Hidden Tree basket of sounds

For @Maera || Late Afternoon - Clear (-7 ° F, -21 ° C)

He wanted to see her. Perhaps even needed to see her. There was so much to discuss and still so much to do! He had come home early in hopes of finding her. Sniffing around to catch the drift of her scent. His head tipping upwards to the sky. Calling for his companion. There was no urgency to his tone but almost he did request her presence.

Kerberos waited rather patiently outside of the den. Admiring nature's work that surrounded him. There had been damage dun upon these lands but there was nothing completely unappealing. There also seemed to be a handful of strange wolves around here. He wondered how much Mae had discovered on her own solo adventures. The tawny male assumed his dark friend might be able to handle 'feral' situations better. Having been a lone wolf all her life and that jazz.

His daisy hued eyes swung around to look for her. See just how close she might be to him already. He wasn't very good at tracking but her scent he had started to grow accustomed to picking up. It was only expected when you came back home to the same person every night, right? Or was he perhaps getting too close to her, even possibly becoming hopeful and dependent on her

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Everything thus far was appearing to go good… but the winter had just started and the roughest months were hardly upon them. If they could make it to spring without killing each other or separating ways then she might have to consider having him as a permanent travelling partner. Not just might, she would consider, and she’d likely take it on if she was willing. It was nice to have someone watching your back, something she’d learned not to take for granted time and time again. He still had a long way to go, but she knew he could get there with a little work.

She was sniffing for scents, more of checking up around their little makeshift den hidden within the ruins of a pack that Maera had no knowledge of – it was just a place of convenience for her, nothing more and nothing les… and that was when she heard his call. It wasn’t urgent sounding and there was no pain in his voice, but her head snapped up instantly and she immediately left her efforts to seek him ou, wondering just what he needed her for that seemed important as to request her presence. He was back, and while they didn’t spend a lot of time together, them being near each other had yet to hurt either of them.

She wasn’t too terribly trusting, and she still had a long way to go before she’d trust him completely, but she was getting there, and she did feel more comfortable around him – in the worst case scenario, some of her guarded caution had faded with the confidence that she could kick his ass if it came down to a fight. “Kerb.” She greeted warmly with a soft smile on her face when she caught his colors against the white backdrop of the frozen crystals that littered the ground and crunched beneath her paws.

She’d been thinking it was time for a fight lesson, and perhaps they could get that going… depending on why he’d called her to begin with, of course.

She was quick and when his short nickname had fallen from her lips a large smile graced his face. His tail had begun to sway behind him. "Hey! Mae!" He approached her at a respectable distance. Just because they shared a den together at night didn't mean he needed to constantly be in her space. He knew it hadn't been long enough for there to be a solid trust, despite him practically already trusting her a hundred and ten percent, so he settled for respecting her space.

"I, uh, was just thinking we could catch up, you know?" He smiled and his ears pulled back in a slightly submissive way. "Just, share what we have both seen and run into. Anything to watch out for, good prey areas, stuff like that." He shrugged softly, shifting his weight. Such a nervous but excited bundle of wolf.

Looking her over quickly he wanted to check he was well fed, rested, and wasn't harmed. The young Rigel male was just as concerned about her safety as he was his own. She was his traveling buddy and things like traveling would be hard to do if they both weren't in a workable condition. Of course, he had full faith in her being able to manage her own condition. Maybe he should have been more worried about himself.

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Their dynamic had been an interesting one to say the least. Maera, by nature, held a more dominant stance on things, seeing as she’d had to force her way through life, it wasn’t too terribly surprising, and with Kerb’s laid back nature, he could handle letting her take charge once in a while… or most of the time. Either way, that was part of the reason that it’d been working the past couple days, and why she hadn’t run off without him yet. He was useful and he wasn’t going to try and push her around for no reason. If he had a reason? She’d listen but if it was just nonsense then she’d hear none of it.

She liked to think that she was flexible and understanding – at the very least she’d never heard otherwise, apart from her Aunt and Uncle… but those were different circumstances and that was a different story. It wasn’t one that she really felt like telling all that much either. He greeted her in a similar fashion, her tail swaying behind her gently as she saw his grin capture his features, her warm brown eyes focused intently on him. She was still incredibly intrigued by why she’d been summoned.

He got to the point, and she didn’t miss the way his ears pulled or the small hint of a stumble (in saying “uh” before finishing his thought) in his voice before he relaxed and gave that laid-back attitude that she appreciated sometimes. She pushed herself a lot, she knew that, because it was all she had ever known. He reminded her with the snow battle to live a little, because her entire life wasn’t just eat, sleep, repeat, even if it was a huge part of it.

She gave a nod at his idea, bringing her tail in as she gracefully rested her rump on the ground, inviting him to take a seat as well. “Sounds good to me! I thought I caught the scent of deer on the wind, moving to the south through the forest but I lost it near the border to the creek.” She explained carefully, figuring she could start them off on their little show and tell. “And later… maybe as soon as after this conversation, I want to test out how you’ll fare in a fight, see where your skills are at.” That had definitely been on her mind. What if they did get into a fight, and she was outnumbered, and he had no idea what he was doing?

She worried about it, for her health and his.

He always followed her examples so it was easy for him to take a seat by her. His ears ready to catch every word she would speak. The tawny male nodded at her mention of the deer moving and he couldn't help but muse an idea. "Do we wanna follow the herds, Mae?" He paused momentarily. "I mean, I'm not really still positive how this whole winter loner thing works." A partially nervous laugh bubbled up from within his chest. He truly felt awful about being so dependent on Mae's instructions but then at least he would be doing things the way she liked.

Her mention of fighting made him widen his eyes a little before smiling gently. "Oh yeah. I'd actually really like that." His tail thumped against the cold ground beneath them. "It would definitely come in use if one of us does get in trouble. Got to have each other's back." His brain mostly floated to his interaction with Cottongrass. That pale male had seemed so strange and strung out. What if Kerb had had to defend himself? It would have likely ended bad.

Kerberos was curious how he was going to fair against Mae, though. She was larger than him and probably more advanced in both offense and defense. He'd be lying if he tried to say he wasn't nervous. The young male was stuck in a loop of not wanting to disappoint but also knowing he had the high likelihood to do so.

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He was learning, and she could tell when he asked his first question, a small glint of pride hinting at her features. He did know a thing or two didn’t he? He was quick to put himself down, the only idea that made her mentally frown though she still kept her cheery demeanor up on the outside. “Potentially… I want to wait it out a few more days, but I was actually thinking about heading north instead to find out what’s up there.” It might not make a ton of sense prey-wise, but it was hard to tell with what was farther north or south. She needed a broader range of motion, and she needed to know what kind of lands surrounded the lands they’d been residing in since buddying up… except for the haunted forest she knew was to the north of the regular forest and the creek. That place could just be downright creepy.

He then took her suggestion about fighting, his tail thumping as she let out a light laugh. “Yes, it would… don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you… the first time ‘round. I just need to size you up, see what you can do so we know, if we need to improve something, what we have to improve.” She definitely would give him a small edge the first time around since he made it seem like he hadn’t done a whole lot, if any of all, of that while he was with his parents. There were certain life skills that she found confusing… why wouldn’t parents want their children to be able to protect themselves? It was one of the first things she’d learned… after hunting of course.

“They’re important skills to have… it’s hard to teach though. Everyone has their own “style” of fighting, and you can’t force one style on a wolf if it doesn’t compliment them. It’s something that just comes with reactions which comes with time.” It was the truth… but that didn’t mean she couldn’t work with reactions a bit or something of the likes… suggest a move to try out in case it worked with him. She’d have to see with time.

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

He didn't understand it. The herds were moving South but she wanted to go North. While he trusted her decisions, he truly thought that was foolish. Unsure why she'd want to stray from food. They weren't apart of a pack, they couldn't rely on other wolves to be hunters. Kerberos wondered why such a smart woman would make such a silly move. He didn't dare voice his opinions, though. Mostly out of fear of her becoming upset with him. Kerberos merely agreed and nodded. Better to stay on her good side than bad side.

"Probably gonna have to improve a lot of me." He shrugged gently. It was the truth. He never really had to fight for anything back home and he avoided any conflict up to this moment. But here was Mae wanting to challenge him, even if it was only to see what he was capable of. He was sure he'd know the basics like staying on his feet and guarding his neck but what else? Did he bite legs? Face? Torso? Confident Mae would show him how to do a few things, he planned to save any silly questions for after their spar.

He smiled softly at her. She had such a hard outer shell but he knew that if he could chip away at that shell a bit more, she'd be more flower like. Blooming and delicate. "You don't have to teach. Just give tips and pointers to let me learn. Even just spars or wrestling with you more will help me develop whatever style, I guess." His face relaxing to a more neutral look while his yellow eyes shined brightly.

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Her brain was a complicated place, but it was better to get expeditions out of the way in early winter than it was late winter, and Maera didn’t necessarily want to wait until spring rolled around to see what was up there because it would be pup season and every pack would be on guard with young on the way or romping about. He didn’t question it, something she was almost certain he was questioning in his mind since it really didn’t make sense, at least not without the reasoning that she hadn’t left him privy to.

She let out a light chuckle and a shook her head lightly when he said that there was a lot of work to be done. “I’m positive it won’t be as bad as you think. I have yet to fight a wolf who hasn’t had some sort of natural ability to it. It’s in our blood.” Wasn’t that the truth? Wasn’t that why they were all so skilled with taking down prey, why they lusted for blood when they got a taste of it? It had always been her interpretation of it. She always just let her instincts take over, and watched where they led her. Most of the time, they put her on top, but she could never be sure and because of it, she certainly never got cocky.

Just give tips and pointers to let me learn. She nodded with a soft grin on her features, falling back to put most of her weight on her haunches, an initially defensive position since her strategy usually involved using speed to her advantage. “Why don’t you make the first move then.” She offered rather coyly as she waited for him to move, chocolate eyes locked on his bright yellow ones.

The way she seemed to have so much confidence in his supposed natural born ability soothed his nerves. He wanted to believe everything she said had been true. He had only witnessed play fights so Maera would be his first more serious encounter. It was a strange thought that the one wolf he had grown to call a friend wanted to fight. He understood her reasons but it still seemed strange. Weren't there other ways to test his ability?

Maera announced he would be allowed to make the first move and he partially took his time. Sizing her up and wondering what the best move would be without intentionally hurting her too much. This was a fight, wasn't it? She was larger than him in every way. He figured if he used all his weight he could cause a bit of damage.

Taking in a deep breath he lowered his skull to protect his neck and level out with his spine. He wondered if this may be a silly attack but he noted that this was only the first move. In fact, it was the only move he had ever made against someone in any physically aggressive manner. Kerberos charged forwards towards Maera's left side. He aimed to slam his shoulder and head into her. Perhaps in an attempt to uproot her, even if she was larger. Even getting her to stumble would be good for him. Once confident he had landed some sort of damage he continued moving past her to take up a defensive stance behind her. Bracing himself for what she would dish back to him.

Notes: Rolled a hit || Kerb's attack is trying to ram his head/shoulder into @Maera's left right side || Kerb's defensive move is pulling back and bracing himself || first fight post in a while, don't hesitate to contact me if i messed something up ^^

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