A New Land [Cas]

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Behind the waterfall, nestled between two rocks out of view of the basin, a dark wolf slept. His stomach rose and fell as he breathed in and out, while his ears lay flat against his skull. Eventually, one of them swiveled around as his nose twitched and his breathing became shallower, though his eyes remained shut. Then, they flew open, revealing icy blue irises that glinted in the afternoon sun. Raising his head, he held his ear at attention for a moment more before standing and shaking out his coat, then climbed onto one of the rocks that had hidden him and gaze down into the valley below.

The waterfall roared just a few paces away, all but drowning out the buzzing of insects in the surrounding fields. The sun beat down from overhead, and the wolf quickly climbed down from his perch, weaving through the rocks toward level ground until he came to rest beside the pool. Lowering his head, he briefly lapped the cool surface of the water before raising it and looking about him again, ears and nose both working. Finally, he laid down and rested his head on his paws, eyes watching the water while the sunlight reflected onto his face.

[Cascade]

Sigil didn't sleep for days after witnessing a wolf teleport before his very eyes from one end of the plains to the other, but that sort of momentum was hard to keep up. The thrill of living in a magic valley had not disappeared entirely, but it was quickly waning—despite his best efforts—with the passing of each decidedly non-magical day since then. Sure, passing by a purple wolf would sometimes briefly reignite his sense of awe for this strange place, but there wasn't exactly a shortage of wolves of any color of the rainbow, and the fact that he was beginning to consider such things to be the new mundane got under his skin more than he'd liked to admit.

See, Sigil hadn't thought of himself as different in a long time. Where he came from, the only thing particularly unusual about him was his stump of a tail but, having had it since birth, there had been plenty of time to come to terms with that and stop caring. No, he was pretty much an average wolf in his homeland, so the fact that this valley was beginning to make him feel like a freak for not being bright blue was more than a little annoying.

It was then, as he was following the freshest-looking water source, wondering what he had to do to stir up a little excitement in this magic valley, that whatever higher power presided over the place decided that it would be a fun prank for Sigil to cross paths with a completely normal-looking guy. He did a double take sooner than if he had laid eyes on a neon green wolf shooting laser beams from its nose. A black wolf. Not black and blue, not black with purple polka dots, not black with deer antlers and bird wings, just...black. What a sight.

He would not let this rare encounter with normalcy pass him by. "Hey, you." he said gruffly, trying hard not to treat the stranger like too much of a specimen, "I just arrived in this valley and I can't help but notice that you don't look ridiculous."

[Deleted]

The dark wolf's head snapped up, his bright eyes focusing on the other wolf like a laser. His hackles raised themselves slightly, but he didn't move. Instead, his eyes scanned up and down in inspection until they landed landed on Sigil's pinkish eyes. The corner of his mouth lifting in an unreadable smile, he replied, "Less ridiculous than you, anyhow. Why, is that a problem?"

[Cascade]

Sigil snorted indignantly, but couldn't help but think that he might be right. It's not like he could normally see his own eyes, so he usually forgot about their vibrant pink color. "There's no problem at all," he replied, enjoying the stranger's attitude, "Sorry if I hurt your feelings." His tone was definitely sarcastic, but not bitingly so, and he smiled to show that he wasn't genuinely riled up. "You don't look like a rainbow puked all over you, so I'm inclined to believe that you aren't from here. But what would I know? I just got here."

[Deleted]

"Oh, yeah?" the dark wolf asked, tilting his head to the side. His eyes stayed trained on Sigil, but his hackles dropped slightly. "Where are you from?" The tone in his voice held a hint of curiosity, though his face was unreadable.

[Cascade]

"Yeah," Sigil replied, allowing himself to take a seat a bit in front of the wolf, "I'm from just over the mountain. Magic is different where I'm from, mostly it's just stories. You guys have got the real deal over here." Sigil yawned to try and conceal his surreptitious inspection of the black wolf. There was no denying it, he was pretty handsome. He knew better than to get his hopes up, but that was definitely the type of wolf you could disappoint your parents with.

"Magic is a funny thing, isn't it? The name's Sigil by the way. I heard there are immortal wolves here who give it out like candy. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

[Deleted]

"I wouldn't." With a sly smile, the dark wolf rose from his resting spot near the water and stretched, his back arcing as he extended a leg behind him. When he was done, he shook out his coat and looked at Sigil once more, an expression of interest tempered with caution now clearly visible in his eyes. "I'm from the other side of the mountains, myself. You can call me Prince."

[Cascade]

Sigil eyed him as he stretched. That was just unfair. "Prince? Your parents must have high hopes for you. I assume, then, that you are the alpha or beta of one of the packs in this valley?" He seemed like the type of wolf who could take a dig, and he Sigil didn't mind getting some back himself if it kept the conversation going. Though he wouldn't win any awards for being talkative, Prince was already infinitely more interesting than those "Hi there! Great day, huh?" wolves who seemed to infest this valley like a particularly sprightly breed of cockroach.

Sigil sized himself up against Prince in his mind. He seemed smaller, but his lack of much tail made him seem smaller than most things. Taking that out of the equation, he figured they'd be equally matched in a fight, although it was a different type of match that he was interested in. Odds were good that he was barking up the wrong tree, but his little change of scenery had lengthened an already severely-long dry spell, and he wasn't about do deny himself the pleasure of at least thinking about having a little fun.

[Deleted]

"Ha, hardly," Prince replied with a coy smile. By now his hackles were lowered and his posture relaxed, though he still kept his eyes on Sigil at all times. He sat back on his haunches in silence while Sigil ogled him. Then, after several moments, he spoke up.

"Do you see anything you like?" he asked playfully, the corners of his mouth turning up as he did.

[Cascade]

Well, that was a surprise. Sigil couldn't decide whether this fortuitous coincidence was part of the valley's magic or just pure luck. 'Maybe,' he thought to himself, 'I am just that irresistible.' He sure hoped so, at least; it would make life in this valley a lot more interesting.

"Why, is there a reason I should?" Sigil replied, feigning ignorance with a coquettish grin, "Whatever do you mean?" If they were going to play this game, there was no fun in letting Prince have all the fun.

[Deleted]

Prince shrugged, the playful expression gone from his face. "No reason," he said. Then, almost as soon as he had sat down, he stood again and crossed the distance between himself and Sigil in long, easy strides. "You don't happen to know where we could find some prey around here, do you? I've been traveling for days, and I could stand to eat something bigger than a rabbit." He flashed a toothy smile. "Plus, I'm curious to see how good you are on a hunt."

[Cascade]

"No reason, huh?" Sigil replied with a sly smile, making a mental note that Prince could in fact speak in full sentences, but not pushing the matter of his remark any further. There was no fun in playing the game if they were just going to skip right to the end. "I passed by a big plain with lots of game on my way to the falls, I'd be shocked if that wasn't the prime hunting spot around here."

He got up, shaking some of the dust from his pelt. Some remained, but it was not like dust on his fur was very noticeable. "I've always considered myself a capable hunter, but the moose will be in their rut at this time of year." He grinned at Prince, "It could prove a challenge for anyone. Think you're up to it?"

[Deleted]

Prince smiled as he drew up alongside Sigil. His icy blue eyes glinted mischievously. "Oh, definitely. It's not a hunt if we've got all our limbs at the end of it. Lead the way."