Glowing

Morning had arrived quickly for the lone wolf. She pads softly through the lagoon, the soft grass brushing against her limbs. Her nose lifts upwards and she breathes in. The morning dew had claimed the land around it- everything seemed to be sparkling. The air was a bit cool, creating cold droplets of water that dripped from leaves. Harp approaches the large body of water that she was walking towards only moments ago.

Her head cranes downward, and her pink tongue snakes from her mouth. She laps at liquid, satisfying her thirst before she pauses. Her nose points inches away from the water as her golden eyes meet the mirrored ones in the reflection. Harp's ears perk forward as a shadow forms in the water. The shadow belongs to a fish that zips off into the deep. The small wolf twitches her nose before she suddenly turns left. With her tail beginning to wag, the Lafalia woman grows excited.

She rounds a bend on the body of water, picking out a small spot near a mottled rock. Ever so gently, the wolf enters the water paw-by-paw. She wades forward now, feeling the cool water rising up to her belly. Just before it does, she stops. Her eyes work the waters as her body stands rigid. She watches for the shadows, calculating the area to strike. Minnows find her paws, and begin nipping in search of dead flesh. Harp does not move as she waits patiently for bigger fish to near. Small panfish dart by, and Harp watches where they swim. Her patience remains as she stands, her face stoic as she does so.

She'd left the pack before her son had even opened his eyes. He'd moved slightly when she left him behind, but hadn't complained or awakened. When he'd been small, it had been easy enough for her to simply pick him up and place him close to the side of another wolf within the communal den, but that was when he'd weight a trifle and had been able to sleep through such an interruption. Nowadays, he was too large for her to simply pick him up and move him by the scruff- her boy was growing fast, a tribute to the man only she knew to be his father. But no one else could know those thoughts- instead, she'd simply verbalized the fact that his 'mother' had been small, but for him to grow so quickly, his father must have been a large wolf. With @Naira, she'd made the speculation that perhaps his father had been the alpha of a pack somewhere- and that his mother had been exiled due to her unwanted pregnancy. The two women had seemed to agree that something along those lines seemed like the back story for Mercy's parents...Wolves which had been completely fabricated by Sagacity, but with such an art that even she believed it, sometimes.

When the sun rose she had already traversed terrain well beyond her pack's borders. She shook out her coat small droplets of dew flew from it. She'd already begun to notice that her pelt had begun to thicken in preparation for the oncoming winter. With it would come the cold and hardship of snow and ice, and she found herself thankful that Mercy was her only responsibility, and that she had a small but strong pack to rely on. Naira's girls were growing as well, though she doubted that either of them would get anywhere near as large as Mercy...And she intended for her boy to grow up big and strong, so that one day she might see a bit of Rhysis in him. But for now, the boy had only his father's eyes and the promise of growth, and that was enough for Sagacity.

Having caught the scent of water, she followed it but slowed when she found the scent of another female wolf mingling with it. Her approach was slow and cautious and she found herself peering through golden-leafed bushes to see who she was up against- a petite female, with a dark pelt speckled with light fur which gave her a the look of a dark sky brightened by scattered stars. She was in the water, focusing on its surface- fishing, Sagacity deduced. So she pulled back and moved away, walking through the shadows further downstream in order to give the woman the space she'd need to go fishing. Once she felt comfortable with the distance between the two, she quietly emerged from the copse and sought to make eye contact with the woman so as to give her a polite nod of greeting before she wordlessly slipped to the edge of the water and began to drink.

Avatars by Arla!

As she focuses, the sound of paws echo through her mind. Her eyes slide to the left, and there she sees someone approaching the water. She is small in stature just as she is. Harp makes eye contact and dips her head politely to the wolf. Though they acknowledged each others' presence, there was more that could be done or said. Harp remains weary as she focuses her attention back onto the water. Her stomach knots up in hunger as she awaits another shadow. Within a few minutes, a bass arrives on scene. It swims casually alongside another bass, both of juvenile age. Harp feels her body stiffen up again as she calculates the actions of the fish.

Harp keeps her breathing steady as she prepares herself to launch forward. She envisions a heron and how it would hunt. One moment she is staring at the fish in the water, and the next she's underwater for a brief second. As her face hits the water, air bubbles escape from both her nostrils and mouth, as she does not want to choke. Her jaws close, and she can feel the lower half of the fish caught. Her tongue presses against the scales of the bass as she brings her head up and out of the water. Dark nostrils flare as she turns, high-stepping out of the lagoon.

As she touches land once more, the woman's head jerks upward as she adjusts her grip on the fish. Harp snaps down upon the head, ending the life of the aquatic creature. Her tail sways merrily as she gently places the kill on the dew covered grasses. Soaking ears lift as she brings her head upward to peer back near Sagacity. Had the woman left or was she still remaining in the area?

*flails* Sage can be such a pain sometimes.

Out of the corner of her eye, Sagacity watched as the darker woman kept her focus on the task at hand, having noted her quiet nod of response. She continued to drink as a flurry of movement and spray of water announced the wolf's attack and the slap of the fish's tail against her cheek signaled her success. By this point, Sagacity's thirst had been quenched so she lifted her head to look over and notice, then, that she hadn't only caught a fish, but quite a fine one. The undershot look of its jaw and wrinkles wreathing its gaping mouth told her that it was a bass, one of her preferred choices for fish. As the dark woman made her way to the shore, so did she, and she used that time to close the distance between them.

She shook herself lightly, lifting each paw to flick the water off her toes and at the same time, blithely taking one step at a time closer to the female, though the absent look in her features made it seem unintentional. The woman had already killed the fish, ending the possibility that it could flop back into the water, and had just turned her head when Sagacity's own head had lowered and she'd shifted into a swift trot, closing the gap between them swiftly.

This wasn't the first time she'd decided to rob another wolf of their meal. She'd measured the woman up and had seen that though she looked strong, she was a similar size. She was not a pack wolf and had not had that luxury and security. Sagacity was a pack wolf and a hungry one, an opportunistic one. There'd been something about the female's gait as well, when she'd left the water- something which made her gait uneven. This was a wolf, then, that would never be a contender for her pack. And therefore, she had no interest in befriending her. She intended to use her.

Her jaws snapped as a warning as the gap closed, and the decision would have to be made swiftly- either she could fight over the fish she'd caught, or surrender it.

Avatars by Arla!

Her eyes narrow as the intent of the female becomes clear. Why? The question flies through Harp's mind as she looks at the approaching wolf. The approaching wolf snaps her jaws, and Harp's ears lie flat against her head. The woman is enraged. "You should stop there" She says, her hackles rising upward. Harp's body lowers as she lowers herself over the bass. Her tail follows suit now, straightening as she leans over her fish. "Find something better to do." Nostrils flare as she takes in the scent of the woman. A pack wolf. A nervous feeling overcomes Harp, for she does not know if she has entered a pack's territory- again.

"You are a pack wolf, correct?" By now, Harp's teeth are flashing with every word. Her lips are curling instinctively. "Why don't you screw off and find your own food." How rude of the other woman. Harp's first encounter had been with a wolf named Narimé and her pup Titan.They were kind wolves... but this wolf... it was different. Of course there were always going to be wolves of different personality, but it was a bit of a disappointment to come across someone so rude and so early. She had just begun her adventures through these new lands.

Harp brings her head down now, teeth baring. If it was a fight she wanted, she would get it. Harp wouldn't stand for anyone's bullshit- even if it was just over a fish. A pack wolf should be out hunting for her family, not scrapping off another lone wolf. With her fur bristling, she awaits the next move....

You should stop there.

The direction fell upon deaf ears and the silver female continued forward, undeterred from her goal of stealing that fish. There was a thrill from travelling the continent that she was lacking- but this certainly helped to supply that rush of adrenaline, and with each step she took her conviction grew. The woman lowered herself protectively over the fish, but Sagacity did not care- if she wouldn't simply step away and surrender her catch, she'd have to surrender a good amount of fur and flesh as well.

The other warnings and insults had no effect on Sagacity, who didn't want to talk about her pack or why this was or wasn't right. She wanted the fish. Simple as that.

So the silver bullet stalked forth, pace becoming slightly quicker as the gap closed until with a fierce growl, she opened her jaws, eyes flashing with a feral light. Her hackles stood on end, like a wreath of quills about the nape of her neck leading down her spine in a stiff row. Her tail flew up and the hairs parted, making her tail look all the more banner-like. Her muscles flexed and bunched with each movement, the circulation of blood sending energy and adrenaline rushing to every part of her body which was now called upon for a battle. It had been too long since she had felt anything remotely close to this- and she relished the feeling, that rush of emotion as she rushed into something, headlong, without completely knowing why.

But it felt good.

Her jaws snapped, and the silver dagger aimed to bite at the woman's face and shoulders and bully her into submission.

Avatars by Arla!

The wolf charges at her without mercy. The next thought that enters Harp's mind is that the wolf may be ill. She couldn't smell anything different, though. Harp's ears press hard against her head as she feels fangs meet her flesh. The pain is sharp, and soon there is the warmth of blood upon her shoulders. A wicked snarl emerges from her small body, and she tucks her tail down. She couldn't screw around right now. If this demented woman wanted the fish so badly, she could have it. The Lafalia did not have time for this foolishness.

She feels the grip on her shoulders and Harp snaps her words "Let go. You can have the damn fish." She is infuriated, but not enough so since she can still feel pain. Her adrenaline slowly seeps from her blood as her orange-hued gaze falls upon the sky. This was certainly an unfortunate event. Harp's mind was buzzing in confusion- why would a pack wolf take another's fish? It seemed absolutely absurd to do, and now she had a bleeding wound on her shoulders/base of her neck because of it.

Harp tucks her tail down more so her tail is curling up between her legs. She just wants to leave. This whole happening was nothing of her interest. The strange wolf could eat her bass... she would catch another eventually. Though unfortunately, Harp wouldn't know when the next time that would be. Her shoulders stiffen as she attempts to slip away from hovering over the fish. She did not want anything else to do with Sagacity at the moment. All that was in her mind was returning to Narimé to get some rest.

The female didn't move away from her, but fortunately for the woman, she tucked herself closer to the ground, avoiding a much more serious blow by doing so. Sage gripped the fur of the woman's shoulders as soon as she came in contact with her and shook her head viciously from side to side- if nothing else, then simply to make a point. She was the dominant wolf out of the two of them and she wouldn't lose a fight to a lone wolf. She'd chosen a life with a pack and over the course of nearly a year- this still surprised her whenever she thought about it- she'd enjoyed the luxuries it had afforded her.

The darker woman submitted and when she tried to pull away she was allowed to do so. Sagacity took that moment to snatch the fish from beneath the female and walk stiff-leggedly a few paces away. Feeling fairly confident that the woman wouldn't think to pose a counter-attack, she rested herself on the ground, the fur lining her spine still standing on edge, and faced the woman. If she did try to steal the fish back, she'd at least see it coming and have a chance to rise to her legs to meet the attack.

This had worked. Sagacity was both pleased and surprised that the woman hadn't made an effort to fight back- but in her pride and victory, she stupidly assumed that she would have won the fight anyway. Her ego inflated, she began to tear into the fish's still-wet flesh and consume her plundered meal.

Avatars by Arla!

[[Would you like to make the finishing post? :)

Harp doesn't bother to look at the woman. Her fish is taken, and the pirate wolf walked a small distance away before settling down. Harp's ears flick as the sound of tearing flesh is heard. She looks to her right as she gets her bearings together. The water ripples gently in the early morning air- it was still morning. There would have to be other hunting done, but the small wolf was unsure of her abilities a the moment. She could feel the blood drying up in her thickening pelt. She closes her eyes before sighing.

Peering at Sagacity, Harp turns slightly away from her. She doesn't want to look at her. Her scent is strong in her nostrils, though, and she was going to remember it. She was going to walk with it. Harp's hackles settle as she shakes out her coat, wincing at the stinging on her shoulders. Her pink tongue slips from her mouth as she casually licks her chops and prepares to depart. There was no need to stick around.

She looks once more toward the wolf that had taken her meal. Silently, Harp wonders what pack she has come from. If she ran into another pack wolf so quickly, there must be several wolves in these lands. It was time to be more cautious. It is a disappointment that not all can be trusted. Some wolves do not have good intent, and that is that. Harp grunts as she begins to walk now, retracing her steps back toward where she met Narimé and Titan. It was time to return.

(This post was last modified: Sep 19, 2013, 10:35 PM by Harp.)

OOC: How about one more post out of each of us, so we can use this for points? Gotta be 10 replies to collect them.

The fish tasted good-possibly because it was a nice, healthy bass, but Sage believed that part of the reason she relished it so much was the fact that she'd fought for it and had one it so easily. She'd used her wiles to steal a fish from Lachesis, but force had given her much more adrenaline. Part of her, some part of her character that demanded she listen to her morals, felt bad for having stolen this fish from a lone wolf. Sage was healthy and capable enough of hunting for herself, and she enjoyed doing so- but if she could save the energy by stealing a meal, then she would.

The female looked quite dejected as she began to walk away and for some reason, Sage felt the need to call out to her, in a voice which was neither taunting nor patronizing. Instead, she spoke with the tone that indicated she'd been there before, and could understand the female's plight. But she felt no sympathy; she'd shed those rags already. "Life is hard." She said. "Rise from it." She allowed the words of advice to hang on the air for a moment as she watched the female to see what the reception of them might be. She didn't mean to further insult the woman, but rather, to instruct her, as she'd instructed herself to do so when she'd been on her own. The female was lucky, in Sagacity's opinion, that she hadn't received a more dire injury; but the sting of defeat would ring with her for some time, she knew, but that tiny, good-natured part in Sagacity hoped that she'd rebound quickly.

Avatars by Arla!