wanderer

The answer, apparently, was a firm yes. Craw watched as a complex series of emotions flickered over the stranger's face, and could not guess at their cause. Perhaps Craw's refusal to join in his follies were simply incomprehensible, or there was something in the answer the spider wanted that this man-child was struggling to come to terms with. With a mind so incapable of taking things seriously, who could know for sure? By now, Craw was no longer all that interested in the whys of this muddy wolf's mental state, though wondered if this wolf was typical of those who lived in this mystery pack. If that was the case, he didn't know whether to laugh or be afraid.

The stranger's expression grew still, hard, which made an entertaining contrast to Craw's more light-hearted features, for this brief moment their outward auras reversed. The questions which came in deliberately obtuse refusal to give a straight answer were of a similarly personal nature, half-jesting attacks which Craw replied to with a slow, dark smile.

"No, and yes," he wheezed in literal reply to the two questions, inhaling a little deeper to hear the rattle in his throat more clearly, a subconscious response to someone drawing attention to his affliction. If it made the stranger uncomfortable, then all the better. His gaze flitted back over the horizon, his posture calm in its dismissal of this packwolf's importance. Idly, he twisted a hind leg around to scratch at that biting itch behind his ear, offering a sweet relief to its torment. If the man didn't want to answer, or engage in any kind of fruitful interaction, then so be it. Craw did not indulge childishness, much less in a wolf older than himself. The wolf knew what he wanted, and if he wanted to play time-wasting games, could play them alone. This was not going to turn into a tit-for-tat of pointless questions in the hopes that, eventually, the brown wolf would give in.

An a quick rate, Merys was losing interest in this entire encounter. While it could have ended up entertaining, the male wolf hinting at a sliver of humour with the beginning of their encounter, that hope was gone. This paranymph to the Lowlands was altogether unstimulating; a trait that Merys wouldn't be surprised if the brute treasured. He was receiving no benefit from this encounter. No information, no humour, no entertainment. Truly, the only thing he had aimed for here was a quench of his thirst, and he had done that successfully.

The other male made show to lose interest in him after his stout reply, and Merys narrowed his eyes at him while he gazed to the horizon and scratched himself. How did anyone have a relationship with a wolf like this? Were they all like this on that giant fuck-off rock? Did they all just sit around in their sullen silences and look like brooding grey zombies together? Occasionally falling off the edge and happening upon waterholes to keep them going? Mood sufficiently spoiled, his persona closed completely and he quickly replied his completeness of this entire situation. "Yes, well. You enjoy.. that," he hesitated before pointing his nose to the wolf's throat and chest, wondering if his voice would even pull his attention. He continued differently so he did not have to witness his childish rejection, and stood to leave. He did not want to take part in this silent game of Who Is The Most Stubborn? any longer.

He turned his head back quickly, as though he almost forgot, "And this! Of course. In all it's glory." Again, he used his nose to reference to the flat land outside of the grasses surrounding the small pond. He let his sarcasm leak into his flat tone to replace any sincerity, ensuring the male knew he thought lowly and inconsiderably of the land he thought to inhabit. He did not need to know anything about these wolves to understand them; and the less he knew about them, the less he would have to 'report' to his alphas. If this encounter could be forgotten from ever happening, that would be ideal.

founding member | 2016

Poor baby, didn't get the playtime he was looking for. The rather more lacklustre taunt drew barely a flick of the ear in attention earned, for it was quite obvious that the man's enthusiasm was waning. They had both run out of patience for this aimless encounter, then. As he watched the horizon, the spider's mind turned to his intentions following it, for they would likely bear much more fruit, and he was keen to get to this more eventful side of things.

Fortunately, the muddy man agreed, and as he rose, Craw's gaze turned to watch him with a flicker of weak interest, almost as though it had been forgotten that he had company. For a moment, Craw was led to believe that that would be it, but the man-child just had to do his best to get a last dig in, a final attempt at wounding Craw's pride. Did he really want to elicit a reaction? Was that a good idea? Craw set his jaw as he considered the swarthy brown wolf and his insult, the corners of his lips curling in wry amusement, as though he couldn't quite hold it in. Not a very wise creature. This pack couldn't be much of a threat, surely.

"Are you done?"

Merys dared turn his back on this wolf. He seemed altogether too lazy to do anything. Regardless, the hunter had had a lifetime of learning better than to turn tail on a slyboots without having the utmost attention to your surroundings afterwards. His playful nature had withered away, returning back to his gruff and stiff usual self. What he had been willing to give to engage with the wolf had been scorned, and that was just fine. Merys did not need more friends. What he needed was to blow off steam every time he set foot outside that uneventful pack. This had turned out to be the wrong kind of relationship for that, and so he had shut down to take his leave.

The annoying black-orbed wolf gave one last quip as Merys turned away from him. He purposefully strode away, not looking back. As soon as he lost sight though, his senses wired hot with attention. He would not be snuck up on, but he certainly would have leave on his own terms. If the wolf had the audacity to attack him, he knew he would have a terrible fight on his hands. Merys was a large wolf himself, but he would not be surprised if the other beat him in every sense of that word. And while he was as boring as the Lowlands themselves, it was impossible to know if he knew how to throw that weight around or not. So he remained on high ready, insisting on one last thought. "Enjoy your zombies," he called casually in response before he was out of easy earshot. That might not mean anything to his company, a seemingly random sentence, or perhaps it would sit in his ear for a later time when he had a moment of realization around his other mundane pack animals. Whatever was decided mattered not, he was done.

WHO WILL HAVE THE LAST WORD!? 8O

founding member | 2016

This time, the answer was no. So much only was revealed once the muddy wolf was well out of range, though, the man finally showing some good sense in putting distance between himself and the wolf he was trying to antagonise before throwing out one last piece of mockery.

Craw had not moved one inch since the man-child started to move away, for why would he? His pride was hardly wounded by the aimless flailing of a creature who knew nothing, and while he was fairly confident that he could have taken the immature wolf down, what was the point in risking his health for such a needless endeavour?

Besides, he was much more useful alive.

His attention focused back onto the horizon for a few long moments, having watched the wolf retreat for a while before growing bored of his diminishing shape. After another calm scratch behind the ear, his head turned back towards where the silhouette of Whitestone stood in this distance, still steadfast in the face of all the scorn it had endured. How ever would the pack survive knowing that, somewhere out there, there was a wolf who thought so lowly of them? The snaking smile crept back onto his face as Craw turned, ears pulled back as his muzzle rose, his rough, low howl rolling over the tundra directly towards their monadnock.

Calling for one or two WM members - @Celandine and @Greer in particular!

Sorry! I wrote this very fast, and I am very tired xD

Spending the better part of her day lounging hadn't exactly been the best use of her time, but Gods be good there was nothing else to do. The caches were adequately stocked, the cubs cared for, and the borders patrolled, so half a days rest wouldn't be the end of the world. Besides, the sun's brilliant rays felt so nice against her coat. It had truly been too long since she'd taken time for herself. 

Her blissful day of sunbathing was quickly put to rest when Craw's unique voice filled the air. Lifting her pale crown to gaze in his direction-though he was still too far to see-the woman considered ignoring his request. The lanky male could answer the grey wolf's beckoning. Allowing her head rest against the Earth once more, Celandine soaked up another second or two of light, before finally deciding to answer. If she was to stay in the King's good graces, then she had best be prompt. Tilting her pristine muzzle to the sky, the woman let out a short call to say that she was on her way, and took off. 

Much to her delight, Craw hadn't been too far from Whitestone, his form looming in the distance after only a few minutes. "You called?" Of course she hadn't missed the other scent; the one that definitely did not belong to the man standing before her.

 

(This post was last modified: Jun 14, 2016, 09:17 AM by Celandine.)

Have you seen my OOC preferences?

The shadow had been spending most of his time lurking around the monadnock and the neighbouring territories since the birth of his nephew and niece. The Archer legacy was one to protect, for they would flourish in the lowlands, or wherever their paws took them. While he was curious as to who the father was — or what, for that matter — Greer bit his tongue. Some things were better left as a mystery. He just hoped the generous donor would not taint the Archer lineage.

Just as he was about to return to the height of the rock a call sounded. His brows knitted as he turned his nose in the direction of where it had originated from. The boy was reluctant to answer, for thoughts of lounging atop the monadnock was much more appealing, but with a heaving sigh he propelled himself forward. Craw was close, much to the shadow’s relief, so it did not take long for the long-legged Archer to reach his leader. His large paws slapped eagerly against the tundra, his curiosity deepening with every step. He was not surprised to see Cela’s pale form when he arrived, his mercury gaze fixated on the spider as he came to a stop. His head tipped to the side to wordlessly inquire the same question that had fallen from the pale girl’s tongue. The scent of another lingered, only adding to the curiosity that burned within chest. There was no blood, no rustled fur, no restlessness… nothing bad had happened, but something had warranted a call.

@Celandine's voice rang back, acknowledgement of the summon, and that was enough to keep Craw patient while he waited. He might have called for Wraith, but knew that he should not rely on his most trusted packmate for everything - and besides, a job of this nature was more suited to the agile and quick amongst them, and Craw was eager to start seeing the pack diversify to play to each members' particular strengths.

As her white form approached, Craw watched, offering a grunt of greeting at her question, and only moments later saw an equally lithe shape approaching, this one black as night. They made quite a striking pair. Craw rose as @Greer came close, stepping towards his packmates with familiar warmth, tail raising comfortably high as he regarded them. A bump of the nose was offered to each, by thanks for their prompt response, and then he turned to gaze briefly at the spot where the stranger had sat. No doubt they had both noticed the foreign smell.

"As is to be expected, we aren't alone out here," he rumbled, and returned his gaze back to the two younger wolves. "I just had a rather peculiar, unpleasant encounter with a wolf who clearly lives somewhere nearby - and now they know about us, and where we are based. I didn't like his manner, and have no reason to think the rest are any better until we learn more. I would like you to identify his scent and see if you can find out where he lives, what the state of this pack is."

If either of you are interested in the scout role, this is an ideal opportunity :] We can either stretch out this particular thread for both of you with Craw answering questions (he does have more to say, just gonna give you guys a chance to respond to this rather than info-dump everything in one post in case you want to use this as a demonstration-thread, since we'll need more posts each) and then them heading out, or feel free to use it to make related scouting threads of your own! If you're not interested then this thread doesn't have to go on for too much longer. Thanks for both replying <3

@Craw @Greer I'm thinking we can finish up this thread when Craw heads out and possibly start a new one with just Celandine, and Greer scouting?

As they waited for Greer to arrive, the woman surveyed the situation, noting Craw's lack of injury first. There was no red marring his coat that might indicate a struggle, so that was good. Not to mention the fact that had there been an attack, the stranger likely would not have had the means to walk away. So no fight then. Huh.

Still, Craw looked less than enthused about their guest, which probably meant that the male had done something, just not anything outward enough to warrant an attack. Greer arrived as she was going over the possibilities in her head, his familiar scent filtering through her airways only minutes before his mass stood beside hers. So pleased that she didn't have to wonder for long, she moved into the alpha's nose bump, too curious to be standoffish. 

Whatever the male had done to get under the alpha's skin must have been pretty bad, for Celandine knew that Craw was no stranger to unpleasantness. She had been a bit disagreeable herself when they'd first met, which made the story all the more interesting.

"I'm sure it won't be difficult." She looked to the dark man at her side, silently asking his thoughts on the matter.

Have you seen my OOC preferences?

sorry for delay <3 and starting a new thread sounds good to me @Celandine! 
@Craw

His nose wrinkled at the peculiar scent that accompanied Craw, his mercury gaze fixated on the older male as his curiosity bloomed. The shadow was patient as he listened to his leader, his lips curling into a soft frown as the spider mentioned the unpleasant creature he had encountered. He exhaled sharply out of his nose to show his displeasure. Clearly their neighbours were unaware of what they were dealing with. It was not wise of them to piss off such a formidable force.

As the silver male announced that he would like the pair to seek out the strange wolf, and the rest of his pack, he nodded softly. Greer had not thought about pursuing a role within the pack, especially so soon after moving, but it had always been something he considered. Travelling and covering ground quickly was something he was good at — speaking, however, was not. That’s where Celandine would come in. Although her tongue was sharp and quick, she was certainly easier to understand, and perhaps not as blunt. Perhaps together they would make an okay team… but only time would tell. “We find,” he added with another quick nod, his brows narrowed in determination. While Greer was not over the moon about seeking out wolves (and potential conversation — gross!), this would be a good opportunity to see more of the tundra they now called home. And he was certainly curious about this wolf Craw had the misfortune of meeting.

Turning to his pale companion he gave a soft flick of his maw to inquire if they should be leaving. He did not want the male’s scent to disappear into the land while they waited.