Spectral Woods Here I Go Again

 

Leotie wasn't ready for the colder weather, even when she had lived with her humans she hadn't liked it much.  They however had thought she would like it since they used to leave her out in it.  Now that she lived with her pack she had reason to be out in the cold, to help take care of her pack.  She was a little slower in getting moving in the morning but she did not wanting to let her pack down. Leaving the den and heading out into the forest was a lot easier once she had finally decided to leave to warmth.

She moved through the forest at a trot on her way to the borders now that she was more confident in her knowledge of her home she thought a little exploring outside them might be good.  Whether she found food for the pack or prey to practice her hunting skills on the agouti female would know what she was looking for when she found it.

Upon reaching the borders she checked for intruders as she thought she should so that she could warn the pack if necessary.  It wasn't necessary since she found no sign so she headed out into the forest without slowing her pace.  She was hopeful that she would have a good day where she could bring something back to her pack.  As she came around a large tree a scent caught her attention.  Leotie decided to follow it to see where it led which was to a fallen tree.  The scent was all around the tree which led Leotie to think the creature was inside the trunk all she had to do was find a way to the animal.

(This post was last modified: Nov 14, 2016, 11:09 PM by Leotie.)

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Aponi had been lounging near the border of the territory alone despite the cold and the snow that had set in on them in the last few weeks. Truthfully she had never been in a pack in the winter and while the cold wasn't pleasant it was a lot easier to tolerate with a bunch of warm bodies working together. That and having @Lila seem to be so happy with the snow and actually having a friend in @Serach made the Bend that much more appealing.

With the snow around her the silvery grey pelt almost blended in with the gloom of the forest other than the blue eyes watching for movement within the boughs. Lifting her head in interest at the sound of approaching paw steps Aponi watched as Leotie approached and then passed the borders with only slight hesitation. The woman knew that the other had gotten lost not so long ago wondering outside of the territory alone and having her leaving again so soon was enough to pique her interest.

A few years ago she may have ignored the movement of one of her pack mates,  especially one that she had almost nothing in common in. Leotie was everything that Aponi wasn't, friendly, approachable, eager to please anyone and everyone. Standing and shaking the snow from her pelt the mother fall easily into the tracks of the agouti woman, following slowly behind silently. It wasn't until the woman stopped that the Aquila piped up, "What are you doing?"

Leotie was sure the animal was somewhere around the fallen tree trunk all she had to do was pinpoint the correct spot. The sound of crunching snow could be heard as she moved around the trunk trying to find where the scent was the strongest. She knew that whatever animal it was couldn't be too big since it was in the trunk, or at least she thought it was. The size of it didn't matter to her though since every little bit would help during this time. Even though she didn't think she should waste too much time trying to find this one animal she also considered the fact it could be the only thing she caught all day.

Having spent last winter with the pack she knew how hard it could be to fund prey. While her skills weren't the best they could be last year she'd had practice and was much better at hunting now. She didn't want to give up too easily in case this really was the only prey she found all day. Leotie hated going back to the pack with nothing when there were so many mouths to feed and puppies to look out for.

Her actions were stopped though when the sound of a woman's voice reached her ears from behind. Leotie turned to find Aponi standing behind her asking what she was doing. At first she was a little perplexed why the female was there but she pushed that aside to answer the question she'd been asked, “I'm hunting or at least trying to,” she replied glancing back at the tree trunk. Then turning her gaze back, “It's not going as well as I would like. What brings you out this way?” She asked curiously.

(This post was last modified: Nov 22, 2016, 08:09 PM by Leotie.)

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Sorry this is the worst post ever xD

It was almost comical watching the way that Leotie went this way and that around the log, nose stuck almost to the bark. Aponi knew from personal experience that the tree was infested with mice, she had made the mistake of napping on it once. Still, should she be the one to ruin the other's woman's fun if she insisted on chasing after mice? Plopping her rump into the snow the blue eyes watched in amusement before she had finally spoken up. The other Bend woman seemed almost surprised to see her resting there and in response the silver Aquila raised a single brow.

Chuckling she glanced towards the fallen tree, "There's nothing but mice in there anyways, you're not missing much." It had seemed pointless to let Leotie fritter away her day trying to get at some mystery prey when she knew it to be only rodents. They made fun chew toys for the pups and could work for a loner if they were desperate but the typically weren't worth the effort. Looking back to the tawny she wolf her expression was curious, "Making sure you didn't get lost again." The words were said simply as if this much was obvious, the girl had to have known that her brief absence had not gone completely unnoticed.

Leotie was disappointed to hear that the only creatures in the trunk were mice, she would have to catch about a hundred of them to add up to a rabbit. Even then the agouti woman doubted very much that the mice would offer the same amount of neat as a rabbit. “I suppose I should move on to bigger things then,” she stated, “Mice wouldn't even put a dent in the packs hunger.” She would have to move on to another place to hunt since the trunk had been such a bust. It was good that she still had a good portion of the day that she could still hunt. She wanted to be back to the den by sun down if not before, however, she would settle to be back inside the packs borders.

As for the reason Aponi had been following her, to make sure Leotie didn't get lost again. “I appreciate the concern for my well being,” she stated with a nod. It had really been an embarrassing affair getting herself lost and being gone from the pack only made worse by the fact she had to ask to be let back in. It made her even more determined to prove herself. “I've been more careful since then, I don't really want a repeat of that incident,” she added some of her embarrassment about it creeping into her tone. Mostly Leotie was happy that she had found her way back to the pack since she hadn't found her way back home when she had gotten lost the first time. Sometimes she wondered if her humans had ever gone out to look for her. She supposed that none of that really mattered any more since she had found a new home in Oak Tree Bend.

(This post was last modified: Dec 06, 2016, 08:20 AM by Leotie.)

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The silver woman only shrugged at the disappointment that Leotie expressed, "Maybe not put a dent in the pack's hunger but I'm sure @Lila would like it if you brought her out here to catch a few of them. She's almost too old for that kind of thing now, but some kind of hunting is better than nothing." The tawny wolf always seemed friendly, in a happy to please eager-beaver kind of way that sometimes grated on the more sour woman's nerves but it would be good for her daughter.  Besides learning things from the other adults would always be more cool to a child than learning things from their parent.

At least her first statement seemed to be devoid of any embarrassment, unfortunately the second one was not as clear. Furrowing her brows Aponi couldn't help the curiosity that surrounded the whole situation, "How did you get lost? I thought it was before the first big snow storm of the season." The Aquila was blissfully unaware of Leotie's upbringing around humans, or what humans even were as she had spent the majority of her life within the Lore.  Perhaps a more tactful wolf might have phrased their question differently but Aponi had never had much tact.

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

Leotie wanted to help the pack as much as she could, there would times that she felt she wouldn’t ever be able to repay them for their kindness in taking her in just before winter. Especially since she had been a wolf with very little experience and couldn’t imagine that she had been much of a help to them that first winter. She couldn’t help the disappointment at the older woman’s words about the mice but what she said about bringing Lila out to catch some had Leotie thinking, “Yeah maybe I should do that, I’m sure that we both would have some fun and regardless if she’s almost too old for it they are fun to practice with.” The idea of taking the pup out to chase the mice brightened Leotie’s spirits because she could still help the pack by helping the pups.

The incident of her geeting lost had come up, Leotie wasn’t really sure if the woman was concerned about her getting lost again but she had thanked her for her concern just in case. However, Aponi seemed to have become more curious about it because she was now asking how it had happened. Leotie swallowed before starting the story, it really was embarrassing, “It was before the first big snow storm,” she confirmed, “I had gone out hunting early one morning, the fog was thick and I guess I traveled too far from the borders. I’m not really sure of everything that happened because it happened really fast like the first time and before I knew it I couldn’t find the way back to the pack. I’m not really sure where I ended up but it took me a few weeks to find my way back.” She didn’t really like telling the story but she also didn’t want to lie to a pack mate either so she told what she could.

(This post was last modified: Dec 17, 2016, 03:43 AM by Leotie.)

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The thought of Lila's dark form chasing after the mice that resided in the log brought a smile to the mother's face. She could just picture the laughter that would accompany any failed attempts as the rodents fled away from her oversized puppy paws. The idea of doing this seemed to sooth Leotie's mind as well, once again having a task to do seemed to put the other woman at the most ease. It was rather peculiar and Aponi felt her curiosity grow every second of this encounter but this time was good enough not to press any farther.

Brows furrowed when Leotie gulped before beginning her tale, was it really that bad what had happened? However they shot straight up when she learned that the reason the tawny woman had been lost had been little more than the thick fog that wove its way through the woods. Really, this woman was a complete mystery to the Aquila. Standing she moved a couple of paces closer, "Did your pack never teach you anything about tracking? I used to think myself something of an explorer or scout when I was a cub." The end of her sentence was said with an easy grin, even if it had been a slight bending of the truth. She had spent so much time adventuring because she had been running away from home but that was a minor detail.

The idea of bringing Lila out to chase the mice was one that she liked immensely, not only would she be able to get to know one of the pups which she hadn't had the chance to do but it would also be fun to say the least. Her tail wagged at the thought and of course she would have to find somewhere else to hunt that day but she looked forward to taking the young girl out.

When she had returned from getting lost in the fog she had hoped no one would ask but Aponi was asking now and while it was an embarrassing story, really what self repeating wolf gets lost in fog, she had told her what she could about what had happened. When Aponi asked about her pack teaching her to track Leotie shook her head, “Oak Tree Bend is my first pack. A loner I met once have me a short lesson and Triell helped too but I'm not especially great at it,” she explained. Leotie wasn't really prepared to share her whole life story with the beta and she hoped she wouldn't. There was always that fear that they wouldn't want her in the bend if they found out she had not grown up in the wild, that she had been a pet.

(This post was last modified: Jan 05, 2017, 06:47 AM by Leotie.)

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