Lone Wanderer (open)

[falinn]

The dark gray fur, hued with the faintest hint of blue, blended almost perfectly with the cold gray stone behind it. The owner of the fur, a female tundra wolf roughly two years in age, paced slowly in front of the mouth of a particularly sinister-looking cavern. Drops of moistness fell from the ceiling and hit the ground with a light splashing sound which echoed through the hollow rock. Falinn studied it a moment longer before entering.

Her claws bounced off a large stone as she passed, the scratching sound making the charcoal fur on her back stand on end.The eerie surroundings made Falinn feel strangely at home; as though she were an outcast, seeking shelter in the darkest of places. Oh, wait- I really am an outcast, seeking shelter in the darkest of places, Falinn thought dryly. It wasn't only the darkness that made the habitat feel so... maybe appropriate is the right word. Maybe it was that having every little noise echo was a comfort- she would be able to hear an interloper before they could get her, for one.

Falinn stretched and then peered into a little crevice. She smelled the home of a family of bats; the stench of the winged, pig-snouted rodents gave their hideout away even though the residents were out for their nightly hunt. "Perfect," whispered Falinn. She felt inclined to whisper in so echoey a location. "They'll be nice and fat when they get back in the morning, the perfect time for me to catch a few for a little snack."

The lupine made her way across the cavern, hopping over small pools of water and jumping across slabs of rock to avoid splashing into the larger puddles. She tried drinking a bit from one of them, but the water was stale and tasted bitter in her mouth. Falinn's muzzle wrinkled in disgust as she swallowed.

The familiar prickle of paranoia caused Falinn's unkempt pelt to bristle. She swiveled her ears around, trying to pick up any noise. She also resisted the urge to growl, so no one would hear her.

[neira]

Where could one find a loner usually? The large Red wolf knew the answer well and could easily tell it. As a moonless night slammed onto her back she found those blue eyes of hers to be shifting restlessly, searching for harmful shadows or threatening movement.

A sudden form whizzed past her head and as she reared up to snap at it a squeak was released from the creature. The wolf had caught its wing and thrown it down to the ground, placing a paw on the tiny chest and staring at her prey. It was still, very still, so still in fact those blue eyes began to feel like a snakes, locking its prey in it's beautiful deadly gaze. Her maw opened to reveal her deadly grin and she struck out, breaking the bat's neck with the quickest of motions.

Red cranium lifted, the small bat in her jaws as a midnight snack, as she looked at the caves before her. She needed to find a place to stay and rest for the night.

Black paws lead her to a smaller cave of the collection. She could smell water inside but it smelled off. The scent of stale liquid and the overwhelming stench of bat would hide her smell, it seemed the best place to lay low for a while.

Stepping into the darkness of the cavern, just as her eyes began to focus she stopped, keeping her paws silent. Farther into the cave there was a dark form, pelt obviously of darker colors. Blue eyes narrowed as she thanked them for the fact that they did not often glisten like other wolves’ did. The red wolf lowered her head, she may have been smaller than the average wolf but she could still fight, she needed water if only a gulp. “Hello,” she said in a tone loud enough to be heard but easy enough not to disturb and resting bats. Her own bat, her prey, had been set on the floor, one paw keeping it with her. “I intend not to disturb… Ma’am. But I need the water you so conveniently occupy.” Her head would lift ever so slightly, tail lowering to show she was no threat. Trust was needed in this type of situation; the wolf suddenly remembered her vow, not to kill here unless she had too. She would keep that vow.

[falinn]

The charcoal-black ears pricked at the sound of the snap of jaws and the squeak of the bat. Falinn remained still, wondering if this hunter would enter the cave. What would she do if it did? Just stay still, Falinn thought to herself. No reason to panic.... right? You can never be too careful when living the life of a meandering loner, after all.

The tundra wolf watched as the shadow of the figure carried the bat into the cave. The figure itself appeared next, wrapped in billowy veils of shadow. The new arrival now stood across the pool of stale water from Falinn. Falinn noted that the bat was held safe under one of her unusual black paws. Driven by hunger, the wolf's mind was ablaze with images of hundreds of bats, all within reach, just as dinnertime arose... The feast that would follow...

Falinn's fantasy ened abruptly when she was requested by the other female for permission to drink the water. After looking at the speaker blankly for a moment as she often did when caught by surprise, Falinn nodded her head. "Sure, of course you can. 's not my water. It is stale, though, in case you wanted to know," Falinn answered, edging away from the spot by the water so the other could get her drink. Her eyes darted around the cavern while she edged away. The little starlight that did make it into the shelter to slice the dark with knifelike starkness illuminated each of the bitter-tasting pools scattered around the ground and Falinn's eyes. The effect was rather eerie, and the dark-pelted lupine that that it looked rather like dozens of tiny, oddly shaped moons sitting around.

Falinn's gaze returned to the other wolf. She appeared to be a red wolf with blue eyes that, unlike Falinn's, reflected no light.