Wolf RPG

She had intended to explore the hot springs, but something about the dark, tomb-like forest had beckoned her in. The gloom in her suited her mood. What on earth had possessed Tyrande to follow Lecter? She had hoped to introduce the dark youth to the less deranged members of the Creek, but the newcomer had disappeared. With Lecter, she later found out, and Jinx - why? Did she enjoy having her blood drawn for all manner of silliness?

There were abandoned dens here, and an obvious rendezvous site. Whatever pack had occupied them had long since disappeared. Bazi mad a mental note to relay the information to Fox, in case the residents were only temporarily away. Something else played on her senses, but she couldn't quite work out what it was - more of a gut feeling than anything else. She wasn't alone here.

Tyrande skirted the shadows, watching the white wolf curiously. She had seen the Swiftcurrent Creek member several times out here nearer to Silvertip rather than her own pack territory, and Tyrande had the feeling that she wasn't here to see Jinx, or Lecter, or-Lupus forbid- the demon-lover Sitri. There was only one wolf she could possibly want to talk to.

"Considering the circumstances, I'm actually surprised to find you out here, Swiftcurrent wolf." She said in her soft, low voice. She settled herself down to the left of the wolf, the shadows enveloping her fur like a sponge, and the light reflected off her eyes, making it look simply like an eerie set of violet-flecked blue eyes staring at the wolf. "What is it you want? I was never in Swiftcurrent Creek long enough to recognize enough names, but I most certainly recognize your face..."

Seeing a Swiftcurrent wolf so many times in a row put her in a bad mood, - as if she needed reminding of how she was jolted into pack life!- but Tyrande held her patience, if just barely.

Bazi wasn't surprised when Tyrande emerged from the shadows, barely visible save for her strangely coloured eyes. Pack life had changed her already. In place of the hungry, desperate loner that had knocked on the Creek's door stood a wolf with the confidence that only comes from knowing someone has your back. At least Lecter had fed her. But she didn't live here, that much was certain.

"I'll leave soon," Bazi replied softly. "My actual destination was the hot springs. There are salt crystals there, if you want them," she shared. There was a faint whiff of mountain about Tyrande. A clean, fresh smell that stood in stark contrast to the woody scent that enveloped them now. "Do you live up there now, on the mountain?" she inquired, nodding towards the distant peak - just barely visible through the canopy.

Tyrande dipped her head, nodding to the white wolf's question, and making a mental note to check out the salt crystals for her pottery.

"I do live with Silvertip, that is true." She answered. "But I have seen you up here many times before, as if looking for something- rather, someone. Only wolves that live near here are the Silvertip Mountain wolves. And I am sure your not here to see the fanatics or the demon-lover, and you have most certainly not met Roy yet. So, unless you plan on talking to Jinx's little pup that follows her almost everywhere, I'm going to assume you've been looking for me. What do you ask of me, Miss?

Tyrande took Bazi's searching as somewhat of a kindness. If Tyrande looked at it as a concerned point-of-view, Bazi would come here to make sure that Tyrande was allright. Tyrande felt grateful, even if she didn't need the concern, so she felt that she needed to give respect for the artic wolf.

However, she felt more comfortable and safe in the shadows. Though it was true she was somewhat used to pack life, her loner instincts were far from changed. She didn't make any advances and simply settled herself down, her intense eyes gazing almost respectfully at the Swiftcurrent wolf.

"Strange, I never even caught your name the first time... She laughed drily, ill to remember the time she was "accepted" into Swiftcurrent Creek.

Silvertip Mountain. Bazi nodded, make a mental note of the numbers - Jinx, Tyrande, Lecter, Ira, Sitri - and a newcomer. That made six, at least. It had taken her quite some time to reach the forest from Swiftcurrent Creek, making proximity less of an issue for the Creek than for, say, the Plateau wolves, or even the Ridge. Eventually, the mountain-dwellers would have to descent into the valley to hunt larger game.

Her answer seemed to calm the Silvertip wolf, if only a little - a faint rustle suggested that she had settled down, but it was hard to see. Bazi sat down too. She itched to approach and inspect Tyrande more thoroughly, but correctly deduced that this was not the sort of wolf who appreciated close contact from a near stranger.

"I know that your name is Tyrande. My name is Bazi," she offered. Tyrande was right - she had visited the forest two or three times in conjunction with trips to the springs, but the forest had always been empty. "And I was.. concerned. I found Lecter, after you were accepted. He was drawing runes with your blood," The mere thought of it made he grimace, but she was careful not to taint the story with the opinions that burned hotly in her mouth. "The split was quite sudden, and I didn't know if you had gone on your own accord, or been dragged along. So - " She paused, regarding the faint outline of Tyrande in the gloom. "Are you alright?"

Tyrande smiled appreciatively, though she doubted the wolf would be able to see her. She exhaled rather loudly through her nose.

"I'm fine, thank you..." Runes. Of course, runes. What was to be expected of my blood from the fanatic? The old wolf is a lunatic! "I almost wish I could say I was dragged along, but that is not the case... I joined Silvertip Mountain on my own accord."

She closed her eyes, if Bazi could see anything at all now, it would simply be her outline, if there was one at all. "Please forgive me, Bazi, but I could not remain with a pack who had shamed me into submission, even if it meant leaving with the very wolf who did it. The encounter left a bite out of my ego... And honestly, it's not so bad! Lecter doesn't hurt me like he did the first time- You can tell when he's bluffing or being serious with his worshipping, if you listen well enough- and had I not joined Silvertip, I would have never gotten to see Roy again..."

She opened her eyes again, glazed over with emotion, she whispered to herself, unsure if the Swiftcurrent member would hear her or not."I thought he had died... To think we would ever reunite again... I thought he had died..."

Shamed into submission? Bazi's brows furrowed into a perplexed 'V', but she managed to hold her tongue. The poor creature tried to explain, but her reasoning was held together with twigs and spit - she even admitted that there was a certain irony to leaving with the cause of her humiliation. There seemed nothing further that Bazi could say to convince her that she had made the wrong choice. She was making excuses for Lecter - Lecter - and then there was this 'Roy', whoever he was. A face from the past, Bazi assumed, and nodded mutely at Tyrande's outburst of feeling.

She gave the darker wolf a few moments to compose herself before speaking again. "You sound quite taken with the mountain. But just remember that it was Lecter who humiliated you - and be careful around him. He's a good medic, but I never quite trusted him when he was at the Creek. But you've got your Roy, so.." she trailed off, ears twitching at a distant sound. "Stick together. Is Roy a brother..?"

Tyrande shook her head, her eyes following the motion. "No, Roy isn't a brother, my brother died a long time ago. But I met Roy a few days after he died." She laughed. "They were so much like one another, though, you could hardly tell the difference. The first time I met Roy, he was sick and starving, but most of all he was asking for my help, so I gave it. I guess you could say, I took him under my wing. I taught him how to hunt, fight, and run. I taught him about Lupus and how to respect the prey you kill. Strange though, he never mentioned his mother, or any litter mates. I doubt if he knows about it himself..."

She looked at Bazi straight in the eye. "We were separated when we tried to join a pack outside of Teekon Wilds, but we were chased off- and almost killed- in the process. We split, thinking that might confuse them, but when I got to the rendezvous point, he never came. I assumed he had died..."

She shook her head and sighed, "I'm such an idiot. I should have looked harder..."

Tyrande's life story unfolded in front of her, made vivid by the great emotion in the storyteller's voice. Bazi felt herself become a mere spectator in her own conversation, pushed out by ghosts of a time that no longer existed. Her own past seemed so distant now; she could scarcely recall Mari's face, and rarely thought of Shar-Kali at all. The Creek was home.

Tyrande's tale was a woeful one indeed. Bazi made to step forward and comfort the shadowy critter, but remembered herself at the last moment. "You've found him now," she soothed awkwardly from a distance, "So don't worry. Do your pack proud and be happy that you've found each other." The warnings regarding Lecter seemed to have melted in the heat of the other wolf's sad recollections.

She wondered what Jinx would make of one of her underlings leaking so much information to an outsider, even if it was personal. The Silvertip alpha seemed like the kind who would come down hard on transgressors - even her own. What that thought in mind, Bazi got to her feet. "I should go," she said, glancing about. "Your alpha did not take kindly to anyone trespassing around the Creek, so I'm guessing she'll be even harsher on her own turf."

At the wolf's words, Tyrande stood. She ventured out towards her and walked towards Bazi. She crouched lower and lower until she reached the feet of Bazi, where she promptly rolled over, showing her soft underbelly.

The ultimate sign of submission, and this time, Tyrande did it on her own accord.

She didn't know what compelled her, but for some reason, the artic wolf had won the ultimate respect of Tyrande. The shadow whispered to the artic wolf after turning back over and standing up.

"If your pack needs anything, anything at all, I will try to reason with Jinx about helping you, and if that doesn't work, then I will stop at no end to help you or your pack with my own strengths, even if it means for me to become a lone wolf again." She turned and began to melt back into the shadows for a final time, but as she did so, the dark wolf turned back to her, eyes glowing in respect.

"Lupusspeed, Bazi of the Swiftcurrent Creek Pack!"

With that, the dark yearling took of into the shadows, leaving the white wolf behind.

The display of submission surprised her. It was behaviour reserved for pack-mates, and flashing one's belly was at the extreme end of that scale - a sign of camaraderie that should not exist between a Creek wolf and one of Jinx's followers. It made Bazi feel supremely awkward, but Tyrande spared her the trouble of having to respond.

"Bye.." she whispered. The little shadow disappeared in the direction of the mountain, leaving Bazi to ponder the repercussions of their encounter. If Jinx found out, she wouldn't be happy - and that was an understatement. Bazi should have told Tyrande as much. Come to think of it, she shouldn't have come at all - if only to spare the strange little mountain-dweller a beating.

Ears back and tail tucked, Bazi made her way swiftly east - away from the forest and back to the relative safety of the springs. She would not return to this part of the Teekon Wilds again.