Stone Circle Now, am I wrong?

@Phiipa ♥

That morning, Calloon awakened peacefully again. The nightmares he had suffered from while under the care of Jewels were gone like rainclouds and he felt lighter. Easthollow was doing him good, and he was thankful for it - after the winter more than ever. It had been so greatly kind of Steady to let him in, even if his witchy friend was only able to join in Spring. As he crawled out of the den he had spent the night in, he was greeted by a raven - on the ground and hurt, as if it was dying. Now, Calloon was not the biggest fan of the black birds, but he did not wish them harm either. This raven though was in pain, and the ghost could only think of one humane thing to do. He was hungry anyway after his first hunt for the pack, and this was as a gift from Hikinda.

So, he moved his nimble body through the still-deep snow toward the suffering creature - ending its life with a hard tug on its head, snapping its neck. The raven stilled, dead by the teeth of a ghostly, hungry boy. He picked up the cold carcass, mouth barely bloodied and golden-ringed eyes dull. You are free to go on now, mister Raven - go on, follow the ones with the third eye to your new life.

Deciding it was better off with the other food he had stored in the caches instead of his own tummy, he turned and went toward that instead. Someone might be delighted by your body, dear Raven. You will do good by not being alive, as so many before you. You tried, you tried.

<3

Phiipa was still exploring around the new territory, for she'd only just been accepted into the pack. She was at the bottom of the ranks, but she didn't mind. She had a place to stay again, and possibly a family. These wolves all seemed really nice, and the golden girl felt like she might fit in well here. She'd always liked meadows, though she preferred forests, but she didn't mind this change of scenery. And she could only imagine the flowers that must grow here is spring, thank goodness that was the next season.

As she trotted through the Easthollow territory, she caught onto the scent of another wolf. Being friendly, Phiipa had to go investigate. She altered her path to follow this scent trail, and it soon led her to a light grey male. He was very handsome, even though she only saw him from behind right now. Silky fur, nimble legs and frame. He reminded her of a male she'd met a while ago. She chuffed lightly to get his attention, her tail wagging happily behind her.

Happily trotting he went - finding it quite easy to find his way around here, finally. He had not gotten a tour as he had liked, but at least he had taken an effort to familiarize himself with the new environment. I wonder - how would this place look when Tundavi comes around? I can't wait for the snow to melt... do they celebrate Tundavi here? Tundavi was a very important day of the year for everyone with a Tricilo religion like Calloon. It was celebrated by catching large game and skinning it - letting the body dry in the new-born sun for a day before eating it when it was midnight. An offering - an offering to Hikinda and Rolovan.

He guessed he could celebrate it on his own if no one here knew about it, but that sounded quite boring. Anything for the wise ones, though - I must not get in more trouble. Not again, not again.

His train of thought was broken by a chuff from behind and his ears attentively swivelled atop his sunken skull. He turned, the raven still clamped between his jaws. His doe-eyes grew wide when he saw who had called, not sure who it was but still feeling quite awestruck. She was not scared to greet him, it seemed, but Calloon wasn't so sure about this. He gave a soft "woof" around the body of the raven he had found, his stance rather neutral.

When he turned around, Phiipa found he was even more attractive form the front. His eyes were a brilliant gold, with rings of silver around them. Her own golden doe eyes widened as she became lost in his. It took her a moment to stop being distracted by his appearance, and his soft woof helped her out of it. She gave him a smile, her tail wagging lightly at her hips. Her head slightly bowed in submission to him, Phiipa opened her mouth to speak. 

Hello! My name's Phiipa. I'm new here, so sorry if I startled you. It's pleasure to meet you. She said, her soft voice carrying lightly with the breeze.

Calloon didn't think of himself as anything special - surely not handsome or anything. He could agree that his youthful appearance could be cute in some situations, but not much more. Perhaps he gave himself less credit than he deserved, but still - if he was anything, he was humble. The other though could think of herself as beautiful, he found - because she was. He was not so sure about his sexuality (because Hikinda still had to place him in some sort of romantic situation), but he could appreciate something good-looking anytime.

Phiipa - how curious. If she is new though, she might not know that I am what I am. She submitted, however slightly, which surprised the rather submissive ghost. His gentle smile broke through as he whined a greeting, nodding as some sort of introduction. He couldn't do much more - especially not with the raven in his mouth that he refused to drop.

The cloudy grey male smiled, and whined through his teeth. He refused to drop the raven which Phiipa found kind of odd. Not even to tell his own name. But it wasn't her place to judge him. His greeting was nevertheless a friendly one, so the girl smiled. 

Can you talk or do you just choose not to? She asked inquisitively, her ears perked atop her head attentively. She didn't actually expect that he couldn't speak, she was more so just trying to encourage him to do so. She took a few steps toward him, her golden tail still wagging.

He dearly hoped he had not made a bad first impression - not talking to someone could be perceived as rudeness, and he was anything but when it came to introductions. He hoped his gentle and subtle niceness did not need words to be noticed, for he could not utter even a single one. When her question hung in the air, he was unsure of how to answer - it was not exactly a "no/yes" question he could answer with a nod, since this was a two-in-one. For a moment, he didn't move a muscle.

Then, he decided to drop his raven - lowering his whole muzzle instead of letting it fall to the ground. When he was back up, he noticed she had come closer. Perfect! He opened his mouth to show the stump of a tongue he had left that miserably waggled there, having nothing to do anymore.

There was a moment of silence, and the male stood completely still. For a moment she wondered if she'd done something wrong, if she had offended him somehow or something. She paused herself, though she was only feet from him. Then he dropped the raven, which was something up until now he'd seemed too stubborn to do. She inched forwards again when he opened his mouth, wondering what it was he wanted to show her. She was shocked when she realized what was missing from his mouth. It was his tongue! It was just gone.

She gave him a look of pity, but covered it quickly. She didn't want to make him feel bad at all, but she could only imagine how hard his life was without a tongue. The golden female had so many questions she wanted to ask him, So how did- She stopped. It wasn't like he could answer any of the questions she asked anyway. Maybe yes or no questions, but anything beyond that would be a little difficult. She blushed under her facial fluff, feeling silly for making that mistake. I mean uhh. She tried to think of something to say, but finally decided maybe words weren't the best way to communicate with him.

So she closed her mouth and gave him a simple friendly smile. Her tail wagging behind her, she bent down and nosed at the raven then looked back up at him, urging him to pick it back up. Then she started walking past him, her pelt brushing up against his. She wanted to walk with him, wherever he was taking the raven to. This no words thing was hard, but she did her best. Plus now she wanted to know what a day in his life was like.

While it was true that living without speaking was a curse that was planted on his young shoulders, he had come to accept it. While still victim to self-pity every now and then, it really wasn't as bad as some would imagine. He couldn't imagine what it was like to lose a whole limb or one's sanity - how terrible would that be! Well, he feared that he was already kind of losing his sanity by talking to himself in his head, but that was besides the point.

The nice female seemed to want to ask a question, and Calloon's ears wiggled atop his head before she gave up searching for the right words. Calloon couldn't control a light and soft giggle, but he was soon distracted by the other's actions. Does she want to play? Walk?

Calloon smiled, finally getting what she was all about and picked up his dead raven - running up beside his new friend not long after. All the while, he was rumbling with laughter as he tried to find the way to the caches. He gave her a bump of his shoulder, hoping he had not taken away her peppiness by showing what kind of curse had been put on him. 

Phiipa was glad that he'd gotten what she'd meant, and soon her new friend was trotting by her side with the raven in his mouth. Despite the fact that he couldn't talk, he was great company. He had a sort of warm aura about him, one that made her feel joyful and happy. She could get used to hanging out with him. With the whole pack really, the entire Easthollow family seemed to have a good vibe. As they walked, the male nudged her shoulder and she turned to him win a grin on her face.

The golden furred female gave the side of his neck a nose bop, a polite and friendly gesture to show that she was happy. She picked up speed and pranced ahead of him like a deer would, her tail wagging she turned around and let out a playful yip. Perhaps they could turn this journey to the cache into a game of tag!

Calloon could agree that everyone he had met of Easthollow had been very friendly and welcoming. No one seemed to judge him for his curse, and even though they did not share the same religion; he felt like these wolves were his family. Not by name, not by blood; just by heart, and that meant an awful lot to the ghost. Phiipa seemed to enjoy this time together, but Calloon was oblivious as to why. The meaning of "a crush" had never been explained to him and nor had he found anyone attractive in such a way they he'd want to spend every single second of his given life with that someone.

The coldness and wetness of Phiipa's nose touched his mane, causing an excited chill to run up his spine as she ran ahead. He got it! He actually knew this game! I'll get ya, I'll get ya!

He sprinted after her, aiming to "bop" her side or back as soon as he was near enough.

Phiipa had had little crushes before but never a real crush. While she often thought others to be attractive, seldom would she actually pursue an interest. That was always her older sister Vinnira's job, Phiipa preferred keeping her inner feelings to herself. And while she did find this white furred male attractive, she wasn't fully crushing yet. Besides they'd only just met. But she definitely liked him a lot, he was pretty fun, and very interesting.  Not everyone she met didn't have a tongue, and if she had ever met another with no tongue, she doubted any would be as joyful as this guy.

When she turned her head again, he was gaining on her! With an excited yelp, Phiipa turned sharply hoping to through him off. He'd come pretty close, but the small female was fast, her legs were built for exactly this.

His northern frame was build for running in the snow - the webbing between his toes catching his weight and preventing him from sinking through every time he even dared to take a step. It was like floating - walking on solid, fluffy clouds and it was amazingly fun for the nimble ghost. While he had been recovering, he had dreamt of running again, and now he finally could. It was a shame Jewels wasn't there to witness it all - witness her "little mute ghost" making friends in his own special way.

Finally, he was closer to her, but the moment he wanted to tag her, she was out of his sight. He had not been paying close attention, his mind elsewhere, and now he clumsily made a turn in the direction of his friend - causing snow to scatter and his heart to flutter. He made two unsteady steps, tried to regain his speed, but ultimately landed face-first in the poofy, downy snow with an "oof".

Phiipa heard a scrambling of paws and an 'oof' from behind her and she turned her head to see that her friend had fallen flat on his face. She gasped lightly, but couldn't help but let out a giggle. She turned and rushed over to his side, and exclaimed, Oh my goodness are you- Dang it, she wasn't supposed to speak. It wasn't like her could tell her what hurt anyway. She was using body language, not english. So instead of asking if he was alright, the young female crouched down and nosed at his cheek, her tail still wagging lightly. She'd feel just horrible if he wasn't ok, she would blame herself for having turned so quickly. Maybe she should've just let him catch her.

His fawn-like body made him quite unstable at times - a lot more when the ground was covered in frozen goods and slippery things. It was often that he found himself tripping over things, sometimes his own paws, and always had did it have to be in front of a girl. He did not usually hurt himself and this time was no exception - nothing broken, nothing twisted but his pride had taken quite some damage as he heard her restrained giggle. At least she worries over me - lucky me.

He pulled his long snout and sunken face out of the snow - his face covered in tiny flecks of the frosted stars and his fur pretty wet. His mane and chest were in the same state, but his rear had not taken any snow-damage, as he liked to think of it. With an embarrassed but goofy smile did he look up at her, nodding his head in a "yes".

He rolled over to where she was, his high tolerance for cold and pain making him not bothered by the fact that it was pretty uncomfortable to do so, and "bopped" her legs if she was not fast enough with her retreat. He did so while a soft laughing sound poured from his throat, his stump of a tongue wriggling about in his mouth to control himself.

The speechless male pulled his snowy snout of the snow, and with a goofy smile gave Phiipa a nod. She giggled as he rolled over to where she stood, and he bopped her legs. It took her a moment to realize what he'd just done, but when she got it, she broke into a grin. He made a laughing sound, and Phiipa laughed as well. It was kind of like cheating, but not really.

Oh yeah? She grumbled playfully, and with a playful growl she pounced on top of him, rolling into the snow. If the girl was one thing, she wasn't a quitter. Even if this was just a silly game of tag, and now wrestling, Phiipa always came out on top.

He had not planned on cheating, and he was not a sore loser or anything - he simply had so much fun with the other that it was hard to let a stumble ruin the fun. Some moments hung between him tagging her and her understanding what had happened, but when she did... She joined him in an amazingly joyful song of laughter. He smiled, just as she pounced on him.

He let out a soft "uhf", his nimble frame almost crushed by the sudden weight. He let out a playful growl, rolling and struggling to get her on her off his back. He tried throwing his butt in the air and his powerhouse, hoping her grip would loosen and that he would be set free. The trapped feeling was no joyful moment for him, having been trapped before with no good memories of it - and it was easy to see that he was truly panicking at this point.

The male tried his best to get her off, his playful growls turning into rears and bucks. She realized quickly that he was panicked and with a gasp she leaped off. With a whimper of apology, she hurried back to his side, worried that she'd hurt him. Phiipa absolutely hated violence, anything more than a playful wrestle was too much for her. Mostly because she hated pain, both from the receiving and giving end. And to see that she might've injured her new friend, well that just made her terribly sad.

She sniffed him all over, rooting through his fur to find a cut or something, but instead she found a variety of scars hidden by his light grey down. She narrowed her eyes at them, wondering where a nice boy like that could've gotten such horrible scars, and come to think of it, where he'd lost his tongue. She looked up at him, pity and confusion flashing in her eyes. She knew he couldn't tell her what had happened, but she could still tell him that she was sorry. She tapped her nose to his cheek, and waited there for a moment as if to say, I'm so sorry.

Flashes of the part almost filled his golden ringed eyes with tears then and there, but luckily his new friend was quick to notice not everything was right. He had not meant to flip out as he had done - had never wanted to make her feel guilty or to earn someone's pity. The same happened the day he met the old, wobbly-eyed witch; how he could not enter the cave that not even nearly resembled the dungeons he had been kept in. He could've sworn that never again would trauma haunt him after his physical wounds were healed, but the present soon proved him wrong. Perhaps the mental scars were deeper than he had imagined.

The golden dancer obviously had not meant for this to happen - neither of them had and Calloon wanted nothing else than to just erase that part of their time together. Sitting upright he let his breaths slow and he could feel the rising of his chest less prominent. When she got closer, he rubbed his cheek on her cheek - much like a cat. Comfort - like Jewels did. Hopefully like you will do.

Maybe fade here?

Phiipa was glad that the silent spirit returned the gesture, rubbing his cheek against hers. She nuzzled him back, then stepped away her tail hung low but swinging lightly. After giving him a sweet smile, Phiipa turned and pranced through the snow, sniffing at it as she looked for something. Soon she found her prize, the raven, its black feathers dusted with white powder. She picked it up then pranced back to him, offering it to him, in hopes of continuing their walk to the caches.

Yep! I'll archive :p

He looked at her as she went off to search for something, following her every move with a thinking-face. It soon dawned on him though and he eagerly took the raven back in his mutilated mouth. He trembled as his nimble form lifted and followed the other with a sweet smile.