Brennt had not come out of his last fight favorably. He had wounds that had needed tending, and had spent the next day doing very little, both because he had found a carcass to eat and could afford it, but also to idle his time away thinking of pleasant thoughts, something which his mother had taught him to do for when he felt down. Though he now didn't like the black female with the blue patterns, ever since meeting her he had been troubled by his desire to find a girl who finally would like him. He didn't plan forward for what would happen after consummation, but that was far enough to plan ahead for him. Still, thoughts of women brought to mind the few he had met in his life, and he had whiled away the previous day and much of this one just exploring the differences between them all through his memory, which was strangely particular on the subject of females.
Fern had been really pretty, but her liking Pallok made it hard for Brennt to truly like her. The girl with the blue stripes had been very exotic-looking, and he had liked that, he had liked it a lot until she attacked him. Hylfi was nice-looking also, but in a more mature way--she had been four--which at once made her both more exciting and also less, for she felt less accessible to someone with less experience like himself. He had--very briefly, seen another woman, older than Hylfi, walking on two legs, who had caught his eye a short time after running away from home after eating his baby brothers and sisters. That woman was both older, and exotic-looking, with long red-gold hair, which extended much further than the rest of her fur, down to her shoulders. She had been coyote, though, and his mother had told him coyotes were no good. After all, they were too small to be useful as allies, but they were big enough to eat some of the same foods as wolves. For the most part, they were bad news, and he had kept this in mind the day he had seen her. Now, though, with only a few girls to recollect in his repertoire, he found his mind going back to that image of her, over and over. Her more gracile form, which made Fern look strong by comparison, her smooth movements, which made Hylfi look decrepit, despite the fact that this coyote-woman smelled almost twice Hylfi's age. He supposed, now, that it wouldn't have been a bad thing to walk up to that coyote woman and ask her to be his, though a female that old and that pretty probably wouldn't have anything to do with him. If it had been Pallok, though...
He snorted, his anger flaring suddenly at the unwelcome thought, and stared down at his reflection in the crystal-blue water of the lake. His dull yellow eyes stared back up at him, and an angry furrowing of his brows twisted that ugly face even further. He bared his teeth and looked away, his anger slowly draining as he stared off into the forest, his upper lip going back down over his long canines as he sought the wind for a new smell.
Sankor had grown tired of exploring the packlands, just because he hadn't run across any of his packmates recently in his nightly wonders. Today though he'd taken to exploring far outside their lands and it seemed that atleast he'd find something to keep his interests. The mahagony and ebony male had been stalking quietly down a trail in the forest, listening to the sounds of nature settling around him. A rabbit munching quietly on the tender buds of new season's growth would have ben a savoring meal if he hadn't already eaten, and the quick paced movement of a larger bit of prey off further in the woods caught his attention for just a brief second before he let that die away too.
The large brute of Dahlia de Mai had stopped in his tracks though when he'd come into the clearing where the lake stood, the dark form of another seemed to staring right at him and yet not catching sight of him yet as he blended in with the dark flashes of trees in the shadows. Sankor stood still as he studied the strange male, not knowing anything of the fellow and yet wondering if he was a loner or a packmembers. The thought teased at the back of his mind, normally he'd never think of such things, or atleast he wouldn't have until he'd moved into his new home.. but now it seemed a normal thought process.
After a moment the dark hued male stepped forward into the shifting light as he kept his head slightly low, his eyes watching the fellow to make certain he wasn't going to try anything fishy. "Hello.." he called in his deep voice, his warm brown eyes gazing over the scraps and wounds the male had been gifted with recently, wondering if it was coyotes or if the male was trouble before he settled on a more neutral train of thought, getting to know the fellow before judging him sounded right.
The scent belonged to another wolf. Something deeper than Brennt's dull semi-awareness stirred at the feeling, detecting its own kind, another wolf; a rival? An ally? A primitive and natural thrill, seated deep in his subconscious mind, excited him for a moment just before the slowness of his usual thought caught up with it, and he began to consider the new smell in his usual, maundering way. Soon enough, the wolf he'd smelled emerged from the woods and called out to him. The fact that it was a large male, close to himself in age, was not a welcoming realization, but he was more perturbed than frightened. He was scratched and bitten, but it wasn't so bad that he couldn't fight again...not that he would have been cognizant of that if it had been the case.
"Hello," he rumbled back, his voice slow, the words were cumbersome on his tongue. He considered the stranger for a moment, but not too hard. His mind worked through its short cycle, drawing everything it was able to of this male from his appearance, which wouldn't be much even for an intelligent wolf, but Brennt's power to make inferences was far less developed than what might be expected from an intelligent wolf. The fact wouldn't be so bitter if he didn't know it was true. From time to time, he would hate himself for the sluggishness of his thoughts, and then hate himself all the more for being unable to hate himself fast enough. Further, his hatred lacked conviction, because he knew no strong words to apply to it that might give it power. No, his anger and his hate were simple things, because his mind could not fathom suitably complex ways to express them. They had no voices, they had no strength, only whatever his body could do, and a body was a poor instrument for breaking the constraints of the mind.
He didn't have any other words for the stranger, only the greeting his mother had taught him as a child. He wasn't certain yet whether or not he was glad this was a male. It meant that he wouldn't get those pleasurable, but flustered and confusing feelings again; but it also meant that it might be another Pallok. In all of Brennt's life, males had either bothered him, or left him alone. He had not known many, but among those he had known, most interacted only to give him instructions, and then to reiterate them in a way that was easier for him to understand. He didn't know how they always knew that he hadn't understood, but they always seemed to. While this should have made him happy, because it meant he made fewer mistakes, somehow it didn't. When they saw his stupidity, it made him bitter, and without expression, that bitterness never went away.
Sankor wasn't for certain what he thought of this stranger yet with only a greeting to judge him but it didn't surprise him that he felt weary. The mahagony male drew closer, the distance that had stood between them vanishing with each pawprint he left behind him as he nodded to the stranger and spoke further. "I'm Sankor, haven't seen you around before.." he stated, wondering if the fellow was new to the lands or if he'd just slipped under the radar, which Sankor knew was quite possible, he'd done it a time or two for quite a many moons in one territory or another.
He cleared his throat a grinned as he asked. "So anything interesting out here?" his warm friendly chocolate orbs studied the other male for mere moments before he cast his eyes out to the area around them, wondering what the male had been up to before he'd intruded into the space he'd been resting. Sankor wasn't a nosy fellow most of the time, but when you were surrounded by women, and his pack and family had a lot of them, you tended to want to find the company of another male quickly before you found yourself turning a little to feminine.
"I'm Brennt. I'm new," Brennt replied after taking a moment to navigate through Sankor's words to find the import behind them. He didn't know a lot of pretty words, and he always disliked this part of any discussion, where other wolves decided that he was dumb and generally not worth their time. His stupidity wasn't the problem, it was that they used theirs too much! There was no point to all of the meaningless twists in their words, to all of the hidden meanings. They could say what they meant just as easily, more easily, and everyone would be better off, including him. They might still notice that he had a hard time with words, but it wouldn't matter as much. If the language was simpler, his deficiency wouldn't be a problem.
Brennt's dull eyes, yellow against Sankor's brown, studied the newcomer lackadaisically, his gaze eventually sliding off to focus on a rock or a tree beyond. Truth be told, he disliked most conversations after the initial introduction as well, unless the wolf he had spoken to decided that he wasn't inferior because his words and voice were bad. Generally, they didn't treat him as well as they treated one another, either because they were mean, or because they didn't trust him to do things right or to take care of himself. He could take care of himself, better than many wolves, because his instincts were so strong. Indeed, when his mother had taught him how to hunt, she had not seen any of his usual slowness as she had when he had learned to talk or learned how to act. The animal within him was just fine. It was that more modern side in which something was lacking.
"The lake is interesting," he said slowly, looking back down at the bright blue water. It was unlike water he had seen elsewhere. Even the ocean wasn't so blue (at least not on this coast, though he knew no other), and so the lake had drawn him, its prettiness and brightness a good contrast to the ugly dullness of the wolf who looked into it.
Sankor was beginning to feel that there wasn't something all connected together with the male, the short little bursts that he spoke in and how his gaze kept drifting. He didn't know if the male was hiding something or if there was something the dark hued Dahlian should be on the lookout for. He simply remained quiet as he studied the other male for a moment before nodding. "Where'd you come from? I spent quite a bit of time travelling.." he said as his relaxed grin came back almost instantly. He couldn't hold onto some uneasy feeling for long though it did linger in the back of his mind as a caution still.
Truth be told the male hadn't really heard anything of many travellers about the area and he was itching to see who or what he might run into if a stranger was passing through. He wouldn't really admit it to anyone else but he liked hearing the roamer's stories and tales that they tended to share on the dark nights when there was little else to do. He doubted that this strange fellow near him would carry very many fasinating tales but even the dull could surprise one, and this fellow seemed very dull indeed as their conversation seemed to turn to the lake before him.
"Oh.." Sankor said as his eyes slid towards the lake. He tilted his head to the side as he cleared his throat and hummed. "I guess so.. what makes it interesting to you?" Sankor had grown up in these lands and the lake was old news to him, but maybe with a fresh outlook.. you never knew.
"I come from Nowry Village," he said slowly. It wasn't until after he said it that it occurred to him that Sankor might have heard of his old home. He said he traveled a lot...what if he had come here only a short time before Brennt? He had eaten his younger siblings several months ago at this point, and then stayed a while in Olric's pack, it was possible that another traveler might have heard about what he'd done, and that could be dangerous, especially if this wolf was a tattle-tale. Brennt's hackles slowly began to rise as his half-lidded eyes focused more intently on Sankor's own.
However, the discussion went on, and Brennt eased up, if only slightly. Perking his ears up at the question, he turned his head to look dumbly at the water. He considered it for a moment, furrowing his brows as the gears in his mind turned harder, trying to grind out the right answer to the question. It had been enough for him that was interesting, even more so because Sankor had applied a word to it that Brennt wouldn't have thought of. But why?
"It's blue," he said after a moment, looking back at his dark-furred company, as if for affirmation. "It's blue, and it's pretty." He wondered if he was sounding stupid again. All of the words he was using were words he had heard his mother use, words he'd heard the rest of Nowry Village use, too. Yet, somehow, when he strung them together, they sang out his idiocy to the world. Had his eyes been more open, more awake, there might have been a tinge of desperation there. He was tired of being seen this way.
Sankor couldn't place the village anywhere in his travels but for the most part they hadn't been interested in the names of places, only the faces they'd meet and the friendships that would form only for a night or a moon, however long they'd find themselves together, the wandering bands. He just nodded to the male, awknowledging that he'd heard him yet giving no answer on if he knew of the place or not. Sankor's warm eyes turned to the fellow again as she smile slightly, yet realized a moment later the change in the male's stature and wondered if the fellow was ill in someway.
His eyes shifted down to the water below them as Brennt spoke finally, in his chest an ill feeling was beginning to rise to settle as a lump in his throat. He hoped that the bad feelings that were coming in waves from the male would disappear soon enough but he was beginning to doubt that with the simple words that the male stated. He wondered if the guy just didn't like to speak or like the conversation at hand. "Well, I'd have to agree it's pretty.. but I've seen it a million times before.." he said as he tilted his head to the side and tried to see if there was anything that would really catch one's eye about the lake.
"I guess it would be nice to take some lovely lady to gaze upon in the evenings.." he said, though doubtful. He knew that some females did seem to like the romantic gestures but he'd seem even prettier lakes and knew of even lovelier places.. though he wasn't really going to share that with anyone he knew, or in this case, didn't know. What in the world was he still talking to the fellow he didn't even know.
What was that? Most of Sankor's words didn't matter, Brennt knew. Most words weren't spoken for import, but for pretty sounds or misdirection. Nonetheless, what the new wolf had said did interest him greatly. The first part sounded like a dismissal of Brennt's reason, possibly an insult, or maybe a normal disagreement that wasn't an insult. But the second part, that sounded very important.
"Lovely ladies like to look at blue lakes?" His tone, slow and dumb as was usual, was colored unusually with curious interest, which, for a moment at least, made him sound a few shades above his usual dimness. The question was out before he'd had to think it through, or to think through how he would look asking a question which might be something everyone knew. After a moment of angry shame, he pressed on through the next thought. No, not blue...
"Girls like pretty things...the lake is blue and pretty." He said these last things slightly faster than usual, speaking as soon as the thoughts came to his mind. Even when pumping on all cylinders, he still seemed like a tractor plodding down the highway compared to Sankor or most other wolves, but it was still a sight better than normal for him.
"So girls like the lake?" he asked cautiously, seeking affirmation from his new friend, for Brennt liked this wolf if what he said was the truth.
ooc- sorry if this doesn't make sense.. it's like.. 3 AM
Sankor just turned and stared at the male as he started to try and piece together what Sankor had just said.. or was he trying to tear it all apart. The male wasn't exactly sure for once but he was quiet as the large brute spoke. He seemed to have little understanding of social behavior and how to approach another. He wondered if perhaps the male had been abandoned as a child and had managed to raise himself. It could explain a lot of things atleast.. He'd never really met another that was like the wolf and he knew now that he didn't want to meet another.
He tried to ignore the uneasy factor that still seemed to flash up in the back of his mind as he tilted his head and listened to the words the other male asked. Finally he spoke up as the guy was starting to confuse him! "Yeah.. but not all the time.. and not all ladies." He shook his head as he realized that now he was giving himself a headache. Maybe he should try a different approach to this all.
"Ladies are strange. They like to change their minds a lot on what they want. Each one is different and each just as hard to read as the last." He grinned at the idea, knowing it was true. Why were they talking about girls now though.. hadn't they been talking about the lake? This was one queer conversation.. but he figured he had better get use to it.. he was the pack's therapist, though this male wasn't from his pack he was a curious fellow indeed.
Brennt's brows bunched up in confusion as he tried to discern the import of what Sankor was saying. So...ladies didn't like the lake? The lake was pretty, though, and he knew girls liked pretty things, it had made so much sense, but now Sankor was saying it was more complex than that...why couldn't it be simple? He liked things that were simple, especially solutions that were simple, because they made him feel smart, which was one of his favorite feelings.
"If ladies change their minds, then what do I do?" The innocent question would tell the other wolf all he had to know about where Brennt's mind was, the consternation associated with this issue was evident in his voice, if not in his impassive face. No, the feeling that something was off was unlikely to go away, at least with Brennt. He was only partially there as a free-thinking, independent wolf.
He had liked Cwmfen, but she had been lying to him about liking him back. He had hurt her for it, and she had hurt him, and he hated her now. He didn't like hating people, it made him feel weird inside, like bad food or poison. He disliked being tricked even more, though, and wouldn't forgive her. Maybe Sankor would be able to help him know what he had done wrong, what had made Cwmfen lie to him, and what had made Fern not like him, too, even though Pallok was dead and unable to be her mate anymore.
Sankor's tail beat on the ground behind him as he thought that the strange fellow was beginning to understand just what he mean, but too soon he was proven wrong as the questions were mingled and mashed and thrown back at him. The mahogany male tilted his head to the side as he tried to piece together exactly how in the world he had got himself into this.
Too soon he was shaking his head as he called out. "No, no.. Some ladies like the pretty lake, but some don't. Not everyone is the same." He wondered how in the world this male had lived this long. He knew that instinct and logic were on two different scales and he'd met dim fellows before, but the fact that this male was attempting to understand what he was saying but getting himself more befuddled wasn't very helpful right now.
Sankor sighed and licked his lips a moment while he tried to figure out a way to get through to the male. He raised his warm brown orbs to look to the other as he finally answered the last question. "Well, everyone can change their mind from time to time.. try and find out what they do like?" he suggested, hoping that he wasn't about to give the wrong advice without knowing it, or that the male wouldn't warp his advice into something darker.
Brennt's yellow eyes stayed on Sankor's, as if trying to read something there. The big wolf wasn't very smart, but he could usually smell a lie, as his mother had said. It was a shame, too, as people lied to him a lot, and it made him feel alone and slow, in a world that only had time for those on the fast track. The brown wolf said that not everyone was the same...he knew that, he knew that very well, his mother had made sure of it, because she had wanted to give him a way to see himself that wasn't simply inferior to everyone around him.
"Oh," he said, looking down at the ground between his feet, as if that might somehow help him to understand. Cwmfen had liked him until she hadn't. Then again, she was a warrior, maybe she liked fighting? Maybe he had actually given her what she wanted? It was too much to make sense of right away, how she had turned what was supposed to be sex into violence, but maybe that was just her doing what she had wanted and not what he had wanted? He thought that everyone understood about sex, and that it was a good thing that a boy and girl wolf did when they liked each other...maybe Cwmfen was different? Maybe she didn't like it? Maybe she didn't understand it.
"So I should go find out what they do like, then they can like me?" His logic was certainly oversimplified, but he was trying, and trying much harder than most wolves would give him credit for. If what Sankor said was true, he should probably go back and find Cwmfen the next time he got the chance. Fighting was bad to him, his mother had taught him it was bad, but maybe Cwmfen was different that way, too?
Sankor watched the male as he tried to conpute just what he was being told The two toned male didn't know if he was doing the right thing trying to explain to the baffled slow male how the ways of the world worked but he didn't seem any harm in it either. The male was quiet for what seemed like a long time before he finally spoke up again. Sankor wondered if he should just shut up while he was ahead but instead he just went along with it all. He had a lot to learn about nosing into places he really shouldn't.
"Well, sometimes folks just don't like everyone.." he said when the male asked about getting someone to like him. He was beginning to wonder if there was something he was missing in this whole ordeal but it was too late to try and figure out just what that was. Grinning to the guy he chuckled slightly and admitted. "Some don't want to know you no matter how good of a guy you could be. There's some strange fellows out there.." Like he wasn't already talking to one strange fellow right now. He glanced over to Brennt and hoped he was gathering just what he meant.
Brennt furrowed his brows at Sankor's words, staring hard again at the ground, a deep void in those eyes, vacant despite the expression around them, and he tried as best he could to understand the rules that Sankor was painting out for him. It took him a long time to decide what it was that he thought about what the red wolf said, but ultimately he was able to formulate an answer. He had a very strong feeling about Sankor's words.
"That's not fair," he finally said, for the first time really certain of his words. "That's mean to not like someone just because." Just because was a phrase he had learned from Fern when she was flirting with Pallok. Whenever she wanted to do something and he asked her why, but she just wanted to, she'd tell him 'just because.' It seemed to fit here.
"That's not fair, Sankor. That's bad!" He wasn't yelling yet, but his voice had risen. He didn't like that. He'd been attacked just because Cwmfen hadn't liked him? Just because she'd decided not to after she had liked him a few moments earlier? There was no way he could learn that! It would be ten times harder than learning with rules, and he wasn't any good at that to start with! "That's bad," he said again, more quietly, sounding perhaps like he was getting upset in a deeper, more emotional sense.
The two toned male stood there silently watching the concentration and emotions that seemed to flutter across the face of the male. His eyes might seem so void but his words and his face spoke of a million different things. He wasn't for certain if he like that combination but the male didn't seem to be hostile as long as he spoke and chattering about was something that Sankor had no problem doing.
Those words that were repeated all the time the world over greeted Sankor's ears as he shook his head. He wasn't for certain if he like where this seemed to be heading at all. Sankor hated to say it but someone had to tell the poor disturbed soul the truth of life. He was about to open his maw to speak when suddenly it seemed that the male's words grew louder, more passionate.
Sankor glanced at the male to make certain he wasn't about to snap on him before he said the one thing no one liked to hear. "Sorry, Life's just not fair, mate." and with the way things seemed to be going for the slow paced wolf that was sitting beside him life would always be harder than it was for those who's way of thinking and processing were more up to speed.
I figured we could stop it here since it's been going on a long time, and since we have the thread between him and Zana?
Brennt looked up to Sankor's face, and his expression broke into one of sadness and bitterness before he turned his dim yellow eyes back down to his paws. That wasn't fair, it wasn't fair at all! Fern hadn't liked him because he was stupid, Pallok because he was stupid and the biggest. But, even if he somehow found out a way to be smart, people might still not like him just because? That wasn't nice! His mother had taught him how people were supposed to act, though she hadn't misled him as to the truth that they did not always behave correctly.
For all the sadness he felt, he felt a growing frustration with the fact that he couldn't quite express it. His words weren't good enough, his face felt heavy and immobile, his eyes most of all stayed the same, and while he felt that, he knew he couldn't do anything to change it. As always, his mind wasn't good enough to say what he meant to say, or to feel what he meant to feel. He turned away from Sankor, feeling the emotions burbling uncertainly under the heavy shackles of his mind. He hated feeling stupid. He hated being stupid. He was smart enough, at least, to know that others didn't feel slow like he did. Not in a world as fast as this one. With a deep, tremulous breath, he began padding away. He didn't want to talk anymore.
Sankor wasn't exactly sure what was happening but he watched the change of emotions flooding over the other male and he was about to say something when Brennt suddenly got up and turned away from him. Sankor rose to his feet and called out, "Hey..." but he could tell already that it was useless. He'd obviously said something that had upset the other male and while he was glad that the uneasy situation was past he wondered about the strange fellow who seemed so slow and dim, yet still tried so hard to find answers to what he couldn't understand.
Sankor just stood there and shook his head a moment before turning away from the spot they'd been standing. He glanced down towards the lake that had started the whole conversation and shook his head before he trotted off towards home once more. The weird air about the whole thing had suddenly ruined his mood to have a day off alone and getting within the packlands sounded like the best idea yet.
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