Overture Downs a hundred good stories makes me interesting at parties

A male as large as a blizzard and white as new-fallen snow stalked into a gentle meadow, pulled from his quest to find his brother for the sake of currently not being alone. He'd go back, he always would. Brother Void was the only one he'd found so far. But the recent scent of pups and pack-scent around his territory had spooked Shard a tiny bit, not wanting to get attached to any particular territory. 

Besides, his mind lay elsewhere, and wanted to get away before anything else absolutely destroyed his ability to leave whenever he felt like it. Didn't want to flirt with his brother's wife, after all. 

To a stream he went, lulled by the earth's soft touch to quench his thirst. 

Shard would perhaps stay here a while, and see what he could see.

All Welcome c:

Hollis had been away for some time. Only recently had her footsteps brought her back to the Teekon, perhaps to quench her thirst for something familiar. Still her travels seemed aimless and she was fundamentally without purpose. It was depressing to exist this way.

But she forged on, and today she found herself in the midst of a meadow, a quiet place except for the occasional twittering of the birds and the continual whisper of a brook. The water sound reminded her of a gutting thirst and she wove her way through the tall grasses and flowers until she reached the gently rolling stream.

In that moment she realized she was not alone. A strikingly large male had his muzzle lowered to the water and drank from it. He dwarfed her, probably able to strike her down with the slightest motion. But he was a beautiful creature, with his pristine fur as while a snow, his bright blue eyes.

Hollis stared, having forgotten about her need for water.

The wind brought a new scent to his nose that drew his interest, one of a she-wolf. Shard's large head and fluffy neck turned to one side, his face striking against the gentle sway of the grasses and flowers surrounding him. His eyes were a brilliant light blue, as if the sky reflected the ocean within his gaze. A gaze that now rested upon a lovely woman with features as beautiful as a forest in late autumn, subtly glancing her over, and a smile graced his muzzle. 

His form drew closer, tail swishing behind him gently. Greetings, a purr danced in his throat, his voice deep and every definition of a gentle-wolf. Who do I have the pleasure of meeting?

Another day, another patrol of the Valley.
This time, she wanders outside of the Creek's borders, out into the grasslands East of it. Whatever was here would now be her business; a place for solace, to be away from the bustle of pack life. 
Bracken clings to her heels, burning sun on her back and breaking her into a sweat. Through the earthen musk of these lands, the scent of two strangers catches her attention. But for now, she does not approach. If she's lucky, they'd leave her alone just as well. 

EDIT IN POST: for some reason i thought this thread was in otatso wetlands i am so stupid. fixed now

He turned his impressive head towards her, and she was entranced by the foliage brushing his cheeks, a rainbow of flowers and green grass against the snowy face. A greeting  rumbled from his throat and she finally blinked , hoping he had not noticed the way she stared. Not only had Hollis been hopelessly alone the last several months , but she also had not encountered a wolf to whom she was so attracted in even longer. 

His voice was a deep rumbling purr and it was almost too much. She kept her composure, however, flashing a small - and rare - smile.

“I’m Hollis,” she spoke, her voice cool and breathy. “And who are you?” Her brow flitted upward in curiosity. 

The wind shifted, bringing a new flurry of scents, among them the smell of another wolf. A female. Hollis did not move, did not turn her attention away from the snowy wolf, hoping the third stranger might just pass them by without a word.

The man almost floated the rest of the way to her on paws drifting in golden clouds, soft, quiet, and graceful. Her scent lulled him as a siren lulled in a sea-farer. Gwynt brought forth another scent of a female wolf to him so delightfully, sending his heart fluttering with the luck the earth had given him on this day. But for now, until she decided to show herself, or not, the lady in front of him was the only other wolf in the area. 

Hollis... he echoed softly. She did not smell of another pack, his own scent that of snow-covered spruces and cold winter berries. A loner, no strings; how lucky he must be that Gwynt brought such a wonderful lady to his paws. Small, but quite beautiful indeed. What a lovely name for such a lovely lady, a smile was always on his muzzle. My name is Shard. Care for a drink? You must be thirsty.

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She can hear them talking. Annoyance prickles at her nerves, and she trudges closer to the sound, making herself known to them with a grunt and heavy steps. 
If the two of yas are gonna go to pound town, this isn't the right way to it, She watches their moves, the very obvious flirtation of the male; the way his chest puffs out and his muscles flex. Ugh, ew. You're way too close to Swiftcurrent Creek's borders, and we've got enough crotch goblins on our hands. Vaffanculo. 

Well, since the other she-wolf had spoken, there was no use in pretending she didn't exist. His elegant muzzle shifted toward her, smile never faltering. Now, let's not jump to such conclusions, a flirt, a player, a heartbreaker, but he would never stoop that law. What did she think he was? Another male with a one-track mind to do such heinous acts with whatever dare move in front of him? Don't make Shard laugh. Unless...

I was under the impression was no one's land, Miss. Forgive me for the intrusion.

ooc: sorry about the wait you guys

Hollis' expectation was that the female would either stop and join the conversation or move along without a word. Her preference was the latter, of course, so that she could interact with Shard one-on-one. The competition was undesirable. 

However, neither of these things happened. Instead, the woman approached them before Hollis could respond to the white wolf with more than a few batted eyelashes and the beginnings of a coy grin, and proceeded to interject with such crudeness and hostility that Hollis was rendered shocked and speechless for a moment.

She saw red, hearing Shard's polite response but barely comprehending it. Hot tears of embarrassment and rage stung her rose-colored eyes. The way the stranger made assumptions and unwarranted accusations was unbelievable.

Hollis' ears lowered and she pulled her lips back, exposing her teeth. "We are not on anyone's land," she snarled, "and how dare you speak to us that way!" Her voice rose in volume as she spoke, her hackles lifted across her nape. It was an outburst to be sure, but Hollis was actually holding back quite a bit. With the amount of anger she felt, she very well could have attacked the other she-wolf. But she didn't want to appear to be completely unhinged in the handsome man's presence.

Shard's sparkling eyes drifted back toward the lovely Hollis, unable to resist another glance over. So feisty in such a small, adorable package, exactly his type. However, his type was just about any wolf that breathed, male, female, or anything in between. The white gentleman wasn't one to be picky when it came to such company. Though, the little pack wolf barking accusations of trespassing wouldn't make particularly fun companionship for the part-druid. At least one of the ladies knew how to mind her manners. 

Even if feisty was spelled out so thoroughly in the other's eyes that he could not help but give her a coy smile. Feisty, he chuckled. Are you sure this is about us being on neutral ground unmarked by adjacent packs, or are you jealous that she found me first? Finders, keepers, miss.

He got closer, his pelt brushing her fur. He looked into her eyes, smiling. Come, my dear. Respecting territorial ladies is much easier than trying to convince them to let us stay. Why don't we find another stream to quench your thirst?

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Ah, of course. Entitled loners. Just her luck.

At the male's comment, she all but gags, a wrinkle to the skin of her muzzle that reveals a flash of teeth. I don't like guys who talk outta their asses. 
Deadpanning as she turns to the woman, who had the gall to shout at her, she gives little more than an exasperated huff. You're pushing your luck, she leers. I speak to people how I want. It's a free country, princess, tomgue flicking up and out from between her lips to run over her gums, she takes a step back. I'm gonna be nice, because the last thing I need today is to get into a brawl with some bitch with way too much audacity on her hands, and a glowering doofus who can't keep it in his pants. Now! her chest puffs as one forepaw is pointed outward. If I ever see either of the two of yas knocking on any of our doors, you'll be lucky to leave with your reproductive organs intact. Capiche?  
And with that, she takes her leave. Point proven.

Hollis could scarcely believe what was transpiring. The whole affair reminded her of why she kept to herself most of the time. Mere moments had passed since she met these two, and already she had been through a rollercoaster of emotions and drama.

Shard responded to the pack-wolf in a manner that could have been called flirtatious, and for a few seconds Hollis felt disgusted. She figured he would be aware of how his looks affected she-wolves, but the arrogance he displayed now was a bit too exaggerated for her liking.

Then, the other woman continued her foul-mouthed diatribe, packing within it an impressive  insult or two to each of the supposed trespassers. Anger boiled in Hollis again, burning her stomach, her throat, her face. She could scarecly control the grimace on her face and the snarls rolling from her lips. She took a step toward the female, trembling, but shard’s voice found her and managed to cut through the rage.

She heard his words, knowing he was right. Additionally, Hollis was small and underfed. She was not a warrior. A healthy pack wolf such as Wren could tear her to bits. 

Wren fell quiet, then left. Hollis lowered her head between slightly splayed front paws and breathed deep, steadying breaths. 

Once some of the anger had cooled she looked over at Shard. “I just don’t understand what happened. I’ve never been spoken to that way, especially not for simply.. existing,” she sook her head a bit. “Do you know what I mean?” 

Now that the two of them were alone again, her disgust with him melted away. Looking at him, with his muscled physique and his perfect fur and eyes, she couldn’t help but feel anything except for desire. 

“Should we move on?” She asked with a smirk,  reverting to the suggestion he had made just prior to Wren’s departure. “We probably shouldn’t stay here.”

We are sometimes not the most welcoming of creatures, are we? Shard chuckled, his head bending down slightly to tilt at his own question, much closer to her face. Admittedly, there were also wolves who found him distasteful, unlike the look in Hollis' eyes. It was better not to push what clearly needed no pushing. He was quite aware of how handsome he was; took great effort to keep himself clean and in good health, but was a tad out of practice in being able to keep his voice in check around others. The white wolf took this encounter to heart and would definitely do better next time, though even he wasn't too keen to get near the other woman again. 

At any rate, moving on is probably best, his nose was quite close to her face, smiling. Wouldn't want her to come back for another round of accusations, would we? Would you like dinner with your drink, Hollis?

ooc: Do you wana stop here? We could have another thread in a different spot if you want!

Shard's words gave the cocoa-furred woman pause. Hollis was young and as such, could not always see too far past herself. Now that she thought about it, though, it made sense that Wren would display such territorial distaste. In the beginning year of her life, Hollis had been a pack wolf, and she remembered the instinctual upset felt amongst herself and the elder wolves when other canines came too close to the borders.

Still, she was simmering over that infuriating, classless, and rude choice of words.

Blinking, she came out of her thoughts and nodded. "I would like that very much," she replied, large-eyed and smiling, suddenly giddy. This day might still have a happy ending.

His lips turned upward in a smile, eyes soft. The man had never quite been part of a pack, his mother in over her head with four sons, and his father, not a wolf he knew. Left alone one painful morning, the lot of them. 

Shard didn't know where any of them were anymore, only that he'd upset one of them and he was a tad bit scared to meet up with the others. But none of that mattered at that moment, the wind picking up his scattered thoughts and, like a helpful friend, piling them back to his current reality. Hollis. She'd had such a bad day so far, he felt compelled to give her a more pleasant end to it. 

You shall dine as you drink from a stream far more splendid. 

archiving here <3