Blind Meeting (Tagged)

[Deleted]

Cinder
Rykett

Nico:
 Nico was reveling in the gift of sight. He had discovered he was only blue-green colorblind, maybe his yellow wasn't very good either, but he could see red just fine. (That had not been fun to figure out) He just wanted to have a bit of fun with his newly gifted sight. So, as he was hungry, he sniffed out a rabbit. Stalking closer to the little rabbit, the dark silver male made his move. With a sudden lunge he was in pursuit of the rabbit and quickly overtook it as it was old and slow. This was how all the old rabbits met their ends as far as Nico knew. They got eaten. Nico was soon full, although the rabbit was stringy. Food was food though, so he ate it all willingly. Sight was a treasure!

[Rykett]

Noki:

The high force wind blustered across the lake swirling with snowflakes. There was a fog of white powder blown up from the wind that scraped across the flattened snow. Snowdrifts built up against the large tree trunks of the forest at the edge of Kai Lake. One particular pile of snow was shorter than the others as it partially covered a small hollow beneath the tree. The hole looked like it’d been used for a wolf’s den, but now it appeared abandoned. Abandoned save for a small grey pup huddling in a corner. Noki shivered trying to keep herself warm. A dust of stray snowflakes that’d blown into the den coated her mud-caked fur. Her nose twitched, working overtime to make up for her disability. The cold wasn’t helping much either. The purplish brown scent-seeker was freezing. Noki wanted to cover it with her paws, but that’d completely cut her off. She couldn’t see what was going on outside the den, so scent was the only way she could even have a clue of what danger might be on its way. Nothing but the crisp scent of storming snow was evident. Wait, no. Suddenly, there was the tang of fresh meat!


Noki jerked upward, her spine straight with longing. She hadn’t eaten anything except that chunk of rabbit meat from the pit. The pit… As soon as they’d gotten out of that mess, Noki had ran. She’d been beginning to trust those wolves, but they were still too much like strangers. The mud that’d covered her from that encounter had dried and was now stuck to her coat. Cautiously, Noki stuck her nose out a narrow opening between the snowdrift and the opening of the den. The scent was stronger. Her stomach seemed to turn over with longing for the meat. She might be able to eat it easily now, unlike the meat before. Slender paws dug at the snowdrift until Noki could squeeze out. Out of the shelter, she was victim to the winter wind. Though conditions had been improving as of late since Spring would soon be approaching, the cold weather seemed just as threatening to the young pup.


Following her nose, she found her red eyes alighting on a familiar face. One of the wolves from the pit! He was here and he had caught something. Should she run again? No, he was one of the few wolves in the world that held some semblance of trust from Noki. Maybe he’d share. Noki stood in full view of the wolf, frozen. She dared not approached, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave with that delicious scent taunting her. Most of the rabbit had already disappeared down his gullet, but there was still a little left.

[Deleted]

Nico:
Nico looked up, startled. He saw red eyes, grey fur, in a skinny package. Nico was startled, blue eyes examining the pup hungrily. Pups were still something new to him, he hadn't seen one yet. Until now. He nosed the bit of rabbit forwards, his tail wagging slowly. He didn't know her, but she was still here so maybe she knew him? Maybe they had encountered one another once, but Nico couldn't remember her because she, like now, was silent. His curiosity spiked and he decided to ask. "Did we meet at some point?" He asked, cocking his head. His ears tilted to the side, a habbit that Nico had only recently realized he had when he looked at his reflection. His eyes, as far as he was concerned, were grey with silver in the center. He figured that they were a color he couldn't see, so he didn't care that much. Noticing that she seemed dirty, he wondered if he should clean her. He decided against it, but instead tried to be funny. He rolled over, his ears flat on the snow and let his tongue hang out of one side of his mouth. This was the funniest thing he knew of, so he was hoping it would work.

[Rykett]

Noki:

Her eyes flicked between the wolf and the meat. She’d seen the gesture before. That she-wolf had nudged food towards Noki before when she’d want to give the pup some. This male was doing the same thing now. He was willing to share. His jaw moved as he looked at her. Noki’s large ears flopped to one side as she cocked her head, confused. Then she remembered, the moving jaw was some form of communication. All the wolves in the pit had done it and some messages had seemed to pass between them. Noki had tried it, but nobody seemed to understand. She decided to try again. She moved her jaw and tried to push an inquiry asking whether the meat was for her and her gratitude if it was towards the male. Of course no sound escaped her maw, but Noki didn’t realize that. Receiving no signal except a tilt of the ears from the male, she slunk forward and snatched the meat. Noki retreated quickly, loping a couple paces away to eat the meat.


She hunkered down, watching the male as she chewed the food. Her now hardening teeth ripped apart the piece much easier than last time. Within seconds, it was gone and Noki’s red eyes watched the male. He was doing something strange. He rolled onto his back and his tongue lolled out. What was this? Noki hadn’t been around wolves very much in her life. Her family had abandoned her when she was too young to remember it. She’d only survived this long though luck and relying on the generosity of wolves she met. Perhaps her power had helped too, for she’d been able to snag the stray mouse by hiding in the shadows. Rather than appearing playful, it’d just appeared… strange. Noki’s head was cocked again with her confusion. He did look rather silly in the snow, but why would he want to roll in the snow?

[Deleted]

Nico:
The clicking teeth was what clicked in Nico's mind. He remembered, that pit. He had been trapped with a pup he had thought deaf. Well, now he knew. She was deaf. He rolled back upright, snow caking his fur. How do you communicate with someone who had no idea what you were doing? Nico got up to his paws, shaking the snow from his coat. He looked back at the pup, walked up to her. He then lowered his head to her's and tried to will her to understand. He was not sure about how he should communicate with her, had it ever been done? Nico sat, trying to think of what to do with the little pup. He revised she should have a name, and he immediately thought of a name that began with N like his own. "Noki, your name is Noki." He said, looking at the little pup. Then he did a playbow, and started trying to play with her. He figured it wouldn't work, but it was a try. He wasn't a quitter anymore. Then, he tried to wag his tail at her. How did she not know anything? She must have had family at some point.. Sighing, he lay down and buried his nose in his paws. Hoping she would at least not run away. He wanted some company, and the silence for once was a nice thing. It was peaceful.

[Rykett]

Noki:

Noki watched the male with distrustful red eyes. He still could be dangerous. Noki should leave. She should run away so that the male couldn’t eat her up. Yet… they’d met twice now and he hadn’t eaten her either time. This time, he’d even given her food. Maybe she could trust hi-he was walking towards her. Noki flattened herself against the snow, panicked and fighting the urge to flee. There was nowhere to run to. He’d easily catch her. She could hide! There was no underbush nearby, but clouds covered the sun so maybe it would work…


Noki’s form became invisible, well kind of invisible. The outline of her form was easily discernable, but she seemed to melt into snow. She felt hidden as the male lowered his head to her level. His jaw began to move. A jolt went through Noki as she realized that the movement wasn’t just up and down and his tongue was moving too. It went to the roof of his mouth then his mouth quickly formed a circle widen just as quickly as the tongue touched the back of his teeth before relaxing. Maybe the combination of tongue and mouth movements was the key. Next he bowed, his tail wagging. Noki could understand a wagging tail. Her taildid it whenever she was happy. Cautiously, Noki faded back to existence as her tail wagged in return. Her lip twitched towards a smile and she decided to try copying the wolf’s mouth movements. Opening her maw, she carefully touched her tongue to the roof of her mouth that formed an ‘O’ with her her mouth. Then she widened the ‘O’ as the tongue touched the back of her teeth then relaxed. Had she done it right? Though the actions were slow and sloppy, the young pup had mouthed the name that Nico had just given her.

[Deleted]

Nico:
Nico smiled, his tail thumping the snow. She had mouthed her name! He was happy for her, Noki was learning to speak, kind of.. Now to figure out how to teach her how to be a wolf. She didn't seem to understand a play bow, or when a wolf was being playful and wanted to play. Maybe she hadn't been in many situations where she had seen these actions. When they had first met, they hadn't done very much except talk. She hadn't seen very much body language among the wolves. There had been no reason, talking was more effective in most cases, for Nico especially. He hadn't been able to see the body language, so talking had been the best way to convey things. Now that he could see, he had to figure out how to teach her. How had he learned? His siblings, parents, and pack. He had watched them and practiced it on his siblings. The thing was, he was sure that he needed some help with body language. He had been a year old when he had lost his sight, so he was sure had had more to learn himself. Maybe they could learn together? The only issue, they needed another wolf.

[Cinder]

Maroon was on her way back to the barren landscape where she had left Snow, to see if he was possibly still there. Traveling on her own left her to her sad thoughts and her loud rumbling stomach. She thought about how she would ever live properly. Perhaps she should have stayed with Azrael, she could've at least had meals and a friend if she stayed with the mischievous male.

It was awfully convenient timing for her arrival. Maroon had just been passing close enough to be in the range of sight of the two wolves. Her ears perked up at the scuffling of melting snow and she found herself with her head pointed in their direction with her brows furrowed deeply. She stopped walking altogether and her numb paws itched to scurry away. "Err... hello?" She asked quizzically.

Maroon tilted her body and lowered her head enough to cover her chest and throat. She took a deep breath in through her nose and caught sight of two wolves. One smelled different. Like her own smell. Sick? Her mind raced as she thought of all the possibilities of disabilities that the other wolf she smelled could have. The other smelled normal and it made her feel relaxed as well as slightly alarmed.

[Rykett]

Noki:

The male seemed to respond to her attempt to communicate. He smiled and his already wagging tail thumped harder on the ground. She tried other mouth tongue combinations, all of which were random, to see if she could get some other reaction out of him. Her red eyes caught movement as another wolf approached. She unknowingly squeaked in surprise and fear as she disappeared again. From her mostly invisible location, she studied the newcomer.

A young she-wolf, the stranger 's creamy fur nearly blended into the snow, but was a few shades away from the feat. Maroon eyes, a similar shade to Noki's, stared blankly ahead. The empty gaze of the she-wolf reminded Noki of when she'd first met the male. Now, his mangled eyes were bright when he looked straight at Noki. The feeling that the blank stare meant they couldn't see returned, but again, Noki dismissed it as ludicrous. How could a wolf live without sight? How would they communicate without sight as it seemed, as Noki was learning, that viewing a wolf's mouth movements was essential? Yet, the she-wolf's mouth moved. Bewildered, Noki faded back into full visibility. How by the power did the she-wolf know about the mouth movements if she was as blind as Noki was beginning to believe? Whatever the answer was, Noki refocused her attention on copying the movements of the she-wolf's jaw and tongue. A basic down motion then touch the tongue to the roof and end with the mouth in an 'O.' She might be getting this month moving stuff down! If only she knew their meaning...

[Deleted]

Nico:
Nico growled, his blue eyes flashing at the stranger until she came into his view. His dark eyes made out a she-wolf, and he replied. "Hello, may I ask who I may be speaking to? I'm Nico and this is Noki." He looked back down at Noki and saw she was mouthing words. He was not sure what she was saying, but they had another wolf... Heading up to Maroon, he said, "I have a favor to ask. Noki is deaf, and I need someone to help me teach her body language. It's the only way for her to communicate what she wants. Would you help me? I'll tell you what I'm doing." Nico glanced back at Noki, and smiled at her. He walked back up to her, and rolled. He tried to make her laugh again, or at least smile.

[Cinder]

She stiffened when she faced a snarling wolf, but everything quieted down for a short time, while the other gave a noise in surprise. She could hear the snow shuffle and assumed that the female hid from her, just like Maroon knew she had done to others in her past. She was proud of herself for gaining confidence, but it wasn't safe to be cocky.

She listened to the wolf and gave a nod. She opened her mouth to respond with her name, but she was cut off as he started talking. His face was close to hers, and she felt the breeze caused by his face turning to look at the little one again. "I'm Maroon. Nice to meet the both of you. Can I be of much help? I can't exactly.... see?" She gave a lazy grin and shrugged.

Maroon heard his fading footsteps and a small tumble and she followed after him. She laid next to Nico and had her nose close to Noki's. When she started to speak, she did so slowly and over accentuated each word. "Hello Noki. My name is Maroon." Her smile came easily and she tilted her head to the side, letting her ears flop with it. She tilted her head to Nico, to see if he had a recommendation for their course of plans.

[Rykett]

Noki:

Noki's red gaze followed the male as he faced they newcomer. As his jaw began moving, Noki blinked as she recognized a sequence of movements. It'd been very similar to the movements the female had first made when when she'd arrived. First down motion then the tongue touch the roof before ending in an 'O.' Then as he looked back towards Noki, there was another familiar sequence. Tongue to the roof, then an 'O,' and finally tongue to the back of the teeth with a wide mouth. It'd been the first sequence Noki had copied. As the male finished moving his mouth, he returned to Noki. He rolled in the snow again with a wagging tail. When he got up, a dust of white powder covered his dark silver pelt. The fierce wind blew much of it off, but much stuck. He did look rather comical all covered in snow like that. Noki risked another careful smile.

Then the female approached Noki and the small pup scooted away, nervously. The unseeing, maroon eyes almost seemed to stare at Noki as the female's mouth began moving again. There they were again! Easily visible as the wolf's mouth moved carefully and slowly. Except this time the sequences were in succession. What did they mean? It was driving Noki crazy! As the she-wolf continued speaking, Noki decided to copy more movement sequences. The last one seemed easy enough. Mouth open, tongue to the roof, mouth forming a circle then widening to poke the tongue slightly between teeth. Noki tried to repeat it as well as she could.

[Deleted]

Nico:
Nico looked at Maroon. "You won't have to see, I'll tell you what I'm doing." He then playbowed. "I'm playbowing." he said, for an example. Noki would hopefully watch, and she would learn how to communicate what she wanted to them. He was not sure why he was trying to help Noki, he should have just left her. But then again... He was trying to reform himself. He looked at Maroon, cocking his head. "Um, Maroon? Do you happen to know a wolf named Snow?" he asked, a small fear that had been brewing inside of him since the mountain taking a fierce grip. If she did know him, would she know were to find him?

[Cinder]

She had stood up and given the pup some space, standing beside Nico, yet farther away from Noki. Maroon had tipped her head towards Nico when he spoke and nodded in response. Her pale paws slid forward, while her rump remained high in the air with a cheery grin adorning her face.

Although, when Nico mentioned Snow, she jolted up. Blood rushed to her head at the speed and she felt like tipping over. However, she remained upright with her eyes half-lidded. "Snow? I-I haven't seen him in a few years. In fact, I've been looking for him..."

Her eyes were sad as her gaze wavered back towards the floor. She could smell the unease on the little pup's fur when she had originally tried to focus on her, so she avoided doing so and looked at her paws.

[Rykett]

Noki:

The cream wolf left Noki's side and moved to where the grey male was as his mouth moved. As she approached, he slid into one of the positions he'd done after offering Noki the food. His rump pointed towards the sky and his chin nearly touched the ground, while his tail waved slightly in the air above him. The female mirroring the gesture. Maybe wolves also used their bodies to send messages. If that was true, what did this position mean? Perhaps whatever actions that followed would give Noki enough context to figure it out. The male's jaw moved and the female returned the message with mouth movements of her own as she stood out of the position. Noki cocked her head, confused.

Her brow furrowed as she tried to figure out the meaning behind the bow motion. Well, the male had done it when he'd started interacting with Noki and now he was doing it to a new wolf and she was doing it back. Maybe it was something wolves did when they met each other, a greeting. If that was the case, Noki should've done it to the male and the female when they'd approached. Well, better late than never, right? Noki carefully copied the gesture looking towards the two older wolves for signs of approval.