OOC: Your writing is amazing! Did it make sense, by the way, that he was about to say 'eating...Ravens,' and not just 'eating...'? I thought I was being clever, but realized it might sound confusing...
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The few remaining stores of fat that Antykk had acquired over the early winter months were beginning to melt away as a result of his inability to find and obtain food. Why does nearly everything have to hybernate? he thought as he trudged over what appeared to be thousands of dead flower stalks. There were moments where he wished nibbling on a bush or blade of grass DIDN'T make his stomach leap into his throat, but nothing could truly beat the taste of a fresh kill. Yes, he could certainly leave the plants to the herbivores of the land.
An enraged snarl vibrated throughout Antykk's empty belly, and he had to stop for a moment to make sure it really was his stomach and not another animal. He felt himself growing delusional in his years, although he often thought to attribute it to his past - what mind WOULDN'T be left scarred after experiencing what he had experienced? His bulky body moved over the land with a stride that could only be described as labored, however, he made no effort to relieve his exhausted limbs because he was fully focused on his intent to find food, even if that meant eating...
Ravens...he could hear them in the distance. Something had spooked them, forcing them to frantically scatter into the air and toss incoherent curses over their shoulders at their offender. Antykk lifted his head, his snout attentive, and he thought he could make out the smell of a coyote...then there was another wolf...and...a horse? What a strange group of animals...he HAD to be losing his mind. But no, there they were - as he peered over his ashy shoulder he saw a dark luperci woman riding a horse, being towed along by a coyote girl. Turning on his heels, Antykk narrowed his eyes, as if it might help him better understand what he was seeing. To his disappointment, it still made no sense.
If these creatures had been male, he might have had reason to run; the last thing he wanted was an encounter with another prejudiced, male luperci. But another sniff told him that this woman was part of a pack, mother to a child even, and he couldn't help but feel the need to greet them. However, he wouldn't dare submit himself to a disadvantage in his lupus form when he could easily even the playing field. After a moment of concentration, Antykk's limbs elongated and a mess of long, stringy, black hair sprouted from a dark patch of fur on the back of his head and fell around his face. The change had become as familiar to him as swallowing, and he often found it more convenient to remain in his optime form as opposed to his lupus, though he would never truly convert to the ways of the bi-pedal canines. He was born a wolf, and would always be a wolf...not even a scrutinizing priest could change that.
Antykk did not approach the group. Instead, he stayed kneeling where he was and watched them come to him with his brilliant, amber eyes. For a moment, he felt embarrassed at the fact that this luperci woman was clothed and he was not, but there was nothing he could do about that now except awkwardly cover himself with his massive hands. He knew that the sudden lift of his large head might startle the group, but he was prepared to explain his harmlessness if need be...that is, if they were harmless as well. Antykk was not a man afraid of defending himself; he had done it countless times, and he could do it countless times more. As the woman and her companions approached, Antykk stood to his full height, turning his muscular body toward them in preparation for an address.
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