Red Fern Forest alone in the red forest

 @Wren

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•       Eido was unused to being on her own. A lifetime of being able to rely on packmates and family had spoiled her, in a way, so that now, when she had no one to depend on or to be around, she was not sure what to do with herself. She had been forced to leave her original territory and pack after her family came down with some sort of disease. It had looked much more like possession in Eido's opinion, as it had her normally-strong father writhing on the ground in agony, and it had her normally-gentle mother fasten her frothy jowls around her very own mate's throat. Her grandparents and her littermates had turned on one another, as well, and though her brother, Neel, had held out the longest, he, too, fell victim to the illness that had taken the lives of the rest of her packmates.

•        So, the young, pale brown female had set out on her own. She had gotten lost many times in the Canadian tundra, and it had felt as though she was walking around in circles more often than not. She had not been welcome in most of the packs that she had come across, because they did not like the smell of the disease that still stubbornly clung to Eido's fur. The packs that would welcome the young wolf in, too, carried the scent of the disease that had taken her own pack, so Eido had decided against joining one of those particular groups. She did not think that she would be able to survive another horrible experience like watching her own family tear themselves and one another to pieces and stain the white snow red with their own blood.

•       Eido hoped that the smell was gone from her fur now. She believed that it was, after she had practically drowned herself in a river multiple times to try and clear the scent off of herself. Not only was the smell a deterrent to packs that she might have been allowed to join otherwise, but it brought back those terrible memories of her poor family going mad - of her parents and grandparents fighting to the death, of her littermates tearing each other limb from limb, and of her brother, Neel, attempting to snap his foaming jaws on Eido's own face.

•       With a sigh, Eido wove her way through the red forest. It was nice here, in comparison to the odd, creepy blue forest that seemed to whisper her very name with the wind. Though she had often been called "the ghost wolf" by her parents and siblings, Eido herself was not a fan of ghost stories or haunted places. And if she was sure of one thing in life, it was that the blue woods were, in fact, a haunted place. She was glad that she had continued north - she felt better in the red vegetation around her. She blended in better there, as well, as her own fur had a gingery tinge that melded right in with the forest itself. It was comforting, after the creepy blue forest, and then before that the vast, clear Canadian tundra that left Eido feeling exposed and terrified.

•       She had tentatively set her den in these red woods. She had not been in Relic Lore for very long - a few days, perhaps. Long enough to know that this place was massive, intimidating, and that some areas of it were certainly haunted and uninhabitable. Still, she would take haunted over no shelter or cover any day, so she supposed that it could be worse.

•       Eido was not totally sure what drew her in this particular direction of the Red Fern Forest, but she knew that she had not explored here before. Perhaps she was hoping to find another wolf - Eido was a social creature, after all, and being alone for the past month or so was beginning to really wear on her. She hadn't had anyone to speak to but herself for quite some time, and though she supposed that she could make decent company, the conversation never really went anywhere.

•       Her stomach gave a complaint in the form of a high-pitched growl, and she sighed. "I know, I know," she spoke softly to herself as though she was going insane. She probably was. "We haven't eaten in a while, but we'll be okay. Maybe we'll find a rabbit around here." Rabbits seemed to be the only thing that Eido was capable of hunting on her own - she had come across a goose a few days ago, but it had attacked her right back, and she had retreated hastily.

•        Eido perked her ears and began tiptoeing through the underbrush, keeping her nose out for any scents of prey. Her paws made no sound as they slid across the forest floor, and her pelt blended well with the red ferns around her. She caught the scent of rabbit ahead, and her entire attention was transfixed on the small, soft-looking creature.

•        She was almost right upon the creature when her stomach let out another whine, and the rabbit heard. It started to dash away, and Eido gave chase, but only for a few moments, as she ended up running into a thorny bush. She snarled in frustration as her food ran away, and carefully extricated herself from the thorns. She whined like a put-out puppy and went to work picking thorns out of her forelegs and chest.

(This post was last modified: Jan 02, 2017, 06:15 AM by Eidolon.)

Wren

Wren’s shoulders rolled back as he prowled across the forest floor, his eyes searching through the snow for something that would likely blend right in with it… he was looking for the differences, the small things that he could use to locate his next meal. His nose twitched as he followed the scent… or at least tried to. He let out a huff when he heard the disturbances, his tail flattening with his spine for a moment in frustration and annoyance before he took a deep breath and forced it to settle down and return to its limp state until he needed to show just how angry he was.

He always had to keep his body in check, since he couldn’t use his words as a balance, and sometimes it was a lot harder than it looked. He swiftly moved towards the source of the disruption, trying not to lose himself into thought about the last times he’d been forced into social interactions. Did he really want to risk this wolf taking offense to his muted silence? Either way, it was too late to find out, emerald eyes locking on the form pulling thorns out of her fur as his nose twitched again, his ears pressing down to attempt to show that he wasn’t a threat.

Loners had a right to be weary of others, especially other loners.

Ashbash 2016 - Ian Schneider

@Wren

Eido pulled the last thorn from her pelt with a triumphant wag of her tail and smoothed down her fur quickly - her soft, thick fur was messy at the best of times, but running into a thorn bush had really made her look like a hedgehog. Luckily, none of the thorns had done anything but scratch at the skin, and were relatively easy to remove, so Eido was not worried about infection. However, for the first time since the ordeal, she realized that she had made quite a bit of noise out of frustration, and perked her ears to try and hear if there was anything else around her.

When she picked up no sound, the young wolf turned to scan the clearing, hoping that no predators or other wolves had heard and decided to approach her. No such luck. She startled badly when she saw the large male, her bright orange eyes widening and her muscles tensed as she prepared herself to run away. However, upon seeing his lowered ears, Eido relaxed ever so slightly. For the moment, at least, he did not seem to be a threat.

The pale-furred female lowered her posture and wagged her tail in an attempt to be friendly, and took a step or two toward the male. "Hello," she greeted, making eye contact but still keeping a respectable distance and submissive posture. She did not want to offend him if she could help it.

For the first time, she noticed his eye color and spoke out in surprise before she could think better of it. "Your eyes are amazing! I've never met anyone with green eyes before. They look like tree leaves." Embarrassment immediately burned her fur as she realized that she had not even given him a chance to reply to her, and then burned further when she realized what she had said. In an attempt to remedy the situation, she continued, "Well, not these tree leaves, obviously - these are red. But most are green, and -"

She cut herself off again, breaking eye contact and shifting her paws. She often rambled when she was scared or nervous, and she knew most wolves would find that irritating. "Sorry," she told him, raising her orange eyes to meet his green ones again, and she wagged her tail slowly. "Um, my name is Eido."