Heartleaf Creek Testing the Limits

Word of the Day

Firefly had stood at the borders of her territory for almost an hour trying to decide if she should cross them. Eventually, she steeled her nerves and decided that she needed to know what else was out there. There were so many other packs in this area, and she wanted to know if they were all like the Downs. Her infinite curiosity and insatiable need for adventure was driving her further and further away from her home, until finally she reached a beautiful little creek. All of the trees around the creek had heart shaped leaves and Fly finally decided to stop and call it a day. She hadn't met any new wolves like she had hoped and hadn't learned anything about the other packs, but it was getting late and she had seen much more of the land around her territory.

For now, she was satisfied with how far out she had trekked. Padding over to the river, Fly dropped her muzzle to the water for a refreshing drink. Fly was juvenescent; full of energy and lacking caution. So, when the scent of a snow hare caught her nose, Fly's body went into red alert as she started tracking the scent of the rabbit. She had pinpointed its location: it was hiding in some underbrush downwind from where she was and she dropped her body low to begin crawling in that direction. Slowly and carefully creeping towards the hare, the expert huntress licked her black lips as she tensed her muscles and prepared for the the final dart. In her well-practiced style, Fly waited until she was three tail lengths away from the rabbit before pushing forward in one wide leap and closing the last leg of the distance in two short ones. The rabbit did not cover much ground in its escape before Fly wrapped her jaws around its head and snapped its neck. Satisfied that she had indeed accomplished something today, Fly carried her prey over to the river and got ready for her snack.

It had taken some time for Florence to convince Vera that he would be fine to be on his own for a few minutes so he could ease his parched throat. The diminutive wolf was still clinging to his side wherever they went, not that Florence minded but today, Florence had told her that he wasn't going far and he'd be back in a few moments. The river wasn't far from where they were resting for the day, under heartshaped leaves, with a cool wind blowing through their fur, so she would be able to still hear him if he called for her. Vera had grumbled and griped at him, not wanting to let him out of her sight for a single moment but she eventually gave in. What he said was true and she believed he wouldn't be long.

It had been a long time since they had had across any other wolves so when the scent of another, strange wolf came with the next breath of wind, Florence swivled his ears as he looked around. Were they friend or were they foe? He wondered briefly before his eyes landed on the perpetrator on the other side of the river. She was smaller then him, as most wolves were, with a snow rabbit between her paws. Must have just caught it. He thought to himself, his stomach rumbling at the sight of it to remind him he had yet to eat that day. Vera and I will have to catch something, afterwards.

Bending down, he lapped up some of the cool water, his throat feeling better after drinking the liquid. He wasn't going to interrupt the woman from her meal, unless she noticed him and called out to him.

Fly hadn't even gotten in her first bite of her new catch when a new scent caught her attention. This one was a wolf and Fly stiffened, alert for any disturbance that might indicate an attacker. Upon observing her environment, Fly found an unfamiliar wolf standing on the other side of the river. His fur was a mix of brown and black but what caught Fly's attention was his sheer size. He was huge. At first, Fly was struck with anxiety: had he noticed her? Was he nice or would he try to hurt her? Was he a pack wolf? Then, Fly realized that this was exactly why she had wanted to set out on this adventure today. She wanted to meet other wolves and hear about the rest of the land.

Fly took a deep breath before cautiously approaching the new wolf, staying on her side of the creek. Fly cleared her throat, before speaking hoping that her voice wouldn't betray her nerves. "Hello there!" She called and was pleasantly surprised by how confident she sounded. Feeling encouraged, Fly continued in a more cheery tone: "My name Is Firefly. What is your name? Where do you come from?" Fly hoped she was being polite; she had not met very many other wolves besides her mother and brother and then her pack mates in Black Thorn Downs. She adjusted her position so that she was sitting up straight, tail laying flat on the ground, but ears angled up. Fly decided that if the wolf was rude, she would take her rabbit and head back towards the downs, but if he was nice she would invite him to share with her and maybe she could convince him to divulge some stories. He appeared to be several years older than her so he must have good stories to tell.

When he shifted to move away, the girl seemed to notice him and called out to him, introducing herself as Firefly and wasn't that interesting? A wolf named after a bug, Florence thought as he turned back to look at her, a kind smile setting on his face.

"Good day to you, Firefly, my name is Florence and I hail from a place called the Valley." It was better he say where he was raised instead of saying where he had been living up until recently. He don't know who Firefly truly was, not yet at least. "What about you Miss Firefly? Where do you hail from?" Florence hoped Vera didn't mind that he was talking to this girl, who looked quite younger them him. He knew the Snow White female could get quite jealous whenever he talked to anyone, especially if they were of the opposite gender. Excluding her of course. He chuckled slightly, thinking of all the times he had told her she was the only girl for him.

Remembering that he was not alone, Florence turned his attention back to her, glancing at her snow rabbit. "I am sorry I interrupted your meal. I simply wanted some water and had no idea that anyone was nearby until I came to the river. I can leave, if you wish to be alone." he would leave the decision to her because even if he wanted to leave, he was also curious about the other wolf. Outside of Oaktree bend, there had been no wolves he had met and the large wolf wasn't against meeting others. His small friend typically scared others away, because she didn't like sharing 'her Florence', as she called it sometimes.

The man smiled kindly after Fly finished her introduction and Fly was relieved that he seemed to be kind. "Valley?" Fly questioned as she cocked her head to the side curiously. "Oh, you can call me Fly by the way." Fly said cheerily and as she decided earlier, she would invite him over since he seemed to be friendly. "No, actually I would love for you to join me. We can share. You see, I came out here today hoping to get to know the other wolves of the land." Fly explained as she flicked her tail in encouragement and trotted over to her prey. She really hoped that the large, friendly wolf would join her. What was his name again? Florence, that's it.

"Please Florence, come join me. I insist. In fact, I would love for you to tell me about Valley. Or about your time here." Fly smiled warmly as her brown eyes twinkled with excitement and curiosity. Today had gone so much better than she had expected: she had traveled a good distance from home, had caught a plump rabbit, and had even met a new wolf. The lean huntress was very pleased with how her adventure was turning out and she was excited to see just what kind of new wolf she had stumbled upon. He seemed nice but if he was so nice then why wasn't he apart of a pack? He didn't seem like the type of wolf that liked to be alone. There had to be a different reason. Maybe all of the other packs around here were mean. If that was the case she would promptly offer him a place in the Downs. Briefly Fly wondered if she was allowed to do that. She didn't think so but she also didn't think Minka was the type of wolf to turn down a kind stranger that wished to join her pack. Fly could barely contain her questions as she waited to see if Florence would take her up on her offer.

Florence dipped his head briefly in acceptance to call her Fly, wondering just who this wolf was. She was very kind, offering to spend time with Florence and wanting to share her kill while sharing stories. "I would like that, Fly." Treading carefully into the river as not to slip, Florence made quick work traveling over to the other side. His fur dripped heavily of water as he stepped onto the other side of the riverbank, making sure he was not near Fly or her kill before shaking the excess water off of him. He did not wish to seem rude by shaking water onto the girl after she so kindly offered to hate with him.

"The Valley was where I grew up," He explained to her once he was settled not far from her, sitting on his haunches. His stomach rumbled again softy at the smell of the rabbit but he ignored it. Until she had taken the first bite or offered it to him, he would not take a bite, even if she had talked about sharing. She had caught it after all and he was not one to simply take. Stealing was something he would never stoop to doing, no matter how hungry he was. "It was a lovely place and full of all sorts of wolves. My mother was a healer, so she taught me her trade. And this land is plentiful wen it comes to all the different herbs she has taught me about. I have been able to teach my friend about the different herbs as we've traveled." he went silent for a moment, wondering about Myrrhis and how she was faring. But he soon pushed it out of his mind. She was safe and sound where she was. And @Vera (join in any time!) would come looking for him soon enough, when she became impatient for him to come back. "What of you Fly? Have you any tales to tell?"

(This post was last modified: Oct 15, 2014, 03:58 AM by Florence.)

Fly watched as Florence crossed the creek and smiled kindly as he shook off the water far from her and her food. She took a small bite out of the rabbits leg, tearing at the meat with her sharp canines. Fly listened as he described the Valley, where he had grown up apparently. But as soon as he was finished and before she answered his question, she reassuringly pushed the rabbit towards him. Hoping he would take her up on her offer and share the meal with her, Fly kindly responded to his question. "That sounds like a beautiful home to have come from. I don't know very much about herbs so I wouldn't know anything about what this land has to offer in that particular area, but I sure know a good bit about prey and this land has plenty of that too." Fly eyed the plump rabbit she had caught as if to emphasize her point. "I've always enjoyed fishing and hunting and I have been able to feed myself very well since coming here." Fly took a moment to consider the last thing the kind wolf had asked her. Any tales to tell?

"As for tales, I only have one. It's kind of a sad tale, but that really depends on how you look at it." Fly paused and looked to the sky for inspiration. The sky was the best reminder she had of her mother; the fluffy white she wolf named Cloud. "Before I came here, I used to travel with my mother and brother. To be honest, part of me always wanted to set out on my own but i couldn't bring myself to leave them. I never got to make that decision though." Fly sighed heavily, not in sadness or even regret; it was just a sigh of acceptance. "I convinced my mom and brother to go on a hunt when the weather was really bad. A storm started up and we were separated when we ran for cover. I tried to find them once the weather let up but the rain had washed away all of he scents and I haven't seen them since. Eventually, I realized I needed to join a pack to survive the winter. So now I am at Black Thorn Downs and I am very happy there." This was the first wolf that Fly was telling this story too. Funny, how sometimes it could be easier to tell a complete random stranger such an important story. Fly barked a short laugh and then added a new ending to her story: "But one day, I am going to find them. I will search all of this land and ask every wolf I see if I have to. I just need to wait until I am a little older before setting out on such a journey." Fly said happily, wistfully dreaming of the day she would set out on her search. That was not anytime soon, however. For now, she just wanted to explore this land and all of the creatures who lived upon it.

Vera can't deny herself a thread with Florence... and sorry about her being such a meanie, she doesn't like anyone being too close to 'her Florence' xD

The diminutive ivory she-wolf hadn't wanted Florence to be on his own at all, but after much convincing and promises she finally allowed him a few minutes of his own, knowing that he would keep himself safe. Well, as safe as he could by himself without her there. She lay down on her side, trying to get herself to relax until he returned. But it was no use. Her nerves were jangling around at the thought of him slipping and falling with his bad shoulder. Sighing, Vera busied herself with making sure she had enough wormwood to make another poultice to coat his wound in. It had healed nicely, but the skin was still tender and that meant it could still get infected.

After what seemed much longer than a few minutes and her larger companion had not returned, she decided she had waited long enough and followed Florence's trail at a quick pace with a bouncy, juvenescent skip to it. Vera soon heard voices nearby and she pricked her ears at her larger companion's voice. Her hackles twitched when she heard another voice, one more feminine, and she quickened her pace until she came upon a creek with two wolves on the other side. The larger was obviously Florence, but the smaller (still larger than herself) russet wolf was unknown. And she was standing close to him, too close.

The diminutive ivory she-wolf came to a skidding stop on her side of the creek, her eyes trained on the russet female, ears flattening and lips curling backwards to reveal the tips of her fangs. "Who are you?" She demanded with a low growl.

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Chuckling, Florence shook his head. "It is fine. Not all wolves find healing or herbs to be as interesting as I find them. And besides, we need hunters to keep the pack fed and hale." Smiling when she nudges the rabbit towards him with a pointed look, Florence listening with perked ears to her story as he bends down to tear a bite of the rabbit. Like he thought, the rabbit was freshly caught and not just taken from a cache and for that, he was thankful. Gulping it down, he he was reminded of Vera when her scent-something so familiar to him he does not notice it until she's right across the water, a distrustful glare in her eyes when she spots Fly. He realized it had been more then a few minutes, like he had promised to her and she had obviously become impatient and concerned for him and his wound.

And of course, as he expected, she growled out a "who are you?" to Fly with teeth slowly becoming bared. This wasn't good but Florence merely sighed, used to Vera's actions and words. "Peace Vera. This is Fly, she means us no harm." He called out to her, raising to his paws and taking a few steps away from Fly, as if to be closer to Vera even if they were a waterway from each other. "Simply a new friend. Fly, this is the friend I mentioned earlier, the one I have been traveling with and the only one I'd give my heart to, Vera." Turning back to Fly, he introduced Vera to her, his words sounding genuine. Generally, such words would calm Vera from her jealously enough to actually greet a new wolf somewhat cordially and hopefully leave their parting on good terms. He remembered a time where a wolf absentmindedly commented to them how they seemed attached at the hip, laughing that he should take Florence away for some kind of party before he threw his independence away for a female for life.

All Vera had heard was 'Take Florence away from her.' and gone for the wolf's throat. It certainly hadn't helped that the wolf had been making comments about Vera's size either. Thankfully, Florence had managed to stop her, catching her by the scruff and legging it before any more harm or insult had been done.

The russet guard hairs along Fly's spine raised as a small female wolf approached the opposite side of the creek and growled at her. Surprised, Fly drew her lips back with a snarl prepared to defend herself, though she wasn't very fond of fighting. Then she heard Florence speak in a calm and gentle voice as he introduced Fly to the she-wolf and the she-wolf to Fly. Realizing this wolf was a friend of Florence's and not understanding the concept of jealousy because of a mate, Fly relaxed and smiled at the new comer. Perhaps she was acting so mad out of fear that Fly was going to hurt Florence. That would be easy to fix; Fly just had to show her that she meant no harm to either of them.

Fly barely noticed that Florence had moved away, but just attributed it to the fact that he wanted to be next to his friend to help reassure her. Fly hopped to her paws cheerily and walked towards Vera as well, tail wagging. "Hello there!! As Florence said, my name is Fly. I was just looking to find new friends outside of my territory." Completely oblivious to the reason why Vera was angry, Fly took another step towards Vera which was also a step towards Florence. "I was hoping to find wolves who could tell my interesting stories about different lands or even about this one. Do you have any stories to share? I would love it for you to join us and you and Florence can share the rabbit. I'll catch a new one for myself later." Fly's brown eyes were bright at the prospect of a new addition to their pleasant lunch date.