Facing Wolves [Alicia & Audi]

[Audi]

To be honest, Audi didn't like the outdoors much. Her race was an underground one, living either in tunnels or in man-made dwellings. Open spaces brought out deeply embedded memories of their small ancestors being snatched off the ground by winged predators and carried off, never to be seen again.

And so, off to face her fear and discomfort she went. Frosted blades of grass cracked beneath her bare toes and a vast, empty, pale blue morning sky was stretching over her head. She was wandering aimlessly, but one wouldn't be able to tell from her determined pace, one foot after another, as she marched on with a deep sense of purpose through the rolling hills.

One of the magazines she'd found ruffling through the trash one day showed a photo of a woman wearing a hoodie with ears on the top. Immediately, Audi decided that she wanted one, too, and so, one of the rooms in the castle was now short of a wolf skin rug. Its gray fur concealed Audi's in a long, sleeveless waistcoat, and the canine's ears were perched on top of the hood covering her head, slightly askew. It only made it seem more threatening when the yellow glass eyes on the back of the hood peered at whomever would dare try to sneak up on the ratgirl from behind.

[Alicia Harper]

Surrounded by unkempt grass topped with a layer of dewy morning frost, Alicia wasn't sure what she was doing out here many feet away from a warm fire, perhaps it was for exercise? life choices? meditation? Her head swam with possible answers all of which couldn't possibly take her from being a delicious hot pocket made of covers and blankets yet here she was.

Her winter apparel for today consisted of fluffy boots, colourful leggings, a knee length dress topped with a Christmassy jumper and a rather long scarf that was getting maybe a bit too wet from being dragged across the floor as she treads on, still contemplating her place in the world.

She did not notice the grey creature ahead.

[Audi]

Every breath brought icy pinpricks to her lungs as she trod on, bare feet quite numb from the cold, the desolate sky feeling threatening as it loomed over her. But she was happy. Not in a giggly, bubbly way, not with that greedy satisfaction that good food brought. This was a special kind of happiness, a painful kind, the same kind she felt when despite her eyelids drooping and her mind wandering off, she read yet another book; the same kind when she could see that she was making less and less spelling mistakes; the kind she felt when she talked to humans like an equal. The joy of a challenge taken head-on - and conquered.

Smiling to herself, Audi inhaled the chilly air in deeply and sprinted uphill, almost falling forward and tumbling down as she reached the peak and a sudden drop. Panting heavily, not feeling so cold anymore, she plopped down on the ground, wrapping her arms around the knees pulled to her chest. Her tail curled neatly around her and Audi stared off into the distance as she waited for her heart to slow down.

From behind, the sitting figure would look like a very peculiar and somewhat shoddy-looking wolf. If one squinted.

[Alicia Harper]

She breathed into her gloved hands in an attempt to warm them, in her peripheral vision she noticed something grey darting away, for a few seconds Alicia froze. "A wolf?" she thought "I didn't know the school would have wolves in the mountains, ah wait there's werewolves so I guess normal wolves wouldn't be such a big deal... maybe not maybe it was a sheep?" Her right hand reached for her thigh, she knew they were there but she felt for it anyway, her belted knives, always carried when she went out, always hidden under her skirt/dresses. They were as much protection to her as her glasses were, however the glasses are more protection for others rather than herself, which is why she cared about them more.

She tentatively followed the creature, running up the hill then stopping as it had and waited, peering at the creature "...was it's head backwards? where is the snout? odd wolf this one..." Not that Alicia had seen a real living wolf, only in books and the fur cloak she wore once for a history assignment. Hand on her dress ready to pull and grab a knife if need be, she tested the waters and called out a short and snappy "hey!"


((Alicia actually has seen one if you count [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], but that rp was really short lived and died away? so i guess i dont count it...))

[Audi]

She was happy, yes, feeling accomplished. That didn't mean she wasn't tense with the open skies above her, millions of years of instinct telling her that at any time, a predator was bound to swoop down upon her, claws and fangs tearing into her flesh and... She tried not to think about it.

So when a sudden yell came from behind her, understandably, she was less than overjoyed. No, she jumped up, tail uncurling from around her with a wide swish, and wanted to bolt - but that thought lasted only a moment. There would be no running. There would be fighting. Still in mid-air, she turned around and landed on all fours in her battle-pose, lips rolling back to reveal big, sharp teeth as she squinted threateningly. Unfortunately, the hood fell over the whole upper part of her face, obscuring her view. Audi grunted in annoyance and threw her head back, trying to get it out of her way, but it just fell right back down. Right. Now where was the enemy?! Hoping to just scare them away, she let out a long, loud hiss as she rose to her tip-toes, trying to be as big and scary as possible.

[Alicia Harper]

Alicia flinched, the loud hissing was startling and she couldn't help but take a step back, eyes wide, she should have expected this. "Stop!" she shouted, her voice tinged with fear, one hand hovering on her skirt, the other at her glasses. She held her ground, sizing up the creature, it's seemed familiar, the size, shape, tail. "...Audi?" her hands relaxed but she still kept her distance.

[Audi]

Her sneer fell slightly at the first word uttered, as the voice seemed familiar, as muffled as it was by the hood. Still, she kept her aggressive posture, her tail lashing behind her like a furious snake.

Until her name was spoken, anyway. At that, she stilled, trying to put the familiar voice to a face. Giving up, she let her flanks fall to the ground as she sat up and reached for the hood to pull it up slightly and peer from underneath it. Her eyes widened. Yes, she'd met the girl before, but her name, her name...
"...Hello!" she choked out finally, unable to recall it. How could she ever think names were unnecessary? Amongst humans, they mattered more than anything. Feeling stupid both about that and the fact she'd almost attacked somebody innocent, Audi folded up her hands in her lap slightly nervously.

[Alicia Harper]

"H-hello" Alicia replied the bravado in her shout earlier seemed to have disappeared, she was relieved that she got Audi's name right, their encounter was rather short after all, like most of Alicia's encounters, plus her memory wasn't the best. She found it hard to remember the people she spent little time with but Audi seemed to stick in her head, its not everyday you meet an eccentric furniture platforming talking animal is it? She was still uneasy however since it turns out that the cute rat person she had shared apples with had quite a scary side too.
She fiddled with the sleeves of her jumper pulling them over her hands, not sure what to say now. "um sorry for sneaking up on you, I didn't mean it... thought you were a wolf" she mumbled and pointed at Audi's hood.

[Audi]

She gave a nod in return to the greeting, her gaze falling down to the icy ground. It remained there while Alicia talked and for a moment afterwards, though Audi blinked, laughed a little and reached up to touch the hood's wolf ear as it was mentioned. An understandable mistake... "Is okay." she said. Looking up to the girl again, she wondered how to find out her name without it being super awkward... and coming up short on ideas. Oh, well. Standing up, she shook her head and smiled meekly. "Sorry for freaking..."

Throwing a glance over her shoulder in the direction she had been heading before, the ratgirl was about to ask about the reason the other was here. But, really, what was the point? As far she could see there was no good reason to be in the mountains other than wandering aimlessly. No, there was another question to ask.

She tilted her head.

"Do you want to join me?"

[Alicia Harper]

Alicia paused as if calculating the question before smiling brightly "sure, I'll join." She steps lightly forward and the frosty grass beneath her feet gives off a satisfying crunch. Hell yeah if anything this should be the reason why people wander in mildly cold weather.

"so any idea where we're heading?"

[Audi]

A smile blossomed on Audi's face. There was one good reason she had came there, it seemed - to find a companion.

Offering her hand to the other girl to take, Audi gave a firm nod, then looked up to the endless skies above. "Up." she explained. She intended to keep on climbing, and keep on facing the fear that still remained somewhere in her chest. It was all an uphill road. Bettering one's self. Transmutating...

As she stood there, reaching a hand down as she gazed towards the heavens with an exalted expression, Audi looked like a statue created by a particularly eccentric sculptor.

[Alicia Harper]

She let her hand reach for Audi's. At this point it seemed that holding another person's hand came easily for Alicia, a simple sanctuary any child knows, Lunasola crossed her mind and she smiled endearingly. Warm soft cotton gloves met the rat human's bare hand, she raised her head following Audi's gaze skywards.
Up... to area's less explored, Alicia felt a slight excitement grasp at her and she began the ascension. For whatever they could possibly find, she felt ready.

[Audi]

Audi's fingers curled firmly around the fabric-clad hand. Right. They were ready, in silent agreement. For poetic justice it would have been best if they could continue climbing right away, but alas, as it often was in life, first they had to face a valley before reaching a higher hill to scale. Audi flashed Alicia another smile before turning around and heading down the steep slope. A few times Audi's feet had slid down for a few inches and holding hands had proven to be quite helpful in regaining lost balance. The task required focus; her brow was creased and not a glance was spared at her newly acquired companion. Once, Audi's gaze rose to the mountain peaks above them. How distant they were.
"What could be there...?" she said quietly, almost as if to herself, then glanced to the side at the other girl. "Treasure?"

[Alicia Harper]

Feeling the tug of Audi's hand she followed her down the grassy decent, surprised that she didn't fall straight away, to steady herself she turned her feet sideways from the slope. Carefully sliding down a tiny bit at a time, she didn't want to end up dragging Audi with her by accident. She kept her gaze to the ground watching out for any rocks or potential hazards, upon hearing Audi's voice she looked up at her. "hmm... maybe...? I wonder how it would have gotten there though, in the hills, someone would have to have put it up there first..." She mumbled in reply. "I guess we'll find out."

[Audi]

Audi only let out a hum in response, both too focused on descending to talk and having nothing to say. They would find out, indeed.

Once on roughly even ground, Audi let go of the hand and bounded a few paces ahead. Now in front of them stood a choice; whether to climb the higher hill directly before them, or turn to follow the shallow valley of sorts they were in now. The ratgirl's whiskers twitched with uncertainty. Well... the time came, it seemed, to play an ancient game. A game with rules mystifying and unexplained, yet simple enough for a month-old pup to grasp.

Audi waited until Alicia caught up, then gave her a sidelong, daring glance, eye flickering from underneath her hood. And then, she slapped the other lightly on the shoulder, and promptly shot forward, sprinting up and away.

"You're it!" she shouted.

[Alicia Harper]

Alicia gave a startled yelp at the hit, eyes widened slightly as she took a second to digest what just happened. She grinned before giving chase and laughed "Audi, no! this is a waste of stamina!" despite the accusation, she found herself following along with the tomfoolery and was, not long, already starting to become out of breath.

[Audi]

Focusing on the running, Audi didn't answer. Step after step, breath after breath, who needed stamina when you had rhythm and stubbornness?

Somebody running uphill, unfortunately, she realized, as the muscles in her legs started aching and failing, making her falter slightly. Stupid body, always giving out first. Furious, Audi pushed herself off the ground after she'd fallen to her knees, panting through clenched teeth. A few more paces, and her legs folded underneath her, and she proceeded to crawl up, claws grasping at the frosted grass, gaze locked on the top of the hill.

So... close...

[Alicia Harper]

Alicia caught up with the rat girl and tapped her on the head lightly "got'cha" she panted, holding herself steady with her hands on her knees. She brushed the sweat on her forehead away with the back of her hand, green hair being pressed by the movement, then chuckled at the collapsed girl at her feet. "Where's all that energy from before?" she taunted even though she wasn't one to speak, face flushed and breathing heavy.

She reached down to help Audi to get up, prepared to drag her by the paws if necessary.

[Audi]

Audi made a move to dodge Alicia's hand a bit too slowly, and begrudgingly she had to admit defeat when her head was patted. She huffed in good humor. Okay, maybe sprinting wasn't such a great idea... Slow and steady, et cetera. Smiling, she accepted the help and clambered to her feet. Energy... hmm.

Legs still slightly shaky, Audi turned away and walked up the hill to what could be described as its peak. It was mostly flat though, with a good few steps before the other side began to slope. Audi plopped down on her butt unceremoniously. She was there to get used to open spaces, and there was hardly a space more open than the top of the hill. As she reached underneath her vest and felt around for a bag of toffees she'd packed, she looked up at the mountains in the distance. They looked so... impossible. How could rock take such shapes...?

Ripping the bag open quickly by dragging its edge over her sharp teeth, Audi held it out to her side in offering to Alicia.

"Do you like it here?" she asked quietly. Almost as if to herself.

[Alicia Harper]

Seeing the rat girl take a seat, Alicia breathed a sigh of relief and sat down beside her, feet stretched out in front. She brushed her dress down so it properly covered her legs so that it would help to keep them warm despite sitting on damp grass, she noticed then that she was being offered the sweets and graciously took two, uttering a small "thanks."

Unwrapping one of the toffees she watched the silver coloured foil uncurl, smirking at the shimmering packaging, it was a simple thing but she felt rather happy enjoying these little things. It wasn't till coming to Lillegard that she got to try so many different foods.

Being entranced by the candy she would not have heard Audi if it were not for the quiet of the place they were in. The young Medusa looked over at the girl for a few seconds, contemplating what to say, did she mean where they were now? or at Lillegard in general?... "Yeah I like it" she decided the vague answer back would be fine, the endearing smile on her face could be saying more though.


(sorry for taking 3 months to reply ;m;; gosh i just dont know why i do that, hope the grammer is okay i dunno i use too many commas or something)

[Sponsored content]