Secret Woodlands Search the graves while the camera spins

@Koda!

She had not made that mental connection. All the logical reasons she had to protest the pack's location and the eagerness she had in thinking so little of Tokino had pushed the common link from her mind. They had both (all three of them, in fact) abandoned their packs. She flinched, not liking the fact that was pushed in her face so unexpectedly. It seemed that Koda's mind ran along a similar vein. As he trailed off Iopah looked into the scenery, following the fight between a pair of jays. Awkward as the silence was, there was nothing to say. They each knew how the other felt. She let the silence stretch, feeling the water dry on her paws.

When he spoke again she looked to him quickly, eager for the conversation to move in another direction. Her black lips twisted into an ironic smile. That was all stuff she cared little about. She shrugged, the idle gesture communicating the lack of interest she had in those topics. "The area is productive enough during the warm months, but come winter...." She trailed off, knowing he recalled the past winter. There might be enough prey, and there might not. From her blunt nature and antagonistic attitude towards them it shouldn't be a mystery that the Woodlands huntress would have no problem edging into their hunting lands if the winter grew as lean as the last. Her dedication was both an admirable quality and a fault.

"You do remember that we're to avoid the Thorn wolves?" They were Nina's order, made irrefutable by the source. She would not approach a Thorn wolves, but still there were ways.... Her expression was not reprising, but testing. She had not turned the offer down, she herself was already thinking of a loophole. Was he willing to bend the rule? "Don't forget that I will not be a welcome face at their borders."

i think the cannonball thread is close enough to finished, might as well start to wrap this up
i'll have Io mention the Thorn wolves in the 'power of change', maybe they can go talk with them?

@Iopah! Long overdue response!

Like Iopah, Koda hadn't considered his words until they had left him to disappear into the wind before he evaluated what it actually meant for them all. Here he stood, twice a deserter, and today he stood to judge another male who had left his pack to start another and though the intentions were separate, the feelings were mutual--those around them felt pain. He was happy that members of the Woods were beginning to accept his presence, he had been loyal for nearly a year and stood to compete for the leadership position when time came but these truths did not change the fact that he had left the Woods behind for his own selfish reasons before. The woman before him had challenged him on this fact before during a hunt excursion, the sting of rejection hurt, and now as they stood in the same area they were equals which was beginning to benefit him by the days.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he'd nearly forgotten that he'd asked the tawny woman a question of the Black Thorn Down hunting grounds, it had been an innocent question that was meant to pull on her talent and yet he felt that this information was boring to her. It hardly mattered how well off the neighbors were to her but Koda wanted to know whether their pack could potentially survive the winter, it would fair the Woods well if the Blackberry Fields could return to them as hunting grounds. "I would hate to see how the new pack survives a winter like last year..." he even questioned the health of their own pack but he was confident in the leadership of Nina to pull them through. When Iopah mentioned that they were to avoid the Thorn wolves, per Nina's orders, he felt an emotion of uncertainty surge through him but the potential good that could come from it intrigued him. He knew that understanding the neighboring pack could benefit their numbers if an alliance could be built, but convincing the others was another story all its own. "We'll be respectful, it'll be a quest for more information..." and when she mentioned that those of the Downs would not welcome her presence he added quickly, "and you'll have me there if nothing goes as we plan. I have a feeling though, that the Down wolves are not a violent bunch..." his assumption was all his own as he had never met a Thorn wolf himself but he was certain that unless they gave reason, they should be free from certain harm.

As time ticked on his mind wandered over thoughts of their potential journey to Blackberry Field and his time spent with Iopah, he needed this meeting and felt that she needed it as well. They were a strong pair, as the seconds of Secret Woods and could help to forge a bond between two packs if their intentions were accepted. "come, let's head back to the pack to finish drying off..." and he stood to his full height in wait of the tawny woman to come to his side before they would make their way back to their dens.

(This post was last modified: Nov 23, 2014, 07:29 AM by Koda.)

Arla and Emma are the ish and made my pretties!
Koda will most likely always be accompanied by Chiron unless otherwise stated, or requested.

@Koda! sorry this is all Iopah has that's not "we already talked, now lets go chase them!"
also I feel like they need a thread so he can see how heartless she can be to not-allies

They were still getting used to how the other thought and reacted in situations. Iopah grew up in an area where it was perfectly acceptable to wage war on your neighbors and chase them from their land during times of hunger. Even years later there were still moments of culture shock. And this was one of them. Her gut reaction had been to threaten them off their land. Koda's was to go and get to know them better. Iopah said nothing while he spoke, simply quirked her brows at several comments. At his suggestion to be respectful, she looked down at her feet in chagrin. She'd already shot that possibility full of some very nice holes.

In her stubborn way Iopah was sure she knew all she needed to know about the Black Thorn wolves. As she listened to him speak, she could hear the conviction in his words. Well, her way certainly hadn't worked. If he was going to go she wouldn't let him do it alone. He rose to his feet and she was quick to move with him. They were leaving the spring and soon may be in earshot of other. Iopah's voice was cast low as she answered. "Okay, we'll go," she allowed, "but they really are not going to like seeing me again."