Larkcall Lowlands Don't call me out

(He's fine, I love how they annoy eachother, lol. I'm sorry I keep throwing in random things!)

Tan paws slouched through the forming mud, the grimy pest slowly caking to the she-wolf as she stepped with determination. Denali was set on getting safe and dry as soon as possible, but also remaining on a set path. Straining to see through the icy droplets it came to her attention that there was a den, standing alone against the backdrop. It looked like a lump of grass if one was not as keen to notice the small saturated entrance. She took a detour, but paused to shout over her shoulder, "You know sarcasm doesn't make people wanna help you stay dry." Deni hinted to her findings, her words muffled by her occupied mouth, but did not make any offerings of sharing. He had put her off a bit with his attitude and she was tired of her own games, what fun were they with a smart elic? especially a boy who was of age to be a man, but hadn't got the mentality in her opinion.

With no response returned she went on, keeping in mind that he had 'whatever' her. To Deni that was close to the peak of disrespect towards strangers, and quiet frankly she wasn't sure where her tolerance level stood. It didn't matter much anymore, for red hued legs were moving faster in frenzy, the opening of in the ground appeared vacant and with all this bad weather she'd take a risk. She could only see into the mouth, for it was a rather dark looking, and wide home of sorts. Denali's softness stopped her though, mud splattering in response to her abruptness, what of the male? This convenient shelter all the sudden right here and she was going to hog it all for herself? The Covox growled to herself, annoyed by her conscience to do what felt right.

Askan was much closer than she had realized though, and was soon enough circling her with questions. Despite hating the rain she supplied relief for some of his curiosity, "For a new beginning and not at the moment." It was a simple reply, once more muffled by her kill. His next question was left unanswered and met with her tail as she dipped down and darted between his legs, straight into the burrow. At first the ground was soft and wet, but the farther she went in, the harder it became. The den was rather chilly for her taste and stank like coyote. Still, she pressed forth not deterred by such. Denali cued all her senses in, fully expecting to come into contact with another predator, but instead was met with a wall. Turning her body around she found the den to start out narrow but develop into a wide, spacious, place with a low ceiling perfect for her height. It was approximately two wolf lengths deep, as well. Deciding to answer him she laid her prize down, "Askan, I don't talk about the past much." She finally stated, calling out to him, before exaggerating a sigh, "There's plenty of room if you're short enough." This, this she was sure to regret.

Well it wasn't as if he had asked for help. He didn't need it. If he wanted to be dry he could easily make himself so. Besides, he didn't want her help. It wasn't that he didn't want to accept help from a girl, her gender didn't bother him, it simply was the whole 'accepting help in general' thing. He had squashed his pride a couple of times so that he could hunt with someone else, but each time he had done it, it had taken a considerable amount of time for him to recover. His ego was a fragile thing, so he accepted offers of assistance very sparingly and very begrudgingly. Now that he was with Drestig and his family, well it wasn't quite easier but he could make exceptions for them. They were different.

Denali on the other hand, he wasn't sure about her. Not yet.

Her responses were not as revealing as he would have liked. And to make matters all the more frustrating for the Yukon wolf, rather than answer his third question she went and darted between his legs like a rodent. Ugh! Askan took a couple of steps back and watched her scurry into the dirt. It was a den, and from the looks of it (and smell) it had been abandoned for quite some time. Lucky for Denali then, seeing as she rather stupidly climbed inside head first without a hint of caution. Not that it was his problem if she got hurt. Hell, he didn't even know why he was standing around here. He had better things to do, surely. And maybe even Drestig and Jessie would be wondering where he was around about now. Then again, it wasn't as if they sat about on their haunches waiting for him. As long as he dropped in every now and then, then things were good. Or at least that was the impression he was under, when the pack finally formed he was sure things might change a little. For the better hopefully.

Askan stood there listening, waiting to see if there was any commotion from within the den, but from what he could hear, Denali was fine. The den was empty. Well, good for her. She had to go on and invite him in though, didn't she. If she hadn't he would have left and gone off and done his own thing.  He hated this. It was like he couldn't say no- which really wasn't a problem for him, usually- and he had no clue why. Perhaps it was because she had caught his curiosity? Or maybe because they were alike? Sort of? Well not really.  She was annoying, brash and abrasive and Askan was not. Or at least he thought so.

Glancing around, Askan reasserted his footing. This was a bad idea, a terrible idea, but he was going to do it anyway. What's the worst that could happen?

Hunkering down, Askan squeezed himself into the narrow tunnel. It was a tight fight, uncomfortably so, but once he pushed himself into the main chamber the den filled out. There was a decent amount of space for the two of them, but just to be on the safe side Askan pressed himself against the wall as tight as he could.

"Just until the rain stops." Askan told her, as he rested his chin against his front leg. "After that, I'm gone. I have things to do."

(Hey, sorry for late reply, the whole country to city ordeal is a bit stressful.)

Denali watched as he struggled to force his way into the tight fit, a low chuckle rumbling from her chest. The handsome fellow blocked all light out from the den for a brief moment, casting darkness throughout it's entirety. Honestly the she-wolf hadn't expected him to come on in, but she couldn't lie to herself and say she wasn't glad. It was no secret that wolves were social creatures and at times, they too, became lonely, even rouges like herself. She smiled, listening to him talk and subconsciously nodding in response, "Me too." It was the truth, she needed to move her cache now, this den was a gold finding! Not only that but build upon her food stache and perhaps collect some skins to cozy up the little den. Surely she could rid the place of its last occupant's rank.

Deni looked over to @Askan with a thoughtful expression, then without hesitation rolled her prairie dog over to him, "Hungry?" The sound of rain nearly drained out the question. It pounded the Earth as if furious, thunder rumbling through the clouds. It was like a bad orchestra, playing their music to unnecessary volumes. Deni jumped a little when lightning striked nearby, lighting up the two's safe house, wide orbs watching the entryway fearfully. With a shudder she calmed back down, resting her head upon the den floor. Minutes seemed to tick by slowly and despite the lack of communication, Deni was soothed by the company, and had yet ti regret the invitation, her mind rolling over thoughts....

*Wait a moment!* Her attention turned quickly back onto Askan, "You asked me about packs...and I'd say you seem protective of this area. Are you of one?" Despite her enthusiastic appearance the young gal held a calmness to her words, there was no rise in pitch, and no sudden energetic rush. In fact her tone made her sound very uninterested. Denali allowed a few more moments of quiet to pass between the two, patiently allowing the silence creep between them. That was until she boldly spoke up once more, as if offering a service, "Are they in need of a hunter?" The Covox tried to ask subtly, like a professional, but it was quiet obvious, even to the unsocialized, that she took a keen likening to the idea of such a position.

Askan stared at the offered prairie dog. He didn't accept handouts, or at least he didn't like to. What sort of man was he if he couldn't provide for himself? Then again it was foolish to refuse a free meal. Wolves who did that didn't live long. Askan pretended to think on it, when in reality he had already made up his mind. The answer was obvious. But he had an imagine to maintain, one that he couldn't let falter. If he did, well he wasn't sure what would happen and he didn't want to find out. Some things were best left untouched. 

"A little." He told her, and dragged the prairie dog closer so he could sink his teeth into it. He made short work of the rodent and soon he was licking the blood from his lips. It had been a nice little snack, just enough to the take the edge off his hunger.  

Thankfully, she was willing to sit in silence whilst he ate. He wouldn't have bothered to respond if she tried to make conversation , because one talking when eating was rude, and two he had been too busy to speak anyway. If she had tried she would have likely only received a grunt in response. And that was the best case scenario. She was lucky that he was even with her now, though he doubted she would see it that way. From her perspective, she probably thought that he should have been grateful. Denali had given him a meal after all, and offered him somewhere to wait out the storm. She'd sooner get blood out of a rock than a sign of gratitude from the dark wolf. Well, maybe if pressed he would say thank you, but he would be very reluctant and would probably sulk afterwards. 

Askan was so caught up himself (that wasn't unusual) that he didn't even notice the clash of thunder, or Denali's response to it. If he had... Well he wouldn't have said anything comforting. If anything he would have just pointed out the fact that it was thunder, what could it do to her? She finally broke the-somewhat- comfortable silence with a series of her own questions. Was he that easy to read? He was protective of this area, not that it actually belonged to him, but the den was close and he certainly was protective of that. 

"Sort of." Askan said, dodging the question. Drestig had mentioned that he was welcome to try and find members for their possible pack, but being the suspicious man that he was, well he didn't want to reveal too much yet. "It's not my call. I mean I could ask the old man or his missus  , see what they think of you." Surely they were better judges of character than he was. "But yeah, I guess we do need a hunter."

(OOC: You might wanna drop Drestig/ aka puppythief a message about joining the pack, honestly I'm not too sure how this works, I've only been on here for a few weeks or so.)

(This post was last modified: Jul 08, 2016, 09:00 PM by Askan.)

(Well, Light offered @Jessie as a hunting partner and I'll be posting them a thread today. Perhaps Askan could pop in and cause the introduction? Also do you want to fade on them conversation, with the assumption he leaves when the rain ends? Or keep going for now?)

It seemed to take Askan awhile to decide whether or not to accept her gift, and Deni felt at ease when he finally chose to. She smiled, half tempted to say you're welcome, but decided not to torture the man. As he ate Denali busied herself with redecorating musings, picturing out how she wanted everything to be laid out. When the brute had finished she approached him, slightly lowered as if almost submissive, and picked up whatever remained of the skin before backstepping to her comfortable spot. Using her incisor teeth she nitpicked at any little pieces of meat he missed, carefully cleaning the pelt with care. Once she felt it was as good as it would get she ripped and tore off whatever she didn't want, pushing away the excess. After minutes of focus she held her work proudly, a small misshapen flap. "Small, but it's a start..." She muttered more to herself than Askan and set the pelt down in the center of the den, towards the back, where soon enough a pile would form.

"Oh?" The timber retired her body to the ground, yellow jewels trained on him as he spoke, but she dared not to keep contact too long, "I would love to meet them..." The hint was dropped before another string of questions, "May I know what they're like? Are there rules and strict expectations or anything of importance?" The Covox tried not to pry, but still receive whatever basics she would need. Anything that could give her an edge at earning his leader's respect and favour. As a young rouge she knew that it was wise to join a group, everyone survived better in numbers after all. New trades and skills could be learned, better yet shared food and other needs. Company, protection, and hopefully a supportive atmosphere.

"Do you know what they look for in a new member? My skills are limited to hunting for now, but I am willing to learn and advance in whatever areas they wish or need." Perhaps she was bombarding him with questions at this point, and needed to relent, he was the only one who could vouch for her and needed a good impression of her if he were to do so. "I'm sorry if I ask too much." A sheepish grin accompanied the honest apology. Denali then hushed herself so that @Askan could take charge of their conversation.

(OOC, sure thing we can fade out here if you want. This response will be the last, then I'll archive it. And yup, Askan can drop in to make introductions and ect)

Askan might not have been the best at reading social cues, but even he could tell that Denali was dropping hints. Hell, she wasn't even dropping them, she was slamming them right down onto the ground. She might as well have been yelling 'LEMME IN LEMME IN!' The mere thought of her doing that was enough to make him frown. Then again, she wasn't exactly to blame. Being a lone wolf was tough, so it made sense that she was at least enquiring about the pack that may or may not form in the coming days or weeks. He had no idea, there were no guarantees in life, and this situation was no exception. They could only wait and see. 

Even though it was clear she wasn't done talking, Askan had already made up his mind. He wasn't going to make any promises here, hell he wasn't even in a position to do so, but he figured he could at least give her a chance. He was a prickly, grumpy bastard at the best of times, but he wasn't heartless and she had been good to him when she had no reason to be. So the least he could do was at least try and help her out. If it didn't work, well it was no skin off his nose. Askan shuffled a bit and laid out more comfortably. His back legs were tucked to his sides and he shifted so he could see Denali better. Rather than glowering at her as he so often did, his expression shifted. He didn't look angry, for once, he seemed thoughtful, focused, as though something had changed. 

"Well... Not really. From what Drestig told me, he's the old man in charge, you've just got to be decent I guess. He seems pretty laid back, can't imagine he'd make a whole list of dos and don'ts." He shrugged. "And his missus, I don't know her as well, but as long as your nice I can't see her taking a disliking to you." She hadn't chased him off, so surely she wasn't too picky. "When this rain stops, we'll see if we can meet up with one of them. See how things go from there. Not making any promises though." He said, and then glanced towards the mouth of the den. The rain would let up soon, it had to.

(This post was last modified: Jul 08, 2016, 11:05 PM by Askan.)