Oak Tree Bend Sunny Days and Blue Skies

@Spieden

Having woken up early, as he always did, the first thing had Florece done was check on Vera before heading on his way. She had still been asleep of course, not waking up with the sun like Florence did but generally only an hour or two later. But Florence wanted an early start to the day and so left his small companion in the communal den, the large wolf ambled outside and gave a big stretch, face lifting up to greet the early rays of sun that filtered down from the sky. It looked to be a clear day so far and it looked to hold as well, giving Florence hope it would hold out. He liked sunny days, in which he could relax after he was done making sure nothing was amiss in his new home.

It had been a few hours since his waking, getting close to midday and currently, Florence was crouched by the creek that made its way through the territory, head and knees bent as he quenched his thirst with the cool water. The sun warmed his back, the skies were clear of any clouds and the small amount of moss-nothing to harmful or of great significance-was soft beneath his paws. It was making it far too tempting to find a spot to simply curl up on and have a nap for a while. And there was no reason for him not to, since he had gathered some herbs earlier and deposited them in a cache while on a patrol of the borders. Shifting away from the creek, water dripping from his mouth as he straightened to his full height, Florence shook out his fur as a thoughtful look crossed his face as he stared into the creek.

A glint in the water caught his attention and he noticed something in the water. It wasn’t a fish that truly caught his attention but some kind of shiny rock, smoothed down by the gentle caresses of the water over time. While all the rocks in the creek would be smooth, this one seemed to have the beginnings of a hole in the middle and Florence was intrigued by it. Vera would like it, he mused to himself while carefully stepping into the water to pick it up.

Early to bed, early to rise... Spieden hardly ever slept in, not when there was fishing to be done. Today she was up before the sun's shining face had even begun to cast its warm glow over the land. She knew from years of experience that the best fishing was to be had at dawn, when there was just enough light to see and the fish were still sleepy enough to be caught unawares. And she had to admit, she really enjoyed the peaceful solitude.

Tiptoeing away from the den, Spieden made her way to a shallows just a short walk downstream from the pack's creek. Coming to a place where the stream slowed and widened, she waded in ankle deep and watched the dark, glassy surface for movement below. It had taken her a while to scout out the fishing spots of the area, and while this location only yielded tiny smelt, they were at least plentiful.

Spieden gulped down the first few fish for breakfast, and each after that she tossed back onto the bank with a swing of her thick neck, letting them wriggle and flop in the dust. As the sun rose the smelt grew skittish and scurried back into hiding, bringing Spieden's fishing to and end. Stepping back onto dry land, she scooped up as many of the dozen or so fish into her jaws, a couple managing to slide out. After a few failed attempts at getting them all to fit, she figured she'd have to leave those ones for the birds.

As she walked along the bank of the stream back to the den, she saw a dark wolf standing in the middle of it reaching down for something. Spieden stopped and stared at them, hunching down as she tightened her grasp on the fishy bundle in her maw. "Ahhhhhrrrrr..." She grumbled through her stuffed mouth, more voicing her apprehension than trying to actually say anything.

Florence hadn’t really expected anyone to be at the creek, or at least thought it would be only a small chance. But upon hearing a noise after picking up the stone, Florence lifted his head and spotted the other wolf, the heavy smell of the pack lingering on the air. So this was someone from the pack, someone who could be trusted and thought of as family, if they got along. Most wolves were put off with making friends with him, because Vera and he were almost always together and Vera never trusted other wolves enough to let them near. Florence was usually happy to give them the benefit of the doubt, content to make friends unless they did something he couldn’t quite forgive.

The rock was resting against his tongue, making it awkward to speak so he took a few long strides to step out of the creek and placed it down, knowing he could pick it up later. ”Good morning,” He then called to the other, his posture relaxed and welcoming, not in the least threatening or overbearing. ”It looks like you caught a good pile of fish.” His eyes flickered to the bundle in her maw, wondering how many she left behind, if she had caught more.

Florence, with all his strength and size, was only truly good with hunting large animals or small mammals on dry land. He had never grasped the talent of fishing and was often impressed by those who could catch the slippery animals. They always managed to wiggle their way from between his teeth, if he could ever catch them.

As kind as he looked, she had no way of knowing that his intentions were truly good. Spieden still hadn't worked through the connection that pack members were actually safe or to be trusted, and so far only regarded them as familiar faces and roommates. As he mentioned her fish, her mind automatically jumped to the worst case scenario, that he was looking to take her hard earned food.

Carefully she lowered her head, letting the scaled prey fall from her mouth into a pile before her. She then lightly placed her paw over them, clawed toes curling protectively to pull them closer, showing that they were hers and that she would not be handing them over. It wasn't a lot of food, barely enough to sate a full grown wolf, but the pups would derive the most from the little meal. "They're for the cubs," She warned him, bright amber eyes staring him down as her upper lip curled to reveal a sliver of white teeth.

"If you want some to eat, I left some back downstream..." She added, hoping that would get him to scamper off for the easier option rather than fight her for it. If one looked close enough, they could see behind the show of teeth and defensive stance that she was truly frightened of him; In the white ringing her wide eyes, or her uneven ears folded back against her skull, or the way her grey tipped tail was currently tucked up against her belly.

For a moment, Florence was confused as to why the woman was being so protective of the fish. He was not going to steal them from her and once it was mentioned that the fish were for the cubs and there were more downstream that she had left behind, he nodded in understanding. The cubs were of the utmost importance within a pack and never would he take food from them, no matter how hungry he was himself.

”I might do that,” Florence did not allow the frown that his face wanted to pull fall over his face, as he understood the warning from the flash of white teeth but he did not understand why she was giving the warning to him in the first place. Had he scared her somehow? Because for whatever reason, her ears were folded back against her head with her tail tucked close to her belly. Surely she should be proud in her stance, because she had to be higher in rank than him? He had only been apart of the pack for a few days, so it wouldn’t be hard to be a higher rank.

”Are you okay Miss?” With a slight tone of concern in his voice, he took a step closer to her, with his eyes looking her over. Maybe she was hurt or sick? She looked fine yet some wolves sometimes were but tried to not show it, because it was thought it was nothing important. ”You are not hurt are you?”

@Florence >.< Sorry for the wait! If you want we can just fade out here and archive, or we can keep going, I'm fine either way! Also sorry for the short post and that Spieden is so antisocial!

"I'm fine," Spieden practically hissed as she recoiled away from him, her shoulders hunched as if she indeed was hiding something. Really, she had nothing to hide, besides the myriad scars hidden about her coat, but she still hated the excess attention. She wondered if he might be sizing her up and looking for weak points, and whether or not she had any at the moment, she was sure not to share them with him. As he moved in closer she shrank back even further, somehow turning from a sizable wolf into a cowering ball.

"At least I would be if someone could keep from sticking their nose any closer," Spieden grumbled under her breath. Lurching forward, she scooped as much as she could of her mound of fish back into her mouth and hurriedly brushed past him. Quickly she made for her original destination, the den. In her rush a few more of the silvery smelt escaped her grasp, landing on the dusty earth in her wake. They'd have to stay there, because she sure as hell wasn't going to turn around and get them now.