Wings Wouldn't Help You

The heavy fall of her paws beat the sopping earth in unison to the pounding of her desperate heart. The torrential downpour fought to push the golden wolf astray, but she would not give in to its will. Just a few strides ahead of her sprinted the object of her fury. The wolf that had stabbed her in the back. The wolf that had tarnished her family's reputation. How pathetic. The betrayal she felt deep in her soul fueled her forward, no rain nor storm would be able to dissuade her pursuit.

She had to be the one to destroy him.

It was her duty, her purpose. This was what she was trained for. What she lived for. To serve her pack, without hesitation or bias. The Falcon doubled her efforts as she quickly began to close the gap her prey had created. Justice was blind, and so too would The Falcon be as she lurched forward with snapping jaws. Her fangs struck like lightning, sinking deeply into flesh of her own kin. Her brother, her own blood, yelped in anguish as he was dragged to the muddied ground with a wet slap. The masked shewolf too slid through the muck, staining her sleek fur with its filth. She couldn't find it in herself to care this time despite herself, her rage all encompassing. She stood tall, her shadow casting long over the body of her dear little brother. The wolf before her struggled to stand, his torn leg buckling under his weight with each failed attempt. The coward hadn't even looked her way since he'd begun his escape.

"Get up," The Falcon snarled, her canines glinting in the crackle of light that sparked above her. She'd lost her patience with this traitor. Her hackles rose and her head lowered as she stalked forward. The muddied wolf crawled through the sludge like the worm he was.

"Get up!" She bellowed, her deep voice echoing like thunder around the pair, "Face me in battle." She bristled, her tail held high with authority as she commanded her opponent to rise and fight her properly. It was then that her brother finally began to turn his head. Slowly. Slowly.

And then he faced her fully.

An audible gasp escaped her maw. There was no face. Nothing but a blank slate. A smooth and featureless surface where a face should be. Who was he? The rain continued to pour in spite of Falcon's world coming to a stand still. She suddenly couldn't remember. Her thoughts were foggy, and her vision swam. She growled and shook her head, trying to get a grip on herself. All at once the world screeched at her, the sound of each raindrop amplified to an unbearable cacophony of noise. Thunder boomed overhead, its sound shattering over Falcon's head. The shewolf grit her teeth, her form shrinking as the chaos grew evermore.

Falcon snapped, her body moving of its own volition towards the catalyst of her suffering. Her jaws spread wide around the vulnerable throat of the faceless beast, her ivory fangs seeking blood.

Her teeth clicked together, her strike missing its mark. The world shifted rapidly, all noise dying in an instant as she was suddenly being dragged down by gravity. Her body slammed down hard onto the mossy terrain that very much wasn't where she was mere seconds ago. She tumbled down the small slope ungracefully, her long limbs tangling into a heap of gold and brown before finally settling into the silent hills of this desolate landscape. She took a moment to breathe.

It must have been a dream. A memory distorted by imagination. Logical reasoning, surely, but it didn't explain at all how she had ended up here. Wherever here was. She watched as the eerie tendrils of white plumes crept over the natural curvature of the scene towards her, hazing the true nature of this mysterious land.

She stood up, as did her fur. As she rose, her nose pointed to the clouded sky. She could feel the tension in her sore muscles as she tried to garner a sense of understanding to ease her racing mind. She wasn't keen on the position she found herself in by any means.
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going by sex until she knows otherwise since I write from my characters' perspectives!

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The peach-toned woman had traveled through the night. It was an unwise decision, but moving felt better than not, and after twisting and turning amongst the grass she had grown tired of trying to sleep. Ever since her awakening, she could remember little, and the faces she met since then had little to offer her as well. She remembered her name, it was something, but there seemed to be a nagging voice at the back of her head to figure out what happened to her memories. If only she knew how to retrace her steps.

Gwen sighed, her eyes only closing for a moment as she worked her way over mossy rocks and grass-coated hills. Of course, now that the sun was rising she felt like sleeping. It's not like she hadn't crossed miles of empty plains until now to bore her out of her mind, but the moss was spongey and admittedly, a bit inviting. She shook her head trying to clear the thoughts as she yawned. Just gotta keep moving. Something was bound to look familiar at some point.

With another scan of pale eyes, she found something that looked misplaced amongst the rolling green. A man seemed to lay in a pile at the bottom of one of the hills, his limbs splayed like he had fallen rather than fallen asleep. “You good down there?” Hopefully not dead, that would just be awkward and she realllllly didn't want to have to deal with a dead body first thing in the morning.

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The Falcon's head turned rapidly, her ears perking to the lilt of the question. The mask she wore was ever strong, covering her feelings of unease and poising herself as any good soldier would in the face of the unknown. She shook her mane out, attempting to tame her haphazardly standing fur in wake of encountering someone unexpectedly. Falcon pointed her sloped muzzle in the wheat coated wolf's direction, her head held high with fern colored eyes washing their way down the strangers face and analyzing the features that built her appearance. Within the span of a couple heartbeats, Falcon addressed her new acquaintance. Though naturally guarded, she still held within her voice a deep and rich tone that carried gently across the hills surrounding them.

"I'm fine, if that's what you're asking," Came her response in a warm puff, tone as even as the chilled air surrounding them, "This place. What is it?" Her words spoke moreso as a command than a question, the gold dusted wolf expecting exposition from the wandering soul that had found her. It seemed all too convenient that she would awaken to new company. Even if it had been happenstance, the shewolf uphill surely had some knowledge to be given unto her. Certainly this wasn't someplace as ridiculous as the afterlife… Right? Falcon brushed aside such an intrusive thought, paying such silly assumptions no mind. Even if her dream had shaken her, surely she hadn't died. She was still standing after all, still sore enough to give an educated guess as to the means in which she arrived in this land foreign to her. Which was to say she likely ran all the way here.

But why? She couldn't… Remember.

She suppressed such uncertainty, waiting for an answer before opening herself up to theory.
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The other wouldn't take long to notice her, shaking their pelt straight as he quickly claimed to be fine. Well, that was one worry crossed off the list, though a demand-like question would soon be thrown back her way. The corner of her lips pulled back ever so briefly, but she tried to let her frustrations roll off her back with a flick of her ear. “Uhh, well from the looks of it, some kind of plains and this is a moss-coated hill.” Very helpful.

Sarcasm aside, she really couldn't offer more than that as she was still trying to piece that part together. “What, did you wake up with no memories too?” Seemed like a long shot, but worth a try, right? Gwen allowed herself a moment's rest as she found a seat atop the hill, her tail flicking mildly behind her. “If you're lookin' for names or a tour guide or something, I can't help you. I can tell you that mountains lay to the west and north from there is a tundra, but beyond that, your guess is as good as mine.”

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"I see," The Falcon offered, her tone flat and accompanied by a twitch of her already furrowed brow. Incredibly helpful. It was the stranger's next query that shifted Falcon's expression, if only marginally. To awaken with no memories… Too?

"Is that a common occurrence in this land?" The tall shewolf remained standing, even as her company took a seat upon her higher ground. Curious was the verbage no less, 'too'. It'd likely be redundant to ask if she had similar experience with such a matter, and asking would likely lead to more dead ends than anything of use to Falcon. She took in the young wolf's words regardless, even if they weren't the most knowledgeable. Unfortunately it was already more information than she herself had, so she had to be grateful for at least that fact. She made a mental map in her head of the landmarks that were revealed, sorting through the possibilities of her next course of action.

"And what of packs? Do you know of any that lie near?" It was a stretch, all things considered, but she would have to press to see if any further insight could be drawn from the fair coated woman. She needed to find out where exactly her pack was. This loner may not know names or faces, but surely she would know of large gatherings of their kind if she had encountered any such thing. And seeings as she knew of mountains and tundras yonder, Falcon could guess that the wolf before her had at least some traveling experience in this new landscape.
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There was no need to say it when the other's mood was oh so clearly painted across his face. Annoyed, frustrated, whatever it was, she agreed. She hadn't been given much when she woke up suddenly and that had only been some days ago. “Can't say really. I haven't met too many face-to-face to find out and my memories are kinda scrambled soo...” Again, helpful. The girl shrugged, her head rolling briefly to look over her shoulder at the mountain ranges in the distance.

“Same goes for packs. I've been avoiding claims.” Despite being pretty sure she too was missing her own, Gwen figured if it was her pack she would have recognized at least some landmark around the area, but everything drew a blank up to now. “I smelled a few in the mountains though. I didn't stay in the snow to find out if the tundra has any, but that's not exactly the most ideal place to live I imagine anyways.” It was far too cold for her and winter hadn't even come in full to show her its worst.

“I take it from all the questions you know nothing either then? Anything out this way or is it all just endless grass?”

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Her guess would be proven correct it seemed. What were the odds of meeting another wolf lost here? That, she still was unsure of. No point in sloughing through hypothetical numbers and the like. She'd met one wolf thus far that had few answers for her. Not to her discredit though, as she did give something to her after all. Falcon offered the younger wolf a nod of understanding, knowing well that her interrogation could be taxing. As for the answer on packs, that was more than intriguing.

"The mountains…," Falcon contemplated, her eyes flicking out towards the fogged hills just beyond the pair of them, "I trust you aren't lying on that front. Thank you for giving me direction." While her mask could be difficult to gauge, she hoped her words gave way to her gratitude. She knew when she wasn't in an advantageous position. Still she carried herself with confidence, even in the face of uncertainty. She cocked her head up slightly, her gaze shifting across the features of her fellow wolf with thought.

"And it would seem so. You'll have to excuse me for offering you even less than you have to me," The large shewolf dipped her chin apologetically. She finally turned herself westward, the greeting crawl of cooled cloud cover reaching down what truly did appear to be endless hills as far as her obscured view of the world was concerned.

"How long has it been since you've awoken here?" Falcon asked with a perked ear flicked in the smaller wolf's direction. She had to quell the growing amount of questions she had in some way. Was this all just a circumstance, or was this a more… Long term arrangement.
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Gwen inwardly shrugged as the other expressed his gratitude, it's not like she had any reason to lie. What good would that do for her when she sought answers too? Unfortunately, they both were at rather dead ends and it only left the question of...what now? “It's fine. Not your fault you don't know anything more.” Like everyone else she had run into. Was that some weird pattern here? She hadn't asked any packs to see their story, but on the loner front it was...weird. Usually, it was loners who knew more with their constant traveling. “It's been just past a week, maybe two now? Days kinda blurred together.” Because that's what happens when you avoid basic body functions like sleep. Time felt slow but passed before she could even blink.

“You looking for something in particular? Two sets of eyes are better than one if we cross paths again.” Plus she was still figuring out...what it was she was looking for. Her family? A pack? No, that didn't seem right. Even just the thought of it put a metallic taste on her tongue like it was just wrong. Everything was all too hazy still. Then there was that...feeling when she woke up. That feeling like she was falling. Some nights it felt like she still was when she roused from whatever sleep she could get. God, why couldn't she remember? Without realizing she had dove too far into her thoughts, Gwen's brows had already begun to furrow, her tail twitching in annoyance behind her. By the time she realized she had been frowning she could only hope her company didn't notice or was too far away to see it.

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Weeks…

Falcon's lip curled into that of a frown, the answer serving to stress her more than she cared to admit. This. This thrust of chaos seemed to be her new state of being, whatever it may be. Lost in a world she had nary a clue of where her home pack hid. Her life, as she knew it, was wholly flipped on its axis and spun wildly. What was she to do? If she couldn't find her pack, the sole reason for her existence, the masters of which held her like their sword and shield. She was but a blade with no wielder in sight.

And it was starting to settle in her stomach.

She cleared her throat in an attempt to rip herself free from the ever growing tendrils of worry in the back of her mind. She could feel them gripping tightly anyway.

"Truthfully," Her voice tightened, a result of her carefully plotting the course of her next words, "I'm going to search for any knowledge of the whereabouts of my pack. The Cloudspire Legion. I'd ask if you've heard of them, but…," Her low and airy voice tapered towards the end of it as she turned her attention back to the youngster. The Falcon stared at her as her expression swapped between several differing positions, all of which weren't quite discernible to the shewolf. She settled on… Perplexed. A feeling she could understand, now more than ever.

"I… Do suppose you're right," She agreed, her form leaning in closer and her paws cautioning a single step in the lighter coated girl's way. She tilted her head at a questioning angle once more, what she hoped to be a final question forming in her mind.

"Pardon my endless questions, but… Would you, by chance, remember your name?" The question was uttered in a hushed tone, almost as if she believed her voice to break something if spoken too loudly.
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Ah, a pack wolf...She should have known as much from the way he talked alone. The structure of authority was clearly there, no matter what rank he actually once held, currently held? Whatever. A short puff slipped past her lips as a familiar bitterness began to seep in...wait...she didn't like packs? Almost as if her realization had triggered something, the blurred faces of two wolves crossed her mind. An argument as the two spoke calmly at first before fangs were flashed. Gwen's eyes narrowed briefly, one of the faces she remembered. Her dad...but the other remained just out of reach and beyond the short memory there was nothing.

Shit, what was this guy saying? Pack. Cloudspire region— Legion? Fuck. Either way, the name wasn't familiar just as he seemed to suspect. “Yeah, can't say I've heard of them. Sorry... What kind of area did they live in?” From the name alone she would have assumed some kind of mountain so maybe he would have some luck with all the packs she smelled to the west. He came closer though and Gwen soon found her eyes following him carefully in his approach. It wasn't like he posed a threat currently. If he wanted to hurt her he would have by now, but it did not ease the caution in her muscles. “It's about the only thing I do remember.” And thank god for that. “Gwen. You?”

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There was a brief spark in the younger wolf's eye that was enough to anchor her within the spot she had stepped. Something was stirring behind those icy irises that seemed to be troubling her now. Curious. It appeared Falcon wasn't the only one finding herself lost in thought. The older woman let her eyes rest upon the furrowed brow of her company, allowing the loner to sort out her mind before answering.

And when the answer met her ears, she wasn't surprised. "It was a forest... With an incredible tree in the center. One that seemed to cut through the clouds themselves," She took a pause to recollect the view in her mind's eye. The image that appeared was hazy at best, the edges of the memory crumbling to a still nothingness of void. She could see the vague shape of wolves perched upon several of the lower branches, their faces smoothed out and nonexistent. It was… Nice. She sighed through her nose, her eyes opening from where they had previously closed at which point she didn't realize.

Her attention refocused upon reality once more as more minute bits of knowledge were directed her way. The only thing… It was eating her internally now, but she stood her ground. She offered nothing in the wake of her inner stirrings. "Gwen… A lovely name to call your own," She quirked her lip upwards a touch, though her eyes failed to follow suit, "My title is The Falcon. It's been a pleasure to make your acquaintance." There was more past her moniker, there had to be, but the thought was enough to shove a spike through her mind like an icicle. Which was to say, painful.

Her head turned back towards where the idea of a mountain range supposedly lies, still the fog rolled thick as ever around the pair like a coiling snake. "Perhaps our paths will cross again somewhere in the future, Gwen?" She asked, the implications of her encroaching journey growing thick. She could tell Gwen was no pack oriented wolf herself. They would soon part ways, it seemed, with Falcon flying alone in the dark. Not that she minded. A bird always found its way home after all.
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Though she wasn't aware how plainly she wore her emotions, the other wouldn't comment and for that she was grateful. Maybe her distraction had even gone unnoticed which would be ideal, to say the least. Her company continued on without missing a beat, painting a picture from his past like something you would only hear in tales. To her surprise, it wasn't a mountain, but a tree that would pierce the clouds. She had seen a lot in her life, or so she assumed, again missing memories make it kinda hard to compare what you knew, but never a tree like the one he had described. “Shouldn't be hard to miss then.” She gave a weak chuckle as she raised a leg to scratch at the back of her neck.

“Thaaanks. Picked it myself. Kinda.” If wolves could click their tongue and finger-gun lord knows she would have if only to unintentionally make herself look even more awkward. But, she couldn't so instead her lips pressed into a line as she found her gaze drifting elsewhere. It felt strange to be complimented for her name, especially when she had shortened it so it felt less...flowery. She could have commented on his name as well, but uh...it wasn't really...a name? Was his title like a codename orrr a rank? It seemed insulting to ask after he had just put in the effort to compliment her so she would just nod instead. “Ah, likewise—”

To her relief, it seemed like he was planning on leaving now which means she could find a rock to bash her head in for acting stupid. Gwen wouldn't make any attempts to stop him, especially since he'd probably rather get going to find his home instead of hanging around with some weird girl. “Yeah...um, so, until then?” The farewell was met with a cock of her head, practically waiting for him to go now so she could plan her next move.

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"So one would think," Came the quick reply, the lilt of her voice coming from a softer part of her being. She could tell the young wolf was trying to save face from the stilted acceptance and subsequent mirrored compliment, as amusing as it was. She allowed a quick swish of her tail, her paws moving one, two, three steps away before Falcon nodded her head towards Gwen.

"You seem a bit underwhelmed," She noted, her eyes reducing to crescents as a coy smirk graced her face for the first time since arriving, "Surely our reintroduction may serve to be sooner rather than later." Her breath rose from her chilled lips and collated itself into the mist above. There was a heartbeat before she spoke again.

"I do owe a favor to you for your assistance, after all," She said, her nose pointing back towards the unknown landscape ahead, "So indeed… Until next time."

With that, the older wolf began her travels deeper into the mysterious territory, hoping to gain more answers to the questions that seared just behind her chartreuse eyes.

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Exit

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“No, just— thinking.” The unexplainable mild annoyance of being in the presence of pack wolf, yes that did seem to take hold now, but it wasn't like his pack was here to pain her. With their current situation, he might as well be just another loner really so...whatever. “Don't worry about it.” What would he even owe her for? She didn't have that much to share and it wasn't like she was currently on a path for something.

Still, a favor was a favor and she supposed she couldn't really complain. It was good to keep a few on hold at all times since you never really know when you're going to need one until you do. She watched as the other turned his gaze to the distant mountains, seemingly set on his own path as he said his farewells. Gwen would only watch momentarily as his form turned to the mist, then it was back to her own search...whatever that now entailed.

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