Dragonfly Fen bwp: postcards from hell

@Zia and @Rory time to meet Amara!

Her snout overturned the soupy earth, flipping it casually into the air with a sour look on her face. She had only recently arrived at the behest of the matriarch and it was a race against time. Though Acantha was not a threat to her because of her barren uterus, Amara did not wish to be out done. She needed to find the home for her kin. It needed to come soon, sooner than Acantha's discovery. And it needed to be better. The soil would have to be much firmer than this, though it was nice to wallow in. Had the arrived in the summer this might have been the kind of place they needed: a means of escaping the harsh sunlight. But the cold was setting in and soon this would all be rock solid and there would be nothing to eat here. There were better places. She hoped.

For good measure, she voided her bowls. Steam rose from the rank, liquidy slop. A smile twisted the corners of her flat snout. Her kin were sure to know this trail. And the wolves — their scent was everywhere— would find it a lovely warning sign of the things she had in store for them. Their whole world could turn into a bog of shit for all she cared.

(This post was last modified: Oct 28, 2015, 07:36 PM by Spirit of Wildwood.)

Update: Since Hero has to wait 2 weeks to register with Rory again, she has given permission for her turn to be skipped until she is able to post.

 

Zia was never known for travelling outside of her packs borders often. Most of the time, she was quite content to spend her days within the territory she called home. The lumbering Jotunheim was a place in which she found comfort. Security. She knew it well. So why leave, when she had everything she could possibly want, right there? Well, if she ever hoped to obtain the role of a scout, which would without question, be beneficial to Iopah and her followers, she had to start somewhere. Besides, the silver woman was still feeling rather anti-social. She would rather be alone with her thoughts, immersed in the silence of nature, rather than pitied by her pack mates.  She traveled south, towards the rarely visited Dragonfly Fen. Once, in these parts, a pack had made their home nearby. But not anymore...that was long in the past. Now, she came here in hopes to see what had changed, if anything at all. She was not expecting to find much. Just lonely terrain, absent of canine life. But she would keep her eyes out for any familiar faces, or perhaps new ones. The pack could always use new members, and while not entirely social, Zia would not turn down the opportunity to recruit a potential asset. Slowly, she picked her way through and around the maze of pine trees, the likes of which were not nearly as impressive as the redwoods of Broken Timber Pines. The ground beneath her feet was soft, wet and muddy. Her paws coated in a chilled layer of the muck. With winter coming, and most of the leaves gone, she found the depressing setting oddly fitting. It matched her mood. Silent and cold. So far, she had seen little of promise. A small part of her had hoped that this region would yield some various options concerning prey. But there was nothing. Not today. But was there? Coming to a slow halt, a most foreign and wretched stench filtered into her nostrils. Impulsively, she wrinkled her snout in disgust. It smelt like something was rotting! Even in a place like this sickly forest, Zia was too experienced to know this was natural. There were no tracks, no scent of any other predators to give away any signs of a kill. So what was it? Peering through the spindly branches, her keen eyes sought out any hint of movement. Ah, there it was! A slowly moving, earthy brown shape. Smaller than herself, emitting guttural grunts. This creature, was undoubtedly the source of such a stomach churning stench. Curiosity pulling at her, the silver female slowly inched closer, to get a better look. She had never seen a wild boar, not once in her life. So she could not yet deduce if this animal was a potential rival, or a potential meal. But either way, it certainly was making a fine mess of everything in it's path.

 

Table by Pann, Image by Jolee

(This post was last modified: Nov 06, 2015, 01:47 AM by Zia.)

He was seeking his brother. The man had vanished weeks ago, and try as he and @Vespertio might, they had yet to find a solid trail of where he might have gone. Nathaniel attempted to reason this away, especially given Angele's announced departure, yet he couldn't help the sickening feeling that stole over his guts and chilled them as the outside air did his nose and ears. Anthem had been so devoted to Fallen Tree Cove. Worked his way up to second, to the role of guardian. He hadn't even a lady to give him troubles. Why would he have left it behind? Perhaps he had needed to do some soul searching, as Angele had? Yet, the second brother had always been the most confident in his convictions out of the three of them. Certainly more so than Nathaniel, and he had stayed despite all the times his heart had screamed and tantrumed within his chest to be set free.

On days he could no longer take not looking, Nathaniel struck out to search. Today, this brought him to the Fen, and until presently, he had found not a trace of anything. Yet as the winds shifted, an unidentifiable scent entered his lungs, and intrigue drew him to it like a magnet. There were few things the well-traveled logophile had encountered, and he found it hard to believe that there truly existed such a creature that he was not familiar with. Perhaps he was mistaken, the scent corrupted by other forces. Yet as he navigated the terrain and laid eyes upon the ugly beast, defecating shamelessly, it was proven that there were still mysteries within this world. His muzzle twisted with disgust, and a growl worked its way up his throat but the sound of it was bit back. He was still a distance from it, and as much as he wanted to take a bite of this thing to figure out where it belonged in the food chain, those tusks made him think that perhaps he might not want to find out. They weren't as sharp as a mule deer's antlers, yet he was certain that if used right, they could prove themselves quite fearsome.

As he observed the wretched beast, he became aware that another wolf was present, lurking somewhere nearby. Maneuvering in a wide, circular berth around the unknown monster, he sought to locate his kin and see if they knew what the hell was going on. When at last she came into view, a low chuff was sent through the air to get her attention. His posture was held amiably to show that he was willing to be a friend, and if given her attention, he would furrow his brows quizzically and toss his head toward the hog, expressing his wonder.

@Zia and @Nathaniel please try to post by 11/25
Note: the pig will escape. and any words uttered by Amara will not be comprehensible to the wolves.

Her own shit was not so rank to her that she could not smell the subtle change in the air. They were scores of them, how could she be surprised that she would not shit in peace? Til now the dogs had dominated the area, choking the life out of the other predators that would eek out a meager existence in under the shadow of the Legion, the apex predator: the wolf. A hearty snort reverberated through her snout. The last bit of feces sloughed from her behind, and her hind hoofs kicked out backwards to toss it around some. She wondered what the wolves made of her.

"Come out, come out little doggies," she squealed and gurgled, turning slowly in place as her neck did not allow her to look left and right easily. She tossed her head around, trying to get a good look for where they were. "You can't hide form me." What did they make of her, she wondered. Were they afraid? Had they seen her kind before? The wolves she had known were too stupid to understand. They were just a mob mentality, an amorphous hive. She took several steps in the direction her nose seemed to indicate.

Late, sorry!
:(

The soft skin of her muzzle crinkled together in distaste as she watched the foul, foreign animal. Just looking at it made her stomach turn. It probably didn't even taste very good. More concerning though, was where had it come from? There was no more time to think about that, as a low chuff off to the right, somewhere, was directed her way. Dark ears pricking up attentively, she swung her head around to peer through the scanty tangle of branches, to spot a dark figure. Had she been so pre-occupied focusing on the pig that she had not noticed this male's arrival? Apparently so. He didn't seem hostile, given his relaxed stance, so Zia saw no reason to be on edge. A soft, slow sway of her tail indicated that she too, was of no threat.

Following the quizzical tilt of his head towards ambling pig, she followed his gaze to land on the animal once more. Glancing back to the fellow wolf, she could only shake her head in silence. She was just as in the dark about it as he was. She opted for silence, for now, in hopes that this alone would be enough to avoid detection. No such luck. With such a good snout on them, pigs were bound to pick up even the tiniest hint of a scent. So two wolves standing nearby, observing, didn't stand a chance. As the pig turned, squealing grunting to try and locate the wolves, Zia took an instinctive step back. Then as if regaining her nerve, she took a single more confident step forward, hackles starting to bristle. Let's just see how bold...or foolish, this thing was.

She didn't know. Nathaniel watched the negative sway of her head before turning his pale beryl gaze back upon the creature in question, a frown curling over his lips as he saw that the beast was now searching the air for them. The man himself was not willing to investigate further, for this beast was far enough from his home that he did not think it to be concerning. There was a risk in the unknown, evident by the boar's bulk and ivory tusks, and Nathaniel had never been a true daredevil.

Once more he looked to Zia, gauging her reaction further. If he was not so intrigued by the mystery monster before them, she might have become the cynosure of his curiosity. Her exotic markings and vivid eyes were breathtaking, and the man was nothing if not an insufferable flirt. Yet for once, these features failed to catch his attention, for instead he witnessed her cautious step back and then, to his dismay, her tentative step forward. Dammit, was she thinking of engaging it?

His gaze swam between them, from pig to girl to pig and back again, as his mind struggled to decide what to do. If she found herself in danger, could he bring himself to intervene and save her? Was it worth the risk? He wasn't looking to lose his life and capabilities for a stranger today, yet would he be able to walk away?

"Hey," he whispered to the air between them, trying to get her attention once more. "How about we just leave it alone, yeah?"

@Zia and @Nathaniel - Let's try and get this thread wrapped up soon since it's so old. :)

Turning her head from side to side, Amara's beady eyes scanned the murky wood for the wolves. Their stench was powerful, and she curled her lips in disgust. It became a smile, however, as she caught sight of them. A pair of them, one male and one female. No matter, the scout was not worried. She was big and powerful and strong, and she would not be outmatched by a pair of leaderless wolves. Though one apparently thought otherwise. The one with the lighter coat initially recoiled in fear as Amara laid eyes on them, only to stupidly take a step forward. The fur along its back stood up, as if she was trying to intimate the boar.

Snorting loudly, the pig's sides heaved as she choked down her laughter. She could commend the wolf's bravery, but it had been a stupid decision - to challenge her. The pig tossed her head as she continued to move towards the pair of wolves, her tusks a clear warning that she was dangerous and not to be taken lightly. The pig did not increase her pace, but moved steadily onward through the muck and the slop, grunting and snorting in warning. Surely they would not be so stupid as to stand still.

The warning of both wolf and pig would go unheeded this afternoon. The platinum coated woman had sought out the seclusion of this dim place to get away from her thoughts. What she found instead, only highlighted the vivid memories from which she was trying to escape. The dark coat of @Nathaniel reminded her all to well of that of her night colored mate...long since gone. And this wretched, messy creature before her... Perhaps it was one of them, that was to blame for Inkheart's disappearance. Had he by some chance, in a stroke of bad luck, pushed his luck too far with a boar? No one would ever know the truth. All that mattered is in the heat of the moment, with memories re-ignited, and a suitable scapegoat before her, Zia had found the perfect target to take her frustrations out on.

Or so she had thought. A soft blow of air exited her nostrils in a huff at the other pack wolfs words. She shook her head, not once removing her icy blue eyes from the approaching hog. "Go ahead and do what you want..." Her tone was just as cold as the glare in her eyes, but her emotion was not directed at him in any form. "If it's a challenge this...thing wants, then I will make sure it learns a lesson..." She ended with a growl, stalking forward with fully raised hackles, slowly at first. While blinded by turmoil and bubbling inner frustration, Zia was not so stupid as to overlook those lethal tusks as she moved to meet the pig. Dark lips drew back as she closed in, veering to the side at the last second. Testing the pigs agility and reaction time. With a viper like lunge, she barreled in, hoping to use the force in her upper body to knock the animal off balance. She would tear into it's thick hide with vigor if given half the chance. 

(This post was last modified: Feb 08, 2016, 09:49 PM by Sahalie. Edit Reason: forgot your do html tags :3 )

The mystery beast had certainly locked onto them now, and while her raucous sounds were utterly foreign to the wolf's ears, the attitude with which she carried herself was perfectly legible. Nathaniel was not feeling particularly brave, not in the face of something he knew absolutely nothing about without a comrade so much as within call's range. Yet his legs would not move, not until this stranger at his side was willing to escape the possibility of danger as well.

His hopes that she might be reasonable fell away along with his heart as she voiced her opposition to his idea. She would really stand and fight? Why? It didn't make any sense, and Nathaniel was not one to understand the measure of pride it might take a wolf to refuse to run away. Yet while he knew nothing of this woman, he found he could not just leave her to what might be her death.

Dammit, Nate, you're going to get yourself killed one of these days, his mind hissed as he launched after her. Begging internally that this dirt-ridden thing might think twice and recall its advance, he came at an angle that complimented Zia's attack, looking more to scare than harm in comparison.

The dog that connected with her weighed almost half as much as her. Amara squealed with ugly bubbles of mirth, almost amused by the poor attempt to shove her to the ground. Amara's center of gravity was so low that this was not the ideal strategy for defeating her. If the beasts did not know that, then mother would be very pleased. Their would hardly be any challenge for them moving into the realm. Shaking herself, Amara dislodged whatever was left of the dog. Her head turning to stare down the other brown one to see that it was flying at her other side. This one too her quite by surprise, as he hit her squarely in her sturdy shoulder.

This was much less amusing. The two of them posed little threat to her life, but certainly could make her afternoon painful and annoying if she would let them. But Amara had other trees to root up and other bodies of water to defecate into. All that she cared was that these wolves were the messangers of the coming of the Horde. Grunting, Amara turned her head down and bowled through the wolves, ambling past them at her comfortable trot and continuing northward towards the forests. She left the wolves in the dirt.

Fade

Wrapping this one up here since it is several months old. You guys may claim LP.