Facing the enemy [Spitfire]

[Hunter]

It almost came natural for Ryu to venture to the Laredo River. It was the first time the young Canaan Dog was outside Tempest territory since the pack rescued him, so he’d been a bit wary to start with – because what it he got captured again? He wouldn’t let that happen, so Laredo River was a nice place to go. The river twisted down from the Stranglers Mountain and this part was not too far away from the pack’s territory. There might be fifteen minutes of sprinting from here to the pack’s boarders, but he was sure that someone would hear him if he called. That at least was a good thing. But apart from the place’s somewhat safe position, the river also felt familiar to him since it was here he had come not long after joining the Tempest Pack more than a year ago and the familiarity, plus his liking of the water element, made this part of the river an ideal place to visit in his first little trip outside of Tempest.

The water in the river was higher than normal and the current stronger due to the ice and snow melting all around Hexasol, especially up in the mountains though the highest peaks always would be covered with the cold, white powder. But spring had come to Hexasol and the game as well. Though the black and white dog wasn’t hunting, he’d still seen many fresh tracks of prey with their newborn young on his way to the big river and he knew that the hunters of the pack was working hard to fill up the pack’s empty stores.

He looked at his own reflection in the strong current of the river, his rogue face smiling joyfully back at him. He’d recovered well from his time in the Iris Pride, and though he still at times suffered mentally from the traumatic situations, his physic was almost back to normal. He’d recently joined the Soldiers of the Bloody Paw, and though he was new in the group, he felt respected. A thing he hadn’t felt much in his life and therefore something he treasured dearly. It was time for him to make his pack proud of him. He wasn’t the little, stuttering coward anymore – he’d learned how to fight, and though he was far from a master at it, Ryu new that his packmates would help him become better.
A chilly wind caught his fur and brought an all too well known scent with it; it was the foul stench of the Iris Pride. He felt his hackles rose on his back and his lips curled up in a silent snarl as he turned around. He almost expected someone to stand there, but there was no one even though the scent still lingered in the air. The feline was close by. ”Who’s there? And what do you want?” He tried to sound brave, demanding, but he was too nervous to really succeed. One thing was to have someone standing in front of you while another thing was to face an invisible enemy. The young adult’s dark brown eyes scanned the edge of the forest which stretched beside the river, his body tense while he waited for something to happen.

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[spitfire]

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[atrb=width,360,true][atrb=background,http://imageshack.us/a/img211/2307/sariahtablemiddle.png] The day was fairly quiet around the Iris territory; the border patrols had yet to call out for intruders and she had spent ample time in the slaughterhouse messing around with the prisoners earlier in the day. It was time to go out on a small hunt to see what she could find. Her job was that of a warrior but Sariah liked to keep busy so when one aspect of pride life was in a lull she found something else to be useful. Shaking off the slight chill as a breeze passed by, the cat loped across several roof tops before catching sight of the river in the distance. Her gray eyes drifted from there to the right and knew that, from this spot at the river, the pack lands were not all that far away. Just the thought brought her fur to stand on end, a low growl forming in her throat. Had she not lost her mother to those mongrels Sariah might have considered feeling less hostile. They lost that chance. After deeming the coast to be clear on the street below, she made her way down and took off towards the river with the thought that fishing could prove plentiful. Sariah had a great fear of drowning, but fortunately for her the edges of the river were not deep. It was only the untouchable bottom that instilled fear in the feline's heart. No one knew that she was frightened, though some could probably make a decent guess. As soon as her feet hit the rocky shore, Sariah stopped. Her jaws parted and she took in the scents around her. Her nose scrunched; dogs had been here. Instantly there was a high sense of alertness, ears pricked to catch any faint sound of movement. The pack lands were too close for safety to be the lowest priority. Just as she looked down at the water to catch sight of the fish darting in and out of her shadow, a fresh scent and movement caught her attention. Head shot up to look around and, before even seeing whatever was heading her way, Sariah found a dense shrub nearby and crouched among its branches. The dog did not seem all that dangerous, his disposition loose, but she was not going to allow herself to be even remotely comfortable. He was part of Tempest and there was no doubting the stench that wafted off of him. He then stopped and seemed on alert; the wind was against her this time and pushed her scent in his general direction. Damn. He looked familiar somehow but did not dwell on appearances. Instead, Sariah decided to reveal herself; after all, what was a warrior who hid away in hopes that their enemy would disappear? "I want nothing more than to fish without you scaring all of them away with your awful smell," Sariah replied before even emerging from behind her hiding place. First one paw, then another, until her head revealed itself and she stood before the dog with a scowl lining the wrinkles on her nose. "Last I checked the river was open to everyone, so don't get your fur in a bunch and act surprised that I'm here." Of course in a way Sariah was not expecting the dog to show up, but she knew that coming here meant there was a chance. TAG: Hunter & Ryu WORDS: 565 NOTES: Fight, fight, fight, fight! -chants and eats popcorn-

[Hunter]

A teasing reply sounded from the edge of the forest, but Ryu still couldn’t see anything yet. A daring sound started to emerge from his throat, matching the snarl still plastered on his face. How dared a feline tell him about stench? ”You say that I stink? Clearly you haven’t tried taking a sniff at yourself,” he huffed angrily. After a year in the Slaughterhouse, it’d taken him too long to get the foul smell of Iris rubbed off his coat, so if there was someone in this world who could recognize their odour, it was him. He stomped a paw in the ground, frustrated that the feline wouldn’t just show herself immediately. Did she take pleasure in stupid hide-and-seek games? Perhaps she was nothing special when she chose to hide like a coward. The scent and voice told the spotted dog that it was a female, and as far as his nose told him, she was alone. One female caracal it was then.

And he soon found out with his eyes that he was right. Out from the dull shadows of the forest, a female caracal slowly emerged, one paw at the time before showing her face and the rest of her frame. Seemed like she knew just how to make a dramatic entrance. His own face soon matched the scowl on the caracal’s features. None of them were pleased to see each other though they never before had met. This was definitely an encounter he could live without needing to make – felines should just be gone from the earth. Why couldn’t a gigantic hole not just open up and swallow them all? And the older female’s mocking words weren’t making the tension any better between them. Not that he cared much about it though. ”It might be,” he said as darkly as he could, eyes narrowing while his heart started to pound wildly in his chest. The adrenaline was now flowing freely in his veins. ”But this isn’t about the river. I would prefer if none of your kind was found here. Ever.” His last words came out with the hint of a growl. ”Get your stupid fish somewhere else.” What was he doing? Was he provoking a fight? He’d never before dared someone to start a quarrel. He’d always been the one who’d lowered his tail with a whine, backing away from conflict. But those days were over now, hopefully. If it came to a fight, it would be extraordinary for him. If he could just clash one or twice with her… if he could just get a taste of what true fighting was really like. It would be perfect.

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