Winter Nights (Open/Tagged)

[Argus]

bluekachoo
Chayya walked quietly in the drifting snow, pensive. Her mindless little brother Kiran trailed behind her, but nowdays she didn’t even bat an eye at him. It had been two years since she had received her power and shortly thereafter turned him into the servant that he now was. It felt strange, knowing what she had done to him had happened so long ago. It didn’t feel like such a long time. It made her sad now, because she hadn’t seen anyone other than Kiran in such a long time. She wished now that she had left him with the ability to talk, at least. She had, surprisingly, become lonely over the stretch of time. That was a new feeling, Chayya had always been a loner who was able to get lost in her mind with no effort. Things changed though.

She stopped and glanced up at the sky, looking for the moon. Her watermelon green fur rippled in the chilly breeze, flecked with white snow that did not help her blend in any better. The moon wasn’t out, covered by a giant cloud and leaving the night plunged in darkness with no light anywhere. She didn’t know where she was, but she felt decidedly uneasy. The rocks she saw were giant slabs that seemed perfectly made, outside of nature. A chill ran down her spine and she decided that she simply could not take the risk of someone attacking on her. She turned invisible. This prompted memories of the white wolf who had granted this to her, the burning sensation that had raged through her veins when she had first heard the great news that her wish would be granted. It made her think of Juno, Chess, Axel and even others, wolves she barely knew but had met briefly. They were all gone now, to who knows where. She started walking again, being careful to leave no tracks. Kiran didn’t cross her mind, but her brother was a pastel blue and blended in only slightly more than she had. She just didn’t care.

[bluekachoo]

Fafnir’s breath hung in clouds around his head in the cold night air. He picked through the snow-coated rocks as he searched for someplace to sleep to no avail. He felt the weariness of a lifetime alone press down on his shoulders on nights like these, with an achingly empty stomach and sore paws. He had hoped to find some company in this valley, some other wolves who might follow him, or even just keep him around, but he was beginning to fear that he would not. Even if he did, he had heard about the strange beliefs of the wolves of these territories. It had struck him as strange that they believed in deities that they could interact with, and even stranger the stories of their supposed powers he had heard. Of course he didn’t believe a word of it, but it worried him that these wolves did.

The dark wolf raised his muzzle, hoping to at least find some prey. To his surprise he instead caught the acrid sent of something long gone, and other wolves. His heart pounded, though with fear or hope he could not tell. He crept through the rubble until he caught a glimpse of strangely colored fur, and stopped cold. It must have been his imagination, he told himself, but already he could feel his hackles bristling in fear. Fafnir moved closer until he could make out the silhouette of a short light-colored wolf, although he could have sworn he had seen another. He didn’t like this, not one bit, but he came here to find other wolves and he’d be damned if he turned away now. With every muscle tensed in preparation the fight or flee, he called, “Hello?”

[Argus]

Chayya looked towards the voice that had called out to Kiran. Her brother couldn’t talk anymore, of course, but he did have enough sense left in his head to turn his head. She had been trudging along until the voice had called out, then she had turned around to see the dark colored wolf appearing out of the dark and snow. He blended in a lot better then either of the siblings, so that explained why Chayya had no hints that he was there. She grinned wickedly though, thinking of the fun she could have while he was distracted with Kiran. She liked playing pranks and scaring others, but hadn’t had any opportunity to since she had made Kiran her servant. She really hadn’t thought that plan through well at all.

She tried to think of something she could do to put a little fright in the stranger, but nothing came to her in the moment. She made up her mind to figure it out later. In the meantime, she crouched low to the ground, just in case the snow got on a large part of her and made her visible again. She’d be white from the snow, but her shape could still give her away. She made her way stealthily around the stranger before taking an even wider circle towards Kiran. She stopped when they were both clearly visible (and audible), but far enough away that she didn’t think either one of them would smell her.

(I’m sorry for leaving you waiting for a few days, I hadn’t planned to, but something came up and I didn’t have any energy to write a post. This one is a little short even so, but hopefully it’s enough for you to go on).

[bluekachoo]

Fafnir was nervous enough as it was, but when the stranger did not respond to him but only turned their head, Fafnir felt a shard of real fear pierce his heart. He didn’t believe in ghosts or spirits or any of that nonsense, but it was dark and he was all alone in this alien place. He paced foreword, weaving between the rubble until he could see the wolf more clearly, and stopped at a safe distance. For a long moment he just stared at the anonymous canine, letting snowflakes melt and run down his scraggly pelt.

Then drew himself up and puffed his chest, forcing his tail to stand high and proud. Fafnir was no longer a young wolf, but he was still capable of defending himself. Whatever this silent being was he was not afraid of them, and he needed to show it. In his gruffest voice he once more addressed the figure, “I said hello. Who are you?”

(That’s alrighty! Irl stuff always takes priority)

[Blood]

((Don't mind if I hop in here with my lil evil servant boy!))



Roman

A familiar shiver pulled at the dry skin of the male wolf, the blood-red fur along his nape bristled as the shiver passed along his spine. It didn't phase him. The feeling of cold hardly trigger any discomfort. He had been cold ever since the first leaves started falling from the trees, now it was just the world he lived in. Cold, hungry, and empty. Oh wait, it was still full of hate. He had forgotten about that as he flipped a red lock of fur out of his eyes.

Roman dragged his paws through the snow, the pads of his feet carried sharp lumps of ice and snow, but he hardly felt it, it was the same as the cold. Dull and familiar. His hips swayed slowly to his step and his thin lean waist twisted and pulled as his legs walked. Winter was always a season that displayed his skeleton nicely. Prey was hard to come by, and being a servant to the most evil pack there is in the valley never helped put meat on his bones either. Midnight Silence was kind enough to keep him alive, but they did it minimally. Without even glancing, he could still see the ugly scar of an "x" on his right shoulder. The reminder was enough to make him hate his life even more.

A voice made his hazel eyes lift from their half-closed state and look up ahead into the dark winter night. His eyes were accustomed to the dark enough to see a figure not far ahead. Roman's silver tipped ears perked up to listen in on what would happen next as he silently wove through the large stone structures until he was close enough but not yet seen.

bluekachoo
Argus

[Argus]

Chayya smelled the newcomer more than she saw them, the winds blowing the snow around had gotten stronger shortly before his arrival, making it harder to see anything amidst the snowflakes flying around. The new stranger’s presence was alarming, because now she was outnumbered. She knew Kiran wouldn’t be of any use in a fight. Thinking about that just made her ponder, again, of how useless he was now. But that wasn’t important right now. She needed to come up with a way to reveal herself, because despite what she had begun to do she did want to have a conversation with someone who wouldn’t simply stare blankly back at her. She wanted to do in a way that might scare (or at least confuse) them a little though, because what fun would there be in life if she never got to play a trick or two?

She looked around for inspiration, and she grinned when she set her eyes on one of the sobs of rock that struck her as unnatural. It was perfect. She stuck over to the nearest one, which was a bit away from Kiran, but still far enough away they probably couldn’t smell her in all the wind and snow. Even if they did smell her though, she realized that they likely wouldn’t know what to make of the smell if they couldn’t see her. She was careful as she climbed onto the slab, and she grinned wickedly. The snow was thick on these too now, so she stayed flat on her belly so the snow that had fallen on her back (she wasn’t incorporeal even though she was invisible) wouldn’t give her shape away.

Settled in on her perch now, she spoke. “And who might you be, to demand answers from a stranger?” She had to raise her voice to be sure she’d be heard over all the wind and to account for the distance between them, but she was sure that at least one of them heard her. It had the added effect of making her voice sound deeper, and of making it sound like it was coming from multiple directions, although she didn’t fully understand why that was the case here. It wasn’t quite the scariest trick, and it certainly wasn’t what she had in mind when she snuck around the first stranger, but she figured it would do.

bluekachoo
Blood

(Tagging because I haven’t been on in a while)

[bluekachoo]

Finally a voice rang out above the howling wind, and Fafnir flinched. It didn’t seem to be coming from the wolf just ahead, but it was hard to tell. The aging wolf held his posture so stiffly it ached. This whole situation was weird, just like the rest of this godforsaken place, but he did not want whoever this was to see how it was getting to him.

“Who am I? What do you mean? I am Fafnir the loner, and whatever game you are playing is not amusing!” He called indignantly. He felt his hackles rise as another bitter gust of wind tore through his fur.

[Blood]

Roman sensed movement, but the weather didn't help him pin point on any absolute locations for any of the wolves who seemed to be gathering in the cluster of stone structures. The wind kept shifting, throwing scents around like crazy, not to mention the biting cold snow and ice that cut straight through any fur or flesh and stinging the skull. Roman tasted something in his mouth, something like blood. Oh good, he still had his tongue. His jaws never stopped grinding or clenching as he shifted his position slightly to maybe see something through the snow and darkness.

A voice was caught by his erect ears and he listened to it intently, judging the tone, judging the words, trying to figure out the locations of those talking, and more importantly judging tone to figure out possible intensions. The result was choppy, but the young male wolf content to have picked up on the familiar scent of fear...

Roman stayed hidden as best he could, he was pretty confident of his hiding spot and his small dark form that was tucked close to the rock structure, he doubted he was even a threatening target.

[Argus]

Fafnir the loner? Chayya found the title the male assigned to himself silly, but she resolved to save her thoughts on that for later, if she got the chance. “On the contrary, I find this all quite amusing. It’s been quite some time I’ve had this much fun.” She didn’t mention Kiran, he was already out of her thoughts by then. She did however, take time to further examine Fafnir now that she had made up her mind about what to do. He was one of the oldest wolves she had ever seen, grizzled and generally scraggy looking. Not very impressive, in other words.

“I’m sure the goddess I worship would also find some kernel of amusement in this situation, but she’s not here, so you’re currently at my mercy. I wonder, Fafnir, if there’s anyone in the valley that even knows you exist? It’s dangerous to wander alone here.” She wasn’t planning on laying a paw on the other wolf, but he didn’t need to know that. She mainly just wanted to see what his reaction would be. Granted, if he ran away screaming her fun would be ruined, but she could then return to her walking and figure out exactly where she (and Kiran) were going in the first place. She certainly wouldn’t mind finding a nice warm place to curl up in out of the winter weather. But fun first, then shelter.

[bluekachoo]

Fafnir scanned the ruins again as the voice called out. He still couldn’t pinpoint its location between to wind and the snow, but he thought the voice sounded like a female. He didn’t like her tone, like a cat toying with its prey. He shifted his freezing paws, widening his stance and raising his tail. He was nobody’s prey.

For a moment it was quiet, then she spoke again. Goddess? He thought, This wolf must be insane, she’s talking like she’s met this goddess. His muzzle contorted in a snarl. “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, but you’d better show yourself right now.” He responded, lowering his head menacingly. If this wolf wanted to fight with him, so be it. He’d been in his fair share of fights, and he was confident in his abilities.