Firefly Glen Those Who Dwell

Hi hi! Feel free to jump in. I limited this to just two more, but I'd love for some interaction!! :]

Whispers would come.

Slinking through the shadows laid out by the canopy overhead, ashy paws were nimbly making way through the soils. There were times they even intentionally pressed down onto the mud just to feel it. Just to get shrouded in the sensations it brought forth. Just to truly get emerged with these new things. So many new things. So many exciting, abundant new things for her to stick her grimy, nosy little nose into and get a whiff of!

Why, she found this all fun! Interesting! So, she came out this way, lifting her nose to the sky to get all the various scents around her of nearby wolves. West, west, west! West was a good place to seek. There were too many wolves in this area, that much she did notice. Well, it wouldn't be hard to distinguish packs here, now would it? Well, wasn't that fun? Fun. Fun, fun, fun!

Her presence was low, intentionally trying to keep herself down wind and trying to take new positions in its shift. Quiet too. Rather hidden. So, this place wasn't dead and dry! No, no, much different from home. These were lush lands, and now came the potentials of their little packs. How many? In what numbers? Which locations? It was like a hide and seek game! It was fun.

Her nose was put in use, and her long ears would not be far from springing to full height in her overly-alert mannerisms. Legend was still, to listen and look as a little raven drenched in the night.

Yellow eyes pierced the dark chasm of the overcast vegetation as he paced his way down a semi-worn trail. The ground beneath his paws felt firm, but it easily gave way under his weight to a moist under layer of dirt. This would concern most, but it was at the bottom of his priorities. While his physical body was still palpable to anyone, Omnium's attention was cast inside his own mind. He felt frustrated, and it easily transferred to the way he glided over the ground with his head set low and shoulders hunched. He had slowly became accustomed to the climate, but his fur was still far too long for where he now traveled through. He had begun an early shed and fur flew from his coat into the wind at the slightest breeze with an itch included, but he paid it no heed. 

His attention was finally drawn back by many blinking lights clouding his trail. His large figure drifted to a stop, captivated by the beautiful sight. It was unlike anything Omnium had ever seen, and he was curious as to the origin of the blinks. His ears were perked to listen to the surrounding area as he diverted his full attention to it. He drifted closer in an attempt to decipher it, but the source evaded him every time he got closer. Omnium was drifting in circles, chasing them.

The cat and mouse chase continued until one landed upon his nose. It blinked as he stared at it in a cross-eyed fashion before it drifted away into the night in a pursuit of its own. Ah. Bugs.

With his curiosities answered, his attention drifted to a small figure who had blended in with their surroundings until he glimpsed them surveying the area. Hello, little friend.

Like a coyote toying with it's food. The stranger circled and followed, chasing a thing that would never quite be his thing. Not once had she moved. No, no, she'd been still, quiet, without even a change to her breath itself while quietly taking sight of the curiosities he was springing from her. The looming possibility that this could have been a pack wolf amused her. They were around, their scents flirting with her nostrils and forcing their way amongst her air. Surely, this was no pack wolf. Yet, this may have been no loner. They could have been nothing. So, that meant all but anything was ruled out.

So, by the end, when the stranger caught her eyes and fed her that sweet, sweet attention, she'd flooded to it.

Answering with a smile pulling at the corners of her lips, she came to a nice little sit and returned that eye contact. Well, at least he said hi to her! That made him not so boring. That meant these wolves and strangers could talk! It wasn't an abnormal language to her either, which made that all the better. "Hello! You look interesting."

Looking him up and down, she took a second before she quirked her head with a more amused smile next. Cool! Then maybe, just maybe, he knew of things that she could ask about. Yeah!

"What are you doing out here, sir?" 

Omnium assessed the dark stranger as he loomed closer in the dark to better observe them. He kept several lengths from her, but he was unbothered by her presence. He knew he could hold his own against another, especially one so small. His only concern was if the little wolf happened to belong to one of the surrounding packs, but Omnium's keen nose could detect no other scent entangled with hers. Perhaps he had happened upon another vagabond such as himself. 

He was taken off guard by her interest, but he did not let it phase his focus on the situation. Brown ears remained on alert in the event they perhaps were not alone. The femme appeared to be relaxed in her own right as she came to a sitting position in front of him, so Omnium decided his worries better placed elsewhere as he took a quick glance around the area to double check another silent soul was not in their midst. Yellow eyes landed back on hers in the dark of the night. He scrutinized her for a few moments before he replied.

I am a mere traveler passing through these lands on my quest South. Perhaps you would care to answer the same question for me?

During the time he looked away from her, she'd taken her time to look at him. That brown mask weaving under his eyes, the warm mahogany blanketing the bridge of his nose, the fading of his forehead and the ivory around his eyes. That snaking patch of oak on his head that trailed down to those eyes of golden sun. Even in this light, she could see the blinking bugs illuminating them as he took lookout across their perimeters. Well, clearly, he saw no threat in her presence. That was fine, she wasn't looking to be no one's fear anyways, fun as that sounded! No, right now, she thought he seemed like a mighty fine being to ask some questions too. This stranger asked one of her too? Tough, tough, tough! 

"Yeah? A traveler? Well," she laughed once, "me too, Traveler of South! I'm takin' a look around, but I haven't been too lucky in finding anything yet. So, I'm here. Lookin'," she said again, smiling and swishing her tail before giving him a quick look up and down. Big and capable man! Surely someone had put him to use before? "Do you know of any packs around here, sir?"

Omnium watched the dark little wolf with an expression of slight amusement. He usually detested wolves who knew less, but he felt compelled to see this interaction through. Her sky gray eyes were unlike the wolves from his homelands and almost captivating as he held eye contact. He was beginning to suspect all the female wolves in these lands were dark pelted. He'd only ever met them with dark scale colors, and she was no different. He was not complaining. Perhaps that's what prompted him to give the stranger an honest response rather than a deflection. 

I've come across three pack territories so far. All of them are North West from here. The furthest one is along the coast. It is named Moontide, and they dabble in trading goods. I'm unsure of the two others I passed, but they are close together if you leave the valley we're in. I found myself weaving through several areas where their territory markers are almost touching one another, so you could venture back in the direction I came if you wish to find them. Omnium almost found it distasteful to be helpful, but he motioned over his shoulder in the direction he had entered the thick forest area. They should be easy to find. Just look for the mountains on either side of the valley when it thins where you can see both sides at once.

"Yeah?" Swish, swish, swish! That base of her tail continued to move while he spoke, that nice smile resting on her lips while she batted her eyelashes and shimmied her shoulders together. Well, wasn't he something! So much knowledge! Very, VERY helpful. "Moontide, huh? Well, isn't that something?"

Goods. Traded goods. Oh, what wonders they must've had at their disposal. That ingrained itself in her mind, and she thanked this stranger for his kind information.

"Why, thank-ya, kind sir! Are you lookin' for anything in par-ti-cu-lar?" 

So, he too was picking up information. He wasn't a pack wolf, but he was a traveler, and travelers meant good things! Traded goods meant even better things for her, too. 

"I'm sure many packs would want a big wolf like you! You look like you'd be good for lotsa things. Might no one have wanted you? Do they seem most friendly, traveler? Why has no one put you to work?"

Omnium gave her an indistinguishable look at the comment, but he decided to answer the first question before addressing the second. Have you been to any lands towards the South? I am really searching for somewhere that a lone traveler might comfortably call home without the burden of a pack. It was an easy question just to curb his curiosity, but Omnium did not expect the answer to be as in depth. Half the fun of traveling was the surprises that he found along the way.

He sighed before addressing her later questions. I prefer to be alone. They have yet to try, and they will not find me to be an easy conquer. Packs are for wolves who don't value their independence, and I do not devalue mine. His tone was strong and stern as he spoke. It left little room for more questions regarding the matter, but he turned his eyes away from her after speaking.

Omnium peered into the undergrowth with his ears twitching. Once again checking their surroundings to ensure they were alone.

Accidentally deleted this three times and had to rewrite it, whoopsies!

"My, my, you are something."

A solitary mule. Might a work horse not wish to work? Rearing and bucking, he defied and denied! What a naughty, naughty work horse. Surely, someone would work him. Someone would try to break him and bring him to their home as stock for a larger army. She could see it now! General Traveler, big and mighty! Yet, he wanted no such thing. If only he knew, poor dear Traveler, that he would fit the perfect mold for the perfect sergeant. Sergeant Traveler!

"South? Oh, well, I'm afraid I've not looked that much, sir! But should you need," her tail coiled around her hind leg, soothing it in a gentle rub, "Perhaps Traveler would let me look for a suitable home for him, for a price. I am a good traveler, Traveler." Loyal to her beloved serpent, but a trader at heart, useful for connections. 

Omnium gauged her for a few moments after she spoke. A tempting idea, indeed. Perhaps he could use some help after splitting off from his sister after her betrayal. The new home he was promised when leaving his homelands seemed to be just out of his reach, but maybe this little stranger could help him. His tail shifted behind him, stirring up the grass in its wake.

What does your price entail? He queried her. Omnium was not one to walk blindly into a deal, but it was one he would find a hard time passing up. Searching by himself had proved fruitless thus far, and he convinced himself the help of another might benefit him in the long run. Maybe this small stranger could be more beneficial than burdensome as he had originally assumed.

  

As long as it remains that I'm to not be in a pack, then I see no problem in such an arrangement.

"Oh, no, sir! Why, I could not force one such as yourself into a pack! You would have my throat! All I ask in return is a trade of your information, my good sir! What strangers you've discovered, where they are headed, and where packs lie! Location for location, and I will return to you in each pass you reach my nose."

Coming to stand, she approached him with her tail swaying just above her hind legs, and the tips of her ears pushing down to her skull in greeting. Then, perked they were again, her feet nimbly and slowly inching closer to him until she came to another sit not so far away from his body. This way, she saw more of him, and in return he may see her. His scent she wished to know, and his presence she did not mind being in.

"I would not complain of a meal of owl, but that is optional. Somethin' I like! Should you help me know the presence of others you smell and unveil, I will be at your service, Traveller. Is that fair, my Traveller?"

Sitting before him, her legs pushing in her chest and a smile on her face of graphite, it pulled at her lips in a crooked sense of her right lip being up a bit higher than her left. 

Omnium once again gave her a skeptical look, but an offer of information was one he found little hinderance in making. A deal he paid little heed in the spectrum of most things. This little stranger would surely make herself useful. He watched her inquisitively as she neared him, and he came to a sitting position in order to be on more even ground. A small effort to seem less towering than he generally did. 

Although I feel I could regret this, you have a deal, little wolf. I have never caught nor tasted owl, but I will be sure to call you if I find one. The words 'My Traveler'' were not lost on him, and he found the use of the statement slightly strange. Perhaps it was a difference in culture.

Her endearing face eased any conviction he might have against their agreement, and he offered back a thin, meek smile. It appeared more of a grimace from a long time of misuse. 

Since I have shared my knowledge thus far, do you happen to have any information in exchange, fellow traveller?

I'm so excited for this! Would you be okay with closing the thread here, and you can put a response to it if you want? :D

Not so big and tough! Nothing but a cloud, roaring over head in beastly size and presence, yet an airy accessory who offered no true harm. That is what she saw! Big cloud of queen day, soft and silky, yet a mighty titan. 

"You've nothing to regret, sir! It is simply helpful for me too, yes? I too am no pack wolf, and I would much prefer to avoid stranger ones in my quests! In the end, it will only benefit you in helping me discover the quietest place for a wolf as yourself." Taking stand once more, she nosed his direction before turning her back, not yet moving away.

"I am afraid I've not gotten far to have information to tell you yet, sir; though, I am a wanderer of great. Master of avoidance! Just what you need. I can not promise there is a speck of land that is treaded by no-wolfs feet, but you will hold no regret in the knowledge of which meadows they muddy most. Deal?" her head quirked.

He nodded to her. It was relaxing to know he was understood, and he appreciated the clarification above all. He, too, raised from his seating position and put some distance between them before he looked at her once again. Yellow eyes rested on her for a few silent moments to take her in before they were to part ways. It was extra assurance that he would recognize her if there was a next time.

A deal you indeed have, and I had better be on my way to find more adventures until I once again cross your path, little wolf. An endearing nickname forming for the new acquaintance. He bid her goodbye by dipping his head and then drifting away from her into the darkness of the forest to continue on the route he was originally taking. An encounter that seemed so miniscule, but it played on his mind as he went.

Totally fine with it! Thank you for the thread! ^^