Dead-Drop Escarpment out on the edge

As their journeying had seemed to lead the two of them out of the thickest part of the shrouded, ghastly looking forest, their spirited conversations had come to a temporary close. Instead, as signs of other animal life had started to become more abundant, they had shifted their efforts to focus on attempting to track down the meal he’d been promised. The area around was still heavily forested, with visibility levels, at times, remaining rather poor. But at least it was normal, not all foggy and creepy and shit.

Through the forest, views of the mountains had become more common, the occasional clearing allowing him glimpses at what awaited @Nori eventually. He was still curious as to how things would look from above, too, and if her family were really up there. For the moment, however - his focus was on prey and the forest around them, which, coincidentally appeared to thin out just up ahead. So Jethro opted to continue advancing that way, scanning for tracks, trails, or scents. At first, he did not pay much attention to the slight downward sloping nature of the ground beneath his paws.

At least, not until he stepped around a tree, and then a look forward revealed that the ground just seemed to disappear altogether. Not too far beyond him, it began to angle downward at an angle too steep for him to track without advancing.

Jethro did so, being a lot more careful about where he placed his paws on the loose ground just then. Perhaps a dozen or so more cautious steps brought him to a point where he could see over without standing on the very edge, and he let out a soft breath of astonishment and respect. ”That’s one hell of a fall,” he murmured to himself, suddenly quite glad for the slower pace he and Nori had been taking. It would’ve been entirely too easy to get wrapped up in a hunt and never notice this drop until it was too late, if they had been chasing something in this direction. Jet didn't consider himself one that feared death, but this would've been a nasty way to go.

”Nori? You gotta.. check this out. Be careful,” he called out lowly, glancing back over the path he’d come from. Though they had split up slightly to cover more ground in their search of prey, he didn’t expect her to be too far. Certainly still within range of hearing. He hoped.

(This post was last modified: May 25, 2021, 09:43 PM by Jethro.)

Nori was unbelievably grateful that they were out of the deepest parts of the forest. It was much less dark and dreary out here, where the trees stood further apart and the underbrush didn't constantly catch on her fur. She had become quieter the further in they went, now that there was plenty more space to hunt, should they actually come across something worth their effort. The two had even split off a bit in their search, and she found that she already missed having a companion by her side. The fact that it had been Jethro was was inconsequential, she tried to convince herself.

It was easier to see the mountains now - large and imposing and playing on the anxiety that had its roots deeply implanted in Nori's chest. Was her family there? And if they were, would they even want her around? She wouldn't blame them if they didn't, because honestly, she wasn't the most innocuous of wolves. Perhaps they were her exact opposite in every way, and would turn her away without a second thought. Perhaps they didn't even have room for her there.

She banished the thought from her head, taking a deep, steadying breath. There was no need to panic now – she could save that for the few moments she'd have at the border before they arrived.

The girl had stuck relatively close to Jethro, even though they were out of sight from one another. Close enough to hear, should he call, and certainly close enough that she could call for him. So when she heard her name, followed by what sounded like a be careful, her interest was definitely piqued. She set off in the direction of his voice, her attention off of the ground and instead searching for her dark-furred guide.

“Hey,” she greeted when he emerged into her field of view, still not aware of the sharp drop ahead. In fact, she had intended to flounce around in front of him, hoping to get his attention on her instead of whatever he was looking at. However, her foot knocked some small pebbles loose, and the sound of them falling made her far more aware of the fact that, hey, that was a cliff face they were standing on. She jumped back a little, heart hammering at the thought that she might've been just half a second away from falling to her death there.

Nori peered over the edge, daring to go out just a bit further than Jethro had, and let out a soft huff of air. “Holy shit,” she breathed out, honey eyes round and awestruck. “This is... wow. You almost can't even see it until you're about to go over.” It would've been so easy to just fall right over the edge if you weren't careful. “This is so cool.” Even if she had almost fallen off - she really should've been more careful.

He waited, silently, for a few moments, his gaze flitting between the cliff face he’d found himself on, and back over the forest as he awaited some kind of response from his traveling companion. It did not take very long for the sound of approaching steps to become audible, steadily approaching, prompting the dark one to settle his gaze in that general direction. Surely enough, the other appeared before too long, sauntering along toward him, seemingly blissfully unaware of the incredible drop as she greeted him casually.  

Her attention seemed mostly focused on him, concerning Jethro as he studied her in perhaps the most attentive manner he had yet, prepared to warn her if she moved too far. Thankfully, she didn’t get quite that close. One of her steps managed to jar loose some small stones, that summarily went tumbling over the cliff edge. The period of silence between observing them roll over the edge, and hearing them hit the ground below was short. But he could only imagine the few seconds of sheer terror someone might’ve experienced while falling.

It was a thought that was chilling enough to almost send a literal shiver through him. Upon realizing, Nori dared to venture out a little further than he had, breathing out a surprised holy shit. In spite of the risks evident in such an action, Jethro shifted himself closer to his companion to nearly the point of brushing against her, in the event the ground was unstable and he had to take action to stop her from falling.. or something.

He’d have been more than happy to let some of the assholes from back home fall over, if not push them over himself. But, in spite of how little he tried to convince himself he didn’t care about her, or anyone, this was not a fate he would want to see Nori suffer.

Thankfully, though, the ground seemed stable. Nori subsequently vocalized some of the same observations he had, her words prompting him to take another look over the edge. ”Yeah, it is. Just imagine how it’ll look from way the hell up there. Gonna be a lotta views like this. Better, probably,” he murmured, pointing his nose in the vague direction of the mountains. Would they be able to see this exact spot, he wondered?

As much as he’d liked the forest, maybe the openness of the mountains would suit him better. Presumably, the vantage points would allow him to see strangers approaching from a far greater distance, affording him plenty of time to either prepare a greeting or to get out of the area if he didn't want to deal with anyone. It was an interesting thought.

She was so focused on the cliff's edge that she hardly noticed the dark wolf getting closer to her, presumably to either push her over or keep her from falling – she wasn't sure yet. It wasn't a real concern or anything like that, but the thought did cross her mind that it was possible. But the other thing didn't really make a whole lot of sense, either – how did he plan on catching her if she were to fall? Nori was pretty far from being a small wolf; the two of them weren't too very different in size, actually.

The Koizumi shook her head, vacating the thoughts from her mind. It was a pretty dumb thing to get hung up over, anyway, even though it was a little flattering that he'd try if she did.

“Yeah; I've been up a couple mountains before, but I never did find a cliff quite this steep. I wonder if they've got more of them up there,” she vocalized, cutting her gaze from him back over the edge. It was tall enough to make her stomach swoop uncomfortably, but she didn't feel scared enough to back away. After all, the ground seemed pretty solid, and she liked the thought that her companion wasn't keen on letting her fall, either.

Still, she decided to be a little extra brave, taking the initiative and bumping their shoulders together momentarily. The touch, however brief it was, was the first time she'd actually come into physical contact with another wolf in two months, and it felt... tingly, but not in a bad way. Her eyes glinted mischievously. “I almost fell for you,” she teased lightly, even though she hadn't actually been that close to careening off the cliffside.

And then, as if she hadn't just flirted with the poor boy, she perked up. “Oh, hey, we could use this!” she chirped, eyes widening. “I mean, I'm sure this is a terrible way to die and all, but it would be so much more efficient if we could manage to herd something over the edge here. It'd waste so much less energy on the whole takedown part.” Of course, she'd feel bad for the deer or whatever, but the main goal here was to be quick and conserve as much energy as possible – they'd need it for climbing up the mountainside.

She would need it for climbing, Nori reminded herself. She wasn't even sure if Jethro would want to tag along yet or not – the plan was to ask after they'd eaten, so they could both be in a good mood. Maybe then she'd have a better likelihood of him agreeing.

If he did end up deciding to climb one of the mountains, Jethro was curious as to what the prey situation would be like, up there. If Nori’s family had chosen to settle on a mountain, that had to mean that there were things around to be had. Were there the same sorts of animals that he was used to, or were the mountains home to entirely different, new things? Reason would lead him to conclude that the answer was some combination of the two, but there would only be one way to find out for certain.

Jethro nodded passively at her statements, storing the information away for later reference, should he need it. The logical thing to do, though, if he were to ascend one, would be to go with Nori. Especially since she had already climbed mountains before, and had a fair idea of what to expect. He’d had plenty of time to consider the idea of going with her, to think about what it might be like to meet with her family. If he wanted alliances, that also seemed like a smart thing to do. It meant he’d have to.. put on a more civil face for a while, a thought that sickened him just a little, but that was a trade he was willing to make for the experience and potential gain.

Suddenly, and quite forcefully ripping him from those thoughts, was the unmistakable and shocking sensation of touch. It was something the dark one backed away from instinctively, putting several steps between himself and Nori, eyes snapping to her almost immediately. He was most accustomed to contact with others being associated with pain, and he was prepared to snap at that. Although.. he realized, this had not been that. This had been gentle, brief, and strangely.. not altogether unpleasant. Jethro frowned a little at that, confused.

The expression deepened, his brows arching and eyes widening in bewilderment and surprise at her words. It’d been his idea to approach her in the first place, so he couldn’t be angry. And come to think of it, there probably wasn’t a whole hell of a lot he could’ve done had the ground given away, except die right along with her, so it made sense she might have thought it would turn it into something that was not what he’d intended. Or something like that.

”Yeah, no, I hope not. Wouldn’t wanna see you do that.” He grunted, giving his head a shake just after. This was something he was going to do his best to forget in a hurry. Confused as he had been, Jethro didn’t think he would have thought to use the cliff as a tool in their hunt at that moment, and it was a fucking clever suggestion at that. One he wished he’d made. He didn’t give a shit about how much or little anything else would suffer going over the cliff, and it didn’t seem as if Nori did either, so it was plausible. He nodded approvingly.

”That’s a damn good idea, we could do that.” He agreed, giving his head a small shake to reorient his thoughts back to the task at hand. ”Just need’a make sure we can get down there without dyin’, if we do that..” he tacked on, eyes flitting away from his company for a while, to carefully scan each direction. It would be a waste to chase a deer or something over the edge, only to not be able to get to it, themselves...

Further down, it looked as if the slope adopted a curve that less steep and would provide a safer way down. ”There,” he grunted, pointing his nose in the direction of it.

(This post was last modified: May 24, 2021, 01:27 AM by Jethro.)

Nori's own eyes widened in surprise at his reaction, and her body tensed up, ready to back up or sprint away if he were to lunge at her. Of course, that didn't happen. Still, it didn't stop the phantom feeling of teeth wrapping around her muzzle, sending prickles of shame down her spine, and her ears pressed back to her skull in a momentary lapse of control, insecurity and fear laid bare. But it didn't last long at all, and she shook her head to clear it, ignoring the fact that her skin still burned with embarrassment. Still, she plastered a small smile on her face, entirely plastic but hopefully at least a little reassuring.

"Sorry! I should've asked if you were okay with that first," she amended, voice cracking just a bit and heart still hammering in her chest at the unexpectedness of the reaction. And it wasn't even as though he'd snapped at her, but he'd moved back so quickly, and he looked so shocked and maybe even offended. Mentally, she made a note of Do Not Touch, but she wondered when the shame would abate. "It wasn't even a funny joke. My bad." It was a genuine apology - she hadn't meant to startle him like that.

At least he seemed to think her idea was good, and she did her best to seem unaffected by the reaction he'd had to her previous nudge. There was a strange sort of detachment she felt between her actions and the roots of insecurity she found digging their way up through what felt like her ribcage and into her lungs. "Well, of course it's a good idea," she stated, even if she wasn't as sure of herself as she had been twenty seconds ago. Her voice didn't sound right to her own ears, but maybe that was just because she felt so nervous now.

Her ears perked back up when he mentioned the whole getting down part, and to be honest, she hadn't thought of that before. "Look at that," she chirped, taking a deep breath and mentally stomping down on the awkwardness that'd crept into the conversation. "Between the two of us, we might actually end up making this work. I actually think I saw some deer tracks back before you called me over, so I can go back and see if I can sniff something out," the girl offered, trying to think up a game plan. "Then, I can chase it back over here and you can startle it over the side? Or you can come with me and we can herd it together. What do you think?"

In an uncharacteristic turn of events, Nori appeared quite taken aback by his sudden movement away. Her countenance showing for a brief moment, shock and distress to nearly the same level his had been initially. It was quick to fade, replaced by a small smile, an expression that had been most typical of her so far. But even Jethro, horrible at understanding emotions as he was, pretty sure it was fake. Or at least, partially. In all of their time spent together to this point, though, the dark one did not think either of them had apologized to the other for anything said, and meant it.

Nori did just that, her voice lacking it’s usual note of confidence and banter. She claimed it wasn’t even funny, now, the apology sounding sincere as she issued it. Strangely, Jethro found himself feeling just a little bit bad for her, too. In retrospect, he realized he did not like seeing his companion behave this way, did not like that he’d startled her. Which was unusual, given he usually couldn’t be bothered to consider such things. Why did that feeling manifest itself now, of all times?

”S’all right,” he murmured, with a loose shrug of his shoulders. The area she’d touched still tingled slightly, and the dark one was desperate to put the awkward situation and strange feelings behind them as quickly as possible. ”Shouldn’t have gotten so close to ya, it’s my fault, too.” He added on quietly, not quite able to bring himself to look into her eyes at that. But the statement was genuine - he bore some responsibility for it, too. He’d make a note not to get so close to anyone, again.

Thankfully, Nori also seemed willing to depart from the subject as soon as possible, commenting instead on their hunt. It was a good idea, she credited herself, but went on to proclaim that the two of them together might be able to make it work. ”Yeah. Not bad,” he agreed slowly, in truth somewhat surprised at how well this arrangement had worked so far. Most interestingly, though, she also stated that she’d seen some tracks, a proclamation that had Jethro’s ears pricking to attention. Nori said that she could go track it down, but left it up to him as to how he wanted to aid her.

Sucking in a contemplative breath, Jethro looked back towards the way they came. ”I think.. it’d be better if we worked together, initially, to herd it this way. We.. probably ought to mark this place too, though, so we know when we’re gettin’ close. Don’t wanna go running over the edge, ourselves.” As suddenly as the drop came on, and as similar as the terrain looked, it worried him that one - or both - of them might lose track of exactly where they were. Better to leave some kind of marking as a forewarning, he thought.

Oh. Maybe she hadn't ruined everything. Nori watched him carefully, brows drawn up ever so slightly as he spoke. She relaxed a bit, relieved that it seemed as though they both felt remorse for the situation. Even if she had been the one to bridge the gap, maybe it wasn't enough to damage their partnership - especially now that they were about to have to genuinely trust one another in a hunt.

"I don't mind being close," she reassured, even if she herself was not one of those touchy-feely wolves. A light shoulder bump was about as far as she went in terms of affection - neither of her parents were physically affectionate, so it wasn't like it was common where she was from. "So you didn't do anything wrong. It was my bad," the girl repeated, wanting to ensure that he at least knew that she was the one who'd fucked up. At least not permanently, it seemed, for which she was grateful.

Honestly, she'd almost forgotten about the tracks she'd spotted moments before Jethro had called her to look at the cliff, but now that she remembered, her stomach let out a low growl, signaling its hunger. It'd been days since her last meal, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't ready to stuff her face.

Nori hummed in thought, trying to figure out what to do to mark off the area. Her eyes landed on a nearby tree and she perked up, trotting over to rise up on her hind legs and use her forepaws to scratch a portion of the bark off. The sap leaking out from the shallow gauges smelled strongly of pine, as well, so hopefully it would serve as both a visual and scent marker to slow down and avoid the cliff.

"That should work, I think," she announced, before jerking her head in a gesture for him to follow. The tracks weren't far off, and certainly weren't old, so she hushed as they approached the area. It was a set of deer tracks - three, actually, she thought. She checked over her shoulder now and then to ensure that Jethro was following, but remained quiet, her pawsteps light and careful to avoid stepping on anything that could make a sound. The deer couldn't be far off, and she perked up a bit as their scent hit her nose. Another couple dozen steps and the tiny herd was within eyesight.

The young wolf stopped, waiting on Jethro to pick a target and let her know when she should break up the little group.

Of course Nori did not mind touch. Jethro could only be left to assume - somewhat resentfully at that - it was something most others grew up with as a common thing in their lives. Miss Bright Light was probably not an exception to that rule. He could imagine with a name like that, her parents had probably doted upon her quite a lot, spoiling her with love and affection.

With such a realization in mind, things seemed to make more sense, though it was still.. slightly baffling that she would still insist the brief contact was entirely her fault. He couldn’t say he had ever been in a situation where he hadn’t been blamed at all for something, but if she wanted to claim that, he wasn’t going to argue the point. Rather than debate the situation any longer, he simply issued a small nod, content to let it be at that.

She continued to impress, however, mimicking the tactic he’d used to navigate the ghastly forest here to similarly mark the boundaries of this cliff face. The fresh scent of pine sap was potent, so Jethro took a moment to bound to a tree a little further down, to do the same, adding a second mark and even greater concentration of the scent. Just in case. It was a solution he believed he should’ve thought of, if this whole situation had caused him to lose his damned senses. He shook his head vigorously in a bid to flush any odd emotions out, and focus completely on the hunt.

Nori gestured for him to follow when he looked back, and so he did, quieting his steps. The two of them were aided in that department, by the relatively soft and muggy forest floor beneath their paws, which was saturated further from the recent rains they had sheltered from in that forest. Something that helped them move quietly, but that they’d have to be cautious of when it came to the chasing part. Thankfully, the herd of deer were also easy to track in such conditions, and Jethro was able to scent them far before they came into view.

When at last they were visible, Jethro quietly aligned his body behind the nearest tree he could find, craning his head around it so that only a small portion of his body would be visible while he studied them. A small herd of female white-tails, none of them appeared especially old or sick, based on both sights and scents. Studying their movements, though, seemed to reveal something. One appeared to.. perhaps, slightly favor a rear limb, therefore denoting it as the target.

Although he disliked having to do so, Jethro turned his attention to his companion again, leaning close to her to keep his words as soft as possible. ”Middle one, bad limb,” he breathed nearly silently, gesturing with his nose to the afflicted individual. ”Keep moving around. Get them between you, me, and the ledge?” He questioned, a very slight tilt to his head accompanying the words, making sure his company agreed to the proposal.

It seemed most sensible to set their angles of approach to both flank the deer, and close in from the side opposite that which the ledge was on, to reduce the likelihood of the target deciding to flee in a different direction. While a third party would’ve likely all but guaranteed success, he still felt pretty good about their chances with just two, as long as they played their angles and parts correct. Now, it was time to see if Nori was as swift, stealthy, and nimble on her paws as she claimed back in that forest. And to see if he was capable of the same.

Thankfully, the subject seemed to be dropped, and Nori wasn't going to complain. In fact, the two of them fell into complete silence, which was ideal for hunting anyway. He seemed to like her pine sap scratching idea, which caused the girl to preen just a bit. She found that she preferred when he thought she was smart rather than when he admitted she was pretty, but both were pretty great, she had to admit.

The prey was easy to track in the muddy earth, which was a blessing. Her own eyes sought out weakness in the three deer, studying and squinting. They didn't smell hurt or sick - disappointing, but still doable, especially if they were just going to chase them over the cliff instead of taking them down physically.

Anticipation thrummed in her veins, and a grin began to play on her maw. Hunting was fun, as much work as it was to do so. But it was what Nori was good at, her body built for a combination of speed and power that made a great hunter but a lackluster guardian, as she certainly couldn't take as much damage as she could dish out. It would definitely be a bad idea for her to go after anything much bigger than a deer, and especially not by herself. Jethro's body would, if she had a good gauge on his physique, make up for the defense that she lacked, as well as add far more power.

The question would be if he could keep up with her.

Sure, her shoulder had ached that morning, but the warmth from the day and the briskness of their walk had loosened it back up, and she felt confident enough in a quick sprint from here to the cliff's edge. It might irritate it a bit, but hey - what can you do? Nori was certainly not one to go back on her word.

Nori gave a soft hum of acknowledgement, her attention fully locked on the deer. The middle one was indeed favoring her right hind leg, and the girl couldn't help but relate. But this would be dinner, and she certainly didn't feel bad for the deer. She nodded her head once, agreeing with Jethro's idea. Circling them would be the logical first step.

She slowly began to creep to her right, eyes switching from glancing at her paws, ensuring that she wouldn't step on anything crunchy, back to the deer that they'd targeted, and then momentarily flickering over to where Jet's shadowy form slunk through the trees on the other side of the deer. The soft ground made for an easy go of it in terms of stealth, so she found herself on the other side of the prey without incident.

Her attention flickered back over to Jethro again, waiting for him to get to where he needed to be, and she gave it a few more seconds before she began to creep out from her hiding spot. It was a little nerve-wracking, but she wanted to get as close as possible to the deer before she spooked them. She got a few meters out before one of the deer - not the one they were targeting - flicked an ear at her, so Nori launched forward. Fortunately, all three spooked in the same direction: toward the cliff. Still, the only one she focused directly on was the one who had a slight limp to her gait. It wasn't too very hard to keep up with her, but she was exerting more energy than she wanted, so Nori took the opportunity to nip at her injured hind leg in an attempt to slow her down. It'd be best to not approach the cliff at high speeds, of course.