[quote=@Diehard243] [@Raindeer] [b]The Trio, The Alpha & The Clan Mates.[/b] Cor bobs his head in return to the dominant male's, his expression slowly brightening as he heard the purring continuing. A giggle-like chirp exits the pale Soruli as he begins using his talons to groom the fur of the Ashen Hound leader amid the massaging, picking out any sticks or matted dirt. He nuzzles the muzzle of the leader as his head is prodded, giving a little "thumbs up" to Ima and Maho before his talons lower to try rubbing the Alpha's belly in an act seen to be pleasing to some of the smaller animals the Soruli encountered. Ima and Mica look at each other, both definitely concerned but moving to start giving similar grooming to the two females they initially fed fruits to in an example to all the rest that watched on. "We have to call others with this many to care for." Mica notes in a half-chirp. Ima lets out a little coo as he begins using both hands to actively scratch and groom the female he gave a fruit to, "We shall. Let them come to us first though, we do not wish to seem threatening." At that, Mica looks to her fellow mate with question, letting out a trill of long tweets that's almost a groan as she gives a little scratch behind the ear of her female. "Really. We seem most threatening to these beings, Ima." "No fighting!" Cor chirps from his position, attempting to both cuddle and scratch the Alpha's fur. [/quote] The Alpha leaned into the massage and grooming from the bird, gently scratching the bird's back in an attempt to return the favor. The two females gave up a surprised, yet pleased purr as they received similar grooming as the Alpha, gently placing their paws on the bird's hands. The spectating Ashen looked at each other, then at the Alpha and the females with a lot of curiosity, some moving closer and standing on their hind legs with tilted heads. _______________________________________________________________________ [quote=@Shoggothought] [b]The Society, Population 315, Era of Oxameter the Walker. Technological Developments: Writing 2/8 Organized Religion 2/8[/b] The troubled philosopher stared at the drawing in disbelief. "It's... the Ashen Wolf!" He spoke with astonishment. "Indeed, it must be, for what else could bear such features?" His comrade responded. "What in all th-" The philosophers words were interrupted by the sudden appearance of two wolves who approached them cautiously. "The Wolves! Ode to Tzeentch!" The Polyposide screamed. "Quiet!" His comrade responded! "They are creatures of the gods and must be treated with respect." They bowed in a triangle around the confused wolves and recited the Choir's hymn of The Wolves. "From across the black seas of infinity, we shall invoke the fool who hath built ill the foundation of what should not have ever been built. Thy soul is stone and thy flesh is same. And stone and wood penetrate naught. Tzeentch sings of tunes abhorrent. Bring thee thy sorrows; thy ambition. And may it bend and twist to a tune unimaginable. Sing the song of Tzeentch and never shall thy perish unsung. Past, Present, Future, all are the same in Tzeentch." One of the Choirmen looked up from prayer and spoke to his fellow. "Now, you know what you must do." The other Ferream nodded and he fell flat onto the ground. His comrade than stood up and pulled out a stone and drove it into his fellow's skull and the Polyposide continued the prayers, as is the tradition. He continued by drawing out the sacred tale of the Ashen Wolf in the blood of his sacrificed comrade. "Ode to the time before Oxameter, before time, before reality. Existence was at its holiest, as everything was infinite, as everything was Tzeentch. (According to Society myth, the beginning of time and reality happened as a result of Oxameter's birth, and this is the time before that when everything was meaningless and constantly contrary due to it being completely being in the domain of the Chaos god Tzeentch.) From the bowls of Chaos emerged something new, a color not black nor white, yet somewhere in between. And it bore the name grey. With the grey came an ambitious daemon lord who bore the title, The Ashen King. He invented the concept of order. A world of stone without flesh or fire. A section of the Chaos became his, and upon it he built a city of order. With his ambition he decided that an infinity of order was only possible with the death of Tzeentch,lord of chaos. With his most valiant of warriors, the King charged into the chambers of Chaos and slew its guardians. With that the king took to the room which contained infinity itself, Tzeentch. He entered the room and stared into the infinite void. The blackness that the king observed invoked images of the future, the past, and what time cannot express. Screams cast over by the sounds of vile instruments rang out violently. Stars trembled, the skies burned and mountains rose and collapsed, observed in but a moment. Dumbstruck, the king was consumed by the Chaos and no longer did he utter the name of order. The King was distorted and mutated, changed beyond recognition. With a great roar, he became the Ashen wolf. [/quote] Howling Hound clan territory 16 adults, 12 younglings. The young males were startled by the initial scream upon being spotted and lowered their bodies to the ground and displaying their fangs, preparing to defend themselves. Their defensive stance remained unchanged as they were surrounded, the other hounds forming a circle around the creatures, ready to pounce at the first move of aggression towards the triangulated hounds. When one of the creatures was beaten to unquestionable death, even if seeming to have been a willing death, the older of the two males slowly moved forward and sniffed the dead one. The scent of wood was clearly coming from those of higher numbers. But why was he killed? Was it a sacrifice for them to feed upon? The beings kept making sounds that made no sense at all to the hounds. The hounds that circled around the creatures crept ever closer, growling as to mark that this was their territory and that they had the upper hand. The younger one in the circle gave up a howl to calm those encircling the creatures. They had been threatening, but yet to actually harm them. The older one bit onto the "beak" on the dead creature and dragged it into the triangle, leaving a trail of blood behind. "If they wish to sacrifice to us, we may as well eat." The younger one gave in to the hunger and dug into the dead creature only to spit it out with a grunt. "It tastes like a tree... And it is hard like as a tree... We can not eat this!"