Post by Jecenty and Devils Guardian on Sept 9, 2008 23:18:53 GMT -5
((To explain any potential rule-breaking, I'm considering the Serenity thread done. I don't know. I just really want to play a wolf against Jecenty, and DG is closest. >xD ))
The growl started low in his throat, soft and uncertain, but when the cat kept coming he figured the sound was appropriate. He was not surprised when the cat didn't pause, and felt the fur rise, trying in vain to make him larger and more impressive. There was no way he could ever come across as that, but perhaps he could manage desperate. Or rabid. Rabid may not be a bad idea.
Devil's Guardian growled away the thoughts as he focused his eye upon the large mountain cat before him. The creature smelled foreign, with no scents familiar to the wolf's home, and furthermore his behavior had been odd as well. Devil's Guardian suspected the puma had not been planning on venturing toward wolf territory, but now that he was in it, he did not seem keen on getting out.
Which was really quite disturbing. Though not quite as disturbing as the fact that Devil's Guardian wasn't dead yet. He had by luck dodged the cat's startled blow, but beyond that swipe they were just facing each other down. And so Devil's Guardian did not call his pack, for there was no emergency. Yet.
Jecenty's head also spun with thoughts, though of a far different nature. He didn't know this territory at all, but he had quickly discovered that it was infested with curs. He had killed an unfortunate coyote that strayed in his path, but then he realized that the beasts were everywhere, and he simply wouldn't be able to kill every last one. Hence why the crippled thing before him was still standing.
The puma didn't have a crusade against dogs, really. He hated canines, sure, and wouldn't stop from killing one that strayed in his path. However, he much preferred not being near the beasts at all, a situation which did not seem possible. And so he paused, considering. He could kill the cur before him and save it the misery of being alive, or he could maime it further, get information from it, and let it die from its injuries. Either way the thing ended up dead, but with the latter he ended up away from the monsters.
Devil's Guardian noticed the stiffening of the puma's muscles and snarled warningly, ears going back.
"I would be careful -- I do have a pack, and allies."
The puma grinned, fangs exposed. A boast? Silly cur.
"And that would help you because?"
With that he bounded forward, a leap easily accomoplished in the low bushes of the forest outskirts. However, he did not land with the cur under his paws, but with the beast just escaping him. He hissed angrily when he felt a sharp nip at his shoulder, deep enough to bleed, but a swipe of his paw clipped the wolf's hindquarters rather than his cursed head. The wolf staggered, but did not fall... He had hit a stump of a leg.
Crippled and outmatched he may be, but Devil's Guardian had dealt with that most of his life. Hunts, rivalries, common survival revolved around him being on the bottom of the predatory ranks. Every day was spent with the knowledge that he would be presented with some sort of life or death situation. Someday, he would lose. Had to; no wolf in his condition should survive this long, he knew. But even with that fatalism, he planned to keep up the fight. He could walk, hunt, and live; he then was good enough to keep on trying.
Of course, there were probably better times for such thoughts than when dancing around a deadly, now rather irritated puma with scars to prove his worth. One swift move and the cat could rip his throat out or crush his skull. He could easily be swept off his feet -- he only had three of them, and no tail for balance. He wondered what exactly had kept him from being caught under the first leap.
Whatever it was, it didn't save him from the second leap. He tried to run, but he was still a bit unsteady from the last blow and the cat landed on him, slamming into the ground. He blinked dizzily, wondering how much it would hurt to die; but rather than getting his throat ripped out, the cat hissed at him, pinning him. So they did play with their prey.
"I need information."
Devil's Guardian stared at the cat, one ear back. So instead of killing him it wanted an interrogation? He thought it was going to be a normal day.
"And I would give that to you because...?"
"Because I could kill you."
"Not a very good reason. Any creature could kill me. Coyotes, minks, maybe even a really smart sparrow..."
Jecenty stared at Devil's Guardian, tail twitching. Okay, this wolf was not only crippled, he was crazy. The thought was shattered, however, when the wolf's jaws clamped around his throat. With a panicked hiss Jecenty thrashed, throwing the wolf off of him, along with a chunk of fur and skin. But not his life.
Devil's Guardian spat the cat's fur out his mouth, eye focused on the feline. The cat twisted his head and licked hesitantly at his fresh wound, but even his opponent knew the wound was not serious. It was not meant to kill, but rather to be a warning. Jecenty may be big, but Devil's Guardian still had fangs and a wolf's powerful jaws.
Jecenty was starting to wonder about Devi's Guardian himself. The male had distracted him effortlessly, with nothing more than a ramble about sparrows. That and the male just seemed very... Unconcerned about how much danger he was in. It befuddled him; most canines were neurotic, going between wanting to kill everything and yelping for their life. This one was ailen, so calm about the entire situation.
Had he been spotless, Jecenty would have happily taken the challenge. As it was, the wolf had gotten lucky and given him a shallow but still bloody throat wound, and those were simply dangerous in a fight. His best chance would be to get his information, leave the wolf be, and if he really wanted to, come back later to finish him off. Jecenty doubted it would be worth it, though; something else would surely get this bizarre cur before him.
"Since you aren't trying to kill me anymore, I'm open to questions."
Jecenty's head jerked to stare at the wolf. He had risen to a shaky sitting position, head tilted to one side, ears perked. The fur on Jecenty's back rose, tail lashing. This canine was damn weird. But he had offered to help, and Jecenty chose to pounce upon the opportunity before the canine could twist things.
"This territory is full of you curs. I want to know if there is any place where you aren't shitting all over the place."
"I'd recommend the mountains. Very few packs up there. Rival pumas, I'm sure, but very few of us. Much more suitable than this area, I will admit. There are other packs which will kill you on the spot after some incidents."
Jecenty would have been flabbergasted at the wolf's lack of offense if he wasn't too busy processing the information. The cat's ear flicked back, understanding the implication, and wondering who the pumas were who were willing to go out slaughtering wolves. He wouldn't mind meeting them ((Oh gosh I am not planning this)).
"And these mountains? Any fast route to them?"
"Turn around and keep going. It's the best way."
The cat's tail twitched, ears going back. "And how do I know you won't disable me on the way out?"
To his surprise, the wolf laughed, an honest, amused noise. The cat's fur stood on end; what animal in its right mind laughed at a comment made by a potential predator?
"I could in no way sneak up on you. I do believe you almost killed me a few moments ago."
The puma couldn't help but grin, tail flicking.
"I may just kill you now."
He was hoping for a nervous response, perhaps a bit of anger. Instead, the wolf just shrugged.
"You may. You probably won't if you haven't by now."
The wolf said it with more sincerity than Jecenty was in any way comfortable with. He could kill the wolf, he supposed, or he could turn around, go into the mountains, and worry about the curs later, when his throat wasn't seeping blood. And so, with a soft snort and a flick of his tail, the puma turned around and headed towards the mountains, refusing to look back towards the wolf.
Devil's Guardian watched the cat leave, body tense but otherwise calm. The feline did not turn around, and no surprise attack came from the bushes. Just a lone puma, then, no bizarre twists of nature like the one that had befallen another pack. He nodded to himself and rose, scenting the air, but smelling nothing but the puma's blood and the wolves all around him.
Well then, that had gone well. A few bruises, some blood, but he was alive and the puma was gone. For all he knew a branch would fall on him and kill him, but at that moment, he was not dead. He didn't know what caused it, really. Determination, luck, experience, intelligence... But he was willing to believe in luck the most. Surely nothing else had kept him from being mauled by a caninephobe ((caninephone xD )).
Back to normal life, then, with the little interlude over. Though what was normal exactly? A strange couple, a tense situation over a previous mate, puppies bringing home puppies? Yes, sounded fairly normal. After all, he had been born into the least natural of packs, one which held grudges, upsurped alpha protocol, who knew what else.
It had been a long time since he had thought of them. The wolf shook his head, all the better to clear his head. It was impossible, of course. He never stopped thinking and wondering. Perhaps he could think about something practical, though. Like how to handle his pack's reaction when they discovered he had fended off a puma single-handedly.
With a smile at himself, Devil's Guardian turned back to his territory, a crippled scarred wolf lost in his own mind.
((I didn't miss this character, of course not... It's not obvious at all >.> I missed him so much he gets his own picture, complete with a warp where his left eye would have been and a badly edited pink eye! I don't know what possessed me when I gave him such looks... Almost makes me tempted to just magically make his eyes yellow or something normal... ))
The growl started low in his throat, soft and uncertain, but when the cat kept coming he figured the sound was appropriate. He was not surprised when the cat didn't pause, and felt the fur rise, trying in vain to make him larger and more impressive. There was no way he could ever come across as that, but perhaps he could manage desperate. Or rabid. Rabid may not be a bad idea.
Devil's Guardian growled away the thoughts as he focused his eye upon the large mountain cat before him. The creature smelled foreign, with no scents familiar to the wolf's home, and furthermore his behavior had been odd as well. Devil's Guardian suspected the puma had not been planning on venturing toward wolf territory, but now that he was in it, he did not seem keen on getting out.
Which was really quite disturbing. Though not quite as disturbing as the fact that Devil's Guardian wasn't dead yet. He had by luck dodged the cat's startled blow, but beyond that swipe they were just facing each other down. And so Devil's Guardian did not call his pack, for there was no emergency. Yet.
Jecenty's head also spun with thoughts, though of a far different nature. He didn't know this territory at all, but he had quickly discovered that it was infested with curs. He had killed an unfortunate coyote that strayed in his path, but then he realized that the beasts were everywhere, and he simply wouldn't be able to kill every last one. Hence why the crippled thing before him was still standing.
The puma didn't have a crusade against dogs, really. He hated canines, sure, and wouldn't stop from killing one that strayed in his path. However, he much preferred not being near the beasts at all, a situation which did not seem possible. And so he paused, considering. He could kill the cur before him and save it the misery of being alive, or he could maime it further, get information from it, and let it die from its injuries. Either way the thing ended up dead, but with the latter he ended up away from the monsters.
Devil's Guardian noticed the stiffening of the puma's muscles and snarled warningly, ears going back.
"I would be careful -- I do have a pack, and allies."
The puma grinned, fangs exposed. A boast? Silly cur.
"And that would help you because?"
With that he bounded forward, a leap easily accomoplished in the low bushes of the forest outskirts. However, he did not land with the cur under his paws, but with the beast just escaping him. He hissed angrily when he felt a sharp nip at his shoulder, deep enough to bleed, but a swipe of his paw clipped the wolf's hindquarters rather than his cursed head. The wolf staggered, but did not fall... He had hit a stump of a leg.
Crippled and outmatched he may be, but Devil's Guardian had dealt with that most of his life. Hunts, rivalries, common survival revolved around him being on the bottom of the predatory ranks. Every day was spent with the knowledge that he would be presented with some sort of life or death situation. Someday, he would lose. Had to; no wolf in his condition should survive this long, he knew. But even with that fatalism, he planned to keep up the fight. He could walk, hunt, and live; he then was good enough to keep on trying.
Of course, there were probably better times for such thoughts than when dancing around a deadly, now rather irritated puma with scars to prove his worth. One swift move and the cat could rip his throat out or crush his skull. He could easily be swept off his feet -- he only had three of them, and no tail for balance. He wondered what exactly had kept him from being caught under the first leap.
Whatever it was, it didn't save him from the second leap. He tried to run, but he was still a bit unsteady from the last blow and the cat landed on him, slamming into the ground. He blinked dizzily, wondering how much it would hurt to die; but rather than getting his throat ripped out, the cat hissed at him, pinning him. So they did play with their prey.
"I need information."
Devil's Guardian stared at the cat, one ear back. So instead of killing him it wanted an interrogation? He thought it was going to be a normal day.
"And I would give that to you because...?"
"Because I could kill you."
"Not a very good reason. Any creature could kill me. Coyotes, minks, maybe even a really smart sparrow..."
Jecenty stared at Devil's Guardian, tail twitching. Okay, this wolf was not only crippled, he was crazy. The thought was shattered, however, when the wolf's jaws clamped around his throat. With a panicked hiss Jecenty thrashed, throwing the wolf off of him, along with a chunk of fur and skin. But not his life.
Devil's Guardian spat the cat's fur out his mouth, eye focused on the feline. The cat twisted his head and licked hesitantly at his fresh wound, but even his opponent knew the wound was not serious. It was not meant to kill, but rather to be a warning. Jecenty may be big, but Devil's Guardian still had fangs and a wolf's powerful jaws.
Jecenty was starting to wonder about Devi's Guardian himself. The male had distracted him effortlessly, with nothing more than a ramble about sparrows. That and the male just seemed very... Unconcerned about how much danger he was in. It befuddled him; most canines were neurotic, going between wanting to kill everything and yelping for their life. This one was ailen, so calm about the entire situation.
Had he been spotless, Jecenty would have happily taken the challenge. As it was, the wolf had gotten lucky and given him a shallow but still bloody throat wound, and those were simply dangerous in a fight. His best chance would be to get his information, leave the wolf be, and if he really wanted to, come back later to finish him off. Jecenty doubted it would be worth it, though; something else would surely get this bizarre cur before him.
"Since you aren't trying to kill me anymore, I'm open to questions."
Jecenty's head jerked to stare at the wolf. He had risen to a shaky sitting position, head tilted to one side, ears perked. The fur on Jecenty's back rose, tail lashing. This canine was damn weird. But he had offered to help, and Jecenty chose to pounce upon the opportunity before the canine could twist things.
"This territory is full of you curs. I want to know if there is any place where you aren't shitting all over the place."
"I'd recommend the mountains. Very few packs up there. Rival pumas, I'm sure, but very few of us. Much more suitable than this area, I will admit. There are other packs which will kill you on the spot after some incidents."
Jecenty would have been flabbergasted at the wolf's lack of offense if he wasn't too busy processing the information. The cat's ear flicked back, understanding the implication, and wondering who the pumas were who were willing to go out slaughtering wolves. He wouldn't mind meeting them ((Oh gosh I am not planning this)).
"And these mountains? Any fast route to them?"
"Turn around and keep going. It's the best way."
The cat's tail twitched, ears going back. "And how do I know you won't disable me on the way out?"
To his surprise, the wolf laughed, an honest, amused noise. The cat's fur stood on end; what animal in its right mind laughed at a comment made by a potential predator?
"I could in no way sneak up on you. I do believe you almost killed me a few moments ago."
The puma couldn't help but grin, tail flicking.
"I may just kill you now."
He was hoping for a nervous response, perhaps a bit of anger. Instead, the wolf just shrugged.
"You may. You probably won't if you haven't by now."
The wolf said it with more sincerity than Jecenty was in any way comfortable with. He could kill the wolf, he supposed, or he could turn around, go into the mountains, and worry about the curs later, when his throat wasn't seeping blood. And so, with a soft snort and a flick of his tail, the puma turned around and headed towards the mountains, refusing to look back towards the wolf.
Devil's Guardian watched the cat leave, body tense but otherwise calm. The feline did not turn around, and no surprise attack came from the bushes. Just a lone puma, then, no bizarre twists of nature like the one that had befallen another pack. He nodded to himself and rose, scenting the air, but smelling nothing but the puma's blood and the wolves all around him.
Well then, that had gone well. A few bruises, some blood, but he was alive and the puma was gone. For all he knew a branch would fall on him and kill him, but at that moment, he was not dead. He didn't know what caused it, really. Determination, luck, experience, intelligence... But he was willing to believe in luck the most. Surely nothing else had kept him from being mauled by a caninephobe ((caninephone xD )).
Back to normal life, then, with the little interlude over. Though what was normal exactly? A strange couple, a tense situation over a previous mate, puppies bringing home puppies? Yes, sounded fairly normal. After all, he had been born into the least natural of packs, one which held grudges, upsurped alpha protocol, who knew what else.
It had been a long time since he had thought of them. The wolf shook his head, all the better to clear his head. It was impossible, of course. He never stopped thinking and wondering. Perhaps he could think about something practical, though. Like how to handle his pack's reaction when they discovered he had fended off a puma single-handedly.
With a smile at himself, Devil's Guardian turned back to his territory, a crippled scarred wolf lost in his own mind.
((I didn't miss this character, of course not... It's not obvious at all >.> I missed him so much he gets his own picture, complete with a warp where his left eye would have been and a badly edited pink eye! I don't know what possessed me when I gave him such looks... Almost makes me tempted to just magically make his eyes yellow or something normal... ))