Sunset Valley fortune days
so lay your hands across
my beating heart, love
938 Posts
Ooc — Rhys
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#1
All Welcome 
Warmer air and earth had greeted him in the span of days that brought him back south only to be dashed away by the entrance of chilly rains in the late morning. Where lush scenery pulled him into the relative safety of the valley, it was far too late to save him from being soaked. With muddied paws that tested the equally muddy slope, his gaze was drawn out over a swollen creek that should have been no more than a trickling brook flush with stones.

Stirring birds in boughs above welcomed Dirge into a tight thicket as the wind toussled their leaves; the rain would soon come to pass. The chill that lingered dared to suggest it would be there a while longer, but he was hardly a stranger to the constant, if not apparently violent shift of spring's full bloom. He shook his coat once, then twice; all seemed in vain against the persistent pelt of heavy raindrops. It was no matter in the long run, he would dry.

At least the land had evened out here, the brief respite welcome as he had made his own path across what felt a place devoid of much traffic. The game trails were there as always, long worn stretches more apparent now that tall grasses and shrubs had grown, but he found a particular absence of his toothy ilk still. This was the wilderness at its finest he knew, and he moved on silently, directionless.
what do i do after all this survival?
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Ooc — Kermy
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#2
Each new day and the puppies are more mobile than the last. Soon, there won’t be anything stopping them. The first few weeks have been the same as the first litter but they’ve started to develop into their own personalities and she realizes it’s going to be a whole new experience. They’d have a rocky start with last year and thinking they were better prepared this time only puts a damper on it at times.

Sometimes she thinks parenthood really isn’t for her.

She’d slipped away from the den early in the morning and began to patrol in order to clear her mind. Round the northern bend, her direction changes and she begins to make her way west.

By the time she hits the valley, her fur is waterlogged and dripping. The rain has started to lighten up but there’s no sign of reprieve in the cloudy skies overcast with rain clouds. It doesn’t bother her much and she shakes every so often only for it to return to a wet, bulky mess.

The silhouette in the distance forces her to stop and she slows to a stop. At first, a flutter in her stomach reminds her of food but better inspection proves to be wolf. Her posture shifts, tail lifting slightly without arching over her back and her head remains elevated enough for some sense of power. Eventually, her feet continue to carry her through the valley and she does not change her path as she gets a bit closer to the stranger.
Trigedasleng · Common
all that wanting, all that aching, all that capacity for love:
it never belonged to you in the first place
so lay your hands across
my beating heart, love
938 Posts
Ooc — Rhys
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#3
A figure came to in the distance, pitch as the midpoint of a starless night and just as undeterred by the elements. Her strides were every bit as confident as his own, thought had it not been for the bear-like structure that lent her strength and size he would have mistaken her for another. It wasn't to say he hadn't for a fleeting moment, but she did not match or carry herself in the way a certain pit viper did.

He regarded her openly as he would have any other, letting what random fate or luck or whatever it was determine how the curttailing of distance went. A foolish creature would have thought to keep moving west towards the northern curve of the shore would keep them from encounter, but he was never so foolish to believe he would wander alone for too long a stretch. If he hadn't wanted to be found, he would have kept it so. It had always been a matter of time.

His gaze tore away as he managed a rough dip of land at his feet, those steps slow and precise, and pressed forward to draw her closer. In these lawless venues he found her display both force of habit and guarded; it spoke enough of a tome to give him the opening line: "Interrupting your day, am I?"
what do i do after all this survival?
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Ooc — Kermy
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Neither of them deters their course, closing the distance. She only curves slightly when close enough, keeping her path clear and space between them as comfortable as she’s willing. He holds himself as Warbone once had, briefly thinking about the outcome of the brute she hasn’t seen in some time.

“No,” she responds easily, easing part of her posture. She doesn’t necessarily relax but her tail lowers only slightly and some of the tension sheds away. Maybe—technically—he’s interrupting her day but there is no inconvenience on her part. There’s no particular destination to her steps but she’s familiar with the area from a life formerly on a mountain. “Scouting,” she decides with a shrug. “You from around here?”
Trigedasleng · Common
all that wanting, all that aching, all that capacity for love:
it never belonged to you in the first place
so lay your hands across
my beating heart, love
938 Posts
Ooc — Rhys
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#5
There was something intriguing about her. What it was in exact measures he could not yet place, but perhaps it was not too far of a stretch to suggest that he was often intrigued by others. Especially those that ventured out on days with inclement weather, but that was par for course in the cusp of changing seasons. He was not particularly surprised by her answer, but it did not stray too far from his own; scouting and exploration may as well have gone hand in hand.

Either way, the exchange of information was good.

"Not at all," he answered. All of this was uncharted territory, not a thing familiar yet as he had begun to walk unknowningly back into lands he had ventured from. "How fares the path ahead? Anything washed out yet?" And he hoped not, though it had not rained endlessly or torrentially—a delay however would sour him—the earth was just as prone to shifting when it wanted to as the weather.
what do i do after all this survival?
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Ooc — Kermy
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#6
It has been some time since she’s come this way so should he have answered yes, she’d not have known any better. Whatever existed around her former home is just as unknown to her as it had the first time she’d come down. She’s just as surprised to hear no than she would have been if she’d heard yes. If anything, she doesn’t go home with any more information than she came with but that doesn’t he mean he has any left to offer. His desire to known about the lands she’d come from is curious enough to not let things go so easily.

“I hope not,” she says with a smirk, turning a bit to look behind her. The rain fall irritates her ears and she shakes her head. “I’m Thuringwethil,” she introduces, pausing briefly before pointing back with her nose. “You have something that way?”
Trigedasleng · Common
all that wanting, all that aching, all that capacity for love:
it never belonged to you in the first place
so lay your hands across
my beating heart, love
938 Posts
Ooc — Rhys
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#7
He supposed he would find out in due time if the path ahead was manageable at all—they both would, at any rate on their own time. But it was a hope that he shared as well though he did not mind the occasional detour or delay. Such things were apart of life and he had found some paths less traveled held interest of their own.

"Only the world ahead," he answered with a thin smile. It was meant to be charming in spite of him missing as many marks as he hit; no guarantees here his aim was precise. "I'm Dirge. I'd presume you have something that way, with the scouting. Someone to answer to and all." Though it would not have been surprising if it were not the case, she seemed capable enough to hold her own.
what do i do after all this survival?
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Ooc — Kermy
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#8
Sorry for the not-so-good-and-short-posts, Thuringwethil has been difficult lately. :/

Thuringwethil makes a sound of consideration when he answers, looking out over the field wet with rain. Nothing stands in his direction to where he’s going but he can easily make a turn and get too close. More reserved these days, it is still a dangerous path to take. “Something like that,” she says after a moment, one side of her muzzle peeling back with a smile but it fades quickly. “On the coast, on the other side of the mountain,” she points out with the tip of her nose toward Nova Peak. Her tone is smooth and even, indicating no trouble, but a smart wolf wouldn’t make that mistake.
Trigedasleng · Common
all that wanting, all that aching, all that capacity for love:
it never belonged to you in the first place
so lay your hands across
my beating heart, love
938 Posts
Ooc — Rhys
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#9
He followed the point she made, his eyes fixing on the distant mountain for a moment. The finer details were left obscured due to the inclement weather, but the snippets of rising stone were not hard to mistake. If anything it served as a marker for his bearings; he had witnessed the mountain before conditions had turned—but he had also witnessed the heavy range to their west.

"I planned to quit here for the coast," he said, gaze rounding back to her, "but I'll stay clear of there. No need to be stirring hostilities accidentally." Of course, he intended to go more west once his feet hit the sands, to trail the coast where he could and travel loosely through woodland beyond. Ever aimless, ever directionless... until something piqued his interests.

"What were you scouting for? Herds?"

shorter posts are fine, no worries.
what do i do after all this survival?
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Ooc — Kermy
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#10
He still plans toward the coast, though she does not fault him for it. They do not own the shore. With problematic neighbors and their own defensive, it’s best for him to steer clear. He does not seem like the foolish type and so she does not extend her warning unnecessarily and simply nodding her head a little as he lays out his plans for her.

“We used to live over that way,” she says, this time with another point of her nose behind them toward the glacier. “On a mountain that did not like us there,” she adds, though the term volcano isn’t exactly known to her, “angry mountain” doesn’t quite seem appropriate to explain when she does not know how to herself. “It’s been more than a full passing of seasons since I’ve been this way and was curious to what has changed.” Larksong Grotto used to hold her enemies but she suspects they’re long gone or insignificant enough they aren’t worth attention.

“Though if I find a herd, I wouldn’t complain.”
Trigedasleng · Common
all that wanting, all that aching, all that capacity for love:
it never belonged to you in the first place
so lay your hands across
my beating heart, love
938 Posts
Ooc — Rhys
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#11
On a mountain that did not like them there. How foreboding, he thought, and wondered after what it was that made a mountain grow angry with those living among its stones. It almost seemed unreal, the concept daring to fly over his head; yet he could not judge for there were certainly a fair amount of bizarre happenings in the world. Either way it was swiftly moved past as she explained what sort of curiosities brought her out.

The world seemed prone to doing as it pleased, but so did the many denizens of its varied landscape, and he could not quite fathom what it would be like to stay and watch it all change. Better to go and return with fresh eyes and all, that seemed to be his status quo, though admittedly there were places he intended never to return to.

"Has it changed from how you remember it? Perhaps your old hunting grounds thrive," he rejoined with a lick of his chops for effect—he knew where tracks lied but the weather did not permit following them without caution. Large game was also not a wise decision to pursue alone, however tempting.
what do i do after all this survival?
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Ooc — Kermy
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#12
Has it changed? In a way, if she were to admit. It’s foreign now, in a weird way. She knows the way around and knows what she’s looking at, but it’s different and new. A new discovery to be made. “A little,” she says, glancing back to him. “I’d be curious to see what else has changed,” she offers. It’s primarily the reason she’d come this anyway.

A silence lingers between them for only a moment and she clears her throat. “I will leave you to your travels now,” she says with a hint of a smile before giving him the chance to take his leave.
Trigedasleng · Common
all that wanting, all that aching, all that capacity for love:
it never belonged to you in the first place
so lay your hands across
my beating heart, love
938 Posts
Ooc — Rhys
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#13
As their conversation drew towards its inevitable close, he dound the opportunity for them to go their separate ways a welcome. With a nod to her, he began to press onward, but paused briefly once they were within striking distance to regard her a final time.

"Safe travels then," he offered.

And with that, he continued on into the brush and gloom of the day.