Ouroboros Spine The air is warm, my heart is cold

A day or so after this thread; set where NWF meets the mountain.

Tryphon fled from the coast once he had rested. While he had slept his mind had filled with thoughts of the sea, and of the suffocating nature of the waves. He was startled awake by the image of a dark face set with harsh yellow eyes juxtaposed to a strange sensation akin to adoration — but upon waking, the feelings and images faded. Whatever had spooked him during his rest was swift to vanish. He descended from the plateau afterwards and headed south-east. First he followed the natural ridge, then he sought the fringes of a dense forest, until the roar of his stomach tempted him out into the open again.

It had been a few hours since he had lost what little had been in his stomach; the pang of need was there, but he did not know the area or what could be found across the exposed field. Tryphon resigned himself to being hungry and idly thought of how pleasant it would be to reunite with his shadow - to hunt together again, dine together. Be together. Perhaps his hunger pangs were also those of lonliness.

His mind was lost to thoughts of Saghani, for a time. And when he was roused from his daydreams by the thick scent of wolf permeated the air, he stopped short. It wasn't so much the thought of encountering another living being that set him on edge — it was the fact that he recognized the scents. The boy's face scrunched into a frown as he tried to piece together names and faces to those scents, and then, they popped in to his mind: Kaskara, Scimitar.

Tryphon felt an instant, acute regret. He thought to turn back for the sea, and his stomach lurched. He looked sullenly for a route to escape, but found that there was a myriad of mountain paths that he did not have the energy to climb. He was rooted to the spot by indecision, and surrounded on all sides by difficult choices. Of course, he could try and sneak his way through the forest despite its heavily marked border, but the thought of seeing one of the many families he'd let down — no, he thought, I do not deserve them.

Dainty paws stepped softly upon the slippery ground as she continued to venture through the lands aimlessly. The young, white and gray female having near to no knowledge of where she was going, all she knew was that her paws had brought her here. It didn't help that most of these lands where unknown to her, having come from a far and yonder place herself. Regardless of this, she still pressed on, determination driving her petite form as she cautiously manoeuvred her way around the terrain, cerulean eyes peering down to the bowl of thick mud, some trees, deeply rooted and still standing in the distance. Their eerie appearance giving the female a chill as she tore her gaze away from the sight below, Amari's mud covered paws slowly carrying her along the edges of the valley.

The young female lifted her head slightly as she scented the cold breeze that swept through the land, her gray and white tail swaying in the wind behind her as she casually, though still cautiously strolled onwards. The bitter wind brought many aromas to her small, leathery nose. Old and new, the recent scents of a passers-by, as well as the distant scents of the nearby packs that had travelled far with the wind. A small sigh escaped her black lips as she glanced around at her surroundings once more, alert of another presence within the land, her rounded white ears pivoted a top her small head as she listened to nothing but near silence around her. All she could hear was the sound of her paws squishing in the mud as she walked and the gentle howl of the wind in her ears.

He was filled with something like sorrow, or grief, when he passed by the forest. The fringes smelled strongly of his old family and he was loath to do it, but Tryphon could not see any other way to get through the area. He did not have the desire to travel backwards towards the coast (and was afraid to do that on some level), but he couldn't climb the mountain without wasting more energy than he had. He either needed to get over his worries and allow fate to (potentially) throw him before his peers for judgement, or hastily make his way through the forest and not look back. Perhaps if he made it through without encountering one of the Neverwinter wolves, he would try his hand at hunting. A meal would warm his belly and more than likely raise his spirits.

Tryphon moved through the thicket as swiftly as he was able, mindful of the fallen leaves across the rock-strewn path, and the irregular terrain, and he became so focused on keeping his footing as he traipsed through the fringe of this territory that he did not notice the pale wolf a few leagues away from him — she seemed to be listening to something. It wasn't until he set his paws down on a particularly dry patch of leaves (crrrunnch) that Tryphon raised his head, almost like a meerkat, and looked around. He hoped nobody had heard that. The last thing he needed was a bad confrontation with Scimitar or Kaskara; they'd probably tear him to pieces for leaving them so long ago. Instead his eyes locked on a filigree'd creature he had never seen before. His gut twisted, and with a nervous swallow, he boofed in her direction — maybe to warn her, but more than that, he was curious if she was even real.

sorry for the terrible post Dx

The she-wolf sheepishly continued onward, cerulean eyes peering around at all the mud at her paws; Amari's mind thinking back to the time she had almost been consumed by it. And it actually wasn't all that far from where she was currently travelling. An unpleasant chill washed down her spine as she allowed a tired sigh to escape her white and gray muzzle, her ears flattening against her small head as she then came to a stop. Amari remained still, the bitter wind caressing her fur as she stood silently, peering at the ground. For her the minutes seemed like hours as her mind trailed deep into thought.

White rounded ears flicked forwards at a sudden sound of another, her cerulean eyes looking away from her mud soaked paws to the distant figure of another wolf. For a moment Amari merely tilted her head to the side, a slight surprised expression displayed across her face as she blinked at the other for a moment. She hadn't expected to be torn away from her thoughts so sudden, though she allowed a friendly smile to make its way across her muzzle to the male. The female's bushy white and gray tail dancing behind her in the wind as she gave him a nod of her head, unsure of what to say or do now.

He was far enough away to be of no threat, but close enough to discern subtle movement. He thought, briefly, that she was smiling. The corners of his own lips twitched as if to mirror the expression, but Tryphon was still too shy, too nervous. With a slouching walk, and curving crescent neck which made his head level almost with his elbows, he crept a little closer. Then a little more. On one hand he did not wish to disturb her — she seemed at peace with her thoughts — but having company wasn't so bad. 

Maybe he was just desperate for attention.

The boy sniffed the air, showed feigned interest in a nearby tree as he crawled beside it. Then, feeling the unfortunate pull in his extremeties to urinate right then and there against the tree, Tryphon felt a wave of embarrassment and paused a second. He looked at the soil and seemed to be very interested in the roots of that specific tree, and once the urge passed, he poked his nose out from behind the copse and peeked at her. This time, he managed a shy little smirk.

Remaining quiet, Amari observed as the male walked some way with a slouched posture, her head lowering some as she turned to look to her side; though she still observed the wolf from the corner of her eye as he crept his way closer. The female gradually lifting her head as she watched him stop, taking a particular interest in a nearby tree. Tilting her head to the side as he then vanished behind it, cerulean eyes peered away to glance around at her surroundings once more for only a brief moment. Amari found herself, battling with her mind once more; undecided on whether she should continue forward, to wherever it is she was going or simply turn back.

White rounded ears twitched atop her head as she turned to look back towards the tree once more, eyes watching as the male's head slowly popped out from the brush, now looking at her with a timid smile. Staring at him for a moment, Amari couldn't help but tilt her head, allowing an amused smirk to make its way across her muzzle, having found him somewhat comical. Delight; seeming a non-existent thing, especially in a dismal place such as this.

”Everything okay?” She said as she raised her voice slightly, tail swaying behind her in the wind as she stepped forward, though only taking a single step. Amari then took in a deep breath as she found herself suddenly procrastinating once again, agitation brewing within, till finally her dainty paws decided for her. The small, gray and white female clearing some distance between them as she began to make her way, slowly in his direction.

Present company excluded, Tryphon did not have the best luck when dealing with strangers. He'd been stolen away by a foreign species at the start of his life, and then stolen again by the lifestyle of a nefarious - and some could argue crazy - cave-dwelling woman. Saghani had been his first real positive meeting and now she was gone, absent from his life like so many others. And the few pack wolves he'd encountered were always hostile — except for Scimitar, although the yellow-faced boy considered that a bridge thoroughly burned by now.

So when the pale wolf spoke, the boy trembled, and he even ducked a bit behind the trio of trees. They could protect him more than his own teeth; but when he looked out from them again, timid but still curious, the blue-eyed beauty was closer. She wasn't moving very fast. There was no aggression within her, or so he read, so Tryphon did not hide again.

He took a chance and chose to be bold instead. She was slow, and so he took his time, but moved towards her with his head raised more than usual and his nose wiggling as he sniffed the air, clearly curious of her and wanting to delve deeper into this potential encounter.

She stopped, curious as to why he had suddenly ducked some behind the trees as she spoke out to him, Amari's brow furrowing slightly as she merely continued to watch him, intrigued. He was by far bigger than she was, so what could he possibly have to worry? Confusion befell the silver and white female as she paused once more, cerulean eyes observing as he peered out from the coverage of the trees again. Having tilted her head to the side, watching with a confusion expression across her face, the young female deciding to keep her pace slow as she approached; not wanting to cause the male any more anxiety than he was already experiencing. Amari couldn't imagine just strolling right up to him with the body language he'd been displaying, so she kept it slow; mind wondering what sort of endeavours he must of encountered to be so, timid.

A soft smile made its way across her silver and white hued muzzle, bright blue eyes shimmering in the dingy light as she watched him approach, slowly. The female's smile grew some as she observed his more confident posture, rounded gray ears twitching a top her small head as she listened to the sounds of nature around them. The gentle howl of the wind rang within her ears as it swept through the land, the small wolf gradually lowering her head as she decided to stop, allowing the stranger to take the final steps, to final clear the distance that parted them.

Sorry for the delay. I'm gonna pull him out tho.

He wanted company. He liked her company so far, quiet and explorative as they both were of one another; yet when she began to come closer, something changed. Tryphon sniffed softly at her but did not dare contact her skin with his wet nose - and then with not a word uttered, he seemed to recoil from her and slink shyly backwards. In his retreat he cast her a few looks, almost as if he wanted to invite her to run with him, but in the end he did not speak - he did not do much aside from flee, vanishing in to the dark.

She silently eyed the male, remaining still as her head tilted. The feeling of failure began to niggle at the back of her mind as she caught him recoil, gradually shying away from her till he then vanished from sight. Cerulean eyes blinked as she watched him look back to her a couple of times before suddenly taking his leave. Admittedly his swift exit had confused the silver and gray female, Amari's white ears rested against her skull as she let out a defeated sigh. Even her second attempt to make a friend in these wilds had fallen through, she didn't know the places her paws took her and she had to admit, travelling around these unknown parts was starting to get a bit unbearable for the she-wolf. Always travelling alone and in silence. It was getting old and sometimes Amari couldn't help but regret her decision to leave home. And now, she didn't even know where that was.

Letting another sigh escape her, Amari shifted her paws and began to travel back in the direction from where she had came. Bushy tail mud covered tail hung low behind her, dragging along the muddy ground as she carefully journeyed back toward the glen that homed the fireflies, hopefully she would avoid being consumed by the liquefied muck this time round.