In. Out. In. Out. This was the rhythmic pattern Enoki chose as she weaved her way through the fallen trees that lay like fallen warriors, covered in thick blankets of moss. Her tail rose like a brilliant banner behind her while her jaw hung partly open to allow just the tip of her tongue to fall forth and taste the air as she trotted along the more worn paths of previous travelers. A small cloud of breath formed before her muzzle as she took a mental note of the days weather. It was partly cloudy today with temperatures easily being in the high twenties and low thirties. Though technically spring had arrived to Relic Lore, winter was holding on for dear life to keep its foothold on the land with its terrible chilling nights and occasional snowfall. Just the thought of the cold was enough to make her shiver, pausing her rhythmic steps for a moment before continuing onward.

An eerie silence accompanied Enoki as she traveled deeper and deeper into the verdant mosses. Her amber eyes scanning the surrounding like clockwork while she kept her guard up, weary of everything that went on around her. She had been within the Lore for a good two weeks now traveling among the many territory boundaries like a roaming gypsy, never staying in one place longer than she felt necessary. What surprised the young female mostly was the lack of run ins with other wolves, their scents were everywhere, unclaimed lands and claimed, but she had managed to only come across two wolves. Elettra, matriarch of Willow Ridge, who after a brief conversation and a small praise had extended an invitation for her to pledge her loyalty and join her ranks back at Fireweed Rise. The other was a fellow lone wolf, a male, by the name of Ace who had stumbled upon her napping by Heartleaf Creek near the pack lands of Secret Woodlands.

After giving herself a small rest to recoup from her long journeys, she now found herself on the move once more towards the opposite end of the Lore. It took the female 6 days to travel from Northern Eden to the Deep Forest. Now slightly worn from the long journey, despite traveling at a decent pace as to save most of her energy, and a stomach on the verge of going empty, food was all that ran across her mind. She gave her chops a quick lick as she felt herself drooling a little at the thought of having food within her belly again. As a loner she liked to keep her stomach at least a quarter filled, whether it be off a lot of tiny snack sized animals, or scavenging off a packs old kill, she made sure there was always something in her stomach.

Now it was the sound of scurrying just off her path of travel, followed by small barks that could only belong to one animal, that caused Enoki to venture off into the deeper mossy terrain. Foxes. There was no mistaking their scent that polluted the entire forest as she lowered her body towards the ground to hide herself better among the foliage. Being an isolated place with so many nooks and crannies littering the entire forest, it was no wonder that the population of foxes was overwhelming here. This type of place made for ideal den sites for the irritating little pest to raise their kits. It took a lot of strength for Enoki to hold back a typical growl that escaped her lips whenever she saw or thought about the orange pelted pest.

Though she smelt and knew the foxes were everywhere around her, she couldn't risk giving away her position and sending the tiny fur balls scurrying into their burrows for safety. Frankly, if she did cause that to happen, she wouldn't mind getting her paws dirty to dig up the varmints and make a snack of them. Or better yet bury them alive and let them rot within their dens. She didn't care what happened to them. They were just mere snacks in her mind. Not particularly the most tasty of snacks on the food chain, but they still served the purpose of holding off hunger that much longer until she could find a substantial form of food.

Her body was in full hunting mode as the pungent scent of fox lofted on a small breeze towards her, glad that the wind was on her side today, hiding her scent from the unaware canines. Flattening her ears against her skull, Enoki slowly crept along the scent trail of a pair of foxes, most likely a breeding pair. This was a good sign, seeing as it may lead to a den where kits could be waiting to be fed from their parents, an easy meal if she could keep them from dashing back into the den before she wrapped her jaws around their throats. And indeed it did, just beyond a fallen log lay a small hole nestled between the roots of a fallen tree. Sitting outside the small home were the mating pair, but no kits, much to Enoki's disappointment. Strategically circling to one side of the foxes, she kept her body low and her eyes pinned on the goal as they continued to sit there grooming each other, fully unaware of their fate.

With the speed of a flash of lighting, the she-wolf darted out from her hiding place and charged at the pair with snapping jaws. With the male within closer range, she clamped her jaws around his throat and ended his life quickly with only a partial squeak from the fox before his body hung limp in her jaws. Quickly dropping her prize she darted after the female who darted towards the den. "Shit!" Enoki cursed under her breath as the vixen dove into the den, but not quick enough. With a lunge forward, Enoki managed to grab a hold on the tuff of fur at the end of the tail just before the vixen disappeared, whipping her head back to fling the pest back out into the open. A growl emitted from her throat, muffled by the fur in her mouth, the vixen swinging back to swipe and bite at her muzzle. A mistake on her part. Using this movement to her advantage, she pinned the vixen to the ground using her forepaw, cutting off her life as her jaws closed around the fox's throat.

Victory. Two prizes now laid next to each other as Enoki panted slightly, licking her jaws to clean the small cut above her lip left be the damned vixen. 'Nasty little pest' She thought to herself as she grabbed the two orange furred creatures by their tails with her jaws, carrying them off back towards her main path of travel until she found a decent place to enjoy her days catch. With her tail raised proudly behind her, the woman trotted onward, holding herself like a bragger as her catch dangled below her jaws. If there was one thing she learned from her birth pack, it was never eat where you killed. The scent of fresh blood on the ground would draw in any scavenger and the last thing she wanted was an entourage as she ate her food, spending more time fighting them off than actually eating. What she wanted was to eat in peace.

It was the sound of a congratulatory bark that caused the black woman to stop in her tracks and turn behind her to lock her gaze on the silvery form, the form of another wolf. With pride surging through her body from her successful kill, Enoki stepped off to the side to allow the wolf room to stand besides her between the trunks of two fallen trees that lay on either side of her. With a successful kill, she found herself in a cheery, friendly mood. Lifting her nose upwards slightly to scent at the air, she took in the bits of information it offered. This grey wolf was a female, guessing she was about the same age as herself, three years. Letting her gaze scan over her frame, she noted that she was smaller than herself in physique, slim and clearly built for speed.

Due to her mouth full with the tails of her prey, Enoki offered the female a friendly wag of her in response to bark, showing her she meant well. Glancing down towards the small kit dangling from the woman's mouth, her tail wagged more. So, it seems she wasn't the only one who decided to make a quick snack out of the orange and red pelted bastards. Lowering her head down to the ground she set her prized possessions down, planting her paw on the small pile in case some wandering animal dared to snatch them from the wolf. Giving her mouth a quick lick to free it of the loose fur that had collected against her gums, she barked back at Sagacity.

"Hello there!" She spoke in a soft tone, friendliness thickly coating her words. Enoki kept her jaws parted slightly to let her tongue hang just slightly beyond her lips, still recovering slightly from her recent duty. The fact that the other female had a kill of her own, especially a fox kit, made her already grow a liking for her. Maybe if they ended up becoming friends they could scout the entire forest and rid it of the filthy scum that called it home. She knew very well the dangers that came with foxes. They carried rabies. A deadly disease that was easily transferred among animals. Enoki had never seen a wolf nor fox alive with the deadly plague, but had smelt it upon the decaying carcasses of animals that had met their doom due to it.

Lowering herself back onto her haunches, she sat upon the cold, wet ground of the moss and shook her pelt once. "I see you've made a kill of your own. I hate these filthy creatures, so the more that die the happier I am." A soft chuckle passed the female's lips as she sat there, her tail thumping lightly against the foliage on the forest floor. It was true though, she really did have an unyielding hate for the vile creatures. If anyone had set up a group to go about and exterminate the foxes around Relic Lore, she would gladly join the party. Less foxes meant less chances of contracting rabies and more abundance of prey like hares when winter came along again. Wasn't that a wonderful thought to a wolf. More food.

Enoki perked her ears forward in curiosity as the sterling female gave her pelt a good look over. Most likely she was taking in the striking contrast of her pelt. It was common for wolves that she met to give her odd looks over the very odd coloration of her fur, seeing as being black with bright patches of white were very uncommon. It was more common to see black wolves with grays mixed in, but never such a white as she had. No, it wasn't some odd cross breeding that caused her mutation one could almost say, but the rare out come of her parents genes passing down to her. Her mother was much like herself, black in color with small portions of grey peeking through, and her father was of a creamy white with small pits of gray. It was just the way her parents genes mixed that caused her to obtain the coloration of both parents, leaving Enoki with her unique pelt.

Noticing the slight easiness that the female took after her warm invitation, she herself allowed her guard to drop, but not fully. Even though she seemed friendly and welcoming, one could never truly know a wolf off one encounter. For all she knew, she could be a wolf in sheep's clothing, pun intended. A small rush of relief flowed through the oreo female as the silver wolf also let her catch lay upon the ground, clearly trusting Enoki enough in the fact that she wouldn't dart off with the kit. The thought of stealing ones catch was never a question in her mind. There were certain morals that she lived by and stealing was of an utmost sin in her eyes.

She could feel a small tug at her lips as they pulled back into a small smile as the woman finally greeted her back, though not nearly as cheery as Enoki's, which was actually uncharacteristic of her. Normally she was more guarded and cautious of strangers, but today she allowed herself to be more lenient towards the wolves of Lore. The two wolves she has met so far were nice enough, why not some of the others as well? Perking her ears forward again, she listened to her words before nodding in agreement about fewer foxes. "I completely agree. I can't stand them so the less in the world, the better."She gave another nod, more firm this time. "I can't say I've seen a wolf with the disease, but I have smelt it on some decaying carcasses on my travels."

She already grew a liking for this wolf. They shared a distaste for the disgusting vermin and this was enough for her even if this was all that they would have in common. A shared hatred was better than nothing in her mind. Though this talk of rabies was an awakening for Enoki. She hadn't seen a wolf contracted with the disease, but the fact that they indeed could catch it made the female wary of her prey. She always gave a tentative sniff before allowing herself to make a meal of whatever it was she could get her paws on. Nodding once more, Enoki agreed with her about the plague being fit for the likes of those lowly creatures.

Giving the female a quick nod of acknowledgment, she proceeded to introduce herself in response. "It's nice to meet you, Sagacity. I'm Enoki Ashrelle." She announced, followed by a soft smile and a wag or two of her tail. Even without revealing who she pledged her loyalty to, the scent of her pack was obvious, though one could tell she hadn't been apart of the pack for that long due to how weak the scent was. It was weak, but it was still there. As for herself, Enoki bore the scent of no pack, but her own. She was as loner smelling as a wild could get, but this txt didn't bother her. The woman was a jack of all trades so to speak who could survive as a loner, obviously, and could do just the same had she joined Elettra's pack of Willow Ridge when she offered Enoki a home.

But finding a pack was not the main thing on Enoki's agenda. Not yet at least. For now she only busied herself with exploring Relic Lore and keeping her self at a healthy level. There was still many places to travel and still more packs to acquaint herself with. The only ones she had come across was the Ride and now Nomads Pass thanks to their member who stood before her. From what she remembered Elettra quoting, there we're many other packs that called these lands home. Breaking away from her thoughts, she spoke once more. "So what brings you here on this early afternoon? If you don't mind me asking." Another smile rugged at her lips, her head giving a curious tilt to the side.

A scout, so that was her rank within the Nomads Pass pack. Enoki continued to listen to Sage as she further explained her title by sharing the duties that came with being a scout. This was actually useful information to her, seeing as she was scouting out packs herself to see which one would fit her best when she finally decided to make Relic Lore her new home. Having knowledge of the ranks beforehand would help her that much more. She was certain that no two packs would need the same ranks to be filled as would two other packs. If she found a certain position she cared for and found a pack that needed such and meshed well with her personality, then bam, Enoki found her new home.

A soft chuckle of amusement slid past her black lips as she listened to the woman ramble on about the different names that could be given to this place, though she herself didn’t know what the name of any place was except the two previous places she had traveled to. Fireweed Rise and Heartleaf Creek. While listening with one ear open, Enoki let her mind wander for a moment on her own set of names that could fit this isolate forest that was filled to the brim with abominable pest. ”How about hell due to all the damn foxes crawling around this place?” An amused chuckle followed her statement as she shifted her weight more evenly between her back haunches.

Frankly the name of the places around here didn’t really matter to the oreo female. The name could always be changed, but the land not so much. It would be easier to remember the land as it lay than to remember some random named tacked onto it for show. But, what Enoki really wanted to do now was to snack on one of her measly prizes to hold off her hunger for now. ”So, tell me more about this pack of yours. I’m curious about the packs around here seeing as I do plan on calling here home, but I’d like to survey the different areas and packs before making my decision.” And it was true what she said.

While giving the female something to talk about, Enoki took this opportunity to lay down and pull the vixen she had caught between her paws, tearing off the tuffs of orange fur to expose the small portions of meat below. The little bitch would make a lovely snack after the fight she put up, leaving a small scratch just above her lip. While paying full attention to what Sage was saying out of respect, Enoki would steal a bite here and there before taking a gander back up at the wolf.