Even On Cloudy Days

Alder · 02-08-2011, 11:02 AM

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Element Big Grin

The shine shown weakly through the clouds, keeping the air chilled though the world was grateful for the lack of a harsh wind. Alder walked beside the mare. He had refused to ride her, fearing that his large size would hurt her. Instead he asked her softly to carry a few bags, ropes and leather pouches for the prey that he ventured outside the territory for. The snow made it hard to travel, but it made it easy to see the odd shaped paw prints of the hares that he searched for. Alder had left in the early morning, trudging through snow and ice to hunt for those he lived with. The male missed his mother, her soft voice and constant encouragement, but he was finding that his brother's family was becoming his own. He loved them, creatures he had hardly know a few weeks ago. He had never known his brother's mate until he had left Crimson Dreams, and their children were merely weeks old. But he loved them, helped to protect them, and now hunted for them. It was a sense of purpose that Alder had never known and he knew he was a better wolf for it.

Two rabbits were already strung from the mare's back, her light bay coloring flecked with drifting snow, and Alder knelt in the snow of the Shiloh Hills to examine the new tracks that he had found. The lessons with Niro were helping, and Alder was now keen enough on shifting that he tracked in one form and then changed to another for the chase (that credit could only be given to his youthful energy). Alder's short kept mane resting against his neck, floating in a light breeze as he looked to the horizon and then took up the mare's lead once again and continued forward.

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Element · 02-09-2011, 07:07 PM

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yayy!

Element had been tucked away in his Halifax library home during the entire storm in a small nook he'd found under a counter along with his favorite books, waiting out the harsh winds and bitter cold that trashed his precious home. He had spent the following day trying to dry out the books and generally fixing everything - a lot of books had been ruined, and the only ones that hadn't been were the ones that had been resting in the middle shelves - and, of course, the ones that Element had hidden with him in his cove. Those had been the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which was compiled in one large book that he had carefully and painstakingly dragged by the long and dangly bookmark in the middle, and a book of poems that he enjoyed. There he had been hidden, sleeping and reading and thinking as his belly grew emptier and he was unable to hunt outside.

Today, however, the storm was gone, and the sky, if not clear, was at least a hazy shade of gray instead of the angry black of the storm. The wind was blowing, but not nearly as fast and harsh as it had been before, and Element was glad to finally be able to be out of his cove. He was hungry, and needed to hunt.

He pricked his cupped ears and almost immediately heard the sound of tiny feet walking on the forest floor in which he'd strayed. He immediately was still and listened intently to track down where the small mammal was - the scurrying was to his left. Slowly, deliberately, he turned his head and the acrid tangy scent of a squirrel hit the roof of his mouth as he scented the air. It had stopped, seeming to scent something - at the same moment, Element bunched his hind legs and leapt on top of the squirrel. It gave a loud squeal before Element quickly dispatched of it and ate the prey gratefully.

His hunger not fully satisfied, but Element not nearly as hungry as he had been, he buried the bones of his prey and immediately heard something else - this time, it wasn't a squirrel or a mouse, but something larger. He opened his mouth and breathed in, letting the scents of the forest wash over his mouth - two scents, one vaguely familiar, and the other startlingly clear - horse!

Element barely had time to register this fact before the large, dangerous legs of the animal burst forth from the hedges, accompanied by the smaller legs of a wolf. Forgetting the familiar scent, Element raced up a tree - no doubt the horse and his owner had seen him, but here, from a low branch on the tree, he was safe from the powerful legs that had crippled Element before. Conor had been kind enough to nurse him back to health, but he didn't want to risk that pain again. He was clearly visible to the two, and he could see them, as well - and as his gaze drifted from the horse to the wolf, his emerald hues brightened.

"Alder!" he exclaimed. He remembered the boisterous young pup he had met in Crimson Dreams and had told a story to - he had been intent on the story and very curious. Element never would have expected to meet him here. "You've grown quite a lot," he said. It was true - what had been a young puppy once was now a grown wolf.

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Alder · 02-09-2011, 09:19 PM

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wooohoo!

The male placed a large paw on the shoulder of the mare, keeping his balance as then ventured through a snow drift. He watched as her eye moved backwards, her lip twitching. He took his weight off her, easing the tension that he felt coming from her. She wasn't one he had seen anyone ride, and Alder felt that she wasn't appreciative of a rider. At least she managed his presence at the very least, and though skittish she could be affectionate and playful.

Alder wouldn't have guessed that he would see the black feline again, and he was startled to see the movement of a creature so unlike the ones he had been studying all day long. Blue eyes followed the blur that run up the tree's trunk. The mare lifted her head, her eyes wide with fear. Alder held her lead, and patted her neck as he saw that the smaller beast was nothing for either of them to be afraid of. Hush He said, wishing that the horse would calm and thankfully she did.

He looked up at the familiar voice, and a smile came to his masked face. Element! He said, glad to see the green eyed cat. At his comment Alder looked away for a second, bashful still when other's commented on what he might look like. Good or bad. Its good to see you again. He spoke, his tone practiced and polite. He had enjoyed the cat's company, and had not forgotten the story that he had told him. The horse pawed at the snowy ground, shaking her head as if agitated by his choice to pause and speak with the other predator. Alder stroked her neck again, hoping she would settle.

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Element · 02-09-2011, 10:25 PM

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At first, the horse tossed its head and neighed, making a general ruckus. Element stayed in his tree safely, knowing that the horse couldn't possible harm him there. It wasn't that he didn't trust Alder - he did - but after his painful incident with the horse in Dahlia de Mai, he had learned to admire the beautiful creatures, but stay far, far away from them. Their hooves could crush and maim, and Element had learned that the hard way. The mare, however, calmed down after Alder told her to hush, and Element had to wonder at the connection he had with his horse.

He watched as Alder smiled, delighted that the boy remembered him; it had been a long time ago, when the boy was only three months of age. Now he looked at least eight or even nine, due to his height. He looked away bashfully when Element mentioned it, however, and Element guessed that he was shy.

"It's good to see you, as well," he said earnestly. It seemed that this year was his year for making friends - first, Conor from Dahlia de Mai, who he had decided he would visit soon to make sure he was doing alright after the storm, and now Alder, who he hadn't thought he'd meet again. Alder smelled slightly different from the natural fields of Crimson Dreams - he smelled like the pines of some other pack Element couldn't quite match the scent to - he decided to let the idea go. His mind switched to the horse, who started to get anxious again. "Walking with your horse?" he asked the boy.

He then looked at the mare and saw distress in her eyes; his own pupils narrowed in thoughtfulness. He had never gotten close enough to one of the horses to try and converse with it; he wasn't sure that he could. Low Speech was mostly all the same, heavily based on body language and simple words and sounds that any creature could make. Most herbivores spoke it, so he couldn't see why the horse couldn't. "{{Don't be afraid; I am a friend,}}" he told the horse gently in the Low Speech.

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Alder · 02-10-2011, 10:56 AM

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please feel free to speak for, or pp the mare Big Grin

Alder's tail wagged lightly as if he was still a pup when the cat replied with his happiness to see him again. Alder did not have many friends, for his shy nature and tendency to stay close to home made it hard for him to meet others. But he had a few from his puphood, including creatures that were not of the canine kind. Alder considered Rem, the black stallion that was Anann companion to be his friend as well as the cat that spoke to him now. They were good beasts, friendly and accepting of Alder's meek nature.

The wolf was beginning to feel a bit less self conscious and was growing comfortable far more easily then normal. I'm hunting for my brother's puppies and his mate. The storm has made it difficult for many to leave their families. Haven needed to stay home, to keep the fire going and he had enough stress just watching over his family. Alder was happy to bring home something for them to eat, even if it was just a small hare or two. She isn't my horse, but the packs. I live in Cour des Miracles now. Alder spoke, his voice growing soft at the end of the statement. When he and Element had first met he was called a Dreamer, the change still saddened the boy a bit.

In response to the mare's unhappiness Element did not seem comfortable. Alder knew that some did not like the company of such large creatures, and he figured it that was one of the reasons that the cat retreated to the tree. But when the feline spoke, in a way that Alder had never heard, the mare looked to the green eyes. Her body was still and slightly surprised at first and then she relaxed. The masked boy looked at the cat, unsure of what he had said. But the mare shook her head as if shaking off an annoying fly and then looked at Alder with a calm gaze. What was that? he asked, a smile creeping on his face, how did he do that?

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Element · 02-20-2011, 03:46 PM

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i'm so, so sorry for the delay! ill make it up to you with a long post? ^^

Element nodded in understanding and remembered the hunger he felt when he was locked up in his library and a pang of sympathy for Alder's brother's mate and her kits - or rather, her pups, he reminded himself. A small child wouldn't be able to sustain hunger for as long as the storm lasted, and he felt that Alder was doing a good deed in hunting for his family. Element, who was a cat and therefore relied primarily on himself for food most of his life, didn't quite grasp the loyalty that canines felt towards their pack, but he knew enough about love - he knew quite a lot about love - to know the pull that it had towards family and friends. He also noted that Alder had been successful in his hunting so far; all the prey was coming out from their dens to experience the fresh air.

Another concept that was not so alien to the cat - it wasn't Alder's horse, but the pack's. He let this sink in for a moment, and then understood; it was pack property, for the public to use. Apparently the pack had horses that they all shared - he could relate to that, as he lived in the library and considered all the books not his property, but everyone's to borrow and give back when done with the adventures that lay inside. The horse didn't seem to mind, either, it seemed, as she was following Alder quite serenely, with no complaints or disobedience. And it also seemed that Alder lived in something called Cour des Miracles now, instead of the Crimson Dreams that he had met the puppy in so long ago.

Element wondered briefly why he left, and what made him change his mind, but he didn't wish to pry into the young boy's private life; his voice had grown soft at the end of the statement, and Element could sense a faint feeling of sadness coming off of him, as if the move had been resolute, yet bittersweet in its nature. Element didn't know what it was like to feel loyalty to an entire pack - he didn't understand the connection canines shared in their packmates, although he did understand what it was like to be loyal to one or many friends. But Element knew that it was more than just the changing of territory; the last time he saw Alder, he had been a young pup that had had to go back to his mother at the end of the day. Now, he was an adult, and making his own decisions as well; Element wasn't one to question that.

The subject was abruptly changed as the mare stared at Element in surprise at his Low Speech words; she had understood them, however, as her body relaxed and she shook her mane. Her movements told him that she accepted the change, and that he could speak Low Speech as well. He smiled as Alder asked what that was, and how he did it.

"That was the Low Speech," he said. "Large carnivores and intelligent beings like you and I can speak the High Speech; usually cats can't speak High Speech, but my lineage was mixed with the Big Cats, and so I learned it as well as Low Speech." He gave his chest a few brief licks and continued. "The Low Speech is what most common herbavores and smaller carnivores speak; it's more based on body language, nonverbal cues, and a vocabulary that most animals can speak."

Just like there were branches of High Speech - English, Spanish, Russian - there were also branches of Low Speech - lower tiers, like the birds spoke, and higher tiers, like small carnivores (cats, rats) spoke. Element was competent in the English and slightly in the Spanish part of High Speech, most of which was composed of clicks and other sounds that mammals with jaws like a cat or a dog could make. He could also speak bird quite well; all cats could. It was a technique that was passed down from evolution to lure birds into the trap of the cat, although Element didn't use it - he respected the winged creatures too much.

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Alder · 02-23-2011, 09:43 AM

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alder is overly shy lol

Life was full of decisions that brought regret, and unhappiness. Everyone felt regret at some point or another. Alder was still moving past that, trying to leave the land of questions and disappointment and become content in his new life. It was a slow process for the masked boy, just as was getting used to his Optime body. It took time for the new limbs to feel like they belonged to him. Cours would take time to feel like his own while Crimson Dreams was as familiar to him as his four legged form. He only needed time and patience.

But there were moments that took his thoughts away from those nagging ideas, and Element had presented him with one. The male cocked his head slightly as the black feline explained, he had never heard of the term and wondered why no one had told him of it before.

When the wolf was just a pup he had tried speaking with every creature that he had come across. Though he had been so young at the time he remembered vividly the time he had been chased off by a goose that had not appreciated his polite introduction. It had made meeting Element such a moving experience for the boy, a non-canine that wished to speak to him. It had been a dream.

Blue eyes looked at the mare, then back to the cat. It was the most fascinating thing he had ever heard of, and Alder could hardly contain his questions. Truly? You can talk to her? Alder had thought himself crazy for speaking with another one of the horses in the stables. Of course he had been the one doing the talking but he had felt like she was listening, even speaking through the gestures of her ears, face and eyes.

I have always wanted to speak with birds and other creatures, ever since I was a pup. I hadn’t known then that they didn’t understand. His voice was soft as he confessed these secrets.

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Element · 02-27-2011, 11:17 PM

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"I can," the black feline said with a certainty that he had never doubted before, and didn't now. Speaking in two languages was as natural to him as hunting or breathing, and he could do it with ease. He had learned the Low Speech from listening to the larger herbivores that were much too large for him to eat - the deer and the porcupines and other such animals that spoke in low voices about simple things. The Low Speech was a simple speech, an instinctual one - it was much easier to learn it from High Speech than it was to learn High Speech from the Low. Element had learned both simultaneously from his kitten hood, and now he had no trouble distinguishing between the two.

Element nodded at Alder's next comment, glad at the young boy's eagerness to speak with all sorts of animals. He could, however, sense a sort of shyness to the comment. "That's nothing to be ashamed of," the cat said. "It's a mark of a mature and intelligent mind that you want to learn and speak with animals other than wolves. It's not very difficult to do, either - would you like me to teach you?" he asked.

Element had had several students in the Low Speech in the past, and he enjoyed teaching all of them - he certainly wouldn't mind teaching young Alder, who had already listened to some tales he had to tell so long ago, when he was still a little puppy in Crimson Dreams.

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Alder · 03-06-2011, 03:18 PM

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so sorry for the wait!

This seemed to be a dream, or one of those stories that he had been told as a pup. No one got things that they wanted so very badly and was told that they couldn’t have. They only happened in fairy tales. But here was a cat, an honest feline, and he was telling Alder that there was a way. The wolf had wanted it so badly, and to think that it was obtainable, and even… Easy? The wolf nodded his head, and lowered himself to the ground and folded his legs so that they crossed. He had let go of the mare’s rope, but then he knew she would not wander. She didn’t seem like the type.

I would. Alder said as he sat. He had never wanted a lesson as much as he did this one. The youth was a good listener, and he was a good learner too. He was sure he could do it, he was try as hard as he could. Please. He added, knowing that to be polite was the only way he would get anything he wished for. Blue eyes looked at the black and green cat, tail waving lightly behind him.

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Element · 03-07-2011, 11:34 PM

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tis fine! <3

Element was delighted in the pure interest and longing Alder showed in learning something; he's had many students in many subjects, but this one was the most inquisitive, the most curious and willing to learn. He let go of the rope to the horse and sat down on the ground, cross-legged; Element glanced at the horse for a moment, and she looked back calmly. He seemed to have established a good relationship with her so far; at the very least, he wouldn't harm her. Thinking that the lesson would go better if he wasn't higher than his students, he bunched his haunches and leapt down to where the wolf and mare were, waiting for the lesson.

"Okay," the cat said, his tail curved in a question mark-esque fashion behind him. "One of the first things to learn about the Low Speech is that it's a simpler type of language than the High - it's based on a small vocabulary that could mean plenty of things. For example, the standard Low Speech greeting, which is {{greeting}}, could be used for mornings, evenings, night, hellos, goodbyes, or anything of that nature. Likewise, an adjective such as {{good}} - which translates to 'good' - could mean that something is good, something is right, common, or anything like that. Generally, in Low Speech, the circumstances define what meaning the word your saying takes on." He paused to lick his chest for a few moments, then continued.

"The Low Speech is also heavily based on body language. Try to follow your instincts when you speak it, and let go of any observations or deep thoughts of anything of the sort, or it may interfere with the body language." Element had always found this to be true - intelligence separated certain individuals from the outside world, rendering them observers rather than participants. If one could empty their mind of the part that made them the observer, it was infinitely easier to speak the Low Speech as well as be more in tune with nature.

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Alder · 03-09-2011, 11:06 AM

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maybe we can wrap this up? I <3 threading with you, btw!

Blue eyes watched the feline, not wanting to miss any bit of the lesson that was about to be given. His tail had not ceased its slow wag, but his attention did not drift an inch. When the cat spoke, Alder listened. The words were only slightly different it seemed, and the vocabulary was not as large as the one he knew now. It was truly a low speech, smaller words that were nonspecific. He had come to understand that the minds of these creatures were simpler then his kind. Simpler, not slower or easily manipulated as some might think. The horses were quick, and smart. They had tricked Alder in the past.

He was silent, soaking up the cat’s explanation and repeating the low speech words in his head. He had understood that looking at a horse’s body would tell him it’s feelings, and watched their ears and eyes constantly. But maybe there was more that he was missing; perhaps he was in his head and over thinking things far too much. Alder nodded his head slowly, showing that he understood what the feline was saying.

I have noticed that the horses speak little to each other, but seem to be able to say a lot through their silence. Alder turned to the mare, a small smile on his face and tried his first low speech words {{Greetings}} The mare looked at his, ears relaxed and her body unchanged.

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Element · 03-13-2011, 04:03 PM

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no problem! and i <3 threading with you too! Big Grin

Element, encouraged by the boy's eagerness and extraordinary learning ability, he continued, teaching him the different, vague words of the Low Speech and the grammar rules; it was a lot simpler than even the simplest languages of the High Speech, and was very easy for someone to learn. For them to learn it, however, they had to want it, first - and Alder certainly did want to learn it, as he was quite eager and paid attention. After the lesson, Alder said something, and Element nodded.

"Cats are mostly the same way," he said. "If I didn't know High Speech, I would be quite silent." Most cats were, he reflected; while some animals, such as squirrels and birds, chattered quite often and relied on mostly vocal cues to tell each other things in the Low Speech. Other, more silent animals, such as cats, horses, and some more intelligent reptiles, relied on heavy body language to convey meanings. High Speech was based off of more vocals, although Element did sometimes still communicate with others using his ears, whiskers, and tail to give off emotions and feeling.

He smiled as Alder said hello to the horse. After a few more spoken exchanges, he continued to teach Alder the finer points of the Low Speech; the lesson went on for a while longer, until he felt that he had taught Alder all he needed to know to communicate with the lesser animals. "With that knowledge," he said, "you should be able to communicate with birds, horses, and other cats. It truly was nice to see you again, Alder," he added genuinely.

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Alder · 03-14-2011, 11:30 AM

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I'll archive this! thank you so much for the thread Big Grin !!!!

He had never heard a rabbit call out, only when they met there end did he ever hear their voice. He could not imagine that they screamed at one another in such a way, and figured that they spoke in whispers and in the way their body moved. But they were not overly social creatures, not like the wolf pack. Perhaps they did not need voices, not as loudly as he species did.

Element spoke of his own species, confessing that his own were quiet as well. Alder thought about it for a moment, and figured that he was certainly grateful that the cat had learned High Speech. He appreciated his company so very much. The wolf, nodded but kept quiet and listened to the way of the slighter speech as his teacher spoke it.

The young male was a sponge, absorbing the ideas and tricks that Element taught. There was very little that the tree named boy was uninterested in learning, but the language of birds and horses would never be forgotten and he could hardly wait to practice with the flocks returning north for the spring and summer and the horses living in the stables. Perhaps he would befriend a song bird, or as Niro had; a great bird of prey. He didn't know yet, what kind of creatures he would meet and converse with after gaining the precious knowledge that the midnight feline could give him, but he could hardly wait.

Despite his excitement the tall wolf sat patiently until his lesson was done, and bowed his head at the cat. Thank you so much Element. I hope to see you again soon. Alder stood, the rope of the mare in his hand and he once again praised the cat for his generosity. Thank you again. His tail waved, saying his good byes with a smile.

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