Sacred Grove Undeniably Lonely

Partly cloudy -4 ° F, -20 ° C

Kobe gave the midday sun a passing glance as he stepped into the forest. It had not been many moons since he’d wondered into this land. The question, however, was did he plan to stay?
With all the howling that went on and the strong scent markers, it was evident that numerous territories had been established by nearby packs. To say the life of a rogue was a fulfilling existence would be a lie. Kobe was lonely, even if he scorned the idiotic company and irrationality that came with the presence of other wolves. To be or not to be, to join or not to join wasn’t a question that required contemplation. Although it was winter and his hunger gnawed at him to hunt while the cold compelled eternal sleep, he loved the freedom that came with being on his own. There were no ranks to abide by, no one to give direction or give precedence. For how could he submit to himself?
He paused his aimless trek and stared off into the trees. No matter how he tried to rationalize it…being alone was lonely. It was fine to scorn the world and criticize the fallacies of convention but how was he to confirm the soundness of his reasonings if there was no one to judge?

(This post was last modified: Dec 28, 2016, 12:39 AM by Kobe. Edit Reason: inserting weather/time )

Welcome to RoW! Sorry about Duck in this post, if you need more to go off then let me know <3 Maybe someone else could jump in as well?

The clever thing to do would have been to stay in the thicket and never leave.

It was too late for that, though. Far too late. If only he'd decided to be a recluse earlier, everything would have been the same and he'd have been happy (as happy as he ever was) and the world would still be normal. But nothing was normal anymore, everything was messed up and insane and reason had been flipped on its head. Love had spawned hatred, kindness had encouraged evil, and the weak were now expected to stand tall over the strong.

Duck didn't care what anyone said, Miccah was his king, his lord, and he couldn't bring himself to raise his tail in front of the man. Even the thought was ridiculous. But he understood that the Athesilas needed a figurehead, someone to hold the fort while the dark king regained his strength... and he would, he had to, because this situation was utterly insane and needed to be put right.

The good were dead and ill and the bad were roaming healthy and free and, apparently, in charge of things. He'd lost count of the number of times he'd lost the contents of his stomach in the last half-moon cycle alone.

Traipsing numbly through the forest, looking for something always out of his reach (maybe she'd be behind that tree, or that rock, or just over that hill, and he'd be proven wrong and everything could go back to normal - she'd know what to do) the fragile, broken, sorry excuse for the leader of Secret Woodlands was far too far from home, and he knew it, but he couldn't help it. Aideen needed him, the kids needed him, and he'd thought it a good idea to come here, why...? To fish? When there were good rivers and streams nearby? But there was nothing but trauma and bad memories to be had in those flowing waters, reflective mirrors which did nothing but show Duck all the worst parts of himself, but how else was he supposed to provide for the pack but to fish? It was his sole purpose. His only value. Now the weight of it all was on his shoulders and he knew he couldn't cope, it would crush him, but he had to try.

She would have wanted him to try.

Sniffing back the moisture in his nose, feeling the familiar prickle of sadness behind his eyes, the runt pushed on, ignoring the cold of his flesh because his heart was colder still. Physical pains felt all the less these days. He knew what total and utter agony felt like, and it had nothing to do with the sensations of the body.

A dark shape ahead caught his grey eyes, and he glanced over to the stranger in the near distance, barely acknowledging them, unable to summon anything but apathy - neither curiosity or anxiety took hold. Nor even fear of the unknown, for if the wolf was to be found dangerous... maybe it would not be such a bad thing.

So on he walked, on to where he knew the river would be, only able to keep walking if he maintained focus on his singular purpose. One step at a time, one breath at a time, one step at a time.

Thanks for the warm welcome and fast reply :) Your post has plenty to go off of and the more the merrier! As a new player, I want Kobe to meet as many people as possible.

Kobe looked up as his ears turned behind him. He heard the stranger before he saw him. His gray eyes narrowed on the small, runt like white-furred male who sniffed about in the snow nearby. From the way he carried himself, Kobe would’ve written him off as a loner and almost did until he drew in his scent. The unmistakable smell of other wolves wafted from the newcomer and the dark male stepped back, already on edge. Pack wolf.

His heart beat a little faster and he stared at the wolf with a dubious expression as he attempted to guess the silver male’s intentions. To his surprise, the pack wolf passed by without so much of a glance. While the utter lack of acknowledgment might’ve ruffled the fur of a more temperamental wolf, it sparked Kobe’s curiosity.

What is it that holds his attention so? He wondered. Common sense would mark me as a possible threat. Could it be that the stranger is deep in thought or simply a fool? There’s no predicting the type of personality one could run into while out here alone.

“Who are you?” Kobe called out to the stranger. His paws churned snow as he approached the other male at a trot. “Is my presence so unimportant as to be ignored or do you believe yourself above loners? Which is the case, pack wolf?”

(This post was last modified: Dec 27, 2016, 06:27 PM by Kobe.)

~~ Do it or don't do it, you'll regret both ~~

<3

That could have been it. It was hardly unusual to spot strangers out while walking through neutral territory, it was a risk he took with every trip. It was just that, normally, the wolf took much more care to avoid being noticed - so that he might escape situations such as this.

Instinctively he stopped the moment he heard the masculine voice call out... no, call him out, more rightly, its tone accusatory and almost offended. The mighty leader of Secret Woodlands winced and deflated, not prepared for this - never prepared for this - and experienced the familiar feeling of wanting to melt into a puddle on the ground, just melt out of sight and mind. Be one with the snow. Be invisible and unimportant and of no use to anybody.

Because that was the truth, wasn't it.

He flinched at the end of every accusation, only the strands of his sense of self-preservation prompting him to turn his body to face the black wolf who strode towards him so boldly, which was laughable because Duckweed could hardly have stopped him from doing whatever he wanted no matter how the runt was oriented.

Yet as his numbly anxious mind processed what was being said, a thin, dry smile appeared on his muzzle, because this was the embodiment of backwardness, was it not?

"N-n-n-n-neither," he replied, tone empty - save, perhaps, for a touch of bitterness, of harsh amusement. His posture wilted the closer the stranger got. As laughable as his false authority was in the thicket, he certainly had absolutely none out here. It was easier that way; trying to convince his tail to curl up rather than down, at that very moment, would have been a losing battle. "Y-y-yuh, yuh, y-you've g-got it, g-g-got it thhh, the wr-wr-wrong, wrong way rrrrr, r-rouuu, r-round."

(This post was last modified: Dec 27, 2016, 07:45 PM by Duckweed.)

Duckweed is hilarious! <3

Kobe watched the stranger submit, dumbfounded.

And I thought pack wolves bore more confidence, he thought, taken aback. The dark male did hold himself with confidence which squared its foundation his forward personality but he’d expected, well… Something more. Resistance or indignation, a challenge of some sort prior to the inevitable submission he’d anticipated. If the white wolf had been larger, Kobe would’ve approached with more caution to be sure but with the reality as it was, such prudence wasn’t necessary.

Listening to the mess of words the other male spewed was even more perplexing and the black wolf shook his head. He’d never expected to incite such nervousness out of anyone and doubt he ever had. Against his better nature he almost felt the urge to reassure the smaller male and would have, if he had the manners to stop laughing.

“Are you demented?” he asked, catching his breath. “Speak in a complete sentence for heaven’s sake. I’m not going to bite your face off. The way you scurried off without a glance just surprised me was all. My travels have taken me far, I haven't seen another wolf for some time. I hadn't expected the one I did to run. Anyway, I am Kobe, a proud loner and rogue.”

(This post was last modified: Dec 27, 2016, 08:01 PM by Kobe. Edit Reason: fixing grammer )

~~ Do it or don't do it, you'll regret both ~~

Yikes. I'm both sorry and also super grateful to Kobe for bringing out this rare side of him :P

Staying in the thicket would definitely have been the right choice. Fate hadn't even been kind enough to make this loner the kind of cruel wolf to simply lunge forward, teeth flashing, for that would have been the merciful kind of evil. He could have coped with that. Instead, it was the kind of mean creature to stare at him in confusion, to take his disability and then to openly laugh at it, and among the apathy and the anxiety and the fear sparked a fourth feeling, a hot one, an uncomfortably wild one.

He was submitting, he had done nothing to provoke and offend, he had even managed to answer the man's stupid question with remarkable coherency considering his state - and still the derision and pity and disgust came, and though the runt stood low against the ground, tail tucked, his lip quivered as it curled back in resentment and anger. Anxiety froze him in place, fear held his tongue, but when the black loner was done laughing and began to speak, the empty space between them and the apathy was quickly overrun by the fire of fury - and having run out of room, the blaze began to eat away at the three other emotions.

"P-p-p-p-proud r-r-rogue," he hissed, tone thick with derision even if his broken tongue was unable to convey it. Apathy spurned him on - apathy to his own wellbeing. How dare this man talk to him like this when he had no idea how broken Duck was, how much of a shell of a wolf, how worthless. It wasn't as though he needed pure strangers to come and remind him. Though he remained close to the ground and shrunken, he glared up at the larger wolf with nothing but wild hostility, almost shaking from the force of it as everything he had been holding back was no longer able to be contained. "D-d-d-do you thhhhhhhhhink I w-would t-t-talk, t-talk like thhh-th-this if I hah-ha, haaaa, had a ch-chhhoice?! Ffffffffffuckyou f-for j-judging me when y-you know nuhhhthing about me! I wahhhhs m-m-m-m-minding muhhhhy own d-d-d-d-damn business and nnnn-n-not buh-buh-bbbothering you!"

There is a family of deer nearby. Hunt Opportunity

I'm glad Kobe's helpful, even though he's kinda being on the ruthless side. :P

Kobe could feel the hostility roll off of the wolf before him. It was strange. Despite the man’s tail tucked submission, the black wolf knew almost immediately that he’d struck a nerve. It became wholly apparent just what he’d done when the smaller male flipped out with all of his stuttering fury.

Oh wow, Kobe thought and rolled his eyes. His curiosity had deflated and interest vanished into the pits of indifference. The drama. The anger. It seemed he’d poked some sort of sleeping bear. One he doubted had enough grit behind his rage to even feign an attack.

I didn’t sign up for this. The thought was completely devoid of sympathy. As it was, the black wolf was rather adverse to what others called pity. Be it handing it, feeling it or even feeling obliged to give it, Kobe had never acknowledge such a notion. He’d never gone through a similar experience, therefore it made no sense to dwell on it. It was not worth his time, much less his thoughts.

The stranger’s vexation rolled off of Kobe like dew on a leaf. He gave the wolf a look of disdain.

“Are you expecting an apology?” he said and chuckled. “I’m an ignorant passerby to your plight. I am a stranger, how could you let a laugh throw you into such a rage? Who am I to you? Who are you to me? Why do you let me disturb you so? ” he curled his lips back in a smirk. “Do you find your stutter to be such a shameful disability? Does it define you? Do you truly believe it to be an accurate representation of who you are? The only opinion that matters is the one you hold about yourself.” He looked away from the wolf and stepped back. “Lift your damn head already. Find your pride, there are no ranks here. We are equals, I am not a member of your pack.”

Kobe surprised himself. He'd not expected to go off on such a tangent. He could hardly take his snappish advice to be his own. It was unlike him to get so involved. Following the stranger's outburst he'd normally spit some biting words before beating a hasty retreat from unpredictable frivolity of emotion. Perhaps, he did feel a little pity for the man, however small. It was more accurate to say the stranger embodied Kobe's pet peeve. Weakness. It was of the worst kind--pitiful weakness. Weakness that sought not even to cover itself with an ego of any kind, only transparent anger. The black wolf would've had more respect for his smaller counterpart if the man at least tried to pretend to have any confidence.

“Tell me your name. Surely, you can manage that.”

(This post was last modified: Dec 27, 2016, 09:39 PM by Kobe.)

~~ Do it or don't do it, you'll regret both ~~

ooof really sorry for the wait!

The problem with that kind of all-consuming fire was that, well, it consumed everything - and the moment it became clear that it would have no reaction from the stranger to latch onto, already began to fizzle out. No, instead of hurt or shame or anger, all that Duck could see was contempt and indifference. That was no kind of fuel. That was just a brick wall for him to hit his head against until he was forced to give up. He was no match for it. Already his outburst had exhausted him, a last-ditch effort to reclaim some kind of dignity which inevitably had failed. It always failed. Duckweed no longer knew what his dignity looked like, it had been taken from him since before he could remember.

But then it got worse. It would have been one thing for the dark wolf to scoff, to roll his eyes and turn away because this little tantrum wasn't worth his time, because it would have left Duck feeling small and powerless but at least it would not have been active belittlement. Only shrinking further as the man began to talk, his words smooth and confident in every way that Duck's were not, cutting and throwing question after question at the pale runt who couldn't take it. It was insane how this stranger could sound so much like his - like his - like his mother, and yet also remind him so very much of his father at the exact same time.

But it wasn't a perfect comparison. While these were all the things Duckweed could imagine his father saying, the things that he had seen behind those cold grey eyes, Wolesh had never cared enough to actually say them. His son simply hadn't been worth the effort.

And Bella had said many of these things to him, had asked him why he let his stutter define him, had pleaded with him to move out of the shadow he cast on himself, to look up and find his strength, but never with this venom. The dissonance made the sides of his skull vibrate uncomfortably.

He should have stayed in the damn thicket. This would have been a doomed battle no matter what he had done.

By the time the final command was made, veiled in derision and the mockery of a request, he was utterly defeated.

Secret Woodlands deserved so much better.

"D-d-d-duckweed," he muttered, eyes at the ground between their feet, for he had already lost; there was hardly anyway he could get any lower now. Just the sound of his stupid name cemented it.

Hello! Do you guys mind if I bring Eido in here? @Duckweed @Kobe

After her pleasant, uplifting trip to the Iridescent Lagoon and meeting Renier, Eido was in much better spirits than she had been in a very, very long time - since before she was forced to abandon her pack nearly six months ago. After her trip to the Lagoon, she had backtracked over the meadow and reached the lake again. That done, she had followed the expanse of water northward, in an attempt to acquaint herself better with the entirety of Relic Lore. She supposed that was the benefit to being a loner - though it was certainly not preferable for her, and she did truly prefer to be in the presence of other wolves, Eido was enjoying this newfound freedom to roam as she had never really had before. The young, pale-furred wolf was growing more confident in herself, especially after meeting Renier and learning that not all wolves were out to attack her just because she had said "hello."

She was still erring on the side of caution, though, and even if Renier had been a kind wolf, that did not mean everyone in his pack was. So, she had skirted around the pack's territory, taking care to avoid any and all scent markings. She wouldn't mind meeting another wolf or two, but she certainly didn't think that she would do well with an entire pack. Not yet, anyway, after being on her own for such a long time.

That being said, she hadn't expected to run into anyone else so quickly. It had been a few days since Renier, but Eido wasn't particularly searching for other wolves to socialize with. This place that she had found herself in was peaceful and calming - she felt as though the flora that she was brushing against was radiating gentle peace through her very fur and into herself. It certainly helped her, a very timid wolf, gain the strength that she needed in order to approach the two quarreling males that she had heard arguing up ahead.

At first, Eido had approached carefully, keeping low to the ground and downwind of them so that her scent wouldn't carry upward. She was trying to see whether or not it would be okay to step forward and speak to the two of them. Her first instinct was No, absolutely not, this is a bad idea, Eido, as the black male seemed irritated and angry, to say the least. But then she saw the white male, who was even smaller than herself - which was quite an impressive feat, though Eido was considered a "medium-sized" wolf. She heard him stammer and falter, and the younger female heard the black male reply back cruelly. She pressed her ears against her skull. Though she wasn't angry, Eido did not like hearing someone get bullied, and she knew that she would not be able to simply sit there and watch the exchange.

Oh, god, she thought to herself. Am I really about to do this? But she gave herself no time to think it over. Taking a deep breath, the young female brushed her way through the undergrowth, making sure that her approach was noisy enough that she didn't startle them, but not noisy enough to be obnoxious.

Eido wagged her tail a bit in an attempt to be friendly. "Hello," she greeted with more confidence than she felt - her heart was racing with fear. Instead of taking the time to pretend that she had not been eavesdropping, she just went with the conversation. And, without adding fuel to the fire that was this conversation, she attempted to be pleasant. "Duckweed is a nice name," she told the white male, her bright orange eyes seeking out his grey ones. Then, she turned her attention equally to both males, a smile on her maw. "My name is Eido."

(This post was last modified: Jan 04, 2017, 01:40 AM by Eidolon.)