Drooping Willows Passing By

Kieth padded past the Drooping Willows. A scent reached his sensitive nose and he paused briefly. Careful to stay away from the markings, he continued on his way through the Willows. He had recently found Relic Lore and was exploring the area. Not that long ago, he had met a lone wolf that told him what the trees were called. The sweet scent of them made him relax, his paws creating a slight disturbance on the soil as he padded on.

He froze at a rustling sound, flicking his ears in the direction of it, but the thing had vanished. <i>Must have been a rabbit</i> he thought, a wolf was unlikely to be able to leave without him noticing it. After a few more minutes his paws had carried him to a small stream. He looked in the water at his reflection, his bright, yellow eyes had a cheerful look to them and his coat was smooth and shiny. Smiling to himself, he dipped down his head and lapped up the cool, refreshing water. It had almost a sweet taste to it, like it absorbed the fragrances from the air.

Another scent brang his head back up, taking careful steps, he moved away from the water's edge and towards it. His stomach rumbled slightly, as he hadn't eaten all day and it was nearly midday. He crouched down, his eyes searching the area in front of him. <i>There!</i> He saw the shape of a rabbit nibbling at a blade of grass. Checking the air, he made sure that he was upwind before stalking closer to the animal. When he was close enough, he bunched his haunches and sprang at the rabbit. It gave a squeal that was cut short as he snapped it's neck with his jaws. The body went limp and he set it down. Giving his thanks for the meal, he gulped it down in ravenous bites. Now full, he made his way back to the stream. He didn't know why, but he just felt drawn to that spot. Nearing the bank, he lay down and closed his eyes, hoping for at least a hour or two of rest before he continued trekking through the Willows.

You can run, but you can't hide

Jade was excited. She <i>finally</i> had a current lead on Steel. Ever since she had tracked him the this region, relic lore, he seemed to have simply vanished. Just when she had felt total dejection and defeat settle in, the sweet wolf Sibyl had told her of meeting a wolf that fit his description. Had saved her life, in fact. Pride in her stoic brother swelled in her heart. Apparently, Mother had not killed all of the compassion in him. She was doubly glad that he had saved the other fae's life, for she sense the beginnings of a deep friendship blossoming with her.

As she was alone again in her beautiful wilderness, Jade traveled with a confident air that few, if any, would ever see. She was at one with the land, it was her comfort and her strength and she moved over it with dainty grace and a sure step. None of the wolves that she had met so far would recognize the tiny wolf, had they seen her at that moment. She breathed deeply of the fresh spring air and felt energized with new purpose. She was back on track and headed to the last place that her brother had been seen by Sibyl, a place called Hush Meadow. She was nearly there, merely needing to pass by the sweetly sad looking trees that covered the northern border of the meadow.

Scenting the borders of a pack in the distance, Jade angled further from it even though she was already quite far enough from it. A good bit of her confidence shrank away at the smell of other wolves, even though they were far away. After a bit, their scent faded away and so did her anxiety. She was once more the confident creature of the forest that she had been since parting ways with Sibyl in the cherry grove. Her multicolored pelt melted in and out of the terrain as she passed, giving the illusion of a tiny beautiful wood wraith appearing and disappearing.

The scent of fresh water came to her on the breeze and she felt her thirst come to life. Heeding her instinct she changed course once more and headed for what turned out to be a small stream. Lapping delicately at the water, Jade marveled at how refreshing the cool water was after the long distance that she had traveled. Seeing her reflection in the water, she caught sight of the remnants of the cherry stains on her coat. She had cleaned most of it off with her tongue whenever she'd stopped to rest, but hadn't run across any water so far for a bath. The stream was hardly big enough for a bath, since it was shallow, but she would just have to work with what she had.

Glancing around and seeing no one, she relaxed, thinking herself alone. She slowly waded out into the shallow water, which only reached a few inches above her ankles, she let the water wash more of the red cherry stain and pulp from her feet. When the flowing water had washed much of it away, Jade glanced around again and with a small smile, lay down and rolled in the crisp water to get the pulp and stains from her tumble off of her lithe body. She found herself laughing in sheer joy at the strangely pleasurable feeling of the cool flowing water caressing her pelt clean. Then she stood up and shook briskly, sending water flying in a rain shower for yards around her. With another laugh, she lay down still in the stream letting it cool her and continue to work on her still-stained feet. Her little dance in the cherry orchard had left it's mark!

A scent alerted him and he snapped open his eyes. Blearily looking around at his surroundings, he saw a dark shape heading toward the stream. He blinked quickly to get the sleep out of them and watched the shape. Keeping quiet and hoping that it didn't see him, he lifted his head only inches upwards and caught sight of it clearly. It was a wolf, female by the looks of it. Even though the fae was small, she had a relaxed air about her. When she looked around, he kept completely still. After a few moments the fae lay down in the shallow stream and rolled around. He smiled to himself as he got to his feet. She seemed like a nice wolf by herself, but was she dangerous when in company? He checked the air and noted that he was upwind. She couldn't scent him, but could see him if she looked directly at him.

As he watched her, he felt as if he could have done so for eternity. But soon enough, he would have had to move on. He could just leave and she would never know, but Kieth wanted to meet this lovely lady. Quickly making up his mind, he padded silently over to the fae. As he got closer, he saw that she was washing off a red hue to her coat. Was it blood? No. It smelled sweet, almost like cherries. So she must've had a run about near cherry trees. Smiling again, he approached the wolf with caution. Clearing his throat, he spoke. "Hello. I am Kieth. May I ask what your name is?" He felt it needed to get to the point. He held his tail and head normally, not wanting to intimidate the fae.

Ooc-Sorry it's so short. Next one will be better.

You can run, but you can't hide

(It's fine! Usually the first posts are longer than the rest!)

Jade was relaxing in the water, truly enjoying herself for the first time in recent memory. The water cooled her legs and belly while the sun warmed and dried her head and back. The contrast in temperatures gave her a small shiver of delight and she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, ears swiveling about to hear the birdsong that wasn't far away. It never ceased to amaze her, the intricate beauty of the notes produced by the little avian. She smelled the mixture of fresh crisp air and the hint of sweet cherry as it washed off of her and had to smile to herself, remembering her silliness.

Then her deep breaths brought another scent to her. Wolf. Then he spoke and she whipped her head around to look at him. Before she could even register anything beyond that he was a stranger, her usual reaction kicked in an she was scrambling backwards without a thought. Her right hind leg caught on an unseen stone, throwing her further off balance and sending her tumbling backwards with a huge splash. She lay sprawled in the water, soaked through again with her heart pounding as she looked at the larger male with wide frightened eyes.

(Okay.)

Kieth watched as the small fae scrambled away from him. When she tripped on a stone and tumbled into the stream, he looked at her in amazement. His eyes full of confusion. What had happened to this female to make her so fearful of other wolves? His bright yellow eyes took in all her features. She was quite small and slender, with a mix of greys and other colours on her upper body, while it was more creamy below. His eyes moved to her face, he could see in her eyes that she feared him, but why? They had only just met and she acted like he had attacked her.

After a few moments of tense silence, he spoke softly, <b>"I'm sorry I scared you before."</b> It was a simple statement, but he figured that he should take it easy and go slow with the female. He flicked his ears in her direction, she looked so scared that he wanted to comfort her. But any sudden movement would probably scare her more. She looked so peaceful before in the stream, but now she was cowering before him. He shook his head slightly at her antics and smiled. Hopefully, she would trust him enough and maybe, just maybe, they could become friends.

You can run, but you can't hide

Jade stayed silent and continued to stare at the male fearfully. He hadn't made any threatening movements, but he had caught her of guard. She really had to stop daydreaming, but it seemed a habit that she was not meant to break as this was the umpteenth time that she had been caught unawares because of it. He apologized for scaring her and she gave a small trembling nod to assure him that she had indeed heard his words, but her voice refused to work at the moment. Even her embarrassing stutter wouldn't come forth.

She gulped as she took in his appearance as he seemed to be doing with her. Compared to her, he was so <i>big</i> and so <i>male!</i> He was actually the first male wolf that she had run across yet since entering relic lore. Except for Jessie, all of the females had been larger than her as well. She was quite used to that by now, but he was larger still and stocky. He looked like he could do quite a bit of damage, if he chose to, but at the moment he was relaxed and just seemed concerned.

He seemed to want to ease her unfounded fears and she felt bad for reacting the way that she did, but she couldn't help it. She just wasn't used to being around other wolves. Even when she had been in her adoptive pack they had looked at her strangely for her penchant of staying away from them much of the time, preferring the solitude and beauty of nature. She took a few slow deep breathes, once she convinced herself to start breathing again and swallowed a couple of times to dislodge her fear from her throat. <b>S-s-sorry! I-I'm J-J-Jade!"</b> Embarrassed, she realized that her nervous stutter was at it's finest...

When the female nodded at him, Kieth blinked in surprise. Was she mute? Surely not. She was probably more scared of his size than anything else. After a few seconds of silence, he opened his mouth to speak but instead, the other fae did. Jade she said her name was. A pretty name for a lovely fae. He smiled again, he didn't care if she stuttered, some wolves were just more timid than others. But Jade must have had a very bad past for her to be so scared of other wolves. She looked scared of him, but most others took him as a fighter because of his size, but really, he was just a kind and caring wolf.

Only then did he realize that she was still half submerged in the stream. He walked a little bit closer, but not close as to not frighten Jade any further. <b>"Do you want me to help you up?"</b> He asked her. She must be cold, lying there in the stream with the freezing water rushing past her. Even though it was a bright and sunny day, the water could still chill you to the bone. Jade wasn't shivering now, but she would be soon. If he was in her spot, his thick coat would help prevent him from getting too cold. But in her case, it was the opposite.

(This post was last modified: Jul 11, 2012, 03:13 AM by Kieth.)

You can run, but you can't hide

Jade dipped her head, embarrassed, at his offer. He must think her a ninny, quivering in fear in the cold stream, water dripping from her soggy fur. She must look a fright! The thought of him helping her both pleased and terrified her, which understandably confused the little wolf. Emotions running wild, Jade decided to make the attempt by herself, not sure how she would further embarrass herself if he came any closer, just yet. <b>"N-no th-thank you!"</b> Her voice came out almost in a panicked squeak and she burned hot beneath her fur.

She tried to stand tall and found that she couldn't. She never could around other wolves as she was always in some sort of crouch. She did get high enough to get her feet under her, without slipping on the rocky bottom. This male seemed quite nice, but Jade could not bring herself to approach closer to him of her own volition, so she scrambled the couple of feet to the other side of the small stream, all of her grace having melted away as if it had never been.

Although she was still nervous, she found that she wasn't really afraid of him. Despite his powerful looks, he had a kind air about him and she wished that she could let him know that it was her and nothing he did. Likely he already did, for her behavior had been quite erratic, to say the least! As she stood on the opposite bank from him, just a few feet away really, she realized again how bedraggled she must look. Although she fought it for a moment, the instinctive urge to shake herself dry won out over her caution and she shook quickly. Water sprayed all around her again and when she stopped, it looked as if she'd gotten Kieth wet as well.

With a truly mortified look, she stammered, <b>"I-I am s-so s-sorry!"</b> and dipped her head low and turning it away from him. <i>How could she have just done that?</i> Now what would he think of the crazy shy wolf that stood trembling before him?

Giving a small nod of acknowledgment at Jade's words Kieth stepped back a few paces to allow her some room. When she stood up, it wasn't to her full height. She must be more frightened of him than he thought before. His gaze looked at her, she was soaking. After a few moments, she shook out her coat, spraying him with droplets of water. Now her fur was a bit fluffed out and his was slightly wet. He smiled and a gave a small shake of his own, being careful not to get some on her.

<b>"No need to be sorry."</b> He assured Jade as she turned her gaze away from him. It seemed as if she embarressed about getting him wet. But he didn't mind it. <b>"It was actually quite refreshing."</b> He smiled again, maybe he could get her to trust him. She was a nice wolf, it was just that she was to afraid of other wolves. <b>"Do you belong in a pack?"</b> This question had been on his mind since he had first seen her. She didn't seem to be in one, but neverless, he still had to ask.

(I have writers block so expect short posts like this one. Sorry, but hopefully it will pass soon.)

You can run, but you can't hide

Jade gave a small smile and timidly looked back at him when he assured her that he hadn't minded the wetting. He gave a small shake to rid himself of the newly acquired moisture, but he was more considerate than she had been and was careful to get none of it back on her. He was actually being quite nice and Jade tried to force herself to relax. Long years of always living in fear, first of her mother and then of the unknown that came with strangers was hard to shake off though. Her smile did lose some of it's fearfulness though, taking on a shy look instead.

When he asked about a pack, she shook her head to the negative. <b>"I l-left my ad-doptive p-pack to search for my brother Steel. I am getting closer now."</b> The strange transition didn't take her as much by surprise this time as she was becoming accustomed to it. Any talk of her brother and her stutter vanished as if it had never been. She wondered if this male had seen him and figured that there was only one way to find out. <b>"He's three, like me, black and white with dark blue eyes. He's also ...<i>tempermental."</i></b> There really were few words to describe her stoic brother's personality that she would utter.