Drooping Willows A Meeting with a Shadow

The deep black she-wolf, Moon, stalked through the undergrowth, her fiery green eyes fixed on the pelt of a squirrel. It was surprisingly plump, fatter than most of the squirrels Moon had seen in her wanderings and it was just sitting there as if begging to be caught. It was sitting back on its haunches, the tiny paws in the air as if grasping something invisible while a fluffy tail curled up behind it. Just looking at it and breathing in the rich, nutty scent of it was enough to make the she-wolf’s mouth water with anticipation.

Just as she was about to pounce, the squirrel’s ears pricked and it darted away. Moon pounced, trying to catch it before it disappeared, but already her prey was gone, having scampered into an unseen hole. As she stood up, her teeth pulled back into a snarl, growling slightly, as she looked around for whatever had caused the squirrel to leave. She knew it wasn’t her, for she had planned it carefully, using her stealth and the slight wind to her advantage.

In the corner of her eye, Moon caught a glimpse of wolves standing behind her and she whirled around to face them, snarling, and just as quickly pulled back. Now in front of her, were three male wolves, each with a different fur and eye color, yet looked right together all the same. They were three very familiar wolves, except they looked older, having obviously passed the age of pup-hood.

The one on the left had pure, snow white fur with piercing blue eyes like fire, and the one on the right had grey fur of no particular shade with yellow eyes like lightning. The one in the middle was the most unique, with his fur being pitch black on the top of his head, back, and tail, and snow white on the bottom of his face, his throat, chest, legs, and on the underneath his tail. His eyes were also different, the right one being a bright, fire green, and the left being the same blazing blue as the white wolf. Her brothers.

“Whitefire, Prince, and Storm.” Moon whispered, her throat closing slightly and making her force the names out. She took a step towards them when everything suddenly swirled out of focus, twirling into a ball. Everything, her brothers and the forest, vanished, leaving nothing but darkness.

Moon gasped heavily as her eyes flew open to see a bright sun, covered by the overhanging leaves earlier, shining onto her fur. As she sat up, remnants of the dream came back to her memory and she shook them away, not wanting to think about it. Her brothers had been so close, closer than they ever had been before, yet she still couldn’t reach them. Not even in her dreams.

Sighing, the black wolf stood up, giving her fur a shake before striding through the trees.

(This post was last modified: Feb 04, 2013, 03:29 AM by Moon.)

Tempest would be leaving shortly to try and find their missing leader, Koda. She felt that she ought to at least try and hunt something for the pack before she left as that was her primary job and she still felt that she needed to prove herself to her new pack. Today she decided to stay relatively close to home since she'd be heading east from there shortly. So far she'd miss out on four rabbits and managed to catch two scrawny ones. These she had just added to the cache and she was heading out for one last try before leaving.

All of her focus was on her current prey, a pair of squirrels that seemed to be playing a game of tag with one another. She was frozen in a crouch, ready to spring should they dart close enough to her. She'd learned that patience was the key in hunting fast game such as this as her speed was sadly lacking and though she could be fairly silent, she didn't have his extreme talent for stealth. Of course, though he was a fair fishermen, he didn't have her knack for that! She was so focused on her goal that she nearly missed the dark shadow that passed by to her right. Instantly tense, she lifted her russet head and scowled when the squirrels instantly darted up the nearest tree and proceeded to scold her.

Her keen gaze swept the forest of willows, intent on finding what had caught her attention and cost her her prey, albeit inadvertently. She saw another fleeting shadow of darkness moving through the trees and knew that it was a wolf. She felt better knowing what the mystery creature was yet she also tensed slightly. Though they were no where near the pack borders, they were still in the Willows, which was their haunt and hunting grounds. She needed to be sure that the stranger didn't encroach any closer to the borders. Her brother would not take kindly to that. The massive brute took his own job quite seriously as well!.

She hurried her stride to catch up to the black wolf, easily tracking her now. By the scent trail she deduced that it was a fae and that she was a loner. Tempest could only hope that she was not a trouble maker. She could certainly hold her own in a fight, but it was always a last resort with her. As she neared the other female, she cleared her throat and called out, "Miss? A word please." She stopped, her stance lifted with confidence, but not aggression and waited for the younger wolf's response.

The Calm in the Storm

At the sight of an older she-wolf hunting a pair of squirrels, Moon paused slightly. She wasn’t sure that she wanted to run into this wolf, smelling of pack life and other wolves mingled in with her scent, but at the same time, she didn’t care if this wolf saw her. More than likely, she would just see a shadow disappear in the trees and either ignore it, or think she was imagining things. That being decided, Moon continued on her way, giving a somewhat wide berth for the wolf to continue her hunt.

The black she-wolf had just slipped out of view from the other fae’s sight when she heard a voice calling out to talk with her. Digging her claws into the dirt, Moon debated on whether or not to actually obey the wolf, but decided that she would rather be in favor of a pack than an enemy of them. Maybe they would consider her an ally one day. After a few minutes, Moon turned around, her fiery gaze drilling into her as she faced the fae, finally getting a good look at her.

She was rather on the large side and was obviously strong, but surely she was also a bit slower, judging from her physique. Usually, it was one or the other, very fast or very strong, and it looked like this wolf was the stronger of the two. Which means that if she proves to be dangerous, I can get away quickly and without much trouble, Moon observed. Her fur was a variety of shades, blending cream, russet, and black all together to create her pelt, and her eyes were a bright golden-brown color. The deep irises betrayed a lot of the emotions that the wolf felt most of the time, and Moon could see that this wolf was caring, and preferred to talk it over rather than fight. Or rather, talk it over and if that didn’t work, beat them to a pulp.

”I believe you asked for me?” Moon answered, done with her analyzing. Although her voice did not betray it, the black fae was tense underneath her fur and ready to spring at all times. She was also feeling some inner conflict, with her mind roaring to her that she shouldn’t have to obey this wolf. It was accustomed to traveling on its own, and had no idea how to react to orders, even polite, somewhat disguised ones.

It almost seemed as if the other wolf would continue, but she did come to a stop and turn towards Tempest. The stranger took a few moments, appearing to look her over and take stock of the large female. Tempest had to smile to herself, since she was doing the same thing. The dark woman seemed healthy enough and her lighter build would have given her the speed that she'd needed to catch those squirrels earlier. She occasionally wished that she had the speed this young fae likely had, but she wouldn't trade being a Thorben for anything and being quite large was one of the perks.The trade off was speed for strength. Luckily she was also blessed with great patience.

Seeming satisfied with her perusal, the other fae said, ”I believe you asked for me?” Tempest wasn't sure what to make of her. She seemed a bit on edge, but not necessarily in a bad way. More like she was ready for anything, come what may. Ahh... the life of a loner... She was heartily thankful that she was no longer a loner and had a place to call her own, along with her brother Guiness. That just made her life doubly blessed. She wondered briefly if this ebony female might be interested in joining a pack. She didn't think so. At least not yet, but that was no matter right now. What mattered was that she knew where she was and where the borders were.

She gave her a small friendly smile, but never relaxed her stance. She might be curious and want to get to know this stranger a bit, but her first responsibility was to her pack and it's safety. "Indeed, I did. I'm Tempest Thorben of Willow Ridge. You are heading towards our borders at the moment."

(This post was last modified: Feb 06, 2013, 01:57 AM by Tempest.)

The Calm in the Storm

On the inside, Moon was warring with herself. Part of her wanted to refuse to even listen to this she-wolf and demand respect. However, the other part, –the bigger one– told her to give respect to this wolf instead, and just listen to what she had to say. Even so, it was very hard to subdue the wild, demanding side and unconsciously, Moon tensed, digging the tips of her claws into the dirt while she listened to the she-wolf talk.

In order to concentrate more on keeping herself under control, she focused on a flower that was blooming next to the she-wolf, Tempest Thorben, according to what she said. It was almost painfully boring, with plain white petals and a green stem, but also beautiful in its own way. The petals almost reminded her of…No! Don’t think of him. You can’t think of your brothers now. You can’t afford to look weak! She thought, growling mentally to herself. Turning her attention back to the she-wolf, Moon brought her gaze to meet her amber eyes.

“Pleased to meet you Tempest Thorben of Willow Ridge.” Moon replied, keeping her voice steady. “I am Moon Hollow. As you most likely already know, I am a loner, but prefer to call myself a Wanderer. I was unaware that I was going to your borders, but I will ask a pardon on your part. I will not spend much time inside of your territory, as I am heading past it, and it would take too long to go around.”

The black she-wolf’s rebelling side protested as she responded with such politeness to the wolf and snapped at her mind, trying to dominate over it. Moon’s other half responded with just as much resistance, forcing the demanding part away and keeping control of her mind and feelings and telling Moon that she had to stay at least slightly submissive to this wolf, even if she didn’t display it in posture. All of this went on with Moon just standing there, keeping a wall up to her eyes so the other she-wolf wouldn’t be able to read her expression.

Tempest watched the black fae. She seemed to tense slightly and she tensed herself in case the stranger decided to do something unexpected. The moment passed and the younger woman seemed to relax a fraction and seemed to be thinking something over. She finally responded, “Pleased to meet you Tempest Thorben of Willow Ridge. I am Moon Hollow..." Her words were polite and respectful, yet somehow they didn't roll easily off of her tongue... almost as if she had to work at it.

Nonetheless, she was respectful and Tempest could surely appreciate that. However, she spoke of traveling through Willow Ridge territory. Through the willows was one thing, but she could not approach the borders so casually. Guiness would tear her throat out. She knew her brother and he took his job as a guardian very seriously. She had some time on her hands, since hunting had gone out the door for the morning and she thought to spend a bit more time with Moon. She'd live alone with her nearly silent brother for so long, a bit of conversation would not be unappreciated.

She gave Moon a friendly smile and explained, "My pleasure, Moon. Unfortunately, I cannot allow you to travel beyond our borders as our Guardians are quite vigilant, but I can escort you for a time through the Willows, if you don't mind a bit of company. It will ensure that no other Ridge wolves bother you as you travel." She hoped that the other woman did not take offense to her restriction, but it really was for the best.

The Calm in the Storm

Moon breathed deeply, cooling the raging fire that was thundering under her black fur. Her other half was now calling for blood and she knew that if she didn’t control it, it would consume her and at least one of the wolves standing here would die. She wasn’t sure if it would be herself or Tempest who would make it out of that fight alive. Maybe neither of them would. After all, it was pretty evenly matched, if you counted Moon’s speed and the she-wolf’s obvious strength as a neutralizer.

Subtly, Moon shuddered as she was drawn into a flashback of the first wolf she had lost control around.

~~~~~

It had been when she was a year and a half, on a warm summer day. She had been traveling near the borders of a wolf pack that was known as the Sapphire Pack, but not close enough to be called a threat. A she-wolf had crossed the border, having scented the black fae, and wanted to make sure she was a loner and wasn’t spying for another pack. Upon seeing her, the she-wolf had struck up a small conversation, maybe looking for potential pack members although she couldn’t have been ranked higher than a subordinate, if even that.

At first, the conversation went well and Moon didn’t have any problem. But then, a nagging sensation came over her, like there was something nipping at her brain. Ignoring it, Moon continued talking with the she-wolf. However, a few minutes later, her vision went red and she seemed to lose control of her movements. She became something else, something other-worldly. Moon didn’t have any idea what was going on. Without a second thought, she felt her body attack.

When Moon regained control of herself, she couldn’t remember a thing. The scent of blood was thick in the air and spattered on the ground. She could feel it in her mouth too, the iron taste filling her tongue. The wolves of the wolf pack were running towards her, having now smelled the scent of death. But the question that Moon was still wondering still lingered: who had died?

A sudden realization overcame her and she stiffened, looking down at the ground. Below her lay the body of the she-wolf, now dead, with blood seeping from various gashes that was the same as the blood on her own fur and in her mouth. The voices of the wolves were getting nearer to her and if they saw her, they wouldn’t listen to her side of the story. They would kill her.

Stumbling through the blood-stained grass, she darted to the trees. She almost escaped without being seen but at the last second, the wolf pack burst into the clearing and saw her as a shadow, fleeing into the darkness away from their border. Thus, the rumor of the Black Shadow was born.

~~~~~

The whole memory passed in the allotted time of a split second but to Moon, it felt like she was reliving the entire thing. Breathing deeply again, she answered, “I would not mind being escorted through the Willows, if it would keep other wolves from your pack away from me.”