Welcome to Canis Major

a wolf and animal rpg (role-playing game)

Canis is a writing community for play-by-post (forum-based), freeform roleplay set in a fictional dream world in the intrusion fantasy genre. Most characters on Canis are wolves; many play elements are focused around wolves and canids, but the world makes room for a large variety of other animal characters such as dogs, horses, cats, bears, deer, and many, many more.

Our community is focused on flexibility, creativity, and collaboration. That boils down to a few important features:

  • There is no set activity requirement to write
  • The setting and plot are member-created and staff-supported
  • The game is continuously improved to increase fun and decrease stress

Learn more in our Rulebook!

AW
and you braid dandelions into my hair


Morning Fog 60° F
#1
AW
04-21-2021, 07:06 PM
forward dated to account for travel <3 hoping for a pantheon wolf! 

-*-

there was hesitation in jade’s next few steps. she paused, her black-tipped ears  pricked upwards as her posture straightened, a single leg pressed to her breast as her nose twitched. there are so many wolves nearby... 

she took another step, tail swinging in a general air of curiosity. how many? she wondered, a good handful. at least, good deduction jade. it was certainly more bodies than she’d noticed in the plains, these scents were more established, there just had to be a pack nearby. maybe not here but... hm. 

with another broad flick of her tail, jade let out a soft breathe and glanced at the pool to her left. it certainly wasn’t the ocean, but hearing the water plop against the edge brought her some comfort. she padded towards it, hoping to get a quick drink, taking a quick glance over her shoulder to look back towards where all those scents were.
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#2
Formation
04-21-2021, 08:26 PM
^^He’d made his rounds of Winterheart and done those instinctive things which were becoming more and more natural to the King. This wasn’t entirely unlike the Underworld he missed - especially at night when he could see the stars through the broken tree line when he snuck out of his cavernous den. His thoughts briefly flashed to Persephone and wondered how the Queen was getting on in her tasks for the day. He decided to branch out a bit, going back to the lake and the first place he’d met her.

What greeted him rather than the silence he’d become accustomed to was the figure of another woman. His nose twitched and caught scarce other scents on her. So not another pack cropping up, which was good for him and his claim. “Hello,” the tall King offered briefly before he stood at the edge of the water and took a drink, oddly comforted by the fact they were so close to his claim and the knowledge that if he did Desire any help he’d find it quickly. Her attention seemed occupied by the forest and there was part of him that preened - he’d never claim not to be prideful, after all.^^
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#3
04-21-2021, 09:44 PM
just as her crown began to tilt back towards the water, jade spotted a dark figure making its way through the tree line. she paused, watching, as the shadow drew closer. she soon found that he was no shadow, rather, a tall dark brute. he looked like he came from royalty just from the way he stood, and the young wolf found her chin lowering instinctually. this has got to be one of the pack guys — he smells like 50 different wolves. 

he spoke first, and jade accepted the invitation for a conversation willingly. “hey,” she chirped with a low wag of her tail. she wasn’t sure if she should really be the one leading here, but nothin had been officially established just yet, and she was certain she hadn’t crossed any borders. “i’m taking bets, who do you think could hold their breathe longer under water,” she began, a gleam in her mossy gaze, “me, or that cardinal?” she noses towards the tree line to a plump red bird, who tweets at its mention, but appears shocked it was brought into this. without enough time for the stranger to answer, it ruffles its feathers before taking flight through the branches. jade’s ear flicks sideways. 

“he knew the answer was me,” she adds with a huff, “anyway, i’m jade.” 
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#4
04-22-2021, 05:52 AM
^^Hades found her question to be curious and amusing. He didn't get much of a chance before the bird had flitted away, his blue eyes trailing it for awhile. “He probably didn't want to be embarrassed,” Hades agreed. Jade. He'd remember that. Although sometimes he forgot names, hopefully, he'd manage not to forget one of the few wolves he'd met outside of his family. “I'm Hades.” He wondered curiously if she'd just woken up or if she'd been wandering for a bit. “It's becoming rather normal to find wolves here at this lake.” Hades mused with a brief smile. It suddenly was replaced with a more curious one - two scents. His nephew? Which meant typically that Hera's wrath had summoned him. He'd worry about Ares later. “I apologize, I thought I smelled someone on the breeze.” As a way of explaining this often was bizarre for him and unusual and he couldn't quite figure it all out.

Hades wasn't going to get into the particulars of his family or their many crossed and weaved ways. Especially not on some poor soul who'd had the mere misfortune of finding the King out on a stroll. “Are you out here looking for someone?” Hades asked curiously as he settled down to sit, still impressively tall even when reclined.^^
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#5
04-22-2021, 02:51 PM
“that’s definitely it,” mused the little fire, her paws doing a little tip tap on the ground as a quick few giggles escaped her. i like this one. 

his comment surprised her, and her black-tipped ears raised in curiosity. “like, ones that just—“ but she cut herself off as his expression changed, and she found herself following suit. her nose tipped back and twitched, feeling the breeze on her spotted face. she too sensed... someone on the wind, but she’d be lying if she said the pack smell didnt all seem to blend together. she nodded politely when he apologized, crown dipping again, but didn’t comment. her previous question fell flat flat as he added a follow up question that gave her just a bit more clarity. 

she wondered if he knew. just find wolves here? looking for someone? surely this was a weird coincidence, but jade didn’t want to look crazy! so she merely shook her head. the cherry-toned she-wolf followed his lead, and settled herself, appearing a much smaller piece than the dark brute before her. “i actually left home to go off on my own. i was alone when i... got here,” she dared to say, looking at his features to see if had any sort of reaction to that, “so, no, i guess i’m not searching to find any familiar faces.” jade didn’t seem perturbed by the situation or the question. her face remained bright, smile still pressed to the corners of her lips. 

“and you, hades? looking for someone?”
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#6
04-22-2021, 05:28 PM
She approached with little warning, bounding close to nip his haunch, giggling as she sprang away again; weight lifted from her chest since their talk, Persephone had quickly returned to the excitable and enthusiastic goddess he’d known her to be thus far. Today, perhaps, she was a little more giddy than normal, happy to fall back into their easy routine.

She knew she’d interrupted, and was quick to shoot an apologetic smile to the girl. “Sorry. He forgot I was ‘it’.” another giggle before she pranced closer, greeting the girl with a smile and a happy wave of her tail. “I’m Persephone!” gently, easily, she stretched out her neck to sniff at the other female, though she didn’t close the remaining distance between them.
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[Image: 32742104_CtCyQBtRsKxdbdr.gif]
— Hades is welcome in any thread Persephone is in, and, may powerplay her if the need is there
— Mother, please stay out of my threads :c
#7
04-22-2021, 05:39 PM
^^The King found her gracious to just brush off his abrupt change, considering that he'd been halfway through talking about something else. What she described was a little different. Maybe she'd woken somewhere else and then found the lake in her search for answers? Still, it was like she was hinting at what happened to him and to the rest of his family. “Many have...just found themselves here. No clear memories of what happened.” Hades provided smoothly and was about to explain more to Jade when Persephone shot forth and nipped at his haunch.

The King laughed warmly, knocking his head fondly against his Queen. Now that they'd talked it was easier being around her again. It felt right. “Jade,” He addressed the red woman, his gaze quickly shifting to Persephone. “The Queen of The Pantheon.” He hadn't gotten to introduce Persephone like this to anyone who wasn't family. It made him giddy in a way that he was glad no one else could feel. “Our claim is the forest there - Winterheart Forest. Thankfully most of my family has found their way to it, although there are still plenty who haven't shown up. It's odd, the timing of it all.” Hades found it relieving though to know it wasn't just his family who seemed affected by whatever made them be here.^^
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#8
04-22-2021, 06:19 PM
it happened to him too! surprise spread across jade's face as hades revealed that many others found themselves in a similar situation to her. she waited eagerly to hear what else he would say, but they were swiftly interrupted by a joyous abundance of cream fur. a lithe female with bright eyes that reminded the scarlet youth of spring berries, and her own tail tapped against the ground at the display of affection the two showed for one another. the woman shot her an apologetic look, but nothing about jade suggested she was annoyed at the interruption. she patiently waited for the two to settle together, she knew she'd hear more about the situation momentarily. 

"persephone!" she purled thoughtfully, "such a pretty name, it's nice to meet you." jade considered throwing some decorative title in there to address her, but somehow she didn't feel like that was necessary in this context -- she'd find out later. the pair was a sight for sore eyes, they seemed to be direct opposites of one another -- light and dark. persephone looked like the sun, and hades like the night that followed behind. she liked them both, quite a lot, already.

her attention pulled back towards hades again, her ears turning forward to listen intently. she nodded, quickly, frowning that plenty still hadn't shown up. "i hope you're reunited with them soon, both of you," she said with a soft smile, gaze flitting between them both. "and i -- yes. i sort of thought i just slept walked here," she admitted with a sheepish bow of her head, but her eyes glinting somewhat playfully, "i've been on my own for a while, and so many different places. i fell asleep in a field beneath a tree and woke up in a different field. i knew something was wrong but -- i mean i didn't even know where to begin to try to figure out what happened. i thought maybe i'd eaten bad meat or something, but it's good to know i'm not... ya know, losing it." well, unless everything here has been a hallucination. 

she looked between the two again. "oh! i'm sorry, i didn't mean to gloss over the other information you told me. your claim -- so you must be king then, hades? jade said with a little tip-tap of her toes in the earth, "what's it like? how long have you both been here?" oops! maybe i shouldn't ask so many questions at once. oh but she had more.
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#9
04-23-2021, 04:00 AM
If she could have blushed, she would have. Instead, the girl gave a bashful smile at the compliment. Good thing, too, for the other girl started explaining her arrival here. Persephone was surprised and privately thrilled that someone went through almost the exact same thing she had, a connection forming almost instantly with her. “Me too!” She exclaimed when Jade had finished, completely bypassing the introduction for the moment, though she had the grace to shoot Hades an abashed smile. “Yes and yes. A couple of months, at most. We both woke up here and found each other.” Almost like it had been fated.

Swishing her tail for a moment, Persephone decided to trust the gut feeling she had, nosing her king's shoulder for a moment before looking to Jade with a warm, inviting smile. “I went through almost the exact same thing. Fell asleep and woke up here, where I didn't recognize anything. If it hadn't been for Hades, I'd have been completely alone.” A feeling she hated, even if she needed the solitude sometimes. “I'd hate for you to keep being on your own. Why don't you join us?” It was sudden, maybe, but already, she could tell she'd like Jade. “We can figure things out together.”
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[Image: 32742104_CtCyQBtRsKxdbdr.gif]
— Hades is welcome in any thread Persephone is in, and, may powerplay her if the need is there
— Mother, please stay out of my threads :c
#10
04-23-2021, 04:32 AM
^^Jade seemed shocked to hear what had happened to them. That so many had just shown up in the lands, finding a struggle in piecing together what happened. “So far, none of us know why.” And he wasn't going to suggest that if it was a retribution on his family that others had been just unlucky bystanders. “Some remember everything, others don't.” He wanted to reassure the woman that regardless of what she remembered or didn't there was no harm there. Hades was quickly sidestepped by the two more outgoing women's conversations, the King not quite able to stop himself from smiling at the interaction between them. He was happy to sit back and to see how Persephone handled the situation.

Her empathetic nature quickly won, offering a place for Jade to stay. “I am.” He answered to the question of his title. “We have a diverse group. A few scouts, so far I do most of the hunting, we haven't been established too long so there's still a decent amount to do.” Hades explained. It was intimidating to try and merge in with a family unit like theirs. “We can be a bit.....intimidating? My youngest brother especially.” He was grinning when he said it, and yet, it was a fair warning. “If you'd like to stay with us, I'm sure Persephone would enjoy showing you around.” He'd let the Queen show off.^^
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#11
04-23-2021, 03:54 PM
Persephone's demeanor was such a warm presence that Jade could've just fallen asleep before her. The two seemed to match one another's energy, and the cherry-coated she-wolf listened intently as Persephone began to speak more. Jade's expression quickly fell into a deep frown, her spotted brow furrowing. Hades chimed in a bit as well, and so her stone-green gaze flitted between them both. "A few months," she echoed quietly with a gentle shake of her head, "I can't believe wolves have just been... waking up here, for this long." She hesitated, briefly, then tacked on, "I think I remember everything? At least I don't have any gaps. Do you guys?" Oh please say no. She looked apologetically at Persephone, who seemed to have a much more difficult time adjusting than she had. "I'm glad you found each other," she offered with a smile and a few wags of her tail. If they'd known each other longer, she might've nosed her shoulder as a reassuring gesture. 

Jade was a social wolf, surely, anyone could tell, but she hadn't truly felt lonely the last few months. She felt independent and free! Self sufficient and brave! But lonely... not as often. That being said, when the honey-laden queen offered her a home among their ranks, her expression lit up immediately. "Omg, yes! If you're sure, I would love to join you guys," she replied firmly with a few nods of her head, and to Hades comment, "Do you have a healer? I'm actually pretty familiar with herbal medicine and... that sort of stuff. All the women in my family learned it." Call it the family business of wolves. 

She giggled a bit to Hades comment, quirking an eyebrow and shaking her head. "Well! I am not the kind of girl to be so easily intimidated. I'll win them all over, no problem," she assured him, but did appreciate the heads up. She'd never met anyone who didn't like her, but... well! There was a first for everything, wasn't there?
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#12
04-26-2021, 05:01 AM (This post was last modified: 04-27-2021, 11:59 AM by Valk. Edited 1 time in total.)
The question posed made her ears flicker back for a moment, a light frown taking control of her expression. “There are some gaps. Everything's felt pretty cohesive but sometimes... I don't know. It's almost like my memory is fine, and then something happens and a new memory... slides into place? Its hard to describe.” It had happened when she'd found Eros in the rain that day; one moment, she hadn't known him and the next, she'd remembered that he was her best friend and had run to him. It hadn't even felt like she'd forgotten him, just that the memory had simply clicked! into place.

The frown disappeared in light of Jade's agreement to join them, an excited Persephone bouncing forward to bump her head against the other girl's shoulder, tail wagging furiously. Even more so when Jade said she was a healer. “Ah! I've already started a garden! I'm not much of a healer — I only know basics — but I do know my plants and herbs. We could work together!” Perhaps it was not very queenly to show such excitement, but just then, Persephone didn't care. She had the potential to build a friendship here, and she wasn't going to let it go to waste.

“Come on. We can walk with you to Winterheart, if you like.”
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[Image: 32742104_CtCyQBtRsKxdbdr.gif]
— Hades is welcome in any thread Persephone is in, and, may powerplay her if the need is there
— Mother, please stay out of my threads :c
#13
04-27-2021, 06:57 AM
— short post since the grownups are talking <3 Feel free to skip Hades for a bit, he'll let Persephone take over!

^^It pleased him to no end to see how quickly his Queen found herself settling into her task. She'd offered a haven and Jade had accepted it - only one of three who wasn't of their family who'd come along to roost. He nodded his head when Persephone explained how their memories had been. It had bothered him to no end but it seemed most of his kingdom was fine with just accepting the state of things. “So far it hasn't done us any harm, thankfully, but we've slowly found memories and filed them where they needed to be.” Ever the beaurocrat Hades found it easiest to explain that way. “The Queen will lead us.” He agreed, tail tip swaying behind him easily. He met Persephone's eyes with nothing but pride in his, happy to see her so comfortable in her role. He'd known she would be.^^
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#14
05-12-2021, 03:19 PM
Jade listened intently, her soft green gaze rested upon the woman as she spoke, though still respectful of her rank. "I couldn't imagine that -- I have -- I mean it feels like I have -- all my memories still. I wonder if one day I'll find something just click in, as it has for you," she said with a tilt of her head. Secretly, she hoped not... felt like too much stress. Would it uproot her whole world months later to find she lived a life she forgot? Ugh, she could shutter at the thought.

When Persephone leapt forward to greet her, Jade sprung to her feet. She met the embrace warmly, forgetting the weight of their conversation prior almost entirely. Yes A friend! And a home! What she'd wanted all along. "Oh perfect I can teach you everything I know if you'd like," she purred with some wags of her tail. And then, Jade followed after the pair -- with Persephone in the lead -- with a bright gaze. She gave Hades a nod as he let them go before him, and began to peer through the trees in awe. Wow!
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