Sacred Grove [BWP] like you've never lost a war

OOC: Backdated a bit. For @Elias

I feel numb, born with a weak heart

Vaken slowly backed up, keeping his tail between his legs. He didn’t look too scared, but he was definitely wary. His head was low, ears flattened, but he wasn’t in an aggressive stance. His eyes stayed frozen forward, watching the distant snake slither towards him. He knew nothing about snakes in the area, what ones were venomous or not, so the last thing he wanted to do was make one angry. A snake bite might just be the death of him without a medic.

He tried to make himself less threatening by making himself smaller. Trying not to make any noise, he shuffled away rather quickly. The snake continued to rush towards him, but took a sharp right and vanished into the overgrown. The male let out a deep sigh, shaking his head in gratitude. That had been close. He had never tried to kill a snake, he wasn’t sure he was capable. Those creatures were quick and truthfully pretty terrifying.

A large smile grew on his face, laughing softly. Luck always seemed to be on his side.

I guess I must be having fun

(This post was last modified: Aug 06, 2018, 07:48 PM by Vaken.)

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

Elias' nose itched. Not a little bit, as though he could bat it away with a swipe of his paw. It was really really bad. Like he needed to sneeze but it just wouldn't come. He exhaled slowly through his nose, thinking he could flush it out but that didn't work. He even tried making soft achooo noises to tempt it forth but that didn't work either. So that's how he ended up limping along with his face all scrunched up in a poor approximation of a Selwyn squint.

This place was sort of...weird. Even in the depths of a long and sizzling heatwave this place somehow managed to remain green. Everywhere else had long since dried out and was as crisp as a....Elias couldn't think of a nifty analogy, in all honesty he wanted nothing more than to splish and splash in the lake with Ellery. But seeing as he'd only just left the Willows a day or so ago that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. For now he had to be patient.

His nose twitched, tingled and- "AAAACHOOOO!"

Finally, that sneeze had been a long time coming.

Several coyote abandoned a half-eaten deer. But before you can take a bite they reappear.

I feel numb, born with a weak heart

His ears twitched forward, his eyes widening. He heard the sneeze before he saw the wolf it belonged to. It had caught him off guard, scared him even. After the run in with the snake, Vaken was not prepared for any more spooks. He wanted quiet, peaceful, safe. Quietly, the small yearling followed the noise with his head down. It didn’t take him long to run into the male it belonged to.

Sizing him up quickly, the yearling stuck to the shadows of the forest. He hesitated to come forward, to reveal himself. He wasn’t sure he even wanted to. This wolf looked odd with his piercing blue eyes and misshapen feet. Was this someone Vaken wanted to associate with? Pressing his lips in a tight line, he shrugged his shoulders to himself.

Then he stepped forward, showing his teeth in a menacing smile. “Bless you,” he cooed smoothly, keeping his head lowered and ears straightened. He stepped around the trees gracefully, moving much like a feline. “If I heard that, I’m sure the coyotes did too. You any good at fighting?”

I guess I must be having fun

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

Elias didn't even need to think of a response. It was automatic, he was a polite gentleman after all. Though maybe it wouldn't have hurt to actually take a moment to think about the situation, considering how vulnerable he'd made himself...

"Guhh, thank you. I've been needing to sneeze for hours." Elias stiffened. It then dawned on him that he was no longer alone, that his obnoxious sneeze might have just ruined the strangers day, so of course Elias was quick to try and remedy that as best he could. "Ah sorry, didn't mean to interrupt or anything. Couldn't help it."His smile was awfully sheepish, but earnest nonetheless.

The stranger was a bit on the scraggly side, but who was Elias to judge?  Appearances didn't mean a lot to him, especially considering that Elias had tried so hard to fit in amongst wolves who looked nothing like he did. Ah well, he wasn't going to make any snap assumptions. Maybe the stranger had been busy, hadn't yet found time to have a nice grooming session. Orrrr, he chose to look that way, which was also fine! Good on him!

Elias' ears perked forward as the stranger brought forth a very valid point. Heck! Damn him and his stupidly loud sneezes.

"I suppose so..." Which was true. "Is that what you want to do, fight them?"

I feel numb, born with a weak heart

Licking his lips, his eyes narrowed and buggy as he glanced around the area, Vaken shot the wolf a dry glare. Was he being serious? "We might not have an option. The coyotes are plenty here- escaping one pack just means running into another.” He knew that firsthand. Something about the Sacred Grove area made the vermin plenty, they were thriving within these woods. The young wolf would always prefer to run away, but it was different here. Running away didn’t solve anything in this neck of the woods.

His eyes returned to the stranger, sizing him up. He was quite large, muscular. He didn’t look much like a lone wolf at all. His body was too well-fed, but Vaken couldn’t smell much on his pelt from this distance. He looked strong enough to take on a few coyotes, but Vaken wasn’t going to put his fate into a complete stranger. He didn’t answer the wolf’s question. Instead, he twitched his tail in annoyance. “Do you prefer we run away?”

I guess I must be having fun

(This post was last modified: Aug 06, 2018, 08:28 PM by Vaken.)

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

Just because he could didn't mean he wanted to. Elias didn't want to be 'that guy', he had no interest in being a warrior, of being dangerous and revered. He would hunt and kill to feed his belly and that of his pack mates, but just for the sake of it? Or worse yet, the because he liked it? Elias never ever wanted to be that man, he'd seen what violence for the sake of violence could do and....He'd had enough.

"Walking might work. They seem defensive, maybe they're holed up nearby, have younguns. If we leave and don't make a fuss of it we should be okay?" Hopefully, maybe. "I'm just passing through anyway, it's no biggie."

What he didn't realise was that poor Vaken had been pestered day in day out by the coyotes. Who could blame him for wanting to get his own back?

I feel numb, born with a weak heart

The yearling scoffed, but kept his face pretty void of emotion. If this wolf didn’t want to fight, it was better to hear now before it was too late. He twitched his tail like an angry cat, but accepted his words. There was only one other option: leave before the coyotes arrived. Vaken didn’t think the other wolf was cowardly, instead he assumed he was new to the area and a little daft. The coyotes didn’t ever just stop. If this wolf was without a pack, he’d learn it soon enough. If he continued to head north for a few days travels, there were no packs around. Not near the cherry patches or the blackberry fields. Not towards the water near the secluded spring. The coyotes were thriving up there without the pack wolves to claim land and food. 


Vaken had run into a pack of coyotes in each area he had stopped at all the way. It had been ruthless and tiring, but he didn’t reveal this to the stranger. He could make his own mistakes. Out of curiosity, he opened his mouth, turning his shifty eyed gaze to the man. “Where are you headed?”

If they showed up before the wolf had escaped the territory, he’d be torn to pieces. Instinctively, he glanced at the wolf’s paw and couldn’t help but wonder: maybe this wolf was familiar with being torn to shreds.

I guess I must be having fun

(This post was last modified: Aug 07, 2018, 12:04 AM by Vaken.)

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

The lack of expression on the strangers face bothered Elias. He wasn't sure what he'd said wrong, but surely he'd taken some sort of disliking to his suggestion. Or maybe not, it was near impossible to tell. He followed the stranger's line of sight to his paw, ah yes, that seemed to distract most new people he met. And that was okay, he wouldn't blame them for being a little curious. Maybe he'd be a bit upset if the loner made a rude comment or pulled an ugly face, but no one here had done that yet. So he was hoping that no one would break that trend, that he wouldn't have to think about his paws more than he had to.

"Back home. I live on the big lake up north, Vigils Keep." He offered up the information willingly, Elias had nothing to hide. "I crossed the mountain...around about here, I think."

He tipped his head a little to the side, at least he was pretty sure he had. Scrambling down had been a chore, but luckily he was a Selwyn. Even with his manky feet he was pretty used to it, knew where to put his feet and all that.

OOC: beginning of Vaken's exit unless stopped/Elias asks a question

I feel numb, born with a weak heart

Ah- that made sense. Pack wolf. The yearling had an innate dislike for pack wolves, and it showed on his face for a quick second. They didn’t have to worry about the coyotes half as much, which is why this wolf seemed so comfortable with walking out of the territory. He was heading back home. Vaken had never visited Vigil’s Keep, and had never been in that area. He tried to piece it together in his mind, imaging the water source across the mountain of dire and up.

He nodded in thought, slowly starting to walk away from his company. He would have to travel over there eventually, learn more about the area. For now though, he was comfortable with learning about the pack’s existence and speaking with the male as it was. “Good luck out here,” he purred. He knew the mountain had coyotes too, but hadn’t dealt with them as often as he had here. Vaken didn’t ask the stranger’s name, his destroyed paw was enough identification if the young wolf needed to describe him. He didn’t want to give his name either. Keeping his mouth closed, the small boy began to walk off fairly quickly.

I guess I must be having fun

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