Paradise Falls Meeting the Angel

@Marigold

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After being rescued by Finley, the pack leader, Toklo decided that he should try to meet some of the other members of the pack. Putting his nose to the ground, Toklo tried to find a scent trail of one of the other wolves. He could definitely smell the packs scent the strongest: hot stones warmed by the sun and freshly plucked Sequoia needles, but underneath that there was a new smell that smelled absolutely wonderful. Rose petal, the fresh scent of a sunflower and other herbs and flowers were brought to mind when he first smelled this scent trail.

Following it, he was led to a small alcove next to the stream. It was a beautiful sunny winter day, shards of sunlight breaking through the trees in streams illuminating the surrounding area. He studied the area, when he saw the most angelic wolf standing on a rock near the water. She was incredibly gorgeous! Her pale blonde fur almost seemed to radiate light. Her cold silver eyes pierced straight into his soul.

Clearing his throat, he introduced himself, trying to muster up the courage to do so. "H-hello! My names Toklo!" He stammered, clearly blushing. "I'm new to this pack, and was wondering if maybe you could give me a tour of this place? What's your name?"

---

Marigold had broken away the ice and now stood watch, looking for signs of fish. When she wasn't tending to her family and @Flair or checking on either @Ally or Atara, Mar was working. Scouting, patrolling, foraging, hunting. She kept herself constantly busy, strove for sound and dreamless sleep. Did her best not to dwell on any of it, much less the larger picture. Otherwise, anxiety and fear began to creep in.

She heard the crunch of paws in snow and lifted her gaze, finding the visage of their newest member. Toklo, wasn't it?

'H-hello!'

Yep. He appeared to be friendly, social, yet a touch bashful? Marigold gave him a cool smile, happier to deal with this type of personality than one more difficult or threatening. The younger wolf asked for a tour, and normally she might've asked why the leader hadn't done so for him already. With all that @Finley was dealing with, however, it would be understandable if she'd left Toklo to figure out the pack's terrain himself.

"Sure," she answered, leaving the riverside to approach. "I'm Marigold. Anything in particular you'd like to see first?"

---

Thinking of potential places of interest, Toklo came up with an idea. "I was an experienced hunter in my home pack. If you keep food caches in your territory I would love to see them so I can make sure they are filled up. Could you also take me to some of the places that you would consider are prime spots to hunt in? That way I can go straight to work and make sure you, your mate and everyone else here is nice and fed!" He said. Toklo took pride in himself for finding a sly way to boast that he was an impressive hunter, and to ask whether or not that she already had a mate.

Excited to get moving, Toklo started to pace back and forth, tail wagging lazily and got ready to explore the pack's territory.

---

He spoke of work when she had expected him to focus on leisure. The ends of her smile lifted further, showing a hint of warm approval. Familiarizing the newcomer with the pack's territory was productive in itself, but this was even better. Marigold could indeed be of help in this, too, for she had spent plenty of time tracking the local herds and becoming familiar with what bounties were hidden where throughout the forests surrounding them.

Already she had ideas of where to take him first, silver eyes moving across their surroundings as though she could see each place through the redwoods that currently stood between.

'... your mate...'

The words stuck out to her, ears twitching upward with surprise and gaze falling back onto her new packmate. She was certain no one had ever made that assumption about her before, at least not out loud. Was she getting that old? Mar still felt too young for such things, but the thought got stuck in her throat, not making its way out. She was almost four. That wasn't really a valid excuse anymore.

Not that she was ashamed to be single, and she was plenty glad to be childless. But... she did want a partner, even if she didn't let herself focus on such things. There had never been someone who she could fully lean on, even when she was a child.

He was moving in place though, emanating youthfulness and energy, clearly eager for action. Rather than dwell on the small detail, than draw attention to herself and her personal matters, Marigold let it go and continued forward. She motioned with her head for Toklo to follow and took off at a swift trot, expecting him to fall into step with her.

"I've got plenty I can show you for sure, then. We'll map the caches first? Then we can head out to the various hunting grounds. Have you been to the great lake, with the islands?"

---

Following her, Toklo's tail started to wag in excitement. "I haven't actually had a chance to see the lake yet. I guess I was too busy trying to find another pack. Its called the Turtleback lake right?".

It was hard to keep following her in the midst of the random foliage that jutted out from the ground. Marigold elegantly traversed the rocks and branches effortlessly. Toklo started to pant, getting worn out from tripping and stumbling over things. "Geez Marigold you're a quick one!" Toklo said, starting to pant from the excursion. "Have you lived here your whole life? It seems like you know every single nook and cranny!"

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(This post was last modified: Feb 23, 2024, 02:53 AM by Toklo.)

Marigold took notice of how Toklo struggled, slowing when needed without trying to be pointed about the action. Here and there, she'd have to stifle a chuckle, only a soft hum ever making it out into the air. He reminded her of @Micaden, new to everything but so eager to see and do it all. Fearless, in a sense. Something Marigold had never truly been, but was happy to see in others, to know that such normality really was possible.

"It is," she had answered of Turtleback, having learned the name from her father. He had also told her that one of the islands in particular was overrun with possums, a creature Marigold had yet to ever encounter but sounded like something mixed between a bobcat and a raccoon. Not pleasant. The shores, though? Practically an oasis, drawing a myriad of prey to them.

"No," came the second response, smile briefly turning wry as she looked back at Toklo and joked, "just my natural grace."

"What about you, are you from nearby then?"

If he knew of the lake, had he just heard tale, or was the distance from here to his natal pack not all that far? It occurred to her then that he could even have been a member of the Backwater or the Cove.

---

Barking out a laugh, Toklo said in a mocking tone "Okay little miss perfect, but can you dodge this?". He playfully swatted at Marigolds nose, and sped off for a second before tripping over a huge root. He went end over end, landing upside down on an upright tree trunk, a pile of pine needles falling on top of him. "That could have gone better." He thought to himself.

Laughing now, he reoriented himself and shook hard to get rid of the needles. "No, I'm not from here either. I'm from a place far west of here I think. I kind of got lost half way through my journey. Thankfully I found a stream that led me here!" Toklo said.

Recalling the last memory he had about Turtleback lake, he suddenly remembered a story his uncle had told him. "My parents talked all the time of Turtleback Lake. My uncle, Uncle Buckshot, told me about this really weird creature on one of the islands called a poss-hum I think? From what he told me, they sound horrifying. They're monsters that are not dead or alive and want to eat your brains out. They lurk at night when they're hungry, and "pretend" to be dead. When you came up to see if it was alive, it would jump out at you with its razor sharp fangs and try to bite your head off!".

He remembered those nights as a pup, scared as he could ever be. "I don't believe in that kind of stuff anymore, but who knows? Maybe my crazy old coon of an uncle was right?" Toklo said laughing.

Toklo urged Marigold forward, relieved that he was able to get a rest. "Are there any caches near the lake then?" He asked.

---

She saw a dark blur from her peripheral, instinctively ducking her head away. Natural too was the lifting of her hackles and the deep frown that pulled at her dark lips, until she realized what had happened. Blinking after her companion, she was about to take chase when all at once he went from bounding to rolling.

"Wh-" her jaw slackened as he collided with a trunk, flinching at the pain she imagined he must be feeling. Instead, Toklo was laughing. Almost in awe of what she'd just witnessed, Mar's paws finally regained their motion, sending her trotting up to him.

He continued chatting, not a care in the world. Marigold couldn't help but wonder where on earth this wolf had come from that he could be so happy and indomitable. She would have managed to sprain a limb, and even if unscathed, would have been thoroughly humiliated and soured for the rest of the day by the event. Instead, he was lightheartedly relaying stories of family and possums. Marigold wasn't sure if 'impressed' was the right word for how she felt about it all, but it was damned close.

'Are there any caches near the lake then?'

Marigold blinked at him, before leaning in to sniff him over for any harm, just to be sure he wasn't covering up any scrapes or pulled fur.

"No. Are you alright?"

---

Toklo noticed that Marigold wasn't laughing. In fact, if anything, she looked worried and concerned. He cocked his head over in confusion, only to be assaulted with a plethora of sniffs from Marigold to see if he was alright.

Toklo started to laugh as she continued to sniff him over. "He-hey! Stop it! That tickles! Of course I'm alright!" he giggled. He started to back away to force Marigold to stop sniffing him.

"Thank you Marigold for your concern, but it's not like I had a brawl with a bear! Are you the medic in the pack or something? It's like you've never had fun before or something."

He looked at her, appalled that for someone that she had just barely met, she already had concern for his wellbeing.

---

Marigold took a step back, a smile slowly blossoming over her lips as he did indeed seem to be just fine. Though as his words went on, no matter how good-naturedly communicated they were, Toklo poked at some of her insecurities, and once more she was frowning with disapproval. Her most often-displayed expression when she wasn't around her younger siblings.

How many times had other wolves said the same things, but with much crueler intentions? Mar had grown up being told she was bossy, overbearing, prissy, desperate to play mom or nurse by many, including by her own mother who had put her in the situation of needing to be such things in the first place. She'd only ever stepped up because the adults in her life hadn't, and now that she'd found her father she still was having to take care of the ones that were supposed to be taking care of her.

None of that was Toklo's fault though, and she was old enough to recognize that. She didn't treat him with anger, instead taking the words as a challenge.

"I know how to have fun. I just also happen to know how to walk."

She would turn with her nose in the air as though about to display said skill by leaving him behind, but the moment he was back on his paws, Marigold would dodge back toward him, playfully throwing her shoulder into his and then bolting off.

"Tag, you're it, sucker!"

(This post was last modified: Mar 03, 2024, 04:12 AM by Marigold.)