Hot to Trot -- open

[Fireh--]

It was a bouncy, Marco that skipped and hopped through the dried river-bed. Delmares needed revival but what more could he do than just to be here? Loneliness engulfed the male and he flattened his ears with a slight whimper. Luckily there should be more coming, he could sense it in the earth and the air. Between the Avantgarde and the Delmares he wanted this pack to survive and flourish, to show Navaria how the foxes would prevail.

Marco was an optimist and never really looked back. Putting his nose to the ground he inhaled and flicked an ear. Black paws scuffling, he could smell the rotting fish just below the surface and he dug vigorously.

[!Aurora!]

A small, very noticeable white creature slipped through the brushes and trees of the steep, yet beautiful land. Her large, fluffy tail waved in the air as she walked. Snow clung to her lush, pure white pelt, which wasn't helping her blend with the forest-like area and ragged ground. Her dainty paws seemed as if they were tip-toeing across the ground as she made her way through the dense area. She lifted her nose to the air letting the dents of the bushy area overwhelm her. She could smell and hear another creature rustling about. Another fox it seemed if she was correct.
The vixen decided to follow the scent. Which was strange. Most days she would ignore the trail of many a fox and move on. But today. Today felt different somehow. As if she simply needed to find out who this fox was. As the timid femme kept walking, she yelped quietly as her fur unknowingly got caught in some bushes' rough, poky branches. She jerked herself loose from the branches' hold on her, loosing a small amount of fur on her shoulders and back. "Phew."[/b] She exhaled as she turned her head to lick the tiny bald spots sprinkled with dots of blood. She let out tiny, yet adorable whimpers, her once beautiful pelt was now ruined by a couple of stupid bushes. The vixen fastidiously licked her dirty fur. "Oh-oh no. My fur."[/b] She complained softly. Of course, one would think this was a dumb thing to be whining over, but to the only fox with such a lush pelt, this was quite a big deal. She took a small break from cleaning and plopped down, lifting her snout to the air, she sensed another fox near, her head whipped around, anxiously looking for the lurking fox. Te scratching noise refused to leave the vixen's little ears as she let out a soft chirp. "Who's there?"[/b] She lowered her head to her paws and flicked her ears to catch any answer. If there actually was a fox here, hopefully it wasn't a big, mean one. Hiding her head and closing her eyes between her paws, she quickly grabbed her tail, hoping it would be of some protection.[/font]

[Fireh--]

A thin layer of dust coated his front paws as he dug, soon he came upon the remains of a fish, long since past eating availability. With a snort of disgust he quickly covered over it again, his stomach giving a ringing growl of annoyance. Unaware of the arctic fox slowly approaching him, he moved nonchalantly onwards towards a fallen tree. The dirt faded away into rocks and soft pebbles, up ahead was the Delmares pack entrance. When he heard Aurora he chuffed in warning and flattened his ears. If it was an Avantgarde he would defend his territory, what little he had.

No predominant scent came to him so he stalked forward, not bothering to answer her. If he could lure her out and away from the pack den maybe he could avoid a more awkward situation. Again he chuffed, "Show yourself" Eyes narrowing, the larger red fox raised his head in a display of dominance and scanned the edges of the riverbed.

[!Aurora!]

A quiet whimper escaped from the vixen as she curled tighter at the warning noise. Pawsteps grew closer and closer, her eyes opened and dashed back and forth, peeking through her bushy tail for the fox. Her whole body was now quivering with fear as the fox spoke. Was it safe to give herself away to this stranger? What was he going to do with her when he saw her? Questions as such raced through her mind. If she didn't get up and show herself, the fox would probably find her anyway.
With a gulp she answered softly, her voice still shaking in fear.

"I-um. I'm right h-here."[/color] The vixen winced and rose to her paws, crawling out from behind the bushes, she looked around with her head low, searching for the other fox. Spotting a large, rather handsome Red Fox a few feet before her. She quickly snatched her tail and placed it in front of her, brushing her thick tail with her light paws, she looked up with pleading eyes, hoping this male wasn't going to gobble her up.
Silly thought of course, but with this much larger, dominant fox, who knew what would happen to her?

"Oh-oh please don't hurt me, sir. I-I'm sorry if I, um, disturbed you."[/color][/font]

[Fireh--]

When she spoke he whipped his head around to the bushes that clumped on the side of the river bed. Making sure to stay facing the enemy at all times, he stood up tall and raised his hackles, his figure now appearing much larger than it actually was. Although he didn't curl his lip in a sign of aggression, instead he warily watched the bushes waiting for the mysterious figure to show themselves. The voice was obviously femme and he let his guard down if only a little. When the small figure of Aurora emerged he was caught completely off guard by the size of her and colour.

That fear in her voice twinged a heartstring in Marco and those dark brown eyes so different to his own. As she spoke he shook his head and tried to make sure her concerns were only concerns. "You didn't disturb me, I was just digging around anyway," in an attempt to lighten the mood he smiled and gave a flick of his ear. Still though he kept himself firmly planted between her and the den. You could never be too careful.

[!Aurora!]

Looking up from her delicate paws, the vixen noticed the loosening up of the reynard and in gratitude returned his smile with a shy one of her own. Unsure of what to say next, she attempted to make a pleasant conversation.
"Oh. Um, okay... My name's Aurora by the way."[/color] The femme lowered her head once more and sniffed the ground. Was she wrong to give away her name? Even more so her appearance? Maybe this encounter was all a mistake. What if he was just acting and wanted to take her captive and abuse her like when the rouges had done to her in her past. What if he would kill her unexpectedly. Like when Chase was.... The thought of watching her beloved mate being ripped to pieces only a mere couple of weeks ago made her heart sink. A soft whimper, along with small tear rolled down from her eye to the muddy ground.
Coming back to reality, she noticed the fox in front of her again.

"Oh my. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do that. I-I'm sorry.[/color] She hid her face back behind her tail again, hoping she could just poof from the face of the earth, to get away from such exposure to everyone, just poof to an island, with her Chase being right beside her. The vixen rested her body on the ground, curling up in a tight ball, she hoped to somehow disappear.[/font]

[Fireh--]

It was kind of irking to the young tod that she was talking in such a way. That stuttering and fumbling over words was foreign to the smooth talking and confident male. Marco nodded in acknowledgement of her name, "I'm Marco Polo, I suppose leader of Delmares considering I'm the only one." Way to show weakness in the eyes of this vagrant. Frowning at his own stupidity, he watched her little episode where she whimpered and cried slightly. "Don't apologise, please don't apologise" He watched her helplessly as she curled into a ball and stood unsure what to do.

All he really could do was just stand there and wait for the little white fox to uncurl and become confident in herself again. Whether or not she'd have another out burst like that was unclear to the tod and he sat down in the cracked riverbed watching her for any sign that she would become normal again. In awkward situations like these he had nothing to do but sit.