Wolf RPG

After settling in at the Emberwood, Easy had ranged out once more to visit the Willows where the family had last been whole -- as whole as they could make it, at least. She gave a loud, searching howl as she moved about the outskirts, disturbed by some of the destruction the shaking had wraught on the once-sanctuary.

Even without her call going unanswered by familiar voices, Easy understood that she would not find Sunny, Dawn, Minnow, or Steph in this mess. All but the most grey and fading traces of their scents had been washed away, such that Easy was half-certain she was only catching a hopeful memory rather than a scent. Still, she went about the place leaving her own mark, so that her hale and recent scent would tell any visitors that she was alive and in the area; she would continue to do this every few weeks for as long as she stayed at the Emberwood. With any hope, her family would soon find her there.

Hours passed in this way. Eventually, Easy sat down in the fading afternoon and tilted her head back to give one last, hopeful howl.

The last few weeks for the wolf-dog hasn’t been the most eventful. The quakes almost killing had to have been the highlight of it all really. To some extent Ulysses still thrives, for he feels as if he’s already been through the wringer; some earthquake isn’t going to take him down.

The massive wolf has finally made it across the Firefly Ravine. Finding an area of the ravine that isn’t steep before reaching the rushing water is a challenge in itself. Though when he does, it’s troublesome to bridge. Crossing an untrustworthy landing of rocks lined up is also unsurprisingly difficult. By now, he’s exhausted, his paws don’t feel too ripe, and he’s probably got some scrapes along his legs and paws form a few close calls. 

The mutts fur is damp by now, he’s been walking for miles. He finds himself at the edge of a beautiful forest of Willows. Now torn by the rush of quakes that split apart the earth their roots call home. His misty eyes take in the damage but also still see the beauty that lies beneath. 

Meaty paws thump on the loamy earth, crunching small leaves and grass. His paw-steps are heavy and he’s not the most alert at the moment but the second a yearning howl reaches his saucer like ears he perks up. His ears point forward and swivel in every which direction wanting to track the noise. Though he sits still enough for a couple minutes, awaiting another howl one doesn’t come. 

He continues on his journey, walking along the tree line of this forest. Until he’s passing by a tree and catches the whiff of another wolf. I haven’t caught the scent of another wolf in a while. He offhandedly thinks. Ulysses casually continues forward then smells it again. “Huh.” He huffs, sniffing closely; the same wolf. The smell is distinctly female but aside from that he can’t get anything else from it.

He absentmindedly follows the trail for hours. Until the sun begins reaching the horizon and the sky becomes a striking, eye-blindly bright orange. It seems to go on forever as he hears another howl but it’s much much closer and he begins a trot. Not sure why he seems to want to follow it. Then just when he thinks he finds it he doesn’t. Well... until he catches the scent again. 

He rounds a rather large willow tree, nose fixed on this new wolf’s scent and eyes searching or any signs of life that would indicate said wolf being in the area. Then those twin moons land on another wolf and he freezes. Large ears facing the other in mild surprise as he takes in this stranger wolf’s appearance and he gives another sniff to make sure this is the wolf he’s been tracking. Sure enough it is. Her scent matches up perfectly. 

Though he stands there merely staring, he knows he’s already shown himself. For there’s no hiding his massive form. He means no harm so he gives a curt nod of his head with a hearty, “Evening.” Said in his thick accent.

Although Easy had not been entirely unaware of the presence of another wolf, she hadn't realized that he was so close, or that he'd been following her. Her focus had been on leaving messages for her family to find, and now it was turned inward as she took stock of her life.

It was easy to feel lonely, sometimes. She felt as though she'd been drifting ever since her father's death, and although there was always some new place to explore or family to settle down with, she was always back on her paws before long. It was sobering to realize that she'd likely spent more time without her father than with him, and the disparity would only continue to grow as time marched on. The thought made her chest feel uncharacterisitcally tight; she was not a woman prone to frequent bouts of high emotion. She held her breath until the feeling went away, and shut her eyes to tip her face toward the sky.

What do I do, Daddy?

Her father couldn't answer her, here. But he lived on in her heart, and in the things that he'd taught her. It was her own inner voice that replied:

What do you want?

She wanted to feel at home, as she had not since she was warm and protected by Grayday's side. She wanted stability and familiarity and love.

Before she could decide what to do with that information, a stranger's voice called out to her. The shewolf jumped up and spun toward him, her heart thudding unevenly as she tried to get over her surprise. It shouldn't have shocked her; if she'd been paying attention, she probably would've smelled him getting closer. And clearly, he hadn't meant to sneak up on her.

Easy shook out her pelt, and the unease along with it.

"Hi," she replied with a rueful wag of her tail. "I didn't notice you there. I hope I didn't disturb you at all." Was he living here now? That might actually be ideal, if he could be convinced to pass a message along.

Uly can see the other wolf’s face through the bright evening rays shine into his face illuminating his fur, making it appear more maroon rather than navy. Though there is blatant surprise weaved onto her expression, altogether she seems wistful of a time she relives through memories or perhaps missing someone or something. He knows the feeling, he notes empathetically to himself. He misses the small human girl he protected everyday and nothing he can do will bring them back to him, so he’s chosen to move on but never forget.

Then she shakes her merle coat, her pelt is beautiful with hues of silver and raven. He’s not seen a wolf like that yet. Though she is bigger than most female wolves he’s encountered it only adds to her charm. A small, polite smile reaches his lips at the wag of her tail.

“No,” he rumbles easily. “I apologize for startling you. I was just passing by.” He says in his thick accent. 

Tilting his head slightly, large ears swivel to listen to the surrounding environment. “You planning on making this your home? You sure have marked quite a bit of territory.” He questions. “As a lone wolf that could be dangerous.” He rumbles casually. Plopping the plume of his haunches onto the ground in a sitting position, moon-like eyes gazing straight at her.

It was only when he spoke a full sentence that Easy really took note of the accent; her ears pressed forward with interest as she compared it with Pygmalion's, and then ultimately dismissed them as unrelated. "Think nothing of it," she said sincerely, knowing that a capable wolf ought never to be startled.

The male sat, but Easy took his friendliness as permission to venture closer rather than doing the same. She was careful not to crowed him, arcing slightly so that they would not meet head-on, but almost side-by-side. "I'm not trying to claim it — I used to live here with my brother and his children, but we left together and were separated. Since this is the last place we were together, I'm leaving scent markers here. Hopefully, he'll find me south in the Emberwood."

She studied him as she said these things, and by the end of her explanation, she'd decided there was something very odd about his appearance. Ever polite, however, she declined to comment on this.

"I'm Easy," she said, and then cursed herself because she knew better. "My name is Easy, I mean," she amended with a contrite wag of her tail, hoping that she would not hear yet another joke about easy women. "What's your name?" Because enough wolves had taken her name without given their lately that she felt compelled to inquire.

Ulysses’ other worldly eyes peer at her. They seem to be watching her every move as she approaches the wolf dog. His pupils nothing but pinpricks in the harsh lighting, highlighting the black of his sclera and the bone white of his iris. A mutation he gained while in the ruined city he used to live in for so many years. His immense size is also a factor of the mutation, he wasn’t always this big.

He listens to her speak about the separation of her family and he feels for her. He too had been separated from family. As she tells him, he can tell she’s eyeing him down. Uly knows it’s not malicious, it seems more like she’s taking in his features. She’s probably never seen something such as him before; most haven’t.

“Ah.” He says easily with a curt nod of his head, acknowledging her explanation of why she’s here. Then he can’t help but blink and tilt his head for just a second, briefly confused when she mentions she’s ‘easy’. 

She corrects herself and it makes Ulysses bark out a solid, deep laugh. “I understand.” He chuckles. “My name is Ulysses. Nice to make your acquaintance.” Accent rich and voice deep, his tail wagging just slightly.

It was only on coming closer and getting a good whiff of his scent that Easy realized what she was looking at. "You're a mix — like me," she exclaimed, rocking back and plopping down on her ass as the epiphany hit her full force. He seemed to be mixed with something besides the tiny creature that'd sullied her maternal bloodline. Except maybe not, being that they were both exceptionally large. Him moreso than herself. "Did you have a tiny mother?" she asked him, and then bit her tongue as her manners caught up with her curiosity.

"I beg your pardon," she said with an awkward laugh. "I'm being rude. It's a pleasure to meet you, Ulysses. Whatever your parentage, you're clearly a fine specimen. I didn't mean anything by it."

Uly tilts his head, no wonder she has such a unique coat, she too has some dog in her it seems. It makes Uly just that much more interested in her. He laughs at her asking if his mother was small and he chuckles deeply. “No actually my mother was wolf. My father is the one who was mostly dog.”

Not at all offended by her question, some would say he’s a gentle giant after all, of course unless provoked. Uly nods and smiles back at her while he stands once more. “No, I don’t find you rude at all.” He comments walking around her and eyeing her down and taking in her dog like features. She wouldn’t seem like she would have a small mother, for her size is still formidable among other female wolves. 

Once he’s walked around her once he stops when he gets back in front of her. “Can you hunt? It seems you aren’t malnourished, rather you look very healthy. So I’d assume you can?” He asks with a devious smile. Together, if they could find some, they could take down some formidable prey. Though Uly can usually take down deer by himself it’s still nice to have some help.

Then Uly steps away from her, he wants to have some fun but he still tries to stay semi-polite. “Unless you cannot leave...” He hints, making sure she wouldn’t want to stay and wait for her family.

Easy was glad to hear that she hadn't offended the beast, and her measure of him went up a fraction as he excused her. There was nothing wrong with being sensitive, but she admired those with a thicker skin -- perhaps because she herself could be rather sensitive at times.

When Ulysses circled around her, she couldn't help but strike a heroic pose, just to be silly and to show of her significant mass. She was not as leggy as she'd been as a yearling, and she now boasted a healthy but not insubstatial layer of fat beneath her thick pelt.

"Can I hunt," she laughed, standing and reclaiming the space the male had put between them. "Of course I can -- and there's nothing keeping me here. If they come by, they'll know I was around. It would be nice, though, if you could keep an eye out, and direct them to me if you happen to run into them," she said, happy to follow along on the hunting trip either way. "There's not much large prey around ever since the earthquakes a few weeks ago, but I'm sure we can find something."

Uly smirks as she poses and boasts about her hunting skills. His chest reverberates in a deep laugh, his large canines on display and his purple tongue flicks out to lick his nose. “Good.” He chuckles. Then he nods, “Of course. If I see any wolf I’ll come let you know, yes?”

The wolf dog can’t help the wag of his tail at a good hunt. Small prey is better than nothing in these cold winter nights and right now he needs something to satisfy the hunger that rumbles his stomach. Uly begins a slow walk, nodding his head in the direction he walks as a sign for her to follow. 

His eyes never leave her form as he talks. “Easy,” he begins. “are you part of a pack? You said you have your family so I assume there would be more?” He asks a slight tilt to his head. He has a subtle curiosity about her.