Wild Rye Fields wHo

January 31st; Late afternoon, nearly sunset; Overcast Clouds; 55.4 ° F, 13 ° C.

Out along the borders, Chimera listlessly ambled about. He supposed he was meant to be doing something but he couldn't exactly pinpoint what that was. Things had changed over the past few weeks and he wasn't sure if this spell of boredom and aimlessness was the aftermath of it or because he was slowly coming into his own. He was just as capable at surviving the wilderness as an adult could, he was sure, but duties and a sense of loyalty to his family and pack kept him bound to the Fields. Then, there was the slow-burning realization that the world he had dreamed up in his head could very well be the one he lived in, was truly awake in...

There was so much more out there, beyond the grump uncles' hideaway and far away from the Fields and its den. He stopped dragging his dark paws along the edges of the pack borders to take in an eyeful of the vast landscape that made up the Lowlands. He could leave if he wanted to...

we can be blue as a neon light, singing them sad love songs all night
Niles is currently traveling with Chimera and may hop into this IC thread!

Changing course and moving further to the south had been a good call on Anwen's part. For a while she might have thought she would keep following the setting sun until she met the very place where the very lands underfoot met an endless expanse of water - the "ocean" as one rogue had called it in a story a very long time ago. But, the ocean was not meant for her to see, and in turn she saw other marvels rise and fall before her. Of the most recent ones, she admired the Monadnock from afar before carrying on to find a couple pools and places where there were barely any trees to guide her. Anwen made a face as she wove her way across the open lowlands where the frost still laid thick on the ground. Missing the evergreens of her homelands was beginning to have an affect on her but it was too late now to turn back and run home.

Ears back and head low, she focused on the ground for a time, navigating solely with her paws and where she put them. It wasn't until she thought she heard the familiar crunch of frozen snow that she finally looked up. She froze, green eyes immediately focused on a dark figure in the distance. He was looking at something; and, perhaps if she had made a little more noise, he might have seen her before she saw him.

The girl dared to inch closer, to leave as much as six or seven wolf-lengths between them before she spoke. "Hello?" she all but murmured in a question rather than a true salutation. She hoped he was friendly; but, even if he wasn't, it surely wouldn't be the first time she had dealt with accidentally startling someone or being met with teeth rather than a tail wag.

(This post was last modified: Feb 05, 2018, 09:51 PM by Anwen.)

For a time, he considered truly doing what his alter ego - The Red Hound - would have done (or, rather, had done for centuries and centuries). But, Chimera was not The Red Hound, perhaps not yet or maybe not ever. The boy had never left home or had even been out this far for this long before. Once or twice, he might have set a paw just past a recently-stamped territory marker, but he had been a little younger then and very much in his head. At that time, The Red Hound had probably done it as a bluff to all the invisible, imaginary creatures from the realms that laid just past Wild Rye Fields, just to show that he wasn't afraid of pressing boundaries. In truth, however, red-touched Avalon liked to stay somewhere familiar. Somewhere safe. So, when a strange, feminine voice harkened out just out of his peripheral vision, he gave a start.

His fur stood on end, his jaw went slack, and he turned about to lock eyes with someone who was definitely not someone from his pack. Foreign scents attacked his nostrils, smells and aromas that belonged to plants that were not common in the Fields. She was definitely not from here. He forced himself to exhale, to rid himself of the shocked breath that had sought refuge in his chest.

"You," he started to say, taking a half-step back as his gaze raked over her from nose to tail. She seemed friendly at least and, judging by the size of her, she very well might have been an age-mate. A playmate! When his tongue had glued itself to the roof of his mouth, Chimera didn't even notice, but when he pulled it loose, he wriggled his nose at her, "You can't be here." If he had been a proper guard - or, lo and behold, the ever-vigilant Hound - his tone might have been threatening, menacing, agitated. As it was, the way he spoke with a slight wag to his tail undeniably told the girl that he was a little suspicious but quite lonely and longing for companionship.

we can be blue as a neon light, singing them sad love songs all night
Niles is currently traveling with Chimera and may hop into this IC thread!

Shallow water has trapped several fish in a small pond. Hunt Opportunity

The boy, who had been just as large as she was, whirled about. Anwen flinched as he let out a single word, "You..." It was a probably a stupid thing to do, but she smiled at him in return. She had noticed his step backwards and merely wanted to show him that she was barely a threat. He seemed frozen for a time and in the meanwhile, she wagged her tail at him. Then:

"You can't be here."

A bit coy, she gave a lop-sided grin at him. This time, it was her turn to take a step back. "I'm sorry," she bowed her head. The boy didn't seem to have an intimidating bone in his body, at least, not that she had seen thus far. Her ears - which had come forward from undeniable curiosity - came back, making certain her apology had been received as completely genuine. "I don't mean to trespass."

Another coy smile. "Was just passing through and was wondering just what you were, um... what you were looking at..."

So much for being just like dad, the paragon of the ever-watchful guard-king of his lands. The girl saw right through him. She wasn't scared of him at all. Pssshhhh... He scowled at himself and he had to look away. Maybe he could ignore her if he tried... but, then where would he be? Still lonesome and by himself with nothing but the heart of winter to keep him company with the silent fields and frostbitten chills. At least with her, there was the possibility of conversation - one that was not carried out in his head with his imaginary friends.

Even if she had apologized and was truly sorry for coming this close to the Avalons' claimed territory, Chimera still would not turn an ear to her. Frankly, he had no idea how he was meant to meet others at the borders. He had never seen anyone welcome anyone else in... not since a majority of the pack had left.

"Was just passing through and was wondering just what you were, um... what you were looking at..." she went on.

The boy's nose twitched, his yellow eyes unable to keep away from her now. "Nothing," he retorted, taking one step to the side as if the motion were enough to keep him from fidgeting. "I was thinking." He sealed his lips, looking over her again with her white coat and green eyes. Yep, she was a stranger... but that didn't mean that he had to be unkind. After all, maybe she was just as nice as Neko. His brow quirked. He was going to test her.

"Well," he recovered, slowly turning about to face the west and take a seat in the snow. "Nothing too interesting, but... have you ever taken a moment to see the sun set? Ever wondered why it never turns green if the sky turns all sorts of other colors? Like, pink... an' orange... yellow and purple?"

we can be blue as a neon light, singing them sad love songs all night
Niles is currently traveling with Chimera and may hop into this IC thread!

He had clearly been disturbed and Anwen was nearly ready to just scamper off into the distance and leave him alone when he made an attempt to salvage their poor beginning of a meet-cute. Her ears returned to pointing skyward, her eyes searching his body for an unspoken invitation to join him. He still did not look at her and she tilted her head to one side. It was clear that he didn't want her to leave but it seemed that he didn't want anything to do with her. On top of all that, he had said before that she was not supposed to be here.

She quietly came to sit next to him. Another personal dare on her part. She was in striking distance at this point and it was all on her if she ended up in his teeth a few moments from now. After settling down on her haunches and taking care to glance over at him before following his gaze out across the Lowlands, she squinted at his words. It was a strange musing but she would take it.

"I have," she answered without looking back at the boy. "And, I don't wonder. I have seen the sky turn green once before. Maybe not like it normally would turn when it rises and sets, but I've seen the colors dance across the sky once." Being only a wolf, Anwen had not been aware of the proper name for the Aurora Borealis or the Northern Lights, and she had seen it occur just once, some months ago (in mid-November at the start of the viewing season).

"It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen," she added, imagining the ethereal lights flowing across the night sky. "Like seeing the reflection of changing leaves in a river but so much more." Anwen still smiled at the rogue boy, wondering now what he thought of it all and hoping he was not going to take her as a liar. "Surely you've seen it before? Don't tell me you've never stayed up past your bedtime..." All cubs did it at some point... She had.

(This post was last modified: Feb 06, 2018, 12:41 AM by Anwen.)

The moment she had said that she had seen the sky turn green, Chimera shot her a look of disbelief. Though, little by little as she gave him a sentence that painted the sky before him an array of vibrant colors, his expression softened and he wondered now if she was playing, storytelling the way Neko had with him these past few months. He swallowed. What would the Red Hound do? She could be a traveling companion! Maybe... Maybe for life! He felt like he was running around in his head at a zillion miles an hour, round and round and round and round...

"Surely you've seen it before?" she asked. Don't tell me you've never stayed up past your bedtime..."

To this, Chimera shook his head. He had always been, well, good. All his desires and wants and talk about being some sort of old, rebellious badass - those things had been internal, in his head. "No," he shrugged. Truthfully, he spent all his daylight hours romping about on some adventure, exhausting every bit of energy so that he was ready for bed by nightfall. "Nighttime is for sleeping." He said this as if it were some sort of hard fact. "Can never be sure what goes bump in the dark, what might eat you up, or snatch you away."

we can be blue as a neon light, singing them sad love songs all night
Niles is currently traveling with Chimera and may hop into this IC thread!

The boy had never seen the night lights before, but Anwen wasn't about to hold it against him. It wasn't like it happened every single night - and, if it did, that would have made for a totally different story than the one unraveling right now. Nighttime was for sleeping, he had said, and to this she had to straight up giggle, most especially for the cub-like statement about not knowing what lurked in the after-dark. She met his incredulous gaze with a simper. He was definitely younger; but, perhaps, not by too many moons.

"True," she agreed. "But, should try it sometime. Have you ever seen a shooting star? Firefly glow? A full moon? A crescent moon?" Sure, it was probably a lot to take in, but there was something about her newfound companion that told her he probably would like to if given the chance. Then, if that were the case, some introductions were in order. Maybe he would warm up some. "I'm Anwen; and, where I come from, we enjoy the nights just as much as we do the daytime." She had to stifle another laugh, "Also not sure if you've noticed, but you're a wolf. I don't think anything could snatch you away that easily."

(This post was last modified: Feb 06, 2018, 09:47 PM by Anwen.)

As most cubs - and, boys - would react, Chimera's snout wrinkled up along one side as the girl giggled at him. Actually tittered. The fur at the back of his neck stood up. He wasn't going to stand for being made fun of; but, then, she questioned him further. A shooting star? Fire-fly glow? What kind of moons? At this point the Avalon was pretty sure her imagination easily rivaled his.

At a loss for words, he merely glowered at her, looking as if she had bested him at something that he was sure he was the best at. In all truth, though, he believed that she did. Sure, he had seen the moon before, most especially when it hung faintly in the sky as the sun was rising, but how she described them was well beyond him. Full? Crescent? More like: Ridiculous. He would believe her when he saw these things for himself.

His teeth were on the edge of being shown but he steeled himself. It wasn't like she was offending him, really; she was just starting to get somewhat annoying. As she relayed her name and a little bit about where she had hailed from, he hummed in reply, as if unimpressed. "Well," he started again, unsure this time how to recover. "Of course I'm a wolf... an' so are you." Boy, this thing about her constantly tripping him up was getting old quick.

He stood up and backed up even further so that he could see her fully before him. "Tell you what, meet me here a few evenings from now. You can show me some of those things then." And, that, Chimera decided was how The Red Hound would handle himself.

we can be blue as a neon light, singing them sad love songs all night
Niles is currently traveling with Chimera and may hop into this IC thread!