River Rune had been traveling on all four feet for the past week. She found the sensation of four paws on the ground very comforting. Plus, it masked the noise of her movement. With all 85 lbs spread out over four points, the crunch of leaves was much less than it would have been if she were traveling on just her hind legs. Large black and grey ears were pointed backwards, alert to the sounds of anything that may try to sneak up on her. Her nose took care of what was in front of her. Midday shadows danced through the leaves overhead, casting wild shadows that leaped and crawled across her body. The sunlight that made it's way to the forest bottom played with her multi-colored dark fur. With one step the red was visible, and then the grey, then the silver, the black, the brown. Until she stepped once more into shadows. And then she was coal dark, except for her eyes. Those same eyes darted here and there, taking in all the world could offer her. Her mother's eyes according to her father.
At a small, rocky stream she paused. Up ahead she could smell the biting winds of open land. The forest would soon end. This made her pause. She was most comfortable in the forest. She had been born in one. The trees protected her, sheltered her. They offered her secrets. In the open land, anyone could see her. In this day and age, most would say she had little to fear. Humans were virtually extinct, the wild cats knew better than to mess with a shifter, and most of the canine species were quite friendly. But ancient instincts tickled her guts. They warned her to be careful. So she laid by the stream, silent, watchful as her inner voices battled to be heard.
River's instincts screamed to be watchful, to not get herself into trouble. She was in new territory after all. She had never met anyone here before. They could kill her on sight for all she knew. What if they were one of the racists? One of the ones who hated those with dog blood.
Just as loud as her instincts, her curiosity clamored to be heard. It demanded new information. It told her to get up and experience this new land, these new people. To meet someone. It said she had been alone for far too long.
Sighing to herself River sat up. And then let herself go. She gave up on her wolfdog form and embraced the change. Her blood sang and her bones creaked and she lengthened, and finally stood. River would walk into the open on her hind legs, and she would be civilized. And if anyone tried to hurt her, she could defend herself like this.
Those green eyes became misty, shielded.
It was an old and bitter world that kept her so private. Her mother had always told her to learn to open up more. It was hard though.
Shaking her dark head she stepped forward into the full sunlight.
Up ahead she could see others of her kind moving about on their various business. The smells wafted over her and she smiled sadly. Back into civilization.
For the next few minutes she just walked around, taking in everything, wondering where to go from here.
Maybe she would get to meet some new people.
One could only hope.
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ooc: Form, Lupus.
New land new territory, Sira was tasked with scouting out new areas of land for them to conquer, but X'ies needed to look into these things as well. Not for the same reason, whilst he trusted the paranoid mind of the Jackal to be cautious about just what kind of area to take. X'ies wanted to look deeper into it, what sort of things were in the area as far as resources went.Neighboring packs etc). Already with sour relations to Vinatta, all such things had to be considered. That and well, he had to abide to pack tradition if things were going to go along with X'yrin he had in mind something to get her......but it was going to take some thought and some work.
Whilst on his journey he came across a new scent that was steadily moving in his direction, begining to alter his walking in order to attain a more cautious and stealthy approach he would move in to investigate. Keeping his distance at first, the grey wolf would examine as River walked out into the sunlight changing from a four legged form into her Optime form. He did not know what to think of her at this point in time, however X'yrin was always looking for new people to join the collective...and if they were not joining, establish at least semi friendly terms. " Time to practice social skills I guess". X'ies would walk out from among the brush and approach the wolf dog, he himself remaining in Lupua form, but allowing himself to speak.
" Hail stranger!".
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River continued her cautious march forward. Every now and then she would pause to inhale some particular fragrance, or to cock her head as a far-off sound reached her ears. The breeze picked up and she shivered. Not from the cold but from the feeling of it moving every one of her sensitive hairs that covered her body. Briefly she let her luminescent green eyes close. This was her favorite time of day. When it was still bright and warm, but the sunlight was thinner, more pastel.
The dark wolfdog was just gathering the courage to leave her comfort zone and possibly approach some of her kind when a sound caught her attention. It was the gentle brush of a body against plants, the soft crunch of the packed dirt beneath padded paws. At first she couldn't tell if it was moving her direction, but as the sound grew louder she spun around. There before her was a grey wolf male. She sniffed the air curiously, testing his scent. There was no hint of aggression or anger in the air so she visibly relaxed. As he approached her she crouched down slightly so that she wasn't towering over him. River noticed he stayed on all four feet. Her kind might now be well advanced in civilization but River came from an old family line that held firm to tradition. And because of that she didn't want to seem rude by looking down on him the first time they met.
When he spoke she smiled, let her lips pull back a little. It was a huge relief to be greeted and not threatened. The last pack she had met in her wanderings had been disgusted with her because they could smell the dog in her veins.
"Hail Stranger." said the male wolf.
.
River stepped forward once and nodded her head. She was pleased, but still very cautious.
.
Hello there. She murmured.
I'm River Rune. And may I ask your name?
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ooc: Form, Lupus.
There were signs of caution in her body langauge, X'ies read that off the bat, though she seemed at least partially friendly and willing to talk. Particularly the crouching to bring herself down to his size he appreciated. X'ies did not like the Optime form, he feltt that it was slow clumbsy and made far too much noise when moving around. The lupus form was smaller, weaker...but it ultimately attracted less attention and allowed him to move more swiftly through the brush than the bulkier forms. He would get close to her and take in her scent, moving around in a circle before positioning himself in front of her and answering her question. "...Ah pleasure to meet you River, I am X'ies Lambda of the Sangilak collective". He bowed his head as a sign of respect." I did not expect to meet any on these lands bar perhaps the creatures that roam free...but I must say it is nice to see a friendly face". His head turned back in the direction of home.
As of yet, X'ies had little to no reason to suspect that she was part dog, her scent would not be enough to give it away, at least not until her body got either excited or in some way more active. For the moment however he would play it off hand, simply practicing his social graces. " Has your trip been safe thus far?". He was expecting a yes from her after all for the most part these roads were relatively safe unless one decided to run into a bears den. And well, you could usually smell those a mile away. Though still there was something to her caution that he couldn't quite put his paw on, but likely it would reveal itself in due course if he was right about it. For now, this was just a brief conversation between two wolves.
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River held still while the male wolf circled her, tested her smell, got to know what the female in front of him was. The muscles in her legs rippled as she crouched there, readying themselves in case she needed to run, or strike. The movement caused the black and tan fur to dance in the sunlight. But X'ies soon came round to where she could directly see him and paused there. The muscles that were quivering stopped, and now simple caution was her only hesitation. No matter how much her kind had evolved and changed in the last few decades, they were still creatures born of the wild earth. Their blood still sang with the species that had survived millennium by being one with nature. Not just that but her father's people had stayed very tied to their natural ways, even after the change. So River had inherited much of the instincts of her ancient kind.
His own wolf smell was still polite, clean. He smelled of fur, wildness, and male. When X'ies bowed his head in return River's lips twitched a little in a smile. It was nice to see politeness echoed back. For the last few months she had encountered very little of it.
As he spoke River listened to each word. Was this place seldom filled with others? she wondered. Her green crystalline eyes followed his look back to his home. Of course she didn't know it was his home, so she was curious as to why he looked that direction after he spoke. The female wolfdog shifted slightly, putting her weight back onto her legs so she could rest one hand on the ground.
Once X'ies had finished speaking River nodded.
Pleasure to meet you as well X'ies. It's good to know I still have a friendly face after all my travels. River smiled, letting X'ies know it was a joke. I am new to these parts, so I do not know where to go to meet others. I'm assuming there are pack lands and common lands, yes? Is this place a common land? She was hoping she wasn't intruding on pack territory just yet. She first wanted to get a feel of the type of beings here, and of their societal build. Many questions came to the forefront of her mind but she pushed them down, not wanting to overwhelm X'ies with inquiries.
The last question the male posed left her silent for a moment. Once again, instinctive caution filled her body, leaving her thoughtful and wary. Her green eyes narrowed slightly, bringing more of her long face into darkened fur. But of course it was only natural of the male wolf to ask. So River shook her head and collected herself. A polite expression took over her face.
It was... interesting. My travels were safe for the most part. But I have been traveling many months, and so I have witnessed much in that time. What she said was true. And it was also the very diluted version of the truth.
Unwilling to as of yet give out all of her deep held secrets, River shut down any emotions that were rising to the surface and focused only on this kind stranger who had come to welcome her to a new land.
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ooc: Form, Lupus.
The girl appeared to be travelling and was rather new to this area. Likely then she had no idea about the pack lands, although she would probably know them to the mark. " Yes, this is common land...although one might sometimes refer to it as No man's land...". Of course due to her newness to the area she would not know of the tension between his pack and the neighboring pack of Vinatta. Regardless, the fact that she seemed at least glad to see a friendly face indicated to him that her situation was much like his in that travelling often made it that she encountered hostility. The difference between them both however might well be just who started the hostile actions in the first instance. But for now he would keep his charm on.
" Ah yes!...I remember when I first left my home to travel, my birth pack were isolationists, and learning of the outside world was a frightening but none the less exciting adventure....tell me then River. What sights has your journey seen thus far?".
Again X'ies was doing little other than making conversation. " As for this land, well there are two major packs within this area....the Sangilak collective, my pack who live in the shade of the mountain...and Vinatta...a pack who lives nearer the great lake....Unfortunatly neither quite see eye to eye...which is a shame, this land is beautiful, and I hope not to see it stained with the blood of conflict". Of course, this was horse crock. Whilst indeed he did enjoy the sights of the land, and Sangilak and Vinatta did not see eye to eye ( to say the least) he didn't much care about a conflict between the two. In fact if anything as long as it went the right way a conflict could prove quite fruitful for him and by extension his pack. Of course, had to put on the friendly face, practice social prowess...
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