[html] Adelaida picked her way with caution. For the past few weeks since returning to these lands, the lands she had been born and raised in, she had kept herself hidden. Lurked in the damp forest, Ethereal Eclipse, far from the high traffic areas. Yet she had watched them, from a distance at least. Ever since her meeting with the older female, one of these intruders, she had been cautious, although why she was not completely sure why. The female had assured her the packs were fine, normal, full of good wolves. Nothing to fear. It was the coyotes she truly did not wish to run into, but still, these newcomers made her uneasy. Perhaps it was because now she was the newcomer. It did not matter that she technically had been here first, because in her absence they had taken over. There numbers were more concentrated than any pack she had know before, but they were all scattered into smaller packs. Something she still did not understand.
Now as the tri-colored female contemplated these newcomers she made her way through the lands, skirting any of the lands that were clearly claimed. Adelaida wound up on the beach north of the human’s city, and thankfully it was empty. Baby steps. The female had made it this far without seeing any of them, or having them see her, and that was just fine with her. Maybe in another week or two she would venture to meet them, make contact. Yet what had she to say to any of them? Did she want to join them, or was she destined to live like a phantom among them, for surely she would not leave these lands. She wouldn’t be the one to be driven out.
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Sorry it took so long =) I just wanted to get a little bit ahead in my other threads first.
After having met Punk, Umbra felt a lot better. He'd gotten proof that there were lone wolves around here that were actually wolves. So as he wandered farther south, he even found himself humming quietly to himself. In the far-off distance he could see one of those human-made dens -- or so he assumed they were -- and hesitated for a moment. But... humans weren't wolves, and as far as Umbra knew, they'd never even pretended to be such, unlike the freaks. And so he continued on.
He hadn't come close to entering the dwelling when he paused again. This time because an errant breeze brought the scent of another wolf to him. A female again; Umbra hoped that she wouldn't be another freak in disguise. So cautiously he directed his steps toward her instead. If nothing else, perhaps she could provide some information on nearby packs? Umbra rather liked this place; if he were going to settle down soon, perhaps somewhere around here might be good? Or perhaps there would be another place that was even better.
"Greetings," he called out to the female as soon as she was within earshot, and then stopped there. Best let her decide whether she wanted to approach him or not. He did, after all, think she looked a tad... surprised? Frightened? Whatever it was, Umbra didn't want to scare her away.
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Greetings. Her ears perked to better hear and her head shot up, eyes narrowed in the direction the voice had come from. Life liked to play tricks it seemed, for just as Adelaida was thinking on just how much she did not wish for company, a stranger caught sight of her. The lone wolf smiled at the irony and stood still a moment, staring at the stranger in the distance, debating just how silly it would be to turn tail and flee. Yet that would be rude, and this male sounded as if he meant no harm, and so the female took a few steps forward, wary, and then picked up the pace a little. "Hello there." The female called out in a voice that matched her behavior, not quite meek but certainly untrusting, hesitant. Still she moved forward and only ceased to move forward once there was a much smaller distance between her and the stranger, but still a respectable and impersonal distance.
The female took a quick survey of the male, and he seemed nothing out of the ordinary. Nor did he carry a strong scent of any of the packs that she had been observing but avoiding the last few weeks. Both were good signs, because although her meeting with the wolf Iskata had not been unpleasant, it had seemed weird once it was over with Adelaida had a chance to think about it. A wolf that defended coyotes, the idea still puzzled her. "Hello... I’m Adelaida," the female remembered to introduce herself to this stranger, the frenzy she had been in meeting Iskata had worn away even if the uneasy feelings persisted. "Did you want something?" After all, he had called out to her first.
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Adelaida is so cute ^3^
The female cautiously approached him, but still stopped at some distance. Not wanting to scare her away, Umbra sat down to show that he wasn't inclined to do anything but talk. She was called Adelaida. It was a pretty name. Umbra tried it out under his breath, and found that it rolled off his tongue easily. He smiled, especially now that she was closer and he still didn't pick up either pack scent or that strange tinge that he'd found in all shifters he'd met lately.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Adelaida," he replied. "My name is Umbra, and I didn't want anything, really, other than to get to talk to you for a while." After deliberating it for a tremulous heartbeat or two, he then decided to risk it. "I've met so few real wolves lately," he said, "that every one that I do meet is a goddess-given gift."
If she reacted badly to that, then... Well, he guessed then he'd have to run.
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Thanks, she tries XD. Also, you need to explains weres to her, Adelaida secretly lives under a rock.
As the male sat Adelaida offered him a smile, in obvious relief. She too lowered herself into a sitting position, waiting for the male to state his purpose, if he had one at all. Which by his words he didn’t really, but he spoke kindly and politely and Adelaida decided that she wouldn’t mind speaking with him for a while. "Oh.. Why thank you, it’s a pleasure to meet you as well." And it was, although her words came out a little surprised at his greeting. And then the words begun to sink into her head, and she looked at him quizzically. Something he had said didn’t make sense, something was off. "Excuse me, but a real wolf? You mean not a coyote?" If that was what the other had meant, well Adelaida could certainly understand his appreciation at not being in the company of one of those creatures, yet certainly he would have been able to tell if she had been one or not before he approached, and still the words were odd for that meaning as well.
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Eep! Sorry about the long wait >.< Umbra wouldn't talk to me for a while. And even now, this post is short >.< Sorry.
Umbra blinked at her confusion, equally confused. Didn't she know about shifters? Or maybe she did, but didn't realize that was what he was talking about?
"I'm sorry if I confused you. No, I wasn't talking about coyotes. I was talking about them shape-shifters; I'm not one myself, so they tend to make me feel... edgy." Maybe it explained a little more about himself than he normally said, but it would also provide an excuse should she be pro-freaks, or even (perish the thought) a freak herself.
He rather liked her scent. He wasn't in love, of course. No, Umbra wasn't the kind to just fall in love with random people. But he liked what he saw of her so far, and wouldn't mind hanging around to get to know her better.
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Although the kind male provided what sounded like a sensible explanation, Adelaida was still at a loss. Shape-shifter? The masked female hesitated, and then finally spoke, her voice low and apologetic, she hated to appear so ignorant when this male was being so patient with her. "I’m sorry Umbra, but I still don’t understand. What’s a shape-shifter?" Were they anything like the coyotes? Adelaida hoped not, because having coyotes in her lands was bad enough, and Umbra seemed to hold a negative opinion of the shape shifters as well.
"The wolves that came from over the mountains, are they shape-shifters?" Perhaps, or perhaps there had been shape-shifters in these lands before as well. It was hard to say as Adelaida and her family had kept to themselves, easier to keep away from unsavory characters when one lived in seclusion. Now that the population of her lands had exploded upon her return, Adelaida found that staying away from the new wolves was much harder than she had originally thought.
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If Umbra had been surprised before, it was nothing compared to now. Had she never even met one of the freaks? He stared at her, mostly in wonder, but also in slight disbelief and... strangely enough, hope. But then he shook himself and smiled, a little apologetically.
"I'm sorry," he said. "It's just that I've never really met anyone before who didn't at least know of them. It seems to me they're everywhere. They can change their shape. Grow larger, or become two-legged, their front paws changing shape too, becoming long and toe-separated. So they use tools." The last word was uttered with a slight hint of disgust. "Most that came over the mountains seem to be of that kind, yes. I'm not, however."
Her words seemed to indicate she was a native to these lands, and Umbra found himself wondering if indeed there had been no freaks here before the fire up north? But wait, no. That... Red something. He'd also been here since before the fire, hadn't he?
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Had Adelaida not been so busy feeling dumbstruck, she would have felt foolish for having not of heard of the shape shifters before. Apparently her lack of knowledge was a rarity, and later, when she got over the shock of her new knowledge, she would silently curse her parents for keep her and her siblings so sheltered. For now, however, she merely stared at the male as he spoke in awe. Her brilliant blue eyes widened and Adelaida had trouble forming any real coherent thought. "O-oh!" and that was all she could manage for the moment. Calming herself a bit, she looked incredulously at Umbra. Perhaps this male was just pulling her leg. His story did sound far fetched after all, it was as if he had told her that the land beneath her feet was going to open and swallow her whole. Yet, Umbra had seemed so surprised when she had admitted she did not know of them, it did not seem likely that he would be lying. And the male made sure to reassure her that he was not one of them, which was well, because if he had said that he was one, she probably would have turned tail and fled at that moment. "They... they sound awful." Maybe that was an unfair judgement as she had yet to really encounter one, but it was a strange and frightful concept. There were more questions running through her head, but Adelaida found that speaking was still hard while trying to digest this information. So instead she look at Umbra apologetically, for her lack of anything thoughtful to say and also for her ignorance in these matters.
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Yay! Postage! ^.^
Umbra glowered a little at nothing in particular, recalling that awful, awful moment before he left the woods. "They are," he agreed then. "Some give an appearance of being normal wolves when they're not. Some appear to be honest and honorable. They're not. You can't ever trust them; they'd just as soon attack you from behind as help you."
Even that Red something. He'd appeared to be a nice guy, despite being a freak. But then he'd mocked and laughed at Umbra, for no reason at all. No, Umbra never wanted anything else to do with them if he could help it. Well, except killing them, of course.
He had to make a conscious effort to relax again, and offered Adelaida an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry," he said. "I... tend to get fairly passionate about it."
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Umbra confirmed that the shape shifters were indeed awful, and Adelaida shuddered. Although she hadn’t come across a two legged creature like the monsters he was describing, what if she had come across one of them unshifted? Iskata, for instance. The female had seemed nice enough, despite her adamant defending of the coyotes. It was unnerving to know that they could walk about like normal wolves and yet, they weren’t normal wolves at all. "Don’t apologize." Umbra had gotten worked up about the issue, but Adelaida liked that about him. This male seemed sincere, and it helped her to know that he was being honest. The cream colored wolf with the chocolate boots and mask was not a trusting wolf, but Umbra seemed like the kind of wolf that maybe she could trust. Just maybe. Of course, she didn’t know all that much about him at all, so who was she to say? It was just a feeling. "And you? Did you come over the mountains with the rest of them?" She spoke more calmly now, although she was still spooked by Umbra’s description of the strange creatures, they weren’t here now, and she could relax, a little at least.
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It's so fun to badmouth shifters XD And I read your thread with Hel, too XDD Yay!
It was a relief that she didn't seem taken aback or nervous about his heated words, and Umbra smiled at her in thanks. He didn't want to scare her away when he'd finally met someone (other than Punk) who wasn't a freak. But then she asked him whether he'd crossed the mountains with the freaks, and for a heartbeat -- before he recalled that she was an innocent when it came to them -- he was outraged that she'd suggest he'd ever travel with the freaks. Then, as he did recall it, he calmed down again.
"Not as such," he said. "It's true that they came here at the same time, because of the fire, but I wouldn't say that I came here with them."
He looked at her curiously. "What about you?" he asked. "Have you lived in these parts all your life?" If she had, perhaps she was the person to ask if she knew a good place to settle down. Perhaps... Perhaps she might even be willing to settle down with him? Provided they found more real wolves, of course. Two wolves didn't make a pack, but it was a start.
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Adelaida drew back a bit, realizing her mistake in word choice. She did not wish to imply that he had traveled with them, but rather, had he come from the same lands as they? Or at least in the same direction? Already she seemed to have offended the male, and so she did not try to clarify her question or press further, she was too meek for that. Too many unsettling events had been revealed to her upon her return to these lands, and here was the one creature she had crossed paths with who seemed sane, and yet she had somehow offended him. Safer to keep her frenzied mouth shut before any more nonsense spilled forth. Awkwardly she muttered an apology. "N-no, of course I didn’t mean..." but the words didn’t even want to finish themselves.
Instead the male turned to her, which was a better topic, as it was one she was far more knowledgeable on than shape-shifters or anything about them or their lifestyles. "Well, I was born here, yes. I left only briefly, to assist in taking my father back to the lands he was born into. Yet when I returned all these wolves and coyotes had come" The female paused. It was still strange that these lands, which had housed wolves and coyotes and for all she knew shapeshifters in much smaller numbers to become so populated so suddenly. "I’m beginning to think that I perhaps should have stayed with my family. I feel like an outcast in my own birth lands."
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OMG I'm so sorry D: I've been away for too long! Forgive me? *puppy eyes*
Umbra was regretting it a bit that he'd scared her, and he knew she hadn't really meant it that way, but what's done was done, and there was little he could do by now to change it. So instead of making it an issue, he listened to her, nodding a bit. She'd left? Left where? Southwards? He assumed that, because otherwise she wouldn't have been so confused about all the freaks; they'd been way too numerous north of the mountains.
"I'm glad you came back here, though," he said softly. "If you hadn't, I wouldn't have met you." It wasn't that he was fond of her, even if he felt rather protective toward her, but she was the first normal wolf he'd met. While Punk had been a wolf, she hadn't exactly been normal, had she?
"...Seeing as how you've lived here for quite a while, do you know of any good places to settle down?" While he wanted to find likeminded to live with, it would probably be easier to do that after he'd found good packlands.
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Sorry this is short. This thread is getting a bit outdated though, yes?
Adelaida couldn’t help but smile at the male. His tone indicated that he wasn’t particularly interested in her, and why should he be? He barely knew her. Yet even if only for the fact that he liked her for her lack of ability to shift, that was enough. It was nice to feel welcome, feel liked be someone, whatever the reason. Adelaida missed her family, from whom she had constant support and friendship, and with them so far away, she would take companionship where she could get it. "I’m glad to have met you as well." She offered the same gesture, the same reach for one of her own kind. Ears perked at the next question. A good place to settle down? Her eyes lit up at the idea, although Umbra hadn’t really indicated that she would be welcome. However the idea of being stationary, done with wandering, that was appealing. To have others who were not... coyotes or the unimaginable freaks. "Well, I don’t know where the new packs have settled, or even how many of them are, but my family stayed mostly in the hilly area to the south of here, by the lake. There is another lake in the woods, to the west of us, but that is close to a human city." Adelaida looked at the male, hoping her suggestion would be enough. How did he feel about human lands? The masked female did not mind them, but she also only stayed near them on rare occasions, she’d prefer the lakes farther south, past the highly developed human territories. She tended to like to stay by lakes, but what if both areas, or all areas with large bodies of fresh water were claimed? It would be frustrating, but not the worse that could happen.
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A little bit, maybe ^^;; So perhaps we should wrap this thread up in a post or two, and then maybe start up a new one? Perhaps one with your sister as well? 
Also, what lake? The one Twilight Vale is occupying, the one that's marked with "lawl esper hollow" or the one just north of Halifax? *reads again* Wait, it's not that one, cos she mentions that in addition XD Oooh, but there are also those lakes just north of where they are, too. @_@ And that looks like good territory...
It's a bad sign when your OOC comments are longer than the post. Sowwy.
Hilly area to the south? On the other side of the human city, Umbra assumed. Hm. It could be worth checking out -- provided no freaks had claimed it, of course. "I'll try for one of those, then," Umbra told her. "There are also lakes just a few hours to the north of here that I know are unclaimed." Adelaida seemed to be fond of lakes -- he couldn't in all fairness blame her, since it meant a good supply of fresh water -- so perhaps if he settled down near a lake, he'd have more of a chance of convincing her to join him? "So if neither of those options pans out, I think I'll return there." He hesitated for a moment or two. "If you'd like to, you're welcome to join me, either now or later on."
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yeah, she meant the lake in TV. When she finds out her old home is claimed by a new pack she will be sad sad sad girl. Yesh, we should have a Alexey, Adelaida, and Umbra thread. And find more non shifters XD.
His offer surprised her, and at the same time it did not. Of course Umbra would need more wolves to start a pack, and she was another wolf. Umbra might actually come to care for her as a friend and pack member, yet what if she was only a number to him? Smiling sincerely, glad for the offer and yet she found that she really did not have an answer, not just yet. While the idea of settling down had seemed so appealing, she found when asked to she could just throw herself in. What if some of her family returned? Or what if Umbra just suddenly vanished and she was left on her own again? Adelaida did not want to grow use to depending on others only to have that security swept away again. Maybe when there were more of them, maybe when there was less a chance for her to lose something that she knew she would come to care greatly about. "I don’t know yet. I still am so overwhelmed by all these new... creatures. And how many others... non shifters, are there?" Adelaida guessed not many, from the way Umbra had seemed so glad to meet her. "I think we’ll be meeting again, at least I hope so, and by then perhaps you have found lands you like and maybe... we’ll have found others like us." Like them, non shifters, a minority in the world it seemed.
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Yeah, I figured that after I (later on) read some Alexey plottage ^^;
I go start the thread by those lakes up north for you and Alexey, and you reply when you feel like it? =D
She didn't know if she'd join him. It disappointed him, but at the same time, he guessed it was only natural. After all, they'd just met. For all he knew, she still thought of him as a stranger. But she said she wanted to meet him again, at least, so that was something positive. He'd just do his best to find a place to live, and hope she'd find it suitable.
He nodded. "I hope we'll meet again, too," he said. "And like you, I hope we'll have found more normal wolves. I... I don't know how many of us there are left," he confessed. "But I'll do my best to find them."
Taking a chance, he came closer, and leaned in to nuzzle at her gently, a gesture of friendship and hope-to-see-you-soon. "I hope you fare well, until we meet again," he said then.
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