Good Times To Be Had (open)

[Iriot]

The sound of claws on hard rock echoed from a cleft in the huge mountain. They say it was a death trap. But it was not, for Amber had carefully climbed the mountain, her long, slim white legs working like a well oiled machine to scale the steep mountain. She had made a few steps, then slid, this had went on and on and on for the past few days. Finally she got a running had start, and hurtled herself at the stony incline. She had made it up, though she would have to do a lot more of running head starts if she wanted to climb up to a mountain's peak, which would be even more dangerous. Perhaps even a mountain lion would await her? Amber had climbed up one more level, and turned right, finding herself by a small cave in the mountain. That was how she'd gotten here, and she knew how to get down, too. Amber padded to the entrance of the cave, peering down at the sickening height, she was hungry, and to get down she needed to slide on her stomach, and since the rock was smooth with no bumps, that shouldn't be to hard... right? The female wolf braced herself, laid on her stomach, and used her powerful legs to propel her down the mountain slope. As soon as she left the den she started to slide her own, fast and furious, it was quite exhilarating. Down the twists and turns, down the smooth, cold rock. She stopped when she saw a hole in the ground. Curious, she peeped over the edge but saw nothing. A huge rumble shook the earth under her paws then suddenly, a huge jet of hot water shot out of the air and started raining down on her. Yelping, she tried to dodge the scalding rain. Her hopping from side to side and front to back looked foolish.

[Coal]

The big male was not in the habit of coming to these barren lands often; he felt exposed without the trees and the loners that dwelled there were often fierce and angry creatures, but he was in the habit of pursuing an opportunity, and just such an opportunity had presented itself two days ago. It was spring now, but winter was not far behind, and the dire wolf was still hungry from the shortage of prey that always accompanied those most difficult of months, so when he had seen a doe elk limping alone in the direction of the melee point, he hadn’t been able to resist going after her. Perhaps she had been rejected from her herd on account of her injury, or perhaps she’d just been unable to keep up with them and gotten lost, but either way, she had been vulnerable. But that had been two days ago. One day ago he had tracked the doe to her resting place and had his first good meal in what had felt like an age. On this day he was briefly exploring the territory with plans of heading back into the forest shortly afterward.

Before he could turn tail, however, a noise distracted him. A geyser had recently gone off, but it wasn’t that noise that startled him; he’d grown accustomed to that. No, it was the unmistakable sound of another wolf that drew his attention. Cat-quick, he whipped around, there to see a pale female hopping around in a manner that could be described in many ways, but not as graceful. It seemed she’d been caught in the hot water, and while he felt rather sorry for her for that, he couldn’t help but be somewhat amused. For a moment he was tempted to approach, but he resisted the urge. If he did, she would either balk at his size and flee, or attack him. Either way she was going to assume he meant harm, and he was tired of others assuming that. Thus he simply sat down facing her, in plane site; trying to look neither welcoming nor threatening.

[Iriot]

Amber stopped hopping for a moment to look at a massive male that had seated himself down a little ways away from her. [green] "Uh, hello there. You alright?" [/green] She slowly approached him, bottle brush tassel swinging loosely in a friendly manner. She stopped when she was nearly five feet away from him. [green] "Forgive me for being rude, kind sir, but, you are quite massive. I have never in my life seen a wolf of your build." [/green] She sat down, mirroring his stance. Amber eyes glowing with kindness. [green] "I'm Amber, and whom might you be?" [/green] She tilted her head and opened her mouth slightly. She shook herself, ridding her pale pelt of the cursed hot water. [green] "I'm hoping you didn't see me hopping around like a retarded rabbit, though, you probably had." [/green] She looked up at the sky and not a fluffy white cloud was in sight. She laid out on her belly, waiting for the great ball of fire to dry her coat, maybe warming it in the process. Absent mindedly, she started drawing patterns in the dirt with a claw. She soon realized that she was being rude. [green] "Oh,where are my manners?" [/green] She stopped drawing and looked up at the massive male before her.

[Coal]

Goren stayed deathly still as the pale female turned towards him, his expression guarded. It occurred to him that his silence would probably seem more sinister than if he spoke, but what would he say? Hello? How are you? No; better to hold his tongue. He was surprised when, instead of slinking away as most did when they saw him, she headed his way. Only his eyes moved as he looked over her, trying to gauge her mood and motives. She didn’t seem scared, in fact she seemed to be looking at him with confidence, curiosity in her gaze and was that… friendliness indicated by her slowly wagging tail? He snorted quietly, wondering if she was bold, brave or just dim. He was even more surprised when she spoke to him, his eyes widening and his mouth partly opening in confusion. Part of him wondered if he was being mocked.

“I’m massive because I’m a dire wolf.” He explained gruffly when she’d finished speaking, frowning down at the female with a suspicious expression. He was quiet for a moment then, his ears swivelling as he listened to the sounds around them. Then he continued, “I’m Goren and… not at all” The last part was a reference to her appearance as she’d tried to avoid the water from the geyser, though his tone suggested he wasn’t being entirely sincere. After another moment’s silence, however, he seemed to grow more serious. He looked down at the female lying on her belly, drawing in the dust apparently without a care in the world, and he couldn’t help but wonder. “This is a strange place for a little one like you.” he said abruptly, tilting his head, “There are some big bad wolves here, are you sure you’re safe?”

[Iriot]

Amber tilted her head. [green] "A Dire Wolf? I thought they were extinct. Appearently not. Nice too meet you, Goren."[/green] She moved to a sitting position. [green] "I'll be fine. As for strange, what do you mean? By that fact there is jets of hot water that shoot up from the ground, that is quite strange." She looked at him, confidence in her gaze. [green] "Trust me, despite my size, I can fight."[/green] She looked him over. Big, yes. She would do a small amount of damage to a wolf his size, maybe the worse she could do is rake at their belly and dislocate and break some limbs. If he was suggesting she was weak, oh boy, he would be chased off with the marks of her teeth and claws in his shaggy, tangled pelt.

WIP