Nightingale Palisade Quit these pretentious things...

Just past mid-night, light breeze.

It was a cold, dark night in the ravine. Endless weeks of warm breaths had solidified and insulated the snowy den far beyond her meager ability, still a chill breeze curled into the den and wrapped around the tightly wadded form of a black wolf. Noble wasn't sleeping. Despite a day of unproductive hunting, her eyes followed the rare sounds outside. The mournful call of a bird. A gentle scuff of bone-thin branches against the snow. The frantic squeal of something small dying in the night. Her stomach squealed in protest, slowly the angular girl rose to her feet and peered out.

It was the only top of the ravine that held her attention. There was nothing below, Noble knew it, she had spent weeks and months learning the harsh fact. Nothing and nothing coming. The stars seemed so far away, they glinted thinly in a velvet-black sky. Never had they looked so distant to the lonely girl and she lamented at their loss. Now there would be even less here. She felt her heart beat in fear and knew soon even that little would perish. She couldn't stay. In an instant, she realized her only option.

There was nothing to collect, no goodbyes to make. She was already on her feet and so trudged into the deep snow that edged on her small area of familiarity. The action caused a drift to dislodge and crumble, rolling down the slope ahead of her to collect in the valley below. It was the only noise to break the silence as Noble made her escape. Her path skirted the piles of mounded snow, dark gold glittering only when her muzzle rose back to the sky. For better or worse, a single northern star had attracted her attention. It seemed a good direction as the other. With no more consideration than that and a quiet determination Noble walked into the night.

The young son of Odin hissed to himself as he crept forward through the comforting snow. The elements were with him wherever he seemed to go. His mismatched eyes observed the careful and precious state of what had lied ahead. The moon above him gave him the opposite of comfort as he felt constantly stalked. His ears flicked in annoyance as his tail lashed back and forth. He kept his head down to protect himself from the wind as he approached, his eyes peeled forward to the best of his ability. There was a flaw in the snow as black showed through the darkness. He could have mistaken it for an indent but he knew better than that. A sly smile captured his features as he moved forward.

The creature moved through the snow, his cooing voice reaching through the air to grab onto life. “Hello there, darling child.” He tried his best to show concern but emotions were not his strong suit and so his emotionless expression remained. His eyes were narrowed slightly as he tried to get a feel for why this girl, a child, was out alone and so vulnerable to the elements. Where the girl’s parents and what were they thinking to leave her alone out there for the Trickster to mess with until they found her if at all was beyond him. Nevertheless, he would take advantage of the situation.  He raised his head, tilting it to the side as he had been programmed to do. Harming the innocent is not alright unless to further your own position. The mantra remained in his head as he debated on what to do.

(This post was last modified: Mar 13, 2015, 10:05 PM by Loki.)

@Loki

The night was as good as any time to start. Noble felt her feet whisking through the snow. The girl was tall, now only a few inches shy of adulthood, but even she couldn't lift her paws high enough to clear the white drifts. It was too dark to see the pale plumes of her breath as they billowed in the frosty air.

The snow would not have been any less in the daylight. Many wasted weeks had taught her that hunting was slim pickings any time of day or night. Even the added warmth of daylight was a negligible addition. The ordeal had leant extra insulation to her coat, but the extra bulk was deceiving. It added inches to her frame while underneath she was remained narrow and angular, just short of starvation.

But Noble was moving now and if she died from hunger or the cold, at least she would be able to claim she was trying.

She pointed a slim dark muzzle to the sky again, checking the location of her star once more. Noble thought it was luck that she'd started out at night, even the oblivious girl knew that it wouldn't shine during the day. If only she knew it was leading her north through the ravine, in the direction opposite her family and toward a strange, unknown forest.

Something emerged from the snowy night. Something she couldn't hunt and something that was not her family. Noble stopped short, feeling her hackles raise defensively. The cold wind bit at her shoulders as the fur lifted away and the girl tensed. He could have said anything, launched a verbal attack or offered a free meal and her eyes would have glittered with the same distrust. The world was unfair and cold and she was just a feral girl. "What do you want? I don't have anything." The first half was composed, only the slight quiver. The reasoning state was not so good, Noble was struck by how little she actually had and it came out as a desperate plea.

(This post was last modified: Mar 02, 2015, 03:46 AM by Noble.)

There is a family of deer nearby. Hunt Opportunity

The trickster of the man gave a small grin as he watched his prey talk to him in such a timid and desperate voice. Something stirred within him as he started to think about what his brothers, the 'Gods' would do. They would have left this child to nature because of negligent parenting or something idiotic like that. So, naturally, Gabriel had to do the opposite of what his brothers were to do. A sympathetic look crossed him as his gaze softened as his maw parted with words of comfort. "I'm not going to hurt you and I know you have nothing. I'm Gabriel Harbinger, and I'm going to help you." It was up to her to take the help he was looking to provide her with. He hoped she would not be stupid and deny it.

Any glimpse of the idea that he could hurt this little girl, even if to further himself, was instantly pushed out of his mind. He drew a deep breathe, his paws sinking through the snow until he could almost feel the grass beneath his paws. He sniffed around, catching the scent of deer but he knew that the two of them could not take one down, not even a sick one, in the snow. Once more he would look around, the faint scent of rabbit reaching through the air and out to him as if begging to be caught. "Wait here, dear child." The man cooed out to her, pushing through the snow. His mind flew away. He traced the faint scent, disappearing through the snow as he raced it back to the rabbit's lurking about. It was strange to see them out this winter. He ran them down, chasing them with a sense of determination before leaping and catching two, pinning them down to end the life of the animals. The young man carried the rabbits back to the girl, a delicate and innocent look in his eyes,

(This post was last modified: Mar 13, 2015, 10:16 PM by Loki.)

@Loki not sure if he is still holding the rabbits, so left this vague. also, Noble is impressed with his hunting prowess... she might ask for tips lol

She didn't believe him, that much was obvious. She was watching closely, following the words but without any expectancy. By now Noble thoroughly believed she had been dropped into something close to hell. There was no help to be had in this ravine and she frowned deeply at his vow. Despite all of this, her own earlier words had not been entirely truthful: she still held something dear. The fast beat of her heart was proof enough of it's existence. There was one thing she was going to leave this ravine with.

When Loki stepped forward without warning, Noble reeled back defensively. Long legs floundered in the snow and a low growl warned as they tangled under her in the drifts. Don't come any closer, it warned. She fought to untwist them and edge away in the same instance, pausing frequently to cast glances Loki's way. She was too distracted to understand the male's actions and she completely overlooked his intentions. His request finally pulled something other than fear from her.

Noble spun to him, finally free and now bold with indignation. "Don't call me 'dear'," She hissed in a rare display of the temper that burned within. He didn't have that right, and those that did had never come for her. It didn't matter. She was left to stare after him, still terribly unsure with the whole thing and weary.

In the end, she did wait. It was either go back the way she'd come or follow after him. So Noble sat down in the snow and caught her breath, trying to decide how much of a head start to give him. She certainly did not want to meet again as she restarted her journey. The wind blew 'round and her gold eyes sought the northern star. Blackened nose twitched at an unexpected scent and she rose to her feet impulsively, walking circles to search. The circling paused at Loki's approach, giving a distracted glance that turned into a stare. The pacing restarted, arcing back and forth in front of him now, torn between her desperation for a meal and her suspicion of him.