Wild Rye Fields You've got no one to blame

@Adelayde set early afternoon, the weather's clear but there's a lotta snow

Since Askan had returned from his journey to Oak Tree Bend, he hadn't seen Adelayde. And as rude as it sounded, that was okay with him. He hadn't missed her when he'd been away and he certainly wasn't pining for her now. If anything, the peace and quiet was nice. Since that conversation he had felt a little awkward about being around her, because she knew things she shouldn't. But at the same time,  if he happened to see the tawny monstrosity he wouldn't slink off like a coward either. Things between them -not that there was anything there in the first place- hadn't changed in the least. Or so he would adamantly claim. Still, he was somewhat curious as to where she was. He had been back for days and he still hadn't seen her, not even a quick glimpse. So what was she up to? Had she scurried off on some errand for the Rye King and Queen? Probably not, as from what he could tell the alphas were keeping everyone close. She probably wasn't with Icicle, as the albino wolf tended to keep to himself. And he knew for certain that she wasn't with Percy, as for some reason she seemed to despite Adelayde. The kid didn't even try to hide it, but neither had she explained why she felt that way. She just sort of glowered and muttered beneath her breath. Askan would have to ask her about that sometime, but not now. He was busy, sort of. He wasn't suspicious and he definitely wasn't worried about her well being. It was simply that once he'd set himself a task he couldn't rest till he had achieved it. And so, Askan began his search. It took him a while- longer than he would have liked- but he found her. She wasn't by the den, nor was she in the field. No, he found her in the woods, plodding along through the snow as though she intended to disappear between the trees. Her posture was off, unfamiliar. Instead of walking with a bounce in her step she was quite obviously limping along, like she was in a great deal of pain. Her head hung low, her spine was curved slightly and her thick bushy tail was tucked meekly between her legs. All in all, she was an unfamiliar sight. If she wasn't a pack mate he might not even have recognised her. But he did,so he did what came naturally to him. "Oi!" Askan called out, breaking into a trot so he could catch up. "Where the hell have you been?" His scowly expression faltered a moment as he took in the wounds that marred her face. "What the hell happened to you?"

Dawnthieves.de

(This post was last modified: Dec 28, 2016, 04:07 PM by Askan.)

The pain was slowly disappearing with time, but the embarrassment and shame was endless. She was harassed and attacked by two children who weren't even yearlings yet. Savage adolescents, but children nonetheless. The wound on her face was attempting to heal, though with the stinging cold, it was a slower and more difficult process. As soon as it happened and caught the scent of the Whitestone scent on them, Ade sought out her two alphas to alert them on her unlucky encounter with the three of them. Though she was comforted, she still held a fear of them. Her naivety of the true nature of some wolves got the best of her which filled her with humiliation. How could she protect her pack if two children could best her? Hard truth, she couldn't.

Keeping to the southern woods, Adelayde thought it would be the least likely chance for her to run into those savage wolves again and for them to continue on with round two of her beating. She trekked as lightly as she could on her injured front leg to ease the pain that coursed through it and to down her spine with each step. It wasn't seriously injured, but the deep cut stung with each step and cold breeze that blew across it. Unlike her, her head hung low and her tail was hung lightly between her rear legs as she limped through the snow. It had been silent for a while, her mind numbly focused on just moving. Until the silence was harshly broken with an "Oi!".

Ade could recognize that gruff voice from anywhere. Nooo.... Why did it have to be him?? She thought shamefully as she tried to act like she didn't hear him and kept walking. While he was gone on his trip to Oak Tree Bend, her attack happened. She hadn't exactly been intentionally avoiding him, but she tried not to think of meeting him and telling him what had happened. Now she was out of luck as he came trotting over. She was going to have to face him at some point. Turning to face him, he didn't try hard to hid his shock. 

Without her normal Adelayde charm, the girl just seemed tired and melancholy. Which if Askan knew anything about her, he would instantly catch on to it and know something had to be wrong. But Adelayde wanted to just ignore what happened and move on. Be done with it. "Nothing." Her short and curt words were matched with her turning away from him and continuing in the direction she had been going. 

 

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Adelayde flinched, as though he'd caught her by surprise. But that was impossible, his footfalls weren't quiet by any meaning of the word. They were loud, unabashed, much like Askan himself. So something else must have made her flinch, as much as Askan tried to figure out what it was, he just couldn't. He didn't care, why would he? But then she dismissed his questions-as though they were irrelevant- and Askan decided that he couldn't just ignore this slight. He couldn't just allow her to brush him off quite so easily. It was rude, intolerable, and if she thought that he would be content to let her speak to him in this manner, well she had another thing coming. Because pack mate or no, he wasn't going to let her get away scot free. Askan's eyes narrowed in disdain, and when he spoke his voice was a low, displeased grumble. "You think I'm stupid? Don't look like nothing. And don't ignore me either. I'm talking to you." With ease, he caught up with the limping Rye wolf and planted himself in front of her. If she wanted to get passed him she was either going to have to forcibly move him, or go around. He doubted she'd go for the first option, and if she tried the second he'd just get in her away again. He wasn't going to be ignored, she would talk to him and she would explain what had happened whether she wanted to or not. She might think that it wasn't his buisiness to pry, but the way he say it, it was. After all, she was a Rye wolf now. Her business was his business, most of the time anyway. There were exceptions to that rule, as he was well aware. "You hypocrite. You told me it was important to talk, to be open. Yet here you are not telling me a thing. Not exactly setting a good example Adelayde. So tell me what happened, ain't got all day."His gaze was firm and unwavering. He wasn't backing down, no matter what. His legs were near buried in snow, but he didn't care, nor did he even notice. His attention was solely focused on the tawny excuse for a wolf who stood before him, who stood there trembling but not from the cold.

Dawnthieves.de

(This post was last modified: Dec 28, 2016, 04:10 PM by Askan.)

Perhaps if she ignored him entirely, he'd just go away. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Wrong. At least in Askan's world it seemed to work, why couldn't it work in hers? As stubborn as he was on a daily basis, Adelayde was going to be just as stubborn, if not more, on this subject. As kind and friendly as she usually was, her passionate nature took over and she wasn't going to just roll over this time. Even as he spit words at her with a displeased grumble, she ignored him. He's not there. He's not there. She kept reminding herself, but couldn't help herself. "I don't want to talk," the retort came out with a grumble as she tried to storm off before he could catch her.

She failed to escape. Like the incredibly grumpy and stubborn jerk he was, he of course planted himself right in her way. Glaring at him with narrowed eyes and a clearly etched frown on her face, she stopped for a second to perhaps burn him with her infuriated gaze. Why couldn't he just leave her alone like he normally did? So now, she magically was so important to him? He needed to know everything that happened her now? What happened to the dontcarenotmybuisness Askan? Grumbling to herself, she lifted her foot to move around him, but he interrupted her with more words she didn't want to hear. 

Oh, so now she was the hypocrite? Who appointed her the one that always had to set a good example for others? Her fury ignited further more with even more irritation and anger than before. "I DON"T want to talk!" She emphasized again in case he didn't understand the first time she said it. She then turned on a dime and began to walk away in the other direction from the irritating man. Why couldn't he just leave her alone this one time?

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She didn't want to talk? Well Askan didn't care what she did or didn't want. She sounded like a whiny child who wouldn't eat their dinner, who wouldn't go to bed early without kicking up a fuss and throwing a tantrum. Askan wasn't in the mood to deal with temper tantrums, he wasn't here to deal with the emotional shit she threw his way, he just wanted to know what her problem was. So he ignored her first set of words, like how one would dismiss the words of a stranger. Irrelevant. Askan didn't care. But then she had to go and raise her voice. He'd never seen or heard her do that before. Adelayde had always been rather soft spoken and from what he could tell she was the patient sort, hell she had to be if she willingly put up with Askan's company. But this? Askan wasn't sure what to make of this Adelayde. If she was simply annoyed, he wouldn't have thought anything of it, if anything he would have snapped right back with twice as much venom. But her words were heavy with something Askan couldn't pinpoint, and her voice was hoarse and unpleasant to his ears. Nothing like the soft melody she had sang that night they had met beneath the stars. He watched her storm off- well limp off- with a tilted head and squinting eyes. What the hell was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to react to that? Instinctively, he just wanted to leave her be as she was clearly not in the mood for company. But at the same time, he was unwilling to let this go. It was like an itch beneath his skin, a feeling he couldn't shake. Not knowing would drive him crazy, it would bother him to no end. And no, he didn't particularly care about Adelayde's feelings or welfare on a personal level. But as a member of the pack, she had to be running at full capacity, he wouldn't allow her to become a drain on their time and resources. She had promised to contribute, so how could she do so when she was in such a pathetic state? Askan had to shake her out of this,  he had to make her useful again. For the packs sake, it was nothing personal. With a huff, Askan once again trotted to catch up with her. Once again he blocked her path, before she could protest he spoke, slowly as though he was putting the puzzle pieces together in his head. "Right, okay so you're upset for some reason." He glanced at her again and his brows drew together. "Cause you got beat? Who did it? Loner? A gang?" Either prospect was troubling. Adelayde clearly wasn't a lone wolf. During her stay in the field, she had bulked up and regained some of the weight lost during her long travels. Not to mention she carried the scent of her fellow pack mates, as well as the lingering smell of rye and pine needles. So who the hell had the nerve to attack her and why? Again, not because he cared all that much, but because he saw it as his job to find out. He was the self elected protector of the Wild Rye Fields, after all. "Tell me and I'll sort it out."

Dawnthieves.de

 

Losing a fight was one thing. There could have been plenty of reasons for failing to come out on top. Or you were simply outmatched. Adelayde was certainly outmatched, but by a pair of kids. Granted by a pair, that had the ferocity to match that of a starving, angry bear after you stole its honey, but she had been outmatched by a pair of kids that hadn't even reached their first year. The two of them had more skill and outright strategy than she did in all her two, almost three years she's been on this earth. Granted she was outnumbered from the start and shouldn't have let her naivety get the best of her, but they just simply beat her up like she didn't know she had teeth or claws. It was a true embarrassment to her. And one she didn't want to replay again.

Turning away from the dark muddied man, she hoped he'd take it as a sign and bug off. Half expecting him to do just that, she dropped her hardened gaze and adopted to one that was just purely exhausted and pained. A truly uncommon expression for Adelayde. Only a few mere seconds passed, when she heard him huff behind her before he began to move. She only let her ears turn back, hoping he was abandoning his quest for information and was going on his way. However, it wasn't her lucky day, he was soon besides her and moving to once again block her path.

Stopping quickly with a grumble before she collided into him, her expression quickly narrowed as she opened her maw to protest him once again. He was quick to interrupt her and this time he was softer with his words. Askan seemed to understand how serious this must have been by the unusual way she was acting. Obviously she was upset. He would be upset too if she was ganged up on and embarrassed to say it was by two kids. Hell, she's seen him upset before. And she had told him he needed to open up and talk to someone if he was upset about something. He had been right. She was being hypocritical, though she wasn't going to admit it. Not today. But she wasn't quiet sure why this was different. Ade just couldn't – didn't understand.

Ade was trying to force herself to not burst, to not explode. But it all came bubbling up to the surface. All at once. ”What can you sort out, Askan? That I go beat up by a couple kids? A pair of savage kids, nonetheless, but they weren't even a year old!” She paused to take a breath, her heart was racing now as it was pounding against her tawny chest. ”I – I froze. I couldn't move when they came at me. And the third one, face littered with scars, just stood there smug and proud. How can you sort that out? I can't even fight.”

 

(This post was last modified: Dec 30, 2016, 10:58 PM by Adelayde.)

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Askan watched and waited to see if she would crack, if she would finally give in and tell him what he wanted to know. His tail tapped impatiently against his hind leg and he counted the seconds, then minutes. Come on, he didn't have all day. The sooner she came clean the sooner they could get this over with, the sooner he could deal with whatever had troubled her. Not because he cared-he was getting tired of pointing that out, but it was true- but because it was his duty. If someone didn't teach those wolves a lesson, for all he knew they might try and hurt Percy next. Like he'd let that happen. Ever. He'd rather die than let that come to pass. Finally she responded, and it was like an overflowing dam. Once she started, she just couldn't stop the flow of words that passed her lips. Askan didn't flinch, nor was he taken back by her loud outburst. He simply watched her with a detached sort of neutrality, like he wasn't fazed, like he couldn't feel the shame and embarrassment radiating from her. He wasn't about to gently nudge her and tell her everything was all right, but he wasn't so heartless either. The prospect of being defeated by children... Well it would never happen to Askan, but it was a mortifying concept. And he couldn't exactly sympathise with her, as he had never frozen in fear like that. But then she had to go on and continue, she had to describe one of the wolves that had been there, that had watched on as though it was a sick show.Her description was vague but there was no mistaking it. @Craw , it had to be Craw. That son of a- Askan's teeth ground together and he felt his hackles rise. The mere mention of that bastard was enough to make his blood boil and now his kids-his spawn- had hurt one of his own. The Whitestone wolves had attacked a Rye wolf. Damn it, they had gone too far. Craw and his lot were pushing their luck, if they weren't careful a war could be on the horizon. And blood would be shed, on both sides. But Adelayde... Askan turned to her, disdain still simmering in his bright eyes. "Two kids took you on and won? Pathetic." He tsked. "How'd you manage that? I bet even Icicle could hold his own, and you've seen him." Askan rolled his shoulders and squared himself in front of the larger, Mackenzie wolf. "Come on then, let me have it. Let's see how shit you really are. Promise I won't hurt you, not too badly anyway."

Dawnthieves.de

 

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Rarely did Adelayde ever become angry. She could never fully encompass the feeling of truly being angry. It always burnt out before the flame was ever really ignited. But the emotions she bottled up about what had happened, only helped ignite the flame inside her. The disappointment she held for herself and the shame that she was defeated only helped fuel the anger building up inside her now as she stood in front of the dark man. She was met of course with his callous gaze until she mentioned the large gray man whos face was littered with scars. Ade could visibly see the hackles on his back stand on end and then he turned towards her. 

That look... Mismatched eyes narrowed as her jaws clamped together in utter frustration and irritation as he opened his mouth to spit words at her. "Gee, thanks Askan like I didn't already know that. Thanks for reminding me! I already know how pathetic I am, OKAY?" She shouted out with a huff before she tried to turn away. She needed to get away. Get away from his attitude that was clearly not helping her at all. But before she moved far Askan was moving to square up in front of her. What was he doing? Eyes narrowing once again as he insulted her once again. Did he even know how to communicate without insulting some one?

Her anger bubbled again as he gave her that disdainful look. That was it. What did she have to lose? Perhaps if she would just get this over with, she could go back to the den and be left alone again. Growling loudly in frustration, she took off suddenly towards the dark man and full out just tried to barrel straight into Askan's left shoulder with her front end. Though if she had thought her movements out properly beforehand, she would have thought to focus all of her weight to her right side to give her more power.

 

(This post was last modified: Feb 06, 2017, 06:49 PM by Adelayde.)

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Askan hadn't meant it as an insult. He had simply been stating the truth, but of course Adelayde had to be all unreasonable and twist his words so that his intentions seemed malicious. He hadn't outright said that she was pathetic-even he knew that was a little too much-but he supposed that he could understand why she'd taken it as an insult. She was distressed and had worked herself up into a panic, she was hardly in the right state of mind for rational thinking. Unlike Askan, who could see the situation for what it was.

He said nothing in response to her scathing words. He had nothing to say. He simply watched and waited, anticipated her next move and positioned himself accordingly. Askan noticed the ripple of muscles beneath her fur as she prepared to move, without warning she was going to launch into an attack just as he had requested. Good, for a moment he had feared that she would shrug off his request, that she'd be a wimp and try to wiggle out of this test of his. But no, it seemed that in this state of heightened emotion she had lost her sense of pacifism and gentle nature. She was going to fight with everything she had, even if it wasn't much.

His lips pulled back and Askan grinned in anticipation.

With a snarl, Adelayde charged the Yukon wolf head on and barged into him with her bulky shoulder. He gritted his teeth as he strained to keep himself upright, his nails digging down into the snow for traction. It was a solid hit, enough to knock the wind out of anyone who wasn't prepared. But Askan had been, he had guessed that she would use her size to her advantage and had moved accordingly to help lessen the brunt of the hit. Resisting the urge to latch onto her vulnerable throat, Askan shoved her back and then dodged away so there was some distance between them.

"Don't just blindly charge. If you're fighting someone who knows what they're doing-like me- they'll be quick to turn it against you. See, you exposed your neck right to me. I could've grabbed on if I wanted, dragged you down and choked you out. Or worse." He informed her, his tail held high behind him, displaying his superiority in skill.

He began circling Adelayde, his eyes cold and calculating, as though he were taking every aspect of her into consideration. If she trained enough he could see her being able to defend herself, perhaps not with ease, but at the very least to the point where she could carry herself with more confidence. She was scared and so she was weak. She needed to become strong, she needed to learn and grow, she could no longer be the spoiled little princess she had once been in her familial pack. She was a Rye wolf, so she needed to start acting like one.

"When you lunge, always look for something to hold onto to. Don't be obvious though, the neck is always the first place they go for. The way I see it, best way to win a fight isn't just to take them out with one bite. Whittle them down, make them bleed. Push them to the point where they realise it ain't worth it anymore, hurt them till they give in. Till they have to admit you've beaten them. That said, if you do have an opening to grab the neck, by all means, tear away. Give everything you've got. So come on, come at me. Put what I said into action." He nodded in encouragement and once again shifted his stance, ready to move at a moments notice.

A lynx has left behind the remains of a deer. +5 Health