The Wildwood dead leaves and the dirty ground

Grey was the color of that Tuesday morning - the sun was rising, but it was difficult to see beyond the clouds and the pallid light only helped enforce the color. Through the Lore Remy stalked, nearly blending in to the horizon with her white and grey coat, although the undertones of cream were the only thing that kept her visible to the eyes of her audience. Nostrils flaring, she scented the early air in search of... well, something. She could go for another rabbit, though she had caught one the day before, and she wasn't necessarily scrounging around for company. Remy was on the move because she was restless to sit and listen to silence all day. Putting her muscles to work helped her sort through her thoughts as well.

She had wandered to the southern end of the Wildwood where the land still showed the scars from a fierce battle with fire long before. Beneath the rooty scents of dirt and charred trees was the smell of ash - even the ground had a tint of grey. The large female paused, standing strongly in front of the wreckage. In her mind's eye she imagined the woodland up in flames, roaring and crackling and briefly warming her skin in her imagination. What a curious history she considered it to be. After the short appreciation of the trees' history she continued forward, devling into the depts of the skeletal trees and the burned foliage. Walking further, the smell of soil began to drown out the scent of the fire's carnage. She followed the scent, occasionally catching hints of green in the shrubbery. Remy pushed through a thicket of browning, dead branches and found the jackpot.

It was a small clearing near the heart of the south end, where from the dirt sprung hints of grass and plants. The bare trees nearby were beginning to rejuvenate as well. From here, it was as though all the ashes had long since been blown away. Remy couldn't help but wonder if the universe was showing her a metaphor to tell her to get on with her life now. She was a soldier; a wolf of a capable body with a strong code of honor and respect. As such, she needed somebody to serve. Yet she had the curse of distrust, and couldn't force herself to find someone's ranks to join without knowing for sure that they were the respectable sort, as she considered herself to be. She shook her head, but could not shake the irritating thoughts.

Remy approached a large, dark stone that sat nearby one of the greenest trees, leaping upon its cold surface and standing tall. Her pale eyes, roving her surroundings, matched the blooming colors of the small area. Finding the perch suitable she continued to stand, tail twitching occasionally as she considered her next plan of long-term action.

(This post was last modified: May 01, 2012, 04:24 PM by Remy.)

<font style='margin-left:20px;'>She could smell it before she saw it. The acrid scent of char was a heavy, oppressive perfume that draped itself over the land. As she emerged from the edge of the still-green trees to the south, the little brown wolf could tell this wasn’t quite the place she had been aiming for. Where were the towering Cedar trees that Miss Lyall had told her about? She must have taken a wrong turn somewhere, as this could not be that place. All that remained here was the shriveled, blackened remains of what must have been a mighty forest in the not-too-distant past. She had paused at the threshold between the living forest behind her and the scorched, ashy grave that stretched out before her. Instinctually, she crouched down and swept her bronze eyes over the blackened pillars that had once been verdant trees. Nothing stuck out to her, so she cautiously proceeded forward. Perhaps she just hadn’t gone far enough yet, and Cedarwood Forest might just be on the other side of this forsaken place.</font>

<font style='margin-left:20px;'>She moved slowly and warily through the burnt remains, flinching and glancing towards every slight rustle of desiccated flora. The rusty color of her pelt stuck out among the blacks and greys of the day, a small bit of life in an otherwise lifeless place.
Sibyl had come to a thick charred branch which had fallen during the fire and come to rest against a stump, leaving a small gap beneath it. She paused for a moment, considered how to traverse the obstacle, then after making up her mind crawled underneath the limb. The white fur of her underbelly scraped along the dusty ground, becoming dark with soot. Her hindquarters were just a bit too high for the branch however, knocking it off its perch against the stump and to the ground with a loud thud and a spray of ash. The girl’s eye’s widened in shock, and momentarily blinded by the cloud of soot she wasn’t quite sure what the loud noise was. Oblivious to herself as the cause of the noise she set off at a blind sprint, clambering over and under fallen debris. The clattering sound of boughs knocked astray and a veil of dust was left in her wake. She didn’t have a destination in mind, just the goal of escaping the burnt forest and its strange sounds. She saw glimpses of green foliage ahead and dashed towards it, wrestling through burnt and gnarled brush to at last make it into the sprouting green grove. </font>

<font style='margin-left:20px;'>Sibyl stopped to catch her breath and glance around the glade, black peppered shoulders heaving from exertion. Her eyes caught sight of a tall figure perched upon a large stone and she shrank back a little. If she had been paying attention, she probably would have smelled the presence of the female before tumbling in. Sibyl silently cursed herself for her unawareness. She was in a strange place with strange faces, she really should be more cautious lest she get hurt. Sibyl kept her tail low and head down, looking quite small, dusty, and a little embarrassed. <i>“Hello?”</i> She asked in a careful greeting, her voice a murmur.</font>

The sudden thud in the forest behind her came as a complete shock to Remy, whose thoughts had momentarily taken her entire attention. Whirling on her large paws, the pale-colored female bristled and straightened her legs, trying to increase her visible mass. When the thud was followed by the sounds of some creature crashing through the forest she had no choice but to take her stance. Dark lips pulled back to reveal her sharp teeth, moss-colored eyes gleaming to find the threat while her tail rose unwaveringly in the air to ward it off. It was only once Remy had reached maximum fight-a-bitch pose that the adversary crashed through the deadened bushes and revealed itself. Her face fell entirely, although she contained her dominant stance in case the little russety thing was more frightening than she looked. The expression that crossed her face couldn't be helped - she squinted and peered curiously down her wrinkled nose, quite unsure what to make of her new found company. The she-wolf was quite sooty, which Remy couldn't judge because her legs had become dirty traversing the burned wood as well, but the small female seemed as though she had just plunged through a pile of ashy leaves or something.

There was something in the she-wolf's pelt hidden beneath the suprisingly strong scent of the dead wood - a scent of wolves and territory intermingling. The scent was unrecognizable to the lone wolf, though it was basically the only reason she didn't berate the small wolf as her judgemental personality was pushing her to do. The female's stance was respectful, keeping her head low, but Remy took it for weakness - this was no one's territory, why bother being polite? Her white jaws parted to say something snarky, but with some stroke of luck sense managed to make it to her brain before the words spilled out and she shut snapped them shut. Remy needed a pack. She needed to know wolves in this new land. Her standards for trust, respect, and friendship were awfully high... but that didn't mean she needed to be the awful bitch she was to every scrap of wolf that barreled into her newfound green havens... <i>Whoops.</i>

Allowing the fur of her neck to lie flat, Remy lowered her head as well and hid the criticism from her gaze. Though she focused on the smaller female, her <span class='word'>tony</span> red ears twitched on occasion in case one of her pack mates would come trundling along as well. She struggled with what exactly she was supposed to respond with - the other female's greeting had come out sounding like a question almost. "<b>Are you lost?</b>" Remy came up with finally, minimizing the scrutiny in her tone to the best of her ability.

<span style='font-size:7pt;line-height:100%'>Sorry if it's a little on the short side!</span>

Sibyl waited for the harsh reprimand, the gnashing of teeth and roaring snarl that would send her on her way. The lady on the stone had looked furious enough when Sibyl had stumbled into the glade unannounced. The light grey wolf even seemed like she was about to say something before swallowing it back. But punishment never came, and instead the large female’s features appeared to soften just a little, but still seemed to retain an edge. Sibyl was a little bit surprised when the cloud hued female asked a question of her rather than scolding. Was she lost? Well, she knew where she was supposed to be going, at least.

<i>“W-well, err, no… Actually, maybe,”</i> Sibyl gave a quick look back and forth over the clearing. None of this was familiar, and her wild dash through the burnt wood left her disoriented. <i>“Yes. I think I am lost.”</i> She quietly admitted. Sibyl shook her head, what a fool she had been! She was so ashamed of herself she couldn’t quite meet the other female’s gaze. She turned her head back over her shoulder towards the hole in the thicket she had torn open, little bits of tawny fur stuck to gnarled branches. She briefly considered slipping back out before the stranger had a chance to reply. This was ridiculous. Now that she knew where she was going, she couldn’t find it! Well, maybe it wasn’t all so bad. She had a pack now, just finding it was the problem. After months of roaming alone this wasn’t the worst time she had been lost and alone. Maybe this wolf knew her way around and could tell her where the forest of cedars was. If she was lucky, perhaps this wolf also belonged to Grizzly Hollow? Sibyl turned back to face the silver lady, this time her expression a little more confident. Under the scent of burnt wood and earth she could smell the other female, but she wasn’t familiar with the scent of the Grizzly Hollow wolves to tell if she was or wasn’t one of them.

(This post was last modified: Apr 12, 2012, 07:51 AM by Sibyl.)

(oh not at all :3)


Remy lifted her head slightly as she admitted her need of assistance, trying to comprehend if that was what she herself would do if she were ever in a similar situation. Her mind flashed back to her encounter with that other wolf, Ash. She'd needed to scrap with him to figure out if he was worth her time, but still she recalled how he'd seemed bothered that she didn't want to be friendly. If anything, the small she-wolf below her rock needed some friendliness, and didn't look like the sort to want to have a tussle right now... or ever. It was incredibly irritating to the pale wolf, how this one wouldn't look at her. Remy prided herself on being the kind of female that <i>demanded</i> respect: her health always maintained, condition always prime for whatever would come, making sure that she wouldn't dare be caught off-guard or outfoxed by any creature who would cross her path. She'd never admit to being conceited - what a feminine quality that was! - though truthfully, Remy was the picture for such a description. She just felt offended that the brown wolf wasn't looking at her.

Perhaps it was better that she didn't, though, so Remy had time to hide the scorn in her eyes and prepare her better face before responding. Luckily for the red-eared she-wolf, she had taken the dirty look off her mug by the time the other female looked at her. Remy wasn't sure what to read in her expression (emotional ineptitude also being a strength of her's) so she chose not to assume anything of it. Her rump slowly lowered on to the cold stone, the black tip of her tail flicking as she pondered what she ought to say or do. There'd already been enough quiet between the two, and she knew she had nothing to apologize for if she decided to be rude or completely ignore the female, but Remy surprisingly found that she didn't really want to do that right now. Finally, she mused, "<b>You think, or you know?</b>", her pale eyes fixed unblinkingly on her company.

Still with regal posture, she kept her spine straight and chest proud. Whatever pack scent was on the girl wasn't one in these woods, and though it might be nearby she didn't need to bow her head to someone's borders yet. She made sure to look less angry and arrogant than she had been before, though. Having not actually expecting or wanting an answer to her earlier question, she cleared her throat and tried again, as politely as she could, "<b>Where are you headed?</b>" A+ for effort, Remy Geddes.

(This post was last modified: Apr 12, 2012, 08:50 PM by Remy.)

Sibyl tilted her head at the first question, dark lips pulled in a confused frown. She though she knew she was lost, if that counted for anything. She pondered whether thinking and knowing were any different, as to being lost. After all, lost was lost and thinking just as bad as knowing. In any case she wasn’t where she was supposed to be going and wasn’t sure how to get there, either. During her musing she had unseeingly fixed her eyes on the cold grey surface of the stone just below Remy with her bronze eyes narrowed. She felt the stare of the other’s green eyes fixed on her, and she briefly flicked her own upwards, before looking just off to the side of the lady’s feet.

She was no longer filled with fear, but very much anxious and fidgety. Her rosy ears flicked back and forth and she roved her eyes around the clearing, looking for nothing in particular but avoiding resting her eyes on the light tinted female for too long. However when she was asked the new question, she focused her attention on her. Sibyl recognized the attempt at a mannered tone in the wolf’s voice. It didn’t entirely set her at ease but she was glad for the effort to be nice.

<i>“Well, I was going to the Cedarwood Forest to find my pack, which was supposed to be just north of the meadow I left from,”</i> Sibyl paused to look upward, at blackened stalks of trees surrounding the glade. Her expression to them was frustrated, but it was only a brief flash of emotion before she cleared it from her face and looked back to the other wolf. Well, back to the other wolf's paws at least. <i>“But once I got into the forest, well… All the trees got so confusing and started to look the same after a while.”</i> Sibyl had grown up in grasslands and open prairies, navigating by the sky and distant, distinct landmarks, a hill or a farmhouse or a single grove of trees. Any wolf of the woods would have no trouble distinguishing this stump from that, or a funny looking tree or bush as landmarks. But to Sibyl, in the forest the trees and shrubs seemed to repeat, and a cedar might as well be the same thing as a fir. She could very easily have been running in circles for the past couple days. Sibyl let out a little whine in exasperation, almost a whimper, and dropped her rear end to the ground, sending up a cloud of ash that coated her backside. She paid no heed to the messy state of her fur which was becoming even sootier as the day wore on. <i>“Do you know where it is?”</i> she inquired, her voice small and timid.

While the female pondered her questions Remy counted the number of seconds she wouldn't meet her pale gaze. It'd irked her an awful lot a few moments ago, but the brown she-wolf wasn't altering any of her actions based on Remy's irritation, so she refrained from sighing or rolling her eyes or fidgeting on her rump while the anxious girl beneath the rock thought... or stared at her paws... or whatever she was doing. Honestly Remy had no clue. The Valley female lowered her head slightly, looking less imposing than she had earlier. Her attempt was in vain when the small girl began to talk to her feet again, but she kept her interest in what the girl was saying and not all the ways she was being the exact opposite of what Remy valued in wolves.

Cedarwood Forest? Never heard of it. Remy wouldn't say it out loud, given the moment she considered disengaging from the situation the bronze-eyed female whined and plunked on the ground. <i>Ugh</i>, that defeatist attitude was making Remy grind her teeth. Her teeny voice asked Remy if she knew where the place was, giving her another chance to say something assholeish and leave the pathetic thing to her own devices. Then again, she was looking for her pack's lands... Oh, it'd be trouble for her if she didn't find them soon, and more trouble if she didn't learn how to get there and stay there as well. And, yes, the poor girl was frightened and clearly had a pure heart. The nobility within Remy's heart told her she ought to help because she was a respectable wolf, usually.

Gently she placed her paws down the side of the boulder, pads pressing in to the cold stone as she quietly jumped down from her perch to the ashy earth below. Straightening her limbs she turned her head to the brown female. Despite their now evened ground Remy still towered over the lithe female - her white paws even were probably twice the size of the other's. She was delightfully surprised to discover that they had at least one thing in common - that beautiful, red hue that covered both their ears. Having quite the pride in her pretty ears she found their miniscule similarity created more than a tolerance of the small female's presence. Nature didn't make 'em pretty if they weren't worth something! While Remy didn't consider herself some form of gorgeous wolf temptress, she did think her ears were awesome, giving the brown female equal potential to awesome. Forgetting now the personality aspects that made the female unsuitable for Remy.

"<b>I don't know where it is, but I can help you find it,</b>" she said suddenly, all signs of aggression disappearing from her voice. "<b>North, you say? We'll probably be better off getting out of this dead land if we want to find a lush wood of Cedar trees.</b>" Remy had entered the deadened forest from its edges, but there had to be new growth somewhere. She turned the opposite direction from the body-broken bushes and trotted forward, throwing her dark nose over her shoulder and motioning forward. "<b>Let's go this way,</b>" she decided, hoping it would take them where they needed to go. Besides, she'd kill to find somewhere more <span class='word'>irriguous</span> - the dead leaves and ash were suffocating.

Watching as the fair lady leapt from the stone, Sibyl shied back as she landed noiselessly upon the ground and turned her green eyes upon her. Sibyl eyed her warily, although female didn’t seem to be giving a threatening look. Now standing at equal footing, the female looked enormous to her. She seemed to be giving the little wolf some sort of appraisal, though what she was looking for Sibyl wasn’t sure. In response Sibyl shrunk down just a little, a worried look on her face. Would this stranger like what she saw there? Apparently, yes. She seemed to be pleased at whatever aspect of Sibyl she had found in her inspection by the way the lady’s face had seemed to drop its agitated expression. Sibyl picked up on this change of attitude, and her black-tipped tail gave a single brief wave and her ruddy ears perked up in response. Sibyl was eager and willing to take any form of acceptance she could get, even if the criteria were somewhat unknown to her.

Sibyl was a little bit surprised at the female’s offer to help her find her way home. But she was glad for it nonetheless. Sibyl gave a quick enthusiastic nod in response and trotted up to the side of the silvery figure. She felt dwarfed standing alongside the great wolf and just a little bit intimidated. Sibyl didn’t consider how she was going to help her find her way to the Cedar forest, when neither of them knew where it was, but the female looked confident enough that Sibyl didn’t have any doubt they would be able to find it. Sibyl followed her from the back and to the side, slinking along in her usual slouched gait.

Sibyl scented the air, but only the sharp, roasted scent of burnt foliage filled her nostrils. There were hints of other things, the fresh green fragrance of the sprouting vegetation of the clearing, the warm musky odor of small mammals hidden away in the <span class='word'>palladium</span> of undergrowth, but the pungent aroma of smoke and ash was first and foremost, and it overwhelmed most other smells. She certainly couldn’t pick up the scent of any fresh conifer sap nearby. Sibyl gave a disappointed huff. This wasn’t going to be easy.

<i>“It’s hard to smell much here, anyways,”</i> Sibyl mumbled to the ground. She looked up towards her new companion ahead of her, giving a tiny smile. <i>“My name’s Sibyl, by the way. Thanks for helping me out, Miss-…”</i> Sibyl furrowed her brows, realizing she didn’t know her name. <i>“What should I call you, Ma’am?”</i>

Moving forward with the smaller she-wolf following had made her feel much better than she was feeling before, perhaps calmer or just more at ease for whatever reason. It wasn't to say her judgmental heart had suddenly overturned into a beautiful, accepting thing, but it did help not to be literally staring down her nose upon the brown female. This way she could use said nose for better things, such as attempting to find the smell of vegetative life within the burnt Wildwood. Instinct took her northward while her own ego made it easy for her to ignore the fact that neither one of them knew where they were going. The she-wolf kept a lively pace, propelling in some supposed right direction with her large white paws and some form of purpose, even though Remy truly didn't have one. She had basically adopted the smaller wolf's need to get home; having a goal generally made Remy a more tolerable wolf.

It was quite unlike the large female to be welcome to small-talk. Preferentially she thought of her tasks as missions; that was the militaristic set up of her mind. And yet she held those little, slightly feminine quirks. Having made a comrade of the bronze-eyed she-wolf - <i>Sibyl</i> was her name - she found professionalism not her highest. Remy stole a glance over her shoulder to her exploring companion before returning her gaze to the horizon beyond the charred tree trunks. "<b>Ain't no miss nor ma'am. It's Remy, though. Remy Geddes.</b>" She responded without her usual snark, her words an <span class='word'>apercu</span> to the actual <i>good</i> side of her - her loyalty to those she took beside her. Tail twitching, she continued forward and edged past the barren shrubbery that surrounded the last of the green oasis, emerging into the full-on devastation.

"<b>So, you haven't been in Grizzly Hollow long.</b>" Remy stated. Based off the evidence she assumed the statement was true; she didn't actually know how long Sibyl had been calling the Cedars her home. "<b>What attracted you to them?</b>" There was personal gain in her question - perhaps somewhere nearby there would be a new life for Remy to take on - always happy to serve the deserving. She paused her stalk of the deadland momentarily, allowing Sibyl to catch up and perhaps answer her question as well.

Sibyl gave a curt nod in response, committing the name to memory. She paused for a moment before continuing onward, short legs moving double-pace to keep up with the long-legged strides of the taller female. Sibyl tensed a little as she neared the edge of the haven, remembering the crashing noises that had chased her there in the first place. The idyllic refuge of the clearing and her new acquaintance had made her forget about whatever fiendish sprite was haunting this skeleton of a forest. But she kept her eyes on Remy, whose mere presence made her more confident. This mountain-of-a-wolf could surely keep any menacing creatures at bay. With that in mind she emerged into the ravaged wasteland. It was as still and silent as a crypt, and the sun which had climbed just a bit higher into the sky only cast a pallid glow onto the land through the uniform layer of grey clouds.

Copper ears pricked forward at Remy’s words. Sibyl gave a bark of a laugh at Remy’s deduction, covering it up with a guilty smile. It was embarrassing, not only getting lost, but so quickly. She hadn’t even found her pack mates yet! But she could laugh at herself, this wasn’t the end, she’d find the place eventually and get on with things. This was just an interlude before the start of better things, she supposed. And even if it took a while to find her new homeland, it was always better to be lost in the wilderness with a companion than without. Sibyl knew she wasn’t the most charismatic wolf, and the fact anyone would voluntarily stick around with her made the unease of being lost not so uncomfortable.

<i>“No, hardly a week even, I don’t think,”</i> Sibyl talked as she moved forward, easily keeping up just behind Remy. She tried to tally the days that had passed in her head since entering Relic Lore, but just shrugged. <i>“I’d just run into the lead female, middle of the night. She scared me half to death at first, but it turns out she’s a really nice lady.”</i> Sibyl gave an honest smile at the thought, but it morphed into a strange look as she furrowed her brows. <i>“She told me where to find the place, but then she sort of ran off. I guess she had something else important to do.”</i> Sibyl said, mumbling the last part towards the blackened ground. <i>“You don’t think she made it up, do you?”</i> Sibyl suddenly ceased her steps and looked up to Remy, a worried glint in her bronze eyes. She hadn’t considered it at first, and only blamed her difficulty in finding the place on the labyrinthine forest. But perhaps the white wolf she had met that night was really just trying to get her out of her way, and had made the pack and the place up as a decoy. Or maybe she really was a malignant ghost trying to get her lost. An uncomfortable feeling twisted in Sibyl’s gut.