Thicket of Secrets Wandering around

Kama had begun to grow lonely after being on her own for almost a year now. She missed her mate dearly. She didn't even know if he was alive or if he had moved on from this world. She hoped he wasn't gone and he was living a good life now. Maybe it was even time for her to move on, maybe find a new pack. She didn't think she could manage finding a mate that could live up to Thanatos. <b>"What happened love? Why did it all happen?"</b>

Ever since she was attacked she was...different. She had become bi-polar, slightly schizophrenic, and she tended to talk to herself as well. The pain of loosing her mate and her pups had caused too much stress on her mind, bringing her on the line between normal and insane. Kama wandered around and had just recently entered Relic Lore. She walked through the trees as she began to have flashbacks. The Thicket of Secrets reminded her so much of her old home. She shook her head and snarled at the painful memories. She laid down and covered her head with her paws, trying to get them out of her head. Kama looked up and saw Abaddon, Thanatos' father. The wolf who had given the orders in the first place. She snarled at him and leapt forward, scratching at his face and chest, digging her claws into his flesh. <b>"It was all your fault! Everything I loved was destroyed because of you!"</b> She thrashed out frantically.

Kama stopped for a moment and realized Abaddon wasn't moving. She took a few steps back and shook her head. When she looked back up, Abaddon was gone and in his place was a badly torn up tree. He was never there, he was dead. She was seeing things again. She laid down again, whimpering a little. <b>"Why did you have to go?"</b>

Trees pressed in against his flanks. They towered overhead and shed their shadows all across the ground here, and their broad arms teemed with life and furtive sound. Vafri’s big ears twitched; he paused, it seemed, with every other step to cast a dark eye back over his shoulder. Lowland woods suited the big wolf just about as well as ocean waters might a desert snake. He padded on though, slinking through the brush and thrusting out his long nose ever forward. Scarce prey in the highlands drove him down; belly growling Vafri snuffled at leaf litter and licked at his lips. He wondered what it might be like to hunt beside a brother or a friend, and take down deer and moose and great fat chunks of meat to sink his teeth into… Lost in thought, the big wolf nearly ran into a tree and then leapt back, growl brimming from his chest. Get out of here, he thought and snorted, and leapt around it. Something thorny on the other side grabbed at his fur and Vafri yelped, kicked out, skittered away. He forgot about food, and whirled off to stand and stare at the blackberry bushes here and there. ”I don’t like you,” Vafri declared at last, austere. With a sniff, he lifted up his head and walked away. He thought he must not be quite starving enough to die and so he gave up hunting for the moment. It always took more thought and concentration and finesse than anyone with half a brain should ever want to spend. Rabbits were tricky… and his mind skittered off again, thinking about how he wanted to be small so he could sneak up on them and slip between the brambles like a stoat. Stoats were nice; they had sharp teeth and no manners and took what they wanted… Something snarled in the thicket up ahead. Vafri recognized the noise as deadly, felt the trembling threat of death down in the lower chorus of it. His fur stood on end and he hesitated, danced a step back on long legs. Run away, he thought at once. Run away someone is dying over there you don’t want to get blamed or be another victim or why are you thinking run, just run! He didn’t run, though. He thought about running for a bit too long and suddenly it felt like that would be a silly thing to do. What if the other wolf was killing food? Suddenly he wondered what might happen if he ate a wolf, and edged just forward toward the sound. Perhaps I would never be hungry again… Perhaps his brain would explode. Perhaps… perhaps he would finally touch the sky. But his thoughts were interrupted once again by someone talking very angrily, and Vafri thought it definitely sounded like an argument he ought not be caught up in. All the better reason to investigate. Quick and sleek and rather more like a stoat than he thought, Vafri thrust his narrow body through the bushes and ducked around the trunk of an old tree, and stuck his head in on a conversation between one wolf and… another tree. For a second Vafri cocked his head and looked at the torn bark just across from him. Then he glanced at the female and cocked his head the other way, and blinked. ”What’s this tree done?” he inquired.

Kama jumped at the sound of another voice. She snarled, searching for the source of the sound. Had someone snuck up on her or was she simply going crazy again? <b>"Who's there? Show yourself!"</b> Her ears flattened against her head as she growled. She was seeing red, she wanted to destroy the wolf who was mocking her.

She snarled threateningly, turning her head every which way as she tried to find the speaker. <b>"Don't you dare mock me!"</b> She lashed out at the tree next to her, putting even more scratches into it. Finally she spotted the speaker. It was a male, standing behind a tree. He was a large wolf and appeared to be about her age. His white fur stuck out in the dark forest and Kama wasn't sure how she had missed him. He was thin and lanky, built more for speed rather than strength. His eyes mesmerized her, silvery brown. That was something she hadn't seen before.

Kama shook her body for a moment, calming down. <b>"I apologize. You caught me at a...bad time."</b> She hoped this male wouldn't run off scared. She had been so temperamental lately but she was trying to keep it in check. <b>"I'm Kama, Kama Rydell. What is your name stranger?"</b>

Twitchy little thing. He took just a step back when she snarled again. Ears pulled back a bit more, head down, Vafri watched this strange new wolf claw at the bark again. Poor tree; he began to wonder if maybe slinking off was a better option than provoking her. If she was so brutal toward unthinking flora, what might she do to him? But Vafri smiled at the thought, tongue lolling – amused by his own daring. For a moment or two he wondered if perhaps the she-wolf could be blind as well – to miss someone so tall and lanky and bright white against the shadows. It wasn’t fear that moved within his heart but pity, and the pity made him careless. When at last the she-wolf turned he felt less terror than anticipated, even when she stared him in the eye. A jolt of surprise rattled through him to his toes though and the big wolf hesitated and abruptly glanced away. The liquid darkness of his eyes flashed in the low light, settled on the tree just to the stranger's left. Trees never snarled or berated him for giving insolent glances. Considering the circumstance, they seemed a safer thing to look upon. Just don’t attack me too, he thought and glanced back at her every now and then, his head down and his tail held limp behind him. Much to his surprise she suddenly apologized, however, and curiosity pricked at his mind once more. Vafri lifted up his head a bit, cocked it in mild amusement. ”No kidding,” he said at last. The easy cheer of his tone rolled out like laughter. ”I’d hate to end up on your bad side.” And taking a bold step forward, nose twitching just a bit in hopes of catching the warm smell of the female and learning just a bit more about her, Vafri gave his name and a hesitant wag of the bushy tail. ”Vafri Seigaldr, at your service. What’s got you mad enough to be attacking trees?” He only hoped the question wouldn’t lead this Kama wolf to realize he made a softer target. He was much too kind and handsome to be killed.

Kama kept an eye on the male as he stepped towards her and laughed when he joked about not wanting to end up on her bad side. He seemed nice enough, not looking for a fight. He was probably just roaming around like she was.

Vafri, interesting name. She wagged her tail slightly, happy to finally meet someone who was friendly. Kama wasn't interested in talking about why she was angry with this stranger though. She didn't know him, there was no need for him to know her past. It irritated her a little and she shook her head to calm down. <b>"It's something I'd rather not talk about with a wolf I just met. You understand don't you?"</b> She walked passed Vafri, leaving the torn up tree behind her, flicking her tail over his shoulder playfully as she passed. <b>"What brings you here Vafri?"</b> She turned her head and smiled at him.

He relaxed just a little when he saw her tail move – not the stiff wag of aggression but a looser, friendly little twitch. Triumphant Vafri watched as she moved toward him, noted immediately the tension when he asked about her fury. Secrets. The lanky male struggled against the urge to roll his eyes. Females always wanted things locked up, surprising, deadly. He preferred to know their secrets in advance, and felt a quiet tang of irritation as she passed. The female’s tail brushed at his shoulder, and a brief stiffening of the muscles pushed him back. Don’t play friendly if you don’t mean it. He still didn’t understand how one could go from murderous to nearly coy in the blink of an eye. Maybe she was quite insane; he thought on that, and intrigued though he was the white wolf also felt a pulse of wariness run through his veins. He hadn’t lived so long alone by acting stupid; when the circumstances smelled off something in his brain lit up that signal to get out. It flickered like a dead star now, a sort of deep uncertainty as Vafri’s dark eyes followed Kama and his body failed to turn for just a second too long. He did turn, of course – he stepped ever so stiffly from the casual brush of fur on fur and let his gaze follow her hind end toward the forest’s depths. ”Of course,” he answered, voice unchanged despite the vaguest hint of irritation in his stance. Keep your secrets. He could play the same game; if she wouldn’t open up he wouldn’t either, and he’d find another way to learn about her – because suddenly it mattered very much to him that he find out why she was so mad. Casual conversation once denied became a challenge to be overcome, and Vafri simply couldn’t walk away from such a thing. He stepped after Kama, languid gait dispelling that one ounce of tension in his limbs. Her own question was easy enough to answer honestly without quite answering at all, and so he took it on next with that airy tone and easy cheer. ”I got hungry,” he explained. ”There’s not much cover in the Riddle Heights, and…” The big wolf paused to tilt his head again, scratched at an oversized ear. ”I’m not the best hunter, really. Figured there might be game down here, but then I got distracted and… well here you are.” It might have been a chuckle bouncing in his chest; Vafri’s tail gave another jovial wave. ”Two’s better than one, Mother always said. At least I think she did. Do you live here?”

She could tell he was irritated that she wouldn't talk about why she was angry. He seemed to tense up. Kama sighed, giving in to Vafri. She turned to him before she spoke. <b>"My old mate's father was..not a very kind wolf. A situation arose that he had ordered and I was attacked, which is where my scars came from. I had been carrying pups at the time and they ended up being stillborn. My mate has been missing since then and I suppose you could say my mind enjoys playing tricks on me now."</b> Kama paused before she spoke again. She knew she would probably scare Vafri off but it didn't really matter to her. <b>"I thought I had seen Abaddon and I attacked. Turns out it was just a tree and he's still dead."</b> She chuckled when she said the last bit, kind of a psychotic laugh.

He mentioned hunting and her stomach immediately growled. She hadn't picked up the scent of any prey around here yet but maybe they could find something. <b>"I'm up for finding something to eat. I'm a fairly good hunter."</b> She cocked her head and eyed him, curious. <b>"No I don't live here. What makes you think I do?"</b>

(This post was last modified: Feb 24, 2012, 09:29 PM by Kama.)

The female gave in, just like that! He cocked his head a bit once more, surprised and more than a little disappointed. Why present a challenge and then back down? Vafri listened to her little story nonetheless, and a little of the laughter left his eyes. ”Life’s rough,” acknowledged the pale wolf flatly. His own existence was no tale of sunshine, but he kept his wits about him and moved on. Curiosity moved in the liquid depths of his strange eyes, but never pity. Still the big wolf held his head down, body language fluid once again, and stepped beside her as she walked. He was quite glad to see the subject change; now that his curiosity was sated Vafri didn’t much care for reminiscing, and every now and then these strangers who spoke of themselves wanted to know about him. He thanked the stars she never got that far, and grinned at the mention of a hunt. ”It would certainly be a pleasure to hunt alongside someone fiercer than myself,” admitted Vafri. In answer to her question his big ears pricked up, surprised. ”Well, I found you here…” He had no reason really – just an assumption, a meaningless fall of words. ”I mean, I don’t live here. I guess it was a silly thing to ask.” He hesitated, and his tail gave an awkward sort of twitch. ”Must be my stomach talking, you know? I haven’t eaten for days.”

Kama didn't ask about Vafri's life. She figured if he wanted to tell her about it he would. It was none of her business either way. <b>"Alright lets see if we can find anything decent to eat."</b> She chuckled a little when he mentioned why he thought she lived there. <b>"It's fine but yes, lets get something to eat before your stomach starts talking again."</b> She teased him a little.

Kama sniffed the air and picked up the scent of a doe. <b>"Come on, there is a doe nearby."</b> She led Vafri deeper into the woods, following the scent.

This she-wolf still confused him. Angry, friendly, secretive, open, friendly again, and now so comfortable she brushed aside his hasty assumptions and took hold of the conversation. Ever tolerant the big wolf merely watched, eyes keen. He supposed that maybe Kama here kept more surprises tucked away, and might be good for more than food. All this thinking of red meat provoked his stomach into chorusing anticipation, and Vafri turned to look back at one fluffy side as walls of smooth muscle beneath his ribs ground on irritating emptiness. He thought back to his last meal, a stringy hare half-starved by winter’s frosty grip, and licked his lips. When the female mentioned his complaining middle section Vafri grinned, ears twitching, and wagged his tail. Oh, food… He couldn’t possibly be irritated or confused when promise of a meal snuck up on him. “Lead on!” he answered as she trotted off. His white coat still too bright here in the dim light of the earthy forest, Vafri padded after Kama. He leaned down to sniff at fallen leaves and lower branches as they moved, and sure enough the lingering taste of something warm and meaty tickled at his nose. He thought of hot blood filling up his mouth and Vafri’s tail wagged happily as he moved on. He might enjoy the open tundra to this closed-in place, might like the feel of bare sky pressing at his nose, but nothing beat the weight of warm meat in his belly. He could find it in his heart to like the she-wolf just for offering to help him out; her strangeness might be pushed aside for later musings. Now all that mattered was the tension in his muscle, the signals that her body sent as she trekked on ahead of him, and the signals that the forest gave his ears and eyes and nose. Vafri quieted and listened now, and slowly all the thoughts swarming his head died off and laid low.