Silver Creek riches reveler

ooc: all welcome! written in a rush on mobile at work so excuse any mistakes.

ic: Whim ambled through the verdant thicket as she followed the sound of a babbling brook somewhere ahead of her. Occasionally, songbirds burst forth in tiny explosions as she stirred the brush around her. She did not take careful, calculated steps likened to the predatory nature of her kind, instead she seemed to fling her paws to and fro with the carefree nature of a human child. 

She often associated feelings with certain places, and this particular location felt safe. Not only that, but the woodland seemed to inoculate her with a sense of serenity and well-being. So much so that she became drunk on good feeling. 

The wolf picked up the pace and giggled as pleasure took over. She began to gallop and jolt like a newborn colt reveling in the newfound riches of the world. Soon after, she came across a particularly mossy spot coated in a warm sunbeam and threw herself onto it. She rolled around on her back and kicked her legs around as if swimming upside-down in-place through the air. She was without a care in the world!

soleon had taken a sort of self-decided hiatus. the wolves that would soon create morningside were all out handling all sorts of business, and honestly, soleon had associated himself without truly getting to explore the lands he had come to. there was an excitement and a sort of brief moment of regret. thus, he had decided he would quell the need for exploration by doing exactly that. before things got serious anyways. 

 he moved at a lofty trot without a care in the world. having been around the wolves he had so easily befriended he forgot that there were thos out there who were less than friendly. unbeknownst to him he would be happening upon another that would bring the thoughts of uncertainty back over him. 

and they came like a wave. 

his eyes watched her as she darted around in the distance. his ears tempted towards his head and he carefully made his judgements. she seemed carefree and young. there was a petiteness to her body that could not yet be described as womanly. soleon waited in the distance as she threw herself over and seemed to writhe on the ground. there was a familiar simplicity to all of this. 

ah, she reminded him of journey!

 hopefully, he would find that he could certainly judge this book by its cover and he made himself known. there was still a polite offering and though the man advanced he bellowed a throaty chuff to give her warning of his presence. he offered a kind, boyish smile and his tail stilled behind him. he found he was quite excited to meet a new face, but he also found that he was anxious over the matter. he had been getting introduced to those that were already a good shot at being someone he could trust. this was a shot in the metaphorical dark.

In the middle of Whim's wiggly upside-down dance she heard a noise that sounded unlike any typical smaller woodland creature that might be scurrying about on the ground or in the trees. It was bassier than a squirrel, or even a badger, but not bassy enough to be a bear. Thank goodness, they usually spelled bad news. 

She paused to look around for the source, with a leaf stuck to her forehead and bits of moss and twigs sticking out of her fur elsewhere, until she met eyes with a wolf, who looked friendly enough. Her face lit up with instaglow and she wagged her tail amiably. "Well hi there! Would you care to join me? There's plenty of room! The moss back home isn't half this plush and soft." She continued with a dreamy sigh, "I think I'm in love." It took a surge of willpower not to immediately roll back over, but the Queen of Impulsivity somehow managed to stay in an upright sitting position, albeit with a leaf still glued to her forehead.

To demonstrate its high-quality she slapped the soft, silky ground with a loud yet muted thump as if she was a salesman at a moss dealership trying to show off the latest fancy model to a potential buyer. Then she watched and waited with innocent desire swimming in her eyes.

ths display before him went off without a moment's thought. she was wrapped up in innocent pleasantries and much like his time with the first girl he had met in this place he found himself struggling to stifle a chuckle. he passed no judgement on her. to be honest to witness someone so enthralled in the world without a modicum of concern made him happy. he wanted to protect that in a way, but there was no way to. someday, she would have to face an uglier truth.

dark thoughts for another dawn. 

 "Hello there," his tone is warm and welcoming. an immediate invite to become his newest acquaintance. there would be no harm to befall them. not in this place together. she was quite excited about the moss she had found, and soleon was too, but it was for a totally different reason. how perfectly useful such a thick and soft plant could be. it was certainly ideal in his line of work. his mind was reeling with the possibilities. perhaps he would take some to journey and they could analyze and learn it together. 

 "I'll have to pass. I'm just drifting through. my name is Soleon," He held on to the same soft timbre he came by naturally and he had already decided she was gonna be a talker. so he was reeling with what to say next. 

 of course, the best conversation starter could  be to inform her she was carrying on with a leaf clinging to her fur. nah, he didn't want to embarass her and was much too concerned with doing exactly that, "What's your name?" an innocent enough question. he supposed there was plenty of time for the two of them to uncover more about one another. judging by the slight exposure of her waist line the girl had no pack to return to. how long had it been since she had been fed? a goal for the day was already unravelling in his mind.

In the moments of waiting she had time to more thoroughly examine the stranger's outer appearance. She hadn't seen many unique-looking wolves in her short time on Earth thus far. This wolf was probably the oddest so far, down to his green eyes and black-masked face that was so different from the auburn and cream of the rest of his coat. 
She began to ponder the origin of wolves like this one. Questions began to pile up in her head and she felt the pressure weighing on her tongue. She became so preoccupied with her flight of fancy that when he rejected her offer to have a sit on the moss she was unphased. "No prob bob!" She decided it was about time to stand up anyway and did so with relative ease. The stubborn leaf still clung to her face without her knowledge.

"I'm Whimsy." She suddenly lowered her head and whispered, "Are... are you a wizard?" then lifted her head back to normal height, speaking regularly again, "Sorry, it's just you look different than any wolf I've ever seen, and the green eyes... I mean, wow!" The girl put her naivety and sheltered life on a pedestal for all the world to gawk at, unashamed and wholehearted.

She was an excitable force with plenty to say and plenty of thoughts that whisped around her mind. that much was evident just by the expressions she made, the way she talked, and the respectable energy that abounded her. he left his smile restrained to an amused smirk and soleon would eventually sit before the girl. there was no threat here and no reason for him to do more than rest. for all intensive purposes: she was a familiar face. 

 bob? no, he had just explained that his name was soleon. how did she even get bob from that? if that was what she felt like calling him then so be it. he would adhere to her oddly chosen petname. he could have done better, but that was alright. 

 Whimsy. Whimsical. It sort of made sense. she was a passing moment of mystery. the name couldn't have been more fitting. he wanted to drag her back to duck lake and introduce her to journey and the rest of the wolves. then again, he wondered if the two females would be absolutely too much to handle in tandem. sometimes he caught himself wondering how so much energy could be bottled into a single entity. then he would forget to ponder such thoughts as he helped a fully grown woman climb down from a tree she probably climbed. or other odd endeavors. 

 was he a wizard? "Not last that i checked?" his tone grew quite quizzical. where...exactly did she come from? she seemed to explain before he could get his next thought vocalized and then he nodded his head almost matter-of-factly, "Well, uh that's alright. I think i'm relatively normal...or I guess I thought." perhaps there was something he didn't know. he would have to become aware then, "it's a pleasure to meet you, Whimsy. Where are ya headed?"

His uncertainty left her feeling unconvinced. She twisted her lips and waltzed to and fro to inspect him from different angles while shaking her head and mumbling incoherently to herself, with the occasional snort as she tested his scent. After a few moments of intense scrutiny, she stood still once more (or as still as a fidgety body could manage) and spoke with an air of scientific authority, "I do believe you are, at the very least, a distant descendant of one. This could very well mean you have latent abilities. No worries, when the time comes, I will help you figure it all out." 

With a satisfied nod she continued, "Where I'm headed? ...hmm." In a manner similar to a human scratching its head, she plopped down and began scratching an ear with her hind leg. The flapping sound filled the silence quite nicely. When she was finished she stood and shrugged, "Wherever the bugs take me! I guess. What about you?" Whimsy's answer was mildly cryptic, but made perfect sense to someone who's life practically depended on insects.

In reality, Whim had no damn clue where she was headed. The bug thing just seemed like a solid answer.

soleon watched as she began to circle him. what on earth was goig on here? he watched her with an obvious curiosity planted on his face, but he remained motionless. she spoke and at first soleon came to the only possible conclusion. clearly she was insane, but he dismissed the thought. perhaps she simply came from a place that was different than this and she had seen things that would draw her to conclusions he would think arbitrary. he was no god. who was he to judge? 

 "well then i'll await your instruction," perhaps he could at least learn something about her if she couldn't offer him any advise on this unknown wizardry of his. if she thought him odd then she was in for quite the ride in this place. 

 she didn't have a particular place and soleon looked at her with something akin to sadness threatening his expression. everyone needed somewhere to go. she was young. he wondered what had happened that she was now out here wandering around. she risked a lot. any one who decided strength was in a single unit did. granted, she seemed pretty confident in these bugs, "oh uh--well so you like bugs? what else do you like?" maybe she needed food. maybe she needed a hand? "are you hungry or something?" she did look a bit thin.

She was pleased for him to accept her help when the time came, but for now the wizard verification process would have to wait. 
She noticed Soleon's face starting to look funny, like he might climb to the top of a lonely cliff and howl mournfully. She subtly tilted her head while wondering what caused his expression to change, but her thoughts were interrupted by his words. He sounded okay enough so she shrugged it off and nodded, "I like climbing to the tops of waterfalls to spit in them, and finding crystals to trade to corvids for top-secret information. They like pretty things more than they like keeping secrets. I like rain... and moss! " She wiggled her toes in the soft green bed below. "Exploring and discovering. Fat, grumpy toads cos they're just so cute. Did you know if you figure out a toad's favorite meal and bring it to him he will agree to go on an adventure with you?" 

She stopped short, "Oh, I almost forgot your other question." Pride beamed on her face as she puffed her chest out and proclaimed, "Me and Hunger are best pals! We go way back, he's kind of like a father to me." She laughed at the rather odd joke and continued, "I could really go for some yellow bumpy berries. Have you seen any around?" What she was referring to were salmonberries.

her imagination was something wild and interesting. it seemed to take hold and go absolutely wild. soleone was not so creative. mostly, he would watch her in complete bewilderment. his thoughts remaining only to himself. she was so upbeat he was sure any negativity would just be met with an even more absurd and upbeat side of things. this girl didn't seem capable of conflict. he had been wrong before. 

 though her antics were strange he did feel a need to make sure she had what she needed. especially if she was going to be out here alone. maybe some normal conversation would bring her back to earth, "oh i think i'm a bit boring in comparison to yourself. i dont really get along with toads," maybe it was his inner wizard that was suddenly so oppinionated. 

 she answeres his own inquiry in a...different way, but honestly the male should have expected exactly that. it should be noted that when he asked if she was hungry he figured they would settle on fish. or maybe a rabbit. something easy. no, the girl wanted fruit. and soleon had no idea what she was talking about, "i dont think i have. i eat a lot of meat," maybe this crazy idea of his own would inspire the same craving for her. "i can help ya look for them?" might as well play into it all.

When he slapped a big, fat boring label on his forehead she scoffed and shook her head in disagreement. "Nonsense! Your company has been enjoyable thus far. Even if you ended up being boring, at least you're kind and easygoing too. I think most toads would appreciate that. " There was a pawful of wolves she'd met who were far worse than boring. They were downright mean and nasty, luckily she was young and built for speed, thus able to nope right out of most any sour situation. The toads might not be so lucky. 

At the word 'meat' she made a quick blech face to let him know she wasn't interested. "Yes, that sounds great! I usually find them growing around creeks." Now that she thought about it, earlier, before getting distracted by moss and strangers, she had been following the sound of a creek up ahead. She couldn't quite remember why she was seeking it out but maybe she would remember upon seeing it.

"There is a creek just ahead. Follow me!" She sprung into action and bounced away through the bushes, leaving the mossy patch of Earth with a souvenir of her wolf-sized imprint. Soon she was bounding full speed and it only took maybe a minute before she reached the edge of the clear, running water. It was a wide but shallow creek with tons of pebbles and sand, and a few larger rocks and boulders strewn throughout. She yelled out behind her, "OVER HERE, SOL... SOLY BOY!" Oops, she had completely forgotten the latter part of his name, so she made up a nickname with the first three remembered letters. It was a commonly used solution in these situations until the real name was finally able to stick to her stubborn brain.

If only names could stick to her as well as that damned leaf, which somehow miraculously still clung to her face for dear life.

She did not seem to prefer his reference to himself in a less than optimitic way. Should be apologize? Staring with feigned contempt seemed to be a more preferred method of making sure his statement wasn't condoned. His crime hadn't been too great, though, as she seemed to retain the peppiness she had and move on to talk of the toads again. Then the creeks. 

 And finally they were running. Soleon trailed behind her quite an observable amount. This was mostly due to her much quicker nature and then also partly because he hadn't a clue where she was going. She had seemed to think of it rather quickly? 

 When she disappeared for just a moment his pace slowed and his ears turned. Where'd she g- Ah, yes. 'Soly Boy' was on the way. He broke into the clearing she had used to make he way to the waters and watched carefully. He would silently wait to see what she wanted him to see, but this time when he finally looked on her face he did laugh quite obviously and perhaps in a way that could be percieved and being borderline obnoxious. The leaf was still pressed against her head as though it would never go anywhere. It lived with her now.

ooc: Hope you don't mind a short post here and there! If so let me know and I'll edit it to be longer.

ic: As the dark-faced male approached and laid eyes on her he broke into a laugh. She eyed him with a quizzically lifted brow, "What on earth is so funny?" She looked all around for some humorous sight she might have missed, even checking her own body for signs of something, but there was nothing. She chuckled a little, "You sure are weird!" which, in Whimsy-land, was a compliment of the highest degree.

You're fine <'3 I don't mind short posts at all. 

 Soleon's chuckle deepened as Whimsy decided he was the odd one here. He surely didn't think so! The boy collected himself but did not allow the smile to dissapate. He moved towards her carefully so as not to alarm her and attempted to raise his paw to her head and pry the leaf away, "You've been wearing this for awhile now," If she allowed him to push it away and to the ground then he would simply stare at it and her. If not then he would simply leave her to pull away and figure it out all on her own. It was all entirely amusing to him, but he didn't want her confused any more. Besides, if it hadn't detached by now it was quite possible it was going to remain in tact for days to come. Better him than someone that wanted to try and make her feel bad about herself or embarass her. If that was even possible, "Now, show me what you've been craving so badly," He motioned his head towards the water and waited for her to continue the lead.

Whimsy thought the boy looked quite nice with a smile, but not in any sort of crushy way. Whimsy had yet to experience that with any boy though, so it was nothing in particular about him. She watched blankly and unalarmed as he cautiously tip-toed up to her. She refrained from giggling at his delicate treatment, but when he lifted a paw to seemingly smack her in the face she tilted her head in confusion but didn't back away. She trusted him, a total stranger, enough by now not to do something completely out of character thus far.

Her gut was right. Instead of a smack, he simply brushed his paw across her brow and spoke a few calm words. The leaf silently drifted down between them and landed with the softest crinkle as the wolves took turns glancing up and down from the leaf to one another. Whim bowed her head and closed her eyes and whispered solemnly, “What we once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes part of us. Rest in peace, little leaf.” She opened her eyes and swept a few other leaves over top of the one being given an impromptu funeral, then wagged her tail in satisfaction.

She looked back up at Soly Boy in case he wanted to add any words, then after giving him a few moments she continued, "Yes, where were we?! Ah, the yellow berries!" She turned and walked towards the creek with her nose in the air and eyes closed as she scented the air. She stumbled on random odds and ends across the ground but was so focused on sniffing that she hardly noticed. If one were to zoom in close to her olfactory senses at work this is all you would see:
 

When she was done she opened her eyes and turned back, looking at her companion while shrugging, "I got nothin." Her nose was quite unreliable if conditions weren't just right. "Um, let's go this way!" She pointed her nose upstream and began to walk along the water's edge. There were bushes ahead that might prove promising.

Soleon watched as the leaf tumbled to the ground and he took a mere couple of polite steps back away from her. What happened next was completely odd to him and he watche silently as she told the leave a sad sort of goodbye. it were as though a dear friend had departed the world and she wished to cling to their memory. 

 after her little speech he found that she would eventually look back up at him with almost expectance in her tone, "oh...uh....amen," he figured it was a prayer she concluded? that seemed right. perhaps it would satiate the attention she wanted to give the...situation. Was it a situation? 

 anyways....

 She seemed to take charge back of the original planned and darted off. He could tell she was deep in thought and perilously trying to use her nose to her advantage. It sure was twisting at work. If he had known what it was she was searching for then perhaps he could help. He was certainly an adept hunter. Berry picker had escaped his resume. 

 "Are you sure they grow by the water?" He didn't mind running around with her all after noon, but he wanted to make sure maybe she wasn't confusing what she was looking for.

ooc: slight powerplay with them walking along the creek, let me know if you want me to change anything.

ic: When he spoke she fell into a long silence as she became lost in thought. She finally broke away from her thoughts and spoke in a sort of hypnotized, trailing voice, "No... no, nothing in life is certain, dear Sol... not even the fruits of our foraging. The only true certainty I can think of is... death." She looked at him solemnly for a moment, but couldn't keep a straight face for long. Soon her muzzle broke into a big, toothy grin and she slapped a paw at his shoulder, "I'm just messin with ya! Of course they grow near the water. Trust me, I am imbued with the powers of the berry hunting goddess." For all the male knew she was dead serious, or was she?

As they ambled along the creek, a bush that looked and smelled suspiciously like salmonberries began to materliaze. It was just a few feet from the water. However, Whimsy was too busy staring at a cardinal dancing along the branches ahead of them.

His time with Whimsy had not been all that long, but he had found that, much like Journey, he quickly became accustomed to the things that she said and eventually even the oddest things didn't visually phase him anymore. She was a funny girl with a quirky way of looking at the world. He almost wished that he could see things with the eyes they used, but he knew he was much to realistic to see the depth of what they saw. 

  "Imbued, huh?" He offered her a goofy half-grin and they continued on down the river. His eyes kept to the bushes that decorated the water's edge. Eventually his eyes looked to the bumpy collection of berries and his eyes fluttered back to Whimsy. He had expected that the girl would have seen them and bounded over well before Soleon could say anything. As it would appear she was lost in thought looking towards a bird moving along. 

 "Whimsy!" He beckoned her attention back, mostly certain she would listen, and hastened his pace until he came close to the bush. His nose met the berries as if he were trying to match the scent. This was relatively hard since he had no idea what he was supposed to be looking for. The physical description fit, "I think we got 'em!" He stared at her and waited for confirmation.

Obviously her claim to goddess-level berry foraging powers was a bit overstated, given her current state of complete obliviousness in the close proximity to the berries. Luckily, she was aided by a keen companion who quickly and enthusiastically alerted her to their presence. He was such a good chap he didn't even question her abilities, but the young wolf wasn't socially aware enough to notice this kindness, much less acknowledge it internally or externally.

Instead, her head whipped down when she heard her name and saw the male dashing over to a particular bush. Beaming with excitement, she dashed over and eyed the berries. The bush was abundant with plump, lumpy, yellow clusters. "Indeed! You must be a good luck charm. Or maybe a berry scrying tool." She nabbed a few carefully with her teeth and continued as she chewed them loudly, "If that's the case, I might have to keep you." She chuckled at her statement, although it was so open-ended one might not quite understand what Whim meant by 'keep you'. Honestly, the girl probably didn't know either.

"You should try them, they're honestly SO good. The orange ones are sweet and the red are more sour, I like to get a mix of both flavors. Really pleases the palate," she said as she smacked her lips and plucked a few more salmonberries. "Oh, and watch out for the prickles on the stems. I've had my fair share of bloody tongues from overzealous picking." There were a few times she basically attacked berry bushes when her predatory instincts, coupled with dire hunger, kicked in.

Soleon wondered what had made Whimsy so...odd. She was certainly different. Was it past trauma or was it a massive lack of societal skills that had lacked development for far too long. How long had she been alone with only herself to entertain? Surely, that would drive one mad. Especially since they were creatures keen on audience with others. Perhaps she had witnessed the great loss of a companion or simply she had never had one. 

Perhaps he was thinking too far into something that was not his business. 

 "I like to think I'm quite lucky," He didn't know that to be entirely true, but he did know he felt good about helping her find what she had searched for. He heeded her advice and reached for the salmonberries before him. He was careful to watch for the stems as he plucked a single cluster from where it was suspended. The juice was not quite robust in flavor, but it was quite bountiful. Clearly they grew alongside the river and absorbed much water to become so full. He stared at Whimsy and offered her a smile, "What a great idea, they're wonderful," Hopefully his words would make her feel good about the day's endeavor.

ooc: If you want we can end it soon, but if you would like it to keep going that's totally cool with me!

ic: Soleon's words hit their mark as was evident by the wide grin that broke across her face. A few salmonberries trickled out of their toothy prison and plopped against the Earth, but she quickly reached down and gobbled them up like a wild, furry vacuum. She may have made some snorting noises in the process.

After she was back up from her task she licked the juices from her mouth and proclaimed, "Mmm, Mmm! Yes indeed, your company is like a balm of fresh honey to the chapped paw pads of my soul. These berries are just a nice little bonus. It is getting late though..." Her tone implied she should be going, even though deep down she hated to part ways so soon with such a great new companion. Though it wasn't that late the sun had definitely dropped a few inches, and Whim didn't want to risk being caught out in the dark. It wasn't something she was able to admit out loud but nighttime terrified her. Her dedicated shelter was far away enough that it could take an hour or two to return to, and she liked to give herself an ample time cushion for inconveniences along the way.

There was a soft, apologetic look upon her features as she watched the other wolf for a reply.

We can end it <3 thank you for the thread. Whimsy is such a lovely character!

They both took to the berries, whimsy more than himself, and eventually soleon would retreat to sit back and watch the girl as she had her fill. How odd that one of their kind would so willingly seek out this fruit. It tasted nice enough, but he knew it would never quell the hunger pains should he ever feel them. He was much more keen to desire meat. Especially fish. It would always be a favorite of his. 

She turned around to face him and claimed that it was getting late. He supposed it was. He would need to start travelling again soon to head where ever it was he decided to end up. He offered a similarly apologetic grin as he rose and stretched out his features, "Perhaps we should both be on our way then," He dipped his head to her in a warm dismissal of himself, "If you should ever like the company--seek me out. I'd always welcome a friendly face," He would wait for her to set off in whatever direction she decided to go and he would also pardon himself. 

 Meeting her was quite pleasant. She was different, and he hoped it wouldn't be the last he would see of this new acquaintance, but there was no way to know what the future held. More than worry about his future company he prayed she would remain safe and find good health in whatever endeavor she ended up participating.

Thank you!! Soleon is such a sweet patient boiii ❤️

She was relieved when he agreed about their departure, and downright delighted by his future open offer of companionship. She nodded rapidly, "Yesyes, same to you, the world shall be our mollusk once more! I. CAN'T. Wait." After a moment of deliberation, she nabbed a few more berries and swallowed them whole. As she turned away she gave him one last look and said, clearly excited by his implication that they were now friends, "Goodbye and best evening, my friend!!" In typical fashion she bounded away like a spooked deer, crashing through the brush and giggling loudly here and there to herself. I have a FRIEND!