Willow Ridge Take a whiff of me, that ain't no rose

Not sure who exactly will be able to pop in considering Morg and Co. would have been gone by this point I believe?

RE: Willow Ridge, a skunk seems to want to sleep in your main den.

May 5th || Mid Afternoon || Partly Cloudy || 50 ° F, 10 ° C

First it was rattlesnakes now skunks, it seemed, that thought it appropriate to inhabit the main den despite the pungent odor of wolf present beyond and around the opening that surely should have warded off these curious creatures. Luckily there were no tell tale signs of her fellow pack-mates dwelling inside by the time Enoki caught a small whiff of the similarly colored mammal and followed its eluding trail right to where she sat now, but the entire ordeal still perplexed the piebald female regardless. What was it about the Ridge communal den that was luring all the woodland creatures like a pied piper lately?

A slight tilt of her dark coated skull was the only response to the unspoken question as a smoldering amber gaze focused intently on the darkened opening and the darker silhouette of the skunk whom by now had been awoken by the Ashrelle female after barking up a storm to try and scare the unwelcome guest from their home. Clearly it hadn't worked and instead only managed to irritate the thing into taking up the defensive, striped tail poised and ready to release its toxic fumes should a single step be taken closer. Of course Enoki wasn't dumb enough to make such a move, but an exasperated sigh did fall free from behind rubbery lips. Obviously she couldn't leave the skunk in place, but what option was there that wouldn't involve getting sprayed at this point? Taking who knew how many baths just to rinse the stench off her pelt didn't quite come off as an appealing idea.

Astounded, a bark of frustration was emitted before Enoki's limbs unceremoniously shifted to bring her lithe frame into a laying position, skull lowering to rest between her forelimbs with a sigh pushing her lips out while keeping her gaze on the trigger ready skunk. Not fond of and or surprised by the sharp sound of her bark, the skunk made an inaudible noise before taking aim and firing away. Scrambling to her feet as swiftly as possible, the curtain of her lips rose to click the points of her tarnished teeth together in warning at the trigger happy creature, a huff soon following. Why couldn't she have found it before it wormed itself into the den?

(This post was last modified: May 06, 2016, 04:11 AM by Enoki.)

It had been out of pure luck that Niles had not been there in the den when a rattlesnake had thought to take shelter within the Infirmary. Since Morganna's leave, he was much too antsy to stay in one place. Suddenly, there was much to be done and he wanted to pick up the duties that his sister had once done. He trusted Ravenna to help, of course, if not rise to the occasion (being female and all) but, for the most part, he found the incentive to move if only due to the want for things to not change. A part of him believed that even with @Morganna and some of their family members missing, Willow Ridge would stay the same... if only the pack worked for it to be so.

The boy had run about in a moderately sized circle around the den, searching between the trees and all the dark places. He was not sure if @Greer had left. His boyish desires all but hoped that it was merely like a game of "hide-and-seek." Evenually, his energy was spent and he laid down for a short while, napping until a strange, undesirable odor came drifting his way. Seeing the weird white-striped thing, had startled him even from a far. It was just his misfortune that he had mistook it as a friendly creature (and one that hadn't bathed in a long time).

From a place not too far away while @Enoki had come to investigate, he had been trying to rub the stench out of his fur, rolling around in the dirt and huffing through his nose. If it weren't for the sounds of the weird yucky-smelling-tiny-wolf and the sudden shuffling feet, Niles might not have realized that someone else was nearby. He rounded about the den ediface until he saw the entrance, wincing as he saw that black-and-white rump that could have only belonged to his dearest friend.

The stench had seemed to renew itself and he grimaced as he stood at the edges of the den site. His fur was bristled and it was apparent that his eyes had been glossed over with tears. If anything, he did the least he could do and warned her with a bark that was more yelp than yip. Kiki, watch out!

(This post was last modified: May 06, 2016, 10:38 PM by Niles.)

we can say goodbye, just head home, but if we're going to be alone
Chimera is currently traveling with Niles and may hop into this IC thread!

Had the striped intruder not already doused the young prince with its gag worthy perfume that oh so efficiently masked @Niles own cologne; and created quite the lingering, unpleasant aroma, Enoki may have noticed the dark coated boy sooner, but alas such was not so. Two short bounds brought the towering wolf onto the entrances lefter most side, but like a rotating mirror the skunk matched the huntress step for step never letting her out of its sight. Her attention was soon robbed, though, as the boy's yelp of a warning near by drew her bright amber gaze toward the horizon, swarthy ears cupping forward to catch the sound. It took only the quickest of seconds for the woman to train her sight on the Archer who's dark coated frame stood out starkly against the vibrant greens of spring regrowth. An almost entirely different wolf now stood at the edge of the den site in comparison to the tiny mousey boy she had met upon their first encounter.

Instantaneously the length of her tail rose from its limp position to wag merrily behind her ivory painted flanks, an easy grin tugging back the corner of her lips before her paws were carrying her away from the intruder and closer to her dearest companion. Until she grew close enough for the smell to hit her nostrils. Like an unsuspected bomb her sense of smell was suddenly assaulted by the powerful odor, a soft whine breaking past her lips as her movements halted and her head lowered to rub the sides of her muzzle back and forth a couple times across the soft blades of grass underfoot in an attempt to rid the stench. Oh, the poor child reeked.

Another whine dropped from Enoki's muzzle as her gaze lifted to focus on the doused wolf before her, the once gleeful grin that rested on her face now turning downwards into a fully formed frown. "Oh, Niles. Did you get sprayed by that skunk?" She questioned gently despite already knowing the answer to her own question. Ears pressed backward she took a hesitant step forward to nudge the tip of her nose against one of his pale furred cheeks, breath held firmly in her throat to prevent from inhaling the skunk's toxic concoction until she stepped back to her original position. Boy did he need a bath, or twenty.

(This post was last modified: May 06, 2016, 10:25 PM by Enoki.)

He ducked his head downward as Enoki's attention turned towards him. A pitiful sound, a low whimper, lifted from him and he looked back at her as if he had done something so terribly bad. His tail began to tuck itself between his heels. "Oh, Niles." Her voice and, most especially, the way she said his name, made him cry out. Another whine, another partially swallowed mewl. "Did you get sprayed by that skunk?"

Niles' large ears fell back in a quiet nod that comprised of three slow shakes of his head. Oh, how he wanted her to make this all better. Mother was much too busy, Morganna was gone, Skoll was obviously unavailable at this time of day to scare off the offensive creature, and Ravenna was nowhere to be found. Nothing hurt and the woodland "stinky" didn't have a mind to bite or scratch at him with its long white nails. Physically, he was fine, but the stench... whew. No matter what he tried, it wouldn't go away unless he hid his nose in a patch of long grass.

He observed her closely, watched how she addressed him and the manner in which she scowled. Bending at his elbows and knees, he held himself so that he was lower than her shoulder; his brows furrowed and it took him a while to find what he had wanted to say, to make himself heard. Firstly, though, he had to comprehend that new word: skunk. It even sounded like it... stank.

Had he been younger, he might have wailed for his mother. "It... looked so nice," he winced, the corners of his mouth now pointing downward while his plume of a tail had now pressed itself to his belly. "Why'd the skunk do that? I just said 'hello...'"

we can say goodbye, just head home, but if we're going to be alone
Chimera is currently traveling with Niles and may hop into this IC thread!

The sinking of his height(despite it being proper considering their differences in rank), the tucking of his tail first to his heels then brushing the underneath of his stomach and the whines that kept leaving his lips nearly tore the woman's heart in two as her bright amber gaze watched the young man retreat into himself for having believed he had done something so inexcusably wrong. The slow triple bob of his head his answer to her question before his voice finally managed to make itself heard, announcing his childish innocence in regards to the black and white striped creature.

Exhaling the captive air in her lungs Enoki took a moment to cast her attention back toward the woodland creature whom was now making a get away considering both lumbering wolves(in comparison to the small thing) were preoccupied with each other. The huntress made no move to give chase to the thing, refusing to become another victim of its spray and returned her full attention to the curious boy before her while trying her best to ignore the eye burning stench that enveloped him with each gentle inhale she took. Enoki wasn't the type to intentionally rub salt into an open wound, especially to those she cared dearly about.

"I know you meant well, dear." Paused words, she gave a small bump of her snout to his cheek again in an attempt to dispel the cloud looming over @Niles. "You must have startled it by accident. When skunks get scared they lift their tails in warning like we snarl before they spray that nasty stuff, but don't worry the smell doesn't last forever. Come on, a few dunks in the water should help. That' how we got rid of the smell back home." A warmhearted smile came to her muzzle at the memory of home, paws shifting to begin heading for the nearest source of water.

"I know you meant well, dear." This was meant to soothe him, he knew, and somehow it made him feel a little worse - even more so when she told him that he must have startled it. His jaw went slack. Clearly, in his own mind, he had thought himself still small, still cub-like, he hadn't thought of himself being, well... scary or intimidating. She at least mentioned that the smell didn't last forever. Boy, Ravenna was probably not gonna sleep next to him tonight... The worrisome thought had him reeling. He wasn't completely nose-blind to the odor just yet, but it still stung at his nostrils and made his eyes water.

She smiled at him and it was enough to lighten his spirits. As she began to walk, Niles readily followed, falling in step at her right flank with his head low and his large ears tuck back against his neck. For perhaps a small stretch of time, he simply remained quiet as they embarked on their little journey towards the water, then: "What if it doesn't go away? The smell OR the ska-hunk?" He was anxious now about having to sleep alone - in the open! - or having his parents come back to find that the black-and-white intruder had been very intent on claiming the den for themselves.

He peered at the side of her face, the base of her ear, the bit of her nose he could see whenever she faced forward, "What if- what if it marked me?! And, I'm like... I belong to it now? And it'll come searching for me tonight???" It was a silly, even juvenile, assumption, but even adolescents had their doubts; and, the way Niles had been introduced to the world, given his asocial conventions and sensitive conventions, only showed that he had quite a bit to learn - especially about the other non-lupine inhabitants of Relic Lore.

we can say goodbye, just head home, but if we're going to be alone
Chimera is currently traveling with Niles and may hop into this IC thread!

A blanket of silence had come to settle between the two wolves as they made their way about the maze of willow trees toward the flowing creek that snaked its way through their scattered trunks, one ear trained forward to listen for the bubbling sound of the smooth flowing water while the other pivoted out to the side when Niles spoke up with his worrisome thoughts. A sign that she was listening intently despite her gaze being locked on the path ahead. "Both will go away. I've been sprayed a fair amount of times as a child, yet have you ever noticed the same scent on myself? Besides if that skunk wants to test its luck, i'd be more than willing to defend you from it." Swinging her skull sideways without missing a step, Enoki let the marred side of her snout come into full view for Niles to reveal a small smirk tugging at her lips. Nothing last forever in this world, especially the stench of a woodland skunk, nor would she let harm of any kind come to those she cared for.

Turning back around the piebald woman continued their trek, shifting her paws westward once the faint churning of water teased the woman's eardrums. Sure enough it only took a few more minutes before the angled banks of the creek came into view and bright amber eyes watched the current move slowly over the collection of deposited pebbles and other natural debris. Glancing over her ivory patched shoulder at @Niles another reassuring smile was offered before her ebony paws began the descent down the muddy embankment to leap into the shallower end of the water, slowly wading out until the water level rose to just beneath her stomach. Turning around to face the shore and stinky child, a small nod of her skull signaled it was safe to join her.