A Million Roses

maybe they can find the moose carcass and drag it to the area where ziig & misk sleep? then we can thread the three of them if you'd like? ^^

She was a product of her circumstances, molded by the environment into a being adept and skilled at one thing and one thing only: survival. Such capability came with experience and she found herself idly repeating mantras in her head before she fell asleep: Strangers are not to be trusted. Everyone is competition. Your life is in your own paws. The captain of her own fate, Miskwaa would not be pushed around by the storm of life; ever vigilant, she would be a paragon of everything a capable, independent creature should be.

And so, while Miskwaa was capable of formality and civility, interactions that were personal and intimate were regarded as frightening, dangerous. It was rare that any one creature was treated as something more than a potential threat or tool to be used; even family, friends had been abandoned in favor of her own interests. It was not a particularly happy way to carry out one's life (certainly nothing like the fairytale stories told to pups), but it was one that had served her well thus far.

“Don't be ridiculous. I trust and respect my uncle. As he seemed to trust you, I should perhaps do the same.” It was not a guarantee by any stretch of the imagination, but her words implied a minute possibility... If anything, the stranger should be wise to take this opportunity and run with it. Alphinaud certainly wouldn't be given a better chance for months otherwise, why squander such good grace? Tilting her head slightly with lips pulled back in what seemed to be amusement, Miskwaa responded, “How respectful of you.” There was a certain sarcastic note to her words that implied she didn't find this to be a very noble quality at all. In fact, to hunt on the lands of others would have been very foolish, an open invitation to conflict were Ziigwan and her not civil beings. It was not an act of justice, but of cowardly intelligence that she was familiar with — though Miskwaa would not tell him as much.

Pondering what more she wished to ask him, Miskwaa began walking, this time turning slightly to her left so she was no longer walking directly towards the white stranger. Slowly she pressed forward, pushing through the thick growth on blooming flowers and adding rather informatively, “If you stay around these parts, it won't take you long to find a pack.” 

Sounds good :D
You post one more and then exit?
[--]

‘’Don’t be ridiculous..’’ Phin smiled as he looked at Miskwaa. She was everything but ladylike grace, and her tongue was sharp armed with unfiltered words. He was not sure what to do, either watch his tongue or speak like he had done so far. But Alphinaud discarded the idea as soon as it came. That would be ridiculous for sure. He was also quite sure she would not appreciate the change of attitude so he would just keep on his trail like he had been doing all this time. Even if she ridiculed him or scoffed on his manners. Even with the sarcasm thrown at him he simply smiled. Maybe it was because he was not easily offended, or because it was not worth it to throw a silly fit over hurt pride. Whatever it was, Alphinaud didn’t feel like investigating into his own feelings right now.

The scent of moose caught up his nose distracted him. The white wolf turned his head as he sniffed the air. It was the scent of blood and death that told him the moose was already dead. He may have said he would not hunt on their grounds, he too was a rogue and a loner. Food was hard to come by and when was the last time he had eaten? Again his thoughts got distracted, his fluffy ears pointed to Miskwaa. ‘Do you know something about the pack itself?’ If there was a pack nearby he might look into them. Maybe it was worth a shot to join their ranks, but only if he thought he could live in the pack and of course, if they were open for loners. The rusty fae seemed to hold valuable information, but he would be foolish to think she would give him anything for free.

‘I’m sure you smell the carcass too. Shall we claim it and ask Ziigwan to join the feast? It’s free food after all.’ He smiled at Miskwaa as he looked over the field of flowers. Searching in the pale moonlight of any other predator wanting to claim the carcass.

awesome! you can make an exit post or just archive it, but i'll get the new thread up and tag you and siki. :)

“Little besides location and a good guess at size.” She had spent some time snooping around in her excursions northward into the meadows and the forest beyond that. The borders were distinct and hard to miss, well-marked and carefully maintained to make their location painfully obvious. As for the numbers? It was a rough estimate judging by the myriad of scents in any given location paired with the number of pawprints she count distinguish in the dirt. None seemed overly large, though the borders to the pack in the northwest portion of the mark seemed to have a fair amount of traffic... It would be a place Miskwaa would avoid if at all possible, unwilling to come into contact with so many of her kind. Personally, Miskwaa was better off finding a smaller pack: they would be more efficient with better teamwork and no one to hold them down. Until she found precisely what she needed, however, Miskwaa was unwilling to settle for anything less than the very best.

His next comment caused her to slow and change course, turning to intercept his path as she focused her attention on the carcass. It was a sizable catch in spite of the large chunks of flesh missing from the gut. “Guess it's my —” she paused, glancing towards him with slight irritation before amending somewhat bitterly “— our lucky day. I'll take the front, you take the back?” Grinning at their wondrous find, the rusty wolf clamped her jaws around the mammoth creature's throat without awaiting Alphinaud's response. She gave him but a moment to follow suit if he so wished before promptly giving the corpse a firm, even tug in the direction of her and her uncle's temporary home...