Cassiopeia's View now i'm wiser than dreams

this is a weird ass post implying his trek through tuktu and such so only the end is actually... slightly relevant

His head swam, but familiarity rang strange in his bones. He could make out a familiar mountain range far, far in the distance. He reeled. It meant he was almost there, and that he could earnestly begin to distance himself from the coast this time.

But this was not the way he had anticipated to come. Realization sunk deep that from the locusts, he had been forced to flee far to find greener pastures. His perpetual leanness from those days on were testament enough. Now, after all those miles, the bear's claws, the beaches.. Inari scrabbled desperately, only knowing that he had to put distance between there, and him. He'd been turned around but he would go on until he simply did not.

The pale wraith slipped forward, weaving a path through the woodlot that eventually opened before the range ahead. He struggled to find the best place to cross the mountains afterward, and needed to pause for a few days to scavenge and rest, gradually picking his way up then down the elevations. But once on the other side, he finally felt a little less anxious. His pace could relax, if he was so inclined. Now it was less about fleeing mindlessly, now with that many landmarks between it.

So he trailed the base of the mountains heading north until he could hopefully glom his way onto forest again -- where he would hopefully be more cozy, and could travel easier. But his survival banked on his nose's skill in the meantime, he had to find something to scrape by on to keep moving. He scoped on at the bottom of the mountains, nose held low and ears forward.

*scrambles for Gerra thread*

She wished to know the lands beyond Neverwinter Forest and that was what drew October towards the mountains. She didn’t dare ascend their treacherous heights, however; the young woman had never ventured atop a mountain and the unpredictable terrain made her wary.
 
Lithe limbs carried her swiftly along the mountains’ base, though she slowed often to acclimate to the rocky, uneven terrain. Unfamiliar scents wafted towards her from every direction and although most were relatively stale, she smelt another wolf that’d passed through recently.
 
Curiosity seized her and she shifted in his direction. His pale, lean figure appeared up ahead and October slowed as soon as she spotted it. A short bark was issued to gain his attention, tail swaying gently behind her as she hung back to gauge how he would react to her presence.

aaaaa!! <3

He can only skim along intently, for nothing better draws his focus for a long while. It makes it a little harder for him. He can feel concentrating wearing him out more, slowly, surely.. Or it's still old fatigue from yesterday, the day before, and so on perpetually. But, he is glad his wounds ached no longer, even after all this ground covered.

Inari only pauses once to look back over his shoulder, then up towards the peaks nearby. The motion itself makes him nervous, but when nothing awaits, he finds himself easing with a puff of a sigh. He feels strange still, and it's manifesting a little different from what he's grown used to. But now pointed ahead once again, he knows he has to focus. In doing so, he realizes the pale female. Her voice, a quick bark, brought his ears forward. The rest of him rose to attention, too, and his paws stopped to behold her with a curious cant.

"Hail, spirit.." he greeted with a rasp on his words and meager quiver of his low-slung tail. Nervousness threatened him afterward. He caught himself swallowing thickly once the words left his lips, although he maintained a subtle poise to his stance outwardly. It was how they had spoken to him before. However it seemed to fit, and he steadied his ears then. He looked her over quickly, all while hoping he did not look too uncertain. He smelled of no one, nothing.. and she, to his nose, was all stranger as well. She didn't know and neither did he. Inari simply banked on her being a friendly-enough sort. He had already fled from enough lately.

She met his words with a subtle cant of her head. A slow, gentle smile unfurled over the female’s ebon lips. He seemed a little put off by her presence, and she gave a short wag of her tail in hopes of putting him at ease. Lone wolves ran the risk of being unpredictable. October lent her trust rather easily and hoped that would not be the case with the one who stood before her.
 
“Hail,” she returned, unsure as to why she’d been referred to as a spirit. She supposed it was a result of her pale fur that he, too, was cloaked it, although his pelt contained more silvery highlights than hers. She gestured toward the gargantuan alp that loomed over them. “Did the mountain carry you during your descent from heaven?” queried the young woman, playing along.

She did nothing to press his unease further and in so far, seemed to be a mild-mannered presence towards him -- which was more than he could ask for, a wanderer. He let his ears splay out slowly while his mind whirs. It is her words that spur a bit of a focus, and he drags his minty stare up, considering the peak that she gestured towards. "Somewhat, I suppose," Inari shrugged, as detail is never his forte on the spot. "I have just crossed over them. I.. trekked from the coast, south a ways," he recounted and tried to steady away the distant look in his eyes as he almost didn't trust that to quite be true. It had to be. His paws ached so much and finally, he back to some place on this vast wild that he could almost call familiar.

"Do you live nearby?" he abruptly asked, straightening better with the words now as he peered at her with interest.

Her orange gaze widened somewhat when the male informed her that he’d indeed trekked across the treacherous crags. She cast a wary glance upwards in the directions before shifting her eyes back to his pale features. “Wow,” she breathed. “I’ve never hiked anything like them before, but I’ll be the first to admit I’m not a fan of heights.” A quiet, nervous laugh punctuated her words.
 
The stranger’s question prompted her ears to cup forward atop her head. She nodded. “I live in a pack called Neverwinter Forest. It’s a short way’s north of here,” she shared. Although the wraith didn’t smell of any sort of pack, October felt compelled to return the question anyways. “What about you? Are you headed anywhere in particular?”

He felt lucky, for a beat, that even with a nervous touch on her laugh, that she seemed a warm presence. Inari tried not to let himself get too overwhelmed, but her answer drew him forward by just a step. Her particularly forested scent confirmed this to him. "Neverwinter.." he repeated softly, trying to match it to any such memory. He knew so many lands (and forgot so many things), none had ever been formally designated that to him. Inari would remember that, though, her direction heading included. He then chuckled lightly -- although he matched with a quiver of unease of his own. Awkward. "Really? I think.. a part of me likes the heights," he almost frowned. Something there often resonated with him.

Then for his doings. All something he was never exactly ready to explain. "Well.. I do not have any particulars. I was on a search -- I was looking for a certain mountain, once, with someone important.. but the trail is long cold. I only wander, now." he answered in truth because he could not remember a time when he was not just a roving ghost. Even beneath a pack's title, his feet still itched to travel, even if to no gain. However he would be lying if he said he was not concerned about this lasting. His previous stay in the Teekon had ended with him driven out by famine; what else would await him if he chose to loiter too long, and with winter looming steadily closer?

Perhaps someday she’d be brave enough to trek up a mountain, if only for the thrill of it. She was certain the views would be breathtaking, but for the time being she saw no other reason that would make the climb worth it. In her mind, every inch of a mountain was a perilous trap; surely with her luck she’d make one wrong step that would spell her demise.
 
His explanation sparked curiosity within her. She wondered if the mountain he spoke of was a myth if he’d never found it, for how difficult could it be to find such a giant landmass? For the time being, though, it seemed he was merely wandering, much like she had been for a while before joining Neverwinter’s ranks. “Even with winter coming?” she couldn’t help but ask with a gentle cant of her head.

The nature of her question spurred it's rightful hesitations. He wanted a home, a cozy place to return to and to live carefree. But when he stayed, little of good followed, and he feared this befalling others he might have grown to care about. His social skills and overall contributions left little to be desired, too. All more matters to fret about. "Maybe. I do not know," he shook his head softly, almost sorrowful in the subtleties of his motion as his ears splayed gently. He often felt unfit for most packs, and knew it was sheer luck that any had ever housed him before. "I always have wandered. I cannot tell yet if it will make me change course," he let his eyes fall away from her for a second; he did not like thinking of the possibilities of a harsh winter. The last one had seemed mild.. "Or what else is it that I would do," he was not willful enough to change this yet. He was tired, and only wanted to rest peacefully, mind and body alike.

She’d lived a short life thus far; the majority of it spent knowing the sanctuary of family and pack. She’d wandered for a few months in solitude, but it hadn’t taken the female long to realize that she was not cut out to be a loner. October nodded in response to the wolf’s words, a look of calm contemplation resting upon her pale features. “If you do decide to settle somewhere, I’m sure my pack would take you in,” she offered after a beat of silence. “I can put in a good word for you. No pressure, though.”
 
Smiling gently, she studied him to gauge his reaction. She was quick to see the good in others and chose (often ignorantly) to believe that everyone had good intentions; it never crossed her mind that she didn’t even know his name, let alone what sort of good or bad objectives he may have harbored.

He swiveled his ears. Her words were not what he'd thought he would hear and he felt his jaw threatening to go a little slack. The pale loner had already discerned that she was a well-meaning wolf, but this? "They would?" he quipped, alongside a natural tilt of his head with such a notion. "Even without.. so very much to offer?" They would not know of his usefulness, nor his history that led him to here. Or his name, for that matter, but he has wriggled his tail gently, almost contemplative as he felt the weight of those options. He did not have vast experience on packs. He did not know if that was proper protocol for those of Neverwinter. Something about that idea seemed awfully deja vu but he refused to dwell just yet. He was prone to paranoia, though, so he wouldn't know what to do even if he did manage to worm his way into some well-off, neatly functioning pack again.

"What is Neverwinter like?" he eventually decided on.

Since there was no pressure, and he was not in any position to turn down any potential possibilities in his future, he would see what his curiosities could earn him. His options would remain open so long as he could help it. Inari knew something had brought him back here. Some greater pull, but to what, exactly, he did not know yet. As always, his feet itched to keep roving for now but a backup plan never hurt in the meantime should winter turn sour fast..

Her expression softened at his initial question. “Everybody has something to offer,” she told him gently, her quiet voice resolute. It was a notion October wholly trusted; her youthfulness and lack of experience fueled her beliefs and habits of seeing the best in everyone she encountered. Although she was aware she didn’t know much about him, nothing about the wraith had posed any red flags.
 
 
He asked what her pack was like and October smiled, her snowy plume swaying gently against her heels. “It’s a land full of evergreens. It’s quiet, and a little dark most of the time because of all the trees,” she admitted, chuckling softly. “But it’s peaceful. The pack’s a little small, but it’s made up of good wolves.” Neverwinter could surely benefit from taking on a few more members, though.

Perhaps she was right. Perhaps she was too good to be true, though. Inari kept his ears towards her with a look a careful concentration about him as he took note. Neverwinter sounded like a good home -- as well as he could envision one for himself, not a wolf who'd lived in any place for all too long. It seemed cozy, almost. No wonder she smelled of evergreens. In his own abstract sort of way, he wondered if he was picturing it all properly.

He was thankful for the explanation. "If I come near sometime.. is it alright to call for you?" he asked hesitantly, and with a worried look on his expression that he took care of soon afterward. She'd not know the full value of it, a challenge to remember someone, something, anything. And, even better to know if he needed someplace to be, it may not be the most terrible of sorts. He could always learn more if his wanderings went that way. But he wasn't done. Not yet. "I am Inari."

I'd love another thread if/when you have the time! <3

She held his gaze gently as he spoke, if only with the hope of instilling more confidence within him. Another smile blossomed across her lips. “Of course,” she assured him, delighted with the prospect of having a visitor and (potential) new pack mate.
 
At last he mentioned his name, but the snowy woman had all but forgotten that she hadn’t learned it yet. “I’m October,” she told the pale wolf, bright orange eyes resting fondly upon his pleasant façade.
 
It was growing late. “I should be heading back. I hope you fare well through your travels, Inari.” She began to turn away but moved to capture his gaze one more time before parting. “Please don’t hesitate to seek me out.”

of course <3

He shifted towards a nod, encouraged and heartened by the possibility -- the just in case of it all was not a luxury he often could find. But, he knew to appreciate it all the same despite it seeming like things were looking up for him. She was kind for taking the time to tell him anything, anyway.

Inari's tail wiggled gently. "Thank you," he said with a dip of his muzzle. He would do his best to remember her name. The pale loner made sure to take one last long look at her, concentrating to remember such a face to a name and scent like this. Like pines, he would remind himself. "I should be on my way as well," he had to agree. With another soft chuff of farewell, he moved silently away from the scene and on to his next venture.

He was a mysterious, ghostly individual, but one that October was glad to have crossed paths with. Inari intrigued her. She offered him another smile, her tail swaying gently against her heels as he chuffed his farewell. Dipping her muzzle, the pale woman padded off in the direction of the forest.