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Post by Sarise on May 7, 2008 15:12:57 GMT -5
Sarise had lost track of Breaker during the run up here, but she was sure he had to be somewhere nearby. This was his territory, and his scent lay along the trails, guiding her even when the gray wolf was out of sight. Up ahead, she heard the chuckling of running water, and picked up her pace to investigate.
Soon she came to a small stream leaping between rocky banks and laughing over the stones beneath it. The water was so clear she could see the sandy bottom and the silvery shapes that hung in the water. Those were trout, she knew, and they held their places until some small insect happened to land in the water, or some smaller fish swam past. Then the trout would dart forward - water wolves, Sarise thought. Predators like us. But I've never seen so many, nor so huge!
Her mouth watered at the thought. The run had left her a little overwarm, and a dip in the stream was just what Sarise needed. She crept to the edge, eyeing a particularly fat fish hovering in the lee of a large rock. Sarise's muscles tensed, her eyes focused on the prey, and then her strong haunches propelled her forward in a leap that carried her right to where the trout was, large forepaws slamming down into the water to pin it to the streambed. Sarise darted her head down as the water sprayed up, jaws open, eyes closing...
Her teeth snapped on nothing more substantial than waterweed. The fish has seen her, maybe seen her shadow as she leaped, and moved like quicksilver. Growling, Sarise snapped at the water irritably. She'd made quite a splash and soaked herself, which was nicely cooling after her run uphill, but the young she-wolf knew she looked ridiculous with water dripping off of her coat. She shook herself, hoping Breaker hadn't seen that, and bent down for a drink.
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Post by Breaker on May 10, 2008 13:06:47 GMT -5
Breaker came running up to the creek, tongue hanging out of his mouth, and his pads pounding the forest floor. The sound of the gurgling stream filled his ears, and immersed him into the world of the creek. He had lost Sarise on the way up here, but had caught her scent by Steel Creek. Breaker found Sarise, drenched in water, standing by the creek. Sarise looked at him embarrassed, but Breaker didn't care that she took a dip in the stream. He was one of the more casual Alphas one could find.
"Hey, Sarise, got lost?" He asked. The song of a cardinal filled the air, and Breaker spotted the crimson colored bird, fluttering about from tree to tree. The forest was filled with birds, all kinds of birds, form beautiful songbirds to fierce hawks and owls. For a while he gazed up at the trees, looking at the different birds.
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Post by Sarise on May 12, 2008 15:17:37 GMT -5
((OOC: This wound up being really long.))
BIC: Thankfully he wasn't laughing at her clumsiness. "Felt like taking a swim," Sarise replied, wagging her tail briefly. Breaker seemed like a very nice wolf - fairly mellow, for an alpha.
Her father hadn't been like that. Always wary, angry at the humans, obsessively protective over his pack - he'd been a tightly-wound wolf, quick to react, and when something threatened the pack order, quick to reassert his dominance. Breaker seemed much more relaxed. Maybe nothing here threatened his right to rule, or maybe he was so competent a leader that neither he nor his followers could imagine anyone else taking his place. That was a heartening thought.
Sarise sloshed through the stream toward him, her broad paws scattering minnows with each step. In spite of Breaker's calm demeanor, she kept her body language respectful - he was still the alpha, and she was simply the newest member of his pack. And the lowest-ranking, she assumed, though she hadn't seen any of his other wolves. A strange thought floated across Sarise's mind: did Cedar Mountain have an alphess?
Sarise shook her head and water flew from her coat. Silly of her to wonder that - of course such a handsome wolf, and so kind, had a mate somewhere. To get her mind off that track, she asked, "I'm afraid I'm not much good at fishing, though. We didn't have as many streams back home. Could you give me a few tips?"
Even as she spoke, she could see another big trout lazily working its way against the current, snapping up the little creatures disturbed by Sarise's progress.
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Post by Breaker on May 12, 2008 18:41:25 GMT -5
Breaker smiled at Sarise, it was true, the wildlife reservation centers did not have any streams, but rather little man made pools. He gazed down at the fish in the water as they darted around from rock to rock. Mountain streams contained all kinds of wildlife, from the small minnows to the trout to the salamanders and crawfish, which scurried behind the rocks and lye in wait until their next meal comes by. And thats when they strike, lighting quick the long claw goes out, snaring up whatever unlucky fish happens to be nearby. Breaker pondered the difference's between the two stream hunters, the trout, which actively hunted like wolves, and the crawfish, which lied in wait and used an ambush technique, like a bear maybe.
"Oh fishing, we'll I'm not really that good at it, but i suppose I could give you a few pointers. You want to hunt the trout, they taste the best and are the easiest to catch. The way I do it is to sneak up behind one, and paw it, like this," Breaker took a few steps into the cool stream water and snuck up on the rainbow trout. With the lightning quick reflexes of a wolf he struck, but the trout darted off. The fish turned around, as if to mock him at his failed attempts. "See I told you I'm not that good at it, but you could ask others in the pack who are better than me. Speaking of my pack, would you like to meet them?" He asked.
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Post by Sarise on May 16, 2008 16:25:08 GMT -5
Sarise felt like less of a fool – if Breaker couldn’t catch trout easily, then it must be a fairly difficult skill to learn. But in the next instant he gave her two important pieces of information. Firstly, he admitted one of his subordinates was better at something than he himself was. The only other alpha Sarise had ever known – her father – would no more have admitted a follower’s superiority than he would’ve rolled belly up to the omega. The gray she-wolf found herself admiring Breaker for his confidence. He didn’t have that obsessive need to hold on to power that her home pack had found so normal.
Secondly, there were other wolves in this pack – she’d smelled different scents on the way here, but hadn’t taken the time to classify them. Breaker’s remark confirmed that there were others around. That was good news; a larger pack could organize hunts for bigger game. Then he’d asked if she wanted to meet them, and Sarise flicked her ears forward in interest, her tail wagging again. ”Of course, I’d be delighted,” she said, folding her ears demurely back again.
While Sarise was glad to know she’d be part of a pack again, she was also worried about her place in it. How dominant were the other wolves? How would they feel about a newcomer? How many males were in the pack, and how many females? It could be uncomfortable if there were more of one gender than the other. A large group of males would fight bitterly over a few females, but she-wolves would sometimes fight amongst themselves simply because of personality conflicts. The larger the group, the more likely two females would simply take a dislike to each other. Sarise decided that if that happened, she would not be a part of it. She was determined to make herself like all the wolves in Breaker’s pack; these were her packmates now, and she had to get along if she wanted to stay in Cedar Mountain.
Readying herself for the meeting with more new wolves, Sarise watched Breaker, waiting to see if he would call the others here, or lead her to them. Either way, she’d follow his lead.
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