Northern Fall

Waking from a deep slumber, an earthly coloured creature stretched its fore-quarter out as the morning's sun touched upon his dark black nose. The creature was of a masculine gender, those features were clearly visible from the his build. The figure got to his paws, without a yawn, he was fully awake and aware of his surroundings.

The figure was form took that of a wolf. A big one. He padded towards the stream and took a few quick laps out of the shallow pool. He had stuck around this area for some time now. He had liked it here, but missed the hardcore life that he had previously been living. The brute had wondered how long it would be until someone else finally stumbled upon this paradise that he had. The brown wolf moved across the sand, scenting the air as he did, there was nothing, only the smell of the gazelle he had caught yesterday.

The male padded over to it, sniffed it, and felt his gut churn. He didn't feel like eating it. He moved on past it and laid back down where he had woken. The brute went by the name Duxav, He looked around, his greeny amber eyes watching the waterfall.

With eyes closed the male took in a deep breath. The faint smell of gazelle carried by the wind reached him. It egged his stomach on, willing him to step forward. With eyes still closed he took a few slow steps before opening them. Taking off the chocolate brown male, let his cream paws fly through the grass.

It wasn't long before Philo, as the male was named, came within sight of the creature's carcass. Nearby it was a wolf who was eyeing the falls beyond. Slowing to a prancing trot, Philo held his head high, going straight up to the gazelle. "Nice view isn't it," he commented before taking a bit of the meat, keeping his light brown eyes on the male.

The cool waters of the river lapped up over the white paws of the she-wolf without hesitation, tiny droplets of the crystal clear liquid clinging to the fur of her legs. She held no aversion to the cold touch after having grown up in snow, feeling almost relaxed standing in its shallows. Almost. She could smell that a wolf was nearby, black nose lifting to the morning air as she found the scent was mingled with that of prey-blood; gazelle. Her tongue flicked out over her muzzle as she licked her lips at the prospect of an easy meal; she could only smell one wolf and there were no territory markers, enough for her to take on in her mind.

She began to trot down the river-side, ears perked as the sound of a waterfall grew louder until it drowned out most other sounds of the forest. She reached its lip in time to watch from above as a wolf went almost prancing over to another larger brute and his meal to pick off a piece of meat. She had not anticipated two wolves, but it did not worry her much as they seemed to be strangers, though their words were lost on her ears against the waterfall's sound.

She stood there proudly for a moment at the top of the falls, making no effort to hide herself as her white fur swayed gently in the breeze while the spray created an almost mist around her. Shaking off some of the water droplets, she began to move away from the falls and down around the edge of the slight cliff to be on level ground, pausing mid-way with ears perked so she may hear what they said before confronting them.

Duxav lifted his head as he heard pawsteps coming his way. 'Hmm' he thought as he turned to face them, he had just checked the wind, there was no other scent, Perhaps it had failed to carry this wolf's scent. There stood a chocolatey coloured male, a much leaner male then himself. Dux raised an eyebrow at the way it pranced around, like he owned the place. He gave an internal snort towards the male, his ears flicking away from him and looking back to the ripples in the water, partially ignoring his speech.

"Nice view isn't it,"

The next thing that Dux heard was the crunching of meat, the only meat around here was the gazelle he had caught yesterday, it took the hefty brute ages to hunt such a lithe creature. He got to his big paws and watched the smaller male with his cold eyes, as a third scent caught his attention. Duxav lifted his gaze to see a white female standing at the top of the waterfall. His ears flicked. There had been no one here for months and now there were two complete strangers appearing in his home? Dux was not only confused but suspicious of the pair. He watched the graceful female help herself down the cliff. His tail moved slowly behind him, in a wagging motion, but it was not because he was happy or excited, he was ready for an attack. His small ears perked high upon his cranium, as he watched between the pair, not impressed that one had helped itself to his food, but not entirely fussed either. He thought that they might be working together, to do something unto him. Dux had trust issues, he never liked to trust any one.

Philo glanced over to where the large male glanced every now and then. A white female stood watching. Lifting his head, still munching on some of the food, he smiled at the female, his short stub of a tail wagging. Another who would likely fall for his charms, or so he hoped. She seemed rather cautious, sometimes the best to charm.

Swallowing his mouthful he called over, "Why don't you come down over here, darling? There's plenty of food if you're hungry. And good company." He smiled sweetly, his short tail still wagging, as he turned to face her a little more, mostly ignoring the larger male. However he was keeping his guard up about the male, he was larger and Philo would need a little notice in advance if he was going to attack.

The white female continued to watch through firey gold eyes as the larger male who had previously been laying down, got to his paws to observe both herself and the other brute down below. She slowed as she reached a lower position on the cliff that was within a safe jumping distance to the ground, though she didn't make her move yet, instead pausing to examine the two in front of her. The large brown male stood stiffly as his gaze flicked between the white fae and the other wolf and she couldn't help but notice the familiar way his tail swayed out behind him; he was preparing himself for a fight. The fae's eyes narrowed at this, though she was not threatened as she was high enough up at this point to have the advantage. Her gold eyes then slipped to the other male.

"Why don't you come down over here, darling? There's plenty of food if you're hungry. And good company."

If her eyes had narrowed at the other male, they practically became slits now as she eyed him warily. How dare he call me 'darling'!? she thought to herself angrily. Who on earth did he think he was? With annoyance bubbling inside her brain, she made the graceful leap into the shallow waters at ground-level, willing to take on the threat of the older male if it meant she could teach the brown wolf some manners. "As... appealing as that sounds," she almost sneered, her voice practically dripping with sarcasm, "I'd rather make friends with a rabid bear than have you for company."

She allowed a quick, sarcastic smile his way before turning back to the larger brute, her muscles automatically tensing a little as she saw his own tense stance. She studied him more closely than the other, only sending a few quick glances his way as she sized up the more threatening opponent in case it did come to a fray.

Duxav knew the male picked up that he wasn't took impressed with him by his body language. The earthly brute's ears flicked as he listened to the words that came from the chocolate male's mouth, and simply rolled his eyes. He was one of those males. Dux never really got along too well with the flirty ones.

"Why don't you come down over here, darling? There's plenty of food if you're hungry. And good company."

He resumed his sit knowing that now he wasn't apart of this little spat that was between the male and the white she-wolf, he became relaxed. His ears flicking. He didnt mind if others took his food, just wished that they would ask first.

"As... appealing as that sounds, I'd rather make friends with a rabid bear than have you for company."

Duxav liked this female's attitude. She was a feisty one, but in a good way. She looked strong, like she could quite easily defend herself against this male. He couldn't help but give a small chuckle at the male's failed attempt in getting the she wolf to love him. In his thick, deep voice, the brute spoke.

"Hey Mate, I think you'll have a better chance in getting that pebble over there to love ya' than this female. Name's Duxav what are you two known as?"

He decided to strike up a different conversation to calm everyone down, he was a disciplined fighter, not a barbarian. His ears flicked as he sat back casually, waiting on their response.

The white female continued to shift her eyes between sizing up the large male and shooting glares like arrows at the smaller one, part of the fur on her neck slightly raised from her annoyance at the whole encounter. She had come for an easy meal, not flirtatious remarks from a wolf who thought he could win her over with just a few words and completely put her off her appetite. Much to her pleasure, the other wolf didn't seem to be impressed by his comment either as he voiced his own opinion.


The female allowed a slight smirk to upturn one corner of her mouth at his comment, though an ear twitched at the asking of her name. This was not something she liked to give out so easily, but she decided that his earlier words were enough to earn such a privellige, even if it meant the other male had to hear it too. She sat down, coming to the conclusion that neither male was about to attack, and curled her silver dusted tail around her paws. "I suppose someone like yourself can call me Ayla, and you're more than right about him and that pebble. I don't fall in love." She said the last words matter-of-factly as she couldn't help but shoot the other male another glare.

"I suppose someone like yourself can call me Ayla, and you're more than right about him and that pebble. I don't fall in love."

Duxav gave a small smile to the female. Ayla she was called, the brute thought over her name, and came to a quick decision that it suited her. He felt the privilege that he had been granted by her, she didn't seem the type to give her name out freely, much like himself in that manner, even though he had done so just moments earlier. The white female's pelt was kept crystal clean, his ears flicked. Maybe she didn't like the dust? Or she was a neat freak. Any way that didnt matter, Dux continued a point of conversation.

"Feel free to help yourself to the gazelle, I'm not eating it. What brings you to these parts Miss Ayla?"

He felt like having a bit of a friendly conversation, it had been a few months since he last encountered a wolf and that one had ended up dead, on his behalf. And still he slept like a 'baby' or so to speak at night. He shifted his paws and waited on a response.

One of Ayla's ears twitched. Simply being offered the gazelle seemed far less exciting than vying for it. In fact, it almost felt wrong. Few wolves ever offered her food; usually she had either bitten or insulted them enough by now that they felt it easier just to leave the meal for her. She eyed Duxav skeptically, but though she was proud, she was not so stupid as to give up the option of a free meal, even if there was another unnamed male already feeding. She registered his next question as she got to her paws to trot over to the carcass.

What brought her here? Nothing she would share with some stranger. Instead, she flawlessly delivered a typical wolf answer. "Nothing in particular. I was hungry and I could smell your catch." Even so, the words felt foreign on her tongue, such non-chalantless not being something she usually displayed in front of new wolves. As she reached the carcass, she circled around it until she was on the same side as the brown wolf soley for the purpose to shove him out of the way with her hip. "Ladies first, Romeo," she smirked, though there was an underlying threat laced in the amber of her eyes that dared him to challenge her.

Tearing a strip of meat from the gazelle, she was quick to chew through it, deciding it only fair to continue the conversation with the larger wolf if he made the effort to start it in the first place. "Well then, Duxxy, why are you here?" She kept her eyes on him, flicking only briefly to the other male, as she tore another hunk off, the dried blood still leaving a reddish stain across her white muzzle.

Philo's grin didn't leave his face as the white female said she'd rather make friends with a rabid bears. The harder ones were always so much more fun to play around with. Keeping his stubby tail wagging, the male went back to eating. He listened with perked ears to the two wolves talking.

As Ayla came around to his side of the carcass and gave him a little shove he grinned slyly. "I'd be pleased to share with you, the lovely Miss Ayla," he said. The chocolate brown male made sure to stay close by the white female's side. If he'd still had his tail he would have looped it around hers but as it was, he just made sure to occasionally touch the female with his nose, as they ate, sometimes even gently bumping his hip to hers.

"Nothing in particular. I was hungry and I could smell your catch."

Dux gave a nod to the white female and watched as she began to eat. Though as the words played over in his mind he realised that the female wasn't used to saying those kinds of words. He would expect that response from the other male, but not this Ayla, she seemed to powerful too capable to really go around taking others' food. The male cast a stern glance upon the smaller male as he spoke.

"Well then, Duxxy, why are you here?"

Duxav lifted his head and looked to the female again, his ears flicking as he spoke. "Well I just passed this place in my travels once and decided to return here, and perhaps start a pack" he said giving a smile. Hoping that she would catch onto his hint.

"I'd be pleased to share with you, the lovely Miss Ayla,"

Dux's lips curled slightly at the male. He wasnt too sure if h wanted someone like him in a pack. He might throat him otherwise. He would get too annoying. Dux was sure of it.

The chocolate male beside her continued to impose on her personal boundaries, touching his nose and his sides far too close to hers, a growl rumbling up from her chest on more than one occassion. She decided to tolerate it, for now, seeing as she planned on leaving soon anyway and saw no point in starting a fight with this love-bird.

"I'd be pleased to share with you, the lovely Miss Ayla,"

Despite the fact that it wasn't a meal she had caught herself, Ayla had been enjoying the relatively fresh meat up until he spoke. His words cut through to her like a blade through butter. No one had included her name and the word 'lovely' in the same sentence in a long while, and it was high time she taught him why. "Listen here, Pup. I am not just some desperate fae who will swoon at the sound of your voice or become utterly love-struck just because you bat your eyelids at me. So I'd watch what you say if I were you or I'll have to rip off whatever is left of that miserable little tail of yours."

She finished with a huff. She did not particularly want to hurt the male's feelings, but she found it necessary if he was to learn his boundaries. Ayla was not a wolf to be messed with, and she had to make that clear. Licking some of the blood off her muzzle, she took a few steps away before recalling what the larger male had said before her slight outburst.


The white fae gave an almost laugh, not picking up on his subtle hint. "Well then, I wish you all the best with that... pack business," she said the p-word as though it were unfamiliar on her tongue, which it may as well have been. "Maybe you two could even start one together," again she almost laughed as she flicked her tail to the male that had yet to introduce himself, feeling the tension in the air between the two brutes.

Gold eyes glittering, she shook her coat once more before leaping back onto the low ledge that lead back up the waterfall, looking back only briefly, "Thank you for the meal, and let me know one day how that pack of yours goes." She then turned back to the cliff, deliberating over which path would be most exciting to take.

Philo's ears flicked toward 'Duxxy' as the male mentioned starting a pack. He caught on that the brown and cream male was almost inviting Ayla to stay with him to start a pack. The chocolate male was about to reply but Ayla started speaking to him first. His ears tilted back but kept a sweet smile on his face, slightly apologetic.

After she was done, Philo followed her a few steps. "But, dear Ayla, what kind of pack would it be with just two males?" He glanced over at Duxav. "Surely staying here with me and Duxxy wouldn't be so bad? And just so you know, my own name is Philo. I apologise for having been so rude to have not told you before." He shot Ayla a sweet smile, before glancing over at Duxav and showing a cheeky grin. The chocolaty male already knew he was acting like he owned the place.

"But, dear Ayla, what kind of pack would it be with just two males?" He glanced over at Duxav. "Surely staying here with me and Duxxy wouldn't be so bad? And just so you know, my own name is Philo. I apologise for having been so rude to have not told you before."

Ayla had just picked out a suitabley exciting route up the waterfall when the chocolate male spoke, the words again seeming to cut away at her far worse than any insult he could have thrown her way. Wolves simply weren't this nice to her after she gave them such an ear-full, the whole idea making her feel uncomfortable. If he kept at it she might need to come clean on her promise to rip the rest of that tail off. Regardless, she addressed the issue of his question first.

As she turned back to face them, a short, humerless bark of a laugh was allowed to escape her jaws. "Phillis, is it?" she asked dryly, knowing very well what his actual name was. "Let's get another thing straight. Duxxy over here, does not want me as part of his pack. As a matter of fact, I don't think I want to be part of a pack that you're in." she kept her tone emotionless, commanding as she said this. Perhaps at one point she had tried to be part of a pack, after Logan, but it was true that other wolves did not want her around, a point that she convinced herself didn't bother her. "And again, stop with all the sweet talk. It's not going to get you anywhere."

Philo blinked his eyes as Ayla didn't get his name right. However he didn't correct her on it. His ears flicked a little as if a bug had landed on them as she spoke. The white female really was a tough nut to crack but he would try, he always did. He had stopped her from leaving thus far and as long as she was within hearing distance he would try to keep it that way. The male snickered inwardly at probably having made her feel uncomfortable.

"If you so wish, fair lady but I beg to differ about Duxxy's part in wanting you to stay." The male wandered closer to her. "I do believe when he first said that may have been implying that he wanted you to stay. Inviting you into the making of his pack even..." Philo grinned. "I'm sure he'd far rather have a female such as yourself around rather than little ole me." He gave her a sweet smile, inviting her to stick around just a little longer.

"Well then, I wish you all the best with that... pack business,"

"Maybe you two could even start one together,"

"Thank you for the meal, and let me know one day how that pack of yours goes."

Duxav looked upon the white female and then to the male as she spoke. Start a pack.... With him? What did she think he was? His ears flattened and his eyes remained cold. Cold as the Frost on an early morning. Frost is what he was called by his battle partner, his Captain. He didn't know the exact reason of why he just decided to call him such a thing.

He zoned out temporarily while the pair continued to talk and thought of Price. That was his partner, a snowy white wolf, the same as Ayla, but the last he remembered of him his coat was faded, dull. His death. Dux flinched at the thought as he looked back to the pair. The were still conversing.

"I'm sure he'd far rather have a female such as yourself around rather than little ole me."

"Your right about that. So whaddya' say Ayla, Perhaps stick around here for a while and see how you like it? He gave a wink, to the female as he sat up straight, his eyes upon the female waiting for a response, hoping for her to stay. He didnt want to stick around here if the male was going to be the only thing keeping him company around here.

Nonsense. She thought immediately. Such a thing was absurd. Even if Duxav did want her to stay, surely he wouldn't have such a round about way of saying it. Her lips began to curl back into a snarl, tail twitching with the indication that she was getting very ticked off. She held herself away from an attack to hear out his next words.

"I'm sure he'd far rather have a female such as yourself around rather than little ole me."

"I'm sure he'd rather have anyone around over you," Ayla mumbled coldly to herself, and though she thought it true, it still didn't prepare her for Duxav's agreement.

"Your right about that. So whaddya' say Ayla, perhaps stick around here for a while and see how you like it?"

Had she allowed herself, the white female's jaw would have dropped, but she would not so easily lose her emotionless mask as she gazed upon the two. She replayed the words in her head, wondering how on earth she landed herself in such a situation. Two wolves were actually asking for her presence. Two. Even after she had growled at one. It was a weird sensation, to be wanted, and Ayla wasn't quite sure she liked it. Maybe it'll be like an adventure, a small part of her argued. She didn't turn down adventures.

"Fine." she sniffed, "I don't join packs, and I don't plan on joining this miserable excuse for one, but you two look as though you need all the help you can get." It was about as good of an agreement to stay as they would get from her, ears still twitching in slight bewilderment from it all.

Philo's eyes were trained on the white female wanting to leave. He snickered as she said Duxav would rather have anyone around over himself. He didn't really care that much for what the male cared about having him around. However it was Duxav's final coxing that got her to stay.

Nevertheless, Philo's tail wagged quickly back and forth. "Well then welcome to our 'non pack,'" he said to her. He sat down and looked between the two, not sure what they planned on doing. It was hard to try and resist the urge to go up and try to caress Ayla but for now he would wait a little.

"Fine."

"I don't join packs, and I don't plan on joining this miserable excuse for one, but you two look as though you need all the help you can get."

"Well then welcome to our 'none pack,"

Dux couldn't help but give a quiet chuckle at the pair. He was sure that they were to 'hit it off' eventually, Philo had seemed to settle down a bit now, and for that Frost was glad. He sat back as he looked to the pair, and spoke, "Well I think that the three of us should run this pack, what shall we call it? These fall's are north of all the nice parts, so how about Northern Falls?"

Duxav jumped to his paws quickly as he became startled by water being thrown over him. He had completely zoned out, and for that he had paid the price of becoming wet. A female had approached from the river, His ears perked. He did wonder where all these wolves had come from and why they had decided to turn up all on the one day.

"Oops."

Duxav turned fully to face the female. His ears flicked. It was obvious that she didn't mean it, the nervous chuckle gave that away. The female was standing with her ears pinned to her neck. She was obviously scared, afraid of what him and the other two might do to her? She had a soft sweet voice. The opposite of Dux's harsh husky, heavy tone. He liked the ring to it that she had given. "Its okay, its just water, it'll dry, aye? Whats your name, I'm Duxav, but you can call me Dux or what ever you see fit" he gave a small wink to the female to encourage her to come out of her shell. He wasn't going to hurt her, and if any one was around here, he would stop them.

Ayla's ears twitched at Duxav's suggestion of a name, using all of her self-control not to roll her eyes at the idea. Northern Falls. What a simple and obvious name. If it were her choice, the pack would be named something far more extravagant, something that represented her grandeur and the success they would make. But you're not part of the pack, she reminded herself, so it doesn't matter.

From her position up on the ledge, she watched through narrowed eyes as a malnourished female came stumbling into the water, only to lift herself back out and spray the others with water through a shake of her coat. Ayla's lip curled up in disgust at her softly voiced 'oh', immediately deciding that this fae probably had no back-bone, much unlike herself.

"Its okay, its just water, it'll dry, aye? Whats your name, I'm Duxav, but you can call me Dux or what ever you see fit"
"My name is Melloette,"

This time the white she-wolf did roll her eyes as she hopped off the ledge, striding over to the two as she gave Dux an exasperated almost-growl. "If you want to have a pack, you can't just have wolves walking in like that just for you to smile at them." Shaking her head almost as if he were a pup, she dared to give him an almost playful nudge to the shoulder in punishment.

She then turned a critical gaze to this female that thought she could just strut in here without concequence. Well, Ayla would see to that. "Name your business, Miss Long-Legs." she barked sharply, eying the female up and down. As she did though, she took better notice of what a poor state the she-wolf was in, looking almost dehydrated. "Why do you look like that?" she asked as an after-thought. Actually, there was no thinking involved at all in her words, the impulsive thoughts slipping off her tongue without a second's consideration. The white fae showed no signs of caring though as she didn't let up her cold, analytical gaze.