Caught in the storm (tagged)

[Blood]

@shiver

Pearl

    Vigorous winds swept over the white land sweeping up waves of powdery snow and strewing it everywhere. Spotted patches of gray stone showed through the white blanket of flakes that covered the ground in hills. The gray sky mirrored the color of the rocky landscape as it sent down its angry gusts of unrelenting turbulence. Another blast of wind and snow slammed into one of the large jutted boulders that completed the mountainous hill covered country. Like bees bursting from a hive, the icy shards of snow scattered in a cloud of white.  

    A small she wolf stood close to the boulder, her body glued to the solid surface as she squinted her silver eyes against the harsh biting blizzard. Crystal flakes covered her furry face and peppered her long lashes. She slowly sat down on her rump and shakily lifted her left paw up to her chest to try and warm it.

    Winter had come at last, and Pearl had no idea why she hadn't stayed in the forest where at least there wouldn't have been snow storms like this. She couldn't put a paw on it, but she really didn't even remember why she left the forest in the first place. It was that calling, that strange feeling that made her travel way out in the land of nothing. Now she was stuck in this pleasant weather. A cold shudder went through her body as the winds brushed under her fur to her skin. 'But I can't think of everything horrible,' She thought with a slight lift of her spirit. 'Maybe there is another less fortunate soul like me out here, or maybe this blizzard won't last much longer and I could wait it out.' Still in her happy mind, Pearl huddled closer to the rock that she was using for protection, and wrapped her tail around her hind paws to keep warm. With the intention of waiting, she gently rested her heard against the boulder and whispered, "Thank you rock."    

[Deleted]

This storm was really something. The second white out this month! Caesar squinted as he leaned into the storm, icy shards of snow embedding in his fur. Luckily his brownish silver coat was thick; however even that didn't protect him from the ferocity of this particular storm. The large male kept in his remaining body heat by moving quickly. His muscles contracted and stretched out in a steady rhythm as he powered through the gale. Fortunately, being on such a flat plane, the snow couldn't build up into a carpet. Instead it was swished infinitely about in the incoming winds, bullied into movement. Caesar knew all to well the feeling of being tossed about. When he was a pup he knew he didn't stand a chance. His two brothers Snow and Nico were quite formidable, next to those two he was nothing. Even their sister was strong; She had a cruel mind and cunning eyes. He was rather plain compared to the rest of them. She was cunning, Snow was brave, Nico was always seeking knowledge, and Caesar....he was whatever was left.

He now was wandering the upper mountains, currently gracing the barrens. He had seen the landscape before this heinous quell screamed over the peaks. The barren lands were actually quite charming, bluish scrub sage and grasses striving to endure the harsh extremes. Caesar took courage at the fact that such plants were hardy enough to grow and thrive here. He believed if they could do it, so could he. Amidst this blank hurricane he spotted a huddle of dark silhouettes not far in the distance. Perhaps there he could find shelter, and wait out this darned slurry. With newfound determination, the ice-coated male pressed forward, towards the stones. When he neared them he spotted something unusual. That was no stone! That was a wolf!

[Blood]

(@shiver)

Pearl:

Another gust of wind forced Pearl to hide her face against the surface of the boulder that she was cowering next to, in order to prevent a blast of snow and ice from blasting her and stealing her breath. Sharp twangs of cold penetrated her coat and her paws couldn't be felt on the ends of her legs any more. Pearl suddenly looked down wide eyed for her paws that she thought had blown away, but through the snowy air she saw her two front paws still attached to her legs and in pretty good shape despite the ice chunks embedded in between her toes and frozen around her claws. An entire body racking shiver took over her demeanor for a moment, and a shadow of doubt crept into her thoughts. 'No, I must stay positive. I will get through this storm. Of course I will.' Pearl smiled to herself and brought back the memories of her curled up in thick green grass in the middle of a sunny clearing. Her father and mother both laying beside her, their bodies making a nest around her, and the warmth was all around. She loved her family, and they loved her, and that thought alone warmed Pearls heart.

Something slowly drew the small female from her pleasant memories, and she looked up to notice the blizzard had subsided slightly. Just enough to peer through the blowing snow for a couple leaps ahead. With squinted eyes, Pearl faintly saw a darker figure against the white surroundings, but she couldn't tell if it was moving or not until it apparently got closer. The form shaped into the figure of a wolf, and without thinking, she barked out. "Hullo! Are you someone?! Come closer to the shelter of this rock so I can see you!"  All other thoughts had fallen from Pearl's mind as she stared at the figure, or whatever it was, with a large smile spread across her muzzle.

[Deleted]

Cæsar was pleasantly surprised by the whisper of a voice over the howling of the butter winds. It was a wolf. Curiously, the male padded closer. Now he could see more details through the veil of ice. She was a fair shewolf, small. She must be very cold. Her voice called out to him, oddly optimistic, a lilt of hope dancing from her throat. Cæsar smiled tentatively, as if she could see his formalities. "Greetings...I am Cæsar." The freckled hewolf reached her side. He hadn't spoken to a wolf in a long time. It was strange. But not at all unpleasant. She invited him to come closer to share warmth and shelter. At first Cæsar awkwardly thought against it. It wasn't proper for him and a strange shewolf to be in such close proximity to eachother. A tremor of chills racked his frame, and suddenly he found himself seated beside her, flank pressed against her own. "I-I hope you don't mind..."

Cæsar had always been too trusting, too naive. He had went in a whim, on first appearance. Surely he was safe next to her. 'Safer than out there for sure.' The large make thought as he stared out over the roiling sea of snow. His paw pads were numb, his nose practically frozen, eyes dry from squinting through the wind. Water welled up frantically in frail attempts to moisten his orbs. Pressing his ears back against his skull he tried to strike up conversation. Perhaps talking would help to pass the time.

"Well, what's your name?"

[Blood]

The gray form Pearl had seen slowly grew larger as the wolf seemed to be coming closer. Larger and larger it became, as the wolf stepped through the gusts of white powder, and suddenly stood in front of her. Dull brown, covered in snow flakes, and towering over her. Not a whim of timidity or fear past through the young she wolf's mind as she looked up at the enormous heterochromia male standing directly opposite her and looking down on her with a kind smile. Pearl let her tail flap twice over her paws as all feeling of being frozen was forgotten when the deep voice spoke in greeting. Excitement welled up in the pale colored female as the corners of her mouth turned up and her small front teeth became exposed past her dark lips. "You are someone! Greetings to you as well Caesar."

With all she had, Pearl couldn't help but stare at Caesar's eyes as he moved his immense for next to hers. 'One blue eye and one gold eye on the same head! How cool is that!' They were beautiful, Pearl thought as she wandered off in her memories about never having seen a wolf with two different colored eyes. A tingle of warmth caught her off guard with all the bitter winds blowing at her silky fur, and she looked to her side where those awesome eyes met with hers. He spoke again, but she replied with a slightly confused expression and a very candid voice. "Mind what, you are only sitting next to me. How else are we going to survive this blizzard, I mean it's really cold." With that word, she remembered how frozen her paws were and how hard the wind was blowing, and a shutter made her sides convulse like a small hiccup. The warmth from their two bodies touching was growing, and Pearl wanted more of it as she leaned her small form against his and pressed her head against his huge shoulder. Her ice cube of paws snuck under his body and closer to his belly while she closed her eyes to the wonderful sensation of heat.

A  little laugh escaped her mouth when Caesar asked for her name and she turned her head up towards his face. "I totally forgot about telling you my name. Well it is Pearl, nothing more and nothing less."

[Deleted]

Caesar smiled nervously, strange eyes avoiding hers. It was odd, being so close to another wolf after so long. Let alone a shewolf. A nice shewolf at that. He had met many wolves before coming to this valley, but they were all harsh, cutthroat individuals out for obscure vengeance. He had once spied a white and red male kill a stranger for no reason at all. Fabio? No, Fjord. Fjord was his name.

He turned back to look at her, it was only polite as she was talking to him. Her eyes were a bright silver, the bright light of the snow storm glinting off of them. He vaguely wondered how much they would glitter in the sun. Blinking away those thoughts, his eyes wandered over her fur. Although it was hard to tell in this low visibility, she was a pretty grayish shewolf with hints of punk and lavender.

As she began talking his eyes nervously flicked back to his paws. However her paws were intermingled there as well. "Heh, Pearl. That's a lovely name." His heart beat quickly, unaccustomed to this level of interaction. However, he knew such close proximity was necessary. A personal space bubble couldn't exist in such a situation. With such logic established, Cæsar took a few deep icy breaths to calm himself. "It's...quite a storm." He attempted to make small talk while the snow and ice whipped around them. Although almost as if nature wanted to contradict him the storm seemed to slow and the precipitants swirled gently to the ground. The storm was by no means over and done with. The cold was still bitter, but the wind was less harsh.

"Heh..." Cæsar cleared his throat in a lack for words.

[Blood]

A soft giggle graced Pearl's lips as she looked down shyly from his compliment and flicked her ears back. "Oh, thank you. I like your name too, it is mighty." Her silver eyes went back up to his that were looking out into the storm. She squinted too, and watched the flakes dart this way and that on their wind swept journey to the ground.

Caesar added a comment about the storm, and Pearl's small head nodded in agreement. "It is, and so very long." For several hours now Pearl had been lost in the blizzard. It first started out as just a snowfall, and then turned into a whiteout. Her traveling had been postponed by this storm, but she bubbled inside, because if she had not been stuck by this rock, she would have never met Caesar. "What is your purpose for traveling in this land, and what mission of yours has this blizzard hindered? " Light pink ears twitched forward to receive the sound of his voice as Pearl gazed up at his heterochromia eyes.

Her focus was still on the large male beside her, but she noticed the storm subsiding considerably, or at least just the wind had mostly stopped. Big white snow fluffs still silently fell to the ground, no longer thrashed about by the fading wind. "Look, the blizzard is calming down!" Excitedly Pearl flopped her snow covered tail and caught a white flake on her nose which she licked off with a pink tongue before it could melt.

[Deleted]

Caesar flinched mentally as she commented on his name. Mighty...while he fit the physical description of 'mighty' now, he hadn't lived up to it as a child. And even now, he had crippling hours of anxiety that would set hold upon him at the most unbelievable times. However, now was not one of them. Somehow he felt oddly at ease with the situation. Perhaps it was the bubbly, bright Pearl beside him. Perhaps it was her aura that calmed his stormy mind.

The dazzling shewolf looked up at the large male with her diamond eyes. She asked about his travels, where he was going and what for. Cæsar didn't quite know what he was doing; his paws seemed to be magnetically pulled towards these mountains, something about it made him feel as if this was where he was destined to be. "Well," He began, his silvery Brian ruff rising in embarrassment as he cleared his throat. "I figure the journey is more important than the destination." He smoothly avoided the question. She was easily side tracked as she began catching fat, lacy, snowflakes on her tongue and nose. He laughed, his eyes darkening as he thought. She had been completely honest with him, handing out her information like it was candy. He sighed, supposing he should return the favor. "Pearl....the real reason why I've come here is to find a pack, a family. My-my original one wasn't very close, nor good. And, I feel like this valley holds the right wolves to build a family with." He avoided her glittering gaze once again. Cæsar had thought about starting his own pack many times...The thought of leading a pack frightened him. After all with such anxiety plaguing him and his background...how could any good wolves trust him?

[Blood]

Pearl's excited smile and soft giggles faded away as she heard her name spoken. Imidietly her gentle gaze was on him, and expression genuine. In a deep solemn voice, Caesar told the pale pink fured she wolf his motives. Pearl was intent on listening and her eyes sparkled in wonder as she thought to herself. The large ashy brown male was serious in his tone, and that captured the she wolf's attention. Her mind suddenly sparked and she perked up with a bright grin. "I left my family too, to find where I belong in this great world. Maybe we could search together."

Large pink ears twitched and tail wagged softly as Pearl looked out at the peaceful landscape. Her head swung back towards Caesar and she excitedly added, "Maybe we could start a pack together too, and you could be the alpha!" With a little hop Pearl stood,already feeling warm inside and mostly out. Her bushy pink tipped tail lashing back and forth, thumping against the body of the larger wolf close beside her. Happy ideas started to grow in her mind and she could see mighty Caesar as the alpha of a mighty pack. How great of an alpha he would be! 'Of course I will be part of it, maybe the side-alpha.' Silver eyes gleamed with bright thoughts that bloomed behind them.

[Deleted]

Cæsar smiled as Pearl practically sprung from her place like a snowdrop in spring. Her face beamed, radiating joy and hopefulness at the promise of company in the future. Her pinkish fur glittered iridescently in the snow. She was a bright figure in a bright place. She spoke in her excited, fountain-like voice about looking together and the idea of beginning a pack. It all sounded quite wonderful; but Cæsar didn't want to be Alpha. Too much responsibility. He could see it now, the nervous breakdowns, the challenges of the frightening world around him. It would take courage and chivalry and kindness. He was about to exclaim his aversion to the idea but Pearls ignited eyes stopped his tongue. "I'd be honored, but, I'd need your help." He found the words tumbling out of his mouth and his cheeks puffed up in embarrassment. The storm was all but finished, the snow settling into fluffy heaps on the earth.

Cæsar smiled and joined the shewolf in the snow. Perhaps they could make this work...she had to be a good wolf! But...he shouldn't just rush into this....they should get to know eachother, meet other wolves!

[Blood]

Pearl stopped her happy wagging and jittery excitement when he replied to her comment. Her eyes went wide and she stood frozen for a moment before shifting her angle directly facing him. His large muscular form towering over hers as they stood in the shadow of the boulder. "Y-you mean you actually need my help?" With a big grin that barely fit across her muzzle, Pearl beamed up at the ashy brown male, appreciation clearly shown on her face. "Oh wow, Thank you! We could be alphas togather then!"

Pearl's smile hardly faded as she spun her head around at the surroundings; the snow hardly falling any longer and the clouds scarcely able to hide the sun's growing brightness. "I am still a little lost as to where we are in the valley, do you know these lands well. Sheepishly she returned her silver gaze to him. Surely he was old enough to have traveled the length of the valley, maybe several times if that. "I would prefer not to claim any territory as desolate as this gray land." On small paws, Pearl stepped out past the protection of the large rock and ventured a few steps in the white sparkling sea of snow drifts. Shallow prints following her short strides as she tried to find any source of direction.

[Deleted]

Cæsar smiled, hauling his large body out of the snow heap that had built up around the two. He watched, with laughing eyes as the lavender and silver shewolf bounded through the fresh powder. She was surely and excitable and giving shewolf. Or at least that's what his first impressions of her were. The two would definitely have to get to know eachother thoroughly before any thing more could develop. Cæsar was already pulling his heart back by the reins. He didn't want to succumb to a shewolf until he really knew to whom he was giving his heart to. However, the matter at hand wasn't one of love. In fact right now was of proposing a plan. "No, no," the speckled brown and silver hewolf laughed freely. "I imagine my home in a much more beautiful place than this. With a slight frown he turned to overlook the valley. "Unfortunately, I too am a stranger here." Swinging his broad head back around, he spoke to Pearl. "I suppose that means we should take the opportunity to explore." He smiled nervously, his heart racing with the anxiety of starting at new leg in his life's journey. Surely this valley held much potential. Good and evil alike.

"The snow will be thinner down in the basin," The hewolf shook off the dusting of crystals before tentatively loping forward. "After you," He bowed his head.

-exit Cæsar-

Blood

[Blood]

"Home." Pearl whispered to herself after what Caesar said. She had left her family with the bright mindset of seeking out a new home, a fresh start, the next big step in her life, and she purred with contentment because she knew her path was the right one. And how much more thrilling it was going to be to have another searching soul to adventure with to find a new home.

Little pink ear tufts wiggled in different directions, and confusion began to creep over the she-wolf's excited expression. Her head made a sideways tilt to the right, and then to the left as she surveyed the land as best she could, in the hope of finding some sort of direction to go off of. Doubt made its way uninvited into the mind of the young spirited female when Caesar answered with his similar dilemma. Pearl's lavender streaked face swung to face the large speckled wolf, and her eyes caught the worry that flashed in his multi colored eyes. He too looked about the white scape, but then added out loud just what Pearl was turning her thoughts around to. Like the sun poking through the snowstorm clouds, her expression lit up, smiling wide and toothy. "Yes," Pearl agreed, she liked the way Caesar thought, not many wolves could bring the positive out of a negative situation. "We will just have to make it into an adventure. You even said it yourself, the journey is more important than the destination." Hardly a breath of time passed before the small she-wolf squinted her eyes, grinned even wider, and corrected herself, "But the destination is still pretty important."

Pearl looked up at Caesar, almost to ask for guidance on choosing direction, but he only stated a place, walked a few steps, stopped, and dipped his head. "After you." Confusion popped back, and her head tilted at less of a degree than before. 'He isn't going to lead the way?' Pearl had grown up in a family were the males were the leaders, the protectors, and the ones that stood tall in uncertainty. 'Is Caesar shy about himself?' The pale she-wolf jumped forward on her light paws, throwing those lousy thoughts behind her, they were unacceptable and would hinder the task before them. "Thank you. And now our adventure begins." Onward she would trot, with the sun glowing warmly on her back, and the snow's bright reflection cutting harshly at her vision. She set out in faith that her new friend Caesar was by her side, and that the Basin would be found.

-exit Pearl-