New comer...

[athaisia]

Artemis could not believe her eyes, she had traveled all this way for nothing. She was hoping to have come to the stream but instead she somehow wandered into the clearing. She looked around and spotted a few others but could not make out if they were loners or just temporarily separated from their pack.

"Hello? Is anyone out there that will tell me how to get to the stream?"

She sighed, no one even looked up Artemis felt more alone now than she ever thought she could. She looked around once more and started to walk towards the taller grasses. Just in time to hear someone call out a name, she could not understand what the voice had said but she decided she would walk towards where the sound was coming from.

"hello?"

She kept calling out to see if she could get a reply.

I'm here, come closer..."

The voice kept calling Artemis closer and like always she didn't think if it could be dangerous so she just kept walking closer. She felt like she should see what needed her help or if she was just hallucinating because of the heat. But instead of stopping she walked even closer.

[[Midnight]]

Caden didn't particularly dislike No Man's Land. There were several pleasant places to visit out her in the unclaimed. The Sunlit Clearing wasn't always the most spectacular sight to see, but when the Dancing Stars Alpha had some time to slip away from his pack life, he found himself in the lands that were divided from both pack territories by the river. It was usually quiet in these parts, and that was what Caden enjoyed the most.

He was pondering that when he picked up the sound of an unfamiliar voice, his ears perking instantly and his paws noiselessy ceasing to walk.

...get to the stream...?
That was about all Caden could pick up before his eyes narrowed. Who had dealings with the stream, and with which stream - the Moon stream or the Star stream? Curiousty got the better of him as he changed direction and headed for the call of the female voice riding the breeze. A few moments later, he heard someone call a hello, this time much closer and more distinct. His hackles bristled, just in case this strange was hostile. But he felt calm; by the sound of the voice, it sounded simply as a lost soul of some sort. And it was definately female, so he instantly let his hackles relax as he made his way through the tall grasses.

He could see her now, a dazzling little thing she was. Black-and-white pelted, with an air about her that reminded him for some reason of a curious pup. She seemed to be searching for something with a fearless gait. He stopped in his tracks, watching her for a moment, before he spoke out.

"I don't mean to pry," he started, speaking loudly and clearly but with a voice that held no agression, in case he startled her, "but you seem like you need something?"
His eyes were guarded, but couldn't help but glimmer with interest.

[athaisia]

Artemis jumped, She heard a voice, but a different voice than last time. It was a young males voice and it seemed to be coming from right in front of her, she continued to stare into the tall grass that lay in a stretch of green and yellow in front of her. That's where she swore she heard the voice coming from. She lowered herself onto her haunches as her hackles started to rise. She lept forward with all of her strength to land on top of a light brown/ russet wolf that seemed to be her age or a little bit older. She stood up tripping on her own paws and fell backward.

She hurried to stand up once more and slid but caught herself just in time. She hated how shy she got around males.

" Hello, I'm Artemis..." she mumbled, she still couldn't believe that she was standing in front of a male, and actually talking! It was so unlike her.

"What is your name?" She had to make sure she wasn't mumbling like she did sometimes. She sat down, trying not to fall again. Artemis sat down smiling to herself, she was actually talking to a male without getting skittish.

[[Midnight]]

Before Caden really understood what was happening, the stranger had suddenly leapt after him! He was given no warning, nor any time to react, when she landed on top of him and bowled him over. Instantly his lips were drawn back in a snarl and he struck out with his back claws to try and push her off - but she had already tripped over herself and was now settling herself into a sitting position.

Bewhildered, Caden quickly regained his footing and took a step back, still baring his teeth at this stranger - apparently named Artemis. But all traces of suprise attacks and any agression were nonexistant as she introduced herself, and Caden felt confused and rather disappointed. There was no way he could attack a nonagressive female, even if she had just mauled him. Keeping his ears pulled back and his tail erect, he eyed her suspiciously.

"Don't you ever jump me like that again," he started, his tone clearly angry, but not as malicious as it would have been moments ago. "If I hadn't been so caught off my guard, I would have had your throat."

As if to prove this was true, the male snapped his jaws open and then shut them tight, making a loud clicking noise with his teeth.

"..My name is Caden. You should really ask those kinds of questions first before you go off and attack others. There are wolves in these parts far less kinder than me." His eyes shifted to his left, and then his right, remembering to keep an eye on his surroundings. He was in no more of a social mood, and felt suddenly tense.

[athaisia]

Artemis shook head, the males name was Caden. She recognized the name from somewhere she just didn't remember from what. She looked over toward him as he stood there and pulled his lips up and snarled at her. She stood up and slowly walked toward him.

" I'm sorry, i was just frightened, i really should start to think things through. Anyway can you redirect me, I'm trying to find some water, and I'm in a new area, so I'm a little lost..."

Artemis sat back down about five inches from Caden's front paws. She didn't stop to think about personal space, she never did. Artemis suddenly jumped up, hackles up and ears perked as much as they could get. She had heard a loud noise come from the east, and she wasn't sure what it was, she started to whimper, and glanced over to see what Caden was doing. She calmed a bit, just enough to loosen up and slowly stepped toward Caden hoping he wouldn't notice. But right as she got about an inch from him she heard the noise again, this time causing her to jump and smack heads with Caden.

She jumped back as quick as she could," I'm sorry, so sorry. I really didn't mean to, really!

[[Midnight]]

Caden was already on alert and his muscles were bunched with tension from this stranger's dimwitted personality. For every step she took, Caden's eyes narrowed even further. He was already irritated with this creature. She was more like a foxhearted rabbit than a shewolf. Her nervousness was also making Caden more antsy as his tail and ears flicked with the sounds of the ambiance.

"You need to either head a few miles North of a few miles South. Actually if you keep heading Westward you'll also--" he was cut off as she jumped up in fright. He tried to move his head as fast as possible, knowing what was coming, but ended up getting bonked under the chin by her muzzle. He backed away a foot or two with another snarl of anger on his lips, and if looks could kill, she'd be dead.

"Whatever," he muttered, irritated. "Stay away from me. I don't want to be touched any more. You're obviously not from around here."

He narrowed his eyes and lowered his chin, looking at her suspisciously. "Are you sure you're not a bobcat? You act like you're a frightened kitten."

He took another pace backwards, preparing to leave. His patience was wearing thin; even if she was just a klutz, she had no respect for his personal space, and he admitted to himself that he felt a bit violated by her stupidity. He never intended to act out of anger, but here they were.

"Oh, one last word of advice; don't go south. Falling Moon will eat you alive."
He turned around and started to walk away..

[arbie]

“Don’t go to Falling Moon?” a voice called from the darkness, “You say that like you’ve got something against them.”

Demi revealed herself as she spoke, smirking. Her red eyes sparked with malice. Of course she knew who this wolf here was, however she had no idea who the female could be. She had only came across them mid conversation, and apparently whatever she had done had frightened Artemis when she approached. Stood on a few twigs, probably. Her smirk never left her features and she eyed Caden before looking round at Artemis.

“Falling Moon aren’t all that bad. Really. Just so long as you don’t cross the Alpha’s pups, I guess.” she added as an afterthought. Settling herself down on her haunches, Demi looked from one to the other. She enjoyed causing a bit of mischief - it had been so long since she had an actual plan to do something. And now here was her victim! A seemingly clueless female to send to her doom.

This was going to be fun.

[/size]

[athaisia]

Now there were two of them, and they both were telling her to stay away from Falling Moon. What was falling moon, another pack, or a made up story to scare the pups. Either way Artemis thought she was going crazy. There was no way Artemis was going back south, she might try the north. But it would have to wait because she needed to rest from her long walk, and the sun was about to set.

She looked over at Caden who was walking away, she was hoping she could talk to him about what had happened. But he was already to far gone, and the other wolf kept looking at her weird.

"Are you going to show yourself?"

She really didn't like the idea of asking that but she Didn't what she had to do. Either way she would see what this other wolf looked like.

[[Midnight]]

Caden hadn't walked too far away when he heard the voice of another unfamiliar stranger, obviously a second female. The fur on his hackles rose slightly when he realized they had been watched; not only that, but the scent on the breeze spoke of only one pack. His irritation faded away into a calm, strategic attitude. There was a Falling Moon wolf standing a few feet away, and the stories that Caden had heard of this ex-Empyrean-valley pack were not good ones.

He was instantly aloof, and rightly so.
Turning tail, he doubled back the few steps he had taken, and took up a standing position side by side with Artemis. Though Artemis was a bit cooky, he had no intention of leaving her here to deal with this Falling Moon she-wolf. Caden didn't doubt for a second that Artemis's naivety would end badly for her in this situation. He was ready to protect her.

Really, he acted like he knew her as he raised his tail and stood on her sidelines. His brown eyes sized her up quietly, but his hackles had since flattened. Falling Moon or no Falling Moon, Caden had never met this wolf before, and was trying to act cordial instead of admitting a judgement right on the spot.

"That's good to know," Caden replied evenly, a small smile on his muzzle. It was slightly humored as he next replied, "I had heard stories that Duke ate pups for breakfast, but I was obviously misinformed."

He twitched his ears and kept casual, taking the sting out of his previous words.

"My name is Caden, the Alpha of Dancing Stars."

[arbie]

Demi moved forward into view when Artemis asked her to. She eyed the female before looking back at Caden when he came back. Of course he couldn’t stay away from someone that could potentially bad mouth Dancing Stars. Wasn’t that being an alpha was all about? Protecting the pack’s reputation and all that. That was never for Demi. She liked to lead, but not having the responsibility of a pack. A group - like a family - was what she was better with dealing with. She looked at him as he introduced himself and Demi chuckled.

“Tall, quite handsome, gives off a haughty air,” she pointed out, “I could tell who you are, don’t worry.”

At the information of Duke eating pups, she smirked and nodded. Stretching out, front claws digging into the earth, she lay on her stomach and looked at Caden and Artemis. She knew (or hoped) Caden was too righteous to attack a wolf that wasn’t entirely insulting his pack. She was also completely relaxed, not ready to defend herself from an attack. Her red eyes kept on Caden, wondering what his reaction would be. She continued, being sure to turn her head to Artemis to join her in the conversation.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he ate other wolves’ pups,” she mused, looking down at her paws. She snorted and nudged out some dirt between her claws with her snout, talking on, “But he sure is protective of his own. Well, the ones that are alive.”

She wasn’t against talking bad about wolves and bringing up any subject. However, it never really crossed her mind that talking bad about Duke was a terrible idea.

“So, he’s given me his name. What’s yours? Artemis?” she questioned the female, still laying comfortably on the ground in front of them.

[athaisia]

Artemis was in shock, Caden had came back and stood by her side. And he was eying the female that had just shown herself to them. The female was Speaking directly to her now.

"So, he’s given me his name. What’s yours? Artemis?”

Artemis' jaw fell, how did this she-wolf know her name, and how long had she been spying on them. And was she a loner or a pack rank. So many things were going through her head and she couldn't separate them. First of all, why was Caden sticking up for her, and second what was going on?

Uhhh, ummm, yeah I, my name, it is Artemis, how did you know?"

She was stuttering now, that as the last thing she needed, what was this female thinking now. She had had it, She wanted the answers, Artemis was about to break, and she was never good with pressure. She was starting to wish someone would give her answers.

Had Caden discovered that Artemis liked him? Well that was what she was trying to get him to realize but she didn't want it to happen now. She was having a really hard day. She stood up and scooted closer to Caden, whom was still standing very close to her as if trying to protect her. She couldn't tell why he waned to protect her. but Artemis took advantage of it anyway. She looked at the other female, in her mind she was assessing if she would be a threat in her and Caden's possibility's together.

"What is your name, Stranger?"

Artemis hadn't realized how grim she sounded when she sad that until she thought it over, She had never sounded like that in her life.

[[Midnight]]

Caden was feeling fired up, with his blood flowing and his confidence suddenly soaring. This stranger seemed stereotypically Moons, but also uncharacteristically interesting. He was looking forward to seeing where this conversation ended. He rolled off her "handsome, haughty" setence but giving her a smirk and a dip of his head.

"I'm truly flattered," was his remark, as he sought to match her sarcasm as sharply as possible. He listened intently as she spoke of Duke's protectiveness, and stored that information away, for a day when he needed to use it. If Duke was protective only of his own, well... Caden had to stop himself from daydreaming of the possiblities.

Artemis was speaking now. She seemed far from confident in this situation, but she hadn't run away or cowered. Caden imagined her knocking her muzzle against this female's forehead, or leaping onto her backside. Caden highly doubted she'd hold back from sinking her fangs into the clumsy loner.

Caden was also curious of her name, so he didn't speak and perked his ears expectantly.