Winter Wonderland

[xochitl]

The sky seemed naked except for a glimpse of bright blue and green almost rectangular mass. The strange apparition moved in wide circles. If one had particularly good eyesight, and followed the alien object, they would trace it to the gray form of a wolf with almost zebra patterned wings. It was rather difficult to assess, and one would think that they were hallucinating but their assessment would be true.

She studied the ground below, sky blue eyes scouting the paths between the trees. A rather difficult landing it would be, as the terrain was densely spotted with trees boasting lengthy branch lengths, nary a clear spot for landing. She would have to land among a treetop, and then climb her way down like some great cat. Diving down, her wings gathered into the streamlined aerodynamic form that predatory birds adopted when going in for the kill.

The naked branches shook tremendously as the petite creature landed, causing blankets of snow to drop to the ground as loud as raindrops falling on a tin roof. Her talons had unsheathed themselves, gripping precariously onto the bare limbs. Pupils darted back and forth in their sockets, as she gauged the best pathway down to the ground. Finding it, she carefully wound her way down the large tree, and hopped off its trunk to land on the ground.

Stepping into a clearing, her peacock like whipcord left tracks behind her similar to the effects of a rake, but better blended. They effectively hid the paw prints she had imprinted onto the ground. Her black and white wings loosened their stance, coming to halfway spread out to frame her delicate bodice. Her crania jutted forward as she allowed her neck and wings to stretch before folding back into a less intimidating position. Maw parted to emit a clarion call to any others who might be out. The queen has arrived.

[efimera]

The pale blue eyes of a wolf opened lazily and looked out at the world from their vantage point atop a mountain ledge. Something black and white was flying through the skies in the distance, and shakily the observing wolf got up and squinted at it, stretching and refolding her cobalt-blue wings. The cold of winter had crept into her very bones, and the Winged wolf wanted nothing more than a reason to get some blood pumping through her limbs. This mysterious zebra-striped creature in the distance was reason enough, even if Efimera wasn’t the best at socializing. All wolves were social creatures, and this one, though left alone for much of her life, was no different. So Efimera spread her wings, showing off their vibrant yellow undersides, and lifted off.

Still not quite awake, she lost track of where her target had landed. Slowly she glided to the ground, shuddering at the feeling of snow on her paws. In front of her, Efimera noticed a trail of strange tracks. She cocked her head and warily moved closer to the tracks – they looked as if something had been dragged through the snow. She lowered her nose to the snow and smelled wolf – Winged wolf, in particular. Were these the tracks of the black and white thing she was looking for? If so, she was sure this wolf was very strange. She hopped back up onto a branch, following the strange tracks as she glided and fluttered from tree to tree. It was not long before she heard a distinctive howl, and quickly the pale gray wolf found its source – another Winged wolf, female, with black and white wings and a very strange sort of tail.

Cautiously, Efimera ascended to a higher branch before getting any closer. She stared at the feather-tailed wolf with suspicion as she dashed over branches, soon getting to a vantage point almost right above the other wolf. Deciding that she would like to go down and talk to this wolf, Efimera hopped off her branch and parachuted gently down, like a leaf, onto a thick low branch in front of the peacock-tailed wolf. She did not feel safe enough, nor did she like the snow enough, to land on the ground. Silently, she eyed the wolf, appraising the level of danger presented by her. Arrogant expression, stripey wings, blue and green tail feathers the likes of which Efimera had never seen before – finally Efimera made her conclusion as to the strange female. ”You look funny.”

[xochitl]

The femme did not look back as she heard the raucous the other being created. When the female was overhead, her gaze slowly ascended to meet the other female's. Auricles darted back for a moment, showing disdain for the other wolf's disrespectful placement. She stepped back as the creature hopped off, not in fear but rather as a move to escape having to be in close quarters with a social outcast. She didn't know how this female was treated around others, but something told her she wasn't right. Somehow, though specifically what rubbed her wrong, she did not know.

Her assumptions were proven true when she heard the outrageously rude and inappropriate comment come out of the others maw. Did she not have a filter? Pity. The edges of her upper lip pulled back, revealing the tip of fangs, and sky blue eyes turned somehow dark and brewing. "And you, are rather plain." It's not that she was blind to the vibrant wing colors of the other, she was just not interested. Especially after having to brace against such a harsh comment. "I find I must forgive you for your ignorance; not everyone can recognize the attributes of a goddess." A quick shudder ran from her nape to her toes, as if to shake off the insult. Not to mention the snow that had fallen on her due to the carelessness of the rude female.

Wings folded against side, but tail feathers spread out for display as she circled the female.Critical eyes swept over the female, judging her. "I take it you are a loner?" Something similar to a cough erupted from her maw. "Because saying that to another could make pack life harder on you. It is not nice you know, and many do not appreciate such a comment. Myself included." After a complete 360, she left the females side to sit near a tree trunk a fair distance from the female. How would she react to all that had been preached to her? Xo was rather curious. It was just as possible for her to shrug it off, as it was for her to erupt in outbursts and attack the critic. Either way, she was prepared.

[efimera]

Sure, Efimera was rude, but it wasn’t like she knew any better. And certainly she hadn’t expected such a big long spiel from the other wolf. Consequences were another thing, in addition to social norms, that Efimera was totally unfamiliar with. At first, when the peacock-tailed wolf had bared her fangs, Efimera tensed up in anticipation of a fight, sure that she had made the female angry and now she was going to attack. She was utterly confused when the other Winged began to berate her instead. She cocked her head in bemusement when the other wolf called her plain, and shuffled her wings a bit – couldn’t she see Efimera’s colors? She was oblivious to the fact that the peacock-wolf obviously was not blind and simply said it for the sake of an insult, but Efimera had simply been speaking the truth when she said the other wolf looked funny. After all, who had a tail like that?

It looked even funnier all spread out like that, and Efimera just got even more confused when the peacock-wolf called herself a goddess. That’s when Efimera knew things were not right about this situation, especially because she had called her ignorant too. That ruffled Efimera’s feathers, because now she was becoming quite certain that this wolf was just being mean for no reason. After all, Efimera had been telling the truth. Whether she was truly ignorant or not was unimportant to Efimera, but she did know that the other wolf could not possibly know if Efimera was ignorant. She bared her teeth, unsure what to do, but deciding to let the other wolf finish whatever she had to say. She watched as the female with the funny tail walked away. Perhaps later on Efimera would look on this moment and realize that the more socially-experienced wolf was indeed trying to teach her a valuable lesson in social norms – albeit in a rather pretentious manner – but for now, the blue-winged wolf just wanted to defend herself.

She stared hard at the female as she made her way over to a distant tree trunk to sit, and then decided to chase after her. Her wings opened, and she leaped off her branch to glide to the ground a safe distance away from the other wolf. She was close enough to speak to the wolf, but also far enough that she was out of immediate attacking distance, if this other wolf decided to retaliate. ”Hey,” Efimera said, crouched in a defensive posture, ”you aren’t a goddess. You’re just a regular wolf. What right do you have to say I’m ignorant? You don’t know anything about me.” Feeling brave, she padded a few steps closer. Antagonizing this wolf felt good, and the more Efimera talked, the more it started to go to her head. ”And who cares if I’m a loner? I’m a loner because I want to be. Because I don’t wanna have to deal with wolves like you.” Her lips parted in a snarl, Efimera glared at the other wolf. She wasn’t sure if all that stuff she said about not wanting to be in a pack was entirely true, but she believed it for the moment.

[xochitl]

Her brilliant whip cord rose in dominance as the she wolf came after her, only to coward out of reach. A cackle was released from her features as she heard the words of the other female. She stalked closer to the others perch, lowering her head as a sign of aggression. The other was rather insecure of herself, and had all the right to be. She was dealing with a higher being. "Who are you to know what I am, and what I am not?! You know just as little about me as I supposedly do you. I am from royal lineage, and not any regular ol' wolf would be blessed with my exotic tail or wings. That proves me to be something extraordinary."

She made a tsk tsk sound as the wolf continued on as if she knew anything. Her words only made her seem weaker as she tried in vain to assert herself. "Lone wolves do not survive long by themselves. You are lucky to have gotten this far. It is a stupid move to be alone, you know. No one to protect you, and when they come for you they will come in numbers. No one has a chance when they have no allies." When the she wolf had stepped closer, she snapped at the air near her. It would probably make the fool jump. She wasn't going to hurt her, no, she'd leave that up to others. For now this was just mere entertainment.