Just a relaxing time (Just for characters to get to know one another)

Lycaon lay near the creek on one of the warm rocks near the edge of the water, trying to soak in the fresh suns rays before anyone asked him to do anything. The slab he had found was nice, warm and could fit quiet a few and Lycaon remembered laying with other pack members here before the famine last summer. He sighed sadly at the found memories of the pack he had known and wondered what will happen now?

The black shadow slowly lapped at the shore of the river, taking slow, painful movements. Just back from a hunt by herself, she felt downheartend and enraged with herslef. The hurt had gone badly, the young elk slipping from her weak jaws and having the chance to hit her square in thd jaw. Blood trickled from the fresh wound that throbed at her cheek, crying out for care. No, she couldn't abandon the hunt like that, just because the elk had hit her didn't mean it won and could run off like that. But Atreill feared her legs would carry her no further, throbing with exhaustion and tiredness. It felt like she hadn't lied down since the first wolf had died from the sickness. The simple word sent a shiver down her spine, causing the blood to soak into her fur.

With the flick of her tail, the black shadow on the river turned and started to climb the small slope from the river, her weak muscles crying for rest. Once at the top, the black female flopped down in a pile and drew deep breaths into her lungs. Her grey eye slowly flickered open to find a grey male lying contently upon a flat boulder. Exhaling deeply the female tugged herself once more to her feet, she did not want this lazy male to see her this way, in fear her would tell the rest of the pack she had taken a break while they starved.

Lycaon looked up suddenly as a flash of shadow crossed his vision. With a start he stood seeing Atreill limping on the other side of the creek. What is she thinking? He thought increduously. As he watched her slowly walk away.

"Wait!" He called out to her as his legs propelled him towards her. "Atreill where are you going?"

He lept from the boulder into the creek and went across as fast as his legs could carry him to her.

The black female was spooked by the sudden movements from the male on the boulder and sprung into the air like a spring box, a angry snarl escaping her black lips. "I shall wait for no one when there are so many to feed" The black female replied coldly, for she was shoked this wolf knew her name, for all the wolves who had known her were either dead or had walked off on her. The thought of her mothers cold back sent shivers though her spine, how could a mother abandon her pups so coldly? Without trying until there was no more of her? 

The female ruffled her black fur and eyed the wolf carefully, her eye's meeting his own since they were both the same rank. "I am going for a rest, for my legs can go no further" She replied softly, feeling surpirsed with herself and angry she had let herself take a well desurved brake.

The female slumped heavily on the ground, her eye lids suddenly very heavy

Lycaon blinked surprised, worried and confused. When he had seen Atreill with the pack before she had been so different. Lively, kind but quiet, and Lycaon couldn't help but watch her sometimes. Seeing her like this worried him for he hadn't seen her work herself this hard in ages. Her black fur sticking up in odd places and her eyes had lost the shine that they usually had.

Lycaon tilted his head to the side and then getting down beside her saying "Climb onto my back then. I'll care you to a better spot to rest." He pointed to where he had been resting only moments before. "It;s nice and not to warm but warm enough that you should rest well." He told her. Checking her over for wounds besides the one on her cheek.

Atreill hauled herself to her feet, feeling angry with herself that right noe she coukd be doing so much to help the pack and instead she was here lazying around with a male. The female slowly rose to her feet, taking great care not to look weak infront of the male. "I shall walk by myself" She never realized this but whenever she talked to strangers it was always a flat emotionless tone and her words were strained snd forced, nothing like how she really talked. She hobbled alone up to the rock, placing her wide paws upon it and using that pressure she almost tilted herslef up.

Once up she slumped down on its flat surface, but leaving enough space for the male to come and join her on his rock. Almost a silent invitation. "What is your name, if you know mine?" Asked her voice, she was simply a shadow on the rock, slowly heating up the spring sun. She had seen the male more than once before, but only when on hunts. He was a good hunter she had to say and seemed to know all the tricks of this pack, so he must of been brought up here. It made Atreill feel left out on how much she had left behind, if her brothers were still alive, trying to eat each other. A sigh escaped her black lips, a flash of white like a lightning strick in a storm cloud.

Lycaon didn't know if Atreill wanted him to lay beside her or not so he took the gamble and came down to rest beside her. He didn't understand, a hurt look on his face, she had always been so nice to everyone else that she knew in the pack, so why was she acting like this now...maybe it was because of the famine, everyone had lost someone in the famine. So he shook off the bad feelings and blinked. She'd asked him a question. "My name is Lycaon." He said smiling at her.

Atreill wasn't having a good day, her legs ached and groaned whenever she moved their stiff joints and her head whirled with exhaustion. However she was destracted for a few moments as the male came and lay beside her, her breatg almost hitching for a second. Atreill wasn't really looking for love, but due to the decrease in the pack numbers and with spring hanging in the air, it seemed to always come across her mind whenever she let her mind wounder.

Of cause she knew that it was unlikely for a low ranking female to have pups, only if they were the offspring of the alpha, and that was even more unlikely. A small sigh escaped her lips as the male replied with his name, she had heard it before but it had never stuck in her mind. "So what are you going to do on this fine day?" The female replied quietly, as if her voice would wake the forest if she talked to loudly.

Lycaon looked her over and said. "Well I was going to relax for a little bit before going out hunting again," He told her feeling shy now. He hadn't really wanted to be caught being lazy, but he had so no he would make up for it. "But I'll help you out right now." He said standing and going off the rock to the Creek. 

Finding and grabbing a bowl shaped stone that he'd made/found years ago he filled it with Creek water and brought it up to her, then he went back down the the Creek side and grabbed a mouthful of moss. Going back up to her he dipped the moss in water and offered it to her. "It's to clean the blood from your fur." He tried to say but pretty much ended up mumbling the whole sentance. He lowered his head a little in embarassment. He hadn't done this in a long time, all of his friends from before the famine had known where the bowl was and they had all used it here on several occations to help clean each other up, usually after preticualarly gruesome hunts or battles. But now all of them had gone and he hadn't take the bowl out until now. He just hoped that he was doing this right.

The female watched with fasination as the male came back with moss and a boul, two objects she never really would of thought twice about. Her mind started to wounder as male set them down, was he a shaman? no he was a hunter, but curiousity caught her. How do you have the skills of a shaman? The skills of healing and hunting? Her voice came quietly, her eye's looking over him and his objects.

Atreill jumped down to land beside him, her gash still bleeding a angry red. She then laied down beside him wkth her wound on the up side so that he would have easy access to its  blood on her cheek.

As Lycaon cleaned her up he thought about her question. He tried hard to be gentle and clean carefully but he didn't know if he was doing a good job or not. After taking a few minutes to clean the blood he put the moss down and said. "It;s nothing really. Just something some friends taught me a long time ago. It's the little I do know about healing." He looked away sheepishly. "Before the famine me and my buddies would come here all the time after good hunts or hard battles to clean up, it was like our own little ritual you know?" He asked her with a small smile.

The black female flinched the slightest as the damp moss touched her delicate gash, the solf matteral wiping away all the gore and harsh feelings away of defete and agony. Her eye's harded at the past tense of friends, had his too been wiped out by the horrible famine? Her eye's woundered to the bowl with coriousity, a face she was wearing a lot these days. "How was it made? It can't be by the clumsy paws of a wolf." Her eye's betraded what she was thinking, for she had only once seen man walk before her, and it had been a close one too.

Lycaon staired at the bowl for a time, thinking and wondering how he would respond to the question, looking at her now he said. "I don't really know. I found it when I was young and it was pretty much as you see it now, I just added in my own personal touches." He pointed out the marks on the inside that could be used to carry the bowl around. Feeling self concious now he took the bowl to the waters edge and dumping out the water he started to clean it out.

Viesa approached the creek, as she had loved swimming, but when she saw Lycaon and Atreill talking among herselves, her heart immediately began to pump very fast. Her paws started tingling. Not only did she dislike talking to others, but she had some sort of weird anxiety about it. She shook her head nervously and put on a brave face. She dipped herself into the creek and rolled around in the shallow waters, letting the cool liquid moisten her mottled fur. Viesa closed her eyes for a few seconds. She almost felt completely at peace. But she abruptly sat up in the creek, scanning the area. She had never felt like that before - so delicate and harmonized with the world.

Atreill hardly heard the male as her eye's suddenly start to scan the creek. A slight wind had picked up and was blowing a unfaimilar scent towards them. Her eyes narrowed as the came to contact with another female. "Who are you" She said queitly to herself, knowing she would never hear her even if she called to the top of her lungs.

Lycaon noticing Atreills aprehension looked and saw Viesa as well. His eyes widened in surpise that he hadn't noticed the she wolf sooner. He knew her kind of, she was new like Atreill but unlike Atreill she had become a Warrior and not a Hunter. He really hadn't payed all that much attention to her but hoped to change that now. He inclined his head giving Viesa the gesture to join them on this side of the creek.

Viesa saw Lycaon's gesture, and she nodded back towards him and stood up, making her way over to them slowly, as the water had thickened her fur, and made her much heavier. However, she stood with such a good posture and confidence that it seemed like nothing could wear her down. But she was the complete opposite inside.

She sat down besides Lycaon, gazing towards the horizon. She had not intended to join into the conversation - just to simply be there.

The black female odd eye's locked down on the other female, her eyes burning with couriousity. Unlike Viesa, she showed her shyness lf new wolves and slunk further away on the flat rock, still her eyes locked on the new comer. At first Atreill didn't know what to say, this confidence wolf looked strong headed and that was the type of wolf, dispite her shyness, she would lock antlers with and start yelling eny time soon. So Atreill cleared her throat, she had been dosying long enough and felt it was time for her to leave, and leave these two alone. For Atreill felt slightly unconfurtable around the male, and knew she would keep her distance even if they turned into good friends.

Slowly the female nodded and turned to leave, she didn't want tl stay long with them anyway, she told herself, they would soon forget she had even been their and become great friends, she said to convince herself. Slowly the shadow dissapeared into the forest edge.

Arteill left

Lycaon looking between the two of them suddenly yelped in surprise as Atreill walked off. "Atreill wait where are you going?" He called after her but he couldn't go he still had the bowl in his paws and he didn't want to just drop it here to get lost again.

He looked over at Viesa and shrugged saying. "Sorry I don't know what;s up with her."

Viesa cocked her head and raised her chin, obviously interested in why Atreill left. But then she remembered the way the hunter had looked at her. She was clearly unreadable, but the only emotion she could get from her was hesitation. Viesa's heart dropped when she realized she had probably imitidated Atreill. Viesa nodded, acknowledging Lycaon's warning.

"Atreill, wait? Where do you think you're going?" she shouted out towards her, all while staying in her seated position.

Lycaon was confused to say the least. Later I'll try to talk to her again. He told himself as he finished cleaning the bowl. Hopefully she's in a better mood. He hoped.

Viesa's face reddened. She didn't like when people judged her like that. She stood up and started to trot towards Atreill, but she stopped herself with a light gasp. She was overreacting. She had always overreacted. Maybe Atreill was just in a sour mood - and Viesa knew that if she was in a sour mood, she'd want nobody to bother her. She calmly took in a deep exhale and then sat back down.

"I've got the impression Atreill doesn't like me, or she's just in a bitter mood," Viesa said lowly.

Lycaon nodded and said. "Bad mood she looked pretty beat up when I first saw her. Like she'd done something really wrong." He shrugged. "Makes me feel bad that I have been here almost all day and she's been working her tail off." He grimiced he hadn't ment to say it like that but well the words had come out and there was nothing that he could do now but wait for Viesa's reaction.

"Oh, I comprehend," Viesa responded much more lightly than before. Her mother always told her that bad moods were a plague. If one had gotten it, soon, the other would get it too. But she raised her chin, like she always did and looked ahead towards the trees. She glanced at all the detailed swirls of the reddish brown bark.

Lycaon looked at her and gave her a smile. "Sorry I forgot my manners. Hi my name is Lycaon. You are?" He asked kind of curious as to how she would answer.