Wolf RPG

Full Version: Tell 'em I went where the wild goose goes
You're currently viewing a stripped down version of our content. View the full version with proper formatting.
For @Chacal, backdated to March 5th!

A tree, twisted into gnarled fingers reaching for the cheerless sky, stood solitary atop a jagged hill. An abrupt drop on the west side overlooked a field of craggy earth and barren shrubs, and similar hills and fields stretched as far as Alyx's eyes could see. Her lips twisted into a crude mockery of the disfigured tree.
What sort of creatures could live in a land this unpleasant? She came here with the intent of hunting down some supper for herself and Fennec before they crossed the final stretch to where Rusalka was rumoured to be. She hoped to find a gift to present to Erzulie and Rosalyn, as well, but if this was the ground she had to hunt on, she thought it unlikely she would find anything at all.
Maybe there was a hare or groundhog somewhere here? Alyx trotted down the gentlest side of the hill and pricked her ears, then grimaced. Even if she found one, how was she supposed to chase it across this mess without twisting an ankle?
In keeping with her decision to pursue a trade as a hunter, with a specialty in smaller animals, Chacal resumed her scouting skills in the wooded area just East of the Cliffs she called home, knowing that the woodlands were home to several small creatures that she could stalk and catch on her own. Among them were the spruce grouse, which she had learned lived in thickets, but fed off the needles of the lodgepole pine. All she had to do, she thought, was find those trees again- evergreen ones that stood tall and straight, stretching up toward the sky, and littering the ground with little needles- and she figured she would find the grouse again. 

But just because there were lodgepole pine trees did not guarantee that there would be grouse, she learned. And while she scouted around, sniffing for any signs left behind by her chosen quarry, she found none. She wondered, then, if they moved somewhere else with Spring on its way- perhaps the pine needles were only their food during the winter. 

So she ranged further, out into the open and toward the hills where she thought she might find rabbit tracks. There were small shrubs, which reminded her that she might not have lost all hope in finding grouse, but ended up finding little other than a trail left behind a fox. Perhaps he was the culprit- there was a chance he had frequented the area and scared all the small prey away. 

She was about to give up and turn back when the breeze brought her the scent of another wolf, and she normally would have turned and headed immediately back toward her homelands had a vague memory not come to mind along with the scent. She recognized it- but it took her a few moments before she could figure out how and when she'd smelled it last. She dithered around, nose held aloft- until she spotted a dark, golden-gilded figure in the distance who looked like she too was hunting. Her memory flashed back to a time when the rain had been incessant, when a young girl had gotten lost- and had come to stay with them for some time in the Shadewood. 

She chirped, a high pitched bark, so that she might catch the young woman's attention. Chacal remembered her- and how they'd played, even though her sister had been a bit of a stick in the mud. She began to bound across the distance between them, minding the uneven footing and bouncing over the occasional shrub- hoping that Alyx might remember her too.
It seemed she had her answer in the form of a yip.

There was no way Alyx could bound so gracefully over this rugged terrain as Chacal did. She was admittedly a little starstruck as she observed the girl's approach, filled with awe rather than the unfounded jealousy she'd experienced in her youth. By the time the younger she-wolf reached her, Alyx was full-on staring.

How was it even possible to move so elegantly across such ugly ground without wings? Chacal clearly knew the secret. Damn, that was, she began, then shook her head. She couldn't even describe that if she tried, much less explain how impressed she was. Some of that old envy was creeping in underneath, too, because she knew if she even attempted to cross the Tangle like that, she would bungle it horribly.

Up close, she did remember Chacal, and greeted her with a wagging tail. It's been a long time! Honestly, she felt a little guilty that she'd fixated so heavily on Valravn that she forgot all the other kids—young adults, now—in Sapphique, including Chacal.
The look of surprise on Alyx's face was met with mild confusion from Chacal, but as soon as the expression faded she lost interest in finding out exactly Alyx had looked at her that way. It was amusing to see her again; a lovely young woman whose pelt bore the same hints of gold along her brow, but with much more pronounced saturation along her shoulders that fell in a golden halo along her ribs as well. She had a high brow and sparkling eyes which made her look all the more intelligent and expressive. She remembered the way Alyx lit up when she was around Valravn, and how the two had become what seemed like fast friends in the time she'd spent with them. 

She nodded gleefully, still happy to see her once-friend again. "It has!" She chimed. Alyx would never have heard Chacal speak- if she had, it would have been stuttered and jumbled, but now she was able to communicate, so long as her words floated on a melody. "Have you come to visit wid us again?" She asked, her expression hopeful. She stood on her tippy-toes, ready to bolt off and lead Alyx directly to their borders if she agreed to come along.
It was indeed the first time Alyx had ever heard Chacal speak, having simply assumed before that the girl was the quiet sort, like Primrose. And what a strange manner of speaking it was. No doubt something quizzical flashed across Alyx's expression before she caught herself, though when she did, she merely grinned.

It must be some kind of game. Rather than asking for clarification out of fear that it would somehow offend Chacal, Alyx did something even worse and decided she would simply mimic what Chacal was doing. After all, she wanted to fit in here, and if the wolves of Rusalka-now-Sapphique were secretly quite musical, then she could be musical, too! Maybe this was some kind of test, and she wanted to pass with flying colours.

I've come to stay, I hope, she replied in a similar singsong fashion, despite not understanding why they were talking this way. My sister's nearby, she's escorting me, again in a musical lilt, though Alyx's voice was nowhere near as good as Chacal's.