[Claret (RP)]

He had hidden using the flesh of his mother.

The young timber had finally licked the last of blackened, dried blood off his pristine coat. During his schooling, he had been taught that approaching any packlands caked in anything from mud to the blood of your deceased mother was bad manners and could be seen as a mark of great disrespect. Once he was sure that he was clean and presentable, Claret continued on his way. Headed in the direction of a certain forest maze. 

It had been hard going, losing those fringe dires. However, Claret was lithe and nimble while his pursuers were too bulky to keep up with him. It also seemed they were... civilised to the point where chasing and hunting down a wolf who was barely out of childhood was beneath them. Either that or it was simply too much effort. Judging by their thick coats, Claret theorised that they had come from the North or an otherwise cold climate, rendering them unused to the blazing heat of the desert where his family had constructed their neat little hamlet. It had been much too small to really call it a 'kingdom' or even a 'pack' but small was how the council had liked it, it ultimately meant less things could go wrong. If it were not for those fringe dires, those serfs would never have broken free at all. 

Well, what's done was done. You cannot linger in the past. Claret expressed neither remorse or sorrow for his deceased parents. He had been taught throughout his entire puphood that his father would not be around forever, and that he would ultimately have to step up and take his place if that ever happened. Except there had been complications. The loss of both parents meant a loss of identity. He now had no individuals to lean on or aspire to be as he grew older. He was old enough to hunt, to think for himself but was he old enough to ultimately be alone and depend entirely on himself? Not at all. He had only gained his council name a few days before the attack and had never made any major decisions for himself.

Now, he had to choose a pack. A new home. No pressure or anything. 

It was then he saw the forest, which very much resembled a maze with its endless trees and indecipherable paths. Claret swallowed, red eyes narrowing as he tried to make out anything through the trees. No such luck. In the end, he simply sat a good distance away from the maze and pondered over his predicament. Getting his bearings was out of the question because he had no idea what part of the desert he had ran to. He was a completely different hemisphere now. A whole new ball game.

[Jori]

speech ☽☾ thoughts

It was late in the afternoon and the sun was lazily tucked behind a blanket of clouds, a storm brewing above cast a grey light over the desert lands. In the center of the valley far beyond the maze the clouds seem to part letting light shine down. As twilight draws near, the cover of the forest maze will look more inviting. At least, that's what the officer hiding in the maze was hoping for.

Her icy eyes narrowed, vision cutting through the darkness, she focused on the wolf just beyond. He looked young, able, and he smelled like blood, which she found comforting. If things were easy in the valley, she could coax him in. But the valley had wickedness to it, skepticism. She would have to abide by the laws of the valley, once more, to her detest. She was positioned in a rather large growth of bramble bush, her perfect coat snagged on the thorns. The female arctic was still considering her plan, trying to think of the best way to trick him into the maze.

She looked down at herself, hiding behind a bush, and then she had the perfect plan. Jori pushed through the vines, and weaved easily through the overgrown and tangled vines that lay a mess on the ground. She had gotten lost in the maze so many times; she had its roots memorized by now. She slipped from the shadows easily, her coat, though tangled from the brush, still shimmered with an opalescent glow.

"Hey," she called to the stranger, her voice like an effortless breeze.

"Do you want to play hide n' seek?" she asked, seriously.

The ghostly girl had this way about her, an air that quickly vanished as you drew near. She acted like an apparition, an illusion, and her appearance contrary to time. As quickly as she darted from the maze, she was back within its depths. She called back over her shoulder, "count to 50!"

"And then come find me!" she called through the trees.

The maze was an overgrown tussle of vines, bramble, trees, and roots covered every inch of the ground. It was a serious hazard, but a storm was brewing, and a girl had invited him to play.

Would he accept her invitation into the maze?

[Claret (RP)]

Claret watched as the woman approached him. There was nothing maternal or trustworthy behind those icy eyes, but the young timber remained firmly where he was. He was not here for a new mother, but for a new world entirely. A new world where he could thrive. He was about to open his mouth and ask for directions when he noticed she had opted to observe from a nearby bush. OK, this was getting a bit weird. Claret laughed nervously, red eyes darting around for anybody else in the vicinity. Was this wolf a loner like himself? She seemed well maintained but, then again, so did he. But he had just come from a pack, after all.

"Uh, excuse me!" the young timber called. "Do you happen to know where I can...?"

The female cut him off as she called to him. She sounded... relatively normal but there was something about her that Claret did not like. The more he looked at her, the more he felt - well - hunted? Was that a good word for it? Or maybe it was the creeping paranoia that came with being chased. 

"Hey, do you want to play hide n' seek?"

Claret's eyes darted around. Hide n' seek? Seriously? Did he look like a pup? He was about to ask this before the female turned and ran into the maze. No way in hell did he want to go in there, but he really needed directions and this woman was the first person he had met in days. Besides, maybe if he played her stupid game and found her, she could tell him how to get the hell out of here. Also, a forest maze was a good place to use any likely pursuers. The female ordered him to count to fifty. Claret rolled his eyes and watched her vanish into the maze. Had he just imagined her or...? The young timber made a point of counting to fifty mammoths and he quickly took off after her.

"Ready or not, here I come, lady!" he called, his nose trying to pick up a scent. He just hoped that what he had seen had not been a ghost, for ghosts did not leave scents.

So, to recap: his entire family had been slaughtered, he'd been chased for several days and now he was playing hide and seek with a strange lady in a forest maze. He only hoped this was leading somewhere. Fortunately, after a while, he picked up a faint scent and slowly began to follow it. This maze seemed to grow smaller the more time he spent in it, so he was eager to get this over and done with and get out.

Although Claret did not know it: there was no 'out'.

[Jori]

speech ☽☾ thoughts

She had done this before, although it did not fall under her duties now. He was lucky. The frosty female could have hunted him, attacked on sight and went for the weak point, as officers were known to do. But as an outsider, Jori could sympathize that it was easier to come out on the other side with some fraction of freedom intact or at least the illusion of just that.

The officer weaved around the bends of the maze, and she giggled as she went. This was a diversion, a plan to draw the red wolf deeper within the forest. Because at this point, the maze turned enchanted forest, full of twists and turns would feel all encompassing. There would be no signs of a beginning and without the glimpse of an end. And within that moment, where a breath turned into a gasp, a sudden spread of fear crossing the path. Jori would appear from the shadows as though melting through them, a splash of eerie shine in the pale darkness.

"Do you know the way out?" she would ask, tilting her head to the side.

She would allow him to adjust to their surroundings, and fathom the maze's depths. Jori would look around the forest, and down at the ground where she idly drew circles in the dirt with clean claws.

"We're probably trapped forever, don't you think?" she asked, her voice a quip with innocence. She smiled weakly at him, a wicked glint behind icy eyes.

She was trying hard to stay subtle, but it was hard to control her urges. She wasn't trapped forever, but he sure as hell was. He had a few choices, but she wanted to see if he would run, and would she have to chase?

She would soon find out.

[Claret (RP)]

Claret's ears twitched at the sound of a giggle.

Was it the female giggling... or was it the maze? It was really hard to tell. The more time he spent in this maze, the more it felt like it was closing in on him, ready to eat him like a hungry beast. He had to get out. Turn around. Then, his red eyes widened in shock as he turned and saw... a dead end. What the hell? That hadn't been there before! Right, no need to panic. After all, panic was a waste of energy and thought process. Mazes did not simply grow behind you. It went against every inch of logic he had been taught in his lessons. In his enthusiasm to catch the female, he had simply taken a wrong turn somewhere. That was all.

The sooner he caught her, the sooner he could get out of here.

Unfortunately, this quickly became easier said than done. The young timber was disorientated and very creeped out. It seemed like the maze itself was laughing at him, reminding him of dreams he would have as a pup. Of witches pointing and cackling at him. 

"Fuck this, I'm outta here," Claret muttered to himself and he would turn and nearly crash into the woman that had lured him into this place. "Oh, there you are."

"Do you know the way out?"

Claret's red eyes widened and he pulled a face that clearly said DOES IT LOOK LIKE I KNOW THE WAY OUT?? He, of course, waited for the she-wolf to show him the way, to point him in the right direction. Instead, she drew circles in the dirt. He gulped, because that's all he was doing. Going around in circles. He swallowed and looking up at the arctic woman once more.

"We're probably trapped forever, don't you think?" 

Claret thought this over, just glad that the maze seemed to have stopped breathing all around him. "Maybe I don't need to know the way to where I used to be, but a way forward," he countered. "I don't think you hang around this maze all the time solely for kicks."

[Jori]

speech ☽☾ thoughts

ooc] I'm just imagining Lost Woods themed music playing in the background. [/ooc]


Her presence was like a breath of frigid air, so brittle it chatters within a clenched jaw. She continued to smile at him, a Cheshire grin that stretched wide to reveal saliva slicked teeth. The officer could call to the moon, and the demons would come, phantoms of the desert shredding through the night. The want for heathen blood was heavy in the hearts of the broken pack, and this red male could satiate the hunger, if only for a moment.

She lifted her claws from the dirt, and snickered at his dumbfounded face, though it switched coolly to one of great interest quickly. It was time to stop playing, and get down to business. She sighed, and shrugged her shoulders a bit disappointed. But this was his choice, whether or not he wanted to fuck it up, was his decision. Though slightly disappointed he no longer wanted to play, she stood up straighter, the cackling grin still resting on slightly ajar mouth.

Jori cocked her head to the side, "tchh," she mocked. "There's a paradise beyond this maze," she said, pragmatically. "Do you wish to walk in?"

She swept her tail around her hind as she stood up. "What would you have to offer if I brought you forward, through to the other side?" she asked.

He would have to prove that he was worthy enough to experience paradise as an equal, with a chance to succeed. Otherwise, he would have to be made an example of, through chance, or choice, it was his to make.

She recognized that he needed to think about his answer, so she reiterated, "Do you wish to walk in?" a pause, a breath taken in quick succession, "Or would you rather be dragged?" she clamped her mouth shut, a snarl befalling her pretty face.

"Decisions, decisions," she said tiredly, almost bored.

Jori was teasing him, taunting him, looking for some kind of fun. He would have to get the traditional "marking" ripped into his heathen skin, but other than that, she wanted something to look forward to.

[Claret (RP)]

(ooc: so sorry for the slowness of my posts gah. Thanks for putting up with me. ^^; )

The female looked disappointed when he stated he was done with her games, but Claret couldn't give two fucks. His red eyes narrowed and he waved a paw over the maze. "Just what is this place, anyway?" he found himself almost demanding. He was tired of games now. He wanted answers. He had always been taught to seek answers when there was no light at the end of the tunnel. Claret had a feeling that this female would not grant him such answers so easily, so he sat down and weighed his options. "Is it a place where I can learn? Become something?" he asked grudgingly. 

"There's a paradise beyond this maze. Do you wish to walk in?" 

A... paradise? A paradise implied somewhere fruitful, somewhere over the rainbow. This dark, dingy forest could hold no good. But was good what Claret wanted? The young timber raised an eyebrow. "Sure," he replied. "Who would not want to enter a paradise?"

He was young, yes, but old enough to know that such things came with a price. His teachings had taught him that reward was only given if you worked for it. If you were willing to sacrifice for it. Something told Claret that this would not be an ordinary recruitment. Once he was beyond the maze, he could never return to it. Not because he knew the wolves of this valley disallowed it but because he would not want to. Ever. After all, who would want to leave Paradise? 

"What would you have to offer if I brought you forward, through to the other side?"

He swallowed. Trying to think over his strengths, the timber looked behind him and wondered if it was still too late to back out. One look back at the arctic woman told him that he was in too deep now. He was her's or, rather, he now belonged to the maze. The absolute worst thing about it was that he liked it. He felt safe, he felt like he belonged and, above all else, he felt... wanted.

"Do you wish to walk in? Or would you rather be dragged?"

"No. I shall walk with you. I have... a willingness to learn. A yearning," Claret responded earnestly. "I am young but I am a hardworking student. However, a student without a teacher is like a snake without a bite. I need direction and a purpose. In return, I shall learn to the best of my ability and I shall pass on your teachings to any who may need it in turn." 

He would then wait, not deciding if he had said enough himself. No. The maze did that for him. Only a few sentences from his non-believer mouth and the maze implored him to be quiet. He could die in one of two ways. He could die by the woman's teeth, his heathen blood spattering the maze that seemed to be hungry for it. Or he could die and be reborn. It was a strange feeling either way. Claret was almost... content with it all.