Thicket of Secrets Coming out of the woodwork

The small patch of sunlight tucked into the thicket stunk of her. Every inch of the toppled tree and the den sheltered by it's roots smelt of Iopah and her recent heat cycle. It also smelt of bitterness. The breeding season was a cruel reminder of her missed opportunity. It was salt on the wound that Kele's death had caused. As always the monster had awoken, turning Iopah into an impatient, irrational creature. So, she had dealt with the season the only way she knew how: by herself. Tucked into her den, she had avoided her packmates. Somewhere in the forest a robin innocently sang out and Iopah turned her head absently towards it. The monster within her had faded for the year. She was only Iopah again... for whatever that was worth.

For the past few weeks the only connection between Iopah and her packmates was her sensitive nose. It told her of Nina's changing scent, and, curiously Ashanti's as well. The abscences had gradually made themselves known to her as well. As the days slipped over each other Kashikoi, Durai, and Ecco all grew fainter in the thicket.

With a quiet groan she rose to her feet, shouldering her way through the dense woods. The silence was eerie as she picked her way; even the birds seem unused to the sight of her. The soft scraping caught her immediately. She turned towards it, imaging a brazen rabbit. Her eagerness soon morphed to anger at the realization she was tracking a fox. It stood, unconcerned, eating something foul off of the ground. Her lips rose in a silent snarl. The greasy creature continued to scrounge and Iopah felt rage burn through her. The feeling was not directed at the fox, though she would gladly kill it if it could be caught. No, the anger was directed at herself. The remaining member had been stretched too thin, this fox was proof of it. Everyone had suffered for her absence.

Iopah could restrain herself no longer. With a violent sound she launched herself forward. The fox spun away, not even bothering to turn to look. Coming to its senses, it shot towards the borders. The pair plunged through the thicket with Iopah snapping eagerly at its tail. The fox broke into the meadow with no indication of slowing and Iopah kept pace for several moments before veering off, cognizant of the thickets behind her. She turned back, indelicately spitting rusty fur out onto the grass.

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To fellow SW, I imagine her being scarce for 3 weeks. Almost forgot, predated to april 15.

(This post was last modified: Apr 28, 2013, 12:01 PM by Iopah.)

Hope you don't mind me throwing Antioch in here c:

Colossal paws found purchase in the loam of the thicket. It had not taken him long since his adventure between the blackberry brambles. The boy did not care for any saccharine mentalities. None of these lands held any kind of sentimentality in his heart, but they were intriguing. It was a new land for the boy, and exploration intrigued him. The journey between the two regions was swift for such a large yearling, swept forward by eager paws. Lands opened up to him, one by one, and he felt adventure strike him once more. Creatures were stirred from their nesting places as the boy trounced through. He watched deer and other prey spring away at the sound and sight of his approach. The boy was not hungry enough for a hunt, but the child in him loved the idea of a chase.

Paws struck the earth harder now, picking up a rapid tattoo. His journey was now given purpose in the small, dark thicket. If the boy had not chosen a specific thing to be chasing, he might have decided to scare himself with a few choice stories about the thicket’s haunting. Pale brown hindquarters darted into the narrow crevices of the thicket’s foliage. The slender body of the deer had evolved for the chase, and could slip away without making a sound. Crash. The same could not be said of Antioch. Using his weight, the wolf slammed through the vines and bushes that might try to block his path. Foliage was crushed beneath his weight as he kept up the chase. Je vais te tuer, petit cerf! The French accent bled through the trees as he yelled it to the frightened prey.

Antioch slammed through another copse of leaves. However, this particular group did not relinquish him as the others had. Vines snared his paws and caused the boy to struggle against them. He squirmed and wriggled his body against the foliage around him. There were a few tortured groans of wood as he felt the bindings slowly begin to snap around him. Antioch kicked off with his paws again and felt the restraints give way. The earth rose up to meet his face as he fell forward, tumbling over himself into the beginning of a meadow. Legs splayed upon the ground around him, the boy rose his head to search for the presence of his missing quarry.

Instead what he saw was another wolf. Adrenaline began to pump through his veins as he tried to extricate himself from the mess he had become. His mind immediately raced for words that would excuse him from the position he had fallen into. Syllables mumbled dumbly in the depths of his throat, but simply wouldn’t arise from their resting place. Words of salutation? Introduction? Anything? Antioch arose sheepishly from his place on the ground. Hello? Brilliant! Now if he could just form sentences.

IMAGE + CODING BY KSI

(This post was last modified: May 02, 2013, 04:09 PM by Antioch.)

Iopah moved with an easy, long-legged stride back towards the thicket. She was not in a particular hurry. It had been weeks since she had been outside and she was enjoying the feeling of a breeze unfiltered by dense shrubbery ruffling her coat. The woman paused to take in the scent of deer somewhere in the field. She had been scarce for quite some time. Now that she was back, she should gather a hunting party.

As if on cue there was the sound of a struggle just inside the thicket. Something had twisted itself in the vines. It didn't happen very often, thicket creatures learned how to avoid them. It was their loss, Iopah's gain. The head of a large rose to meet her and she froze in shocked surprise. A wolf was not what she expected, especially not coming out of the thickets. Suspicion flared inside her. Had he come from inside their borders as well? While Iopah knew the entire thicket did not belong to her pack, she was inclined to be protective of the whole territory nonetheless. After being a lone wolf for so long she had wondered if she would still have the innate drive to defend a stationary tract of land. Clearly, that instinct was still intact. As they stared at each other in surprise, her smoke-tinged tail twitched several inches higher. She was not someone to be underestimated. It was only a slight warning to the young male, not a direct threat. She waited for him to say or do something, he seemed to be on the verge of speaking.

Hello?

Was that an introduction or a question? Unimpressed she flicked her left ear. His uncertain phrase had assuaged some of her fears regarding his presence. She deliberately picked her way closer to him, keeping her eyes loosely on his form. Several lengths away she stopped, tilting her head as she studied him. "Are you lost? Is there something I can help you with?"

Her tone was brisk and business-like, there was little in the way of concern in her voice. Find out why he was here, then send him on his way. Even if he was harmless, she'd just as soon have him leave.