Deepwood Weald Resurrection

A wild Saviguk appears! Open to anyone, especially from Moonglow, Moonspear or Moontide. <3

With a start, Jade stone eyes snapped open. A deep, swirling vortex of blurred memories came rushing forth. Flooding his clouded mind too quickly for him to make any sense of. He shook his head, which felt like it was weighed down by pebbles. Tried to clear his vision. Had it all been a dream? Had he simply blacked out? Or maybe he had been suspended in a sleep from which he would never return.

The Ice Crystal grunted, pushing himself to his knees. None of it mattered. He was awake now. The soil was dark and moist at his paws. New green buds of spring dotted the undergrowth. The ground felt familiar. Even smelled familiar. But, it was no mountain. As he got his bearings, Saviguk recognized the tangled density of a forest. He wasted no time in putting his nose to the dirt, to try and pick up a scent. Anything, to get him moving onward and out of this maze.

Wicken steadied himself as he traversed the seemingly never ending forest. His dark pelt gave him near perfect cover as he wound through the trees. He was caught up in a battle of wits with his own mind as he continued a pristinely accurate bee-line to the other side of the forest. His sides ached with a distasteful reminder of exactly why he was winding his way through this silent forest. The wounds would still sting whenever his sweat got too thick, so he slowed to a walk when it became almost unbearable.

Orange eyes smoothly surveyed his surroundings. They were always kept even with his shoulders as he peered through the thick foliage to see if he was perhaps alone. A stance he could not shake. His panting was stress related, but one might think he was overheating if they happened upon him now. Wicken took the moment of silence to try and calm his shot nerves by scenting the air around him. He caught a whiff of another in that moment, and he spun to face the scent. His too long legs almost tangled in a net at the velocity of his turn.  To his dismay, the clearing was not empty. 

Another stood there. He felt his heart drop into his stomach as he placed some distance between him and the stranger. He faintly wished he hadn’t been seen, but there was no escaping this. Wicken flattened his ears and kept his eyes trained on the ground. He was not one to speak to another first, especially not one who was obviously older than his lanky self.

Teal stone eyes had been turned to the earth. Scanning the soil for tracks or any kind of a hint. What Saviguk found, or rather, found him, was not what he was expecting. At least not so soon. The figure of another wolf, who had spotted him. He did not strike the newly risen Ostrega as familiar. But his cowering, fearful posture was not something he was used to.

Luckily, he was not an unnecessarily hostile wolf. His ears pricked forward curiously, a single sweep of his tail offered. Staying rooted to his spot, he chuffed to the younger male softly. Tried to convey that he was no threat, before he even considered moving closer.

Wicken kept his orangish eyes trained to the ground even as he heard the gentle invite from the stranger. His stomach was tied in knots as he quickly flitted through ideas to remove himself from the situation. The lanky male knew he could not chance another attack, and he would be ill fitted to even defend himself in a fight. He ultimately settled on playing possum. Silent as a mouse, Wicken almost hoped he could remain still enough that he could fall over and simply die to avoid the interaction.

His tense stature eventually put a lot of strain on the wounds on his side, causing his legs to slightly twitch at the constant stinging sensation. He tried to relax his sides to ease it while he once again took another step back from the other wolf. Although he was larger, Wicken felt so, so small in that moment. A pup wishing to run into the den at the sight of danger, but he was a bit too big for that now.

His attempts to put the younger wolf at ease had failed. The Ostrega cocked his head thoughtfully. That slight motion was enough to send an annoying stab of pain around through the back of his eyes. Shuffling his paws, squinting, he tried to ignore it.

"Hey, c'mon..." He began in his mature voice, which was not as deep as one may expect. "What's got ya all shook up?" There was no hostility there. Only curiosity and concern. "I ain't no threat, promise." He didn't give the young wolf a chance to bolt. Now he moved in. In lengthy strides, but on soft paws. He allowed Wicken an opening to get back his space, while setting down close by on his level, to appear less intimidating.

Wicken awkwardly folded in on himself in a sitting position. He shrunk back as the stranger neared, but he ultimately decided his only option was to face this wolf. As kind as another wolf could seem, his trust in others had been shattered recently. Life was hard when you were a young wolf on your own with trust issues that stretched a mile. 

He still stared off into the dirt as his ears twitched with the words from the other. He had heard the stranger, but Wicken knew that eye contact was a thing of his past. Wicken was silent for a long pause before he decided to speak. It's not a good time of year to be young. He did little to explain his words, but he did awkwardly shift his weight onto his right paw to give his other a break.

If this young male was uncomfortable making eye contact, as that seemed to be the case, then Saviguk wouldn't force it. Instead he would look at his paws, an ear or even his cheek. When he spoke, the words seemed to resonate. They made perfect sense.

He drew a breath. "Believe it or not, I know exactly how you feel." He may be older now, the years of boyish youth behind him. But he remembered them well. "I was your age, when I went through a terrible, traumatic experience." 

Sorry for weird change of posting style! ^^ Slowly changing it on the site as I get to know it better <3

The young wolf peered at the ground, shuffling his paws as the larger male spoke. His eyes were focused on the paler patch of fur atop the elders shoulder blades as he mulled over what he had been told for a few moments. What happened to you? The words were barely above a whisper, but they were loud enough to be heard by the new companion. 

Wicken dared not mention the heinous acts committed against him lest he be seen as lesser than in the eyes of another. There were flashes of images in the darkness of his own mind as he blinked. A flitting glance at the memories was all that it took to reinstate his anxiety of proximity. He assumed his mauled appearance would be enough to give vast hints of what his history entailed, so he chose not to reveal what he felt. How could this wolf possibly know how I feel?

What had happened to him? Well, a lot. He drew in a calm breath. "It is a long story."

Oceanic eyes searched and eventually found the outline of Moonspear, in the distance. "I was born here. On the great mountain you'll see behind us." He began, smiling at the memory of home. "One day a strange storm descended upon me and my family. Many of us were killed. I was...lost. Much of what had happened between that time and now, is fragmented. Blurred memories or just...nothingness. I have one memory. Of salt water and stone." He gestured to his scarred leg. "My guess is it is how I got these."

"I don't know what happened to the survivors. I would reason that my remaining family considers me dead, since I have not been seen in so long. I just...awoke. Like death, if that's what it was, were just a dream."