The Wildwood it's not this quiet

“If they aren’t.. then why are you so distraught that you can not read mine?” She was fooling herself if she believed that she was not intimidated by him only because he did not meet the social normalities of wolf code. By social standards, by standing at the foot of such a devastating tale, she was expecting him to cringe with sorrow for the lost souls of Hidden Tree, or to shrug his shoulders and admit he did not care. Ruiko was incapable of either, if only because of her presence.. and because the death of his family burned in his chest with a weight far heavier than sorrow, but something laced with guilt.

She closed distance between them, and Ruiko studied her with hidden curiosity to what her antics were about. Was she going to try to beat the emotions out of him now? Instead, she clung words at him that did stir a momentary lapse of surprise from him. Her words could have been achingly true, except Ruiko had always been a stoical mask to the world around him; a stark contrast to his siblings. He allowed a second to pass between them in silence before he closed the distance between them, his muzzle reaching up as his hot breath spilled from his nostrils to coil about her ears, his lips curled back in what could have been amusement or distaste. “Are you sure you’re not trying to make me your puppet? To tame a beast?”

ooc → getting heateedd~

There was a pensive, restless silence wrapped around the two as Ozera fought to wrestle the words from her mind. She knew she had something to say, but lacked the vocabulary to bring it to life and flesh it out. This made her squirm. "Okay. Maybe, emotions are part of the "herd mentality"... but the herd, and me... We're not telling you what to do with them. Everyone has emotions, and they can do whatever you want. I'm not asking you to cry. You could laugh for all I care! I am only distraught because it's as if you're denying your own existence, your wolfhood. Would you rather throw away all that makes you sentient life?"

Oh dear. He was standing right in front of her now, and his breath was like an icy winter wind that made her ears wilt. Ozera could not really look him in the eye, since he was so much taller than her. It was probably better that way. "What on earth would I have to gain by "taming" you? I'm not trying to make myself out to be an altruist, but I'm getting nothing out of this except the fur scared off myself."

(This post was last modified: Nov 12, 2014, 04:38 AM by Desdemona.)

Her argument in his eyes was getting old fast – she wanted to stir a radical emotion from him, to laigh, cry, anything. “You’re contradicting your words, girl,” he decided then, pulling his black lined muzzle back slightly, moving his figure away from her to allow her space once more. Her fear she admitted was only proven by her scent, for a beast who preyed upon the weak and vulnerable, Ruiko sensed it in its entirety. She was scared of him, and it intrigued him as to why, for he had done nothing to her. “What your saying, is you want me to show an emotion that isn’t indifference.”

His eyes trailed back to the tree for only a second more before turning back to her, wondering what a wolf from the mountain was doing in a forest that spooked her in the first place. As was his nature, the regal wolf did not question this, for he did not truly care for what the answer would be. “Trust me when I say that you should be relieved that I am not laughing while telling you of what happened here. I can’t imagine you’d wish to be at a gravesite by a maniacal wolf who found humor in tragedy, would you?”

In an attempt to illicit any range of emotions from the brown monster, it appears she had only caused her own to heighten vividly. "I do not contradict myself," she said flatly. Her jowls, that smiled so easily, were drawn into a frown. How very unlike her. But she refused to let this tawny gargoyle, in all his pomp and glory, dismiss her the same way he would a fly. "That's what I've been saying for awhile now, yes." There was a flick, a twitch of impatience in her tail.

However, he was wrong. Her eyes narrowed, and her head tossed away from him sourly. "At least then I would be talking to something other than a rock." This was all wrong. Ozera hated to be like this: exasperated to the point of anger. Maybe it was the way that this dark creature talked to her, maybe it was the way he looked at her, but it scared her, knowing that she had met a wolf who was so beyond everything. Such an imposing creature, who was beyond caring, seemed very dangerous to her, suddenly. But his presence was so magnetic. Maybe that was why she was still here, she really couldn't say."Should I just leave?"

(This post was last modified: Nov 12, 2014, 04:39 AM by Desdemona.)

“And my lack of concern makes me emotionless?” At the beginning of their conversation the regal wolf had been displeased with the direction of conversation, but as the she-wolf became more riled by his rather exasperating argument he found he found he was thoroughly enjoying himself; not that he would allow such a thing to break across his features now, for that would just ruin this game. “A rock,” he mused quietly with a flick of his tail. “How interesting. If it was meant as an insult, it is rather out of place though, don’t you think? I’m not here insulting you for your extreme range of emotions, now am I?” Oh, how he wished that Indru was here to enjoy this with him.

Her answer stirred a light blink from him, and Ruiko released a gentle shrug. “Do you know the way out from here?” There was a pause as the leader shifted his weight slightly, his shoulders rolling back in a leisurely stretch. “I can escort you.”

Lack of concern. That was a real hoot. Ozera may have stumbled into this conversation blind, but "Really? Because you have a whole forest to look at, but you only have eyes for one. I find it hard to believe that you lack concern, and I obviously don't believe you're emotionless. It's just that you're pretending you are." He sure was infuriating, this nameless, lying piece of royalty. But why did she feel this way? She definitely didn't want to. Yet, she had crossed some line and could not return to herself, and could not rein herself back in.

In spite of herself, though, she laughed. "Insults are not in the intention, but in the reception. If I was really talking to a rock, I'm sure you'd be incapable of being offended. You don't appear to be, so you may or may not just be reinforcing my observation." Ozera wondered if secretly, this wolf was enjoying himself. Honestly, she wasn't sure if that frustrated her, or amused her as well. She was just so confused at the moment with the tempest of feral, alien emotions she had little experience with, despite her age. Looking at him again, it occurred to her that she was probably twice his age or something. Not that it really would have made any difference.

And despite all she thought of the wolf disguised as a rock, she was struck with the politeness of his response. Really, Ozera had said that out of anger, and had expected him to merely shrug, and turn back to the tree, no longer wishing to be bothered by her. But he was willing to escort her? How very strange. Shrewd, suspicious eyes peered out at him from her arched brows, "You sir, are mystery. Do all the ladies fall at your feet? Tall, dark, and handsome." A smile, although weaker than what normally appeared on her face, was suddenly there. "Sure, escort me, your Highness. It'd be easier for me."

(This post was last modified: Nov 12, 2014, 04:41 AM by Desdemona.)

Her accusations were becoming sillier and more foolish as she continued. Certainly, she was an intuitive girl, but her denial that she expected him to meet social norms was becoming less and less believable as she continued. “Isn’t that my prerogative, then?” After all, who was she to say that he had to spill his true feelings to a complete stranger? She wanted him to have tears brim at his eyes, or laugh insanely, because that was what society expected of another. His eyes regarded her carefully, wondering if she would clue in to her hypocrisy any time soon.

Her laugh somewhat surprised him, though he showed this only with a blink of his eyes. They were in the reception, were they? “If I were to call you a fat cow then,” he began, his tone a light drawl, “then you would claim it was not an insult unless you took it as one, when in truth it is an affront to your character?” This was a new debate that sparked his interest, and he was curious to her response. “One can only make another feel as inferior as they will let them, but that does not mean the intent of an insult was there.”

No sooner than she was finished huffing about his infuriating will to not show emotion and compare his company to that of a rock, the she-wolf completely turned about the conversation and decided his ways must bring all of the females crashing to his feet. Even more surprising, she began to tease him of supposedly being tall, dark, and handsome. Ruiko cast her a sideways glance now, his tail giving another idle flick as he ignored her comment of ‘highness.’ “You’re an enigma,” he decided then, before giving a nod in the direction they had come. He did not wait for a response before he began to move to a path that would lead them out and closer to the direction of the mountain so she could go home. Ruiko did not glance back to the tall and burnt tree, already realizing that she had noticed he held a significant connection to it. But even as he left it behind, it was as if he could feel it burning a deep stare on his back.. the stare of the dead.

She ignored his first question. Now that she had calmed down significantly, Ozera realized it was incredibly pointless to continue on a subject they fundamentally disagreed on. He would never see it her way. A sigh drifted from her softly. In her head, she tried to complete her argument. Society doesn't expect it. I'm sure no one else cares. It's just that I want wolves to be open and honest with me. She sighed again. It really didn't matter, did it? Well, yes, it did. He scared her. But he had yet to actually do anything yet, so perhaps it was just better to wait for him to do something. Innocent before proven guilty, she reminded herself sharply.

"Ah," she barked, smiling once more, "But I know I am not fat, and I am not a cow. So why let it get to me? If I am not insulted, it hardly matters what your intentions were. It's like if you were chasing a deer, and you meant to go and kill it, but you tripped on a rock and failed, that means the deer isn't dead." There was a pause where she cocked her head and add, "And if one can find insult where intent never existed, then I think intent matters even less. You're only offended if you want to be. And for the most part, I think it's a waste of time." By then, however, the wolf-gargoyle of iron will had begun to walk away through the rubble of burnt forest.

She began to take a tentative step after him, but looked back at the tree for a moment. "Rest in peace," she whispered, and then turned away. Relief flickered in her mind, she would be glad to get out of this pit of charred depression and back into sunlight that was not filtered through the memories of the dead. Catching up to him, she called out, "I'm not an enigma, I'm Ozera." A pause.

"But who are you, sir?"

(This post was last modified: Nov 12, 2014, 04:44 AM by Desdemona.)

And so she moved after him, a small bark giving him notice that she was not far behind him. “Whether you let it get to you or not, it was still an insult.” He almost felt like sing-songing his words to her just to see if he could rile her up more, but the she-wolf had suddenly gone from sad, to angry, and now to amused. It only occurred to Ruiko with that thought that she was an enigma because she was a female. “An insult is an insult, effective or not, just as a hunt is a hunt, effective or not.”

More intriguing to him than this whirlwind of debates was the quiet whisper she gave the forest. He felt the burn in his throat as he thought of his loved ones. Rihael. Lani. Hotei. They were gone, and all that remained for their memory was the charred ashes of the forest. She caught up to him then, brushing his theory aside and instead giving him a name. Upon her query, Ruiko uttered a soft snort. “I’m not a sir. I’m Ruiko.”

A chuckle bubbled up from deep within her stomach. Ozera did not really believe it was an insult. "All the same, I am not insulted. Although, I wonder why such a thing as yourself would attempt to injure me in such a childish manner. Couldn't you think of anything better?" It would have been ten times more efficacious if it had some sort of hold on reality. At least calling him a stone was a decent metaphor. A fat cow... well, that was pretty ridiculous. She giggled. Also, she didn't believe he really meant it anyway, because it seemed like it was just for the sake of argument. "You could have called me a conformist sheep, a mouthpiece of the public. Fat cow just reeks of immaturity."

Chortling softly, she added, "But if the deer escapes, that's a pretty poor excuse for a hunt. Might as well not have been hunting at all." But he could believe whatever it was he wanted. By now she had given up throwing her whole self into an argument with him. Finally having regained herself, she hoped never to let herself turn so sour and exasperated again. What an awful way to live life. Does this happen to everyone he talks too? Glad I'm not in his pack. At the same time though, she was deeply curious. What if he wasn't like this with everyone? Was there something beyond the stone wall he had erected around himself, a secret garden? She wondered, oh how she wondered.

"Oh, but you are all gallantry and even temper. Surely you must be a sir, Ruiko," this made her laugh all the more. At last, it appeared she was enjoying herself, and it made her wonder if maybe that tract of forest she had left behind had some uncanny quality to it. It had turned her into something she definitely was not, almost a monster. Even Ruiko seemed a bit different now, but maybe that was only because he had snorted. Yeah, probably just the snort.

(This post was last modified: Nov 12, 2014, 04:46 AM by Desdemona.)