&& we're turning the tables

[&& miss fortune]

There was a strange feel in the air today in the northern reaches of Alaska, where the silver moon hung up in the sky with its counterparts the stars. It wasn't a smell, or a taste, or a sound, no. It was just a presence, something a canine could smell and taste and hear all at once. And it was emanating from one certain canine, a young female of pure descent and rich personality.

Her name was Miss Fortune, and she was acurrately named. Her life - so far, for she was quite youthful - had never been so great. On numerous occasions now she had experienced the harsher parts of life, and at only three years of age she could honestly say that she'd seen worse. Because of it, Fortune had been forced to mature faster than any of her siblings or even her generation for that matter. But now none of that mattered. Now she was making a difference. Now she was doing things her way, and there was nothing and no one in her way to stop her.

Dainty ivorn pads churned up the snow ever so slightly as she made her way into the terra, throwing her pretty head this was and that to get a good look at her surroundings. Not that she could get the best look during the night, but she didn't mind. In fact, the dark hours were her favorite. And anyway, Fortune really liked the place now - it was spacious, rather secluded, and very beautiful. She couldn't help but pause for a moment to watch the iridescent light of the distant milky orb send its reflected rays down to earth to dance and frolic upon the glimmering waters of a small pond, sparkles and shimmers flashing up here and there and everywhere. A tiny smile laced her lovely features and with a sigh the femme dropped into a lying position next to the pool, the very tips of her claws delving beneath the liquid jewel. Her icy optics lit upon the moon above her, and she turned her slender muzzle up to follow. She could spend hours and hours just staring at that thing, wondering and watching. But she had come here with a purpose, and there was no way she was just going to give up now, or worse - turn back.

No, she was going to do this. Perhaps this land had never seen a canine with youth so prominent and blood so pure attempt to lead a pack before, but Fortune had always been one to succeed. Or at least try. Yet somehow the fae knew she could make this work. She blinked slowly as she dragged her lanterns away from the moon and back down to earth. For starters, she would need to stop doing that. And she would need to stop telling herself to stop doing things. It would dent her confidence and her overall presence, which was something she could not afford to damage. Not now.

With another sigh the black and white husky rose to her paws again and made absolutely sure the place was unoccupied. It seemed so, for the only scents she could pick up were either stale and old or those of creatures that didn't concern her, like mice and birds and the like. A strange giddiness overcame her, and she could barely suppress it. She had never felt giddy before. She had never had reason to. As mentioned, her past wasn't exactly full of love and rainbows. She had been the runt. Well, let them see her now!

Hardly before Fortune knew what she was doing, her snout was in the air and she was howling. It was an almost eerie sound, for her voice was unused to the happiness she now felt inside. Her solemn song of newfound joy and ambition wafted over the grove of pines and over the pond, out and across the frozen land. This magnificent spot was hers, the young husky's, and they would all know it.

[Shurikan]

It wouldn't be considered amazing hoe quickly the dark figure appeared, but it would be impressive. Only moments after hearing her howl from a distance, the massive canine had developed an interest, and had quickly brought himself to the area. His bright paws, contrasting his immensely dark fur, made large quantities of snow fly behind him. If he had taken a chance to look behind him, which he hadn't, he would have noticed that the snow looked much like billows of pure smoke from a cold, white fire. As he ran his keen smell and instinct brought him smells of old creatures, of times long passed. With each step he could better sense one quite new presence. For some reason he very much enjoyed the smell, and this greatened his curiosity.

The snow began to lessen, as his natural observance told him. He didn't think about it, but the knowledge was there. Around a few trees he saw her. There was now thought in that head of his. His first being how stunning she was. This thought surprised him, for rarely did those sorts of things enter his mind. He supposed that even the most serious of creatures must naturally pay respects to something of such elegance and beauty.

With precision and suddenness, his steps halted, bringing him to an expertly executed, yet abrupt stop. His golden eyes looked to her, and they searched for her own crystal blue eyes. He bowed as he searched for her gaze, and his own eyes held a look and aura of respect. He knew that was her land now and rightfully so. He could sense that she deserved it, somehow, as was his way. He lifted his massive head after he'd bowed, and decided to speak first. "I heard you howl, my Lady." he spoke politely, deep voice flowing with respect. Later he would look back on this moment and realize that though he didn't know it himself at the moment, he had quite purposefully made his voice sound more...handsome. Some part of him wanted to impress her, though he would never admit it, as natural as it was. He continued, "I see you have claimed this lovely territory, are you yet in need of company?" he asked politely, standing still, but letting his tail move slightly to show that he meant no threat, and that he wasn't uncomfortable. He personally felt uncomfortable when others were, and so he made it a habit to not seem uncomfortable around others.

[&& miss fortune]

The femme whipped around at the sound of another's voice. Dark hackles raised, jowls parted, lips raised, shiny teeth bared, and icy blue eyes flashed menacingly. She hadn't been expecting that at all. But she'd made absolutely sure the place was unoccupied, he couldn't possibly live here, she would have smelled him before, she would have heard him, or seen him... but as these panicked thoughts rushed through her head and she tried frantically to decide what exact course of action to take now, the male spoke again and Fortune managed to calm down. His tone had never been accusing or aggressive in the first place, she realized, and his words were even kind and polite. Perhaps it was just her natural reaction to the world now - after all, it had always seemed like everything was against her. But no, it was different now. And the sad thing was that she had to keep reminding herself of that.

Oh well. She would learn in due time.

Fortune abandoned her defensive stance as swiftly as she could and approached the brute in a more friendly manner, her banner waving slowly, her steps light and fleet. She tried to seem confident, to be confident - and it was working. The newcomer had a certain air about him, one of comfort and contentment, and it was beginning to affect the normally flighty female. Howver, it was only beginning, and Fortune had never been good with introductions anyway. "Oh...yes," she replied, though to what she wasn't quite sure. How was she supposed to respond to his oh so gentlemanly manner? She was no Lady herself, as he called her. "I mean, yes, I suppose some company would be nice...er... pleasant...?" Her tongue seemed to be made of ice, and her words were slipping. She attempted a recovery, but was quite unsure of its accuracy. "Anyway, I'm Fortune...pleased to meet you...sir." She gave a small, awkward bow, pitiful compared to his great and glorious one, and also gave him a look of modest confusion, one that just sort of squeaked "what?" but without the word.

So much for first impressions, she thought somewhere in the background of her mind.

[Shurikan]

The male didn't start or seem startled as she whipped arouned so hastily. He felt guilty at startling her, but decided he would apologize later, and he proceeded to bow and offer his words to her. At this the fem returned his bow, and offered answers to his question. He smiled at her, she seemed sweet in the way she stumbled over her words. He chuckled slightly, he hoped he wouldn't offend her. He actually hoped his mood would lighten hers. He didn't always laugh or open up like that, but he found it a good choice in the current company. His ears flicked as he heard her speak, it was sort of an...instinct, it just happened. He then responded, "Well, would I do?" he asked. He looked to her once more, and his golden eyes locked into her lovely sapphire ones. The one thing that wasn't godess-like about her was her words. Not her voice, mind you, for it was beautiful, but her words. Even this he believed would change with her next words. she was merely nervous, and he was sure her words would trail into elegance as the rest of her.

Shurikan broke his gaze, not wanting to make her feel in any way uncomfortable. As he went to introduce himself, having thus broken his gaze with her, he analyzed the look she gave him. Since she didn't speak this queastion, only conveyed it, he didn't bother to embarass either of them with an answer. "And my name is Shurikan." he said, and smiled kindly to her.

OOC: Sorry, no muse X|

[&& miss fortune]

Though his calm demeanor and pleasant manner were surely meant to be kind and friendly, Fortune was growing more restless by the second. She quite honestly was very unused to such attention. Basically her whole past life had been abuse, though not by humans and not physically. This sort of life would definitely take some getting used to - perhaps more than she had thought.

Still, the brute seemed to respect her, and unless that was just his natural masculine charm or his expert attempts to impress her, she didn't really care at this moment in time. Fortune had the feeling that if she continued being so nervous and antsy she would be shot down from her position as alphess as easily as she had gotten it, somehow. And she didn't want that. This position was her chance to prove, to the world and herself, that she was more than what she seemed, more than what she had been and what they had made her.

She nodded at him, and in doing so built up her confidence and set it in stone. First impressions did mean a lot, at least to her, and she wouldn't mess this up. "Certainly, Shurikan," she replied, her voice still wavering, but with a new sort of tone to it that she hoped would convey her desire to try and succeed.

And then something else struck her, a new idea. Why, she had been so busy thinking about what to do and what to say to this newcomer that she had blown off the newcomer himself! No matter how hard she tried, she would not be able to keep up a territory, let alone an entire pack, on her own. This massive creature before her had never been anything but kind to her, and now Fortune had a feeling that they could grow to be very close indeed.

"Well..." she began, still unsure of just exactly how to deal with this, "I suppose I won't get very far on my own...so...would you be interested in being the first member of the pack?" The femme asked, orbs still a bit shy and concealing, but with truth shining through. Normally she wasn't nearly this accepting or inviting, but even a stubborn, bitter creature such as she had to admit to the bare truth.

[Lily {Whisper}]

Shurikan watched her, and he nodded his head to her. It was like asking without waiting for an answer if he could sit. He lowered himself to sit with this gesture of his. His paws were still beneath the snow, but he shifted a few times. He was almost nervous, yet he could put a cause to it. He shrugged it off and turned back to her, looking down, for he was still slightly taller than her.

He had nodded and relaxed as she had been seemingly analyzing him. He wondered if she trusted him. This bothered him for two reasons. One, he liked to know what was going on, and hated mysteries involving himself. Two, he didn't want her feeling intimidated, or awkward around him. His ears and eyes lowered at this thought for a mere second. He turned his gaze back to her, but he didn't look into her eyes.

Hearing her words snapped him to attention, but hearing his name strengthened its concentration. He noticed the waver in her voice, and so with consideration for her he glanced away. Sometimes it was best in a conversation with a stranger, if he or she didn't look at you. After a few seconds he glanced casually back to her, having given her a pause long enough for her to relax, but not so long as she would think him to be ignoring her. She continued, and her continuation brought a smile to his maw. Her words had a bit more confidence when she spoke her invitation. He stood slowly and his tail moved back and forth a few times. He smiled to her and nodded with added enthusiasm, not common for the massive wolf. "It would be a great honor, and in fact a joy, Fortune!" he said grandly.

He smiled at her once more, though smaller this time. He showed his contentment, but its extent was much greater within. He sighed deeply but silently with satisfaction. He was quite glad to have a place to think of as home, and perhaps one to call a friend. At least he hoped she would consider herself thus. In his wandering thoughts, his eyes had wandered far from her. He turned them back with compassion. “Not only a member, fortune, but maybe we will someday call each other 'friend' ” he spoke sincerely. He didn’t know exactly why he’d spoken so freely, and what was more so freely and quickly, but he had, and he did not regret it. His golden eyes merely settled softly on her and awaited her reply.

[Lily {Whisper}]

-Finished-