The forest that the earthen girl finds herself in is… spooky. A thick fog rolls through the land, obscuring the ground and dulling the light that filters through the thick canopy. Emerald eyes roam over the old trees, observing the way ivy clings to the trunks and noting the moss that grows in thick green patches in between the weaving vines. Terra wanders through the eerie place, eyes wide with fright as the slightest sound causes her jump.

She had gone out to hunt and followed her prey further away from Lotus than she would have liked. The prey had escaped and, on the trek back to where the pair laid their heads to sleep, the earthen wolf had decided to take a shortcut… big mistake. Fear wells up in her chest as she tentatively makes her way onward, croaking frogs and strange bird noises causing her skin to crawl as she goes. Cautiously, Terra moves through the strange, scary land, doubting her choice of route with every step she takes.

Suddenly, without warning, a loud ‘CRUNCH’ sounds from underneath her paws and the nervous girl lets out a startled yelp. Legs whirl as Terra back peddles away, huge, wide eyes searching for the source of the sound. Chest heaves as she sucks in breath quickly, mind switching into fight or flight mode as her eyes land on… leaves? Confused, the earthen wolf looks around, glancing up at the trees and seeing the different, fiery colors that have replaced the normal vibrant greens.

Eyebrows furrow as she takes a small step forward, sniffing at the leaves that litter the ground. Having spent most of her life in a cave in a grass land, the girl has never seen what fall weather does to trees. Eyes narrow as Terra sticks a paw out, poking at the unsuspecting things, trying to recreate the sound. However, the gently pokes do nothing and she huffs, as she works to remember what she had done to get that crunchy noise. Oh wait, she was walking when it happened!

A brilliant idea forms in her head and Terra lowers her body, winding up her muscles, in preparation. With a mighty shout of, “AHHHHHHH”, the earthen girl leaps into the air and crashes down on the multicolored leaves. Where her paws strike, crunching sounds appear and she squeals with delight. Like a puppy exploring something new, the girl begins to stomp around, laughing as she fills the area with the crispy leaves crunching.



WC: 416
Total WC: 416 / 1500

"Terra Qilaq"

The wraith lingered near the outskirts of familiar eastern territories, not yet confident with his skills to the point that he would risk challenging the new Habari ruler. So when the echoes of laughter filtered from the thick forest to the south, he found it easy to slip into the undergrowth and follow the sounds to their source. A cinnamon pelted fae was leaping to and fro, crunching fallen leaves beneath her paws. Mismatched eyes tracked the way she danced over the crisp foliage, a wry grin toying at pale lips. Champagne forelimb extended from the undergrowth to test the ground. The withered leaves crackled beneath the pressure, crumbling beneath rosy paw-pads. A thrill tripped up his legs as he pushed out of the undergrowth to join her game without a word. The cherry blossom trees didn't produce the kind of wide, leathery leaves that decayed on the ground here. They didn't crunch with nearly as much gusto beneath his paws. The ivory prince glanced over at the petite fae, just to see if she had moved on to any new moves he couldn't think of. As the inventor of this particular game, he was assuming that she had some insight into how to make the best crunching sounds come out of the leaves. WC: 633/1500 ”Speech” ’Thought’

Terra is so caught up in her enjoyment of the crunchy leaves that she does not notice the silent wraith until he is in the open, crunching along with her. Black painted paws falter as she looks to him, chest heaving from the exertion and laughter of just moments before while her wary emerald gaze quickly takes in the stranger. Well, if he had wanted to attack her, he had plenty of opportunity to do so.

Armed with this knowledge, the normally skittish, uncertain girl decides to be daring and, as he turns in her direction, a huge smile splits her maw. With a jovial, playful voice, Terra calls out, “Hey! These are my leaves! If you want to crunch them, you have…” There is no malice in her voice and no anger to be found, only the joy of a youth deprived of some of life’s amazing moments.

Green eyes quickly sweep the area, trying to figure out the best challenge for claiming the leaves that actually don’t belong to anyone. Looking back to him, Terra’s eyes brighten with excitement as she says, “You’ll have to fight me for them! Okay, okay. But not like, to hurt or make each other bleed kind of fight. How about, the first one to claim a pin gets to crunch all these leaves?”

Terra has never strung so many words together and never so confidently, to anyone… well, other than Lotus. Maybe it is the change of weather or the fact that she actually gets to be outside to enjoy it that makes the earthen girl feel so bold. Whatever the reason, Terra grins at the stranger and dips down into a play bow, tail wagging fast as it arches over her back. Paws tap the ground in anticipation, and she fights the urge to bark at the stranger

Living in a cave for most of her short life has left Terra with some disadvantages. For example; not knowing that leaves change cool colors, or say, how to actually fight. Still, the girl is determined to win and have fun doing it!



WC: 350
Total WC: 983/1500


"Terra Qilaq"

The fae turned to face him, a cry of indignation at his intrusion quick to fly from her maw. His grin only widened, daring her to challenge him on it. She hesitated for a moment before deciding he would need to defeat her in battle before he would be allowed to resume his crunching and stomping. He shrugged heavily, unopposed to the challenge, and paused to hear her out as she stipulated that he would need to avoid drawing blood or maiming her. "I won't bite if you won't," he rumbled, striped banner wagging at his hocks. Long talons hooked into the leaf litter and sunk into the dirt, already seeking to bury them to avoid harm to his opponent. She dropped heavily onto the ground, a playful bow where her tail arced high over her hips and wagged furiously. Pallid limbs folded, dropping his bulk until his chest brushed the ground and his forelimbs stretched out ahead of him. He curled his long talons into the dirt again, fangs bared in a loose snarl with no malice behind it. Mismatched eyes narrowed as he wagged his own tail in response. Making use of his grip on the dirt below, he lunged forward. The giant sought to use his height and bulk to his advantage, and potentially gain the upper hand by simply stepping over her. He lifted those long forelegs up off the ground, stretched apart, seeking to bring them back down on either side of the petite fae. From there, he wouldn't have to work hard to pin her if he could simply lay down right on top of her. It was a tactic he loved to use against Ichor, since his tiny twin was usually too agile and quick to get a proper hit on. A good smoosh worked just as well as any other kind of hit. ((WC 1297/1500)) ”Speech” ’Thought’

The slate and white boy grins broadly at her and the earthen girl cannot help but throw caution to the wind and play with him. Usually her uncertainty would have Terra tucking her tail and acting submissively toward the stranger, afraid of doing something… anything to that might offend him. But here, surround by autumn leaves and the girl just cannot find it in herself to be afraid. She even gives him a wag as the challenge is thrown down and the boy shrugs his large shoulders, stating that he won’t bite if she won’t.

As his deep voice rumbles past pale lips, his tones pull a joyful, eager grin onto her dark lips and a soft, musical giggle spills out as she dips down into a play bow. Tail wags with furious abandon over her back as she happily slaps the leaves with her black lined paws, happy and more than a little nervous to be playing with another, yet unknown, wolf. He lunges at her, larger body moving right for her and, in that split second her mind finally registers the size difference. The smaller girl cannot stop the soft, “Eep!” that rings out as he bares down on her.

Now, to her credit, Terra does not back down which, for the normally skittish girl, is a big accomplishment. Instead, she pushes off the leave cluttered ground with her long, agile legs and a laugh rolls past her dark lips as her emerald eyes sparkle with joy. For a moment, they are just two kids, romping through the crunchy autumn leaves and enjoying the day and company. Paws shift and send color raining down around them as soft, playful growls fill the air. They feint and lunge, snap at empty air and roll across the ground in the greatest leaf battle of their time.

Terra’s heart thunders in her chest as the pair fight for the right to this patch of leaves and, in the end, the slate and white boy is the one to claim the victory. His larger, heavier body manages to ensnare her and he squishes her under his chest as she squeals and gently smacks a paw against his fur, proclaiming, “Alright, alright! You win! You can have these leaves!” Laughter follows her as she is released and the earthen girl rolls onto her belly, panting heavily as a smile tugs her lips upward.

She does not move to stand and instead allows her emerald gaze to sweep his form. Darting her tongue over her lips to wet them, she says, “You’re a really good fighter! I’m Terra, by the way. These leaves are all your’s, fair and square.” Tail lightly wags behind her, sending the colorful ground cover every which way. She does not move to get to up and is content to catch her breath in the presence of the boy… which is a huge, trusting step for the normally nervous girl.



WC: 490
Total WC: 1787 / 1500


"Terra Qilaq"