alexandre
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Post by alexandre on Jan 23, 2023 19:59:17 GMT
A lifeless body lay in the grass, curled up with stiff joints. A closer look revealed a fractured, crooked jaw, hanging slack with teeth missing -- a hunting accident, perhaps. Silver eyes trailed over the too-thin body, pelt stretched over prominent ribs. His death was not a swift one, but prolonged and agonizing, starvation slowly taking him. Life could be so fragile. Even the strongest, cleverest of individuals can fall in an instant. All it ever took was one misstep. Sitting next to the body, Nycteus thought of the man that once inhabited it. What kind of man was he? What brought him out here, alone? What were his aspirations and passions? What did he think about in his final days? Was he afraid? Regretful? Or was he at peace, knowing his suffering would soon come to its end? Those final few weeks must have been torturous. Constant agony, unable to eat or even speak properly, likely struggling to sleep. If it were Nycteus, he would want to be put out of his misery. Gently, he moved a paw over the man's face to shut his eyes, hoping his soul passed on safely and that he was at peace now. icea |
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Post by icea on Jan 24, 2023 2:16:25 GMT
Adeleine was doing her rounds of the day, exploring, traveling, searching for food and water. Surviving. Avoiding the resident packs for now as well. It wasn't often that the thought of death crossed Adeleine's mind. Maybe it was by the fact she was so used to it - killing prey to survive... that wolf she killed shortly before leaving her birth pack. But the smell of decay put the thought back in her mind pretty swiftly. Someone had died, and she could tell it was a wolf. Adeleine was about to move off, but curiosity got the better of her. She figured she would investigate, maybe give this wolf a proper burial - after all she gave her most hated creature the same treatment after her demise. So, Adeleine trekked closer, following the scent. The fact that it got stronger and stronger proved that she was getting closer, but she could also pinpoint someone else nearby too. She would need to be careful, just in case. Adeleine arrived on the scene, but ducked under a bush for a moment to examine the area. There was the dead wolf, emaciated and unmoving. Its a sight that would be a shock to anyone had they not taken another wolf's life before. Adeleine felt it was just another wolf dead, even though she had only killed one. Sitting by the wolf was another one, a living one. Tall with black fur, he seemed to be thinking, examining the deceased wolf near him. After some observation, Adeleine concluded that this wolf was like her - stumbling upon the body after it had passed, rather than her initial assumption of being its killer. The only injury Adeleine could see was a slack jaw on the dead wolf. Adeleine emerged from her bush, but kept her distance, she did not want to end up like that corpse over there. "I see curiosity got the better of both of us, eh?" Adeleine said, making per presence known at last. It wasn't often that she approached other wolves to talk, but loner life for a former pack wolf got boring at times, so maybe it was worth a shot. She had enough distance to make an escape if she needed to. alexandre |
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alexandre
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Post by alexandre on Jan 24, 2023 16:57:49 GMT
The fallen stranger looked far more peaceful now, with his eyes shut and mouth carefully closed, leaving him with a more dignified expression than he once had. Nycteus had the sense he was not alone, like a prickle in the back of his neck, but he did not look up from the body, his paw lingering at the chin with a delicate touch. The rustling of underbrush and the padding of paws broke the silence. Slowly, he withdrew his paw. "I see curiosity got the better of both of us, eh?" a woman said. Nycteus rose to his feet before turning to face her, a wolf of average height and lean frame with hard blue eyes. Her pelage was flawless, plush and ghostly white, marked only by a thick and jagged scar across her muzzle. If not for that, she would be the image of purity, like virgin snow. He wondered for a moment if this imperfection had something to do with that flinty look in her eye. "It always does," said Nycteus with a brief nod before looking behind him at the corpse. "It makes you think, doesn't it? How fleeting and fragile life is, how precious it is. He was someone once, who had stories to tell and a family that hopefully cared for him once, who had things he loved and hated, and dreams he hoped to achieve. It could've just as easily been you or me."icea |
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Post by icea on Jan 27, 2023 6:30:27 GMT
"It always does. It makes you think, doesn't it? How fleeting and fragile life is, how precious it is. He was someone once, who had stories to tell and a family that hopefully cared for him once, who had things he loved and hated, and dreams he hoped to achieve. It could've just as easily been you or me."Adeleine gave an ample nod at the dark male. "Life is indeed a fragile thing. The stories he had... all ended when his life did. Its a sad reality we live in, but death awaits us all eventually." She paused, "It's a shame its so easy to cut a life short, and nobody is safe from a fate like that."Adeleine sat down, content to keep her distance for the time being. She did just meet this wolf, and in case things went sour, as her paranoid mind always considered, she would have enough time to hopefully realize it and run away if needed. She wasn't a large wolf, and she never trained in the art of battle. She was a hunter at heart. Enough worrying. "Appears he may have died in a hunting accident." Adeleine commented, "Accidents like that were a real threat to my livelihood back when I was a bit younger. I was once a hunter of a pack far off, but i've since left them to pursue my own goals far away, and accidents happened back at home all the time. It is really easy to get kicked in the face and, without help, end up like this poor guy."alexandre
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alexandre
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Post by alexandre on Jan 27, 2023 9:17:15 GMT
"Indeed, death comes for us all, often when we are least expecting it," said Nycteus. "But it is not the end. His story, his soul goes on. He has been freed of his pain and mortal longings and the endless struggle we all partake in." For now, at least. His soul will rest for a time, then, he may live again and rejoin the struggle. It is for these reasons Nycteus did not feel sorrow; he was sympathetic for what has been lost, the waste of potential, but there was consolation in knowing there was something greater beyond and there was peace for the dead. The pale stranger examined the body, drawing the same conclusion Nycteus had. She spoke of how common accidents like these were, how deadly. "Prey animals can be formidable, but I find the more dangerous the prey, the more exciting the hunt," Nycteus shared this thought but he was far more interested in what she had shared about her past. The former hunter of a pack far away, which she abandoned to chase her ambitions. "If you don't mind, I would like to hear about these goals of yours."icea
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