The Heartwood The Waves Underneath Will Soon Be My Home

Feel free to give her a spook. :D No need to match length.

Not long had passed since her arrival into the wilds, and already she'd found a water source. It was freshwater, which made it's end point a mystery to her, but she'd followed it anyways. The young selkie wished to see an ocean, or even just catch the scent of a salty breeze, but so far she'd found nothing. It was, of course, to be expected. Muirgen had only just arrived in the new land, and was still considerably young, which left her without both knowledge and experience. That realization did not dishearten her, but instead made her wish to further continue her journey. She had no one to prove wrong, as none of her family was there with her, but she wanted to show her strength to Lir. If, by some chance, he was impressed by her actions, then perhaps he would point her towards the sea. It was a long shot, but one she was willing to go for. Since the waterway she walked along was the only thing she had, she stuck close to it, almost as if she was connected to it. Even as the girl grew closer to, and eventually entered the fringes of, the forest, she still stayed near the freshwater, not wanting to lose it.

After awhile of walking, the girl slowly came to a stop, needing to rest. She dipped her head down to take a drink from the water, relieving her thirst for the time being. As she raised her head back up, she took a second to lick the droplets from her muzzle, then turned her head to gently grab and pull the skin off her back. She placed it down beside the small river, then proceeded to lay on it on her side, essentially attempting to sunbathe. Spring was only just arriving, which meant the sun wasn't exactly the warmest just yet, and it was nothing like being out on the shore. There was no salty breeze bringing in the ocean's spray with it, and no sand to grow warmer than anything else. It was, all in all, a terrible place to lay down at. She rolled back over so she was laying on her stomach, but made no move to get up passed that point.

The selkie girl was still tired from all her walking and running, so she stayed down and let her eyes drift to the water. She focused on the current, watching as it flowed so freely. It was a tamed animal, unlike the sea—which was an uncontrollable beast. It might appear peaceful to some, but not to Muirgen. No, she believed it looked off, as if some mystical force had stolen away it's will to live. She didn't like that one bit. She would always prefer the sea to anything else, and she would always love it more than any other type of waterway. It was so full of life and watched over by Lir, making it a safe place for her and her selkie brothers and sisters. While she couldn't wait to see if this new land held such a sea, she knew she needed to keep her energy up. So, though she wasn't put into a relaxed state by it, the little girl continued to watch the calm flow of the water, transfixed by it's constant movement.

Thin limbs of brush and saplings whipped at his body in a kind of sting that spurred him on. The flash of peppered chestnut fur darted in a panic through any kind of cover, in a desperate attempt to throw off the doom at it's heels. Yellow eyes never lost the supple rabbit. Instinct and years of meals of rabbits aided the seasoned hunter in predicting the creature's maneuverability and weakness. Twigs and brambles snapped off in his thick fur, and chunks of ice flew up to sting his eyes as Dagger issued a final, deft snap of his jaws around the prey as it screamed it's last. Chomping harder, silence filled the Heartwood again, and all he could hear was the sound of running water close by, and his racing heart. Almost a sound one in the same.

He found almost no time to enjoy his meal on the spot, as his senses lost their tunnel vision and broadened to include a wolfish scent. He hadn't had much luck with keeping his solitude lately. It was to be expected as Spring touched the lands and beckoned. More bodies of all species would begin to emerge, and he would have to travel with more caution if he liked to remain free of any drama. Still, curiosity or loneliness urged the Oathbone male to investigate the other, before he was discovered.

Dinner dangling from his dirty jaws, it swayed and slapped at his shaggy neck as he cleared a few fallen trees and larger stones on his way toward the unmoving scent. The dangling body and the churning of his empty stomach raised a flag that reminded the hunter he should probably stash his dinner safely until the investigation was over. Absentmindedly, he dug a shallow pit and dropped the red brown meat into the cache, using large hind legs to kick dirt and ice and mushy snow remnants back over the semi hardened spot, marking his scent over his kill and shaking himself head to tail as he finished and moved on.

She was an odd looking young thing, and not hard to spot out in the open. Sunbathing? Maybe an optimist, as the day hadn't offered much sun, but what was there was indeed warming things up enough, and apparently appreciated by the pup who lounged in it. A notion that appealed to him more as he watched her, entranced by the moving water she lay so carelessly close to. She watched with lover's eyes. He knew that look. What a peculiar youth. And an equally odd skin she laid atop. In all his hunting excursions and challenges of himself, Dagger had never seen such an amazing pelt. On the child, or the ground beneath her. He had to ask.

Why not jump in? Yellow eyes blinked. His large paws shifted in the odd mush around him, and he swiped a fat tongue across a long peppered maw, trying to rid himself of the leftover blood spatter he'd been too hurried to wash off. Secretly, he wanted that speckled pelt. Whatever it was. His eyes may have betrayed his fleeting wishes, as they flickered from pelt, to youth, to water.

The calm waters had took hold of her entirely, luring her into a trance. It stole her focus completely, leaving her without even the ability to hear the sound of approaching steps. The voice that was carried with the steps, however, was quick to reach her ears. The sudden words and realization of another's presence made her jump, but whether it be from fear or shock she couldn't tell. It was probably a combination of both, as she realized, and the girl slowly turned her head to see who was there. Her sea green optics immediately shot to the trace of blood near the man's muzzle, and it drew her up from her laying position and around to face the other entirely. Still, she stayed atop her beloved seal skin, as it was practically the equivalent of her life and her freedom. Muirgen did her best to keep her expression calm, but anyone could tell that the selkie was as nervous as ever.

The inquiry seemed harmless enough, but the look in the man's eyes had the girl on edge. What was going through his mind, exactly? She wondered about him, but made no move to voice her question on the matter. "I do not wish to just yet," she told him, the muscles in her legs bunching unconsciously. She wasn't ready to enter the water, but if she would have to then she would. She couldn't tell if the older wolf was a good swimmer or not, but she hoped he wasn't. That would present her with an excellent escape plan if push came to shove. The thought made her realize her body's reaction, and she forced herself to relax as much as she could. She didn't know the man or what triggered him, and wasn't all that eager to find out, either. "Is that why you have come here?" the selkie asked him, tilting her head slightly. "To swim?"

ooc: Muirgen is a cool, unique character. ^_^

ic:

The prenatal spring had yet to coax many bird species back to the Wilds. A rude blackbird cawed loudly nearby, disrupting the brief silence between the two, before the girl turned her attention from her water to the old man. The child's nervous energy radiated beyond the gap between them, and her wary demeanor struck the hunter like a slap in the face. Realizing how long it had been since his last interaction with someone else, Dagger found the fluidity in his own stiffened body, and tried to relax himself as the pale girl did. Curiosity over her prized pelt had driven a surprising hunger to shine in his canary eyes. Accidentally, he'd hoped.

Shaking his silvered tawny head back and forth, the older loner allowed a softness to his words and features that a father used instinctively. Though it had been many years since his own children had been this young. Nahh..like you said. I'm not ready for these chilly waters just yet. Unless there's a nice, fat fish in there. He smirked for a minute, then circled a bit past the dappled jouvenile to peer into the water. The face reflected was distorted, appropriately, and reminded him he hadn't bothered to clean the rabbit's blood from his handsome face.

Blinking, not surprised by his own lack of caring, Dagger Oathbone made a half hearted attempt to paw and lick at his face in a quick wash. A small success. Lean, feathered legs carried him closer to the girl and her prize, a sharp dark nose wriggling busily as he sniffed, interested by the stranger. Plume of a tail waved easily behind his dark saddled body. That's a great prize you've got there. The loner's eyes shone with interest as they indicated the strange fur she guarded so well. A rust ear shot backwards awkwardly as he asked- It's not from these waters..what is it?

Aha, thank you! :D I'm really liking Dagger~

The caw of the bird was unable to grab her attention, as it seemed like nothing to her ears. Growing up so close to the ocean had attracted seagulls, whose calls where much more annoying than any other bird she'd ever encountered—though that wasn't many. Had it grabbed her attention, she would not have deemed it to be acting rude, as it was a bird. She'd never met a polite bird in her life, granted the birds she had met were mostly seagulls. Those thieving little featherbrains. They weren't worth the fish they stole from some in her rookery. They were evil little beings, and she couldn't believe that Lir would ever allow such creatures to feed from the fish he raised in the sea. As much as she could go on and on with thoughts of seagulls and other seabirds, she didn't. They weren't suppose to be her topic of thought, her focus was suppose to be on the older man.

Muirgen was curious about his words. Chilly waters? Surely they couldn't be that bad. They were probably much warmer than the ocean, but she didn't mention that. Instead, her ears perked to the second part of his words, concerning the fish. "You can catch fish?" she questioned, a bit curious. Maybe the wolves here weren't so different from those back home. That was another thing she didn't know, as the girl was still very new to the land, and had hardly met any others. She wished to learn, however, so she could live a much better life wherever she ended up. "Are you good at fishing?" Another question made it's way out of her mouth, but one she deemed to be important. As a selkie, she'd been taught to fish before she was taught to hunt, and knew to value others who did good with such a task. After all, fish could be awfully slippery at times!

Her bright optics stayed glued to the stranger as he drew closer to her, but she refused to move even an inch. She had her suspicions about new people people who were not of her kind, and the one before her definitely was not a selkie. Her suspicions only seemed to increase when he voiced an interest in her skin. "It is not just some 'prize'," she stated, a bit of a huff in her voice. She didn't like the fact that he was so close, nor did she enjoy him taking an interest in her skin while being so close. "It is my skin!" she informed him, a bit shocked he didn't know. Muirgen had to take a second to remind herself that she wasn't back home, and that it was perfectly understandable for someone to not know of her kind. "All us selkies have our seal skins. They keep us connected to the sea so that we may always return to it, our brothers, and our sisters."

Saw this in the wanted threads area! Thought I'd help out.

It happened all at once. The wind shifted, switching directions without the slightest bit of a warning or indication. The brown mouse was shifted out of the air, his sporadic flight patterned disrupted as he lost track of the current and toppled out of the sky. He fell, folding his wings about his body to have himself ans he hurled like a bullet towards the ground. A thud. A rattle of shrubbery. He'd landed.

Dizzy and dazed, the brown bat climbed down a few limbs and crawled out of the bottom of a bush. Shaking his head, he oriented himself to the area and realized he'd toppled into a conversation that seemed particularly clipped. He stood, brushing the dirt out of his fur and flesh as he rolled his shoulders and made sure everything still worked. Both legs? Good. Neck? A little sore, but otherwise alright. Wings? He spread them, glancing at each appendage. Looked good. He flapped them a bit, hovering off the ground. Perfect. He was airborn.

A couple of good wings flaps and Asbestos landed between the pair of wolves. "Greetings travelers!" he said, spreading both wings in welcome before folding them and remember why he'd intervened in the first place. "Ahoy lady! Is this one offending you!? I shall dispose of him, henceforth!" He put up his batty boxing gloves, but the male wolf in question seemed to have disappeared. Weird. 

Thank you for joining, @Asbestos! c:

The young seal had been awaiting an answer from the male, finding the silence that had grown between them to be rather uncomfortable. She was skeptical of what was going on within his mind, and hoped she hadn't accidentally said too much. Her focus was shifted momentarily as she heard the sound of a light thud, and her head turned to the bush from which the bat had “landed” in. Her eyes watched as the little creature came between herself and the man, which confused her greatly. He could be mistaken for a meal, despite the fact he'd greeted the wolves, and she didn't want to see the little guy hurt. So as he continued to speak, she went to return her gaze to her conversation partner, but was met with an empty space. He must have gone off while her attention was on the bat, but his reasoning for doing so was unknown to her. The girl's mind settled on believing that the bat must have frightened him off, since she didn't want to continue on without an answer.

Muirgen looked back to the little animal, and gave him a smile. “Greetings,” she returned. The selkie had heard others say 'ahoy' before, like one of her brothers and some of her cousins, but the greeting had never really seemed to fit when coming from her mouth. It seemed improper to her, too, which made her lean away from it, but not so much so that she would reprimand her possible savior for saying it. Who knows what could have happened had the bat not shown up. “It would seem as if you have already gotten rid of him,” the girl pointed out lightly. “I thank you for that, too.” The little wolf didn't want to think about what could have happened, especially since the male had showed a bit of an interest in her skin. She'd arrived only recently, and the last thing she wanted was to be taken away by some stranger right after she'd reached the new land.

"Why hello again!" he repeated, feeling a strange desire to say hi again even though they'd already gotten those over and done with. "It appears you are correct!" The male wolf was, in fact, gone. Vanished upon the wind it seemed. Strange wolfies. Coming and going. Entering and exiting. They were so quiet too! Something he didn't quite understand since they didn't have the air to escape in and the ground was rather noisy. Either way, they were left alone and Asbestos wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to enjoy the presence of company. 

"You are very welcome, minion. How ever are you going to repay me?" he glanced at her, looking up and down her dappled hide as he curled a claw beneath his chin and pondered what he might need or want of her in this world. "Can you walk for me, minion? Can you do that?" He wasn't sure. He had yet to come upon a wolf who seemed adept in the art of walking with a passenger. But a ride would certainly be more effective and far more leisurely than flying out of here.

Though the little bat once again gave his greetings, Muirgen returned it only with a small smile. She was grateful that the creature had fallen come when he did, and wouldn't mind returning the favor someday. It seemed he already planned ahead for that, though, but what he wanted was not what she'd been expecting. Walk for him? Well, she could walk just fine! Since she could walk and hold it properly, the girl had lived her life carrying a seal skin around upon her back. It took balance and precise walking to ensure the skin never fell, so carrying a bat would most likely be a walk in the park. They could cling onto the fur of a wolf, after all. “Of course I can walk,” she stated, finding it absurd that he would think she could not. She was a selkie, and selkies were creatures of grace. What really got her was that he referred to her as 'minion'. Though she never met someone who called another by such a thing, she knew enough to comprehend what it meant and did not appreciate it. She was the minion of no one, and even if she was, she would work only for Lir—for the sea.

“Are you unable to walk?” the little seal inquired, her distaste for what he had called her clear in her voice. She owed the bat, yes, but his actions were not enough to allow him to refer to her as something like a servant, when she was anything but. It seemed as if her streak of meeting kind beings was ended. Even if he was not being particularly mean, per say, his words were rude. They became even more so, she realized, when he had expected her to repay him. Her plan may have been to do just that, but she believed he should not have assumed it.

"Oh good! Your ability to walk will prove to be very useful!" He grinned, a toothy little smile if only because bat lips were not so kind and gentle smiles. All the same he was very pleased. She was the first wolf who'd had any sort of positive reaction towards him for a ride. Most wolves just looked at him like he was crazy or something. Others pretended like they couldn't hear him at all. it was quite a lonely existence. 

"Bats are not made for walking. They're made for flapping," he said with a nod, happy to inform her as to the differences in animal species. He was not built quite the same as she and therefore required different modes of transportation. "Are you made for flapping? I think not!" he spread his wings, demonstrating the requirements for flapping, of which he was certain she did not have. 

Asbestos folded his wings and stood proudly. "If I were to walk," he said, taking a few shuffling steps forward, "It would take me all day to get anywhere. But with your help I could get there in no time!"

The young seal was slowly growing rather uncertain of the bat, and even started to feel a bit flustered in response to his words. Using her as a tool for walking... how embarrassing! What would the seals thingk? As well as Lir? She could not even imagine the words that she would hear if she was caught carting around a little bat—but then again, maybe he was not always a bat? He could have been a child of the sea at some point in history, during a past life, so it was sort of her duty to assist him while in his current state. Besides, she knew she owed him for sort of saving her, and she didn't want to continue on in life without returning the favor.

Muirgen watched and listened as the little creature continued on speaking, informing her that bats were not made for walking, and reminding her she was not built for flying. It was true, they were both made for different things, and she could not deny that. “I will admit that you possess a point within your words,” she stated, admitting defeat. It seemed as if she would work as something like a horse for the little bat, but she didn't really know that since horses were unknown to her. “I will assist you in getting to where you need to go,” the selkies informed him. “But, please, do be conscious of my skin.” The last thing she wanted was for him to mistake it for something else and gnaw on it—or do whatever it is bats do. She did not know much about the beings, and was unsure of what to expect from him.

She talked funny. Kind of formal like. He tipped his head to the side as he looked at her, not quite sure what to make of them except for the fact that she seemed to somewhat agree with his poorly construed logic. Asbestos hooked his little thumbs together as he blinked up at her and waited for the rest of things to come together. Yes walking. More walking! And less talking! Except he was good at both. Well. The talking bit. And riding and/or flapping. He confused himself. 

The wolf eventually agreed. Asbestos beamed as he spread his wings and flapped a few times. Flitting through the air, he landed atop her head and sat down between her ears. He reached then, making himself at home as he was careful of her skin and instead took up an ear between each of his thumbs. "Onward then!" he announced, letting her know he was ready. "Let's go! If we don't get out of here soon, I'll never get back to my wing den!"

He was unsure that she'd referred to that thing she had with her as a skin, but it didn't much matter. The little brown bat was far more interested in his ride out of these woods.

With some banter back and forth, they made it out of the woods and parted ways.

-fade thread-