Word Count → 324
OOC: And they meet again! >

Before heading southward, Darkness had decided to explore the territories to the northwest. He wanted to scale as much land as he possibly could, simply for the sake of getting out and looking around. This morning, however, he had realized that he was virtually out of dye. So the dark man had walked through the forest, following a path that seemed to lead to nowhere, and found himself in a village. It was nice, quiet, and cozy, and he wouldn't have minded deciding to stay in one of these houses... if it weren't for the fact that the closest source of water he had seen was a river. If he was going to continue being a rock collector, he couldn't stay here.

Still, he decided it couldn't hurt to poke around a bit. He was running out of dye; maybe he could find some here. So Darkness began a short quest of finding dye, but he was disappointed when he checked nearly every house - or so he thought - and found absolutely nothing. With a slightly frustrated huff, Darkness adjusted the satchel around his shoulder and started to head out of the town. Suddenly a familiar scent caught his nose. "Inferni," he muttered. He had been near the coyote pack's territory recently and sent away by a couple of the members, Io and Aeron, and also met a loner named Jaden. It was the largest amount of canines he had ever been around and talking to at the same time, and he loved it.

Curious, he began to follow the smell, eventually making his way to a small area near a collapsed shed. It took him a moment to realize that the figure before him was Io Berlin herself; he had last seen her in Secui last and wasn't used to her standing on two legs. "Hi, Io!" he called out with a friendly wag of his tail. "What brings you over here?"

Word Count → 322

Io greeted him with her typical dryness, which he responded to with his typical friendliness. "Food? I think I might've passed some in some old house, but I don't remember which one." He kept his smile, wanting to approach and have a nice conversation - friendly or otherwise - but he knew that he had probably insulted her pack at their last meeting and didn't want to seem rude again.

He was confused to hear Io mention that he was "close to Inferni". He hadn't traveled that little, had he? All he knew was that, after running into her, Aeron, and the other black wolf, Darkness had continued his travels by going east. It had taken a few days to discover the little town. Maybe the fact that he was a loner and had no idea where he was going came into play here; it would have only taken him a few hours at most to get to Millstone Village if he had known where he was going. "I've just been around the territory, that's all. Figured it never hurt to explore. Plus I'm starting to run out of dye; know where to get some berries around here?"

To his sheer excitement, Io was first to approach, walking over to him slowly. She spoke in a foreign language, and as he was only fluent in English his first reaction was to be curious. He had subconsciously noticed her accent, but the idea that she wasn't from the area hadn't struck him. He tried to imitate the words quietly, which came out in a mangled jumble that did not in the least resemble a language. Slightly frustrated, he tilted his head and looked at Io. "What's that mean?" he asked, his naïve personality spotlighted by the fact that he wasn't picking up on the fact that she was wearing a twisted smile and was probably using a foreign language for a good reason.

Word Count → 214
Short and cruddy post

Io blatantly ignored his questions, which he supposed was well-deserved considering the fact that he had blatantly ignored her hostility back at the borders a few days ago. He couldn't help but be a bit annoyed by this, but he shoved those thoughts aside. He would probably be leaving the area soon, anyway; after he made his way southeast he wanted to be away from these mountains. While he was in the area it didn't hurt to at least try to make friends. He shook his head at her apology; it wasn't necessary.

"I was asking you what you were saying," Darkness answered once the accented coyote hybrid was finished. "Sorry if I'm bothering you; I could leave." He readjusted his satchel and stayed standing near Io, trying to show that he was willing to leave. He would hate to be holding her back from anything, but he really was curious and just had to know something before he left, regardless of whether or not she wanted him gone. Maybe she didn't hear me the first time?

Clearing his throat, making sure that he would be heard this time around, he asked, "What were you saying, again?" Being curious, he had a feeling that he wasn't going to leave until he had an answer.

Word Count → Another short post; doesn't matter
Hopefully I'll manage 300 words next time....

Well, Darkness certainly hadn't been expecting the mood swing. It didn't matter much to him; if she was willing to be less abrasive, it came to his advantage, since it meant that she might be willing to talk more. He supposed that she had about as much control over her mood as he had over what he said, which wasn't much.

Whatever Io had told him before, it was in "Polish" - probably just another language that he didn't know anything about - and she still wouldn't give a translation. At this point he gave up on being persistent; maybe she also enjoyed talking to herself, but just did it in another language so she could keep her private thoughts to herself. It made sense, and now the wolf noticed that he might have been acting rude to keep asking what she was saying.

Females. He'd never understand them completely.

Fortunately Io decided to change the subject, which he answered with a nod. "For as long as I can remember, yup." This is just another destination in my travels. I dunno if I'm going to stick around or what, but I'm not looking forward to going over those mountains again."

Word Count → 598
Thank you for giving him tobacco! Really helped me boost my posting muse; I just love writing about my characters in situations like this. This is a decent post.

She was right about the fact that being a loner served no purpose. Darkness was a social canine and he knew it; he was just a natural explorer and his curiosity made him want to travel; it outdid any need to talk with others. Besides, if he started to like this place, he might try to hear some information on the different packs; maybe, just maybe, he might settle in with one of them. Who knew what the future held, though? He had enough trouble trying to think about his past. Besides, getting around this entire land was going to take a while, and it was virtually useless trying to think of what would happen to him even after that. Like the simple dogs that had lived years before him and years before Luperci, Darkness was the type of canine who lived in the moment, and at this moment nothing could change that.

His thoughts were interrupted by an offering: a strange yellow and white thing, which was smoking at one end. He didn't want to decline the offer; it was the nicest thing she had done for him - no, the only thing she had done for him - since they had met and he felt it would be rude to object. He remembered seeing a few Luperci walking around with this thing in their mouths; was he supposed to use it to breathe or something? Why would someone want to stick something in their jaws that was on fire? Besides, it smelled bad. Still, he wasn't going to argue; with a shrug, he took it silently, and stuck it in his mouth, sticking it in the side and biting down on it.

He took in one breath and he had to fight back a dozen coughs. He felt like he was choking on fire. Why had he put this thing in his mouth in the first place? Instantly he tore it out, a bit forcefully, and let out a few strangled coughs. He acted like he was going to put it in his satchel, speaking to try to avert Io's attention from the infernal burning... thing. "Um, I'm s-sorry, did you ask me something?" He spoke slowly for once, making him sound even more stupid, but he just wanted to keep her attention away from the fact that he was trying to get the thing to stop burning, burning out itself and his nose.

Keeping his gaze mostly on her, glancing down every so often, he was fumbling around in his satchel, trying to get it open, shove the smoking stick in his jar, and shut the lid; he had heard that a fire that wasn't exposed to air would stop burning, and as long as it didn't burn his jar and his satchel he would do anything to make it go out. He was making quite a bit of noise in the process, so he kept talking, raising his voice. "Um, uh, where I came from? Oh, er, I really don't know. S-See, I got hit by a plan-plank of wo-wood, and, uh, um, I, er, kinda just lost my me-memory, and..." He dragged out the last word; having finally got his jar open successfully, he threw the smoking stick inside, slammed the lid shut, gave it a quick but firm twist, and retreated his hands, giving his satchel one final slap to close it.

Then his hands were at his side, and he let out a shaky sigh. "You were saying?" As if he thought she hadn't seen anything that he had just done.