Wolf RPG

It was late afternoon and the sky looked decidedly gloomy. Peregrine sat in the grassland between the plateau and the river, staring up at the skies rather blankly. He only blinked when a raindrop fell, then another and another. Soon, it began to rain in earnest.

Muttering under his breath, the injured Alpha male shuffled under the plateau's ledge to wait out the rainstorm even as an early night fell and everything grew very wet and dark.

Tears from heaven splattered the youth's already soaked coat. Yuda was only mildly aware of the chill caused by the large droplets that pelted him mercilessly; yet, he'd endured worse weather in blankets of whitened dough his body sunk into more quickly than quicksand. While encased in the snow, the icicled male was also buffeted by a cruel wind that froze him in such a way that his body shook violently and involuntarily.

Knowing that no fury from the gods could be worse than the experienced he held onto almost fondly, even if it had almost killed him, the watercolored boy moved forward with the same pace and same empty look that was always ingrained into the mask that fused upon his face.

Peregrine stared out into the rainy night, just as blankly as he'd earlier stared at the gray clouds. He started when he saw movement out there. Something blacker than the surrounding darkness was moving through the rainfall. The Alpha male squinted his eyes and made out a lithe black figure. He could not discern the glow of the other wolf's eyes, which made him uneasy.

Nonetheless, he shouted, "Hallo!" He then held his breath, waiting to see if the stranger passerby would acknowledge him.

Acknowledgement was only a light breath that came and went, which was not a desire that heavily touched upon Yuda; it stayed dormant for long periods and when it came to light, it was simply a dull glow that seemed distant.

Today though, a hint of the subtle light uncovered itself, and the slightest movement of the youth's head appeared, along with a half-second glance in the somewhat sheltered male's direction. The night wolf's words were barely heard as it was being pulled under to drown in the depths of the coarse rushing of the river.

He saw the dark wolf's head turn in his direction and though he felt the weight of the stranger's gaze, he still couldn't see his eyes. Peregrine shuddered. Were they simply dark... or were they perhaps missing? He couldn't tell from here, of course. And the other wolf didn't speak, which added to the creepy factor.

Spooked but intrigued, he called out again. "Need some shelter? There's some space here beside me. You can wait for it to pass."

Mild annoyance presented pressure upon the temporal lobes covered by soaked black fur. Why was this male so insistent on producing a conversation? Yuda clearly had no desire for interaction, and he discovered error in the fact that he'd even showed even the lowest form of attention given through action. A minute twitch squeezed itself down upon the dripping brow that gave no protection to the youth's eyes. This movement, which could barely be called so, opened a flood gate of furiousness that would normally cause bliss within the male, but this time it was entirely different.

What happened next would be seen as nothing but ordinary and plain from all wolves in existence, save very few — Yuda ceased moving forward and twisted his neck to look at the male who had called out.

The wolf stopped and looked at him directly. This time, Peregrine could see the glister of his eyes, though they were black like wet ink. The Alpha's lips pursed as he made eye contact from a distance. The stranger said nothing and though Peregrine couldn't determine any facial details from here, specially with the dim air and rain, that silence was telling. Apparently, his overtures were unwelcome.

"Fine," he grumbled under his breath. He didn't say anything else. He wasn't desperate for company by any means. Had he not been injured, he probably would've gotten off his ass and hurried the other male away. Instead, Peregrine just returned the quiet leer.

A feeling that could be described as similar to both disappointment and relief came and dissipated with a intake and output of breath. Yuda was used to wolves losing interest when an immediate response was not provided — even those of his own pack. It was not close to self-pity, just as it was that the earth and the stars were a seemingly infinite distance apart; though, the boy thought that the earth and the gods were even further apart, for gods could never be touched in any life time.

Within a few beats of his heart, hollow eyes examined the plateau and then the male beneath the make-shift umbrella. Yuda knew there were merely two choices, and none besides that. Either the loud wolf across the river took residence upon the forest that rested on a pedestal, or he did not. The youth knew for certain that the sheltered adult did not like the rain.

A lack of emotion was nearly permanently nestled upon his own contrasting face. Turning his neck further, the youth picked up his same pace and walked straight into the river. He did not focus on the possibility of slipping paws, though it was taken into consideration. A mind set upon failure guaranteed one to lose.

It was impossible for his coat to be even more soaked. When he left the river, it was as if he had never parted ways with it; the young body was still drenched completely, and it was always a waste of time to free his pelt of liquid, no matter how great and no matter how molecular.

Pace continued, Yuda proceeded forward, but halted more than a dozen feet away. Liquid slid down his face and into dark eyes, but he did not flinch.

He expected the wolf to move along and disappear into the rainy darkness. Instead, he made his way over to Peregrine, though he stopped a few dozen paces away and just stared silently. Peregrine felt that same trepidation, though now he could see that this was just your average young wolf. His black eyes freaked out the Alpha male, for lack of a better word.

Now that he was up close, Peregrine could also making out the other wolf's ventral fade, which reminded him of his brother, Crete. A sudden thought occurred to him and he blurted, "Are you dumb? Not dumb as in stupid but dumb as in mute?"

The voids were attached to the black male, their lack of color contending with the darkness of the face before him. Yuda stared straight at the wolf who had what seemed to have a few years on the juvenile, though the boy examined the movements that peeled themselves from the dryer animal before him.

And then words spilled from the opposing wolf's mouth. A passing thought clipped Yuda's brain, one that asked if the one before him ever considered that not speaking was an option. The boy silently wished he was mute, for he never found a use for words. His life would not fluctuate or be disturbed in any way.

His head moved marginally and deliberately to the left and then returned to its original position at a minutely quicker pace.

He shook his head, though the motion was too deliberate and brief for Peregrine to be absolutely certain that it meant no. At this point, he lost his patience. Who was this creepy young male skulking past his home under the cover of rainy night? Why had he ignored the Alpha, only to change his mind and come over here to stare at him? Why wouldn't he speak, for crying out loud?

"Okay. I don't know what your deal is but if you don't want to to talk — fine. I'm not trying to force you into socializing. Feel free to move along. In fact, I would prefer that you did." Peregrine sat up straighter and lifted a forepaw, making shooing motions. "Scram." There was no hostility in his tone, just impatience. Peregrine didn't expect the stranger to protest, considering it was clear he didn't want to hang around and chat.

If the faded male would have known the impatient and indecisive wolf before him was Alpha, he would not have cared any more than if he were a wolf travelling the lands like he. Though Yuda doubted disturbances among the plateau from outside sources or threats, a brief pondering on why the male would venture down and away from sanctuary dribbled into his head not unlike the flood from the sky upon his body; except the thought evaporated while the wet cling wrap upon his fur did not.

But another flood gate was opened in Yuda — one of agitation and one that provided words. "First you beckon me, now you wish to rid of me? Impatience is not a strength." His voice could be described as almost quiet and patient, along with matter-of-factual. It was no doubt that the juvenile was too serious for his age, possibly any age, but limited emotion took over the boy now and then (and long in between), even if it was for a few brief moments.

With a slight backward twitch of his ears, Peregrine mockingly countered, "It speaks! First you ignore me, now you suddenly want to talk. I was inviting you to take shelter, kid, but the offer expired when you refused to respond. Now get lost." The swarthy wolf rose, ignoring the splinter of pain in his bruised ribs. He didn't growl or raise his head or tail, though the look he gave the juvenile left no room for misapprehension.

The youth's views and lifestyle were reasserted with the flighty male before him. First, he called upon him, probably more of a curious nature than in the offering of shelter. Wolves he had met were nosy and desired to greet and either befriend or create an enemy of another. At times, neutrality was met, but that was rare.

But hadn't it been obvious that Yuda was comfortable walking in the rain? He was not hastily looking for shelter, nor did his disposition. The soaked kid had been travelling at a quicker pace than a walk, yet not quite a trot.

"I do not desire your shelter. You're a dick." His words were not spoke with disgust or venom; they were devoid of emotion. The boy turned, returning to the river he'd just left in only a few steps. It was almost comforting, the soft lull of water pulsing against his body. He would continue his trek in the sky's tears, not wasting the energy in scowling that time had been erased due to an adult who acted younger than the eight months he himself held.

Though, his mind would reflect back on the encounter and why he had paused his journey in the first place, even if for a brief moment. And for a moment longer, Yuda wondered if these lands were tainting and warping him into the very thing he hated.

Peregrine laughed out loud when the younger wolf called him a dick. "Damn straight, son," he said in response, lips momentarily twitching upward before resettling into a vague scowl. He might have added something else, yet the stranger swept away, back toward the river, and he saw no need. He wasn't feeling particularly antagonistic.

And that's why you shouldn't bother with outsiders, he reminded himself sternly. He never should've called out to the other wolf in the first place. Peregrine wouldn't make the same mistake again. Let passerby be just that: passerby.

He crouched under the overhang a while longer, though when the rain showed no sign of slowing, Peregrine emerged and shuffled as quickly as he could up to the plateau proper. He didn't waste time looking back to check that the young, dark-eyed stranger had truly gone. He knew he wouldn't be able to see him anyway. Instead, the Alpha male trotted stiffly toward the heart of his territory.