|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2014 4:59 pm
 Kai was lonely.
Although he hadn't actually asked for the unruly mob of companions that had traveled at his side, he had grown quite accustomed to their company. Sure, they weren't exactly the most valuable of wolves in an objective sense, but as he didn't necessarily have much to offer either, he had little room to complain. Besides, they were a lot of fun.
But it all had to come to an end eventually. They lost companions one by one, with wolves wandering off or losing interest in their journey now that it had lost all purpose, and then that volcanic eruption had sealed Kai's fate. Not only had his old home been destroyed, now it seemed pretty likely that his new one was, too. Time to relocate again. Always moving forward, and at a pace the others were uninterested in keeping up with.
So he had been fine with it, for the most part, until Kamiya had broken the news that she couldn't follow him any longer. For a long time now, Kai had been thinking that a journey back to his roots, back to the sea, was what he needed to do. When he'd suggested this to his petite companion, the she-wolf had firmly refused (perhaps more firmly than the situation warranted, in the once-prince's estimation) and so they had parted ways.
And now here he was, utterly alone in a new world, with only the vaguest of ideas as to where he was headed and no notion at all of what he would do when he got there. His only hope was that he might uncover some of that old good fortune that had once followed him, the luck that had always seemed to bless him with friends when he most needed them. For surely he needed them now.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2014 10:05 pm
 It was hopeless, and life was the absolute pits. That about summed up Stavros' feelings at that very moment.
Stavros was a bit of an eccentric wolf, he filled his days with tracking down mysterious signs (that meant little to any wolf but himself), chasing them to dig spots that would lead to incredible discoveries. Thus far said discoveries were at the miraculous count of... 0... but that didn't discourage Stavros any. Some day he was going to happen upon something great, and then, only then would he show the world what it was truly missing! Such a day was drawing nearer and nearer with each rise and fall of the sun but... that day wasn't today. Today was a bad day, a hopeless one, and it was most certainly the absolute pits!
You see, Stavros had been following a trail for quite some time now, a trail to the most fantastic, mind-blowing treasure grove he'd ever discovered. The trail led him across a great lake, that he'd had to swim through for what seemed like an endless amount of time (in reality it was no lake, but a small pond), trekked across a plain of swarming locusts (or a plain with two giant grasshoppers) and even entered an angry bear's den (it may or may not have been Stavros' own shadow) to search for new clues. The trail had abruptly stopped, right here, in this clearing of green grass with the subtle, gentle breeze. At this point Stavros had climbed up upon a rock sitting in the center of the field and sulked. With a heavy sigh, hunched shoulders and a big frown the strange purple wolf gave up and sat in a defeated heap, perched upon a large rock.
He felt like howling out his frustrations and sorrows, right there, to let the world know that he had failed them. Stavros couldn't quite gather the energy, he was just too upset. Howling wouldn't fix it, couldn't bring back his adventure, no, the only thing that would do anything was sulking. It would make him feel better, he'd perk up... eventually.
Or, maybe he wouldn't. But, this wasn't the first time that he'd failed miserably at something, and it most certainly wouldn't be the last. A little bit of feeling sorry for yourself never hurt anyone and Stavros was definitely accustomed to doing just that.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2014 8:07 pm
A sound caught his ears, and Kai made his way toward it, a sudden soaring hopefulness rising up in his chest. He had been lonely before, but now the possibility of seeing someone made him realize the full weight of his loneliness, and it put an extra bit of speed into his pawsteps. The once-prince was not accustomed or well-suited to being alone.
Of course, that eagerness for company had gotten him into trouble before, and a vague warning bell rang in the back of his mind that, perhaps, he should show a bit of restraint.
But then his eyes locked onto the visual, and his heart gave a happy flutter. There -- on a rock -- gleaming purple fur! Could it be....?
"Verdauga!" he barked happily, running forward at a pace that was quite probably alarming. "Oh, gods, I'm so happy to -- "
He stopped, suddenly, inches from having launched himself up to embrace his old friend and alpha, crumpling under the embarrassing realization that whoever this wolf was, it was certainly not Verdauga.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2014 9:11 pm
Stavros was in the throes of punishing himself for losing the trail, he recited in his head the entire adventure, trying to figure out just where had he gone wrong. Had it been the bear? It must have been the bear.
Nothing truly significant stood out in his mind, it was just a dead end, nothing more, nothing less. Couldn't be helped, just the end of the line! The fact didn't make Stavros feel any better, for he couldn't find the greatest discovery of all time if he wasn't discovering anything at all. That just didn't make sense!
Hearing something, a stranger talking...? Stavros looked up and nearly peed all over the rock, there was a giant blue wolf the size of a bear right in his face. Stumbling backwards, right off of his rock and landing in a heap of fur, dirt (for Stavros was never clean) and scattered limbs. After righting himself, the purple male peeked around the rock, looking which way to run when he realized... the wolf wasn't bear-sized at all...
Well, maybe he'd overreacted a tad and his dignity was now certainly crushed but at least he hadn't met up with a giant bear-sized wolf. Though he thought he had... Stavros, not being the brightest of all wolves continued to circle around this in his head, forgetting his manners (not that he had any to begin with). If introductions were to be had, he obviously had no will to start them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2014 9:20 pm
Kai could have died on the spot from embarrassment. There was just one silver lining to this situation: He had quite suddenly stopped missing Kamiya's company, as that little orange wolfess would have never let him hear the end of this.
"Terribly sorry!" He announced, cringing. Should he go try and help the other wolf to his paws? Or would that only make it worse? Undecided, the blue wolf backpedaled, giving Stavros ample space. "I...I mistook you for another. I must have given you quite a fright!"
There was something to the formality of his words that a wolf paying attention may have noticed -- a certain politeness that belied good breeding, confidence, and no small amount of privilege. He was, to put things simply, a rich kid, and he very much acted the part even after all he'd been through.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2014 9:41 pm
Stavros sort of snapped out of whatever it was and stood up, being that he wasn't around others very often he didn't really know proper social etiquette. Having the stranger back up though, that was a blessing, he didn't feel quite so crowded and the other male definitely looked a great deal smaller. Smaller, less intimidating, yes, this was shaping up quite nicely, or well... nicer than when he'd thought he'd seen a bear...
Tilting his head slightly, Stavros listened to the odd visitor and tried to decipher what he was saying. He mistook him for another? Well that was a relief, but what did he say back to him? "I mistook you for a bear-sized wolf and didn't want to get eaten so naturally I almost ran away," just didn't seem like good conversation material.
Oh shucks, talking was hard.
"I uh.... yes...." Stavros murmured, trying to say something at least. Although now he wished he hadn't said anything at all. "I mean!" What did he mean? "I wasn't afraid!" Yes, that seemed logical, he was on the right track now. "You just looked like a bear!" Okay... not so logical.
It was time for a tactful retreat, which direction did he go? South? North? EAST? Oh it was useless, he was stuck here, forced to attempt to decipher his brain just enough to make sense. Man, that would be a task.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2014 9:53 pm
Kai fell back to his haunches, tilting his head as the purple male stammered. He was at a loss as to what to do. The other fellow was clearly flustered, and Kai felt he owed it to him to clear this up a bit before leaving. And besides, walking away right now, with no further explanation, seemed unacceptably rude.
But what, precisely, could he say?
He chuckled at the last of the other's words, a good-natured smile creeping up his maw. "A bear? My, that would be terrifying."
For a moment, he thought of Marion, one of his lost traveling companions. Now there was a wolf who could be mistaken as a bear. She even smelled like one, thanks to that patch of fur she carried around with her.
"I'm afraid I'm just a regular wolf, albeit one with a terrible memory for faces it seems." And now that he was looking at him, this other fellow looked nothing like Verdauga at all. What a cruel trick for a homesick mind to play. "I'll be on my way, then, if I'm interrupting something...?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2014 12:40 pm
Having not spent a lot of time with other wolves, Stavros couldn't quite remember how to socialize exactly. What was acceptable to say? Calling somebody a bear didn't seem like it'd cut it...
Stavros went to open his mouth and abruptly closed it, nope, that wouldn't do either.
He'd never mistaken another for somebody he knew before, he had no idea how that felt or what to say about it. Fact was, though Stavros had seen many people on his adventures he'd never actually befriended them. Friendship just seemed like a difficult thing mostly because you had to socialize, and what was that even? It didn't much matter, his rude silence was forcing the stranger away not that Stavros wanted him to stay. Or did he?
"I oh... you're not interrupting anything!" Stavros blurted out awkwardly. Come to think of it, what had he been doing? Ah right, wallowing in self pity... well that no longer seemed very fun. "I'm not very good at this, this... conversating..." he admitted, embarrassed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2014 7:12 pm
"Well, there's no shame in that," Kai said. He couldn't help but feel an immense surge of pity toward this fellow -- alone, easily frightened, poorly socialized. What terrible circumstances had driven him toward a life like this? He must be miserable, Kai decided. He knew he would've been miserable under similar circumstances. "I'm sure you've got a routine to your life that I'm just trampling all over right this moment."
In fact, the blue wolf was himself looking for some way to bow politely out of conversation, since it seemed so uncomfortable, but he couldn't quite figure it out. Racking his brain, he came upon a solution -- perhaps a more concrete question could put the other wolf at ease and prove beneficial to him as well, all at once!
"Actually, before I got distracted thinking I was seeing the ghosts of old friends, I was looking for something specific. Maybe you can help me?" He tilted his head, hopefully. "I don't suppose you could point me in the direction of the nearest ocean? I came from the coast, before...before....well, it's been a while, but I'm all turned around now."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2014 7:57 pm
Stavros lowered his rump down on to the ground quite the opposite of gracefully, for it made a loud thud and he then sighed. Since speaking wasn't working out for him, he decided to just nod his to agree. Light grey eyes scanned the stranger, from the tip of his tail to the tips of his bright blue ears. Thus far he seemed like a decent sort, he seemed to be making excuses for Stavros' oddities and that was certainly appreciated. Not that he even knew how to begin to do such a thing. "Thank you" wasn't a word this wolf heard very often for sure.
Luckily an opportunity presented itself.
Stavros had been far and wide, and never did he ever forget his dig sites. He could remember where he found the round pebble, how he had dug all through the night to find the large angular piece of granite and especially how he'd found a special seashell just under the surface of the sand. Oh yes, he'd seen the ocean and he remembered the way to get there. There was a bit of a problem though, how far did this wolf want to go? The ocean was quite a ways away from here, days even. Oh dear, why was speaking so difficult?
"I know, yes," Stavros said, because this totally made sense to him. "The ocean's pretty far, at least a few days... and the river..." Stavros said absentmindedly. He'd meant that they'd have to cross the river, which was clear to Stavros but probably made little to no sense to the stranger. "I can go out with you," he nodded, not realizing he may or may not have just proposed a date in conventional terms.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2014 11:15 pm
Days? Well, that wasn't so terrible, Kai thought resignedly. He'd been walking for days anyway. Actually, now that he thought of it, it seemed he had done nothing but walking. Walking away from home...walking through Telk...walking back home...then running from Telk...and now, some more wandering. Well, he was okay with that, and hey! Company!
His brow furrowed a little at the odd phrasing, but he decided not to comment. It had occurred to him that this wolf might be a little strange. Perhaps damaged. But he was in no position to judge, and his time abroad with strange wolves had inoculated him against all manner of oddities in personality.
"I'd hate to put you out," he said, finally. "But I wouldn't say no to some company." He allowed a sheepish grin. "My name's Kai, incidentally. If we're to be traveling buddies, you should at least know who you're traveling with!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
