Maybe she's a lost boy-- maybe she'll never grow up. Fortune can feel that, she can dig it. Everything feels gorgeous, everything feels beautiful, especially at dusk on this summer evening. Fireflies rose in clouds around her head, and she finds herself barking at them. It's a joyful sound, a joyful noise. She's all noise and excitement in a mood like this, where no one can see her. Wouldn't want to look like an absolute spaz, if someone was to see her, right? Absolutely. Er. Absolutely not? She's okay. Whatever's happening, she's okay. Head tossing, she races through the grass-- it was near as tall as she was. How strange. How bizarre. It's not like Fortune is fast, either. Rather slow, her movements overall cumbersome, especially with the disconnect between her frame and her weight. Not enough muscle. Not near enough muscle. She won't let the self loathing set in, of course. That's not really appropriate. Not right now. A spark of light, Fortune is, right now. The girl can't help it. She never will be able to help that. It's hard. She's going to find a spark of light to live inside, and she's going to stay here forever. Backlit by a setting sun, Fortune is a void in the light. Her shadow dances despite her clumsy movements. There's something about this, something strange. There's always something strange when it comes to the way her head works. Why should she worry? Why should she care? fortune shock & awe

The young male had all but lost track of Ricochet but he was to blame for that. He'd wandered just a bit too far and now he was lost. He couldn't remember ever being this far west before so everything was new to him. Every time he thought he was heading back the way he came from he ended up not seeing anything familiar at all. Eventually he just stopped trying to find his way back. If worse came to worse Ricky would come find him, right? He hoped so. The thought sent a pang of worry through him. He wanted to believe that she wouldn't leave him again, but they were almost two. What if she wanted to live her own life? He wouldn't be mad at her but she was all he had. He wasn't sure what he was going to do if she didn't want to be around him. He needed friends. His mind would flicker to Seraphiel and a pang of longing sprung up. He missed his gray and blue coated friend. She'd be here now and tell him all the adventures they were going to go on and even come up with a crazy story to add along to it. They'd get into all sorts of trouble of course and they'd probably get yelled at, but in the end it was all worth it to him. And then he remembered they'd left him behind and a sigh left him. He needed to forget them. They were gone, they'd been gone, and they weren't coming back. Bi-colored gaze would sweep around. He'd somehow ended up in a valley. It seemed the heat of the summer hadn't quite fully gotten to this place. Tall grasses tickled at his legs and where he walked fireflies would burst from their hidden spots. He'd pause and watch as one flew right past his nose. Its tiny little light flickered a few times and he smiled softly at it and watched it fly away. His attention was broken by the sound of someone ... well it sounded like someone was running (jumping maybe) nearby. In fact it sounded like they were coming closer. Dark ears flicked back and forth as he stood and waited. His head would swivel to keep an eye on all directions. They had to be close by... Walk, "Talk" Think

A crunching of twigs, a rustling of the tall grass, and Fortune crashed down on her paws. There was absolutely no way she'd be caught in such a state. There was no freaking way she'd let anyone see her having. Er. Fun. Fun was fake, and she was supposed to be all business. Someone was out here, and she didn't know what to do about it. Her head tossed and graze.... traveled. Who even was it. Something strange resonated in Fortune's chest. Someone was going to be out here. Fortune's head was high, posture alert, not quite friendly but open. Right. Open was a good word for that. What would be would be, right? "Hello?" That would do for now. An easy hello, a quick hello, but the question hung solidly in the air. Whoever it was, if they ate her, that would probably be fine. Shit happens. If you're going to be out on your own, it's the kind of thing you need to eventually anticipate. There's something weird out here. Dusk does funny things to people, Fortune decides. Dusk wasn't allowed to do funny things to her. She wasn't funny. Fortune was trying too hard not to be. fortune shock & awe

"Hello?" Mortar found himself blinking. There certainly was someone out here, but now his suspicions were confirmed that it was a wolf. He fought to control his emotions as he battled with the idea of going to see who it was or leaving. They already knew he was around so the idea of being rude bothered him. To be honest he was more than a little bit curious to see who it was. On the contrary if they were hostile they could probably kick his ass ... size be damned. Just because he was giant did not mean he knew how to fight and well... he'd barely learned anything in that regard. In the end curiosity got the better of him. He padded towards where the voice had come from and before he knew it a smaller female came to his view. He'd notice how pale she was and the few markings that graced her. Her eyes were the most curious thing, but he'd avert his gaze for the time being. It was rude to stare. He had to remind himself of that. "Hi." He called out softly, unsure of what to do. He forced his tail to wag a tiny bit before it stopped. Friendly. I gotta be friendly. Don't be weird. Walk, "Talk" Think

Fortune has a hard time not being out here. The Celestial pack hadn't necessarily taken her on overall. But things are interesting. Things are strange. There's something strange in her system. Tail wagging. Friendly. She supposes that she's going to be friendly. Fortune favors the brave. The girl's gaze sits on the boy, coming forward. He was bigger. He was quite a bit bigger. He is young but he is massive. She's a little amazed by the sheer size of him, but it's an open curiosity that comes with it. Fortune is brave. She doesn't bother being afraid of anyone. "Um, hi." Fuck, social interaction is hard. She smiles. She tries to smile, at least. "What's up?" That sounded reasonable. That sounded like it could be okay. Eye contact, briefly, before looking away again. Smiling. Fortune was trying, at least. fortune shock & awe

The other wolf's tail would wag and his own would wave a bit faster. She seemed to be friendly which certainly helped the situation. She didn't seem to be any better at talking than himself though and he inwardly cringed at how awkward he was. She smiled nonetheless and he found himself mimicking the action. He'd relax slightly and let tense muscles loosen. Slowly but surely he'd allow his rump to lower to the ground and took a seated position. Originally, had she been hostile, he would have already left but he felt comfortable enough in her presence to sit. "Just exploring mostly." He said softly. "Do you know where we are?" Walk, "Talk" Think

Things like this are hard, but she's willing to try. She's willing to meet someone new, to put herself out there. The woman's tail wags, even if it's a little awkward. Right. They were smiling at each other, and that was where it started to be okay. That was how things started, how things were... less tense. Fortune realizes now that she's holding her breath, and that she needs to freaking stop that. Still, she lets the breath go slowly, metering it. Wouldn't want to make it sound like a sigh, wouldn't want to make herself sound moody. Things like that were impolite, right? Best to be... okay. All she had to do was be okay. He asks of their location, and Fortune stretches up-- it's nice to feel that stretch in her spine, hey. Looking about them, her head cocks to the side. "Emerald Valley, I think. It's green, it's pretty. Should we go look more?" Right. Keep moving, keep exploring. That was the easiest way to keep things fresh, keep them exciting. fortune shock & awe

Things seemed to be going a bit more smoothly now. He just had to remind himself to keep the conversation going. He was naturally a quiet wolf so he struggled with even basic conversations it seemed. He was so used to staying quiet and letting other wolves do all the talking. Around Seraphiel it had been so easy. She just talked and talked and then talked some more. She told intricate stories and made everything sound so wonderful. For her it seemed like interacting came easily to her. She managed to make friends with everyone and him... well he didn't have the same knack for it. Ears perked up as she told him their location. Emerald Valley. He'd never been here before, that much was certain. He wasn't sure what else to talk to her about, but thankfully she seemed intent on keeping the awkward silence away. That helped him a little bit so he smiled as she suggested they look around a bit more. She certainly was being quite friendly so he nodded softly. Exploring sounded fun. "Yeah sure, that sounds like fun." he said while rising to his paws. ooc: Feel free to powerplay Mortar following her. Walk, "Talk" Think

Fortune smiles easily, she's starting to settle in. It's strange, but she's working for it. She's pushing herself to go outside her comfort zone. This was it. There was her comfort zone and she was going... going... gone. Fortune favors the brave. Her posture becomes a bit more upright, her eyes a little more glimmery. There's something pretty about the day, about the lush fields that surround them. Fortune is pleased with it, jog short to keep the boy behind her close by. "I hunt, what do you do?" The girl looks to the young man beside her, head cocking to the side as she moves. They keep an even trot, and Fortune tries to make sure that she doesn't outpace the young man. The woman has the powerful build of a hunter, but she's still underweight. Gaunt instead of dainty, she'd work on that. Always gotta work, right? Maybe she could even give a hunting lesson today. That would be fun, right? fortune shock & awe

Fortune needn't worry if he was able to keep up or not. He was an excessively massive creature and his long lanky legs could easily keep up with the girl's jog. While she wasn't short, he had the kind of ground eating stride that let him keep up with just about anything without effort. He was underweight himself from an improper diet and then sometimes he just couldn't find anything to eat at all. The less weight he had gave him a scraggly kind of look that hinted that he had more filling out to do, but overall made him slightly faster than if he was as bulky as he was supposed to be. So he trailed along after her and kept himself not far from her as she led the way. She started another conversation and he found himself looking away from her gaze as she mentioned she hunted. He hadn't minded that, but it was being asked what he did in return that bothered him. The thought reminded him of his healing lesson in Donostrea and how he'd never gotten to finish them. He'd never even started his fight training, and he was mediocre at hunting and that was giving himself a little bit of credit. He'd only learned to hunt on his own because it was that or die. Any time he could he lived off scraps and other things like duck eggs if he could find them. It certainly wasn't an admirable life. "I'm... not really good at anything." He muttered. "No one ever taught me." Walk, "Talk" Think

Improve diet, improve exercise, stop looking so damn scrawny. Really those three things should be at the top of Fortune's to do list, but she's really stopped giving a fuck. Some days she'll eat so much she throws up, some days she won't eat at all, it's a cycle. None of the weight she was trying to put on was sticking, none of the muscle was building. It was actually frustrating for a girl that was meant to be buff. Meant to be muscled. Fortune favors the brave, but what about a coward that forgets to so much as take care of herself. This is why, of course, she's unfit for leadership of really any sort. This is why she's hardly fit to exist in such a situation where she's keeping anyone else alive. At least she can feed a pack. At least she's good at that, right? She's found a way to make herself not feel entirely useless, and that's really the endgame here. As the boy's drops, Fortune looks softly to him. She tries not to ache, but the brave has a soft heart. It's what's done her in nearly every time she's tried to interact with anyone. It's hard, of course, to have a silver tongue and a golden heart. That was another story for another day. That would serve to get her in trouble at a later point in time. For now she'd be safe-- she hoped, at least. The girl's head tilts softly to the side as they move, turning back to the path at hand. Wouldn't want to go falling into a ditch. With her luck, it was a distinct possibility, after all. "I could teach you how to hunt, birds maybe, if you want." The words are soft, trying to rouse the spirits of the young man. "No one is born being good at something. A talent is developed." Someone had told her that at some point, Fortune had always figured it was her father. When it doubt, figure a cliche was derived from dear old dad. There's a light smile on her face as she leaves the offer on the table, steps confident across the ground. It was a good day for a lesson, after all. fortune shock & awe