Luna Hill [TfT] Gold-Veined Pebble

Tit for Tat, This or That

Wow, would you look at that: a few streaks of brilliant gold go straight through this small stone! What a lovely find this is. Just think of the kinds of things you might be able to trade this baby in for, eh? If only it weren't so high up in that tree, resting in the elbow of a branch and glittering in the sun.

It was luck that had the littlest sea wolf had been happily devouring her fill of berries when the sun happened to catch on something over her head in one of the trees bordering the blackberry patch. It sparkled brilliantly in the light, and while Pip wasn't especially prone to taking a liking to stones, something seemed otherworldly about the way it shone.

Curious, Pip circled the tree a few times to try and get the best view. How on earth did a stone get up in a tree in the first place? The answer presented itself readily as she heard the far off caw of a crow. Of course! Birds could be silly sometimes and took a keen interest in the strangest of things. She supposed that would make her pretty silly, too, for taking the same interest.

The mute girl frowned and stood on her hind legs to brace her front paws on the trunk of the tree that held the precious stone aloft. She made one half-hearted attempt at a jump for it and hardly even reached a third of the way up. If she had wings, it wouldn't be a problem! She could simply fly right up and lay claim to it.

Not gifted with even a single feather to help in the task, Pip replaced her paws on the tree's trunk and shifted her weight a bit against it, rewarded when the higher branches trembled a bit. Her tail wagged a few times as she clacked her teeth together in excitement. Again, she forced her weight more sternly against the tree trunk and chirped with alarm as the stone suddenly fell from the branches and smacked her on her retreating bum.

Pip turned to sniff at it, laughing silently at herself for being a scaredy cat about it. Soft orange eyes admired the stone and its brilliant veins of gold. Delicately, the mute girl plucked up the stone with every intention to carry it back to Grizzly Hollow. Even if she grew bored of it, she was certain it would make a lovely gift.

He had been curious about what was on the other side of the mountain, to see if there was more than the deary forests and pink flowers. He would return to the den that had become his own over his time spent here so far. But he needed to stretch his legs and needed to see some new sights. It was becoming boring just wondering around the magnolia trees and the abandoned pack lands.

So a trip over the mountain had taken his attention completely, having grown up around mountains and wanting to see what this one held. But that had become boring too, seeing as he was on his own most of the time. But as his eyes settled on a hill overlooking the bushes, as he weaved between them, he saw there was another wolf up there. Were they...jumping at the tree? It might do to stay away from a wolf that was trying to be a bird...

But a glint caught his attention as it fell from the tree and it was this that captivated him enough to want to investigate it. Things didn’t glint in trees and he wanted to know what it was, not to mention he wanted it if it was anything of interest. And it had to be if this wolf was jumping up to knock it from the branches.

As he drew closer, the wolf had already picked it up but the stone was hanging out of her mouth slightly, the golden glint captivating him entirely when he laid eyes on it. It was something he absolutely had to have! He just had to get it from the girl first...

As he already had studied her coming up the hill, the dark furred wolf had noted she didn’t seem that much older than him, maybe by a year older at best. But that didn’t matter. He needed that stone.

Trotting up to her, with his tail arching over his back but it was wagging in friendliness, he tried to look surprised but happy to see the girl. It would be a good idea to try take it without force, and maybe he could make a 'friend' out of this encounter...

“Oh! This is where that stupid bird got off with it!” He chirped happily, grinning at the girl who was holding it. “A crow managed to steal it from my den when I wasn’t looking and I’ve been searching for it for days!” It was the story he was use to hopefully get the stone from the girl. If she believed him, then the stone would truly be his once she handed it over. Dipping his head, he bowed slightly to the other before bouncing back up, the grin having diminished into a charming smile but still there. “I’m Tenebrae Furis by the way, a traveler.”    

Without warning, a male came trotting towards her, his tail flying high over his head. Pip didn't even register the fact that it was wagging as she immediately dropped to the ground and rolled to her back with her tail tucked to hopefully fend off any bites. Had she seen him coming at her from a farther distance, the mute girl no doubt would have run as fast as she could back to pack territory. But with not enough warning, her only hope was for leniency due to her quick willingness to submit.

Even as he began chatting, Pip dared not regain her feet, instead opting to peek at him from behind long lashes. Eye contact, she knew, could be a sticking point for some wolves. For longer than was comfortable for her, Pip puzzled over what on earth the stranger was talking about. He was blathering on about a crow and she didn't know any crows! Belatedly, she came to realize it was the stone still held in her mouth that he was referring to. She frowned a little with disappointment. So much for bringing it back home.

Warily, the little she-wolf rolled to her belly and gently set the stone down in front of her paws before angling both her paws as well as her face away from the object so the male wouldn't think she was trying to 'guard' it from him. As much as she wanted to take it home, it wasn't worth any scars or her life. At the end of the day, it was still just a stone, as pretty as it was.

This male was weird. While Pip couldn't quite pick it out, something about his behavior had her hackles lifted along her shoulders and rump even down into her tail. His smile was too bright, his grin too wide. He was lying. Without the gift of speech herself, the mute girl was a living study in body language. All the male's talk disagreed with what his stance and expression told her. Either way, it changed little. She still would not fight for such a thing as she quite enjoyed not running back to @Veho every day with a new injury. Surely her Alpha would begin to think of her as more of a liability than a help if she got herself hurt again, especially over something as silly as a rock.

While he expected that he might surprise the girl, having made little to no noise or gave no warning he was coming up on her, he still didn’t expect her to drop to the ground and roll onto her back, showing her soft spots in an obvious tell of submission. Her eyes flickered up to his, keeping contact as she lay on her back with her tail tucked between her legs. But he had to keep on playing, not having noticed she had realized he was lying. Because not only was she giving him the stone, by rolling back onto her belly, dropping the stone clutched tightly in her maw towards him, she hadn’t spoken a word or even made a noise. It hadn’t gone passed him, this lack of a verbal...anything really from the girl. Couldn’t she speak? Or had he frightened the words out of her? No, it was more than likely she might have a speech problem.

But that didn’t matter. The other was turning away from it as if to show that yes, he could have the pebble and she wasn’t going to stop him. Good. He didn’t like hurting those who didn’t deserve it. And he certainly did not like harming females. Lowering his tail below his back, his expression turned apologetic. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you. I suppose I should have made some noise huh?” His eyes lowered to the stone, slowly reaching out towards its with a paw and drawing it closer towards him. “But thanks for finding this. I thought I’d never find it again.” Now that was the truth, coming from him. The dark male was grateful for this girl finding this stone and handing it over without a fuss, because now it was something of a souvenir for himself that he could take back to his den. He’d just have to be careful and not lose it as he traveled. Fiery eyes went back to the girl, wondering what she was doing out here. Her scent blew towards him on the wind and suddenly he was glad this encounter went without a hitch.

There were the smell of many wolves on her, alongside her own. She was part of a pack! Curiosity overtook him and he had to ask; “Is your pack far from here? I haven’t come across a pack yet, since coming to these lands. What are they like?”

As meek as she was, Pip was no fool. The sea wolf could see the triumph in his gaze as he looked upon the gold-veined stone. He didn't mind that he had frightened her as it had granted him what he wanted.

Even had she a voice to speak, the little female was certain she would have told this one nothing of Grizzly Hollow. He had no need to know as she wouldn't invite him there to come infect the pack with such a disagreeable personality. As charming as he appeared on the outside, Pip could see through all the facade. No, the good wolves of her pack had no need of such a wolf at their side or near their backs. He struck her as the kind that would suddenly be chewing on said backs whenever it suited.

Though she wasn't daring enough to bare her teeth at him for asking, she cut her eyes in such a manner that left no question as to whether or not she would give him anything else he wanted. He'd taken more than enough already, and while he may feel entitled to such things, Pip knew otherwise. Her pack was her family. Every single one of them. And even if it wasn't a lot, the best she could offer them in terms of her loyalty was her silence and refusal to lead the male to them.

Carefully, the mute girl stood and made to move away, wanting at least some distance between them as she tried to work out how best to make her way back to the pack. It would have to be a detour. She could only hope her sense of direction had improved alongside her hunting lessons.

But when the girl simply got to her feet and made to move away while he received no answers for his questions, Dread felt anger rise up in him. Didn’t she know it was rude to not answer when asked a question? He couldn’t see what had he had done wrong. Yes, he had lied to her and taken the stone from her but that did not grant being given such a cold shoulder. At least, not in his mind.  

Well, not that he cared anyway and so Dread simply shrugged. He had gotten what he wanted, even if it was only just sherrick, the gleaming gold stone that now lay under under his paw. If she didn’t wish to fight for it then who was he to complain about it? It had been handed over to him without any sort of fight and no one was hurt. The only thing that could take it away from him was if another wolf wanted it. Not that he’d just hand it over if that problem ever came up, like this girl just did.

But he was curious about her pack. Should he follow her at a distance to see where she lived? He was still very curious about the kind of wolves that lived here.

We're hey all mute like this girl? Or just this one? His curiosity and the fact he received no answers still irked him so he picked up the pebble and glanced in her direction.

Should he or should he not?

(This post was last modified: Jul 07, 2016, 02:54 AM by Dread.)

Watching the girl fade away into the distance, Dread rolled his shoulders as if shaking away the idea of following her. She never gave a response to him in any way, except for rolling onto her back and exposing her belling upon having been seemingly scared when he first arrived. And giving him the stone. It was so easy to get the pebble from her, which he did not mind at all. It was all his now and no one was going to take it away from him.

Taking his paw off the sparkling pebble, he stared at it for a few moments, enthralled by it and its coloring. What had made those veins within the rock? It was smooth, as if it had been in a creek or something and being bumbled around as it was smoothed out. Bending down to pick it up, he took it carefully in his teeth. He was going to take it back to his den over the mountains but until then, he would have to keep it safe and secure whenever possible. Turning away from the tree before him, he moved northward. He still wanted to explore a little so hopefully it would not get lost between now and then.

-fade-

(This post was last modified: Jul 25, 2016, 02:26 AM by Dread.)