Blackberry Fields all the small things

The words he spoke struck Danica as they played with her young heart. "Starving? That means they are slowly dying from a lack of food, right?" She gulped hard and whimpered slightly. Not too long into her unsure thoughts Iopah came bounding up to them. She relaxed and eased her hackles down, quietly she stepped back to place herself slightly behind her shoulder. The gentle touch gave her some confidence, "This is Gent Iopha, and his family is starving!" She spoke in hr high pitched voice a tone of urgency. "He wants to hunt with some of us in turn for a small portion of deer." She went on to explain. The protective stance of her pack mate was intimidatingly awesome. *She isn't alpha, but she is higher up then him.*

Not very long after her words Hollow approached and barked out a command. She took it as harsh and begrudgingly stalked over to him. "He means Secret Woodlands no harm," She momentarily interrupted before silencing herself. Guiltily she shifted her slightly over sized front paws and glanced away, "Sorry." She mumbled under her breath. Slowly she turned to look at her father figure, expecting a hard stare. Every single part of him seemed to scream, 'I'm the boss here!'It gave her a sense of pride that burned in her chest. She grinned for a second then wiped the smug look from her lips. *I'm in trouble, I do not need to make this worse.* She reminded herself. Inwardly she sighed.

(Ugh, not rich in quality, but here.)

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Danica did not need to heed his request. As if on cue, two wolves from this foreign pack disentangled themselves from the woodlands, eyes soft their youth and harsh with judgment for Gent. He did not blame them in the least bit, and took his place as lowest of the three of them. Posture fallen and submissive, he could only hope that he was making the right choice here and would not have to scurry back to @Naira with his tail between his legs and a wound or two as punishment for getting too close. Gent stared at Hollow's paws, wishing he could look the man in the eyes and assess his strengths and weaknesses. He felt very out of element at that moment, but it only served to bolster his will. In his usual fashion, Gent saw nothing but a challenge in convincing these wolves to trust and work with him. "My name is Gent; I was traveling south in search of food when I ran into Danica. I don't intend to trespass, and I will abide by your will, but as your heiress says I wish to appeal to your better nature and ask that you allow me to hunt with you in exchange for a small portion of the meat. Only as much as you see fit. I just... I can't go back empty handed again. We're starving." His words held nothing but sincerity, and while the desperation wasn't his nature or entirely true of Hollowheart Keep's situation, no one on the outside looking in would be able to tell the difference. This, above all else, was what he had been bred to do; deceive. Not that he wouldn't truly be thankful for this man's cooperation, or that he wouldn't keep his word and submit to his wishes. But Gent could not be honest about where he was coming from; not when his leaders so valued secrecy.

Wildone is fine with me PPing Danica.
@Gent Let me know if you if want anything changed, you can post an exit if you want.
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Having nothing to break her attention Iopah continued her stare while an answer spilled from Danica. As the girl continued trying to explain Iopah raised her eyebrow questioningly at Gent. With her head raised and Danica at her shoulder the child wouldn't be able to see Iopah silently question how much of the story was true. "Everyone is starving this winter, Danica." She muttered this to both the youth at her side and the strange male. At least he had sense to show abject submission.

Her attention fixed on Gent, Iopah did not see Hollow arrive. She caught movement out of the corner her eyes, and turned just as Hollow spoke to the errant pup. Iopah slipped towards him as well, giving Gent a prying look. It was distrust, not fear, coursing through her. She did not need to take shelter behind her alpha. Her joining him was a show of force. She knew better than to stand directly alongside him. She hung back, her head just inches behind his shoulder. A left ear flicked in self-awareness as Hollow mentioned her.

Gent thought they had a better nature. Iopah snorted rudely at that statement. Part of her wanted to rush at him, drive him back to whatever pack claimed him. Still... she couldn't deny the familiar desperation in his words. In a similar situation she herself might ask for the same thing. He had not harmed Danica and had not crossed their borders. It was now time to run him off or agree to work together.

She didn't run at him.

Beside Hollow, she sighed in resignation. "We can't afford to pass this up," She hoped she wasn't speaking out of line, "and we have the upper hand." With the two adult wolves Gent would have to be suicidal to attempt anything.

Curving her body she addressed Danica. Taking the girl hunting with pack mates was one thing. This? This made her nervous. "Stay back from the deer." They could not trust Gent to keep her safe if Danica found herself dangerously close. There was not time to explain this, so she let her lips wrinkle to show her seriousness. The scent of deer was still strong on the breeze. There was no objection to her words, so with a confirming glance to Hollow, she began stalking forward.

Between them and the deer was a patch of brambles. It was sparse in the dead of winter, only a few brittle leaves clung to the canes. It was all the camouflage they had. Iopah lead the small group into it. One by one they slipped into the blackberry canes and Iopah quietly lead them into the hunt to come.

--Hollow, Danica, and Io's exit--

(This post was last modified: Apr 08, 2014, 01:29 AM by Iopah.)