Heartleaf Creek Not stopping for nothing

you can have coquina find that next deer.
------------
This woman is still a stranger, but Iopah can't help the pleased smile that dances across her features as she hears Coquina run beside her. Despite her general distrust of unknown wolves, she does enjoy companionship. Not all of her history was sorrowful. This wolf is polite, seeming to hold back in her responses as Io does. Not asking for more than Iopah is comfortable sharing.

They approach. Gray ears sweep forward, betraying her eagerness at the expectant meal. This more than she expected for today. Her stomach has been tight for days. Little of any prey is still in the thickets. And what remains is wary, difficult to catch. With so many new wolves in her pack, what little she can catch, or more frequently find, does not go very far. But Iopah is used to hunger. She knows the hunger that eats a body from the inside outside. This? This is manageable.

Out of the corner of her eye she sees Coquina's head lower. Iopah is glad to see the gesture, but not because she really cares about dominance over this female. In the middle of this distant forest it is irrelevant anyways. No. If Coquina trusts her enough to do that then Iopah can let down her guard all that much more.

Iopah grunts in agreement before crouching down to tear at the remains. A fresh kill would be wonderful, but even this was a valuable meal.

Coquina turns her head slightly as she watches Iopah dig into the remains of the carcass. Closing her eyes, the woman shifts her body, turning away a bit. She was so hungry, but she was going to be polite. As the winds change, the womans scents the air. She sniffled curiously, brow raising as she does so. Her head tilts. It seemed as if there was another scent of a deer, but she couldn't be quite sure. Maybe she was just smelling the deer Io was feeding upon. With a small grunt, she moves forward, eyes scanning the trees ahead. "It seems there may be another carcass around..." her tail sways in wonder as she continues to peer around.

Turning back to Iopah, she shrugs her shoulders "I'm going to look around for a moment. I'll let you know if I find something." Quin didn't know if the woman really cared or not. She could go looking for the corpse, and the wolf could just easily disappear on her. Without giving second thought to her actions, Coquina begins to march through the snow, sniffing the air as she went along. The cold air whipped about, changing direction every few minutes. Coquina grew frustrated; this was taking longer than she had expected. Her stomach began growling again. With her face stoic, she moves about the powdered drifts, weaving between trees to find the meal.

She walks about fifty yards from Iopah when she finally finds the kill. It seemed fresher than the one that the other wolf was eating. Feeling excitement rush through her, Quin releases a woof to inform Io that she had located the meal. "Thank goodness" she says quietly, breathing a sigh of relief. After taking a moment to thank the heavens, the wolf lowers her head and tears into the flesh.

last round?
------
Preoccupied, Iopah did not notice Coquina shift, politely holding herself back. The sound of her teeth on cartilage and sinew blocked out the female's quiet grunt. Iopah would pose no argument if she settled down to eat with her, but it did not occur her to encourage Coquina to join her. Iopah's politeness did not run that deeply, she was a wolf after all. It was not until she started to move away that the gray-hued female looked up from her meal in surprise, paying attention just in time to hear her speak.

Another carcass?

Iopah nodded at Coquina's words and watched her move away through the woods. A coral-pink tongue snaked out of her mouth, clearing a bit of gore from her muzzle. It was stiff and nearly frozen but the deer was markedly better than what she had been eating recently. If she was closer to home Iopah would be tempted to bring some back. But that was several hours away. A lone female, carrying a deer haunch? That was just asking for trouble.

She looked back down and frowned in consternation. If Coquina wasn't so easy to get along with Iopah would just finish the whole thing off, irregardless of whether or not there was another somewhere in the woods. She looked from the deer to where Coquina was last seen one more time, before making herself sit up. She listened for, watched for Coquina, not allowing herself to think of the pitiful amount of food at her feet.

A quiet, distant, woof reached her. Wasting no time Iopah dropped to the snow to finish her meal. Finished, she wandered through the snow to find her companion.
-----
also, divide the points evenly? 15 total so, 7.5 (err... round up to 8) per wolf?

(Sounds good to me! Last post for Quin; you can fade out if ya want)

Coquina tore into the flesh hastily. It seemed as if she had no time to chew; she was too hungry. With her tail swaying as she munched away, the wolf's ears twitched at the sound of the approaching other. For once, her stomach felt full. That feeling had been lost for quite awhile. The winter was merciless. With blood staining her light colored muzzle, she looks up. A nod of her head to Iopah acknowledged her presence. A satisfied sigh left her mouth as she sat down briefly. Once Iopah was within earshot, she spoke "Ugh" She shifts her weight from haunch to haunch before she rises back up to her cold paws.

Her eyes scan the area around them before she lifted her nose. A breath of fresh air circulates through her before she shrugs her shoulders. No more carcasses around. Well, two wasn't bad- she certainly wasn't complaining. It was almost a godsent, at least in her mind. "I suppose it wouldn't be bad to get moving on a full stomach" Her energy would restore for a short amount of time, but perhaps it was enough time for her to find a pack.

A small smile comes across her face before she looks toward Io "Iopah, it was lovely meeting you. I do hope that we can meet again. I apologize for my leave, but we both have things to do." As she says this, the visual of Iopah nearly slamming into her in the snow reappears in her mind. She almost titters, but she keeps it within. With a nod of her head, Quin's gold-brown gaze lights up with hope before she takes her leave.

(This post was last modified: Feb 19, 2014, 01:07 AM by Coquina.)

Ugh... angsty post... uncooperative Iopah
------
In the silence it was easy to find Coquina.

Iopah sat, watching the pale wolf eat. Seeing Quin's obvious hunger, Iopah was reminded of her own pack's hunger. Despite the impracticality of trying to bring something back she still felt guilt. Today -again- she would have nothing for them.

She needed to go back to them. Her guilt is only part of it. Iopah has nothing of her family, even her last name might be begrudged if they knew. But as much as she feared rejection and betrayal, Iopah could not stand the loneliness anymore. Nina had been the one to reach out and offer another chance. It is Nina that she thinks of as she waits for Coquina to finish. She can't even bear to sit.

Impatiently standing, she turned to look over her shoulder. She wanted to be off. Returning, even if empty-handed. Her ear flicked silently in irritation as she considered the most tactful way to leave.

Coquina herself solved the dilemna. With a sigh she addressed Iopah. 'Get moving'. Suddenly attentive Io let out an amused snort, finding it easier to be light-hearted now that they are parting ways. "I wouldn't complain." Her tail brushed the snow as she spoke, making her terse comment friendly than it would be on it's own.

The pleasantries continued and Iopah's jaw tensed, but she could say nothing. Let her gold eyes narrow slightly in concentration and nodded in a non-committal sort of way. It is not a reciprocal gesture, but a simple acceptance of her words. Iopah rarely met lone wolves twice. Coquina left without further comment and Iopah spared a glance after her before shaking her gray coat free of it's fine dusting of snow and setting off for home.

FADE OUT