A Shadow in the Ice

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Shade had been annoyed by the wolves constantly coming into and out of the lagoon. He was having a good time and he would miss the cave, but he began to walk northward to the frozen forests. The snow beneath his feet crunched as he continued on. His black pelt stuck out in the land, and the trees were think in this, making it hard for him to see any prey. He managed to catch a mouse and a small rabbit, but that was it. After almost an hour of walking, he finally grew tired and dug a small hole into the snow behind a bush large enough for him to fit into. Digging it brought back memories, but he fought them away. It wasn't nearly sundown, he was quite cold and hungry, and his wounds were still hindering his capabilities somewhat, but he tried to sleep anyway.

He dozed for moments at a time, but woke frequently to the sound of birds, snow foxes, or other animal life wandering about in the woods. He could not sleep. He crawled out and attempted to hunt, searching the snow for mice or rabbits. He caught a few more mice and consumed them. He now looked around for any other wolves. He rose his muzzle in the cold breeze and howled. "Is there anybody here?" He sat down and awaited an answer.

OoC: Haha! My return has finally come!

Subject: Re: A Shadow in the Ice June 11th 2009, 9:36 pm

OOC:Great to see you back Soul :3 Your font was always easy to read,but it is good to see old members coming back.
Also my roleplayings skills have gotten better 8D

All at once,the world around this wolfess seemed to be crumbling like the snow beneath her feet as she trailed along.Katasha lifted her muzzle to the sky,staring at the gray bland clouds above.Letting the air around her cool her even more.Yet the freezing forest was known to be a brisk temperature,she was unusually hot in her thick coat.A few little snowflakes fell onto her making her fur wet.Then suddenly a freak sleet storm broke out and covered her fur with cold ice chips and then it ubruptley stopps making the semi-hot sun to melt them and plaster some of her fur to her skin to reveal her ribs.Katasha was half starved and desperate for shelter.Running forward into the woods,she kind of blended in with the trees but nothing much elsa,with her black paws,and grey belly.Yet a few moments later Katasha had a burst of snow rush her face,that seemed to explode.Suddenly she heard a call from somewhere near."Is there anybody here?" The voice howled.Padding forward,she noticed a black male wolf in the snow."I am here."She barked.Only five or six feet away.

Subject: Re: A Shadow in the Ice June 12th 2009, 5:45 pm

OoC: Alright, topic full.. Nobody else join.

A few light paw-steps brought a white wolfess into an open area in the woods. It seemed peaceful, as far as she could tell, throughout all the noise of the birds and the hunting creatures. The lagoon seemed so far away now; so distant. The warm air had disappeared, replaced by cool breezes and white snow. But, to the female, all of the quiet was nothing more than an empty loneliness. Back at the waterfall she was nearly shot, and Shade had vanished. Not exactly a good day for Fae. She had left the lagoon for her own purposes, some less understood than others. But one she knew for sure: she was in search for Shade. The male and her had become mates just a mere five days ago, and already the wolfess had found herself worrying about him. She'd already traveled four days worth from the waterfall, and she hadn't even attempted at catching anything. That, though, affected her looks, as her ribs were beginning to show more every day. She had absolutely nothing to go on to find him, either, so basically she was going to be on a wild goose chase until she starved herself to death. But she didn't care, and she merely pressed onward from the clearing, and farther into the forest. At first, she couldn't feel her energy draining at all, but now, today, she was feeling much more tired and weak. Everything was becoming dull to her as she continued her search; at least until she caught the scent of blood. Her ears perked upward and she made a mad dash to see what it was, only to find a tiny pool of blood and no source. Carefully sniffing the scent of the dead animal, another smell drifted into her nose. It wasn't a mouse, or anything else like that for the matter. It was Shade.

Quickly Fae picked up a trail and began following as fast as her paws would carry her, occasionally dodging trees or fallen branches along the path. His aroma was becoming stronger and stronger, and then she lost it altogether when she neared another kill site. It was strange, normally she wouldn't lose a scent like that, even if another smell came. The white wolfess sniffed furiously for his trail again, pushing her nose into the snow as far as she could to try and find it among the layer of earth beneath. She found nothing. The female mumbled a curse and looked around for any signs of the male, but it had recently begun snowing so it was practically useless. Yet again Fae was without any clues of her mate's whereabouts, and thus she began wandering farther north, merely hoping she would pick up his scent again. As she padded forward, birds became louder and more irritating than before. Her neck kept her muzzle low to the white ground, still trying her hardest to pick up the scent again. But then, even through the shrill squawks of those flying pests, she could hear a familiar voice howling outward to anyone who would listen. Fae easily could recognise his voice as none other than Shade's, and her ears quickly perked up. Finally, she'd found him! Her head rose upward, her ears fell back, and her eyes closed, but before she could answer him, an other's reply came. The white wolfess growled. The wolf was female, that much she could tell, but other than that she could only confirm it wasn't that annoying wolfess Aleu. Fae pushed forward again, regaining her previous look, though kept her nostrils above the ground more than before; for this time, she was following the sound from his voice, and not searching the dirt for his scent. She wasn't all that far, and by the time she was within two yards of him she could easily identify his dark pelt among all of the ice and snow. Her maw shaped into a wolfish grin, for she knew she couldn't sneak up on him and pounce. She knew, just like she could with him, that he could catch her scent even if she were farther from him than she is now. But soon her smile faded away, as when she turned to look around, she could spot another wolf not far away. Most likely the one she had heard earlier. Fae doubted the wolfess could see her through the trees, but she was certain that she could scent her just as she probably could with Shade. Although the white female was joyous upon finding her mate, she was angry and upset with the fact that he had left without saying a word. A light, irritated growl escaped her muzzle, and that was enough of a greeting for her.

Guest

Shade heard the female's bark and sighed. He had been hoping that he would either get no reply, or the reply of a specific wolf. He looked at her and spoke. "Is this anyone's land yet?" He lowered his head to the ground and looked for another meal while waiting for the answer, more from boredom than hunger. He eventually grew tired of the fruitless search and sat in the snow, looking at the thin trail of blood that his paw had left. Stange, he thought. There should be a bit more than that. Snow fell and landed quietly on the ground, quickly covering the already-frozen blood. A wind picked up shortly and carried a scent with it. It seemed familiar. Was it...? It was. Fae! The pain and the cold melted away, just as before. He dashed towards the trees where the scent was coming from. When he got close enough to hear, a low growl escaped the trees. He smiled, even though she sounded angry. He turned to face her. "Hello," he said happily.

OoC: Alright... I'm trying to get better, longer posts. I think I'm doing a tiny bit better, but it all comes with time and practice, eh?

Subject: Re: A Shadow in the Ice June 12th 2009, 10:32 pm

OOC: I think I should atleast post longer.>.>I see Wildwind's rping skills have grown.

Lifting up her head to see that the darker male wolf,black as pitch.Padd slowly towards her with no sign or maybe no intent to fight.She was the wanderer and this brute was just another bump in the path of life.Letting the cool yet rythmic tunes of the wind calm her,Katasha released a sigh cooly come from her.Showing some boredom in her tone,she cocked her head and lowered it down.
"I don't think so.."She replied back to his question but there soon was a presence somewhere in the woods near.Smirking,she thrust up her head and turned to the bush.A growled came from the brush but she wasn't in any mood to fight,it would just be more waste of fresh wolf blood to spread crimson on her fur and the floor of the wood.Yet the black brute seemed happy to see this female.Narrowing her eyes just a hint she watched the wolves interact with one another.The female seemed displeased while,the brute seemed very intrigued and interested with this she-wolf.
"Hello."She heard him say happily.Katasha blinked before padding forward,closer to the others.

Subject: Re: A Shadow in the Ice June 20th 2009, 6:12 pm

OoC: Since Majestic is gone.. I'll just improvise. Again, though, still nobody else join.

A small breeze passed the three wolves, but it didn't seem to bother the white wolfess one bit. When she heard him speak, her aggressiveness lightened a bit, though she was still mad at him and wouldn't let it by just because he said a little "hello." No. She wanted an answer as to why he left, whether he liked it or not. "You better have a good reason for leaving like that," she said, looking towards the other wolf again, then right back at him. She let out a small sigh, lowering her voice so the other female couldn't hear her speak. "I've been tracking you for four days. Four! And without any clues as to where you went, I relied on luck finding you." The female flattened her ears, turning away from him and closed her eyes. "I thought you'd been shot and taken away," she whispered lower, looking back at him with open eyes yet again. It was so irritating, he'd been gone for days, and all he could say was that? But, despite her anger, she was mainly confused as to why she was feeling the way she was more than why the brute had left. She had never even liked a wolf before him, and here she was worrying about her new mate who had just left her to go somewhere alone with no word. Most, including her, would believe that he didn't truly love her, but she knew him. She knew that he was perfect, and that no other could change that fact. Either way, her mind was swirling and it was hard for her to speak something without blurting it out all at once. The wolfess sighed. All of her thinking and rambling on in her head only really cost her a good minute at most, though it seemed like a lot longer to her. Fae looked at him with her silver-blue eyes with an apologetic look, trying to remove any signs of anger from her system. Of course, being Fae, she couldn't keep it in for too long, so she was sure to hurry up with her "sad act" for as little time as possible. "I'm sorry.." She was wishing she had said more, but her sight had somehow crossed paths with the other female, who had come considerably closer than before. Much too close for Fae's comfort, or her calm state of mind. Her frontal frame curved to look at the female head-on, staring at her with a sort of protective look. "And who would this be?" Her voice became louder, and her tone was showing that she was regaining her regular stubborn attitude again.

But, it seemed, that as soon as she had asked that question, the wolfess had disappeared. There was no trace, no scent; nothing. Fae's ears perked upward to catch any sound the female might have made, but it was useless. Though strange, the white wolf was quite pleased by how quick and easily the wolf had vanished. The young, white wolfess lifted up her neck, closing her eyes and letting the wind blow her fur. It was relaxing.. Peaceful. Her previously bristled fur was now laid down again, and her blue-silver eyes were much calmer looking. She let out a gentle sigh of disappointment when it faded away, and she turned to face the dark male again. He seemed even more black than silver or grey than over at the lagoon or the woods, as among the snow he seemed as black as night. But, while she was staring at him, which was kind of weird to her when she thought about it, she hadn't even heard the loud grumbles and moans coming from her empty stomach; not until a sharp pain roused her from her day-dreaming. The pain surprised her, and made her wince heavily. She quickly stood back up though, and sat down softly onto the cold ground beneath her paws. Her ears flattened against her skull as another pain erected from her chest, even worse than the last. Her eyes nearly closed, but she managed to keep them open and look at Shade again. She could feel she was emaciated, but she didn't really feel like eating. Not now. She could wait a little while longer.

Guest

Shade listened to Fae's angry whispers with his ears against his head. He wanted to say he was sorry, but he couldn't speak. Instead, he walked closer and gently licked her muzzle. He felt horrible for leaving her so suddenly, but his fears took over. When his voice returned to he, he said, "why are you sorry? I'm the one who left you. I'm sorry." He looked down, his ears still flattened. He remained silent for a few moments. With his head still pointed to the ground, he spoke. "Not long ago, about nine moons, actually..." He paused. "Another wolf that I cared for was killed by the humans. The sound of the gun firing... Scared me. That's why I left. I'm really sorry." He looked at her sadly, silently begging for forgiveness, trying to prepare himself for if she didn't. A wind came, smoothing Fae's fur and her moon, judging by the look in her eyes after she opened them again. She looked at him, and her stomach growled. She seemed to be ignoring it though. Only then did Shade notice how thin and bony she had become over the four days. She winced and nearly fell down, but recovered and sat.

"Fae? Did... Did you eat while you were looking for me?" He knew the answer already though, so he quickly looked around for any food. He soon found a small mouse. Not much, but it may be enough to keep her from death for a little longer, while he found more. He laid it in front of her and continued searching, panicked. He wouldn't let her die for his fear. He found a rabbit, but it escaped down into its home before he could catch it. Within ten minutes, he had found and caught another two mice, a small rabbit, a bird whose wing had been injured by a piece of hail. He hoped that it would be enough for Fae. He caught another mouse then ran back to her. Adding the mouse to the pile, he lay down next to her. "Please, eat. Whether you want help or not, I don't want you to die." I shouldn't have run. I should have fought with her... But I didn't. I can get over it. He looked at Fae and sighed shakily. Please, don't leave me...

OoC: ... My post is puny in comparison. D:

Subject: Re: A Shadow in the Ice August 21st 2009, 2:50 pm

ooc: UGH I hate my posts lately!

The white wolfess' ears flattened slowly to her skull as she listened to his story. She had no idea what to think about it, let alone respond. She took in a deep breath and exhaled before she even tried to speak. It took her a moment to think of the words, and when she did speak, the words were sympathetic and caring. "I'm so sorry.. Shade, I had no idea.. I-" Her sentence was cut short by a loud growl erupting from her stomach. She winced, but managed to stand up and take a few steps towards Shade. She hadn't even realized he had tried to calm her down with a lick to the muzzle, but obviously she calmed herself. She stood there for a moment, deep in thought about what she was going to do. She could go eat, yes, but this would be more enjoyable than killing something when she really didn't feel like eating. Her head gently rubbed against his neck as she passed it with a few steps to rub against his side reassuringly. It probably wouldn't work, but she thought she'd try to cheer him up in some way. When she had finished, took a step from him and turned around, she was surprised to see that he had moved. Only then did she notice that he had spoke to her, however, she only caught the last sentence.

"Did you eat while you were looking for me?"

That was actually a pretty good question. All she could remember was running, drinking from occasional streams, and sleeping every couple of days. It hadn't really occurred to her that her stomach had been empty the entire time. But, in that short amount of time he had moved away from her, he returned with a small mouse. Fae sniffed at it, curious, as she hadn't eaten anything but fish for quite a while. When she opened her watering jowls, Shade returned yet again with another mouse, and continued to bring more prey for her to eat. By the time he brought the last of his hunting's rewards, she had finished all three mice. As he dropped the bird, she quickly started to tear into the small body, though found that birds actually were less enjoyable than fish. Stupid feathers. In a few moments, she heard him encouraging her to eat. Hadn't he seen the few bones left over from the mice? She'd have chewed on them, stripping the few strands of meat off of them, but she wanted to eat more than that at the moment. She pushed the hare towards him with her nose, and laid down on the cold, white snow. "I'm fine, you can have the rabbit. I wouldn't want you to go without your own reward." She smiled softly, her ears fully erect again. "Thank you, Shade, though you didn't have to hunt for me. I'm just as capable as you." Her grin grew wider now, her teeth gleaming against the little amount of sunlight that passed through the trees.

Guest

OoC: ... Why? I don't see anything wrong with that post.

Shade took the rabbit and took small bites off of it, enjoying the taste. He caught it for Fae, but he was hungry himself. He had eaten half of the hare before responding to what she said. "I know that," he said without looking up. He tore another chunk off of the carcass and ate it quickly. He looked at her and spoke again. "I was worried about you though. You could have collapsed. I didn't want anything to get worse." He paused for a second before returning to the corpse. After finishing his meal, he looked to the sky. It was going to get dark soon, which meant a drop in the temperature. "We need to find a place to rest," he said to Fae. What about the hole behind the bush? No, there wasn't time to finish it. "Get some more food for yourself and I'll look around." He started to wander around in search of some kind of shelter. He found some fallen branches on top of each other to make a low den. The snow had not piled very high inside, either. Shade searched for leafed branches to cover the top to prevent the cold from entering. A few minutes pass, and no branches are found. Eventually, he finds a couple of branches and drags them back to the den. When thrown onto the top of the others, they left a few square inches uncovered. He sighed and looked around for something to cover the holes. By the time he found any more branches, he was shivering slightly from the cold. He ran backwards as best he could, dragging the branch, then threw it over the den to cover the holes. When the wind died down, he howled to tell Fae where he was and waited for her to arrive.

OoC: They're certainly longer than my posts.

Subject: Re: A Shadow in the Ice December 14th 2009, 10:17 pm

Still smiling, the white wolfess watched as he tore into the hare, pausing once in a while to speak. Before he could talk again, while he was still finishing up, she made her comment on his words, "I wouldn't have collapsed, just go hungrier is all," she said jokingly, standing up as he did. "We need to find a place to rest, get some more food for yourself and I'll look around," she heard him say, quickly nodding afterwords. "Don't get into any trouble without me while I'm gone," and with that, she was off. With a new burst of energy from the mice, her paws carried her stronger than before. Once out of sight of Shade, she leaped into a sprint, scenting with her nose and sighting with her eyes for any prey. It seemed like hours with the surroundings, the trees all seemed to look alike wherever she went, her only guess that she wasn't going in a circle her own paw prints in the snow. It was quite a while before she even smelled anything, and by the scent it was probably a rabbit. Slowing to a slow walk and following the aroma, she found the hare after a few mere minutes. Along with a white fox.

Growling, Fae chased after it, having more fun than really wanting to catch it. Being larger, she could have easily caught up, but as weak as she was it slowly pushed farther and farther ahead until it was gone from sight. Mumbling a curse, she started padding back to Shade, without success. However, she make sure to keep her senses alert for any more scents, even from a mouse. Smiling as she finally caught one's scent, she dashed towards the surprised creature and caught it before it even knew what hit it. Proudly carrying the tiny meal, she returned to where she had last seen her mate, and was not surprised to see him gone. Sitting down, she tore into the mouse's meat, mainly just out of boredom until she got notice from Shade. Before she knew it, the familiar howl of the ebony male rang into her ears, and she quickly stood up and sprinted to where he was. It wasn't long before she found him with a small den made out of a few branches to make a rough, temporary den until they could find better shelter, at least that's what Fae thought he was planning on doing. Leaping down from the small cliff she was on, she was beside him in mere moments, looking at him and the den. "Good job, I didn't really expect there to be enough things to put together a den, let alone one such as this." She smiled, giving him a quick nuzzle to his chest before plopping inside on the cold snow. A long shiver up her spin, making her laugh lightly, and she quickly stood up and began pushing the frozen water from inside. "Could use less snow, though," she smiled at him, finishing up and laying back down inside. Moving over to the side to make room for Shade, she laid her head on her forepaws softly, slowly closing her eyes to get some rest; she was exhausted.

Guest

Shade's ears flattened at her comment. "Sorry. I forgot about that." He crawled in and curled up near Fae, happy to be with her after the week of solitude. He remained awake for a few moments before he closed his eyes and slept.

During the night, the wind had shifted the branches of the den slightly, leaving small spaces for snow and light to break through. Shade awoke a bit colder than usual and with a beam from the sun shining in his eye. He shifted his head slightly so that he wouldn't go blind. He tried to shake some of the snow off of his pelt while lying down, doing as best he could to not wake his sleeping mate. It proved to be rather ineffective, as he still had a paper-thin coat of snow glistening on his fur. Slowly, the dark wolf stood, and the blanket of ice floated to the ground. He stepped out of the small den into the frozen forest and looked around. Everything was about the same as it was last night, but with just a little bit more snow. Shade enjoyed the cold, but he did not want to live here. It was too difficult to find a decent meal or shelter. Back at the lagoon, there was the cave behind the waterfall. It only had fish to eat, but there was a forest nearby to hunt in. After making his decision, he lay down in front of the den, waiting for Fae to awaken so that they could return to their soon-to-be home.

OOC: It took too long to make this. If you'd like, we could have the RP conversation in chat or something and just quote it all in one post to avoid making multiple short posts. Up to you.

Subject: Re: A Shadow in the Ice July 30th 2010, 5:24 pm

[ We had this conversation in chat, so as not to have several small posts. I'm not powerplaying, Soul did half of this. ]

Fae's eyes opened lazily to a single ray of light shining into the two's make-shift den. She blinked a few times at the bright light, only to see that Shade was not beside her. She stood up to her paws with a yawn, stretching out her hind legs and seeing him a foot or two out in front of the den. Walking towards him, she sat a little to the side. "What are you doing up?"

Shade smiled at the sound of Fae's voice. "Good morning to you, too." He turned to the gray and brown wolfess and nuzzled her affectionately. "I've been thinking..." He paused for a second and sighed. "Fae, would you like to begin a pack with me?"

Fae smiled back as he nuzzled her. She cocked her head curiously as he began to speak, waiting for him to continue. What she heard made her pause, eyes blank. She'd never thought of much more than what she had, which was him. Her ears flattened and she lowered her head, looking up at him with worried eyes. "Shade... I don't know. I.. I'm afraid. Afraid of if I would be no better a mother than my own. I can't promise you I won't be any better, and I hate myself for it." She sighed, closing her eyes. She continued speaking with them closed. "I do want to, Shade, don't think any different. I just want to make sure you actually want me."

He understood and nodded briefly. He tried to give her a reassuring smile while he spoke: "Of course I want you. But if you want to wait, that's fine. We can start with just us."

Fae opened her eyes again as he spoke, a sad gleam in her eyes. She had to admit, she felt more reassured when he said what he did, but she was still doubtful of her abilities. "Alright... We can try. But only after we get someplace better then this, okay? Anywhere would probably be safer than here, and it would give me time to sort some things out in my head..." Her tail gave a slight wag, and it was then that the cold began to effect her again. She gave a nervous half-smile to Shade, trying to show that she was willing to try and be strong for him.

Happiness flooded the dark wolf and it took a moment before he could speak. "Thank you, Fae." He nuzzled her again. "I thought about our home as well; we could go back to the lagoon and live in the cave. We would be able to hunt in the forest and have a decent place to sleep or take shelter during storms. We might have to deal with more wolves, but it seems perfect other than that. What do you think?"

The female's eyes closed in a warm feeling of happiness as he nuzzled her again. She still had a somewhat worried expression, but remained joyful. "The lagoon sounds perfect," she replied, giving a gentle nuzzle back to him.

[ Off to the lagoon they go! ]

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