Whisper Marsh backwards world

@Tomen :D




Her sister was safe — for now — but that was all that mattered to the otter. Out of all the Bella Coola wolves to arrive in this strange place it was most peculiar for Pip to adjust the quickest, but it made sense. The mute Mizuno was dependent on those she encountered; it did not surprise the fisher that her sister had immediately pursued a pack.

However, convincing her little sister that they needed to find their way back home was a different story. She seemed oddly… comfortable among the Grizzly Hollow wolves, which worried the sea princess. Pip’s attachment to them might prove difficult when it came time for the Coola wolves to seek out the rest of their family and figure out how to get home. Niq’x was sill plagued by memories of her family running along the beach, a loud whirring noise filling her head as the sound of her heaving breaths consumed her…

She shook her head sharply, clearing her head as she maneuvered through the marsh. The water-logged ground squished between her toes as a grimace slipped onto her lips. She longed for the feeling of sand beneath her paws and salty breezes to ruffle her fur. The otter missed chasing waves — and gulls — with her siblings and the other yearlings of the Coola pack. This land … it was different, and she did not like it. It was puzzling that her sister had adapted so quickly — especially since she was also a fisher, who preferred the abundance of water to the overwhelming supply of foliage in Relic Lore. The water was where the otter felt most at home, which was why she had been spending so much time at the lagoon. She had also frequented the rivers that cut through the land, but it wasn’t the same. Nothing in this strange land could rival the beauty of the coast, nor would it ever replace the void in her heart.

Mud splashed against the back of her legs as she stomped through the marsh, a permanent frown sewn across her liquorice lips. Rain drops threatened to spill overhead as the moody clouds loomed overheard, darkening the skies. The weather was just as depressing as her situation. She was stuck in limbo, unsure of what to do with her current predicament. The sea princess wanted to leave these strange lands and pursue the rest of her family, but she also wanted to remain with Pip and ensure she was safe with these strange wolves. She wondered if she could persuade her sister into leaving…

*literally throws him at you*

Somehow he'd managed to stumble across a part of the marsh where solid ground just didn't exist. The mud was thick and unavoidable, and it had turned his once-black legs into something heavy with a dull, wet brown. At first he had reviled it, for it had always been a habit to avoid those paths within the cedars which most often turned to muck, if only because cleanup afterwards was such a pain. But after the first bizarrely satisfying squelch, everything had changed. Tentative, cringing steps through the deceptively-deep marsh had turned to careless abandon, and there was now mud where there should never be mud, far too much cold, soggy mud, but who cared?

Few things gave him this much escape from his thoughts, and he was glad to add it to his meagre toolkit. Even running lost its magic after too long a session, when his body was finally too tired to keep up with his willpower, and then the fog would start to clear and he'd have to start thinking again. He'd been almost that exhausted when arriving at the marsh, and then resigned himself to his fate of a ponderous walk back when the squelch had happened, and the rest was simply history. So caught up in his game, energy replenished through the power of childish glee, that he wasn't paying full attention when he leapt off the side of a shallow bank and almost landed on someone.

a wild Tomen appeared. Niq'x used snark. was super effective.




This place was absolutely horrendous. How could wolves actually live here? A scowl was etched into her creamy maw as she staggered through the muddy terrain as she wore her displeasure boldly across her face. She was curious about this forest her sister was now calling ‘home’ but she desperately wanted to return to the comfort of the lagoon and rinse herself off. The mud splashed into her armpits and against her stomach, causing her face to contort in annoyance. Niq’x was positive that she was completely incapable of smiling anymore — all she seemed to do these days was frown, but for the right reasons. She had been forcibly removed from her former home and placed in this awful, disgusting place filled with land-dwellers and lunatics (like that bizarre female she had reluctantly conversed with). This place was not home, nor would it ever be. Home was the smell of salt in the air and the crunch of soft scales between her teeth; home was scaling barnacle-covered rocks and digging for mussels in tide pools.

Without warning, a furry black smudge disrupted her thoughts as it landed just inches away from her back. She flung away from the creature, her teeth bared as she was temporarily released from the mud with a loud squelch. With her creamy paws firmly placed within the mud once again she studied her attacker through narrowed brows.

It was nothing but a fuzzy preteen, who had clearly had been unaware of her presence. “Is your nose broken?” She hissed in annoyance, her expression softening as she flicked some of the mud off her paw. Perhaps all this muck had temporarily disabled the boy’s senses. just as it had done to her own. All these new scents were overwhelming and overpowering; most of them were things she was smelling for the first time. 

Tomen fainted :[

His terrible error was realised far too late to do anything about it. If Tomen had had the ability to alter gravity then he would have, but unfortunately he lacked that particular superpower. What would have been an acceptable but likely ungraceful landing turned into a startled tumble as he rolled right into the mud with a yell. So stupid and careless and so stupid!

"OMGOSHmsosorry," he blurted all as one word, laid on his back staring up at a very unhappy looking woman, tail curling up to his belly and legs splaid in all directions. It probably would have been wise to get up and back away in case she was really pissed off, but his blunder froze him to his unflattering spot.

Her sharp tongue pulled his ears back and drew a low, quiet whine from his chest. No, he was just a fool. What could he say, that he was just playing and not paying attention out in the middle of nowhere where anyone could be walking? Just how old are you, Tomen? Averting his gaze partly out of submission and partly because looking at her angry face freaked him out, he stammered out: "I didn't h-hurt you, did I?" He didn't remember hitting her but then he had smacked straight into the ground, so his memory of any particular impact was somewhat fuzzy.

Niq'x used revive!!!




Her anger quickly subsided as she studied the smudge of black fur, her bi-coloured gaze narrowing in curiosity. The jumbled apology brought a lazy smile to her face and she dismissed it with a slow wave of his tail. Niq’x was still a little annoyed at his lack of observation but it was slowly diminishing. She could not be angry with him for something she would have done herself, especially since she was incredibly unfamiliar with these lands.

When he didn’t move from his position on the ground she took a cautious step forward, her black-tipped ears pinned forward as worry pulled at her face. He had asked her if she had gotten hurt, but it was him she was concerned about. Shaking her head quickly in response to say no she returned the question, her brows furrowed: “Are you hurt?” Perhaps he had sprained something in the fall or landed on his back funny and was injured? She wrinkled her nose; she was a fisher not a healer, she was not equipped to help him if the smudge required it.

A familiar scent mingled with his own: he smelt of the wolves she had encountered with Blitz and Tyne — the wolves who had welcomed Pip into her home. Excitement bubbled inside of her at the realization but she swallowed the questions that threatened to fall off her tongue. Niq’x needed to make sure that the boy was okay before bombarding him with questions. “You’re landing was almost flawless,” she added in hopes of lightening up the situation as a smile rolled across her creamy maw effortlessly.

(This post was last modified: Mar 22, 2016, 10:59 PM by Niq'x.)

There are several fresh rabbit tracks in the mud. Hunt Opportunity

the smudge regained health!

The lack of any more angry snapping gave Tomen the courage to look up at her face, and to his surprise he saw that her hostility had softened. Heart still pounding, he nevertheless perked up just a little, encouraged by the idea that she might not want to rip off his face. That was a pretty good thing. He hadn't meant to jump on her.

No, said the movement of her head, and he smiled weakly in relief. Then she asked the same thing right back at him, and he opened his mouth to reply before considering it, and, pausing to quickly pay attention to how his limbs and body felt, he also shook his head. "I'm okay." It was nice of her to ask, though. He supposed that it would rile anyone up to be leapt at like that, her reaction was understandable and entirely forgiveable. Hopefully her being friendly meant that she forgave him, too.

He hadn't expected her more playful remark, though his smile grew into a lopsided grin as he listened, and he finally moved to twist himself up onto his feet again. There was muck all over his back and left hand side, no to mention all over his legs and smeared across his left cheek and up his head, the wet mud clinging to the fur on his ear. Not that he really cared. "Heh, thanks," he said, flinging off a bit of earth which had been hanging from the end of his chin (in a safe, not-towards-the-girl direction). She had two-coloured eyes, he realised, but hers were orange and blue. Why was one always blue? Trying not to be too obvious with his staring, he affected a casual manner and said, "maybe next time I'll get it right, y'know, make sure there's nobody standing there first. Basic stuff." Was it possible to be cool after jumping on someone and being covered in brown goop? Time to find out.

(This post was last modified: Mar 23, 2016, 02:16 PM by Tomen.)

Arla used apology for making you wait :c




Relief flooded her body as he answered, assuring her that he was not injured. Pleased by his answer her tail wagged softly behind her, velvet ears falling to the side as she studied his smudged appearance. He was almost full-grown, no longer possessing the soft, plushy exterior of a puppy; instead he was gangly and awkward — all legs and paws. Niq’x was almost out of that phase. Her figure was a little more defined now, but still lanky and deer-like. The sea princess almost hoped she wouldn’t fill out too much as she liked her streamline figure. It reminded her of the otters she was affectionately nicknamed after, as well as the seals and salmon that swam along the coast.

“I think you’re going to need a bath,” she laughed as he stood up, mud clinging to his body. Niq’x was also going to be requiring a bath of her own; she was not particularly fond of the muddy terrain. She had avoided cleaning herself since she had arrived as she was reluctant to let go of the lingering scents of her home. Sand was still woven into her fur and the salt clung to her skin… if she cleaned herself properly it would be nothing but a memory, and Niq’x was not ready to let go.

“That’s probably a good idea,” she added with a lazy smile. “Maybe somewhere with a little less mud.” Seriously, why was there so much mud here. Her toes curled into the sludge as she desperately wished for it to be the grainy sand she was accustom to.

The smudge wasn’t so bad — it was an honest mistaken and had already been forgotten about. She had not even noticed his scent until just before he had flung himself in her direction due to the muck that surrounded them. So, really, she was just as much at fault as he was, but she wasn’t going to admit that. The damage was done and apologies had been given; it was nothing but a figment of the past. Focusing her attention back to the golden-eyed boy she figured now was a good time to ask about her sister. “You’re from the Hollow pack, right? Have you met my sister, Pip, yet? Some of you were calling her Squeak — “ she grimaced at the name, her nose wrinkling “— because she can’t speak.” She paused, letting the words sink in as she made a face at the Squeak name a second time. What a horrible name.  Her mix-matched gaze remained glued to the smudge, her expression soft as she waited for his response. 

(This post was last modified: Mar 28, 2016, 08:29 AM by Niq'x.)

Siki used psssh that's hardly a wait <3

The angry, intimidating woman was gone, replaced by someone actually rather charming and almost... exotic-looking? Tomen wasn't entirely sure what it was about her which gave him that impression, but something in his gut told him that she just wasn't from around here. And it wasn't the eyes - he saw all too many of those. He smirked at her comments, giving a soft heh in laughter, head dropping low for a moment as he found himself unsure where to look, one ear held out to the side and the other twitching high. He ran his wrist over his chin in a vaguely self-conscious motion to try and remove more of the mud, though didn't care whether it accomplished anything.

When she mentioned home, though, his eyes snapped up to meet hers, widening in surprise. His mouth opened automatically to confirm that yes, she was right, he was stopped by her continuing to mention a sister - Pip? or Squeak? - who lived there now. Truthfully, he had been avoiding having to interact with any of the newest members, partly through spite at whatever ill fortune had taken so many of his friends and family away. It wasn't their fault, the new wolves, and somehow hearing the name of one made him feel guilty for avoiding her. "No," he confessed, then corrected, "I mean, yeah, that's my pack, but I haven't met her. I'm sure she's doing okay, the leaders are, the leaders are..." Are what. "Okay." That was barely a save. Quick, redirection! "So um, how come - how come she lives with us and you don't? If you know about the pack and everything..." Where on earth was he going with this. Why couldn't he just be cool.

@Tomen <333




She was a little disappointed to hear that he had not met her sister yet, but what intrigued her more was his comment about his leaders. Okay. What did that mean? Worry began to bubble inside her stomach and make it's way into her chest, consuming her as she struggled to listen to the rest of the boy’s words. The smudge was asking about why they did not live together, which was a fair question to ask. She and the rest of the sea wolves were trying to decide their plan of action, but joining the Hollow wolves (temporarily) seemed like their best option. They needed to convince Pip to leave so they could continue to look for the rest of the Coola wolves, or start up their own pack in these strange lands — and live at the waters edge, not in trees like savages.

“We got separated,” she started with a soft frown, her brows furrowed. “We’re not from these lands — we come from the coast. We were placed here against our will and our pack got separated. I’ve been living with my brother, cousin, and packmate by the lagoon while we figure out what we’re doing.” Her frown deepened as she paused, her tail flicking in annoyance. “Pip is dependent on those she encounters because she can’t speak; joining a pack was the best option for her.” While she was unhappy with her sister’s decision to join a pack, she could not stay angry at her. “We had an undesirable run in with your leaders recently when we were following Pip’s scent. My brother is a little impulsive and doesn’t seem to understand pack borders.” She grunted at the memory of her brother’s foolish mistake and the vision of the angry leaders. Understandable and preventable, but Blootz had allowed his emotions to fuel his movements and caused the cluster#!*@ of events to occur.

“How come your leaders are just okay?” She asked, her curiosity getting the best of her as she studied the smudge with a raised brow.