Cedarwood Forest odalisque

<blockquote><font style='margin-left:20px;'>He had come back to the cedarwoods again, this time beginning to feel the effects that the lack of water was taking on him. His ventures far and wide had brought him back to the first and last place he had seen it. It had been from a small stream, but it had been running low in hindsight. Now all that was left were the <span class='word'>antediluvian</span> beds that criss-crossed the territory, and the largest of them all was no different. He had followed it back around from the field where the blackberries had grown, and had felt a since of growing of dread.</font>

<font style='margin-left:20px;'>These were such beautiful lands, so why were they afflicted by such a strange thing?</font>

<font style='margin-left:20px;'>A sigh escaped Damascus as he paced over the the dry river bed. The birds had quieted down for the day, leaving him in a sort of ambient silence. There were still the sounds of the world around him, but the trickle of water he had heard days ago was no longer, and everything seemed dimmer because of it. Sinking back onto his haunches at the bank of the stream he had visited, he pondered his next move. There were no guarantees that things would stay the way that they were, but then again there were no guarantees that they wouldn't change.</font></blockquote>

The urge to pack up and move on had been strong in Quest since he had run unexpectedly into Sojourn. The last place he had expected to find his estranged sister was here in Relic Lore, but despite his penchant for wandering, he had not yet been able to make himself move on from the place. It was comforting to him, even in spite of the strange issue with the waterways, and he'd hadn't felt like he could truly settle in a place for a long time. Bunking down here for the winter seemed to him a good idea, and had he been here longer, when the water ran full and flush through the territories, perhaps he would have been more worried about it.

His silver-dusted limbs traveled in a sort of plodding lope as he headed deeper into the old cedar trees, their reddish bark flaking off against his coat as he squeezed between their trunks and sniffed bemusedly at the ground. He did not believe the place to be occupied by anyone but himself, and the absence of any territory markings encouraged a slower pace from him. Since he'd learned of the packs of Relic Lore, he'd done his best to avoid them. His intentions to stay were not to be confused with intentions of allegiance. It was with simple surprise that his velvety black ears cupped forward at the huffing sound of a breath against the earth, and Quest stopped in his tracks. Bending his body around the nearest tree, he caught sight of the tawny wolf and dry streamed nearby. His head was held high in curiosity, but his tail hung low. He made a sound in between a woof and a sigh, but said no more to gain the others attention.

<blockquote><font style='margin-left:20px;'>Silence wasn’t everlasting, needless to say, not that he was bothered by it in the slightest. It was rare that Damascus wanted to shy away from company and since he had come to Relic Lore, it had been there left and right for him to indulge in. At the sound of the bark, he turned his head towards the dark fellow who had arrived nearby. His toffee-brown eyes regarded the peppered canine warmly and his tail wagged behind him.</font>

<font style='margin-left:20px;'><b>”Evenin’ stranger,”</b> he called out, feigning his worries for something more cheery. <b>”What brings you out this way?”</b> Probably the hunt for water, if he knew anything in particular for those days. Amelie had been looking for it, as were the others that he had seen along the way.</font></blockquote>

Quest held his ground, not even tempted into approaching the other wolf until he knew whether or not he was friendly. When the other male called out to him in a cheery manner, Quest's head dropped slightly from its state of reserved curiosity to seem more amiable. His eyes roved over the other quickly, picking at the tufts of tawny red which worked their way into the thick cream of his coat. His staring was perhaps a bit unusual, but never rude, and he made sure to look just below the others eyes respectfully.

<b>"Mere exploration,"</b> he offered as an answer, a soft roll in his shoulders suggesting that he didn't really know the answer to why he had found himself in the Cedarwoods. <b>"I'm none to familiar with this place, and the few weeks I have been hanging around have given me the impression that I ought to get the lay of the land,"</b> he explained in more detail. He did not bring up the subject of the disappearing water, but as the other wolf was standing by a dry creek bed, his eyes traveled there to enhance his explanation. Knowing Relic Lore better could certainly yield more opportunities to visit the water that still remained here. Returning his gaze to the other wolf, he added, <b>"I'm Quest."</b>

<blockquote><font style='margin-left:20px;'>Exploration. There was something that they had in common. But a humorous grin split his face momentarily when the other mentioned his name. <i>Quest</i>. There was some parallel there, wasn't there? <b>"I'm Damascus,"</b> he offered in return, keeping up with the good-natured feeling to their meeting. <b>"I hope you weren't looking for water too, because there isn't any here either. There was on the first day I came here, but since then... nothing."</b> Even though on the first day he had been there, it was like a trickle. He hadn't thought anything about it then, but now he wished he would have taken more of a note of it.</font>

<font style='margin-left:20px;'>Maybe it would have told him to steer clear before he felt thirst nagging him. <b>"But I guess we've got something in common. I'm none too familiar with the lands either. Only been around a few days."</b> The fact that Quest had been there a few weeks and was still hashing out a mental map of the area made him wonder if it was more expansive than he thought, but Damascus wasn't too fond of making assumptions. He didn't have all of the puzzle pieces to the story yet -- not even his own.</font></blockquote>

Quest caught sight of the other male's grin, and rather than try and interpret it, he took it for a sign of the good nature he already begun to assess in Damascus. <b>"Pleased to meet you,"</b> he intoned when the other shared his name, offering the smallest of smiles himself in return. His smile did not last long, partly due to his mixed levels of comfort in the proximity of strangers, and party due to the discouraging words Damascus had to share about the Cederwood stream. <b>"I guess I wasn't looking for water explicitly, but it's always on my mind,"</b> he answered, dismayed that his throat would go dry that much longer.

<b>"I don't know how much longer it will be a good idea to stay here and hold out hope,"</b> he told Damascus. <b>"Everything was already beginning to run dry even when I arrived. I heeded another wolf's warning of staying close to the waterways to get my fill as long as I could, but now I have no advice - nor water - to run on,"</b> he explained long-windedly. <b>"If there is no longer any water to be found, how deep will we dig before we just have to move on?"</b> he asked, not really expecting an answer, but offering to hear Damascus' opinion all the same.

(This post was last modified: Oct 24, 2010, 07:07 PM by Quest.)

<blockquote><font style='margin-left:20px;'>What Quest outlined was somewhat beneficial, but nonetheless dismaying. It seemed like the locals had given him advice that had since run dry, but knowing that there were locals meant something. Unless the locals that he was thinking of were nothing more than wolves who had been around for a while; not necessarily local but like them, trying to <span class='word'>eke</span> out a place in the world for themselves.</font>

<font style='margin-left:20px;'><b>"I haven't even tried digging, if that tells you anything,"</b> Damascus supplied with a twist of humour. Maybe they were thirsty, but at least he hadn't quite lost his optimistic edge. But just like the water, it was fading fast. <b>"But needless to say, I don't think any of us will be hanging around here much longer if the water doesn't come back. Everything will die, least of all ourselves."</b> And that would be more than just unfortunate for them. Yet it left Damascus wondering <i>why</i> the water was dried up. If it was dry there, then who was to say that it wasn't dry somewhere else?</font>

<font style='margin-left:20px;'>But he didn't ask that question aloud, not yet.</font></blockquote>

When Quest found himself unexpectedly moved to laughter, he lifted his bright gold eyes to meet Damascus', only for a moment, a glinting mirth dancing in his gaze. When his laughter stilled, he scraped at the ground slightly with his paw in a mimicry of digging. His eyes were once again on his own paws but his lips turned upward in a smile. <b>"I like your sense of humor, Damascus,"</b> he commented warmly. <b>"We'd all do better to face the unknown with a joke or two."</b>

The topic of the water loss was still a serious one, but Quest wasn't so daunted by it anymore. Even as Damascus pointed out the possibility of their eventual demise if they remained here, he found himself shrugging his shoulders. <b>"I suppose it's in our best interests to just stay ahead of the game then. If our food goes and our water doesn't return, we just have to make sure we're gone too before traveling isn't possible."</b> Quest's tongue was not yet too dry with thirst, and he was hopeful that they would uncover the mystery of the missing water soon. <b>"Have you traveled on your own for long, Damascus?"</b> he asked, drawing on the other male's new-to-Relic-Lore status.

<blockquote><font style='margin-left:20px;'>If it were not for his humour, Damascus supposed he would have had a very miserable life. Most wolves -- at least the intelligent ones -- had an appreciation for humour, but perhaps it was the fact that on hard times it was simply all that they had. It was all any of them had. Still, a warm smile spread across his face like melting butter, but it was a little watery at best. Compliments came here and there but never enough that he wasn't sure just what to do with them. But it was no matter as the conversation continued on.</font>

<font style='margin-left:20px;'><b>"A few years, at best,"</b> he commented, though those few years were really only a couple. Finding that Great Something only felt like it had taken literal years, and somewhere along the way he had lost his sense of time. The world was his to venture through; the day his to seize. <b>"I've been a nomad longer than I have been a pack wolf."</b> Winter was perhaps the only season in which he ever pulled out loyalities to any pack. Even if his stay was temporary and seasonal, Damascus give them his all. It was the least he could do.</font>

<font style='margin-left:20px;'><b>"What about yourself?"</b></font></blockquote>

<blockquote> Quest's tail was waving behind him, no higher than his britches but not exactly between his legs either. He had a glint in his eye that had been missing for days, and he appreciated the friendly lines in Damascus' muzzle. His overall appearance was indeed one of a well-worn traveler, but the look suited him, and the friendliness that Quest felt from him was a coveted rarity. The salt-and-pepper Aquila male longed to make some sort of gesture in return to that soft smile, but years of rebuke for his attempts at any form of a physical connection with another wolf held him at bay.

<b>"Well, we're birds of a feather, you and I,"</b> he managed to reply. A brief twitch in his smile shook him as he tried to keep the thoughts of his past from interfering with the cool composure he'd been holding. He struggled to try and tackle them without revealing more than he wanted to as he faced Damascus' question. It wasn't that Quest was a dishonest wolf, but that he did not want his past experiences to be the sum of the man he was today. <b>"I've been traveling for about a year, more or less, with no signs of settling. I don't think I'd give this place a second glance if winter weren't approaching,"</b> he admitted. And really, he was second-guessing his second-glances, given the current state of water in Relic Lore. <b>"But there are still wolf packs here, and I think we can measure our chances against their success. If they leave, I'll know to carry on,"</b> he ventured.</blockquote>