Twinkling Twilight {Open}

[Olyvar]

The sun was quickly setting on the horizon, a cold wind seemed to be pushing all the warmth out of the world. The snow twinkled faintly as if begrudging the lost warmth from the sun. Creatures called mournfully to one another in the increasing darkness. The glacier valley, however, seemed to be spared the bracing breeze. A lean ghost of a wolf slipped down into the valley. His white and pale gray pelt was fluffed against the cold weather. Green tendrils snaked up his legs and capped his ears and tail to mark him as a young lupus.

He was finally full grown as far as his height went, though he was still a lean, as if he had not quite finished filling out. His moss green eyes glinted as he gazed through the thin trees to the setting sun. He snorted, sending a cloud of frozen breath to the sky. His ears twitched and swiveled as he searched the dusk for something to entertain him for the evening. Once he was free of sitters a few months prior, he had begun to mimic the Hauld, checking the borders and dropping his scent here and there to reaffirm the boundaries. He wanted Ahote to be impressed. Maybe he would get promoted before his siblings....maybe even before his milk mates. His drive was solely for his own ambitions, he was confident he could attain Skoll given enough time.

For now though, he needed to hone his skills. His independence was a blessing and a curse. He was able to do whatever he wanted, but he was vulnerable when he was on his own. His skeletal growth was complete, but he was not quite a full fledged adult. When he was with others he was more often than not condescending or playing mean jokes. He was more like has father than he realized. Though it had been a while since his father had even been around. His ears flattened as he released an aggravated growl, he still had not forgiven his parents for just up and leaving with no word.

His nose twitched as he got a whiff of something. He paused and scanned the treeline. He could see shadows moving in the changing light. In the distance he heard the sound of a black bear, too far away for Olyvar to be bothered with at the moment. Closer though, the scent of prey was emanating. He put his nose to the snow, looking for footprints and scent trails. His tail went up, wagging lazily as he wandered around to search. He did help with pack hunts now, but usually the tracking was done for him and he just ran in to hound the prey. Hunting on his own was not his forte, but damned he was if he didn't try.

Soon, though, he did see tiny holes in the snow from where a hare may have passed. His ears moved forward, trying to pinpoint any sound. He followed the prints eagerly and soon he found a partially concealed burrow in the snow. He paused and lifted his head to search for danger, he licked his dark lips as a smirk crossed his face. He would totally dig it out. He crouched and began to dig at the fresh snow and frozen dirt. His tail acted as a flag marking where the excavation was taking place.

It was amazing to see how long it took a young wolf to lose himself in his business. He was so determined to prove himself to those he deemed worthy that he would constantly put himself in situations that could potentially prove dangerous. Here he was, digging away, not paying too much attention to what was going on around him. The twilight was settling over the protected valley within his pack lands. He was deep enough to know that loners and rogues would not venture this far in. Predators, on the other hand could be creeping in the night.

The sky began to light up with pale stars that studded the canvas of red-violet. A breeze weakened by the make-up of the valley wafted over Olyvar, sending his scent to whomever was near enough to catch it. The trees moaned quietly as their branches were bent. Occasionally a pile of snow would fall to the ground from such branches. Even with the soft thumps of the falling piles, his eyes remained glued to the hole he was gradually making bigger. Now and then he should shove his head in to see how far he had gotten and if the prize was near.

[loki]

Loki by physical description was an average sized wolf. With sleek black fur and piercing blood colored eyes she did not truly walk. Stalking was more the appropriate word for the way she moved. She was slight in build, but compacted of sinewy muscle, that she knew how to use should the situation call for it. A little on the malnourished side, but this did nothing to calm the fierceness that was the mental side of Loki.

Loki by mental description was lethal. Her mind as devious and deceitful as the God she had been named after, yet unstable. Lies came like food or drink to anyone else, they were an absolute necessity that she could not live without. She thrives on others torments and miseries of others and delights herself in watching others fail. She finds their weaknesses through speech and conversation, hears their deepest fears and desires and then using her words like jaws into a major artery she poisons their minds intoxicating her victims with fear and mild insanity using their own horrors against them. She was a vicious and hateful creature, and any that had spent more than a few minutes with her could easily see it.

Loki had no desire to step into the snow, in her eyes the element was nothing but a hindrance and the sneer that found its way to her face did not appear to be leaving anytime soon. Here she stood out like a raven against the summer sky, and she hated the disadvantage of being so visible. She ignored the snowshoe rabbits and all of the other vermin that plagued the icy element, and despite her growing hunger, she wished for nothing more than to escape the icy colds bitter grasp, but alas luck seemed to be against her today.

As she stepped between two dying trees, her eyes locked onto the Lupus with his head buried into the snowy earth. Her lips pulled back over her teeth and her ears lay flat against her skull. Her agitation and annoyance at being caught in the snow had her mind dancing at the fragile line of insanity, and this wolf just happened to cross her path on the wrong day.

[Olyvar]

He was so close that he could taste the prize. He shoved his head and shoulders into the burrow and clawed blindly attempting to find the lagomorphic treat. In his eagerness, he slapped a jagged root with a forepaw and felt a pain radiate through his foot. He cursed loudly and pulled it back quickly. In his haste he struck his head on the roof of the burrow. He cursed once more as he bit his tongue and struggled to get out of the den. He shook all the dirt and debris from his light pelt and sat back in the snow. He glared at his throbbing paw. He didn't draw blood, but it was not putting him in a good mood.

In the fading light it took him a second to realize that he was not alone. A foreign scent hit his nostrils and he stood up quickly, his hackles raising as he searched the encroaching darkness for the fiend. He saw the glistening of teeth from a dark wolf between a few trees not far off from him. He raised his tail and puffed himself up as far as he could as his own lip curled in answer. "Who are you? You are trespassing deeply within pack lands! " He tried to make himself sound older and higher ranked than he was. His mossy eyes were cold and suspicious. He had not had a good track record with strange wolves. And if the scent was telling true, it was a lumen.

He had come to a point where he really disliked lumen. One had almost killed him by sucking the life energy out of him when he was a few months old. He was still stubborn and hardheadedly confident, but he learned that calling for help was not a bad thing. He kept his ground, not sure what this wolf was going to do. She did not seem like she was the pack joining type. Loners were dangerous. "You better get out of here, or you will regret it....." His voice had gotten deeper since he reached this age, but there was still the edge of youth veiled in uncertainty.

He scented the air, hoping that some other pack member was close by. Even if it was one of his milk mates or siblings....He knew the alert calls and howls if he needed to use them. He cleared his throat and made sure to have a proper lungful in the case he needed to sound the alarm. The green markings on his pelt seemed to gleam slightly in the rising moonlight. His pale form did give him an almost ghost like appearance, however his eyes were vibrant and full of life. He would stand in the way of this black wolf, and keep her away from the rest of the Enclave's territory.

[loki]

Her dark eyes watched the young wolf with barely repressed amusement. Brash and full heartedly he came at her, displaying fury and aggression with critically analyzing his opponent and thinking things through. Her emotions teetered on ecstatic euphoria at the thought of sinking her teeth into this wolfs flesh. With grace only time can grant she moved out from between the trees. She stalked towards him, body low to the ground, ears back and a low steady snarl vibrating through her vocal cords. Her shoulder blades accentuated through her fur with every pace she took.

As she drew near him, she straightened to her full height. Her eyes filled with deception and slight madness. The pup would not get away with being so brazen with someone like her. A lesson, he now may never learn. Her claws flexed in the snow, the icy temperature now forgotten. She whipped around him, circling him like a vulture might a rotting carcass.

"You think I care for such trivial things as a pack. Land is land. I feed and I roam where I please. Just because some low life claims it as there does not make it true." Her words were sharp and angered and she circled him a second time, laughter almost as chilling as the snow escaping her now.

"You speak such strong words for such a young pup. I do not believe you have the strength to back it up child. Perhaps you should return to the rabbits, they have about the same skill." Loki snarled mere inches away from his ear before bounding out of his reach. She crouched low, body poised and ready, if it was a fight the pup wished for. It was a fight he would receive.

[Olyvar]

He did not move an inch once he had seen her shadow in the darkness. Once she came out into the twilight he was surprised as to how.....small she was. Sure she was about ten inches taller than him, but he was roughly thirty pounds heavier and he was not even at his adult weight. Her abnormally thin appearance made hm think that she might be a sennyo. However, he knew a few sennyo as it were, and this stranger did not have wings or antenna. Her weight gave him a little confidence, maybe he could hold his own if she attacked him. He kept a wary on on her. He was young an inexperienced, not to mention lacking in skill and strategy. His lip curled in defiance as she began to circle and mock him.

Her abrasive words washed over him and caused a low growl to bubble in his chest. She had no respect for pack life, that was more than clear. She seemed mean and nasty, she needed to be removed from pack territory before someone got hurt. He knew there were new pups in the pack, which at first he had been jealous about. He kept looking up at her, not allowing her face to leave his mossy eyes for more than a second.

When she slighted his own being he barked out a warning, "I have a pack. You don't. " He snapped at her as she leaped away from him, but he did not follow. She was taunting him, right? If he had learned anything while being raised by the alpha, it had been not to rush into dangerous situations. She was far enough away that he could call in the big guns. He backed up a few steps and pulled his head back, filling his lungs to capacity. He opened his maw and released the loudest howl he could muster, sending it across the pack lands with the message:

"ENCLAVE! WE HAVE A HOSTILE INTRUDER IN AALEK"

He made it as short and precise as he could to alert the warriors quickly. He did not doubt that she would attack him now. He looked at her, his green tipped ears folded back on his head as he braced himself for an attack. His hackles were raised and his teeth bared as he moved his gaze back to the female before him. "You should not trespass." For once he was serious and not attempting to make fun. Perhaps he was better suited for Hauld than even he knew, unlike his father, he was determined to hold his rank and move up the power vines in the pack. He made no move to attack, his stance strictly defensive for the time being.

[loki]

Loki did not flinch at the lack of luster at the males response. He had no insult befitting of her, nor could he even come back with something even remotely cruel. It was no fun if the wolf could not hold his own against her silver tongue. He began to growl, the notion displaying his youth. Despite her insults it was always best to remain calm in battle, no matter what circumstances happened to cross your path. She could feel his life energy as his emotions swiveled like a newborn pup, he needed to learn much if he were to survive out here, pack or no pack.

He howled long and loud summoning his fellow pack members to be rid of her, and Loki took the time to survey him. He was more muscular than her but she was taller. He turned his attention back to her, snarling his advice on how she should not trespass, and she grinned, taunting him even now.

The deep baritone laugh, sounded more malicious than joyous, as excitement and adrenaline trilled through her veins. She stalked about roughly five paces away and whirled around starring him head on. Her body was lowered ready to attack, her shoulder blades accentuated against her fur. She lowered her head as she spoke creating shadows over her eyes.

"Pathetic. I challenge you to a battle of tongue, and you answer with a test of strength. What a pity, and here I thought I had found myself a true gem." She purred voice pure silk as she carelessly threw another insult. "I find your lack of confidence to face me on your own rather cowardly. Is all of your pack so weak, or does that honor belong to you?" Her insults were meant to pierce, cause confusion, and shatter confidence, and usually they worked. She allowed only a moment for her words to sink in before she lunged forward, her long lithe body stopping mere millimeters away from his. Her nose a mere hairs width with his. She could feel his breath puffing across her face.

"Before you issue a challenge like that, be sure you are ready to face the consequences." The false kindness coated her words like the sweetest poison but the deep snarl pierced through her vocal cords like a knife. "So let's play a game of cat and mouse shall we?" With that Loki focused, bending the sunlight to her will and with one last gleam of her blood colored eyes, she disappeared from view.


The wolf before her was young and probably lacking battle experience.

[delirium &&& eolande]

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[atrb=width,312][atrb=background,http://i55.tinypic.com/i27pqw.png] [scrolly:h(310),w(300),sy] The pups had grown into young adults now, and Eolande's horns were now much larger, spiralling above her head and let out a soft glow. Recently she'd discovered her ability to heal when she had cut her paw, healing it quickly with the magic her hybridity gave her. It was a strange but not unwelcome thing, and Delirium seemed overjoyed by it. He stood now beside Eolande, brushing his white coat against her darker coat and sighing. Eolande raised a single brow, glancing back at him. They were still very close, but gradually growing apart as they got older. Liri nudged her gently and plopped down onto his behind. "We should probably go hunt, or something. Not like there's much else for us to do, is there?" Delirium's voice was now a lower rumble, but it was still clear he had some growing up to do. Eolande nodded and soon the duo were off, wandering towards the outside of the valley. It wasn't long before they picked up the scent of their sibling. What was Olyvar doing all by himself? "We should probably go figure out what Olyvar is up to. Knowing him he might be fighting another badger," Eolande snorted a bit, padding towards the scent of their brother. It was soon apparent that there was another wolf with them and suddenly Delirium picked up the pace, zooming forward. Even though he and Oly didn't get along all the time, they were still friends. Delirium saw the lumen facing Olyvar and frowned, running faster and growling loudly. He came up beside Olyvar, looking at him with a bit of a grin. It occured to him that Oly might be mad about him coming to his "rescue" but either way he was going to help his brother. Eolande was close on his heels and placed herself between the two parties, shielding both her brothers from this stranger. Her horns glowed a top her head. Even not being full grown she was still much taller than her brothers, but quite lean. She eyed the lumen, but turned back towards Olyvar for a moment. "What business do you have here in our packlands?" [/scrolly]

[Olyvar]

((Loki, the sun isn't out at the moment, it just set. Also, she cannot turn invisible because she hasn't left Olyvar's sight, as stated in the Lumen species description))

The shadows of the early night were around the young male. He didn't want to attack, he knew he would botch it if he tried. As proud as he was, he had at least learned not to overdo things when he was outmatched. He growled at her insults, his mossy green eyes narrowing, "I'm not pathetic. I'm just not stupid enough to attack when I should stand my ground. " He was a clever boy, he knew that she would be run out of the pack lands, especially if she instigated the fight and took the first strike.

She was older, he was heavier, but odds are she had him in fighting. He barely had time to finish speaking before she lunged at him. He backed up, bearing his fangs in defiance. Her breath was hot on his face and it made him want to vomit at the smell. He snarled through his teeth, "I didn't challenge you, I just alerted the pack." He could hear paw falls coming up behind him. He dared not take his eyes off the lumen for fear she would attack him. His ears flicked back as his siblings came to help him.

Cat and mouse? Why was it that every lumen he came across wanted to play hide and seek. He really hated it. He was about to lunge for the lumen when his sister pushed him back. She was taller and larger than him, he had no room to object as she took control of the situation. Eloande's gaze was enough of a clue for him to move a few steps away to partially surround the lumen intruder. He didn't trust his brother to match the other flank so he made sure to stalk like the lean ghost he was.

He was more confident now that his sister and brother had arrived. So he opted to finally return the taunts she had given him. "I can't outfight you one to one, wolf, but I like three against one a lot better." A cold smirk crossed his pale face as he kept his eyes on the dark figure. This was why pack life was preferable for wolves like Olyvar. Numbers. He listened as Eloande demanded answers from the stranger.