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 Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 10:28 pm
Oh, how the silence of a forest at rest was like a bane on the aching soul! How hushed and how soft the colours were, how filtered the afternoon sunlight was through leaves of both emerald and sienna hues… the accents of small budding flowers in yellow and pink as they peeked through the old growth of a forest in its prime. How beautiful, how serene…
And how horribly he fit in, a massive plum beast amongst delicate fronds and muted birches. He didn’t belong here, and he felt it on a level nearly subliminal; even in the cool of the shadows his heavy Northern coat itched, and each step he took brought horrible feelings throughout his veins as he wondered, what sorts of innocent flora am I destroying? There - I tripped on something! Oh, I do hope it wasn’t a little creature…
His eyes were on his paws, dismayed as he was that they were like great slabs of flesh that pounded into the soft loam and scattered the uppermost layer of rotting leaves in ways he deemed too terrible for words. All life flourished in the mulch of a thousand years, and yet here he was, a bull moose stepping through planes of glass. Horrible. Again, for the hundredth time that day since waking to a watery sunrise, he wondered why he had left the heights of his mountainous home.
The cold, snowblown peaks were where his kind belonged, where only the snow was there to wreck and no one was about to care. But he was certain nothing remained for him in the land of his kin - not anymore. Not anything worth dwelling upon, just - just something large enough to cause an exodus of sorts, to a greener land where he felt awkward and clumsy.
It was just a rock. He’d tripped over a rock. But still, he was on edge as he passed through the unknown territories - hyper-aware of many things, and yet nothing in particular, grimacing each time his heaving sides snapped brittle underbrush or tugged little leaves from struggling saplings. He wasn’t lost, but then, he certainly didn’t know where he was.
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 11:20 pm
 The snow-speckled femme picked her way through the underbrush, unconsciously quiet even while her mind was aeons away.
Senka. Just what had happened to her that night? Had she run off, thinking everyone dead? Had she escaped? Been taken? Where was she now? When Draga had awoken, she was buried alive in the snow, forced to dig herself out amidst fear and confusion and panic. All that was there to greet her upon reaching the surface were to bodies, inhabited only by dying heat, and a vast expanse of pristine white. No sign of her sister, anywhere.
But that was going to change. It had to. She had managed to track down the pack where her sister had ended up, only to find out that she was no longer there! She was off on some sacred journey or something!
Needless to say, Draga was not just going to sit around and wait for her to return. What if something happened to her? What if she got lost and Draga could never find her again? What if she...
A gusty sigh escaped her maw. No. She would not even think such a thing. Could not think such a thing. Draga would find her sister. They would be reunited and make up for all the time they had lost. That was that.
So caught up in her thoughts was she that she almost missed the tell-tale scent of another wolf in the area. Her ears pricked forward. Hope. Perhaps this wolf had met her sister.
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 11:49 pm
Moshe should have felt the gentle press of another silent entity amongst the forest shadows - probably should have taken some of that painful awareness and used it to sense out the living, rather than worry away with setting rocks back where they belonged. Futilely, he was trying to revive the cracked stem of a heavy-headed tulip that had become his latest victim, nuzzling it upright just to watch it flop sadly to the earth. Another life cut down in its prime.
Wouldn't be the only one he took. He could remember so many other terrible moments when he had snuffed out life, and spooked by the idea alone, he instinctively raised his hackles; to fend off invisible enemies, no doubt, that he suppressed with a shake of his head and an abandoning of the broken tulip.
It was only in this rising movement of his heavy head that he noticed a grayness amongst the forest warmth - a pale ghost of a figure moving silently past, almost unaware that he was not staring with an unabashed look of shock on his face. A wolf?
Oh, balls, another wolf!
Was it too much to hope that this one wouldn't notice him? Could he try to hide his hulking frame amongst the blueberries in time, with the hopes that they might somehow shield him from this chance encounter? That was impossible, but not outside his rein of hopes - he ducked down, and very quickly occupied himself with the state of the pillbugs at his toes, desperately avoiding the outcasting gaze of ice-blue eyes.
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Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 12:20 am
Draga did not pause, however, she did wonder just what it was that this great, purple beast was doing by crouching down like that. What was so interesting on the forest floor? Surely he was not hoping to hide?
That last thought was so preposterous that she immediately banished it. Really. Was she getting soft in the head, worrying over her sister so?
"Greetings, sir," she said when she was close enough to be easily heard. "Could you spare a few moments of your time?" She strove to always be courteous, certainly, however, she was in a bit of a mood today. So, she would be both courteous and to-the-point. It was a fair compromise, surely? Satisfying both common decency and her needs?
She wilted inwardly. No. That was not at all nice. It would not do to force her problems onto others.
"I apologize for my abruptness," she amended. "I'm afraid that my mood is a little turbulent today. I shall try again." She took a breath, calming herself.
"A fine morning to you, sir."
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Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 7:38 am
Woe to the one who would rather be forgotten... he could not fool the wolf who seemed borne of snow and mist, and inwardly crumbled to hear her address him with a forwardness that all but screamed, I've definitely found you! It was a frightening game of hide and seek that he had lost, and now with a mind reeling in the horror of conversation, he kept himself low and tried to collect his wits.
He should reply. It was the polite thing to do, he supposed. But he earnestly didn't want to say a thing, not to draw out what could be a passing interest that could be fled from, and for all the florid thoughts he had once entertained, he wasn't even sure what he would say! Hullo right back? Was the morning quite so fine? No, he most certainly couldn't spend even the smallest of seconds of his time entertaining small talk, because...
Because why? What would be his excuse? He wouldn't lie, of that he was stolidly certain of, but he had no way of shrinking from this situation legitimately. It is with a great sorrow in my heart that I say unto you, madam, that in all complete honesty, you have terrified me beyond comprehensible syllables...
All that came out was a low, sort of half-snort. Well, better cut this one at the bud before it could bloom into some hideous, thorny thing. He raised his head slowly, and expanded his lungs with a great and steady breath, golden eyes narrowing and paws somewhat apart as he drew himself up to his full height; as a towering thing of thick muscle and wrinkled lip, he certainly felt better about the situation. "Mmm, s'pose it's fine enough," he grumbled, voice low and gutteral as it rang like thunder in his chest. "What do you want?"
He flicked his ears back, and affixed the little female with as hardened a gaze as he could muster. There was safety behind that mask.
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Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 1:36 pm
Then again, she thought with bemusement as the large male seemed to shrink even more, maybe he was trying to hide. The chivalrous femme was not entirely sure what to make of that. What threat could she possibly pose? Well, considering her survival skills, perhaps that was not the best question. Regardless, she hardly looked intimidating, so the point was moot. He should not be threatened by her.
Then, he rose, seeming to grow more than he ought to have. What's more, he opened his maw and spoke...rather rudely. In response his words, she felt her demeanor grow colder, less friendly, though she was not truly angry yet.
"Straight to the point, then," she replied, deciding that she must have been mistaken. He did not want to hide; he was just unsociable. "I wanted to ask you a few questions. I am looking for someone and was hoping you might have seen her."
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Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 2:24 pm
What use would it have been, even if he had seen this female's accquaintance/partner/friend/family member - whomever the hell she was asking about? He had always run away from situations such as this before anything serious could be accomplished, and therefore he held a very loose knowledge of the wolves he'd passed on his way into the forests. Brutes and bullies, he thought, all of them might as well have been brutes and bullies.
There was a small part of him that wanted to be helpful, though. A little wiggling voice in the back of his head that warned him of the minute changes in her behaviour, the way she held herself, and the way she talked. Off-put. Disappointed that her cordial greeting had been met by indifference and a certain level of indignancy. And yet she still remained! Moshe pinned his ears back and frowned, a brief flickering of his eyes suggesting he was looking for the best excape route - some way for him to toss his bulk into a sprint and be done with the whole ordeal.
How the forest seemed to close in on him, then.
"Can't help you," he said, voice nearly a growl. "Haven't seen her."
But how would you know that? his more sensitive side asked. To leap into a conclusion such as that... it's callous!
Then callous he would be. Already he was drawing his head back, as though she was the positive end of a magnet, and he the negative; he took a step back, and might as well have just started running despite the closeness of the brush. "No wolves here, or on the way. Sorry."
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Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 2:50 pm
Not only rude, she decided, but also contrary and completely, deliberately unhelpful. She narrowed her eyes at him, and they glinted like ice in the sunlight.
"I haven't even told you who she is, yet. How would you know if you haven't seen her? At least listen. This is important."
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Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 3:13 pm
Things were falling apart. His stony exterior nearly took a nosedive at that one rueful glance, his every hope for frightening her off now shattered and lying in sharp bits all around his feet. He took another step back, then another, finally swinging himself around on his heels and starting up a brisk trot in the exact other direction. "I haven't seen any other wolves!" he cried, legs stiff and tail straight out behind him.
He hadn't liked that look in her eye. Too familiar, too threatening, too - too much for him to handle. Damn these trees!
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Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 3:29 pm
Draga scowled at the retreating figure. How dare he? This was important! She had said as much. She would not bother someone over some idle fancy. She was looking for her sister. A sister who, for all she knew, could at this very moment be in terrible danger.
Well, she was not going to let him get away with that. So, she took off after him, easily catching up to him despite his greater size and head start.
"You have seen me, haven't you? You cannot tell me that you have come across no other wolves in these past few months." The femme could not believe that she was actually chasing after such a surly male. Where was her dignity? Buried beneath her indignation, perhaps.
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Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 3:56 pm
It must have been comical, to see the great plum beast fleeing from an opponent much smaller than himself - but then, her tenacity was overbearing, and she was a fast little thing! He couldn't necessarily stretch out his legs so long as they remained within the forest, and so was forced to reckon with the snowstorm that blustered away at his heels, not caring for the importance of her inquiries - only for the perserverance she displayed. "I have seen - no other wolves - beyond yourself!" he barked, voice stacatto and sharp. "I am - I am -"
He quailed, missing a step and very nearly stumbling to the ground - he checked himself, hopped away from her like an overgrown rabbit, then bellowed, "I have not been long in these forests, how am I supposed to have stumbled across anyone?!"
He huffed, and prayed for a meadow. "The last wolf I saw was dead, and buried in snow. Gone! I am sorry, but I can't help you!"
Sad to think that this was true, and yet would have further consequences than he could ever have predicted.
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Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 4:10 pm
The poor male was clearly flustered, but Draga was in no state to notice this, herself. All she knew was that he was being callous and ridiculous and he might have precious information about her sister.
"She might not have been in these forests. Somewhere else, perhaps. Anywhere. She is traveling right now. I am trying to find her." She had nearly drawn even with him when he stumbled, her smaller frame more suited to navigating the tricky plant life of the forest, but then he spoke those last few words and she froze mid-step.
"Dead," she breathed, her throat constricting, eyes wide with shock and grief.
Those words. Those forbidden words. Draga could not help but interpret them to mean that it was the wolf she was searching for that he had found. Dead. Cold. Frozen. Buried beneath the snow. An endless expanse of white, stretching on endlessly, unblemished and perfect, except for the bodies. Two bodies, half-buried beneath the fresh snow. Two was easily replaced with one. Younger. Grey. Female and lifeless.
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Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 8:01 pm
He should have felt happy for himself. Should have been pleased as a peach. His aggressor was backing off, wasn’t she? In fact, she fell back so suddenly that he nearly lost sight of her, plunging onward with what should have been satisfaction and success.
But…
But even as slightly as she had spoken, he could hear the way her breath caught in her throat - could almost hear the way she seemed to cease existing under the weight of that one hushed word. Dead. Well, yes - death had been the one to chase him from his mountain, screaming in his ears the way dying things usually did. Death had been the comerade he abhorred the most, as it moved his paws to do things he wish he hadn’t and whispered terrible threats if he refused; but what did it have to do with her?
He checked his gait, then slowly, came to a complete stop. How the horror was written on her face, as though she meant to take personal meaning from his words - what could she possibly gain by worrying herself with the deaths of wolves she didn’t know? These were his bodies in the snow that chose to haunt him, but perhaps…
She was more sensitive than he gave her credit for, and lowering his head he very softly breathed, “Yes, dead. One after the other. They wouldn’t stop fighting, and doomed themselves.”
He didn’t want to ruminate on the past, but now that it showed itself with all the presentation of a bloodied wound, he found he couldn’t escape it. There was no running from a bad memory, and if she suffered the thought of her family’s corpses tucked away amongst snow drifts, then so did he.
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Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 9:17 pm
Draga looked stricken at the very thought. Dead. All dead. Her sister in the snow...
Only her pride suppressed the whimper.
Wait. No. Maybe, maybe it was not her after all. Maybe it was some other. Maybe.
She had to know. She had to ask. With something akin to dread, she stared him in the eyes and whispered one word. A question. A plea for hope. For a denial.
"Who?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 5:51 pm
He hated the look in her eyes exactly as much as he hated feeling it himself. He'd been so good at keeping those sorts of feelings at the very back of his mind, where they wouldn't bother him - where he could tap into them if he needed to, but usually had no interest in doing so. Those terrible emotions that she spat into the atmosphere with a short syllable of a word neraly rent his flesh from his bones, as with a clear mind he remembered the faces in the snow. Familiar faces. Faces that would watch him from between wintry drifts for as long as he should live. They were his kind, though, and so he was overwhelmed with confusion at her concern over what should be strangers to her.
"Warriors, every one of them," he replied meekly, sinking to his haunches and letting his head hang. "Idiots. Fools. Didn't know when to stop, until they'd torn each other to bits."
Though that wasn't completely true. He had just run away.
Like a coward. But not a whimpering one, no, just a coward who saw his way out of a pattern of life he had no intentions of following. "If you are from the higher snows, then you might have known them. But it is unlikely."
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