Ghastly Woods it will steal your innocence.

Territory discovery of The Murkwood with darling @Mathuin! Backdated for May 13th, afternoon.

Maybe he should have been paying more attention to where he was going. Having visited with his Aunt Namid, he’d continued back west – and promptly decided he was not yet ready to go home. Instead of returning to Grizzly Hollow, he made an abrupt turn northwards, intent on at least visiting Flair before going back home. The babies were going to be born soon, if not already, and he really should make sure Oula was alright…even if no one had given him a timeline.

By the time Felix had freed himself of his rambling mind and looked up, he realized he had no idea where he was. Not that he ever did, travelling around like this, but – the woods were dark. Too dark given the time of day. It could get away from him, sometimes, but it wasn’t nightfall, not yet. The lone wolf stared out into the swirling mists and realized he could not see two lengths in front of him, and not behind him, either. The air felt thick, dense; all at once, the silver male found himself feeling rather claustrophobic and gave a violent shudder. “Who’s there?” he called to the trees, if only to hear something.

Everything else was so…quiet.

Mathuin

The trouble with the storm inside us grew
But I still had so much to give

Him and @Astrid had split up. She was heading out into the unknown while he opted to settle around the area until she came back. If she came back. Mathuin wondered if she was to leave if it would be by true choice or by chance her clumsiness winding her in another situation. The thought of the later truly made him anxious. Maybe he should have gone with her. Maybe if he tried hard enough he could find her trail and follow it. Just to be sure...

Somewhere in all of his wandering and thought filled mind he had entered a rather chilling area. The trees might have been spaced out but a thick fog still hid whatever might lay two lengths in front of him. Green eyes squinted hard, remembering his moment back in Phantom Hollow with an Alastor Leigh. The older male had helped him some but who was going to help him here? Who was even out here?

It was like someone read his thoughts as a voice called out. Mathuin felt odd, though. That voice sounded familiar. He wondered what were really the odds of someone he knew being in this mess with him. Taking a bit of a chance he barked back. "It's Mathuin." Eyes still straining to see something in all this fog. If it truly was Felix than it might be twice as hard to spot such a monochrome wolf in this place.

Astrid & Mathuin
The Adventuring Peanuts

Felix was not expecting the thick fog to answer him. More than that, he was not expecting the thick fog to answer him in a voice he recognized. It had only been a sneaking suspicion that someone else was around, nothing concrete. The heavy air made it impossible to smell anything, and seemed to have a smothering effect on any sort of sound – at least until the sounds were intentional. His ears pricked forward. “Mat?”

Pressing forward (not so carefully), the wolf all but bumped into the friend he’d met down in the Hushed Meadows. He crooned quietly, licking underneath the larger yearling’s chin happily. His tail wiggled behind him as he greeted the other wolf. Thank goodness it was someone he knew!

“What are you doing out here?” he asked happily, mismatched eyes studying the (slightly) older animal. It wasn’t a very good place to hunt. It never occurred to the young Macieo that the other lone wolf might be lost, too. He hummed, glancing around – but he still couldn’t see much, and looked back at his friend. “What do you think is wrong with these woods? It’s like…it’s like a cloud is just sitting here.” It was like nothing he’d ever seen.

Mathuin

The trouble with the storm inside us grew
But I still had so much to give

"Mat?"

Oh, that was most certainly Felix. "Over here, Felix." He stared out into the fog unaware that the silver boy was already close. He felt a soft bump and green eyes spotted the fellow yearling. The large Whitebark's tail swayed eagerly, his head resting against Fee's own for a moment before pulling away. It was a relief, and surprise, that out of all the wolves or creatures he could have run into it was Felix.

"Explorin'." Mathuin said it with ease as he still looked around. "Been traveling with this friend I met in the east. We crossed the mountains and oh boy do I have a crazy story to tell you." A smile cracked his features as his gaze looked to Felix. He wondered if the silver male would appreciate the wild story of the rapids.

His head tipped softly as he contemplated what his almost age-mate had said. "I'm not sure. Don't think I've ever seen something like it." It wasn't that he had never seen fog before but this was way more intense than the ankle height misty layer he had encountered only a few times before. This was perhaps worse than Phantom Hollows too. "It's fog but like, really worse than normal fog." Way to go Sherlock.

Astrid & Mathuin
The Adventuring Peanuts

There is a moose carcass that has been scavenged by coyotes nearby. +15 Health

“It’s just so…thick.”

He kneaded his paws into the soft dirt – the ground was still there, at least. His tail continued to swish back and forth, but even that couldn’t do much to displace the dark, swirling mists. He could barely see his own feet. “Yeah. Definitely worse than normal fog.” Felix glanced up at the canopy of the woods, mouth twisting to one side. He could see the sun, if only barely. “It’s…it’s almost wet, too. Murky. Like swamp water…” Except they were on land. Felix almost wished he were back at home, if only so that he could ask his father.

But not really. Because he’d probably be stuck watching new babies, and this murky forest seemed way better than tiny puppies, anyways.

But more importantly, Mathuin was here! And he had a story. An exciting one, by the sounds of it. The silver wolf took a step backwards and fixed his mismatched eyes back on the older yearling, his tail beginning to wave again. “You said you had a story, right? Maybe you can share it while…we find our way out of here?” That sounded pretty good. Surely if they kept walking, the awful fog would end. Everything came to an end eventually.

The fog around them was indeed thick, dangerously so. He had to wonder if he'd ever find his way out of here. Mathuin was almost willing to bet a hare that he could walk around the same tree for hours and not even know. The thought shook him deeply even if he didn't show it.

"Murky." He murmured back. Swamp water wasn't something he was too familiar with but he assumed if Felix said it, it had to be true. Not to mention if swamp water was like this then he wanted nothing to do with it. He wondered if things lived here or if it was merely as dead as it seemed. The yearlings seemed to be mostly alone. If anything was out there in that thick fog it was silent.

His company dragged him from his thoughts. Mathuin nodded his head softly. "Yeah, it's pretty wild too." He laughed softly as he begins padding along, expecting Felix to follow. "So Astrid, my friend, and I were crossing the mountain. We were following this trail next to the rapids. Everything was going really smooth for a while." He glanced at Felix wondering if he was listening closely. "Now she's really nice and fun to be around but if I'm being honest I think she might be missing a few pebbles." Mathuin didn't blame her or even mind it that much but some of the things she did just seem so unexplainable.

"But then she jumps up on this rock that was in the middle of the rapids!" He exclaimed with an obviously baffled tone. The large yearling was still confused as to why she thought that was a good idea. "Proclaiming she was a mountain goat." He rolled his eyes but a smile tugged on his features. "You wouldn't believe what happened next, though."

"speech"

mathuin whitebark

TEMPLATE © NDA OF RCR & RPG-D

Astrid & Mathuin
The Adventuring Peanuts

“Okay, great!”

A story would make it much easier to get out of here. Not that Felix thought there would be any inspirational stories or life lessons or clues to be found in the tale – those were only in the adventures his father had made up when trying to get the Macieo trio to fall asleep – but it broke the silence and made it easier to think. If there was anything the yearling was good at (and truly, that was debatable at best), it was solving a problem with his mind instead of his muscle.

As they walked, he tipped his head now and then, humming softly as Mathuin went over the details. He dropped his black nose only inches away from the mud, mismatched eyes focused well on the ground before them – but he was a wolf of a few talents, and he was not ignoring his friend. Friend. He was certain they must be friends at this point. They wouldn’t have run into each other again otherwise.

“What happened next?” he asked quietly, one ear flicking in the older loner’s direction. He couldn’t take his eyes – or rather, his nose – away from his prize. “Did she fall in? Did you have to save her?”

sorry for the wait x.x @Felix

Mathuin let out a very soft growl as he stepped in a slick patch of mud, sliding the slightest bit (but still likely noticeable) before catching his footing. He was slightly upset with the gross texture that had crept up his leg from the sliding but he assumed things could have been much worse. The large yearling could have fallen down completely and been caked with this stuff!

His attention shifted from his dirty leg to Felix. Thick tail swayed easily behind the large Yearling. "How did you know?" He kindly bumped his friend who seemed rather interested in sniffing their way out of here. Fine by Mathuin, he had never been very take charge anyway. "She fell into the water. Now I'm not talking about some small creek or river. Oh, no." The Whitebark smirked and shook his head. "These were pretty wild rapids. I thought I would never catch her or even see her again but after running alongside the water for a bit I managed to snag her and bring her back up." His smile had turned into something a bit more bashful. Sure he was proud of saving his honey-coated friend but he wasn't so proud he was going to wave it around all over. He was just glad that she had been safe. Hopefully, she was still safe.

"How much further through this place you think?" Green eyes looked around the mysterious murky forest. "Place is kind of giving me the creeps."

Astrid & Mathuin
The Adventuring Peanuts

The story was getting better – much better. If Felix was being totally honest (and thankfully, nothing required him to speak every last thought that came to mind) he wasn’t expecting such an exciting tale. The sniffing wasn’t doing them much good – not more than just walking in a straight line, anyways – so he lifted his head, offering the older male his full attention as he continued his story. He wasn’t exactly sure if it were true – or not embellished, anyways – but quickly brushed that notion away. Mathuin wouldn’t lie to him. He had no reason too.

“Wow – you must be really strong if you call pull a wolf out of the water!” Felix smiled, ears pressed forward as he hummed. It was said with no heat or jealousy – only that small sense of awe he occasionally felt around his father. It was like Mat was a real adult, or something very close. His only regret was that he hadn’t seen the feat – but a story was almost as good. He might have added something else, if the scent of fresh air hadn’t caught his nose just then. Ears flipped forward and he broke into a trot with an excited bark – “Follow me!”

Freedom was only a few steps away!

@Mathuin -- I think you can end it with your post!

(This post was last modified: Jul 31, 2017, 08:59 PM by Felix.)