Nature's Music
#1
[html]OOC:// Hiya! ^^ This takes place before the hurricane. Sorry for the cruddy start. DX

BIC://

To some, it was almost oppressive being in the depth and darkness of the forest of Ethereal Eclipse. To others, it was a welcome retreat. Kenna had traveled her way through similar terrain in her wanderings, so she was no stranger to the solitude of the wilder tangles of nature. she knew that paths were often non existent, footing could be perilous and there was no telling what kind of creatures you might encounter. Not to mention in such dense wilderness it would be quite simple to become lost. Luckily Kenna wasn't traveling on foot, nor was she alone. She also had a fairly good sense of direction. Perched upon her stallion Dust's back as he carefully navigated down a slightly steep embankment, Kenna clucked her tongue encouragingly and firmly gripped the reins as they picked their way towards a small brook. It was the first time since joining Cercatori d'Arte that the two had gone beyond the pack's borders to go exploring. Ethereal Eclipse's expanse spread out at the edge of the pack territory and so it was within easy traveling distance. Kenna only planned to be gone for a day or two, so she'd packed light. It would take more than one trip into the overgrown forest for her to truly get to know her way around the area however. But for now, the collie wolf hybrid was just happy to be out and about for the short while. She would be back at some point.

As Dust finally reached flatter ground, Kenna dismounted the buckskin quarter horse and knelt at the trickling water's edge, cupping her paws and bringing them to her muzzle in order to drink the cool liquid. Beside her Dust lowered his head to refresh himself as well. Leaning back on her legs, Kenna remained crouched and briefly glanced around her, green growth surrounding her on every side. She then closed her eyes with a sigh. Her ears twitched and swiveled as she took a moment to listen to the nature around her. Bird song echoed softly in the distance, the water babbled over the rocks in front of her and a gentle breeze whispered through the leaves of the trees high overhead. Very little sunlight filtered down to where she sat, but still plant life thrived around the water. With the digits of her left paw, the hybrid woman subconsciously stroked a soft patch of moss on a stone at her feet. It could be a little unsettling to some this deep into the woods, but for Kenna it was calming. Here there was endless life and adventure. The earthy scents and natural music of the forest made Kenna's heart feel light. Dust simply stood patiently, one hind hoof cocked lazily, his head hanging as he waited for his rider. As the breeze gently played through his mane and tail as well as his companion's hair and fur, Kenna smiled softly, blue eyes still shut as she contently remained crouched, listening to the sounds of nature around her, enjoying the solitude.
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#2
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In Character

Alone in the woods, Helios had taken to sleeping high up in the trees to avoid discovery and to keep himself safe and try. The night before was no exception, he was content in the thicker boughs but never ventured further up into trees than he had to. With his arms crossed on his chest, he represented the epitome of relaxed and comfortable. The thick moss of the tree had acted as a fine pillow, on many trees the bark was so gnarled and bare that it was almost impossible to get a get night's sleep. Helios' morning had been heralded by the songs of a thousand birds that perches in the branches high above him. With the addition of a babbling brook near by they had created quite the ruckus.


Those noises were very familiar to him, however, and he continued to doze through most of the morning his belly full from a successful hunt the day before, and a crude poach full of left overs for breakfast. As he dozed, he did hear a sound that he was very unused to, the steady clop of a walking horse. Helios had been around but in his travels he had really only encountered a few of the large beasts. Them being so big it was no surprise a shorty like him was a bit nervous around them. Their steps were heavier than a deers and when they walked alone there was often a rider in tow.


Opening his odd eyes, he shifted just enough to get a view of the creek and the sun dappled form of dog and horse. He was enraptured by her image amount the horse and wondered how a dog controlled one of those beasts. It didn't help that the Australian Shepherd found the female quite attractive. It seemed as if they had been out all morning and the creek was a pleasant place to stop for a rest. Helios had camped out near the creek many days and had enjoyed the little fish and the soft noise it created. Considering how he was going to approach the situation, he leaned forward in his temporary bed, eying her with poorly masked enthusiasm. Though, his exuberance got ahead of him and he was sent tumbling down, his tailless rear end in the air. Uttering a few choice swears and vile oaths, he jumped back, unharmed but quite the more ruffled. "Hello!" He sputtered out, flustered, "I, uh, like your horse!"


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#3
[html]OOC:// Your post made me lol. XD
IC://

As Kenna reclined at the river's edge and enjoyed the sounds of the forest that surrounded her, she smiled contently. Dust, in his boredom slowly started to drift away from his rider, heading for a small tuft of grass he could nibble on. Kenna didn't try to stop him. Sighing softly, the woman shifted her weight on her paws and then slowly rose figuring she might walk along the river for time. Dusting off the seat of her jeans and straightening her hat, the wolf-collie hybrid took a second to check her reflection in the water. She wasn't vain by any means, but did like to always look presentable at the very least. Seeing a leaf or two caught in her brunette hair she went about freeing them from her locks with dextrous fingers. As she untangled the dry, brittle plant life from her person she felt the fur along the back of her neck prickle with the sensation of eyes upon her. Frowning she slowly lowered her paws from her hair, one slowly creeping for the small knife strapped to her hip, she flicked her ears about, now listening past the natural sounds for the padding of paw steps over the river rocks or any other unusual noise. As she turned to look towards Dust, suddenly a loud crackling and thudding sound broke out behind her. Whipping around quicker than a blink, knife drawn, the cowgirl was surprised to see another optime canid figure, a stranger, hurriedly recovering from what was apparently him falling from a tree. He was a what looked like an aussie shepherd dog, slightly bulky and stocky in build with bi-colored eyes. He was unclad and attractive in a...rugged kind of way. It seemed she'd been running into a lot of more dog-like faces than normal lately she mused, a slight smirk creeping onto her maw as the male's choice swears graced her ears. Seeing her looking right at him, her knife posed to strike must have startled him for he looked mighty ruffled. 'Then again, falling from a tree might do it too...' She thought to herself just as he rushed a quick, rather poorly executed greeting to cover his embarrassment. "Hello! I, uh, like your horse!"

Kenna's eyebrow raised slowly, giving the stranger a questioning look. 'Really...?' She then turned to look back at Dust (he now stood watching the interaction between the two of them with interest), then back at the fallen dog. "My horse." She repeated him, her western accent apparent, her smirk growing as she casually stowed away her blade at her hip , he seemed no real threat. She saw right through the male's excuse and it greatly amused her. It was good for him that she was in a good mood. She then spoke again, pointing over her shoulder at the stallion."Dust?" She scoffed softly. "He's nothing special...Just a buckskin quarter." She said simply with a shrug before a slightly playful glimmer rose into her blue eyes. "Though somethin' tells me you ain't fallin' out of tree over the beauty of my horse...I'd reckon you were spying on me." She guessed, obviously entertained. Crossing her arms over her chest and angling her head to look down her muzzle, her hat partially covering her brow she continued to eye the flustered man with an amused, questioning, but guarded look. "Am I right?" She flicked her tail behind her, standing slightly wide stanced and waited for his response.
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#4
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Out of Character

Helios is Lol-worthy. X3

In Character

Still embarrassed, he quailed at her stare. Scratching the back of his head as she addressed her horse, he could feel the heat in his face rising. It wasn't often he got so uppity about his first impression but being stared down by a pretty dog made him self conscious. Though, she had seemed on the offensive when he had first plummeted from his precarious perch, her stance had loosened when his awkwardness and humiliation at his less than graceful entrance. He voice seemed to be patronizing him and his rather unskilled eye when it came to horses. The heat in his face was a mingled affair of shame but also a bitter anger. Then her accusation made his ears perk up indignantly.


"I wasn't spying!" He snapped, bristling slightly but staying rigidly on the spot, still looking ruffled. Helios should have just stayed in the tree, he came to realize as his embarrassed frustration mulled in the back of his mind, he could have slept peacefully or maybe retreated into the the thick underbrush. Of all things, he didn't need to fall, silently, he cursed himself from such a clumsy display. If he was trying to impress this woman he had definitely failed. Helios had imagined meeting his first female in the area very differently, with more suaveness, if he had any left at this point. "I was sleeping in that tree when you guys came along."

An indignant pout laid across his lips and he crossed his arms as if it was going to have a fit and simply march off. Though, he had dignity to preserve and marching off like a child was not a way to do it. Glancing back over to her, he felt bitterly towards her annoyance which was much against his generally amiable demeanor. He was stubborn though and his arms remained crossed and the two seemed to be almost a mirror, though one side showed amusement and the other one an angry bent brow. Even the horse looked amused and he couldn't help scoffing at that, he had never expected such plain looking, long faced animals to have such amusement in their odd faces. "And you shouldn't diss your horse like that, it'll give the poor fellow a complex. Buckskin quarter is as fine a pelt as ever."


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#5
Kenna's amusement only seemed to frustrate the male more. She watched as he seemed to grow angrier with every word she spoke. A fleeting thought crossed her mind of wishing she hadn't stowed away her knife so quickly, but the stranger didn't make any move to attack so she refrained from reaching for it again. She hadn't meant to be abrasive or truly accusing, it was that she had been startled and yet his reaction was just funny to her. "I wasn't spying!" His retort came back a snappishly and Kenna was slightly taken aback. A small frown began to take the place of her smirk and her ears momentarily lay back at the harsh words. The male then proceeded to defend himself and Kenna tensed a little as his annoyance became more apparent than his embarrassment. Lifting her paws in front of her in a placating gesture she shook her head. "Hey now partner, I wasn't trying to rile ya up...Just calm down alright? I was just teasin'." She tried to soothe the stocky built dog and gave a reassuring, half smile as he pouted.

It was still a little amusing to her that he was so flustered over something that could have happened to anybody. Circumstances might be different, but anyone who'd ever climbed a tree had probably fallen out once or twice. "I apologize if we woke ya, sir. We didn't know anybody was around." She explained calmly and glanced over as Dust came slowly plodding up beside her. She then lay her paw along his neck. The stallion sniffed in the direction of the stranger curiously. The dog then decided to scold her for her previous words about her horse. At this, Kenna's smirk was back, as was her playful nature. "Honey, don't you worry about him. He's got an attitude, ego and a complex all his own already. I had nothin' to do with it." She chuckled then and swished her tail. Dust nudged against her shoulder idly, more bored than actually amused as the stranger had interpreted and she absently scratched her fingers at his neck. The man had no idea the close relationship horse and rider had, so he couldn't know that the two were always giving each other crap (in a friendly manner of course). Dust would misbehave and purposely be a pain in the neck and Kenna would lovingly insult him. "Honestly, I didn't mean to offend ya. ...Let's start over shall we?" She offered with a smile. "I'm Kenna, Kenna Foxleigh." She removed her hat and held out a paw for him to shake. "Nice to meet you." She then glanced up at the tree he'd fallen from. "D'you visit this forest often?" She asked him next, curious. She couldn't smell any pack on him, so she assumed he was just one of the many loners of the lands.
#6
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Out of Character


In Character

Huffing as she apologized, he felt uncomfortable about losing his temper over such a trivial matter. In fact, the heat that raised in his face was shame for behaving so aggressively and letting his temper get ahead of him rather than actually thinking it out. Gods, I'm so stupid sometimes. He meditated, rubbing the side of his face to relieve some of his tension. Obviously, he had made his awkward impression even worse by making him seem like a mad animal with no manners. Again, he thought that he should have stayed in the tree or at least gone in the other direction, then he wouldn't have felt like such a bad guy.


It didn't help that she was pretty and her apologetic eyes made his knees weak. Her and that horse made quite the duo, though he would probably not like to run into it in a dark alley. Or any horse for that matter, he wasn't necessarily a horse kind of dog. Finally relaxing his tense stance he bent to grab his sword belt that contained his fathered sword and his small whittling knife. With his luck today, he would more than likely forget that he had them and leave them behind. He definitely didn't want to lose his only possessions. Clambering over the foliage that separated with as much grace as possible, he gripped the hand, half as support and half in greeting as he crossed a small bush to come to the opposite side of the stream. "Helios Kowl." He put on his best winning smile and hoped that he could relieve some of the tension that he definitely felt.


"No, I'm a bit of a nomad for the time being. Probably going to join a pack somewhere along here, loner life is a hard one." Taking back his hand, he gestured behind him at the tree he had taken up as shelter. "That's one might fine tree though and I wouldn't mind sleeping there again." The branch had practically cradled his body with a voluptuous patch of moss that had been one the best pillows he'd ever had. It was a rare tree in these parts, most were tall with very few thick, low lying limbs. He counted himself blessed at the find. The mere thought of the tree and his fine sleep made his drowsy and very smiley at the same time.


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#7
Kenna wasn't any stranger to people being taken aback by her teasing. Some people just misread her playful attitude and became offended. She was glad when the moment passed and was able to grasp the stranger's paw as he stepped over a bush after he'd retrieved an item from the ground behind him she hadn't noticed previously. It was a sword. Brows lifting with interest she nodded towards the weapon. "That's a real nice blade, Helios..." She grinned and almost literally felt him relax as he smiled at her in return. She listened calmly as he revealed that he was a loner and intended to join a pack soon. "--Loner life is a hard one." She nodded and chuckled wryly. "Yeah, I know it." She glanced at Dust beside her who was once again lazily hanging his head, ears splayed and eyes half closed as the two of them talked.

"Dust and I were out on our own for about a year. We joined up with the pack Cercatori d'Arte a few months ago. It's not too far from where we are now... I'm still just getting back into the swing of things." She explained and swished her tail. Helios then commented about the tree and Kenna once again focused her blue eyes on its trunk and low slung branches. She spied the one he must have fallen from. It was perfectly curved, a prime spot to rest in. Shrugging, the collie woman started to walk slowly away and back to the river's edge, but looked back to keep talking. "Trees can make a great bed, but after a time they can get uncomfortable. A real pain in the rear." She smirked softly, wriggling her tail. She then crouched at the water's edge again to see her reflection and finished removing the last leaf from her hair all the while keeping up the conversation. "If you're thinking about joining a pack, I can definitely promote d'Arte. It's a really relaxed place.. We're primarily based in trade and art but we welcome anyone who can contribute..." She smiled and stood turning back to her company in time to see Dust stretching his head out to sniff and lip at the shepherd's arm. Making a short, soft hissing sound between her teeth, Kenna got Dust to back off. "Sorry about him, he's just trying to check you out..." She smiled. "He's harmless. Normally he goes for females over men though..." She winked and laughed a little, her face lighting up. The sound was slightly barking but endearing and suiting for her in it's own unique way. Kenna loved a good laugh.
#8
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OOC: So sorry for the really late + slow reply!

He could feel the palpable tension easing between them. The quiet chatter quieted the background music and the birds seemed to be listening in, indignant that a canine's gruff words would dare to interrupt their placid music making. She was talking and he happily listened to everything she had to say. After his embarrassment, he had gained his confidence quickly once the tensions had dispelled. A firm grin took its place on his face and he nodded along with her and let his eyes twinkle. He could care less about the birds with her around, the birds didn't have a beasty horse or that little bit of southern drawl that he was finding so endearing about her.


Helios could tell she'd even been on her own before, her comment verifying that she had known hard ship just as he had. Then, she went onto her pack, a life that he so desperately wanted to live with his sister. Stable, happy and content all in one place and a roof over your head every night. He had heard of Cercatori d'Arte and heard its ideals and it had definitely appealed to him. With his joy of carving and beauty in general(for he felt he had to be beautiful, being so short), he found that the pack of artisans would be a good choice for himself. "I was thinking of joining up there, actually," he piped in, even though she seemed to talk, "Seems like the perfect place for me and my sister. I carve while she plays the flute." For a moment, he simply watched her look at herself in the water and let out a small laugh.


His smiling chuckle was slightly choked when the inquisitive horse came over. It was odd being so close to the large animal, it did cause him a moment panic and allowed his heart to pick up. He found no evil intentions in the horse's calm eyes but Kenna's reassuring words helped to still his heart. He felt soothed enough to reach over and give Dust a gentle, very timid stroke on the nose. "Good horse," he said, grimacing and smiling at the same time, mostly in amusement to his own cowardice. The grimace-smile turned into a chuckle and then to a laugh when Kenna started up. She had a nice laugh, it was a kind of laugh he didn't mind hearing.




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#9
No worries! Big Grin

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When in good company and enjoying herself, Kenna did tend to talk quite a bit. It was a good change from the past few months where she'd been too nervous to really start any kind of conversation with anyone. She wasn't really aware when she did it. All anyone would have to say was 'shut up Kenna' and she'd check herself. It was nice to know that the shorter male wasn't a complete ball of fury though. As they continued to talk he seemed to become more amiable. Kenna couldn't help but smile along when he did.

Having told Helios about Cercatori d'arte seemed to interest him. "I was thinking of joining up there, actually. Seems like the perfect place for me and my sister. I carve while she plays the flute." Kenna was surprised to hear this and her eyebrows lifted to show it. Well, sounds like you two would fit in just fine! She grinned. It'll be nice already knowing someone when ya join at the very least. She shrugged a little. I also carve some too. But I've got no real musical talent that I know of. She chuckled softly. As she was talking, the slight breeze had been causing the one leaf still in her hair to scratch annoyingly at her cheek, so she just had to go and remove it. Now leaf-free, she paced back up from the water to stand by Dust an amused glimmer once again touching her eyes.

"Good horse..." As Helios reached out and timidly patted Dust's muzzle, Kenna couldn't help but laugh again. Shortly after, the male's own laugh joined in with hers and in reaction, Dust's ears perked up and he glanced back and forth between the two luperci. On the equine's face Kenna could read the expression of confusion. She noogied the buckskin stallion's forelock affectionately, grinning. Looking back to her company she gave a lazy wink. He's a good horse. He's real good with people, you don't have to be so timid around him. She reassured the shepherd man with a flick of her tail. She could understand the loner's wariness due to his height. Dust was big for a quarter horse and to an already small statured person, he was extra large in their eyes.

The collie hybrid hated when anyone was uncomfortable around her horse however. Dust was a very good stallion, he was well trained and well behaved (most of the time anyways). In Kenna's eyes, there was no reason that anyone should be scared of him. She had to prove that to Helios somehow. Glancing at Dust she gently rubbed her paw along his mane. Would you like to ride him sometime? She offered kindly. Perhaps, if you do end up joining Cercatori I can give ya a lesson or two. You just seem a little wary of horses, I wouldn't want ya to feel you couldn't handle one. Dust is one of the better horses to learn with. She kissed the stallion's face and he sighed contently. Aren't ya boy... Dust then comically nodded his head, bobbing it a few times indicating yes. Kenna grinned at Helios. How can you be afraid of that? She teased lightly. It was obvious Kenna loved her horse. It was kind of a secret goal of hers to get everyone to like or at least be comfortable around equines. With Helios it was no different.

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