When the World Stopped Turning [Lalani]

[Deleted]

Tiny paws parted even tinier strands of grass beneath the equally tiny Ethiopian female as she moved slowly through the Shydar. The sun hung high overhead, signalling the late afternoon that plagued the small wolf as she moved on her own and limped slightly. She had been wandering the island of Anikira ever since she had parted with Banks at the border of one of the pack territories, a place that they had chanced upon by mistake and thankfully had not encountered a pack member. Instead they had left the place, eventually parting and leaving Rita to roam idly alone until she could find some sort of purpose to her pathetic existence. A soft sigh escaped her loosely closed muzzle, though within a few minutes her tongue found it's way out of the jaws and lolled out as she panted softly.

It was not overwhelmingly hot today, especially for a wolf of her lineage, but that did not mean that it was necessarily comfortable. Her paws carried her at a painfully slow pace through the flowered field, though her hesitation to enter out into the open was plain to see. Her red fur helped her blend slightly in with the red flowers that surrounded her, but she kept within a few leaps of the trees in case she needed to rush for cover for any reason. The little wolf was always prone to this kind of paranoia, and though she could see no threats in the near vicinity, her hesitation and anxiety was plain as day on her face. Her eyes were wide, carefully scanning the terrain in front of her, while her tail hung low behind her and her ears swiveled nervously in all directions. To any stranger that might chance upon her, she was really a pitiful sight to behold. A tiny, limping wolf, jumping at the slightest sound and carefully watching the sun as if she were to be caught within the darkness of night unexpectedly her life would abruptly come to an end.

Of course, this was not really going to happen, but she had feared the night ever since her bought with Canine Distemper Virus. The long term effects the disease had plagued her with had left her with poor eyesight, making it impossible for her to see in anything less than normal daylight and difficult for her to make out anything more than shapes in harsh light. The nearer the day moved to the darkness of night, the more anxious the female would become. But for now, she was safe, close enough to the trees to ensure that she could hide herself from danger, but moving along fast enough to ensure that she would be free of the open terrain of the Shydar before nightfall - hopefully. Eventually, though, she knew she would have to take a break. She would have to stop and rest, for the exhaustion in her movements and the exaggeration in her limp were quickly becoming too much to bare. She paused briefly at a patch of taller grass filled with red flowers, a perfect place for her to take a breather and hopefully camouflage herself enough to avoid someone chancing upon her and harming her while she gathered herself enough to continue her traveling.

She slowly sat down, curling her tail lightly around her paws as her head poked out from the little make-shift hiding place. Brown eyes scanned the area around her carefully for any sign of predators or environmental dangers, and after inhaling deeply and perking her ears to listen and smell for anything that she might not have seen, she was satisfied enough to pull her head down and disappear into the flowers. It took absolutely no effort for her to curl up into a ball, taking up as little space in her flower bed as possible, and as her head lowered onto her front paws, her eyes quickly found themselves closed. She was exhausted, and hopefully if she could catch a small nap now, she could pick up the pace and make the Nytyte River before nightfall.

Words: 681
Tags: Lalani
Muse: low at the moment
Notes: you can ghost Rita a little if you need to in order to find her. Idk, have Lani trip over her or something xD

| Made by Rita |

[Lalani]

Lani crept through the grass and flowers as she watched the flowers about 15 yards away shifting. Whatever it was currently travelling at a fairly constant but slow pace. She couldn’t tell what it was this distance because she couldn’t see through the plant life between her and the cause of the movement. It was small, that much she could tell. The path she was following through the flowers wasn’t very big at all. The grass and blooms remained relatively intact. Not many had been crushed under the creature. Every now and then she thought she could see a reddish ear above the crimson blooms but the dark female wasn’t entirely sure. It was hard to tell against the red of the flowers. Whatever the creature was, it didn’t seem to be in a hurry and must not have known Lani was there. She had been rather careful as she moved through the grass and stems, trying not to make too much noise. Even if she did, the breeze shifting over the fields might have helped mask the sound. She had noticed the movement when she had entered the field. She figured it would be a great place to find rabbits and birds that were nesting within the long grass and flowers. After a few minutes of searching, Lani had realized that hunting by smell in this field was going to be extremely difficult. The flora out here was very fragrant and masked many of the scents. Lani couldn’t really smell anything until she was practically standing on top of it. That was the biggest reason she hadn’t been able to figure out what the creature was yet. She couldn’t really catch its scent, even when she was walking its trail. Her best guess was that it was a fox, if she really had seen ears peeking above the grass. While fox didn’t taste as good because it wasn’t a plant eater, it was bigger and would be more filling.

Suddenly the movement was no longer continuing forward but was only shifting in one area, before it stopped completely. Lani swore before taking off through the flowers, stirring up pollen as she went. It was likely the animal had found it’s home and was now heading into a den. If the fox or rabbit, whatever it might be, was able to get inside before Lani could snag it, she wasn’t likely to catch it. Fox and rabbit holes we deep, and always had back exits. The was no way she’d waste time trying to dig it out. It could just as easily run out the back door before she even had a chance. She bounded through the grass, heading for the area where the creature had stopped. She didn’t realize how close she was until she went to make another step and her shins smacked into something. She looked down just in time to see a small canine, not much more than a ball of fur curled at the base of her feet, before she flung her weight forward. She had reacted at the last second and rather than falling on top of the small creature, she had tossed herself over it, stumbling before landing on her side with a thud. Lifting her head, she looked at the bundle of rusty fur. Now that she had almost literally been right on top of it, she could tell it smelled more like a wolf, though Lani had never seen one so small. “I uh...sorry about that. I had no idea you were right there. Managed to catch myself at the last second.” It was true enough. Lani had no idea that the wolf had been so close. Though now that she thought about it, the phrasing of that last sentence didn’t fit very well. “Well, I guess not catch myself, but more throw myself. I didn’t want to land on you.” Lani stretched her neck out a bit, sniffing. It smelled like a female, but since it was laying down, she couldn’t be certain. Then something dawned on her. She had practically fallen on top of this wolf and she hadn’t even asked if she was alright. “Are you okay?” She was rather ashamed of herself now but was legitimately concerned about the small wolf before her.

WORDS: 735 TAGS: XXXX

[Deleted]

Rest, peace, calm. It all eluded her. But at least she managed to close her eyes and doze off for at least a few minutes. Her brown eyes closed and her head tilted to rest heavily against her paws as sleep finally enveloped her. Now, it was not that restful refreshing sleep that one would get in a secure and safe place, but it would be good enough to keep her going at least to the river once she woke up. She even snored softly as she slept, dreams still out of her reach as the day wore on around her. But, her rest was simply not meant to be. Her world of calm was shattered as her body was shifted to the side abruptly, the impact of another fur-covered body knocking her awake and making her yelp habitually in surprise.

Her head shot up, and eyes opened just in time to see the much larger wolf fall onto her side a few feet away. Instantly the Ethiopian female scrambled to her feet, crouching as close to the ground as she could and backing slightly into the flower cover so that only her head and front paws were visible. The apology from the stranger rang on deaf ears, not because of any physical ailment, but simply from fear and confusion. The words were muffled and faded, and though she stared, wide eyed, at the other female, she said nothing at all until the other finally gathered herself and asked if she was alright. Although this time the question registered, the little wolf's pointed ears flattened to her head and her chin hovered only inches from the ground.

"Are you ok?" She flinched at the sound of the words, though as far as she could tell she was not injured at all, just scared out of her skin. Instead of responding, however, the direct attention from the larger, black female sent the little ethiopian moving further back into her flower cover. "What do you want?" She finally asked, the voice shaky and obviously terrified as she watched the black wolf carefully. It was not a friendly question, and in fact, there was a hovering hint of the suspicion that the stranger was here to hurt her within the words. She stared, with a mixture of suspicion and fear now, without moving and without coming out of her hiding place. Not to mention her posture and body language made it all too clear that she was looking for possible escapes from the situation.

Words: 421
Tags: Lalani
Muse: low
Notes: n/a

| Made by Rita |

[Lalani]

Lani had tried desperately to stop her heavier form from landing on the small ball of fur. It had been hard considering she had tripped over said ball of fur accidently and had had hardly any time to catch herself and try to redirect herself. Changing her momentum mid fall so she didn’t land on the orangy furball was the only quick thought through her brain before she hit the ground. The dark female knew her apology had no effect the second that she uttered it. The small canine was practically radiating fear. The second the words had left Lani’s maw, the smaller female had already ducked into the tall grasses. Her eyes were wide and her entire demeanor screamed run. Lani was afraid the poor girl would bolt before she could really show her how sorry she was. To think that this was the creature she had been stalking. She was surprised to say the least. She hadn’t meant to be hunting another wolf. Lani was known for taking down other predators and maybe even their cousins the fox and coyote, but she wasn’t cannibalistic. In fact, the thought of eating this small girl turned her stomach. All Lani could focus on was how terrified the little female was as her russet hair quivered in the grass.

The dark femme’s words seemed to have no affect on the terrified creature. Her entire being was nothing but instinct as her first reaction seemed to be run or hide. Lani was surprised that the small girl hadn’t run yet and she assumed it must be do to Lani’s longer legs. It probably wouldn’t take long to nab the little creature, not that Lani would do that. "What do you want?" The female asked. She was obviously suspicious. To the point that it seemed that she was almost accusing Lani of having ulterior motives for even talking to her or being near her. Had this poor girl ever had anyone be nice to her? Honestly Lani was just trying to apologize to the poor dear for almost squashing her flat. She didn’t intend to harm her for any reason. Why would she feel the need to? The only way to calm this girl would be to speak in a way that she would clearly understand, even if her brain wasn’t thinking in anything but instinct. Lowering herself further, Lani laid flat on the ground with her chin touching the flattened grass. She pinned her ears as close to her head as she could and sunk herself as close to the earth as possible in an effort to make herself look smaller and like less of a threat. Lani had no intention of harming this girl and she didn’t want her to fear her.

“I don’t want anything in particular. Other than to maybe apologize.” She spoke in a soft, even tone. Lani honestly hoped the girl would stick around but she wouldn’t go after her if she chose to flee. The dark female had a strong desire to protect this small female. She seemed so fragile and jumpy that all Lani wanted to do was make sure she was alright. If anyone tried to harm the dainty femme, Lani would tear their head off. The girl must be scared for a reason. What past horrors did she carry with her? Who could have treated her so poorly to make the girl so fearful that she might be afraid of her own shadow? Whoever it was, they wouldn’t cause any harm with Lani around. Her Dark fur rested against the ground as Lani laid quietly, giving the girl a chance to gather herself, before she spoke. “Can I ask your name?”

OOC: Sorry it's so short and crappy. I'm trying to brush of the dust.

WORDS: 632 TAGS: XXXX

[Deleted]

The tiny female remained frozen, almost as if she were a miniature statue of some creature that did not deserve the right of movement. Had she been more confident and attentive, she might have realized how ridiculous this situation appeared. The large black female before her, crouched down flat on the ground and seeming to cower before the tiny Ethiopian submissive. This, of course, was not really the case, but to any passerby it might have appeared to be. Yet Rita continued to stare, eyes wide and ears flattened to the sides of her head like they were melted upon it. It took her a while, but gradually the dark female's words began to sink slowly into the smaller female's mind. She inhaled slowly, eyes still wide as she kept her head and body low beneath the flowers.

It truly was amazing how tiny she was, how the red tops of the flowers brushed lightly against her back and helped her to blend in like she was some type of chameleon and that she was built for the art of hiding. “I don’t want anything in particular. Other than to maybe apologize.” Her ears twitched slightly, catching the sound of the other female's voice and the apology within them. She was sorry? Rita blinked slowly, tail still tucked tightly between her back paws as she stared up at the other wolf. Was she being sincere, or was she simply trying to get her trust only to turn on her later? She frowned for a few moments, carefully studying the other female's face for a few moments. But her thoughts and concerns were interrupted only a few moments later as the other wolf spoke once again. “Can I ask your name?” She blinked up at the stranger, swallowing nervously, but not pinning herself to the ground quite as fearful as before.

"Rita." She said softly, surprising herself with the fact that she did not stutter at all. Sure, it was a short name, but when she was frightened, she not only found it hard to move, but also to talk. She swallowed nervously once more, seeming to gather her strength and confidence for a moment as she forced her body to relax at least slightly. This wolf had been stalking here, but perhaps she had not seen or smelled that she was a wolf? Maybe she had thought she was prey because she was so small? The little wolf had seen foxes that looked quite similar to her, but she had yet to meet a wolf that would go out hunting for the annoying little creatures. She frowned, tilting her head slightly and allowing her ears to loosen their grip on her head slightly. "You're not going to eat me, are you?" She asked, swallowing nervously once more but allowing herself to shift so that she was in a half-sitting, half-laying position.

Words: 481
Tags: Lalani
Muse: low
Notes: n/a

| Made by Rita |