I can't remember feeling this before

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It had been a little over a week since the pale man had awoken in these lands. What a strange and beautiful place this was. Every new area blowing his mind all over again. Here the snow cascaded softly in dance from barely grey clouds above, reminding the residents that winter was still not over quite yet as colder days still lingered just a little longer, especially in the higher altitudes.

Naturally, Valentine was wide-eyed and curious. The gentle slopes of the mountains giving his muscles just enough of a workout to ease him back into wandering after what felt like a longer sleep than usual. Every now and then he would find himself atop one new stocky mountain top, a cliff to look over the terrain he had just walked through - and set his eyes upon another. Breath visible in the colder temperatures just a little longer until spring's heat would rise in due time, at least he guessed it would.

But there was something missing in his little mountain top adventures, he looked over to his side with a grin only to be reminded that there was no one to enjoy the sights with and his tail slowed from a wave to a stand still. He could have sworn he had someone with him before, someone special that was no longer here. Like a little shadow lingering in the corner of his eye.

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I'm a simple person. I see AW near me, I join

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 Crux was no little shadow. In fact, he was rather massive, not so easy to miss when moving around any landscape. In the snow, his dark splashes would stand out unless masked against stone. Almost anywhere else, his white would stand out brilliantly against almost anything he stood against.

 Nevertheless, the bespeckled man roamed across the mountain. At the foot of it trailed his Bleakwood, its red visible if he just turned to look a certain way or climbed on a large enough rock. It gave him comfort, knowing that home was just a short distance away. A run for perhaps a half hour, though of course the climb down would take more time than that. A bird could easily make the trip in a third the time and he so sat atop a rock, pondering on a bird's life.

 The layer of snow drifting down around him was not unfamiliar per se, but it was beautiful nevertheless. Inhaling and exhaling, moving the snowflakes that drifted down before his face, he smiled to himself then rose to his paws, shaking off the moisture that had begun to gather upon his already pale-freckled coat. He noticed movement then and lifted his head, peering over the rock he had been lying atop at the pale wolf. The other was traveling, he supposed. “Ah, hello!” Crux called, taking a step towards him so the two could meet face to face instead of top-of-head to rock.

+1 Discovery Point

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Valentine was no small beast either. He stood stall and proud of his physique, shorter than usual tail swishing by his thighs as he eyed the ocean-like waves of rock and forestry that billowed as far as he could see. He wondered what else laid beyond the hills and rocky outcrops, what little things he could see beneath the treetops that couldn't be seen from his vantage point even from up here. The world was so full of mysteries he could barely contain himself. Even after waking up in such a strange place, he felt lonely, yes, but afraid? Not quite. Curious more than anything.

A voice called out to him, a man's voice. Turning his head, he awkwardly twisted his neck over his shoulders to peek at the man

“Oh hey there!” He chanted, tongue awkwardly hitting him in the face as he smiled in the same contorted, strange position. It was like he didn't want to turn away from the beautiful view but didn't want to be rude to the new guy either. “D'you come for the view too?”

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 The stranger twisted his head back in the most hilarious way and Crux had to force himself not to laugh. The man was speaking through his tongue. How different was he to the first boy he'd met on this mountain, suspicious and cold aggression versus this... hilarity? Crux grinned anyways and shrugged, looking out over the snowy landscape. “I come out here to think sometimes,” he said, almost to himself. “It's nice and quiet, not too many wolves pass through.”

 Plus, there were plenty of game trails to move through and find good small prey to devour.

 He looked back at the scarred white male, considering him. Did he seem familiar at all? Hm, vaguely like one or two he'd noticed of the, uh... less calculative, perhaps. Immediately he sensed less pent up aggression. After all, none of the Valley would have stopped to smell the roses, as it were. Their only thought of the view here would be to determine how far any potential slaves were. He'd never quite understood that. Even when his family had taken on a slave or two, they'd been treated as family. Their intention was to bring them in as full members, not to keep them around as punching bags like the rest of the pack had wanted.

 Shaken out of his thoughts by a snowflake falling in his eye, Crux looked at the male again with a handful of pained winks. “Do you come around here often?” There was no flirtation in his voice, even though he was in the middle of winking... to try to clear up the chill of the snowflake. This white wolf was no Satchel, though their markings were nigh the same. Meaning: none. “I'm Crux, by the way.”

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If Valentine was anything, it was not serious at all. Certainly, he would take things seriously if need be, but that was rarely the case usually... at least in his opinion. “Hmm.” He pondered, not quite sure he liked what he heard considering he was looking for places that were popular so he could find someone to fill that empty void at his side. Frankly, he was accustomed to being on his own - but still, he enjoyed companionship.

“Not at all.” Finally he straightened himself out, tossing his head back over his shoulders to look out into the great vastness of the horizon in front of them. “Just found myself here and kept wandering y'know? I don't even know what I'm doing, just wandering I suppose.” It wasn't all awful if he had to admit. New places to see, faces to meet. None were permanent sadly.

Sometimes he couldn't help but wonder if there was something wrong with him, why no one would stick around longer than just a hello goodbye sort of deal.

“Valentine's the name, nice to meet y'a Crux!”

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 He seemed oddly disappointed, but Crux wasn't sure. The white wolf returned to looking out over the world before him and Crux sat again, yawning widely. The scarred one continued speaking about this and that and the speckled one did pay attention, but he found it a bit hard to fully pay attention when one's head was facing away from him.

 So he stood again and hopped down from the rock, wandering over to stand near-but-not-too-near the other wolf, gazing out over the landscape. Sure, it was pretty, but he could point out at least five different points where a wolf could trip and fall to their death if they weren't paying attention to their surroundings. This was not a land suitable for raising children, he decided with a lazy blink. Valentine introduced himself, but he decided to answer a previous question. “Wandering is good, but only for so long,” he mused aloud, almost to himself.

 Crux chuckled to himself. “Nice to meet you too. I used to wander a lot, for a time.” He smiled sadly. “But it was more... on the run than wandering, I guess. Long ago, before I woke up here.” Nobody who remembered him in a negative light was here, or if they were they would have no reason to seek him out. There was no Death Valley here, no Red Dragon. No flames chasing down his throat from a dark forest elsewhere. “After awhile, you get kind of tired of it. Gotta settle sometime, even if it's just with some friends.” Safety in numbers was, honestly, essential to the male. Even though he left to wander on his own a lot, he was becoming attached to the idea of being around others. It reminded him of the best parts of home.

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“Yeah.” The broad man sighed, letting his shoulders drop ever so slightly in mild defeat over the thought. It was far too long he himself has been wandering - at least, it felt that way. It had only been days since he had woke up in these strange lands and yet it felt like years since he has ever ran with others in the same pack, the same family. At this point, he wondered if it was him, if he was faulty or something and that is why he was sent here.

“Oh yeah? Big guy like you running?” Valentine smiled wide, eyes round and full of - what was the word... shit? Shit-eating grin yeah that's it. “Well - yeah. Stamina only lasts so long.” He pondered over Crux's chosen words. “No one can run forever, gotta take a breather at least some time.” Well now he was talking himself into a corner, the man began to think about what someone could do to live like that. Always running, what if they had to poop? What if they were constipated or something? Had to eat, sleep?

Hmmm... He frowned deep in thought, if steam could rise from his ears of the internal gears being put into overtime, it would.

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 Crux grinned. “You'd be surprised what a big enough group can do.” His grin slowly fell and he muttered, almost to himself. “Or a fire.” He shook it off and turned back to the white wolf with a chuckle at what he said. Yes, it made sense. Of course no one could run forever. That was why he was glad he was finally finding some solace, some rest in his endless run from the dragon.

  He peered at the male, lost in thought. “How long have you been on your own? You look like you've lived quite a life so far,” a smile - no judgement here. He'd seen scarred wolves before. His own birth mother had a gash across her face and he thought she was none the uglier for it. “You got a place you call home?”

 Everyone needed a home, even if that home was fleeting. A place to sleep where you could be sure no jaws would sink into your throat while you dreamed of better days. He sighed gently, thinking of home. Not this new home he had founded, but home before. The home that was filled with such things that could make him sick... yet it had his mother. His friends. His siblings, though they'd turned from him and his family. His memories were... they hurt. Nevertheless, they were his history. He couldn't picture their faces, but he remembered fragments of events. His brother claiming that their mothers didn't care for them. His sister turning from them to chase her own god of sickly white.

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“A fire?” The word was alien to him. It seemed so natural for Crux to say and yet it was completely, and utterly foreign to the scarred porcelain man. He turned his head completely to see Crux, curiosity brimming in his eyes as if this guy would know all the things Valentine was curious about. “What's that?”

Then the conversation came back to him. Valentine only shrugged. “Dunno, feels like forever honestly.” But he didn't quite know how long forever was either. He was surely not a newborn, that much Valentine knew... and yet his memories only seemed to have started a few days ago - even if he had an inkling of a life before this. As if he was reborn! Reborn in an adult's body.

“Nope, I haven't even seen a pack or encountered any borders yet.” Even if it sounded strange, he was being honest. Surely the way he found his way here was unique to him and not a common event among everyone - he already assumed that Crux was a local.

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 He laughed bitterly. “Fire, man,” he shook his head. “It's... hard to describe, if you hadn't seen it before. Have you ever seen when lightning hits a tree and it begins to burn with a hot flower?” He peered at the white wolf. “That's fire. It burns, devours. If it gets on you, only water or a good roll in the dirt will stop it from growing up your fur and causing strange, very painful injuries.” He'd woken with no scars of the flame, but he'd seen others with them. “It can be deadly fast.”

 It was horrific.

 Nevertheless, he moved on. His new acquaintance had answered his question and Crux blinked thoughtfully. “Did you, by chance, wake up having no idea how you got there?” It seemed universal, but Crux couldn't help but ask. Sometimes, wolves didn't even realize that that had happened. They thought him mad for suggesting it, so he'd given up on trying to break through. “That's what happened with my friends and I.” A shrug and his gaze returned to the view. “We're starting a pack, over that way.” He tossed his head back to the way he'd come from, where the red forest wasn't quite visible.

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Valentine shook his head indicating he had no idea what this guy was talking about, but he believed the existence of this "fire". He had no reason to think this man was a liar. That this 'deadly flower' was simply a myth. He had never seen lightning hit to 'burn', none that his shallow memories could dredge up... no memories at all other than the small shape, the little shadow that seemed to tail him at the corners of his eye. Still, he wondered who they were?

Even now he could swear they were sitting right next to him, a phantom warmth against his shoulder.

He missed them - whoever they were.

“Sounds awful.” He managed to snap himself back into the conversation, finding his eyes were briefly fighting to not directly look at the shape he saw next to him. After all, if he looked at them directly, they would simply vanish again.

“No, I don't remember anything.” It was strange but he didn't feel sad by it either. “Wow, and here I thought I was just getting old or something and getting forgetful!” Well that was relieving to hear, strange... but still relieving at least. “Ah yeah? What are you all about?” Bi-coloured eyes tossing themselves over to where Crux had gestured, even if it meant awkwardly craning his neck again.

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 Crux felt a bit miserable in memory of the place but he shook it off, exhaling a grunt of agreement. Yes. It was awful. Fire had ruined his life, but in the end he was grateful for it. If it weren't for fire, he would have still been stuck in that hell, watching as his mother grew more and more despondent and wondering where the other two were. He hoped she was okay.

 The scarred white wolf agreed with his question and he gave a half-laugh. “I woke up and found Mordecai... and covered him with leaves. Complete stranger!” He grinned, having the feeling this stranger would find it pretty funny, but nevertheless he moved on to the next topic pretty quickly. “Oh, well. Right now we're mostly focused on protecting one another.” He considered whether he could trust this wolf, how much he should share. Whether what he said could be used to fell them... “My birth pack was pretty cutthroat. You had to be on your toes all the time, if you insulted the wrong wolf you could get tossed in a tar pit.” Valentine probably didn't know what a tar pit was, but he continued. “The goal is to not be that. I want a pack that's family and treats each other as family, no matter their job in the pack.” There would have to be wolves who were lower hierarchy, he knew, but he didn't want them to fear slavery or death for one wrong move. “We're going to be called Event Horizon.”

 He hoped he was not cursing their pack by calling them that.

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Crux told the story of how he woke up in this place, met a man named Mordecai and how already they were neck-deep in leaves and pranks. Of course, Valentine found it humorous, he grinned from ear to ear just thinking about it.

To answer his question about what kind of group he was making, Cruz explained what his birth pack was like. It sounded rough, awful, something that Valentine had no interest in joining himself if he ever came across some kind of group like that. Granted he looked like he could possibly make the cut, run with that crowd - but he didn't want to.

“Sounds interesting.” He mused. The name was interesting too, he wondered what that meant. Tossing a glance over to Cruz with concerned brows. Valentine paused for a moment wondering if he should ask what was on his mind... hell why not, what was he gonna lose? It wasn't like he had anything to lose right now anyway. “What are the chances of a guy like me being able to join?”

Crux seemed chill enough, a relaxed kind of guy that he could trust to not go all power-hungry on his pack.

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Bleakwood mention pre-Ichorwood name!

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 Crux gave a nod, though he was more inclined to give a shrug. Sure, it sounded interesting. Hopefully it would be more than just a curiosity, an interesting stop for visitors. Hopefully, it would become home and family.

 When Valentine inquired about joining, Crux grinned. He'd been hoping for a question like this, though he hadn't specifically come out here with that intention. “I'd say they're pretty good odds.” He truly had no desire to boast his power or control or whatever. He'd had quite enough of that when he'd been a kid, he was sick of it. “What are the chances of a guy like you wanting to join?” It was a hopeful question with a smile. “The forest we're in is called Bleakwood, if you would want to come visit or join.” Either worked, really.

+1 Discovery Point

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Valentine smiled as Crux played along with the play of words. Yes, he liked this guy - although, the bar was set pretty low all things considered. But here was Crux, setting that bar way higher than it ever had been before, his friendliness sending the bar shooting straight into the heavens and Valentine would want no other treatment onto him than this ever again.

“I'd say the chances are more than good.” A friendly flicker of his short tail indicated as such. “I may do just that, dunno when but I'll eventually come a knocking.” He smiled - frankly not certain how long it would take him to go there, to find it even, but he didn't wanna come immediately by following Crux back home. There was some more things he wanted to see.

Maybe be more useful by meeting new faces and seeing different places that might be useful - or even learning some random things about this place and its locals. “Well!” He shouted loosely, stretching out his limbs before standing up. “I don't wanna keep you away for too long, but I'll come and visit sooner than you think Crux.” Though not the brightest bulb on the tree, Valentine did try to be as kind and respectful as possible. Making sure to use the man's name and remember it from here on out. It was the little things he could do, the ones that might matter.

With a couple of long, prancing steps, he turned in a not-so-graceful pirouette to say his final farewells. “Don't go forgetting about me until then, okay?” With that, he was gone beyond one more hill.

^^

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final from me!

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 Crux's own tail wagged at the answer.

 This guy seemed nice enough and he was pretty glad that he'd made a good impression, though it didn't seem like he'd be going home with the white wolf at his side. That was fine, the speckled male didn't mind either way - however he hoped that he came sooner rather than later. It would be a shame if their pack failed by the time Valentine made it to Bleakwood and found the place empty or full of some enemy pack.

 “I'll be waiting, Valentine!” He grinned and watched the other wolf go before turning on his heel and heading home.

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Fin!

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