Drooping Willows step closer to the edge

Renier, while walking you suddenly set your paw where a much larger creature had once stepped. For @Craw <3

I'm waking up enduring my biggest fears

Spring had made murmurs of its coming with a spike in temperature this last week. In a blink of an eye winter had silenced it in a single day. Reminding all how long it could hang around by blanketing the ground in a matter of minutes. Bringing its partner of cold if that weren't enough ot make it clear how things were. Tawny coat bristled as he trekked outside the Ridge checking for signs of prey. Why he knew it did little to hope for spring, it didn't stop him from wanting it to come. The muted world that the season brought was wearing on him.

No one would hear him grumble. Though, a hushed sigh escaped him, as he pulled his snout from the white for yet the hundredth time. There was nothing about in these parts, and he wondered should he look else where? It had been awhile since he had gone beyond the Ridge. The man scoffed. No, today wouldn't be different. He would stick around the willows, having his reasons not to be too far. He just needed to go further into the woods, where he couldn't smell Morganna's scent so strongly. So he did, trying to stay clear of the trails of other wolves. If he was going to find something it would be where things weren't bothered. The rogue turned about the bare remains of a bush, his toe caught on an indent in the snow, and landed in another large imprint. There was no mistaking the beast that had left it, its heavy scent the only thing in his nostrils. Bear.

(This post was last modified: Mar 02, 2016, 05:28 PM by Renier.)

<33! Hope it's okay I assume they're familiar with each other? :)

Morganna's state, and the way it permeated through the entire territory, was enough to drive to insanity. Under any ordinary circumstances, a bitch in heat was cause for distraction and poor judgement, rash thinking, greedy plans. Craw's circumstances were not entirely normal. Every time a hint of her tempting stench tickled his nose, the quietly raging fury deep in his belly burned a little brighter. Every time he was reminded of all that he had lost and all that he had failed to do since. It reminded him of what he had left behind, of the injustices he had faced, of those he had overcome, and the one injustice he would never be able to. He was reminded of his own failings, failings so ingrained and unfixable that he disgusted himself, but who ever got anywhere with self-loathing? Who ever built a castle worth admiring without suffering incredible barriers along the way? How would anything he create have meaning if it didn't represent his ability to crush the odds, to breach the tallest of barriers?

But it didn't matter how many times he reaffirmed it with himself, reminded himself all he had achieved and would still achieve, her hormones were a direct line to his hormones and there was no blocking them.

So he chose to distance himself for the duration, else he make one of those exceedingly rash decisions himself.

It seemed that two had made that call today, and had chosen similar trajectories of escape. When Craw recognised the Lyall's fresh scent he paused, and was thankful it was not simply another Archer; at least let him avoid them for one day. With no better plan in mind, he turned onto Renier's path, shaking some of the damp from his fur where snow had landed and melted as he walked. Moving into a steady lope, for the speed put a pleasant warmth in his muscles, it was not long before the many-toned pelt of the willow wolf came into view, stood still just beyond a small, shrunken shrub, eyes to the ground.

Craw chuffed once to announce himself, coming up near to Renier - and almost instantly noticed that which had so taken the man's attention. At almost the same instant, he registered its musk, clear in the cold, crisp air.

He did not say anything for a moment, choosing instead to look up from the massive pawprint to Renier's face, his breathing a steady, familiar wheeze. Then a thin, dark smile cracked his muzzle. "Still smells better than her."

of course! <3 bahaha

I'm waking up enduring my biggest fears

Mind registered that his pack mate was approaching, but it still was stumbling over what he should do bout this finding. From the corner of his eye, large grey form was the one and only Craw, but it was the sound of his lungs that truly gave him away first. Their eyes meet, and he was a bit surprised by the expression the brute wore. None the less, Ren ended up smirking, choking on a laugh at his retort. "If that ain't the truth."

Taking a step back, he took a seat. Apparently, Craw was over the month as much as he was and for that Ren was glad he had joined him. His head might explode if he attempted another conversation with Morganna. The lack of straight talk was maddening and he was growing tired of trying. In the end he wasn't sure what she wanted of him any more. If there was a point, or reason to care.

 "Damn thing's probably smart enough to keep away too," he muttered thinking bears might have a better way of living. They go solo, except for those few days and call it good. Hell, sometimes sleeping most of winter didn't seem like a terrible idea after it all either. Much less of a headache, heartache. All right, that was enough. He really needed not to give a shit. "I reckon we should make sure." He titled his head in the man's direction to gauge his opinion. Fuck yeah he rather go find a bear instead of contemplate.

(This post was last modified: Mar 20, 2016, 04:58 AM by Renier.)

That Renier appreciated the sentiment with similar humour told Craw that there were, indeed, equally frustrated. That simple fact was enough to make the silvered wolf a little more at ease with the Lyall. Had his intentions towards Morganna been slightky different, they would have been resolute rivals, but she was not his claim. Just because her scent was tapping into the more primal parts of his being didn't mean that his higher-functioning logic circuits had changed. They just had to ride this out.

With that, talk of Morganna was ceased, and Craw was grateful they'd been able to establish their mutual thoughts and move on so efficiently. As Renier sat back, Craw instead dropped his eyes to study the pawprint, idly placing his own paw in the centre of the massive indentation as he considered it. Oh, to have that kind of raw power. At the Lyall's bold suggestion, Craw glanced sharply at the man, but then the snakey smile returned.

"Sven ran into one a while back, before the winter fully set in," he mused, removing his paw from the bear's print as he now turned his gaze to the trees ahead, wondering how far the beast had gone. "No blood was shed - we let each other go. I wonder if this is the same bear."

His own interest now made clear, he twisted an ear to Renier with a crooked smile, and began to seek out the next huge footprint.

To chase down a grizzly was definitely a more attractive proposition than sitting here being teased by a woman from halfway across the territory.

I'm waking up enduring my biggest fears

If it was the same one, maybe it would be rather uneventful. It sounded like the bear had better things to do then fight with wolves. It was clear the pair of them were of the same intent, so he took place beside Craw's flank following the great beast's trail. Curious if the bear was on the hunt himself. If so what that might be.

So far, the only sign were the large tracks he left behind. Not exactly the encounter he was thinking. He blew out a quiet breath through his teeth, impatient. In the meant time the rogue tried to imagine just how large this Grizzly was again as he set his paw into its. He'd come in contact with a few, but they had been young. Hardly intimidating.

 Renier paused once with a single paw lifted, nose quivering. There was yet to be anything, but the bear. He trotted onward to keep up with @Craw when suddenly a large patch of snow from a nearby tree branch fell to the ground with a blop near the trial. The Lyall jumped, long hair bristling in surprise. When he realized his overreaction, he scoffed at himself.  Swiftly his head craned back, searching for more falling snow blobs. Sure enough, another began to slide, and he quickly side stepped as it fell where seconds before he had been. With a faint scowl, he shuffled forward with his ears pressed to his head. He had words on his tongue about the damn weather when in the distance he spotted the rich, brown shaggy coat of their quarry. All he could do was stare wide eyed. Even from here he felt the bear could sweep him aside with a simple swipe of his paw.

 

What, exactly, they were planning to do if they actually caught up with a grizzly was unclear, but they pushed on anyway. For Craw, at least, it was the thrill of doing something dangerous and totally separate from their hormonal leader. It was ill-advised to actively seek confrontation with a rival quite so powerful, of course, especially one that seemed to actually be moving away from their territory (so chasing it out to prove a point wasn't a good excuse either) but finding it didn't have to mean fighting it.

It was pleasant to have his mind filled with these truly feral, basic matters, and as such he almost didn't notice that Renier had paused until he heard the soft plop of snow onto the ground. Whipping about to stare at the Renier, not having realised quite how tense he had been, Craw saw the same shock in his companion's face - but his reaction was to grin once another loose section of snow followed the first, making its innocent cause apparent. "You-" he had begun, eyes on Renier as the smaller man had stalked forward, only to be instantly distracted by the expression on his face. Jaws still parted mid-word, Craw turned to follow Renier's wide-eyed gaze, and saw the distant brown shape lurking beyond the trees for himself.

Craw's lip pulled up in a vicious smile, teeth bared in aggressive excitement. "Don't be afraid," he rumbled, not bothering to lower his voice; the bear was a comfortable distance away, and even if not they were not that disadvantaged. "He will be just as keen to avoid conflict. It's a little early in the year for a big man like him to come out of his sleep...  I wonder how weak he feels from all that fasting?" Licking his lips, Craw came to stand shoulder to shoulder with Renier, hoping that the physical proximity would encourage the man to feel a little less intimidated. Craw himself was no dainty creature, after all, and he was firmly on the fellow willow wolf's side. His brows pulled together for a moment as he considered the distant threat, wondering if they should continue to let it be oblivious to their presence... or fix that. Would it serve any purpose other than for the fun of it? Even a drowsy, hibernation-weak grizzly was no plaything.

"It's not the same one," he concluded, though that didn't really change whatever their ambiguous intentions towards the bear had been. "Shame it's not a female. Would have been an excellent opportunity to see if there was a den nearby and thin the next generation."

I'm waking up enduring my biggest fears

Pale brows rose at the gleeful look @Craw wore. If he was eager for something too happen. But afraid?  The rogue was a little he supposed, but mostly in awe of the beast. Aware the damage it could inflict if he decided."I like to think of it as a healthy respect," he remarked with a faint smirk as his eyes shifted from the bear to his pack mate. He wasn't annoyed by the other man's comment, but Ren was a bit prideful not to say something in turn on the issue. There was something about Craw thinking him a wimp that made his blood pressure rise.

 There was sense to Craw's way of thinking. It was more like basic knowledge. The bear had no reason to pick a fight in its condition, especially since they didn't have food to share at the moment. When his silver companion came to stand beside him, he felt able to focus, realize there wasn't an immediate threat.  Craw was as solid as they came. What was he thinking? Pick a fight or just follow, see if the bear found something of use? Apparently, it was a different brute then the one before.  He wondered if this bear would react any differently to company. The Lyall couldn't help notice the menace that carried in his voice, the want to do something a little more. "What do you suggest, hmm?" He queried, deciding he would let Craw call the shots from here.

Renier's pointed retort earned only a hearty chuckle from Craw, who perhaps had been unfair in assuming fright. Healthy respect - he liked that. All sensible fears were surely born from that sentiment, an appreciation for the strong and dangerous, an admiration, perhaps. As Craw stood by Renier's side, gazing out at the powerful bear in the distance, he did not truly entertain the notion of engaging it; there was absolutely nothing to be gained from that other than a little thrill-seeking. That was some serious risk just for a little adrenaline hit.

At Renier's question, which quite clearly put responsibility on Craw for their actions, he just laughed again. "I suggest we show the beast some healthy respect," he smirked, and bumped his nose roughly into Renier's cheek in playful accusation. "Were you hoping for something a little more violent? If you're in the mood for that kind of distraction, we could certainly go rival-hunting..." Ah, the kind of hunting where you sought out beasts which weren't used to being prey, the coyotes and foxes and badgers and even the smaller black bears... where you established yourself as the top predators in the area.

It would be a tall measure to do such a thing with one adult grizzly bear and only two wolves, unfortunately. Even Craw knew his limits.

I'm waking up enduring my biggest fears

The Lyall didn't expect Craw to taunt him over his response any more. The pale wolf didn't seem the type to get a high from ridiculing others like a school yard bully. So he didn't think he was crazy enough to go ask the bear for a fight just because they had time, and energy they didn't have reason to put to use.

No matter it was still a relief to hear the higher ranked wolf's reply. There was a faint smile to the rogue's cream muzzle, deciding he did not mind this man's company. He wondered how he had come to be part of the Ridge, but felt he may pry on their continuing walk. It was about time the Ridge had new blood, and that was what mattered.

 Light brows lifted slightly in surprise, a rather weak laugh following the big fellow's prodding. Usually his pale mask would have sobered, but there was a hint of a coy grin. There was a need that had to be filled, and getting something bloody may remedy it for the time. "Under the circumstances there's little else to be done, and I'm damn sure there are coyotes near are eastern border that could be attended to. " Now they would be no match for a pair of wolves.

(This post was last modified: Apr 27, 2016, 07:59 PM by Renier.)

We can play out the hunting or imply it happened with a fade, up to you :D I'd love a thread set early April-ish for them if you have time! Thank you for this one regardless <33

It occurred to Craw, as he watched Renier's face flicker with dark amusement, that he really didn't know what made the Lyall tick at all. Save for their shared need to avoid Morganna in her current intolerable state, what did they have in common which was not pack-bound? An attachment to the woman herself, perhaps, but Craw didn't know the extent of Renier's history with Morganna, having never felt it necessary to find out. Perhaps it would be pertinent to change that, at some point. Approaching Morganna right now for answers was not an appealing notion right then. Maybe after her body was sated.

But what Renier was suggesting was incredibly appealing. Craw's lips curled in distaste at the mere mention of coyotes, especially at the implication that they might have an infestation somewhere nearer to the pack's territory. "I hate coyotes," he hissed, though, by the eager look in his eye, his sentiments were definitely of the let's go murder them variety.

Casting one last, almost wistful glance at the grizzly - who, to his credit, had finally noticed there might be wolves in the distance and was currently squinting in their direction - Craw snorted and turned his back on the beast, eyes firmly on Renier now. Time to hand the reins back to the Lyall for the moment, see if he was more than just a natural follower. "Lead the way, my friend."