The Wildwood Curious Exploration

The soft bubbling of the creek was the only thing the young black wolf was focused on. Bodies of water, more specifically rivers, were something that always comforted Sylva. The Yearling stepped quietly and confidently as she moved along the creek’s edge. The thick overgrowth that ran into the Wildwoods kept Sylva’s natural curiosity in check. Looking over her shoulder, her soft brown gaze picked up the semi distant fringes of the Ghastly Woods, the place that she had chosen as a home until she could find a better place. It seemed like such an odd and counterproductive idea as the woods literally kept her up at night in fear, but at the same time it was safer than roaming in areas more ideal to live on.

Sylva took a deep breath as her attention returned to the task she had set out to accomplish. Prey, She knew she needed to eat soon, while she still had the energy needed to hunt. Having spent most of her morning wandering through the Ghastly Woods ,but to no avail, hunger had driven the young wolf further on. She currently was following the Heartleaf creek as she kept constantly sniffing the air, following a zigzagging pattern between the creek and the overgrowth hoping to catch some scent of something edible.

Come on girl...we can do this, we need it. She kept saying to herself as she prowled, her black nose twitching constantly as she meandered back and forth along the creek side, suddenly stopping. The faint scent of hare caused the hollow feeling wolf to drool slightly. Ears pricking as she tried desperately to locate the source of the scent. Realizing slowly, that the scent was coming from within the thick overgrowth. Carelessness due to the prospect of a meal caused Sylva to act brashly. Lacking any true training in hunting through such crowded terrain, Sylva ended up alerting the hare as her tail brushed a fern, causing the plant to rustle and sending the white ball of fur bolting.

The ebony wolf snarled aloud in frustration before recklessly charging off after the hare, tearing through briars and thorns in her wild hurdle before skidding to a stop. She found herself within a small clearing, the trees overhead and the brush around her all thick and overgrown, her thoughts of a meal now replaced with a quite fear as she settled down on her haunches, ears pricked, hoping to catch the sound of the bubbling creek.

It was a peaceful day as the young tawny male made his way through the Wildwood. The snow had begun to soften just enough to let on that the beginning of spring was on its way. The tall figure made his way through the ever thickening brush at a comfortable pace. His ears swiveled atop his head picking up the peaceful sounds of this new land. While it didn’t even compete with his home – nor could it ever – he had begun to get use to it. May as well he thought knowing that he and his packmates may not be able to make it home any time soon.
 
A sudden noise pulled Tyne from his thoughts. A white fuzzy blob dashed right by him and with a quick inhale he determined it was a rabbit. Instinctually he darted after it being able to catch it with relative ease. With his prize tucked nicely within his cream jaws he heard a snarl of frustration followed by twigs snapping and brush being stepped on. His cream tipped audits stood erect on his rust colored skull. When the noise stopped he went to investigate. Had someone been chasing this rabbit and lost it? He wondered to himself. If this was the case then he wanted to return the small meal to the original hunter.
 
Treading carefully, for not knowing who the other could possibly be, he came to the edge of a small clearing. To his right a few lengths away was a small wolf with a black and chocolate coat. The wolf appeared to be female and couldn’t be more than barely a year old. Moving a little bit into the clearing so that the young girl could see him, he puts the rabbit down. “Lookin’ for this” he asks with a smile hoping to not scare the apparent frightened girl.
 
“Speech”     Thought

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Brown eyes shot open as a voice spoke, so intent on trying to find the sound of the creek, Sylva hadn’t even heard the other wolf creeping up, well it seemed like creeping to her. Head jerking toward the source of the voice, she blinked as the rust and grey furred wolf stood there. Her eyes narrowed slightly when she recognized the hare clamped within her jaws. She started to growl, but stopping when he spoke, her ears pricking at his words.

‘Looking for this’ that’s what he said right? At least she thought so. Her gaze flicked around the clearing, wondering if this was some kind of elaborate ambush. her body language easily gave away her fear as her tail instinctively fell between her legs and her ears tilted backwards slightly, but only for just a moment.

“Yes..” She said quietly, the fearful pose slowly being replaced with one of a more neutral stance when she realized that he wasn’t going to attack her. her gaze stayed on the hare hungrily for quite a few moments before she returned to studying the wolf. Large, yet slender….much like herself. She stood slowly, her small and slender frame did a great job of showcasing her recent battle with the brush while she had hurtled wildly after the hare, small briers entangled in her fur and a few cuts on her muzzle, though she ignored the dim stinging pain as she tried to figure out what he wanted, and with her very tactical subtly she spoke “Um…...did...did you want...it?”

The girl before him was clearly startled by his sudden appearance. He lowered himself as to come across as no threat and reassure her that he only had good intentions. As she stood he could see that she would need the small meal much more than he. He could also see that she had a run in with something, the brush he assumed by the burrs in her fur. The young female answered yes to his question and proceeded to ask if he wanted it. “Oh no, no you can have it miss. You were the first one to go after it” he told her with a smile. He picks up the limp body of fur in his powerful jaws tenderly and moves slowly towards the girl. The last thing the agouti male wants to do is spook her. He places the rabbit closer to the chocolate wolf and moves back to where he originally entered the clearing.
 
Once back to his original place Tyne lays down on a cool patch of snow. He looks at the youngin’ with curiosity; She seems so young, where could her pack be? He wonders to himself. “So are you from around here miss?” he asks gently not wanting to pressure her into anything she wouldn’t feel comfortable with.
 
“Speech”    Thought

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There is a family of deer nearby. Hunt Opportunity

The young female mentally sighed with relief when the male wolf declined on wanting the hare. Her brown eyes hovered on the hare as she licked her muzzle, though tensing slightly as he came closer, then, as she realized he was just sitting the hare down she relaxed but hadn’t moved to eat. This...doesn't feel right… She sighed but before she could ask anything, she realized he had spoken.

Crap, crap crap, what did he say? How was I? who was I? She was staring at him blankly while mentally berating herself. Am I from around here? That's what he asked! Sylva gave a small yip of excitement at having recalled exactly what the strange wolf had asked, though it may have come across as just a random noise.

“No..I’m not, I came from further north past the cursed woods.” She mumbled the last words with clear discomfort, her tail swaying slightly as she turned her attention to the hare, glancing back at the male she approached the blob of fur and nosing it toward him “Want to share? technically we did catch it together..” She let the words just evaporate as Her gaze focused more directly on Tyne, though his name was unknown to her, she was eager to actually be with another wolf, now that she trusted that this wasn’t an ambush or some form of an attack, she relaxed, her tail wagging lazy behind her in the breeze and her posture more confident but loose.

She was hesitant about the hare and didn’t seem to catch his question immediately. She’s an odd one he thought to himself as he watched her give a small noise before responding to his question. Her yip reminded the agouti male of the youngest sibling of Niq’x and Blitz, Pip. It was believed that Pip was also brought to these strange lands but he and his packmates had been unsuccessful at finding her.
 
It saddened Tyne to see such a young wolf out on her own with no one. Even though he had been forcibly taken from his home at least he had other sea wolves that also ended up here. The girl stated that she was from further north past the cursed woods. Cursed woods her words hit his ears and sent a chill down his spine. Note to self, don’t go further north.
 
When she offered to share the rabbit because technically they caught it together he let out a chuckle. “Well I suppose yer actually not wrong” he responded with a smile. There’s a faint noise off in the forest to his left. A cream tipped audit spins towards it to catch whatever is left of the sound. It sounds like a small family of deer. Tyne had always had a gift for excellent hearing, which allowed his to excel in hunting small prey and locating large prey with a very small scent trail. A quick whiff of the air allowed his coal colored nose to confirm his ear’s suspicions. Looking back at the girl he asks “Have ya ever hunted deer?” he was unsure of her answer due to her young age but he wouldn’t know for sure unless he asked.

“Speech”    Thought

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Black triangle like ears pricking roughly at the same time as the male’s angled away from them. before he spoke, she tilted her head slightly. She heard  something but she wasn’t sure what it had been. Though that question was quickly answered by Tyre. Before she could respond how ever, her stomach chose that moment to betray her and releasing a low rumbling sound at the prospect of a larger meal.

The next action came almost second nature to Sylva from habits she had developed while being alone. “Aw shut up! You’ll give us away.” she hissed...looking down toward her soft chocolate/black furred belly. “We’re eat soon enough.” She shook her head, forgetting Tyre was there for a moment as she went on “I swear, one of these days you're going to be the death of us…”

At that moment in an almost startling coincidental timing, her stomach happened to rumble again. The she wolf rolled her brown eyes before turning her attention back toward Tyre, she shook her head, realizing she had been talking to her self, terrified that she may scare him off she quickly went to answer his question, hoping to push the odd moment away“No..I've only had experience hunting small game..was that the noise? Deer? Think we could take one down?” “ Then suddenly her gaze drifted toward the hare “Hm...maybe we should eat before we try?”

(This post was last modified: Feb 23, 2016, 05:47 AM by Sylva.)

Oula Whitebark
a holy soul in a foreign land

Oula loped at a steady pace through the forest, muscles rippling beneath her silken grey hide as her white toes splayed wide to keep her from sinking into the snow with each step. The newly-fledged leader of Grizzly Hollow had much to contemplate, and the slow turning of the season was starting to make her restless. There was an anticipation, and if she was honest with herself, a nervousness bubbling underneath it all that only managed to seep up into her conscious mind as frustration.

To work out some of her pent up energy she left the borders behind that morning. Her sage eyes scanned the trees ahead while each breath brought in an array of scents to decipher. She was especially vigilant for any of the wolves of the Willows. As tempting as it was to sink her teeth into one, she didn't need to be feeding any feuds and was trying her best to avoid the rivaling pack altogether. The wound she'd received had mostly healed, pale fur beginning to prick its way through the scabbed skin of her neck and thigh.

As she forged onward through the Wildwood the scent of deer caught her attention. She slowed down, elbows folding as she slunk lower to the ground and zagged to angle herself downwind. It was unlikely she could bring one down on her own, but if she could see the condition of the herd and gauge their direction of travel, she could possibly rally the pack to bring one down in the evening. She could just about see the small herd in the distance through the leafless trees, their milling brown bodies stark against the white snow.

The Whitebark woman's muscles stiffened and she stopped in place as she caught the scent of other wolves and rabbit blood. The wolfish musk was nothing like that of the female who she'd fought in the marsh, but she held back. From what she could tell the wolves stood just opposite the herd...

The dark girl’s behavior intrigued the tawny sea wolf. She was talking to her stomach as if it was another wolf. Being drawn from the nearby deer, his ears turned back towards the girl. Tilting he head in curiosity and interest he listened to her speak harshly to her growling tummy. She’s definitely odd he confirmed to himself. Odd wasn’t a bad thing in his book, it made an individual interesting and it gives them spunk. Laughing quietly to himself he listens to her response.
 
The chocolate female stated that she only had experience with small prey. “Small prey huh? We could probably take a weak one if we timed it right” he smiles at her. “Oh uh – my name is Tyne by the way” he says figuring that of they were gonna hunt together they may as well at least know each other’s names. “Hm...maybe we should eat before we try?” Her suggestion came as the agouti male was getting to his feet. “You can eat miss, I’ll go and circle around to see if I can spot any weak links in the heard. I’ll be right back. Keep low and try to be as quiet as possible I'm pretty sure we’re upwind. We wouldn’t want to have the heard catch our scent and get spooked”. With a smile and small nod he turns to go spy on the deer.
 
Circling around Tyne was unaware of the other wolf that had been opposite of him and the young girl when he departed. He uses his acute hearing ability to listen to the heard move peacefully through the forest. Right before getting close enough to get a good look at the deer a strong scent of a pack wolf fills his nostrils. Uh oh he hoped he wasn’t intruding on a pack hunt. That could possibly spell disaster for not only himself but also the young female he had momentarily left. Looking into the forest to his left he sees a silvery figure. He stays as still as possible to see what the other wolf will do and so that he doesn’t spook the deer.
 
“Speech”     Thought

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