Drooping Willows Fractional

@Elettra
(I have no muse with Reed. Perhaps Coquina can join?)

The weather was cruel. Prayers for an early spring would likely not be answered. Coquina moved with haste; she would much rather be sleeping in a warm den. Her fluffed tail remained tucked inward in a small attempt to retain heat. Her gaze rolls upward as she observes the willows. They bend downward dramatically from the snow, seeming as if they may snap at the weight of more. Coquina was able to scavenge meat off an old deer carcass as she made her way down into the drooping willows. Such a small amount of meat wouldn't stay long in her body- in fact, it probably digested already. As she continues to walk, something strikes her as off. Her frozen nose twitches, and her ears perk as she comes to a slow.

This was certainly familiar. A pack border. With a tilt of her head, the woman cranes her neck downward. Nostrils take in odors as her mind works to process them like a machine. Soon, the gears in her mind stop. Click. A pack. Just what she was looking for. Would the first pack she ran across be the one she would join? At the moment, it didn't seem she had much of a choice. She could barely feel her paws as she stood at the territory line. Cautiously, she begins to ponder over her choices. She could leave and search for another pack, but she hadn't a clue where the next one was. The snow was too deep, and the winds were too chilled. Sure, she had choices, but there was only one that seemed correct.

Coquina closes her eyes for a brief moment before stepping back from the border. As her lids lift, she looks into the distance, allowing herself to space out for a moment. An icy breeze brings her back into reality. The thick pelted wolf raises her head toward the bending branches of the willows. She parts her jaws and releases a long howl. It feels as if her lungs are being frozen as she does so.I hope this is worth it.

(This post was last modified: Jan 30, 2014, 01:25 AM by Coquina.)

A calling note curled through the frozen boughs of the willows, rousing Skana from her tired watch of the den site. There was little for the old wolf to do with the dead of winter settled thick around the Lore, smothering life beneath it and threatening to crush the wolves under its weight. Skana rose to her feet, standing on legs which were once defined with muscle but now thin and brittle, not even her winter coat able to hide the effects of starvation. The hope that the weather would ease up had been extinguished, and the only thing that Skana could do was wait for it to pass and hope she'd be alive by the end of it.

Skana made her way towards where she had heard the howl. The Ridge pack could always do with new blood, and during better times that would have meant more power and greater success. Now though, she wasn't so sure that more muscle would help them out much. It wasn't even a matter of there being less to go around, when there was simply nothing to eat at all.

It took Skana a while to walk through the deep snow, careful to go slowly lest she stumble and hurt herself. At this point even a small injury could be fatal. Eventually Skana could smell the loner, a female, and her notched ears tuned to the soft sounds of breath. Even in broad daylight her vision was poor, and the pale color of the female melded right into the snowy landscape. She eventually did spot the wolfish shape, and had to squint to make sure she was in fact looking at a wolf and not a deceptively shaped tree stump and moved closer towards it.

"Skana Coho, of Willow Ridge," Skana introduced herself, with her tail waving up above her back and head held proudly erect. "You've come looking for a pack?" Skana guessed. Why else would a single wolf be standing at the border in the middle of winter?

Coquina stood in the silence of winter. The windchill clawed at her as she waited. She closed her eyes and attempted to imagine herself in the rays of the summer's sun. It didn't help. Her lids opened as the sound of a nearing wolf entered her ears. She perked up but kept her tail low in a submissive manner. Her fluffed tail tucked downward between her thickly furred hind legs. With a shiver, she bows her head respectfully as the wolf got within range. She introduced herself as Skana Coho. The name bounced within her mind before she stopped. Willow Ridge. That was the name of this pack.

"Coquina Ladios, Skana. It is a pleasure." Coquina keeps her head lowered. Her deep chocolate-gold eyes peer upward before she speaks once more. "Correct. I cannot bare this weather on my own anymore." Looking at Skana, it seemed she could not tolerate it even more so. The woman appeared frail and undernourished. A pang of empathy strikes through Quin's heart. "I've traveled a decent ways in search for a new pack. I am ready to settle again." Quin twitches her freezing cold nose, attempting to thaw it out. Standing before the Coho wolf, the Ladios lady kept her tail down. Her fur was smoothed, aside from the breeze running itself through her coat here and there. Anxiety sparks within her, creating a small flame of stress. If she wasn't capable of joining this pack, her survival would be undoubtedly threatened. Hunger was the worst of her problems, at the moment. Coquina shifts a bit, feeling her paws numbing again. This winter was a true pain this year.

There is a moose carcass that has been scavenged by coyotes nearby. +15 Health

Of course! Glad your still around. :3 Sry for El's 'worse then usual' attitude to happen this thread.

The loners howl meant little to nothing to Elettra Archer. She had long decided to dismiss the call of those at her border. Lest the loner prove exceptional then they would do themselves no good here - or anywhere - in a land that had no food to offer. Already the pack had lost a paw-full of members, two which had actually turned up dead, ether lost in the snow storms and froze to death or simply died from wound and hunger. Anyone could fall. Anyone. The realization of this pained Elettra deeply. After the death of Semananti and Narcissa, the Matriarch was only left to wonder who would be next - Skana? Guiness? One of her children? ...Herself?

Her mood kept her at much distance from her pack. When not sleeping with them over the colder temperatures, she was endlessly scouting for food that seemed may never come. Though, as though magic had it, luck smiled upon her this afternoon. Food. She would smell the death. She could smell the predators near. ...And she did not care. The moose carcass was so very close where the loner had called and Elettra charged, her dark hairs on end, her tail a high banner in the winter sky. The mated pair of coyote that was there, thinly and weak as they were, would not stand a chance. The Archer woman was distanced from Skana and the loner but surely the loud despite Elettra gave at her arrival would signal their attention. The coyote's split, snagging what food they could carry and instantly the Leader held defense over her find. Food for the pack. Finally.

She takes a moment of breath as she scans the area, scenting out Skana and the Loner's forms now that she had captured her prize. A hard attention befalls the unknown wolf, but for the time being Elettra did not address her. Let her come this way if approval is what she truly desired. For the time being Elettra remained protectively by the moose carcass and barked out for Skana to join her. Surely the elder was due in adding a little meat to her brittle bones.

(This post was last modified: Feb 06, 2014, 08:16 PM by Elettra.)

Skana could almost smell the tension emanating off of Coquina. The crone was pretty sure that it wasn't her run-down appearance striking fear into the girl. Standing on strange pack borders would make most nervous, in any case.

"Do you know anything of us? Or, are we simply the first pack you've-" Skana started but the word's caught in her throat as she heard the scrabbling of coyotes. The wind turned and carried the scent of old moose, coyote, and Elettra. Her eyes narrowed as she swung her skull in the direction of the noise. The bare skin of her scars puckered as her nose wrinkled, her chest rumbled in the beginning of a growl. Skana had had enough of vermin encroaching on the territory, with the foxes and coyotes making bold moves to steal what rightly belonged to the wolves. Quickly enough came Elettra's bark, and Skana was briskly on the move towards her.

"Come," Skana commanded loud enough to carry to the female she had turned her back on. She wasn't leaving some stranger standing around their territory unattended, and it was a subtle test of the newcomer's compliance, and literally if she could trust her back to her. A bold move, but what had Skana to lose?

Ears back Skana approached Elettra. Her tail, steady with her back, had begun to sway upon seeing the meat and absence of coyotes. The hunger that had been long present and long ignored roared to life in her stomach, but she would wait patiently for Elettra to take the first bite before she even touched it.

(This post was last modified: Feb 07, 2014, 07:22 AM by Skana.)

Water is beginning to freeze and some fish are trapped. Hunt Opportunity

Coquina could feel her heart pound harder within her chest as another wolf appeared. This one possessed a darker coat than the first. Skana began toward Elettra, and Quin followed behind obediently. Silence grasped her as she did so; she wasn't sure what to say. Her eyes focused on a pair of thin coyotes that were lingering near a carcass. Within moments, they departed, disappearing into the white of snow. Coming to a slow as they approached, Coquina lowered her head and kept her tail tucked downward. Her gold-brown gaze fell upon Elettra, but she did not make eye contact. The scent of the food lingered into her nostrils. Coquina blinked. It was a moose.

She was glad to have had found food before she made it here. Though she was basically on empty again, Quin continued to stand. She wouldn't let the cold of the winter claim her. Unsure if she was allowed to speak or not, Quin looks between the two woman that hovered above the moose now. Standing a respectable distance, she kept her eyes off of the food. Joining a pack was most important at the moment. Though her stomach was knotting and begging for her to eat, she ignored her urges. She must be a respectable wolf to get anywhere. It would be a few months until the wolves looked back on this winter and breathed a sigh of relief. She hoped she would be one of those wolves- no, she knew she would be.

With the silence still claiming her, Quin decided to speak. Though she may get her pelt ripped off to speak out of turn, she did so anyway. "Coquina Ladios" She offered her name first to the dark wolf that stood guard at the corpse of the moose.

The dark woman nosed the food eagerly and impatiently, her eyes never straying from Skana and the new comer as she did so. She tugged at the already open flesh, taking two quick bites as Skana came to her side, silent and awaiting her own turn at the found meal. Elettra huffed, licking her chops as she lifted her head to her subordinate's direction. Her nose jut towards the food, a silent gesture that Skana may begin eating. Elettra did have the loner at their borders to deal with, after all. Shifting so that she was closer to the loner, she accessed the female silently. Well off enough though with the signs of obvious hard winter upon her. She did well not to question about the food - to not even look at it. Perhaps she would find a place amongst them after all... "Joining a pack this Winter may bring company and warmth, but not food. Nearly everything is gone from the Lore." She speaks to the woman, telling her of the loss in prey these lands held if she did not know already. Perhaps if she was new to Relic Lore, she would decide to take her chances beyond if she could still manage to travel in order to find herself better lands for hunting. "If you join us, then you are committed to us." Her words snap, her silver attention narrowed on the woman as she stood boldly before her. Elettra had grown short tempered and violent far more then her own natural self. She held no time for false promises and weak freeloaders. Once she had found purpose for elders and youth though now in this winter she held no patience for ether at her border. This woman was lucky for her age and health. "If you betray us we will hunt you and we will eat you." Her muzzle twitches with a wrinkled silent growl, testing the woman's will. Let her run if she was not strong enough to hang out with the feral group, though she would learn that all within the Lore were becoming just as equally desperate. "Elettra Archer, Leader."

(This post was last modified: Feb 19, 2014, 11:05 PM by Elettra.)

An icy wind attempts to rattle her bones, but Coquina stands, her gaze steely.
She remained attentive as the wolf Elettra spoke. At the threat of eating
her, Quin barely batted an eye. She only opened her mouth to speak "Fortunately
I am not a wolf of betrayal, Elettra." her tone was rougher than usual; her
face was deadpan as she spoke. The odor of the moose flesh was pungent, stinging
her nostrils and tempting her. The wolf was of strong heart, though, and she kept
her gaze focused on the leader. "I've never been plagued with commitment issues."
She spoke of the truth; her leave was taken from her old pack due to a corrupt
leader. The saliva in her mouth thickened as the scent of prey continued to linger about her.


It was obvious that food shortage was imminent this winter. There was no doubt about that.
Coquina had eaten only a few times since she lay paw within the Lore. A silent prayer ran
through her head that she actually had made it this far without any issues. Though her paws
were numb, she was still capable of standing. The wolf before her, though- Skana was it? Yes,
that was it. She looked to be in quite the condition. A pang of empathy naturally stabs at
Quin's heart, but her mind ignores it. There was no time nor need for that. Skana was obviously
knowing of her current state.


The Ladios woman continues to stand, her muscles rigid as snowflakes are swept off the nearly
breaking willows. The flurry lasts a few moments, powdering the black back of her coat as it does
so. Her jaws clench before Quin wrinkles her nose, squinting through the flurry. "I'm a reliable
hunter- though I know that does barely any good at the moment." She blinks, gold-brown gaze
focused at the two wolves between the snowflakes, "Stamina and strength are my trump cards. I can
scout and guard, as well." She would offer herself to whatever was needed.

(This post was last modified: Feb 20, 2014, 07:34 PM by Coquina.)