The Wildwood i played the wolf and left you to the sheep

The woods were dead and he wasn't sure if it was because he was tired, but he kept imagining dancing shadows as if there was something sinister tracking him down. A mild lift of his shoulders, and a pressed hmm from his throat, he would try to still the shudder which raked up his spine. He had been told he was cursed, but this.... He started pulling his legs higher, trying to get out of this place. He had no chance here if it was really haunted. Something would eat up the remains of his soul. The silver streaked man noticed something, his nose was telling him this place was not dead, but there was life. Halting in his tracks, he snorted. How could that be? What he had seen from the pitch of a moon was a graveyard of trees. A scrunched brow of bewilderment on his charcoal, silver streaked mass his golden eyes looked beyond his nose. Once he changed his point of view, his thoughts, he noticed there was foliage growing upon the charred trunks. Slowly, he gingerly stepped forward, his ears slipping from the back of his skull to perch a top his head. There was a who, who of an howl somewhere not to far with a distant roar of a river. He was suddenly captivated by the dead, yet lively woods he had stepped into. What was this place?

His hunger forgotten, and almost his wary body, he progressed through the woods with an interest in seeing everything it had. It did not at first seem beautiful, but he realized it was. It was not directly, but when taking a chance to look, it had it's own story to tell. A nervous grin twitched on the side of his creamy cheek. How strange it was. He was worried to be caught off guard, and he was mindful of where he stepped and the sounds of the wood. It could be a lovely trick, and the last thing he needed to do was fall for one of those. Willow had already proved how deadly wonderful those would bite him in the ass. This place, it was his clean slate.

(This post was last modified: Jan 31, 2013, 05:07 AM by Sica.)

The mottled grey wolf was laying on his side, but no sleep came to him. The white moonlight cast down through the charred branches seemed to be calling to him, keeping rest out of reach. Besides that, the scabs on his muzzle from where the porcupine had hit were itching as they healed, further distracting the boy from slumber. Then a distant crunch and crackle came to his ears. First, Rais flicked one ear in the direction of the noise, then lifted his head up and stared towards it. He lifted his lips in a wolfish grin. It sounded as if someone were making their way through the forest, and it seemed that tonight would be a night for mischief.

Rais stood and loped towards the sound. He moved quietly, paws dancing over the forest floor. Travel was made easier by the fact much of the forest's understory had been cleared away in some fire. Yet he was careful to avoid any enterprising young plants that had begun to grow across the ground, and careful to move silently. He kept his senses alert, searching for whoever he had heard moving in the night.

He smelled the wolf before he could see him. Rais could occasionally hear the wolf moving, yet the sounds were quieter, less frequent than before. Perhaps he had slowed? Rais slowed in response, not wanting to be noticed himself. His glinting orange eyes searched between the desiccated tree stumps that were scattered about, searching for his quarry. Finally, he caught a flash of dark fur in the distance, which disappeared into the dead foliage as soon as Rais had seen it. That was enough for Rais, though.

Tipping his head back, he released a wild howl, the high-pitched, wavering timbre of his voice sounding more coyote than wolf. The call meant nothing, simply meaning to confuse. Rais was moving again before the sound had entirely left his throat. He ran quickly, this time abandoning silence for speed. He ran somewhere in front of the wolf yet not close enough to be directly seen, this time making a screaming yowl. Somewhere in the trees birds rustled and squawked, disturbed from their roosts by the racket. The yearling kept running, making a wide continuous circle around the stranger.

you do not know who is your friend or who is your enemy until the   ICE breaks. Many, many nights ago, he'd sat in front of a great hollowed-out burnt tree, as northern lights danced across the sky, and Triell had told him of the fire which had consumed his home, his parents, and his former life. It had been something he'd not known of previously; he'd only seen the forest and its floor of ashy loam, its black, limbless trees and the hesitant shrubbery. The great fire which had swept through the Wildwood, stopped at the Creek to the north, was a key event in the history of the oldest Tainns, for it meant the loss of their parents and ancestral home, the Hidden Tree. And so, it was with reverence in his mind that he paced through the forest. The moon above illuminated everything in a silver shimmer, giving the flawed impression of veins of life, mottled birches, on the trees - but nothing glowed quite like Ice himself. Pale of fur he stood out like a sore thumb, a ghost with a corona of light, more blue and white than silver. He wasn't all that aware of it, however, as he strode through the trees, the wind whispering and tugging at him, bringing him the sounds of owls and wings, little mice holding their breaths in their dens under his paws. Blunt claws easily sunk into the soft earth, leaving dents, tail brushing along the wispy undergrowth. Despite the ghastly appearance this section of the Wildwood held at night, Ice was unafraid. The scents of wolves weren't unusual here - it was in the Heart of the Lore, a section frequently crossed by loners and pack wolves alike when they traveled far and wide. But the high-pitched, yowling howl of a coyote was more out of place, because let's face it, a smart coyote wouldn't scream in the middle of a forest like that. Ice frowned, curious despite knowing that coyotes were nasty little buggers, pests at the scene of any kill, fresh or old. Another scream, this one more an imitation of a cougar, split the night, and now Ice outright scowled. He doubted the two predators were actually here, because it made no sense at all and the night wind didn't bring him the scent of any, so what was up with it? Puzzled and curious despite knowing that it could, potentially, be dangerous, his paws carried him closer, and he broke into a fleet-footed trot, brushing aside undergrowth with ease. He liked the Wildwood, actually. To the north it was a maze, but less creepy than the woods to the north, and here, though the fire's rage saddened him, it was easy to navigate, the earth so soft on his worn pads. Ears perked, every sense alert and nerves taut like wires under his skin, Ice suddenly found himself in the path of a wolf. Abruptly the pack male stopped, staring at him with ill-masked confusion. Here was an averagely sized male, averagely colored, averagely strolling through an average forest... Ice drew in a deep, shuddering breath, nearly trembling from anticipation where he stood; his eyes discarded the wolf and swept into the dark forest beyond, seeking hint of what else lurked out there - ghosts? Predators? Birds had hovered into the air, protesting at whichever nightmare menace slunk through the shadows, and Ice's gaze narrowed in suspicion. "What's going on?" he breathed, obviously asking the stranger male, though he probably had no clue either. Strung tight, for some stupid reason ready to give chase the next time something screamed in the bushes, Ice waited, hoping the average male he'd happened upon wouldn't bolt at the next sound. If it, indeed, was some menagerie of wolf-eating predators, he'd very much like a wolf by his side if he ran headfirst into it. .ice aesir

let the stars above shine in your soul

The air of the night become cooler with the sun it it's hiding place, and he could feel his senses heighten they way the Gods had intended. The sounds of the night spoke to him, and made his muscles tingle. His leathery nostrils could detect a few trails of rabbits, and squirrels. It was he light of the moon that poured itself onto the lands, and began to show him the place in it's new found glory he could not ignore. There were hidden haunts all about, and he could not focus on any single spot his steps soon slowed so he could. First he saw a boulder in the distance huddled next to one of the charred trees. It would be a perfect spot to sit, and look down on the world. When his golden eyes shifted to the left he could see a patch of bramble, the dead and old, twisting together and raising toward the heavens. It was the oddest shape, like a giant mouse when he stared longer.

Sica, being so drawn in the earth's creation was not aware of another. The soft paw falls of the night prowler were something his ears heard, but his mind did not. When the splitting scream like howl that shot through the night it was with the fear he processed before he jumped, and twirled around to face the oncoming demon. With his grey brows pressed together, hackles raised, his tail upright, and his lips crinkled he waited and waited, but nothing came. A puzzled look, his jaws tensed, and he cautiously turned around. He picked up a quick walk, checking behind his shoulder for the soulless creature. Nothing earthly made such sounds. Listening, this time he heard the crunch of dead leaves, and his body froze not sure if he could summon the warrior within him or if it would simple take over. He had no idea what he was up against, and the unknown was not to be messed with. When he thought maybe it was a trick of the mind a shriek much like a cat would do startled many a creature in front of him. He flinched at the sound, but did not move. This was a trick or a trap, and he was standing his ground. His ears pinned back, he let out a deep growl to only be answered with more steps in the night.

He had no idea what was happening. A ghost army to end him? He was not about to go out without a fight. He turned around to try to get whatever it was to face him when he was confronted by a moon glowing wolf. His eyes widened, not expecting what he was seeing. He half expected to be run through or something because that's what ghost did wasn't it? When he broke fear's control of his mind he saw only a wolf, a confused one before him. There was no doubting he was a little freaked out by the way his body shook for a single second. What he wasn't expecting was a question, and that one. He had no idea. "Hell if I know," he muttered back, and turned his head certain he could still hear someone moving around them. "But, I plan to find out," he whispered. He made a gesture with his nose for the other wolf to go to the right, while he went to the left. Maybe, they could confront the shadow. His legs moving in exaggerated motions he listened, waiting until he heard movement run by him when he stepped onto it's trail. One behind, and one in front they may corner the...whatever it was.

(This post was last modified: Jan 31, 2013, 05:07 AM by Sica.)

The corners of Rais' black lips turned up in a pleased smile as he noticed another wolf had been drawn into the chaotic gyre of strange sounds. It was a pale, moon-kissed man which looked a bit disturbed at whatever mess he had just walked into. Rais watched him join the first male he had been stalking. He could nearly taste the tension on the cool night air, taught and ready to snap. He kept his eye on them as he ran around them, only a grey shadow between the trees. The two wolves spoke with hushed tones that Rais couldn't quite hear.

Though he could guess what they might have said when he noticed the darker one split off and come towards Rais' circular "track". They would surely be coming to find whatever ghoul had been making those sounds. Though the yearling didn't intend to be caught, at least, not caught as the monster. Rais bolted past the darker male that had started towards him, but surely he would soon catch his scent and find it mundanely wolfish, and a young wolf, at that. With the two of them, it wouldn't be difficult to catch the little wolf.

Rais, needing to further the confusion, snarled, growled and snapped at the air as he rain. Soon after, he followed the sounds with a startled whimper and yelp and threw himself to the ground. His momentum carried him along the dusty earth, tumbling and rolling until his back hit up against the stump of a tree. He kept on whimpering and panting and flopped against the ground like a crumpled leaf. He had a pained look on his face, though besides the scabs on his nose there wasn't a scratch on him. It was all an act, to make it seem as if he had been chased by whatever was out there.

Rais, trolling the Wildwood since 2012. XD

you do not know who is your friend or who is your enemy until the   ICE breaks. He had no idea what was going on anymore, but every little particle in his body was straining to hear or smell something untoward, every nerve ready process a signal, the muscles ready to flew and break into motion. While Ice vibrated with pure tension, the excitable thrill of the hunt running through his blood, flavored with the healthy does of fearful caution when dealing with the unknown, the stranger seemed to shake with something else for a moment - relief? Simply the aftermath of adrenaline? Whatever it was, it faded quickly; the male composed himself and Ice's gaze swept away, trying to penetrate the darkness of the forest. Being a wolf, he had quite the excellent night vision, but that didn't help when the moon cast everything into such a stark contrast. The wind rustled the vegetation, branches and bracken swaying, giving the impression of something moving out there, while nothing truly did. Frustrated but unable to calm down, Ice kneaded the ground with his paws, stifling the keen in his throat. Making sounds when listening wasn't the best of ideas. "Hell if I know," the average male responded, and Ice didn't give any indication of having heard him, but he had. And it was just perfect, wasn't it? Two strangers in a haunted forest, neither knowing what was out there, but both quite willing to find out. The River wolf's head snapped around as Sica whispered, and he gave a slight nod. Of course, there was a lot of things out there which a wolf had no chance against: being caught and gutted by a cougar wasn't appealing, or being mauled by a bear, but if it was just a coyote being a nuisance, Ice could deal with it. What he didn't want to deal with, was ghosts - if they even existed... But in a forest where so many had burned to death a few years ago... What if some remnant of them lurked there still, vengeful and violent? What if it was their bodiless screams which haunted their ears, and their spirits rustling the branches? Ice's ample fur stood out on end, making him seem twice his size, and much like a frightened cat blowing sideways with its back arched he entered the forest to the right. Moonlight guided him, illuminating his path, shimmering across his paws as he stepped out of shadow and stretched into the silver light. Nothing there... Ice's head swung around, scanning in an arc. Nothing there... Two more steps, nose against the ground, nothing there... Two more, eyes scanning, nothing there, two more, nose against the ground... noth- wait! A wolf had crossed here, recently, the smell of his paw pads lingering across the thin moss. They smelled of earth, but with the unmistakable tint of wolf. So, a third wolf was in the vicinage... But who? He didn't get the chance to investigate further, though, for the sound of running paws made his head snap around; snarls and growls came from where he'd just gone, and without another thought Ice spun, charging back to where he'd first come across Sica. The sounds of a scuffle were exchanged for yips and yelps, and as he came out from behind a large boulder he saw a small, mottled gray shape go flying through the air. Gracelessly it hit the ground, rolling, and coming up against a stump, where it lay quivering. Dumbstruck, Ice just stared at the downed yearling for a moment. What the hell just happened..? But then he was moving, paws beating the ground as he rushed to the fallen wolf's side. His mind hadn't made the connection between the trail and this youngling yet; the worry that he'd been beaten up by a spectral ninja overshadowed the information. For a moment he ever feared Sica had slapped him on the nose, but when he stuck his nose into the gray fur, it didn't smell of the other loner. Without explaining himself, or even stopping to think that it could be potentially frightening to have a large, shimmering wolf stick his nose all over your body, he proceeded to rummage through the stranger's pelt.. but he found no scent of blood, and all his eyes saw were scabs on his muzzle. Unhurt, then; he'd probably just been tripped up by whatever had happened. Wary, Ice glanced over his shoulder, hoping to see Sica safe and sound and returned from his excursion. He'd feel safer, knowing that the older male was here with him. "What happened, kid?" he asked quietly of the downed wolf, too focused on the forest and ghosts and coyotes to think straight. The truth was staring him in the face, and as usual, Ice was too thick to see it. .ice aesir

let the stars above shine in your soul

The moonlight wolf did little to reply, but it did not bother the loner. There wasn't much to say until they figured this out. A sneak attack was not exactly going to work. Sica unknowing what he was up against, thought he had it half figured out. He did not; he didn't know it was only a young wolf. The "ghost" flying by him, his muscles jerked to a stop. Nothing happened right then, and he stretched his nose scenting the air. It was nothing, but a young lone wolf. The silver hairs around his nose wrinkled, and twitched. What kind of trick was this? Then the growls started, teeth gnashing the air, and more running. What he assumed to be the only wolf he smelled let out cries of pain. It was so strange, Sica stood there bewildered. Should he follow that? An upside down smile shifting across his face, he pulled himself back and through the brush to where he had left the tall wolf. Golden eyes caught him staring at something across the way, and he looked too. A small wolf, the one who must have been attacked.

His mind still trying to wrap it's head around the whole turn of events, he was a bit more slow about approaching. He fell behind his company, his eyes prying from a distance. What was his comrade looking for? He did not quite understood. Then it dawned on him, wounds. Shouldn't the wolf have wounds? Dark, leathery nostrils quivered but he only caught the scents of the male's before him, and neither of them had blood. It was very strange, and he too looked around him waiting for the real monster to appear. Surely it was not this pup. He caught the the silvery wolf staring behind him, and came closer to his side. He asked the question, but Sica was trying to put it together for himself.

Much his senses told him this was the only thing out there, his mind told him maybe not. One could not smell a ghost, and spirits. Only feel them, and his heart was trying to pound its way out of it's cage. On the edge of reason, and fear he shifted his grey tail behind him if the stiff motion would bring him control. He couldn't shake the feeling of more eyes upon him, daring him not to be afraid. A half breathe, he looked directly to the boy. "Yes, what happened?" He questioned too, wanting some kind of answers. He wasn't sure what he was ready to accept as truth.

(This post was last modified: Jan 31, 2013, 05:08 AM by Sica.)

Soon after falling to the ground, the pale wolf dashed to Rais' side. Rais wanted to smirk, they had taken the bait, but he hid the grin behind an exaggerated grimace of pain. His amused thoughts quickly vanished when the male started to probe his snout around in Rais' dappled coat. He wanted to irritably snap off a few of the man's whiskers, but resisted the urge. He had to look helpless and harmless, and that would surely shatter the illusion. He still In any case, the silvery male was soon done with the rifling through his pelt, to ask what had happened.

Materializing out of the shadows, the darker wolf he'd first been stalking appeared at the lighter one's side, his words nearly an echo of the first's. Rais wondered if they were in any way affiliated with each other, or if it was just happenstance that pulled the two together, uniting in fear of some unspecified threat. The threat that was currently squirming right under their noses.

Letting out another terrified whimper, the boy shook and shivered. His wide eyes stared up at the males, bright orange irises surrounded by a band of white. <b>"Y-y-you're not <i>it</i>, are you? You're not going to e-e-eat me?"</b> He stammered. He rolled off of his side, onto his stomach, and was crouched against the ground as low as possible. Nervously, the boy glanced to the sides, then back to the wolves before him. In a low whisper, he said, <b>"D-did you see it? It almost ate me... But I got away, and now you're here."</b> Scooting along the ground in an army crawl, he slithered in between his "rescuers" and lay between them, quivering. <b>"Don't let it get me again,"</b> He squeaked, throwing his paws over his face in an attempt to either hide himself, or to keep from seeing "it" again.

(This post was last modified: Aug 22, 2012, 05:59 PM by Rais.)

you do not know who is your friend or who is your enemy until the   ICE breaks. Like a shadow risen from the earth itself the other male appeared, clad in hues of darkness and traces of silver; viewed from afar, slowly slinking into the silvery shimmer of moonlight, he, too, seemed ethereal, like some revenant raised by this haunted place. The only reason Ice didn't shiver was that he knew the male to be quite real, nearly having touched him before. Silver eyes slipped back to the fallen Rais, who looked to be quite pained, but for whatever reason the River male couldn't figure out. Broken ribs? If so, he would've snapped Ice's nose off for poking him, at least he thought so. Maybe just bruised, then? It was, after all, something you couldn't see, and rarely feel without being in the other's body (and that didn't happen all too often). Narrowed eyes swept the eerie forest again, but there was nothing ghastly there - just this kid, and whatever demons he had seen. Slowly Ice looked down on him again, steadfast silver meeting widened, white-rimmed and muted orange. In his own chest, his heart was beating, swift but steady: he was not afraid, not for himself, so why did the other two seem to be on the edge of fear? What was he missing? "I don't eat wolves," he told them bluntly, taking half a step backwards when Rais began to crawl around. For all Ice knew, he was the demon, slithering through the weeds like that. At a loss for what to do, he couldn't do anything but stare at the quivering gray form, and then look up to Sica with some rather perplexed look in his eyes. "Well, uh," he began, then faded off into silence. Maybe it was like the strange noises in the ghastly woods the past couple of weeks? They'd been distorted by hollow logs and trees and whatnot, so.. but how could that possibly trip a wolf up? Frustrated, Ice ground his jaws together, teeth rubbing against teeth with a dry, unpleasant sound. Behind him, his tail was stiff, and he gingerly took a step back. The only way to figure out what was out here, was to find it. All he'd come across so far was the trace of one wolf, and that wolf was lying in front of them? It seemed like the ghost had led him on a merry hunt before felling him here, so where was it now? If Ice stepped away from the other two mortals, would ghostly hands rush down to strike him, to toss him over? Rais didn't smell of anything, no coyote or bear (thank the stars), and certainly not of a cougar - but if it truly was a monster, would it smell? Thoughtfully he looked to Sica. "Keep the kid safe, I'll take a look around," he told him quietly before padding away from the group. He traced his own footsteps into the thicker vegetation, easily eating up the ground with his long legs until he was where he'd been when the commotion had drawn him out again. Alone, he felt a shiver travel down his spine when the wind blew coldly across his pale back, but he felt nothing - no presence, nothing but the thick, pressing sorrow of this half-dead place. It was easy to imagine the distant wail of the wind as the cries of Triell's parents, the cry of an eagle that of a vindictive spirit, but nothing happened. Fighting to keep a hold of his own superstitions and fears now that he had no warm mortals to convince him that he was still alive, Ice tracked Rais's circular trail. It arced around the point where he'd fallen, and Ice's nose worked with every single step he took, even as he upped his pace to a trot. He could miss a detail this way, but on the other hand, he didn't want the faint scent to fade even more. He followed it around, until a point where the frequency seemed to grow even more distant, leading him to believe it was the point where the thing had caught up with Rais. Just a few yards past that point Ice stumbled to a halt. Sica had stood here; Rais had rushed straight past him. Sniffing in circles he found nothing but the fading scents of the two males, and with a shrug he began to make his way back to them, intending to ask them about it... ( leaving the end of this post sort of open, don't want to prevent Rais from doing mischief while Ice is gone by pretending they're still there when he comes back xD ) .ice aesir

let the stars above shine in your soul

Golden eyes remained trained upon the smaller yearling, questioning in their very grains. The boy quivered, and let out another cry of fear. It was then Sica was tempted to grab his muzzle, bit his nose to draw some sense into him. He didn't need this, not a whining pup to further rip apart his mentality. The lone wolf was only more disturbed by the boy's actions. Why on earth would they eat him? Sica would rather die than eat another wolf. Cannibalism was something he refused to think upon, and he snorted disgusted by his accusation. He hastily backed up, like he might catch a disease from the terrified child when he began to squirm. He had heard of such poisons, and would prefer to be long gone than worry over this cry baby. Sica's older company seemed just as unimpressed by the lad's notion. Surely if there was wolf eating gang out here, it would been more than happy with three wolves instead of one with the unholy sounds that had been made.

The boy placed himself between the two, shooting off his mouth, the man had had it. "Oi, shut up or I will let them eat you," he half growled with a flash of his teeth, and twitch of his tail. He couldn't bloody think, and if the boy didn't shut up they could easily be ambushed. An exaggerated puff, his warmer pair of eyes were met with the icy glow of Ice. It made him feel better to see, that he wasn't seem to getting a better grasp on the situation either. For hell sakes what now? He did not want to continue to let his imagination make up for what was out there. The stories of his puphood made his imagination much more cruel than reality could ever be, so he hoped. The boy indirectly in his sight, he watched the silver marked wolf seeming to come to some conclusion. His dark brows rose upon his silver mask,as if to well? He did not say anything, because if this fellow had found anything he would have spoken it. So it was with a more settled expression, he volunteered to look around. The brute nodded his head, "All right," he replied, his eyes resting back to the boy. "Hush," he repeated, he did not want to hear any more of his nonsense. His tawny, triangle points snapped back to keep ready for what Ice may run into.

There was nothing like had been. There was only the gentle whip of grass cutting along body, and the night breeze twisting it's way through the dead trees. The eerie sounds were no more, and his eyes suspiciously narrowed on the boy. "If you're not cursed by the demon who haunts here, another one will soon fall upon you," he threatened so calmly, but the tension in his muscles was building so much that it caused the long hairs of his coat to rise up above his spine. "There isn't any, is there?" He questioned, sharply.

(This post was last modified: Jan 31, 2013, 05:09 AM by Sica.)