The prime wolf Nikola awakes with a start. Reflexively, he sits up, fully tense. It takes a moment to remember where he is and why. He is currently sitting on a warm smooth stone, with a clear sight of the sky and morning sunrise.
Last night, he and the fox had been watching the stars. It was an activity he hadn't indulged in since he was a pup. And at some point, he... fell asleep? No, that's odd, the fox was still awake and yet, he fell asleep first?
The prime wolf always slept alone, hidden, and cautious. Sleep is when he's most vulnerable after all. When around anyone else, he'd make sure to stay awake, or otherwise hid away into the shadows to rest.
Yet, something about that fox broke the habit. Was it so harmless that he didn't even consider it as a threat? Or maybe it had an ability to put him to sleep? And where has it gone? Is it plotting something?
...Nikola sighed. Deep down, he knew why he fell asleep so easily next to the fox Because it had already done the same. That night, when the fox treated his wound, and fell asleep by him. Whether intentionally or not, it showed their own most vulnerable moment, after helping him out of his own.
His pride would've lied and said he only did the same as a form of honor. But no one was around to hear his pride lie. The truth was, he trusted the fox. It had all the opportunities to kill him, yet instead it saved him. He had no caution against them. If anything, he felt...?
As Nikola contemplated his exact feelings for the fox, he stood up and walked into that shadows. He'll be back later, in case the fox is here again. But first, he's hungry~!
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Mochi wakes up in her comfortable bed in her comfortable hole home. She had a wonderful dream about dragons and dragon fruits and having actual thumbs again. After enjoying the last moments of being half-asleep, Mochi stretches out of bed and begins her daily routine.
First is checking up on the angel beard farm. Well, calling it a farm is a bit misleading; it was simply a ball of plant material slowly rotting away. An excellent medium for angel beard. For now, it was stored in the special storage room, and is growing nice and slowly.
Next she checks around her home for any cracks or other damage. Luckily, there was none. She gives the walls a firm pat and a "Good job for staying strong!"
Peaking out of the entrance, she gives the clear skies a proper greeting, "Good morning bright sun! Looks like it's all clear today!" Though she wasn't able to confirm the sky would remain clear or not. Weather is quite fast sometimes.
Hopping out of her home, she begins walking to her local breakfast bush. Today was a blueberry kind of day, but that one was a bit of a hike away. Of course, Mochi could take as long as she wanted, as today is the summer solstice! Longer day meant more time for breakfast!
And so, Mochi walks ahead, enjoying the smell of summer flowers and growing trees. Periodically she notes the smell of some forest animal, but mostly ignores it, as she's not hunting right now. That is an afternoon activity.
Soon enough, she reaches the blueberry bush and starts eating. Due to their size, Mochi could eat three in a single bite, though that sometimes led to some leaves in her mouth. After eating her fill, she bites at one of the branches and tears it off, before going to look for a crow.
She barely went ten steps before a caw overhead signaled the arrival of the crows. This one smelled like cherries, and so it must be Nune! They seemed quite excited today, swooping down and pecking for berries before Mochi even puts the branch down. She laughs silently, finding the energetic crow humorous. Carefully putting the branch down, she backs away before more crows come to swarm it.
After watching the crows eat, Mochi returns to the blueberry bush. She wanted to try something, though it might be risky. Taking another branch off of the blueberry bush, she started walking towards forbidden territory. The territory of the wolves.
A few weeks ago, back in spring, when Mochi didn't know the layout of the forest as well, she once wandered into wolf territory. It smelled odd compared to the rest of the forest, though at the time she didn't think it was a bad smell, just unusual. In hindsight, she should've been more careful about abnormal odors.
She encountered the pack of wolves then. Quite a scary bunch. They snarled and growled at her, and so she ran away. They didn't chase, luckily, but Mochi is now confident that even if they did, she'd outrun them easily enough. Being so small was sometimes advantageous.
While last time was unintentional, today Mochi was planning on entering wolf territory with a purpose. To meet that black wolf again. She suspected that it was that wolf she saved that was leaving meat by her home. And so, she wanted to repay them!
Of course, there was the risk that the wolf didn't belong to this pack. Or maybe they're busy and she won't find them. Or they'll get mad at her for intruding on their territory. And many more things can go wrong. Yet, Mochi wanted to try anyways. After all, that wolf is the closest thing to a friend she made so far.
Stepping into the wolves' territory, Mochi focused on the odd wolf-y smell. Theoretically, going in the direction where it's stronger should lead to either the wolves, or their home. It'd be a terrible idea to go in that direction unprepared. Which is why Mochi keeps an eye out for hiding places and escape routes!
Following the scent, Mochi eventually walks into a clearing. There, five wolves of various sizes stand frozen, starring directly at Mochi. Seems they sensed her first. Unfortunately, the black wolf isn't among these five. While discouraged, she still hesitates to leave. Should she leave the blueberries behind?
And then, the wolves acted strangely. They lowered their body, their tail tucked behind their legs and ears pulled back. A submissive stance, one that bewildered Mochi. Previously, the wolves demanded her to leave their territory with snarls and growls. What had changed? Was it the branch?
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For a few moments longer, both Mochi and the wolves stood still, neither side quite sure of what to make of the other. It felt like an hour, though really only a few minutes of awkward silence passed. Someone had to make the first move eventually to end the deadlock.
Mochi hears something landing behind her, and a slight shadow around her. Turning around carefully, she sees black fur. It's the wolf! and a lot closer than expected, standing only a single step away. Their head is held high in an admittedly regal posture, looking down on the other wolves, but not Mochi.
Well, now or never. Mochi places the blueberry branch in front of the black wolf, and gives a friendly yip. The black wolf looks down, and for a moment their expression softens. They let out an almost silent whine, before picking up the blueberry branch, gently nudging Mochi with their cheek in the process.
Satisfied, Mochi runs back out of the wolves' territory. Hopefully that wolf enjoys blueberries.
Done with that side project, Mochi decides to get an early supper. Longer day meant more time to hunt! Hopefully she won't need to ask for meat from that wolf today, else it'd be quite ironic. Running along familiar forest, she eventually reaches the river. This hunting ground took the most patience and time, but today Mochi had plenty of that!
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Dorlin finishes setting up the last trap soon after noon. Just like the others, it is a simple hidden cage that closes when something heavy enough steps on it. He double checked to make sure it was set up properly, and adds an orange as bait.
He hoped to catch some small animals, likely squirrels or rats. He isn't sure if Pom has ever seen any before, but it will make for a good lesson in common harmless animals. And if the traps manage to catch something else, then he could teach Pom more about the wider variety of the forest.
Retrieving his bag from a hidden nook, Dorlin begins walking home, keeping an eye out for any threats. He isn't that deep in the forest, so the odds of running into anything dangerous is quite low. At worst, it'd be an exiled wolf or some young monster that got chased out. Both of which Dorlin can deal with.
As he walks, Dorlin forages for some extra mushrooms to add to his soup. Pom had made some yesterday, and while she seemed quite proud of it, it was slightly bitter. Of course, Pom, as a Belmthene, did not notice the bitterness, and so Dorlin chose not to mention it.
The first mushroom he finds are everred fingers, small red stick-like mushrooms. While not poisonous, it is spicy, which unfortunately neither Dorlin nor Pom enjoy. The next mushroom is a whitecap, which Dorlin decides not to touch, as it is either very poisonous, or edible but tasteless. Not worth picking. Next are some nice crabarm mushrooms, which look and taste like crab claws. He grabs a few and stuffs it into his bag, leaving behind half for the forest.
And so, Dorlin makes his way home, picking up a few more edible mushrooms along the way. Emerging out of the forest, he crosses paths with a team of lumberjacks carrying a large log to the village. He makes an offer to help, but they kindly refuse, telling Dorlin to spend more time with Pom.
Continuing ahead, he passes the guardian stone and enters the village of Panace. Some neighbors wave as he passes, to which he returns a smile and a nod. Normally, he'd go hand over what he hunted to them, but today wasn't a hunting day.
Dorlin enters his small house, and is immediately met by a fluffy yellow Pom jumping into him. The fuzzy fur around her arms and neck traps Dorlin in a comforting hug, as he carefully sets his bag to the side and hangs his quiver and bow. Once his hands are empty, he gives his side of the hug.
"Pom Pom. you'll be getting a nice surprise soon!" Dorlin says, careful his mouth isn't visible to Pom. She can't hear what he says, of course, but her lip reading is scarily accurate (or maybe he just has a readable mouth).
Releasing the hug, Dorlin gestures to the kitchen, where a warm soup awaits some additional ingredients. Pom gives a nod and retrieves his bag, as the two begin to cook. Luckily, both are able to enjoy the wonderful smell of sweet vegetable soup.
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Wisteria stretches her wings, enjoying the day of rest after doing so much yesterday. The other crows do not get to enjoy such luxury, though they do not mind. Being together last night was more than enough for the crows.
Roosting in her Oclid tree, Wisteria decides to check up on the rest of the forest (and especially that fox). She connects with the tree, her three eyes spreading out and looking around.
The first looks over at the fox, who's currently dangerously close to wolf territory. Luckily, the prime wolf is there, so she doubts the wolves will do anything to the fox. She knows he fears her still.
Her next eye checks the north and east, but doesn't find anything of note. Just the normal forest as far as her remote eye could tell. The frozen mountains may be storming slightly, but the direction of the wind meant it wouldn't come to the forest.
Finally, Wisteria checks the west. And she is immediately glad she did. A small army, of sorts, is gathered at the forest's edge. For a moment, she felt vindicated in her suspicions of those two soldiers from before. This is immediately replaced by annoyance and despair.
Wisteria doesn't know why they plan on invading the forest, but her experience with greed lets her make some guesses. Maybe they want the land, or the trees, or food, or some other resource that she doesn't care about. Or maybe, they're just dumb.
She will have to be quite careful in how she handles this. It'd be quite inconvenient if her actions draws too much attention to herself. Her priority is protecting the forest.
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Mochi stretches out of her hiding spot atop a tree. She was quite unlucky today, just barely missing several prey. Feeling discouraged, she decides to leave for a different hunting spot. There's still a few more hours of sun after all.
As she makes her way to the flower field, Mochi thinks about what to do later. Should she go straight to bed and sleep early? Or maybe she'll watch the stars again. Yeah, that sounds nice. Maybe the black wolf will join her again. She hopes they do.
For now though, she makes her way through the forest... and sees a random orange? How strange, she didn't think oranges grew in the forest. Though, looking around, she doesn't find any other oranges. How did it get here?
Approaching to investigate it, she steps on something metallic, as a cage snaps up around her. She jumps up in surprise, but it's too late. Mochi got caught in a trap.
Annoyed, Mochi checks the cage to try and figure out if she could escape. Pushing on the sides, they shift a bit out, but only a paws worth, not enough to get out. Theoretically, if she pushed on all sides at once, she might be able to escape out of the top, but it'd be hard.
She next checks the joints. Each side is connected to the base by a simple screw. Unfortunately, Mochi's lack of dexterous fingers makes it impossible to unscrew the joints. Though, even if she had fingers and a screwdriver, it wouldn't've opened due to an unseen nut on the other side.
Finally, she checks the top. There, the four sides converge to a single point, where a simple spring and pin locks the sides in place. Jumping up, she pits and pulls on the pin, unlocking the cage and causing the sides to fall open. That was surprisingly easy!
Letting go of the pin, the fox drops back down on the base of the cage... which snaps back up closed. It appears standing on the bottom causes the cage to close back up. And so, Mochi spends the next hour trying to find a way to open and leave the cage without touching the bottom.
She stops early when she hears someone approaching. A Merthene with an ebony bow and seven bone arrows. They say something in a language Mochi doesn't recognize, before picking up her cage.
Well, this might be a problem. Hopefully the wolf won't mind if she's a little late.