Wild Cherry Orchard pretend i never picked up a pen

For @Bellavinne only.

Belly finally full, Woya moved on, continuing North as she planned to circumvent the mountain range altogether. She wasn't a wolf that often put in more effort than necessary, and having not experienced altitudes that high before, now wasn't the time for trying new things. Besides, what were the odds that Hudson was actually up there somewhere? Zilch, in her mind.

The scenery changed once again, this time into a natural orchard of sorts. It was hard for her to tell, given that everything was dead and coated in white and gray. She approached a particularly funky tree, the ice and snow that covered it forming a sort of shell over the whole thing. She ducked under, and looked up; tucked next to the trunk of the tree, it was like sitting in an igloo. Woya smiled. Nice.

(This post was last modified: Feb 02, 2021, 08:14 PM by Woya.)

Vinnie didn't like when Neo was out; she didn't like it one bit. But she was tired of walking all day every day and thought it would be a good idea to keep an eye around the orchard just in case somebody he was looking for came 'round while he was in the flatter lands. If someone unsavory showed up - like a member of the Sevak family - he was only a howl away, and Vinnie could run fast enough to escape long enough for @Neo to get there.

She'd privately started referring to him as her knight, but she was too embarrassed to tell him that.

Having caught a small rabbit, Vinnie headed back to the larger tree she and her companion were sheltering at and settled down next to it to enjoy her meal. It wasn't much, but she'd save half of it for Neo when he got back.

It took her nose a moment to clear the smell of blood and notice another wolf had been about recently. Very recently. Cautiously, Vinnie stood back up and sniffed, relieved to find it wasn't someone she knew. "Hello?" she called timidly. "Um, Nia? Or someone? My name is Vinnie, I'm travelling with Neo," she said, hoping whoever this was would recognize the name.

Woya took her time marveling; the moon and stars' light brightened the white land below and filtered through the icy coating, making it sparkle. It was beautiful, and something she didn't get to see much less enjoy often. A voice interrupted the spell, stealing her attention entirely. There's a lot of wolves 'round here... she thought to herself. It had been so long since she'd seen another, and now this was her third run-in in less days.

Hopefully... that meant she was more likely to find someone who knew something about Hudson.

Woya settled low, pale coat blending well against the powder and the shadows it was painted with. She peered out, trying to spot whoever it was that was calling out. The names they mentioned rung zero bells, but the more the connections the better for all her intents and purposes.

Still, there was one thing Woya couldn't resist trying first...

"Hello," she let out in a quick, raspy whisper that the wind would hopefully whip to and not from the other wolf. Eyes narrowed to try and limit any light that may reflect off of them and give her away, Woya remained in hiding and waited to see if the bait would be taken.

(This post was last modified: Feb 03, 2021, 09:16 PM by Woya.)

Vinnie sat silently, hoping someone would come out of the trees and announce they were Nia and their search was over. Her hope was in vain, and Vinnie was getting ready to settle back down with her rabbit when a raspy 'hello' came from seemingly nowhere. She was instantly on her feet, fur bristling as she stood stock-still and strained her ears, trying to figure out if she'd actually heard someone speak or if it was the wind.

When nothing else came and Vinnie's heart was starting to slow down a smidge, she thought about turning tail and running until she found Neo and brought him back to see. But that would take time and what if his sister was here now? She needed to be braver if she was going to prove that she could be useful. So, taking a deep breath and swallowing, Vinnie forced her stiff legs to move. Step by painful step she began a slow circle of the tree, examining the roots and sniffing for any further sign of a wolf. Her heart pounded in her ears and her breath came in shallow gasps, but she was looking. That was a step forward, right?

There. Woya's honey eyes locked onto the other wolf's gray form, revealed against the winter backdrop by the jarring movement the Macieo's little prank had caused. She gritted her teeth to avoid snickering, not ready yet to give herself away. Her tail tried to wag, and struck the cherry tree's thin trunk, causing the whole thing to shake briskly. Woya froze. Whoops.

She gave herself only a second or two of deliberation on what her next move should be; try to stay hidden until she was found, or come out on her own terms. Deciding on the later, she let impulse guide her.

Woya burst out from under the tree's icy cover, sliding under the hanging sickles and kicking up a powder cloud of snow. She slipped and slid onto her back, legs kicking out dramatically as she growled like a monster in some corny parent's campfire story. If one had enough understanding and perception, they'd see in her little display that she really was trying to be more funny than cruel.

(This post was last modified: Feb 08, 2021, 12:41 AM by Woya.)

Vinnie's only warning was a soft thump. She was still trying to figure out where it came from and what it might be when snow suddenly exploded from around the roots of the tree, white powder flying into the air as a tangle of flailing limbs skidding out with a growl. Vinnie shrieked and leapt back sever paces, very nearly wetting herself. By some miracle, she managed to hold onto her bladder.

Within moments it became clear the thing was actually another wolf, similar in color to herself. The other girl was laying on her back, kicking the air as she rumbled. Vinnie stood frozen, fur on end, staring at the stranger and trying to decide if she should run or not. It seemed an odd way to initiate an attack, rather than waiting for Vinnie to get closer. Plus she was on her back. Vinnie knew very little about fighting, but what she did know was that you never ever showed your belly unless you were submitting.

Vinnie gulped. This wasn't a wolf of the Sevak family; that much she knew. She made the decision to stay, to at least see who this was before taking off. She forced herself to relax, warily eyeing the odd woman before her.

There was the reaction she wanted. Woya's faux-snarling muzzle twisted further into something like a grin, giggles pushing their way from her chest out into the chilled air in between drawled 'grawrarwara's. The woman was always half-ready to bolt, priming earned from her own instigative personality, but even after she scared the fleas off the other wolf, they didn't show any signs of aggression or desire for retribution.

In fact, she just froze and stared. Woya's antics wound down as they failed to illicit any new reactions; eventually ceasing altogether. A frown pressed her lips downward, brows angling in the same direction as though the stranger were somehow being rude.

"... what?" She asked, flipping onto her stomach and glaring defiantly at the gray wolf.

Vinnie hadn't expected the other wolf to stay on her back, but the sudden flip to her stomach still made her jump back a step. The woman almost seemed offended, though why she would be Vinnie couldn't fathom. She hadn't attacked her, had she? And she hadn't run away. Maybe she had been inviting Vinnie to play? But Vinnie hadn't played since she was very small, and wasn't sure how to interpret this.

"U-um, hi," Vinnie finally said, voice shakier than she would have liked. She was sure she reeked of fear by now, which usually invited trouble, but she was trying to be brave. Just standing here wasn't brave. "I'm V-V-Vinnie. A-are you from here?" she asked, trying to be friendly. If the strange woman that flailed about in the snow wasn't aggressive towards her now, what good would it be to be rude and invite that kind of trouble?

Woya's left brow hiked upward as her victim stuttered out an introduction, attempting to be friendly despite her clear desire to not be here after the Macieo woman's 'prank.' Weird. Woya pushed herself up off her stomach, sitting up as though ready for conversation. As usual, however, even she did not know what her next move would be moment to moment, much less whether she'd be sticking around at all to hear whatever this other wolf might have to say.

"Nope," she answered with a sniff, purposefully choosing to leave her own name off her tongue, since Vinnie didn't explicitly ask. After all, Woya couldn't help but wonder just how far this girl would allow herself to be pushed before actually doing something about it.

She stared hard for a moment then, refusing do any legwork in keeping the conversation going. However... despite her cruel curiosities, even Woya couldn't remain completely numb to the younger wolf's obvious discomfort. Watching her, seeing the shiver in her bones and the anxiety in her eyes, the star-dusted Macieo buckled, just a tiny bit.

"... I'm just here looking for someone. What about you?"

(This post was last modified: Mar 11, 2021, 04:39 PM by Woya.)

Vinnie really wished Neo was here; then maybe she wouldn't be so scared. He'd promised to protect her, after all. But he wasn't here and this woman wasn't threatening her - yet - so Vinnie continued to gulp down air and force herself to relax. The other woman was certainly not as friendly as Neo and Andrey had been, but her gruff attitude was still better than attack, right?

Right.

Somewhat annoyed the other wolf hadn't offered her name in return, some of Vinnie's remaining trepidation bled away. She was still ready to run at a moment's notice, but she was no longer shaking. "I- I mean, we, I'm with Neo - are looking for his sister, Nia. Do you know her?" After a moment's thought she added, "Who are you looking for?"