-Sparrow- Skies Alight with Fire (Meo w/MudSpider)

Her breath fogged before her muzzle, as she sighed a bit; walking toward a clear area. There were a few large boulders scattered in the area as the sun began to set. The petite wolfess looked to the large boulders that remained so very prominent in the clearing before she took a small running start, leaping into the air with full intent to get on top of one.

Well, being so small has some disadvantages; namely that tall places were difficult to get to. Sparrow however did not relent and on her third attempt, found her claws scrambling a moment before she kept herself upright, a deep breath in and out brought a cloud of fog in front of her muzzle; which soon dissipated into the chilled air. She turned to face the horizon as the set began to set, the sky turning to a beautiful sort of golden yellow while the air became more and more chilled.

Sparrow smiled lightly as she watched the sunset, thoughts running her head like little ghost-birds that flitted here and there before they disappeared. A couple of thoughts stuck in her mind like ravens feeding on a carcass, however.

The first was the thought of her mother. It was common knowledge that Stone Fur and Amaranth were both nearing the ends of their own lives and it weighed heavily on the free-spirited Sparrow. While she no longer lived in their den, and did not need their protection; the love that she felt for her parents was overwhelmingly strong for her. Now her world would not collapse like Silver River's had in their absence, but it would hurt; something she didn't want.

The second was...MudSpider. Much as she buried it down, she couldn't forget the look on his face from that day. Sparrow had been wanting to apologize to him, she got so jealous so easily it was embarrassing. She sighed lightly, her black ears falling backward as she looked back to the horizon as the sun continued it's descent. The sunset painted the skies like fire, with all manners of yellow, orange, and reds streaking across the sky in patterns that were both chaotic and beautiful at the same time.

Sparrow's lowered ears twitched as she heard a twig snap behind her, turning to look behind her at who had somehow found her...

He hadn't really meant to run into Sparrow in his scouting. He'd been so concentrated on following the path of a small herd of whitetail deer he'd not noticed her scent in the area until he was standing in her tracks at the base of the boulder. Without thinking he stopped and looked around, heart speeding up some as he recognized her sweet smell. Not seeing her on ground level, he then looked up to the boulders and there she was like a figure in a dream. MudSpider took a slow deep breath, battling with himself on whether to leave or stay. She'd gotten angry with him last time they interacted and they'd basically avoided each other since then....until now.
"Oh...hey Sparrow." he said in his deep voice, olive eyes turned up to the lady. As he waited for her reply he wondered what her reaction would be. More anger, thinking he liked that other she wolf that'd spoken to him? He had no interest in that female. Though most of the she wolves in the pack were pretty, he did not know that particular lady. Sparrow, he knew, and Sparrow, he thought, was the most beautiful of all the females in the pack. A soft breeze sprang up, eddying the top layer of snow around his paws. MudSpider checked to be sure the trail he was following wasn't being buried, but then again even if it was he had to wonder..would he abandon this chance to speak to Sparrow in hopes of mending whatever had broken between them? He didn't think so. Not like anyone would know. And so he brought his gaze back to Sparrow's dark face.

The expression on Sparrow's face was a bit hard to figure initially, she looked some parts confused, happy, curious, apprehensive, and underlying it all; a bit sad. It was common knowledge that Sparrow for all intents and purposes wore her heart on her sleeve, so reading her wasn't exactly difficult. Her face and actions would tell you her feelings. No doubt that she was happy, curious and even slightly apprehensive at seeing MudSpider again. But the thoughts of her mother and father lingered in the back of her mind, making her the slightly sad.

"Hi MudSpider."

A small smile crossed her dark face before her ears fell backward as a sudden feeling of shyness washed over her. What was she supposed to say about how jealous she'd gotten!? 'Oh hey, sorry I acted like a total pain in the butt before, I was just jealous!' Yeah, no. That wouldn't go over well and didn't sound right to boot.

The petite shewolf leaned forward on the rock and leapt down, landing with a certain grace that she had inherited from her mother.

"What'cha doing all the way out here?" she asked, her voice quiet in the still air as the soft smile from before remained on her dark muzzle...

Watched as Sparrow leapt nimbly from her perch, taking a couple of steps back to allow her room. He took a slow breath, unintentionally inhaling her scent as he did so. When he exhaled, a thick white frosty cloud billowed before his face. "Tracking a herd. If they're within our territory we might be able to have a good hunt." he said with a half shrug. Though so far the winter wasn't particularly hard on them, who knew when it could turn for the worse. Any opportunity for a feast would be taken. MudSpider did not miss Sparrow's facial expressions, but as sensitive as she could be he did not want to aggravate any negative feelings she had. As for their last encounter, he hoped that if he acted as if it hadn't even happened maybe....maybe what? He wasn't mad with her. He'd been upset at first, and still was to a small degree but he'd otherwise gotten over it. Only confusion remained, really. Should he bring it up? No, no. With all the shadow colored female has had to deal with lately it was probably a better idea to let her take charge on any emotional subjects that may or may not come up.

"Tracking a herd. If they're within our territory we might be able to have a good hunt."

Sparrow nodded lightly as the smile ever so slowly slipped from her facial features while her tail curled around her paws in what had become the universal signal for "eating crow" as it were.

"Um, MudSpider..." Sparrow trailed off a moment, thinking of what to say next. "I'm sorry I upset you last time we saw each other. I got kinda jealous, and I'm sorry."

The petite wolfess looked up at MudSpider, a contrite expression on her face as she watched the larger brown pelted wolf...

MudSpider's ears perked up high at Sparrow's sudden turn in their conversation. He'd been hoping for this though, and he felt relieved that she was not still angry with him. A soft smile curled the very edges of MudSpider's pale muzzle.
"It's okay, Sparrow." and what else to say? At a loss for words, MudSpider acted before he could think. He stepped forward and lowered his muzzle to touch his nose ever so gingerly to Sparrow's nose, then pulled his head back suddenly when he realized what he'd done. MudSpider's ears flattened as his cheeks burned and he began to stammer,"I..I uh. Sorry, sorry I didn't mean...I mean...augh! I'm so stupid, I'm sorry!" he babbled like a fool, eyes wide in embarrassment.

"It's okay, Sparrow."

The touch to her nose caught her off guard, and made her stare at him oddly for a moment; one eyebrow raised in a sort of confusion.

"I..I uh. Sorry, sorry I didn't mean...I mean...augh! I'm so stupid, I'm sorry!"

Sparrow still had a confused look on her face a moment before a slow, crooked grin spread across her muzzle and a laugh bubbled forth from her maw. Her laughter was much like falling raindrops as she watched MudSpider with crinkled, shining eyes.

Standing, the petite wolfess walked closer to MudSpider with a quirked eyebrow. "Come now MudSpider, is this little wolfess really that scary?" Her voice lilted in a sing-song manner, the teasing in her voice unmistakable to decipher.

She kept smiling lightly, watching the larger embarrassed wolf a moment before she licked his cheek as she laughed lightly; fully expecting MudSpider to turn red as the sunset. "Thank you, MudSpider."

The petite wolfess wasn't only referring to him accepting her apology, but for making her laugh; even if he didn't mean to. Sparrow needed to laugh like she needed air, the lightness seemed to have returned to her overall demeanor as the darker thoughts of her parents seemed to be momentarily banished...