Secret Falls Skirting Curtsies

The strange pendulum of Shinyuu's mood was in a full swing. There was absolutely no reason to feel oppressed; she perfectly understood she could as well be not welcome here. This wasn't her land and this wasn't a time to challenge others; specifically if they looked more seasoned and skilled than herself.

But she was Shinyuu. She was true to herself and to her life. After all those years she spent alone she didn't remember much of a social protocol she learned with milk; but her body clearly had some instincts that dictated how to behave. While her mind was rushing to find a way from the strange situation she got herself into in a blink of an eye; her body reacted to the other wolf's movement with raised hackles.

Her eyes seemed frozen on the grey wolf; but she in fact was very attentive to surroundings and to the other wolf; would youngling move against her? Based on the little chunk of their talk; she might as well be. "You stand no chance; yet you can't convince myself to run away? Dear; dear; you're still alive with this attitude; but now you do remember better why you came here in the first place; eh? Avoiding all the wolves on your way" — the thought rushed fast and terminated abruptly as she noticed that she is actually growling warningly; exposing her fangs half way and her ears are tightly pressed to the back of her head.

The wolf forced herself to stop. She just shut up; with a speed of lightning hitting a tree she managed to get from her aggressive response back to a neutral one and her ears slowly moved back up. And then she did something she wasn't used to at all — making a small step she backed off; her body still tense and ready for any outcome; she at least was sure she's not going to dive into any fight head first. "Maybe this all can go well; for a change" she quickly thought; her tail; stopping being a banner of her implied dominance; flicked playfully side to side a few times.

I'm so sorry for taking that long, you guys! If I ever take too long in replying, you (everyone, really) have my permission to give me a nudge/reminder.

The forward step on her part was countered with Shinyuu's raised hackles. Not waiting a moment, Iopah responded in unspoken-kind. She took another step forward. The movement was no longer testing and probing, but rather asserting herself. Her high-flung tail was stiff, there was no sway to it as she moved forward. From the corner of her golden eye she saw Taslima shift, stretching and tilting her head. Iopah felt her tail give a brief twitch at that. She saw -and appreciated- the attempt at diffusing the tension, but it was coming from the wrong wolf.

Her attention was stretched tight on Shinyuu, the yearling's question registering little more than a laconic blink from the Pines' alpha. It wasn't that she didn't care if the ivory woman might need help, but it was secondary now. This wolf thought she could meet Iopah's unspoken request for respect with bared teeth. Perhaps she was being a bit pushy in the way she was enforcing it, but the other woman had done little to explain herself and Iopah was not known for her patience with strangers. Keeping her family safe was far more important than a few ruffled feather, in her opinion.

The younger wolf spoke back up, the words tugging on Iopah's preoccupation. Her pale ears flicked to and fro, whilst keeping watchful eyes on Shinyuu. She listened silently, the flicker of her ears the only proof. They were low spoken words, heavy with feeling that even Iopah could detect; for a brief moment they tugged her gaze away from Shinyuu. The sharp golden eyes landed on Taslima, saying nothing still but for the sympathy in them; Iopah remembered her own past. The look lasted only a moment and then she was back to watching the white woman.

There was relief -despite her readiness to throw down- when the tense lines melted from Shinyuu's stance. It wasn't until they stepped back that Iopah let her own stance soften somewhat. It didn't drop any, but the stiffness vanished. Her brows drew together curiously, following the playfully swaying tail. "Are you lost?" Or perhaps, "Are you sick?" She now knew there were many ways to be sick, and every one as unpredictable and dangerous as the next.

There was always something to protect against, always something worth protecting. Her gaze went sideways to Taslima again, now having an understanding of sorts with Shinyuu. She gave a faint smile. "I can give you that. If you trust me, I can offer my home to you."

The feeling or imminent catastrophe was fading away. Hopefully this time she will have no reason to taste the blood of others; and as initial aggressive response was dimming; curiosity was returning to dominate her mind; the head tilting a bit as her left ear flopped sideways in a strange gesture.

Could she fight those two and make them fall back? She might as well tried; as she did countless times before; but that never brought her any happiness in life and maybe this was a good time to try and do something in a different way. Shinyuu hesitated for a very short moment. She might as well be true to herself with this woman; her reaction looked somewhat similar to her own... if she had to protect something.

She-wolf's stance changed slightly after a step back she took; standing strong and straight she raised her tail straight; enough to look confident but not threatening.

Her eyes looked straight at the bigger wolf when she said: "I didn't mean to interrupt your talk so abruptly". She talked slow; not used to communication her voice sounded low; somewhat similar to growling. "Did I accidentally entered the territory owned by you? I am no threat to any of you... unless you will see me as one".

(This post was last modified: Sep 23, 2015, 05:13 PM by Shinyuu.)