Lost Lake No Reservations

Oh, he saw them darting back and forth - those shooting stars, those little silver lights there in the shallow water in the shadows of the soldier trees. For a long time Vafri watched, his dark eyes narrowed down to pinprick mocha lights, his figure nearly catlike as he leaned ever farther forward, ears pricked, whine ghosting from his throat. The day waned, and the shadows deepened, and as real stars mirrored in the sky above, he snorted and stood up, and took a step, and sat down. Sometimes noise cracked in the wooded heights behind him. Sometimes one big ear twitched back, annoyed, and the silver lights in the water scattered like they were no more than dreams - but Vafri knew they'd come back like the green returns after a frost. His mouth watered thinking about it, but he gripped the rich earth with his paws and told himself to wait. Hunting was one half cleverness and one half luck, with another half patience thrown in the mix, and he was not about to let his three halves amount to three halves of another empty belly on another starry night. No - no distractions from the pretty white wolves or whatever else skulked about under the trees. He took another step, and growled softly as the small fish in the shallows darted back and forth. Didn't fish ever sit still? Didn't they sleep? He knew they didn't but he wanted to shout at them anyway that moonlight was a time for wolves and not for slick meat things. Eventually the big wolf made his way down to the lakeshore. Water lapped his toes, cold despite the spring air rustling warm and claustrophobic all around him. The fish danced dances all their own, three turns and then a sprint, whirls vortexing down out of sight. They were too small to bother with and so he waded out until his belly fur dragged down, each step an exercise of pain and patience, and he scowled down at the water as the moon rose out in the middle of the lake. Fish, he thought, I am not a patient wolf tonight. If they had brains they'd know it, but fish are brainless and the small ones swam between his elbows as the stars made cartwheels overhead. He waited, still, chin hanging over dark water, eyes narrowed as the last low sigh of muted gold burned down to purple in the western sky. Ribs-deep in icy water Vafri found a shadow just a foot or two ahead of him, a sluggish predatory thing lurking like he lurked among the small ones, but he was a wolf and better with his teeth than any fish. There was a sudden flash of teeth, a yelp and a great cannonball splash, and all of it lasted about a heart beat's breadth but Vafri came up half drowned anyway, jaws clamped around the glittering sides of a fish just a little longer than his head. Tail up, head up, dark eyes triumphant, he splashed about in the shallows a bit longer and shook his head, dizzy with the extra weight in his mouth. Still, there was no one here to laugh at him and take his fish, and anyway he had a catch! Which meant food, no more empty bellies, and best of all staying alive. Fur sticking out in clumps and whorls like a badly styled hedgehog, Vafri mouthed his prize again and slowly turned to slog back up toward shore, only pausing to gaze a moment at the moon and give a slow nod. He was hardly aware of the noise he'd made, and too giddy with his catch to realize anything within ten miles must have heard him, pegged him for an idiot, and felt quite free to run through raining right on this parade. The fish in his mouth made a disgruntled spasm, and he snorted water from his nose as he trotted back toward the trees.

<blockquote>It felt like she had been running for days, and once again she found herself on the imposing mountain. She hated this place. It was so open. She felt so vulnerable. There was very little food and no water to speak of that she had seen, and then she caught scent of it. <i>Water.</i> slinking low to the ground, she crept shakily over the next ridge. Her last encounter with strangers hadn't been a pleasant one, in fact, it was so terrifying that she had pissed herself. All evidence long washed away, the sooty wolf had decided her brother and sister would do just fine. She needed to go <i>home</i>.

But something had distracted her. Her pursuit of food had led her higher up the mountain, and now her thirst was driving her on. Finally catching sight of the dancing mass, she inched forward, and then when she sighted a patch of cover she darted forwards, most of the tension eased from her body the moment she was in their shade. She inched her way to the edge of the lake, keeping low and collecting spring mud on her belly and legs, but she didn't care. She was less likely to be spotted like this.

Once she had drunk her fill she retreated back into the cover of the tree line and undergrowth. She had always felt safest under the protection of the trees, and she decided it was high time to rest. She would begin her trek once the sun set.

She had strange dreams, the two wolves she had met a little further down the mountain were trying to take her home. Not to her home that she longed for so dearly, but the home where she belonged. A strange sad stirring washed over her. She couldn't go back. It was too far. She would simply have to set herself to tracking them down... if she managed to remember this when she woke up. Her dream went on, shifting and turning as dreams do, some pleasant, some terrifying until she awoke with a start to the sound and scent of someone approaching.

She froze, eyes wide, trying to control her breathing. If she just stayed still he wouldn't find her. That was until a massive pale paw found her chest and she yelped out in surprise. Why did everyone insist on poking her and snapping at her and being so mean? She stayed in her place, not rolling onto her back this time. She hadn't done so well the last time and she had it set in her mind that she wasn't going to be walked all over (well figuratively at least) again, but that couldn't stop her tail and ears disappearing flat against her body or the scent of fear that rolled off her either.

Was this wolf going to eat her?</blockquote>

Beneath the trees, starlight turned into thin wisps of silver gauze, dangling past branches in soft insubstantial wreathes. His eyes were well accustomed to the dark, but Vafri's mind hummed happily beyond the ranging of his body. Part of him dwelled on the scaly, slimy mass now hanging limply from his jaws. The other dwelled on how much better hunting was by starlight, and the rest of him thought to his den up in the heights and how lovely it would be to curl up in the rocky hole and chew on soft fish bones and white fish meat. So Vafri put only a modicum of thought into his footsteps; he navigated well enough to steer clear of the looming trees, but occasionally he stubbed his toes on roots and rocks and all the things a sane wolf ought to nimbly avoid. He didn't much care, though; he had food and he had stars, and soon enough the trees would be away and - Suddenly the earth heaved - not a calculated rumbling or the decisive crack of a fault in rock, but a writhing snarling, yelping, growling mess of soft fur and yellow eyes like lanterns in the dark. Ever a sympathetic wolf, the big male yelped as the wolf he accidentally used for a carpet yelped, and then both of them were scooting back and Vafri's fish was lying in the dirt between them, and tail tucked and mouth wide, eyes gleaming in the faint light, he stood staring at the apparition just in front of him. She was quite small, he thought, and grey enough to blend in with the dusk of a fresh night. Good, snapped an indignant part of his mind, and the moment he decided she was small enough and scared enough to be no threat, he leaned in just a bit and let a low growl rumble in his throat. His tail stood out behind him, and he inched forward toward his fallen prize - afraid, of course, that she would try to steal it and then run away - because lone wolves did things like that all the time, it was why no one wanted him around, and instinct got the better of his amiable nature as he looked her over, lips curled back just far enough to bear the yellowed tips of his pointed teeth. "Don't you know it's rude to sneak up on a person?" he demanded, never mind that he'd quite nearly trampled her.

<blockquote> She had had a shitty week to say the least. All she had wanted was directions to Copper Rock Creek and the wolves at that pack had scared her to the point she had wet herself and now this wolf was yelling at her for being <i>rude?</i> She rose to her feet in a low crouch as her hackles began to prickle forwards. <b>”Don’t you know its rude to jump on people who are trying to sleep?!”</b> she growled back defensively. This was not the first time her dreams had been interrupted by someone prodding her uninvited. <b>”Can’t a girl get some sleep without risking being squashed by giants?”</b> she added with a little more humour, even if it was sarcastic.

Really, she was used to being surrounded by mountainous wolves, and while some came close, very few actually topped the size of her relatives. She had always been the odd one out with her mother. She often wished she had taken more after her father in size. This wolf was so pale. The only other white wolf she had ever seen was Arrow, but this wolf lacked his pink nose and eyes. He was at a disadvantage in the dense forrest where they had grown up, but it sure made him look intimidating when he was mad.

Her hackles settled but she remained crouched defensively, eyes suddenly falling to the fish on the ground between them. Her nose crinkled in distaste. Her family had never been fishers, he had no worry of loosing his <i>meal?</i> to her. She shuffled back a little to allow him to reclaim his fish. Judging by his sodden appearance he had spent some amount of time in the cool waters of the lake and she knew how hard it was to come by a decent meal alone. At least, he smelled alone.</blockquote>

She looked a little bigger with her hackles up – but still small, smaller than him, and a low growl rumbled in his chest when she spoke. Vafri’s head quirked up a little though as he thought about her words, and his left ear twitched – not sure if he was angry still or just amused. She didn’t seem intent on stealing his fish… unless she was quite sneaky, and only trying to drag his attention in another direction. Vafri snorted, and took a step toward her. He still stood stiff and tall, all brittle bones beneath the white clouds of his fur. ”You can’t sleep out in the open,” he said, tone rather more severe than usual. Vafri’s ears both tilted back now in a frown, and he looked down his blunt nose at the little grey wolf. He wanted to yell I don’t believe you! but he’d been raised with manners just a little better, and creeping forward to stand defensively over his fish, Vafri kept his dark eyes glued on the stranger. It was common knowledge you could never trust a wolf met in the forest after dark – she ought to know that, he thought. She ought to be apologizing. ”It's dangerous." Though so far he'd been the only danger that he knew of, he could hardly be expected to watch for tiny females napping underfoot at all hours of the night!

<blockquote> Her anger was quick to ebb away as her hackled settled, but she felt... empowered. A shadow of her former self still, but she was beginning to remember who she was, and where she had come from. Her family would be ashamed to see her so meek. <b>”It’s not open, there are trees for cover.”</b> she snapped almost sourly. Her ears flicked as she heard something small rustling about in the undergrowth. She may have been in terrible condition but she still had her speed.

Slowly rising to her feed so as to make her movements obvious she darted after the small creature. It was a squirrel and it was making for the base of one of the trees. She managed to snap up the creature just as it began its ascent to safety. She hadn’t moved very far and turned with the small creature hanging limply from her lips as if to reinforce the point that she didn’t need his fish. Yuck.</blockquote>

Had Vafri eyebrows, he would undoubtedly have arched one in faint condescension as the female snapped. You're weird, he wanted to say, suspicion quickly fading into irritation. Not only did she have the nerve to sleep out in the open but she still had not apologized for lying underfoot, and now she was attacking him! Only with words, but still... Eyes narrowed, Vafri snorted and he watched as the little thing darted off, her coat no more than a subtle shifting in the darkness here. His head cocked just a little as she went for a squirrel, and he wondered why the thing was even still awake. Suicidal, maybe, or just more weird... Resolved to be unimpressed, Vafri sank to his haunches and yawned as the female turned back toward him. He could hunt like that if he wanted to, of course he could... It wasn't jealousy or anything that made him angry now. He was too old to be jealous. "That's great," allowed the white wolf blandly. "Fantastic. You kill squirrels. I kill fish." His poor fish looked rather dirty now as it lay on the ground between his forepaws - all covered in grains of earth and pine needles. It also looked much smaller out of his mouth. He sighed, feeling rather resentful of the whole deal tonight, and unable to control himself added, "You do any other tricks? Disappear, maybe?"

<blockquote>It truly was a wonder why the little squirrel had decided to decent at this hour of night. Perhaps it was hunting a midnight snack before it curled up with its little squirrel family. She found the notion ridiculous really and struggled to contain her giggle. It had gone in search of a midnight snack and had become one instead. <b>"I should disappear?"</b> she asked the white wolf, a hint of a giggle still in her voice. <b>"But I'm spending the night here, under this tree."</b> To reinforce the fact she dropped to her stomach, playful wag dancing on her tail as she crunched into the small rodents skull. Heads were always her favourite.

She looked up to the strange man expectantly, wondering if he too would start to eat or continue on his way. She hoped not, he seemed interesting. Perhaps he could tell her a story as she settled back down to sleep? He looked so like her uncle Arrow, except he had deep dark eyes where her uncles had been pink. His nose was pink too. He stood out like crazy most of the year in their deep dark forest but when winter came he was invaluable on hunts. Again her heart screamed at her to go home. <b>"What's your home like?"</b> she questioned out of the blue, hoping the large male wouldn't suddenly leave. She hated being alone.</blockquote>

His dark eyes lingered on the little female as she spoke again, their deep lights softening like shadows under dusk, and as if he'd nearly forgotten his fish Vafri leaned down to sniff at it, then pulled back a long strip of pale flesh and let the cold meat slither down his throat. She gave him little time to reaffirm the notion that, yes, leaving him alone would be a nice trick, so Vafri nearly shook his head and watched her carefully and ate his fish. She seemed quite harmless after all, he thought. And he the skinny, paranoid idiot... Vafri looked up from his meal, ears twitching. Maybe he ought to make it up to her? When had he gotten to be so sentimental? It must be loneliness talking, must be that small voice at the core of his being that insisted he was wolf and not some construct of ice and snow given a hot heart to guide it south. When the little female asked another question Vafri hesitated. His jaws hung open for a moment stupidly, and then he sighed. "I've not had a home for a long time," admitted the white wolf. Or did I ever? he thought belatedly - but that was stupid. He'd been a puppy once, with a mother and uncles and cousins and siblings, too, before they mostly died. Simpering, he ducked his head in a sort of shrug. "Though when I did... it was a colder place than this. Harder. Night lasted for days and we sang songs, and told each other stories to pass the time." He was very still, remembering. "It was death to be alone." Yet here he was, and here she was - both alone even if they came so briefly together. At some point he must have chosen death over the life he had, and somehow beaten it.