King Elk Forest civilization is coming and it means to exterminate us

this takes place shortly after the claim howl during the eclipse; anyone can jump in if they want & we can make this a thread! or this can be used as reference post if you want your toons to hear his calls, it doesn't matter to me! (i'll leave this thread open until august 27th and if no one replies i'll just archive it as a read only) c:

 

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The sun is consumed by shadow: little more than a thin, sliver of a silvery ring is left. The world around sinks dark as the mighty beast of the wolves’ mythos lingers in his preferred place at his forests’ heart. The wolves have been here for a while and he notes each time their numbers grow. The King Elk was here first; a due they must pay heed to. His tosses his head as their voices rise in song that shatters the quiet of the forest. He is no wolf but he understands well enough the message their song carries. He lets out a long snort, an expel of breath like that of a bull though it lacks the feral rage associated with the noise. He tips his own head skyward, towering antlers brushing and scraping against the lowest branch of the deciduous tree he stands beneath as their song fades to echoing silence and lets out a call of his own: a eerie high pitched whistle overlaying a low roar. The King Elk draws in another breath and releases the sound again. A reminder that they might claim this forest but he is it’s true king.

post written by mato.

It was for him. It had to have been for him. Uka knew that his angst leading up to the claiming of this forest wasn't imagined; there was something here that demanded his presence, and it terrified him. As the bellows of the bull mingled with those of the wolves, Uka could feel the blood in his ears pulsing, pulsing with disquietude. He had to figure out where the calls came from, and he knew that now was a better time than any.

Uka waited until all heads were turned upward to the eclipse and the clearing was bathed in complete darkness before making his way out. He started at a slow, apprehensive walk, but quickly sped up to a gallop, then a full sprint. But not even his years of adventuring and curiousity could have prepared him for the ineffable glory of the beast he'd found before him.

since his first nervous question to trajan, delight's kept his eyes peeled for the fabled king of the forest. he's yet to speak to mato on it, doesn't know the lore, but he doesn't need to, knows wholeheartedly theres a elk king to be found.

uka was not the only to catch that wondrous wail eclipsing their own howl. in the darkness of the hidden moon delight is his own eclipse: dark fur made inky by shadow, his eyes two glinting silver rings around blown wide pupils. he wants - no he must find the king beast, it's his job as chronicler, will be his job. but uka's beaten him to the scene and he bites back his disappointment as he moves beside his pack mate, sliding past him to get a closer look, expression tranformed by wonder and reverence.

It was Delight's approach that brought him back from what could have been loosely described as light comatose, but that relief lasted only a moment. Almost immediately, Uka refocused on the King Elk, voices whispering for him to go closer.

Avia aty. But I can't. Ianao dia afaka. 

So Uka did as he was told and took one step forward so that he was parallel to Delight, then another step, and another, until the King Elk issued a huff of warning for him to stay back. He did as he was told, cowering and retreating, though remaining much closer than he could have ever imagined being. He turned back to look at Delight with a silent question written in his gaze — You're seeing this, right? — then took a deep breath and waited.

he nearly forgets uka again, nearly doesn't notice the larger form slipping past him, getting closer, and - no, though, this is something for delight, because he has to see it, has to record it as true, has to tell mato - uka looks back at him, breaking his thought chain. he licks his lips, and nods once, pressing forward just slightly, drinking in the foggy visage. he thinks any minute now the god-creature is going to vanish, or else demand something new of them, so he gathers all his courage and does the only thing he can think of, murmuring "thank you," in soft, most-un-delight-like tones. he lets the and please don't kill us in our sleep stay implied, hung silently in the air between them.

Uka nodded back in response, then mimicked Delight's greeting. Misaotra anao, he whispered, hoping for his sanity rather than his life. After tonight, gods know what would happen, but he had learned with age that the present was the only thing anyone need stress about. The past was gone and the future was a question, but the present? There was no escaping that. Uka thought for a moment that perhaps he was dreaming. Oh, that makes sense!, he thought to himself, but he knew darn well it made absolutely no sense. 'Cause everytime he blinked his eyes, hoping he'd be back home again, the beast was still there. 

Maybe that meant that this was his home, now. 

Izaho dia Kininina. It was announced with both pride and reverence, though his submission remained evident in his posture and voice. The voices used this language to speak to him, and if he was right with that being the work of this King Elk, then it made sense to respond the same way, right? Uka sure hoped so, otherwise this entire exchange was one built on hallucinations and meaningless jibberish.

he has no idea what uka is saying, it sounds like - gibberish, meaningless syllables strung together. a foreign language, probably. delight twists, briefly averting his eyes from the wondrous visage to fix his newly founded packmate with a look, possibly meant to be stern and failing. really, he can't fault even uka for wanting to speak, to know more about the god-creature - he himself has so many questions burning his throat.

unbeknownst to the wisp, the celestial phenomenon above is beginning to shift as the eclipse nears its end. the shadows change around them, but delight feels it's magic of some sort, it must be, something of the elk king's power. suddenly he feels urgent as he steps forward, eyes glowing bright with need. "we are tindómë," the androgyne says in hushed tones - maybe the elk king doesn't care at all, but it seems only right to introduce them - "i am our chronicler -" (a bold claim!) "- please, tell us - what do you want from us?"

he isn't expecting a spoken answer - maybe a sign of some sort - but he can't help but feel the god-creature's gaze on him is searching, can't help but wonder if he is being measured for worthiness (and if he isn't worthy o god he will remake himself into something light and good). the elk king snorts - derisive, disinterested, accepting, approving? - and turns away from him. del shifts, thinking at first to follow - but remembers uka and stalls: he and only he should be the one to pursue the elk and learn its secrets, but he would shoot himself in the foot to stop uka from following him now. lowly he hisses, "let him go," just in case, just in case, and lays low into the ground, letting his belly scrape the dirt as the sky brightens overhead.

From the looks of it, the King Elk didn't want anything other than to be left alone. Maybe for any other wolf under any other circumstance, that would have been acceptable. But Uka was a persistent fellow, and he thought it to be only logical for him to go after this bull at full speed (metaphorically, of course). He nodded when Delight turned to him, telling him to let the King go, but there was something in him that told him to do otherwise. Had he listened to his gut every time it told him to do something as stupid as chasing down a fully grown (and then some) elk on his own, well, Uka would have been long gone.

He waited until it was only him and Delight, then snorted a sort of surprised laugh. Well, I'll be damned, Uka sighed, then sat back with a sudden wave of lightheadedness. It was surely a lot to take in but did he even want to? He could easily forget about what'd just happened and continue to live as he had beforehand, but Uka knew that things wouldn't be that easy.

like fog in the night or the darkened sky above the elk vanishes, leaving behind only him, his antagonist, and the slowly shifting shadows beneath them as light re-enters the sky. delight releases a breath he hadn't realised he was holding, and looks at uka - or rather, past him - with silver-wide eyes. "he - the king elk is real," he says, hushed, more to himself than the other man, thinking of his joking conversations with trajan. "and i met him."

we can fade here if you want!