Ghost in the swamp

@Kove

Crescendo was fucking tired of the mind numbing, terrified screeching that came from the swamp every day at dusk. There he would be, settling into his den when WHAM...*cue horrifying screeching noise.* He was fucking ready to kill, so he decided to do just that. He had a mission.

Step one:
Enter Swamp
Step two:
Kill screeching thing.

With a howl to Kove, he set of towards the swamp.

The pale lupine had been heading towards the border of the territory, a part of him wanting to head out a bit farther than the lake and creek. He had wanted to visit his friend again soon, but the idea was soon moved to the back of his mind as the howl of a pack mate invaded his ears. The pack took priority over his personal desires, so Kove turned right around and headed in the direction from which the call had come. Why he was being summoned, he wasn't sure of right away, but when he realized from which direction the message had come, he knew the reasoning behind it. The alleged phantom. What it truly was, he didn't yet know, but had some ideas in mind. Ideas he would not share until later, once they'd actually gotten closer to where the screeching usually sounded from.

It didn't take him an overly long time to find the fellow pack member. Giving a sharp bark to signal his arrival, he drew closely to he dark wolf; who appeared to be rather angry. Out for blood, too, probably. "What's got you all riled up?" Kove inquired once in speaking distance.

Crescendo watched as @Kove approached, and stopped."Come with me" he told him, and continued walking. His dark pelt rippled as he jumped over a small obstacle in his path. He was quite proud of his fearsome coat of shadows, which he always kept spotless. "I am going to kill whatever thing is screeching like a lunatic in the swamp. And you are going to help me." he continued a few paces then stopped. The swamp was in sight now, but no sign of lunatics or ghosts. He huffed in disappointment. He called back to Kove. "See anything?"

If the pale man had eyebrows, one would have surely been cocked upon hearing the other male's words. No words left his maw, though, but he did follow after the darker figure. Another creature with a coat of shadows, Kove noted. He'd noticed that many belonging to Blackfeather had coats consisting of either blacks or whites; which he found rather amusing. It made it appear as if the forest was alive with moving shadows and wandering ghosts. "If you're hearing screeching, it's probably just a red fox," he noted, sounding slightly amused.

Red foxes where known to make all sorts of noises, mainly ones that a young pup might relate to a living nightmare. To him, however, they were just annoying and loud sounds. Still, he scanned the area with his copper orbs, looking for any signs that may confirm his suspicion. His thoughts were more on the ghost that he'd heard was lurking in the swamps. Maybe the two things were related? He wasn't yet sure, but knew they would eventually find out. "Nope," Kove answered. "Don't see anything yet."

Crescendo continued to stare out over the swamp as Kove voiced his option. He was about to answer back, when something in the treetops stopped him. A short scream sounded from the heights, the same that sounded almost every night. As he looked up, something large and white dived out of the trees and hovered over the swamps. It dove down and seemingly disappeared. Crescendo glanced over at Kove, amused. "I don't think that was a fox" he mused.

Kove watched the sight unfold before him, finding the thing a bit unsettling but not frightening. It interested him more than anything, and the ghostly wolf found himself curious as to what caused such a thing. He had been able to accept the idea of deities, gods, and goddesses, but ghosts? That was just absurd. Why, of all the things they could probably do, would the spirit of the dead continue to linger in a single place? It seemed foolish and unbelievable to him. What the other mentioned how he didn't think it was a fox, the man held onto a small grin of his own. "Perhaps it was a fox that ingested some bad shrooms? Never know what those things will do to you," he joked, copper eyes watching the place the thing disappeared into rather than the wolf he was speaking with. It only took a matter of seconds for him to turn serious once more, his gaze turning to the darker, living creature. "Ghost of the bog seems to know we're here now," he said, his voice slightly mocking when he spoke the word 'ghost'. "Any clues as to what you think that thing actually was? Not sure what goes on in your mind, but living spirits of the dead doesn't seem too realistic to me." Before the question had even managed to leave his mouth completely, the lighter of the two was already thinking of what could have caused such a thing. A fox was definitely out of the question, but what it truly was didn't seem to want to make itself known.

Crescendo looked back at Kove darkly. "Even if ghosts existed, the dead would not stay in a place like this." Crescendo looked to the spot where the thing had dived, but a patch of thick brush hid the thing from view. He looked to Kove again, eyes inviting him to follow. Crescendo stalked towards the spot, careful not to make a sound. The thing flew, which meant it was some sort of bird. However, Crescendo had never seen a bird so white and so large.

Kove mentally shook his head in response to what the other said, not allowing the motion to show as a physical one. “If the dead still lingered on earth with us, I'm positive they'd spend there time in places like this one,” he said back, not caring to elaborate on the reasoning behind his words. His steps were as light as they could be in the mud as he followed the walking shadow, his body low to the ground as he moved towards the place where the thing had disappeared into. If it flew, it was definitely a bird, but what kind it was needed to be answered.

Having come from up North, the large snowy owls were far from being an odd sight to him. They often had some black specks littering their light feathers, though, so Kove ruled them out. This creature was large, that was true, but it was also entirely white. His mind danced around through all the birds he'd seen before and knew of, finding a few other white ones that might work. Snowy egret, whooping crane, swan, snow goose—any of them could work based on the appearance, but the sound made was something else entirely. He did not know what type of bird could possibly make such a sound, and was curious to see just what this “ghost” is.

Crescendo was quick to hurry toward the landing spot of the thing. He didn't look back at Kove or make any remark about what he had just said. Small talk bored him.

Soon he was at the top of a small rise, looking down at the fluffy bundle of feathers on the ground. The thing turned, staring at the male with blood red eyes. It gave another one of it's piercing screams and took to the air, wing back up to it's perch and looking down at the wolves with it's creepy gaze. It was quite large, but from the brief glimpse of it up-close Crescendo couldn't guess at it's species.

Finish up within the next post or two?

Kove was, of course, in no hurry to find the source of the noise. The so called 'ghost' had not been of bother to him, as he'd hardly ever gone into the swamps, and he never slept close to them. So, while he did trail after where it'd disappeared at, his legs moved at an even, moderate pace. He was not slow, but not moving quickly, either. He'd already assumed it to be a bird of sorts, and they couldn't really do anything about it unless they killed it—which he was all for, if they could even catch the thing. Birds had wings, after all, leaving the wolves at a disadvantage.

His suspicions had been confirmed the second he reached the spot and saw the bird shoot up onto a branch above. It was pale as ever with red eyes, making him realize it had to be an albino. Why it insisted on making so much noise, he didn't know. Maybe it was because of whatever type of bird it was, or maybe it was trying to call for a mate that would never come. Whatever the case, the mystery had been solved. "Happy you found your 'ghost'?" the Inuit inquired, his copper gaze looking to the bird in the tree. "What do you plan to do now? Climb the tree and eat it?" It was a joke, of course, as he knew wolves could not climb trees. He did wonder what the silver-eyed man had planned, though. Maybe it was to just walk away, or maybe he wanted to try and wait the bird out. Kove probably wouldn't stick around for the latter.

Crescendo glanced at the pale male and then up the tree. "Sadly, it seems the thing will live." He chuffed angrily. "I'll just have to move my den, then. Stupid fucker" He grumbled. He dipped his head to Kove, at least they had tried. "Goodbye, Kove"

With naught another word Crescendo melted into the shadows again, his huge frame gliding over the ground, scouting for a new den spot. To bad. His first had been quite good actually.

I'll go have this archived now. Thanks for the thread.

Believe it or not, Kove was a bit glad the thing would be able to live. Albinism was a rare thing, and he thought it would be a shame to end the life of one with it just because the creature made a bit of noise. Perhaps, someday, it would lay eggs, and then they could hunt those birds once they were big enough to be a worthy meal. He drew his tongue over his muzzle at that thought, and then chuckled at the darker man, who appeared to be annoyed by the fact. The ghost was sure he would survive though. Moving to a new den could be a good experience for him, might even keep him from smelling more and more like the swampland and it's natural gasses. "Farewell, Crescendo," he said back.

Kove gave the bird in the tree another look after the other wolf had departed. "You had better lay eggs, and soon," he told it, though he was sure it's tiny brain wouldn't be able to comprehend what he was saying to it. The Inuit man then turned and headed in a direction separate to the one the shadow had gone in, setting his path to Meldresi's den. He would inform her of what the alleged ghost had been, as well as tell her of where it might be nesting in case she wished to use it for anything.