[Montauk]

The early afternoon had started out rather pleasantly as the sun forced its way through the brush of the forest below. Deer roamed through the low brush in to the open valleys, birds sang their chorus of tunes, and the rodents conversed in the treetops while nibbling on stray seeds and nuts they had found on the ground. It was a warmer than usual day, which was most likely why the entire wood seemed to be talking. Yet soon enough, the clouds rolled in and fog coated the lower valleys and crept up in to the hills of the neutral lands. A low rumble of thunder echoed through the silence of the hills and the once lively and chittering forest grew silent as every creature seemed to turn a head to listen to Mother Nature. As the afternoon rain drew from the clouds above, the stillness of the forest broke; small creatures running to their homes and nests to wait out the storm. 

Among those wandering the lands as the rain gently fell was a young dire. To be honest, he didn't really fit in with the rest of the foliage; his mixed dark and light brown coat leaving him a bit of a sore thumb in the already greening world around him. Spring was starting early it seemed, and though he appreciated all the seasons- spring was his favorite. Many creatures who enjoyed the spring would say it was the warm weather, or the ability to watch new life emerge from the dark voids of the harsh winter. To an extent, he would have to agree with all of those sentiments- it was always wonderful to see the budding trees begin anew and for those who had never lost their leave, seeing them come back to life with a sort of bounce in their branches made everyone smile. For Montauk, it was the arrival of his friends; the birds. They would come back in droves over the next few weeks, their chatter filling the air as they returned from their southern flights. It was this that excited Montauk the most. He was never truly talented to understand the avian tongue especially since it came in so many forms and languages. He preferred to listen to the crows and the owls; they were a truer embodiment of what it was he so desperately sought after, but he would be lying if he said he didn't appreciate the new stories that these migrating birds carried on their wings as they returned from a long break to another part of the world. Montauk smiled as a few passing comments from birds in the higher branches reached his ears. Yes, spring was his favorite time of year.

The dire strolled on through the midday rain, happily taking in the silence. He would plan to seek an audience at sundown with an owl if possible, but for now he would just simply enjoy what this world had to offer. Its secrets could wait a few more hours- it had kept them so far, and it had been some time since the young male had stopped to 'smell the flowers'.  Montauk plodded through the brush and up the hillsides passing the final layer of fog rolling through the lands, only pausing to look down at the world below for a moment before resuming his walk. It didn't last long though, as the rains picked up ever so slightly, making the dire change his outlook on the walk he was currently on. Perhaps it was time to settle until it passed, he thought, walking ever onwards.

[daevi]

ooc; sorry for this rambling mess LOL idk what happened

hunger seemed to be daevi’s biggest motivator in talking to others at this point - it was becoming easier and easier for her to withdraw into her mind, and let her senses consume her reality. besides, with the arrival of the spring sun, the land seemed to wake up and drink up the warmth. the critters that had hidden away in their homes came out to chitter and scavenge, and dive for cover when daevi passed by. the chirping of birds and the rustle of the breeze through the trees was enough to take daevi’s attention for hours if she let it. there was something cathartic about walking and listening and walking and listening and not thinking about the future or the past or even the present. she was getting surprisingly good at not thinking. it was much easier that way, anyway - she didn’t feel the guilt, a least not as much. 

when the clouds began to come in, daevi sat back on her haunches and watched them roll over each other, fighting each other to eat up the sun and sky. the trees that had been so full of life before began to quiet, as the woodland creatures began to reluctantly crawl back into hiding to wait out the rain. she could smell the humidity on the air, strong and musty and sticky in her lungs but she liked it. rain, much like the cold, was cleansing. she felt like a different person in the rain, and quite liked the feeling of being someone else, even if she wasn’t, really. 

after awhile of watching the rain as it began to fall, drenching her fur and the ground beneath her and making everything shiny and new, the woman got to her paws again, the rumbling in her gut a reminder that she was alive and real and seriously needed to find something to eat. it was hard to pull herself from the dream world, drag herself back into reality and the feelings and sensations of her mortal body. sometimes she wanted to stay in her head - become an invisible observer who could wander where she pleased and when, and was never interrupted by hunger or ailments or others. that isn’t to say she didn’t enjoy reality or herself or other wolves, but sometimes it was much easier not to deal with it all. when memories began to surface and pain bubbled up beneath her fur it seemed much easier to escape. but for now she was quite content, the hurt and guilt of her past far in the back of her mind, unlikely to return any time soon. 

her aching paw was beginning to feel better, but it still throbbed and she imagined it would be that way for awhile, or as long as she kept walking all day, every day. it was better than sitting still, though. she couldn’t stand that. 

the rain dampened her senses, made it difficult to pick out the smells and sounds of prey but she pinpointed a smell of hare and headed that way, pressing through and out of the trees and up the hills that dotted the land. the ground was soft and wet beneath her paws, making her steps near silent, albeit slippery. as the wolf walked, she contemplated her next meal, tasting the rabbit on her tongue already and it made her mouth water with hunger (even though she was so used to the taste of rabbit by now that she longed desperately for something else, sometimes even considering the foul smelling toads that croaked near the edges of water. she hadn’t sunk that far yet, though.) she could smell deer on the wind too, perhaps, which only served to stir her growing hunger, making her stomach clench and growl painfully. she’d have to find something soon, or it would become really uncomfortable. 

just as she created the hill, she saw a large figure a few lengths from her, and stopped for a moment in surprise, having not smelled them before on the breeze. now the scent hit her, though, distinctively wolf though he looked more bear to daevi. she looked at him curiously for a moment, deciding he must be two, maybe three times the size of her in weight, and at least a tail length taller. fear made her heart pound in her chest, so loud she was sure he could hear it from over there, but she forced it down. ”excuse me!” she called, her voice laced with friendliness and a girlish innocence that usually worked for her. she padded a bit closer, careful to keep enough distance between them that she could sprint away if he made a move. ”hi there!”

[Montauk]

Montauk found himself slowly drifting off in to a world of his own as he plodded along, his pace slowing as the gentle patter of rain rose to meet his ears and offer a white noise to the otherwise silent world. The birds had long since stopped chirping, and only on occasion did he see a few stray in to the sky, only to be deterred by the heavier rainfall and turn back to the safety of the trees. It was quite a sight to him, to think that nature would still try and brave the elements; he'd even include himself in this statistic as he wandered along in hopes of finding a den or craggy overhang to sit under until it passed. To him, it was interesting how with the change of the weather, all life seemed to collectively find themselves on the same page of seeking shelter. Perhaps, he gathered, things were more connected than they were separated.

"Excuse me!"

His own imagination wouldn't take over for long, however, as the rain gave way to a voice a few meters back. The dire paused in his stride, ears flicking away some water droplets as he listened. For a moment he considered that he had heard a voice on the wind, and that it was not another.

"Hi there!"

Montauk's pause turned to a swift about face as the voice rang through a second time. His head rose in curiosity as he turned to see a wolf not far off from him. It came as a mild surprise, as he was never one to attract the attention of others of his kind, let alone a sub species of his kind. Yet Montauk couldn't escape the feeling that this was fated in a larger connection than his mind could comprehend at the moment, and thus, this meeting was meant to be. 

"Hello," he called out, taking a few cautious steps towards the wolf, "is everything all right?" It wasn't.....typical to see this sort of interaction, and the wolfs distance had already given way that she was either frightened of him; or that there was another reasoning for her own caution. Montauk stopped after a few steps, squinting slightly to lock down her features as the rains grew heavier and harder. 

"Can I help you?"

[daevi]

for a moment, daevi’s words hung in the damp air, the great bear of a wolf showing no sign that he had heard her. she wondered if the rain and wind with their increasing intensity had carried her voice off and away, and whether or not she should forget this endeavor altogether and continue on her way. but suddenly the beast moved, turning his golden gaze upon her. ”hello,” he called back out to her, making slow steps toward her. in his voice was something daevi could only take as apprehension, maybe even suspicion. certainly not the good ol’ northern hospitality she was used to, where men would bend over backwards to help out a lady in need (though it did help that she was a daughter of a somewhat prestigious pack in those lands.) ”is everything all right?” now he just seemed to be confused. she frowned. perhaps wolves in this part just weren’t quite as friendly. 

he took a few more heavy strides toward her. the closer he got, the bigger he became, towering over her and outweighing her at least threefold. she’d never seen a wolf quite so big. sure, she’d heard of dire wolves, and maybe knew a wolf or two who claimed his grandfather’s grandfather was half dire wolf or something to that effect. but she’d never seen one in person. ”can i help you?” he asked, and daevi padded closer so that she didn’t have to speak up over the rain, which pounded all around them, getting into her eyes and making her squint through it. it wasn’t a good look, but she’d make do. 

“hi,” she repeated, a girlish smile forming on her lips. ”i was going to ask if you’d like to join me on a hunt, but now i’m not sure if this rain will let up.” she paused for a moment, lifting her chin slightly to gaze at the crying heavens, before turning back to him, smiling coyly. ”it’s quite lovely, isn’t it?” another pause, as she eyed the male, whose drenched fur lay flat against his body, revealing thick, strong muscles lying beneath. she wondered if he’d look even bigger when dry. it was hard to imagine a wolf even bigger than him. ”i’m daevi,” she offered, hoping that her usual gregariousness would work with these people just as well as those from her homeland. 

[Montauk]

The world around them only grew louder with the rain, and Montauk was finding it to be ever so slightly an annoyance. He never minded the rain, but as the clouds in the sky grew darker and the rain intensified, he couldn't help but lowering his head to keep the droplets from getting in to his face. The smaller wolf padded forward and his ears perked, his curiosity growing ever more; why had she wandered out this far? Who was she? And why did the fates decide that it would be he who would help her?

"Hi, I was going to ask if you’d like to join me on a hunt, but now I’m not sure if this rain will let up."

Montauk grinned as the words escaped her lips, his tail slowly starting to sway behind him. It seemed they were both on somewhat of the same trek- they were both seeking out their own truths and though different, it seemed that their individual needs would put them on the same path. The dire chuckled to himself in his head as he cursed the universe for having played him so well. The 

"Of course," came the happy response from the male who was now beaming with a smile. The rain began to ease as the clouds grew lighter and the male looked back up to the sky. If Montauk hadn't known any better, this was the Universe giving him a test and task and he was eager to see the results of the outcome. He watched as the sun tried to poke through, the rain still gently falling now on their backs, and offered a gentle sigh. He still couldn't believe that this intangible force that he sought out so much had come to him and got him right under his nose. The universe was quite lovely in that regard, wasn't it?

”It’s quite lovely, isn’t it?”

Montauk's head snapped back down from his gazing at the heavens to look once more at the smaller wolf. His smile faded and that quizzical look reappeared on his face. He tilted his head, looking her over curiously; had she read his thoughts? No, no it couldn't have been. That, he knew was an impossible thing, and no living being could master telepathy (at least to his current knowledge of the world) and yet she had managed to utter almost word for word his own thoughts. She didn't know it yet, but this wolf had become the most interesting specimen to Montauk in this moment. He wanted to know more about her; he wanted to know everything about her. Where did she come from? Who was she? How could she have known such a thing that he was thinking in his mind?

"Yes," he began slowly, the smile beginning to return to his face, "it is one of the loveliest things in the world. It's...cleansing."

”I’m Daevi"

Daevi. Montauk processed the name thoroughly in his head as she spoke it. Daevi. Daevi. Daevi was going to be someone that Montauk wanted to get to know, if no other reason than for her knowledge of a world much different than his own; and the thought of that gave the dire chills of excitement.

"Hello Daevi," came the softer voice of the male as his smile widened. "My name is Montauk. I am merely traveling through these parts, but if you are hungry; I am almost certain we can find you a meal." As he spoke, a chorus of crows erupted through the silent world, flying past the two and heading west. Montauk laughed; the universe was definitely playing with him and he was so ready to take it on full force. 

"It seems we may not have to look far for your dinner," he chuckled as the clouds grew dark and the rains picked up once more.

[daevi]

ooc;; sorry this is a messy post! work has been driving me nuts! 

after the words left daevi’s mouth, the man before her grinned brightly, and the tension that had been wound up in her muscles relaxed. the smile transformed his face, made him turn from terrifying beast into a gentle giant. it was a nice smile too, reaching his eyes and lighting them up. and for a moment the two of them, two utter strangers strung together by nothing more than chance, stood side by side, gazing up at the clouds and rain as the sun fought for its position in the sky. it was always fun to watch the clouds usurp the sun’s position and eat up the sky for a little while. they never lasted long - the sun always won over in the end, and if it didn’t, if the moon clawed its way over the land before the sun could vanquish the grey clouds - well, it’d be back in the morning anyway. the sun was funny that way; it always came back. even on the darkest, stormiest days and nights, it came back, just the same, just as strong and bright as beautiful. 

it was quite lovely, wasn’t it, she asked of the male, though she wasn’t quite sure if he was the type to find any interest in things like that. he turned to look at her, seeming confused again. had she said something wrong? but after a long moment, he smiled softly. “yes,” he said slowly. “it is one of the loveliest things in the world. it’s... cleansing.” daevi flashed back a friendly grin, nodding in agreement. it was cleansing, like shedding off a layer of skin, molting, evolving, seeing the world from a new set of eyes. daevi didn’t have much to be “cleansed” of, at least, not to her knowledge, but the idea of it was enough to excite her, the idea of going in as one thing and emerging as something new. she’d always liked the idea of being someone else, anyway. 

“my name is montauk,” the man said, introducing himself. she practiced the name silently in her head, hoping not to fuddle it. she quite liked this wolf so far; he seemed to have a hunger like she did, one that was not sated with food or drink but with thought and word. “i am merely traveling through these parts,” he continued. ah, a traveling man like herself. could it get any better? did he also happen to have a fresh deer flank hiding behind his back that he was about to gift to her? “...if you are hungry, i am almost certain we can find you a meal.” she beamed back at him at that, her tail wagging hard, sending sprays of water out behind her. she felt almost like a child again, begging her older brothers to take her out to hunt, and exploding with joy when they gleefully complied. 

suddenly, a group of crows shot by the two overhead, and they both looked upon. what luck! for a moment, daevi just watched them with curiosity, watching the way their feathers bent against the wind, their black beaks opening and closing with various clicks and clacks that daevi couldn’t decipher (was it even a language? were they even speaking or just making noises? she could never tell.) she’d always loved watching the birds. they were so much different than the wolves, yet so similar in other ways. and, of course, it was hard not to be jealous of their ability to fly. montauk’s laugh cut daevi’s thoughts short, and she turned her golden gaze upon him. “it seems we may not have to look far for your dinner,” he said with a chuckle, as the clouds darkened once again and blanketed down on them with renewed vigor. 

“shall we?” said daevi, starting to bound toward the direction the birds went without waiting for a reply, assuming he would take stride beside her. “you said you’re just traveling these parts - where’d you come from?” she would ask, should the man be walking alongside her.  

[Montauk]

oc: No worries! Work is hellish here too at the moment so it's taking me a few days to pump out replies as well.

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“Shall we?”

Daevi's response came without hesitation and before Montauk could blink, the female was already bounding after the birds as they led the way. He turned around and bounded after her, his stride not as fast as hers, though he was easily able to keep pace with the smaller wolf. Where she would have run, he was cantering. Where she slowed, he walked. In all its forms, it was an exciting development to his day and frankly he was all to glad for a distraction before his meeting at dusk. Not only that, but perhaps an offering from this carcass would provide useful in his negotiations with the birds he was due to meet at dusk. Owls and ravens were hard to pin down- they would stare blankly at you before returning to the trees and watching; that always made trying to communicate difficult, and Montauk had yet to meet a bird that knew any form of common tongue to communicate with the canine species. Nevertheless, he would press onward until he managed to gain the trust of at least one, and hope that they would know of secrets he did not.

"You said you’re just traveling these parts - where’d you come from?"

Montauk's attention had waned as they bounded through the brush and back down the hill and then across, zig zagging throughout the landscape with the birds still overhead cawing. The question was one he hadn't really given much thought of, not since he'd left at any rate. Yet as it left Daevi's lips, the male found his mind dragging him back to a memory of home. Montauk turned to her as he slowed his own pace, watching the birds above out of the corner of his eye drop low towards the ground a few hundred yards ahead of them. It would seem this was to become a conversation over dinner; but each time she asked, he also got to ask. In a way, it was nothing less of equivalent exchange.

"You are quite the curious one," he chuckled as he slowed to a trot beside her and then a walk, "I come from the far west. From a place where birds don't sing and rivers run dry throughout the year. I came from a family that believed the sky was an all powerful God that punished those who weren't strong enough to survive the dry land." He threw her a look that would have given away just how much he didn't believe in their customs. 

"Do not get me wrong, Daevi," he started, " they are a good folk. Kind and welcoming of strangers who don't understand the harshness of the world; but they are backwards." His face fell a bit as he spoke this, thinking back to a memory from a younger time in his life. Montauk snorted, shaking it from his mind before returning his gaze to her. 

"And you? Where is your family?"

[daevi]

ooc;; phew! sorry i didn't realize how tiny my text was on desktop! :O 

"you are quite the curious one," said the male with a soft chuckle. daevi grinned over at him sheepishly as they slowed to a walk, the birds they'd been following mere lengths before them now. she sat back on her haunches as montauk began to speak, her breath billowing out in clouds of condensation around her maw, and her golden eyes fixated on his. he told her of his home, a dry place somewhere west, and of his family, who believed in a god of a sky, who would punish those who "weren't strong enough to survive the dry land." she gave him a skeptical look, and he returned it. she smiled. "don't get me wrong, daevi," he continued, voice smooth. she had to admit that her name sounded good coming from his tongue. much better than from her own. "they are a good folk. kind and welcoming of strangers who don't understand the harshness of the world; but they are backwards." his expression changed, then, but she couldn't read it before he snorted and looked back at her. she wished he would elaborate - what did that mean, that they were backwards? and why would anyone worship such a cruel god? but then, why did anyone worship anything at all?

"and you?" he asked. "where is your family?" daevi looked at him, considering the question for a moment. it felt like a weird question to answer, somehow, though her family and her distance from them had been in the back of her mind since she'd left, and this exact question and her response had been something she'd practiced in her head again and again during her travels. there were lots of different lies she'd come up with - the ocean swallowed me up and spat me out here; i was an heiress to a large pack in a valley to the south; i don't have a family, my mother was a loner who raised me alone - anything but the truth of it: her family was just fine, and she'd only left because she was bored. "i suppose they're still up north, tucked against the mountains," she confessed. "it's quite the opposite of where you come from, i think. there's rarely a time when the whole land isn't covered with snow, and when it isn't, it's raining and muddy, kinda like right now." she chuckled, softly. "but they're nice, as are their gods. very warm and nice and generous. quite hospitable, really." she tried not to lose herself again to her thoughts, but it was tough when she could feel the guilt rising in her, blurring her vision. 

"you hungry?" she asked, nodding her head toward their meal in hopes of changing the subject. "we'd better get to it before the birds finish it off for us."

[Montauk]

 "I suppose they're still up north, tucked against the mountains, it's quite the opposite of where you come from, I think. there's rarely a time when the whole land isn't covered with snow, and when it isn't, it's raining and muddy; kinda like right now, but they're nice, as are their gods. Very warm and nice and generous. Quite hospitable, really." 

Montauk nodded as the rain gently pattered above them on the leaves and branches of the trees; his fur soaked almost to the bone by now. But still he smiled as she spoke and gave the most honest answer she could. He did appreciate her honesty, and he could sense that there was some level of difficulty in talking about her home. Montauk gave a small nod, understanding that this would be a subject that he would leave alone. It would be a lie if Montauk hadn't been ready to press the issue further about their gods, and what even was a god? To him and his seeking The Truth of all things meant that Gods and their rites did not exist in the form that he was learning to be true. Perhaps gods did exist in the hearts of their followers, but that was even still a long shot for Montauk to swallow and believe. That conversation, he figured, could wait until after they ate. It was funny in a way, that his desires to understand the world had brought him to this moment in time, with this tiny wolf who seemed to be almost on his level. Was this really the act of fate? Or was this something much deeper that he had yet to crack and unlock? Montauk huffed softly to himself as he thought once more about circumstance and the meanings of coincidence verses fate. 

They walked in silence for a bit, Montauk taking in perhaps the awkwardness of how the conversation had turned when asking about her family, and listening to the sounds of the crows getting louder and louder as the approached the carcass. He looked down to the ground for a moment, then back ahead to the world in front of them; perhaps it would be a good time to mention that they should pick up the pace a bit if they were to get there before the birds filled their bellies too much.

"You hungry?" We'd better get to it before the birds finish it off for us."

He looked over to her once more, mouth open slightly as he was about to remark about how close they had come to their meal- but she had beat him to it once more. He closed his mouth, offering a gentle smile before nodding. "Yes, I believe you make an excellent point. Shall we?" 

[daevi]

when she spoke, montauk's face took on that odd expression she had seen before, when she had mentioned the beauty of the rain, his mouth slightly agape, gaze intently on her. but it was gone again, as quickly as it came, replaced by a soft smile. "yes, i believe you make an excellent point. shall we?" the carcass was close to them now; daevi could taste its sickly sweet smell on her tongue, made thicker with the heavy rains. at his words, the girl picked up her pace to a trot (whcih would probably only be a slightly-faster-walk for montauk). the birds finally took notice of them, or at least began to care, and some slowly detached themselves from the carcass, hopping back a few feet, watching the wolves with their beady eyes as the two got closer and closer. daevi did not know if birds thought in the same way that wolves did, if they had a language or a consciousness, or anything. still, sometimes it felt an awful lot like they were judging her when they looked at her, opened their beaks in a cacaphonous mix of screeches and caws. sometimes it felt like they were laughing at her.

but she supposed that probably said more about her than the birds. it probably suggested that she felt she was so important, that even the birds couldn't refrain from talking and thinking about her. she knew this wasn't true. everything may revolve around the world, but the world, she knew, did not revolve around her. still it was hard to shake the feeling of being watched as she lowered her jaws to the carcass, sank her teeth in, and ripped. much of the beast was gone, either falling victim to the birds or the elements. but she and montauk could find a few bits between the bones for a proper meal. and besides, anything was better than chasing down and eating another rabbit. she was so sick of rabbit by now she could live the rest of her life without seeing one ever again. so even the slightly rotted, slim-pickings of the body felt like a feast for a king for her. 

"do you think they think?" asked daevi as she chewed, blurting out the thought before she had time to consider how it sounded. "the birds, i mean. do they think?" she clarified, looking over at montauk curiously, gore dripping from her muzzle. she knew he probably didn't have an educated opinion on it, but he seemed like the type of guy that would humor her this way.

[Montauk]

They reached the carcass soon enough, and as their steps echoed through the silent world save for the rain, the birds took to the noise and cawed as they flew up to the branches above their heads. Montauk looked at them, frowning in a disapproving manner as the crows cawed at the pair. He shifted, turning his gaze to the remnants of a once plump deer, and huffed. They were later than he'd expected, but there was enough for one. The dire resigned to sitting on his rump and keeping watch, allowing Daevi to feast on what little meat remained on the bones. His gaze never left that of the birds in the trees.

"Do you think they think? ...the birds, I mean. Do they think?"

Her question caught him off guard as his body reflexively jumped when she spoke. Montauk had been too far in to his own head even though only moments had passed, but it was easy for him to get lost in another world when those avian creatures were around.

"Yes," he replied, his voice low and full of resentment. His gaze which had fallen back to the wolf returned once more to the trees, the crows cawing loudly and flapping their wings. He let out a low growl, baring his teeth.

"These creatures are like foxes. They are cunning and sly; and they are liars. I have never met a crow that I could trust," he spat, raising to all fours as if standing would somehow give him an advantage against the menace that mocked them from the trees.

"Crows cannot be trusted. They don't know- they don't understand the Truth. They like to whisper lies on the wind; they like to confuse you in the early dusk. Never trust a crow." His growl grew louder as he found himself beginning to walk to the base of the trees, weaving in and out around the trunks; his gaze never leaving the branches.

"Best you ignore them, Daevi, and eat...They will not leave us until we are finished here."

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ooc; it's short! I'm sorry! 

[daevi]

ooc;; that’s ok! mine’s short too

daevi watched the man carefully as he eyed the birds that fled from them to the trees. there was something in his gaze that made the girl feel nervous, and had the fur along her neck rising instinctively. she forced her hackles to lie flat, leaning over to tear the remaining edible bits of flesh from the deer’s bones. the birds had made quick work the body, though daevi could still get a solid meal out of it. as she ate, she noticed montauk made no move to join her, but, feeling a bit uneasy, she didn’t question it. his eyes never seemed to leave the birds, who stared down dumbly at them, seemingly to her only focused on the carcass. 

when she spoke, words tumbling out clumsily as a question she would soon regret voicing, the man flinched, as if she’d woken him from a trance. he glanced at her briefly, before turning back to the black birds overhead. “yes,” he responded, voice low and touched with something dangerous. she looked up from the meal, her appetite suddenly gone, as montauk let out a vicious growl toward the squawking birds. daevi’s ears flattened back against her head nervously. “these creatures are like foxes,” he continued, his words dripping with venom. “they are cunning and sly; and they are liars. i have never met a crow that i can trust.” he stood, making his way toward the trees, his growl growing deeper and louder. “crows cannot be trusted. they don't know - they don't understand the truth. they like to whisper lies on the wind; they like to confuse you in the early dusk. never trust a crow.” he circled the trunks, fur brushing against the bark, staring upwards, nothing but hatred in his gaze.  “best you ignore them, daevi, and eat. they will not leave us until we are finished here.” 

daevi wasn’t quite sure what to make of his reaction. she very much wished she hadn’t mentioned it at all, having not expected such a visceral response from him. she was silent for a long moment, trying to find something to say in return. after a while, she finally said, “i’d always thought they were quite dumb.” she chuckled awkwardly, looking up to see the birds gazing down at them expressionlessly. she turned her eyes back to montauk’s shifting form. “what is the truth?” she asked, though part of her wasn’t sure it wanted to hear his answer. 

[Montauk]

"I'd always thought they were quite dumb."

Montauk offered a chuckle in response to her own awkward laugh as he continued to swerve in and out of the thinning tree line, his gaze still held up to the top branches. His fur remained on end even as the rain continued to drown the world around them. 

"You are not wrong," he began, pausing in his pace to stand and watch as the crows quieted down to a few occasional caws here and there, "but they are also smart enough to know how to play tricks. It does not take brains to learn a tricksters way." The dire shifted his gaze for the first time in those minutes of pacing to look at Daevi. "They will follow you through the wood if they believe they can misdirect you. " His gaze shot back up to the trees. "It is why you will always see fox and crow conversing, and never any other animal." 

"What is the truth?"

The second question came only moments after he'd replied to her, and his train of thought had come halting to a stop. The dire turned to look back at her as she spoke this, and the crows began to caw loudly once more before taking off in flight away from them. Only for a moment did his head snap back to watch them leave before he allowed his attention to return to the wolf that had thus far accompanied him on his journey. 

"The Truth? It is...complicated," he began, trying to find the best words and phrasing to describe what it was he was trying to convey. "In all cultures, there are...truths. Certain gods or deities; the belief that the All Mother controls the weather and the rate of grass and prey to be distributed. Some believe in none of it. But, across all expanses, across all packs and communes there is a single truth that exists."

Montauk shifted slightly as he realized what he was beginning to say was sounding incredibly crazy. The dire took a step forward before stopping and reclining to a sit.

"In most cultures, there is some form of higher form or being. It is sometimes split in to multiple beings, or there are more than one. But, when you take apart the things that separate each culture, you start to find common grounds between them all. I have come to study this in an attempt to understand what Is and what Isn't. I believe that the birds hold the key to this understanding. They seem to know more than I could ever know in regards to this matter."

He looked up to the clouds, his face lowering in a frown as he replayed what he had just said over in his head to the young wolf. After a long pause, he found himself chuckling out loud. "I realize this must sound like lunacy at its finest."

[daevi]

the small laugh that montauk offered daevi was enough to comfort her, to soften the sharpness of his earlier words. but still he twisted and turned beneath the trees, eyes never leaving the tree tops where the birds sat, their black feathers glistening beautifully - menacingly? - in the rain. "you are not wrong," he said, finally stopping his pacing. "but they are also smart enough to know how to play tricks. it does not take brains to learn a trickster's way." he looked at her then, golden gaze staring reflecting her own, sharp. they didn't look like the eyes of a mad man to daevi. but what did she know about the mad, anyway.

"they will follow you through the wood if they believe they can misdirect you," continued montauk, looking back skyward. "it is why you will always see fox and crow conversing, and never any other animal." daevi looked at him curiously, though he did not see her puzzled expression, his eyes trained back on the crows. daevi didn't know much about crows, certainly not that they talked to foxes and played tricks on animals. there was a lot she did not know, she realized, as montauk continued on to explain this "Truth" to the girl. 

"the Truth? it is... complicated," he began slowly. then it came out: the truths were gods, or deities, or beliefs across the lands. but that throughout all these varied beliefs was one common one. she felt a bit incredulous, and tried not to show it on her face. he, however, seemed to realize this, and tried to start over. "...when you take apart the things that separate each culture, you start to find common grounds between them all," he was saying, and now daevi became quite interested in, as these sorts of things were just the type she fancied. cultures and societies and different beliefs and whatnot. wolves were all very interesting and what they did together was sometimes even more so. "i have come here to study this in an attempt to understand what is and what isn't. i believe that the birds hold the key to this understanding. they seem to know more than i could ever know in regards to this matter. again, he looked away from her, frowning. then, after a long moment, he laughed and said, "i realize this must sound like lunacy at its finest."

"no, no, you're fine," she said, because even if it sounded a bit crazy maybe it wasn't, and, anyway it was fun to contemplate so why not entertain the idea? abandoning the last scraps of her meal, daevi padded over toward montauk, sitting back on her haunches when she was just a wolf-length away. she wanted to know more. "what makes you think the crows know all this? and how would you find out, anyway?"

[Montauk]

ooc; HELLO I AM SORRY I AM SUCH TRASH AT GETTING REPLIES OUT ;A;

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"No, no...You're fine."

the words rushed over the dire like a wave of relief as the wolf spoke calmly to him, gently reassuring him that his thoughts were no more crazy than that of the many other clans that littered the rest of the world. He offered her a gentle smile, reclining to his rear as the rain once more began to ease and the sky brightened slightly. The clouds still hung low overhead, but the weather it seemed was clearing up.

"What makes you think the crows know all this? And how would you find out anyway?

Montauk's smile withdrew itself a bit as he nodded his head to her question; it was a very good query after all. The dire inhaled and looked out to the direction in which the birds had flown, ears lowering slightly before perking back up once more. His attention turned back to Daevi.

"I do not believe that crows in particular are very wise and useful, but just as we have our own language; so do they." He watched her carefully for a moment, making sure that he was fully explaining himself and not jumping off to third base on what he was getting at before providing a bit of cushion and explanation. The dire stood, huffed and shook his damp fur before continuing on; "Birds in general have their own languages, and if you listen close enough you can hear just how variant their tones are when talking amongst themselves and how they talk when a creature like you or I approach. In fact, I believe they can understand us- most all birds. They have been around much longer than we have, if you think about it." The dire walked slowly to the carcass and lowered his snout as if to nibble at a bone, but stopped and lifted his head looking to the east as if in hopes that another meal for them lay untouched. 

"I have spent much of my time with birds," Montauk said after a long pause of silence, "and I have come to recognize that all birds share tonal changes in their chirps and tweets. Their universal language may or may not have words; I have yet to meet a bird that would speak with me in any cross common tongue, so I have taken it upon myself to learn their language....as best I can."

He turned back to look at the wolf who he realized he was still stringing along at this moment, even though she was by far one of the smartest creatures he had come to meet in these forests for some time.  Montauk inhaled a bit, before clicking his tongue against his canines and giving a small high pitched whine as he did so- his attempt to mimic a wood pecker. It was...for all intents and purposes not entirely off, but it was nowhere near what a wood pecker would sound like. The dire lowered his ears in embarrassment and gave a forced chuckle. "I am still practicing, but I am learning. "

His head shot up as he held Daevi's gaze for a moment, once more realizing that he was probably sounding (and acting) crazy. "Let us...walk and talk. I will show you what it is I mean." There was a pep in his voice as the ideas came through his brain- visual and audio cues would be easier to prove his point than just talking about it. The male's tail swayed behind him as he eagerly wished to explain his point through example.

[daevi]

[customsoftbox500=clear]ooc;; THATS OK i’m EVEN WORSE SO SORRY i’M ON A ROAD TRIP DOING MOST OF THE DRIVING!!! also pls excuse horrible formatting i’m in the car

her soft consolation seemed to comfort montauk, as he gave her a small smile in response. he looked toward the sky as the rains began to calm to no more than a shower. when she inquired further about his quest to find the truth, his smile faltered slightly, but he didn’t resist answering her, describing the language of the birds. daevi hadn’t really given it much thought, she realized as he spoke, because she’s always thought they were just sounds, meaningless and incomprehensible. but montauk seemed to think otherwise, explaining that he believed birds could understand wolves much better than the other way around. “they have been around much longer than we have, if you think about it.”


she supposed that much could be true, though her knowledge of history was very limited, if not totally nonexistent. really, it had always felt to her as if wolves were the main performers in the act of life, with the birds playing mere background characters, simply there to fill the empty spaces with life. when she thought of it that way, it felt quite elitist, and she resolved to try to understand the flying creatures a bit better. 

“i have spent much of my time with birds,” montauk was saying, and daevi twisted herself around to see him sniffing at the carcass, which was hardly more than skin and bones at this point. he made no move to eat from it, instead explaining their language further. “...i have yet to meet a bird that would speak to me in any cross common tongue, so i have taken it upon myself to learn their language, as best i can,” he finished, eyes cast out over the trees, as if seeing something daevi couldn’t. then he turned his gaze back on her again, and put his tongue against his fangs and made a high pitched sound that was definitely not wolf - if daevi hadn’t watched him do it, she certainly would have thought it was some bird in the trees. “i am still practicing,” said montauk, head lowered in embarrassment. “but i am learning.”

tail wagging, daevi said, “no that was quite good! i’ve never known a wolf who could make sounds like that.” in a moment of childlike curiosity, daevi pressed her teeth together and blew out, an attempt to recreate the noise he’d made, but all that came from her lips was a low hiss that sounded more silly than anything else. she grinned self-consciously at montauk. obviously it wasn’t quite so easy. 

“let us walk and talk. i will show you what i mean,” said the dire wolf, and daevi was happy to oblige. he was definitely one of the most interesting wolves she’d met in a very long time, so she felt happy to accompany him as long as he’d let her. she got to her paws, bounding over to him excitedly, her tail wagging behind him. 

“so can you understand what the birds are saying?” daevi asked. “do they have names, like us?”

[Montauk]

OOC: HELLO SORRY WE TALKED ABOUT THIS AND IM STILL AWFUL AT REPLYING ON TIME T___T

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"So can you understand what the birds are saying? Do they have names, like us?"

They had begun walking as Daevi spoke the question and the dire couldn't help but turn and look at her, offering a silent nod. The weather was clearing completely, though as the darkest parts of the storm had passed, the sky still remained cloudy. He plodded along as he led them down through another small wood where birds were only just starting to come out of their homes and hiding spots.

"Yes, I believe they do have names like us," he began, "but I...can gather bits of their language. Nothing concrete. It is of course, much different than our language. If you listen you can hear how each chirp and tweet has its own vocalizations and tonal differences which would lead me to believe that there is a sophisticated language somewhere in there." Slowly but surely as they walked, the chirps began to once more echo through the treetops. His ears were in overdrive as he tried to pick up each individual sound that came through the silence of the world around them. Montauk paused once they'd wandered deep within the wood, pausing to lower his nose to the ground. He inhaled deeply, his nose sucking up some leaves and dirt. He snorted, raising his head and looking back to Daevi. There was a smile slowly crawling across his face.

"Ready yourself," he mused quietly. With that as the only warning, the male slowly stalked towards a large log his nose lowered back to the ground once more. He stopped as he stood in front of it, swung his head to Daevi and nodded to ready herself, and then shifted his muzzle under the log to lift it. The log itself was hollow and easy to lift, but as he did so, several large rats scurried out and began darting in different directions. The dire dropped the log and turned on a heel towards the rat closest to him, his weight easily breaking its little back as he landed on it. 

"Grab one if you can!" he called, smirking at his catch. Montauk lowered his head and picked up his kill, holding it by the neck as he watched the wolf.

"Weee're gunna needf deese," he said with a mouth full of rat, "fur da owels."