Qanik

in defense of the innocent

Too long had it been since she'd last seen Flamesong, not since she'd encountered him accidentally in the old human cave in the north, not since before she'd spoken with Erani, and she found herself terribly lonely. She had Tortuga, but the pack was small, and still quiet though it was slowly regaining members... and family wasn't the same as a mate. Yes, she was beginning to admit it to herself now that he was seemingly gone from her life. She had wanted him, despite the problems caused by their belonging to different packs, as a partner, a lover, a mate - and now he was gone. Had Erani told him to stay away because she was Tortugan? Had he just grown tired of her? Had she meant anything to him at all? Stupid to have thought she could have. The emptiness and ache clawed at her heart constantly, and she'd had no wish to subject her packmates to her listlessness and moody behavior, so she'd come here, to the place she had first met him, to allow herself to be immersed in it without affecting anyone else.

The orchard was completely different now, the seasons having changed twice over since they'd met. It had been spring then, romantic and gentle with the blossoms and the buzzing of bees. Now it was fall, with the bountiful fruits that the trees and the bees had labored to make through the seasons... and only served to remind her, suddenly, of what she didn't, wouldn't, couldn't have. She'd never expected to be able to, or even want to have children. In her family pack she would never have risen to a rank to be allowed children, and she'd known and accepted that from a young age. Now, she knew Roman would allow it if she asked, but she was far to old to be starting a family. It was ridiculous for her to even have considered it, however fleetingly. It was not meant to be.

With a sigh she laid her chin on her crossed forepaws, not even bothering to fight the dark cloud of depression that sank vicious claws into her. Her eyes stared unseeingly out into the empty orchard, a troubled frown wrinkling her brow.



speech.

cowardice is the only sin

Obsidian

What a lovely smelling place. Obsidian gazed about at the abandoned orchard. She knew it had been placed there by humans, from the regular spacing of the trees, and the variety of fruit trees. There were different kinds of apples, peaches, plums? Not all of them bore fruit this season, but she could imagine the delicious aroma that would fill the air when everything was ripe and falling. Hooves fell in a comfortable four beat cadence as she walked through the rows, enjoying the rural atmosphere. Her tail flicked, and occasionally, her head would drop and she would snag a bite from the grass, munching as she went. A sigh caught her ears and they pricked, her nostrils flaring as she tried to smell the fellow inhabitant of the Orchard. As her eyes fell upon the wolf, she almost thought it was Erani. However the build was wrong to be the elegant Valhallan Queen. Graceful neck arched slightly, mane falling in a thick veil to one side as she studied the morose female. ?Are you alright?? Lyrical tones gently questioned as the horse stepped closer, ears pricked curiously.

Qanik

in defense of the innocent

For a moment the approaching hoofbeats didn't register with the moping Qanik. Deer, elk, moose, all sorts of large four-footed prey animals had been wandering the orchard enjoying the fruit, so it didn't immediately stand out to her. But slowly her eyes focused on the large dark form approaching her, and her face went completely smooth and expressionless in her shock. Slowly she lifted her head from her paws, watching as the... whatever it was came closer. Her hackles raised just the slightest bit in surprise when the creature spoke to her. For the moment she was quite sufficiently nonplussed to have more or less forgotten her depression. "I'm... sorry, but what are you?" she asked, her low rough voice a bit tight still from her brooding. She had never seen such a majestic, powerful creature in the far north where she had been born and lived most of her life, with it's strange but lovely curtain of fur that cascaded down her neck and also covered her tail. And her hooves were like no prey animal Qanik was familiar with... a single solid foot instead of the split toes of the deer and such she was used to.



speech.

cowardice is the only sin

Obsidian

The wolf was one of those who had never seen a horse before, it seemed. It was obvious from how the female?s face went slack from surprise, and the rise of the hackles when Obsidian spoke to her. The question just helped to confirm Obsidian?s assumption. Since the wolf had been looking so sad, Obsidian decided to take the comical way to introducing herself. She struck a pose, one that she?d been taught by the humans. Hind legs taking a regal stance, she lifted one foreleg, tail raising smartly as her head raised high and proud. ?I am a horse. They don?t all look like me, though. Kind of like how Timber wolves are marked a certain way, or built a certain way, and some wolves are completely different. Horses have so many different breeds I couldn?t begin to describe them all.? The raised foreleg drew further in, as she took a little bow. ?My name is Obsidian.? Blue eyes peered through her veil of mane as her ears pricked. Her mother had always said she had a flair, and she hoped she could brighten this wolf?s day a bit. By her scent, she was from Tortuga. A pack Erani had not yet clarified Valhalla?s position on. But Obsidian was able to defend herself, should this wolf actually be a very amazing con artist? Like Dapper, one of the ponies from her barn? That Welsh could scam you out of your feed in ten seconds flat. It was all in good fun, though, and he only pushed as far as he could, and stopped before you really ended up trampling a hole into his back.

Qanik

in defense of the innocent

The creature didn't seem offended by her question, instead striking a humorous pose that coaxed a smile from Qanik despite everything. "A horse? I'm afraid I've never heard of your kind." She studied the... horse carefully. She was fascinating, quite aside from the novelty of being spoken to by an obvious herbivore. Prey animals didn't usually seem inclined to speak to carnivores, for whatever reason... she'd always assumed they were simply too stupid. Obviously she'd been wrong. And there were different breeds, too? So they didn't all look like her? Qanik wondered how they differed.

But she'd introduced herself, and Qanik could not possibly be so rude as to fail to rise to the occasion because of her foolish lovelorn depression - though she could not quite bring herself to actually get to her paws quite yet. Mustering a polite smile, the white wolf dipped her head in greeting. "I am glad to meet you, Obsidian. I am Qanik."

Something had been niggling at her mind for a little bit since the horse had approached her, - the scent of Valhalla, though she could see and Qanik had dismissed it as wishful thinking since she'd been missing Flamesong, but now that she'd grown a little more accustomed to the scent of horse, she was beginning to realize the scent was coming from Obsidian. She furrowed her brow in confusion. "You're Valhallan?" she asked incredulously, then mentally smacked herself for her rudeness. "I'm sorry, I just never imagined a... er... an herbivore, being part of a pack." Particularly Flamesong's pack... what were the odds of that?



speech.

cowardice is the only sin