Staring into the Eye [open]

[Valeria]

A soft sheen of light reflected from the ebony fur of the Descai heiress. Valeria had never considered herself one to run away, but that was before her father betrayed her. He had shown all the signs of handing the pack over to her, yet when push came to shove, she was always second to Ryker. And so the carbon copy female took off in the night, her long strides carrying her miles from home in an attempt to escape the oppressive place she once called home. She should not have been hurt. In fact, she should have considered it a favor, but something about the way her father went about things left the female scorned. Val could never see turning her wrath against the pack, but it would be a long time before she could look back at the wolves of Descai with anything other than anger. The only ones she could not bring herself to hate were Zofia and Zirena. Her two sisters were the anchors that kept her sane in her puphood. While she might have terrorized them a little more than necessary over the years, Val could credit her (somewhat) level head to the two. Zofia had always been a much calmer, sweeter version of herself, gleaning all the good qualities of both their mother and father and combining them into one body. Zirena, on the other hand, was like a sweet version of her mother. Valeria respected the fact that there was very little of their father that she saw in the smaller wolf. If the pair were ever to seek her out, she could never turn her back on them. But for now, she needed her space. She could make it out here on her own; she would prove to her father that she had what it took to run a pack in due time.

And so the black and gold femme found herself staring into a cavernous hole in the earth. What once was probably a beautiful creek or lake was now a decimated, while the water rested peacefully at its base. As the self-liberated female shuffled down into its depths, she found herself taking inventory of her surroundings. The last thing she needed was someone to sneak up on her around here. While that would have been a poor idea given her size, Valeria hated being surprised. She always had to have the upper hand, no matter the situation. And so it was with her ears tipped back, alert, she scooted down the tattered earth to the mysteries below.

Word Count: 427 words
Tags: None.
Notes: Anyone feel free to join in. I feel like this was really bad, though. I'm out of practice.

[Deleted]

    Dark, cool, the air thick in this lonely cavern. He was alone and while always alert Niklaus was almost to the point where weeks without sleep would finally catch up to his weak bodice. As the still air engulfed Klaus his yellow eyes slowly started to seal as the brute drifted into a light sleep.
    It was there Klaus could be fully happy. He dreamed of his sister and brother and how happy and safe they should be with their new packs. Niklaus could see them smiling, running,and having families. Those were all the things he wants for himself. Then as if for no apparent reason he could hear paws monging in a steady manner. His dream had shifted and a dark figure approached him as he sat in a bright warm sunlight meadow.
    The figure slowly stepped into the light and black fur with a slight mixture of grey was only a few feet from him. Fear flooded the veins of the red-silver wolf but it did not show on his face. He knew who this dark stranger was and he knew what it wanted. This stranger was none other than his father, the wolf he knew would one day come for him.
    In an instant Niklaus was back in the dark cavern, and obviously shaken. That same dream haunted Klaus, and for that reason he hardly ever slept. Klaus was still groggy and hardly rested, yet it would hold him till he could be safe enough to sleep again. He lifted his moist black nose to the air but could only smell the dampness of the air. He slowly rose to his feet and shook lose the water that had collected on his pelt.
    The sound rang though the empty cavern, at that point Niklaus had begun to hear paws right in front of him. There was no running for this noble wolf. "Hello". His voice was strong but not threatening. His yellow eyes stayed forward and he stayed sitting, yet not looking weak.

[Valeria]

Unexpectedly, a voice drifted out from the caverns mere feet from Valeria's location. Startled, the femme's hackles rose defensively as she turned to her nose for support. Stupid. She should have realized that the scent trail into these caverns was fresh. How could she not have noticed there was another wolf down here? Maybe this is why Father was not inclined to turn the pack over to you. After all, Ryker at least has common sense to know his surroundings, her inner workings taunted dangerously. Valeria snorted in frustration; she would not make this mistake again. As the female drifted soundlessly around the corner, she took in what appeared to be a small (well, in respect to Valeria), mottled male who she apparently had roused from a nap. A slight smirk struck the mistress's golden lips as she abruptly dropped her rump to the cavern floor.

"Well, hello to you too," she crooned with a mischievous air in her voice. She no longer felt threatened; the male was obviously here alone. No loner would dare to nap in the presence of strangers. Outside of a pack, no one could be sure who was trustworthy. It was because of this that Valeria was intent to found her own one day. But for now, she was better off making some "friends" around these parts, at least until she was capable of managing for herself. "Didn't figure I would run into anyone else out here. My name is Valeria, and you?" she introduced herself much more politely that normal. The last thing she needed was to make an enemy right out of the gate. While he did not worry her, and she could tell there were not others down here with him, there was always the threat of another wolf happening upon them, or the possibility that Mr. Stranger had a friend out hunting.

"New to the area, or a seasoned veteran?" the question slipped from Val's muzzle before she thought twice. She was curious what brought other wolves to be loners. After all, this was one of the few times the heiress had wandered from Descai's borders. From what she could tell, pack life was far more simple than life as a loner. Not only did the pack offer protection, but it was a sure source of support and the likelihood of starvation was much lower than in the loner lands. She could not fathom that someone would prefer to be alone for the rest of his or her life. Then again, she had left the comfort of Descai without much of an afterthought, so maybe her opinion was skewed a little more than she might have thought.

With a curious eye, Valeria once more rose and strode to the nearest tunnel-way. Never before had she seen such a spectacle. While the salty water still trickled through the ground mere yards away, it appeared that at one point, the entire area was enclosed or submerged. The slick, time-worn stone was indicative of water having smoothed it over hundreds of years. Part of the femme wanted to discard her newly discovered loner and explore the tunnels, but she dared not turn her back on another wolf with such ease. Even in her inventory of the cavern, she had kept a watchful eye on the grey-ish brute. Males were not to be trusted, no matter what the circumstances. Many of them felt that they were superior to females based purely on traditional gender roles. Valeria was the obvious exception with her brute strength and size.

"So? What's your story?"

Word Count: 595 words
Tags: @niklaus
Notes: This was a little bit better/easier.

[Deleted]

    His attention was on the dark faes voice. He could tell she contained mystery and could be dangerous. Niklaus truly had to watch her. The fact that her famine bodice could easily over power him due to her sheer size. For this reason Klaus kept his body stiff but his muscles ready to spring into action. Niklaus was never one to run a fight and he would die taking a stance he felt was necessary.
    
    He stood “Nor did I. Trust me if I meant to run into you I would not have been napping. My name is Niklaus”. Arrogance hung on his tongue. It was best in his mind if he put off that he was more distant. He had to think like a loner and not as a pack member. He had no idea who this dame was or what she wanted in life and for such reasons she was dangerous.

    He followed her to the opening of a large tunnel that flowed with salt water. The scent stung his nose and he gave a sharp sneeze and shake his head before coming to stand next to Valeria. Then he slowly closed his eyes when she asked about his story. His past tormented him and he hated meeting others just for the fact that the rusted brute hated reviewing it with others.

    “My past is not a happy one.” Niklaus looked at Valeria with pain behind his golden eyes. “It used to be my mother, sister, brother and me. That was until my siblings wanted more and soon after my mother passed away. I had no option other than venturing on my own. I run alone and provide for myself. I do want a pack and maybe start a family yet none have reviled themselves as to have the same morels as I. If the opportunity does so rise I will not decline it.”

    With that Niklaus took a deep breath and slowly entered the dark desolate tunnel. He didn’t look back but nodded his head for her to come with. “If you promise not to kill me, I would much rather enjoy a little company and to hear your story as well miss.”