Blackfoot Forest The Strangest Thing

@Khaba c:

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She delayed at the edge of the creekbed, dark ears pivoting with each new sound, assessing the air with a shifting nose. There was potential danger in these woods. She was tracking near packland, and the river brought together creatures from all walks of life. Some were outwardly vile, but more dangerous were monsters who knew how to play at being wolf.

Confident that she was alone, Tauris trailed down the embankment and plunged her paws into the water. The stream greeted her, lapping at her legs with ice and flowing between short strands of brown fur. She lowered her maw and drank, water cold on her teeth. She would spend some time here, to see what prey she might coax from the bracken before continuing west.

Posting with Theo instead of Khaba with permission!

Despite how much he may have wanted to, he could not dishonestly say he had spent his days well. They were filled mostly with aimless traveling, sleeping, and an occasional hunt or two—though only enough to keep his belly from grumbling with displeasure.

Here, in this land, there was too much space. How could anyone possibly know where to turn next, if to not end up walking in circles?

But when a bank of water soon came to view, Theoxaris realized his thirst. Tongue dry and pale from a few days worth of dehydration, he looked eagerly upon the substance. His pace even quickened to one of pure excitement and relief! A child, almost, suckling his mother's teats for the first time.

The beastly man, burly in form, but not in behavior, leapt into the water, dancing while it splashed to and fro. And what he'd had his fun, his muzzle buried itself within, tongue filling his mouth with every drop it could hold. Water had never tasted to good! Even despite the frigidness of the air, as it had been completely forgotten in this moment.

Torrents of water hurtled into the sky following an abrupt clap of impact. Tauris staggered in surprise, losing grip on the slick stone and careening into the shale beneath the surface. She fought to collect her limbs in the beat of the current before scurrying up the shallow bank, pelt dribbling and chest heaving with fitful breaths. She spun to confront the insolent beast, arrowing down upon them like a serpent to strike.

They were so clearly blind, they had better not be deaf as well.

“Watch it!” She seethed, voice more snarl than words.

But as crystalline droplets fell around them the cut of a strong, pale figure began to take shape. The growl all but died upon her tongue.

This creature was massive. shit.

She poised to flee.

Thinking he was alone, the way he moved the water didn't seem to matter. But then a sharp voice with warning told him otherwise. His movements ceased abruptly, eyes falling upon the stranger. 


But when their expression and posture all but changed, he couldn't help but to give a hearty laugh in response. Apologies... I thought I was alone— A wave of embarrassment then flooded him. To be so careless and childish in the eyes of another! Not to mention when his appearance clearly created an entirely different image.

His strident laughter rattled off the bark of surrounding hemlock, reverberating in her ears. Tail tucked in instant response, dark limbs wavered, belly dallying towards the ground. Unsure of what to make of such a sound from such a creature.

“You will be shortly,” she spoke, a tone meant to appease the beast, quivering with more apparent fear than anything else.

She spoke as if she meant to leave as soon as time would allow. But why strip him of this interesting company so soon?

Striding out from the deep waters, his feet found land and planted firm to support the quake of his shaking body as the water was expelled from his coat.

A quiet hum trembled in his throat, eyes dancing to again find the woman's form. You needn't go so soon, if you find this place pleasant to you. Besides... you may not find water again for some distance. It's better to enjoy it. As he clearly had.

Eyes dilated wider as he arose from the creek, an imposing ashen shape more wraith than wolf. She cowed before him, stare cast to the ground in submission, the way it would for a pack alpha demanding her compliance.

“I was enjoying it,” a quick hiss, then a flinch at her own folly. In view now was the scale of his paws, tipped with well-honed claws. She braced.

Jaw setting firm, Theoxaris watched as her manner furthered; submissive and lacking any challenge. She was playing her part to not piss him off, he guessed. A strange man his size compared to her? Not at all an even match. But then, perhaps unlike others, he had no intention of harming her.

Offering a sense of both assurance and sincerity, the pale beast took a few paces backward, head falling slightly to lessen his height. She had no reason to fear him. Or more-so, he wouldn't give her one. Not unless she dared ask for it. And with how she presently behaved, he didn't render this to be the case.

His paws fell back, so too did the long shadow that had loomed over the edge of her vision. She remained that way a while longer, folded in tidy proffer, before eyes chanced in lift to measure his temper. His own stance had shifted to a neutral state, absent of dominant posturing. His face was an expression of quiet reassurance, and also his scent.

Slowly she uncoiled, then in a flash had trotted a few paces away, expanding the space between them. She felt a little less feeble now in the breadth of her own tenor, and dared to fix her bright eyes upon his dark ones.

“What are you, anyways- half bear or something?”

She was a prideful creature and made a move to collect any authority he discarded.

She eventually relaxed, which bade his ease. 

Only next to give a haughty remark, but lacking a tone of humor. He grinned thoughtfully, tipping his skull sideways. If only, A heavy chuckle, sparing no rumble of thick bass. But no— these genes just happen to run in my bloodline, same as you come from your own. 

Perhaps he was giving to her a pointless lecture, this information known commonly. But he gave it all the same, doing his best to let whatever small talk this was chase any tension away.

she's awful I'm sorry D;

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That sound again- a purr of laughter that quaked even in her own bones. She held firm to her bearing, convinced, at least in half, that no harm was meant by the giant. But that also piqued a dangerous intrigue. A call of the void.

“What about obliviousness. That run in your bloodline, too?” She tipped her tail in suggestive nark.

While he knew already the woman wasn't entirely fond of him, he hadn't yet figured he'd made such a poor impression.

When she hit him again with yet another snarky remark, he blanked momentarily in astonishment, unsure of how to best respond. Where he had once appeared as a child, he was now again a grown man. Which meant he had to act like one.

There was only one way he'd discovered the fix to her unbecoming attitude. Her initial fear of him. So, to revive it, the giant took a few, heavy steps forward, slowly breaking the distance once again. Eyes now narrowed slightly and posture returned to its heightened stature, Theoxaris overcast a stare of quiet daggers upon her. Does having such an unpleasant and disrespectful tongue run in yours? He retorted sharply, a hint of a growl following suit.

He converged upon her in a flaunt of strength, the glory of his full height stretching well overhead. Her stomach twist and ears flattened, tail at half-mast behind her yielding to passive curl. He’d shed the previous grace reserved for her, now she could smell the ire that radiates from his fur. He made his demand for submission in no spoken word, and she’d have no choice but to yield, a low, throaty whine saying as much.

But she still could not temper the blaze that had taken quick offense to the stranger’s flak!

“When befits present company,” Came the reply unbidden, before she’d had a better mind to recant such a baiting thought.

Just as he thought she would, she coiled back. A turtle in its shell, with the head stuck out just far enough to note the length of the dangers.

When she answered him, she was still no kinder. It grated at his bones in a way he could not describe. No matter what he did, she would not bend in full.

You should rethink it in mine, Theoxaris returned coldly, tongue clicking with a sense of distaste and scorn. I do not take kindly to individuals who treat me with such disrespect after I have been nothing but kind. For he had been at the start! But now, what choice did he have but to assert the strength and pride any man like him held? One could only take kindness so far before the fine line was crossed. And for him, it had been. She was now teetering at the edge of the cliff, daring for him to push her the final step.

The previous demeanor that had afforded her some semblance of safety was gone. Would he move to strike at her insolence? Fear swelled beneath the flame of not knowing. Her tail tucked in full, silver eyes holding fast to his. She’d made a mistake, poked too hard at the hornet’s nest and of course there was consequence.

But, where is kindness now? She would want to ask, at least to imply this hypocrisy! Always a drifter would cross paths, expecting something of her in the way of a sweet little wolf. She never claimed to be! I am fierce; I am a huntress!...

She was nothing more than a proverbial doormat upon which this wolf could unsully his paws if he chose.

She clipped the thoughts. Life was more precious than even the preservation of what little esteem she held. If she'd have any at all left, after this. 

“As you wish.”

Theoxaris knew that there was great pride and strength within her, just as there was in him. It was not his want to rid her of it. But was it really such a terrible thing to request even the smallest of trifles?

You needn't cower before me. I don't want your submission, nor obedience. Only some ounce of respect, if you are even capable of giving it. Capable or willing, really. He didn't mean to slight her abilities, but this was what he took of her behavior.

She bit back her grizzle- the wolf may have allayed his dominance but his approach still told her otherwise.

“I respect that you outclass me in every physical way. I respect that you can silence me when you wish to.” There. That was something? The rest of what he'd want could only ensue. A stranger on the trail was a passing ship. She didn't expect his respect. Why should he expect her's?

A small thought was given, perhaps, to how she’d incited the scrap herself by the disparaging jape made…But it was much more her style to beg for leniency after-the-fact. How many times had she been reprimanded for a tongue too snarky? At least once more.

She had made this all plain and simple. Her tongue would never be silenced and her respect would not result from sheer kindness and lack of physical consequence. What else could he do from here?

If that be the case, then don't expect my immediate kindness or assistance again. The only conclusion he could muster, for this it how would apparently be. 

He didn't intend to stand here and continue to be battered by this ungrateful woman. Instead, he would walk away and try to leave this open conflict in peace. If this was even possible.

thank you  for the rp<3 can't wait for the next one

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“I wont,” she’d rumble, but only long after the wraith and his scent had dispersed between the trees. His good will was contingent upon good words. She’d better hope to not wind up in his path again.

Tauris straightened herself, regained steady breaths, and looked around. She was alone once more. To hell with staying in these woods any longer, it was time to move out.