deercountry | (no subject)

[Willow perks up a little as he noses at her and follows up with a playbow. She's still finding her footing again in this form, or she might be able to be more helpful to him, but at least with the apologies aside, she has someone to explore the world with.

She lets her mouth hang open in the closest approximation to a grin she can manage in this form, and she wags her tail. She turns away and glances back at him as if to say, well? Are you coming?]

[It was a shame that answers were easy to come by, as he did want to know if he was going to be like this for a long time. It would worry his brother, who had a high chance of recognizing him through the Force. That was, of course, assuming that he felt the same with the Force, but how many giant striped wolves could their be in this place?

He rose when she turned away, leaning down to sniff at the ground as he watched her. The glance was enough indication, and he trotted along after her, coming up to walk beside her. He knew the city well by this point, but it was still different than when he walked on two legs. For one thing, the city reeked of blood and... well, other unfavourable scents."

But, he'd adventure with her for now, leaving his concerns aside as he couldn't even voice them anyway.]

[The company is surprisingly welcome as he pads along beside her down the street, and the nervousness that had been clearly present in her the night before drains away. She's not entirely sure where they ought to go since she's still re-familiarizing herself with the city; although she suspects they might want to avoid the more heavily populated areas, just in case the sight of a pair of wolves raises some alarm for the locals.]

[Like in his Zabrak form, Savage as a wolf dwarfed others in the same form. He trotted along beside Willow, though he was easily distracted by smells and tended to wander off to investigate before coming back or returning if she would wait for him.

He would prefer to leave the city and nudged at her with his nose to the direction that would let them have the forest beyond. Would other wolves know they were different? Probably. As long as they weren't attacked, he figured they would have plenty of opportunity to stretch these long legs.]

[It feels different, having company in this form versus traveling alone. She's far more at ease with Savage at her side, and she's content enough to wait or follow along when he gets distracted by a scent and feels the need to go investigate further.

As much as she regrets biting him, maybe it won't be so bad after all.

He tries to nudge her in the direction of the woods, and she hesitates. She's not sure why, but she feels reluctant to set foot in the forest. She supposes it might be okay if she's not alone, though, so cautiously, she sets off in that direction.]

[Savage had never been a true beast before. He had no idea that it could come about through a bite, though a part of him was curious on how it happened in the first place. Why hadn't Willow told him that she could make him a beast? Maybe she forgot after her death. Or it happened because of her death. Yes, that had to be it.

He followed alongside her towards the forest, expecting it a much safer place - relatively speaking - to stretch their legs. He thought that four legs would be interesting to let loose on and cover the ground, find all the game trails and maybe even hunt. He wasn't hungry, but it seemed pointless to not take up an opportunity.

At the edge of the forest, he slowed and stopped to lift his nose up and drink in deep breaths of air. So much information that it was practically overwhelming. His sense of smell was better than a human's, but it was nothing like this. His ears swiveled to take in sound too.]

[Willow stops at the edge of the forest, and her ears flatten against her head as she sniffs the air. She doesn't smell anything she would consider out of the ordinary, but she's still anxious for reasons she can't quite place.

She's never hunted herself in this form, or at all, really, but she's not about to begrudge Savage the opportunity. Especially under the circumstances. She steps into the forest cautiously, glancing around, and looks back at Savage to make sure he's still with her.]

[Savage also stopped at the edge of the forest, noting Willow's reactions to this place. He lifted his nose to sniff the air, drinking in the scents of the trees, the animals and the blood that infested everything too. He shifted his weight on his paws then gave a stretch as if to show his relaxation and confidence with the oddity that was this new form he found himself in.

When she took the first step, he did as well then moved to take the lead to find a nearby game trail. The forest and the creatures out here were something he was infinitely familiar with, so he trotted with confidence as his ear swiveled and his nose worked to draw in the scent of anything worth stopping for.

And yet, he would pause along the way and peer back at Willow to be certain she was still tagging along.]

[She lets him have the lead, alert and tense as she follows along behind him. Her ears twitch back and forth, assessing the slightest noise for potential danger and she pays close attention to the scents wafting through the air as well.

The mushrooms are everywhere, even here.

She pounces on them occasionally as they move through the woods, watching them explode under her paws, then continuing on her way. She does keep an eye, though, to make sure Savage doesn't get too far ahead of her.]

[Savage mostly ignored the mushrooms, stepping over any that crossed his path as he sniffed at the ground and even dug his head into the underbrush now and again, searching. He shook his big head when he managed to get cobwebs stuck to it, pawing at it a moment later then looking back at Willow.

She seemed to be high strung but having fun with mushrooms.

His ears twitched as he heard a small noise in the underbrush. Suddenly a rabbit hopped across the path a handful of feet ahead of him, and the pair of them froze for a second. Then with an excited hop on his paws, he gave chase as the rabbit shot off into the underbrush.]

[It comes as a surprise when she hits the mushrooms that are actually there, instead of the ones she's been seeing all over town this month that no one else seems to notice.

She pauses as the rabbit crosses their path. Normally, she wouldn't give it a second thought and just let it go, but unlike Savage, even in this form, she's not much of a hunter. She's not about to be left behind, though, so when he dashes off after the rabbit, she quickly follows.]

[Savage chased the rabbit, tearing through the underbrush and bounding along. The rabbit was quick and nibble, dodging this way and that, and he followed along. He felt Willow following after him, and it was good they could enjoy a good old fashioned chase.

Of course, he stamped his paws to try to knock the rabbit off course, and his strides ate up the ground. Unfortunately, this form was distracting with how many scents assaulted him.

Perhaps that's why the rabbit managed to leap down its burrow in the dirt and he overshot his lope. He twisted around with a snap of teeth which came no where close to anything but leaves. Then he turned and sniffed towards the burrow.]

[Willow dashes after Savage as he chases the rabbit. It feels startlingly natural and it's easy to set aside her anxiety about being in the woods and instead let her mind focus on the sound of their paws pounding against the forest floor and the feel of the underbrush tugging at her fur as they go.

She doesn't want to see the rabbit harmed, but it's still a bit of a disappointment when it disappears into the burrow and the chase is over. It's gone now, and she doubts the poor animal will be stupid enough to just come back out for them to continue on the chase, or for Savage to kill. She watches for a moment as he sniffs at the burrow and gives a soft 'woof' as if to encourage him to leave it be.]

[He knew that animal wasn't coming back out any time soon, yet Savage still pranced and bounded back and forth in front of the burrow. No prey was stupid enough to dart out again, but as a wolf, it was terribly freeing to just expend unnecessary energy and enjoy the feel of the earth under his paws, the scents of the forest and having part of a pack to share such a situation with.

At her woof, he bounded over the two steps necessary to get her and practically tried to knock her over in wolfish excitement. There was nothing quite like the exhilaration of a hunt, even a failed one. Then he rested his chin on her rump and wagged his tail in a wholly unwolf gesture; he had one so he was going to do it.]

[In all his excitement, Willow forgets her subconscious fear of the woods. She's never had another wolf to run with as far as she can remember, and she realizes it's far more enjoyable than being alone.

Maybe having another wolf around wouldn't be so bad.

She looks back at him as he rests his chin on her and gives a little wag of her tail in return. She doesn't move for a few seconds, taking in the moment, then she glances back again with a mischievous glint in her eyes and dashes off into the undergrowth.]

[Wolves, like Zabrak males, are meant to be in groups. Savage was fully willing to lean into that, even if he didn't realize it was a characteristic of the species he had been turned into. As much as it should bother him, he still was going to enjoy himself because no one could tell who he was and that kind of anonymity was worth it.

His golden eyes light up when she wags her tail back at him, making a low groaning sound in response. Then he perked at the look on her wolfish features and watched her dash off. He took a moment to watch the sway of the undergrowth before he bounded off after her, clearly to another adventure.

How long he'd be a wolf? Don't know. Would he be bothered by morning? Maybe. Until then, he was going to enjoy this confusion.]

[Willow sprints through the forest as fast as she can lay her feet to the ground. It's a remarkably freeing feeling to be able to enjoy herself like this. She would not have dared ventured into the woods on her own.

She comes to a clearing and ducks behind a large boulder, hoping for the opportunity to be able to pop out and surprise Savage, even if he could still follow her scent trail. She might not be willing to engage in a hunt, given the lack of necessity on her part, but she doesn't mind looking for other ways to try to find them both a bit of fun in all this.]

[Savage extended his stride to keep track of Willow as she pelted through the woods and foliage whipped against his face and flanks as he followed in her wake. This time he wasn't distracted by scents or sights, and his ears were pricked forward as he charged along.

Out in the clearing he came, sprint pulling up when he had lost sight of her but still bounding as his head, ears and whiskers moved in search. At his speed, he couldn't just stop to sniff after her scent, and when she popped out from behind a rock, he jumped up and backwards before realizing who it was.

Then he pranced back and pretended to bat at her with a forepaw.]

[Willow's ears are pricked forward and her mouth hangs open as she succeeds in taking Savage by surprise. She really hadn't expected it to work, but she's both pleased and amused by his reaction.

She takes an exaggerated hop back as he bats at her, and rises up on her back legs to bat back at him playfully.]

[This was play behaviour that he could understand, even in this form. As she rose and batted at him, he hopped towards her baring one of his sides and dropped his muzzle to nip at her knee.

He put himself so that she would have to jump away or land on top of him, either of which was perfectly fine for play in his books.]

[She tries to turn in mid-air as he goes for her knee and instead comes right down on top of him. She could try to jump back, but instead she tries to use the momentum to bowl both of them over.]

[He hopped when her weight landed on him, and he groaned in the fun. He was solid enough to keep to his feet, but when it was clear she was trying to topple them, he did drop and roll, rubbing his back in the grass and nipping towards her without much intent.]

[She would laugh if she could in this form as they roll in the grass. She pulls back as he nips at her, and reciprocates in kind, nipping playfully at his legs, without genuinely intending any harm.]

[He was kicking his paws in the air as he wiggled on the grass, mouth agap as he made noises that where somewhere between what he would make as a Zabrak and what wolves might make. He made a mock wounded sound when she caught a paw, licking at her muzzle to 'plead' for her to let go.]

[She releases him quickly and hops back, with a lazy wag of her tail. She knows it's all in good fun, no way she bit down hard enough to actually hurt him.]