Fireweed Rise And I don't stand a chance

Its the 1st here and the AC has run so I hope I'm not jumping the gun. This should be set around the 3rd but I live under toddler mountain so if it has to be the 1st thats ok too. All Welcome :)
Current muse-ik

I try to fight it but I'm powerless, I'm no match for what I'm up against

Earlier in the day she sought out @Elettra to let her know she would be gone for a few days and to request her assistance in keeping the other females in line. She had informed @Skoll days ago and could only hope her brother and the other subordinate males would keep her uncle on his toes long enough that her litter would be the only ones bought up under the Willows this time around. Regardless, with her dominion over the female ranks it should surely be easy enough to turf any woman stupid enough to fall for @Nicolò's bullshit out on her ass. She was still in two minds about @Hecate but who was she to make promises one way or another? She had never been pregnant before, who knew how her moods would fare.

The slow building burn had started to build almost two days ago now, so hastily she chose to retreat to the south. It was true these lands were frequented by Ridge wolves and it would not be unexpected for her to encounter any number of her pack mates here, but that surety bought with it a degree of protection. If she ran into to trouble they were only a howl away.

Turning her nose to the west she set out with a purposeful stride. The window of opportunity was a small one. It was now or never.

Spring was one of Kjell’s most favorite times. The sun was stronger, the days were longer – summer was on its way! But perhaps most importantly, this strange hang time between the winter’s last tendrils and the first blossoms of spring was not the shift in weather, but the effect it had on the ladies. Any and all of them suddenly found themselves much more inclined towards male company, and the month-long flurry of hormones was not something the rabble-rouser was about to miss.

This, he thought, was certainly one of the benefits to being a lone wolf. There was no leading male to tell him no.

His appearance in the Fireweed Rise was not entirely driven by his own spring crazies, however, but a much more generic need to eat. The den near the lagoon was nice and all, but one got tired of the same old prey after a while. With the weather warmer and the skies clear, Kjell decided it was high time to take a little tour around the south of Relic Lore. A snowshoe hare who’d started its molt too soon made an easy target, and the male had finished his meal and cleaned himself up when another wolf arrived. He’d just been about to turn back to the northeast, but that smell.

It was a female. On her own. Blessed opportunity!

Throwing a quick thought of thanks to the Mother he didn’t really believe in, the swarthy male changed direction, loping easily towards the epicenter of the stranger’s scent. Once a few lengths away he halted, offering a chuff to alert the woman of his presence. “Hey there, beautiful~,” he called, his tail wiggling above his back. He meant no harm.

@Kjell :o

I try to fight it but I'm powerless, I'm no match for what I'm up against

The chuff was unexpected, so absorbed in her own dark thoughts she had been. Instinctively Morganna's tail arched over her back and her limbs locked as eyes swung to meet the stranger so close to her hunting grounds. While loners were usually left to their own devices, the mountain packs incursion was still fresh in her mind and with the wind against her, she couldn't gather enough scent from this distance to be sure. Lips pulled back from teeth, tongue lashing over her nose to try and get a better taste of the air but her own stink was almost overwhelming.

A low growl of frustration built in her chest as his overly cheerful demeanour rubbed her all the wrong ways. Oh to be so carefree. His compliment was wasted on her, Did Nicolo set this up?

"Whatderyer want?" she snapped with a huff, throwing caution to the wind and stepping closer to the stranger. She was still close enough to the Willows to trust a pack mate was near if needed, and it made her a little reckless. Finally realising the wolf before her was a loner she relaxed a little, her head lowering just a fraction, her tail resting level with her spine, watching with narrowed eyes as she waited for an answer. What did he want?

What did he want?

Wasn’t it obvious?

The heavy drawl gave Kjell pause, and for a brief moment, his brother came to mind.  Ah, but the man was a runt, a weakling, and nothing like the fine specimen of healthy female standing before him.  She reeked of the heat scent, but underneath that was the smell of other wolves.  Of pack, he had to assume, because a wolf with a mate wouldn’t be advertising herself like this.  (Or maybe she would be, a secondary thought whispered in the back of his mind.  Maybe she didn’t care.  Or maybe she simply wouldn’t be ruled.)

Whatever the reason was, he didn’t care over much.

His tail gave a friendly wiggle, silently insisting he meant no harm.  Not to her, not to the pack she’d come from.  “Wanted t’ say hullo,” he replied, voice husky.  Kjell crept closer, until they were only a few lengths apart. “Not every day I run across a pretty lady, y’know?  Be a fool not t’ see it.  Y’lookin’ for something, out here?”

(This post was last modified: Mar 03, 2016, 02:07 AM by Kjell.)

@Kjell

I try to fight it but I'm powerless, I'm no match for what I'm up against

Eyes narrowed with suspicion. Morganna was yet to encounter such a shameless flatterer in her life and wasn't certain if she should let it boost her already oversized ego, or if one of @Skoll's fish heads was about drop out of the sky landing squarely on her head. Eyes darted upwards to make sure she hadn't strayed under a lone tree on the rise, but of course she hadn't. A more naive wolf might have taken his words at face value but it was just too... convenient.

"Hello?" her own response surprised her, an annoyed snort fast to follow it. He was getting closer but she didn't move to lash out or run him off. Suddenly he seemed a whole lot more harmless than he had before, a pest perhaps - but not a threat.

She was taken aback a little, beautiful, pretty... she had never considered herself in such a way before, adequate and functional more often coming to mind when she regarded herself. A practical creature at her core and far from vain, what did this man know of her beyond her outward appearance? She could be a horrible person, a terrible leader - a layabout drag on her pack, a murderous monster...

A sharp toothed grin replaced the sour look on her face when he asked if she was looking for something out here, a mischievous glint sneaking into her eyes as she weighed up her options. "Lunch." The word as much warning as she would offer, the wave of her tail almost missed as she lunged closer with a snap of her teeth before pulling away. Would he play this game with her?

The sharp-toothed leer was matched with a smug grin of his own, one corner of his mouth curling upwards as she assessed the male in turn. No, she knew as much about him as he did about her, and he was just fine with that. A little mystery could go a long way. So he puffed his chest and arched his head – though of generally average height and weight for a timber wolf, Kjell liked to think himself a remarkable specimen of lone wolf. He had kept a reasonable weight all winter, wasn’t infested with parasites (Mother, how disgusting), and his coat even had a handsome shine to it.

So she snapped, and he didn’t flinch – hah! His own mother was more aggressive than that!

Teeth clicked as he offered a toothy grin, something a little wild in those sunset orange eyes. “Lunch, huh? You want help with that?” he asked, voice gravelly. Be it a meal or, you know, a meal, he was quite willing to assist with either problem. He was a hunter of Widow’s Peak, but much more importantly, he was a very charming gentleman, and that could go a long way.

“’cos for you, princess, I got th’ time.”

There is a moose carcass that has been scavenged by coyotes nearby. +15 Health

Sorry for this blob of disjointed word poop. ;_;

She couldn't help but openly laugh when he called her princess, a title she herself had dropped when she decided to challenge for her rank and work to maintain it. "Oh darlin' I stopped goin' by princess a long time ago." If it were not for the scent of pack so deeply imprinted in her fur she might have tried to pass herself off as Brangwen but that wouldn't work so close to home with her hormones raging so wildly.

She could offer a name, real or imagined, she could drop some subtle clue to her rank, but for once it was refreshing to a stranger among strangers. Sparing him another snap, little more than a tip of her head to come on then, she set off across the rise at a steady lope. She had energy to burn.

The birds circling high above were the first sign something might be amiss - followed by the cackling of wolfbirds disturbed from their meal. Had those idiots returned to try and steal what was not theirs to take? Morganna came to a standstill, her tail arching aggressively over her back as peach eyes settled on a pair of coyotes, gorging themselves on what once had been a moose judging by the antlers. "Filthy scavengers." she growled, smile only growing when she realised they were too distracted by the food to notice larger predators moving in. "Bet I can thump 'em b'fore you can." she challenged, muscles tensed and ready to give him a head start. Why hunt when you could bully others out of their meal?

A toothy grin, and his banner waved over his back. Not a princess? He could work with that. He might have been born a dragon prince, but Kjell often felt there was little royalty left under scale and wing. He might have offered another name instead, but the woman was distracted by the birds overhead. It probably meant supper – but filling his belly was not the sort of meal the swarthy male was interested in, not when there was a tempting piece of tail darting away from him.

“Yer on,” Kjell replied hoarsely, not about to waste his opportunity. He was off in a leap and a bound, but it did not stop the male’s mouth from running. The wolf couldn’t help it. There were things he needed to know, and he’d realized already that the information was going to be given freely. “What do I get when I win?” he demanded to know – he was determined to win, anyways, but these sorts of things were supposed to operate on a prize.

Certain the woman was behind him, the dragon exploded forward in a dead sprint. The nearest coyote didn’t have time to react, barely lifting its head from its meal before Kjell dipped his head and tucked his chin into his chest. Crown cracked against ribs, and he sent the smaller animal flying several feet before it hit the ground, and rolled. That one had no interest in giving any more of a fight before it scrambled to its feet, and raced off.

They had the others’ attention, now.

@Kjell

What do I get when I win? the question was met with a good natured laugh, "Oh I'm sure we can figure somethin' out." her voice a little more throaty than she might have otherwise wished. The stranger was faster than Morganna had expected, and for just a moment she thought he might run them both off all his own. As the dark man moved for the closest scavenger, a resounding crack echoed when head made contact with the coyotes ribcage. It urged Morganna to lengthen her strides to close in on its companion. She couldn't let him have all the fun.

Not sure her teeth could take the rattling of a similarly aimed attack, (and the creature quickly clueing in and starting its own retreat), she had to settle for a well aimed bite at the fleeing vermin's tail. Catching little more than a few stray hairs and air, she had to concede defeat. Maybe her heart wasn't in the chase after all.

Turning to return to the carcass, physical hunger replaced with a different kind she couldn't help but smirk. "So what're yer gonna take as yer prize then?"