Spectral Woods Snow Day

For @Askan ♥
Backdated to the 2nd of December.

Lena had settled quite comfortably into Oak Tree Bend.

Whilst she mostly kept to herself, and tried to teach herself all she could about the territory (“there's a pot hole here, and a stray root there, so if I'm not careful, I'll break my ankle or somethin' like that”), there was a little itch in her paws to further explore the borders. No doubt she'd have to make several patrols and what not, so knowing what lay beyond the pack land would only help! At least, that's how she justified waddling away to roll in the snow or something – she wasn't exactly lady-like, and found pleasure in the simplest of things.

And so she toddled around, in the hopes of finding a particularly inviting bank of snow. Lena's full intention was to leap, sniffer first, into the white powder. It didn't take long to find the perfect crash cushion; a deep snow drift. Her father had played this game with her when she was younger, and so she found no reason why she couldn't enjoy it now. After all, it was just her, no one else around to watch.

Right. So, no worries!

Without a moments hesitation, Lena pushed off the ground with as much force as she could muster. She tipped forward and, mimicking a fox hunting mice that hid under the snow, she pierced the bank.

Whoompf.

Submerged up to her shoulders in glorious white, Lena wriggled. Her tail whipped back and forth as she gave a muffled snicker. The cold protested, biting at her nose and the tips of her ears, but she didn't care. She was content to be half-buried for the moment.

(This post was last modified: Dec 08, 2016, 04:34 PM by Lena.)

Askan loitered by his tree, content to just rest for the meanwhile. He knew he didn't have much time to waste, he would have to leave soon, if he wanted to make it back to the Lowlands before the snow made it too difficult-and/ or dangerous-to travel. But even after getting a decent nights sleep, his legs still were sore and he could have done with another nap. As much as he would have liked to, his mind was awake and constantly flitted over previous events. Lila. Spieden. Sahalie. From what he could tell, the meetings had gone...okay? Or as well as they could have gone anyway. Lost in thought, he flinched at a muffled rustling noise, and without hesitation the Yukon wolf clambered to his tired legs- only to walk a couple of steps and find a wolfs rear facing the heavens. Their front end was buried in the snow and their tail wagged with manic joy, as though they were having the time of their life. A Bend wolf then, having a bit of (stupid) fun in the snow. Well, it wasn't any of his business and Askan intended to leave them be- when the wind just happened to blow in the right direction. Their scent hit Askan's nose, and his eyes widened with familiarity. Lena? What were the chances? When she ran off- mid conversation- he assumed he would never see her again. And he was okay with that. She had been okay-ish, so he didn't feel as though he had lost a friend or anything like that. He was fine. It wasn't as though he'd been a little disappointed that he couldn't say goodbye. Anyway, who just scampers away mid sentence? Even Askan had the manners to see a conversation through till the end. Had she been dragged up, rather than raised? Probably. As much as he was tempted to turn away and leave her to her useless shenanigans, Drestig had asked about her. So at the very least he should pass on the message, for his alpha if nothing else. With that, the Rye wolf's mind was made. Stomping over, Askan headbutted her thigh and watched the tawny wolf topple over with a surprised yelp. Served her right for letting her guard down. Then again, she wasn't so far from the pack lands so he doubted she was in any real danger. And as brusque as he was, the Rye wolf had no intention of causing her harm. Even if sometimes she sorta asked for it, with her annoying innocent demeanour. "Oi. Get up." Askan ordered, pushing her again with his snout.

Dawnthieves.de

(This post was last modified: Dec 30, 2016, 06:41 PM by Askan.)

“YEEK!”

Toppling over like a wilting flower, Lena found her rump flopping into the snow thanks to a bit of brute force from whoever it was stomping around above her. Their voice, however muffled by the snow, was recognisable – Askan? What on earth? Why was he (presumably stropping) around Oak Tree Bend? Lena wriggled about uselessly, tail flailing around and around in a desperate attempt at finding balance, until her back paws finally found purchase and she was able to yank her head from the snow. It was all probably ungraceful and quite embarrassing to to watch, but Lena was happy as a bug in a rug, face smothered with white powder and a wolfish grin.

Turning around after giving her pelt an idle, half-arsed shake, the Donata's tail wagged happily at her rear. “Askan,” she chirped, oblivious to his less-than-sunny disposition. “What brings you to – oh man! Hold on, I gotta – ahem-hem – do this right.”

Clearing her throat as she proudly pushed her chest out, with shoulders back, ears perked and all, Lena found great pleasure in the words she woofed. “Ahem! Ah-HEM! Hrmhrm ... Mistah Askan! What brings you here? To my. Home.” Her grin grew as she spoke, until she couldn't cope with holding back her excitement. She immediately dropped into a play-bow, hooting with laughter. Well, so much for looking professional. “Hoo! I did it! Can you believe it, your old-man-bloke was right – my uncle's here, and more than that, too, and it's wicked!”

Her face (and most of her chest and shoulders too) still smudged white with snow, Lena straightened up, tail still swaying enthusiastically behind her. “Really though, what's up? Isn't your pack all the way up north? How comes you're not with your boss man?”

Askan watched Lena flail and wiggle about with subdued amusement. She hadn't changed at all, had she? She was still the innocent, wide eyed girl he encountered in the Lowlands. It was strange really, a fair amount of time had passed and from what he could tell she was exactly the same. She had not been weathered by time or her journey down south. In a way, Askan felt a little bitter about that. That she was still so carefree, but at the same time he was sort of glad. He might be a grumpy sod,but that didn't mean he intended to drag everyone down to his level. He doubted, he would be able to do that to Lena anyway. She was just so jolly. Even after being caught in the act of fooling around, she wore an infectious grin. The sort that made the Rye wolf roll his eyes. Her next words were more than a enough to draw an exasperated groan from the Yukon wolf. He had forgotten how theatrical she was, how dramatic.  And then as soon as her prissy and proper act settled into place, she dropped it and swopped down into a play-bow, her tail wagging with uncontainable joy and glee. And then she began to talk some more, and more and more. Askan's ears were starting to hurt. "Of course he was right." Askan told her, as though it were obvious. Which it was, to him anyway. Askan had unshakable faith in his alpha, so the idea of him lying or deceiving the yearling in anyway was just... It hadn't even occurred to him. It was a silly notion really, after all Drestig was always willing to offer a hand to those in need. Then again, he supposed he could see why Lena might have been hesitant to take his words as gospel. But all of that didn't matter now did it? She had found her home, her family and from what he could tell, she felt as though she was on top of the world. That she had found her place. Good for her. "Yes, the pack is up north. It's called Wild Rye Fields, for obvious reasons." The next part was not so easy to explain. He was silent and scowly for a moment before he spoke again. "We're having trouble with the locals, pissy bastards. So the boss sent me down here to be his messenger whilst he straightens things out. Other than that everything's fine. But wait... " He paused again and squinted at the Bend wolf, as though there was a bitter taste on the tip of his tongue. He just remembered something and it was more than enough to male him bristle a little. "What the hell Lena? Who runs off mid conversation?" He snapped at her muzzle in admonishment, but not nearly hard enough to break skin. "Next time at least say goodbye properly."

Dawnthieves.de

(This post was last modified: Dec 30, 2016, 06:45 PM by Askan.)

Shallow water has trapped several fish in a small pond. Hunt Opportunity

See, most wolves would probably be irked by Askan's grumpy attitude, his flippant demeanor, but Lena found it to be an interesting challenge. She wasn't going to push his buttons to breaking point, rather she just wanted to see the wolf crack a genuine smile at her. She didn't want to believe that someone could wear a permanent scowl.

“Trouble with the locals? Yeesh, that's rough … have you tried talkin' it out? I mean, are they really that bad? Would they attack you on sight? Waitwait, are you guys safe? Are you here for somethin' like … like fightin' allies? I dunno how Serach would respond to that. But I mean, it's like—OW!” Far too caught up in her prattling, eyes cast downwards as she chattered on and on, Lena had missed Askan's snap and disapproval of her actions (regarding running away from his “boss” the moment she knew that things might be bad). 

“I'm sorry,” she squeaked, pouting as she lifted a creamy paw to rub at her muzzle. His nip hadn't broken the skin, but it had been a nasty surprise. It was more wounded pride and hurt feelings that he'd decided to give her a telling off. “I just … I dunno, wanted to sort things out as soon as I could.” Placing her foot on the ground once more, she couldn't help but pause and furrow her brow. Frozen to the spot, she mentally hit the rewind switch.

Askan had wanted to say goodbye?

“Ee … ee-hee-hee …”

Perhaps she was reading into it far too much, but to Lena his words gave a solid message: I like you enough to want to part in a friendly manner. For all his sharpness, perhaps Askan really did have a soft side, deep, deeeeeeep down.

Talking it out? Askan doubted that would work. @Craw didn't seem the type who'd want to 'talk it out.'Lena-unbeknownst to her- was giving the Whitestone alpha far too much credit, though Askan supposed he couldn't really blame her. She was far too innocent and naive for her own damn good. But still, she sort of had a point, after all both the Rye King and Queen promised to make an effort to sort things out with the Whitestone wolves whilst he was out of the picture. And whilst Askan had no faith in Craw, he knew that his alphas would do their utmost best to try and come to an agreement. Contrary to that bastards beliefs, the Lowlands were big enough for everyone. He had no claim over the tundra, he had his own little rock, why couldn't he just be content to leave them be? Just thinking of his raspy voice and conniving grin was more than enough to rush of anger tingle down his spine. But no, he had no real reason to get angry. Not when Lena was around. Not because he put her on a pedestal, or because he thought she wasn't the worst, but more so that she hadn't really done anything to earn his ire. She was annoying for sure and he was bitter about how she'd ran off, but he had just scolded her so there was no use in beating a dead horse. She had gotten his message, unless she was an idiot that is. The way she started giggling like a maniac... She wasn't doing herself any favours here, she really wasn't. Askan sighed and shook his head, as if that would help. Lena was impossible. And that wasn't exactly a compliment, though knowing her she'd take it as such and proclaim that he was a 'big ole softie.' Or something nonsensical like that. "What?" Askan asked, though really he wasn't sure whether he wanted to know. He doubted he'd find it half as funny as she did.

Dawnthieves.de

Her chortling may have been a tad odd, but to Lena it was a little celebration of knowing that she'd made impression on Askan, even if it was just a small one. She waved her paw through the air, as if brushing his question away, and that said more than enough. But when did Lena ever stop talking, really?

“It's nothin',” she chirped, eyes twinkling. “I'm just touched is all.” She cleared her throat in an attempt to get the giggles under control—she didn't really want to get clobber or scolded again—before offering a smile. If Askan could read minds, he'd probably say something akin to “stop being such an idiot”, or just straight up tell her to get her head out of the clouds and be sane for just one second, please.

Who could blame him? Lena could certainly reach very far for her preferred version of events, even if it meant completely ignoring or missing the reality of it all.

“So you've been sent down here to do deliver messages, while yer boss man tries to smooth things over with these savage, beastly locals, eh? Did y'do somethin', Askan? Poke the bear, so to speak?” Now, it would seem she was just teasing the poor, grumpy man, but she was asking with genuine concern! Despite her sing-song voice, and the very innocent, not-at-all-betraying her true intentions wag of her tail. “What was it? Didja get inna fight? Stride over the borders all holier-than-thou? Ooh, didja call their leader a dirty, flea infested mongrel?”

Really, she was just asking for it.

 

Touched? She was touched all right, touched in the head. Since he'd first met her, Askan noticed that Lena was a bit quirky, a bit scatterbrained and overly excited, but he had sort of hoped that she would have at least matured a little. That finding her family would have acted as a tether so she didn't float off into Lena la la land. But apparently that was asking too much, she truly hadn't changed a bit. And whilst he supposed that could be a good thing, it simply meant that he'd have to put up with her nonsense once again. Sure, Askan would grumble and gripe but he knew that there were worse wolves to be around. By no means was she his favourite, but she certainly wasn't at the bottom of the list either. He wasn't going to tell her that though, he knew she'd get all giggly if he did and he didn't want to have to deal with that again.

So moving swiftly on- he didn't even bother to acknowledge her previous words-  and instead he tilted his head a little as she offered her theory as to why he was there. He would claim that it wasn't his fault-or at least he wasn't entirely to blame- as Craw and Lorcan had both done a wonderful job of being pretentious, self-centred,holier-than-thou twats. But of course, Lena had to go ahead and assume that Askan was to blame, that he was at fault. What a sure fire way to put a scowl on his face.

"It's not my fault they're shit heads. And yeah, we might've fought a little but I thought he was hurting Percy, no way I'd let that ass lay a single paw on her. I'd rip his leg off if he tried. And so what if I called their alpha a few names? Not like he doesn't deserve it, he's a right piece of work. Total asshole. So smug, thinks he owns the whole Lowlands and throws a damn pissy fit when we tell him otherwise." Askan stalked back and forth, his hackles raised and his frustration obvious. Though it wasn't aimed at Lena, he was just sort of venting.

He glanced over at her, to see if she had been listening. From what he could tell, she had been. Good. His hackles flattened a little and his frown lessened in intensity.

"When I get back I'm supposed to behave. Whatever that's supposed to mean." He grumbled, knowing full well what his alpha had meant when they said that.

Oh.

Well, she'd certainly gone and run her mouth a little too far this time, hadn't she? Whilst it wasn't physical backlash, it was verbal and oozing with obvious frustration. It knocked her down a peg or two; the slow wave of her tail stilled and the grin she wore faded into a slight frown, accompanied by knitted brows. Lena hadn't meant to get him so fired up. She figured the most he'd do would be stomp his paws, scowl, and grumble some nonsensical, irritated curses her way. But this? This wasn't what she had wanted, and she felt a real, genuine regret at the anger she'd dug up.

At least he was getting it out.

To his words, his criticisms at this pack of “savage arseholes”, she tried to find reason for action. Lena liked to think the best of any wolf, and liked to think that aggression always had a reason. She voiced her concerns and queries—mumbled, really—but Askan still raged on. It was a little intimidating.

Not knowing the full series of events, Lena found herself a little disappointed in her swarthy company. He was doing a really good job at painting himself to be a jerk. He made it seem like he attacked the leader, which immediately set alarm bells ringing. Did Askan really have that much of a temper?

“Did he actually hurt Percy?” Whoever Percy was. “Did he try to?” More snapping and growling. Lena shook her head. This was all very one sided. She'd have to take Askan's words with a pinch of salt. “Shouldn't ever call a leader names, especially if he ain't yer own. Least, that's what dad told me.” That sort of behaviour just invited problems! “I mean, I guess it depends on how close y'pack is to his.” If they were locals, surely that meant their pack was there first?

When he glanced over, she misread his body language entirely and zipped it, ears folding back. Was he angry at her? Oh gosh, this was all so … so …

so out of her league.

“I reckon he means … don't … start fights? With neighbours? Especially not leaders of packs.” Lena offered a sheepish grin. That seemed reasonable.