[ L U C I R A ] Forever, now;; Open!

[ninja]

Peace. Serenity. Zen.

A lone wolf lay in a pleasantly warm sunbeam, eyes flickered shut but ears swiveling alertly. Lucira was slacking off again when she was supposed to be hunting... By the looks of the femme, she was a Mackenzie Valley; but an extremely small one at that. A nice, fresh, cool morning breeze drifted over Lucira's tawny fur, hugging her skin to cool her on this already-hot morning before meandering away.

'What a gorgeous day,' she thought with a contented sigh, tail-tip thumping slightly on the soft, grassy earth. She simply loved this area of the Valelands-- a wolf could just lie for hours in the clearing, listening to all the sounds of the forest. She often went hunting in this area just to sneak away and enjoy a nice nap; in fact, the limp bodies of two squirrels and a small fawn were safely situated near her back paws. She'd only been here for a few minutes, maybe ten or fifteen, but she planned to return back home soon...
'Or,' said a voice in her mind, 'maybe not!' A smile danced over her black wolf lips, baring her fangs to nothing in particular.

Lucira had her whole day planned out. After she returned to the pack with her kill, she would give herself a nice grooming to make her fur silky smooth. Then she would flaunt all that her parents' DNA had given her to the males of Vale; her favorite pass time! Then maybe if Chaotic got mad at her she would go hunting again, or patrol their territory... Either way, she still had this time all to herself. Luc heaved another sigh, shifting positions so her head rested on her paws. Eyes still closed, she let her mind drift away for a while...

[patronize]

lore

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The air.
Something was familiar with the air.

But it wasn't just the air. Everything seemed like she had known it all her life. The supposedly innocent crunch of dried grass, soil bleached by the sun into a flaky light brown. She could see the hairline cracks already forming. Her fur...she realized painfully...the hairs felt rigid, lifeless.

The air,, she realized. The air was parched. And so was the brittle grass, and the soil, and her mouth.

A wave of nostalgia hit Lore. She remembered this kind of weather clearly. She remembered the signs of the drought she was oblivious to nearly a year ago- the lack of healthy prey, the lack of rain, the dryness.
The transition between flourishing and sizzling was subtle, something she had to envy nature for. Back then, she never realized a drought was about to ambush her and her brother.
Yet it happened.

And soon, she was sure, it would happen again.

Like stones turning over revealing the naked earth and its worms and insects, memories rose up in her memory. Her hunger. Her desperation. Lore flared her nostrils, shaking her head. No, no, that was in the past.
She was in a pack now- the feverish odor of the alpha on the plants a reminder.
There were hunters to find food, there was a dependable shaman, a responsible Alpha..so she hoped.

Lore pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind, straining not to feel her paws smack the dusty ground. She kept her head high, tail slightly raised, her stride steady as she weaved between the trees. They were evergreens, most of which looming high above her. Close together they grew, as if they valued each others company..so close that their feeble branches nearly touched one another. Lore observed the olive green pine needles, rigid and prickly, overlap one another, forming a drape of sorts over each tree.
Valepack, she had to admit, had beautiful territory.

Obscured by the collection of trees was a grassy clearing of sorts. Although the trees concealed most of its existence, Lore noticed every now and then a few glimpses of it. She stopped, inside her mind contemplating whether or not to enter. The small glimpses she managed to see exposed a flat land, short yellow-tinted grass clinging to the ground, most wilting. It was a sobering example of what a drought could do, and curious, Lore entered.

She moved past the evergreens marring the view, and soon found herself in the clearing. It was wide and free from any trees- rather, short foliage and bushes. As Lore skimmed her eyes over it, she noted that it was in the shape of a leaf.
She smiled to herself and took a few steps back to sink in her realm of trees when she spotted a wolf, basking in the lethal rays of the sun. It was a small speck to Lore, even when the wolf didn't seem to be that far away.

Lore paused. The wolf smelled like a Valepack wolf- it couldn't be a loner. Bored and mildly curious, Lore advanced towards the tiny figure. As she came closer, she noticed that lying limply next to the wolf was the carcass of a small deer, a youth at that, and two smaller things...either mice or some other rodent.

Afraid of spooking the wolf, Lore spoke slowly and stopped her advance to give the wolf room. Her tone sounded awkward as she realized how big she was compared to the small female resting in front of her.
"Hi."

WORD COUNT: 577
NOTES:
I had no inspiration while writing this. xD Kind of just forced it out of my mind...imagine milking a cow. It's not easy.
Buut, it shall get us started to what I hope will be a good friendship (I hope- Siyl is mortal enemies with Dusty, I need kindness to balance out the evil) between Lore and Lucira.
It'll be interesting too, considering Lore envies anyone with a mate and Lucira is a flirt...haha.
Could make for some interesting plots in the future. +)

[ninja]

(( Yeah, but when I've got no inspiration I can barely scrape up three pathetic paragraphs! D'x Heehee, I can imagine all the drama their friendship will cause... -evil cackle- ))

Paw steps. Lucira heard paw steps. She had picked up the sound from afar, for it was hard to mask ones approach in the drought season. It was a dry sound, as if pads were crunching against bones rather than dusty grass.

The morbid thought made her eyes flicker open, bracing herself in case there really were tiny skeletons beneath her fur; but there was grass where grass had been before. A yawn racked her tiny frame as the intruder of her time and space drew near.

The Mackenzie Valley's nostrils flared, picking up the scent without turning to see what was disturbing her rest; of course, it was a wolf-- you couldn't have paw steps without wolf paws, after all. It smelled of Valepack, a femme at that, though she couldn't quite pinpoint who's particular scent it belonged to. Still, she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that a male hadn't come to keep her company. Pushing herself to a sitting position, she turned to face her 'guest'.

Luc's fiery yellow-orange eyes showed no emotion as they scanned over the other wolf, trying to recognize name with face. Yes, she'd seen that tawny pelt before-- it was undoubtedly Lore. The Grey practically towered over runty little Lucira; likely the reason she'd been made a Warrior rather than a Hunter like herself. It was disturbing to know that such a wolf could tear her to shreds with one blow of a powerful paw; but it was equally comforting knowing that she wouldn't dare attack a pack member. Not to mention she could likely outsmart her-- not to say Lore was stupid, but rather that the Hunter's game involved a razor-sharp mind at all times. Still, Lucira kept these thoughts to herself. She wasn't in the mood to lose a leg or two.

"Hi." she yawned in response, nonchalantly licking at her shoulder. "What brings you out here on such a... Dry day?"

True, she herself didn't mind. Her pelt was comfortably light so even the smallest breath of wind would cool her, and being small was always a plus; less body mass equals less body heat. Why, she could sweat off a fever in a few hours! But that was beside the point. Lore wasn't a Hunter, so she couldn't be out on the prowl-- and if there was a fight going on she would certainly hear it herself.

"When you could be in one of the shadier areas of Valelands... Speaking of that," she murmured more to herself than Lore, "I'm sure the prey would be running better in the cooler, thicker forested lands of Ohanzee..." She twisted and gave a few extra licks to the back of her spine before returning her attention to her pack mate.

[patronize]

lore

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Such a tiny, sweet being, Lore affectionately thought, her eyes sweeping over the wolf. It carried the small stature of a Mackenzie Valley wolf, the gentle curves and slopes of the body, long, stark legs- a trademark to the breed.
Her dominating color was a creamy beige, stretching around her body like a well-fitted coat. The wolf, Lore remembered, was named Lucira. She hadn't interacted with the particular wolf much, being their ranks. Yet, now up close to the wolf, Lore had to admit she was rather pretty, yet her undesirable size wouldn't be one Lore would want.

After a brief examining of the wolf, Lore sat down to show how relaxed she was. She knew she appeared large to the wolf, and thought it might be better to sit down to show her friendly intentions.
Lucira's eyes flickered open, and for a moment had a crazed tinge to them, like Lucira woke up from a bad dream. Lore watched intently, studying as Lucira yawned and adjusted quickly to her presence.

Stretching her head over, Lucira licked her shoulder as she uttered a simple greeting. Lore immediately contemplated whether or not to tell Lucira her fears about a drought, but decided to not. It wouldn't be worth startling the wolf.

"I'm not doing anything in particular, just running past the lands once again, seeing what there is to see. I agree on how dry it is- you have to be careful of wolves coming past here for prey."
Lore glanced at Lucira's fresh kill laying unprotected near her.
"Although, they probably wouldn't do anything," she added quickly. Lucira seemed to be a delicate being, delicate enough Lore was wary of startling her.

The wolf began mumbling to herself, some words Lore had trouble picking up on. She managed to catch the phrase of prey being found in another part of Valepack territory.

"Seems like you have enough prey already," Lore said, trying to the best of her ability to keep the envy out of her voice, instead rather make it sound casual. She gestured slightly to the prey next to Lucira, imagining as she did so eating it.
Prey didn't deserve to rot in the sun, especially in the dry conditions where it would quickly rot.
"You're a pretty successful hunter to catch that," Lore commented, the corners of her mouth rising in a friendly smile.
Lucira was kind, and therefore worth being kind to. Just a friendly, meek wolf.


WORD COUNT: 398
NOTES:
If it's visible here, I'm certainly straining to sound nice and kind. xD
Lore is rather nice and kind wolf, big believer in being nice to everyone because from it you get nice rewards.
It's just my evil side that is going, "Ooh! Look at how tiny that wolf is! Look at her leave her prey out in the sun!"
So that affects my writing. xD
Buut regardless, I hope this blossoms into a wonderful relationship between the two.

[ninja]

(( Dun worry, she can take care of herself. And she's got quite a bit of feist packed into that small little body! ;D Umm... Are we supposed to put the word count at the bottom? >.<; ))

Lucira noted how Lore relaxed herself, obviously attempting to seem smaller. Her eyes narrowed slightly for a moment, but she quickly calmed herself. Wolves would often try and seem more... Gentle to her because she was born a runt and was noticeably smaller than usual. But it was only out of courtesy, and was definitely nothing to get worked up about.

"Well," she began, adding to the conversation, "it has been pretty peaceful lately. If it weren't, you'd be out defending Vale territory!" She offered a wolfish laugh, baring her fangs in a doggy grin. "Either way, the pack can never have too much prey."

She glanced back at her kills, realizing the rotting process had already begun. An unpleasant scent was being released from the limp corpses, accelerated by the heat and light of the sun. Her features screwed into a grimace and she got to her paws, gently scooting the small pile away from the harsh rays.

"I suppose if I stay here any longer, it will surely rot before it is enjoyed by the pack..."

Leaning back, she gingerly took the squirrels by their tails, setting them in front of them both. "Perhaps you'd like to share with me before they spoil?" she offered, sitting back on her haunches. "The fawn should be fine for a little while longer, but the squirrels are smaller; they'll rot faster."

That being said, Lucira sunk her jaws around the body of her squirrel, letting the succulent meat fill her senses. It still had that wild, heavenly taste-- even if it was a bit scrawny. There was no doubt this was the dry season, possibly even the start of a drought; and the Valelands were far from any large bodies of water, so the prey would be migrating to the wet haven of the Souselands. From here on out it would be consistently more difficult to find any prey, and she would be out nearly 24/7 looking for even the smallest of rodents in cool nooks and cracks. Still, there was no reason to worry Lore with such thoughts. Everyone would do their best, and Vale would survive just like every year.

[patronize]

lore

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After a brief moment of silence when Lucira took the chance to study Lore, her voice rang out again. She was saying something about defending Valepack territory, and Lore stiffened at the mention, but then saw Lucira's playful grin. The wolf's words exposed a cheerful demeanor behind the small frame- something Lore was thankful for, because most small wolves were vicious.

Showing Lucira she was paying attention, Lore smiled too.
"Very true," she agreed, bobbing her head in a nod.

She noticed Lucira turn her head and peer at the carcasses baking in the sun. The tip of Lore's tail wagged at the prospect of eating. Her hunger had been fairly quiet for the past few hours, but the sight of food was enough to awaken it. It was merely a grumble in her stomach, yet still there, and still needing to be sated.

Much to Lore's delight, Lucira got to her feet and scooted the smaller, rodent carcasses with her nose. As they neared Lore, she noticed that they were squirrels with the trademark furry brown tail and short ears. They were scrawny compared to the fawn, and seemed to be very hot from sitting in the sun...yet she was a warrior, and didn't have the choice to hunt whatever she liked.


Lucira mentioned something about the prey rotting, but Lore ignored it, her eyes following the prey as they stopped at her feet.

"I'd be honored!" Lore licked her lips. Quickly Lucira dove in the food, her jaws clamping on the body of one squirrel.
Lore was shocked at how ravenous a mild-tempered wolf could be, but she had to remember she was probably hungry as well.
And, if the drought continued, they all would be hungry.

She shook her head at the thought and instead lurched forward to grab a bit of the squirrel. Her teeth first met the furry tail, and disgusted Lore tried her best to spit out the hairs clinging to her tongue. She aimed again at the squirrel, this time for the midsection.
Immediately her teeth met flesh and blood. She closed her jaw, hearing the satisfying crunch of the brittle bones breaking under the pressure.
It was delicious, if only slightly baked. A tantalizing combination of flesh and blood, all balanced out nicely.
After chewing for a moment, Lore's eyes scanned the squirrel again, this time disappointed that there wasn't much left. She finished eating regardless, happy that Lucira was able to catch something.

"Great catch," she said. It seemed rude to just eat and then leave, so to drag on her visit longer, Lore decided to make conversation.
What would she be interested in hearing? Perhaps the newcomers coming to Valepack...gossip could always be entertaining.

She glanced over at the carcass, and then turned to Lucira. "That fawn will feed a few wolves, I bet. We'll be needing the food with all the newcomers. We're even rivaling Sousepack when it comes to size."

WORD COUNT: 481
NOTES: Nah, you don't have to. It's just a habit of mine to do so. xD
link!

[ninja]

Once the tree rodents had been picked clean and their stomachs silenced, Lucira pushed herself to her feet and uttered a yawn of delight. Nothing like a good meal on a warm day. But how had Lore enjoyed it? She was bigger, and with size came a more ravenous hunger. But then the Warrior praised her on her catch, and she decided it was fine. Pawing the small corpses near a tree, she scratched some dirt over it to prevent attention from annoying scavengers. The deed done, Luc ambled back over to her friend and eased herself into a lying position, tongue swiping over her lips.

Lore had begun to speak of the newcomers in Vale. Yes, it was true; they'd be giving Sousepack a run for their money! Yet at the same time, a bigger pack demanded more food, a problem that could face them if this drought spoken of by the wind truly did arrive. And every wolf knew that Souse had the most water, therefore the most prey in the dry season. She'd be on her toes at all times trying to feed their steadily growing pack, yet it was comforting to know that they weren't the smallest.

"True," she agreed thoughtfully, passing a side glance at the young deer. "And that new pup-- oh, what was his name-- who do you think he'll be apprenticed to?" she wondered, thinking back to the pack. He seemed a sturdy pup and would likely become a Warrior, but it could go either way at such a young age. "He's got... Quite a sharp tongue, would you agree?" Sometimes she wondered if he was really all there...

[patronize]

lore

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A pale tongue rose up and edged between Lore's teeth as she pried stubborn remnants of her meal from between her teeth. Some of the pieces dislodged from their hiding places, falling helplessly on her tongue and doomed to be eaten again.
As she did this, Lore watched Lucira rise to her feet and yawn contentedly. For a moment she had to stare in contempt at the hunter- her simple duty of catching prey and nothing else. The way Lucira walked- her gait like a carefree saunter, over to a nearby pine tree, only made the feeling grow. Lore kept her emotion hidden, however, by an assuming expression witnessing Lucira dig a shallow hole and place the remains of the squirrels within.

Quickly she returned and settled into a relaxed pose, her body calmly sprawled on the scruffy grass, tongue lolling out in a futile attempt to combat the heat. Lore's comment about Sousepack sparked her attention- Lucira paused, as if in contemplation, and then went on to talk about the newest apprentice in Valepack.
For a brief moment, Lore had to search her memory for who this apprentice might be- obviously very young, seeing as he was an apprentice, and must be a rather large pup at that.

Then, from the depths of oblivion, a name appeared. Draven. Draven- she could picture him, with his compact body, dark shaggy fur, oddly-formed jaw. She couldn't remember conversing with him much, save for a few hellos. Although, that would be no surprise, with him being an apprentice and her being a fully-fledged warrior spending her days patrolling Valepack territory.

"Draven is his name, I think," Lore said, biting her lip as she hoped it was the right name. "I'm not sure of who he'd be apprenticed to. Hopefully not me, I don't want to deal with the burden, especially since you mention he has a sharp tongue."
"Looks like he'll be a warrior from his appearance. Dark fur, large head. His jaw is a bit misshapen though," she added after a brief pause.
"What do you think happened?"

WORD COUNT: 341
NOTES:
Gossssssip. -flails-
Always fun. We should move on to each member of the pack. xD
Haze, Chaotic, Anderlin....

Only if gossip is Luc's thing, though. But from reading her bio, I think she might like it. =D

[ninja]

(( Yee, gossip. This shall be fuuuun ))

Lucira pondered the name a bit before slowly nodding. Yes, that did sound familiar. And Lore's assumptions of him being trained to be a Warrior were probably correct; he was already practically larger than herself! Which meant she likely wouldn't get stuck with him either. Still, he could become a very useful asset to the Pack... If he could keep his loyalties straight. Not to say that Luc didn't trust him- she was probably just paranoid- but at such a young age, it is easy to become corrupt if influenced wrongly.

Now that Lore mentioned it, Lucira realized the pup did have a rather odd twist to his jaw. She rolled her eyes back thoughtfully, pondering all the possibilities. It could have been a birth defect, or an accident when he was born... Yet, considering her paranoia, she felt herself swaying to the chance that he was abused in his earliest months.

"It could have been anything." she replied after a bit, flicking her tongue between two claws. "You never know. And I suppose if Chaotic takes a liking to him, he'll apprentice the pup himself." she offered, back paws scrabbling against the dusty ground as she picked herself up and gave a nice long stretch. Something in her back cricked, and a dreamily content look appeared on her face. "Ahhh... That's been bothering me all morning!" she barked, slouching back into a sitting position. It was then that she realized she liked talking with this wolf. She could just... Talk, really. It didn't matter what her opinion was to Lore, and she didn't have to be courteous and proper and lady-like. Besides, it was hard to gossip with males- they were too simple minded- and it was nice to have a femme to femme conversation for once. (( Uumm.... Braindead ;; ))

[patronize]

lore

It was the first time in a while since she ever gossiped, or came close to the subject of gossip. It was a foreign thing for her, a topic that never reared its head in conversations. Yet now, it appeared all too subtly and comfortably...and Lore found herself becoming fond of it quickly. Lucira didn't mind it either, no obvious hints at her being uneasy with talking about other pack members.
Gossip, Lore realized, was a good way to learn about others. What could be better than that?

It opened up opportunities. Before, she would have never thought about Draven. With him being a newbie to Valepack and a young one at that, they would have hardly came in contact. But now, he wasn't just a wolf, he was a wolf in her pack, and she was interested. After all, Draven was an interesting case as she mentioned to Lucira. He was young- what, only nine months old? His body revealed his age- he still had the puppy-like plump body and roundness, the plush fur mostly free from the protective guard hairs he would grow later. Despite the inconvenience of age, he was accomplished for a pup. He was young to be alone, and even younger to join a pack without an adult. It only added to the mystery of his case.

Lucira seemed to be remotely intrigued by Draven as well, if only slightly. She paused after Lore spoke, a tense silence settling between the two as Lore pondered if Lucira didn't take gossip well. Yet soon Lucira responded, her answer hinting that she was as puzzled as Lore was. Despite her puzzlement, Lucira offered a reasonable guess at who would apprentice Draven- Chaos himself.

Lore nodded her head in agreement, watching Lucira stretched. Her spine crackled with the movement- with pleasure from stretching, Lucira smiled, caught in her temporary reverie. Lore grinned in amusement, watching as Lucira commented on how she managed to get the crick out of her back.

"You know," Lore said, shortly after Lucira commented on her back. "Chaos has a good chance of being Draven's mentor. But what about Asake? Granted, he's fairly new, but I heard he's been a good contributor."

She paused, searching for more to keep the conversation going.
"I'm wary of Sousepack, Lucira," she said quietly. "They're getting stronger. More prey than us, more water. Probably more members as well. Are you worried? Especially with...well, the drought."

Lore had to wonder if Lucira had noticed the lack of humidity for the summer, how the days seemed to be too hot to fathom. Or how Valepack and Sousepack were beginning to become rivals with their size both growing steadily.


WORD COUNT:441
NOTES:
-pets worm thing-