Emberwood that a single man in possession of a good fortune

maybe for @Gotham? (: but all welcome! Whenever you have time <3

Same old same old. Aaron had made his way through the lovely territory only once, and it was quite hastily. He had had no time to really stop and smell the roses, if you will. Now he was taking his time, soaking in knowledge of each land mark and looking for good places to perhaps make note of. He had found one large creek running through, and made a quick note of it. Perhaps he could build a den nearby, water sources were always a nice thing to have close. 

His ears perked as he stopped and stood, raising himself and listening. Had he heard someone? Certainly not- there had been no scents in the territory his whole time here. He gazed around him before glaring and continuing forward- his ears now cupped in listening. 

*sneaks in?!?*

It had been the peculiar glow in the foggy air that had drawn him in. Though upon a closer inspection, Roach realized it wasn't some sort of scenery that was aglow by some magical light, but rather the vibrancy of the forest that still fought to keep its canopies so late into the winter. Like a moth to flame, he had come closer and closer to it before breaching over into the territory formally. His thin frame paused only once to tremble; an icy chill to follow a breeze gave him reason to keep pressing on. It had been days since he had come across another, but given the vastness of the world, such had been typical and like his mother had always told him, he had the best of both worlds.

Now, Roach wasn't so sure about that. For as much as he could trek about on his own, he found the nagging urge to stumble across someone else drove him to follow their trails. Yet when he had drawn near to larger groups he shied away, acting very much like the solitary creature half his kind was wont to be. It had been difficult to find somewhere to mesh into or with, but life as a young dispersal was like that.

And here in the depths of this wood, he found that he thought he was entirely alone again. His crossing through the territory was everything but silent — he felt there was no need. He wasn't hunting, wasn't tracking, and certainly hadn't happened upon what he thought were fresh trails in hours. All in all, Roach believed he was alone.

But he was not alone, no one really ever was in such a large territory. After a moment to stop and listen, trying to decide if he had heard something, the pale brute shrugged it off and continued on. Aaron made his way through the territory, stopping occasionally to pick up scents. He was also following trails, but unlike the other male, he knew what he was tracking. Eventually, he came across the scent of another, masculine, somewhat fresh. His ears cupped curiously forward, and he wondered if this was the being that he had sensed earlier. 

Ignoring all possibilities of a hostile intruder (let's face it, this was not yet his territory and therefore neutral grounds), Aaron set off after the scent. He wanted to make this his, and he could not do that with loners wandering through it; besides, perhaps he could make an ally out of this wolf.

Pale blue eyes focused ahead, the attention of the man was shifted when he found the source of the scent- or heard it, rather. The gentle fwump of paws crushing into the freshly laid snow was near, and Aaron gazed through the bracken curiously to find the source, his ears perked with innocent intent.

<3

sorry if my posts wander a bit with him, i'm still trying to figure out what kind of a fellow he is!

Roach's gaze meandered as he travelled along, though he did not find anything of particular interest. It didn't mean that he didn't see things that for a moment struck him as interesting and that in truth played a lot into why he himself began to meander from the trails that he followed. Somewhere through the trees he could see the rise of the rocky ridges and ledges that build up to the mountains that had distantly called him in, and curious tickled his interests. What could he see from up there? Of course, that sort of venture was many miles away and only left up to him whether or not he would go that far. His trek thus far had been winding and long and for all he knew, it would continue to be the same.

Yet all of that seemed to come crashing down when the inkling feeling that he was not alone caused his hackles to prickle. His steps came to a gradual halt, and his gaze was torn from the expanse of the elaborate red canopy to survey his surroundings. It was perhaps only then that he felt the uncomfortable itch that perhaps this forest was not just beautiful — perhaps it was the place of ghost stories. It was a foolish thought that he could not entertain for long, as Roach did not believe in the likes of ghosts. But the feeling he was not alone would not go away, and a low and thready growl escaped him.

no problem! I think Aaron's personality has changed like 3 times since I've started writing him...

Being the follower, the creepy setting of the forest had not struck the male. Aaron quite enjoyed the scenery of the woods and not once had he felt uncomfortable in all of it's beauty. But this male perhaps did have a good reason to be so cautious, as there was indeed someone tracking him down. 

With perked ears he continued through quietly, soon hearing the low growl of the male. He let out a low bark in return, exposing himself to the stranger. He meant no harm; hiding himself would only lead to more problems. Aaron made his way through the bracken towards the sound of the growl, appearing and standing up straight as the male came into view.

The man said nothing, his tail waving behind him in a friendly manner. "Greetings," he murmured to the brute opposite him, sky-blue eyes glinting as the sun shown dully through the clouded skies and bare tree branches.

hehe, half of the fun of writing with new(er) characters is working out the kinks! :D

As his gaze swept around, he heard someone call out to him. The bark stole his focus and funnelled it towards where his gaze needed to be and just in time for a figure to emerge from the wintry landscape. Of course, the wolf himself seemed to blend in, save for a summery dusting that applied itself conversatively here and there. He was not like Roach, no, not at all. The season where the coywolf thrived was long past and even in the height of winter, one could have reasoned that he longed for summer and autumn to return.

"Hello," he rejoined, though the caution was still evident in his posture and tone. He could not help but meet that blue-eyed gaze for a moment, though he deferred out of respect. Roach didn't want trouble and that was all it was meant to imply. Even with the friendly approach the other gave him, he had his reasons to be leery. Unfamiliar ground, wolves that seemingly materialized from the immediate surroundings... he had a lot to learn about this region if he intended to survive, or so he suspected.

Guess that made it just like home.

The wolf responded, and Aaron looked over him. A coywolf? perhaps? He certainly didn't seem full wolf. The moment of held eye contact caused the male to stiffen slightly- surely he was not looking for a fight? But the male turned his gaze from him once again, and the male man relaxed again into a comfortable posture. His tail swayed behind him as he thought, and a small smile graced his face again. 

"I am Aaron," he informed, his ears flicking forward as he awaited a response, assuming he would receive a name as well. "This is soon to be the home of my pack," the man then said, his tail flicking as he lifted his muzzle slightly. 

The moments that passed between them in silence were not to take root, nor did the coywolf find a growing threat mounting an attack toward him. Instead an introduction came forward and with it what he suspected was meant to give him direction.

"My apologies for encroaching," he said, "I did not realize you were laying claim." Perhaps he had missed something, or perhaps it was still a dream beginning to bloom. The possibilities were endless and Roach spared them no consideration. As for the matter of his name, he left it alone and instead saddled himself to depart.

The male nodded with forgiveness, "Mhm," he replied vaguely, watching the small coywolf as he began to leave. "Good luck with your journeys," he woofed after the man, but found no other interest in him and assumed that he would leave with no questions or issues. Aaron turned himself, and made back from where he had came, on the lookout again for more wolves to join him.

last for me! you can reply again or archive, thanks for the thread <3

ty for entertaining me with a quick thread!

It went easily than he anticipated, and for the better. Whatever the world had in store for him, an easy let go was not something Roach ever expected. His had been a rough start from the get go but as of late he could have only described things as going swimmingly.

Whether or not he'd sink or swim was anyone's guess.

Offering a parting nod to the wolf, he set off at the same oace that had brought him there, carving in towards the towering mountains. He dared not to look back for a fearing sight of flashing teeth, but once he had cleared the enflamed canopies of the woodland it no longer occurred to him.