Sacred Grove Dutiful

When the males approached him and, if he was correct, demanded more submission the only thing he could do was tuck his tail, pin his ears, and if possibly crouch lower. He knew he could have prorogue his trip to see Finn. . .but he had to see her sooner or later, just to see how she was doing after the attack. Blinking his eyes at the two males in front of him. Neither of thw two talked so he figured they were waiting for him to explain himself. Ash figured that the larger wolf of the two recognized him. . .so perhaps the outcome wouldn't turn out as bad as he thought it would.

Opening his mouth to speak he spoke in a polite, respectable tone, "Apologies. . .I'm sorry for coming so close to the borders. I was just going to call for Finn. . .I wanted to see how she was doing after the attack. I, in no means, meant to trespass."

All he could do was stare at the two wolves in front of him, only hoping they would understand. He really did like Finn. . .more than the other wolves that he had encountered and even though they were apart, she still somehow always remained in his mind. She had made a good first impression on him, and she had been the first wolf that Ash had met. Now the time had come for him to loop back and keep an eye on her, he didn't want anything bad to happen to her.

Watching the wolves in front of him for their reaction, he tucked his tail closer to his body. It wouldn't even surprise him if they somehow skinned him alive. He was in fact way to close to their borders. . .but he knew he wasn't a threat. . .he just somehow had to convince the males in front of him of that. He wasn't sure which of the two was more dominant, at the moment it was hard to tell, so it was impossible to know which one to address his answer to, mainly when he didn't even know the male's names.

I think I've finally seen the light..in you.

you do not know who is your friend or who is your enemy until the   ICE breaks. At least the male reacted with an ounce of respect, folding in on himself and making sure no hair of his tail was to be seen. Satisfied, but not at ease, Ice's aggressions cooled somewhat. The snarl died into silence and lips covered his teeth, but his own tail remained where it was. As Marsh came up beside him he momentarily flattened his ears and ducked his head, leaning in to give the older wolf's cheek a respectful nudge. Then his narrowed eyes returned to the submissive male, listening to his words and - well, had it been any other situation, he would've laughed out loud. Did this wolf have no brain at all? A short and growly noise passed for his amusement and he gave his head a shake. Sure, Finn had been beaten up. No, they weren't letting her rot away with infection. What did he think they were, morons? Retarded? If it hadn't been because he was so close to the borders, Ice would've dumped something hard on his head and left him there, hoping the impact rattled a few brain cells into order and made him smarter. Or, truth to be told, if he hadn't been on their borders, the pale Guardian probably would've been a lot nicer and more cheerful. "And what do you think we are? Deaf?" he snarled at the other male, curious in spite of himself about his intelligence. Could he be made to seen the grave errors of his judgment and plan? "Think Finn's so deaf you need to go crawling on our borders for her to hear? And-" He hated this "I didn't mean" to thing that wolves seemed to resort to when confronted with the error of their ways. If you knew you were trespassing or damn near doing it, you definitely meant to do it. "- I'm not going to swallow 'I didn't mean to'. You're here, aren't you?" He scowled at the wolf, battling the urge to scream at the world and its sheer amount of stupidity. For a few seconds Ice was silent, giving the male cold glares. "Look, all in all you acted very stupidly but at least you have the decency to apologize. Are you here only to see Finn?" According to Ice, his answer would decide just how much trouble he potentially was in. Coming here and looking for her - well, easily remedied. Shoo him off a couple of hundred yards and let him call her and have a chat. If he wanted to get into their pack... He'd been quite clumsy, but seemed eager to please and rectify his mistakes. He just hoped he really wasn't as thick in the head as he'd seemed moments earlier. Ice was, after all, a very literal wolf, who didn't dig in statements for hidden meanings. If you said you were sorry for coming close to the borders, you knew what you were doing, and were hardly sorry for it - that's how it was to him. In many ways, he regarded speech to be black and white, with little gray in between. Perhaps it was unlucky that he was paired with silent and linguistically impaired Marsh, but their bodies spoke volumes that their words could not. .ice aesir

let the stars above shine in your soul

<blockquote>As expected, the wolf did not pose an obvious threat. His immediate submission was appreciated, even if Marsh would have liked it ramped up a notch or two. Still, the situation swiftly flowed into Ice's yap yap yap territory, and the russet wolf Assumed The Position of the silent but intimidating partner, as he had so many times before.

The male's tone was placating, though, Marsh noted with amusement, Ice did not sound placated. He had to stifle a snort of laughter as Ice snapped back, his tone and expression saying it all. Again he marvelled at the contrast in Ice's behaviour; being so aware of his companion's amiable nature, it was always oddly satisfying to watch him like this.

Content that Ice had the communication side of things under control (the verbal bit anyway, no doubt more than enough was being said in other ways) Marsh peeled away from his spot in the male's face, and then circled about the stranger, his nose inches from the male's pelt, learning all he could. There were no revelations to be found there, but at least it did not rouse suspicion; he bore no scents of rivals or otherwise unpleasant implications. He really was just in the wrong place at the wrong time - not that there was really a 'right' time for crawling on somebody else's border.</blockquote>

The male knew he was trespassing and he had a nice smartass remark that he desperately wanted to snap back at them but the brown brute knew he would have to keep his composture, otherwise, something terrible could go down and at the moment Ash was in no mood to do so. Then Ash almost snapped. . .did he think Finn was deaf. NO! Who the fuck did this guy think he was? Snapping at him false accusations. He did have the right. . .but he still didn't have to start screaming at Ash for no reason. He was close to the borders but he technically didn't trespass. Glaring at Ice he snapped back at him in a polite tone, "I didn't think she was deaf, I just figured she would appreciate it if she didn't have to travel as far. And yes I am here to only see Finn. . .I am good friends with her."

He really wanted his tone to sound much harsher but he knew that it would be highly disresepected. Keeping quiet and low he waited for the other wolf's response. His little spruik would most likely be completely ignored and he would be snapped at again and he honestly didn't want that. He now waited for their answer now wishing that he would have postponed his trip to visit River. . .he now knew he would have to watch his back around this area now and knew that he would never be able to return to see Finn if this ended badly.

I think I've finally seen the light..in you.

you do not know who is your friend or who is your enemy until the   ICE breaks. Trespassing or not, Ice had apparently decided that he was too close for comfort. Unimpressed and cold, he stared down the length of his nose, the very embodiment of midwinter. Not a shred of warmth or compassion could be found within him, though a wry and mirthless smile curled his dark lips at the corners. He could feel the loner male's rising frustration, saw it in the glare and heard it in the snap of his tone. Remarkable that he bothered enough to keep a hold of his rising temper, instead of lashing out. From the corner of his eye, Ice saw Marsh begin to circle the wolf, but the Guardian didn't take his eyes off him. Now now - good friends with her? Not have to travel so far? There were better ways to go about it than crawling on their borders. Such behavior did nothing but invite angry border patrol entities. How far had most wolves of the Lore come from polite and intelligent behavior? Had they forgotten long-range communication? Forgotten courtesy? (Not to mention that Ice wasn't being courteous right now - he felt entitled, though.) "I see," he said coolly, giving nothing away. Send him on his way, or lecture him further on his errors? "For all your good intentions," he said slowly, staring down at him. It nearly frightened Ice how close to the surface that his violent anger lay - he had a notion that if Ash began staring him in the eye anytime soon, he'd do physical harm of some degree. Disturbing. ".. you've gone about it in a very stupid way. What did you think that coming so close would achieve? And don't give me any crap about borders. If we wait for every god damn loner to trespass before approaching them, we'll be vulnerable." He scowled. Maybe they wouldn't viciously tear someone apart for being close, but at least Ice wasn't go to sit and watch as wolves crawled too close for comfort. It was their duty to prevent unwanted wolves coming onto their territory, and that meant snarling at a good deal of strangers that hadn't trespassed yet. "There are some things in this world called howling, polite questions and common sense. I don't know if you lack in all of them, but - instead of crawling close, very suspiciously, you could've announced your intentions far away and asked to be let closer. Finn could've vouched for you." He felt bitterness sneaking into his voice - was it his fault that he expected more wolves to elope all the time? For all Ice knew, Ash could've been here to kill Corinna in her sleep, or make off with Finn and another pack member. It would've been Rhysis all over again. "But instead you tried to sneak as close as you could. Packs are like fortresses, and there's no sneaking up to those." He gave his head a quick shake. "Finn's doing fine," he said quietly. Ice's eyes narrowed and he turned to Marsh, fixing the Second with the intense stare that usually meant I am going to address you, so listen up. When Finn had come back from her ordeal in the Falls, she'd smelled of blood and quite a lot of wolves - including Marsh and, unless Ice was entirely mistaken, this one. Ice could stretch his own courtesy far enough to offer to call Finn over, but only if Marsh gave the go-ahead and declared Ash safe - non-verbally, of course. Ice didn't expect him to miraculously start talking. "You were there, at the attack. Is he safe? We could call Finn over, then send him on his way." He gave a shrug. He was certainly guilty when it come to non-pack relations - Ava - so he'd not mind letting them meet... if Ash started showing some sense and realized the error of his ways, that was. If he were to spout nonsense about being entitled to lurk just outside of a pack's territory, Ice'd remind him he wasn't and send him off with a snap. For now, though, the encounter's fate rested in Marsh's lap. .ice aesir

(This post was last modified: May 17, 2012, 09:13 AM by Ice.)

let the stars above shine in your soul

<s>This miiiight make things awkward with timelines and such, so it might be best to check what Bridget would like to do before we summon Finn. Since this is before she's evicted, but I don't know if it's important that they meet or don't meet...? Either way, if necessary, I'm happy to change this post as required.</s> All sorted x]

<blockquote>Marsh could hear the agitating in the male's voice almost as well as he could read it in his posture, but so long as he continued to submit then he could be as uppity as he liked; it just meant that they would chase his ass out all the quicker. It was no skin off his nose.

The conversation continued, and Marsh paid little to no attention to it save for the tones. It was only when Ice raised his voice did Marsh look up, and saw that he was being addressed. <i>Safe?</i> The Second glanced back at the large male, contemplated the question for a moment, and then tilted his head in a non-committal wolfish shrug. As far as Marsh knew, he was not dangerous. A bit foolhardy, maybe, but no great threat. He had not been the cause of Finn's attack, at least, and certainly the two Swift River wolves were more than enough to take him on if necessary.

So, he was here for Finn, then. Well, they might as well get this over with. Taking a step back, Marsh lifted his head and howled sharply for the subordinate's attention, firmly requesting her presence. If she could walk - the attack had rather taken it out of her. She really needed to toughen up a bit...</blockquote>

(This post was last modified: May 21, 2012, 02:26 PM by Marsh.)

The silver-gray woman gimped along, her brown eyes scanning the surroundings. She was checking the borders; if there was a wolf who wanted to fight, though, she would most certainly be screwed. With her hind leg begging her to stop, the small woman paused, grunting in irritation at her wounds. As she was about to mumble curses to herself, a sharp howl pierced through the air- it was a Swift River wolf, and they were calling for her. With a tilt of her elegant head, she turned her frame, padding swiftly in the direction of the howl.

Within minutes, she appeared, only to see an interesting sight before her. Marsh stood with Ice, and their gazes were sharp upon another wolf. Ash? Blinking in what could only be described as confusion, she stepped forward, dipping her head to her pack mates. Eyes peered back to Ash. It seemed he had caused a bit of hackle raising between the two River boys. Almost snarling in irritation, Finn held herself up proudly; properly. "What brings you here, Ash?" She questioned, Western tones smooth as her tail flicked in wonder. One could guess quite well what he was doing here. There was no need for him to belabor. Finn had grown aggravated after her attack, her temper tampered with; she was more on edge.

"If a man knows anything, he ought to die with it in him."

She seemed slightly mad that he was here and he couldn't help but wince at the tone of her voice. She was irritated with him. Now what? Lowering his head his green eyes stared back up at her his green eyes shining in delight. He had definitely missed her, but she seemed generally pissed and in pain. . .opening his mouth to reply in a strong voice he said, "I wanted to come over and check on you. I was worried." Knowing Finn and the way she was he wouldn't be surprised if she clawed his ears off for speaking of being worried.

He bowed his head slightly, as if ashamed with himself for saying such a thing. Of course she was alright she was still in her pack and seemed to have been doing something productive with her time. This brought a smile to his face as he thought but he quickly composed himself before looking back up at her. Would be she be mad at him?

I think I've finally seen the light..in you.

you do not know who is your friend or who is your enemy until the   ICE breaks. It seemed that Marsh settled the thing for them, calling out in his strong voice; it reverberated through Ice's body and heart, a pleasant thrill he wasn't quite sure what it was. Silence echoed hollowly after the howl faded away, and he was slightly surprised no answer was given, not a simple acknowledging of the beckon. He gave his shoulders a slight shrug, deciding Ash wasn't worth keeping his eyes on at the moment. They'd called for his lady, and if she was within pack lands, she'd probably come limping along sooner or later. Swift River didn't bite off your paws for wandering, so chances were she'd not be here - but, unlikely, given her condition. Waiting patiently, yet wondering when time would be up and Ash shown to a more polite distance, Ice studied the clear blue sky. It was still fairly early in the day, and not even a single cumulus cloud to blot out the sun. For once, he was grateful of it - the spring morning was chilly, and the warmth of their star was welcome. The sound and smell of Finn approaching brought his head around, ears forward. Ice's tail wagged automatically in greeting and he gave a low woof, slightly bemused by the interrogationesque tone she addressed him with. Definitely knew his name, then, but good friends? His lips tugged into a smile that was quite guarded; she didn't exactly seem .. overjoyed. And Ash, he'd been worried. Ice forcibly stopped the snort in his chest, deciding not to take it as an insult to his pack. With a shrug he looked to Marsh, and then to Finn. "Unless you want me to stay here, I'll be over there-" Accompanied by a wave of his head, pale muzzle pointing loosely to their right. "- giving the pair of you some privacy." Marsh could eavesdrop all he wanted, he barely understood words anyway; Ice would be within range in case Ash turned out to be psychotic. He wasn't going to let his already wounded pack-mate get torn apart again, buuut... even while the conversation would probably be very amusing to listen in on, she might want a little space to deal with him on his own. Briefly he reflected on the fact that if this meeting had been taking place half a year ago, he probably wouldn't have had enough brains to come up with the idea of leaving them alone for a bit by himself. Being in a pack had certainly forced him to exercise his mind in social situations more. With a grimace, he would pad away in the direction he'd indicated and lie down, waiting for either Ash to leave or do something stupid - that was, unless Finn indicated she wanted him to stay where he was. .ice aesir

if you let Ice walk away, feel free to skip me until Ash leaves. :)

let the stars above shine in your soul

<blockquote>He was rather put-out by the lack of response, but no matter. He kept a close eye on Ash as they waited, the silence deafening - just as he liked it. It was not long before the requested lady appeared, and Marsh noted with dry interest how she did not exactly seem <i> ecstatic</i> to see him. Well, that was his problem.

Clipped words were offered, and then Ice spoke. He was planning on leaving? Well, he could do what he wanted, Marsh supposed, but there was no way he was going to leave a wounded Finn alone with somebody she wasn't even all that friendly with.

Quite purposefully, Marsh plonked his rear end down, staring levelly between Finn and Ash. He probably wouldn't understand their conversation anyway, but even if his presence made things even more uncomfortable, he couldn't care less. He wasn't going to abide by the conventions of <i>social politeness</i> - that was simply laughable.</blockquote>