could turn yellow or green
01-02-2025, 09:04 PM
Tide had been down to Auster a few times, by now. Mercy was sick and goddamn tired of hearing him gloat about it. So what if he was a little bit older. So what if he had a little more experience going exploring on his own? Mercy was sick and tired of hearing him talk about it, so she was bound and determined to go do exactly what he was doing. The taunting of the older pups was enough to get right under her skin-- not that she'd admit it. Nope, she's her own person. She's her own girl. A real girl's girl, even. Whatever they did, she could do better. She would do better. Her heart set on it, Mercy sets out and heads south.
It's a little weird, the orientation of it all. Going from the west side of the continent to the east, even though the relocation hadn't even taken them that far away. This is the same straight bit of water, the same strange shift in the environment. Sure, winter had begun to settle in at home, chilly and biting. It was nasty, and Mercy is happy enough to slip away from it. As soon as she breaches the south, there's something different in the air. The warmth of... summer? Holy shit it's actually summer down here. How insane is that? She's just a puppy, okay, learning how seasons work.
Dragging herself from the sea and shaking the briny water from her coat, Mercy tilts her face to the sun for a long moment. It's gorgeous out, actually. So much warmer, with sun raining down on her to dry away the remnants of icy sea. Deep breath in, deep breath out. Everything about it is lovely, if she takes a moment to think. Well, she'd swam down. Now what? Before her, the aspens spread tall and pale and broad. Their leaves providing good shelter, though the dappled light still filtered through. It's pretty. Following the river that sliced through the land, she moved east. Nose to the ground, she's able to tell there's a pack to the northwest. Something established and sprawling, with a border as well defined as the Raiders' own. Hm. Okay, so due west from the river it is. Trying to move in a way that would allow her to retrace her steps and make her way home eventually, Mercy continued on.
Was Davey's puffin tailing her? Is that who she spies, hanging somewhere far above? The sea bird would need to turn back soon. She's on an adventure, and she doesn't need anyone looking at her like that. Cranked at her not-brothers as she is, it's only going to send her deeper into the south. Especially as some strange shapes start to come into view, there's really no stopping Mercy. Her gaze is careful as it sweeps the strange stone shapes. Foundations? Like the foundations of the swimming pools on Daager, but these are different. Squinting, and striding to them with confidence. The shape leads her to believe it's intentional, but what does it all mean?
Coming even closer, having crossed a fresh border without a care in the world (sorry, it's still pretty faint, and she's Just A GirlTM), Mercy investigates. Drawn in by the strangeness of it all. The smell of plants is... well, it's very green. Vegetal, floral. It smelled like what Wake and Sakana were often so interested in. Her brows crumpling, Mercy takes it all in. Puts her face down in it, and sniffs at something purple. If she'd known anything about plants, maybe she would have been able to identify the lavender, but for now? All she knows is that it smells pretty. Medicinal, a little, but pretty for the sake of pretty too.
The afternoon sun hanging high in the sky, warming down around her shoulders, Mercy is having a damn good time exploring. The thicket is dense, and she's poking and prodding within it. Careful gaze, trying to figure out exactly what kind of creature calls this place home. Fascinating as it is, she still has so much to learn. From the corner of her gaze, she can catch rabbits where they scamper. Fat and happy, quick and well fed. Interesting.
But the plants and the structures that only pretended to contain them were the biggest draw. Wake would fucking love it here, actually. Not that she was keen to bring him back anything other than news, but she'd keep detailed mental notes. Exploring the place, and winding deeper within the territory, her nose remains low to the ground. There was so much to learn, so much to process, and so much to see. The stone pathways beneath her paws were long covered by moss, though they shone through in some places. For a long moment, Mercy pauses to dig. Fascinated with it, and trying to figure out exactly what rest beneath. Dragging away the carpet of foliage... yeah, those are stones. And they looked like they'd been put here intentionally, even if it was a long time ago.
Man, this place was fucking cool.
It's a little weird, the orientation of it all. Going from the west side of the continent to the east, even though the relocation hadn't even taken them that far away. This is the same straight bit of water, the same strange shift in the environment. Sure, winter had begun to settle in at home, chilly and biting. It was nasty, and Mercy is happy enough to slip away from it. As soon as she breaches the south, there's something different in the air. The warmth of... summer? Holy shit it's actually summer down here. How insane is that? She's just a puppy, okay, learning how seasons work.
Dragging herself from the sea and shaking the briny water from her coat, Mercy tilts her face to the sun for a long moment. It's gorgeous out, actually. So much warmer, with sun raining down on her to dry away the remnants of icy sea. Deep breath in, deep breath out. Everything about it is lovely, if she takes a moment to think. Well, she'd swam down. Now what? Before her, the aspens spread tall and pale and broad. Their leaves providing good shelter, though the dappled light still filtered through. It's pretty. Following the river that sliced through the land, she moved east. Nose to the ground, she's able to tell there's a pack to the northwest. Something established and sprawling, with a border as well defined as the Raiders' own. Hm. Okay, so due west from the river it is. Trying to move in a way that would allow her to retrace her steps and make her way home eventually, Mercy continued on.
Was Davey's puffin tailing her? Is that who she spies, hanging somewhere far above? The sea bird would need to turn back soon. She's on an adventure, and she doesn't need anyone looking at her like that. Cranked at her not-brothers as she is, it's only going to send her deeper into the south. Especially as some strange shapes start to come into view, there's really no stopping Mercy. Her gaze is careful as it sweeps the strange stone shapes. Foundations? Like the foundations of the swimming pools on Daager, but these are different. Squinting, and striding to them with confidence. The shape leads her to believe it's intentional, but what does it all mean?
Coming even closer, having crossed a fresh border without a care in the world (sorry, it's still pretty faint, and she's Just A GirlTM), Mercy investigates. Drawn in by the strangeness of it all. The smell of plants is... well, it's very green. Vegetal, floral. It smelled like what Wake and Sakana were often so interested in. Her brows crumpling, Mercy takes it all in. Puts her face down in it, and sniffs at something purple. If she'd known anything about plants, maybe she would have been able to identify the lavender, but for now? All she knows is that it smells pretty. Medicinal, a little, but pretty for the sake of pretty too.
The afternoon sun hanging high in the sky, warming down around her shoulders, Mercy is having a damn good time exploring. The thicket is dense, and she's poking and prodding within it. Careful gaze, trying to figure out exactly what kind of creature calls this place home. Fascinating as it is, she still has so much to learn. From the corner of her gaze, she can catch rabbits where they scamper. Fat and happy, quick and well fed. Interesting.
But the plants and the structures that only pretended to contain them were the biggest draw. Wake would fucking love it here, actually. Not that she was keen to bring him back anything other than news, but she'd keep detailed mental notes. Exploring the place, and winding deeper within the territory, her nose remains low to the ground. There was so much to learn, so much to process, and so much to see. The stone pathways beneath her paws were long covered by moss, though they shone through in some places. For a long moment, Mercy pauses to dig. Fascinated with it, and trying to figure out exactly what rest beneath. Dragging away the carpet of foliage... yeah, those are stones. And they looked like they'd been put here intentionally, even if it was a long time ago.
Man, this place was fucking cool.
"speech"
first solo exploration for a character under one year, 851/800
Knight
01-03-2025, 03:15 AM
| Find me where the wild things are Auster's summer meant the garden was in full bloom. Which also meant the job of the Artifex was only just getting busier. Between building things, strengthening borders and meeting with other leaders, there seemed to always be something to do. So when her patrolling was met with the scent of a trespasser she wasn't surprised. This was the second one in a short amount of time, and solidified that she would need to visually mark her borders. A caw from Charlie let her know he'd had his eyes on the trespasser for a bit and she nodded, following him as he flew low enough to lead her. And what she came upon had her hackles rising in surprise. A pup? And they were digging up valuable herbs! She rushed forwards with a bark to the child, "Stop! Those are important plants!" where were this kids parents?! And who went digging up someone else's pack lands? The scent of the pup spoke of many wolves. So a packs pup. She would have to take this kid home likely and ensure her pack knew that she was trespassing and disregarding other packs territories. She knew she would have a good word for the child if she were hers. Walk, "Talk", Think |
01-03-2025, 03:34 AM
Dig, dig, dig. Pulling the moss away from the cobblestone path, curious and bright eyed. How interesting, these paths were in even worse shape than anything on Daager. Like it was older, or maybe more exposed. The weather here must lend itself to the growth. Abraxas, the weather-- it's great, actually.
Great, until there's some sort of unholy screeching. Mercy picks her head up, a clump of moss in her mouth. "This one? This is just moss, actually. The important ones are over there." She'd spent enough time around Wake to know. Jerking her chin over her shoulder to indicate the beds she'd sniffed at and ultimately left alone, she sizes up the other kid as she nears. Already standing so much taller than the other girl, Mercy feels like she can slouch. No use to be on the defensive yet, just some bossy kid doing some screeching.
Being around the wolfdogs so much, she knows exactly how to deal with bossy. Flat out ignore any bossing-- that's it. That's the whole strategy, the whole plan. Mercy is high headed and clear eyed as she looks at the other child. Head cocked to the side, tail swishing, simply sizing up the bossy creature.
Great, until there's some sort of unholy screeching. Mercy picks her head up, a clump of moss in her mouth. "This one? This is just moss, actually. The important ones are over there." She'd spent enough time around Wake to know. Jerking her chin over her shoulder to indicate the beds she'd sniffed at and ultimately left alone, she sizes up the other kid as she nears. Already standing so much taller than the other girl, Mercy feels like she can slouch. No use to be on the defensive yet, just some bossy kid doing some screeching.
Being around the wolfdogs so much, she knows exactly how to deal with bossy. Flat out ignore any bossing-- that's it. That's the whole strategy, the whole plan. Mercy is high headed and clear eyed as she looks at the other child. Head cocked to the side, tail swishing, simply sizing up the bossy creature.
"speech"