Darkwater Rapids Are you through pretending?

@Noble

If only the cream woman had something to fight for or defend, the idea almost seemed imaginary to her after having been alone for most of her young life; she just wanted to be normal again. It wasn't that she valued her life any less since becoming a loner, in fact she had done a fairly good job of keeping herself fed despite having no formal training in the sport of hunting and relished in her ability to scavenge off the hard work of others as she could. Unlike her counterpart she had avoided unnecessary injury because of this. Her secret lied in her ability to be patient and wait until the coast was clear to get her share of the prize, by waiting until the predator was no longer interested in the kill, she had avoided altercations that could have cost her life months ago. In fact, while she spoke with Noble her keen sense of smell willed the scent of moose carcass in the wind and momentarily the Thanne woman was distracted, finding herself wondering how she could go about searching for the kill without alerting the dark stranger and having to share it with her. An objection rumbled at the pit of her stomach, the scent of prey sent her on edge, and she averted Noble's eyes in case she could sense the dilemma brewing in her mind. She could only hope to find the carcass after the yearling had gone about her business.
"You sound like someone I know," who this wolf was she couldn't quite determine, perhaps it was the negative side of Rory that she had successfully buried it so deep within herself that it had become foreign to her now; she had no desire to go back down that road of sulking and endless blaming. She inched toward the dark woman, noticing that the young woman had stepped away from her after her advance and wondered for a moment if the tables had been turned during his meeting--was Noble now more afraid of her?"Cause I woulda have died if I hadn't stopped" "you're not dead yet, at least not physically." she couldn't quite tell if the woman had allowed defeat to take over her. She watched as she rinsed her foot once more of any sign of blood, as though washing away the evidence of her weakness and Rory found herself hesitating on what to say next. Could anything she said truly matter to the golden eyed yearling? "how do you know if you're still out here, wandering alone? Maybe a second set of eyes could help speed along the process?" it was an invitation that she hoped Noble would accept but half expected, that the Lagina would refuse.

(This post was last modified: Oct 04, 2015, 04:50 AM by Rory.)

Graphics by Arya and Becuffin!

/casually drops some heavy irony xD
feel free to have Rory do whatever, i'd say just roll with it

Dark lips peeled back from ivory teeth once more when Rory moved those inches towards her. Much of Noble's social etiquette had been lost since becoming a loner and becoming a thief. She watched the cream girl, torn between wanting to trust and wanting to survive. Others often acted adversely towards her; how could she be sure it was safe now?

She snorted at Rory's words. It seemed the only thing for such a statement. Of course Noble wasn't dead, hadn't she been trying so hard just to stay alive? It was not the glamour or thrill of thievery that had drawn her in, after all. Still, even as she insisted all this to herself, there was a part that wasn't sure. It felt like all the fragments that she wanted to keep were getting buried by those she'd rather forget. Perhaps it was just a part of growing up, but it unsettled her. Noble bit her lip as the girl spoke up again, poking yet more holes in the already depressing existence she'd forged for herself. There was no possible way to know and in her case reality was far worse than she could imagine. They had come searching for her.

Noble glanced at the girl who's adopted father had murdered her own and shrugged. How could she have known? How could either have possibly known? "I'm not looking anymore." She pawed at the water, feeling stupid and embarrassed for herself. "And you don't wanna be around me...

"I'm a thief."

pssst... xD was looking at Rory's LP and she can claim yearling physique points

Haha, thanks, poor Rory's been stuck in puppy mode XD

Instinctively her ears were pulled backward on her skull, her own lips quivered in contemplation of baring her own ivory teeth at Noble --the initial display had scared her-- but she kept her indecisiveness in check long enough to keep her mouth shut. Almost as quickly that it took for her to decide to keep a neutral stance, the hairs at her nape smoothed back to its original spot and she eyed the yearling cautiously, her nervousness was beginning to take over. She had not meant to spook her and remembered to keep a considerable distance the rest of the meeting. "Sorry..." she started, biting down on her lip--she would not make the same mistake twice.

Her attention peaked at Noble's snort, wondering what had been so funny before realizing that perhaps what she'd said had actually sparked a nerve. It was hard being a loner, especially a young one, and thus far the dark youth had done well to keep herself fed and alive, but she hadn't received those wounds for nothing. It seemed that the woman was becoming more desperate, and more feral. "I won't push the issue," but she knew that Noble was hurting and wanting nothing more than to be found, even if her heart had grown cold in an attempt to prevent any emotions from popping back up. She knew first hand, but unlike her partner she hadn't completely given up, in fact, she was just starting back up. "it looks like you could use some help. I mean I'm no professional in stealing but like you I've managed to stay alive, without injury." she nudged her head toward the rippling water which was now rinsing her blood, "are you still hungry?" she asked then, thinking back on the moose that had caught her attention earlier.

Graphics by Arya and Becuffin!

It seemed each girl was as nervous of each as the other was. Noble ducked her head away as Rory apologized. It had been a very long time since anyone had said that to the Lagina yearling, and she wasn't quite sure how to respond. The word fell away, into what Noble imagined as an awkward silence. She wasn't sure how to do this, this trusting other wolves or discussing anything more profound than the weather... and it showed.

Her head lifted from the creek when Rory spoke again and she finally managed to whisper, "Thank you." It was a sore issue that she constantly rubbed salt in all by herself, Noble didn't need yet another reminder of how thoroughly she had failed. She glanced over quickly when the allusion to her wound was made, after all it was hard to hide a ribbon of blood in clear water. Almost immediately she looked warily from the blood back to the other girl. It was weakness and she was already vulnerable, Noble forced self-reliance and confidence into her stance. "I'm fine." She firmly insisted. She was expecting more on it, either exploitation or rubbing-in of her poor decisions, but neither came. Noble stared for a moment, as if not understanding or correctly hearing the question. And in truth, a part of her didn't understand. Did this other girl really want to help her? Could she trust her?

There was only one way to find out, only one way to know. Wordlessly, Noble nodded an answer. As Rory moved to lead the way, Noble fell into step behind her.

-Fade Out-