Neverwinter Forest had me feeling like a ghost

@Mal

mid morning, the sky overcast, temperature mild. by now, hidden patches of snow are gradually melting underneath the peaks of sun-rays. spring is making itself known. rahgronvith’s moon-colored eyes roam over the spectacle, having slowed his pace to enjoy nature for what it is. much different than the tundra world he’d grown in, where the plains of ice never melt despite meadows of grass forming in-between.

his nose twitches with a loud sniffle, the scent of a pack finally catches his attention. he follows the trail closer, daring to adventure instead of avoid like most dispersals. his posture, however, lowers instead of rises. webbed paws pressing carefully across the forest floor as he creeps towards a scent maker, his nostrils flaring along the base of the tree.

he stops there, knowing any further would warrant an unpleasant encounter—and arches his head back to release an off-pitch, brief howl.

His hunts had taken him close to the borders -- he'd followed the scent of a lone deer through the forest and it had wandered now back towards the edges. Probably a buck on its own, just guessing from that. It was still a decent ways ahead of him given the age of the scent, but if Mal kept going he'd catch up if it hadn't wandered from the territory entirely. Or that would have been the case if the howl hadn't interrupted him. He paused mid stride -- it was a kind of odd one, he thought, and his first thought was that maybe whoever it was might be kind of embarrassed at the way they sounded. He'd play that by ear, fun snarky comment if they were a good-humored sort or just pretend it didn't happen if he couldn't tell.

As the territory borders came up before him, Mal did notice that it seemed along here Atausiq had been slacking -- Mal had appreciated he was another who was perfectly willing to help keep the territory clearly marked, but here it seemed he hadn't been around. Well, he needed to tell him about the meeting with Ying anyway, so he put finding the youth on the list of things to do soonish rather than later. Right now he was to deal with this stranger who was waiting in the trees along the edge, coming in to view as Mal rounded the bend. The man there was similar in size and age to Mal himself, and Mal approached with his normal confidence and grin, This is Neverwinter Forest, I'm Mal. What's brought you here today, stranger? He really needed to figure out a better greeting, it was starting to sound kinda lame.

voice fading, his pale grey eyes search the horizon, content to wait a few minutes before he attempts again. yet, there is no need. rounding the bend of trees is a unique colored canine—unlike the classic agouti rahgronvith sports, and the black or white he is accustomed to.

posture kept submissive, his ears lower and tail tucks. eyes stay averted from the pack-wolf’s, focusing intently on the mouth instead. he is able to read them well enough, picking up the gist of what the other explains.

PACK. his tone drifts, unable to stay steady with a thick, nasally accent. I WANT to JOIN.

It become very quickly clear that there's just something wrong with this guy in general. Sort of intense in a weird way maybe? But he couldn't quite pin down why. His voice was weird too... So probably best not to mention it, didn't seem like a laughing thing -- and not a chatty one either. So, Mal probably could do with a slight adjustment of tactics... But still, unless he turned out to be screwed up personality-wise, Mal was all about giving people a chance.  So far, at least, he was passing the whole "can you behave like a civilized person" test, so that was at least one point in the guy's favor. Unlike certain others who just ambled on by and sat there gawking at the territory without saying a peep.

A very slight tilt of his head, and Mal spoke again, Well, what is your name and what are you good at? And it made him want to keep on rambling there, but again, didn't seem the right fit. He could keep the rambling internal maybe.

preparation for this had been done, he’d steeled himself—decided to tuck away the frustration he knew would come from both parties when it came to socializing. wolves are fortunate to speak a thousand words through body language alone.

RAHGRONVIth. draconic syllables flow easier on his tongue, the sounds basic and guttural. I AM GOOD AT FIGHTING, PATROLING AND TRACKING.

Mal couldn't pin down why  Rahgronvith spoke so oddly -- it wasn't like anything he'd heard before. Just so... Odd. He'd known several wolves by now that obviously seemed to speak different languages, but this wasn't the same. He'd ask, probably. Once he figured out how to do so without sounding insulting, We could definitely use some more wolves with fighting skills. Did they really have the option to be picky right now? Do you teach it as well, or no? Ying's person would teach some... But if they had another on hand, that would be nice. But not everyone probably would want to -- would Kratos have even had the right temperament in the long run? No clue.

And a pause, he added, This is a pack that is created to give people new starts, second chances. Does that appeal? A slight tip of his head to emphasize. Some ran from histories. Did he?