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[Dravite] The Wolf & The Hunter

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The Wilderness of Cyphrus is an endless sea of tall grass that rolls just like the oceans themselves. Geysers kiss the sky with their steamy breath, and mysterious craters create microworlds all their own. But above all danger lives here in the tall grass in the form of fierce wild creatures; elegant serpents that swim through the land like whales through the ocean and fierce packs of glassbeaks that hunt in packs which are only kept at bay by fires. Traverse it carefully, with a guide if possible, for those that venture alone endanger themselves in countless ways.

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Postby Redd on October 30th, 2015, 2:42 pm

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Date: Day 50, Fall, 515 AV – Mid-Afternoon
Location: Sea of Grass/Wanah'ite

Redd lifted her nose to the sky so then she could view the sun that slowly made its way across the sky. The young wolf knew that she still had some bells left before it would get dark and she would need to find some where to sleep. Being out in the open was not safe, especially for an unwanted predator like herself. Luckily enough, the wolf had situated herself near a copse of trees, where she had stashed her meagre belongings at the base of tree and buried them. Dirt was no stranger to the wolf, in fact she was glad that there were no thorns poking out everywhere. It meant that she didn’t have to watch her steps as much. However, that didn’t mean that she lapse at all, for she was still half blind and her missing right eye would not let her forget that. For the moment, she was prowling through the grass, the blades of glass brushing up against her brindled red fur. The young wolf had the urge to rub herself all through the grass, to bound and run. However, her grumbling stomach reminded her that she was starving and needed the small amount of energy that she did have to hunt for food.

Occasionally, the half black sun that had been tattooed and blackened the red fur on her left paw, flashed into sight before it disappeared. A slight distraction, but the wolf shoved the distraction to the side while her single golden hue flickered across the plains bared before her. Sometimes, she had to stop and take a moment to observe her surroundings. An ear flickered forwards as she could have sworn that she had just heard the sound of a bird and suddenly, a sound of fluttering wings reached her ears just in time. Redd stopped suddenly and a small body flew passed her nose and her gaze snapped to view the small body as it fluttered through the grass. The body of this bird was mostly black, a shining black and as the sun hit these feathers, it gave off a shimmer of green. Its head was a shining brown and as far as Redd could tell, it was just a plain brown with no hints of green. A small breeze picked up, which in turned, ruffled her red coat before a slow moving cloud shadowed her figure, which in turned helped her to blend in just a little bit with the grass that surrounded her.

The young wolf began to move forwards once more, but she turned her gaze to the ground that shifted under her paws, which left paw prints in her wake. Her ears continued to flicker forwards, to the side and then backwards, as she attempted to keep an ear out for anymore sounds. She didn’t want to be surprised, not at all. Surprises were her enemy, this she had learned. As her stomach growled at her for perhaps the fiftieth time that day, her single hue spotted a print in the dirt and as she moved closer, she could tell that it belonged to that of deer. Whether it was doe or buck was hard to distinguish from just a print. Instead, she searched for another print in the dirt and found it not too far away from where she stood. The print however wasn’t complete, for the deer had stood upon a few blades of grass, which were somewhat flatten, but still raised. While the print was incomplete, the blades of dirt contained dirt which held the rest of the print that was not stamped into the ground. Both of her ears pricked forwards and she lowered her head to sniff around the print, there she found the scent that she was chasing. As a bonus, it wasn’t even that old. At least one deer had passed through this area in the past few chimes. It probably got distracted while grazing.

With slow movements, Redd lifted her head so then her single hue could see if she could spot the very beast itself. After a few ticks, the red predator spotted the very thing that she was looking for. The brown doe stood amongst the grass with its head lowered, its jaws worked to chew through the grass that was spread before it. Redd’s gaze slid over the animal’s form and and she couldn't help but notice that it seemed rather fat for a doe. Whether that was because it simply ate too much or was pregnant, mattered little to the red wolf. Fat animals made for good prey, because they were much slower and much easier prey. The added bonus was that this one was not a part of a herd, a single prey was much easier to hunt rather than one that was inside of a herd. Both of her ears flickered back the moment that the wind picked up and she crouched low to the ground. While the wolf may be up wind from the beast, her half sight was going to be the problem, not to mention that her form was thin due to lack of food. However, she was spurred on by her growling stomach and she launched her form forwards into a flat out run to rush the doe. This move was to give the doe less time to think, for Redd hoped that the doe would run and not lash out.
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Postby Dravite on November 4th, 2015, 11:07 pm

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Thunder rolled above them, darkening the sky Syna fought to command, the light of the sun filtered through thin gaps in the clouds that slowly closed in on themselves as the wind picked up. White rolling clouds danced overhead, thick and heavy with threatening rain that might not fall for days yet. Still, the air had a strange warmth to it for being so late in the season and Dravite was out making the most of it, his young, brown companion close by. He could hear her at his back, pushing her nose down amongst the dry tall grass in search of any new shoots she might find. Fawn no longer looked like the young doe she had been at the end of last season; she had grown large and healthy with a well-rounded belly that boasted her lavish lifestyle living among the Drykas people.

The watchman lay on his back, letting the cold earth cool the leather tabard he wore and seep through to the warmth of his cotton shirt, a faded white in tone, for keeping fabric nice in the city of tents was near impossible after a season or three of use. The colour reflected his standing within the city, for the horse lord was of the Diamond Clan and in this neck of the woods, that marked him as a warrior. Today, however, Dravite had chosen to escape the noise of the city and take Fawn out to stretch her legs and bond with the large Imperial Watcher that lay at his side, which stood a few inches taller than the doe when he was upright. He had made plans to do a spot of hunting if the mood struck, but it wasn't often Dravite got any time to himself, and so, he was willing to make the most of the peace and quiet.

As another rumble of thunder roared in the distance, the watchman closed his eyes and smiled, letting his limbs go limp as he slipped away into a trance that would carry him on into the Drykas web, a vast network of tightly wound djed that blanketed the expanse of the golden Sea of Grass, a place all web mages could go to draw information and knowledge, to see events unfolding as they took place miles from their unconscious, and sometimes unprotected forms. Dravite traversed the web with a confidence he had built up over the last three seasons in particular, when everything in his life had started to change. This was just a regular patrol, a circular loop he followed in the webbing in search of anything that might cause him or any one of his animals harm.

It wasn't long before he spotted the red wolf from the maze of webbing and as he drew closer on legs that were not his own to get a better look at the animal, he realised what she was doing and in which direction her own mission steered her. Run, his instincts warned him, protect Fawn, but curiosity won out over fear; what was a lone wolf to a man who had hunted bigger, faster, more cunning prey. And so he stood observing the loner, her colour, her temperament, the shape of her narrow, starving body, and the scar missing an eye on the right side of her face. It surprised him then, that any creature at such a disadvantage should be able to make its way in a land as unforgiving as the one he called home.

When Dravite opened his eyes he felt his limbs tingle, welcoming him back to the vessel that housed such an adventurous spirit. "Grim," he whispered lowly to the Imperial Watcher who had raised his head up to listen to the world around them, "who's that?" The command was simple enough and to any onlooker it might seem strange, but those two words told the dog to be on watch, to listen, and if need be, defend. Grim adjusted his stance, sitting upright on his belly with sharp ears pricked, intent on picking up on whatever, or rather, whoever it was his master believed to be near. When his head turned to look behind him, Dravite knew the wolf was close and curled his fist around the shaft of his weapon, a bone spear and heirloom that had saved him more times than he cared to count.

"Wait," he ordered lowly and offered Grim a piece of dried rabbit for picking up on the intruder; his training had been going well.

Dravite rolled onto his belly and looked out into the grass from the spot of cover they had, camouflaged well amongst the wash of gold and his loosely knotted, yellow hair. He watched Fawn who had her head down, happily grazing away, unaware that she was about to become another animals chew toy, for though he would let the red wolf chase his deer, he would never allow her to capture and devour the doe. Fawn, just like everyone else, had to learn that just because you were in the company of a survivor didn't mean one could go about without their wits.

Suddenly, the chase was on and Fawn, as well fed as she looked, was used to running with the Blackwater horse herd and would give any animal short of a Glassbeak a good run for their money, especially a starving wolf. She did just as Dravite expected, bounding towards where she knew her keeper was waiting in the grass like a tightly wound snake, ready to strike at any who ventured too near. She led the wolf right to her doom, though perhaps the giant leap she made to clear the man and his dog, as big as a small pony, might alert the charging wolf to her impending death before it was too late. Grim would be the first to act, faster to his feet than the watcher, but when Dravite rose he let loose a mighty war-cry intended to intimidate and stop the she-wolf in her tracks, less she leave it too late and taste the sharp end of his spear.

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Postby Redd on November 6th, 2015, 10:23 pm

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Redd had almost stopped in her very tracks at the very precise moment that the doe had begun to run and the wolf couldn’t help but think that a fat doe had no right running as fast as it did. However, she kept chasing after the doe, as she had already begun to waste effort upon it already, she might as well see it through. Did it spend its days outrunning wolves deliberately? Silently asked the wolf in between her rushed breaths. In and out, through the nose came her breaths which filled her lungs to give wind to the tight muscles that hadn’t had a lot of exercise aboard the ship. An ear snapped out to her right in order to be able to hear anything to her right, for she certainly wasn’t going to angle her head and throw herself off of her path now.

While her footing was less than sure at that precise point, and her paws wanted to give out, her mentality wasn’t about to let that happen. The sweet burn of the chase gave her the courage to push on and push on she did, that was until she saw the leap that the doe had made. Surely there wouldn’t be a deep hole there, would there? Redd asked as she dug her paws into the ground to bring herself to a sudden stop. Although due to strength being some-what a deciding factor, she stumbled a few steps forward to keep her balance. That was when she was almost met with a spear as a man jumped up with a loud war cry that rang inside of her own ears. The young wolf leapt back, startled as her head angled her head to the right so then her left eye could view the man properly.

How did I miss it? Redd asked herself as she continued to back away from the man slowly and a soft growl rose from the wolf in warning. It was then that she had remembered the very detail that she had pointed out to herself mentally beforehand. She had been upwind from her prey, which also meant that she had the disadvantage of other scents not being carried towards her on the wind. Her gaze wavered for just a moment to view the dog that was seated beside its master. Master… The word echoed inside her own mind which only served as a reminder of her own days of servitude. That dog served its master, but dogs were stupid, surmised Redd and her gaze turned back to the spear. Why did the doe run to a hunter? She asked herself as she risked a peek to look at the doe behind the male. More importantly, why didn’t the hunter kill the doe? Did the hunter know that she was here even though she was further up wind than he?

Had the kelvic been in human form, she probably would have been gawking at the fact that the doe had ran to a hunter for protection. Instead, with a spear that pointed towards her, she wasn’t game enough to shift. This man posed as a threat and she had a better chance of defending herself in her wolf form. She hadn’t attacked just yet, due to the fact that she was busy retreated to a distance that suited her, plus she still wasn’t sure if the man was attacking or just simply defending a doe. Why he would defend food was beyond the wolf. She could understand if he had killed it himself and then defended it, but to defend it while it was still alive puzzled the wolf. A soft growl continued to rise forth from the wolf, as her single gaze slid over the hunter’s form. She noted, with much to her disliking, her odds of actual survival if he did attack.

The human before her, boasted his strength on a non-verbal plain. For his muscular frame was all that one needed to look at to decide as to what kind of strength that he had. However, she noted, that he wasn’t all muscle. It was an observation based on his past movements of rising from the grass, that which had originally brought her to a stop. It had told her, that he was rather agile and quick to movement. Her retreat came to a stop then as she realized something. Was this the moment that would decide her fate once and for all? Often she had wondered while at the hands of her masters, if she would live or die. Most of the time, she skated by death. It was almost a cruel game that she and death played. She survived being strangled by a collar and half-starved by her first master, only to have an eye ripped out and almost bleed to death at the hands of another. How she had survived that was beyond her.

Starving to death wasn’t an uncommon thought to the wolf. She had almost starved to death as a wolf pup and many times she had been underfed by her masters. Redd was surprised that she had made it this far after the boat had docked without her strength failing her. Was it because that here and now was the deciding factor? Her gaze lifted for a brief moment to view the darkened sky as she heard the thunder that rolled around above them. If the weather here was anything like the weather in Syliras, she thought to herself, then it would probably rain soon. However, that was just a guess on her part. A slow breath filled her lungs and she turned her attention back to the hunter. The young wolf pressed her paws against the ground and she lowered her form just slightly to give her a more stable stance. Her growls turned into snarls of defiance and both of her ears pressed back against her head

If she was going to die, she wasn’t going to die by a spear while retreating. She was going to go down fighting, she had to stop running and start fighting. It might as well be a day where the sky growled with anger itself.
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Postby Dravite on November 8th, 2015, 1:15 am

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The muscles in his long, weathered limbs were stringy, like the legs of an old goat; one could see the tendons tighten and move beneath the sun damaged flesh, pulse thrumming in his neck. If the man were livestock, he wouldn't be fit to survive the winter season; 'a thin bull in fall never sees that spring,' his uncle always said. Though Dravite's body looked tired and worn and far too lean for a man in his youth, there was strength in his muscles still; like a grassland bird, his endurance was far more impressive than his actual stature. Where the wolf was starved, the man was only overworked and still recovering from the hardships of the summer gone.

The red wolf had stopped dead in her tracks, so close the man could have reached out and struck her, though she proved wise for a beast and slowly edged back, putting enough distance between the two of them to remain defiant but give herself room to flee if it came to that. Dravite bared his teeth, eyes the colour of the storm clouds overhead, pinning the red animal where she stood while his trusted companion sprung up to his feet at the man's right side.

Grim was an intimidating presence, standing a couple of feet higher than the wolf, when he growled the hairs on Dravite's neck rose, prickling as adrenaline flooded his form. Something felt strange about the standoff. The watchman knew from his encounter in the spring that lone wolves weren't known for attacking people, especially those in a group with hunting dogs, but this she-wolf seemed to be an exception. Perhaps it was her state of health, he tried to rationalise; fighting for the most logical reason as to why she had failed to run, did she fear the Imperial Watcher would give chase? Grim barked deeply, stringy, thin ropes of drool hanging from his heavy lower lip to float back and forth above the ground. Dravite signalled for the dog to hold his ground and stay behind him, just as they had practiced already this season.

The air was electric, his senses in tune with the world around him, the still calm the light breeze had settled into, the rumble of thunder and distant chirping of birds, and the hungry snarl of the wolf. It had been foretold by his grandfather Taloker, that a wolf would one day take the man's life, and so whenever he found himself staring down into the eyes of such a beast, Dravite was the one on edge. Perhaps this was what made him all the more cautious when facing off against these wild grassland roamers.

"Back!" He barked at the animal threateningly, lunging forwards to strike with his spear at the air between them, wondering if the invasion of space would be enough to startle the wolf and see her take off before he set Grim to work at what he did best. The Imperial Watcher whined and jumped forwards, worried about letting his master get too far ahead of him. "Back!" The man hissed again, this time at the dog; if he could avoid drawing blood this day, he would.
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Postby Redd on November 8th, 2015, 1:48 am

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Redd’s single gaze slid over to the dog again and she snarled at it with warning. The stupid mutt was proving to be more of an annoyance than anything and it was a well fed, tall beast. She was beginning to re-think her strategy of standing to face and attack the danger that was laid before her. She wouldn’t be able to kill both of them and she would surely die. Softly, the wind caressed and ruffled her brindle coat and it was then that the wolf realized that she enjoyed living far more than she wanted to admit. While she did suffer and hurt, she loved living and she had just gotten her freedom back. The man lunged forwards with his spear and it forced her to take a few more steps back. The time was now, she had to decide flee and live or fight and die. Does it really have to be those two choices? Redd asked herself and it was then that she realized that he may be less inclined to attack a human.

Both of her ears flickered forwards then as the man spoke to his dog in a strange tongue, one that she didn’t recognize and she angled her head the moment that she realized that he wasn’t going to kill her, at least not yet. She straightened from her stance to stand tall and she looked to the face of the man, what was going on in that man’s thoughts? Often she wondered but never did she really get any answers. Her single hue closed just as soon as a pale red light began to surround the brindled red wolf, to cover her from the view of the man and his mutt. While she had made the decision to change into human form, it would be a decision that she would either regret or be thankful for in the next precious few moments.

Slowly, the light began to fade from around the now naked woman and her knees bent so then she fell forwards unto her knees. Her palms rested upon her thighs so then not to appear threatening at all. Bared upon the back of her left hand, was the sign of her past slave life, a half black sun. A fact that she had yet to get rid of. Her brindle red locks fell down her back in soft waves and she lifted her chin so then her single hazel hue could look up at the man before her. The young woman’s scars were on clear display to the man, the small slivers of scars from her past fights with other animals covered her thin frame. Along the left side of her rib cage, three angry scars travelled down along it, as they were scars of when she helped a human against her own fellow wolves. Silence reigned over the kelvic for a moment as she tried to work out as to what to say to him. If he didn’t kill her in the next few chimes, she would be surprised.

She was naked and clearly held no weapons upon her, but because of her wolf form, she was sure that death would follow with just a strike of the man’s spear. “I…” She started but stopped, what did one say to a man who clearly protected a doe against her? “I did not know that the beast was yours, I’m sorry.” She grounded her teeth together as she racked her brain for something else to say, something that may rescue her pale hide. “I…” Redd looked away from him as she tried her best to work out the social code for it all. What did the humans do when faced in this situation? Perhaps she should have put her hands up? Awkwardly, she then lifted her hands into the air in her attempt to make the situation better. He clearly had the upper hand, but if he went anywhere near her with a collar, she would lash out. She refused to be a slave to anyone anymore.
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Postby Dravite on November 9th, 2015, 9:38 pm

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There was a knowing in her single eye, an intelligence one didn't often find in animals, and perhaps this had given her away before the transformation if her hesitance had not spoken volumes before that. Dravite took a step back as the strange but familiar light surrounded the wolf's form and from the alteration a woman sprung, sitting on hands and knees before him as bare as the day she was born. Grim whined, lifting a paw as if to stroke the air before sitting back on his hindquarters, confusion tipping his head to one side comically.

The horse lord lowered his spear and his body relaxed visibly, the tightness between his shoulders undone as his arms lay at his sides heavily, like the raised hair on a dog’s back sinking down. He took a breath in through the small gap between his lips, feeling the dense air race over his teeth, thick with the promise of rain. The sky roared and his heart thrummed, and adrenalin wasted, seemed to subside and drain away as if to pour out from the ends of his burly fingers. The doe raised her head and looked around the protective shape of her human, peeking at the woman bowed down in front of him in a position of worship or submission, and sure she was now safe, bravely stepped forward to sniff at the redhead, flinching when she detected the smell of wolf still lingered there.

The watchman had come across Kelvics before, but this season seemed to be rife with them. He housed one back at camp who had managed to find a job and would soon be able to support himself as a member of their pavilion; was something going on in one of the distant cities that caused them to make the journey here? He slipped out of his white shirt, the long sleeves still folded up, and the end of the item much longer in length than most as Dravite did not like his shirts to come untucked while he was riding or wearing a leather tabard which often caused a lot of movement too. Though he had no problems with nudity and knew the Kelvics were quietly comfortable in their own skin, he decided to offer the shirt to her in a show of peace and good faith.

"Mother," he pointed to the doe, trying out the common language, one he detested but often found handy to maintain, "No eat."

Perhaps not the most inviting welcome then, informing a starving woman that she was not to eat whatever her heart desired. Tentatively and without making any sudden movements, Dravite pushed his hand into one of the pouches on his belt and drew out a piece of dried meat that saw Grim sit up expectantly and wag his tail. He rewarded the animal for doing as he was told during the standoff before offering a second, larger piece to the woman in front of him, "good eat," he encouraged, taking a chunk from a third piece before chewing slowly. Though he wasn't starving just yet, the man looked like he could do with a bit of feeding up and the odd slow day when he was not snuck up on by anything terrible.

"City," he looked around, and reassured of their location via a marker he had set himself in the form of a small, leafless tree, Dravite raised his hand to gesture to the southeast of where they currently stood and if Redd was observation, she might notice the smell of smoke on the air, "home," he said invitingly for it seemed she was without one."

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Postby Redd on November 12th, 2015, 4:24 am

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Redd couldn’t help the confusion that swept over her, it coloured her single hue as the man visibly relaxed before he took his shirt off only to hand it over to her. The man was embarrassed by her nakedness? She asked herself and she simply dropped her arms, but one reached out to gingerly take the shirt from him as she didn’t want to offend. The man began to speak in what she assumed was basic common and she couldn’t help but angle her head slowly to the right before her hazel hue looked to the doe. So it was pregnant. Well, if she had caught it, then it surely would have been a catch. However, the man then pointed out with two words, that she wasn’t allowed to eat it, well, that was the impression that she had gotten. So, instead of thinking about her starving stomach, which growled something fierce, she slipped the shirt on, as clothes were a human necessity.

The man began to make more movements and her gaze snapped to them as caution seeped into her form, that was until he produced something which she watched the dog eat. Then, he held some more out to her, a bigger piece and she slowly reached out to hesitantly take it from him. She lifted it to her nose and sniffed, drawing in the scent to recognise it as meat of some kind. While she was prone to just simply stuffing it into her mouth, caution made her inspect the dried meat closely, her hazel hue inspected it for anything suspicious. As she did this, she rose to crouch, slowly edging away from the man so then she would have a little more time to react if he did decide to attack without warning. The young wolf flipped the piece of meat a couple of times within her fingers and sniffed it once more. Satisfied that she couldn’t see or smell anything strange about it, she slowly lifted it to her lips to take the smallest bite.

It took a lot for her to restrain herself from just simply swallowing the damn thing whole if she could, as the taste of meat, although dried, exploded across her tongue. It had been days since she had eaten anything and she could have sworn that she had forgotten the taste of it until now. If she had been a cat, she probably would have purred with delight, instead a soft growl of appreciation rumbled from the kelvic. That was until the man began to speak again and her gaze snapped back towards him. He mentioned a city and home and she watched as his hand moved in its direction. Redd lifted her nose for a brief moment and drew in a deep breath, taking note of the scents that drifted upon the wind. Sure enough, she noticed the smell of smoke upon the air and she looked back to the man once more.

What exactly did he mean? She asked herself before she looked back to the dried meat that she held in her hand and then back to him. Her stomach clenched with hunger and she addressed that issue first as she bit down hard upon the dried treat. After a moment of simply chewing through the dried meat, she tried to work out what to say to the man. She looked to him and swallowed the last bit, a sigh falling upon her lips. She could probably eat for days and still feel the hunger that clenched her stomach. Redd then lifted a hand to her chest as she spoke, “Redd has no home. I am wolf, no one likes wolves.” The wolf paused for a moment as she pondered upon his words, trying to interpret what else he could mean. Kindness was strange to her, especially in this way, but she couldn’t figure out if he really meant anything else unless he was inviting her to the city? She moved to stand, “I will follow you to your home if that is what you are asking.” Although, once there, would he lead her into a trap?
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Postby Dravite on November 15th, 2015, 6:13 am

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Redd had misinterpreted him, such was the barrier his lack of common presented him with; Dravite wasn't trying to explain that the doe was pregnant, at least he hoped she wasn't, but that he believed the animal to be harbouring the spirit of his mother. Fawn edged closer again and put her wet, black nose against his hand, seeking comfort and reassurance, was the wolf going to return? He petted the animal and scratched behind her ears gently, putting his hand against the side of her neck to draw her near and whisper something in Pavi as if he expected her to understand.

Home, he caught Redd say, something about following him to his own home. Dravite was cautious but inviting in his movements, these strange half people, half animals were an interesting race, and thus far, he had only experienced good things concerning them; perhaps the positive history played a part in his deciding to help the one eyed woman now, at least until she found her feet. The man had not brought a horse with him, but thankfully the walk to the city would not prove too strenuous, even for a starving wolf, and once they were home, he would be able to offer her a real meal which was probably still stewing in the large cooking pot over a hot fire pit.

"Follow," he waved, using the Pavi hand sign for the common word to follow.

As they set off on foot, Fawn leapt ahead of them, stopping every now and then for this or that sound, a low rustle in the grass, a rumble of thunder, or a bird swept too low to the ground ahead of them. Grim hung back a little taking any chance he could to sniff at the strange woman while the horse lord pushed forward through the tall grass, spear in hand, eyes searching for the tracks he must have made on the way in. The wind had picked up since then and the line he had cut through the grass with his body had disappeared. Still, when it came to the art of tracking, there was always something to find for those who looked hard enough; broken stems of grass, flattened soil, or just the scents and sounds of life. He followed what he could before summoning Grim to go ahead and do what he did best with that big, wet, powerful nose.

They were greeted at the Wind Knotted Gates by the waving threads of coloured ribbon, each tied for some reason or another to a piece of twisted vine. Passing through into the city must have been a bit of a culture shock for the half dressed woman and Dravite paused to look back and make sure she was keeping up all right. He offered a warm, reassuring smile before pressing on, guiding her through the weathered streets and scattered campsites. For a newcomer it was difficult to tell where one pavilions camp started and another finished, but for a local like the watchman who was born and raised in this kind of environment, it all came naturally. He knew what the markers and coloured fabrics meant; where to walk and where might be considered rude to tread.

As they moved deeper into the folds of the city of tents, rich smells and appetising scents hung thick in the air, rabbit stews, wild pig cooked over a fire, fresh deer meat drying on a rack, and foods glazed with cooked honey for flavouring bombarded their senses. It was enough to make a well fed man water at the mouth, let alone a lean, starving Kelvic, which caused a pang of guilt to knot the man's innards.

When finally they reached the Blackwater camp, lost deep within the Diamond Clan district, Dravite stopped at the gate and held his hand to his chest before speaking, "Dravite Blackwater," he then pointed to his camp, "Blackwater camp," before smiling and offering a piece of information that might serve the woman well during her stay in the city, "Dravite work city law, wife doctor; come, follow," he repeated the Pavi sign for the word, hoping to teach Redd some of the very basic words if at all possible.

The Blackwater camp was made up of one large tent, big enough to house at least twenty individuals and provide shelter for the goats and horses. The entrance to the tent looked warm and inviting, mats of animal fur and woven flax set down on the floor just beyond the mouth of the tent. Surrounding this and stretched out like two arms of an octopus, were six to seven smaller tents, though individually they looked just as well kept and maintained, each appeared sizeable enough to house a small family of four. The tent right of the largest one was vacant and Dravite led Redd over to it in order to explain that she was welcome to stay there, "Wolf home," he gestured and raised the curtained door for her to look inside, a simple bedroll stretched out on the floor with a lamp set nearby and a couple of things they kept there in a tent they had used merely for extra storage.

At the centre of camp, a large fire pit lined with stones lay dug into the earth and over the low burning flames a hefty pot of leftovers from breakfast was kept heated. Dravite took a bowl from the mouth of Yuki's tent and filled it with the hot stew, which he believed was either rabbit, or fox and offered it to his guest. Fawn walked into the largest of the tents as if she owned it and settled down just out of sight on one of the woven mats. Grim joined two Painted Desert Dogs near the camp's entrance and Dravite sat down with his spear, taking up an old rag to polish up the pointed spearhead with. He had never been one for conversation, but was curious as to where Redd had travelled from; perhaps, he thought, she had come from the same city as Kaitanu.
"Wolf woman come from Ravok?" He inquired, "Horse Kelvic tell Dravite dark city."
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Dravite
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Another Chapter Begins

Postby Redd on November 19th, 2015, 12:08 am

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To the young wolf, the man was strange, however she slowly moved to stand as he told her to follow and waved his hand as if it was a sign. Her stomach growled and clenched painful as she began to follow the man quietly, but if it meant more food, then who was she to complain. She lifted her hand to gently pat the dog upon the head as it sniffed her hand. The young woman still thought that they were dumb, but it was nice to simply touch fur of another animal. That was, until it did as its master commanded and bounded off ahead. Why was this man being nice? After all she had wanted to eat his doe, even now she pondered the taste that it would carry. It had been so long since she had sunk her teeth into deer meat, it had tasted so good back then and she wondered if it still tasted the same. Did it vary because of location? The kelvic only questioned it because of the different animals that Sahova had and it made her wonder somewhat.

Redd spotted a familiar pair of gates and she angled her head to the right, this is where the man had come from? She had passed by these gates earlier, but because of her hunger, she had simply walked away to find something to eat. Humans had been one of the things that she had mostly wanted to avoid, only interacting with them when she absolutely had to. She came to a slow stop at the gates as her single hazel hue peered at all of the tents, was it a trap? Was he leading her to her death? The young wolf glanced over her shoulder before looking back at the strange man who smiled at her. Seeing as she figured that the smile was supposed to be warm of some kind, she continued to follow the man and almost instantly regretted doing such a thing.

Smells, delicious smells of food reached her and she caught the scent of rabbit, pig and even deer. It was almost killing her to just simply walk passed it. As a pup, she had once scavenged from such men that were travelling and had left their food out. Her hands lifted, but then her fingers curled and took hold of the hem of the shirt as she held back a growl. The man was taunting her, she was sure of it. The scents were their own torture and she was flung back into her own mind once more as she remembered attacking a man for a simple loaf of bread. She had been starving and the collar that her old master had locked around her neck had prevented her from going wolf to rip his throat out. There was no collar now and she was hungry, but for some reason, she held back. There had to be a reason as to why he trusted her with his back facing her.

Then they came to a tent where they stopped. The strange man place a hand upon his chest and spoke. The woman angled her head, his name was Dravite Blackwater? He then pointed to the tent and called it Blackwater camp. He was named after a camp? She silently asked herself as she continued to listen, her single hue made sure to watch his hands. For some reason, he used hand signs when he spoke. For what reason, she wasn’t sure. The moment that he mentioned doctor, a sign fell upon her lips. There was no doctor that could fix her eye, it was gone and the doctors in Ravok told her that her eye would never heal. Occasionally it seeped blood, matted her fur, but she had grown used to it by now. Water washed the blood away, until it decided to seep once more. Then he made a sign that she saw him use for the first time he said follow and she was brought back into the present. Did that sign mean follow when not spoken with words?

Dravite led her to a tent and as he lifted the flap, she peaked inside, noting the bedroll and lamp. Then he said something that had her shocked for a brief moment. Home? She blinked as she took a couple of steps backwards. No one invited a wolf into their camp and said that she was home. It was then however that he offered her a bowl of stew and she was more than eager to accept. The young wolf seated herself down in front of the fire and began to eat, her fingers dug into the stew but pulled them back as they felt the heat. She licked her fingers and then blew upon the stew to cool it just a bit. Hot food annoyed her, but it was food non-the-less, even if she was used to eating it raw. The young wolf dug her fingers in once more and began to eat, stuffing her mouth with the chunks of meat that seemed to swim around inside the bowl.

However, the man asked about whether she had come from Ravok just as she was about to lift the bowl to her lips to drink the liquid and her movements paused. Another sigh was quick to her lips and she settled the bowl down in front of her before she began to lick her fingers clean. She wanted to avoid the answer and not speak at all, but he had offered her food and a tent to sleep in, even though she would probably dig a hole in a corner in sleep in that. “Yes, I come from Ravok, but that was not where I was after that.” The wolf lifted a hand to swipe at the blood that had begun to seep once more from her damaged eye socket. “Ravok is a dark place, full of evil people. I escaped my master’s clutches… For now at least.” A soft growl rose to her lips as she lifted her single gaze to look at the man known as Dravite, “I’m not going back, you can’t make me. I would rather die than go back.”
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Redd
The One-Eyed Wolf
 
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Another Chapter Begins

Postby Dravite on November 24th, 2015, 8:49 pm

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Redd was cautious, good, the watchman thought; there were plenty of people in this city willing to take advantage of Kelvic's, the majority put to work by their captors. While for the most part the Drykas as a people tended to treat their slaves fairly, the same could not be said for everyone. For now, Redd was safe, fed, and would have a roof over her head. The one eyed woman explained that she, like the other Kelvic's he had run into, had originated from Ravok, a dark city that seemed to strike fear into the hearts of men, from what Dravite could gather.

The watchman picked up an unfinished satalu band and silently counted the lose strings in an attempt to find the end of the pattern and pick it up from there, slowly weaving the coloured threads together while he listened to Redd speak. She seemed reserved, though strong of will and when she raised an argument regarding her return to Ravok, her tone changed, no longer calculating and strong, but worried, as if fearful the Drykas man would send her off with the next trade caravan to the ill-favoured city his Bloodbane had originated from.

"No go," he assured the woman in broken common, "Wolf stay, eat," he encouraged with a wave, "grow strong, find work," the watchman smiled slowly; did she understand him? "Wolf stay with Blackwater pavilion, soon find her place. Endrykas big city, no go far, get lost, taken," he warned with Pavi hand gestures, "safe here."

He didn't tell her that the camp already housed a young Kelvic horse who was sometimes visited by another of their race that was able to take the form of a rather sinister looking coyote. All these things, Redd would soon find out on her own accord, if she stuck around long enough. The most pressing matter for Dravite was to see to it that Redd gained enough strength within the next few days to find work so that she would be able to support herself come winter, even if she remained with them beyond that point; there was no such thing as freeloading in the city of tents, here everyone pulled their weight.

A young man stumbled into camp wearing a warm smile. He had dark hair and features and an easy-going air about him. He approached Dravite quietly and crouched down, obviously familiar with the man, "whose this?" He inquired in quick, rhythmic Pavi.
"Roan, Wolf," Dravite gestured to the woman, "Wolf, Roan, city law," he explained in common.
"Ah! A Kelvic?" Roan surmised, for surely no mother would name her daughter Wolf.
Dravite confirmed with a nod.
"Welcome to Endrykas," Roan smiled, having mastered the common language a long time ago, though his voice remained heavily accented, "my name is Roan Winterstorm, and this is our Ankal, Dravite Blackwater," he waved a hand dismissively before better explaining the term, "our leader, he works with me in the city Watch; I suppose one might refer to such a role as the law," the young man raised his shoulders in a lazy shrug.
Dravite couldn't seem to keep up with the conversation but smiled all the same, "good stew?"
"If you need anything during your stay just let me know; that's my tent, "Roan pointed to the small, four man tent behind Redd, only one other positioned between his and the one she would be staying in, "I best get back to work," he thumped Dravite's shoulder and pointed with his eyes, "are you returning to work also?" He posed the question to his Ankal in Pavi.
"All right," Dravite agreed and got to his feet before looking back at Redd, "eat," he encouraged again, hoping she would help herself to as much of the stew at she liked. He whistled then for Fawn to tag along with him, not trusting the new Kelvic to stay away from his deer and waved before leaving camp with the doe and Roan in tow.

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Dravite
Ra’athi of The Watch Troha to Tavehk
 
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