Otatso Wetlands bad blood

He was desperately avoiding the mountains. Unsure of which direction he had come from, the only recollection the young boy had about mountains was that he had lived on one and that they were bad. If he could, the growing pup avoiding visiting past as much as possible – most of it was still covered in a thick fog, but the bits he remembered were not worth remembering. Pain residing there, and whenever he managed to breach the darkest corners of his mind and part the fog, the hurt was unbearable. Along with the intense pain came a tidal wave of rage, an emotion that frightened the introverted youth. He could not understand the reasoning behind the anger, and why it came so furiously – and when it reared its ugly head, Niklaus Athanasius could not control it. The one memory that stood out among the others – often so vivid that Niklaus felt as though he was reliving it – was that of his parents abandoning him. Confusion consumed him whenever the memory resurfaced, as he did not understand why they had cast him away. What had he done wrong? Was it something he could have fixed? No. It was not worth thinking about. What was done was done, there was no going back. Though the feeling of anger terrified the little shadow, it was one that accompanied the thoughts of his parents. He wanted to feel nothing, as it was the better alternative to feeling all the pain that was festering within him. With his head hanging low, the long-limbed youth trudged his way through the wetlands, his paws having to lift higher than usual to get him through the dark water. In his desperate attempt to avoid the mountains in the distance Niklaus had found possibly the worst territory to stumble upon. His jet black coat clung to his thin body, mud splattering against his legs and stomach, as a frown stained his dark lips. He had traveled through the night as the pup did not know what to expect in this new area. There were a flurry of scents that attacked his nose, blood-red eyes widening as he struggled to differentiate them. All he had ever known was rock and cliffs – aside from the few bush or tree that littered the mountain face. All of this was so new to him and while he should be embracing it, Klaus was brooding (per usual). The sun slowly began its climb from the horizon, illuminating the wetlands and the little shadow – the air was still cool, causing a chill to run down his spine.

As the sun rose and tore a new group of colors into the sky, Kisu pulled his paws up from the shallow water and suctioning mud. He was a bit high-maintenance with his paws being wet. He sighed and shook his right forefoot. Placing it back the water, Kisu felt a chill hang in the air for a moment before disappearing like the night sky.

Off in the distance, he noticed a lanky pup struggling in the water, which came halfway up his body. The grey wolf narrowed his brow and looked around for the pack accompanying him. After a few long moments, Kisu let his tenseness fall; he realized that the small animal was along, making his brow furrow slightly once more. Just what I need, a child getting in the way.

He sighed again and called out the the ebony-colored wolf. "Hey! You: What are you doing!" Hearing his own voice was strange as ever since he didn't come across wolves he would even to speak to often

As murky water splashed up his nostrils, the long-limbed boy pushed forward, determined to get through the wetlands as quickly as possible. He desperately wanted to find a proper body of water to rinse his coat, as this disgusting mess was doing nothing but horrible things to once silky pelt. The frown that creased his licorice lips seemed as though it was permanently tattooed there – as Klaus could not remember the last time a smile had worked its way across his maw. Happiness was a lie… the only happiness he had ever known had been ripped away from him, so the small shadow saw no need to smile. There were so many new scents filling the air around him that the crimson-eyed youth had not noticed the large male in the distance. It was not until he was nearly halfway through the marsh that the scent of another finally reached him, but by that time it was too late. The stranger had already noticed him and called out to him. Nearly cursing (which was a horrible habit for a wolf so young), Niklaus desperately tried to come up with an escape plan. He had gone so long without having to cross paths with another, why was his luck suddenly running out now? “You: what are you doing?” His frown deepened even more as he continued moving, his bloody gaze not once wavering from the path before him. Was the stranger blind? Surely it was apparent what he was doing; he was walking. Well, trying to, but definitely walking. Through a marsh. Not dignifying the older male with a response, he pressed forward, hoping that the stranger would lose interest in him.

Kisu scoffed; the cocky little runt had blatantly ignored him. A smile rose to his lips; he didn't know why, though. Maybe it was due to the fact that the little black wolf didn't want contact with other wolves, just like him.

He turned his head to the side, as if trying to fend off thoughts of pushing forward to the young wolf. Kisu sighed and moved into the direction of the wet, matted pup. "Come here you runt." His voice sounded husky and had an echo of confidence to it. "Trying to run off won't help any. I just want to talk." He wasn't sure if it would send the kid scampering away, aka falling over himself in the mud, but he tried reaching out regardless.

Unfortunately, Niklaus’ strategy had not worked out for him – in fact, it did the complete opposite of what he had hoped for. He could hear the larger male splashing toward him, closing the distance that separated them. The little shadow could feel his heart beating frantically against his ribs, as if it was searching for a way out. He attempted to quicken his pace, but the murky water only slowed his movements. Attempting to gross the wetlands had been a stupid idea, and Niklaus was now paying for it. The older male called out to him once more, words staining the silence that the youth preferred. “Come here you runt.” He nearly stopped at the last word, anger bubbling within his stomach at the comment. The word caused a painful memory to attempt to resurface, but Klaus would not allow it – not now. Giving his head a quick shake, he continued moving, trying to ignore the agouti loner as he continued speaking. Go away! he wanted to shout, but his lips remained tightly pursed as his ears pressed to the back of his skull. Was it not obvious that the shadow prince did not want to ‘talk’? What was there to talk about? Lovely weather we’re going to have today… wow, the ground is sure wet… He nearly cracked a smile at his own thoughts, but the frown that engulfed his maw would not allow it. Instead, the boy continued ignoring the stranger as his paws ached with each step he took. He needed rest – and soon – but he needed to get away from whoever this wolf was first!

ooc: "you motherfffing mutt, get over here!! raaaawr" roared Kisu, as flames burst from his mouth hahaha ;)

As predicted the coal-colored wolf tried to up his pace, and seemed to have a harder time moving through the murky water. As he tried to hurry, Kisu also watched the canine's ears press to his head.

Kisu kept his distance, but began to follow the pup that seemed to be all legs. He slowly waded through the wetlands and mulled to himself. It was obvious the kid wanted to be left alone, but stalking him from a distance couldn't hurt; Kisu had nothing else to do, and the boy being out on his own was dangerous.

sorry for the delay! <3 Well, it was evident that no matter what the ruby-eyed pup did this stranger would not leave him alone. Had he not made it obvious enough that he wanted to be alone? The youth cursed himself for deciding it was a brilliant day to explore a marsh, as it made escaping nearly impossible. The mucky water splashed at his blemish-free coat, nearly covering his entire stomach as he pushed himself further. Niklaus hoped that the older male would eventually grow tired of following him, as the youth would not stop until he was free from the wetlands. As soon as he reached dry ground, where the earth did not squish between his toes, he would make a run for it. If the larger male was smart, he would not follow the youth. While silent and introverted, the long-limbed boy had plenty of tricks up his “sleeves”… What did the stranger want with him? Was he going to stalk him until the boy’s long legs gave out beneath him and then gobble him up for dinner? Or, perhaps the agouti loner was going to kidnap him and sacrifice him to one of the estranged local packs… Giving his head a quick shake, the boy brushed off the absurd thoughts. No – he was being paranoid. The male probably just didn’t have anything better to do than stalk a poor, orphaned pup. With his blood-red eyes focused on the line of trees ahead, he continued to push himself through the water-logged terrain.

ooc: No worries! The "sacrifice" part of your post made me laugh! Hopefully I didn't write "too much" ...I figured that Niklaus wouldn't respond again! Lemme know if you want me to shave it down a bit :)

The dark wolf was straining to move as quickly as possible, his long limbs refusing to pick up quickly as the mud sucked them in. Even if the kid ran on land, he would follow.

I may be a threat to him, but a pack would be even more so, Kisu thought to himself. He sped up, closing in about ten feet away from the boy; unlike the struggling pup, he moved smoothly through the water.

Why was he going through this effort, anyway? The silver wolf sighed. "Please talk to me," Kisu voiced, slightly frustrated, but more pleading. "I would like to speak with you." He groaned inwardly, knowing that his words meant nothing and would go unanswered.

Narrowing his brow, Kisu cut to the left of the young, inky wolf and sped up once more, eventually trailing only about a yard away.

Now let's see what he will do...

i suck so bad :c <3 The stranger was struggling to close the distance between them while the ruby-eyed boy was struggling to get away from him. However, the water-logged ground was making it increasingly difficult for the small child and he could feel a dull ache beginning to form in his limbs. He desperately wanted to rest but while the larger male was hot on his tail Niklaus could not allow himself to reduce his speed. It wasn’t necessarily fast, but it was doing an adequate job at keeping the agouti male behind him. His voice called out once more, pleading the little shadow to stop and speak with him. Klaus didn’t understand – he hadn’t been doing anything wrong, and he was obviously running away from the nameless wolf… was it not apparent that he didn’t want to stop and “chit chat”? With his brows narrowed and a frown cutting into his maw, the boy called out a single question to the rogue male, his voice hoarse from lack of use: “Why?” It was strange to hear his own voice as it had been many weeks since the youth had last spoken aloud; Niklaus had forgotten what he sounded like until the single word fell off his tongue.

When the youth had responded "Why?", it had startled Kisu, for he was not expecting a response at all. He physically paused for a moment, and then jetted forward, sloshing water upward onto his underbelly. The kid's voice sounded slightly raspy, most likely unused while he was busy running away from wolves and staying alive.

Kisu opened his mouth and shut it. He had wanted the kid to talk, but now the grey and white wolf had no idea what to respond with. He looked at the lanky black pup. "Are you hungry?" is what he chose to say. A reaction to this is what he desired.

The little shadow continued to grow frustrated as he pushed forward, water soaking through his fur and chilling him to the bone. He did not want to keep running — in fact, he wanted nothing more than to collapse and rest for a few moments — but he did not want to be in the company of another. He did not trust strangers nor did he feel comfortable around them; he knew he was capable of surviving on his own and was confident in himself that he didn't need help from anyone.

When the stranger spoke once more the youth could not stop his ruby eyes from rolling as a deep frown cut across his maw. Shaking his head softly Niklaus did not respond right away — with furrowed brows he struggled to maintain his pace and keep the stranger at bay. "I dono," he mumbled quietly in response, not wanting to admit to the older male how hungry he actually was. He did not want to stop and make friends, he wanted to be alone. And for some reason the older male was not grasping that.

ooc: wow, I just noticed my last post had horrid formatting. oops. I just want to hug Niklaus :D <3

Kisu huffed, trying to to laugh. The black cub was struggling in the water and had such an angry disposition it was almost humorous. "You know, you are too serious for a kid," Kisu chuckled while pulling off to run in another direction. He was sure the kid was relieved the fifteen or so minutes he was gone. He had caught a small deer that couldn't run fast enough with its mother; they had been walking along the edges of the wetlands, and the mucky water was too much for the young beast.

The grey wolf dropped a chunk of meat on the first blotch of dry land that was in front of the lanky boy, and waited. He hoped the inky male was still headed in his direction--if not, he'd have to search for him.