The southern part of the island had begun to grow on Tharamon, though he wasn't completely comfortable with the terrain. Of course, he had spent plenty of years up north and knew the lands he had grown up in like he knew his own scent. Speaking of that scent. Tharamon could still detect the slight twang of pack deep in his own fur. It reminded him why he wasn't nestled in his own home. He had been traveling for what felt like eternity. It amazed him how a lack of open hostility towards loners was the norm down here. Tharamon had exiled or killed his share of trespassers and had expected to fight for his life during most of his quest.
The first leg of his circuit around the island had proven that his caution was far from needed. About half the time, he had passed through claimed lands completely unheeded. It was, in a word, disturbing. Tharamon did not like wolves acting a way he had not planned for, and he had definitely not planned for packs to completely ignore his existence as he traipsed across their lands like he owned the place. Of course, eventually he would own the place, but they didn't know that. Not yet. Still, at first, it had worried him. He figured that the pack wolves were waiting just around the corner at every turn. When he had passed through lands that went completely unclaimed, though there was obviously the resources to keep a pack, he was amazed again.
Apparently, these southerners preferred to be a loner than pack. This made no sense to the wolf, so he despised it. Tharamon pretty much expected everything to straighten itself out and lay at his feet to be analyzed. A decent wolf wanted to be in a pack. Preferably, in a pack where the alpha actually cared about his lands. Speaking of lands...Tharamon paused his steady lope to look at the land surrounding him. He was on his way south, trying to find the despicable creatures that had turned their back on their leader like the cowards they were. The first thing the brute noticed was the large cave mouth directly ahead. The temperatures here were more like what he was used to, as was the snow on his ground.
The next thing he noticed was the light. The sun had long since set, and Tharamon noticed he was tired. Quickly, he tasted the air, checking for any malevolent presence. The last thing he needed was to walk straight into a pack's den. Though most of the wolves this far south hadn't paid notice to his presence, he doubted they would do the same if he barged right into their den. The last scent markers he had crossed had been so old, he could barely even detect them, so it didn't surprise him when he detected nothing in the wind. Without hesitation, he padded toward the cave. From habit, he marked the area several lengths from the entrance and then again on the outside wall before walking inside and curling up, waiting for the trancelike sleep that would give him rest but not leave him vulnerable.
Sapphire and Jay didn't really part after they had refound each other in the Orien mountains. However, Sapphire did enjoy going on hunting trips and in this instance Jay did not come with her. She found herself moving south from the Orien mountains alon the trail of a deer. She almost felt like laughing, considering this was exactly the kind of circumstance she had meet Jay in anyway. Having traveled away from Ulrich, the one she had been travelling with at the time in search of a deer and encounter her surrow-filled friend. This time however she knew that she would be reamining with Jay, for what would easily be the rest of her life. He was not far away, in fact if she raised her head high enough she could still catch his scent on the wind. He was less then a day's travel from her and she would ensure she did not wonder any further then that. Once she had found a deer and brought it down she would call Jay, and if he hisemlf wasn't busy she was sure he would come and join her for the meal. She had let him know that she would not be gone the length of an entire day, and at least this way she could eliminate the area behidn Oriens if it did not prove to be right for pack lands. Sapphire was still scouting out terratory for her pack after all.
She did her hunting late in the day, close to night time when the prey would be tired and there eyes barely able to penetrate the air. Also, this way Jay wasn't simply hanging around waiting for her well she did some quick hunting. He could rest, and find a meal waiting for him coming the morning, eat, and they could be on there way once more in there quest to find terratory for there pack.
The night air was cool to the taste, the moon begining to show, silent and light above the sky. A shame for the clouds that gathered around it, casting the night into a darkness that only wolf-eyes could properly penetrate (and other nocturnal animals) The trail was growing stronger and she knew she was coming across her prey now. it wasn't until she moved the next few steps forward that she caught the scent of another wolf, a male clearly and one that had marked his scent to claim a little piece of land here or at least to tell others to mind his presence. Sapphire, if she wished to procced in her hunt would need to go around in order to avoid a confrontion here. Not that it was a great deal for such a small detour. She was only worried that who ever was here may grow angry at her for hunting so close to where they had marked. She barked out gently, sitting just on the outskirt of the marking. She would do the polite thing and let the other know her plans so they would not wake up with the scent of blood on there doorstep. She waited patiently for the other to respond to her call
Tharamon was alone, staring into space and contemplating the meaning of life -- something few wolves ever did. It was a favorite past time, something he could do that no other ever need to be the wiser about. It gave him a sense of importance, as if he were just about to unlock some huge secret and would be remembered until the end of time. Suddenly, he was pulled out of his ponderings. "Sir..." came a voice from somewhere to the wolf's right. He glanced toward the speaker and blinked, giving him leave to continue. "Sir, there are outsiders coming across the border."
The alpha's hackles immediately raised and a snarl rose from deep within his carcass. "How many?" he growled. The young wolf before him quailed at the sight of the leader's anger. In a much quieter voice, he answered. The number he gave was so profound to Tharamon he thought about teaching the youngster how to count by thrashing his hide. An eyebrow raised as he gave the subordinate a second chance. Tharamon blinked as he heard the same number uttered a second time. Something in the back of his mind told him that the wolf wasn't making the tale up. Tharamon and his pack would be outnumbered almost 5 to one. The information was hard to digest. "Rouse the pack," he said, his voice devoid of any emotion that might give him away.
The wolf was roused from his half sleep by a gentle yip. For a moment, he was slightly amazed he had dreamed, though what he dreamed of was normal. Gently, to avoid making noise, Tharamon rose and stretched. He had thought he wasn't sleeping deeply enough for the gods to use his subconscious for their twisted games. Shrugging off the last holds sleep had, Tharamon silently padded toward the mouth of the cave, careful to remain in the shadows. The sound that had awoken him was not threatening in itself, but that meant very little in potentially hostile lands. Still, Tharamon figured that if he were in immediate danger from the stranger, he would have woken up to paws walking near his bed, not a gentle bark from outside the entrance.
Even with that in mind, the wolf was cautious as he peered out of his temporary home, ready for just about anything. What he saw was beautiful. She was smaller than him, lithe, and a very pure white. Both brows raised as he allowed his gaze to roam over her form, confident that she could not ascertain where, exactly, he was looking, though he knew she could see him. After several moments, the once alpha took leave of the shadows and stepped into the moonlight. Without deigning to begin the conversation, Tharamon caught her eye, making it more than clear that at the very lowest, he considered them equals. He would take on an entire pack before he allowed himself to submit to another alpha.
She had the slight scent of a pack to her, as if she was commonly around another wolf. However, when Tharamon tested the air to see if she was accompanied, he found the two of them alone. A single eyebrow raised in question. Why would a wolf come out alone? Several answers came to mind, but he did not voice them. Quickly, he took stock of the stranger's physical conditions before turning his thoughts inward and doing the same to his own. He was fairly certain that if it came to blows, he would walk away from the fight. Still, confrontation was not usually what the wolf sought. Finally, he spoke "Is there a reason for this untimely disturbance?" The words weren't harsh or condescending. Tharamon was genuinely curious.
words;; didn't count tags;; Sea's Sapphire mood;; annoyed and entranced notes;; sorry it took so long! =(
Sapphire did not have to wait long, and although she was weary enough to expect an angrily awakened brute, there was no hostility in her patiently waiting eyes. She saw him first as he paired out at her from within the trees, most likely assessing weather or not she was a threat. He moved from the cover and into the moonlight, and she saw him clearly for the first time. For the slightest of seconds she thought she was seeing Idon, the alpha of the once and only pack she had ever been a part of. His scent however marked him as another, and his strong eyes where that of a stranger.
A longer look told her that despite appearances he was a cross, and not even the breed of wolf he appeared to be. The longer she looked, the more the resemblance of Idon faded. His eyes locked onto hers, and she saw the pure defiant strength in that gaze, and of it she was glad. Something Sapphire always looked for in others was strength, not just of the body but of the soul and heart. This other wolf held a quite strength within him, a defiance that told her he would never back down, never give up.
The warmth of her smile grew as she took him in, recognising his silence as an almost familiar thing. What is it was a lot of males and there need to keep there mouths shut? Then again, those kinds where far better then the ones that let there tongues run away from them...
She noted that he judged her, eyes assessing her strength almost hungrily – he liked power, and she had a feeling he never like to be out matched. Sapphire kept the knowledge of her own strength quieter then this wolf and her stance, well still proud held to a far more relaxed and friendly tune. She did not fear this brute, knowing that if it came to a fight she could keep her own. She wasn’t weak, and she was use to hardship. She was also healthy and knew how to fight. Despite her strength, and the pride that always bit into her decisions she did not want to start an unnecessary confrontation with one that she had already come to respect.
“I’m sorry to disturb you, stranger. I thought it would be wiser to let you know I was either passing through or around your territory, and well I plan to hunt I will not do so on grounds you consider your own. If you smell blood on the night wind it will be from a kill of my own and nothing that need trouble you” She explained herself.
Last Edit: Oct 27, 2011 20:29:10 GMT -5 by tharamon
