Set in the Dampwoods.[html]
It was a long walk back from Twilight Vale, but Pilot had reached the dampwoods and was closing in on the distant pack lands. What he really was looking forward to was crawling into his den and resting his paws for the rest of the night. It had been nice to see both Naniko and his son Apollo, but nothing could repair his body now like a good night’s sleep.
The sky was darkening, though it was still quite light out. The sun had yet to retreat beyond the horizon, and only the cover of the trees made the day seem as if it was really a few hours ahead of the actual time. Pilot walked slowly along, eager to be home yet too tired to quicken his pace. His head bobbed just above his shoulders – not exactly a regal stance or something usually seen from a leader. All he knew was he was close to home and he couldn't quite wait to make it there.
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OOC:Thank you for starting it =)
IC:
Urma had just been out hunting. She had had enough luck to catch a couple of rabbits and she had finished off her early dinner and was planning to settle down somewhere safe for the night. Although the light was dimming, she was in no hurry anywhere. She had been about this place for a few days and nothing unexpected had happened. She had met no wolf around this area. Most of the other animals that did not interest her appetite she ignored and usually refrained from getting in their ways. When she wasn't hunting or looking for streams to drink water from, she either explored the area she planned to call home for the next days or she slept the day off, finding in sleep a refuge from her pressing problems.
For Urma to be completely honest, she had to say that it wasn't as difficult as she had initially thought making it on your own. Only she missed the pack spirit from which she had come from, before being shunned away by her fellow members and forced to find something else on the other side of the Ocean. Sure, she could manage for weeks like this, maybe months if the hunting kept going on so well. This seemed to be anybody's land, so she didn't exactly feel like an intruder into a pack's territory. So far she had no reason to move on, although solitude often got to her in the long hours of the night, spent alone under the stars.
As she continued her way through the thick forest, she noticed movement. She sensed it, more likely. Her hearing almost never failed her, and she could hear the soft, almost inaudible sound of paws. They weren't far off, so she started in that direction, mostly led by curiosity. The only noises she made were her paws softly touching the ground and her fur brushing against stray twigs or leaves in the surrounding bushes. And then she saw it--another wolf, wearing a coat so very similar to her own. It looked peaceful, somehow, as it calmly walked on through the woods. Urma couldn't suppress the desire to follow the lonely wolf, partly out of curiosity, partly out of the need for companionship. She hoped a fellow wolf, even if it belonged to a pack, wouldn't chase her off into the looming darkness.
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His silver gaze reached out to nothing in particular, and he found himself thinking of Apollo back in Twilight Vale. Naniko and Deuce had both done phenomenal jobs in raising the two boys, and already they had learned so much. They knew small smatterings of different languages and it made Pilot eager to teach them low speech. He hoped that he might even be able to take them back to his old family, to visit Aiden and his mother whom he missed dearly.
A vague scent of Shadowed Sun lingered on the air and Pilot knew that he was not too far off. There was something else there to, but his fatigue got the better of him. Instead of investigating, the Shadowed Sun Eurypontid kept wandering towards home, unaware of the silent traveler behind him.
He stopped for a moment, reclining to his haunches and casting his gaze up towards the sky. The trees offered a lot of shade from the deepening expanse, especially since spring weather guaranteed plenty of leaves, but he could just make out some of the stars. He had read about the names before. Constellations. There was one that was supposed to look like a dog, but he yet to see it.
He turned away from the sky, glancing around the dampwoods that surrounded him. "Who’s there?", he asked, figuring it would be someone from his own pack. Just then, however, his brain finally tuned in to the unfamiliar scent accompanying the familiarity of Shadowed Sun’s.
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Urma kept her eyes fixed on the wolf she was following--he left her the impression that this area was familiar to him. The light was fading rapidly, leaving in its place the twilight just before darkness took over. At one point, the stranger stopped and, mirroring his actions, so did Urma. It was only in the following silence that she realized she hadn't been exactly silent in her movements. The question caught her by surprise, hiding as she was behind the dense vegetation. She pondered whether or not to come out of her hideout-- she figured she would have to sooner or later anyway.
Measuring her every move carefully, keeping herself poised for anything unexpected the other wolf might do, Urma came clear out of the trees into the open space. Her gaze was plaintive, trying to portray her honest intentions in approaching the male. She threw her head back a few times, before lowering her gaze to meet his. "If I would tell you I was a strider, what would you do?" She continued to look at him calmly, her eyes only barely reflecting that she was on edge--waiting for either a bad reaction or a continuation to the beginnings of their conversation. She tried to explain, mutely, that she meant no harm-- that if her presence irritated him in any way she would be gone. She wasn't claiming territory she hadn't a clue to whether it belonged to a pack or not. "Who are you?" she continued, trying to convince him of her peaceful intentions.
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It was strange how fast darkness consumed things. Even though it seemed to have been quite light a few moments ago, the shadows were quickly claiming the woods around him. There was still enough light to see fairly well though, for the twilight before nightfall still lingered. His silver eyes caught movement and watched as a strange white colored wolf emerged from the shadowy coverage of the brush. It was someone he was unfamiliar with, explaining the unidentifiable scent. Either way, he didn’t feel entirely threatened; which was good, considering his journey had worn him out.
"What would I do? Most likely nothing, unless you meant harm to me or my family." His eyes studied the stranger’s frame, trying to decide whether or not they had any malevolent intentions. He didn’t believe so. The next question that emerged from their mouth made him smile slightly. It was gentle questioning and he didn’t mind it. "My name is Pilot Haddon." He rose from his haunches and turned to face her better. Then, he reclined to them once more, for the muscles in his legs were sore with his travel. "I don’t believe I’ve seen you around here before. Do you have a name?"
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Urma slowly relaxed as the other wolf's voice washed over her in a non-threatening way. She looked away a bit, realizing that the ease with which she had accepted his answer could only represent the huge want she had for belonging to a pack. She needed the contact-- she needed the security and the territory and the notion of home. She had lost all of those, left them somewhere in Europe, and now she didn't know whether she would find something similar here, whether or not she was ready for it. Visibly, her muscles relaxed and she reclined on her haunches, only now fully grasping the fact that she was a bit tired. She therefore sat down gratefully. "I don't mean harm to anyone, except maybe whatever creature it is that I hunt for sustenance."
A chill breeze began to move the leaves in the trees, as well as to make small whirlpools out of the dust on the fresh spring earth. The crisp air of night began to creep in on them both, as well as on the surrounding forest. Her senses no longer on edge, Urma felt like she could enjoy the late evening company, for as long as it lasted. "My name is Urma. I believe you haven't seen me around because I've only been here for a couple of days, give or take. I..." her voice fell, sadness and solitude engulfing her, ...don't really belong to a pack. The ship I was on crashed on the shores somewhere West, South-West from here. I'm not really aware if there were any survivors... I didn't see any. Granted it was dark, but I would have smelled them, they were familiar scents by then..." she fell silent. Just as she thought of lowering her gaze from his, a thought occured to her, and she couldn't suppress the awe in her voice as she voiced it, "Are you in a pack?"
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My 300th post, woo![html]
"Urma, it’s nice to meet you," he said as he blinked his eyes, readjusting them to the dimming light of the night sky. He could feel the fatigue in them – their desire to stay closed as they blinked in a split second. He couldn’t agree more with them – he desired sleep as well. But for the moment, he planned on enjoying this small encounter.
"I’m sorry about the ship. There are others in the area that have also traveled here by sea. Perhaps you may find some kin in them?" He suppressed a yawn the snuck up on him, tightening his jaw for a moment as he forced it back to where it came from. "I’m one of the leaders of Shadowed Sun, a pack not too far from here. I was actually just on my way home," he informed her, curious to see what she might say. Shadowed Sun was always welcome to new members, but he could see why Urma might want to go and explore Insieme or the other packs, where he was sure those who had come by sea had settled.
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She continued to stare at him intently, not daring to break the spell of meeting someone that belonged to a place-- that unlike her, had a type of kin, had potential. He seemed to promise so much. She almost felt compelled to follow him, to dream his dreams and follow in his footsteps. Her own paws didn't seem to be taking her places she felt she could belong to. Maybe he could give her a chance. Chance had been her only guide since she had found herself ship-wrecked on that coast. The more she listened to him, the more she felt that if he was willing to let her follow, she would go with him to the end of the world. She didn't think she could make it on her own much longer anyway. If it was anything that got to her, it was the endless quiet of the forest, the lack of contact with fellow wolves. She hoped however that they would be open to a Luperci, and she figured it was best if she made that clear before following him and hoping uselessly.
"You have nothing to be sorry for. In a sense it was better that the ship crashed." The memories with the wolves on the ship, with that particular werewolf sent chills down her spine. She sat up on all fours and edged closer to him, silently hinting that if he had nothing against it she would be more than happy to join him on the rest of his journey to Shadowed Sun. Urma pondered the name for a while-- it sounded nice, hinted with mystery. As if this new world would be on the other side of the world they were in, on the other side of the sun. "Would you mind... do you think I could go with you? Is it a long way from here or would we have to spend the night in the woods?" She tried to keep the excitement from her voice, but with each thought that surfaced in her mind she found it increasingly hard to accomplish. "Would your pack be willing to take a lone wolf in? I'd do my best not to be a liability. I'd do anything it was necessary." Her tone almost pleaded with Pilot not to leave her behind. She was standing on all four paws only inches from him. For the first time, her gaze fell as she said, "Only...would your pack be willing to take in a Luperci Verto?" Even back in Europe she had heard of packs which were unwilling to take members that were not a hundred per cent wolves or gray wolves or whatever it transpired they demanded. She slowly felt the courage leave her, as volatile as the wind stroking her fur.
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If she decides to follow Pilot, we can make a continuation thread in Shadowed Sun if you want. :] [html]
He was glad that Shadowed Sun’s territory wasn’t much father. He would have loved to stick around and get to know this new face much better, but he feared that if he lingered here too long that his fatigue would overtake his body, and Pilot would end up spending the night in the woods. But as Urma came closer to him, Pilot became intrigued with her words. A smile found his lips and he thought to what Naniko had told him. He couldn’t let Dierdre’s disappearance prevent him from living.
"Shadowed Sun isn’t too far from here, actually. It’s situated right at the base of the mountain." He could see the anticipation in her eyes – the worry that maybe his pack discriminated against some type of canine. But no, she was in the clear. "Shadowed Sun accepts anyone. It’s a pack founded on the concept of learning." He rose to his feet, ready to finish up the last bit of the trek. "If you’d like to come see it, feel free to come with me. We’d be more than happy to welcome a new face."
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OOC:
That would be really nice. I guess we could continue this thread until they reach Shadowed Sun and then make like a continuation in Shadowed Sun with the actual joining or I dunno, whichever way you think is best =) Since I'm not completely sure whether by following Pilot directly into Shadowed Sun I'd need to have a separate IC joining thread or not.
IC:
Urma looked around her, trying to measure the distance through the thickening darkness of the forest. He seemed tired, vulnerable all of a sudden. She felt the desperate need to help him, so she met his gaze once more before asking, "Do you need help? You seem exhausted." She brought her muzzle close to his side, poking him gently, almost playfully, in a mute attempt at convincing him to stand up on all fours and in an equally silent offer to help him up. It was possibly due to her long separation from her initial pack that she forgot that she was to Pilot still a stranger-- that there was a limit to what she could do around him before she scared him off. She allowed herself to smile as he succinctly described Shadowed Sun to her.
"Learning? So, what you mean is that anyone can find his or her place in the pack and prove useful by honing their skills?" For a moment the fear that she would not be good at anything flooded her, drowning her courage and happiness in the short-termed despair of failure. She pulled away for a bit, the scary prospect chilling her body. She looked at her paws quizzically, as if they held the answers to all of her problems but refused to let her in on them. For a moment, she couldn't look at Pilot. She feared she might see disdain or pity in his eyes. She almost felt like mumbling a quick sorry and fleeing. But somehow the inner pull she had to follow him was bigger than her short-lived doubts. Maybe by joining this pack she would manage to free herself of them completely. "Will my presence not cause problems to you? I don't want to be trouble. You have been more than welcoming so far. Another wolf wouldn't have been as kind, most likely." Her voice was small and quiet, sounding more like a heart-felt apology. In a sense, that was what it was.
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Instead of replying here, feel free to start a new thread in Shadowed Sun. Just mark it as private and joining, and be sure to add the out of character information we need that is found here. Also, sorry to have kept you waiting on this! I've enjoyed this thread. [html]
"Thank you," Pilot responded, glad that she seemed eager to help and truthfully interested in Shadowed Sun. He silently hoped that she would decide to join once they made it to the pack lands. He smiled at her other comments. "Shadowed Sun is for anyone who wants to further skills they may already have, or learn new ones that interest them. We don’t really discriminate from one wolf to the next. As long as our members are happy and willing to help others when the time comes, then everything is well."
He turned to look off in the direction towards Shadowed Sun. Really, they weren’t that far. Either way, he was glad to have some company on the trek home. "Let’s head over. You can see it for yourself. And if you decide you really like it, then you’d be welcome to stay."
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