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I lack an avvie  And I'll make yours today, "grease" was on the telly last night, and there was ice cream goodness!
Ethereal Eclipse
The forest was virtually brimming with usefulness. Dawali looked around himself with a pleased expression, one foot on a dead tree blocking the path. Not that much flat land, but plenty of material to build himself somewhere to stay. He would have to talk to his daughters and the other travellers; still they hadn't decided where to settle. He would explore, and hopefully discover whether they had the lands to themselves or not. The tall male had no fear in that regard. Should he? Surely if he met them with respect they would return the favor. Yellow eyes looked up to the sky, where he spotted his companion. She would know whether they had any clear land ahead of them or not. Quietly, his lips let out a high-pitched sound, and she came soaring down to him. None would be able to see her unless she wanted them to, but generally she made sure he could see her. He'd worked hard to be worthy of her attention, and he knew better than to waste it, but it just so happened that they enjoyed each other's company in a perhaps grumpy-ish way. It reminded him of marriage, friendly fighting, people who have spent too long together. Dawali and Gvihita were by no means an old combination, not compared to those who spend their lives together; they had met for the first time just over two-three years ago or so. Still, despite their sulky language, Dawali never forgot for a second the honor she was showing him, and that there were so many things she knew that he might never grasp.
His two long legs carried him elegantly over the dark forest floor as he felt Gvihita's claws dig into his shoulder. The first times it had been painful, and he knew that she chose to make him feel it. If she wanted to she could be light as a feather, but it was one way of craving attention. He looked at her, yellow eyes to yellow eyes, speaking barely audible. Were there any openings in the thick vegetation ahead of us? I could do with some light. Without a word the spirit flew up again, quite much faster than a real bird would be able to. She didn't have to speak, he knew that all he had to do was follow. A quiet whistle escaped his lips as two red-furred legs carried him along, following the little dot in the sky. The area was promising.
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Leland was sitting crossed legged under the towering trees. His eyes had slid shut some hours ago and if one stumbled across him they may have guessed that he was asleep, but he was not. He was far too preoccupied thinking about the past few weeks to sleep now, and besides, he rarely ever slept in his shifted form. He normally did not even travel in his two legged form, but in these lands he had met more luperci than unshifted wolves and so he was getting use to it. There were a lot of differences between here and “home” and it was those he was mulling over in the silence of the forest, or at least the forest had been silent until he heard the male’s voice. Were there any openings in the vegetation ahead of us? I could do with some light. Bi colored eyes slid open, but no one was there. The voice sounded as if it was a little ways away, but one could never be sure. The thick forest could muffle voices that were actually quite closer in order to make them seem farther away than they were.
Standing, Leland shook himself out, leaves and wood land debris falling off his pelt. The sensation of being so tall was still strange, back home they had only shifted for special rituals, but he knew if he kept it up it would quickly lose it’s novelty. Leland guessed the direction the voice had come from and was not disappointed when after only a few yards the trees cleared and showed the lone male. Who then, had he been talking with? Himself? Leland smiled to himself and cleared his throat. "Ah, ‘cuse me sir. I heard ya talking just now and thought I’d come see if you needed any help? My name’s Leland." Leland raised his hand in a peace signal, just to be sure he was understood, although what help Leland could offer he didn’t know, and chances were the other fellow didn’t need any help anyway.
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meeep, I are slower. And BAH THE AVVIE I FORGET IT ALL THE TIME. -flail-
Her form disappeared from the sky as he walked, and his whistle halted when he set foot into a little opening of the forest. Gvihita sat studying him in a tree around the clearing's edge, and a voice quickly mapped the reason for her discretion. Only days since he'd come here and already he had found someone that might give him knowledge about this place. Hi! Perhaps he was more enthustiatic than he should be, seeing as this one was a stranger and he had his dignity, but the situation was just what he needed. The prospect of getting to know what this place was about also made him excited. If he could somehow contribute to the tribe's settling with information, he would be very proud indeed. The other had a more strange look than he had expected him to, but that didn't matter. For all he knew, Dawali was the strange one.
The long-legged grey and rusty male took steps in the direction of the other male, and mirrored the peace gesture Leland had presented. It was fortunate that he had bumped into one of the more friendly-faced inhabitants of the area, though he had no idea exactly how fortunate. Actually, I've just come here, and I'm looking to find out a thing or two about this place. For instance what areas are claimed and by who, and the like... if you know anything about that...? His yellow eyes shot a glance at Gvihita, but the spirit had disappeared. Or, simply, hidden herself. She was probably around here somewhere, she was shy amongst strangers, and especially strangers outside the tribe. Hell, not even his daughters had seen much to her. He woudn't bother looking for her. Turning his attention where it should be, his gaze moved back onto the male in front of him, eager-looking and sincere. I'm Dawali, by the way.
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His greeting was returned in earnest and Leland couldn’t help but wave his tail behind him, had he been four legged instead of two it would have been thumping audibly on the ground. Although Leland had yet to meet an unfriendly face in these lands he was still quite pleased when his friendliness was mirrored in another. The male before him, Dawali, had a coat unfamiliar to Leland, although it was merely the tone of the pelt that was strange. He was clearly a wolf, but a red and grey one. Most the coats Leland had seen in his journey had been black, white, and a few brown coated creatures. With a soft chuckle Leland realized that the only other canines he had seen such rich red hues on, aside from a few vibrantly colored coyotes, were other husky mixes such as himself.
The question did not come as a surprise, it was a very standard question for a new comer to ask a canine already established in the lands. Leland himself had asked similar questions only weeks before. "Ah well, I must admit sir, I haven’t been in these lands too long, but I have gone about learning this and that. There are quite a few packs, or at least there were." Leland had gone back to Twilight Vale, only to discover that they had disbanded recently. "Twlight Vale just broke apart, loners now the lot of them, but there are three other packs still about, Phoenix Valley is one, close by here, Dahlia de Mai is another further north. Thar’s another I don’t quite know the name of in between the two. There is also a clan of coyotes, they stay further north east though, though I haven’t run into any a them yet." Leland smiled, hoping his explanation was of some help, though while he spoke he realized that he should probably pay a call on the packs he had not quite acquainted himself with yet.
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Hi... -coughs- What? Slow? No idea what you're talking about love.
The male mix spoke and Dawali's mood turned slightly darker by each word. Not sad, nor angry, but disappointed, maybe. They were that many? It wasn't as if he could blame them, though. The lands here were beautiful, and the variation let anyone find something that suited them close to perfectly. This clearing they were standing in had already gone to Dawali's heart, and judging by the satisfied face of Gvihita watching them from afar, she approved. But it meant that they might have issues claiming land, and really, thy didn't need more obstacles now. He was tired, and he wanted to just be able to sit down somewhere and know that it would be home the next morning too. And even a week from then. It wasn't as if the attack and death of so many of them wasn't tiring enough. But lingering on it changed nothing, and he knew the secrets of the afterlife, so he knew better than to despair. Thus he did not grieve his lost wife either; she was in a good place. Gvihita knew, and he trusted her, despite her moods. She was like a faithful grumpy friend, always following yet never giving away her affection. It suited her species.
Coyotes. Now that was something interesting. There hadn't been a awful lot of them where they came from, yet he'd encountered a few. And here was another species present, one he hadn't really reckoned on finding. It was a surprise, but by no means a negative, and he held no grudge against his kind. It just simply surprised him somewhat. So you're quite the number, then. And yourself? Have your species also formed a pack around here? As soon as the words left his mouth, Dawali realised his bad choice of words and sincerely hoped the male would not notice. "your species" wasn't a particularly good way of putting it, was it? Mentally, the red male scowled at himself, and Gvihita - who noticed his embarassement - had flown over to sit on his shoulder, claws poking into his skin in a rythmic fashion. She was giggling at his dismay - she always would. Quietly, he whispered at her, shaking his head in her direction absently but keeping his eyes on the male in front of him. Oh hush you.
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The disappointment was noted on DaWali’s face and Leland wasn’t sure if it was the fact he didn’t know anymore to tell him, or if it was the information that had caused the disappointment. Either way it couldn’t be helped so Leland shrugged it off and subconsciously his tail began to wag behind him, his constant habit whenever he was in a good mood (which was nearly always) or he wished others to be in one as well (which was always). The male continued on in a cheerful enough manner, so Leland came to the conclusion that even if the strangers had been unhappy with the information Leland had given him, he was not unhappy with Leland himself. The words the male spoke were phrased in an awkward manner, but Leland took no offense. The male whispered, presumably to himself, and it was clear it realized his mistake. The rusty red hued male let out a hearty laugh and grinned.
”No, no. As far as I know, I’m the only one like me arund here.” And from the looks and comments he received from other people, it was confirmed that there were no other dogs wandering loose, as least none that resembled him. “Where I come from there’s a lot like me, lots of wolves too, but I was getting overshadowed by all the other males.” Leland said it like a joke, though the truth was there was only one male who overshadowed him and it was still upsetting to think on it took long. “So I broke out on mah own. Found myself here. I like it well enough, so I’ve been sticking around. And what about you sir. What brings you to these lands?”
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Dawali's face became hot in embarassement when the other broke out laughing at his clumsy choice of words. The color that came with the heat only matched his pelt, though, and thus it wasn't painted on his face for everyone to see, luckily. Perhaps he shouldn't be embarrassed by what he had said, but then again Dawali didn't have that much social experience, being silent all the time, and his reaction matched that of a child trying to socialize with other children, but failing. He was a clumsy person; it was one of the features his wife had appreciated so much. Needless to say, he wasn't the one who had conquered her.
Dawali's head moved up and down several times in the act of nodding as the mix continued to speak about himself and the areas that he lived in. The somewhat joking comment that Leland had made regarding his motive for coming here from his original birthlands passed the red wolf male by as he failed to recognize it as a moment where he should laugh. Gvihita giggled as she squeezed her claws into his shoulder before taking off somewhere, leaving Dawali slightly bewildered, although he had learned to accept her odd behavoir by now. His face did not change from that consentrated listener's face, though, not even when presented with a question. He was a solemn person like that. Well, my family is part of a tribe who are searching for a new place to live. We were attacked in our previous homeland, and lost many members. Dawali looked to his side for a second, looking for Gvihita. It was her that had told him they were being attacked; at the time he had been close, but not close enough to know, wandering aimlessly around on one of his habitual trips to deal with the death of his wife. He did not want to think of this, however, and his eyes landed on Leland again as he continued to speak before his mind could linger on the thought. We thought it safer to travel to someplace else
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