Never before had he left the pack lands on his own, but he had run beyond the borders almost in a blind panic. The boy had been sleeping one moment, and then next thing he knew something in his head shouted some mean things. Nasty things. Horrible things and it sent him running. No no no no no!!! I won't! I can't! He cried to himself, paws drumming the ground as he ate the terrain. His heart hammered in his chest, ears pounding with blood as he charged straight out of Abaven territory and into the unknown. He wasn't too far from pack lands, but he was still beyond the borders. Then again, he doubted anyone would miss him anyway. On he went, and finally he would stop when it felt like he could no longer run and like his chest would explode. He would stand there, head bowed and body heaving as he sucked in breath after breath, panting hard and legs shaking. What had he just heard? What were these faceless things telling him? Why were they getting louder? His body shivered, not only from the cold but at the cruel thoughts that were recently beginning to swirl around in his head. He didn't want to hurt anyone...did he? After a long while, the young male looked around to see where he was. This place was unrecognizable, uncharted territory for him, and definitely not home. His breathing was still ragged, but not as hard as it was moments ago. Bi-colored eyes squeezed shut for a minute as he tried to collect himself, and taking a deep breath he opened them again. "Okay...deep breath...I'm gonna be okay..." At least, that's what he told himself. As he took a few steps, his stomach would suddenly growl in the most undignified way ever! He suddenly felt famished after his run, and he wondered what he might be able to find around here. He knew how to hunt some things, mostly snakes and rabbit and fish, but he had never hunted big game. Obviously. He was too young to join in on larger hunts, so he made do with what he could practice on when he didn't want to wait around for his mother to bring them food. Glancing around, he would put his nose to the ground and begin his task of looking for a trail, something fresh he could follow and maybe eat. What was out here though? He supposed he'd find out sooner or later. A good long while would pass, it was at least noon and he knew he had run away from home hours ago. He wasn't entirely sure how to get back though, and right now he was focused on finding some food. As he circled a tree, he stopped when he came across a very interesting scent. Something he hadn't smelled before, and he was intrigued and very much interested in what it might be. He followed it for a good bit until he came to a small stream, and when he raised his head, he saw the most bizarre creature he had ever seen! It looked like a beaver, but instead of smooth fur it had longer looking fur and a...great head of hair! Was that a mohawk on its head? Why couldn't he have gorgeous hair like that? He eyeballed the creature for a good while, watching it waddle back and forth as it foraged for food. He then remembered his hunger, and decided he would hunt this...this thing! Whatever the heck it was. Slowly and with practiced ease, the young male made his approach from behind, staying downwind. From the looks of this thing, it appeared to be slow and clumsy, so surely it would be a lot easier to catch than a rabbit. He crouched low, rump almost in the air as he got as close as he could to it. Once he was well among the bushes and within range, he lunged out to attempt a surprise attack, jaws open as he leaped towards it. All of a sudden, the creatures hair stood on end, and before he knew it he felt stabs of pain on his nose and face, his body twisting away as the creature clicked and clacked at him. He whined, the pain of the quills coursing across his muzzle. What the hell!? Since when did animals shoot hair at stuff? He wiped his face on the ground trying to rid himself of the quills, but only a few loose ones would come off while the longer ones broke in half. Feeling defeated, he was about to slink back home with his tail between his legs until it decided to make an appearance. Where do you think you're going? That creature hurt you. It made you bleed. You're going to run back home with your tail between your legs like a common dog? Cloud froze, wincing at the shooting pain on his face. What was he supposed to do? He had no idea how to hunt that creature! But...he also didn't want to go back home like this. He wasn't a weakling. "I don't know what to do...just..." Coward. Weakling. Scaredy-cat. Yellowbelly. Chicken. Run back home to mommy then, tell her how scary the world is away from her. Tell her how you got humiliated and beaten by a rat! The boy stopped in his tracks, shaking his head to try and clear his head from some of the pain. "I'm not a coward!" He snapped back, "There's nothing I can do to it! Look at what just happened, I got close and it, it...pricked me with it's fur-thorns!" Ha! Hahahahaha!!! Take a good long look at it, boy! Cloud did as he was told, dual toned gaze narrowed as he stifled more whines of pain. The porcupine was still on alert, scavenging around the stream. "Okay...what about it?" He questioned, not sure what he was supposed to be seeing. All he saw were...quills. And he was not keen on getting more stuck in his face. You're kidding! Take a really good look, dummy! You see its legs? Its belly? The whole underside is unprotected. The only danger from that thorny rat is from its back end, so steer clear of that and you can take this thing in no time. Cloud looked again, and sure enough, it had no spikes beneath it or on its head. But he doubted that he could get close enough to grab it by the head, so he'd have to find some way to get at its belly. "Okay...so what do I do?" He began to think about it, but all he could think of was getting close enough to try and swipe a leg. But even then he was sure he'd get stuck with more quills in his face. Maybe it was an inevitable thing? It's a porcupine. It cannot defend itself if its quills are on the wrong side, think about it. It seemed whoever was visiting him didn't really want to give him all the answers. So the youth was forced to think about it. He watched the creature, legs nearly waddling. He watched as it scratched its ear, watched the way its quills stuck up, watched the way it occasionally watched him..."I...have to flip it over...right?" Bingo! Ding ding ding ding! We have a winner! So that was it...but how would he get close enough without getting poked again? He thought for a moment, and decided that it might happen anyway. So with narrowed eyes and renewed determination, along with a throbbing muzzle, he set course back towards the porcupine creature thing. He crouched low again, keeping his paws beneath him so he could hop away at a moments notice. The porcupine noticed him, and it too was ready to take another whack at him. Cloud circled it, going one way, and then the other. Finally, he decided to move slowly to the left, and then he quickly feinted right, one paw striking out towards the porcupines back leg. He had made contact! The animal stumbled for a second before it turned on him, clicking and clacking at him in anger. He figured out what to do, now he just needed to do it. Once again, he put his tactic into play again, and when he was in position, he did the same thing several times the same way. The last time, however, he would do it again, but the opposite, and it succeeded in confusing his prey! Instead of going left, he went right, and then feinted left. His paw struck out at the porcupines hind leg again, this time dragging it towards him more than the last times and he lunged forward as quickly as he could. Teeth barely managed to snap on the porcupines foot, but at a cost to him. He felt more pain across his muzzle and his right foreleg that was closest to the porcupines quills, and he fought the urge to cry and let go. He would not be beat by a prickly rat! This one wasn't very big, but it still had spunk and it still hurt! He dragged the leg back, shaking with as much force as he could while at the same time attempting to dislodge any loose quills as well as to keep any incoming quills from sticking too well. He would turn around, dragging it by the foot into the water in the hopes that it would become less mobile if it had to focus on keeping its head up and out of the water. Angry now with new pain coursing through him, Cloud flailed his head back and forth until he heard a crack between his teeth, and realized he just broke its leg. He was almost appalled for a moment, but the voices in his head told him to keep going. He dropped the leg, not letting a moment pass before he lunged for the other one, more stabbing pain as more quills embedded into his ears this time. He did the same thing he had just done to the other leg, only this time he didn't let go. Instead, he dragged the porcupine in deeper, his own head above the water while the porcupine struggled to keep its head up. Finally when he was in deep enough, he let go of the leg and dipped his head under. Eyes narrowed, the young male dove just under his prey and then shot up, head bashing its belly in an attempt to drive the wind out, and make it flip. He did this until they got close to the bank, and with a final smash, he sent the porcupine flying a few feet into the shallow, the creature landing on its back with a squeal. It struggled to right itself, but with two broken back legs made it slow and hard. He took no time in waiting, and instead jumped into action. He had worked far too hard for this, and wasn't about to let the opportunity slip away! He jumped towards it, jaws gaping as teeth sliced into the porcupines belly. Sure, he got a few more quills in his legs from the close quarters, but the taste of blood soaking his tongue and the pitch of terror from his prey made it all worthwhile. At least...that's what the more predatory side of him thought. It had been a few minutes since the squealing had stopped, the male still tearing into its body. Quills and a torn carcass were strewn across the ground, the youth in a haze as he feasted. Well done...you're a natural born killer. The voice laughed as it faded, and that's when he stopped. Cloud's eyes looked predatory, though after hearing the voice he suddenly came to his senses. He looked down, seeing what he had done to the carcass and the blood pooled on the ground. Had...he even eaten any of it? Brows furrowed as he looked from the spot where he had killed it, to the spot he had dragged it to. There was some insides strewn on the blood trail, but as far as he could tell, he had only managed to tear it apart during his bloodthirsty haze. "What..." He flinched, the pain in his muzzle and legs suddenly flaring up again now that he was present and not in some strange hazy state. He sat down, bi-colored eyes looking himself over. Slowly, he began to pluck a couple quills from his forelegs, but the action only made his muzzle hurt more with the quills stuck in his tender flesh. He whined, body sore and hurting. How would he make it back home? Did he even want to go back home looking like this? everyone would laugh at him! He sighed, a miserable look on his face as he sat there. He wasn't keen on moving, but he knew he couldn't stay there all day and night either... "Speak"

art by Risketch

It was unnatural for her to be so far north, but Ana had found herself growing bored of the southern continent. Amon had grown silent, doing whatever it was, but either way he hadn't called for the family in a while. Everyone seemed to be taking the procreating thing rather seriously. First Pyralis, and then she hadn't missed Amon's call either. He was already on his second litter and she only had Aby. Her nose wrinkled at the thought. It was disappointing really. The elder sibling and she only had one child, one that wasn't even hers, and yet she was too picky to just bare any males children. She imagined it would be a while before she found a suitor. She wanted nothing but the best lines, especially since she hadn't inherited the family's height. They had to be impressive in other ways to make up for it. For now she had set the thought of children aside and had instead headed north. The cool weather bit into her short pelt but it was so much more enjoyable than the heat that had gripped Auster. Cold was so much more pleasing than sunburn for her delicate skin. There was so much of the northern continent that was left to explore and many locals to terrorize. With Adra off doing whatever it was he deemed more important than her ... well boredom and Ana wasn't a good mix. The havoc she wanted to create could barely be contained. She found herself in a rather wooded area, but the trees contained none of the glory of the giant oak trees at home. It was still a refreshing change of pace for her as she padded silently through the forest. Signs of a tussle soon caught the pallid female's attention and the thought of entertainment was too good to pass up. She neared the struggling pup just as he was bashed in the face by the porcupines quills. She waited behind a tree as she watched in silence. The pup had spunk, she'd give him that, despite the fact he was a mortal. He got quills again, this time to the leg, before he finally smartened up and figured out how to kill it. When it was all said and done he had quills sticking out of him and was obviously hurt, but he'd managed to kill it. She still had no idea who he'd been talking to but she didn't smell anyone nearby, just the scents of a pack on his coat. Content that no one would bother he she padded from her hiding spot and moved closer to the kid with a sweet smile plastered to her face. "Would you like some help sweetie?" She of course was talking about the quills stuck in his face and leg. He'd have issues getting them out on his own and it'd give her the opportunity to get close to him. Information was always easy to get out of a child. Young, impressionable, and easily persuaded. It was the perfect opportunity for her. Walk, "Talk" Think

He sat there, looking pitiful and sad though it wasn't his intention to look that way. He simply didn't want to move, the boy in obvious pain as his skin pulsed hot with the embedded quills. The white parts of him were coated in blood from his torn prey, its remnants scattered around him. He shivered slightly at the thought of what he'd just done, the boy feeling like he wanted to cry. He was scared, afraid of what he might do if he ended up in that trance again. What if it ended up happening around his family? Would he end up hurting them? Before he could think more on it, a womanly voice cut the air and he quickly raised his head, flinching with the motion as the quills tugged at his skin. Gold and silver gaze looked up at the approaching woman, his gaze apprehensive. His body language would have said the same if he weren't in so much pain and the fact he didn't want to move right now, though his hackles slightly rose in alarm. He studied her for a moment, assessing her and mulling over her words in his mind. He thought about what his brother Ty would do in this situation. Would he suck it up and act like he didn't need the help? Or would he accept it? A low whine emanated in his throat, and at last succumbed to the decision. He wasn't Ty. He didn't have that confidence. Slowly, he nodded, a pleading look in his eyes. It hurt for him to talk with the quills stuck in the tender flesh of his muzzle, so he remained quiet. "Speak"

art by Risketch

Ana surveyed the boy for a brief moment. He was young, maybe six months or so, though it was really hard to tell these days. Varying sizes and then the growth spurts - he was halfway between that puppy and adult stage. He was kind of cute, in that little mortal way, but his age was the only factor that allowed her to try and be so nice to him. It was so easy to put on a facade around children. They were such gullible and weak little things. It would most likely take little or no effort to win him over and get him to be the talkative little thing she expected him to be. She didn't miss the apprehensive look he gave her. Had mommy warned him not to talk to strangers? Maybe a cat just had his tongue, but either way he didn't talk at all. She gave him a moment to think her offer over. Finally a whine left his throat and the pleading look mixed with the obvious pain he was feeling was enough consent to get her to move towards him some more. "This will hurt, but I will pull them out quickly so it'll be over before you know it." She figured starting off with his leg was better. It would hurt a lot less than his sensitive face so she gripped the first one between her teeth and yanked it out as swiftly as she could. She continued in this fashion until all of them were out of his leg. She paused for a moment to look at him to see how he was faring before she started removing the ones embedded in his face. She removed them as swiftly as the ones in his leg and when it was all said and done she was left looking at a rather pathetic sight. He was bleeding and the crimson stained the ivory of his pelt. She still smiled at him sweetly and backed away a few steps to give him some space. "There we go, that's better. Now, how about you enjoy your well earned kill and tell me your name?" Walk, "Talk" Think

She approached, his eyes remained on her as she got closer. He was apprehensive, every hair on his body told him maybe he shouldn't have come out here, but truth be told, Abaven was feeling less...welcoming. His mother was more worried about finding his dumb sisters that he felt neglected. Ty seemed to feel the same way, and Cloud wasn't keen on interacting with anyone else in the pack. It was too quiet there, even Bass had seemed to fall silent. But he didn't care too much about him either, he learned that Bass wasn't really their father, so he had no obligation to get to know him or anything. That was how he felt. He had no obligations to let anyone in the pack get close to him. They didn't care about him, so naturally, he didn't care about them. His ears twitched as he listened to her, nodding as he allowed her to get close to him so she could help him out. When she got to work, he flinched and whined as the quills were yanked out of his legs. It hurt, and he wasn't expecting it to hurt as much coming out as they did going on. He felt like sharp thorns were dragging at his skin which was already inflamed from the foreign quills embedded, thus his skin felt more sensitive than usual. Lucky for him, she was doing as she promised and was trying to be as quick as she could. But when she got to his face, man was he terrified of the pain. He kept his eyes squeezed shut, jaws clenching as she pulled out each one. At some points, he couldn't contain the yelping as she yanked out the quills. He felt like a kid at the doctor, but instead of giving him shots, he was getting the opposite. It all hurt and was not liking any of this one bit! Before he knew it though, she was done. And he was left with a throbbing face that bled a bit where some of the deeper quills had been. He shook his head, carefully pawing his muzzle to try and soothe the pain but it wasn't helping as much as he had hoped. Licking the sides of his muzzle, he lifted his head to look at the strange looking woman, "Th-Thanks..." He murmured. He felt like his pride was shot, but at least he didn't have the quills in his face anymore. And at least the thing that did it was dead. He supposed he had to be grateful for her help, so after she urged him to eat his prey, he then remembered that he had killed it to eat it, and the male suddenly hungry got up and moved the short distance to his torn kill. He pawed it first, rolling it over so he wouldn't get stuck by its quills anymore, but before he could take a bite of its flesh, he stopped. "Cloudburst." He said simply, voice reserved before he tucked into the belly of the porcupine. After a bite or two, he looked up at her again, "You can have some if you want." It was an offer. Maybe not the most polite of offers, but it was his way of trying to repay her for helping him. "Speak"

art by Risketch

Well she was glad that that was over. He'd done rather well, a few whines and yelps, but overall he'd let her finish. Salmon colored tongue swiped out of her mouth to lick her lips and she couldn't help but glance down at the piles of quills that had accumulated by her feet. Such awful things porcupines were. She much preferred their little cousins, the hedgehog, but those didn't provide very much meat. Porcupines were rather delicious, but a pain in the ass to kill and more times than not weren't worth the effort. Her gaze flicked back to the younger wolf as he shook his head and pawed at his muzzle. Most likely the pain felt that akin to a fire. It would go away in time though she imagined a healer would have been in order. Sadly Razi was nowhere in sight and if he got the bright idea to call someone then she was gone. She had no desire to run into his pack mates. Then she'd have to pretend to be nice to them too and just ugh. Not her idea of fun. If she was lucky he wouldn't call for them. He wasn't bleeding very badly either. It wasn't enough to concern her. Finally the boy looked up at her and offered a very short thanks, but it was enough for her. After all it was only polite to thank a god after they helped you. He seemed to remember his kill after she reminded him and she eyed him as he padded over to it and rolled the dead creature over. She slowly let her haunches sink to the cold earth below her as he was about to take his first bite. Ears flicked forward as he spoke again. Cloudburst. Hmm, what an odd name, but it seemed suiting for the gray and white male. "Ana." She introduced herself. Her head cocked to the side as he offered her some and a smile curved on her lips. "Thank you but no, that's your kill. You enjoy it." She paused for a moment before adding. "Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself instead? What's a fine young wolf like yourself doing all the way out here alone?" Walk, "Talk" Think

"Ana." A short name if he ever heard one, but he supposed not the shortest. Ty's nickname was shorter by a letter, but he flicked an ear to acknowledge he had heard her before tucking in to his food. She said she didn't want any, so he went on ahead and started eating it. He felt famished after his ordeal, perhaps next time he'd go for something easier and less...painful. Maybe she could teach him how to hunt other things, because this one was just on a whim. On top of that, nobody else in the pack seemed interested in doing much of anything, not that he'd bother them to teach him anyway. And his mom was blind, so he doubted she'd be able to teach him how to hunt. She was good at finding herbs, tracking? He wasn't too sure. He continued his task in digging into his well earned kill, the meat tasting better than anything he had so far! Maybe it was because he was already super hungry, or maybe Porcupine just tasted better than rabbit? He wondered how many others had been able to accomplish what he had all by himself. When he was nearly done eating his fill, she questioned him, and the boy sat up while licking his muzzle. What was there to say about himself? He wasn't all that interesting. His life was boring and dull, and he had nobody to look up to except for maybe his own brother. He shrugged, "Well...there's not much to say, I guess. I'm not really interesting, maybe to my brother Ty I am, but I think my sisters would be far more interesting than I could ever be." He shrugged again, heaving a sigh as he thought a bit more. "I came out here because it's boring at home. The alpha is almost nowhere to be found all the time, and my mom can't do much because she's blind. So I came to try and hunt by myself instead of waiting for someone to come with me." Yeah...he supposed that was it, really. He peered up at the large woman, curious about her. "What about you? I have to admit, I've never seen someone that looks like you before...is it normal for wolves to look so...pale?" Oops. He hoped he hadn't offended her, of course the words were already out of his mouth, so he couldn't take it back. He was trying to say that he'd never seen an albino before, not that he knew what it was yet...so he hoped that she'd tell him. "Speak"

art by Risketch

Ana sat patiently while he ate. He was obviously hungry and she was in an amicable mood. Finally it seemed he was nearly done and she watched curiously as he shrugged and went on to explain himself. He was definitely a lot more talkative now and she was glad that some food and a little help had warmed him up to her. Hmm, how easy it was. She assumed he would be harder to get to talk than that, but she wasn't complaining. At least now she could possibly learn something. She listened as he explained how he didn't think he was great. So he had sisters, and a brother, as well as an alpha who wasn't around and a blind mother. How interesting... her nose wrinkled at the thought of the pack. It sounded so dull. No wonder he'd come out here by himself. She would have ditched them all the first chance she got. "You're clearly special. Have your sisters managed to catch a porcupine all by themselves?" Her head tilted slightly as he questioned her about her pale fur. She grinned softly. So he'd never seen an albino before? Naturally she was superior to the mortals who walked around with a similar skin tone to her own, and eventually she'd track them down and eradicate them, but for now she felt special. He hadn't seen one yet. "Oh no I'm quite special. I'm what you would call an albino." Walk, "Talk" Think