Sacred Grove all i've seen for forty nights

The forest swallowed him whole.

Every which way he looked, it was endless forestry. Occasionally marked by stones and winding streams, the great meadows and plains had erupted with timber older than he would ever be, and much taller as well. For one less acquainted with the relative safety that a bucolic woodland provided, it may have seemed a nightmare. But for Cajun, it spoke volumes of familiarity even when the paths were far from familiar.

His mother would have loved this place, he thought. Moss grew rampant, a surge of greenery in an otherwise early spring where cooler weather had yet to tempt out flowery buds and leaves. Even today the sun was masked behind thick clouds that rolled and toiled ever upwards over the mountain range. He had caressed a path along them, his trail blazed and dotted in those very foothills that held history tight like lingering snow in the shadows.

And it was hardly midday, but his tongue lolled from his mouth as he paused along a rise. More forest as far as the eye could see, nothing out of place—not that he could sense anyway—and few birds to sing in crisscrossing boughs overhead. The scents on the wind were muddied and damp, indistinguishable between those coming and going but he was sure they did. He was sure he would find someone else out to take advantage of a fair day, and set off once again to trail the scents tousled by the winds.

(This post was last modified: Apr 12, 2018, 02:31 AM by Cajun. Edit Reason: fixing typos well after the fact oops )

@Cajun

While sacred Grove was not even close to actual territory of Charred Ash Draw, Garmir still occasionally patrolled this far. With recent disappearance of @Cannon he tended to do this more often, perhaps in the hopes of catching the young rebel or finding any clue as to where he might have gone. Garmir had taken part of the blame for allowing the young Tainn run away like that and he often wondered had he become softer and less efficient while spending time with his new pack.

These woods were already Familiar to the earthen male and Garmir rather enjoyed the eerie atmosphere it had, regardless of season. This was his quiet place, his own little private hideout and the thickest and darkest parts of Sacred Grove were where he often settled down to just be alone and think.

Oh, but today the woods already had another guest - someone Garmir wasn't familiar with. There had been worrying amount of traffic in recent days and if this continued, the earthen male would soon have to find himself new place to hide. The scent wasn't particularly noteworthy and it was mixed with all the flavors of changing season, making it harder to pick any individual traits beyond the obvious. The stranger was male, quite young. Propably healthy and so on so on. Alright. He should check it. After all Grove was less than Day's travel away from Charred ash Draw and Garmir was on 'patrol'

With a bit of grumble and already angry looking face, the pack wolf made his presence known. He approached the direction of where the scent was supposedly coming from and he made no real effort to be stealthy about it. If he was particularly lucky, the young stranger would scoot before Garmir would have to go through the effort of introducing himself.

All my characters are available for spree anytime with anyone. Just poke in slack or send PM!

As time passed and he made his headway through, he entertained the thoughts if what he might uncover. Though grown in some senses, he was very much the little boy who let his imagination run wild; the forest was fraught with stages to set his scene and they worried away at what sort of things he brought to life. He climbed atop a fallen log and crossed it carefully, his mind's eye illustrating a perilous trek on some windswept cliff's edge into, and over, the great unknown.

However the moment he became aware he was no longer alone, the illustrated moment was torn away to reality. From the tangled upend of the tree, Cajun peered through its rotting roots with interest writ plain on his features. His red-backed ears turned this way and that, listening for the sound that had lent him pause in the first place, and found nothing. At first. Not unlike how his father had surveyed lands before, the young Ostrega panned his gilded gaze over his varied surroundings; baited by anticipation he almost let a shaky breath out when he spied a figure moving. It was a wolf.

"Hey!" he called, perhaps a bit too triumphantly. His tail waved immediately; how long had it been since he had found someone else? A day or two of ranging that had led him firmly here no doubt and unquestionably the longest he had been silent in ages.

"Heeeeey," he started again, this time as he came down roughly from the log. "What's this place all about huh? It's so quiet," and he paused as realization struck, "are you hunting?" This time, he asked sotto voce, as though his yelling not five seconds before hadn't scared anything away in earshot.

OOC: S - for bad language.
Shiddy, tired post. Sorry for quality. xD)

@Cajun

Hey fucking hey. The young man sure was excited to see stranger approaching for what it seemed like from his body language and voice. The boy's shouts were almost amplified by the silence of the forest they dwelled in and Garmir's ears perked in annoyance every time he heard a shouth. Heeeeey!

Garmir muttered in return, with far less excited voice; "Hey.." while he approached the young'un. He moved in close, far closer than what personal space meant for most and his body language remained minimal to a point it was impossible to tell what was he planning. Garmir's tail did not wave in response, but it did not display hostility either - instead remaining completely still behind him. His fur wasn't standing nor was he snarling or growling to the young man. He did - obviously - seem little annoyed from how his green eyes were slit and how his ears remained behind as if too much noice might be hurtful to him. He murmured again in response to the question that had been presented. "No I am not hunting. This is my quiet place. And you are making it very noicy"

Garmir remained face to face with the youngster but he did not touch him in any way. He simply stared and waited for reply, hopefully spoken in whispers next. Sacred Grove was quiet enough that even whisper felt almost like normal speech.

(This post was last modified: Apr 13, 2018, 12:33 AM by Garmir.)

All my characters are available for spree anytime with anyone. Just poke in slack or send PM!

Man, this guy didn't seem half as thrilled to have company as Cajun was. But the social cues were caught and gradually the boy brought himself to still, especially when his older counterpart came to meet him face to face. The yearling balked, meeting the green of his gaze briefly before deferring; the unenthused replies didn't net him much encouragement either and to the ground went his gaze. He was, apparently, clearly, making a scene when there was no need to be.

"Oh, um, sorry about that then," he said as his ears fanned back. His voice stayed quiet, respectful. The cold ground seemed to glower too and he redirected his gaze to the woods around him. Uncomfortable enough by the closeness between them, he didn't turn away; something about it felt right enough to stay there. Children scattered after all, and Cajun didn't believe he was that much of a child anymore.

He spoke again on the next breath, determined to power through: "I got excited when I saw you is all. I mean it's been a while since I actually saw another wolf that wasn't way, way out there." A smile then emboldened his resolve. "But uh, I can go on my way if you want. No big deal," because the last thing he wanted was trouble. He was too far from home to go running back with his tail tucked if things went south now.

The boy was well enough mannered even if little shouty. Garmir could let that pass, even if it annoyed him. When apology was presented the pack wolf merely grumbled and looked away, although remaining on guard in case the young'un would try anything stupid. So he was excited to see Garmir? What so exciting could there be in him? Clearly this boy had never had single bad encounter with a stranger - lest he would have been more careful. Garmir almost wanted to give him one - not out of malice but to give him important life lesson for later on in his journeys. Strangers could never be trusted, never this blindly. Sadly, @Treyah would not permit such a things and so Garmir was left powerless.. unless.

A bit of smile formed on the earthen male's face and his gaze turned back on the young'un. As the adventurer offered to leave, Garmir cut in short, almost circling behind him. "No, no, not yet. I have a question for you if you don't mind me asking." His voice was pleasant enough all of sudden even if it seemed little forced. Garmir even made the effort to wave his tail behind im to appear more friendly, even if that was not what he thruly felt right now. What could be reason for such a mood switch all of sudden?

"Tell me boy. Do you believe in destiny?"

(This post was last modified: Apr 14, 2018, 10:02 PM by Garmir.)

All my characters are available for spree anytime with anyone. Just poke in slack or send PM!

When the wolf seemed to almost dip behind him, Cajun's gaze left the ground to follow where he went. It was then that he picked up on the numerous scars that littered his counterpart's frame, and felt the first trickle of uncertainty enter his being. His first inquery almost net a response before the fellow went on; it had been rhetorical after all—it would not have mattered if Cajun did not care to answer a question after all. More off putting was the happy sway of his tail as he progressed into his real question, and it stopped the rise of his hackles.

The question befuddled Cajun. His brow furrowed.

"Destiny? I don't really know. I suppose it could be, but you'd have to question if we're able to make our own decisions." He now truly wished he could have been saved by his mother—philosophy was more her forte than her son. But he could not, and instead canted his head as though some tidbit would roll forward to draw better answers and responses.

"I think we're able to make our own decisions for sure, but we should also be willing to appease the gods too," and that sounded something like what his druid of a mother would say. Less refined, of course. "Actions determine our path; if you do good then good should come along. Maybe not always but on the whole then it's a good path... ah, maybe I going off topic now though. It's a good question — do you believe in it?"

(This post was last modified: Apr 15, 2018, 10:57 PM by Cajun. Edit Reason: markups went weird ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

OOC: We got the coyote thing. Do you wish to play it or do you want to skip it? Our thread begin before the event so we can simply ignore it if you wish. ^^
@Cajun

Garmir's question perhaps gave him little bit more than what he had asked from the young'un but he listened regardless. Amazingly the boy failed to give Garmir answer and this left the earthen male chuckling. There were valid points to consider, for instance question of choice. If there was destiny then was thruly any decision Garmir ever made his own or was he only acting upon role that had been decided upon him long before he was even born? Such idea would have been terrifying, but good for Garmir was that he did not believe in such thing as.. destiny. Hence his reply;

"Yes, of course my friend I believe in destiny. You and I were meant to meet here. You were meant to irritate me with your yelling and whatever follows also follows because it must if we wish to reach next chapter of our story. Would you like to know what it is?" Garmir replied, now adopting a role of fanatic believer in otherworldy things and gods. He moved gracefully around the young boy, trying to keep his act and role together as he pretty much spewed nonsense out of his ass.

(This post was last modified: Apr 17, 2018, 12:53 AM by Garmir.)

All my characters are available for spree anytime with anyone. Just poke in slack or send PM!

There is a deer carcass being picked over by three coyotes. They spot you and become territorial of their kill.

I say we go for it since it's honestly too good of a coincidence for me to pass up!

---

The circle his counterpart made was complete by the time his words had left his mouth. There was a pang of guilt that rose up in Cajun—he hadn't meant to be irritating—that was soon overrode by the bud and bloom of an ostensible question that struck him as, well, foreboding. But the best he could do was take notice of those red flags flying, for even the most green of travelers still held fast to curiosity.

He was about to open his mouth and reply when another figure slipped from behind the trees. Forget the notion that maybe his yelling had scared off the prey; it was evident he had piqued the curiosity of a coyote. But it did not come alone and at its heels followed two more, the grisly evidence they had been eating clear as day in comparison to their rather bleak surroundings. They did not seem the conversational sort, let alone friendly. It was important to note then a decision was made in which threat was more important to assess.

His hackles prickled visibly at their growls.

"Uh," he started, "does it involve them?"

It was an eerie coincidence.

(This post was last modified: Apr 19, 2018, 09:46 PM by Cajun.)