Shimmering a vaccume of my memory

ooc: @Anselm

It had been few very mad days, full of adventures, scary encounters and unexpected romance. There were gaps in Osprey's memory and she couldn't quite recall everywhere she had been and everything she had done, but all in all she felt happy and more satisfied with life than she had been in a very long time. Stepping out of the borders hadn't been entirely a bad thing - she had had fun. That was the most important thing out of the whole experience.

Now feeling tired and less interested in, what the world had to offer to her, she craved for a well-deserved and lengthy nap to recharge her battery and return to the mundane routine. She stopped at the borders briefly to have a sniff around them and get a superficial idea of what changes had taken place during her absence. There were little to no news, but there was plenty of information to read for her to spend a bit more time on this activity.

Being chased from the borders once would not be enough, not for Anselm, who had gotten the hang of dodging fangs by this point. Yes, he had a few scrapes and some close calls before - but he was careful now. He lurked in the areas just outside of the plateau boundary and only ventured closer when he could monitor the guards. Right now, there were no guards; and that made him eager to try again, to pilfer that damn rabbit from its cache once and for all, or get up to other mischief. At the same time he was quite wary. These wolves, whoever they were, knew their forest inside and out - and no manner of his lurking would permit him as much knowledge.

Food wasn't the only thing on the agenda, though it was very important. In Anselm's haste to hide away, to spy and sleuth, he had discovered some areas with heavy perfume. A strange smell - often stale, and with only a bit of an affect upon him, but still present - which lured him beyond that hidden boundary on more than one occasion. Today he was in luck, for that scent - or something like it - permeated the air, suffusing it with an allure which brought the young man out of hiding. He erred on the side of caution still, not fully open to manipulation of his senses, and remained alert among the trees.

Ospery wasn't aware that she was being watched, until she had stopped sniffing (and thus the flow of the new information) and lifted her head to cast a weary look around. The dim gray wolf that was standing among trees escaped her gaze the first time, but the second she fixed it on him and scrutinized his face, before advancing forward in a very confident way.

She didn't know, whether Dante had accepted any new wolves in the pack during her absence, but something about this stranger told her that he didn't fit in, that there was some pesky business behind it. As she neared him, her step grew slower until she came to a halt few feet away from him. Her legs were stiff, tail raised in a dominant fashion and she let out a low warning growl. The stranger had to think of a very good reason for being here, otherwise she was ready to attack and chase him out immediately.

She was a beacon among the trees, with the grays of her pelt becoming ruddy with sunlight, glowing and glimmering with subtle variation. And as soon as she saw him, the woman grew tall and mighty; her tail raised to express dominance which Anselm, still struck by her bold appearance, did not question. But she drew close - too close. An air of tension buffered her movement, and when she came to a halt Anselm felt himself shrink back a bit. His tail batted to and fro in a friendly manner, while his ears splayed lazily crossways, to either side of his head. In every aspect of his behavior he was subdued and submissive, but also somewhat friendly, in a guarded sort of way. If she struck out at him then he would likely flee, as he had on numerous other occasions, but... He really did not want to go. The allure of the lone female made him want to linger, to test the boundaries, for it was instinct which had begun to dominate him now.

The grayscale wolf shrank back and away and this submissive gesture gave Osprey the confidence to close the distance between them even more, until there were mere steps left. There she stopped again, regarding the stranger with an icy gaze. She felt the tension building up in her body, while her mind couldn't decide between attacking him on the spot or playing the "wait and stare" game and hope that he would get the message and finally go away.

It was rare that she gave in to violence or felt the need to hurt and kill someone. These qualities existed, but were reserved to the prey (smaller predators included) only. Now, as the time passed and she held the wolf's gaze, she realized something - the trespassers were nothing more than prey too. So, why feel mercy, why spare a life, when it was clear that the other party didn't value it enough not to venture too close to claimed lands.

And with this thought as her driving force, she broke the silence with a low and dangerous growl and lunged at the stranger with a full intent to either harm him or chase away.

Things were not going well, that was mightily obvious. And yet Anselm did not wish to give up quite yet; even as the she-wolf dove towards him with more than just anger inside of her, but lashing out in order to drive him away. He did not wish to fight her — in all honesty Anselm did not know what he wanted from her. The instinctual sensation caused by her mere presence made him want to linger, to dodge her maneuvers and get close - dangerously close. Anselm was not so foul as to take as others might.

Osprey's efforts were not in vain. As soon as she came close, Anselm ducked and wove backwards with his ears back, his tail lashing awkwardly a few times before curling along his belly. I mean no harm -- He slurred hastily, slinking with his body low towards her. Reaching with great hesitation for her, with his nose, with his tongue, utterly submissive before her.

When it came to fights and displays of aggression they had one thing in common - you could never predict, what the other was going to do. When Osprey had lashed out at the stranger, she had expected him to either run or defend himself. But he did neither - he dodged her attack and kept his submissive and "I mean no harm" posture, followed by words expressing the very same idea. This, of course, made her stop and frown at him. The feral side was still urging her to go on with her initial plan, but her better nature stopped her and told her to wait a bit.

Her tail was still held up high in dominance and her body was prepared to act, in case this turned out to be a move to distract her and take the upper hand in a conflict. She eyed the dark wolf with distrust and finally said: "Yet you don't seem to value your life much. If you are smart, you will get lost." Osprey didn't understand his actions, nor did she realize that, even though the mad days were gone, she still held remnants of the charm.

Her behavior eased from the outright aggression, but the female remained poised with dominance, and her words were quick to point out his mistake - or rather, to tell him to leave, just as the other plateau wolf had. Except that this time, Anselm had done nothing to incite such aggression; he had not stolen anything, and had been carefully weaving back and forth upon the borders when he was discovered. Still, in the world of the wolf, that was enough for her to take offense, and he would not begrudge her that.

But he did not leave, either. His response to her statement was simple and, given the bright tone of his voice, somewhat out-of-place. You... You're just.. Very pretty. That's all. Smooth.

I mean, I was... I was just passing by and.. Something drew me here. I didn't mean any harm, He parroted the earlier sentiment and ducked his head further, looking away from Osprey as another sign of submission. Hopefully she would calm down, because he did not want anything from her - at least, nothing he was aware of. --what's your name?

Had the two met few days earlier, Osprey would have been smitten by his words and, rather than having an intent to attack him, she would have invited him to play or a friendly spar. Unfortunately for him, she was in no mood of messing around now, therefore his praise - even though it was like honey to her ears - didn't have the desired effect. She was a bit calmer - yes - but still annoyed by his presence.

"Really..." Osprey responded sarcastically to his repeated statement that he meant no harm. She had lived in the world long enough to know that anything rarely was, what it appeared to be at the first glance. "So, now that you have found, what you were looking for, you can go, wherever you came from," she told him in a stern voice and took a bold step towards him, ignoring the calming signals and signs of submission.

"Shoo," she barked at him.

Anselm exit. Feel free to reply once more if you want.

His begging and his charm fell upon deaf ears. She would not listen to him - hearing, yes, but not really caring. And, having exhausted his efforts, Anselm knew there was nothing else for him to do here. He couldn't sneak by with this stranger in the way, and she wasn't about to show him any favor. With her insistence, he began to withdraw. And then when she stepped towards him, head low and body rigid with dominance, he sped up in his departure; casting a dubious glance across his shoulders as he fled.

It seemed that finally the stranger had got the message - he retreated and fled. Osprey didn't go after him, sparing her energy - she kept her gaze fixed at the stranger's form, until he disappeared in the distance. Then she squatted and left a scent mark both for her own comfort and for any of the other strangers to know that this land was claimed and they were not welcome here.

With this business settled, she left the spot and took the direction towards her sleeping premises. A good rest felt very well deserved.