Thicket of Secrets friends in crawl spaces

Phoenix was attracted to intricate signs of beauty, and she justified this with a simple though. That since she was obviously a beauty of intricate proportions, it was only logical for her to be attracted to things like her. This thicket was no exception and though she had explored a few days back (having gotten lost along the way but deciding to take advantage of it) she was still hungry for more. The thicket was alluring and beautiful in the most eerie of ways, seeming secretive and mysterious in this dawn glow. Sun beams found it their pleasure, she told herself, to grace the presence of such a place. And, on second though, to grace the presence of such a beauty as herself. The female had spent the night in a hollowed den deep in the thicket, awaking to a smitten sunrise with the kiss of alluring colors. Though it was dawn and only birds were singing at this point, Phoenix was on the move through the intertwining trees. Lithe body and nimble paws were unreasonably slow, as she saw, currently, no reason to rush. As a wolf with no pack, she had no obligations or attachments, and thus no where to be on this particular day. Though her pace was slow, it didn't stop her from walking with a sway of pride; a stride of confidence in every step. Proud was putting it mildly, for Phoenix was far more than proud of who she was. In all honesty, she was honored to be the lovely Phoenix Sarenzu, an entrancing goddess with eyes of green: a rarity, to be sure.

Weaving through the trees, small body moved between small places with ease and comfort. Her step did not falter until she took too sharp a turn and wound up coming between a rock and a hard place. Quite literally, mind you. The graceful she-wolf had took a wrong step and her back paw found itself caught between a rather large rock and the trunk of a tree. Both immovable objects. Phoenix set her jaw, tugging at her back leg until she felt the sharp edges of the rock slit pretty skin and she froze. Even she of all wolves understood that to be caught and unable to flee at danger would mean certain death. A limp, for however short a time, could also mean the same. And oh! A lady never limped! This was..unthinkable, and quite the problem. Turning her head to one side she studied her predicament before deciding that, with enough force, the rock would be the thing she'd need to move. Pacing her front legs backwards, the female pushed her shoulder into the rock and felt the thing tilt, but just slightly. Snapping her jaws irritably, she licked her lips and tried again.

It was the same old, every day of his terrible existence. There was hardly anything new to discover. After all, Honijo had lived most of his days in the lands of Relic Lore, first with his old pack, and then with Lani and Rihael. But they were dead now. This left him irrevocably alone, not counting his nieces and nephews living down by the river. Yet it wasn't the same, and would never be the same. It was still difficult getting used to the idea of being alone and independent, making his own choices and being the boss of his own pack. While he knew he had always had it in him, Honijo's leading qualities were always silent and in the background, waiting to come out and pounce and make their appearance. Training the children had been a joy to him once not too long ago, but even that had lost its initial flair. Nope, he was positive this was where he was meant to be.

Again Honijo found himself wandering familiar lands, delving into the depths of a thicket he could walk through in his sleep. As he moved, branches and leaves brushed against his shaggy pelt, but did little to agitate the beast. There was no significant purpose to his mission. The bids were chirping from above the canopy, and as he walked there was a sudden noise muffled in the distance, but audible all the same. A slight shifting of rock had Honijo's bright eyes snapping forward, posture stiffening and suddenly on guard. Treading a little further on, the image that came before his eyes was one to behold indeed! She was beautiful if these sort of things even mattered to the large male. As they didn't, her bright worried green eyes and tufts of red in her fur did nothing to capture his attention. The problem was evident. Her back paw was wedged between rock and tree, and the girl was trying with all her might to free herself, but to no avail. She didn't have the strength and Honijo could tell the frustration was really beginning to get to her.

At first, he was ready to move languidly forward to assist, however at the last minute another idea came to him. <b style='color:#227788'>"Well then, that looks most uncomfortable." Honijo frowned, a look of trialed concern taking over his features. Slowly, he slouched forward and pulled up to a stop. There he looked at her, head cocking to the side as if in curiosity, or merely polite interest.

(This post was last modified: Aug 21, 2010, 04:06 AM by Honijo.)

<center><img src='http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z151/kittykarnage/mp2.png' title='Leader of Midnight Plateau' /></center>

http://i36.tinypic.com/2li9zbo.jpg);background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:top;width:450px;background-color:#999966;">

Concentration had took hold of her senses, leaving her virtually unprotected from the possible heathens that roamed around as loners. Phoenix was intelligent enough to understand that other loners didn't often take kindly to well...other loners. She was struck first with a scent that grew stronger as she shouldered the rock once more, this time more frantic than the last. While hardly anything but cowardly (as she told herself) she didn't want to risk meeting up with any unfriendlies when she was stuck between a rock and a literal hard place. Her composure settled in quickly as the other came into her sight, a larger male who simply glanced her over. That alone with unthinkable! A glance was all she got? Certainly not for a beauty such as herself! Apart from this, her attempts to get free slowed until she paused to tilt her head at the male. He remained a decent distance away from her, and Phoenix gladly accepted this. His words were simple: he stated what he saw and what he saw was that she was uncomfortable in her current position. The pretty girl scoffed at this, raising her head that much taller. Though it was awkward with the way her foot was caught, she straightened her back and stood as erect as she could: a show of pride and confidence. "Darling, please. Your statement of the obvious bores me. Have you not more interesting conversation openers?" She informed him, voice full of that self-assurance she knew and used so well. The lass cleared her throat. "If you could take the time to be a proper gentleman and help," The word slipped out in disgust, but she continued anyway with only a pause and a lick of her lips. "A lady to get free, you shall have my good thanks and then you can be right on your way." She noted, though it pained her to ask for help. Her pride was such that it hated for her to ask for any sort of assistance. She either did things by herself, for herself or not at all. She was not about to allow herself to be subjected to a commoner having helped her with a simple task. This being said, desperate times called for desperate measures and her own hope of pushing the rock free was seemingly null and void. She simply didn't have the strength for it.

table by Break

(This post was last modified: Aug 21, 2010, 08:12 PM by Phoenix Sarenzu.)

Oh, she was a bitter one! Right off the bat, Honijo's ears were greeted with the sweet talk and way too prideful vocals of a woman who clearly didn't know how to ask politely for assistance. Her attitude bounced right off him, for he wasn't the type to take such things personally, nor was he the type to obey when spoken to so sharply. He kept a cool gaze on the female, bright eyes taking her in as she struggled and finally admitted defeat with a frustrated sigh. If she were to only know who he was, be able to smell him close enough to realize exactly who she was dealing with, perhaps then she would be a little more polite and a little less demanding. But as it was, she was prodding the already brooding dragon, and he wasn't impressed. Not in the least. And yet, there was still something about her fiery outburst that caused a crooked grin to spread across his ashen lips. If he had eyebrows, they would have risen by now to mock her. Since not, Honijo took a smaller step towards her and proceeded to analyze the situation with a keen eye. Yep, just her one paw stuck and all it would take was a little more pressure to the rock in question, and she would be loose. Loose and free... to what, go be a right little bitch to other passing by wolves who don't stop to give her the attention she 'deserves'? He'd seen one too many of these characters in his lifetime. In fact, his own mother had been an attention whore.

She was no longer struggling. The two had their eyes locked on each other, hers a bright neon green, and his... well, they were probably the only bright aspect of him there was. <b style='color:#227788'>"What if I don't want to help you? What if my plan is to just walk on by and leave you hear to cry for help?" His tone was serious and his words hardly playful. Honijo wondered mildly if she would be able to catch on with his game. Stretching his neck out, he took another step closer and bent down to sniff the edge of the rock near her leg as if to further inspect, daringly close enough to free her. However, he didn't employ the necessary action. <b style='color:#227788'>"Or, hm, what if I'm a seriously bad wolf here to gobble you up whole?" He stood where he was just looking at her expression before creeping forward, a low snarl rising from deep within his chest. In no time at all, Honijo launched towards her, but instead of pinning her to the ground like it would appear he was trying to, he redirected his aim at the last second and plowed his strength into the rock that she was caught under, easily letting it budge and release.

(This post was last modified: Aug 22, 2010, 05:07 AM by Honijo.)

<center><img src='http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z151/kittykarnage/mp2.png' title='Leader of Midnight Plateau' /></center>

http://i36.tinypic.com/2li9zbo.jpg);background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:top;width:450px;background-color:#999966;">

She'd always been a self-assured little girl, full of herself and ultimately cocky. In truth it was her parents fault, for they too were regal and repeatedly demanded their children think themselves to be royalty. As the only daughter, she had been schooled in the art of how a lady sat, walked, talked, and so on. Her brothers were taught to be strong warriors, for other regal females didn't want a sissy for a mate. She and her brothers had been right under the top of an absolute monarchy, thus where their personalities had splintered from. Phoenix had never been humbled before (at least, not that she would admit to), and she wasn't about to start now. The male was suggesting that it was perhaps his plan to leave her be and walk on, and the thought alarmed her -- though only internally. The thought of leaving a lady to suffer was one she had never seen before. Obviously this male was an uncivilized heathen. Oh, and the worst thought struck her -- she was wasting her time with a simple commoner and not the gentleman she had first predicted him to be. "Then walk on and please do not waste any more of my time! But know that I shall not cry out nor beg for help. It is below me to beg." Did I mention she was blunt? If not, then know it now. Oh yes, she would gladly state that things and even other wolves were below her. Her brow arched elegantly as he stepped forward to sniff at the rock that held her. His threat was that he was actually here to gobble her up, his snarl alarming her. Phoenix stood her ground, however (not like she had much of a choice right now). "If you are such a 'bad wolf', then your tactic is severely lacking." She remarked plainly, as in instructing him like she would know the ways of how a bad wolf acted. Which, in a way she did -- though not personally. She'd met her fair share of mean wolves; she'd been mated to one, for instance. As if randomly, he had reared back and was launching towards her, the copper female suddenly pulling quite quickly on her leg for a last chance at freedom before he would come crashing down upon her. Alas, this was not the case. She pulled, yes, but he instead pushed his weight against the rock and with her pulling, her paw was free. The force of her pull sent her reeling to where her side hit the trunk of a tree. There was a disgruntled sound from her as she quickly righted herself, spine straight, head tall. The back paw that had been caught was cut, though nothing severe -- luckily. She stood with it against the ground but she positioned her weight upon the other three and not that one. Her voice exclaimed suddenly, "A-ha! So you are not such a terrible gentleman after all, though I must say your manners are quite off." She nodded her head towards him, the only time her head would come down from its high perch. "However, I must thank you for your help. So thank you, mister....?" Her voice trailed as the kept her eyes on him expectantly, awaiting him to fill her in on who she was thanking.

table by Break