Lost Lake A Poisoned Wolf

<blockquote>Steel still felt off kilter. He was finally alone, and yet not alone. The feeling felt like a badly fitted suit. Perhaps he would get used to it in time, being a part of a pack, but at least he was finally alone and that was all that he had ever really wanted. So far, he had only met Athena and Ava, her Second. He honestly had no problem with that. He would do the duty that was expected of him. Marking territory and patrolling the borders to keep danger at bay. Simple enough tasks that could be accomplished in solitude. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all, he thought with a silent growl.

He took a deep breath, pulling in the scents of his surroundings and gave a loud snort as he smelled his own scent. It had changed. The lingering scents of Ava and Athena mingled with it and the smell of the wild terrain around the lake. Now he smelled different and was marked as such. He was at odds with the thought of smelling like he belonged to a place. He never had before and he had never had the desire to. Since meeting Athena, he had opened himself to the idea and now he was here and he was marked as a Poisoned wolf. He was <i>pack</i> now. It was still too new to his skewed way of thinking to feel right, but he had given his word to Athena that he would honor her and her pack. Now that he had committed to his word, he would not go back on it. He now answered to Athena, rather than solely himself. <i>How very strange...</i>

Shaking his black and white head to clear his thoughts, Steel moved on memorizing the rugged terrain and trying to get a feel for belonging. He laughed out loud at the thought of Steel Kaldorr belonging anywhere.</blockquote>

The creamy colored woman bounded along gracefully, a small smile glowing upon her face. She was taking a break from hunting; perhaps she would swim! As she leaped along, her mind was whirring with thoughts. There were new pack members, and she was taking it upon herself to meet them all. One of them, Ash, was a murderer- he tried to kill his own sister Nina. Luckily, though, Chantille stumbled upon her and another wolf, and was able to save the tawny woman's life. It seemed she had many allies here in the Lore, but she did not mean to do so- her kind heart naturally caused her to do so. There was a dark figure within the distance. With the scent blowing toward her face, she recognized the scent of her own pack upon the wolf. Another member? Oh, it seemed Poison Path was booming now. Wagging her tail merrily, she brought herself within range of the wolf. Coming within about twenty yards of him, her tail automatically rose in dominance. With her face aglow, though, she lifted her head. "Hello, there! I assume you are now a new Poisoned wolf...?" She tilted her head, left ear flopping before straightening out. "...Well, welcome! I am Chantille, the pack healer.. most can tell already. Apparently I reek of herbs." She laughed lightly at her own words before quieting herself.

Just as Steel was getting used to the idea of being in a pack and being grateful for his continued solitude another appeared. When the white form came into his peripheral vision he assumed that it was Athena and although annoyed with the interruption, he turned respectfully towards her. Then he saw that while it was a snowy female, it was not the leadess whom he swore allegiance to. She announced herself in a bright and friendly voice as Chantille. He supposed that most would find that appealing, yet it grated on his midnight ears. Doing his best not to flinch in irritation, Steel's stormy blue eyes met her own chocolaty ones.

His sensitive nose twitched as he pulled in her scent. It was indeed strong with the perfume of herbs, but he found it strangely soothing. For some reason that thought bothered him and he grunted an annoyed greeting to her. In a strong, deep voice he said, "Yes. I'm Steel." She was a pack mate after all. They should at least know each others' names, he supposed, yet his whole body remained tense, with powerful muscles bunching beneath his black and white pelt.

(This post was last modified: Dec 29, 2012, 01:14 AM by Steel.)

Chantille was the queen of picking up others emotions. She could detect a slight aggravation within this wolf, which caused her face to grow stoic. The smile she wore disappeared within the beat of a heart. Narrowing her eyes slightly, she spoke. "A pleasure, Steel." She mimicked him, tensing her muscles beneath her cream colored coat. Why did some wolves have to be so.... serious? You belonged to a family now; there was no need for such actions. She turned her body to the side, eyes sliding to their corners to watch the darker man "If I have bothered you, I am more than willing to leave you be..." Her voice was still kind, but not sweet as it had been a moment ago. She was adjusting herself properly to the way this Steel would act and speak. After finding out that Ash was the murderer now living within her pack, the woman was more willing to break her sweet personality.

Seeing the almost instant transformation of the female and her obvious intent leave. His gut reaction was to be pleased that she caught on to his desire to be alone. Instead, a flash of Athena came before his eyes. She wanted more from him than just his presence and for some reason, her opinion mattered to him. That thought was almost enough to set him off again, but he restrained himself and held back a grimace at himself.

He took a deep breath and tried to remember the name she had spoken. Chantille. It was an unusual name that sounded almost musical to him. "Wait, Chantille. I am... sorry. I'm not ... accustomed... to being around others. Ever." The tone of his deep voice had softened ever so slightly and with a great force of will, he relaxed his muscles, giving himself and inner shake to shed his innate tension. Athena would want him to get along with his pack mates, so he would. This was so very different from his normal behavior that he didn't even really know where to start.

(This post was last modified: Dec 29, 2012, 01:22 AM by Steel.)

Curious. The wolf was now apologizing. Letting her stern look slowly fade, she nodded to Steel. "I see" she said calmly, warm brown eyes upon the black and white creature. Chantille could tell that he was most certainly not used to being around other wolves. His muscles remained tense even after he spoke to her. That was alright. She didn't expect him to magically become a social butterfly. Raising her nose to the air, she took a deep breath in before briefly closing her eyes. "How long have you been on your own, Steel?" Her eyes remained closed as she asked the question. Slowly lifting her lids, her gaze returned to him. With a frown, she spoke "If you don't mind me asking, I mean. You don't have to answer, of course... I-" She cut herself off, face flustered as she did so. Oh, how it seemed she had a bad habit of talking too much. Rhysis had always told her she did not, but Chantille always felt differently. Laughing at herself on the inside, she remained calm on the outside as she waited to see if Steel would answer her slightly personal question. If he did or did not, it would not matter to her... she wouldn't be insulted.

<blockquote>He hadn't really known what to expect when he stopped her and actually <i>apologized</i>, but he wasn't prepared for conversation. He closed his eyes briefly as he reminded himself once again that this was no loner whom he could snarl at and chase away. She was his pack mate now and <i>he</i> had been the one to invite more conversation whether that had been his intent or not.

She asked how long he had been on his own and then promptly gave him an out, as she fumbled with her words. With a small smile, he realized that she had suddenly grown almost as uncomfortable as he was, just for far different reasons. He decided that there was no harm in answering and he had nothing terribly pressing to do, so he would make the effort to be <i>sociable</i>. With a dark inner laugh, he could just imagine what his mother's reaction to <i>that</i> would have been. Snarling derision, no doubt. But, she was not here and he was trying something new.

In a deep voice, still unaccustomed to much talk he answered, <b>"Most of my life, I suppose. Mother and sister disappeared when I was a yearling, so about... two years."</b> He was not comfortable enough or curious enough just yet to ask any questions of his own, so she would have to be happy with his brief answer.</blockquote>

"Ah" was all Chantille said. She knew he'd likely not appreciate being questioned further, so she kept her muzzle shut. Silently, she strode over to the water and lowered her head. After taking a few laps of the cool liquid, she turned her head, gazing briefly at Steel. After a moment, her eyes fell to a small patch of mushrooms in which she recognized instantly. She almost gave a laugh, but held it in. Let's change the subject. "See those mushrooms right there?" Chantille asked, tail flicking toward the ugly fungi. They were a mottled brown, small white spots adorning them toward their centers. "They'll make you feel loony as ever. You'll throw up quite a bit afterwards, as well...." Rolling her eyes, she imagined a wolf ingesting the fungus. Oh, what a foolish thing it would be to do. Wolves who had became angry or depressed may eat them in order to feel better, but an addiction may form. "All I do is observe all the plants around me. I think plants. It's... distracting." She looked back to the water now, gazing at her own reflection.

<blockquote>The cream colored fae seemed to catch on to his discomfort and changed the subject. To something about <i>mushrooms</i> of all things. When she mentioned what would happen if you ate them, he had to wonder what would possess a wolf to eat something so.... <i>non</i>-bloody. He had never been much of a berry eater himself, preferring fresh warm meat any time. He did give a nod at her words to show that he had indeed heard her.

Deciding that a drink was more interesting he moved to the water's edge, sure to keep plenty of space between them. He was still unaccustomed to being around other wolves and his personal 'bubble' was quite large. He also found that he also didn't want to make her uncomfortable with his dark presence. The consideration was out of character for him, but he was going through so many changes with this transition that his mind was reeling and he just went with it. He lowered his head to the water and drank the refreshing liquid.

When she spoke of thinking of plants all the time, he thought that it was a strange activity. He had never been around a wolf that enjoyed plants and found that he was perplexed at the thought of it. Curiosity won out and the question came out of his mouth before he could think to stop it. <b>"Why would you have such an interest in plants?"</b></blockquote>

The woman bit her tongue, brow raising ever so slightly as Steel questioned her love of plants. "We know so much about fauna already, so why not know more about flora?" I will answer your question with my own. She padded gracefully over to the mushrooms, picking one before turning back towards the awkward man. With a few steps toward him, she dropped it at his paws, smirking in an almost devilish way. "They can be interesting. They're like a whole other world." Her eyes fell to the mottled fungi, and she continued to speak "Why don't you take a very small bite... chew it for a few seconds, and spit it out. You'll feel good. Trust me- I'll do it with you." Oh, this invitation to do something so strange would probably not pass with the wolf. He already seemed like he didn't want to talk to her. Without further notice, Chantille brought her head down, teeth nipping off a small piece of mushroom. Bringing her head back up now, she made solid eye contact with Steel as she chewed thoughtfully upon the brown piece. After a few seconds, she spat it out, licking her lips as the sour flavor deteriorated. Here we go. As she looked at Steel, a warm sensation tingled within her paws. It slowly rose up her body, like a warm blanket enveloping her. A sheepish grin unknowingly spread across her muzzle, and her eyes appeared to droop a bit. Chantille's ears flattened for a moment before she perked them back up. Can I float on a cloud now?