Dawnlark Plains a day of quiet adventure

All welcome!

There would be no world-weariness here, she had decided beyond a shadow. There would be no pity or melancholy, there would be only care and focus. Lucani, a healer who'd been poisoned by a rival (or so she professed), had grown too ill to be of further use to Sleeping Dragon and so had forfeited her place among them. Now she roamed from those borders — or rather had done so a couple of days ago. She had not got far. Yes she had every intention of joining another pack if she could, but if she pushed herself too hard she would die. And so she took her time. She was too weak to hunt, but she knew several quick tricks for catching fish, so by following the river she enjoyed a healthy three meals a day. She did not have the strength to dig dens to sleep in, so she carefully found windbreaks and hideaways to sleep in. So far, her mysterious illness had not got any better — but, vitally, nor had it worsened.

Today she slowly roamed a great plain. She spotted young rabbits hither and thither, but resisted trying to chase them. Looking around her, she could see for what felt like miles. She kept to the edge of the stream she followed, but that was all the navigation she was capable of. Directionless but content, Lucani ventured onwards into the wide-open unknown.

Here, Teagan lingered. He had no idea why, just the fact that he wanted to stay in the plains for a while, at least for a few days. It wasn't like Dawnlark Plains was anything interesting, or new, to the coywolf, but there was something that tugged at his gut and told him to stay, just for sometime, then he could continue on. It was very rarely that the hybrid got some sort of prophetic moment, but when he was suddenly plagued by a 'deep emotional' feeling, he tended to abide by it. So when he got the feeling he should stay, that was exactly what he did.

Having caught several rabbits, and eaten one, Teag decided that he was thirsty and made for the stream that he'd seen sometime ago. With the remaining rabbits swinging in his jaws by their scruff, the fox-like wolf trotted towards the direction of the water source. Before he made it to the water, however, he was greeted with the scent of a female wolf, a stranger. Wow, all of a sudden, I'm attracting all sorts, huh, he thought to himself with a vague smile.

As the coywolf always liked company (most of the time), especially now that he was bored, he veered slightly off course and began trotting to the scent owner instead, deciding that water could wait. It wasn't long before he found her, at the edge of the stream and here, he chuffed a greeting to her, although the rabbits swinging from his jaws muffled the sound. Dropping the rabbits onto the ground when he finally came to the riverbank, Teagan turned and greeted the girl with his signature smile, "What's up, buddy? You okay?"

Hi! I was admiring Teagan earlier~ ^_^

It wasn't long before the stretching view was put to good use. She saw a striking figure following a tributary nearby, and for a moment she tensed, knowing her fighting skills to be next to useless in her current state; but then she relaxed upon concluding he was innocuous. Lucani resisted licking her lips at the sight and scent of rabbit — she wasn't bored of fish yet, but the idea of food that wasn't fish was no less tempting, given that she couldn't catch it herself. But ah, she was letting herself get distracted — there was an interesting new story to hear, in the form of this green-eyed fellow. Yes thank you — I can't imagine I look too well though, she realised. She'd avoided looking at her reflection in the rivers as she'd walked. Care to distract me from my woes?

Hi! :) Teag can be a class A jerk though :P 

Taking advantage of his newfound companion's momentary silence, Teag flashed her another smile and turned to lap up some water, effectively quenching his thirst. "Ahh," he moaned, licking droplets off his chin and turning back to her. "Sorry, hun but I've been dying of thirst since like, one hour ago," he joked playfully. "Nah," the coywolf said, his signature bad boy smirk finding its way back onto his lips once more. "You look fine, buddy. But....is anything wrong? Something off? You sure you're okay? Just look at me, my handsome face will help you recover. Jokessssss, I'm ugly. But you can have my rabbits if you want, bud, I just ate anyways." Teagan may be a motormouth and a seemingly cocky bastard at times, but he was smart, and he picked up enough when she said she couldn't imagine she looked too well.

Nudging the rabbits towards her, he smiled again, green eyes twinkling. "Sure, darling. Okay, how about this. What's brown and sticky? A stick!" Teagan laughed, then looked at her, a mischievous look on his angular features. "I know, I know, that was absolutely shite wasn't it? Your ears must be hurting now," Teagan flattened his ears and adopted a painful, constipated look, screwing up his face in an exaggerated grimace. Normally, he wouldn't do this, but the girl asked for distraction, and well, Teag liked to provide, even if it would probably never work and even backfire on his sorry ass.

Fine by me. :3

Unfortunately Lucani had no sense of humour, but she could of course recognise that the male was being jovial. For what purpose she wasn't sure, but she liked to think it was for innocent purposes. He didn't seem to be making fun of her, even though their personalities clashed — he was being himself, and that was admirable. It was a bit exhausting watching him waffle and jiggle when she felt like a wasted old vagrant, but she'd asked for a distraction and he'd risen to the challenge.

I haven't heard that one before, she admitted at the joke, and smiled faintly — though of course no laughter sprang to her lips. My ears do hurt a bit, she added, but a good story tends to soothe them. Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself? she requested of the stranger, taking an awkward seat.

She smiled, and Teagan grinned. It wasn't exactly a laugh, but beggars can't be choosy, right? The smile faded slightly, however, when she told him her ears did hurt but a good story would soothe them. She then requested him to tell her about himself. A look of vague discomfort flitted over his face but vanished as quickly as it came. Teag shrugged and settled down as well. "I'm not sure if I should be spilling my life secrets with a stranger, buddy." he told her playfully, cocking an eyebrow.

"I'll soothe your ears, if you'll tell me your name. Fair deal?" Teagan smirked that bad boy smirk of his, though inwardly, he was already panicking. This was definitely not his forte. Why was he still here? This was not what he signed up for; he signed up for some manipulating, for staying in his comfort zone. Not telling a story about himself. Buttt, he was bored. Plus he might gain something out of this, so, why not?

Lucani's yellow eyes lingered on the male, and for a moment she felt a little surge of freedom at being a lone wolf. It had been a while. Out here, there was no instinct to submit or dominate — she could admire his hardy gaze, and feel interested when it seemed to flicker with something deep. Was he, in fact, a sad clown? She was keen to find out.

And so she nodded her agreement. Lucani Cygnus is my name. She spoke it full and true, with no need to hide it or be ashamed.

"Lucani," Teagan tasted the word on his tongue and smirked. "Nice name you got there, lady," he told her, genuinely before raising his eyes to the heaven. "Hmm..The story of my life ain't so pretty, bud, but you said you wanted to hear it, so you'll have it. Where shall I start?" Of course, Teagan was not so blind as to spill his entire life, and his secrets to her. Sure, he won't make something up completely, but he wasn't going to tell the complete truth. He'll tell her the parts that he pretends not to care about anymore but all those that are too close to his heart would have to remain a secret.

"Oh yes. Let's see. I was born to a litter of five, the firstborn. Mom and dad were both the only ones in the 'pack'. In a way, I was born into the life of a loner. Anyhow, after the first week, dear old dad who was half a coyote and gave me coyote blood got into an argument with mom. Mom said that dad killed the the last born pup in anger, then left, and never came back. Yep. I was definitely raised for great things. Getting bathed in your brother's blood does that to you," here, Teagan smiled, showing that he didn't really care, or didn't show it and that it didn't really matter. "Interesting, right? Yeah, all bad boys have a badass past, hun."

She didn't react to the compliment, as it was clearly just a chatty little pleasantry, and she was much more interested in the tale of his life. Lucani hadn't expected anything dark or secretive, but rather a broad summary of some miscellaneous travels. What she got, however, was a glimpse into some childhood horrors that matched her tentative theory that this here was a sad clown.

That is interesting — and very sad, she added gently. I'm sorry that happened to you. What became of the rest of your family? she asked with polite interest. Somehow she did not think that this self-confessed bad boy had a mum and three siblings waiting for him on the other side of the plains.

She spoke in sympathy, even going so far as to say that she was 'sorry' causing Teagan to wince inwardly. There was one thing he hated most: pity. So, Teagan fanned his ears back and fixed his glittering green eyes at her, head tilted thoughtfully. "Hey, bud, it ain't your fault. There's no need for you to say sorry 'bout it. In fact, not wanting to sound rude or anything, but, I'll rather you don't, uh, you know," Teag made an awkward gesture with his paws and winced. "Man, I am so not good at being nice. I should just go back to being an arsehole, much easier."

"I left them behind to find my own way in life. I can't keep babying them before and mom, well, mom-" here he hesitated for a fraction of a second before continuing, "- mom found a new mate who probably won't leave her. They're fine. Probably better off without my sorry ass." Here, Teagan grinned, having ended it all in a joking tone.

Lucani gave a light nod to show she understood, but made no comment on his backtracking. She didn't think he was an "arsehole" or similar. He just spoke before he thought, and his thoughts weren't bad or obnoxious or whatever else. He was fine, but, yes, she was sorry for him. Being exposed to extreme violence at an early age did deserve sympathy, and she didn't shrug it off, but nor did she comment on it further, and she felt no pity for the adult who stood before her. That's quite the tale, she said after he'd concluded it. You seem quite happy out here, wandering and hunting.

Teagan lifted his shoulder in a shrug and idly began tracing a random pattern in the dirt, head canting to the side as he regarded her with thoughtful green eyes. "Yeah, I suppose," he said, "life as a loner offers you freedom and well," Teagan smiled. "I think all I've ever wanted was to be free, like the birds and the wind, but now that I have it, it seems quite lonely." He told her, still smiling faintly. He didn't know why he was telling her this, but in a way, it seemed like he was telling himself this, telling himself that maybe, he should go find a pack and settle down. "But enough about me. What about you? Got any interesting stories to tell?" he wiggled his wolfish eyebrows at her and grinned.

The striking fellow didn't seem quite as young as some, but he still retained that youthful concept of freedom, it seemed. Many youths thought that freedom meant roaming alone, as no wolf was meant to do, but there were pack territories that spanned far and wide, where Alphas held a sense of freedom as a matter of priority. So Lucani believed he could have both: could be free and sociable both. She silently wished him luck in this endeavor.

A story, she repeated thoughtfully. Lucani never told stories of herself, but the most recent wolves in her life were connected to Sleeping Dragon, a pack she still associated with the pain of leaving it. I'm more of a listener, truth be told, she confessed. To be precise, I'm a healer. So to repay you for distracting me from my own aches and ills, is there any medical advice I can give you? Any sores or concerns you've picked up on the road?

"A healer, huh?" Teagan remarked, eyes thoughtful as he looked at her and tilted his head; something he always did when he was deep in thought. "Not really, but thanks for the offer anyhow." With that, he opened his jaws wide in a yawn and blinked, stretching before glancing at her apologetically. "Sorry, sweet lady, but I gotta go for now." He told her with a cheery smile and got to his paws, nose twitching for a moment as he looked around. "It's been nice meeting you, Lucani." With that, the coywolf raced off, leaving the rabbits he'd caught earlier on the ground, in front of the medic. He thought she would like it as a gift, and hadn't bothered to stay around to check, in case she refused.

last post from me :) thanks for the thread <3

You too! <3

She would've had liked to be useful in some form again, rather than a listless roamer with no connections, but it made sense that the fellow had no use of her skills. Maybe one day he would, if ever they met again, though she hoped not — he deserved his good health. And you, she returned the sentiment, standing up politely and watching him go. Only then did Lucani notice the rabbits at her paws, and smiled lightly. She bowed to eat.