"So, do you know those wolves over there?" Moonshadow turned to look behind her in the direction that the frosty female indicated. There were two other wolves a ways downstream. One appeared to be female and the other male. The female was tawny with shades of browns, tans, and rusts; The male was larger in size with black and sable fur. The two of them had begun towards the three females presumably to check on the girl who fell. This made Moonshadow to begin to feel nervous. There were a lot of new wolves and she was unsure how the encounter would go, but she hoped to make new friends. She tried her best to make her body language as non-threatening as possible for she believed that the two approaching wolves belonged to packs. She turned back to the wolves standing next to her and replied “No I don’t, do either ofyou?” with curiosity twisted into her response.
Her tail waved as the other agreed with her, and even wanted to join her. This made her quite happy; there was a number of strangers here, and this could truly be something of an ambush. One never knew. But the good in her made her ignore the doubts. Also the others looked worse for wear... for the most part. Nightingale was reminded of herself. Their anxiety did little to build her up, but she moved confidently nonetheless. As soon as her companion agreed she was moving, her nose flaring in its own interrogative fashion. Loners, the two of them; the other was too wet to know for certain, scent clean of anything. But if her body was any indication—which it often could be—then she walked alone.
As she drew nearer, she could only catch the tail-end of the inky ones words. Not much of anything but an of you?
Which told her little. She threw the male a sidelong glance and settled her muzzle over her throat in a protective manner, not risking walking into this situation unguarded and vulnerable. It was a subconscious move more than anything else, and she looked at the nonthreatening posture of the inky wolf and relaxed only slightly. The number alone was enough to set her on edge. Hey, I--we--
she looked briefly to the inky stranger, including him, saw that fall over there. Just wanted to make sure you're okay?
Her head titled and she looked at the leaf that clung to the others head. Nightingale didn't give it much mind; she was certain she had a measure of wilderness in her furs, remnant twigs and thorns and other such things that made a habit of grabbing for her.
Another had come, too. Nightingale kept a safe distance where she could get away from them if they went after her. In any case, she smelled something far more appealing to her than the fish she could hunt... after she checked on the girls safety, she would go and scavenge the carcass.
There were three wolves further down the shore and Kajika felt a little uneasy about it though they looked rather harmless he still felt it prudent to remain on alert. He raised his nose into the air to catch their scents while he waited for his current companion’s response to his question which she finally did agree to. He was glad for that though he couldn’t be sure what side she might take if it came to that though he hoped it didn’t, perhaps the fact they were both pack wolves might help. When she started to move toward the group of females his eyes never leaving them as he watched for any indication that they might mean him or his companion any harm. As the space between the two of them and the three females closed he tried taking in more of their scent which it seemed that the two drier ones were both loners. The one that had fallen, well she was a little hard to decipher considering her pelt was wet. He’d only caught a few of their words, not enough to put his mind at ease and as he and Night, he’d decided to call her. A mental not had been made to get her to tell him the rest of her name at some point, finally came to a stop at a distance where they could converse with the females. Night spoke first asking the young female who’d fallen into the water if she was okay. He nodded when Night’s gaze found his momentarily before he returned his attention back to the group. “What brings you to this part of the forest?” He asked in hopes that their answers might quell his worry some. Then he added, “Perhaps there is something we or I?” he said glancing at Night to ensure that it was okay with her that he’d included her, “Could help you with?” After all he hadn’t lost his desire to help others even though he’d joined a pack and didn’t get out like this much anymore. |
A delectable scent filled the dark youngster’s nose enticing her senses. The scent was unfamiliar to her (due to the fact that she has primarily eaten only small prey for the later part of her life) but caused her mouth to begin to water. Her attention was pulled back when the tawny pack wolf asked if the girl who fell was alright. Moonshadow assumed that the two pack wolves already knew that the three of them were lone wolves from their scents. The large dark male then asked them what brought them there and if they needed any help. Before Moonshadow could answer the crème wolf spoke up stating that she had been looking for food and began to apologize if she was intruding on pack lands.
“I was following a stream in hopes to find food when I heard---uh—“ trailing off realizing that she never asked the crème wolf’s name, or actually none of the others names. She looked at the others causing a brief pause, “—her fall and came to see is she was alright”. “I have a small den a ways in the forest” she said as she motioned with her muzzle into the forest. “I also didn’t mean to intrude” her smile turning apologetic.
Moonshadow avoided the male’s second question because she didn’t want to seem pushy or possibly desperate, even though she was beginning to be. She wanted to find a pack, a family; somewhere she belonged and could get the social interaction she so desperately craved.
Even though he was a stranger, she somehow felt safer for the presence of the inky male she had met. Nightingale knew better than to assume negative things about a lone wolf, given she was only recently one herself... it was simply that there was so many. It could be a coincidence, or it could not be. Overthinking would not do her well here, and so she tried what she could to not do that and to simply be. The one who had spoken first spoke for the fallen wolf, and her eyes moved to the creme one that had fallen to ascertain the truth of it. Was she okay? Well, she looked fine to her. The stranger who had spoken looked with fondness toward the one who had slipped, and Nightingale could not help but speak her perplexed thoughts:
You are strangers? All of you?It looked like, between them, there was something. She supposed that it was the very something she shared with the black pack wolf... who spoke, now, to offer help from the two of them. She and him.
Wordlessly she accepted that responsibility. None acknowledged the final question, which meant, surely, these wolves needed no more assistance than they brought one another. The lone dark wolf clarified they were strangers in not knowing the others name.Your nose would tell you if you trespassed,Nightingale responded, tilting her head. Did they think that they would be greeted with any warmth or concern at all, if that were the case? Her tail waved, to show she was both friendly and harmless for the moment; but she was no milquetoast under the veil of her suspicion, thin and feeble though it was.
In any case, Nightingale would let the other handle this. In her coming here, she had smelled his pack around the vicinity in passing through the range; she kept herself away from the borders wanting no trouble herself, and knew this patch of land was well away from home that she had disturbed he and his. But if she came with a group? Perhaps then intentions might be questioned, particularly if they were headed that way.
She lifted her elegant head and looked over the faces of the others trying to read anything about them besides their mistrusting of strangers. She couldn't blame them for that. She could tell they questioned her but these were the first wolves she had seen since she lost her family. With a slight nod of her head she turned to leave and follow her nose. The smell of the moose was so inviting and mouth watering she couldn't resist it any longer. But she stopped and thought it may be rude to leave after just introducing herself and she was curious. Who were these wolves? How do the midnight male and the tawny female know eachother? What were so many wolves doing down here? her mind raced with questions but she sat on her well muscled haunches and looked expectantly at the other figures in front of her.
Standing next to Night he looked over each of the females in front of them as they spoke trying to explain themselves he did not feel that any of them could do anything malicious. Though he wasn’t sure what they might do if they came across the cache of a pack and was hungry enough. One of the females mentioned trespassing but Night took care of that letting the females know that had they trespassed they would know. “I do advise you if you are not looking to trespass into pack lands you stay alert for the signs they should not be hard to miss,” he told them somewhat sternly. Sacred grove was near Lost Lake and Fallen Tree Cove , if they traveled too far these girls who he wasn’t sure knew exactly what they were doing would walk right into Fallen Tree cove and he was sure that would not go over very well. It was the best advice he could give them where his borders where concerned without spelling out the exact location of his packs lands and he would not do that. The youngest of them spoke of a den a ways into the forest, Kajika’s ears perked at this news. Could her den be far enough that she was close to his borders, it was a questions that had to be answered. “How far into the forest exactly is your den?” He questioned sternly gaze never leaving hers. If she was too close to Fallen Tree Cove she would have to move unless of course he chose to give her the opportunity to go back to his pack with him when he returned. However she did not seem to need any help as she had not asked for any help so perhaps she did have everything figured out for herself. “I suggest that you all find a good place to stay for the winter,” he offered, “Running about like this is dangerous,” he added glancing to the female beside him to give her an opportunity to chime in and add anything she might want to say in that moment. The grey female confirmed that they were all in fact strangers and alone and she was like the rest of them looking for food. It was a search that he understood well and one that he thought his companion might as well though he hadn’t had the chance to ask her, perhaps another time. The grey female seemed to be in a hurry to get to the moose carcass she had mentioned, the scent of which had not gone unnoticed by Kajika but he was more worried about getting food back to his pack then he was feeding himself at that particular time. “Seems like a good plan,” he stated brow raised only slightly at the fact she seemed to have stopped in her attempts at leaving. He thought that this female like Night didn’t seem as Milquetoast as the other two females causing him to think that perhaps she might have a chance this winter. He turned his gaze on night once more, “I haven’t had the chance to ask you what brings you to this place?” he said in a gentler tone as he was quite certain that she didn’t mean any harm. |