God was made to Fall

Wake up...


...Wake up...


WAKE UP

 

With a gasp, Nexus lifted her head as cold, salty waves tickled her back. A shiver running along the woman's spine, Nexus scrambled upwards, paws drifting across a sandy-ish beach. What? Where was she? This wasn't... home..?

Sky-blue eyes darting back and forth, the blue-grey wolf looked black due to the sodden, wet fur, though at the moment she didn't care. Where. The. Hell. Was she?!

Shaking her head and letting out a raspy howl, Nexus began to walk along the beach, though trying to get closer to the mainlands. Was she one a peninsula? Whatever, it didn't matter, she needed to find out where the hell she was and how to get back...

Home... She couldn't remember it. 
Her parents, family, brothers, sisters-

They were all gone, at least, Nexus couldn't remember them.
Sitting down shakily, Nexus let out another howl. Hopefully someone would find her, soon. 

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Having made her way down further South, Galatea came upon another place containing a vast span of water. As she stood upon grassy cliffs, she took in the breathtaking sight. Simply taking note of how big it was and seeing the waves cascading over the shore still made her uneasy, but the feeling had lessened a bit now. 

A single howl startled the woman out of her thoughts, sending a shiver down her spine. Something about it sounded...desperate and lonely. She scrambled down towards the beach, attempting to find the source of it. There, she encountered  a soaking wet, dark wolf whose eyes reminded her of clear skies.

Unsure of what to do, she timidly stepped forward to observe her closer. "H-hello? Are you alright?" she asked.
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His way down from the mountains had been dismal. Days earlier his fox friend, the one who could speak no words yet gesture a thousand images had disappeared. He had been left alone again in this new world with nothing more than the pelt on his back and a resolve to figure it all out. 

Why me? Why here?

The answers would not be forthcoming, he knew and so he had lumbered carefully downward in search of simply anything. The base of the mountain had held little more than nature fleeing at his every step. As it should, a wolf of his size moving like some dazed fawn. Days later brought him on his southerly path along the coast, his need to keep near the water strangely intrinsic to him. The roiling crash of it nearby seemed to sooth, to pull him away from the strangeness of it all. 

Bourbon's head lifted suddenly to the sound of a strangled howl. It's notes were forlorn, pleading. A resolve formed in his chest and the man spurred himself forward a little faster. Down through a cleft in the steep cliff rocks, down to the strand to see a she-wolf sat in exhaustion.

Still a good distance off the massive fellow lifted his maw and let loose something between a howl and a gentle woof. He was surprised to find another wolf already there as he approached and felt a sense of unease. As if he was disturbing something..

"AHOY!" he called out in a friendly rumble. "Everything a'right here?"

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"Hello? Are you alright?"

 

With a slight jump, Nexus craned her head to see the wolf who had approached her. Ginger, white-ish piebald, not like the dark-blue grey pelt that Nexus wore, heavied by water and salt. Shaking her head, the woman turned her sky-blue gaze towards the sea, gazing at the horizon with slight longing for something she barely remembered. Where was she?

 

"No, no I'm not alright. I have no idea where I am and.. I can't remember anything. I... I can't even remember who my own mother is. I'm not okay."

 

With a sigh, the blue-grey woman swayed her head in defeat, ears pinned back against her head and tail tucked in. She looked small. All of her fur was plastered down, making Nexus look scrawnier and bonier than she actually was, but with a bit of fur ruffling, Nexus was fine, and she quickly groomed her fur to try to get some warmth back in.

 

"Who are you-"

 

Another wolf in her peripheral vision, giving something mixed between a calling howl and a greeting woof, and Nexus turned her head to see them. Stars. A tall, auburn beast stood there, gazing at her, and at the other wolf who had also found her. Well, at least her calls hadn't fallen on deaf ears, right?

"Oh, H-hello, I'm okay..ish.."

 

She stammered pathetically, shaking her head in disapproval of herself before dipping her head towards both the strangers. Well, if they were going to stand and stare, why not introduce herself? Luckily, she had a small grasp of her name. It'd truly suck if she'd forgotten that. Ears lifting from their previously flattened state, Nexus tried to appear at easiest hough her calls had probably already proven that otherwise.

 

"I'm Vulpus, Nexus Vulpus,"

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Galatea's ears lowered when she heard her answer. The woman felt a pang of worry deep within as she took in her weary state. "I'm...really sorry to hear that. Is there any way I can help?"

Whatever else she was going to say was cut short when another wolf howled back and joined the two of them. He was a very large and bulky one with brown fur, almost reminiscent of a bear. Despite being the one that arrived first, she decided not to butt her way into the conversation.

She bowed her head when the other woman introduced herself. "My name is Galatea. Gala for short. "
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Bourbon realized that he was feeling something he had not in a long while. Even in his escapades through the mountain crags he had clung to some sense of control of this situation. Was there not always a logical explanation for things? He'd based his entire life on such claims of certainty and yet here he stood on the precipice of his entire concept of the world unravelling. There was nothing to explain all of this, and that really stuck in his craw.

His attention snapped back to the two wolves before him. Neither seemed inclined to challenge his approach, and one - the caller - was evidently exhausted. Even still he kept his pace slow and measured, as unthreatening as he could hope to be, and only came a careful few more steps forward. Giant as he was, the steps closed a surprsing amount of distance. Bourbon was not usually short on words, but the situation before him was fraught with awkwardness. Where to start?

It was in getting a little closer that Bourbon saw, in the eyes of the wolf with a coat the colours of stormy seas and violent skies a desperation that struck him cold. He recognized it immediately and his heart lurched in response. He knew, had he a mirror at the time he'd awoken here only a couple weeks prior, he'd held that very same look in coming into this world. She and him were... alike. 

And this other one next to her, the first responder. Her coat a playful patchwork and in her own gaze all of the sincerity of caring. They were introducing themselves to one another.. But he realized also to him. Bourbon shifted anxiously and lapped his tongue out over his lips. 

"If you will both tolerate my presence, I am Bourbon Dolium. I seek nothing but to help and so I will move on if need be. However..." He fixed his eyes, bright as chips of jade on Vulpes and in those small, glittering gems there was a note of absolute sad understanding. "I see that you just awoke as well. I am - I think - in the same situation." His focus was deep on Vulpes but he did not feel right in ignoring the other party. Gala seemed patient in this whole situation.

Bourbon looked to Gala with a pondrous expression. "Are we all lost here?"

Oh what a mess.

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"Are we all lost Here?"

 

 Nexus gave a curt nod, her tail swaying in slight unease. Oh how she wanted to be back home, though how could she get there if she didn't even remember it? The storm-grey woman furrowed her brows in frustration, burying her head in her own fur for a moment of comfort before gazing but up at Bourbon and Gala.
 They seemed nice, so far. Gala was sincere, Bourbon seemed to be a 'gentle giant' of sorts.

 

"I am, and I'd love to get home but... I have no memory of it. It's not fair, I ended up here and my entire life that I used to have was taken away from me... I have no idea what happened,"

 

 

 Nexus sighed, shaking her head to avoid tears welling up in her eyes. It wasn't fair, what had she done to end up here? Nexus had a family.. right? They probably missed her and were looking for her.. hopefully. What if she didn't have a family? What if she was sent here because her previous life was meaningless?
 The woman gave a silent curse to whatever may hear, and she wrinkled her nose angrily, before softening her gaze to the other wolves.
 

At least they were here with her.

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Galatea stepped to the side in order to give Bourbon some space. "I-I'm not entirely sure if I'm what you'd call lost. I don't have a home, but I do know my way around this place a little."

Hearing about what happened to the other woman, she truly felt for her. She could relate to having her past life and the things she loved getting ripped away from her so suddenly, and being thrown into a new place while having nowhere to go. It's such a terrifying thing to go through.

She sighed. "Oh dear...I'm really sorry to hear that. Something similar happened to me in the past." Her frown turned into a warm smile. "But, just know that you don't have to go through this alone. I could probably help somehow."

Though, she wasn't exactly sure how she'd help, considering she was as clumsy as a newborn deer and had only the most basic knowledge of navigating through this world.
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Galatea stepped kindly to the side to allow him closer and Bourbon nodded his head in thanks. To look even closer upon the newly awakened Nexus was one thing, but to hear her words in all of their reasoned pleading really clutched at his heart. His own memories had been stripped, pulled away at the root only leaving his name and the yawning sense of wrongness. This was not his place, had never been. And now with dawning realiziation at Galatea spoke, the huge man found that all three of them were indeed of the same ilk. Awoken, in different places, at different times with nothing left of their worlds before. 

Bourbon's brow knotted in thought, causing his already bearish face to wrinkle to further depths, nearly burying his eyes. It was unfortunately humourous to look at for all of the serious levity going on in that brain of his. But after a moment he let out a gruff sigh. Figuring it all out right now was no use. There were more important things at paw. Gala's comforting words to Nexus rang in his ear and he fought back a smile.

"Nexus Vulpes, Galatea, there is something strange going on in these lands," said Bourbon gently. "I think all three of us share something in the fact that we woke up here. Perhaps we can glean that reason together and find us back our families and homes. But first..." He smiled warmly and cocked his head back further inland. "We need to get you away from the water and dried up. Won't do you any good shivering here until the tide comes up."

Galatea said she had been around long enough to know the landscape. He cocked his head towards her and asked in earnest. "I mean not to impose too much, friend. But is there anywhere safe nearby we could all go to? A cave to duck into, or an abandoned den perhaps?"

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sorry for how late this is! Haven’t felt like writing Nexus lately, also if the spelling or grammar is crap i’m writing this on mobile lmao

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 At the mans warm smile, Nexus felt herself beginning to ease more into the situation. She wasn’t alone. One day, hopefully, Nexus would be reunited with her family, though at the moment, she’d have to make do with the wolves trying to help her, and she didn’t mind that one bit.

 As Bourbon suggested finding a warm cave or abandoned den, Nexus stood, shaking any water from her fur and getting ready to go. As the dark ginger man gazed at Gala, asking if she knew these lands, Nexus tilting her head curiously, wondering what the woman would say next.

 Hopefully she had some idea of a place to stay, though one could never be certain. If she didn’t, the group would just have to search, maybe find another pal along the way, though Nexus was certain that the three of them would make a strong group, for now, at least. Hopefully, once they found a place to temporarily settle down, they could do some hunting; Nexus was starving, especially after being washed ashore.

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Bourbon was right. It was quite strange for all three of them to get sent to this place with no explanation. She'd mostly accepted her new life, but was there truly a way for them to return to their homes? How would they possibly go about doing that?

With the two of them looking to her, she began to feel anxious. They were both depending on her guidance, and disappointing them was the very last thing she wanted to do. She had to think of something!

The woman hummed as she mulled over Bourbon's question, trying to jog her memory. Something clicked in her mind. "There's a place up north that we can go for now." she said while cocking her head towards the cliffs. "It's very calm with plenty of prey to go around. I'm sure if we search around there, we can find a good place to rest."
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So sorry for the wait! A lot going on in life, but I want you both to know that I'm super enjoying how much these three are growing to trust one another. I hope they can really get something going amongst them! Should we do another round of posts in this thread and go to a new location/thread? Or just keep it up here?
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Seeing the others relax ever so slightly around him the big man felt an innocent swell of pure happiness bloom inside his ample chest. Strange as he could be, he found he thrived amongst others. The curse of all wolfkind for sure, to so deeply and instinctively desire the companionship of their kind even to the point of detriment. But this was not such a case. Mutual tragedy had made for expedient travelling companions, the optimist in him wanting to see so much more in it however, imagining a bond of destinies intertwined. He'd always considered himself a factual sort yet this whole forray into unknown territory of both the mind and body had made a mockery of things known to him.

'Best to see how it all plays out.'

Bourbon watched with sympathy as Gala's face creased in deep thought for a moment before she brightened up with an idea, in turn his broad, brutish mug erupted into a delighted smile at her notion not so much of going up north, but of food. His time in the mountains with the silent fox had granted him a bounty of rock rats and fresh water, but it had been some time since and he was quite hungry. They had kept him going of course, one of his size however seemed to burn energy faster than they could consume it. He needed a big kill and soon.

"Capital idea! I could use a bite myself," barked Bourbon. His stunted tail started wagging to such a degree his rump began to shimmy in spite of himself. He turned and tilted his head comically to the Nexus, tongue lolling out. She seemed to be finding herself a bit more now and he rejoiced at the slight smile she held on her muzzle. "As long as you're good to travel, friend. Let's fall in with our new guide. I know I'm quite peckish."

He then winked at Gala to show the levity of his remark, hoping she would not take her being thrust into a leadership position as anything too cruel. After all, they were all lost here indeed.

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No worries! Real life always comes first, so take all the time you need. I was thinking maybe once Gala posts we could move to a new thread? Btw, where would we want to make the new thread? Maybe Stone Mountain or Ichorwood?

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 Smiling brighter as Gala declared that there was, in fact, a place they could stay, Nexus felt her fur stand on end in excitement. Yes! Good gods, she was starving!
 Gaze flicking towards the mountains, the woman could imagine a warm, mossy cave where the three would be able to stay for a while and get round on blind mice and rabbits. Maybe there'd be some fresh water.. she was quite thirsty.

 Eyes focusing back on Gala, Nexus realised that Bourbon was looking at her, before he spoke. As long as you're good to travel, friend. Let's fall in with our new guide. I know I'm quite peckish. Giving a nod, Nexus flicked her ears absent-mindedly, tail twitching impatiently.

"Yeah, I'm ready to go. Gala, would you like to lead the way? Or.. would we want to hunt first?'
 Gazing back to Bourbon, she tilted her head curiously,
'I'm absolutely starving. I'd be up for hunting big game, if either of you'd like,"

 Nexus lifted her nose to the air after speaking, jaw parting slightly as she drank in the scents of the mountains. Hm, maybe there were mountain goats that they could have, or a herd of elk further east, towards what seemed to be plains by the looks of it. Up north seemed like a tundra.. Nexus liked cool days, but not that freezing.
 Now that she was drinking in the scents, she could swear that the smell of pack wolves were nearby; They should probably get going soon.

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Yeah, stopping here and making a new thread sounds good! I actually had Stone Mountain in mind for the next one.

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Bourbon and Nexus's responses made her feel more at ease and gave her a boost of confidence. A guide, huh? Maybe she actually was capable of something! She thought for a moment, that things wouldn't be so bad with the three of them together. This could be a fresh, new start. Besides, it would be wonderful to be able to catch some bigger prey for a change.

Detecting the smell of other wolves nearby, she felt a chill travel down her spine. Hopefully they weren't too close to a pack's territory. Leaving as soon as possible would be ideal, in that case. Once her nerves had finally settled, she nodded. 

"Okay, then. Since we're all ready, we can start heading out! We can stop to rest and hunt if we ever need to." She promptly started towards the cliffs. As she climbed, she stopped to look back at the duo with a warm smile. "Follow my lead."
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Stone Mountain sounds good to me! It's slightly closer than Ichorwood anyways. I'll leave it up to y'all who wants to start the new thread, if ya's need me to just PM me here or hit me up on Discord. <3 PS: Yaaay I discovered how to use the ooc tag. Only took me forever.

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Bourbon chuffed his assent to the whole plan, excited to get moving once again, to discover more about this strange place and the mysteries behind their appearances here. He licked his lips, tasting the salty brine that been drying all across his huge body and rolled his shoulders to limber them up. He suspected a bit of climbing in the near future if they were heading back towards the mountains. 

"Lead on oh brave leader!" piped Bourbon encouragingly. Aspects of his chipper nature were coming back through and there was a relief to him in that. He'd so long felt a stranger in this body since awakening that these familiar sensations warmed him, made him feel far more whole again.

That and potential friends upon which to take a journey.

He noticed Nexus scenting the air and gave a good few sniffs himself. He then nodded. "You smell it too then? Might not be good to stick around and find out if they're the friendly type." No matter the nature of the pack, it would be a risk to cross paths right now.

Bourbon happily fell in just behind Gala, slowing his long strides to a far more leisurely lumbering motion that made his was ever all the more ursine. If they were accosted along the way to safety, surely anyone watching from a distance would rethink taking on two wolves and what looked to be a bear amongst their midst.

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Apologies for the lateness! I think this post would be a good end for the thread, but if y’all wanna get anymore posts in I don’t mind!

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 Glad to hear that a decision had been made, Nexus felt a smile creep at the corners of her mouth, and she didn’t hide it nor reject it, but she embodied it.
 The woman would happily grin in front of wolves that she felt comfortable around.

“Oh, yes, Lead on, oh great Gala!” Nexus chanted with a joyful wag of her tail, walking up to the ginger woman with a spring in her step.

 It felt good to be back in action, and to have a plan and a goal in mind. These were wolves she’d go anywhere with, she was certain of that now.

 As Bourbon detected the stranger wolves not too long after her, Nexus nodded.
 The lacking scent of loner wolves around the area made her think that the pack they were closest to probably wouldn’t be happy to have random wolves in their territory.

“I agree, we should definitely start towards the mountains,”

 And as Gala began the trek into the mountains, the storm-blue woman quickly fell into step behind her, feeling the doubt and worry leave her fur and stick to the stony-ground where she had awoken.
 Finally, on the road again. And now, with company.

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