Beaver Dam Old Habits Die Hard

01 Feb, early afternoon. Scattered clouds, -23C. @Woya

Nash felt bad about wandering off, but it was only for a few days and Aleister had said it was a good idea to see who might be around and gave the Eastfall boy his blessing. He was doing his job was all. His mother and brother would be waiting for him when he got home. They promised not to leave him again.

He couldn't help but worry; the last time he'd taken a trip this long, he'd come home to find it abandoned. He had to shake it off, though. As he was constantly reminding himself, he couldn't always dwell in the past and he had a pack to protect now. He wasn't a fighter, so his way of taking care of them was to look around and bring back preventative information.

The peculiar trickling of water that usually announced a beaver dam tickled Nash's ears and he pulled to a stop. He sniffed the air. It was still a little cold out for the beavers to be out, but the collection of water usually drew other animals for easy access to water. If Nash was lucky, he might be able to snag an unsuspecting rabbit or raccoon.

Woya, hungry from her travels, had gotten the same idea. She slowed as the sound of water, muffled and choked with ice, increased in volume. Something moved ahead, chirruping and scrabbling along the dead wood that formed the dam. A raccoon was fishing for cold-lazed prey that the current may have pushed against the cobbled wall, oblivious to the two predators that approached it.

Once her buff eyes caught sight of the masked critter, she prepared to strike. Slow and methodical, her small frame navigated snow and frozen earth, avoiding sound and staying out of sight. Her muscles coiled and readied, only a few more yards and she would have her chance to burst out of hiding and claim her meal...

Nash knew his dark coat would stand out against the snow, so he kept low and slipped through the trees, treading softly to mitigate his footfalls. Sometimes being large had its disadvantages. He heard a critter by the water's edge and snuck forward, intent on his prey, when he noticed movement in the corner of his eye. He paused, scanning the bushes near the racoon he could now see, and picked out the form of another wolf stalking the same quarry.

For a moment the Eastfall boy thought about racing them to the racoon, but they were so much smaller than him and looked like they needed the meal more, so he changed his plan and circled so he the unsuspecting raccoon was directly between them. He settled down to wait. If the other wolf missed, he would be able to scare the creature back toward them.

If Woya knew that a wolf across the way was more or less pitying her, she would be quick to redirect her strike. As it was, oblivious to the helper that lay in wait, she continued her hunt without interruption. The woman took a breath, steadied herself, and at last made her move.

She flew over iced snow and hit the dam forcefully, the piled branches creaking as they shifted beneath her weight. The raccoon skittered and whipped around but she had gotten enough of a jump on it; her jaws closed around it's back hips and squeezed. The killing blow came next, and she almost wanted to dig in right there in the middle of the structure, but something ahead caught her gaze.

A low growl worked its way up her throat as Woya finally realized she was not alone.

Nash watched as the other wolf made their move, quickly diving in and cleanly dispatching the unfortunate masked creature that hadn't been watchful enough. He was impressed with her speed and accuracy. He was preparing to slip off - no need to interrupt a wolf in their meal - when they growled. Pale brown eyes fixed on him, and Nash slowly sat up.

"Good afternoon," he said calmly, not wanting to spook her. She was standing over a fresh kill, after all, and the last thing the dark man wanted was for her to feel like he was trying to steal her food. "That was a good kill."

Woya watched warily as the wolf removed himself from cover, calm and unassuming. She didn't buy it. Her peanut butter eyes narrowed slightly, and her lips pulled backward in disapproval. Over all, she looked quite haughty for someone who only had a freshly killed coon to her name. Still, hers meant hers and she wouldn't let him butter her up into handing any of it over.

"Yeah okay, keep walkin', bucko. 'Less you know a Hudson, I don't have time for makin' friends."

And for no good reason at all, she had a feeling this green-eyed punk didn't know her brother. Her gaze swept over the dam, assessing her options for getting the heck out of dodge so she could eat in peace. Her frown deepened as she realized it would be a bit awkward to turn around and go back the way she came; she would have to be quick and nimble about it, otherwise she'd leave herself far too open to the stranger.

Despite Nash's efforts, the girl still snarled at him. His ears flattened for a moment and he wasn't quite sure what to do. He hadn't faced aggression much; his family had always been open and friendly, and then he'd been alone. "Right," he said, unsure. "I don't know a Hudson. I'm not interested in taking your meal, by the way," he added for good measure. "You beat me to it, fair and square. I'm Nash." Might as well try to be friendly; he was representing the Cove after all.

Nash's tail swished across the ground. He was going to have to turn around and head back home soon; he'd already been gone a few days and he promised to be home within a week. He should at least try to see if he could learn something useful. "Have you seen any other wolves around the area? I'm from a pack up the mountain and I'm looking for neighbors."

At about I don't know a Hudson Woya tuned halfway out and continued trying to piece together a way to back up without turning her back to-- oh wait. There it was. Simply back up. After wrapping her jaws around the kill, carefully, and therefor slowly, she began to pick her way back to the opposing bank. Her eyes would jump back and forth from her own paws, watching that she was placing them somewhere secure, and this Nash's face as she listened to him speak.

It wasn't until he mentioned the mountain that she finally paused, and looked at him with something akin to interest. Ignoring his question, she set down her uneaten meal to ask her own:

"... wolves actually live way up there?"

That sounded a little ridiculous. It looked so frozen and desolate...

(This post was last modified: Feb 02, 2021, 12:55 AM by Woya.)

Nash watched with subtle befuddlement as the woman slowly inched away from him, taking her prize with her. He didn't understand why she was being so touchy - he'd already said he wasn't interested in taking her food away from her, hadn't he? Even he didn't really understand his own naivety, and he didn't really care to dwell on it.

At the mention of the mountain, the girl finally seemed to acknowledge him again.

Nash glanced back at the mountain that housed his home. "Well," he said a little slowly, "It's not all the way up the mountain itself, per se; I live at the lake part way up, near Serpent's Pass." He pointed with his nose. A pang of homesickness hit him and he blinked, surprised with himself. In all his travelling he'd missed his family and every time he went home he hoped to find someone, but never before had he had the urge to turn and run all the way back to the lake. It caught him off guard.

Her eyes followed his gesturing, but only briefly. Still, she found it hard to picture; a whole lake up there among all those angles? Part of her kind of wanted to cross the mountain now, just to see it for herself. Maybe if it were Summer, and not the middle of Winter...

"I ain't seen anyone," she finally answered, before picking up the dead raccoon once more and continuing backward. She guessed she could do that much since he hadn't made a move yet. Yet. And maybe he was being earnest, but Woya wasn't about to risk getting duped just so some random guy could feel better. As it was, she didn't care if she was confusing or troubling him with her aggressive rudeness.

Finally her back paw reached air, and then snow. One of the few times she was happy to feel the cold bite against her pads. She sent him one final glare for good measure, then whipped round and made her escape as quickly as her lithe frame would take her.

(This post was last modified: Feb 02, 2021, 12:54 AM by Woya.)