Fallen Tree Cove I wanna know how you got those scars

OOC comments here!

Word Count: 219

Tagg chuckled.  Of course she would ask – had he not seen the curiosity burning in her eyes?  Honestly, he was surprised she had waited this long.  He was used to the question, so it didn’t prickle his fur like it used to. “Tell you what.  We catch some food, and I’ll answer all your questions.” He smiled, tail waving good-naturedly. “We don’t want to scare off our breakfast, do we?” It was a rhetorical question, but the veteran found himself comfortable enough with Moon to make them.

At her confirmation it was indeed the rabbit she had smelled, Tagg pricked his ears.  He too could smell it, and while he had complete faith in his nose it paid to trust others as well.  To an extent.  He listened carefully for any sound the large rodent might make, knowing if they got close enough and it was quiet he would be able to even hear its heartbeat.

He softened his pawsteps and followed the tracks, keeping one ear half-turned towards Moon to keep tabs on where she was.  He would hate to become so immersed in the hunt she accidentally surprised him and he, on reflex, hurt her.  He didn’t want her to feel unsafe in his company.

And he loathed the fact that he had to worry about that.

"Speech"  Thought

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OOC! Out of character comments here

His answer caused a childish pout to form on her maw. "Awww alright fair enough" she replied with a grin and light hearted laugh. She could wait, since catching a rabbit wouldn't take long especially with two of them. She was excited to hear his stories and get to know him better. Since she was so intrigued by the rusty mans scars she completely forgot about her own. Hers most definitely didnt have an interesting story to go along with them. While his question may have been rhetorical she still gave a smile and shake of her head. No they most definitely didn't want to scare their meal off.

Going quiet, silver eyes scanned the forest for the rabbit as the pair slowly followed the tracks. Finally there was movement up ahead through the trees. A small white form moved about completely unaware of the imposing danger. Giving the air a good sniff Moon was able to determine that they were down wind and had the element of surprise on their side. She lowered her dark fame close to the ground so that the hare wouldn't be able to see her. Looking at Tagg she gave a smile and motioned her head towards the prey giving him the honors of actually chasing and killing the animal. She would also chase and flank the rabbit to keep it from escaping but figured that since the russet man had been so eager to run he could catch it.

Do you want to have them stop here or keep looking after they eat?

Word Count: 246

Tagg had to fight the urge to laugh out loud at Moon’s reaction to his answer; as it was, a choked snort managed to sneak through as he stalked along the rabbit trail.  He felt Moon tense beside him, and then he saw the rabbit as well.  He glanced at her.  She nodded to him, and he assumed that meant he would get the chase he wanted.  He flicked his ears in confirmation and crouched low, pulling himself forward as quietly as possible.

When he was only a few body-lengths away, the rabbit noticed his presence. Tagg mentally cursed and lunged after the small creature, throwing his chilled body into the chase.  It didn’t take long for his legs to warm up.  He could hear Moon running along a short distance away, flanking their prey.  He put on a short spurt of speed, determined to catch the hare.

I’m not showing off, I’m not showing off. He chanted in his head in time with his breaths, which burst from his mouth in puffs frozen air.  His heart pounded in his ears as he neared his quarry.  Throwing in one last blast of energy, Tagg launched himself off the ground.  His front paws came down on the rabbit’s back.  It shrieked in fear but couldn’t get its feet before the scarred wolf’s teeth closed over its neck.

“That was almost too easy.” He grinned at Moon.  “You can go first.” He nudged the warm meat towards her.

"Speech"  Thought

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OOC! Humm they can keep looking and you can decide if they find anything :)

Her go ahead for Tagg to do the honors was given a nod in response. She watched the red male crouch low to the ground and creep as close as possible to the rodent. She followed quietly behind him keeping her nose in line with his right flank. He suddenly froze causing the same reflex in the dark woman. The rabbit had spotted him and began to run. Tagg shot after it like a bullet while Moon followed suit. She move more to the right so that the rabbit would also know her presence and would turn left if it decided to try to turn. The little white blur wouldn't have the time to make such a decision as she saw her companion's form surge forward in a burst of speed allowing him to quickly catch up. The thrill of the chase raced through the betas body making her feel alive. The young woman had been a wolfs version of a couch potato for too long. The spar with Kajika and now this was exactly what she needed. They chased the terrified animal for a little bit longer before Tagg gave one final push and pounced on the animals back. It let out a ear piercing screetch that was quickly silenced by powerful jaws.

The pounce was quite impressive to Moonshadow, she hadnt seen anyone do that before. She ran a bit further ahead allowing her limbs to slow easily before she circled around. Her chest heaved as she took deep breaths to fill her lungs with precious oxygen. A smile painted across her maw as she approached him. He spoke of how the chase had been almost too easy. She gave a small laugh in agreeance. Rabbits had always been relatively easy for Moon. "Nicely done, you'll have to teach me how to pounch like that" she said between heavy breaths. His offer for her to eat first caused her cheeks to grow even warmer under her fur. Her smile grew a bit more as she quickly adverted her eyes from him to the kill. She normally would have declined and allowed the other to dig in first but something inside her told her that there wasn't any use cuz she'd end up taking the first bite. So she reached down and took a relatively small bite from the warm kill before nosing it back towards Tagg. The warmth of the meat was exactly what she wanted. She had eaten fish a lot lately and while it was satisfying it didnt warm her up the same way rabbit did.>

She finished her mouthful and cleaned her inky lips with her coral tongue. Mercury hued orbs settled on his russet face and looked over his scars as he ate. She set her large haunches on the frozen ground welcoming the coolness. "So, bout that story" she said playfully with the curiosity burning in her eyes again.

Okay I'm sorry but these two are too cute! >.<

Word Count: 298

He felt his chest puff at her somewhat roundabout praise.  “It’s not that difficult; I’ll show you sometime.” He panted.  He followed Moon’s example, taking a small bite as soon as she had finished.  He settled opposite her so he could look at her while they ate.  He glanced up and saw her eyeing his scars again, and a small smile crept up his face as she prodded him for his information.

“Where to begin?” He murmured. “You wanted to know about my scars right?  Well, yeah, some of them came from the war, but… not the ones you think.”  He turned and nudged the fur on his shoulders, exposing some of the smaller marks on his skin.  “These, and many others, came from the war.  These, however,” He brushed his paw over the left side of his face, highlighting the tears in his ear and the four thick scars that had blinded him, “are far older.” He found that talking about it was a strange sensation after so long.  He usually just gave a quick, ‘I got them when my family died’ when asked, but Moon was… different.

“When I was a yearling, my family was… we were attacked.  Humans with hunting dogs came into our territory. Everyone died.  My sister and I were running when their dogs caught up with us.  She told me to run, but I tried to save her.  That’s when I got these.” He swallowed.  “After that I… I didn’t know what to do.  I watched my sister, my best friend, get torn to shreds while she still lived.  I had no choice but to run.  I found my way here.” He looked up at Moon, staring into her starry eyes. He smiled.  “That was a long time ago. Much is different.”

"Speech"  Thought

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OOC! Aw they are! XD Wow he has her melting into a puddle haha adorbs!

When he agreed to show her how to pounce her tail swept the snowy ground happily. She always like learning new things. With her bite finished she looked over the obvious scars and did a bad job at hiding it. His brilliant green eye caught her prodding and she quickly looked away feeling her face grow warm again. He began to speak and she looked back at him noting the small smile on his maw. Tagg began with confirming what she wanted to know. Her large dark skull tilted slightly as he stated that yes indeed some of his scars came from the war but not the ones she thought. So theres more she wondered her eyes widening. He moved around to reveal a couple scars on his shoulder that his beneath his russet fur. She moved around and a little closer to him so that she'd have a better look. Her mouth opened in a silent 'oh' as she looked at the tiny marks. “These, and many others, came from the war.  These, however,”  He motioned to the ones she had been eyeing "are far older". Wonder filled the young woman as the veteran told his story. Older? Her imagination tried to guess what else could have possibly happened to him.

Her silver dusted ears laid back on her head as he went on to tell her how he got his major ones. While she had no idea what humans and hunting dogs were but they sounded horrible. Her eyes widened with silent horror as he went on to say that he watched his family get torn apart. That make her slightly glad that she didnt have to witness the fate of her own. Empathy for losing ones family grew within the dark woman. Had her companion been saddened by sharing such sensitive information she would have moved to him and comforted him. She was surprised though to see him looked at her and actually smile. "I'm sorry to hear about your family" she started giving him a small smile in return. "I also know what its like to lose ones entire family. I was however fortunate to not have to witness their presumed fate". The loss of her family however hadnt been so long ago and she was still struggling with letting them go. Despite her feelings she gave Tagg a little bigger of a smile. She didnt want to be a debbie downer by wallowing in her own sorrow. 

OOC comments here!

Word Count: 280

Tagg was grateful that she moved to sit closer to him as they ate and talked.  He pressed his nose into her shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting manner as she spoke of her own family.  “If you want to talk about it, I’m here,” He rumbled, “but I know sometimes talking is hard.  So wait until you’re ready.” He smiled at her.  “For me, it was hard for a long time, and in reality I often don’t talk about it still.  But you… well, I’ve smiled more talking with you today than I have in years.” He nudged her before taking another bite, hoping his words helped to put her at ease.

They were completely true; he felt more at ease than he had since his family had been murdered.  He admitted this to himself with caution; his parents’ words had been true.  Nobody stays with you forever. He reminded himself.  Don’t get attached.

But that was easier said than done.  After everything, it was too easy to find someone he felt at ease with and wanted to be friends with.  Friends is fine; don’t get too attached. He repeated in his head.  He wanted to believe that she would be different, but he could never be sure… she had even admitted she had a history of running off without a word.  But still… maybe they had both found a home they could trust.

Just once, Tagg, let yourself trust again. He pleaded with himself.  He wanted to.

So he would.

“Well, shall we try and find something else too?” He asked, eyeing the remains of the hare.  “Anything extra we can bring back to the pack?”

"Speech"  Thought

(This post was last modified: Jan 15, 2017, 02:55 PM by Tagg. Edit Reason: fixing italics )

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OOC! Ooo she catchin' the feels

A quiet hum vibrated in her throat as he pressed his nose into her shoulder. His gesture did make her feel better as well as his assurance. He told her that it took him a long time to talk about his family and told her it was okay to take her time. She looked up at him almost through her eyelashes "Thank you Tagg. That means a lot to me". The words that fell from his lips next took Moon by surprise - but in a good way. Her smile grew and her tail thumped against the ground. His words caused something inside the dark woman to surface. He made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside and despite not knowing him long she felt completely and totally safe with him. She didnt know how to explain it or what it was but it was a good feeling and she didnt want it to ever stop. She kept the feelings to herself for now because she feared that she would scare him away and something deep within her screamed to not let that happen.

A girlish smile crept onto her inky maw as he gave her another nudge. What was happening to her? She watched with admiration as the russet man took another bite. She admired his loyalty and willingness to put himself in danger to help others. She caught herself this time and looked away from him and to the surrounding trees before he was able to catch her looking. The feelings that were beginning to bud in her were foreign and almost scared her. Luckily he suggested they find some more food to bring back to the pack. Now she would have something else to focus on besides the tickling in her tummy. "That's a good idea. Maybe this time my nose can find deer instead of rabbit" she said with a light hearted laugh and a little crinkle of her coal appendage. She took one more good bite from the rabbit to finish it off then stood to give her midnight pelt a shake and waited for her companion to also ready himself to move on.

This was one of the first things I saw when I woke up and I just had to reply right away. Definitely did not squee reading your post.  Nope.  Not at all. 

Word Count: 224

Tagg stretched, hoping the meat in his belly didn’t slow him down too much should they be fortunate enough to find more prey this morning.  He chuckled at Moon’s banter.  “Well you scented the rabbit before I did, and I know my sense of smell is sensitive. I think we can rely on your nose.” He teased, bumping her lightly before lightly loping off, back to the search for food.  He glanced back to make sure she was keeping up with him, prepared to slow down if she wasn’t in the mood for his energy.

He was trying very hard to ignore the strange sensation bubbling in his stomach. Did I swallow some butterflies? He idly wondered.  He decided it must be because he just ate and now he was jogging.  The scarred wolf slowed his pace a little so as to not upset his gut further, but found the igneous feeling spreading through him didn’t fade.  He went back to trying to ignore it.

“So, did you have any more questions, or did I cover them all?” He asked, keeping his voice low so he didn’t frighten off anything edible should they chance upon it. He glanced at her again, a feat which required his entire head to turn due to the fact he was still running with his blind side to her.

"Speech"  Thought

(This post was last modified: Jan 15, 2017, 02:59 PM by Tagg.)

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OOC! Out of character comments here

Another good chase would be exactly what she needed to take her mind off of - well whatever she was feeling inside. Her rusty companion reassured her that her nose would be just fine and he gave her a small bump to seal his words. A half chuckle half giggle escape from her and the sound caused her to pause. What was that? She thought a little wide eyed but luckily Tagg had already started off so she hoped he didnt hear her - he most likely did though. Dark limbs started after him and easily caught up. She came up on his left side a little too close as their fur brushed against one another. She didnt care however for she was simply happy. Moon bounded as they ran causing her to drop back just slightly as she jumped around. She wouldn't stay back for long for she would surge forward and start the while cycle over. Tagg needn't worry about her being in the mood for his energy but instead it was the other way around. As she bounded about he asked if she had any other questions. While she didn't want to pry she did have at least one more that burned more than the others. "Where you scared to fight in the war?" he must have been she thought. Fighting in general wasn't her favorite especially for others you didnt necessarily know. So she bounded along listening to his answer.

Her leaps and bounds continued until she caught another scent then she stopped in her tracks. The scent was relatively fresh and strong but the young woman had no idea what it was. Placing her snout to the ground to try to get a better inhale did nothing. No matter how strong the scent was she had no idea what a marmot was. Silver eyes looked up to meet his green one in utter confusion. "What is that?" She asked once more taking a deep breath and searching through her mind for a clue.