Hush Meadow words on the tip of my tongue

Instead of wandering aimlessly about, looking for something to do or something to eat, Sköll Archer, the prince of Willow Ridge, had better things to do. Earlier that morning, it had been in his fortune to procure a rather stinky, permanently surprised-looking catfish head. It had actually also been his luck that Angier was so willing to part with it as well. With a smile that seemed like it would never go away - so long as he kept the fish head in his possession - he began his journey away from edges of the Marsh, towards a place that seemed perfect for pulling his all-time favorite antic: hiding up in a tree's low-lying branches and dropping a peculiar and startling item of choice on his victim.

In the past it had been his 'toy' mouse (on a number of occasions), freshly dug-up hares, bits of leftover meal scraps, and countless spitballs. As for the location, he wanted some fresh blood. Anywhere near the Willows and he would find himself targeting members of the pack (or should the Old Gods forbid, his mother, brother, or sister, who without a doubt, would be more than irate from how he had chosen to waste his spare time). Somewhere near the Marsh and he would basically have to wait for Angier to forget he was nearby, still toting around his slippery prize. He had initially started off in the direction of Wailing Caverns but decided to stay away after realizing yet again that he wanted absolutely nothing to do with the Lady Narimé or her sons, Titan and Yuka.

Sköll shrugged to himself, running his tongue over the smooth surface of the catfish's forehead. Hush Meadow or Fireweed Rise. Hmm. A passing songbird chirped overhead as it flew by and the dark prince's head turned to the west. Hush Meadow it was...

For sometime he trotted along with a skip in his step, keeping his silvery eyes peeled for a decent tree to climb. He had to admit he was proud of how much he had grown. With longer limbs and a better sense of balance he had, at long last, managed to master how to truly become arboreal; and, in turn, he had learned to love the feel of the rough bark beneath his pads. Through the steadily spoiling scent of dead fish he attempted to sniff out any visitors in the area but found nothing more than the usual foxes, rabbits, deer, and an array of feathery things (particularly the stench of raven).

If the prince had not craned his head slightly to the right when he had, he could have missed the perfect tree altogether, and wandered across the meadow into the opposite tree line. It made his smile twist up along his ink-black face. The old thing was dead, everything, but it had grown several knots in its gnarled trunk over, what the near-yearling had guesstimated, several decades. Slightly biting down into the catfish cranium as not to lose it halfway up the deceased mulberry tree, he balanced his forepaws on the trunk and with a springy jump, clambered up onto the second lowest branch. Much to his satisfaction, he realized that his perch could have easily been likened to the thinnest part of his body, his lower abdomen, which meant that his new hiding place could bear his weight.

Silently, he snickered to himself as he lowered his rump into a sitting position, careful to wrap his tail close to his left hind leg should it fall and give away his position. Now all the had to was wait... wait... for someone to come along for a rest in this peaceful part of the Lore... to have an slimy, wide-eyed, open-mouthed surprise drop on their head.

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away

(OOC: Figured I’d sneak into this one, since Senka hasn’t meet all the WR kiddies yet XD)

Senka Flint allow me this moment of bliss so I may begin to miss the torment It was a nice enough day, Senka had decided it was a nice enough day to stretch her long legs and begun heading towards Hush Meadows. It was a quiet place and lovely besides, what with the sun sitting warmly in the sky as she made her way through the grass of the meadow. There was a tree nearby that provided some shade and thinking it was a good resting spot, the burnt sienna female directed her course that way. A small bird twittered happily nearby as it leapt from grass tuft to grass tuft, its tail wagging behind it as it eyed off Senka for a few moments. Senkas’ own orange gold eyes stared right back at it, unconcerned about the small creature. Expect she couldn’t stop herself from quipping softly at it, thinking she was alone in the general vicinity and had nothing to worry about. ”You best fly away little bird, before I take you for a little snack.” The fae snapped her jaws towards the bird, who took off with an indignant screech and a quick peck to Senka’s nose, which only caused her to laugh when the small bird’s words entered her ears. You stupid wolf! the screech had meant, though only Senak and other small animals nearby would have understood what the little bird had said. Shaking her head, her nose stinging only slightly from the peck, continued on her way towards the tree’s trunk. There was no sign that there was a young wolf hidden within its branches, though Senka was cautious enough to check for other signs of predators and other wolves before settling below Skoll on his branch. Had she simply looked up and tilted her head, perhaps she could have seen the boy with a slight squint of her golden eyes but there was no reason too. The day was peaceful, who would want to ruin it with anything?

table by mimi

(This post was last modified: Apr 29, 2014, 03:02 AM by Senka.)

Minor PP for 'aiming' where the fish head hit Senka and where it landed in relation to where she is sitting. xP

Much to his surprise, Sköll's eyes widened as the bird he had seen fly over head landed nearby his hiding place. His nose wrinkled in dismay. He was about to audibly growl and bark at it, to wordlessly tell it to go away, when a voice sounded out... ”You best fly away little bird, before I take you for a little snack.” The prince's gaze immediately dropped down and over to where one of his mother's subjects, Senka (if his memory served him correctly), teased the bird with a snap of her jaws. His lanky body tensed beneath the branches that covered him from plain sight and a terrifyingly excited grin spread over his face.

Yeah, that's it... Come on over... Rest for a while, he called her over in his head, watching with zealous eyes as she eventually came to sit directly beneath him. Now. Don't. Look. Up.

Inside the youth was cackling like a madman, squealing and guffawing at the whims of his boyish delight in such an endeavor. Careful to keep his spittle from dribbling from the sides of his mouth and down the smooth gills of the catfish head, he stood up, taking care to keep his legs locked while he took aim. A little to the right and he might have missed Senka completely. Over a little bit to account for how he was standing, and back over to the left just in case she moved again... Oh! Wait... Waaaaiiiit... THERE. Sköll opened his jowls and watched with an eager gaze as the slimy catfish head landed on Senka's head with a plop, bouncing off her head to land on the ground in front of her, its gaping mouth and wall-eyed face staring directly up at her in what looked like an expression of equal surprise. If it could have made a sound in reaction to it all, one might suppose it could have screamed also.

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away

A young pronghorn has fallen behind its herd and starved in the snow. +5 Health

Senka Flint allow me this moment of bliss so I may begin to miss the torment Jerking violently when something struck her on the top of her head, Senka all but flew to her paws with a snarl in her throat and ready for an attack. Instead, as a solid plop sounded between her feet, Senka looked down to see the head of a catfish looking up at her in surprise and leaving Senka slightly confused. Where had it come from? Surely it hadn’t been in the tree? Well, it was plausible. She thought. Perhaps a bird had captured it in a stream nearby and fled to the tree to safely eat it, leaving the head. But then a frown furrowed her brows. The head wouldn’t have simply sat snugly on a branch while the rest of it was eaten, it would have fallen in the hustle and she hadn’t seen any birds recently carrying a catfish nor had she heard the sounds of eating. So what was the head of a catfish doing falling from a tree? Leaning to her right and looking up, Senka frowned when she spotted the bushy coat of a yearling. It was Sköll, her mind supplied readily and Senka managed to stop a smile from crossing her face. Angier had made mention of seeking out the Willow Ridge Princes, more so this mischievous one and she now could see why. ”And just what are you doing up there, Young Prince, chucking the leftovers of someone’s lunch onto others’ heads?” Her tone was somewhat strict as she chastised the boy, though she remembered her own foolhardy pranks from her own youth and couldn’t fault him in having some fun. Not what with the recent events. However, Sköll wasn’t about to get a story on what the rust female did in her youth any time soon. ”Now that you’ve pulled your prank, why not come down? I do not think your mother would like to hear how her son fell from a tree and hurt himself because he wanted to have some fun.” The scent of something flew over the meadow on the gentle wing as the huntress waited for the Prince to give his reply and hopefully follow her suggestion of getting out of the tree he was in. A pronghorn, from the smell of it. Good. That meant the pack could possibly have a good meal and still have some left over to place in caches. Tilting her head to look back up at the Prince, Senka waited for him to descend from the tree before brusquely heading off towards the smell of the pronghorn. He would certainly smell the dead animal and know why the Huntress was heading for it. Scavengers would have also smelled it by now, if not other wolves and Senka wanted to make sure to stake a claim on the meat, if nothing else.

table by mimi

Sköll might have howled with laughter upon seeing the Hunter below him jump in fright. What had happened, however, was not even close to what he had expected. The prince's brows came up as the woman leaned to one side, peering up through the branches to catch a glimpse of his face. She frowned; he returned the expression, clearly disappointed that he had not given her quite a scare. His tail gave her a stiff wag of acknowledgement, as she addressed him. Young Prince, she had called him, but it did nothing to satisfy the lust for another's displeasure in the hollow of his chest.

Her tone, though strict, also did nothing but make him perk his ears forward and respond in kind. A short growl was issued from his chest, nothing too intimidating but obviously agitated. "Now that you’ve pulled your prank, why not come down?" she then said, "I do not think your mother would like to hear how her son fell from a tree and hurt himself because he wanted to have some fun.” Senka had played the "Your Mother would not approve." card. Such a cheat...

Getting up as carefully as he could, Sköll gracefully walked along the thick branch then slid down its sloping trunk until all four of his feet were on the forest floor. "I am perfectly capable of looking after myself, thank you," he sneered, the ruff of his neck bristling. He made a sound likened to a rather derisive snort, sniffing shortly afterwards to pick up the scent of something nearby. It was nothing like deer or rabbit, but the gamey smell of it made his stomach feel as if it were pinching itself. The boy lowered his nose to the ground and his tail came up, snuffling about as he drew away from the Hunter.

"Do you smell that?" he asked, not even looking at her as he walked all the way around the crooked willow tree. "What is that?"

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away

A lynx has left behind the remains of a deer. +5 Health

Senka Flint allow me this moment of bliss so I may begin to miss the torment “It smells like a pronghorn,” Senka answered calmly as she came to a stop a few feet away from the tree and looked back at him over her shoulder, watching him walk all around the tree in which he had been previously hiding in. “When alive, it’s something akin to a deer but not quite the same, I’d say it died in the winter or the seasons’ last dying days at least. Depending on the size and how long it has been dead, it could have a lot of meat on it. But if we do not hurry, should there be any left, there’ll be little to left to scavenge of it if other predators get to it before we do.” Now Senka wasn’t telling the yearling what to do. No, she was merely prompting him to follow if he so wished to. But she thought that it would be a good idea if she added in a bit of fun. “Why don’t we do this? Should you find the pronghorn before me, you can hold the claim that you were the first to not only find it but scent it as well? It’ll help improve your tracking skills, at least and perhaps give you some boasting rights as well.” It was a stupid idea, really because it was easy to tell the younger had a bit of an ego. To set him a challenge and say he could have boasting rights to boot? Surely Sköll would be all over it.

table by mimi

(This post was last modified: May 17, 2014, 07:59 AM by Senka.)

It was a pronghorn, she had said, but the white-lipped prince suddenly found himself wanting nothing to do with it one she had decided to make a game of it all. Sköll, being on the cusp of his yearling days, was no longer a cub and, in his own opinion, was more than capable of fending for himself. This meant that he could hunt for himself, scavenge for himself, and even look after himself. Skana's death, in her final act of granting her superior's cubs the tools and experience they needed to survive, had given him the means to understand what it was to be responsible for himself.

His stomach growled but the Archer boy shrugged, snorting as he looked to Senka. "No, no..." He stated, his voice nonchalant and insensitive on his silvery tongue. "You get it. I'm going to get something myself." His tail whipped about in the air and he turned on his heels. His superior had thought wrong. Maybe if she had pitched such a cub-like thing to Asriel or Morganna, maybe they would have been all over it. Sköll, actually, wanted nothing to deal with it, regardless of whether or not his ego would have soared to the highest of heights. That sort of challenge was for cubs... and cubs only. Really, she could have asked anyone, Sköll knew well enough about how to utilize his nose for tracking and obtaining important information.

"I'm leaving," he announced, angling his nose into the air. "Good day." Something resembling a derogatory snort or scoff fled from his lips as he moved to head back towards the willows that marked the edges of his mother's realm. "Enjoy your pronghorn..."...

(Fade.)

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away