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Red was wandering around in Dampwoods, his favorite spot in the territory. It was full of trees, and trees meant safety was always close at hand. If anyone came after him, all he had to do was run up a tree and he could disappear. Sol licked his snaggletooth absentmindedly, thinking more about his last few encounters with the new wolves. They had come from over the mountains, and they had taken his forests. Well, they had also taken the mountains and plains, and the shores, but mostly he only cared if they took his forest.
Red knew it was illogical to think of it as his forest, but still, he felt almost like their guardian. And, at the moment, he looked the part as well. Draped over his shoulders was a long cloak that had twigs and leaves woven into it, on one hip was his usual handbag, and his blue-gray mane was hanging wildly in his eyes. All he needed now was a walking stick and a raven on one shoulder.
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Belly full with scrumptious deer, Umbra had left Tawny behind, heading westward to where the freak coyote had mentioned that other wolves had been gathering. The sun still shone down through the foliage above him, creating patterns of light and shadow on the path he walked. The forest around him was quiet, birds and small animals preferring to stay at a distance. And that's why the sound and scent of another canine reached him at the same time. And then he saw it.
He stopped, staring at the creature and not knowing whether to be horrified, intrigued or disgusted. It was obvious, this time, that it was one of those shape-shifting freaks he was dealing with; not only was it walking on two legs, but it was covered with some sort of extra pelt (infested with twigs and leaves) and carried a bundle by its hip.
Bright Luna, Umbra thought. How was he supposed to deal with this? Perhaps he could just pretend he hadn't seen the other, and just... sneak past? Yes, that would maybe be best.
So that's what he attempted, acting casual as he walked on and hoped the other male wouldn't take notice of him.
"This be speech."
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Red was simply surveying the area when he noticed a black wolf attempting to sneak away. Well, he wasn’t really sneaking, more of just walking by, but non-the-less this evoked curiosity in Red. The hybrid put a smile on his face as he moved towards the other swiftly, calling out in a friendly manner. ”Hoy!” He tried not to look like he was going to attack the other, because then that other might run away. Still, he couldn’t help but notice that this new character was on all fours, not something he had seen much of around here. Sol stopped at a respectful distance away from the other.
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Short's ok ^^ Mine's also short.
Damn. Just... damn.
Umbra turned and nodded at the stranger. "Good evening," he replied relatively calmly, disguising his frown of dismay as one of cautious intrigue. He sat back on his haunches and took the opportunity to study the stranger a bit more thoroughly. "It's not often I meet someone like you," he commented, letting his gaze slide pointedly over the items worn and carried by the two-legged 'wolf'.
He could do this. Surely he could. Maybe if he tried to see the shifter as an entirely different breed? Like... a crow, or something. Except there was that glaring canine semblance, fettering Umbra to the idea of a wolf impostor. He tried to ignore it.
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Red smiled back at the dark wolf. He wasn’t able to tell that the other was putting on a fake smile. He noticed that the other was looking at his cloak and bag. The hybrid smiled at the other and fingered his cloak slightly while he spoke. ”Uso cuando yo duermo. Él hides me.” Again, he smiled at the dark wolf. Remembering his manners he pointed to himself then to the stranger. ”Red Sol. ¿Y tú?”
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Umbra blinked. And blinked again. See how patient he was? The other wasn't even speaking normally, but threw in loads of made-up words -- probably to make himself out to be better than Umbra. Well, he failed.
"You say what?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow skeptically."I'm Umbra," he added, having actually understood that part, mostly due to the sign language accompanying the words. Well, at least this creature saw fit to introduce himself, unlike Tawny whom he'd never gotten an actual name from.
A thought hit him. "Do you even understand me?" There was the slight possibility that the other wasn't just making words up. A part of him wanted to believe that, whereas the more suspicious part of him doubted that it could be so. Partly because that meant his first assumption would have been wrong, and Umbra... Well, who liked to be wrong? Besides, it was a shifter. Anyone who trusted a shifter was clearly not paranoid enough.
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Red smiled at the black wolf that was looking so confused. Sol frowned slightly and he remembered that all these wolves seemed to speak English alone. The hybrid sighed softly and made a mental note to try and use more English in his sentences. It made him feel stupid, but if that was the only way the other could understand him-
His ears perked up at the other’s question. He got the words ‘understand’ out of the whole sentence, and he could guess what the rest was. Red bit his lip slightly and made the ‘kinda-sorta’ motion with one hand. ”Peque-… umm, no mucho.” He couldn’t think of any English words to describe what he wanted to say, so he measured an inch between his index finger and thumb.
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GRAH! Firefox shot itself mid-post, and it didn't remember it when I started it back up >.< *tries to rewrite*
Umbra groaned inwards as the freak tried to explain how little he could understand. Great. Just great. And he couldn't just walk away, could he? Not when he'd already started talking to the freak. Not without an excuse. Which he would somehow have to communicate to the other.
"Is it easier if I speak slowly?" he asked, pronouncing his words clearly, as if he was talking to a child. Well, there was little difference anyway, was there. His forelegs were tense, his tail still and unmoving. When he noticed, he made a conscious effort to relax. It was true that he didn't quite want to stay here, but there was no reason to let the other know how uncomfortable he made Umbra feel.
He might have asked this Red Sol to tell him what he knew of their surroundings and the state of packs and other wolves, but there were two hindrances. First of all, the language barrier would more than likely garble up their conversation (if it could be called such) so that everything important got lost, and secondly this wasn't a wolf. Not in Umbra's eyes, at least. And he'd been taught practically since birth that the strange shifters were not to be trusted. Which meant that despite how naive and friendly this one looked, Umbra couldn't let his guard down.
"What brings you here?" he asked instead, though why he made an effort to keep the conversation alive was beyond him.
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Red shuffled his feet slightly as the other tried to get his point through. He saw what Umbra was trying to do with how he was speaking slowly and enunciating. It was too bad that this was not the problem. The hybrid bit his lower lip slightly and shook his head. ”This not la problema. Hablo English y Espanol también.” Red placed a hand behind his head and scratched at his mane. The wolf seemed uncomfortable for reasons that he couldn’t understand, and this made Red uncomfortable.
He perked his ears at the other’s question. After much translation in his head, he frowned. ”Yo siempre here. Tú come, me place. Vivo en tree, me tree. New wolf come, take my tree.” He stared in a slightly accusing manner at the black wolf before him, even though he knew it wasn’t Umbra’s fault all these other wolves had suddenly moved in on his territory.
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No worries ^.^
This was giving Umbra a headache. He tried to understand what this creature was telling him, though it was difficult. But from what he understood, it didn't help at all if he spoke slowly. He wanted to hide his face under his paws and stay there till the other went away, but that wasn't really an option, was it? Besides, he didn't really trust one of the shifting kind to ignore such an open invitation to harm him.
Let's see... You something here. To come, me place. ...Where did that make sense? He shook his head and tried to make his way through the rest of what Red had said. Something about trees. And someone had... stolen his tree? Umbra groaned. Tree? Who cares about a tree? This guy must be seriously nuts. Unless, of course, Umbra had misunderstood things. And why was he staring like that at Umbra? Umbra had definitely not stolen any trees.
"There are plenty of other trees," he replied, looking around them as if to make a point. There were indeed plenty of trees there. "You could pick any of those, couldn't you?" Even more proof that the shifting kind weren't wolves. A wolf wouldn't care that much about a frigging tree, for Luna's sake.
He had to ask. "Why do you even want a tree?"
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It was obvious that the other wolf was at least making an effort to understand him. An ‘a’ for effort. Red was beginning to get frustrated though, maybe just because of the language gap, or maybe because he had the feeling that this creature wouldn’t understand even if they both did speak English. Right about then the wolf said something that made his point. He sighed audibly and shook his head slightly.
He perked his ears at the other’s question. Red suddenly moved very quickly to the nearest tree and shot up the trunk in a manner not unlike a cat or squirrel. The Luperci climbed onto a low branch that could hold his weight and looked down at the black wolf. Red crouched down, hanging his arms between his legs and regarding the other. He patted the branch he was crouching on fondly.
”Yo fue here first. I here, then wolf a otro come.”
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Poor Red. And poor Umbra, too XD
If Umbra could have been more taken aback and dismayed, he didn't want to know. This was horrible. Not only was it a freaking shifter, but it climbed trees! What was it? A squirrel? He just blinked up at the now tree-borne freak, too shocked to say anything at first. Yet more proof that shifters were. not. wolves. He shook his head a little.
"Right," was all he could say when he found his voice again. "Well, I'm not intending to steal any trees from you. In fact, I was thinking of moving on. I'm heading west, you see, to hopefully find more of my kind. It was nice meeting you, however."
Indeed. Umbra had had enough of talking to this one, and if there was any information to be had, he'd willingly forgo it to get away.
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Red smirked at the wolf. He really shouldn’t have felt schadenfreude at this wolf’s sudden surprise, but he did. The hybrid knew that this wolf really didn’t want to be here for some reason and was unsettled; Heavens knows why. But if it was because of Red, then don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
Red laughed at the other’s statement and almost fell out of the tree. He used one hand to brace himself as he laughed and attempted to speak between his scoffing. ”¡Sí, tú corres a sus amigos! Hah ha ha!” His eyes were closed he was laughing so hard and tears were forming in his eyes.
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Umbra: ...can I eat him now? ¬_¬
Me: No. Now post.
Was the freak laughing at him? Was he laughing at Umbra? Umbra's hackles rose, as did a growl deep in his throat. If Red hadn't been in that tree... But he was, and therefore Umbra checked himself. It rankled him that Red seemed to consider himself some sort of grandee, but the easiest solution was walking away. And therefore he snorted slightly.
"As I said, I have business elsewhere," he stated, striving to assume that cold tone his mother used when she was displeased with something. "May the goddess shine on you and give you your due." While it may seem as a well-wish, it wasn't. As far as Umbra was concerned, the "due" of shifters was nothing positive.
He nodded up at the freak in the tree, and stood up to walk away, head and tail held high.
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