Poppy Hill

[Kelsey]

This is a hill covered in poppies during the spring. Deer come up here a lot to eat the wildflowers and grass.

[scarlett]

Rusalka was still running from Slade. Hoping he couldnt catch her. She was slowing down a bit though, running all the way from camp to Poppy Hill was starting to tire her out.

[*-Tala-*]

Slade got up and charged after Rusalka, not at all tired.
His past has built him up, fast and strong, with lots of statima.
Soon Slade was not too far behind Rusalka.
He laughed and called to her, "Get'n tired yet, hmmm ?"

[scarlett]

"In your dreams." she called back. She ran a few more feet until she tripped over a root and fell, taking Slade down with her. They tumbled down the hill until finally, they stopped. Rusalka ended up being underneath Slade. She sat there dazed for a moment and then burst out laughing.

[*-Tala-*]

Slade was a bit confused for a secound... he had tripped over Ransalka so fast and down they went... but he snapped out of it when he heard her laugh.
He laughed with her and got up and sat beside Ransalka.
"Smooth move," he commented in a deep voice, but a bit of amusment slipped through his fake serious voice.

[scarlett]

"Oh, shut up," she said, grinning. "Like you haven't done something like that before."
She shook herself off a bit and sat down. "So tell me, O Serious One. I'm curious to know about your past. Will you tell me a bit?" She leaned against him, breathing in his warm scent. She really did want to know about him and how he came to her pack.

[*-Tala-*]

Slade stiffened. He hadn't thought about his past in a while....
"Erm..." he said akwardly, trying to think of a good responce.
Think of none, he twisted his head around and flashed he cheesy grin at her.
"Perhaps... I can say a bit - I don't remember much." He said, his smile slipping slightly.
He sighed and looked up. "Where to start ?" he mumbled and then faced Rusalka, now directing the question to her.

[scarlett]

She noticed his hesitation at her question. She guessed that he had a bad past or that something went rong when he was younger.
"Why dont you start about your early life," she said softly. "Tell me about your mother and your littermates." Rusalka barely remembered her mother. She was killed by a bear and Rusalka barely escaped.

[*-Tala-*]

Slade smiled weakly and nodded subtly.
"Well..." he said, a bit nervous, as he tried to piece together his past and fill in years he had forgotten. "I was born as Man's pet." he said, a bit quieter than his usual tone in case anyone was near.
"My mother was a pet, I mean," he added in spite of himself, "I can't remember if I had any siblings..." he said looking up, concentrating completely on his broken history.
"I lived with man for a couple of years and..." he trailed off. This was a part of his life he was ashamed of.
"And," he coughed, hopeing Ransalka didn't notice his hesitation, "They used me to hunt... animals" he said quieter. He looked back down at a normal level but he did not meet her eyes.
"At one point in my life, I couldn't stand to hunt the... animals... anymore so I decided to run away with three wolves that approached me one day while I was doing my job. Ever since then it's been blood, war, and running from pack to pack...." he trailed off again, he didn't want to go into detail about those hostile years. Everywhere he had turnned there was misery, which gave him secret grief every now and then, but he kept that secret well hidden and wasn't about to reveal his emotions, even now.
"But then I joinned this pack... DarkMoon." his fur stood up on end unintentionally. This usually happened when he thought of his last pack. He was about to say more, but then he ran out of words to say. He felt as if his mouth has been bound. He wanted to give away his secrets... but he found out the hard way that some people are not true to their words and do not keep secret that are not theirs. So he blinked a couple times, remembering that wisdom and his DarkMoon pack, and sat still in the sunlight. After a momment of silence he turnned to Ransalka and smoothly lied, "and that is all I can remember, really. Everything else is fuzzy... was that what you expected ?" he asked, to take the pressure off of him.
"I hope you are satisfied" he said, finding a soft smile.

[scarlett]

"Yes" Rusalka replied softly. She closed her eyes trying to imagine what kind of life he had. He lived with man! She never heard of anything like that before. And they had used him to hunt animals. She opened her eyes again and looked at him. She spied the collar around his neck. "So thats why you have that thing around your neck" she murmured out loud to herself. She closed her eyes again to think.

[*-Tala-*]

Slade looked down and remembered the thick leather collar. He had grown so used to it, he sometimes even forgot it was there.
"Ah yes." he replied simply, this tme with a real grin.
"And, now, what about you ?" he asked, in a gentle voice, "how about you tell me more about yourself ?"

[scarlett]

"Well" she started, "My mother was a loner. I was her only pup because the others died while really young. I really loved her." She paused for a moment.
"She was teaching me to hunt one day. A bear came by, it was just after winter, so he had nothing to eat for a while. My mother didnt see it. She was too focused on the prey. It came running at me, I froze because I was so scared." She stopped for a moment to remember the rest.
"She must have heard it, because she ran at it. She managed one good swipe at its eye, blinding it. The bear got really mad. He raised his paw and whacked her in the back. Breaking it and killing her immideately. It came at me again, but this time I ran. Ran as fast as I could and into a hole. The bear eventually wandered away. After that, I lived on my own. Roaming the forest and staying in different packs for a while. I came over here, saw that there was no alpha female, lead the pack, and here I am today." She grinned a little bit.
"Its all my fault though" she said quietly. "If I had done something just a little bit earlier, my mother might still be alive." She was angry now. She stood up and her fur was standing on end. "It was that stupid bears fault" she growled. She took a few moments to calm down and sat down again.

[*-Tala-*]

Slade watched her curiously, but didn't dare say a word intill she was completely finished.
He wa a bit surprized on how much detail he gave her about a part of her past. That she trusted him with her inner emotions. The forrest around them, which was a few momments ago alive with birds in song, was uncomfortably quiet after Ransulka's growl.
"Hmmm..." Slade said thoughtfully, not adressing anyone in paticular.
"That's... very sad." he said finally, giving up on searching for a word to describe that tragic event. He watched her closely, but for now it seemed she had calmed down.
Slade stood up, uncomfortable with the scilence in the forrest, and flashed a good-natured grin at Ransalka to cheer her up a bit.
"Come on, Speed," he called to her as he ran in circles around her," you and me. A race. To the Alpha's den, whatdaya say ?" he grinned and stopped by her side, getting in position to run.

[scarlett]

A race. Just the perfect thing, Rusalka thought. "Alright then" and she grinned at him cockily. "Do you think that you'll win this time? I'm pretty fast though. I promise I wont trip this time" She got up and stretched her muscles. "On the count of three. One...two...three" She raced off not knowing if Slade was in front of or behind her.

[*-Tala-*]

Slade had a late start, but as soon as Ransalka shot off he made an effort to catch up and soon wasn't too far behind. Slade laughed at the determined look on her face.

"I thought you said 'go', slowpoke," he called, "why are you still at the starting line?" he laughed over his shoulder as he got a sudden burst of energy and pulled slightly ahead.
But he knew that was a lie, if he slowed down the tiniest bit she would pass him by far. She was right.....she is fast.