Riddle Heights On Top of the World

Owch! The black wolf winced as one of his paws slipped on the snowy rock, forcing him to swiftly put his weight on the other leg, stretching his scars painfully. Why was he doing this again? Carefully finding fresh footing for his stronger leg, Drestig Avalon shifted his weight from the awkward position, and rested his sore shoulder; I might just have bitten over more than I can chew here... He cast his orange gaze up along the cliff, narrowing his eyes to glimpse the top. It was still far up.

It was one thing to go mountain climbing in the heat of summer, on strong, tried legs; even though his wounds were healed and his body well rested, he still felt weak after the winter. But that was probably why he had send himself on this ridiculous mission, he wanted to prove to himself that he was fully healed and healthy. Now that the snow finally seemed to truly be melting, the ebony lad was eager to go exploring, see more of the land where he had made his new home. So he had chosen to cross the mountain ridge; A truly BRILLIANT plan! Oh, but simply making it safely across the mountain wasn't good enough for this brute! No, he had to go and choose the steepest outcrop of them all and try to reach the top.

Sighing heavily, Drestig glanced back down the way he had come, shortly wondering whether it wasn't best to turn back; Forget this stupid expedition... No! His head swiveled back to the path ahead, he had made it this far and he would reach the top! He had been born in the mountains after all, he was used to hard rises. Growling defiantly, the black pelted male stretched out a leg and took another step, then one more. Slowly, but surly, making his way up the slope. Here in the heights, the snow still lay thick and the air was still cold and crisp, but as long as care was taken, it was possible to make it over the ridge.

With a last push of effort, the man made it to the top, pulling himself up on flat, snowy ground. Panting heavily, but with a victorious smile, he inspected the world before him. And oh what a glorious sight! Above, the sky was clear and azure blue, the sun, though still cold, shining brightly down on Relic Lore. Beneath his paws lay The Wildwood, blanketed in snow, but with many touches of green emerging from the day old frost; SPRING! The dark boy grinned. It was finally coming, and he was happy to welcome it.

Word Count: 443

Dawnthieves.de & Burtn @ DA

<3 Hope you don't mind this...

i took a walk around the world

miss anstice

to ease my troubled mind.

Anstice had been traveling from months. Her origins unknown to most as far as the rest of the world was concerned. She had reformed, gone insane, reformed once more and then gone pure evil. It all depended on what she wanted. The mountain had been fairly easy for Anstice to scale upward. Her large frame went up it with ease. She had been born in a valley though, so her training in endurance was literally climbing mountains at a child [around 8 to 10 months]. Her sleek white fur was clean and freshly groomed. She had to hide who she was under the alias Anstice. She didn't want any wolf to know what truly happened that fateful day. No wolf could know about the pain or suffering that she may or may not have gone through.

Her dark copper eyes narrowed at the slightest scent she had caught. It was another wolf, his fur as black as charcoals and his eyes fires burning orange and proud. She slowly closed in on the wolf, the spring weather around her a relief from the long and hard winter that she had endured while on the run. She said nothing and stood behind the man, her eyes held a soft light. Would he notice her among the melting snow? She hoped not. She was not the kind for a social interaction. Her paws crunched slightly, the only way to distinguish her because of the direction the wind was blowing. She felt the bitter mountain winds hit her face and she let a smile loosen on her muzzle. Crunch. Crunch. Cruch. Her paws in the snow that was melting slowly as the crunched. She paused briefly and watched him further.

The mysterious girl would not speak.

(This post was last modified: Mar 30, 2014, 09:15 PM by Anstice.)

The sound of steps in the snow made the ebony lads attention turn from the scenery, ears flipping back at the rhythmic crunch crunch. He stood frozen for a moment, trying to identify the animal by carefully smelling the air and trying to zero in on the sound; Food? But the tread was too soft, paws not hoofs, sadly. But what was it then? It sounded too big to be a fox or bobcat; Don't tell me there're cougars up here! The steps seized, right behind him. Preferring to face a threat head on, the dark male spun around, teeth barred, hackles raised. His flaming eyes scanned the snow covered mountain, and came up empty; Wait, wah..?! And then he saw her, pristine fur almost invisible against the white cover, despite the size of the wolf it covered.

Posture falling from a full on aggressive display, to minor agitation, Drestig glared at the white woman, voice ominously cold as he drawled: "And do you have a reason for sneaking up on me, or do you just enjoy playing with fire?" While he didn't especially want to fight this strange girl, her appearance had startled him, and he did not like to be taken by surprise. He kept his smoldering gaze fixed on her, waiting to see her reaction; WHAT was she thinking?! If he had been the jumpy sort, he could have knocked her right off the mountainside in his alarm. Whoever she was, she certainly was brazen, and he wasn't sure whether he liked it.

Word Count: 256

Dawnthieves.de & Burtn @ DA

i took a walk around the world

miss anstice

to ease my troubled mind.

Anstice held herself in a rather smug manner, her eyes calm and collected as he asked her why she was playing with fire. Anstice only smiled and gave a hearty laugh. "I'm against the thought of playing with myself boy." She said in a harsh and cold tone. Then creme white girl waited for him to try and make some ridiculous comeback that she could most likely top. She had to admit that even though she hated the starvation it brought, she loved winter. The snow made an excellent camouflage. She was never one for being polite, in fact she saw it as a form of lie in itself. Shouldn't I be all for being polite then? She wondered briefly as she kept her gaze on him.

He seemed to be startled. Perhaps that had been the cause of his aggression. "Calm down now, I'm not going to fight you." She said, although she had no idea if that was a lie or not. Her tongue rolled across her teeth and fangs as she blinked slowly. Her white fur started to bellow slightly in the harsh winds of the mountains. It was a damned good thing that she had such thick fur. She yearned to fight but she knew better. Who would help out a poor little loner like her? None if they knew what plans she had inside her head. Her mind started to unravel and her thoughts became more clear than before when she realized what she needed to make everything possible.

A child, a good child to raise to my own evil standards. She told herself but knew that it would not happen that season. She was too young to actually be in heat as far as she knew although she did have a soft scent starting to emerge. It was not strong though, it wouldn't be that season at all. She gave a small roll of her eyes and waited. Hail Sithis. She told herself.

Ooc: Rawr, grumpy Drestig is grumpy!

Her response did not placate him, not the words, nor the tone they were spoken in, and his answer was a simple one; he snarled warningly; I won't waste wits on this juvenile bitch! His hackles pricked, tail arching high over his back, he would gladly teach her to respect adults, forcefully! She didn't seem to be interested in that; Too bad missy! "We're two to decide that, dear!" He said, poisonously, glaring at the snow white damsel. It was still possible for her to safe herself from his wrath; If she would shoe a little COURTESY!

In truth it was rather funny, the dark man wasn't normally strict on formality - in fact he found it rather dull and oppressing - neither was he overly prone to violent outbursts; So what is it about THIS ONE..? His flaming gaze slithered over her like a snake in the grass, face contorted like he was watching something vile. Her pelt was pristine, body large and muscular, yet not so bulky as to make her appear masculine; yet he found her extremely unappealing. The cold winds made her lengthy pelt flutter wildly, at these heights were there was no trees to slow it even the mildest of breezes could be powerful, and he felt it tear at him too, tousling his shorter fur, threatening to push him of the ledge. He didn't let it face him.

All his attention was on the girl, her every move carefully registered by his smoldering eyes; So she isn't gonna fight me, ha..? He wasn't at all keen on scuffling up here, one false step threatening to throw them into the abyss , so he waited, holding his ground; for now. But his posture left nothing to be misunderstood; One wrong move..! Baring his teeth, he growled at her: "Who are you?!" It was an order; she would tell him her name, and her ties, or he would drag it out of her!

Word Count: 327

Dawnthieves.de & Burtn @ DA

OOC: Sorry this is really sucky </3

i took a walk around the world

miss anstice

to ease my troubled mind.

Anstice would not answer the man because she would be lying. There was nothing wrong with a lie, after all she told them so often. It was more of a moral issues. The white furred lady simple gave a snort from her nose and answered. "I am an unknown wolf and I prefer to stay that way. I was quite fine with observing but then you are the one who got all defensive." She said with a wrinkle to her snout. Her black moist nose picking up faint scents in the distance but she chose to let those go. They smelled of rabbit but her nose could be deceiving her that winter. Her brown eyes hid an emotion that she herself was far too familiar. It was rage.

Luckily she was good at hiding her emotions.

The Alexa woman took a deep breathe and finally spoke again regretfully. "I'm Anstice." She made it clear that she did not want to give up her name but she did for the sake of keeping the peace between herself and this man. Winter was ending and she was still weaker than she would have liked to be and so she would not risk getting in a fight. The sun was hot on her back and it felt good. The cold never bothered me but I really enjoy the sun more. She told herself to get her mind off the pure rage she felt for the man ruining her observations. She was not the kind to pull a deke. She did not plan to deceive him by a fake attack or fake since of peace. While she really was an evil natured wolf she did enjoy fighting fairly.

Edit: @Anstice - just thought I should tag to make sure you see this, since it's SO late :(

The cold winds kept tousling about his fur, its icy fingers slowly creeping into his ears and nose; I thought it was supposed to be SPRING! Frankly, the whole situation was obnoxious, the cold was getting to him, and this strange female was absolutely vile. Her reaction to his commandments was displeasingly faint, a haughty sound leaving her nostrils. Drestig gave a low growl at her refusal to give her name, take a threatening step forwards; Does she not think I will make good of my threats?! He was greatly tempted to do so; Wipe that attitude off her bony face! But then the dame seemed to change her attitude, offering, though be it clearly regretfully, a name. Just a name, no other hint as to her hailing. But it was, at least, something.

The black man's posture fell slightly in response, lips covering back up his sharp ivories, tail lowering to a less dominant, alert position. He twitched an ear at the pristine woman, burning eyes still locked on her form, aware of her every move. After a moment of silent scowling, the dark lad raised his voice again, the tone cold; "And where do you come from, Anstice..?" He spoke her name slowly, savoring it rather than spitting it at her, like he wanted to; still, it dripped with descent. He didn't know what exactly it was about this wolf, but something definitely rubbed him the wrong way. Her stealthy approach had startled him, but it was more than that - he was over his shock at this point - yet she still made his skin crawl.

She was a snake, fur and legs and whiskers cleverly disguising the truth, but there was no doubt about it; sneaking, slithering... He was beginning to regret this little sally of his, if all these mountains had to offer were freezing winds and reptiles in wolf pelt, then he didn't really wanna know what lay beyond them; Still... I've made it this far... He pondered absently, most of his attention was still on the wolfess, awaiting her answer, her next move.

Word Count: 350

Dawnthieves.de & Burtn @ DA

(This post was last modified: May 03, 2014, 09:28 PM by Drestig.)

Losing my sight, Losing my mind

Anstice Alexa

Wish somebody would tell me I'm fine

Anstice gave a small grin as he asked where it was that she had come from. Did he not remember what she said earlier? Had she even said it in front of him? Oh well, she'd just had to tell him. "I come from everywhere, nowhere, and far in between." She stated simply as she turned to leave, he was just wasting her time. She was gifted with the sly, sharp instinct for self-preservation that passes for wisdom among the rich. She reminded herself of her mother's words. It was rare that Anstice ever thought of herself before her identity switch. She hadn't always been the sly girl she was today. She remembered something she had said to her mother not long ago. "I really like the idea of being a bit unpredictable. I'm known for being a nice, easy-going person with a straightforward exterior. So I think a bit of me wants to be sort of sly and devious."

She finally realized that she had pushed a line but felt it was too late to correct herself. "Listen... I'm sorry, I really am, but I don't want a fight nor can I afford one. I apologize for my behavior in exchange for the right to leave unscathed." She finally said after a small pause. She knew this wolf wasn't going to go and curl his tail to let her slide by after the threat he had just posed to her when she answered slyly. She held a deep breathe as she waited for an answer, a strange personality shift of the almost bipolar girl. She wasn't bipolar because she chose when to act nice and when to be a rude ass bitch. The man had the honor of seeing both sides of her that day.

Ooc: Jeez, I thought Anstice was supposed to be the bipolar one o.o Well, it's late and new plot ideas are making their way into my characters -.-

She grinned at him. The snake had the nerve to grin at him! Instantly his posture was back at its highest, tail curled over his back, hackles bristled, teeth bared. And then she spoke, and her words made a low snarl curl out of his throat, this was not the time for riddles! ENOUGH of this! She needed to be put in her place, she needed to learn when enough was enough, he would show her the wrath of the Avalons!

Something cold ran along his spine, smoothing down his hackles. His eyes widened in horror; No... What am I THINKING? NO! The black man's head jerked up, body stiffening in a pose somewhere mid between aggression and shock. The white woman had turned to leave, he hadn't even noticed, he was stuck in his own head, stuck in the past; No, no no no, no no NO NO NO! He snapped his jaws once in the air, closing his eyes; Get it together, you're in control! He breathed, slowly; in, out, in, out. Slowly, he lowered his head, eyes still closed; In, out, you're in control. Gradually, he felt his heart slowing, his body calming... He shook his head, tried to clear it; This isn't supposed to happen anymore! This hasn't happened since... His jaw clenched; You're in control.

The female's voice cut through his fog, the words so different from her previous outbursts that he would have been baffled, if he wasn't already. The ebony male opened his eyes, staring at her blankly. His whole posture had dissipated, shoulders and tail suddenly sagging where they had before been held high. Looking at her now, he wondered what exactly had been his problem with her in the first place. Sure, she'd been snarky, unlikable, he had met wolves he didn't like before... Shaking his head, Drestig spoke, voice as deflated as his posture; "Yeah sure, go. I'm not gonna stop you. I... Overreacted." He blinked, looked up at the sky; It must be the mountain air, I need to get down from here. Looking back to Anstice one last time, he smiled, a thin shadow of his usual grin; "Just... Consider what you say next time, Anstice from everywhere and nowhere, others might not be as... changeable as me." He turned from her then, heading down the mountain, a shiver running over his body; I better find a lower route on the way home...

EXIT

Word Count: 405

Dawnthieves.de & Burtn @ DA

Losing my sight, Losing my mind

Anstice Alexa

Wish somebody would tell me I'm fine

She was grateful when he relaxed and explained that he was not going to stop her from leaving. The prankster-like female offered a small appreciative smile to the man before turning to leave herself. She was thrilled to have gotten out of a fight and figured she would need to find a pack soon. She drew a soft breathe as she worked her way down the mountain side towards the west. She wanted to explore and more importantly find a place she could settle down in until she found it time to take up her own kingdom, if she ever did.

She had to admit that part of her wished to have found the man that she had just encountered while part of her had some common sense left in it still. She could not afford a fight with her still being weak from winter. She had a battle lust that she rarely acted upon because often the tedious common sense did end up taking over. Nevertheless, she had some exploration to complete. She didn't look back on the encounter and she most likely never would. It was better to forget about wolves before they turned into enemies in your mind.

End