveled towards the sound of pawsteps, sapphire blue eyes turned to gaze at her with mild curiosity and warmth. She settled down a comfortable distance away and began eating, he felt as if she was eating one of his catches that morning but he did not speak, instead slowly ate the fish he had caught, sharp fangs tearing into the flesh and swallowing it. Licking his lips in a slow careful manner, he twisted his head sideways, curled his tail comfortably against himself and spoke in a low friendly voice "Hello, you must be from the Bypass too. I think I've seen you when we claimed this land as ours. I'm Farkas." he smiled, his blue eyes twinkling.

His gaze turned towards his fish again and began tucking into the second one as he awaited her answer, ears pricked and eyes bright. Blood began to stain his muzzle again, even after he washed it with his tongue.

She stripped flesh from bones and gnawed at gristle, content to eat in peace. This was disrupted, however, at the voice of her sable-furred companion. Paar rotated a tall red ear in his direction and swallowed the mouthful she'd been working on, before flicking her tongue over her jowls. "You did," she said pleasantly, a smile blossoming on her lovely features. "I'm Paarthurnax, but you can call me Paar. Everyone else does."

The crimson beauty dipped her crown again then, to tug at the duck's wing and crunch through the fine bones there. Paarthurnax stripped more feathers from it and licked a trickle of blood from the pale skin, her ivory paws tainted by vivid scarlet.

"Nice to meet you, Paar." he said, a broad grin seeping onto his ebony features as sapphire blue eyes scanned her briefly before looking at the distant horizon. It was a habit of his to look at the horizon where the distant northern mountains rose, where the sun had risen today and on the other side was where the sun would vanish. It was truly a beautiful sight, Noctisardor Bypass had one of the best views he had ever seen and he appreciated the fact that Shadow had managed to discover, claim and found a pack here, at the heart of the gods.

Editing and fading

With her meal finished, Paarthurnax set about cleaning her bloodied paws. Her salmon-pink tongue swept across the alabaster fur of her lower limbs, ridding the vivid vermilion hue, before she rose her head and gazed in the direction of her sable companion.

Farkas reclined nearby, his sapphire eyes focused on something distant. With curiosity the bi-coloured healer followed his gaze and looked briefly in the direction of the mountains beyond their land, the pale blue morning sky dappled with non-threatening pale clouds. Paar turned back to her pack-mate then, wondering just what out there had caught his attention, but opted not to pursue further conversation. She gathered herself then, shook out her sleek pelt, and with a polite dip of her crown she moved off to begin her duties elsewhere.