Sex: Female She barely ever came down this far anymore. The mountains had become her hunting ground, rich with mid-size prey, all fat and ready for winter. There was no reason to venture down the slopes, and besides, the Edens still filled her with an unwelcome melancholia. But today, something had drawn her down into the cover of the Wildwood – perhaps it was simply the looming clouds, promising heavy snow in the near future. She was quickly coming to regret her decision. For some reason, the willows were veritably crawling with magpies, hopping from branch to branch above her head, causing a right ruckus! Any respectable scavenger would be spending their valuable time scrounging for food, but oh no, not these little bastards. The entire mischief had apparently elected to waste their day pestering the flame-coated wolf, following along above, screeching out insults as she trotted through the underbrush, rapidly growing more and more frustrated. Finally, with her ears ringing from all the noise, she stopped in her tracks, a snarl erupting from deep in her chest. Hackles raised, er head lifted to shout up into the treetops: “Shut the fuck up!” Word count: ”Speech" Thoughts |
She had ventured south back down to the willow trees, but this time with the intent of just taking the day to relax, instead of foraging for herbs like she usually did. The plants she could gather here were not what she was searching or anyway, and with winter soon to come around nothing new would begin to sprout that she could use, so this was a perfect opportunity to have an off day.
However, it seemed as if that just was not meant to be, as it did not take long for a whole host of magpies to emerge and begin squabbling amongst each other. They seemed friendly enough with no intention of swooping down on her, but she kept a wary gaze on each of the birds as they continued to make a ruckus. Perhaps this was a group activity for them, or maybe they just felt like annoying everything else living among the willows. Either way, it made it quite difficult to have a relaxing outing.
Apparently she was not the only one caught up in the squawking event today, evident by the angry shout she heard from somewhere nearby, likely directed at the birds. The magpies near her quietened down for a moment, and Clover thought they would decide to remain silent, but just as quickly they started up again, and she let out a soft laugh, unable to be truly annoyed at them. It was a little funny, at least for now.
Her paws lead her towards where she had heard the shout, quickly coming upon a fiery-hued wolf who was clearly not having a good day, if the angry shout had not been evident enough. "Wonder what's gotten into these birds today?" She said with a light smile, hoping the other female was not too peeved off to have a conversation with her.
| The roar worked, for about as long as it took for her to catch her breath, then the blasted birds started up again, twice as loud. Flair snarled in frustration, snapping her jaws at the closest branch – though it was several lengths out of her reach. The magpies rustled their feathers and cackled in response, clearly amused that they’ve managed to get a reaction out of the fiery shewolf. She would have continued her attempts, and probably added more than a few obscenities to her next shout, had she not been interrupted by the stranger’s appearance. Amber eyes whipped down from the treetop to glare at the white wolf as she spoke, teeth flashing to underline her prickly mood. “My teeth will be getting into their necks if they don’t shut up!” She glanced back up at the birds briefly, giving another snarl, before her attention returned to the stranger, voice clipped as she asked: “What’s it t’ you?” ”Speech" Thoughts |
She was a little hesitant to point out the obvious that the birds were far too high up for either of them to grab any of the squawking beasts, not wanting to fan the flames on the stranger's hostility. "It's not often they cause such an awful ruckus, perhaps something caused it and we could go check it out." Birds were strange creatures, and each species seemed to have their own ways of doing things. "Or maybe they're doing it on purpose?" She added as an afterthought, shrugging her shoulders at the suggestion. It was not uncommon for some birds to annoy a wolf, but to go to this extreme was quite the curious case.
"I'm not sure if we can make them quiet down, so maybe we could go walk somewhere else more... peaceful?" She said after a moment, offering the chance to walk with her somewhere else where they could chat without the birds drowning them out.
| Mixed feelings rushed through Flair as the pale woman shrank away from her aggression: first a cruel satisfaction, that at least someone knew to fear her; immediately followed by remorse. The stranger clearly just wanted to help, even if her overly understanding manner was grating against Flair’s own ire. She closed her eyes for a minute, forcing herself to take a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm the worst of her temper – though it was hard with the birds still screeching and cackling overhead. Finally, with enough composure to keep her voice lowered, though still a disgruntled sneer on her face, she answered: “A’ don’t much care what their reason is! Pesky vermin prob’ly jus’ get their rocks off haunting real hunters!” The fiery woman flashed her teeth at the magpies one more time, to a chorus of seemingly delighted cackling. She snarled one last time, then returned her attention to the pale woman, rolling her eyes as she conceded: “Alright, let’s get out’a here!” ”Speech" Thoughts |
When she conceded and agreed to move somewhere away from the birds Clover wasted no time in motioning with her muzzle for the other woman to follow her, quickly turning on her heels and walking at a slow pace to allow her to catch up, before she would then speed up to a more brisk pace. The birds shrieked and squabbled as she moved away from them, but it seemed they didn't make any attempt to follow, and for that she was thankful. Hopefully some peace and quiet would simmer down the fiery anger that was emanating from the other woman.
"I'm Clover, by the way. I live a bit North of here in a pack," she said, looking over her shoulder, hoping a change in conversation would be enough of a distraction.
| She snorted at the pale woman’s comment, rolling her eyes a little. “They should be,” she muttered, wrinkling her nose again at the cackling birds. But her ire was fading, and as the stranger let the way, Flair followed suit, easily falling in step next to the smaller wolf. Surprisingly, the birds didn’t continue their pursuit through the treetops – whether they were intimidated by the second wolf, or simply grown tired of their taunting game – they seemed content to let the canines wonder out of their reach, leaving the cacophony behind; Finally! Flair felt her shoulders relax, the pent-up tension seeping from her body as she breathed a heavy sigh. Perhaps this sappy shewolf had something right, suggesting they surrender and let the magpies have their win in exchange for some peace and quiet. With a slight shake of her head, she allowed a small smile to creep unto her own lips, looking up as the other spoke. “Oh, y’ with those Brine-water wolves, or whatever they’re called?” She asked, voice now much calmer and showing friendly interest, though it retained its generally brusque nature. “’m Flair,” she added; “A’ live up on th’ mountain.” ”Speech" Thoughts |
A soft laugh slipped from her maw at the woman's comment, her head tipping back slightly with the force of it. Well, she wasn't wrong, per say. "Yes, I'm a part of Dead Empress Backwater along the Heartleaf Creek." Brine-water was an apt description, even if the water was completely fresh with no hints of saltwater. Though she supposed the Valle wolves would be in no way opposed to having some sort of saltwater nearby, given their love of the sea.
Clover's eyes widened as the woman, who she now knew to be Flair, continued to speak, a glimmering look of recognition evident on her face. "You're with the Sanguine Cove wolves then, I presume?" She hadn't come across the fiery woman during her brief stay, but she had been very focused on trying to find Xulia while also doing good on Viorel's promise, so her attention had been very focused at the time. They were a bit of a distance away from the mountain, however, and she wondered at to what Flair was doing all the way down here.
| The laugh surprised her, head turning to look at the ivory woman’s face, thinking she might be mocking her. But the clarification came quickly, a hot flush of embarrassment filling Flair’s cheeks as she realized she was the one who had messed up; At least she has a pretty laugh… Before she had time to focus any more on that thought, the fiery shewolf hurried to answer for herself, feeling only slightly salty that Clover had been able to remember her packs name. “Yeah, y’ presume uh… Correctly.” Her eyes turned down, mentally cringing at the awkwardness of the answer. Hoping to move the conversation along swiftly, she continued: “So were y’ abducted too, or…?” She faintly remembered running into a wolf who’d said something about that last spring, and she’d heard rumors that the Backwater wolves were claiming the same; I guess they can’t all be delusional… Even if it did sound crazy. Perhaps Clover could shed some more light on the story. ”Speech" Thoughts |