Heartleaf Creek [BWP] gonna burst into flame

Random Event: A recent heat wave has left the forest drier than usual (2nd week)

I feel numb, born with a weak heart

Vaken hid from the sun beneath the tree tops, desperate for some shelter. This was the second week of the unbearable heat. Everything was dry, even the air. The wolf’s mouth was starting to dry up too, the saliva dripping to the floor. He let out a soft, unhappy whimper. He was doing fine. His wounds were healing well, and thanks to the neighbouring pack, he was not completely afraid of the coyotes. He still had his freedom, but the heat was killing him. 


His eyes were focused on the creek. He barely blinked. He was close to the water, but did not want to step into the sun to swim. The sun was at its highest in the sky and unforgivably warm. Vaken stepped towards it, but stayed on the edge of the shade. Pouting a little, the young wolf looked truly distressed with his choices.

He could get some water, and be in the sun, or sit in the shade with a dry mouth. ”Where are the clouds when ya need ‘em,” he whined, placing his tail between his legs. He just wanted some water.  

I guess I must be having fun

(This post was last modified: Jul 18, 2018, 02:05 AM by Vaken.)

currently travelling with Circe (she can jump in any of his threads)

Laurel looked... better. Though it might as well have been safe to assume that the yearling would never look in tip-top shape, regardless of if he was or not. He'd made too many mistakes, he'd jumped into fights too needlessly, and the wounds that he'd received would never fully heal. But he had a little bit more meat on his bones and having spent the last week avoiding coyotes instead of searching for them, he was doing... yeah. Better.

But he'd spent a lot of time stewing, too. There was a lot of information for him to consider, and he now had to make a hard decision. Should he find Senna, whoever she was? It wasn't necessarily the finding Senna, but more that he would have to seek out the wolf who might have more definite answers for him: Sahalie. His sister had said that her mother -- and possibly his -- was still at Ritter's Ridge. Which was just another place that he didn't know of, a place that was or was not far. Thinking of his foster mother only brought him uncertain, unpleasant feelings. Laurel liked to stomp those feelings down and pretend they didn't exist, if only because it seemed to be working pretty well for him.

Making no decision was a decision in itself, and so Laurel floated meaninglessly here and there. It was hot, anyways, and certainly not good weather for important decision making. He stepped in the creek to let his paws cool off and lapped at the water, of which he felt like he couldn't get enough of. He was bloody, but rather than from playing with coyotes, Lauraceae had managed to take down a doe. He was full and a little content, bloody from his fresh kill.

Where are the clouds when ya need 'em.

Laurel's tattered ears swiveled and finally he saw him. He felt his stomach give an uncomfortable flop, his throat on the edge of a growl. Maybe he was still a little mad at the other, still-nameless yearling. Water dripped from his maw as he glared at Vaken (though perhaps Laurel's resting face was just a glare), but finally he stood up a little bit straighter. "You're not going to burst into flame if you step out of the shade, you know."

OOC: on this week's episode of Will They Ever Know Each Other's Name

I feel numb, born with a weak heart

“I just might,” he hissed between clenched teeth, pressing his ears down against his skull. Seeing Laurel evoked a lot of feelings, but most of them Vaken ignored. He didn’t want to read too much into situations like that. He felt bad about how things had ended last, but he refused to apologize. He was too young and stubborn to read the faults in his behaviour. His relationship with this wolf, was, all over the place. It was oddly personal, especially for not knowing the wolf’s name. Puffing his chest out, Vaken glazed over his companion with unblinking eyes.

He looked better than Vaken remembered. Not particularly healthy, but better. Vaken felt a little relief in his chest. He did not let it show though, maintaining a semi-hostile position. Their last interaction had ended horribly horribly wrong, and now Vaken was uncertain on the proper protocol. Should he say sorry? He didn’t want to. It didn’t matter if he should or not.

He had felt guilty at the time, almost enough to say sorry then. Now the emotions had worn off and he felt defeated and uninterested in expressing remorse. He wasn’t empathetic enough. His cold stare hid his uncertainty, his body was too stiff to show emotion. The tension in the air wasn’t completely bitter, but it was there. Vaken could feel it in his bones.

In an attempt to assert dominance, the young wolf lifted his tail and head. He didn’t want to apologize. Rather than be emotionally sensitive and understanding, the wolf turned to aggression. In his mind, if he could get the other wolf to submit, he’d be free. Then it didn’t matter if he was upset, because he wasn’t going to do anything about it. “You’re still mad,” he observed, narrowing his eyes. He scoffed, but felt a little pang of regret in his chest. He grunted it away. “Fine.”

I guess I must be having fun

currently travelling with Circe (she can jump in any of his threads)

Laurel wasn't sure if he liked Vaken or not. He knew what the other wolf was not, but their relationship teetered on one end here, and one end there. He couldn't call Vaken a friend, but he couldn't call him an enemy. Laurel could not say he hated, or liked, or if he anything-ed the other yearling. But there was something there, something not spoken between the two boys. Or... maybe he was thinking too much into it, and the only unspoken thing between them was their own names. '

Bumping into him could go this way or that, and Laurel could feel it quickly heading that way, which was the opposite of what he wanted. Vaken tried to assert dominance and Laurel would have none of it, and squared himself up and made himself as big as he could (they were both not very big, and so they were probably doing a mediocre job at best). "Yes I'm still mad!" he snapped, "Don't I have a right to be a little mad?" on top of the pile of things Laurel didn't want to do, fighting his friend/not friend wasn't exactly on one of them. "You don't just get to run off and lie to me and then try to make me out to be the bad guy just 'cause I'm mad!" Laurel was mad about a lot of things, and he felt he had every right to be mad about every last one of them.

He felt an increasing urge to put Vaken in his place.

OOC: can you feeeelll the love tonight

I feel numb, born with a weak heart

“Lie to you,” Vaken said the words half angrily, half confused. He snapped his teeth in frustration. His fur was beginning to stand on end and his tail stayed firm and lifted. When the other male didn’t submit, Vaken felt his blood turn hot. It was the first time they met all over again. Why wouldn’t the other boy just back down already? Vaken wanted to wrap his teeth around his neck until he exposed his belly and submitted. They were too similar in that regard, too emotional. Vaken did not want to submit either. He didn’t want to hurt his almost-friend, not really. He just didn’t know how to deal with his own emotions, and he especially didn’t know how to deal with Laurel’s.

He stretched out his neck higher. He lifted his fur to make himself seem stronger and raised his upper-lip. He was incredibly hostile now, barely even thinking clearly. “I didn’t lie to you,” he added through clenched teeth. “And even if I did! I get to do whatever I want. I don’t owe you anything.” He spat the words with increasing irritation. Stepping forward, towards the male, Vaken was clearly not trying to diffuse the situation.

He wouldn’t know how, even if he had wanted to. Exposing his teeth, Vaken let out a warning growl. Things were happening quickly now, the energy becoming more deadly by the second. “You don’t just get a right to anything,” he snarled. He took another step, bringing his face a few inches closer to the male’s. He had the urge to reach out and bite, to grab the wolf’s muzzle with his fangs. “You have to earn it.”

I guess I must be having fun

currently travelling with Circe (she can jump in any of his threads)

You encounter three coyotes marking a nearby tree.

Two bois can't confess their love for each other so fite instead

Laurel showed the other boy his teeth, he lifted his tail, wrinkled his face, everything to tell him to back off. But Vaken didn't, and this only made his blood boil. The thing was, that he felt like the other yearling did owe him something. Even an apology would have been nice, but instead he insisted that he hadn't lied to him. Even if it was true, Laurel wouldn't have been able to see it.

This could have easily been a simply misunderstanding, and had the two yearlings thought to talk before fight, things wouldn't get heated so quickly. But there they were, meeting once again and already ready to deck it out. Vaken continued to get closer and Laurel found the boy's voice getting more and more irritated by the second. He quivered with anger, too angry to even notice the coyotes that were undoubtedly going to steal his hard-earned doe.

Laurel didn't have any more words. He could not begin to explain to Vaken the whirlwind of emotions he felt. It was better this way, anyways. Better to fight it out and have one of them be the winner and the other tuck tail and walk off. Vaken's final words were the spark to ignite the flame as he reached out to grab the other boy's muzzle.

Fight 1/5

<b>OOC: fight post 2/5</b>

I feel numb, born with a weak heart

The small yearling had been anticipating the attack. Balancing on the pads of his feet, Vaken side-stepped out of the way, his fangs still exposed, and turned on Laurel. The movement was quiet, like a snake striking. He suspected Laurel would attack, and he had. That meant war- no holding back. 


He let out a throaty growl, gnashing his teeth at the air intimidatingly. He was controlled by bloodlust, his eyes could only see red. He was beyond salvation. Turning his muzzle around, Vaken aimed for Laurel’s flank.

It was the closest thing to his black snout, the easiest thing to grab. Vaken was desperate to sink his teeth into flesh wherever he could and just pull.

I guess I must be having fun

(This post was last modified: Jul 18, 2018, 02:48 AM by Vaken.)

currently travelling with Circe (she can jump in any of his threads)

His teeth made a loud click as his jaws caught nothing. His eyes widened in shock at himself and he froze when he should have kept moving. Vaken was quick to take advantage of this, and Laurel felt the other yearling's fangs digging into his skin. He yelp-snarled and snapped at the other boy, quickly pulling away to give him a few paces of distance. It was easy to forget that wolves were not coyotes, and usually they were stronger, faster, and generally more solid.

He charged forward, this time trying to Vaken's throat. If he could get the other boy on the ground, he'd have a better advantage. Laurel felt a surge of confidence as he ran.

And then he fell. He fell! Laurel hit the ground with a hard smack, biting down on his tongue. He scrambled to get up and try and put a little more distance between them.

Fight 3/5

OOC: fight 4/5

I feel numb, born with a weak heart

Vaken was too quick to pass up on any weakness, including a fall. If he was a principled fighter, maybe he would have let it go and waited- but he wasn’t. There were no moral conduct in his fighting. He was cold and impulsive, and that meant he would do whatever it took to win. 


When he saw Laurel stumble, he felt excitement bubble in his throat. The young boy let out a yip of pleasure and charged forward, aiming for the wolf’s cheek. Since Laurel had stumbled, Vaken felt more confidence than before and that made him bold. He was more dominant now, raising his tail and biting the air. He aimed for the side of the wolf's face, desperately trying to frighten Laurel in an assertion of dominance. He lifted his chest out, but kept his throat concealed. Nipping at the wolf, Vaken attempted to pinch the wolf’s face with his teeth to keep him below him.

I guess I must be having fun

currently travelling with Circe (she can jump in any of his threads)