I Walk Alone (Open)

[Malachi]

He contrasted with the earth he walked on, the hunter within him wasn't entirely comfortable with that. His silver, black and white pelt camouflaged better with the river rocks of his birth lands, but he wanted to see the heights this pile of stones had to offer.

Things have been quiet lately, he has been alone again. Something he liked and hated all at once. An odd mixture. His silent battle within himself still tugged him back and forth but he had to admit there was pros and cons to both sides. Still not being at ease in mixed company, Malachi has proven he could be a friend to a select few. That was progress was it not? But the safer choice of being alone remained a desire to the almost fully grown male. No one to fail, hurt or be responsible for was rather ideal....or was it?

Shrugging the thought away, he climbed the reddish rock nearly completely confident that he was alone in the heights. He hadn't seen anyone since he left the beach. Scent crossed his path but that was easy enough to avoid walking the same trail as them.

He had a thought to go visit his friend Saphira but wasn't sure how it would go if he stepped over those borders. Much had happened since he had seen her but he wasn't sure how her pack would take his visit. It was something they never talked of and frankly he never thought to ask. 

So he wondered, alone. Maybe he would run into her elsewhere and tell her then. But for now he had to focus on where he placed his feet, one misstep and he wouldn't talk ever again most likely. 

A morbid thought came to mind.....would anyone even notice if he died?

[Muse]

Guilt gnawed at her stomach like a ravenous wolf. Each step she took was one step further from her new home, and it was taking its toll. The wind was heavy against her pelt, almost as if it were tugging at her, trying to drag her back to where she belonged. But where is that? Her question was as focused as a sharp stone, and it repeated itself in her mind. Muse had no answer, and that is what spurred her onwards, through the sands of the Occasus and into the red clay of the canyon she now traversed.

She hadn’t stopped running in nearly two days. Grabbing short naps along the way was the only bit of rest she had been able to grab. Her mind was simply racing, and it was as if her paws were trying to keep up with it. The wind tossed the loose stone and orange powder into her eyes as her paws found purchase on the shelf she was climbing. Her once-ivory feet were stained with rust-colors. The sun was so bright that it was penetrating the thick layer of cloud overhead. It was winter, but here, there was no snow. Only layers and layers of colored stone, stacked high on one another. When Muse had seen it from a distance, she knew at once she had to see it up close. Now that she was here, and climbing high, it was as if she couldn’t stop. She felt as if her paws could climb forever.

The wind tossed the thick fur around her neck, and she squeezed her dual colored eyes—one a brilliant teal, the other vibrant orange—shut against the tossed debris. It howled through the canyon like a howl of a lone wolf, and Muse’s ears pricked up as a lush red bloomed in her mind. The wind made her feel unsteady on her feet, and the red bursts of colors behind her eyelids were distracting.

”What am I doing out here?” Her question hung in the dry air around her, but it was aimed at no one. She was utterly alone, like she always was. The pain of loosing her parents was still fresh in her heart, and her loneliness had followed her to Ananke.

Maybe I can just run forever. So focused she was on her breathing, the stone beneath her feet, and the orange and reds of the canyon around her, she didn’t notice that the scent of another wolf had come into the vicinity until he had come into view. He was ahead of her, a grey streaked mass of brute climbing just as she was. His muscles rippled along his flanks, and her eyes followed him as he moved away from her.

Without hesitating, she called out to him. Maybe it was the shock of seeing another wolf in such a desolate place, or maybe she was just tired. ”Hello there!”

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Count | 517
Tagged | Malachi
Muse | Excellent
Notes | Here you go!

[Malachi]

It was quiet here, even with the wind gusting in his ears. An chaotic peace that he had no idea what to do with. At first he thought he liked it then it changed to dissatisfaction as he realized harshly it served no purpose. Why couldn't he make up his mind? About anything. 

Stormy grey eyes looked up at the sky like he was searching for the answer written somewhere up there. But the only thing to be found was the thick cloud cover trying to choke out the sunlight. How fitting....

Muscles tensed immediately when he heard someone call to him. Who in the world would come up here for a chat? Turning his head to see the snowy form behind him, he at first thought it was Saphira, but that thought left almost as soon as he had it. This female lacked the pretty gold patch over her face, yet possessed mismatched eyes that he found beautiful. 

Deciding to find out what she wanted, Malachi led his masculine form in her direction. Cautious as always, the fighter scanned her carefully as he judged whether or not she may somehow be a threat. Innocent faces had a way of being dangerous masks. 

On the plus side he had the high ground and looked like his form was more powerful, yet that probably meant she was faster then he was. These among many passed through his mind as the distance between them shrunk. 

A thunderous rumble on his chest announced the deep baritone of his voice, "Hello, Miss." Lowering his head in a bow while his eyes never left her face to see what her intentions may be. Father taught you to be chivalrous...don't mess it up right away. Those lessons were slipping further and further from his mind with the lack of practice. How ashamed They would be now....

Muse

[Muse]

He turned when she called out to him, and she was immediately stricken by his gaze. Even as she padded closer, loose red stone crumbling underfoot, she could see the storm in his eyes. They were a bluish grey, the colors almost indistinguishable from one another. They were like a sea on a cloudy day, dense and immensely somber. And they were incredibly intriguing. No longer feeling strange about meeting a wolf in such a strange location, she moved forward with confidence. She could tell immediately that this wolf was masculine and complicated and incredibly interesting—a combination that was irresistible to the curious femme. The nervousness that usually accompanied her while meeting strangers was gone. She had met enough wolves in the past week that it no longer seemed odd to meet another wolf without fear, although she never did quite know anymore what was odd or not odd.

He spoke with a polite dib of the head, and held himself proudly. His formal tone was like caramel in her mind, soft and brown. His rumbling voice was also tinged with blue, a comforting blue. Did he just call me miss? Flattered, Muse blinked her dual-colored eyes bashfully before she responded. "Hello," she began, "My name is Muse. Are you alone here?"

She had asked if he was alone, yes, but the question was less about if he were here, traveling this canyon alone, and more about him. His scent suggested he was a loner. With no pack to call home, where did his family roam? Was he as she had been, part of a small group traveling the island? Or was he truly, with no one to go home to, and no place to call home? The landscape around them was dangerous and intriguing. It was so brightly colored, and yet the color all ran together in a sort of mass of oranges. Had he come here because he was as interested in this place as she was? Or maybe, like me he is running from something he cannot name.

”It’s beautiful here.” The whisper slipped past her lips before she even realized it was true. She gave the handsome brute before her a nervous smile, the corners of her muzzle turning slightly as she dipped her head.

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Count | 382
Tagged | Malachi
Muse | Decent
Notes | Beep boop

[Malachi]

So far she seemed harmless, thankfully. He didn't really relish the idea of fighting at this height, so close to several edges that could be deadly should one slip during combat. 

He studied her carefully, curious really. Why should she hail him unless she had a purpose? It was dangerous to just walk up to wolves and chat, you never know if it could cause you harm. Then again he had to admit he was paranoid, the last four wolves he met were all.....sweet. He had to keep reminding himself there was good in the world. 

When the dual colored eyed girl spoke, his ears perked to catch her name. She had a bell-like voice to him, how unlike his thunder storm tones. "I am Malachi. A pleasure, Miss." He tried to sound gallant and at ease but he honestly didn't know how it came off. He was so wound up most of the time, relaxation wasn't an intimate friend. 

Her question on whether he was alone or not made him tense once more. Was she with others that hunted loners who had no one in the world? Always on the defensive, he let his eyes scan around her for signs of others but none were in sight. The wind was against him to seek out scents. She had him in a corner, yet he would not lie to try and save himself. "I am. Almost my entire life." Perhaps that wasn't entirely fair, he had met a select few he would call 'friend' but if he was in danger he would protect them by leaving them out of conversation. But he had no family to speak of, which he felt was more of her point. He had no one who's heart would break should he die. 

"Are you?" He felt it was fair enough for him to ask the same. It this was a trap for him of course she would lie, but perhaps with enough conversation he could really find out if she is just an innocent girl who likes to meet others. 


Muse

[Muse]

He spoke again, and she felt herself sinking into his voice as if she were sinking into a warm caramel brown river of words. His name was Malachi. There was so much blue in the sound of his name that it was almost like a break from the rest of what he said. How interesting, the soft white femme thought. At her question, he seemed to grow suspicious, and Muse immediately worried that she had asked a personal question. She leaned forward slightly, as if to preempt following him if he decided to flee. She really hoped he wouldn’t be frightened of her, though. There was nothing she would do to harm him.

As that thought drifted casually across her conscience, the ivory femme tensed slightly. She lived her whole life not wanting to hurt others. She purposefully has treated everyone with kindness and fairness. Everyone deserved a second chance, after all. And no one was truly bad. But when she had found both her parents dead… that’s when she had realized that she did hurt others. Anyone close to her was destined to meet a horrible fate. Was she to avoid getting close with strangers as well?

When he was done squinting against the red dust blowing up around them, the gray brute finally told her that he was alone. He had always been alone. The nervousness in her paws dissipated, if only slightly. A loner like him wouldn’t get close to her. She was a pack wolf now, and she was far from home. Just because their paths had crossed did not mean she were cursing him to imminent death. Stop being dramatic, she told herself.

”Are you?”

The question came so innocently; she wasn’t sure how to respond. At her back, Ananke waited for her return. She had met wolves there, fine wolves… but it had been weeks since Muse had felt anything except a prolonged loneliness. Not wanting to make the brute in front of her wait, however, Muse tried to form her thoughts into words he would understand, having just met her. ”I recently joined a pack, Ananke. But I lived in a small roaming pack before that… with my parents. You could say I’ve been a drifter as of late.”[/font

The colors of her voice seemed to drift as well, though she barely noticed them. Her own voice had been the only consistency in her life. If someone asked her, she wouldn’t even be able to tell them what color it was.

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Count | 424
Tagged | Malachi
Muse | Decent
Notes | I’m so terrible sorry for letting this thread sit for so long. I would really like to continue it if you’re feeling up to it!