Meeting Another (Tagged)

[Deleted]

(Rykett)

White Star:

 Star padded across the afterlife plain. Some ghosts watched him, as he did look strange. He was not a big wolf, maybe 1 or 2. He had silver fur with black accenting and red ears and red front paws. His eyes where icy blue, his brother had dark blue, and his sister had had black eyes. Star sighed, and looked up at the place he had wandered to. It resembled his former home, just dead. Like him. He flopped down, turning translucent. He looked up at the 'sky'. He put his head on his paws, not looking around. He was remembering his family, his two siblings, his parents, and the life he may have had if he had not died all those years ago. 
 
 Star looked up, but lay his head back down. Just a bit of fog. He got up, opaque. He liked being opaque, it made him feel like he was actually alive, like he could really touch water or pray. Like he could feel the wind. Star looked up again, and saw another Ghost.  

[Rykett]

Lunare:

Lunare was drifting. It was all she ever did, drift. Spiritual breezes brought her from place to place without Lunare feeling a thing. Her eyes vacant and her thoughts sluggish, they brought her to the center of a slow whirlpool of spirit wind. She had no idea where it was. All she knew was that she was there. The foggy landscape and ghostly trees started to look familiar like no other place had. Maybe that was what began to ground her again. Her eyes actually started to see things again instead of the meaningless shapes of living things that Lunare had previously perceived. Now she saw other specters roaming the landscape, some more transparent than other. Her form deepened in color as she became more opaque than she'd ever cared to be.

'Where am I?'  It was her first sentential thought since her confusion immediately following her death. Lunare's paws seemed to touch the earth as she tried to anchor herself to the reality that she lived her afterlife in. She moved her legs in a semblance of walking. It felt good to move in such a natural motion. It was almost as if she were alive except for the nagging numbness of death. Lunare looked around at the still plains. A shape caught her eye. For a distance, he looked living. Lunare hadn't acknowledged any living being for many seasons. What was a living wolf doing in this undead place? Her curiosity flared, and Lunare approached.

As she came nearer, a bit of disappointment touched her emotions as she realized it was another ghost. He seemed young, but no death wound hinted at the reason for his entrance into ghosthood. His mostly opaque coat was colored with a strange shade that Lunare didn't know wolves could have on their fur. Through as Lunare recalled faded memories of her life, she supposed it wasn't so impossible. If wolves could have blue and yellow fur, why not red? His light blue eyes had fixed on her. Lunare figured it would be rude to just ignore his interested gaze. Maybe conversing with another ghost would help her, but... how did ghosts speak? Lunare wasn't sure. She'd never tried. She opened he maw and willed speech to come.

"Hello," her voice seemed fragile. It echoed as if spoken in an empty cavern and the repetition gave it an eerily feel despite the friendly tone. The words also seemed to come from a distance like they'd been carried on the ghostly winds that had brought Lunare to this place. Lunare searched for more words, "Where am I?"

[Deleted]

White Star:
Star jumped when she spoke, but he covered up his surprise quickly. "Hello." His voice was a deep, strong sound like most of his former family. "This is the Afterlife. I take it you are new? My name is White Star, who may you be?" he asked. His blue eyes gleamed with delite at talking to someone, even another ghost. Scratch that, talking to a ghost was even better! Star smiled, really smiled, to himself.

He looked up, cocking his head at her. She seemed lost, her voice fragile. How did she die? Was she like me, stillborn but permitted to live life as a ghost? Star pondered this theory, but dismissed it. He would ask her later. She might not like to talk about it.

[Rykett]

Lunare:

'How can he smile?' she wondered. Lunare hadn't managed a smile once since her death. Maybe it was that her death was so traumatizing. Maybe his was even peaceful. He'd asked her name. Lunare hesitated, the faded scenes in her head seemed more distant than they should be. Everything seemed just out of reach, even her own name, but she managed to recall it any a couple seconds. "Lunare! My name's Lunare. Sorry, it took me a second to remember. It's been so long since anyone's asked or called me by it," her echoed, frail voice seemed even more distant next to his strong tones. How did he manage such sound? Lunare had struggled for her words and still struggled to speak. Maybe that was because she had never really spoken as a ghost before. "I guess you could say I'm new. I've been a ghost for a while, but I've only just started to be more active."

Lunare looked around at the landscape, the Afterlife. Some ghosts seemed quite content as they relaxed, but she noticed that other were always with those that smiled. Lunare was alone. It seemed that White Star was alone as well though. Maybe he was just content being solitary. There were too many 'maybes' Lunare decided to put her thoughts to the conversation, "The Afterlife... I didn't know it was an actual place. I always thought it was more of a state. Have you been here long?"

[Deleted]

White Star:
Star shifted his paws. "Well, I've only been here a few days. I've been dead all my life, just I tried to live like a normal wolf. I tried to grow up as a ghost, and it didn't work as well as I hoped. It did eventually work out, other ghosts, they ain't like me. I tried to live with my family. I even met my two nieces. Just, I can't die again. By all rights I'm about seven." he said, his smile faded slowly as he talked. He flicked his tail, his red tipped ear twitched. "As a result of my time trying to grow up normally, I'm more living wolf then ghost."

Star looked back at Lunare. "So, how did you get here? Er, how did you die?" he asked bluntly. He tucked his tail, worried he may have offended her. "Um, I like your coat. The stripes, they are really red." Blast it, now I know what Mom meant about me not having any way with words.

[Rykett]

Lunare:

"All of your life..." Lunare repeated quietly, trying to understand exactly what the ghost before her was. Was White Star living or dead? He said that he was more living. He must've been a newborn when he died, so he'd obviously aged since his death. Yet, how did he remain foggy and a little translucent? Lunare decided not to ponder too hard about the subject. She was still getting used to actually thinking. "It must've been horrible. I've barely acknowledged my ghosthood, but I know I don't like being dead. Still, I'm stuck as I am. You're lucky, though. You got to be with your family. You could live through them. I don't know where my loved ones are. If they're alive, I haven't met them. They might all be dead by now. Though, I don't think I could find them for a long time. This seems like an awfully large place." It felt good to vent out some of her feelings, but it was a bitter sort of good. It reminded her of all she lost and how lost she was.

He inquired after her death. Lunare looked away. She'd hoped that particular subject wouldn't appear in their conversation, but the cause of death must be need-to-know information among ghosts. Lunare supposed there was no gain in avoiding an explanation. During her silence, White Star complimented her red striped pelt. Her gaze turned back to him, confused. She glanced back at her fur. Immediately she realized the cause of his sentence. The previous version of Lunare might've laughed at the face of this ironic confusion, not the present iteration though. A small frown creased her brow as Lunare's death flashed in her mind. Time for that explanation, "Those are my wounds from death. They would have healed into scars were I living, but I died before they could. They're from a bear that attacked my pack. It killed me and many others of my pack. I don't know what happened to their ghosts, but I drifted and ended up here." The words took a weight of Lunare's chest. She'd known that explanation was needed, and now that it was past Lunare felt lighter. Then she remembered that she'd have to repeat her death story every time she met someone new, and the relief was gone.

[Deleted]

White Star:
"Well..." Star said, ears twitching like a pup. He felt obligated to tell his own story. It was a strange one, that was sure. "I was stillborn." he said once Lunare had finished. "My parents, they wanted all three pups and they brought me to White Magic. The first time I opened my eyes was at White Magic's cave. My parents brought me back to the den, and we discovered I was just a ghost. The next day my brother left, and a year later my father and sister disappeared looking for him. My mom found my brother in the end, and from there started my family's bad blood with Midnight Silence." Star said the last part with a sigh.

Star looked up, suddenly exited. "Hay, want to explore the valley? Maybe we can find a friend of yours! We would get to see all the cool places, and no one can bother us because, well, we are ghosts!" he said the last part with a smile and he started trotting away. Then he looked back, "Coming? Your afterlife will be pretty boring if you stay here." he pointed out. Then he smiled after thinking it over. "Actually, maybe this place is interesting. I need to explore this place at some point."

[Rykett]

Lunare:

White Star's explanation answered Lunare's most pressing questions about him, though she wondered what he meant by 'bad blood with Midnight Silence.' Maybe they could talk more in-depth about it later when Lunare had a better grasp on reality and there wasn't so much to see and do.

Lunare was conflicted at White Star's offer to explore 'the valley,' whatever that was. "I don't know... I don't want to get my hopes up for someone that I'll never find, though seeing cool places may be fun. Maybe we should stay here for a bit." At his reference to a boring afterlife, a small, amused 'hmm' escaped her lips, the closest she'd come to a smile in her ghostly form yet, "There is nothing that could possibly make my afterlife more boring than it's already been."

White Star seemed to reconsider his previous words. Lunare agreed with a slight nod and, "There's no hurry. We are stuck as ghosts for eternity, right? Besides, the other ghosts seem mostly happy here." As she spoke the last sentence, Lunare's icey blue gaze shifted from White Star to the surrounding world. A pink she-wolf with sunrise colored legs smiled, somewhat sadly, at a grey pup, that shared some of her pink and looked about seven months old, as he followed her, a melancholy smile on his muzzle as well. Quick movement drew Lunare's eye away from the mother and son as a ghost flickered into existence. The new yellow pelted ghost looked confused. He glanced around, obviously distress. Another wolf with a black and white flickered into the Afterlife a minute later. Her appearance seemed to add to the first wolf's distress, but with a sad smile, a few inaudible words, and a nose touch, she comforted him. He returned her smile with a rather goofy one. Together they walked away, disappearing into the fog. Yes, they were happy here, a sad sort of happy, but still content.

((Got Shiv's permission for that last part.))

[Deleted]

White Star:
Star smiled, silver tipped black fur almost solid looking. He noticed the same mother and son. He nodded, "Most ghosts live here. Others wander." he said this as a red she-wolf with silver brindle slid by, emerald green eyes and rusty red fur with seeming rivers of silver. A dark silver wolf stood a ways away, appearing to be looking for something, or someone. Star watched the wolf, then saw the yellow wolf. He watched him for a second. Then a familiar face appeared. Star stood, watching the she wolf, mouthing wordlessly. Then a small, ecohy noise issued from his mouth. "Halona? Dose that mean... No.." He looked down at the grass, eyes screwed shut. If Halona was dead, that may mean Stormstar was dead. Dark Side was dead, his Mother was dead.... He wished he could just start sobbing. He seemed to get more ghostly, more transparent. The only part that seemed solid were the black fur tips.

[Rykett]

Lunare:

"White Star?" Lunare's voice was gentle, calling the name of her new friend in an attempt to comfort him. He'd expressed such a strong reaction to those ghosts. He'd called out a name, Halona. That must mean he knew one of the ghosts, the she-wolf? Perhaps, she was part of his family. She must've just died. Could the rest of his family be in danger? "White Star," she repeated his name, "Hope for my friends and family may be lost, but there must still be some for yours. Where did you see them last? Whatever took Halona's life could be threatening the rest of your family! You don't see their ghosts here, do it? We have to help them. There's still hope for you."

Lunare's voice had become firmer. She was devoid of hope, yes, but she couldn't let that emptiness happen to White Star, too. She reached out in a comforting gesture that seemed so natural. She placed a single paw over White Star's and looked into his eyes, willing him not to abandon hope. With her new resolve, Lunare felt more solid as if she was alive again, as if she could still feel hunger, as if she could feel White Star's paw... Wait. She could! She was actually touching his paw, transparent as it was. Ghosts could touch other ghosts. It made sense, but it never previously occurred to Lunare.

[Deleted]

White Star:

White Star looked up, a new hardness is his eyes. He started growling, a deep, firm growl that was so much like his father's. He became more solid, his blue eyes filled with blue-hot flame. He got to his paws, and took a shaky step. "FJORD! YOU WILL PAY DEARLY!" he roared, then he took off running. His black and silver fur flickered darkly as he raced up the tunnel to the outside world. He was mad, a emotion that he had never felt so strongly before. His family had suffered at the paws of Fjord long enough, he was going to make sure it ended! Now to figure out how to do that... Hm, he's have to figure it out later. First, to find his other niece.

[Rykett]

Lunare:

Lunare floated backwards as White Star growled. His outburst confused her. She hadn’t felt those kind of strong emotions herself in… she didn’t know how long. With a disorienting gust of ghostly wind, he raced away. And with that, Lunare’s new friend was gone. The world of the living swept away the only one that might’ve helped Lunare find herself in this empty lonely afterlife. The one that gave Lunare her first sensation since death. Lunare felt herself fading with despair, the meaningless of her existence weighed down on the insubstantial ghost. She felt like she really was being crushed by the nothingness. That conversation with White Star as trivial as it had been gave Lunare a new exhilaration. That was gone now.

No. Just no. Lunare could do something! She still existed whether she was tangible or not! ”White Star, wait! Who’s Fjord? Where are you going? Wait for me!” Lunare floated after her friend. She willed herself to move faster, but not used to her ghostly form, she couldn’t move nearly as fast as White Star. Trailing farther and farther behind, what little burst of hope Lunare experienced was now fading.

[Deleted]

White Star:
Star skidded to a stop. He looked back at his new friend, and sighed. She was new. "Fjord is the reason quite the few wolves are here. Too many. He... He is the reason that evil is rearing it's ugly head." he growled, light blue eyes flaring. Then he smiled at her, and slowed down quite a bit. "It helps if you put your paws on the ground." he said, a slow trot trying to make it easier for Lunar to keep up. He began hmming a old lullaby to himself, one that his mother, all those years ago, had sang him. "Let the bears sleep, see the birds fly. See the snow fall, let the winter rage... Winter is never eternal, summer always comes... But, until then, let the bears sleep. See the snow fall. Sleep, little one, and spring shall come..." He had loved that lullaby as a pup. Even though he was getting old, he still slung to songs and stories. Adventures he had shared with his sister, hunting treks he had shared with his brother. He smiled, red ears back and he imagined the rain in the Wildflower Meadow. The first time it had rained, he and Silver Storm had been cowering inside the den. He smiled again, missing the rain. Even though it had only been a few days.

[Rykett]

Lunare:


Was it possibly that one wolf could cause as much bloodshed as White Star implied? Why was White Star so angry at this Fjord? Perhaps, Fjord had killed someone White Star cared about. Maybe he blamed the aforementioned wolf for the death of that black and white she-wolf whose ghost had briefly come into view.

White Star gave Lunare an instruction of how to move easier, but it confused the she-wolf. ”Won’t my paws just go through the ground?” Despite her doubts, Lunare lowered her paws to the earth. She shivered when they touched. It wasn’t exactly a feeling, more like the sensation you got when someone was staring at you except it was more concentrated and she only felt it around her paws. The ground was invading her essence, passing through her just as she’d thought it would. But, it provided a strange sense of resistance. The ethereal particles that she was made of didn’t want to be forced to pass through an object. Though Lunare felt as though she could go straight through the ground if she wished it. She took a cautious step forward.

Walking as a ghost was strange, but somehow familiar at the same time. Movement in this way required the same kind of action that she’d always used, but the way it felt and the way it pushed her forward was foreign. ”I think I’ve got it!” Lunare was excited to learn how to keep up with her friend, but her voice held cautiousness and a tinge of sadness. She distrusted her spirit form and familiarity of walking made her long for mortality again.

@pittypat

[Deleted]

White Star:
Star smiled, watching Lunar walk. He knew that for some, walking was harder then other functions they would have performed as a mortal. He wouldn't know himself. "Your paws don't phase through the ground, I think. I've never tried... We should totally do that! Be the first wolves to go under the ground without a tunnel!" Star's enthusiasm at the idea was puppy-ish, but he had a wide smile. Walking on, he started prattling on about all the cool things they could do that normal wolves couldn't. ("Maybe even posses wolves!"), and continued into the real world, where it was raining gently.

~Exit White Star~