Lament IC

[Caylie Unicorn]

Rolling to her feet Styr stretches again digging her nails into the wooden planks of the abandoned building, sniffing the air she grins wolfishly and tilts her head "I smelled food, that's why I came here, same reason I came to the city, there is lack of food out there" turning to face the window Styr jump on the sill and glances out over the wall, she missed the trees and the open fields, where she felt safe, she felt safe among these wolves but she felt the need to convince them to leave here. Siting in the sill she directs her attention back to the wolves "how do you get food around here?" She flattened her ears as she remembered being chased by a bunch of burly men when she had taken a sandwich with more lettuce then meat.

She flops down casually in the window sill hanging her head on her paws and her tail out the window as she glances at the three wolves

[FoxLeFay]

Aysel had been prowling around the city under the illusion of being human, much like she did nearly every day, when she heard an cacophony of shattering crates and gravelly shouts from the alleyway that connected the butcher's shop to the run-down apothecary. The noise was intriguing as it meant that the meat shop would be rather empty if she wanted to slip in and grab whatever raw steak might be laying around, but she quickly paled when she noticed that it was a pair of wolves pulling off the heist. She slid up against the brick wall in a bit of panic before she realized how odd it might look to an outsider if they caught her with her guard up like that. Sure, no one liked seeing "big dogs" roaming around, but no one reacted that vehemently.

As the wolves turned a corner and disappeared into the dusky back alleys of Steel City, she unclenched her teeth. It was hard enough trying not to tip people off that she wasn't exactly like the other humans around but it would be nearly impossible with wolves making themselves known more boldly. Coyotes were a rare sight and she could pass off as a mangy dog in most cases. When wolves made a mark on the populace's mind, she'd be shooed away or possibly even chased down in the streets. This part of town was still relatively new to her, and after relocating to dodge the heat from her last incident, Aysel knew it was imperative to keep a low profile. Think on two legs. Be a human with animal instinct, not a mutt who learned to walk upright, she reminded herself, And keep a level head if you run into a pack. You're not one of them, not even close. There was the sad truth, wrapped up nicely for her to consider. She was alone here. Her human tendencies to cheat and steal only excluded her from the people in the city while her animal nature was something that no one around could understand, or so she was assuming. Humans didn't react well to differences, especially since the freeze. Even the scrappy and stupid street dogs knew she was of a different breed.

Without giving much thought to where she was headed, she turned a corner she didn't recognize and ended up in what looked like an abandoned warehouse district. There wasn't a sign she recognized in sight, but there was the pervasive odor of wolves. Something like three or four scents converged on a single ramshackle building, complete with a wolf's tail hanging over the sill of one of the windows. She shifted her paws a few times and couldn't help but whine. She was absolutely starving and that bloody piece of meat that the grey and brown wolves had made off with was stinking up the air right alongside them. Surely they would understand her predicament and they would probably comprehend that they were endangering all of their lifestyles by acting so rash in front of knife-wielding humans. If she could just gain an audience with them without losing the upper hand of her knowledge of the human way of life, then all would be well. Surveying the building, she noticed that there was a metal ledge running around above the main floor where the wolves were congregated. They appeared to be having an argument, possibly it was two packs meeting for the first time, and she carefully decided that plodding right in would be a messy and stupid suicide route. Turning and heading deeper into the alley, she saw a stack of boxes and industrial debris that more or less allowed access to a window that dropped right down onto the metal structure. Getting that vantage point would be crucial to her approaching the wolves.

Taking a running leap, she bounced from overhang to overhang until she landed successfully a foot below the window. She extended and pulled herself up to the sill and soundlessly dismounted on the metal ledge. Aysel began to take a few steps until she flattened her ears and cursed her luck. Her nails were clanking against the structure and certainly not allowing for as much of a stealth approach as she had anticipated. Any attempt at playing the "well-informed voice from a position of authority" angle disappeared and she shook out her messy golden coat and searched for a reasonable way to dismount. The next best thing would be the "casually stride in as though you've known about this place for years and look enthused that wolves have made their home here" address. Finally locating a stack of timber, she hopped down and perked up her ears, accompanied by a devilish smile in her illusionary form. The wolf with the black bushy tail, which was visible from the ground outside was asking how she could find food in the area. A grey wolf was snarling furiously and there were two other large wolves whose expressions were a bit harder to read. The brown one looked complacent, maybe even dopey, but the other was facing mostly away from her. Taking this as her chance to made herself known fully, she dragged her claws lazily across the floor to make it seem as though she didn't fear for herself in her territory.

"Oh? What's going on here?" she crowed, swishing her tail with an air of arrogance, "I've never seen you guys around here before." Aysel knew she was taking a huge risk, so instead of coming any closer, she sat back on her haunches and glanced between them all at a reasonable distance, "Were you the ones who sent the butcher into a rage?" Of course they were, the smell of that meat was all over the room. Directing a glance at the one in the window, she pulled her lips back in a welcoming grin, "You must not be used to city life, then. As weird as it feels to try to walk upright with the humans, it's a lot easier than fighting off hunger pains."

[Caylie Unicorn]

Upon hearing the nails clicking on the old wood of the abandoned building Styr rises to her haunches in the window sill, her tail still dangling off the edge of the window, twisting her ears forward in greeting to the newer wolf Styr grins wolfishly and blinks her eyes kindly at the other female. "Hello there" Styr beams to hide her nervousness, this was the first time she'd been around so many wolves, and if it broke into a fight she wasn't gonna stick around, the smaller wolf was already adding tension between them with his hostile composure. Seeming friendly Styr stays ready to bolt if the smaller wolf couldn't handle the pressure, but flopping back down in the window sill she stays casual and calm.

[Gedanken]

Viktor

Viktor's ears tilted back a little. His human illusion nodding in agreement. Hunting, once upon a time, may have been a fun pass-time out there, but here food was more easy to come by. Of course, quite a lot of the time it reduced you to little more than a scavenger, or a creature similar in some ways to the humans themselves. "Food can be found in two ways; by stealing off of the humans, or by helping them." As he said it, his other self counted off both options on its fingers. He was about to add something more, when nails clanking against metal caught his attention. Viktor paused and fell silent, listening intently. As the sound was accompanied shortly afterwards by a loping figure, the large wolf straightened.

For a moment, the scent that wafted to his nostrils struck the back of his brain and whispered: wolf! But something else told him otherwise. There was something about the way the newcomer held herself, her build, or otherwise, that alerted him to her difference. Viktor pointed with his snout to the Grey and Timber pair, but was unable to add any comment to the motion. Instead, he continued on with a shake of his head. "It can be quite easy to fool them," he said, then tilted his head to examine the creature. "You're not... the same as us, are you?"

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Unmei

Two days. Two long, tiresome days he'd been running. There was barely time to stop. A dark fear grasping at the back of the awakened wolf's mind. Only for a few seconds would he pause to crunch at the freezing cold ice, then his journey would begin afresh. He couldn't stop; wouldn't. There was too much at stake. Something was calling him, telling him that something would eventually change. Nothing would be the same as it was before, if he didn't hurry.

Then, there was the looming dark shapes of a city in the distance. It pulled at something in his heart, brought back memories of past days. He hurried faster, his paws a blur; kicking up snow behind him. Unmei could tell there was something different about this place. He slowed down, bringing his pace to a trot, then slowly entered this old world. The instant the shadows fell over him, he brought up a fake human illusion. It was something that had nagged at the back of his brain for a while. It told him that such deception was possible. It would allow him to blend in without the possible anxiety of a return trip to the laboratory.

Unmei felt it was more of an instinct brought on by his awakened wolf senses, than anything else.

He shook out his thick fur and casually loped off down the street. His injuries still ached, but they were just small pains compared to the constant mental strain he'd had to sit through back in that room.

From somewhere above; a bird sang. Invisible and silent to all but the most sensitive of listeners.

[Caylie Unicorn]

Growing tired of the other wolves Styr figured she could find them easily enough again if needed, now she was hungry, she hasn't eaten in a while and she felt her stomach was eating itself, bowing to the wolves from her place in the window sill she straightened "I'm starving so I'm going to go find some food" with a flick of her ears she turns in the sill and leaps outwards landing heavily on her paws she darts through the alleys with her head close to the floor as she searched for food, she missed chasing the rabbits and squirrels.

[rocketfox]

There was a deep ping of longing within this dame's heart - a sliver of want and desire that burned through her soul and ravaged her being with hopeless wonder. She sighed wistfully in the cold air and watched the plume of frost-white feather before her greyed eyes ; worn and tired, lax and carefree in her simplistic illusion. There was a hazy circumference about her poise, wild and edged in frost, somehow cold and aloof among the mortal spectra. Passing individuals gave her a wide berth and a curious once-over from candied tresses, black nails, and willowy legs encased in ebony tights despite the chilled air. Her gaze lazily filtered over the citizens of the back-washed, dilapidated city, filth permeating the air in strong scents and muddled with a muggy after taste of wet canine. She wrinkled her nose against the stench, tossing her eyes over one shoulder, watching the passing of shadows in the alley way - dogs - running, running all around.

She had noted them for some time, large beasts of ancient blood lines that cantered around in illusion like her, catering to human visage over their lupine souls. The creature known as Blackclaw had hidden in shadow long enough to differ them, only slightly, to gain a foundation of knowledge. One worked for the humans, to get a scrape of living, the pair of timbers were common thieves among the market and the two females were vastly different among their femininity ; one naive, the other cunning like any true coyote. Esper circled her wrist carefully, flexing bone and muscle, black nails flashing like shards of obsidian. The one thing she could dispel in her mortal facade, black claws and eyes that she believed to be the very window to her bestial soul. Her lashes fluttered, coming over her hazel pools with a shaft of light crossing her face.

"Ma'm. Is everything all right?" A deep voice inquired, tipping a head in her direction, bourne from chivalry habits and upbringing. The elder gentleman tossed his grey eyes over her fragile figure in a long, earth-brown tunic, her bright tresses against her brow and the leather cord corded thrice around her pale neck. Esper did not answer right away, rather her expression lapsed in gentle curiosity and she rolled her thin shoulders, flashing a smile that bordered feral.

"Just fine, sir."

Something in her quirking lips made his physique tense, a shift of muscle she noticed immediately, her wolfish counterpart growling coolly in reprimand and natural instincts spurring in her Alpha overdrive. The elder nodded his head slowly, witnessing the depths of hopeless desire in her eyes, the way her self shifted into something not of this world. Esper did not know that this man knew of old stories, the wolves of the age that could transform, casting illusions akin to foxes, walking among them in order to survive. He was a senior of Steel City and he had seen truths deep and far into the underground - he was not ignorant Esper's eyes locked with his own, and for a moment, she felt the wisdom pool in her system and her figure lessened, wiring down into acceptance.

"Thank you." The agreement went unspoken, he would remained silent, and she would move on ; away from the main strip. Esper canted her head in appreciation and slipped into shadow, shedding skin, allowing her wolf to spur free and dart down the alley way : seems that there were some notable humans after all.

---

The small dame of warm tones cantered along the back streets, claws clacking, nose lifted and tail curled. There was a frosted scent on the air, something new and tinged in human, something she had not noticed in some time. There was a wolfish flair to it, ringed in a lapse of fear and exhaustion that she found familiar. Her large ears flitted in regular intervals, catching the whispering note of bird song. Esper cast her eyes heavenward, trying to differ the source, hearing the soft tune carry on the wind and calm her senses. Youthful quirks found way into her paws, making her steps light and curious, crossing along the street until she spotted a human farther down, all casual in his wear.

The Blackclaw woman's wolfish eyes flashed, gaining a spectral light as she studied the figure carefully, there was a copper scent that stung her senses and pores, made saliva pool in her maw at the memory resurfacing to her front : going back to feral days where she was a beast among the dying world. Esper shook her slender cranium, something about the human was off kilter, flawed, fake, an illusion similar to her own that she could cast. The red wolf slowly permitted her mortal facade to come to surface, her counterpart unwillingly submitting to the safer approach. Somewhere over head, she heard the bird song once more and called out :

"Excuse me, my friend." Her voice hinted in wonder. "You seem new here... Are you, all right?" Esper paused, hoping her voice would carry and that he would take notice, for he was not fully mortal, there was a wild edge to his visage that she could relate to and the scent was familiar, haunting, and went off into hope that this person, this male, could be an answer to her hopeless qualms.

[Gedanken]

He had not advanced far before he found himself coming to a standstill. His nose was assaulted by a mixture of scents, his ears pricking up as the sounds of varying tones of voices and busy background noise played upon his hearing. In his heart a mixture of emotions stirred, bringing with them a flicker of clumped together images of distant memories. They crowded his thoughts and forced his amber gaze to fix on the space between his front paws. To any non-believer of the wolves, he would appear a young man with his hands in his hoodie pockets and head directed downwards.

Waves of hidden feelings crashed down upon him again and again, rendering incapable of moving until - someone spoke. Unmei turned, his blank mask falling from his face, instead taken up by curiosity. A smell struck out at him abruptly, marked with something beyond the exterior of the she-human figure that stood looking at him inquisitively. His illusionary form smiled at the stranger. "Not... particularly," he answered. It was if his injuries had sensed his previous hesitance and were now clawing at the skin, making him feel truly weary for the first time in a long time. What afflicted him worse than anything however, was the minute call at the back of his mind. It was a secondary part to his instincts; he was sure. If he didn't listen to it, something would happen. But what?

The bird was still calling. It's song now above the heads of the pair. Unmei lifted his eyes to the sky briefly, then he stepped a little closer to the stranger. This scent... so familiar, yet different. What was it? "I've traveled a fair distance to get here," he said, breaking the small pause that had fallen. One question he wished the answer to was: is this place safe? But he kept it to himself. Even if there was something about this she-human that stirred his curiosity, it was best to remain silent. However, there was a slight shiver to his form now, hinting at his exhaustion. He hadn't slept for two days and the thought of food had been forgotten in his bid for escape. He didn't know how long he could go on before he would succumb to unconsciousness.

[FoxLeFay]

The only wolf who had been shrouded with a human illusion straightened up and addressed her directly, "You're not... the same as us, are you?" His large frame had at first made Aysel nervous, but now it gave her confidence that should could more than likely outrun him. "I'm not exactly the same as you," she admitted, "But I'm close. You are naturally born wolves, a rarity of this era, who live among the humans in this city to survive. I am just like you in that respect." Aysel dragged a paw over the wooden floor and looked down, trying to convey an innocent plea within the technicality, "However, I'm a coyote. We're related and moreso than us and those scruffy domestic housepets and lanky street dogs."

One of the wolves had already left them, so Aysel was growing more and more suspicious of her idea that this was actually a pack. It just seemed that something or a series of somethings had brought them all to this warehouse. She was able to relax her back and she actually allowed herself to lie flat against the floor in a more comfortable position. Glancing between the wolves didn't glean her any information about where they were from or even possibly headed, "You all live around here, right? Do you ever want to go outside? You ever thought about that?" She hadn't. Life was too cushy when you knew how to play humans as though they were alley-way rats. Anything to either get these guys out of her territory or to open up the possibility of traveling with a group of wolves. Aysel would even brace the tundra if she got that chance.

[Gedanken]

The large wolf acknowledged the leaving Arctic with a tilt of his ears and a subtle dip of his head. "Good hunting," he called after her. It was a polite farewell he could remember from a long time ago. Mentioned again and again on cold, dark days where things were a little simpler than the present day. For a few seconds, a sadness rushed over him, but, it was pushed firmly aside by the answer he received from the newcomer. Viktor's human illusion nodded in response to her admittance, his eyes revealing his pondering at her words. "A coyote..." he mumbled to himself. A strange creature to be living amongst the humans, but, then again, he did too, and he was far from similar to the two-legged beasts.

"Once or twice, I have considered leaving," Viktor admitted. "Although, life here has become something of a regularly routine to me. It would be strange to wander the world outside of it now." His voice trailed off as he glanced back down the alleyway. The landscape beyond this city was something that he secretly yearned, but, no matter how hard he tried, he'd found he had never been able to take his thoughts to a more determined and serious level. It was strange... Why was it so hard to escape from that, which binds you?

A hauntingly familiar song of a bird floated towards them on the breeze, and Viktor stiffened, his hackles rising. What was that? He'd never heard this kind of call from a bird before... Yet, it rang through his mind and tugged at his heart so strongly that he felt the urge to follow it. The dark wolf's lips curled up in a half-snarl, his gaze still directed down the dark depths of the alley.