Red Fern Forest Amongst The Ravens [M]

This place was irrefutably boring to the young male as broad shoulders rubbed up against the deep reddish bark of a lumbering redwood tree to soothe an itch his teeth couldn't quite reach themselves before sauntering off further into the depths of the forest. For a place that clearly smelt occupied; including the mixture of alluring perfumes from real women, pack borders, and cologne of men in pursuit, you'd expect to run into at least one individual, but the dark-hued man remained empty-pawed. What a drag.

A salmon tongued rolled out from parted jaws as Sunder voiced his lack of motivation in the form of a yawn, tarnished canines gleaming in the patchy sunlight that filtered through the forest canopy while he lowered his haunches to plop his rump unceremoniously onto the ground. His head tilted skyward to settle his pale green gaze on the dancing leaves above as the faint trace of a breeze guided their graceful steps. Spring was definitely creeping back onto the scene. Perhaps there was a cache or creek nearby he could snag a quick snack out of since the chances of acquiring any company, or competition for that matter seemed slim at best.

Word Count: 200

Commision by Kumiho-kami

(This post was last modified: Mar 13, 2022, 12:52 AM by Sunder.)

Woya hadn't been able to play by the rules for another minute. She was on fire, and in more ways than one. The hormones raging through her system did more than demand impregnation - they stripped away her patience and her walls, causing every emotion she'd stifled this past year to swarm and choke her. This drove her away from the others, but closed walls meant she could only put in so much distance. Finally accepting that this was not sustainable for her, Woya had waited for an opportune moment and took it.

She moved briskly, determined not to stop until she was certain she had complete solitude. In her haste, she didn't catch on to the stench of stranger until it was too late. Woya stomped into view and froze as honey eyes landed on a young, unfamiliar male.

"... the fuck are you doing here?"

Whimsical daydreams of raiding another's cache or fishing in a creek to fill his belly were swiftly swept abroad as charcoal-painted ears couldn't help but pique in both curiosity and surprise. The silence that once enveloped the forest was abruptly shattered by the thundering stomps of what the young male at first thought was a moose charging through the foliage only to find himself taken aback by the sudden manifestation of one small raging woman adorned in shades of cream and silvers. Dark lids had to blink a couple of times before reassuring himself this mad woman; with a tongue on her at that, wasn't about to barrel straight into him. Poor guy hadn't done anything yet.

Sunder couldn't help the snort, though, that came all too naturally in response to her most ladylike opening line. "My, my. Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" There was no holding back the sarcasm in his tone nor the amusing twitch to his lips that curled to form the faint traces of a smirk as he rose to a stand should the woman before himself indeed decide to tackle him anyways. "Can't a handsome guy take a leisurely stroll through the forest these days?"

Word Count: 203

Commision by Kumiho-kami

He appeared amused by her irritation, and that riled her further. Her hackles bristled and her fangs pressed past taut lips. If he'd been her size, she would have attempted to tear into his hide then and there. It was only the clear muscular superiority of his frame that kept her in place. She didn't have Hudson to call to, but she had quite a bit of confidence that @Adelard would have her back in the same capacity if needed.

Her tail lashed at the air behind her.

"It ain't yer fuckin' forest to be swingin' that fat ass around in," she shot back, despite the lack of pack scent. If it was close enough to bug her, it was too close. Now would he take the not-so-subtle hint or keep pushing her buttons?

Clearly the stranger before him was not a connoisseur of sarcasm as her hackles bristled in further irritation from his musings, the points of her fangs protruding from beneath taut lips. Now, what had crawled up her rear end and died? Speaking of rear ends, his was apparently too profound to belong in this neck of the woods. Sunder scoffed and lifted a paw to hold briefly against his chest in a display of mock offense before daring to remove his gaze from the woman in order to in fact look at his own ass then back to her as if her words had actually bruised his ego.

"WELL. It's not fat it's pleasantly plump!" Sunder quipped with a huff that he knew well enough would without a doubt only agitate the poor woman more. Growing up the young buck had a natural way of getting underneath nearly anyone's skin and always be found as the root cause for conflicts escalating. With the exception of his sister that is. Somehow she was the only one that could tolerate the man's personality although she made it known when she had enough.

Word Count: 190

Commision by Kumiho-kami

It was evident he did not feel the sort of sting that he portrayed, but despite herself Woya was amused regardless. The violent exterior she was portraying cracked for a moment, her lips ticking upward in a crooked smile. It was certainly better than cracks about her nearly non-existent family, that was for sure.

"Whatever helps ya sleep," she answered, cocking one brow skyward to indicate that she did not agree - not that she was any kind of expert on the attractiveness of male frames.

"Either way, y'better pack it in and get goin'. 'Lard'll take your face off, he catches you sniffin' around here. 'Less that's part of yer plan to shed a few pounds."

If she couldn't inspire fear, maybe mention of the pack's burly protector would.

(This post was last modified: Mar 12, 2022, 08:47 PM by Woya.)

Was...was that what he thought it was? A glimmer of hope dared arise in the man's pale green gaze as he caught the faintest signs of cracking in the woman's otherwise ironclad composure. Each corner of her lips crept further upward until the slightest crooked smile was formed. That was a win in Sunder's book.

"Ah c'mon, you really mean to tell me you don't find this juicy bit o' meat bite worthy?" As his words flittered off his lips in a playful manner despite the tension in the air he spun about to expose his back to her, bowing his front to allow the said object to wiggle enticingly before her. Clearly showing the level of maturity; or lack thereof, the young man had. All in all, he was just trying to further spread those cracks.

Peaking from underneath his forearm, Sunder tilted his head curiously in response to her latter statement. What the hell was a Lardll? After a couple of moments of contemplation and looking at her in deer-eyed confusion it dawned on him. OH! So that explained the weird scent on her pelt that mingled with that other weird scent.

Word Count: 194

Commision by Kumiho-kami

Woya could hardly believe it, but the stranger was actually doing a pretty good job of distracting her. She couldn't help but giggle, teeth grit to try and stop it from bubbling its way out of her chest while her eyes pinched with mirth. It ended with a disapproving shake of her head.

"Yeah, yer funny," she admitted, smile growing, but only briefly. Hopefully he knew that getting this far wouldn't mean anything in the long run, especially if he continued skulking around her pack. He probably didn't, but that'd be his own fault, wouldn't it?

"And 'bite worthy,'" her expression leveled once more, tone tilting toward severity once again, "as in yer gonna lose that silver tongue of yers if y'don't get movin'. I ain't playin'. Keep the fuck away from my pack."

Her hackles raised once more, she took a pointed step forward, one intended to threaten despite her small stature. Just the thought of him trying to 'play' with @Saga or @Rhaegara made her angry all over again.

There was no mistaking the subtle charm Sunder must have been making in this interesting encounter, but all good things eventually did come to an end. The sound of the woman's stifled giggles brought a presumptuous smirk to the young man's as he moved to stand upright once more and turn to face the woman head-on again. She admitted he was quite the comedian and the dark agouti man allowed such a statement to send his ego soaring. Yeah, he still had it.

But not for long. As quick as her words lightened up they sharply returned to that former level of seriousness that Sunder found to be just such a drag. "Well, you're no fun." He sighed dramatically taking a couple of steps backward while she took one forward to further convey the seriousness of the situation, prattling on about her pack she was so fiercely protecting. The thought made him sneer. "Ya keep going on like I could give a rat's ass. I don't have the slightest bit of interest in your precious little pack." His last statement was spoken in a childish tone like one would to a baby.

"Obviously yall got your heads shoved so far up your own rears if you feel intimidated by a mere stranger just traveling through the same forest."

When he made the shift, it was clear. Discarding the playful teasing and attempts at boyish charm, the stranger began to ooze his own venom. If he hadn't been wise enough to take those few strides back, she might have taken what he had to say as a threat. For the time being, the remained on thin but intact ice.

His words earned a snort from her, pale brown eyes now glaring. She didn't believe him, just as she wouldn't believe any young stag nosing around the forest. There was only one thing the likes of him really wanted this time of year, and she'd be damned if she was going to allow the lives of her nibblings to be complicated any further.

"Y'can pretend all y'want that y'aren't here on behalf of yer dick. None of us're gonna buy it."