Wolf RPG

After a sudden meeting before the leadership that morning, Tulukiri had been given leave to process her own thoughts. She did not do well with such moments and chose to put herself to work, as that was what she'd always been expected to do.

Her path cleaved away from the glacial lands. She delved among the red-leaf forest south of the village. The paths here were hidden by piles of fallen leaves. Among them were plentiful signs of small game but she could not focus on any of the trails she came across.

Soon the girl found herself on the edge of a clearing where, further afield, she could spy upon some deer grazing at the low-hanging branches of the maplewood. Tulukiri was reminded of her close encounter, which got her thinking about the tour that @Lestan had taken her on. It seemed pointless, now. An effort wasted.

She stalked towards the slow-to-act doe and its twins, and at the last second made herself known by barking and snapping her teeth; there was no intention there for Tulukiri to chase or catch them, only to frighten them, and they sprang away instantaneously. The sounds of their lithe bodies among the leaves being the only sign they were there at all.

He was puttering around the woods today, trying to ignore the hunger gnawing at his belly. There were so many scents here, all of them teasing his appetite. Atreus tracked a few of them, though he knew he wouldn’t be able to catch any game by himself.

He did stumble across a blackberry patch. After a quick sniff, he began devouring the tart little fruits until his lips and tongue were stained indigo. He wasn’t sure what to make of the taste, though they took the edge off his hunger, at least.

A sudden bark startled him into looking upward, eyes blinking as he watched a trio of deer spring past. His head turned to watch as they disappeared further into the forest before he faced forward again. Was that Void who’d barked?

He deliberated a moment before smacking his plummy lips and calling, Void? That you?

A few wolf-lengths later, as she was crossing the exposed patch the deer once grazed within, and Tulukiri heard a voice. It sounded young.

Tulukiri wasn't phased for long - she moved towards the voice and soon found a patch of the woods which smelled strongly of fruit. She would've missed the kid, as he was small and dark, but his eyes were affixed in her direction.

I'm called Tulukiri, actually. She looked at the half-bare bushes and licked her lips. Can I have some'a those too?

She motioned to the berries remaining, most of them higher up.

He tensed when a she-wolf appeared, looking nothing like Void. Atreus stared at her, trying to decide if her pelt was actually cream or if she was just filthy. She looked rather disheveled, though her voice was pleasant as she gave him her name and then asked if she could partake in the blackberries.

Atreus looked down and then up again, saying, I guess.

Deciding he was done with them, he carefully stepped out of the blackberry patch. He didn’t take his eyes off the woman as he moved to its edge. He wasn’t sure what to make of her, not just because she was a stranger but because she was female. Atreus’s experiences with women included his deadbeat mother, his surly aunt and her horrible daughters (Redd was guilty by association).

He frowned, debating whether to engage further. Perhaps he could learn something from her, like he had with Void, but he disdainfully doubted it.

She waited until he had made up his mind. Tulukiri could have easily taken the berries without question, or being a bitch to the kid, but she saw no reason for that. Kids were easy; they were dumb little shits, but if they were treated like the little people they were, Tulukiri rarely found issue with them.

This one moved aside. She could feel him watching as she began to pluck berries free. A few were tart - she spat them out with haste - and sometimes the seeds got caught in her gums. The sweeter ones proved to be worthwhile.

As she ate, Tulukiri asked: You're a little short to be a hunter, so I gotta ask - where you from, Kid? She didn't look at him but her attention was easily split between the berries and the boy.

The girl remembered how much she hated being spot-lit by the adults in her village, so she spared him that.

He still hadn’t arrived at a decision when she spoke to him again. Atreus’s eyes narrowed a little when she commented on his size. Why were women always the worst? He began to scowl.

Nonetheless, he found himself answering, Nowhere. He paused for a beat, curious despite himself. You?

He asked and she motioned north. The glacier. That way. She answered without missing a beat; it wasn't true, but close enough. Remembering what Kigipigak had said that morning made her pause a moment and frown at the bushes.

Getting too cold for me though. After plucking a few berries more, she drifted back from the bushes and sank to her haunches.

How do I look? I don't have a 'stache do I? The berries had indeed stained her lips a purple-red, notably beneath her nostrils. Had she done it on purpose? Maybe.

He glanced where she indicated, his eyes widening. How had he not noticed the icy mountain looming over these woods? Atreus stared at it for several seconds, missing her comment about the cold. He only looked back to Tulukiri when she asked if she had a mustache.

Her lips were stained quite a bit, which made him wonder if his were as well. He raised a paw to his mouth, touching his lips. They felt a little tacky, though there was no color when he held out his toes. Putting his foot back on the ground, he realized he hadn’t replied.

Yeah, you do, Atreus informed her before asking, Does your pack live there, on the… glacier? He had never heard that term before, though he assumed it was just a fancy term for “particularly snowy mountain.”

He looked surprised and pantomimed an inspection of his own face, then confirmed for Tulukiri what she already knew. He was the serious type, she gleaned.

Ah, damn. The girl licked her lips a few times and tried to drag her face across a foreleg, watching the stain spread there. It wasn't as dramatic but it wasn't gone either.

The boy seemed curious of her - or at least the home she claimed. Yeah! My boss - er, the leader guy, and his kids. Its a small group. Ain't been with them long..

Maybe it wasn't wise to share details with a stranger, but Tulukiri wasn't afraid to talk to the kid. He probably wouldn't remember by the time he got home - wherever that was. Besides, maybe talking about it would make Tulukiri appreciate it more.

She answered his questions readily, telling him about her small pack and how she was rather new to it. Atreus momentarily forgot about his mistrust of women as he mulled over this information. Void had been a lone wolf, like Atreus (thought he) wanted to be. This was the first time Atreus had ever heard of a pack beyond the rise.

What’s it like? Your pack? he pressed.

He suddenly wondered what it would be like to go live with another pack. What if he truly turned his back on the rise and left for good? Atreus swallowed, then drew in a deep breath through his nose and exhaled through his mouth, his breath fragrant with berries.

She had begun to work at the stain upon her foreleg when he asked his question. There she paused a beat as she mulled over an answer.

Well, at first I kinda hated it. He hadn't asked for her opinion on it though, he wanted specifics, so Tulukiri carried on:

I'm used to living with a bunch of people my own age, see. And we're warriors. The place I ended up isn't like that. Tulukiri shrugs and sighs with some resignation. I like the boss enough - he's my mentor, ah, he taught me a lot. The rest of them - they're forgettable.

She lets out a small huff. What about you? Do you like where you live? she wouldn't ask for the name or location, as that would be really creepy of her.

Tulukiri seemed very honest, maybe to a fault. Atreus blinked, though he supposed he was grateful for the straightforward answer. Before he could think of how to respond, she elaborated. His nostrils flared as he listened. His own situation wasn’t exactly the same, though he felt a flare of commmiseration when she said, “They’re forgettable.”

She asked him if she liked where he lived. He had told her didn’t live anywhere, though of course they both knew that wasn’t true, by merit of its impossibility. But unlike her, Atreus wasn’t ready and willing to bear his soul to a perfect stranger. His mouth opened as if he meant to reply, though he hesitated.

He decided on a simple, No. And then Atreus couldn’t resist adding, I hate it here. Well, there, but he couldn’t be bothered with semantics at the moment.

They shared a look. The boy soon answered, and Tulukiri could tell he was serious - he didn't like home, wherever it was. She could relate.

Well you could always leave.

She regarded him a moment. He looked well fed, healthy - wherever he was from, they cared for him. When you're older maybe. I did that as soon as I was big enough.

Of course she hadn't really been ready for it, but Tulukiri had always been a headstrong sort of girl; the more her parents resisted her desires the harder she fought for them.

It occurred to her then - sharply, like a moment of clarity after a round of tinnitus - that she had never lived alone before. How different would that feel? Lonely, maybe.

Anyway, thanks kid. For the chat, and the snack. She was on her feet again. Tulukiri opened her mouth to say something else (along the lines of: find me when you're older, or something) but realized that it'd be weird.

She didn't know what the future held for her given what she knew of Natigvik's splitting numbers.

He could always leave. Atreus bobbed his head once to acknowledge what he already knew. He stilled when Tulukiri said he would have to wait until he was older, lips parting as if preparing to protest. Void had insisted he’d survived without his parents from the tender age of two months old.

But he’d mentioned brothers in those early days. Atreus’s lips pressed back together. Perhaps he couldn’t swing it entirely on his own at his age… but that didn’t mean he couldn’t find some other wolves to live with outside of the rise. Now that he knew they were there—and where they were—he would have to give it some real thought.

Atreus wasn’t the most socially gifted young man, though he could recognize a cue when he saw one and only offered a distracted, Bye.