Resting

[Warg]

Outside, a gentle rain fell, befitting the mood of the young, sad naama. He shifted slightly, tucking his paws in closer to his belly. It was a warm night, but his morbid, lonely thoughts had him feeling miserable and cold inside. He stretched out his head from the fallen log he had secluded himself in, and peered about briefly. He was nestled in the wooded western edge of the basin. He would head west tomorrow, but for now, he just wanted to get some good sleep.

But sleep was eluding him, and would not hold still. His thoughts kept drifting. He was not sure what to do about these Uuma. They had abilities far beyond anything he could imagine. They were strong, and terrible. Even when he thought one might appear normal, as Eyolf had seemed normal, until he talked, that uuma had actually CHANGED SHAPE! He knew them to be ruthless, and heartless. Sometimes, one might be kind and gentle, like Tag had been, but he could not trust the Uuma had been really sincere. He still wanted revenge, he still wanted to feel uuma blood spraying down his throat. He still wanted to track down every last one of them. He just...didn't know how he was going to manage it. After getting away from Eyolf, the Naama had taken shelter here in the forest. He knew he was still in their territory, but it would have to do. He was exhausted from the whole ordeal, and just did not feel like traveling anymore tonight.

Pulling his head back into the log, the naama tucked his head under a paw, wrapped his tail around his form, and just shivered. His wounds were mostly healed, though still sore sometimes. He was learning how to stretch out the muscles, and that helped. Soon, he would be back in full fighting condition, and he would take full advantage of it. Closign his eyes, the loner tried to find sleep.

[moxi]

She'd had a sort of falling out with her friend and wandered off alone, stretching her legs (and her freedoms) further than the outlands, way into the southern border. Ghosting along, she was for the first time so incredibly aware of her surroundings and just how little right she had to be here - without her companion's protection, she was almost afraid, keeping to the shadows and slinking through the mud. It was so very late, so very cold and she was oh so very tired. For the first time in nearly a year, she would be sleeping alone. The thought made the tiny Uuma shiver, whining as she dropped her rump to the ground and shook a thick coat of water from her fur.

There was little sense in stopping - she would not make it back to the den by sundown and she very much aware of the stories her nan had spun her as a babe, of ruffians and brutes that lurked in the shadows to snap up little girls like herself. It was relatively safe here, so long as she was not discovered. The pack kept fair hold on their lands, she was certain that she would not meet an unkind fate (although the fact she'd made it past with little issue did not bode well, on second thought), and she continued onward, that false security slowly zapping her observational skills.

She'd managed to get her head into the log, only to realize there was something terribly wrong about the situation - her nose twitched, eyes going wide and there was a sudden, startled yelp as she jerked away from the other wolf, wheeling about and skidding into the base of a nearby tree, ending her frenzied flight early, leaving her shaking her head and sniffing miserably as she attempted to sort her paws out from one another, adrenaline trumping not only her lack of sleep, but her motor skills as well. Without second thought, her lips peeled back in a ferocious snarl, and she staggered up, tail lofted and ears pinned back.

[Warg]

The Naama had just fallen asleep, when again, the dreams that haunted him just about every time he fell asleep...returned.

Howling. Not of song to the moon, or calling for gathering, but of pain. About four Uuma weave in and out through a small pack of traveling wolves. The pups are gathered in the middle, and defended, but one by one, the defenders are killed. Finally, one of the pups, only 9 months old, growls and bites the nose of an Uuma that came too close to his sister. More fighting breaks out, and the young pup gets his fangs into the neck of one of the injured uuma, finishing it off. The rest of the Uumas are enra---

The sudden noise of the intruder awoke the sleeping Naama instantly, with a howl of fright, the memories of the dream haunting him, the image of an uuma that was in his face he had just killed, was now a real one just a few feet away. The loner scrabbled to get to his feet, banging his head sharply on the roof of the log in consequence, sinking back down to his feet with a pathetic puppyish whimper. He really did not know how much more of this he could take...

The naama finally lifted his head again, and peered out at the tiny uuma before him, although at the moment, he could not quite be certain that it really was. Still safe inside the log, he stared at her, and considered the possibility, judging by her instant dominant pose, she had to be a member of the local pack here. She was small though, and hadn't seemed to much different yet, so he would take his chances. The Uuma would all pay for their crimes...

Baring his fangs, the naama slowly crawled out of the log, and rose to his full height, glaring at her. He shook his body hard, puffing himself out. His own tail lifted, curling over his head. He might not have been in the mood for a fight before, but right after that kind of dream, and he wasn't feeling pain for the anger and adrenaline running through him, he would take his chances. The Naama snarled viciously, before jumping forward, swiping a paw towards her head.

[moxi]

It had been so very long since she'd been struck at, the female had little clue as to what she was supposed to do and took a fair whack to the temple, staggering to the side with a slow shake of her head. It hadn't hurt as much as she thought it might, but her ears rang and her vision clouded, red threads of light crisscrossing again and again. She did not take a moment to recover, but rather turned on him, jaws clicking sharply as she distanced herself with a few shaky steps backwards. She was uncertain and far from trained, running on uneasy instinct... Again she felt a miserable pang of hurt, well aware of how much larger he was and how very small, how very plain she'd come to be. Hell, she could hardly be called an uuma! She had only a voice and her companion, nothing of any real use of value. She was colored as the mud and humble, without adornment or mutation. With that thought, the snarl died in her throat. She bristled and bared her fangs, tail still lofted and posture most assuredly defiant, though she did not make a noise.

Perhaps nan had been correct when she spun her tales of naama fiends (he'd yet to utter a word and didn't look too awfully different from a normal wolf... Though this judgement was swift and she was quick to doubt - this was Uuma territory, it was unlikely that he was not one and she had very little knowledge of the practice of slavery). Ansa put another handful of paces between them, slowly lifting her head and hiding her fangs though a look of mistrust still haunted her eyes and her coat would not lay flat for all the water or the will. "No." It was a simple word, but her voice broke from fright and strain, creaking dryly through her teeth. "No," she repeated, lowering her head and tugging it protectively against her shoulders, shortening her neck and giving a short warning growl, although she was no longer threatening, but simply defensive, prepared to dart away at the next sign of approach or attack with her legs tensed beneath her.

[Warg]

The naama growled menacingly, bristled and angry, watching her every move. He still was not entirely sure, but he was on Uuma lands and she had been quick to assert herself first, so of course he would go with his instinct. He paused briefly, waiting for her to make her move so he could throw her down, but...she backed away instead. Puzzlement racked him briefly, even as she stopped growling and took on a posture of defense.

Her single word was enough to remove any doubt, and the naama could only reply with a snarl. He took a few steps forward, following her, tensing his hind legs and leaning backwards slightly, shifting his weight for another lunge. He paused though. How could he be certain that a Naama could not speak? Just because none of his pack mates ever had, he was from a small pack. Who was to say some could and some couldn't? He really did not know that much about the world. Only that wolves with powers and who looked strange...and could talk, had killed his pack. But just because they could talk, did that really make them an uuma? He was still very young to the world, and though he was clouded with hate and anger, did it really need to be taken out on this little one who did not wish to fight?

Slowly, and it did take several minutes for all of this to slowly shift through his mind, first as doubts, then a slow fade of anger that left him feeling drained, his side throbbing painfully. His growls softened, lips lowering until it was only his throat rumbling. His ears and tail lifted slowly, until with a toss of his head, he was no longer angry. Besides, she kind of looked like his littlest sister, they had the same brownish fur and she was about the right height. He took her to be younger than he, but could not tell for sure.

Finally, the naama just stared at her, until lowering his head slightly, he slowly approached again, this time, more curious, with a friendly wag of his tail. He had doubts of her race, and if he had doubts, then he would stop. He was really rather naive. Besides, she was female and fighting between them was really not normal either.

[moxi]

She sprung away and darted all that much further out of reach at his approach, eyes wide and accusing as she studied him, clicking her teeth again. Ansa studied him, judged him, and then carefully approached. Her steps were slow, her neck extended the furthest she could, nostrils flaring though the rain made it difficult to catch his scent. "No" she again murmured gently, as if telling him to be still (as if she couldn't think of a more appropriate word), taking her sweet time until finally her nose hovered near his flank. Without so much as a warning, she sneezed, jerking back and out of reach again, tail slowly lowering with a small, amicable wave and she shook her head a moment, pawing at her muzzle as the sneeze still burned in her nose.

A round of snuffling and a firm shake later, and she was good as new (although her head and begun a dull ache) and she made an attempt to return the friendly wag in full, dancing a bit in place, ears tucked back and a soft whine of apology caught in her throat, unsure if she'd spoiled the short truce by sneezing on him. The rain lessened and the faint reek of old wounds could be smelled on him, something she'd only briefly caught before - her ears tucked back as she edged to one side, attempting to catch sight of the injury without appearing to be sizing him up, head tilted in an awkward, perhaps morbid curiosity. "Are you okay?"

[Warg]

His watched her approach, still with the unsteadyness of an awkward moment, untrust and doubt, mixed with pain and her scent of fear did not mix well for him. He growled again at her word. He really wished she would just stop talking, it wasn't helping his attempt at trying to distinguish her friend from foe.

The rain deadended his senses, and he was just leaning forward to sniff her when her sneeze started the jeebies out of him. He snarled and lept backwards. His right legs did not catch him that well, and the naama stumbled a bit before catching himself, trying to straighten with an embarressed grumble. He glared at her, then just had to laugh at her expression, his lips curling up in a grin that did not last very long. He watched her eyeing him, and turned his left side to her protecting his weakened side, glaring at her warningly with another lift of his lips.

Again she spoke, and again, he growled. This was not going to work, he was growing more and more aggitated and unsure of himself. He did not want to make nice with an uuma, but nor did he really want to fight someone who was so little and young, and female. He was at a loss, and could only shake his head at her a little bit. He was hurting, tired, and hungry, and she wasn't helping his mood.

[moxi]

Her ears drooped some, as if to say "Oh", and she eased back a pace. Obviously hurt by this rejection, she turned, as if to walk away, and lingered there. She mirrored him, her side turned to him as his was to her, and she studied the wood for a moment before lifting her head and peering at him again. No, she decided, circling around. It was far too late to be wandering around in another wolf's land and far too cold without her companion (she was beginning to realize that she honestly did miss the bear), she had better test her limits.

Head and tail lowered, she crept toward him, fixing the frown and furrow of her brow into a more friendly look of beseeching and curiosity. A quite whine here, a wag there, she exercised what little of her learning in submission she remembered from her first year, keeping herself low to the ground and suitably pup-like. The closer she came, the more halting her approach until she finally stopped and flopped down in the mud, head rested on her paws awkwardly. This is demeaning. The frown flickered on her features briefly before being banished again, ears tucking back. With a quite whine, Ansa waited, punctuating her impatience with a sharp exhale.

[Warg]

Honey eyes watched, and pondered. This certainly was not Uuma behavior. When she turned away, he did to, but he looked over his shoulder, not hearing her fading steps. His eyes narrowed slightly as she turned back, but was replaced with a look of surprise. She was actually approaching as a normal wolf would to a dom. This was different...certainly not something an uuma would do. So that decided it. He watched her get closer, almost smiling. He was thrilled to have found another naama, but he wouldn't ruin the moment. Hugs, nips, and licks could wait, for the moment he had to accept or reject her.

He waited till she had stopped. His head lowered, and sniffed at her a bit, before licking her cheek. He nuzzled her head, then gave her a good sniff over, checking a certain very powerful glanduler area. He nodded to himself. He noticed how she shivered, and slowly, gently, he laid down beside her, pressing against her to share his warmth. He was almost comfortable, before remembering his log. Jumping up, the naama quietly barked, and pulled at her ear gently, then led the way over to the log. He stood at it's entrance, poked his head in, drew out and looked at her with a giant grin, tail wagging happily.

[moxi]

She nearly turned about to smack him, not all welcoming an intrusive nose (it had been far too long apart from other wolves, the act seemed alien), however took it in stride, a miserable glare briefly setting the distance on fire. It vanished when. He settled close, warming her, and she relaxed into him with a small yawn and hooded eyes... and then he was up again.

She couldn't help but protest, stiffling an accusing jab with a low, trembling whine, only to realize she was being invited to share his makeshift den. A log was much nicer than sleeping in the mud! Jumping up at the tug of her ear, she bounced after him with the briefest second wind one might hope to expect, returning the bark with a pleasant wag of her tail. Gingerly, she butted her head against his shoulder, figuring her token of thanks would be better returned physically rather than verbally.

She mimicked his action, ducking her head into the log and giving it a fair sniff before withdrawing with a puzzled tilt of her head, warily attempting to enter, tail tucked and eyes awkwardly turned back on him, lest she receive a chomp for assuming this was alright.

Walls of rain-blacked fur, if you were curious, could make excellent time. Especially when chasing a wayward pup.

[Warg]

The wolf could only laugh at her antics. He was glad for the break for once. It would be nice to have a companion with him in his travels and hunt for Uuma. Though that thought then scared him...if she was going to go with him...they would surely have a hard mess of things when he wanted to go Uuma hunting. He would have to protect her. He wondered if she even woudl go with him, but she was alone and small, she had to surely she would. He looked at her, and pushed aside those thoughts for now. As she bumped him gratefully, he nodded and watched her with a smirk checking out the den.

He nudged her rump, urging her inside as he followed in after. He laid down, using his back to block the entrance and laying on his left side, lifted his right foreleg with some difficulty, for her to lay against him with a quiet huff. If she wanted to check out his wounds, she had the perfect oppurtunity to see all nine slowly healing wounds.