Post by Therdde on Jul 23, 2009 18:52:49 GMT -5
Characters:
Lexus - Male Wolf
Kein - Male Cougar
- Snowy Highlands -
Deer are tricky things. Chase one half way round a mountain and sometimes they still get away, something Lexus has once more been reminded of. Currently he's still trying to refind it or something equally tasty. Nose to the ground as he thinks he can pick up on a rabbit. The smell of cougars in the area does bother him and he's trying to be quiet, carefully headed back to pack territory even if he does hunt along the way. He's not seen any cougars yet anyway, sees no reason he shouldn't think of his stomach when there's no immediate danger.
It isn't that Lexus isn't quiet enough. The wolf is plenty quiet. And it's not entirely that he's unlucky. If fact, it is very lucky for Lexus that he has not managed to catch anything, yet, as Kein looks down upon poaching even more than he looks down upon trespassing in the first place. Unfortunately for Lexus, though, Kein spends a good deal of his waking hours looking for trespassers, and his pace has been fast as he tracks the wolfscent he caught. He is silent even upon spotting the male wolf in the distance. He still crouches as he attempts to close the distance between his quarry and himself. In times past, he would have growled a warning from far back, but these days, he cannot risk having the wolf run deeper into the territory, so he works first on cutting the stranger off from a potential escape.
Lexus' ears twitch round as he comes to a stop for a moment, raising his head to sniff at the air. He might have paid more attention to the fresh smell of cougar a little more if not for a little rustle from a nearby bush distracting him. He quickly drops to a crouch when a bird flies off out of the bush. Huff. He relaxes once more and with the thought that any rustling bush could be a cougar ready to pounce he gets walking again, apparently oblivious to the actual cougar.
Kein is nearly silent as he continues to gain on the wolf. When he is close enough that, with only a few long leaps, he could likely catch the trespasser, he stops suddenly and calls out, "Don't go any further." What does it matter that this wolf is currently heading out of Amaranth? Should the trespasser encounter some cougaress before exiting the territory... No. Kein won't have it, and so he prepared to give chase, should the wolf run.
Lexus yelps at the voice and jumps out of his fur, almost literally as he actually does jump, twisting round and scrabbling to end up facing Kein...Oh crud. He would have preferred if they'd come out of rustling bushes, at least he'd have some warning. He's standing there like a frozen idiot though, eyes gone a little wide. Maybe if he stays really still he can get away without a fight...yeah, he doesn't believe that.
As temperamental as Kein is, he does not often fight. Not if there is another choice. He has too many scars already to go starting fights when there is a peaceful option... As well as too many scars to go ignoring a risk in the interest of /not/ starting a fight. He keeps his teeth bared and his head high, and though he holds his position instead of advancing further, his expression shows no sign of hesitation. "You are not welcome here." Is it possible that Kein knows this wolf? Sure, but then, most of the wolves he knows and are friendly with know better than to cross that border without a really good reason. "Who are you?"
Lexus isn't much of a fighter, he prefers the run, he just has the impression cougars are a bit savage. It doesn't help that the only one he'd met had been attacking at the time. He shifts backwards a bit, trying to be subtle as he gets ready to make a break for it "Lexus, of the Viridian wolves...I was on my way out."
Viridian? Isn't that... The pack that Haze was going to visit? His eyes unfocus a bit as he thinks about it, but they snap back in focus toward Lexus as he spots a little backward movement. Making no effort to hide the fact that he growls, suddenly, he says, "Run, and I will not be held responsible for what happens to you." Either at Kein's paws or the paws of one of the other members of Amaranth.
Lexus rather takes it the wrong way which finally gives him a bit of strength rather that just the feeling to run. He thinks better than to snarl at least but his fur is raising as he narrows his eyes on the cougar. "So I'm supposed to just stand here until you decide what to do with me?"
"/You/ are the one who chose to trespass. Don't you dare act upset that /I/ may be inconveniencing /you/." What would Kein be doing right now, had he not had to take time out of his day to track this wolf? He could have had extra time with his children, or to rest, but instead, he is here. "I will allow you to leave, but it will be with an escort. Do you understand?" Likely, Kein will be that escort, since he doubts any other members of Amaranth will be wandering by in the meantime.
Lexus was thinking a lot worse than inconvenience but that's that bias against cougars again. In his mind he was half expecting some long pompous lecture before he got his head bit off. All of which of course couldn't happen if he ran off. Still, thankfully he's just paranoid and he straightens up again with a little huff, looking less aggressive once more, not exactly friendly either but it's an improvement. "Yes, as you wish." He just wants to get home again now.
Kein watches Lexus for a moment after the wolf responds. Then, with only a slight bit of relaxing, he begins moving northward along a path that brings him just slightly closer to Lexus. "Very well. Let's go." Of course, Kein understands that most wolves are afraid of him and what he /might/ do. Having been raised around wolves, though... Well, just maybe if he treats them with more respect than most cougars would, they'll return that respect in kind.
Lexus still feels the urge to run but he figures he could have been attacked by now if he was going to be. He's on edge but he waits for Kein to catch up, all the better to keep an eye on him before he turns to carry on back towards home again. He doesn't much like the silence even if he's not fond of the company, he's just fighting the urge to talk.
The journey starts out very quiet, but it is not too far along when Kein asks, "Do you happen to know if Haze caught up with your pack?" That was quite some time ago. Several times, he considered trying to send a message to Haze, but something always gets in his way, and he hasn't gotten to it yet. Likely, he won't bother until after Ama sends him some information about Cheveyo.
Lexus stalls for a second at the name, his head tilting and he squints, thinking back. It takes him a second but he does remember Haze and he definitely knows who he is but he has to shake his head "Haze? No. I haven't seen him in ages...that's not to say he couldn't have been around" he's a little distant himself at times. Entertains himself "...You know Haze?" a little suspicious now.
"I met him, once. Wolves rather seem to like trespassing in Amaranth." This is actually said with the faintest hint of what may be a grin. Kein keeps his gaze to the north, though, as he continues to walk. "He's, uh... Well, he is mate to a friend of my mother." Would Maul recognize or befriend Larkspur? This whole... returned soul of his mother thing is confusing, but he wonders if he shouldn't take Maul to meet Larkspur.
Lexus raises a brow, is he imagining that grin? "Technically the deer trespassed, I was just following it and didn't notice until it was too late." Evil, evil deer. "Odd connection. He's my brother, older litter." He's slowly relaxing too, walking next to a cougar. Weird day.
"You ought to be glad you aren't the deer. The deer wouldn't have been allowed to leave." One deer could feed his immediate family for a couple of days. Instead, most days, Kein is stuck catching multiple smaller creatures. "Besides, I thought your type didn't hunt deer alone?" It really is a question. He's curious, at least a little bit, now that he's sure he can be relatively calm around this wolf.
There's a slow wag appearing in Lexus' tail and a little smirk on his muzzle. He always did distract easily "Well some days you get lucky, others you just happen to sneak up on one and they're a lot more fun to chase than the smaller creatures. Ideally it is a pack thing"
Kein has not hunted with anyone else, even his mate, since his mother taught him to hunt. He wouldn't even dream of sharing his catches with the whole tribe. He shares with his family and, once in a while, others, but only when they're injured. But how much could the cougars take down if they were to cooperate?
Lexus knows how to fill silences, some part of his brain is still stuck in puppyhood and is still easily excitable and chatty. More he relaxes, more it comes out "Little annoying to share at times but I'm better with the smaller prey anyway. Dearly wish birds tasted better though, they're a rather good challenge to catch"
- Wooded Terrain -
Kein can't say he has ever eaten a bird. By the time he became old enough, skilled enough, to catch one... They were far too small for him to bother. "I suspect birds make better allies than food, anyway." Like Lexus, Kein does not mind speaking. Unlike Lexus, though, he is not inherently social. It just doesn't come easily to him at all.
Lexus tilts his head faintly at the comment "It's possible but I've never seen one hang about long enough to have a chat with before. Apparently I've never met the social ones"
"That's okay. I've never met any of the more social ones, either." Kein has often spoken of birds, but he has never spoken /to/ one. Well, once... But he was rather young, then, and it was his mother who was actually responsible for him speaking to the bird, so... "They have their benefits, though, even if you never speak to them." They herald the coming of spring and winter, if nothing else.
Lexus raises his nose to sniff at the air again as he thinks he caught the scent of that deer again. He's not certain but it's distracting "Oh sure. Everything has some benefit, well maybe if you hunt for it hard enough anyway"
Well, Kein went through his own phased of thinking only through his stomach. He grins faintly again, then continues walking on in silence. Even with a relaxed pace, it is not terribly long before the thinning trees near the border are in sight. His own curiosity is gone. As it turns out, apparently there is not all that much he wants or need to knows about wolves or young adults.
Lexus leaves the deer alone, can't hunt it now and so he pays attention again, just seeing Viridian territory ahead his ears give a little perk. Home sweet home "Am I allowed to run for the border now or would you prefer a controlled walk for the last little bit too?" there's a little smirk and a wag, he's just amusing himself.
Kein chuckles slightly. The wolf sounds just a little bit like one of Kein's sons after one of the lighter lectures. "Go ahead... But if you should see or hear from Haze... Well, I would appreciate it if you would pass on my greetings." Kein stops walking. He won't make any move to chase after should the wolf actually run, now.
Lexus takes a step forwards, tail happily wagging till he remembers something and pauses again to look back to the cougar "Ah, messages could do with a name attached to them, don't think I caught yours?"
Because there is more than one cougar with a red-painted face who patrols the territory known as Amaranth? It's an amusing thought, but even so, Kein says, immediately, "Ah, yes. I am Kein, Chieftain of Amaranth." So, he's really not good with the politeness after all, as it turns out. Then again, right after Lexus introduced himself, Kein was distracted by the worry that Lexus would run wildly through Amaranth.
For all Lexus knows there might be more than one. His brows go up faintly at the title. Heh, he's a chieftain. Well, explains some behaviour. "Right, if I see him I'll mention it" and he turns back to the border and sets off, first at a little trot but he's soon in a full blown run straight back into wolf territory. He just likes to run.
Lexus - Male Wolf
Kein - Male Cougar
- Snowy Highlands -
Deer are tricky things. Chase one half way round a mountain and sometimes they still get away, something Lexus has once more been reminded of. Currently he's still trying to refind it or something equally tasty. Nose to the ground as he thinks he can pick up on a rabbit. The smell of cougars in the area does bother him and he's trying to be quiet, carefully headed back to pack territory even if he does hunt along the way. He's not seen any cougars yet anyway, sees no reason he shouldn't think of his stomach when there's no immediate danger.
It isn't that Lexus isn't quiet enough. The wolf is plenty quiet. And it's not entirely that he's unlucky. If fact, it is very lucky for Lexus that he has not managed to catch anything, yet, as Kein looks down upon poaching even more than he looks down upon trespassing in the first place. Unfortunately for Lexus, though, Kein spends a good deal of his waking hours looking for trespassers, and his pace has been fast as he tracks the wolfscent he caught. He is silent even upon spotting the male wolf in the distance. He still crouches as he attempts to close the distance between his quarry and himself. In times past, he would have growled a warning from far back, but these days, he cannot risk having the wolf run deeper into the territory, so he works first on cutting the stranger off from a potential escape.
Lexus' ears twitch round as he comes to a stop for a moment, raising his head to sniff at the air. He might have paid more attention to the fresh smell of cougar a little more if not for a little rustle from a nearby bush distracting him. He quickly drops to a crouch when a bird flies off out of the bush. Huff. He relaxes once more and with the thought that any rustling bush could be a cougar ready to pounce he gets walking again, apparently oblivious to the actual cougar.
Kein is nearly silent as he continues to gain on the wolf. When he is close enough that, with only a few long leaps, he could likely catch the trespasser, he stops suddenly and calls out, "Don't go any further." What does it matter that this wolf is currently heading out of Amaranth? Should the trespasser encounter some cougaress before exiting the territory... No. Kein won't have it, and so he prepared to give chase, should the wolf run.
Lexus yelps at the voice and jumps out of his fur, almost literally as he actually does jump, twisting round and scrabbling to end up facing Kein...Oh crud. He would have preferred if they'd come out of rustling bushes, at least he'd have some warning. He's standing there like a frozen idiot though, eyes gone a little wide. Maybe if he stays really still he can get away without a fight...yeah, he doesn't believe that.
As temperamental as Kein is, he does not often fight. Not if there is another choice. He has too many scars already to go starting fights when there is a peaceful option... As well as too many scars to go ignoring a risk in the interest of /not/ starting a fight. He keeps his teeth bared and his head high, and though he holds his position instead of advancing further, his expression shows no sign of hesitation. "You are not welcome here." Is it possible that Kein knows this wolf? Sure, but then, most of the wolves he knows and are friendly with know better than to cross that border without a really good reason. "Who are you?"
Lexus isn't much of a fighter, he prefers the run, he just has the impression cougars are a bit savage. It doesn't help that the only one he'd met had been attacking at the time. He shifts backwards a bit, trying to be subtle as he gets ready to make a break for it "Lexus, of the Viridian wolves...I was on my way out."
Viridian? Isn't that... The pack that Haze was going to visit? His eyes unfocus a bit as he thinks about it, but they snap back in focus toward Lexus as he spots a little backward movement. Making no effort to hide the fact that he growls, suddenly, he says, "Run, and I will not be held responsible for what happens to you." Either at Kein's paws or the paws of one of the other members of Amaranth.
Lexus rather takes it the wrong way which finally gives him a bit of strength rather that just the feeling to run. He thinks better than to snarl at least but his fur is raising as he narrows his eyes on the cougar. "So I'm supposed to just stand here until you decide what to do with me?"
"/You/ are the one who chose to trespass. Don't you dare act upset that /I/ may be inconveniencing /you/." What would Kein be doing right now, had he not had to take time out of his day to track this wolf? He could have had extra time with his children, or to rest, but instead, he is here. "I will allow you to leave, but it will be with an escort. Do you understand?" Likely, Kein will be that escort, since he doubts any other members of Amaranth will be wandering by in the meantime.
Lexus was thinking a lot worse than inconvenience but that's that bias against cougars again. In his mind he was half expecting some long pompous lecture before he got his head bit off. All of which of course couldn't happen if he ran off. Still, thankfully he's just paranoid and he straightens up again with a little huff, looking less aggressive once more, not exactly friendly either but it's an improvement. "Yes, as you wish." He just wants to get home again now.
Kein watches Lexus for a moment after the wolf responds. Then, with only a slight bit of relaxing, he begins moving northward along a path that brings him just slightly closer to Lexus. "Very well. Let's go." Of course, Kein understands that most wolves are afraid of him and what he /might/ do. Having been raised around wolves, though... Well, just maybe if he treats them with more respect than most cougars would, they'll return that respect in kind.
Lexus still feels the urge to run but he figures he could have been attacked by now if he was going to be. He's on edge but he waits for Kein to catch up, all the better to keep an eye on him before he turns to carry on back towards home again. He doesn't much like the silence even if he's not fond of the company, he's just fighting the urge to talk.
The journey starts out very quiet, but it is not too far along when Kein asks, "Do you happen to know if Haze caught up with your pack?" That was quite some time ago. Several times, he considered trying to send a message to Haze, but something always gets in his way, and he hasn't gotten to it yet. Likely, he won't bother until after Ama sends him some information about Cheveyo.
Lexus stalls for a second at the name, his head tilting and he squints, thinking back. It takes him a second but he does remember Haze and he definitely knows who he is but he has to shake his head "Haze? No. I haven't seen him in ages...that's not to say he couldn't have been around" he's a little distant himself at times. Entertains himself "...You know Haze?" a little suspicious now.
"I met him, once. Wolves rather seem to like trespassing in Amaranth." This is actually said with the faintest hint of what may be a grin. Kein keeps his gaze to the north, though, as he continues to walk. "He's, uh... Well, he is mate to a friend of my mother." Would Maul recognize or befriend Larkspur? This whole... returned soul of his mother thing is confusing, but he wonders if he shouldn't take Maul to meet Larkspur.
Lexus raises a brow, is he imagining that grin? "Technically the deer trespassed, I was just following it and didn't notice until it was too late." Evil, evil deer. "Odd connection. He's my brother, older litter." He's slowly relaxing too, walking next to a cougar. Weird day.
"You ought to be glad you aren't the deer. The deer wouldn't have been allowed to leave." One deer could feed his immediate family for a couple of days. Instead, most days, Kein is stuck catching multiple smaller creatures. "Besides, I thought your type didn't hunt deer alone?" It really is a question. He's curious, at least a little bit, now that he's sure he can be relatively calm around this wolf.
There's a slow wag appearing in Lexus' tail and a little smirk on his muzzle. He always did distract easily "Well some days you get lucky, others you just happen to sneak up on one and they're a lot more fun to chase than the smaller creatures. Ideally it is a pack thing"
Kein has not hunted with anyone else, even his mate, since his mother taught him to hunt. He wouldn't even dream of sharing his catches with the whole tribe. He shares with his family and, once in a while, others, but only when they're injured. But how much could the cougars take down if they were to cooperate?
Lexus knows how to fill silences, some part of his brain is still stuck in puppyhood and is still easily excitable and chatty. More he relaxes, more it comes out "Little annoying to share at times but I'm better with the smaller prey anyway. Dearly wish birds tasted better though, they're a rather good challenge to catch"
- Wooded Terrain -
Kein can't say he has ever eaten a bird. By the time he became old enough, skilled enough, to catch one... They were far too small for him to bother. "I suspect birds make better allies than food, anyway." Like Lexus, Kein does not mind speaking. Unlike Lexus, though, he is not inherently social. It just doesn't come easily to him at all.
Lexus tilts his head faintly at the comment "It's possible but I've never seen one hang about long enough to have a chat with before. Apparently I've never met the social ones"
"That's okay. I've never met any of the more social ones, either." Kein has often spoken of birds, but he has never spoken /to/ one. Well, once... But he was rather young, then, and it was his mother who was actually responsible for him speaking to the bird, so... "They have their benefits, though, even if you never speak to them." They herald the coming of spring and winter, if nothing else.
Lexus raises his nose to sniff at the air again as he thinks he caught the scent of that deer again. He's not certain but it's distracting "Oh sure. Everything has some benefit, well maybe if you hunt for it hard enough anyway"
Well, Kein went through his own phased of thinking only through his stomach. He grins faintly again, then continues walking on in silence. Even with a relaxed pace, it is not terribly long before the thinning trees near the border are in sight. His own curiosity is gone. As it turns out, apparently there is not all that much he wants or need to knows about wolves or young adults.
Lexus leaves the deer alone, can't hunt it now and so he pays attention again, just seeing Viridian territory ahead his ears give a little perk. Home sweet home "Am I allowed to run for the border now or would you prefer a controlled walk for the last little bit too?" there's a little smirk and a wag, he's just amusing himself.
Kein chuckles slightly. The wolf sounds just a little bit like one of Kein's sons after one of the lighter lectures. "Go ahead... But if you should see or hear from Haze... Well, I would appreciate it if you would pass on my greetings." Kein stops walking. He won't make any move to chase after should the wolf actually run, now.
Lexus takes a step forwards, tail happily wagging till he remembers something and pauses again to look back to the cougar "Ah, messages could do with a name attached to them, don't think I caught yours?"
Because there is more than one cougar with a red-painted face who patrols the territory known as Amaranth? It's an amusing thought, but even so, Kein says, immediately, "Ah, yes. I am Kein, Chieftain of Amaranth." So, he's really not good with the politeness after all, as it turns out. Then again, right after Lexus introduced himself, Kein was distracted by the worry that Lexus would run wildly through Amaranth.
For all Lexus knows there might be more than one. His brows go up faintly at the title. Heh, he's a chieftain. Well, explains some behaviour. "Right, if I see him I'll mention it" and he turns back to the border and sets off, first at a little trot but he's soon in a full blown run straight back into wolf territory. He just likes to run.