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Post by vedemera on Jul 26, 2011 17:49:33 GMT -8
The lonely young she-wolf streaked through the long grass of the great valley, hot on the heals of a rabbit. She panted harder and harder, her small and weak body not quite as durable as the average wolf. The rabbit was a mere extra muzzle's length in front of her. One final burst of speed would finish the ordeal, but Arube's strength was quickly fading. She cried pathetically when she found the creature putting more and more space between them. She finally decided to give up, and slowed down considerably.
Arube collapsed onto the damp ground huffing and puffing. She felt guilty and awful enough about her small size and weakness. Now she really had nothing to show for herself. The she-wolf hoped that the alpha would never cast her away; she was trying so hard to please everyone. Arube continued to beat herself up, laying on the ground and whimpering, thinking about life outside the protection of the pack.
After a while, Arube straightened back up and looked around, hoping nobody saw her driveling nonsense. She beat herself up for that, as well. "Confound this weakness," she said, and cursed herself under her breath. She snorted and looked around, trying to sniff out another potential small meal. |
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Post by reeddragon on Jul 26, 2011 20:40:01 GMT -8
Heh...if the pack were to see me now...
Safo yanked a mouthful of tall grass upward out of the ground and set to work chewing her meal. It was an odd sensation. The grass was delicious and actually seemed to fill her if she ate enough. That, a few berries, and a piece of bark or two left her as energized as if she'd just had a decent portion of deer meat. It wasn't always this way for her; she used to need meat just like any wolf. She had discovered a taste for plants, recently, and now that seemed to be the only thing she ate. It was just as well, though; her bad leg made hunting difficult while plants didn't try to escape from her. She could live as an herbivore if she desired, and anything she did manage to catch could go to the rest of the pack and keep them strong.
The only problem was that not all plants were fang friendly. No matter, though. It wasn't like they would try to fun away while she tried to figure out how to chew them.
A rabbit ran up to her and froze. She stared at it, and it remained immobile. Surprised, she blinked, and in that moment it vanished. Safo watched it leave, curious as to why it had been in so much of a hurry that it failed to notice her until it was practically in her jaws.
Weird.
Shaking her head, Safo wandered in the direction the rabbit had gone, searching for something sweet to enhance the taste of the grass. Instead, she saw her packmate - Arube - standing and looking around. Had she been the reason why the rabbit was panicked?
Well, she wasn't going to know unless she talked to the other wolf. She approached her packmate, ears and tail held high - she was a beta, after all - but a friendly expression on her face. "Hi, there."
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Post by vedemera on Jul 27, 2011 10:18:52 GMT -8
Arube's ears perked up when she caught a scent. However, it was not the scent of game. It was another wolf. Her eyes widened and turned into a dark brown. She dove for cover in the long grass, but continued to sniff. She realised the scent was familiar, as it had the scent of her pack. She lifted her head up cautiously, her eyes still alert. It saddened her that she was afraid of her own packmates. She always assumed that they only wanted to hurt her in some way. Arube sighed and tried to relax, but remained on her guard. Another wolf could snap at her at any given moment, and she was barely even prepared because of her light stature.
Arube noticed that it was the beta of the pack who graced her presence. This caused yet another course of anxiety to go through her. Safo was friendly, but her standing in the pack was intimidating. The black she-wolf lowered her head again in a submissive fashion, not wanting to upset her in any way. Arube noticed that the beta had greeted her. She looked up and stuttered, "H-hello... b-b-beta S-s-saf-fo..." Her soft voice was barely even audible, and Arube's nose turned hot with embarrassment.
Arube used her power of empathy to detect that Safa was is a fairly good mood, and was looking to find some sort of food. She knew that the beta ate mostly plants, so she concluded that that was why she was here. The typical dizziness that resulted in use of her power hit the small female, making her stagger. She made a desperate attempt not to fall, weak with embarrassment. |
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Post by reeddragon on Jul 27, 2011 10:49:44 GMT -8
Arube lowered her head, submitting to Safo. It was a weird feeling for her, but not an entirely bad one. It would be outright pleasant if not for the fear in the other wolf, made evident by her stuttered greeting.
Well, that won't do. Safo was proud of her position, but she certainly didn't want the others fearing her. Her position hadn't changed the core of her personality, and she still felt the strong desire to be friends - or at least liked - by everybody. She let her tail drop, but kept her ears up, more out of comfort now than a showing of rank. She had been about to ask the other she-wolf how she was doing and if that rabbit had been hers, but was distracted by Arube's stagger. Not sure what else to do, she darted forward, pressing her good shoulder lightly against her companion's side to help her keep from falling altogether. Now her ears lowered: she was worried for the other wolf.
"Are you all right? What just happened?"
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Post by vedemera on Aug 8, 2011 21:26:16 GMT -8
Arube did not notice the slight change in her beta's stance in her brief vertigo. She thought she would keel over altogether and make a complete fool of herself (as though she hadn't done that enough already), but felt the beta's support against her side. She sighed with relief and steadied herself, completely flustered and worried about what Safo thought of her idiocy. Then the timid female remembered that Safo had no negative intention, and relaxed slightly.
Arube held her head up and her eyes brightened, turning into a light amber. "Thank you," she said, her voice laden with gratefulness. She was apprehensive of telling others about her ability. This would not be an exception. "And that was... well, I just got a little... dizzy. Happens all the time!" She laughed nervously and hoped that Safo thought it was anxiety, not an absence of truth. Arube felt bad for lying, but she was not ready to let anyone know of her nosiness. The amber in her eyes darkened slightly.
The little wolf was not sure of what to say next, so she stood there in an awkward silence. This was one of the biggest reasons she spent most of her time alone; she often failed at stimulating conversation. She sighed and looked down feeling embarrassed once again.
OOC: Sorry this took so long. And I'm more sorry this post is so bad... |
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Post by reeddragon on Aug 9, 2011 15:58:49 GMT -8
Arube steadied herself, and - once Safo was sure the other she-wolf wouldn't keel over without her support - the beta stepped back, fixing her concerned gaze on her pack mate. That had been rather sudden, and Safo was still worried even though Arube seemed to be doing better now.
Arube lifted her head and thanked the beta, and Safo saw the other she-wolf's eyes brighten. Good, she seemed much better now. Safo was still worried. What if it happened again? Or worse, what if it happened and no one was there? Then if something came along...
Safo suppressed a shudder and tried to put those thoughts out of her mind as Arube explained that she just got dizzy. The worry only increased when she stated that it happened all the time, but Safo left it at that. Her companion seemed to be doing much better now, and that was what was important.
The other she-wolf laughed, and then things fell silent. Too silent. Safo then remembered the rabbit from before and decided to speak up. "Oh, were you hunting before I came along? If so, I was thinking, maybe we could try to hunt something together. If you want to, that is."
((It's not bad. :-P And no worries.))
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Post by vedemera on Aug 15, 2011 12:02:59 GMT -8
Arube couldn't help but notice the worried look on Safo's face. She did not need her power of empathy to read body language or facial expressions with a considerable degree of accuracy. It was hard to believe that anyone could be concerned for the pathetic she-wolf, as she always assumed that she was hated by all, or at least greatly unappreciated. Not to mention misunderstood.
Arube also noticed that Safo was just as uncomfortable as she was, but Arube was still unsure of what to say. She was relieved when the beta finally broke the suffocating silence. Her ears flattened when Safo mentioned the rabbit she lost, but her face lit up when the beta proposed hunting with her. No one ever wanted to hunt with her. Just then, however, Arube's inferiority complex began to rear its ugly head.
"I was hunting," she replied. Her voice began to get softer. "I don't know... I mean... I'm not a good hunter... As you can see..." Her eyes began to turn dull and slightly darker. Curse these stupid mood eyes, she thought. |
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Post by reeddragon on Aug 16, 2011 16:00:00 GMT -8
At Safo's question, Arube's ears flattened. Safo frowned at that. It was a simple question, but it seemed like it had hurt her. Why? Because the rabbit got away? Lots of wolves lost against rabbits. The little critters were too agile most of the time, and they could fit into places that the wolves could not.
Bah...it was confusing. Safo did not like being confused, so she tried to put the topic out of her mind.
Arube confirmed that she had been hunting, but was hesitant about hunting with Safo, saying she wasn't very good at it. The beta shook her head at that. "If you weren't a good hunter, you would have starved, right? Besides, I'm not exactly great at it either." Her tail wagged. "Together, though, I bet we could catch something."
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Post by vedemera on Aug 17, 2011 10:57:37 GMT -8
Safo appeared confused, and Arube instantly felt guilty despite not doing anything wrong. It was a typical thing for the little she-wolf to do. She often felt bad for no particular reason. She had a nasty habit of blaming absolutely everything on herself whether it was actually her fault or not. She was frightened that she hurt Safo's feelings in some way, and Arube could never live with herself if that were the case.
However, the beta seemed to have gotten over it, so Arube tried not to dwell. Safo insisted on hunting, but her words were encouraging. Arube chuckled as she agreed with what the beta said about starving if she were truly bad at hunting. It all seemed so silly, which almost upset the emotionally volatile female. She shook her head and tried to raise her head, but it felt as though her head were being weighed down by great boulders slung around her neck.
Arube forced a smile, still anxious about hunting with her pack mate. She nodded anyway, a soft "Maybe..." escaping her muzzle. She felt weak and almost sick, but tried to get over the feeling. Arube waited for Safo to give her some direction. |
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Post by reeddragon on Aug 18, 2011 2:43:52 GMT -8
Safo smiled when Arube spoke. The other she-wolf still seemed anxious, but she'd feel better after a meal. At least, that's what Safo thought. Besides, winter would be coming soon, and much of the prey would be gone for the year. Best to get everyone fattened up as much as they can while they can. "It'll be fine, I promise. And if we fail a couple times first, no big deal. Lots of wolves do. I think it's a failsafe in prey species. They're good at escaping, and because of that we don't kill everything."
Safo sniffed, her muzzle close to the ground. She smelled rabbits, but that much was expected given that she had seen a rabbit on her way here. They could go after one of the small creatures, but she wanted to scent their options first. Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be many. She caught a very faint whiff of white-tailed deer, but the scent was somewhat stale and deer was prey for a group of three or more wolves.
"Options are limited. Looks like rabbit's our best bet here." She walked around, sniffing the ground to determine the direction the animals had gone. "We can track one down, then...you're the better runner between us, so you could chase it to me and I could ambush it...er...if that works for you." She glanced up at her companion.
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Post by vedemera on Oct 17, 2011 12:11:47 GMT -8
Arube found the beta's smile only mildly warming, but refused to show it. The last thing the little she-wolf needed was to offend a superior. Her lips curled into a half-smile, which was an awkward movement for her, as the she-wolf typically carried around a sulking or apprehensive look. Safo's words were somewhat encouraging, but the smaller wolf's doubts remained. She made to bend down and sniff for another trail, but Safo beat her to it.
Arube lowered her head anyway, and strained to pick up a scent other than that of the rabbit she had lost. She winced at the memory of the rabbit's feet disappearing from her view, and her eyes darkened. The she-wolf focused on the ground in an attempt to rid her mind of the awful incident, but it did not work particularly well.
Arube raised her head when the beta spoke once more, and only realized now that she had accidentally put some distance between the two of them. She jogged back to Safo, but missed the first part of what she said. "Erm..." she began, uncertain of what the beta was talking about. Using deduction, she guess that the plan concerned a rabbit, and stifled a groan, inaudible over the wind. However, Arube's ears did perk up when Safo regarded her speed, and her nose burned slightly.
The she-wolf nodded in agreement and understanding of the plan. "That should work," she affirmed, and went to smell around once more. Arube stopped almost immediately upon moving, remembering that she was not in charge. She waited for Safo to commence the hunt.
OOC: Argh. Sorry I was gone for so long. Let's get this thing back up and running. |
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Post by reeddragon on Nov 12, 2011 11:07:55 GMT -8
(Welcome back! ^.^)
Arube seemed happier, and that lifted Safo's spirits as well. She wanted the other wolf to be happy and feel like she had as much purpose as anyone else. She was an important part of the pack, but she seemed to have trouble realizing that fact.
The other she-wolf had also searched for scents, though it didn't seem as though she found much that Safo didn't. That was fine, though. They couldn't scent anything that simply wasn't there, after all. Arube seemed hesitant at first, and Safo withheld a frown. How else would they hunt? But then she seemed to agree to it, so Safo went back to sniffing, this time to locate a particular rabbit. She found one, and gestured in its direction. "Over there." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Seems like a big one." She looked for a hiding place, finding it in a nearby bush. "If you can chase it within pouncing distance, I can finish it off."
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