Secret Falls Forward; while my paws hold my weight

Days passing as woods changed; Shinyuu found herself in the place most resembling her home. The sounds of rushing water surrounded her; so nice and calming. She would just stay in here and never leave; apart from the fact that she surely wasn't the only wolf wandering around; there were markings of a pack territory that she tried to avoid. Getting into a fight with a pack in here would be really a bad idea.

Her thoughts returned to rushing water. She was following the little streams; paws soaking in water and mud; always attentive to the sounds and smells she now felt almost at ease; almost too reckless; but what could go wrong for her in this place?

The sounds of a waterfall were getting stronger. Shinyuu noticed that she was walking towards them for quite some time; getting lost in her thoughts and letting her paws move on their own. Suddenly alert she stopped; her ears twitching; absorbing all the sounds from her surroundings. "Did I miss something?" she thought to herself; her deep amber eyes scanning the trees. "Either I'm getting too tired again; or it's a funny curious paranoia; I'm just getting old and I need a place to call home and a male by my side". She huffed loudly to her thoughts; realising how funny they did sound to her. Always dreaming of a family; yet always on the go; never stopping; never getting close to anyone she met; she now got sucked into dreaming of being a pack wolf once again. A tiny little pack; a someone who will take the burden of decisions off her. The white wolf shook her body; trying to get away from those thoughts.

Shinyuu sniffed the air. No scent of immediate danger; but still very damp; dulling her senses a little bit. She slowly continued her walk towards the source of rushing water sounds; not that much tired and not really hungry now she was driven by her most developed sense — curiosity.

(This post was last modified: Jul 13, 2015, 01:09 PM by Shinyuu.)

Sometimes, it was nice to slip way from the adult Aquila, if only for a little while.  A boy needed his space, after all!  A father's advice was all well and good, but sometimes he needed a little adventure.  He was almost a man himself!  Almost…almost, because it didn't seem @Datura quite agreed with the sentiment, even if he'd clearly been chosen and given his beautiful red star.  (His shiny star, that his paternal figure seemed to hate so much!  Maybe he was just jealous – after all, he'd look splendid with a collar himself, and still, it was a right of passage!)
 
Shaking the thought off, the yearling picked his way through fallen timbers and across slippery rocks.  The weather was pleasant, at least, he thought to himself, and the going would be easier on the way home.  He'd know the way, returning to his father's side instead of exploring as he wandered the unknown territories.  Fed, rested, surveying the forest was all he had in mind – if anything, the youth had a hankering to find the waterfall tickling his ears.
 
Of course, he could be persuaded, he soon realized, picking up the scent of another lone wolf.  Tail swaying above his back, the ginger male broke into a lazy lope as he followed the smell, tracking the other animal until he was several lengths away.  There, he halted, sunshine eyes glowing as he realized it was a lonely female he'd stumbled upon.  "Hiya!" he barked, banner waving above his sooty back.  "What're you doin' out here, yo?"

#R28-9

Shallow water has trapped several fish in a small pond. Hunt Opportunity

Shinyuu was walking at a leisurely pace; enjoying the scenery. Her thoughts were focused on the waterfall sounds when she suddenly realised that the little wind brings in a new scent; somewhere from behind of her. She continued walking in the same direction; her body still relaxed but ears perking up and alert to the sounds; the mind trying to filter the hum of the forest and focus on the stranger. And the stranger came; announcing the presence with a bark.

She-wolf slowly stopped and turned to face her pursuer; a rather young wolf; alone by the looks of it; looking a bit anxious to her eye and not really in his best shape.

His slightly harsh words reached her ears and she almost bared her fangs in response; but the youngling looked slightly silly to her and she felt it would be stupid if she considered the boy as any kind of threat. Turning to face him; she kept her stance relaxed; although her tail raised up in the subconscious response.

She just stood there; motionless and quiet; her eyes watching all the movements of a younger wolf. She was like a rock; even the surrounding trees looked more vivid and playful. Her right forepaw got deeper in the mud to keep her body perfectly balanced; her posture clearly telling that she can easily deal with the stranger no matter how their communication unfolds. And with that; so far all her communication was the body language.

Shinyuu was waiting.

   

The female noticed him, of that he was sure.  While Gilligan stood, his tail fanning behind him furiously, she stopped and stared after him.  Patience remained for a moment or two – if she wanted to look, well, let her look!  He was a handsome specimen of Aquila stock, after all, and the lad puffed his chest out proudly as the shimmering fogdog eyed him up and down.  She was a bit of a beauty herself, wasn't she?  Standing out from a cloud or a bank of fog, her white coat was a bit legendary, he thought, mind racing away with him as the pair sized each other up for several silent moments.
 
It dawned on the yearling then that he'd actually greeted the stranger, and she'd made no attempt to return it, not through speech or something less vocal.  Ears swept back as a frown creased his soot face as his tail began to still behind him.  Everything he'd done was friendly, wasn't it?  And still she stood there, wary and vaguely threatening, like he'd hurled crude insults at her.  (Something he was perfectly capable of, Gil thought with a terrible grin, but not something he would resort to so soon.
 
"Yo, I'm talking t' you!" he called, taking a step forward.  She'd definitely heard him the first time, or she'd never stopped to look – he could rule out hearing impairment.  "This is usually the part where you go, 'hello, handsome wolf, my name is Whitey White!'," Gil continued, raising his voice by several pitches in a poor imitation of a woman's speech pattern, "and I go, 'yeah, I know, my name is Gilligan, but everyone calls me Gil.  It's not that hard, yo.  Think you can deal?"

#R28-9

She-wolf stand still listening to youngling. Some part of her wanted to teach him a lesson on how to behave; other part just wanted to turn around and continue her walk to the waterfall.

She slightly twitched her ears when wolf tried to imitate a high-pitched voice. His behaviour; manners... Shinyuu huffed and shook her head; relaxing the stance. There was no sense in bossing this wolf around; although he clearly seemed to be alone. Her tail twitched above her back in something vaguely resembling a greeting.

Shinyuu slowly walked up to the young male and casually rubbed her nose against his; greeting him like they knew each other for long time; walked past him; sniffing his fur a bit and flicking her tail almost in front of his muzzle; so he could get a feeling of her soft musky feminine scent from her tail gland. Emerging from the other side as she circled around him standing there she made a few steps towards the sounds of waterfall; turning her head back and staring at him.

Still keeping the silence she wondered; what will this wolf do. They meet suddenly and could have parted their ways; but maybe he was after something laying in the same direction and they could share a walk? Shinyuu grinned and invitingly wagged her tail.

All he got was a huff, and nothing more.  As the yearling lapsed back into silence, he found himself wondering if the older wolf actually couldn't speak.  He'd never met a wolf without a voice before, though he supposed it seemed…possible.  Deciding he'd have to ask his father once returning to the man, he focused back on the stranger – only to find her walking towards him.  Orange eyes widened like a pair of twin suns, and for a moment, he only stared, stiffening as she reached out for him.
 
The attack he braced himself for never came – instead, he was greeted like he'd been back before he and his father had left his birth pack.  She treated him as if this wasn't the first time they'd come across each other, and for a moment, Gilligan felt a bit poorly for yelling at the woman.  The guilt lasted only a fleeting moment, his short-lived attention span only surviving until she flicked her bushy tail across his nose – the wanderer was captured.  Whatever scowl had scrunched his expression was gone, replaced only by a slight look of awe and a much more pleasant mask.
 
She needn't words to exchange her intentions – the summons over her shoulder was plenty.  Gil broke into an easy trot, falling into line on the female's left, his head even with her shoulder.  If she wanted to lead?  Well, he was quite fine with that, even if he had no idea where they were headed.  "Yo, so, uh, do you even have a name?" he asked after a few moments, head tipping to one side.  Even if she didn't have a voice, surely she could answer that.  "You live here?"

#R28-9

Quote:ooc: sorry for a slightly messed up previous writeup, chrome did die three times in the process of writing :|

He followed after her exactly as she thought. Laughing inside she continued to run in a slow pace towards the sounds of the waterfall; her mood getting better again as she anticipated the view that sounds painted in her mind.
A flick of her tail and the wolf is following her; maybe being led by the same strange curiosity that was pushing her forward. Either way; they both will see the wonders of this place now; maybe she'd even share a meal with him later. But for the time being it was just the walk; sounds of the forest; sounds of the water getting louder and louder and... "yo" of the other wolf. Apparently he was really a talkative one; or; possibly he tried to stay polite. Shinyuu would never know; her little experience with other wolves didn't give her any advice on this and she just listened to his words; letting out another snort when Gil asked for her name. She really found those his somewhat clumsy attempts curious and her body responded with her tail wagging to and fro matching to her run speed; the scent of body giving out her mood.
Shinyuu shook her head to the second question; for a moment closing her eyes and bringing in the image of her forest; fire; chase. Her home was far and she didn't know if she will call this place her new home; if she will find someone; if she will feel the thrill of hunt in the pack and see the little pups playing. The wolf opened her eyes just in time to dodge the tree growing in her path and quickly looked at Gil to see if he noticed her tiny moment of diving into fantasies.

   

The male's confusion only deepened at the general lack of words, wondering idly if he'd gotten himself mixed up in something he shouldn't have.  But the stranger didn't smell like anything except herself, and there were no packs hidden in places for him to stumble upon.  All the same, Gilligan was forced to trust that the white wolf was not leading him anywhere dangerous – while he might consider himself quite an argonaut (especially now that he'd lived a few weeks without his father at his side) – even he had no interest in getting injured…or killed.  Or whatever else it was that Datura had warned him off when it came to the fairer sex.
 
Forced to be satisfied with only her wagging tail, the lad almost missed the shake of her head in reply to his second question.  Well, at least that was one answer, the male supposed, though it hardly sated any of his curiosity.  "I'm not from around here, either," he explained, wondering if the familiarity would incline the woman to share a bit more information with him.  "Not found a place to belong yet, I guess.  Kinda weird…but not bad, not so far."
 
Fortunately for the other vagrant, he missed her brief lapse into memory, his pace slowing as the waterfall crept into sight.  A grin spread across his muzzle as his tail began to wiggle as well.  "Cool," he breathed, orange eyes bright as he turned to the female once more.  "Can you…can you even talk, yo?"  Was that a question you were supposed to ask a shy wolf?  He didn't know – there were so many things Datura failed to explain.  "Or am I just…talking?"

#R28-9

Shinyuu slowed down; breathing in the humid air and watching the waterfall. The place was very different from her home she realised; huffing quietly. Her anticipation was rather silly; expecting to see something from the home she left; she just came up to something very different but still magnificent on its own.

She checked on the younger wolf; watching him; thoughts in her head rushing fast and ears flicking as she came to some decision. She slightly nudged his side with the weight of her body and followed down; hopping into the water and feeling how her fur immediately gets soaked with it. Still; the running water was clean and Shinyuu needed to wash herself from the dirt; she moved carefully; making sure her slow steps are secure. Would be silly if she slipped in front of this guy.

Satisfied; she returned to the shore; shaking her body vigorously. Quickly considering getting a quick swim; she decided against it; the environment was right; the mood was not. And then there still was this talkative Gil. Shinyuu focused on the wolf again; "almost forgot about him while playing in the water; eh girl?" she thought. It was very rarely that she allowed herself to be so much oblivious to the surroundings; maybe it had something to do with the place reminding her of her home and not being it. So similar; yet so distinctly different in many little details.

The wolf flicked her tail grinning at Gil. The scent of her body was clearly giving out her playful mood. Even if she herself never figured out why she did let the boy to follow her in the first place; she considered him a companion for this little trip. And she might have owned her companion just a bit more of the explanation then she gave.