[OPEN] The Thrill of the Chase

[Akeela]

The dark clouds above Akeela rumbled and growled, warning the land and all it's creatures of the rain to come. Lightning flashed across the sky; it's bright light illuminating the land for a split second before it faded away to the dreary landscape it had been before. Akeela stood in the middle of the field, her sparkling green eyes turned up to the sky. As if she were waiting for the rain. As if she were waiting for some kind of miracle. After a few moments, Akeela's eyes slowly traveled back down to her paws. "What were you expecting?" she scoffed at herself, a frown adorning her scarred features. When she realized that she couldn't answer her own question, she began to trudge on; as if she could walk away from her troubles. Endless walking.

Suddenly, a flash of gray darted in front of Akeela. Straight out of a hole in the ground. She took notice of that fact immediately and pounced upon the opportunity as if she were starving. Akeela spun around and chased after the rabbit, kicking up dirt as she went. Her muscles rippled underneath her fur, her breath came out in short gasps. The thrill of the chase sang through her veins, her mouth watered at the mere thought of sinking her teeth into fresh-kill. The rabbit ran for it's life, but Akeela was faster.

The nimble wolf bounded onto a gray boulder protruding from the ground, using the surface to her own advantage as she lifted off it with her powerful back legs. Then onto another boulder, slightly larger than the one that had been a few feet away. The rabbit was within her grasp now. She could practically taste it's sweet, warm blood.

SNAP!

Akeela's jaws closed around the rabbit that didn't get a chance to squeal. It died instantly, the second her jaws wrapped around it's defenseless body. She stood there for a moment, her gasps for air almost silent as she dropped the mangled gray rabbit at her paws. A small smirk turned up the corners of her lips before she bent down to begin eating her oh-so-delicious meal.

[kmin66]

Tala had been watching the other from the sky. When the lightning flashed, Tala dove and landed, to avoid detection. She continued to follow her from behind. When the foreign she-wolf darted after the rabbit, Tala noticed her glowing eyes. Amazing! Poison magic? I haven't seen that since... Nobody, well, nobody where I come from, has ever seem one! They're legendary! When the shewolf stopped to eat the rabbit, Tala made a very wide circle around the left, so it would appear that she was aproaching from the front. "View halloo; how do you do? My name's Tala, who are you? Are you new?" She hoped the other a) wouldn't attack (she didn't really want to die, please and thank you) b) would understand what Tala had just said (Hey, it was her natural speech pattern, after all) c) would be friendly. Tala was a very friendly, trusting wolf, and it hurt when others couldn't find her trustworthy. She wondered how the other wolf would react.

[Felypsa]

Now wasn’t this interesting. It wasn’t too often that Kruor came across another intelligent creature in these outlands. Of course, he had high standards for the definition of the word “intelligent,” which ruled out most of the other wolves that he typically met. These wolves tended to disregard their natural instincts and make reckless errors, approaching him with all the trustworthy folly of a naive pup.

When really, they should have looked at Kruor and been instantly suspicious.

The sleek black wolf was not large and muscled, so he doubted that he intimidated others with his appearance. But, like a fox, he always had a sly, mischievous glint in his deep ice-blue eye. Anyone looking at him should be wary of his motives and intentions. He was small and lithe and quick, able to move swiftly and secretly. His dark pelt allowed him to blend in with the shadows.

In all honesty, he had worked for many, many years to give himself a demonic, lurking kind of appearance, for the sole purpose at making others uneasy when he grinned at them.

Speaking of lurking, that was exactly what Kruor was doing on this day. Actually, it was more like lounging in the shade, looking around the area and trying to determine where he should go next. Ah, the freedom of a lone wolf was one that he had enjoyed for many years. His mind was occupied with this question when suddenly, a she-wolf darted by his hiding spot, chasing a rabbit. Kru stirred with interest, slinking out of his shadowy lair to watch the chase.

She caught her prey a little ways off. She took it down easily, and it didn’t even make a sound. Kru settled his batlike wings along his back and smiled as he noticed the bloody grin on the wolf’s maw as she tore into her meal. Ah, now there was a true hunter, one who enjoyed what she did. And did it well.

His interest aroused, he started to head over to her, trotting lightly. He made no effort to hide his form; as tempting as it was to try to sneak up on her, Kru knew better than to startle a hungry wolf in the middle of a meal. His gait was a confident saunter, a bit of a bounce to his steps that gave of a cocky sort of aura—he did not seem to give a flying fig about the incoming storm. It had not started to rain yet, so he ignored the lightning flashes and the irritable rumbling from the sky.

Before he could reach the she-wolf, though, another one strolled up to her. Kruor paused, watching Tala go right up to Akeela and introduce herself, asking a whole load of questions that made him snort. Yet another trusting wolf. Granted, he had been about to do the same thing, but but he wouldn’t have done so with such…eagerness.

“New to what?” he asked, overhearing her last question. His blue eyes sparked with amusement at this situation. “New to the earth? New to life? Oh, now, you’re not going to tell me you own this territory, are you?” He sniffed the air, as if that would give him the answer from where he was, and shook his head, a smirk darting across his maw. “Granted, I am just passing through myself,” he allowed. “But far as I know, this land is owned…by no one. And anyone who comes through here is new.”

He didn’t offer his name, oh no. Kruor was not that eager to give away personal information.

[Akeela]

Akeela had finished the last morsel of rabbit when her umber ears pricked and she fell into an immediate silence. Her breathing slowed, her muscles tightened. There was the faint sound of wings flapping in the air, however slight it may have been, somewhere to the left of her. By the time Akeela looked up, the strange she-wolf was standing in front of her. A wolf with fur as orange as a carrot, yet as red as blood at the same time. Her blue eyes looked inquisitively at Akeela as she began to barrage her with questions. "How do you do? My name's Tala, who are you? Are you new?"

Akeela licked the blood from her lips, her face showing no expression. But before she had the chance to answer Tala's questions, another wolf appeared seemingly out of nowhere. She hadn't even heard him coming; his dark presence was as silent as Akeela's herself. The she-wolf's malachite eyes flashed a vibrant emerald as they passed over the two wolves. The male, a lean wolf who had fur as dark as the night and cerulean eyes that gleamed. What was that she saw? Akeela had seen that look before, in her own eyes, at least a thousand times. The infamous mischievous sparkle. The corner of her lips turned up in an acknowledging smirk. His words were as sharp as his intellect, his witty retort was almost painful. For that, a spark of amusement glittered in the she-wolf's glowing irises.

"Hello, strangers," Akeela's silky voice entered the atmosphere gracefully, dancing around the two wolf's ears as if her words had come to life. Her tail flicked behind her ever-so-slightly in an almost playful manner. This time, when she smiled, her venom-tainted fangs glistened in the lightning that tore through the sky behind her. "I am known by the name Akeela."

The wolf raised her head slightly, as if she were proud to announce her name. She knew that Tala meant no harm, she was simply a sociable and curious she-wolf, but the male... Well, he was certainly an interesting character. He caught Akeela's attention immediately. He seemed mysterious, perhaps a bit suspicious. He didn't seem to be the type to dish out information on the spot, yet he had a tongue as sharp as they come. How... intriguing. Yet Akeela did not hesitate in announcing her name. It was as if she had nothing to fear, despite the fact that the two towered over her.

"It's a pleasure meeting you, Tala. As well as you, stranger." The she-wolf chimed as she ran her tongue over her lips once more, erasing any trace of the rabbit blood that had lingered on her jaws.

[kmin66]

((Ooc: wow. You guys write really long posts. I feel guilty now!))

"Me, own a territory?!" Tala gasped in mock horror. "Who would want to be nailed to one place when there's still races to be raced, chases to be chased? Not I, no sirree, not me!" Tala was particularly proud of the last bit; she'd been working on a refusal couplet for quite some time now. "And by 'new', I meant had never been here before; after all, there are other lands galore." She felt uncomfortably uneasy around the "Tall Dark Stranger", as she had mentally tagged him when he didn't offer his name. He didn't seem to offer any threat, at least for the moment. She grinned and wagged her tail in an amiable way and glanced at them both. She wondered what was going through their heads right now; oh, what she wouldn't give for mind-reading abilities! Noting that the conversation had stopped, dropped, and rolled over, quite dead, she tried to bring it back. "So! From whence have ye traveled? I'll let my story be unraveled." She waited, with only a touch of impatience, for Akeela and TDS to respond.

[Felypsa]

oOc| lawlawls, practice makes perfect! xD also I tend to get carried away e.e

Oho, the grace and maturity of the she-wolf who had caught the rabbit just rolled off of her with her answer. Kruor could not help but give a wild grin at both of their politeness. Polite wasn’t how he rolled. It was sweet that they were trying, though. He felt completely relaxed, since neither of them was very threatening at all. Harmless, really, the both of them. At the same time, he could not help grinning at Akeela as she licked her maw clean of rabbit blood, while one ear twitched in Tala’s direction as she babbled an explanation for her words.

“Oh, yes,” he agreed, finally turning to look at Tala. “With the whole wide world out there, who would ever want to be tied down? Safety, I suppose,” he remarked, answering his own rhetorical question, “and security. But that is no fun at all. No, ladies, it is the danger that calls my name.” That would be a perfect opportunity to offer said name, but Kru was going to see how long he could hold out before one of them just asked him directly. It was a fun little game.

“For what is life without the thrill of risking it?” he added, his voice velvety, like a purr.

Kruor tilted his head slightly as Tala continued to speak, asking for their stories. He supposed it was natural enough; three travelers, meeting up in the wilderness, exchanging anecdotes of the strange things they had encountered. She had a funny way of speaking, though, that was for sure. It finally occured to Kru that she was speaking in rhyme.

Goodness gracious, why ever would she feel compelled to do that?

“You could save yourself much time, if you didn’t always try to rhyme,” Kru suggested mischievously. “I can tell that you have quite a range, but to be honest, it’s really quite strange.” Funny how they seemed to roll off his tongue now that he was thinking about it. “I don’t think I’ve ever met a wandering poet, and if I have, well, I certainly didn’t know it.” He could not help but speak with a mocking tone.

“But in all seriousness, I come from everywhere,” he went on, dropping his mockery…for now. “I’m afraid you wouldn’t believe how long I’ve been wandering and exploring the lands. I’m older than I look.” He caught Akeela’s eye and dropped a quick wink. “And I’ve never settled. Came close a few times, but was thankfully saved by the voice of reason, which carried me away properly to the next adventure.”

[Akeela]

{OOC: Yeah, Felypsa is right. I've been role-playing with long posts for years, but I started off with 3 sentence paragraphs. xD Practice does make perfect!}

Akeela noticed the wide grin that spread across the male's dark features as he watched her clean her jaws of blood. A faint twinkle of amusement came to life in her eyes as Tala attempted to make conversation, asking the two where they had come from in the form of a rhyme. Akeela let the male answer first, in order to give herself a chance to think of what she could say. She couldn't possibly tell them the truth... No. That would be far too easy. Why, that would take all the fun away from the game! You never know who your talking with, what they've done, and what they're capable of. It's a gamble of lives and you never know what you're going to get. The very thought of it sent adrenaline pumping through Akeela's veins as she listened to the male's words of wisdom.

"A life without risking it?" Akeela snickered vivaciously when the male had finished speaking; she seized the moment of silence to throw in her own input before Tala continued with her rhymes. "Why, that's no life at all!" Akeela grinned as she went on, her eyes lighting up with a devilish excitement. "I agree with you whole-heartedly, stranger. The thrill, the excitement! A life without risks isn't a life worth living."

When Tala resumed her strange speech of rhymes, Akeela looked on with interest. She couldn't help but admire the dedication of her performance--or, at least, that's what Akeela thought it was. Nobody could ever speak in riddles and rhymes in every conversation through-out their whole entire life, could they? She had barely had a moment to ponder the subject before the male began speaking in rhymes of his own. Akeela couldn't suppress the giggle that came when she listened to his mocking tone and teasing words. However, if his sharp tongue bothered Tala, she was doing an amazing job at hiding it.

Then the answer to Tala's question came from the strange, dark wolf. Akeela sat down where she was standing, her tail flicking every so often as her ears swiveled to listen to his answer. What came from him was unexpected, but she wouldn't doubt his claims. When the male caught Akeela's eye and winked, she lifted a paw delicately to her chest and laughed. It was a sort of song, the way she laughed. It was soft, with a dangerous and mysterious chime to it.

"Well, as for myself," Akeela snickered as she dropped her paw and rested it on the ground, "I can't begin to explain where I'm from. I don't belong neither here nor there, so I would have to say everywhere as well. As 'luxurious' as it may sound, joining a pack is the last thing I would want to do."