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
3 evil mice


Late Evening Fog 66° F
#1
AW
05-06-2022, 06:33 PM
Darn mice…

Suri couldn’t describe how she felt, but all that she knew was that she was very mad! Her playtime ruined by the disappearance of three mice she’d chosen to stalk. Their thin pink tails flickering as she pounced on one. Only to watch the other two scamper away. It infuriated her.

To make matters worse, Suri-Aine was no longer home. The memory of her mother a forgotten dream as she continued to follow the grey rodents along the stoned ground.
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#2
05-07-2022, 10:22 PM
 Gyrfalcon's neck was still healing and was relatively scabby. Any undue exercise might make it open back up again so she was taking it a little easy. Still, that didn't stop her from making pelt. That was still her unofficial duty, after all, and she was damn good at it. Currently, she had one in her mouth from a fox that had been captured. She was on her way to take it up to Vanderfell for @Ira when she caught wind of something that made her hair stand on end.

 Tiger. She'd known that damned smell anywhere.

 She growled low in her throat and stalked towards the scent... where she didn't see Kuhn but the brown pelt of a very small and very young tiger. Had he spawned and decided to drop one here as bait?

 Nope. Nope. Not putting up with this shit. She dropped the fox pelt in the dirt and then lifted her head to howl.

 Reiko!

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[Image: Untitled_Artwork.gif]
#3
Shiroshika
Paladin
05-08-2022, 07:56 AM (This post was last modified: 05-26-2022, 02:47 AM by Antares. Edited 1 time in total.)
Considering how perpetually busy and plagued by bad luck Shiroshikan's seemed to be, he thrummed with a restless energy lately. Instead of diffusing with time, it only seemed to grow despite the slowly increasing security they could claim on this current swath of land.

Antares tried to put himself at ease with a lot of patrol around their new claim, and hunting its winding pathways, but that only did him so much good. He was still on some type of edge lately, now to the point of fitful sleep waiting for the next thing to go wrong, determined not to be caught unaware or under-prepared--and for what he didn't even know anymore; life had been so strange in the last year that the possibilities spanned well beyond his perception.

It had him out wandering still tonight, head low, posture almost slackened. He only wanted to melt away into the dark sometimes.

Gyrfalcon's howl snapped up his head and considering it came from close--just ahead a way, even, so he might've even stumbled across her eventually anyway--Antares loped off through the fog without a second thought. Though the call summoned Reiko, he didn't trust anything lately. Out of an abundance of caution, he was going to stick his nose in whatever this was once more.

On the approach, he couldn't quite make out more than the shape of his packmate so far, but a low growl rumbled in his chest anyway. Antares didn't see the empress yet either so aimed to make his way towards Gyrfalcon's side. Once closer to there, what he did find was... a young tiger? Again, of colors he had never seen them wear before... After he tried to blink it all away, his glare pinched with frustration already and his hackles rose.

What was going on?

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#4
05-08-2022, 09:56 PM
The fog here was thickening. Blinding Suri-Aine to the point she began to hiss in annoyance. She didn’t know what this area was. Small glimpses of stone shown ahead. Trees shadowed overhead. Blocking off anything she could see. Not a sun. A moon. A star. A cloud. It all became too much.

It didn’t make matters any better when her nose picked up the scent of, not one, but two wolves. Their stench the same yet fairly different. Suri roared as much as possible. Her back arching and claws swiping at the foggy air surrounding her. She didn’t want them coming closer.

She didn’t trust them. Were they responsible for bringing her here? The young tiger didn’t care. Lips pulled back. Claws swiping, tail flicking harshly behind her, she hissed in warning. ”Mother!? Mother!? HELP!”
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#5
Adventurer
05-19-2022, 07:07 PM
((sorry for the wait!))

 Well, Reiko didn’t show but someone else did. The dark wraith that was Antares. He was a fighter and she was appreciative of the aid. What the hell did they do now? She looked at him, silent question in her gaze until she saw the creature start to get combative. Her gaze flicked back around to it, her own lips pulling back. Fuck, it was calling for its mother!

 ”I’m gonna see if this things mother is around! The last thing we need is another pissed off tiger around here!” The words slipped out before she knew what to do. After all, that was the right call, yeah? Make sure they weren’t going to be attacked? As for this thing!

 She glared at it and hissed, ”Shut up! We don’t have time for your stupid wailing! I guess make sure it doesn’t… cause trouble?” That’s the best she could come up with as the fleetfooted tripod whisked herself away to search for the tiger’s mother with her nose to the wind.

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#6
Paladin
Formation
05-20-2022, 07:44 PM
So many new things had been occurring as of late. She found herself to be the new mother of an abandoned tiger cub @Kin, Quicksilver and she had a lot to plan before they were officially wed, they had to find a new land to call their home, @Ira had to be informed of the cub under Shiroshika's eye (with a hope that perhaps things would turn for the better against their kind in a form of... good karma)... now this morning she felt sick to her stomach for whatever reason - on top of it all, Gyrfalcon's cry summoned her in a rush despite the uneasy feeling settling in her belly.

The last thing they needed was for sickness to run through the pack, perhaps @Quicksilver could take a look at her later and make sure nothing was contagious.

Upon arriving her figure dropped. Slender shoulders dropping at the sight of a furious little tiger... cub? It was hard to determine whether they were full grown or not with all their different shapes and sizes lately, but this one was definitely bigger than Kin... More dangerous, capable, but its actions were clearly out of fear and self-defence.

That didn't make it any less dangerous of course. “Gyrfalcon, Antares...” Approaching cautiously, she kept her cerulean gaze onto the youthful feline while addressing the two. “Who is this? Where did they come from?” Catching what Gyrfalcon had said upon her arrival, the Empress was already aware that the mother wasn't anywhere to be seen just yet.

She too was just as nervous seeing one of them on their lands again. Licking her lips anxiously she cast a quick glance around them before focussing on the cub again. “Can you help us find your mother?” Agreeing with Gyrfalcon, as cautious as they needed to be with tigers... @Rajani had already shown they were capable of not being threatening when they wanted to... there was no need to start a species war if it wasn't necessary.

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[Image: df686pz-0c7a3fc2-8eca-4da1-8429-49fa07fd3bab.png]
translator, I'm sorry if it is horrible for anyone fluent in Japanese!
#7
Paladin
05-22-2022, 08:08 AM (This post was last modified: 05-22-2022, 08:09 AM by Antares.)
Right along on his greater inspection of the situation, the tiger made her stance on this entire situation pretty clear. She was not impressed by this, and in turn, he was tanking too despite trying to serve as good interception--just in case. His frown turned into a low snarl as well, then with him going more rigid when the thing called for her mother. The last thing they needed was an angry mother tiger getting involved. Gyrfalcon was swift to this conclusion too, already scheming to locate said mother-cat and hopefully get this entire problem off their paws properly before this got any worse. “I'll try...” he murmured back to her, dismayed, and eyes a little wide at the thought of trying to keep a scared cat from making matters worse. But despite not knowing much about tigers beyond fighting them or escorting them away, he would certainly make an attempt.

Hopefully keeping himself out of a claw's reach, he regarded her best he could for the fog. “Shh, look... it's okay. We don't want any trouble,” he said. He tried to smooth out his stance, keep everything level. But you shouldn't be here came harshly to mind. Not right now, not so soon after all the other feline-related drama they faced. “Did you just get here..?” he offered for his taut attempt at peace since this was presumably still just a kid, really. Then, he realized Reiko's approach with a start. She was already practically upon them, but rightfully so, he had been absorbed in the whole there is another tiger matter.

Deferentially, he lowered his ears and head, and watched the empress regard the youngling while he remained pointedly between them. As for who they were, or where they came from.. well, he didn't have much to give and neither could he expect a scared kitten to be a wealth of information. “Don't know yet,” he offered quietly, and doubted Gyrfalcon had a lot more to contribute either; presumably, she had just found her here, too.

But, he echoed Reiko's words with a nod. As much as he hated to say, they did need to find her mother. Whoever she might be.. so he hoped they might find out with the right type of coaxing. It was up to the young tigress, not them.

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#8
05-23-2022, 03:30 AM
Too much was going on around her. One by one, wolves were closing in and her mother had yet to arrive. Another swipe to the air. Suri-Aine took a few steps back. ”Mom!” She tried again. The usual sound of a large growl of reassurance not coming from anywhere. Not even the familiar scent swept in through the wind. It faltered her movements. ”Mom?…” All defensiveness was gone. Drifting away like a long on a stream.

With three wolves surrounding her there was nothing she could do. Even as they spoke amongst themselves, Suri gave them no further attention. She began to become worried. Gaze drifting over the area. Calling out to the large feline and her siblings only to be unanswered.

Everything seemed to be unreal as she settled down. Turning back to the one who asked where her mother even was. ”She’s… not here…”
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#9
Adventurer
05-24-2022, 02:03 AM (This post was last modified: 06-01-2022, 06:31 PM by Gyrfalcon. Edited 1 time in total.)
 She was about to head off with Antares' reassurance --shaky as it was-- and head out to find either Reiko or a possibly angry mama tiger. However, blessedly, the empress showed up and Gyrfalcon couldn't be any happier. Deciding what to do when situations like this popped up was not fun. Especially not when it involved tigers.

 Gyrfalcon limped back over to her comrades, listening as Reiko injected some sort of stability into the uncertain situation. "Yeah, I don't know either. I just ran up on the kid by chance." And hopefully there was just this kid and no others. It didn't seem to be that way as even the little child had no idea where her mother was and her yowling hadn't brought out a larger cat either... "Do you want me to go search for the mother? I can see if there's a tiger in this territory or the neighboring ones." If push came to shove, she could outrun the beast... but hopefully it could be reasoned with. Although if Kuhn was anything to go by, she doubted it. Tigers were all probably terrible creatures, she grouched to herself while frowning at the child.

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#10
Paladin
05-25-2022, 02:50 PM (This post was last modified: 05-25-2022, 02:50 PM by Reiko.)

The cub was understandably upset. Panic struck as she sought for her family that had either vanished due to the strangeness of these lands - or had completely abandoned her. Despite their species differences and unease that all here had shared with her species - Reiko couldn't help but feel sympathy... or was it empathy pains for this young one. A child was a child no matter the species.

Antares was as quiet as usual. Saying little but keeping an appreciated level head and external mood on the matter. His own calm demeanour helped the Empress remain calm herself. While Gyrfalcon was more focussed on business. Hurrying with the idea of finding the mother or any of this child's guardians that may still be lingering nearby - both were good to have in a moment like this. No one had answers, but neither did anyone want to ignore the situation.

At Gyrfalcon's suggestion, Reiko had to think first before answering. Was it wise to send Gyrfalcon alone to search for an adult tiger? Even if it wasn't for her three legs, sending anyone alone didn't seem right. “Yes... but take someone with you please.” It was their only real advantage against them should things turn ugly.

“We will figure something out little one, my name is Reiko, what is your name?” Trying to come off as less of a threat to the child, a little introduction ceremony started. Having names often seemed to make things less scary to strangers, children especially. Casting her gaze to Antares, she gave him the spotlight to introduce himself before she posed another question to him (assuming Gyrfalcon went off already). “What do you think we should do in the meantime?” Was it wise to keep the child here after all that had occurred with their kind? Would it aggravate the situation or help to show they were not speciesist after one bad encounter. Should they harbour another young tiger?

The idea of casting them out to fend for themselves was absolutely out of the question.

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[Image: df686pz-0c7a3fc2-8eca-4da1-8429-49fa07fd3bab.png]
translator, I'm sorry if it is horrible for anyone fluent in Japanese!
#11
Paladin
05-31-2022, 03:53 AM
So, the young tiger seemingly had appeared here with little explanation. At least none the wolves could discern, and with the cub's deepening unease, even he could see they were not about to get anywhere like this. No mother appeared to rescue the youth, either, so it was looking more and more like he feared.

There was still a chance Gyrfalcon might find something, or someone. He hoped, but it was a difficult sell to want his packmate to find a tiger on principle. This was a unique situation, though. He didn't want to expect the worst, but it was awfully tempting... Relieved to let Reiko's kinder approach take the lead here, the guard's ears flattened. He tried to tamp down his nerves similarly. Indeed, they would figure something out. He hoped. “I'm Antares,” he provided when it was time with a small nod.

There were several ways this could go, he supposed--and none struck a particular fancy. Many that involved mother's return--the ideal--also chanced her ire. Would she be annoyed they looked after her charge in the meantime? They did need to give Gyrfalcon a chance to search some, though, and he didn't feel right about leaving the entire thing unattended. “I can try to keep an eye on her... if you think it's not too risky,” he murmured, unsure. He didn't trust cats on principle and Reiko knew them better than him. He was wary, not entirely opposed.. but not really feeling that equipped for more. A lot of it banked on the cat. “If she even lets us...” he added, pointed glance at her, all in a further effort to gauge the young tiger's response.

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#12
05-31-2022, 04:59 PM
”Suri. Suri-Aine.” She didn’t trust the wolves. With her mother not around or even showing, she had no choice but to stay put. Running would do what for her? She was too small to be on her own and if they chose to kill her, then all of anything would have been for nothing.

Decision made. Suri continued to sit there. Eyes traveling from one wolf to the next. One left. Reiko, the white female, spoke first in introduction. For some odd reason, she felt the need to trust that one. A pull in her gut telling her so. Antares. Him, on the other hand, gave her a different feeling.

If given the order, would he have killed her?

Suri said nothing. Only giving a nod or a shake of her head here and there to show she was indeed listening to their words.

Antares spoke of watching over her. Though, the look he gave said otherwise. She stared at him blankly. Narrowing her own gaze at him before sticking her tongue out. If he wanted to watch her, she’d surely give him hell.
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#13
Adventurer
06-01-2022, 06:30 PM
 Gyrfalcon dipped her head. "I'll get to it." She said. One last glare was shot at the cub before she turned away to seek out others to help her with her mission.


Short crappy exit to move things along XD

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[Image: Untitled_Artwork.gif]
#14
Paladin
06-06-2022, 11:57 AM
As Gyrfalcon took her leave, Reiko gave her an appreciative nod and hoped she would be successful in finding the feline's mother. Though the chances seemed to be pretty slim seeing as the child didn't seem to know where she was, nor was there any clear indication that there was an adult tiger around that could be the cub's mother. As Gyrfalcon walked off, attention was brought back to the cub as Antares took the stage briefly to introduce himself.

“Suri-Aine, such a pretty name.” The Empress smiled, still trying to soothe the youngster's anxiety of being surrounded by strangers of a completely different species than herself. So far so good she reminded herself, as the child was responsive at least.

The little tongue being stuck out at Antares made the woman giggle, even with a little bit of attitude it was better than terrified screams and claws lashing out at them. Perhaps now with one less wolf staring her down, it would help ease the situation as well... If she even lets us, Antares was right. There was always the chance that the cub would run away and get lost in or outside of the Pass, if not in Vanderfell where surely she would perish if found by Ira.

“Suri-Aine, are you hungry? Antares knows where we keep our food. Do you want to have something to eat while we wait for your mother?” There was some clear distrust in the cub toward the Samurai, so why not try and associate the man with something good, like food? At least with Antares not only was the cub safe from harm, but he could also make sure she wouldn't cause trouble for any Shiroshikans in the meantime they tried to figure out what to do with another cub in their possession.

Because what if they were found without it in their possession when the mother comes looking and Suri-Aine was less than presentable?

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[Image: df686pz-0c7a3fc2-8eca-4da1-8429-49fa07fd3bab.png]
translator, I'm sorry if it is horrible for anyone fluent in Japanese!
#15
06-06-2022, 07:40 PM
The mention of food brought Suri to snap her head towards Reiko. Easily becoming slightly embarrassed at how quick she took to acknowledging such a thing. She couldn’t remember the last time she ate. A faint phantom taste of milk coming to the surface of her tongue.

Though she was big enough to eat meat, she still enjoyed the taste of her mother’s nutritional nectar.

Her tail swayed a bit. Flicking at the tip against her back legs as she stood. Body stretching out. Toes widening while claws clutched at the ground beneath. A yawn breaking from her mouth.

Suri nodded a tad. Deciding to wander close to Reiko with a low purr of acceptance.
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#16
Paladin
06-16-2022, 03:29 AM
Suri-Aine, the young tiger said. Antares nodded softly, committing it to memory and leaving the lead to Reiko quite willingly. Gyrfalcon was on her way not long after, and already, he could try to be relieved--the empress' presence here had helped soothe this considerably already.

Still didn't mean he knew what to do with a tiger. His ears splayed out even more when she stuck her tongue out at him, a grim, quiet acceptance of his fate on this girl's shit list already before he nodded to the empress. He was glad for the task of getting some food, and pleased to have her seemingly accept the offer of a meal, he started to pivot off to lead the way off to their nearest stock. “I'll find something good,” he mentioned. He should be able to find them something good enough to pass the time with and hopefully curry some favor with the girl--but he wouldn't get too far away for Reiko's sake. Maybe Suri-Aine would be more agreeable without him so near, though. The feline seemed to have warmed up nicely enough to the empress, so that was a good sign for him. He would have to take it as such even if he still defaulted to this caged worry inked in unknown.

Most of all, he just hoped this went for all of them. He was sending Gyrfalcon's quest of finding her mother all of the good will he had in him...

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