Terra had wandered up north again. She was partly hoping to see Shandom, wondering if he was alright. She hadn't heard from him, but it hadn't been long enough that she felt the need to make sure he was alive, just checking to see how he liked living as a loner. The other reason for coming up was to check out the packs that she hadn't investigated yet. Terra had skirted around a mountain, not really paying attention to the fact that a pack she hadn't seen yet was there, and ended up on the borders of another pack.
Not one to skip out on an opportunity Terra backed up, playfully skirting around the borders. Pretty soon her scent was trailing along the border as well, part of the scent now clinging to her fur. It wouldn't fool anyone for a minute, but it definitely was fun. Bored with her border game Terra let out a howl, the melody dancing and dipping like a coyote's. The only difference was a coyote's song was much more complex, the wolf blood keeping her from being able to complete the complex trills a coyote usually used.
Eclipse had been practicing with her bow, having aquired some arrows for practice. She had found a nice secluded spot where she was sure no one would come withing hitting range. The field was rather big anyway so she could tell if someone was coming or not. She was a fairly average archer. She had been taught by a young loner as he traveled with her for a while through the americas, but she had stopped and he continued on. His destination was what he called “Carolina” Whatever that meant, but Eclipse had known if she went further she probably would never return home and she had every intentions of coming back because she promised Saul, Naryu and everyone else she would return. Even now, she was far too happy for a wolf to want to be, as she was home, finally home and able to tell her stories of her months gone with her friends, for years to come.
As she knocked an arrow and was about to fire a call came to her ears like one she had never heard.... well maybe in a distance and long ago, but it chilled her insides in a way that made her ever the more wary. She pulled the arrow free from the bow and put it with the rest of them in her quiver. Shouldering the small pouch, she headed for the howl, her bow in hand, but not in a posture that she was going to shoot anyone. Seeing someone at the borders Eclipse tilted her head. This woman looked in a way like the one that had come for a visit the other day. She knew they were both coyotes and lived with a few hybrids herself, but never really heard one howl like this one did.
“Hello, is there something I can help you with?”
The young woman said. Her nose twitching at the scent of the other woman, it seemed she had spent a little time at their borders and this made Eclipse all the more curious about the woman standing in front of her.
The scent of another female was what reached Terra first. By the time the brown wolf was in eyesight Terra already knew they were around the same age and that it was a wolf she was dealing with. Seeing the girl in optime form Terra gathered herself together, taking the moment to shift to two legs. Her mane thickened and lengthened out into the bright red hair she had in that form. Legs stretched and moved around, preparing for her to stand upright. The shift completed Terra stepped back, careful not to frown. It was harder moving through the snow on two legs. The true answer was practice, but Terra didn't really want to do that.
Her tail wagged politely as the wolf called down. No. I just came by to see about the peace pack I'd heard about. Thought it'd be nice to make their acquaintance. I'm Terra. Friendly as can be Terra almost tripped over the borderline in her eagerness. Luckily she caught herself just in time, remembering that wolves were a lot more territorial than she was used to. It even seemed to affect the hybrids around here, and she was yet to meet with a pure coyote.
WC: 307 OOC: Hehe sorry holidays caught up to me real quick1!!
As she came closer she saw the woman shifting to be in optime form as well, which did make Eclipse feel slightly more comfortable, but she could easily change herself, though she preferred her hands over anything else. She couldn’t cook well nor could she tend a garden in a wolf state. Though she would be doing neither here, but she still preferred it.
“It is a pleasure to meet you my name is Eclipse Soulstorm. I’ve just returned to this pack myself. We don’t mind visitors, if you would like I don’t think it should be a problem for you to cross the borders.”
She said bowing, inviting the other woman to enter the borders, though she was still slightly wary, she was going to keep an eye on the other woman, but she was happy to know that there was someone close by that was around her age. She had always been near someone who was far older or far younger than she was and it was rather bothersome to the young woman. She was happy to know that they were known as a peaceful pack, so their reputation was still pretty much the same as it had been before she left.
“We are peaceful enough I suppose, I’m sure if trouble is caused we will handle it swiftly though.”
She said shrugging, and by that she meant expulsion of the pack lands to any offenders, she was still new to the pack rules as when she joined the first time she was nearly an adult, and now that she’d come back with more knowledge then she had left with, well she had to relearn much of the traditions and cultures of this pack before really feeling too comfortable with stating the laws of the place.
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The invitation to cross was all Terra needed to hear. She bounded over, happily sniffing at the female. They were pretty close in age, bringing a quick wag from her tail. It was nice to be around someone near her age for a change. Most of her friends were older than her. Liam didn't really count, since he was still a pup himself. The others she'd run into Terra hadn't met again. They were loners though, so travel would be essential. The ones that weren't were all people she'd teased or tricked in some way, canines she didn't run into because of what might be done in payback.
Eclipse quickly corrected her view on the peaceful pack though. She said that trouble was dealt with swiftly, shocking Terra. She'd come up here to find out if the rumors were true, after having recommended it to friends. While they had given no indication otherwise, those simple words destroyed the peace loving image in her mind. It was just as well though. Terra had a low tolerance for peaceful existences. She found them far too boring.
What kind of trouble exactly? Terra really wanted to ask how they dealt with it, but that would seem far too suspicious. Terra didn't want to sound like she was planning on causing trouble, especially since she'd come to explore the pack, not terrorize it.
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Terra seemed full of energy as she was invited over and Eclipse found herself a bit happy about it, so rare was it for her to know someone who was so close to her age, she felt like a puppy again and her pushy tail wagged happily as she too got the scent of the girl who walked around her. Her smile disappeared though. She shrugged at the question...
“Mostly for anyone who wants to take away our peaceful existance. If it’s distrupted.... Don’t get me wrong we won’t hurt anyone... much;”
With that Eclipse gave a sly grin and a wink. She wasn’t going to let Terra in on everything, but she was sure the other girl understood that being dealt with usually meant a harsh escort right out of their packlands and a possible ban from them as well. They really were a peaceful pack, they didn’t like violence much, but Eclipse being one who’d seen much during her days had learned a good deal about enjoying a good laugh on account of certain violent things, though none of which she would ever do unless absolutely necessary. She loved her family and respected their rules.
“so you are from...” she took another sample of Terra’s scent; “the court? I use to live down near it. Before my family moved here with another pack. I think our packs are still on good terms. I’ve never been there myself, how’s it like?”
She asked curiously. She had been to a few packs, AniWaya, Cercatori, even lived in Crimson Dreams once, but most of the other packs she never really knew much about. Whatever she could learn though, was quite helpful to her she was sure. She liked knowing about the other packs, and learning other’s cultures was fun too especially after she came here, when she was still quite young. She learned their customs had changed drastically and she was in the midsts of absolute confusion over them, even though they were simple as could be, but she was a pup and in transition. Now she was well aware and though she was still learning the culture of her own pack liked to hear about other packs cultures and compare them.
Terra laughed as Eclipse described the consequences of threatening the peace of the pack. Her tail wagged happily. Really, taking people out for disturbing the peace would be difficult at best, if not downright impossible. There were all kinds of way to disturb peace. Someone could trespass, an unexpected visitor, puppies even. That's a terrifying thought. What kind of 'peace' are we talking about? Quiet and restful, or just no fighting? If it's the latter, well, I'm afraid I've already broken that. Escort me out? Terra's mischievous smile spread across her face, cocky and confident.
Hearing the question Terra cocked her head to the side for a moment. She wasn't exactly the greatest ambassador for people who asked about her pack. She was too involved, causing trouble and checking to see if the borders were alright. Even if she wasn't territorial, Terra was still very proud of the land her pack had claimed. It's like...a pack? People work together, do what's needed to keep each other safe. They don't chain you down either. I can go wherever I want, do whatever I want. That simple fact was the reason why she'd chosen the court in the first place. None of the other places seemed to hold the same relaxed nature, instead asking things of their members.
Bored with this line of conversation Terra stretched and smiled over at the girl. So what do you do for fun around here? I'm up for basically anything. From ordinary games of just chasing each other around to more complex ones involving lying and acting, Terra just loved to fool around.
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Word Count » 355 :: Niro will ahve to have a word with Terra when he gets back to CdM "not do anything for the pack hah! PPP J/K
Eclipse frowned slightly as the girl laughed at what she said, and her eyes narrowed a little. Surely the woman was taking her far too seriously. She shook her head as Terra spoke rolling her eyes a little in exaspiration.
“No it’s more of the no fighting, than actual disruption.”
She said. Did she really sound like they would kick anyone out if they made funny faces and spoke and laughed? That was absolutely ridiculous! When she asked about Terra’s pack she seemed far more vague than Eclipse was, though she grinned at the “Freedom” part.
“I may have duties in my pack, but I am free to go where I wish as well, maybe you didn’t get your information entirely right! But it’s ok, everyone has their place and yours was brought there.”
Eclipse smiled, her defensiveness over her own pack was decreasing and her arms went to her side. She cocked her head at the word fun. She had fun, but it was usually alone. She had never had any playmates, and when she did they were too young or too old, and she did things that were more practice for her future
“Well I like to shoot my arrows, at a target to see how good i can get, and um cooking is fun.”
Her tail wagged at the mention of cooking. She loved cooking, but she had a feeling those two things weren’t what Terra had in mind, so hopefully the other girl would have an idea of what to do. Eclipse’s hand went to the back of her neck and scratched at it nervously. She wasn’t putting too good of an example for her pack. She’d never really been near other pups, as most of the time she was traveling or she was working. She didn’t mind the work, she just never really new anything else. She had played with her dad a few times but that was in memories long past locked in the back of her mind after he left and had never come back.
Terra cocked her head to the side, listening to Eclipse describe her idea of fun. A slight shudder ran down Terra's spine at the mention of archery. For someone who caused so much trouble, arrows were a sign of pain. Having only met them after coming to the land, and meeting them in a situation where she caused trouble, Terra was well aware of the pain they could cause. It was true that an actual arrow wound hurt a lot less than Terra thought it did, but the experience of not being able to get the arrow out and the following infection had made her less than enthusiastic to experiment with them. As far as Terra was concerned, the only way to meet an arrow properly was if you were breaking it.
Cooking didn't sound very good either. In fact, it sounded like Eclipse actually spent a lot of time alone. For such a social creature, that would be extremely painful. Canines were naturally inclined to spend time together, and just hearing about it let Terra feel sympathy. Terra resolved to help keep Eclipse in touch with other canines, and thought about what kind of game they could play. A simple one seemed best at the moment. What about tag? Everyone knew how to play that. It was basically wired in. Her tail wagged hopefully, waiting for Eclipse's response.
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Yes Eclipse was no fun, but that was fault all her own. She never stayed in one place to really learn much play and when she did she didn’t really trust that of others. Even one of her cousins was fun, but it was short lived as she became more introverse. Eclipse made up games when she could but lately it wasn’t in her priority to do such things. Eclipse was a very social wolf, she knew many, though it was through her work that she did. She didn’t really play as they were usually adults and they all taught her one thing or another, so even the word tag didn’t mean much to her though it gave her interest.
“How do you play it?”
She had in a way played the game though she never really knew what it was called. She was a family wolf and her family did her well by taking care of her but because her own mother and father hadn’t been there as she grew up she had a hard time trusting anyone, so she didn’t stick around for long. It was a vicious circle and she didn’t blame even her parents for her upbringing. That was fault all her own. She watched Terra with interest, hoping to get a good enough explanation of the game, she was sure she could easily play. She learned fairly quickly. She did let her tail wag to show her open interest and her ears were perked in full attention.
Terra stared in disbelief at Eclipse. She didn't know how to play tag? That was just insanity. How could someone not know how? It was one of the oldest games out there, driven by instinct. A game of prey and predator. Yet this wolf claimed to not have any knowledge about it. She seemed eager enough to play, but teaching someone from the ground up would be rather difficult. Terra had already proven herself a lousy explainer. Her lessons had been on how to wrap words in riddles and mysteries, not how to make something plain and simple.
Still, an attempt had to be made. Tag is when one person is the deer, and the other is the wolf. You have to catch the deer, and when the deer's caught you switch. That seemed like a pretty straight forward explanation. Terra leaned up against a tree, feeling fairly pleased with herself. It would be fair difficult to not make sense of that. It explained the purpose of the game, and how to do it as well. There weren't really any rules either, which made this a great game for tricks. A pitfall, losing the trail through water. Of course, Eclipse was a beginner. They'd just stick with straightforward run and chase at first. Maybe if the girl proved to have some aptitude Terra could bring in her dirty tricks.
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Eclipse listened as Terra explained the object of the game and comprehension dawned over Eclipse’s face. So that’s what the game was called! She nodded now knowing exactly what Terra was talking about. She remembered playing that with her daddy, even the bear that thought she was a wolf, she had played it with her once. They never really called it anything. The game just happened on its own. One would touch the other and start running off in a fit of laughter and the other would chase after them. There had never been a “hey lets play this!”.
“Oh! I use to play that game! I didn’t know it was called tag though! It’s better played on four legs though.”
She wagged her tail, and with that she put her bow up a tree with the quivers, to keep them safe and started changing, she was not at all embarrassed about the change though she knew some were, and she felt as her natural body changed and shaped itself so she sat on her four paws. It took her a little longer than a normal shift would as she tended to stay in her optime form than her lupus. Once done she wagged her tail and yipped happily, letting Terra know she was ready for a little fun.
Terra couldn't escape a small sigh of relief as Eclipse recognized the game. It would be hard to play with someone who didn't know what they were doing. Terra grinned as Eclipse declared it best played in lupus form. Her eyes widened as Eclipse changed before her. Terra shifted plenty of times in front of others, but no one had done that in front of her before. It was strange, seeing the shift from outside it. It looked fairly painful, with the bones moving around disjointedly and the fur shortening and moving around. No wonder Augustus had found it so disgusting. Terra knew it was natural, and it still disturbed her a little. Well, time was the cure for that.
Eclipse finished changing, and Terra shook herself out of her revery. Promptly she began her own shift, though it was smoother and much quicker than Eclipse's. She did a lot of unneeded shifting, trying to get the best out of each form and learning what could be done with each one. Finished the shift Terra bowed down, tail wagging, before she darted up, nipping Eclipse on the air. Springing back Terra yipped happily before darting further into the pack territory, leaving the known lands behind. Her tail flashed behind her, a teasing banner for the other to chase.
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Word Count » 181 ::OOC: Short quick posts wheeeeee
Eclipse’s tail wagged more furious as the woman changed. She was used to others changing in front ofher, it was common for her to see it and it wasn’t anything she was ashamed of. She waited while the other changed, which was by far quicker than she had done, but there wasn’t any comparisons here, just a game of tag, and before she even knew it the game was on. Terra had tagged Eclipse and bounded off. Giggling and barking she ran after the other. Eclipse was a well to do hunter, and she was swift with her sleek, light form. She was made for running. She would be a runner wolf when on a pack hunt, one that would chace the prey into a trap. Her speed wouldn’t give her enough strength to kill, but she wasn’t going for a kill, she was going for a tag. So she darted after the other who didn’t know these lands, which gave Eclipse the advantage as she closed in on the girl. Reaching her head out she nipped at Terra’s tail,
Terra's tail brushed away, trying to sweep out of her opponent's reach. Jaws snapped shut on her tail though, and Terra was it. Still moving at full speed Terra tried to turn around. Her paws skidded slightly as she attempted a full spin. If Terra was just darting off to the side, the maneuver would have been seamless. As it was, for a few moments she slipped on the snow, out of control. Regaining her footing Terra flopped down, laughing. The snow felt nice and cool, and she rolled in it before standing back up.
With a mock snarl Terra dashed forward again. It was fun, playing in the snow without a care in the world. Aiming to tackle Eclipse Terra leaped with all her strength. She was too small to knock the other over, but had gained enough momentum to at least push her back some. A loud bark announced her imminent arrival, tongue lolling out.
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As soon as she felt the tip of her tail she let go, she wasn’t aiming to hurt, that was the last thing the young woman wanted. She bounded a few inches away as she watched the comical events of the other girl slipping in the snow, she giggled a little after seeing her get up and she dashed off, she had the lay of the land a bit better than Terra so she knew it well enough. She darted around a tree or so. As she raced around one tree, she heard the bark of the other and then felt her backend skid as something bounded into it. Losing her balance Eclipse skidded around and tried getting her footing again. The slippery, wet snow didn’t help any as she fell ungracefully to the ground. She rolled back to her feet, laughing, almost uncontrollably, this was absolutely fun! She hadn’t played like this for a long time. She was laughing hard enough that she gave Terra time to hurry up and run before Eclipse got her wind back.
Terra hit Eclipse, sending them both tumbling into nearby woods. Eclipse went flying a little further, feet skidding on the snow. Terra had been halted just by the crash itself, and shook herself as she stood back up. Looking at her new friend Terra grinned as she watched her laugh, rolling in the snow. It looked like a lot of fun, inviting her to jump right on in. Not one to turn away from fun Terra bounded up, snow flying from her feet. She aimed a lick at Eclipse's ear before collapsing back into the snow, rolling around. It made huge prints, looking like a monster had paraded right through.
Soon enough she straightened back up. With a single yap Terra turned and began racing through the trees. The wind whistled through her fur. She felt absolutely free, boundless by that which was around her. The trees wove around her, completely unknown. Often she skidded as she turned, at last crashing into a frozen stream. The ice cracked under her feet, dousing her in cold water. Small yelps covered her retreat before she spun around, looking to see if Eclipse followed.
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It was plain to see that both girls were enjoying themselves as they tumbled over each other from the last tag, though any one watching from the outside would absolutely laugh at the way the girls got tangled up in the snow. Eclipse could feel it cling to her as she finally stopped. Terra was laughing. A laugh was always great and it made Eclipse’s heart swell that she could be a part of this happiness. Terra showed Eclipse her elation by licking her and then was soon off. Eclipse struggled a little to get up before she was on all fours and back to chasing Terra. Terra was made for speed just as Eclipse was and it seemed had far more practice at it than she.
Her heart froze though when she saw where Terra was going, and barked out a warning, but it was too late and the girl skidded to a stop in the middle of the frozen stream. Eclipse whined, and knew that if she were to go onto the ice covered water, they would both be in for an extremely cold bath. Panting she stopped short of the ice.
“Hey come back slowly try to keep your weight level, you don’t want to fall in.”
Her voice was quavering a little. The total change of the scene made her fear of water all the more well known. This water wasn’t so deep, but it was bound to help set in hypothermia if Terra were to fall in and Eclipse wasn’t sure how much help she could be. She had helped someone by going in the water many days ago, but that wasn’t really anything she could do otherwise, so she probably would do the same for Terra, but she wanted to avoid an accident. She was deathly afraid of swimming since her accident when she was a pup, she had gotten better as of late especially when she was forced into the water, but she tended to steer clear of it if she could.
Terra turned around at Eclipse's whine. Tail wagging softly she listened as the wolf spoke. She seemed rather worried about the ice. Granted, it wasn't the thickest, but Terra wasn't in any immediate danger. She cocked her head to the side as she was asked to come back. Part of her wanted to be obstinate, cross to the far side of the stream just to mock the worried wolf. She had enjoyed their game though, so she wouldn't do something like that.
Humoring the worried wolf Terra trotted over. She was used to such conditions where she came from, with several large rivers running through. Her worry wasn't very big either. The only part she didn't like currently was that her feet had gotten wet. Reaching the shore Terra nuzzled her new friend. Don't worry, I'm fine. Just a little cold is all. Terra ducked her head down, licking the moisture from her feet. Her rough tongue worked through it, cleaning it of all the dirt she'd picked up in her travels. Satisfied that they were fairly clean and dry Terra bowed down again, ready to continue the game.
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Eclipse wasn’t one to panic with most things, but when it came to water, and possible drowning she got scared. It was a fear that went back to her childhood when she was swept away by a stream as a pup, and the only reason she was alive was because of Malachi. She was thankful of her bear mother, and she felt bad for leaving the woman. She was probably still worried about her. Eclipse watched Terra move off the ice with her eyes wide with worry. Her body was shaking a little as she had thought she would have to go in after Terra, but the girl safely got to the land far easier than Eclipse had suspected. She was a little in shock as Terra nuzzled her and then she let out the breath she had been holding.
“You were lucky. That water is cold, if you had fallen in.”
Her playfullness had started to deteriorate with the water incident. She turned to Terra as she cleaned off her paw, and resumed her play motion. Looking back at the ice, seeing where the water had melted what snow slipped through the cracks, she turned to Terra and mustered herself to continue. She took a couple steps forward to let Terra know she was on the chase. She would calm down more once she was away from the situation and back on the game.
PPP J/K 
