Sacred Grove so flows the current

Rais strolled through Swift River territory as if he owned the place. He took some care as to slink through silently, but was otherwise unconcerned with getting caught. He wasn’t really looking for anything in particular, just having a look around. It was a very beautiful forest, quiet, with occasional trickles of rain and dripping leaves, and birds singing merrily in the summer drizzle. The place had a sacred feel about it, with verdant moss hanging from the branches like relics. The scent of tree bark and moss was a relaxing perfume and the moist, spongy ground felt nice under his toes. It was a relaxing place to be and Rais was simply enjoying the sights. Maybe if he could find a nice hidden nook somewhere he could even stay awhile.

Having been lulled into a sense of tranquility by the forest, he was caught completely off guard when the sound of scuffling paws and a fierce snarl came up behind him. Instinct propelled him in a dash forward, but he wasn’t quite quick enough. He yelped when a clump of hairs from his rear end were pulled right off. He spun around to face his attacker after gaining a few feet of distance, eyes wide.

Oh, the lady from the river. Well, crap. His mind danced through a variety of ideas and excuses, and quickly settling on his most favorite excuse, he responded, <b>“Oh! Cali! What luck running into you here! It seems I got lost…”</b> He had the most sheepish of grins on his face, which really looked a little insincere. He’d been caught red handed, and unless this wolf was really naive, he doubted she’d fall for it. He took a couple steps back to give himself more distance, more room to maneuver and make a run for it if, no, when Cali charged. His eyes darted over the scenery, checking for anything that might trip him up, or anything that he could use to hinder the woman.

Rais lunged forward with surprising speed, but it wasn't quite fast enough. Cali felt a moment of satistaction when she heard the young man yelp as her attack landed on it's mark. The little interloper spun around and actually tried to spin a yarn about being lost. <i>Seriously? Did he truly think her a fool?</i> He was aboout to find out just how wrong he was. Green fire blazed from her eyes and her fangs flashed once more, snapping at the air in anger. This little silver tongue was about to find out just how seriously she took her position.

Cali growled as she spit out his fur. Her voice was hard and cold when she spoke. <b>"If you are not off our land by the time that I count to three, you will lose more that a bit of fur!"</b> She paused for a moment to let her words and her seriousness sink in, then she began, <b><i>"One... two...."</i></b> She walked forward a step with each word and her fur bristled even more. She snapped at the air by him, spittle flying at him, then lunged with her final word, <b><i>"Three!</i></b> He had taken advantage of her good nature and had crossed more lines than one when he entered River territory. Young Rais was about to see her new colors.

Never Underestimate a Heart of Fire...

Nope, she didn't buy it. He had figured she wouldn't take the excuse. But he didn't regret trespassing, or lying either. If he hadn't snooped into the territory, there would always be that itch of the unknown. He was glad that he had snuck in, seeing as this forest was so beautiful. Some part of him liked getting into trouble and working his way back out of it. So he was viewing the encounter more as some sort of dangerous game than a real threat. Though he did wince and draw back when the woman started to snarl and snap at him. Her expression really was daunting. He had nothing to say back to her warning, and could only apologetically smile, ears pulled back.

Then she began to count, closing the distance on each number. Her approach forced Rais to take cautious steps back to keep his space. He kept low to the ground as he moved, muscles tensed like springs and ready for action. <i>One… Two…</i> He hadn't even waited for 'three'. As soon he heard the clack of her toothy threat his <span class='word'>volant</span> limbs uncoiled and he went flying through the air like an oversized hare. <i>Three!</i> Rais leaped over Cali's charging form, and as soon as his paws met again with the ground he took off at a run.

He didn't bother to look back to see if the female was following. He nimbly clambered over a fallen log and skittered his little body underneath and through a shrub, twigs sticking to his fur like it was velcro. He didn’t look scared though, more like he were simply having a race, one that he would rather win.

Before she'd even gotten to 'three' the slippery little bugger was in action and actually jumped over her as she attacked. She hadn't seen that coming, that's for sure. Instead of bolting towards the river and exiting the territory, he was actually fleeing farther into it. The little idiot. He was going to run into Marsh with a move like that and he'd lose his head rather than a mouthful of fur! She wanted him gone, but she didn't want him dead. He was heading straight for the heart of Sacred Grove. Towards the puppies..

She bolted after him with her own considerable speed. With his small size, had he been older, he would have left her in the dust. Luckily for him that was not the case and she caught up to him and chased him in such a manner as to angle him back towards the river. It seemed to be working, but not fast enough. If they ran across another member of the pack, Rais would be dead. There would be no mercy on him, not this far into the territory.

Cali put on an extra burst of speed and gathered her breath to shout, <b>"Do you have a death wish? Head for the river, pup! You're heading for the den!"</b> She could only hope that the little silver tongue understood the implications of her words.

Never Underestimate a Heart of Fire...

The pattering of paws and rustle of leaves behind him hold him he was being chased by the woman. In his haste to escape he hadn't checked which direction he had was going, and unbeknownst to the boy he was actually running deeper into the territory. The place was unfamiliar, and every tree, stump, and mossy rock looked just the same as the last, so he wasn't sure just where he was going. For all he knew Cali was chasing him in circles. If he had been focused on anything other than running, he would have noticed the scent of the pack was only getting stronger.

Cali was quick and Rais had to work hard to keep her from catching him. As it was, she was constantly on his heels. Suddenly she sped up and shouted at him, something about a den? Did she mean a bear den? Well, that would make sense. Someone with a death wish would run towards a bear den. If it were a bear den though, she would have said bears, not den. The bears would be the important part, not the den. What else lived in a den? Wolves lived in dens, and it was summer, so pups also lived in the den, too. <b>"Oh crap!"</b> Rais dug his heels into the ground, skittering to a stop. Wolves with puppies were not something he wanted to run into. Hyper protective, the pack would surely rip all his limbs off if he, a loner, came crashing in. Shoot first, ask questions later.

He wasn't sure why Cali was helping him out, and he didn't expect as much seeing as he had deceived her and also trespassed onto her pack's land. He wouldn't worry about it though, he was just going to get out of here. He spun around, finally seeing the white wolf face to face since the chase had started, and without waiting another moment he ran past her. This time he ran what he could guess was south. Relief washed through him when he finally heard the rushing of the river. He splashed through the water, and once he reached the other side he stopped and shook out his fur. He looked across the river to see if the lady had followed him, panting to catch his breath. That was more running than he usually did, that was for sure.

The young trespasser ran on for a few moments after her shout. She gave a small growl of irritation and thought that she'd have to prepare herself for another desperate attempt to save the pup from himself when the message must have finally clicked in his slippery brain. He slide to a halt, scrambling to change directions and was headed the other way in the space of a few heartbeats. <i>Agile little thing.</i> As he flew past her, she gave chase once more. Mainly to do her duty and see him off of the territory but also to be sure that he didn't get himself into more trouble en route.

She heard the river about the same time as he did and gave a sigh of relief as she continued her pursuit. She thought that she had learned enough about Rais to be fairly sure he would leave and stay gone. He'd had his little adventure and she hoped that he realized just how close he had come to true danger. The kind that you didn't kid around with without courting death. He plowed through the river, sending water into the air and stopped only when he reached the other side. The young man shook his dark pelt free water and turned back towards her as she stopped on the near side of the river. If he gave her cause, she would be across in the blink of an eye and shred him a new hide, but she figured that would not be necessary.

Cali panted lightly, having a good bit of stamina to back up her speed and gave Rais a stern look. <b>"That was not well thought out, young one. I wouldn't tempt the fates like that again."</b> Although her job might be to keep the unwanted away, that didn't mean that she had to want to eat them for breakfast or see them killed. She was a kind wolf at heart, no matter how much training she put herself through to toughen up. It was what the rest of her was built upon, but it also would not prevent her from attacking to save herself or her pack mates. The young man didn't need to know what a tender heart she had once been and a stern warning would serve him well. <b>"If I catch you over here again, for any reason other than a personal escort for joining, there will be no <i>'talk'</i>,you will get no warning and there will be no easy escape.</b> Her voice was filled with the confidence that showed in her beautiful white form, which leaned slightly forward as if in preparation for attack. Her head and tail were high and her emerald eyes blazed with the promise to back up her words of warning.

Never Underestimate a Heart of Fire...

Across the river Rais saw the lady reappear from the trees, and for a moment he was worried she would cross but she instead stood on the bank. Cali gave him a reproachful look before chastising him like a naughty pup. He only bobbled his head to give the artificial appearance of listening, but he had really just threw the warning in with the other thousands of reprimands he had received over his short lifetime; in some dusty old box in the back of his mind that often went untouched. Rais knew when he was doing something risky, but often ignored those little warnings that would go off in his own head. How boring life would be if he never went where he wasn't supposed to, or didn't do things he shouldn't.

The woman struck a fiercely regal pose and issued her final threat. The boy resisted rolling his eyes, and instead called across the river, <b>"Of course, madam."</b> He gave a cheeky wink, then spun around and trotted off in the direction of the mountains, seemingly without a care in the world. Rais had nearly ran into some real trouble here, but he had no regrets.

<span style='font-size:7pt;line-height:100%'>OOC: Reply/archive or archive?</span>

Although he appeared to be listening to her, she had the strongest feeling that her warnings were going in one young ear and out the other. It almost made her wish that Marsh had come upon the little scamp with her. Then he might take this a little more seriously. Her at her fiercest couldn't compare to Marsh at his mildest as far as lasting impressions went. Ahh, well. He would pay the price one day when his luck ran out.

As he turned and headed off as if he had just finished frolicking in the flowers, rather than running for his life, she knew that he had already discarded her advice. She wished him luck, but she had a feeling that he would be in many scrapes before his youth was past. With a last shake of her head, she turned to the south and followed the river, reenforcing the packs' scent as she went and keeping a sharp eye out for cheeky trespassers.

Never Underestimate a Heart of Fire...