Artistically attractive?

[moonfox210]

Black Jack, having left the she-wolf called Marl, ventured as fast as his semi-paralyzed state could, away from the lands of darkness. As he entered a different forest, he felt the nausea and tension leave his body, replaced by a calmness that cleared his mind.

Had I been sick then? Not so, I could not have healed that quickly... but I did heal her. I have this power to heal others then. It is more likely that I was allergic to something there and now my immune system has cleared it from my body.

With a slow and sure pace, he moved through the forest, not at all worried that he might get lost. For he knew as long as he kept going in one direction, his unconscious mind was bound to lead him in a scraggly line through the maze of trees. As he noticed the surrounding environment, his heart suddenly felt lighter. Pausing every now and then, he let out a long howl. But none replied.

Am I alone here then? Indeed I smell no other wolf in this territory, or any markings or sight of others. There are no large cats or any signs of them as well. I don't wish to be some pack leader though. If there had been some pack around here I would have asked to join them in hunts. But alone... I must do all I can to survive.

Then he halted as his breath left him. Up ahead was a gargantuan tree, rising like a huge man-like tower to the skies. His eyes widened as he took in the sight and ran forward to sniff at its bark.

No man has touched this... was it made by other creatures? Its huge! Its massive! What?! Are these stairs? Stairs made by creatures and not human hands?

The thought confounded him and even though he wanted to race up the stairs to see what other wonders were held inside the tree, his learned mind prompted him to be wary. He tested the strength of the wood before finally trusting it to hold his weight. He trotted up the steps, and then started to bound up flights at a time before he reached the top and felt a tinge of vertigo poke at him.

Oh my...

The words left his mind as he took in the spectacular view.

[tec]

The scent of male strong in his nostrils, Faolan limped over the slated stairs. He let instinct guide him, keeping well downwind of the wolf's position. Familiar control allowed him to cram back the growl in his throat; the snarl that could so easily spring to lips.

Look at him, he thought in revulsion. Aquiline features in so elegant a package. So… wolfish. Faolan’s lips pulled back as saliva pooled in his glands, only to drip to the walkway and precede every labored step. As seasoned a hunter as he was, he should have this hunt with ease. Especially since the wolf he was tracking seemed injured in some way.

The rush of an imminent kill coursed through him, bringing back the echo of his youthful vigor. With hackles raised in silent victory, the wolfhound sprang into motion.

And fell twitching near the top of the staircase. Pain, deep and lancing, seared his muscles and drenched his bones in unmitigated agony. Bone cancer. By rights, he should have been freed of its sinister hold in death. But he was not. And a dreaded, mortal whimper escaped his throat. The sound drew upon his instincts for the hunt. For survival. Surely his would-be prey had heard. And here he was, writhing on the floor like some weak-minded pup.

Where was his honor? Where was the valor that had kept his master so generous with praise? And what was he to do without his master, but kill every despicable wolf that crossed his path?

Faolan rose to his paws, still hunched on the floor. And began the process that would transform him from dog to wolf. His haunches shortened, thinned. His fur darkened, became ebony in shade. And his eyes shone gold. By the time the conversion was complete, an unmarred and purebred wolf stood in place of the scraggly wolfhound. And the pain was gone.

Perhaps he could not kill this one as a wolf. But neither would he die a wolf-killer in a wolf’s world. At least not today.


OOC: Hope you don't mind. I moved my original post to join you.

[moonfox210]

ooc: Certainly not, though Black Jack is not injured. I just woke up so my posts will lack a muse today.

ic: Black Jack slept rather well, even for a wolf-dog who was used to sleeping on the firm ground with skyscrapers towering above him. He awoke to the sound of someone or something falling against the wood behind him. Shaking his head quickly to clear his mind (I need that!), he perked his ears and turned his head to wards the hole of the tree trunk that had served as his doorway out onto the broad branches of the tree.

He got up, pausing a moment to stretch his left hind that had momentarily gone to sleep, before moving into the semi-dark tree trunk and gazing around. His nose told him the creature was wolf and dog. Oh, perhaps a wolf-dog like him?

Catching sight of the figure at the top of the stairs, Black Jack blinked in surprise. Wolf now, he was sure he did smell the scent of a dog. After all, in his previous life, it was the wolf scent he seldom came across.

"Well, are you a wolf-dog?"

He questioned, aware that sometimes some canids did take it as an insult.

"I heard you fall just now, are you injured?"

Even as he asked the second question, Black Jack's amber-brown eyes glanced across Faolan's body, noting the peak health and prime condition he was in. Perhaps the fall was just an accident and he was mistaken. He had ruled out the possibility that this tree belonged to this... wolf/dog person, for the tree had been unmarked and untainted with the scent of any other canid when he had first entered.

[tec]

Faolan studied the other male with the yellow eyes of a wolf. He knew exactly what he must look like, as this form had once belonged to one of his greatest foes in a most monumental hunt. But the wolf approaching him now was not so elegantly handsome as first suspected. Marred by splotches covering most of his fur, he seemed… most uneven.

The wolf spoke to him as he neared. And Faolan recognized something else. Dog. His lips curled back in a snarl. Abomination! Vile filth! Scourging disgrace to both empires! It was all he could do not to leap upon this creature and tear his throat out.

“Half-breed,” Faolan sneered instead. He’d known very few, but of those who’d crossed his path, he had despised. And this half-breed now thought he was numbered amongst that filthy ilk? “There is no…” He almost said wolf, corrected himself in haste and continued harshly. “… dog in me! I am pure. And you are insulting to imply otherwise.”

He looked around, already aware they were alone. And the injuries Faolan had thought he’d noticed as this wolf/dog ran from other lands seemed to have vanished. Or healed. As had his own.

Could he take this half-breed here and now? Faolan eyed the structure of his foe. Strong, certainly. No match were he in his natural form, but the pain that awaited him in such an existence would serve only as impediment. No, he would wait. He was a patient hunter.

“I am far from injured, half-breed. Tell me now, what might your name be?”

[moonfox210]

"I see. I regret to have insulted you without foreknowledge of your feelings, I merely vocalised what I sensed. My name is Black Jack, you are?"

Black Jack found himself slightly amused, yet distantly sad for the wolf-dog. Or perhaps his smell had decieved him? For the being that stood before him, had such a strong wolfish smell. No, he was certain he had sensed dog.

For a moment his own mind pondered on the fact that others could not accept themselves as they were. He knew he was a wolf-dog, sometimes scorned by both dog and wolf. A traitor to both species, friend to neither. But he had overcome his own blood and birth. He had become a healer to aid all canids, for all deserved treatment and respect.

The being before him was a fine specimen for a wolf. Such elegant jet-black fur and blazing amber eyes. Black Jack's eyes were amber-brown, certainly not as fiery as the one who stood before him. His coat of black and white patches could hardly compare to the huge wolf either.

For now he would await this stranger's answer. It was best to take things one step at a time.

[tec]

Polite, weak. Faolan sneered at the dog-abomination, already submitting to his own wolf form. Hardly worth the effort it would take to rip his throat out. Though it had been long since his last hunt.

“My name is Faolan.” He tensed even as he said the word. He knew what the name meant, thought it was a fitting designation from his master. But would this… Black Jack… understand? And if he did, would he have the guts to do anything about it?

Perhaps he would have a battle on his hands after all, though he could have hoped for his first kill out of retirement to be a real wolf, worthy of the fine fate he could mete out.

“Do you run with a pack, Black Jack? I would surely be interested in meeting, perhaps joining.”

And slaughtering you all in your sleep.

[moonfox210]

Black Jack had indeed paused to commit the wolf's name to memory. But he missed the meaning of the name entirely. It just wasn't him to dwell on a name.

At the black wolf's next question, Black Jack chuckled a little. The wolf was such a strange one... couldn't he sense that there was no scent or presence of any other wolves in the area. It was precisely the reason why the wolf-dog had been surprised to see Faolan appear. These woods were untouched by canid presence until now.

"No I am a loner and a healer. It would hamper my own duties to stick to a pack. But until now, I have lived in a cityscape. This change in environment for me is certainly refreshing."

Black Jack found himself talking more than he usually would. But of course back in his previous life he knew almost everyone on the streets merely as acquaintances. Here this was entirely different. He had to start over, establish contacts and at least get to know others, in case they needed his help in the future.