Iridescent Lagoon zegaanakwad

The sky is dark with storm clouds.

He yelped softly as the lowest branches reached over, leafy fingers stretching for nothing, infused by life by the harsh winds. He had been unprepared, out in the open, when the sky had darkened from its soft blues to the ominous deep greys, and Ziigwan had no desire to be exposed if and when the storm finally broke. He ducked under the rustling trees and scampered on, seeking shelter, but where? He had no idea where he was, no idea where safety could be sought from the war of the winds and rain and thunder. He knew a dozen different locations back home, places to hide until storms broke, places to best sneak up on neighbouring herds, places to retreat to be undisturbed. Panicked as he was, he didn't even trust him to be sure that he wasn't going to be trespassing, as unlikely as that would be, but he only had his nose to tell him where not to tread, for his memory held no such warnings.

Ziigwan could only drive further into the trees, and with each passing trunk the air became a little calmer, though the howl of winds was ever present in the canopies above. He could not hear himself pant, could not hear the sound of his own footsteps, could only dash onwards and hope that shelter lay in front and not behind. He stumbled over a tree's root, something he was sure no native would have done, and almost barrelled straight into a thick, low bush, its wiry twigs catching his face as if trying to pull him in. Desperately finding his feet once more, the foreigner scurried on, deeper, until -

With a wet sploosh and a high yelp, the ground beneath him was suddenly gone, and Ziigwan found himself shoulder-deep in water, for a few seconds completed cognitively disconnected from his situation until survival instincts kicked in, and he pulled his paws from the muddy water's bottom and pulled back. A few seconds later and he was on the shore again, wet and cold and confused and furious with himself. If the tree root had been embarrassing, this was nothing short of shameful, for who ran headfirst into what was obviously a lagoon unless you were a moron? Scoffing at himself, the indecency at least had the effect of distracting him from the storm, which he swiftly realised was not yet affecting the water's surface, for most of the violent ripples were caused by the sudden addition of him. Growling to himself, Ziigwan looked upwards, and saw the sky as grey as ever - but the lake was as yet protected by its guardian forest. How long would that last? He supposed it depended on how harsh the storm would be if it broke.

He was tired of running and making a fool out of himself. Backing up against one of the nearby trees where its huge, ancient roots provided rudimentary cover from the left and the right, he shook himself before crouching down, staring out over the water, watching his ripples fade, dis-quietened by its relative stillness. It felt entirely unnatural. He wouldn't be coming here again.

OOC: Mind if I step in? :)

Kaela eyed the trees as the low wind that ruffled her thick fur also made their branches wave, as if welcoming her into their dark recesses. She considered how the dark green leaves stood out against the even darker grey sky. The crisp scent of the air and the chill zephyr had the haunting moan to it that meant rain was coming - and soon. The low rumble of thunder rolled across the foreboding landscape.

The breeze momentarily switched directions and Kaela was surprised to note the scent of another wolf present. She didn't think it had been long since the other hunter had passed that way. Though she had avoided contact with anything other than prey that far, Kaela began following the trail. She wasn't sure why she was doing it; she couldn't be lonely, could she? A sneer twisted her face as the thought flickered across her mind. No, she wasn't lonely. Perhaps a bit bored, though.

She came across a small root that protruded from the ground with scuff marks in the dirt. Had the other wolf tripped? Kaela couldn't help but laugh at the thought. Either the party she was tracking was a dimwit or they were trying to get away from something. She continued on, watching for the other wolf. The scent was growing stronger, and it wasn't long before Kaela reached a lake shore. It was eerily calm as she stared out over it.

But where did the wolf go? There was no way he would have just run out into the water. Even a dimwit knew better, especially with a storm brewing. Kaela began laughing again, tongue lolling out the side of her mouth as she chuckled. The image of a clumsy wolf trying to paddle around in storm-tossed water amused her to not end. She sat beside the water, simply allowing the laughter to shake her.

Of course not, thank you :D

Nursing his wounded pride, Ziigwan chewed at the wet fur between his toes, tugging at knots which weren't there. His gaze rarely moved from the infuriatingly still waters, and he had long decided that the peace was mocking him and his previous panic. It had been a silly thing to get worked up over - it wasn't as though that was his first thunder storm... not that it had even thundered yet. His frayed nerves at being in the middle of completely foreign territory were being worn ragged. He should have run in the opposite direction, back towards the Rise... but he still wasn't entirely sure of the area, and didn't trust himself not to get further lost in this state.

So instead he had floundered about like a moron. Great job.

Somewhere mingled with the rushing winds drifted the sound of laughter, light and easy, entirely too mirthful for this kind of weather. Immediately curious as to who could possibly be so amused, and at what - surely he hadn't been seen, it had been several minutes since his dip - Ziigwan peered over the sheltering roots, trying to pinpoint the direction of the sound. Despite the howling storm beyond this calm place, he managed to decide on a likely direction and stood up, but just the action of getting to his feet was enough to let him catch a glimpse of a wolf's form by the water.

A moment's hesitation, and he was sure it was they who were laughing. Brow creasing, ears pushed forward, he watched the wolf (who seemed entirely unbothered by the madness of the storm) and then cleared his throat. "What's so funny?"

Kaela heard the voice and stopped laughing, whirling around to face the new comer. His scent informed her that this was the wolf she'd been following. She saw him, half wet, and her amusement vanished. He'd been in the water.

She cocked her head, regarding him for a moment before answering his question. "Just a funny thought." She wasn't usually the friendly sort, but she felt inclined to speak with him regardless.

Kill it. The whispers in the back of her mind commanded. She ignored them. They said that every time she saw something move. Instead she moved foreword, tail swaying back and forth to let her counterpart know she was friendly. Ish. "I'm Kaela." she told him. That's what people did, right? They exchanged names when they met. She wouldn't really know; she was usually the bite first ask questions never sort. "What is your name?"

He was sitting down between the roots of a tree, where he must have been laying when she'd gone by. She wouldn't have noticed him from the direction she'd come, and since she'd already been following his smell she hadn't noticed that either. It must be a sheltered area, she realized. There was a storm about to break, after all. It seemed only natural for one to take cover. She herself had never found the need to do so, as storms were her friends, but others had the habit of desiring dry fur.

Not that he was dry anymore.

Kaela started snickering again as her previous image of a wolf caught in stormy waters resurfaced.

"Speech" Thought

Normally I'd totally welcome a fight (not that it's necessarily going to happen!) but this thread is kinda far back in his timeline, so I'd prefer nothing 'serious' happens. Doesn't mean she has to stay friendly if you don't want her to ;)

The laughter died the moment his question reached her ears and she turned around, apparently as surprised to see him there as he had been to hear her out-of-place merriment. Whatever was so hilarious wasn't anymore, though. Just a funny thought indeed.

He would have scoffed and left it at that, because standing here while a storm brewed overhead was not exactly his preferred time to make small talk. There was curiosity in her expression, and had he looked closer he might have seen a hint of something else - but she wasn't the focus of his attention, and nor was Ziigwan that perceptive of strangers' mental workings anyway. Still, it was impossible to miss it when she shifted forwards, tail indicating friendliness, and then offered her name - as if this was a totally normal time for socialisation.

He stared at her for a few seconds before sitting back down with a grunt, unimpressed with his situation. Promptly the woman began to laugh again, this time quieter, with more of a sneer, and Ziigwan's ears pulled back in displeasure as he narrowed his eyes at her. He hated everything about this place, no question. "Ziigwan," he responded promptly, the wind howling its own reply. "And what's funny now?"

OOC: Yeah, I don't think a fight at this stage is really in Kaela's agenda, though she is pretty changable.

Kaela was amused by his reaction to her mirth. "Oh, just this exchange of pleasantries... it seems so... fake, doesn't it? Why do people do this?" A small giggled bubbled up her throat. "It all seems so pointless!"

She sat where she was, as her approach seemed unwelcome. She didn't usually care about things like that, but this game was fun. He was an interesting one, soaking wet but hiding from the rain, all alone but unafraid. Not that she was afraid when she was alone; it just seemed like something others didn't like.

With her mouth open in silent laughter, Kaela watched Ziigwan.

Was he mocking her laughter? She suddenly hurled herself to her feet, hackles raised and lips writhing back into a snarl. Nobody made fun of her!

Kill it kill it kill it! The voices chanted, growing louder and more excited.

Thunder cracked overhead, drawing her gaze. She looked up, and within moments of her initial hostile move she was seated again, laughing at the storm raging around them without dropping any water. She fell over on her side, paws churning the air in her hysteria. When she was finished she simply lay there, tongue out upon the ground, looking at Ziigwan. A strange fellow by all rights, she decided.

"Speech" thought

(This post was last modified: Jul 09, 2015, 06:23 PM by Kaela. Edit Reason: color fix )

M for language! and potentially for the rest of the thread if this keeps up, heheh

Her answer took him entirely by surprise. If she thought it was pointless, like he did, then why had she started up the greeting in the first place? His first question had been justified, borne from impatience, mild terror and bemusement, but she'd been the one to share her name and ask for his.

He did ultimately agree with her stance, though. Exchanging politeness amongst strangers, especially in circumstances such as these, was very far from what he expected. Generally distrustful, being a loner both tempered and magnified the hostile instincts which had done him so well as a packwolf. Watching the mirth return to her face, he wished dearly that he had an excuse to run her off, but he had no more right to than he did claim to the patch of dirt he was sitting on. Didn't mean he wasn't tempted though.

Failure to respond to her question in a timely manner had a startling affect on the woman - she leapt up, aggression in every inch of her posture, and his own lips drew back in an automatic response - but then, just as suddenly, the first peal of lightening tore open the sky and he watched as her mind broke. The aggression was replaced with laughter which was then replaced with the kind of mad hysteria which honestly made Ziigwan feel entirely nervous; was she wrong in the head? What the hell had he gotten himself into? He should have stayed quiet and waited for the storm to end...

Her fitting ended, and he stared at her all the while, afraid of what she might do if he looked away for a moment. Thunder clapped again, and Ziigwan had no idea how to read the expression on her face. "What the fuck is wrong with you."

His question wasn't entirely unexpected, though most people she encountered were subtle.

Small bubbles of glee were still gurgling out of her mouth, and she dragged herself back to an upright position, reddish-purple tongue still hanging between her teeth. She licked her lips before replying. "I may be a little crazy, but it keeps me from going insane." She told him. She couldn't figure out why he wasn't laughing. The whole situation was hilarious.

A drop of water landed on her nose, and she went cross-eyed trying to see it. Her tongue flicked up and over her muzzle, slapping down on the area. She returned her gaze to Ziigwan, who was still giving her a strange look. It was a look she was used to; part fear, part worry, part confusion.

Unconcerned by his judgement, Kaela stood and returned to the water, where she waded in until the water was halfway up her legs before bending to get a drink. The cold water seeped through her fur, and she relished the shivers that made their way up her limbs. She couldn't have winter, but the cold would do until the snow fell. She glanced back at Ziigwan to see how he reacted to her blatant uncaring of the wet. She found him very amusing indeed.

"Speech"

The laughter was turning sour, the sound of something damaged. It had unnerved him enough in the beginning, and that was before he had realised how broken this Kaela was. Either that or she just really didn't mix well with thunderstorms - it had been on the first crash that she had crossed that line between amusing and deranged. Unable to look away, Ziigwan's brow creased in something akin to concern as she gave her strange answer. He was entirely unable to appreciate the wordplay in his current state of mind, and instead was filled with anxiety for what this could mean - for both of them. He already hadn't felt safe...

The man's agency in this encounter was less than nil, however, and Kaela did exactly as she pleased. Briefly fixated on what must have been a water drop landing on her nose, her gaze flickered back to his for a moment before she turned away, and Ziigwan was still unable to stop staring. He felt as though he were witnessing a rock slide, unexpected and vaguely terrifying, but instead of being stood a great distance away he was up close and about to be crushed to death by rocks.

He craned his neck upwards to keep her in his field of vision as she waded into the water, the ripples caused by his fall long gone. Still the lake was eerily smooth, marred now only by Kaela's movements, and he found the juxtaposition unsettling. Did this mean that she had forgotten him, just like her disdain for pleasantries would suggest? No, apparently not; she looked back, as if checking to make sure that he was still watching. Insane, explosively reactive, hysterical, and now an attention-seeker, too?

Well, he wasn't here to pander to some loon's social cravings. She could go be bonkers on her own, elbow-deep in cold water while the rain poured down. Grumbling to himself, he finally broke his gaze away and pushed himself back down between the two roots, back where he had been sheltering before all this nonsense. He'd learned his lesson, though - to mind his own fucking business.

By the time Kaela had finished her drink and returned to the shore, Ziigwan had disappeared back into his mini shelter.  Feeling hollow, as if she'd just been emptied, she wasn't very interested in playing any more.

Kill it! The voices suggested urgently.  That was usually how she ended her games, but today she didn't feel like it.  She stood by the water for a moment, staring at the spot her counterpart had been standing only moments before, before shrugging and trotting away without a word.

Why had she gone after him in the first place?  It was so unusual for her.  She didn't like interacting with others, mostly because she didn't feel right.  She always did something odd.  Unstable.  That's what they called her.  Crazy.  Insane.  She wasn't!

I'm normal. She thought, quietly padding through the eerie pre-storm trees.  The air was grey; her color.  Half of her wanted to return and demand that Ziigwan stop looking at her like that.  She stopped in her tracks, whirling around with hackles raised.  "Stop that!" She snarled to empty trees behind her.  "Don't look at me like I'm a lunatic!"

Only the wind howled in response, and Kaela continued on her way, fur still standing up.  Echoing laughter haunted her mind, coming from the dregs of her memory.  She picked up her pace, racing to escape the sound she knew would follow her.  She hated it, the voices.  But she had been Chosen, and she needed to do as she was bidden...

She furiously shook her head.  She would listen when she wanted and laugh when she wanted.  Nobody could control her, not even her parents.  And she would never let that change.

"speech"  thought

EXIT

(This post was last modified: Jul 09, 2015, 07:54 PM by Kaela.)