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!

P
life slips away and the ghosts come to play


Evening Sunny/Clear 58° F
#1
P
Discovery
06-30-2021, 08:25 PM
With @Jarilo Hydra moved in quiet, keeping close to home. Spring had sprung which meant much; the weight of the future lingered, and Hydra was infinitely aware to be alert for her own season. Thus far, none of her she-wolves had fallen into heat... but she kept near, in case. Hydra pressed just beyond Empyrean's borders to the Cove, expanding the breadth of their claim to warn others of coming too close. But, while there, she paused and looked to her brother. 

One ear backturned as she regarded him. “Did father tell you of the Bay pack he once led? Before he and mother united their forces,” she asked, looking back to the territory that surrounded them. Hydra did feel something of a pull to the ocean itself, but detested sand. That these shores were entirely comprised of pebbles, stones, and the like—which she stood atop of then—made the place far more appealing than any other coastal property.

But from the perspective of a hunter, and inexperienced in the terrain, she wondered what benefit there might be to claiming this piece of land in time. Something she currently considered, given Empyrean seemed to continue to grow. And with cubs on the horizon... well, it would not hurt, would it? 

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#2
Discovery
Ecologist
Empyrean
07-09-2021, 05:09 AM (This post was last modified: 11-16-2021, 07:07 PM by Jarilo. Edited 2 times in total.)
Easily falling into a very familiar rhythm, and matching the pace his sister set for them most strides, they ranged on. Jarilo had his own particular way of fitting neatly at Hydra's side and like this, he could feel it well. In such simple, straightforward moments like these with a purpose defining them (with options still open, should nature need it), it was particularly easy for him to unfurl.

Their path had come to the Cove and he visually skimmed its horizon. He knew he owed the place a deeper, finer look so was taking it in greedily. His past trips through had always come with some other, louder distraction--such as Saviguk's initial return to them. Hydra's intent to keep their presence up here was not missed on the steely beta, though, and he did want land at their doorstep to their advantage. But, over half a pause, her words distracted him. For a moment, he just nodded slow. A hesitant pause to touch memories he wanted to be so sure of, and make sure he had enough clarity to say. “Yeah, only some..” he answered truthfully. “He took Vela and I there once, where it was... after our brothers were born,” Jarilo recounted, nostalgia threatening him quietly. A confusing fondness, mixed with grief, made his look more distant. “There wasn't anyone else there. We hunted, he showed us places he grew up in there...” he re-centered with a breath, and lowered his nose to sniff at a rounded pebble that caught his eye.

When he pulled back up, his ears tipped towards Hydra.
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#3
Discovery
07-13-2021, 10:15 PM
Hydra listened to her brothers memory, recalling the time when her father took herself and her own dark counterparts. Fondly did she recall these times, and she noted the strange twang of bitterness as he spoke of their brothers. In her heart, she felt the same thing—despite not understanding why. “The sea is in our blood as surely as the mountainstone makes up our bones,” she boldly claimed, though she looked to him with a note of humor in her eyes. She did not possess the entirety of their fathers arrogance, but the truth of the matter was she did feel a pull toward this place. 

And she did think their father had something to do with that. 

“It might make a good place to train,” she drawled, making way toward the stillwaters; but in another place, still somewhere in this cove, the water became more erratic. “We could test it ourselves,” she considered with a wave of her tail, bounding several feet ahead; she landed lightly, and so the rocks did not shift much beneath the weight of her except in the way to accommodate her presence (only just). Wheeling to face him with a flourish of her plume, she drawled, “I will race you to the waters,” before she lunged in their direction, grinning impishly.

She gave herself the eldest sisters head start. As she deserved. 

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#4
Ecologist
07-26-2021, 03:32 AM (This post was last modified: 11-16-2021, 07:09 PM by Jarilo. Edited 1 time in total.)
Thoughtfully silent for a beat, Hydra had reminded him of something that had not always been in plain sight. But, it was there.. never too far off. He had seen it there on the shoreline running with Charon leading them along, felt the first inklings of it in that excitement that had taken root then, something unrivaled entirely. The sea was in their blood as well. “It is,” he agreed, a light chuff to go with such reflection. “Before, I never felt I got to know it as well,” for all of the obvious reasons. While he had visited those coastal reaches here and there, his bond with Moonspear's slopes, and now this new mountain, had always been well tended. Now, proximity gave them something new entirely.

Listening, with an ear angled her way as he scoped the area, he soon nodded--her mention driving his focus in specific way then, to how the ground underfoot reacted, imagining how it would lend to speed, or how it would feel to crash into it when struck. It was different than the mountainside in many ways, surely offering its own sorts of advantage. Something else he would have to get to know better through time spent here. “Definitely worth a test,” he agreed, the smirk slowly growing; the words had hardly left his lips before she was off, and responding in turn, he launched forward after her with a sharp bark, and clack of teeth to punctuate--trying to reach for her thighs, but not able to catch his determined sister. Seconds after, he got to open up his stride properly and dig in, chasing after her towards the waters.

And though it was tempting to get lost in the new scenery as it sped past, underfoot even over the pebbled shore, he knew better than to give Hydra any extra advantage.
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#5
09-09-2021, 02:50 PM
She could hear his teeth catch nothing but the wind, and grinned. That in of itself would slow him down...

Rocks were nothing new for them to sprint across, but rocks so fine as these... well, they moved differently than those on either Moonspear or Empyrean, though fortunately for them their calloused paws protected them from the pains of it. The instability, though, was something else as they rolled; it caused one singular misstep, which might be plenty for Jarilo depending on whether or not the scenery had distracted him... but she pressed on anyway, moving to obscure his path with her body (wearing an impish grin), the shore now in sight at this point; she stretched out in a headlong sprint. 

Hydra adjusted easily enough. She had always been a quick learner. She was determined to beat Jarilo, but also thrilled to feel the salt in her lungs and the wind whipping across her features—wholly wild, and embracing it as the shore came ever nearer.

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#6
10-05-2021, 07:38 PM
Raised to be adaptable, and comfortable to step into the role, he stayed intent on his chase. It was easy to give himself to this cause, of lighthearted, familiar fun that could double as purposeful exploration in the right paws--paws like theirs. The freshness of the moment was exhilarating, satisfying too, and Jarilo drew it deep into his lungs, able to savor it.

He could keep pace well, though gaining (and maintaining) measurable ground was not revealing itself to be easy today. A stride here and there, sure, even ones close enough to chance an extra push her way, but primarily Hydra could keep him at bay. The waters of the shore were closing in ahead of her, of him too as his heart raced in his ears.

The pebbled beach underfoot was wetter here, and gave way soggier than the rest of their run, closer to where tides had settled before most likely. Jarilo felt dampness starting to accumulate on his underbelly, cold but refreshing, kicked up by their run, and knew it was in the final stretches. He could nearly soar, and finally when he gave it all of his focus, he pulled closer than ever. Never could he quite get his head ahead of her, but he would make do. Trying to run more even, he aimed to shoulder against her, complimenting with another nip if he might be able to reach her--playfully reaching to hinder her progress now that her victory was practically upon them.
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#7
Discovery
Paladin
12-09-2021, 03:36 PM (This post was last modified: 12-09-2021, 03:38 PM by Hydra. Edited 1 time in total.)
She felt joy in their run, unrestrained as they both were. Even despite her misstep, she remained ahead if only by the tip of her nose. But as for who won in the end, Hydra would not know as she lunged into the chilly waters and felt it against her heels as she splashed onward. Hydra spun on her heel to tempt him into the waters with a snap of her teeth, if he was not in already, set in a position of defense as the water pulled away. She would make the sea her element just the same as stone. Hydra only wanted to become better, never sedentary. As much as she loved the thrill of the hunt, she loved the thrill of a good spar.

And she would let her brother have the first move. Interesting, to have the sea involved; the water stung her eyes some, enshrouded even her sharp sense of smell... but she had fought before with her eyes closed. It was moreso the movement of the water, and the stuff beneath her paws, that made things less predictable. Come on then, she prompted with a look rich with mischief. Her ears were planted against her crown as her muzzle draped over her neck, but it was not without intent that she left the rear of her (that stood in the waters) vulnerable for now. The darkwaters were gentle this day, made dark only by the stonehue and sediment beneath it.

It would not entice him in that way, and that was not at all her driven goal. It never would be. But he had similar trainings as she, and would see the area only for what it was—unguarded.

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#8
Paladin
12-23-2021, 04:32 AM
Caught up in the rush in a narrow enough race, all of his speed underfoot that seemed to build impossibly higher, he could soar along too fast for all the usual new world worries. Intent on the goal and merrily tangled up in this brand of mischief his sister could bring, Jarilo wouldn't let the waters deter when they came. They bit with a sudden chill of course, but he was well warmed up in the run. He still gasped, and shaped the noise into a snarling laugh after while he adjusted stride accordingly around the waves.

The sterling Ostrega went willingly with Hydra's suggested shift of game, and arced around her with an exaggerated splash. He was not as nimble and spry as it would be on dry land, but he was determined to adapt fast, and stay riding the rush they had got here on. This allowed him to adjust his angle of approach enough, attempting not to leave himself terribly open for broadsided retaliation before he made the first true offensive rush once he was content with his footing's function--a swift dart towards her hind hips, teeth reaching out first, the rest of his momentum playfully following into the dance of a seaside spar.

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#9
Paladin
12-23-2021, 02:22 PM (This post was last modified: 12-23-2021, 02:22 PM by Hydra.)
The waters 'round her ankles, her hocks, made her more sluggish in her defense. Too slow was she then; ordinarily the swing of her hips in the opposite direction would be enough to make a clean getaway. Hydra was a quick learner, though; offense would do her better in the sea than defense, where the ocean might work against her. Jarilo rode not merely the rush but moved before the crest of a wave came, undeterred by even the elements they sparred within then. Were this a true battle, she might be in some trouble.

Her plume was quick to adjust and protect the vulnerabilities there as Hydra sought his then unprotected dangly bits with pinching teeth to distract him from her legs.Then and there, the clashing siblings looked every bit the ouroboros as Hydra maneuvered her hips away, using the oceans momentum as her brother had. She kept her mouth closed before getting close to her target, wanting to reduce the amount of seawater in her mouth as well. Squinting eyes prevented the seaspray from being too much of a bother.

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#10
01-26-2022, 05:56 AM
Jarilo noticed the differences underfoot easily, but he had played in creeks a lot as a young pup, hunting frogs and chasing fish, so there was some muscle-memory to be had to help polish off some reflexive maneuvers in the waters. He could adjust. This was just that on a much larger, saltier scale than what he was used to, sure, but there were some fundamental similarities still thankfully. And, as ever, Hydra also served as a fundamental pillar with him, staying just out of his reach then answering back with an arc to avoid the worst of him before her own offense rounded back.

Feeling her intent lunge for him was enough to make him put an extra push into the next strides, body bowing away from any foul play. He snarled a laugh, realizing her aim on his bits, and surged through the water to try for another dramatic splash before he charged back at her dramatically. Jarilo was soaked, thoroughly, but still gunning for more; he would press this exchange longer, the siblings tangling in half-spar, half-play depending the turn, as ever toeing the line of fond Ostrega violence.

Eventually they would return to the mountain (possibly making a race of it if the reserves were there) once they were tired of these explorations and games, but this was much needed as well. He felt like it was an evening well spent, his spirit lighter for it, and more secure in his foundations of home.

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