What You Don't Know [O|2P]

It wasn't long before the mysterious beast revealed itself. Try as she might to scent the approacher, her nose was useless; the wind was sending too many different scents into the air from all around her. Her fur was completely on end now, her head lowered. Her ears were pulled forward and alert, ready to catch any sound she could from the creature. Even with the wind, her hearing was well enough to hear it breathing, so hopefully she would have some sort of forewarning to an attack.

The only thing that Ren knew for sure about it was that it had white fur, and it almost seemed like it was making more noise than necessary. For what reason, she had no idea. Perhaps it was trying to be amicable? She couldn't make out whether its posture was aggressive or not, so she supposed it was a possibility. She wasn't going to take any chances, though. She'd been fooled too many times to be so careless again.

Ren avoided squinting her eyes to get a better look. She had learned to do that the hard way. Instead, she took a wary step back, hoping to show that she didn't want any trouble but, if necessary, she would put up a fight. She really hoped it was a wolf; at least something around her size or smaller that she would have a chance of fending off. Then, as if to answer her thoughts, it spoke. It was a simple "hello," but at least now she knew it was a male wolf. She still wasn't quite sure that was a good thing.

She blinked a couple of times, somewhat confused, before she replied. “Hello.” What should she say? There was an awkward silence hanging over and between the two wolves as she struggled to come up with something. Anything. “What are you doing here?” All right, except that. What business did she have asking a question like that? Her ears moved back in a nervous tick before coming forward again. Stupid, stupid, stupid. He was probably going to attack her now.

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Walking. "Thinking." “Speaking.”

OOC: Sorry for the delay! I'm a bit slow sometimes.

So far the male hadn't attacked her. Instead, he sat down in the soft snow. Well, that was a bit unexpected. "I could be asking the same of you, yes?" She mentally winced, shuffling on her paws for a moment in an attempt to remain calm. He continued talking, questioning her more thoroughly than she had him. What was she doing here? That was easy, yet she had no chance to reply as he spoke more, saying that this was "no place for a lady wolf." That slightly got on her nerves. She was female, yes, but that was definitely not the reason this was a bad place for her to be. She avoided growling; it would only aggravate the situation more.

The other wolf seemed to be sitting very strangely, as though he were leaning forward in a way that left him to be easily knocked over. Was he testing her, to see if she would attack? If that was what he wanted, he wasn't going to get it. Then again, he could actually be in an aggressive position, and it only appeared as sloppy to her poor vision, and her eyes narrowed slightly. When he finally finished talking, Ren froze. Had she really been that careless? Her heartbeat quickened as she began to think of a way out without showing it outwardly. It was difficult, and after a few seconds she stopped trying. She would just have to take a chance when the time came.

Perhaps if she answered his questions in a jumbled order she would be able to get him to think that she really just didn't use her eyes that much. She forced her muscles to relax as much as she could so that she wasn't as outwardly anxious. “This doesn't seem like a place for any wolf, female or otherwise,” she started, cautious. “And using your other senses can be very rewarding, I find.” She thought for a moment, then she too sat down, albeit slowly. It was the best way to show him that she wasn't afraid without simply attacking him. She decided that it was her turn to ask a question, but this time she went with something much less encroaching. “Is there actually any game in this forest? I've barely seen a hare, let alone anything larger.”

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Walking. "Thinking." “Speaking.”

Even if she couldn't catch the precise movements, she got the feeling that she had said something wrong, and a bemused look came upon Ren's face. Had she made him feel badly in some way? She thought back on what she'd said, trying to figure out what could have made him react that way, but nothing came to mind. It had to have been something he thought of.

She came out of her thoughts when he shifted into a more attentive position. He explained that there were mostly hares, and that they hid well with their white coats. Well, she knew the latter bit, but it was good to know that there were more than it had seemed at first. He also said that there were deer, but she couldn't really bring herself to believe him; it was something she'd have to scent with her own nose. His response was much more than she had expected. She'd predicted another evasive or, if she were lucky, vague reply that didn't help the awkward weight of their conversation. Instead, it seemed that weight had been partially lifted, which she was thankful for.

“Well, I'm a bit new to this area, so I'm afraid that I haven't quite learned the prey trails yet,” she said pleasantly. Why was this wolf being so nice to her? And, for that matter, why was she being so sociable with him? It wasn't very smart, she realized; this friendly display could give way at any moment to reveal something much worse. Still... She could talk to him a bit more, couldn't she? It had been so long since someone had taken an interest in conversing with her. For a moment she fought with herself on whether or not to ask him her next question. “Do you happen to know of any good places to rest? This wind is awful, and--” she stopped herself before she finished that sentence properly, but quickly picked up with something else. “I haven't found anything yet, unfortunately.”

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Walking. "Thinking." “Speaking.”

OOC: Haha, looks fine to me. :P Sometimes it's hard to make a long post. Sorry this took so long! I should hopefully be able to post more often now that school and finals are out of the way.

Ren blinked a few times in surprise. He wanted her to stay with him? Her suspicion was probably obvious on her face. But, really, what would he have to gain? She clearly didn't have anything to eat, and she didn't even want to think about the other option. Against her better judgement, she had to say that he really didn't seem like the type.

Her ears folded back for a moment, thinking. He was right about her being tired; it was an understatement, actually. She was exhausted. The idea of declining his offer and aimlessly wandering for what was likely to be almost all of the night just to end up sleeping out in the open was unpleasant to say the least. But... The thought of sleeping so near to another wolf frightened her. Never had she slept in another wolf's den since she was a pup, especially not one she knew so little about. What could she really do, though? As entertaining as freezing to death sounded, the thought of a warm den had already rooted inside of her mind and refused to let go.

Taking a deep breath, Ren looked towards the wolf as best as she could. She paused for a moment, carefully mulling over her words. “That... Would be lovely. I wouldn't dare ask you to sleep outside of your own den, though,” her words trailed off by the end and she looked away. Her next words were even quieter,  “I would hate to trouble you any.”

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Walking. "Thinking." “Speaking.”

OOC: Yeah, I think I managed to pass all of them with A's. What about you? And nah, it's okay, you've been rping more than I have been recently. :P

The pale she-wolf jumped in surprise when the male laughed lightly. Was what she said really so amusing? She turned to look at him when he began to speak again, her fur settling once again. Although his words weren't exactly unexpected, they still helped to put her anxious mind more at ease.

"So, what do you say?" He shifted on his paws, almost seeming nervous about her answer. Her brow quirked ever-so-slightly at the thought. Since when was another wolf nervous about her answer to anything? She wanted to laugh at the idea, but the only thing that came out was a small smile on her maw. A particularly harsh blast of cold air hit her back and, with a shiver, she was reminded that she still needed to answer his question. “It would sure beat sitting out in this frost. I don't know how you can stand it.” She stood up slowly, careful not to appear too eager about getting into another wolf's den. Although they weren't that far from each other, Ren took a few measured steps closed to him so that she would be able to follow him better once he started moving.

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Walking. "Thinking." “Speaking.”

OOC: Oh, that sucks. I hate when they take the grades down before you can look at them >_< Was this your first year of high school? And about the gif, did you save it and upload it yourself? If so, that might be the problem. Certain image hosts don't let you upload animated gifs. Sorry this post is kinda short and doesn't add much.

Ren was quick to follow the male as he started leading the way back to his den, not wanting to lose him in what seemed to be a coming storm. He soon slowed, however, she was grateful to not have to worry so much about keeping close enough to him. "So...it might be good to know each others names," he said, stepping over a bit of unsteady snow. She copied the movement as he told her his name. Ghost. It suited him.

"What's your name if I may ask?" Although she was still a bit uncertain about whether or not she could truly trust the mal— Ghost, she quickly corrected herself, she figured it couldn't hurt to tell him her name. “It's nice to meet you, Ghost,” she started, giving him a polite smile. “My name is Ren.”

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Walking. "Thinking." “Speaking.”

Ghost's compliment was unexpected, and for some reason she was unable to reply with a "thank you," instead simply lowering her head slightly and pulling her ears back. She wasn't exactly embarrassed, but it was the best word she could think of to describe how she was feeling.

Ren gave him a confused look when he stopped at a pine tree. He looked pretty strange hanging off of a branch, and before she could say anything he had already repeated the process. By the time he was finished, he had a decent pile of pine branches that he was slowly dragging to the den. She recalled him saying something about lining the den with pine branches, and not wanting him to go to so much trouble for her sake she moved forward and separated the pile so that she was dragging about half of it, following close behind.

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Walking. "Thinking." “Speaking.”

When he stopped, Ren carefully laid her pile down beside his, stepping back. He seemed to be the opposite of her. While he rarely traveled, she was almost constantly doing so; she had yet to find a place she could properly call "home" as he did with the den she stood before currently.

She would have followed Ghost inside, but she didn't want to enter uninvited. It didn't take long for him to come back out, and when he did he turned in a way that seemed to tell her to go inside. She cocked her head to the left slightly, looking at him concernedly. “Are you sure you don't want to get out of the cold too? It looks like it's going to storm soon.” Another rush of cold air had her raising her fur even more to try and keep warm. “... Or now.” It was probably odd to see a white wolf that couldn't tolerate frigid temperatures, but she wasn't really trying to impress anyone by showing that she could.

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Walking. "Thinking." “Speaking.”

Ren frowned at his words, not convinced at all. There probably wasn't much she could do to persuade him otherwise. “All right, if you're sure...” She paused before entering the den, watching him dig out the snow to create a shallow hole to sleep in. She didn't need his advice to tell her to get in and out of the worsening weather and so, with a small nod and a thank you, she went inside.

The she-wolf immediately felt the effects of the protective walls now surrounding her. While still chilled and shivering, the wind was no longer beating at her back and through her fur. The den itself was rather spacious, the opening area large enough to fit three wolves comfortably. A sparse trail of leaves lead down a thin hallway, and when Ren followed it, she found the entrances to three smaller areas. One of them was lined with the pine branches Ghost had gathered earlier, so she assumed that was the place he had prepared for her to sleep.

The leaves were cold when she lied down, but it wasn't long before her body heat warmed them enough to be comfortable. Close to falling asleep, her thoughts soon drifted to the male outside. As concerned as she was about him staying out in the storm, she had to admit that she was grateful. As nice and trustworthy as he seemed, she wasn't sure she could trust him in such close proximity within a cramped den.

Despite all of her worries, her exhaustion finally caught up with her. Any thoughts she had soon drifted away and turned themselves into dreams, leaving her in a slightly restless sleep.

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Walking. "Thinking." “Speaking.”

Ghost closed his eyes, as ren finally went inside. But still a few hours later as night began to come upon the snow turning it into a greyish color as the light of the day faded and the shadows lengthened into ever stretching claws. Some seem to descend upon his still form curled up by the entrance of a den. With a sleeping figure in its depth the one laid curled alone outside  in the chaos of a coming snowstorm as it descended. He didn't dare open his eyes as the snow began to descend in what seemed to be never ending waves of flurries. His coat was soon covered and his still form began to disappear under the snow as it piled a few inches across anything it could sit on. Soon his form you could no longer see and all that one would see now is a slight bump in the snow where he lay underneath. As the storm raged on, he slowly opened his eyes and found himself in a small compact cave around him where his fur had created a space between the snow and him. He blinked a few times and closed his eye once more hearing the howling winds and the ever thickening snow as it descended to the ground around him and on him, seeming to bury him alive. He laid that way for as long at time went by and the storm raged but sleep seemed to elude him and so he laid there with his eye open or sometime closed waiting for the raging snow storm to end.

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Walking. "Thinking." “Speaking.”

When Ren awoke, she was confused for a moment as to why. She still felt as tired as she had been when she'd fallen asleep, so it couldn't possibly be morning yet. She was much warmer than she had been earlier, which was strange with all of the cold air outside. Then, with a resounding crash, she realized that what had woken her was the sound of tree limb cracking and that the noise she had just heard probably meant that it had broken off. As much as she wanted to go back to sleep, her mind couldn't help but carry itself to the thought that Ghost could have been injured. She hadn't heard a yelp, but what if he had been knocked unconscious?

She hesitantly got to her paws, stopping for a moment to listen for a sign that he was okay. Hearing nothing, so made her way through the den and to the opening. She must not have slept very long at all, as the night she had fallen asleep in was still there, dark as ever. She could hear the wind howling outside, but the entrance was completely blocked off by snow. "So that's why I've been so warm," she thought absently, beginning to dig her way out. When she had finished, what greeted her was a flurry of frigid air and snow that forced her to take a momentary step back. With a deep breath, she braved out of the den, searching for where Ghost had made himself a place to sleep.

The snow was at over two feet deep, and although she was a fairly tall wolf, she still had to stretch her neck to see over it. The branch she had heard earlier was right beside the den, considerably large given that it had fallen because of the weight of the snow. Nearby she could see where the snow was slightly taller and, hoping that was where he was, she began to make her way over there as fast as she could manage through the thickness of the blizzard. Once she thought she was close enough, she started to dig out the snow, shivering harshly in the cold. Who knew if she was even at the right spot? “Ghost,” she called loudly, trying to speak over the sound of the wind. “Are you in there? Are you okay?” As poorly she knew him, it was hard not to be worried about someone who just let you into their den without asking for anything in return.

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Walking. "Thinking." “Speaking.”

Ghost continued to lay there and sometime he drifted off though it didn't last long as when he woke up to a resounding crack that reminded him of thunder, he felt as tired as when he was earlier. After a few silent min other then the howling of wind from the continuing snow storm he thought he heard the muffled sound of someone calling. Who would be calling for me? He slowly started squirming and faced what he though was toward the sky and went to dig himself out of his cold tomb that he was encased in. After a few more min he finally found release when he broke through the top and found himself standing in the blizzard that seemed to not have let up one bit. It was still as dark as night and the shadows seemed to be ever present. A new one had formed close by and when he looked he could see the cause of the cracking like thunder sound. It was a big tree branch that had broke during the raging winds and probably the amount of snow that had covered everything in its wake. “This bloody blizzard, just had to come tonight...” He said murmuring to himself. He looked around and saw the shape of something near. He squinted his eyes. Was that another wolf? He stood up to his fullest height the chilling wind making him think otherwise and he crouched his head, lowered and his eyes squinted against the winds that blew forcefully against him. He managed to open one eye and tried calling out “Who's there?” But then he thought, did ren come out of the den? If she did why would she come out into this raging snowstorm. He spoke up again trying to call over the howling winds. “Ren, is that you?" He said while squinting his eyes once again as he crouched lower to escape the winds trying to nock him over.
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Walking. "Thinking." “Speaking.”

Another sound rose faintly beneath the wind, causing her to stop digging and to look around, ears turning in all directions to try and find out if it was Ghost she heard. "Ren, is that you?" she caught clearly, realizing that she really had been at the wrong place. As much snow as there was on the ground as well as in the air, her scanning the area to spot the other white wolf was useless. Still, she felt relieve flood through her knowing that he at least wasn't unconscious or dead. “Yes, it's me,” she called, still trying to find him with squinted eyes. “Are you all right? You weren't hit by that branch, were you?”

Ren could swear she saw a slight movement that didn't follow the pattern of the snowfall, so she decided to follow it. When she reached it, she was disappointed to find out that it was just a bush billowing in the storm. Too far away from the den to be able to see her way back, she slowly began trudging through her trail through the snow. It was a bit difficult to even do that considering that the snow had already piled up high enough on her path to make it close to the height of the rest of the layer. “Where are you? I can't see you in this blizzard.”

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Walking. "Thinking." “Speaking.”