A light on the dark side of me

@Morgana ;)


Jace knew that straying too far from his pack boundaries wasn't a good idea, but there was just something about pack life that he still wasn't comfortable with. Besides there was always the next mountainside or lake or bend in the trail that needed exploring, it was almost like filling in a map in his head and he was really OCD about the missing pieces. Jace had seen and explored the hotsprings pretty thoroughly, as well as Big Salmon Lake, but he had seen another, larger lake from a rocky hilltop. It was getting late, but the thought of the large lake wouldn't leave the sooty black male's mind. Pacing the hilltop he finally made up his mind to make it to the lake, spend the night and swoop back to the pack borders the opposite way he had come.

Jace moved swiftly and silently through the snowy woods and plain. He knew other wolves must be around for he smelled them now and again, but no pack boundaries so far, thank the Bear. Jace continued to the lake, grateful for his coat color and the cover of a night with no moon.

Upon arriving at the the lake, Jace collapsed at the waters edge. Luckily it had been a warm day and the shallow edges hadn't had time to ice back over yet, so Jace lapped cold lake water hungrily. "Exploring is exhausting work," Jace though, "but it will definitely be worth it." Jace lay like that for a period of time before finally noticing a smell that made him stand as abruptly as he had collapsed. A pack boundary.

Morgana silently watched the male unknowingly creep closer to the pack boarders. Come on, just a little bit more! She muttered under her breath. She desperately wanted an excuse to sink her claws into someone, and not get in trouble. Only a few more steps and he would be officialy over the boundaries. Unfortunately for her, he realized how close he had become and stopped his drink. Damn it! She cursed. However, he was close enough...
Walking down to the waters edge, she stared at the male, giving him a menacing glare. They were now directly oppositite eachother, the only thing separating them was the river. Morgana wouldn't take the chance of falling through the ice, for she wasn't a very good swimmer. I guess, I'll just have to deal with him from here, she thought to herself. Putting on a low, menacing voice, she spoke up, You know you're awfully close to the boarders of the dark pack, she said in a warningly toned voice.

Jace immediately froze once he spied the dark wolf across the river. His next course of action was to respectfully lower his ears and tail, not quite so low as to be between his hind legs, he hadn't done anything wrong after all.

"My apologies miss, I am a new member of the Silvertop Mountain pack and have been exploring for the better part of the day. My name is Jace and I had no intention of intruding your boundaries, just to get a cool drink and rest my paws. What might your name be?". Jace was locked in the female's stare, her two yellow eyes like pits of flame in the night. "She is a beautiful one, but dangerous.", Jace thought, he knew if he had been over the boundary this female would have no compunction about tearing his throat out and leaving him to the crows. Jace allowed himself an inward sigh of relief at his extraordinary luck.

Jace took a moment to raise his ears slightly and sniff what little breeze was blowing. He could neither hear or smell any other of her pack members so far, but he knew one howl from this striking female would bring the horde down on him and it would be a fight to the death to get back to his pack.

Morgana had heard of a new pack, a few days journey away. She made a mental note to check out that area sometime. She nodded at the male, showing she believed his excuse. But she didn't lift her stern and dangerous exterior.
I am Morgana, she responded.
You will be on your way soon, yes? She asked the male, Jace. She had to make sure that the wold didn't have any intentions of staying so close to the boarder, there was still the possibility that he would cross over. And she didn't take any chances.
She had to admit it, this wolf was good looking. His dark pelt was admirable...her type. But she quickly dissmised those thoughts. Affection was weakness.

And she would not be weak.

Jace saw the female soften slightly, "Now we're getting somewhere", Jace thought. Jace ventured a small smile, "Very nice to meet you Morgana. Actually it is a long way back to my pack, I was going to spend the night next to the lake once I found a suitable place to stay. I could move to the farther side of the lake, if it would make you more comfortable.". Although the female had softened, her stare remained hard and cold. Jace stood firm under her yellow gaze, he wasn't going to be run off again no matter the situation, he was done running because someone didn't want him around.

Jace lowered his dark head and returned the penetrating yellow stare with one of his own, green and amber eyes flashing in the night. "I'm sure you maybe know a comfortable place to stay the night nearby, if you would be so kind as to tell me, I will leave. I have no intention of giving myself a bad reputation so soon after my arrival to this area." Jace was afraid that he was maybe being a little too belligerent, after all it was her boundary she was protecting. If she had come upon Silvertip territory by accident and Jace found her, he would probably be doing the same thing as she was.

Jace again sniffed the breeze, just to be sure that they were alone and she wasn't setting up an ambush to surprise him. Jace turned back to the female, "What pack did you say that you were with again?"

Morgana nodded. There are many hollow, fallen logs that make sustainable resting stops for a night, unless you are more of a cave wolf, then you will have to do some searching. She replied.
Morgana noticed his sudden hesitation before asking which pack she was from.
Morgana smirked, Blackfeather Woods. Perhaps you have heard of us? She knew that if he had, he would probably run away, which was the semi-desired effect. Honestly, she enjoyed wolves cowering in fear of her, it gave her purpose. What purpose was there to life if there was no trouble? No conflict? No war? There would be nothing. And someone had to start all that trouble. With a mischievous glint in her eye she asked, You're not scared are you? , She smirked.

A light rain had started falling, and it was dark, that pack name that Morgana had mentioned sent a chill down Jace's spine and he didn't know why. "There's blood in that name for sure." Jace wasn't going to let this wolf scare him so easily though. He decided it was maybe time to try a different strategy.

Jace smiled, "No, I'm not scared. It's probably hard to believe, but very little actually scares me.". Jace looked the female up and down, smiling, "You know, if you want, you could come and stay the night with me in one of those logs you mentioned. You're really beautiful and I bet you're not as cold as you seem to be, we could curl up all nice and cozy like. What do you say?" Jace wasn't sure if she would take him up on his offer or not, he hadn't ever really considered himself to be very good looking, odds were she would be creeped out and leave Jace to find a place to spend the night. Jace would be genuinely surprised if she did take him up on his offer, and probably wouldn't mind, everything he had said was true.

Jace paced the opposite river bank in what he hoped looked like a flaunting posture, he stopped and flexed his muscles slightly. Jace had never been with anyone before, having been run off from his original pack, so he wasn't exactly sure what he was doing.

Morgana smirked at the boldness of this male. A plan began formulating in her mind. Why journey to another packs lands to find out their secrets, when the secrets came to her? Morgana was quite fond of secrets.
And of males.
She smiled coyly, then purred "Surely, I couldn't. But then again, it isn't often one comes across a male as handsome as you in these dark woods." She leaped with a single bound over the river, landing perfectly. She eyed the male coyly, and brushed up against him. "Lead the way, Jace. Warm and cozy sounds very nice."

Jace is in trouble now ;)

Jace couldn't believe it, the female actually took him up on his advances! He knew that he was going to have to keep his wits about him, that pack name still had his skin crawling. Jace did a pretty good job focusing until the female leaped to his side of the river, he stood completely still.

"Alright Jace focus, she's probably wanting to kill you or wanting to know your packs weaknesses. There's no way that she's into you." Morgana looked at Jace coyly, "But she said I was handsome, and she obviously likes me. No! Focus! Once she gets me alone it's all over. I need to be on my toes if I want to see the sunrise." Morgana started brushing up against Jace and he shuddered slightly, enjoying the softness of her fur and her smell. "Oh, this is going to be a great night. I can't believe she actually wants to stay the night with me!" Jace smiled back at Morgana and turned into her, maximizing their physical contact. "Alright let's go find us a nice place to enjoy together." Jace started around the edge of the lake at a slow run, looking for anyplace that could house two wolves for the night.

After a few minutes running, Jace found a small cave that would keep them out of the cold winter wind. Jace took a step inside, sniffing for any occupants or other dangers, "How about this Morgana? Looks cozy enough." Some autumn leaves were scattered on the floor and low hanging ivy and ferns slightly covered the entrance. In the poor light of night, the ferns and ivy almost looked red, but Jace wasn't exactly focused enough to notice.

Morgana crouched inside, lying down in the floor of the small cave. Morgana could applaud his cave choice, it was indeed cozy. The rust coloured leaves gave a somewhat comfy cussioning, not one she could argue with. She decided that she would stay in this cave for a few more days to avoid searching for a new one.
She signalled for Jace to lay down beside her. So tell me about yourself; she asked, buttering him up. She knew that she couldn't get anywhere without being at leased civilized. But to get the best results, she had to adore him.

Jace laid down next to Morgana and, for the first time since coming to the Teekon Wilds, felt ashamed. Jace turned his head towards the cave entrance contemplating the past and all it's injustices. "There isn't much to tell, I was a loner until I showed up here. It was cold and I was sick, both physically and sick of being alone, so I decided to join a pack again. They've been really good though," Jace smiled,"I really like being part of a pack again, this one anyway.". Jace still wasn't sure he should trust this dark, confident female yet, anytime he wanted to open up to her the dark and haunted name of her pack kept him from sharing his internal scars.

Jace looked back at Morgana, "What about you? How'd you get to come here?". Jace was still hoping that he would be alive by the morning, he was also hoping that he could bond with someone other than his packmates. If he had a friend outside of the pack he could learn things twice as fast about this area and the wolves and other animals that inhabited it.

Morgana vaguely listened to his story and when he asked her's she ignored the true answer. I came from the North after my dear sister died in an attack, she cried dramatically. So tell me, when I visit you at Silvertip, who are your Alpha and Beta so I know who to look out for. We wouldn't want me to get in trouble now would we? She said sweetly.