In Dire Straits

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for the night is dark and full of terrors

Posted by: Zaniah - November 14, 2018, 05:05:01 PM - Replies (4)

In the dead of the night, the forest was filled with screams. Zaniah tracked it through the woods, following its foul, rotting scent and it's gigantic pawprints that it left in the mud. He did not know whether the beast was screaming or whether the noise came from it's victims; he sincerely hoped it was the former. The silver woman had given him her blessing in her Lord's name, but to be entirely honest, he was going to go on the hunt whether she had turned up or not.

He was tired of hiding away from his vengeful Goddess.

If she wants me so badly, let her take me.

He only saw the shadow of it at first; in the distance, it had stopped in its warpath. Despite the monsters horrific smell, Zaniah could distinguish that there was someone else more like him nearby, too. There was no time to try and decipher it, the creature could be getting ready to strike the other and so he acted before anything else, giving out a sharp "HEY!" as he skidded to a halt. He heard a soft wheeze come from the behemoth before finally, it turned to face him.

Zaniah swore he felt his heart freeze.

It stood at least 8 foot tall, wolf like in structure apart from a few certain details: it had only two slits for a nose, and no ears in sight. It's eyes were black save for two pale white irises that stared down at him. It's tail was furless, more skin-like in texture. Perhaps the most alarming thing, however, was it's mouth. It was far too large, and it stretched beyond it's face, towards it's neck - if it had gone any further, the two sides would have met around the back and there wouldn't have been a top to this monstrosity.
ref here

Which is why it was more terrifying when it's grinned at him.

And then it screamed.

It shot forward, faster than something of its size should have, but thankfully Zaniah regained his senses and bolted to the side, hearing the sharp clink of it's teeth smashing together beside him.

He had forgotten, in that moment, that there were others around.

@waka @Gothy @Huckle @toby

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Skinny Dipping [drishtiXfranziska]

Posted by: Jael - November 14, 2018, 02:18:56 PM - No Replies

It had been some time since Drishti had washed the grime off her fur. In some places there were matts and other places just plain dirt. It was unlike her to let her coat get to this mess, but there has been plenty to distract her from keeping up her appearance. She had just come back from a long patrol. It rained the majority of the time and resulted in her covered with mud. Her deep red color with lighter tones muddied and tangled. She never knew her parents and wondered if they had the task of keeping up with long hair. Long hair was a rarity and over time she learned how to care for it.

Stepping into the nearby pond, her large paws seeped mud in the clean water. The temperature, briskly cool, as she walked further into the water her hair soaked up the liquid and passed through to her secondary coat. It flowed with movement as she trudged deeper now soaked up to her neck, she dog paddled in a calm manner to keep from sinking under. Swimming in water was one of the few joys in life that she found lifted her spirits. Staying clean gave her more confidence, helped her feel better about herself. Plus swimming was fun, especially in the night under the moon.

Crickets and night creatures sang their songs while the stars lit up the sky and moon overhead. Fireflies were illuminating the pond and she watched as the light flickered. Assuming she was alone, she began to hum a lyrical tune that mimicked the crickets call, "Mmm-mm mmmm mm m mmm."

[an attempt]

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teen beans seen green [acceptance]

Posted by: Beansprout - November 14, 2018, 02:16:57 PM - Replies (3)

A E S T H E T I C A R T

Tell me a story, mamma, she had once cooed as a child. Tell me about a place far away from here, because the forest had felt so boring to her. It had once been full of wonder to her, but soon she had explored every nook and cranny and everything was the same. She graced the forests presence with her dainty stride, chasing wood pigeons as she weaved between the trees and catching small rabbits in the fields. Nothing surprised her, nothing was unexpected.

Until one day, her family started to disappear, one by one.

It was inevitable, wasn't it? Firstly because they were such a large group, it was a wonder that none of them had died yet. But they were also growing up now, ready to taste what life really had in store for them. Her siblings had started to vanish without a trace, and it seemed to signal that the time had finally come. She blessed the forest one last time with her presence, and then she ventured beyond.

(The wood pigeons sighed in relief).

Mother told her of a world that was different to her own. Forests that were bogged down by rain, their roots numerous and clustered, bursting from the ground in places to snag unwary souls. The waters were murky and dark and hid scaly monsters with thousands of teeth. The canopies blocked nearly all the sunlight, and they sang with a cacophony of sounds; screeching and howling from little creatures that would swing through the branches high above using their tails and their arms. The birds were colourful and extravagant, and the spiders were huge and hairy.

It was where she was from, Mother had said. But you should never go there, little Bea.

But little Beansprout did not understand why back then, and even now, the thought of finding this magical land was exciting. So she swam through the mangroves, gliding through the clear waters with elegance. Eventually her paws hit dirt, and beyond that she was wading through this flooded land towards...somewhere. She didn't really know, to be fair. It smelt...nice, though. Perhaps she could do some sightseeing.

Until she reached the cliffside, leaning back as she tried to see how high it was.

"Oh," She breathed, tilting her head to the side, the leaf on her head making no movement whatsoever. "What a bother." Came her conclusion to the barrier that stopped her dead in her tracks. She was about to wander off, but soon she saw someone actually on the cliffs itself.

"Hello," She called, a small smile touching her lips. "How did you get up there?"

How exciting, meeting someone new!

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Devil is in My Grasp

Posted by: Erysichthon - November 14, 2018, 01:33:47 PM - No Replies

He roamed alone again, as he often did. Keeping silent and watchful as he made his way toward shelter for the night. It came in the form of a deep and dark cave, one that Erysichthon was more than pleased to settle in. He moved into the cave and started exploring deeper and deeper into it. The further he went, the less he could see or hear. It wasn't long until he couldn't see anything at all, and sounds came in muffled or almost muted. Pawing out a spot on the floor, the beast lowered himself to find a peaceful rest in the depths of the cave. He wasn't sure if anyone would happen by, but he sure hoped they did. The devil could use a meal.

He awoke the next morning to find a feather floating in front of his face. He looked at it in anoyance and with a small huff, he blew it away. He looked around, he noticed a fresh spring bubbling beside him, then he looked up. The salagtight looks sucure enough …
His thoughts ran away with them selves.

This was home

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The darkening sky

Posted by: Tabitha - November 14, 2018, 01:06:55 PM - No Replies

Sitting in the middle of the ravine, staring up at the two or three stars that twinkled in the sliver of night sky he could only just make out, Tabitha sighed heavily. The Raven had been busy when she mentioned she was wanting to head out for a while, so today she explored unaccompanied. Earlier she'd thought about stopping by the battlefield but she'd have to go get someone to witness and it would be a whole long trip. In the end Tabitha just wandered out to the ravine and decided to poke around for the hell of it. Finding the best way in had taken the better part of the last hour. Too tired to worry about much more adventuring, she'd flopped heavily on the ground and rolled over to stare up at the darkening sky.

Occasionally Tabitha grew curious about how the rest of her family was doing, but she left the tribe so rarely that it just... wasn't something she had the time to actually investigate. Zephis was probably fine, her siblings were likely building their lives in whatever places they'd eventually ended up in. Rolling onto her side, Tabitha stared out across the floor of the ravine, trying to decide where she might curl up for the night but not really feeling motivated enough to do it just yet.

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Among Tall Trees & Twolegs

Posted by: Agar - November 14, 2018, 12:55:47 PM - Replies (10)

OOC: Setting this up for Agar and Ginko to meet, but super up for any human type or creature-wanting-to-meet-humans to join :3 Let's meet people in a foggy wood!

A rainy late morning and the fog was thick in the woodlands. The pine trees did enough to shelter its inhabitants from much of the rainfall but the same could not be said for the brook. The gentle stream had swelled, and it was enough for Agar to lose the trail of some thieving little critter that had been poking around his camp all too much.

But he was already out here, and with a bow and full quiver, so the large man stalked through the woods with careful eyes watching the soft ground below him. As soon as he stumbled on a trail of odd hoof prints, he stuck to it. The trail almost looked like goat prints, a damn treat if there was really one of those meandering around in the lowlands. It could turn a whole damn month around to get some good chevon.

He stayed quiet as he stepped through the woodlands, bow and arrow held down but readied should his quarry try to make a quick getaway.

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Weeping Willows

Posted by: Bloodbird - November 14, 2018, 11:51:03 AM - No Replies

Bloodbird lay under the willows, finding the place just as lovely as the raven had said. She felt a soft smile linger on her features as the bright yellow leaves swayed around her in the gentle autumn breeze. Peace finally found the hound she-wolf. She felt a relief from her stress for the first time in months, and though she was no longer surrounded by family she felt like home. A soft sigh filtered from her silver lips as her tail twitched contentedly beside her. Sweet little song birds serenaded her with their melody as the peaceful day progressed to noon time. The winter would be difficult on her young bones, already sand stiffened her joints and made moving uncomfortable. She sighed heavily then, not for the first time wishing she could turn back time.
Of course with her knowledge of herbs she could and would make herself a tincture to soothe the pain. But herbs could only do so much for her aching body. She wondered if there were any wolves here that felt the same pains in thereselves,she didn't doubt it.

Placing her head on her paws she prepared herself for a short nap, she was tired so much more often now no matter how much she seemed to sleep.

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treasure in the ashes

Posted by: Kukulkan - November 14, 2018, 04:24:50 AM - Replies (13)

f e a t h e r e d

[Image: murdermuffin666_by_etkri-dc1wf3p.png]

p r i n c e

      The feathered man had been their saving grace, a silver-lined guardian angel who'd found the two boys lost on their murder mission. Too much time had gone by, their rendezvous with Shuck long-passed, and in inner panic had gripped Kukulkan as the stranger happened upon them. His gentle nature and, let's be honest, his bird companion had won over the trust of the two brothers. Their desperation made it easy for them to follow him along as he offered a safe place, somewhere beyond the teeth of monsters in shadows, just waiting to find two barely-yearlings lost in the woods.

      And so they went south.

      The air became warmer, the winds filled with a salty taste, and the vegetation thicker, bigger, more wild than he ever could have imagined. Gemini seemed much more tame compared to these jungles, and then came the waters. Rune had led them to a pass that was flooded, as he was told it always was. The three swam across - it was shallow enough where his legs could reach to the bottom if need be, thankfully. Tangled and coarse tree roots twisted through and up the waters, before wrapping around themselves to create a myriad of trees. Mangroves, he learned. And they were rampant here. Small monkeys and a plethora of birds so exotic, so loud and excited, bounced around in their branches up above. How extraordinary.

      It seemed forever, but it hadn't been by the time Rune brought ashore his two refugees, deemed his nestlings despite them both being larger than him already. The bird beast ushered the two along gently, lovingly, though the strangeness of it all caught Kukulkan off-guard, amazed. The trees here grew so tall, so twisted, they almost seemed alive. He'd never imagined such a density of green. But a wall of cliffs, wet with dripping waters and moss, stood in their way, similar to the wall within Gemini though terribly taller. This way, Rune had whispered, and honestly K had hesitated - they were headed into a dark cave tunnel inside the cliffside. But still they followed.

      Countless twists and turns, graceless tripping, bumping into walls, and trekking upwards clumsily on invisible steps, the three emerged from their sheer black tunnel to a blinding light. It was a maze, you see, Rune had told them. A maze to keep others out, others who weren't supposed to be there. In the monsoons those tunnels were flooded, ensuring their security. Elsewise they were guarded, though this time they weren't. Lucky for the two brothers, but worrisome for the feathered stranger.

      A dense jungle opened wide to them, a symphony of scents and sounds that were glorious and terrifying, exhilarating and seductive. A grin spread from ear to ear on Kukulkan's toothy face, his crooked ear flickering as his head, turned to the canopies, turned left and right and left again. He missed Rune's worried murmurings, and whatever Croc's reaction might have been. Instead the boy raced ahead, an unfiltered, gleeful laughter echoing off the trees, filling the air and his heart alike. Long legs carried him deep into the jungles, enthralled by everything around him. There were others, he knew, he'd heard, Rune'd said. There were others, and Kukulkan was so eager to meet them.

      This wasn't just going to be his new home. This place... this place was perfect.
      Perfect to begin his mother's dream. His destiny.

      Entering a clear-ish section of the territory, Kukulkan skidded to a messy halt, kicking up vegetation and debris before throwing his head back and letting loose a booming howl. A summons. A decree. I'm here. I'm ready.

ooc: any pre-existing ED characters can post. those wishing to post who are outsiders can assume to have directly followed the three through the tunnels, unless you'd like to wait until after ED is settled and the borders are officially opened. otherwise it's assumed no outsiders know the way through the tunnel systems.

text speech: #a5300d

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let me wrap down to my skeleton

Posted by: Sarissa - November 14, 2018, 12:47:51 AM - Replies (10)

[Image: sarititle_by_lunecy-dboifh4.png]

Silver dreams on the soft lacing of veins within velvet rose petals danced around in her head as dust swirled around her in a slow daze against the one lonely sun beam. The scent of the roses around her cast her into a dream world where only imagination could take her, far from this place she called home and the rotting scents of mildew and rancid flesh could no longer exist. Sarissa didn't mind all of the horrific scents of Alteron though, it tied into her personality well even if she wanted to smell just like the ruby red flowers that usually blossomed above her. For now they were dormant until the coming of spring.

Umbra had taught her how to infuse different scents in her coat a season ago, and now wore the scent like a badge plastered against her chest for the world to see. A signature of hers, one people would remember her by. They would know she was near by there mere scent that wafted their way.

As Sarissa lazed in the lonely sunlight, a sound caught her attention. She was no longer alone, and although she was a very social creature, the girl was a bit annoyed that her alone time was broken. Red eyes flicked to the source, her body staying where it was as she didn't feel like moving. The annoyance dissolved in her mouth as she curled a smile on her features, realizing it was someone recognizable against the dark despite the sunlight in her eyes.

She didn't feel so lonely anymore.

"Come, lay by me." she said, beckoning the male to her. Her dearest father and beloved Miasma was away, her loneliness eating away at her heart. It reminded her of her mother, that biting feeling. Sarissa absolutely hated it.

Keep me company if only for a while.

✦ ✦ Speech Text ✦ ✦
@Angus