Vesper had learned a lot about ravens, and one of the more surprising details was how similar they were to the clan coyotes. Observing them, she learned that they were cunning and opportunistic, and that they were heavily devoted to their families even if they often bickered amongst each other. Many even learned words of the same language, and it was interesting to hear their croaking conversations peppered with high speech.
Plus, the birds liked to play.
The coywolf yapped laughter as she chased after one of the young females, leaping up and stretching out her pale forepaws to bat at her tail-feathers. With a few strong flaps of its wings, it flew out of reach and added in a loop for good measure before barking back at the canine. She grinned and growled in response before whirling as claws hooked in her tail. She snapped at the culprit, who soon initiated another game of “catch-me-if-you-can.” This time, it didn’t take long for even more of the others to want to join in, and soon they began to pursue each other, some locking claws midflight and swapping obscene banter.
Eventually, the ravens became so caught up in messing with each other that Vesper was abandoned. Her tail wagging, she panted and grinned up at them, watching their dark shapes wing agilely through the trees. It was strange how a reluctant partnership with just one of the fascinating creatures had led into such respect and fondness for the whole Inferni flock.
Stark would get a kick out of hearing her admit that.
The scarred Centurion grinned and took a seat, tucking her tail against her haunch. She let her eyes half-close as she enjoyed the sounds of rustling leaves and flapping wings, at least until an alarm call had her jumping back onto all fours and staring at a newcomer. The bird dove at her, attempting to land on her back and stumbling slightly. She turned her head, ear swiveled forward, and listened as it clacked about a wolf near the borders. Using accented raven-speech of her own, she thanked it and promised it meat after she’d taken care of the issue, and then she turned northward with a grim frown.
It was a relatively straight shot to the staked boundaries of the territory, and she made it in as fast a lope she could manage, while conserving enough energy to fight if she needed to. As always, she prayed it didn’t come to that, but meetings with wolves at the borders rarely turned out pleasant. Her stomach twisted with anxiety as she finally trotted closer and saw a large arctic wolf staring at the skulls.
Her dappled hackles stiffened, but the small coyote did not growl when she caught the stranger’s scent. She tried to think of Zalen’s promises, tried not to pass judgment, but her expression was suspicious and tense as she stepped up to the border with her tail raised. She might not have bothered with such dominant posture if she didn’t know how alive wolf instincts could be; this might be a challenge, but it might also simply show who she was and ask him to show some respect.
“What are you doing so close to our borders?” Vesper asked coolly.
Word Count → 544
Fine with me! ^^
.ves-wolfskul {background-image:url(http://i.imgur.com/Nyfj3.png); background-repeat:no-repeat; background-position:top center; background-color:#181718; width:500px; margin:0px auto; padding:315px 0px 5px 0px; color:#686468; text-align:justify; font-family:georgia;font-size:12px; line-height:16px; word-spacing:.3px; border:1px solid #000;}
.ves-wolfskul b {color:#d4c5a3; text-shadow:#000 1px 1px 2px;}
.ves-wolfskul p { text-indent:0px; padding:5px 15px; margin:0px; }
.ves-wolfskul p.ooc {font-style:italic; font-size:11px; border-top:1px dotted #d4c5a3; margin:15px 15px 0px;}
.ves-wolfskul .wordcount {letter-spacing:0px;font-weight:bold; font-size:11px; text-align:right; padding:0px 5px; text-transform:uppercase; float:right; margin:20px}</style>[/html]