The Heartwood Dreamland is a free land

@Haoniyao unless it for some reason won't work!

When he'd left the weather had been good. Now it wasn't. Funny how that worked. The dead forest wasn't exactly a place that was going to provide the shelter he wanted, and it was a long enough run back to his own forest that he was pretty much just left with the option of grinning and bearing it. Yippee.

It wasn't snow but damn cold rain that had spiked his fur out in every direction, and despite shaking it out of his fur as best he could, it was quickly replaced as the clouds lingered. He'd been looking for herds, but unsurprisingly this awful charred forest was pretty devoid of life. He was glad he lived elsewhere. Still, Mal wandered, looking for some patch that had a little bit more shelter. Maybe if he hung out an hour or so the weather would pass and the journey home would be more pleasant.

The dead forest intrigued him because for all intents and purposes it looked like a place he should not be. His previous run-in with the pale female in the bramble-woods had not convinced him of the spiritual power of this region. He had no information on the no-go sites of the Wilds where not even wolves could protect themselves, though other than avoidance he had no true way to protect himself.

Spirits or not, the charred woods were an anomaly. They stood out like a black wound on the land, evidence of troubles beyond mortal ken. He could not tell how long ago the fires had occurred, especially not with the freezing rain pelting himself and the forest. 

A large bush, twisted and gnarled and old, remained standing despite its charred appearance. It almost looked like the bush would turn to ash the moment Yao touched it, but as he approached and fit himself under, it remained solid. It was a relief, small as it was, to feel the rain on his back lessen. He shivered, his teeth chattering. Freezing rain was worst than snow! 

He was at the very least, not alone in his misery. Another wolf, pointed with black and pale ash, was stalking through the burnt woods. Hey! Yao called to the wolf walking through the rain, looking drenched and miserable. Both of us might be able to fit under here,

He really did need to make a mental note to not come back here. It didn't seem like it ever was a good trip. Or if it was good, it'd come back to bite him later. He was oh so good at listening to those mental notes. And by that of course we mean not at all.

The fact someone bothered to come out here always surprised him -- it was another thing he should probably stop being surprised by. And thanks to the weather and his own inner-complaints, Mal hadn't immediately noticed him. Huh? It took a second to find the wolf who called out to him through the brush. The offer? Well, Mal didn't think too hard about it. Okay, he shuffled over that way, crawling under the bush best he could. He got maybe two thirds of the way under but was kind of hesitant to go farther, mostly because his brain finally caught up and realized getting all cozy with someone he didn't know at all -- well okay, he didn't have that issue all the time, but there wasn't anything clouding his decisionmaking this time through. A pause, he grinned, perhaps overly cheery at this nonsense, So, what brings you out here? It gave him a moment to actually take a look at the guy too.

The gray-point wolf took his offer. And why not? It was better than slowly freezing amongst the charred remains of the forest. Yao shuffled aside to give the wolf some room under the bush. The closeness between them did not daunt Yao — physical contact between the people of his clan and those around them was common and expected. He had long since learned that that custom was not shared among the other wolves. The stranger's reluctance to fully immerse himself under the bush was evidence enough. I am exploring this region, Yao said simply. And yourself?

Mal just overall had trust issues. Didn't matter who it was. And this guy here seemed like he probably came from tougher stuff than Mal did, even if everyone was wet and not nearly so fluffy as usual. He stayed put a moment but as the other slightly moved away, he felt slightly more secure to take just a tiny bit more room. Well, at least the guy didn't seem to be a homicidal maniac or anything -- yet. I live near here -- my pack is in a forest nearby. Wasn't expecting this storm. An awkward smirk, Bad choice to go hunting today, yeah? Though Mal had grown comfortable chatting away with random strangers, being forced into it was still a little weird.

Yao rested his head on his paws. He wasn't drying out by much, but he felt a lot drier than before. He hoped that he wouldn't have to stay under this bush for much longer — as welcoming as he was, a stranger was a stranger. There's prey here? I can't really imagine much wanted to live here, rain or not, he snorted. The skeletal nature of the woods was slightly unnerving, at least to him. Was the fire long ago?

He wish he had an idea of how long the storm would last -- it wasn't like he was a master of the weather. He looked up slightly, and of course some of the ice cold water dripped off the charred bush and right into his eye. Mal jerked his head back wiping at his eye with his paw. His lips crinkled. It took him a moment to reply. I think it mostly just wanders through. Not as many places for it to hide, though, so easier to hunt... He shrugged. If you get lucky, you get lucky. Or so was his theory. 

Blinking a few times, at least now he was able to see again properly. Arg. Anyway, Mal also wasn't exactly the greatest source of history. Nothing really around here had changed too much, at least... A long time ago I guess -- it's been like this since I got here.

Pole, Yao says with a wince as his bush-mate got a drop of water in his eye. Ah, good point. He wasn't much of an expert on hunting. The finer point of it — understanding the behavior of one's quarry — escaped him. And it seemed like it escaped his companion as well, slightly at least. He only responded with an understanding grunt. He'd have to learn the story from someone else it seemed. 

My name is Haoniyao, by the way. If they were going to be stuck like this for a while, they might as well get to know each other a little better.

He was still gonna wish that someone had taught him a thing or two about reading the weather -- but that could go on a nice long list of many things that should have been taught to him a an earlier point. I'm Mal, from Neverwinter Forest. What direction did you come from? I did some wandering ages ago, okay, like a year, wondering if you wandered through the same places. Maybe make sure Elysium was still gone or whatever. Maybe it'd give him a better idea of who Haoniyao was as a person. Something better than just sitting around like a couple of idiots at least.

He wished he knew the names that the locals had given the landmarks here. He gained a few as he travelled north from his homeland, but none of this area. A twang of panic overtook him as he realized that their conversation could get a whole lot deader if he lapsed in knowledge. At least in this line of convo. I came in from the south. I'm from a place called Kereenyaga. It's far south from here, Far, far south, where snow barely fell and the land rarely got cold.

He gave it a bit of thought -- the name was unfamiliar, but really, the world he'd know was pretty small in the grand scheme of things. Can't say I'm too familiar with anything far south of here. Farthest I ever went was -- you go by the lake near here? The forest just beyond that. I was way north, past the mountains there and then some. Sort of headflick in the vague direction of the Sunspire range.

But when he looked back, he tried to peer upwards as best he could. Currently trying to remember if the weather was like this last year or if it's just being a jerk out there. Wouldn't mind being able to head home at some point if it'd make up its damn mind one way or another -- snow or rain, pick one. This is just awful. Worst features of each. You any good at reading it?

He had seen a few lakes around this area. I haven't been up there yet. He admitted. He had only stared at the mountains northeast from here, never crossed it. He should, one of these days. Who knew what laid beyond the spires?

Even if I was good, this is nothing like home, he snorted. Sometimes we would get storms from the ocean, but this? He shivers. It's wet! The cold seeps into my bones. His bibi would hate it here.

I'd tell you which of the locals to avoid if you wandered that way but I think the people I knew are all gone anyway. A grin. Maybe would have been almost wink-worthy but not quite. He wasn't responsible for their disappearance, even if he kind of wanted to think Elysium dissolved without him.

Yeah I think next time if the weather turns like this I'm running home, fast, he joked. Well, not too much of a joke. He legit would hurry home instead of hanging out here until it got really bad. Is there not so much snow where you're from then? Because that stuff was cold forever, it just didn't usually stick his fur down the way this rain was.

Gone? Like dead? English euphemisms and metaphors had always confused him. He couldn't tell what exactly Mal meant. Either seemed correct. La. Barely. Sometimes in bad winters it will pile up, but it mostly dusts the ground. Not like here. He remembered huge gusts of wind blowing things to the ground, the sky turning black or yellow, but never had he seen something like this.

Some of them dead. Most of them just left, I think -- don't know why or where. And for the majority he didn't care what happened to them, so Mal wasn't too broken up about it. So many wolves treated him badly (or so it seemed from his perspective). People did enjoy disappearing though, that much was pretty clear.

Well, stick around another what-- six or eight months or whatever? It'll be more snow than you'd wanna deal with. Barely getting rid of it now. A pause, before he continued, bemused, Unless that'd be a reason for you to get out of here before then. A raise of his brows. He couldn't blame the guy if he wanted to -- sometimes Mal wished he'd gone somewhere warmer, but at this point he was pretty well stuck with the Teekons, wasn't he?

I'm sorry to hear that, he said, assuming that Mal's relationship with those mountain dwellers was amiable. It gets worse than this? Ai. He thought he would have to go farther north to see such things, where evergreens dominate and large white bears roamed. Maybe I'll stay just to see it, then. In all truths he preferred the warmth, but to have the experience of being in such a state was enough to drive him.

He poked his head out to glance at the sky. There was little sign of change in the gray of the clouds, though that didn't necessarily mean that the rain wouldn't stop. Your pack, is it a large one? He asked, curious about how packs worked so far north.

Winter would totally blow this guy's mind from the sound of it. Might be entertaining, but it was a long way away. Oh yeah, way more. So if at some point it gets too tough for you, might want to scram before it gets worse. Mal was a cheeky little dork -- a grin that certainly implied it was quite the challenge, did he dare?

But his pack? Okay, less playful subject then. I'd say medium size, but I don't have a ton of recent references. The pack on the mountain's certainly a big one -- maybe it explains why they wish they could own everything out here. -- Y'know what, yeah it really does explain a bit. But whatever, what're you out looking for, once the weather breaks?

Yao had already resigned himself to the challenge, out of bravado and curiosity rather than common sense. They would never see such things at home. What an exotic spot he had found! I think I'll tough it out. he grinned, rising to the challenge brought to him by the local (though it was self-imposed). 

Though he had posed the question, he realized he couldn't put it in reference in his mind. Medium, large — how many exactly? He shook the questions away, latching on Mal's second question. Experience. Good stories, he sighed, tasting the glory so out of reach. Not many things going on at home.

He kept his grin, Ooh, well we'll have to see how you do. He'd have to think of something to say in case he showed up being all complain-y when winter hit again. Plenty of time to think up some snarky remarks. He'd need some even they never ran into each other again.

But back on topic, stories, eh? Well, there's gotta be some out here. I've seen weird things, but I don't know why they happened. It just makes 'em all seem crazy. For all I know they could have been reasonable people, okay, he excluded the crazy beachfront freaks from anything resembling sanity, but when all you get to seeing people wanting you to help with their revenge or something, that's a little weird. Mostly just referencing that grey guy from ages ago. That or I'm just a magnet for weird. Been a while since I've sen the really bizarre though. Not an everyday thing -- unless somehow he'd been swapped from assistant to his pack being subjects of some hit out there on them. Or something. That didn't really make sense, after all.

Well, I guess I'm in the right place then. He had been vague about the specifics of what made this area weird / crazy / bizarre, but he figured that anything deserving of that title required some investigation. What's the weirdest thing you've seen here?

Weirdest thing... Hmm. Well, there was the whole thing with earthquakes, but that wasn't so much see as feel. But usually it's more people being super odd... Ah, how did he wanna tell the story? Maybe in the end the earthquakes would be a better tale, but he had no idea how out of the ordinary it might have been. 

I'd just left my birth pack and ran into some random wolf -- then like two more appeared, and those two were trying to bribe me to go with them by offering food... The whole thing was weird, so I just decided to leave and keep going, so as I start leaving, one of them tries again to make me go with him, then I hear something and the two left were fighting all the sudden. They basically kill each other, another wolf appears, the guy leaves me and then there's like four of them all going at each other. No idea why it happened, what even caused it. It was bizarre as hell. And now ages later, Mal still didn't have a good explanation for why they acted the way they did. All she knew was the old chick was kinda murderous but he didn't know any of the others.

Earfquakes, the word didn't connect immediately in his mind. There weren't too many earthquakes where he was from, while he had a word for it, it was rarely used, except in myths. What are those?

He stared in awe and disgust at the story Mal spun. It was a good one to tell, though he'd embellish it a bit more with some flair (if he had been the one telling it). You haven't seen them since, ndyio? If there were such people around here he'd have to be careful.

The whole world shakes -- trees, mountains, everything, sometimes really badly. Stuff falls. It was pretty crazy, but there was a lot of it for a while... Then it tapered off and stopped. It was really weird. Ever had that happen before, or like.. heard of it?  Mal hadn't until then. But he also wasn't the most worldly wolf around. It really did seem like it was some rare thing, but everyone in his pack was young.

I saw the main two again of them later. One really briefly. But the old chick? She apparently got all involved in killing someone else. So if you run into some really old woman with a black head and the rest is white, maybe wanna head the other way. Then tell some of us where she is because I think there's a whole crew of people who got a bone to pick with her. There were the other two she traveled with, too, but honestly the other two were harder to describe. Couple of darkish wolves? Yeah, useful. He knew their scent but that was hard to explain.

The description helps him center the word in his mind. Ah! he exclaims, recognizing what Mal meant. Tetemeko. That's what we call it. He is struck, yet again, by how far away he was from home.

Yao thinks of the description that Mal provides, inhaling sharply to indicate that he was listening and absorbing what Mal had said. He had met no one that had matched that description, but who was to say? There could be many wolves in this land — and there were corners that he had not yet discovered.

He sneaks his head out from underneath the bramble bush. The rain has stopped, I think, Would his companion be so hasty to leave? He enjoyed the conversation, the first long one he had had since he arrived here.

Then it's happened before? That was the thing that seemed most perplexing to Mal. Did that mean they had to worry about it happening again? He was really not fond of that. Not at all. He didn't want his pack to end up in danger from the world itself, of all things. But if Haoniyao had more knowledge about it, Mal had best make sure he had enough to be prepared...

Then, attention was drawn back to the weather. Huh. He crept forward just a little, squinting for a better view. The good part about the forest here being pretty dead was that there weren't really any leaves to fake them out. It did seem like things had pretty well tapered off, so he scuttled forward a little more to get out and stretch a bit. Hopefully it'll stay that way.  I probably need to be heading home before it all kicks off again -- but if you just want to get some shelter, it does eventually turn into something a bit more normal to the west. Thankfully. Given timelines, Mal for some reason would forget to recruit this guy this time around. Liquid time, huzzah!