Darling, You Look Perfect
The light of the sun was just beginning to soften, that time called dusk growing nearer and nearer. But Alarik was wide awake, his heart pounding and sending adrenaline through his veins as he crouched low and stalked a pheasant. His ears and eyes were as sharp and alert, his nostrils flaring as he took in the scent of his prey. It was a large and lovely male pheasant, with colorful plumage and a sort of regality to its gait. It had been a while since Alarik had brought down any sort of game besides rabbits. Pheasants were more of a challenge, and that challenge he welcomed. There was something about the hunt that Alarik relished; it made him feel strong and capable for once, instead of feeling like a some silly little dreamer, a hopeless romantic with nothing to show for his two years of life.
But now was not the time to let his mind wander onto such things. He needed to focus. The male stayed very low, the muscles in his legs aching a bit as he kept himself in a deep crouch and, inch by inch, crawled closer to his prey. When he was only about twenty yards away, the magnificent bird snapped its head in his direction and, with a rustle of feathers, it took flight. But Alarik knew pheasants could not fly far, so he bolted after the bird in the hopes of catching it when it finally returned to earth. This chase continued for nearly a minute, but just as Alarik was closing in, he breathed in the scent of a boundary line and came screeching to a halt. His prey escaped, and a whine of annoyance escaped from the back of his throat. Alarik wasn't the type to swear, but damn. All that work for nothing.
The young man glared at the invisible boundary keeping him from his prize and delicious meal, and after retreating a few feet for good measure, he plopped down onto his haunches. This was no good. What was Alarik supposed to eat now? Another scrawny rabbit, probably. Was it possible to get sick of rabbits? Because Alarik was definitely getting sick of rabbits. "Talk" "You" Think |
Carrying her prize in her jaws a ways, she was just contemplating finding a place to settle down for a nice meal when the sound of paws pounding across the ground met her white-tipped ears. What was this? Walking along the line that separated the crew from the rest of the world she tip-toed her way over to the source of this commotion, just in time to see a grey-hued man come away with empty paws as one of those lovely pheasants flapped away smugly. She assumed it was smug at least, after all, a prey animal had to feel pretty good about itself when it escaped death like that, right? Sauntering over to the defeated looking wolf, Iskra sat her rosy haunches down just outside the border, beaming at the stranger while she set down the floppy corpse of her quarry and declared, "Now, now, no need for the long face, good looking. It doesn't suit you, and I've come bearing gifts!" she probably looked like the cat that ate the canary, but who wouldn't, sweeping their way into such a perfect situation? Sure, it was only one gift, and more like her dinner, but she could play nice and share if this man was willing to put up with her company. Her sapphire eyes danced with mischief.
The pheasant disappeared from view, and Alarik let out a sigh of disappointment. He could have so easily broken the rules, gone just far enough into the territory to catch his prey and then retreat again. Why did he have to be such a goody goody, anyway? Maybe that was why nothing exciting ever happened to him. And so, Alarik sat pouting until the crimson stranger came sauntering up to him.
When her mischievous voice met his ears, he turned at once, eyes widening in surprise. The young man had never seen such a magnificent creature in his entire life. She looked like a vision, a hallucination. He blinked a few times before he was able to convince himself she was real. The woman sitting before him had a coat that seemed to dance and shimmer with the most beautiful of red hues. And even her sapphire eyes were marvelous. Alarik let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding, and made an effort to compose himself. He had to maintain a little dignity, didn't he? Even if this woman looked like an actual goddess.
"Gifts?" he said, and of course his voice betrayed him and he had to clear his throat a bit to keep from making a fool of himself. When his baritone vocals had been restored, he continued. "No need for that, you caught your meal fair and square. And I lost mine, fair and square," the man added with a slightly bitter chuckle.
This woman was from the pack he had just kept himself from trespassing upon. Perhaps he had made the right choice after all. "It's a shame the border came between me and such a fantastic bird. Had I caught it, I could have shared it with you," he said, trying perhaps in vain to be the suave gentleman he always imagined himself being. But being suave was hard when all he wanted to do was gawk at this beautiful woman. "Forgive me for staring, but you are... absolutely stunning. Though I'm sure you've heard that from plenty of others in your life." "Talk" "You" Think |