Every step Nick took little splashes would follow suit. Always he would walk along the riverbanks, never quite leaving the gentle river?s side. Why would he ever want to leave the river anyways? It had food, water was an obvious one, but it also gave him somewhere to go almost a purpose of a sort. Every day he would wake up, and follow the river, and he didn?t worry about what happened next, because as long as he followed the current he would never be lost. The river was Nick?s do all be all solution to every problem. Nope you couldn?t go wrong with the river. Well at least you couldn?t go wrong until the river took you into another wolves clearly marked territory, but Nick was too deep in thought to notice, or even care. ?What am I going to do when I reach the end?? Nick really hadn?t really a plan for when he reached the end of the river. Perhaps he would just backtrack and start the whole adventure over again, but he couldn?t just follow the river forever could he? Of course he could, or he didn?t really have a choice. Without the river how would he eat? Then right on queue as thoughts about food crossed through his mind, a small problem arose as Nick?s belly let out a low rumble, demanding fresh fish. This wasn?t really a problem though. A little fishing would help pass the time wonderfully.

Changing course he waded deeper into the river and let it carry him along. The best way to catch a fish was to let the fish catch itself. It had been server minutes now and Nick rode the current downstream with his muzzle low in the water; he was almost completely motionless. Then just as Nick predicted a fish swam by, nearly brushing against his side. The second he could feel the fish passing by he twisted his body at a seeming impossible angle and snatched the fish out of the water with incredible speed and grace. Wiggling a few times the fish tried to escape, but this was not a fight it was going to win. With his catch now securely held in his jaws Nick swam to the river bank and settled down in preparation to eat his prize.

The mother's heart ached desperately for her children as they lay curled at her stomach, legs occasionally spasming as they lay trapped in the grip of a mobile dream. Despite the innocence of their movements, she could not help but imagine the twitches as the results of rigor mortise, for she and she alone had brought unavoidable war crashing down upon their heads. The widowed behemoth that was Newt would most likely thrive to see blood cascade from the Jupiter's throat and end her life as the Sol had done to her mate. The fact that he'd raped and killed an innumerable amount of individuals would likely mean nothing to the woman. Should a pack fall under Newt's reign, Ludicael would suffer, in one way or another. It was not a mob that Jupiter was afraid of, though--it was an individual that needed only to cross the borders and reach her den to end the lives of her children.



A large volume of splashing noises woke her from her troubled thoughts and immediately her ears pinned against her skull. The maternal she-wolf glanced down at her pups before very carefully rising to her paws, wondering where Mercury had gone off to. Her young ones stirred only momentarily before settling once more, making up for the lack of their mother's warmth by turning to one another. Jupiter slipped quietly from the den, nestled in the middle of the V-shaped intersection of the two rivers as they split toward the sea. And as she exited and turned her gaze behind her, towards the river, her gaze was met by a stranger further upstream, buried in their territory and even moreso lodged in their food supply.



He'd found a rare portion of the river that bore sand on its edges instead of a dropoff of the mangrove's tangled and tall roots. Hackles raised but no snarls emanated from her form--yet. She warily weaved her way through the mangroves so she could catch full sight of him. Though she'd been able to glimpse him from the position of her den, it was unlikely that he'd been able to do the same in his fishing, but she approached with care nonetheless.



Only the water separated them--about twenty yards of it--as she came to the mangrove bank, eyes narrowed. "Hey, you there!" she called, a growl lightly underlying the tones of her voice. "What do you think you're doing?"



"speech"

"Hey you there! What do you think you?re doing?" As the words were spoken Nick nearly jumped out of his skin. He had been so focused on his fish that he hadn't even noticed Jupiter's arrival. Taken slightly aback the fisher wolf blinked his eyes at Jupiter a few times, as if he could simply blink her away, but no, she was still there when he opened his eyes. She didn't look very happy with, and he found himself shrinking down as close to the ground as his far his already small frame would allow, trying to make himself look as small as possible. He didn't know what else to do, what else could he do? He didn't even know what it was that she wanted with him. Perhaps it would be best to answer her question first.

It had been such a long time since he had talked to another wolf, or anyone for that matter, when he talked his voice sounded weak and horse adding to his already pathetic appearance. "Fishing, just fishing." he paused for a brief moment and eyed the fish he had dropped during his attempt to look smaller a small idea forming. "I-er, would you like some fish. T-there are plenty of fish in this great river for all to enjoy." He offered her his fish nudging it towards her a bit with his nose.

ooc: Mind if I butt in? The sounds of a conversation made it's way to the icy temptress' sensitive ears, capturing her attention. One voice was wonderfully familiar, Jupiter, her Alphess. Picking up her pace, the silent woman abandonned all attempts at the hunt, and coaxed her long legs into a trot. Her powerful, dainty paws were soon landing with effortless grace upon the thick mangrove roots. Weaving between trunks, it was as if the she wolf were a ghost, flowing around the trees with breathtaking agility. Soon her eerie silver orbs caught sight of a familiar solar pelt, and she began to travel even faster. Soon her pure white paws touched sand, which made her approach silent. Even with her snowy derma, she was invisible in the shadows of the mangrove. Soon, the shadows started to fade, and the maiden was out in the open. Approaching the Sol, the ivory dame decided it would be a good idea to make herself known, so as not to turn the new mother's anger onto herself. "Good day, Sol." She greeted the superior wolf, dipping her deceptively delicate tiara respectfully. When she spoke, her voice was soft, barely a whisper, and could only be heard if one was truly listening. Her silky vocals were partially marred by a faint Russian accent, and her tone, otherworldly. Her moonstone orbs then turned quickly to take in this other wolf, a smaller creature, who seemed very frightened. She didn't blame him, Jupiter could be very frightening when she wanted to be. An interesting creature he was, a pelt nearly as pristine as her own, but covered occasionally by strokes of grey. His eyes were of a bright gold, that almost glowed. Her olfactory sensor detected the scent of fish, which alerted her to the partially eaten carcass on the ground. A fisher, this new wolf was. How unique. With that, her gaze was returned to her Alpha, to await either a command to leave, or a return of the greeting. She lowered her tall, lean frame to a rest on her haunches, wrapping her long, silky banner around her paws. Twin raven feathers danced while they settled once more onto the thick fur of her tail, and then all on the woman was still. Her face showed little emotion, besides a tinge of curiosity. Her coat flowed like a waterfall over her body, accentuating her feminine curves. So she waited, a statue of the purest marble.

After she spoke she began to cross the shorter portion of the river to meet the stranger, powerful legs swiping through the meandering water at a steady pace until she reached the shore, breathing quickened but not laborious. Body quaked and shook as she flung the water from her fur, ears tilted back slightly. She watched as he shrunk to almost nothing, shriveling under her gaze and her presence until she swore he was about to merely sink into the sand and out of existence.



To make the crowd a party, Aurora approached and Jupiter nodded to the alabaster woman, a smile touching her lips until she turned her orbs back upon the small male. He spoke of his endeavors and she tilted her head ever-so-slightly, a brow raising. The odd male nudged the freshly-killed, river-inhabiting creature towards her and as he did so, she bared her teeth and went down to grasp it, lips curled back a bit. Perhaps it was mean to tease the obviously-terrified brute in such a way, but the woman had to have her fun sometime.



She turned to drop the fish at Aurora's paws before diverting her attention to the fisher. "Indeed, there are plenty. But asking permission before taking what is in our territory would have turned out a little better for you," she remarked sternly, referencing the fact that if he'd had the forethought to go to the borders and request permission to fish, he wouldn't be cowering on the sand. The woman might not have readily let him, but that wasn't the point.



Jupiter lowered her hips to the earth, damp pelt still clinging to her flesh as if it were afraid of falling from her skin. "You tread on the waters of Ludicael, stranger, and you speak to Jupiter, its alpha. Your name?"

TABLE + CODING BY TIFF

prone to violent reaction. ic actions have ic consequences and she lives and breathes it.

public enemy #1

crawl. crawl more. drag your hands and knees across the destruction left in my wake to the ends of the earth. there's a green light of a shining star in my sky and there will not be an obstacle i will not overcome until i cup that star in my palms. the void in my will has been filled with purpose. so crawl. crawl more, love.

because i like it when you're on your knees.