Stone Circle Emerald Paradise
427 Posts
Ooc — Me
Offline
#1
All Welcome 
When a wolf nears his third (or 27th, whatever the maths behind the canine/human years are) birthday, their outlook of life has changed quite a lot from when they were adolescents, yearlings and reckless almost two-year-olds. Birk, as well as I have not met many people (in his case - wolves), who have stayed the entirely unchanged throughout the years and, who are not embarrassed by deeds done in those early wild years. There are also habits that change and just the same way my favorite evening activity now is a cup of tea, good book and snuggling under warm blankets, for Birk it was having late morning and afternoon naps, and mainly staying within the current living premises. There had been a time, when he had wanted to see of the world as much as possible, now - when he had seen quite a lot - he was not so keen to go and waste energy on that anymore. Unless it was required.

The same went for games and toys - pretending that a piece of pelt was a formiddable enemy and fighting it brutally, romping around with your siblings, playing chase or something similar did not seem like the greatest games in the world anymore. Lame even, especially after experiencing real danger, real prey and occasionally - real enemies as well. And at the same time - Birk contemplated, while idly gnawing on a piece of antler he had found earlier - hadn't the life itself grown a little boring, when all the joys and wonders, and dreams of one's childhood were gone?
497 Posts
Ooc — Java
Master Ranger
Offline
#2

Most of the territory was appreciably dull to Larus; he who had spent many days in hiding or surviving arduous travel, roaming the wilds and beyond. It wasn't ugly exactly, but it reminded him strongly of the grove he once inhabited (the one with the endless waves of dark ferns growing). The most interesting thing would be the strange spires of rock that stood tall in the heart of the territory. These were like massive teeth spread-out from the earth as if they were intended to support... Something.

Larus spent a good handful of hours studying them, striding among them, staring and wondering about them, and when he grew tired of this (and his neck began to earn itself an ache) he departed from their roving shadows. There was plenty of time for the newcomer to study these obelisks.

In silence he roamed the territory thereafter, and only made a noise when he came upon a stranger - young, occupying themselves with some form of chew toy - and it wasn't even that Larus meant to draw attention to himself. He stopped his advance and just happened to step down upon a patch of ice with a light frosting of fresh snow. The crunch startled him more than anything, and then he was looking sheepishly at the stranger nearby.

427 Posts
Ooc — Me
Offline
#3
Birk was drawn out of the music of his thoughts and idle contemplations, when a jagged and incongrous noise interrupted it. He stopped chewing, lifted his head and with a dismayed expression looked for the source of the one, who had broken the harmony. His eyes fell on a man that was roughly the same age as him (at a certain point in life it became difficult to tell), who seemed just as ashamed for being spotted, as Birk annoyed by the fact that he had been disturbed, while doing nothing.

"Yes?" he asked the other to explain his reasons for being here. He did not introduce himself, neither did he get up to greet properly. Nah... something about the other told him that he was a newbie as well and therefore - at this point - no one of particular importance. Just like him. And low-rankeds could treat each other as they wanted, couldn't they?
497 Posts
Ooc — Java
Master Ranger
Offline
#4

After such a long time in the company of only snow drifts and shadows, it was no surprise that Larus found it difficult to translate the stranger when he spoke. Sure, it was a simple sound and a word he knew - but the tone was lost on him. The flash of annoyance didn't register.

Prompted by that sound as if it were an invitation, Larus approached without thinking. He was eager to put his past behind him and embrace this new lifestyle. This time, he would do it right - he would stick around and make this his lasting home.

Hello, he called out (perhaps a bit too loudly, and too enthusiastically), what uhh, what've you got there..? Well, nobody ever said Larus was a wordsmith.

427 Posts
Ooc — Me
Offline
#5
Birk looked at the other guy in disbelief - was this it? Of all the things he might have asked or wanted to know or informed him about he asked about the antler he had lying by his forepaws. It was tempting to tell him that he had no business about Birk's stuff and that, if he had nothing better to do, then he should bugger off. 

But then he had second thoughts - if he wanted to stay in the pack and make a good impression (and gain some people's trust), then he should be if not nice then civil at least. He sighed, because he really did not want to waste time on exchanging courtesies, while he could be chewing his antler in peace and quiet. 

"That's a deer's head-piece," he explained. "Found it lying around, claimed it as my own. What about you?" He realized that the question was not a really good one, because it was quite obvious that the guy over there hadn't got anything of value on him.
497 Posts
Ooc — Java
Master Ranger
Offline
#6

The stranger gave him a small look - he wasn't usually the type to notice these things but, maybe he was feeling a touch vulnerable right now so, this one he caught - and Larus felt a little bit more out-of-place because of it. The explanation was just as dry as the question; maybe it would've been easier just to say hello and be on his way.

I'm uh, I'm new, that much was certain by his scent and, judging by the stranger's, Larus wasn't the only one. Didn't smell anything too big around here when I was moving in, he motioned with a tip of his yellowed snout at the set of antlers, glancing over their many points with a benign level of interest. After a pause he followed up with, you uh, much of a hunter?

427 Posts
Ooc — Me
Offline
#7
The wolf in front of him was obviously uncomfortable - Birk's outward expression did not change much, but inwarldy he was gloating. Power was a wonderful thing to feel, especially, when you could see, how others reacted to it. Had the two met as lone wolves, the northerner would have played more curious see, where it would lead. Since they were on the same side of the battle-front and if he acted like a jerk too long, leaders of the Easthollow would frown at him. And that would not be a good start, if one's aim was to reside at the top of the hierarchy one day. 

"Between pretty good and average - depends on the conditions and desperation," Birk said looking briefly at the other man, as if asking "what can you say about yourself?". "I don't think we introduced ourselves - I am Birk and I joined the ranks recently," he went from power-play to the boring side of the conversation.
497 Posts
Ooc — Java
Master Ranger
Offline
#8

When the stranger admitted to being new (while also sharing a name) Larus felt like he could relax a little bit. There was no need to try and impress someone so diligently when they were in the same boat as himself. He remained respectful though, and even flashed a small smile. My name is Larus. I was born north of here, which wasn't true but, he didn't know that his birthplace had been the even closer Swiftcurrent River. All that came to mind was the glacier.

I'm the same - I can hunt like anyone else, but it depends on circumstances. He shrugged his shoulders at this. Before this I was alone and... I guess my continued survival means I'm a pretty decent hunter. I asked because of the antlers - did you hunt it yourself?


427 Posts
Ooc — Me
Offline
#9
"Yup," Birk replied with a grin and mischievous spark in his eyes. He thought that the last question was rather silly, but he had to give the other guy some credit for keeping the conversation flowing. "Were flying on their own the other day, almost hit me in the forehead, but I was quick enough to jump up and grab those bad boys," he paused to see, if Larus had got the joke behind his silly story or he took every word as truth. 

"If you have survived this long and come this far - then your life is not entirely worthless," he commented, making it sound like a sincere compliment worded in a very odd way. "What do you want to do now - why did you join Easthollow?"
497 Posts
Ooc — Java
Master Ranger
Offline
#10

Birk was an oddity to the Sveijarn, who found his comment about antlers flying on their own to be so perplexing that he didn't have a response; he just sort of gawked at him, and eagerly endured the moment of strangeness for the sake of continuing the conversation. If it was Birk's way of trying to end the conversation or make Larus leave, the young man wasn't aware. Life on his own had been simple and he had hardly cultivated his social skills.

But the next question was worth waiting for. I was lonely. It felt right to settle somewhere. There was a time I lived just north of here — in the Jade Fern forest — so I have some good memories of the area. Finding Valette and Easthollow was mostly luck. But I'm glad I did. He was thoughtful for a moment before redirecting the question: What about you?



427 Posts
Ooc — Me
Offline
#11
No sense of humor - how sad... Birk thought with a pang of genuine sympathy towards Larus, who had probably missed out a lot of other fun in his life too. His family had not understood jokes or taken them too seriously, but that had not deterred the wayward sheep of the flock from making them. Each had a way to survive in very harsh conditions - his was laughing about his very disappointing and desperate situation. Crying had not been an option, because tears tended to freeze on your face, once they were shed.

"A native then..." Birk said with a polite smile, because he did not know, what else could he possibly comment about his packmate's brief recap of his life. It was neither remarkable, nor extraordinary. Like most people's. "I come from the Far North, where it's cold and dark for the most part of the year and Ice Giants roam the realm freely," he replied. "And, since living with frostbitten balls in a very cold environment is kind of hard... I chose to move South. And it worked miracles - last winter, for example, frost chewed on my ears, but my balls were left intact."
497 Posts
Ooc — Java
Master Ranger
Offline
#12

An awkward smile painted itself on his face as the other wolf spoke, and once again the jokes and the silliness went right over poor Larus' head. He was too serious for his own good - just like his father, not that he'd ever know.

I've been north, he interjected, but I don't recall any ice giants. Maybe he was trying to break free of his honest, boy-next-door self and join in on the fun of the story; but he was failing pretty  badly. Maybe I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. They very aggressive? These giants?



427 Posts
Ooc — Me
Offline
#13
Had Birk really wanted to make friends with this Larus-guy, he would have felt a little disheartened by the other's total lack of detecting jokes, when they were thrown his way, and act appropriately. Quite the contrary - he made a bet with himself, how long would it take, before his packmate would actually get a hint of humor. Odds did not seem very likely, because at this moment it seemed like throwing stones against a concrete wall and hope that something would happen.

"If you have not seen Ice Giants, then you have not been North... enough," Birk replied with a knowing smile. "Big, furry and quite aggressive, if hungry. And quite capable of wiping a flock of wolves with few sweeps of their paws. So - next time you venture that far - watch out!"
497 Posts
Ooc — Java
Master Ranger
Offline
#14

Realizing a little bit too late that Birk was talking about polar bears, Larus nodded slowly in acceptance of the warning. He didn't mention how odd it was to refer to them as ice giants; to Larus, they were just bears. Of course he had no reference point for how big a bear was supposed to be. The bears in the Teekon were smallish sometimes, or biggish, so he could assume the bears in the north were the same.

But on that note, he gave a small smile (a nervous little thing) and said, I'll keep that in mind next time I head north. Then with nothing else to say, he gave Birk a small bow of his head and took a few steps forward, showing a lazy intent to leave the fellow Easthollow wolf to his chew toy. I'll keep my eye out in case they come south. It was nice to meet you, Birk.
427 Posts
Ooc — Me
Offline
#15
Can't say the same about you... Birk thought, but out loud he bid a polite farewell to the packmate and returned to chewing his antler, feeling happy that he could now enjoy it in peace and quiet.