[somba] I don't dream. [open]

[Maromi]

She nodded, pleased with her answer, and turned her head to the crest of the hill. She was pondering, thoughts that swarmed her head, seeking every hidden folder for anything taught from her childhood.
Her mother always told her to seek high ground, for rocky caves were always hidden in the cracks and crevices. She saw none here, but thought it harmless to atleast look. Luck was the way of the wolf, opportunity being one of their best and cunning survival tactics.

"Come, let's move there." She pointed her rusty nose to the hill, her green eyes lit with an emotion she only shown in her youth. This strange element made her happy, his very presence. The very idea of him representing fire amazed her. In her knowledge, fire was untamable, with spirits burning and wild...She admired that of him, and turned to look at him once more.

That fur...those legs...that long, lithe figure...

She started walking, half concious of whether he was following her or not, and began to climb the crest of the hill...

[ninja]

The femme nodded almost immediately. She had, of course, offered to help him hunt first. But now number one on their priority list was to find these rumored tunnels and enjoy a well-earned nap. Merango could already feel the cool, damp walls hugging his body, driving out the smoldering heat so he could rest for however long his body demanded.

Somba had turned to face the waxing point of the hill, where the ground sloped gently upward. When she offered to begin their search there, he was the one to nod, accepting her lead. She obviously had a plan of action- which he did not- so he was perfectly content to follow and see what the crest of the hill had to offer. The femme turned again to face him, and for a lingering moment their eyes met before she turned to pad up the slope.

Merango immediately followed after her, as if his black-tipped paws were controlled by some invisible force. He decided he liked the company of this wolf- whether or not it was because he'd been completely isolated over the past few moons. When they first met, she seemed so... Distant and abstract, as if she was only the shell of a wolf. But that animated, almost excited look in her beautiful emerald eyes said otherwise.
'Can't judge a wolf by its fur,' he decided to himself, tongue rolling out the side of his mouth in an attempt to fight back the blazing heat.

[Maromi]

She stopped at its crest and stared around her, half content with the landscape, and even less happy with the situation. There seemed to be no burrows, no earthly wounds in the green grass. Where to look? Where to go?
She shot her gaze from left to right, her nose swinging in both directions. There was a lost aura about her, a confused vibration that came from her unsteady paws. She had hoped (and convinced herself) that there would be a den, so that they wouldn't have to travel so far. She was tired from travel, and only wanted to sleep. She didn't care if it was in the open. But the will to please the element drove her further on, and she listened to her gut when it said to turn to the left.

She scaled the hills edge, turning her nose all over the ground, and even pawing at a few indentions that looked suspicious. Surely they weren't only shallow holes...This process took what seemed like forever. She kept straddling the crest, always with that rustic nose glued to the ground, always with emerald eyes shifting back and forth, and always with her paw testing for loose earth.

She had to stop and think a moment, to take in the area that she was really in. She didn't think of it until this creature came across, before hand, she did not care.

There was tall grass. The dusty scent of foxes...Foxes liked to burrow...She turned her head and got a look at the maned wolf that shadowed her. She had a cunning look to those bright eyes and she bolted past him to the flat ground, where she began to nose and dig. The earth shifted beneath her paws, and there in the earth, was revealed a den. The mouth was skinny, but large enough for the two wolves to fit in.

In order to protect the element, she went in first, nosing the earth of the tunnel as she went. When she found the opening, she laid down in it, and looked around at the dingy darkness. It was big enough for the two, so she called to the surface, "It's safe! And warm! Come see!"

[ninja]

(( Sorry this took so long. I tried replying twice, and accidently deleted them before I could finish and post. Stupid prehistoric computer. -throws rock at monitor- ))

At first both of them were completely flabbergasted. In this vast, seemingly endless void of grass, they could be miles from any old dens or tunnels. Merango instantly set his nose to work, vying for any trace of the distinct odor of fox; yet whenever he thought he had a lead, the stale scent played a trick on him, sending him away in the completely wrong direction. Who knows? Maybe there wasn't even a scent at all and it was only his mind toying with him. Frustrated, he sat up and gazed across the prairie he loved so much.

Somba had lifted her beautiful head, seeming to ponder for a moment. Then she turned and, paws a black blur, flew directly past him! Merango simply watched in awe as she cornered a small patch of land by the hills edge. He hadn't noticed before, but the grasses were bent unnaturally over it... As if hiding something...

The femme tore into the earth, pawing away loose dirt to reveal an opening. She was a wolf on a mission and didn't stop until the entire opening had been revealed! Excited, he trotted over, tail raised higher than it had been in moons. She had already nosed her way in, obviously as enthusiastic as he was and ready to explore. Moments her bell-like voice rang up at him, inviting him to come and see for himself!

Crouching low on his belly, Merango went in head first, back paws scrabbling in an attempt to push himself in. The light had dimmed almost immediately, causing him to blink several times to adjust to the darkness. Once his night vision kicked in he burrowed himself the rest of the way in. The narrow mouth opened up into a den; small, yet with room for two wolves or about four foxes. He couldn't see or hear much, save for the dark blotch and steady breathing he knew must be Somba. Lips pulling back in a grin, he settled into a more comfortable lying position. The earth was nice and soft, worn from previous fox activity, and the den itself was a savior from the relentless sunlight. Already he began to feel sleepiness tug at his eyelids. Knowing Somba must feel the same, he said with a yawn, "Do you want to get some rest right now? I don't suppose either of us need to keep watch. Knowing how difficult it was for us to find this place, other more hostile wolves likely won't bother us."

[Maromi]

She looked around the den. Content with her findings, and further content with the distance it allowed between them. For any wolf, privacy was never a promise, but personal space was a given. Sure, cuddling up with a comrad in a cold winters night to borrow one anothers warmth was a nice thought, but during the summer when the sun scorched the hills and plains, it was nice to lay away from others.
Somba hadn't felt the touch of another wolf in what seemed like forever.
And despite her fondness for the new and strange element, that part of her personality would never change.

She shifted uneasily on her mitts and made a notion as if she wanted to crawl forward to the opening. But froze midway, thinking about their next move. Coming into the den, she forgot the time of day. Was it morning? High-noon? Evening? She couldn't decide. What if it was dark?
She put her nose forward and looked up through the opening. The summers light casted a bright color on everything, intensifying their colors and vibrancy. Perhaps the best time to hunt for the deer was in the evening, when the mothers took their younglings alone into the grass, to teach them to graze, and be watchful. It would be a run, sure, for the doelings and bucklings were old enough to run, and could do so as quickly as their mothers.

She looked at Merango and nodded gently, "Ayuh. Surely it's early evening, no? If so, now is a fine time for a hunt! If there are deer around here, they'll be out now. And if we're lucky, we'll catch a late doeling."

[ninja]

Merango wormed his way back to the entrance, poking is snout out into the prairie from which they came. He was surprised to find that the sun was slowly sinking below the horizon, casting a warm orange glow across the hushed land. They had been so transfixed in finding a place to shelter that he hadn't notice the time pass. And Somba was right; the animals of the savanna always came out to graze in early morning or late evening when it was cooler. Surely the same principles applied here? And a low rumble from the pit of his stomach reminded him just how hungry he was. With only one wolf, it would be near impossible to catch a fast doe or her spawn; but two doubled those chances. After all, the wolven were meant to hunt together, no? He dipped his head in a slow nod.

"That would be wise, Grey. We shall eat well tonight." he foresaw, swiping his tongue over his fangs. He could already taste the succulent meat of a hard-earned catch! With that he pushed himself out fully, giving his willowy limbs a good stretch. A cool breeze rushed through his mane, cooling his sweating skin. Yes, now was definitely the best time to look for prey; the wind brought relief from cooler areas instead of that hot, arid, stifling heat from the sun.

Merango dipped his nose to the ground, inhaling the wild scent of the grass. He couldn't pick up anything here, but if they kept moving, they would find a trail soon enough. The Maned motioned with his tail to follow as he continued to the east. They would be heading uphill, therefore they would be able to spot a young deer before it saw them.

Suddenly his ebony paw brushed over something other than grass. Surprised, he quickly retracted it to see a small clump of tan hair... And a scent marker!

"A herd has passed by here!" he informed Somba, calling over his shoulder before pressing his snout to the ground again. "And they went this way!"

He took a gradual turn to the left, each paw step carrying him further up the hill. When he reached it's waxing point, he ceased and crouched low to the ground. Spanned out in front of them were about twenty deer, mouths chomping away at the soft, sweet grasses and flowers of the prairie. A bit closer to where the wolves had positioned themselves was a doe and her fawns, tails swiveling happily as they enjoyed a meal. The young had already lost their white speckled pattern - the male already growing a rack. If they could just isolate at least one of the doelings, it would be an easy meal...