Riddle Heights touch me not

RE: A cold snap seizes Relic Lore in its icy grip!
All are welcome!

It was too blasted cold for spring fever to be settling in, Capable thought miserably, but her body told no lies. Even winter’s last, icy grip could not soothe the wretched heat threatening to burn her up from the inside out, and she could not shake it. She couldn’t. She did not want any of the attention the stink promised to bring her, both from more dominant females, or any boys wishing to try their luck. Oh, yes, it’d never happened in Willow Ridge before, but Capable had been in a pack before. She’d seen. She knew.

She took off from pack lands like someone had set her tail on fire. As long as she refused to solve the problem the traditional way, she might as well try to out run it. One couldn’t be bothered by nature’s baser needs if they were too exhausted to keep their eyes open, right?

So up the side of the mountain the woman went, breath harsh in her own ears as she scrambled up the sharp inclined, bouncing over boulders and ducking around the sparse trees. Only when she reached a relatively flat area many hours later did she stop to breath, just to breath – her muscles sang with the tiredness of it. Hopefully, this place was alone enough with the rupestrine wolves of Silent Moon Plateau gone, and no one would bother her here.

bring me home, bring back what's stolen,

Capable

like you're supposed to

No one would bother her there. Unless of course there was a certain black brute who had one hell of a reason to make himself scarce for a while. And where better to escape from furious brothers, angry uncles, or judgemental mothers than high up into the mountains where packages were unlikely to follow? Except Wraith could already tell someone from the Willows had recently passed through. Someone had beat him to the punch.

On a deeper inhale, he recognized the heat scent. The brute had half a mind to turn right back around and hunt down another place to lay low - or high, as it were. But curiosity more than anything kept him scaling the mountain. Even if he didn't come across his packages, he enjoyed the challenge the steeper slopes provided.

By the time the female's scent peaked, the brute's muscles were thrumming while his tongue lolled in an easy grin. He really should come out this way more often.

He found the female lounging on a flat shelf of the mountain and sagged his tail in greeting. "I know what it looks like," he began. "Here to hide though. I imagine @Nicolò won't be too pleased with me." Flopping down unceremoniously nearby, but far enough away not to make her uncomfortable, Wraith offered a satisfied smile. "I'm Wraith. Seen you around, but haven't had the chance to introduce myself."

Capable’s lips pulled backwards as she warned her packmate off, having no desire for him to impede upon her space bubble any further. Her vivid imagination could practically feel his body heat radiating off of that dark coat, plaguing her overheated skin with a warmth even this unspeakable cold snap could not cure. Fortunately, he did not seem inclined to get any closer than he already was, but she could not tear her sienna gaze from his prone form. There was no reason to trust this wolf, especially where he thought it prudent to hide.

“You stink,” she huffed, dimly aware it was the suffocating smell of willows mingling with the personal musk of their Queen. Not unusual, really, for a pack wolf to smell like his alpha – perhaps it was only her heightened senses, but it still seemed worth pointing out. She did not lay down, remaining rigid where she stood. “Capable. My name is Capable,” she grounded out, truly not in the mood for small talk. There was not much else that could be done, and the large woman glance back down the mountainside, eying the trail she’d taken, and the path Wraith had used shortly thereafter. “You didn’t lead anyone up here, did you? I’m not—“

bring me home, bring back what's stolen,

Capable

like you're supposed to

A wild dissertation appears!

"So I've heard," he said, tone lilting with amusement. @Morganna had used the same word to describe her own scent. Perhaps it was a female thing. Wraith thought it a rather divine smell. Of course, the season before, he'd felt the same. But it was only natural to feel repulsed by females that shared his blood, and until this year, the northerner had only ever been surrounded by blood relatives in one fashion or another. His birth pack always lost a few wolves each season to the yearning to travel and explore what else lay beyond their mountains, but his parents were prolific enough to always seem to supply the pack with more members. She was a saint, his mother. As she made her unease clear, Wraith rolled to his side, tail flopping gently against the snow-covered ridge in an effort to further communicate he wished her no ill will. Should she continue to remain uncomfortable, the black brute would simply vacate the premises and allow the poor lady to wallow in her heat without polite company. He understood the importance of solitude well enough. "Capable," Wraith repeated before offering a gentle smile. "From that boar hunt, I'd have to say I agree. It suits you." The male craned his head to follow her gaze before amber eyes returned to her red and black form. "No one followed me," he assured. What kind of good hiding spot would it be if he allowed another up here after him? "You can relax. I won't do anything." The promise came without hesitation, his tone clear and certain without underlying inflection that would suggest he could be lying.

Burtn @DA & Dawnthieves.de

The female barely restrained an eye roll at her packmate’s stupidity.  If someone else had told him he stunk like Morganna, and he was actively trying to avoid the woman’s uncle, it might do him some good to wash the scent off his coat.  Given that he wore it like a badge of honor, the subordinate was starting to think it wasn’t mere coincidence – but she wasn’t about to press the matter.  After all, Capable hardly wanted whelps of her own, thank you very much.  Really, she wasn’t even all that interested in finding a mate.  When she’d left Moose’s Tooth, she’d entertained the idea of finding more desirable males somewhere she wasn’t related to all of them, but it seemed that she might have been mistaken.  Outside of @Skoll, she really hadn’t even been interested in befriending any of then.

Well, she supposed, Greer had been nice enough, though she reckoned the strange yearling wasn’t keen on gathering friends himself.

Ignoring the compliment, the woman eyed the path one last time.  Finally deciding that Wraith was probably correct in his assumption, the wolf seated herself.  There was enough distance between them now, and after a few moments of silence, she flattened herself against the snow, appreciating the cold against her fur, even if it did little for her boiling blood.

“Suppose you won’t.  You’ve had your fun, haven’t you?”  It wasn’t quite an accusation as she lifted her head, studying the male.  What did she care if he did, or didn’t?  Didn’t mean they’d got with pups.  And that was not an idea she cared for.  “This mean you’re moving up in the world, or what?”

bring me home, bring back what's stolen,

Capable

like you're supposed to

(This post was last modified: Mar 25, 2016, 01:18 AM by Isuni.)

A wild dissertation appears!

Wraith sat up and frowned at her words, hurt. "It was hardly a one-sided encounter," the dark male murmured. The insinuation he heard didn't sit well at all. @Morganna was not just a means to a pleasurable end to him, though he doubted she felt the same. In fact, the northerner was fairly certain he had only been a tool to scratch an itch and help her cement her role as Alpha should their mating have been a success. Not that he minded being used; he'd been more than a willing participant. If he could assist the pack by being a simple tool, so be it. But the wolf didn't care to imagine that others thought so little of him to assume there had been no level of affection involved. But ah, perhaps he was only being sensitive as it was his first time. Also not another thing he would admit, but it had gone smoothly enough. "No," he stated plainly. "I have no aspirations for leadership. I've proved to myself already that I am not suited for it." The instance in which he was entrusted to lead had led to the very tragedy that had Wraith fleeing the only home he'd ever known to come and find a new one here within the willow trees. The large male lapsed into silence, amber eyes finding a spot of interest along the horizon to focus on. He supposed he was right for wanting to avoid the rest of the pack if they would react in such a way. Worse, Wraith was sure, compared to Capable. Feeling unsettled and out of place in the pack for the first time, Wraith had a strong yearning to seek out @Craw for the silent comfort that always came with his friend's presence. But maybe the pale wolf would take offense as well. More and more, the black wolf wondered just how much of a social suicide he had performed.

Burtn @DA & Dawnthieves.de

“Tcht. You sure?” Capable asked, eyebrow arching up. She was relatively certain her father, uncles, and brothers cared little about what the respective female actually cared about, if she wanted pups or a permeant mate or any of those things. It was her duty as a member of Moose’s Tooth – even as alpha, did Morganna not hold the same tie to the Archer name and the legacy of Willow Ridge? She might have chosen Wraith, though whether or not that was true, the aspiring guardian couldn’t say, but she didn’t have a choice in the realm of motherhood, did she?

She wanted to be alpha, and she had to have children. Everything had its price.

The woman watched in silence as Wraith contemplated his blunder – Capable certainly thought it a foolish mistake, at least – and grew more uncomfortable by the moment. She sighed and shook her head, truly caring little whether or not he’d succeeded in his quest for fatherhood. Every wolf wanted his son. Wraith’s feeble denial would not change her mind otherwise. “Well, you’d be the first. Seen plenty of stupid boys take up that role because they thought it was theirs to take. At least you have some kind of brain, I guess.” Her mouth twisted into a wry smile. Not enough brain to think with the right head, though. Chuckling at her own nasty joke, she peered back down the mountain side. “So you just gonna – what? Hide up here until they forget you rutted with Morganna?”

bring me home, bring back what's stolen,

Capable

like you're supposed to

A wild dissertation appears!

There is a family of deer nearby. Hunt Opportunity

Insult stung clear in his amber gaze now as Wraith lifted his head to regard Capable. Rather than rise to the bait, the wolf lay his head down over his forepaws while silence stretched between the pair. Her next comment helped ease the sting of her first, but any balm it offered was just as readily erased with her last words. "I'm hardly a rutting elk," he snapped, his deep voice sharp as he lifted his head to stare. Immediately, the northerner's ears fell back against his head with embarrassment. His mother would have been horrified by the behavior as she'd taught him far better. "I'm sorry," he murmured seriously. "I shouldn't have said it like that." Wraith knew well how to respect females, no matter what their rank. Lately, it seemed his usually rare temper was boiling to the surface, first with @Sylva, that annoying yearling pack wolf, and now with his own packmate. It was truly inexcusable and Wraith knew he deserved a good chomp on the nose for it. "I would never have approached Morganna without invitation just as I have no intent to approach you now. I'm not so driven by blind instinct as you seem to believe."  Where was it she came from, he wondered, that led her to think in such a way? Was it from the Willows? Wraith's thoughts traveled to @Nicolò based on his conversation with Morganna, but shook his head in denial. It seemed far more deep seated than something like that. Farther back then, before she came here. Well Wraith wouldn't press. He knew the past was best left behind as not everyone wished to share, himself included.

Burtn @DA & Dawnthieves.de

“Tchhhhh!” 

It was an unpleasant hiss between teeth, tongue pressed flat as ears fell backwards.  The heat had made the woman ornerier than usual, but it was not a topic she looked well upon.  She could not catch judgment until she’d spoken with the other party, she supposed, for she’d seen little reason to actually assume distress just yet.  But she did not move form her spot, no matter how much the other wolf deserved a good nip.

“Who said ‘nything about instinct?” she spat, head lifting up.  “Has to do with what you want, or don’t.  Every male wants a son.” It was said as if it were the simplest fact; but then, it had been preached to her as soon as she was old enough to understand.  Ears remained flat out to the side, and eventually, Capable looked away, chin dropping to her forearms. “If you’re the bitch, you just pray to whatever’s out there you don’t have a daughter.”

The reason was two-fold, she supposed, though what was a little more violence when it was an active part of your lifestyle already?  A mother was supposed to want the best for her child, and who could want the life she’d lived for someone else.  Ears flattened further.  “Point stands, though.  You can’t hide here forever.  Eventually, you’re gonna have to deal with whoever you’re trying to avoid.”

bring me home, bring back what's stolen,

Capable

like you're supposed to

A wild dissertation appears!