Edge Stone Pool they paved paradise

Blind Date RE for @Specter!

Chan hadn't meant to come here, didn't even recognize the place until he was at the edge of that stout pit. The water was frozen now, the verdant beryls and deep earth tones now all painted white. It looked cold and unwelcoming, nothing as it had been that day with @Flair. He frowned as he looked down at the jutting falls, solid and hazy in color, and dared to let his thoughts wander.

Everything just kept changing, and he was struggling to conjure a moment in his life when it wasn't so. Even when the world around him stilled, he had chosen to stay in motion, displacing himself from moments he hadn't known were rare. It had always felt like there was more ahead, years worth of time, and yet here he was. Nearing the end, with so little to show for it. Just a heart that kept breaking up into smaller and smaller pieces.

Was... this all his children had to look forward to as well?

Perhaps he was ungrateful.

It had become more and more apparent to Specter that life as a loner was a hard one. He had been keeping his hunger at bay as well as he could but despite his knowledge of hunting his frame had slowly been losing the layer of fat that it had gained in the warmer months. Loneliness was also becoming more prevalent during his time on his own. The pale man had been used to being surrounded by others until his escapade into the unknown, and at first the silence had been nice but now it had become almost oppressive.

Specter wandered around the edge of a pit, the frozen waterfalls an interesting sight. If it was warmer and the water flowing he was sure that it would have been an even nicer view. Yet, the thing that caught his attention the most was a tawny wolf peering down into the frozen pit.

Instantly the pale man felt a sort of eager anticipation at the fact that he could interact with someone, even if they didn't appreciate his presence intruding into their solitude. A soft bark left his lips to announce his presence as he padded closer, trying not to scare them. He kept his head lowered and tail wagging slightly as he approached.

An unexpected sound caused Chan to stand straighter, head, ears and eyes all lifting to find its source. A younger wolf was approaching, friendly in his expression and demeanor. He eased, neutral in his own manner. Chan tried to give a smile in welcome, but the corners of his mouth lifted only briefly before falling back into a flat line. Acting was too much effort anymore.

Still, he was not affronted by the stranger's impromptu appearance.

"Hello. Everything alright?"

The first matter to settle, for roguehood was evident upon the other's frame and within his scent.

(This post was last modified: Feb 18, 2024, 05:12 AM by Chan.)

Specter noted the smile even if it was quick to fall from the other's face. Regardless his own lips tugged up in response as he stopped a polite distance away.

"Everything's fine." Specter responded back easily, his pale frame still lowered slightly. Physically he was fine if not a bit skinny. It was more his mental state that needed a bit of assistance, and even the few words already spoken were helping.

"I was hoping you would open to some company? I've been on my own longer than I'm used to and the silence is getting to be a bit much." A request and an explanation all rolled into one for the other man to decide what to do with.

The stranger answered affirmatively, which Chan did find to be a relief. While he was still drawn to helping, the Falls already had enough problems and they didn't need him dragging home any more. Not that any of that would have been this wolf's fault...

"Sure," he answered with another short-lived smile to show his sincerity. His haunches lowered to the ground and what was left of his tail swept through the powdered snow at his flank. Chan motioned with his muzzle for the other to join him.

"Are you a traveler by choice?"

He would much rather talk about his company than his own life.

"I'm Chan, by the way."

Moving closer at the others motion Specter lay in the snow next to him. The cold of the ground a subtle reminder to him that though his fur was still thick he was still losing against nature as a loner.

"I'm Specter, it's a pleasure to meet you Chan." The pale man said with a slight dip of his head. His gaze flicking out to the pit in front of them before returning to his companion.

"Yes, I left my home a couple of months ago." Specter began with a slight smile on his face, his tail still wagging slightly. "I decided that leaving before my parents had me digging them a new den for spring was the best time. Probably should have realized leaving during winter wasn't the wisest, but a little late for that now."

His sudden companion took an even more relaxed position, enabling Chan to feel all the more at ease. He let out a light chuckle at Specter's answer, before thinking of his own situation. As far as he could see, Paradise Falls would likely not be experiencing the joys of new life this year, not with Jethro gone. He didn't see @Finley being so eager, and even if @Flair weren't sick, he himself was perfectly happy with the three children he currently had. There was no sense in bringing in more of his own, of running those risks all over again just to further split his attention and worries.

"The sitter life's not for you, huh?" he asked with a gentle lilt to his smile that suggested a touch of teasing. Chan remembered being young and striking out, convinced he was no good for @Nash, Staryn and Kajika's brood.

"You got an end-goal in mind?"

Specter let out a bark of laughter. "More like if I have more little ones biting my ears I hope that they would be mine or at the very least not be my nieces and nephews. My sisters enjoyed having me watch their children so they could have 'girl time'." He explained with a grin on his face as he remembered being attacked by little teeth and how he had played at being hurt. The pale man had found memories of the children he had watched grow.

"Not really. I left to see what was outside of my family and so far I have. Sooner rather than later I'll see if there's a pack willing to take me and maybe see what skills I can learn, but beyond that..." Specter trailed off with a shrug, and a shake of his head. Besides just seeing the sights and maybe honing his skills he didn't have an end goal in mind. Others might dream of starting their own pack or making a name for themself but so far Specter didn't have an interest in those things.

To the contrary of what Chan might have thought when the stranger first beckoned for his attention, Specter seemed to be doing rather well. Perhaps hungry and without companionship, but there so many worse things. He had family, he had freedom, he had positivity. The Eastfall's own tail was sweeping back and forth in a steady rhythm, pleased to see good in the world even with the darker thoughts of 'how long will that really last for him?' attempting to push in on his thoughts.

'Sooner rather than later...' Chan sort of felt that was his cue, though this was his first realization in that once he'd have three options to give a rogue in such a predicament. Now, he could only vouch for his own pack.

"That's a good place to be in, I'd say," he answered to the overall sentiment that Specter seemed to be communicating, a touch of wistfulness to his voice. Chan cherished many of his experiences, and he would take every step necessary to still have all three of his litters, but at this point in his life there was so much that he would change. Maybe if he had, things would have been better for everyone.

"Well, you've certainly got options. I live deeper in the redwoods, myself. Pack's called Paradise Falls, our ankle-biters are practically yearlings now. Got a couple wolves around your age, I believe, including my eldest daughter. You're welcome to visit, when exploration gets boring."

(This post was last modified: Mar 13, 2024, 01:39 AM by Chan.)

Specter smiled at Chan with a wave of his tail. "If your daughter is as kind as you are then I would likely get along with her just as well. Though maybe I should wait on poking around since your ankle biters have bigger teeth." His voice tipping into a joking tone at the end.

He took a seconds pause to process the rest of what his companion had said. "Paradise Falls? Sounds like it would be a nice place to live." Paradise usually meant that it was exactly that for the wolves that lived within, of course the name could be a sort of goal to. Specter could only guess at how it had received the name. There always seemed to be some sort of history,event, or place to connect the name of the pack to the area.

"You mentioned others though are there more packs around? I think there was one further south that I skimmed past a while back but I never interacted with any of them to catch the name." The pale man asked with a slight tip of his head as he frowned slightly, trying to remember where he had scented the pack.