The Wildwood Take me out

For @Rory. Backdated to the 13th 

As he stomped along, Askan had a hard time imagining Percy in a place like this. A place of death and destruction were the trees where black and burnt, and the smell of ash and smoke somehow managed to still linger in the air. She belonged in the sunshine, in field of gold and surrounded by those who cared. Not lost and alone. Askan sniffed and climbed over the charred remains of a fallen tree, he was certain that if he was going to find Percy it wasn't going to be here. After all, why would anyone linger here?

This place was ugly, unlike anything the Selwyn had ever seen but even he knew what had caused this. He knew that fire was something to be feared and avoided at all costs. It was just a shame that trees couldn't run, that they were rooted into place and left to rot. There was no use getting upset about trees, he was merely passing through and besides there were loads of healthy trees about. How did the saying go, plenty more fish in the pond? The river? Ah, he didn't know and or care. The point was, he knew that he shouldn't get all mopey-that @Reyes would no doubt take the piss out of him if he knew- but he couldn't help it. For as ugly as this place was, it was just as sad.

And of course, that made Askan grumble and squint like someone had just insulted his mother. At least there wasn't anyone around, no one to witness his little...Whatever this was. Stupid trees. Stupid forest. Askan just wanted to see Reyes again and Percy, then everything would be fine. It'd all slot into place.

As though he'd ever be so lucky. Misfortune followed Askan around like ravens waiting to flock on a kill. And after taking a moment to pause and just listen, he belatedly realised he wasn't as alone as he thought. Which was fucking great wasn't it?

"I know you're there!" He yelled, his words dripping with spite. "How long have you been following me?" Now that was just an assumption, he had no proof after all, but it seemed like a natural jump for him to make.

@Askan sorry for the small wait :/

An occasional sneeze pushed its way through her nose as she walked, head down, through charred land that at one point probably held families of thriving wolves. Soot covered her pale paws, and cling to spars hairs of her underbelly as she pushed and pulled herself over fallen over trees and through rough bushes in an attempt to keep up with her guest. It seems Rory was running into more strangers than she'd expected and had begun to follow them as any scavenger would, with hopes that food would eventually find them. The stranger ahead of her was a male, larger and healthier than she was despite the lack of food and cold temperatures, and there was no doubt in the young woman's mind that this wolf held ties to a pack this trek was probably a short cut back. Excitement filled her at the thought of coming across a potential home where she could rest and refuel without an obligation--her safe haven would be just beyond their borders.

Silence had become her ammo and she used it carefully, stalking the male without much of a sound for miles at a time stopping only at the sign of the possible detection, and continuing on when the male no longer stalled in his steps. Uncertainty kept her at a considerably safe distance from him and yet she could still make out his color, shape, and size and scent gave hint of his age; older and probably wiser than her. His voice seemed magnified when he shouted in her general direction, apparently fed up with her presence and demanding that she show face but fear kept her at her spot and caution warned her to seek shelter in case this male grew violent. Fortunately for Askan her feet were frozen at the spot, unfortunately for Rory, she was metaphorically stuck between a rock and a hard place. A deep swallow of spit at the base of her throat was the only movement she made as she watched the male just ahead, his figure seemed to have grown twice its size since his demand and the fear grew to an indescribable amount; she needed an outlet. "Will you harm me if I come forward?" she asked, head cocking to the side in wait. Nothing at this point could ease her nerves, but there was no longer a point in hiding when it was apparent she was sniffed out.

(This post was last modified: Mar 27, 2017, 11:52 PM by Sahalie. Edit Reason: Font tag needs to be closed before div )

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They- or rather she- was cautious, which was wise given the circumstance and Askan's temperament. But even so, he couldn't help but be irritated by her lack of cooperation. He'd asked a question, he expected a response. He wasn't in the mood to play about and he certainly didn't appreciate that he was being stalked. Didn't she have something better to do? Or at the very least didn't she realise that anyone, not just Askan would be annoyed to learn someone was following them?

Gritting his teeth, Askan pulled in a deep breath. "I won't unless you give me reason to."

And he meant it. He wasn't the sort who went out of his way to hurt others, but like he said he would if he had to. From the sounds of it though, she wasn't looking for a fight. She would have been a lot more direct and in his face if she was. Cowering in the shadows like this wasn't something an instigator would do. In fact, she was scared, concerned for her safety. A loner then? Or at the very least she was just shy.

"Just come out and explain why you're following me. Haven't got all day." His tone was, by no means, soothing but he wasn't snarling at her anymore. She should at least be grateful for that.

The way he saw it, he was being perfectly reasonable. He had every right to know what she was doing and he'd be damned if he didn't find out what. It'd get under his skin and bother him to no end, he just resented being kept in the dark. And considering why he was in this damn place, it was understandable that he wasn't the most chipper of wolves. Not that he was chipper at all to begin with.

As she stood, staring first at the back of the male in front of her than at his waiting face, she sniffed the air with a strong hope that food would accompany his musk of pack, her head lowered in disappointment. It seemed that her stalk of him had been in vain, she wanted nothing more than to flee the area before any real introductions were needed but the table had turned and it was now in his favor. She, being a weak and feeble loner, could not ward off the anger of a healthy and well fed male adult carnivore and therefore instinct made her approach him, though cautiously, in response to his request. She hoped this meeting would be quick and painless, at least for the brief moment that they would talk. "I thought I smelled food." she started off, ears falling back on her narrow skull. At this range, she could see very well that this male had not been starved much since the start of winter and it showed in his healthy stare. His piercing yellow gaze made her turn, suddenly feeling uneasy.

"I'm in search of food really, nothing more." she confessed, hoping the male wouldn't misinterpret her following him for anything more than an innocent mix up, she hadn't expected to follow him so far and only when he'd acknowledged her presence did she realize that the male was alone and without anything in his jaws. He was probably on his way back home, hopefully it was miles away from here. She shifted on her spot, unsure of what to say next that could clear her of this awkward meeting but his gaze, which seemed to grow narrower the longer they were in the same area, made her fidget. He didn't seem happy in the slightest that a loner had attempted to follow him to goodness knows where. There was silence that quickly filled the area and Rory was unsure if she wanted to cut it with any more words, she assumed most of what he had asked had been answered and therefore she stood there, waiting for the male to speak.

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Food huh? That's all it boiled down to wasn't it? Survival, it was on everyone's mind and was the motivation behind almost every action that they took. Askan couldn't blame her, after all he knew what it was like to be desperate and hungry. But just because he'd been in her position once, didn't mean that he resented her any less. If anything, it made him all the more prickly and irritable, she was an unwelcome reminder, like a pale shadow of his former self.

"Is there something wrong with your nose?" He spat as his hackles bristled. "I have nothing for you to steal, so fuck off."

Scavengers, pft. If he really had food, did she think he'd give it to her? Who did she think she was? That she had the right to be so bold, so ignorant. It was one thing being hungry but it was another to be so stupid. It was all just so frustrating and the fact that he was so far from home in these ugly woods was more than enough to make him irritable. It didn't help that a mooch had come along and tried to get his stingy ass to take pity on her. Maybe if she had caught him in a more charitable mood he might have helped her out, gone hunting with her. But surely there wasn't anything to eat here in these dead woods. What sort of creature would want to live here of all places?

"Just go home and ask your family for food. They'll feed you." By no means was his voice kind, but it was flatter than before. Not nearly as rough around the edges.

His harsh words and deep voice made her wince, her feet stepped backward a step as she contemplated what the male would do to her now that he knew she was in search of food. She shrunk from him but within the same fluid movement returned to her full height and searched his face to see the look of disgust that washed almost immediately over his face. She was worthless, the lowest of the low--a scavenger. She swallowed the thick saliva that formed at the back of her throat and found her voice, having suddenly felt defensive over what he thought of her, "My nose works just fine, I'm just hungry." she started, pointing out the obvious, she felt so small in his presence and it made her angry. The anger was more at herself than him. "and who said I was looking to steal anything?! Don't judge what you don't know." she said, in a matter of fact voice but the confidence did not exude from her, instead she felt so low and worthless having admitting that she had nothing, while he probably had it all.

He mentioned family and the pit of her stomach twisted into a knot, if she wasn't embarrassed of looking more weak in front of him she would have whined but she seemed to stand up taller, more proud, when the thought all of what she'd endured and what it took to survive to her age crossed her mind. She had been a few of the lucky ones, and had been strong, despite what this wolf probably thought of her. "I am alone." were her first and only words, he didn't deserve to know why and Rory had become much too proud to seek his sympathy, instead she gave him as much information he needed to understand why she had been following him and what she was willing to do to sustain herself. "not everyone has privilege." she ended, her words seemed to drip with her own disgust but she was clever enough not to allow the male to know just how small minded he'd come across to her. He would probably think she had no right anyway. 

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Askan had always been quick to judge and honestly, he wasn't going to change anytime soon. His parents had tried to teach him not to, had tried to instil a sense of tolerance in him, but clearly despite all their efforts they had failed. The Selwyn was a leap before you look sort of guy, so it seemed perfectly natural for him to jump to a conclusion before he got all the facts. In this case though, it seemed as though he'd gotten ahead of himself, that he was wrong. And so, this wolf didn't have any family to pester for food. She really was all alone.

As grouchy as he was, Askan wasn't soulless. He felt a little bad for what he said and the situation she was in, but did that mean he was going to take his words back? Or maybe even go a step further and apologise? Hell no. That wasn't going to happen anytime soon, he didn't even know her or care about her. That sort of talk and care was reserved for those he had feelings for, or at the very least positive feelings.

Her words were dripping with venom and were no doubt intended as some sort of payback for his harsh response, but really Askan wasn't too fazed. If she kept it up he'd take issue with it, after all he didn't tolerate being insulted, but for now he supposed she was allowed to have her say, as long as she kept it within reason.

With a sigh, the Yukon wolf regarded her with a firm-but not so unkind- gaze.

"I guess so.' He said, finally, after a prolonged silence."Where'd you come from? If its so hard being on your own why don't you just go back?" The same could have been said for him all those months ago, but of course he refused to see it that way. Being the stubborn mule he was.

@Askan is such a grump. I love him! XD

The moment the words left her lips, laced with anger and frustration to a wolf that she did not know, the quicker she chastised herself for showing such weak emotions in the face of a difficulty. No wolf had ever been given the privilege to see her unraveled, the woman was usually much harder to anger considering her ability to adapt since becoming a loner but her return back to the Lore had been during the mist of a harsh time and this winter, as most others, was unforgiving. Her gaze softened as she looked Askan over, sure that the male had not been phased by her words and probably thought her more of a spoiled nuisance than anything else.  She shouldn't have allowed her emotions to cloud her better judgement in the company of a wolf who couldn't quite understand her story; it was even hard for her to swallow at times.  Taking a moment to eliminate the sense of disgust in her voice, she answered the male as honestly as she could. "I was born in the Lore, but my family has probably moved on long ago, therefore in a sense I am back home and all alone." she tried explaining, the thoughts of her adoptive parents suddenly clouded her mind but she pushed them away. She had abandoned them, as they had her, and the childish memories she held of them had become so convoluted and mixed that she barely remembered what was fact and fictional.

"You smell of a pack, lucky you." she finished, settling to her rump in wait for the male to confirm her thoughts, she was sure that he would tell her some story about how the pack had become everything that he had ever wanted in a family and he probably couldn't have survived without them. The story was nearly always the same from every pack wolf she'd encountered and for a brief moment, during that meeting Rory would feel a sense of jealousy and hurt, but than she would remember her freedom and the fact that she simply had herself to fuss over and the thought of joining others wouldn't seem as appealing anymore. She had become accustomed to living all alone, fending for herself, and she had also began to crave the company that often came to her while being a loner, it was a learning experience in itself and she couldn't imagine her life aligning positively with that of a pack.

(This post was last modified: Apr 09, 2017, 06:11 AM by Rory.)

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She might have tried to hide it but Askan could still sense the resentment lingering in her voice. Why was she angry at things that weren't even his fault? Why did she blame him for the fact that she had no one? It wasn't like he was to blame for her misfortune and yet that look in her eyes was cold and sharp, like an icicle with a knife edge. Whatever. He would have felt a little bad for her, family was important and it must suck to go without, but did that mean she had to be a pissy bitch? Course not. Askan had done nothing wrong-or so he thought- she was the one taking out her frustration on him, a stranger. She was lucky really, for all she knew he could have been a bad individual, the sort that wouldn't have any qualms about hurting a lone female.

Askan-despite what some would assume- wasn't such a wolf. He wouldn't hurt her, no matter how annoying she was. By no means was he a perfect gentleman, but he wasn't a fiend either. He was sort of stuck in the middle, as though tangled up in some strange sort of limbo.

"Luck has nothing to do with it." Askan insisted, as his nose wrinkled at the thought."I had to work for it, I'm not a damn mooch. To this day I'm still paying them back for being so kind to me. And I'm gonna continue till the day I die, that's just how it is. "

Sure, it was unfortunate she didn't have a pack to call her own, but pfft, it wasn't like everything was handed to Askan on a pretty platter. If she was all down in the dumps cause her life wasn't easy, then she had to grow up and deal with it like everyone else did!

"Yeah, the situation you're in sucks, but do you think skulking around all moody is helping at all? Cause it doesn't look like it's making you feel any better. Get your shit together."

For some reason, as she stood in front of Askan she felt the inside of her grow hotter with frustration, his words seemed so accusatory and much too blunt for her liking. He was judging her again, she knew it, and it was bothering her regardless of how well she was holding it in from the outside world. He mentioned the hard work he had done to be apart of the pack and it made Rory wonder if he was accusing her of being lazy because she had begun to prefer the lack of responsibility she held being a loner, it hadn't particularly made her less of a valuable wolf but instead more aware of how much she was willing to contribute in return of a reward. Perhaps she'd become a bit selfish since living on her own but that was the direct result of having to look after just herself. "You sound like a wolf worth his weight then." she voiced, her tail wagged once, then twice in a slow and rigged motion as if to rid itself of the anger boiling within her, before she thought to settle to her haunches. She was confident of her abilities to hide her body posture while in a neutral position, "how long ago did you pledge your loyalty?" she wondered, having expected the wolf to be a seasoned member.

"I'm not being moody, I'm just asking you not to judge what you don't know." her voice was a bit snippy, her eyes seemed to bore into him like daggers as she stood to give this wolf a look of disbelief. Here he was again, assuming that by telling him her story she probably expected him to hand her something that she didn't deserve. Rory was used to working hard for everything she had, and she didn't expect this male to treat her any different. "do you have something against loners?" she wondered, head cocking to the side. She hadn't asked him for anything the entire meeting and here he was assuming that she was too lazy and vulnerable to see through his bullshit. "maybe I like being a loner, maybe I like the freedom and the ability to come and go as I please. Not everyone desires the pack life you know." goodness he had a stick up his butt, perhaps he was having a bad day and Rory was just the icing on the cake, either way she wasn't taking his punches sitting down, she'd give him as much grief as he was giving her even if feelings were harmed in the process.

(This post was last modified: Apr 12, 2017, 08:14 AM by Rory.)

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