[rukhsana]

It was a very quiet afternoon. A light fog shrouded the land in mystery, hiding much of the sky and sun above. Not a single blade of grass moved, swayed, or twitched in the cool air. All was still and silent. 

Ivaylo toiled up a slope leading onto open moorland covered in tough, stringy grass and clumps of gorse. But there wasn't much else. She took her time taking it all in, gazing back and forth across the landscape. How different this place was from her home back in the forest. She relaxed for a moment, revelling in the open sky and the smell of life in the motionless air. Light snowflakes were falling, dappling her pelt. She shivered. At least there was no wind. She turned her head to examine the mountains to the west, stark against the sky like a row of snaggly teeth. That must be why, she thought to herself.

As she continued onward, she could see the scenery becoming more green and dense, and she nearly lost all track of herself just enjoying the sight of it all. This was wonderful. On her journey, she had seen many different types of places. All of them vastly different from the last. This was the only area she didn't feel nervous walking into. She stopped in her tracks, putting her thoughts to a pause. Beyond the fog, she could just make out the outline of something in the distance that stretched far both left and right. She squinted her eyes, lowering herself to the ground and slowing her pace. It was a wall.

Her eyes widened as she noticed the skulls adorning the entrance, the scents of other wolves flooding her nose. Fuck! This wasn't it. This wasn't what she wanted. She straightened up, swinging her head this way and that to look for a place to take cover. She didn't want to stick around to find out who had a thing for these sorts of knick knacks. There was nothing but clear open grass and sandpits surrounding her. She whimpered, backing away. 

No! No fear, not now. Ivaylo pounded her scarred paw against the ground, her breath heaving as she attempted to get a hold of her anxiety. Someone would notice her eventually. She had to make a good first impression, but she warned herself to be cautious. This was the first pack she had come across, after all. Without knowing any better, she gradually began walking forward again, deeper into the lands drawing closer and closer to the wall. She would soon be made to look like a fool for doing so, as always.


edit; i'm sorry i made a mistake about the territory and didn't realize, if anyone wants me to change it i will! but if not we'll just say Iv was too distracted and didn't realize she walked past the borders :')

[Gaven]

“Hey! I don’t mean to be rude but, uh, you’re trespassing.”

Wallman Gaven was perched on the stone wall again, risking a disastrous fall once more, and when the wolf looked up to see him she would also see he had an arrow drawn and pointed at her eye socket. When humans wandered too close to his clan’s camp, Gaven often found himself pointing arrows at them with the rest of his hunters, surrounding them like a pack of wolves. Now he lived in an actual pack of wolves and he was doing this. Funny. The humans were usually nervous enough to leave without a fight, but he wondered if the wolf would be. She might not have a healthy fear of a such things if she had never been faced with them before. She probably didn’t know that all he had to do was relax his fingers and she might take it in the brain. He held it steady, however.

“If you pass this wall I’ll have to kill you,” Gaven said casually. “I don’t want to kill you, so maybe you should stop while we’re both ahead of ourselves. If I kill you I’m going to have to explain to my Queen why I did it and I’m sure it will have to go into the records and it will just be so much work I don’t want to deal with right now. Also, you’ll be dead, probably. That’s a negative outcome for both of us.”

He wore the mask over his face as usual, so even though he had a cheeky smirk which almost seemed to present itself in his voice, all the wolf would see was dark wood painted with gold and too many sets of glittering red eyes staring back at her in the facsimile of a wolf’s face; the mask was humorless in its expression. The bow was still steady, nary a fatigued shake in his arm.

“What brings you here, little lost one?”

[rukhsana]

She felt her heart sink to her stomach as she heard a stranger's voice from above, and she jumped backwards yelping in surprise. Looking up, her astonishment quickly melted into bewilderment as she stared at the bizarre creature perched on the stone wall. She was amazed she didn't spot him before, although she couldn't quite make out exactly what he was through the fog and his strange adornments. It took her several moments of gazing at him before she could reflect on what he said, but she remained silent and tilted her head, puzzled.

Ivaylo twitched her nose and ears, noticing the even stranger apparatus he held, which seemed to be pointing directly at her in a menacing way. She squinted one eye to see if it was exactly, then squinted the other, then opened both very wide. She lowered her head and moved it side to side, wondering if the strange contraption would follow. If it did, she would tilt her head again in confusion and continue staring. What was this thing that just spoke? What was it doing in a place like this? She thought there were other wolves here. Maybe there was something she missed on her way here.

“If you pass this wall I’ll have to kill you. I don’t want to kill you, so maybe you should stop while we’re both ahead of ourselves. If I kill you I’m going to have to explain to my Queen why I did it and I’m sure it will have to go into the records and it will just be so much work I don’t want to deal with right now. Also, you’ll be dead, probably. That’s a negative outcome for both of us.”

Ivaylo took a step backwards, a look of worry washing over her. So that thing was a weapon of sorts. Was that even possible? She didn't know where to begin. The thing stooping above her distracted her too much to even think of what to say to him, or to process everything he was saying to her. "Trespassing? I thought..." she trailed off. She glanced left and right, raising a brow, then looked back up at him. "I think I made a mistake."

“What brings you here, little lost one?”

She frowned slightly at the word "little", but dismissed it with an irritable flick of her tail. "I don't know, I think I have the wrong place. I came looking for a family, but I don't think there is one here," she looked down to eye the skulls near the tight passageway. "This seems like, um... yeah, not it. I don't wanna end up like them. Did you eat them?" she inquired, lifting a paw to gesture at the skulls. She was disappointed for sure that there were no wolves in sight, but she was still confused as to why she could smell them from here. Something about this wasn't adding up for sure. She squinted her eyes at the stranger. "What... are you? Are there more of you behind this wall? Can you tell me if there's a family of wolves here? I'll leave if there isn't, please don't hurt me. I just want to go home." She froze for a moment. "I mean... I just want a new home."

[Gaven]

The bow didn’t follow the she-wolf’s head movements; they were close enough being hit with one arrow would do a fair enough amount of damage. She might not die instantly but she might take in in the neck or shoulder and how fast could she react to that while Gaven nocked another? Maybe it was macabre to think about, but both wolf and elf had to eat once before, and the one with the arrows was the one who could sustain on plants if needed. Killing was in their nature, even if they didn’t want to admit it. He would have a more peaceful death for his prey than a wolf would, but lucky for her she was not his prey, as became apparent with her nervous confusion.

"I think I made a mistake."

He lowered his bow, slowly relaxing the arm to let the arrow droop sadly to the side, the energy wound up in his muscles releasing and dissipating in one gradual movement.

“Did you eat them?"

“No, did you?” he teased back, tilting his bow towards the massive skull, causing it to clatter hollowly against the stones it hugged close to. “I wasn’t here for this, but I think if you’re not planning on slaughtering any children here you shouldn’t have to worry about becoming like them.”

"What... are you? Are there more of you behind this wall? Can you tell me if there's a family of wolves here? I'll leave if there isn't, please don't hurt me. I just want to go home."

“Oh, I see how it is,” Gaven’s voice suddenly became low and slow, a mock sorrow gripping his chords. “I’m not good enough for you. That’s too bad, my feelings are hurt, but because I need to be the bigger person here I guess I’ll answer you anyway: I am an elf. I am entirely unique amongst creatures who live behind this wall. I can tell you if there is a family of wolves here, but will I?”

"I mean... I just want a new home."

“You could have started with that. That changes everything,” Gaven chuckled. “There are wolves here. A lot of wolves. A kingdom of wolves, if you will. Maybe there is a place for you here, provided you didn’t come here to hurt anyone. You trespassed but at least you haven’t set a forest on fire, so that’s…something. What are you called and where do you come from, anyway?”

[rukhsana]

“I wasn’t here for this, but I think if you’re not planning on slaughtering any children here you shouldn’t have to worry about becoming like them.”

Ivaylo twitched her ears, pondering for a moment. What really happened here? She was too afraid to ask, but figured it would be an important question for later. As he slackened his grip on the bizarre weapon, she too became less tense. She even dared to take a couple baby steps forward to really peer at the stranger's face. But she still could not distinguish much. All she could do was squint very hard at him, but she suddenly realized she was possibly being rude, and took a few steps back. She was fascinated and very overwhelmed.

“Oh, I see how it is. I’m not good enough for you. That’s too bad, my feelings are hurt, but because I need to be the bigger person here I guess I’ll answer you anyway: I am an elf."

The young shewolf flinched at his words and slowly lowered her head and ears, feeling a pang of embarrassment in her gut. She knew this was going to be difficult for her in more ways than one, but she didn't really know what to expect. The poor thing, completely oblivious to the elf's sarcasm, was the last person who understood social cues. "Gosh, that's far from what I meant," she muttered. "I'm sorry, you just startled me." She stopped before she could blurt out how weird-looking she thought he was. Clearing her throat, she made note to just shut up and only speak when necessary. There were so many ways she could mess this up.

“There are wolves here. A lot of wolves. A kingdom of wolves, if you will. Maybe there is a place for you here, provided you didn’t come here to hurt anyone. You trespassed but at least you haven’t set a forest on fire, so that’s…something. What are you called and where do you come from, anyway?”

There was a short intake of breath and a widening of light green eyes as Ivaylo gazed up at the elf. A kingdom? There was just no way. "My name is Ivaylo. I come from uh... my forest." She turned around and scanned the horizon, attempting to find the direction she came from, but turned back in failure. "My forest... from somewhere. I just followed my gut, I guess. But I promise I don't want to hurt anyone." She paused to gather her thoughts for a moment. "You see, it's been just me for awhile. I made it very far by myself. But I don't wanna be by myself. If you could let me have a place here, I'd be so grateful. I mean, if they all like me. I think I'm pretty okay."

If she could journey across the lands and still manage to eat and stay alive, then she could handle anything. She just didn't exactly know how to handle an entire kingdom of new faces.

[Gaven]

The young wolf pulled closer, eyes peeked up at his dark mask which regarded her with unchanging indifference as it tilted down to meet her gaze. The foggy midday light was too poor for Gaven’s eyes to throw back that reflective glint they sometimes did at night, so the young wolf would only be greeted by two dark holes where his true eyes hid. Despite being perfectly aware she couldn’t see his face, he squinted back at her, mirroring and mocking her somewhat confused expression out of habit.

"I'm sorry, you just startled me."

“Hmm. Apology accepted.” Gaven graciously offered. He slid to his rump on the stone wall and stuck his legs out in front of him, stretching them in a very inelegant manner. “As long as you’re nicer to me in the future.”

Gaven listened intently to her story, letting his legs fall slack as he crossed them at the ankle, digging a heel into the wall so he wouldn’t lose his balance. Her story was short, but his attention was unwavering. The glittering eyes of the wolf mask seemed untouched. Judging her heart with a cool stare.  Luckily the creature behind the faux-face was a gentler one.

“Ah, a traveler. That’s a story I can relate to,” Gaven airily commented. “You did make it very far by yourself. You must be a skilled hunter or…scavenger. Anyway, I don’t doubt you’re looking for others. It’s hard being on your own for so long, isn’t it?”

Gaven wondered what they were even doing here as he began to idly twirl his own arrow in his hand. As if he would turn her away. She was only a child. Maybe she would one day be a horrible murderous tyrant and it would all be Gaven’s fault for letting her in Gemini’s doors, but that seemed like a petty fall to take in the grand scheme of things. If he could keep her away from Gemini’s persistent border drama maybe he could save her from a life of delinquency. Luckily she had already gotten this far, so it didn’t seem likely a bloody death was about to befall anyone here, but the day was still young.

“I mean, I guess you can stay,” Gaven teased. “You’re already here. Standing in the Lowlands of Gemini. Almost to the heart of this very kingdom. If I turn you away now I’ll have to walk you all the way back to the border and I don’t feel like walking right now. I just had lunch. You know how it is.”

He gestured with one hand at everything behind where the young wolf was standing. Then he began to point towards unseen landmarks, too far away for them to be perceptible where they stood, but the elven man was conjuring clear images of them before his eyes.

“There’s a river not far from here, you probably walked by-slash-through it. The Lowlands are vast so if you slipped by the Rangers it’s not a stretch to think that you didn’t run into anyone else. They might not have even known you didn’t belong here if you had run into anyone. Aside from the Rangers this part of Gemini is more ‘general populace’, if you catch my meaning,” Gaven explained, amusement still thick in his voice. “The Smithy is to the west, though I think it’s abandoned now, and to the very nearby east of here is…me. My camp.”

Because obviously that was the most important thing out here. Not the library or the Meeting Stones. Just Gaven.

“Oh! Most importantly, I-“ Gaven’s voice grew significantly louder, though still muffled by the mask. “-am Gaven, The Starreaver, your Lorekeeper, and local Sabor of Gemini. Drop my name and see the reactions; most likely reverence with a touch of healthy fear. I have some clout here and I am generous with the giving of my name, so others can use it for questionable purposes. You’re welcome.”

Was there anything else? He supposed he could have told her about the Highlands, but what was the fun in ruining all the mystery? It was only proper to leave some adventures for her to discover herself. Doesn’t everyone hate spoilers? He was clearly good at this whole Ranger thing. Maybe they would hire him if he gave a shit.