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WC: 502
The air was crisp and chilly. A light breeze ruffled the fur of a lone figure as it made its way through the dark forest. The snow underfoot was crunchy on top and soft underneath; in some spots the paws of the wolf broke though the top layer and met the cold underneath. The night was silent; most creatures would be asleep at this time. The sun had set long ago, leaving the land cold and dark. The moon was half obscured by cloud cover.
The wolf weaved in and out of trees, picking its way through the territory carefully. The only sound coming from the figure was the soft crunching of the snow. It made a steady pace as it walked swiftly, not stopping for anything.
When she had cleared the trees, Andy finally paused in her brisk walk, peering about her warily. She was not really sure what she was doing out so late; usually by now she was curled up somewhere, trying to stay warm. But tonight, she couldn’t sleep. Her mind was working overtime, causing the young Tenens to be roused from her fitful rest. Rather than trying unsuccessfully to sleep, she had risen from her nest and had emerged into0 the cool, dark night, thinking that a walk would tire her out. She had been wrong; if anything else, she felt much more awake now.
She had made her way to the farthest reach of the Valley territory. The old lighthouse on the edge of the beach lay nestled between many scrub plants. Here, out of the cover of the trees, the moon dared to peek out from behind the clouds, casting a faint, eerie light on the waters’ edge. Padding lightly to the water, she peered into it, seeing her face reflected in the lightly rippling water. She knew better than to go in the water. This time of year, the water was icy and any prolonged exposure to the black depths could be detrimental to her health. She settled for sitting in the soft sand instead, gazing out over the still calm of the waters’ surface.
Ever since she was a child, Andy had always found peace with water, especially the ocean. She loved everything about it; the smell of the sea salt, the feel of the damp sand underneath her paws, and the sound of the gull’s call was all very soothing to the female. Now, there were no gulls overhead, but the water still had the same effect on her. She began to feel much calmer, serene. She knew that once the earth was warmed by summer, she would love to swim here. Escaping the sun’s hot rays by swimming was one of her favorite activities, and she looked forward to that time immensely.
Knowing she should probably turn back soon, the young woman settled down in a comfortable lay instead, resting her chin on her crossed paws in front of her. Who cares if she fell asleep here, really? She didn’t mind…
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[html] A bit of enthusiasm and excitement flew through Ty's body as he began to walk towards the boarders. He had taken to leaving the Valley occasionally every time he wanted a bit of adventure and excitement, and as dark as it sounds, perhaps a fight. One of the biggest things Ty hoped he did out in the other territories was run into Jantus, a wolf who with four other wolves helped enlighten Ty and him get back into fighting. Since Ty had come back from that adventure, they had lingered in his mind, and he wanted to see that group again. He was hoping to get a rematch with Mala and perhaps learn more about fighting while in either one of his four-legged forms. He had been working and practicing how to fight again on his own, but it wasn't very easy to do since right now, he had no sparring partner besides the animals, who didn't really fight back,but ran as he chased them. Plus he didn't really want to go into the mountains searching for pumas to fight, he already had that experience once, and he didn't really enjoy it the first time.
His journey brought him out nearby the ocean side, right on the beach with the moon hanging high in the sky. Ty usually went out at this time of night to start a adventure because the he could go fid a cave to sleep in, not that he didn't enjoy his cabi, but sometimes one just needed to act like a wolf. His feet plodded along in the mixture of sand, snow, and ice, creating quite mixed feelings among his feet. At one point it would be warm, and then cold, like the ground could not wake up it's mind, which didn't bother Ty too much, but still felt odd.
That's when his eyes picked up something from the glare of the moonlight, a body near the waters, certainly alive as it shifted into a laying position. His night vision was not by any means good, it was simply average, but wolf vision was never that good to begin with, therefore he relied on his nose to identify the unknown wolf. Taking in a few whiffs, he could smell that it was a female, and was one of Phoenix Valley, allowing him to feel a little bit more secure around her. In fact, he had smelled this scent before, but only once, near the springs, what was her name...Trea? Audrey? He searched his mind for the female's name until it eventually did come to him. Andrea, her name was Andrea.
With this knowledge, he approached her slowly, so as not to startle or scare her as he called out to her. His voice was soft, relaxing, not intending to make her jump, but in the dark like this it was easy to scare anyone. He began by calling out to her in a calm but audible "Hello there."
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WC: 314
Settled on her belly, the tawny female gazed out over the calm surface of the water. The stars reflected in the softly rippling blackness, creating a distorted mirror effect. She was beginning to feel a little cold, the natural coolness that the ocean brings mixed with the snow was starting to seep through her fur.
A voice behind her made her jump, and she scolded herself for not being more vigilant. She couldn’t let anyone sneak up on her like that. There was no excuse; scent tells a wolf everything. Rising from her position and turning her head, she breathed a sigh of relief when she recognized Ty. A member of the Valley was much better than who she had feared it would be.
“Hello.” She smiled, pleasantly surprised that anyone other than herself would be roaming around at this time of night. Especially in this cold; in her travels before finding the Valley, most that she met had preferred to stay out of the cold. It had been discouraging.
“What brings you out here at this time of night?” She asked pleasantly, curious. This particular spot was pretty far away, as it was the farthest reach of Phoenix Valley’s territory. She had only come here because of her restlessness; the inability to sleep had caused her to roam for a long time before she found this beach.
She wasn’t feeling particularly sleepy now, though. Wide awake, she realized she might not be able to sleep at all tonight. Then again, late at night, the mind likes to trick you into thinking you are wide awake, only to make you feel sleepy soon after. Shrugging mentally, she shook off those thoughts. They really didn’t matter that much.
The Tenens shifted her position into a more comfortable sit. Her tail wrapped around her back legs, warding off the chill a little.
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Anya sighed heavily, her dark grey body shuddering in the chill. At least she was shivering. Her sleeping mind vaguely noted the sound of voices near her current resting spot. Opening her striking slate blue eyes, she noticed that it was cold enough in her surroundings to leave a slight layer of frost on her coat. Anya rose slowly, stretching her cold limbs. Joints cracking and popping, she grimaced. Damn, she needed to exercise more and eat better, so her joints would stop complaining so ferociously.
Anya followed the voices to the beach, grinning as she recognized Ty and Andy’s melodious voices drifting along the winds. That got her to thinking. The winds provided so much for the wolves. It heralded the changes in the seasons, brought the birds with their fascinating stories, and drove the herds down from the mountains for much needed food. Scent drifted upon the wind, as did voices, and no one ever seemed to really give thanks for what the wind did. How could you? The wind is an ever changing force of nature to be reckoned with. It has no true voice, except when rustling the leaves of the trees. How do you thank something like that?
”Hey Andy, Ty. I take it I’m not the only one with sleep problems on this chilly night? How are you?” Anya cautiously approached, careful to not sneak up on Ty. She knew from first-hand experience that his fighting skills were honed to a sharp point, almost always kept in good practice. To sneak up on him would be potentially deadly for whoever did the sneaking. She wasn’t all that fond of her life, but she did want to live through the night and have yet another chance to improve herself.
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[html] "What brings me out here?" He responded to her question, repeating it as if even he did not know the answer, but he chuckled and walked a little closer. "Well, I was going out of the Valley to go on a little adventure, but I felt like taking a stroll across the beach, and lo and behold, someone else was out at this time of night!" He smiled as he sat down next to Andrea. "What I'm more surpsied about is that you are out here in the cold, in the middle of nowhere. I don't find people out here in the dark usually except for the occasional raccoon. What brings you out here?"" He asked her as his tail slowly laid to rest beside him. His eyes beginning to drift slowly across the endless ocean until it hit this night sky, only to slowly gaze up at the big white glowing sphere that was the moon. All in all, a very relaxing scenario, albeit the chill in the air kept him from overly enjoying the moment.
That's when his nose caught the scent of another wolf, and his brow furrowed as he smelled it coming closer. As the scent became stronger and stronger, Ty realized it was a familiar scent, a wolf he knew, and one of the valley, but as with Andrea and himself, what was another wolf doing out in this weather at this time of night? His head turned slowly to the approaching female, to which his stoic expression relaxed into a genuine smile.
"Well would you look at that, not just one, but two lovely ladies out for a stroll in the middle of the night! This was certainly a turn for the better." He said with a chuckle. It was true, the woman of this pack were very attractive to Ty, but he was still very young, and as such very inexperienced when it came to mating and relationships of that such, so he tended to simply be complimentary. But as he complimented the two women, he began to think that perhaps it might soon be time to actually start looking for a mate. Nevertheless, he quickly shrugged off the notion and motioned for Anya to come sit with him and Andrea. "Well, I can't speak for Andrea," He remarked with a smirk and shifting of his seating position, "but I was leaving the Valley for a few days on a bit of a solo adventure, I want to see some of the other packs myself, as I've been making steps of stretching out over the territories. If I want to be helpful to the pack, the least I can do is learn about the packs around us. I may be in a high rank, and talented for my age, but I'm still young, you know? I got a lot more to learn."
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WC: 359
Andy smiled at Ty’s lighthearted chuckle. Her tail thumped softly against the cool sand, making quiet whump noises as it hit the sand. As she sat there, side by side with this member of the Valley pack, Andy felt more at home than she had felt in a long time. It warmed her up, and she felt overwhelmed.
“ I enjoy the cold, and the night. Plus, I couldn’t sleep.” She admitted, laughing softly. “I thought a walk would help clear my mind.” She turned back to the ocean, her ears pricked forward to hear the distant crashing of waves on an unseen shore.
The tawny female felt utterly at ease; in the short while she had known the young male, he had always proven to be very easy to talk to. Many times, silence warranted awkwardness. But not now.
The stars above had started to shine a little clearer as some of the cloud cover had begun to disperse. She looked up, reveling in how beautiful the night sky was. It always made her thoughtful, looking up at the sky. It made her feel small; how small everything really was in the world, compared to the sky. She sighed, content.
Much more alert now, she wasn’t surprised when a voice followed a subtle scent coming nearer. Feeling only a little disappointed that this nice moment was about to be disturbed, she turned. Another smile appeared on her face at the sight of Anya.
“Hello.” She said. “You couldn’t sleep either?” Vaguely, Andy wondered how far off sunrise was. She knew she would be paying for pulling an all nighter later, but sleep seemed very far away from her at the moment. Not that she was complaining. This seemed like a much better way to spend a night.
The Tenens needed to start focusing on meeting all of the members of Phoenix Valley, especially with her new rank. She was expected to know as much as she could about her home and its members. She relished in the thought of this new challenge. Meeting new friends was definitely good with her.
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