Nightingale Palisade How does the Nightingale sing?

@Dread

Droplets of cold water pitter pattered onto dark green leaves, sunset jewels watching them race for the ground momentarily. The small figured wolf laid beneath the protective branches of a bush that curved around her to create an umbrella-like shape. Her pearly white incisors busy clicking away at her pelt as she took the bad weather as a moment to groom her dirty self. Denali took pride in her appearance, vain or not, and prefered to look as impeccable as she was capable. That meant keeping fit and clean to her, and so the little woman had no problem with raking her tongue down grimy fur. What else was she to do? Walk in rain? Absurd! The Covox hated storms with a burning passion, well fear, and preferred to avoid them at all costs. They were like nightmares in the living world, out to torment unlucky souls.

Sighing with boredom Deni breaked in her session, staring out towards the river. It moved with fury, and roared loud and clear, as if beckoning the thirsty to come to give in to its seduction, only to sweep them away down-current. How cruel nature could be to the desperate, foolish, and young. A careful creature could steal a sip, that she was sure of, but tread too far in and one could become lost within it's depths. Perhaps a stronger wolf or a good swimmer would be perfectly fine, but not even the sure of herself Denali wished to test her limits. If it seemed like she had no other choice, then she would accept the challenge with all of her might, but she was so tiny. It didn't take a genius to tell Deni was strong but came in a mini package, tied in a bow of determination. She lacked much in size, but spend a day with her and you'll see not all of the mighty stand two and a half feet tall.

(This post was last modified: Jul 25, 2016, 02:32 AM by Denali.)

@Denali

After the meeting with the wolf near the tree and getting the golden veined pebble, Dread had decided against following her. Best to allow things to mellow out if he ever saw her again. And he knew she lived in the south, since that was the direction she seemed to have headed. Of course, she could have been throwing his trail off and she could live just about anywhere. However, it mattered not to him. He kept the pebble firmly in his maw as he moved northward, curiosity abound in him and giving him plenty of energy to keep moving. Of course, he’d been careful in hiding his prize when he needed food and made sure to remember just where it had been hidden. It was his and he was not going to let it go for anything.

But then something cause his attention out of the corner of his eye. A flash of red in dark green, making him pause. Dipping his head, he noted a small girl underneath the leaves and his lips parted further around his prize, showing off his sharp white teeth and the stone.

He dropped his pebble and it begun to roll away but he covered it with his large paw. It would not get away from him. "Not scared of a little water are we?” He drawled at the girl underneath the umbrella of leaves, his own coat getting soaked as he stood in the pouring rain. It was just water. His dark coat would easily dry up once the rain stopped and the sun was out once again. His tail was, out of habit, curled loosely over his back and swaying slightly as he eyed the girl up. She looked smaller than him, somewhat pretty too, though not quite his type of female. He found he liked darker coats, like his own, even if he had yet to act on any of his own urges. It didn't mean he wasn't ready to have some fun, at least verbally.  "Why don't you come out and play?"

(This post was last modified: Jul 25, 2016, 02:41 AM by Dread.)

Denali had dutifully returned to her grooming, despite the fact there was hardly any inch to clean on herself now. Red hued strands now rest on her pelt free of filth, and slightly fluffed. She was oblivious to the pebble and male, caught up in herself to be truthful. That was until he made his presence even more impossible to miss. The timber turned her head to face him, a soft smile on her face, but her eyes quickly became golf balls. He was HUGE. Deni had never seen a wolf so massive in her two years of life and was left agape, stumbling on her thoughts and the concept of being polite lost. "Uh-um" Was that really her voice? Why was it so...weak? The Covox quickly cleared her throat and begun to try to regain her dignity, "My apologies sir, but I've never seen a wolf of your size before." At least it changed the topic of if she was scared of rain. Goodness she'd hate to admit such! And to such a magnificent brute...

Yellow eyes couldn't help the temptation but to soak in the stranger's appearance: he was a tall, dark, and handsome fellow. His eyes were like fire, caught in a sphere, and burned as embers in his sockets. @Dread had silverish white sections amongst his black fur, captivating her all the more, not to mention how thick his pelt was. His tail naturally curled over his back, which to her screamed confidence and Deni found herself nibbling on her lower lip some. This will be fun. His hint laced words prompted her to flash a foxy expression his way, "And look like you?" She teased with a flirty wink, "Hmm, not a big fan of rain mister....?" She trailed off at the end fully expecting the man to insert his name. Meanwhile Denali crossed one front paw over the other, adjusting her body into some sort of pose, "The name's Denali," her voice was smoother than honey, soft as silk, but not quiet delicate. Pretty orbs twinkled with mischief, lips trapped in a sly smirk, her tail lightly sweeping the ground.

(This post was last modified: Jul 25, 2016, 07:16 PM by Denali.)

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity

It seemed he had caught her unawares, even though he was not actually trying to sneak up on her anyway. It didn’t seem to matter regardless, as she quickly composed herself and apologized for her behaviour and reaction of him. A quick wit then. That was good. It was nice to meet a girl with a quick wit.

“Please, it was my fault; I must apologise myself for it was not my intention to startle you.” He brushed it off coolly, rolling his shoulders in something of a shrug while the rain continued to patter down from the sky. It was true; he hadn’t meant to startle the woman. It was her own fault for not paying attention to her surroundings, though he would give her the benefit of the doubt with smell and sound. The rain covered his scent and any sounds he may have made as he approached. However, she wouldn’t miss the smooth laugh escaped him when she teased him about being in the rain. The rain never bothered him anyway so it didn’t matter to him if he was becoming soaked to the bone.

"Perhaps you can make some room for me there, under your little shelter.” He shot right back with a sly smirk of his own. This would be fun, he could tell. “Then, perhaps, I can tell you my own name while we keep each other warm?”

Right away there was pleasant satisfaction, the stranger's manners quite nice opposed to @Askan 's bluntness. He apologized, and Deni was a little taken back, a genuine smile on her lips, "And I was beginning to think the area lacked gentlemen." She was a lady after all, didn't she deserve this sort of respect? From someone oh so willing to play her game as well. The attention of the subject was turned back to the rain as the man chuckled, a girlish giggle echoing it. He was saturated, from paw to head, and smelt fowl from such. It wasn't his fault though, wet canines seemed to give off their own strange odor anyways.

Hmmm? An unexpected twist, her cheeks were suddenly hot, did he really say all of that? Wasn't that a bit much for someone he just met? A stranger? Either way, she couldn't let him out do her so easily, "Well, why don't you come here now?" She paused for suspense, "So we're closer." Denali offered with an ever so confident and sexy-like smirk, flirtatious notes laced all about honey words. She was gonna wrap him around her paw to the point he wouldn't want to end the little charades anytime soon.

Dread raised a brow when she mentioned thinking the area lacked gentlemen. Had she met someone who she hadn’t gotten along with? It seemed likely, given just how big this world was. Surely you were going to meet a few who would butt heads with one another. It couldn’t be helped, really.  

“And let my mother down by acting as anything but?” His face twisted into something akin to slightly horror as he spoke, as though it seemed horrifying at the mere thought of treating her distastefully. “She’d be horrified if she found out I was treating a lady like yourself without at least an ounce of respect, as all good women deserve!” Truthfully, given how he was raised, he did happen to have great respect for females so his words did come with some sincerity to them.

However, a devious smirk crossed his lips as Denali offered for him to come closer, her words easily matching his own. “Well, I was raised to never turn down such a kind offer...” Stepping towards the shelter she was in, the bleating of a fawn distracted him. Turning his head towards the noise, Dread grinned wickedly as he caught sight the small creature through the rain. He’d have to hide his pebble carefully, a small voice hissed in his mind, the small rock still very much precious to him still. Perhaps in Denali’s shelter, if she allowed it but he wasn’t one to turn down an easy meal either.      

“Perhaps, if you feel a bit...energized, we can catch a meal and have a nice chat over a fresh dinner?”

(This post was last modified: Jul 26, 2016, 02:08 AM by Dread.)

(Plip plop *rubs hands together* time to what a phone post looks like! Lol)

Deni studied his expressions as he stood there in silence. Curious to what his name was and why he was withholding it. A man of secrets perhaps? Maybe she could worm them out of him with patience.

An eruption of giggles forced their way out, she couldn't help herself. His acting just looked so silly, and cute too! Calming down just as quickly as she got excited the girl smiled, "Wouldn't wanna do that." Denali joked while supplying him with yet another one of her infamous winks. She nodded at his next set of words, picking up on the somewhat serious undertones of his playfulness, "Well, in that case, thank you good sir." She, however, was more lighthearted throughout the entirety of their conversation. It was nice to cut loose a little, but in the back of her mind she reminded herself to be careful. She couldn't let her guard down to the ground, nor throw it to the wind.

Deni watched the younger wolf make a move to join her, naturally tensing up a bit. It was kinda hard not too, he was a stranger and could easily hurt if he wished...on his part though, the opportunity had been available the whole time, and would you look at that? She was still fine and perfectly unharmed. Physically and emotionally, in fact she was well amused. And maybe a bit giddy too.

The fawn caught their attention, heads moving at the same time. The main difference being that little Denali was blinded by leaves and branches. She huffed under breathe, cursing her bad choice of shelter. It did, after all, let some rain in! Hmph Then again, be grateful for all you got right? The next wolf might have less. Perhaps considering he was soaked, @Dread was the next wolf in this case.

"Sounds romantic to me." Even though it hurt her pride, the girl figured she's stroke his ego, "Why don't you lead, big guy?" This was better than admitting storms scared the shit out of her, but the fact it was a lighter one, and she wasn't alone, comforted her. It wasn't the most blinding or deafing storm ever. And if he lead, well, perhaps it'd help her.

Stepping back to allow Denali to leave her now somewhat disturbed shelter, he shifted the paw that was on his pebble and managed to push it into the soft muddy ground. The movement was casual enough that it would simply be seen as his foot having sunk in slightly to the wet ground and he had just traction a little. And deep enough that she hopefully wouldn't notice it and it was now covered in dirt so it didn’t really shine. Taking a quick glance around, he made sure to take note of small land marks so he could come back later and retrieve it.

Chuckling lightly, he dipped his head when she asked if he wished to lead. “I don’t mind taking the lead, if this pleases the lady?” He wiggles his brows slightly, with a small grin on his maw. He was born to lead after all and truly didn’t mind leading the hunt. It was just a baby after all, it wouldn’t be a difficult hunt even in this weather. Sounds would be muffled and scents fairly well covered so if they were careful not to slip in the mud, it would be a easy meal. Beginning to move towards where the fawn was, the poor thing shivering and bleating underneath a tree for its mother, he came to a realization.

“Oh! Excuse me, I’ve just realized that while you’ve kindly given your name, I have yet to offer my own.” Dread glanced back to her, an apologetic look on his face. “I am called Tenebrae.”

(My apologies for not doing a spell check n all on this, it's past 1 am...don't wanna make mom too upset.)

Denali was too distracted to notice him and his paw shifting, the tiny woman crouching a bit to avoid bush limbs. Once she was out of her little haven and in the storm she realized just how small she was. The man dwarfed her!....Did she even reach his shoulder? Why, next to him she could be mistaken for a pup! Gulping a little she awkwardly complimented his height, "You're pretty tall, eh? It's kinda nice." Too awkward...Recover! Recover!

"It does." She laughed a little when he wiggled his brows. Then, with flirting being her full intention, Deni gently bumped his chin with her muzzle.

As they set out she found herself grateful for his massive frame. The rain beat down at her sunset orbs, causing her to squint, but he was an easy-to-follow target. The Covox lass slowed down with his movements, meeting him at the shoulder . "Ah, I was beginning to think you found me unworthy."

The fawn wasn't too far off and honestly she felt bad for the small thing, stuck alone in the storm. A flashback hit her, sending shivers racing down her spine. It was all too familiar in its own way, but two very different tales. "We should do this quickly, it's already suffering...I am going to sneak around and scare it towards you." Out of habit she took charge of the hunt without really realizing it. Sure the storm was a nuisance, but hunters do as hunters will...