A Fresh Start {Ace}

[Sasha]

HOVER

[attr="class","plbase"]

[attr="class","pltxt"]Many weeks of training had come and gone for the young pup. Many different levels and intensities of training, some that she couldn't have possibly ever imagined. She had wanted to quit several times, but she hadn't. She hadn't because she wanted this more than anything in the world. She wanted to see the rest of this island at the very least, but she also wanted to venture out farther if possible. She wanted to see everything. But she didn't know that months of training would never prepare her mentally for the act of stepping across the pack border. She could get in a load of trouble for crossing boundaries, territory lines. If she did this, she would have to be careful not to make herself be seen as a threat. Once outside of her home territory, she would not be able to freely challenge who she wanted to. The only fighting that she was to do would be fighting that was provoked by the opposing party. That said, she was still a little spit-fire by nature, so she knew that her mouth would probably still get her in trouble, despite how hard she would work to keep it shut... Or at least keep her words pleasant. She sighed as she stared at the ground, the invisible line that separated The Oriens from Tiayr was the only thing that separated Sasha from freedom. She wouldn't be gone for long... Not this time. Maybe the day if she was lucky. No... This was only the beginning of her journey. She would gradually stay out longer, proving (to herself and others) that she could take care of herself out in the cruel world. She didn't constantly need protection.

It wasn't like Kiva sheltered the young pup either. No, Sasha was very knowledgeable of the outside world and the things that it held. But she wanted to experience them herself, not remain in the same packlands for the rest of her life. Wolves didn't live very long, after all. Maybe seven? So she was already a little over one year in, and she had done nothing but mope, lonely, around the pack's lands. She sighed before taking a deep breath, closing her eyes, and placing one paw across the border. As soon as her paw hit the ground, she breathed a sigh of relief, opening her eyes and looking around. Nothing happened. No patrol came running. No bear tried to kill her. Nothing. It was still just as quiet as it had been seconds before, only now she was technically trespassing onto Eden's lands. She didn't know much about the pack, but she did know that they were religious like her mother's pack, and so she wondered if that would make it easier on her if they found her wandering through the lands. She was just a curious little pup, after all. Perhaps she would be able to pull off that act. Though, she suddenly felt different, outside of Othala's lands. She felt... Exposed. She didn't feel like she had to prove her worth to anyone, she just felt... Oddly vulnerable despite the training that Sazio had done with her to help her prepare for this moment. It was strange to feel so exposed and vulnerable... Almost... Afraid. Sasha could only remember one time in her life that she had felt fear, and it was when she was swimming the ocean with her mother, and she had almost not made it to the shore. Other than that, fear was just not something that she felt. She sighed as she slowly took another and then still another step into the new lands, venturing deeper and deeper.

"Speech"

OOC: Here you are, love <3
Words: 654
Muse: Fair
Notes: Thank you to Luna for making this fabulous table <3
Tags: Ace

[newclass=.pltxt]position: relative; z-index: 200; opacity: 0; transition: all 1.1s ease; -webkit-transition: all 1.5s ease; -moz-transition: all 1.1s ease;[/newclass][newclass=.plbase:hover .pltxt]opacity: 0.8;[/newclass][newclass=.pltxt::-webkit-scrollbar]width: 8px;[/newclass][newclass=.pltxt::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]background: #ca929b;[/newclass]

[Ace]

It had been a few weeks since Ace had joined Eden and though he was adjusting, things were still different and he kept finding new challenges to face. There were so many peculiar things about the fact, so many wolves he had to get to know, and not being able to hear anything making everything more difficult. Though he could often read lips and make out at least a few words of a conversation, there was still plenty he couldn’t understand and even what he thought was said could always be wrong. He had also never been a pack wolf before so the structure and having to bow down to an alpha was also different, though he really didn’t mind.

On that particular day, he had found himself wondering around by himself, trying to avoid running into any his pack mates. It wasn’t that he didn’t like them it was just that he wanted some time to himself. Time to relax and breathe and not have to worry about not being able to make out words or wondering if he was annoying anyone. The day was pleasant, sunny and breezy with only a few clouds dotting the sky. He was certain birds were singing and crickets were chipping with the return of spring. He knew it would only be a matter of time before baby animals and pups would start appearing and he was looking forward to it all.

As his walked, it wasn’t long before his nose, having become more keen sense the loss of his hearing, picked up on a scent that was unfamiliar to him. He was unsure rather it belonged to another pack member who he had yet to meet or if it belonged to a new wolf who was trespassing on his pack’s lands. Regardless, he followed the scent with caution and curiosity. When he saw the young wolf, perhaps a year of age, standing not too far away, he was quick to approach her, keeping his posture relaxed so she would know he meant no harm. “Hello, miss” he greeted her, bowing his head politely, completely unaware that his words were a lot louder than he thought they were.

[Sasha]

HOVER

[attr="class","plbase"]

[attr="class","pltxt"]Sasha didn't know what she expected to find in this new territory. In all honesty, she didn't really know much about the wolves that lived there. She knew that they were allies to her pack, but she didn't know how friendly or hostile they were, despite being allies to her mother's pack, Othala. She wondered if they would attack her, should they find her wandering through the lands alone. Surely not... Unless they had no idea that she was in Othala... Then there might be a little scuffle. Sasha didn't think anything major would come from any attack that Eden might throw her way. It would be her fault, after all, for trekking into their lands, for the most part, uninvited. Sasha wondered if there was some kind of agreement between allies that would allow her to walk peacefully through their territory, but she wasn't sure, and she wasn't about to find someone to ask. Sighing, she let her head dip low, sniffing the ground as she continued walking through the new land. It was so strange to be in unfamiliar territory. There were so many new sights and smells, and she loved it more than she could have ever expected. She wondered if she should howl to announce her presence within in the land, but she decided that going undetected might be better. After all, some might want to speak with her if she were to announce herself, and she wasn't very good at talking. She liked to do it, but she wasn't good at holding pleasant conversations with other wolves... She had learned that the hard way by talking to Yang.

Sasha stopped for a moment and shook out her pelt, a little dirt and a couple leaves falling from her fur. After a moment, she lifted her nose to inhale the air around her, checking to see if anyone was near enough to her to be a threat. She caught nothing until the wind shifted, and she gave a small growl, pinning her ears as she turned around to face the approaching brute. She knew he was male by his scent, though she was unsure if he was hostile or not. Since he was approaching from behind, she just had to assume that he was. As he appeared, though, and she was able to get a good look at him, she quickly stopped growling and sat down. He was approaching in a non-threatening manner, and Sasha was very accepting of him once she realized that he was not there to actually hurt her... Or at least didn't appear to want to. As he approached, she let her eyes glance over him, taking in his darkly colored fur. She didn't think he was much of anything special, though what did catch her attention was the two colors of his eyes. She found that rather odd since she had never seen it before, but she thought it was pretty cool. When he spoke, she jumped slightly, surprised by how loud his voice was. She wondered why on earth he would speak so loudly, but she simply dipped her head respectfully and gave a small smile. "Hello there." She said politely, looking at him.

"Speech"

OOC: <3
Words: 552
Muse: Fair
Notes: Thank you to Luna for making this fabulous table <3
Tags: Ace

[newclass=.pltxt]position: relative; z-index: 200; opacity: 0; transition: all 1.1s ease; -webkit-transition: all 1.5s ease; -moz-transition: all 1.1s ease;[/newclass][newclass=.plbase:hover .pltxt]opacity: 0.8;[/newclass][newclass=.pltxt::-webkit-scrollbar]width: 8px;[/newclass][newclass=.pltxt::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]background: #ca929b;[/newclass]

[Ace]

Though there was a time in his life when Ace enjoyed play fighting and would even attack a threat to his owner or defend himself if ever the need arose, that was simply no longer the case. Ever sense he lost his hearing, he had become almost afraid of confrontation. He knew he had a huge disadvantage, no longer to hear the enemy. He had to rely solely on sight and any good opponent would realize all they had to do to beat him was to stay behind him where he couldn’t see them. Because of that, anytime Ace thought unwanted confrontation was about to happen, he would tuck tail and run. It was for that reason that he could help but frown when he saw the defensive stature of the young feme. He wished her no harm and even if he did, she would still have the upper hand.

He was glad to see, however, that once he got closer to her, she let her guard down and relaxed. The last thing Ace wanted was to make her uncomfortable. Following her lead, he sat down across from her before he greeted her. He smiled when she was quick to respond, easily picking up the words that she used. “Am Ace, Are you?” he introduced himself before asking her name, not knowing which of the words were audible and which weren’t.

After sitting quietly for a minute, his curiosity got the better of him, wanting to know if she was part of the pack or not. “Are part of Eden?,” He asked her with a tilt of his head before continuing, “If not, what brings you?” He wondered if she was there looking to join and if so, what he should do. But, he figured that was a bridge he would cross when the time come. In the meantime, as long as she wasn’t there to cause trouble, he was happy.

[Sasha]

HOVER

[attr="class","plbase"]

[attr="class","pltxt"]Sasha wished so desperately that she had other pups in her pack to play with. The fact was, though, that she was the youngest one of all of them, and the adults just weren't that into playing. Yang had played with her, sure, but most of the time, they were 'too busy' to even give her the time of day. She understood, though. When you grew up, there was simply no time to play. You had to hunt and fight and defend and whatnot. But it was hard for her, as a barely turned one year old, to remember that sometimes. But it was part of the reason why she wanted to venture out of the pack for a little bit. She was in need of social interaction with other wolves, and the little bit that she got within the pack just wasn't doing it for her. She sighed and mentally shook her head at the thoughts. She would get to go out soon enough, and she would hopefully be able to venture into lands of wolves that were not allies of her pack. Not like she wanted to go trespassing into enemy territory, but she wanted to go out into the world more. Inside Eden's territory, she still felt like she was trapped, told to stay inside the borders when all she wanted to do was run free. In time it would come... In time, she would get her reward for all those weeks of difficult training that Sazio had put her through. Hopefully sooner than later.

Her ears perked as the other wolf spoke again, and she tilted her head curiously. Why was he talking so funny? His words were jumbled, mixed, slurred together. Yet he was saying words, and she could understand him. She tilted her head the other way, curious. "Sasha." She replied to his first question, able to understand that that was what he wanted to know. He had given his name -Ace, she had heard- and so it seemed only fitting that he would ask for and expect her name in return. He asked more questions, and she shook her head. "No, sir. I'm from Othala. I'm here exploring." She said, nodding in a matter-of-fact sort of way. She looked over him and tilted her head again. "Are you in Eden?"

"Speech"

OOC: <3
Words: 412
Muse: Fair
Notes: Thank you to Luna for making this fabulous table <3
Tags: Ace

[newclass=.pltxt]position: relative; z-index: 200; opacity: 0; transition: all 1.1s ease; -webkit-transition: all 1.5s ease; -moz-transition: all 1.1s ease;[/newclass][newclass=.plbase:hover .pltxt]opacity: 0.8;[/newclass][newclass=.pltxt::-webkit-scrollbar]width: 8px;[/newclass][newclass=.pltxt::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]background: #ca929b;[/newclass]

[Ace]

Ace couldn’t help but smile when he saw how easily the she wolf understood him. Despite not knowing which of the words he tried to say were actually audible and which weren’t, he was happy to know that he was at least doing a half way decent job of keeping a conversation going. He could see the head tilt that she gave though and he couldn’t blame her because he knew he’d be curious as well if the tables were flipped. Even though he usually didn’t like others knowing of his disability, he didn’t think there was any harm in tell her. “I deaf, can’t hear what saying,” he explained to her, his words growing and decreasing in volume as he spoke.

“Pleasure to meet, Sasha,” he nodded with a smile. He tilted his head at the sentence she spoke next. He could catch that she said she wasn’t from Eden and that she was exploring but he couldn’t quite catch the name of the pack she said she was from. However, he could see that it started with O and so he assumed that she was from Othala, the pack that laid claim to the other side of the mountains and happened to be allies with his pack.

“I would love to show around,” he offered her with a friendly smile. Even though he had been there for a few weeks, he had yet to see everything and wouldn’t mind exploring with some company. Even though he had originally planned to spend the day alone, it was nice to be with someone who understood him and didn’t keep asking him to repeat himself or fuss at him for being too loud. With those factors considered, he’d rather be with some company than be left to himself all day long.

[Sasha]

HOVER

[attr="class","plbase"]

[attr="class","pltxt"]When the male wolf explained that he was deaf and couldn't hear, the young pup suddenly understood why his words and sentences were so funny sounding. He couldn't hear them to know what they sounded like and that they didn't sound much like words and sentences... But in a way they did... Just a little jumbled together. And his pitches were a little odd. He would raise and lower how loud his voice was in strange places, but Sasha didn't mind. The whole thing was kind of like a decoding game for her in a way. She had to decode what he was saying and then know how to reply back so that he didn't get confused or frustrated. Though, if he got frustrated, Sasha probably wouldn't care too much. She would just continue on with her exploring. She smiled as the male spoke her name. Though he spoke it well, it still sounded strange like all of the other words that he was speaking. Just... Different. She wasn't used to hearing words spoken in this way, and it was fairly strange for her. But again, she wasn't even the sightest bit upset or off-put by the fact that the brute could not hear and spoke differently. No... She liked different. Different was... Her. She was different, a stranger in her pack because she was a pup when everyone else was so much older. Different wasn't always a bad thing, though, and despite his disability, this male could still communicate very well. "If you can't hear, then how do you know what I'm saying?" She asked, tilting her head once more. It was a valid question, she thought, for she was just talking, he couldn't hear, and yet he managed to have a normal conversation with her as if he could hear every word. At the mention of showing her around, the young pup jumped up and nodded, wagging her tail excitedly. This was what she had been waiting for... Sort of... Exploration of any kind, really.

"Speech"

OOC: <3
Words: 356
Muse: Fair
Notes: Thank you to Luna for making this fabulous table <3
Tags: Ace

[newclass=.pltxt]position: relative; z-index: 200; opacity: 0; transition: all 1.1s ease; -webkit-transition: all 1.5s ease; -moz-transition: all 1.1s ease;[/newclass][newclass=.plbase:hover .pltxt]opacity: 0.8;[/newclass][newclass=.pltxt::-webkit-scrollbar]width: 8px;[/newclass][newclass=.pltxt::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]background: #ca929b;[/newclass]

[Ace]

After the incident first occurred, everything about Ace’s life was flipped upside down. He lost his owner and his home so he had no one to turn to and nowhere to go. But worse than anything, he had lost his hearing and had become extremely vulnerable. He couldn’t hear, couldn’t communicate, couldn’t hunt, couldn’t hear when others were approaching. He didn’t know how he would ever figure out how to properly live life again. But, with some time and patience he began to learn how to start overcoming some of the obstacles he faced, despite the process being long and frustrating.

“I read lips,” The black and white male answered her question with a nod. Reading lips had been his biggest accomplishment since the loss of his hearing. It had taken a lot of time and patience to learn and even still, he still struggled at times. IF a wolf spoke too fast or didn’t pronounce things correctly, it was near to impossible to tell what they were saying. Words he had never heard before, or very few times before, were also impossible for him to know. But even still, he had come a long way and he was happy he could communicate with others once more.

The excitement the pup showed in response to his offer had Ace chuckling as he watched her. A part of him wished he could have his own pups to raise and to explore with but he knew, or doubted, he would ever find a mate willing to tolerate his disability. He also couldn’t help but wonder if having pups was even a good idea. If ever they called for help, he knew he wouldn’t be able to hear them. Those were the thoughts running through his head as he shook himself off and started a leisurely walk, waiting for Sasha to follow.

[Sasha]

HOVER

[attr="class","plbase"]

[attr="class","pltxt"]Reading lips... That was a concept that the young pup had never even thought about. She really wasn't one to watch a wolf's lips as they spoke, so the process of reading lips was one that was fairly foreign to her. She mostly just listened to the other figure. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she realized how much she actually didn't even look at the speaker at all. Perhaps, walking, she would glance in their direction every now and then, but she would mainly keep her focus on the surroundings. In fact, it was really only when she was sitting down facing the other wolf that she would focus on them and only them. Even then, it was iffy on whether or not she would be able to sit and look at them long enough to hold a decent conversation. She was still very young, and she wanted to be more active rather than sitting around having a conversation. She had never much been a fan of just talking... Unless her mother was telling her one of her stories... Then she was content to just listen. Glancing at the male as they stood to start roaming the territory, she couldn't help but to feel sorry for him. Not being able to hear had to be one of the worst things possible. He was so vulnerable. He couldn't even tell if a hostile wolf was coming up behind him. That had to be a rough life. She sighed as she walked, staying beside him so that he could still see her and know that she meant no harm to him. Turning her head so that it was facing more towards him so he would be able to read her lips, she asked,"Do you have a family? A mate and pups?" She wondered if the question was a little personal, but she wasn't much of one to care if she was prying too much... Only when it came to asking her mother questions that she might not want to answer quite yet. But no one else was safe from her advances.

"Speech"

OOC: <3
Words: 362
Muse: Fair
Notes: Thank you to Luna for making this fabulous table <3
Tags: Ace

[newclass=.pltxt]position: relative; z-index: 200; opacity: 0; transition: all 1.1s ease; -webkit-transition: all 1.5s ease; -moz-transition: all 1.1s ease;[/newclass][newclass=.plbase:hover .pltxt]opacity: 0.8;[/newclass][newclass=.pltxt::-webkit-scrollbar]width: 8px;[/newclass][newclass=.pltxt::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]background: #ca929b;[/newclass]

[/quote]