Poison Path Hauntings of the Past

Eido hummed her agreement to the dark man's sentiments. "My mother lived in a pack up in the mountains before she met my father. She said it was very slippery and cold and harsh up there." As soon as the words left her maw, a cold breeze stirred up and bit through her fluffy pelt, and she shivered with a laugh of amusement. "Though I can't say it's much better down here. At least, right now, anyway," she remarked lightheartedly. The pale wolf tipped her head to the side when Kajika mentioned his life before his pack, and she perked her ears with interest. "Um, what's your pack like? If-if you don't mind my asking, of course." Eido had to admit that living as a lone wolf was rather interesting, by being able to travel so much and as far as she wanted without the constraints of being bound to a pack, but she was very lonely. She had not been accepted by any of the packs she'd met out in the tundras, because she had still carried the scent of disease from her old pack back then, but she believed that the smell was probably gone by now. It couldn't possibly hurt to try again here - unless someone tried to rip her ear off, like that one alpha several months ago had done. The hearing loss was still hard to get used to.

The young girl wagged her tail when he said he would go with her. She nodded - of course it would have to wait until spring. It would be terrible of a wolf to abandon their packmates in the dead of winter just to go on an exploration trip. Life was much harder in the cold months... though, she suspected that there might be some deeper meaning behind his words. Besides all that, it wasn't safe to follow a wolf you'd never met to a faraway place you'd never been, even if that wolf was smaller than you. "I'd be glad to take you whenever you're able to go," she replied, dipping her head cordially. "But I won't hold you to it. Your pack may still need you then, or I may be a part of a pack that needs me. We may not even remember one another." Might as well tell the truth - they were only acquaintances, and it was probably a bad idea to make plans with a wolf outside one's own pack; especially a loner. But, Eido had to admit that she was still very new to the Lore, so things might work differently there than out on the tundra. She let out an involuntary shiver at the mention of the Spectral Woods. "I don't think I'd be good at showing anyone around there. I'm not a huge fan."

"I think about food as much as the next wolf," Eido admitted with a smile turning up on the corners of her mouth. "Good conversation and adventure tends to take the mind off of it, though." The first part of her statement was a compliment, and she hoped he'd take it as such. "Oh, and I am definitely okay with just a rabbit. It seems to be about all that I can catch on my own - I'm not a fisher, and I'm not strong enough to take out a deer by myself. But I am pretty fast, so rabbits aren't that difficult to catch. Though I'm sure it would be easier to catch a deer or something between the two of us."

She nodded as he mentioned following the tracks, and got to her paws, shaking the snow from her fur before trotting over to the tracks and sticking her muzzle down near them to try and tell how old they were. They would have to have been there before she or Kajika had arrived at the clearing, but they were still fresh enough that she could clearly catch the scent. She probably could have just followed them, but if they were weeks old, what would be the point? "It's probably not too far from here," she told the dark male, her tail happily waving once.

Kajika nodded in agreement with the way she said her mother had described the Mountain, “Yes it can be all of those things especially at this time of year but It's worth visiting at least once in my opinion of course.” He felt any place was worth visiting at least once just to see what it was like. Her next sentence had him shaking his head, “No, the winter seems harsher than last year if I recall it correctly but in the spring this forest is something to see.” At least he thought it was with all of the nightshade plants and the greenery returning. It seemed him mentioning his pack struck something in her, interesting. “I don't mind at all,” he told her with a smile, “My pack is my family, we all see each other as a family related or not. My alphas are fair and understanding and will listen if you need to talk and they will help you if you need it.” He was proud of his pack and had never had any doubts that he'd joined the right one.

The girl seemed nice so when she offered to show him the Red Fern Forest he felt there wasn't anything wrong with accepting her offer. He already had decided that he needed to get out more and see some of the places he hadn't as a loner when he first came to the lore. “Good but I do understand I won't hold you to taking me either but if you're available and up this way you should stop by the borders and give me a call. I can let you know then if I'm able to get away for a few days.” He was sure he would have to speak with Vespertio or Namid if she was back, Moonshadow if she wasn't but he hoped things would be better then. Kajika chuckled, “That's quite alright perhaps I'll go on my own at some point.” Maybe he would spend the spring and summer visiting on occasion, he didn't know for sure but it was a thought.

“I used to think about it all the time when I was on my own,” he said in regards to how much she thought about food. He smile and nod in agreement with her next statement, “Yes, it does help take your mind off it.” His mind had gone to Des once more, the visits he'd had with her had always taken his mind off how hungry he was. Eido explained about how she was at catching various animals especially rabbits, “Have you tried catching Squirrel? They are smaller than rabbits of course but better than mice. It's not really worth fishing too much now but in the spring they are a nice change. However if we are able to find a deer we might be able to bring it down together.” It wouldn't be the first time he'd brought one down with just him and another wolf. That one had been injured though, Eido didn't need to know that.

Since the rabbit tracks were there and they seemed fresh Kajika felt it was the best place to start their hunt. He felt they could get lucky with the rabbit they belonged to or they might come across the tracks of another animal that would be bigger. When she went to sniff the tracks Kajika rose to his feet to follow and sniff them as well finding they were in fact as he had suspected rather fresh, “No, it's probably not too far from here at all but it may lead us to more, that's what I'm hoping for that to be honest.” That said he started to follow the tracks.

(This post was last modified: Jan 08, 2017, 02:32 AM by Kajika.)

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I've actually been doing legitimate research into which pack I think Eido might fit into, and FTC seems like it might be a good fit. I need to make sure and ask the alphas and fill out an entry form on the pack page, don't I? But is there anything else?

The mountains did sound like a place Eido would want to visit at some point in time. Perhaps they were a bit dangerous, but Eido had not quite been turning down too much danger in recent days. Yes, she was scared, still, but she was not the same wolf she had been when her pack was destroyed. She acknowledged the male's first two statements with nodding, but she listened intently when he described his pack, and she couldn't help but smile. "The only pack I've ever been in as been with my biological family," she told him. "It's wonderful that you all treat one another like that, as well." When he mentioned his pack helping her, however, she felt embarrassment burn her fur. It sounded like the pack would offer her a place to stay and food to eat and help through the difficult winter, which was wonderful, but she didn't want to impose in that way on any wolf. It wasn't that she didn't need help, or that she wouldn't love to spend time with a pack. It was just that she would rather stay with a pack and help them, as well. She wouldn't want to just take from them and leave. So, she quickly amended his offer. "Oh, no! I-I wouldn't just take help from a pack. It would be nice to be with a pack, but I would want to stay and contribute in return." It came out a bit awkward, but she hoped that she got the meaning across correctly and that it wouldn't just sound like she was desperate for a pack to be with.

"I'll definitely take you to the Red Fern Forest if we both get the chance," she told him with a wag of her tail, her orange eyes alight with excitement. She hadn't made plans with anyone in so long that it felt completely odd, but still wonderful to have someone who might want to actually do more than talk to her for a moment and then leave. It was a sense of companionship that she hadn't had in a very long time - too long for her, anyway, if she were this content with something that wasn't even set in stone to happen. It was a little sad, but she didn't let herself dwell on it too long.

He seemed to have taken the compliment, and Eido smiled slightly as she listened to him, nodding occasionally in response. When he mentioned the squirrels, she shook her head. "I haven't seen as many of them, and the ones I have seen have just sat up in trees and screamed at me," she said with a laugh, remembering the small creatures with the fuzzy tails and their angry chirruping. She nodded when he mentioned the deer. "My old pack mainly hunted deer. It really helps when you pick out a sick, hurt, old, or young one," she explained, though he probably already knew how to hunt deer. Eido and her had been the ones who would run to catch up with the deer and weave around its legs to slow it down or trip it up while the stronger wolves would catch up to take it down.

The pale wolf hummed in response about the rabbits and waited for Kajika to lead the way before she followed behind, keeping her eyes, ear, and nose out for any signs of the rabbit nearby. Her pawsteps were completely silent; she set them down in the snow carefully so that they would not crunch.

Talk has turned from the mountains to his pack, she'd asked him about his and he told her exactly how he felt about it, the reasons he had joined the cove and why he had stayed for so long. Of course he couldn't tell her the inner workings of the pack such as Namid being sick and Moonshadow had been their leader for a time or about their numbers or even their what their food situation was. He wasn't the one to divulge that information to a complete stranger. As she spoke about her first pack and how wonderful it was that his pack treated each other as family Kajika began to wonder if this might be a chance to help his pack once more. ”Yes it is and it was exactly what I was looking for when I was looking for a pack to be a part of.” Kajika shook his head as it seemed he might have miscommunicated something to her, “I'm sure that is all true but I think you may have misunderstood me. I meant the pack members, for instance if I was having a difficult time with something I could go to them and they would help me to work it out.” He hoped that cleared it up for her because he wanted her to have a clear picture of his pack. Explaining this his thoughts went to Namid and how even when she wasn't feeling the best she had helped him and given him the confidence he needed to talk with Moonshadow.

“Well then it's settled if you're available and I'm available we will take a trip to the Red Fern Forest and you can show me around,” he said with a smile. He felt that it would be a nice trip with her and much better than going good alone. It would also give him the chance to get out and wander a bit since he hadn't done that in a very long time. Of course this time would be different since he had a home to come back too.

Kajika couldn't help but let a short laugh escape his maw as she described the squirrels she'd seen,”Yes that does sound about right though in the warmer months there are plenty of them about. They are just as fast as rabbits and you have to get them before they hit the trees but they are a good tide me over until you can get something better.” At least it had always helped Kajika to keep from getting too hungry as a lone wolf. He nodded, “Yes it does as it almost guarantees that you will be eating that day.” The day he had been able to catch the deer with him the that prince wolf, they had both eaten well that day. He remembered the days of wanting to eat something other than rabbits, squirrels, or fish but they were over now that he was in the cove.

The rabbits tracks were clear in the snow and easy to follow so he led Eido through the trees and away from Poison Path lowering his head to sniff them every so often. The scent became stronger as they traveled. Each paw was placed carefully so that if they did come upon the rabbit they wouldn't scare it off. After they had been following the tracks for a time Kajika stopped and sniffed the air, “Do you smell that?” He asked Eido in a whisper.

(This post was last modified: Jan 08, 2017, 06:54 AM by Kajika.)

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Eido is an official FTC wolf :3 Sorry for the shorter post!

The young loner was grateful that the male was willing to share so much with her. From what he was saying, his pack sounded like exactly what she could hope for. Apparently, however, she had misunderstood his meaning by telling her that the pack would help her out. A give-and-take sort of thing. "That sounds wonderful." For what felt like the umpteenth time in this particular conversation, Eido decided to be bold. "Um, what... what does your pack think about new members?" she asked, avoiding his gaze. Both nervous and a bit ashamed of herself, because she felt almost as though she were betraying her birth pack by asking. But none of her family would want her to be a hermit for the rest of her life.

The idea of a traveling partner was wonderful, and Eido stored the thought in the back of her mind, reminding herself to remember it when springtime came. She had no doubt that Kajika would be an awesome traveling partner; nice, consistent conversations, no unpleasantness, and no awkward silences. Plus, she wouldn't be afraid of something attacking her if there was another wolf around.

The conversation shifted from the squirrels and the deer, and Eido was being more quiet now that they were on the trail of the rabbits. She kept low to the ground, her pawsteps careful and silent, and her senses alert for any movement, sounds, or scents. She stopped when Kajika did, and tilted her head to the side, curious as to what the male had scented, apart from the rabbits and the trees. "What?" she whispered, angling her right ear around to try and hear anything that might show up nearby.

I saw congratulations and no worries it wasn't too short.

He was pleased that she seemed interested in how his pack was, it was a question that made him think she might be interested in joining them. Though he was cautious of what he told her he gave her what he could, the information that was general enough it couldn't hurt them if she knew. He also had to make clear what he meant about helping and though he was sure they would help outsiders if the were really in need he didn't want someone he didn't know well to know that. ”It is, to know your alphas care enough about their subordinates to take the time out and listen to them and do what they can to help them.” Her next question was one he hadn't heard before but it was one that was just as easy to answer. “They are welcome and if they pull their weight usually fit in quite well. Everyone is friendly and will help the new members become accustomed to living there.” It was what he'd seen with others and especially Moonshadow so he didn't have a problem telling her that.

Their trip in the spring was certainly something he would have to talk over with Namid and Vespertio before he went but he thought he'd be able to go for a couple of days. Once spring was there and they had recovered from the winter he wouldn't be missed too much he didn't think. It was then he remembered the conversation with the agouti male that had him believing it would be okay. It would also give him a chance to learn more about the yearling, so far she seemed to be a nice girl, talkative but Kajika could be too.

They were on the trail of a rabbit, he hoped there might be more than that when they finally found the rabbit but he didn't let his hopes get up too far. Still on the trail of the rabbits another scent caught his attention which stopped him in his tracks to scent the air. It seemed that Edio hadn't smelled it but a smile crossed his maw, they would both be eating if it all worked out. “Marmot,” he said in a whisper, “We will need to be extremely quiet if we expect to catch anything,” he told her even though she'd been quiet the whole time on the trail. Once again he led her through the forest being even more cautious about where and how he placed his feet as he followed the scent.

(This post was last modified: Jan 09, 2017, 12:37 AM by Kajika.)

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Look; I have a thing now! Jenandra was super sweet to make one for me.

The pale wolf tipped her head to the side as the dark-furred male explained how the pack treated new wolves. It really did sound like the perfect place for her; Eido didn't mind a little hard work - in fact, she welcomed it. She'd turn flips and fight all the geese, if she had to, for the sake of her pack. "Your pack sounds like wonderful wolves," she told him truthfully, wondering if she herself would be greeted with such kindness by them. It couldn't hurt to try, was her first thought, until she remembered how an alpha of one of the packs she'd encountered on her way to Relic Lore had tried to rip one of her ears off just because she was not particularly welcome there. She believed it to have been because of her scent, but she couldn't be absolutely sure. She decided to ask Kajika, just to be sure."Um, your alphas don't hurt wolves who try to join their pack, do they? Like, they wouldn't bite my ear off if I were to try and talk to them... metaphorically speaking?" She was not speaking metaphorically at all.

The snow-tinted girl really was quite a talker. Fortunately, she had determined in her head that the dark man was, as well, so she wasn't over-concerned with him being irritated with her. She had greatly enjoyed their conversation so far, and she was putting extra thought into possibly paying his alphas a visit... provided they wouldn't attack her, or anything. But Kajika wasn't aggressive, and from his word, neither were his alphas. Still, Eido had learned not to trust things like this at face value - she really didn't know if she could handle being fully deaf, and she hoped that the meeting with the alphas would not result in permanent hearing loss like her last one.

What the hell is a marmot? had been Eido's first thought, but Kajika had told her to be quiet, so quiet she was going to be. She hoped it was tasty, whatever it was. But, judging by the smile on the dark man's muzzle, and the extra caution he was using to track the creature, she guessed it probably was. So, the ghostly little female crept along behind her companion a bit, keeping eye and ear out for any sign of... well, any prey, really, but hopefully whatever this "marmot" thing was.

I see, it's very pretty!

Kajika didn't mind telling Eido about his pack, he was proud of it especially after its recent hardships and the fact that it seemed to be doing better. Everyone in his pack worked hard and took care of each other, he couldn't have asked for a better pack to have joined. “They are quite wonderful,” he agreed with a nod. All of these questions the girl was asking made him curious if her intentions. However her next question was perhaps the strangest and did cause his brow to raise with curiosity about why she might ask such a question but he answered her truthfully. “They would be cautious as I'm sure you can understand but not violent unless given a reason. I've never seen them be anything other than cautiously polite when meeting someone at the border.” It was a curious question indeed but if she was intending to speak with Namid and Vespertio then he didn't want her to have the wrong idea about them.

There were things about Eido that reminded him of Moonshadow which certainly helped him to like her and wonder if she would be just a good if pack member. She was a nice girl to be sure and he felt she would fit in fine but she wasn't in the same position the ebony girl had been in when he found her. This was why he'd decided that the decision was better left for Eido to figure out for herself. Of course he didn't know for sure if she was thinking about joining Fallen Tree Cove but her questions led him to believe she might be. He also considered how good it would be for the pack if she did join, what it would mean for them after the past few months.

Coming across the scent of Marmot was a nice surprise and he was looking forward to something other than rabbit meat. They lived in groups so if they worked together with a plan that they were able to execute perfectly then she could have one to herself and he could have one for the pack. He moved through the trees scenting the air as he went following the scent that became stronger as they went. He knew they were getting close and then he stopped when he saw four chubby little animals with grey bodies and brow tails looking for food. He looked back to Eido who had been just as quiet then back at the marmots who hadn't seemed to notice they were there. He put his muzzle close to her ear, “We have to be very quiet so they do go into their burrows before we can get them. You have to know exactly which one you're going for because we only have one chance at this,” he whispered in explanation .

(This post was last modified: Jan 11, 2017, 04:01 AM by Kajika.)

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The young loner wasn't going to say anything more, for worry that she was going to scare off whatever these "marmot" things were. To be fair, she probably should know what a marmot was but for the life of her, she couldn't put a creature to the name. Regardless, at this point, she was just sneaking along silently beside the male as he led the way toward whatever food they were hopefully about to get. She had a feeling the dark-furred male had guessed that she was in search for a pack, and that she was seriously considering heading up to the mountains to meet Kajika's alphas. It sounded ideal to her. Of course, she wasn't going to outright tell the dark man that she was planning to do so - she doubted it would work out, anyway, so she resigned herself to just keep quiet and enjoy hunting with another wolf for the first time in a long time. The sight of the marmots brought a smile to Eido's face - they were actually kind of cute, and very fat and delicious-looking. She felt Kajika's muzzle close to her ear, thankful that he had not whispered in the wrong one, and nodded silently in response. "I'm going to slip around to see if I can spot their burrow," she breathed in return, and slipped without another word into the bushes to her left. She kept herself so near to the ground that her belly brushed the snow, and crept along with absolutely no sound, keeping her eyes on the marmots the entire time. The burrow was on the other end of the little clearing the creatures were in, and Eido slipped just behind the hole in the ground and peered through the bushes. She could still see Kajika from where she stood, and she rounded behind the burrow and the small creatures. She figured that, if she were able to block off their escape route, then they might have a better chance of catching one or two. The ghostly little wolf nodded at the dark man across the clearing, and crept forward, toward the fat prey animals. Pleased to find that she was able to get right up to the edge of the clearing, she tensed, and then leapt out toward the marmots, keeping herself planted firmly between them and their burrow, and hopefully driving them toward Kajika.

The marmots would be a nice change not only for Kajika but he was sure the rest of his pack would enjoy them as well. So he didn’t want anything to take away his chance at catching at least one and he wanted to make sure Eido had one as well. It was winter and it was hard to tell when she would get her next meal. Though she seemed to be doing well for herself and that was good in Kajika’s opinion since it wasn’t easy making it on your own in the winter.

Marmots were tricky creatures that needed to be hunted carefully so they didn’t get to scared and run down into their burrows where they couldn’t be caught. He did what he could to set a good example for Eido as they approached the area where the marmots had made their home so that he could minimize how much talking they did. Too much and it could alert the creatures to their presence. Kajika was pleased when it seemed that she was just as quiet as he if not more so.

An exception was made however when they had finally come to a point where they could see the marmots through the branches of an evergreen bush. When he decided it was the best time to explain to her what they needed to do to better their chances of success. “Just be careful,” was his reply to her as far as what she was going to do. His gaze returned to the marmots searching for their own food as she silently slipped away from him and disappeared into the bushes around them.

Kajika didn't move from his position waiting for either a signal from Eido that she was ready to pounce or for the perfect opportunity to pounce himself. Catching sight of her cream pelt near one of the burrows the beta readied himself to leap out. His gaze shifted between their prey and his companion until she gave him a nod signalling that she was ready. When she jumped out he did at the same time sending the marmots scrambling to get to their burrows. With his eyes trained on one in particular he dove for it.

(This post was last modified: Jan 14, 2017, 09:52 PM by Kajika.)

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