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 Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 8:20 pm
 Noëlle trotted earnestly along the rocky stretch of land, her ears forward and focused, attentive for any sort of echoing, booming sound from the distance. She was headed towards the ocean, an expanse of water she had heard of but had never seen, her hopes large but suppressed, for she found it hard to believe any body of water could encompass the whole length of her vision, and stretch past as far as she could see. She was no bird of prey, but she trusted in her sight, and a tad of pride (along with the fact that she had never seen anything wider than a lake, or longer than a stream) kept her in the ranges of disbelief.
She soon reached a point where rock became dirt, and dirt became sand. It was finer than anything she had seen thus far, and discomforted her paws when she felt any slip between her toes and cling to her fur. It was warm to the touch – hot, even – but she was so close to the aim of her search (if the noise was anything to tell by, for she could now clearly discern the sound of moving water and lapping waves), and it was only an unfortunate decision on her part that made her unable to see, for before her stood a wall of craggy rocks, short enough to climb but tall enough to block her view. Had she simply strayed a few feet to the left or a few feet to the right earlier in her journey, her path would have taken her away from having to perform the extra effort, but now that she was here, it would take even longer for her to go around it. And so, with a sigh, she stepped up onto the closest rock.
Immediately after, she leapt back, a yelp of surprise leaving her lips. A paw was help up in the air, the pads tinged pink from their recent contact with the burning, sun-soaked rocks, and she was sure another try at them would only result in the same. It was her first experience with such a thing, for all her life she had lived in the snow, or where the stones garnered shade from the trees, and never had she expected to feel such pain from a rock with a flat surface, which convinced her to take a roundabout route with little complaint.
Strangely, it led her to a sort of forest, but certainly not ones she was used to, for the trees here had leaves larger than her head, with sides split in a manner similar to fern. The flowers, too, were much brighter, and in much more abundance. They gave off a sweet smell, along with the well-rounded fruit hanging from the trees. It seemed the trip here was full of new experiences, even before she had reached the ocean, for, again, she found herself thinking of things she had never anticipated, and she licked her lips not at any bird or small creature that scuttled by, but at the plants themselves. Unfortunately for her, the flowers were too strong of scent, and the ripened fruit too high. The only thing that sated her was an odd clump of leaf-like shoots sprouting from the ground, but those she disposed off all too quickly. Still, her curiosity about this strange place had been piqued, and she ventured deeper into its depths, eager to see what else there was to discover.
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Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 2:42 pm
 Lizard sits atop one of the flatter rocks amongst a jumbled outcropping of them, like some kind of king upon his throne--so comfortable and content does he look. The heat soaking into his bones from beneath him, and from above, make him feel as if he could sleep all day-- and this is exactly what he plans to do. That is, until his sharp eyes catch a glimpse of something moving below him, and slightly in the distance.
He squints against the glare of the bright mid-day sun, and cocks his head as the shape becomes more clear. A wolf. Her coat looks thicker than his own, and he half wonders how she doesn't simply melt in the heat.
As she looks for a way past the dense beach trees and rocky outcroppings, he keeps an eye on her-- at least when he can see her-- and eventually lifts himself off his perch with a long, lazy stretch and a satisfied yawn. His own paws have long since grown used to the hot sands, and even hotter rocks, and do not burn as he walks across them, jumping nimbly down from his previous perch. There's a rustle of brush ahead of him just as he reaches the bottom, and his feet touch shade-cooled sand.
Lizard steps closer, quietly and carefully as to not startle her, and spots the stranger just as she's finishing up her exploratory snack of a certain kind of plant. Lizard knows this plant very well, indeed.
"...I'd say you shouldn't have eaten that, but I believe it's too late now." He laughs and waits for her to turn around and face him. "Oh, don't worry. It's not poison." And the grin that had just barely touched his lips before, widens considerably more.
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 9:50 pm
Noëlle noticed that, after a while, her vision was becoming a tad... queasy. Sometimes it seemed as if flowers were out to n** at her fur, or fruits were bent on appearing and disappearing at their whim. Even the ground twisted and shook at times, but all of these were small occurrences, chased away by a hard blinking, and attributed to the sweet, heavy fumes that wrapped around her. In one breath, a vast array of scents hit her nose, more than she had ever smelled in her life at one time, and this, coupled with the heat of a snowless landscape, was enough to make even her brash self reconsider having chosen to visit. It was only her close proximity to the object of her desire that kept her from leaving, but everything around her, no less the strange plant she had taken, had had its toll on her, and when a strange wolf appeared before her, she hardly realized she should have felt surprise at his sudden arrival and, instead, offered him a childish smile, smothering a laugh for, strangely enough, she found much amusement in the similarities between his pelt and the colorful plants around them. It seemed that even the small amount of shoots she had consumed affected her unprepared body greatly.
"Hello," she said, apparently in response to the male's comment, unable to comprehend that the warning was meant for her (what had she taken that could even be mistaken for poison, she wondered) and, therefore, choosing to disregard it.
She approached him, butting his nose with her own and offering a slight waving of her tail in a friendly greeting, stepping much closer to the young wolf than she had intended, for she soon found that her toes began to sting if they did not move constantly, and the memory of her paws taking her to him still lingered within her mind.
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Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 2:20 am
Dai:: A moment passes after his last comment, and Lizard notes the way the other wolf seems to sort of... squint at the surroundings before her. He notes, also, the way she seems almost off balance before it passes, almost as suddenly as it had come, and she smiles openly at him. It looks almost naïve, and Lizard has a moment to wonder just how MUCH of that particular plant the female has eaten for it to be working on her so quickly--- for he is quite certain that the way she is acting must surely be an effect of that drug.
“...Hello,” he answers, a charming, if slightly-too-sharp grin spreading over his face. Her nose is warm and damp from the heat, just as his own, and he laughs softly and takes a step back in order to look at her without going crosseyed. “I'm Lizard, by the way. Do you have a name, Lady?” The nickname, if that's what it can be called, doesn't seem flippant so much as amused-- a charming title in the place of a name.
“Normally, I'd turn a stranger in a different direction.... but I think I'll make an exception for such a pretty gal.” Again, there's that teasing little smirk dancing along his lips in a way that shows only a hint of teeth. “There's a spring up ahead. The water is cool, and clean. You might want to have some of that before the Dreamweed really has a chance to take effect. Not,” he adds more softly “that it will stop it from affecting you.”
Ryuu:: Noëlle began to sway her tail, oddly pleased when the male deemed to reply, as if the return of a greeting was an uncommon occurrence that deserved extra attention, like an adolescent’s first hunt. She didn’t follow when the male stepped back, but mirrored the action, for although she was slowly growing accustomed to the sun-warmed sands, it was not something that came as fast as she would have liked.
“Lizard?” she asked, at first misinterpreting the message and thinking the male thought himself a creature that was not a wolf. Thankfully, however, this train of thought did not continue long enough for her to begin questioning his species (for certainly, if given enough time, she would have fully convinced herself that she had been mistaken), she repeated his name a second time, although the tone was less a question and more a statement.
“I go by Noëlle,” she said in response to his inquiry, her widening smile showing her elation at being an exception.
Under normal circumstances, she may have questioned the reasoning behind it, or even felt irritated that the male thought he had the authority to send her away or keep her, when he was but one adolescent in the territory, but for now, as it evoked no negative feelings from her, she simply accepted it.
Again, he brought up the strange thing – the “Dreamweed” that could be mistaken for poison – and again she brushed it away, although she was beginning to suspect she wasn’t as unrelated to it as she had originally thought. Still, she could think of nothing she had down that would harm her (lest the rocks that had burned her earlier held some unknown dangers from being so close to the ocean) but, despite that, the offer of water was more than welcome in this heat, and she nodded eagerly at the suggestion, starting to head towards what she assumed was the right direction in search of it.
---
Posted from AIM RP
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Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 2:30 am
Lizard laughs softly at the wolf's confused look toward the mention of his name-- it isn't, he notes, the first time he's gotten such a response--- and doesn't bother to explain as, without much questioning, she seems to simply accept it. A quiet thrill of pleasure eases up his spine as she returns the greeting, and he offers her a brief, friendly wag of his tail, even though the expression in his eyes retains it's mischievous glint.
"Noelle," his smile is open and casual, "that's a nice name."
He turns to lead her, realizing a moment later that she's gone to head in the other direction and laughs. "Not that way! At least, not unless you want to get lost in the mangroves. Follow me-- it's not too far from here, but the scent of salt often overwhelms the smell of fresh water when the wind is as strong as it is today-- most days, really."
When they arrive, the pool is crystal clear. Small fish dart in and out of the weeds. At it's deeper end, the water darkens, but even here it's clear enough to see the sandy bottom. And, best of all, it's surrounded by thick mangroves which offer a cool, shady retreat. Lizard heads to the pool, wading in mid-leg and dips his head to take a drink before turning to watch as Noelle steps into the clearing behind him.
"That Dreamweed..." he offers offhandedly, his smile quickly turning impish, "I know where more of it grows.. if you'd like to try some more with me?"
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Posted: Wed May 18, 2011 10:00 pm
Noëlle paused in her steps, her ears, briefly flickering down, admitting to her embarrassment when Lizard called her back. She thought it strange that they weren’t heading towards the ocean as she had assumed but, vaguely, she remembered she had been told that the waters within it dehydrated a wolf, instead of quenching any existing thirst. She wondered why this was but didn’t ask, doubting it for the moment, for the notion sounded silly even to her slightly-intoxicated state. Still, Lizard would know what was best, and she trotted behind him, looking around and smelling and hearing this new, colorful place. It was certainly different from the unchanging snows she had grown up in and the brown-and-greens of the land she had, for the most part, traversed in, and was made even better when they reached their destination.
She headed towards the pool excitedly, nosing aside some reeds and lapping at its cool surface when she reached it, ignoring the occasional insect that buzzed about her head and the startled escape of the fish. It was refreshing, especially against the initial heat she had faced, and she stepped within the waters to cool her stinging paws.
When Lizard spoke again, she quirked an ear towards him curiously and licked her nose in thought. She was still unsure as to what the Dreamweed was, but he had previously assured her that it wasn’t poisonous, and if he himself would offer to eat it, it couldn’t be anything bad. Besides, its name, if anything, didn’t sound like something disagreeable, and from his previous words, she could safely guess it was something she had eaten before. Out of everything she had ever devoured, there were few that grated against her senses, and, from what she could recall, Dreamweed wasn’t one of them. At the very least, she would finally find out what it was if she accepted. And so, she did.
“I’d love to,” she said, emphasizing it with a cheerful wag of her tail. Perhaps it was more than the beautiful new environment she found herself in that made her so agreeable, she thought. Perhaps, it was something else, something in the self-assured, casual male she found herself with.
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Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2011 5:58 pm
Lizard watches her from the corner of his eye as he leans down to take a drink of the cool, fresh water, and smirks as she gives her assent to join him -- at least for a little while -- to explore the effects of the Dreamweed.
"Very well... Follow me, then, if you would."
In reality, the weed grows just about everywhere near the mangroves, but there is one particular spot which he has taken to cultivating for himself, resulting in a rather reliable source of the mysterious plant. It is toward this 'garden' that he leads Noelle.
As he passes her, he's careful to lightly brush his shoulder along hers, his full, soft tail just lightly grazing the side of her face. It's bold and perhaps even a little presumptuous of him, but Lizard has always liked challenges, and, even more so, risk-taking. Besides, he thinks to himself with a small, secretive smirk, it's not like she hasn't been looking.
"So," he begins, as they wind their way through the trees toward the garden, "what brings a gal like you so far north-- besides me, of course." His laugh at this last bit is soft and low, a touch teasing and amused.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 12:20 am
Noëlle felt a small thrill at the unexpected contact, cheered but strangely irritated, too. The source of the unexpected anger was just as ambiguous as before, but she still obliged to it, staying where she was to take another drink before following. It was only because she was not as adapted to the heat as the other that she did so, however; or at least, that was what she told herself. She had nearly come to believe it, too, when she stepped out of the pond, for her pads instantly began to sting although it was not as before.
She went faster through the mangroves to catch up, once or twice swerving too far away from a trunk when it appeared to sway towards her in her eyes. It did not take long for her to catch up to Lizard though, and by then she kept her eyes focused on him, for an earlier sweep of the surrounding area had shown that the flowers and the stalks were just as likely to move as the trees had done. His figure was the only form that remained as it should have been, and she wondered if the heat was getting to her, or if there was more to the mangrove than she had originally realized.
She joined in his laughter when he spoke, quirking an ear towards him before she continued. “I came to see the ocean,” she said. It was something she remembered clearly, which s strange considering her cognitive abilities since her arrival. Strange, but not unexpected, for although she had not seen the ocean as of yet, the concept of it was still not easily forgotten. But her next memory was clouded, and she began to explain more slowly than she had intended.
“But I couldn’t. There were… burning stones, and the path was steep.” Her brow furrowed as she tried to remember more but, unable, or perhaps unwilling to, she directed the course of conversation to something she could more easily participate in. “And what of you? Have you stayed your whole life, or come for something else?”
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Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 10:41 pm
"Ah, yes, the ocean... It seems to be rather mysterious to wolves of the north. Actually, I still find it to be rather strange, at times." He smiles a little, thoughtfully, and turns his head to look at her. "Burning stones?" His tone is confused, at first, and then he laughs. "You must mean the Outcrops. They can get rather hot during this time of day."
Come to think of it, he hadn't quite noticed, before, but Noelle does seem to be walking a bit stiffly. Burned pads, no doubt. His own feet are long used to the heat-- having built up tougher padding -- but wolves from the north are not used to such heat, of course.
Then, almost as suddenly as they began their little trip, they arrive in Lizard's garden, though there is no clear marking of it being such, other than the abundant dreamweed that grows, here. The plant is rather low to the ground, and curious looking. It's leaves are bright and inviting, dark reds to creamy orange, the newest shoots still being a bright green. Lizard looks for a likely specimen, and when he finds one, he move over to it and plucks off a few leaves before trotting back to Noelle.
"Since you've already had some, don't eat more than a leaf or two." He drops them at her feet, in offering, and then takes a few into his own mouth and chews a little before swallowing. The Dreamweed takes a few moments to set in, and while it does, Lizard continues to study the she-wolf before him. "I'll show you to the ocean, later, if you like."
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 1:00 pm
Noëlle waited expectantly for a response, but they had soon after reached their destination and more curious matters took hold of her attention. Bright plants were all around, but it had always been that way. The only thing that made these stand out was the light of recognition in Lizard's eyes and his subtle slowing of pace. It told her what she needed to know, and that she had not lost all her senses as she had thought.
Taking a closer look, she saw the shoots she had eaten earlier, and then the bright, startling red leaves that surrounded them and was offered to her, too. She realized this was the dreamweed Lizard had talked of, and with the realization came satisfaction for knowing what it was now.
She took up a leaf cautiously, more hesitant due to its color, but trusting in the male who proffered it to her. A haze in her mind followed shortly after, but, surprisingly, it offered no discomfort. It was almost comforting, and she settled down to take the second leaf.
"I would like that," she replied when she had finished, feeling at ease.
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