Private // 1x1 Captive Dreamlands RP
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Posted 2024-11-10 19:11:41
As the understory closed in around them, great swaths of blue-green fireflies ebbed and flowed between the trunks like a silent, glittering overhead river. Quick flashes of light and rustling movements briefly illuminated small lunar creatures busy beneath the veil of greenery in a hidden world all their own. The harsh, croaking voices of Volukros ravens stirred a raucous commotion in the boughs above sending down intermittent showers of deep blue leaves. Romulus just shook his head, one ear swiveled upward and one eye briefly trained on the sharp bursts of blue energy crackling to life up above - its always something with them. The pupilless starburst-blue eyes of deer regarded them from further in, their night-black and lunar-blue coats making them almost indistinguishable from the surrounding gloam if not for the crowns of wooden antlers burst to bloom that framed the regal heads of the stags standing watch over their does. Glimpse giggled and raced on ahead through the falling leaves, sending up an angry chorus of lunar sparrows from the bushes as she sprinted by, disappearing further up the trail. "Don't go too far!" Vervain barked after her, rolling her eyes at Romulus who shrugged his shoulders as if to say, you know how she is. "Would you like to walk with me?" Vision offered the standoffish male, acquiescing to his staunch stance across from him as the clearing emptied out. "I wouldn't want you to get lost, following behind." His tone was considerate, but his posture gave no quarter - he would not be leaving without eyes on Remi, this was as much of a compromise as he would offer. He hoped the disappearing tails of his female companions would dissuade him from making anymore fuss than he already had. Romulus' ears flicked back at the sound of his name, and he turned his head just so as to glance back over his shoulder at the small female as she spoke. Her question ebbed into the silence of pawsteps over leaflitter and brushing pelts as he lead them on along the trail without stopping. After a pawful of moments he answered, "This Enclosure place, have the humans eaten up all the wilderness with it?" He said, answering her question with another. "I suppose it was foolish of me to hope so, but I assumed there would be some wilderness for us return to - of course I wouldn't be returning alone." After a split second he added, "We don't honestly know what would become of us if we returned." His lips pursing into a hard, worried line. "Nothing about us changed when we came through the portal, so we've always assumed the same would happen the other way around. Of course we've long outlived ourselves, but even a few cycles in the sun would be a blessed thing." He turned his head to study his mate's face, and unlike herself she looked thoughtful causing a whisper of concern to crease his own. It had been so very long since they accepted their fates and resolved to make the best of it, he knew neither of them had truthfully considered the consequences of returning in several decades and it was hard to say if that time truly made a difference. |
 Jaybird #42710 |
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Posted 2024-11-10 19:43:53
Oliver and Forest both looked back at Remi, but Oliver just rolled his eyes and kept moving. Their zoomate had not done well in his previous home. Socializing, the humans called it; to the brothers, it was just growing up in their pack. Fear, frustration, distrust, anger, no matter. It all always manifested as stubbornness or aggression. Nikki, having known him the longest, often kept him in check; Addie seemed increasingly irritated by it, Forest was cowed by it, and Oliver largely ignored him. It wasn't worth the effort to argue, he felt. He cast a glance at Forest. "Are you alright?" he asked, voice almost inaudible. Forest let out a soft whine. "I'm worried," he admitted. "What if we can never go back? What about our family?" "We knew we what we were getting into when we left," Oliver chided gently. "We weren't likely to see them again if we succeeded anyways." "But we always had the option," Forest protested in a whisper. "And- and now we might not." Whatever lingering fears and misgivings Nikki had about these Dreamlands, most of then were washed away by the splendor of this world. She bumped into Addie a few times whenever some new critter or tree or sound caught her eyes and drew them away from the path. She jumped slightly in surprise at the sound of the ravens, stopping to stare directly up in wonder. Then, with a puplike yip, catching one of the navy-hued leaves in her mouth. She spat it out quickly, though; she'd played that game as a puppy with her brother, but normal leaves tasted earthy. These, not quite tart, nor sour, nor sweet... almost electric, like they were infused with the energy that seemed to flow all around them. An odd sensation, at any rate. At the older female's bark, Nikki looked ahead to see Glimpse running ahead. Intrigued, she ran ahead with another sharp bark, decidedly higher-pitched than any full-blooded wolf's bark, chasing after Glimpse to see what she was doing. "Nikki, be careful--!" Addie yelped after her, frowning slightly. It wasn't that she thought Glimpse would harm her; her mind was wracked with the thought that if any of them were separated too long, either something unexpected and dangerous would befall one of them from this world, or they would stumble across some other portal and be separated forever, as these two wolves seemed to believe. She wasn't keen on either idea. Sighing reluctantly when her warning went unheeded, she turned back to Romulus. She dropped her head and opened her mouth to apologize if her questions were insensitive or unwelcome when he didn't respond at first, but then listened patiently to his answer. "The humans have taken much of the wilderness," she admitted. "Not all of it. Which is the only reason some of us were able to entertain the idea of running away. The ones the brothers speak of--" Here she cast a look back towards Forest and Oliver, who were preoccupied talking quietly between themselves, "--some humans have taken full-blooded wolves, like them and Remi and those like yourself and your mate, to live in some... false imitation of the wilderness. But they're given food and toys, and they're surrounded with clear sheets, and humans can come to gawk at them." She wrinkled her nose slightly at the idea of being on display like that. "But there is still some wilderness left, if we were able to re-learn the skills to live there." She nodded thoughtfully at his explanation. Even being here, she couldn't imagine simply... not seeing the sun again. "I'm sorry," she said sincerely after a long moment, but she wasn't really sure what she was apologizing for. Prodding? Leading them to entertain hope that might be in vain? Making them concerned about what would happen if they succeeded? Maybe all of that, and more. |
Forty Seven #111800 |
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Posted 2024-11-11 06:18:21
The sharp edge of his dam's bark immediately commanded his gaze and he looked up in time to see his sister bounding off ahead up the trail and disappearing around the next bend, he rolled his eyes - when was she going to grow up, anyway. It was hard to begrudge her whimsy and optimism though, terribly infectious qualities, and he couldn't blame the small black newcomer for sprinting off after her, pouncing and twirling in the drifting leaves. Glimpse, who had looked back as her dam barked a warning grinned mischievously, tongue lolling as she saw Nikki racing up to meet her. "Its beautiful, isn't it?" She said breathlessly, circling the newcomer on fleet paws and bounding ahead a few strides. She brushed her shoulders intentionally against the living trail edge drawing after her a wake of bright purples, blues and greens. A few tall plants overhanging their path volunteered their giant, glowing blue blooms with an audible snk when she tickled them with a swipe of her tail-tip. They poured light out onto her grinning face, washing out her features in violently blue light - the plant's tendrils, not unlike a jellyfish, rolled out and undulated experimentally in the now-open air. "This is a troubling development." Romulus mumbled, mostly to himself. "Nothing to be sorry for," Answered Vervain instead, "Humans have always been greedy monsters with no respect for the wilderness." She growled low in her throat, wrinkling her muzzle distastefully, enough to show a flash of teeth. "You've given us a lot to think about tonight." She fixed her eyes ahead down the path, ears pulled tight to her head. To think, all that wilderness gobbled up by humans and they expected wolves to entertain them as a mouse trapped under a feline's paw. She paused mid-step to shake out her coat, feeling the horrors cling to her like mud and there was much too much to do tonight to let herself be lost in thought. Romulus felt a fresh sorrow blossom in his chest, and for the first time he wondered about the land he had left behind. He was a wolf, it was not his nature to consider a larger change than the change from season to season. He watched his playful daughter inciting the plants to dance for the newcomer's delight and fancy, she truly loved this world and all its mysteries. He breathed a small sigh, catching his mate's eye and giving her a reassuring look to let her know he wasn't too far gone in his thoughts. Would it really be so awful, if they couldn't return to the Waking? They had lived here far, far longer than they ever had in the waking world and it might very well be that the memories made those times feel much sweeter then they ever truly were. Glimpse loped on ahead, disappearing though the crowded treeline feeling eager to introduce their packsite to their first and only Waking visitors. The blue-green grass was soft under her paws and the quiet burbling pond framed the space on one side stretching back into the woods where it was fed by a meandering stream. Tall, sweeping willows hung over the water trailing their bright purple drifts just above the shimmering surface beneath. Lunar amphibians chirped and croaked in the tall reeds at the water's edge and among the ethereal lilies that dotted the surface with their many-petaled flowers. There was evidence of a den dug amongst the willows and one willow in particular was ringed from as high up as a wolf could reach, all the way to its roots in singular vertical lines - a tally, it seemed to be. She padded down to the pond to take a drink, feeling the cool water refresh her as she lapped the wrinkled surface. The gaping mouths and blank eyes of fish looked back at her and she stuck out her tongue at them, turning instead to await the newcomers. Ears forward listening to the muffled voices marking their position at they went, she rolled back on her haunches and plunked down her rear to wait. 
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Jaybird #42710 |
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Posted 2024-11-11 07:22:20
Nikki giggled. "It's amazing," she answered, spinning in a quick, delighted circle before bounding after Glimpse. When the Dreamlands wolf awakened the overhanging flowers, she yipped and crouched down away from them, as if in a play bow. She watched the tendrils wave around, her own tail slowly starting to wag in response. She barked again and then rose up on her back legs, trying to balance to get closer to the flowers, staring into the glowing light with wide eyes. Attention caught again when Glimpse ran off once more, she turned and padded after her, keeping one eye and one ear out to the flora and fauna around her. "We have nothing like this back home," she said, though she was uncertain if Glimpse could still hear her or if she was already gone. A little doubt crept back into her mind, and she inched in the direction Glimpse had gone, trying to track the scent. She wasn't quite as good at it as Addie, but she could usually hold her own, though all the new scents threw her off a bit. She slipped through the trees. "Um-- Glimpse?" she called hesitantly, right before coming out at the pond. Her eyes went wide again. "Ooooh..." Immediately she leapt forward, skidding to a stop at the edge of the pond. She crouched again, showing off her Border Collie heritage as she tucked her legs in close to her body. She put her nose almost at the water, but not quite touching it. "Is- is it safe?" she asked, feeling stupid for asking the question, but she'd never seen water that glowed before. Addie sighed. "If it's any consolation, not all of them are like that. Some were in favor of preserving the wilderness, respecting it, and teaching the wolves to return. My owners were among them, and so were Nikki's." But it wasn't enough. It had never been enough, else there would have still been wolves left in the wild. She could only hope it would be enough one day, but what did it matter to her now, if they could never return? Besides, even if they had stayed and the rewilding efforts had come to pass, none of the humans would have released a hybrid. She also shook out her pelt, then turned her gaze downwards, mindlessly watching her steps. Maybe this world wasn't so bad, but still -- she was torn between a home she'd never known before and a home she thought she'd never know again, and she didn't like it. |
Forty Seven #111800 |
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Posted 2024-11-13 19:01:25
The smaller black she-wolf had seemed at times to be the shyest of the pack, and even in her wonder that meekness occasionally crept into her voice and actions. Glimpse watched her thoughtfully as she warily poked out of the thick foliage into their densite, calling her name. Watching that concern so swiftly crest into a nearly slack-jawed state of wonder was almost comical and she felt herself struggling to stifle a laugh. "I'm over here!" She called to Nikki, "Welcome to our home." Standing over the female who joined her at the pond's edge, she couldn't help but let slip the laugh she was holding at the outrageous nature of her question. "Of course its safe, why wouldn't it be? Everyone knows, 'if it glows, it goes'." She parroted, bouncing her head from right to left with every slowly annunciated word. "Only the lightless water isn't safe to drink." She wrinkled her muzzle dramatically, sticking out her tongue in an outrageous mockery of disgust. She giggled, and rolled back onto her haunches again, "I'm glad you like it here, Nikki, or at least, you've got an open mind about it. I'm sure this must be pretty scary in some ways." "Well, we might have to agree to disagree on that one." Vervain replied, keeping her sour expression to herself with her face forward, though there was no hiding the fact that she held her ears so tightly backward she might as well not have had any ears at all. "Well I can at least assure you that wolves do remain in the wilderness," Romulus cut in diplomatically, fixing his mate with chastising glance. "They still come as Dreamers every full moon, and when I speak with them there still seem to be many who have had little contact with humans. Though.. now that I think of it, there have been fewer these last cycles." He looked thoughtful again, as he pressed on through the curtain of head-high foliage that obscured their densite from most wandering eyes and ill intentions. "Welcome to our home, please, have a drink, take a rest. You're very safe here, you're welcome to stay for as long as you need." Vervain quickly shot him an incredulous look at that last sentiment and he pulled up his shoulders in a shrug and just smiled good-naturedly back - even she couldn't expect him to just cast them out, they clearly didn't have enough sense to find their tails in the dark. A break from the monotony would do them all good, and it would benefit his pups to make friends that didn't vanish with the waning of the moon. He looked out from his spot at the center of the clearing to his daughter standing beside Nikki and to his son as he appeared with Remi nearby as the last of the newcomers spilled out into the open space around him. |
Jaybird #42710 |
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Posted 2024-11-13 19:48:44
"If it glows, it goes," she repeated under her breath. "In our world nearly nothing glows -- nothing that wasn't made by people, anyways, 'cept for the sun, the moon, the stars, and a few bugs, mostly. I think most of us there would worry if the water looked like this." She withdrew her paw and tucked it back under her chest, peering up at Glimpse. Shifting again, she curled around to scratch at her collar. "It... it is," she admitted after a moment, then sat up and looked at her paws, shuffling them slightly back and forth to brush against the grass. "But it's a little less scary with them." She flicked her bent ear back towards the rest of her group, hearing them come through into the clearing. "And you guys seem nice--" Nikki left the even if your mom is kind of terrifying part unsaid, "--so that helps." Addie dipped her head in acquiescence. No doubt those from another time, another place, would think much differently of humans than those who had been trained not to bite the hands that fed them. She couldn't blame Vervain for her opinion. She looked over at Romulus and took a deep breath. "I'm glad to hear of it. I've wondered about the regions beyond ours, if perhaps there were more beyond anything we could ever see. Even if there are few, it's something." She lifted her chin hopefully, swiveling her ears backwards. She followed them through the brush and peered around at the densite, quickly spotting where Nikki and Glimpse were. "Your home is very beautiful... thank you again for your hospitality, in spite of..." She glanced back pointedly at Remi. Forest and Oliver followed the two wolves and Addie, staying almost shoulder to shoulder. Oliver glanced around only enough to determine the layout of the place and then padded towards the water, an appreciable distance from Glimpse and Nikki since they seemed to be talking. He spared a skeptical glance for the water an its inhabitants, reasoning that the two wolves had survived here without any apparent ill effects, so surely the water couldn't be too harmful to those not of this world. But glowing water would give anyone pause, so he sniffed and then took only a small lap at first. Licking his lips, he tilted his head, deemed it safe enough, and dipped his head to take a longer drink. He cast a sidelong glance to his brother, who had followed him to the water. Forest was far less interested in the water than he was in the critters in it. He stuck his nose right next to the water, just barely touching the crests of the little waves, then curiously leaned over the water, raised a paw, and splashed it to see what would happen. It earned him a look from Oliver, who wasn't that appreciative of getting wet, which he happily ignored. "Never seen water like this before," he said, half-observing and half nervous. He didn't quite have the guts to taste it, though, and he quickly shuffled a few steps back, drying his paw on the grass. He sat back on his haunches to look around while his brother drank. Remi hopped through the foliage and shook his fur out, uncomfortable with the way the luminescent detritus clung to his fur and the way the moonlight seemed to almost have weight. It made him feel like there were eyes everywhere, watching him -- then again, he'd seen the various critters scampering around the forest as they'd traveled, so maybe there was something to that feeling. He idly wondered if this world was like that all the time; he hated feeling like he was being stared at. He made quick work of scanning the clearing, first noting where his travelling companions were and making sure that Nikki had not been harmed in the time she'd been out of sight, and then taking a second, more focused look to take in the appearance of the place. He said nothing, and his expression didn't change from a blank look, making him look rather unimpressed with the whole thing. |
Forty Seven #111800 |
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Posted 2024-11-14 18:08:58
"Oh! The sun! What is the sun like, I've always wondered. My sire says its hot, but how can something as far away as the moon be hot. Do you know?" She asked, forgetting her horrors as quickly as she had come upon them as if suddenly realizing that she had a whole new group of wolves and not-wolves to pester about the Waking land. Well, even though it now sounded incredibly drab and unappealing to visit it was still something to hear about a place so far away and so different. "Oh you're very kind," She smiled openly, swishing her too-long tail in a friendly way around her neatly gathered paws. "I'm sure you'll stop being scared soon, your whole family is here with you, aren't they?" She could certainly see some resemblance between her and the female called Addie, but she wasn't so sure about the others. Maybe some of the males were mates? She supposed some packs might not all be blood- and bond-relatives like hers' was. Vervain didn't stop with the others but padded off across the clearing and wound her way through the willow-strand that sheltered their densite. She rubbed her chin and shoulders reassuringly against her mate's precise tally-marks and squeezed out of sight into the hollow dug deeply amongst it's roots. She felt disappointment leaden in her guts and she just couldn't bring herself to entertain this parade for a moment longer, she needed a moment to herself to compartmentalize the news and the disappointment. Romulus watched her go, until she fully disappeared into the shadows beyond the gently swaying purple tassels, "Forgive my mate, she's with pups," He explained, turning back toward Addie, "She's not the greatest.. with words." He twitched his ears downward, looking a mite embarrassed about his mate's open hostility toward the newcomers. Following the female's eyes he chuckled quietly at the implication, "At least we're even on grumpy packmates tonight." He whispered conspiratorially with a playful twinkle in his eye. Glimpse yipped in surprise as the cold water splashed her backside, and she quickly turned to see Forest padding away from the pond. She looked over at Oliver for some explanation, "Catching fish?" She asked, wide-eyed at the siblings. "Not very good, is he?" She added in a whisper, as Forest took his spot with his back turned. Vision plunked himself down at the edge of the clearing after everyone had gathered, he watched his dam's retreat and briefly startled at his sister's loud yip. He shook his head, rolling his eyes, and listened to his sire speaking with the larger black-and-white female. He kept one eye on Remi as the minutes unfolded, propping himself up on one elbow and resting sideways on his hip with his back legs stretched out. He tilted his head back to appraise the great swaths of stars that clouded the clear sky overhead, wondering where they would all be by the next cycle and considering how much things could change in such a short time. "I'm not sure who leads your pack," Romulus continued at a normal volume, "But it seems like you were headed somewhere when you fell through the portal. I hope you didn't leave behind any unfinished business? Do you plan to search for a portal out, or will you settle here? Obviously, I'm sure you all need some time to think about your decision before you commit to it but I'm curious if you've made your mind's up already." |
Jaybird #42710 |
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Posted 2024-11-14 21:14:28
Nikki peered back up and out thoughtfully across the surface of the pond. "No," she answered after a moment's consideration. "Actually only Oliver and Forest are family, they're brothers. Addie's as good as family to me, I've known her most of my life now, but we're not really related to each other at all. And Remi is my friend -- I swear he doesn't always act like he's been acting tonight. But no. We all have blood family in our world. In our world the humans care less about that, puppies usually go live somewhere else when they stop being dependent on their mothers. Most don't see each other again." She glanced over her shoulder at the others. "I'm not sure about the brothers, I only just met them, but Addie's the only one between us three who still spoke to her family." She put her ears back and sighed sadly, wondering now if any of them would see any of their families ever again. She flinched away from the splash and looked down, wanting to change the topic. "But what about here? I suppose you don't know your parents' families, but are there any others here, any friends?" Oliver glanced at Glimpse and Nikki over his shoulders with a blank look, lifting one leg and shoulder as if to say, Who knows? But he said nothing and turned to peer at his brother in bewilderment. Forest seemed almost afraid of the water, but they'd had a pond in their enclosure at home, so Oliver doubted the water itself was the issue. He rose, shook his fur out, and then strode into the water, allowing it to climb up his legs, touch his belly, and then come high enough that only his head and his back stayed dry and he had to kick his paws since they no longer reached the sludgy bottom. Their pond had had a concrete base, so the mud was a little disconcerting, but the rest seemed so right. This place was a curious place, not so scary at all, not so different from home after all. He turned to eye his brother on shore, eyes twinkling and a grin on his face when he saw Forest was looking at him like he'd lost his mind. Remi's eyes were drawn back to the pond at the commotion. He eyed the brothers with wary disdain, wondering who could goof off at a time like this. But then he supposed, since he'd known them, Forest had always been... almost slightly childish, and far too chatty and skittish, while Oliver was the more mature one, though he rarely ever spoke. Still, it got on his nerves. With a derisive huff, he turned, to the darkest corner he'd spotted in his survey of the area. Night wasn't supposed to be so bright like this; it was supposed to be dark, and peaceful, and restful. Trotting over to the spot, he turned tightly around, then curled up under the overhanging leaves of goodness-knew what plant that was supposed to be. Addie watched Vervain go without comment. She nodded, accepting Romulus's explanation and not fazed by Vervain's reaction. She chuckled. "I don't know, yours at least seems reasonable, or at least is grumpy for good reason. I don't know what his excuse is," she answered. She sighed at Romulus's question, considering it for a moment. "Besides our families, I don't think we really left much behind in the way of unfinished business... but I don't know what our next steps are." She paused to shake out her fur. "Remi doesn't seem keen on staying. I'm not sure about the other two, I haven't known them for long." She cast a fond look towards Nikki. "She seems to be getting on just fine here now that she's warming up to it, and it seems your daughter is helping quite a lot with that. I'm not sure, myself. I suspect I'll wind up staying wherever she goes." She looked back at him with a dry smirk. "And between the two of us? I'm not sure who's leading, either. We were... unprepared for life by ourselves, even in our world, to say the least, I'm aware of that." |
Forty Seven #111800 |
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Posted 2024-11-15 10:21:15
"By the sounds of it, I don't think I'd even get a chance to look for the sun before I went blind over there," She laughed at the other female's subconscious squint, "This is as bright as it ever gets around here, aside from the energy storms." She stretched her legs out so her paws just touched the edge of the water, the eddies from Oliver's little swim lapping against her reaching toes. She looked around the clearing from canine to canine as Nikki explained her pack's dynamics to her. It was easy to know that Forest and Oliver were siblings, not only did they look alike but they'd been attached at the hip since they arrived. Addie seemed very level-headed, conversing with her sire across the clearing and as she looked she realized the other female was already looking back at her - she offered a sheepish little smile in return. Imagining the red wolf as anything close to a friend was hard, he'd been in a terrible attitude this whole time and now he was tucked away in the darkest corner of the space with his back turned to everyone - how rude. "Sadly, no, but they tell me they had already struck out from their families to start their own pack. It would've been nice to know them, they wouldn't have been far, but they'd already said their good-byes and they always seemed relieved that they hadn't left with anything unsaid." She explained, "But they're long-dead now," She added matter-of-factly, "My sire and dam have been here for well over 400 cycles, next full moon will be me and Vision's 126th - that's just over 10 turns, or years, I think that's what the humans call them." She observed. "I do have friends though! The Cnitharian wolves and creatures are quite friendly, and my family does trade with them whenever they pass through our territory. The lunar wolves are not too dissimilar from us, sire reckons they might be descended from wolves that once came here long ago. Sadb is my best friend, she's a deerwolf, her herd lives adjacent to ours on the southern edge. We often hunt and forage together!" Her tail wagged energetically at the mention of her friend, she couldn't wait to tell Sadb all about the newcomers when she saw her next. Maybe Nikki and her pack would even stay long enough to meet them someday. Romulus nodded his head as he listened, flattening out onto his belly with his front propped up on his elbows. "It sounds like you all have a lot of long conversations ahead," He replied with a sympathetic grimace. "I did mean it when I said you all could stay as long as you need. You'll find that time moves strangely here, I mark the cycles to keep track." He gestured with his muzzle to the marked trees nearby. "Even though the seasons come and go, we don't seem to age overmuch. You'll likely have plenty of time to orient yourselves and come to a decision, even if that leads to parting ways." He mused, watching his daughter and the small she-wolf chatting together like new friends. There was something about seeing the densite so full of canines that warmed him, and soon there would be new pups stumbling around the willow roots. He had come from a large, thriving pack and though it had been many, many turns he found himself suddenly remembering that time and a long-forgotten grief seized hold of his heart. His eyes softened as he looked out at everyone, catching his son's eye and giving him a curt nod of reassurance. Yes, it wouldn't be so terrible if they stayed awhile, he was sure Vervain would get over herself in time - maybe if the newcomers proved themselves useful in some way. |
Jaybird #42710 |
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Posted 2024-11-16 14:26:55
Quickly her attention was taken back to Glimpse's stories about her family and friends. She nodded along quietly, flicking her ears back at the comment that Glimpse's parents families were gone. She widened her eyes in shock at the length of time they'd been there, though. "No wolf or dog lives as long as your parents where I'm from. By the time they're your age, they're usually sick, and age has taken its toll to some degree." She tilted her head again, crooked ear twitching a few times, taking in the continuing story, She held her tongue despite her questions. What was a 'Cnitharian'? What the heck was a deerwolf? What were these lunar wolves like? But she smiled at Glimpse's enthusiasm. Herd animals living near predators? She didn't know much about how it worked with wolves, but she knew deer ran from her in the yard, and certainly didn't want to be near her humans. "Your friend sounds cool. Maybe you could introduce us someday, if we can't go home too soon!" Addie dipped her head and smiled slightly at Glimpse, then turned back to Romulus and sighed. "Indeed we do," she answered wearily, ears drooping slightly to the sides as she finally began to feel her exhaustion. This was all so much, all at once, and was fast becoming overwhelming. "You've no idea how much I appreciate how welcoming you've been, and I assure you we'll make as little of a nuisance of ourselves as possible. If there's anything we can do to help... we may be new to all of this, in more ways than one, but I'm sure we're all willing to learn." She stifled a yawn, looking away, a bit embarrassed. "I'm sorry, if you'll excuse me, I should go get some rest now... I think these conversations will go over much better if we're all well-rested." Shaking her fur out again, she turned, looking around the densite for a suitable spot out of the way. Much as she didn't want to go join Remi, he had the right idea, in her opinion; she thought it would be easier to sleep without so much light and life dancing around her. So reluctantly, she moved towards him, curling up tightly not too far from him. When he raised his head to look at her, she cast him a sideways glance, but said nothing, tucked her muzzle next to her tail, and closed her eyes, sighing and trying to relax enough to fall asleep. Oliver chuckled and paddled back to the shore, transitioning back to the turquoise grass easily and smoothly. Taking a few steps away from the water and a safe distance from the girls, he gave a good hard shake, flinging glittering droplets from his body and leaving his fur sticking out and drooping in damp tufts. He hesitated a moment, shivered a bit, shook off again, and then trotted back over to Forest. "The others are going to rest," Forest said awkwardly, nodding to indicate Remi and Addie. "Maybe they're right. It sounds like there's not really day or night here. I wonder how they tell when to sleep." Oliver lifted a paw in response, unsure himself. |
Forty Seven #111800 |