Wolf RPG

The red man of moonpack - or at least... the only one he knew - ya know what, he ought to change that, he thought. He'd been here for many sun-baths and Silver Shadow had been his almost constant companion. If he were to protect them all like the cream-furred man wanted, he should really get to know who else was a part of moonpack. 

So he set off to find more of them! Would they, too, speak in words? Words that perhaps he couldn't understand but wanted to learn. 

So many words he wanted to say but could not make his tongue mimic those he called his friends.

Although Ariadne was still deeply hurt by the meeting regarding her bride price, she tried to not overthink it, knowing that it'd only bring about more hurt. There wasn't anything they could do now to change their opinions. Still, she was optimistic that sometime in the future, their thoughts would sway once they saw that he was a good husband and father; she was confident that he would be both.

Deep in thought, she was stretching her legs when Fallen Sun's noise reached her ears. Curious and recognizing the voice as the newest recruit, Ariadne headed in his direction and soon found him. I greet you, she said as she approached, once she'd caught sight of the coat that reminded her of her taataa.

 

Cloud Ember, Lead Moonwolf in his eyes, approached him. There was that phrase again. hreet hu, he dipped his head and responded in kind. 

What did she want?

"Hreet hu," they said in-turn. Ariadne smiled, happy to see they were communicating independently and not relying on a translator.

How are you doing? she asked next with genuine concern; she hoped all the new members were doing well. Are you settling in okay?

Her words were new, but a silent wolf was a master at context. Cloud Ember held an aura of soft gentleness — she meant him no harm, and she was curious. Her voice sounded concerned. ghud. he wuffed. But how to explain that he was still learning words? 

hurds- hr- whurds... nho... the red man's simple explanation was cut short. ... tahot.

While she understood his answer, deciphering the following jumble of syllables was more difficult for her. It seemed like he was talking about words, but she wasn't sure what the rest meant. She frowned, her expression sympathetic, as she tried to understand.

It is okay, she said finally. There are other ways we can communicate. She thought of @Towhee Jr then and the lessons in ptero she'd been given. Maybe Fallen Sun could benefit from the lessons, too. She'd have to introduce him if he didn't know it.

-Do know ptero?- she signed, testing the waters. She wasn't an expert, but most of her words were legible.

The red man, ever curious, tilted his head at the weird motions that Cloud Ember's paws were doing. whah-? he huffed. It was one of the few words that did not take careful practice to pronounce.

Was that something that wolves around here did? What did that mean? Tell him! Tell him! Maybe he could try it? How did she even do that?!

A meaningless bark of curiosity and excitement, sharp but not alert. He bowed at it, nose at her paws. whurd? Hou hu whurd?! Hus whurd?! Hus? 

His excitement was contagious, and she smiled as he marveled at how she could talk with her paws. One of our members does not speak with her words, but she speaks with her paws, she explained. She has been teaching me how to do this, and I can teach you if you would like! Though, honestly, it'd probably be better if @Towhee Jr taught him—she was an amateur in comparison and often made mistakes.

Do you want to learn some words? she asked, eager to help where she could.

Ariadne's lessons with Towhee Jr hadn't gotten too advanced yet. Still, she had learned some basics that might help Fallen Sun better communicate with some of his pack members. His enthusiasm told her he was eager to learn, and she sat, equally excited to get the lesson going.

Their first word would be simple: hello. Waving was universally understood as a greeting, which all of the village members could understand. She lifted her paw and waved while saying the word: Hello!

-Hello!- she signed after a pause, resuming her wave and mouthing the word.

A curious whine, that ended almost questioningly; paired with a head tilt. Forest green eyes were following each careful movement of Cloud Ember's paw. A Word.

She was saying something? Interesting, for sure. 

But it just looked like she was raising her paw to him... 

Whatever, this was a lesson from Cloud Ember, from lead moonwolf. He sharply nodded his head once, mostly to himself, and tried his best to copy her paw movement.

Though it ended up more of a Lassie-style paw raise than anything actually intelligible.

She watched as he lifted his paw; although it wasn't perfect, it was progress. Good! she exclaimed, raising her paw and waving again. -Hello!- she said and signed, wanting him to practice before they moved on since he'd looked confused at first.

He tried again - watching closer. Fallen Sun had gotten good at the spoken tongue, or at least... figuring out what a word meant. Body language was his bread and butter, his context that had gotten him by. This new word was hard. 

He watched. Eyes never wavering from Cloud Ember's paw. A frustrated, hushed set of whimpers and whines, anxious to try and get it right. 

Another head tilt. What a curious thing the red man of moonpack was, on the edge of communication but not quite able to get it. He lifted his paw, and perhaps this time, there was something intelligible. 

-hello-

Fallen Sun's effort was there, and Ariadne encouraged him with many nods, smiles, and tail wagging. When he finally got it, she lept excitedely—the wolfish equivalent of punching the air—and cheered.

Aya! Great work!

The sun man's tail wagged happily and he did a play-bow, barking excitedly at Cloud Ember's excitement. She was happy! So he was happy. 

yeh! 

Did he just... say a word? Without saying... anything? 

Woah-

Are you ready to try another word? Ariadne asked. Although he vocabulary was limited, she was eager to help Fallen Sun learn all that he could, so that he could communicate with some members of the pack.