dream to make believe [open/claim]

[Thessaly]

Scimitar had been alone for so long now that perhaps it was time to settle down. Of course, he didn’t mean to settle down with a mate and start a family – there were too many gorgeous females out there for him to resist, and getting in trouble with the missus for staying out a little too late was the last thing he wanted to happen to him. No, he meant to live the rest of his life in a pack. Wolves were naturally nudged into the life of a pack, and Scimitar had been feeling the instinctual urge for some time now. He had always known of packs living in the area, but was never one to investigate. As far as he heard, King Javon had a much easier time taxing the packs – and why he wouldn’t, what with them living in one place – and escaping his pay had been something Scimitar did for years. He was never particularly fond of giving up something that was his to begin with.

For the time he had lived here – a full year now – Scimitar knew it would be an exhilarating place to live. He wouldn’t be on top, the King had that spot, but he had just as much fun defying authority as he did securing it. Although he would be scrutinized more as a member of a pack – or even the leader – he would still try to find ways to avoid the taxes. The less fun they were having, the more fun he was having – unless, of course, it had to do with the opposite sex. But that was a whole different chapter in his story book.

Now coming along the ridge of a tall cliff, Scimitar tilted his head to look down upon the forest below. Down there, somewhere hidden amongst the vegetation and snow was the pack lands of the Draknyrians. Even the name sounded simply thrilling, and the way it rolled off his tongue was something of a foreign language. It all seemed relatively too perfect him, and it was about to get better.

He turned from the ridge, walking along the rocky precipice until coming to a small deer path that would lead him down the mountain. Deer were lighter on their feet than a wolf, and the steep path was made more for the cloven hooves of his prey than for him. But a hunter knew how to adapt, and as he clambered down the thin path, he made sure to keep it slow and steady. Although he did not want to be caught in such a compromising position, he was positive that there was no one around – constant checks with his nose and ears made sure of it. It was not easy-going, but Scimitar would not rush a process just to tumble down the mountainside to his death. He was more than willing to waste a few more minutes of his time than tempt fate with his haste.

When he did happen to reach the bottom, he took another long inhalation. The pack boundaries, which should have been freshly covered with urine, were days old. It seemed that the pack had either been eliminated or they had moved on, and the empty space was just waiting for him to claim it. In his excitement at the emptiness of the land, his leg immediately lifted to start marking what was rightfully his. Well, perhaps not rightfully, but right enough. It seemed he would not have to start a fight to begin his fun, and this was more than he could ask for. Confrontations just weren’t his thing when they escalated into physical violence.

When Scimitar was finished, he went to the very center of the territory, scouting out what looked to be a cave – the medium-sized hole in the side of the mountain seemed to be where the pack used to hold meetings and raise their young. He stepped into the darkness, absentmindedly going in with his tail raised high and a certain swagger to his walk. He did not stop to think about sniffing in the cave ahead of time, assured by the diminished borders that the pack had dispersed. And, lucky for him no one seemed to be around. And so, content with his faux victory, Scimitar took the moment to recoil on a large boulder in the back of the cave.

This is a claim to the territory as well as an open post. Feel free to join.

[ℓ ι α ♥]

the elegant white wolf tip toed across the rocky terrain. one false move and that was it. she was practically dancing dangerously with her own demise. and it empowered her. it made her feel superior knowing that if she made the decision to step in one particular place, she could actually plummet to the end of her existence. she finally felt in control of herself for once in her pitiful life. she felt in control of her life, though not her emotions and thoughts. those were two different things and she was far from controlling her emotions and thoughts. those were difficult for her, though she dare not display it or tell it to anyone else. it was her own inner battle that she must overcome. alone. she didn’t want the help of another because then she would think of herself as mentally vulnerable and weak. and she wasn’t. she may not be able to control her feelings but she was definitely capable of concealing and secreting them so that no one would be able to know what she was feeling. placing her paw tenderly and hesitantly atop a smooth, flat stone, she paused a moment, contemplating whether or not to continue on in the direction she currently was.

she had been doing this for the past hour now; maneuvering her way across the jagged mountains at a relatively slow rate. she was wanting to see if her predictions and calculations would keep her alive and well. so far, she was still breathing, so she was correct, seeing as her guesses as where to step were obviously keeping her alive. eyes scanned the uneven rocks before her, her almond eyes thoroughly taking in each and every one of the stones. the cracked one off to her left was clearly not one to step upon, for they would fully split apart and leave fiona trembling and trying so desperately to catch her balance. and in all probabilities, she most likely wouldn’t and then would descend down the mountain side. an amused smirk twisted the ends of her leather like lips like cork screws, her usually dull eyes now animated and swimming with exhilaration. excitement stirred in her for some unexplained reason. she leapt forward now, sliding down the rocks without a care. the sharp stones sliced at her paw pads, but she ignored the pain.

she lunged herself up the slanting hill, winding her way up until she was finally on stable, secure ground. safety flooded her immediately but she seemed to be unaware of it. she trotted forward, adding a bit of alluring, reckless swagger to her gait. she stopped and leaned against the tree nearest to her, her shoulder rubbing against the bark roughly. she gazed down at her cut up paws, glancing behind her to observe the trail of blood paw prints. “oh..” was all that escaped her lips. she craned her neck down and began cleaning her wounds. once her head lowered, the smell of marked territory flooded in her nose. fur prickling, she glanced warily around. depending on the pack, trespassing could be a serious offense. she could only hope it would be different with this one.

[Thessaly]

It was the smell of blood that caught his attention first. The sickly sweet scent that alerted him of something’s presence was somewhere farther off, though he could not calculate the distance so easily in his head. It was, he thought, somewhere in the direction of where he had just been. It took longer for the female’s scent to get to him, as it was not as strong as the scent of her blood spattering across the ground. If the blood hadn’t been exciting enough, the aroma of a female sure did perk his interest. He wondered absentmindedly if he had been followed here and she was simply looking to spend some time with him – just one of his egocentric tendencies kicking in. Women simply could not resist him.

Deciding to give her what she wanted, Scimitar stood immediately on his boulder, stretching momentarily before hopping off and exiting the cave. Upon entering the sunlight, he blinked rapidly to erase the spotting vision created by the abrupt appearance of the sun. He wobbled as he stepped forward, but kept his composure as he looked up the rocky barrier of the mountainside. The prime position of the den – against the base of a mountain, deep into the forest, mountain streams not far off – must have been the reason the Draknyrians first came to the conclusion of making this their home. Not only was it perfect for the pups, but it kept the adults safe as well. Hunting, as he would soon come to find out, was quite abundant and extremely diverse – rabbits, deer, wild boar, various birds, and even rare sightings of chamois higher in elevations. During winter, however, the higher elevation of the territory led to widespread blizzards and even occasional avalanches during the coldest of winters.

Trotting quietly through the trees, Scimitar slowly followed the growing odor of blood as it was much easier to follow than the weaker wolf’s. And, as he anticipated, the female was in the general vicinity of where he had been only minutes ago. As he walked closer and noticed the bloody paw prints littering the forest floor, he realized that she had come down the mountainside along the rocky outcrops – whether she had missed the deer path or had just wanted to be audacious, he did not know. While he was not one to risk his life so fearlessly, he did enjoy a challenge or two. However, he took the safer challenge. Exhibit A: the deer path had been relatively exigent for him. The female, he realized, had just caught wind of his markers.


“Well hello there.” He called out, his typical countenance twisting his facial muscles into a devious smirk. Oh, let them come. Let them come from all corners of the Kingdom to follow his whim. Taking a lanky stride forward – more of a seductive saunter, really – Scimitar watched her carefully with his rather dully-colored brown eyes. Though the color was nothing extraordinary, the special spark in them was something of a trademark to Scimitar. “May I be so lucky as to get your name, miss?”

[ℓ ι α ♥]

the taste of blood was sweet in her mouth, naturally making her mouth begin to salivate. her empty stomach twisted angrily, but she hushed it into silence. she couldn't hunt here, not on another wolf's territory. she'd have to wait until she cleaned up her paws and moved on before she caught herself a meal. with a sigh, she cleaned between her toes, too focused on her situation to notice the large build of a male close by. “well hello there.” she flinched in shock, head darting up to look at the wolf. it was undoubtedly the leader of the lands. she felt uneasy, tempted to sprint away from him as quickly as she could. but his saunter was not something she should be wary of, in fact it was.. flirtatious? she raised a brow of surprise at him. "hello," she said quietly, looking absent mindly at her paw. joining a pack was not something she had originally given much thought. but it seemed that the occasion had presented itself on a silver platter, and what was stopping her? as of so far, he had given her no reason for her to dislike him. other than sneaking up on her like that, even if it had been partly her own fault. maybe it would be a good thing if she joined a pack. then she could say goodbye to the depressing life of a loner. however, this wolf looked to be someone she'd have difficulty trusting. and it was never a good idea to not trust your alpha. then again, she had only just met him, and couldn't automatically trust him. it would take awhile. still, she couldn't shake the wary feeling she felt around him.

she was still debating whether her safety was on the line when his next words confirmed that she shouldn't be too worried. “may i be so lucky as to get your name, miss?” he obviously did not sound pissed, or even slightly upset that she had accidentally trespassed on his territory. usually fiona was respectful of boundaries, and curved around them, but the situation had been different and she hadn't been paying as much attention. she was lucky he hadn't punished her for it, even if she may have deserved it. "my name is fiona. i apologize for entering your territory, i assure you it was not intentional," she said quickly, looking up at him with large eyes.

[Thessaly]

Scimitar knew better than to scare off a female with butchery and malice, they were far too innocent and flowery to shun from his domain whether it was brand new or not. Perhaps a male he would have taken a different approach – no, not perhaps, it was certain that he would have taken a much different route had a male intruded on his territory. A male he would have immediately banished or detained for questioning. Maybe it was a fault that Scimitar was too trusting, too wanting of female companionship, but this was an error that he was willing to overlook for the sake of a fun-filled night with a lady friend. He had never gotten into any kind of trouble from this trait before, so he had never taken the time to reconsider a female’s intent – his pure, chaste image of a female reflected in every she-wolf he had met, never before had there been room for discrepancies.

“And I assure you that you will be welcome here.” He responded rather quickly, remembering the bloody trail she had left behind her. The bittersweet scent of blood caught his attention and he looked to her sticky paws; "You’re injured. Here, let me help you.” He took a cautious step forward, unsure if his presence would be entirely welcome. The act of cordiality was not only because he was naturally kind at heart, but because the quickest way to enforcing a bond of trust was to offer any sort of help you could give. In order to appear trustworthy, you had to be willing to offer your assistance and be able to hold a demeanor of having trust in your companion; he thought for sure that his combined act of hospitality and aid would give the female some sort of trust in him. His rugged good looks could only get him so close to what he wanted; he needed the amiable personality to back it up.

His head leaned down, nose sniffing out the area of infliction. Her paws had been badly scraped as she traversed the stony mountainside. If only to get an exhilarating instance of connection with Fiona, Scimitar made sure to let his cheek brush against her thigh as he looked down at her wounds. He could see by the blood that the lacerations were deep – paw pads were thick, much rougher than skin, and it was difficult to break through the seemingly invincible armor. He nudged her leg gently, requesting her to lift a leg for him so he could get a better look. If she did, he gently caressed her paw with his tongue, cleaning her wounded limb with delicate care. He slowly backed away, returning to the friendly distance that had separated them before. As he did, he casually slipped in his name, “I’m Scimitar, by the way. It’s nice to meet you.”