With tender paws (Nahuel & open)

[raisa]

The scent of others filled her black nose and her ears remained close to her head. The young female was now lost in pack lands. She had been following Nahuel, but had lost him when she had jumped at a shadow. The land was rough with rocks and grass and as she moved along, the land began to slope. With a whimper she leaped onto a large rock and looked around.

Her eyes showed deep fear as the slopes around her looked rather rough and not that great either. Plus she couldn't see Nahuel. The black, tan, and red female looked around and spotted an opening in the mountain. Muscles pushed her off the rock and she landed lightly on the rocky slope and quickly padded down to the open air a little farther down. Carefully she pushed her nose in to take in the scent. No Nahuel.

She was getting scared and moved into the cave entrance and laid down. Right now, she just had to think, lucky for her the place she was laying didn't have the heavy scent of another wolf right now. What am I to do now? Why did I even come here? I am not much of a pack member anymore, maybe I should just go...

With her mind made up, she rose to her paws and was about to step forward when she remembered about the young male she had been talking with. He had been kind and somehow had asked her to follow him here. I can't just go, but I do need to find him, I just hope another wolf doesn't find me first. That would be rather awkward to try and tell them why I am here without the reason being here...

Nervously she moved out onto the rocky slope again and looked around, still trying to find the black pelted male. So far, not even a rabbit broke the air around her. The female tipped her muzzle back and opened her jaws while her brown eyes closed. Through her teeth she howled into the air.

Raisa was trying to locate Nahuel again, she didn't really want to meet his pack though and sadly she knew she would have to suck up her feelings and either get over it or get lost. Ears were plastered against her skull and partway through the howl, a snap behind her freaked the female out and her call was cut short quick. She bolted forward and tried to spin herself around to see what is after her.

The rocks were loose and the pads of her paws tried to grip, but they didn't catch and she tipped forward. Her front fell forward while her haunches slid out another direction. A low whimper left the female as she just laid there and closed her eyes. Her nerves were shot and she felt ready to toss up anything in her stomach, but she wasn't quite that deep yet.

With a shiver she pulled her muzzle down towards her chest and then laid still. Her front was twisted down the slope while her back legs were up the slope. It was painful, but it also took her mind off being in a pack land and the possibility of being picked on again. Her right ear was starting to clear up, but it never would be fully healed.

After five minutes laying in this awkward and painful way, Raisa pulled herself together and rose to her feet. Brown eyes looked around before she whimpered again and laid back down. Her legs curled up under her and her muzzle was tucked between her front legs and up against her chest. Her tail curled up behind her up against her back legs and curled up close.

Nahuel better find me quick, I can't hang around to long... If someone shows up other than him and Nahuel is not in sight, I might just have to bolt. I am in fact in pack lands and without the one who brought me here. She laid her head over her other paw and kept searching the area around her, trying to locate another. Right now she was dancing on the end of her shot nerves.

693 words

[runyan]

Pain currently spread throughout Runyan's body. It hurt in so many places it was hard to isolate and identify the problem. Could it be the lack of any kind of nourishment to his body? Sure, that was probably a tick mark on the list. How about nearly drowning? Add another tick. What about his aching muscles from treading water to avoid drowning. Yep. Those were all on the list. His movements became slower with each step. He began taking longer and much more labored breaths. Pausing he let out a soft yawn. His pink tongue snaked out in the process. Small droplets of saliva fell from the tip of his tongue, falling to the earth. Yellow eyes looked around, trying to see any signs of life.

Panting heavily now his tongue trailed along the curves of his jaw and cheeks before being pushed back into the dark cave of his mouth. Damn that Aikanáro! He thought furiously. That pathetic excuse for a wolf! Who could blame him for his angry thoughts. His own brother was the reason for his torment and suffering. He'd been a beta in his former pack and now he was a loner wandering these seemingly barren lands. There was no companionship. No singsong of his name. No praise. There was just silence and regret. All it did was give him time to think about what he'd do differently with his life. And of course at the very top of the list would start with killing Aikanáro. That half blind bastard! Had he not been a jealous and power hungry wolf Aikanáro never would've been driven from the pack.

None of this had to happen. Runyan thought bitterly. Forcing his tired limbs to continue their previous movements he started walking again. He had no idea where he was going or what he'd do should he actually find a desirable destination. But just about anything had to be better than this. Tired, starving and alone was no way to live. There has to be others...there has to be. His thoughts showed his current level of desperation. A place to call home and a pack behind him was all he truly wanted. Although a couple attentive faes never hurt. He couldn't help but wonder if anyone from his old pack still thought about him or perhaps even still searched for him.

His thoughts were briefly halted as one of his pads slipped, forcing him to stagger and collapse on the ground. He let out a snarl of annoyance and frustration. And then a scent filtered through. Was he just being delusional or was that really another wolf? Forcing himself upright he rested upon his haunches. Tossing his head back he attempted to let out a howl. He coughed and heaved a little during his first attempt. The lack of water made his throat dry and scratchy. Letting his tongue moisten his mouth he tried again. The ring of his howl echoed in the air. Crying out for another to hear his plea and find him.

[nahuel]

Nahuel padded through the trees, sniffing the air. It would appear that Raisa had gone somewhere..gotten lost, wandered off, lost him? He hadn't been going very fast, even after he'd heard the alpha howl for Aldgar members to report to the dens. Or maybe he'd sped up without meaning to..
The black he-wolf shoved through a tangle of bushes into a small clearing on the mountain. Nothing. Not even, oddly enough, a faint scent of another wolf. Huh. Well, Aldgar appeared to still be short on wolves.
Thunder rumbled overhead. Nahuel pricked his ears and looked upwards, trying to find the rain. There didn't appear to be any, only the dark cloud that he and Raisa had come in behind. Probably this was the outer edge and they'd missed it.
Although, if it had rained already, it seemed like things out to be wet. The ground on the mountain was dry, though, as if it had been a while.

The black wolf paused, hearing a howl come from not too far away. It sounded like the wolf was howling through their teeth, but the voice was familiar, even though it broke off suddenly. Raisa. Nahuel started in that direction, looking up at the sky as he went. There was a flicker of lightning in the storm, but no water fell from the sky.
Not exactly the end of the world, since Nahuel wasn't really fond of getting rained on. Maybe he'd get lucky and nothing would fall.
The he-wolf broke into a trot, hearing a rattle of rock from up ahead. When he reached the spot, there was nothing there - just the scent to tell that his traveling companion had been there a moment ago. Nahuel frowned and sniffed the ground, confused.
Another howl came from slightly farther up the mountain, a hoarse tone of voice that Nahuel didn't recognize. He glanced over his shoulder toward the source of the sound and let out a bark by way of reply. The other wolf could come if he wanted to.
And, of course, if he'd even heard Nahuel reply.
Still, Nahuel couldn't come looking for him. The black wolf sniffed the ground, trying to find a scent to follow. Paws slipping, he sniffed out a track that led into some bushes.
Nahuel raised his head and stared at them, trying not to appear nervous. Wandering into tall bushes by himself was not something he wanted to do. Who knew what could be there?
Skunks, among other things. The black wolf flattened his ears and sniffed at the air again, trying to pick out a smell. Nothing, aside from the harsh scent of that unfamiliar wolf. Had he really been following that?
Huh. Nahuel had been sure it was Raisa he scented. He frowned, his yellow eyes confused, and pushed his way through the brush. A twig poked him in the nose. Nahuel yelped and leaped forward, came crashing out of the bushes, and stood, staring.

There was a he-wolf in front of him, a gray wolf. Nahuel raised his head and stared at the other one, confused. This must have been one of the wolves that howled, but he wasn't the one Nahuel was looking for.
Huh. Nahuel shrugged his shoulders and turned, crashing back into the bushes. It seemed unlikely that the other male would've missed him, but he could follow if he wanted.

The next time Nahuel broke through the bushes, it was to find himself on another slope. This one was made of loose rock, and he slid several feet before digging his claws in and coming to somewhat painful stop. Nahuel grumbled to himself, and licked his paws. There was nobody here, it appeared.
He looked around, just in case.
Ah. There was Raisa. Nahuel scrambled upright, grinning, and carefully negotiated his way down the hill toward the she-wolf. She was all covered with dust and looked like she'd had similar experiences - bushes, loose rocks, and so forth.
"There you are!"
The black he-wolf came to a stop several feet away and crouched down, trying to keep his balance on the scree. He looked over his shoulder, checking to see if he'd been followed, and returned his gaze to Raisa.
"I didn't find any pack wolves, only a loner wandering around. We may have to wait for them to come."

[kadhi]

Trekking across rather unfriendly slopes, Kadhi would pause after so many steps and attempt to look over his shoulder. The large elk on his back, seemingly huge compared to his own small size, made walking rather difficult. On top of that, he was supposed to be leading his packmates and that one loner to the Aldgar dens. Sianna was injured, and between the four of them they probably had too much prey. Even with their slow pace the brute kept double checking to make sure everyone was still together. The last thing he needed was one of them getting themselves lost or slipping down the cliff face. The Arabian was a rather unfriendly creature, but he never wished death upon those who simply disliked him.

His next halt brought him to an area where the rock became looser and not falling became harder. He attempted to speak though the grip he had on the elk, though his words were somewhat muffled and he had trouble seeing over the neck of his kill. "It shouldn't be that much farther, but watch your step. Try to stick to solid looking ground if you don't want to slip to your death." With that he started foreward again, oblivious to what lay ahead of him.

Kadhi's nose was clouded by the scent of semi-fresh, semi-stale blood. His own sweat also blocked his sense of smell, and in truth he wasn't really tracking his way up the mountain. He was relying more on sight and sound, and memory of how he'd gotten up there the first time. Thus, when two howls seemingly broke though the air at relatively close distance, the brute was thrown for a loop. Xinelil was supposed to have delt with all the tresspasser, and yet here were two more. How was he, Kadhi, supposed to deal with two tresspassers while carrying an elk four times his size and leading the group of faes (also carrying prey) up to the dens? Combined with the fact that only Meikou seemed to ever take him seriously, and the odds of a favorable ending turning up were slim to none.

Pushing forewards again, a few rustling bushes caught the corner of his eye. There wasn't really any time to investigate though, so he simply assumed it was some small rodent and pressed on. By now his muscles were aching under the weight of the elk, and sweat stung at his eyes. He'd little idea of how the femmes were faring, and he didn't really want to stop and find out. He just wanted to get back to the dens, drop his prey, and maybe take a nice nap until Xinelil decided to turn up. He absolutely did not want to deal with a couple intruders whose positions he was growing closer to with ever step.

"Who the hell are you!?" Kadhi's eyes widened in shock and annoyance as two canine forms entered his line of vision. The exclimation caused him to lose the grip on his elk and it slipped from his back onto the stones and slid a few feet. The Arabian let out a snarl at this and turned a glare from the carcus to the two wolves. His tail flicked angrily behind him as he impatiently waited for an answer. Had he been less exhausted, he would have made some sarcastic remark and tried to trick them into helping with all the prey. Instead, he just sort of angrily stood there, letting time tick by as he used the intruders as an excuse to take a short rest. He may not have wanted to deal with the pair at that moment, but their appearance did provide him and the faes and oppertunity to catch their breaths.

[raisa]

Her body relaxed as the male came into view and his words flooded the air. Raisa whimpered softly and waited until he stopped and got his balance on the slope. Both thin walled ears moved forward in an interested manner when Nahuel spoke again.

"I didn't find any pack wolves, only a loner wandering around. We may have to wait for them to come." Carefully her paws moved the young female up the slope towards him. Her words were in hushed tones and had a hint of scared within the words. "I hope they show up soon, I may loose my nerve."

She laid her head back on her paws and waited, hoping it wouldn't take to much longer. Her ear was still bugging her and the young female scratched a little at it, but stopped when it began to hurt even more. The mix of colors in her pelt were blended together still from the rain from before.

After awhile she started to doze off a little, relaxing from the stress of waiting for a pack. "Who the hell are you!?" Her brown eyes jerked wide and her head jerked up into the air. The scent of four blood was in the air as well as another wolf's scent.

The growl sent her spinning as the young female tried to stand up, her paws slipping on the loose rocks and fear spread through her whole body as she slammed into the ground. The young grey wolf slid down the slope and as she struggled even more to try and get her footing, the female kept sliding and rolling.

After about ten feet, she hit a large rock and stopped. After the dust settled around her, the female managed to lift her head up from the dirt. Raisa turned her brown eyes up the slope to look at the black wolf she had met earlier and then at the other wolf.

The other wolf who had spoken was standing up on the rocks, annoyance on his face and his tail was flicking back and forth. Raisa had no idea what to do now, thoughts about her past packs flooded her mind and she feared this male already. He seemed very angry and he had only set eyes on her.

What would happen if he knew her name? Would he try and rip her throat out? Did she want to say her name or just turn tail and flee already? Most likely she would be forced to anyway, maybe she should just go ahead and run...

"Wel...umm....well..." She whimpered and laid her head down, her two year old frame just trembling in fear. The female slowly moved her paws forward and went up back to the black male she had spoken with. Raisa moved up by Nahuel again carefully.

Her eyes were locked on the male in his angry state as she moved up the slope. Her tail was tucked under her body with her whole body in a submissive posture. Paws moved quickly and very careful as she tried to go up the slope without slipping down it again.

When she reached the black male, the female reached over and nudged his leg. In a low and freaked out voice, she spoke to him so that only he would catch her voice. "Help!" Her brown eyes looked up to him as she lay next to him in a very scared and submissive posture.

[nahuel]

Nahuel grinned as Raisa crept up the slope towards him, glancing once over his shoulder in case that gray he-wolf had followed him. There was nobody visible, either up or down the slope..kind of odd this near the dens, really. Nahuel should probably howl and let Xinelil and the other wolves know he was around.
"I hope they show up soon, I may loose my nerve."
"They shouldn't be much longer."
Nahuel stood carefully, trying to keep from sliding again and turned to look around him, eyes curious. The breeze was beginning to pick up like it might rain again..he hoped not. His black fur was just beginning to dry out.
Slightly bored, Nahuel looked back down at the small gray she-wolf, then off into the distance. Hey, well, the current state of affairs wasn't too bad..if you didn't count the fact that any shifting of your weight would cause you to slide down the mountain. Now hopefully he wasn't already in trouble for running off. Nahuel had no doubts that some serious flak was headed his way after he'd dissapeared without warning. The only questions was whether he'd be allowed back into the territory or not.
"Who the hell are you!?"
The voice came from upwind, where Nahuel wouldn't have smelled the source. The black wolf jumped at the angry bark, tried to spin around, and lost his footing. After a moment spent in an undignified sprawl on the loose rock, he dragged himself back to his paws with much effort to snarl at the voice.
He stopped almost before the noise came from his throat. It was Kadhi, the Arabian hunter. It seemed odd that the other wolf wouldn't recognize Nahuel..but he supposed he didn't look exactly the same. Leaner, slightly bigger..the hard life was, well, hard, and it hadn't helped that Nahuel had been in several fights over the past few months.
"Help!" The voice came from near the ground. Nahuel would've knocked himself upside the head if he could. He'd forgotten about Raisa while he was distracted by the sudden appearance of Kadhi, and probably more. Nahuel looked down, attempting to look reassuring, then returned his gaze to Kadhi. Attempting to keep any challenging note out of his voice, he replied gruffly, "I'm Nahuel. This is Raisa."
Maybe Kadhi would fail to remember that a 'Nahuel' had been in the pack and run off again without saying where he was going. It seemed likely. The Arabian was not the sharpest wolf out there, from what Nahuel rememberd of him.
It seemed unlikely that Nahuel would get the same treatment from Xinelil..but perhaps if he groveled, which he didn't really want to do, the alpha would let him back in. The question was whether Nahuel would be let in as a normal pack wolf or as an omega.
Well, if he was omega, at least Raisa wouldn't end up in that position. Nahuel could always win his place back by fighting anyone who tried to stop him. The she-wolf didn't exactly have that option.
"We'll be fine," he mumbled so that she could hear him. "They know who I am."
He didn't bother to mention that it didn't matter much who he was anymore..

[kadhi]

If Kadhi was a much less impulsive creature, he probably would have been able to hold onto his sour mood. Unfortunately, he hadn't been expecting the reactions of the two larger wolves, and his composure instantly slipped. It was rare that he ever got the better of someone larger than him, and it was even rarer that he managed to instill fear in someone. Sure he was crass and unrefined and downright mean, but most wolves could easily crush him like a bug.

Highly amused laughter fell from his maw at the sight that unraveled before his very eyes. First the fae was sent in a tizzy and slid a few good feet down the mountain. The way she crawled back up it the Arabian brute found to be just as comical, and he rudely laughed at her misfortune. Then there was the way the black brute had reacted. Somehow Kadhi had managed to razzle big ol' Nahuel and sent the other male tumbling to the ground. He found the seen to be much more amusing than it really was, and for several long minutes he could not control his laughter. The sound fell freely from his mouth, and he did nothing to conceal the fact that he was laughing at them instead of with them.

When Nahuel barked, his name, Kadhi was finally able to settle down. It was a few minutes before he managed to speak, but he became more alert to where he was and what he was doing. That name, Nahuel, sounded quite familar. He had absolutely no idea of who the female was, but there was a vague familiarity surrounding the brute. Opening his mouth to say something, he promptly shut it again as the realizatin dawned.

Knitting his brow as he looked over the male's form, a small frown tugged at his blood stained lips. "Xinelil's real pissed at you." Kadhi had no memory of ever actually meeting the Nahuel, but he'd heard the alpha mention the name several times. For the black brute to suddenly show up meant that there was trouble coming, but the Arabian wasn't sure what to do. Technically the pair were tresspassing, but because of Nahuel's familarity this was something that Xinelil would need to deal with himself. Kadhi may have temporellarily been left in charge, but he had no real authority. He didn't know if Xinelil wanted Nahuel driven out of the pack lands or if there was some deal to be made in the near future. And there was the matter of the femme, Raisa. Kadhi didn't really want to be responsible for driving away a potentional pack member if he wasn't supposed to.

Frowning deeper, his tall auds flicked in annoyance. Briefly he glanced over his shoulder, wondering how sever some of the femmes' injuries were if it was taking them this long to bring up the prey. Turning his head back to the intruders, he muttered incoherrently before carefully picking his way towards the dropped elk. "I don't know what Xinelil wants to do with ya, but the rest of us just finished a hunt. We're headed to the dens, if you have any intention of joinin us." His voice was still cold, but not as harsh as it had originally been. Kadhi was anything but the brightest crayon in the box, and his small brain would not make heads or tails of the current situation. His goal was to get the prey back to the dens anyway, not deal with a deserter and a tresspasser. When Xinelil got back, he could deal with Nahuel and Raisa. As far as Kadhi's mind was made up, unusual tresspassers did not fall under his jurisdistion.