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 Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 9:17 pm
Ah, it was such a nice day. Peaceful, with birds chirping in the trees and all that fun cheerful foresty stuff. Well, it was anyway until there was a loud crash. The cause of said crash was a wolf, a wolf by the name of Rua. He bounced back up almost instantly, a cheerful grin on his face as he backed up and wriggled free of the bushes he'd stumbled into. He stared at the broken bushes, then frowned. "Villainous shrubs? They block my way do they?" He says, his fur bristling. Suddenly he pounces on them and bites at them, only to get a mouthful of leaves and sticks. He does this for a few minutes until it was a crushed mushy pile of unrecognizable foliage. Satisfied, he trotted off again with a pleased look on his face. He'd saved the world from a terrible monster. He hummed to himself as he bumbled through the forest.
He'd only recently come from his home packlands, which wasn't that far away. It was barren and dead now, so there was no reason to say. Everyone was dead except him. It had left a terrible scar on his soul, but nobody would be able to tell from his cheerful exterior. He was going to make up for everyone dieing by protecting the world from all evil. It seemed like a good arrangement for him.
Unfortunately he hadn't noticed the fact he'd wandered into another pack's territory. He'd walked right past the scent markers without any though about the change in smell, and ti wasn't like he was being very quite what with all the crashing and stomping around.
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Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 9:42 pm
 Which was how Oath knew someone different was passing the borders: not first by sight or smell, but by sound. She prided herself on at least attempting to know all the wolves in The Realm, which so far she had managed at least beyond the superficial degree: the pups were works in progress, but Oath hated to disturb them from their families. In a way, she somewhat craved their attentions, always having loved pups even as an adolescent. Though one particular litter she knew would cause some . . . civil issues.
Ah well . . . dearly and truly, she loved the little ones and wished them well.
Having attempted to rouse Pumpkinhead from his overtly depressed mood, the shaman decided to make a quick round about the territory before retiring for the afternoon - which was when she heard the odd crashes, to which she could not put a name or reason upon. Blinking, Oathkeeper ambled forward, ears tilted forward curiously as she saw an odd-patterned wolf with a rather bright tail and tuft of hair defeating a terrible batch of grass.
"Ah . . . may I help you . . . ?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 9:48 pm
Rua paused when he heard a soft voice behind him. He whipped around, twigs and bits of plant all stuck in his fur. he blinked curiously, then just blatantly stared at the female. She was beautiful. She was stunning. She took his breath away, literally. He had to remember how to breath and eh took in a deep breath and let it out. He shook himself some before looked at the female and boldly sticking out his chest. "Fair maiden! Fear not! For I have rid this area of a terrible evil!" He barks. Then he just grins dopely and wags his tail. He might sound a little dumb or crazy, but he was far from that. He was just a little....misguided. He couldn't take his eyes off her, and he did his best to look good even though he was a mess from his epic battle.
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Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 10:25 pm
Oath knew that look all too well, and sometimes she wondered if before every day she should roll about in the mud first to avoid the excess staring . . . Not that it was a daily problem, though. Lalita she hoped had gotten the message from their last encounter, the poor lad. But for now Oathkeeper took it in stride and smiled at the stranger's odd mannerisms. "Did you now? Why thank you, sir knight," she said with a gracious nod, believing this was a motif the male probably employed with any female he ran across. "I don't know what trouble that patch of wild grass might have done had you not intervened."
She chuckled, wagging her tail slightly in response to his. The star charm waved about, entwined into her fur by vines. "Might I know the name of this land's savior, and what he requests for his noble deed?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 10:39 pm
Rua was surprised when the fair damsel spoke to him, and called him a knight nonetheless! He grinned hugely, then wiped toned it down to try and not seem dumb. He coughed a little, but he couldn't help but smile at her. He kept his chest puffed out as he addressed her, hoping it would make him look bigger than he was. "If I only was a knight beautiful princess! But alas, my ceremony was not completed." He says, his voice going up and down in tones as if he were singing an epic poem. "My name? My name is Rua, miss." He says pleasantly and bows down. The position should have been awkward, but he made it seem graceful. He went down low enough to press his forehead against the ground before he bounced back up, his tail wagging yet again. "Request? Oh! No no no! I have vowed to vanquish all evil!" He says nobly and humbly.
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Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 11:15 pm
"Any wolf who would bravely put his life on the line for his duty is worthy of a knight's title in my eyes." Again she chuckled, able to tell he was being quite genuine in his fight against evil and finding it almost adorable - like this Rua was an overgrown pup. Perhaps she was right? "Sir Rua, I am no princess, though you flatter me," Oath replied with a bright smile as he bowed. "Please, call me Oathkeeper or -"
Then he sprung back up.
"- Or Oath is fine. But what a goal that is, Sir Rua! Is it possible to vanquish evil?" Oath asked with a slight tilt of her head. "For there are many types and many more guises it chooses to wear. It must be tiring to find, no?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 11:32 pm
Rua felt pleasantly warm at the compliment. He never got compliments. he'd always been criticized for being clumsy and a just strange in general. He beamed at her and had to work hard not to squirm with delight at the kind words. "Oh, but you must be a princess! For I have never seen another creature as beautiful as you! And I have traveled far and wide miss." He says, which wasn't really true. he'd been a few places sure, but since he'd been confined to his home pack lands for most of his life, this trip certainly was far for him. "And such a wonderful name! It shows you to be trustworthy and honorable Miss Oathkeeper!" He grinned even bigger, then quickly toned it down once more. He didn't want her to think he was strange, which was sort of ironic really. When she spoke of the many guises of evil he flicked his ears and nodded in understanding. "Yes, yes, it is indeed a hard task. But someone has to do it, no?" He says and absently shakes some of the twigs out of his fur. "For example, what if some young pup had gone exploring and tumbled in that bush and gouged their eye out? That wouldn't have been very good." he says with a nod. He sincerely believed he was doing good.
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Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2010 10:45 am
Again she nodded a little to his compliments, her earlier moody thoughts about the future of those pups disintegrating under this Rua's sunny disposition; whatever "strangeness" he might have was quite, quite pleasant compared to the some of the wolves that called The Realm home. "A daughter of one of the alphas, yes, but far from being any princess," Oathkeeper insisted with a smile, an oddity since she knew why she could never consider herself so. A healer, a caretaker, a welcomer, yes. Princess? Not so much . . .
"Even so, I must insist I repay your kindness, Sir Rua! Have you need of food or shelter for the day?" she asked. "My pack is - well actually, we're already inside it, the border was a minute's walk behind you. But you strike me as a good wolf, and it would burden my conscience to let you alone after your kindness."
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Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2010 11:03 am
Rua's eyes widened at this and he couldn't help but bounce on his paws. His necklace caught the sunlight and flashed, but he didn't seem to notice. "Then truly you are of royal blood! I knew it!" he woofs and can't help but wriggle his rump in excitement. "Thy bloodline must be truly great to create one such as beautiful as you." He says honestly. His mood was a bit odd. He wanted this fair lady's attention, but he wasn't precisely hitting on her. He simply adored her, and right then and there he was determined to commit himself to her, and not just because she was pretty. She was kind, and sincere with him, which made him feel wonderful. It had been a long time since anyone had done that for him.
At the mention of a pack he looked around, his nose twitching for the first time to catch the strange scent. He smiled sheepishly. "Ah, well, I'm sorry for intruding without announcing my presence." He says bashfully and bows his head again, then looks up. Just as he opened his mouth his stomach gave a loud growl. "Er-Well...If...It wouldn't intrude upon Miss Oathkeeper then food and shelter would be most welcome." He says sheepishly. He wasn't one to really ask for things, so, he looked down for a moment before back at her. It was hard to keep his eyes off her.
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Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2010 3:25 pm
"Ah . . . You are too kind, Sir Rua," Oath complimented him, still keeping at the delicate line of politeness. "We are fortunate such a soul as yours has traversed to our lands. Come!" She flagged her tail for him to follow as she turned to lead him further into the lands, the starm charm flapping in the wind. "The Timeless River will bring us to the center of the packlands; more then likely some hunting parties have returned by now with fresh meat."
As they walked, the shaman turned her gaze slightly to the item at Rua's neck that so often shone in the sunlight. "May I ask what that is? It's rather dazzling and . . . pointy." She imagined the largest, sharpest thorn from a rose, but this one was white like he was, not green. Nor did it smell of nature . . .
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Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2010 3:39 pm
The male wags his tail at the mention of fresh meat. It had been a day or two since he'd last eaten and he was famished. "Thank you for your kindness Miss Oathkeeper." He says and trots along besides her, but hanging back a little to be respectful. He was starting to dream of delicious meat when he was caught by surprise by her question. He stumbled without meaning too and face planted into the ground. he grunted and sprang back up without comment, looking none the worse for wear. He chuckled a little nervously and shook himself before responding.
He looked down at his pendant and absently wagged his tail. "Oh, this? It is the mark of my bloodline. There was tail of a horse-like creature that had a single horn on its head, that was supposed to protect our bloodline. This is a copy of that horn. We-er, I mean I now since I'm the last, wear it to honor the mythical beast." He says with a shrug as if this were a common tale to him, which it was.
Then he notes the star charm on her tail. "And if you don't mind me asking Miss Oathkeeper, what about the pretty trinket on your tail?" He asks curiously.
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Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 6:44 pm
A horse with one horn? What a strange creature to think of . . . Though where would he get a copy? Had Rua's family gone to humans? Was there a bond she could learn about? After all, one of the original precepts of The Realm was the broadening of knowledge, especially when it came to the two-leggers. Hmm . . . But before Oath could further inquire about it, Rua asked about her charm. "Ah, this? I gift from my father when I was a pup," she explained. "A charm made from thalassa shells. It grants luck to travelers, I'm told.
"But I'm interested in this one-horned horse you mentioned . . . Is it a legend, or an actual creature? Did it use to live around here, or did it live in a different land? How did it begin to protect your ancestors? And . . . what is a horse?" Oath added sheepishly.
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Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 9:19 pm
Rua wagged his brightly colored tail and smiled. The look she got on her face when she was really interested in something cheered him. He wanted to supply her with whatever information she wanted. He grinned dopely and mentally dredged up all the information he knew about the beast. He looked blank when she explained her charm, mentally wondering what a 'thalassa shell' was. He'd never seen the ocean or a shell before. "That sounds interesting m'lady." He says honestly and watches the charm for a moment before looking back at her.
He was unprepared for the barrage of questions. His ears twitched some and he gave himself a shake. He thought about it for a good while before he answered. He wags his tail. "Oh I suppose it was real. We have an old story about it that would make it seem like it was real. And it used to live in my old packlands, to the north of here." He says and vaguely waves his paw in the direction he'd come from. "I could just tell you the story if you liked, Miss Oathkeeper. And a horse...is like a very large deer." He says with a nod. "But usually they don't have horns, the normal ones anyway."
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Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 11:21 pm
The blank look that crossed his face made her wince self-consciously; though mostly a wolf who kept her personal attentions in check, it was hard to stop her curiosity once it was piqued. For instance: "A large deer, oh my! How large? Like a bear? I hear bears can thrive in cold weather, especially white ones . . ."
Then Oath paused and blinked. She'd been spending too much time with KK, this was exactly the sort of rambling the alpha would do! She cleared her throat quietly as Rua offered to tell the story, nodding a few times too eager to cover up her word vomit. "Please do, sir, I'd love to hear all about it." They were walking alongside The Timeless River now, about halfway to their destination at Pride Rock. Various minor branches from the large river would cross their path before they reached it.
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Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2010 4:37 pm
"Uhm, no, not as big as a bear. But big." He says with a nod. "And I didn't know bears could be white." He says curiously and wags his tail lightly.
Rua's gaze drifted to the river, his glowing eyes reflecting the sparkling water for a moment before he looked back at her. He didn't think anything was wrong with her ramble. It had been awhile since he'd talked to anyone anyway, so he liked it. Especially since her voice was just as pretty as she was. He cleared his throat and rolled his shoulders some. He liked telling this story, since it was the most important one to him. "Well, one day, many, many moons ago, my family suffered from a horrible sickness. They couldn't find anything to cure it and all seemed lost. So, they sent a brave warrior out into the woods to search for a cure. After many, many days of searching, he found a mythical beast called the unicorn." He says, sounding a little distant as he immersed himself in the story. "The unicorn agreed to help him, and cut off its horn to cure his family. The brave warrior took the horn back and it cured everyone. To this day, we honor that unicorn by wearing a replica of its horn. It's very important to me" He says quietly. He didn't mention how he was the last of his family and the tradition would die with him if he failed to have any pups.
(*lazily copies and pastes story from other RP* X3 I hope you don't mind.)
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