Navigation: Time's Cavern

Walk | Talk | Think The urge to run and be free of Donostrea's borders had faded into quietness within the first month of summer and the end of her self-imposed imprisonment, and left Gale feeling more complacent and comfortable than she had felt in quite some time. She was rarely, if ever, without an easy smile on her face and a friendly or humorous word on her lips, exuding her good mood like the sun gave off heat. Her wandering paws carried her between Donostrea and the lands immediately neighboring it, without rhyme or reason to the path she wove. Being back inside of her home territory no longer added that restless itch to her legs that it had done during the spring season, and just to make sure it did not return too quickly the grey and lavender messenger continued to wander about freely, metaphorically going where the wind would take her. Today, that meant southwest of the Obsidian Beach toward the large, dark cavern that rose up along the shoreline, uninviting and rather intimidating at this hour of day. Mid-afternoon provided minimal light by which to see inside, and the angle of the sun only seemed to accentuate the dark interior more. Gale's curious grey-green eyes peered searchingly inside the cavern as she approached its wide entrance, pausing outside of it on the shoreline to listen closely for any noises within. It had been some time since she had ventured this way, and the last time she had tried to explore here she had come across unexpected company. Likely today would be no different, but for now the coast was clear. Or at least looked it. "Guess it's all mine," Gale mused aloud, casting quick glances to each side down the length of the beach before she stepped slowly forward. Considering the time that had passed since she had last been here, the Elementas girl could not remember what to expect and was not entirely certain of what she was likely find inside the cavern, if she managed to find anything at all. The whole endeavor was just a small, short adventure, a quick trip to finish what she had started long ago. Maybe if she was lucky, she wondered as she slipped inside the cool, shadowed interior of the cavern, she could at least find a peculiar rock to bring back and show her brother. Gale

The pale brute wandered to and fro, but no matter where he went, his troubles still followed. They sprouted from his brain and piggybacked on his skull. Their weight wasn’t what bothered him – he was a strong man. It was the gnawing. Their gaping mouths dropped down from winding necks to his chest, and there they gnawed at his insides. It wasn’t so horrible at first – merely a nuisance that was given the privilege of persistence – but… time let even the gentlest of breezes overcome mountains. Perhaps, he thought, if this kept on he would wear away into dust. Sandy particles to be subject to the whims of the wind.

He frowned as he walked. It wasn’t an unusual expression on his face – really, the frown was just kind of engraved in it at this point. The only thing that ever changed was the feeling it radiated. This one had grown melancholy with his mulling. Should he join a pack? It would give him something to do… But at the same time, he hated the idea of being ordered around, and also felt afraid that he wouldn’t fit in. He wasn’t good at making friends, and packs were all about close relationships and togetherness. He wanted that, just, he only wanted it from his sister. As far as he was concerned, everyone else was dumb and useless. Making new relationships took too much time, too much effort, too much sappy talking. Fuck that.

As disgruntled as the thoughts battling in his head were, his pensive frown remained and a sigh fell from open jaws. Life sucked. Gray eyes flickered to life, bringing him from the pit of his mind into reality to see where his feet had taken him. He’d ended up at the mouth of a cave, his toes stuck in the swirling sand that foreshadowed his future. He stood there, stationary for a moment as he dove his gaze into the cool black depths of the cave. It felt… nice, comfortable, to look at blackness and nothing more. For a moment, he wished he could wrap himself up in it, and think about nothing. Then he blinked, shuddering back into the world again. He wetted his lips idly, and sniffed the air. It smelled salty and musty. Also nice. There was no persisting, loud smells of proclamation. Nobody lived here, so he figured. With that, he entered.

He walked in with a silent sort of peace. He felt no particular inclination to come here, but at the same time, felt no tug not to. He just had. The frown on his face faded, leaving him stone blank. He took a few steps and felt the downward slope, then paused to scan the darkness. It felt good to be in it. Safe. He continued, walking steadily towards the back. He heard a sound, and smelled someone else. In nearly the same instance, one of his front feet collided with a rock in the dark. ”Ow, fuck!” he barked, stopping and bending his head down with the pain. Why the hell did he think it would be a good idea to go strolling about so comfortably in the dark anyways? Served him right.

Navigation: Time's Cavern

Walk | Talk | Think Slowly Gale walked into the dark cavern, noticing an immediate shift in the temperature the second she wholly immersed herself in the shadows. It felt nice in a sense, a small reprieve from the blaring heat of the summer sun, but she knew it was the type of cold that would create its own kind of discomfort once the sun fully retired for the day. Not that she intended to be there that long, but the darkness was just so absolute that she could tell immediately that this was so. Even just a few paces in, she already found herself struggling to see and maintained a slow pace to let her pale eyes adjust to the change. It helped somewhat, her caution, but there was only so much that could be done for the darkness the further that she moved within. With some difficulty she tried to recall anything particular from her last visit that she could use to tell her anything about the cavern and what it sheltered, but it had been so long ago and the memory so quick that it had already faded considerably. Though it was near impossible to see in the dark, her brow was furrowed in a curious sort of frown, while her eyes continued to pan around at the varying shades of darkness to direct herself through the rocky interior. Hmm, how was she going to locate any peculiar rocks if she could not see anything inside of this place? She was starting to think she was going to end up walking away empty-handed. A loud, aggravated curse shattered the silence of the cavern, echoing in the closed space to the point it almost hurt. Gale jumped visibly at the suddenness of it, startled nearly out of her skin because of how quiet it had been before the shout and how unexpected it was. Her ears folded against the echo of the strange voice, and with her heart skittering away in her chest, testament to her moment of fright, she realized that there was someone else inside the cave. Go figure. She doubted she could have gotten through it without company anyway. Within the darkness, the lavender and grey wolf turned, trying to peer behind where she was half certain the voice had come from. "Are you okay?" she called out, quieter than the other shouting individual though even her phrase created its own echo. How far behind her were they, she wondered, as she tried in vain to see through the darkness.   Gale

Even when he felt the harshness of his own vocal chords fall still, the echo of his voice could still be heard for a second with quickly fading form. His clenched jaw gave a last pulse of tension as he groaned softly and then straightened, the pain ebbing to a dull ache. He stood still then, listened with ears cocked forward. He had heard something else moving too – probably whoever else he had smelled. A voice pried through the darkness, sounding feminine and pretty and allowing him to pinpoint a more certain location of his new company. She asked if he was alright, and he responded, ”Eh, yeah…” No snappy remarks. No grumbles or mumbles. His tone even had a hint thankfulness for her concern. There was something liberating about the apprehending darkness – the way it stole away not only your vision but everyone else’s. It was an equalizer. In it, he had no identity beyond his voice; he did not need to be “tough” or harsh or unloving and abrasive as he often felt exposed in the daylight. Here, he could not place his scornful gaze upon her and she could not look upon him and see a sour expression. It somehow pacified him.  

The beast blinked, finding strangeness in that it changed little about the visibility of the area (although he knew that it only made sense). Licking his lips, he shifted his weight to one side, but did not move. He was not afraid of bumping more rocks – he was afraid of bumping another wolf now. ”Did I… did I disturb you?” he asked, his brow furrowing. A question, holding any amount of concern, felt unfamiliar on his tongue. It felt fat and clumsy, not only in the words but the way his mouth handled them. But he had asked nonetheless. He wondered if there were other wolves in here. The idea brought sudden worry. He had checked before coming in, but often times it only takes a person one little thought to tear a hole in which caustic doubt finds opportunity.

Walk | Talk | Think She was relieved to hear the voice of the stranger answer her in a civil tone, to the point she even sighed heavily through parted lips. Thank goodness. With a shout like that, and a curse to match, Gale had no idea what kind of individual she was inadvertently keeping company with, and for a moment while her heart had still been racing a little too quickly in her chest she wondered whether they might not have been some form of monster. Her mind was not always inclined to take fanciful imaginings too far, but being closed off inside of a dark cave as someone spooked her seemed to be just the catalyst it needed. A characteristically easy smile spread across her muzzle, crooked as the left side rose higher than the right, and confident that the other wolf was no monster the little lavender and grey wolf turned in place, putting her back to the direction she had been walking as she tried to peer back toward the cavern's opening on the far end. It should have given her a little more light to see by, but it only made her realize how pitch black it was once you got just a short ways in. The light seemed to stop there very close to the entrance, only illuminating that which it directly touched. The stranger was still in shadow, wherever he was behind her. He had to be close though, right? She had not walked that far into the cavern. Though it did her no good - she could not even see the paws attached to her legs - Gale tilted her head to peer downward as she carefully began to walk again, trying to retrace her steps despite not having paid that much attention to begin with. Her ears perked atop her head, listening into the silence for the stranger and then twitching once when his voice addressed her another time. "Nah," she assured him, shaking her head even though he could not see the gesture, "I was just looking for a rock." She felt a little silly after saying it - if no one knew her brother was an avid collector, it might seem like such a strange endeavor - but nevertheless the words were spoken and unable to be taken back. Determined not to let it trip her up, Gale proceeded with introducing herself as she listened for the wolf, hoping she was carefully picking her way back through the cavern in his direction. "I'm Gale, by the way." Gale

The cave just smelled like aged dust, the other wolf, and himself though. Certainly, there was no one else here. Svetovid rolled his shoulders and lowered his head to sniff at the ground. There wasn’t anything else in front of him to trip on. He straightened again as the stranger assured him he wasn’t disturbing her – she was just looking for something. He cocked his head a little. ”A rock?” his low voice echoed. If he had a sense of humor, he would have said something about finding one just then when he’d mashed his foot unceremoniously against it. But his humor was water the desert – sparse and quickly vanishing when it did arrive. He merely wondered about the female’s task. A rock? A special rock, or just any rock?

The beast remained rooted to the ground, not wanting to leave, and unsure of what to do next. His company introduced herself, and he stared into the darkness, trying to imagine what she looked like. She sounded… cute. Her voice was sweet like a summer breeze. He wondered if she would tower over him like Lirika. He opened his mouth slightly, hesitating for a second before responding, ”I’m Svetovid. Svetovid Bane.” He didn’t think much about his surname. Why did he keep it? And didn’t “bane” mean something bad? It sounded cruel. It had just always been there though, unlike the father that bestowed it upon him. Maybe he ought to rid himself of it, he thought. But at the same time, he felt like he would be deprived of any sort of identity. On his own, he was truly no one. He didn’t want to be no one.

Walk | Talk | Think Of course he questioned her rock statement. She should have seen it coming, honestly. Gathering rocks was not a common chore, particularly not an important one to survival, and so she could understand his confusion, especially since she had realized it late herself. "Ah, yeah," she chuckled a bit sheepishly, only slightly embarrassed though she played it off easily enough with a shrug that was invisible in the darkness. "My brother collects them," Gale stated as her explanation, and added quickly afterward, "only the pretty ones, anyway." She was still not entirely sure what qualified as pretty to Voltage, but she was most interested in finding one that sparkled, maybe even something that was brighter than the dark sands of their beach back home were when the sun hit them just right. Something like that would surely impress him. As she spoke, the petite wolf continued to carefully pick her way back through the cavern. Because of the dark, she took her time, mindful of testing her steps before she fully committed and potentially hurt herself with a misstep. She was not at all keen on facing whatever it was that this stranger had faced just a moment ago. Svetovid, she corrected herself in thought, her interest piqued by the name immediately. It was different sounding than any name she was familiar with - though honestly most of those that she associated with were named in some way, shape, or form after some sort of natural or elemental theme. Gale, Terrae, Astrea. Hmm, maybe their names were peculiar too. At any rate, the his voice sounded closer, confirming for her that she was traveling in the right direction. She still could not smell him, or at least not closely enough, but she suspected she was nearing enough to him now. With her cautiously slow pace already being used, however, she did not see the need to slow down further. "It's nice to meet you, Svetovid Bane," Gale answered good-naturedly, the smile stretching across her face audible within her voice as she continued to walk closer. She needed to get him to talk again, or risk potentially walking into him if she was not careful. Surely she was close by now? "Can't see a thing in here," she remarked conversationally as she tried to scent ahead of her for the wolf that she assumed she was getting closer to. Gale

She explained – it was for a collection. ”Oh,” the beast said. It wasn’t an unheard of habit, and he supposed if you had a home to take things back to, a creature might be inclined to bring back some decorations. ”You, uh, want any help?” It wasn’t like he had anything better to do, and he didn’t mind being occupied. That was partly why he’d come in here, although his original intent had been more to be occupied by the sheer nothingness inside.

The girl offered a courteous response, her voice echoing from just a little bit ahead of him. He could almost hear her smile – that is, he was certain she was smiling. She sounded kind. Then she mentioned the darkness, and he, stepping forward, glanced up as if there were something there to see. ”Yeah,” he agreed. ”… How’d you plan on finding anything in here anyways? With your feet?” It was a strange place to go looking for something, if he thought about it. Of course, maybe the best things would be here, since no one could see them to take them.

Walk | Talk | Think As Svetovid's offer echoed softly toward her within the darkness, Gale stopped and blinked her pale green eyes as if surprised. Help? Admittedly, that was a little unexpected. The invisible company she kept had been friendly, to an extent, even if they did not sound like charming or even socializing were high on their priority list, but this was an extension beyond amiable politeness meant for a stranger. This went along the lines of spending your time and energy for someone else's benefit, and the significance did not go unnoticed. Her expression brightening, Gale smiled into the pitch black of the cavern and carefully took up her slow walking pace again, answering delightedly, "Yeah, I could use the help." Especially when she could hardly see the nose at the end of her face let alone the stones she passed on the interior of the cavern. By the sound of his voice, she knew she was close, and she strained listening to the sound of it to notice where the echo ended and his natural tone began. Was he closer or further than he sounded? A little to this side or that? Gale's brow furrowed slightly as she tried to focus, scenting once more softly at the air to see if it would help. His scent was stronger now, which meant she must have been nearly upon him. If only she could pinpoint in this last stretch... His voice guided her as he openly questioned her plan, pointing out the big, fatal flaw that it held. She felt immensely sheepish and chuckled again at her own expense, as she explained, still pacing slowly onward, "I was hoping there'd be another light source hidden in the back of the cave." It felt awfully foolish now, especially since she had been that way and had seen nothing more than she had noticed in the center. Sure, there were rocks, but she had no way to inspect them for uniqueness. His scent was stronger now, his form closer. She could almost sense it within the darkness, drawing her toward him with her muzzle outstretched and her nose scenting away. Just a little... "Oof!" Her muzzle suddenly hit a short coating of fur, as well as the broad stretch of muscle beneath. Was that a side? A shoulder? Goodness, she had not run into his rump, had she? Hastily, Gale stepped back, muttering quickly even as she smiled, embarrassed, over her own poor luck, "Sorry." She could not see him in the darkness, knew nothing of him other than what she had felt in that second that she had accidentally stepped into him, but there was one significant detail she had been able to pick out even in the dark. Or perhaps two. "You're tall, aren't you?" Gale asked, unabashed and curious. He must have been sturdily built and fit too, from the solidness she had felt when walking into him, but commenting on his height felt more of a neutral observation than commenting on his fit physique. Gale