Old Wolf, New Tricks (Tagged/OPEN)

[Deleted]

Shade moved slowly through the woods, sated after her hunt on the open heath. She tipped back her head, admiring the high trees and the way the light filtered down through their leaves. It was peaceful here—she hadn't expected that. Entering into a valley simply bristling with wolves, she had been prepared to fight tooth and claw to the top of the food chain. She'd been relishing the thought, after so many seasons of solitude. But now, walking beneath the sequoias, feeling the squish and squelch of the moss between her toes and listening to the borbhan of the brook below her, she felt oddly happy.

"Something in the water," she growled, irritated at her own emotions. She stopped at a shallow catchment and lowered her head to drink. Her ears twitched to the soft movement of the woods. The she-wolf raised her head slowly. The silence had stopped being peaceful. Somehow the eeriness of it was creeping into her bones. She shook out her ruff.

"Probably the wet. It's getting to my joints."
But it was not the wet.

She moved on, wary now. What could make a forest fall so silent? Shade moved lighter, more quickly. Something was wrong—something was very wrong. She loped between a pair of large sequoias and up into the branching of another. Quickly she scanned the surrounding undergrowth, hoping to see whatever it was before it saw her. Her eyes caught something gold, something white—there!

A pup?

Shade snorted indignantly and began to back out of the nook between the trees. And then she stopped. An acrid stench swept past her snout, bearing tale of the creature it clung to. Her lips peeled back and a snarl tore at her throat.

Cougar.

It was not the first time Shade might have tussled with one of the wild cats, but she most certainly did not want it to be the last. She didn't care to attract the beast's attention, either. Quickly the she-wolf backed out of the tree-knoll. The young wolf was not her responsibility. It could fend for itself. Shade started away from the rancid cat-stench.

[Calypso]

Reaper;

Ahh, what a scene to come upon. A crooked, toothy, yellow smile formed on the muzzle of a creature in the shadows. Neon yellow eyes with darker, puke-colored pupils watched as a slightly older she-wolf drank from the river, also taking note of when she caught sight of the large cat off in the distance. He himself didn't fear the cat, he merely kept his distance so that he wouldn't have too much fun.

He was slightly disappointed when the she-wolf began to turn away. He had been hoping to see some bloodshed, but his dream didn't seem to be coming true. So he decided that if he couldn't watch a large cat do it, he would have to attempt on his own. His thin, crinkled frame slipped into the bushes, keeping track of the she-wolf's movements. When he saw his opportunity, the male once again slipped out of the bushes, remaining in the shadows but still slightly visible from where the she-wolf was currently standing.

"Hello~," he stated, his voice cracking, his piercing eyes and his large, fanged smile being the main two things visible. Even as he stared at her, taking note that she seemed like a slightly older wolf. Perhaps his killing her would be more of a blessing for such an ancient-looking wolf?

[Deleted]

"Hello..."

Shade shouldn't have jumped. She should, she knew, have been aware of the possibility that she was being watched. She should have been on her guard, particularly after the savagery of the boar hunt, and her wounding. But she wasn't. With a cry of surprise, the old wolf leaped back, skidding in the loam by the currel. She wheeled to face the speaker, her mane standing on end and a roar building in her throat. It was embarrassing, really, being caught off guard. She would not normally have reacted so brashly, but surprise and exhaustion from the hunt tipped her over the edge.

"Who's there?" She snapped, her eyes flickering from shadow the looming shadow. Was that a figure in the darkness, or just the curl of a tree bole? "Step into the light, coward!"

And then she saw it—the glint of eyes in the darkness, the keen hunger in that gaze. She saw the glint of wickedly curved fangs and bristled further. She lowered her head and bared her own teeth, a leer of disgust smearing across her maw. She relaxed her position to one of more casual hatred, her slanted eyes narrowing and focusing on the glint from the shadows.

"Though it may come as a surprise to you, I am in no mood for games. Get out where I can see you."

[Deleted]

Valkyrie:

The white she pup with gold and silver marking had moved through the forest alone. She had met a she wolf with three legs but she hasn't stayed with her long. She had aye and snuck off. She had thought she was nice but she hasn't seen her in two months then she was young now she was 5 months and she hoped she could get away with traveling on her own. She moved through the underbrush but stopped when she heard someone stop and for a moment thought they saw her. She moved into the brush nearby nervous for a moment as she looked out hearing not one but two voices. She pushed her way from the Bush the pups small body close to the ground hoping not to be seen as she moved her way to the waters edge to get something to drink.

[Calypso]

Reaper;

Ah, so the old bag had seen him. That was partially the point, of course, but it was still a slight surprise. The smile that was stuck on his face only heightened as she spoke. Coward? He? Quite amusing this she-wolf was turning out to be. He watched as she caught sight of him and seemed to calm down slightly, but still was wary, as she should be. She then demanded that he come out where she can really see him. He wasn't overly fond of getting ordered around by some black-furred prick, but it was still funny to him. He almost felt himself laugh at her demands, which came out as more of a snicker from the shadows.

"Are you sure that is a wise decision?" He chuckled once again, waiting for a moment or two. He could tell that she was ticked off, but he couldn't care less. As a matter of fact, he was tempted to leave the shadows only so that she would regret her decision of wanting him to come out. He decided to half-listen to her, though he did it for himself, not because she told him to. He took a single step forward, only his head being revealed to the sunlight.

His fur was matted and greasy, his yellow smile now looked even worse than it would have in the shadows with brown and reddish stains all over them, and narrowed, odd eyes that just screamed disgust. "I'm not a sight that you would want to see." Some other wolves would have said those words if they were ashamed of what they looked like or were just upset, but he seemed very amused. He stared her down with wide eyes and his creepy smile, just imagining what kind of things she would be thinking about of him in that moment. All of the possibilities he could think of only made him want to show himself more so that her impression would become worse and worse.

He then caught the scent of another, though he showed no sign of it. He knew there was another wolf in the area, but he wasn't sure where. That didn't matter, though. Eventually it would reveal itself. They always did...

[Deleted]

"I'm not a sight that you would want to see."

Ah, so the coward showed his face. The old wolf watched as the stranger stepped into the fading light. It was true, what he said: he was not a pretty face to look upon. Questionable stains on his matted fur, a cruel, twisted type of grin that she had only ever seen before on animals taken with the mad mind sickness. She straightened her tail and tipped her chin up. So, perhaps this creature really was nothing more than a rabid, mad brute. Some of the uncanny uncertainty bled away.

“You are right.” She spat, looking him up and down condescendingly. “I don’t want to waste my time with garbage.” Her green eyes flared and her lips curled into a sour smirk.

How odd that this should be the type of native she would encounter—on the second try!

Just my impeccable luck, I suppose.

[Deleted]

Valkyrie was partially glad they didn't notice her though she blinked as she heard another voice and her small head looked up from where she was crouched in the grass. Visible to anyone who looked. Though whom she saw step into the light gave the she pup fear as her fur prickled. He would have given her nightmares for night. Even so she had let out a small yelp of fear seeing him her white ears pinned against her head. She had reached the waters edge by the time she had really noticed him.

(Lol um Valkyrie was able to be seen in my last post lol)

[Calypso]

(Sorry Spira XS I kinda forgot where we were so I misread.)
Reaper;

A scratchy, raspy laugh came from the male as she confirmed what he said and called him garbage. His laugh was drawn from pure amusement, but not because of what she said being right. He shook his head lightly, glaring his eyes but leaving the wide smile on his face. "That is where you are mistaken. I am far worse than garbage, " he stated. He went to take a step forward, but the sound of a small yelp caught his ears. His head turned slowly, his smile and glare still glued to his face. He caught the sight of a white ball of fur with golden markings, seeing the fear that went across the pup's face when she saw him.

It wasn't really a surprise that she was frightened. Not at all. As a matter of fact, it was entertaining. Seeing that fear was exactly what he wanted. He let out a chuckle and took a few steps in the direction of the pup, revealing some more of his body. His fur remained somewhat the same: matted, gross-looking. Only now a light brown made its way into the mix, revealing that his black and red fur that covered his face were only markings. Now the front half of his body was revealed. The black and red arrows that stretched down his legs, both pointing in the opposite direction could now be seen, as well as his long claws. Luckily, it was his right side that was facing towards Shade, so she wasn't seeing the worst side of him. But the white arrow on his face and his menacing eyes were now locked onto the pup.

"A little friend of yours?" He had directed the question at the old black wolf, but his eyes remained locked on the pup. Yes, that fear was hard to look away from.

[Deleted]

“That is where you are mistaken. I am far worse than garbage," he didn’t seem offended, or angry, or even displeased. If anything, the matted stranger seemed gleeful. Shade raised one brow. Definitely unhinged, by her measure. She shook her head.

“Quite likely,” she mumbled under her breath. Just then, before she could go further, a movement made him turn away from her. Her eyes narrowed. Something white and gold in the grasses near the river: ah! A young wolf, very young, standing frozen in the riverside loam. Her slanted eyes cut to the big male. She watched his movements carefully, gauging the level of control that he had over his own body. He did not seem to be faltering. Perhaps then he was not mind-sick: just mad. And eerily interested in thr pup.

“A little friend of yours?"

Her ears twitched. His eyes had remained fixed on the she-pup, that irritating grin plastered across his face. She snorted and curled her tail up in a dominating stance.

“Tch. I’ve never seen it before.” Her lips curled, and she swiveled her ears, curious despite her best intentions. What was this creature’s story? And why the odd reactions? She was not as curious about the little one. Though... her eyes narrowed, settling upon the fur of the young wolf. It had the same bizarre pelt colors as all others in this valley. Was this an inherited trait? She flicked her ears and yawned. It was all rather uncomfortable, this newness. I’m too old for this, she thought.

But if I am going to succeed in gaining a foothold in this valley, then I need more information.

“Tell me, young ones, before you—” she gestured to Reaper, “—decide to eat her.” Her eyes gleamed. “There is power in this valley. Where does it stem from?”

[Deleted]

As the small she pup seen more of the he wolf her fur prickled and her small hackles raised. She didn't know what to do. She was close to the water so she couldnt back up. If she did back up she would be going for an unwanted swim,and she didn't know how to swim. She was either stuck or the small white,gold,silver,and blue she wolf could run but she didn't know how far she could make it compared to the older male. Though her gaze snapped to the she wolf as she mentioned the he wolf eating her and a small whine came from her as her back paw almost touched the water behind her."i...im not very tasty...id leave you with a really bad tummyache"She said ears flattened her voice coming out in a small squeak.

[Calypso]

Reaper;

After he had spotted the little pup, Shade's voice was suddenly blocked out of his ears. He no longer cared about what she had to say, for she was an older wolf. He wanted to plant his seeds of fear into the wolves of the valley. An old coot who would likely kick the bucket soon wasn't worth it. But a pup? That was one of the easiest ways to plant fear.

These thoughts made him chuckle, looking at the little pup. He heard what she said about her giving him a "tummyache" and he almost couldn't contain his laughter. And her not tasting good as well? Pups were so amusing sometimes. It was fun to hear what they said when they were facing what could be their death face-to-face. "Ha! I've eaten things much worse than you, and a 'tummyache' has never stopped me before, " he stated with a laugh. He took one more step forward, now standing maybe 10 feet from the little pup. He looked over at her near the river, knowing he had her cornered. The thought of killing her came to his mind. She was so small and weak; he could easily rush forward and kill her with one bite, or even drown her if he wanted to have some extra fun. But his thoughts from before reminded him. He couldn't kill her. She would spread his madness.

His yellow eyes glanced back at the older, dark she-wolf standing off to one side of him now. Should he kill her instead? Doing it in front of this pup would make the fear and despair only grow so much more, and the temptation was almost taking over. But these wolves were lucky. He was in a particularly good mood. "What is your name, " he growled, only looking at Shade out of the corner of his eye while he kept the small white and golden pup in his sights.