Stay in my Memory [OPEN]

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Water was everywhere. She couldn't tell which way was up and which was down. All she knew was that her legs felt like they weighed a ton and her chest was on fire. With her yellow eyes open just a slit, the black female gave her legs a few more kicks until her head pierced the surface of the ocean. She saw the shore not far away, but her love was no were to be seen. She tried to call for him, but a wave forced her back under, destroying that effort she had made. She was about to close her eyes and give up when she slammed into the ground and rolled with the waves onto the shore.

Zenzi woke with a start, her chest heaving and heart pounding as she looked around in freight. It was just a dream. She stood carefully and moved a few yards from Wildheart before shaking herself and sitting once more. She sighed and turned her muzzle to the sky, focusing on the moon. She knew at least one of her pups was looking at this same moon, and her heart ached to have her children beside her once more. How long had it been since Vienna hid behind her after being chased by Jace? When was the last time she watched her son play fight with her father or mate? For the first, well over a year. The latter, only a couple months. And oh, how she wished she could take the time back.

The black female turned her gaze away from the night sky and looked behind her at the sleeping form of her mate. Her heart seized for a moment as she thought of losing him, too. She was his Starshine, and she knew they would both be completely destroyed without each other. He had kept her grounded when they first arrived on this island, a job he was still busy with. Though she had fewer meltdowns and panic attacks during the day, the nightmares still came to her a few times a week, at the very least. She padded back over to him and scraped the earth where she had been five times.

They had learned how to leave these messages for each other at night. Three scratches meant hunting, five meant going for a walk to ease the mind, and nothing meant something was seriously wrong. Thankfully, that last one had not yet been used. She turned away from her sleeping mate and made her way towards a stream she had found a while back. When Zenzi arrived at the gently flowing water, she lapped some up before laying down on the side with her front paws just slightly below the cool liquid. She had learned that this helped her relax. It was probably because it reminded her of how Vienna would always lick her paws in the middle of the night. Whatever it was, she stayed there, not moving, not caring if anyone came and saw.

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l i s a !
female | 5 years | maned wolf

? Lisa wasn't much of a night wolf. She much preferred the sun and warm rays it gave to the moon and stars. She hadn't been able to sleep, so had decided it would be best to try and get in an extra meal. Mice weren't much of a meal, after all - she needed to eat more often than real wolves. She remembered that lecture well. Her mother had knocked her down after she had started howling at the moon, reprimanded and told she wasn't a wolf, even though she was a large canine like the others she often saw around. Being a non-wolf wolf was confusing. To this day, Lisa still had trouble explaining this to others, even herself. So as she walked across the cool grass, her ears were down and her eyes were on her paws. At least this area was usually rich with rats.

Water was disrupted. The maned wolf froze with a paw halfway off the ground, her rounded ears swiveling forward. The inner white hairs of her ears poked out in the night, and she hurried into a trot. Another wolf- or, a wolf, perhaps? As she neared a stream, the canine's yellow eyes squinted, making out the silhouette of a wolf. Not too big, not too small - maybe an average female? Her ears still perked, she kept up the trot and approached the opposite side of the stream from this new face. She looked down at the wolf's paws, water dampening her pads and toes. A water-lover, like herself? Trying not to make too many assumptions, she set down her paw just an inch from her end of the stream and smiled brightly for the stranger. "I see thou enjoys the water." The red-furred canine spoke gently, careful not to break the night's silence. To seem less intimidating, because it must be given by blood she was far taller than this wolf, she settled herself down, placing her paws deeper into the stream than the other. Her ears relaxed and her smile softened. "Are thou alone? Doesn't thou belong with a pack, like all true wolves?"

word count: 352. / Tagged: @zenzi / Notes: Sorry it's short! First post with a canine for awhile. lol It will get better, I promise. 

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She didn't know how long she had been there at the side of the stream. She didn't know how long she would have stayed there had the other female not approached her. At the strange words and voice, the Wintersun Eta looked up from her soaking paws to meet another pair of golden orbs that were resting across from her. Thou? Who the heck says that anymore? Zenzi mentally shrugged off the weird wording before physically shaking her head a bit and stretching her paws that were growing quite chilled in the evening water. "I guess you could say I enjoy it. Although my last major experience with the element was far from enjoyable." With this, she visibly shuddered at the memories. "I'm not alone, but I'm not.... I'm not with a pack, either."

Her voice trailed off and she lowered her gaze to watch the water flowing through the short fur on her paws. She sighed and gave the moon and stars a quick glance before looking back to the newcomer. "What about you? Do you have a pack, or are you a loner?" She shouldn't pressure, she knew that. The black female didn't know if this one had anything tragic happen to her as Zenzi had. But what else was she to do? Ignore her? She was far from that kind of wolf.

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l i s a !
female | 5 years | maned wolf

? She knew well that look, even if the wolf didn't know she made it. Her speech pattern was again throwing off her chances of making friends. Still, it was hammered into her, as many other things had, mostly literally, been. So she only kept up her smile, pretending not to mind. She had made a resolve long ago, that if someone couldn't come to accept her for who she was, then they weren't worth her time. She would not change for anyone; this was her, this was Lisa, the Maned Wolf. Nothing would ever change that.

The Maned Wolf watched as the black-pelted female stretched her paws and toes. I hope that water isn't too cold. She would have to walk through that, after all... But when she placed her own paws in the water, she wasn't worried. It was relieving, not at all like some other streams that were so very cold in the night around winters. Surely not a place to stand for long periods, but better than some pools of water she'd nervously had to walk through. As the wolf explained that she enjoyed the water on her feet, but that she'd also had bad experiences with it, probably in larger bodies. "Ah, was though brought to this land across the wide water?" She caught on quickly, laying down her head, her chin touching the water. "Thy family was brought here many a time ago, so thy father told." She explained, closing her eyes thoughtfully. She could barely remember those memories, however fond they were and how dearly she held them. Her father's voice had been oh so gentle, soft and sweet. She missed him dearly.

Not alone, but not with a pack. Lisa's furry lids stayed closed as she pondered that, and what it could mean. Maybe she was starting her own pack? That would make sense. But she kept listening, hoping for more to go off of. They snapped open,, however, when her own question was returned. She knew it would come eventually, but she had perhaps been expecting a longer initial answer. Lifting her head, water dripped back into the stream from her chin and she nodded her large head slowly. "Thy- ah, I- was graced with a pack, once." Was her answer at first, her own eyes wandering as she thought about all she had been through in such a short amount of - no, it had been all of her life, the chaos that was flashing in her memory. Eventually she crossed her red-blotched paws and said, "It hath been quite a long time since I held the company of another for more than a few suns at a time." In other, more normal words, she was a loner. Hopefully she wouldn't have to try and break it down. She felt so embarrassed, even though it usually was the other who should be feeling embarrassed, unaware of what she was saying to them. But it wasn't their intelligence to blame, only her old-fashioned ways.

"Thou are not completely on thy own?" Lisa soon said to take the pressure off of herself, rising to her stilt-like legs, standing her full height once more. She held her head high with pride as always and looked around briefly, before her gaze once more settled on the wolf before her. "Does thou have a copyhold nearby? Oh, dear," she took three fast steps back. "Am I trespassing? Forgive me, my manners have escaped me!" She bent her left leg and knelt down in a bow, her ears pulled back against her skull, her short tail tucked between her legs. "Lisa, fair wolf." Tilting up her head ever so slightly, she gave a gentle smile as she asked, "What be thou's name, if I can be so bold to ask?"

word count: 632. / Tagged: @zenzi / Notes: That's more like it, Shake. *pats self* .

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Zenzi would admit to herself that the newcomer's speech pattern had thrown her off to begin with, but adapting was something she was becoming almost too good at, and she quickly got over it. This stranger was clearly raised differently and was taught to speak that way, so why should Zenzi think down on her? Not everyone is the same, and she accepted that. With further questioning, the dark female tried to remain light hearted; she knew that being to depressing often turned potential friends away, and in a new land, those friends were exactly what she needed. "Yeah, my mate and I used to live far away in a pack. But we were captured by hunters and ended up here after a crash. We managed to get out of our cages, but we had to have been at least a mile from shore, and the frigid water made it difficult to get to land. Needless to say, I'm not too anxious to get back into deeper waters. I'm perfectly happy with this little stream." She laughed a little and made a few small splashes with her paws before settling down again. Zenzi didn't know if this wolf would shy away at the thought of another coming, especially a male, so she chose not to say anything else about Wildheart. She didn't bother mentioning the warrior factor, as that might have sent her over the edge of comfort.

When the red female mentioned her family, she tilted her head slightly. "Are you part of a pack, then? Or is it just you and your family in a small band?" She didn't think there were any packs around this area, but she wanted to be sure first. When the other grew worried about trespassing, Zenzi quickly tried to calm her nerves. "It is just my mate and I, and he is off sleeping a ways away. You aren't trespassing at all." What really caught her off guard, though, was the bow. No one had ever bowed to her before, and she didn't quite know how to respond. Hoping she was doing the right thing, the black female stood, pulling her front paws from the stream, and lowered her head in response. Lisa... what a sweet name. She smiled to herself briefly before regaining her normal, laid back posture. "It is nice to meet you, Lisa. I'm Zenzi. She then turned her smile from a small, private one, to warm and welcoming.

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l i s a !
female | 5 years | maned wolf

? Lisa's dark ears were perked to hear the stranger's story, showing her interest and paying full attention. So she lived alone with her mate, and had indeed come from across the water. The maned wolf found herself a bit proud to have guessed so closely to the correct situation. She was getting good at this. As Zenzi explained why the waters had been a hardship for her, her long snout lowered in a nod. "Thy father told me many, many years ago our bloodline was brought here on a ship much like you, fair wolf." She let her body relax, her muscles loosening. "He used a word, twas "zoo". Thy does not remember much more." The stream was disrupted by the wolf's paws and Lisa giggled gently, mirroring her silly little paw-slapping. She wondered absently if the ruckus would wake this wolf's mate, who she assumed was nearby. If he got along with this quaint wolf, though, Lisa didn't worry about getting along with him.

That question made Lisa's ears drop, and she could feel her own personal storm cloud roar to life. "Thy parents died many a years ago, and thy brothers took control. A family did grace me, but they were lost along the way. Now I stand alone." She tried to pull herself together, smiling softly. "But such is life. Hardships await us all." Just as this wolf only had her mate and no pack to coordinate large hunts with. Surely her loved one was more than enough mentally, she had no doubt about that, but the physical struggle didn't bode well for one, or even only two, wolves. She knew that first-paw. But, at least she wasn't in someone else's territory. That had been her utmost fear. She could run, sure, but this area was nice, and she didn't want to leave just yet. She wagged her tail as she raised from her bow, her front paws moving left and right eagerly as she said, "Zenzi. A gorgeous name, exotic. It fits thee." Was she making another friend? That would be great! She needed a friend or two that wasn't always off doing pack duties. If it was truly only Zeni and her mate... No, to join would be asking too much. You must control your desires. Stepping closer, Lisa said with a casual giggle, "If thee ever needs to ask what I am saying, do not fret of it. I understand that I speak in old times. Thy will simplify if ever needed."

word count: 418. / Tagged: @zenzi / Notes: Sorry it took awhile.

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Could a staff member please archive this thread? It's unfinished, and I may request it back sometime, but for now it's inactive.