Setting More Fires (Lovely Single Damsels)

[Njack]

Shaw grunted as he hauled himself up Suicide Hill. Like many of the wolves that had lived and died (he would have preferred it if he didn't think about the ones that had died on this hill) before him, he thought that it was very aptly named.

Man, if Blink was with me, we'd be up this hill in no time. At least, she would. He chuckled to himself, then felt sheepish. Then again, she might fall off or something. A daredevil, that's her...

As he reached the top, panting and sweating, he had another thought. I haven't been with someone in a long time... Ever since Blink disappeared.

It was true, in a fashion. He had seen Blink again, around camp, but she seemed almost preoccupied. He hadn't wanted to bother her.

I wonder if this is what happens to all siblings as they grow up. Some companionship would not go amiss...

[.Rabid Lycan.]

Chasing ghosts again, Neva? Yeah… yeah, that sounds about right.
Toughened pads fought gravity in a cyclic motion, limbs rising from the earth only to kiss the ground within seconds. No, milliseconds. The midnight fae raced forth in a sprint, the sheen of her pelt disrupted by a ruffle that went through her fur. She seemed almost anxious.
Then again, when you’re a rogue invading on pack territory, anxious is not exactly the most inappropriate emotion.
I remember this place… that nice Siverian. Blizzard, I believe his name was. Wonder if he’s still around? Maybe… only one way to find out.
She detoured through a particularly thick clump of thickets, her slender figure slipping easily amongst the overgrown foliage. Her breath caught, recognizing the intimidating majesty of Suicide Hill… and, just as interesting, the presence of another wolf among the rocks. Tentative, she took a small step forward.
Nah, this one doesn’t have the white pelt. Not him.
She backed into the shadows, ready to leave before the wolf noticed her. Well, if he didn’t notice already. No matter; it’s not like a pack wolf could actually catch up to me, anyway.

[Njack]

A soft padding sound. Like the rippling an oar makes as it travels through the water. Like the sound of a suspect softly escaping through the brush, leaving clues behind. Though why he associated the three, he couldn't quite say...

"Who's there?" He narrowed his eyes slightly, squinting into the shadows. Not one of those Blood Mists I hear about, I hope. Or that idiot I tangled with in that battle a long time ago. Then again, I wasn't much better. He got up from the position he had been holding, which was laying down, trying to catch his breath. Well, his breath was caught.

He advanced slowly towards the source of the soft sounds. Stopped as he realized it was a female. Thought it might be an enemy. But in that moment he made a decision.

"Come out." It sounded kind of like a command. He allowed his voice to soften somewhat. Aw,heck, I mean, even if she is a Blood Mist, she hasn't done anything to me yet. "Er, please. Who are you?"

[.Rabid Lycan.]

Really, now? Just my luck, I find a guy with ears like a bat.
Retreating deeper into the brush, she glanced over her shoulder to discover that the male was approaching. Perhaps a fight he wants? But the quiet, almost nervous tone of voice caught her off guard. In fact, it quite reminded her of her temporary playmate all those seasons ago.
“Huh, make me, mister.”
All the same, the brute didn’t appear to pose much of a threat. She studied him from her secluded position, already confident that she could hold her own if it came to tooth and claw. And that wasn’t exactly a stretch, especially with the cautious guidance of her parents ringing in her ears. Pack wolves aren’t the most friendly and trustworthy bunch around. Just look at those freaking Destinians…
All the same, she cleared her throat, and spoke again in a less harsh tone.
“…erm… you first. What’s your name, Siverian?”

[Njack]

"Shaw," he said. "Not that I think it matters much... What's yours?"

For a moment, he had the brief insight, if only an inkling, that his initial question had been much more than what he was asking at the moment. Who are you? That is not a question of just a name.

"The way you say Siverian..." he tacked on. "Well, you're not a Siverian." It wasn't a question. "Where do you come from?"

Funnily enough, Shaw hadn't bothered to use his nose, a wolf's arguably best asset, until now. He confirmed the obvious with it; the wolf didn't smell like a Siverian. Nor, really, like a Blood Mist, with fire and embers or whatnot.

[.Rabid Lycan.]

“…call me Neva, I suppose.”
Slowly, the indigo-hued ebony fae slipped out from her shielded position, keeping her eyes trained on the Siverian. She was rather testy, it would seem, but an appropriate kind of testy. She had been wandering on pack soil, where her kind wasn’t desired. A quarrel was only expected—accusations, maybe, about stealing prey or spying.
But there was none of that. Cautiously, she twitched her nose. He doesn’t seem… dangerous. Or angry. But shouldn’t he be the suspicious one?
“I’m a rogue. ‘Where’ kind of depends on the ‘when’. Care to be more specific?”
Maybe he’s waiting for backup. Is there anyone else that saw me, or scented me? She swiveled her ears, hearing nothing thus far. But with the wind to carry her scent, there was no way to know whether some keen Siverian had taken note of the alien presence.
She backed toward the mass of boulders that formed the treacherous slopes. “What are you doing out here, anyway? Doesn’t seem to be any prey around here…”

[Njack]

"Neva, then." Shaw looked down at the ground for a second, as if pondering what to say next. "A rogue... The question doesn't matter, then. You move around."

She seemed nervous, this... rogue female. He couldn't really blame her; she was on pack lands anyway. But as she said, there wasn't much prey.

He gave a thin smile at her next comment. "I'm out here... for the fun of it, if you could say that. I was just thinking about things..." He cocked his head, his tail swishing from side to side. "Pardon my asking, but don't you ever get lonely out there in the wanderer lands?"

I mean, I'm in a pack, sure. But that doesn't mean you don't get lonely.

[.Rabid Lycan.]

I move around? Really, now?
“Yeah, you’re smarter than you look,” she muttered, sarcasm tasting bitter on her tongue. And, quite frankly, you don’t look very smart… well, granted, that’s a bit harsh, but… meh…
Abandoning that thread of thought, she conquered the first few levels of rocky ledges, beginning to focus more on her footing than on the brute. In other words, relaxing. Really, what’s he going to do? Eat my face? She kind of froze for a moment as she processed the image, but shrugged it off just as quickly.
“Lonely? Well, I suppose, sometimes… but everyone does. ‘sides, I got my mother, father, siblings and plenty of pretty bizarre friends of the family on my side.” She smiled briefly at the thought. Where did Mom ever find those whackos, anyway? “But… thinking, you say? About what?”
Abruptly, she stumbled, barely keeping her balance from toppling off one of the higher stones. “Suicide?” she muttered breathlessly.

[Njack]

What? Did I say something stupid? Shaw stood there for a moment. Eurgh, why do I care? She's just a loner.

"Sounds like you have your own little pack of your own," he muttered. He was looking down at the ground, thinking of something else to say, so he almost missed her smiling at something, looking into the middle distance. Errr... Do I look amusing right now or something? The odd thought popped into his head at that moment that she looked quite nice when she smiled, but Shaw shrugged it off.

He watched as she almost tripped on a rock, almost jumping forwards to help her, but unsure if she would trust him. So as it was, he took a few pathetic steps forward, and she regained her balance on her own. "Nah, not yet, at least. Thinking about it yourself?" He raised his eyebrows slightly.

Shaw, stop talking before you hurt yourself.

[.Rabid Lycan.]

“A mini-pack? Yeah, I guess you could say that.” She scrambled farther up the mountainous ledges, glancing down at the steep path she had followed. Another smile entered her face, this time more pleasant. “Better watch out, or we might decide to take yours over.”
She was nearing the peak, no longer at all concerned with the male below. Her paws scraped against the sandpaper edges of stone, and she momentarily wondered what was possessing her to climb this hill. Well, then again, why not? As if it’d be much better if I stayed on the ground.
Near slipping once more, she laughed softly. “Oh, yeah, of course. Always scouting for good places to keel over, you know? And this place seems to have particularly good atmosphere…” She paused, wincing as her hind leg sunk between two stones, captured like an insect in a venus fly trip. Erm… She shifted her weight, unable to move.

[Njack]

"Yeah, of course." His eyes, usually shielded, twinkled. "I'm sure your pack is much more of a threat than the Blood Mists at the moment. I'll have to warn my pack to set up defenses and all."

He blinked as she went on about suicide, then conveniently got stuck inside a rock. Or two rocks. Whatever. "Well, you're certainly doing a good job of it." Shaw grinned slightly, then padded over to the rocks Neva was stuck between. Umm... I could try to ease her leg out, I guess. If she got it in, there has to be a way to get it out.

"You don't mind if I steal your leg, do you?" He reached out a paw and tentatively probed the space between the rocks, then her leg. It was kind of a tight fit, but he thought maybe he could get it out. "Tell me if it hurts, alright?"

Cautiously, he began edging the leg out.

[.Rabid Lycan.]

Struggling silently and in a purposefully subtle manner, Neva glared irritably at the stone trap that enclosed her limb. Immobile and ineffective at regaining mobility, Neva grudgingly glanced toward Shaw as he approached her. “Yeah, we could take out your forces without breaking a sweat. ”
She rolled her eyes as he moved to her aid, but did not stop him. It didn’t hurt… well, her pride was slightly bruised, but all the same she was alright.
“…as long as your pack doesn’t plan on fighting on these freaking rocks.”

[Njack]

"Mmmhm," Shaw muttered. He grimaced as his paw caught on an edge of jagged rock. "There, I've almost... there! Got it." He set her leg down, freed from the rocks, and examined his paw. It was bleeding, but it was probably just a scratch.

Oh, what was she saying?

"Don't insult the rocks," he said, a smile still tugging on the corners of his mouth. "They might get together and try to trap you again. And what's this, giving advice to the enemy?" Shaw nudged her teasingly, but hopefully not hard enough to send her toppling over or anything.

What was he doing? For once, he wasn't quite sure.

[.Rabid Lycan.]

A wince passed along her features as Shaw fished her leg out from between the stones, but soon she was free. And anything was better than having to sit there for hours struggling to get loose—or, worse, to need to gnaw your leg free. Ouch, why does my mind always go to dark places? That’s kind of… morbid.
Mentally shrugging, she blinked slowly, and added an awkward, “Erm, thanks.” She stared blankly at him when she was prodded, but didn’t reprimand him for it. She didn’t exactly mind, either—this Siverian seemed friendly enough. “Well, hey, I play fair. Sort of. I mean, what’s the fun of a fight if the enemy can’t even make a blow? Or, in this case, choose their fighting locations… though, it looks like you’d be pretty stupid to hang here for a battle, too.” She sniffed at the blood seeping from his paw. “That could get infected, you know.”

[Njack]

"You're welcome," Shaw said, glancing at the female lightly, then at his paw. "Oh, yeah, I suppose it could." He, quite unsanitarily, wiped it on a rock, leaving a bloody streak. Oww, maybe that was a bad idea.

He thought for a moment, then added, "Joking aside, does your pack really consider our pack as an enemy?" He shrugged. "I mean, idealistically it'd be nice if everyone could get along and such, get over their differences in ideologies and wrongs long since past..."

Shaw grinned. "I apologize, I'm probably rambling. I wouldn't want you as an enemy, that's for sure."

What was with all this grinning today? His mouth was getting sore from overuse.