Moonlight, and thou?

[Dark and co.]

Dark padded along almost listlessly through the dry vegetation of Alteron. It had not rained in some time and what fetid water there was had begun to dry up. The stench of the drying mud was omnipresent, a fetid smell of rotting vegetation, festering meat and the slow release of swamp gas. It made the tri-colour's nose krinkle with disgust.

Night brought some relief, the dense gasses sank back into the earth and mud and the cool night air was sometimes accompanied by a breeze. But prey was scarce and potable water even moreso. Rapier could not have picked a better time to lauch her bloody war with the comparably affluent Onyx pack. The jungle was dying around them, their numbers were simply too many to be supported by the withered husk of the once proud forest.

And... the one-eyed wolf thought to himself, ...if it gets any hotter a fire could start.

Dark had known wildfire, and the thought terrified him. He had not been more than eight months old, his scarred face still healing, when he, Yarrow, Snow and Gorgon had to flee their copse. Raging flames ate the little forest alive, the four survived by virtue of swimming out into a lake. The next day, Gorgon had drowned her remaining daughter.

But this was not three years ago, this was the present. With a huff the big male lay down, his head resting on his black banded paws. With many of the wolves heeding Rapier's call, his guard duties were even lonlier than before. Just the tri-colour and the impassive moonlight.

[Tiger]

Torbalt wasn't a border guard. He didn't lurk around the borders, of course, as who knew how many idiots would attack him because they assumed he was a tresspasser. However, fun deep within Alteron was limited. You couldn't kill your packmates, and rabbits couldn't scream for mercy. Now a tresspasser, on the other paw, was perfectly eligible meat.

Normally brown fur glowing tan in the moonlight, Torbalt slipped through moon-intruded clearings. He was low, as if hunting, but moving more casually, just a slight canter with a bit of a spring in the steps. His yellow eyes glimmered softly, two melted-amber chunks with tiny slits of pupils.

A huff reached the weasel-like wolf's ears. His straight face twisted upwards into a grim smile. Though a quick sniff of the air told Torbalt that this was, unfortunatly, a packmate, meaning he couldn't really tear him into a pile of ground up flesh and muscle and organs. Like what he'd done with the rabbit earlier.

Slinking out of the trees, Torbalt raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. "Goodness. Such an alert scout you are," he said to the tri-colored wolf. He smirked, and sat next to him. "Though of course, there isn't much to look for."

[Dark and co.]

Dark's black-tipped ears swivveled in the direction of the approaching creature, and he was inclined to at least get up before he recognized the scent and abandoned the effort. Torbalt, a subordinate wolf who had joined the pack in recent months. Long and sinuous with a tooth jammed between two bones hin his tail, he called himself "Prince of cats" and looked like nothing so much as an overgrown weasel.

The tri-colour grunted in response to his sarcastic comment and following observation. It was simply too hot to leap over there and kill him. Still, he did not know how much energy the other brute had, or how eager for a fight he was. And while Dark was certainly the bigger of the two, he was not in the mood to move from his increasingly comfortable spot. He decided to reply to him instead of ignoring him, like he ignored...pretty much everyone else.

"Too damn hot out, anyone with sense is staying put, or else looking for water. Spirits know it hasn't rained in ages."

He shifted a little to regard Torbalt with his one good eye, for the brown wolf had chosen to sit on his blind side. He thought that most wolves would take the opportunity of the cooler night to rest. Apparently not everyone was doing so. And he smelled of a recent kill.

"Shrinking water, less prey, I'll be glad when Rapier and Blade crush Onyx, if anything just to be away from here, it stinks."

[Arrowe]

The paws that supported the slim body of a Dire wolf crashed against the dry, cracked ground, making crunching noises every now and then, due to dead weed. Suddenly, against the bright sun, the form of Arrowe appeared, her tri-colored body -white, black, and lavander- brushing against the wandering tumbleweeds. Her grey eyes soon caught a glimpse of two figures in the distance; Dark and Torbalt. The Alteron female quickly slowed down her pace, and lowered her head, her tongue falling out of her dry mouth.

"Hello, gentlemen." Arrowe smirked, keeping her ground if need be. "I don't think we've met before." She added, her voice turning quieter, her dry throat giving her a small pinch with each word.

Sensing the scent of rabbit's blood, Arrowe quickly turned her head towards Torbalt.

"Where'd you get that rabbit? I'd like me a nice meal. Haven't eaten for quite a long time; I haven't caught a glimpse of a hare, or anything that looked edible to me."

[Tiger]

Curling his fang speared tail around his paws, Torbalt chucked dryly at the border guard's comment. "Isn't it though," he agreed. The use of the word 'isn't' rather than 'ain't' might perk a few ears, but Torablt was generally used to it...for things like his tail. "I've heard lots've places are having droughts lately. Nasty dryness...we aren't hyenas. I'll be glad when we can finally get this war on. Not only do we eventually get some good land of our own, we get to eat like proper wolves once we get there."

His smirk widened. Obviously, the idea of eating the Onyx wolves was rather appealing to him. You didn't get into Alteron by being squeamish about dead things, that was for sure.

Torbalt's yellow eyes jumped to the newcomer, long after his ears had alerted him to the approaching presence, and long after his nose had identified her as a female Alteron wolf. "Evening," he replied to her greeting, eyes flashing sinisterly. "Seems a lot of wolves are on the prowl tonight." War nerves, he figured. It made you want to kill something more than usual.

"Where'd you get that rabbit? I'd like me a nice meal. Haven't eaten for quite a long time; I haven't caught a glimpse of a hare, or anything that looked edible to me."

"Sharp sense of smell, m'dear. I got lucky and found one cringing in the bushes. Starving to death itself...poor thing," he added, obviously delighted sarcasm pouring from every syllable of the words.

[Dark and co.]

Dark noticed the silhouette of the lithe dire against the backdrop of the moon. She smelled of Alteron though, so even if he did not recognize who she was, Dark paid her no more interest than he did to the night birds calling in the trees. His desire to climb up the tree and eat them was only held at bay by the knowledge that he could not climb the tree. A pity, the scent of rabbit on Torbalt's jaws was making him feel hungry.

"The only time to be active, its too hot during the day. Too hot to sleep though..." The tri-colour flicked his ear at an annoying insect. He finally drew his gaze to the newcomer, and since he had nowhere to be and was in a less foul mood than normal, he decided that he would try his hand at civility.

"You aren't familiar, have you come for the war? Hmph, I suppose it isn't my business. I am Dark, Sentry of Alteron. This is Torbalt." He hesitated a moment, the three of them were hungry and thirsty, and at least the one-eyed wolf was incredibly bored. Perhaps the three of them could slake their thirst.

"I have an idea to find some water, if you two are interested."

[Dark and co.]

((ooc: the old BBA is back up and running, do you want to continue this thread here or move it there?))

[Tiger]

((I say we move it, but if you wanna keep it here, I don't have a problem with it.))

[Dark and co.]

((I've got the first post c/p'd there, might as well get the rest of it and move on over))

[Dark and co.]

((okay, it's all been moved))