OOC here!

The morning had turned to afternoon before Ignatius was done getting his wagon in order and had attended to Pippa. .He had shifted to his lupus form after storing his pants and gloves in the back of his painted wagon. Now, he set out to explore the territory and adjust to his four-legged form. The shift had been a rather painful one and his bones still ached as he slowly made his way along the shoreline. He travelled until he came across a small river. He stopped there to take a drink but when he did the bitter taste of salt filled his mouth where he had been expecting cool, crisp water. He spit the tainted water out and silently cursed himself. He should have known that the salt from the sea would wash into the river.

He shook his head and turned to walk along the bank of the river, trying to find a spot that wouldn’t taste so foul. A few yards up from the shore, next to where the highway crossed over top, he tried again. The fresh, cold water that he tasted now was what he had been expecting. He drank in deep gulps to wash the taste of salt from his mouth and when he was done, he stopped to look around, wondering how deep into the territory he was now. Sunrise meadow was still to one side and on the other there was a forest looming in the distance. If he kept going straight, it would take him to the den. He could smell the scents of the pack coming strongly from that direction.

He paused as he tried to decide what to do. He could keep going straight, or he could cross the river. If he took the road, it would take him right up and over and he wouldn’t even need to get his paws wet. He would see the den later so that seemed the best way to go. He wasn’t quite ready to start moving again though and he stood by the river trying to stretch out the aches from his bones.

OOC here!

The sound of a wolf approaching made Ignatius raise his head. He waited by the riverbank for the male to get closer, sensing from their previous meeting that this male was anxious about the dog’s presence in his pack’s territory. He lowered himself slightly, making sure he was beneath Tharin, and tucked his tail between his legs. He knew that he was a stranger in these lands and that the pack would mistrust him. It was the same no matter where he went. The life he had chosen was one without friends, and those friends that he did make were always left behind when he moved on. He tried to keep himself distance as much as possible. It did him no good to let the pack’s he visited get to know him.

He gave a woof of his own in reply, a soft, friendly noise that said he meant no harm. Exploring the territory was going to have to wait. If he was going to be in New Dawn’s territory, he had to be as polite as he could to its members. He answered the wolf calmly, his voice soft and foreign sounding. “Your Alpha has invited me to entertain your pack. I will be telling stories and signing songs tonight at your gathering place.” He wouldn’t be here more than a night or two, just enough to give one night of entertainment. Then, he would be on his way.

OOC here!

So the performance he was hosting tonight would have one more in its audience. He wagged his tail happily at the news. Entertaining was his thing, the thing that made him happier than anything else. Better than the most beautiful sunrise, better than the most attractive woman. A performance that left the audience begging for more gave him a high better than any drugs he had experienced. It was worth leaving his home to travel the world and bring his talents to as many canines as he could.

A song could be written about every wonder of the earth, but just because he could put the feeling into words didn’t mean he appreciated the world any more than someone like Tharin. “Everyone appreciates the world in different ways. You might not be able to express it as easily as I, but that doesn’t mean you value it any less.” He looked back toward the field of flowers he had come from and again took in the beauty of it. Earth could create the most beautiful places and here where it was mostly untouched by man, it was like heaven had been re-created on earth. “You chose to live here, didn’t you? I’ve seen a lot of the world. I travelled across the sea and all the way up the coast to get to here. It was worth it... This is the most stunning place I’ve ever been.”

All the scents of the world filled his nose as he took in a deep breath. It already made him sad to think of leaving this pack to travel to the next. Yet, there might be even more beauties to behold in Nova Scotia. He would see all of it before he decided whether he wanted to settle down. It started right here, though, and he looked over to Tharin and nodded. “I would love the company. It’s easy to forget how nice companionship is after travelling alone for a long time. I almost started to think I liked the loneliness.”

This isn't what I planned to happen but sometimes the character has a mind of their own xP

When Tharin turned away from the hard, paved road Ignatius hesitated briefly. He was more familiar with pavement than with the wilderness and he would have much rather travelled along the human-made paths than the ones made by wolves. Zalen had told him he would be safe here but the wild had always frightened him. While he had travelled, he had stuck to the old human towns and walked next to their roads. That was probably why he had never seen a place as beautiful as this. However, he was a visitor here and all the wolves of this pack were his superiors. Hadn’t he come all this way to learn as much as he could of the world? If he didn’t learn about and follow their customs, he might as well leave. He followed Tharin away from the path without a word.

He matched his pace to the Tharin’s but kept about a step behind as he walked along beside the wolf. It wasn’t so bad to walk with the grass beneath his paws. It even tickled the space in between his pads a little. Without his clothes on he could feel the wind stir his fur and he lifted his nose to take in the smells it carried. How had he never appreciated this before? He had lived almost his whole life in the remains the humans left behind, choosing to take the form that made him the most like them. But he had missed out on this whole different style of life.

He looked over at Tharin, a wolf so different from himself. He would probably never know what it was like to live as humans had. Even if he did become infected somehow, he would want to live like a wolf. There were things one couldn’t do on two-legs and Ignatius felt his heart skip a beat as the urge to run washed over him. He gave in to the temptation to taste the wind whipping past his head and picked up the pace until he was running as fast as he possibly could. Even then, it would have been easy for any wolf to pass him. He would never be as strong, as fast, or as agile as a wolf. But at least for right now, he could live like a wolf.

Hover for translation. It's Portuguese

A yip of pure joy was sent heavenward and the black and white male brushed against the one beside him as they ran toward the mountains. As his head settle back to pointing forward, Ignatius’s tongue rolled out from his gaping mouth. A look of pure bliss stretched across his face as the wind blew his fur flat against his sides. It had been far too long since he had run with another just for the sheer joy of it. Not since he had started shifting and left his home across the sea. His time had been spent learning and dancing and singing. There had been no time for the games of puppies and wolves. Now, he felt like he had all the time in the world.

As they entered the rocky terrain and made their way into the pass between the mountains his pace began to slow. By the time the lake came into view he had slowed to a walk, his breathing hard and fast. As the place that lay within the mountains came into view, he stopped dead in his tracks. His tongue curled up inside his mouth and his exhaustion was forgotten as his breath caught in his throat. His eyes swept over the ethereal place, taking it in from one side to the other. He slipped into a different tongue as he spoke and the words came out in the language of his home. “Este deve ser o céu.” His voice came soft as a whisper; as if he were scared it would disturb the beauty of this place.

It took him a moment to figure out what he had done wrong. He had been speaking softly but for some reason he didn’t think that was it. A puzzled look crossed his face, reflecting the one on his companions face. He looked over to Tharin and suddenly realized what he had done. “Forgive me. I didn’t realize..” He shook his head, still in awe of the beauty this territory held. First the sunrise meadow and now this. Even the storyteller was lost for words amidst this untouched land.

He took a hesitant step forward, trying not to shatter the vision that lay before him. The many miles he had travelled had led him straight to this place. He would be back to see this place again but even though he felt like he could stay here forever the other packs in the area might be even better. It was hard to imagine a place more stunning than this but before today he never would have imagined a place like this existed. Who knew what wonders lay even further into Nova Scotia?

Slowly he turned to look over his shoulder at Tharin, his golden eyes finding the male’s own brown ones briefly before flicking away. “What is it like to live here all the time? I can hardly believe this place exists and you can come here whenever you want.” He turned away and looked back at the lake, watching the mist as it slowly lifted away. “It takes my breath away.” His thoughts wandered to the human towns and roads that cut through the land. They would destroy a place like this. How had he never seen that before? Was it worth living in their shadow if it meant devastating the beauty of the earth? He went quiet as he took in his revelation, staring out toward the lake with a blank look on his face.

The trance was broken when Tharin bumped his side and his thoughts of the humans were replaced with the words the wolf said. What would it be like to have someone there for you always? When he was younger, Ignatius had been a part of a pack of sorts. He, his parents, and his sister had been a part of a group of travelling entertainers. He had seen almost all of the country called Europe and he thought of all of it as his home. That had been nothing like what he had seen here, however. His travelling family could hardly be called a family. They only loved those of their own blood and stayed together just for the convenience of it. These wolves loved each other and were a family, whether or not their blood was the same. He smiled to Tharin when the wolf was done speaking and replied. “You could teach me a lot, Tharin. Sometimes I feel I’m more human than canine.”

After he spoke, he followed Tharin down further into the valley. When he got closer, he began to talk again. “It’s funny in a way. I’ve seen almost the entire world but I still have so much to learn about it. I was raised to be like humans but humans destroyed the earth.” He stopped and looked around him. “This place is perfect, just the way it is. Why would anyone want to ruin it with houses and roads?” He shook his head and then shrugged his shoulders. He knew he was asking questions that would never have an answer. It just felt good to say aloud what he was feeling. “Why didn’t I realize it until now?” He turned toward Tharin, a lost look on his face.