Wolf RPG

Now that her daughters were older and her mother was gone, it made Meerkat itch to do some traveling herself. Where should she go? She supposed she could ask @Njord to go visit the copse again. She would’ve liked to go visit @Ray or even the island, though Meerkat still recoiled at the thought of going anywhere near the coast.

She ended up heading toward Bramblepoint, then ambling to the small lake just beyond the trees. It was cool and overcast today, the air still thick with summer humectation. Meerkat waded into the shallows and stopped, peering across the lake where she spotted a gray fox crouched to take a drink on the far shore.

What trotted round the lake in search of entertainment was not a fox.

Displaced, lost; the wind kissing her nose but whispering nothing interesting in her ears. She didn't belong anywhere, and that was fine with her. Just fine; she didn't need any of them, and was happy to leave them all. 

Good riddance, they wouldn't be missed. 

New adventures awaited her in the wild, where she was free. In fact - that was a wolf, wasn't she? Who you?

Perhaps it felt the weight of her gaze. The fox raised its head, drops of water dripping from its chin as it peered across the lake. Their eyes met. Meerkat sensed a cleverness in that gaze, though she blinked and the Urocyon cinereoargenteus was gone.

A few minutes later, another figure appeared, this time a she-wolf. Meerkat watched her trot around the shoreline, headed this way. She tensed a little, eyes never leaving the stranger. Her markings reminded Meerkat of someone, though she couldn’t figure out who before a brusque query was posed to her.

After a brief hesitation, she replied, I’m Meerkat. Who’re you?

The she-...something tilted her head. Meeerkat, an intrigued echo. 

another head tilt, this time in the other direction. 

Who was she? Interesting question, one that seemed familiar but at the same time very far away. I Kusuma. her once-love had taught her the language here, but it was still hard to form sentences properly.

More questions that needed answering. Meeerkat from here? This Meeerkat's home?

The stranger sounded out her name and Meerkat nodded, smiling a little. She offered her own name, then asked if Meerkat lived here. The questions were rather commonplace, though her speech pattern was intriguing. Perhaps the common tongue wasn’t her first language.

I live there, she said, turning slightly to point at Moonspear, visible above the treetops of Bramblepoint. It’s called Moonspear, Meerkat added, facing Kusuma again. Both the mountain itself and the village—the pack—residing there. Where are you from, Kusuma?

Not... sure, the stranger responded, seeming to try to pair words with memories. Was with... pack. Like Kusuma, not like wolf. Had mam, and da, and many litter-mate. Put on big... shiny... bird, and come to here. Run, left brother behind for bird to eat. 

She did not know more common tongue for the rest, but she had been convinced that the shiny bird would've eaten her if she had not run, its flock of chicks chasing her as the she-coyjackal fled. Kusuma found here. Here... Moonspear?

Her dark gaze lifted up toward the mountain.

She stayed quiet while Kusuma tried to explain her backstory. Meerkat’s eyes widened a bit as she pictured wolves riding a big, shiny bird, then narrowed when Kusuma mentioned abandoning her brother to be eaten. It all sounded rather crazy, to be honest.

But it was pretty clear Kusuma wasn’t very familiar with the native language, so perhaps it was all just lost in translation? Meerkat mulled this, jerking slightly when Kusuma spoke Moonspear’s name in her foreign accent.

Moonspear is just one of many packs in this area, which is called the Teekon Wilds, Meerkat told her, nibbling at the inside of her cheek.

Teekon Wilds.

So that's where 'here' was. Good to know, though Kusuma was hesitant to put that word to her tongue. Moonspear was easier. It was... one pack in this land, which Meerkat seemed to imply that the lands were quite vast with many wolves and other such creatures within it. Did that mean there were other packs? To be frank, she wasn't particularly fond of the idea of getting too near any of them at the moment.

She thought over her reasoning, as Meerkat seemed friendlier than the wolves she had met. Wolf packs Kusuma has met do not like Kusuma. Not wolf.

What do you mean? Meerkat asked, genuinely puzzled by these two simple words.

Her whiskey eyes flicked from Kusuma’s face down her shoulder blades, past them to the slope of her spine until it met her tail. Her markings were rather striking, though not the strangest she’d ever seen. She looked like a standard issue wolf to the envoy.

Meerkat’s gaze traveled back to the other female’s face, a quizzical knit in her brow as she anticipated an explanation.

Wolf packs far from Moonspear say Kusuma no smell like wolf. Kusuma... know this. Mam was jackal, da was coyot. No wolf blood. 

her parents were adamant she know how special she was, but it wasn't until the pack of coy-wolves did she feel particularly like she fit in anywhere. When ... she... 

Are wolf packs around Moonspear angry at Kusuma for no wolf blood? the loner's heart didn't wish for trouble, even if she was already, apparently, far closer than she would like to be.

At the word “smell,” Meerkat drew in a breath. If she was meant to discern something other about Kusuma’s scent, she must be noseblind to it. She blinked slowly when Kusuma mentioned her parentage. She knew about coyotes, of course, but she wasn’t familiar with jackals.

I’m not sure, she replied honestly after a slight pause. It doesn’t matter to me—and I can’t tell any difference, honestly—but I can’t speak for every wolf. I don’t understand why it would be an issue, unless there’s some sort of culture clash. You said you lived in a pack before, right?

Not with wolf. Wolf packs chase Kusuma off land, hurt Kusuma and threaten more if come back. Kusuma no want find out if true. Smell was strong to wolfs. 

She shook, trying to shake the memory from her head and focus on the present. They - hopefully - wouldn't find her here, nor would they be upset if they were spot her. Maybe even the wolf packs here would like her, not that she cared. 

Both her parents could live by themselves if they wanted to. But Meeerkat nice. Meeerkat not like other wolfs Kusuma met.

Kusuma might not have been a wolf, though she was certainly a canine. Meerkat supposed their societies probably worked in similar ways, though she couldn’t know for sure. And the only way Kusuma could find the answer to her question was to try, which might be something of a trial by fire.

I don’t think Moonspear would chase you away, so long as you were able to follow the guidelines and contribute to the pack like any other member. But I’m not a leader. Maybe if and when you feel up to it, you could stop by and call for one. Their names are Sialuk and Njord.

Meeaerkat sure? she asked with apprehension, loneliness filling her heart with a vengeance. Did she want to be part of a pack of wolves? 

Did she want to believe she'd go... anywhere? Kusuma is... lonely. she whispered, staring up at that mountain. Coyotes were pack animals, and that was half her blood. Jackals could, if they wanted. Pack life flow in Kusuma blood. But - Pack was taken from Kusuma, and wolf was not kind- 

she didn't know, whispering to herself for a few beats of her heat before deciding. 

Meearkat take Kusuma to Moon Mountain, to meet with- she stopped. Sigh-laek? And... Nah..yord? the names were torture to her tongue, trying her best to say it.

No, Meerkat disclaimed, I’m not sure. I can only speak for myself…

She lapsed into silence as Kusuma mused out loud. She confessed to loneliness and said that she was meant for pack life. But she still feared she wouldn’t be accepted by wolves.

Meerkat hadn’t thought Kusuma would want to go immediately, though when she brought it up, the envoy answered, I can take you there, if you’re sure.

She couldn’t imagine either her friend or her husband turning Kusuma away simply due to her genetics, though Meerkat had spoken the truth: she couldn’t be sure what anyone else would make of Kusuma.

The loner went silent for a moment, continuing to stare at the mountain. The wind kissed her nose, bringing the sweet nothings of wolf pack to her ears and running it along her spine. Her heartstrings tugged at her paws, beckoning her to reach that summit.

She was, at the very least, curious as to how wolf packs operated here. Maybe it was standard within their hearts to accept all that could pass for their own. Meerkat hadn't been able to tell the difference, maybe they couldn't, either. 

So why did the other wolf packs know? That, the coyjackal would never understand. 

Kusuma is sure. she nodded, never taking her eyes off Moon Mountain.

Meerkat couldn’t help but think this conversation had escalated quickly. She looked around, careful to keep the internal frown off her face. She had come out here to get away from the mountain for a bit, though of course it wasn’t Kusuma’s fault. Besides, perhaps the village would gain a quality member today.

Okay, well, follow me, she said lightly, glancing at the lake one last time before shuffling her feet and retracing her steps back home.

The coyjackal nodded, and said quite steadily, Kusuma will follow.

She kept pace with Meerkat, and true to her statement, she did not follow at her side nor ahead of the wolf, preferring to leave space between them.

Never far, always within sight. 

Such was the way of flower petals, always drifting in the wind and changing their minds as the breeze shifted.