Wolf RPG

Having a companion to travel with takes some getting used to. Being along the last several weeks was often filled with loneliness and hunger, yearning for something else, but she hadn’t realized how much she needed it. They hunt together, sleep together—just about everything—and it’s… nice. It doesn’t matter where she is, @Varinril isn’t too far off (if they’ve separated), but most of the time they she’s within her eyesight. There’s no set pace for them and over the next few days they move from the cache to the ridge, climbing one side until they reach the heavily forested area. Singed trees and burnt ground offer an interesting story that she’ll never know and she finds one particular tree that has fallen over due to lightning.
 
She lifts her head and looks over her shoulder, searching for the pale girl. In that moment, she’s nowhere to be found but she isn’t deterred. Refocusing her attention on the fallen tree, a leathery nose sniffs out the immediate area before she approaches. The inside is hollowed out from fire eating its way through and she pokes through, noting the charred scent left behind. There is no life inside the tree, nor surrounding it, and she moves around the base to find a spot to investigate. Front paws come off the ground and she places them on the side of the tree, feeling for weakened spots to avoid before she hops up on top. A few holes offer here and there have burned through the trunk but the casing is relatively stable and she moves along it with a natural grace, claiming it as her own temporary throne.
 
If only you had a crown, my girl.

Her nose is pressed into the charred wood, a hole a perfect fit for her snout to fit through and test the smells below. Wet, burnt, and stale. Life hasn’t grown around it yet, everything dead within several yards each direction but her interest begins to wane. A light chuffs breaks through the sound and she jerks, clinging to the trunk of the tree lest she fall and turn slightly to see the ash-colored wolf approach. Mallaidh watches her for a moment before she tries to turn, ears cupped forward for the strange greeting.
 
“Umm…” she starts, licks her lips, and shifts a little on the trunk before she makes an awkward attempt to turn. Unfortunately, he back foot slips out from beneath her—"oh!"—and she ungracefully lands on the opposite side of her companion. Mallaidh lands with a thud and a wheeze before trying to gather her balance and catch her breath.

She vaguely hears the distant oh shit but leaves rustle beneath her. By the time the stranger comes around the other side of the tree, she’s half up but still stunned. ”Yeah,” she wheezes, putting her feet beneath her and propping herself up. The wide trunk hadn’t been enough to give her enough room near the top and claw marks are left in the side to indicate her fall. A shake of her head and a few deep breaths and everything is relatively back to normal.

”I’m used to falling,” she says with a chuckle. It’s not the first. It won’t be the last. But it definitely has the best result. Mallaidh smiles when her pale eyes finally focus on her newest companion and thumps her tail against the fallen tree.

Her brows knit together for a moment. I’ll catch you next time. Mallaidh snorts playfully, not quite catching the intent behind the words. She’s only joking. Right. “Maybe don’t let me fall instead,” she prods, picking herself up and shaking out her fur. Dead leaves and dirt fling in all directions and her thicc thick, mismatched fur sways to and fro even after she’s come to a stop. “I fall a lot,” she says, stating the obvious, but she wrinkles her nose with a little embarrassment. “I’m Mallaidh, um,” she awkwardly introduces.

Something keeps her on the edge of her seat as her new friend continues to talk, a smile curling on her features. Reveling in a little familiarity is comforting. She talks a lot (like Blixen) and fumbles over her words (like Blixen) and well, this is the last place she wants to think about her ex-girlfriend. The fiery girl hasn’t been on her mind much since she’d shed Furi some days ago. It was easier to ignore but pushing away the abrasive girl was never an easy task, even the memory that lives in her mind. She can hope eventually, she can meet another cute girl without being haunted with guilt.

Maybe.

At least she has Varinril to keep company, and distracted, and by the sounds of it she’s collected another new friend—Saarthal—and between the two of them, she’ll never fall.

A sly smile splits her features as she moves, stretching her legs and making sure nothing is particularly sore from the fall. It hadn’t been a hard drop like on the rise, or the fall she can’t seem to remember. “It is nice to meet you,” she adds, looking around for her other companion. “What’re you doing out here anyway, other than making girls fall off tree trunks?” she quips, toothy grin getting toothier.

The only proper guidance Mallaidh had growing up is the teaching of Eske and the art of battle. She learned from the best and fought with the best. When it came to girls? Ha. When it came to girls flirting with her? Double ha. Ha ha. When it becomes mostly obvious to very obvious, her ears twitch upon her head a little before  angling ahead and finding herself speechless in the wake of… that. Feelings were never that easy to understand and she’s never been the flirty type. All the cute girls she’s approach is met with awkwardness and as of late, treating them poorly for her selfish need to run away.
 
“Me?” she asks, stunned, before she turns away and admits how good of a date spot this was. Was it? Flittering eyes dart around and she doesn’t know what to make of it. “Don’t you have to… like, ask someone out on a date beforehand?” Isn’t that how it worked? She and Blixen never really had that and how is she supposed to ask someone out? Besides, “I’m pretty sure I could find a better spot. I’ve got haunting memories of falling in this place, I don’t know why,” she muses, turning away and awkwardly looking anywhere but at Saarthal.
 
That’s… totally how you flirt.

Mallaidh resists the urge to say oh because on some level, Saarthal really wasn’t talking to the tree but she’s never good with those sorts of things. Instead, she looks back at the tree with weird jealousy before she’s shaken free of the thought all together. It’s stupid to be jealous. It’s just… a tree. She squints briefly, then turns back to her new companion.
 
“I’ve only dated one person… I think,” she says, pausing; should she consider Aviana? Or Artaax? The thought gives her a slight shiver. She shakes her head and vanquishes them from thought. “But neither of us… asked? We just…” she adds, shrugging one shoulder before she’s blindsided by the question. “Um… and, yeah, I guess? But I’m on the move so it’s gotta be fast.” Mallaidh licks her lips nervously, wondering what Varinril would think of her new friend. One ear twitches, clearing her throat, and hesitantly offering a follow-up: “unless you… want to come with me?”

Varinril was coming to realize she did not like climbing very much. It required more energy than she was willing to spend. There was not much to look at, either. She's seen one tree since she begun and that had been nothing more than a razed husk, torched by some foreign element. If there was any other vegetation to be found, she did not see it. No plants meant no prey. No predators either. Seeing as they were hiking across this range and not inhabiting it, that was fine by Varinril. Now, if only gravity would stop chipping away at her energy reserves...

She climbed up and up, the travel very monotonous. This brought her to think about her recent companion, Mallaidh. The girl seemed a bit all over the place and who could blame her? Who had their lives - let alone themselves - figured out at the tender age of one year? Varinril could not recall what she was like back then, forcing her childhood into some dark corner. She could not recollect anything nice about her infancy nor her adolescence...Best leave those memories alone.

"- to come with me?" The sound of Mallaidh's voice comes flowing into her ears, urging her onward. Who was she talking to? In her haste, she kicks a few loose rocks out of her path. The pebbles roll away and off a sizeable dropoff, no doubt declaring her presence. Varinril slows her ascension when she spots Mallaidh's unique salt and pepper coat. She seemed to be chatting up another girl. It all clicked into place then. Drawing close to Mallaidh, she offers a cordial smile to the slate-furred wolf, the mirth reaching her eyes.

"Hello." Her voice was as warm as her mannerisms. She looked between the two of them, smile still present. "Another friend for our journey?"

Mallaidh’s mouth opens to answer but she’s caught off guard but Varinril’s approach. Mouth agape turns into a smile and her tail wags eagerly behind her, taking a step toward her friend. She only takes pause when Saarthal comments on her eyes and she turns back to find the deep color illuminated by the high noon sun.
 
“Yeah, we’re friends,” she says, slowly turning away from pale to ash, her smile lingering still. She licks her lips and clears her throat. She’d nearly forgotten she had another person to consider before inviting someone else along and her ears twitch a little as she’s caught. Arrille and Rose had gotten her in trouble more than once for offering what wasn’t hers to offer but with Varinril, it’s Mallaidh’s just as much as it is hers. They hadn’t talked about adding to their group and luckily she doesn’t seem particular perturbed by the offering in the same way Blixen had.
 
After a moment, she nods her head and eagerly chirps, “I’d like that.”

Varinril offers three steady beats of her tail in reply to Mallaidh's, eyes trailing back and forth between her and the stranger. She wonders who this is but is promptly caught off guard by said stranger's compliments. Oh my. It was so sudden, bashfulness stealing across her face uninhibited. Varinril was not well-versed in this area - hence the blush dotting her cheeks - but she is brazen in reciprocation. It was with hooded eyes that she assessed Saarthal, her mouth forming a demure smile.

"Thank you." She would have said something about the lady's appearance - how the fur about her neck looked faintly of feathers, how her eyes gleamed a lively copper, bespeckled by bronze - but decided now really was not the time. She should save her romantic stanzas for later. Besides, the conversation was moving along swimmingly without any of her smolder.

"We'd love to have you with us," Varinril adds. She saw no reason to turn others away as she and Mallaidh were not a part of some exclusive club. You know, like packs.

"My name is Varinril. And you are...?"

The exchange goes as expected. Varinril has a charming composure she’s drawn to that she assumes comes with age (not that she’s terribly older than her, but she’s noticed the difference) and Saarthal’s quirkiness shines through. The introduces come and go and Mallaidh’s brows knit together, turning to Saarthal with confusion writ across her face. “Mallaidh,” she offers, certain she’d already introduced her name. She even used it. But, by the time she realizes the mistake, her cheeks burn and there’s not a thing she can do about it.

This Saarthal - interesting name - had a very chipper disposition. She was all flowers and sunshine though Varinril-With-the-Pretty-Eyes could guess why. It was nice to be included. Even with their differing personalities, Varinril felt a casual sort of magnetism between herself and them.

Flirting with a tree? Hm. Yeah, that does kind of remind her of Mallaidh. She looks upon the girl now, stopping the humorous sputter before it turns into a full-blown guffaw. Mallaidh introduced herself even though there was no need. Shit, that was hilarious, but...she senses the youngling's embarrassment and doesn't want to rub it in too much. Though they've been traveling together for a short while now, she gets the sense that Mallaidh is a bit high-strung emotionally. Varinril is hugely empathetic so her laughter subsides immediately. On the other paw, she could be blowing this scenario way out of proportion...Oh well. Better safe than sorry.

"S-So," she interjects with a lick of her lips. "We were going to hike up those mountains and see what's on the other side." She pointed with her muzzle towards Lone Star Mountain and the neighboring peaks but spoke no more than that. Best to inform their newest friend of their designs now that she was a part of their budding group.

The part of her that wishes it would all blow over is left with hope despite the awkward smile of her pale friend. She doesn’t mention but she can see the recognition so she glances away quickly. First to Saarthal but it doesn’t stay there long because by the time Varinril explains where they’re going, she hears the faint sounds of words. She doesn’t catch them but she is led to surprise when the ashy girl calls her cute. Sure, she’d been flirting with her but she’s never been called cute. And not be another girl that’s also cute. Nervously, she licks her lips, and glances down at her feet while she sorts out the flutter of emotion stopping her heart. And, of course, she still won’t leave the tree thin alone and awkwardly, the girl laughs, but glances to Varinril to wheel them out of this topic and on to where they’re headed.

Saarthal was really laying it on thick, huh? By the look of Mallaidh, she did not know how to process this all just yet. Varinril felt like she was intruding, a stranger in their midst. Awkwardness abounds! Maybe she shouldn't have come waltzing in on their conversation like she did...She takes the cue when Mallaidh glanced at her. Right.

"Shall we get going, then?" Surely there would be trees on the other side! But if Saarthal was ever found wanting, Varinril would be more than happy to assist. (Or Mallaidh, for that matter. She was young, but she could learn so long as there were no trees around.) Turning her back to the two girls, she begins her trek ever onward, beckoning them with a flick of her tail.