Post by Therdde on Dec 19, 2008 1:56:09 GMT -5
Characters:
Titan – Male Juvenile Dog
Yuma – Male Cougar
Adoun – Male Cat
Haze – Male Wolf
Shikoba – Female Dog
Brushtail – Female Dog
Bodhi – Male Wolf
Storm – Female Dog
Lauber – Male Elk
Lupin – Female Dog
Hinto – Male Wolf
- Two-River Fork -
It was getting into late evening and Titan was padding roughly northward. He had just had a interesting yet short little meeting with Sir Longacre and was off again. The cat didn't seem mean he just seemed to busy to be bothered, even if he was just laying on a rock probably napping. At the mention of cougar Titan had blazed a trail out of there, he ahs only heard nasty things about cougars, given they were referring to meadow cougars, but mountain cougars couldn't be much better! preying on weak old wolves and young puppy like himself. His collar gently jingled as he walked a rabbit currently held in his mouth.
After getting a drink near the base of the waterfall, Yuma steps back from the water's edge and glances up toward the moon. It may be fully dark by now, a few hours after sunset, but this late in the spring, the nights are no longer so brisk and cold. Pleased by the changing weather, the big cougar grins to himself as he pulls away from the waterfall, surveying his surroundings with a more careful eye. Yuma's hungry. Fortunately, the prey in this area has been plentiful, and he has no doubt that he'll be able to find something. The cougar takes a step, then pauses with his ears pricked, hearing something very... odd. A jingling, musical sound, unlike anything he's ever heard. Maybe it's a bird? Blinking, Yuma sits up straight and listens closely, trying to figure out where the sound is coming from.
It wouldn't take long for a figure to appear, at first it was a black blob with some white mixed in. Titan... had actually gotten himself lost again! He hadn't realized he had turned completely around and head heading back for the place where he met the cat, just on the other side. Poor Titan and his misdirection. Right now he was cheerfully walking eyes half open to see where he is going as he pads forward searching for a nice place to eat his rabbit... and what luck! another waterfall! sheash how many waterfalls were around here? He wondered not yet noticing the cougar. Yet as he moved closer the cougar could make out details. The creature was looking like a wolf, yet completely different the form very unwolflike. It looked to be as big as some of the smaller adult wolves, but that couldn't be? For its paws were massive! perhaps signifying it was still in the growing stages? In fact once one got a good look at it it seemed to look all around puppyish. The collar continuing its gentle jingle.
Yuma turns his head left, then right, ears swiveling alertly. The sound is faint at first, making it hard to tell which direction it might be coming from, but soon he determines that it's getting steadily louder. He should probably be wary of unknown sounds, but instead he's just curious, waiting (a bit impatiently) for the jingling /something/ to appear. A few seconds pass before he makes out the blackish blob approaching him. The cougar's golden green eyes settle on the dog, watching him with intensifying curiosity. At first, Yuma mistakes Titan for a small, dark wolf... though that does not explain the jingling sound that accompanies the canine's arrival. "Hello," he greets Titan in a casual tone. He's not frightened, but he's not aggressive either, not without a good reason.
Titan hears the voice, it sounds feline... but deeper and.. bigger, so at this he stops dead gazing about. "Er hello?" he asks then he pinpoints the direction of the voice and /WOW!/ that is one big kitty cat, could this be a cougar? All signs pointed to yes, especialy the scent about. He then slwoly starts to pad forward after picking up his rabbit again. If the cougar was here and there was a waterfall... perhaps he has been turned around and that cat would show up again? Oh great! curse him and his bad sense of direction! It then hits him that hes padding twords a murderious killing barbarian and he then stops again looking over. What was he doing?
Yuma remains perfectly still, watching with a decidedly curious expression. With his head tilted, he doesn't look much like a murderous barbarian. He has not met many wolves - in fact, just one - and he was much younger then. It's possible that he he only /remembers/ wolves being larger because he was so much smaller himself. The cougar notices Titan's surprise and tries to reassure him with a friendly grin. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna ask for a bite," he says, indicating the dog's rabbit with a slight nod of his head.
Titan stares at the cougar, dont worry I am not going to ask tfor a bite? EEk! At that moment hes still in cougars murder and /eat/ dogs his age from the tales. Since when did preditors ask to eat there prey? His mind then calms a bit as the cougar nods twords the rabbit in his muzzle and he calms a bit as he then slowly pads even closer, sitting down roughly twenty or so feet from the giant cougar he drops his prey and gazes at the cougar. "y..you are with Sir Longacre?" he asks hopefully.
After his meeting with the dog, Adoun fell asleep. He is still resting on the same rock, even now, hours after that meeting. The white noise of running water helps him to sleep comfortably, unbothered by the countless noises out here, but as voices relatively near him reach his ears, they flick a couple times, then he slowly raises his head and opens his eyes to look at whoever is speaking. That is the extent of his movement, though, at least for now.
Yuma does not even know what a dog /is/ - puppies are hardly a staple of his diet. He still thinks Titan is a wolf, even now that the canine is close enough to see clearly. He also completely misinterprets Titan's nervousness about him, thinking that the 'wolf' is just worried about having his meal stolen. The scent of blood is appetizing, but Yuma has a tight rein on his self control. "Sir Longacre?" A second passes before his eyes light with recognition. "Oh, Adoun! Yes, he and I are traveling together. My name is Yuma." The burly male perks up his ears, even more curious now... if that's possible. "Are you a friend of his?"
Titan blinks and ponders the question friend. "er well I met him earlier. " He comments as he looks at the rock the cat had occupied, and behold! theres the cat yet he leaves the cat alone thinking hes sleeping. "Adoun? that is his name also?" he asks couriously his fright partialy melting away from the fact he has yet to be ripped to shreds, noone said anythign about cougars being trickey. "Well hello Yuma, my name is Titan" He says starting to cheer up a bit. He bows his head and as he does that courious jingling noise happens again.
Following the direction of Titan's glance, Yuma also spies Adoun napping on a nearby rock, and he lowers his voice slightly when he replies. "I think that's his whole name... Sir Adoun Longacre." The cougar looks back toward Titan again, tail flicking gently. He does not even glance at the rabbit lying motionless at the dog's feet, though he must be able to smell it at this distance. "Nice to meet you, Titan," he answers, after pausing slightly and perking his ears up again. "What is that around your neck?" Yuma asks, squinting at Titan's collar - which seems to be the source of that odd noise.
The cougar with whom Adoun is travelling has the right to refer to him as his first name. This dog, though? After yawning, Adoun answers, raising his voice to be heard as he does. "To my friends, it is." Of course, when he says friends, what he means is perceived equals, which Titan is not. That is the only reason Adoun feels compelled to offer some clarification to Yuma's answer. After doing so, he lifts himself to his feet, stretching leisurely before abandoning his rock.
Titan nods at the cat a little, he will keep it respectfull not wanting a fight especialy with such a large feline. "alright Sir Longacre" He says then looking back over the cougar. His paw has sat unconsciously over his rabbit jsut incase either got the idea to steal it. "Hmm? around my neck? Oh!" He says cheering up a little. "it's my collar back when I use to live with humans." Ah such a cheerfull time just weeks ago, where he could not worry about survival and jsut have fun.
Yuma need not have bothered to lower his voice - the cat was already awake. He fails to notice the implication in Adoun's remark, his full attention focused, for the moment, on Titan. "Collar?" he says, testing the strange word... and then he blinks. Waaait a second. "You... used to live with /humans/?" the cougar asks, incredulous. "I thought wolves hated humans." Yet there's no way to mistake the cheefulness of Titan's tone.
Adoun has yet to see a wolf. And, amusingly, if he ever saw a wolf, he would probably mistake it for a feral dog. He does not bother to place himself in this conversation after further, though he does hop off of the rock gracefully and walk slowly toward Yuma and Titan. He does not know a breed name for Titan, so for all he knows, that breed name /is/ wolf. If it isn't, though, surely Titan will do all the correcting that is needed.
Titan tilts his head at this wolf? Him a wolf? They are clearly ddiffrent! jsut look at him next to a wolf and can you really say hes a wolf!? Bah silly cats! He then shakes his head not loosing his cheerfull tone. "Me a wolf? no no no no! I am a dog Mr. Yuma. We are related in the fact were both canines but thats like calling a cougar ah say Lynx or a bobcat or even a houscat." He offers. "they are similar but there are many distinct diffrences, as far as dogs go, I am a /pure/ bred Newfoundland." and that was a complete lie he was nearly pure bed but no somewhere down the line there was St. Bernard in his blood, but the cougar didn't know it and the cat he was betting couldn't percisly trace his line so he felt safe. "and yes I lived with humans."
At the Dense Undergrowth, Storm howls.
Yuma sinks down onto his haunches, feeling confused... and maybe a little bit foolish. "Oh, I'm sorry. I've never met a... dog." The word feels strange in his mouth, as unfamiliar as that other word, 'collar.' Still, he imagines that he might be the slightest bit miffed if someone confused him with, for instance, a bobcat. "These humans. They're not with you now, are they?" For the first time, the big cougar shows a trace of nervousness, casting a glance at the surrounding woods. His ears perk up, straining to hear any suspicious sounds, but Yuma can hear nothing over the rushing waters... until a howl echoes through the air. The sound causes the normally collected cougar to jump slightly, back on his feet before he realizes he has moved. He relaxes again when he realizes what the sound was. "Well... I'm pretty sure /that/ was a wolf."
Adoun has heard sounds similar to that howling before, but not so lupine in nature. Certainly, there is no doubt that wolves and dogs must be fairly similar, and howling is a sound of wound up animals. At least, it always has been anywhere that Adoun has been. He still remains silent, sitting several feet from Yuma and listening to the conversation between them and everything else there is to hear.
Titan notices the cougars enrviousness as he is baraged by questions and then himself becomes bervious especialy as the howl rings out his ears perk he recognizes the sort of howl and calms a bit himself knowing it wasn't aggitated or angry it sounded more like a summoning howl. "My humans here? no unfortunatly I was chasing a rabbit and well winded up here, home is far away from me and m humans are there, unfortuantly after chasing and getting turned around I think m home is something that will be lost to me." He says shaking his head.
Yuma remains slightly edgy, his tail flicking restlessly, until Titan assures him that his -- his! -- humans are nowhere nearby. When his worry disappears, the curiosity returns, even stronger than before. The cougar has so many questions, he hardly knows where to begin. "Is it... normal, for a dog to live with humans?" Yuma asks, brow furrowing. He has a hard time imagining it, but for all he knows, Titan is the exception, not the rule.
Titan soaks in the question then gazes down at his rabbit then up at the cougar. "would either of you like a bite of my rabbit?" he offers couriously. He feels like being nice since these two wern't starting trouble. This also gives time to think on how the answer this. "Dogs, tend to live with humans, it is the most common was your gonna see a dog.." He admits then taking this in. "But! there are dogs everywhere without masters, I keep getting told theres a pack of wild dogs down in the meadows, it is my desire to get down there, but i keep getting lost." He says shaking his ehad causing the jingle. He then snaps thoughts into his head remembering the fact most wild creatures think humans as he was originaly thinking of cougars. "before you say it, not all humans are bad, they are.. like us they are varied."
Yuma glances briefly down at the rabbit. He shakes his head and says, "No thanks." While he appreciates the offer, a bite of rabbit would stoke his hunger more than suppress it. Besides, Adoun might want some... though of course if the cat refuses, surely he knows he'll be welcome to a share of whatever prey Yuma catches later this evening. The big male goes quiet, lstening carefully, soaking up every word Titan says. "I see," he finally says. "Hmm. When I was a cub, humans came close to my family's territory. I never saw them, but they hurt my father." And what would have happened if they'd /killed/ Chesmu, instead of merely harming hum? Yuma banishes the thought from his mind the moment it appears, shaking his head and frowning slightly. "Do you miss living with them? Your humans?" he says, forcing his thoughts in another direction.
No humans are bad... Or at least, none that Adoun has ever known. Some of them are less worthy. He certainly would not choose to live with just any human. But /bad/? Perhaps it is just the concept of morality that escapes the hedonistic small feline, but this conversation has suddenly turned kind of confusing. At least, it is confusing until Yuma states that a human once hurt his father. So, that's why they're talking about this. Huh. Almost ignoring the question from the dog, he pipes up again. "Why wouldn't he miss his human family? They feed him, give him shelter..." And, depending upon his job, maybe even physical or verbal praise. Did Yuma not know that Adoun once lived with humans?
Titan gathers in the information Yuma gives and frown a little. "Like I said, there are varying levels of humans, yes i mis my humans, they were kind and gentle people." He says sighing heavily. "I miss my parents too. " He comments thinkign about the, "I miss everything about my homeand.." He looks over. "I am sorry you had a bad expiriance with humans. " He sayss haking his head. He has in his short life seen the good and evil of humans but so far, humans kindness has been the focus of what he has seen. He says this of course after after Adoun speaks respectfully waiting for the cat to finish.
Some wild animals would condemn Titan for his past association with men, but Yuma is just trying to understand it. He had no idea that humans could coexist with creatures other than their own kind. However, if the dog has lived with humans, surely he knows them better than the any of the Amaranth cougars, even his wise grandmother Paoro, who have taught Yuma that humans are dangerous. But Titan does not seem to think so... and even more surprising, Adoun shares this perspective. Yuma looks down at the cat, blinking his verdant gold eyes in surprise, as if saying, 'You too?' "I had no idea... I didn't know any animals lived with humans," he says, returning his gaze to the dog.
"Many animals live with humans, or in human structures." Not every animal gets house privileges. Not even every /dog/ does, and rumour has it even a handful of cats don't, in rural areas. Adoun raises his right paw to begin grooming himself, a sign of idle boredom that stems from losing his confusion about the reason for this conversation while, at the same time, failing to see an actual point to it, now.
Titan gazes at the cougar gently nodding to him. "Yes, some animals can and do live with humans, there tends to be mutual benefits in it for the animal and human when such aragments are had, like I kept m humans happy and they fed me and played with me." He says looking down at the rabbit. "Though living with humans will make you soft... it took me forever.. to learn how to hunt." Forever for him was of course two or three days.
Haze leads the pack onward, one ear turned back to absentmindedly listen to the conversation between Bodhi and Storm as he treads south through the forest, not far from the river bordering the packlands to the east. As they reach the fork between where the rivers meet, Haze's paws step into much soggier marsh than he expected to this far back from the banks, watery soil squishing around his toes. He glances over between the two rivers, frowning briefly, though he hasn't lived in the forest enough to recognize that they're much fuller than usual, the spillover explaining the wet ground between them. But then Bodhi's words from earlier ring in his mind, and he glances back at the rest of the pack. "Looks like it's already starting to happen, even down here." He glances between the two rivers, and fights to suppress the flashbacks triggered by the sight, turning to offer his mate a consoling lick, realizing that she, too, is likely remembering the same event. "Let's go ahead and cross while we can. Maybe if we're lucky the cougars will be trapped behind us." He glances up at the sound of other voices in the area, pausing briefly to scan their surroundings.
Being a native of the wilderness, Yuma has never seen the human structures mentioned by Adoun - he has no real concept of the way men live, or how drastically different it is from the lives of wild animals. He sits quietly while he takes in the cat and dog's explanations. He considers this another example of just how vast the world really is, and how much he has yet to learn about it. Situated near the base of the waterfall, the crashing water drowns out the sound of the wolves' approach, and he fails to notice them... for now, too intent on the conversation to pay attention to his surroundings. "So they... take care of you? And what do you do for them?"
Again, Adoun is silent, simply continuing to groom himself. If he is interested in Titan's answer, he gives no indication of it. Like Yuma, the small feline does not notice anyone approaching their position.
Shikoba pays close attention to the things being said, about the ice in the mountain, and how it's going to deepen the waters. Her heart thumps, almost audibly, as she thinks about it. With effort, she tries not to be bothered that much, although it's hard. Her nerves, though, take a turn for the worse when Haze suggests that they actually go across the river. Her eyes flash with panic for a second, and she freezes in place, her eyes glued to the flowing waters lying in their path. She doesn't even notice, at first, that there are others here before them.
Titan Smiles gently him too not noticing the wolves as he then trys to gather a explamation. "Well, I didn't really work, i was jsut me I acted happy bounced around and get pettings I made them happy and therefor I got rewarded by getting fed and being kept nice and warm" He says thinking of those fond days back when he got petting and ear scritches and sooo much attention, but he realizes lookign about him at the cat and cougar. Those days are gone.
Brushtail suddenly looks nervous, "C...cross? Are you sure it is safe? It is deeper than it normally is." She is not normally afraid of crossing the river, but the ice has made it deeper.
The rumblings are less frequent now, most of the ice having fallen from the mountain's peak; but as a result of their melting directly into the lake atop the mountain, all the bodies of water that are fed by the lake and its waterfall have swollen to a higher level than usual. While not completely flooded, the land around rivers and pools are much wetter than may be expected, and in particular lower areas (such as the valley, or dens near water sources) are already coated with a thin layer of spill-over, with no signs of it letting up anytime soon.
Bodhi furrows his brows slightly as he looks at the river toughtfully "Its not all that much deeper then it normally is yet, so it would likely be wise of us to cross before the water grows even higher" his head tilting to look at those seeming worried "would it help if i swim alongside you while you cross since i do not mind crossing back and forth a few times" his gaze turning to Storm for a moment as he offers a soft "we can talk about skel once we have arrived at our location, for now we should focus on getting there since that has a higher priority for both of us i think"
Storm nods as she hears Haze and glances after the two as they cross before she looks back to Shikoba and Brushtail. She moves back to them and noses both. "Come now.. it'll be alright, but we must pass through it. You can walk next to me an I'll make sure your both alright." She didn't have a problem with water, though she knows some of the others might. Her ears perk as she hears other voices but her attention is on the two wolves she is next too. A glare is offered to Bodhi as his comment to her. "You disappoint me Bodhi.. An this is all I have to say on the matter." She looks to the girls. "Lets get going girls." The alpha an Bodhi will talk more later on the subject, but right now yes there are other things that need to be done.
As the alpha seems to judge the other voices unimportant for the time being, Haze is quick to follow her lead - they didn't seem to notice their own approach, anyway, and he still can't spot the speakers anyway, the other trio conveniently hidden from view behind a full patch of tall cat-tails. Careful to stay right up against Larkspur's side, he carefully guides her towards the water with a deep breath to steady himself. Leading her into the slow-flowing river, the pair dog-paddle to the other side, heads kept well above water; no longer are they able to wade on their paws as they were on their first trip across.
Curious as he is, Yuma finds himself glancing away from the two smaller animals, gazing up at the waterfall with a faint frown. It took him a moment to notice, but it sounds as though the sound of rushing water has grown somewhat louder than it was before. The cougar fails to connect this with the periodic rumblings he has heard throughout the day, strange, distant thunder that sounded like it was coming from higher up in the mountains. Yuma's tail twitches, and his gaze shifts downward again - and that is when he spots several shapes crossing the river. He can barely hear their voices, but he knows what they are: wolves. That howl must have sounded much closer than he thought. The burly cougar has no particular fear of wolves, but a whole pack of them is somewhat intimidating. Hopefully, they are just passing through.
Shikoba opens her mouth to respond, but the words are hard to force out. It feels like her whole throat has gone dry. "I... but I can't swim." She looks back and forth along the river, her legs trembling slightly. Truth is, she's never actually tried. "What if I can't get out?" Storm and Bodhi's words do little to comfort her. She /wants/ to be brave enough, but for some reason, her paws just won't move a step closer.
Titan looks over at Yuma. There conversation has hit a dead end and it isn't until Yuma seems to be staring at something that he looks down river and sees the forms. He comes to the same thought as yuma, but where the heck they going?" he wondered. Yet He didn't make a peep. He foudn friendly wolves but packs he noticed, were decidedly less friendlier to him.
Brushtail can swim, and decides to cross on her own. If the other wolves did it, then it must be safe for her, right. She manages to swim across without much trouble, but cannot shake the feeling that there are others here besides the pack...
Bodhi pads over alongside Shikoba and offers her a friendly nuzzle "you can get out, i'm sure of it and belive you can do it" a soft smile on his lips "and i will be right by your side"
Storm looks towards Brushtail as she makes it across before looking back to Shikoba. "Its alright.. I'll be at one side and Bodhi will be at the other. Just do what we do alright?" The alpha questions as she starts to moving into the water.
Yuma remains quiet as well, merely watching the moonlit silhouettes of wolves making their way across the river. The sight intrigues him - some of the lupine shapes did seem more reluctant than others, making him think that wolves might not engage in this type of behavior very often. Very interesting. In a short time, however, the pack moves on. Yuma looks after them for several moments, staring into the darkness. "I wonder where they were going..."
Wherever they were going, Adoun does not intend to follow. Hence, it means little to him. The occasional spray from the waterfall /does/ mean something to him, though. Shaking his head as several droplets of water cling to his fur, and quickly determining that grooming himself would be impossible with this mist, he stands suddenly and says, "I think we should be moving too." For someone as seemingly content to just lie wherever most of the time, his sudden statement is maybe surprising, but he doesn't wait for a response before he begins heading northward. The opposite direction of the way the wolves were going.
Titan looks at the two then a tought pops in his head. "Hey Yuma? er can you pooint me twords the meadows? I kind of got lost and was heading twords the meadows, Adoun had no clues and sugested I ask you." He admits as he then watches the cat running off.
Yuma looks slightly surprised by Adoun's sudden decision. He does not argue with the cat, but he does not immediately move to follow him - not that it would take him long to catch up with the smaller feline. "The meadows? I'm not really sure," he confesses, eyeing the dog. "Sorry I can't help you." The cougar speaks a bit more loudly this time, talking over the roaring waterfall. Is it /still/ getting louder? Yuma glances uncertainly at the waterfall again, then decides that Adoun's choice was the right one, beginning to move after the cat.
See? Already, the dog has forgotten the proper way to address him. Under other circumstances, Adoun would probably feel compelled to turn and correct the form of his name that is entirely too casual for this /dog/ to be using. However, the noise from the water that was pleasant, just a short while ago, while he was sleeping, is ominous now, and so he just continues walking, veering away from the river as he does so. His tail flicks in annoyance as he walks, but it is impossible to tell whether the annoyance is caused by the water that still clings to his fur or something else.
Titan blinks a bit and simply nods. "okay i gusse i'll jsut follow the river... " he looks over at the roaring waters. "er at a distance.." He says and actully would shift and head a while off to the east so he was out of the cougar and cats walking path then he would head north hoping to find his way back twords those meadows.
Calculating his trail carefully, the storm-coloured stranger looms away from the others in the distance. His small ears prick as he listens in on the conversation, stone-still. What are they talking about? Everything seems to be so...up-in-the-air lately, so to speak... Or, as the mysterious Beast might say. He's patient, he can wait to see what's going on...
Yuma is beginning to feel a bit uneasy himself. His curiosity has not been fully satisfied, but something feels slightly... amiss, distracting him from the questions he was bursting with only a few minutes ago. Maybe he's just imagining things, or thinking too hard about something as innocuous as wolves crossing the river, but he has to wonder what their purpose was. He does not try to dissuade Titus when the dog decides to part ways with them, only nodding and saying, "Good luck." Maybe, someday, they will meet again. Lowering his head, Yuma continues to pad behind Adoun... making for a strange sight indeed, a housecat leading a brawny male cougar. He seems unaware of how comical he must appear, however, lost in a swirl of worrying thoughts. Maybe those wolves knew something that he, and Adoun, do not. It's a troubling possibility.
Adoun has not noticed the elk. Once they are far enough away from the river, Adoun's tail stops flicking, and the guard hairs quickly shed the thin coat of water that had gathered on them, improving his mood further. Still, as long as they're taking a walk, there is no reason to stop now. Adoun could easily wander for a couple hours, and has before. Until something happens to grab his attention, that's all he intends to do.
Lauber's nostrils flare and snort, registering the scent of all those who have recently passed over the river. And seeing the felid pair ahead makes the Elk wonder just what brings on such friendships? He stepped from the shade, sniffing the moisture in the air and sighing. "Ahhh, this river seems to be rising, eh."
Having helped Shikoba cross the river Bodhi pads down its edge toward the group they heard until he can see them clearly and lets out a loud nonthreatening growl to get their attention before starting to speak somewhat loudly "I would advice that all of you get away from the river and head toward an much safer area like maybe the Maple glade or orchard" his head tilting slightly as he draws in the unsual group "i saw ice falling from the mountains a while back and the rivers are likely to flood a fair bit over whats normal"
Fortunately, the wind is blowing in the elk's favor, and Yuma does not notice him either. Not yet. However, even if he did notice Lauber, the massive elk would have little to fear from the burly male. He is neither hungry nor foolish enough to take on a huge, healthy adult elk on his own. The cougar moves slowly behind Adoun, moving at a pace other cougars might consider laughable, though Yuma himself doesn't appear to mind... maybe he's grown used to it. Or maybe he's just so caught up in his thoughts that he's not really aware of it. A voice draws Yuma's head up, and he glances around in a slightly distracted manner. The voice belonged to the elk, but before he can spot the large herbivore, a growl draws his attention across the river, where he spots a single wolf. One of the procession that filed through earlier, he imagines. Yuma's ears flatten instinctively, but the wolf's words give him pause. "A flood?" The cougar glances anxiously back toward the waterfall. He /knew/ it was getting louder. "Thanks for the warning," Yuma calls back to the wolf.
"I thought I smelled the water getting closer.." Lauber murmurs aloud, stepping into full view. He decides to gather the information he can, listening closely to the other snimals around him. Lesse...a Cat, a Cougar, a Wolf... What a strange gathering!
A wolfess moves softly into the area from the southern direction, her eyes focused intently before her and her ears shot forward as the voices she's heard now become louder with the proximity. Lupin pauses a decent distance away from the group, her attention held by the unusual gathering, though not yet noticing Bodhi's presence on the other side of the river. What could /this/ be? She tilts her head, spying upon the creatures and listening in silently upon any conversation, hoping that, should her mate come along, they might hear without being noticed..
Hinto is not far behind. He has noticed the alarming sounds of late and now it seems the rivers are growing? A new wave of uneasiness hits the male broadside. He takes care to stay close in case Lupin gets too close to the river.
Bodhi dips his head to Yuma "My pleasure, feel free to repay the favor by telling anybody else you meet to stay away from the rivers because of the coming flood, but i need to catch up to my pack so stay safe" a slight smile appearing on his lips before he turns and starts off in the direction his pack went
Yuma turns his head, and the sight of the elk stuns him for a moment. This night is getting stranger by the moment. He looks over Lauber, detecting no fear from the great elk, even though he stands in the midst of an odd gathering of predators... but of course, a flood is a serious matter, affecting every creature in the forest regardless of their species. "I guess you were right," he says to Adoun, with a slight grin. Maybe, for all his apparent carelessness, the cat has sharper instincts than himself... it's an amusing thought. "C'mon, we should head for drier ground." And the big cougar begins to move again, picking up the pace this time. He will warn anyone he encounters along the way.
Of course he was right! Adoun's companion may do well to keep the generally troublesome wild animals away most of the time, but once in a while, taking his leave of the area is necessary... Especially since Yuma's presence does nothing to sway the flow of water, to convince it that it has no right to invade Adoun's area. Adoun replies with just a returned grin and a nearly imperceptible nod of his head, and continues along the path leading well away from the elk, wolves, and river.
The big cougar male heads off with the smaller feline in toe. Lupin narrows her sharp golden eyes, observing quietly, then turns behind her at a noise, to see Hinto. She offers him a faintly odd look, obviously directed towards the group in the distance. Explanation: What the heck? Then she returns her gaze to the.. now group-of-one. An elk? The she-wolf inhales the air, attempting to catch a scent of the creature. What she brings in instead is a whole lot of oxygen thick with moisture. Something is /wrong/ around here. Another unsettled look is given to her mate, as if asking what to do at /this/ point.
Lauber peers at the canines eerily. "I knew I scented wolves about," he says softly. "We have much to worry about. Landslides are going to be a big threat. We should all keep our families close and in check."
The big cougar male heads off with the smaller feline in toe. Lupin narrows her sharp golden eyes, observing quietly, then turns behind her at a noise, to see Hinto. She offers him a faintly odd look, obviously directed towards the group in the distance. Explanation: What the heck? Then she returns her gaze to the.. now group-of-one. An elk? The she-wolf inhales the air, attempting to catch a scent of the creature. What she brings in instead is a whole lot of oxygen thick with moisture. Something is /wrong/ around here. Another unsettled look is given to her mate, as if asking what to do at /this/ point. Then the large animal before them speaks - to /them/! Lupin looks faintly startled, backing up slightly with the surprise, yet for the first time really has nothing to say yet.. what's this about landslides? Has she really been that out of the loop?
Hinto should be noted now for keeping an extremely wary and uneasy, almost fearful look at the river. He doesn't fear the water for himself, but is worried this river might just sweep Lupin away like it had swept his first mate away long ago. "All that water..."
Shaking his head a little, the Elk eyes the wolves. "Do any of you have packs nearby? Maybe I can help you search."
Lupin shakes her head slowly, lost in thought for the most part. But then she answers the elk, "No, we are both rogues; living by ourselves." The wolfess turns to her mate, really catching sight of his anxious expression for the first time. The water.. it really is disturbing him. Lupin glances back to the large beast, now slightly inquisitive, the question upon her lips, "Search, exactly.. for what?" She's missed basically.. everything.. besides the fact that the water /is/ rather high.. but is there something she needs to know?
Hinto tries nudging his mate away from the water now. He doesn't seem to be saying anything, instead keeping an eye on the water, as if it could leap up and attack them.
"Well, there are two choices," the elk says, stepping closer and eyeing the wolves. "We can head up north, away from the water. Or...we can head to a lower elevation. Or maybe somewhere dryer. That's a decision I'd been trying to figure out myself."
As he nudges her to the side gently, Lupin looks at her mate, concern written on her face and nuzzles the side of his thick pelt reassuringly. "Don't worry.." she murmurs, not entirely understanding his anxiety, and yet still feeling the need to soothe it if she can. It's just water.. right? The wolfess lets out a sigh, shifting her paws. "I.. would suggest north, myself," she suggests, completely open to Hinto's alternative, should he beg to differ. Then again.. "Perhaps Hinto and I may join you in finding safer shelter, until we each find our own space?" It's not exactly a real offer yet; she looks to her mate, leaning in in case he wished to let her know he diiiidn't exactly care for that idea.
Hinto looks between the elk and the wolf female who is his mate. "I don't care. The further away we can get from water for the time being, the better." Hinto says. His nervousness is all about his past.
"Yes, I agree. The further away we are, the better off we may be.. That is, if you don't mind a pair of antlers followin'." He grins softly, his gold eyes flickering in hospitality.
"I don't mind at all," the female replies, smiling warmly at the elk. She'd never known these large creatures to be quite so.. decent. Quite pleasant, even. Also.. a pair of wolves would appear quite a bit more intimidating with those afore-mentioned pair of antlers following.. but she glances at Hinto. He hasn't objected, so she assumes he's all right with it. Basically the priority now is getting away from /here/. Alighting her gaze upon the elk once more, she chuckles lightly, despite the gravity of the situation. "Before we begin traveling together.. what is your name? I am Lupin, and this is my mate, Hinto.." She gestures to him gently, unsure if he was up to his own introduction at the moment or not.
Hinto is just back to watching the water uneasily.
"Ahhh, Lady Lupin and her mate Hinto, I am Lauber." The giant dips his head graciously. Always a gentleman, after all, despite his temper. "Now, quite a strange herd...or pack...we have!"
She has to agree; quite the group! Amused, she inclines her head in return, manners equally as important to the she-wolf. "Good to meet you, Lauber," Lupin says, appreciating his graceful demeaner. Will make it nicer to travel this way! Then she gestures with her muzzle to the surroundings. "Well.. now that we're a pack.. herd.." Weird look. ".. where are we heading?"
Hinto is willing to follow them wherever they go. He stays quiet. He mustn't be distracted in case the water makes any sudden moves.
Lauber glances around, snorting again. "North it is." Two wolves as companions may not be such a bad idea after all! "I'll watch yours backs if you watch mine, eh?"
"It's a deal," Lupin agrees in response to his proposal, a faint smile curling upon her muzzle. And.. north it is. It seems as though she and Hinto had /just/ managed to find somewhere to settle down and relax.. and here they were, moving again. But this might prove interesting, too. After all, they've already made an ally, right? A large.. rather, GINORMOUS ally. Always a good thing. So she begins that way, turning and glancing back at her two companions to see if they follow.. or if there is something else to be done first?
Hinto moves up abreast of his mate and recovers himself as quickly as he can. "To the north, then. I am sure we'll find ourselves enjoying this adventure." Hinto tries to make sure he's on a side of Lupin that prevents her from being swept away by the river, even if they're not that close. "Do be careful of the river, lovely."
Titan – Male Juvenile Dog
Yuma – Male Cougar
Adoun – Male Cat
Haze – Male Wolf
Shikoba – Female Dog
Brushtail – Female Dog
Bodhi – Male Wolf
Storm – Female Dog
Lauber – Male Elk
Lupin – Female Dog
Hinto – Male Wolf
- Two-River Fork -
It was getting into late evening and Titan was padding roughly northward. He had just had a interesting yet short little meeting with Sir Longacre and was off again. The cat didn't seem mean he just seemed to busy to be bothered, even if he was just laying on a rock probably napping. At the mention of cougar Titan had blazed a trail out of there, he ahs only heard nasty things about cougars, given they were referring to meadow cougars, but mountain cougars couldn't be much better! preying on weak old wolves and young puppy like himself. His collar gently jingled as he walked a rabbit currently held in his mouth.
After getting a drink near the base of the waterfall, Yuma steps back from the water's edge and glances up toward the moon. It may be fully dark by now, a few hours after sunset, but this late in the spring, the nights are no longer so brisk and cold. Pleased by the changing weather, the big cougar grins to himself as he pulls away from the waterfall, surveying his surroundings with a more careful eye. Yuma's hungry. Fortunately, the prey in this area has been plentiful, and he has no doubt that he'll be able to find something. The cougar takes a step, then pauses with his ears pricked, hearing something very... odd. A jingling, musical sound, unlike anything he's ever heard. Maybe it's a bird? Blinking, Yuma sits up straight and listens closely, trying to figure out where the sound is coming from.
It wouldn't take long for a figure to appear, at first it was a black blob with some white mixed in. Titan... had actually gotten himself lost again! He hadn't realized he had turned completely around and head heading back for the place where he met the cat, just on the other side. Poor Titan and his misdirection. Right now he was cheerfully walking eyes half open to see where he is going as he pads forward searching for a nice place to eat his rabbit... and what luck! another waterfall! sheash how many waterfalls were around here? He wondered not yet noticing the cougar. Yet as he moved closer the cougar could make out details. The creature was looking like a wolf, yet completely different the form very unwolflike. It looked to be as big as some of the smaller adult wolves, but that couldn't be? For its paws were massive! perhaps signifying it was still in the growing stages? In fact once one got a good look at it it seemed to look all around puppyish. The collar continuing its gentle jingle.
Yuma turns his head left, then right, ears swiveling alertly. The sound is faint at first, making it hard to tell which direction it might be coming from, but soon he determines that it's getting steadily louder. He should probably be wary of unknown sounds, but instead he's just curious, waiting (a bit impatiently) for the jingling /something/ to appear. A few seconds pass before he makes out the blackish blob approaching him. The cougar's golden green eyes settle on the dog, watching him with intensifying curiosity. At first, Yuma mistakes Titan for a small, dark wolf... though that does not explain the jingling sound that accompanies the canine's arrival. "Hello," he greets Titan in a casual tone. He's not frightened, but he's not aggressive either, not without a good reason.
Titan hears the voice, it sounds feline... but deeper and.. bigger, so at this he stops dead gazing about. "Er hello?" he asks then he pinpoints the direction of the voice and /WOW!/ that is one big kitty cat, could this be a cougar? All signs pointed to yes, especialy the scent about. He then slwoly starts to pad forward after picking up his rabbit again. If the cougar was here and there was a waterfall... perhaps he has been turned around and that cat would show up again? Oh great! curse him and his bad sense of direction! It then hits him that hes padding twords a murderious killing barbarian and he then stops again looking over. What was he doing?
Yuma remains perfectly still, watching with a decidedly curious expression. With his head tilted, he doesn't look much like a murderous barbarian. He has not met many wolves - in fact, just one - and he was much younger then. It's possible that he he only /remembers/ wolves being larger because he was so much smaller himself. The cougar notices Titan's surprise and tries to reassure him with a friendly grin. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna ask for a bite," he says, indicating the dog's rabbit with a slight nod of his head.
Titan stares at the cougar, dont worry I am not going to ask tfor a bite? EEk! At that moment hes still in cougars murder and /eat/ dogs his age from the tales. Since when did preditors ask to eat there prey? His mind then calms a bit as the cougar nods twords the rabbit in his muzzle and he calms a bit as he then slowly pads even closer, sitting down roughly twenty or so feet from the giant cougar he drops his prey and gazes at the cougar. "y..you are with Sir Longacre?" he asks hopefully.
After his meeting with the dog, Adoun fell asleep. He is still resting on the same rock, even now, hours after that meeting. The white noise of running water helps him to sleep comfortably, unbothered by the countless noises out here, but as voices relatively near him reach his ears, they flick a couple times, then he slowly raises his head and opens his eyes to look at whoever is speaking. That is the extent of his movement, though, at least for now.
Yuma does not even know what a dog /is/ - puppies are hardly a staple of his diet. He still thinks Titan is a wolf, even now that the canine is close enough to see clearly. He also completely misinterprets Titan's nervousness about him, thinking that the 'wolf' is just worried about having his meal stolen. The scent of blood is appetizing, but Yuma has a tight rein on his self control. "Sir Longacre?" A second passes before his eyes light with recognition. "Oh, Adoun! Yes, he and I are traveling together. My name is Yuma." The burly male perks up his ears, even more curious now... if that's possible. "Are you a friend of his?"
Titan blinks and ponders the question friend. "er well I met him earlier. " He comments as he looks at the rock the cat had occupied, and behold! theres the cat yet he leaves the cat alone thinking hes sleeping. "Adoun? that is his name also?" he asks couriously his fright partialy melting away from the fact he has yet to be ripped to shreds, noone said anythign about cougars being trickey. "Well hello Yuma, my name is Titan" He says starting to cheer up a bit. He bows his head and as he does that courious jingling noise happens again.
Following the direction of Titan's glance, Yuma also spies Adoun napping on a nearby rock, and he lowers his voice slightly when he replies. "I think that's his whole name... Sir Adoun Longacre." The cougar looks back toward Titan again, tail flicking gently. He does not even glance at the rabbit lying motionless at the dog's feet, though he must be able to smell it at this distance. "Nice to meet you, Titan," he answers, after pausing slightly and perking his ears up again. "What is that around your neck?" Yuma asks, squinting at Titan's collar - which seems to be the source of that odd noise.
The cougar with whom Adoun is travelling has the right to refer to him as his first name. This dog, though? After yawning, Adoun answers, raising his voice to be heard as he does. "To my friends, it is." Of course, when he says friends, what he means is perceived equals, which Titan is not. That is the only reason Adoun feels compelled to offer some clarification to Yuma's answer. After doing so, he lifts himself to his feet, stretching leisurely before abandoning his rock.
Titan nods at the cat a little, he will keep it respectfull not wanting a fight especialy with such a large feline. "alright Sir Longacre" He says then looking back over the cougar. His paw has sat unconsciously over his rabbit jsut incase either got the idea to steal it. "Hmm? around my neck? Oh!" He says cheering up a little. "it's my collar back when I use to live with humans." Ah such a cheerfull time just weeks ago, where he could not worry about survival and jsut have fun.
Yuma need not have bothered to lower his voice - the cat was already awake. He fails to notice the implication in Adoun's remark, his full attention focused, for the moment, on Titan. "Collar?" he says, testing the strange word... and then he blinks. Waaait a second. "You... used to live with /humans/?" the cougar asks, incredulous. "I thought wolves hated humans." Yet there's no way to mistake the cheefulness of Titan's tone.
Adoun has yet to see a wolf. And, amusingly, if he ever saw a wolf, he would probably mistake it for a feral dog. He does not bother to place himself in this conversation after further, though he does hop off of the rock gracefully and walk slowly toward Yuma and Titan. He does not know a breed name for Titan, so for all he knows, that breed name /is/ wolf. If it isn't, though, surely Titan will do all the correcting that is needed.
Titan tilts his head at this wolf? Him a wolf? They are clearly ddiffrent! jsut look at him next to a wolf and can you really say hes a wolf!? Bah silly cats! He then shakes his head not loosing his cheerfull tone. "Me a wolf? no no no no! I am a dog Mr. Yuma. We are related in the fact were both canines but thats like calling a cougar ah say Lynx or a bobcat or even a houscat." He offers. "they are similar but there are many distinct diffrences, as far as dogs go, I am a /pure/ bred Newfoundland." and that was a complete lie he was nearly pure bed but no somewhere down the line there was St. Bernard in his blood, but the cougar didn't know it and the cat he was betting couldn't percisly trace his line so he felt safe. "and yes I lived with humans."
At the Dense Undergrowth, Storm howls.
Yuma sinks down onto his haunches, feeling confused... and maybe a little bit foolish. "Oh, I'm sorry. I've never met a... dog." The word feels strange in his mouth, as unfamiliar as that other word, 'collar.' Still, he imagines that he might be the slightest bit miffed if someone confused him with, for instance, a bobcat. "These humans. They're not with you now, are they?" For the first time, the big cougar shows a trace of nervousness, casting a glance at the surrounding woods. His ears perk up, straining to hear any suspicious sounds, but Yuma can hear nothing over the rushing waters... until a howl echoes through the air. The sound causes the normally collected cougar to jump slightly, back on his feet before he realizes he has moved. He relaxes again when he realizes what the sound was. "Well... I'm pretty sure /that/ was a wolf."
Adoun has heard sounds similar to that howling before, but not so lupine in nature. Certainly, there is no doubt that wolves and dogs must be fairly similar, and howling is a sound of wound up animals. At least, it always has been anywhere that Adoun has been. He still remains silent, sitting several feet from Yuma and listening to the conversation between them and everything else there is to hear.
Titan notices the cougars enrviousness as he is baraged by questions and then himself becomes bervious especialy as the howl rings out his ears perk he recognizes the sort of howl and calms a bit himself knowing it wasn't aggitated or angry it sounded more like a summoning howl. "My humans here? no unfortunatly I was chasing a rabbit and well winded up here, home is far away from me and m humans are there, unfortuantly after chasing and getting turned around I think m home is something that will be lost to me." He says shaking his head.
Yuma remains slightly edgy, his tail flicking restlessly, until Titan assures him that his -- his! -- humans are nowhere nearby. When his worry disappears, the curiosity returns, even stronger than before. The cougar has so many questions, he hardly knows where to begin. "Is it... normal, for a dog to live with humans?" Yuma asks, brow furrowing. He has a hard time imagining it, but for all he knows, Titan is the exception, not the rule.
Titan soaks in the question then gazes down at his rabbit then up at the cougar. "would either of you like a bite of my rabbit?" he offers couriously. He feels like being nice since these two wern't starting trouble. This also gives time to think on how the answer this. "Dogs, tend to live with humans, it is the most common was your gonna see a dog.." He admits then taking this in. "But! there are dogs everywhere without masters, I keep getting told theres a pack of wild dogs down in the meadows, it is my desire to get down there, but i keep getting lost." He says shaking his ehad causing the jingle. He then snaps thoughts into his head remembering the fact most wild creatures think humans as he was originaly thinking of cougars. "before you say it, not all humans are bad, they are.. like us they are varied."
Yuma glances briefly down at the rabbit. He shakes his head and says, "No thanks." While he appreciates the offer, a bite of rabbit would stoke his hunger more than suppress it. Besides, Adoun might want some... though of course if the cat refuses, surely he knows he'll be welcome to a share of whatever prey Yuma catches later this evening. The big male goes quiet, lstening carefully, soaking up every word Titan says. "I see," he finally says. "Hmm. When I was a cub, humans came close to my family's territory. I never saw them, but they hurt my father." And what would have happened if they'd /killed/ Chesmu, instead of merely harming hum? Yuma banishes the thought from his mind the moment it appears, shaking his head and frowning slightly. "Do you miss living with them? Your humans?" he says, forcing his thoughts in another direction.
No humans are bad... Or at least, none that Adoun has ever known. Some of them are less worthy. He certainly would not choose to live with just any human. But /bad/? Perhaps it is just the concept of morality that escapes the hedonistic small feline, but this conversation has suddenly turned kind of confusing. At least, it is confusing until Yuma states that a human once hurt his father. So, that's why they're talking about this. Huh. Almost ignoring the question from the dog, he pipes up again. "Why wouldn't he miss his human family? They feed him, give him shelter..." And, depending upon his job, maybe even physical or verbal praise. Did Yuma not know that Adoun once lived with humans?
Titan gathers in the information Yuma gives and frown a little. "Like I said, there are varying levels of humans, yes i mis my humans, they were kind and gentle people." He says sighing heavily. "I miss my parents too. " He comments thinkign about the, "I miss everything about my homeand.." He looks over. "I am sorry you had a bad expiriance with humans. " He sayss haking his head. He has in his short life seen the good and evil of humans but so far, humans kindness has been the focus of what he has seen. He says this of course after after Adoun speaks respectfully waiting for the cat to finish.
Some wild animals would condemn Titan for his past association with men, but Yuma is just trying to understand it. He had no idea that humans could coexist with creatures other than their own kind. However, if the dog has lived with humans, surely he knows them better than the any of the Amaranth cougars, even his wise grandmother Paoro, who have taught Yuma that humans are dangerous. But Titan does not seem to think so... and even more surprising, Adoun shares this perspective. Yuma looks down at the cat, blinking his verdant gold eyes in surprise, as if saying, 'You too?' "I had no idea... I didn't know any animals lived with humans," he says, returning his gaze to the dog.
"Many animals live with humans, or in human structures." Not every animal gets house privileges. Not even every /dog/ does, and rumour has it even a handful of cats don't, in rural areas. Adoun raises his right paw to begin grooming himself, a sign of idle boredom that stems from losing his confusion about the reason for this conversation while, at the same time, failing to see an actual point to it, now.
Titan gazes at the cougar gently nodding to him. "Yes, some animals can and do live with humans, there tends to be mutual benefits in it for the animal and human when such aragments are had, like I kept m humans happy and they fed me and played with me." He says looking down at the rabbit. "Though living with humans will make you soft... it took me forever.. to learn how to hunt." Forever for him was of course two or three days.
Haze leads the pack onward, one ear turned back to absentmindedly listen to the conversation between Bodhi and Storm as he treads south through the forest, not far from the river bordering the packlands to the east. As they reach the fork between where the rivers meet, Haze's paws step into much soggier marsh than he expected to this far back from the banks, watery soil squishing around his toes. He glances over between the two rivers, frowning briefly, though he hasn't lived in the forest enough to recognize that they're much fuller than usual, the spillover explaining the wet ground between them. But then Bodhi's words from earlier ring in his mind, and he glances back at the rest of the pack. "Looks like it's already starting to happen, even down here." He glances between the two rivers, and fights to suppress the flashbacks triggered by the sight, turning to offer his mate a consoling lick, realizing that she, too, is likely remembering the same event. "Let's go ahead and cross while we can. Maybe if we're lucky the cougars will be trapped behind us." He glances up at the sound of other voices in the area, pausing briefly to scan their surroundings.
Being a native of the wilderness, Yuma has never seen the human structures mentioned by Adoun - he has no real concept of the way men live, or how drastically different it is from the lives of wild animals. He sits quietly while he takes in the cat and dog's explanations. He considers this another example of just how vast the world really is, and how much he has yet to learn about it. Situated near the base of the waterfall, the crashing water drowns out the sound of the wolves' approach, and he fails to notice them... for now, too intent on the conversation to pay attention to his surroundings. "So they... take care of you? And what do you do for them?"
Again, Adoun is silent, simply continuing to groom himself. If he is interested in Titan's answer, he gives no indication of it. Like Yuma, the small feline does not notice anyone approaching their position.
Shikoba pays close attention to the things being said, about the ice in the mountain, and how it's going to deepen the waters. Her heart thumps, almost audibly, as she thinks about it. With effort, she tries not to be bothered that much, although it's hard. Her nerves, though, take a turn for the worse when Haze suggests that they actually go across the river. Her eyes flash with panic for a second, and she freezes in place, her eyes glued to the flowing waters lying in their path. She doesn't even notice, at first, that there are others here before them.
Titan Smiles gently him too not noticing the wolves as he then trys to gather a explamation. "Well, I didn't really work, i was jsut me I acted happy bounced around and get pettings I made them happy and therefor I got rewarded by getting fed and being kept nice and warm" He says thinking of those fond days back when he got petting and ear scritches and sooo much attention, but he realizes lookign about him at the cat and cougar. Those days are gone.
Brushtail suddenly looks nervous, "C...cross? Are you sure it is safe? It is deeper than it normally is." She is not normally afraid of crossing the river, but the ice has made it deeper.
The rumblings are less frequent now, most of the ice having fallen from the mountain's peak; but as a result of their melting directly into the lake atop the mountain, all the bodies of water that are fed by the lake and its waterfall have swollen to a higher level than usual. While not completely flooded, the land around rivers and pools are much wetter than may be expected, and in particular lower areas (such as the valley, or dens near water sources) are already coated with a thin layer of spill-over, with no signs of it letting up anytime soon.
Bodhi furrows his brows slightly as he looks at the river toughtfully "Its not all that much deeper then it normally is yet, so it would likely be wise of us to cross before the water grows even higher" his head tilting to look at those seeming worried "would it help if i swim alongside you while you cross since i do not mind crossing back and forth a few times" his gaze turning to Storm for a moment as he offers a soft "we can talk about skel once we have arrived at our location, for now we should focus on getting there since that has a higher priority for both of us i think"
Storm nods as she hears Haze and glances after the two as they cross before she looks back to Shikoba and Brushtail. She moves back to them and noses both. "Come now.. it'll be alright, but we must pass through it. You can walk next to me an I'll make sure your both alright." She didn't have a problem with water, though she knows some of the others might. Her ears perk as she hears other voices but her attention is on the two wolves she is next too. A glare is offered to Bodhi as his comment to her. "You disappoint me Bodhi.. An this is all I have to say on the matter." She looks to the girls. "Lets get going girls." The alpha an Bodhi will talk more later on the subject, but right now yes there are other things that need to be done.
As the alpha seems to judge the other voices unimportant for the time being, Haze is quick to follow her lead - they didn't seem to notice their own approach, anyway, and he still can't spot the speakers anyway, the other trio conveniently hidden from view behind a full patch of tall cat-tails. Careful to stay right up against Larkspur's side, he carefully guides her towards the water with a deep breath to steady himself. Leading her into the slow-flowing river, the pair dog-paddle to the other side, heads kept well above water; no longer are they able to wade on their paws as they were on their first trip across.
Curious as he is, Yuma finds himself glancing away from the two smaller animals, gazing up at the waterfall with a faint frown. It took him a moment to notice, but it sounds as though the sound of rushing water has grown somewhat louder than it was before. The cougar fails to connect this with the periodic rumblings he has heard throughout the day, strange, distant thunder that sounded like it was coming from higher up in the mountains. Yuma's tail twitches, and his gaze shifts downward again - and that is when he spots several shapes crossing the river. He can barely hear their voices, but he knows what they are: wolves. That howl must have sounded much closer than he thought. The burly cougar has no particular fear of wolves, but a whole pack of them is somewhat intimidating. Hopefully, they are just passing through.
Shikoba opens her mouth to respond, but the words are hard to force out. It feels like her whole throat has gone dry. "I... but I can't swim." She looks back and forth along the river, her legs trembling slightly. Truth is, she's never actually tried. "What if I can't get out?" Storm and Bodhi's words do little to comfort her. She /wants/ to be brave enough, but for some reason, her paws just won't move a step closer.
Titan looks over at Yuma. There conversation has hit a dead end and it isn't until Yuma seems to be staring at something that he looks down river and sees the forms. He comes to the same thought as yuma, but where the heck they going?" he wondered. Yet He didn't make a peep. He foudn friendly wolves but packs he noticed, were decidedly less friendlier to him.
Brushtail can swim, and decides to cross on her own. If the other wolves did it, then it must be safe for her, right. She manages to swim across without much trouble, but cannot shake the feeling that there are others here besides the pack...
Bodhi pads over alongside Shikoba and offers her a friendly nuzzle "you can get out, i'm sure of it and belive you can do it" a soft smile on his lips "and i will be right by your side"
Storm looks towards Brushtail as she makes it across before looking back to Shikoba. "Its alright.. I'll be at one side and Bodhi will be at the other. Just do what we do alright?" The alpha questions as she starts to moving into the water.
Yuma remains quiet as well, merely watching the moonlit silhouettes of wolves making their way across the river. The sight intrigues him - some of the lupine shapes did seem more reluctant than others, making him think that wolves might not engage in this type of behavior very often. Very interesting. In a short time, however, the pack moves on. Yuma looks after them for several moments, staring into the darkness. "I wonder where they were going..."
Wherever they were going, Adoun does not intend to follow. Hence, it means little to him. The occasional spray from the waterfall /does/ mean something to him, though. Shaking his head as several droplets of water cling to his fur, and quickly determining that grooming himself would be impossible with this mist, he stands suddenly and says, "I think we should be moving too." For someone as seemingly content to just lie wherever most of the time, his sudden statement is maybe surprising, but he doesn't wait for a response before he begins heading northward. The opposite direction of the way the wolves were going.
Titan looks at the two then a tought pops in his head. "Hey Yuma? er can you pooint me twords the meadows? I kind of got lost and was heading twords the meadows, Adoun had no clues and sugested I ask you." He admits as he then watches the cat running off.
Yuma looks slightly surprised by Adoun's sudden decision. He does not argue with the cat, but he does not immediately move to follow him - not that it would take him long to catch up with the smaller feline. "The meadows? I'm not really sure," he confesses, eyeing the dog. "Sorry I can't help you." The cougar speaks a bit more loudly this time, talking over the roaring waterfall. Is it /still/ getting louder? Yuma glances uncertainly at the waterfall again, then decides that Adoun's choice was the right one, beginning to move after the cat.
See? Already, the dog has forgotten the proper way to address him. Under other circumstances, Adoun would probably feel compelled to turn and correct the form of his name that is entirely too casual for this /dog/ to be using. However, the noise from the water that was pleasant, just a short while ago, while he was sleeping, is ominous now, and so he just continues walking, veering away from the river as he does so. His tail flicks in annoyance as he walks, but it is impossible to tell whether the annoyance is caused by the water that still clings to his fur or something else.
Titan blinks a bit and simply nods. "okay i gusse i'll jsut follow the river... " he looks over at the roaring waters. "er at a distance.." He says and actully would shift and head a while off to the east so he was out of the cougar and cats walking path then he would head north hoping to find his way back twords those meadows.
Calculating his trail carefully, the storm-coloured stranger looms away from the others in the distance. His small ears prick as he listens in on the conversation, stone-still. What are they talking about? Everything seems to be so...up-in-the-air lately, so to speak... Or, as the mysterious Beast might say. He's patient, he can wait to see what's going on...
Yuma is beginning to feel a bit uneasy himself. His curiosity has not been fully satisfied, but something feels slightly... amiss, distracting him from the questions he was bursting with only a few minutes ago. Maybe he's just imagining things, or thinking too hard about something as innocuous as wolves crossing the river, but he has to wonder what their purpose was. He does not try to dissuade Titus when the dog decides to part ways with them, only nodding and saying, "Good luck." Maybe, someday, they will meet again. Lowering his head, Yuma continues to pad behind Adoun... making for a strange sight indeed, a housecat leading a brawny male cougar. He seems unaware of how comical he must appear, however, lost in a swirl of worrying thoughts. Maybe those wolves knew something that he, and Adoun, do not. It's a troubling possibility.
Adoun has not noticed the elk. Once they are far enough away from the river, Adoun's tail stops flicking, and the guard hairs quickly shed the thin coat of water that had gathered on them, improving his mood further. Still, as long as they're taking a walk, there is no reason to stop now. Adoun could easily wander for a couple hours, and has before. Until something happens to grab his attention, that's all he intends to do.
Lauber's nostrils flare and snort, registering the scent of all those who have recently passed over the river. And seeing the felid pair ahead makes the Elk wonder just what brings on such friendships? He stepped from the shade, sniffing the moisture in the air and sighing. "Ahhh, this river seems to be rising, eh."
Having helped Shikoba cross the river Bodhi pads down its edge toward the group they heard until he can see them clearly and lets out a loud nonthreatening growl to get their attention before starting to speak somewhat loudly "I would advice that all of you get away from the river and head toward an much safer area like maybe the Maple glade or orchard" his head tilting slightly as he draws in the unsual group "i saw ice falling from the mountains a while back and the rivers are likely to flood a fair bit over whats normal"
Fortunately, the wind is blowing in the elk's favor, and Yuma does not notice him either. Not yet. However, even if he did notice Lauber, the massive elk would have little to fear from the burly male. He is neither hungry nor foolish enough to take on a huge, healthy adult elk on his own. The cougar moves slowly behind Adoun, moving at a pace other cougars might consider laughable, though Yuma himself doesn't appear to mind... maybe he's grown used to it. Or maybe he's just so caught up in his thoughts that he's not really aware of it. A voice draws Yuma's head up, and he glances around in a slightly distracted manner. The voice belonged to the elk, but before he can spot the large herbivore, a growl draws his attention across the river, where he spots a single wolf. One of the procession that filed through earlier, he imagines. Yuma's ears flatten instinctively, but the wolf's words give him pause. "A flood?" The cougar glances anxiously back toward the waterfall. He /knew/ it was getting louder. "Thanks for the warning," Yuma calls back to the wolf.
"I thought I smelled the water getting closer.." Lauber murmurs aloud, stepping into full view. He decides to gather the information he can, listening closely to the other snimals around him. Lesse...a Cat, a Cougar, a Wolf... What a strange gathering!
A wolfess moves softly into the area from the southern direction, her eyes focused intently before her and her ears shot forward as the voices she's heard now become louder with the proximity. Lupin pauses a decent distance away from the group, her attention held by the unusual gathering, though not yet noticing Bodhi's presence on the other side of the river. What could /this/ be? She tilts her head, spying upon the creatures and listening in silently upon any conversation, hoping that, should her mate come along, they might hear without being noticed..
Hinto is not far behind. He has noticed the alarming sounds of late and now it seems the rivers are growing? A new wave of uneasiness hits the male broadside. He takes care to stay close in case Lupin gets too close to the river.
Bodhi dips his head to Yuma "My pleasure, feel free to repay the favor by telling anybody else you meet to stay away from the rivers because of the coming flood, but i need to catch up to my pack so stay safe" a slight smile appearing on his lips before he turns and starts off in the direction his pack went
Yuma turns his head, and the sight of the elk stuns him for a moment. This night is getting stranger by the moment. He looks over Lauber, detecting no fear from the great elk, even though he stands in the midst of an odd gathering of predators... but of course, a flood is a serious matter, affecting every creature in the forest regardless of their species. "I guess you were right," he says to Adoun, with a slight grin. Maybe, for all his apparent carelessness, the cat has sharper instincts than himself... it's an amusing thought. "C'mon, we should head for drier ground." And the big cougar begins to move again, picking up the pace this time. He will warn anyone he encounters along the way.
Of course he was right! Adoun's companion may do well to keep the generally troublesome wild animals away most of the time, but once in a while, taking his leave of the area is necessary... Especially since Yuma's presence does nothing to sway the flow of water, to convince it that it has no right to invade Adoun's area. Adoun replies with just a returned grin and a nearly imperceptible nod of his head, and continues along the path leading well away from the elk, wolves, and river.
The big cougar male heads off with the smaller feline in toe. Lupin narrows her sharp golden eyes, observing quietly, then turns behind her at a noise, to see Hinto. She offers him a faintly odd look, obviously directed towards the group in the distance. Explanation: What the heck? Then she returns her gaze to the.. now group-of-one. An elk? The she-wolf inhales the air, attempting to catch a scent of the creature. What she brings in instead is a whole lot of oxygen thick with moisture. Something is /wrong/ around here. Another unsettled look is given to her mate, as if asking what to do at /this/ point.
Lauber peers at the canines eerily. "I knew I scented wolves about," he says softly. "We have much to worry about. Landslides are going to be a big threat. We should all keep our families close and in check."
The big cougar male heads off with the smaller feline in toe. Lupin narrows her sharp golden eyes, observing quietly, then turns behind her at a noise, to see Hinto. She offers him a faintly odd look, obviously directed towards the group in the distance. Explanation: What the heck? Then she returns her gaze to the.. now group-of-one. An elk? The she-wolf inhales the air, attempting to catch a scent of the creature. What she brings in instead is a whole lot of oxygen thick with moisture. Something is /wrong/ around here. Another unsettled look is given to her mate, as if asking what to do at /this/ point. Then the large animal before them speaks - to /them/! Lupin looks faintly startled, backing up slightly with the surprise, yet for the first time really has nothing to say yet.. what's this about landslides? Has she really been that out of the loop?
Hinto should be noted now for keeping an extremely wary and uneasy, almost fearful look at the river. He doesn't fear the water for himself, but is worried this river might just sweep Lupin away like it had swept his first mate away long ago. "All that water..."
Shaking his head a little, the Elk eyes the wolves. "Do any of you have packs nearby? Maybe I can help you search."
Lupin shakes her head slowly, lost in thought for the most part. But then she answers the elk, "No, we are both rogues; living by ourselves." The wolfess turns to her mate, really catching sight of his anxious expression for the first time. The water.. it really is disturbing him. Lupin glances back to the large beast, now slightly inquisitive, the question upon her lips, "Search, exactly.. for what?" She's missed basically.. everything.. besides the fact that the water /is/ rather high.. but is there something she needs to know?
Hinto tries nudging his mate away from the water now. He doesn't seem to be saying anything, instead keeping an eye on the water, as if it could leap up and attack them.
"Well, there are two choices," the elk says, stepping closer and eyeing the wolves. "We can head up north, away from the water. Or...we can head to a lower elevation. Or maybe somewhere dryer. That's a decision I'd been trying to figure out myself."
As he nudges her to the side gently, Lupin looks at her mate, concern written on her face and nuzzles the side of his thick pelt reassuringly. "Don't worry.." she murmurs, not entirely understanding his anxiety, and yet still feeling the need to soothe it if she can. It's just water.. right? The wolfess lets out a sigh, shifting her paws. "I.. would suggest north, myself," she suggests, completely open to Hinto's alternative, should he beg to differ. Then again.. "Perhaps Hinto and I may join you in finding safer shelter, until we each find our own space?" It's not exactly a real offer yet; she looks to her mate, leaning in in case he wished to let her know he diiiidn't exactly care for that idea.
Hinto looks between the elk and the wolf female who is his mate. "I don't care. The further away we can get from water for the time being, the better." Hinto says. His nervousness is all about his past.
"Yes, I agree. The further away we are, the better off we may be.. That is, if you don't mind a pair of antlers followin'." He grins softly, his gold eyes flickering in hospitality.
"I don't mind at all," the female replies, smiling warmly at the elk. She'd never known these large creatures to be quite so.. decent. Quite pleasant, even. Also.. a pair of wolves would appear quite a bit more intimidating with those afore-mentioned pair of antlers following.. but she glances at Hinto. He hasn't objected, so she assumes he's all right with it. Basically the priority now is getting away from /here/. Alighting her gaze upon the elk once more, she chuckles lightly, despite the gravity of the situation. "Before we begin traveling together.. what is your name? I am Lupin, and this is my mate, Hinto.." She gestures to him gently, unsure if he was up to his own introduction at the moment or not.
Hinto is just back to watching the water uneasily.
"Ahhh, Lady Lupin and her mate Hinto, I am Lauber." The giant dips his head graciously. Always a gentleman, after all, despite his temper. "Now, quite a strange herd...or pack...we have!"
She has to agree; quite the group! Amused, she inclines her head in return, manners equally as important to the she-wolf. "Good to meet you, Lauber," Lupin says, appreciating his graceful demeaner. Will make it nicer to travel this way! Then she gestures with her muzzle to the surroundings. "Well.. now that we're a pack.. herd.." Weird look. ".. where are we heading?"
Hinto is willing to follow them wherever they go. He stays quiet. He mustn't be distracted in case the water makes any sudden moves.
Lauber glances around, snorting again. "North it is." Two wolves as companions may not be such a bad idea after all! "I'll watch yours backs if you watch mine, eh?"
"It's a deal," Lupin agrees in response to his proposal, a faint smile curling upon her muzzle. And.. north it is. It seems as though she and Hinto had /just/ managed to find somewhere to settle down and relax.. and here they were, moving again. But this might prove interesting, too. After all, they've already made an ally, right? A large.. rather, GINORMOUS ally. Always a good thing. So she begins that way, turning and glancing back at her two companions to see if they follow.. or if there is something else to be done first?
Hinto moves up abreast of his mate and recovers himself as quickly as he can. "To the north, then. I am sure we'll find ourselves enjoying this adventure." Hinto tries to make sure he's on a side of Lupin that prevents her from being swept away by the river, even if they're not that close. "Do be careful of the river, lovely."