Lost Lake Wash It All Away

<blockquote>Refusing to allow herself to be contained on pack grounds despite sisyhR's rage at her little excursion to the willows, the tawny lady stalked towards the edge of the lake. Usually hesitant to swim any more than necessary (with the exception of her dunk in the Swift River), ariaN felt it was high time to shed the last of her thick wintery coat. She would emerge from the water transformed from a creamy and tawny wolf into a lady of golden and silver hues, only maintaining the creamy highlights around her cheeks, belly and paws.

The water was far colder than the streams of her home, but she did not let that deter her, wading out until her paws could no longer touch the bottom. She swam in lazy circles, enjoying the clear sky while it lasted, until finally, beginning to tire, she pulled her large body from the water. To think in the coming months she would swell to near bursting made her legs feel weak, but her melodic laughter filled the air instead. She was being ridiculous. She would do just fine.</blockquote>

The wolf scented the air as he walked around the borders of the territory
he now thrived within. The odor of the pregnant alphess wafted towards him,
and Jedd decided to bound off towards it. Within moments, the large creature
had spotted the leader just wading out of the river. Her pelt was soaked, but
now was a mixture of ravishing tones. The wolf paused for a moment before
tucking his tail between his legs and approaching the wolfess.


" 'Lo, miss Naira" he called out, politely dipping his large head. His
short muzzle pointed at the ground for a moment before he looked back
up. The air was still, or so it seemed. It was crisp but warm, and there was
a hint of a breeze that rolled through the mountainous area in which they
lived. He already enjoyed the new terrain, for he had rarely encountered
mountains where he was originally from.


"Water a bit cold? he questioned lightly, a small smirk making its
way onto his white maw. It soon dissappeared, and he stepped to the
side of the female, lowering his head to the crisp waters. Lapping up a
bit, he soon raised his head upwards, water dripping from the fur on
his chin. Pale teal-green eyes looked over the water, small ripples
waving across the massive body of water.

<blockquote>Deciding to have some fun with the new recruit she waited until he walked along side and shook violently, releasing a small downpour over the wolf at her side. picking up her feet in a small dance she trotted away from the waters edge, less he chose to retaliate in some form. Her fur sat in damp feral spikes all over her nice clean coat, making her look like more of a hellhound than the regal wolf she attempted to portray to outsiders.

If they were going to be family, they may as well get acquainted. Settling on her behind and lifting her rear leg to scratch at her neck she took a moment to enjoy one of the simplest pleasures in life, tongue lolling from her mouth comically. Once her itch was satisfied she sighed contentedly. <b>"So what brings you to these lands? Tell me story of your family."</b> She loved stories.</blockquote>

Jedd felt his flesh rise in goosebumps as Naira shook her pelt, water droplets
landing upon him. His tail flicked and he almost chuckled as the female swiftly
moved away from the water- smart. He let her get away with it. Turning to
the body of water, he looked at his own reflection, observing his own pale
eyes. Frame shifted as he peered over at his leadess, who questioned him
of his family. He cleared his throat, preparing to speak.

"Well," he began, facial expression turning fairly astute, "I'm from
a land of great plains and few trees. Beautiful, it was- and hard to hunt
prey. A bit difficult when the damned creatures can see you a mile before
you see them." Jedd released a modest chortle, a grin placed upon his
white maw. Ears flattened as he spoke his next words: "I'll tell ya some-
thin' many a wolf don't know." For some strange reason, Jedd felt his
heart begin to pulse within his chest. "One day whilst huntin' a buffalo-
dunno if you know what they look like." He began to get off on a tangent,
although the information was still relevant, "Big ol' brown creatures with
horns. Hell of a size, I'll tell you." After this brief description, he spoke
on. "Anyways, me an' my pack were huntin' one of these beasts, and I
got a good ol' kick to the side of my head....I'm deaf in my left ear now."
His face remained apathetic.


"My sister Finn left the Clan, for what reasons I do not know. It
royally irritated me. I've tracked her down to these lands, and....I'm, er,
hoping to meet up with her again." his head bobbed in a nodding
motion at his own words. He was not going to tell the wolf his intent
of hurting that wench...FInn. Speaking her name felt as if acid had been
poured onto his pink tongue.

<blockquote>The story resonated with Naira, who had come to these lands in search of her own brother. She had come close on several occasions but just couldn't bring herself to actually face him yet, and now? Now it just couldn't happen. She was almost certain he would turn on her for leaving the River wolves, for going against the most basic rule. If you aren't a leader you do not breed.

Her tale so far held almost a bitter-sweetness to it. She had come in search of her brother and had found her love instead. The pups could be her happily ever after or they could be the tragic ending to a sorry story. But she would not let that happen.

There was nothing she could do to cure a kick to the head or deafness but his mention of irritation sparked concern in her. She had been more worried when her brother disappeared unannounced and she settled herself in a small patch of grass to sun herself for a while. Sure she should be closer to the den. But they could see anything coming for a mile away, and she hadn't yet started to show so she was still pretty fast for a wolf of her size.

<b>"You know, I'm slowly growing to love this place..."</b> she admitted after a rather large yawn. <b>"How are you finding it?"</b></blockquote>

Jedd nodded his head in an affirmative manner towards her question.
"Slowly adjustin' to it" he admitted, looking off to the mountains. Indeed,
it was incredibly different here. There were no plains, no buffalo, no prong-
horn antelope. One could not see for a mile straight here, unless you were
willing to scale a mountain, which he was certainly not prepared to do.
He cleared his throat, looking to his leadess with his pale emerald-teal
eyes "It is nice, though. Very secretive and secure here. Don't know
many a wolf who would wanna live in the mountains." Eh, any of
the wolves he knew anyways.

The warm air was stagnant, the birds singing their songs from the nearby
pines. The sky was a lovely blue, with light gray clouds scattered about.
His tail flicked as he glanced around, right ear turned towards Naira to
hear her response.

<blockquote>A small smile graced the lady's face at his response. The unspoken was clear in his tone and she dismissed it for now. He would either grow to love their home, or leave. But until he decided one way or another, all they asked for was his loyalty, to fight beside his pack mates and the common sense to keep his mouth shut about their existence.

<b>"I grew up in a dense forrest, far from here. I grew up hunting caribou and moose. Deer less often, and never goats..."</b> laughter clear in her tone and dancing in her eyes. She never would have considered it a meal where she grew up, the odd looking creatures were resourceful, tricky, and not nearly as large as the game she was used to. It would mean they would need to hunt more often, and smaller game was more dangerous to take because of the variation in the terrain. She imagined she would be needed to stock up on ailments for basic sprains, but she had no way to mend broken bones. They would all need to be careful.</blockquote>

"Moose and caribou..." Jedd mouthed the words, as if to taste them on
his tongue. The beast looked deep within thought before he looked back to
his leader. Suddenly, he had changed the subject "Will this be your first
litter of pups?" he questioned, voice full of curious tones. The hormonal
scents that shrouded the female in an aura (or so it seemed) were quite
potent. He hoped that his question would not be offending in any sort of
matter.

The wolf turned now, looking back to the lake. The sun glistened upon it,
casting a glowing ball of a reflection in the liquid. He sighed softly to himself,
enjoying the view. He never really got to see such large bodies of water.
It was usually rivers, creeks, or small ponds. This was quite the treat. As
he waited for the female to reply, he stepped towards the water, his white
paws wading in. The liquid was cool, but not freezing. Jedd felt light goose-
bumps prickle at his skin as he waded a bit deeper. Pale eyes closed as he
stood silently.

(This post was last modified: Apr 10, 2012, 11:01 PM by Jedd.)

<blockquote> A small smile crossed her face at the next question. <b>”Yes it will. But I’ve tended to many mothers before. Where I lived, game was quite plentiful so there were less restrictions on breeding. We were such a large pack we could support more than one litter. Last season I had to tend to three mothers. Thankfully the litters were small.”</b> Unfortunately their size had been a large part of their downfall. <b>”There was a drought. We had to split up.”</b>

Admittedly, it was the younger wolves who had dispersed. The core of her family she imagined were still fighting, living and dying in the Yukon forest. Hopefully a lot less of the latter. <b>”So what about your family Jedd? Why did you chose to leave them?”</b> she questioned. She imagine there was a reasonable answer. Most wolves left their birth packs at around the age of two to make their own way. It was simply the way she had been raised to believe things were done.</blockquote>

Listening to Naira, Jedd could not imagine living in a pack the size that she
had seemed to describe- more than one litter? He would go crazy listening
to more than four pups. Shaking his head, his rounded right ear twitched. Pale
eyes looked at his leadess, and he shrugged his shoulderblades gently.

"I wanted to find my sister, Finn. I feel as if she is around here...but I am not
sure where." Ok, he was being partially truthful, but he would not reveal what
he would actually do to her once he located that damned scrap of fur. His lids closed
for a second as to prevent him from rolling his eyes. He wanted her dead. He want-
ed to taste her blood in his mouth; watch the fear in her eyes.

Smiling softly to Naira, he continued "If I cannot find her, though, it would not be such
a big deal. I need to start a new life away from my clan anyways." Really, he didn't.
Why the hell was he saying all this? To cover his hide? Perhaps...