The sun began its fixed ascent through the mottled skies of ivory, its rays beginning to progressively warm the cool dew of the morning from the brisk evening of before. With an evident moue of distaste written across the dark plane of her muzzle as the Vielle female rose from her slumber, her sleep from the night before wasn't as satisfying as it wanted to be. Several intervals of night terrors struck her, none of which she could remember as she rose with the mounting sun to stretch her crackling joints and ease her stiff muscles, but knew the night terrors disrupted her sleep. The Subordinate claimed rest at the previous day's twilight hour, so there was no need to make up for lost sleep by spending half the day away lounging. There was a whole new world to explore, and places to scope out.

Skirting away from the Plateau den and loping down the Northern range of the Dire Mountains, the Plateau Subordinate passed an unnamed pool of water to the North, only to glide right into what was a thicket that held a sweet smelling aroma in its region. Even while the senses of a wolf were naturally sharp and her olfaction picked up the candied like scent a mile back, the aroma was amplified, and surprisingly, made her salivate. Feeling the ridges of her dark ears perk up and her neck sit a little higher upon her spine to investigate, the more she progressed forth, the more she began to notice that there was a dazzling splay of crimson found throughout the fauna. It didn't take long to note that these crimson objects were the result of the sweetened smell.

Elvira was never granted the opportunity nor honor to taste a fruit such as the mysterious berry like plants here, and seeing as how many were out of earshot and reach, there was one tree to which she immediately approached to place her forepaws upon, standing on two limbs, and trying to crane her neck as much as it would stretch, her jaws clicked in several snaps in order to obtain a branch. Well, it looked low enough for her to get at. Unfortunately, whether she was too short or the tree was too tall, she was unable to obtain what she wanted. Snorting, her forepaws fell back down to the Earth, and from there stared up to contemplate upon another way to get at them.

A small frown was placed upon the usual emotionless facade of the regal River wolf as his bright eyes swept across the orchard. He hadn’t explored the ground before him in awhile, and desperately the male hoped to find a small bit of water to satiate his never-ending thirst, for the waters of Relic Lore had finally dried up. The morning dew upon the grass had swiftly changed to frost, and Ruiko’s throat ached with the knowledge that if the situation was indeed not solved soon, he would have to gather the River wolves and follow the steps of his brother.. for they would not survive if the water never came back.


But what held him so entranced for the moment was the sight before him. Cherries remained dangling from the tall trees of the orchard when by rights and season, they should have all disappeared as winter approached. The cool autumn breeze rippled the stark gold and brown hairs of his pelt, and sudden knowledge that these delicate fruits would held juice of some form beckoned him forward.


The sun cast its bright rays across the fields now, revealing the dew-covered webs woven the night before and offering warmth to the cold land. It would be a beautiful day, though such an event was lost upon the large wolf. As he wove among the trees, his muzzle canted upward and his eyes taking in the strange phenomenon, it was only when a dark form caught his gaze that his figure froze. His eyes swept over the she-wolf, noticing the curve of her dark spine as she attempted to push her full height to reach the cherries that were just out of reach. A callous soul by nature, it was these harsh times that played upon the little bit of empathy that did exist for the male wolf. “Do you need help?”

The bright crimson of the berry like objects were tempting, as her salmon tongue ardently began to lick at the leathery outline of her jaws. It was quite unfortunate that, for her size, to even gingerly pick off one with the row of little teeth in between her canine fangs were beyond her bounds of possibility. Despite her lack of height and length to her legs, the dark she-wolf was diligent.

An abysmal masculine voice flitted to her ears, to which the dark triangular appendages immediately swiveled to the source of the voice. Soon to follow was a smooth glide of her head turned slightly back, with the molten amber of her gaze falling upon an immensely sized species of wolf and male. Coated in a rich dark agouti pattern, his eyes held a glisten of gold, asking her of his assistance. There was a strong scent upon him mixed within his natural cologne of masculinity, but nothing she could readily detect as recognizable. His presence alone made her muscles quiver and want to shrink away into submission. Old habits died hard, and for the conditioning she endured in the past, it was within any presence of any male that a female must automatically cower down into submission, stranger or not.

Tucking her tail neatly between her legs and lowering her ears, Elvira assumed the typical submissive pose as if approached by her Alpha. Giving an absent look back up to the berry like fruits and then back to the golden eyed male, it appeared as if his question threw her off guard, although she understood perfectly. “Please.” Her answer was simple, yet gracious of his offering.

His voice caught her attention, though not before the she-wolf had slid down from her position to the tree. Her head swung to him, her bright eyes swivelling across his figure as she made first impressions. Ruiko, of course, made his own. Her pelt was a deep ebony, unmarred by brown or silver, as was seen in many darker wolves while her eyes were molten lava against such a fine pelt. He was intrigued by her sudden shift to submission, and instinctually he lifted his muzzle slightly to display his dominance.


At her answer, Ruiko gave a gruff nod of his tawny head, his fluid motions pulling him closer to the task at paw. His eyes shifted from the she-wolf, now roving the height of the tree. It was unlikely he would reach as many as she desired, and if the tawny River wolf had Kinis by his side, plucking cherries from the orchard would have been much easier, for the youth could have easily climbed upon his back. He could, in fact, likely lift the she-wolf with his back and support her as she reached, but he was uncertain how welcoming that would be to either of them.


Instead, with a grunt, the male pushed himself upon his back limbs, stretching his sinuous figure up as two creamy forepaws braced his weight against the trunk. With his brown ears sliding back, the Tainn began to pluck a few of the cherries from their home, allowing them to fall freely upon the ground. Stretching his neck further and shuffling his body, the male was able to grasp about seven of the prizes before they were from his reach completely.

Taking steps back in order to give him the courtesy of room, the dark Subordinate preceded to watch as it was nearly effortless for the agouti colored wolf to obtain the berry like fruit she sought. For such a small task, any task that was otherwise obtainable by a stronger or taller figure was admirable in her eyes. Daintily plucking away the berry like items in reach, her eyes followed the descent of each berry that fell to the Earth in a gentle thud. There was about seven he was able to get, and that was more than enough to satisfy the Vielle female's want (for too many would be like an ullage than the seven collected, and didn't want to seem like she was a glutton).

The tip of her dark tail gave a ginger wag, as an appreciative and small grin passed along the corners of her maw. Once he was done, the Subordinate remained in her place, not taking a step forward or immediately gobbling up a prized berry. Instead, she kept her distance (albeit keeping her submissive stance), and tossed her nose to the closest delectable fruit that was by him. "There, you can take what you want." It was a gesture of respect for a superior and for his masculinity, for it had always been ingrained in her that males were always the ones to eat first, even if they ate it all. That was how it had always been for her in her birth pack, and would be compliant if the male destined to eat all of them for himself. There was nothing she could do about it.

As the final cherry he could reach dropped, the large male shifted his muzzle down to see if the number he had managed to gather was satisfactory to the she-wolf, but her eyes were attentively upon the prize just below him. Hiding a smirk at her curiosity and eagerness, the Ruiko pushed himself from the tree, landing his forepaws upon the ground once more in a graceful sweep.


Her tail gave a soft wag through the chilly air, and taking this as a hint that she was pleased with the amount he was able to produce, the regal male took a few steps back to allow her to her prize. His eyes scoured over her figure once more, silently pleased at her subordinate posture, only for the reason that it was welcoming from the usual aggressive rogue that seemed to pass through the lands. His own stance fell to neutral, for she posed no threat to him, and at her offer, the tawny beast gave a brief shake of his muzzle. “They’re yours,” he replied, his tone gruff from the soreness of his dry throat. A small grin flickered across his muzzle to her offer, and his shoulders lifted in a shrug. Her gesture was not lost upon him.

As it had been in her birth pack, any male would take upon the opportunity to gorge themselves of the berry like fruits without consideration for others who were standing upon the side lines craving for them. So when the prodigious male before her explained how there was no need to claim them as his (even with him picking them), it caught her a little off guard. Okay, perhaps it caught her off a lot. It went against the tradition she knew, went against the stereotype she came to know and (often) feared. If anything, there was a grin playing across his dark agouti maw, and his physical stance didn't betray anything other message than what he meant.

Elvira was hesitant, questionable. Her molten amber eyes glanced toward the closest berry like fruit by her, looking up again at the male, and then back down upon it. In a sudden fluid motion, her ebony paws glided her over to where her neck and muzzle lowered, her tongue quickly snaking out to retrieve the berry and instantly chewed. There was a wonderful, sweetened burst of flavor to explode upon her tongue, as she had not tasted anything quite like it. Not as sweet as the honey comb from a hive, but on a different plane of sweet entirely. Swallowing, there was a more readily grin upon her muzzle. Jovial that the male didn't seem outraged she would have the first bite, and how pleasant it tasted, her grin was widely displayed to him. "Are you sure? It's absolutely... divine. Go, try one, you must." Elvira urged lightly, keeping her grin.

The moment had been such a rare act of kindness from the male. She was such a timid creature, frail in every sense, like so many she-wolves he had met in his lifetime. It was perhaps why Ranger intrigued him so – she was large, and upon first glance she seemed almost masculine. Yet closer inspection revealed the curves of a feminine beauty, while he found the scars that adorned her dark, silver-flecked body beautiful. She was a warrior – an amazon, and he could not shake her from his mind.


The she-wolf before him was beautiful in her own way. The glowing appreciation she emanated as she tasted one of the cherries for the first time was what stirred his grin to widen, and the male relaxed his posture even more. Good deeds were indeed rare for him when it involved wolves outside of his pack, but the missing water had stirred a certain compassion in him, and the she-wolf’s enjoyment of this treat had thoroughly been worth the effort.


His companion seemed to revel her taste, but it was then that she turned to him, her slender muzzle lifting to his direction as a smile danced across her features. Ruiko was uncertain, for fruit and berries were foods he veered from, yet the juice that would come from such a prize tempted him, and to her request, the golden Tainn slowly crept forward to share a cherry with the stranger. Gently, the male sniffed at one of the berries, his eyes briefly flittering up to the she-wolf before he scooped the food to his mouth. Chewing carefully, the taste was not something he cared for, but the juice that coated his tongue was indeed divine. He would have to go home and retrieve Kinis and take him here.. to hopefully get the boy some liquid to satiate his thirst, even if it was minimal. Swallowing, Ruiko lifted his muzzle once more. "They're different."

He seemed hesitant at first, which would be the customary reaction of any carnivore introduced to a fruit item in their diet. Watching as how he gave into her offer to sample one of the berries, he didn't appear to be all that thoughtful with the taste. If anything, there was a simple comment to denote how contrastive they were to anything else. She nodded her head. "They are. You can have more to bring back to your family or pack, if you want." While the tasty little berries were something Elvira wanted to get a couple more bites out of, she figured maybe he wanted to try and share the rest with some that he knew.

It was then a gesture of gest where the dark Subordinate wouldn't go without an introduction after the assistance the male gave. Plus, it was only polite not to. "I'm Elvira Vielle, a Subordinate from Midnight Plateau. And you are?" Her dark skull tilted to the side slightly in inquiry.

Ruiko was far from being a fan of the fruit mother nature offered so helplessly to any creature who happened upon it. At a younger age, he and his brother Indru had played in the Blackberry Fields often, and upon a daring taunt that he would be unable to do so, Ruiko had eaten an enormous amount of the sour berries. The seeds that had stuck to his teeth had been uncomfortable, but it was the nauseous stomach-ache that had haunted him for the rest of the day that had turned him from them for good. Now, each time the Tainn male swept through the field, the scent of the berries never failed to disgust him.


However, the dark stranger before him seemed intent on her like for the cherries he had befell her, and Ruiko gave a slight shake of his muzzle to decline. “They’re for you,” he reiterated, knowing that a few cherries would never satiate his or Kinis’ thirst. Not usually so polite or open to a wolf outside his pack, the large regal regarded the she-wolf quietly as she introduced herself. “Ruiko Tainn of Swift River.” There was a small pause, and Ruiko lifted his muzzle slightly, his tail shifting in the cool air. “Pleasure meeting you, Elvira. Enjoy the cherries,” though his tone was slightly disinterested, as was a normal occurrence for the male who generally avoided wolves outside of his pack. With that, the tawny male gave a quick nod of his muzzle before sweeping off in the direction of home, slightly disheartened that he hadn't found a source of water yet.