Moonstruck

There was much about this realm that Leslie had trouble understanding, all of it so different than when one lingered beneath the clan’s clutches. Not only that, but an obvious barrier stood between him and the beasts who dwelt here. A reminder echoing in his ears with each rising phrase. In the confusion which laced the gazes of any he mustered the courage to speak with, or rather at when there came little to no understanding. Only the fleeting phrases his own mind was able to seize hold of when they spoke so swiftly upon unfamiliar tongues. Retort only able to be given in broken phrase, in a voice so fractured he hated the way it sounded.

It only further coaxed him from lingering in another’s presence. This way he would not be beheld and they would not lay plagued by the company of one so… so, a thought left unfinished no matter the sense of worthless which still festered. A notion which bid him to remain within the wilds’ embrace this day, whispered for one to dare not stray for only trouble awaited him beneath another’s gaze. Be alert, be on your guard, do not falter from what little is known - then it may never catch you. At least out here there were less to cross. Not many bothering to brave the thickets to harvest what rested beneath their thorny reach.

All he had to do was remember where they grew thinnest. Where those hooks would not claw upon fur and flesh in falsified efforts to protect what lay within. Pale crown ducked as he tested the tangled branches, only to skitter back just as quickly when another sprang forth with sharp tsiik. A surge of panic rising to grip his throat only to behold feathers splayed in a manner one knew would give him an initial start. Tattered ears pinned back before an indignant huff fled his lungs, attempting to right himself proper no matter how limbs still threatened to quiver. “Batobot jahus ti diwhafup Junie,” (That was not funny Junie,) lyrics quiet no matter how they tried to snap despite knowing all too well the bird would continue with her proclaimed games.

For even as one weakly scolded the nightjar fluttered to perch atop his skull, dangling a rather useless portion of mushroom from her talons as if to taunt or ask if this is what they searched for. “Svabol shinalta ekess wer ssifisv di coi?” (What happened to the rest of it?) Query met only with the fungus being tapped against his features, close enough to bring an eye to squint closed. While it was hard to determine what kind it was without seeing the thing in full, it was a start. At least there was something here to find distraction with. Even if mushrooms weren’t exactly filling or the preferred texture to grace his tongue. He just had to get in there, harvest what was needed and get out. All while hoping no other held the same idea.

(This post was last modified: 08-27-2024, 03:38 PM by Leslie.)

Letting out a few pants, she was getting more and more lost the further inland she went and the more she was certain she had long left Rionnach behind entirely. The temptation of those ferry crafts had been far too tempting as it surfed along the ocean seas and into a realm of water, she didn’t even know a wolf could safely explore without drowning in the deep blue depths. It had been a terrifying rush, sailing the ocean blue all on her own in a void of endless water, it was a shame she couldn’t experience its full glory like she had dreamed of when she was young. The crashing of currents eluded her and made her feel far more like she was flying instead of atop roaring waters and in that sense, it was a faint disappointment. She still hadn’t witnessed a single soul out here, and she was starting to think it was another illusion like that peculiar lagoon she had been captured by twice during the winter frost. That had truly felt like a dream but all of it was real. Mithras remembered it as vividly as she had, as much as the very thought of it left her embarrassed at the thought of their shared kiss so long ago and how it made her feel, to how he gripped her tightly and felt her in a way no one else ever had. Now was hardly the time to think of something that created butterflies in her guts and almost a longing to see him instead of exploring. Things had gone back to what they were, and she had to accept that. Mister asshole 2.0. Still, she missed that day of peace between them. With her head in the clouds came a sudden reality check as she went plummeting down a small ravine scattered in brambles that seemed to take over the forest grounds that she had just been in. A far from dignified squawk sounded from her throat as her body smacked right into thorns in every direction, feeling the barbs sink into her skin like little needles. Every movement only seemed to make it worse instead of aid her in escape, deepening the thorns as she tried to jerk herself out of them. “Oh for fucks sake, how is a plant bestin meh!?” she growled in rage, not even realizing there was another wolf not all that far away from her as she accidently jerked a kick right into them.

Rapidly a crown yanked itself from where he pressed to brambles, attentions swiftly drawn to the snap of strained vines and the indignant squawking of one ensnared. Only for any buds of concern to vanish in an instant as instinctively a yelp leapt from the hound’s throat. Limbs frantically skittering to the side to escape the sensation of dull pain rattling his ribs, all while Junebug took flight to escape this unforeseen threat. This unknown had appeared as swiftly as what felt to be a paw had lashed out to strike. Shaken, uneven breath trembled as he stared toward how the piebald thrashed within her new found prison of thorns. How brambles only tightened their hold upon her and sank barbs ever deeper with each careless thrashing tug against them.

“Wux geou nurti itrewic duulo tirir batobot, coi ergriff tightens asta jilg,” (You will never get free doing that, it only tightens their hold,) though hardly did one believe he’d been heard. No doubt lyrics lay drowned out beneath each snarl of anger that dripped from her maw, one which hardly snapped in the tongue of his clan. Nor did it sound like the great majority of voices which haunted the realm outside of the very caverns known… no, it held more similarities to that of the lost. Lyrics that Leslie still had trouble grasping as features twisted in only partial understanding of all she was going on about. In the end, it truly didn’t matter. There would be no freedom granted from flailing about so wildly.

A warning he tried hard to give upon heavily accented phrase, “No. No flail.” The crow’s voice weak, quiet at first as cautiously he rounded bloodied brambles to get a better look at this unknown and just where those tangling vines sought to further embed themselves within her flesh. “Thorn tighten, coi tiric ti origato wux gethrisj,” (,it does not let you go,) not without taking the time to unwind it from a frame seemingly craved. “Mirt no work,” (Pull) it would only tear away at her skin, it would make injury more grievous. And yet Leslie would not approach her, a mind screaming out that it would only lead to far worse than a kick to the side.

There was still time to run off, leave her to the mercy of the brambles. A tempting notion but with it another, quieter voice, offered encouragement to stay. To keep to the duties once assigned and mend what lay broken. Hesitance clear in the reflection of his stare, one that could not commit to holding upon her in full as it kept dropping to the earth beneath his feet. Talons curling into the soil in mounting unease, but for now, limbs remained planted. Deciding to wait and see if she would heed fractured lyrics and stop flailing about.

(This post was last modified: 08-27-2024, 03:43 PM by Leslie.)

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something whip away and recoil into the brambles more. At first glance she had thought it might be a rabbit, the small white slender hide rather unsightly for a wolf. The sight of the critter made her a little hungry as her feet stopped kicking and she wondered if that would be her only chance at food all day and she was going to starve on top of being trapped in these thorns for the rest of her life, leaving Mithras to wonder where she ever went. Maybe the last part wouldn’t be as true, though she was confused why he popped into her thoughts at all at a time like this, feeling like he might not even help her even if he was here. Not that she’d let him. Though how would she be able to stop him at all if he actually did want to? There was a fragment of a moment she almost thought of calling for him as if he would appear magically like that lagoon. Her lip curled a fraction as she tried to jerk out more and more from the dang trap, feeling like she had to be able to brute strength her way out of this if she tried hard enough. Aggressively her fangs snapped at the thin brambles, managing to snap a couple but soon they would be taken over by others as if she had never managed to get any progress at all. Then she sees the rodent again, inching closer and closer in curiosity. An albino it seemed like, taking in the pink skin that was poorly hidden by translucent hairs. There was something strange about this rodent, its muzzle was long and it’s figure was more canine like. A rabies infested fox maybe? She craned her head more and more, trying to get an upright view of the thing, all the while trying to roll her body with her head. “Come on little fox, scat now,” she shooed, trying to wave a paw toward it, only to wince as more crimson leaked down her arm. “You know what, foxie, maybe I should just let ye bite me. A faster death into madness at least,” she bartered but then she noticed that mouth of it forming words as if it could speak in her tongue. She’d stop flailing, staring intensely before her eyes would draw to a squint, trying to make sense of whatever it was she was looking at still. Did she fall into something of poison to be hallucinating such a peculiar critter with so many eyes like a spider? Twitching her nose to sniff the air, she would find that it smelled of wolf even if it barely looked like one and with it plenty of herbs. “Well, I be damned! Sorry fella. Upside wrong you no look wolf and by the smell of ya you be a healer too!” she laughed, though still wondered if it had some kind of disease that made it look so horribly neglected.

No mattered ones issued warnings this mottled beast refused to heed them, continually thrashing about against nature’s constraints and bidding the ensnaring grasps of thorns to drive ever deeper into flesh. The trickle of ichor upon the lighter patches of her coat as clear as the steady waft now carried upon the breeze. To behold it all unfolding nearly brought tongues to click and yet all that fell was shaken breath for it was hardly surprising to find himself ignored. Phrases from one such as he were never as important as what brewed within the mind’s of another, especially when lyrics lashed from a stranger’s tongue. It was a simple fact, one he the hound had grown used to over the years.

Why should he expect those who dwelt outside of a realm once known to be any different?

They held no reason to. He had nothing else to compare them to… so he didn’t anticipate anything more than what he knew. All one had grown to expect upon fearful anticipations. Slowly that split tongue ran over too many teeth, briefly pressing past pink lips in subconscious nerves. Flinching with each snap of her jaws against the brambles as if she could whirl upon him just as swiftly and it is that very notion which brings him to freeze entirely as finally those eyes fall upon him. A racing mind whispering for him to backtrack, to flee while he still had the chance and yet once was fixated on not only a distressed animal but the words which garbled in his ears.

Patchwork maw moving in the same fashion as his own did and yet those lyrics fell in arrangements not yet heard, stirring further confusion within as a paw attempted to wave him off upon the calling of Foxie. A new calling to place amongst the rest though fox was among the most becoming names to grace his crown. Little fox, foxie - no matter if it came with mention of maddening bites - would be as good as being Leslie right now. Eyes averted as if those unseen would be able to offer further answers, give way to the mysteries of what had been said for only a few rang out clear.

Something of a healer, something looking wrong? Yet with how she affixed her stare it brought him to fidget, talons curling into the soft earth as canines threatened to dig into his lip. She couldn’t reach him… not yet anyways. Not while the brambles still held her. It is upon this thought that attentions flicker back to where she lay stuck. “You hurt, no… no, fight thorn. Qe mahhn,” (Be still,) a broken explanation given to one who seemingly laughed at her predicament though if it were he tangled in those strangling punctures of vine, well; he wouldn’t be quite so vocal about it.

“Unless wux huven ekess draw wer entire tibe ekess udoka, nakta dout ivah vhira,” (Unless you wish to draw the entire forest to us, keep your voice down,) for there was no telling what manner of beasts may grow curious and emerge from encroaching shadows if only to investigate what sorry soul lay halted by the thickets. “Can help?” Gesture faintly made toward himself with quivering limb before it motioned to one unknown. Hovering there for a moment as he falls back to a tongue better known, “Sjek wux origato ve, si shilta letoclo leor wux de nomeno snare.” (If you let me, I can help remove you from this snare.) All he could hope was that he did not regret such an offer in the end. The boy ever uncertain over situations such as these, focus clearly drifting toward each puncture, to every thorny branch that coiled about her frame in hopes of further conveying what words could not.

If anything seemed to even slightly go awry, she could easily be left to rot.

(This post was last modified: 08-27-2024, 03:46 PM by Leslie.)

She’d look up at him, breathing heavily as she rested there for now, trying to gain the strength back she had just exerted with attempts to escape. She chuckled a bit more when the little beast shook its head no to what she spoke, not exactly sure which part he was refusing at the moment. Was it the humor to kill her or was it something else. She supposed it didn’t matter either way unless it was something the critter took offense to. Far be it from her to mean anything cruel in her babble to fill a void she never could for herself. It wasn’t quite nervous or fidgety the way she spoke, more just trying to make sure she was heard by someone since she couldn’t fully tell how successful she was being at getting what she was saying across. A head would tilt, observing him as he seemed a bit jumpy with how his legs seemed like loaded springs, ready to take off at any given moment. Maybe she was still just comparing him to a rabbit a little too much and thinking of him as if he was just prey, not that she was about to hunt him now that she realized this was indeed another wolf. Her eyes did grow a little wide at the sight of a spliced tongue, having never seen anything like it before on something mammal. Fascination grew with each second as she stared, never once allowing bright eyes to drift away from the little guy. First, he seemed albino, then those odd ears, some weird thing on his forehead, tons of missing fur. The list went on when it came to the abnormalities, and it put that little professor doctor to look entirely normal to her now. She gave a firm nod at instruction she did manage to understand, realizing he was rather concerned about her situation which was a touch refreshing to say the least. Lots of strangers could be something else and most she would think would take advantage of this in a heartbeat. No wonder why it shook its head no to her telling it to off her and it made her want to laugh even more but then nothing it said made sense to her. Blinking frantically, she tried to make sense of what was being said but the more he talked, the more confused she got. Then there he was talking normally for a second and off her went to random lip flapping again. “Either ye have one hell o an accent or we ain’t speakin the same language,” she grinned big. “But yes, help help if that was what ya said. I’m a weeeee bit ear blind so uh, maybe try doing words more dramatically so I can see betta,” she mused, doing her best to make a better communication network here.

That stare could be felt upon him yet he dared not look toward the unknown for too long. He knew well enough she could not reach him while trapped within the bramble’s snare though the what ifs could never truly be banished as they sought to consume him entirely. Hoped to draw steps away from foreseeable dangers instead of willingly moving toward them as he did now. Unspoken - though all too obvious - fears forever warring against the hound’s lack of self preservation. Always one to act against his better judgment for that ever fleeting sense of belonging, of being useful. After all, it’s what he’d been raised for. To provide, to serve another’s whims without question despite what was wanted for himself.

Even now it was difficult to act against what lay so ingrained, to forget all one had learned from the flash of fang. Though if he were going to go through with an offer of assistance one could not cast sights away from the autumnal woman forever. So it is with clear hesitance that Leslie meets her own gaze, narrow pupils fixating upon her visage before the fuzziness of a central eye lay masked beneath its lashes. Leaving a more natural stare to look her over, attentions wary in how they danced over the entanglement of each limb. Sure to flicker back toward her face before sinking to how thorns coiled about her frame to price and slice; to call forth the crimson ichor which flowed through all beasts.

How was he even going to go about this? It would be entirely impossible without being stabbed or risking entanglement himself… but it was at least something Leslie was willing to try. Slow cautious steps carried him ever nearer, gaze flickering sidelong to take in any move she may make. The boy certain that when given the chance the vice grip of her jaws would be upon him in an instant, the wide grin accompanying her words no more than a façade. Eager delight a ruse as it clung to her vocals, those which came a bit too loudly. Muddled by her own accent as she declared not understanding his own but, unfortunately for her, he didn’t do dramatic.

Something evident in the ways lyrics remained subdued as he grasped for understanding. Dejection clear in the refractions of his gaze as it met her wholly, “Ooblei re nurti wer diieson.” (Tongues are never the same.) None beyond the reaches of the Drih’liri spoke in the divine’s dialect. It was something he would have to get used to but that was hard when so much still lay unknown, when neither he nor the beasts communed with could be understood in anything more than fragmented tones.

Those which continued to rise in his confusion, “Help yes, oli ear no see? You, you… bisek usv nautkyn? Jikmadator?” (yes, but - deaf or blind? Broken?) While she may have said the word herself it was still easier to grasp in a native tongue before features scrunched lightly, “No work?” Charred limb rose lightly to gesture toward his own tattered ear before it braced against the earth to steady a teetering frame. If she spoke true, regrettably, there was nothing he could do about broken senses. No matter the demands made of him. One would simply focus on what could be achieved as reluctantly sights turned wholly away, nothing but the turn of an ear to show he still kept tabs on her.

A murmur issued under his breath, lyrics meant only for himself as if such an utterance would soothe a frantic mind, “Tir ti xurwk ve krethel nomeno bveckoilt di grikadi pobon.” (Do not make me regret this stranger of autumns mark.) Not that there was much he would realistically be able to do when it came to one of her size other than merely try to defend if it came down to it… hopefully things could remain relatively peaceful. With a slow breath an unsteady balancing act takes hold, hinds shaking as forelimbs hoped to brace on anything but her despite his lack of options. As long as nothing vital was stepped on maybe she wouldn’t mind?

One would find out in time, upon the first misstep, for now he focused on the task at hand. Maw parting for an excess of teeth to snap against tangled thorn. Hating the way it pressed to the sensitivities of gums and tongues, feeling the start of blood to well where they dug deepest until pressure lay released with the snap of those thorn crested vines. If one could at least sever connections to the main brush then the nameless woman could move away from the brambles, away from further entrapment, before removing what tangled around her more snuggly.

The more she watched him, the more she found herself likening him to a bunny the entire time, constantly taking in his rather twitchy appearance as if he was on drugs that made him paranoid. She had seen it enough, the way gazes shifted and bodies looked all too ready to launch away at the slightest scare or turn teeth if cornered. Normally she enjoyed making others a little afraid of her presence, causing them to teeter in their assurance of their own actions but for once she felt bad for the little bugger that looked seconds from trembling right out of his skin. As he got nearer, she did take in the sections of missing fur, noticing the way it was scarred up. They were burns, not a deadly infection just as the way his ears moved, she could see how tattered and strangely long they were for her kind. The abuse adorned on his flesh could be because of his rabbit-like actions that attracted hunters and yet the burns made that harder to believe. She was strangely quiet as she watched him and it took the other trying to register what she said right back to her and it brought back her big grin, finding it rather comical. “No no, I’m not like yo- well I never had eyes in me ears anyway. So no, I can’t see out of them or hear out of them. They just useless things on the top of my head,” she animated with her paws a little by gesturing at things as she mentioned them, realizing the confusion to what she had said a moment ago. Communication was still extremely limited; it would seem as he went into more words, she couldn’t even fathom to turn into ones she knew personally. The movements would only cause her more pain as her tail thrashed in distaste at the barbs burying even deeper into her arms, making her let out a disgruntled huff of annoyance. As he moved even closer, she grew more still, curious about what he had in mind as he seemed cautious of his every action around her, seeming no less scared than he had looked before he came over here. If he was afraid of her, though, why would he help her at all? He was not only visually a fascinating critter but a mental enigma too. Fear didn’t stop his choices but maybe that was where she was wrong. Maybe there was something stalking them as they spoke now, lingering out of her sight but making his ears twitch. Though, that didn’t explain why they angled toward her more than anything else, making her squint at him for a second. A growl was lingering at the base of her throat, tempted to spark when she caught the scent of blood coming from him as he snapped a hold of some of the tangles. “Don’t go hurtin yaself for me. Less you trying to free me to protect ya from somethin, little sweet booger?” she huffed, doing her best to whisper now, starting to become paranoid herself something unknown was out there wanting to eat them both.