[aw] looking
As much as she detested the wet melting stuff, she was still excited about it warming up soon. She wanted the sun back. As she walked, she looked around this orchard place and started to imagine what it might be like with a little sunshine. Or in the summer, especially, the fruit all ripe and sweet. Yeah, she would definitely have to come back here later in the year. She was distracted suddenly with trying to memorize the place to find it again in the future and suddenly a tree branch decided to drop a little pile of snow and ice right on the brutish woman, hitting her square in the back. She made a sound that was half yelp and half snarl, darting away and quickly shaking herself out, swearing angrily under her breath. "Damn it, damn it," she growled, shaking herself one more time. But then she was aware that she had company, another woman about ten yards away. "Oh, hey," she said bluntly, trying to put on a cheap smile so she wouldn't appear to be a total bitch. Though, who was she kidding, really?
A voice behind her echoed. Sparrow turned, minty eyes wide. At first, her mind went to Ashmedai. Could he have returned? What about her aunt? No, she wouldn't use such language. Could it be anyone from Imperium? Surely someone from the pack remained somewhere...
It wasn't Ashmedai, not Rhythm, nor anyone she knew. There was a large, monochrome wolf that was brutish in all but scent. The small girl couldn't help but snort as the other shook snow off herself before noticing she wasn't alone. She offered a greeting and Sparrow had to pretend she wasn't just laughing, "Yeah, hey there." A small smile tugged at her lips.
"This really is the worst part of the season, isn't it?" Sparrow shook off her back leg, slinging sloshy snow as if to prove a point, "Nothing grows and the snow loses its crunch." The small woman didn't move much other than to adjust her weight. She looked around the barren range. She was forgetting something, wasn't she? She totally was. After a second, it dawned on her, "Oh! I'm Sparrow, by the way."
Still, she couldn't help laughing at the way the woman suddenly seemed to remember that she should be introducing herself. Cute. "My pleasure, Sparrow," she said. Huh. First she had met a Peregrine, and now a Sparrow. What was it with the bird names in this place? Still, Peregrine and Sparrow were nothing alike, that much was clear already. Sparrow more resembled her namesake, a little more bright and sweet in nature. Peregrine, well, she really was sharp as a hawk, wasn't she? Ricochet felt a strange and sudden tug in her gut at the thought. She should track that little lady down. She wanted to talk to her again.
But no. Back to the matter at hand. The woman cleared her throat again and at the same time cleared her mind. "I'm Ricochet," she said by way of introduction. Short and sweet. Well, not sweet really, but to the point.
The grey woman held a confidence around her that she didn't really see in Abaven. She didn't seem like she was challenging anyone with her air, like a lot of Imperium's wolves either. It seemed like a cool confidence, and Sparrow immediately envied it a little. She wondered if she could learn to be like that one day. Like that, but still herself, obviously. Was that an option?
She laughed a little when Sparrow remembered to introduce herself, but it wasn't a cruel laugh. How could you laugh at someone's mistake and not seem cruel? Cool confidence, Sparrow decided. It had to be. Maybe she needed to be away from her family more so that she didn't go looking at every stranger with sparkly eyes. Her tail was swaying. She needed to stop that. She was starting to ooze at the thought of another being, and to have that being be so chill...
Stop, Sparrow. Stop while you're ahead.
Swallowing, Sparrow regained her composure. Her name was Ricochet? That was... wow... cool. It wasn't even a bird name.
She needed to get out more.
"Ricochet," she repeated, "That's really cool. I'm just... Sparrow. Then there's Finch, Lark, Star-" Her voice cut off a bit. Sparrow cleared her throat, "We're all bird named. I mean, that's obvious, I know, I was just- Ricochet is a cool name."
She should have kept her maw shut. She pressed her lips together, minty eyes looking anywhere but at Ricochet. When she looked back, she finally realized the woman's eyes were mismatched. Even her eyes were cool. Sparrow sucked in a breath. One was fiery and brilliant, while the other was electric and lively. Orange and green. Sparrow just kind of stared for a second, her maw trying to form words, but just, "Wow."
No. Wait. She said that out loud.
Sparrow shook herself, her mind reeling, "I meant- wow, uh, you didn't want to know my family names." Sparrow tried to laugh it off, but it felt forced. Her heart was racing.
She really hoped Ricochet tripped or did something stupid soon, because right now, standing there, she was literally the coolest.
Sparrow had to get out more.
Her siblings all had bird names. She listed a few. Ricochet raised a brow, becoming steadily more amused as the poor creature continued to struggle. She should have politely cut her off somehow, but why miss out on the entertainment? Ricochet was a selfish little bitch and she'd never deny that. But finally, as the excitement and fumbling words seemed to die out, Ricochet felt a rare pang of pity. In some cases, it would have been the nature of the brutish woman to make things worse. To tease. But in a case like this, that would be like kicking a puppy.
But worse. This puppy was already down. Time to lift the puppy up, she decided. She laughed again, genuinely entertained by the girl and her flood of words. Maybe the laugh would offend her. Oh well, this was Ricochet trying to be nice. "God, you're cute," she chuckled, gesturing with her head for the girl to follow her. "Come on, little Sparrow," she said. "I want to look around."
She was so cool.
She called her "Little Sparrow".
Oh man.
Sparrow was in deep trouble.
She followed, her heart hammering. She was trying to think of things to say while telling herself to shut up at the same time. She didn't know which option was better. She wanted to turn the attention to something else, but she didn't want to mess up her words again and just...
Sparrow let out a huffy breath, trying to calm herself. Even from behind this woman was really something. She was about the size of the Imperium wolves. She could probably lay on Sparrow and kill her. She didn't, however... at least not yet. Sparrow wouldn't mind being-
What was she thinking? She needed to stop. What was wrong with her? Was she just set to auto-drool at any wolf that was tall and nice to her? This wolf was a girl. Sparrow had never thought about girls... or guys for that matter. Now she was, though. Surely this wasn't the beginning of some crush? No, this wolf was just really... cool.
Sparrow needed to think of other words than just, "cool".
Sparrow found herself following a little too close. Did their fur brush together just then? Sparrow tried to distance herself without being too obvious. She was failing. She cleared her throat, "There, uh, used to be a pack here. A lot of their wolves were really tall. They were all strong warriors. I- uh- am not a warrior." Sparrow laughed at her own remark. It was obvious she wasn't a warrior.
Shut up, Sparrow.
Sparrow tried to coach herself. She didn't need to ramble. She needed to act cool and calm.
She wasn't cool and calm.
Ricochet looked around, bright orange and green eyes taking in her surroundings and committing them to memory as best she could. Of course, she had to picture the place without snow and ice everywhere. When she returned, it would be in warmer weather. Then, at long last, the little Sparrow spoke again. Ricochet listened without looking over at the girl, the twitch of her ears the only indication that she was hearing what was being said. Of course, the large woman had already caught wind of the deadened pack scent, she simply hadn't bothered to say anything about it. But the sadness in the voice of the girl suggested that the lost of this pack was more personal. Shame. Ricochet clicked her tongue in a weak show of sympathy.
"Warriors, huh? she said, finally glancing back at the girl for a moment. "It's too bad they're gone," she sighed. Of course, that wasn't a certainty. It was likely they had all just scattered, finding new homes or choosing the loner life instead. Ricochet belonged with the latter. She was a loner, and probably always would be. She hated being told what to do, especially by righteous idiots. And most alphas were righteous idiots.
Little Sparrow quietly admitted that she was not a warrior. If that could be considered an admission at all; it was quite obvious. Ricochet smiled pityingly at the woman. "No, you're not," she said, as honest as ever. "But I'll give you this, sweetheart. You're pretty to look at." The dark woman winked. Sweetness and a pretty face could get you just about anything in this world. Sparrow had both. Ricochet had neither. But she found her own way to get what she wanted in this world, by using her strength and will and by never taking shit from anyone. It was working so far.
Sparrow tried to walk straight, but she kept looking over at Ricochet and then drifting towards her. Nothing about the way she was acting was straight. She didn't just think that. Who was this woman? How old was she even? Where did she come from? She didn't smell like a pack, but Sparrow didn't know where she might be from.
Sparrow wanted to ask, but she also didn't. She didn't want to be annoying, but she really wanted to know. At the mention of warriors, Ricochet seemed to perk up. When she said it was too bad they were gone, Sparrow hummed in agreement, "They were really cool... And kind of scary... Some were pretty nice, though- as long as you weren't on the wrong side of the battlefield."
Ooh, she was rambling again.
At her mention of not being a warrior, Ricochet agreed with her. It made her heart drop a little. She kind of wanted to be a warrior; strong and confident, but she wasn't. Ricochet commented that she was pretty to look at... and called her sweetheart.
Oh no.
No no no.
This was not good.
Sparrow felt her face heating up. Her heart- which she didn't think could speed up more- jumped and began to beat faster, "Ah- I'm not really pretty. I mean, not as pretty as you. I mean, uh- I mean you are pretty, but that came out weird, didn't it? I just mean, like... I'm brown. I'm like dirt. You have like, the color of the sky before a storm. You're tall, probably strong too. Your whole demeanor could be like- the oncoming storm or something." Stop, Sparrow, "I'm like, the mud you'd slip in, or like a bird, or like..."
Or like actual shit.
Sparrow cleared her throat, "I just meant- sorry- You look cool and strong. I'm... tiny. Little Sparrow, the bird-sized wolf." Okay, she wasn't actually bird sized, but she wasn't even close to tall. She was acting like a bird, though. Sparrow was being small and flighty...
And annoying.
The small girl fell quiet again, licking her lips. She felt bad. She needed to explain...
"Sorry, I just... I've only left my pack like four times and this is only the second time without like... my entire family," she admitted, "It's... kind of nervous making."
Yup, it was because it was her first time out of the pack and not really in Imperium. It was because there was this non-Imperium stranger, right? Not because there was a tall, pretty girl here. Not because Sparrow thought she looked really cool.
Definitely not.