A Deaf Ear to Joy

[Felypsa]

While humans celebrating the coming of a new year and a fresh start, one wolf wandered his pack’s territory without any awareness of anything changing. The night was just as dark, the stars just as cold, the world just as silent. He wandered to the place he usually frequented, a place where he could see as much as possible and where sound was not a necessity. Mizu Lake was a friend of his; a companion just as silent as he, one with which he needed no communication.

His name was Cendyne, and he was a young adult wolf who had gotten used to a world without sound. He did not know what he was missing, so he didn’t miss it. He stood over the lake’s half-frozen waters, staring at his dim reflection. He knew what he looked like well: an average-sized wolf with a cream-colored pelt and strange orange eyes. He might have known that he was handsome, except that he had not heard anyone say it. His judgment of himself and others was based on the opinion of others, and since he had never heard these opinions, he had very little judgment.

Though he felt something akin to loneliness, he did not howl for company. He was mute as well as deaf. And no one he knew would come anyway. He did not remember his father, and his mother had fled the packlands not long ago. She was afraid of something, or someone. He had always known that. Even when she caressed him lovingly in his youth, he sensed a slight trembling, and her caring eyes were always filled with some anxiety. But she could never tell him what troubled her. So he worried for her sake without knowing why.

She had said goodbye the night she left, in her own way. He was a little embarrassed to receive her loving licks and soft nuzzles that she had used to give him when he was a pup, but it was the only way she knew how to bid farewell to him. And he appreciated it now; he wished she were here to give him more loving licks and soft nuzzles, no matter how humiliating.

He wished he could find his mother and save her from whatever haunted her. But he was deaf, and thus, powerless. So as a result, he was alone.

He let out a sigh that he did not hear, and reclined to his haunches, staring at the unchanging moon reflected in the unchanging lake in the unchanging packlands, and wished for change.

[ookamiprankster]

Spiral gazed through her hiding place at the young male. He seemed sad, yet did not howl out. She wanted to go out and comfort him, but kept hesitating to do so. The shy she-wolf shuffled her position, closing her eyes. A few minutes ticked by before she finally made up her mind, stepping out to meet him.

OOC: So, how did I do? I haven¡¯t role-played in a while so my skills are rusty.

[Felypsa]

oOc| sorry for taking so long to reply! x.x Your post is fine, but it could use a little more description of your character and maybe her hiding place. =) Description is always a good thing to add in one's post ^^

The soundless wolf did not hear the new arrival, of course, but he was downwind of a wintry breeze. The zephyr brought a new scent to his nose, which was sharper than most wolves’, to make up for his other missing sense. He could smell things that perhaps other wolves could not. He could tell that this other wolf was not threatening, but curious and even a little sympathetic, from her scent alone. So he did not become anxious.

Cendyne turned around to face the other wolf. Luckily, he had the sense of sight, of which he knew some wolves were deprived. He nodded to the she-wolf in silent greeting. To show he was not cold or threatening, he wagged his tail slowly. But he did not smile; that was too hard to do, for there was nothing he could imagine smiling about. His greeting done, he waited to see what she would do. She seemed to be holding back a little, and he wondered if she would be too shy to approach him and return the greeting.

[ookamiprankster]

OOC: oops, sorry. I was in a rush because I had to leave to classes.

The small gray wolf swallowed a gasp as the cream-colored wolf nodded in greeting, wagging his tail. The bush she was hiding behind made a slight rustling sound as she stepped all the way out, trailing her tail behind her. Spiral blinked her warm honey eyes, stepping toward him. She wagged her tail happily, glad she had finally found someone. She had traveled for days, searching for any clues leading to her past. The journey had been so lonely, most of the wolves she had met being much bigger than her.

As she neared the male, she saw that his eyes were an unusual, but not unsightly, orange color. She didn't mind the strange eyes, for she never cared what others looked like. It was thier hearts that mattered, not looks.
"H-hi there, who are you?" she asked softly, cocking her head to one side.

[Felypsa]

oOc| that's fine, totally understandable ^^

Cendyne looked at the newly emerged she-wolf with only slight curiosity. She was unknown to him; but that was no surprise, so many wolves were unknown to him. He was not the most sociable wolf in the pack. His only friend had been his mother, and she was—the stars only knew where. But Cendyne would not have been averse to making a friend, if in fact that was an option.

He noticed that she wagged her tail in return, which meant she was friendly enough. But then she opened her mouth and began to speak. Cendyne sadly shook his head at her, hoping she’d understand; but he could not hear what she said. He could not hear anything. For all he knew, she could have been confessing that she had murdered her family. Still, he took a guess at what she was saying.

He made runes in the sand he was standing on, carefully spelling out the letters in his name. His mother had taught him certain runes that she had used in her old pack. He was not sure if anyone could read them. She had told him (via runes) that few wolves could read, and there were a myriad different set of runes in the world. Still, it was his only way of communicating with the world. He spelled out his name: “CENDYNE.” If she did not understand, well, there it was. She would never know his name; and he would never know hers. And he would have to be content with that.

[ookamiprankster]

Spiral noticed, that as soon as she¡¯d start talking, the wolf would shake his head sadly. She clamped her mouth shut immediately, giving a soft whine. What had she said wrong? All she did was ask who he was. As she studied the male, he began writing in the soft sand. It spelled something, but what? Spiral racked her brain, trying to recall the runes. She knew how to read them, that was true. But it had been so long since anyone used them. She struggled, squinting her eyes shut. When she opened her eyes, it came to her, like magic. ¡®CENDYNE!!¡¯ she thought happily, ¡®his name is Cendyne!¡¯
Realization suddenly dawned on her, the wolf was mute, and probably deaf as well. She didn¡¯t care, of course. He could¡¯ve been a ghost and she wouldn¡¯t mind. Quickly, she began carefully spelling out her own name: SPIRAL. She waited, hoping he could make out the crudely drawn runes.

[Felypsa]

Cendyne watched her carefully as she studied the runes that spelled his name. Her face lit up, and he happily watched her reply in turn. He read the runes immediately, for he’d had more practice with his mother, and learned that her name was Spiral. A nice name, he thought.

And now he was at a standstill. This was the problem he’d always had with social situations. Even if the wolf could read and write runes, it was always hard to communicate this way. They would usually never get beyond exchanging their names, when the other wolf would get tired of the effort and walk away to communicate with others more conventionally. He had been able to communicate with his mother because she had known him so well that she could read his expressions and gestures without any effort. But with a stranger, it was harder.

He bowed his head apologetically to the newly-met Spiral, not sure what to do next. After a moment of hesitation, he wiped away his name and scrawled in the sand once again. A few minutes passed when he stepped back to reveal the message. “Greetings, Spiral,” it read. “Are you new here?” He hoped she would keep her reply short. A simple “yes” or “no” would do.

He hoped that she wouldn’t tire of the activity and depart, as others had done. He’d realized he missed social contact, no matter how little.

[ookamiprankster]

Ooc- Ack! I¡¯m so sorry this took so long! My mom banned me from the computer because of a bad math score.

As she watched the cream-colored wolf read the runes, she found herself swallowing several times. Would he be able to even see through the mess? She wasn¡¯t that good at writing. His face looked happy, though, as he quickly read the what she had dubbed ¡®chicken-scratch¡¯, due to her messy handwriting. Spiral let out a sigh of relief, he knew her name. What now, though? It would be hard communicating this way, unless they could read expressions. It would take time and effort, but if they could truly become friends, she thought, it would all be worth it. More than worth it.
Spiral saw Cendyne lean wipe away his name, snapping her out of her thoughts. ¡®A message?¡¯ she guessed. A few minutes passed, before the wolf stepped back. Greetings, Spiral, she read, still struggling some. Are you new here??
She erased her own name, scratching out her reply in the sand. Y-E-S it read. She stepped back carefully, incase her fur erased any letters.

[Felypsa]

oOc| no problem! that sucks, though =( math is stupid anyhow.

Cendyne might have noticed her nervousness, though to him, he didn’t quite know why. It didn’t occur to him that she might feel ashamed for her messy runes. He had seen far worse, after all, and it was better than nothing at all. He hoped she wasn’t afraid of him. Some wolves had been, as if his deafness were some kind of contagious disease. How foolish—yet sometimes, folly hurt.

She was new; he easily read the “yes” in reply. He nodded, and gave a very small, very tentative smile, before gesturing with his tail behind him, in the direction of Mizu Lake. He seemed to be offering her water of the lake’s pure, if half-frozen waters. He himself seemed thirsty, though of course he had not been speaking. He padded over to the lake, pausing once to nod her over to join him.

He wondered what to do now, as he slowly slurped the good water. With his mother, he had needed no words. With this wolf, this Spiral, he felt more hesitant. He was bad at this whole socializing thing. In any case, he was surprised that she had stuck around this long. No one wanted to befriend a wolf with whom it was impossible to communicate. This Spiral, though, she was different, Cendyne mused. Different from all the others.

[ookamiprankster]

OOC: I really hate math. My mom¡¯s grounded me for two months! No computer, no TV, no nothing, so my posts may have time gaps in between them. Really sorry!

Spiral knew she shouldn¡¯t be ashamed of her runes. After all, few wolves even knew of them; yet a lifetime of being constantly teased and ridiculed for even the slightest things like her size, personality and the likes had made her a bit self conscious. As well as her shy character, it had always been hard to talk to other wolves, let alone start a friendship.

She ruffled her thick coat, a determined look appearing in her eyes. She wanted to start a friendship with this wolf, Cendyne. A slight smile graced her features. He was the first to notice her and not mock or insult her as others had done. She looked to Cendyne, seeing him give a small smile, gesturing with his tail toward the shimmering lake. He padded over to the lake, nodding her over. Spiral eagerly joined him, her throat a bit dry. She lapped at the cool, sweet water. It tasted good, she thought. Pure and clear, unlike the muddy puddles she used to drink from.

[naxus]

<sup>Naxus was just walking along on a shadowy path. The stones and pebbles cracked underneath her flaming paws. The amberfire's pelt gleamed with the fire and air in her fur, and naxus' glowing red eyes stared at the two wolves in the distance. The spirit mark on her forehead, a cresent moon, started to burn like the fire inside of her. The pain was almost unbearable, and it was growing worse. She needed water, but it was her only one weakness. There was a huge swelling, and she knew her wing were spurting to their true size.

The small wings extended with a fiery glow to six meters from two meters, and feathers of gold and red glow, tinted with silver, sprouted as much as any wolf could have hoped for her wings. The mystery of her face looked more solid, and the natural amberfire's one marking turned to two. There was a silver-gold star on her back, as big as 1 meter long and 1 meter wide, curling round her body, but never once touching. It looked like this: images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.yantra.com.au/Assets/Y%2520Witchcraft/Gold-star.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.yantra.com.au/Web_Pages/yantra_witchcraft.htm&h=194&w=200&sz=8&hl=en&sig2=jbnErO_1uVAP6lET2H8Gtg&start=1&tbnid=sWY5s6X2B-YpxM:&tbnh=101&tbnw=104&ei=KwXKRf-IFJygyQLsjNDADw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwitchcraft%2Bstar%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG</sup> [/img]The she-wolf used this time of relaxation to see who the other wolves were.[/sup][/color]

[Felypsa]

This is nice, thought Cendyne. She has not yet wandered away from sheer boredom. The silence we share is not awkward, like it is with other wolves. When Spiral smiled at him, he returned it, shyly, hesitantly. Smiles, he knew, conveyed a message most words could not. There was a lot you could read in a smile, without knowing any runes.

After a few moments, Cendyne caught a glimpse of a strange, fiery glow not far from them. His heightened sense of sight and smell confirmed that there was another being close by - a wolf, like them. Female, by the scent of it. Cendyne caught Spiral’s and nodded in the direction he had seen the faint glow. He stood facing the new arrival, wary but not unfriendly. The wolf came into clear view; he had not seen such a creature before!

She seemed as though she was made of sun’s fire; at first he could only see colors, sharp crimson and silver. But he distinguished very unique markings unlike any other. He thought he could feel her warmth from here, and she was not even very close. Cendyne turned to Spiral, wondering if she would be as surprised as he; or was he so sheltered that what he thought of was extraordinary was only commonplace? The new arrival looked nothing like any wolf he had ever interacted with, but was that really saying much, giving how few people he’d encountered in the course of his sheltered life?

[naxus]

<sup>Naxus spotted that the two wolves had seen her. The amberfire padded up to the other wolves confidently, but then had a sudden reallisation. She knew that she was hot, but to her, the fire was just natural. She saw the other wolves retreating, and she suddenly reallised why. The wolf spoke, with more dignity than before she had spanned, "Greetings, may I be so bold to ask your names? I'm sorry of the heat, my species, the amberfire, is a fire spirit's making."

The other wolves were very strange to Naxus, she was a loner, trying to find another of her species. The wolf was not used to speaking, or meeting others, just stakling in the darkness. The shadows of her heart were sticking to her fur, making her fur stick fast. The sweat on her brow was running down her face, and her paws were itching for anticipation. These wolves wre so strange, so foreign. She did not know anything about them, and whether they were peaceful or not.</sup>

[ookamiprankster]

Spiral hungrily lapped at the water, stopping only to breath. As she drank her fill, she noticed a bright fiery glow not far away. She raised her wet muzzle, licking off small droplets of water. Spiral looked to Cendyne, seeing him not in the direction of the strange glow. Soon, the wolf came into clear view. Cendyne stood facing the newcomer, while Spiral tentatively made her way to his side, eyes wide with surprise. The wolf- female by her scent ¨C was as bright as the sun¡¯s fire! It was an amazing sight; her fur, like fire, was at first only colors, crimson, silver and gold. Looking closer though, she could make out a few markings; the most significant was the star on her back, a silver-gold in color, stretching across her pelt.

Shyly, she stepped forward a bit, then scurried back. The last time she had seen anything so bright, it had been a small forest fire ¨C red hot, with smoke choking her lungs. But then, she reminded herself, this isn¡¯t that.
The flaming wolf padded up to them. Spiral glanced at Cendyne wondering what he was thinking. Her gaze then flickered back to the she-wolf, seeing her speak. She greeted them, asking their names, as well as explaining her species.

Amberfire? Spiral wondered, I¡¯ve never heard of them before¡­
Spiral cleared her throat slightly, wondering how to explain. Cendyne was mute, deaf as well. It would be hard for him to communicate with this wolf.

¡°Greetings,¡± she said, stepping up toward the wolf. ¡°I am Spiral, and this is Cendyne.¡± She nodded toward the cream-colored wolf. ¡°He is mute, as well as deaf¡­¡± she paused, wondering how to explain the rest.
She suddenly remembered that Cendyne still did not know of the wolf. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. Quickly, she turned to him, scratching a message in the sand. AN AMBERFIRE, it read. With her muzzle, she nodded toward the wolf, wagging her tail. Giving a small smile to Cendyne, she looked back at the new arrival. ¡°A-are you thirsty?¡± she asked, ¡°The water here is pure. Would you like some?¡± She was unsure of what to say. With Cendyne, there was no words involved. Only actions, and a few runes. For that, she was slightly thankful. Introductions never came easily for her, yet she didn¡¯t want to start a fight. She tended to shy away from them, preferring peace instead.

[naxus]

<sup>Naxus jumped back in horror, "WATER! No, that would most probably hurt me like a fire would hurt you. Is Cendyne mute, and deaf? Give him my greatest appology. I didn't know..." Naxus trailed off. She noticed that Spiral was looking at her star. "Spiral, I noticed you are remotely interested in my markings. I would be glad to tell you how amberfires like me get markings and what they are to us.

She said, "My cresent moon marking, on my forehead, is a sign of night and of the free wolf. It was placed upon me as a child, and then grew, until a few months ago." Naxus waited to see if any of the wolves were watching her, "And this star on my back is personal, of my fire spirit. It is my star. My life."</sup>