Back-Dated to 15th October. Takes place around midday, Kostya is in Secui form.
Kostya dug into the earth as quickly as he could, clearing his mind and focusing on the act of digging , trying to drown out the tragedies he had suffered recently.
His mother, his last link to the last time he could honestly say he ahd been happy and content was dead. Torn into shreds at the hands of a bear for no reason other than annoyance. They had disturbed the bear while searching for somewhere to sleep the night and it had responded with brutality, killing Kostya's mother and wounding Kostya himself.
That was two weeks ago now, and while Kostya's physical wounds had healed the mental ones still remained; rage, loneliness and a general sense of weariness. Kostya was tired, tired of travelling and the death it seemed to bring to him, tired of wandering with no home to call his own. So he decided, he would stay here. Find a den, grow stronger and take his revenge, kill the bear that had killed his family.
He had been lucky when searching for his den and had quickly found an appropriate place. His den was situated under a massive old oak tree. The earth beneath its roots had been worn away sometime in the past by what looked like a small stream. The thick roots up at the base of the trunk made a perfect roof and the hollow was a good size for a den.
Kostya had been working for a few hours now, he was cutting down the thinner hanging roots and digging out two extra hollows inside the existing one, using the excess dirt and roots to block up the larger entrance into the den. It was hard work for the wolf and he was concentrating completely on it, oblivious to the outside world.
I said, I cannot follow the river
of her myth; but I can
follow her sweet desert song
like a stream through the fiery hills.
Word Count → 368
Vesper had never quite found a place to settle down since she had come into Nova Scotia in August. She found herself returning to the territories of the north, where forests blanketed the land and provided ample prey, which she hoped would remain during the coming winter months. Setting an actual den and claiming a patch of territory seemed too risky to the small hybrid, though already once now she’d come across a luperci fashioning one for herself. Just how comfortable were the other loners around here, with the startling number of packs surrounding them?
She yawned, pushing these trivial thoughts aside as she walked alongside a dry streambed, no more than a narrow trough in the ground. It was lined with the leaves of autumn, creating a brook of bold colors, and she wondered if any animals had found shelter under the leaflitter. Her nose turned up no scents, so she let out a sigh and walked along again.
I’m glad I’m used to this kind of excitement, the female thought sarcastically, smirking faintly as she scanned the woods. Most canines would have gone absolutely insane without anyone to talk to, but Ves had perfectly adapted to the life of the loner. Up north, the others were even more scattered than here.
She trotted along, pausing when she heard an acorn drop. Her large ears tilted toward the source of the sound, and she could make out a body submerged in the wide mouth of the den. Her thirst for knowledge got the best of her; she stepped closer and sniffed, able to detect that the busybody was a luperci male. It made her wary, but she couldn’t resist remarking upon his efforts.
“Did I miss the memo?” Vesper asked lightly, standing a couple of yards away from the great tree. “Is it Den Week?” She added a dry laugh in her head, not caring if what she said made sense to him or not. Her intention was mostly to get him to turn around so she could see him and talk to him; if she was ever going to make a den for herself like the other loners, she’d have to get to know her neighbors.
Under normal circumstances Kostya would have been, well "thrilled" isn't the right word exactly but he would have been interested in talking to the strange wolf that called out to him, getting to know some of the local wolves now that he was settling down. Unfortunately he was in a terrible mood with all that had happened recently, it also didn’t help that he was working on autopilot, his body reacting to the sound before he had time to actually process it.
And react he did. When Vesper's call reached his ears Kostya swung round with an ear splitting snarl that was part shock and part misplaced rage. Locating the sound he leapt out of the half covered entrance, bringing the not-inconsiderable weight and bulk of his Secui form to bear in a display of aggression and bluster.
Though it was mostly bluster. Kostya had little skill in fighting in his bipedal forms; despite his inclination for his lupus form he had much more fighting skill with weapons. However that wouldn’t help him against this perceived enemy; his bow was reduced to splinters and he still hadn’t retrieved his knife from when he dropped it while fighting the bear.
His confidence was boosted slightly when he saw who had actually disturbed him. The female wasn't particularly impressive looking at a quick glance, and looked like she would be severly outweighed by his Lupus form, never mind the bulky form he was in now.
Slightly more confidently Kostya squared off against the female, teeth bared and ears flat against his skull. To his temporarily paranoid mind Vesper was nothing than an enemy, a wolf come to take his den.
Sleep deprivation and paranoia are wonderful things aren’t they?
Letting out a final incoherent snarl, a demand for the female to either submit or back away Kostya stood his ground. Surely one small coywolf couldn't best him.
I said, I cannot follow the river
of her myth; but I can
follow her sweet desert song
like a stream through the fiery hills.
Word Count → 280 :: Loved your post! And Vesper is so goddamn cocky. xD
Vesper assumed that the male wolf wouldn’t react favorably to her sudden greeting, but that assumption was a complete understatement. She had prepared for a snarky reply or a glare, but when the black creature whirled around with a snarl, emerging from the den, bulky secui form presented to her. Surprised, she scrambled back a pace; immediately her ears snapped back against her reasonably slender skull, and her hackles began to rise at her nape.
The coywolf did not like to think of herself as irrational or one to take unnecessary risks. Had she been injured or otherwise weakened, she probably would have turned tail with a few snappish words in his direction. However, the sight of the rumbling beast invoked excitement rather than fear or caution. It had been a while since she’d fought against another creature—the bear she’d left half-blind notwithstanding—and her pride ached to defeat this halfling. Luperci had walked all over her before, and she wanted some payback.
When the blue-eyed brute let out another challenging snarl, the leaner creature returned it. Her voice was higher but sharper, and what she lacked in physical intimidation she made up for in a ballsy demeanor. A smirk flicked fast as the crack of a whip across her lips.
Bring it.
Vesper leaped forward, pouncing a few feet in front of him. Immediately, she kept her ears and tail tucked close and aimed to change her course with the balance and agility only a small, practiced hybrid could muster. She hoped to goad him closer with that feint, and when he was out, she’d turn around full circle and do what damage she could with her teeth.
Not done a fight thread in a long time, so forgive me if I do this wrong.
To Kostya's dismay the stranger did not back down, but instead began to mirror his own aggressive posture. For a second the idea of backing down flitted through his head but he tossed it aside, this was his territory now and he was going to fight for it!
Unfortunately Kostya's silent theory about size relating to fighting skills was quickly proved wrong by the smallish hybrid in front of him. When the hybrid had answered his snarl with her own he had leapt forward straight towards her, teeth snapping. This was a mistake he quickly regretted as the hybrid seemed to mirror his actions, but then nimbly darted out of the way
Kostya tried to turn and follow her but the fallen leaves provided little traction for his heavy form and he was left scrabbling in the dirt. He quickly found out where his smaller opponent had gone when he felt a set of teeth rake across his shoulder, ripping a shallow but painful set of cuts into the flesh there.
Kostya let out a snarl of pain but managed to control his reaction and not dart away. Instead he fell back on an old trick he vaguely remembered from his younger days and used all four legs to launch himself bodily in Vesper's direction, intending to simply barge the smaller wolf to the floor with his body, inelegant but effective. As he pushed off Kostya started to twist, readying his teeth for an attempt to return the favour of his earlier wound.
I said, I cannot follow the river
of her myth; but I can
follow her sweet desert song
like a stream through the fiery hills.
Word Count → 221 :: Argh, would've gotten to this sooner but I had table requests. xD Your post was fine, though, and I'm afraid mine is unclear... He managed to bite her, so she's trying to bite his ear now.
If Vesper represented one of the cardinal sins, it would have been pride, and it was evident with the way she carried herself even as she swiftly avoided his jaws. Her tail whisked behind her, its coal tip dancing in the air before sweeping close to her body for safety. She smirked as she heard his paws on the leaves. Balance—she worshipped it almost like a deity. Getting others off balance was one of the ways she was able to actually fight; having to compromise with an injured paw had made her apt at keeping her footing.
She tasted blood as she swept her tongue briefly along her jaws, turning toward him almost expectantly. Perhaps for the pace of battle her movement was languid, but she was on her toes. When he barreled forward, she smirked arrogantly and skipped off to the side; using brutish strength was such a simplistic tactic—but unfortunately, he’d been smart enough to twist as he lunged for her. She danced right into the path of his jaws, and she could feel his teeth scrape her shoulder much in the same way she’d done to him.
Vesper snarled in pain, using the close proximity to try to bite his ear, while the rest of her body attempted to scramble away before he could pin her.
Kostya's tactic had worked, somewhat. On one hand he had managed to draw some blood, which was always a good thing, but on the other he hadn’t managed to knock his opponent over, which meant that he now had to deal with a much quicker opponent at close range without the benefit of stunning them.
Kostya tried to follow his bite through, going for his opponents throat, but to no avail as the coywolf's thrashing made it impossible for him to get to her throat. Instead he felt a jolt of pain lance through his face as the female managed to bite his ear. Luckily the stud where she was biting had already been torn out, so he didn’t have to deal with that, but it was still a painful position to be in.
Kostya decided to try something different and opened his mouth, making as much noise as he could which came out something in-between a roar and a howl. Hoping that the close proximity and loud noise would stun her somewhat Kostya swung one of his forelegs at his opponents stomach. Ideally he would slice her open with the elongated claws his Secui form granted him, but really he was just trying to use the threat of them to get her to back off and let go of his ear.
I said, I cannot follow the river
of her myth; but I can
follow her sweet desert song
like a stream through the fiery hills.
Word Count → 236
Teeth closed beside her throat, and Vesper had pushed her excitement for the fight away as she focused on survival. Fights to the death were never fun, even if she enjoyed quick sparring. Brow furrowed, she gripped the thin skin of his ear, tongue tasting the metal from the studs. It would be easy to simply tear it off, but she didn’t have anything against this male, and she knew from personal experience running around with half an ear wasn’t fun. Instead, she bit harder, hoping to puncture it clean through without doing much permanent damage. You’re lucky I don’t hate you, punk.
She did wince when he bellowed, shrinking back and relinquishing her grip from his ear. God, was that racket necessary? The tactic worked, however, as a powerful foreleg clawed at her. Her tender belly was spared, but her limbs were swept out from under her. She fell into a crouch, rolling her shoulders forward to push the excess skin of her scruff up, hoping to protect the back of her exposed neck.
“Small makes it easy to get under you,” Vesper found herself muttering. Knocked down as she was, she had an amazing angle for his neck. Once again not wanting to spill too much blood, she lunged upward at the juncture between throat and chest, more to make a point than anything. He had seriously underestimated her prowess in his sudden rage.
Kostya didn’t know much about fighting in this form, but he knew enough to be aware that he had fucked up royally. Rather than pushing the other wolf away from him his forearm slash had instead given his opponent an opportunity to get under him.
Kostya flinched, waiting for teeth to sink into his throat. Instead he heard his opponent mutter something at him and pain run through his chest as her teeth sunk into it. Confusion that he was still alive flitted through his mind, breaking through the haze of rage and fear slightly; the level of skill his opponent had shown so far indicated that she would have been able to easily make the kill shot, yet she hadn't.
Still, confusion aside, he still had a coywolf latched onto his chest that he had to deal with, and he needed to deal with it quickly. Kostya wasn't in the best shape recently; it had been a long time since he had fought and he tended to do most of his hunting with a bow nowadays. He wasn't used to the level of movement fighting required and was tiring fast.
Throwing himself to the side Kostya landed heavily on his back and kicked upwards desperately with his hind legs, trying to get them underneath his assailant and kick her off.
I said, I cannot follow the river
of her myth; but I can
follow her sweet desert song
like a stream through the fiery hills.
Word Count → 200
Vesper might have liked to fight, might have been riddled with scars, might have been cold-hearted at times, but she was not a killer. There was no reward in spilling life blood on the ground or hearing the whimper of a dying coyote as they trembled in her jaws. There was reward in removing someone terrible from the earth, but usually she got her kicks by defeating others, letting them live, proving herself as someone who could fight but who didn’t go insane because of it. And she had a feeling that the dark brute she was locked in combat with wasn’t a bad guy; he just had some anger management issues, apparently.
So she bit down harder on his chest, at least until his large body moved unexpectedly. Vesper fell on top of him, and his hind paws drummed against her belly, knocking the breath out of her and sending her flying to the ground. She got up as quickly as she could, breathing awkwardly for a few moments before shaking her head. Now that there was space between them, she maintained that distance, padding in a semicircle around him with eyes narrowed.
Kostya let out a small sigh of relief when he managed to clear his opponent away from him and quickly scrambled to his feet, matching her movement as the two circled round each other. The difference between the two was rapidly becoming obvious to Kostya, his opponent had recovered within a few moments while he himself was still panting, tired from the brief fight so far.
Kostya's aggression was draining away fast, though he was trying his best to school his body language and keep that aggressive at least. Part of him wanted to back down, try and placate the female, while another part of him still preached aggression, still convinced that the female was a threat to him and his new den. For a moment Kostya wavered between the two choices but then the pale coloured female spoke up, her mocking tone solidifying that backing down would likely be a bad idea in his mind.
Still, Kostya needed a rest, so he kept circling, trying to draw the pause on for as long as he could, "How about you leave, get away from my den!?" Kostya had intended his statement to be an intimidating snarl but failed quite handily, with a fair amount of his weariness and fear filtering through into his voice.
Trying to regain some ground Kostya puffed himself up and started growling, baring his teeth once more but didn't mae any move to attack the female. Instead he tensed his legs, waiting for his opponent to strike, to which he would respond by darting backwards before lunging forwards again, this time going for his opponents shoulder rather than something more vital.
His opponent had rejected the chance to kill him so it only seemed fair to return the favour, though he doubted that he would get a chance to actually do so.
I said, I cannot follow the river
of her myth; but I can
follow her sweet desert song
like a stream through the fiery hills.
Word Count → 242
Space was important in a fight; Vesper was never afraid to break away from the lock of tooth and claw to circle and think. She was a canny fighter when her mind was clear of anger, and she would rather be seen as a sneak running in circles around an opponent than being close enough to get crushed.
The male seemed to share the feelings, as he copied her movements, panting and growling out a challenge. Vesper pricked her ears, both at the weariness in the pauses between words and the words themselves. So this was a territorial show rather than that of a madman; that relaxed her slightly, though she remained on her toes as she paused.
The dark wolf looked prepared for another attack, his fur bristling and teeth exposed, but he would be disappointed. She kept the distance between them even as she came to a halt, tail flicking behind her. “I don’t want your smelly den,” she began, before giving him a theatrical once-over. “You need to exercise more, pal.” Did the luperci halfling form suffer in stamina, or was he simply not used to so quick of an opponent? If it was the former, she would seize the weakness gladly, and if it was the latter—well, her arrogant grin had returned.
She ventured one more taunt, though the sharp edge from earlier had softened. “Always thought you luperci looked bulky and fat.”
Kostya continued growling but by now even more of his aggression had trickled away. At this point his heart wasn't really in the fight anymore, and his aggressive stance was mainly just to keep up appearances. His initial response had been more spur of the moment than born out of an actual desire to fight and it was clear that the smaller wolf was a much more skilled fighter than Kostya himself.
That being said he remained tense and weary, ready to react if the stranger attacked him again, while he knew he was outclassed he didn't intend to do down without a fight if this lack of aggression was a trick. This time when he spoke his voice was less aggressive, and less fearful, "What're ya' doin' roun' ere' then? Mos' wolves tha' I know, know not ta' bother someone in their den unless they're lookin' ta' drive em' out."
Kostya took the insult about exercise in stride, subconsciously acknowledging the truth of it, but the females last insult caused him to let out an amused snort, "Bulky? Ya' say that like it’s a bad thing, I'll sure be enjoyin' tha' winter more than a scrawny little thing like you." Despite the insult Ksotya's voice wasn't particularly aggressive or mocking, instead it has a quality of curiosity to it, as he was trying to puzzle out the coywolf's reaction; see if she could take insults as easily as she gave them.
I said, I cannot follow the river
of her myth; but I can
follow her sweet desert song
like a stream through the fiery hills.
Word Count → 277
It seemed that the lull in their fight would become permanent, and Vesper took the time to give the new wound on her shoulder a brisk lick, ears turned in the direction of the male in case he worked up the gall to keep going. He did seem worn out by now, however, and his voice was steadier as he addressed her again. He had a strange accent, one that she hadn’t been able to make out as much when he was growling at her, but it only served as a quirk to make him more interesting.
“I can’t visit the neighbors?” the coywolf asked, fully aware of how aggravating she sounded, but a moment later the smirk faded and she shrugged, serious enough. “You’re the second loner I’ve seen who’s setting up camp around these parts. As a loner myself, I thought it might be smart to know where you guys are so I don’t step on any toes. That, and it’s easiest for us to look out for each other.” She remembered the pale woman, Noir, and the lightest of shivers ran through her; that innocent trade of knowledge had turned out to be something much more, though she didn’t think she was at liberty to tell this stranger that.
He snorted when she mocked his size, pointing out that her lack of weight would come back to haunt her in the colder months. Her blue eyes widened slightly at being called “scrawny,” but then she laughed. “First of all, I prefer the term ‘compact’—but you have me there.” Her smirk returned, much more amicable than it had been before. “What’s your name, stranger?”
Kostya finally relaxed as the fight seemed well and truly over; though he let out a small growl directed at himself for starting a fight where apparently there had been no need for one. Glancing at the female to double check that she wasn't going to attack and answered shortly, "The name's Kostantin." and then started to shift down into the less aggressive lupus form, the minor transformation not taking long to complete.
Gazing over at the woman Kostya lowered his ears and head slightly in a silent apology, before adding a verbal one, "Sorry about tha', tha' las' two weeks have been pretty bad, left me a bit jumpy." He shuffled his feet awkwardly before sighing and lowering himself into a sitting position."Like I ah' said, m'names Konstantin Arsov-"He hesitated for a second before continuing, not sure exactly how he felt towards the loner, not particularly wanting to give out his preferred name to someone who would be an enemy. Deciding to give her the benefit of the doubt, he had started the fight after all, he continued, "Kostya fer short. How about you, what's yer name?"
I said, I cannot follow the river
of her myth; but I can
follow her sweet desert song
like a stream through the fiery hills.
Word Count → 375
The male offered a foreign-sounding name that matched his accent, and Vesper took a step back as his shape changed, growing smaller and less bulky, though of course he was still substantially larger than her as a full-blooded wolf. Her tail wagged behind her once as she accepted the more natural form, but she made no comment on the shifting. Usually the bigger shifts unnerved her, making her stomach hurt as she imagined the pain of the process, but the luperci didn’t take long.
“I understand,” the coyote hybrid said, dipping her head to accept his apology. She was quite pleased that he’d become reasonable, though she kept her arrogance to herself this time, opting for a more tolerable demeanor. “I could have announced my intentions ahead of time,” she allowed, even if she didn’t think she was too intimidating in the first place. Being scrawny, as he put it, most wolves tended to overlook her and underestimate her.
There was a pause in his words, one that didn’t go unnoticed but that she didn’t question. Kostya would be easier for her English-speaking tongue to handle, though she foresaw shortening it to “Kos” before she butchered the pronunciation. “I’m Vesper,” she replied, her lips quirking upwards in an almost-smile. She never truthfully smiled at strangers, keeping a scarred layer between herself and them; it was an unconscious act.
“Are you new around here, then?” Vesper asked, assuming that he hadn’t been in the area long if he was only now making a den. Then again, she had been here since late August and had nothing to show for it, other than a few connections and an organization behind her back. She supposed the most substantial things didn’t really show.
Then, out of the blue: “I enjoyed fighting you. Well, not the part where you were trying to tear my head off, but…” She grinned and stretched, forequarters dipping luxuriously as she flexed her toes. “A nice spar every once in a while gets my blood up. I’m sorry if it wasn’t as enjoyable for you.” Her teeth flashed in a nonthreatening manner, but she licked her lips as if tasting the remnants of his blood—before letting out a laugh that was far from serious.
Kostya let out a sigh of relief when his apology was accepted. Pissing off a local that was able to hand his arse to him really didn't seem like a good thing to do just as he was settling down. He returned Vespers half-smile with a full one, though this turned into a frown as she mentioned her name.
Kostya's accent was slapdash at the best of times, but names were a common stumbling block for him. His accent was all over the place which left him little foundation for pronouncing words correctly and even less for pronouncing names. Some names he could pronounce easily, while others escaped him no matter how much he tried to grasp them. After rolling the sound of Vespers name around his mouth he could tell hers was going to be the latter. "Vespa', Ves, Vespeh' Ves'er," Kostya let out a small frustrated snort before asking embarrassedly, "Ya' mind if I call ya' Ves? Havin' a bit'a trouble gettin' mah tounge round yer name."
Vesper's question caused a small jolt of sadness to run through him, but eh quickly quashed it; while things seemed to be calming down he wasn't comfortable showing weakness in-front of Vesper. "Yeah, I got 'ere about two weeks ago, me an' my Ma' were travellin' north up from New Orleans an-" Kostya trailed off awkwardly as he clammed up, wishing he had just left it at a yes and never mentioned his mother. Awkwardly he tried to think of something to change the subject, though thankfully Vesper changed the subject herself.
Initially Kostya was slightly incredulous at Vesper's declaration that she had enjoyed the fight. However when he actually thought about he realised that it could have been fun if it was under better spirits. His wounds, while painful, were all shallow and would heal quickly and easily and there was a certain excitement to fighting with somebody.
I suppose tha' it might'a been fun if it were a bit less serious." Kostya conceded, glancing at Vesper as an idea came into his mind. It would be nice to have somebody around the area that he knew, and as the fight had just shown him he needed some fighting practise. "Perhaps we coul' do it again sometime? Wouldn' mind somebody ta' spar with, an I could use the practise. An' the exercise now tha' I think about it." He said ruefully, glancing down at his stomach which was starting to gain a little fat to it, though that would likely be gone before the winter was over unless he got lucky with hunting.
I said, I cannot follow the river
of her myth; but I can
follow her sweet desert song
like a stream through the fiery hills.
Word Count → 441
Vesper cracked a smirk as the larger male attempted to pronounce her name, unable to get the two syllables correctly. After snorting, he asked if he could shorten it to Ves, and the female nodded, chuckling. “Of course, if you don’t mind me shortening yours, too.” She winked. “Though it’s not like I’m going to be incredibly offended if you say my name wrong.” Just because she wasn’t used to foreign wolves didn’t mean she was prejudiced against them or expected them to conform perfectly. It was interesting and helped her learn more about the world beyond Nova Scotia, so long as their cultures didn’t conflict directly with her beliefs.
The male began to answer her conversational question, mentioning his mother and a place called New Orleans that she hadn’t heard of before. It took her a second to realize that he’d stopped suddenly, but as always she didn’t press him to finish. There were subjects that she skirted, and she understood that most loners were disinclined to spill their secrets to someone they just met, herself included.
Kostya somewhat agreed with her, but he surprised her by suggesting that they fight again. Her large ears stood to attention, her expression vague with thoughtfulness as he mentioned that they could be sparring partners. It would be one way for her to practice her fighting—something that she always stressed in her life—without the danger of serious injury or death. After all, she wasn’t stupid enough to go around annoying strangers for thrills.
“I was teasing about the exercise, buddy,” Vesper told him, smirking. “After all, you aren’t one of those pampered pack luperci sitting in human houses. But having someone to spar with would definitely benefit both of us. I always like to get practice in, and I’m sure that we could teach each other some things.” She flaunted her tail arrogantly. “Like how to deal with small and quick opponents.” She let her tail wag against her hocks.
“You can probably find me anywhere around the Dampwoods, unless I’m off exploring or something; not fun staying in one place for too long. But I do agree that we could hook up for a fight whenever we run across each other.”
And, if an actual friendship blossomed out of this, Vesper could see other advantages. They might be able to help each other through the winter months, since it was always harder for non-pack canines to find enough food. On the other side, she knew she’d be screwed if she and Kostya became enemies—though that could be remedied by keeping a few of her tricks to herself, of course.
Kostya let out a good natured rumble at the comment about his physical state "Nice of yer' ta' say, but it's still a valid point. Ain't been very active recently, been doin' a lot of mopin around and searchin' for a den." That was something that Kostya intended to change though, especially after his performance in the fight. He had been relying on his bow far too much in recent months, perhaps some old fashioned Lupus form hunting would help him get back into shape. Despite his dismissal of his physical state he did let a small trickle of satisfaction emerge at her comments comparing him to a pack wolf, his body language becoming a little happier.
Kostya couldn’t let her comment about her nimbleness go unpunished, "An maybe i'll do some wrestlin' with ya', help ya' build up a bit more muscle fer' stronger opponents." Kostya made a show of casting an unimpressed eye over her body, though his tone was light and friendly, if a bit teasing. In truth Vesper seemed quite well muscled for her build, with Kostya being on the opposite end of the spectrum, though Kostya wouldn't actually admit this to her.
Making a mental note of her location Kostya nodded, his tail dragging through the leaves as it wagged slowly. "Well, ya know where I live obviously, I should usually be around 'ere if ya need me fer anythin'." Kostya grinned and jerked his head back towards his half-finished den, before letting out a small yawn. "No offense, but we should be wrappin' this up. I'm wanting to try an clear myself a space to sleep before it gets ta' night, feel free ta' rest a while in the bit I got cleared if ya want ta'."
I said, I cannot follow the river
of her myth; but I can
follow her sweet desert song
like a stream through the fiery hills.
Word Count → 301 Up to you if you want to finish up now. Either they can chat for a while longer, or we can assume they worked on the den a little while before Ves left.
Vesper nodded as he restated that he needed exercise, and wryly she noted that it would get easier to find said exercise when he was starving and hunting for winter. She wished him silent luck in that, however; while a fat-ass pack wolf was something to scoff at, a loner who managed to be over the average weight was a lucky fellow who had something going for him.
“I don’t need muscle,” the she-yote scoffed, lifting a paw in an almost luperci gesture as if to swat away the notion. She had recognized the teasing note in his voice and knew that there probably wasn’t much more muscle to be had. She was built lean, compact, streamlined—good for speed and agility, and while she was decently muscled for her scrawny frame, she knew she would never be a hard-hitter like a large wolf could.
She scanned the area around his den, deciding it would be easy enough to find the large oak tree, and her ears tilted forward at his yawn. Blue eyes noted the position of the sun, but she was sure he was tired after their fight—especially if mental exhaustion played a part in it. Being stressed really didn’t help with energy after something like that, and she’d gotten quite a strong aggressive reaction out of him.
“I’ll do you one better, Kos,” Vesper yipped when he offered her a place to rest. “I’ll help you out. It’s the least I can do, and it’d get rid of me quicker.” She flashed him a smirk, one that conveyed such favors wouldn’t be given out often, but she moved over to the den and went to work digging out some of the leaves that had fallen in before awaiting direction as to where he wanted the enlargement started.
Either they can chat for a while longer, or we can assume they worked on the den a little while before Ves left.
