... The deep howl rang loud and quick through the tangled mess of giant redwoods: "Vioxes!!!!" The she-wolf was calling for the attention and attendance of her new companion. or servant or slave or squire - they all meant the same thing to the mammoth of ivory and gold that stood waiting in the middle of the forest. The male couldn't have been far behind her, he was still new and she had been keeping a close eye on him. Omega-equivalent he might be, but no one save her was allowed to order him around. on this fine, misty-edged morning, Champion had been walking amid the trees that seemed to have been seeded at the dawn of time. She, who towered over certain bears, felt like little more than a squirrel in their shadow. How many ages had these giants seen? How many wars and loves and victories - how many tales had unfolded within sight of their great boughs? She was honored to have such a land of legends for a backyard. Take this normal mundane morning for example: She was sitting at an angle, scratching her hind ear, all while seated upon a fallen trunk that hoisted her nearly a story above the ground. It was bespeckled with mushrooms and dotted with ferns, but stretched on so far in either direction that it made a minature highway through this neck of the woods. Champion hoped that her attendant would be along soon. She had many sights she wanted to see today, and this one was only the first. ...

Black paws carried the male through the forest, moving at a decent jog. The large woman who he had met on the borders was taking him somewhere, he wasn't sure where yet but from the looks of it she was showing him the territory. For a bit now he had lost her, not because he was falling behind, not at all, this guy could keep up with her with some pushing but he was not going to fall behind. Brown orbs wathed her carefully, following her gaze and watching her movements, whenever she seemed to look away he would slowly and carefully fall back a few paces. He continued doing this until she was finally out of sight. Vioxes was moving carefully now, body low to the groud as he moved from one tree to hide behind another. Stop, peek out for any signs of Champion, nothing, move again. Was he trying to escape? Nope, if he wasnted to get out of her then he would have taken the chance at the borders when the Queen gave him the choice in leaving or staying. The back and white male was just trying to have some fun now, see if this woman knew how to lighten up. "normal. talk. think. you."

... Champion caught scent of the male in the immediate area, and found her paws at once. Yet he didn't show himself. "Vioxes?" she called, now just curiously. The mammoth she-wolf shook her head and trotted along the great fallen trunk. From up that high, it was easy to spot the flash of white ducking back behind one of the other trees. She didn't smell anything like fear in the air - and from the start this male had been a brave one - so no it couldn't be that he was hiding from her... He had to be... playing some sort of game? Well even if he wasn't, Champion wanted to now. The Beta's inch long claws scared the old wood as she did a flying leap from the log onto one of the mossy roots of the surrounding trees. For so big a creature, she got around just fine. Amusement lit up those burgundy eyes of hers - a familiar light to any that knew her. Despite her military upbringing, she was the sort of wolf who lived life on the edge. Normal things like self-preservation rarely filtered into her views of a situation. To some, this made her mad, but she really wasn't. She just lived like the world was her playground. And, if she wasn't mistaken, this current game was resembling hide and seek. The fae picked her paws carefully, creeping through the carpet of ferns round to the far side of the tree. She barely breathed for fear of it making a sound. Her ivories showed in a devilish grin. Round she came - and then - she pounced! Nearly two hundred pounds of wolf leaping for her companion, hoping to bowl him over and give him a pinning for not coming exactly when she called. It was all joking of course, she wouldn't really hurt him - but this was too much fun to pass up! ...

He could hear the woman call his name, hiding behind a tree he held a paw over his mouth, holding back a chuckle that wanted to burst into laughter. It wouldn't take long now, he could hear her movement stop not far away, closing his eyes and listening closely. He could always hear much better when doing this, focusing on the noises around him. The chirping of birds not far away, rustling of the canopy by the wind. There! He could hear the sound of claws scraping against bark, weight landing against the ground. Here she comes. He thought, eyelids snapped open, pupils going wide for a second but then narrowed once it settled to the lighting. Paws shifted, carrying him away from the spot he was at. He tried to move carefully but because he was trying to hurry he kept brushing against ferns and different kinds of vegetation, growling quietly to himself for not being more careful. His paw had even got caught in some plants. Shake, shake, shake. He yanked his paw, freeing it from the plant's grasp but his ear suddenly swiveled to the side, brown orbs following to be greeted with the sudden appearance of Champion jumping at him! Aaah! He yelled, without even thinking his paws moved, pulling him out of the giat's path a second before she anded on the ground after his tail. He was carried a few feet away, coming to a brief stop to look over his shoulder at the woman. Almost got me! He chuckled nervously, he was sure she would have gave him a bruise without trying, maybe a few. Luckily he was able to move away in time, but this didn't mean the end of his game. Nope, he still was going. You didn't though, so... you gotta move faster than that! With a laugh the male bounded away, legs being extended out then pulled towards his body as he ran. Vioxes knew not to run as fast as he could go, that would just tire him out right away. So he moved at a slow run but faster than a jog, making his way around the trees, hopping over fallen trees here and there. Ever few steps, turns or jumps he would look over his shoulder chuckling when the shewolf was no where in sight but then speeding up when she did come up beside or behind him. "normal. talk. think. you."

... A growl rumbled out of the she-wolf's lungs as the male danced away in the barest nick of time. Beginer's luck. "Just wait! I'll have your tail for a hat!" The male dashed off, seeming so certain he could get away, but then, he was forgetting that she was the Beta of these lands. A poor one she would be if she did not know them well enough to cut off one errant male. She did not spring up behind or beside him, no, Champion darted away at an angle, letting herself become lost in the mirad of trees and ferns, going instead, along the dry, crumbling bed of a bygone stream, and snaking a rather straight path through that maze of forest. She knew the way the male had gone and it was not hard to, after a half a minute or so, leap up out of the stream at just the right bend ? land right in his path, blocking it as completely as a boulder. "Alright, greyhound, hold up for a sec. I called you because I think it's time I show you around." The mammoth turned her head a few degrees to the west. "So come on, run this way." That was all she said and then she was off again - leaping the back back into the creek bed, taking one stride and then leaping straight out. She might as well have been some ungodly cross between a bear and a deer. But a second later she was rushing off through the woods again, leading the way through the obstacle course of roots and ferns and hollows. ...

Paws bounced off the ground, a hop in his step as he moved between the trees. Vioxes thought he had left Champion far behind her because of her size, most wolves would have been slowed down because of how large they were but the white and black male would soon find that didn't happen with this woman. The male was approaching a small log, a smirk on his lips as he jumped to land on it but just as he made contact, the bi-colored woman leaped up out of nowhere and landed just in front of him. The boy would have yelped at her sudden appearance catching him off guard, paws sliding beneath him but managed to hold himself up and calm. Taking a deep breath his ears perked up at his voice, not able to hold back a chuckle. She told him to hold up, that she called him out here because she thought it was tie to show him around. He gave a nod, and another when she asked him to follow her. He watched closely, and in some surprise when she bounded off, as elegant as a deer eve with her size. Without realizing it he was staring, quickly shaking his head before bounding off after her, paws moving faster when she raced off into the terrain. "normal. talk. think. you."