Haunted Wood Home is Where the Heart Is

| misty
| 10:00PM

The cool smell is what struck the flame first. She could smell it in the air, the smell of the misty woods that haunted her dreams. Home. There was a certain scent of a group, one of which she couldn't tell who had come and gone, or who were trying to settle in... nonetheless... this was her home. Her birthright. Upon entering the misty woods, a sense of grief overtook the behemoth. A sense of relief as she wandered into the barriers of the fog-filled woods of which she was born in. Closing her ruby eyes, the eyes of her father as she was told once before, she took in its scent. The air felt colder than before... and yet, it felt oddly familiar. it was chilling. Lonely. And yet, it felt comforting all at the same time, as if, this, this was more familiar to her than anything else she could remember.

Kigipigak stood in the middle of the woods, the scent of a deer filling his nostrils. He did not know in that moment if he would be successful in finding the lost fawn but in the coming hours the wolf would have a full belly. For now he was keeping himself focused on the scent sample in the near total darkness of the eerie woodland.

He had done all the hard work already: found the last sleeping place of the creature, derived its most likely route, found evidence to support that route in the crushed segments of the forest, and now he tracked the scent.

There did come a new scent too. He could picture tall grass and the muskox he was most familiar with; this scent was similar, with a richer quality. Kigipigak knew the scent of wolf anywhere. The issue he found wasn't the presence of this wolf scent but the way it crossed the fawn path. He would have to decide which trail to pursue.

Feeling as though he had time to pick up the hunting trail later if he so wished, he chose the winding trail leading away from it—prowling after Conquest without knowing how close they actually were.

Lost in a moment of memories flooding back from her childhood, the lost childhood that was swiftly taken from her. @Death, @Pestillence, and @Famine were all gone from the scent of these lands - so were the adults who were looking after them all. A frown found its way to the growing woman's face, the pack was gone, they were all gone. No one left to greet her as she finally returned. As her frown deepened, wrinkles finding their appropriate place upon her face, the fiery girl snorted as she continued deeper into the misty woods, oblivious to the scent of fawn... for now. 

As she wandered deeper into the woods, the cool mist felt its way through her pelt, caressing the thick woman's frame in a familiar feeling that she had longed for a while now. It was only the feeling of not quite being as alone as she thought originally that caused her stride to slow... hackles raising in anticipation for someone else to emerge from the woods as crimson eyes scanned the surroundings.

There came a flourish of deep russet among the greens and autumnal browns. It was most at home with these brighter shades even as they fell away and left the trees stripped and thin. It was a deeper warmth than any fawn he had ever seen and so Kigipigak recognized the shape for what it was: wolf. Unlike any wolf he had seen prior, wolf all the same.

They were large for their age. He thought they might have matched himself in age at first, prompting a gregarious flash of his teeth as he came upon them, until he saw the size of their paws and the room to grow. They were not yet at their year mark; destined to be a powerhouse all the same.

Paglagaa! He chuffs in greeting, presuming that any creature of such heft and health must be one of Tartok's lineage.

She waited for them to pass. To walk on by like all the others without glancing her way a second time, to leave her be in the dreams of what once was... the nightmares of being raised by a cruel, cold, world - but memories all the same of perhaps a simpler time once long ago. Even now she could faintly see what her father wanted to do with this place, despite never having truly met. As if they were linked somehow through threads of fate, or so at least that is how she saw it (with no one to tell her otherwise). 

However, the silence was broken. Fiery eyes glared at the strange man with an even stranger dialect in what... well, she couldn't tell if it was a greeting or insult if she was being honest. What? Her tone cut through the chilly air like a sharpened blade, unsure of how she should act in this moment; defensive, or casual? The young woman observed the pale man who blended so well with the misty surroundings, he almost looked like he fit in here in comparison to how much she must stick out in a place such as this. She was almost jealous...

Kigipigak anticipated an equally boisterous greeting, perhaps a share of scents and then the sharing of stories. What tribe was it that could produce such a giantess? And where could they come from? The winterscape of Unnuakvik would not be suitable to such a beacon of russet.

Alas, the stranger shot him a look and the tone of their response showed Kigipigak the truth. He was briefly disoriented but hardly dismayed.

Ah, you are not Tartok. Impressive to the eye, still. What is your name?

Carefully she observed him. Despite having little ability in socializing, she was good enough at reading body language... somewhat of an instinctual knowledge more than anything, what to avoid, what to defend from, what looks friendly enough - and that was about it. From him, he didn't come off as any of those... casual perhaps? Ruby eyes narrowed onto him as she tried to figure it all out, less so out of annoyance, but more so now as a study. 

Tartok? What the hell was that? Conquest Rache. Introductions, she knew that much at least. Just state the title you go by since birth, simple enough. What do you want, Tartok? Well, she decided that was the name she would use for him instead of asking for him to return the favour.

She appraises him as if she is a bear and he is an easy snack. Kigipigak does not know if he appreciates the scrutiny as it lingers, feeling more and more as if his mother is standing before him and full of rage at something he has done. This stranger is younger than that by far; she is cautious but not afraid of him, which is unnerving in its own right. Perhaps she is a traveler like himself and has been separated from her tribe. Would he become like this one day? Is this what sits in wait for him down the road?

The girl names herself and Kigipigak's thoughts are confirmed. He does not know any family beyond his own. Rache is not a name he is familiar with—though the common word, conquest, he has learned. Odd that it be a name, he thinks.

I seek my people in this new place. Kigipigak answers swiftly, not sure of what else to say. He does not know if trust can come between him and an outsider, which she is. Or a new friend. That is a slim offering but he extends it all the same. Kigipigak has no one at this point in his journey and it is not a state he wishes to remain within.

You are the first. Well, to cross her path that she knew who they were... sort of. Never had she heard of a Tartok up until right now, and it was possibly the most polite way she could put it in her words. Honestly, Connie didn't talk to many, nor did she seek them out as companions. Perhaps it was because anyone she looked to as a companion, simply vanished without a trace. The last one flat out abandoning her with a bunch of strangers on a mountain. The thought alone angered her to think of, and a wrinkle upon her nose formed in disgust at the mention of "Friend". 

With a dismissive snort and turn of her head, she replied bitterly. You will find none here. Who was he anyway, extending such a familial reach to a complete, and utter stranger? The balls on this guy. Without another word she began to walk away, not one to be suckered into another useless companion just to wander around and be left on her own, once again, to find home as she just did now.

You will find none here. The girl states, and turns away. 

Kigipigak could chase after her—he could be desperate enough for friendship—but the moodiness of the girl reminds him of his sisters, setting his nape alight with serration. He puffs as he watches her stalk away and then turns, leaving her to her path.

After a few steps Kigipigak turns to glance at where the red shape had been and considers calling out to them. He holds his tongue in the end, moving on.