Rising Sun Valley thin thread

for Caiaphas! :3

As he pushed steadily north, the ground sloped higher and higher, and the air rapidly cooled in the late evening. Here, tucked into the shadow of the mountain range near Duskfire were pockets of deep, windswept snow and tough grass that attracted herds of elk. They were numerous, with over a hundred huddled in the lower valley.

The male was situated on a high, sloped rise that was void of most trees, facing north towards the large bowl in which the animals gathered. It was an excellent view and a good spot to hunt, but the male was alone and too close to the Glacier borders to seriously consider it.

The wind that scoured the stone basin and shrieked through the mountain's backbone was enough to convince Caiaphas not to brave the flatlands, so intense was its frigid squall. Behind a broken slab of ice floe Caiaphas trembled, her fur rimpled by the zephyr's passing.

She had spent her time hounding the Glacier, yet never once had she been brave enough to trespass. Little had been learned by their surveillance, save for the Glacier wolves were a dull breed -- and evidently, of the tedious variety. She was about to abandon her post for the vigil offered by a slab above it when she saw ad scented the presence of another. The creature was a white wolf she neither recognized by scent nor sight -- with a hiss she retracted as the male watched the elk in the valley below. She had no interest in conversing with the male -- nor any interest in explaining why she, a sea-wolf, was this far inland.

He thought he heard something move and his head snapped up, silver eyes narrowing to sweep his surroundings. There wasn't supposed to be anything up here- except if a wolf had followed him...-what in the hell was that?

The female was small and sprightly, a dusky charcoal hue with large ears reminiscent of a coyote, a thin body, but the bushy tail of a wolf. Dovev would have normally scoffed at such an absurd monstrosity, but the male could see the hybrid recoil at the unexpected sight of him. So he could play this out.

With a smile coming onto his lips, he grinned back in response to her retraction, his ivory body contracting to crouch close to the ground. A brief pause to calculate his movements, and then the canine sprung forward, his paws carrying him in a barreling motion towards the stranger.

In retrospect, it seemed Caiaphas had been justified in her redaction -- no sooner had she made her departure evident, the wolf before had executed an advancement.

Caiaphas sized up their encounter quickly as one she did not wish to partake in -- as he hunched down and bolted towards her she was swift to bound upright and out of his warpath. In agile leaps she had scaled the shoalstone besides them and doubled about, now peering down at the wolf that had charged her. Every aspect of her expression was one drawn of disparagement -- with great distaste she peered down at the larger wolf, her ears folded flat to her bony skull.

The female had swerved right, using her spider-thin legs to propel herself just out of reach. Dovev checked himself, skidding a stop next to the gray stone. His motion allowed him to rear up on his back paws and peer up at the creature staring disdainfully down into his yellow eyes.

Dovev had a wide, toothy smirking grin plastered onto his face as he looked upwards, his tail wagging. His whole demeanor had changed to one of playfulness.

What? he queried, his ears flopping out sideways as his gray eyes studied her with a glitter.

Caiaphas peered down at the male, her fur ruffled in the manner of a disgruntled bird -- even her sharp yellow eyes seemed possessed of some shrewd veneer. She had no interest in playing -- not with a wolf she couldn't outright dominate. His playful query was met with a surprisingly austere glance of distaste.

She seemed to pause for a moment, her expression studious as she inspected carefully the grey of her seeming adversary's gaze. And then, with a swift shift of her paws she tried to push a small mound of snow and ice upon his uplifted face before departing quickly up the mountainous slab.

He was intrigued by the creature's slight but curved build, from the top of her ears down to her small paws that were quick to scoop some snow into his face. Falling back down with a soft growl, Dovev shook the fluffy ice from his pelt and glanced back up, hearing devices swiveling forward. She had dissapeared from view.

Not bothering to call out, the wolf rounded the shale pile, looking for a way up. He could swear he could she her tail lofting off the side of a rock, just out of reach. He looked sad that this little plaything had ran away and he was stuck on the bottom, too heavy to try following her up the unstable rock.
Aw... come on.

The she-beast scrabbled up the unpleasantly curved crag, relieved to put distance between her and the much larger brute. The stone was proving difficult to scale any further -- black and slick, she was faced with the impenetrable face of ice.

Frustrated by the lack of progress she whirled about on her narrow shelf, peering down at the powerfully built male. Seeing him again only reaffirmed her sentiment it was best the two did not entangle. "What? Is the wolf too fat?" Her jab was uttered in the octave of a sarcastic tone -- see, she was perfectly capable of playing -- just not in a fashion most sentient beings found enjoyable.

There was a small patch of frozen, trampled grass where Dovev had paced, his round pawpads churning the plants. Glancing up demurely, the white wolf leaned back on his haunches and balanced on his hindpaws, staring solemnly up the face of the crag, eyes glittering. Whoever this creature was , she was taking precaution to stay out of his reach, and he wasn't happy about it. Not like Dovev had anything defend, but the arctic brute was a naturally curious soul, and he would find a way up there. Or just patrol the base of the rock.

He heard her jab filtered down and laughed in response, flicking his ears out.
So what? I'm not a scaredy-cat, Dovev responded with the same daring tone, grinning.

Dovev's taunt did not sit well with the Siren Queen, and it showed quiet plainly on her sharp features. A look of distaste settled there, and she peered down upon the pale brute with cold and unamused little eyes. She wouldn't risk going down to him -- not even for that well-laid and somewhat veiled insult.

"I'm not a scaredy-cat." She rejoined firmly -- it was a correction, really. Her tail twitched with agitation. "I simply employ the powers of self-preservation." Ergo - he was big, she was not.

Dovev had a fuse of a temper, and slowly the eager playfulness was ebbing from his eyes. His neck was beginning to feel a little sore from bending it up at such an angle, but the wolf kept a watchful guard at the bottom, where the ground was shadowed by the ridge.

What even are you, anyways? he asked bluntly, referencing her hybrid shape. Dovev could see the difference the strange female carried- a thinner ribcage, longer legs and more of a pointed face with big ears. She was definitely not a full blooded wolf, even though her eyes carried that unmistakable, ancient yellow tint.

if dovev was losing his cheery attitude, caiaphas wished not to be near him when the well ran dry. she shifted and was most thankful for the advantage of her perch. at the very least she had enough time to beat her escape if the encounter turned sour.

and sooner or later, it always did.

she eyed him uncertainly, fully aware of the damage he could do if he managed to pull her guard down. she would not be caught this way -- she was too wily -- and even though he asked a disarming question she felt her defenses mounting. "i'm an eastern coyote." she answered as if it was known -- as if he was ignorant for inquiring. in her homeland, they were a dime a dozen -- yet here they seemed as rare as a yellow cardinal.

Her flighty attitude did remind Dovev of a migratory bird- her flashy appearance, bright plumage that darted across the air as she flew up the side of the rock face to escape him. He knew of coyotes and their rather sneaky, clever habits, always finding the upper hand in most situations. Like now, where the white wolf was stuck, out of reach, whilst she taunted him from above.

After a pause, Dovev stepped away, straightening out his neck. You can come down if you want, coyote. You're no fun to play with.
He glanced over his shoulder, off towards the descent of the valley where he had spied herds of elk before. They were far enough north that Dovev didn't feel any threat to Creek's borders by this scavenger, even if he didn't know who she truly was.