Welcome, Guest!

[Dimitri Harvest]

Long, graceful legs pulled a medium, thin frame forward, keeping to a steady, quick trot. Bright, shining green eyes looked over the plateau, it's shapes holding the looker's interest. It was only a moment of hesitation before brown-tipped paws began the climb the ragged rocks, leaping expertly from cliff-to-cliff. Though she had recently resided in the whispering vargo, hills so docile, constant travel when she was young and of recent kept Dimitri fit and able. She had explored quite a bit of torva, meeting wolves, making friends and enemies, but this climb was a distraction for the Cream woman, as she had just come upon the news that Nix'rio had disbanded.

Reaching the top, Dimitri looked over the flattened top, walking slowly as her mind wandered. She had found Heike again, he had gone to Demetrius to spy for Azren. Yet Athena had told him that he would be made the next leader of of the pack. He found Dimitri and told her about it, their dreams of leading a pack would soon be realized. The she-wolf sat and looked over the land, her eyes clouded as she was lost in her thoughts. Nix'rio, the pack that she had lived in for the winter, the first pack she had been in since Oak died, they were gone. Pain seemed to fill her chest. Though she had already been leaving, to find them gone... Just gone, it was hard to comprehend. She had begun to dislike Azren, but not Nix'rio. They were good wolves, just lead by the wrong leader. Hell, even Azren's mate, Nahrus, was a good wolf, even if she couldn't speak.

A song crept out of her lips, it announced the end of Nix'rio, as Azren had left them all to fall apart. The howl slowly quieted as Dimitri let out her frustrations and sadness. Lowering her head to look down to the ground again, she knew it was time to move forward again. Demetrius was waiting, it seemed. Heike and Aurora were waiting, and maybe she'd get her rematch with Fireheart soon. With cream head raised, Dimitri looked ahead. The past was the past, no going back or stopping it, it was all better to forget and only look forward. Never look back was how she thought, the past only held pain.

"She speaks." She thinks. She does.

[Ryth Ebonstone]

Winter was suffering, and Ryth was glad. Sun broke through the weak clouds more often than not, warming the rock under his pads. It was a good day to be out, and the grizzled wolf enjoyed the freedom of running. Hus joints might get stiff after a long day of moving, but he was still young enough to push himself when he wanted to. Climbing the rock was definitely a push, and the black wolf was soon smothered in red rock dust from all the slipping and squeezing between boulders he had to do. Ryth wasn’t a large wolf, but clearly some of these paths were made for smaller creatures. He was determined now he has set out now to reach the top of the plateau, so he pushed onward. A sweet song came down to him on the wind, and he stopped to squint upward at the bright sky. Was that a wolf up there? Padding onward, Ryth made his was toward the figure, tilting his ears to the sound. She had a good voice and while he couldn’t say he cared much that a pack had disbanded, he appreciated the information. He knew little about the packs in the area, and probably should if he had any hope of finding his son in this vast wilderness. He got to the flat of the rock just as her song finished, and the scruffy wolf cleared his throat so as not to startle her on his approach. “Good view up here,” he said with a wink, clearly not talking about the landscape, “Nix’Rio, was it? Can’t say I ever heard of them, but then I’m not from around here. Ryth Ebonstone, at your pleasure,” he bobbed his head in a parody of a bow and met her bright green eyes with his similar emerald gaze.

[Dimitri Harvest]

Though the wind was still cool there, the heat from both the desert and the coming spring made a warmth that the she-wolf enjoyed. The end of winter wouldn't have been so cold if she'd known where Heike was then, but being aware of what he'd been doing, she was content with ignoring those times to be happy with him. there was a curl of her lip that slightly bared her teeth in annoyance. Not even her thoughts of Heike could dismiss this empty sadness of a lost pack. I was already going to leave. She told herself.

The sound of approaching pawsteps was followed by the scent of a coming wolf. There was something familiar about the scent. Her cream head turned to the newcomer as he approached her. His dark pelt... green eyes... He reminded her of Hythyr. Irritation followed this thought. That young Alyxio wolf had beaten her in a sparring match, and called Heike crazy! Well, she hadn't exactly tested the latter, but why would she have to? The polar bear had a temper, but that wasn't insanity.

Eyes widened at his words, then narrowed as he winked at her. There was a bit of a sense of amusement in the back of her mind. It had been a while since someone had flirted with her. She raised a brow as he spoke more, then introduced himself. "I must tell you that I am taken, Ryth Ebonstone. I am Dimitri Harvest." Though the words would have seemed simple and polite enough, there was a hint of venom in her voice that showed her irritation. She was not truly interested in Ryth, as he was not Heike. This male was older than her, he was almost to the end of his prime.

"You should turn your eyes from my ass to the sky before you regret it." She growled, her tail held somewhat high as she stood. Her comment was her way of saying "Stop flirting or I'll bite off something vulnerable", and any male wolf understood what vulnerable part she was meaning in this hinted speech. He'd probably get at least part of the message, if he didn't... Well, he'd have both her and Heike to deal with.

"She speaks." She thinks. She does.

[Ryth Ebonstone]

The older wolf seemed amused by her response. Frankly, he hadn’t expected much else. Females rarely responded to him favourably. He matched her display of dominance equally, mostly to be contrary, but also to prove that both as loners, they were equal. Ryth had a terminal problem with authority, and flaunting it was a speciality. “Aaah, so because you are taken, you are not deserving of compliments? My apologies, Dimitri Harvest, I did not know. I’ll sing my songs of praise for your rear end to someone else,” he said with a grin, his notched ears tilted askew. While the wolf didn’t avoid company, Ryth was awkward in many social situations that weren’t as simple as ‘this is my food and I don’t want you to have it’ scenarios. When it came to females, Ryth was even more uncomfortable. So like any male who was unsure of a situation, he overcompensated. Finding himself in a remote area with one female was difficult to deal with to say the least. In truth, he would probably feel more at ease if she did decide to dissuade him more forcefully. Making a show of taking her advice, out of mockery more than obedience, he tilted his head back and looked to the sky, “And what am I looking for up there, Dimitri?” He asked coyly, acutely aware that he was baring his throat. Ryth was a seasoned fighter – the collection of scars across his muzzle, defacing his ear and the kink in his tail might be testament to that – or he might simply look like he got in trouble far too often for his own good. The latter would of course be entirely true too.

[Dimitri Harvest]

His show of amusement only seemed to aggravate the cream she-wolf further, and his need to prove equality made the corner of her lip curl. She did not enjoy this man, she felt that she could show all of the dominance she wanted as a queen-to-be. Green eyes narrowed, it was inevitable for her and Heike to lead Demetrius soon. The old Athena was losing her touch, she barely ever came out of her den. The woman was old, and Dimitri would take advantage of that, then she would make Demetrius great.

The she-wolf snorted at Ryth's words. "I simply don't want it or need it from anyone else. And if I hear tell of that...!" She added with a growl. If he indeed went around telling others that Dimitri was attractive or something, she would hunt him down with blood in her intentions. Plenty of it. And she would have the power to do it, too! The woman's ambition had soared in the last few days, since Heike told her that he was next in line for Alpha, and she was more than ready to flaunt it.

Already, Dimitri was thinking of a new name for the pack, and she was thinking Rosenrot, the name of a mythical pack in stories that her mother had told her. She would talk to Heike about it. Her excitement almost showed through her angered, miserable facade, but just held her head higher as she glared at the older wolf.

As he looked up into the sky and asked what he was looking for, Dimitri paused. The male's throat was extremely bared, but the woman, instead of thinking of or trying to kill him, she glanced at the sky. "Pretty clouds." She said, only seeing a few clouds in the sky today. The sun had won out against them, and it used it's advantage to warm the plateau for the wolves and other animals below. She wondered if there were hot days in the carpathians, being so high altitude and she had only visited them in the winter, before Demetrius pack had settled.

"She speaks." She thinks. She does.

[Ryth Ebonstone]

Ryth huffed, despairing at the youth of today. It was a tragic world when a young female couldn’t even indulge a male who seemingly couldn’t help himself. “Aah, pretty clouds to replace your pretty behind, eh? I have to say, I lack the imagination to make that work. None of these look like you,” he lowered his gaze, flashing a chagrined smile. “Come now, Dimitri Harvest, I’m a harmless old man. Do you have to shoot my ridiculous little dreams down so brutally? I’m sure there was a time when your mate – where is he, by the way, he’s not doing a very good job of guarding your voluptuous figure – sung songs of your beauty. I bet you didn’t chew him out for it. Tell me, young Dimitri, what is so wrong with me that I provoke such a disgusted reaction?” He was just jibing but he was curious – what did females make of him? He wasn’t an overly handsome man – especially not in this scruffy state – but someone had loved him once. Surely he had to have some redeemable features? Then again, did he really want to know? Ryth had not thought about taking another mate since Snow, he had no intention of it, despite his caddish behaviour. Ignorance was bliss when it came to the inner workings of females. Curiosity killed the cat, and all that. Thankfully, he was not a cat, and his curiosity was piqued. He flashed Dimitri another roguish smile, sitting back on his haunches. It was a surprisingly casual move considering the female in front of him was more likely to knock him on his back than not. Ryth liked to think his confidence was an attractive trait, but he would find out the truth on that soon enough.

[Dimitri Harvest]

The cream she-wolf wished to know why this male was so stubborn about flirting with her. She liked Heike, and though this flattering made her face heat, she would not accept anyone else. A thought crossed her mind, and she remembered that little wolf, Lakwa, no, le croix, who had that accent. She had allowed his flirting, and, in hindsight, she had acted somewhat stupidly under his charm. That was the sort of thing she didn't want. She wouldn't be able to bare it if Heike thought her untrustworthy, and it would be worse if he had a reason.

Anger boiled in her stomach at Ryth's accusations against Heike. "He isn't here because he knows I can take care of myself." She said confidently, eyes averting to narrow towards the horizon, the fur along her spine raising slightly for a moment before she took control of her temper again, knowing all well that the man next to her probably wasn't trying to do real harm. Probably. She was ready to snarl at him to watch his mouth. Her head swung back to look at the brown wolf as he laid down. She sat, somewhat reluctantly, but it was better to stay calm. This male seemed not to know very much about vulnerability, for all he knew, she could have decided to jump at his throat, right then and there. Either that or he was confident. Over confident.

"I never said you were disgusting," She argued. "I just don't need more than I have, Ryth Ebonstone. And he didn't sing, he hunted." She told him, somewhat dreamily as she remember his proficiency in hunting and scavenging, and, oh, how the polar bear swam in the iciest water to get her a salmon. Maybe he would teach her how to fish in the summer, when the water was warm enough for her. That would be fun. Her moment of daydreaming brought her back to Ryth at his first word, and she felt somewhat self-conscious, wondering if it had been obvious that she had just spaced-out.

"She speaks." She thinks. She does.

[Ryth Ebonstone]

Ryth grinned, a real smile this time, not laced with any flirtatious undertones. “So you love him then, your hunter?” He looked up at the younger female and nodded, “Alright then, Dimitri Harvest, I will cease and desist my piteous attempts to compliment you. I can understand loyalty,” he said, shifting his hips so his rear legs rested more comfortably to one side. It was comforting to know that he was not entirely dismissed by the fairer sex, and he actually felt admiration for the creamy young wolf, so dedicated to her mate. Of course, he would never leave his mate’s side given the chance, but he supposed independence was a fad among these younger females. Something to do with proving their worth. Snow had never needed to prove anything to him – he had always known her worth. The grizzled male smiled to himself as he turned to meet Dimitri’s gaze. If she felt the need to prove herself, he had just the thing. “What I don’t understand though,” he continued, “is how you know you could take care of yourself against me? It’s not a threat, Dimitri, but I’m curious, are you as good a fighter as you claim?” His green eyes glittered with mischief as he peered up at her from his prone position. Clearly he did not look ready for one, but he seemed to be challenging her to a sparring match. Ryth was used to being underestimated. He didn’t look like much, but he was a trained warrior and assassin. Albeit he was getting on a bit, but the simple fact that he still lived was testament to his skill. Dimitri was no different than most wolves. Since he didn’t act offensive, wolves generally assumed that he was indeed a harmless old man.

[Dimitri Harvest]

She saw the grin spread over his face, and for an instant, expected it be be flirtatious like the rest, but it wasn't. It was an honest smile. It gave the wolf an entirely different look, more like a brotherly, or fatherly look. This wolf was far more likely to get a friendly Dimitri. "Yes, I love him." It was a statement, but almost indignant, as if asking the question was nearly an insult. She nodded a bit when he said that he would stop his flirting, though she didn't make it look like disrespect, simple acknowledgement, not agreement.

Still, this male reminded her of the Alyxio champion. The last time she'd seen Hythyr, it was when she was going to confront Azren, before she knew that Heike had been a spy. She thought that Heike had been banished, as her friend Aurora had been told. It seemed to Dimitri, now, that it had been a good idea to decide to go to Demetrius with Heike, because he and Aurora were there, even that wolf that she needed a rematch with, fireheart, was there. Again, her thoughts wondered. What had she been thinking about in the first place? I'll remember later...

Then Ryth spoke again and Dimitri stood, her muscles tense as she analyzed Ryth ebonstone more thoroughly. He was slightly taller than her, maybe by an ear, but his build was stocky, he was a ragged man. Paying attention to the tell tale signs that Dimitri has learned to recognize, this man knew how to fight, even if he acted in this manner. She guessed that he was confident in his abilities, which meant that she had to be careful. She narrowed her eyes, eyes catching sight of any scars and weaknesses.

Dimitri lifted her head a little higher for a moment, then glanced around. "Away from the edge. I can prove my words true, Any rules?" She asked as she backed up to the center of the plateau, not turning her back on him for a moment. She lowered her head and general body to keep herself in balance and ready to move. She made it obvious that she wouldn't make the first move.

"She speaks." She thinks. She does.

[Ryth Ebonstone]

So she wasn’t going to fall for his easy mark facade. Clever girl. He got to his feet, overacting a little with the stiffness of his joints. Anything to give her a more harmless perception of him. It might be to his advantage to surprise her later with his relative spryness. He looked an older wolf, and while he wasn’t as fast as he was in his prime years, he liked to think he made up for that with experience. She took a good look at him, but aside from noting the very edge of the plateau, she did not seem to examine the ground around them. Ryth was casually taking note of each irregular lump or depression in the bare rock. Naked surfaces like this were hard to grip on, and good knowledge of the footholds around him would give him an advantage. Dimitri was a young female, smaller than him, and lighter too. She would be quicker off the mark, but his weight would be to his benefit here. She was also taking this seriously and for some wolves – not for all – that could put them on edge. They thought about things too hard. When you spent time thinking in a fight, you had less time to react. As a seasoned fighter, Ryth’s reactions were automatic. He could feel the fight, rather than think about it. Bracing his legs, the older wolf shook out his coat. An orange dust haze lifted off of him, and his ragged coat seemed to stick up in various directions of its own accord. He followed after her at a distance, making sure they were a safe distance from the edge. He had no intention of this accidentally ending in tragedy. “Hmm, no rules. Just go gentle with me – I’m not as young as I used to be,” and with that, he dashed toward her. There was a lot of space between them, it would be an easy attack to see coming and he knew it. It was just a feint to see how fast her reactions really were and what her defence would be. At the last moment, he would dodge away and go from there. Offence: A feint to provoke a response Defence: Loose stance, easily adaptable Injuries: None

[Heike Feikesonn]

ooc:    

Heike had followed Dimitri, without her knowing, he had used his skills as a loner well. Now that he had found her again, he didn’t want to let her be unprotected, and something inside of him urged him to watch out for males. He had almost jumped out from his hiding spot to the sound of the males flirting. But he restrained himself, he found it lovely to hear Dimitri defend him. But now there was seriousness. Because they were going to spar.

Heike huffed, sparring was ok, then he stiffened, sparring up here? He yelped. And leaped up from behind the rock, in between the two like a flash. "Don’t touch my girl." Heike said with a dark, demanding voice. His head turned to the dark, male. He reminded Heike of someone. His eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out who the wolf reminded him off. But he quickly let it go and ignored the male and turned to Dimitri. "What in the world are you thinking, love? Sparring match up here? And don’t give me any of the “but we were going to the middle” crap! You could easily forgotten where you were and fallen off the edge! Don’t ever put your life in that kind of danger again!" Heike yelled at her, half wanting to smack her with his paw, but came to think his paw was a lot bigger than hers. He was quite surprised over his Dimitri-like response to her putting herself in any kind of danger. Heike nuzzled her neck, glad he was there to prevent a fight.

"Heike huffs"

[Dimitri Harvest]

WARNING; Heavy cursing below. Of course, you're probably still going to read it, but she's angry... you can't say I never warned you...

A grin spread over the cream she-wolf's lips as he told her there were no rules. She took a quick examination of their area. She had fought near cliffs and edges far worse than this, and even won a spar in a ring barely big enough for two wolves. Those wolves were insane, but they had interesting fighting techniques. Close combat came in handy. A gentle wind blew, as it always seemed to in higher areas, sending a calm feeling through the land, yet the girl knew she couldn't relax. She was about to fight.

Ryth moved forwards quickly and the girl lowered her body as if to take the attack. This was a trick, of course, but she would only move if he was sure that he would hit her. This was a tricky move, but it could be done. She narrowed his eyes. It felt like he wasn't going as fast as he could, or was he just old? Her heart raced as her blood burned in her veins, ready for the fight, ready to move, ready to-

"Heike!?" The flash of white fur followed the polar bear's scent just a heartbeat later. He snarled at her, but the girls stance was high and dominant, eyes narrowed slightly at his fit. Her lips curled slightly as she growled deep within her chest. "What the Fucking hell are you doing here!? Have you been following me!?" His yelling made her defensive and angry back, her hackles rose and she stepped back when he tried to nuzzle her neck. "What? You don't trust me by my own damn self? I thought you trusted me, Heike!" Now, an experienced man might have recognized her anger was only defensive, and that she really felt like he didn't trust her, like he thought her as only a little, helpless damsel. "I was a fucking loner once, too, Heike! Do you think me an idiot? I've fought under worse Damn conditions with less than this, or am I just incompetent?" She lashed her tail, her eyes blazing with green fire.

She lowered her head and turned her back on Heike to face Ryth again. "I believe we were in the middle of a match?" Her voice was filled with anger and venom, but not directed at Ryth, and, once again, only a very, very intuitive man could recognize her defensiveness. All her life, she only needed to protect herself. Old habits die hard, and she was certainly not in the proper mind to fight, however, it would be a bad idea to turn her down on this state, too. She lowered her stance and her muscles tensed readily.

"She speaks." She thinks. She does.

[Ryth Ebonstone]

She stood her ground, a courageous move, and Ryth yapped in amusement as he dodged away. Her attention was rapt, engrossed entirely on the task at hand. The grizzled wolf grinned and ducked his head, intending to come in for another faint – or perhaps a real tackle – when he saw something out of the corner of his eye that made him pull up short. His playful stance stiffened as a large white male jumped between them. Ryth might have bowled into him if he had not seen him coming at the last moment. His teeth snapped together as he met the wolf’s cool gaze, a warning that the interception had been surprising rather than a threat. This male was everything he was not: large, white, and a complete moron. He laid into Dimitri with a verbal assault, much fiercer than any spar of theirs would have been. He was about to tell the wolf in no uncertain terms that it was rude to interrupt a friendly sparring match when Dimitri – that little firecracker – gave as good as she got. Ryth took a few steps back and sat down on his haunches. Well, this Heike guy was certainly learning his lesson. He watched as Dimitri unleashed her verbal fury on the male, and couldn’t help but feel a little satisfied. There was something impressive about a female who could speak up for herself. It was just a pity that this wolf that she loved, and who she just moments ago praised for trusting her, was demonstrating just how much he didn’t trust her. If Heike had known better, his ultimatum would have been directed at Ryth, not Dimitri. He was a little surprised when Dimitri turned to him, demanding the continuation of their match. He stood and shook out his coat, casting a sideways glance at Heike. ‘Don’t taunt the boy, Ryth, just have a good clean spar with the lady and leave it at that...’ He just couldn’t help himself, and flashed the larger male a grin and a shrug as if to say ‘you heard the lady’. Haunches bunching, he launched himself at Dimitri, aiming to barge into her shoulder with his own. With her centre of gravity low like that, she would but hard to topple if he came at her straight on so he tried to push her at more of a downward angle, perhaps using what weight advantage he had to overpower her. She was going to have the agility factor in this fight, and he had to play to his strengths. Attack: Headlong tackle Defence: None, other than to have the foresight not to plough into anything if he misses Injuries: Mild joint stiffness