Wolf RPG - fire-touched

@Huntington maybe? Will close on the 30th if no one replies

This was a fire-touched place. Amsu felt his neck and spine hairs rise of their own accord as he wandered silently through the dead trees. The fire happened long ago, he could tell, though whatever new life might have returned to the area was now buried under snow. The quiet, muffled nature that the snow created made the area even creepier. He was reminded of Sleepy Fox Hollow, although the hollow had not been fire-touched. Amsu wondered why the gods had set fire to this place. Someone had done something here, or perhaps there had been a pack here that the gods had wanted to move. Fire was not necessarily a bad thing. It meant only change. It was only a tragedy when wolves died from it, but that usually meant that they were being punished for something. Amsu continued his wanderings and musings, trying to keep his steps light and quiet in this sacred place.

she wandered without cause. the coast behind her in favor of the mountain region. she found little in the time spent near the bay - a few strangers at best and at worst nothing to keep her there. a new pack had taken root where she had wished to remain and right now she was not keen to submit herself to others. there would be plenty of time later if there ever was.

the trees about her now were dead. fallen to a fire. one day, mayhap not today, they would regrow. the foliage had the capacity if it was not that badly damaged. if only wolves had that ability. she would not need to fret over her own mortality. she desired, though fleeting, to visit this place often and tend to the plants that could still grow. yet she knew having a garden here would bring unwanted attention. others would come for the herbs she had grown. it was not simple.

and it never was. ahead of her, she could see a form moving along the lack of brush. another wolf, a male. she did not approach right away. hanging back for there was hardly any cover here, Huntington watched him move. he stepped lightly. perhaps cautious. she was not one to approach or start a conversation unless her interest was piqued. and outwardly he did not seem like an interesting man. still, though, she kept going. "greetings" she said quietly as she neared him.

Sorry for shortness. I suck.

Amsu looked up, so focused had he been on his thoughts that he did not notice the other wolf. It was a female, and an interesting-looking one. Not that Amsu was one to judge. He cared not what others looked like, only the actions they took. “Hello,” he said, copying her gentle tone. “Strange to meet another wolf here, in such a place.” He looked around again, the hairs on the back of his neck still standing up, though he could feel the electric sensation in his skin subsiding. He shivered involuntarily, and then his neck hairs lay flat again. He gave the female a brief smile, wondering if she would stop and chat, or simply move on.

the woman had every intention of walking right past him. greeting or no, she had places to be and further places to discover. this location gave her no shelter from the winter's winds. as lovely as burnt trees were, she saw no use to tending to this place after all. it would take time and energy she could stand to place elsewhere. "quite" she gave him, pausing and having her back to him now. she did not turn as she added into more conversation. "one does assume most enjoy more... lively spots" pale gaze traveled past her to motion quietly to the dead area. "why are you here then? taking in the sights?"

The woman did, in fact, walk past him, and Amsu was about to move on himself, but then she spoke. He stopped and turned to face her, but her back was to him. ’One does assume most enjoy more… lively spots,’ she said.

“Yes,” was his only reply, and he waited.

’Why are you here then? Taking in the sights?’

“Ah,” he said, thinking. “Amsu is here only for the moment. He is searching for somewhere else. A place to call home. Somewhere… brighter than this.” He watched her back, wondering if she would turn around at his words or find him boring and move on. “Why is this one here, then?”

"are we not all?" she muses to his reply of seeking a place for himself. a rhetorical question at best. she did not actively seek a pack or a community to join. no, she did not mingle in rules and dictatorships. freedom to do as she wished was more seductive than ranking. he speaks in the third person, and she does not blink at such things. it is not the first time she had encountered such speech patterns. "travel. collection" Huntington answers, an ear flickering backward. "expanding. perhaps no good reasoning. nothing bright."

Thanks for the thread!

Amsu, up until the last two words, was all ears at this stranger. He made a habit of taking his time with others—partly because he was a collector of stories, and partly to be polite. Was it not the right thing to do to listen to others if one had the time? Everyone deserved to be listened to, after all. However, the woman’s last two words—nothing bright—put a damper on his mood. It seemed she was looking for the opposite of what he was looking for, and this made Amsu sad. He did not like dark places. He would not follow this woman into places that went against his beliefs. With a sigh, he said, “Amsu wishes you well on your journey.” He would have dipped his head to her but her back was still to him. With a sad smile, he turned and walked away.

[Exit.]