The Living Stones { CLOSED }

[Deleted]

Setting

• Weather: Cool breeze. Overcast sky. Moist ground.
• Ambient Noise: Cicadas. Song Birds.
• Time: Noon.

Rules

1. Please, post at least once per day.
2. There will be no posting order.
   

Participants
(( Just come on in and post, and then I will add you to the list! ))

1. Malice Male/Evil
   
2. Raven Female/Neutral 
   
3. Atlas Male/Evil
4. Nightshade Female/Good
   
   

---

Travelling in from the east, a male wolf, dark of fur, slowly walked along the wide river's edge. He'd clearly been travelling without company for some time, and it was becoming evident that a biting boredom was leading him to take a profound interest in.. the mundane. His paws- moistened by his proximity to the chilly water- had somehow managed to capture his attention as he moved. With each step, he contentedly observed the soil displacing itself beneath his weight. He noticed the shimmer of the wet muck, and the shadows cast to fill his shallow print. His claws-

'Honestly...?' The wolf groaned as he shook his head of thought, and then lifted his titian gaze to the river that flowed past him on his left.

The forest had been his only company for days now, and he'd been sustaining himself off of a variety of insects and gastropods. Not that he was complaining. Although, what he didn't like was the erratic weather of the new season. This place had been making his wound act up again... It was uncomfortable, to say that least, and since he awoke that morning, he's lacked the desire to strain it. The hairless, scabby hock of his back right leg was.. itchy, to say the very least. As much as he wanted to, he knew better than to give into the temptation. The wolf's lip curled at the irritant. If he could kill it, he would have. Unfortunately, this matter was far beyond his realm of control, and there was nothing he could do but endure.

Up ahead, a peculiar formation made its way into his vision, breaching through the forest thicket like rays of sunlight. Except these rays were made of stone, ...and didn't make the your face feel nearly as tingly when you stood in its presence for too long. Tingle or not, this development was at least something to do, other than eating and sleeping. The wolf picked up pace, ears pitched forward as he came to the first stone pillar. He stopped and dipped his head down in curiosity. Never had he seen something so...deliberate. It wasn't a mountain. It wasn't a boulder. No, it was something different. The walls were too straight, and it was composed in a manner that altogether seemed so.. purposeful to be of natural formation.

Then again, he was no expert in topography.

The wolf lift his head as he walked closer to the ruins of unknown make and origin, his curiosity piqued, though his expectation for answers unequivocally low. He pressed his nose against a few of the unfamiliar surfaces, inhaling their unique scent, and attempting deciphering if any others creatures had been nearby recently. Moments passed, and he lost interest in the silent stone. Still, the wolf continued to walk in large circles with his nose low to the ground, tail in a relaxed position.

Crunch.

His head snapped up. Everything went still about him, and his muscles tensed as he waited- either for the moment to pass, or for some creature to reveal itself. He pointed his snout into the nearby brush. Not a few seconds later, he lowered his head and trotted behind one of the walls, hoping to hide himself and avoid discovery.

[Deleted]

//Would Raven be allowed? No one replies to my posts. //
The sky was dark. Filled with clouds. The sun peeked out occasionally to warm Ravens fur. Her lamp like amber eyes scoped the ruins lovingly. This was were she met Kaiho. He was that shy kind of wolf that doesn't expect a friend. At first Kaiho was reluctant to fall in love so quickly, but soon he succumbed. Raven childishly thought it was true love! Ravens wandering mind was brought back the the present as the scent of wolf filled her nostrils "There is a wolf nearby." Raven lowered her tail and head under the tips of the grass. Hopefully her blue grey back wouldn't be seen in the cloudy weather. But the she thought of her coppery orange under belly and face. Better keep that hidden she thought.

[Deleted]

(( Don't see why not! Welcome to the thread. ))

The jittery male held his hiding spot behind the stone wall or a few long moments. His breaths were inaudible, even to himself, though his pulse had begun to quicken. Thoughts raced through his mind. Thoughts.. that weren't helping him very much. He angled his head low and swept his ears backwards as he slowly stepped out from behind the wall. His nose poked out first, and as he gave the air a few strong whiffs. In the silence, he continued forward, his eyes scanning the area in front of him. His tail was held low behind him, though the tip acutely curled upward in a defensive manner. Nothing. It was nothing.

The wolf exhaled slowly, a bit louder than before. No. It was never just nothing. His ears perched forward again and he sniffed at the soil once more. There was a scent here.

There! His head rose, nose pointed towards a flash of orange. But it was gone. The wolf frowned. His logical brain told him to stay put and perhaps relocate himself to the poorly designed hiding spot of his, but curiosity -or perhaps hunger- tugged at his paws to move forward. What was orange. A fox? A butterfly? No, it had to be a bird. Or could it? No, it couldn't!

Wolf? Wolf... Wait, a wolf! The scent came back to his brain, and smacked him in the face like it were obvious. The voices of his consciousness continued battle one another, but he hadn't the patience to wait it out this time. Now, if this truly was another wolf... A low voice smoothly emerged from his throat, a starkly contrasting against the higher pitched chatter of the forest.

"Am I not alone..?" he called out, shifting his forepaws anxiously.  ".. who.. goes there?" The wolf chimed again, carefully managing each chosen word. His ears swiveled erratically, obviously expecting a reply. If not, he'd be the silly one for attempting to strike conversation with the cool breeze that passed him by.

[Deleted]

Raven held back a growl. She didn't like to be found when she wanted to stay hidden. A bird alighted and flapped its wings wildly and cawed loudly."oh shut up bird!" Raven said audibly. She raised her head to look at the wolf. The cicadas were chirping as loudly as ever. "Me," Raven smirked in answer to the wolfs question. She flicked her ears as the bird flew off. "My name is Raven." She held her head high, orange chest puffed out. She was proud, and she wasn't afraid to show it The new grass was allteady tall and reached up towards her shoulders.

[Deleted]

(( Should I ignore the bird, then? Let me know and I can edit! ))

The bird's antics quickly drew his attention, and his eyes narrowed as he attempted to catch glimpse of what was hidden there. His head lowered as he waited, 'Oh, shut up bird!' He noted the voice, ears pricked forward. A female. And not alone, by the sound of it.

The wolf was still and silent as she revealed herself and began to speak. Raven... He let the name sink in. His eyes stared at the bright orange fur that poked through the tall grass the other wolf stood in. At least he was right. He wasn't alone. Question was, what should he do now?

The voices continued their blather, and he remained quiet. And still. Only his eyes were active, continuously observing her, and whatever else he could see.

If he was allowed a few odd moments of silence, he'd raise his head and respond to her. "Raven," he repeated the name she gave him. "You're the first wolf I've come across in weeks..." he mused as he walked in a wide arc towards her vicinity- not directly towards her, since he did not wish to seem imposing. He carried his head in a more relaxed position as he saw the female puff herself out.

[Deleted]

Raven eyed the new wolf. He looked interestedly at her. " you are also the first intelligent beast I've seen so far. Curiously she trotted towards the ruins, right past the other wolf. She stuck her head into a hole. It still smelled faintly of Kaiho and herself. His scent enveloped her. She realized now how much she missed him. And suddenly she became uncomfortable with the other wolf nearby.

(Kaw is now gone....)

[Cascade]

Atlas had never paid much attention to the concept of newness. Every new skill would soon be replaced, every new experience would soon become routine. But for what it was worth, this was the first time he had ever been to the ruins.

It wasn't that Atlas never left the confines of his den when he was still living with his family, but he'd had considerably less freedom to go where he pleased with four brothers underfoot, always disagreeing with each other. Now that he had left them for good—not without having to make a considerable effort—the only person he had to answer to was himself. That was new. That kind of newness was something that he could, for the time being, appreciate.

Harder to appreciate were the stone walls that jutted up all around him. It was well known in the valley that there were wolves who harnessed magic, and dominion over the earth was one type of magic. His first guess as to the origin of these structures was that such a wolf had taken control of the stone and formed it to his own peculiar tastes. It was certainly not impossible, but still it rang false to Atlas. Were such a thing true, why so many structures? There looked to be at least a hundred of the strange, square buildings nestled in the trees in various stages of collapse and decay. No matter how long ago it had been, a pack of a hundred wolves would have survived in legend if not in body. Yet, no legend existed. The oldest pack in the forest was the Frigid Plague, and they went back a mere two generations. Then again, if anyone would know the answer to this puzzle or even a clue, it would be them...

Not far away, Atlas heard the snap of a twig. Then, voices. He hadn't encountered any wolves since making his departure, and though he thought himself above what he considered childish feelings like "curiosity," his paws carried him toward the sound nonetheless.

[Deleted]

Raven eased her head back out of the hole to look at the stranger. "Who might you be?" She eyed the wolf. But soon after that she heard something deeper in the ruins. She whirled around ears pricked. Nothing. But her nose picked out a scent. Wolf scent. Raven begun to growl. This scent made her uneasy. It was a lot like Kaiho's yet it had a more bloody sinister note to it.

[Deleted]

His eyes were kept trained on her as she strode right past, and his body turned to face her. Her comment was taken as a compliment. Still, he kept his head lowered in curiosity, ears forward, as he watched her displace her head into a hole in the ground. Odd.. though it clearly seemed to be of some interest to her. An ear swiveled at her next utterance.

His name? Easy enough.. "Mal..." he began. The start of the name spilled from his tongue with ease, though he seemed somehow a stranger to it. Then it dawned on him then that he hadn't needed to introduce himself to another wolf since... he grew out of his juvenile years. The wolf lift his head again and rolled his shoulders at this newfound compliance with the other party. This was definitely a new experience.

He would have continued, and perhaps even gotten comfortable, if her next movement had not been so sudden. He tensed again as he watched her, and pointed his own ears in the direction hers were in. "Seems I stumbled into a popular area," his voice was low and contemplative. The hair at his nape stood on end when she began to growl, and he immediately padded around to her side, with slow deliberate steps. He aimed to keep her body between himself and whatever this new threat was...

[Deleted]

"I guess you could say that.." Raven replied. Her attention on the ruins. Then she absent mindlessly said, "your name?" Raven was stubborn, she always got what she came for. And she wouldn't let his name pass her by. She wanted to know the wolves here better than the back of her paw. She scrutinized the ruins for movement, but her efforts were fruitless as a spring fog started its way through the forest, hiding every possible hiding place. You could really only see five wolf lengths in front of your muzzle. Raven snarled in annoyance:

[Cascade]

So, it was a male and a female. They could be together, but their body language didn't suggest it. What it did suggest was that both of them had found him somewhat of an unpleasant surprise. Had Atlas seem himself coming through the trees and not had the luxury of knowing his intentions, he might have thought the same. Physical imposition aside, it didn't take much to see scars and a ripped ear and come to the conclusion that the wolf bearing them was no stranger to violence.

Atlas had to note that the other male, the one whose pelt had a hint of green, seemed to be nursing an wound of his own. Not too fresh, from the looks of it, but Atlas would be happy not to freshen it if the others would be happy not to attack him first.

"Don't look so alarmed," he said, his voice a low baritone and not particularly gruff, "This land is unclaimed. Sometimes you will meet strangers here as wolves come and go."

[Deleted]

"Call me Mal, if you must," he spoke well enough for her to hear. Content with his answer, he refocused his attention to the approaching wolf. "Same for you.." he spoke to the male, assuming he'd heard him speak his name. He seemed surprised at the lack of hostility, though he had no reason to complain at the moment. If they were well enough to keep their mouths to themselves, then he would play along.

Mal kept one ear trained on the male, and the other on Raven beside him. "I hadn't come across any territorial markers, so I figured as much," he replied to the pale one, and sniffed the air through his nose as he committed the new scents around him to memory. "All of the lone travelers, however," he eyed them. "Have neither of you a pack?" Bold eyes danced between the two wolves as he awaited what was probably an obvious answer. Nevertheless, he felt the need to ask.

[Deleted]

As the wolf revealed himself Raven gasped. And before she could stop herself blurted out, "Kaiho?" But then it registered in her head that Kaiho did not have battle wounds except the two slash mark across his face. His voice was different too. This definitely wasn't Kaiho. Raven quickly corrected herself. "You're not Kaiho, sorry for shouting at you.....What is your name?" Her tail rose a little. This wolf was strange.

[Cascade]

He was just about to respond to the male's question when the female gasped at him, as if she recognized him, and then blurted out his brother's name. Of all the wolves in the valley, what were the odds...?

"How do you know Kaiho?" he tongue said before his brain could even think not to. Inwardly, he cursed himself. He was perfectly fine leaving his three other brothers as they were, because they still respected his strength. Kaiho, though...Kaiho still believed himself better than him, Atlas' honor was unavenged. When he had left the family, he had left under the assumption that once he did he would never be able to find Kaiho even if he tried. With that, he had been able to let it go. But if he could so easily find him, if he could re-establish his dominance...

[Deleted]

Then it clicked, his smell his appearance. "Are you related to him?" She continued without an answer. She didn't need one. She knew he was somehow. "I met him here awhile back. We fell in lo-" then she cut herself off. The new wolfs face looked malicious. She didn't know if she had just let a murderer or a loving brother his whereabouts. But the wolfs face was not loving. He looked out for revenge, and.....blood. A growl rose in her throat. Quiet, but still present.