Memories of Earth

[Lex]

It had been one of those spring days full of sporadic rain showers. The wind in the high heavens was now tugging the last vestiges of a set of particularly gloomy and forboding rain clouds towards the mountains, where they mingled well with the dark grey of the rocky slopes of those giant behemoths.

Now, the great eye of the sun god Fenris began to open again as the puffy white clouds that had been left behind parted, and revealed a slightly drenched land below. The sun's rays glanced off the water-coated landscape, turning everything into a glaring reflection of blinding light. But the rays were warm, the breeze was gentle, if not a little chilly, and the air smelt fresh.

A small black nose poked out of some dense shrubbery, and wiggled itself furiously. After a moment of intense nose-wiggling, a head emerged, green eyes blinking furiously in the bright light. Lex sniffed the air curiously, then wiggled her nose again, it was a neccessary motion to help the rains stay away. Satisfied that she had indeed kept the rain at bay - at least for now - with her nasal muscles, the youngster gave herself a half nod of reassurance and padded out of the bushes she had been sheltering in. The bushes weren't the best covering for the rain, her brown pelt was not only covered in a smattering of black fur, but in multitudes of patches of wet fur where the leaves had unburdened themselves of water onto her back. At least under the vegetation, she was safer from any evil spirits lurking in the dark, much safer under there, than she would have been under that rock outcropping she had found not too far away.

Forever a superstitious creature, as her old pack had taught her to be, Lex had chosen wetness over the dark shadows under the rock. Thinking to herself that it was easier to dry off, than fight off an evil spirit of the dark. Even the thought gave her the creeps.

Blinking dumbly in the harsh light, Lex stumbled onwards in the vaguely same direction she had began in earlier this morning. She crested the rise of a small hill and looked out before her at a barren landscape. Scattered boulders seemingly hurled by giant wrathful beings marred the landscape. Stunted and gnarled trees clawed their way towards the sky, but were crushed beneath the very weight of their own despair. Lex flicked her left ear three times, and then proceeded to flick her right ear thrice also. Better to be safe than sorry, this landscape seemed dire to say the least.

Uncomfortable, Lex shifted her paws. She never liked going back on herself, and besides, she knew there was nothing back there for her anyway. Onwards it was.

Her pads had hardened nicely with all her travels, and they were soothed now in the damp earth as she weaved her way through the wet grass, the fur on her legs was already soaking with moisture, giving her an ungainly appearance with her legs looking much thinner than her fluffy body.

Coyly, she slank down the slope and started to pass between the sparse trees that still seemed yet to regain any of their greenery. Their branches creaked and grasped in the breeze, their voices like bitter aged elders, rasping and twisted. Lex gulped, and raised her timid gaze skywards. Their branches weren't bare at all, but their leaves were so dark it was had to tell them apart from the bark itself, and they were all curled up in tight little buds. Lex frowned, she decided that she wasn't a huge fan of this territory after all, whosever it was.

Shaking her head and returning her gaze to her own level, she froze as she saw a flicker of movement up ahead.
Spirit or mortal? She wasn't sure. Although it was daylight, so it was probably mortal, but was it a varg that she would particularly want to meet? Lex pouted. Never mind that, so long as they weren't mute, she could ask them the best place to head to next, perhaps someplace where she could try to find some food. Food being one of the foremost things on the young pup's mind, it was that thought that began to make her paws, jerky with trepidation, edge forward towards that unknown figure now.

[Kane]

The sodden earth once more for the fifth or sixth time today – Kane was finding it hard to keep track – was taking advantage of Fenris’ rays and was absorbing as much heat as possible to dry itself. The kerl knew it was a waste of time and energy on the terrain’s part for sooner rather than later, the rains would return and drench the land once more. Never the less, he was thankful for the warmth that radiated down onto his saturated pelt and continued on his travels for his next meal as it had been a few suns now since he’d managed to catch anything worth utilizing his energy on. The rocky terrain and sparse forest had made hunting very difficult for him on his own and was currently making his way out of the abandoned pack lands to find a richer ground; it was no wonder these lands were now barren.
The mann pedalled forth on long limbs, the black fur on his legs and underbelly were sleek and shiny with a mixture of rainwater and dirt, masking his white toes with further darkness. The only change in colour on the black varg was white that rimmed his lips and bibbed his chest, flecking his body all over. All in all Kane was a rather plain varg in appearance, the one striking feature he possessed were a pair of two-toned orbs. One a simple hazel in tone, your traditional colouration for varg eyes, and the right was of the brightest blues. It was a genetic flaw that he shared with his brother Drathlic; though instead of both eyes showing the gene flaw only one marked it. It was a constant reminder for him that there was one varg out there who didn’t deserve to live; and he would be the cause of suffering which was long-overdue.
Broad auds perked suddenly as a sound ahead caught his undivided attention and he slowed his pace from a gentle lope to a slow walk. Sensing the air with his glistening nose Kane picked up the faint smell of wet wolf and a deep growl began to roll from the depths of his chest. A rival perhaps? Most probably in these barren wastelands. Yet there was nothing around here worth fighting over and his strength was sorely needed to bring down prey rather than wasted over a pointless fight with rowdy kerls. He was ready to change direction when it wasn’t in fact an adult varg that was making its way towards him but a young female pup.
Cocking his head to the side he halted himself and twitched his tail thoughtfully. From what Kane could see she was on her own without a parent or family member to keep an eye on her – at least the now humid air wasn’t carrying anymore scents with it. As much as she wasn’t his concern and he should just leave her be, memories of his past began to return to his mind and the idea of the guilt he would have resting in his mind for days to come was simply not worth the grief he’d suffer. Sighing to himself he sat back on his haunches, ignoring the wetness beneath him. “What’s a little cub like you doing wandering out here on your own?” he called to her, voice gruff and cracking as if it were greatly unused, though it held no malice or anger despite his rugged appearance.