Light and Dark

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Koronis

The nights were growing chillier, hinting at the autumn that was creeping upon the lands. Though the leaves weren’t quite yet changing, the feeling that was particular to this time of year was in the air. The coolness after dark, the crisply clear sky above and the silence. The silver pelted Koronis had been exploring outside of Na”em territory for the second night now, and come morning she would be headed back home. The pilgrimage would start soon, or so she’d heard before she left, and the female did not want to get left behind.

Her silver and steel grey paws padded silently on the lush grassy earth, and Koronis found it hard to believe that only a few months ago these lands had been stricken by the strangling drought. She had traveled to the east of the summer territory, parallelling the mountains as she explored the rocky terrain. Her ears lifted, head rising as she spotted movement high on the steep uneven slope ahead to her left..bighorns fleeing. From her? Probably, though she wasn’t hunting and so was not interested in taking chase. With a soft sound beneath her breath, the unruly furred bitch carried onward, nosing about this previously unexplored area as she carefully traversed the mountainside. The high moon was nearly full..waning gibbous..and cast a bright bone white light over the open lands. She could see her surroundings with clarity, but aside from the sheep high above there was no other movement.




WoLF: Angel Medallion by XKuonjiX

The dark male had always enjoyed the night, not particularly because it offered him a sort of camouflage to do the dark fur, but because of the stars, and particularly this night, the moon. It had always been one of the things that had interested him, almost comforted him, calmed him. Tonight was no different, despite this land still being relatively new to the loner, it wouldn’t stop him from enjoying the night and what it offered. He was gracefully, yet carefully, making his way along side the mountainside, as if he was looking for a higher point, and a chance to be even closer to the sky, the stars and the moon.
Not that he wasn’t paying any attention to his surroundings, as always, he remained aware of his surroundings, and continued making his way forward, until movement a bit further down, caught his attention. It wasn’t prey item, he could see that. No, this was a wolf. His ears perked up as his gaze followed her, whilst practically ignoring the sheep even further above, as if he had not noticed them. He remained still for a while, just watching, paying attention to the other wolf, as if he was awaiting what she was gonna do, before he started to walk again.
As risky as it could seem, he decided to head for her, however keeping his head and tail low, not of fear, but simply to appear less.. What was the word? Threatening. Afterall, a confrontation was not what he was aiming for, and upon getting close enough, he slowed down and cleared his throat. “Good evening, miss.” He greeted her in a calm, smooth tone of voice, making sure to keep a fair distance to her, because one could not be too careful.




Koronis

The female glanced up to the moon and let her tongue slip out to flick over her nose thoughtfully.

Best find a place to rest.

Her steel and silver eyes swept the clearing and rocky places around, but when a masculine voice cut through the air Koronis’ head snapped around so she could peer over her shoulder. Ears pressed forward, brow slightly furrowed in surprise, she shifted so she could face the shadowy figure. The moon lit his pelt, revealing an inky black coat highlighted with snowy markings. A stranger, a rogue or a wolf of another pack. Certainly not a Na”emmai.

“Evening.” she responded to the sneaky fellow, her grey nose raised into the air to sniff in his direction before she lowered it to the ground to get a good whiff of the grass. She scented no markers.

“I have not encroached where I am unwelcome, I hope?” she mentioned anyway, just in case. The pale coated one raised her head again and kept her focus on the stranger ahead of her, though on occasion her eyes flicked to the sides as if she were keeping an eye out for some kind of surprise. The training she’d endured in her younger years, the one making her the warrior she once was, never truly faded away. It was a part of her. Always on the alert, on the look out for trouble or danger.




WoLF: Angel Medallion by XKuonjiX

His white gaze rested on her, calmly and patiently awaiting her response, and as she turned her head to look at him, before turning to face him instead, he raised his head a little. His ears were perked, turned forward towards her, listening as she responded. He allowed himself to pull on a slight but confident smile, and decided to take a step closer, listening as she continued to speak.
“I do not own this place, I am not one to tell you to leave.” He said, in the same calm tone as before, still continuing forward, before stopping once more. Of course he took note of her behavior, and noticed the flickering of her eyes, causing him to pull on yet another smile, before he allowed himself to sit down.
“Besides,” He continued. “I don’t exactly mind the company.” He said, lifting his nose just a bit, adding to his stature, almost making him look even prettier as he was sitting here. “If you don’t mind me asking, what is your name, Miss?” He continued after a while, and allowed himself to tilt his head minimally, whilst once again awaiting her response.


Koronis

She nodded, watching as he calmly lowered his rump to the grassy earth.

“I had hoped not. I scented no indication of such.” She would remain standing, for now at least, but her posture relaxed some and her wary gaze began to settle.

“Koronis.” she responded to his question, “And yours?” One ear tilted back as one of the sheep called out to the herd just before disappearing behind a jagged outcrop above. Now it truly was just the light pelted and the dark pelted that sat in the meadow. As she waited for an answer, Koronis had to wonder where this male came from. His scent was unfamiliar, which could be typical for a rogue but many loners also at least roamed the same general area. Was he new, or was this the very outskirts of his usual haunt? Though she had entered the lands known as the Sanctuary on her own four paws, she had heard of many wolves who arrived by the hands of the humans. To some, it was a mystery but to others they knew exactly what had happened. Koronis had not had to deal with those hairless creatures, thankfully.



WoLF: Angel Medallion by XKuonjiX

His gaze still rested on her, quietly listening as she spoke. His right ear flickering for a short moment at the sound of the sheep, calling out in the background. However, he seemed to pay no further interest in that, not even completely turning his ear to listen to it. Afterall, why would he? Prey could do, what they could, and right now, they were of no particular interest to him. He re-aligned his ears, once again making sure they were pointed in the direction of the female, listening as she revealed her name, and as she turned the same question, back to him.
He continued to smile calmly at her, before slightly turning his head to the side. “Angel.” He answered in same calm and smooth tone as before. “That is my name,” He added. He knew it was a special name, a quite unusual name, specially for a male such as himself, but he didn’t mind it. He had been called Angel for as far back as he could remember, even though he knew it wasn’t his birthname, it had still stuck, and he had accepted it as his new name.
He still had his gaze resting at her, before briefly turning his head in the direction of the moon, allowing the light from it to reflect in his white eyes, before once again looking back at her. Koronis. He remained quiet for some time, just looking. “Have you been living in these lands for long?” He asked, still in the same tone as before, however, this time with an added tone of curiosity, neatly blending in with his calm and smooth tone. It was casual, hard to detect unless paying attention.



Koronis

Angel. An unusual name for a male. Finally, Koronis allowed herself to sit. She curled her tail around her paws and let her eyes wander behind Angel to the lands that stretched beyond.

“Long enough for a full season to pass. I was a wandering loner before..much like yourself I suppose.” she smiled ever so subtly, just a faint quirk at the corner of her muzzle, as she returned her gaze to Angel and his interesting eyes.

“I live in the Na”em pack now, to the West. I often travel outside of the boundaries in search of prey..or to explore.” she had always thought that knowing one’s surroundings was the best thing to do. The world existed far out beyond the edges of pack territory, after all. She let her eyes scrutinize Angel for a moment, her head tilting ever so slightly. He was healthy, that much was apparent. No bones poked from beneath his pelt, his pelt which did not hang limp and dull as it would with a malnourished wolf. It left questions in her mind, questions that would find their way out past her lips.

“How long have you been without a pack? You’re remarkably healthy for a loner.”



WoLF: Angel Medallion by XKuonjiX

He remained quiet, patiently waiting for her to answer his question, and as she did, he listened carefully. She sure had been in these lands longer than himself, he could tell that much, even without asking, of course. He blinked once, still listening as she continued to talk, to explain. His gaze momentarily wandered in the direction which she stated that her pack was located, before they returned to her. He kept his calm smile. “I see,” He said, as she finished talking. “Well, exploring the surrounding areas of one’s home, is more often than not, quite useful. It would give you advantages in many endeavors.” He said. It wasn’t a lie, it was always a good idea to know not only the place in which you’d reside, but also it’s surrounding territories. It would do good in both hunts, but also defense. By knowing where it’s safe, and where it’s not.. One could easily trick foes into their own demise. He knew that, he had used such methods before.
His left ear twitched as she asked him, asked to how long he had been a loner. His smile grew a bit wider. “Ever since I was chased from my birth pack.” He replied. “Since I was chased out, I haven’t been one for pack life.” He added, as he drew in air in a single deep breath. “I suppose I have been relatively lucky.” He continued, before shortly looking around, and then back to her. “I guess… The closest I’ve been to pack life, have been occasionally travelling alongside other loners, every now and then.” He explained after a while.
It wasn’t a lie, he remembered the other wolves he had occasionally travelled with. Friends, acquaintances rather, mainly serving as to help himself make it further. “Besides, I’m a decent hunter,” He added. He perhaps wasn’t the best, but he was good enough to get by.



Koronis

She listened attentively, ears tuned to his voice and eyes focused on his body language. Always watching. A young male being chased from his birth pack, there could be many reasons for this. Many typical reasons, that is. She would not press, however, for she herself was not willing to share her own story.

“It shows.” she said with a curt nod, “As am I. It helped me survive my lone days as well, anyway, and now I hunt for my pack. But...I suppose some prefer being on their own.”

The female stood and turned her head up to look at the moon, noting its slow rise in the sky.

“I was on my way to find a place to rest for the night. I need to start heading back home in the morning.” her eyes returned to Angel for a moment before she took a step to the side, brows pinching together slightly as she scanned the steep side of a broken cliff where she thought she’d seen a shadow deeper than the rest during their conversation. The quick study revealed it to be just that, however..a dark shadowed place and nothing more. No den, no  cave. She’d have to search, heading back toward Na”em would be a good start.



WoLF: Angel Medallion by XKuonjiX

His white eyes rested on her as she replied, his ears turned towards her, showing that he was listening, and grinned for a moment. “Well, being on your own does offer you more freedom than being within a pack.” He said, calmly and turned one of his ears to the side, not much, but a little, as if he’d heard something that momentarily had caught his attention, even though that wasn’t the case. Both of his ears quickly returned to their position, of being pointed towards her, attentive as before. He listened as she started talking again, informing him of her plans with being out here on her own, and that was when he slowly got up from his seated position, almost as if he had intentions of following her.
“I see,” He said, thoughtfully and did a flickering motion with his tail, just once. “I shall not steal any more of your time, then.” He said as he started walking, to circle her just once, briefly stopping at her side. “However, I wouldn’t mind to meet with you again, perhaps at an earlier hour, if possible.” He said, lowering his head minimally. “For us to talk more.” He added, he awaited her reaction, her response. Afterall, she might not like his idea, and he’d need to know about that, before deciding when to eek her out again.



Koronis

The female turned her head, following his movements as he circled around to come beside her and an ever so subtle smile tugged at the edges of her ashen colored lips.

“I’d like that. If you wish, I can come back here in a few days.” She figured her Coven would not be pleased if she was blatantly giving away her pack’s location to a stranger, “In three days? I’ll be here mid-morning, if that’s agreeable with you.” She shifted, turning slightly and facing him a little more, small ears pricked as she awaited his answer. At this proximity his masculine scent wafted vibrantly to her nose..deep and musky but not unpleasant. It was a scent that she would lock away to memory, one that would not be easy to forget.





He was patiently awaiting her response, and allowed himself to draw a smile as she too seemed to be interesting in yet another meeting between the two. He nodded at her first comment, and then listened once more as she continued. He did a flickering motion with his tail as she finished, before he nodded once more.
“That is very do-able. In three days we’ll meet here again.” He said, before taking a slight step forward. However still keeping his gaze on her. “I can’t wait to talk with you more, Koronis.” He continued. “Until then, I will wish you well.” He added, before nodding in her direction, sending her yet another calm and friendly smile, before finally removing his gaze from her, before turning and beginning to walk away.
He didn’t flat out start running or trotting, for he was in no hurry to get away from her, but now that they had another meeting set and planned, he deemed it fair to let her return to her objective of finding a den for the night. He intended on keeping his word, and steal no more of her time this night. He knew they would have plenty of time when they would meet again.

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