Neuland [arrival thread; open]

[ulrich]

The Foreigner

---

Ulrich stared at the distant shoreline, his eyes narrowed to the sun. It was a cloudless day and the sea glittered brilliantly in the afternoon heat. The small rowboat swayed serenely in the swells, and all was silent but the quiet lapping of water on wood and the gentle washing of white-tipped waves on the remote shore. Ulrich stood facing his destination with his forepaws on the edge of the boat. He turned his mighty grey head toward the bow where Ysengrin the sea rat sat in repose, loosely clutching a wooden oar in his paws.

“Takin’ off, aye?” the rat mused. Ulrich nodded, sighing inwardly, mentally preparing himself for the next leg of the journey.

“Ich vant to zank you, Yzengrin. You are an honorable seaman und a gut comrade.”

“Think nothin’ of it, mate. Good luck findin’ yer lady friend.” Ysengrin grinned endearingly, showing his missing teeth. He raised a paw in salute to the grey wolf, who gave another respectful nod and leapt powerfully from the starboard side of the small vessel. The cool ocean engulfed him with a tremendous splash of glittering water, and within a moment his stalwart legs were kicking and he was swimming toward the beach with determination. He kept his head above the salty waves, his teeth gritted, brown eyes stern.

A voice sounded over the sea, followed by a cheerful bout of whooping and laughter.

“Swim, Grey Forest, SWIM!”

---

Ulrich shook the last of the salty moisture from his stone-colored pelt and turned his eyes seaward. Ysengrin’s rowboat was a mere speck on the horizon by now; the rat was heading back to the main ship, where he and the wolf had met. Ulrich had been captured and caged and kept as cargo in the hull of the ship until Ysengrin found him and aided him in his escape. He was gone now, but Ulrich would never forget him. Now, he must finish his mission—but where was there to go from here? He held no knowledge of this unknown territory other than what fables tales Ysengrin had told; there were packs of wolves inhabiting the continent, which he determined he must seek out to learn of the whereabouts of Athabasca—if she was still alive. Ulrich shook his head and looked down at his great paws, which had sunk deep into the wet sand. The ground near the ocean reminded him of his home in the Schwarzwald where blankets of white snow bedded the ground as did the soft sand beneath his paws.

The grey wolf lifted his head again to survey the land before him. Far into the distance, beyond meadows and grassy hills, he could see mountainous and heavily forested areas. He turned eastward and began to walk along the beach, sniffing at the larger rocks and trees, trying to find wolf-scent. He would take care not to intrude on pack territory yet, lest the natives didn’t take kindly to strangers. Ulrich was typically distrustful of packs; he had been exiled and nearly killed by a pack in his homeland for merely being in the wrong place at the wrong time. His best chance here would be to locate another rogue and seek knowledge of the land, and then continue his search from there.

To his relief, Ulrich did not find any strong scents marking the area. Several stale whiffs caught his attention, but none of the tell-tale cocktail of scents meaning that the territory belonged to a particular pack. Actually, the scents he was able to detect were so weak that there might not have been a wolf present for several weeks at least. If he were to make haste on his quest for the she-wolf, it would be rather counterproductive to wander aimlessly for too long in a foreign land. Something had to be done. He contemplated this as he padded toward a large boulder in the sand, his deep brown eyes scanning the horizon, beneath a slightly furrowed brow. He could follow a wolf’s scent, and risk appearing as a threat, or he could make his presence known to all wolves in the area. Both options would put him at a disadvantage, but there was little else in the way of going about this. Ulrich decided that the latter action would be a more direct route to his goal, as much as it would displease him to be so forward and cause such a disturbance. But it had to be done.

He leapt atop the boulder and sat with a posture rigid in confidence, however not dominant. He was, after all, meaning only to call attention to his location. And so Ulrich threw his mighty head back to the blue sky and howled, his voice deep like thunder. This howl was a question.

“Ist zer anybody out zer?”

[sapphire]

Weeks had slipped meaninglessly passed the snowy fae. Dreams of adventure in Sapphire’s eyes had been filled with the likes of hope and daring moves of courage. In truth there was little action to the wilderness, she slunk from area to area, often hungry, cold and very much so alone. Her once proud, silky white fur was stained with the mark of travel, her fur hung about her ribs in nearly unhealthy manner. She wasn’t so starved as to be on the point of collapse, but nor had she felt truly full in a long time. When she had made the decision to leave her safe, dull life, it had been because she was too wild and restless at heart. She hated weakness, above quite possibly all else, and the pack was growing weak on the ease of there life. She had an idea of what she might face out in a different world but she had never expected the repetition of each day. She wanted to escape familiarity and branch out into an undefined life.
So it wasn’t glamorous, but who was she kidding – had she ever really expected it to be?

The arctic fae pushed through the undergrowth of land that became all that more familiar with every circulation of it’s ground. Her steps where assured, and despite the weight of loneliness and imperfect care that pushed down upon her, her pride was shinning through her bright, living eyes. She had never been weak – her past had seen to that, and her greatest fear had pushed enough need towards that course – but with the hardship of caring for herself in strange land, the daily exercise her body saw – she was strong. She felt it in the hard muscles of her legs, and she wore this strength with pride. Since the day that a stranger had pulled her from the merciless current, Sapphire had not encountered a situation she couldn’t pull herself out of, her own wits and her own strengths where more then enough.

She caught the scent before she heard the noise – this unclaimed land did not often carry with it scents of wolves, so the gentle, waffling scent stood out from the others around her. The beat of her paws would fall silent, her body still and alert and she tilted her head and listened. Her timing fell neatly into place as moments later a voice called out. A self-assured voice, full of strength would eco about the area. The words where hard to compensate for, and it took a moment for it to truly settle in her mind as she realised it was in fact a voice of another wolf, the accent thick with unfamiliarity, the voice strong and male. The idea of seeing another wolf, after days of her own company was this little spark inside her chest.
“Is there anyone out there?’
Her mind finally supplied the words, the message in his howl, editing out the accent in her own mind, just for simplicity. Her light pace would start up again, a little less aimlessly as she followed the scent to the source of itself and the voice as well. She would push free of coverage and see him standing there, this stranger. He stood upon a boulder – if this was to assure his own strength, or simply for the ease of which it would allow his voice to echo, she was unsure. She held no fear, he looked strong and sure, but Sapphire held no doubt that she could keep her own. Regardless, death did not scare her – only the thought of giving up, surrendering to it.
“I am here, stranger, and my name is Sapphire. Why is it you call for others?”
After all, there had to be a reason – even if it was simply so he could hear another voice aside from his all-to-familiar own.

[ulrich]

First Contact

---

Ulrich caught the femme’s scent several moments later, and his stern brown eyes followed the glimpses of her white pelt through the foliage as she approached. At such a prompt response, he could not help feeling optimistic about his mission—but would she have the information he sought? One couldn’t get hopes up too quickly, after all. As she emerged from the green, his deep ochre eyes fell onto hers and held them in an austere gaze.

“Greetings, weisse Fraulein. Mein name ist Ulrich Grisvold. Ich am not from zis place,”

soberly spoke grey wolf while sitting in humble confidence. His voice was thick with formality, which was as close to friendliness as he could muster. While femme might not pick up on this tone, for Ulrich's demeanor was never anything more than subdued, he seemed to emanate a vibe of neutrality that was hard to miss—as temperate as his behavior was, his mood always seemed to make itself known in one way or another. And though this white femme was the first of his kind he had seen in over a year’s time, he was not particularly overjoyed by the fact; once a loner, always a loner, and so the social distance he kept between himself and other wolves remained as vast as it had been for most of his life whether he was glad to see her or not. He lowered his body to the boulder stiffly, but comfortably, and continued—

“Ich have come here in search of a dame such as yourself. Her pelt ist black und her eyes are blue. Her name ist Azzabasca. Ich vas hoping zat somevon vould be able to point me in her direction. Do you recognize ze name, Fraulein?”[/color]

The chances were unlikely, but it was worth a try all the same. Even if she didn’t know who he was referring to, he would have questions for her yet. But the very thought of having to repeat this conversation with every stranger that Ulrich met exhausted him; he had already spoken more words than he usually would in an entire day in the presence of others, and he had only just begun. This prompted another inward sigh, his broad chest lowering further onto his forelegs as he peered down at the snowy dame.
[/blockquote][/color]

[sapphire]

Sapphire’s eyes locked onto the stranger, her voice calm and assured, yet open and friendly. She couldn’t stand weakness in herself, but that didn’t make her a hard or cold wolf. She was willing to offer assistance to this wolf – if that was what he was after. Maybe she didn’t know that land perfectly, but her few journeys about this small section of it had given her knowledge enough to guide him a little – if that was the type of assistance he seeked (if any at all)

After she had spoken, so too did he. Once more that strange voice filled her ears, thick with an unfamiliar accent, biting roughly against the words he gave her. Once spoken it took her a moment, still, to translate them in her mind. She was not even sure every word he uttered was in English, but there was enough spoken for her to pull free the meaning of his words

Greetings, my name is Ulrich Grisvold. I am not from this place

Her mind supplied for her. He fell silent then, lowering himself comfortably on the bolder he had called his greeting from. It was clear he held no worries that she would become a threat to him. He too was stronger, but who the stronger was, was undefined.
Sapphire meant him no harm however, and her calm air was unmoving as she relaxed her stance a little more and opened her mouth to speak. She never got the chance, unaware that she had been about to respond, the grey set off talking once more.

I have come here in search of a dame such as yourself. Her pelt is black and her eyes are blue. Her name is Azzabasca. I was hoping that someone would be able to point me in her direction. Do you recognise her name”

She was unable to work out his last word, a word used for the second time and its purpose seemed to be that similar of her name. Maybe the word would – at a closer examination – translate to friend, but until he spoke it again she was unsure of this. At the end of his words, and the time it took for her to decipher them, he lowered himself even further, as through wearied by something – the prospect of not finding this fae, mayhap?
“I’m sorry, Ulrich. The only other wolf I have come across yet in my time here was a wolf that went by the name of Revan, but don’t let this despair you – as a loner I have had little opportunity to run into others”
She was quick to reassure him, knowing now that there was little she could do for this stranger. Maybe she could still direct him towards the nearest pack. After all, having been her a lot longer then she had and having more reason to be connected socially to those around them, they may hold more information about this fae then Sapphire did.
It would become clear that well Sapphire held little need to speak great lengths, she was not one to uphold long conversations to begin with.

[ulrich]

Artikulation.

---

”Zen tell me, Fraulein*. Is it true zat zer are many wolfpacks roaming in zis land? If so, ver might I find zem?

His gaze became more inquiring, his brow furrowing just slightly. He had begun to enunciate his words a little more clearly, as he could tell by the inconspicuous delay in her response that his words were difficult to understand; it was something that could also be seen in the eyes, that sort of ‘processing’ look they adopted when the mind was quick at work behind them. It wouldn’t be the first time he had seen this, for he had travelled far and long and had encountered creatures before who found his linguistics difficult to make sense of. It was something that bothered him very little, minutely to the point where he would sometimes forget to speak the correct language at all—or in the case of not forgetting, he would sometimes find himself letting out a string of harsh Germanic curses to express his dissatisfaction at those who had hindered his progress.

However for this femme, he enunciated slightly more than usual because of her patience. She seemed nice enough, he thought. But it made him feel as if he were speaking slowly to an illiterate native—not that she was unintelligent in any way, but the manner in which he stressed his words struck him as somewhat foolish; in this case, he was the one feeling illiterate. But no matter. The barriers of language were easy to overcome if one had enough patience. In that field of virtues, Ulrich felt, they would have little to worry about.

Linguistics aside, the grey male was not nearly disheartened by Sapphire’s lack of cognizance regarding Athabasca. If she were able to point him in the way of the nearest pack, he would be rather grateful and would be able to move on from here rather quickly.

[* Fraulein = Miss]

[sapphire]

Almost as through reading her mind – well, not quite so far fetched, as the question was one easy to rise to the mind in this situation – he proceeded to enquire after the packs. He asked her as through he wanted her to do a fact check for him. Obviously he had heard something about this place before he had arrived here – which was more then Sapphire herself had gotten.

Then tell me, Fraulein (and there was that word again). Is it true that there are many wolf-packs roaming in this land? If so, where might I find them?

Sapphire was starting to feel as through she was getting into the habit of understanding him now, his words slid easier over her ears despite the rough and unfamiliar accent. The words rearranged themselves in her mind until they where crisp and clear. All of course, except for that one word. Her curiosity was beginning to nag at her, but she still refused to pry into his mind. Her clearer understanding could well have come from the fact he spoke them more clearly, understanding the delay in her responses to be the moments she needed to translate.

Sapphire found she was taking a liking to this wolf, little in the way of emotion flickered across his face as it did in so many others. It gave him a calm air about him, as through there was no ragging storm inside his mind harrying him. She herself found little reason to move about, shift her weight or the like. She could remain here a while, in the calm serenity this other wolf held over himself and others. This time, the delay between her responses was small to non-existent.
“It’s true. I can point you in the right direction –or even lead you, if you wish me to. I have little else to occupy my time”
She explained lightly. Here she would tilt her head in her own inquiring manner.

(Thanks for the translation ^^ )

[ulrich]

’Go Vith Ze Flow’

---

”Zat vould be helpful; perhaps I vill find ze black-pelted fraulein much sooner zan Ich had hoped.”

Ulrich rose to his feet and jumped down from the boulder, his large paws sending up a few kicks of sand as he landed ten feet or so from the white fae. He took a few steps toward her to close the gap, but not many; as with any other stranger, he not only did not fully trust her, but also did not want to impose on her personal space, however expansive or narrow it might be. Ulrich typically preferred to keep some distance between himself and others, for he had been solitary throughout his life, and seemed to fall back to this habit in the presence of strangers. Whether it was truly “doing for others as they would do for you” or not, the grey wolf saw it as a common courtesy. The femme could lead if she wanted to, and he would follow a few reasonable paces behind.

It was unusual that he would resort to this, however. Never a seeker of company, Ulrich might have chosen to ask for no more than directions and then leave—but this femme’s mellow attitude and placid demeanor didn’t strike in him any reason to leave her behind, as he was usually intent on doing. He found the presence of most others to be boisterous and undesirable for the most part, and so preferred to find his own way as best as he could. This was seemingly not the case here.

The tall grey wolf seemed content with saying no more and letting Sapphire lead the way, not even tempted by inquiries such as how long the journey would take or where they were headed—or to whom they were headed, for that matter. He would tend to take things as they came to him and ride with the natural flow of things.

[No problem. Used it in a different context here to help her pick up on it ]

[sapphire]

Honestly, not only would it be no problem to lead him about to the pack lands, but it would give her something of a mission to do, a little more purpose then the aimless wonderings she had taken so far. It would mean, also, that she got to remain in the presence of another wolf for longer. Gave her sanity something of a pull from where it had been slipping – with only herself to keep her company, it was a slippery slope for a creature made to run in packs.

That would be helpful; perhaps I will find the black-pelted fraulein (??) much sooner then I had hoped

That word, it was stalking her now in his sentences, placed seemingly at random as through to taunt her. She herself had been referred to as it, and now this wolf, a friend or lover of his was being referred to with this word as well. It held some significance in the term of friend, surely, or simply his manner of addressing another, like the use of ‘Miss’ for example. With these words, he would jump down from his bolder and stalk at ease towards her. he did not approach too closely to her, as through respecting her personal space or reluctant to alarm her. Sapphire still held the confidence that she could hold her own – she didn’t go looking for fights, but that didn’t mean she didn’t know how to battle. Maybe he himself had a fairly large personal space bubble all to himself. What ever his reasoning was, Sapphire respected it, and with a nod of her head she turned and begun to move at a light, easy pace forward.
“To the packs it is then”
She would murmur to him – in encouragement for him to follow. Which also left it up to him if he was to match pace with her or walk a few steps behind.

They walked in silence, the beat of her paws seemed quieter to her now, less dominant with the sound of his own also pattering against the earth. The truth was, Sapphire had not walked with a brother wolf for a long time now, the sound was nearing the point of being alien to her, but not so far gone to not be a comfort. And nor was there silence an uncomfortable one – they where both the type to respect it, to have no wish to pry or comment on and on about unimportant happenings in the world around them simply to make conversation. No, it seemed they where both happy to walk in silence where ever it was that Sapphire was leading them.

(Would you like me – or you, if you like - to start a new thread in a pack land? )