A Stranger Among Deers

Izaak · 10-07-2010, 03:23 PM

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OOC here: 537 words

Izaak was once again out and away from Inferni, this time having brought Blitzen along with him. The reindeer was right around five months and already had a good start on his horns. Right now they were just single stems that were growing straight up, though there was a slight curve in the structure, and hadn't started branching off yet. They were also still covered in velvet. It had been about a month since Izaak had first convinced the reindeer to return to Inferni with him. Now he was taking his pet out with him. He had returned through the area where he had first found the reindeer. His baby had been so good that thought to bring it back and get some more of those berries that he had first lured it away with. It was a treat for the young animal as well as a bit of exercise.

The child walked through the trees and looked around for the berry bushes that Talitha had taken from a little more than a month before. He was having a bit of trouble with it since he had no idea what exactly he was looking for. Inadvertently he had moved from the Eclipse and onto the Reserve, broaching upon a pack land. He hadn't seen anyone else around and so hadn't considered that there were those that lived past the trees. Actually the only thing that he saw were a few deer. And it was these animals that he ended up pointing out to the reindeer walking along at his side. "Anhand Blitzen, sehen sie aus wie Sie." The words were spoken to the animal as if the other could actually understand him. And for the most part it seemed it did since it looked to where Izaak was pointing. "Keine Sorge, Sie sind größer und schöner." The coyote child gave a pat to the reindeer's head and started walking again.

When coming to the barbed wire fence he found the break in it and led Blitzen through with him. Izaak was unable to get close to the other deer but it didn't matter. He wasn't really after them anyways. Rather he was just out on a walk with Blitzen. "Ich sehe nicht die Beeren, Blitzen." The words were given in a quiet manner as the boy glanced around the area about the two of them before focusing on his pet once again and speaking to him. "Siehst du die Beeren?" He was speaking to the animal as if it could actually respond to him. And of course he didn't see it as a problem or strange at all. But then again he often spoke to himself so at least he was speaking to some other living creature this time. Even if it wasn't one that could speak in actual words. At least the actions showed that it was listening. Or at least that is what Izaak was assuming anyways. With the way that Blitzen was glancing around Izaak assumed that he was helpinh ot look for the berries. Or else it could easily be that the reindeer was hungry and just lloking for food and not really paying any attention at all to the young coyote boy.

Theodoric Martin · 10-13-2010, 12:31 AM

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ooc... wc: 328

Although owls were nighttime creatures, Theodoric had the impression that his had not been raised by her natural parents. The young eagle owl was a stunning creature, and had been a going away present from an equally stunning stranger. He was fairly certain the giver had been mute, and although the owl could speak her, doing so voluntarily were rare. On several occasions, the Gatlvska had offered the avian her freedom, but she had always declined. That was, of course, if she even understood the offer – Theo could only speak a little of the low speech, and was uncertain how much of the higher languages she understood.

And so, when Theodoric took a break from his day’s tasks and went on a walk, the silent owl came with him. He had no destination in mind, and thus let the bird pick their meandering path. The woods thickened, then thinned again, and despite the daylight, the owl managed to hunt successfully. She even tackled a large hare, which Theo finished with the knife from his belt. Roasted, the hare would make a nice main course for the evening’s dinner.

The quiet duo eventually made their way to the pack’s borders, which generally signaled the end of the day’s walk. Since arriving, the Scottish weaver made an effort to walk in a different direction each day, familiarizing himself with the AniWayan packlands. Mostly, these jaunts were lonely and uneventful. Today, however, he came across a strange sight. A coyote youth and a young reindeer were in a clearing near the borders, and judging from their body language, looking for something. Leaving the owl to witness silently from the treetops, Theodoric approached, his accent lilting as he spoke, “Are you looking for something, lad?” The owner-and-pet duo were beyond the borders, and the boy smelled distinctly of another clan. However, the coyote was young enough, and his companion odd enough, that Theo ignored which side of the borders they actually stood on.

Izaak · 10-18-2010, 01:48 AM

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OOC here: 345 words

Izaak had no idea at all that he was trespassing. He didn't even realize he had left the land known as Ethereal Eclipse. The only thing that he knew was that eh was looking for berries. He had no idea where to look. Where they had been found before. He didn't even know that they may be out of season. All he knew was that someone else had picked them and Blitzen had enjoyed them. So he wanted to treat his pet reindeer once again. After all the albino baby had been a good boy and remained around Inferni, even going so far as to stay out of trouble. That of course deserved a reward. But how was he to reward his baby if he couldn't find the items that he wanted to reward the young creature with?

Izaak turned his head to look at the other canine as he was questioned. He had been so intent on finding the berries that he hadn't even noticed anyone else was in the area. "Auf der Suche nach Beeren. Blitzen genießt Beeren." He spoke in German without even considering that the other was using English. After all he had been using German around Blitzen and hadn't thought to switch up languages to make himself understood. And who knew, he might in luck and this male understood German as well. Granted that seemed like a far fetched hope but it couldn't be overlooked. It had happened before. She hadn't spoken it in return but she had understood him when he spoke it. So it was always a possibility.

A hand had reached out to pet the reindeer as the animal nudged up against him. It seemed to be hinting at Izaak to keep looking instead of just standing around and talking. After all the young coyote boy had promised the animal that he would look for them. Whether all of that was actually understood could only be speculated. But still, maybe this guy knew where to find the berries so that he wasn't wandering around aimlessly any longer.

Theodoric Martin · 10-19-2010, 10:32 PM

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wc: 281

Theodoric knew well that losing one’s way was easier than finding it again. Especially for the young, who were not as well versed with shifting landscapes or defining borders. Whatever the Scottish-born male might have said regarding Izaak’s trespassing, the words died unspoken on his lips. What language was that? Part of his early training within his family’s warehouses had been dealing with merchants of all sorts, including ones that spoke in other tongues. Theodoric, however, had little talent for words in any language other than his own, and let other members of his family handle the business matters. He retained a few catchphrases, but not nearly enough to carry on a conversation.

Thinking hard for a moment, the grayscale luperci finally spoke, each word carefully (and poorly) enunciated. “Entschuldiung Sie, aber Ich spreche nur ein bißchen Deutsch.” Truthfully, ‘only a little’ was stretching the extent of his vocabulary, but he remembered this phrase and not the one for ‘I don’t speak any’. Of course, there was a chance that his accent was bad enough that he wouldn’t be understood at all.

Puzzled on the current language barrier, Theodoric spared little thought for how such a young coyote could come to tame a beast as unpredictable as a reindeer. Master-and-pet was his assumption of their relationship anyway, having watched the deer nuzzle the boy’s arm. Trying to decipher the youth’s words, Theo repeated the words he thought he’d heard in his head, pulling the foreign language apart syllable by syllable. “Berries!” he exclaimed, finally remembering. “You are looking for berries?” Theodoric had always confused Beeren with Bieren, and by wanting to remember the latter, he had learned the definition for the former.

Izaak · 10-22-2010, 04:19 PM

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OOC here: 306 words

Even if the pronunciation was a poor rendition of the language Izaak had picked up on the key words. Just the attempt was enough to put a grin on the boy's lips. He wasn't used to anyone, outside of family, attempting to talk to him in German. So of course that small feat had the child happy. It had him giggling and clapping his hands together. He was so used to being told in English that he wasn't understood. So just the attempt at German was enough for him. And even better than that was when the other deciphered just what he was looking for.

The coyote child nodded his head gleefully. "Blitzen needs berries." The boy tried to explain, pointing to the albino reindeer to indicate who he was talking about. It really had been luck on his side that he had gotten Blitzen. The calf had just started to eat by himself and Izaak had hand fed him some berries to lure him back to Inferni. The first week of that stay he had kept the animal inside of the room with him and would cuddle the caribou when sleeping. After that first week his uncle wouldn't put up with it anymore and said Blitzen had to stay outside. After that Izaak had taken to spending his waking time outside and playing with Blitzen. Only having each other, as well as the coyote feeding the reindeer from his hand, had formed a bond between them.

"I tells Blitzen we gets berries but I noes fine anys." Just as the other had some trouble with German Izaak had a bit of difficulty with English. His accent often got in the way and gave him a hard time with a few words but he tried his best to make his speech clear enough to be understood.

Theodoric Martin · 10-25-2010, 01:46 AM

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wc: 307

Theodoric’s rendition of German must have been pretty awful, because the coyote child responded with giggles and handclaps. However, the spoken attempt appeared to appease the boy, who was now smiling from ear to ear. Smiles were always infectious, and the Scottish immigrant soon had an uncle’s indulgent grin. He was pleased they had found common ground and he generally got on well with kids. Additionally, communicating across a language barrier here, he found, was much more entertaining than it had been back home. Perhaps if his former schoolmasters had possessed some of the young coyote’s spirit, their lessons would have been more eagerly committed to memory.

Unfortunately for Izaak’s quest, Theodoric was brand new to the AniWaya territories. Furthermore, Theo’s world for the majority of his life had consisted of workrooms, markets, and city streets. He was a craftsman, not a woodsman. “I’m new here, and don’t know where berries grow,” he made sure to speak slower than normal, but not so slowly that it was insulting. “I can help you look though. Two sets of eyes are better than one, eh?” The search was not hopeless. After all, they were canines with noses and instincts, not some sensory-deaf human being.

The weather was fine and they had plenty of daylight left; Theodoric thought they might try heading towards the edges of the Mersey Lagoon. He thought he remembered that berries needed plenty of water and sunshine to grow properly, and it seemed like as good a place as any. It was a decent walk, but they could always search along the way – maybe they would get lucky. “Will your friend follow us while we look?” He gestured to the baby reindeer, noticing the animal’s albino coloration for the first time. Certainly, it helped explain why the deer was in the coyote’s company.

Izaak · 10-29-2010, 04:57 PM

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OOC here: 343 words

No one could really expect him to be an expert at German if he wasn't his first language. It was the attempt that really mattered. That he had even tried to speak the language that Izaak had spoken was a big feat. After all Izaak struggled with English. Just because the pronunciation wasn't accurate didn't mean that he had no idea what he was talking about. There were just words that he couldn't get his tongue around. And of course there was the accent to work through. Theodoric would just have to be patient with him and try to decipher and understand what it was that he was trying to say when Izaak was trying his best after all.

"Blitzen helps toos!" The words were spoken eagerly with a nod of agreement as the other male said that he would help. It wasn't like Izaak knew this area too well either. The clan of Inferni was to the north and settled at the base of the mountains and he had traveled to the south. It was also in this southerly direction that he had also came across Blitzen. So of course he came back this way to find what it was that he had lured the caribou calf with. It was the only place he knew to go since that is where who had been with had gotten them from. All he knew was that they had been in the trees at the times. And well he was in the trees again but he still didn't see the red fruit which had been fed to the reindeer.

As Blitzen was gestured to Izaak looked over at his pet and nodded. "Blitzen, folgen." The child commanded just in case, though he really had no doubt that the animal would trot along at his heels just as it had been doing the whole time. After all they were trying to find special food for it and Blitzen seemed to understand that to some extent. Or if not it still had kept pace with Izaak anyways.

Theodoric Martin · 11-01-2010, 11:23 PM

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(wc: 316)

Despite his six years, Theodoric still couldn’t decide if he liked children or not. Because he had been raised in a large, sprawling familial community, his experience with kids was generally limited to ones directly related to him in one way or another. He was used to having youngsters underfoot, but generally interacted with them sparingly. Theo did have young nieces and nephews that he doted on, and knew he liked his siblings’ offspring. Without the uncle’s title, however, he felt as if he were venturing into uncharted waters. Theodoric had an adventurer’s spirit, but he sometimes had a hard time shaking off the rule-based legacy of his structured upbringing.

The new AniWayan was uncertain what he’d got himself into, agreeing to help the younger male and his albino companion. Theo was confident in his ability to look, but not so much in his ability to find. Even if he had more knowledge of the pack’s territories, he lacked experience with American flora and fauna. Additionally, he knew the date was edging toward the end of the harvesting season, but was unsure if the shorter days affected the density and frequency of berries or not.

Whatever misgivings Theodoric might have had dampened in the presence of the young coyote’s enthusiasm. Spirits high, he smiled and said, “Okay, let’s go then.” The Gatlvska set a steady but meandering pace toward the Mersey Lagoon, hoping to stumble across the sought-after berries somewhere along the way. When he could spare his senses from searching, he tried to keep up a conversation with the other male. “The deer is Blitzen, yes? What’s your name?” Wrinkling his nose in an involuntary gesture of concentration, he tried the German: “Ich heiße Theodoric. Wie heißen Sie?” Even though his companion was younger, Theo kept to the formal form of the language. In his personal philosophy, a little extra politeness never hurt.

Izaak · 11-10-2010, 05:06 PM

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OOC here: 512 words

Izaak was one of those cases that could make it easy to determine if children were liked or not. He certainly had an abundant amount of energy. He could also become easily distracted by things that he found to be interesting. Unfortunately he found most things to be interesting. There was just so much that he had never seen or done before. So what if he was nearing one year in age? His time spent in Germany had mostly been spent indoors. And when he was outside he wasn't allowed to travel too far away from the one room shack that he lived in. His mother was always to busy to teach him basic things. So now that he was n Canada every day was an adventure to him. Every day was filled with something new and interesting to explore and learn about.

Theodoric knew more than Izaak at least. The coyote child didn't even know that there was a such thing as seasons. he knew it got colder around his birthday but he didn't know that this was a season or just how important that it was. He just assumed that whenever he went to look for something that it would always be there. He didn't realize that there was only a certain time when some things could be acquired. Heck, he didn't even know the words flora and fauna let alone what they were. He couldn't tell what was in Germany, let alone what was in Canada or America.

The still young coyote followed after the wolf and of course the albino creature followed along as well. Blitzen stuck close to Izaak, keeping the coyote between him and the wolf. It was what the caribou always did. It always kept Izaak between him and all others. And Izaak was so assured that Blitzen would follow that he didn't bother to look back and make sure. Blitzen had gotten into the habit of following wherever Izaak went so he wasn't worried at all.

The youth nodded in response to the words. The wolf had made the proper deduction. "Mein Name ist Izaak und dies ist Blitzen." He returned the German speech, introducing himself and his companion properly. There was a smile on his lips as he got to converse in German. That was something that didn't happen often. Usually he was stuck speaking in English. Or more like trying to speak in English since he didn't do the best job of it. But at least he tried. He made the attempt to make himself understood. All he could really ever do would be to try. His grammar and pronunciation were off but at least he knew the language. At least enough to try for conversation rather than there being a language barrier. It was one of the very few things that the boy did know. One of the only things that he could boast about. Actually it was lucky that he could speak English as well since there were a number of other things that he didn't know and couldn't do.

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