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October 2 : Secui
The Ethereal Eclipse echoed with both the steps and snarls of hunter and hunted. The young boar was just barely escaping the snapping secui's jaws, it's flanks surging faster through the dense undergrowth just as she would canon forward, her slavering maw repetitively clicking shut over thin air. The two took a thundering leap over a felled tree, their surging clamor thrown into perfect sync as paw and hoof both met the ground. It was a thundering rhythm, but the steady lunges of sinewy legs brought her closer with each long stride. The inexperienced huntress' throat rattled in irritation as the prey would evade; not breaking her lope, a paw shooting out in the hopes of hooking a leg and causing the hog to stumble.
The lashing paw missed by a hairsbreadth, but though her move was faulty, it was still met with the success of a clipped tendon at the leg. The beast roared in pain, causing a triumphant grin to peel back the ruddy flesh of carnivorous lips. Her victory was short lived. A hoof violently lashed out a moment later, so close she could feel its edges part the hairs on her arm.
Having fully expected to be kicked in the face, her stride had faltered in the millisecond; saving her life, but also ruining the rhythm of the surging lope. She stumbled to a halt, skidding in a pile of wooded debris where she immediately collapsed to her belly. The young boar squealed triumphantly as it sped deeper into the undergrowth, the rumble of churning hooves growing more distant by the second. White breathy clouds wound violently into the morning air as she panted, tongue lolling out in exhaustion - she could only lie there as her target fled, her muscles still quivering with adrenaline.
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The large, muscular wolfdog dodged quietly through the thick, darkened forest softly searching the area in front of him as he roamed. Deep within the forest a pig snorted and for a moment he stopped, his eyes and ears piercing the clustered forest searching for that faint sign of life as he wished once again that he had shifted out of his secui form before attempting to penetrate the trees. His black, skin messenger bag was hanging slightly over his side about half way down his back, his strap looping over his neck and then again under his shoulders as it was made to. He had placed his knife and clothing inside of it attempting to both keep up with the belongings and keep them dry in this rough forest. Along with these petty things, he had also placed a small, smoldering coal from his last fire, keeping it handy in case he had to start another one.
He had been informed by a group of loners the day before about a peaceful pack that lived beyond this forest and the following plain. That was where he was heading now. It was true that he had never really been part of a luperci pack, but he had high hopes that he would easily fit in there. This forest was proving to be quite the roadblock, however. When he had first entered, he had not expected it to be as thick as it was. For that reason, he had not shifted out of his secui form, his favorite form to travel in as it proved to be the best of both traveling fast and being prepared in case an opportunity for a meal presented itself. Now, however, he was regretting it as the forest grew thicker and, at the same time, darker. He, no doubt, stood out like a sore thumb with his ghostly white fur.
Another squeal sounded from the same position in the forest only this time it was surprised, even scared maybe. He swiftly took off towards the sound, ducking and dodging under and around trees that shot out to grab him. His pose remained calm and sure even though deep down he craved for the fresh meat announcing itself only yards away. A root stuck out of the ground almost causing him to stumble as he blew through the underbrush, but he invaded it just in time, his forelimb stretched out as he over shot the half hidden root. The forest was thick enough, and his long fur was not helping things. It got caught on, he swore, every low hanging branch he happened to rub up against causing a uncomfortable tugging as it pulled out a few strands of fur. He silently cursed his genetics.
He dove a couple more feet through the underbrush, pushing of with his muscled back legs. The squeals were getting closer, now sounding even more fearful then before, but there was another sound underneath. It was a carnivore, growling sound, but he could not tell exactly what it was with the hog’s loud squeals over powering the softer sound. He didn’t have any more time to ponder over it either as a terribly frightened, young boar burst through a particular pile of clustered bushes and vines in front of him. Surprised, Raphael twisted and leapt, more worried about getting out of the charging boar’s sharp teeth and tusk than landing himself a meal. As a result, one of his front legs landed inside an unseen, shallow hole, twisting his ankle and causing his body to fall sideways. Luckily, his other leg managed to make up for his mistake and he caught himself just before hitting the ground. He glanced up and to his surprise, feet away a lone, dark colored she-wolf was laying on the ground, exhaustion emanating from her being.
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Having been so focused on the hunt, she had completely failed to notice the approaching scent or white hide as it moved through the forest. She had already dismissed the escaping quarry as a loss, declining to even give it the courtesy of following its escape with hungry eyes. Because of this, the huntress had failed to note the direction it had fled in, or more so, whose. Eyes darted upwards the minute she heard a scuffle, the muscles that had been allowed to relax re-tensing a moment later; she hoped that the accursed beast had tripped and could be pounced on, but reality told her the pig was probably rounding about to attack its weary hunter. Much to her astonishment, both guesses were wrong, and her wild gaze was met with the surprise of seeing a white canine dodging the pig.
Her panting was clipped short in shock, and she met his eyes with equal surprise, not knowing how to respond to the unexpected intrusion. The shock wore off an instant later, and her dark lips parted into a toothy smile. The mutts vocal chords rumbled in luxurious laughter, though the noise gently slipped to breathy punctuation, fatigue soon subduing the warmth of the sound.“Perhaps you should ‘ave been a dancer mon cher.”
She’d been elevated to nearly dizzying heights by the adrenaline, combining with a brush with death to form a potent mood of bliss. Her pulse was gradually slowing though, and as her heart quieted, so too did the elation that emanated from it. The fact quickly dawned on her that she didn't know him at all. Maybe he was a dancer, as her eyes gleaned over the pale lines of muscle beneath white flesh, she noted that he certainly had the physique for it.
Fluidly, but with a slowness that betrayed exhaustion, the dame pulled herself to her feet, curiously peering at the stranger all the while. She leisurely shuffled closer to the white dog once fully risen, though the energetic rhythm of her swishing tail belied the past excitement, infecting the otherwise controlled gait with a visibly sanguine sway.
The cool platinum eyes would rarely meet his directly, as she approached, instead flickering over his physique and possessions. Her head brushed aside foliage as she went, carefully picking her way through the wreckage, but the path was kept short to keep a modest distance between them.
“Though I think we both could do with picking a more cooperative partner in the future, oui?” Though laughter still echoed in the honeyed warmth of her alto, her habitual composure was steadily reigning in the elation – as she spoke to him again, her words were far more conversational than teasing like before.
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Still rushing with adrenaline from his run in with the freighted, unpredictable boar, Raphael stood, confidence mixed with pure surprise radiating from his pose, looking down at the dark colored she-wolf laying feet away from him. Normally, he would have been calmer in this type of situation, but with his rush still running through his blood stream, he was finding it hard to think completely straight. His muscles were still tense, ready to spring at any moment, and he was afraid this meeting might not be as friendly as he would hope. That was only a second before, however, a soft smile spread across her lips and a melodic laugh echoed from her throat. Her laugh seemed out of place to him, but when he stepped back and looked at the situation there they were, he just almost got trampled by a fleeing boar and she had, in some way unknown to him, ended up on the ground. He couldn’t help but let a little laugh slip out of his mouth in response to hers. “Maybe, madam, if I learned some of your fluid moves, I could pass as a dancer” he teased still a laugh lingering in his voice. His breath was airy as he tried to catch his breath after his pursuit through the think woods, but not as heavily disrupted as hers was after, what he assumed, was a failed hunt.
As she rose from her awkward stance on the ground, he took a step forward crunching a dead leaf under his footfall, though he did not really seem to notice or care since the only prey worth scaring away was probably still tumbling through the underbrush. He held himself confidently and tall as he advanced slightly towards her, a smile still settling on his muzzle. With her now standing, he could better see her and found that she was attractive, exotic in a way. Her dark, earthy fur only made her grey eyes seem to glow more as she advanced and the slight shuffle of her feet made her body sway in a way that somehow made her even better looking. He silently cursed himself for thinking of the she-wolf in that way when he knew nothing could come out of it. Still, he found that he couldn’t help it. He was a guy after all, but he refused to give the thought any more attention. Instead he found himself locking his gaze into hers as she stopped and once again her sweet voice swirled out to meet his ears. “Or another species all together” he said referring to the difficulty of catching a boar especially a healthy one as her target had been. They could easily injure a canine like one of them with their sharp teeth and tusk not to mention their hooves. It was only then that the pale hybrid noticed that he had yet to introduce himself thanks to the strangeness of the situation they were in. “I am Raphael” he said, the teasing tone in his voice morphing into a more semi-serious tone while still holding a hint of playfulness, “and may I ask what people call you, madam?”
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She acknowledged his compliment with a gracious smile, tail flicking once as though it were a waving hand, brushing away the kind words in modest dismissal. "Not enough to catch the infernal thing, I'm afraid. I thought this storm was a blessing in the way it unsettled the prey, it must have slipped my mind that it made things more of a challenge for ‘unter as well." Though it really was an irritating situation to deal with, she chose to laugh the matter off. Her head gestured to the soggy wreckage around them; it was a wonderful stumbling course to hunt prey with, but its benefits were cut tragically short in the way that it hindered the predator too. The taste of red meat in her mouth was a pleasure long denied; she had hoped that size would trump hunting inexperience, and had been almost certain the boar would be hers.
Her head tilted quizzically as he addressed her with madame. Had Harvey's scent clung long enough were she smelled like a mated woman? Her nose wrinkled at the idea of seeming anything less than totally free, but it was forgiven as a cultural difference with another waving dismissal. She gradually lowered to the abundant muscles of her haunches; if he asked for names, then chances were he was interested in conversation, a notion she would happily oblige.
As the sinews bunched and settled beneath her, she could not help but wish to be in either of her other two forms though. She suddenly felt bulky, and visually less than appealing. The wagging of her tail ceased as she lowered, and the limb was pulled to drape over black paws, she trying to further civilize the pose by tucking her legs rigidly beneath her feathered torso.
“My name is Aoves.” She replied simply, her head slowly tilting to dip as she answered. “And I ‘ope you don’t mind my asking, but you are alright, aren’t you Raphael?” No immediate emergencies gaped from his pelt, but she felt responsible for putting him in the situation, and didn't want to risk coming off as though she did not care for his health.
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Storm? When he was first passing into this eastern land, he did get caught in a quiet nasty storm compared to what he was use to, but surely that was not the monster storm she was referring to. He had never really noticed it before, having no past image to compare the current landscape to, but the land did seem upturned, destroyed in a way. For a storm to both scare the animals that lived below its clouds and partially destroy the land they lived on, it must have been massive with wind like he had never witnessed before and blankets of rain drenching everything that hadn’t taken refuge in a shelter of some type. No wonder some of the ground was still wet and puddles of muddy, undrinkable water littered the landscape. He felt slightly blessed that he hadn’t been here to witness it and instead had arrived here after it, by only days if is deductive reasoning was correct. Still, he couldn’t be sure. “What is this storm you refer to?” He asked mismatched eyes gleaming with a silent curiosity as the she-wolf repositioned herself on to the ground. He, however, remained standing, his broad shoulders and muscular pose still emitting a sense of confidence into the air.
With the she-wolf’s name still hanging in the air, he silently repeated the name. It tumbled across his mind; Aoves. It brought a sound of sweet elegance, a beautiful dam in the morning rain, and truly he took a liking to the name. It was different, sweet, and savory. It matched her. As soon as that thought quietly entered his mind, it brought back the luring thought he had pushed back only moments before. She was attractive, that he knew for sure, but he had learned that, unless they were settled down somewhere, females were impossibly hard to impress upon one meeting. Luckily for him, she only seemed to want to participate in friendly conversation; therefor he had no need to continue entertaining the thought. Her words brought him back to the now and, for the first time since his stumble, he turned his attention towards his ankle. It was not extremely painful and he could put weight on it as he was doing now. It would be just a little sore maybe and for this he was grateful. It could have been painfully worse. “I am quiet alright, madam” He said a small smile appearing across his muzzle, “But might I ask where you are headed? I hardly believe that you’ve set up a home in this dark forest.”
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So he was new then. His question of the storm was met with only a quick prick of her eyebrows. She had made the assumption that he was at least new to the area, passing through as a traveler like her; there would have been little reason to carry a pouch if he could have easily stored it at home.
"Ah, I take it you are recently arrived then - don't worry, I can 'ardly 'assle you about it as a newcomer myself. You should count yourself lucky you missed it though, it was a rather violent thing, come off of the sea."
One of the hybrid's heavy paws batted at a piece of wood; the rotten and waterlogged thing splintered with a crack of protest, and with a muffled thud was cast away by her unsheathed claws. Pale eyes followed its path into the darkness of the thicket, waiting to see if she had by chance disturbed in small prey, some overconfident birds or any manner of cowering beast that its trajectory might have unsettled. Nothing moved, the two were clearly alone.
Shoulders rolled in a gentle shrug as she turned back to face him, continuing on as if she had made no move at all. "The rotted earth only serves to muffle the steps, but the fallen wood, I could do without." She had quickly realized that a rugged forest was not the place for her bulkiest form, and though she had not traveled far, she could only imagine the state the rest of the coastal area was in.
Her lids lowered slyly as he continued to speak. "Is that really so unbelievable?" The secui purred in response, her head sliding forward into inquisitive tilt, and lips peeling into a narrow smile to flash tapering stiletto fangs. She was not one to overlook the advantages of his physique, though she increasingly doubted he was the sort to throw the weight around. It never hurt to keep confidence in check, and she did not want to risk him growing too confident in her presence, thinking that she was nothing but a lady lost in the woods.
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