Wolf RPG

He had seen enough in the north; perhaps he could return when conditions were better for travel; that is, when the threat of starvation was not hiked higher in the wake of the locust swarm. Rexxar headed west along the shore until he reached the small stream that bled into the sea. He turned at the brackish water and headed inland then, and the further he travelled, the more he realized he would not be able to travel enough to escape the devastation wrought by the locusts. Spring had come and gone in mere days; what once was green was now stripped bare as if the season had not come at all.

Betwixt the split in the river, in the poor shade of a barren tree, Rexxar scratched the earth until he had reached cooler soil. Turning twice, he settled down for a mid afternoon rest, limbs outstretched as he reclined on his side. The sun was hot overhead; if he became warm, a refreshing dip was not far away.

The young wolf walked cautiously across bare ground along the western bank. Mella hadn't seen the full damaged caused by the locusts or much of their numbers as they passed, but what they left behind was unmistakable. It was apparent that before the swarm came, the large island had been a beautiful and tranquil place. Her brown and tan coat was ruffled by a plesent breeze, sending up clouds of dirt as it passed. She stoped her stroll and turned away from the wind to avoid the clouds that managed to sail across the water.
Once the breeze passed, she turned her attention towards the sky, hoping to see some form of cover from the rays of the sun. Seeing only traces of the clouds she hoped would give her cover, she looked towards the water and quietly made her way to the edge. Here, she thought, would be a great place to rest until the heat passed.

His ears lifted as his blue eyes came to a pause on movement along the river bank. Soon, he discerned the shape as another wolf, but she was not headed in his direction and seemed to take no notice of him at all. Content where he was, the smoke-and-ash wolf remained still. He could feel the heat of the sun as it warmed his coat, but not to a degree that was uncomfortable, owing the cool earth against his flank, ribs and shoulder. Though most of the locusts had gone, a straggler hummed past his ear and was shooed away with a quick flick of his head.

Mella remained unaware of the stranger wolf nearby. She took another step forward so the cool water ran over her paws. The first thought that crossed her mind was to lay in the water and let it pull at her fur, which is exactly what she did. Though the water only rose to cover ther legs, she still took care to keep her nose above the surface. With the heat of the sun still on her back she closed her eyes to block the light reflected off of the water.

The white woman padded along the bank of the western spilt of the river. Her petite frame aided in her camoflauge, but she was otherwise very noticable. Of course, the white fur did not help, but at least it kept her a bit cooler - but not by much. 

Pink tongue hung from her mouth in attempt to cool down. Her track shifted so she walked through the edges of the river, allowing the water to lap at her paws. She looked about, blue eyes focused and absorbing everything before her. She caught sight of two wolves. They obviously had not travelled together for they made no move to interact, nor were they within proximity to chat. One, a smoke-and-ash color, was reclined on their side, making the best of a pitiful amount of shade, while the other who barred a brownish coat cooled themselves in the water. From what she could tell from here, they weren't part of a pack, for they didn't have a distinct smell, but she could be wrong - she was still very far away. 

She remained that way, contemplating whether she should go over and try to introduce herself or continue on to the reason she came here - to attempy to hunt. Even though the locusts had stripped the land bare of any plant life, Laika remained optimistic that a straggling small mammal or too was slow to leave - however low the probability was.

His blue eyes were half lidded as he dozed. His tail flopped idly against the earth. But just before his muzzle started to bob down with drowsiness, his eyes reopened fully to yet more movement along the one of the river banks. It was not the same wolf, and glancing around he could see that now there were two. One brow raised as he peered absently at this white female. She did not approach either, and the other still seemed not to know he was even there. Rexxar shifted onto his elbows and considered his options.

He had been enjoying his rest, and so, resolved that he would continue it. Somewhere else. Less one of these two decide they want to socialize just as he was nodding off. The gray wolf got to his feet and, like a lazy steam, meandered his way further south through the stripped-bare trees.

Mella lifted her head and flicked a drop of water from her ear. Slowly she sat up, finding she had more energy to continue on. Though the sun was still beating on her coat, with her side soaked with water the trip would hopefully be a little cooler. Looking around to check her surroundings she notices the other two wolves, a male who looked to be grey, at least from her perspective. The female to her other side hurt her eyes just slightly from the white coat. She rose to her paws and weighed her choices: approch one of the wolves or leave both alone and mind her own business. After a moment the second option was pushed to the side as she walked towards the female, seeing as the male was walking away.

Laika really was in no mood for engaging in a worthy conversation with another. She did want to begin on her hunt, however stupid it might be, so as the ashy male got to his feet and began meandering off, the white wolf began to move too. However, the brown canine who had been lounging in the stream was now padding towards her. Laika stopped in her travels, waiting for her to approach. She might as well be friendly if she wanted to get to know more wolves who lived around these mysterious parts.

Her head tilted, the plumage of white fur gently blowing in the breeze. She tried to determine whether this stranger was was a male or she-wolf but it was simply to hard from this distance.  The wolf was brown, with darkening legs and tail. They barred tan markings on their face, chest, and belly and striking yellow eyes. She was lanky, but she still looked like she was keen, smart, and agile.

She walked confidently towards the female, or would have if not for her bobbing head. Unsure of whether or not the wolf belonged to a pack. She had, so far, believed there were few packs in the area. Her head lowered, in case the wolf belonged to the pack, but she didn't want to appear weak either, so she would then lift her head before repeating the process. Her darkening tail swayed slightly from the possibility of a new friend.
"Hello!" the young wolf barked cheerfully when she thought she was close enough. She soon came to a stop at a safe distance, unsure of how the unknown wolf would react.

Laika nodded as the stranger barked. Clearly, it was a female. She opened her mouth to deliver her own hello, shooting the female a friendly smile too. "Hi!" She said.

The female was friendly enough. She showed signs of submission, whitch Laika didn't despise and was cautious and careful as any wolf should be. "I'm Laika." She didn't dare tell her what pack she belonged to nor did she tell her where they took refuge. It was simply too dangerous - for the pups and the pack. She had no way of knowing if this women had intentions of disturbing the pack. Still, the female was respectful and confident and didn't strike her as that kind of wolf, so she displayed friendly body movements, shoving the dominant ones away for now.

After she saw the change in the female, she decided to keep her head raised. She glanced around, looking for more wolves who might come towards them, but didn't see anyone.
"I'm Mella, nice to meet you." She sat down, pulled her tail over to her side, and parted her jaws to bring in the scent.

Laika gave the female a warm smile. "Mella is a very nice name." She commented. She watched the female's dismissive body language melt away and eyed her carefully -- though she didn't expect anything bad. Her eyes rested upon the females brown face as she parted her maw to speak again. "If it's not rude for me to ask, where did you come from?- Or were you born here?" She added at the end. She did forget for a moment that this was a "New World" of sorts and that there were probably a lot of strange wolves -- maybe even packs for that matter -- that inhabited the place.

The thought of an unknown pack made her uneasy. Maybe this Mella was part of them, trying to interagate her about the Nomads. But even if this girl was part of a pack, she might not be here for those reasons, and Laika forced herself to calm down, although her gaurd did go up a bit.

"Thank you, Laika is a nice name too." Mella tilted her head in thought for a few moments before righting it again. She shook her head and closed her eyes.
"No, I was born about a month or two travel in that direction." She opened her eyes before noding towards the bare trees in the distance. "I don't suggest going that way, the pack was disbanded for lack of prey." Her attention moved to the ground, choosing not to mention that it was over hunted by the pack instead of being caused by the locust swarm.

Laika listened to her story, giving a sigh when she mentioned the lack of prey. "I don't doubt that most of the packs everywhere will be having trouble keeping their wolves alive. It's going to be a hard season." Laika was already showing signs of malnourishment. Her slender shape had grown even more lanky, and the ripple of her bones had been more noticable in the past few days. She noted Mella's signs of hunger as well, internally hoping the best for the she-wolf. "We've just got to fish as much as possible now. Thats the only stable food source left, and even that won't sustain a whole pack."

The white wolf sighed once more, her blue eyes growing duller, but also brightening. She had a renewed determination to help her pack survive -- a feeling she did not feel comfortable sharing with her newly met aquaintence.

The young wolf looked up at her and nodded before looking around again. She'd never been a fan of fish, but hearing that it was probably the best way to survive, she might not have much of a choice. She looked back at herself and lowered her ears, until now she hadn't paid much attention to her thining frame. After always being slightly under weight, the decrease in prey had taken it's toll.
"I wish plants grew quicker than they do, then there'd be something besides fish." She grumbled, looking at the river.

Laika sighed, her face grim. "Even if that were the case Mella, there still would be no foliage left." Locusts were destructive creatures, and when they came, they ate anything and everything. It the plants grew thicker, they would've just hung around longer. The she-wolf noticed Mella's distraught expression and thought she ought to say something to cheer the girl up. "Well, the past is the past! There's nothing we can do about it. We might as well plow through the wreckage and help build it back up right? Maybe we can even make it better and more successful than before!" 

Mella sighed and looked back to Laika. She didn't like just letting the past slip away, but the white wolf was right. There was nothing they could do to change the past, but everything yet to come was up in the air.
"I know, you're right. And there is the knowledge that given enough time things will go back to normal." She turned her attention again towards the bare trees of the forest. Everything there was gone, but the trees and bushes would eventually grow their leaves back and the dirt beneath her paws would grow grass.

Laika smiled. "That's the spirit!" The Eta laughed, glancing around at the land around them. She ought to wrap this conversation up soon, she needed plenty of daytime left to attempt to hunt and get back to the creek. "Well Mella, it was really nice to meet you! Hopefully we can meet again soon!" She gave her a warm smile and nodded a goodbye. 

She forced a smile and nodded when she heard the laugh. It'd been awhile since she'd heard the sound of laughter.
"That would be great, I'll probably stick close to one of these rivers." She nodded her own farewell before turning and trotting back towrds the river.