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 Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2010 3:56 am
Ely padded along a well-worn trail, his gait an easy trot, his eyes roving over the landscape. He was on patrol, as usual, and it suited him well. He liked to hunt, sure, but he didn't make an art of it like Jove or those he trained did. He was good at it, even, but he preferred to stretch his limbs on long jaunts around the territory.
He enjoyed, too, noting the seasonal variations in the land. This year, after a long, hot and wet summer, the grass was still lush even at this late date - last year it had been standing hay by now. It was beautiful, he thought.
As his eyes travelled across his homeland he thought he spied a movement further downhill and veered away from the track to see what it was. Maybe only a deer or somesuch but he'd be remiss in his duties if he didn't check it out.
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Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 7:08 am
Rabbits!
They sat mere feet from where Otieno crouched, watching them graze on the thick grasses. The previous night Otieno had hidden himself behind some rocks and bush, and with the direction of the wind, the rabbits hadn't seen him. They would be an easy meal or two for a wolf. But Otieno was more fascinated by them than hungry. They appeared to be a little family, with one larger rabbit he supposed was the mother, and some smaller offspring.
He shifted, rustling the leaves quietly. But it was enough to break the peace. The rabbits darted in random directions and Otieno bounded to his feet. He hadn't meant to scare them!
"Wait, don't go!" He ran after them but it was no use. They didn't understand that the wolf chasing them didn't want to make them a meal. After a moment of crashing through the brush, Otieno stopped and sighed. What was he doing? Was he so lonely that he wanted to befriend rabbits? Oh well, he supposed, it was kind of fun to chase them too...
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Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2010 3:28 pm
"Hello, stranger" Ely's voice drawled out across the meadows after he'd watched the aborted rabbit hunt - or what he had assumed to be one. He tried not to be judgemental about others, but it was a poor wolf who couldn't catch himself a rabbit and he wasn't to know that hadn't been Otieno's intent.
Still, skill in the hunt wasn't everyone's forte - as plenty of the Aves had shown him, hunting was not the only way to gain honour and be useful. He tried to keep a smile on his maw - though it wasn't entirely natural to him, as he usually had a more neutral look to him, but if he was the first of the pack to greet this 'stranger' then he should at least attempt the friendly nature that all of those born to the Aves seemed to have towards strangers.
"You are on Aves lands" he said - not something which his compatriots might have pointed out but something which he, as a stranger once himself would have liked to know if he'd come into such a situation "if you're here peacefully, we extend our greeting and are happy to share our hunting grounds and hospitality". There was no if or buts, the Aves did not expect visitors to make trouble enough to make threats from the start of a conversation and it was considered rude, besides. They might be wary of southerners, but that wasn't going to ruin their manners.
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Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 11:31 am
Otieno stumbled and stopped clumsily at Ely's voice. Someone had been watching him? He hoped he hadn't gone and ruined the wolf's hunt. Perhaps he wasn't the only one who had his eye on rabbits this morning.
He looked about until he spotted Ely. Taken aback by his surprise appearance, Otieno looked anywhere but directly at the oddly coloured stranger. No, he mustn't think of the stranger as odd, despite his brightly coloured pelt... what would his mother say if he was so rude? Besides, the wolf was making an effort to be friendly, even though he was clearly trespassing. Oh dear, his mother would be ashamed!
"I-I-I..." He started weakly, then he lowered his head in a kind of nonthreatening bow. "I'm sorry, I didn't know this place belong to anyone," he said honestly. "I mean no harm, really... What is Aves?" Otieno asked his question suddenly, like someone who couldn't seem to stay focused on one thing very long. "A pack? Here?" He looked around again, as if he was expecting the entire pack to materialize out of thin air.
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 6:08 am
He seemed shy, Ely thought. He could sympathise there - he was never that great at meeting those he didn't know, especially if they happened to be one of the loud types.
"The Aves are the pack which call this mountainside it's home. It's a large pack-land and as far as I know I'm the only one this far south today". He wasn't sure if that was true, but it was likely and this stranger seemed flighty. Many did, who made it this far north - travellers or those who had been washed up on the rocky shores of the mountainfoot.
"There's no need to be worried, noone will attack you for being here, unless you show yourself a threat". He added. It was meant to be comforting but came out sounding slightly threatening, to his own ears, and he frowned. "Were you hunting rabbits? I'm sorry if I disturbed them" he said, grasping for something to say and uneasily trying to make his tone lighter. When with his family he could be poetic, fluent, but with strangers he was always so tongue-tied.
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