Duck Lake ravens, not ducks

@Alastor

Silver Bone sat at the edge of a lake. It was filled with mallards especially. A few other types of ducks were there, but mostly mallards. At Raven's Peak they had respected the ravens. Not the ducks. Ducks were just like all other prey. Only ravens were favored. Slowly she dipped herself into the water. It was cold this time of year, but not yet frozen over. She daringly pulled her head under the water, seeing how long she could hold her breath without going up. Memories stirred within her.

The charcoal child thrashed wildly in the middle of the pond, trying to stay afloat but sinking. Her brother, Ice Heart, sat watching. Just as her cheeks began to go under, she strained to lift her muzzle out. "Heart, help me!" She screamed. The child blinked, his face blank, and continued to watch her drown. A darker colored wolf than Ice Heart shoved the other kid aside, leapt for his sister, and grabbed her by the scruff. This was Black Claws. He pulled her to shore, lifting her onto land and then climbing up also. He glared at Heart.

After several seconds she shoved her head above the water with a gasp for air and a giggle. She climbed upon the shore, soaked, and laid down, thankful to be breathing air again.

With the cold months well in swing, Alastor had decided to try and find a new place to settle. He'd met a wolf in the last place he's visited, and upon leaving, had found himself heading towards what appeared to be a lake. A lake that still held ducks, which he found odd. Should they not have traveled to a warmer climate by now? The web-footed birds were, truly, stupid. They possessed the feathers to keep their bodies from absorbing water, but did not hold claim to a thick fur to keep the cold out. "Πόσο ηλίθιος," he murmured to himself, having yet to notice the other form nearby. He'd arrived only moments after her trek into the water, and had not known to listen in for any sounds she'd made.

When his attention had finally been drawn from the noisy birds, and he'd gone closer to the lake, the dark form came into sight. He saw her coat appeared to be wet, making it look darker than it originally was. "Salutations," he greeted, approaching cautiously. His posture was friendly, despite his caution, not wanting to come off as some overly aggressive brute.

Silver Bone turned at the sound of his voice. He was a grey wolf with pale blue eyes. "Salutations to you too... Good day." She said, more sure of herself with the good day than the salutations. She hadn't heard salutations very often before. Her pack had used good day as their hello. "I am Silver Bone Ravenfeather." She introduced herself to him. "And yours?" She asked the male. She did not yet approach him, but she stood up. Her fur dripped with the lakewater.

Noting that the female did not appear to be aggressive in anyway, his cautions dropped away slowly. She'd even returned his greeting, as well as introduced herself. To the argent yearling, that was a friendly sign, and one he appreciated. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Silver Bone," he voiced, giving a small bow of his head. "I am Alastor Vranas." He offered her a kind smile, enjoying the fact that he hadn't met a rude lupine. If that had been the case, he'd surely had started the process of making an enemy, and that was not something he wanted. Enemies in a new land seemed troublesome, and it wasn't something he wanted to get involved in. Yet. "Did you go for a swim?" The ashen man had been curious of that since seeing the wetness of her fur.

"Well met, Alastor." She replied to the grey wolf. She shook her wet fur out, before walking forward a few feet, but not next to him yet. "Yes. I was seeing how long I could hold my breath when under the water, begore coming back up for air." She told him. She counted something around thirty seconds before she had come up for a breath of oxygen. Pretty good. Didn't beat Jackdaw Wing, though. He had been able to stay under for almost a whole minute. But then again, she'd bested her friends back at Raven's Peak in other things.

The yearling's head tilted slightly, a small look of confusion in his features. "Why did you want to see how long you could hold breath?" he inquired. He'd never encountered a reason to hold one's breath, and was interested as to why the female had done it. A thought crossed his mind, considering if maybe it was apart of a family thing. Part of him wished to ask her if that was the case, but his polite side chased the thought away. If she wished for him to know, then the woman would include it in her answer to his previous question. If she didn't, then she wouldn't and he had no problem with that. If the roles had been switched, he certainly wouldn't want a mere stranger asking all about his life and family.

"Well, just to make records. For fun, I guess? I don't truly know, but back at my home pack when we were kids, you were "cool" if you made a record. Like who could run down the mountain the fastest, who could jump the highest, and who could hold their breath underwater the longest." She said. Strange, how when she was a child she hadn't questioned why, just agreed. All the older kids did it, so they would try and beat their records, so that they could be the "coolest".

As she explained, Alastor listened closely to what she said. He'd never met someone who enjoyed setting records before, nor had he ever really heard of any records. It was a new thing to him, but many things were bound to be new. A new land, a new life, new faces. Everything seemed different to him, and it had since he first found himself being flown over an ocean and to somewhere different. A place far from home that he was bound and determined to make a life for himself in. So when a wolf talks of things like 'records' and such, his curiosity was inescapable. "Have you ever set any records?" the argent male inquired. "Do you do anything like that in the pack you're apart of now?"

She grinned at that. "There were tons of records to set to us. It was no biggie if you set a record cause there were so many. I was the fatest to race from Tall Pine to Burnt Pine, which were two recognizable trees in our pine forest. I also able to fling a duck into the air the highest." She said, her sheepish grin growing broader. Yes, that had been a record. "I don't think that says much about me." Silver Bone chuckled. When he asked his next question, she wondered as well. "I don't know. I only joined very recently, so I wouldn't know yet. Besides, that was when were kids anyway. I'd be strange to do it now that I'm an adult." She said. Imagine her, a mature lady, throwing a mallard into the air. That thought made her chuckle quietly once more.

The argent man's mind was quick to conjure up images to go with her words. His brain provided him with pictures of the woman, as she is now, running from one tree to another. The image soon twisted, contorting into something different. Instead of her running, he imagined her tossing one of the ducks from the lake beside them high up into the air. The image was, to say the least, very amusing. He nearly had to prevent himself from outright laughing, not that it'd be a hard task. It was nothing more than a noise, like speaking, so it could be controlled easily. "It would be odd," he agreed, looking to his mental image one last time before pushing it away. "It sounds like you had a lot of fun when you were young."

Alastor was quick to realize his own words, immediately concerned over whether or not the wolf believed he'd called her old. "Σκατά," he murmured, then returned to the common language. "I am sorry it sounded as if I were calling you old. I am sure you are still young." It was a natural reaction for him. Having once made the mistake of calling his mother old, he was quick to learn that most woman did not appreciate such words. His mother had made it very clear that she despised such words by delivering a sharp thwack to his head. While it was in the past, he'd never forgotten it, and would be sure not to disregard such a lesson simply because he was in a new land.

"Yeah. I sure did." She agreed, her mind drifting off to memories of family and friends and family friends. Jackdaw Cry, Tear Drip, River Rush, Shadow Eve, Pine Fall, Shade Noon, Sharp Fang, Spirit Full, Grey Skull.... There were many she knew so well... And now they had all split up because of one factor. Oh, how she hated the crows. She glanced up, pulled away from her memories, realizing he was beginning to talk again. "Oh, that's okay. I didn't think you were calling me old. I am not a child anymore, but I'm not old yet. At least, I hope I'm not old yet..." She chuckled. She hadn't felt offended. The man before her looking younger than her though. Probably about a year old. Well, she was two years, and she was pretty sure she could live for like, eight years. Therefore she was only a fourth into her life, still pretty young.

A breath of relief, one he was unaware he'd been holding, escaped through the boy's maw. "I am glad I did not give you that impression," Alastor said, a small smile returning to his features. Feeling the need to change the subject, he glanced around at their surroundings, gaze lingering on the bobbing mallards. An idea popped into his head, one that was rather childish. It was shooed away soon after, not wanting to make himself look like a fool. "Is there anything you do for fun now?" His icy gaze focused on the other lupine's, a tinge of curiosity and interest swirling in their depths. He wasn't usually such a curious wolf, but found Bone to be interesting enough to bring that out in him.

I just now realized that you are the same player of Sen and Kove... Oh. Looks like our characters have a had a few threads together recently. Kove and Star, Bone and Sen, and Bone and Alastor.

Silver Bone felt a little guilty for making the young man nervous. "Sorry. I didn't mean to make you nervous." She apoligized, even though technically it had been his fault, since he'd been the one who had said when you were young. "Well," she chuckled, "we could fling ducks into the air. But I'd probably throw them the highest." Bone laughed, half joking about the idea. But the other half of her that was still like a child argued that it would totally be cool and fun. She glanced around at her surroundings. There were not too many things that they could do for fun.

Aha, yup. There was also the thread with Runt and Kove, though that one wasn't as recent. c:

"You needn't apologize," Alastor assured her. It was his fault, he knew that, and would work to think his words over more in the future. At the mention of tossing ducks into the air, the argent boy was almost tempted to do just that. It was something he'd never done before, more because his times of chasing ducks never resulted in actually catching one. It was also because the idea seemed a bit strange in theory, but who knows, maybe it could be the most fun thing the world had to offer. "You probably would," he commented, a light chuckle accompanying his words. "I've never tossed any type of birds into the air before, so I'm positive you'd get one higher than I could."

oh yeah i forgot about that... Wow i have a bad memory.

Silver Bone chuckled. Of course he hadn't. Not many had, except all youth that was one or two and younger in Raven's Peak. They all had. "We could race. Although I think I might win that too. What are you good at? Maybe then you'll have a chance against me." She joked with a small laugh. If he said hunting, he'd probably win. He definitely would win if it was healing. Bone was best in speed, fighting, and puzzles of the mind, or riddles. She was only an okay hunter. Her skills had some ups and downs.

At the question, Alastor had to pause in order to think. What was he good at? His mother had said he was simply splendid at getting on one's nerves at times, but he knew that only to be a joke. He found himself rolling through everything he'd ever done in his head, trying to find things he was good at. He had an excellent sense of direction, that was true, but there was no way to turn that into a game or challenge of any sort. It was just some skill only able to be used when traveling. Another trait popped into his head, one that could be turned into a challenge of sorts. Tracking. Finding things that are lost, or just finding things in general.

"I am good at finding things," the boy finally said. "Animals, plants, lost siblings..." The last one was a joke, the grin that spread across his maw making that quite clear. "We could try and find something, anything, if you're up for the challenge?" To him, it didn't matter what they went on a search for. All that mattered was whether he'd seen it before, or at least caught it's scent once in the past.

Finding things. Like, tracking stuff? She was just okay at that too. Like her hunting. Okay. "Alright! How about an acorn? Or do you mean like tracking prey? I'd be up for that too." She said. Honestly she would probably lose either if he was so good at it. But she still wanted to do so for the fun of it. It was hard to have fun by yourself as a lone wolf, and it had been a little while since she'd had much fun at all. She was excited to be joyful once again.

Alastor on the inside:

At the words of Bone, the boy's tail moved back and forth a bit. He was glad that she hadn't shot his idea down, and even more so when she gave suggestions as to what they should try and find. Tracking prey seemed to be too easy of a thing, what with most being a decent size and all, so he veered more towards the acorn. They were small, that was true, but that only made the challenge that much more of a, well, challenge. "An acorn sounds fine by me," Alastor said, smiling all the while. It seemed like it'd been forever since he had time to just settle down for a bit and relax with another of his species. During his travels to the Wilds, most wolves he'd come across weren't too eager to play games and such, but were more focused on getting the yearling out of their fur. He might have been a bit annoying to them, what with trying to learn the area and all. "First to find an acorn wins."

lol! also, do you wanna roll dice to see who wins?

Silver Bone grinned as he agreed with her acorn idea. "Alright. Meet back here if you find it, and howl for the other to come cause you won." She wasn't literally saying Alastor won, she was just saying general guidelines. "Let's Go!" She shouted happily before racing off. She didn't check to see if he was ready when she shouted. Bone did not stop to think about the fact that running wouldn't help her find anything. She sped towards a tree, slowing down near it's base. She sniffed around in the dirt surrounding it for any acorns.

I'm a wee bit embarrassed to say that I have no idea how the heck the dice rolls work on here. I don't mind doing that, though, as long as you let me know how it's done. xD Gah, I feel clueless for not knowing this. Watch, it's going to end up being something as simple as using some other website for the dice rolls. It always ends up being overly simple when I can't get it. "orz

As soon as the words signaling their start left the other's mouth, Alastor was off. He trotted over to tree after tree, lowering his nose to the ground each and every time in order to nudge around the ground, and to sniff for any traces of squirrels. Squirrels buried their nuts, so wherever one of them lingered int he past, meant a possible acorn burial site. It wasn't a quick thing, never could be when it came to those eccentric little buggers. They always seemed to want to bury their food in the strangest of places, allowing only one or two nuts to a single spot. It seemed crazy, but also somewhat smart, to the yearling, but those thoughts weren't going to help him find a tree seed first. He needed to thing like those crazy, chattering rodents if he wanted to come out on top.

I literally felt the exact same way till a few days ago in one of my threads with Runt. I always thought it would be super complicated, but it's very simple. You just do this code \roll 1d8, but with the slash the other way. And success, or finding the acorn, is if you roll 5 or up. So I'll roll here to see if she finds it, in this thread. then my post will be based on the result. Okay so my roll says that she finds one, so I think Bone would win. Please pm me if you have a problem with this.

Silver Bone's thoughts were not based on thinking like a squirrel. Her thoughts were just "find the acorn". After sniffing around the tree abit more, she found it to be wmpty of acorns. She sped off to the next tree. Bone glanced up through it's branches. Attached to some of the limbs were nuts, although from this distance she couldn't tell what kind. Actually, if they were close, she still probably couldn't tell what kind. You see, Bone honestly wasn't completely sure what an acorn looked like. Most nuts looked the same. She sniffed around the base. Soon she found one of these nuts on the ground. She picked it up in her jaws, hoping it would pass as an acorn. She sped towards Duck Lake. Then Bone placed down her nut, holding it with one paw. She let a howl split the chilly air, requesting Alastor.

Doesn't seem as complicated as I thought it would be. :o Thanks for letting me know how the dice rolls were done!

The yearling had only just found a reasonable spot to start digging, when he heard a howl split through the air. Though he'd never heard the woman sing her tune before, he was confident it was her since she seemed to be the only one near the lake, and it was a call requesting his presence. Turning away from the small scratch marks he'd gotten in on the ground, Alastor trotted off in the direction her voice had come, a small spring n his step. As he grew close enough to see the acorn peaking out from beneath one of her paws, he was anything but discouraged. Sure, she had won, but the activity had still be fun to him. It reminded the argent boy of his times back in Pelion, when he and his little brother would try and find just about anything they could catch a whiff of. "Good job on finding one," he said, tail casually waving back and forth with his words.

finish up soon?

Silver Bone barely managed to contain a gasp when he told her she had found one. It was right! It wasn't a pecan or a peanut or a *place other nut name here*, it was sn acorn for sure! She let out an excited little bounce as her tail wagged back and forth quickly. "Thanks, Alastor! I'm sure you did great too. I wasn't even sure if it was an acorn or a pecan. Guess I'm just lucky!" She said with a little smile and a wink. She had won!

Sure. My next post could be my last? c:

He gave a nod of her head to show he'd heard her thanks, then tilted it a bit as he looked at her. She spoke of not knowing whether it had actually been an acorn or not, which took him by surprise. "Very lucky!" Alastor told her. "Makes it all the better when you find something that you weren't so sure of the appearance of." His tail continued to wag, showing his joy towards the situation for her. The yearling had enjoyed the time spent with her, and a part of him wished for it to never end, but he knew it eventually would. He needed to continue forward to search for a pack to join, and he was sure she wished to be on her way as well. He didn't say anything on it yet, though, not wanting to seem like he was a sore loser of any sort.

my last post, thanks for the thread!

"Yeah, I guess I ate a four-leafed clover or something." She chuckled. "It really does make it greater." She said with a broad smile. She glanced at the acorn. She gently tossed it to him, and it rolled to a stop by his paws. "Keep it. Or trash it. Whatever you want. Something to remember me by." She said with a wink. "I'll be off now, I'm sure I have new things to attend to in Noctisardor Bypass." She fumbled over the roman words mushed together into one. "Goodbye, Alastor! Good Luck to next time you have a competition!" She called out as she began to jog off, glancing back once more for a final look at him before heading towards her new home.