The Wildwood it's not this quiet

The she-wolf trailed after him, though he paid little attention to her for the moment. He could feel her fear emanating from her dark tawny figure but he needed to satiate his curiosity for this event first before he could begin to console the other wolf. He studied the bodies shortly, noting how untouched they seemed to be, spare for the wounds that had inflicted impeding death upon them. Without waiting to see Ozera’s reaction, the male leaped shortly up to the boulder, his nails clicking loudly in the quiet of the woods against the smooth slate.

His eyes gleamed down upon the two bodies, his features a stoical mask once more as he took in the weird disarray of their bodies. It was almost as if one had been laid on top of the other after death.. or if they had crawled to their companion in the end. But a quick glimpse did not reveal any smeared blood upon the rock, and he ‘hmmed’ deeply. It was strange to him, and Ozera’s voice finally drew his gaze back to her. It had been a kill for waste, that much was certain. And it seemed there had not been much of a struggle. He gave a mild shake of his muzzle, his paws leading him past the bodies to once more leap down to the snowy forest floor as she mentioned her fear. “I don’t know,” he muttered, but drew up to her to give her a brief nudge upon the crown of her head in attempt to quell these fears. “Shall I take you home now?”

It was too beautiful and terrifying, this scene of entangled coyotes killed so swiftly. Were they lovers, where they friends? Why had they died so close together. Ozera invented short stories in her head about them, trying to immortalize them in her memory after their short, mortal life on this earth. Lovers, heated and tragic, was the story she had liked best. Died in the arms of each other. It was too much. What was with this place! In her head, she wanted to scream, she wanted to get out, she wanted to know. Above all, she wanted to get rid of these morbid, intricate, blood and lace thoughts decorating her mind. Shaking her head only increased the clutter, though, rather than chase the evil away.

"It... it must have been pretty big... and.. powerful to kill them both so quickly" Coyotes weren't big, but they were fast. It would take something with skill and precision to slice them up so neatly and swiftly. But that could all be ignored, this idea of a hulking monster roaming around and killing coyotes. It was the senselessness, this rape of nature's bounty, this waste that was the most sickening of all. What kind of monster kills for fun? "...What..if..." No, she was unable to finish the sentence, although in her head, she finished: What if it doesn't just want to kill coyotes? Ozera couldn't say that to Ruiko, who probably had a pack somewhere... What if he's thinking this anyway?

A soft muzzle tapped on her head. It was Ruiko. Apparently, he still wanted to take her home. At the very least, he was still being nice. Knowing that there was something out there, roaming this forest, Ozera would have been crazy to deny him. "Yes, Ruiko... we shouldn't stay here any longer. I'd be grateful for you to take me home...." But a question formed in her mind, and she knew she had to ask. Because she had to know what was going on here. "But Ruiko... We can't just pretend that... this never happened."

"Maybe we should keep it a secret for awhile... since others knowing would only bring bedlam... but. If something happens... If something else happens, I'm going to have to get down to the bottom of it. You can help me if you want... but. Well, I don't know. But we can't pretend that something isn't out there, and it might not leave Relic Lore so quickly." Her breaths were coming quickly now, her agitation was palpable. She just wanted to know.

(This post was last modified: Nov 12, 2014, 04:57 AM by Desdemona.)

Any possible scenario the regal wolf played in his mind did not seem to fit with the facts that lay before the two wolves. Perhaps a natural death had occurred, hence why they lay so closely together? Not long after, something could have come and did the rest of the damage with careful precision. But why? It made little sense, and Ruiko could feel the scowl on his features darken with each second that passed and he was no closer to a clue. It was almost tempting to go seek out Indru and perhaps gain his brother’s opinion about what had happened.

Ozera’s words drew the tawny male from his thoughts momentarily, stirring a gentle blink of his bright amber gaze. He mulled over her words carefully, choosing not to argue against the probable point. She was willing to leave now; unlike before when she had demanded they find the source, and at her words Ruiko lifted his shoulders in a shrug. There was little they could do, but he was damn sure the moment he returned to Swift River lands, he was forbidding his pack from going anywhere near the possible danger that lurked in the old woods. “I suggest you warn your pack at what you saw and tell them to be careful. It’s the best you can do,” he offered. He almost expected her to dispute this, for she seemed to be against everything else he said.

His paw steps were quick, though he kept his strides shorter in respect to his company. Ozera continued to ramble on about how she would have to ‘get to the bottom of it,’ and luckily Ruiko withheld a sardonic snort. He wasn’t sure how much damage a girl like herself could do to whatever had gotten the coyotes behind them, but he made sure to keep his tongue rather than riling her up. Instead, the leader focused on getting them out of the seemingly haunted woods, where he could drop Ozera off at the base of her mountain home so he could hurry back to his pack.

loodydooo. end here I guess?

---

Every second Ruiko retreated farther into himself. Where ten minutes ago he would have argued, he was now offering silence. Only his soft breathing and shrugging shoulders indicated that he was still alive and thinking. Ozera was beyond caring, now, though. Fear nipped at her heals, and all of the walking was beginning to tire her. No matter how many answers she wanted, she knew that Ruiko didn't have them. All he had was a single kernel of advice which Ozera wasn't sure she agreed with. Really, she would rather not try and bug her pack mates with snippets of a story. Who knows if they would even care? What would mountain wolves care about two coyotes in a forest? She definitely intended on keeping it to herself until she had more information, until it got bad.

After what felt like years of mindless wandering, the trees finally began to thin out. Gradually the ground sloped upwards, and rocks poked out through the soil. It was a breath of fresh air for her, to escape the claustrophobia and terrors that stalked through the Wildwood. Her head whipped about to look at Ruiko, giving him a slight smile. "It was nice meeting you." Overstatement of the year. When was the last time you met an obdurate, stoic soul that lead you to dead coyotes? Yet, for some reason, Ozera felt she had enjoyed his company. It was certainly more stimulating than the, "Oh hello, how are you, name exhange, talk about past," interactions that she had been encountering lately. "Thank you ever so much for showing me home, Ruiko. I think I can take it from here."

(This post was last modified: Nov 12, 2014, 04:59 AM by Desdemona.)

They traveled in silence, both pre-occupied by their own thoughts. His curiosity was a burning mess of nervousness and intrigue. What had slaughtered two animals in the area of his old home? The thought that ghosts could linger was no far from his mind, and only when the two wolves skirted up one slight hill and were met with the view of the valley below did he begin to relax.

When they finally hit soil that did not feel corrupted, Ozera’s voice caused his ears to swivel upon his skull and his eyes to shift back to her. Her words almost erupted a sardonic snort from the regal leader, but he withheld his crude remark. “Right. You too.” He drawled, knowing both were lying. However, as she was ready to take her leave, the tawny beast bowed his muzzle in farewell, his own large frame shifting to lead his paws back home to Swift River.. if only to reassure himself that his pack was faring just fine and nothing had come to destroy their home as it had to the coyotes in the Wildwood.