call me when the world looks bleak

Enter Crux

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Inhale...Exhale...

....Inhale...Exhale...

Inhale.

 Crux jolted awake from his dream with a gasp, jaws snapping at the nothing above him. There was blood everywhere. He struggled to his feet, eyes flashing as he twisted around, teeth bared at nothing. Slowly, he blinked away the surprise of being in nothingn and then being in everything. His snarl fell as he slowly understood that the red he saw was not blood but instead was a forest of deadly red. The great branches above him held leaves of crimson red, utterly indifferent to the panting male below, his chest heaving as he forced his breathing to slow and his heart to stop racing.

 He shook his head again to clear it, groaning helplessly at the headache that had decided that this was the exact right moment to settle down in his skull. Just his luck, to wake up in a place that he knew nothing about, without the clarity of mind to work it all out. Sighing deeply, he turned to look about himself more closely. Had he accidentally scared off some strangers? “Good.” The word left his lips before he even got the chance to think it, and he grimaced, hoping nobody had heard.

 Scents of dirt and brush curled around his nostrils and he closed his eyes momentarily, finally calming down enough to think: Where am I? He peered down, noting that he had been lying on a large flat slab of stone that broke off into sharp pieces at its lowest points. His gaze swept outward and upward and he noted the black bark of the trees that housed the red leaves, their roots and limbs nearly inseparable at points. Upwards further into the rising branches and the crown shyness that left zig-zagging gaps in the treetops, showing a cloudy mid-morning sky far above. “What a bleak situation I'm in, here in this wood.”

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+2 discovery points

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A rumbling, thunderous sound could be heard. Loud, shameless... But what was it? If one followed the conspicuous noise, they would find it not too difficult to track it down. It wasn't hidden, wasn't something that was hard to find. No, if they kept following along the trail, they would notice a large rotund fellow in the middle of the road. His brown-toned body taking up a large portion of space as he napped on his back. From him came the thunderous noise... the noise which was clearly snoring as the fellow inhaled deeply and exhaled just a loudly, almost comically so. 

While he did this, a leaf had drifted down on his mouth. With each breath it would flutter up into the air before being sucked back down. It was a miracle that it hadn't been sucked down this throat at this point. More red leaves had drifted down to fall onto his slumbering form. It almost looked like a series of red splotches contrasting with the brown hairs and seafoam colored seaglass that decorated him. 

While the large man slept, he could be heard laughing and at one point licking his jaws as he dreamt of delicious food. Prey of all sorts, fruits, berries, you name it. He was a simple fellow that enjoyed simple dreams. He was also a fairly heavy sleeper, completely unaware that he was not alone in this blood-red forest. How could he be? He was off in his dreamworld thinking of all the different things he could stuff into his mouth. His nub of a tail wagged, showing just how happy he was with his dreams. 

@Crux
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@Mordecai

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What was that noise?

 A ruckus, that's what it was. Crux sniffed sharply, breaking out of his stupor to pin down the direction of the rumble. He stepped deftly off of the stone, paws hitting the ground and then taking him quickly into a trot towards the source of the sound. Probably not a wise survival instinct, but in this world of unknowns, he was determined to figure out what the hell just happened.

 When he came across the source of the sound, all he could do was stare. There was a brown wolf in front of him, rolled to his back, snoring. Crux blinked in confusion, watching as the wolf giggled with some unknown glee, tail wagging like a pup. The monochromatic wolf approached cautiously, sniffing in the stranger's odor. Male, though that much was obvious. He walked around him in a wide circle, observing the stranger with an odd fascination. A flashback of a similar event shoved through his mind, giving him a stabbing headache. He wasn't sure why, but he knew if this had happened in the place he was born, wherever that was... it was safe to say that this stranger was lucky it was Crux coming across him.

 An amused idea came to his mind and he eyed the lower-hanging branches, then the leaf that was tempting its fate of being choked upon. He quietly stepped over to a branch, lifting onto his hind legs after checking his surroundings for others, and came back down with a mouthful of the red leaves. He then turned, checking again, and slowly stepped towards the sleeping stranger. He would attempt to gently drop the leaves onto the sleeping stranger's form, jumping back if he showed any sign of waking. This would repeat a few times - so long as the stranger didn't shift. He was, in a way, burying the stranger in a bed of leaves.

 After all, why not? Why shouldn't I act the pup?

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The other wolf had no need to fear. He could have stomped around like an angered elk bull during rut and likely wouldn't have woken the sleeping giant. His pawsteps fell on deaf ears as the brown wolf continued to snore uproariously, completely dead to the world around him as he dreamed of mountains of food. It was like a literal paradise. Warm, comfortable, full, happy. It mirrored how he felt in the rearl world, for the most part. Even as the other wolf began to carefully decorate him in foliage, he didn't even notice. Perhaps once or twice he would twitch when a leaf brushed his nose but he didn't wake. Not even after the monochrome male finished his task of burying him in the red leaves. 

The man inhaled, exhaled, now with leaves riding on his ample stomach and a few more dancing to the breezes that his mouth produced. However, with more leaves around his maw it became more precarious of a situation. There was enough risk in having one leaf playing a game of chicken but when there were several at this game... it was less of a theoretical possibility and more of something that was bound to happen. 

And happen it did. 

With one sharp intake of breath a leaf was sucked into his gullet. The male's brown eyes popped open but all he saw was red and all he felt was the uncomfortable sensation of leaf in his throat. The only thing he could think in that moment was, OH MY GOD I'M DEAD!! Panicked, the large fellow shot up straight, scattering red leaves everywhere as he began hacking and coughing to try to dislodge the leaf out of his throat. 

He gagged and coughed and choked until finally, after heaving for air, he managed to spit out the leaf. He plopped his rear down heavily on the ground and began to gasp for air, looking around at the unfamiliar landscape that he found himself in. Had he been sleep-walking? Was that why he was here? And wait... why couldn't he remember what he'd been doing before he sat down for a nap? Because he just had to assume that he'd finished eating something and took one of his classic After-Meal-Mordi-Naps. 

While he was staring around, he managed to lay eyes on the large white and black wolf. He gave a goofy grin, not correlating the leaf-assault with the newcomer. Was he a newcomer? "Sup?" He said coolly, as if he just hadn't had a near-death experience. "Did I miss... guard duty or something?" Actually... was he a guard? Wow it was difficult to remember anything...

 
@Crux
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@Mordecai

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 This wolf was out. It was actually quite hilarious to the tall hound. With every cluster of leaves he dropped on the stranger's form, he expected him to leap to his paws in a show of teeth - but he didn't. Finally, Crux grew bored of placing leaves on the other and he sat, watching him curiously and waiting for him to awake. Should I nudge him?

 It turned out he didn't have to. The stranger flew to wakefullness, choking on one of the leaves. Crux looked on with a hint of guilt.... but frankly it was hilarious and he fought to hold back his laughter once it was clear that the other wouldn't die from leaf inhalation. The warm-coated stranger was sitting now, gasping and looking around like he'd never seen this place before. Crux felt in that moment that he was no longer alone.

 When the stranger looked at him and gave a grin, playing it cool, Crux grinned back. “Guard duty? Guarding what?” He tossed his head, glancing around. All about them were these thick trees of red. The stranger's scent was thoroughly contained in his bed of leaves. There wasn't even a trail for him to follow, and Crux had tried to find any hint of origin. “I woke up here. I figure it's the same for you?” He stretched, yawning widely. “The name's Crux, I think. That's about all I know, actually. May I have your name?” His nose twitched in humor.

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Guarding what? Hmm... You know, that was a very good question. What was he supposed to be guarding? At the monochrome stranger's words, the brown wolf's brow furrowed as he began to think. If one stared enough, they might be able to see the gears in his mind turning as he tried to figure out what it was that he was supposed to be looking after... but he couldn't. He looked around at the area they were in, as if it would offer answers but it was still that unknown place. What on earth was going on here? "I... don't... know..." He said lamely, looking back at the other wolf. "I just feel like I'm supposed to be... a guard or something?" He lifted a rear paw and scratched at one of his tattered ears. Guard felt right but there was nothing here to guard. No one to watch after. "Am... am I supposed to guard you?" The other wolf looked perfectly capable; he was super huge! Like one of the largest wolves he'd ever seen! ...maybe... He couldn't actually remember the largest wolves he'd ever seen but he was SURE that this guy was one of them. Maybe he was a prince! Oh! For sure with that pretty star-fur! "You've got really pretty star-fur! Does that mean you're royalty or something?" Wait... no... this guy had just said that he'd woken up here too. Or maybe he just couldn't remember? 

Cripes. This was the most confused he'd ever been. "Yeah, I was just having an amazing dream! And then, I started choking on that leaf and then I woke up." He frowned again as he tried to remember what he'd been doing prior to sleeping here. Don't get him wrong, sleeping was nice but it was also nice to remember what he was supposed to be doing before. It would also be nice to remember ever other little thing he knew about himself besides that he liked to sleep, eat, and fight. Oh! And his name. It hit him like a ton of bricks. "I'm Mordecai! You can call me Mordi if you'd like... I think?" His lips pursed as he tried to remember if that was the nickname that others called him. It sounded right. "Yeah yeah, Mordi's good!" He said after a moment with a vigorous head nod.
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@Mordecai

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 Crux watched the stranger mull about in confusion, a fondness growing in the pit of his stomach for the oaf. What would his mother think about this wolf, so clearly fond of food and with such little self-preservation? Crux felt the need to protect him, for some reason. As if he were a strange little plant that just needed to be watered.

 A prince? Crux laughed at that. “Thank you. I suppose... from what I can recall, my mother had quite the royal lineage.” Or, rather, she wanted it to be. There wasn't a bone in that woman's body that hadn't been ambitious. He'd picked up on that quickly, recognizing the signs in her even when she wasn't gazing enviously to those who were in the positions she wanted. She'd managed some of it. “Actually... she was consort to our pack's queen, so I suppose I am a prince of sorts.” Or was. That marriage was one of politics - the queen had taken both his mother and her true mate as consorts, a harem under her to bolster her own power, for his mother had amassed a following and that following then became the queen's.

 Crux smiled at the wolf, name now known and claimed. “Well, hello there Mordi. You can guard me if you'd like,” his lips tweaked in humor, “I have the feeling that wherever we are, we aren't going back.” He looked about him, considering the thick web of red above them. “I'm not sure why, but I woke feeling that this place is called Bleakwood.” If it hadn't been that before, it was that now. He'd make it that. His first mark on this land.

He'd make his mothers proud.

---

+2 discovery points

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The stranger laughed at his comment about him being royalty but then, he went on to confirm it! Mordecai's eyes widened and one could practically see the admiration sparkling in them. A royal lineage? The he was a prince or king or lord or something! Mordecai's stumpy tail began to wag in excitement. He didn't know if that's what he had done before he'd ended up here but he knew that's what he would do now! He would protect this nice royal wolf! It felt right to be doing something like that. "Woooowww..." He breathed. He knew he didn't have any royal lineages; he was just Mordi and he, well, he knew that he knew how to fight. Maybe that was what his lineage was. The large fellow rose to his paws and then gave a bow of his head. "I'm at your service, Prince Crux." It gave him purpose and some sort of direction. A good thing, since when he had nothing to do, he was sort of like a lost duckling. A lost hungry duckling. Some might call him a fool for pledging loyalty to a wolf he'd just met and they'd probably be right but he just knew that he'd made the right call. He could feel it deep within his gut. Serving royalty, maybe that's what he'd done before he'd woken up here with nothing.  

It was all confirmed then! He had a guardee! He was practically kneading the ground beneath his paws he was so excited. "That's good! Because, uh, I don't even remember where 'back' is!" So yeah, it was probably great that they weren't going back. Oh well, he'd make a new life here! It was hard to even be sad about the previous life because he couldn't even remember it. He wasn't the type to cry about something he couldn't even properly remember. He was ready to move forward in this red woodland with his star-furred friend. "Bleakwood?" He looked around again, walking around in circles to take in all that was around them. He would personally have gone with "Redwood" or "Red-Leaves" but he supposed "Bleakwood" was good too. 

He came full circle and stood facing Crux again with a smile on his face. He shrugged his shoulders casually and said, "Works for me! Is this where we're gonna live?" Important details. He'd have to start finding out where all the prey and berry stashes were.

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+1 discovery point

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@Mordecai

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 Mordi was endearing, in a way. Crux watched him absorb the information about possible royal lineages - a farce, if you thought about where he had grown up. Royalty there was... fleeting, if anything - especially for the sect that his family had been in. Even in his short life there, he had seen numerous leaders rise and fall. While he'd never really cared to pursue a life of royalty like his mother had, something about being called a prince... it felt good. Like it was meant to be. Crux smiled and lifted a paw to tap his new guard gently on the shoulder. “Sounds like a plan. I'm glad I ran into you.” There was nothing scarier than being in a new place all alone... so he was grateful to at least have someone to talk to. A way to know he wasn't a ghost, moving through an unknown land endlessly.

 Back... Where was back? Back was... a valley? Of some sorts? No. Not quite, more like a desert. Even with vivid memories of some things, other parts of his memory seemed blocked off, muddied as if someone had shoved them into the mud and scratched scores into them. “Yes, Bleakwood. There's something bleak about the way the distance fades into that bluish fog... I quite like it.” There were other, more fitting names, for sure, but Crux liked the way the word fell off his tongue. He'd also considered Bleedwood briefly, but it felt a bit on the nose. Of course a red forest would be called Bleed or Blood or something... So he'd tweaked it.

 Would this be home? He looked around thoughtfully. “I think so, so long as we can find a good place to sleep and a good source of food.” It'd be useless to make camp, only to find out the nearest rabbit or deer was miles away. “We should get moving while there's daylight and we have energy.” He inhaled deeply, closing his eyes to think and take in the odors around them. Choosing a direction at seemingly random, he turned north and indicated for Mordecai to follow. “Keep your eyes, ears, and nose out, yeah?”

 He hoped he wasn't making a terrible choice in this new ally of his. Starting a life in a new world was scary, but he got the feeling that he could trust Mordi. Perhaps not with his life, but to stick around for awhile.

---

+2 discovery points

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Mordecai felt honored and happy, the emotions reflected in his soft brown eyes and in his genuine smile. He inhaled a proud breath, swelling his chest as the other laid a paw on his shoulder. In his mind the word "knight" flashed, rekindling some sort of memory but it was gone in a flash. Warrior, guard, knight. He knew that the moniker fit to who he was. So, he could only feel happiness when he was so readily accepted in this new --old?-- job. "I'm glad I ran into you too!" This new place was strange and he knew nothing about it, but it was nice when you had a friend to take on everything together. It made everything much less daunting... not that he felt particularly daunted in the moment but once everything finally hit, he likely would have. 

Something bleak about the way it faded into the distance? He stared at the distant fog, eyes narrowing as he focused in on it. It was clear he hadn't quite understood the words spoken but the man gave an "ooohh" sound as if he completely understood anyway, along with a nod of his head. "Looks real nice for sure!" That much he understood. It did look kinda neat what with the blueness in the distance and the red leaves all around. 

Food and places to sleep. His tiny tail wagged delightedly behind him. "I'm real good at finding food and sleeping spots! Just you wait and see!" The brown fellow said quite happily. Mordecai needed no further bidding as he followed along with Crux, beside and slightly behind him, perfectly content to let someone else take the lead. He was sort of a natural follower in that regard. Mordi was always ready to do the "doing" while others did the "leading". So, he gave a vigorous nod of his head and made sure to keep all of his senses peeled for somewhere that would look like a good place for a camp. 

And something that would make for good snacks. 

"I sure do hope there's a strawberry patch growing around here somewhere." He said with a wistful sigh. That would just be the absolute best.
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