Sneaking About (Jericho / CLOSED)

[Venom]

Through the woods Venom traveled rather quickly, eager to put distance between himself and Eden territory. The wolves he had met there were fools, but suspicious ones, and he was getting nowhere fast by talking to them. He had not fled so much as bowed out with as much grace as he could manage without raising more suspicion, and the experience left him with quite the picture of what values the pack held dear. Clearly they were a family unit, protective, and unwelcoming to boot, as he had been very much informed by two of the three wolves he encountered. The third, presumably the alpha, had been aggressive but not unreasonably so, and after his attack on the loner, Venom was in no hurry to tackle a trio of wolves--despite having wanted nothing more than to rip the female's veins open and drain her slowly.

Shaking his head, the wolf began to move more slowly as he passed a bank of caverns set into the hills, giving it a wide berth in case any predators lurked inside. He had not gotten to the age he was by being careless, and he would not allow himself to fall at the hand of fellow predator; if he did not die of natural causes, he would consider his death a tragedy and a mistake. His life was carefully lead and carefully lived, and he planned to keep living for a while yet. As Venom's loping gait slowed, he began to process his next course of action.

It would do not good to get closer to the clearing in which he had destroyed a life, and the other northern pack was too close to Eden territory for him to be comfortable settling in, so he set his sights to the east, away from the setting sun. A pit stop at a pool of water was necessary, which he found without much trouble. With a practiced ease he began to groom gore and blood from his thick fur, utilizing the water initially, then his paws, and finally his tongue. At one point, ears back, he immersed his whole body, keeping himself down while he propelled forward to help displace the evidence of murder from the parts of his face that were harder to reach.

As he resurfaced, Venom paddled back to the shore and stepped dripping back onto dry land, shaking out his heavy pelt with a graceful, comfortable motion that flung water in all directions at once, effectively watering the grass at the edge of the pool. With a smile he stepped closer to a remaining patch of sunlight, relishing the warmth in the fading light of dusk. After a short sunbathe, the male continued his grooming, drying his pelt halfway before he was satisfied, all the while keeping himself aware of his surroundings despite there being very little cover in this section of the land he was passing through. Any creature would be hard-pressed to sneak up on him here, but there was no sense in not keeping a keen eye out regardless.

Words || 514
Tags || @jericho
Notes || After having a not-open thread become such, I've decided to make it abundantly clear when a thread is to be with one other wolf and I'm not gonna apologize for how ugly it makes the title. Also reply whenever, I'm not in a hurry.< 3

[Deleted]

It had been a while since Jericho had joined Eden now, and he was still just as excited about it as ever, his new pack on his mind every waking moment. He had made several acquaintances and friends both inside and outside of the pack, and it was time he met another. He spent a moment thinking about when and how he would next cross paths with another wolf until the sun dipped behind a cloud, casting a chill over him.

He stood up and stretched in a bow, having just taken a nap in the sun of the hills as it peeked out from behind the sky full of clouds. It was mid to late afternoon now, the wolf guessed, judging by the position of the sun. He likely had time to continue exploring the territory. He was increasingly familiar with Eden’s territory, but not with much that lay just beyond its borders, despite having spent that one day with the two loners near the river. Perhaps it was time he ventured out and did something a little more daring.

He loped through the hills until he came to a very different feeling terrain. The lack of the familiar scent of Eden sent a chill up his spine. It had not been so very long ago that he had been on his own. Why should this bother him now? He shook it off, inwardly chiding himself for having become so soft in such a short time.

Before long, he thought he could barely smell blood. There was something metallic about the trace of a scent he was picking up. It did not take him long to track it down. A pool of water was gently lapping along its edge, some of the ground around it slightly stained. The coloration was almost imperceptible, but Jericho wondered if something injured had tried to clean itself here. Whatever it had been, it was gone now, giving Jericho hope that it had survived and was doing well on its own. He was not one to wish anything dead – friend, foe, or prey. It was a part of life that things died, but one did not need to celebrate it.

The Eden wolf stopped to sit for a bit, drinking in the scenery around him. It was a relatively nice place, but he did not have a wide range of vision. The terrain was such that it obstructed view of much and gave plenty of potential hiding places. Jericho was about to continue on his way when he caught movement out of the side of his eye. He twisted around to confront the stranger. A wolf about his size, completely black, and with green eyes was there. How long had he been there? How had Jericho not noticed his presence?

“Hello,” the male spoke gently, trying not to make the situation worse than it needed to be. If he were friendly, the stranger might return the favor. It had worked with Phantom and Auron after all, despite how distrusting Phantom had appeared at first. “I am Jericho. And you are?”

Words: 516
Muse: meh, but it is what it is
Tags: Venom
Notes: Finally getting this up for you! And yay! We can thread again after Auron! -laughcries-

[Venom]

For several moments, Venom simply sat in his sunbeam, even as it shifted with the movement of the earth in relation to the sun. It did wonders for drying his dark fur while simultaneously warming him up, something he relished as the warm season began to turn cool. The delicate sounds of feet on grass perked his ears, and the dark male turned his head in the direction of the sound, looking slightly over his shoulder to do so. There was no alarm in his motion or expression, but he readied himself just in case one of those uncooperative Eden wolves had, for whatever reason, followed him outside of their territory.

The wolf he spied was not one of the two from before, but that meant little; he was still close to their territory, and this wolf could very well belong to the pack as well. In fact, when Venom took in his scent, he detected contact with others, meaning that he likely did belong to Eden, as there were no other packs so close. The male sighed softly, shaking his head, as the stranger finally noticed him, though his shifted his expression to a non-threatening smile and lifted himself, turning the rest of the way somewhat awkwardly due to his missing leg--which he showcased on purpose, of course. Not for pity, but to be underestimated.

Before Venom could speak, Jericho had greeted him and introduced himself with hardly a pause, and the dark male's smile widened, his green eyes sparkling slightly in the dying sunlight as the opportunity presented itself. Clearly this stranger was more willing to accept strangers into his world, and that suited Venom just fine after the disaster that was his first attempt at gaining information. "Greetings, stranger," he responded kindly, lowering his head deeply but without a flourish--there was no use in over-doing it. "It's nice to meet you, Jericho. I am Osiris."

Venom suppressed a chuckle at the irony of pretending to be named after the god of the sun; if he did not have fun with his lies, what was the point? Tricking wolves with constant seriousness would grow much too tiring. "I apologize for the state of my coat. I have just finished a bath," he continued, settling himself back into a sitting position as his comfort level doubled, confident that this wolf would not treat him the same way that Elijah had. "Do you reside with a pack near here? I've smelled their markers in this area but have not met any pack wolves so far."

Words || 442
Tags || @jericho
Notes || Venom is such a liiiiaaaaar

[Deleted]

It’s nice to meet you, Jericho. I am Osiris.

The words seemed friendly enough, and Jericho immediately relaxed. Another potential crisis avoided. And yet there was something in the wolf’s smile and green eyes that gave Jericho an uneasy feeling about him.

Nonsense, Jericho chided himself. He did not have any reason to distrust this stranger. What a rude way to begin a relationship with someone. Borrowing trouble was something Jericho definitely did not believe in. He was sure he would be able to warm up to Osiris if he just gave him a chance.

I apologize for the state of my coat…

It was then that Jericho noticed that the male’s fur did seem a little damp. He had not really had time to really consciously notice many details about him in his shock of another wolf seemingly appearing out of nowhere. He took a bit of time to do that now. Osiris seemed very unconcerned with his presence, very relaxed, comfortable, and confident, not at all in a way that seemed to pose a threat. The Eden wolf was a little upset at himself for how caught off guard he must seem – not at all a good way to start with a stranger. Thankfully, he was presented with the opportunity to relax and have a normal conversation with the next question.

Do you reside with a pack near here? I've smelled their markers in this area but have not met any pack wolves so far.

Talking about Eden was something that came easily to Jericho. He was very content with his new life and place in the pack. Thanatos had been so generous to him when he had first accidentally trespassed in not only treating him amiably but even offering him a home, family, and respectable rank in the pack. It was more than Jericho could have hoped for before. Perhaps he could return the favor. This wolf did not seem as lost and wanting as Jericho knew he had been himself, but there was no harm in attempting to figure out where the stranger stood in relation to packs.

“Yes, the lands belong to Eden,” he nodded. “I joined not long ago. What do you wish to know about the pack?” His only thought was to be friendly and helpful to someone who could also be looking for a home. “I assume you are a loner, then?” he questioned. It was a reasonable assumption, but Jericho preferred to not have to work off of assumptions. Clear data was much easier for him to work with. And even if he was not looking to join a pack, it could not hurt to have more good relations with wolves outside the pack, as he did with Phantom and Auron. One never knew when friendships could come in handy.

Words: 461
Muse: Better than expected
Tags: Venom
Notes: And Jericho is so trusting. Poor little guy. IDEA! If he gets burned through this at the end, he might have to seriously rethink his trusting nature. So much opportunity for character development here! Do you think maybe once we’ve had them continue for a while, something could happen where Venom’s lies all kind of fall apart? Maybe we could have someone else that knows him or has met him or something show up?

[Venom]

The dark wolf radiated a calm, cool energy as he sat, listening carefully yet casually to the words that reached his ears. Bright eyes, almost always in motion, were now settled upon the matching yellow of the younger wolf, once he realized that the male was becoming as relaxed as he was--an unwise decision, but one that made Venom's job all too easy. It was how he normally operated, tricking wolves from the start, earning trust he did not deserve, and moving along with his target none-the-wiser. Typically, they didn't know they'd been lied to, and if they ever did learn, he was long gone before then.

Jericho revealed that he had joined Eden only recently, which might mean he did not have much to say about the place, but the subtle change in tone made Venom wonder if he did not already love and respect his new home. If that were the case, he would be very likely to reveal as much as he had learned, and just as likely to have learned as much as he possibly could. The possibilities kept the easy smile on Venom's muzzle, and he knew that his eagerness in asking questions would be seen as simple curiosity and not what they really were--weapons, to be used against perhaps this very wolf and his new companions in the future.

Using the best tool in his arsenal, Venom opened his mouth again to speak. "Ahh, Eden is it? I have heard only the briefest of descriptions of your fellows. I confess that I know only that it exists, and that you follow some sort of... entitity?" He used a light, airy voice and grimaced appropriately at the end of his sentence-turned-question. "I apologize if I offend! I have never heard of wolves having belief in anything other than nature, you see. So I suppose my first question would have to be about your savior."

A question then, directed at him, caused Venom to pause, as this was a sticky sort of situation. He could claim to be a loner easily enough, but that ran the risk of Jericho inviting him to meet the rest of Eden, to see if he would be a good fit. The darker male could not risk another run-in with Elijah, and he knew it would be difficult to lie about why he was so unwilling to take a chance. After all, he had convinced this stranger that he was simply a wolf out on his own, familiar to the area but not to the surrounding packs, and if he began to seem like something more without weaving his own tapestry of lies, it would be harder and harder to convince him.

So he set a slightly disturbed and pathetic look on his face, hunched his shoulders a bit, and lost his smile, replacing it with a shy sadness. "I, ah..." he muttered softly, casting his eyes to the ground in order to really sell his act. "I hail from a land to the west. But I've been sent off as punishment, and am not allowed to return for one cycle of seasons." Venom paused momentarily, still looking at the ground, and then lifted his eyes, smiling sadly as he once again locked gazes with Jericho. "I made the mistake of falling in love where another already held claim. I am lucky to be able to return."

The sadness Venom showed was not entirely made up, though the story he shared was; a hint of true unhappiness sparked from his past, but he did not allow it to stay. Thinking now of his lost love, his first real home, would serve him no purpose after Jericho began to pity him for his plight.

Words || 644
Tags || @jericho
Notes || Hmm well. It's always possible for Elijah or Calantha to wander by if Jericho did, though it'd be more likely for Elijah and then he could get all hostile and run Venny out, HOWEVER if Calantha comes by, she could reveal that Venom is the one who killed Auron (adding even more drama to this all). I'm sure either Rita or Evie would love to pop in at some point and help so I'll leave it up to you!

[Deleted]

Jericho smiled as the conversation shifted easily and obviously towards what made Eden the most different from other packs — their beliefs. This was something Jericho would be happy to share about. “We do believe in a deity, yes. We call him Elohim. I do not know that I’ve ever heard him referred to as a savior,” his brow furrowed as if trying to recall, “But I do not think that is an altogether incorrect description either.”

The Eden wolf was sure, however, that the stranger might appreciate more information than a simple affirmative. It was, after all, quite natural to be curious about something such as this. “I confess I have not yet had the pleasure of encountering Elohim myself, but speaking with those who have leaves no doubt of his existence and his goodness. In fact, it was the strong faith that drew me to this pack.” He left his response open ended, should Osiris wish to inquire further.

The seemingly obvious question that Jericho had asked him, however, caused a change in the dark male. Jericho at once felt sorry he had bothered to pry, though why he felt the simple question was prying was beyond him. Osiris could have chosen not to answer, he supposed. The sad tale of unrequited love and abandonment had its desired effect, and Jericho felt sympathy for this wolf.

“Are you just on your own until you can return, then? How are you fending for yourself?” Jericho knew all too well the trouble loners could have even simply finding a decent meal or place to sleep at times. Jericho did not really feel like there was anything he could do to help Osiris, but having asked and showed concern somehow made him feel better, as if he was doing all he could for this wolf. He did not appear to be starving and seemed likable enough that Jericho was sure he was not otherwise running into problems.

Words: 335
Muse: meh
Tags: Venom
Notes: Well.. finally got this out. Sorry it’s sucky. lost sight of what to do. if you don’t mind Calantha joining at some point, that could be cool. up to you. =)