Arrow Lake body modification
190 Posts
Ooc — Talamasca
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#1
All Welcome 
A few days ago while romping in the silver grass, the boy had been competing with @Monarch and racing along the outer limits of the claim.

Typically the children were always within range of an adult, but this had been one of the rare moments where the twins had managed to sneak away and enabled them to cavort in private. It had been during this rambunctious play that he'd first noticed the sour smell; today, he doubled back to investigate alone.

It was a powerful smell and appeared to have grown stronger since he'd initially come across it - yet there was nothing present, at least terrestrially, to account for it. The boy stalked along with his head low as he inspected the soil, chuffing on occasion to clear his nose of scents he deemed useless. Eventually his hunt became centered on a second of the woods that was predominately composed of birch trees. Overhead, where the clouds had been gathering all day, something ripped, then the rain started - a cold drizzle.

The boy huffed and puffed again, turning on the spot, looking, sniffing - and soon enough the scent had been washed away, leaving him frustrated and hyper-focused on the failed attempt to understand.
I've learned to lose you, can't afford to
813 Posts
Ooc — hela
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#2
She had been curious about the smell, too, and after finding her twin nowhere, she had also decided to check it out. Only, when she neared the edge of the territory, she scented her brother in the tall grass. At first, she froze and then whipped around, sure he had been following her. But, she saw nothing. A breeze brushed up against her check and surrounded her nose, filling her nostrils with his scent once more. Now she understood. She began to track his scent through the grass, picking up speed as she grew more confident that he had gone in the direction opposite the wind.

Rain began to fall, following a low rumbling of sound across the sky, and that was when she saw him. She marched over to her twin, barely releasing a chuff before curiously asking: Sec--Mesa, what you doing?
Inuttuk
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190 Posts
Ooc — Talamasca
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#3
The boy wheeled in the grass, refusing to give up on his hunt even if the scent was deteriorating beneath the lightly falling rain; he dashed one way around the trees with his head down, then the other, and only stopped when his sister's voice called out — seizing up like a colt freshly introduced to the bit. He'd gotten himself positioned between some trees, facing a stump, and had to stop and think to escape the confines of the twisting trunks - backing up and awkwardly flailing as he righted himself.

Three! He yipped excitedly as he lunged for his sister. The boy collided shoulder-to-shoulder with her and nibbled at her cheek with a sloppy, gaping muzzle. D'you smell it? Something dead, but I can't find it, not that he wanted to show off his ineptitude, but this was a true mystery! There were signs of a struggle in the grass but there was no body anywhere around these trees, and where it not for the light rain falling, the scent would've been concentrated to that exact area. How could something smell so tantalyzing without a body?
I've learned to lose you, can't afford to
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Ooc — hela
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#4
She watched, tail wagging slightly behind her, as he clumsily pulled himself from between the trees. She braced for the collision and jumped forward to meet him. Monarch mouthed whatever part of her brother's cheek or neck she could reach, pausing when he spoke to consider his words. She sniffed the air a few times, the interesting smell seeming to come from all around them. Yeah, but where is it? she asked, walking a few steps further into the trees. She turned back towards him, a smile slowly spreading across her face. Come on! Let's find it! She turned again and bounded into the trees, deciding to search that direction first.

She came to a sudden stop, sliding a little across the muddy ground. The smell seemed more concentrated here, and she lowered her nose to the ground and sniffed around, trying to pinpoint a trail. But, even though the scent seemed stronger now, she couldn't quite place the direction of its origin.
Inuttuk
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Ooc — Talamasca
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#5
He was panting heavily from his gaping mouth but not because he was tired, it was because he was excited and the hot summer air was uncomfortable. Soon his sister was perusing the soil herself, tracing over where he'd already inspected and delving further - in to a wallow of mud that he'd overlooked. There was a small puddle of crimson mixed in to the topsoil, and as Mesa pirouetted around the mud puddle (in an odd moment of vanity) he took notice of a shock of red on the nearby tree; it was focused to the midpoint and thinned as it trailed down the trunk.

Forgetting for a moment that there was a plethora of clues right there, he plunged forward, stampeding through the muck and destroying the evidence, but bee-lining for the tree. He rose up on his hind limbs again to try and reach for the blood stain, sniffing at it, probing it with his nose with a few hops to make up the distance — and as he fell back to all fours, Mesa noticed something higher up. A wedge of damp fur.

There! Up there! Can you get it? He tried to stand up again, but his paws splayed in the mud and the pale boy lost balance easily, colliding with the dirt and scrambling to get up all in one moment; but he looked wildly to Monarch - I think its stuck!! It was some kind of creature - or had been, maybe - larger than a squirrel but not built like a possum, and it was fat! But it was too high up to discern, whatever it was. Maybe it had been a target in a hunt, but had tree'd itself for safety?
I've learned to lose you, can't afford to
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Ooc — hela
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#6
She looked when Mesa directed her to, her gaze scanning the branches until she found what her brother had pointed out. She jumped up, placing her muddy paws on the tree trunk and jumping a few times to try and reach the creature with snapping teeth. But it was too far up, and after a few jumps, her rear paws slid out from under her, making her fall on her rear in the mud with a thud and a splash. She stood and shook mud from her coat, looking to her twin with a frustrated frown. I can't reach it; it's too far up, she complained. She didn't much care about being covered in mud, but she was incredibly irritated that her attempts to catch the treed animal were thwarted by her size and questionable coordination.
Inuttuk
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Ooc — Talamasca
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#7
The creature chattered where it was roosted. Its black-marked face was striking to Mesa, who immediately wondered if the raccoon was an oddity among its own kind of if they each carried their own roguish look. When it became clear that Monarch couldn't reach (she said as much, and Mesa could see her struggling) he moved to join her, mimicking her position at another angle of the same tree, which itself was hardly able to handle their combined weights. The tree shuddered; the raccoon watched but soon climbed higher, scrambling in to a neighbouring tree by way of the highest branches, then chattered there for a bit. With a huff Mesa lunged and tried to climb up the tree, grasping at it with his blunted claws, and made zero headway — the thing, whatever it was, had outsmarted them. They'd lost.
I've learned to lose you, can't afford to
813 Posts
Ooc — hela
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#8
She had returned to her spot against the trunk despite her declaration, soon joined by Mesa on the other side. A flash of hope quickened her heart, but the hoped was short-lived; the tree couldn't withstand the weight of them both and folded over under them. The creature took that moment to scramble higher and into an adjacent tree, making noises at them as if mocking their probably comical attempt to catch it. She watched her brother try again, jumping up and reaching out with his paws, but it was pointless; the animal was too far up in the next tree and there didn't seem to be anyway to catch it now. She released a huff of frustration, glaring at the raccoon with disdain where it still perched safely in the tree. But then with a shrug she turned to her twin. Let's find something else, she suggested. Then Monarch turned and took off towards the lake, sure that they would find something just as interesting there.
Inuttuk
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