Copper Rock Creek A copper for your thoughts?

As suddenly as she appeared, the woman was leaving. But not biding him a farewell that would have him freezing in place and leave his mind whirling.

"I'll see you later Florence!" She crowed before she was bounding away, the wolf skull still hanging from her mouth and taunting him to say anything back to her. Taunting him to question how she knew his name. His neck nearly cracked as he turned around to her, nearly slipping into the water again as his paws lost traction on the coppery rocks and his herbs dropping from his mouth. How did she know his name? He had never seen this woaman before...or had he? That's when he took in her coat as she retreated and remembered her bi coloured eyes from when she looked at him earlier. She was the woman from the bison gathering days ago! Even if he hadn't ever took particular notice of her eyes before, he definitely remembered that coat as Kova had been standing next to her and later, he had tried to stand up for her. Primrose, he had called her. Well, at least he had a name to put to the woman.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you that you should give your name to someone, when you ask for their's Primrose?" Suddenly finding courage in himself to talk to the woman, Florence called out to her loudly enough so that she could hear him. He had no way of knowing that Primrose wasn't her actual name but they were on even ground at least, each having a name for the other.

And as soon as she was leaving the scene she was brought to another stop when his voiced boomed with word of her name, or what he thought her name was. Ah, Primrose. What a clever alias she had created on the fly when the young Kova questioned her on what her name was. It was a well planned decoy of sorts and she had nearly forgot that was her fake name until now when it left his mouth. Yet as confident as he may feel knowing her name, it was not her name at all. He still knew nothing about her.

A dark laugh erupted from her own lips as the skull that was once between her jaws toppled to the ground and nearly became washed away by the flowing creek. "My mother taught me never give out your real name to the enemy." Her two toned eyes settled once more upon his dark face, a smirk appearing at the fact that he had almost landed back in the frigorific waters. Yes, fall into the water and let the cold kiss of death lull you into an eternal slumber. 'Your skull would make an excellent contribution to my soon to be collection of wolf skulls. Once I skin your pelt from it that is.' Her thoughts rang ominously. Being such a large wolf she didn't doubt that his skull would be equally as massive, though his brain would be another story. That thing, if even existent had to be smaller than a mouse's head after falling for her fake name.

"So one could easily assume that Primrose is not your true name then? And I am guessing it is not, is it?" Florence had righted himself properly and had taken a few steps away from the water. His bundle of herbs was nudged away to safety as well, even though he could always find more. He'd rather not come back this way for a few days, at least.

Her dark laugh sent tingles down his spine, his heart pumping in fear at the sound but he hid it as best he could, forming his face into a neutral look so his fear would not show. He wanted to leave this woman to her own deceives but as her skull bounced into the water and was nearly washed away by the current, there was some part of him that held some morbid curiosity to her. What had her mother taught her, beyond telling her daughter not to give out her real name and to disrespect the bones of already dead wolves?

"So why don't you tell me your real name and let us call it even." Florence questioned her firmly, his tone brokering no argument and hopefully, it would work. He already had gotten a feeling of mistrust from simply seeing the woman at the gathering and it had doubled since remembering who she was. He couldn't understand how Kova had trusted the woman and believed anything she said. From the moment he had laid eyes on her, she had radiated some dark presence that made him uncomfortable.

"What a clever, clever man." The dark smirk remained on her lips as her position turned to face him fully once more before lowering her haunches to a sitting position, the fluff of her tail coming forward to wrap around her delicate paws. So he wasn't as dumb as he appeared to be. Maybe that brain of his was a little bigger than a mouse's head. Raising a paw she placed it on the crown of the skull, her precious possession and gave it a small caress while her gaze dropped down to admire the dull, cracked bones before glancing back to his dark mask when he spoke. Reveal her name? What fun would there be if she just gave it up that easily? Hexamora had found a new game to play with him. Guess her name.

A curious tilt of her head followed his words once they fell silent, a calculating glint in her eyes. "Well since you ruined my little game earlier, why don't we play a new one. I do love a good game." Eyes focused on him her paw that was once caressing the skull now knocked it back and forth to further emphasize her playful words. How long would it take for him to guess her name? Much like himself her name of birth was not your average one and doubtfully belonged to another wolf. "I'll even make this game more enticing for you to play. If you can guess my name i'll let you leave." 'with your skull' followed her words, but in her head. She really did need to find a place to call her own soon if she planned to fulfill her desire to create a skull collection. There was no way she could carry a dozen skulls with her at once. Too many possessions, too little paws.

a game? he thought, a small frown working its way onto his face. Was she serious? It was just a name and he could leave whenever he wished. "I ruined your game? How?" Why was he so curious? Why did he not just keep walking? This woman creeped him out far too much and all he wanted to do was go home. But then there was talk of a game, of guessing her true name and if he won, he could leave.

"Why don't we make it more interesting? A game of riddles and if I win, you give me your name. If you win..." Florence paused at this, wondering what this wolf would want if she won. His eyes lowered down to the skull she still had and for a brief moment, the thought that she would want his skull came to him. He shuddered. No, she couldn't possibly want his skull, seeing as she had one just there that she was caressing with her paw. What was her fascination with the dirty old thing? It was cracked and broken, it's hollow eyes staring at Florence as if it were judging him for being so afraid.

coward it seemed to whisper at him, as the snow continued to fall and some landed on the skull, the flakes landing on its sharp edges, around its eyes and nose and somehow softening the look of it.

It did not stop the creepiness that was its owner from stroking it. He looked away from it, looking at her two tones eyes instead. "What do you want if you win?"

Got you. Curiosity was all over his face now that she mentioned the idea of a game, his attention right in the palm of her paw. It was almost too easy how intrigued he became, but then he added to the complexity of the game. Riddles? He wanted to play with riddles? It took everything not to roll her eyes at the idea of guessing riddles. Hex hated riddles when she was the one left to guess them. The fun was had in creating them, not guessing, but she would play along with his little game. If he won she had to reveal her true name and if she won, well that was up to her on what the prize would be. A stifled laugh almost broke past her lips when his gaze fell onto the skull she continued to caress, more absentmindedly now as the snow made little piles of powder along the sharper edges. What could she want in return?

"Alright, Florence. I'll play your game." She fed him while her mind continued to think up what would make a suitable prize for when she won. Another skull to add to her collection would be nice, but she highly doubted he would be willing to hang over his head over a simple riddle. No, she would have to look elsewhere to find her next possession and think of something else to wager as her prize. A meal? Hexamora did hate the dirty work of hunting down food and that would make a good prize. But when he paid his debt would be up to her. That would give her an excuse to continue torturing the poor soul. Yes, that was perfect. "If I win you must catch me a meal, but you can only catch it when I want you to. Deal?" A smug smirk slowly found its way onto her lips. This was going to be like taking candy from a baby.

(This post was last modified: Nov 24, 2014, 04:24 AM by Hexamora.)

Florence tightened his jaw as he listened to her speak, accepting his game and entailing what he would have to do for her, if she won. He blinked at what she wanted him to do. Catch a meal for her whenever she wanted? Well, he wasn't planning on meeting with her again, so he had nothing to lose in agreein to her terms.

"That is fine with me. I accept it." He replied steadily, trying not to show his nervousness to her as another smirk crossed her lips. The sooner this was done, this game of riddles, the better. "it'll be the best of three. I will start the game off." Pausing after he said it, he began thinking of a riddle to start this strange gathering. When he came out to gather herbs, this is not eat he had in mind to happen at all. He figured he'd find the herbs, do a little bit of exploring before going home. Not getting into a game of riddles with a creepy woman who liked playing with wolf skulls.

"What comes down but never goes up?" He eventually settled on, his eyes looking to her in question. Challenging her to guess its answer. It wasn't a hard riddle, really but he wanted to test the waters and see just how smart this woman was. If she guessed the riddle correctly, then the next one would have to be harder. He had always been good with riddles, having enjoyed them as a pup with his sisters.

A muscle along her jaw twitched at his acceptance of her prize should she win while an almost dark glint passed across her irises. Good. This should be an easy win for the witty woman and an even easier meal when she cashed in her reign check. How hard could it possibly be to guess the agreed upon best out of three? Surely Florence couldn't come up with anything hard enough to stump the ivory clad woman and the first riddle to fall from his lips was as easy as giving a flick of her tail. What comes down but never goes up? Bah, even the most dimwitted of pups could figure that one out. Her paw slid off the rugged surface of her travel companion to nestle in its proper place, tail thumping in amusement at her side. "It's rain." Hexamora answered in a foxy tone.

Now it was her turn to test him with a riddle of her own, but would be the best first move to make? Should she make it easy like he had to test the waters in a similar fashion, or go straight for the throat so to speak and lay out a hard riddle that would leave him pondering for minutes if not hours for the answer. No, she figured it would be best to keep it easy at first as if the poor woman couldn't come up with a solid riddle capable of stumping the man. Riddle of riddle swam around her mind until finally she came to a decision on which one to use, shifting her weight a bit before she spoke up."What is brown and sticky?" It was the easiest riddle one could think of, the answer basically within the question and if he answered this wrong she wasn't sure if there would be anything more fun than stealing an easy win. A free dinner would be guaranteed.

"Simple, it's a stick." Florence replied smoothly, keeping his voice steady and trying not to be scared anymore by the woman in front of him. A harder riddle next, one that would hopefully trip her up a little. For a few moments, Florence tried to think of something that was a little harder then his previous riddle. That one, and hers, had been quite childish and he wanted something a little harder. "If I drink, I die. Yet if I eat, I get bigger. What am I?" The answer was something wolves knew about yet had absolutely no control over. Florence only hoped it would take slightly longer for the woman to think it over before answering then she had for the previous riddle, which admittedly, had been a easy one.If she got this one right, the he would lose and she win, meaning he would have to wait and see if and when she wanted him to catch her a free meal. Though truth be told, he never wanted to meet with this woman ever again so win or lose, the only thing he would gain from this was her name. And frankly, if that's the only thing he lost well then, he was grateful. It was only luck that wolves were not mind readers otherwise, the dark male would have fled long ago from the dark thoughts the woman was thinking. Yet his instincts still whispered to him she was dangerous, she should not be trusted. so he kept on guard as he waited for her answer.

(This post was last modified: Dec 14, 2014, 11:24 AM by Florence.)

Without surprise the man had answered the riddle she offered correctly with a smooth answer. It was an easy riddle that even a pup could have guessed right had they been asked. She did not verbally coincide his right answer and instead offered a simple nod of her head to signify before allowing the silence between them to extend while he pondered a counter riddle to stump the woman in white and hopefully gain her true name. Unless of course she managed to prevail and guess the answer correctly meaning she was the victor and that meant a free meal courtesy of Florence. She could nearly taste the fresh meat now, but this damn riddle was in the way. "If I drink, I die. Yet if I eat, I get bigger. What am I?" Un-admittedly she was stumped with this one.

The silence only grew longer the more she stewed upon a possible answer. What could it possibly be? It seemed simple enough to be a quick answer, but her mind just couldn't think up a logical answer for it. 'Damn it, damn it all to hell.' She cursed mentally while rising to her feet in frustration yet kept her exterior cool and collected to avoid Florence from detecting he was seconds away from winning this little contest. With a flick of her tail and a reluctant sigh she met his gaze with her own as her shoulders rose into a defeated sigh, her words holding an exasperated tone. "It pains me to say this, but you have stumped me." There was no collecting a free meal this time, but there was still a chance to collect a new skull right? The thought was tantalizing as her bi-colored gaze swept hastily to the flowing creek filled with icy cold water capable of bringing on hypothermia to any wolf foolish enough to fall inside. Surely a small nudge in the right direction could knock the male back into its depths and she was convinced it would look like a mere accident. A loss of footing.