Larkcall Lowlands Wounded Pride and an Empty Stomach

( Ooc @Craw, hope this fits what you had in mind)

- Midday, partly cloudy- 64 ° F, 18 ° C

Askan made an effort not to think about it after his self-imposed exile,but as he gazed out across the Larkcall Lowlands he couldn't help but be reminded of his home,The Selwyn Mountains.  Oh they were a sight to behold. The jagged mountains stretched on as far as a wolf's eyes could see and bellow the land was fertile and lush. Perfect for grazing animals.  Herds of caribou roamed the land and....Caribou. Just thinking about them made Askan wince in pain. He was so hungry. Never in all of his life had he experienced such corrosive hunger. It was as though a wolf was inside of him, tearing into his innards and ripping his stomach to shreds.  His reserves of body fat were waning, and Askan feared that if he kept this up then his ribs would begin to show.

What was he without his family? What was a wolf without his pack? Lonely and desolate? A waste of space? No, Askan was more than that, he was destined for something greater, he was certain of it. All he had to do was prevent himself from starving to death and then the pieces would fall into place. Or so he told himself, repeatedly. Wishing he had a full stomach wasn't going to make it so. He needed to hunt. He needed to kill.  And has hard as he had tried, he couldn't do it alone. For the life of him, he just couldn't. 

Askan huffed and got to his feet. He had rested for long enough,  it was time to get a move on. Perhaps if he were lucky he would stumble upon some carrion that he could scavenge off. That would be nice, a quick, easy meal. He wasn't counting on it though, in fact his instincts were telling him things were only going to get worse from here on out. Being the stubborn wolf that he was, Askan ignored it and continued on his way, slowly but surely wandering the lowlands in search of food.

It's perfect, thanks for starting!

He had walked far enough that the grand structure of his new home was but a barely-visible speck in the distance, visible only if you knew to look for it. The lowlands were, otherwise, flat as far as the horizon went, unless you looked to the south and saw the plains melt into forests and the ground rise up into the Mountain of Dire. But he had a rise of his own, now, a rock which stood just as proudly as any mountain despite being a fraction of the size, and most importantly it was all his, not shared with uncountable other creatures as the mountain would have been.

Theirs. Not just his. It was a quick adjustment, and not one made regretfully; where it might have bred resentment in a younger, more naive Craw, it gave this one a fiery pleasure to know that he and Morganna had done it together. She was a rather magnificent creature, made all the more so for her crudeness and rough edges, and the thought of her curled up safely on their monadnock with her offspring and their allies around them to keep them all safe... What a warm, tingling feeling. How sentimental.

In a time not long before first joining Willow Ridge, Craw had sat in a forest probably not far from these lowlands, and had watched a massive herd of caribou on their travels - possibly even the same herd that he watched today. Having approached with no intent to hunt alone, for the adults were far, far too ambitious a meal for any solo wolf, his presence had been tolerated with a murmuring ill ease, the caribou giving him a wide berth just as he did the same for them. He had watched them graze and meander about, but this time they weren't in any hurry to get anywhere. Having found a comfortable little hillock to perch upon, the pale wolf had sat  comfortable upon it to better observe the vast herd, because he knew caribou.

It was birthing season. Somewhere amongst those large, dangerous bodies were likely a number of tiny, helpless ones, and the very notion made his mouth water. As though able to sense his thoughts, the caribou closest to him (which were still a comfortable number of yards away) grumbled and snorted and closed ranks between them, restricting his view past them.

Somewhere off to the right, a group of the beasts bugled a little louder, alerting the herd (and, unintentionally, Craw) to some change they should be aware of. Lifting his head up to try and see more clearly, Craw spotted a distinctly wolfish shape prowling through the grass, seeming to take little notice of the herd which had nevertheless taken good notice of them. Having spent most of his time by Morganna's side, Craw had had few opportunities to engage with anyone out in this tundra, and that, coupled with spontaneous decision-making, prompted him to push off from the tiny mound of earth and trot down, to casually cross paths with this stranger as though it were an accident and not deliberately orchestrated.

The caribou shifted accordingly, the bodies moving as though with one mind, but were not agitated by the wolf moving away from them and so did not react much. It didn't mean that they had slipped from Craw's mind - far from it.

Askan's Father would have surely scolded him for his carelessness. One of the first lessons he had ever taught him, was to 'always be aware of your surroundings.' Even when he had been with his pack, he had never truly been safe, but now that he was alone that rule carried even more weight. Much to his shame, he wasn't even really paying attention as to where he was going, his tired legs carried him with automatic steps. He heard the warning cries of the caribou- it was a sound he was familiar with- and yet it didn't really register in his mind. To say that he was distracted (and sulking) was an understatement. He just continued walking with his head hung low. And so, Askan had no one to blame when he was caught by surprise by the approaching wolf. 

Askan only had seconds to try and get his bearings. He was confused and he wasted a few precious moments trying to put the pieces together. A wolf. A large wolf was trotting towards him through the grass. Now, Askan wasn't small by any means, in fact he was proud to say that he was bigger than his Father, but this newcomer was larger than him by far. It was a male, Askan only needed to breathe in his heavy scent to know that. And from the confident bounce in his step Askan could tell that he was familiar with these lands. 

Snapping into focus, Askan raised his hackles,bared his teeth and snarled. It was a low, deep sound, the sort that rumbled in his throat and made his feelings blatantly clear. Whoever this wolf was, Askan didn't want him around.  He wanted him gone, now. Askan was unsure if the large wolf would even find his display the slightest bit intimidating, but that didn't matter. He had to put on a strong front, his life might depend on it.
 
"What?" Askan snapped, still maintaining his aggressive, if not somewhat defensive posture. 
What? What was that even supposed to mean? Was he asking him what he wanted? It didn't make sense, and if anything it was a sign of weakness. He might as well have just said, 'you caught me by surprise, now I'm freaking out.' Of course, Askan wouldn't admit that he was scared, but he didn't need to. Any wolf with sharp eyes could see that he was, and that he wasn't in the best of shape right now. As it to prove the point, his stomach growled almost as loudly as he had. 

Askan ignored it and tried again."What are you doing here? What d'you want?" 

There, that wars slightly better, he sounded more like his Father this time.  He sounded more sure of himself, as though his words carried weight and importance. Still, the strange wolf didn't seem to be impressed by his display at all. Annoyance rushed through him and Askan took a heavy step forward. It was true that the strange wolf was larger than him, but he should have at least been a little taken back by his display. A snarling wolf, no matter the size, was a force to be reckoned with. 

little bit of bad language c:

To deliberately bump into a total stranger could certainly be seen as a provocative action, though Craw withheld judgement until he actually received a reaction. The closer he casually strode towards the darker-pelted stranger, the more clearly he could determine the man's condition. Skin clung to his bones for dear life, his movement a little stiffer and less comfortable than it would have been for a better-fed individual, and certainly it was taking its toll on the loner's self-awareness. Now that he knew better what kind of creature this wolf was - that is to say, starving - Craw hesitated a little on getting too close, respectful of what madness that condition could bring upon an otherwise level-headed animal.

Predictably, once the loner spotted Craw, his instinct was extreme; it could have ranged from anything from immediate submission to the agitated, aggressive stance that this particular wolf took. As a physical comparison, Craw felt no threat from the smaller, weaker man, but with starvation came terrible desperation.

As such, Craw did come to a prompt stop the moment that the other's teeth were shown and the warning snarl given, his own posture kept rather neutral and calm, a curious juxtaposition against the hyper-hostility from the darker loner. Craw's head rose a few inches to better look down his nose at the creature which spat angry questions at him, the sound of an unhappy stomach rumbling to his ears.

Unintimidated, Craw's ear twitched out to the side as if displacing a fly, manner nonchalant and expression cold. For while he understood how this creature felt, it did not mean he felt sympathy. The hungry wolf could have easily ignored him, and Craw would have been inclined to let them go their own ways.

"I am in a good mood," he rumbled evenly, gravel in his slightly edged voice, deliberately ignoring the sharp, bold questions and all the bile behind them, "and I know how hunger fucks with the mind, so I am going to be gracious and give you a chance to make a better first impression."

(OOC, no problem. I actually clapped at Craw's response. He's one badass wolf.)

Gracious? Oh Askan hated him already. He couldn't stand his haughty air and the way he looked down at him as though he was a fleck of mud on his fur. Worse yet, the stranger hadn't even responded to his questions, he had outright ignored him. The nerve! He could have at least tried to be civil, but the more time Askan spent in his company the clearer it became that this stranger didn't even have a civil bone in his body. He was arrogant and had no respect for a fellow wolf. It wasn't as if Askan had been civil either, but that wasn't the point. Askan believed he was exempt from such judgements, in his eyes his actions were always righteous and just. He was not in the wrong here, the stranger wolf was, and Askan was determined to prove his case.

Still, his Mother hadn't raised him to be a blood thirsty savage. And there was wisdom in backing down from a fight that he most likely wouldn't win. It was difficult to let this go, particularly when the offending wolf was standing there looking so smug and sure of himself. Askan's temper had always been a little on the short side, especially when it came to personal slights, but he had to admit he did feel on edge. His hunger had made him even more snappish than usual and that was saying something. 

Slowly and reluctantly, Askan allowed his lips to fall back into place. His tail remained tucked between his legs, but his ears swivelled back into a more comfortable position. Nearby, he could hear hooves shuffling about on trampled grass. The caribou were still close, wary of the two wolves of course, but they had yet to move on. The grazing had to be good for them to be willing to take such a risk.

"Fine." Askan said indigently, as if had decided to change his behaviour on his own accord. "The name's Askan." 

There, was that better? He knew his Mother wouldn't approve, and that she'd claim that he was being petty, but so what? He had every right to be. He was the slighted party here. If anything, the stranger should apologise to him. Not that he thought he would ever get an apology. Askan wasn't well versed in reading people but even he could see that it wasn't going to happen. They were quite similar in that regard then, though that was where their similarities ended. Askan was certain of that.

"Is this your land? Have encroached?" 

Thinly-veiled threat issued, Craw watched with a thin smile as the starved wolf processed it, and wondered just how much common sense hadn't been eaten away yet. Where the loner's stance was aggressive, Craw adopted traces of the opposite, making sure to steady himself in case his little ultimatum was met with rage and fury. While he hadn't come out here with the intention of a fight, the notion of some casual murder might help to relieve the stress of caring for newborns.

But wisdom and self-preservation won out, and the loner's posture smoothed, teeth hidden and tail tucked, and Craw clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes in quiet satisfaction. Good boy. He could see the contempt in the man's face, the wounded pride, and Craw only fed off it. When the man spoke again, it still wasn't entirely polite, but was miles better than before. Craw tilted his head down at the stranger in silent judgement, as though assessing whether he had done well enough to salvage that valuable first impression, and then slowly shook his head.

"No, these are not mine," he rasped, with the same relatively easy-tone of before, as though they had been having a fairly pleasant conversation all along. "We're equals out here." The absurdity of the statement was plain, with one wolf healthy and strong and the other courting death, but it was not spoken with sarcasm. By the rules of wolf, neither was more dominant than the other out here unless one of them wished to enforce it - and, like Craw had said, he was in a good mood. Still wary of the desperation of hunger, Craw kept his same distance, though pushed his ears up and relaxed his posture, inspired to be a little cruel in his amplified amiability - because, right now, he could represent a means to a meal, and he knew it, and he was going to toy with it. He had nothing meaningful to lose. "Good to meet you, Askan! My name is Craw. You look a little hard-done by; did you come out here to eye the caribou, as I have?"

So he was a wanderer as well? Albeit he was in a better state than Askan, but he was a wanderer nonetheless. Then he had to go and push it, he had to shove Askan's nose in the fact that he was well fed, and Askan.... Well obliviously he wasn't. Sure, the stranger could have made it more obvious with his tone, but Askan knew a taunt when he heard one. After all, his sisters had spent years mocking him so he was intimately familiar with the feeling. Rather than make a fuss as before, he smothered the urge to growl. They had decided to talk like (somewhat) civilised wolves and Askan preferred to keep his word, if he could. 

Craw's enthusiastic greeting made Askan blanch in distaste. This was too much. It was another blow to his already wounded ego and if he kept this up then Askan would have to leave his company. He could only take so much. Despite that, Askan tried not to let it show, he didn't want to give Craw the satisfaction. Instead, he withdrew his tail from his legs and wagged it twice from left to right. He was attempting to make himself appear relaxed, and somewhat comfortable, though despite his efforts his posture was still tense. Or at least compared to Craw's it was.

"S'pleasure." Askan responded, though his tone of voice made it blatantly clear it was anything but.

 As for Craw's next words, well they had some truth to them. A caribou, even a young one, would be more than enough to fill his growling stomach. And coming from a clan of expert caribou hunters, well the thought of trying to hunt them had occurred to him. Several times, and all in quick succession. That being said, Askan didn't appreciate it when Craw pointed out the obvious. He wasn't doing so well, they both knew that, did he really have to mention it allowed though? Another jab no doubt, another attempt at one upping him. 

"How observant of you. Perhaps you are part eagle." Askan snuffed at his own joke. "But yes, they did bring me to the area, if you must know."
 

(This post was last modified: May 19, 2016, 07:33 PM by Askan.)

A lynx has left behind the remains of a deer. +5 Health

Just so you know, I have an idea of what they can find if Askan agrees :) I would normally use the SoW drop (just before this post) but since you set up the caribou so nicely, I think we should use them instead!
In fact, this will count as hunting, so I think this would be 1/8 posts needed for hunting LP!

Askan took the condescension like a champ, suppressing whatever violent urges he may have been feeling and keeping himself nicely postured. In fact, the smaller man even seemed to relax a little, though whether it was genuine (somehow Craw doubted it, given his rather intense prior hostility) or forced, it didn't matter. What mattered was that he was strong enough to show some manners, and as lowly as Craw may have thought of him, he could respect that much.

The first impression was rescued. Craw decided that he could try to make use of this stranger, and at the same time reward him for his quick attitude-correction.

Smirking at Askan's thick sarcasm, Craw glanced at the caribou as the loner confirmed they had indeed drawn him in. What a horrid situation to be in, in the midst of so much fresh flesh and yet unable to do anything about it! And yet, maybe there was. "Then let's not allow your efforts to be wasted," he said, with a pointed look back at Askan. "Any other time of year and it would be infeasible with only two, but - this is a very special season." With a dark smile, he strode past Askan (still not getting too close, ever leery) and started on a path which would take him around the fringes of the herd, a healthy distance from the caribou but with them ever in sight. He did not glance back to prompt Askan to join him; the invitation had been clear, if the man was going to take it. Craw was busy casting his eyes over the caribou, from those in the dense herd to the animals lurking further out. He knew exactly what he was looking for.

(This post was last modified: May 20, 2016, 07:52 AM by Craw.)

(OOC, sure thing, I'm game for anything you've got in mind. :D)

Askan really could not stand Craw's holier-than-thou attitude. If anything,  he thought that it would be more tolerable if the wolf just flat out insulted him. That way he'd at least have some experience dealing with it. Once again, he did his best to hide his feelings. But it was difficult. Askan was an expressive wolf, he wore his heart on his sleeve, so smothering his feelings down like this was hard work. Harder than it probably seemed. However, keeping his emotions in check was the least of his problems, and once again his stomach rumbled loudly as if to remind him. It hurt and winced a little at the sudden rush of aching hunger. The pain was constant, more or less, but it spiked from time to time with fairly long intervals between them.

 Craw, despite his invidious way of going about it, apparently had a plan in mind. He walked past Askan and began to tread down a beaten path that appeared to have been created for the very purpose of allowing close proximity to the herd. The path was close, but it curved slightly to ensure that it wasn't too close. Askan took notice of how Craw gave him a wide berth. He was an arrogant twat, that much was clear, but Craw was clearly no fool. He was pushing Askan to his limits, but somehow he knew not to push too far. He knew when to stop and he when he needed to take a step back.

Askan's pride took another beating, but nonetheless he followed Craw down the narrow path. He wanted to hear this plan and pass judgement on whether it was any good. "I'm listening." 

Askan resented the analogy, but he felt like a yearling again, following in the steps of an older, more experienced wolf. The age difference between them couldn't have been all that large, but apparently it was big enough to count for something, large enough to make a difference. Craw looked nothing like Askan's father and their personalities were completely different (Askan couldn't stress that enough) ,so that was where the similarities ended. It was still enough to leave a foul taste in his mouth, the sort that made him flick his tongue in distaste. 

Askan followed Craw's gaze over the grazing ungulates. Now this was something he was familiar with. Hunting caribou came as naturally to Selwyn as breathing, or at least it should have. Askan seemed to be an exception to the generation long tradition.  Askan was determined to bring an end to his failure, it was now or never, and even he had to admit that he might be more successful with a little help.

"You're looking for the calves." Askan concluded after a moments thought. It was the perfect time of year for it, after all.