Blackberry Fields Blind like the three mice

Oh, it was beautiful out. Pakuna padded among the blackberry bushes,
nostrils opened. The invigorating scent of the berries drew her in, able
to taste the sweet juice on her tongue already. They were growing very
well, the berries themselves looking like small dark bubbles stuck together.
Her tail flicked as she canvassed a well growing bush. She brought her
maw forth slowly, gently. Parting her jaws, her fangs clenched lightly
upon a small berry which certainly was not yet ripe. Obviously not caring,
the wolf tipped her earthen head back, allowing the berry to slip to the
back of her mouth. She chewed thoughtfully, suddenly puckering her
face at the sour flavoring.

Releasing a slight titter, she now lowered her nose, scenting the area.
Nose nudged at a small pellet of rabbit feces, and she raised a brow.
It was quite fresh. Bringing her head up, her pale emerald eyes gazed
around the field. The grasses were growing, their healthy blades ext-
ending themselves in their autotrophic way. She smiled to herself,
soon laying down beneath the bush in which she had elegantly plucked
the sour berry from.

<blockquote>It was the scents that brought him to the area, past the grey fields of ash with their sprouting greens, past the towering conifers and the broad leafed deciduous. The caress of a breeze almost too warm for the surrounding atmosphere rustled his fur, heated by the rays of the sun, swirled past his nostrils before it continued it's journey away from him and on to more unsuspecting victims. The breeze had carried with it the scent of food, though not his typical forage. While he was surviving, as he had been for years, on mammals his size or smaller, he wasn't afraid to supplement where he could. The smell of ripening fruit was abound on the breeze. Though it was not strong enough yet to be a sweet scent, he was more than willing to see what he could of the area. It might mean a more bountiful meal later in the season.

It took him some time to reach the bushes, though along the way he found more than what he anticipated. He spent his time thoroughly picking over the not quite ripe wild strawberries he found as well as a handful of elderberries. By the time he reached the blackberry fields and began to inspect them, he had a small pocket of food in his stomach, though it seemed only enough to make him wonder what else he could find. Standing over the plants, he perused the branches until he found what he was looking for.

He stared dubiously at the small berries. They ranged in color from off white to a deep red, a few hanging in the less sun veiled areas beginning to bruise a deep purple. He plucked one such berry neatly from it's stem, eyes narrowing from the anticipated sharpness of the taste. It wasn't terrible, palatable even, but it certainly wasn't his first choice for grabs. The elderberries had been much more to taste. He stepped back, interest apparently lost for the moment, though he took note of his current location for a later date.

He shook himself, coat quivering from tail to the hairs that ruffed the back of his neck, before he looked back over the expanse of land he had traveled. His tail raised, ears perked as he gauged which direction would be most beneficial. He thought that anything water related might very well be an ample source at this time of the season. He set out along the line of bushes, keeping roughly an eight foot distance from them.

He scented her before he saw her, lying there beneath the bushes. In his usual style, he choose to keep moving, words unspoken. His pace was slow and his gaze would gradually shift towards her as he came closer, though he offered no greeting as he offered no show of aggression. </blockquote>

Pakuna continued to lay beneath the bush, her alleviation quite apparent.
Her body was eased against the blackberry bush behind her, pelt gently
touching the leaves and small branches. She closed her eyes for a few
moments, savoring the heat from the sun that warmed her tawny toned
pelt. Within moments, though, her comfort had dissolved.

The wind had changed, bringing the scent of the beast towards her nostrils.
Pakuna's fur crept on end, flesh forming goosebumps. Who was this? He did
not seem to carry the scent of other wolven, therefore being a loner. Green
eyes flickered about, suddenly spying the form of the wolf as he emerged from
behind a bush that was contorting his figure. She peered at him, almost gawking
at his incredible size. Her tail flicked in interest as his eyes looked over to hers.
Heart skipping a beat, she continued to lay, observing what the animal would do
next.

She did not want to get up, for she could not predict the actions of this wolf. Jaws
parted, and Pakuna released a gruff bark into the air, signifying that she meant no
harm. Her comfort would be determined by the actions of the lone wolf.

Morning found him belly up in a mess of bushes. They weren't blackberry bushes, since he had discovered that they had thorns. He rolled over and crawled out, stretching and grunting sleepily. Usually he spent the night wandering and slept the early hours of morning away, but he had filled up on the blackberries enough to settle him for the night. He licked his lips, which were stained purple from the sweet berries, and looked around. Birds were singing and there weren't any signs or smells of bear-- they were prone to the Fields and he'd been avoiding them as best he could. It helped that he could outrun them, but sleeping in a bear territory never sat well with him.

Aksel lifted his nose and sniffed again, just to sniff. He wondered if his stomach was going to disagree with the fruit he'd eaten as he ambled down an overgrown path made by deer. Overgrown? Hm, not good. He would have to find another spot to make his den soon if the deer were getting spooked. He made his way down into the fields, his mind buzzing. What if today he called for others? What if he was ready to join a pack? He sighed and lay among a patch of flowers, so that he could sniff them while thinking.

Probably so, it was rather boring being a lone wolf. He didn't have anyone to tease or surprise. But he did have a lot of time to think. It was a difficult decision. If he were to join a pack, he could no longer go wherever he wanted and he certainly wouldn't be able to keep his food to himself. He snorted at the flowers and licked a paw. How selfish he was becoming. Definitely a sign he should find a pack fast.

Movement caught his eyes as he spotted the two wolves and in an instant he was on his feet just barely keeping a hold on the urge to go barreling down the small hill to greet them excitedly. It was times like this that he remembered just how young he was. He lifted his tail and began towards them anyway, his trot quick and his gaze intense as he approached faster and faster until finally he was loping and just when he was on them, he slid to a stop. He stood there, his somber expression appearing completely disapproving, while he tasted and examined their scents. He tucked his ears somewhat, suddenly remembering that he should let them know he was a harmless old git and approached the female laying underneath the bushes. She had many smells on her and as he got closer, he sniffed more deeply until he was forced to sneeze.

<b>"Hello. I'm Aksel."</b> His gaze flicked toward the larger male, letting him know that it was directed towards him as well. His lifted tail gave a small wag. But he when he continued, he was speaking to the she-wolf. <b>"You belong to a pack, but I don't see any others. Why have you left your territory?"</b> Aksel could dance around a topic for hours if he wanted. But he could also be rather tactless and cut directly to the point with an intensity that was wound up inside his hardened, gray body and vibrated through his core.

(This post was last modified: Apr 15, 2012, 02:21 PM by Aksel.)

<blockquote>As his gaze fell to the form of the wolf beneath the berry patch, he was hard pressed not to turn about in a circle and look for the extra limb that must have been hanging from his body. Clearly he would have seen it as this point in his life, cemented as it was to his forehead.

In truth, Mateo was not used to such looks. Or rather, he was not used to those who made such looks apparant. He had been taught subtlety at a young act. Some called called it manipulation, deceite even; he called it having some tact. If there was an enormously pregnant wolf within your vacinity, you looked subtlely from the corner of your eyes, observing what caught your interest when it was apparant they were not looking. It took their feelings under consideration and didn’t make them the black sheep of the moment. Of course, he’d been taught other things else well, like telling them they were pretty when they were ugly. Or acting like you were hunky dory with someone when you really wanted to stab them in the eye. Mateo had selective learning skills. The bits that he hadn’t taken to were buried somewhere in the dirt alongside some more... unpresentable deposits.

His brow rose and his ears flicked backward in mild irritation, though it lasted no longer than the passing thoughts had. Her jowls were already open in a bark by the time he drew himself to a slow halt and gazed at her in a calculating manner from his chosen place, a good ten feet away. His neck was turned towards her, body turned partially towards her as well though still away, compensating for the distance ahead of here position that he had walked. After a few more moments of what might very well have been uncomfortable silence for the female, he was getting ready to comment when something else grabbed his attention.

Another wolf.

Aksel was heading quickly towards them at this point, gait indicitive of one who was intent on reaching their chosen location and with a tail up. Mateo was miffed. It didn’t look as though this fellow had any inclination of stopping until he met them. His fur bristled instantaneously, tail becoming rigid and legs stiff. He turned himself to meet the other so that they would be head on should they collide. His lips lifted as a growl of warning rumbled through his throat, cresendoing into a snarl the closer the male came without slowing his speed. In his volitale reactions, Teo didn’t hesitated. He simply did what had been engrained. He was a hypocrit that way.

Teo taken a few quick steps forward, gaining a small amount of momentum and bouncing off his front paws in a very low jump that should have brought him to the male’s left shoulder by the time he had finally decided to stop. His teeth flashed, lips peeled back as they snapped the air, shutting on nothing with a click. The warning was out there; if the male decided to be any more abrasive in the company of the unknown, it would likely come to a scuffle.

His ears flicked towards the male, who had apparantly wandered off towards the female, Teo’s body giving a small start towards the two. He held himself in check as Aksel began to speek, however, his presence allowing a solid reminder that there wasn’t just two in the company. Teo would step in if need be, whether it was to silence a fool or to offer protection to the female who seemed to use the wall of branches behind her as a <span class='word'>palladium</span>. Lucky her, she now had two. Mateo stood, watching the two in a cool silence, eyes following the form of the male.</blockquote>

(This post was last modified: Apr 16, 2012, 01:43 AM by Mateo.)

Another wolf seemed to appear from the crisp spring air. Hackles
rose once more as his voice echoed through her ears- he was
questioning her. She was so surprised by his sudden appearance,
Pakuna had not caught his question. She tilted her head slowly, pale
eyes observing the creature. The earthen wolf's head snapped to
the side as she saw the other male come charging towards them.

There were no words from her muzzle. She leaned back more, almost
sinking into the berry bush; becoming one with it. What the hell was going
on? The wolf from afar approached quickly, a growl fluctuating from his
throat. The female felt the twigs of the bush poke through her now spring coat,
clawing at her flesh. Her eyes remained highly aware, highly cautious. Grinding
her teeth, she kept herself low, feeling her heart beat steadily within her chest.

Both of these wolves seemed to be loners. Curious. It seemed that whenever
Pakuna ventured from her pack lands, she always met new wolves. There was
never any time to just relax. Perhaps these two would like to hold a conversation,
but at the moment, she could not put a paw on what was to happen. The air seemed
to change around them, becoming tense and tight. It became harder to breathe.

The reaction that Aksel had stirred from the large wolf caused adrenaline to begin pumping through his body. The fur had instinctively begun to bristle along the back of his neck even while he mentally laughed, which was inappropriate since he had no desire whatsoever to get into a fight with this wolf. He had decided to hold on to his appearance of calm and slow his steps with deliberate care, not to mention his tail had dropped several inches. And he certainly had <i>not</i> growled back. Aksel had then continued with asking the she-wolf his question, though his attention was saved for the bristled wolf.

With an ear turned toward her, expecting an answer, he was surprised when he didn't receive one. He looked at her, somewhat baffled by her silence, and decided it would be best to take a couple of steps back and start from the beginning.

He decided to begin with the more dangerous of the pair, especially since he had upset him. It was amusing, though there wasn't a sign of it at all in his body-language; the last thing he wanted to do was provoke him further, even if it would be good exercise to be chased across the field by him. Aksel could recognize a situation where humbleness was needed. He let his tail relax and his ears droop a little. <b>”I've interrupted something.”</b> His voice was a rough one, which went oddly against his easy going and mischievous nature, and was gruffer on vowels. But there was an apology in his tone, though he wouldn't outright give one.

Aksel tilted an ear towards the she-wolf. His hope for a description of her pack was ebbing, but she hadn't run off yet. He didn't have anything else to say but instead waited to see if the wolf who had knocked him down a peg would relax. Aksel didn't want to have a scuffle.

<blockquote>For a wolf so caught up in aversion to pack habits, Mateo had been solidly gripped by the ability to act towards others just as he had been treated by those who had cast him from his own home. The thought drew him up short. He was a creature of habit it seemed. And thought he realized this, owned it even, more than once over now that he was interacting with more and more wolves, he knew that there wouldn't be any kind of change he made to alter it in the long term. He could easily pile himself into the category of a grumpy old man, though he had physical strength to stand by his actions instead of the social recognition of slowly turning senile. He gave a soft huff, gaze venturing along the length of the male as he checked his own reactions according to Mateo's.

Even as the dark grey wolf checked himself, Mateo kept his attention on him. He checked on the female now and again from the corner of his eyes when it seemed he could look without diverting his own attention too much. Poor girl. Teo had slowly begun to bring his posturing down a notch, though it was more out of reaction to the male's diluting body language than his will power; he didn't take the male coming at them at top speeds as a personal affront. Nor was his reaction intended as any such thing. He simply reacted, and once there was nothing to react to, he carried himself as he usually did, confidently. Of course that didn't mean he was a big puddle of fluff and teeth, he had his own feelings on the entrance. Disapproval was strong among them, but the wolf hadn't been doing anything to make the situation personal. He hadn't attacked or thrown out dirty language or verbally demoralized either Teo or the female, so he got what positives he could from Teo at this point.

A calculating, unfluffed wolf.

His ears twitched at the sound of the other's voice, though he made little other movement at this point. Gaze intent on the male, he finally gave his full gaze to the female for a moment after the male had spoken. Teo's own voice was deep, if rasped from disuse. <b>"No. Not particularly. We've just seen each other."</b>

From the way she had sunken into the bush, he could guess that the girl was terrified by the scene that lay in front of her. One male all teeth and fluff and the other male gallivanting towards them and bursting forth with questions. Of course if Teo made an exit from the scene, at this point he was sure the tension from the scene would melt almost instantly. He would likely do that soon, at least when he was certain that the male didn't intend to snuff her out the instant Mateo disappeared from view.

Oh Teo, you're such an optimist.
</blockquote>

(This post was last modified: Apr 16, 2012, 05:25 PM by Mateo.)

Curiousity peaked in Pakuna as the wolves exchanged brief words. She raised her
head now, sliding out from underneath her place of rest. The five year old rose to
her cream paws, pale emerald eyes looking to Mateo. Head nodded lightly before
she turned towards the other wolf. "Aye, don't ye think it be a wee bit strange to ask
a lady what she be doin' out on her own, now?" Oh goodness. There was her unique
way of speaking again. Her voice was not sweet, nay, but rather gruff. She was an exper-
ienced female, living most of her life by her lonesome.

Pakuna now walked a half-circle around the males, her gaze held upon Aksel. He was
very fast to approach her, which caused an upset of fear and aggression within her. She
did a rather excellent job of hiding those emotions, though, for her face remained apathetic
after she spoke. Her maw then pointed towards the other brute, ebon lips on the right side
(facing Mateo) curling into a slight grin. She appreciated his protection- if that is what he was
trying to do. Although it startled her at first, she had never had a male defend her.

With a flick of her dark tail, the she-wolf kept on her toes, waiting to see how this would all
play it. It was interesting, two males appearing out of nowhere- well, at least Aksel had.
She had at least seen Mateo before he approached, but the other seemed to just conjure
out of thin out. Her grin now dissapeared as her face grew stoic once more, pelt soon
smoothing. The hackles lowered, tawny tones now laying flat once more against her neck
and back. Calm yourself. Perhaps these wolves were friendly.

Aksel was more or less accustomed to the behavior that the stranger was displaying. His own pack had sent him head over paws enough times to make him learn how to escape a scuffle. It didn't help that he would be caught in fits of laughter during and that he was hardly inclined to fight back. He found that maintaining calm and giving in at small increments did wonders for soothing annoyance. He also learned to space out his bursts of energy as much as he could and lowered the amount of pranks that he pulled. But in the end he also became rather good at sparring, as when it came to brothers or sisters, he would simply enjoy the game of scuffling even if they were so mad they wanted to bite his tail off. But with a stranger it was quite different, especially when they were as controlled and large as this one.

He wondered fleetingly if he should have made one of his brothers or sisters come with him. Having someone at his back would have been nice but he was sure they would have complained about the role. Aksel found too much trouble for any sane wolf to want to follow him around too much. With a case of <span class='word'>xenophilia</span>, he was far too attracted to strangers to let them pass unnoticed. He thought it was a little unfair that they objected to his 'curiosity' since most of the things he did weren't precisely dangerous if one had the stamina and skill to get away. Which he had managed to build up over his short three years. He decided that over this coming year he would put more effort into learning how to fight with better skill. He wasn't among family any longer; he could actually lose his tail out here.

Which again brought his gaze to the she-wolf to see her crawling out of the bushes. His ears turned and twitched. He was an impulsive wolf, that was very clear, and it was already becoming a plan to follow her back to her lands. His brown eyes, almost amber in the sunlight, switched to the wolf that had calmed him down and said, <b>”Alright. That's good. I'll start again then. I'm... Aksel Blackwood. And I'm from, well not here. I don't have a pack so I was going to ask this wolf here about it.”</b> He gave her a crooked, friendly smile. <b>”Is it strange? Well, sorry then. I was surprised to find out that you belonged to a pack and are alone. I wanted to know if there were problems that forced you here. It'd be nice to know about my new pack before I get there.”</b>

He let her think about that and addressed the male. <b>”I didn't catch your name and I noticed that you're also a rogue... unless I'm wrong? How long have you been here? Can you give a wolf a few tips about the packs here? Or anything really.”</b> He seemed like a wolf that would know a few things and Aksel was always willing to listen if it gave him an advantage.

The sun slipped behind a white cloud and the day dimmed. Blue shadows became deeper and a coolness washed the warmth away. A soft breeze drifted past as well, carrying the scent of a bear. His ear turned and he let his gaze drift in the direction it had come from but couldn't spot anything. A gruff grunt turned an ear, one that led him to believe that the creature was not far. He glanced at the other two and a strange smile pulled at the edges of his mouth. <b>”It seems we have company.”</b> Their meeting would be interrupted if they had to move along but hopefully he wouldn't lose track of either of them