Skirting the Edges

Jiva Takekuro · 01-18-2012, 05:43 AM

WC: 437 OOC: Set January 21st? Sound good if not i'm willing to work with it :3

It had been a couple days since Jiva had been back. His mind was elsewhere now though. He didn’t know if he fit in anymore. He didn’t think that living in Cour des Miracles was for him, even if he had so much family there.... maybe that was the reason why he didn’t want to live there. He did know he wanted to live close enough to visit, but where? There were so many packs around, it was hard to choose from. He let his paws wander as he thought. He had never really gotten used to his optime form, only used it to help shape the hair on his head, but he rarely used it for much else. He liked moving about on four feet, it just felt so natural, so he could be seen today just as his kind had started out. On his four paws. He was trotting up the mountains, not thinking of where he was heading, but making sure he kept good footing because there were parts of the mountain that were too dangerous.

Jiva had not encountered any other mountains so to him this was the most unique of the world around him. It was cold, but he was made for it being both tundra wolf and part husky, it was hard to tell he had much dog in him other than the color of his fur and the tell tale husky mask. He let the breeze stop him a few times but he continued forward to hurry along the path. Maybe he could find a decent cave up here to sleep in? He was used to living in a cave, though one that was far less natural. The cave he was born in was natural itself, but the floor and everything, it had been modified. There was a wooden floor and eve a door at the entrance of the cave, so wind didn’t come in. His mother had gotten quite cold easily. His father had modified the cave rooms to be less breezy as well, but Jiva liked the breeze. Sure it was cold at times, but that was how life was and to feel cold stone on the bottom of ones pads, well that felt great to him. He had his nose to the ground sniffing out an area, seeing if there was a possible cave nearby. It shouldn’t be too hard with mountains being the way they were and having their own natural caves. Jiva didn’t really need anything big anyway, after all he was a young bachelor who had no ties to anyone at the moment.

Zalen Damaichu · 01-18-2012, 08:56 PM

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21st is fiiinnnne Smile

Zalen was beginning to regret how far he had strayed from the heart of the pack land on his own. He had gone out the evening before to do his usual marking rounds when he had caught the scent of something that set his fur on edge. It was clearly the scent of a big cat, and he knew it was not Noah’s little bobcat friend, which had chosen to sleep in a large tree near the den. No, this was a cougar, a danger, and when Zalen had decided to track the scent for a while he realized that it lingered here, fresh smells mixing with fading ones. A large feline predator on the pack-lands was not good news, and he knew that he had to find and chase off the cat, and make it clear that it was not welcome here. Not only was having a predator nearby dangerous for the lives of all the pack-mates, but it was also hunting here which meant it was basically stealing food from the mouth of New Dawn.

Zalen, still high from his feelings of superiority and domination as alpha, foolishly had decided to go after the cougar himself without returning to the den and asking for help from the other strong males of the pack, such as Shandom or Thoirni. It was his folly, and he was beginning to realize it, especially now that the sun was starting its downward descent in the sky, and the slowly falling snow made visibility that much harder. He was becoming nervous, for he had tracked this mountain lion all night, and now, its scent seemed to have run dry.

He was nearly about to give up, admit defeat and decide to chase another day when he came upon the bloody remains of an elk. The body was frozen but the blood fresh, and the meat was half eaten. Cautiously Zalen moved to the kill to sniff at it; it reeked of cougar. Warily he scanned the trees around him, but heard and saw nothing; he assumed that the cat had left its kill here for a later meal, which meant it would be back. If he could ambush it, maybe he stood a chance in his Optime form.

With the decision made, Zalen shifted into his two legged form and found a rocky outcropping nearby to hide behind. Once there, he hunkered down, taking some time to braid his long mane and tie it with several long blades of dried, dead grass. He waited then, silently, the only indication of his presence being the breath that rose in the air from his nostrils. He was not worried that his scent was now clearly around the carcass, for he knew that the cougar would pay it no mind. Once the cat showed itself, Zalen would mount the peak of the rock and jump down upon the feline, hopefully scaring it enough that it would not stay to fight but run off never to return.

He waited for some time before a sound came his ears. Keen apple eyes peeked through a crevice in the outcropping to see a large, and very well fed female cougar exit the tree line and saunter over to the corpse. Zalen’s ears flicked back against his head; she was large, larger than he had expected, but in this form he still outweighed her. Still, a cat’s claws and teeth were sharp, more so even then a Luperci’s, and for a moment he wasn’t sure if he would be able to take her.

But any chance to escape silently was lost when the cougar halted in its licking and gnawing of a rib bone to sniff the air, and then her golden eyes trained themselves directly on his outcropping. He ducked low, hoping she could not see him, but it was of no use, she knew he was there. Slowly, crouching low like felines did when they stalked, she started slowly towards the outcropping. This was his only chance and it was do or die now. Quickly, Zalen clambered to the top of the rock, his hackles, tail and ears erect, making him look a large as possible. He opened his mouth wide, white teeth gleaming as he let forth a deep and dangerous snarl at the large cat.

For a moment he felt that his threat display might work, as the cougar took several steps back and crouched as if it was planning to spring away. But then it sized him up, and made the decision that it could take him, and it returned with a vicious threat display of its own, letting loose that classic cougar call. So they would have to fight then. Zalen let forth a quick but loud howl before he sprung downwards towards her.

WC :: 800

Jiva Takekuro · 01-22-2012, 09:39 AM

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Word Count :: 362
OOC: Jiva will jump right in :3

As the sun got lower Jiva started to find his cave searching was going to be cut short and he would just have to sleep in the open. Jiva didn’t really mind that. He had done it before and would do it again, though a cozy cave would have been nice for the night. He liked staying warm and secure, knowing he was hidden from other possible predators. He moved slowly through the mountains, knowing how treacherous they could be. He had smelled a cougar not long ago so he had skirted away from it, knowing any caves would be occupied by one. Just as he was about to give up the search he found one. And it was nice and small too. Moving around the outside of the cave, he held his nose to the ground to make sure it had not been occupied recently. It seemed its last recent visitor had been a fox, but the scent was so old. It might have been used as a nesting for a mother or something. In either case he moved into the cave. This would be his temporary home for now. Making a few scratching motions at the ground he let his scent be known. This was his cave until he decided when he would be leaving.

That was when he heard it. The cry of a cougar, then.... the unmistakable howl of a wolf. This was a wolf in need, and Jiva got up, his heart thumbing. The other wolf was fighting a cougar? He listened for calls of the wolve’s companions, but there was none. Jiva took no time to waste and headed straight for the sounds. His legs pumped, and he hoped he wasn’t too late. He had after all kept away from the scent of a cougar not too long ago. The battle had already started when he came to the scene, and he growled menacingly at the cougar, waiting for a good time to jump in. He was willing to help out another wolf, even a stranger, against these big beasts, who had shown nothing but malice towards wolf kind since the beginning of time.

Image courtesy of UmbraDeNoapte-Stock

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