He followed the shape Maral traced through the air with complete concentration, trying to piece the creature together in his head, ears perked and head tilted as he listened along.
Long legs. Hooves. A mane. Really tall.
His brow furrowed. Every new detail somehow made the picture less clear. He could almost see it... until he couldn't anymore.
"...That kinda just sounds like food."
The words slipped out before he'd thought them through. A beat later his eyes widened. "I—I mean not your friend! I doubt your friend is food. W-who eats their friends, amiright?" He laughed awkwardly,"It's just... where I'm from, thats kinda the description for stuff we'd hunt. hooves, runs really fast and all that..." He shrugged helplessly. "Sounds pretty deer-shaped." His tail gave an apologetic wag. Who knows, maybe this was some kinda freaky looking wolf? Could never be sure.
He puffed his chest just a little afterward, trying to recover from putting his paw squarely in his mouth. He'd never actually hunted anything himself, but he'd watched enough pack hunts growing up to sound like he knew what he was talking about. Probably.
Yelp offered her a crooked smile. Maral had this calmness about her that was... comforting to him. Like she'd already survived whatever this strange place was, while he still felt like he'd been dropped into somebody else's dream. She had answers, or at least more answers than he did, and that alone made following her seem like the obvious choice.
Then Gemini spoke.
Yelp's expression visibly crumpled. His head leaned back, muzzle wrinkling into an uncomfortable grimace as each accusation landed.
"...Whoa..."
A trap? Ambush?
He looked from Gemini to Maral, then back again, his ears slowly flattening. That... That wasn't where he'd expected the conversation to go. Until now he'd never really considered that another wolf could smile at you and mean something else entirely. Back home, strangers weren't really... strangers. They were neighbors. Packmates. Friends of friends. Somebody's aunt. Somebody's cousin.
Wolves helped wolves. That was just how things worked all his life to this point. Even now both these she-wolves seemed to want to help out which did little to shake that ingrained faith in him.
"...Shit," he muttered under his breath. His paws shifted uncertainly in the sand. But after a few moments and without really thinking about it, he found himself taking a couple hesitant steps after Gemini anyway. The little jerk of her head, the silent come on, had tugged at something instinctive inside him.
Follow, keep together, and don't get left behind.
But after only a few paces he slowed again, looking back over his shoulder toward Maral.
Both of them seemed... nice. But that was the problem wasnt it? His ears twitched nervously before he cleared his throat. "Uh... hang on." He looked between them again."I get why you're saying to be careful," he admitted to Gemini. "I mean... I woke up drinking that nasty big water by accident, so obviously I don't know what's going on." He scratched behind one ear. "But..." His gaze drifted back toward Maral. "If I shouldn't trust her..." Another pause. "...why should I trust you instead?" He frowned at the question himself "It kinda feels like..." He gestured awkwardly between the two wolves. "...a loop or something?" The word `contradiction` was lost on him, but he was sure he was explaining things right here. Point was things didn't add up. Neither of them had given him any reason to think they were lying. But neither had given him much reason to believe them either.
He sighed.
"And..." His eyes dropped toward the sand, letting out one laugh through his nose, "I dunno what anybody's supposed to get outta attacking me. Like, what would be the point in that? Now THAT seems crazy hehe." He wasn't anything special. No rank. No skills. Nothing fancy.
Just himself.
He glanced back toward Gemini. "I mean... you could be right." Then toward Maral. "And maybe she's just trying to help." Another helpless shrug. "I honestly can't tell here." His tail gave a small uncertain sweep. "I just..." He hesitated a moment, trying to find words that wouldn't upset either of them. "...don't wanna call somebody a liar if I don't actually know. Ya know?"
The moment hung awkwardly between them.
Then—
Thump.
Yelp's ears flicked.
Thump.
The sound was heavier than any wolf's footsteps.
His head whipped toward the reeds just as Maral suddenly called out.
"Möngön!"
Then something enormous emerged, causing Yelp to freeze. For a split second he thought it might be an elk. Then he realized it wasn't. It was taller, its legs looked impossibly long, ending in solid black hooves that struck the earth with deep, heavy knocks. A thick silver mane spilled down its neck, and its broad body dwarfed every deer Yelp had ever seen grazing back home. It was exactly as Maral described.
It wasn't ugly or scary. It was simply... Wrong...Wrong in the way every unfamiliar thing felt wrong until your brain finally accepted it existed.
"...Holy..." His jaw slowly fell open. "Hoooorsse..." His eyes traced it from hoof to ears. It looked like someone had taken a deer and just... kept making it bigger and bigger. Big enough that he briefly wondered how many wolves it'd take to bring one down. Then he remembered Maral had introduced it like a friend.
His stomach gave a tiny, terribly timed growl. Yelp slowly side-eyed Gemini with a guilty look.
Maybe Maral was crazy after all...
...Or maybe there was just a whole lot about this place he didn't understand yet.
At the moment, he honestly couldn't tell which explanation made more sense.
Long legs. Hooves. A mane. Really tall.
His brow furrowed. Every new detail somehow made the picture less clear. He could almost see it... until he couldn't anymore.
"...That kinda just sounds like food."
The words slipped out before he'd thought them through. A beat later his eyes widened. "I—I mean not your friend! I doubt your friend is food. W-who eats their friends, amiright?" He laughed awkwardly,"It's just... where I'm from, thats kinda the description for stuff we'd hunt. hooves, runs really fast and all that..." He shrugged helplessly. "Sounds pretty deer-shaped." His tail gave an apologetic wag. Who knows, maybe this was some kinda freaky looking wolf? Could never be sure.
He puffed his chest just a little afterward, trying to recover from putting his paw squarely in his mouth. He'd never actually hunted anything himself, but he'd watched enough pack hunts growing up to sound like he knew what he was talking about. Probably.
Yelp offered her a crooked smile. Maral had this calmness about her that was... comforting to him. Like she'd already survived whatever this strange place was, while he still felt like he'd been dropped into somebody else's dream. She had answers, or at least more answers than he did, and that alone made following her seem like the obvious choice.
Then Gemini spoke.
Yelp's expression visibly crumpled. His head leaned back, muzzle wrinkling into an uncomfortable grimace as each accusation landed.
"...Whoa..."
A trap? Ambush?
He looked from Gemini to Maral, then back again, his ears slowly flattening. That... That wasn't where he'd expected the conversation to go. Until now he'd never really considered that another wolf could smile at you and mean something else entirely. Back home, strangers weren't really... strangers. They were neighbors. Packmates. Friends of friends. Somebody's aunt. Somebody's cousin.
Wolves helped wolves. That was just how things worked all his life to this point. Even now both these she-wolves seemed to want to help out which did little to shake that ingrained faith in him.
"...Shit," he muttered under his breath. His paws shifted uncertainly in the sand. But after a few moments and without really thinking about it, he found himself taking a couple hesitant steps after Gemini anyway. The little jerk of her head, the silent come on, had tugged at something instinctive inside him.
Follow, keep together, and don't get left behind.
But after only a few paces he slowed again, looking back over his shoulder toward Maral.
Both of them seemed... nice. But that was the problem wasnt it? His ears twitched nervously before he cleared his throat. "Uh... hang on." He looked between them again."I get why you're saying to be careful," he admitted to Gemini. "I mean... I woke up drinking that nasty big water by accident, so obviously I don't know what's going on." He scratched behind one ear. "But..." His gaze drifted back toward Maral. "If I shouldn't trust her..." Another pause. "...why should I trust you instead?" He frowned at the question himself "It kinda feels like..." He gestured awkwardly between the two wolves. "...a loop or something?" The word `contradiction` was lost on him, but he was sure he was explaining things right here. Point was things didn't add up. Neither of them had given him any reason to think they were lying. But neither had given him much reason to believe them either.
He sighed.
"And..." His eyes dropped toward the sand, letting out one laugh through his nose, "I dunno what anybody's supposed to get outta attacking me. Like, what would be the point in that? Now THAT seems crazy hehe." He wasn't anything special. No rank. No skills. Nothing fancy.
Just himself.
He glanced back toward Gemini. "I mean... you could be right." Then toward Maral. "And maybe she's just trying to help." Another helpless shrug. "I honestly can't tell here." His tail gave a small uncertain sweep. "I just..." He hesitated a moment, trying to find words that wouldn't upset either of them. "...don't wanna call somebody a liar if I don't actually know. Ya know?"
The moment hung awkwardly between them.
Then—
Thump.
Yelp's ears flicked.
Thump.
The sound was heavier than any wolf's footsteps.
His head whipped toward the reeds just as Maral suddenly called out.
"Möngön!"
Then something enormous emerged, causing Yelp to freeze. For a split second he thought it might be an elk. Then he realized it wasn't. It was taller, its legs looked impossibly long, ending in solid black hooves that struck the earth with deep, heavy knocks. A thick silver mane spilled down its neck, and its broad body dwarfed every deer Yelp had ever seen grazing back home. It was exactly as Maral described.
It wasn't ugly or scary. It was simply... Wrong...Wrong in the way every unfamiliar thing felt wrong until your brain finally accepted it existed.
"...Holy..." His jaw slowly fell open. "Hoooorsse..." His eyes traced it from hoof to ears. It looked like someone had taken a deer and just... kept making it bigger and bigger. Big enough that he briefly wondered how many wolves it'd take to bring one down. Then he remembered Maral had introduced it like a friend.
His stomach gave a tiny, terribly timed growl. Yelp slowly side-eyed Gemini with a guilty look.
Maybe Maral was crazy after all...
...Or maybe there was just a whole lot about this place he didn't understand yet.
At the moment, he honestly couldn't tell which explanation made more sense.