Whisper Marsh Eclipse of the Sun

December 8th, 2012 Morning

Cattails and tall saw grasses stuck stiffly out of the semi frozen terrain. Ice clung to the edges of each plant stalk or bundle of grass. Cold still water remained locked in a frozen tomb open to the cloudless skies. Not a wind stirred, and not a single one of the few trees dotting the marsh moaned in the chill. An eerie quiet had settled upon the land now covered in snow and ice. Only the chatter of [pine siskins broke the silence.

Even the pine siskins stopped their chatter when the sound of cracking ice filled the air. A silvery gray form lithely manuvered through the ice covered waterscape. Her paws only ever falling through the ice occasionally. The females nose twitched as her gray body paused. Scenting the air for prey.

It was a constant motion that Narimé had taken up while on her search for a huntable meal. Move forward, pause, look at her surroundings, then move again all the while scenting the air around her. That was all the young hunter did while she was out scouting for prey. Her packs caches had been dreadfully low when Narimé had left the den. With a worried frown she had taken it upon herself to head out and search for some form of cloved animal to hunt. Whether it was a deer, moose, elk, or some deer she had yet to see, Narimé searched for one.

She had been gone for close to a week already traveling around the land outside of her packs territory looking for a meal. The silver she wolf had already been to Fireweed Rise, Drooping Willows, and even the southern edge of Cedarwood Forest. As the young wolf padded forward she was already making plans to head to Hush meadow if she couldn't find anything here.

Her grayish form paused again. Scenting the air she brought her head up excited by the smell at first. It was a smell unlike that of snow, ice, bug, plant or earth. Lowering herears in disappointment Nari realized that the scent was that of a wolf. "Yeah just what I need. Another wolf to fight over food with.... if, there is by chance any food out here." She growled to herself and lifted her tail a bit keeping a neutral somewhat tense stance.

Too absorbed in her task to realize that the wolf scent was one she knew Nari dipped her head again looking and scenting for a trail of any animal. Even just something small that she could catch for herself.

"speech"

Faces, places, names, Rais never seemed to forget anything. But as of late, he found it particularly curious how a certain silver-clad girl kept managing to appear in his thoughts. He had to admit, there wasn't anything special about her, well, nothing besides her long, svelte limbs, captivating periwinkle eyes, and a personality as warm as a summer's day. Rais froze in mid-step, grey paw held in place over the frozen mud of the marsh's bank. What the hell was wrong with him? With a grumbling huff he shook his head, hoping the violent motion would eject the invading thoughts right out of his ears.

He'd came here with the desire to catch a frog, this time just to see what one actually tasted like, inside of their rubbery, swampy skin. He had the thought that perhaps it would be too cold for frogs, and maybe they would have holed up and disappeared, the same way that squirrels and bears seemed to vanish in the winter. Rais couldn't even smell any of the slimy critters as he edged around the marsh. Seeing just how frozen over the wetlands really were he realized his craving for frog-legs would likely go unfulfilled until the spring thaw.

He was nearly disappointed, until he caught a scent on the breeze which was much more interesting than a frog. His black ears perked forward and his fuzzy tail swayed behind him, knowing she couldn't be far. His nose lead him onto the ice, and carefully navigating through dead cattails and dormant reeds he made his way towards her. His slight weight only afforded some creaking and groaning from the ice, which he was glad for. Showing up looking like a drowned rat wouldn't look too impressive, though he couldn't think why it would matter if Narime' was impressed by him or not.

Rounding about a clump of marshy grasses, he finally caught sight of her polished grey pelt. "Narime'!" He called towards her, the biggest smile on his face as he made his tip-toe approach over the ice. "Ah, it's so nice to see you again! What're you up to here?"

She'd found it!

The scent of deer. Though she was almost immediately surprised at where the scent was since she did not find it as a trail on the ground, but fresh in the air. That meant the deer was veerrry close. Twisting her gray ears this way and that Narimé stood stock still unsure if the animal had seen her or really where the creature itself was.

All her focus was on searching, looking, scenting for that animal. Where was it? She was unmoving until the sound of a loud call behind the young wolf nearly scared the silver girl out of her pelt. Turning with a growl Narimé moved to quiet Rais with her muzzle around his nose but just then she finally spotted the deer.

"Shut up and stay still!" She growled low to the gray and black wolf as he trotted in closer issuing a loud greeting. The deer raised its head about 100 yards away at the edge of the forest belnding in almost perfectly with the trees and brush behind it. The two tined buck stared directly at the two wolves, snorted, raised its white DANGER flag of a tail, then turned and bounded away into Cedarwood forest.

A snarl radiated from Narimé's muzzle but she kept herself rooted to the ice just growling out her frustration. Silver banner whipped back and forth annoyed with her friend Rais.

"You just had to show up now didn't you....." She growled, "For a week I have been out looking for something the pack can hunt cause the caches were low, and now when I finally find something!" She clawed at the ice making it crack under the weight of her paw. Now she just had to vent. It was rare for Narimé to get angry about anything, but right now she was hungry, thirsty, and missing the comfortable den back in the willows.

"Aaand! I can't go back without something!" She whipped her head away from him forcing her fur flat and her tail still behind her. Closing her bluish eyes Nari breathed in and out trying to calm herself then smoothed her previously snarling muzzle.

Rais hadn't expected Narime' to turn and face him with snarling and fangs bared. His orange eyes widened like dinner plates and he sunk downwards, with his ears pinned to his head and his tail between his legs. He noticed her gaze locked not on him, but something behind him, and he turned just in time to see the brushy white tail of a startled deer disappear into the trees. The boy realised, too late, that she must have been tracking the thing, and her angry shouts only confirmed that to be case. He winced, a guilty grimace pulling the corner of his black lips as he looked back to Narime'. It didn't stop there, as she continued on to rain a frustrated deluge of words and growling on his already abashed self. He'd only wanted to say hello, and instead he'd really messed things up for her.

"Look, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize... I would've stayed low if I knew." He groveled, finally straightening up a little now that she didn't look quite so furious. "You could just... Not go back? Yeah? I found a pack up in the mountains, you could just come back with me, and not worry about the ah, little cache problem, huh?" He looked completely earnest at the proposition, after all, there was no better solution to a problem than to just avoid it altogether. He would have had no problem with packing his bags and ditching his pack in a time of need, if it suited him, but he knew nothing of the loyalty of the Ridge wolves.

"What!?! Oh heck no! I'm not going anywhere near those damn mountains! I almost died up there! AND... My...my.. father.. did die up there.." At first her face had turned to a snarl while she stalked towards Rais tail whipping again. However when she was reminded of her father her tone slipped down to a quiet whisper while her body drooped depressed about those memories she had been trying to hide away. Her blue eyes turned to the ground thinking about Sibo. No, the mountains were definately not a place she could call home, even if her best friend Chantille lived there.

Picking up her head Narimé glanced back up to Rais yellow eyes. "The pack needs me to find food so that everyone can eat. I can't just leave them.." She growled a warning then flicked her tail goodbye and began trotting away towards where the deer had been. Maybe she could find its trail heading back off into the woods.

All Rais could do was curse himself as he just seemed to be digging himself deeper and deeper. His mouth went bone dry when Narime' choked out that her father had died up in those mountains. There was nothing he could really say to that, and awkwardly he stood not making an attempt to hide the despair that snuck into his eyes. He'd meant to console her somehow, but had only managed to pull open some of Narime's old scars. With nothing so much as a "goodbye" she had turned, walking away from him and into the surrounding forest. A small whine left his throat, a childish thing to do though he couldn't help the reaction. There was a strange, awkward feeling in his chest, the sensation bidding Rais to follow her, else the feeling would only get worse.

Sighing, he dogged after her, not consciously making an effort to be silent though barely any noise came from his movements. He followed a few lengths behind, so very tempted to walk beside her but afraid he might again spark her wrath. He wanted to speak, to apologize, to offer help in some way, but his mouth still felt like it was filled with sand. Even if he could manage to speak, he was afraid of saying the wrong thing yet again. So quiet as a shadow, he trailed behind Narime' with his head low, almost like a hunter himself his bright eyes trained on her backside.

This might be a good point for Sloane to pop in? Also Am I correct in assuming Rais will still continue following her even if she gives him a warning? If you want me to change this post please go ahead and tell me. I might have PP Rais a tiny bit.

She had finally been calming down when all of the sudden she heard the loud pawsteps of Rais behind her. Breathing out quickly with a "huff" Narimé showed her annoyance briefly by turning her head so that he could see the small snarl cloaking half of her face. It was a silent warning to GO AWAY... Turning her gaze back to the ground in front of her the silver wolf trotted to the spot where the deer had stood.

Judging by the few tracks she could see the deer had turned tail and began leaping through the water. She hoped that this was not the case. Irritation pricked at her further when as she began trailing the deer she lost its scent in the water. Her fur stood on end as Nari growled at her rotten luck and turned around quickly. Narimé only barely escaped bumping into Rais who had been following closely behind.

She had already warned him once.. There was no twice in the canine world. Every wolf who had been taught by their mothers knew this. Once you become older than a silly ignorant pup your mother gives you only one warning then disciplines harshly never giving a second warning. Perhaps Rais did not learn this lesson?

Lifting her head and pulling her ears back Narimé made a move to grab Rais muzzle between her jaws. She was planning on just pinning him down with his muzzle shut between her daggers. She had told him before that she did not want him following her. Why couldn't he just leave her alone?

It was pure chance that he'd come upon Narime's trail. She'd been away from her pack for at least a few days, maybe a week. He couldn't help it, not only was he worried about her, he just plain wanted to see her again. Apparently, he would never tire of his blue-eyed beauty. He was making good time and her trail was getting fresher, although he had to tread very lightly over the ice she'd walked over. He caught the scent of another wolf, a male, join up with hers and a low growl escaped his throat.

He quickened his pace, wondering what an unknown male was following Narime' for. He wasn't of Willow Ridge, he smelled of another pack. Taking a breath, he calmed himself as he told himself that the wolf was unknown to him, but not necessarily to Narime'. Somehow, that thought didn't make him feel all that much better. He trusted her, but his emotions were so new and strong that they occasionally led him around by the nose. Realizing that she was just doing her job and the other wolf had come upon her, he took a breath. That didn't mean anything bad.

Just as he'd soothed all of his worries and was once again joyfully looking forward to seeing his sweet girl, he came upon the pair of them. Narime' had just whipped around towards the male, teeth bared and reaching for his muzzle to put him in a submission hold. Instantly, he saw red. Nari had been forced to defend herself from the smaller male. That was all he needed to know for every protective bone in his body to spring to life. The other man didn't know it, but he'd just put himself in the crosshairs of one very large, very angry wolf. With a bone-chilling snarl, her roared, "Get away from her!" His hackles were raised, his head and tail high and stiff with fury. His amber eyes were dark and flashing fire at the smaller male. He was prepared to tear him a new hide and then some.

Knight of Honor

She'd already growled at him once, and Rais knew well enough that he was really pushing his luck. He couldn't help it, there was just something entirely new and captivating about the female that he hadn't noticed before. Maybe, just maybe if he were persistent enough, she might stay with him... He seemed to go ignored for a time, and he dared to walk just a bit closer behind her. The next time she had noticed him, he'd nearly bumped into her when she suddenly changed direction. This time she was much angrier, and the boy quickly ducked back and out of the way of the clack of her teeth, yelping as he did so.

A loud snarl that wasn't Narime's caused him to spin around, seeing a fiery male snarling at him to get away from her. He sized up the man, noticing his long, robust limbs and well muscled shoulders. Driven by a flush of testosterone, Rais stepped forward and between what he now thought to be his girl and the rival. His narrowed orange eyes pinned onto the bright amber ones of his opponent, and it was with a rumbling snarl he parted his jaws to bare his teeth, bits of saliva hanging from the white peaks of his fangs. His brushy grey tail moved up like a flag, but his dark ears pinned against his skull, somewhat betraying his show of confidence. It was such a blatant territorial display, and he might have thought better of doing such a thing if the instincts of the season hadn't rooted themselves in his young, inexperienced brain. He would disobey the russet male's command, answering only with another snarl and a stamp of his ashen grey paw, challenging him. Mine.

Note to self this thread is after Shades depressed thread. So Nari knows she loves Sloane.

"Now what.." She thought annoyed at the arrival of a second wolf until she realized just who it was.

"Sloane?" She tipped her head to the side. Why was he here? Had he been looking for her? With a slight wag of her tail she watched Rais turn and get all puffy. Was he really going to try and take on Sloane? And why was Sloane so growly? What the heck were they both getting all agitated over?!? It was a few seconds later that Nari realized what the two were so angry over. It was her...

Annoyed at the males little show of bravado the hunter sighed and decided to just watch. It wasn't like she had a meal to go after thanks to the silver black wolf Rais. And now with the two males snarling at each other she was sure a deer wouldn't be within a mile of this area. "I guess I'll just take a break from scouting and watch them for a bit and try to figure stuff out. I just hope Sloane doesn't chew him to pieces.." She half smiled at the thought. As much as Rais was annoying sometimes she didn't mind the male. She would hate to see him wounded too badly. However Nari was also curious to see what Sloanes strength was.

It was decided then. That the silver fea would watch them have at it. If there was a possibility of her being with Sloane then Narimé wanted to know that he was strong enough to protect her, and whatever family they might have in the future. She wanted to see with her own eyes how much he wanted to be with her. Even if Shade had told her that Sloane loved her. The young woman must see that for herself.

So she watched quietly from her place by the edge of the marsh and forest.

.

OOC: You can continually skip her until the fight is over.

(This post was last modified: Jan 01, 2013, 01:04 AM by Narimé.)