Thicket of Secrets quiet laughter in the air

Night had come, bringing with it a beautiful silvery veil that was now draped over the Thicket of Secrets. The tangled foliage, so menacing and twisted during the broad daylight, now seemed mysterious. Small slivers of pale light wove through the intricate canopy created by the thick flora, creating a dancing pattern of lights on the forest floor, eerily similar to the sunlight's dapples. Kiera watched the elegant movements of the ballerina specks, her paws folded over her nose. Idly, she glanced to her side and briefly observed Emrys as he slept. She let out a tiny puff of air. While she was unable to fall asleep and had the itch to move, she didn't want to wake her friend and disturb his rest. And thus, she quietly pushed herself onto her slender limbs, shifting her figure as slowly and delicately as possible. With a quick scan of the small clearing so that she would be able to recognize it on the way back, the alabaster dove slipped into the wild mess of branches and flowers and trees.
Her gait was slow as she quietly moved forth, observant gaze drawing in her surroundings with uncapped awe. Despite the odd name of her birth pack, Widemouth Creek, Kiera had always found the place to be the most beautiful territory that she knew. That was an opinion that was completely overturned now. For all of the thicket's vague eeriness, there was an ethereal beauty that she could not deny. She found herself drawn to this place, although perhaps a reason was that the Thicket, illuminated with the moon's soft light, seemed to match her own pelt. Her silvery white coat was the same hue as the slight glow on the leaves; her pale blue eyes mirrored the very color of the sky (only quite a few shades lighter). Although her pace was already slow, Kiera began to move even slower, not wanting to busticate the fragile surface of her surroundings.

(This post was last modified: Aug 01, 2010, 03:43 PM by Indru.)

<blockquote>Under the gentle disguise of the darkened night, Veldrin traveled through these unknown and unfamiliar lands. He walked regally, formally, head held high - especially for a lone wolf. But yet again, he was on free land. He had no pack to bow down to. And with that thought in mind, he allowed the moonlight to adorn his steel-gray pelt with shimmers and glimmers, and surveyed the land with his watchful, piercing gray-blue eyes. His solid and steady gaze swept through the thick canopy of the thicket, seemingly capturing all there was to see in his eyes.

Veldrin was a dweller of the night, a participant in the game of silence, a wordless conspirator in the darkness. And even though he was forcing his way through intricately entangled vines and branches, even though the moonlight gleamed silver-white on his coat, Veldrin maintained that air of quiet and poise. It was a trait he'd nurtured ever since he was a pup - a straight posture with a subtle hint of solemnness. His eyes did not twinkle, and he was not a starry-eyed explorer, filled to the brim with wanderlust. His eyes were cold and observant, nothing more.

But he was polite - he was raised that way and he kept himself good-mannered. So as the stinging scent of a female stranger wafted into his proximity, Veldrin stepped into a tangled mess of flora - and perhaps fauna - to alert the female of his presence. <b>"Greetings,"</b> he spoke, his voice naught more than a soft whisper, and yet it sliced cleanly through the silence of the night.</blockquote>

Night had always been Kiera's favorite time of the day. During the day, things were too busy, too rushed, too much. With birds bulleting through the air, wolves crowding around, and other creatures of nature up and about, the girl always felt like she couldn't get enough peace of mind. In the night, however, everything changed. Sure, there was the occasional owl, and perhaps a bug or two, but there was also a new, overwhelming silence. A calm, like a light veil, thrown delicately over life itself. During the night, she felt more comfortable with herself, even if ironically night's darkness was associated with hidden horrors and menacing monsters. That was precisely what Kiera loved about it, however- not the monsters and horrors, that is, but the shielding effect of the darkness. The darkness hid her, made her feel safer, as if it would be harder for others to notice her. The darkness gave her the solitude that she needed, the solitude that she was comfortable with.
That was why, when a gentleman-looking wolf approached her, she eyed him warily, as if suspecting that he was one who would use casuistry on her. The Shale woman felt a little miffed that he had broken her much-appreciated solitude, but annoyance wasn't an emotion that she knew how to express easily. Kindness and courtesy, however, she was familiar with, which was why she replied his greeting with thus: <b style="font-size:12px; font-family:georgia;">"H-hello, Sir." Her voice was as soft as his; however, it lacked the confidence that gave the male his edge. A small smile graced her feminine face, and although her pale gray-blue eyes were bright and wide open, they were focused on her paws as she averted the other's gaze. Not that it helped, of course. She still knew that he was there (she could see his paws from the corners of her eyes), and she still felt the familiar tingle of panic shoot up her gut. <b style="font-size:12px; font-family:georgia;">

(This post was last modified: Jul 30, 2010, 06:03 PM by Kiera.)

<blockquote>He surveyed the female with the polite interest that one of his caliber should possess. And so he did. He watched with piercing gray-blue eyes, not intimidating, but instead, neutral. The dark-gray wolf took in information and data, but revealed nothing. He kept to himself in that proud, haughty way, oozing with an inherent charisma that came so naturally to the large male. He took in the silvery female's hesitance and awkwardness, her nervousness and timidness. And he took in her almost aethereal beauty, her pale blue eyes that matched the sky, her small and elegant, though subordinate, posture.

<b>"Would you care to enlighten me on why your eyes are staring so intently at the earth, my acquaintance?"</b> he inquired, noting her aversion to eye contact. And then he waited, watching, still. Still as a statue, firm as a mountain, calm as the surface of a ripple-less pond. One could not call him stiff and unnatural, however. He was comfortable in his current position, content, satisfied. A direct contrast to the anxious female before him. The only indication of movement came from the soft caresses of the nighttime breezes, as they ruffled his coat to whisper sweet nothings.</blockquote>

While staring at her dainty paws, Kiera had been attempting to anticipate what the man's following action was going to be. What she had come up with: the wolf would leave her alone (which was preferable), the wolf would attack her (which would've been... bad), the wolf would start small talk with her (which was do-able), or the wolf would introduce himself (which was reasonable). She had even come up with a bunch of outrageous possibilities, including the wolf suddenly becoming a monster (which would've been terrifying, mind you). However, she had not been expecting what the steel-hued male said next (she could tell he was the color of slate by his paws). Her head popped up automatically as she stared right into his face in attempt to challenge his words. That didn't last long, however, and although her gaze didn't boomerang back to the floor, it did shift to the foliage behind the other. She fidgeted, moving her slender figure, trying to appear more confident than she felt: unsure of herself and unsure of how she should react and unsure of the taller wolf's motives.
<b style="font-size:12px; font-family:georgia;">"I-I was l-looking at a f-flower!" she stuttered indignantly (which really was quite a strange combination). That there was no flower on the ground didn't really help her case; that she was now talking to the tangled branches instead of the man also wasn't helpful either. Nevertheless, her black lips still shaped themselves into a cute pout as she tried to force herself to look the man in the eye. For a brief, brief moment, gray-blue struck gray-blue. Startled to see what appeared to be her own eyes looking back at her, Kiera immediately looked away again, feeling sheepish and useless and little. Why was the wolf torturing her so? <b style="font-size:12px; font-family:georgia;">

<blockquote>Veldrin watched, amused, as the young female swept through a melange of expressions. She was thoughtful, perhaps even overly contemplative and indecisive. And she was overflowing with a strange, refreshing brand of naivety and innocence - her fidgeting, her inability to maintain steady eye contact, and her incessant stuttering were all flawless examples of those traits. Somehow, her awkwardness was tainted with a subtle hint of grace and poise. Somehow, there was the faintest trace of royalty in her distinct lack of confidence.

He allowed a neutral smile to slip onto his black lips as he listened to the female's response, transfixed. The Draelin observed her dainty expressions and her positively adorable pout. He stared right back into her blue, blue eyes, and for a moment, there was some sort of acknowledgment. And then it was gone, so Veldrin spoke again, his low voice soft but certain. <b>"I see,"</b> he murmured, following her gaze and staring intently at her paws, but made no comment about the gap in logic. Some things were better left unsaid. She'd most likely feel more awkward with that obvious irrationality. <b>"Then perhaps you would allow me the honor of knowing why you're speaking so intently to a nice collection of vines and branches?"</b> he pressed, feeling entertained despite himself.</blockquote>

(This post was last modified: Jul 30, 2010, 08:35 PM by Veldrin.)

SLEEPSLEEPSLEEPSLEEPSLEEP*FALLSASLEEP*

Kiera felt no better than a child as her pout returned to her face. Frustrated by the older male's gentle teasing, she mentally glued her silver-blue gaze onto his face, if only to prevent him from making another snarky response. Kiera may be shy, but she certainly was no pushover! Although all her instincts screamed for her to tear her soft gaze from the male's annoyingly calm and unperturbed face, she defied her inherent personality and stared at him. In fact, it was almost a glare, but the Shale girl was much too kind to express such an expression. <b style="font-size:12px; font-family:georgia;">"The trees and vines are prettier than your face, that's why!" she exclaimed, so caught up with the tidal wave of indigence that she forgot to stutter. However, right after the words left her mouth, a horrified frown flashed across her face. The silvery dove's ears flattened atop her head. Thing was, even if she was shocked by her sudden boldness, she felt rather proud that instead of cowering under her wave of indigence, she had ridden it. She had ridden the tidal wave of indigence! Who cared if her insult was quite a failure? Kiera was a surfer now.
All the same, her gentle personality forced her to make some sort of apology. She refused to grovel, though. Kiera was sorry, yes, that she had been so explosive (even if her explosion was probably just a tiny popping sound compared to another wolf's nuclear blast), and yes, she would try to smooth the tiny ruffle she had created, but she was not a whimpering omega. She was the child of an Alpha pair! <b style="font-size:12px; font-family:georgia;">"Um... I-I mean.. uh..." Too bad that audacity had been short lived. <b style="font-size:12px; font-family:georgia;">"...H-hi. Sir." She was speaking to her paws again.<b style="font-size:12px; font-family:georgia;">

LOLOL <3
<blockquote>There was nothing more than the slightest look of amusement in his eyes - hardly visible and perhaps not there at all. His calm, expressionless face took in the female's eyes without fear or restraint. And he stared back, almost daring his new acquaintance to maintain this staring contest. Conveniently enough, because he was such a tall male and the female so significantly shorter, Veldrin seemed to stare down into the female's eyes. Perhaps intimidating, perhaps merely returning her stare. He never knew. He never needed to.

He remained his same, impassive self at the female's reply as well as her display of instant horror and apology. <b>"I don't deny that - perhaps I would even concur - for who am I to judge your perception of beauty,"</b> began the older male, letting a slight taste of curiosity linger in his voice quite purposely. <b>"However, would my dear acquaintance not agree that it is merely good-mannered to look at whom you speak to?"</b> It was a harmless, even innocent question, and Veldrin had phrased it specifically that way, aimed to guilt-trip.

But Veldrin had temporarily squeezed every last bit of amusement he received from this exchange as the female returned to her passive, gentle self. <b>"Perhaps that would be a more appropriate start,"</b> he commented, deciding that it had been somewhat entertaining to coax out the fiery personality in the female. <b>"But where are my manners?"</b> he continued, place the emphasis on 'manners' as if to tease the female further. <b>"I am Veldrin."</b></blockquote>

Kiera felt rather childlike. The only thing she could do in response to the tall man's words was to blink at him and pout. At least she looked cute. She cocked her head to the side contrarily as he tried to make her uncomfortable by once again poking at her inability to look him in the eye. She shifted uncomfortably, eying the steel wolf as she tried to come up with something suitable to say in response. But she had nothing. His next words, however, the silvery dove was perfectly capable of replying, and so she did. <b style="font-size:12px; font-family:georgia;">"K-kiera Shale," she told him, quiet voiced flavored with pride despite the stutter in her words. She then frowned, wondering how to make herself feel more comfortable in such a strange situation, when all of a sudden two mice came seemingly out of nowhere and started to trample over her pretty white fur. Letting out a startled yelp, the elegant Shale girl danced around the clearing, writhing to avoid the forest tangle. Somehow, she still seemed graceful. Kind of. <b style="font-size:12px; font-family:georgia;">

<blockquote>Veldrin gave a dashing grin at female before him, a blinding, toothpaste ad smile (Colgate, not Crest). He tossed his head handsomely, his silky slate gray fur swishing elegantly from to and fro. And <i>no</i>, he has definitely not -- definitely not! -- effeminate. He was going to eat the next wolf who told him that. He was a manly, masculine, macho male (see what I did there? Alliteration!). <b>"Beautiful name for a beautiful girl,"</b> he whispered huskily, giving a charismatic wink. And then the mice attack came, like magic! Terrified and alarmed, he put on his heroic mask and turned to face the mice. <b>"Never fear, lady! For I am here to protect you!"</b> he declared, and swatted one mouse away, joining Kiera's dance. It was strange like a yin yang symbol. <b>"Are you quite alright, my damsel in distress?!"</b></blockquote>