Stonewatch Timbers First steps into the new wolrd

Quote:OOC comment: A private thread for me and @Blackmoore . The first plot for Sharan, taking place right after she had come to the lands of Relic Lore.

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Sharan did not remember for how long she has been wandering, and to be honest, she wasn't even sure if she wanted to remember. It was months at least, months since she left her stillborn and her deceased mate together, the family she seemed to be forbidden to have by the fate itself. They were free though, free from the ailments of the body and would, free from the cold, unwelcoming world she was bound to still remain part of. She was weak, she was weary and so numb to the point of not feeling hunger and weariness whatsoever. There was only the journey and the steady sound of her steps, the everpresent feeling of soil under her paws and the smell of the forest around her.
There was no mistaking it for anything else: it had to be the very same forest she had glimpsed days ago while walking forward - the green line of lush trees, once so small and miniscule, now was a whole new world around her, filled with dozens of sounds and thousands of smells and fragrances she should be happy to know. Her nose worked hard, but her brain did not work fast enough to record and analyze all the fragrances surrounding her.

Despite all the weariness of the body she felt quite.. Happy? Whole? She didn't feel that way for a long time and it unsettled her a bit. Was she so tired she was already slipping? Is this how she is supposed to feel, or is it how a dying wolf feels when there is no coming back? No, there was no way she was about to surrender. She had to continue, if not for her own sake, then for the family she had. She would live a life for each of her pups and for Malakai as well.
She stopped, feeling the soft moss under her pawpads. The feeling was soothing, for her feet were burning from walking and exhaustion. She forced herself to focus here wind-battered eyesight and take a few keen glances around in order to find a safe place to rest. And there it was, a small space under an almost-uprooted tree filled with moss and plant debris, too modest to be called a den, and yet better than laying in open space and remaining easy to be found by any who would chance to pass by and be a potential threat.

Sharan made a few steps toward the improvised den and examined it, removing all the unwanted pieces of wood, stones and other things, leaving the place filled with no more than leaves, tufts of grass and pillows of thick, soft moss she could rest on and feel comfortable. She paid no attention to the moist rumbling in her stomach or her parched tongue; these would have to wait until she had her sleep and well deserved rest. She wouldn't be able to keep much food down anyway, until the feeling of constant movement left her and let her recuperate. She would need to drink however, and fast, or her strength would leave her altogether.
Now, all was left under the uprooted tree were tufts of plants and moss, pieces of her gray mane visible here and there, and her pale blue eyes, partially closed, but soon to fall asleep. It took her unaware, and soon the air was filled with her soft snores, and the she-wolf was left on the mercy of anyone visiting this land.

(This post was last modified: Sep 17, 2017, 01:32 PM by Sharan.)

A life of a vagabond has been slowly exhausting the dark male. Not physically, though it was hard to claim he'd feasted everyday like he did back in his homepack, but mentally rather. Was he getting homesick? No, not really. It wasn't either that vagrant's life did not had things going for it. After all, Blackmoore had greatly enjoyed the freedoms it offered. Being able to roam the lands wherever it strikes your fancy. Meet some people along the way you'd would otherwise wouldn't meet in a lifetime - or perhaps saw them on battlefield otherwise. The world is full of conflicting people and ideas, and being able to learn about some of them could be a significant experience for anybody, including himself. Nomads life however, didn't seem exactly suiting for stabilization. Holding on to people one could call family, would it be by blood or not. Packs after all, rarely do travel everyday all year round. Most of them stay within the familiar, places that offer more than food and shelter.

It had struck Blackmoore that he had been thinking about these things more often by a day. It was hard to say why, after all he hadn't exactly found a place, neither people, which would struck him with desire to stay exactly. In other words, the male haven't yet found it's place in this world. Place he'd would like to call home and invest in. Hopefully start a family too. Yet his thoughts were coming back to these matters more and more, and at this point his only conclusion about "why it's that" could be only one. Winter. It is coming after all, and despite his youth Blackmoore wasn't stupid. Nor "that brave" to issue an challenge to the elements and go into a blizzard alone. No, he'd rather not do that. And that was a reason for him to stop going northwards as of late, and instead focus on what he'd got to know from others along his travels. Namely packs of course, but it wasn't like he had a map with markers placed on it. Hell, the male didn't even had one without those! All he had was a rough draw of the land from what he'd cartographed within his mind. And it wasn't preventing him from getting lost occasionally. Just like today...

The sun was about to go down behind the horizon when Blackmoore have finally re-tracked his steps back to the familiar trails that the male had navigated in the past days. His mouth was parched after a whole day of running around aimlessly, going uphills and around the steep crags that dotted the land around him. Stonewatch Timbers they called it, and the male could sarcastically assure anybody about the "stone" part of the name right now if asked. After all, he'd lost his way thanks to a one stony ravine that just popped out of the blue on his path and didn't allowed to be bypassed for a quite a while. Having that in mind, perhaps it should be expected that his movements would appear rushed, as the male was following down the trail to a small stream along the way. Not yet running, but still making quite a fuss by stirring the golden leaves and snapping up twigs under his path. Call him careless but the dark male haven't met anybody for a past few days, and he was thirsty indeed...

(This post was last modified: Oct 25, 2017, 07:52 AM by Blackmoore.)

The she-wolf was basking in sunlight, surrounded by the fragrances of crushed berries, moist moss and fresh dandelions. The sky was a beautiful shade of blue, with not even a single cloud to obscure the sun and spoil the day. It was perfect. Sharan hadn't felt quite so well for such a long time it was hard to describe how happy she was with the present situation. She didn't even care about the fact her grey, usually clean fur was probably covered in all sorts of leaf debris and pieces of ground at this very moment. No, not even that would spoil the day.
Or would it? Suddently, the gray female felt a cold drop on the top of her nose, and forced open her eyes. The sky was as clean as before, but the trees seemed.. Unusual? She lacked the better word to describe it. It felt as if they were leaning on her, observing her from above, judging, threatening... She rolled back onto her belly and stood up, shaking the debris away from her fur and thick mane. That was not rain, she was sure.
And again, another drop, and then another.

She felt a slight move under her feet, and felt alarmed. Something was living beneath her, coiling, shaking, ready to snap. The ground began to shake up and down, and suddenly she understood this was the reason for waterdrops falling onto her - they must have been the droplets of condensation, collected high among the canopies, and shaken off by the sudden, unnatural movements of the ground.
The female coiled, not knowing what to do, as the forest began to shake more and more, the trees, bushes and plants singing a peculiar song and filling the air with rustling sounds. Soon, the stir of the plants filled the air so much there was little place for anything else, to the point of Sharan not being able to hear her own thoughts, heartbeat or breath. It sickened and frightened her.

And as the noise began unbearable, the plants, bushes and trees touching her, raking her skin with sinister leaves, tearing her fur and hitting her delicate nose, ears and eyes...

Sharan woke up to the sound of someone running through the bushes just a few metres from her.

She moved up with a jolt, mouth ajar and eyes opened wide, still convinced the world was collapsing around her. A few panic - filled gazes later she was finally able to calm herself enough to focus her light blue pupils on the silhouette that just darted so close to her resting place. She noticed a tuft of dark brown, black and perhaps auburn fur, and trotted a few steps after the canine.
The she-wolf was just about to whine how he had startled her and disturbed her sleep, but that was not what an adult female should do, lest she embarassed herself. Asking the wolf about his or her intentions was no good idea either, since it was pretty much obvious the creature was just a bypasser, entirely unaware of her existence and whereabouts.. up until now. She's made such a ruckus waking up, it was impossible she wasn't heard.

And as if to contradict her feeling of being disturbed and even wronged to a certain point, she couldn't help but feel curious about the unknown creature. What was hi chasing after? Prey? Water? Carcass? Sharan's stomach yet again gave away soft rumble, reminding her of its long emptiness. She should eat something, and fast, but before that, she needed water. The miserable amounts of moisture she had drunk lately were a joke compared to a nice, cold puddle, or better yet, a clean, ice-cold stream. Yes, that was something worth being torn away from a pleasant dream.

She decided to follow the culprit, but refrained from running or even trotting after the wolf. She was still quite tired, and the stiffness of her muscles after her nap made things even worse. She had to walk slowly. Luckily, her sense of smell was keen and she would always feel confident while depending on it.

Yet she had not been heard. At least initially, as the rustle of leaves and snapped twigs under his paws obscured her presence for a quite while. The layer of the brown and golden leaves was quite deep at places, making anybody to appear like floating if they've traveled through it with a high enough pace. Which Blackmoore did, finding a little joy in scattering heaps of leaves around - or better - into the air if a breeze was present among the trees on his path. At least until his ears have twitched visibly upon discovering a familiar sound from the background. Sound he'd been searching for, navigating on those still pretty much unknown trails to reach it.

Sound of flowing water.

It made him stop, to inspect the direction from which it was coming from.  And that's when the male have realized that he's not so alone out here as he'd previously thought. A twig snapped, few leaves rustled by paws or perhaps raised into the air and thrown against one's body. There was honestly not much pointing out to the presence of someone else but one's senses go sharp or paranoid after a long time of solitude. Perhaps a little of both maybe. It wasn't hard to say on which end of the spektrum Blackmoore was at currently, but then - did it truly mater anyway? There was someone out there and for a moment that realization battled his immense thirst, but not for long.

Reluctantly, Blackmoore have turned away from his trail and suspected stalker. Whomever it would be, the male had more urgent issues on the agenda. This time however, the male would pace himself more calmly, at least for the beginning, in effort to turn in a right direction towards the stream he'd been seeking for. It was close. So close that the dark male wouldn't be able to hold himself for too long, and would lunge forward towards the flowing water once his eyes would spot the cascading droplets from one of the rocks nestled by an old tree.

(This post was last modified: Dec 06, 2017, 05:54 PM by Blackmoore.)

The grey female continued her pursuit, ever alarmed and ready to flee, or at least to the degree her body would permit her to. The adrenaline rush she had felt just a few minutes ago was slowly stopping, only leaving traces of her previous vigilance. Soon, even that would become a fleeting memory and her weariness and famine would show up again. As soon as she realized that she frowned, thinking how to counter the poor situation she had still been in.

She could go back to the improvised den and rest more, wasting precious hours of time during which she could try and find some carcass to replenish herself, maybe even a few droplets of stale water to drink - she wouldn't be picky, not at this time, not in this state.

Or she could follow the creature. Having already been raised from sleep she chose the latter, still being lead by the strong curiousity she had presented ever since she was born to this world. The urge to know and learn has always given her certain profits, after all, had she not pursued the knowledge she would not have become the medic she was.

A poor medic at that - she thought - else I would have healed myself much earlier. Else I would have had a collection of herbs just in case I needed them. And else they would not be dead.

Resigned about the unfortunate past she followed, hoping that perhaps meeting the stranger would improve her fate, or her knowledge of the land. Any of the two would serve.

She kept following, more clumsily by the second, as her tiredness started again coming back to her. It would be a miracle if she hadn't made herself heard by this time. And as the foreign footsteps stopped, she knew she was exposed. Strangely, no reply or any sound from the other wolf followed, and in a moment the footsteps started to again increase the distance, this time their owner being wary of her existence and the fact she kept walking behind him or her for a while.

That however, was more fortunate for her than her movements never being heared. That way she made her intentions more obvious - since had she had ill will toward the wolf, she would have kept her stealth. With that in mind she followed, caring much less whether her steps might be overheard or not. Something told her that she -should- follow, and get mind kept forcing her to believe this was, in fact, a good idea. She risked, yes, but in a hope of gaining more than an idle chatter.

Cold water had gave him quite pleasurable sensation once the male had dipped his snout into it for the first time. It tasted like... life he'd would say, while quenching his thirst with hurried laps of his tongue. It was ice cold almost, but fresh and crystal clear. His deeply green eyes had quickly focused on a few small fish that scattered away with his appearance here upon the shore. Looking at them sporadically, the male could only huff sadly through his nose, as his eyes told him that they were definitely too small to justify any energy burnout that the male would have to make to catch them.

Pity.

His ears kept vigil though, while their owner was sating himself with the so needed fluids. Twitching slightly, they listened into the forest around him. It didn't took them long to pick up the faint sounds of someone whom he'd heard before on his way here. Few broken twigs, a rustle from shrubbery brushing long someone's flank... The male however didn't felt as alarmed as he'd was before. All thanks to the fact he'd managed to quench his thirst at last, rising his spirits and most likely the odds for him if things were to go dire. He doubted that they would though, as the stranger didn't seem to try hide themselves much. Or perhaps they weren't able to do so - that thought however wasn't something that crossed his mind at the moment.

The sound of pawsteps was getting clearer by a moment however, while the male was pondering upon what he'd should do with that fact. Finally, Blackmoore have decided to cross the stream onto the other side in order to lay upon a fallen tree-trunk that littered the other bank of the creek. He was going to wait on it till his eyes would reveal the stranger that followed him. "Over here stranger." - He'd would say calmly, once his eyes would made him sure that the grey dot was indeed an another wolf. For now Blackmoore was going to keep poker face until he'd made sure there's no danger lurking behind this encounter...

She was still moving forward, now quite adamant in her decision - besides, it was already too late to turn away and flee to the improvised den. The effort Sharan had put into following the stranger had to be recompensated with something - a good long drink of fresh, cold water or perhaps a meal. And her ears and senses were now one hundred percent sure: there was a river not too far, a beautiful ribbon of flowing water, no doubt.
{b}[/b]
Her steps led her to the border of the forest, where thin trees gave way to smaller bushes, and those in turn gave way to grass and herbs accompanying the stream. The ground had a pleasant feel under her paws: a soft bed of moss, grass and muddy ground. Such a relief to her pawpads. She savoured the sensation for a bit more until her ears pricked up, alarmed by a foreign sound. The stranger was talking to her.

Sharan realized she must have seemed like a grey figure entangled in green, and then in brown as well as she made her way to the small river, the sounds and smells so tempting it was all she could do not to run and drink to her fullest. Courtesies must be observed though.

Have no fear - she rasped - I bear no ill will, even if you did disturb my sleep. Thanks to you, I managed to find this stream.

She made a few steps, approaching the small river, then bent to drink. She felt her muscles tighten so much she had to sit and then lean in order to reach the cold liquid with her tongue and start drinking. Her thirst was like a forest ablaze, but she did all she could to keep her composure and drink slowly. It would not do to catch a cold now.

It took a few long minutes until she finally felt her thirst subsiding and managed to lift her head up.

You were careless - she noticed - what if it was a bear den you treaded on? - would the stranger feel insulted because of her remark? Maybe. Possibly. But she had seen to many creatures that sufferen an encounter with a bear. Patching them um was tedious at best, if there was anything left to patch up, that is.

The male have almost chuckled, hearing the first call from the stranger. How could he be scared right now, having a small stream between himself, not to mention a dozen of bushes between himself and a woman? The male would have jumped off the trunk and either ran or confront anyone who'd would want to rush him on his elevated position. In another words, he wasn't worried even the slightest. If anything, the male's curiosity was getting better off him right now - after all he did not have seen anyone for quite a while now, while traveling these outlandish landscapes. Blackmoore could already tell that he's going to be content with this stranger crashing the usual monotony of the past week that was getting better off him. And as he looked closer, in response to the stranger's call - the male have finally realized he'd found a woman at that. Or perhaps she'd had found him?

"Have no fear, I bear no ill will, even if you did disturb my sleep. Thanks to you, I managed to find this stream."

The male have almost replied with "You're welcome" to that, yet her hoarse voice had caused him to stay silent. Tilting his head slightly, the male observed as the woman walked towards the stream. His eyes easily spotted the general weariness in her posture as well in her ungraceful moves. Not to mention that he'd gave her coat an inspecting look, as the female before him rushed in for a drink. It didn't took him long to conclude her overall state with one word. Pitiful. As that's how was she looking right now.

"You were careless, what if it was a bear den you treaded on? "

The question have took him by surprise a little bit, as the man was still gazing upon the mess of a woman before him. It took him a second to reply, during which time Blackmoore have risen on his haunches before stepping off the fallen tree-trunk straight onto the bank of the stream opposite to hers. The dark male have mused over it, before smiling as he decided to return the question right back at her. "What about you?" He would begun with a calm voice before setting his paws in motion towards the stream in front of her. He moved slowly, as his deep green eyes kept looking at her as he continued: "You look ragged. Exhausted." His tone growing a little sharp on the edges as he'd said so while dipping in the stream to his ankles as the dark male kept moving. "Like you didn't ate in a while." The stream wasn't deep by any stretch of imagination, but deep enough however to mask his height for a few more seconds before the male set up his front paws on the other shore, just in front of the woman. His deep emerald eyes looking coldly upon her fervently blue eyes. "Wouldn't it be careless of you to follow strangers like me, miss?" With these words male have pushed into her personal space and risen a paw to try guide her chin up she they could give each other a good look. Eye to eye. Muzzles not far apart but the male wasn't going to do anything about it as he smiled gently. "Don't you think?" He'll quip one last time before turning somber.

"Gosh, you fur is a mess miss. Are you injured?"