Beneath the Birch[Joining]

[nagotia]

The sky was a pale gray-blue. White clouds rolled across its surface and streaked past the rising sun. Birds flew from their trees to the ground and back again ceaselessly, dining on a bounty of insects. Rabbits dotted the lush grassy floor of the valley and dined to their hearts content. The predators were few and aside from a fox or two here or there nothing was in the area that so much depended on them as a major food source. Even the snakes were all lazily slithering or basking in the sun with lumps in their bellies. A breeze blew through, warm and thick with pollen. Spring was over now but her touch lingered in the hilly land, filling the valley with promise.


Beneath the lengthening shadow of a birch tree, a she-wolf sat. Her tawny, gray, and white fur damp from splashing in a nearby stream. Her tongue curled as it slipped out of her maw in a yawn. The breeze blew her fur in scattered directions, with two or three stray hairs drifting off on their own. She stood up and stretched herself. Then cast hazel eyes that gleamed like hot goals over the land around her. Rich and more plentiful than anywhere else in the territory. The fae circled the tree and sniffed the air warily. She had encountered several boundary markings on one of the great mountains of ice and snow to the east. There were no wolves here but she'd found several used dens and the scents of other wolves still lingered strongly about them.


The trek she had taken to arrive at the pristine land had been nothing short of awful. Nago shivered at the memory of having freezing cold pads and traveling hungry toward what she had only thought was green land. She stood, shook herself, and trotted toward the glimmering surface of a pond. Bad memories made her thirsty. How she hated the cold. Bad blood had made her small and also made her coat shed too often and too early. Up in mountains and in winter, she was always shivering with discomfort. Now within a yard of the pond she slows and lowers her face into the water, peering curiously at a school of minnows darting away from her. What a world I have come to. Nago drinks, her eyes closed, thinking of nothing at all for a moment. When she lifts her head and looks around again a purposefulness enters her trot back to the tree. Perhaps, if she can find them, the Alpha of this land might permit her to stay. It wouldn't be easy getting back to the other side.


A finch flew from the ground back to the branches of her tree as she returned. The lone wolf watched as its beak opened and it let out a call. She sat down and tilted her head first one way and then another. How might such a bird sound like? An idea came to her then and her jaws parted as she breathed in deeply. Then she howled, as long and deep as she could. The sound rumbled from her belly and shook her ribs. Let me stay. She thought to herself.

words: 481

[c h e ℓ s !]

I just have one concern before I reply to this thread, it says she smells the border markings, but Apgar valley is in the middle of the glacier lands, so could you either re-post this thread on one of the borders, or edit it so that it shows that she has entered the grounds.

Thank you.

[nagotia]

Fixed :3

[sköldpadda]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,500,true]

[atrb=background,http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae183/sigathkerr/Tables/skoldpaddatablemid.png] The Alpha had been planning a trek of the glaciers that morning, but was stopped mid-track when something perculiar caught his eye. He saw the approaching wolf while she was still a while away, even in the distance he could tell it was fairly small, and skinny as anything. Most definitely a loner, any wolf from his pack would not have strayed so far from home. The Alpha sat on a small rock outcrop, a little ways up a mountainside and studied the nearing canine, waiting to see what it's motives were. He was hoping it would stop at the boundary markers, but rarely the wolves actually obeyed such scent barriers and it was beginning to drive him crazy. He wasn't going to tolerate the disrespect much longer, he had to start putting his foot down somewhere, did he not? He sat for a few minutes longer, watching the grey-toned body near his scent barriers, it was finally apparent that this wolf was going to be no different from the others, and it slipped past the border with absolutely no hesitation. With a growing annoyance, Skoldpadda exhaled loudly, rising from his perch on the rocky ledge. He took certain percautions to assure that the stranger wolf was unaware of his presence as he slipped down from the mountain side, the other canine was still a far ways off, and with or without him taking the precautions, he didn't think the intruder would have noticed him. He had a good idea where Grey-tone was going, so he decided that he would take a few back paths to beat her there, keep an eye on her to see what she was up too. Skoldpadda decided that he wouldn't interrupt this one right away, he'd follow her to seek out her motives, then figure out what to do with her. It wasn't long before the large brute was breaking way through the trees, his long legs clearing the ground in no time at all. He had taken a short cut to the denning area, knowing that the intruder would wind up there at some point, Apgar valley was vast, and she'd enter it sooner or later. His large copper-toned body was hidden well within the shadows, and he felt secure and hidden while winding his way through the trees. He slowed down at one point, catching onto the female's unfamiliar scent. He neared the edge of the treeline, golden eyes glancing out at the world around him. They were in Apgar valley now, just shy of the denning area. The odour of his pack mates clung here, smogging the air, making the land unmistakenly inhabitated. He saw the small grey-toned wolf seat herself down underneath a skimpy tree, and he crouched closer to the ground, keeping close tabs on her but keeping himself hidden. What did she want here? She obviously didn't seem to have any sort of bad intentions. Was she lost? Skoldpadda didn't care, he was still annoyed with her ignorance of passing the borders. He studied the stranger for another few minutes, watching her move from her seat under the tree. He was mildly surprised when she came to another halt and threw back her head, emitting an off-tone howl. Strange sound, almost like she didn't know how to carry a tune. Flicking his ears back against his skull, the Alpha pushed himself out of the crouch, emerging from the forest to the left of the wolf. His posture was clearly not relaxed, although exactly what emotion was picking at him was not one hundred percent clear. Golden eyes penetrated the newcomer, not completely unfriendly, but enough to display his displeasure with her preformance. "May I ask what makes you think you can just ignore the boundary markings and intrude upon my territory?" His voice was loud, full of authority. He half-circled the female, coming to a stop just infront of her, blocking her off from any access to the denning grounds. He wanted an explanation, he wasn't going to put up with these ignorant wolves any longer. He didn't let himself take a seat like he normally would when greeting a new wolf, he didn't really care if he made this wolf feel comfortable at the moment, he was fine towering over this little wolf, looking down at her with a stern expression laid across his face. ooc; skold is being a tough-guy today, sorry. x]

[/size][/color][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]

[/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[nagotia]

Nagotia stopped howling as soon as she spotted movement in the corner of her eyes. At first she had stood up, tail rigid, eyes alert but then relaxed her posture. Whoever this was would think her insolent for treading over boundaries and then carrying herself like they were the intruder. As she watched the earthen-colored figure come closer, she tilted her head and lifted her ears. She opened her eyes wide and half-opened her jaw; looking to all the world like a half-grown pup. Perhaps she could lure this wolf into ignoring her trespassing or at least get them to think that she was that naive. When the fae saw how large and stiffly the other wolf moved, she doubted her own tactic. Whoever they were, they were not pleased.

The winds changed and she got a noseful of their scent his scent. Her body automatically tensed. It took almost all of her self-control not to rush to her feet and bristle at him. The earthen-tones in his fur darkened and in some parts lightened. The wolf circled her once and she almost wrinkled her muzzle at how unkempt his coat was. It was strange with no traces of gray and black, entirely made of various light and reddish brown colors. Reminded her of a field of dying wheat. She met his hard gaze when he stopped, followed the movements of his mouth. What...think...you...ignore...markings...my...territory. Were all she the words she could decipher, but enough. Nagotia closed her eyes when he finished, attempting to think of a suitable response. Unknowing and innocent was not going to work with this one.

She stood, her body language perfectly neutral, and bowed her head. She gazed not at his feet but up toward his face, then straitened herself and met his glare again. The fae raised her lips in a half-snarl and motioned toward the open valley and then back at the mountains. It was a good thing that she hadn't eaten, her stomach rumbled right on cue. Nago tilted her head up at him to see if he understood.


words: 367
OoC: Pfft, no problem |D

[sköldpadda]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,500,true]

[atrb=background,http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae183/sigathkerr/Tables/skoldpaddatablemid.png] Golden eyes narrowed upon the thin female, her body language telling him that she was obviously uncertain of what she was supposed to do, as many wolves were when they trespassed upon someone's lands and received a confrontation about it. He watched the female bow her head slightly, a sign of respect and greeting amongst most wolves when they were approached by an Alpha. Skoldpadda was unsure of the female's motives with this nod, however, for some reason he didn't think she knew he was the Alpha of this pack, he figured it was more of a greeting than a sign of respect this time. He did, however, briskly nod his head back toward her, more of an acknowledgment of her action than anything else. He was somewhat confused when the stranger did not respond to his words right away, and his patience for this intruder was growing slim. Why did she think she could just get away without giving him an answer? He moved toward her a pace, his shaggy russet pelt making him appear even broader than he actually was. He was a hair's breath away from just snarling in the female's face, and chasing her away from his territory, when she finally made some sort of movement. He watched her retract her lips slightly and throw her head back toward the valley. This gave him no information whatsoever, and he was growing more and more impatient with each passing minute. Why wouldn't she just speak to him? His ears flicked forward again as a faint sound accompanied the female's actions, it was clear that it was coming from her stomach, and it was also clear that her stomach was unhappy. She was hungry. She had come searching for food? Was that what her weak attempt at sign language was trying to tell him? He cocked his head to one side slightly, ears flicking back against his skull again. "Are you trying to tell me you came upon my lands in search of food?" His tone was not quite as harsh anymore, but it was still cold, unimpressed with the female. "You do know that it is highly frowned upon to take food from someone's pack lands? There are many different consequences that could occur if you hunted upon another's land, if you are caught." The Alpha was rambling slightly, but he was unsure of what else to do with the female's lack of words. An exasperated sigh escaped the male's nostrils, copper-ringed eyes still penetrating the female's features. "Why don't you speak up and tell me what you want here. I'm not here to play silly games." Skoldpadda was well aware that he could be ignorant himself sometimes, but that was just how he'd always been. It had gotten better since he'd taken over Glacier, but it was still present sometimes.

[/size][/color][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]

[/td][/tr][/table][/center]