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Yeouch. There wasn't much shelter out here and even huddling against the wall didn't offer her much reprieve from the hail. It bounced off the old cobbled stones, flinging this way and that as she made a face, ears flicking to the sides slightly. She didn't mind the snow so much, it was kinda romantic and filled her head of thoughts with couples snuggling up for warmth, not cause they totally liked each other. But hail? Well, she guessed the same could kinda apply? But it didn't feel as aesthetic to her, and it was kind of hard to think when pebbles of ice kept donking her on the noggin. One even hit her in the eye, enough to make her auibly ooof out loud

She was pretty much full-grown at this point lengthwise at least, all leg and still had some filling out to do. She wasn't a pup no more, even though her behaviour didn't say as much. She was still kinda immature and would likely always remain that way, heart on her sleeve, head empty unless you counted her fanciful scenarios as thoughts, that is.

Anyway, the hail was cramping her style majorly and it was high time it went away. How was she meant to daydream when the sky kept knocking on her head, huh?

Traveling north brought an onslaught of terrible weather. Hail balls bigger than she had ever seen pelted her body. It was winter, so the trees offered little to no coverage from them. She kept her head tucked, trying to avoid getting hit in the face or even possibly knocked out by them. This, however, caused terrible visibility and Polaris kept tripping over the balls as they stabbed into her paws. How had such terrible weather come on so quickly? Squinting ahead, the woman noticed a wall. Maybe if she huddled up by it she could get some protection from the weather. It was doubtful but an attempt was better than nothing. She quickly sprinted, her head down and eyes almost completely closed. The woman hadn't realized that there was another wolf there and she nearly collided with her. Her body slammed into the wall with a loud oof, possibly ricocheting into the other girl if she did not move in time. She speaks

erik post

Erik hunched his shoulders against the cold, cursing it. Some good that would do, but then, who was surprised? A bitter boy in a bitter world, but then, he’s never been just a boy. Something far worse lurked in him, though perhaps boys are already bad enough.

Enough.

A concept that still weighs heavy on the mind of the boy. Though he was beginning to grow into himself as well… they call it husky, when you’re a young boy. Erik is a brick shithouse already, though it would take some time for his height to catch up. Every day, it seems he grows stronger. Sharper. More suspicious.

He wasn’t following Maki. Not like he followed Morg, and Delphi to an extent too. Maki hadn’t been his to worry about. So no Erik wasn’t following her, but he’d gone out to see if he could track the clouds across the sky from a better angle. The hail was weird, he’s not sure what to think. The boy had been perched upon the wall, just out of view, watching.

Watching enough to see Maki damn near get flattened. Erik sprung to life from his shadowy spot, the glimmer of pale teeth and orange crystal. A breath later, and he’s beside her, fixing the stranger with a burning gaze. “Y’hurt?” Though the words are directed at Maki, Erik’s eye doesn’t track away from the stranger. The words are ragged, frayed around the edges. Though his voice has started to drop, the curse would still take its pound of flesh. Not the voice of a young boy, perhaps the voice of the cryptid you wish to (don’t wish to, depending on your feelings on cryptids) meet in the woods.

"Speech"

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total: 730

Maki had been minding her business one moment and was being bowled over the next. The air was walloped from her lungs, her legs going turtle stiff as she fell, landing on her side with a thick layer of northern snow to cushion her fall. She'd let out an undignified yelp as she'd been pushed aside, not very heroine of her and Maki couldn't help but feel a rush of embarrassment at that. She was even taller than the lady, from what she could see through mismatched squinting, so it wasn't fair really. No thoughts, head empty, and acting out on childish impulse, Maki bum rushed the lady, thinking it was only fair she pushed her back.

Vengeance would be hers, oh wait that sounded kinda cool, she'd need to remember that for later.

Despite coming from a long line of very capable warriors, Maki didn't really know what she was doing. At all. In her mind she was able to conjure images of thrilling fight scenes, wolves doing backflips, dodging effortlessly as they traded blows. A blade would slice the cheek of one of the wolves, revealing a thin trickle of blood that they would acknowledge briefly, tongue flitting out as they licked it away, smugness still shining in their eyes.

Bonk. Another hail ball hit her on the head as she- well her charge wasn't even nearly half as dramatic as she'd imagined, she was more stumbling towards her opponent. Had gotten distracted, clearly. So distracted she didn't really notice the crystally newcomer till he was just a blur in the corner of her eye. One she promptly said hi to, before ramming-accidentally at this point- headfirst into the lady.

There was a brief moment of contact before the other wolf she had hit fell over into the snow. Polaris had hit the wall and fallen herself, so she had also fallen into the soft snow. At least that was one thing that was soft. The hail still pelted her body, and she knew she was going to have bruises eventually as they hit the same spots over and over again. She was already incredibly sore. She took to her and shook her fur out and before she had a chance to look up, the other wolf was already rushing her. The other lady was much bigger than her but was gangly at the same time. Was she a teenager? Polaris attempted to stand up on her back paws to try to avoid the woman but instead, it gave Maki the perfect opportunity to hit her right in the gut. A big whoosh of air came out of her mouth before she fell on all fours. She coughed for a minute straight, until she felt like she could breath clearly again. "What was that for?" She hollered at the stranger, irritation laced through her voice. She looked up, promptly getting hit on the neck and ear by hail and grumbled at her. Now she was pissed. She hadn't meant to run into the other girl. It was a complete accident but irritation ran through her blood. Not thinking clearly, probably because she was concussed from being hit so many times by the hail, Polaris attempted to smack the other girl with her paw, wanting to hit her on her face. Almost like she was trying to slap her. The other wolf was completely ignored by her, she didn't care If anyone else was here. She was just aggravated that this other one wanted to ram right back into her. She speaks

She hadn't answered... in Erik's mind, that meant she was, in fact, hurt. The near-feral child threw himself at the grey stranger, a glint of teeth and poor feelings within the hail. His hackles up, drawing to his full height, eyes narrow. A sound, horrible and wet and crackling, ripped from his chest. That crackling sound... ever present. Even above the sound of the little ice pellets against the ground all around him, it's nearly tangible. Every breath vile and menacing, his brow set deep into a scowl.

Erik can feel it. The electricity that runs through his system, the way it makes his hair stand on end, the fact he can taste it. Listen, there are few ways to truly describe the full experience of licking a staticky TV screen, but if you know you know. Somewhere beyond his head, Erik can... feel something. A hand on his shoulder, but then, it wasn't really there. Was it? A little tug somewhere in the back of his mind. For the first time, it's the hands of gods on the shoulders of a young berserker. Erik has not only sprung to action, but sprung to life. Was this what it meant to be a man?

But there's no time to explore that now. Erik moved to interfere with the stranger's outstretched paw, closing the gap with little grace. His desire is to crash the full weight of his already brawny shoulders into her chest. Knock her back, knock her away-- protect Maki. There's a rushing in his ears, it's at war with the hail. Sharp but round, pelting down around his shoulders and rolling down his back. What is the metallic taste in his mouth? For once, the cursed child feels alive.

"Speech"

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total: 1511

This scene could only be described as chaotic, too many limbs and too much hail. Maki saw a flash of colour, heard a spat question, it was all kind of hard to concentrate when so much stimuli was tapping at her senses. Erik surged forward to intercept the bap that had been intended to hit her on the head, and Maki figured that since her first hit had landed so well, why not do another? But of course, since Maki could barely see what she was doing and the pointy crystal boy had barged in she sort of-well, lets say she didn't hit her intended target. Not even by a long shot.

Poor Erik, a good deed never went unpunished, it seemed.

She made an undignified ooof sound as she hit him and just sort of-rebounded. Like all the hail that was bouncing off the wall beside them. Very much a: Maki hurt herself in the confusion vibe. She fell backwards again, legs going straight like an upturned sheep, kicking and flailing for a moment before she rolled onto her side.


"Speech"

Her paw landed on thin air, rather as she had lurched forward she had moved her front portion of her body away from the brute that was now charging her and he only caught her hind end. It was a flurry of paws, fur, and literal chaos. The one whom she was attempting to smack ended up charging, but hit the other man instead. What the hell was going on? The pain coursing through her hips was bearable, but she would definitely be feeling it later. Both of these wolves were significantly bigger than her, but in a way her small stature gave her an advantage. Polaris growled, raising her lips to show her teeth as she turned and decided to lunge one last time. This time, she was attempting to go for the brute's shoulder, hoping to be able to latch on to it. She kept her head down, protecting her throat and her hackles raised. She didn't know if it would help, but he was being an ass for no reason. Really both of them were. The hail was still battering her body but in her fit of anger, Polaris was ignoring it. The balls already on the ground stabbed her paw pads and she knew they would be bleeding later, but for now the adrenaline rushing through her body kept her from noticing it. She speaks