I Hope Nobody Saw That (tagged and open)

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Lotus gazed down the mountain, green eyes lit with wonder. Stretching out below her was the vibrant valley that lay under the presiding care of the White Wolf Mountain. Autumn colors set the valley floor on fire, vibrant ambers and crimsons made the bright yellows and mellow mustards pop even more. From her supreme vantage point she could see all the bodies of water in the bountiful expanse below. Over there was the glittering azure mass of what she knew to be Kai Lake, a mutually peaceful, yet mysterious land mark.

Relishing the beauty of the land Lotus Regina sucked in a deep breath of cool, thin, mountain air. Here she stood on the summit of the highest mountain, the queen of the land. Exhaling, she removed her dexterous paws from her precarious perch and descended to the steep slopes asunder. The shewolf sidestepped her way down a particularly slippery stretch of gravel, claws flexing for traction. Frightened slightly, she gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes, fighting the urge to close them completely. Unfortunately, her paw skidded out from under her as rough pebbles scraped away. Her body hit the ground as she began to slide down the mountain at an alarming pace. Panicking now, Regina scrabbled at the surface, desperately searching for purchase in the unforgiving land.

Her descent abruptly stopped as she was rudely dumped off a small ridge directly in front of a cave. Quickly recovering from her embarrassing slip up, she shook dust from her fur with a huff and turned to inspect her new surroundings.

She stood on fairly level ground, patches of scrubby ferns and heather sprouted from the hard sandy earth. In front of her lie a gaping stone maw, the insides a dark and unforgiving indigo, jagged teeth precipitated from the ceiling with ominous certainty. Behind her was thick scrub oak, their leaves a deep russet. It would be a pain to struggle through the scrub, and Lotus was already exhausted from traveling all that day. And while the cavern looked less than inviting, it was still a cave. It was still shelter. Being slightly lazy and selfish, Lotus plopped herself in the shade given by the yawning jaws of a mystic cave.

@wildcat

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Crimson River slunk through the thick undergrowth, his dark pelt making it easy to blend, sadly his longer thicker fur got snagged as the thorns continued tearing at it. The pain doesn’t bother him, he is used to it. He had been hunting, travelling since the early morning trying to find prey. He needed to sink his claws into something, to feel the warm blood and watch it stain his paws.

Huffing out a breath, the large male wolf slunk towards the place he had claimed as his own for the past few days. His scent hardly lingered, he didn’t spend long there per a day. But it was where he had found to sleep. For those mere few hours before he was up again, padding further than he had the day before. He crouched in the undergrowth, catching what he could.

Unlike the pack territory, he had not the loving land and generous wolves to hunt with. No, he no longer had that.
Of course, that wasn’t because he just upped and left. He had challenged an Alpha, and lost, being banished and forced to travel further. Just over the mountain would be the packs he had heard about. Just over the mountain were the wolves that he would befriend to the point where he was trusted. He would gather wolves behind him and eventually claw his way to the top.

This, this was his dream.

Soon, it would be a reality, he thought with a smirk before River managed to emerge from the undergrowth. He smelt a strange wolf. Almost immediately his haunches started bristling, straightening and growling a quiet warning. He never warned more than once.
Who was this wolf?
Crimson River looked up at the mountain side before down at the she-wolf once more, slowly slinking forward and barking at her with no meaning. A wake up call.

He jumped back, fur bristling, tail straight and lips peeled back in a snarl. His sharp fangs showed as his ears pressed back, growling, “What’s your business?”
He snapped angrily, why was she there? In his cave!

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Lotus had just fallen asleep, her mind blissfully barren of any dream. However, before she could truly enjoy the rest she was receiving, she was rudely awoken by a sharp bark near her black ear. Jolting awake, her jade green eyes flashed open. Leaping to her feet, a growl sprung in her throat. Immediately she scanned her surroundings, spotting the perpetrator at once. His bristling black and red fur shone in the hot sun above. Her pelt, however, was hidden in the deep shadows of the cave, the lotus flowers dulled, and the gold streams unseen. Lotus Regina Prince frowned at the male standing before her. She didnt like him already. Then again she didnt like anyone who woke her up. So, she decided she couldn't judge him completely until she saw more. Though Lotus wasn't quite sure she wanted to see more.

Stepping one paw over the line between darkness and sunlight, the gold there sprung to life. She then answered his quite rude question. "Well, it was sleep until you quite rudely woke me up!" Lotus snapped with a huff and an irritable flick of her tail. "Who are you to order me around anyways? My mom?" A smirk curled its way onto her lips even as panicked thoughts rushed her brain.
Was he stronger than her? Could she beat him in a fight? Did he see her fall?
Lotus hoped not. Taking another step into the light, she revealed half of her body, a hard light dancing in her stony green eyes. Perhaps being sarcastic and mean wasn't the best way to get out of a scrap safely, but, that's the first thing Lotus looked to. So it was the first thing she did. Perhaps she should change that next time....

Her slick fur began to bristle along her spine, black and magenta hairs beginning to stand on end as she growled.

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Flint had been walking along, wondering if he was going to die of starvation, or dehydration first. Well, not dehydration. I just had a drink 2 minuets ago. I haven't eaten in... How long? Flint proceed in his mental debate with himself when he tripped over a rock. Normaly he would have just stumbled and not even noticed. But, as he hadn't eaten in weeks, it was bigger then that. Considering he was about 3 years old and close to the prime of his life, it surprised even him. He tumbled to the ground, but got back up. He shook his once fiery pelt, now it was dull and dirty. He looked up, and saw two other well fed wolves in the distance. He started walking, about the fastest he could go with his ribs sticking out like handles, and the fact that he was maybe 60 pounds when he really should have been over 110 pounds. "Um, dose anyone have any food?" he asked as he got closer.

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Crimson growled at her and circled behind her, sitting down on his haunches in the cave. His ears flattened and he refused to answer the newcomer. This place had been so peaceful and so isolated...
Did wolves always come to the edge of the mountains? Geez...

He huffed out a breath and relaxed, "No, not at the moment." He finally answered the scrawny wolf, he really needed a feed. All well, one less contender if he goes down... However, If I help him, he could repay me.

Crim stood, "I'm Crimson River by the way... You don't look like you've eaten in a long time. If you wanted to, we could find something?"

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Lotus' green eyes flicked to the side as another male made his presence known. She shrunk back slightly before recovering. She truly was a bit of a coward...no! Self preservation, not cowardice. Anywho, this greyish wolf didnt seem to be much of a threat. He obviously couldn't hunt/fight well since he needed food. His pelt was drab and his eyes tired, not to mention the painfully obvious protrusion if his skeleton. Silently she felt sorry for this wolf, a flash of sympathy crossing her expression. "Sorry, but I don't have food with me." Lotus spoke her voice soft, and surprisingly genuine. But when the red male began speaking again, her peaceful demeanor spiked back up. Lotus lashed her tail, angrily leaving the cool cave. He can have his stupid hole! Her eyes got stormy just thinking about him. Though he seemed polite enough, perhaps he wasn't a total snob. Ah, his name is Crimson River. How unoriginal. At least her name was something special. Lotus. Regina. Prince. A small smile flickered on her lips as she thought about how she earned her name.

The lotus part seemed obvious to every other wolf, but where she came from, the name Lotus was a title. Only those who were worthy gained it. She had proven herself worthy by raising her own siblings when her mother died of childbirth. Previous to that she had only been Regina Prince. Still to this day she goes by Regina, not wanting to share the privateness of her title.

"Im Prince. Regina Prince." She introduced herself in the formal way, last name first. This starving wolf didnt seem to be such a bad guy. He was definitely brave. To come up to two other bickering wolves and ask for food was either stupid or brave...or both. But luckily for him Regina wasn't evil. Crimson butt over here might be though.

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Flint nodded, he hadn't expected anything. "My name is Flint, nice to meet you both." he said, pawing his muzzle. Dirt came off, reveling a flint gray splotch on either side of his muzzle. He liked that marking, it was the reason his full name was Flintstone. Flint didn't like sharing his full named, it was the name his mother had given him. The mother who let his father take him and his siblings away to die in the snow. No, Flint was fine with being Flint. They didn't have to know his full name. Flint bristled when hostility raised. It was quick enough to dissipate, but he was still a little more on edge.

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As soon as another wolf came, he acknowledged that his cave was no longer safe or private. He wouldn't be able to stay there. Just over the mountain there was supposed to be wolves. He wasn't sure whether he believed it, but it was worth a try to head for there. But first he had to gain strength and gain followers.
He shook out his fur, the heat getting to him, "Flint, Regina Prince, I want to suggest something to you both."
A friendly smile came to his lips, his body language quite open and friendly compared to before, when he had been cautious of them.

(OOC: My apologies for being offline for so long Been really busy @pittypat @shiver)

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@wildcat

Lotus eyed the reddish black wolf, warily. One moment he was defending an old den with a cruel tone, the next he was giving out free suggestions. She didn't like this....he had to be up to something.....however she was curious as to what he had to say. She motioned for him to go on with a cocked eyebrow, back still bristling with reproach. Her tail was raised, twisted to the side in slight annoyance. This Crimson was an interesting wolf indeed....

This new wolf -Flint did he say?- was also peaking her curiosity, he was a reddish male as well, what a dark pair those two were. However he seemed to be doing much worse than snippy Crimson. He was desperate enough to interrupt an argument in his urgency to recurve something in his gravely empty belly. This could mean one of two things...the valley was quite barren, or he was a terrible Hunter. If the latter was the case, perhaps she would gain favor by showing him how. It always paid to have some wolf in debt to you.


@pittypat

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He had decided that he could be friendly and open, since he wasn't going to stay around and need to defend his territory. He only had a small patch of it, which was fine with him, it's all he needed.
"I was thinking, that we could get food and then head out of this land. We could survive better that way."

Crimson sat back on his haunches, looking over the scrawny wolf before adding to him, "And there may be some scraps on the prey in the den, near the back if you want to look."
He looked extremely unhealthy, and he decided that he would need more meat on his bones. He could help him.