Verdant Mosses We stand alone under fictitious skies

I'm still working out some kinks with Vesper since he is my newest character and i'm use to a goody good wolf(Enoki) not a more manipulative wolf so bare with me if he seems to bounce back and forth while I get him smoothed out.

Vespertio's inner dark nature to get what he wanted through deceit, manipulation, etc bubbled beneath the surface as he stole one more glance at the rabbit meat between her paws, placing a single paw of his one forward a bit in hesitation. But as the dark thought crossed his mind once more, surprise crossed the features of his face when Opella tossed him a piece of the meat. What was this, this random act of kindness? He was about to steal her food for his own gain, yet here she was willingly giving him a portion when they both knew that one rabbit alone could not tame the hungry beast in ones stomach. He hadn't needed to manipulate it out of her either. Brushing it off he then lowered his head to grip the piece of meat between his teeth, tossing his head back slightly to easily slide the bite down his throat. "Thank you." He offered once his mouth was empty of food. Her nature was at odds with his own no doubt, but maybe she was pack worthy even if Athena would be displeased at it being another female. The Vuesain man couldn't help it that he had a way with the ladies.

A pile of bones and fluff now remained of the once rabbit as Opella stood on all fours again, speaking up again. “Well, Vespertio, are you alone or do you have friends?” she asked. “You do not smell of a pack, yet your scent is not entirely your own. Winter is still a while away, but two wolves, if agreeable, are better than one.” Winter was indeed a bit away still, yet the annual snowfall had already begun since his arrival. On some nights he would awake to patches of the white powder littering the ground while the edges of the lake he had come to call home would be frosted over. Not to mention the drop in temperature that happened night after night. "I'm not entirely alone, no nor would I say I have friends." He answered firstly, wondering if it was Athena's scent she had smelled seeing as she was the last one he had spoken to in recent days. "It is not set in stone yet, but the woman you must smell on myself and I are in the process of staking claim to a lake two days worth of traveling form here." He casually mentioned, letting Opella do with that bit of information as she saw fit. Yes, the two wolves were in cahoots in making a new pack, but he wasn't quite ready yet to extend an invite so carefreely. There was still the matter of getting to know this Opella girl.

Dawnthieves.de - Deviantart.com - Table by AshBash

(This post was last modified: Nov 09, 2014, 11:12 PM by Vespertio.)

No problem!

The river he spoke of she had never been to, but from the sounds of it, he was planning on forming a pack. Opella was careful to hide disappointment from her expression, for although he had somewhat admitted his plans, Vespertio had not exactly invited her into them. Maybe it’s not totally his decision. He had confirmed he was on friendly terms with someone else, after all. “If there is no use we can find of each other, then I will let you on your way,” she said. “But before I lost my birth pack, I was the best hunter we had.” Opella stepped forward and began to circle him, her ears flat on her head. “I have taken down several deer on my own, and where I’m from, they do not fall easy.”

She walked behind him and came to stop at his side. “You ought to follow me and watch my skill. I know some pack members can be lazy, but I was never one of them.” The she-wolf did not directly ask for a try out, but hoped by revealing her skill he would reconsider. Fear of being alone for the winter grew in her each time her stomach growled, and now that a chance had come to band with others, even if was just two, she did not want it to slip away. “What do you say, Vespertio?”

For the briefest of moments Vesper could have sworn he saw a look of disappointment pass across her countenance at the mentioning of his future plans, but as soon as it was there it was gone leaving him to do nothing more than to brush it off. His attention was enraptured elsewhere soon after, his golden gaze following the slow circling motion Opella made around his slender frame while letting talk of her skill as a hunter fall from her lips. It was almost boastful the way she spoke of herself, a trait that the Vuesain man held within himself and almost made him grow to like the young girl, but it wasn't easy to win any form of revere from him. One would have to work hard to earn even a sliver of his respect.

The circling soon came to a stop as Opella stood at his side while he arose to his paws, an almost smug smirk lifting the corner of his lips while dipping his ebony rimmed head in the form of a slight nod. She was clearly asking for a try-out so to speak and he would give it to her. If anything if her 'trial' failed she would just add to his entertainment for the day and if she managed to actually succeed minus her boastful words and make a kill(which he would happily feast upon right now) then there was a chance Vesper would lead her back to the Lost Lake where he would let Athena take a gander to get her insight before a formal invitation was issued to the young girl. He know very well that Athena wanted hard working members and if Opella could pull her weight from the get-go as a huntress then maybe she would find herself surviving the winter to see another year. Besides, with the upcoming winter Vesp would be a fool to pass up the opportunity to recruit an able bodied hunter who could help stock up the caches they would need to build for winter. Again, if she failed he would leave her to be on his way instead of wasting more of his time and if she passed, then she may find herself a new pack to place loyalty to.

"Alright, Opella. I'll bite and allow you to prove your worth. Make a decent kill and i'll consider helping you out." He offered his challenge while taking a glance around the mossy forest. There didn't seem to be much larger prey in the area, the scent of deer far too faint to be a feeding ground for them and instead the scent of marmot was much more predominant and thus that would be her target. "As for your prey of choice, take down a marmot." A coy smirk then tugged at his lips, knowing very well that marmots weren't the easiest to catch, though were a typical one wolf hunt sometimes two. This would be her test.

A marmot. So that creature posed as her potential initiation. Opella was glad her words had convinced him to give her a try, although she hadn’t meant to boast. The words she told him were the ones her previous alpha praised her with, words she would never forget. Opella said nothing but walked ahead of him, not willing to waste another moment. Smelling nothing in the air she put her nose to the ground. The she-wolf hoped Vespertio would follow as she started trotting along, her nose low to pick up a trail. Opella felt much more alive and her senses completely in tune to her surroundings now that she had a chance to show her skill. Neither luck nor talent had been with her so far that day, but with a fresh meal in her belly she was ready to make that change.

The she-wolf continued on through the wood for a while saying nothing; everything about her stance focused and determined. But at last, around the bottom of a tree truck, she caught the scent of a marmot. It was old, but strong enough to trust.

Silently he followed suit behind the white pelted woman at a casual pace, allowing her to 'work her magic' while he observed from the sidelines never straying closer than a foot or two from the tip of her tail. Her nose went for the ground, following the line of rotted tree stumps, regal trees covered in moss that still stood tall and bushes that made up the forest in search of a marmot that would not only serve as her initiation(partially) but also as another small meal for the two of them to fight off the hunger for the trip back to the lake. There would be no time to waste in getting back there.

Time seemed to drag on forever with no reward as the two continued deeper and deeper into the forest, an almost bored look creeping onto Vesper's face with thoughts of doubt rising to the front of his mind. Was she really this keen hunter, or had whoever told her this only said it out of kindness? All he knew was that she needed to come up with something and fast before he lost interest and moved on. And then just as he doubted her abilities she stopped at the base of a tree trunk with her nose twitching wildly about, the scent of marmot faint yet still strong enough to be tracked. For evidence sake that she had truly found a scent Vespertio took a step closer to the trunk and lowered his own head to the level of her own, scenting at the distinct odor of marmot. So she was correct so far. Now came the true test. To follow the scent and come up victorious, or come up empty handed. It was up to her what the result would be.

Opella let the scent of the marmot around the base of the tree truck linger in her nose. The creature was largely unfamiliar to her, but she was sure she had caught at least one before. “A marmot has been here,” she said quietly, although she knew Vespertio could undoubtedly smell it. There was a shift in the wind, and a strong scent blew by her nose from the east. Opella tensed as she was once again on the alert. Although the trail around the tree trunk was a few days old, what came in the wind told her a marmot was still in the area. Opella glanced at Vespertio, thinking at this point, it might be better to continue on alone. “Stay here,” she said quietly. “A marmot is still around, and the two of us might frighten it. I will howl for you.” The she-wolf did not wait for a response before trotting off. Her ivory coat was enough to put her at an extreme disadvantage, but only her paws on the moss allowed her move as silent as a phantom.

Opella followed the scent in the air until she lost it, but her heart pounded with excitement as she found another marmot trail on the forest floor—this one only hours old. It was the same creature she had smelled back at the tree, and she followed the scent on the mosses back to its den. The she-wolf stuck her nose inside a small hole dug between two tree roots, and although it reeked of marmot, one was not inside. Opella let out a sigh—as best as a wolf could—before turning to see the marmot staring at her several yards ahead. She had no doubt it had just been on its way home, now surprised to find an unexpected danger in its path. The two held each other’s stare for a moment before the chase began. Opella took only a few strides before her jaws locked on the creatures head, and soon afterward, it ceased to struggle.

Sitting down with the challenge conquered at her paws, Opella threw her head back and howled, both in triumph and for Vespertio.

(This post was last modified: Nov 11, 2014, 04:24 PM by Opella.)

I'm gonna go ahead and finish this out.

Back and forth, back and forth. That was the repetition Vespertio's footsteps now held as he paced along a small divot his motions had created in the dirt of the forest floor. Opella had smelled the marmot and after wanting him to follow her to prove her skills she now had him waiting while she went after it alone even if her point that there were other marmots around and they may spook them off was valid. Still, he silently grumbled as his lean legs continued in this back and forth pattern, deepening the divot of his path. "I Dont like waiting on others, nor do I like taking orders from them." his muttered under his breath, waiting for her howl to echo and break the silence with the news that she had been successful and she better be for making him wait. Talk about impatient.

Then in the midst of his silent brooding his ears pricked forward and his pacing stopped, a howl clear as a bell chiming with the triumphed news that the marmot was dead and his presence was required now. 'It's about time.' So without a moments hesitation the dark saddled man trotted off in the direction her howl resonated from and shortly the stark whiteness of her coat became visible. Once the distance was declined to a few feet his golden gaze glimpsed down to the creature that lay dead at her feet, a satisfied smirk playing with the corner of his dark lips before granting a look to Opella and a nod of approval followed. "So you managed to succeed. This may not be a deer, but I can see the potential you have and it will aid us well. Come and bring your gift for Athena." Without another word he turned away from her knowing that she would follow.

His pace was casual, but determined as the pair made their way towards the exit of the verdant mosses, occasionally having to lower ones head to avoid a gossamer from hitchhiking on their foreheads. Their destination was to be the Lost Lake and for Vesper to grace his ivory queen with a present, Opella; a hopeful pack huntress with a marmot to please the queen. Inside he knew that Athena may not be pleased he brought home another girl, but he hoped she would overlook his ways of herding woman and see that he had instead brought back an important piece to their plans. A wolf capable of hunting for them efficiently would do wonders in surviving the brutal winter that was creeping closer and closer. 'You'll be proud of me, my vixen.' His thoughts chimed before their frames of ivory and agouti became nothing more than silhouettes in the green abyss. They were going home.

-Fade Out-