Ghastly Woods A Dark Face

Set after the fight with Marsh. <3
RE: The wind carries unnerving sounds in the Ghastly Woods.


<blockquote>Fucking hell it hurt. The pain in his skull was enough to make his eyes burn and the occasional blanket of white spots blur his vision. The fight with Marsh had been a good one. His head throbbed, his shoulder ached from the exposed flesh beneath his black fur. <i>Marsh...</i>. Why was it only now he remembered the old codger's name? Ice had been there... he remembered Ice. He had liked the wolf, until he put his nose in business that didn't concern him and he had taken the tip of his ear. He didn't like him so much after that. The ugly black wolf was a new face, but one he had met recently and the female didn't even register- he never liked females much anyway, especially not enough to look at who they were.

The knock to his head had ended the fight. He couldn't recall if he had cried out at the impact or not, it had been a bit of a blur. One moment he had been hanging off the golden wolf, the next he had been laying in a ditch with his head threatening to explode. Was something said? Hell if he knew. All he knew was he had to run away... and he did. Rhysis might be a confident fighter, but he wasn't too proud to run when he knew the odds were against him and with a head injury and blurred vision, he would have been no more of a challenge then a pup. It pissed him off, it really did. Things had been getting heated, but he supposed it was a better outcome for him. If he had beaten Marsh, killed him, the other three wolves who were watching would have tore him to shreds. He was good, but to take on three wolves after a tough battle? Not a chance. Running was the only way out and as much as his shoulder and head had screamed in protest, he did not stop until the scents of the River wolves had vanished.

His paws had stopped running as he had made his way to the far side of the Ghastly Woods and he finally felt as if there was enough distance between them that he could rest and tend to his savage wound. He needed to get it covered before an infection could settle in. Not a healer by nature, he had been taught the skills by his birth pack, quick ways to cover a wound, not heal mind, but enough so that he could rest up and recover without aid.

A cold chill ran through the trees, ruffling his thick coat. He looked up to the sky to realize that night had fallen already. How long had he been running? Judging by the way his legs ached and his paws protested at his weight upon them, he guessed a while. All around him the night creatures sang. Owl's screeched, crickets chirped. The branches of the trees creaked in the wind in an eerie way, but a way that soothed him none the less.

So much had happened to him in these woods, but he didn't remember much of it. He had met Triell here. It was the first place he had come when he found the lands of lore. He remembered the scents of the wood. It felt comfortable and for the first time since he had returned he remembered the areas name and that he had met wolves here. The knock to his head must have kick started his brain, for the memory of that first meeting with the younger black wolf came tumbling back with a sharp pain. <b>"Gah."</b> he hissed as the vision of the dark wolf and he talking sprang to mind. He wasn't far from the location where they had first met.

He glanced over his shoulder then, looking for the ghost of his father who he had come to see as another real wolf, as real as him. He was no where to be found. Strange... whenever Rhysis had looked for him, he had been there. Standing at his side, barking orders, putting him down, fading in and out when he said something out of character. All he saw behind him was nothing. Trees, grass patches and the odd clump of snow. <b>"Where are you?"</b> he called, quietly at first but when he received no answer he asked the wind again, louder this time. Where the fuck was he?
With a grunt and a shake of his head he turned left and walked slowly with a limp, heading for an area where there had once been a rabbit burrow that he had dug into. His paw prints and claw marks were gone now, washed away with the rain, but he remembered the area as clearly as he had seen it the day before.

Perplexed, he lowered his head to sniff the terrain. His scent was gone; there was nothing to smell here but mud. He wasn't sure why, but he felt like there was more for him to be searching for here, he didn't know who or what, but he had a niggling in his feeling, like a dog looking for a buried bone, he had more to find here. A sharp jab of pain to his shoulder reminded him he had things to do, he didn't have time to play games and search for something that didn't exist. With a grunt, he turned and glanced around, searching for any sign of mud and plant life he could use to cover the wound. His movements were slow and there was little to be found. He would have to explore further... it was going to be a long night.
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(This post was last modified: Dec 04, 2012, 03:51 PM by Rhysis.)

          Nightfall, and the D'Oliva didn't find shelter for herself yet. At least traveling through the day, the sunlight warmed her for the lack of body mass she lost during the months she scavenged on her own as a lone wolf. Previously nocturnal, Ecco forced herself to travel in daylight hours. The night held so many advantages for concealing her presence as if she were the very shadows herself. With her svelte figure barely making a sound as she crept in the darkness, it was quite easy for Ecco to assail upon her chosen victim of prey or stalk quietly behind someone's tracks. Despite her natural fur coat from the Far North of Alaska, it was only a barrier less from the cold if there was no body mass to insulate beneath it. Moving could only do so much to keep her warm. Ecco needed to find some form of shelter before she would literally freeze to death, although the creeping doom of demise seemed to be approaching closer and closer for her.

          The Ghastly Woods were extra secluded from the other woodlands the lone female ventured through, for even the moonshine was impenetrable through the thick canopy above. Impenetrable from light of the cosmos, but not from the cold. It was simple for herself to instantly blend right into the natural shadows and crevices of these woods; startling several smaller wood floor rodents who had no anticipation of her presence passing by over their burrows. Moving swift as a lone ghost in the dark, it was pitch black, save for her natural night vision. There were no nightly crickets chirping, no night avians cawing and chattering. The lonely rustle of branches were all that creaked, and Ecco sought of a crevice in a tree or dugout she could curl up in for the night. Slumber was coming over her, and her paws exhausted of themselves.

          Until the sudden sharp scent of blood struck her nostrils. Drawn in like a shark in an ocean scenting a droplet of blood from miles away, her instincts focused upon the faint aroma of blood than seeking shelter. In the order of survival, food (or scavenging what was around) came before rest in these difficult times for herself. It wasn't until a distant voice was heard that her ears flicked in mid-run ("Where are you?" It was too faint to be sure if that what was said). The scent of blood was coupled with nothing of fallen Fallow Deer or any particular herbivore. This was carnivorous. This was canine. And the strangest thing... the scent of him, the scent of the overbearing male she met beside a river not over a day ago hit her. The scent of him sent her blood running cold at the recognition.

          However, the D'Oliva would not be met by the tawny furred, steel-eyed male that let her run another day free from his borders. If it wasn't for night vision and her nose, she would have missed the lingering male completely. He was as dark as the shadows themselves, blending in just like Ecco along with the midnight. The dim of his grayed blue eyes were much too darkened by the night, only the flash of his night vision revealing he was there. Masculine, smelling of the trees and the pine, a mixture of his own blood, but the scent of him upon the male. She questioned to herself if this male was affiliated with him in some way, if there was a possibility of him sending out a scout to retrieve her after all, to drag her back to his borders. Invisible tension was felt in the atmosphere, and just because loners were in the same circumstances... that didn't mean every loner would understand one another. Ecco had to be just as careful with other loners as pack wolves.

          Ecco couldn't exactly see what he was doing, but kept her distance. For the small stature and malnourished form she held, Ecco craned her neck high on her shoulders, brought her skin and bones to attention. She would not be regarded as weak and withered, not if it was for her safety. Her nose was afire with smelling him from her distance, and decided to keep a comfortable space between them. "Your blood," Ecco whispered at first. "You are bleeding. I can smell it." It was quite obvious of such, but Ecco was merely testing to see what his reply would be. Although devouring other carnivores was taboo in the world of predators, there was something about his blood that made her mouth water.

<blockquote>Why could he never find the plants he was after when he needed them. He was constantly running into them on his travels, goldenrod here, white fir bark there, blar blar blar, yet when he actually needed the stuff there was nothing to be found. He would have to settle for some mud, clay would be better, mix it with some sage if he could find some and patch it the hard way... by rolling in the mud. Ergh, he hated to be dirty. With a mind as tainted as his, he was very clean and well groomed. He had a handsome face, a warm, welcoming face... until you saw his eyes that was. His lifeless, almost colourless eyes which looked as if they would suck your very soul from your body. He liked to think they did any way.

His nose remained plastered to the ground, his eyesight not poor but with the rampaging headache, he felt his vision was not quite it's best and resulted to using his nose to sniff out the much needed sage. He didn't have to travel far until he found another scent... one he didn't quite want to seek out. <i>Marsh.</i> It was not him however, but one that bore his scent. It was faint, very, very faint and she smelled not of the river wolves. Could she be a spy? A scout sent here to seek him out in exchange for a place in the pack? He couldn't take a chance.

Stiffly, painfully, he turned to face the wolf head on. His hackles bristled, his tail high and his chest puffed. The grimace he felt from the screaming in his shoulder was masked, but he wasn't sure how long he could hold it for. It fucking hurt, and that was saying something for him to admit the pain. He wouldn't out loud of course, but in his mind he felt like crying like a baby as it hurt that damn much.

When she emerged, he was slightly taken back. She wasn't exactly a warrior... in fact she was tiny in comparison to his lofty height. She was an unusual breed, one he hadn't encountered before and she was dark, like him. He had only met one other dark wolf before, a female anyway. Wait, what was her name? It eluded him, but he was sure he had met another like her. Perhaps not as small though.

He listened when she spoke, carefully. Her voice came in waves as it traveled upon the breeze. Geez, it was pretty unnerving in here when the wind whistled through the trees and caused their limbs to bend and creak. Good job he was brave, huh? That wasn't the focus right now, he had to keep his mind on track. Once an easy task, the pain in his brain had him going off on all sorts of tangents, but he pulled it back when he needed to.

<b>"I can mend it."</b> was all he said. He wasn't going to come out and tell her what had happened. Heck she had a tinge of the wolf who did this to him upon her pelt, he wasn't going to go handing himself to her on a silver platter. He had never been one to lie before, but it appeared being honest had got him no where but into a pan of hot water. Perhaps lying wasn't as bad as it had always seemed to him. <b>"It doesn't hurt."</b> <i>much</i>. He pulled back from wanting to tilt his head as he studied her, a die hard habit. His nose worked over time, trying to find something to tie her to the river wolves but came up short. She wasn't a pack wolf at least, but that didn't mean he would trust her. Heck, he didn't think he would trust anyone ever again. Had he ever trusted someone? He didn't remember. <i>Focus</i>, said his tired brain.

<b>"Is there something you wanted?"</b> he then said, his smooth southern accent escaped from his lips and rolled with the wind. It was going to be a cold night. He would have to attempt to find some shelter once he patched himself up. No, make that if he managed to patch himself up. Ergh. What a day.</blockquote>

(This post was last modified: Nov 29, 2012, 12:30 AM by Rhysis.)

          The tension raised once the male recognized her presence, and the D'Oliva couldn't help but mimic his defensive mechanisms with bearing her own raised hackles. Her stance lifted slightly on the delicate paws she carried herself upon, showing the defense she held for her small stature was still very much there. Her chest and tail weren't held as arrogantly as his own, but still defiant enough that she wasn't a lone, weak female to be taken advantage of right away. His response to her was blunt, to the point, and expressed nothing she could do in order to bring any comfort. Typical male arrogance. It reminded her once again of him, but he didn't give the time of day to even acknowledge her pleas of assistance. Must either be a male thing with egotism, or if this male before her was part of his pack, the attitude must have ran constant with all the males. The only difference with the one in front of her, however, was if he was a part of that unknown pack after all, he might not release Ecco so easily along her way.

          He further reinforced his lesions didn't hurt. Ecco snorted lightly. Of course that wouldn't be admitted either, but then again he wasn't doubling over in pain and not a single whine shrilled from his throat. Ecco matched him in silently dueling with his sniffing nose and observation from afar (at least what could be seen in the dark). Night vision only offered so much to see; all the little details, like any fine scars or undertone colors of fur couldn't be seen. There was no defining characteristics about him except for his size, the glare in his watching eyes, and the scent that was upon him. He commanded what her presence was doing here and in front of him. Ecco tilted her head, giving another deep inhale. Her olfactory senses were still questionable about this one, but you couldn't take any chances when you were on your own, could you? "You're allied with him, in some way...?" Ecco then said apprehensively, assuming he would instantly know who she was referring to. It was one of those obvious things in the canine world when even the slightest detail in aroma was off, it was remarkably apparent.

          If in any way he did know him... Ecco could either be in the category of loners for his pack to be wary of, or it could be an opportunity to somehow make a second impression from setting her free after their first encounter. Ecco was not much in her small stature and even her strength and mass withering away by the days, but on the inside... her soul was yearning desperately for companionship. Ecco never liked to rub individuals the wrong way, and for her current circumstance as a lone wolf, the D'Oliva deeply believed in redemption.

<blockquote>She didn't back down at his dominant stance, how quaint. Were he feeling better, he might have considered pushing her to the floor, demanding dominance as he once had when he had been leader. Wait, what? He had been leader? Where the heck that that trail of thought come from. He didn't get the chance to lead his birth pack, his father had chased him out long before he had the chance to rule it. Speaking of his father, where the hell was he? He would have to hunt him out later, right now he needed to tend to his wounds and keep this female at bay. If she were allied with the river wolves, he would still have time to patch up and get out of here before she made it back to them.

He kept his gaze steady, meeting her own fierce stare with curiosity. Why did he have to bump into another wolf so soon, was it too much to ask to give him one night of peace? He was forever looking over his shoulder, waiting for someone or something to get him, but it was more annoying when there were boldly in your face. If the mini river wolf had something to say, or some purpose to achieve here, she had better get on with it. He had things to do and places to go- namely, as far from these woods as possible. Sunrise could not come quick enough.

Her statement gave him a moment of thought. Allied with him? Who the heck was she talking about. His father? He wouldn't exactly call what they had an alliance. He hated the guy, but he had been company on his long journey to who knew where. A vision to keep some sanity in a wolf who had lost his mind. <b>"Allied with who?"</b> he repeated, making it clear he didn't have the time or patience for riddles and the like right now with his tone and to the point attitude. <b>"Look. I don't have time for this. Run and tell Marsh where I am, I don't give a shit.."</b> he said, matter of factly before he broke eye contact and glance to his left and right. He needed to find those damn plants and get out of here. Of course, he should have been more wary, but he wasn't worried, with her small size he didn't think it would take much to bring her down, even when injured, because he thought a lot of himself and his skill. As proven by his latest run in- if he could hold his own against a battle scared war veteran, he could hold his own against the entire world.</blockquote>

          His standing with alliance was stated questionable after her inquiry, which both mildly surprised and puzzled Ecco. Could be a defense mechanism? The genuine state of confusion and frustration was too apparent upon his dark, chiseled face and in his tone for it to be an exclamation of trickery. Ecco's ears flattened back slightly when he irritably stated that she should run back to the river to inform Marsh of his whereabouts. Marsh... The mystery male could finally have a name connected to a face. It would be one Ecco wouldn't forget ever again, along with the strong musk of his leadership and natural scent to Marsh. The male's expression before her shown he suddenly might have been in a hurry to wander elsewhere. Ecco took a moment to study him a little bit longer in his attempt to look for something elsewhere in the peripheral distance of their area. A change in thought and attitude came about the D'Oliva. Ecco determined he wasn't lying.

          Heaving a drawn sigh from her nose, her ears preened back up again. "I wouldn't be foolish enough. Marsh was generous to let me go when I could." Ecco stated, hinting she held no such affiliating with Marsh herself. Perhaps as an individual, as a pack mate, Marsh was generous and kind to his pack. The same didn't apply to herself nor this lone male before her, to which Ecco was concluding his run in with Marsh wasn't as fortunate as hers was on escaping when she could (and strangely, Marsh let her go without a chase). "So, what? Did you get too close to Marsh's river boundary too?" Ecco was vaguely interested how he confronted Marsh and got into his scuffle. To herself, Ecco quietly had to give this lone male credit for even deciding to go up against a pack leader for whatever reason the fight had been over. Ecco remembered in Marsh's hard, steel eyes there was a fire of arrogance, malice, and dominance about them. There was an unusual intimidation that radiated off Marsh when she confronted him herself. For this loner to stand up to a pack wolf (who had to have been a leader no doubt), showed a remarkable act of courage.

She was persistent. It was so annoying. Why were all females such a pain in the ass? Hmm. Alright, bit of a strange thought, but it was one that seemed familiar to him. Maybe the knock on the head and fabricated the idea or had dragged it from out of the shadows and dust, either way he felt that it was a familiar feeling for him to believe females were just infuriating. So much so, he had to look back at her again as she spoke.
No. He was sure he had never met her before, but she did remind him of someone, but he couldn't think who. There had to be a ton of dark females he had met in his lifetime, she would no doubt be just another face without a name in the not too distant future.

He listened however as his nose whisked across the terrain, latching into the scent of something he thought might be of use to him. She was playing the part well indeed, and he had to wonder why she hadn't already left to get the River wolves. Was she a distraction? No... they couldn't have already found him. He had been sure to stick to water as often as he could to mask his trail and he had been sure to stop and check every so often. They couldn't have found him this fast. Perhaps then, she was telling the truth and she too had been scorned by ugly old Marsh. Ah well. Not his problem. She shouldn't have gone snooping; did she not know that the River wolves were just... ick? Clearly not by the sounds of it and he had to hide a smirk in the darkness as she asked him if he broke the boundaries.

In the past, he had not only broken the boundries, but marked himself on them and ran. He had no recollection, but he was a wanted wolf. The River wolves would love nothing more than to display his pelt as a welcome mat. He didn't know why, but he just knew that they wanted him dead and that was that. Perhaps in time he would remember that he had fallen in love with their second, knocked her up, stole her away plus another member and left without a word... maybe it would come back, but not right now.

"No. I didn't get too close. I ran to him, not from him. We battled... I fell and that was it." he said as if it was nothing, but the taste of his copper blood hung in the air to tell a different tail, from both his shoulder and his dead. That had been on squabble of a match, it had been a fight to the death. He didn't think he was lucky to be alive, no Marsh should be the one who was lucky to have had such an exit.... or so Rhysis liked to think.

"Ah." he then said to himself, his southern drawl picking up a momentary note of relief as he saw the plant he had been looking for. Without another sound he snapped his jaws around the stem and tugged it free, exposing the roots. It was only a small plant, most likely it flowered in spring but it was the roots he was after. He shot another glance her way, to ensure she kept her distance whilst he made his "band-aid" by chewing on the roots and spitting them onto the ground. When she was gone, he would claw up some of the soil around the root paste and roll in it until his shoulder was covered- not a move he was willing to make with a potential enemy scout around however. He could chase her off, but he didn't have the energy, which left him with two choices... play nice and wish her good day, or just ignore her and perhaps force a fight just for being him. Ergh, nice it was. For now.

"So what did you do to piss off Old Man Marsh?" he asked, trying to keep the bother from his voice as he pulled his rear to the cold floor aside his rooty paste. A few questions, show some interest, a nod here and there and hopefully it would satisfy her enough to get lost. Women. Why were they so difficult?!

(This post was last modified: Dec 29, 2012, 09:34 PM by Rhysis.)

Would you like to wrap this up in another round or two? Considering both of our character's circumstances with new packs, we can get this old one out of the way (and maybe create a brand new one in the future?) ;) Sorry for keeping you waiting!

          The D'Oliva's smirk was quite visible on the dark plain of her jaws, amused at the male's explanation of what really happened. Ah yes, he was the initiator; the one who ran toward him but not from him ever, battling to the death without a scar from Marsh except when he "fell" (and it must have been him falling from an edge of a cliff where they were fighting, for something seemed overly tousled about him). "Fell huh?" Ecco quipped, quirking a fine dark brow and giving him a once over again. He didn't need to lie to her, although it was the macho attitude expected in nearly every rogue she crossed. "Good thing you made it out alive. From a pack wolf no less." No matter the toughest of rogue wolves there were, the pecking order was still there with survival of the fittest. The rogue wolves were all vulnerable to all facets of life (the elements, other predators, other packs, diseases, starvation) unlike pack wolves who were guaranteed care, shelter, and health. For both of them to come this far on their own was speaking a lot, but at the same time ticking.

          At least this encounter between the two was somewhat... civil at best. Ecco expected for other lone males to either instantly attempt to dominate over her (which often led her fleering), or simply took the route of casting her off as a nobody who served no particular use whatsoever. There were periods of the lone wolf lifestyle where she actively avoided confrontation and even a brush of meeting another wolf within a foot length of view. To be on the outside, as an outsider, you couldn't trust anyone or anything. The civility of this meeting between herself and this male was somewhat... refreshing. Comforting. Calming. This didn't mean her guard would lower, but it was nice to pass the time with idle chat. The male showed some sort of more lively interest, wondering how Ecco had been fortunate to escape the wrath of Marsh's jaws. Her shoulders, the bony points that were more so sharp edged than what would look normal and healthy, shrugged. "Oh, wandering near the borders. Mind you I was about a good foot away or so, but I was eyeing the Bobcat he slain." Ecco remembered the hysteria in his gaze, hungry, agitated, proud. The Bobcat, even as a predator, smelled delicious to her at the time. It had been so long since she ate a decent meal, Ecco was beginning to turn into a vulture of the canine world.

I agree! Feel free to post a reply to this, we can claim points that way but I'll have him take his leave at this point to wrap it up. I hope we get to thread again in the future! <3

He snorted at her comment. Good job he made it out alive? Pft, as if there would be any doubt. Didn't she know who he was? Alright fine, he wasn't too sure himself, but he had a feeling deep in his gut that he had no fear or those wolves... or of dying. Maybe that was why he ran towards them, rather than away. "Trust me, they were more scared of me than I was of them." he said, using his male bravado to full effect.

He listened as she told her tale of bumping into Marsh and could not help but smirk. It seemed Marsh hadn't changed at all... he wasn't sure how he knew that, but he got the feeling that Old Man Marsh wasn't one for strangers. He could get on board with that thought of course, but as a loner you had to pick and chose your battles- he was sure if Marsh was ever to fend for himself without the strength of a pack behind him, he wouldn't last long. His pride would get in the way and he would rather die than mingle with a stranger who might actually save his hide. Stubborn old git. "Yeah, the fat git doesn't like to share food."he quipped with a roll of his shoulder, where he was quickly reminded that there was a wound festering that needed some attention. Sure, the dark female was nice and all, but she was no nurse and he would not allow himself to appear weak in front of anyone.. especially as she still might turn out to be a spy and all. No, it was time to patch up and head on out... maybe they would meet again, but like so many loners, he doubted he would see her again.

"I gotta head out..." he said as he rose to his paws. "Keep your eyes peeled for Old Man Marsh, he has nothing good in his life so likes to cling on to a grudge." He was never one for goodbyes, no matter how brief the encounter. Instead, he dipped his head and snatched up the item he had been chewing, met her eyes but for a moment before he turned and vanished into the darkness from where he once come, back into the strange noises that the wood was making.