Without a Care [Valkyrie]

[Alari]

Alari slightly opened her eyes to the new morning. The weather was a little chilly, especially under the tree she was sleeping under. Alari stretched and walked into the sunlight, feeling the warmth on her wings. "Fall, heh. Great season. How's about I go for a quick fly? Maybe it'll be just a tad bit warmer up there." She lifted off the ground and started to fly up towards the sky. A little later, she finally straightened out and let the breeze flow through her fur. Alari has always loved the feeling of flying. She loved being free, and to not have to run around on the ground all day. Even though she's pretty good on the ground, the sky was still her place. She felt free. She felt wild. She was careless. Alari saw a couple of birds and smirked, starting to fly faster towards them.

"Maybe I'll fly with the birds today!" She started to dash towards them, making them chirp and split apart from their little flock. She followed some to the ground, and then finally caught one. She bit down on the little creature and felt the warmth of the blood hit her tongue. [color=brown"Mmm, live blood. Perfect snack to have,[/color] she said as she dropped the animal to the ground. There wasn't a lot of meat on it, but Alari always loves a good chase. She sat down and looked up into the sky. It was pretty clear; besides a few clouds here and there, of course. I know! I'll practice a few tricks! Let's see what these babies can do. She stretched out her wings after talking to herself, as to show off to the tree in front of her. "Yup, I know. No need to tell me they're awesome. I already know, thank you very much!" Alari jumped off of the tree, and then started to take flight again. She twisted, made sharp turns, and practiced on a few dives over some rivers.

Alari went in to do a dive above a river, but suddenly got distracted and fell in. She flicked her lion tail as she sat up. "Well, looks like I have to practice on that... whatever. I least I didn't hit a rock! That would've sucked." There was green almost everywhere around her. THe only thing that wasn't green was the calm, rushing water in the river. The water only went up a little lower than half of her arms, so she could sit in it, like what she is doing right now. The leaves on the trees around her were orange, and it surely did smell like fall. There weren't many leaves on the ground yet, and the ones that were on the ground wouldn't make a crunching noise if you stepped in them. Alari lowered her head and took a nice, long, drink of the refreshing water. Sure the air was a little cold, and the water was too, but that didn't really bother her. At the moment, she didn't care about getting her wings wet either.


The sun's rays shown through the orang leaves in the trees, making some seem like they were yellow. The river had a soothing sound, as a few birds chirped here and there. Alari laid down, and the water was now about up to her chest. She closed her eyes and thought for a moment, while still focusing on the sounds around her. Her senses became stronger, as she moved her ears and listened for any more signs of movement, other then the water.

[Valkyrie]

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[atrb=background,http://i.imgur.com/7URz0.jpg] Talk | Think | Walk Valkyrie was on his way to the Cadre lands, determined to find whether the pack's lands were once again habitable after the violent flash flood and torrential rains. He knew Sandralina missed the territory, as did he, and although he could do little to fix the flood, he could at least retrieve a report on the land's rehabilitation status for his beloved and for Rhiannon. The Gamma had left a few days ago and flown a straight course across the Parran Taiga and into the Dteria Plains, his path the straight and narrow to home. The male keiyou had enjoyed the prolonged flight, his large wings maneuvering his black body through the skies with efficient grace as the winds helped to carry him along. No movement was wasted, each beat of Valkryie's wingspan was part of the keiyou's conscientious skill and permitted him to travel with the greatest time saved and energy rationed. This militant fashion of executing his flight was only part of the male's general disposition, he wasted no time on frivolities, his days were performed in strategically organized patterns of responsibility and necessity; to his pack and to his own well being. To say the least, Valkyrie was a cunning individual with great potential for strategic operations, but above all that he was dependable and held stead fast to his code of ethics and honor. His loyalty had been given to Rhiannon some many moons ago and it was to his Alphess that it remained, although there had been a shift when the keiyou had found a loved one to profess his devotion to within the same pack. Well his pack duties gave him a sense of worth within the world, life functioned on a system, a distinct pattern of survival of the fittest and the Cadre seemed to understand this reality very well, so Valkyrie was far more then content in his choice of life and alliances. The pack's political relations with the Enclave certainly guaranteed them additional strength should times of trouble arise and it quelled Valkyrie's concerns about the pack's defense system a little knowing as much. Still, there was much to be done about matters, what with the pack's heirs to protect and Sandra's well being and happiness to consider. One step at a time was how Valkryie saw the matter, one carefully and cunningly operated step at a time. It was early enough in the morning that Valkryie awoke to what seemed like an optimal day for travel, steely gray blue eyes glancing out from under the tree he had been resting with one eye open. The keiyou never fully allowed himself to somber into a deep sleep while travelling in unknown territories, it was a horribly ill thought practice to place one's self at risk by giving up full control of one's awareness in such risky situations. With a stretch of his lean yet sharply muscled body, the keiyou shook himself out and took to the skies to search for prey with which to sustain himself during the anticipated long flight ahead of him that day. It was not long before his eyes fell upon a jackalop munching on some fallen fruit, and the keiyou circled the skies with masterful tactics resembling the flight of the bald eagle. Circling around his prey he closed the distance bit by bit until he could take a neck breaking dive and latch his fangs into the creature's neck, using the force of his dive to break the spinal cord and kill the creature without unnecessary pain. With his catch safely secured in his iron locked jaws, Valkyrie had brought his meal to a river nearby where he had washed the animal off and proceed to peel off tender layers of flesh beneath the concealing canopy of a low hanging branch. Soon the male had found his fill and polished the rodent off, licking his maw clean with diligent care. It was but mere moments after that the sound of flapping wings and the splash of water resonating in the air drew his attention back to the river. There he beheld another keiyou's fall into the shallow waters, a blank look of disinterest on his face as he continued to watch the other wolf's movements for a moment. In the past he would have taken off and left her to her own devices; however, his time with Sandra seemed to have taught him a bit of empathetic concern, although for all purposes he still believed leaving would be the most efficient time saver. Still, good manners dictated that he should inquire about the female's well being after her fall, and with a resigned sigh, the keiyou finally stood up and emerged from his resting spot with an annoyed flick of his tail. "Are you alright madame? You seem to have taken a rather steep fall," Valkyrie asked in a polite but not really amicable voice, his cold hued eyes watching the other keiyou with reserved concern. V a l k y r i e 's . S o n g

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[Alari]

Alari quickly opened her eyes and sat up. She tilted her head as if she were confused and twitched her ears, "Yeah, I'm ok. It didn't really hurt, I've been through worse... Alari stood and walked out of the water, then shook her dripping wet fur off. She examined the wolf with a blank look, and then sat down and tilted her head to the side again. "Thanks for asking, by the way.. uh.. Wolf. The name's Alari, and you are?" She nodded slightly at the name and then flicked her tail, Hm.. Shall I mess with this 'gentleman' of a wolf? Yes, yes I quite shall. She twitched her ears and flicked her tail again. "So, a fellow keiyou? Do you come around here often?" Alari stood straight up, full of pride, and grinned. Her tail wagged slightly, and she started to walk around, still a little wet. She put a paw into the water, and splashed some water around. "Are you hungry? Would you like to waste some time? Then how's about a little hunting game, huh? We could see who can kill 6 birds first. Only if you're up to it... Alari turned her head to look at the wolf, and her grin became a smirk. She loved to challenge wolves, especially males. Why? It's simple. Alari just likes to win. She's the kind of wolf that is both a show off, and pretty daring.

Another slight breeze came, and her eyes seemed to trickle with amusement, but her face was still a weasel-like smirk. Her lion tail thumped on the ground as she sat down again, hear ears still focusing on the new wolf. "Come on! It's just a little challenge! Just 6 small little birds! Besides, we're both keiyou!" Alari slightly widened her eyes once she realized he was also a keiyou. She can't fly up if he tried to attack, but she might be able to out smart him with her quick wits. She scratched her neck with her hind paw and shook again. "Or should I make it four jackals? Birds don't have a lot of meat, so how about jackals? If you win, you get could have all eight of the jackals. If I win, I get all of them. Honestly, I would be pretty sad if I were you and a she-wolf beat you at a little 'ol huntin' game, 'ya hear?" Alari snickered and continue to flick her tail. All she was focused on was teasing her new 'victim.'

[Valkyrie]

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[atrb=background,http://i.imgur.com/7URz0.jpg] Talk | Think | Walk The first thought that came to Valkyrie's mind was the distinct impression that he probably should simply have flown off without a second thought, and at the moment he was regretting this discrepancy. This business of loving someone had the disdainful effect of corrupting his normally infallible logic and reasoning, and the keiyou was rather annoyed at this side effect. A slight frown creased his brow as he watched the female prattle off, an impassible expression on his sharply angled face. This one was a talker, and as far as he could tell wanted to randomly challenge him to a mere contest of hunting skills. Well, Valkyrie seldom killed to prove his skill, he didn't see the point in wasting other creature's lives so carelessly. Fact was, 8 corpses could never be consumed by one wolf before they began to putrefy, which meant that the creature's death would be a complete waste of life. No, this was not something the Gamma was interested in doing, to him it did not concord with moralistic ethics and such codes of honor. Finally the onslaught of words subsided, leaving the male to tip his head pensively, shrewd eyes piercing into the female before him, debating her level of sanity. Evidently she was eager to rise to her own challenge, one that Valkyrie considered to be an evident waste of resources, time and energy, perhaps she had not quite moved out of her youth, a developmental problem along the way? His white tipped tail flicked out behind him, and his eyes moved to the direction that would take him home to the Cadre lands, debating how quickly he might take off. Well, she had introduced herself, he could with good conscious return the gesture...Inclining his head in acknowledgement, Valkyrie said evenly, "Alari is it? No, I do not come here often. I am Valkyrie, Gamma to the Styrrstdar Cadre, do you have rank among a pack here?" His cold eyes observed her with reserved interest, the Cadre were known for being a pack that gained rank through strength and combat skills, a military approach that the Keiyou simply excelled in and could wholly appreciate. Valkyrie's introductions having been made left the matter of addressing Alari's odd challenge, one that left the male puzzled and slightly perturbed, but far from riled. Not the type to be overly gentle in his approach, the keiyou decided to confront the female and try to make her see proper reason, with a few minutes to spare in his busy day of travel. Cocking his head to the side, he asked dryly, "Why do you seek to waste valuable life to try and prove your skills? I cannot believe you to be able to consume 8 jackals before their carcasses begin to rot? Seems an individual confident in their abilities need not waste time on such frivolities. I am a busy individual, I shall have to decline your request Alari." This notion of a challenge and the riling comment of fearing loosing to a female were not issues in the keiyou's mind, such teasing messages were left aside. For now Valkyrie was intent of finding out what caused an individual to have such a need to profess their abilities to a random stranger. For one, what if Valkyrie had been a Mafia wolf? Well, any challenge might of resulted in blood loss on Alari's part, they were pack wolves that simply removed unpleasant obstacles from their path for the joy of it...Yes, it seemed to be a rather self injurious way of going about matters to the male, throwing out challenges without even assessing or gaining any prior intel on one's opponent. In fact it seemed a bit ludicrous the more he thought about it, and had Valkyrie been inclined to humor, he might have laughed. However, such was not the case and he simply waited coolly for a response to his question. V a l k y r i e 's . S o n g

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[Alari]

Alari snickered at the comment, Do you have a rank among a pack here? Her tail flicked with amusement, with water flying off of it. "Valkyrie, huh? I don't have a rank here. I'm a loner, and probably always will be. Even if I did have a rank, I guess I would be, uh... Oh, I don't, and I don't care! Why would I want to be in a pack anyway? It's pretty boring to be told what to do by an alpha. I'm a free wolf! I can hunt on my own, get my own food, and I do know how to make an amazing attack!" Why do you seek to waste valuable life to try and prove your skills? I cannot believe you to be able to consume 8 jackals before their carcasses begin to rot? Seems an individual confident in their abilities need not waste time on such frivolities. I am a busy individual, I shall have to decline your request Alari. She cocked her head to the side, Uggh! Why did I have to run into a wolf like this? Somebody needs to grow up, a little. Hm... Alari smirked and thought for a moment before answering back to the wolf. "You, my friend, could use a little fun! Alright, fine, we wont do that little challenge of mine. Oh, and to answer your questions; I wont waste valuable life. I am now quite hungry, and I'll be hungrier if I was looking for some food now. Some jackals may live in a pack, and they're smaller than me, so that would be easy. A busy individual, huh? Oh well, if you declined, you unaccepted my challenge. My loss.

Alari shrugged and jumped into the water, in some sort of way, showing off. With one paw up, and her wings sprawled, she smirked. "I am clearly a very daring wolf. So attack, and you shall fail. Maybe now with attack, but with defense. Anyway, so. What exactly do you do, uh, Valkyrie?" The next part she mumbled to herself, "Probably boring things" A slight wind came, and Alari hopped over some rocks and was now on the other side of the small river. Some wolves might even be able to jump the river; with great effort, of course. "How far did you have to fly, or walk, to get here? Where you close around here when you just decided to stop by? Eh."

Alari stretched and yawned, getting quite bored. She grinned, with her pink eyes almost seeming like they were laughing themselves. Her tail thumped the ground. Slowly, yet loudly.