Evergreen Forest

Her chuckle as Finn stumbled through his first attempt with her name broke into a full, bright laugh as he spoke of winning this competition. She gave him a dramatically over done once over, as if sizing him up, before replying impishly, “perhaps you will, but I’ll give you a good run for it if it does.” It was something between a playful challenge and a teasing joke—what the competition was (attracting trouble? Helping one another?) hardly concerned her. It was nice to have someone to just joke with, and nice to break away from the seriousness of late. Perhaps it was just part of that undeniable spring-ness in the air. You couldn’t help but be happy and enjoy yourself when the weather spoke of so much beauty and promise.

Speaking of being happy… as soon as she’d asked him to explore, Finn took on an expression that seemed as though he were nearly vibrating, alive like the wings of a humming bird thrumming with excitement, like a pup first jumping out of the den all eagerness and thrill at the prospect of learning the world outside. “Excellent!” came the quick reply, her tail swishing back and forth betraying her own enthusiasm. “Perhaps I can teach you a bit about herbs and you can show me how to walk through the woods without tripping over my own paws.” She really was dreadfully clumsy for a wolf. This strange twist of fate made her a poor scout, and left her ill suited to be a guardian or a hunter (clever enough for this jobs, but too likely to stumble as some important moment to chance a pack’s wellbeing on it). Blessedly, her unquenchable curiosity and ability learn and share knowledge made her well suited for the only thing that really remained. Luckier still, she happened to love being a scholar.

Ari was just opening her mouth to suggest a direction, when an unhappy voice broke the air. Swinging her head about, she noticed one of the new wolves, Jackie, examining her paw for a moment before she made her way toward them. Although Ari hadn’t quite gathered what was wrong, it didn’t seem terribly serious, so she learned for a moment toward Finn with a laugh, “we two seem to have a knack for attracting injuries,” before turning fully to the female guardian. “Indeed, and you’re Jackie, unless I’ve remembered wrong,” there had been several wolves that had joined the pack somewhere on that mountain side, but Ari was fairly certain she remembered which was which. “Everything alright?” She asked next, motioning toward the female’s paw.

Finn smiled as she accepted the challenge. This would be an interesting competition- one to see who could be the most helpful! If everyone partook in this challenge, the world would be a better place indeed. At first glance the female wolf seemed more reserved, not one who was joking and laughing very loudly as she was now. This surprised Finn, though he made no comment on it. Her personality was making him happy because she was happy, so it was a win-win situation. Perhaps the rank of Scholar was a very stressful one which left little time for fun? Finn didn't think he could bear "all work and no play"! Finn decided he probably wasn't as clever as Arisah either. If she was happy with her job, that was all that mattered.

Ari also confirmed the invitation of going exploring, which made Finn doubly excited (if that was possible). He was just about to start the adventure and pick a direction, when he heard a large array of insults and swearwords- obviously not directed to Arisah or himself. Turning his head, he waited and watched until a reddish female approached them. She spoke very peculiarly, which intrigued Finn greatly. The kind of accent was unique, and never before had he heard those words put together in one sentence. Limping towards them, the she-wolf gave them a smirk before sitting down. She knew his name already? Finn had never seen this wolf before in his life and indeed was quite taken aback, though he didn't show it. He flicked his ears, showing he heard Ari's words and agreed with them, before breaking into a smile as his golden gaze looked to the female. Following Ari's lead, he said, "Indeed, it seems we do." he chuckled. "And I'm thinking something might be wrong with your paw, Jackie ma'am, especially since we could hear your offensive language and clumsy walk through the forest from a mile away!" His playful teasing and amused glint in his eyes showed he did not say these words with any malicious intent whatsoever, it all in fun. "We were just about to go exploring, but Ari here." he glanced towards the other female, smiling "Is a very adept scholar and I'm sure she could assist you if that's what you are looking for."

The fable Jackie is referring to is one of Aesop's. Click here to read it.

Saphera decided this place was to risky with that wolf he would surely smell her soon. "I barely got any water!" she thought. So, she set off to find another sure enough she found another close. Saphera walked up to the stream and she got so excited she got to the stream and didn't realize other wolves were there until she was very close. Saphera instantly dove into the thick foliage hoping no one saw her. She began creeping through the foliage silently to get to the stream in the cover of the foliage. "This is the perfect plan!" she thought "I'll be able to sip a little water and get out of here!"

To be a scholar required a certain eye for detail and being able to gauge the minutest behavior in one’s patient in case it might prove helpful in curing an ill and so Jackie’s reaction to Arisah’s remembrance of her name did not go unnoticed. One ear flicking slightly in confusion to this, Ari wondered what might have been the cause behind it. Names always came with a past, she thought absently, diverting her attention between her inner wonderings and the conversation around her. Perhaps there was something in Jackie’s past that caused such a reaction her name that Ari could not begin to fathom. Whatever it was, it was the female’s tale to tell, and not Ari’s lot to draw it out of her if she didn’t wish it.

Drawn out of her thoughts by Finn’s voice replying to Jackie, Arisah once again focused the whole of her attention on the present situation, chuckling as the male teased the dark coated female for her outbursts. At the mention of her own name, the scholar ducked her head a bit, wondering if he didn’t give her too much credit, though she said nothing and merely laughed again as Jackie’s assessment of the injury. “The smaller a thing is, I think the worse it hurts. Maybe because it’s harder to deal with and move on from.” Padding close, Ari took a good look at the splinter, a fair sized little scrap of wood wedge in the farthest crevice between her toes.

“Give me just a moment, keep it off the ground please,” she remarked before bounding off to a patch of thick foliage near the river. Quickly finding the long, thin leaved plant she’d noticed growing just yesterday on her explorations, the scholar dug up and pulled free one thick black root, leaving the rest of the plant be. As she walked quickly back to Finn and Jackie, she set the root down for a moment. “I don’t know about very adept,” she smiled toward Finn before raising a paw, “but I’d be a poor scholar if I was to be beaten by a sliver. This might sting a bit.” Moving with the ease of practice, she positioned a claw between the toes of Jackie’s raised paw, raking quickly over it and dragging out the splinter. “Keep it up a moment,” grabbing the root, she quickly chewed it into a paste like substance before applying some between the guardian’s toes. Somewhere near by Ari thought she heard a rustle of foliage (Saphera), but shrugged it off as just the wind. “Comfrey will soothe out the sting and should stop any infection.”

Saphera froze as the female looked at her. When she looked away she continued to move to the river. She wasn't parched anymore, but she was still really thirsty. Saphera was almost there now edging closer and closer to the nice cold stream. She tried not to rustle the leaves to much, but it was so hard there were so many. But, she kept going the cold stream was only a few steps away now. She was getting so close. She was there "Now the tricky part." she thought. She began to stick her head out of the foliage and try to move as silently as she could over the distance between her and water.

Finn watched as Arisah left the two alone to go find a root, quickly returning and then positioning her to help the female. "Well if I'm about to go exploring, I might as well start learning, eh?" he smiled, looking curiously at the black root. "Does that one have a name? What's it used for? Where do you find it?" His naturally curious mind plagued him since he was a pup- he always overwhelmed others with his questions and intent to learn as much as he could. Though he perhaps wasn't as naturally talented at things others might be, he was always willing to practice and attempt to get better. It wasn't often Finn gave up on anything, he could be quite stubborn in that way indeed. "And I'm sorry to hear of your pain, ma'am." he said, looking back towards Jackie. "I recall getting a splinter once, it was quite painful." He winced at the memory, for he didn't have a very high tolerance for pain. "And I don't think I've heard of that tale before?" the male asked, his natural curiosity showing itself once more. Finn pondered asking the strange female of her past and where her accent had come from, yet decided against it. He wouldn't delve deeper into that topic unless she openly presented it herself. It seemed that wolves had some sort of tendency to be wary of questions regarding their person- and although Finn was not scared of telling someone about himself, he knew he was not the majority.

The male wolf watched Ari, intrigued by her actions in her attempt to assist the injured female. "I don't say things I don't mean." he responded seriously, though still giving her a smile. He then heard the answer to his previous question. "Comfrey..." he said aloud softly, committing the name to memory. Suddenly he heard some sort of rustle. He noticed Ari did as well, but did not react to it. Finn was not quite as quick to give it up though. He was a scout, and it was important for him to look around the territory for anything dangerous- no matter how small it may seem. Turning around and looking at the bush, he approached cautiously. He saw some sort of canine (probably a wolf) stick its head out of the bush and attempt to take a lick of the water. He watched, amused by the wolf's situation. "You can just take a drink if you want, ma'am." he said, chuckling. "None of us bite." he looked towards the rest of the group, and noticed how comical it would seem out of context. "Except her maybe." he said, gesturing with his head towards Jackie.

Saphera had a feeling it was the wrong thing to do, but she got so scared all of a sudden she never felt this way. She whipped her head the other way and ran. She didn't care what they said about being nice, that happened to her before and she bought it. She snarled at the memory of that pack. After that she just couldn't trust anyone. She began to breath heavy she was getting rather worn out quickly being in the state she was in. She made herself keep going just a little ferther, but it was too late she wan't paying enough attention she tripped over a tree root and tripped. She got back up, but if they were chasing her she wouldn't make it now.

“Mhm,” Ari replied as Finn repeated the name of the plant. “I’ll show you what the whole of it looks like in just a moment. For cuts and scratches, we just use the roots to make a paste.” Which she continued to smear carefully into place, knowing that the relief it brought would be near instantaneous. She enjoyed Finn’s curiosity, and looked forward to explaining more about the plant to him when they had the chance. It was nice to be able to use and share one’s knowledge without it involving some big catastrophe. “And thank you,” she added quietly, referencing his comment that he did not say things he didn’t mean.

Arisah imagined she could nearly hear a pitch of anxiety in the otherwise firm female as she expressed her concern over the scholar’s choice in words. Chuckling both at the reaction and the proceeding comment, she shrugged her shoulders ever lightly, though the word ‘tripod’ made her think of poor Lelio, whose paw she could not mend, but she pushed that back knowing it was over and no dwelling would improve that situation. “Should in that, if there were anything to worry about, it would heal it, but it would be a mighty splinter that took the limb of any wolf. Though,” She leaned back a step, eyeing her mock critically for a moment, “I think Tripod might make a fierce nickname. A wolf wouldn’t know what to expect when they heard it.”

Grinning teasingly to Finn when Jackie referred to him as an ‘odd bird’ Ari nodded her agreement, though she meant no harm and then prepared herself for a good story while wiping the remainder of the comfrey mash off her paws. When next she looked up, though, Jackie was quiet and Finn was padding toward the sound she’d just dismissed as wind. As it rustled again, and then gave way to a splash of fur that Finn began to speak to, she realized it had not been the wind at all. Opening her muzzle to add her own greetings, she snapped it quickly shut again as the stranger took off like a streak into the woods.

Throwing a puzzled look first at Finn, then Jackie, she gestured in the direction the female had gone. “She seemed mighty skittish. Should we go after her? Or give her space and let her come back if she feels more comfortable?” She was torn between worrying that the stranger as alright (what on earth could have caused her such anxiety and fear at their presence?), wanting to grant what seemed to be her wish by leaving her be, and thinking it was probably not best to let lone wolves wander around their pack’s territory. Undecided as she was, she thought it best to defer to those who were the experts in that area: the scout and the guard.

Artemis was holding her breath, but she had realized it was for nothing. She could easily outrun this male, though he looked like a long-distance runner, so was she. The brown female stood and walked over to him again, carefully and silently sniffing him. He smelled of pine and flowers. She breathed in his scent one more time, sure that he was asleep, but in the fact, he was not. Artemis, in attempt to "wake" him, pawed gently at his sides.

(took me forever on my droid XP)

He was about to grin as Jackie supported his words with a half-hearted growl. That was definitely a way to scare off someone, for sure, if they didn't really know the female or her personality. Before he could give a good light-hearted chuckle, the thing sprinted out of the bushes and into the woods without even a 'good-bye'. Well, that wasn't very polite. Finn thought to himself, watching the canine leave. He figured the jet-black wolf was a female from her small stature, yet knew nothing else about her. Turning to the others, he gave them a questioning gaze. Arisah voiced his concerns. He did not want to follow the wolf if it made her uncomfortable, but she was breaching pack lands and it was Finn's job to preserve and protect. This meant to chase off any loners, no matter how easy-going or shy they seemed. Though Finn would never voice this unkind thought aloud, a wolf not in the pack was a wolf who was eating the food the pack needed. It was life, and survival of the fittest. If the male needed to protect the pack by chasing off the poor thing, he would do it. Sighing, he turned to the two wolves, yet still with determination in his eyes. "I think we'll need to re-schedule our adventure yet again. I need to make sure she leaves if she's not interested in our pack. It's a shame this always seems to happen, doesn't it?" This was mostly towards Ari, and then he turned his attention towards Jackie. "And I'm afraid we'll need to postpone our story-telling time as well, ma'am. Though I apologize for my abrupt departure but I think this is something I need to take care of." He would offer that the two could accompany him, but he knew that Jackie's paw still hurt and didn't want to somehow injure her further. "I'll see you soon." he said to both, before turning tail and chasing after the female.

He was in no hurry and simply followed her scent trail at a brisk trot. There was no point in wasting energy- as soon as he found her, Finn would inform her of the situation and politely ask her to leave. Once that job was done, he could return to his comrades and hopefully go exploring (the one thing he never seemed to be able to do even though it was in his job description) as well as hear a good story or two. Not too long after, he came upon her. It appeared she was not as fast as she had been at her initial time of escape, which was understandable in how quickly she darted out of there (which impressed Finn indeed. He wouldn't turn down a race from her, though it probably wasn't a good time to ask). "Excuse me, miss." he said quietly as to not startle her, though loud enough that she would hear it. "I apologize for this, but unless you are interested in joining us you must leave this territory, we don't accept loners for permanent stay here." Finn was curious as to exactly why she had run so fast to escape from them, but knew not to press because obviously the she-wolf was extremely skittish at the moment. Even though these words were his responsibility and he had to be honest and firm, there was a regret in his eyes. Never did he want to turn down a capable wolf a home or a place to stay. But, as stated before, it was his responsibility.

Saphera saw this wolf and said "You know you don't need to be so delicate." "I only ran because I didn't exactly know what else I should do." The fae looked up at him and managed a slight smile. She then looked around nervously trying to think quickly whether to join this pack or not. "Well," she thought "it couldn't hurt to have some food." Then she looked back up at him and said "uhmm...I guess I would like to join your pack." she said to him

“It could be an ironic sort of nickname, if you gave it to a wolf with all four limbs.” She vaguely thought about introducing it as an idea of a nickname for Jackie, but being not entirely sure how the somewhat brusque female might take it. She was still debating bringing it up when fate and circumstance made the decision for her.

Though she was disappointed that, yet again, it seemed they would have to forestall their exploration, Arisah nodded her agreement. He could no more help needing to investigate this than she could helping out an injured wolf. They both took their duties seriously and both desired to help their pack—a thought that reminded her of something. “Looks like we’re still even,” she grinned, referring to their ‘competition’, for which she was up one for helping Jackie and now he for going after this stranger. “We’ll be here,” she said as he said his goodbye, quickly adding a “be safe” as he took off toward the forest where the female had gone.

Left alone with Jackie, Ari took the opportunity to settle back and sit down for a moment. “Agreed. He’s quick and he’ll be gentle enough when he finds her that she might not be so startled. He’s an excellent scout, he’ll see it through.”

"Being polite is one of the most important qualities, though. I wouldn't call it being polite, and more manners." In his mind, it was indeed very vital to be a good pack-member. Being kind is key, so he wasn't being delicate, more like polite. "Yes, miss." he said, grinning, "Food is good." Thinking back, he realized in what a curious situation he had been in again. Of course he did not hold back to see if she would be aggressive towards him (since he did not know anything about this wolf other than the fact she was female) and perhaps going after her would have set her off. Thankfully, it seemed this had not occurred and she had simply been stressed out by the sudden attention and presence on her. For the second time, he decided not to press it and instead focused on the jet black she-wolf with green eyes. "I'm only a lowly scout in this pack, ma'am." he stated to her. "I can't accept you into Banishing Winds, I'm afraid you'll have to find the Alpha, Crimson, or Alphess, Linnea, and they'll decide if you shall become apart of our pack. If you do join, you won't regret it." He added as an afterthought. His golden eyes sought hers and he said in a serious tone, "I hope to see you around again miss, eh?" Finn gave her a kind smile. "And I'm afraid I missed your name? I should get back, they'll be curious of this situation I'm sure." He didn't want to keep his friends waiting at such a time. Before the female could speak again he said, "I think I should be going now. I'm Finn, by the way. And this territory might seem big, but just howl for the authority and I'm sure they'll come find you one way or another." Perhaps he should have offered his services (as that's what a gentleman should do) but who would give up on such an adventure as exploring? yet again, before she could respond, he had disappeared and ran back to his friends, again at a brisk trot.

Approaching the place where he had seen them last near the creek, he saw their familiar faces and gave them a smile. "All is well." He said simply.

(she said the food thing in her head lol)

Saphera didn't even have time to respond to him before he left her once again. She didn't want to howl because she thought it would be her asking for attention. But, she couldn't think of any other way. So, she decided that this was what she had to do. Saphera then sent out a beautiful howl out into the skies for the alpha and alphess of this pack to hear.

(Sorry its lame but it'll do.)

((missed the 'thought' part because i just saw the quotes xDD Sorry 'bout that.))

“That they would,” was the chuckled agreement the scholar gave. Indeed, it would make for a terribly self-fulfilling prophecy if such a situation were to transpire. But it wouldn’t, not with Jackie, Arisah would make sure of it. Now that they were surrounded by plants and herbs she would do all in her power to ensure no pack member suffered unnecessarily. “No need for thanks Jackie, glad to help. Keep a careful eye on it the next few days, let me know if it starts to hurt or look out of sorts. It shouldn’t, but it never hurts to be cautious.” Especially when the spring was providing them plenty of options for mending if it was needed.

Pawsteps and rustling undergrowth signaled an approaching wolf just before Finn came into view. Standing up (just in case it wasn’t Finn), Ari was relieved to see him back so quickly, hoping that meant good news. His report that all was well caused the scholar to return his smile, tail swaying gently back and forth even as she eagerly awaited the answer to Jackie’s question.

An answer that came in the form of a howl, “wonderful!” she spoke. So not only had Finn found her, but helped her decide to join the pack. That was the very best news to be hoped for. “Lets,” Ari agreed, feeling positively pup-like in her excitement for a good story and the chance to do some exploring.

((Another shortie, I'm sorry. Not at my house, so no laptop. xD))

He saw the female walking towards him, and as she approached and started to lift a paw, he lifted his head and tensed up, his gaze following her paw as it moved to poke him in the side. Nikolai's eyes widened in question, as he glanced back up at the female standing over him. If there was one thing he disliked, it was being greeted with movements instead of speech, and this was shown perfectly on his face, his discontent for this situation. Shaking his head, the white male rose to his paws and faced the brown female, a single brow raised. "Can I help you ma'am?" He questioned, his tail flicking in irritation behind him.

The male lifted his head, a look of irritation clear. Artemis folded her ears down showing submission.

"I was just looking for someone to talk to, being alone for so long and all. You're hardly a wolf if all you have is yourself."

Artemis looked up at his eyes, a chocolaty brown with minuscule green tints towards the pupil. The brown fae quickly skirted her eyes to the ground in hope he didn't notice. She was afraid now, for the white male was far too close for an escape. He would pounce before she had the chance to even turn.

"I'm very sorry for bothering you....I can see you are annoyed with my attempts to wake you, not knowing you were already awake.

The male lifted his head, sniffing for anyone to talk to. Cayden stopped listening to a conversation not far from where the male stood.

With a shrug he decided not to go up and speak to the two, since from what he could hear they were have a very nice conversation. He moved on slowly at first before picking up his pace. The males memory flicked back to the female whom he had spoken to a while back. He'd kept her in his mind for a while hoping that just maybe, this female was lurking about somewhere.