Bramble Falls Watership Down

The mountains were behind him now; both a testament to his willpower, and a significant obstacle that he has overcome. With the hills rolling behind him with their rock shelves and deteriorating paths, Evander could breathe a sigh of relief - although he forbade himself the luxury, and kept his wits about him. It would be ignorant to believe that he was safe, with those colossal mounds of rock and Earth now at his backside; because before him, lay a whole new territory to explore. The lands held a mystery to them, but that did not give him the sense of well-being he was hoping for. Yes, they would provide for him a land for conquest, but that was not all a place such as this would hold. Wolves were no doubt harbored within the mountain's great shadow, all of which needing their own attention from the Carrow boy. Some may need swift words, others a swift bite, and he was not quite prepared for it at this point. With his body snaking along the mountain's edge, Evander felt the weariness of his muscles; they had just traversed a number of mountains to get here, and he needed rest. Still, he would not stop - the tenacity with which the canine took to the steppes and plateaus was simply astounding. And now here he was, wandering alongside the bottom of a waterfall.

The water itself was cold and crisp in the air, refreshing in their own way. Evander did not stop to drink from the spring, but he did peer in to the crashing water as it fell from above; lulled in to a sense of wonder as his ears were overwhelmed with the sound. So distracted was the male, that he did not care to look around himself. A common mistake for less competent individuals, and a folly of his own in this moment; he did not take in his surroundings as thoroughly as he was prone to do. There came a rustling in the underbrush not far from his location, but Evander did not hear it; his weariness coupled with the lulling force of the water's roar, stupefied him. This was no way for someone with so much potential to act, though there was no way around it. Perhaps once he got his fill of the glorious sight, Evander would move on - or be stuck there, ready for the unexpected.

(This post was last modified: Aug 26, 2011, 02:33 AM by Evander.)

From the wood, she traveled north still, no idea of how large this forest was and no idea when she would truly emerge from its grip. Oddly enough, she didn't have to travel very long to find a new place, completely with a gorgeous waterfall. At least she assumed it was lovely. For she could certainly hear it. Her ears pressed forward and her steady trot slowed to a crawl, paws dragging across the loam. With her hearing out of commission due to the waterfall, she began to sniff the air, wondering what could be around here. There were traces of pack scent, faint, but evident, and she made a note of that, lip curling as it was stored away.

And another scent. Wolf, clearly. Anais snorted, head tilted to the side as she began to move quickly again, breaking through the line of trees and into open space again. The lovely waterfall was there, and in front of it was the wolf she'd smelled. Her jaw shifted and she moved forward, wondering how careful she wanted to be now. He didn't have any food, as far as she could tell, and he smelled like the mountains. Without realizing it, she'd closed quite a bit of distance between herself and the unknown male, and stopped suddenly, growling audibly at her own drifting thoughts.<b style="color:#bd6778">"speech."

Evander did not understand why the water pulled at him in such a way, rooting him to the spot. Perhaps he was truly exhausted, or had gone mad during his travels? It could have been that the sound of the water slamming in to the pool below, was loud enough to cease all of his racing thoughts; for now, he could surely think of nothing. That is, until the sounds around him began to change. Even with the roar of the falls to cover her crackling voice, Evander was able to hear her - a wolf, far too close for his liking, with a growl ebbing away under the river's rage. His own anger bubbled to the surface, overtaking the once peaceful and compliant demeanor of the red wolf - his own teeth flashing, a growl forming as he looked to the stranger. The female was pale and small, even compared to his own lanky form. The rage he felt was not entirely directed towards her, though the surprise he felt was substantial. Evander was mostly agitated that he had let down his guard, even for this small amount of time - it showed that he was not as skilled as he thought, or he simply let the exhaustion get to him. No, his training had been great, he should have been better than this.

The strange female did not speak, and though she did not attack, the male was cautious. His body was tense now that he was not alone, draining his already meager energy; manipulating the exhaustive emotional state he was in to a further degree. The beast saw no reason to speak to her, and instead chose to move away, taking flight along the fall's edge and down in to the bushes, so that he could push her away to a safer distance. Her original proximity had been unsettling, to say the least. The male caught himself wonder, just what was she doing here? Had she been around the area this whole time? Was he trespassing upon another territory? The scent of the river as it fell from above, proved to make his nose obsolete; he could only smell the crispness of the water, along with a mixture of mud and Earth. Her own scent and any attached, were lost in the confusion. With a deep regret welling within his chest, Evander decided that speech was the best option; despite not being very talkative in his travels, his voice barely cracked as it boomed across the waterfall. "Who are you?"

(This post was last modified: Aug 26, 2011, 02:34 AM by Evander.)

After catching herself foolishly flouncing towards the unfamiliar wolf, she stood still for a few moments, eventually taking a step or two back when he finally turned around. Her jowls twitched slightly, still irritated at herself, but she was having a hard time holding it back, so it was entirely possible that she could have already convinced this wolf that she was angry at him for no reason at all. She cleared her throat, and her head tilted slightly to the side, ears pressing forward listening to the oddly calming sound of the waterfall at the skinny wolf's back. What an awkward situation she'd gotten herself into, with absolutely no real desire to speak at this point, due to her own silly mistakes.

But before she even had a chance to evade conversation and further contact, period, the opposing wolf spoke, and Anais drew herself up with pride, as it should have been. She tried to gauge the volume with which she would have to speak to be heard over the waterfall, and tried to match it to the male's own. Although since he was standing closer to the waterfall, she rose it a notch more. <b style="color:#bd6778">"Anais Nasrin. Who are you?" She offered this male no kindly nod or smile, but merely started her name with a bit of coldness. It wasn't as if this male would know who she was, for she didn't know who he was, and he wasn't dead. <b style="color:#bd6778">"speech."

As badly as the freshly-introduced Anais wished to avoid confrontation, Evander wasn't too different. While he was in need of information about the surrounding territory, the male was also not the most social creature in the valley. The travels he had put his body through, had already taken their toll upon him; his slender form, naturally lanky, lacked a large amount of his previous weight. Still just as strong, despite being a little on the thin side. The female on the other hand, seemed well looked after. Her fur was groomed, her body in toned condition, if a little underweight. He wouldn't know her specifics or anything just by looking at her, but these small moments of observation gave Evander some time to think. She was in good health, but could do better - telling him that his Anais was still a lone wolf.

The male took a step forwards, then looked away from her - directing his body down a small ridge of rocks and greenery, so that he could get farther from the waterfall. His trance had been broken by her inturruption, and now he felt the urge to continue his exploration. It didn't matter that the red wolf was exhausted; he wanted to complete a certain quota of travel today, and gawking at a natural fountain would not accomplish this. Almost rudely, the wolf ignored Anais' question and passed her, not uttering another word. He had no reason to talk to her right now, and had plenty of work to do. It wasn't until he was a sizable distance from her - provided she did not follow - that he turned and commented. "Evander. What do you know of this area?" A little knowledge would be helpful, even if it meant he'd delay his movements for the time being.

I have to end this thread here. :C I decided that I'm going to drop Anais and bring back an older character. So, apologies.

She watched as he began to move away from the waterfall and towards her, but no words came out of his mouth, even after he walked past her. Her yellow eyes widened, mildly offended, but it drifted away quickly. Slowly turning around, she watched him walk away, and scowled, ears perking up as he finally spoke. Evander. Anais let out a mild grunt, and trotted up to up, rolling her shoulders in a shrug. <b style="color:#bd6778">"I've only recently arrived her, so I know there's a forest around here, and a wonderful bed of fireflowers father south. But that's about it. I'm quite interested in seeing more." Looking away from him, she tilted her head back, looking up the mountain side. She would sleep on the mountain tonight and explore more of it when she awoke. <b style="color:#bd6778">"I shall leave you to your own travels, since I'm of no real help." Tilting her head in a polite manner, she turned away from him, and back towards the waterfall, disappearing into a cluster of trees. <b style="color:#bd6778">"speech."