Sex: MaleThough awkward to navigate the cramped, claustrophobic conditions offered shelter and protection from any adverse weather conditions that may happen during the night, or worse — intruders. It was early morning, the winter sun just peeking above the mountains in the distance to the east when the wolf awoke, scenting the air delicately, ears twitching as he listened for any foreign noises before rising swiftly and abruptly to his full height. His limbs were powerful and well trained, the harsh life without a pack demanding them so, and to help wake them he leaned forwards stretching the sinuous muscles that rippled under his fur. He knew he was deep in this Thicket as he had taken his time to travel through it and he could still clearly identify his scent as he had clambered through last night and so, with one last sniff and a flash of his eyes he followed his path back, his pace as fast the trees would allow.
It didn't take long before his ears could pick up the bubbling of a nearby river and without thought his direction changed; veering from his path and instead heading for the pure, metallic scent of the mountain water. Abruptly the thicket opened immediately around the water and the release from the entrapment of the foliage was a welcome relief for the wolf who stepped forward warily, inhaling in short, quick bursts as he searched for fresh scents. Satisfied he could smell none he continued to walk forward until his front paws rested in the fresh stream, his muzzle dropping and his tongue lapping at the water gently. Throughout he kept his eyes on the tree line ahead of him, ears twisting vigilantly on his head, when you were alone after all, there was only you to keep watch. He raised his head back up, water running in rivulets from his muzzle, and felt a growling in his stomach. Hunger.
Grace was not a word that could be linked to the slender she-wolf. She moved through the thicket with the presence that was similar to a large bear, the brush shaking as she barreled through the foliage while the sharp thorns of the thicket grazed harshly against her cinnamon limbs. Angry cuts of red displayed themselves brightly against her fur, and each time a branch would catch upon her fur, a gentle whine would escape the muzzle of the girl. Why had she even come in here? Kaija had hoped to find the enticing scent of a small rabbit, but had yet to find anything. Hunting and survival by herself was not something she had endured for very long, and even as she had grown up, it was rare for her pack to even let her watch the hunts that they had participated in.
She was, even as a lone wolf, a lowly omega. It was only when her tiny nose quivered with the scent of water that her heart lurched, and her paws moved faster. Branches and twigs snapped loudly beneath her paws, and her breath came out in heavy 'huffs' from the exertion and pain she felt. Finally, without taking in the surrounding other scents or sights, the lone girl bounded to an opening that held water, her frame emerging through the foliage loudly. Her large paws began to bound in the direction of the water, and only as her pale cinnamon eyes glanced up to see a rather foreboding stranger did a yelp of surprise escape her muzzle. Her body twisted in it's shock, and her paws jumbled below her as she attempted to skid to a halt. With wide, searching eyes the she-wolf quickly pressed her figure to the ground, her body lightly trembling at the situation she had suddenly placed herself in.
Being so alert, and with the thicket so quiet in the early morning, the wolf heard the noises of an approach early. Like a whip his head spun towards the noise, sharp eyes piercing through the trees as his nostrils opened and closed in rapid succession as he tested the scents that the air carried towards him. He was unafraid but his fur bristled along his shoulders ever so slightly in response, one paw stepping forward and his head lowering as his brown ears twitched on his skull like satellites. The noise maker was close enough for him to know it was a wolf (a very noisy one), and more specifically a young female who he would judge was without a pack due to the lack of fresh, common scents of others on her fur. The noise was getting louder, most likely drawn towards the water, but he was ready and ever so slightly the wolf backed a bit further into the shadows of the thicket.
Like an eruption she poured into the clearing and without hesitation bounded towards the water, the male almost growled in his shock at her abrupt entrance but he could not restrain the tensing off his muscles and rising fur along his spine as he had leapt back and then dropped his body defensively. Eventually she noticed him and he realised that her quick movement towards him had not been an attack but instead an careless and stupid approach. She dropped to the ground and the male stepped towards her, a low growl bubbling in his throat to show his displeasure at her actions. If she was already showing herself as weaker, well, it made this all the more easier.
No sooner did her quivering figure bend towards the ground, the plain girl fell to the ground with a heavy ‘thump.’ Her chin smacked painfully in to the frozen ground and for a moment only Kaija released a gasp, her eyes blinking furiously as she fought off the red stars that swirled before her vision. She was less worried for the sudden jolt of pain that shot down her jaw line as the stranger bristled dangerously at the sight of her. Whimpering ever so softly, Kaija pressed herself more firmly to the ground, her ears sliding back to her skull as the sudden desire to play dead crossed her mind.
He growled toward her, and Kaija’s muzzle gaped open momentarily as she thought of what to say. Was she on his land? She had so foolishly rushed her steps in hopes of getting out of the hell that was the thicket that the possibility occurred to her that she had fallen in the lands of a pack.. a pack who’s members were likely as large and intimidating as the male in front of her! In fact.. The thicket was so thick that barely any prey could make it through. What if they were cannibals and lived off one another?! “Please!” She finally choked out, panic suddenly striking her vocals. “P-please don’t eat me!”
Though he did not show it this female surprised him, she seemed shocked as he growled at her even though she had welcomed a rebuke so readily by dropping to the ground and showing her weakness and not protecting her wrongdoing. His growl had stopped but his fierce eyes did not lessen their intense stare at her and he took another confident step forward, his tail curling over his back challengingly. His muscles were kept tense as though it seemed unlikely she would not challenge him, he could not be certain. At this moment she was showing herself as weaker, a fact the male was sure he could of made her see whether she knew it or not, and he lowered his nose down towards her further to sniff strongly and rudely at her fur. It definitely lacked scents of others and already he could tell she was no leader herself so it was certain she was without a pack, though how she planned to survive he had no idea.
Rather suddenly, as he was analysing the cowering female, it began to make strange noises with its mouth. His ears twitched delicately as he heard them and yet, however hard he listened he could not identify them, angry and defensive his lips pulled back over his gums and a growl bubbled deep in his throat again. What were these noises? She paused before starting again and this time he could identify them almost as a whine, her pupils were dilated and her movements were panicked. Confused again he grunted at her, his annoyance clear, and stepped back, lowering his tensed posture slightly the more confident he came at her lack of tenacity, she was harmless, weak, and not threat to him. Tilting his head to the side, ears still twitching for the noise, he looked at her intently again, what do you want?
Her pleas did not fall on deaf ears – for the male back traced himself slightly, a motion she was grateful for. The moment his nose tickled along the tip of her fur as he studied her, Kaija felt a shiver of fear continue to curl at her stomach, coiling and waiting to spring. Just as she felt the need to empty the contents of her stomach, the male took his pace back, though he did not answer her. His silence was not her answer, but the fact that he had not ripped his teeth to her flesh did diminish the idea that he was perhaps cannibalistic. That, or she was not worthy to eat.
Instead, rather than challenge the beast for anything, the cinnamon dove shifted her figure, turning her body so she was upon her back, the delicate portion of her light and creamy belly flashing up to the male in a sign of pure submission. She did not know why he stared at her so intently, and she could not bear to look up to his emotionless features. There was a quiver in her slender limbs as they stilled in the air, for Kaija could think of nothing but running the way she had come. She would choose the painful thicket over the dominant and silently scary presence of this male.
In all his time of living he could not remember a wolf so timid and afraid, yet at the same time so unaware of how it was they who caused the danger they feared. She was an enigma to him and not really a very interesting one, more of an obtrusion into his simple goals for each day. Though he was lonely — as truly, no wolf yearned to be alone — this was not company he would choose to keep. As he watched her, waiting for her to respond to him, he wondered if she was ill, he thought back to occasions where a wolf would act strange for a while until they got better and were fine. Sick. It seemed to make sense.
Without responding to him she rolled onto her back exposing her delicate under body to him in submission, he stared at her as she had confused him again. He understood the meaning of the gesture, but not the purpose of why she had just performed it at this moment. Narrowing his eyes he noticed a tremble in her legs as she laid there, belly exposed, and suddenly understood, she was scared. Walking closer to the scared one he lowered his muzzle to hers and gently, trying not to alarm her, closed his own on hers making sure his teeth did not wound her. He remained there for a few seconds before releasing, placing a lick on her muzzle, and retreating, still watching her curiously, it was something done often with submissive or scared wolves in his pack, to show them they would not be harmed.
The silence was deafening. Kaija, who had practically been panicked at the sound of his growl would have welcomed that back just to have the quiet broken. She did hear the brush of his movement – ever so stealthy and graceful for a male that size – as he came closer. She waited, her breath bated and her teeth clenched, desperately holding back the whine that threatened to expose her fear to the more obvious.
Her fears were unfounded, for the male gingerly grabbed her muzzle with his teeth, an action that assumed the role of dominance between the two.. something she was only too grateful to unleash upon him. His grip was firm, but as he loosened his hold, the stranger gave her a gentle lick of consideration before moving back. Kaija, with her plain brown fur almost blending with the frozen ground, spare small amounts of snow, felt her heart skip a beat before beginning to slow. He wasn’t going to eat her. He wasn’t even going to harm her. She rolled then, her clumsy figure gently pushing back up to her paws as her eyes barely grazed over the male before her, very careful not to glance him in the eye. Canting her muzzle, the female gave a brush of her tail in contentment, wondering if she would learn his name. “I... Thank you,” she murmured softly.
This was familiar, as his action seemed to help the scared female, and he was relieved to not feel as confused by her. She kept her eyes averted — like any submitting wolf in his old pack — and he was content that she was happy to accept that he was the lead wolf here, at least for now as his lone wolf encounters had always been brief. She made those strange, foreign noises again and though his ears twitched at their sound and his head titled just slightly to express his confusion he decided to ignore them, they bore no meaning to him and so he would act like they had not happened until she explained their purpose or it became threatening. Right now the male had decided his company was harmless and it would not be hard for him to distil a small ounce of fear in this timid she wolf again.
Now that the danger, as it had first seemed, was averted he was able to pay more attention to his other senses instead of his immediate ones and his stomach growled again, that weird sensation that he heard and felt come from him but had not made a concious decision to do it. He was hungry, he knew, and it was a demand that he was quite happy to fill and without a backward glance to his acquaintance he turned to leave. His head dropped to lap up some more water as he went but otherwise he was quite happy to move on, she held no tie for him (especially as she was so nervous he knew she would offer him no protection) and as the lead wolf in this greeting he chose when he wanted to leave. Instinctively his nose raised towards the wind as it blew towards him and he scented it lightly for prey before following it, a faint smell of blackberries and long, tall grasses giving it's location away.
The she-wolf quivered lightly as she watched the male before her. He was regal. Feral. Truly intimidating and yet for the briefest moment Kaija felt her chest lurch with a flutter of butterflies as she looked to how the smooth blend of silver and tan painted a handsome pelt across his features. He moved to the water then – though Kaija remained in her stance. He was a graceful creature, and her eyes followed him eagerly, though she was submissive in her posture.
Like a school girl with a sudden crush, the petite brown she-wolf’s tail gave a gentle flick in the air, eagerly awaiting for conversation. She was love-starved – a creature who craved affection not in the sense of romance, but of acceptance. Tiny scars littered across her slender body as tokens from her family. They had not wanted her. No one wanted her. And the poor little dove blinked stupidly as her handsome companion now turned, his interest piqued by something in the air. Kaija felt her chest tighten in a panic at suddenly being left alone, and the female took a hesitant step in his direction, her ears quickly sliding to her skull. But the stranger was as quick to leave as she had come upon him, and soon the crunch of his paws upon foliage faded to no more than a distant memory. The world was silent again, and with a low and aching whimper, Kaija slowly sank to the ground once more, not yet willing to enter the thicket that scared her so.