Just a Puppet on Strings

**OOC: Where would I find descriptions of the territories? I dug through the library and had no luck, but I probably just missed it. Also, I might not have hit 250 words, I can't find the word count.**

Sometimes Odessa wondered if there was anything but forest in the world. That was when she'd remember stories about mountains, valleys, plains, lakes, and other great wonders of nature. Some of those geographical wonders she had observed in passing, but it seemed that no matter how much the fawn maiden walked, she could never escape the foliage and greenery of forests.
She'd been exploring this particular forest for about an hour now. At this point, the young lady was certain she was just retracing her steps. There had been several points at which Odessa found her progress halted by the appearance of pack borders. As far as she could tell, two packs called these woods home. By some miracle she'd managed to stay off their land, but it was certainly only a matter of time before another soul, pack alliance or lack thereof unaccounted for, came across the young maiden. It was all she could do to pray that this other soul would be kind enough to point her toward someone who could give her knowledge of these lands.
Odessa speculated that this was Relic Lore, and if her speculations were correct, then there were a great many places to be explored here. Most exciting to Odessa, however, was the prospect of stories. She could be fairly certain that every wolf here would have some sort of story to tell, whether it be about themself or their homeland. The gold and russet youth had plenty of her own tales to tell, of course, but stories from afar always seemed to hold more excitement.
Perhaps there was a story that could be told by her current surroundings. Seating herself gracefully among the roots of a huge tree, Odessa allowed her gaze to wander across the canvas around her. There! A butterfly landed on the leaf of a bush a few strides away. It could be a hero from a distant land, come to conquer the villain and sweep the princess off her feet. The pretty youth's grand plot was short lived, though, as the butterfly took off, amber hued wings fluttering daintily as it disappeared into the sky. Odessa stood up, gazing longingly after it. She would simply have to find something else to entertain herself with.

heyo! :)

Did this forest never end? Miskwaa stopped in her trek, a journey that had begun just after midday and had commenced tirelessly for the next couple of hours. Curiosity had initially driven her away from the expanse of wildflowers that she had, for the time being at least, taken to calling home. As beautiful as the glen was, it lacked a few key sources of sustenance — water, food... For the time being, it seemed wise to explore her options, to perhaps locate somewhere more advantageous to call home. The lake just south of here was an excellent resource, but seemed perhaps a bit too useful: prone to competition of all types, not all of which the athletic creature was capable of handling on her own. This forest, too, seemed plentiful but the scent of others of her kind left the woman weary, her movements slow and measured as she continued forth. 

It was not long before Miskwaa encountered one such other, seated peacefully upon the gnarled roots of one of the forest's gargantuan trees. Although she could not imagine that such a position was comfortable, the stranger seemed content enough. For a few moments, Miskwaa watched from a safe distance away. Golden eyes peered intently forward while her ears swiveled about, trying to ascertain if she was the stranger's only company. Her immediate surroundings were quiet, the wind still and the forest apparently free of any others aside from herself and the slight woman before her. Pleased with the odds that this meeting would end well, Miskwaa approached somewhat quicker now and let out a woof of greeting as the other wolf stood and turned its sights skyward: “Hello.” It was a simple greeting, neutral in tone with matching body language, but she would offer no more until she was certain the other meant her no harm. 

***Hi! Good to see you!! :)***

No sooner had Odessa set her sights skyward and mourned the loss of her colorful insect friend than an unknown and most certainly unexpected voice called a neutral greeting to her. In a heartbeat the girl's attentive ears swiveled to pinpoint the source of the sound. Hardly a moment later, she turned her head toward the other wolf, curious light golden eyes briefly sizing up her company to decide whether she was a threat or could be safely trusted.
Though Odessa did not want to seem rude or too forward by staring directly at the stranger for too long, she could not help but take a moment to save an image and a few details about this newcomer in her mind. Many a story had taught her to keep one's friends close, but their enemies closer. Odessa certainly hoped not to make an enemy of this pretty stranger with her unique cinnamon coloring and eyes a tad darker golden than Odessa's own, but one could never be too prepared. The other was larger than Odessa, not enormously but by a noticeable margin nonetheless. Once the maiden decided this she-wolf posed no immediate threat, she rose fluidly to a standing position and gave a friendly wag of her tail, her posture relaxed and unassuming.
"Hi. It's quite a pleasant day today, isn't it?" Odessa woofed. Not used to conversing with strangers, as her sister had always taken care of that for her, Odessa winced internally to hear herself begin a conversation with a remark about the weather. Perhaps one simply needed practice to become the eloquent and charismatic speaker Odessa hoped to one day become. In this instance, she could put her eccentric conversation-starter down to the agog feeling that had washed over her every limb at the prospect of a companion, but there would come days when it would not be so easy to find a scapegoat. The girl's ears twitched nervously, and she found herself suddenly paying rapt attention to the gnarled tree roots which danced in unpredictable patterns beneath her paws. Oh, why had her sister gotten all of the good social interaction genes?

i feel like they're the socially awkward kids that shuffle their feet and glance around a lot and ask inane questions haha :')

The other was quick to move in response to Miskwaa's greetings, light ears flicking towards her before the creature's gaze followed. For some time the pair stared at one another, sizing each other up. The woman across from her was considerably smaller than Miskwaa, a slight and dainty creature to be sure. Miskwaa exhaled; the drawn-out breath passed slightly parted black lips and her shoulders fell with the lost tension, a sign of relief if the other wolf was paying attention. The larger woman's assessment was clear: not a threat. And yet her ears flickered about thoughtfully and eyes stared keenly forward, unwilling to completely drop her guard in spite of the stranger's kindness.

Still, Miskwaa was by no means unfriendly. Her expression was light and cordial, her posture relaxed and her tail hanging limply between her hindquarters. “It is. The same could be said for these lands...” The larger wolf trailed of thoughtfully, as if perhaps this were the first time she was realizing just how nice the area was. Indeed, the area was more bountiful than anywhere she had been in nearly a year. Her head cocked momentarily to the side, eyes glancing about to appraise the surroundings with a pensive sort of admiration. There was promise here, possibility... It was a place where she could start anew and build her legacy free of the damning existence she had lead before.

All at once, her gaze snapped towards the stranger; her appearance was eager for she leaned slightly forward, molten gold gaze resting brightly on her company: “Are you familiar with these lands? I just recently discovered them.” 

(This post was last modified: Jun 02, 2015, 08:24 PM by Miskwaa.)

***haha yessss... I can totally envision them doing that XD***

"It is. The same could be said for these lands..." Odessa allowed a tiny smile to wash across her features at these words. The larger girl was not going to mock her for her lack of conversational skills. In fact, she did quite the opposite and possibly gave the response that could put Odessa's thrumming nerves at ease more than most, trailing off into thought just as Odessa presumed that she herself would've done. Though she was careful not to jump to conclusions, Odessa was secretly comforted to know that there was a chance that this stranger was the thoughtful, introverted type, like herself.
As the other female's gaze swept their surroundings, Odessa copied the movement, swinging her own pale golden eyes across the towering cedar trees. Journeying with her sister had taken her through many forests, not many of which had possessed the presence that this one did. The girl's mind wandered, leading her to imagine she could hear the trees chattering about the plenty that feasted on and below them, and the wind bringing tales from far and near of hunts, family, friendships, rivalry, love, dedication, glory, and most exciting of all, adventure.
It was not until her companion eagerly questioned if she knew much about these lands, admitting promptly thereafter that she had little knowledge of them, that Odessa realized she had, yet again, slipped into a state of dreaming with her eyes open. "Oh, no, I arrived only recently as well. Although I would like to be familiar with these lands, for I believe you're correct, there's something special about this place." Odessa mused, her voice clinging to a few shreds of the dreamlike trance she'd so recently been awaken from. It was only a heartbeat or so later that Captain Obvious paid a visit to young Odessa and delivered a piece of startling and slightly ashaming news: somehow she had neglected to make proper introductions with this lass. "Good gracious, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Odessa Xanthe." The fawn-furred girl made quick work of correcting her mistake, her ears and eyes falling slightly in embarrassment. Formal introductions had been a key element of pack etiquette where she had been raised, and to have forgotten a piece of her manners that had been so mercilessly embedded in her very soul was a strong uppercut to a deeper fraction of her reality. Though she had never considered herself a highly social individual and often felt uncomfortable in larger groups, it occurred to the maiden that perhaps she really had been away from her own kind for too long...

:D

A recent arrival then? There was a slight twitch from the cinnamon-colored girl, her tail flicking restlessly in the stillness: it was the wrong answer. It would seem as if the sandy stranger had little to offer her: she was clearly alone without information on the vast territory surrounding them. Miskwaa was tempted to leave then and there, if not for the loneliness that gnawed at her psyche. Some company, even if it just consisted of idle chit-chat, was better than none. She would stay — for now. Decided in the matter, Miskwaa carefully stepped closer to the stranger, deciding they could converse face to face (was it not more polite that way?).

As the stranger introduced herself, Miskwaa stopped a couple feet before the lighter wolf and raised her chin just slightly — dominance or affirmation of understanding? It was hard to say sometimes, but Miskwaa's position was quite neutral otherwise. She was not so friendly as the stranger in her introduction, however, opting for formality: “Odessa Xanthe. My name is Miskwaa.” No clan title, for it was a ball and chain that she had shed seasons ago. Apparently content with knowing the other girl's name, Miskwaa sat down, tail curled about her haunches and shoulders relaxed with the certainty that the wolf before her was no threat. So assured was she in this conclusion that her next question was one of simple conversation, not meant to relax her own nerves but mentally stimulate her after days spent on her own: “What brought you to these parts?”

(This post was last modified: Jun 06, 2015, 03:10 AM by Miskwaa.)