Exploring the territory [Open]

[Oki]

Graal's story sounded oddly familiar, being ignored and shunned. It always seemed whenever a surrogate parental figure stepped into place after the true parent left, things were never the same and the child's blood family disregards the child. Whenever parents had control over their nieces or nephews, they never treated them as their own, despite they should in the honor of their past sibling. "Aye, they should have, but it alawys seems they they never do treat you the same as one of their own, nor recognize you for what you are and what you're capapble of. 'Twas what happened with my Alpha and I. He underestimated me and I killed the physcotic bastard. Of course, he had it coming; he was the one who killed my parents", he sniffed then grinned, "You have good spirits though; I respect that. I remember this one saying, 'Alawys go without stopping your feet so you won't be defeated by the passing time. Face into the wind and keep your head held high', I remembered that and confronted my obstacles because I didn't want to lose what was important to me."

Flattered, Oki really didn't know much of the different packs and clans of the world. However, he did know of some different things, "Well, from what I have seen and what I have been a part of, they all differ. The Nix Lagna Lacus was a more isolated pack and more tranquil as they never really confronted other packs. After, I travelled the lands for 25 years and came across many other packs. They seemed more judgemental as I never became a part of them. A few even seemed just pure evil, much of the likes of Giaku. At the end of those travelling years, I became a part of a more accepting pack called Kumari, but after 5 years, it dwindled and everyone seemed to have disappeared. My mate and I came here to start anew and here I am", he smiled, "Though travelling all those years, I have seen quite a bit of the world. From snowy mountain tops to frozen wastelands to dense lush forests to grassy plains."

[cptkickercutleg]

(( Oh snap! I thought I had replied to this! XD ))

Graal nods as Oki talks, noting key information, his opinion on the Giaku, the fact he had a mate, but the old saying rang false to Graal and he pondered.
"If you keep moving, time will erase all traces of you, it will keep you disconnected. Yes, life is more interesting, but all Vulfs die someday..."
He gave no signs of his thoughts, keeping it restricted to his mind, not his face.
"You say you have seen many lands? Did you ever travel to my lands at some point, it won't have been the same as I remember, as humans were likely not as close, the Vulfen more secretive and the land less parched, but the packlands spread over miles and miles." he asks, hope rising in his heart for the moment.

[Oki]

((When Oki spoke his quote, he didn't mean to literally stop moving persay, but metaphorically. Meaning, don't stop going for your goals or else they will never be fulfilled))

After explaining his journeys in a nutshell, Okamiimaru sat and waited for Graals response. He noticed that he never sheathed his sword and the topic of it is long past. So it continued to sit on his lap. Thinking to himself, it would seem a little awkward to sheath it now and he decided to wait until either he chose to shift back into his normal form or if the two of them were to take a walk.

"Aye...Uhm, I'm not sure, mate. A few of them didn't give their names to me, but...Otonami...Otonami", he pondered aloud, "You said you came from the west correct?...I may have; can you give me a description of some of the lands? Any unique mountains, forests, trees, rivers...? I remember landscapes and landmarks the best." He thought deeply, curious if he stumbled upon his home land in the past. It would be interesting to know that he may have met some of Graal's family a while back or even Graal himself, given that Graal is most likely a fraction of his age. Though, being that neither of them recognize each other, its quite possible that they didn't. [/size]

[cptkickercutleg]

Graal opens his mouth to answer, then stops, a small smile spreading across his face,
"If you had been there, it would have been radically different, as it must have changed dramatically in the last 9 years, otherwise, if you had been there, you'd not be here, if you catch my drift."
he says, a wry grin on his face, "But I am told that the mountains were once free of humans, and men made only of ice would live there in caves, he told me of a blue dragon trapped deep below the surface of that mountain, which is why men stayed away, and the snow that would fall for a full half-year would anger her, which is why the wind sounded like screaming humans, to scare them away. The large fields where humans worked, never used to be there, only huge trees grew from which the men built their dens and fires. When it wasn't snowing, you could see across the sea to Ashory, where Otonami created a contract with the Vulfen called Cercius and his pack, but back then, the Otonami clan were in the Forbidden Mountains, far, far to the south of here. But this is all before my time, it is what I was taught as a pup, and I cannot vouch for it's validity." he finishes with an apolagetic nod.

[Oki]

Past nine years, hm? Well, around that time, Oki would still have been travelling and on his own being around 23 years old, nine years ago. His mind started to take steps backward to try to remember of what Graal started to describe. The dragon intrigued him and wished he would have encountered it. Though, it being deep within a mountain, he doubted if he stayed longer in that land he would have found it anyways. The Otonami mirrored the location of the Nix Lagna Lacus, being isolated in mountains, snowy atmospheres and surrounded by forests...well used to be. Oki knew that humans never expanded their lands so much that they encroached on his home lands; there was a village a few miles away. He just hoped that they never did.

Closing his eyes, Oki crossed his arms across his chest and tilted his head down. In thought, he tried imagining what Graal described with what he saw with his own eyes. A low humming growl resonated in his throat as he concentrated. The mountains and coast came back to him, remembering the land that rested across the body of water. Pieces came together like a puzzle as his memories surfaces. Nodding a few times, Oki opened his eyes and looked back at Graal with a smile. "From what you've described, I am sure I have visited your home lands. And since you said this was before your time and over 9 years ago, I believe I was 20 years old when I happened to venture across the Otonami. The coast was beautiful, no doubt", he pulled at his goatee, "Aye...horrible it changed that much though in the past years... Ha! If I was there, I would scare them outta their skins so they wouldn't go anywhere near my home." A determined grin slid onto his muzzle as Oki punched into the palm of his other paw.

[cptkickercutleg]

"12 years, that means that the Clan Dragga was not born yet either, for his mother was born in that year... That means that even then, Brother was the Clan Dragga!" Graal ponders, his mind working back far before he or even his parents were born.
"Did you ever meet the Clan Dragga? Or his Beta?" he asks, then launches into a quote from the tales he once told, "And the man-Vulfen was Cercius, raised by both Vulfen and Vulf, no contact with Man before he was many moons old, he lived with his companions, the magnificent Brother, who stood as tall as Cercius, a giant with fur as black as midnight and eyes as green as the land he walked, and Little Brother, the Sikla of the Pack, but with such a wit as to put to shame any other, and a heart to calm the beast within any, his fur was as White as the moon, his eyes the color of deep ice, a blue that defied time and place, penetrating to the core of any problem." he finishes, a look of childish awe on his face, then he coughs, hiding his embarrassment, "Sorry, I grew up on those tales, taught to me by my grandfather and by Lady Windwalker, the last... I'm not sure what she'd be called here, but we called them Children Of The Forest, the Vulfen called them Silvari."

[Oki]

Dragga is Alpha and Drappa is Alphess? I'm assuming so, but if not please tell me and I'll edit my post :x

Oki shook his head, "I don't believe so and if I did I don't remember; I didn't stay very long at all. I think since they weren't too open with the idea of me becoming apart of them, I don't think I moved to the stage of meeting the Alpha, or as you say, the Dragga." It was very hard to befriend of those from different pack lands and territories. He always looked so different from any others. A monster or even demon he was called by some, mostly by wolves that look much like Graal. It's still a quesiton of 'why don't they accept me?' that circles inside his mind every once in a while. But, he has found a home that does accept him so there is no need to think or wonder it anymore.

At first, Oki thought Graal was describing something within his pack. He thought the wolf-man and the black and white wolves lived within his old home. Then it was divulged that it was just another tale of Graals and Oki wanted to roll his eyes because of that thought, but kept it to himself. They seemed like magnificent creatures and when Graal mentioned Cercius, he thought of himself in his current form. "Say, that Cercius you described, I couldn't help but wonder if he looked similar to what I look like now...Or not?", he raised a brow to express his curiosity, "And this Lady Windwalker, you say she's a Child of the Forest, or a Silvari; what are they?" Oki was a naturally curious creature and couldn't help but ask questions about things he didn't know.

[cptkickercutleg]

(( Dragga is "dominant male" and Drappa is "dominant female", in contrast, Sikla just means "weakling" ))

"Possibly. they were very... Sensitive in that time with who they were meeting, as many Vulfen outside the packlands turned their eyes against the Otonami, you may have been seen as too much of a risk."
Graal chuckles, smiling at Oki with a bemused look on his face as he finishes his quotation from the old tales. "From your face, I see you think our tales are just tales. But Cercius, Brother and Little Brother were all quite real, they were the founders of our pack in Ashory, the island on which the Vulfen became accepted among humans. Cercius was almost human, he was Vulfen that could not change into Gouru or Liiru forms, the latter being the form of a Vulf. Brother was almost Vulf, not being able to change into Man. Little Brother was the voice of reason for them both, being loved by all for his luxurious coat and smooth tongue, he was loved both for his kindness and his wit." Graal explains, grinning slightly. His tail begins to twitch as he talks of his ancestors.
"As for Lady Windwalker and the Children of the Forest, or Silvari? The only way I can describe them would be to say that they held the health of living things above all others, and that they live long, long lives. I've not seen another, but she told all pups her story, and there were many others like her once, but with the human's control of the forest growing, they dwindled and died, she was left alive because she lived with the humans..." Graal trails off, "She was the one who told me of Cercius... Our Alpha Dragga wanted us to not know of the old times, he said we must look to the present and the future, not worry about how the past was..."

[Oki]

"Ahh, I understand...and makes total sense. I'm usually pretty wary around new acquaintances myself so I can't say I blame them", Oki first said to Graals statement about his former home, giving a shrug. Matter of fact, he doesn't really remember any loner just strolling by his old home; it was probably too isolated and cold for any normal wolf to just happen upon it. In any case, if anyone did, he doubted that, at least his former Alpha, would allow anyone in. As deranged as he was, Oki would assume that he would kill the loner right then and there.

What Graal said though was partially true though. The anthro male is more open minded and is ready to assume both scenarios. Yes, he thought that they were just tales, but on the flip side, he also considered them to be real. Oki wasn't much to judge until he had enough facts to go off of to prove his point. Oki smiled a little, "Hm, it seems you've got me. Though with your other stories you have explained earlier, I couldn't help consider that it was another tale you were telling. But it's magnificent to know that they were real and I would have enjoyed meeting them in their lifetime. They all sound...", Oki idled a paw, thinking of a good word to explain what he wanted to say, "...noble and wonderous in their own ways." He finished with a knowing smile, sincere in his words.

As Graal explained his inquiry, the fact they lived long interested him even more. "Curious, did Lady Windwalker resemble me in anyway, in any form that I have showed you that I am able to change into? My breed's legacy allows us to live long; the aging process is slowed considerably. I'm not immortal as I can still die from infections, wounds, disease...having a limb loped off like you or any other animal can. I've heard tales that we are capable to live up to thousands of years old...", he trailed off, having this subtle tone of uncertainty.

"As for knowing the past and how your Alpha Dragga kept that from you, I think that wrong. I believe that we should know the past and know our legacies from long ago and know how this world changed ever since our kind became existent, y'know? Aye, we should focus on the present and future as they still can be changed, but the past can't...but that's what makes it interesting." He waved his paws in the air as he spoke, looking upwards as if he saw his ancestors in the light that peeked through the foliage in the trees. As his eyes were cast upwards, he saw a bird flying away just under the canopy from behind them. Then another from a tree just above felt disturbed and it too flew away. Brows furrowing, he froze and heard as if something were slowly approaching them from behind Oki...

[cptkickercutleg]

(( Done! ))


The sly mountain lion peers through the thick shrub, a smug smile on her breath as she thinks of the ease with which she had snuck up on the stupid beasts before her. She glances to the grey wolf, he could probably see her if he but looked her way, but he was too busy listening to the other's incessant blathering, thinking that these wolf things always talked too much, they never held the same elegance or beauty that her dappled golden pelt had.
Her golden eyes flashed in deep self-appreciation, a smug pride that these things were below her, when her eyes caught the wolf's.
He was staring right at her, amber eyes glowing in the dimming light, he looked positively... Demonic...

Graal chuckles, thinking of how Linera would look as an anthro.
"Nonono, she looks human, but her hair is long and golden, her face smooth and unblemished even after so many centuries, she cannot change, she cannot use magic, but she talks to the forest, and the forest speaks back." he finishes with a wistful sigh, "Of all the two-legs of our home, I miss her the most..."
Okamiimaru continues to talk and Graal finds himself nodding in agreement, "Exactly my thoughts, look forward, but do not forget where you have been and what brought you there." he comments, eyes combing the bushes behind the anthro wolf, caught by a shuffle and held by a stare.
It knew he saw it, it knew his secret.
"I see you, creature of pride." he calls, teasing it.

[Oki]

((His full name is Okamiimaru. I would have it as my username, but I can't have the word "ookami" in my username Dx))

From the way Graal was explaining earlier, Oki assumed that the Lady Windwalker would be wolven or could shift to look like a wolf. Though, when he mentioned that she looked human, he questioned why a wolf pack would allow a human to live amongst them. He quickly discarded that question, thinking of the two brethren wolves and in his mind, she looked like some celestial being that came to live amongst wolves. Thoughts that he never thought about talking with Graal about, he simply nodded in comprehension.

More rustling could be heard as it neared the both of them. Graal spoke to someone it seemed, though it didn't seem like he knew who exactly it was. Remembering he had his sword out still, as he turned, he sheathed it. Yet, he still kept his paw around the pommel until he saw what exactly appeared from behind them. Appearing to be a common mountain lion. Brows furrowed as he removed his grip from the sword, trying to remember if there were any mountains to begin with in the vicinity and why a mountain lion would be roaming just outside the human settlement. Deep blue eyes stared at it, studying it, questions ready to be asked. "May I ask your reason for being this close to a wolf territory?", they weren't too far from the borders, hence why Oki was in his current position. "And what's a mountain lion doing so far from its mountain and near a human settlement?", he asked in a slight sarcastic manner, waiting for the feline's response. By now he has turned his body around to face it.

[cptkickercutleg]

Such... Insolence!
These wolves, pathetic creatures that they were, should have been bowing at her approach, not taunting her!
She stands tall, her fur raising as a rumbling hiss escapes from her maw, displaying her massive teeth to the pair.
"I go where I please, beasts, and now," she says, readying her haunches, "I eat what I want too." she states, pouncing at Oki's back, claws outstretched towards her mark.

Graal raises an eyebrow, glancing back to Oki for a moment.
"You would have a cat tell her reasons?" he asks, almost grimacing. "She's a cat. A flighty creature without reason or respect."
Graal looks back to the cat again, sneering at her words. "Did I not say? No reason."
He didn't see the big cat readying for the pounce.

[Oki]

((Ho ho! Now this is getting exciting! And I hope you don't mind if I control the mountain lion for a little bit.))

"So what if it's a cat?", Oki didn't care if it was a cat, wolf, bear or coyote, he would ask the question regardless, "It's my duty..." And it was; to his pack and family. He didn't quite turn his head to look at Graal when he spoke, but he knew the male would know he was being spoken to. He kept his focus on the feline. Selfish creatures they were and she proved just that. He couldn't help but smile from amusement at the words the cat spoke. Twisting into a frown almost instantly, Oki didn't flinch when he heard paws kicking off the ground, knowing what exactly was going on. Growling, he began to speak as if continuing his previous statement, turning around as he did so, "...And I don't take kindly to trespassers!" The tone and volume of his voice increased as he finished his about face. Doing so, he pulled back an arm and clenched his fist. Coming full turn, eyes met with the felines form. Timing himself just right, Oki threw his punch and landed on her left cheek. She was just as big as he, but that didn't matter. Shooting her out of the sky, so to speak, she landed to his left. The large cat let out a shriek of surprise as she was hit and rolled a few times before stopping on her side. Hissing, amber eyes glared. Now in a low crouch and on one knee, Oki rose to stand up. Straight and tall as he could, now Oki's eyes were now a crimson red with a slitted pupil much of that like a snake. A deep set frown darkened his features, enforcing intimidation; he flared his wings to their full span. Paws still clenched in hard fists, he stared at the feline as he became very austere. "I have reasons and I respect others that respect their peers; not those who take pride in only themselves!", he barked, remembering Graal's comment about how felines are.