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+--- Thread: AW New Life New World (/showthread.php?tid=12475)
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RE: New Life New World - Gemini - 7/10/2026
Five paces on and no scuff of those big clunky paws following her. Which was fair, considering she just about whistled him after her like a stray dog. But also… weren't they both? Gemini looked back at the sound of his voice to find Yelp planted between her and the marsh-woman, looking as though he were physically being yanked both directions. Why should I trust you and not her. Feels like a loop.
A sensible question.
He looked at her with such guileless eyes. Ones that still believed a smile could only ever be a smile. Somebody was missing this one something terrible right now, wherever he had come from. She'd have read his whole fortune for a bright pebble once, and made it a kind one whether the pads said so or not.
"You're smart to ask. If I knew how to be sure you could trust a stranger, trust me I'd be a lot better off right now. Shouldn't trust anybody yet." She glanced to Maral, doing her best to convey that it wasn't personal. "I only mean—I don't believe for a moment there's no way back, and I don't trust anyone leading me days away into a land I know nothing about." Even if Maral wasn't malicious, she had already admitted she had failed to find her own way back, and Gemini could not risk getting caught up in a stranger's failures.
Before she could say any more, the beach jumped under her pads, and out of the reeds came the horse.
Big as a barrow-mound, silver, muddy to the hocks and blaring like a rusted gate. The sad-eyed woman broke and ran to meet it, her whole gloomy face split wide with a joy that wore no guard at all.
This must be Möngön, then. Those hooves looked like they meant business; Gemini decided to stay well away from them.
"...Ah." A rueful tilt of the muzzle, the dark half and the pale.
The woman had crossed a whole swamp to find this horse, presumably for days. Understandable, even if Gemini herself held no love for prey animals. Gemini would cross a thousand swamps to find her sibling. Which was exactly why she couldn't let herself be drawn into a group of wolves right now.
"Come with me or go with her. Go with your gut, I guess. But as soon as night falls, I'll be able to read the stars and know exactly where we are. I can help you find your way home too." Normally, she might offer a reading and help him decide that way, but she was not in the mood to read pads today.
RE: New Life New World - Maral - 7/10/2026
Maral covered her mouth with a paw as a soft giggle escaped her.
In a way...she admitted, amusement brightening her amber eyes.
You're not entirely wrong.She glanced fondly toward Möngön, who had nearly reached them now.
My people raise horses.
Her gaze lingered on the great grey stallion.
We use them for many things. They carry us across the steppe, their hides become leather, and... yes...she added with an apologetic smile toward Yelp,
...we do eat their meat.
Then her expression softened.
But not all of them.She rested a gentle hand against Möngön's broad shoulder as he wandered close enough.
Some become family.The stallion gave an approving rumble through his chest, only to immediately nudge her shoulder with enough force to make her stumble half a step.
There you are,Maral laughed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
You disappear for half the day, and now you want attention.
Möngön leaned harder. She sighed dramatically.
I suppose I deserved that.Maral listened quietly as Yelp and Gemini spoke to one another. Neither interrupted, Neither defended herself. When Gemini explained her reasoning, Maral simply nodded.
I think that's wise.Her eyes settled warmly on the older traveler.
You shouldn't place your trust in someone you've only just met.Then she looked toward Yelp.
And neither should you.
A thoughtful silence settled between the three wolves before Maral spoke again.
...Perhaps there's a compromise.She looked between them both.
You don't have to decide today.She gestured inland with a sweep of her muzzle.
If we travel together for one day, we'll reach a place called Dawn's Cuesta. It is north of here.A faint smile returned.
It is a forest that serves as a crossroad between this land and the wider continent.She paused before continuing.
When we arrive there, you can decide.Her gaze met Gemini's first.
If you still wish to search for your own path, we part as friends.Then she looked to Yelp.
And if either of you wishes to continue with me, Alukhai is only one more day's journey beyond the Cuesta.Her tail brushed lazily through the sand.
No promises. No obligations.Only a choice.
Then another thought occurred to the widow.
Oh...She glanced toward the towering stallion beside her.
If either of you grows tired, Möngön is strong enough to carry passengers.
Silence. Maral slowly looked up. Möngön had stopped nudging her entirely. The great stallion stared down at her with one ear cocked sideways and the other pinned back, his dark eyes fixed upon her in what could only be described as utter disbelief. His expression practically screamed: You volunteered me for WHAT?
Maral blinked.
...You carried three wolves across the steppe just last week.The stallion snorted.
You'll survive one or two wolves.He snorted louder. Maral's lips twitched into another quiet laugh as she scratched beneath his forelock.
I know,she murmured sarcastically.
It's a terrible burden.
Möngön gave one long, theatrical sigh through his nostrils before turning his head away with all the wounded dignity of a creature convinced he had just been gravely betrayed.
Gemini Yelp
RE: New Life New World - Yelp - 7/11/2026
Yelp's ears twitched thoughtfully as Gemini answered him.
"You're smart to ask."
Well, that felt nice to hear. He wasn't sure he'd actually been smart about anything really. Mostly he'd just been confused enough to say the first thing that made sense in his head. Still, her answer sat with him. It wasn't exactly like she wasn't telling him to trust her. She was telling him not to trust anybody.
Was... was that really how some wolves had to live?
It felt strange. Back home, the worst thing a stranger had ever done to him was be boring or annoying. He'd grown up surrounded by wolves who already knew his name, knew his parents, and watched him stumble through life with endless patience he felt he didn't deserve. There'd never been much reason to imagine hidden motives behind a smile. But now two seemingly reasonable wolves stood before him offering completely different roads.
Be careful. Come along.
Neither sounded like a liar. He honestly couldn't imagine them wanting to hurt him in any way. Or at least it was hard to explore the concept...Maybe he was the weird one.
"Come with me or go with her. Go with your gut, I guess."
Yelp frowned at the sand. He wasn't sure he even knew what his gut was telling him. That would've been a whole lot easier to decipher if his gut ever said anything useful. Most of the time it just complained when he skipped breakfast or something.
"...Huh."
Then something else snagged his attention.
"As soon as night falls, I'll be able to read the stars..."
Read them? His head slowly tilted upward. The afternoon sky stretched above them in one endless sheet of blue. He cleared his throat as he snatched his gaze back to the others. Obviously, she meant at night time. But still. Read... stars? His mouth parted, multiple questions ready to roll out.
How? Read what? Do they have words? Do stars move around? Can everybody do that?
Yelp's jaw clicked shut again. Maybe he'd ask later. He'd already blurted out asking what a horse was. Before that he'd accidentally admitted he'd never seen the ocean. And before that he'd practically screamed at sea. Part of him worried they'd eventually get tired of explaining every little thing to the clueless boy who apparently hadn't been anywhere before. So, just this once...he kept the questions. Instead he found himself looking back at Maral and the enormous grey animal beside her. So, Horses were food, friends. Both Yelp's brow furrowed in confusion. "...How d'you..?" He stopped himself before the words escaped. How did they choose? Did somebody just wake up one morning and point across a field? Yup, that one's dinner. And that's my bestie Joe-Schmoe over there.. His imagination immediately fired up.
If I was a horse...I'd be making friends with everybody.
He pictured himself, except ridiculously tall, covered in silver fur, and somehow with hooves, walking around introducing himself to every wolf he met.
"Hi! I'm Yelp! Let's be friends! Don't eat me!"
His tail gave one amused swish in the sand behind him. Seemed like a solid survival strategy he had to admit! His attention returned just in time to watch Möngön shove Maral hard enough to nearly bowl her over, causing Yelp to blink as he observed. Maral seemed to answer the beast as if she understood somehow,it actually looked like a conversation. How bizarre.
"Wow."
The words escaped him in quiet amazement. That prey had to be smart. Were all other animals smart like that too? It was kinda incredible.
Then Maral looked back toward them.
"You shouldn't place your trust in someone you've only just met."
Her eyes settled on him.
"And neither should you."
Yelp's ears slowly folded flat. "...Heh yeah..." He glanced away, a bit embarrassed a sheepish grin tugging at one side of his muzzle. "Sorry." Yelp wasn't sure what for exactly. Maybe for his apparent ineptitude? He laughed awkwardly. "I just thought you both seemed alright." And it was as simple as that. No grand reasoning or judgment. They just seemed nice. The admission left him feeling oddly exposed, though his smile lingered anyway.
He wondered, not for the first time today, how wolves ever managed to make friends if this was normal. Did everyone just spend weeks glaring suspiciously at each other before deciding they weren't murderers or something? That sounded exhausting as hell.
Maral's next suggestion pulled him back before he wandered too far down that train of thought.
A compromise.
Yelp's ears perked at that, his head immediately turning toward Gemini, green eyes brightening with cautious hope. "That doesn't actually sound too bad, does it?" His brows pinched together almost pleadingly. "Just one day?" He glanced between them. "And if it gets weird or something, leaving should be easy, right?" It seemed so easy. He hoped Gemeni would agree, though he would understand if she wasnt all for it. Truthfully, he wasn't even sure what he wanted anymore. Yes he wanted to go home, but even in a matter of these minutes it all felt so impossibly far away. The thought should've hurt more than it did. Maybe it would later. But right now his mind kept refusing to sit still long enough for it to catch him. Instead everything ahead of him now was far louder and hard to ignore.
Bigger world.
Unknown lands.
Unknown wolves.
Unknown... everything.
How terrifying. And strangely... His chest tightened around a feeling he couldn't quite name. Something was waiting for him, not just his home. And it was his responsibility to find it. For the first time in his life there wasn't a parent walking a few steps behind him. Nobody telling him not to worry. Nobody gently insisting things would work themselves out. It was just him. He had to be able to handle this. He knew he could. Probably. Hopefully...Maybe.
His thoughts were interrupted by Maral's next offer.
"If either of you grows tired, Möngön is strong enough to carry passengers."
Yelp's eyes slowly climbed the impossible height of the stallion all over again.
".............."
He imagined climbing onto that thing. Then imagined immediately falling off that thing.
Absolutely not.
"Pffft." He waved a paw dismissively before anyone could mistake the wide-eyed look on his face for interest. "I'll be fine." A confident nod. "It's only one day." Besides, walking sounded a whole lot less embarrassing than needing somebody to carry him. He wasn't some helpless pup...Even if his legs were already wondering how long "one day" actually was. Yelp quickly ignored those thoughts, instead his eyes wandered back to Maral and Möngön. The horse had turned away with the single most offended expression Yelp had ever seen on well, any prey animal. He marvled at Marals ability to understand the beast so clearly once more. " He really understands you, huh?" Yelp murmured, unable to keep the wonder from his voice. His tail gave another slow wag.
"That's." He searched for the word a beat. "...really cool."