Leigh Glen Sickenly sweet

Pilea Ritter had no choice now but to follow her gut. By now, the woman was just wondering as a common stray, hoping for something that would bring her towards her destination. Having lost her little niece's trail for "x amount of time" now, there was little Pilea could hope for but luck to be on her side. But would luck be on her side, if her mission was to hunt down a member of her own family and test her limb from limb? Of course, Pilea was not sure if this is what she would do, didn't know if this was something she could do. Ether way, justice would be served. Typically, the Ritter family was rather close, lawful and respectful to one another even when sometimes they did not like one another. If anything it was pride in their family name which sealed them together like a glue. Pilea's father's outburst against his youngest son was not common, leaving him an odd man out and yet perhaps Pilea too had adopted such aggression. She could always just blame it on her upbringing.

Though it was by no means did Pilea leave her home in Ritter's Ridge because of some daddy issues. What @Larkspur had done to his son was paid back by being outted by his entire family, forced to leave his home and legacy behind him. No, Pi's score to settle was with her little niece, @Parsnip, who in her absent mindedness was the cause of her son's very violent and painful death.

Each step she took further into this new area she became more confident in her decision to move in this direction. The barren landscape she had been walking for so much time now opened up to specious and seemingly endless forestry. After finding herself something to eat and then taking rest within a fallen log, the woman woke in the morning to start all over again. She had been moving along the river here, stopping only when she had found something of interest: Leigh Glen. It was breathtaking here.... The new morning light casting down golden rays onto the flourishing wildflowers and clovers. The calming sound of the waterfall coming off the mountain rocks into the vibrant blue pool below, and the various, beautifully colored butterflies swirling and dancing in the air here as though in celebration.

Pilea snorted. If anything and anywhere was to distract her flighty niece then this would be the place. Though obvious if she had been here she had moved on since then. Her scent was not here. So for the time being, Pilea took it upon herself to sit back and enjoy the view.

Even though summer had arrived, Darkmoon found himself shivering with cold. Lacking a consistent intake of food, he was gradually losing body condition and becoming more wraith-like with each passing month. The recent winter had been particularly hard on him with freezing rains and blisteringly cold nights sapping away at whatever fat stores he had left. Spring had brought some relief with access to eggs and neonates an easier source of food, but as summer drew on and his prey grew older, so it became harder for him to find a meal.

The thundering sound of a waterfall filled the air as Darkmoon trotted through a forest, lacking any real direction except knowing that where there was water, there tended to be other animals. He knew he should head south, that was where it was warmer; but he always seemed to become sidetracked, staying ever in the cold, harsh north. At least it could only become warmer from here - he hoped, anyway.
    Emerging through a thicket of crabapple trees that grabbed and tore at his fur as though they wanted only to keep him back, he found himself in a serene meadow of wildflowers reaching to the edge of a strikingly blue pool of water. He breathed in the scents of the clearing, and was immediately relaxed by the sweet smell of the air. There was another odour mixed in with the others, a musky, animal smell. His eyes quickly spied the grey wolf sitting among the wildflowers, and whatever tranquility he had initially felt left him, only to be replaced by anxiety. If this wolf did not appreciate his presence, there was no way he could fight them off in this state. He probably could not even run fast enough to get away. Given the noise he had made bashing through the trees, there was no way he had snuck in without attracting attention, and he had to think quick.
    Crouching down with his ears back and eyes averted, he inched towards the wolf whining. Maybe this would not be so bad after all; if the wolf was charitable, he might even manage to get some help with his current plight, and at the very least he could get away, no harm done. He usually screwed it all up, though.

@Pilea

(This post was last modified: Jul 11, 2017, 02:58 AM by Darkmoon.)

Moving along the edge of the pool of water, the woman looked for anything that might be appealing to her - maybe some fish she could catch, maybe a ground hit or beaver caught up in the beauty of the landscape here. Pilea would use it to her advantage although had come up short by the time another wolf had come along. Pilea's head quickly shot up at the sound of the other wolf as he came near. She very obviously noticed him before he noticed her, for the moment their eyes met the darker wolf dropped low, ears falling and a whine slipping from his lips as he made his way nearer.

She couldn't help, though did not bother to hide, the wrinkle in her muzzle of dislike. "Get up and quit your whining." She snaps, similar in tone to an evil step mother reprimanding the disliked child of the group. "I've no interest in fighting you." And the way she spoke the word 'you' sounded almost as if he was beneath her, which technically, he was. There was no point in fighting the loner. After all, this was not her territory, she was not protecting a kill it any children nor was it breeding season. Any unneeded fight with a loner was pointless and careless if you wanted to survive on your own. Even the smallest wounds could end up fatal. It was a risk she'd rather not take.

Still, she could hardly blame him for his display. In his state, she felt herself fully capable of forcing him to meet his end. So as a way to prove she was not in the mood for any kind of scuffle, Pilea turned away from him and sat on her fluffy gray rump at the waters edge.

(This post was last modified: Jul 14, 2017, 05:21 PM by Pilea.)

The wolf did not seem particularly impressed with his submissive display, and Darkmoon was taken aback by their response. He would have been irritated by the chiding tone, had he not been confused by the order to stop what he was doing and straighten up. He hesitated for a moment, quiet, trying to work out what to do. Was it a trick? Was it some kind of test? He was being paranoid, but he did not want to take any chances. Still, he decided to stand up in the end, and gave himself a shake to loosen up the tension in his body. He looked at the wolf quizzically as they turned around to face the water, sitting down as though he did not exist. He moved towards them, head held low and walking on his tip-toes just in case.
    Darkmoon was frustrated with the way she was acting, unable to work out why she was doing what she was doing, but knew he really had no place to be angry. Although he was weak, he was stupidly proud, and disliked that he had to put himself in this position beneath her and everyone else he encountered. So as he drew closer to her, he questioned why he was hanging around at all. He had a clear opportunity to get away, and he doubted that she would follow him; she had made that clear. Yet he had hung around, and when he was about a metre away from her stopped and stood where he was. His ears flicked around awkwardly as he wondered what to say or do, still toying the idea of leaving without saying another word - and yet he was curious, and turned to regard her. "Why?" he asked her simply, if a bit curtly, elaborating no further on the question. Not that he wondered why she did not attack him, that did not surprise him too much; but he figured that most wolves would revel in holding power over another. Maybe his perceptions were wrong.

@Pilea

It was silent again, savor the rushing of the water off the falls and the every so often splash of a fish in the pool below. Butterflies still twirled around them and out of the corner of her eye she could see the dark colored loner creeping closer. Just like he was wondering why he had not left yet, Pilea wondered the same thing. She didn't snap at him to leave, however. Maybe he could end up being some sort of use to her.

He spoke again then, only a single word in question. Pilea took a moment as to go about how to answer something that she thought obvious. "...Because I have no reason two." She spoke curtly and matter of factly. A furred brow then lifting, going along with one of her gray ears turning back to fit her expression of some measure of confusion. Maybe he was ignorant? Maybe she needed it further explain. "Life as a loner is hard enough without worrying about wounds to tend to." Perhaps he had never been on his own before to know how deadly even the smallest of wounds could he. As a matter of fact, she had never been a lone wolf until now in these past months after winter's passing. Still, she had been around enough Wars and been in enough fights to know how badly infection can spread.

There is a rabbit's nest nearby. +1 Health

(Did we want to go after that rabbit's nest? Otherwise I'm not sure where this thread will go because they're both as antisocial as each other xD)

Darkmoon's ear flicked back at her answer, in a disappointed show of affirmation. He was not wrong, then; she was not benevolent, only selfish in her desire to keep herself safe and unscathed. Which was fair enough, he knew, but it did nothing to improve his opinion on wolves. He was, after all, only looking out for himself too, and he was failing at doing that much. Still, her tone grated on his nerves, her superior attitude showing through more and more as the initial shock of stumbling upon her was wearing off. "Well," he said, finding it difficult to control his irritation as he spoke, "I know that much." It was an unnecessary statement to make, but he was hungry, tired and cranky, and his temper with paper-thin. He was stupid to test the waters of their peace, but amity was never his strong point. He regarded her out of the corner of his eye, but said nothing further.
    Withdrawing from her, he padded down to the water's edge to break the awkward tension that grew between them. He bent down to take a drink, ears pointed back to pick up any movement from the she-wolf. The smell of a rabbit warren lingered on the air, but Darkmoon did not feel comfortable hunting in the presence of this stranger wolf.

@Pilea

Sounds like a good idea to me. These rogues need some eating.

His patience with her was growing thin, this much was obvious. Though it was the same that went for her, too. His questions which to her were very obvious she found annoying and because of it, her explanation was annoying to him. A bad combination. Though as he lifted up and moved about the landscape, she took the time to turn from the beautiful scenery and study him. He was, as far as she considered it, weaker then her. Perhaps she should fight him after all. If anything, he might have made for a decent meal.

Instead, however, she would scent the rabbit near just as he. She lifts, her nose making work as she slink towards the dark colored wolf into the direction which the rabbit's den was located. Now, if only to seek them out. "Come on Darkwolf," She spoke with the sudden new-found name for him. "Make yourself useful." And without waiting on not to see if he was going to join her, she moves toward, her nose doing the work to scent out the rabbit's warren. She could hear them within there, tiny squeals which she could put to mind as the sound of children. Ah, but where were the parents I wonder? Her head lifts, ears twitching to the sounds of scurrying in the brush. To be honest, she was not used to having to play hunter. She was a warrior after all and when she did hunt she normally was the one at the end game, taking down the prey.

Darkmoon whipped his head around as he heard the she-wolf turn, his whole body primed to run should he need to. He could feel his heart racing in his chest, and his muscles itched with anticipation. However, the stranger's relaxed posture and invitation to follow her made made him relax, and he felt embarrassed by his over-reaction to the situation. He was understandably jumpy, but his pride was invariably hurt. Darkwolf, sure, he thought. He decided it was the closest she was going to get to his true name, and it was not far off either.
    At first he just watched her as she moved off, but he soon followed her, a few paces behind. He could smell that they were approaching the warren, and his tail started to wag eagerly. If they worked together, it would be much easier to catch a rabbit. That is, if she would deign to share their catch with him. She held the power in the partnership, after all. He found an entry to the warren a little further along to where she had stopped, and he bent his nose to sniff at the opening. The air was warm and heavy with the scent of rabbits. The faint sound of squeaking could be heard inside, but he could only catch them hear and there. The inhabitants were either deep inside, or very quiet.
    Darkmoon began excitedly digging at the hole, his instincts grabbing a hold of him and driving his movement. He hoped to either reach a shallow nest inside, or otherwise flush some of the inhabitants out.

@Pilea

(This post was last modified: Sep 12, 2017, 07:31 AM by Darkmoon.)

He sure was a jumpy fellow, this "Darkwolf". She couldn't blame him granted and circumstances. She figured with his paranoid nature, it only proved that she could take him down if she needed to. It forced a certain confidence in her, causing her tail to raise and her head to hold high. She was confident ether way she was getting something to eat. For time time being, however, her focus rest on the idea of getting one of these rabbits.

As her partner in this hunt began digging at the opening of the warren, she remained still next to him. Her eyes scanning the brush out before them for signs of movement. They were in there, she was certain, watching an their children grew closer and closer to their end. Would they sit back and watch as their children were slaughtered or would they attempt to distract the pair of wolves from then den site?

Pilea takes a few steps forward, eyes still trained on the area before them and in a second, a rabbit darts out from the undergrowth. Brown, large and plump, he sprints out to the side, enough to cause Pilea to dart out to the right after him and away from the den and intended. Whether Darkwolf decided to join her in the chase or if he kept to the den was up to him, but ether way her attention was to the man of the house.