Olathe - Far From Home

[Olathe]

<If they were going to leave us in the middle of nowhere, they could have at least had the decency to leave us by the forest thought the she-wolf grudgingly as she plodded along in the direction of the forest. After a life of living in a kennel, she wasn't used to such open spaces. Perhaps they should have been a reprieve, but she instead felt vulnerable and unprotected. After all, this strange new land smelled and looked vastly different from her home state of Monatana; who was to say there weren't strange predators here would could attack her, or even human hunters to shoot her? A field was not a natural place for a timber wolf, pure and simple, and the fae felt her irritation and paranoia were justified in full.
At least there was a forest. Looking out the small, dirty window of the van that had brought her here, caged, she had seen a landscape largely made up of only grassland, sometimes dotted with great piebald grazing beasts. If she'd been left there, she'd surely have prey, but she would also have no place to hide, den, or raise a family. Here, if she could ever make it to the trees without encountering some disaster, she should be able to start a proper wolf's life for herself... providing there were other wolves around.
Well, actually, she knew there were; several others had been released with her. One was a very distant, air-headed young male. The other was a belligerent and anti-social older male. Niether were her idea of future pack mates or mates overall, and they had all taken off in separate directions upon release. In her mind, the detachment was good; she would be much more enabled to establish herself with a local pack as a single female, not as a female with two quirky males in tow.
Heck, of the three, she was probably the only one who'd even been in a pack. She'd been captured wild, admittedly as only a very young wolf, but that said more than the others, who were completely captive bred and had never had a normal wolf's life. Her vague recollections of pack order and life in the wild were pleasant ones, ones that had gotten her sanely through the past five and a half years of her life. Surely they would now benefit her in a more real sense; her hunting skills, her knowledge of what made a good territory, and her ability to socialize with her kind.
Ah, but before all that, she had to reach the forest. Each cautious step through the endless, swaying field of green grass and small white flowers drew her nearer to her goal. She could smell the rich leafy greens of the canopy allready, the distant dampness of a creek or pond. It smelled like a good territory; foriegn, but good nonetheless. This would, with any luck, be a bright new beginning.>

[Veldahs]

As intently focused as he was on his current task, there was no way the presence of another wolf would have reached Veldahs. Face plunged deep into the tall grasses, no other smell and sound existed to him beyond the scent of frightened rabbit amongst upturned soil, and the sound of his own scrabbling paws. Panting hard in frustration, the wiry black wolf looked rather comical in the shallow valley with his rear-end standing above the field of grass and his front end busy digging its way into the earth. Showers of gray dirt and matted weeds sputtered out behind him and his tail wagged vaguely in anticipation of the meal that he most likely would not successfully acquire.

Though he was alert and rather hyper-sensitive most of the time, his instincts were a bit off, and at the moment he didn't even think to be paying attention to his surroundings. So totally consumed was he in the pursuance of his prey that he could practically taste it, and it was driving him mad. It was surprising how quickly you went hungry out here, without a daily serving of meat...no matter how foul it may have been in times past.

And so he continued to single-mindedly dig after the meal that had long escaped through a back tunnel, and would most likely keep on going until he was sure that the rabbit's scent had gone stale.

Up until now, he'd been able to carry out his ineffective hunting attempts in private, away from the witnessing eyes of others. It was a welcome relief in a way, much different than the harsh and judgmental environment he had grown up in. Granted the stretch of solitary confinement he'd endured before being liberated was worse in many ways, it was something new to be able to try his best at something without harassment from others.
Little did he know that his existence would finally be discovered here however, and at a rather ungraceful moment.

[Olathe]

<Olathe had been so focused on driving towards the tree line that she hadn't heard the frantic scrape of claws on the soil until she was quite close. Still, the instant the sound reached her ears - the bits of soil being flung against the grass, the sound of earth moving under paws - she realized she was not alone here; there were other wolves. Lifting her muzzle to the skies and inhaling deeply, she detected the scent of a nearby male. He wasn't from her compound; the smell was unfamiliar, and he himself lacked any recent taint of human scent. A wild wolf perhaps? If so, she would have to play her cards carefully.
Letting out a low wuff so that she wouldn't come upon the male by surprise and arise his defensive instinct, the she-wolf started fowards carefully, tail slack between her legs in a nuetral fashion and head lowered to better follow the scent. The male must have been fairly close; the scent was extremely fresh and strong. It seemed curious that he was out in this sprawling meadow if he was clearly not liberated recently, but regardless of the male's motivations out here, Olathe had a strong interest in locating him.
As the sound grew louder and the scent stronger, she could soon see clumps of dirt flying out of the air, scattering across the ground. They had the tang of rabbit about them, suggesting that the wolf was perhaps trying to dig out a rabbit. It seemed like a poor idea to her immediately; to the best of her knowledge, they had rather deep tunnels. However, she hadn't been wild since puppyhood, so perhaps her knowledge was not entirely accurate. It was something she could ask later, she supposed.
Finally, her muzzle parting the grasses, Olathe found herself nearly nose-to-tail with a wolf who had his front end burried in a large, gaping hole in the soil. Surprised by how abruptly she'd come upon him, and not necesarily enjoying the first-class view of his hindside, the female backpeddaled several steps, pausing hesitantly. She wasn't sure if it would be polite to interrupt him, but it could be equally rude to say nothing...>

[Veldahs]

Unfortunately, the female's wuff of greeting failed to really reach Veldahs. Though he may have picked up the vague sound, it was unconsciously dismissed and his focus remained undisturbed. The hole fit nearly his entire upper body now, reaching up to his shoulders.

It was only a matter of time before he totally wore himself out however. Growl-muttering to himself, he finally paused in his digging, front paws now resting on the floor of the deep hole, his sides heaving with each panted breath. Maybe he sensed a presence then, or maybe just idly glanced around, because he soon looked over his shoulder and spotted the female so terribly close. And there he was, in a way that couldn't have made him more vulnerable and ridiculous-looking.

His sharp surprise manifested itself in a wild jump away from Olathe, which only ended up tangling and catching his forelegs in the tunnel, causing him to basically trip out of it. Sprawling over almost completely, he fumbled to right himself and whirl to face her, fangs bared in a fierce and indignant snarl. It was wordless and surprisingly vicious, though it wasn't all that hard to believe coming from a male who was that caught off guard. It was brief however as he regained his senses and realized that it was a female, and one who could have easily attacked already if she'd wanted to. So, he quickly caught his tongue and visibly retreated into himself, watching her warily. He stood strangely, ducking in defense but obviously not submissive. Restrained but definitely resentful of being caught digging an impossible ditch and then tumbling out of it, he stood still and silent, waiting for her to state her business. There was no formal or traditional lupine greeting here.

[Olathe]

<Olathe was, needless to say, alarmed by the sudden and vicious response of the male. She did not know he hadn't heard her call out to him, and as thus was immensely confused by his startled and agressive response to her. Immediately, she began to wonder if he was not, in fact, a wild wolf, but an unknown animal released from some other captive state. She knew that some of the wolves where she lived had been driven to neuroticism, and that alone seemed like the only reasonable explanation for his bared teeth and bedraggled appearence. Were she correct in her thinking, she was now in a situation that could be very dangerous indeed.
Stupid, Olathe. Very, very stupid.
She cursed herself silenty for walking up on the stranger, for not calling out from a further distance, for calling out at all. How silly she was to assume that he was wild, to have assumed anything at all. Taking a few cautious steps back, ears pinned but tail low, the fae let out on short, warning growl - just to make it clear that, though she didn't want to fight, she would give a good struggle if attacked. She avoided eye contact, and tried to appear as unthreatening, yet still imposing, as possible>
"I apologize if I've disturbed you."
<She finally said, hoping the statement would be well recieved by the standoffish brute>

[Veldahs]

It seemed the female's warning growl and general alarm caused the male to retreat further into his shell, though at least he relaxed his posture. Veldahs' expressions were hard to read when he pulled inward, which is naturally unnerving to others of a species which so depends on nonverbal communication for survival and function. Still standing there, without much information about his thoughts given through tail or ear signals, and without enacting a formal greeting of any kind, the male also had a disconcerting habit of stoically meeting the eyes of other wolves...which he was steadily doing now.

"No...I just...didn't notice you there."

He spoke quietly and coldly, though there was a grudging sort of tone to it. He couldn't get away with hiding the fact that he was embarrassed both by being caught terribly off guard and by reacting toward her in the way that he had. Averting his gaze finally, he actually took a small step back.

"I guess I don't do well...with being surprised."

Aside from his mannerisms, his voice itself was odd for his kind. Quiet, monotone, and almost hissing, it was like wind blowing through dry grass.

[Olathe]

<Olathe was beginning to think, as she watched the male's reactions to her, that she had made a folly in choosing him as the first wolf to approach. Clearly, something was quite wrong with him, because he was quite completely socially inept. Everything, from his strong and overbearing gaze, to his thin and slithering voice, un-nerved her greatly. Any hopes of finding a wild wolf well-versed in the surrounding habitat evaporated with the cessation of his words. Clearly, he was far from a normal, sane wolf, and she had little to gain from continuing to speak with him.
Except, perhaps, companionship. Granted, a wolf who glared a stranger in the eye and spun snarling at the slightest spook was probably not the best choice, but he was the only wolf she'd encountered so far. Though he wasn't a native, he may have been here longer than her, and could perhaps give her some kind of feed back on the situation. If nothing else, he could serve as a source of entertainment; she refused to be equally as bored in the wild as she was in the breeding facility.
Thus, evading his strange, glaring eyes, though it went against her gut feelings to submit so readily, she gave a short wag of her tail, ears perked in friendliness. Her facial expressions remained guarded, though compared to his expressionless brick wall, she seemed quite the opposite of stoic. She supposed a good place to start a conversation might be how they both arrived, as both were clearly strangers to this land. From there, she night glean useful information from the lupe, perhaps regarding the lay of the land... though anyone who tunneled after rabbits might not be the most reliable source of good information>
"Its quite allright... I think we both were a little surprised there."
<She didn't want to make the male feel silly for having been spooked, and decided it would be much better to include herself in the awkwardness. Though she knew little about the male, he did strike her as the type who might be agitated by the suggestion that he was the only startled party.>
"Besides, I'm sure we both have plenty reason to be on edge... unless, of course, you were born here?"

[Valdahs]

He snorted bitterly at the suggestion, though this expression of derision turned immediately afterward into a startlingly undignified sneeze. Dirt in the nostrils and all. Surprisingly musty.

After he regained himself, blinking a bit to fight off the urge to sneeze again, he managed to verbally answer her question.

"...ugh...no. Only been here for a few weeks."

His voice was dull as he spoke, almost sounding weary of the embarrassments that he still couldn't seem to escape. It was a smart decision on the female's part of "share" the blame of being surprised, because it had turned what might have been a violent indignation into a sullen harshness.
He abruptly turned away then, as if to leave, but glanced low over his shoulder.

"...You?"

The whole gesture was of course immensely strange. No formal greeting whatsoever. No introduction. And now this. The only conclusion that seemed relatively reasonable was that possibly he didn't dare to expect her to answer at all, and was just waiting for her to realize her mistake in choosing him to talk to and be on her way. How many times encounters similar to this one had happened and ended poorly were hard to guess, but it seemed something that he'd come to expect. By turning and getting ready to leave, he was giving her a polite exit, because the brooding male knew she must be looking for one.

[RW]

Sooo.... not sure who I was playing this with, but uh.. this character no longer exists on this site. Sorry 'bout that.

[Red]

Pfft. Well then. Guess I'll move him on, then. lol