Antler Ring A Sentimental Man

@Castel  set at late evening before his thread with Sahalie

 

The boy had decided to make a little adventure outside of the territory, though not for too long. After all, being gone for too long from a pack you’d just joined was never a good first start and he felt it would probably definitely not bode well with Craw. A light snow had settled overhead and barely littered the ground below, though there was remnants enough from past falls to still create a crunch beneath his large paws. The winds had created small snow drifts from time to time and he pushed through them with ease, trotting along at a leisurely pace and taking a moment to give a sniff here and there. It also seemed they he was about halfway between the Monadnock and whatever pack laid southwest from there and he didn’t really want to go much farther. Meeting their neighbors would have to make for another time.

Pausing he squinted as light reflected off of something white in the distance. Silver head cocking sideways in curiosity he made his way toward it, tail swinging leisurely at his hocks and muscles rolling with ease. He was feeling rather care free at the moment and in a good mood. As he got nearer his brows rose in surprise, finding massive antlers sitting on the ground. Moving his way closer, he was even more shocked to find that they were set in a perfect circle. It was obvious that this was done by a wolf, probably in an attempt to freak someone out but Kino was no spiritually guided wolf so it meant little to him in that aspect. Rather, he was more intrigued at seeing them up close. He sniffed at the antlers and even went so far as to give one a little chew, pleased at how hard they were. He decided he certainly didn’t want to ever get on the wrong side of a pair of those.

Thank you for posting this!

The small wolf knew that she should probably take it a little easier on herself, but the Lore was such a beautiful place, and she was so completely happy to be seeing all of it that she could. Besides, it was her first taste of freedom in her entire life, and she was in love with it. Her heart felt like it was ready to jump out of her chest; at the moment, she was just genuinely in love with being alive and being present in the Lore. It felt... right. Like there was nothing in the entire world that could ever go wrong, as long as she was alive and free here. Walking across the plains was less taxing than weaving through a forest, but she'd walked for so long recently that her body was aching. She winced a bit as she put a paw down wrong and a sharper pain jolted up her leg. Her steps hitched a bit, and she sucked in a deep, steadying breath. Dammit. Dammit! She shook her head, willing herself to focus on anything else apart from the pain in her leg, and glanced around for something else to think about. And, as if by God's intervention, she spotted a pale figure up ahead in the snow. Training her pawsteps into an even, smooth gait, the small wolf approached the silver visage. From the scent, she could tell that he was male, and though she could pick up traces of other wolf scent on him, she believed him to be a loner. "Surely there are better things to eat than that," she commented lightly as she got up close, lowering her head down to take a sniff at one of the antlers and turning her deep blue gaze up to the pale boy, waiting for his reaction.

 

The boy’s auds swiveled back to catch the sound of approaching foot steps, turning his head to find the form of a speckled girl who he suspected was about his age but he couldn’t quite tell. She was just so small, maybe about the same size of Hal but he suspected she might be even smaller which, quite frankly, shocked him. She was rather rough looking and there didn’t seem to be much meat on her bones, which that lone told him that she wasn’t affiliated with any other packs if her single scent hadn’t already done the job. And, it seemed she was peppy. Perhaps the only thing that currently discerned her from the little sunspot was her coloration. A small smirk curled onto his maw.

“I don’t know about that, in the winter there’s not much prey around. Especially out here it seems. It’s too…open for most of them probably,” he said, turning his attention back to the antlers. “However, if this is any proof there might definitely be better things to eat during the warmer times,” he mused. Obviously any animal that was big enough to produce these would make a fine meal. If they could bring it down without someone getting killed, that was.

Holy cow, I just realized that their table's quotes are very similar. That's weird.

The reaction from the pale-furred young man was better than she'd expected it to be. The small wolf smiled in return and looked down at the antlers. Her stomach had been rebelling lately even at the very thought of food, but she assumed that it would change back to normal in a few days. Until then, she'd just not eat. It wasn't a particularly good idea, in the dead of winter, to turn down food, but it was better than upchucking whatever she had been able to eat back up into the snow. Plus, that was disgusting. She'd much rather just wait on the food. "You'd break a tooth on this," she commented after taking an experimental nibble of one of the antlers. Her nose wrinkled in distaste as her stomach did a somersault, but she chased the disgust off quickly so as not to be rude to her new acquaintance. "Hopefully whatever this came from tastes better." She'd never hope to be able to chase down an animal of this caliber, even with help. She'd probably just get trampled if she tried. She glanced back up at the silver wolf with a smile. "What are you doing out in the cold, chewing on antlers, anyway? I'd expect that there are probably better ways to spend an evening. Maybe with a lovely lady?" she teased, picking up the faintest traces of female scent on him. Of course, that didn't mean that the lady she was smelling had any importance to him, but she couldn't help herself. It was just a golden opportunity to tease the strange wolf who was chewing on antlers, of all things. She couldn't imagine why anyone would want to do that.

(This post was last modified: Jan 16, 2017, 02:56 AM by Castel.)

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

WHAT HAS SHE DONE TO HIM OMG

 

“You’d break a tooth on this,” she commented and he chuckled, giving a good natured nod. She was certainly right on that. Just from the few nibbles he’d tried he could tell that they were harder than any bone he’d come across. Even he could break open a leg from a deer to get out the marrow inside, but these things seemed more…solid. Feeling her gaze on him, he turned his attention back down to the girl with a raised brow, preparing himself for what he already assumed would be a sassy retort and he certainly wasn’t disappointed. But, neither was he prepared for the last bit. His thoughts automatically went to Hal, digging up feelings he didn’t necessarily want to keep thinking about. Of course he loved spending time with the girl, but sometimes he wondered if that was for the best. The more time they were together the stronger his feelings grew, which only made it more painful knowing that she felt nothing in kin to how he did. But, those weren’t thoughts for now.

“Nah, I’ve got a lovely lady right here don’t I?” he said, shocking even himself. Where the hell had that come from? Kino wasn’t a flirty soul, but it seemed that this girl was able to bring out his playful side. How interesting.

Holy fudge did not expect that response o.o

Well. That was certainly not at all what she was expecting him to say. Maybe she had been completely wrong about him having a lady friend, after all. If he did, then he certainly didn't seem too keen on keeping her. Cas didn't expect that there was a single she-wolf out there who'd appreciate their partner saying something like that to another wolf - especially a female they'd just met. How... interesting. This conversation had taken a turn, but not one that Cas was uncomfortable with. In fact, her blue eyes sparkled with mischief as she prepared herself to reply. "That, sir, was extremely cliché and slightly inappropriate. You don't even know my name," she told him with a wag of her tail and an angle of her ears. "Besides that, I'm not so sure I'm the type of 'lovely lady' you'd like to hang around. I'm a bit of a problem child." Might as well be truthful. Her statement was both a joke and not so much a joke. She'd resolved herself to not being in a relationship, for fear that she would hurt whomever happened to love her in the end. Her story didn't have a happy ending - that was all there was to it. But still... what harm could come from playing around with this boy for a while? No strings attached. No worry of harming him. "By the way, my name is Castel. But, of course, you're welcome to call me Cas," she said with a playful wink, like it was some sort of privilege to call her by her nickname, and he was the only one granted it.

I love this ;u;

 

If he hadn’t been expecting his response he certainly hadn’t been expecting hers. Hadn’t expected her to play along. In a second, his grin got bigger. “Terribly sorry Miss, I just call it as I see it,” he chuckled, his tail settling into a good natured wag. “But, what a coincidence, I’ve been known to cause quite a bit of trouble myself. Maybe we can create a bit of mischief together,” he quipped back, waggling his eyebrows in an obviously stupid and joking fashion. He couldn’t think back to a time when he’d joked around like this, felt so...carefree. Maybe it was because this girl knew nothing about him, because she was just an untied down as far as he knew as he felt sometimes. Whatever it was, he was actually...enjoying himself.

She spoke her name, Castel, but insisted that he call her Cas. Like it was some big secret, like it was some big opportunity and he took that opportunity readily. “Pleasure to meet you, Cas. My name is Alastor, but I suppose you can call me Al,” he replied. No last names he noted, nothing to keep them drawn to each other after they left but he was already finding he would be sad to see her go.

Same. I didn't think it would take this kind of turn xD

Huh. This boy was so much more interesting than she'd initially thought him to be. This was an entirely different type of conversation than Cas was used to, but she found that she didn't quite mind it. She let out a soft, breezy laugh at his response, ducking her head for a moment before meeting his topaz eyes with her sky blue gaze. "Well, I guess I can't complain. A handsome guy like you, alone on a beautiful, snowy evening like this. Who cares if you're a little blunt?" She, herself, could be quite tactless, as well. She found that she was appreciating his bluntness. Her brows rose in interest at his next statement. "Are you asking me out? Because I don't think you understand how much mischief I'm capable of creating. I don't know if you can handle it." Her ears perked in confusion when he mentioned his name, and she tipped her head to the side. He didn't particularly look like an Alastor to her, but she wasn't going to question it. "A handsome name for a handsome man," she remarked, drawing a small smirk from her own lips at how out-of-character her statement had been. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Al," she continued, still holding his gaze and swinging her tail absently. This wasn't what she was used to. This wasn't what she was completely comfortable with. She was not in her element. But... she was enjoying it. She found herself rather pleased that she'd decided to head up north that day, after all. A little soreness in the limbs was miniscule in the face of such a fun, new experience like this.

(This post was last modified: Jan 16, 2017, 04:49 AM by Castel.)

 

The silver yearling tried not to gawk as she called him handsome. No one had ever said that to him before, even in joking, until now that was. But he knew that it was just in joking, that they were just playing around and neither of them really meant what they said. But...maybe he could pretend for a moment, in his mind, that she did. He was having fun, why not take it a little further? He offered her a wink of his own when she chided about him not being able to handle her mischief, “Maybe, but that means we have to meet again after this. Think you’d be up for that, Miss. Troublemaker?” the boy goaded, only half joking. Also half hoping that she’d say yes, as she was a nice escape. He didn’t mistake what they were doing and what they were saying as things that he felt the same as with Hal. They were two completely separate entities, two different things entirely. There was no escaping that. It might be nice to have another friend though he supposed. But, he had to remind himself that there was no guarantee that Cas felt the same as him.