The Wild Series: Reign of Ashes (Main Page/Pridelands)

Ruki wrote:

Wildwing wrote:

Ruki wrote:

Wildwing wrote:

Ruki wrote:

Wildwing wrote:

Ruki wrote:From the brush a slender wolf emerged from out of the swamps. She was a chestnut brown with a cream colored belly and her tail and muzzle was dusted with silver from her age. She sniffed at the direction of the grey wolf that had rested at the trees nearby. Her head tilted and ears perked up. She didn't smell like one of her own, but didn't smell of the shadows haunting the swamps.

The older wolf padded delicately over a fallen log, tail stretched out long and paws spread out to gain better traction on the mossy surface. She prowled the trail to the newcomer with the grace and elegance of her pack.

"Excuse me," she called out calmly. "Are you lost, child?"

The she-wolf's ears twisted toward the sound of approaching pawsteps before she turned her head to look at the newcomer. At first sight of the other wolf, she immediately felt apprehension towards her, shown by her flattening ears and bristling fur. She watched the older wolf carefully, instinctively preparing to defend herself. But then, the strangest thing happened.

As the blue-eyed she-wolf watched the graceful movements of the older she-wolf, and then recognized the lack of hostility on her face, an image flashed through her head. A different she-wolf, in place of the newcomer, was looking down on her. Her crimson gaze was warm, her features gentle. Her soft gray fur billowed in the cold wind, snowflakes dancing across her figure, and the ground behind her was so white it seemed to glow. With a blink, the image was gone. The blue-eyed she-wolf was once again in the humid swamp, facing the older chestnut she-wolf.

"Excuse me, are you lost, child?"

By the time the question was asked, the fur along the blue-eyed she-wolf's back had lain flat. The previous apprehension had faded.

"...I...think so," she hesitantly replied, "Where am I?"

The older wolf smiled softly, she couldn't help but to be amused at the initial reaction of the newcomer, it reminded her of her own daughter.

"We call this place the Muckwaters," she started, her tail flicking at a fly that started buzzing around her hind quarters. "And you just so happened to find yourself in the middle of my territory. I am Alpha Velyria, great-granddaughter of pack matron Heira." The older wolf had a queenly aura and stood straight upon speaking her title. She shuffled on her paws, not carrying for the squishy dirt in between her toes. "You don't seem like you're a shadow-walker. And you look like you haven't had a good meal in quite sometime." Velyria smiled, starting to head off into the swamp. "Come child, there is a warm den and a good meal and fresh water back at my camp."

Alpha... The highest power in a pack, the blue-eyed she-wolf recognized with a slight jolt. At learning that Velyria was an Alpha, the blue-eyed she-wolf's body language subtly changed to show more respect. It was a subconscious move, based on instinct, on her part.

As she listened to Velyria, the blue-eyed she-wolf realized the terms "Muckwaters", "Heira" and "shadow-walker" were unfamiliar to her. All she understood from the explanation was that she was on this Alpha's territory. She had questions of course, but they were forgotten at the mention of food and shelter, prompting her stomach to rumble loudly and her muscles to suddenly feel so tired. She also noticed how dry her throat felt.

"A-Ah... Thank you..." she quietly muttered. She took a hesitant step forward, grimacing as the moist dirt squished through her toes, before following after Velyria.

Velyria smiled hearing the younger wolf start walking after her. "Step where I step, child," she called out behind her. "This swamp can be full of nasty surprises if you're not careful." The older wolf cleared a rather large log with a single jump bound and waited for her new companion to do the same. "Where are you from child? Do you have a name?"

The blue-eyed she-wolf wondered what Velyria meant by 'nasty surprises', but seeing as she had no reason to do otherwise, she obeyed the alpha. She stopped for a moment behind the log, examining it before leaping over it as well. Her paws scraped over the wood, not painfully, but she successfully landed beside Velyria.

"I..." the she-wolf started, taking a moment to ponder the question. "...I...don't... I don't know," she finally replied, drawing a blank, "I think there was snow?... A mountain?... But I don't... And my name...it's..."
She stopped and thought hard.
What is my name? I know I have one, but...why can't I... ...I do have a name, right?...

"My... then my scouts had reported a bright flash from the swamps I didn't expect to find you..." the older wolf thought hard. She had known cases of memories issues with her pack upon injury but this some something she couldn't simply comprehend. She nodded slowly in understatement. "Well whoever you are you must be far from home, and you don't seem to have a bad flavor thus far."

As the older wolf she continued talking to the younger wolf--explaining the dangers of the murky waters and the tar pits that could swallow an adult elephant within moments. Velyria taught her that the rain that collected in the leaves of plants was safe to drink. As she was pointing out to the young wolf a mushroom that could make you feel full until you could hunt down a decent meal the ground started to rumble with thuds and nearby trees creaked. The older wold chuckled at the younger wolf and smiled slightly. "There there, child, it's nothing to be afraid of." As the older wolf spoke a herd of elephants broke through the dense tree line, shaking off the vines from their mighty tusks as they stomped through the vegetation. 

The elephants marched by peacefully, nodding their heads in respect to the alpha female and her companion. One in particular had symbols drawn on him with mud. They were mostly dabs, stripes, and some swirls that decorated his face and shoulders. He has dark grey skin and his ears were tattered and his legs and thighs were scarred from unruly creatures trying to nibble at his ankles.

"You see those symbols?" Velyria whispered to the younger wolf. "Those are how to tell that he is their king."

The king elephant approached the two wolves and the rest of his herd stopped behind him. He bowed his head to Velyria and in turn she kneeled to him. "Kneel." Velyria whispered to her companion quietly.

"Greetings, Alpha Velyria." the elephant started, his voice boomed throughout the trees. "And... who is your friend here?"

Bright flash? the blue-eyed she-wolf thought in curiosity.
...Bad...flavor? It was a strange phrase, but it had some familiarity behind it... And it was a good thing if she didn't have bad flavor, right? ...Something about that previous statement doesn't seem right...

Shrugging it off, the she-wolf continued walking with Velyria, taking in her surroundings while quietly listening to the alpha's teachings. She paid attention for the most part, especially when the older wolf was talking about things she had never heard of before, such as the tar pits. The term "elephant" tickled at her brain, but the meaning of the word was lost to her.
She was distracted from time to time by the unfamiliar aspects of the territory she was passing through, sometimes missing some of Velyria's words, but she quickly regained her focus each time.

As the blue-eyed she-wolf was crouched down beside the mushroom, examining it in curiosity, she was startled by the increasing rumble. She backed up to Velyria's side, her fur prickling in unease. The Alpha's words calmed her. That is, until the behemoth appeared.

NOTHING TO BE AFRAID OF?! she mentally screamed as she stared up at the towering creature, her fur bushed out like the pines on a pine tree and eyes as wide as moons. What was this thing?!

...Oh ya. That was an elephant, she remembered. So stay away from those tar pits! A voice in the back of her head piped up unhelpfully.

The she-wolf glanced quickly to Velyria as the alpha moved to the ground, barely registering her order to kneel, which she hurriedly did. She was slowly getting over her initial panic, and Velyria's calm voice explaining the markings on the elephant's skin helped calm her down enough to quickly look over the markings. Later she would admit to herself that those markings looked pretty cool.

The she-wolf froze as the elephant turned his attention to her. She had no idea what to say. Her mind drew a huge blank. She could only stare in wide-eyed silence up at the large elephant.

Wildwing wrote:

Jaystep wrote:

Wildwing wrote:

Jaystep wrote:(Yes the hatchlings had playdates XD And omg, the porcupine!  I just saw that!)

Just as Nykoru was touching the shed skin, Syrune landed outside the hollow entrance, not seeing the mysterious substance over the other bird's shoulder. "... Have you seen your sister? It's time for us to...."

Even as Syrune was speaking she trailed off, seeing the distant shade of Ambyra flitting over the trees. "Oh. Nevermind. She's on her way... let's go." 

Without giving him a chance to answer, she lifted off the tree branch and glided out towards Ambyra, entrusting that Nykoru would follow.

"Hey!" Ambyra approached with a kindly smile, curving to come to Syrune's side. "Sorry, I got a bit distracted... there was a wolf by that huge tree over the hill... she looked a bit familiar."

"A wolf?" Syrune questioned, only half paying attention, her eyes on the horizon. 

"Yeah... she seemed lost." Ambyra noted, her gaze drifting towards the tree.

"Hmph. Not our problem. Wolves can fend for themselves just fine. We need to be on the lookout for Shades, there's no doubt they'll be after us by now."

(XD They're just like leaving Nykoru behind, lol. I think Syrune is low-key upset.)

(Aaw, cute! XD And yay! You got the reference! )

Nykoru flinched at Syrune's sudden arrival, his heart momentarily stopping in his chest. The shed skin in talon, he turned his head towards his adoptive mother. Before he even had the chance to open his beak, she had left to join his sister.

"..."

Hey, I found this...

The young falhawk sighed through his beak and tried to ignore the pang in his heart as he looked back down at the shed skin. Should he take it with him to show the other two or leave it? It was evidence that something had been in their temporary shelter during the short time they were away, but whatever had left it behind was gone now, and they would not be returning. So did it even matter that the girls knew about this? Would they even listen to him, or would they look at him oddly for carrying around such a strange...thing. Or would they just ignore him?
It made sense to leave it and just forget about it, but...of all the places for this skin to be left behind, why in the place the trio had spent the previous night.

Nykoru felt dumb, and slightly paranoid, for doing so, but he took the skin carefully out of his talons and exited the hollow. Seeing the girls in the distance, he took to the air and flew after them as fast as he could so as not to be left completely behind. He couldn't help but feel a little resentful that they had gone on ahead without waiting for him.

(XD Poor Nyko! )

(I'm sure they'll hug it out eventually XD)

Ambyra was the first to notice her brother falling in line behind them, nodding towards him to Syrune. The Red-tail gave Nykoru a small smile at his arrival, opening her beak to ask him about his hunt when she broke off, seeing what was in his talons. 

"Wh-" 

Before Syrune could ask, Ambyra was already on it. 
"What the heck is in your talons? Snake skin?" Ambyra questioned, raising a brow in confusion. Why in the world is he carrying that?


"Where did you find that?" Syrune asked, equally puzzled.

Oh hey, they acknowledged me. That's a relief, Nykoru thought, only somewhat sarcastically. But the odd looks they were giving him were making him second guess his decision to bring the skin. Then, as soon as he recognized his feelings of insecurity, he silently chastised himself to quit being such a juvenile before getting right to the point.

"It was in the hollow," the young falhawk informed, bringing the skin forward to give the two a better view of it, "I honestly don't know what it is. I want to say it is snake skin, but something doesn't feel right about this."

Nykoru then held it towards Syrune, inviting her to take it and examine it for herself.

Ambyra drifted away in her flight in disgust, opting to stay far away from the gross bit of skin. "Yuck! I did't even notice it when I picked through there yesterday." She let out a small shudder while Syrune rolled her eyes.

"It's probably just a snake, Nykoru." Syrune glanced over at the skin but didn't take it, turning to face the distant clouds dismissively.

Wildwing wrote:

Ruki wrote:

Wildwing wrote:

Ruki wrote:

Wildwing wrote:

Ruki wrote:

Wildwing wrote:
The she-wolf's ears twisted toward the sound of approaching pawsteps before she turned her head to look at the newcomer. At first sight of the other wolf, she immediately felt apprehension towards her, shown by her flattening ears and bristling fur. She watched the older wolf carefully, instinctively preparing to defend herself. But then, the strangest thing happened.

As the blue-eyed she-wolf watched the graceful movements of the older she-wolf, and then recognized the lack of hostility on her face, an image flashed through her head. A different she-wolf, in place of the newcomer, was looking down on her. Her crimson gaze was warm, her features gentle. Her soft gray fur billowed in the cold wind, snowflakes dancing across her figure, and the ground behind her was so white it seemed to glow. With a blink, the image was gone. The blue-eyed she-wolf was once again in the humid swamp, facing the older chestnut she-wolf.

"Excuse me, are you lost, child?"

By the time the question was asked, the fur along the blue-eyed she-wolf's back had lain flat. The previous apprehension had faded.

"...I...think so," she hesitantly replied, "Where am I?"

The older wolf smiled softly, she couldn't help but to be amused at the initial reaction of the newcomer, it reminded her of her own daughter.

"We call this place the Muckwaters," she started, her tail flicking at a fly that started buzzing around her hind quarters. "And you just so happened to find yourself in the middle of my territory. I am Alpha Velyria, great-granddaughter of pack matron Heira." The older wolf had a queenly aura and stood straight upon speaking her title. She shuffled on her paws, not carrying for the squishy dirt in between her toes. "You don't seem like you're a shadow-walker. And you look like you haven't had a good meal in quite sometime." Velyria smiled, starting to head off into the swamp. "Come child, there is a warm den and a good meal and fresh water back at my camp."

Alpha... The highest power in a pack, the blue-eyed she-wolf recognized with a slight jolt. At learning that Velyria was an Alpha, the blue-eyed she-wolf's body language subtly changed to show more respect. It was a subconscious move, based on instinct, on her part.

As she listened to Velyria, the blue-eyed she-wolf realized the terms "Muckwaters", "Heira" and "shadow-walker" were unfamiliar to her. All she understood from the explanation was that she was on this Alpha's territory. She had questions of course, but they were forgotten at the mention of food and shelter, prompting her stomach to rumble loudly and her muscles to suddenly feel so tired. She also noticed how dry her throat felt.

"A-Ah... Thank you..." she quietly muttered. She took a hesitant step forward, grimacing as the moist dirt squished through her toes, before following after Velyria.

Velyria smiled hearing the younger wolf start walking after her. "Step where I step, child," she called out behind her. "This swamp can be full of nasty surprises if you're not careful." The older wolf cleared a rather large log with a single jump bound and waited for her new companion to do the same. "Where are you from child? Do you have a name?"

The blue-eyed she-wolf wondered what Velyria meant by 'nasty surprises', but seeing as she had no reason to do otherwise, she obeyed the alpha. She stopped for a moment behind the log, examining it before leaping over it as well. Her paws scraped over the wood, not painfully, but she successfully landed beside Velyria.

"I..." the she-wolf started, taking a moment to ponder the question. "...I...don't... I don't know," she finally replied, drawing a blank, "I think there was snow?... A mountain?... But I don't... And my name...it's..."
She stopped and thought hard.
What is my name? I know I have one, but...why can't I... ...I do have a name, right?...

"My... then my scouts had reported a bright flash from the swamps I didn't expect to find you..." the older wolf thought hard. She had known cases of memories issues with her pack upon injury but this some something she couldn't simply comprehend. She nodded slowly in understatement. "Well whoever you are you must be far from home, and you don't seem to have a bad flavor thus far."

As the older wolf she continued talking to the younger wolf--explaining the dangers of the murky waters and the tar pits that could swallow an adult elephant within moments. Velyria taught her that the rain that collected in the leaves of plants was safe to drink. As she was pointing out to the young wolf a mushroom that could make you feel full until you could hunt down a decent meal the ground started to rumble with thuds and nearby trees creaked. The older wold chuckled at the younger wolf and smiled slightly. "There there, child, it's nothing to be afraid of." As the older wolf spoke a herd of elephants broke through the dense tree line, shaking off the vines from their mighty tusks as they stomped through the vegetation. 

The elephants marched by peacefully, nodding their heads in respect to the alpha female and her companion. One in particular had symbols drawn on him with mud. They were mostly dabs, stripes, and some swirls that decorated his face and shoulders. He has dark grey skin and his ears were tattered and his legs and thighs were scarred from unruly creatures trying to nibble at his ankles.

"You see those symbols?" Velyria whispered to the younger wolf. "Those are how to tell that he is their king."

The king elephant approached the two wolves and the rest of his herd stopped behind him. He bowed his head to Velyria and in turn she kneeled to him. "Kneel." Velyria whispered to her companion quietly.

"Greetings, Alpha Velyria." the elephant started, his voice boomed throughout the trees. "And... who is your friend here?"

Bright flash? the blue-eyed she-wolf thought in curiosity.
...Bad...flavor? It was a strange phrase, but it had some familiarity behind it... And it was a good thing if she didn't have bad flavor, right? ...Something about that previous statement doesn't seem right...

Shrugging it off, the she-wolf continued walking with Velyria, taking in her surroundings while quietly listening to the alpha's teachings. She paid attention for the most part, especially when the older wolf was talking about things she had never heard of before, such as the tar pits. The term "elephant" tickled at her brain, but the meaning of the word was lost to her.
She was distracted from time to time by the unfamiliar aspects of the territory she was passing through, sometimes missing some of Velyria's words, but she quickly regained her focus each time.

As the blue-eyed she-wolf was crouched down beside the mushroom, examining it in curiosity, she was startled by the increasing rumble. She backed up to Velyria's side, her fur prickling in unease. The Alpha's words calmed her. That is, until the behemoth appeared.

NOTHING TO BE AFRAID OF?! she mentally screamed as she stared up at the towering creature, her fur bushed out like the pines on a pine tree and eyes as wide as moons. What was this thing?!

...Oh ya. That was an elephant, she remembered. So stay away from those tar pits! A voice in the back of her head piped up unhelpfully.

The she-wolf glanced quickly to Velyria as the alpha moved to the ground, barely registering her order to kneel, which she hurriedly did. She was slowly getting over her initial panic, and Velyria's calm voice explaining the markings on the elephant's skin helped calm her down enough to quickly look over the markings. Later she would admit to herself that those markings looked pretty cool.

The she-wolf froze as the elephant turned his attention to her. She had no idea what to say. Her mind drew a huge blank. She could only stare in wide-eyed silence up at the large elephant.

Velyria chuckled in amusement as she stood up. "She seems to be confused about who she is and where she came from."

The elephant nodded, seeming to understand the predicament. "Perhaps she has breathed the smoke of that foul demon stalking our lands."

Velyria looked to the she-wolf beside her. "Yes, yes that makes sense... thank you King Kul'Hani. We're on our way back to camp, but may I ask what brings you to this part of the swamp?"

The elephant king grew somber, his trunk hung limply from his face before he reached out to touch the face of the alpha wolf with it. "There has been another from my herd... drained of blood an organs... it'd be much easier to explain if you could keep up--we must make it to the graveyard by nightfall and your camp is along the way."

Velyria nodded as Kul'Hani gently wrapped his trunk around the wolf's middle and lifted her off the ground and placed her on his back. He soon did the same to the younger wolf, chuckling at the tenseness of her muscles and how bristled her fur was. "You must not be familiar with our kind, little one."

Jaystep wrote:

Wildwing wrote:

Jaystep wrote:

Wildwing wrote:

Jaystep wrote:(Yes the hatchlings had playdates XD And omg, the porcupine!  I just saw that!)

Just as Nykoru was touching the shed skin, Syrune landed outside the hollow entrance, not seeing the mysterious substance over the other bird's shoulder. "... Have you seen your sister? It's time for us to...."

Even as Syrune was speaking she trailed off, seeing the distant shade of Ambyra flitting over the trees. "Oh. Nevermind. She's on her way... let's go." 

Without giving him a chance to answer, she lifted off the tree branch and glided out towards Ambyra, entrusting that Nykoru would follow.

"Hey!" Ambyra approached with a kindly smile, curving to come to Syrune's side. "Sorry, I got a bit distracted... there was a wolf by that huge tree over the hill... she looked a bit familiar."

"A wolf?" Syrune questioned, only half paying attention, her eyes on the horizon. 

"Yeah... she seemed lost." Ambyra noted, her gaze drifting towards the tree.

"Hmph. Not our problem. Wolves can fend for themselves just fine. We need to be on the lookout for Shades, there's no doubt they'll be after us by now."

(XD They're just like leaving Nykoru behind, lol. I think Syrune is low-key upset.)

(Aaw, cute! XD And yay! You got the reference! )

Nykoru flinched at Syrune's sudden arrival, his heart momentarily stopping in his chest. The shed skin in talon, he turned his head towards his adoptive mother. Before he even had the chance to open his beak, she had left to join his sister.

"..."

Hey, I found this...

The young falhawk sighed through his beak and tried to ignore the pang in his heart as he looked back down at the shed skin. Should he take it with him to show the other two or leave it? It was evidence that something had been in their temporary shelter during the short time they were away, but whatever had left it behind was gone now, and they would not be returning. So did it even matter that the girls knew about this? Would they even listen to him, or would they look at him oddly for carrying around such a strange...thing. Or would they just ignore him?
It made sense to leave it and just forget about it, but...of all the places for this skin to be left behind, why in the place the trio had spent the previous night.

Nykoru felt dumb, and slightly paranoid, for doing so, but he took the skin carefully out of his talons and exited the hollow. Seeing the girls in the distance, he took to the air and flew after them as fast as he could so as not to be left completely behind. He couldn't help but feel a little resentful that they had gone on ahead without waiting for him.

(XD Poor Nyko! )

(I'm sure they'll hug it out eventually XD)

Ambyra was the first to notice her brother falling in line behind them, nodding towards him to Syrune. The Red-tail gave Nykoru a small smile at his arrival, opening her beak to ask him about his hunt when she broke off, seeing what was in his talons. 

"Wh-" 

Before Syrune could ask, Ambyra was already on it. 
"What the heck is in your talons? Snake skin?" Ambyra questioned, raising a brow in confusion. Why in the world is he carrying that?


"Where did you find that?" Syrune asked, equally puzzled.

Oh hey, they acknowledged me. That's a relief, Nykoru thought, only somewhat sarcastically. But the odd looks they were giving him were making him second guess his decision to bring the skin. Then, as soon as he recognized his feelings of insecurity, he silently chastised himself to quit being such a juvenile before getting right to the point.

"It was in the hollow," the young falhawk informed, bringing the skin forward to give the two a better view of it, "I honestly don't know what it is. I want to say it is snake skin, but something doesn't feel right about this."

Nykoru then held it towards Syrune, inviting her to take it and examine it for herself.

Ambyra drifted away in her flight in disgust, opting to stay far away from the gross bit of skin. "Yuck! I did't even notice it when I picked through there yesterday." She let out a small shudder while Syrune rolled her eyes.

"It's probably just a snake, Nykoru." Syrune glanced over at the skin but didn't take it, turning to face the distant clouds dismissively.

"It wasn't there this morning..." Nykoru started replying to Ambyra, but his voice died off at the end. He looked to Syrune out of the corner of his eye and waited a moment before bringing his talons in. Silently, as he continued to glide after the females, he looked down at the skin he held, unraveling his talons a bit to see it better.

Just a snake...huh?

The skin was broken and turned inside out, like normal shed snake skins. It was...he didn't know what it was about this skin, but he just didn't think it looked like a snake skin should. But...what would he know? He'd only seen one or two snake skins in his life, so maybe some skins looked as demented as the one he was holding. Besides, what did it matter? The trio had left the hollow, so whatever had been there, snake or otherwise, was left behind. They wouldn't be seeing it again. With a sigh, Nyko opened his talons, letting the passing wind steal the skin away from him.

"...Ya. You're right," he muttered under his breath in agreement with Syrune.

Ruki wrote:

Wildwing wrote:

Ruki wrote:

Wildwing wrote:

Ruki wrote:

Wildwing wrote:

Ruki wrote:

Wildwing wrote:
The she-wolf's ears twisted toward the sound of approaching pawsteps before she turned her head to look at the newcomer. At first sight of the other wolf, she immediately felt apprehension towards her, shown by her flattening ears and bristling fur. She watched the older wolf carefully, instinctively preparing to defend herself. But then, the strangest thing happened.

As the blue-eyed she-wolf watched the graceful movements of the older she-wolf, and then recognized the lack of hostility on her face, an image flashed through her head. A different she-wolf, in place of the newcomer, was looking down on her. Her crimson gaze was warm, her features gentle. Her soft gray fur billowed in the cold wind, snowflakes dancing across her figure, and the ground behind her was so white it seemed to glow. With a blink, the image was gone. The blue-eyed she-wolf was once again in the humid swamp, facing the older chestnut she-wolf.

"Excuse me, are you lost, child?"

By the time the question was asked, the fur along the blue-eyed she-wolf's back had lain flat. The previous apprehension had faded.

"...I...think so," she hesitantly replied, "Where am I?"

The older wolf smiled softly, she couldn't help but to be amused at the initial reaction of the newcomer, it reminded her of her own daughter.

"We call this place the Muckwaters," she started, her tail flicking at a fly that started buzzing around her hind quarters. "And you just so happened to find yourself in the middle of my territory. I am Alpha Velyria, great-granddaughter of pack matron Heira." The older wolf had a queenly aura and stood straight upon speaking her title. She shuffled on her paws, not carrying for the squishy dirt in between her toes. "You don't seem like you're a shadow-walker. And you look like you haven't had a good meal in quite sometime." Velyria smiled, starting to head off into the swamp. "Come child, there is a warm den and a good meal and fresh water back at my camp."

Alpha... The highest power in a pack, the blue-eyed she-wolf recognized with a slight jolt. At learning that Velyria was an Alpha, the blue-eyed she-wolf's body language subtly changed to show more respect. It was a subconscious move, based on instinct, on her part.

As she listened to Velyria, the blue-eyed she-wolf realized the terms "Muckwaters", "Heira" and "shadow-walker" were unfamiliar to her. All she understood from the explanation was that she was on this Alpha's territory. She had questions of course, but they were forgotten at the mention of food and shelter, prompting her stomach to rumble loudly and her muscles to suddenly feel so tired. She also noticed how dry her throat felt.

"A-Ah... Thank you..." she quietly muttered. She took a hesitant step forward, grimacing as the moist dirt squished through her toes, before following after Velyria.

Velyria smiled hearing the younger wolf start walking after her. "Step where I step, child," she called out behind her. "This swamp can be full of nasty surprises if you're not careful." The older wolf cleared a rather large log with a single jump bound and waited for her new companion to do the same. "Where are you from child? Do you have a name?"

The blue-eyed she-wolf wondered what Velyria meant by 'nasty surprises', but seeing as she had no reason to do otherwise, she obeyed the alpha. She stopped for a moment behind the log, examining it before leaping over it as well. Her paws scraped over the wood, not painfully, but she successfully landed beside Velyria.

"I..." the she-wolf started, taking a moment to ponder the question. "...I...don't... I don't know," she finally replied, drawing a blank, "I think there was snow?... A mountain?... But I don't... And my name...it's..."
She stopped and thought hard.
What is my name? I know I have one, but...why can't I... ...I do have a name, right?...

"My... then my scouts had reported a bright flash from the swamps I didn't expect to find you..." the older wolf thought hard. She had known cases of memories issues with her pack upon injury but this some something she couldn't simply comprehend. She nodded slowly in understatement. "Well whoever you are you must be far from home, and you don't seem to have a bad flavor thus far."

As the older wolf she continued talking to the younger wolf--explaining the dangers of the murky waters and the tar pits that could swallow an adult elephant within moments. Velyria taught her that the rain that collected in the leaves of plants was safe to drink. As she was pointing out to the young wolf a mushroom that could make you feel full until you could hunt down a decent meal the ground started to rumble with thuds and nearby trees creaked. The older wold chuckled at the younger wolf and smiled slightly. "There there, child, it's nothing to be afraid of." As the older wolf spoke a herd of elephants broke through the dense tree line, shaking off the vines from their mighty tusks as they stomped through the vegetation. 

The elephants marched by peacefully, nodding their heads in respect to the alpha female and her companion. One in particular had symbols drawn on him with mud. They were mostly dabs, stripes, and some swirls that decorated his face and shoulders. He has dark grey skin and his ears were tattered and his legs and thighs were scarred from unruly creatures trying to nibble at his ankles.

"You see those symbols?" Velyria whispered to the younger wolf. "Those are how to tell that he is their king."

The king elephant approached the two wolves and the rest of his herd stopped behind him. He bowed his head to Velyria and in turn she kneeled to him. "Kneel." Velyria whispered to her companion quietly.

"Greetings, Alpha Velyria." the elephant started, his voice boomed throughout the trees. "And... who is your friend here?"

Bright flash? the blue-eyed she-wolf thought in curiosity.
...Bad...flavor? It was a strange phrase, but it had some familiarity behind it... And it was a good thing if she didn't have bad flavor, right? ...Something about that previous statement doesn't seem right...

Shrugging it off, the she-wolf continued walking with Velyria, taking in her surroundings while quietly listening to the alpha's teachings. She paid attention for the most part, especially when the older wolf was talking about things she had never heard of before, such as the tar pits. The term "elephant" tickled at her brain, but the meaning of the word was lost to her.
She was distracted from time to time by the unfamiliar aspects of the territory she was passing through, sometimes missing some of Velyria's words, but she quickly regained her focus each time.

As the blue-eyed she-wolf was crouched down beside the mushroom, examining it in curiosity, she was startled by the increasing rumble. She backed up to Velyria's side, her fur prickling in unease. The Alpha's words calmed her. That is, until the behemoth appeared.

NOTHING TO BE AFRAID OF?! she mentally screamed as she stared up at the towering creature, her fur bushed out like the pines on a pine tree and eyes as wide as moons. What was this thing?!

...Oh ya. That was an elephant, she remembered. So stay away from those tar pits! A voice in the back of her head piped up unhelpfully.

The she-wolf glanced quickly to Velyria as the alpha moved to the ground, barely registering her order to kneel, which she hurriedly did. She was slowly getting over her initial panic, and Velyria's calm voice explaining the markings on the elephant's skin helped calm her down enough to quickly look over the markings. Later she would admit to herself that those markings looked pretty cool.

The she-wolf froze as the elephant turned his attention to her. She had no idea what to say. Her mind drew a huge blank. She could only stare in wide-eyed silence up at the large elephant.

Velyria chuckled in amusement as she stood up. "She seems to be confused about who she is and where she came from."

The elephant nodded, seeming to understand the predicament. "Perhaps she has breathed the smoke of that foul demon stalking our lands."

Velyria looked to the she-wolf beside her. "Yes, yes that makes sense... thank you King Kul'Hani. We're on our way back to camp, but may I ask what brings you to this part of the swamp?"

The elephant king grew somber, his trunk hung limply from his face before he reached out to touch the face of the alpha wolf with it. "There has been another from my herd... drained of blood an organs... it'd be much easier to explain if you could keep up--we must make it to the graveyard by nightfall and your camp is along the way."

Velyria nodded as Kul'Hani gently wrapped his trunk around the wolf's middle and lifted her off the ground and placed her on his back. He soon did the same to the younger wolf, chuckling at the tenseness of her muscles and how bristled her fur was. "You must not be familiar with our kind, little one."

Smoke of the foul demon...drained of blood and organs...graveyard...

The she-wolf felt faint as she tried to keep up with the conversation she didn't understand. She wasn't even sure she wanted to understand.

She watched as the elephant reached for Velyria, subconsciously leaning away from the trunk as it neared her. Not expecting the older wolf to be lifted in the air, the she-wolf went rigid, making soft choking noises in the back of her throat as she watched Kul'Hani put Velyria on his back. And then before she could regain her senses, the elephant's trunk wrapped around her middle and her paws were no longer on the ground.

WHAT IS HAPPENING.

The blue-eyed she-wolf almost slid off Kul'Hani's back the moment she was set on it.

What. What. What, she repeated in her mind as she stared wide eyed straight ahead of her.

"What is happening?" she finally asked in a higher pitched voice.

(Tomorrow I'm going to awaken Drellan, have someone notice Fayru, and have a happy "reunion" with Rose and another character. I think Ruki and I are going to bed now though, see ya tomorrow!  )

Jaystep wrote:(Tomorrow I'm going to awaken Drellan, have someone notice Fayru, and have a happy "reunion" with Rose and another character. I think Ruki and I are going to bed now though, see ya tomorrow!  )

Alrighty, awesome! Sounds great, can't wait! Have a goodnight you guys! Sweet dreams and see ya tomorrow! ^.^)

Jaystep wrote:

Wildwing wrote:

Jaystep wrote:

Wildwing wrote:

Jaystep wrote:

Wildwing wrote:

Jaystep wrote:

Wildwing wrote:

Jaystep wrote:

Wildwing wrote:

Jaystep wrote:Kale simply stared down at Finnican, doing his best to keep from rolling his eyes. The smallest flicker of humor sparkled in the falcon's eyes, but he denied it. "Sure. Take your time." 

Even as he spoke, the falcon spread his wings and started gracefully into the sky, showing off just a tiny bit.

Finnican pulled his head out of the snow in time to see Kale take off. He puffed out his cheeks, a sliver of jealousy piercing his heart.

I'm sure I was good at flying to! he mentally protested.

But, seeing the grace of Kale's flight filled him with determination. Finnican got back to his talons and, after picturing Kale fly into the air, the amnesic falcon spread his wings once more and successfully took off. ...A lot less gracefully... But he was in the air this time, so ha! Take that Kale!

As Finnican circled the area close to the ground, a little wobbly in his flight, he grinned proudly to himself.

Kale was just happy Finnican was finally flying, catching a glimpse of the falcon's grinning. Whoo-hoo you did something a one year old can do, and your worse at it too.


Frowning internally, the Peregrine looked back to make sure Finnican could follow before starting off into the sky above the mountains.

(Finnican: W-Well! At least I know when to use "you're" instead of "your", Kale, so ha! *blows raspberry at Kale* )

As Finnican began to gain altitude, he caught a glimpse of the cave entrance that was half buried in the snow. His mind brought back the image of the hawk skull, as well as the scorch marks and ash inside the cave. His grin faded as the dread seeped back into his system and he hurried after Kale.

"Um..." he started quietly as he pulled up to the side of the other falcon, "That cave I woke up in... I found weird things in it..."

(Kale: I was tired, fluff-head!  )

Kale looked down towards the cave after Fin's comment, watching the entrance closely as he flew by. He was quiet, having worked out the origins of the cave already during their previous conversation. "Try not to think about it.... there's a lot more weird in your future."

()

Finnican did not like the sound of that.

"R...Really?" he asked softly. Then he let out a nervous chuckle. "What makes you say that?" he asked louder, "Can you see the future?"

Kale paused for a moment. turning to look into Finnican's eyes with a serious look. "Yes. I can... would you like to know yours?"

Finnican froze, his flight pattern wobbling violently for a split second. Luckily, he regained control before he could start falling out of the sky. He looked to Kale, first in shock, then in excitement.

"Whoa, really?! Then what's my future? Dude, I gotta know!"

Kale smiled, a bit mischievously. 
"Oh yeah, I'll tell you." He started, getting a little proud of himself. The falcon kept looking at Finnican, his eyes getting wider as he started egging the other falcon on. 
"Well, first, you start having a very long winded conversation. You try to make the trip to find your sister easier by talking with the other falcon you're flying with. You make lots of jokes and a lot of small talk, to the point that the other falcon get's so annoyed, he abandons you in a snow drift, all alone with no idea where to go."

Kale smiled a bit wider, "I wouldn't want to make that mistake, right? Maybe if we try hard enough we can change destiny, huh? Let's work on that." He finished sarcastically, snorting through his beak and speeding up to get in front of Finnican.

---

(Kale:

  )

Everyone except Fin: OOOOOOHHHHHH!!!!!

Finnican: ...

---

That was not at all what Finnican expected. He stared at Kale in confusion as the other falcon spoke, trying to figure out with where he was going with this "divination". He was still left in puzzlement even after Kale sped ahead. Then, after rethinking the words he heard, he got it.

"Hey!" he whined, much like a hatchling would as he flew after Kale, "What's that supposed to mean?!"

Kale fought the urge to snicker, opting instead for shaking his head. "It means let's keep this trip focused on the goal. Less chatting and more flying, got it?" 

The falcon set his gaze once more on the snowy horizon, trying to predict the number of days it would take to get to Rinka. If Fin insisted on being friendly, this was going to be a long trip.

Finnican frowned and made a frustrated noise in the back of his throat.
Fine, Mister Grumpy-Feathers, he pouted to himself, looking away with a childish huff. Since Kale didn't seem to be in the mood for talking, Fin would stay silent for the time being. But he wouldn't give up! One way or another, he was going to redeem himself for being mean to Kale. One way or another, he decided, he would befriend the rightfully grumpy grump!

Ruki wrote:((N-no! I am 100% human!))

Ruki let out a sigh. She knew deep down that this white wolf was a burden and was probably better off being lost to the shades. She also knew deep down that Raiya loved her "uncle" dearly and would do practically anything for him. "Fine." she hopped down from her perch and stood in front of the bear and wolf, her long slender body was built for speed and she could cover way more ground than those two combined. "What's up first, boss?"

Raiya had only acknowledged the cheetah enough to grunt her approval, never slowing in her pace as the two spoke. Hearing the last question, the young wolf cut in. "Pick up his trail and run as fast as you can. They should be going West if he's to be interrogated!"

Wildwing wrote:

Ruki wrote:

Wildwing wrote:

Ruki wrote:

Wildwing wrote:

Ruki wrote:

Wildwing wrote:
Alpha... The highest power in a pack, the blue-eyed she-wolf recognized with a slight jolt. At learning that Velyria was an Alpha, the blue-eyed she-wolf's body language subtly changed to show more respect. It was a subconscious move, based on instinct, on her part.

As she listened to Velyria, the blue-eyed she-wolf realized the terms "Muckwaters", "Heira" and "shadow-walker" were unfamiliar to her. All she understood from the explanation was that she was on this Alpha's territory. She had questions of course, but they were forgotten at the mention of food and shelter, prompting her stomach to rumble loudly and her muscles to suddenly feel so tired. She also noticed how dry her throat felt.

"A-Ah... Thank you..." she quietly muttered. She took a hesitant step forward, grimacing as the moist dirt squished through her toes, before following after Velyria.

Velyria smiled hearing the younger wolf start walking after her. "Step where I step, child," she called out behind her. "This swamp can be full of nasty surprises if you're not careful." The older wolf cleared a rather large log with a single jump bound and waited for her new companion to do the same. "Where are you from child? Do you have a name?"

The blue-eyed she-wolf wondered what Velyria meant by 'nasty surprises', but seeing as she had no reason to do otherwise, she obeyed the alpha. She stopped for a moment behind the log, examining it before leaping over it as well. Her paws scraped over the wood, not painfully, but she successfully landed beside Velyria.

"I..." the she-wolf started, taking a moment to ponder the question. "...I...don't... I don't know," she finally replied, drawing a blank, "I think there was snow?... A mountain?... But I don't... And my name...it's..."
She stopped and thought hard.
What is my name? I know I have one, but...why can't I... ...I do have a name, right?...

"My... then my scouts had reported a bright flash from the swamps I didn't expect to find you..." the older wolf thought hard. She had known cases of memories issues with her pack upon injury but this some something she couldn't simply comprehend. She nodded slowly in understatement. "Well whoever you are you must be far from home, and you don't seem to have a bad flavor thus far."

As the older wolf she continued talking to the younger wolf--explaining the dangers of the murky waters and the tar pits that could swallow an adult elephant within moments. Velyria taught her that the rain that collected in the leaves of plants was safe to drink. As she was pointing out to the young wolf a mushroom that could make you feel full until you could hunt down a decent meal the ground started to rumble with thuds and nearby trees creaked. The older wold chuckled at the younger wolf and smiled slightly. "There there, child, it's nothing to be afraid of." As the older wolf spoke a herd of elephants broke through the dense tree line, shaking off the vines from their mighty tusks as they stomped through the vegetation. 

The elephants marched by peacefully, nodding their heads in respect to the alpha female and her companion. One in particular had symbols drawn on him with mud. They were mostly dabs, stripes, and some swirls that decorated his face and shoulders. He has dark grey skin and his ears were tattered and his legs and thighs were scarred from unruly creatures trying to nibble at his ankles.

"You see those symbols?" Velyria whispered to the younger wolf. "Those are how to tell that he is their king."

The king elephant approached the two wolves and the rest of his herd stopped behind him. He bowed his head to Velyria and in turn she kneeled to him. "Kneel." Velyria whispered to her companion quietly.

"Greetings, Alpha Velyria." the elephant started, his voice boomed throughout the trees. "And... who is your friend here?"

Bright flash? the blue-eyed she-wolf thought in curiosity.
...Bad...flavor? It was a strange phrase, but it had some familiarity behind it... And it was a good thing if she didn't have bad flavor, right? ...Something about that previous statement doesn't seem right...

Shrugging it off, the she-wolf continued walking with Velyria, taking in her surroundings while quietly listening to the alpha's teachings. She paid attention for the most part, especially when the older wolf was talking about things she had never heard of before, such as the tar pits. The term "elephant" tickled at her brain, but the meaning of the word was lost to her.
She was distracted from time to time by the unfamiliar aspects of the territory she was passing through, sometimes missing some of Velyria's words, but she quickly regained her focus each time.

As the blue-eyed she-wolf was crouched down beside the mushroom, examining it in curiosity, she was startled by the increasing rumble. She backed up to Velyria's side, her fur prickling in unease. The Alpha's words calmed her. That is, until the behemoth appeared.

NOTHING TO BE AFRAID OF?! she mentally screamed as she stared up at the towering creature, her fur bushed out like the pines on a pine tree and eyes as wide as moons. What was this thing?!

...Oh ya. That was an elephant, she remembered. So stay away from those tar pits! A voice in the back of her head piped up unhelpfully.

The she-wolf glanced quickly to Velyria as the alpha moved to the ground, barely registering her order to kneel, which she hurriedly did. She was slowly getting over her initial panic, and Velyria's calm voice explaining the markings on the elephant's skin helped calm her down enough to quickly look over the markings. Later she would admit to herself that those markings looked pretty cool.

The she-wolf froze as the elephant turned his attention to her. She had no idea what to say. Her mind drew a huge blank. She could only stare in wide-eyed silence up at the large elephant.

Velyria chuckled in amusement as she stood up. "She seems to be confused about who she is and where she came from."

The elephant nodded, seeming to understand the predicament. "Perhaps she has breathed the smoke of that foul demon stalking our lands."

Velyria looked to the she-wolf beside her. "Yes, yes that makes sense... thank you King Kul'Hani. We're on our way back to camp, but may I ask what brings you to this part of the swamp?"

The elephant king grew somber, his trunk hung limply from his face before he reached out to touch the face of the alpha wolf with it. "There has been another from my herd... drained of blood an organs... it'd be much easier to explain if you could keep up--we must make it to the graveyard by nightfall and your camp is along the way."

Velyria nodded as Kul'Hani gently wrapped his trunk around the wolf's middle and lifted her off the ground and placed her on his back. He soon did the same to the younger wolf, chuckling at the tenseness of her muscles and how bristled her fur was. "You must not be familiar with our kind, little one."

Smoke of the foul demon...drained of blood and organs...graveyard...

The she-wolf felt faint as she tried to keep up with the conversation she didn't understand. She wasn't even sure she wanted to understand.

She watched as the elephant reached for Velyria, subconsciously leaning away from the trunk as it neared her. Not expecting the older wolf to be lifted in the air, the she-wolf went rigid, making soft choking noises in the back of her throat as she watched Kul'Hani put Velyria on his back. And then before she could regain her senses, the elephant's trunk wrapped around her middle and her paws were no longer on the ground.

WHAT IS HAPPENING.

The blue-eyed she-wolf almost slid off Kul'Hani's back the moment she was set on it.

What. What. What, she repeated in her mind as she stared wide eyed straight ahead of her.

"What is happening?" she finally asked in a higher pitched voice.

Velyria chuckled, grabbing the she-wolf by her scruff and pulling her safely on the elephant's back. "Easy, child," she cooed. "I take it you've never been around elephants before?"

Ku'Hani shuffled as the two wolves settled on his back. "We're losing daylight, come then--" as he trailed off his lifted is trunk into the air and trumpetted, letting the others know the herd was preparing to move. The heard lurched forward and the swampy forests gave way--logs snapping under their feet and the trees buckled as they passed.

As they walked and spoke quietly amongst themselves, the lush green swamp started to fade and brown. All plant life was wilted and nothing, save for some insects, was living out here.

"Our home is dying," Kul'Hani started, his ears flapping as insects drew near. "The water is gone... this fish are dying. Most of the panthers have already fled north but their prince and his guard still remain here. Soon too I may move my people away from this place." The group passed under an archway of dead trees that tangled together as they grew, giving them some shelter from the sun. "All my life, and my father's life, and even my grandfather's life--no one can recall when the swamp has dried out like this. The very land itself calls out for aide. You can hear it in the wind, the crunching of the dried leaves."

As they passed under the archway one of the elephants trumpetted in alarm. "Something dripped on me!" she called out to the king. Kul'Hani stopped and felt something land on his face. He used his trunk to wipe it off of him. It was a mucus-green color with traces of a mysterious foam in it. It was grainy but also had the consistency of wet clay and was extremely sticky and dripped from his trunk as he observed it--the slime was also foreign to the king, having never seen anything like it in his lifetime.

"What the?" he tried to shake the substance off his trunk but all it did was fling it back into the younger she-wolf's face. His eyes looked up and his fellow herd members did the same. The slimy substance was covering the tops of the trees over them and slowly starting to drip down onto the restless herd.

Velyria stopped and looked around and started noticing traces of old spiderwebs, her fur bristled and looked to the younger wolf. "I don't like this..."

Jaystep wrote:

Ruki wrote:((N-no! I am 100% human!))

Ruki let out a sigh. She knew deep down that this white wolf was a burden and was probably better off being lost to the shades. She also knew deep down that Raiya loved her "uncle" dearly and would do practically anything for him. "Fine." she hopped down from her perch and stood in front of the bear and wolf, her long slender body was built for speed and she could cover way more ground than those two combined. "What's up first, boss?"

Raiya had only acknowledged the cheetah enough to grunt her approval, never slowing in her pace as the two spoke. Hearing the last question, the young wolf cut in. "Pick up his trail and run as fast as you can. They should be going West if he's to be interrogated!"

Ruki let out a sigh but understood the she-wolf's urgency. "Fine, but you don't have to be so rude..." she took off into the trees slowly at first, but eventually broken into top speed. Her tail whirling madly behind her as she headed west.

I just have to say, I love that Kale with the sunglasses picture so much. I can't help but grin to myself every time I scroll past it XD)

Ruki wrote:

Wildwing wrote:

Ruki wrote:

Wildwing wrote:

Ruki wrote:

Wildwing wrote:

Ruki wrote:

Wildwing wrote:
Alpha... The highest power in a pack, the blue-eyed she-wolf recognized with a slight jolt. At learning that Velyria was an Alpha, the blue-eyed she-wolf's body language subtly changed to show more respect. It was a subconscious move, based on instinct, on her part.

As she listened to Velyria, the blue-eyed she-wolf realized the terms "Muckwaters", "Heira" and "shadow-walker" were unfamiliar to her. All she understood from the explanation was that she was on this Alpha's territory. She had questions of course, but they were forgotten at the mention of food and shelter, prompting her stomach to rumble loudly and her muscles to suddenly feel so tired. She also noticed how dry her throat felt.

"A-Ah... Thank you..." she quietly muttered. She took a hesitant step forward, grimacing as the moist dirt squished through her toes, before following after Velyria.

Velyria smiled hearing the younger wolf start walking after her. "Step where I step, child," she called out behind her. "This swamp can be full of nasty surprises if you're not careful." The older wolf cleared a rather large log with a single jump bound and waited for her new companion to do the same. "Where are you from child? Do you have a name?"

The blue-eyed she-wolf wondered what Velyria meant by 'nasty surprises', but seeing as she had no reason to do otherwise, she obeyed the alpha. She stopped for a moment behind the log, examining it before leaping over it as well. Her paws scraped over the wood, not painfully, but she successfully landed beside Velyria.

"I..." the she-wolf started, taking a moment to ponder the question. "...I...don't... I don't know," she finally replied, drawing a blank, "I think there was snow?... A mountain?... But I don't... And my name...it's..."
She stopped and thought hard.
What is my name? I know I have one, but...why can't I... ...I do have a name, right?...

"My... then my scouts had reported a bright flash from the swamps I didn't expect to find you..." the older wolf thought hard. She had known cases of memories issues with her pack upon injury but this some something she couldn't simply comprehend. She nodded slowly in understatement. "Well whoever you are you must be far from home, and you don't seem to have a bad flavor thus far."

As the older wolf she continued talking to the younger wolf--explaining the dangers of the murky waters and the tar pits that could swallow an adult elephant within moments. Velyria taught her that the rain that collected in the leaves of plants was safe to drink. As she was pointing out to the young wolf a mushroom that could make you feel full until you could hunt down a decent meal the ground started to rumble with thuds and nearby trees creaked. The older wold chuckled at the younger wolf and smiled slightly. "There there, child, it's nothing to be afraid of." As the older wolf spoke a herd of elephants broke through the dense tree line, shaking off the vines from their mighty tusks as they stomped through the vegetation. 

The elephants marched by peacefully, nodding their heads in respect to the alpha female and her companion. One in particular had symbols drawn on him with mud. They were mostly dabs, stripes, and some swirls that decorated his face and shoulders. He has dark grey skin and his ears were tattered and his legs and thighs were scarred from unruly creatures trying to nibble at his ankles.

"You see those symbols?" Velyria whispered to the younger wolf. "Those are how to tell that he is their king."

The king elephant approached the two wolves and the rest of his herd stopped behind him. He bowed his head to Velyria and in turn she kneeled to him. "Kneel." Velyria whispered to her companion quietly.

"Greetings, Alpha Velyria." the elephant started, his voice boomed throughout the trees. "And... who is your friend here?"

Bright flash? the blue-eyed she-wolf thought in curiosity.
...Bad...flavor? It was a strange phrase, but it had some familiarity behind it... And it was a good thing if she didn't have bad flavor, right? ...Something about that previous statement doesn't seem right...

Shrugging it off, the she-wolf continued walking with Velyria, taking in her surroundings while quietly listening to the alpha's teachings. She paid attention for the most part, especially when the older wolf was talking about things she had never heard of before, such as the tar pits. The term "elephant" tickled at her brain, but the meaning of the word was lost to her.
She was distracted from time to time by the unfamiliar aspects of the territory she was passing through, sometimes missing some of Velyria's words, but she quickly regained her focus each time.

As the blue-eyed she-wolf was crouched down beside the mushroom, examining it in curiosity, she was startled by the increasing rumble. She backed up to Velyria's side, her fur prickling in unease. The Alpha's words calmed her. That is, until the behemoth appeared.

NOTHING TO BE AFRAID OF?! she mentally screamed as she stared up at the towering creature, her fur bushed out like the pines on a pine tree and eyes as wide as moons. What was this thing?!

...Oh ya. That was an elephant, she remembered. So stay away from those tar pits! A voice in the back of her head piped up unhelpfully.

The she-wolf glanced quickly to Velyria as the alpha moved to the ground, barely registering her order to kneel, which she hurriedly did. She was slowly getting over her initial panic, and Velyria's calm voice explaining the markings on the elephant's skin helped calm her down enough to quickly look over the markings. Later she would admit to herself that those markings looked pretty cool.

The she-wolf froze as the elephant turned his attention to her. She had no idea what to say. Her mind drew a huge blank. She could only stare in wide-eyed silence up at the large elephant.

Velyria chuckled in amusement as she stood up. "She seems to be confused about who she is and where she came from."

The elephant nodded, seeming to understand the predicament. "Perhaps she has breathed the smoke of that foul demon stalking our lands."

Velyria looked to the she-wolf beside her. "Yes, yes that makes sense... thank you King Kul'Hani. We're on our way back to camp, but may I ask what brings you to this part of the swamp?"

The elephant king grew somber, his trunk hung limply from his face before he reached out to touch the face of the alpha wolf with it. "There has been another from my herd... drained of blood an organs... it'd be much easier to explain if you could keep up--we must make it to the graveyard by nightfall and your camp is along the way."

Velyria nodded as Kul'Hani gently wrapped his trunk around the wolf's middle and lifted her off the ground and placed her on his back. He soon did the same to the younger wolf, chuckling at the tenseness of her muscles and how bristled her fur was. "You must not be familiar with our kind, little one."

Smoke of the foul demon...drained of blood and organs...graveyard...

The she-wolf felt faint as she tried to keep up with the conversation she didn't understand. She wasn't even sure she wanted to understand.

She watched as the elephant reached for Velyria, subconsciously leaning away from the trunk as it neared her. Not expecting the older wolf to be lifted in the air, the she-wolf went rigid, making soft choking noises in the back of her throat as she watched Kul'Hani put Velyria on his back. And then before she could regain her senses, the elephant's trunk wrapped around her middle and her paws were no longer on the ground.

WHAT IS HAPPENING.

The blue-eyed she-wolf almost slid off Kul'Hani's back the moment she was set on it.

What. What. What, she repeated in her mind as she stared wide eyed straight ahead of her.

"What is happening?" she finally asked in a higher pitched voice.

Velyria chuckled, grabbing the she-wolf by her scruff and pulling her safely on the elephant's back. "Easy, child," she cooed. "I take it you've never been around elephants before?"

Ku'Hani shuffled as the two wolves settled on his back. "We're losing daylight, come then--" as he trailed off his lifted is trunk into the air and trumpetted, letting the others know the herd was preparing to move. The heard lurched forward and the swampy forests gave way--logs snapping under their feet and the trees buckled as they passed.

As they walked and spoke quietly amongst themselves, the lush green swamp started to fade and brown. All plant life was wilted and nothing, save for some insects, was living out here.

"Our home is dying," Kul'Hani started, his ears flapping as insects drew near. "The water is gone... this fish are dying. Most of the panthers have already fled north but their prince and his guard still remain here. Soon too I may move my people away from this place." The group passed under an archway of dead trees that tangled together as they grew, giving them some shelter from the sun. "All my life, and my father's life, and even my grandfather's life--no one can recall when the swamp has dried out like this. The very land itself calls out for aide. You can hear it in the wind, the crunching of the dried leaves."

As they passed under the archway one of the elephants trumpetted in alarm. "Something dripped on me!" she called out to the king. Kul'Hani stopped and felt something land on his face. He used his trunk to wipe it off of him. It was a mucus-green color with traces of a mysterious foam in it. It was grainy but also had the consistency of wet clay and was extremely sticky and dripped from his trunk as he observed it--the slime was also foreign to the king, having never seen anything like it in his lifetime.

"What the?" he tried to shake the substance off his trunk but all it did was fling it back into the younger she-wolf's face. His eyes looked up and his fellow herd members did the same. The slimy substance was covering the tops of the trees over them and slowly starting to drip down onto the restless herd.

Velyria stopped and looked around and started noticing traces of old spiderwebs, her fur bristled and looked to the younger wolf. "I don't like this..."

With Velyria's help, the younger she-wolf was set in place on Kul'Hani's back. She was laying down with all her legs clinging tightly to his sides, her nails digging into his thick skin. Then, after being asked about never being around elephants, she turned and gave Velyria a sassy 'ya think?' look.

The blue-eyed she-wolf flinched at Kul'Hani's trumpet and audibly gasped as he started walking forward, the jerking motion causing her to cling to his back tighter. She stared ahead with wide eyes for a moment as their surroundings began to pass them by, then looked to Velyria with the same scared look on her face.

I am riding on an elephant. Why am I riding on an elephant?

As the herd continued traveling, the blue-eyed she-wolf gradually relaxed, glancing back at the following elephants with her ears pricked towards their conversations. Then, as she swiveled her head back forward, she noticed the change in scenery. She sat up a little in interest, following the fading green to the dead brown that lay ahead.

What happened here?

Her unasked question was answered by Kul'Hani. She quietly listened to his words. It saddened her that this beautiful swamp was dying with no explanation. She remained silent out of respect for the dead place they traveled through.

On a side note, when the elephant mentioned panthers, another image popped into her head much like the one when she met Velyria. Only instead of a wolf, the blue-eyed she-wolf saw the face of a male black panther who was handsome for a cat. He was wearing a smirk, and though his eyes were friendly, there was also a glint of playfulness in them.

The image disappeared when she blinked in confusion. The red-eyed wolf and now the panther... Deep down, she knew these animals. She could clearly recall their familiar faces, but she could not remember who they were. What were their names? Who were they to her?
She was startled out of her thoughts by the trumpet of the female elephant. The young wolf looked back at her in confusion. Not seeing what was wrong, she turned back around only to have the mysterious slime splashed in her face.
"Hey!" she barked sharply, frantically wiping the green substance off with a forepaw. With some bits still in her cheek fur, she glared in annoyance at what came off on her arm.
"What is this?" she asked out loud in disgust. That disgust was quickly joined by unease as she, like all the other elephants and wolf around her, she looked up. She slowly nodded along with what Velyria said.

"Hey, uh... Elephant King? We should go..." she slowly stated, briefly wondering if she could survive jumping off Kul'Hani's back if he didn't start moving.

Ruki wrote:

Jaystep wrote:

Ruki wrote:((N-no! I am 100% human!))

Ruki let out a sigh. She knew deep down that this white wolf was a burden and was probably better off being lost to the shades. She also knew deep down that Raiya loved her "uncle" dearly and would do practically anything for him. "Fine." she hopped down from her perch and stood in front of the bear and wolf, her long slender body was built for speed and she could cover way more ground than those two combined. "What's up first, boss?"

Raiya had only acknowledged the cheetah enough to grunt her approval, never slowing in her pace as the two spoke. Hearing the last question, the young wolf cut in. "Pick up his trail and run as fast as you can. They should be going West if he's to be interrogated!"

Ruki let out a sigh but understood the she-wolf's urgency. "Fine, but you don't have to be so rude..." she took off into the trees slowly at first, but eventually broken into top speed. Her tail whirling madly behind her as she headed west.

Thalak watched the cheetah sprint ahead as he kept pace with Raiya, thankful they had found at least one ally. He would keep his eye out for any others as they ran, silently praying there would be others but preparing to enter the upcoming battle with just the three of them.

Wildwing wrote:I just have to say, I love that Kale with the sunglasses picture so much. I can't help but grin to myself every time I scroll past it XD)

(XD  Thank you! *bows* )

Hey, BTW can you help me out a bit? I need to get a map up on my whiteboard (actually I'm gonna do it on my computer, just decided. I'll put plot threads on the whiteboard instead) of all the characters and where they're going/planning to go, can you give me an exact geographical description of each of your characters' locations, and maybe have Rose wake up? I don't think my character is capable of doing that for her, lol. I can have my old bird wake up Fayru though! And I'm working on a wake up post for Drellan and we need to start coordinating with Silver about Jake and Sumire's situation.

(Disreguard that strikeout entirely! Changed my mind, doing something completely different and don't need assistance BC of secrets XD)

(Is anyone having trouble keeping up with all the different plots happening at once? Do you think we should split up the regions more? I could make a Muckwaters section, a Northern Mountains section, ect. Tell me what you all think!)

Lol! Okay, I will get that done! XD )

And yes! I think more threads would be helpful! I feel like as it is now, RP posts would easily get lost in the many story arcs that are happening, and it would be less confusing to read through if we want to go back one day to reread RP)

Jaystep wrote:(Is anyone having trouble keeping up with all the different plots happening at once? Do you think we should split up the regions more? I could make a Muckwaters section, a Northern Mountains section, ect. Tell me what you all think!)

[Yeah...I agree. Lol it could definitely be split up more, Muckwaters, Northern Mountains, Maybe an outskirts/random locations one as well, until some of the others like Jury and Silence find their way back towards actual known territories.

Also Wild I'm typing up Silence right now for your charrie, then I guess we'll have to wait for Silvs xD]

kk! Sounds good! XD)

Jaystep wrote:

Wildwing wrote:I just have to say, I love that Kale with the sunglasses picture so much. I can't help but grin to myself every time I scroll past it XD)

(XD  Thank you! *bows* )

Hey, BTW can you help me out a bit? I need to get a map up on my whiteboard (actually I'm gonna do it on my computer, just decided. I'll put plot threads on the whiteboard instead) of all the characters and where they're going/planning to go, can you give me an exact geographical description of each of your characters' locations, and maybe have Rose wake up? I don't think my character is capable of doing that for her, lol. I can have my old bird wake up Fayru though! And I'm working on a wake up post for Drellan and we need to start coordinating with Silver about Jake and Sumire's situation.

(Disreguard that strikeout entirely! Changed my mind, doing something completely different and don't need assistance BC of secrets XD)

Oh yes!! I've been waiting for the Jake and Sumire thing! I'm so excited!!)

"Oh thank goodness!" the she-wolf breathed in relief, "The snow is firmer on my left!" she pointed with her brown, sunstreaked muzzle, "If you're careful, you won't fall in from there!"

Silence shuffled around to the left of the voice, taking a peek and seeing the tip of the wolf's muzzle poking out form the snow. He began to dig at the snow, trying to make a safe slope downwards to get to the trapped she-wolf.

(Okay, got it! Reworking a bit of the organization now, and drafting the Drellan thing for later.)

Jaystep wrote:Alright everyone! New information!


From here on out plot is now split between the following regions:


Muckwaters - (Currently involving Syrune and the chicks, Najmah, and Spindle)
Northern Mountains - (Kale and Finnican's story at the moment, soon to be Drellan as well)
Pridelands (this page) - (Should be Rose, Rinka, Raiya/Thalak/Ruki and most of the villians)
Outskirts - (Ninx and Manik, Fayru, and Jury/Silence, any other characters that are lost or not in a specific region)
Grove of Wardens - (Dalkota, Tyrin, and Khirarra)
The Howls - (Kelldan's Pack)
Ethyrium - (Nobody yet~)
Rifts - (Page used for flashbacks in any region)


All previous rp can stay on this page, no need to delete or move any old posts, but all new replies please move plot to the respected regions or ask if you're not sure.  More regions to be added when we get to new places!

Awesome! Thank you for doing that! I'm going to copy my last posts to their respective pages to help everyone get organized!

In the Burned Lands, a young she-wolf's eyes fluttered open. She squinted through the harsh light that shone down on her, the surrounding black leafless tree doing nothing to shield her from the sun. She rolled to her side, three-year old ash mixed with dirt sifting under her with the movement. A quick survey around her revealed that little to no green grew in this charred spot of the dead forest. As she moved to her paws, her white leg fur staining dark gray with the dirty ground she had laid in, she noticed a cave directly to her side. She lowered her head just a bit to peak inside, but it was too dark to see much detail. A quick sniff and angling of her ears told her no living thing was inside.

(I've been wondering, would the pack's skeletons still be there or did Zarrock bring them back using their remains?)

(Some skeletons would be there, he didn't bring back everyone.)

Jaystep wrote:(Some skeletons would be there, he didn't bring back everyone.)

Alright! Thanks!)

Wildwing wrote:In the Burned Lands, a young she-wolf's eyes fluttered open. She squinted through the harsh light that shone down on her, the surrounding black leafless tree doing nothing to shield her from the sun. She rolled to her side, three-year old ash mixed with dirt sifting under her with the movement. A quick survey around her revealed that little to no green grew in this charred spot of the dead forest. As she moved to her paws, her white leg fur staining dark gray with the dirty ground she had laid in, she noticed a cave directly to her side. She lowered her head just a bit to peak inside, but it was too dark to see much detail. A quick sniff and angling of her ears told her no living thing was inside.

(I've been wondering, would the pack's skeletons still be there or did Zarrock bring them back using their remains?)

..... No ...... that's impossible .... it's been so long .....


Somewhere on the wind, the faintest whispering could be heard of confusion. In no place particular, and everywhere at once, someone unseen observed the younger wolf. Stunned, in denial, and with flickers of apprehension... it watched.

Jaystep wrote:

Wildwing wrote:In the Burned Lands, a young she-wolf's eyes fluttered open. She squinted through the harsh light that shone down on her, the surrounding black leafless tree doing nothing to shield her from the sun. She rolled to her side, three-year old ash mixed with dirt sifting under her with the movement. A quick survey around her revealed that little to no green grew in this charred spot of the dead forest. As she moved to her paws, her white leg fur staining dark gray with the dirty ground she had laid in, she noticed a cave directly to her side. She lowered her head just a bit to peak inside, but it was too dark to see much detail. A quick sniff and angling of her ears told her no living thing was inside.

(I've been wondering, would the pack's skeletons still be there or did Zarrock bring them back using their remains?)

..... No ...... that's impossible .... it's been so long .....


Somewhere on the wind, the faintest whispering could be heard of confusion. In no place particular, and everywhere at once, someone unseen observed the younger wolf. Stunned, in denial, and with flickers of apprehension... it watched.

The young she-wolf's ears flicked at the faint voice, lifting her head to see what it was. Looking over the empty camp, she saw no one. But she felt as if she were not alone. She stood in place for a moment, as if waiting to see if anything would happen. Then, when nothing did, she turned her back on the cave and slowly began to trod through the area. Her eyes flicking to the side, she noticed something that fit in with the scenery, but still looked unusual. Changing direction, she stopped in front of and silently stared down at what she recognized to be the burned remains of a grown wolf.

Wildwing wrote:

Jaystep wrote:

Wildwing wrote:In the Burned Lands, a young she-wolf's eyes fluttered open. She squinted through the harsh light that shone down on her, the surrounding black leafless tree doing nothing to shield her from the sun. She rolled to her side, three-year old ash mixed with dirt sifting under her with the movement. A quick survey around her revealed that little to no green grew in this charred spot of the dead forest. As she moved to her paws, her white leg fur staining dark gray with the dirty ground she had laid in, she noticed a cave directly to her side. She lowered her head just a bit to peak inside, but it was too dark to see much detail. A quick sniff and angling of her ears told her no living thing was inside.

(I've been wondering, would the pack's skeletons still be there or did Zarrock bring them back using their remains?)

..... No ...... that's impossible .... it's been so long .....


Somewhere on the wind, the faintest whispering could be heard of confusion. In no place particular, and everywhere at once, someone unseen observed the younger wolf. Stunned, in denial, and with flickers of apprehension... it watched.

The young she-wolf's ears flicked at the faint voice, lifting her head to see what it was. Looking over the empty camp, she saw no one. But she felt as if she were not alone. She stood in place for a moment, as if waiting to see if anything would happen. Then, when nothing did, she turned her back on the cave and slowly began to trod through the area. Her eyes flicking to the side, she noticed something that fit in with the scenery, but still looked unusual. Changing direction, she stopped in front of and silently stared down at what she recognized to be the burned remains of a grown wolf.

The whispering came again, this time just as faint but more recognizable as words. The familiar voice of a young grey wolf came again on the wind. "... you're alive .... "