Grizzly Hollow ursa major

Something had been here once. Hidden by growth and time alone. Now it was raided by a young man, who bounded down trails once worn by families before his own. Hollows stale and empty. Old grooves in the earth hidden beneath fall foliage.

He was uncertain how much further east he would trek. The west had been a convincing sight, despite how devoid it had been of life. Perhaps he wanted that too, though. Unburdened by pack structures or strangers who would want too much of him.

All of this weighed heavy in his mind, and he was not focused on his path as he crashed through the woods on a run.

Eros knew it wasn't smart of him, but just waiting around for the monster to show his face again was driving the teen practically crazy. If they let him come to them, wouldn't it be too late again? If he could at least track the guy's scent, figure out where he was hunting or sleeping...

It brought him into Cedarwood, where the canopy was thicker and the trees taller. Pine needles occasionally stabbed between his toes and the their sharp aroma filled the air. Something cracked in the distance, and the tawny youth froze in place. His ears turned to and fro while his bright gaze searched for a source. Every little thing made him second-guess, could be assumed to have come from him. Something dark and wolfish caught his eye, and Eros' newly streamlined frame lowered to glide swiftly and hidden amongst the brush.

He attempted to take advantage of the wind, to remain completely unnoticed by the stranger he was chasing until the moment he burst from his cover to confront him. Teeth flashing and snarls pulsing viciously from his chest, he realized a little too late that this was not the wolf he was after.

(This post was last modified: Sep 30, 2022, 11:44 PM by Eros.)

When he looked back on this later, he would understand the greeting he had been given. It was not often that one crashed through the forest to be greeted by warmth when quickly approaching a stranger. Yet he had nothing but surprise in his chest as he desperately tried to halt himself.

Which resulted in an unceremonious thud into the earth. His chest meeting the ground first, hitting his chin and pinching his tongue between his teeth.

For a long, silent moment, he did not move. If the man had wanted to kill him for trespassing or simple aggressive nature, this would be the ideal time.

Only Elio desperately hoped he didn't.

Well, at least he'd successfully scared the intended target. Too bad he had two bright eyes and was far from scarred and ugly, so he promptly felt guilty as the surprise of his aggressive presence caused the stranger to practically wipe out. His angry noises died off and his ears folded down, eyes growing wide and soft with empathy.

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry," he hurried to say, taking a few steps back to give the other teen the room to recover. The switch from lethal guardian to earnest medic was subconscious and total. His front paws even danced subtly as he worried for the boy's poor chin.

"Are you okay?"

When he stood, he was greeted by the soft pooling of copper on the tip of his tongue. Not enough to alarm him, but he imagined the tip of his tongue would be swollen for a few days.

Sure was embarrassing, huh?

And the fellow boy was tall, an intimidating force moments ago turned into a gentle giant. "Uh-uh." He answered with a bit of daze, tongue pushed up against the back of his teeth. He shook loose his fur, sending a few stray pine needles aside. "I didn't...unknowingly pass a border, did I?" He laughed, a bit awkward as he offered a few slow steps backward.

(This post was last modified: Oct 01, 2022, 02:43 AM by Elio.)

The other wolf had a right to be rather put off and annoyed with Eros over the mishap, but so far the stranger was being pretty cool about the whole thing. Eros shook his head as the question was posed, a smile coming to his lips.

"Nope, nah," he assured, and then he sombered as he gave a slight explanation.

"I just, thought you were... someone else."

They didn't need to talk about him though, Eros assuming that what had been done to Inger and threatened unto the children was personal and wouldn't touch someone completely unconnected like the fellow teen before him.

"I'm Eros Valle, my packs further east where the leaves change shape. Are you new here, then?"

(This post was last modified: Oct 01, 2022, 03:25 AM by Eros.)

Someone else.

Maybe he should have been upset? Boyishly so. Nobody ever seemed happy to just see him. Although it wasn't as if they had any need to be. They didn't know him. Nobody here did.

Elio Rigel. And yeah, new as new can be. The west is, uh, pretty...dead? Maybe this guy knew about that. If something had happened to leave the place such a wasteland. Although did he really want somebody to gamble on reading his mind?

What's up with that, by the way? It's gorgeous. Just empty. His shoulders rolled, his tongue still ached and offered soft cusping around his words.

New as new can be, Elio answered, and soft, brief laughter fell inexplicably from Eros' maw at the phrasing. There was always something about boys his age that swiftly made him fond of them without proper purpose for it. At least, none that he'd been able to accurately attribute thus far. His features lightened again as this new acquaintance talked on, speaking of things he'd had not yet seen for himself, and his tail now kept a steady beat at his hind hocks.

"No clue, I've never been any further that way than this place. Was... was there rain?"

His head tilted slightly as he proffered the query, thinking perhaps the drought moved like storms over the land. Now that it passed them, perhaps it had gone West.

(This post was last modified: Oct 03, 2022, 12:51 AM by Eros.)

No further west than here. Huh. He figured (although he could smell it) that this boy hadn't been kicked from home, made to wander the world. Probably smart or kind parents. Ones who wouldn't make their son fend for himself on the cusp of winter.

Bitter? No, not at all.

Seems like it. Everything was alive, if that's what you're asking. He laughed a little boyishly, rolling his head to the side some. The place was gorgeous, like I said. I just didn't see another soul there. Except for one girl, around our age. He wondered what she was up to now. Where she was headed to next...

Maybe he could loop back around and try to see if she still lurked the Shroud.

Elio put that theory to bed quickly enough, and so Eros was left making a shrugging motion with his shoulders and ears. He was charmed all the same, equally enjoying the lilt of both his laughter and words. Gorgeous, he'd emphasized again and he found himself all the more eager for his and Seri's trip.

And another yearling? Eros' ears raised high and his peach eyes shone with interest. He wanted to meet more wolves their age! Peers who weren't related to either himself or his best friend especially, a marked change from his younger months.

"What was she doing, where'd she go?" he asked with a measure of excitement evident in his voice, before he remembered that he was the one who was supposed to be giving information.

"I guess this place was pretty empty too, like right before I was born. I don't think anyone knows why? What's it like where you're from?"