Larksong Grotto Missions

Tagging @Skeet, @Jhala, or @Aspen (Or all)? Might be good for these guys to meet.

Zaavier mumbled to himself once again as he strolled along the barren landscape. Before, the Grotto may have been a beautiful place with lush forests that bore bright green leaves and life all around and a dazzling lake surrounded by beds of moss and thick grass. But now, the place was a sad, sad, valley squeezed in between sad, sad, mountains. Everything was... well... brown. Dead. 

Zaavier hated the locusts for ruining his home and he hated himself for not being ready for it. But how could he have been? There was no way of knowing when or even if the swarm was coming. however, Zaavier ignored the simple logic and blamed himself. He blamed himself for his parents hating him. He blamed himself for his cousin's death. He even blamed himself for the god damned bear that had to cross their path that day! He grumbled again as he continued on.

He had to busy himself with something... He couldn't gather herbs, hunting was useless at the moment, so why not continue on his search to find (or make) a suitable den. Besides, he had nothing better to do. So, thats what the man did. He turned himself right sround and walked back into the forest of brown trunks and branches.

Here I am!

Everyone was struggling with the attack of locusts. Nothing was easy, all the plant life was dead, herds were moving on, and the wolves were going to starve. Skeet's weight was dropping drastically, surviving on bugs and other small animals wasn't enough. His stomach gave off loud whale calls as he moved along, snatching up as many bugs as possible.

What came into view was at first someone Skeet didn't know. At first he thought it was a coyote, but it was in fact, a wolf. Skeet made his way over, giving off a hoarse bark and chuff to show he was there.

<3

Zaavier turned at the sound of a hoarse bark, hard eyes that once boiled with self anger returned to normal in sake of his pack member. He did not know this one, but he saw him in the cave the day the locusts came. He seemed quite accustomed to Reek, so Zaavier decided to put some of his trust in him as well. He dipped his head politely and strode forward to meet him. He gave his own huff of greeting, but decided to add something more...  well... welcoming. 

"I'm Zaavier." He said, mustering the first words between the two. Hopefully this would be a good conversation -- no small talk. Zaavier was horrible at those kinds of things, and he always got annoyed when they came up, but sometimes his emotions just boiled over.

Zaavier. That was the wolf's name in front of him. Skeet tilted his head a bit before offering his charming and soft smile. "Nice to meet ya, I'm Skeet" he said, his tail wagging softly. This man in front seemed bery blunt in straightforward, maybe he's just not one to do small talk. But, who was Skeet to judge?

"God damn" he said aloud, looking around the area more. The devastation of the locusts was greater than he thought. Were they just everywhere and ate everything? He feared death of being starved, and the last thing he wanted to do was be a cannibal. "These little shits just destroy everythin' don't they?" He said, looking over towards Zaavier. It wasn't really small talk in Skeet's book, more of relative speech on a topic.

"Likewise," The brute replied, his eyes trailing Skeet's as they wandered around their surroundings. Everything was normal and barren. Skeet seemed to understand his dislike of small talk and Zaavier mustered a smirk. They would probably get along just fine. "Yup. They fly through and fuck up everything. It's not like we did anything to them!" He growled. 

Zaavier's normally lanky frame was turning dangerously skinny, but he tried not to let his stomach get the best of him. He often tried to hunt, but he wasn't the best hunter. The prey he succeeded most at was fish -- thank goodness for that -- but those were still very challenging to catch. Some say that he's best catching herbs, but those weren't really part of the pickings right now. Besides, what would that do for a wolf's hunger?

Super short post X-X

hello (:

With her ears perked and her head high, Jhala walked through the territory. Her tail was held straight behind her, and she appeared somewhat wary of everything she looked at. She'd stopped watching where she was walking, it'd become tiresome to avoid stepping on the caracasses. Each step was accompanied by a loud crunch which made her ears hurt. It didn't really matter, she guessed, nothing could be done about it.

Upon her wandering aimlessly for food, she came across the scent of Skeet-- and another male she did not know. She began to trot towards her friend, her tail swaying behind her as she went. When she arrived she let out a low bark and straightened her posture. Truthfully, she could care less if Skeet had acknowledged her rank, but she wanted to make damn sure that this new guy knew who she was. She was the beta, Reek trusted her to be the beta-- his beta. She would do that for him.

With the male agreeing with him, Skeet could feel his body unwind a bit in comfort. he liked this one, he seemed very earth-bound with everything and level-headed. He nodded his head in agreement with Zaavier, looking around at the damage. They are at least... somewhat food. He was unsure about how his weight would drop, but maybe these bugs had a decent amount of calories in them.

Before he could say another thing, Jhala came along with a high posture. That's right, Jhala was given a high position of beta. Skeet let off a cheeky grin at her bark, giving off a sarcastic bow of his head and looking towards her. "Well hey there miss beta Jhala" he teased, giving off a laugh with it.

<3

Before the lanky brute could reply to Skeet, his attention was diverted to a very confident she-wolf striding up to the two. Zaavier was about to make a snarky comment about her posture - because that's just how he is - when Skeet greeted her. Beta. Now that was a whole other deal. This girl could smack him upside the head and send him away if she felt like it so he better get on her good side. Even though his thought were silly, he took this with much thoughtfullness as he presented her with a lengthy bow. "Pleasure to meet you... Jhala, am I right?" He spoke in his normal, light tone. 

He finished his bow and sat back down again, a smile plastered to his lips. He studied the girl. She seemed worthy of such the rank, and once again, he was proud to be part of a pack that boasted such worthy leaders.

Skeet's comment, while friendly and well-meant, causes Jhala to lower her head and shake it. She nudges her friend in return, muttering quickly, "Quit it!" with obvious embarressment. The other wolf bows along with him, and she tilts her head to watch him. "Yeah-- 'm Jhala," she replies, her tail wagging a little. She gives a quick glance to Skeet, amber eyes studying him briefly, before she turns back to the other wolf. "Who're you?" she asks him, settling herself to the ground slowly and cautiously beside Skeet.

With his little teasing, Jhala was quick to be embarrassed. Skeet couldn't help but snicker lightly at her. She was fun to mess around with. She settled down next to him, looking off towards Zaavier and asking for his name. Skeet, being the ass he was always made to be, decided to answer for the boy.


"His name's Zaavier" he said, looking towards the other. "We were just talkin' about these little shits causing hell for us". It was the bare truth, these little locusts caused so much damage for aeveryone in the grotto.

Zaavier was quick to open his mouth to reply to the beta, but Skeet was quicker. Oh, they would get along alright. He grinned to himself. Zaavier was just as annoying! The boy next to him explained to Jhala that the two were just talking about their little perdicament and how they hated the little bastards. Zaavier raised his eyebrows and nodded in agreement to Skeet. "Pretty much." He said in his carefree sort of tone -- although he cared about the threat the locusts posed very much. "This could've been a nice sunny day when we all relax in the cool grass, except there is no grass... But what's done is done, we've gotta move on." The boy stood up and looked from Jhala to Skeet and back again. "So, who's gonna join me in catching some fish?" He grinned playfully with a wag of his tail, copper eyes dancing with amusement and humor.

"The bugs?" Jhala replies, her ears perking. "Yeah I'm not a fan," she shakes her head, thinking back to the deafening buzzing the creatures created-- she certainly was not a fan. She listens to the two for a moment before pausing. 

"I've ever fished before," she says, but more as a comment than a 'oh no please don't make me' type deal. She loved hunting, and assumed that fishing was just another method she could learn. "One of you could teach me-- right?"

Both of the two were not pleased with the appearence of the locusts and he destruction that was left behind.  All the herds moved on and the only thing that could possibly be caught was rabbit and other small rodents. Hearing the offer about fishing, Skeet smiled charmingly.

"I never fished, but who said a wolf can't learn?" he said, looking towards both of them. He started to walk towards the stream's initial area, turning around to face both. "You guys comin' or what?" He called, never letting his cheshire cat grin fade.

Jhala agreed, but asked if someone could help her. Skeet  didn't know either but loped down towards bank. Zaavier's eyes followed Skeet with amusement, but he lingered back with Jhala, wanting to walk with her to the lake. "I can teach ya," he offered. His father had taught him briefly before he left with Laika and after that, he had developed his skills further on his own. He'd attempted to teach Laika, but she just couldn't wrap her mind around it. He wondered where she would be right now if she had survived. 

Shaking his mind from those troubling thoughts, his ears twitched as Skeet called to them. With a chuckle, he looked back to Jhala. "Let's go. Skeet might scare all the fish away before we can get down there." He teased and began to trot down the the lake.

Jhala nodded to Zaavier, smiling kindly. "Aight, aight," she said, and began to trot beside him. The smallest instinct she had begged her to move in front of the other, and her paws forced her to lengthen her strides to jog in front of Zaavier. She hadn't truly realized she'd done it, but she had, and now she moved towards the lake a few steps in front of the other. 

When they arrived, her tail wagged quickly behind her. She looked from Skeet to Zaavier and waited for someone to teach her how to fish-- she was eager as hell.

ooc: Horrible memory, sorry :(

He could hear Zaavier's light insult but could only laugh it off. "I ain't that scary!" he called back to them, soon coming to stop by the river and look at the swimming fish. He could already feel his stomach make loud whale noises, and his tail was wagging a mile a minute. He was so excited, but mostly hungry, to fish!

"So captain" he said, looking to Zaavier. "Whadda we do first?"

Zaavier let the female lead without a care at all and followed her down to the bank. He looked from Skeet to Jhala with a smile on his features before turning back to the water, scanning it for any signs of fish. When he didn't see any close to shore, he turned to his friends again. "First you've got wade in and try not to make too many ripples. Fish can feel the ripples." 

He slipped into the chilly liquid with ease, though one could tell he was making an effort not to stir the water too much. He could see the faint shadows of fish frolicking in the cold depths and narrowed his eyes. "I don't know of any way to lure them here, and I dont think there really is a way. That's why fishing is mostly waiting. We have to wait for one to aproach." He informed them with a smirk.

yikes i'm so so sorry i did not know it was my turn

Jhala follows suit, the chilly water lapping at her under belly. She's sort of bulky and ungraceful, so her large paws can't help but disturb the peaceful water-- oh well, more time to enjoy the water. "Gross," she mutters, her ears falling to her skull. She has no problem with the cold and is eager to learn to fish, but is not a fan of wet fur. Sticky and smells let wet dog-- obviously. 

She waits beside Zaavier, glancing towards Skeet before turning back towards the water. Okay, right, now just wait....

Skeet followed Zaavier's instructions and waddled into the chilling river, making him shiver a bit but then relax. He couldn't be stiff while fishing or else he wouldn't be able to move in time to catch the slippery animals. He said nothing as he watched fish swim by, too far out of reach.

But this was completely new to Skeet, and diving after them didn't seem like that bad of an idea. So, he jumped towards the fish and landed near them. Not the best move on his part, they scattered about too quickly for him to grab. Instead, he grabbed a rock from the water bed above the water. He laughed to himself, soon spitting it out and resettling himself in the water.

Zaavier watched Jhala and Skeet closely, making sure they did the right things. Everything was going great, until Skeet decided to launch himself into the water. Zaavier half hoped he caught a fish anyways, knowing that all three belllies were yearning for food, but of course that didn't happen. The fish scattered and the other male ended up with the grand prize of rock. 

Zaavier couldn't help but laugh as Skeet spit out his rock and repositioned himself. "No use in doing that," He chuckled, "It'll be a long time before they return." Zaav turned and waded out of the water, shaking his coat and settling down on the ground once again. "Might as well try again later." 

Fade with your posts? <3

Jhala giggles, watching as Skeet launches himself into the water. He scares off a majority of the fish-- actually all the fish-- and leaves Zaavier to grin and shake his head. The dark beta shrugs, nudging Skeet playfully. "Way to go, dumbass," she mutters, and settles down with Zaavier. Might as well enjoy the day.