to halt your wanderings

Null Liulfr · 10-08-2012, 02:03 AM

((OOC: blarg, derby opening post))

Null had often taking to prowling through Salsolian lands at random as of late, discovering every nook and cranny of the Thistle Kingdom. She was learning where the rabbits kept their dens, where wild herbs grew, where the best places to set traps were. Over the past few days she had been showing Rurik around to all the places she knew, teaching him what knowledge she had learned of their new pack and its territory. Today was following the same pattern, the pair exploring the packland now available to them and conversing fondly as they picked their way through the forests and fields and marshlands.

Today, they were exploring near the border for no particular reason. Their fingers were red and bloody from the rabbit they had caught and shared between themselves, neither caring enough to start up a fire and cook it. Rurik took an interest in some tracks leading off into a grove, wanting to find the creature that made the tracks and hunt it down, but Null was more interested in collecting the foxglove flowers that she could see growing up around the trees up ahead. The huge black wolfdog went one way and the little coffee-and-cream wolf went the other, neither seeing any reason for them not to split up briefly. Rurik had soon disappeared into the trees and Null began picking the pretty, deadly toxic flowers. You never knew when you needed a poison, after all.

The trapper liked how quiet it was out here; it would seem completely cut off from the pack if it weren't for the smell. There was only the sound of her own footsteps-- and Rurik's off in the background, but his heavy steps had become as familiar to her as her own-- and the lack of sound from other canines made every crack of sticks or chirp of bird all the more loud and obvious. Null always liked to see how quiet she could ge in these conditions, and picked her way carefully through the leaf litter to avoid making any sound.

Terra · 10-09-2012, 11:36 PM

Terra knew she shouldn't be there. She'd been attacked there before. That was the fun of it. Knowing she was forbidden, and doing her best to escape detection. Cheerfully she trotted over the border, taking her time to pick a spot where the scent was thin enough to make it look like it was an accident that she passed over the border. The problem was that wiping out her scent wasn't possible. She ha clues on how to do it from following the pack members, and knew that they didn't have a scent outside the pack. It was fascinating, but she hadn't figured out how.

She meandered back and forth over the lands, wondering how far she could get before someone would pick up where she was. As careless as she was it wasn't long before she came across someone. Terra froze dead still at the sight of a grey female leaning down and picking flowers. The flowers meant nothing to her, but the wolf sure did. As quietly as she could Terra began to walk backwards, hoping to slip off before the wolf realized that she was there. She did look fair involved in what she was doing. Terra had a chance.

Null Liulfr · 10-10-2012, 12:30 AM

Null was crouching down to investigate a particularly interesting splash of purple fungus when she saw it. A flash of tawny red in the corner of her eye. Her head snapped up, ears held up and twitching to catch any sound, and she quickly spotted the other canine now that she was looking for her. Null sniffed the air-- maybe the other female was a Salsolan? But the scent she caught disproved that idea immediately this was a stranger, from another pack. Null stood slowly, keeping a close eye on the tawny female and taking a few careful steps forward.

...You're trespassing. She stated simply, tipping her ears back and baring her teeth in a threatening gesture. I think you'd better leave. She began to advance on the other female-- who, thankfully, didn't seem overly large-- and trying to look as intimidating as she could, a difficult task given her inherently harmless appearance. She supposed that she would have to chase the intruder off, which seemed a daunting task. Rurik was nearby, though, and Null could always call for him if things got out of control.

Null swallowed her anxiety and growled. What if it came to a fight? She had never been in a fight before. Maybe the other female would just run?

Terra · 10-11-2012, 02:36 AM

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number one do not do with Terra: do not show lack of confidence

Teeth flashed in Terra's direction. The small coyote continued reversing, tail swaying as the game passed into the next part. So she had been too cocky and let herself get caught by someone. Now she could enjoy herself running off from the female that was here. I will, once I'm through. There was no nervousness in Terra's expressions, acting cocky in her actions. She'd done this before, and enjoyed it.

Her movement was steady, retreating and turning so that she began to head back towards the border. Terra paused as a scent reached her. Sniffing curiously the trespasser smiled. Have you done this before? Standing still she smiled up at the stranger. Chased someone off. You're not as good at it as others are. Not aggressive enough. Stepping to the side Terra grinned, baiting her now. You need to learn to take control!

Null Liulfr · 10-11-2012, 03:00 AM

Goddammit. Goddammit. Null had hoped that she didn't seem as nervous as she felt, but apparently her anxiety was written all over her. Though that anxiety was pushed down slightly at the stranger's words-- once she was through? Once she was through? How dare she, the precocious little brat. Null growled a little more ferociously and snapped her jaws, dipping forward in a clear mobbing gesture. The stranger was right, she had never done this before, but she wasn't going to let this trespasser get any further into Salsola's lands.

Take control, hm? The trespasser thought that she needed to take more control. Fine, then. Null would control the hell out of this situation-- wow, really, she was trying to use bravado on herself?-- and she decided that a show of force would motivate the other female to leave. One hand darted into her satchel and flashed out again in a blur of movement, a throwing knife streaking from her hand. It wasn't intended to cause serious damage, perhaps clip the strangers shoulder if she didn't move out of the way quick enough, and then it would embed itself in one of the trees behind the tawny canine. It was simply a threat, loud and clear.

There, was that taking control enough? Aggressive enough? Null pounced forward again, growling and snapping. That wasn't a request! Leave! She snarled, part of her itching to call Rurik. The trespasser wouldn't be nearly so cocky if she had Rurik after her. But no-- Null wanted to do this herself. She didn't want to rely on the aid of other, bigger canines. She could chase this girl away, sure. She was just a little... Hesitant. In case she got hurt. That was normal, wasn't it? No one just jumped into fights without thinking about the risks, did they?

Terra · 10-11-2012, 12:35 PM

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OOC here.

Pushing this strange wolf's buttons was probably a bad idea. Terra was actually quite sure of that fact. She knew that members of this pack were aggressive as well as secretive. It was just so much fun, teasing this newbie! Tongue lolling out of her mouth Terra smiled, watching the other threaten her with a snap of her jaw. Terra took a step back accordingly, though she didn't treat it very seriously. She hadn't been sent running or anything.

Terra's ears flattened, ducking down as something whizzed over her head. She felt something skim over her, turning her head to watch a knife thunk solidly into the tree. Okay, maybe she should go. Terra really didn't want to head home with another pointy object lodged in her pelt. Nodding her head Terra resumed stepping back towards the borders. Alright, alright. No need to get so temperamental. I'm just playing. She should probably stop talking.

Null Liulfr · 10-11-2012, 07:42 PM

Null snarled again, not liking this stranger's tone at all. She was so arrogant, so cocky. Where did she get off, prancing about Salsolan lands as confident as you please? Did she make a habit of wandering where she wasn't welcome? When Null was a wandering loner she had never even considered trespassing on packlands. Null sniffed-- and, even worse, this girl was from Cour des Miracles! A trespasser from another pack! What the hell was she doing? Was she a spy? A pretty damn poor spy, if she was.

Playing-- playing?! Null stared incredulously. Some people had no respect for rules. Null liked rules, she liked to follow rules-- provided they made sense and didn't conflict with her plans, of course-- and the trapper had always had a serious thing about boundaries; territory lines, front doors, bedroom doors, she always got jittery and felt wrong if she crossed them without permission. And this brat was just playing? You can play away from Salsola! She snapped and lunged after the tawny canine, flashing her teeth and claws. It was a clear message-- move faster or be attacked.

The little wolf reasoned that if the tawny trespasser was going to attack then she would've done it by now. That was good as far as Null went-- she still hated the idea of a violent confrontation, despite all her bluster. She was angry, no doubt about that, but the runt had never been angry enough to lose her head completely. She and the trespasser were fairly close in size, but the other girl lost certainly had more experience than Null. Which wasn't hard, seeing as Null had no experience at all.

Terra · 10-11-2012, 08:07 PM

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OOC here.

The poor wolf seemed completely shocked that this was Terra's idea of fun. Granted, it was dangerous, and often painful fun, but it was still fun. Terra kept her retreat up, knowing that sooner or later she was going to hit the salsolan's limit and end up with a highly enraged member chasing after her to kill her. With any luck she would survive. The next response proved that she had hit that point, unable to stop grinning as the wolf snapped and lunged for her.

The young coyote broke into a run, streaking for the border. Moving as fast as she could Terra zig zagged over the land, dropping into ditches and darting behind bushes to make any possible knives that came her way more easy to dodge. The laughter stayed put, the seriousness of the threat taking priority over the humor. She'd laugh about it after she was a safe distance away from the pack and the angry female.

Null Liulfr · 10-11-2012, 08:36 PM

She was-- she was grinning! This wasn't funny! What the fresh, bleeding hell was she grinning about?! This girl grated on every last one of Null's nerves. She had never met anyone who had wound her up so quickly and completely. She wanted the brat gone. Now. There had been far more prevaricating about the issue than was necessary, and Null was done with it. She was going to get the girl off the territory right now.

Null took after the girl when she started running, jumping over logs and ditches, swinging herself around trees if she ever needed to make a sharp turn. She was snarling and snapping and barking without words now, just loud, angry, threatening sounds. She wasn't going to stop chasing the brat until she was clean out of Salsolan territory-- or, at this point, until she had caught the trespasser and killed her. The ducking and weaving made it impossible for Null to make a shot with one of her knives, but the trapper was fairly confident that she could rip the tawny female's throat out with her teeth. If she caught up to her then she could even stab her in her smug little face.

She was close at heel to the girl, but not close enough to touch her yet. If she caught her, Null would make the brat sorry that she ever decided to play on Salsolan land. Who the hell did she think they were? Salsola had a goddamn reputation for being violent and dangerous, and this precocious little creature had just decided that it would be fun to play on their land? She would get herself killed if she kept this up. Null would personally see to that if she got half a chance. People often thought that the trapper was kindly and harmless and helpful; she was actually much more volatile and snappish and willing to harm than anyone who knew her could have guessed-- except, perhaps, Rurik. There was a reason that she had taken such a liking to Salsola. The secrecy and sinister undertones and threat of violence to outsiders-- that held a huge amount of appeal for her.

Terra · 10-11-2012, 08:55 PM

Why did she antagonize Salsola? Terra didn't have the slightest clue. It wasn't a safe occupation. Granted, it wasn't like Terra decided to go out of her way to tease Salsola all the time. Her pack was as far from Salsola as one could really get. She'd teased it a few times before, and each time had ended up hurt and needing time to recover from the wounds. Yet she returned, and did the exact same thing. Perhaps it was an addiction, the rush of danger and the knowledge that a raging wolf was on her heels.

The border was close. The coyote leaned out, pushing herself even harder as it came into sight. She'd dance over that and she'd be home free. Twisting she managed to gain a couple feet, and hoped that she could hold the lead. Hitting the border she leaped over and changed path, moving for something that would be difficult for a two legger to squeeze through. She was not in the mood to return home with an injury. Well, perhaps she was since she'd come there, but she'd prefer to do without.

Null Liulfr · 10-11-2012, 09:11 PM

Null didn't bother chasing the stranger over the border. She skidded to a halt, cursing colourfully, watching as the girl ran off, disappearing from view. If you come back I'll kill you myself! She roared after tawny canine, keeping her in sight for as long as she could. The trapper then proceeded to stalk along that stretch of the border, as though confirming to herself that the brat wasn't going to try and sneak back in from another spot, before nodding once to herself and slinking back towards deeper territory. Rurik would be wondering here she had been.

The runt found her knife and yanked it out of the tree in which it was embedded, fitting it back into its pouch in her satchel. A small bloom of pride was stirring in her chest. She had chased of an intruder. She had been useful, done something for the pack. Since Null had never had a pack before, the one that she had gained was very important to her and she wanted to do right by it. She acknowledged that she had gotten lucky-- if the trespasser had been a larger canine then things could have gone much worse for the tiny wolf, but the point still stood-- she had chased away an intruder. Huffing with self-satisfaction, Null set off to find Rurik-- and boast a little about her accomplishment.

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