my imaginary friends __ _ ___________  ___ _ _ __ Following the river from the west had led her to this strange place, and what a magnificent land it had been. In all her lifetime, she never could imagine others of her species existing in such a vast and plentiful number. The very concept was one that was fraught with danger. Insistent teachings drawled by her mother scratched at the back of her skull in a ghostly reminder, condemning the girl to heed the persistent notions. Other wolves were akin to demons wearing fur. They weren’t for trusting. However, it was curiosity that drove her footfalls further and further across that rock laden beach. An infatuation with the unknown had won her over, even if just for the moment. If only she may catch a glimpse of someone like herself. Well then maybe she would be content to return to a life of the hidden after witnessing their animosity. The sea had always beckoned her - a mother calling its sweet child home to familiar waters. Waters that would entangle and merge with simple streams, facets of life and energy cascading down from the mountain tops to dwell beneath agitated ripples. Ripples evolved into tides, and tides grew into the waves that would leap from the water to bask upon the heat of the shore. The ocean was eternally adapting, shifting and becoming new with every crash upon the sand. The way it was always changing is exactly how it stayed the same. The only aspect of this strange new land that remained vaguely nostalgic. Sweet salty air kissed her skin and knotted the untamed fly-aways of her fur. Dancing wildly in the breeze, the eggshell strands curled around cream painted paralleling ears. The shoreline stretched for miles before her cyan eyes, seemingly untouched by any living creature. The icy waters would roll in to occasionally bite at her toes, scattering pristine beige granules haphazardly across each paw. If there were ever a place that she could call home now, this was it. A generous breeze of saline wind cleansed her pulsating nostrils of unforgiving memories. Echoes of sugary maternal aromas filling their shallow den of earth and stone, dethroned in the hum of the rolling tides. The truth was clear, and the fact was, Ruelle's mother was dead. Left in the wake of the rising and falling patterns of the sea, doubt was prevalent upon her trembling tongue. Fate, what a contemptuous beast you are. @Killian code & graphic by riv

Massive paws hit the moist sand with ease. A trail of his own huge paw prints followed much smaller sprints that seemed to belong to a stranger. The scent left behind was feminine, unfamiliar, and interesting. Since coming to Boreas he had met a few and was eager to meet more. Coming from a wasteland to a region so densely populated with Wolves was a breath of fresh air to say the least. Killian was not a social butterfly but after being alone for so long the idea of meeting new Wolves did not sound too horrible. Soon the brute allowed his icy gaze to fall upon the fantastical form of the stranger in question. His gaze feasted upon her extremely thin and pale frame. She was significantly smaller then himself and lacking a lot of body mass. 'Perhaps she is ill..' Kill opened his jaws to allow her fragrance to land upon his tongue. There was no sickly touch to her scent. 'A hungry rogue then.. Growing bored of his guessing game the Klein moved across the sand. His thick slate and ivory fur was lifted with the sea breeze. As he approached Killian had a careful grin placed across his inky lips. He stopped about sic tail lengths away and raised his head in gesture to the stranger. "I envy your serenity." She looked as though she belonged at sea. "Speech"

my imaginary friends __ _ ___________  ___ _ _ __ To the west, masked by the jagged rocks of the tidal pools, a man padded quietly near. Panic paralyzed slender legs from an evasive escape, fastening her tightly against the rolling granules of sand. Reverberating within her ivory ears, his voice was strong and masculine as it slipped from the mammoth creature. He was a twisted sculpture of slate and ivory, rimmed in the wafting rays of the setting sun. The brute's silhouette glowed with such intensity she was magnified to the sight. A soft gesture curved his lips into a cautious smile, one that she tried to imitate most unsuccessfully. His massive body could readily embellish her like a blanket, her ivory fur becoming lost within his contrasting velvet. She had to ponder if all men were the size of bears in this strange land. Ruelle’s voice held the innocence of a child. “I... I quite like the ocean.” She mused the words gently, slowly. Each syllable hitching with hesitation in the subtlest of ways. Words tasted funny on her tongue, strange and foreign. When was the last time she had spoken? She couldn't remember. Her lips tightened a bit, but she hid the remark from him casually. Eyes wandered up to his sculpted muzzle, imagining the teeth that rested beneath the folds of the ebony flesh. A grimace flattened Ruelle's face, pulling her ears down with imaginary weight as her focus returned to the horizon. “It makes you forget.” The words slipped out like silk, effortlessly untamed. Reeling them back in was no longer an option, despite the regret that ensued. “Are you from here?” The question was blunt if nothing else. A coverup for her mistake. @Killian code & graphic by riv