Part 6: The Locals
Roady stirs, as the mid morning sun beams down on his face. Moaning in pain, he lifts his head to look around. Blurry his eyes take time to adjust, as he realizes he is still beside the pond. The last thing he remembers was that Sooleawa was telling him that her name meant 'Silver'. Rolling over, he attempts to get to his feet, but wobbles and flops back to the ground. "Oh, you are alive." Angelina says, as she gets up from a patch of grass where she had been curled up in, soaking up the sun. "You hit your head pretty hard last night." "What happened?" Roady asks, a slight taste of blood on his tongue. "The Scajaquadas" Angelina replies, "They came looking for her." "I hope she didn't get hurt again." "I don't think so, but your friend protected you." Angelina yawns lazily, "I think Taima was going to kill you. She stopped him." Angelina walks over to Roady and helps him to his feet, using her nose to prop him up. "Thanks." Roady says in response, as he gets to his feet, a little wobbly. "So how do you know all of this?" "I was nearby." "What? Stalking me again." Roady replies, "Nooo, I would never stalk you." Angelina giggles, teasingly. "So why do you?" "You need a friend." Angelina states, "Don't you have anything better to do?" "Fine, if you don't want me around, I will leave you alone. Lets see how far you get on your own." "Lot of good your help did last night. Why didn't you jump in to help me when I was attacked?" "Listen! Did I not, help you find your friend last night?" "Hmph! Fine..." Roady says, giving up. Angelina brushes up against Roady softly, and looks into his eyes. "I heard what you said about your pack." Curious at Angelina's behavior, Roady replies "I figured as much, I heard you in the underbrush." "My mate disappeared several moons ago. We were never able to produce a litter." Angelina says softly, looking at the ground now. "So we kinda have something in common." "Oh," Roady's tone changing, "Sorry to hear that." Roady walks to the edge of the water and looks in to see his reflection. "Hey, my feather! Where did it go?" Seeing that his feather had disappeared from behind his right ear. "Oh yeah, here it is" Angelina produces it, handing it to Roady, who tucks it behind his ear giving her a distrusting look. "It fell off when you were pounced. I found it in the grass, and held onto it for you." "Oh," Roady's tone changing, yet again, "Thank you." "I think she has a thing for you," The panther says grinning at Roady. Flicking her tail lightly against his body. Blushing a little, Roady says, "I think you have a thing for me." Regaining his composure, Roady continues "But really, I don't know. I barely know her, or her pack. Apparently they don't like me." Angelina nods, "You seem to know this place pretty well. Care to fill me in on some of the animals around here?" "Well, of course you already met Sooleawa. She is a bit of a troublemaker in her pack, er' should I say she is one of the few in her pack who are actually respectful wolves." Angelina continues, "And then there are Taima, Nodin, Yuma, and Enola. Taima, Nodin and Yuma tend to stick together, and do their own thing. They are the bane of the pack. Enola is a Beta female who generally stays with Chitsa, the Alpha female. Kachinahey is the Alpha male, and Sooleawa's brother, Nayati generally travels with him, as does Sooleawa when she isn't off exploring." "Oh wow, you know a lot about them. Are you friendly with any?" Roady asks, rubbing his head with his paw. "Lay down." Angelina motions towards the lush grass in front of her, and Roady complies, laying down with his paws under him. Angelina sits on his back and begins to massage Roady's temples softly with her front paws. "Is this better?" Murring softly, Roady nods, his eyes closed. Continuing, Angelina goes on "I sometimes stop in to see how Enola and Chitsa are doing. I haven't talked to the rest very much.” "Last night, up North I was following a scent. I saw what looked like a Fox?" Roady inquires, "Ah yes, there is a small fox troop up that way. They are elusive, and I don't know their names, but there is a mating pair and a few Kits I believe." Angelina replies, still rubbing Roady's temples. "What about Fred?" Roady says lazily, "Oh Fred! He is harmless, but he can be a laugh sometimes. Usually that is where we get our good gossip from. There is also a sociable deer named Fae. Her and her mate, Beryl are pretty good sources of information. That is about it really." Angelina thinks for a minute, "Oh, There is a bear family up in the highlands, but its best to avoid them." "Doesn't sound like too bad of a place, if only the wolf pack wasn't so bad." Roady replies, stirring a little. Angelina gets off of him to let him get up, as Roady stands back up, he turns and nuzzles Angelina softly. "Thanks," Roady says. Angelina just nods. Pondering for a moment, Roady asks, "Any chance you could take me to meet Chitsa?" Considering his question Angelina pauses for a moment, and then chuckles "Do you have a death wish little wolfie?" Roady turns away a little, slightly disappointed. Angelina corrects herself, "I could, but if Taima and Nodin show up, you are on your own." "Hmmm" Roady ponders, “Well, it is better then nothing I suppose.” “Well, no time like the present.” Says Angelina, as she begins to walk North down the game trail.