Wolf RPG

She had come again to the mainland, this time seeking not Maegi - who had returned to the island - but any that might have followed her. Moorhen was glad to see one of the Aralez's lambs returned, but the pale girl was from the outside, now. Perhaps others would not think so, but Moorhen was a charier soul than most, and Aditya's betrayal had shaken her already skeptical views on those that came to them from the mainland.

Intellectually, she knew that all of them - even herself and Coelacanth - had come from other places. Only their youngest were native to the island. But there was something very purifying about life at Undersea, and Moorhen couldn't help but think that Maegi was somehow less pure for having been away.

Somehow, this logic did not stop her from venturing inland. There had been no traces of a tail on Maegi, but she'd followed the next-most-recent scent toward a distant rise, not thinking it much of a lead, but not wanting her trip to have been wasted, either. It seemed as though that would be the case either way, because when she got to the base of the keep, the scent of the birds and their droppings - as well as other foot traffic - muddled the trail enough that she lost it. Irritated, the dark female kept her nose to the ground and continued to search for traces of her quarry.

East needed to get away from Drageda, so he had ventured farther down the coast than he usually did. Curiosity had drawn him to the sad excuse for a mountain; he had seen the large number of birds in the distance and had come closer to investigate. He regretted it, though, because it was clear that many birds lived here, covering every inch of the ground with their feces. The scent of it overpowered everything except the faint hint of a stranger. The warrior's head whipped up to look around as he searched for the owner of the scent. His gaze spotted the dusty brown female in the distance, and he paused briefly before making his way towards her.

Once close enough, he released a low chuff, announcing his presence. He came to a stop a short distance away and waited for her to speak or leave--whichever she chose to do.

No matter how deeply she concentrated or how wide she made her search, Moorhen could not seem to pick up the scent once more. Just as she had resigned herself to doubling back to pick it up again, she noticed another coming toward her. The dark woman paused a moment to slant a wary glance in the stranger's direction, a flicker of her ears giving away her uncertainty.

A moment later, though, her usual stoicism rippled back over her like a drop of water down her back. She offered a bark of greeting before doubling back to the last place she'd been certain she could smell the trail. Closer to the stranger, consequently, but that couldn't be helped.

More carefully this time, Moorhen began tracing her quarry through the rough terrain. And, just as quickly as had happened before, she lost it. With a soft snort of impatience, she sat back on her haunches and surveyed the area.

She looked uneasy at first, only regarding him with a brief glance and a flick of her ear, but just as quickly, she seemed to relax, finally returning his greeting sound with a bark. Eastwood watched her curiously for a bit as she began searching again, not saying anything until she sat down with an irritated snort. What are you looking for? he asked, slowly moving closer. He may not have been to this place before, but he spent a lot of time roaming the coast near Drageda, so maybe he had seen whatever she seemed so set on finding. Or maybe he hadn't, but it was worth checking in case he could help her out.

Moorhen looked back to the male when he spoke and tensed slightly when she saw that he was moving closer - but he did not seem aggressive, so she tried to match her mood to his. "There was a wolf I think that I know," she said in her slight but awkward accent, "but, um... ørnen... um... smell covered up."

She knew the right word - did she? - but she rarely conversed with strangers anymore, and the man's presence made her feel strangely flustered. She was irritated at him for this, and irritated that he'd asked a question that'd caused her to admit to her tracking deficiencies. This showed in the slight tensing of her powerful frame, and in the irascible set of her jaw. But all this was still rather friendly for Moorhen.

His brow furrowed slightly in confusion. He got the gist of her first sentence--she seemed to be looking for someone. But then she used a foreign word, and it took him a few seconds to put it together. Confusion morphed into realization as he pieced everything together. Oh, yeah, the birds, he said first, casting a disapproving glance around the area. Their scent covers pretty much everything, he added. 

He chanced a few steps closer to the intriguing woman, eyes lingering on the interesting cream markings on her back. He rarely stopped to take notice of whether or not a female was attractive, having too many other things to worry about, but her beauty demanded his attention. He stopped moving when he noticed her tense, deciding he was close enough anyway. He took a seat, curious gaze resting on what he could see of her face. Who is this wolf you're looking for? What do they look like? East asked pragmatically; he wanted to help, and so he approached the situation with his usual militant fashion.

The male seemed to understand. Moorhen's tail wagged tentatively at this. She was so rarely understood by outsiders, but this male seemed nice enough. She was struck, suddenly, by the urge to do something impressive or to start acting coy. But both urges confused her, so she refrained.

"I don't, um... not remember," she said, feeling a bit silly for having wasted the man's time, and then a bit irritated at having been made to look silly by such a question. She bristled uncertainly for a beat, but quickly soothed herself and tried to cover up her blunder - "I, um. Just look-walking. Utplore. Um. Axplore."

She seemed pleased at first by his statement about the birds, although he wasn't quite sure he understood why, but her form stiffened slightly at his next question before she offered a very confusing answer. How was she looking for someone if she didn't remember who they were? He wasn't sure how to help her from here and was about to ask for more information, but then she was speaking again, and he watched her, eyebrows creasing in confusion once more as she tried to explain something to him. She seemed to relax a little as she spoke, and he tried very hard to understand the gist of what she was saying. She said a word he definitely didn't understand at first, but then the last word made more sense, and he nodded in recognition. Ah, yes, exploring, he finally said, hopefully on the right track here. I like to explore, too, he added with a one-sided smile, this time his tail wagging a little.

"Exploring," Moorhen agreed, feeling - oddly - more bashful than ashamed at the slight correction. He seemed a bit confused by her words, but he was keeping up. That was more than she could usually say for herself. He was also not rude or aggressive, as she'd initially worried. It'd been some time since she'd spoken to an outsider away from the borders, she realized.

Emboldened, she stood and padded a bit closer, hoping to get a better whiff of his scent. "Naame? Pack?" she asked him, assuming that such a healthy wolf must be among powerful ilk.

His gaze remained trained on the intriguing woman as she neared and like her, he sniffed the air to inspect her scent. She smelled of pack for sure, but he didn't think could tell which pack. I am Eastwood from Drageda, he answered once he had learned all he could from her scent. He stood again and chanced a few more steps towards the other wolf, a small smile tugging one side of his mouth. And what about you? he asked, taking a seat again. Do I get to know your name and pack? He wondered if she was from another pack on the coast or maybe more inland. There weren't many other packs that claimed a place by the sea from what he had been able to gather so far, which made him even more curious to find out where the striking woman came from.

Eastwood sounded more like a place than a name, but Moorhen didn't argue with the man. He probably knew better than her, after all. Drageda seemed like a better name, though. She wondered what it meant but didn't have the confidence to ask.

"Moorhen," she replied with a little flutter of her tail. "From Undersea. Islann."

Drageda certainly smelled strong; they seemed at least twice as big as Undersea, so she kept her mouth shut about their exact location. Eastwood seemed nice and all, but she still didn't quite trust him. Which is why she remained standing even when he sat, wanting to be ready to retaliate - just in case. "Are you explore now?" she asked, curious now about why the other wolf was out this way.

He wasn't familiar with Undersea but committed the name to memory along with the name of the intriguing stranger. Moorhen, he repeated, hoping he pronounced it correctly. That's pretty, he added, a small smile tugging his lip for the barest of seconds. 

He nodded at her question. I am, he answered. I get restless if I stay inside the borders too long, East explained. So I explore. It also helped to make him familiar with the lands and the other wolves that called the coast home. One never knew when such information might be useful. What about you? he asked next, searching her face with an attentive gaze. Why do you explore?

Moorhen didn't have a good answer for that. Exploring still seemed a bit shameful to her, because she was leaving the island where something might happen at any moment just because her paws were getting itchy. But Eastwood didn't seem ashamed so she echoed his explanantion: 

"Yes, me too. Restless," she agreed, glancing back the way she'd come with an air of guilt. "I have to go back now," she told the male, oddly reluctant to leave his company, but feeling all the more awkward for feeling that way.