The beating of hoofs against the dirt floor echoed towards Lycan as he raced the fleeing prey. He galloped after the dark brown fur hide of the terrified deer as splinters of bark and dirt flicked up from under its steps in the moist ground. Lycan could hear his heart beat elevate louder as he increased his speed, each fast step was past predicted and rehearsed. He had already failed two hunting attempts that night and was determined not to fail this one. He dug his claws into the ground sharply to have enough grip to pull him forwards with each leap forward. As the hunt continued, Lycan could feel slight spasms of pain stretching through his muscles, but with his teeth bared ready to strike he continued to leap forward towards his prey.
The hunt had started on uneven terms, the small herd of deer Lycan was hunting were on the top of a steep bank, most of the deer had fled before Lycan had made it to the top and only the weaker had remained dazed by the sudden rush of herd members. Lycan quickly chose the largest of the remaining deer and began the chase for his kill.
Lycan could sense the tempo of the deer's beating hoofs slow down, the length of the chase wasn't only affecting Lycan, and he could soon see more detail of the deer he was chasing as he gradually got closer. He had chosen an older member of the herd, he could tell this from the rough short fur and scars on the deer's hide to show his fair share of chases. 'Let's hope this chase is your last.' Lycan panted to himself as he grew closer and closer to the deer.
Once he had got about ten feet away from the deer, Lycan had felt a sudden urge to pounce a large leap towards the deer's back, his desperate hunger controlled his actions as he dug his claws deep into the ground and with a strong pull of his front legs he catapulted towards the deer's back. This was a large mistake, for the deer was still kicking it hoof back to run away, as Lycan's fangs met the deer's back and he clamped his jaws around a large piece of flesh, the deer's back hoof kicked hard into Lycan's chest, make him whine loudly in pain but he remain his grip on the deer back. As the deer slowed from the weight of Lycan pulling it down, Lycan was able to push his back legs off of the ground and scratch at the deer's legs to slow it down further. The deer made one last attempt to relieve itself of Lycan's grasp by kicking its hoof again into Lycan's chest, but the grip on its back didn't change and finally the deer collapsed on the ground.
As soon as he knew the deer had fallen, Lycan released his grip on it's back and when round it body to give it a strong bite around the neck. He pressed his jaws harder down around the deer's neck until he felt a snap feeling in his mouth to indicate the deer's snapped neck. Lycan stood still, he legs shaking from the aching chase, his chest wheezing from the deer's attacks and his lower jaw hanging down, resting from the tight clamp around the deer back. Once he caught enough breath back he grasped the corpse and dragged it into a nearby bush. Lycan lowered his body; head stuck in the bush, and began to eat his success.
After he had clean the corpse to his limit, Lycan slumped towards a pile of leaves that would be suitable enough, he grabbed a clump of leaves and moved toward the leftover meat of the cold corpse as scattered the leaves and dirt over the body until the smell of raw meat was covered. After he was sure the smell was masked, he returned to the leaf pile and rolled himself a few times to cover up his scent as well. Once he had become tired of rolling, he didn't choose to move, but to just lay in the leaves and rest.
He wasn’t sure why he had decided to wander to the southern parts but he had been restless as of late. Things were building in his mind like stalactites growing from his memories. They were sharp and dangerous and could snap at any moment. Zalen had been making plans, dark plans, plans that were dangerous and fool hardy but needed to completed if his mind were to find any rest. And he was going to involve her in them, because he was no longer complete without her. These plans would put both of their lives in danger, but it was an acceptable risk.
The ebon male could feel a change in the air, it was slight, but it was there, beginning to nag at the trees and brush; it was change, autumn was just around the corner. The long, hazy days of summer still lingered but their lives were short, soon the land would reveal its fiery colors before succumbing to the death. But this was the way of things and he was a part of it and he reveled in it. Large paws dug into the soft earth as he walked. It was strange but even in his optime form he chose to walk on all fours this day, as awkward as it was at times today it felt natural and he felt strong.
His ear flicked at a nearby sound, it sounded like a scuffle, like the dragging of something large through the underbrush. He paused and turned his head to listen more intently before deciding to go investigate. Something smelled strange but he couldn’t quite place it. It smelled something like upturned vegetation rot, but there was something else there, something that made his wet nose tickle. He was on a sharp bank and made a turn around a rocky outcropping and then he saw it, the male Luperci lying among the leaves, belly distended. Zalen then saw the blood and new this male had just made a fresh kill, the carcass was most likely still close. His stomach growled suddenly, he hadn’t eaten decently since the night before last and the sight of the blood made his mouth water. But he was no scavenger; he would not try to the steal someone else’s kill unless it was completely necessary. For a moment he thought he might as well turn around and leave this individual in peace.
Lycan wasn't yet fully asleep when he heard moving in the nearby bushes, he was still tired from his hunt, and sleep begged at him. He breathed softly, soaking in scents through his nose, trying to figure the distance of the intruder.
He moved his legs in the leaves, and an aching pain struck him, making him lie still. He was in no position to fight the intruder, so he decided words would work best. He closed his eyes; listening intently to the movements in the forest.
He heard footprints approaching, soft and continuous. He guessed by the increase in sound that the wolf was getting closer. When the footprints became louder, Lycan made a small un-noticeable gap between his eye lids and look forward at the direction of the noise.
The figure he saw was another Luperci, one in Optime form, but it seemed different. It walked on four legs, and the way it moved felt natural or second nature. For a moment Lycan was stunned by this Luperci, how it felt so comfortable in walking in such a strange way. Then he began to be confused by this creatures appearance, it had an strange red mark on one eye, at first Lycan thought it was blood, but by focusing on the mark it became clear that it was some sort of stain marked purposely around his eye. Lycan changed his focus towards the Luperci's eyes; they were a bright green, almost reminding Lycan of a peaceful summer morn.
He closed his eyes when he saw the Luperci turn his gaze towards Lycan. He waited a moment, feeling an urge to growl or threaten the Luperci to back off, but instead Lycan let out a soft growl and spoke, "Leave now, and I might pretend that I didn't see you." After the words came out of his mouth, Lycan lifted his head and tried to make himself look threatening and ready to attack at any moment. But instead the lifting of his head brought a stretching pain from his chest from the kicks given to him during his hunt. He wheezed softly and lowered his head again.
He would need a long rest before he would be fit to protect himself again. He lay on the ground, waiting for the opposing Luperci to make the next move.
When the male noticed him and let out a growl Zalen flicked his ears back against the back of his head. Sorry, didn’t mean to disturb… but then he noticed how the male seemed uncomfortable, he wheezed and it made Zalen perk an ear back up. Was he injured? Perhaps the struggle with his catch had hurt him. Zalen knew from first-hand experience how difficult it was to take something down alone, especially something large. That’s why he had begun hunting smaller game; rabbits, fawn and young deer, even fish. It was less draining but not as satisfying as a full grown elk or stag, but without the aid of a pack going after these things was fool-hardy.
Perhaps this male had made that mistake, he was still young from the looks of it, perhaps only a year old. Zalen was somewhat surprised actually, he had yet to meet a lone wolf this young, he wondered why he had become separated from his family at such a crucial part of his life. Zalen let out a sigh, in fact he had become separated from his own mother in adolescence, but he had been picked up by older wolves right away, so he had never been on his own until nearly a year ago, when he was full grown. In fact he was now in his prime, and this young male had quite some nerve growling at him, but he could not judge him, they were on neutral territory and Zalen was a stranger, though a harmless one for now.
Now deciding to stand upright Zalen’s figure reached nearly seven feet and he took a good look around. The day was calm, no breeze, and it was cooler than it had been. He inhaled deeply and only smelled the faint scents of other wolves. So this Luperci male was safe then, no one would bother him if Zalen just turned to leave. Are you hurt? Though the male didn’t seem to want Zalen around he didn’t want to just leave someone if they were injured. Zalen remembered when he himself had been hit on the head by a falling branch and had asked the female wolf Luna to stay with him until he knew he was alright. Head injuries were very dangerous but so were blunt force trauma. Zalen wasn’t a healer in any respects but he knew these things from experience.
Lycan felt calmer after hearing that the wolf was leaving, he settled down in his resting spot more, looking at the floor ashamed of his poor condition. He was thankful that the wolf wasn't aggressive, but he was still cautious of this wolf. He looked up at the wolf, he could see the sympathy on his face, and he became comfortable and possibly happy that the wolf had a caring part.
The wolf had change from a threat to something different, something Lycan couldn't figure out. He only knew that he should trust this wolf. When he heard the wolf ask if he was alright, Lycan felt even happier knowing that this wolf really did care about Lycan's condition.
"I was kicked by the deer during my hunt; it hit me in the chest." Lycan chortled calmly. Before the wolf would respond Lycan thought he should apologize for the threat that he spoke before, "I'm sorry for threatening you, I was only afraid of what you might do if I didn't. But I'm thankful that you're friendly enough to care about my condition."
Lycan was surprised, a moment ago he only wanted this wolf to leave, but now he felt the urge for the wolf to stay, at least for a short time. Lycan knew all he needed was rest, the damage wasn't too great, but it hurt.
Thanks for replying so quickly! You get a gold star ^_^
Zalen
Zalen could see the male physically relax, ruff lowering, face softening. Zalen returned to all fours briefly to close the gap between them. Zalen sniffed the young man all over and didn’t smell anything out of the ordinary. He then pressed an ear against his chest to see if he could hear anything crunchy which would mean broken ribs but heard only even breathing. So he was alright, only bruised. Zalen took several steps back and then sat on his ebon haunches. You took down a full grown deer by yourself? Impressive. It was impressive, the wolf was only slightly above average in size, not unlike Zalen himself. It must have been quite something to have watched this young male take down so large of prey.
Zalen gave him a small smile and reached up to scratch an itchy spot behind his ear, I’m Zalen by the way. Sorry to have come up on you so unexpectedly. This is neutral territory so I wasn’t expecting to come across someone else without smelling them first. He now had realized that the wolf had covered his own scent and scent of his kill with the semi-rotten leaves; he could see the half eaten carcass lying in the underbrush nearby. He turned his head back to the young male and gave it a little bit of a shake, earrings clinked together at the movement. The fleas were starting to return he realized, it soon would be time for another bath. His one the day before had been interrupted.
Lycan felt unusually relax when the wolf was checking Lycan's chest, he'd never allow a wolf this close normally, but this wolf was different. Lycan was relieved when he found that he wasn't too badly injured, he thanked the wolf again for his caring nature. Lycan was confused when the wolf said about Lycan's kill being impressive, Lycan thought of it as no more than luck, but perhaps it was pretty impressive. It was unusual for Lycan, no other wolf had been as friendly as this wolf, and this wolf had made Lycan do something he didn't know exsited, to smile.
The wolf told Lycan that his name was Zalen, and spoke about smelling another wolf in a neutral territory, this confused Lycan, did he mean from afar or up close? Lycan had never smelt someone else before up fronting them.
Lycan noticed that the wolf was shaking a lot, must be fleas.
"I'm Lycan," Lycan replied after a short pause, "and about the kill, it took a while to catch after continuous attempts, more of luck than anything else." He paused again, before continuing, "Thank you again for being so calm and friendly, even when I was not. I've never been so calm and relax since-" Lycan stopped before he spoke about his mother, he couldn't bare speaking about her, even after he avenged her. Lycan looked at the ground and pictured the sad, mournful image of his dying mother. His eyes started to shine with a build-up of tears, but he blinked them away and looked back up at Zalen and smiled.
Zalen wagged his tail at Lycan’s introduction, Well met Lycan. Now that they were on good terms and relaxed Zalen gave him a good once over; the young Luperci was fit, had a very intriguing and beautiful coat, a few scars and was very dirty. Zalen couldn’t help but smile, the kid kind of reminded him of himself at that age. Well, lucky or not, it’s still impressive in my book. Zalen said with a chuckle.
Then the mood took a slight turn, Lycan mentioned Zalen’s kindness and started to reminisce about something but then became emotional. Zalen’s ears drooped, he could nearly feel Lycan’s pain emanate from him. It was very family to Zalen, it was a feeling of loss, Zalen had felt it many times after he had lost his mother and adopted brothers. It was amazing how many of the wolves he had met had shared this feeling of loss between them, the world could be such a cruel place.
Zalen let out a sigh and returned Lycan’s smile half-heartedly, Been separated from your family huh? I know what that’s like… It was strange for Zalen to open up so quickly to a complete stranger, but this was a kindred spirit and he could sense no harm in it. Besides, if he pent up his memories and emotions any more then he might have another break down like he had last month. He’d rather avoid that embarrassment.
Lycan was glad he wasn't alone when it came to orphan wolves being sepe
arated from their parents, although he wished he could really call his experience a separation. He remember the hate in his father's face when he saw Lycan's mother dead on the floor, and the angry pain Lycan had to deal with after his mother's death.
He want to let out everything he was locking inside, he felt like he could trust Zalen enough to tell him of his childhood.
"I wouldn't call it separation," Lycan began looking at the floor, he sighed deeply and continued, "my mother was killed by-" he stopped before he talked about his father and began to wonder if he should really talk about the pain struck by him. But Lycan quickly decided the only way for Zalen and himself to understand the reason why Lycan was so timid and depressed.
"My father was an aggressive and violent wolf, he's the reason for my scars, the reason I'm so cautious and why I find it hard to gain someone's trust." he stopped for a moment to think, "He's the reason that my mother is dead." He wanted to continue to say how he ended the life of his cold-hearted father but feared the Zalen would judge him wrongly for his murderous decision.
He hoped more than anything that Zalen understood Lycan's situation, but the hope brought surprise. He had only met this wolf a few moments ago and now he was telling his childhood secret to him. Lycan never thought that trust could be given and received so easily.
Zalen could only stare in shock, gaping at Lycan as he recalled his story. It was the strangest de ja vu and it blew Zalen’s mind. It hadn’t even been a week ago since he had heard this exact tail recounted by Lucia, the female that had taken over his mind day and night. Her father had also killed her mother and she had gone after him, eventually burning him to death in a twisted irony of revenge. Zalen vowed to himself that when the day came that he would be a father he would never become angry enough to bring pain upon his mate or children.
He shook his thoughts to keep from gawking at the boy and cleared his throat, My mother also was killed, so I know your pain. A band of coyotes stole her from me in the dead of winter… his voice cracked in anguish and he stopped to collect himself. Quickly, as always, the pain melted into hate and anger, feelings that prickled his insides like nettles. How badly he wished for revenge. I also have a… friend… whose mother was killed by her father. She ended up taking his life in return. As sad as it may be, your situation seems not to be a unique one.
Zalen shifted on his haunches to a more comfortable sitting position, legs stretched out in front of him. He wondered what would become of Lycan, alone here. He supposed he would do the same as Zalen had and find a den, a niche in some neutral territory, or he would decide to join a pack, a wise decision but one not to make lightly. More and more Zalen had been hearing rumors of the wicked ways of the packs, something that had shattered his utopia view of this place. Tell me Lycan, what do you plan on doing with yourself in the future?
Lycan realised how cruel the world can be at times of most importance, that most wolves are left orphans with no family.
Zalen asked Lycan what he was planning to do in the future, Lycan looked down at the floor and thought. Lycan surprised himself, after he left his father, he could only think of surviving on his own. Lycan had never thought of what to do with his life, not because the thought had never crossed his mind, just that he didn't know. His father never taught him what to do with his life, whether to join a pack or find a den, or just live on what he could. Lycan began to worry, what if he never knew what path to choose? His eyes moved quickly around the floor, trying to think of a good answer to Zalen's question, then he realised that Zalen himself might be able to help.
"I-I don't know," Lycan said, embarrassed by his little intelligence.
It seemed Lycan was always making wrong decisions, whether to attack or run, whether to hunt or sleep, or which way to go. He was always wrong, only conflicting damage on himself for his stupidity. Lycan sighed deeply, hating himself wasn't going to help. Lycan looked up at Zalen, and smiled through the embarrassment of his following question, "Do you know what would be best for me to do?" he asked, hoping that if anything, Zalen could at least point Lycan in the right direction.
