CODE & ART © SKELLE 2022
"Speech!"
The snow fell in delicate loops through the air as it whistled by. She looked up at the darkening sky, stopping through the snow. While not a giant, she was also not delicately tiny. A medium of the two, happy or not. She was a young girl on the cusp of womanhood. Today, she would indulge in such childish games. Today, she would leave behind something.

While it would eventually melt and blend with the spring grass, Edelweiss knew she would enjoy herself building it. Scooping up snow with her dainty paws, she began to make a small hill. An idea crossed her mind about building a snow-wolf. Perhaps that was a better use of her time? She pondered it as she began to pace around the small hill, her interest full.

It was not until she heard a soft noise behind her, did Edelweiss turn. She kept the surprise out of her expression, even if her eyes flickered with it for a brief moment. "Ghoul." It was almost as if he appeared out of thin air. Was he expecting to find her here? They hadn't seen each other since that night. She did not know what to think of his presence.

Even if he was the only wolf here around her age she had met thus far. Edelweiss felt uncommonly flustered at the moment. She jerked her skull to the side, looking at the hill of snow and back to him. "I was..." what? She falls silent, embarrassed to be seen indulging in age-related activity even if it was appropriate. She didn't want to seem immature for her age.

ooc;
270/1500 WC

Mother was out and about again. No reason to stick around if Recluse and his favorite brother, Macabre, were busy doing whatever they were doing. Growing bored of wandering Redbud Nook and Mount Vulkan by himself, the pale spotted boy took off toward the southern areas of the east. Snow whipped around him in small gales as it threatened to drift and build higher and higher. Not that it bothered him much. Leaving the trio of companions he kept back in his den, Ghoul felt free to wander wherever his soul took him without worrying the reptiles would freeze.

Leaving a silent trail of prints in the snow, he hadn't thought to stop and check where he was until large mangrove trees began rising around him. Pausing a moment to look around, he noticed a familiar figure not far off in the distance. Tucked away under a mangrove, the large girl around his age seemed to be piling snow into a mound. Careful to avoid any of the frozen-over waterways that danced between the gnarled roots, Ghoul made his way over to her. Before he could say a word, he could tell that she had noticed him.

When her gaze blinked up at him, he felt his insides twist into knots. As his name left her lips, his own mouth went dry and his brain dead. What was he supposed to say again? Feeling bashful, he inhaled a quick, sharp breath of frigid air to clear his thoughts. Blinking a few times himself to rid his brain of the fog, he took a few steps closer to her. He stopped when she turned her head away from him as if she were embarrassed. Flicking his gaze from her to her mound of snow, he felt his own face twist slightly to the side in confusion.

"Edelweiss," he murmured quietly as his ears turned down against his crown. "Would you like some help?" The boy offered, still unsure of what exactly she was doing. Meeting her soft gaze, he realized how pretty the color of her eyes was. Almost the color of moss, he was lost in them for another moment before he gave his head a shake and took a few more steps closer. "I can help build your... snow wolf, is it?" A tender smile itches at the corner of his lips while he waits hesitantly for her answer.

WC 670/1500

"Hmm." She glanced back at him. Ghoul did not tease her, only offering to help with her little activity. She did not understand why. He surely had better things to do with his time than focus on her. The girl was a vagabond, and he seemed to be a pack wolf. He had family and friends in his pack, so why bother with her? No other pack wolf seemed to take the time to give her a day. She hadn't met many, but still. Seemed strange and unfamiliar to her. He marched closer until she could smell his scent against the frozen atmosphere. Different. Not chilly. Warm. "I suppose you can." If he wasn't going to berate her or insult her, Edelweiss decided he could assist if he wanted. But surely - yet again - she felt uncomfortable with him standing there. Where was his pack? Didn't he have other things to do for them? The girl walked over to the snow sculpture again, nosing one side and finding it lacking a bit of weight. It'd topple over if she packed more snow on the other side. She glanced up if Ghoul approached further, giving him a neutral look. "You can be my model" she decided with whimsy "stay there, so I can see you." She instructed him, waving a free paw at the lad. If he complied, she would begin to pack more snow on. She gave it a bit more shape, burrowing a few scale-like molds to copy his features. "she speaks" 250 WC - 920/1500 TOTAL

Ghoul's heart stuttered, almost feeling as if it would stop beating as Edelweiss considered his offer. Was she going to let him assist her? Or would she turn him away? Normally, he did not fret over such trivial things. Emotions and semantics of relationships didn't mean much to him compared to most. Yet, there was something about the way her soft blue-green eyes looked at him. As if he wasn't anything special, but she wasn't better either. It made his own insides feel warm as he inhaled her scent. Not sweet, but not sour, the perfect mixture of someone he wanted to be close to.

Finally releasing the breath he didn't realize he was holding, he blinked his ruby eyes a few times. Relieved that she was allowing him to stay, his ears perked up with her direction. So she didn't want him to physically help? His eyes widened a bit as she moved away, back toward the sculpture before giving him a bland look. A model? Ghoul wasn't sure if he was capable of doing such a thing. Standing still, sure. But what if he didn't look good enough? A bit frazzled, he felt his muscles tense as he stayed as still as he possibly could. Watching her move around the pile of snow as she worked with it, he found that he enjoyed the moment.

Even as the silence stretched between them, he felt the smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Are you sure you wouldn't like some help building it?" The boy asked again, careful with his words. Not wanting to offend the girl, he stopped himself from tilting his head with a curious expression. Keeping his face neutral as well, he waited for her response. Maybe afterward, he could build a snow wolf that appeared like her.

WC 1223/1500

He was still, and she worked as quickly as possible. Knowing that the light hit him just right, she tried to preserve his frame in the snow wolf. Edelweiss nudged a few more scale-shaped etches where Ghoul had them on the sculpture wolf. His question made her look up, blinking. Oh, was he bored with modelling? Perhaps as a young boy, he desired to do more active things? She pondered her own reply, wondering what to do. She did need a model, but he surely was bored with that already. "Okay" the girl replied finally "you can help." She seemed oblivious to her own feelings, let alone his. Ignorance, they say, was bliss. Perhaps not for emotions however. It would be easier to admit such things to another, not keep them inside. "Hmm" Edelweiss pondered her side of the snow-wolf before a light smile flickered from her lips "you can do that side" she raised a paw to gesture to the right as she took a spot on the other "maybe you can make something else while I capture your image?" Her head tilted to the side, regarding him "maybe... you can make your inner self? A favourite animal?" But, she assumed, he had no further mutations to add to himself. The scales were one thing; markings and only markings. Some wolves she would meet had antlers, actual scales and even different body parts. "If I had to choose a totem" she continued with a shrug "I'd make an owl." She scratched a few more nodes that resembled his scale-spots on her side. Edelweiss continued in near silence. Accidentally, though, she reached around to his side and brushed his paw. She looked momentarily startled by the touch. And recoiled her paw back. "Sorry" because of some wolves... she knew not all liked to be touched "I'm... not used to making things with other wolves." "she speaks" 314 WC - 1500/1500 TOTAL

It wasn't that he was bored, no. He honestly just wanted to help the girl with building the snow wolf. Even if it was a sculpture of him. Attempting to stay as still as possible, he waited for her complete instructions before moving. Letting his ruby gaze linger from her to the mound of snow that was slowly coming together, he smiled. She was good at this. Would he mess it up? Nervous was not an emotion he had ever felt before, but now, he hesitated to step forward. Maybe he should stay as a model? No, no, he already offered. Glancing at her again when she mentioned that her animal would be an owl, he thought her correct. Her quietness and way of movement did remind him of the nocturnal bird. "I would choose an alligator," Ghoul murmured quietly as he scooted forward in the snow toward the mound. Reaching up a paw to begin smoothing out his side, he fell into concentration as he tried sculpting the other side of his face without moving too much. It was then that a gentle brush of her paw nudged his own. Both ruby eyes drew wide as she pulled back. Looking over at her, quite speechless, he smiled. "Don't apologize," the boy replied, his own paw reaching back out to nudge her's again. Even though his heart was racing and his mouth had gone dry, he had liked the way her paw felt touching his. "Takes some getting used to," his deep voice is gentle as he pulls back his paw and returns to sculpting the snow as if nothing had happened.

"Why?" It did not seem so obvious to her, why he would choose an alligator. Edelweiss paused, scrunching her face up as she thought. Her eyes drifted to Ghoul's features. He... didn't look like one. He had fur instead of scales, even if his spots did look rather like them. But she'd never seen an albino gator before. Her desire to know more combined with her desire to learn more about the boy. He nudged her back with purpose, uttering she shouldn't apologize. "You have a big family?" Edelweiss asked, wondering if it was just common sense to share with other wolves "I do not" She added, trying to play it off like nothing was wrong "I never knew my parents. I was taken in as a pup by a woman with children already. I had been abandoned in the woods." It was hard to grieve a life she never had. She found she did not wish for anything else in her past. She had accepted it. Trying to change what she couldn't would be pointless. "she speaks"

He could only grin in response. "I'll show you why one day," the boy responded as he thought about his trio of caimans nestled safely back at the volcano. Hopefully, she wasn't too afraid of reptiles... Not that they were terrifying, but their unusual appearance did tend to deter some at times. Admiring the way she scrunched up her nose in thought, Ghoul turned his attention back to the snow sculpture so as to not be too weird. Taking time to carefully carve and smooth specific curves, his ears perked up at her question. Even as she explained her own situation, his head tilted slightly. His ruby eyes looked her over, wondering if her past made her sad. It was not lost on Ghoul that something about not knowing her family made her upset. Yet, she brushed it off so he assumed he should answer anyway. "I have never met my father, but I live with my mother and my other siblings. There are nine of us with more in the future, I am sure. Our family extends far across the lands, but I'm not sure who all is related; my lineage is old," Ghoul spoke matter-of-factly because it was true. Everyone knew that the Klein name extended deep into Boreas and unfortunately, there was a chance that almost everyone was related. "If you ever need somewhere to stay, my mother would be glad to take you in," he spoke sincerely as he let his gaze slip back over to her. Not that he wanted to keep her close, but he did want to see her again. Plus, his den was large enough and if she didn't want to share, he knew he could convince Recluse to let her have a den of her own.

"I see." Edelweiss said out of the conversation, mulling the thoughts she had. Ghoul's many, many siblings. His proud family name. He remarks that most of the wolves here were related. She thinks this is odd, even tricky. Incest was not a thing she agrees with, even if her morals are grey sometimes. But Ghoul doesn't seem the type to do such a thing. Perhaps accidentally, if all these wolves were indeed related. It would make finding a 'pure match' very difficult. "Your mother would take me in" she repeats, though it is not a question "I will... think about it" Being in a mostly related pack would be difficult and not at the same time. She would feel like an outcast for sure, even if she had one friendly face "I wish to remain a vagabond for a bit longer" Edelweiss confesses neutrally "I haven't met many wolves so far." She didn't want to jump into a decision. Perhaps due to her own anti-social behavior. "A pack is different... They expect much from you, do they not?" She didn't like her freedoms being taken away. "she speaks"

His expression slips back to neutral as he notices her begin to think. Mulling over the words he had spoken, he wonders if he said something incorrectly. It wasn't that he was in favor of incest... No, he could never imagine sleeping with his sister or worse, his mother. The thought alone made his stomach queasy. Really, it was a fact that could not be avoided. He had heard rumors of an uncle down south and other family members who had done undesirable things... Quickly putting those thoughts aside, he reassesses Edelweiss' words. She would think about it. That pleased him. Nodding simply in response, he thought about her question. Ghoul didn't want to pressure her into coming to Habari, that would have to be her own decision. She would not be his captive, no matter how much the idea sounded fun. "Understandable," he said almost curtly. He hadn't found many interesting wolves outside of his pack lands, maybe a few. Most of them were boring, but he could see why she didn't want to settle anywhere yet. Thinking over her question, Ghoul let out a low hum. "Not necessarily. At least not in Habari. You do what you can to provide and you're rewarded for it. If you do not provide much, don't expect recognition," the boy shrugs because it is true. Recluse really didn't pay any mind to his siblings that hung around, but he also never noticed her demanding anything from them either. A sort of give and take situation, seemingly more fair than other packs. Continuing to shape his side of the snow-wolf, he leans back to make sure he was getting the right look.

Unaware that Ghoul was lightly thinking of capturing her, Edelweiss eventually stepped away from the snow sculpture. It appeared a hodgepodge of two different ideas. One a wolf, one a reptile. A strange and lovely little mix. She does not miss Ghoul's curt reply about her joining Habari. The girl slowly turns her head to stare at him as he continues. It seemed laidback, the pack, and straight forward. But she was still hesitant. Edelweiss didn't know what to say to him. He seemed annoyed, disappointed maybe... What could she say? Sorry? Not willing to open herself to disappointment so soon? "I think we're done." Was all she could think to proclaim. Annoyance at herself lingered within for a bit. She pushed it to the side. Her head turned back to the pile of snow, gesturing to it. That was done. Not 'we're' done. Not a 'don't ever talk to me again' sort of thing. "Thank you, for helping me." She felt it prudent to say that. "she speaks"

Ghoul noticed Edelweiss step away from the snow figure to admire their work. Putting his paw down as he too scooted away, his head tilted to look at it. While both sides were noticeable different, they also appeared the same. As if it were meant to be. Pleased that it had gone well, Ghoul smiled softly to himself as an ear turned in her direction. The curt words from her mouth that suddenly drifted from her lips made his ears twitch. Really, all he noticed was the change in the inflection of her tone. Was there something wrong with being done? Was she not happy with their artwork? Glancing from Edel to the snow-wolf, his brow furrowed. Before he could ask if she wanted to stay to build another one, she was thanking him for helping. Clearing his throat, he nodded. "Of course," he mumbled, unsure of what else there was to say. "I suppose I should be getting back," there was hesitation in his words. Was he going to be seeing her again? He would respect that she wanted to travel and see the sights of Boreas for now, but he had been enjoying her company. His ruby gaze lingered on her for a few moments before he stood and made to leave. "Until next time?" Ghoul asked with a soft smile and a wag of his tail.

The boy seemed a bit... shocked. Or rather, he stumbled and caught himself. Edelweiss eyed him neutrally, even if her insides squirmed a bit. Wondering what he thought, or what he wanted. Ghoul had been disappointed she didn't jump at Habari. He behaved a bit... off. Like she was supposed to cater to him immediately. But she pushed this to the side, thinking that maybe her mind was playing with her. "I - yes" she blurted out, fearing the hopefulness in her tone. What was this? Why did her heart quicken at meeting with him again? "of course, Ghoul." She dips her head to him before seeing him off. Edelweiss rises on the spot, attempting to walk to the edge of the Mangrove with him. The girl departs herself after he leaves, leaving herself with confusing emotions she'd rather not address right away. /end "she speaks"