Blackfoot Forest demons of the dark
11 Posts
Ooc — Rin
Offline
#1
All Welcome 
dated before this

In her life, Kila Gallagher had known and done quite a few scary things—facing off against known murderers at the command of her father, stealing from very well-guarded food caches, wading through crocodile infested bayous, and spending nearly every night sharing the same den as a madman, just to name a few—and yet even she, despite being the toughened soul she was, still held a generous amount of fear in her heart when it came to certain situations and circumstances. One of them, as childish as it may seem, was a fear of the dark, or perhaps better yet, the unknown demons that liked to crawl around in it.

Yes, she believed in spirits, both good and bad- she'd grown up in the company of seafarers after all, and if a pirate could be counted on for anything aside from pillaging riches and drinking rum, it would be their innate ability to spin a ghost story. Granted, most of those ghost stories revolved around wrathful sea spirits, those that liked to drag unsuspecting swimmers to the bottom of the deep blue and swoop down upon nighttime beach goers like possessed seagulls, which had nothing to do with a forest such as this, so ideally she shouldn't be that concerned... Yet her superstitious mind wouldn't put such images to rest, instead choosing to conjure fantasies of some two headed beast stalking her from the mist, or of the shadows she saw flickering out of the corners of her eyes actually being red-eyed demons waiting to set themselves upon her and do their worst. It also didn't help that there were soft yet distinct and eerie wails echoing around her in the forest's far reaches- foxes, any landlubber might know, but she did not, having not had many of them where she came from, therefore being unable to recognize their ghostly call.

So, regardless of her common sense and logical mind, Kila moved through the dark forest with stiff muscles, raised guard hairs, and a hardened expression, brows furrowed and lime colored eyes staring intensely at whatever shadow seemed to move next. She was careful not to appear frantic or frightened, out of caution to the idea that a wolf might roam this parts and might decide to take advantage of her being in such a state, but anyone could tell she was by no means eat ease with this environment. The lass couldn't wait until she freed herself from this forest, or until the sun rose up over the horizon once more- whichever would come first.
Killian is a female that presents herself as a male via having a boyish figure/voice and by covering her scent. She/her and he/him pronouns will be used interchangably depending on circumstance. Your wolf shouldn't know the truth unless she tells them, she is in heat, or they are very close and can smell the truth even through her masking. Typically, I will signal in posts if she's doing something that might give it away.
1,215 Posts
Ooc — Thalia
Master Ambassador
Tracker
Offline
#2


she'd moved past the plain on her return, simply veering south and moving until her paws were heavy and the day's colours had faded. she passed Easthollow and moved south still, mind heavy and shoulder's hunched. she was far from finished sorting through her thoughts, through her conversation with Alarian, but the cries of foxes grew ever-louder as she moved, pulling apart her strings of thought with every wailing cry. 

the huntress paused, irate, ears flickering into the wood as aimlessness shifted into purpose, and she moved carefully, now, paws light where they had been heavy. nostrils flared as if to taste the air, lobes swiveling atop her head and occasionally latching onto some disturbance before setting into motion again. in this manner she continued deeper into the wood; the foxes, smart bastards, moving out of her way as soon as her presence was realized, their calls faltering each time she neared. 

this one, however, was different, and in the moments she took to pinpoint his clashing call he did not falter nor shift position. watching, first, then the careful stalk, the reveal and the pursuit. tired actions she'd performed time and time again, yet requiring the utmost precision. luck, and the thick-headed boldness of the fox, afforded her this kill. another scream sounded, this one the cry of an animal dying, and the others faded quickly, leaving only echoes and far-off cries.
11 Posts
Ooc — Rin
Offline
#3
A dying scream suddenly pierced the forest's eerie veil, forcing Kila to an abrupt stop, her eyes going wide and her head aggressively jerking up as alarm blossomed in the back of her skull and poured down her spine like a waterfall. There she paused with her feet firmly rooted to the earth- one second, five, ten, ears swiveling and nostrils rapidly flaring in search of any more warnings. What... was that? And more importantly, what caused that? It sounded... too high pitched to be a wolf... at least, not a full grown one; Thalassa forbid that having been the sound of dying child she just heard...

She narrowed her gaze to lime slits, weighing her options. Anyone else might have heard something like that and decide to turn around, nope the hell out of there, especially if they had the images of demonic spirits floating around in their head like Kila did... but this pirate lass was not so inclined, instead opting to proceed forward with caution and the hopes of maintaining some level of stealth as she smoothly crept through the forest's darker shadows. She had her fears, yes, but she didn't like being held back by them, forbade from going certain places merely because she suspected the presence of something that might not even be there. To even consider turning around or bowing to some stupid spirits was cowardly, the voice of her late father mentally roared in her ears, and Gallaghers are no cowards! Though she rolled her eyes to Finnian's image, she also couldn't help but inwardly agree... so on she went, warily creeping towards the source of the shriek, aiming to only near it and catch a glimpse, not take it on. She was bold, not stupid.

From shadow to shadow she went until finally, after slinking around a tree and settling into the concealing vegetation at its base, she saw the perpetrator, and after taking a moment to process just what she was seeing, the she-wolf couldn't help but crack a smile and quietly scoff.

A girl was what graced her presence, one of silvered fur, evident even in such low lighting, and eyes of bronze. She stood poised over the recently murdered carcass of a fox—what Kila assumed to be the source of that scream—and from what the russet youth could tell so far, no one else was around to indicate otherwise, meaning this was all that had been lurking in the dark. No demons, no ghouls, just this. It was amusing to her, to say the least, and she breathed a faint sigh of relief.

"A fine catch, lass," he casually called out to her, raising to his full height and emerging from the shrubbery, a grin plastered on his face and his eyes coolly half-lidded.

"This a habit 'o yers, killin' things in th' dead o' night?" Though his body language was relaxed and unthreatening, he knew his sudden appearance from the shadows was more than enough cause for alarm, so he kept a respectful distance... not to mention the fact he had no way of knowing whether or not she killed this thing for hunting practice/self defense, or out of sadistic desire.
Killian is a female that presents herself as a male via having a boyish figure/voice and by covering her scent. She/her and he/him pronouns will be used interchangably depending on circumstance. Your wolf shouldn't know the truth unless she tells them, she is in heat, or they are very close and can smell the truth even through her masking. Typically, I will signal in posts if she's doing something that might give it away.
1,215 Posts
Ooc — Thalia
Master Ambassador
Tracker
Offline
#4

salmon tongue flicked out over her lips, catching hints of metal and smoothing the fur there. familiar hunger rolled low in her stomach, and yet the sterling huntress ignored the tug resolutely. the male spasmed once, gaze sliding back to stare numbly at something beyond her living vision. she remained half-crouched a moment, two, before sliding back to her paws, chest moving with exertion as she waited for the hunting rush to still.

the crackle of underbrush had her auds flick back, then forward to center in on the sound. gaze blazed hawkishly as a man slid from the underbrush, decidedly unabashed about his sudden appearance at her kill. she didn't bother to offer a reply to the first remark, watching him cooly yet carefully. she was - had - been a prideful creature, and yet his half-lidded gaze and sleazy grin had her cautious. 

he smelled of wildness and earth; with a face that reminded her, in it's prettiness, of alarian, save for the scar. "the night makes things bold, and stupid. also, loud." already, the radius of silence spread out around the dead fox was beginning to falter as movement and soft calls began once more. soon, there would be no more monument to the fox's death, save the rust stain on the forest floor. 

here, far removed for morningside and with the recent knowledge offered by her conversation with alarian, she could slip back into who she'd been before. "habit of yours to sashay up to stranger's kills in the dead of night?" despite the possibility of some warning lingering in the words; there was none, her features open and voice lacking any edge. he may appear arrogant, but unthreatening (for now) and keeping a respectful distance.
11 Posts
Ooc — Rin
Offline
#5
Analytical eyes passed over the slain vulpine, a soft hum vibrating on his lips as noted the killing blow, staining the earth red with blood. Ah, so that was the cause for the creature's murder; the poor sap had merely wandered too close to the girl. "So it does..."

At the mention of nightfall making them loud as well, followed by the steady rise of eerie wailings on the distant wind once more, Killian perked his ears and briefly turned his attention to the forest's shadows, listening to the noises curiously. Is that what that was, fox call? If so... what creepy bastards... He felt a prickle of shameful warmth in his heart and cheeks, now feeling silly for imagining those sounds to be that of forest-dwelling ghosts and ghouls... and even sillier still for not completely giving the thought a rest.

His slid his gaze back to the girl when she spoke again, her words that of a sassy retort, yet lacking the tone or edge to convey as much, instead seeming more like an honest question than snark. The truth of it earned a soft chuckle from the lad. "Only when the killin' can be heard from miles away. Hard teh hear a shriek like tha' in this unnervin' place an' not come investigatin'."

The sleazy, cocksure grin on his muzzle shifted into a smaller, more modest smile, and his gaze briefly flicked across her form, taking in the sleek, athletic build, yet ruffled appearance, not unlike his own. In the dark, her scrapes and scars were difficult to spot, but the shear ruggedness of her pelt coupled with her being out on her own inclined him to think she could be a rogue like himself... though it was never safe to assume. He tilted his head ever so slightly.

"Yeh live in these parts?"
Killian is a female that presents herself as a male via having a boyish figure/voice and by covering her scent. She/her and he/him pronouns will be used interchangably depending on circumstance. Your wolf shouldn't know the truth unless she tells them, she is in heat, or they are very close and can smell the truth even through her masking. Typically, I will signal in posts if she's doing something that might give it away.
1,215 Posts
Ooc — Thalia
Master Ambassador
Tracker
Offline
#6

again the hunger, wringing out her stomach and tugging at her salivary glands. with Sunny returned, the ratio of hunters had tipped favorably, yet she would still offer the catch to both nursing mothers first. gaze passed over the kill, once, before refocusing her attention on the male as if conversation may cure her hunger. 

her brow quirked, and a grin, quick and wild, twisted her features a moment. "I'd think most would stay far away from nighttime screams." to her satisfaction, his grin faded into a slightly more respectable smile, to her satisfaction, and briefly she wondered at the strangeness of his accent. she'd heard languages and tongues far different than the common one, but never the sort of lilt the man's tongue carried. 

"Morningside, to the north; we claim the plains and neighboring maplewood." pausing once as movement flickered near them, briefly, auds locking onto the disturbance and hearing but a beat later the patter of tiny paws; a vole, or a rat, perhaps. "do you? she guessed, as Killian had, that the other was a loner. the scent, the wild pelt (rivaled, perhaps, by the inkstain she'd met only a few days ago), the verdant gaze which seemed too old to be set into the face of the male, who she guessed to be near her own age.
11 Posts
Ooc — Rin
Offline
#7
The lad felt a touch of comfort in his soul when a smile graced the other's lips—wide, wild, and paired with sparkling eyes of mirth—and wasted no time in responding with a gently swaying tail. "Wot can I say, I'mma curious sort." He spoke with a slow, amused drawl, as if they weren't standing amidst a dark, creepy forest in the dead of night and had all the time in the world for playful banter. "S'ppose I'm just lucky yeh weren't some sorta red eyed demon makin' all that ruckus." The green of his right eye flickered in a quick wink.

At the mention of this "Morningside", he arched his unruly brows and allowed his squinted, distant gaze to wander over the girl's shoulder, presumably in the vague direction of north. She mentioned plains and maplewood, even using a "the" before them, as if referencing something everyone in these parts was familiar with, and though the foreign lad clearly was not, he appreciated the information and indicated as such with a small, understanding nod, lips thinned in thought. That was the direction he planned to keep on heading in, unless something else were to catch his attention along the way, so it was nice to know what to expect, especially if those lands appeared to be claimed by... a... pack?

Beofore he could inqure further, she had reflected the question back to him, drawing his gaze to her face once more. "No, jus' a traveler passin' through, goin' where'er tha' winds take me."

Then, turning his muzzle to a nighttime breeze that just so happened to pass through, he allowed a pause to fall between them, filled with just the sounds of the distant, wailing foxes (Killian made a small grimace in their general direction) and the other forest dwelling critters, like bullfrogs and crickets.

"So, this Morninside, is it a pack?" Or a lawless band of rogues? He'd known plenty of both in his day, and while having a preference for the latter, he couldn't quite tell from observation alone which she might belong to. In his experience though, limited as it was, he'd never known a pack wolf to go so far hunting beyond their borders...
Killian is a female that presents herself as a male via having a boyish figure/voice and by covering her scent. She/her and he/him pronouns will be used interchangably depending on circumstance. Your wolf shouldn't know the truth unless she tells them, she is in heat, or they are very close and can smell the truth even through her masking. Typically, I will signal in posts if she's doing something that might give it away.
1,215 Posts
Ooc — Thalia
Master Ambassador
Tracker
Offline
#8
she dipped her head at his question, wondering what else it could be. "I lead it, alongside a man called Aditya." the cry of a fox not too far from where they stand, and she is reminded of the kill that cools beneath her paws and the mothers that wait hungry back on the plains.  "if the wind ever happens to take you near our borders, call for me, if you're looking for a place to settle - even for a little while."  she bent to take the fox in her jaws, dipping her head in silent goodbye. the prey was explanation enough as to why she had to return. she moved past the man as she went, the fox's tail, like a banner, dragging out behind them.