Wyote's Journey

[Hannah]

She moved with such a gentle, fluid movement. Her head tilted to the side and stuck in the air. It was a common misconception that wolves actually smelled the ground. Perhaps when they got closer to a target, but everyone knows the good smells float upon the air currents. Her feet trampled the newly fallen snow as she had clambered up Baru’s Mountain Range to Tischer’s Lake. She had come here now for a total of four weeks. It was almost a ritual, watching as the lake froze over.

She snapped at the calm, cold air, nipping at her skin beneath her fur. She shifted to the side in the snow as she walked, pacing the lake. Her muscles rippled beneath her coat, as she thought. “A lone female placed upon this planet to lead a bunch of wolves,” She mumbled to herself as she strode. She moved from a long stretched lope to a shorter paced jog. She ambled along, but never stumbled, no an alpha never stumbles.

Her well worn claws gripped the icy layer of snow beneath the soft feather like snow. The little ice pebbles that collected on top reminded her of fish scales, although she was never sure why. She licked them, collecting the little frozen icy fish scales upon her tongue, letting them melt within her mouth. Was it weird for a female to wander about, so far up away and away from her pack? She shook her orange tinted head, denying that the concept may be foreign to others.

She collected herself and plopped her body down on the shallowest part of snow. The wind had clearly blown the snow up the east part of a boulder, leaving the west part with places that grass from that summer still popped up. This is where she lay. Her crystal blue eyes peered out, watching the changing landscape. Up here, in the mountains, it seemed they only had two seasons Summer and Winter. That, though, she was not unhappy about.

[luvpups]

Ramu looked down on the lake, mesmerized by its glassy, mirror-like surface. He'd been standing on the ridge for awhile now, though exactly how long he could not be certain. He could feel the cold seeping through his coat, but, strangely, didn't mind. Rather, he enjoyed the cold, the frigid wind sweeping over the snowy landscape, the still white that surrounded him. Every now and then a particuarly strong gust would blow the snow from the ground, revealing patches of summer grasses. Up here, Autumn felt closer to winter, his favorite season, and he took quiet delight in the crunch of the icy snow beneath his paws as shifted to a more comfortable posistion. He turned his attention away from the lake, surveying the snowy hills surrounding it.

Suddenly, movement at the lake's edge caught his eye. He strained his eyes for a better look and took a few steps down the slope, surprised to see a wolf moving along the half frozen lake. Ramu hadn't planned on crossing paths with another wolf, not yet, and was disappointed to find this white wonderland already inhabited. Forcing himself to disregard the landscape, he focused on the situation with hand. Had the wolf seen him? She had disappeared from his view, gone up behind a rock it seemed. If he hadn't known she was here, surely she wouldn't be aware of his presence. Or so hoped.

[Hannah]

She moved slightly, her eyes locking onto the male who was trespassing. Every bristly fur upon her back stood up, allowing all cold air to penetrate. She let out the softest of growls and stood up from her stop. How had she not seen him before, and how dare he trespass. The snow supported the light female easily as she moved for the male.

Her shoulder blades were pulled together as she approached the male. Her eyes looked at the lone male with such disgust, a horrible thing. “Trespasser,” She growled as she stopped just ten feet from the male. Her head was aimed towards the ground, but her eyes bore through the male easily. The orange fur of her back still stood erect as she glared at the male. She moved a step closer, her tail raising tall above her body as she glared.

[luvpups]

Nakomi lay amongst the trees, looking out at the lake. It was cold, too cold for her liking, but she was tired, and had decided it was time for a rest. The fae rested her regal head on her paws and curled her bushy tail about her muzzle, training her eyes on the distant lake. Tischer's Lake was beautiful this time of year, any time of year really, which made the cold almost worth it.

The quiet was nice too, and the stillness, the solitude one could find here. Her eyelids began to droop, and she allowed them to close, her ears and nose now her only senses in use. She was nearly asleep when she caught scent of a brute, not far from her, and she opened her eyes to investigate. Easing herself to her feet, the old wolf stretched her achy joints and turned up the slope, searching for movement among the trees. Seeing nothing, she decided to pursue the scent before she lost it, and headed uphill.

[luvpups]

Ramu made eye contact with the fae, the fur on his back beginning to bristle. That look of disgust, of total contempt, oh, how it riled him. How dare you, said her eyes, how dare you come here. Loner. Rogue. How dare you.

How dare he? He had wanted no trouble. Solitude, that was what he sought, but it seemed there would be no more of it, not today.

He looked her over, almost unconciously, noting her diminutive size. He was a good deal larger than she, but he didn't underestimate her, not for a moment. He took a step sideways, a growl rising in his throat.
"Trespasser?" he said, his harsh. "Is that what I am? Forgive me, oh mighty Alpha, had I known this land belonged to wolves as defensive as you, I would never have come."

It was a foolish thing to say. But Ramu could be, well, foolish. He was a defiant wolf, sarcastic too, and always one to start a fight. But for now, he decided to wait. Let the fae attack, let her bloody the snow with pointless battle. He would fight and disappear, just as he always had, but he would ensure she got the worst of it.

A part of him knew how silly it was, to provoke the fae the way he had, but confrontational Ramu was feeling less than cordial at the moment. He took another step sideways, neither advancing nor retreating, waiting for an answer, or perhaps an attack, from the fae.

[Hannah]

She took a step forward, her head coming up from its angular jut towards the ground. Her shoulders relaxed a bit when the male didn’t seem to step down. She gave a gentle nod as she watched him. One of Wyote’s specialties was to be simply unpredictable, well to most wolves.

Her angular ears shot up when the male spoke, her blue eyes watching him intently. But as he spoke she couldn’t help but laugh. “Well perhaps a wolf as yourself, so intelligent and bright, could have noted the fact that this land is owned. And any good alpha would stand upon it defensively,” She spat back just as cruel as the stance she once took.

She had to take note of the fact that he was male, and that in reality she stood no chance against a male on her own. Females were a different story, she would get a few bites on a male, but in the end it would be over for her. “And in reality you are a trespasser,” She said, her voice calming and only the faintest of an ear twitch showing over the frozen female.

“If you would like to be called something else, please tell someone else. To me you will always be a trespasser,” She said, her voice now returning to its usual self, snide and sarcastic. Her crystal blue eyes studied the male as he moved, her ears twitching to the sound of another wolf, but she ignored it. Although for all she knew it could just as well be an ambush, she didn’t put it was wolves.

[luvpups]

Ramu raised an eyebrow, a sarcastic glint in his eyes. "I would never expect 'trespassing' to cause such trouble. One would think that if a wolf had made no attempt to attack or hunt, he would be not a trespasser, but a passerby. It seems our ideas of intrusion are quite different."

His piece said, Ramu broke eye contact with the fae, looking out at the frozen lake and snow laden trees. The wolf exuded a confidence, or perhaps cockiness, appearing unphased by the female's words. His seeming indifference was made more convincing by his body language, his high head and now flat fur lending him a look of disinterest. It was amazing he had managed to contain himself as well as he had, for Ramu was a physical, and often offensive, wolf.

In a way, it was the fae's provoking word's that held him back, that caused him to pause and question himself. To me, you will always be a trespasser he thought, repeating the words in mind. Loner. Rogue.

Ramu shut his eyes for a moment, seeking to silence his thoughts. His eyes opened and he looked back to the fae, suddenly tired. He was done here. It was time to move on, to find some other place, preferably with fewer inhabitants.

He heaved an internal sigh and continued his now pointless charade, matching the female's sarcastic tone.
"But as I do not wish to argue with you over the nature of my presence, I shall take your advice and find someone else to speak with, preferably a less suspicious wolf."

To say these words went against everything Ramu had thought he knew, but he said them just as well. Let her think what she wanted. For some reason, confrontational Ramu was no longer feeling up to a fight, with words or body. Her words had had greater effect on the the wolf himself was aware of, and he was still reeling from her first remarks. In a way, it would have almost been easier if she had attacked him, for Ramu was skilled in physical combat, mental warfare was ware he struggled.

[Hannah]

She watched him move, well more shift, he hadn’t walked away yet. Her blue eyes glinted slightly from the sun and she turned away. “Do as you like wolf,” She said as she stood up. She now wished she had reacted differently, but it was too late now. Anyways the truth was as she spoke it, he was trespassing. And not only that he had disrupted her thinking.

She turned away from Ramu, her head lowering to the ground as she ambled back towards the mountain escape. She actually had to climb a bit and then back down, but she didn’t mind. “Watch out for, Sol, though,” She said as she turned back to look at him for a moment. Her eyes looked over the male once more, he could have been a good choice for the pack.

If the female could have shrugged she would have. To her it was just a wolf. Another would come about soon enough.

[luvpups]

Nakomi watched the exchange from her place amongst the trees, wary of the two younger wolves. Though she couldn't hear their words from where she stood, their dislike for each other was apparent. It was the brute who was at fault though, and she wondered if he would recitfy his mistake, or, more likely, leave. His decision really wasn't her concern though, and she focused on her own situaton, shaking what remained of the snow in which she had been lying from her fur.

The fae was territorial, that much was apparent, and Nakomi thought it best to reveal herself before she was discovered and accused of trespassing. It was unlikely the female cared Nakomi had been roaming the earth since before she was born; to this wolf, it seemed, a trespasser was a trespasser.

Nakomi emerged from the stand of snowy trees, soundless as the surrounding hills. She had intended to pass the brute, but she slowed down as she came to him, her old, amber eyes meeting his own.
"Well?" she said softly, her voice kind, but firm.

"Well what?" said Ramu, an edge of bitterness in his voice.

"A wolf never got anywhere by standing around," was all she said. Leaving him to think over her words, she followed after the fae, the sharp, cold air cutting through her fur.

[Hannah]

Wyote turned around only slightly to watch the older female approach. She relaxed a bit, glad it wasn’t the male attempting to attack her. But even with relaxing you could tell she was suspicious, her guard was never let down. She stopped, her body now turning to completely face Nakomi.

“May I help you,” She asked, she took a step forward, eyeing the female with apprehension. Although she was older Wyote wasn’t one to trust a wolf, any wolf. She watched the female but her thoughts soon turned to the Abysol pack. She wondered what Vilktor was doing at this moment.

Vilktor and Wyote’s relationship was a case all in it’s own. They use to be the best of friends, long ago when Vilktor had first showed up. But she had sold him out and he had been thrown out of Gawain. Yes, Vilktor had first been part of Gawain. But Wyote had fallen in love with him, while he had fallen in love with a female from Abysol.

She figured no wolf could surely love her, and so she turned on him. She attacked him, knowing Vilktor would not fight back. And then when he was hurt she turned the whole pack on the male. She told the leaders about the infidelity. The pack was furious, but at that time they had a true leader. He sent Vilktor away and the male was forgotten and never spoken of.

She shook her head, looking back to Nakomi. Oh how she hated when those memories flooded her system. She growled lightly, fighting back the knot that held in her throat. What she did not know was that Vilktor forgave her, she figured surely no wolf would forgive another for such a mistrust.

[luvpups]

"I think so," said Nakomi. "You are the Alpha, correct?" The fae spoke with an aged eloquence, the articulacy of her speech obtained through years of conversation. She stood at ease before the female, an air of comfortable grace about her; paws planted firmly on the snowy ground, thick fur flat on her back.

"I am Nakomi," she continued in a steady, level voice, "I've come only to see who is here." She doubted the explanation of her presence would have much effect on the fae, but she felt a clarification for her appearance was necessary.

Her left ear swivelled towards Ramu, and she listened for his footsteps. She hadn't heard him make an exit, which meant he was still here, and she wondered when he would choose to approach. Nakomi knew wolves, knew the way they thought and felt, and she was near certain the male would come around. Until then, she would await a response from the female.

[Hannah]

“Your assumptions would be correct,” Wyote said as she eyed the female set before her. She gulped down the feeling of the twisting of her stomach and set her attention on Nakomi. Oddly enough Wyote felt much less threatened by females, knowing the majority of them she could handle physically. Her ears twisted back at the cracking of ice, they were reaching midday and the ice would slowly melt a bit before freezing again at night.

“You have not seen who is already here then,” She asked almost exactly after Nakomi had said it. She shook her head, trying not to beat herself up too much over it. Her piercing blue eyes shot back up to look at Nakomi. “Is that all you have come for, or do you pursue more,” She asked as she reclined. Wyote had certainly not forgotten Ramu, who still stood there. No, but she would deal with him later.