J : Passion makes you crazy...
#1
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Amaranth, as she was called, loped easily around the reserve's fences. Every once in a while she would pause to stare hungrily at the captive wapiti - quite the novel concept to her - but she moved on without so much as crouching to stage an ambush. Not only would it be rash to do so, but it would be terribly rude to hunt here. While she had reached no clear territory markers yet, the smell of a certain few other wolves-but-not-wolves was tangled in every swift breeze that blew through the area. She must be near a pack; one who, if her nose were to be believed, lay claim to large amounts of corn and a strange plant she could not identify. They must be civilized, she thought. They grow things! Her ears perked up slightly with excitement, and she loped forward ever quicker.


It was not long before she reached the edge of a clearing, the other side of which reeked, quite literally, of wolf-but-not-wolf presence. And it excited her. She padded over to the middle of the clearing and sat back on her hind legs amongst the weeds, careful not to choose a stinging nettle for a seat. Nervous, she tensed and untensed the muscles in her back.


The urge to howl was strong; how much she longed to be part of a pack again, to howl just to say hello, to hear pack song and join in for the sheer joy of doing so. But she would not; she was resolved, though a quiet, instinctual yip escaped at least once or twice. Patience was not part of her usual skill set, but making a good impression was of the utmost importance. She settled herself, and brushed down any stray fur with her nose. She became the picture of a healthy wolf - young and strong, the subtle copper notes in her tan and black fur gleaming in the sunlight. She must show them that she was worth believing in.


For all her efforts at perfection, her tail still twitched a very little bit.


---



OOC Name: Caroline
Preferred method of contact: AIM - inevitabilityD
Character Name: Amaranth
Character Age: one year, nine months
Character Gender: female
Regular Wolf or Luperci: Regular Wolf
How did you hear about 'Souls?: I was a member several years ago. I'm back to visit, at least for a while.


Please note that if I do not reply again today, I probably will not be able to reply until Tuesday. I'm sorry for this, but it's a busy weekend for me. Also, please bear with my HTML. I'm very rusty.
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#2
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Hello! And welcome back to the board Smile I think I recognize your character name - when you were here, was it with the same charrie? I'm nosy Smile

Also, if you wonder - Gvihita is a large eagle that normally follows / sits on Dawali. She's his spirit guide, and currently visible for everyone, so your cahracter should be able to see her!



His pace was brisk and fresh as the male's two legs carried him along the well-known path. It had formed due to his own and his scouts' eager participation in guarding the borders. Today, another presence knocked on their tribe door, and he suspected it was another joiner. The call which had reached his light-pelted ears had not demanded his presence due to authority, nor could he say he had ever heard it before. He'd estimated the distance, and should by now be quite close, yet he smelled no trace of any of the other packs - it must be a stranger. Of course, he noticed the scent which grew stronger as he approached it, although as he failed to notice anything in particular about it, besides that it was strange to him, he decided that it must be someone wholly new to this place.


A few branches was brushed aside, for the path lay quite hidden amongst the smaller trees that littered his tribelands, and the flatness of the plains revealed themselves to him - and a lone figure breaking the evenness of the growing vegetable plants. As the scents grew stronger he could distinguish several other details about the stranger, and he realised now that it was a female. Tenseness grew inside him, and Gvihita decisively pinched him in the shoulder with her talon - her form visible for anyone to see. She chirped once, sounds with no meaning, and he shook his head vaguely, barely visibly, calming himself down. It didn't matter that she was female - he must remember his duties. Approaching her in a friendly manner, his shifted and lanky form greatly contrasted her unshifted one. He was tempted to shift to her level, although he never felt comfortable in that form, and did not want to. He was the leader of this tribe anyways, so he should not have to, although a tiny voice inside of him squealed that it was not polite. Ignoring it, Dawali stepped forward and gave her the typical prolonged nod as he gave everyone when he greeted them - closing his eyes and pointing his mouth towards the ground, and freezing in that position for a moment or two before lifting his head. Eyes once more open, their yellow irises focused on the stranger's eyes, and he spoke his name in a formal greeting. My name is Dawali Amara, sub-leader of the tribe whose packlands you are sitting in. How can I help you?



Table by James! thankyou<3
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#3
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First a scent - one of those she'd smelled around the wapiti pens - then a sound - footsteps in the copse in front of her - then a body in the shadows. A particularly large body, with an odd protuberance... No, it's an eagle. And so it was, an eagle sitting atop a large, very powerful looking wolf. And neither of them seemed to mind or to be afraid at all. Very strange, this wolf-but-not-wolf was.


He nodded - Amaranth wasn't quite sure how to take it. He seemed almost deferent, or at least hesitant. Strange wolves, these... and not just in body. Even so, she followed suit, bowing her own head lower, and for longer, then barely dared to meet his eyes. "I am Amaranth, formerly of the Jade Forest pack, two moons' run from here, toward the warmer lands. I have traveled far."


True enough, so far, though the temptation to lie to make herself seem more worthy was very great. "I heard tales of wolves who were like me and my pack, but stronger. Like..." She trailed off awkwardly, staring somewhere to his left... "You. My pack, they were set in the old ways. I told them they were weak, but they would not listen." At this she met his eyes again, her dull, tan eyes almost defiantly standing up to his much more striking pair.


If she were not covered in shaggy fur, her ribs would be strikingly apparent. For this she was grateful. Starvation means weakness, she reminded herself. "I come here for many reasons. For one, I seek a home. I am weak on my own, but I can be strong with others. I- I get ahead of myself. I seek to be strong. Like..." She trailed off again, exactly the same as before, between the exact same words. "You."


Not ordinarily shy, this admission cost her in terms of morale. She looked quickly away, now focusing her eyes on his paws. Broad, powerful paws. Like the legends said.


---



This is a completely new character for me. Any name-likeness is accidental, and if the previous Amaranth is reading this, I'm sorry! Anyway, my previous characters were Ashened (of Clouded Tears) and Mars (I believe a Lone Wolf); I'm sure I had another one or two, but I do not remember them so well. I'm told I should post in Garbage to say hi to all my old friends, but I'd like to wait until I'll be here for more than one day in a row to reply. Smile If any of my old friends see this though, hi! I'll be able to chat with you guys in a few days.
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#4
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Fair enough, perhaps I got it from somewhere else! I remember your charrie's names though - I played and am still playing Mew Sadira, she was in CT for a year tops, if you remember that name. I wasn't that active though, so..



The female looked at him in an odd manner, and for a moment he wondered whether she could see his tension and his troubles, although he doubted it very much. She introduced herself, and he shot in a sentence before she continued, attempting to establish some good feelings between them. After all, introducing herself that way could mean only two things - she wanted a new home. Two moons? That's pretty far indeed. As she continued speaking, the red wolf male nodded and listened, his left arm moving over to touch Gvihita's talons absently. He wasn't aware of the motion, as is normal - one isn't always aware of every movement one's body does whilst the mind is focused elsewhere. She claimed he was stronger, younger, an improvement. The male was tempted to glance down on his own body and compare it to hers, but it was not necessary. He knew what he would find. Hers was a body of toughness and fierce power, his was a less enduring, but greatly more nimble and delicate body, with hands. His hands were his most important tools - it was the reason his lifestyle worked, kept him alive. Perhaps they were stronger in survivability when it came to adapting quickly, but in his opinion it was her body that was the one with the strength. His was one of more practical purposes.


Heat flashed in his face as she mentioned him twice as strong. Gvhihita shifted her weight, and Dawali didn't need the mental images to know she was uncomfortable. Luckily, his red furs always saved him when he blushed, and it would not be noticeable. Yellow, keen eyes looked straight into hers, seemingly without fear, but he did harbor some. For every female, and for every child. And for any threat to them. Strength does not come from the ones you surround yourself with - it comes from within yourself. We cannot give you strength, but you may find it here, if you look for it. He paused - never before had a joiner offered such a spiritual-like explanation for their coming here. And never before had it thrown him into philosophical thoughts as he stood in front of them for the first time either. However, the tribe couldn't simply give her strength, but they could teach her their knowledge and include her in the warmth of the family. Perhaps somewhere in between, she could find her strength. His irises did not flicker as he spoke, serious but friendly at the same time. You say you look for a home. What can you offer us? Do you have any particular skills?



Table by James! thankyou<3
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#5
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"That's pretty far," he said. She ducked her head away briefly, at once both bashful and flattered. It was an odd emotion for her, but then again... it was an odd situation as well. Presented with a strong male who seemed to be more other than wolf, who carried an eagle on his shoulder, she was more off-balance than the eagle could possibly make him.


It may have been difficult, it may have come naturally, but eventually Amaranth worked up the courage to speak... even to challenge an idea. "I do disagree though." Here she paused, temporarily stunned with herself. "A pack of ten will always be stronger than ten individuals. It is with a united purpose that we fly highest, like your... friend there." She tipped her nose toward the eagle, then looked straight down at her own paws, completely embarassed with her lapse of control over her image. "I- I overstep. I apologize." The two words she hated to say most had just made it off her tongue. A strange day indeed.


"I am strong myself. I have courage - I think, perhaps, too much courage - and passion. I do not fail; I simply try harder. But I suppose these are not skills." She tilted her head slightly, still looking away from him in shame and submission. Skills? Have I... any? "I am not sure what use it is to you, but I am very resourceful. While I am not familiar with all the plants and animals in these lands yet, I see many things I do know. Plants for healing and strength, foxfire for light, and the like. I am good at finding things, about making the most of my few abilities. I am not much of a fighter or a hunter, but because I think, and because I am not deterred by failure, I am able to somewhat compensate."


"I-" Again she stuttered, this time failing to finish the sentence. "Those are not skills. I am a gatherer, and a bit of an herbalist. Oh, and I can navigate with the stars to some extent, but I am by no means a master." Again with the verbal diarrhea. She fidgeted, clearly uncomfortable, but she refused to budge, refused to turn tail and run. This - a new pack, with those like wolves but so much more - was what she truly desired, and she would not be deterred by this male. Or anyone, for that matter.


---



Sorry for the wait! I wasn't able to browse the interwebs for more than a few minutes a day until now. I should be back for good.
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#6
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That's allright - I saw you mentioned it in OOC in the beginning of the thread Smile



Suddenly, he was comfortable, as he realized that no matter what he did it was unlikely that he would offend the female. That was his greatest trouble - the anger of the enraged female, whose words would hit their targets with ultimate precision and stung like salted wounds for decades. He never wished to anger a woman, for he was unable to stand up for himself once they started to scold him. But Amaranth, he realized, was quite the same as him in this situation - unsure, afraid to anger, and seeking acceptance. He had the confidence of his rank and stature, and as the owner of these lands - she did not. Yet he felt as uncertain as she, simply because of her gender. It was a flaw in him, and he wished he could beat it, but until this day he had not yet done so, and he doubted he ever would. Still she disagreed with him, and for an odd reason he appreciated her openness. He was thrown into a discussion on spirituality (or at least that was what it was, to him), and it was far too long since he had participated in one. She apologized, although he ignored this - if she continued to seemingly fear him he would explain that it was not necessary, although for now it could simply pass.


What you say is true, but I speak of a different strength. To be strong alone, and to be able to stand alone, even if your decision pains you - that is the strength you may find here. The strength of the pack is a mere added bonus. While it is true that we may achieve glorious things if we work together - Gvihita here flies highest on her own. Her wings are for her and her only - they are her strength. Ours lies on the inside. Smiling, he finished his last sentence, content with his answer. He had spoken slowly and carefully, taking time to rethink his words before they came out - hopefully she would have another good statement which he could discuss with her - her thoughts were interesting.


Going on to list some personality traits, Dawali stood still and listened, absently stroking one of Gvihita's talons as he watched her, yellow eyes fixed on her form. It seemed she indeed needed to find her strength, for she seemed unsure of herself, and unsure of what to say and what he had asked for. In truth, the personality traits listed were good things, and could have sufficed on their own - he trusted his own judge of character. By the time she had finished, after listing some weaker sides of herself as well, she stopped talking and fidgeted - quite obviously not comfortable in his presence. Dawali, who had made up his mind already, stared at her for a moment longer than he had to, somewhat enjoying her behavior. Not because he was in a situation where he was in control, but because it reminded him of his daughter, when she asked him for things she wasn't sure she would get, or whenever she'd done something wrong. Aiyanna hadn't grown old enough to start behaving like that, but Asha had. It was cute.


Hm... Thinking, he looked to the ground, wanting to rephrase all her statements, if only to see how she would react. She seemed so unsure of herself that he felt a need to rectify - for the traits and talents she had listed were quite useful, and as she had said she was a resourceful woman. Finding his words, he let them out in a calm and friendly voice, while he was still looking at the ground in front of himself. So, you are strong, courageous, passionate, and you will work to achieve things. You are familiar with a good number of plants and their uses, and you know which things are useful for yourself, so you collect them. Pausing, he now looked up to meet her gaze before he continued. And you are quite modest, I daresay - and intelligent, although very quick to assume the surroundings do not agree with that statement - or am I completely wrong?





Table by James! thankyou<3
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#7
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http://i692.photobucket.com/albums/vv28 ... ranth1.png); background-repeat:no-repeat; background-position:bottom; border:1px solid black;">

The compliments piled up very quickly, and it wasn't long until Amaranth was embarassed for reasons wholly unrelated to the shame she felt for running her mouth. It was all she could do to keep herself from hiding her entire head; she nearly managed a completely impassive front, but her tail twitched a few times nonetheless. It was something of a shock when this Dawali creature then called her out, staring at her whilst claiming that she thought she had acted an idiot. "I thank you for your compliments then. While I do believe I've made an ass of myself here, I will accept that you believe I am intelligent. I am not one to dictate your thoughts for you, anyway.


Her tail twitched again, this time due to a small insect which had managed to crawl underneath the amber-tinted brown fur of her tail. When the itch did not disappear, she craned her neck to look as she pawed at her tail irritably. After a few moments the itch subsided, the insect likely dead, but her attention was still fixated behind her. She nudged a particularly purply-stemmed plant with her nose. "This is orangeroot, it was rare where I come from. It will keep most wounds from getting infected. You should try to cultivate it; it's very useful. I'm afraid I..." She paused again, much like her awkward pauses minutes before. "Am not much good with tasks which require dexterity. Hopefully I will be able to aid the pack more in the future."


Amaranth turned back around, blinking a few times as her eyes adjusted to the late afternoon sun which threatened to burn its way straight into her brain. "What must I do to prove my skills to you? They are not many, and they are certainly not conventional, but I am ever-learning. I do not intend to die with this little to say for myself." She met his eyes with her own once more, not so much challenging him as herself; her determination would be readily-apparent to most onlookers. Reminded by her latest bout of verbal diarrhea, she became suddenly restless once more, with no new bugs to take out her emotions on. She settled for gently kneading the ground beneath her tawny paws, hoping that Dawali would not notice but knowing that he likely would.

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#8
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Glad you liked the table Big Grin



Her nervousness did not go away, and as she responded to his little speech he stood still, listening - with a certain shine in his eyes that most that knew him recognized as amusement. For an odd reason he was very entertained by her choice of words and how she was generally not at ease - but of course, had she been truly uncomfortable he would not have done any of this. She began to speak of a plant he knew quite well, although it was in plenty in an area to the south so he had not bothered to actually go as far as cultivate it. They also had lots of stored herbs and plants, and hardly anyone got ill enough to need them - which of course was a good thing. Again she proved to him that she was useful, commenting on the plant and its uses, before she claimed she was not useful. His head tilted to one side as he listened to her and waited until she was done with everything she was speaking of - and asking him how she may aid them. They had already established that she had a series of interesting skills, and she wanted to learn - it was enough for him. There had been fresh faces among their ranks before with less skill than that, so that wasn't entirely a problem. He mostly asked that question to check on their attitude, not their actual skills. He found Amaranth's attitude quite satisfactory.


As she finished her statement and promptly started moving her paws around in restlessness, Dawali figured it was time to be properly nice now, probably. But it had entertained him - a lot. Nodding as if to say "yeah, that sounds good", he spoke with an even but warm voice - like he usually would. You have already proven your skills to me, Amaranth. And you have proved that your attitude is one which would contribute to us in itself, no matter what skills you have or don't have. You will find that we have a great variety of members in the tribe - and most like to spend their time doing unconventional things. So, welcome as a member of our tribe, if you still want it. Smiling, he did the greeting movement over again, but now it was more of a formal gesture to let her know that he officially offered her a place among them. He didn't doubt that she would accept it, but he phrased it as a proposal nonetheless. She had a strong personality - and might prefer it that way.




Table by James! thankyou<3
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#9
Welcome to 'Souls!

Hey, welcome to 'Souls. You've just joined the craziest bunch of wolf roleplayers on the vast internet. If you haven't done so already, you should check out the rp guide for detailed information about our werewolves and other general role playing information.

Now that you're accepted, you need to do two things:
___1. Make your first IC post within five days.
___2. Update your profile with a bit of background information on your character.

You can also start saving up points toward titles and icons and cool stuff. Check out the Open Threads and Thread Requests forum for people looking to roleplay. You can post random out of character chat in the OOC Garbage with us, too.



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