Ghastly Woods To creep or not to creep

@Marqi

The forest around him was quite gloomy an it had an edge of...creepiness to it that Florence did not like but he thought it might still hold some useful herbs for the winter. Glancing around as the fog tickled at his legs, he shivered at the shadows of the trees and the ghostly sunlight that managed to barely filter through. As soon as he had the herbs, the large male was leaving. It set his nerves on edge and even with the thought of herbs to help his pack, he just wanted to leave. But his determination kept him going and his eyes sharp.

I should have let Vera come with me. He thought dryly, remembering how his mate wanted to come along but he told her to stay behind. Not because for lack of company but because Florence still feared running into the strange woman from the creek and he did not want Vera meeting her.

Sighing, Florence jumped when a rustle sounding drew his attention to the left of him but it was just a bird shooting away, into the sky. And obviously away from this creepy place. The healer did not lay any blame the small bird. This place smelt of death and decay, something that would put most animals off it. But at the same time, he mused, it could be a safe haven for some. He knew it send tingles up his spine with every shadow leaning over him, for every creak of a branch...

Marqi was trying extremely hard not to be creeped out by her surroundings.. but that was a nearly impossible task in itself. Her fur stood on end, allowing the chill in the air to further reach her skin. Marqi took a moment shake her coat thoroughly, accidentally brushing against some bushes and scaring off a bird with the noise. At first the small she-wolf jumped back, then took a moment to watch the bird disappear into the canopy above her. With a tilt of her head and a huff, she continued on her way, grey orbs darting around, ears low to listen for any other threats.

After a short while, Marqi began to smell what she thought was another wolf.. She lowered her head and tail, keeping her ears back as she continued to creep forward. With a wrong step, Marqi stepped on a branch and yelped at the sound that broke the eerie silence, stumbling through a patch of brambles and flopping down face first into a mound of snow.

When the femme brought her nose back up from the frosty, frozen floor She came face to face with the wolf she had previously smelled from a distance.

"um...hello. sorry if I startled you, just a bit startled myself" she stuttered, fumbling with her words as she tried not to make direct eye contact with the male before her. He could easily squish her if he took her as a threat and she did not want that at all, she'd even show her belly to him if need be, but she very much hoped that it would not be necessary.

At a crack shot through the fog, which sounds as if someone had stepped on a stick, Florence whirled around to the sound. Only to come face to face to a wolf stumbling out of a bush and face first into a pile of snow. Despite the fright he was just given and the creepiness of the great, Florence could not stop a chuckle erupting from his chest. It was not a mean chuckle. Just one of relief because he could see the other wolf was no threat of any kind.

"It is fine. You did not mean to scare me." He assured her with a smile before looking over her, to see if she had hurt herself from her trip. " you are not hurt are you? That was quite a trip." the query was a kind offer, implying that she could talk to him if she was. It was not hard to notice that she was not trying to make eye contact with him and Florence sighed. He knew that his size put some wolves off, making them think that he would harm them if they so much as looked at him the wrong way.

"I am Florence, a healer.". He offered her as he settled on his haunches and stretched his front legs in front of him, relaxing his posture as he glanced over to her. "So if you are hurt, please tell me and I'll be able to help." from that kin of trip, he doubted she was really injured, other then maybe a few bruises and a hurt nose. But it was in his nature to nurture and to help others. So he waited for an answer, relaxed and calm.

Hearing the other wolf's chuckle somewhat put Marqi at ease. She brought her body back to a proper level and shook the snow off her coat, flinging some ice off her nose. After listening to the male introduce himself as a healer Marqi felt much more comfortable, seeing as how she followed her previous pack's healer like a shadow, she felt like she and this "Florence" had some things to speak about.

"Ah, you're part of a pack. that's lovely. I used to be familiar with healing techniques. I'm a bit rusty though.. It's good to meet you, I am Marqi Kep." she spoke somewhat softly, keeping her tail at the appropriate level, though feeling comfortable enough to bring her head and ears up to a friendly level. "I'm fine, a sore nose never killed anyone after all." She stated with a smirk.

She wondered what the male was doing out here on his own, collecting herbs most likely, but on his own? Did he not have an apprentice or guard? Especially in such a place as this, it was quite creepy and she was sure she was not the only one to be unsettled by this setting.

"so...where... IS your pack? I'm not trespassing am I?" She asked with a slight shake in her voice. It had been awhile since she had a proper den to sleep in and she was a bit cold...not to mention she was frightened of upsetting a whole pack, while she was built for speed, Marqi was not interested in treating bites on her ankles from being chased out of someone's territory.

(This post was last modified: Dec 19, 2014, 03:52 AM by Marqi.)

The tang of his pack clung to his dark pelt strongly so it had not been a surprise when Marqi had questioned where his pack was."Do not worry, you are not trespassing on pack lands." He assured her, though something told him that a pack had been here before but had since come and gone. He had thought to have found an old communal den earlier, that still very faintly smelt of wolves and a cache of rotten herbs.

There were no signs as to why they had abandoned the territory but Florence was never going to find out, unless he ran into one of the old pack members. "A pleasure to meet you, Marqi Kep. My pack lies within a field of black berry bushes. It is a nice pack, with friendly wolves."

The memory of Fly asking him and Vera to join Black Thorn Downs entered his mind and he smiled as a thought occurred to him. "Do you happen to have a pack Marqi?" There was no smell of a pack on her that he could detect but he could be wrong in assuming. After all, she may have recently joined a pack and thus did not have the stink of a pack on her so strongly yet. It was simply worry that the young wolf might not have a pack to survive through winter with. And Florece did not want to leave her without the knowledge she had somewhere safe to live over the coming months.

Marqi drooped her head a bit and let out a sigh of relief when she heard the male reassure her that she was not trespassing. Though, she was intrigued when he mentioned a field of blackberry bushes. She had not come across that area since she had wandered into this territory. Not since she left her former pack..

"I have not seen any blackberry bushes since I have come here... where do you keep a den if you are in a field?" she asked, hoping not to offend him, but being far too curious not to ask. She had heard of wolves burrowing beneath tree roots and thing such as that, but it had been awhile since she had seen any sort of den constructed in such a manner as that. Marqi sat down on her haunches, tilting her head as she listened to Florence as he spoke, wanting to learn more about his pack. If they were all as friendly as this wolf she may consider following him home.. Even if she still had some trust issues.

When Florence asked her if she had a pack to belong to she quickly shook her head with a forlorn sigh. "No. I left my pack when my siblings passed. I was never a 'crowd favorite' so to speak. I only got along with my mother and the pack's healer. everyone else shunned us because of our sire's origins." she said with a serious expression. It wasn't so much that she didn't like other wolves, more so the fear of rejection from other packs that had kept her from joining any other groups.[/color]

Florence chuckled, not at all offended by her questioning after his pack. He entertained the thought that maybe he could convince her to come back with him and join Black Thorn Downs? The pack needed the numbers, even just for the winter and if she stayed for longer afterwards well then, that would be good.

"Well, it has not right in the black berry fields and the den hasn't been dug out in the field. The communal den has been dug out from under a old, fallen oak tree, in amongst some nearby woods." Florence answered patiently, with a small smile. The dark male
Didn't mind questions being asked about his pack, as long as they were appropriate, like this one. "Though a few of us do have our own personal dens scattered around nearby, like my mate and I."

"Perhaps you would like to find a home within my pack?" Florence offered kindly. "That is, if you are interesting in joining and don't have somewhere else to go for the winter?" After all, she could be on her at somewhere to meet someone, a friend or family member. But he felt as if he had to offer, in case she didn't have anywhere to go. "You said you were interested in herbs? Perhaps I could teach you some more about them, if you wish to join." He didn't want to bribe the girl but he had remembered what she had said about the herbs and something inside him was interested in teaching someone else about the field e was enamoured with. To share the knowledge with someone else who would be interested in the same things he was.

Listening to Florence almost calmed Marqi. She sat there, flicking her tail to and fro as she thought about his kind words.  Marqi could have had a den of her own long ago if she wasn't so afraid of being caught in another wolf's territory. She'd been chased off more than once and it had left a lasting mark, figuratively and  physically. She often dreamed of burying deep down and making an intricate den, with many open spaces and tunnels for her young to romp around in. She always thought she'd burrow beneath a thicket of brambles to keep her family safe, but that thought had long ago slipped from her mind. After such a long two years, Marqi gave up on the idea of having a loving family to care for. 

She zoomed back into reality when Florence made the big offer to allow her to join his pack. He really said that? Did he have that authority? Was this a trick? She'd only just met him, after all..

"oh...well. Is that really an option? your clan wouldn't mind? I mean I'd love to- I would be more than humbled to apprentice under you...Id love to learn but.." she rambled on, feeling a bit nervous. "I mean...okay.?"

"would I be able to have a den of my own? wherever I like?" she asked, her tail beginning to wag ever so gently, softly thumping in the snow. Her heart began to beat wildly in her chest and her sore ear twitched as she smiled at the male before her.

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity