Sacred Grove Complete Opposites

Blind date RE for @Khalon
Backdating to 2/10 if alright with you due to pending ooc join thread

The instinctual desire to survive fueled every step that kept pushing Koko to venture further from the openness of the meadow and what felt like the last remnants of happiness she'd ever experience. She couldn't recall winter being so harsh in years prior, but then again this year served as her first; and hopefully not her last one alive, striking out on her own. Lessons were being learned and her rose colored world was starting to look less and less colorful by the day.

Haggard limbs slowly trudged their way through the thinning layers of snow, thankful the thick line of trees seemed to make it harder for the snow to penetrate the equally thick canopy above and collect on the ground below. A glance up ahead, though, revealed a small preview through a break in the leaves of the looming mountain that would serve as her next daunting challenge. Did she really need to climb that? The thought alone had her shivering in place and unceremoniously plopping her rump on the ground in momentary defeat.

Perhaps this was as good a place as any to take a break before daring to take on what certainly screamed death wish.

(This post was last modified: Feb 16, 2024, 02:35 AM by Kokonoe.)

from charming to alarming in seconds

Khalon had been spoiled so far in life. The worst thing that he had ever faced was the smoke of last summer and even that had had minimal impact on him. Now his Ma was injured but she would survive, not the biggest hardship that had ever happened. Really, he had been very sheltered. Not that he saw it that way, with a bully of a sister who bit first and barked second and a pack that half the time was just moping around. And worst of all, boredom.

He never dwelled on where his next meal would come from, or if he would have a warm place to sleep, or what would happen if he caught a cold or some other bug or injury. When he left the territory like he had done today, it was for a fun adventure, not to look for food or shelter or company. But, at least for the latter, it appeared that he had found some when he came across a lone woman shivering in the snow.

Following her gaze up to the mountain, he looked at it for a second before turning back to the stranger, ”I wouldn’t go up there if I were you. The pack up there is real nasty.” He had only a vague grasp on what had happened to his cousin Sephrina, but he knew that the Empress wolves blamed the Cove and a kid his age had wound up dead. Nothing friendly about that.

The crunch of snow underfoot as a stranger made his approach had gone unnoticed by Koko, lost in her thoughts while staring hopelessly upon the looming mountain range until the silence was shattered by a voice. As swift as malnourished limbs would allow the chocolate female was back onto her paws to whirl around in a small spray of kicked up snow. Icy blue eyes settled on a pair of gold nestled within a tawny mask, confusion causing her pale brows to knit together. "Geeze kid, 'bout gave me a heart attack." She wasn't sure what surprised her most. The way he snuck up on her or how freely someone so young spoke so ill sounding of a pack she now learned to dwell on the mountaintop. Interesting.

For a moment she let silence linger after his statement, shifting her gaze back to that of the mountain then ending on the tawny child that couldn't be no more than year old tops to pose a question. "How do you know this?" It was a genuinely asked question since Kokonoe knew next to nothing about these lands other than the meadow made for a nice place to romp around, but even then it did little to alleviate the harshness of winter by providing her with shelter or a steady supply of food. Her gradually thinning frame was proof to such. If this kid knew some things it couldn't hurt to ask. Especially if there was a group of wolves it was wise to avoid.

from charming to alarming in seconds

The tawny child let out an amused snort when he saw how much he had surprised the stranger. He didn’t think it was very smart of her to be out here all alone if she wasn’t going to be paying attention to her surroundings. He gave an apologetic shrug but didn’t say anything about her almost heart attack. Then she looked back to the mountain and he followed her gaze. It seemed large, bold, dangerous, and somewhat inviting. He would never go after what happened to his cousin but sometimes at night he dreamed he had gone up there and conquered and became something of a king.

Looking back at the woman who now asked how he knew, the lie was quick, ”Oh, everybody knows it, that’s why they’re the only ones up there.” But, he knew the best lies were always mixed in with a bit of honesty so he added, ”They’re cub killers, killed one of my cousins last winter.” He waited now, anticipating what her reaction would be to what he considered a grand reveal. Would she still go up there, for whatever reason she had been staring at it? Had his semi-truth been enough to sway her in the way he wanted?

He had no real stake in this game, but it brought him a small thrill every time he was able to convince someone to do something he wanted. Even if it was just sowing the seeds of doubt.