Post by Toiro on Feb 1, 2013 20:00:15 GMT -5
The grey alpha reclined on a smooth grey boulder in the wide valley outside the dens, soaking up the winter rays as he found himself thinking yet again of the femme that always seemed to fill his thoughts. He simply could not get over how perfect she was; it was as if they’d been made for each other. Such feelings had never been present in the four year old male’s heart before: Keyara had been a mere crush compared to this. And now knowing that Aludra felt the same about him… It was simply the most wonderful thing in the world, more than anything he’d ever expected from love. That evening they’d spent together down on the beach had played over in his mind so many times that he was sure to never forget it, if such a moment even was forgettable.
The alpha stared at his paws as a light blush warmed his cheeks. Surely it couldn’t be professional to keep thinking about one wolf rather than the pack as a whole, but the simple fact was that he couldn’t help his feelings towards her. She was just so perfect that he still couldn’t really get his mind around her actually liking him back. He almost felt undeserving of such a lady – it was certain that she could have picked a better, stronger brute than he. She deserved the very best, and even if she changed her mind about him he knew he would do almost anything he could to see her smile.
And there he went again. This relaxing wasn’t working; his heart was throbbing at even the thought of her. He needed to be doing something active to keep his mind concentrated on that instead. Maybe hunting would do the trick? The prey pile was pretty full at the moment but it could never hurt to have a few more kills to bulk them up. So Toiro slowly rose to his paws, stretching luxuriously before fluffing out his thick grey fur.
After having leaped down from his sunbathing spot on the low flat rock, he looked around, debating where he should hunt. Well, he hadn’t been into the mountains for a while (other than to do border patrol), and it was a warm enough day that the higher altitude might be quite refreshing. Today was certainly much warmer than the past few days, and in fact, if it weren’t for the thick snow carpeting the land he might have even mistaken the season for early spring. That decided it.
Toiro wandered through the forest, letting his path take him higher up the mountain range. The scent of pine needles dominated the higher slopes, along with the cold fresh snow that had become so familiar over the last few months. As he climbed he felt the temperature gradually drop, but his winter coat was easily prepared for it and was in reality better suited to this than the warmer temperatures lower down.
Then a soft musky smell caught his attention. Rabbit. The grey wolf halted, scanning the forest with eyes and ears as he attempted to verify the source of the scent. A very faint shifting sound of pine needles underfoot and the hunter had pinpointed his prey. Muscles slid naturally into the position of a hunting crouch – he had, after all, been trained for this duty in his old pack. From here it was a game of how close he could get before it noticed him, and he found that he wasn’t half-bad. He was almost upon it when its long thin ears flicked and the white scut flashed as it sprinted towards safety. Toiro had spotted where the closest hole was though and so he was prepared when his prey made a dash for it, bunching his muscles and then leaping to the side, all senses focused on the spot he aimed to make a precise landing.
Perfect! His front paw slammed down between the prey and its burrow, and he lunged for the rabbit’s neck, but upon seeing the wolf it bolted in the opposite direction and his jaws snapped down on thin air. Toiro gave chase without a thought as to where he was going, his mind so focused on catching up to the speedy rabbit that when they emerged into a wide snowy clearing he barely noticed. That was, at least, until the ground gave way underneath him and he plowed head-first into a snowdrift. When he lifted his head, he was just in time to spot the rabbit darting into the shadows at the other side of the small meadow.
But he wasn’t really bothered that his intended prey had escaped. Instead a grin was plastered on Toiro’s face at the humour of the situation he was in, half buried in the snow. That was something to remember in future; in all his rush, he’d forgotten just how heavy he was (much heavier than a skinny rabbit), and the snow had perhaps not been able to support his mass as well as he had anticipated…
On an experimental impulse, the male reared up on his hind legs and leaped to his left, finding himself in pretty much the same position when he landed, with soft snow right up to his chest. The grey wolf plowed through the snow further into the clearing, sometimes finding shallow patches which only just covered his paws, and sometimes deep patches like the one he’d originally stumbled upon. It was always a surprise when his paws sunk further than expected and he got a faceful of snow. Very refreshing too, especially on a warm day like this. Pity that there was no one here with him; his mind drifted back to his childhood for a moment, slightly envious of the younger self who always had his friends to play with.
The topic didn’t hold his attention for long though, as he was quickly distracted by the finding of another deeper place in the snowfield. This was really quite fun! Pup-like joy leapt through his heart as he bounded with more enthusiasm at the drift, rolling playfully over onto his back and nearly covering his entire pelt in the cold white flakes. The male let out a soft bark of laughter, enjoying being able to relax and have fun. It was very rare that he was allowed to act like this; what would his packmates think of their alpha if they saw him now? He certainly wasn’t a picture of the proud distant alpha that most seemed to be. No, Toiro had always been a playful brute; he just hadn’t had the chance to show it.
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