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
I wish I'd had more time


Evening Rain 65° F
#1
AW
Discovery
07-09-2021, 12:56 AM
^^
The more he knew the lay of the land, the bolder Hieronymous got with his little adventures away from the borders. The last time he left on a little trip he had brought home a friend, and this time he hoped to have done the same to keep up with self-imposed expectations, but perhaps this time it would be more of an exploration instead of a surprise recruitment.

After announcing his brief departure with @Ira, Hiero wandered the mountains once more. 

What he found was interesting... and unnerving. A test of his sense of direction as he entered unintentionally a fog-filled region at the foot of a mountain. The white brume snaked all around, snuffing out the remaining of his senses other than hearing... but there wasn't much to be heard here if he was being honest. It was as if the world had gone silent and all he could hear were the mountain dwellers every now and then from a distance. 

As he wandered the test began... can he find his way out?
^^
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— Hiero has a dull sense of smell, it will affect how I play him and how he acts in threads
#2
Discovery
Adventurer
07-11-2021, 05:19 AM (This post was last modified: 10-19-2021, 12:10 AM by Aso. Edited 1 time in total.)
Almost daily it seemed her mother would slip away. Certainly, she believed that she and the others would be safe at Tsukiishi, while she wordlessly searched for her brother, but how could she sit still alone while the only family she had gone out for hours or days and the other was lost? Haruki was her twin, she couldn't just sit around no matter how much her mother might want her to...so when she had left one morning, Hotaru was quick to slip away as well.

The young princess slipped to the east taking great care to search her snow-covered surroundings. While it was a blessing to be somewhere cool again, she and her family blended a little too well in the snow. The last thing she wanted to do was move so quickly she ran right past him if he was hurt. At some point a thick fog had rolled in, hovering just atop the trees obscuring the mountains that towered on either side. She wasn't really sure when she had entered the valley, but the thought did not concern her so long as she just headed straight.

The woods seemed silent almost as if she was the only living creature as she slipped between the clouds like a ghost. Was she? That seemed like a silly thought, there were far too many woods to not make a suitable home for something. If only she would be lucky enough to stumble upon Haruki.

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#3
07-11-2021, 05:28 AM
^^
With a mist like this, did a sense of smell even do much when moisture felt so heavy in the air? Did it travel any farther than his eyes could see even with air this dense? Honestly he might never know the true science - fact behind it all. The challenge of these lands was certainly entertaining enough to keep him guessing - so far as there was food to find, there was no need to panic as he tried to pick out the trails and find his way out.

And yet his blood ran cold for a different reason.

A stark shape caught his eye as it wandered up ahead. Its figure so pale as if it moved one with the mist. “Guh — guh — guuh?” Barely believing it himself as Hieronymous wasn't one to believe the afterlife despite how often he used it and phantasms in stories, the sight was hard to refute what could be a new truth. 

“Ga — guh — ghost?!” He shrieked as quietly as possible, not wanting to draw attention to him and yet he simply couldn't help but talk to himself. Pulling his limbs in as if he had just seen a spider and he, had a serious case of arachnophobia - seafood hues scanned the mist and woods in hopes that his eyes were simply playing tricks on him.
^^
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— Hiero has a dull sense of smell, it will affect how I play him and how he acts in threads
#4
07-11-2021, 06:01 AM
Almost as if she had summoned them, a voice stuttered nearby. Had the woods been more lively she might have even missed it, but his voice carried through the mist. A pale ear twitched as she tried to make out what was being said until she caught sight of a tall splotchy man shrinking away. Lavender eyes blinked surprise and stuped as she fell into a momentary staredown with the stranger, Uh— are you alright?

He looked like he had seen a gho....ah. OH, no I'm alive last I checked. Somehow. She waved a paw now taking a seat to dismiss the thought...then realized just how casual she had been with a stranger. A man no less. Maybe his girlish fright had just been so demeaning that she had no reason to fear any harm from him.

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#5
07-11-2021, 02:53 PM
^^
At first he thought the figure had vanished, away with trickery of the eyes and leaving him to go back to happily wandering to find the exit at a leisurely pace. But no, the little one turned to look at him which made him freeze completely on the spot - all huddled in a fabricated corner with limbs held so closely to his core.

Their eyes met — and though Hieronymous didn't want to die, he was just about to accept his fate and let whatever God ruled these lands take the wheel.

“OH, no I'm alive last I checked.” Without moving anything other than his head in his frozen state, Hieronymous glanced at the young ghostly figure with a cautious sideway glance. “You — ... you sure are pale.” With pursed lips he was almost cautious while speaking back. As if were he to give the figure any attention, it would give her the time to strike.
 
“I'm sorry, in this mist you looked like a phantasm.” He sighed, trying to calm his nerves and speak naturally even tho his tone was still a little squeaky, and only now was he slowly placing his paws back down to the ground.
^^
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— Hiero has a dull sense of smell, it will affect how I play him and how he acts in threads
#6
07-12-2021, 12:11 AM
The man...trembled. He trembled because of her? At first he would not meet her gaze, though as he did she would take a step forward with a curious head tilt.

“You — ... you sure are pale.”

...Yes? Was that so unusual? Almost all the wolves she had grown up with held similar coats. It was how they blended with the snow and ice to hunt prey. It never occurred to her that there might not be many like her in more woodland areas, likely where the splotchy man was from for his pelt. Ghosts are not real.

And thank whatever gods were up there for that. Eugh. A shiver ran her spine at the thought of anyone simply refusing death and coming back to haunt the land. Some individuals were better off dead and gone.

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#7
07-12-2021, 01:51 AM
^^
“As pale as moonlight!” He exclaimed to her confusion, trying to defuse the awkward situation. “I have seen pallid but you surely take that prize as number one.” Most wolves had a mixture of white, cream, silver along with other markings. This one however, just a small black dot under an eye. Perhaps he was spending too much time in the woodlands and not in the Tundra where her kind would flourish and he... well, would stick out like a sore thumb.
 
“Oh? Is that what you believe?” An exaggerated tone allowed for her to see that he was simply playing along. He could tell she was young enough, even though she was already still rather small as is. “Haven't you heard that mist is the doorway to another realm? One of illusion, dreams, apparitions, visions, divination and this is simply a curtain for us to peek behind?” With a dramatic walk in a circle to show off their surroundings, as if she wasn't aware - he was in full storyteller mode.

The only thing is that he didn't wish to spook the girl, so he tossed a friendly glance over his shoulder and smiled, hoping she would listen to an old man prattle on.
^^
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— Hiero has a dull sense of smell, it will affect how I play him and how he acts in threads
#8
07-12-2021, 05:35 AM
Ahah....yeah. An attempt for sure, but it did not make the air any less awkward. So much had been plastered on the young girl's face with a forced smile. Never had she been one to hide her emotions, nor had she a need to, but now the effort to be polite was...well...she tried.

Then he went on about the mist. A gateway to...another realm? That just seemed silly, like something you'd tell pups to keep them close or fill their head with wonders. Unless...he really thought that? Mist it just clouds. It's water, not something magical. I heard about it from someone once though the rest of the explanation was a bit confusing. She waved a paw in the air dismissing her doubt but wouldn't outright shut him down.

It was still half a mystery to her anyways.

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#9
07-12-2021, 11:24 PM
^^
“Ah —” He visibly deflated. “Tough crowd huh?” For someone so young, she really didn't have much of an imagination. What a shame, it almost broke his heart honestly. Frankly, he thought the little bit he made up about the mist would have brought at least a little smile to her face, a little mischief, curiosity or something.
 
But Hieronymous as no quitter. Bringing that same smile to his face, he continued. Trying not to skip too much of a beat after her little scientific explanation had come in. “Even true explanations can lead to some imagination.” Maybe he had to coax her imagination out.“I am Hieronymous of Vanderfell Woods - before that I travelled to tell stories.” Among other things, but it was too long to get into now.
 
“Would you entertain me young miss and listen to a story at the very least? Perhaps it will be entertaining.”
^^
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— Hiero has a dull sense of smell, it will affect how I play him and how he acts in threads
#10
Discovery
Adventurer
07-13-2021, 01:08 AM (This post was last modified: 10-19-2021, 12:12 AM by Aso. Edited 1 time in total.)
More like I had my head in the clouds for too long... She chuckled weakly letting her eyes skirt to the rest of the shrouded forest. Come to think of it, everything kind of looked the same here. Maybe it was just because visibility was low and the sun was setting. Sun setting...shoot she really had been out all day huh? Even if she left now she probably wouldn't get home until tomorrow. Had she been alone she would have cursed herself for coming all this way and not keeping track of time. The last thing she wanted to do was get turned around in the dark so maybe it was best she sat put until morning illuminated the haze or the fogs lifted.

A storyteller huh? Maybe that explained his girlish fright. Tell too many stories and you start to get caught up in them, or at least that's probably what Haruki would say. I've never heard of your pack before, but you sound like someone my mother would like. She used to tell me more stories before we came here. It wouldn't hurt to stay and listen, would it? He seemed...nice. And she supposed it would be better with him than alone if a stranger not so nice came along.

I um...I suppose I could stay a little longer.

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#11
07-13-2021, 05:50 PM
^^
“You can find a beautiful balance of dreams and reality.” Hieronymous wasn't quite certain if he found that balance himself just yet. Sometimes he felt too heavy on one end of that spectrum and not enough on the other. “It's a tough one but if one can find an equilibrium it is a beautiful combination~ It brings beauty to the mundane while the other keeps you from floating away into fantasy.”

Whatever had happened to the young girl for her to feel so numb to fantasy, to daydreams - it was a tad concerning. He couldn't imagine it.“Did she now? Perhaps you can tell her some one of these days.” Maybe he could inspire the youngling to think beyond just what she saw and the reality of the visible and dive just a little into the daydreams she seemed to ignore.
 
“You could tell her about the hundur þoku, small canines that reside in the mist.” Already Hiero was on the move with his story, letting this own mind wander and his mouth just translating what he was thinking. Hoping to at least conjure up something good and inspiring. “You are right, mist is nothing but clouds and cloud just small droplets of water - hundur þoku are beings who cannot live on dry land nor can they survive for long in the water. So the mist is the only place for them. They follow it as it comes, and hide when the air is too dry.”
^^
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— Hiero has a dull sense of smell, it will affect how I play him and how he acts in threads
#12
07-13-2021, 07:45 PM
Could one really balance fiction and reality? A dream could inspire growth, sure...but something about believing in fake stories felt like denial or getting caught in a delusion. Unless something is backed by facts how would it hold any ground to stand? Something about bursting his bubble seemed wrong though, like taking away the fantasies of a child. Was it strange that she felt more like the adult here?

So. With a quiet huff from her nose, she listened. Hotaru was more interested in the truths of the world than the fabled, but there was no denying that a story for her books may come to be useful one day. The pale girl tried to imagine the creature he described, something smaller than her but could not live on land nor sea. Does it have gills then?

She knew...all too well that a canine could not breathe underwater. She wasn't fully sure how gills worked but maybe they could filter air and water. After all, a fish could flop around for a good while on land.

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#13
07-13-2021, 10:53 PM
^^
“No gills! They cannot live in water like fish or whales.” Well at least she was asking questions, perhaps getting a little bit into it after all. Granted she could be just playing along to please a strange man, but Hieronymous saw it as a chance to pique her childhood imagination. “You see, their skin dries up but they would also drown. So the mist is perfect for their skin.” With a paw he gestured to the mist, waving it around and letting a trail be cut through it with his motion.

“They are a peaceful kind, more or less keep to themselves. None know where they come from but I have a theory.” He whispers, acting as if this would be their little secret. “They come from fallen loved ones, waiting for us. Living a second life through our memories of them. Wishing to see us again and so they watch us from a far in the mist until we can join them too when its time.”
^^
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— Hiero has a dull sense of smell, it will affect how I play him and how he acts in threads
#14
07-22-2021, 11:52 PM
Hotaru tilted her head confused. Weren’t these things meant to be scary? Loved ones weren’t scary that was just…a strange ghost. Though she supposed ghosts could be scary I mean after all, this was the same guy who had just shrieked thinking she was a ghost.

If they’re those you love why are you so scared of ghosts? Weren’t they the same in this case? Not that she particularly believed ghosts were real. Something just told her they were amongst the stars or dead and gone once they were done here…

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#15
07-23-2021, 12:56 AM
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“Good question!” He lifts a paw with the attempt to single out a toe. The trick to being a good storyteller was to keep on your toes and change course of plans and plots to the world building as questions came.

Of course, none would be perfect - but the point was to evoke imagination was it not? To get those tinkers ticking and escape from reality for even just a brief moment. “I don't know if any of my loved ones died, so it would be shocking to see anyone as a hundur þoku. Yeah that made sense right? “Not to mention it would be the first time I see one! It's always a little scary seeing or doing something for the first time-”

He prattled on, only to raise a brow with a humorous grin as he addressed the girl once more. “Well —” He placed that same paw on his chest, tilting his head with an admittance in his posture. “At least for me, you must be braver than I am, aren't you?”
^^
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— Hiero has a dull sense of smell, it will affect how I play him and how he acts in threads
#16
07-26-2021, 05:16 AM
She supposed it made sense, or at least in a story tale world. Of course, she still did not believe that these creatures were alive, but it had all been in amusement and fun, right? At the end of the day though they'd have to pull their heads out of the clouds and as the funny man suggested that she was braver, well... a shudder ran up her spine trying to ignore the memories that came flooding back where she needed to be brave.

I don't know about that. She wouldn't think a stranger passing by was a ghost, but in the face of true danger, she knew she'd likely freeze up. Even now it wasn't the settling dark in the woods that spooked her, it was who she might meet in them. Not the ghost dogs, but real living men. Beasts. Things that wanted her for whatever reason tickled them.

It's getting late. I don't think I should be out this far. She was more than capable of taking care of herself, or so she liked to think, but a change in conversation was needed. Perhaps it was time she departed from the storyteller.

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#17
07-28-2021, 02:22 PM
^^
And so their story time came to an end. Which was all good, even the smallest stories could invoke some creative thinking later on down the road. Maybe the next time the young woman would encounter mist she would think of the hundur þoku and smile thinking back to the funny man and his little stories to tell in the dark. 

“Would you like for me to walk you a part of the way? I would be ashamed to call myself a man if I did not offer.” Especially since she didn't seem to take his compliment earlier about being brave with stride. Perhaps being alone in the dark was scarier to her than he thought - which was absolutely acceptable in these circumstances. He wasn't one to judge.
^^
the staff team luvs u
— Hiero has a dull sense of smell, it will affect how I play him and how he acts in threads
#18
07-28-2021, 07:16 PM
Of course he offered to walk her back. It was a nice gesture, but she'd rather go alone. He had been polite so far, but sometimes the worse demons were the ones with masks. Hotaru had fallen for it once before...never again. So with a simple shake of her head, she'd take a step back, That's ok, I know where I'm going. ありがとうございました for the story... I'll be on my way now. Making sure he had nothing left to add, she'd wait a moment watching him, before bounding off into the mist.

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#19
07-29-2021, 03:23 PM
^^
If he was honest, Hiero didn't like the thought of just letting the girl go off on her own - but he wasn't going to force himself to accompany her either if she rejected him outright like that. “It was my pleasure.” And it really was, any time he could tell a story to someone he was as happy as he could be. “Be safe.” And hopefully the next time they meet it'll be a little more upbeat, maybe she would look forward to another one of his fantastic stories.

A man could dream.
^^End
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— Hiero has a dull sense of smell, it will affect how I play him and how he acts in threads
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