Beacon of Hope {All Welcome~}

[Deleted]

Dmitri stared into the complex curves and twists of the veins that pulsed through the great tree before him. He let the aura that radiated through it seep into his fur. Dmitri closed his eyes and inhaled the message the forest had to give him. Its message was louder and more clear than any forest could give him. While many forests would welcome him, this one was different. It spoke to him with words, and those words were: You are home now.

Dmitri felt his heart fly into the canopy arms of the tree.Never had he felt such a forest so vibrant with life! He couldn't. believe this was real.Could he honestly stay here? Call this place his home? Was this his chance to rest? He loved his adventurous and nomadic lifestyle, but he knew it had no good ending. The soreness of his muscles and the wearines of his heart told him that he would die young. Maybe this land was his way out. 

Still, it didn't excuse the fact that he was cursed, but Dmitri would ignore it for now.Instead he would rub his face into the foilege on the ground, accepting the scent of the tree.

[Cascade]

The realization came to Perjury, as she rested in the shade of the forest near the Adoette tree, that this was the first time in recent memory that she had gone into the wilds of the valley proper, transit time between her territory and the Honovi lands notwithstanding. She was a good leader, but a leader was all she had been as of late, having taken very little time for herself amidst the flurry of intruders and new arrivals. But now the borders were secure, the sun was shining, and it was time to take a breather.

The valley contained so many beautiful wonders that could easily be missed out on with a life consumed by duty and responsibility, and the Adoette tree was one of Perjury's favorites. Deep in her beloved forest which she held so dear, it stood as a symbol of legacy and prosperity. And the quiet surrounding the great tree made for a fine place to take a nap, although the sound of movement and the distinct smell of another wolf piqued Perjury's interest. She sat up, looking toward the source of the noise and spotting a male standing at the base of the tree. She had never seen him before, but there were many wolves she hadn't seen. Loners who aligned themselves with no pack, were loyal to no lands. He struck her as that kind of wolf, and a newcomer to the valley no less. Part of her, the part that was enjoying the solitude and the shade, was tempted to get up and find a new spot to nap free of distractions, but she reluctantly decided to act like an adult and be cordial.

"Is this the first time you've laid eyes on the tree?" she asked, standing up but not moving any closer, "It's one of the many natural wonders here in the valley."

[Deleted]

Dmitri was so elated with how quickly the scent attacked himself to him that he nearly yipped and pranced in joy like he would in his childhood. He would save the celebration for later. For now, he needed to adapt to the forest. Looking over his shoulder out of pure instinct, he noticed a canine resting. How strange. His smell told him that it was another wolf, but she too had odd and unusual markings. Was it a testimony to her curse?

He listened to the words carefully. He could feel the power in her voice. She was confident. Dignified even. It reminded him of his sisters. "This is a beautiful land..." He found that his voice sounded weird to him now. He had not talked to anyone in a while. "Did I disturb your meditation?"

[Cascade]

Perjury didn't quite know what to make of this wolf. From his coat colors he certainly looked as though he was born of the valley, but his behavior at the tree and the way he was looking at her like she had a second head indicated otherwise. Still, there was no cause for her to be uncouth. "It is beautiful, and plentiful," she replied, "And don't worry, if you had disturbed me you would know about it." That came off as somewhat more of a threat than Perjury had intended, but it was the truth after all.

"I take it you aren't from around here. Strange, because you look like you are." She eyed him up and down, trying to determine his alliance but unable to come to a solid conclusion on appearances alone. Some goodies were born with looks like killers, and some evils were born bright pink. 'Some very unfortunate evils,' Perjury added mentally.

[Deleted]

Dmitri chuckled at her comment. It reminded him of friends from the past. He opened his mouth to speak, but allowed the passing of the wind to speak first. The wind can carry a lot more than just scents for those who listen to it. The way that the wolf had said it was plentiful sounded like an invitation to him, however, he wouldn't be the one to twist someones words.

Listening to her next words gave him a bit of a surprise. He spoke his thoughts out loud, seeing how he hadn't developed a complete filter."There are others like us?" It was rude in retrospect to put someone you just met in the same category, but she seemed to be cursed too. However, she was born here, and from what he could tell, she and the rest of the place was thriving. Dmitri shook his head and chuckled. "Ah, sorry, forget that. My name's Dmitri. As you have noticed, I'm not from here..."

[Cascade]

"Like us?" the fact that this wolf thought he could presume something about Perjury intrigued her, especially after he confirmed her suspicion that he was a newcomer to the valley. He was getting more interesting and confusing by the second, and she was determined to unravel the mystery of the outsider in the middle of her forest. "My name is Perjury, alphess of the Frigid Plague," she said after a quick nod of acknowledgment to his name.

"The wolves in this valley, loner and pack wolf alike, align themselves with the side of good, neutral, or evil. Myself and my kin come from a proud line of evil, residing in the redwood territory in the south for two generations. If you are a newcomer to these lands it would do you well to learn where the packlands are and who runs them." She smiled, but it was a cold smile, "If you were to accidentally find yourself on someone else's lands, you don't know what might happen to you."

It was probably unfair of her to be so hostile, especially considering that they were on free lands. She softened her expression a bit, "But don't worry, there is plenty of land that will forever be unowned. You will not be wanting for food or shelter whether you are among the ranks of a pack or not. Now tell me, as a newcomer, have you heard yet of the White Wolves?" Perjury wasn't a complete sadist, and all her advice was well-meaning enough. She was giving Dmitri a fair chance not to be killed by a silly mistake, and she could think of a hundred or more ways he could be killed if he accidentally wandered into Geist's cave, each more terrifying than the last. Sure it sounded like a threat, but it was a threat he'd be grateful for.

[Deleted]

So it was true. The young wolf was indeed an alpha of a clan. Dmitri listened intently to her pride when she spoke of her evil heritage. He was undaunted by this. He had walked alongside many evil beings in his time. Some creatures were even completely unable to feel remorse and sympathy; living their lives by creating an intimidating throne of corpses whimsically to earn their fear. He found that they are the safest and most dangerous alliances to form it quickly eliminated all other threats, being the sole threat.

But evil wolves were different. They were cunning, scheming, and collecting creatures. He'd rather avoid being caught in their drama than try to negotiate with them. That being said, he took her words more of a concerned warning than a threat. He had danced along the borders of pack territory before, but he was a pariah then. They would rather not deal with him out of fear and despise and knew that he was harmless. He couldn't be that way here.

"Thank you for taking the time to share some words of experience to a complete stranger,Perjury, alphess of the Frigid Plague ." Even some so-called good aligned wolves of his past would turn his nose up at him. Then again, the whole cursed pariah thing didn't help...still, it was only further prof that as long as they can feel, no wolf was pure good or evil. Dmitri tilted his head slightly at the mention of the White Wolves. "I can't say I have. Are they the members of some of the packlands you have mentioned?" Perjury seemed mostly white, maybe she was one of them.

[Cascade]

Perjury could only laugh at the idea of the White Wolves being among the ranks of the Frigid Plague. Truly this wolf knew nothing of the mountain or the valley. "That would be an interesting family dynamic," she said through her chuckles, "But no, the White Wolves are not part of any pack. Such things are trivial to them because they are immortal beings." At this point she was concerned with her appearance of credibility. If Dmitri looked so surprised at such common colors as yellow and red on a wolf, she could only imagine his incredulity at the concept of immortal wolves.

"The White Wolves live high in the mountains. White Magic is the matriarch, and us mortals can go to her for healing, although..." her tone grew a hint of bitterness, "There are some wolves that she is willing to help more than others." She was speaking of White Magic's favoritism towards goods and neutrals. More than once had healing been refused to one Perjury's pack because White Magic had decided that the reason for their injury made them unworthy. In Perjury's own opinion, White Magic should respect the lives of all wolves in the valley and show impartiality towards them, but she had little power of her own to make demands of a wolf who had lived five hundred lifetimes and would live five hundred more after Perjury's own death.

"The other three White Wolves are White Magic's daughters. Taboo aligns herself with good, Sheba with neutral, and Geist with evil. Speaking to you as an evil myself, I would avoid Geist's cave unless your cause is one that you'd be willing to die painfully for." Perjury took a moment to thank the Power that she had been born with her gift and hadn't had to seek it out from that sadistic wolf, "The other two are generally harmless, but they can all be beneficial. Some wolves have been given the gift of magic from them. My grandfather received a piece of the Power from Geist two generations ago, and it has been in my family's blood ever since. Again, I would advise you to stay away, but the rewards can be great if you are brave or foolish enough."

[Deleted]

Dmitri wasn't afraid of sounding stupid. He didn't think too seriously of himself to not find amusement in making the alphess laugh. The concept of immortal beings was nothing new to him, coming from a religious pack. Whether or not he believed in their god didn't matter. He could feel the eternal flow of power through an environment, especially during a storm. It only made sense that there was an equally eternal deity behind it. In fact...

Listening on, he noticed the change in tone. It pulled at his heart strings a little to see the bitterness she was snuffing. Even the deity has a moral alliance? How interesting...He assumed those on an evil agenda wasn't doing things in accord to White Magic's wishes. He took note to the ability to be healed. Maybe he could get his ugly brands removed from his body. Though they didn't hurt, he would rather not see them every time he grooms himself.

When she spoke of the daughters of White Magic being able to aid a cause, he looked especially intrigued. Dmitri listened ,unable to keep his tail from wagging at the potential that could arise from it. If he really did have a curse, maybe he could have it lifted? Perjury must have seen the look on his face, because she warned him,twice even, of Geist. That most certainly must be noted. "Thank you for taking time to tell me of these things once again, alphess. May your charity of time return to you in fortune twofold." After all, she probably had something better to do than chat it up with a stranger. It looked like this was her rest from a lot of work that he had taken from her. With his head spinning of the possibilities, he had almost forgot. "One more thing, if it wouldn't bother you...is White Magic, or any of their daughters...well, would their power's reach be beyond this land, by any chance?"

[Cascade]

Perjury still didn't know where this wolf's alliance stood, but her Honovi friends would probably give her an annoyingly peppy gold star for not being overly anti-social to a stranger. Could she count social interaction outside her pack as her good deed for the day? Would she even want to do a good deed for the day? The thought was slightly repulsive to her. One thing could be said for Dmitri, and that's that he knew how to talk respectfully to his superiors. He might just manage to survive here.

His last question gave her pause. She didn't concern herself with much of anything related to the lands outside the valley, so she honestly didn't know how far the White Wolves' power reached. "I'm inclined to say no," she replied after thinking on it, "If I had the power of the White Wolves, I would take as much territory as I was able. Because the preside over the valley, I assume that their powers are limited to the valley, otherwise our lands would be larger. Although, I will say that it wouldn't surprise me if it was merely White Magic's tender heart that prevented her from taking more lands for the wolves of this valley." She did little to hide her spite. Even if that wasn't the case, it could have easily been true.

Perjury tried to figure out his motivation for the question. Had be been wronged by the wolves of otherlands somehow? "If you are looking for the White Wolves to zap someone from your homeland with lightning," she said, "you should just go tear their throat out with your own jaws instead. The only honorable revenge is that which you enact yourself. "

[Deleted]

Though it was just a speculation, something about her words put a sense of hope in Dmitri. Perhaps the conditions that suffocated him and his expulsion was from a place that he didn't belong. It was all to make him feel a little more welcome in this new world,  his true home. Still, if that was so, he wondered why would he be different from anyone else? 

Perjury's parting words took him by surprise. He didn't know why. She was a powerful alphess, proudly exclaiming herself of the evil alliance. He also could not deny the weight that thoughts of revenge could hold. He wondered if she had seen the land outside of here. She would know then that it was nothing worth revenge. They chased him out of their pitiful conditions to this better,separate world. If anything, he would go back only to thank them. Honor was not something he had found in his lone trek in the wilderness. Had he been vengeful, maybe...but he wasn't. He simply wanted to know if his theory of being born like the wolves of this land,but being born outside of it due to the magic was true. He would even be content never knowing why. Still, Perjury had only been helpful so far. These words wouldn't be any different. As the first wolf he met here, they would definitely hold strong in his memory...

"I'll keep that in mind. Farewell, alphess Perjury."


{OOC:Whooo~introduction thread! I think thats a good place to stop. If you want to add something to make it less of a tacky outro, feel free. I'll read it. Thank you for RPing with me~*humblebows*}