Secret Falls The ladder

Bear tracks. A set of them- a mother and her cub- showed how the duo had been sauntering through the forest. Sagacity was a smart wolf and knew that a mother bear shouldn't be provoked, but she also knew that bears were clever and would be an excellent lead when searching for a quick and easy meal. They were omnivores, of course, and could live off the berries which would soon be growing, but she knew that in order to survive the winter they'd be after meals more rich in caloric content and healthy fats. She knew that bears liked to fish, and that these two were probably headed somewhere that a meal might be found.

She followed, keeping her ears perked and nose fast to the trail so that she could monitor how close she was getting to them. It seemed as though she was a few hours behind which might mean that if a meal had been found, it might've been devoured already- but surely they might leave behind a few scraps and Sagacity was not above scavenging. As it was, though, the tracks eventually brought her within earshot of running water. She could not see it through the thick woodlands, but could hear it running. It was odd, she noted, to hear the water so clearly but to see no sign of it anywhere. It seemed, though, that the bears knew- so she put her faith in the large creatures and continued to follow their tracks.

Trotting in and out of patches of sunlight which filtered down through the trees she panted softly, the afternoon heat making her warm and hope that the bears would lead her toward water soon. Still she could not see it, but when she ducked around a thick patch of bushes she had to lean back and halt as quickly as she could- because the ground gave away suddenly to the edge of flowing water, too quick for her to fight against the current. She lifted her head to see a waterfall cut its way from the top of a small hill down to a clear pool where the water foamed and frothed. Finally, she'd found the falls.

It was a very secretive place- lined with thick evergreen trees and heavy brush, even the roaring water would have been concealed to someone close by if not for the scent and sound. More remarkable still was the fact that periodically a fish, its sides bright and red and bulging, would leap out of the water, directly at the falls and wriggle desperately- trying to climb the falling waters. Sagacity licked her lips- the bears had been right. They weren't anywhere to be seen, but they'd likely come to this place to go fishing and had already eaten their fill. The fish were unafraid of predators, though, they were more concerned on vaulting the falls.

Sagacity couldn't have been more pleased with the find. So help her, she'd gorge herself on fish until her sides were nearly split and then bring back whatever she could for later!

Avatars by Arla!

should've gotten this up sooner but i was playing with photoshop, sorry! <3 Initially the yearling had not expected his stay to extend so long; his former life had been comfortable and offered the stability that XIX yearned for, but this new life had captivated him. He still thought about his family often – especially his M.I.A. brother – but there was no longer a place for him there. After adjusting so much to fit in among the feral wolves inhabiting the area Lachesis could not go back to life within the Pack. He had committed his loyalty to a small group of loners within Spectral Woods, alongside his blue-eyed companion, and could not turn his back on them. The make-shift pack needed numbers before they could establish a territory, but XIX was happy just to belong somewhere. Particularly somewhere away from Reaper, the Arctic loner who was trying to recruit Lachesis and Anastasia to join some sort of ‘organization’. He snorted aloud at the thought, his cool eyes rolling at the thought of the fiery-eyed male. During their first meeting Nineteen had made it painfully obvious that he did not trust the larger Arctic – even now, just thinking about Reaper’s plans, caused an unsettling feeling to stir within his stomach. He couldn’t help but wonder if Ana had crossed paths with the devious loner since they had decided to join the small group of wolves in the Woods. A low growl formed in his throat as he shook his head, long legs pushing himself forward as he gave his head a quick shake to rid himself of the thoughts that plagued his mind. Stopping suddenly, the yearling glanced around to survey his surroundings as he was unsure of where he had ended up. He had left the Woods to scout the neighbouring territories, head swimming with unwanted memories as he skimmed the borders of nearby packs. He closed his eyes for a moment as his ears swiveled round, brows furrowed as he listened for the sound of another lurking within the foliage. Instead of being greeted by the sound of another wolf panting, the sound of rushing water flooded his senses, causing his eyes to snap open. Absorbed by the sound Lachesis stepped toward it, spidery legs carrying him quickly to his new destination. Once he stepped out of the undergrowth XIX was greeted by the water crashing down onto the rocks littering the area, his chartreuse eyes fixated on the sight until the scent of another slapped against his nostrils. The boy gave his head a quick shake before focusing his attention on the silver female eyeing the water, her eyes focused on something particular within the water. Cautiously, the youth stepped, unsure of how the strange female would react to his presence – the boy had lucked out since his first encounter with the strange black female and was hoping that his streak would continue. Stopping a few tail-lengths away from the female, he glanced to where she was staring, pale eyes searching for something among the frothy water.

(This post was last modified: Jun 20, 2013, 09:11 AM by Lachesis.)

stick with those who stick with you

She wanted to see if there was some pattern to the frantic leaping- not that she considered that a fish might be capable of thinking of that, but she had to see, just in case. Sometimes two leapt at once and slapped each other with their tails as they both frantically tried to climb up the pouring fountain of water, something which made the spectacle somewhat funny. She'd almost decided to give up watching for a pattern when she noticed there wasn't a specific time at which they leapt, but definitely a specific place. They must have figured somehow that this one place was the best place to try and leap- the water flowed quickly, but was lighter, more of a spray. Heavier waters would have pushed them back down, but as she watched, one of them fought and struggled to the top. This, then, was the key.

She was about to step forward when the bare discernable rustle of bushes announced that another wolf had arrived. She continued to watch the water, but kept the male in the corner of her eyes. Even in her peripheral vision she could see that while he was taller than she, he was all legs, gawky and awkward. A yearling, she thought, and when she turned her head just a cinch she could see him a bit better, and make out the narrowness of his features, his thin shoulders and the large feet he hadn't grown into yet. He'd be big once he filled out, she thought to herself, wondering if Mercy too would go through the same, socially painful homeliness. Thus, having compared him to her young son, she relaxed and didn't pay him much mind.

That is, however, until he stepped forward and came closer. She turned her head to greet him with a stark yellow gaze when he came within a few lengths as though to remind him that she too was a wild wolf and a bit older, more fit for defending herself. Her lips twitched but she didn't utter a sound as she looked at him over her shoulder, finally able to see the true line of his jaw, the somewhat lost look on his youthful features and the olive-leaf colour of his eyes. Barely more than a boy, she thought, both in body and in mind, or so she judged by the expression on his face. At one time in her life Sagacity wouldn't have tolerated his proximity for a moment- but the maternal instinct in her gave her the confidence that she wouldn't need to fear for herself. If anything, he was the one who should have been nervous around her.

She stepped into the water wordlessly, tail lifted slightly to establish herself still as the dominant one between the pair of them and as a slight warning as well- this was her spot in the water. The fish were plentiful elsewhere, but this was her chosen fishing spot. She moved forward until she was chest-deep in the water and began to watch for them to swim toward her and toward the falls. Some sped past- there were more fish here than she'd ever seen in one place before in her life. She'd had to turn so that she was no longer facing the falls and thus also facing the long-legged boy on the bank. Her eyes lifted to his once more.

"Go around to the other bank." She said. "We'll both have a better shot if there's some distance between us." she said, inferring that she would not even have him challenge her for her spot.

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Never had Lachesis seen anything quite like this before – the fish, shiny with pink scales flanking their sides, were making desperate attempts to shoot themselves up the falls. Many failed; floundering back into the frothy water, but their determination was admirable. As soon as one splashed back into the lower pool, another took its place, flinging itself up toward salvation. The yearling did not move closer to the silver female, as it was aware that she did not want him to come any nearer. He could sense her watchful gaze on him as he studied the fish, plotting his own plan on how to catch the frantic fish. Still unsure of the feral wolves residing in Relic Lore, the yearling still had much to learn about the boundaries of other wolves. The Pack had been simple – no ranks, everyone respected each other, and there were seldom any quarrels. The lessons from Anastasia had prepared him enough to interact with these feral wolves so that he wouldn’t get hurt, and now that he was part of a make-shift pack his skills would only increase. XIX watched as the yellow-eyed female stepped into the water; her movements we slow as she pushed herself to chest-deep water. Curious, he took a tentative step closer to the water’s edge, although respecting the distance she had created between them. The boy was simply hungry and wanted to bring back some food to the wolves within the camp – especially the hungry mouths of Shade’s mother-less pups. Her words broke him away from his thoughts, brows narrowing as he focused his gaze on her, nodding softly in response to her instructions. Not wanting to cause any unnecessary problems, Nineteen obliged silently, maneuvering his way down the bank and away from the pack wolf. Wading into the shallow water, the lanky teenager mirrored her slow movements as he made his way to the opposite side, pear-coloured gaze focused on her silver shape. His splashing was irrelevant, as the salmon did not waiver from their jumps – they were focused on whatever force was driving them forward and could not be distracted by two wolves looking for a meal. Positioning himself far enough away from the older female, XIX glanced back at her to make sure it was acceptable to her. If she said nothing, he knew he had done something right – well, hopefully. The water splashed at his chest, toes curling against the bottom of the river in anticipation, excitement bubbling deep inside of him. Dragging his eyes away from her, he watched the fish carefully, calculating their movements and where they would fall if they did not make it up the jump. Lachesis quietly waited for the female to make the first move, curious as to what strategy she had developed in order to catch the pink-bellied fish.

stick with those who stick with you

I love him already. *Noms on your table too*

She felt satisfied when she heard him wade into the water, obediently following her command. She kept her gaze on the water, watching one fish after the other swim past her and noticing that the distance they kept became shorter and shorter. The male's movements in the water didn't seem to send them shooting for cover, though a few did come closer to her. The ones approaching now hadn't seen her wade in and therefore probably didn't register her as a threat- either that or they were far too concentrated on what they were doing to give a damn about what those four grey pillars were.

She could feel the youth's eyes on her, but she didn't feel any pressure. If she failed with one fish, she could always go for another. One made a leap out of the water just past her flank, brushing against her sterling side as it did so. They definitely did not see her as a threat now! Standing as she was in the water, she blocked some of the current, therefore making it easier for the fish to swim so they came closer and closer, one or two even shooting directly between her legs. As a few did so, more followed, and she waited patiently, watching their movements so she could best anticipate the moment when-

In a flash and a splash, the moment was over. One swam directly toward her, aiming to swim through her legs but her head, which had been slowly lowering toward the surface, dipped below the surface just long enough to snap at the large, wet fish and catch it. The salmon was strong and writhed in her mouth but she had clenched her jaws as soon as she'd caught it in order to secure her grip. Satisfied with her first success, she waded toward the shore where she could eat without having to worry about the fish escaping her first, and once on the dry land she lay down, facing the river to enjoy the meal and watch to see if he would copy her method or if he had one of his own.

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The ghost had been fishing before – one his proudest moments fishing had been ruined by the arrival of Reaper – and found the challenge exhilarating. Hunting deer, and even smaller prey, was also challenging, but with the element of water put into play fishing was on a completely different level than something on land. His long, awkward-looking legs were usual when it came to chasing down game, but catching fish required a whole different type of tactic. Not another word was spoken from the silver stranger; her attention was focused on the task before her. Although the river was filled with fish, catching one wasn’t going to be easy – catching one was half the battle, making sure the fish didn’t flail away was the other half. His gaze flickered back and forth from the female to the fish that swam through his legs, brows narrowed in deep concentration as he waited for an opportunity for both himself and her. XIX worried that if he waited too long all the fish would have already swum by, succeeding in the desperate leap and escaping his jaws to live another day. A frown etched itself across his face as the thought lingered, and it was not until the female caught her fish that it finally dissipated. He nodded softly, evaluating the success of her method as she pulled herself out of the river to eat her prize. Focusing his attention back on the pink fish swimming below him, waited for a moment to strike, his maw hovering farther from the surface than hers had been. However, Nineteen was not planning on mirroring the approach that she had used. Patience was important while fishing and nearly impossible without it; occasionally, it was rather dull but extremely rewarding. His gaze was steady as he watched the fish swim toward him, unknowing of what was about to happen to one of their friends. With a quick flick of his paw, the boy launched a fish upward to where his teeth were waiting, jaws clamping down shut on the fat fish as it started flailing in a desperate attempt to follow its companions up the Falls. Tightening his grip on the fish, XIX pulled himself from the water while still maintaining the distance between him and the silver stranger. He remained silent as he stretched out against the ground, unsure of how the pack wolf would react to an attempt to start up conversation, and settled into his meal.

stick with those who stick with you

The new mother didn't waste any time before she began to eat her fish, tearing off bits and swallowing them down as she watched him concentrate on the water. Her fish was half gone already by the tie one of his large paws- no longer awkward and ill-fitted to his body- slapped a fish out of the water which he then caught in his teeth. Her ears pricked to show that she was impressed and she gave him a rumbling growl in praise as he stepped to the bank not far from her. As a new mother, she was more interested in catching more fish to eat than sparking dinner-time conversation so she scarfed her fish down with gusto and was still licking the silvery scales from her lips when she stepped back into the water.

Appetite whetted, she didn't have the patience for a fish to swim into her jaws and thus waded in only knee-deep and watched for a fish to swim her way. As soon as one did she darted toward it, sending water flying as she herded the fish. It was the way she'd seen bears do it, trying to drive the fish into waters that were too shallow for it to swim in. It zig-zagged this way and that and she did her best to follow and cut off its escape but lost it. She did not give up, though, even though the next fish evaded her as well. The third one was either slower or dumber, but either way it was easily herded to the shallow waters where it struggled to swim past the pebbles and rocks on the bottom and its dorsal fin stuck out of the surface. Once she was upon it she picked it up easily and moved back to the shore, settling down to once again devour her fish as quickly as she could.

Avatars by Arla!

ugh i suck i'm sorry <3

The lack of banter was rather welcoming, as Lachesis usually wasn’t much of a conversationalist; he preferred to avoid speaking to others in order to evade conflict. The yearling especially detested having to start a conversation – he nearly shuddered at the thought, brows narrowing slightly as he chewed the pieces of meat in his mouth slowly. Although the female’s silence had sparked his curiosity – as he wasn’t used to having a stranger be as silent as she was – he did not break the calm that had fallen over them. If she did not want to speak XIX would not bore her with his stuttering and dull topics; he wasn’t very interesting and was worried that anything he said would put her to sleep.

Just as he was finishing his first fish, the female got up to chase after another fish. Licking excess scales off his lips, the yearling watched as the silver stranger changed techniques, his head cocked slightly to the left as he studied this different strategy. At first, it didn’t seem to be working out well for the loner, but just as the thought appeared in his thoughts it was quickly sent away when he saw a pink-bellied fish flailing from between her jaws. Offering a low, approving whine, the boy finished the last of his meal before pulling himself into a stand – his hunt was not yet over, as well, as XIX had to bring back food for the pups.

This time he was going to try something different as well. With slow, long strides, the boy brought himself as close to the bottom of the falls as he could, claws digging into the sand to steady himself. Concentrating on the movements of the fish, Lachesis waited instead of going after them, his ears pinned forward as he waited for something to happen. A few moments had passed and XIX had begun to wonder if the two loners had scared the fish off from their attempts to jump the falls. A frown had begun to settle in and just as the boy was deciding whether to change his strategy or not, a fish jumped a tails-length to his right. With a second thought, the boy lunged toward it, teeth searching for the soft, scaly body.

Once more, the boy dragged himself to the edge of the river, the fish finally calming down between his jaws as he stepped onto dry land. This time, instead of plunging into the fish, XIX crunched down on it, putting a stop to its movements. He placed it down next to a rock several feet away from the shore before giving his coat a quick shake, eyes focused on the river before him. Round three?

stick with those who stick with you

Sagacity had finished eating her fish by the time another unfortunate fishy soul leapt out of the water and into the fateful jaws of the white yearling. She'd waited there patiently, though, as she knew better than to disturb the waters while he was fishing, lest she foil his plans. She couldn't tell exactly what he'd intended to do, as he'd waded out much further than she had and she'd been under the impression that he was going to copy the same moves she'd made. Instead, the younger wolf struck out and caught a fish just as it made a leap for the waterfall. She'd seen bears wait and do the exact same thing- perhaps he'd seen them and had learned that trick from them as well, or maybe he'd come up with it by chance all on his own.

She stood up when he reached the shore but was surprised and offended by the fact that he simply set his fish on the shore and waded out again. Her eyes narrowed- did he have no idea that this was now how you hunted? He hadn't placed it close enough to her for it to have been perceived as a gift, so he'd caught it for himself and now intended to skip her turn completely and hunt for himself again. Sagacity's ears turned back and her tail raised. She was the one with the child to take care of, she was the one who needed the nourishment more than he. And here he was, the impudent youngster who had no idea he'd just ticked her off simply by not adhering to the unspoken rule that they take turns.

She had two options. Well, more than two, but only two that appealed to her. She felt as though the fish he'd caught was now hers, given that he'd caught it and had put it on the shore, then left it. It was up for grabs, as far as she was concerned. Or she could wade into the water and school him, sending him dripping back to the bank where he could wait for his turn. So, deciding that she didn't want to risk herself in a tussle- though she assumed one might come anyway- she strode over to where the fish had been placed on the shore, so conveniently for her, and she picked it up. She backed away from the water's edge a few paces and lay down. Her tail waved gently, as though in thanks, and she wore an expression which showed how grateful she was.

Rather than acting 'better-than-thou,' though, she employed another strategy. She gave him a small smile. She decided to act as though she'd actually perceived this as a gift for her. It'd been left upon the shore, so why shouldn't it be a gift? And then, just to play it up a bit, she nodded her head to him. "Thank you." She said, earnestly. "...I have a child. He eats almost as much as I do," She said, with a small, feminine laugh. If he tried to take the fish from her now, she hoped he'd feel bad about taking a meal from a mother who badly needed the nourishment! She watched him for his reaction, some small part of her still ready to grab the fish and leap back should he decide to have at her.

Avatars by Arla!

Lachesis was only concerned about bringing food back to his new family – he wanted to prove to Shade that he had made the right decision in letting the awkward yearling join his small group of rogues. The leggy boy knew that he wasn’t good at much, aside from hunting – but every wolf was good at hunting. It was in their blood; even though he had lived on a reserve and his life before Relic Lore had been sheltered, he still knew how to hunt. Hunting and feeding, it was a necessity – a wolf who did not know how to hunt would not survive. But, what Lachesis had to do, was be the best at hunting – at least within the pack. This would show Shade that the nimble teenager would benefit the pack once they found a territory to claim and established themselves. A few moments after wading into the water the boy had accidentally caught his first fish. Just as he lowered his muzzle close to the surface to search for a lone fish nearby, one practically swam into his mouth. Without a second thought, he had clamped his jaws shut around the fish and made his way back to the shore so he could retrieve it after he had caught another one – as three fish were all that he could carry back to the Woods. He dove back into the water once more, pear-coloured eyes darting around for another pink-bellied fish, ears flat against the back of his skull as he decided to reuse his first strategy. With his fourth catch, the yearling returned to the shore to gather up the two fish he had abandoned so he could prepare himself to leave. The female clearly did not want to start a conversation with him, and XIX didn’t like being away from the pack for too long. After grabbing his third catch, the boy headed toward his second fish – only it wasn’t there. Confused, the boy dropped the two fish that hung from his jaws, brows narrowed as he glanced at the silver female. Her words stunned him, head cocked to one side as confusion settled in – what? The teenager struggled to muster the courage required to tell the female that the fish was not for her, but when she mentioned that she had a son to feed he choked back the words that threatened to spill off his tongue. “Y-you’re welcome?” His words tumbled from his maw as he stared at her awkwardly, his tail curling between his legs. He didn’t want to cause any problems and Lachesis was worried that if he tried to argue with the female, she would steal the other two fish he had caught. “These aren’t f-for m-me,” he started lamely as he chewed nervously on his lower lips, eyes glancing down at his wet forepaws. “I’m b-bringing them f-for my Alpha’s p-puppies.”

(This post was last modified: Jul 02, 2013, 05:43 AM by Lachesis.)

stick with those who stick with you