chayton arius One could not simply hide from another. Especially not in the hour of doubt. If it weren't for one slip of the tongue, perhaps Chayton's tracks wouldn't smell so ripely of escape and regret. For now, he runs from the paw prints already stamped in the dirt, but somehow in the heat of it all more are made. The night's trek evolves into morning as if nobody could previse the rising sun. It's a gruesome, bloody maim over the meadow, casing open wounds on the red flowers. The light somewhat disgusts him. It pours into honey irises that slip in and out of focus. The night was much easier. His thoughts carry the weight of vision, he really can't recall where he's been or where he's going. There's some kind of change in altitude up ahead, another sea of red blossoms and hill crests, but his idle lope carries the burden. That's what he is: idle. Chayton's nose brushes the wildflower petals from time to time, they really don't do much for veiling his dense frame. If it weren't so easy to spot the morose hulk of a wolf in broad morning, the world might be a better place. But instead, he runs adjacent to the sun picking through the shadows of opening buds, near tears. Surely nobody leaves their brother behind, surely nobody leaves injustice floating stale behind themselves in the wind like the bloody mouth of a dirty deed. You clean it up, you pick up the mess. It's arguable that the young "nothing to lose" wolf probably did the best he could. But the guilt just stacked right up on him as the sun screamed into his irises and the flower-stalks whipped against his legs like reminders of shameful responsibility. There is no excuse for breaking the fragile glass between blood and a promise. And how could he turn back now? |
Fireweed rise, Hush meadow, and drooping willows were the gray wolf's favorite haunts. Plus some of the best places to hunt during early dawn or late afternoon. Deer came out very early morning to graze on dew, travel to the forest for shelter and cool shade in the hot summer sun, and then come out again to feast on grass just before sunset. Though there was always the few deer who screwed the general rules and would visit the meadows and fields throughout the day. Which was the exact reason why Narime was visiting the rise herself, because she wanted to taste blood. Even if she would have to call her pack out to hunt after finding a deer.
However as the silver hunter entered the field dominated by bloodred flowers Nari would pause low to the ground, and look for any sight of prey that she couldn't yet scent. Her light blue eyes, pale as the sunlit sky, scanned over the predominantly red field occasionally gliding over yellow goldendrod and low growing arnica. She couldn't spot any deer, but the movement of another creature far to her left at the other end of the meadow peaked her interest. She watched from her high vantage point for a moment knowing that the breeze would surely be bringing her scent to the mixed colored creature. By the hues and movement alone Nari could tell that it was a wolf gliding through the flowers concentrating on something else instead of her presence. Debating on meeting with the wolf Nari stood rigid watching the stranger from a far as Chayton traveled.
"speech"
chayton arius There really was no turning back now. He'd traveled the alpines weeks before he hit the rise and it would take much longer to cross them now. Chayton met a strand of luck with the mountains. They were formidable at best, but somehow he was able to bring down a buck on the way over and a large hare on the way down. He thought many times on the mountain about taking the large deer back to Hotrah and Fredia, but he knew that one huge deer wouldn't feed an entire family. He was beating himself up for anything at this point because he knew he left the only family he had to surely die. Chayton halted on the crest of one of the rolling hills. He did look over his shoulder to see the hazy rim of those mountains in the south. There was no telling how many miles he'd covered in the past month, but he was moving nearly every hour of the day. To much surprise, he wasn't very thin, still burly and well-muscled beneath his thin summer coat. Golden eyes scanned around him, nearly missing the gray form of an onlooker. He adjusted himself, narrowing those sad eyes curiously, inhaling her moist, earthy scent. He wondered if he was in her territory and turned to face her respectfully. The last thing he needed was the full force of an angry pack teaming up to shred his tail. Instead of fleeting he raised his ears and cocked his head, stepping in her direction inquisitively. He picked his way through the flowers toward her, cautious about what lay ahead. |
She stiffened as the stranger paused in his traveling and scanned the area. As soon as his eyes came to rest on her ghostly form the she wolf felt the fur on her back raise. Her ears came forward pointing at the male in a "don't make me angry" dominant gesture. Narrowing those blue orbs onto the male as he cocked his head and echoed the straight forward ears she had she let a snarl appear for a second on her mask before smoothing out her features into a nonchalant expression. His body language spoke of curiosity, although the mixed message of his ears pointing forward offensively had the woman keeping her place. She would not move forward to greet the male. Why should she? Nari already knew the pain of trying to make friends only to have them stab you in the back. Besides, her pack was strong and filling up rather quickly. The she wolf didn't need another male to feed within her den.
So she simply stood there watching the male and waiting for what he would do. The southern eden that they were within was hunting grounds for three packs, one ally and one Nari wasn't too sure of. Three packs living here were more than enough competition for food, so if the male wasn't of a pack Nari would not hesitate to chase him from a meal. Hell, she was thinking of chasing him from the eden itself if he didn't stop looking at her the way he was. As he approached Nari let a low growl echo past her black lips.
"Who are you and what are you doing in my hunting ground..." Sure the territory here was unclaimed by packs, but Nari hunted here regularly, ever since she was a yearling. So she didn't like it when other wolves disturbed the area and kept the game species away. This male hadn't been trying to hide himself in search of game. He had simply been traveling, allowing every animal to see him and flee to the woods.