Heartleaf Creek Don't sink the boat that you built to keep afloat

@Titan

Last time she had been on the banks of this creek it had been deep winter. The snow had been deep and the prey nonexistent, every breath of frigid air had hurt. It was only the familiar curve of the flowing water and distinctly-water-loving trees that reassured her it was the same place. It was still hard to believe. Now everything was flush with green. The trees were far from barren, harboring songbirds and chipmunks. They were much different than the raucous red squirrels she was used to and her gold gaze drifted to them benignly. She only chased the red squirrels because they pestered her so.

Glancing up she caught sight of a glossy form soaring in the sky and stopped to watch the raven. He dipped, croaked once, and wheeled about. Still by the creek Iopah watched his flight. Ravens had keep her from starvation once long ago. Emaciated and inexperienced she would steal their meals. With an excellent vantage point they saw carcass's from far off. She glanced back at the creek, clearly considering something. Animals would flock to the water and leaving it seemed counter-intuitive to hunting. But that raven was going somewhere. Certainly she could search for prey in the direction the raven had taken? If she lost track of the bird she could just veer back to the left to meet back up with the creek and continue. She leapt up the bank of the creek excitedly, sending a spattering of mud against the tree trunks, and broke into a steady trot after the raven.

Last time she had come to the creek under the pretense of hunting, it had ended up being more of joyous exploration. There must be something in the water here.

Yeah he was wandering again. That was what usually happened when Titan had nothing to do and had finished chores for the older wolves in Whisper Caverns. He'd wander off and sometimes the youth would find himself wander for more than a day.

He was a little farther out then normal though as Titan traced his steps back up drooping willows following the creek until the forest begins to change. Willows are replaced by shorter denser trees with late blooming flowers set into their thick branches. The dark wolf began to familiarize himself with the lesser known areas of the heartleaf creek that he hadn't looked through before. The last time the yearling had been here was back when he had first met with Danica. The place had been beautiful and calm back then as the snows were melting, but now it was absolutely glorious. He felt so comfortable under the shadows of the trees looking around at their branches stretching out into the blue sky. He was even tempted to think that the feeling of this place was nicer than the meadow his mother's pack lived within.

Eventually as the dark wolf traveled up the stream he came to the sight of a tree that was splattered with mud. Interested in the strange sight, Titan padded up to the tree then scented its trunk where each of the splatters of mud cloaked the tree. wolf... He noted quietly before realizing that this scent had been very fresh. The she wolf who had been through here was not too far off.

Putting his tracking skills to the test, Titan found the fresh scent trail of the she wolf and began following it. "Speech here."

@Titan!

She never caught sight of the raven again. Whether he went too high in the sun-washed sky for her eyes to follow or was hiding from the meddling wolf was unknown. She broke off the raven-chase; her quick lope fading into a loose and easy walk. The mud had long since dried on her legs. A single, humble glance at the sky. The raven was an adept hunter, on par with the wolf. He had saved her before, he was entitled to keep his meal today.

The air was cool, despite the early summer weather. No doubt the meandering creek had something to do with that. The ground was crisscrossed with the scents and signs of numerous animals. Iopah spent a few long minutes taking them all in. She day-dreamed over an elk-scent. The dream was as far as she got, she'd never consider on her own. Porcupine was intriguing and she spent some time with her nose to the ground, snuffling along after it. Too precarious, she decided before moving on.

By now she'd started to veer back toward the water. She continued in an aimless manner, following each unsuitable prey-scent to the next. Her tail swayed with her steps, entire posture relaxed. It was good to simply be out and about. The willow tree forest noise faded momentarily and her creme and pewter head went up alertly. Something was out there. Something big enough to quiet the chipmunks and finches. Maybe something worth eating? She could only hope. The careless gait changed into something cat-like. Broad paws pressed into the softest patches of earth, body gliding over the lush grass. She was going to find it, whatever it was.

She may or may not be tracking Titan, up to you!

There are several fresh rabbit tracks in the mud. Hunt Opportunity

Lol are they going to track each other in circles then?

The dark wolf was still trailing the womans scent. It looped about the territory moving away from the water at first and heading back to where his own trail would eventually intersect it. However Titan began feeling strange as he noticed how the smell was acting. It was fresh, as though only three or so minutes had gone by since she had passed the area. However The scent wasn't getting any more fresh.

It shouldn't be taking this long to catch up... Not unless she's traveling at about the same pace as me. he thought quietly before picking up his pace to try and catch up with the she wolf. He was interested with her pack scent in particular. It was not wholly familiar to the dark wolf. Not like Willow Ridge or Cut Rock River pack. Which meant that she belonged to a pack Titan had not yet come across. Though there was a twinge of memory brought up by her scent. A memory of a white she wolf, Ashanti of Secret Woodlands, whom the young man had met as a pup.

Eventually the dark Thorben started to become both impatient and bored of his current task. He quickened his pace on the trail noticing, as his head was lowered, the tracks of some small animal in the mud to his right. Very tempted to go after whatever had made those tracks instead of the she wolf, Titan forced himself to keep his course. He would see this through whether he wanted to or not.

Too bad his instinct to chase betrayed him as a rabbit shot out from under a bush to his left. The large wolf crashed through the undergrowth after the creature completely distracted by the fleeing prey. He never saw or heard the hunter tracking his own trail somewhere behind him.

@Titan
*grin* i was thinking more head on than circles, since io had more or less turned back, but eh, this works

It took a few minutes, but the little sounds returned. Chipmunks scurried up trees and looked down with unabashed fear at the prowling wolf. They disapproved, Iopah's form was one of a predator following a trail. Birds whistled back and forth to each other. Once a bird shrieked in the distance and her creep paused momentarily as she looked south in it's direction. She didn't want to go any farther south and squabbling birds weren't very auspicious. No more wild goose chases today. Her held breath was released gently and she padded forward again. It must be there. It was just a few minutes—

The loud crash made her freeze, a cream foot lifted mid-step. Her smoke ears swept forward in surprise. Had she given herself away? Her prey was ripping through the forest, desperate to get away. Anything running would always have her attention. She just had to see what it was. With no more consideration than that she raced after her prey. Fleeting glimpses gave the impression of dark fur and the distinct musk of rabbit. The commotion was separating into rapid footfalls and tearing foliage. She pulled ahead just in time to see the huge wolf plunging forward, chasing something. He was after the rabbit and Iopah stopped to watch the chase play out. He wasn't lacking for enthusiasm and the pale woman found her own legs flexing and twitching in sympathy.

Finally the chase ended and Iopah squinted in the distance the chase had placed between them. Her intense gaze held no trace of jealousy, only interest. The Barberi woman considered the entire thicket her backyard and the meadow her personal hunting grounds. But out here? Out here nothing had her name on it and she knew her size was no advantage here. She stretched onto her toes to call out, "Did you get it?"

The dark wolf's claws churned through the dirt and leaves as he sped closer to his prey. The large wolf didn't have the speed that smaller wolves had, so he could only sprint in short bursts. Titan was at the end of his rope before even reaching the rabbit. Soon the rabbit pulled away from him leaving the tall youth in its dust while his sides heaved for breath. As he thickened out into his maturing body, Titan was losing quite a bit of speed that he had as an older pup and younger yearling. Truly he was growing into his fathers large genetics.

Unhappy with himself for missing a possible meal, Titan turned around just before hearing a question uttered from his surroundings. Looking around to spot where the voice had come from, the young Thorben quickly spotted a slender she wolf coated in cream and gray. Her golden eyes peered at him as Titan shrugged a "no" and continued to catch his breath.

While breathing deeply he noticed her scent. To his surprise it was the smell of the same she wolf he had been tracking earlier. She held her head over some taller bushes simply to see him better as Titan approached the woman pushing through the undergrowth. His ears lay sideways and his tail held a slow wag to it to show he was friendly.

"I'm just not made for catching the little creatures anymore." He jested while giving the she wolf a debonair smile. He had lost a bit of confidence in himself after the rabbit got away, but he still held himself proudly nonetheless.

"I have to say, I was a bit curious who was stalking around here before. My name is Titan Thorben. What's your name?" He asked lightly allowing for her to refuse giving him her name if she wished to keep it a secret. Titan didn't expect a stranger to automatically trust him.

(This post was last modified: Sep 27, 2014, 08:04 PM by Titan.)

With the distance it was hard to tell, but the closer he came the more she realized he was a large wolf. He was just a bounding blur earlier, but now she could tell he was huge. Reassured by his demeanor she held her ground, though she considered backing up once or twice. She was quick to act in kind, keeping her eyes from his as he approached and giving a relaxed twitch to her tail. This was an encounter she didn't want to go sour.

He said something and her ears flicked forward to catch it. It was a lighthearted remark and her ears fell back comfortably again. Her lips flexed into a smile, but she said nothing. He'd admitted he wasn't made for chasing rabbits, and Io had to agree with him. Chasing was a waste of energy for him. The thought that had run through her head at his comment was, 'then why do you chase them?' So she kept her mouth shut, 'cause if she opened it to say anything her sharp thought would come out.

The comment directed to her was safe ground, she gave a little half smile and shook her head. "Trying to do a little hunting as well." Her tail lost it's wag at his name. Titan Thorben. She'd not forgotten Sloane, the first male lead of Secret Woodlands. He'd returned to his own mate in due time. She now knew that mate was Narime and that he'd later left them. Her tail started up a slow, distracted twitch. Was this her son?

"I'm Iopah Barberi." She didn't hesitate in giving her name, she wasn't hiding from anyone. No point in being elusive or lying. She inhaled, scenting rabbit and his pack scent. He even smelled like Narime. Her head angled up to him and she studied his eyes intently. "Do you know Narime?

Titan nodded as the she wolf spoke saying that she was trying to hunt. He wondered quietly if he had accidentally disturbed her or chased the very rabbit she might have wanted to go after. Though the thought didn't stay in his mind long before the stranger gave him her name. He smiled charmingly once more and allowed his tail to wag a little faster. So far this was proving to be an okay meeting and Titan didn't want anything to go sour.

Then the smaller she wolf looked up at him. The look made Titan uncomfortable and he could recall that only a few wolves had ever really looked at him; at his eyes directly, and every time it had felt wrong. His blue orbs stared back at Iopah's golden ones defiantly before a question came from her mouth catching him off guard. He pushed out his chest and tried to use his height to look intimidating before gritting his teeth and debating on answering her.

"I do, but I'll only tell you how I know her if you stop staring at me..." Titan chuffed softly feeling his fur beginning to rise with unease. "Only my mother and Danica look at me like that... I don't.. really like it when others... do that.." He fidgeted and gripped the earth with his claws before flaring out his nose. Titan had half the mind to step forward towards the female and outright tell her to stop, but his gentle nature kept him in place as he waited for her to answer.

(This post was last modified: Oct 04, 2014, 12:08 AM by Titan.)

Few wolves had eyes of this color. Back home no one had blue eyes, the gene pool was too limited for that to happen. Even here, in a place that wolves of all over converged upon, she'd only met three wolves with eyes on this end of the color spectrum. And here was another one. It could be coincidence. An amazing coincidence at that. Two of those previously met wolves had, or still did, lived in the thicket as a Woodlands wolf. Her lips twisted in an amused manner at a ludicrous thought. Certainly Titan wasn't the son of either Hollow or Miccah.

Just as she had that entertaining thought Titan seemed to rise in front of her. Her quick gold eyes took in his narrow stare and bristling coat. Oh shit. She reacted as any self-preserving wolf would in her position. The huntress ducked, keeping her joints loose in case she needed to move away quickly.

Feeling juvenescent, she backed up slowly. Pulling herself backwards she looked anywhere but at Titan. In her quest to identify him correctly, she'd forgotten herself. When Titan started to speak her tail beat at the ground pathetically. A weak movement that she hoped would communicate her appeasement. She said nothing while Titan spoke, her tail flicking in silent agreement with him. At the mention of Danica the Barberi woman reacted slightly. She remembered Narime coming to them with news that the Cavern wolves had accepted Danica into their family. Hopefully she scooted forward half a step. Her tail beat faster, now truly wagging. She was trusting that this Titan would not mean any harm. "Thank you for taking in @Danica. I searched for weeks for her."

(This post was last modified: Oct 14, 2014, 07:13 PM by Iopah.)