[PLOT - SOLO] A Wolf's Journey (Ranuin and Moonlight Shadow)

[Teigra]

The dark-furred teenager wove deftly through the Faun going about their normal days in Laisidhiel, his steps far quieter on the Tree floor than his hooved brethren. His large paws, though seeming a bit too large for his lanky frame and therefore awkward, actually proved quite adept at keeping the teen balanced with his quick direction changes and bounding steps.

Gotta' get supplies. Going soon. Anything else to do?

Both eager to get going, and reluctant to leave, even for only a little while, Ranuin was torn between excitement and apprehension. He kept reminding himself that it was only a short trip though and he'd be back before long. Just another of their father-son trips for a few days. Only, with a whole bunch of other Pae, if he understood correctly.

He normally enjoyed such trips with his father. Just the two of them (and Raina), living off the land for a few days, his father showing him some of the interesting places around the Isle. Then, it was always back home to the familiar and comforting at the end of it all. He wasn't sure how he felt about this trip involving other Pae, but...if Dad said it'd be okay...

Apparently, this was some guided tour thing put together by the Isle Fairies. Faroth thought it might be a good idea, saying maybe they'd even teach him something! Then, he'd laughed awkwardly. Ranuin was always up for learning. Faroth taught him all kinds of things about the Isle and the plants and places, and Raina was good at teaching him things about hunting that frankly, his dad was no good at. Ranuin didn't fault him for it; he knew his dad didn't have much of a taste for meat like him or Raina, so...made sense he'd suck at hunting.

It was still fun to tease him about it.

This trip was supposed to teach them things about how to live off the land. While he figured they knew that sort of thing already, Ranuin would never turn aside the chance to learn something new and interesting. So, when his dad suggested they sign up, he agreed. Now, they just needed enough supplies to get them to the assigned meeting spot, then apparently, their guides were supposed to take over? Be cheating to bring a bunch of stuff, he figured.

Seeing a certain Fauny up on the stairway, his mind locked onto a different priority for the moment. He should really say something before just taking off for a few days. He glanced around, decided it was too crowded to just rush up the stairs before she disappeared, and instead, tipped back his head for a long howl. "AarrroooOOOOOOoooooo!"  

[Teigra]

The dark Fauny shuffled her hooves on the stairs, feeling antsy and weighing the probability of sneaking away from her watchful parents for a while to go outside by herself. She had freedom enough within the Tree, but that wasn't any fun. She wanted to go outside, where it was open and free and she wasn't supposed to go by herself. Golden eyes scanned over the crowd of Fauny below, milling about on their business. Woo, exciting. She sighed, rolling her eyes. She could use a distraction; she was bored.

A sharp howl echoed through the Tree from below, and Moonlight's eyes shot back downwards to see a few Faun cringing and covering their ears who were too near to the fuzzy teen. Ha! Perfect! Grinning widely, Moonlight turned and started down the steps, skipping one from time to time in her rush to the bottom. "Ranuuuuu!"

Bounding over to the fuzzy Faun, she bounced lightly on her hooves and ignored some of the disapproving looks and sadly shaking heads of the adults around them. "Whatcha' doin', Ranu? Goin' outside? On an adventure? Let's go on an adventure!" she rambled in a sudden rush, grinning widely. Anything! She just needed to get out of here and DO something!

She was so bored!  

[Teigra]

Ranuin grinned, tail swishing happily as his friend answered his call. He noted as she neared that she'd been gaining some height on him lately. She was almost as tall as he was now. Almost. The lanky teen smirked and reached out to ruffle her hair obnoxiously. "Moony! 'Oh, hi, Ranuin! How've you been?' 'Nice, and you?'" he mocked, having a conversation with himself.

Moonlight snorted, ducking away from his hand and attempting to straighten her wild mop of hair. It was a pointless exercise. "No time for pleasantries when there's adventure to be had. Also, stop calling me that," she made a face, shaking her head.

"Heh...could just use 'Moon Moon'," he teased.

"Ugh," she cringed. "Fine, whatever." She rolled her eyes dramatically, then resumed bouncing on her hooves. "Let's just go somewhere and do something. I'm bored, Ranu!"

Ranuin's ears drooped and his tail stilled from wagging. "Aww...sorry, Moony, I can't. I got some things to do for dad before we head out."

Moonlight's ears flattened as well, disappointment plain. "Head out? You're going somewhere already? Where are you going? Can I come too?"

Ranuin chuckled, shaking his head and starting off, waving his hand for her to follow. "Eh, it can wait a bit longer I suppose. Come on, short walk then." He smirked, noting her ears perked up as she started after him. "No big deal, just...dad wants us to go on this 'wilderness trek' thing. A father-son trip, I guess. Something the isle's fairies are doing. Supposed to teach all about surviving in the forest out on the isle. 'Course, we've been out there plenty of times, but maybe they'll teach us something new. Or maybe Dad anyway," he joked, snickering.

While she'd been encouraged for a moment by getting to talk, Moonlight felt disappointment hit once more. He was going on an adventure without her! "No fair," she pouted. "I wanna' go too. I can learn about surviving stuff. Doesn't sound like it's just you two. Why can't I come too?"

The wolf-like Faun hesitated, frowning. "Er...I didn't really say you couldn't come, just...shouldn't you ask your mom and dad first?"

"No! Cause they'd just say 'no' and then I couldn't go anyway," she shot back, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't ever get to do anything!" she complained. "Just sit around in this stuffy old Tree with stuffy old Fauns all the time! Why don't I get to leave and go on exciting adventures?"

Chuckling, he shot back, "Moony, we're likely just gonna' be sleeping on the ground and like...picking berries to eat. It's not that exciting. Not really." He was trying to make her feel better. Really, he enjoyed the ventures with his father onto the isle and exploring the forests there. He wasn't so sure about other Pae'il, but he liked the Isle itself enough. He really was looking forward to this trip like their others, but if she couldn't go, well...it wasn't nice to rub it in her face with how much fun he was going to have.  

[Teigra]

The two young Faun exited the Tree into the cool shade cast by the massive boughs above. Ranuin nodded to one of the guards, waving to another with a grin before they continued on their way. He noted that while this seemed an everyday occurrence for him, Moony seemed barely able to hide her excitement at being out here, if not by herself, then at least only with someone her own age. Maybe he took his freedom for granted.

But, her parents only wanted to keep her safe, right? Like his dad did, watching out for him when they were outside the Tree together? It wasn't his place to say, but...maybe now that she was older, maybe she'd get to have some more time to herself. Maybe that was the heart of the matter. It wasn't so much that she wanted away from the Tree, but that she wanted time alone...which was hard to come by inside the Tree sometimes. Especially with such a large, and still growing, family, like hers.

Personally, Ranuin didn't mind it as much, because being alone was overrated as far as he was concerned. While he wasn't necessarily fond of overly large crowds all at once, he liked having one or two other Faun around most times. Being alone was just so...lonely.

"So...when are you leaving?"

The melancholy tone shook Ranuin from his musings and he looked over and down at his friend's frown, eyes downcast. "A day or two, I guess," he shrugged. "It's a few days travel to the meeting place, at least, if we don't race to get there," he said with a halfhearted chuckle.

"Uh huh..." She kicked a pebble with her hoof as they walked.

Ranuin frowned again, wondering how best to make his friend feel better. "Hey, Moony, we won't be gone that long. And I'll tell you all about it when I get back! Anything exciting that happens, and even all the boring crap! Maybe I can find something interesting to bring back and show you!" He gave her a toothy grin, hoping to lift her spirits.

Moonlight snorted, shaking her head. Then, she glanced aside at her friend. "...promise?"

Ranuin chuckled, looping an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in to ruffle her hair before she swatted at him to stop and squirmed free. "Promise. I find anything shiny, I'll bring ya' a present.

*****

[FIN]