Cedarwood Forest Turtle Soup

For @Leorio Situated on the edge of Cedarwood Forest and Whispering Marsh around morning. Partly cloudy.

Double mission strapped to ivory splashed shoulders and fully intent on fulfilling at least one of them today, the first sign of day break brought the piebald and sole non-Archer member of Willow Ridge remaining beyond the reach of droopy umbrella shaped trees and into the less explored territory; at least for her, where the marsh began to give way to dryer land that birthed the beginning of a thick cedar wood population. An expanse of land and forest that deeper within housed another pack, Grizzly Hollow. Luckily for them and herself there was no desire to have a run in with the likes of them, instead her paws and mind set on fulfilling the two main task she had set for herself. Scout the area for promising candidates to fill the empty patches in their ranks and secure a solid meal to replenish the smaller holes that dotted their pack caches. One could not ignore the decrease in numbers after the disappearances of Skoll, Angier and Niles whom left a hole in the Willow Ridge ranks where the males were concerned, but also a more noticeable gaping hole within the dark queen, @Elettra , herself.

Normally the magpie preferred to stick to the familiar hunting grounds of Fireweed Rise and Hush Meadow, but being a resourceful huntress both places were ruled out in favor of more unfamiliar grounds that remained light if not void entirely of pack wolf scents. Food this time of year could be found just about anywhere, but lone wolves harboring open minds about throwing away their freedom for the life of rules and structure were about as easy to discover as it was to hear the breeze beneath an owl's wings during flight. Albeit the odds seemed stacked against her Enoki didn't let that stop her from pursuing the obligation she felt burning internally to provide further for her pack, for her home. To soothe any fears that may have surfaced within @Nicolò watching their numbers begin to plummet while he was at the helm. To keep Willow Ridge alive and thriving.

By time her black and white silhouette found the thinned line of timbers marking the beginning of Cedearwood Forest the fur up to the Ashrelle woman's underbelly had become saturated by her trek through the marshy wetland having decided to cut across it rather than around, smoldering amber irises cast skyward to note the sun's steady ascendant above the eastern horizon and how the world below was now illuminated enough to ward off the night's mild chill and illusionist shadows. An ear flicked at the sound of something rustling in the cattail reeds off to her left, head turning to catch a glimpse of a painted turtle emerging from the vegetation toward a spot on the banks no doubt to warm itself for the days activities and unaware of the danger lurking so close by. While they made poor sources of food in regards to portion rations, they did offer meat rich in protein. Perfect to at least liefly sate her morning hunger until a larger, more fulfilling meal could be acquired.

If she could catch it before it slipped back into the watery domain first. Perhaps young @Attica would be fascinated with a new brightly colored object to play with if she managed to bring it home for her too. Her teeth were far from ready to cause any real damage resulting in the shell having a longer shelf life with the growing cub. Decision made and hunting mode activated her body hunkered down to begin stealthily stalking closer, a coral tongue licking eagerly at her leathery lips before muscles coiled like a spring ready to release. Like a bolt of lightning Enoki leaped forward and pounced just as the turtle began to turn its body and scurry for the safety water provided, but luckily for the huntress it hadn't enough time to warm up and make a speedy getaway. Trapped between her paws she lowered her head swiftly to clasp the aquatic reptile between her jaws, biting down until an echoed crunch informed her she was victorious.

Snack held gingerly between her teeth, the piebald female trotted proudly toward an open area beneath a looming cedar to dine on her catch. It was quite the effort to clean the scanty rations of turtle meat form between hard exterior of shell, but little food was better than no food. Hopefully Attica would enjoy her painted present, though.

Leorio was a laid back sorta guy. Not much fazed him, he took everything in his stride. If a lady shot him down, no problem. There were plenty more fish in the sea, or lake-whatever- the point was that it wasn't the end of the world. If someone mocked him for his size, that was fine, they were just jealous, or more likely taken back by his stunning looks. It was fine. Most things were fine. However, that being said there were some things that weren't fine. Things that were so bad that they made Leorio scowl in distaste. And let it be said that very few things were able to make Leorio, the smiling white wolf, glower. So, much to the universes surprise (he was sure), he was glowering and quite intently too.
 
Mud and muck were the bane of his existence. Do you know how difficult it is to keep a pure white coat clean? Do you know how many hours of grooming it took for him to ensure that his coat was pristine? A lot more than he would like to admit. If asked, he would wink and claim that he was born that way. That the Gods had not only blessed him with wit and charm, but also a stunning coat that was able to withstand the most ungodly of taints. That he was demi-god, a messenger from paradise crafted in a heavenly image, for their eyes only. Oh how the lady would swoon and fall at his feet, unable to withstand his allure and charm. Leorio grinned, ever so pleased with himself. He'd have to remember that, lines like those would surely come in handy at a later date.

All of this, his efforts, were not in vain. Leorio had a plan, a cunning one at that. What woman would not be distracted, enticed, by a white ghost prowling the forest? At first she might be a little scared, but there was nothing threatening about him. Leorio's laid back nature oozed out of every pore. So then of course she would be curious, she'd approach and then he could work his magic. Oh she wouldn't stand a chance. The white wolf snickered and his tail wagged in delight, this was perfect. His plan was fail proof.

Caught up in his (honestly,ludicrous) musings, Leorio did not realize that he had waded into the thick, boggish like waters. It was only when he tried to lift up his front left paw when he realized that he had made a grave, foolish mistake. For a moment he stood there, dumbfounded. He tilted his head and looked down before it hit him, hard. Curse the Gods!

For the second time in his life, the pale wolf cursed himself for being so short. If he had longer legs, he wouldn't be in this mess (both literally and figuratively), but what was he to do? He was stuck, he couldn't budge no matter how much he tugged and heaved. He stood there for a few moments longer before panic began to set in. No no no! He couldn't die! Not here, not in this filth! There was so much that he still wanted to do, there were so many women that he still needed to woo.  The fur on his underbelly was soaked and matted with mud and the more he thrashed to get out, the more water he splashed about, and the more mucky he got. 

"No no no, this cannot be happening. I don't want thissss!" Leorio hissed, panting both out of fatigue and fear.

(OOC: Opps got a bit carried away there. Leorio is just too fun to mess with.)

(This post was last modified: Aug 11, 2016, 10:04 PM by Leorio.)

Poor @Leorio :p

Hardly any time needed to pass before the remnants of the turtle meat were discarded into the confines of her stomach, salmon tongue slipping out past the curtain of her lips to clean the shredded bits that clung like crumbs refusing to spend their final moments swimming about her digestive acids. Content on having secured a small source of energy to fuel her for a portion of the day, Enoki had risen back to all fours and was about to venture into the forest to begin scouting for wandering souls when the most peculiar sound breached the morning silence warranting ears to prick forward in curiosity and confusion. "No no no, this cannot be happening. I don't want thissss!" the voice hissed in a panicky tone which only further piqued her interest, head tilting a few degrees to one side.

Being a creature of habit it was unsurprising that the patchy woman set out to the investigate after clutching the turtle shell for Attica between the points of her teeth, ivory tipped tail swaying casually just a hair or two above her hocks as she trotted along the muddy banks toward the location of the mysterious voice. A few minutes later and blazing amber irises were greeting with quite a sight that caused Enoki to create a muffled chuckle against the clasped shell. Apparently the holy beings above had decided to spare the woman from having to scout out possible members and instead wrapped a pretty white present for her in a mucky, muddy bow. Oh how they had an admirable sense of humor, but from the sounds of this stranger's whaling her assistance was of need here and Enoki was not the type of wolf to turn her back on a wolf in need. Oh the curse of the kindhearted.

Rounding the small bend to approach closer to the dazzlingly bright ivory coated wolf she paused near the bank to lower her head and place the shell at her feet, placing one atop it gingerly for security sake. She didn't need her gift taking a tumble into the murky water and becoming hopelessly lost. Enoki wasn't exactly an expert in the fisher category. "Hello there. I see you've found yourself in a bit of a pickle." Her voice was soft and kind despite the humor she found in regards to his predicament while her gaze observed the man and assessed the situation, connecting the pieces of the puzzle to conclude he had simply gotten stuck in the mud. An amateur mistake in a landscape such as the marsh when one didn't watch where they stepped. "I can be of some help if you'd like to get out of there, unless you had plans of taking a mud bath this morning." She jested, unable to resist the urge.

Leorio whipped his head around to look at the newcomer. The movement put a strain on his neck- ouch, painful - but he ignored it, he had to look and see who was behind him. He was completely vulnerable right now. Fighter or no, he knew that.... Oh wow. Leorio's eyes widened almost comically and his tail began to wag without him meaning to. She was... She was stunning. Her pelt was unique, mesmerizing, he had never seen anything like it before. He could easily imagine himself seeing her beautiful, magnificent form before he fell asleep.  He would dream of her tonight, he was sure. Not only that, but the scars on her face (scars were pretty unseemly in his opinion) did little to subtract from her beauty. She was a sight to behold and so within moments,Leorio was smitten. 

The white wolf (not so white now) grinned and continued to awkwardly crane his neck to get a better look at his dappled Goddess. "I know, right?" He laughed to cement the fact that he was a carefree sort of guy. The sort that she should fall for. He paused for a moment and felt his heart soar when she offered him help. Not only was she gorgeous but she had the heart of a saint too. She was getting better and better with each passing moment. "Oh I'd love that." He shot her a wink as well as one of his best, toothy smiles. "Alas, I feel as though the roles should be reversed. I should be your prince charming, I should be the dashing hero to sweep you off your feet. It's what you deserve, my fair maiden." Leorio cast his head down and sighed, forlorn. "Alas, it is not to be. We must make do with what we have."


He'd nailed it. There was no way she could resist that, he had given it his all. He had used every single shred of wit, charm and charisma he had so if she didn't fall for him than surely she had a heart of stone. He doubted it would come to that, because he was the Leorio. Lady killer, wooer of daughters ect ect (he hadn't thought of that many titles yet, it was a bit of a work in process.

"What is your name my love?  You may call me Leorio. Or Leo if you prefer." He winked again, as though he was ignorant of his shameful situation. Which in a way he was, he had sort of forgotten. 

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity

While Enoki had no indication as to how the snowy coated male would react to her jesting words while caught in a most unpleasant situation, just how the stranger chose to react, however, had caught the two toned woman off guard. Neck craned in surely an ultimately uncomfortable position, the ivory male offered his dappled savior a grin before flowery words began to spew from his lips that made her stomach want to do the same. Any moment now she was convinced she would be tasting the remnants of undigested turtle meat for a second time that today. Flamboyant flirting wasn't something Enoki found all that appealing in the opposite sex, but oh boy she discovered a true Casanova hadn't she? There was no doubting this @Leorio fellow though himself as such. Poor Leo, though, for his fair maiden's heart was already being captured by another individual of a much, much darker complexion.

Alas not one to so easily break the hearts nor feelings of others a friendly smile planted itself upon the woman's dark lips in response to his words before accepting defeat in regards to a mental battle of whether or not she should offer up her moniker. She was already here and she couldn't just up and walk away from him when he clearly needed help; and a good lesson in proper romancing, thus submitted to remaining cordial. "It would have been nicer to meet under different circumstances, Leo, but my name is Enoki." The ivory dipped point of her tail swayed naturally at her rump, her smile genuinely widening a small fraction. "How about I get you out of there before a catfish mistakes you for breakfast?" A gentle laugh passed over her lips before casting her gaze away from the mucky male and over yonder toward the treeline, eyes hopeful while scanning the area for a fallen branch or something of adequate length and sturdiness she could use to help pull him free from the muddy abyss.

"Enoki?" He repeated, as though he were in awe. "That is a name I shall always treasure."

Flirting aside, it was a rather striking name. It didn't seem to be the sort that he would run into twice. She was one of a kind wasn't she? She was something special, and he had the glorious fortune of running (well not really, he was stuck) into her. Leorio wasn't one to waste such a rare and precious opportunity. And that was further cemented by the fact that she was offering to help him, which really for a moment at least struck him as a little odd. On his travels he had run into a fair few ladies, and to his dismay they all reacted rather cold towards him. Some simply turned him down and others had actually threatened to call their Father's to teach him a lesson. He tended to make a swift exit after that. 

It didn't bother him in the least, he took it in his stride but he had to admit it was a breath of fresh air to have a lady who was receptive to his advances. Or at least she wasn't biting down on his tail. Either way, he saw this as a win.

"Please, I don't think I'd make a good breakfast. Not enough meat on these bones. But you know what, most ladies like my physique, or so I'm told." That wasn't exactly true, but he'd never been told that he looked bad. Most of the complaints he received were all to do with the fact that he was 'painful'. Whatever that was supposed to mean.

Leorio cleared his throat and quickly had a look at his surroundings. This was a right mess he had gotten himself into, but luckily he wasn't too far from the shore. It wasn't as though his life was in danger, or that he was sinking but still this situation was less than desirable and the only thing that made him feel so easy was his delightful company. Without her, he was sure he would have continued to work himself up into a right state.

"Right, so how'd you want me?" He shot her another sharp, piercing look and then proceeded to snigger at himself. Oh he was golden. 

(This post was last modified: Aug 13, 2016, 11:55 PM by Leorio.)

Crappy post is crappy

Quite the restraint was necessary to keep herself from rolling her eyes at his claim of cherishing her moniker despite having her head turned away toward the nearby treeline. Rudeness was not something easily bred into her foundation. Perhaps if Leo was just a little older and his flirtation attempts not so thick then maybe, just maybe he could have had a sliver of a chance wooing the magpie wolf, but alas he would come up empty pawed yet again. A soft chuckle did erupt from her lips, though, at his comment about making a poor breakfast. With that she had to agree noticing his smaller stature in comparison to herself and the lack of evident muscle beneath that once pristine fur.

During the entire exchange Enoki's gaze continued to search for a reliable object, finally spotting a large enough limb that should do the trick. A rounded ear pivoted off to the side to catch Leo's words and this time there was no holding back the eye roll that came shortly after. Didn't this guy ever get sick of hearing himself talk? With a shrug of her shoulders she turned part way to glance at the mud captive man, half tempted to just leave him there now. "Just stay there while I go grab that branch over there. When I bring it back you grab the other end and I'll pull you out. Got it?" Instructions and plan set into place Enoki began to trot off toward the awaiting rescue device, gripping the more leafy end to give @Leorio a better chance at obtaining a firm grip. Even if the leaves kept trying to tickle her nose and make her sneeze. Branch secured it wasn't long until she returned to his side, mumbling a grab hold before taking a couple steps into the water in order to better reach him..

(OOC: It's great!!! I love Enoki's responds, dignified but definitely a little tired of his bs) 

The short answer was no, Leorio never tired of the sound of his voice and honestly he couldn't imagine why anyone else would. He believed that he had a lovely voice, the perfect sort to woo the ladies. It wasn't too deep and timbrous, but it wasn't too high and sing-songy. It was the perfect in between, and Leorio was incredibly proud of it. So really, Enoki had hit the nail right on the head there. He did love to talk. Speaking the way he did was Leorio's approximation of flexing a muscle or showing off his physique. In comparison to other males his age he lacked the impressive masculine body, hence he made such an effort to make up for it in other ways.

Enoki cut right to the chase, and the little white wolf was honestly impressed with her quick thinking. Either she had done this before- which was a reassuring thought- or and this was more likely, she was thinking on the fly. No matter, Leorio was more than willing to do what he was told, and the fact that he would be receiving instructions from a pretty lady was the cherry on top. 

"I'll stay here." He agreed with a good natured smile. "It's not like I have anywhere else to be." He nodded to let her know that he understood and that he would be able to play his part. Grabbing a stick wouldn't be hard, and really she would be the only doing all the heavy pulling. He'd just try and help things along by pulling his leg out. Shouldn't be too hard.

He watched her go and continued to keep an eye on her as she picked up a bulky branch. Not only was she beautiful, she was strong. Lovely. Right, this was his turn now. At her muffled instruction, Leorio clamped down hard on the offered branch and braced himself for some physical labour. He wasn't fond of it, but he was fit enough to get what needed to be done, done. Shifting his weight as best he could, the little white wolf, squared up his shoulders. They could do this, he'd soon be free. He didn't need to worry anymore, Enoki would set him free.

"I'm ready." He muttered, voice muffled by the stick.

Crappy post is crappy and sooo sorry for letting this falter <3

Would it be wrong to whip the branch out from between his teeth and swat him across the top of his head? Yes, but despite being the moral driven woman she was that didn't stop the magpie from having thoughts that went against such morals to a small degree from time to time. Plus the thought was quite an amusing one to say the least even if it remained only as such. With Leo's Teeth clamped firmly onto the piece of timber the real work was about to begin.

Ebony limbs spaced themselves apart to give the woman a better stance in order to heave the ivory male out from the muddy prison he had got himself into, muscles tensing under the sleek two toned pelt as Enoki began to jerk her body backwards toward dry land. It was slow going, an inch here, an inch there but there was indeed progress being made. Smoldering amber eyes watched intently as the muddy grip that held onto his legs for dear life slowly began to give way, an icky sounding squelch an audible sign that her plan was working. Another inch here, another inch there and then suddenly.. Whoosh.

As if all the weight in the world had vanished the magpie felt herself being swiftly shoved onto her ass with the next tug she gave on the piece of wood between her jaws, rear legs buckling and body toppling over backwards with @Leorio's weight suddenly landing smack dab on top of her from the momentum of their efforts once the mud had lost its grip entirely. Oh just great.