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 Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 8:11 pm
The sun, Hedda noted, was going to go down soon.
She sighed, for she disliked being forced to batten down for the night when she wasn't tired, and began glancing around for a decent rest-spot. There was little she could do, after all. Unless it was a full moon night, which it wasn't, there wasn't a great deal of light she could see by, and whether she wanted to admit it or not, being deaf was not going to do her any favors under the blanket of the night.
Grumbling harshly under her breath- she could speak nothing but harshly- Hedda continued ambling through the thinly forested area she found herself in, still looking for a decent place to rest until morning. Somewhere nearby, there was a two-leg settlement, and Hedda would have to watch for that too, for there was litle love lost between humans and she. Double the reason she would not sleep well again tonight.
Damn birth defect.
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Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 8:32 pm
 Nirym crept along through the forest on silent paws, moving swiftly in the direction of the foreign humans' settlement. From time to time, he liked to venture there and sit near the edge of the clearing and watch them. Observe them. Stalk around their den at night.
It gave him a rush, to be doing something so dangerous. And there WERE dangers. There were traps in the wood near the settlement, so a wolf had to be careful where he stepped. Nirym always moved a bit slower the closer he got, avoiding any odd lumps of leaves or dirt. Humans like to hide those traps with their angry metal teeth under piles of leaves and stick.
But Nirym was on to them, oh, he was a clever one. Either that, or the two-legs were really stupid.
Even if he breeched the treeline into their settlement, the danger still hung in the air. They had strange dogs there that made noisy vocalization in an unintelligible dialect. They had teeth, but they weren't fierce. Nothing to be afraid of. But if they were loud enough, the two-legs would come out, yelling and barking in their own tongue. Sometimes they carried long metal sticks with them, sticks that made a loud noise like thunder and strike a wolf dead...or injured badly at the very least.
They didn't like him there, because he could appear and vanish very rapidly out of and into the foliage at a moment's notice thanks to his coat. And he always came at night. They didn't like him. They didn't trust him. And Nirym didn't blame them.
Either way, he was on his way to the settlement when a scent his his nose. Another wolf? He slowed down and took cover in some trees, stalking along quietly. It had the scent of a female, and she seemed to be alone.
He moved in closer, mostly to watch. He liked to watch.
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Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 8:48 pm
Unlike the wolf who watched, Hedda's colors were brilliant against the shadows and dirt and greenery. Purple-which might or might not have blended with her backdrop, if it had been the only thing she wore- broken by black stripes. What really made her stand out, and what really made it impossible to go unnoticed, was the mad grin nature had painted onto her chest in striking, brilliant red. A warning of sorts, in declaration that she was not all that safe, not unlike the snake of red on yellow on black who killed the foolish with a simple bite and sting of teeth. Huh. Mayhap that was why she was not approached by the humans, who were a superstisious lot, unless it was with those strange weapons. Pathetic two-leg walkers who couldn't even kill with what weapons they had been born with.
Hedda stilled.
Another wolf was here. She was not so stupid as the humans, who could be snuck upon without scenting the stalker, and her smell had heightened in the absence of her hearing. Or mayhap she just payed more attention to it. Carefully, her head swivelled and her eyes cast about the shadows and what little light remained, unable to see what she had scented. Damn the shadows.
"Out with you." She growled gruffly, words awkward and thick on her tongue.
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Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 8:58 pm
Nirym moved forward slightly, marveling in Hedda's bright colors. He got a little closer and noticed...this wolf was strange for a few reasons. One, she had no visible ears atop her head. He wondered if she could hear anything...probably not.
He wasn't intimidated by the bright red grin across her chest, though he did mark as the second odd thing about her. He figured he'd be cautious with this one, at the very least.
The third strange thing was her way of speaking. She spoke coherently and in the canine dialect he was used to hearing from other wolves, but it seemed...off somehow. Like the words dropped off her tongue instead of rolling. He speech was heavy, he decided. Heavy and thick. Was there something the matter with her tongue as well?
Regardless, he shurgged from his point and uttered "As you wish."
Nirym circled the wolf, still hidden, before coming out into full view in front of her. He seemed to melt out of the dulling light, a living shadow. His markings were dark on dark, though his eyes stood out brilliantly, glimmering gold. He sat back on his haunches, looking Hedda up and down again.
"You...you are a strange one." he said again, tilting his head. "No ears at all...can you even hear me?" he asked, still sure she probably could not.
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Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 9:13 pm
Though Hedda herself never moved from her stilled position, her head and eyes certainly turned to track Nirym's movement with painstaking care. The only black wolf she had met before this had been that leader-wolf, and but briefly. This one was more frustrating, mottled somehow to become one with the stark shadows the trees, no matter few, provided him. At least his eyes were trackable.
Her words were unweildy for a reason- how was she to make them familiar enough to slip off the tongue instead of drop like stones, if she could not hear them? "I can not hear you." She enunciated, to be more clearly understood, just in case. "Or suspect you, that I might hear with skin over my ear-parts?" Derisive words. Then again, she had never held with fools and those who stated the obvious whether they knew it or not.
"I am Hedda." She also did not hold with the mystery of the 'who' of a wolf.
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Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 9:27 pm
Nirym's tail remained curled around his front paws, the tip moving slightly. So she was totally deaf. He wondered how she managed. Next to scent, he waged that hearing was a vital sense to a wolf. He wasn't much of a talker himself, so it didn't much matter that this wolf wasn't a listener.
Still, it was bothersome that no one could hear you when you wanted to ask question or simply comment on things. This wolf though, despite her 'disability' had a rather sharp tongue, and seemed rather blunt as well. hHe liked that, and he let a smile curl over his maw to express this.
He stood up and titled his head first to the left, then to the right as he tried to figure out how he'd communicate with her, or if it was even worth it. He remembered the dogs and wolf-dogs at the two-legs' camp and how hard it was to communicate with them. The wolf dogs had a remedial grip on his language...some of them anyways, and they tended to relay messages to the others, or message from the others to him.
That didn't help here though.
"How do you manage...?" he asked, though he was directing the question more to himself, as the wolf in front of him could not hear him.
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Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 9:49 pm
Hedda's lip curled at the implication that she was somehow at a disadvantage. Even though by all accounts, she was. Hedda hated being seen as weak.
If she noticed his smile, she did not react to it.
"Do not think me weak." She said sharply, even if he was talking to himself, a growl of irritation now underlying her already gruff words. "If I see your mouth, I see your words. If I see your body, I see your meaning. I am no helpless stripling, or watered-down wolf." Even if she did have to see a wolf before she understood he was talking to her. And even if she'd often found herself in a bad spot because she couldn't hear.
"Nor am I a rude wolf who does not reply to a name with a name." She was testy now, and hadn't forgotten that he hadn't said his name yet, not that she'd remember it after they parted.
She faced him fully now, not willing to be prideful enough to try and make him come around to her front. He probably wouldn't, and she'd be stuck in one position until he left. She remained standing, though.
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Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 10:01 pm
"So you do manage." he remarked, somewhat surprised, not seeming to be phased much by Hedda's abrasive nature. The only movement the came of the black wolf was a brief flicker of his left ears. Other than that, he remained standing where he was.
His tail swished behind him. "Forgive me for not introducing myself. I just thought it was pointless talking to a deaf wolf." he said dismissively, dropping the front of his body in a bow- though whether it was earnest or sardonic was another story. "I'm Nirym."
It seemed he had upset the deafened wolf, though if he was regretful at all, it did not show. He turned his head upwards to glance at the sky. Light was fading very quickly now. At least this meeting was killing time until darkness completely set in. He hated lurking around the edge of the encampment until it was dark enough for him to move undetected save for scent. He liked to watch, but he hated to wait. Nirym, for all the patience he seemed to have with other wolves, could be rather impatient when it came to waiting for anything else.
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Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 10:20 pm
This mollified Hedda somewhat, though she did not allow herself to drop her irritation wholly. To do so was to relax, and she did not know this wolf well enough to relax.
She did not, of course, notice the dismissive tone of his voice, and it was too dark to discern if he meant that apologetic bow or not. At least he had told her his name.
"I talked back when you first spoke." She pointed out, her jaw set in stubborn manner. An unkind- or simply blunt- wolf would have called the sentence laced with petulance. She was rather sensitive about her disability, for all that she was a strong and competant wolf otherwise.
She was observant as well as all that, however, and didn't miss his time-gauging. "You have a place to be." A statement more than a question.
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Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 10:28 pm
"I called it coincidence." he said with a shrug.
He raised a brow at her astute observation of his behavior. perhaps when one was incapable of hearing, they became more aware of body posture and movement, much like how a blind wold uses hearing and scent to outweigh the inability to see. He didn't HAVE to be at the settlement, but he was going there.
"Just the settlement for those strange two-legs." he said. "I go there from time to time. It's wise to keep tabs on one's enemies and potential dangers in the homeland, after all. Tonight is more like a novelty trip than reconnaissance, though."
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Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2007 6:56 am
Coincidence. Briefly, she reviewed their encounter and... well, if she had to admit it, yes, it might seem like coincidence. The question and her answer hadn't been terribly difficult, and she might have simply been informing him.
Bah. No matter.
She gave herself a mental shake, and returned her attention to the other wolf, and looked him over appraisingly. "Not many wolves would volunteer to do that seriously."
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Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2007 6:59 pm
Nirym chuckled and shook his head, even though the strange wolf could not hear it. He looked back up at her, a grin broad on his dark maw, white teeth providing a sharp contrast to black fur.
"Well, I'm not like most other wolves." he said, never losing the Cheshire smile.
He wasn't either. Aside from having a temperament that tended to be either rather smooth and unflappable-- which put other wolves on edge, he had noticed-- or one that fluctuated unexpectedly and without reason at times, he belonged to no pack and was proud of it. His colors were fairly drab compared to other wolves in the forest, and his eyes...he found those made some wolves uneasy as well. He was an odd wolf. Perhaps it was his oddness that kept him from being in a pack. He could never be around too many wolves for too long, because they always stared. He hated it when they stared, the feeling of their eyes on him...no, he didn't like that at all.
Not having a pack solved that, as well as his problems with authority. Packs limited his freedom anyways. No, he was not a normal wolf.
"Darkness is coming. I only visit them when it gets dark...for obvious reasons." he said making a vague gesture with his head, most likely meant to imply his dark coat, and how well it worked under the cover of night. "Plus, two-legs seem to have a fear of the dark and the things that creep when the sun goes down. I think it's because two-legs have poor night vision and they cannot see without light, so they fear the unknown. An understandable reason."
He flicked his tail again, looked at the darkening sky and then back down. Why not?
"Would you be interested in visiting the settlement with me? You need not come if you do not wish. It might be too difficult anyways. Communication would be hard once it gets dark and you cannot see the words my mouth makes. And you would need to watch where you step..." he said, leaving the offer hanging.
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Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2007 9:19 am
The chuckle she could not hear, but the cheshire grin on his face was expressive enough.
"Clearly." Somehow, Hedda managed to insert dryness into her thick manhandling of the spoken word.
Staring. If Nirym had shared that particular disliked action, Hedda would have no doubt made it clear that wolves tended to stare at her, too- and for obvious reasons. As far as she knew, no other wolf existed who didn't have ears. And beyond that, whispers that she was sure were spoken behind her back (She doesn't have any ears! I'd have thought she would have died by now, not being able to hear important things. Yes, I agree. She has to have been coddled, there's no other way an earless wolf could make it to adulthood. Ah! She's looking our way! Quick...) And on and on. Showed them, that she had been a proud alpha once- and still carried herself as one.
Bah.
Hedda nodded in agreement when he gestured to his coat- a good pelt to have for night-sneaking- and snorted. "Supersticious and jumpy, they are. They shouldn't be here. They bumble around like a week old pup." Noisy walkers. The forest around them could clear before they had a chance to get close, they were so loud. And they acted so proud when they killed a stupid beast who didn't run fast enough.
She blinked.
And grinned a mirror of his cheshire smile. "I am a grown wolf, and have been in less favorable situations. The moon shows a sliver tonight. I will be able to find my way if I truely want to." It was simply that she didn't often want to. It took too much energy to walk around at night on a constant basis, being hyperaware of her surroundings in place of hearing them. The offer was interesting, though..
"Besides, perhaps the humans will find my markings another thing to fear in the night."
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Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 10:55 am
Nirym's ear swiveled, flicked back briefly again- it seemed this was a common mannerism. What it meant or it's cause though...it wasn't clear. It seemed to just be one of those habits that just happened.
Nirym chuckled again and shook his head. "Too easy to scare sometimes. I think my eyes unsettle them too. Not many creatures like my eyes. Those two-legs, the heavy-steppers, they've tried to catch me before. It was after I appropriated some of their food store a few seasons ago- not that I normally steal. I'm quite capable of hunting, I just wanted...I wanted to see if I could do it." he said nonchalantly, after thinking about it for a few moments. "They came after me, but I was able able to hit the treeline before they did...and they lost me shortly after. They must have walked past me twice. Once I realized how easy it was to hide from them, it became a game here and there. Apparently, I'm fairly known among their den as being some sort of demon or ghost wolf. Is that a two-legs answer to everything? if they cannot catch it, it has to be a ghost. Excuses. They just are not willing to admit they're lousy trackers."
Nirym seemed to be babbling a bit, but when one went without speaking to someone for long streches as he oftentimes did, the words tended to pour out in large quantities when he got the chance to speak.
"Perhaps," he continued, "if they went on all fours like a proper being, their weight would be more balanced and they wouldn't make such a racket. I'm sure they'd find a way to mess that up too, though." he said, crinkling his nose.
Although, Nirym did have to admit that while humans weren't the best hunters on foot, they could be rather creative with hiding their metal traps. He did find it mildly sad though that an inanimate object hunted better than they did, and he voiced it. "Tragic species. No hair, loud-steppers...and a non-living item catches more game than they do- whether it's their fire-sticks or the metal-jaws. The other two-legs though...the old-race...not such a bad lot. They're...different in a lot of ways than the two legs with the fire-sticks."
He had to admit to himself the Natives, the Telk, were no bad for two-legs. The Telk didn't destroy more than they had to and seemed to hold better respect for the woods and its denizens. It was for that reason he didn't steal from the Telk. He didn't have to. All he had to do was show up and they'd offer him bits of food when they had some to spare. He wondered if they thought he was a demon too, and were just giving him offerings to placate him. He hoped the Telk weren't as stupid a those other Foreign two-legs.
"But if you think you can manage, I won't question it. You seem very capable." He laughed. "A pair of demons we are. Perhaps you'll give a fright to those dumb hounds and watered-down wolves they tether in their den too. The hounds are not too bright...they are servant of the two-legs. Disgraces to the canine race- they've no more wild or will, and their language is remedial at best. The wolfdogs aren't much better, though they are somewhat easier to speak too, though they seem to think too high of themselves. But I digress. Shall we be going? It seems to be dark enough to set out." he said.
Indeed it had gotten dark...the fading sun had left in its wake a dark night sky, point of starlight beginning to shimmer. Nirym shifted his position and sniffed at the air, looking left, then right, then back at the deaf she-wolf. He smirked one last time and started off to his right.
"Follow me. Watch out for any traps though. They can't be sniffed out so easy, but their color, their shine, the odd lumps on the ground trying to conceal them...it's not too hard to spot them if you're alert. Other than the traps, there's not much to worry about if you're fast, except the fire sticks the two-legs carry. Long pipes that ring like thunder...they can make a wolf dead if one is not careful. But we shouldn't have to worry about that until we get to the camp...if at all." he warned.
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Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 2:52 pm
"Your eyes are striking." Hedda agreed. Staring out from a black background, they were very hard to miss even though hers were as golden as his.
She snorted a smothered whuf of laughter. "They dare to hunt wolves among the trees now? They cannot even catch the foxes without the help of their pathetic wolf-mimics." Perhaps the humans deserved to have their food stores stolen from, if they dared so much. Many of the strong creatures stole from the weaker in the same manner- it was a rule of survival. The weaker only need to get stronger to prevent it, though she doubted the humans could. From what she'd heard and (rarely) experienced, the two-legs were as sense-stunted as a creature got. Could not hear what even an old wolf could hear, could not smell what a pup could smell, walked as if their feet were great tree roots. Needless to say, Hedda found no fault in Nirym's sport with the humans.
"A Ghost wolf are you?" She whuffed out a sarcastic snicker. "They like to make otherworldly what they can't conquer, it looks like."She wrinkled her nose, then. "The two-legs on all fours? Their walking legs are too long. They would look ridiculous. I wager they walk on two to avoid embarrassing themselves. If their forelegs were as long as their hind, then I would believe it."
She hadn't experienced their dangerous metal sticks or bear-jaws for herself- but she had heard stories enough, and seen smaller things experience them enough- to be wary of them. Cheating, she considered it. It felt wrong that they should hunt with things that were not of themselves. "The old race of two legs are better." She agreed. "They have respect and good sense."
Hedda didn't bother to snort at the thought of the fake wolves the humans had tamed- such a thought! - it wasn't worth it. Instead, she just responded with an agreeable 'we shall' and a gambit grin of her own before making off after the black wolf. Immediately, she became hyperalert, careful of Nirym's warnings (even if she didn't know what thunder sounded like except for the vibration in the air that reached into her chest after lightning struck) but looking forward to the possibility of giving the humans a scare. And if she seemed a little tenser and her eyes flickered everywhere, and if she widened her nostrils a little to take in more scents than normal, well then, that was fine.
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