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
Come take a trip in my airship


Afternoon Partly Cloudy
#1
P
Elysium
Vanderfell Woods
05-27-2022, 10:41 PM
With the wedding over, and having spent much of the next day and a half tidying up, she had been making several quick trips to the outskirts of Fate's Respite that led into the general mountainous area to dump the various bones and mostly-devoured carcasses that were beginning to turn. It was laborious work for a woman in her state, but she had always ascribed to the mantra of keeping fit even during pregnancy, and her mother had never been one to lie around helplessly when she'd had her litter either. As long as she went slowly and took breaks, she was fine keeping busy.

A peculiar scent wafted downwind, and she turned her head to look. Odd. She didn't see anything, but the smell was so familiar, it was right at the edge of her memory - huh. Valeska shrugged, picked up the bones she had been carrying, and continued on her way.

It grew stronger.

A name - there was a name attached to the scent, what was it -

It couldn't be. Pregnancy hormones were playing tricks on her, and she shook her head with a sad smile. “Oh, I cannot wait until this is over,” she muttered to herself, looking back at her swollen sides. “All of you in there, you are making me crazy!”

the staff team luvs u
[Image: m7jPOzS.png]
#2
Paladin
05-31-2022, 11:21 PM
"A pregnant wolf should not be alone." Much to her horrors, upon distancing herself from Vanderfell mountains and exploring a bit outwards ; the warrior came across a severely pregnant wolf. She smelled like @Mordecai, an assumption that perhaps it was but another wolf with Elysium and yet.. By the looks of her stomach, Orlaith would've thought that another step she would pop like a balloon, and there would be a horror before her very eyes. She was not a midwife, and didn't know any too well that were within the pack.

She was a bit defensive, but had a frown of worry while approaching the gray wolf. An air of caution as she lifted her snout and sniffed the area, in that fear there was some wolf or other predator upon the wind. It smelled relatively alright, but she knew others were smart enough to be able to hide their scent enough.. Forested eyes grazing around, an almost daring if someone really would come forward.

But she also looked at Valeska like she was stupid.

the staff team luvs u
#3
Visionary
06-01-2022, 05:08 AM
In much the same way Orlaith looked at Valeska as if she had a few screws loose, Valeska stared owlishly back at Orlaith as if she were a joke.

She hardly even noticed the uncomfortable way the stranger(?) was gawking at her stomach, as if she were illegally smuggling contraband across borderlines - in fact, she forgot almost entirely about her pregnancy and the growing pups within. Staring unabashedly, she raised a paw to take a faltering step forward, then withdrew it suddenly as if it had touched a snake. By the Five, what was going on? She had only met Orlaith once before, stuck together in a small cave system during an apocalyptic storm, but the encounter had lasted several hours and she never forgot a face.

Or a scent.

Or a voice.

The whole wolf, standing there clueless as if nothing had happened.

“Forgive me, but - ah -” she stuttered, blinking helplessly. “You are... deceased?”

Well, she could have put that more delicately.

“Hieronynu- Hieronum - shit, the wolf with the very fancy name - he told me you had perished,” Valeska continued, head tilting to the side as if she might get a better angle on what mysterious holy aura emanated from the risen one. “I can only assume that the gods have brought you back once more; perhaps your work is not yet finished? But I have never seen a wolf brought back to life. It is... strange. But you appear whole, so the gods must have done this thing.”

She had so many questions, but refrained. It was enough to wait and see what explanation the woman may have to offer.

the staff team luvs u
[Image: m7jPOzS.png]
#4
Paladin
06-03-2022, 09:47 PM
Ughhh. Another one? Was this other 'Orlaith' sociable or what? Though she didn't know whether the opinions were good or bad, most seemed to give a rather neutral one and just seem more shock the 'doppleganger' was another. Orlaith was a bit irked, shown upon her face as her ears flickered, "Yeah, been told that a lot. I'm not." She huffed lightly, not an aggression at the other by any means — in fact the warrior was holding back her even more displeased expression, especially not wanting to frighten a pregnant woman. They weren't allies or packmates, but she wasn't that fucking terrible.

"I think his name is Hieronymous, I haven't met him yet," when she arrived he was on an adventure, and thus hasn't properly met. Though it seemed if he announced her death to the other, that means he also knew her.. Wouldn't be surprising if he avoided her, fuck, she'd avoid someone if saw their doppelganger. Either that, or some intense interrogation — and thus tried to not blame others too much for this mass of confusion, whether it was true or not.

"I'm Orlaith, but sorry, I don't know you — or anyone. I came here like a month ago." Somewhere around that timeframe, she thinks. A lot was happening and the warrior was generally trying to ignore the weirdness. Despite it all she liked the pack, she liked the structure it was built upon. Honor, pride, valuing self within skills and so ; if she truly had died and came back, maybe it'd explain another reason to return.

"But uhh, be careful, there's some freaky foxes talking about monsters. You should leave with a guard."

the staff team luvs u
#5
Visionary
06-03-2022, 10:05 PM
The woman's expression turned sour, seemingly irritated by the accusation. It baffled Valeska, for who wouldn't want to be a resurrected wolf? To be deemed so special and precious and useful, that the Fates themselves said no, it is not your time - and so return you to your vessel, whole and restored? Whatever the case, Orlaith seemed entirely ungrateful for the privilege she had been granted, though it appeared she held no memory of her former life.

Perhaps that was the price one paid for a second chance.

“Forgive me, I did not mean to offend,” she said politely, regarding her with a strange look. “I have met Hiero... nymous twice, and he seemed reasonable.”

She left out the part where he hadn't seemed particularly torn apart over her passing, but maybe that was just his way of handling grief. The Orlaith she had met was fiery and passionate, one might say, and it was also possible they hadn't always been on the best of terms - but it was all speculation from an outsider. What remained important was that the woman before her was a rare and unusual case, and had clearly been touched by holy light to find herself back from the land beyond.

“We have actually met once, and sheltered within a cave during a great storm that wreaked havoc upon the land,” Valeska corrected her, but quickly amended -“Er, that is, the... other... Orlaith.”

The little wolf was trying to be kind about the whole thing, but there was no mistaking it. The Five had brought her back and it was too coincidental both in name, scent, and appearance to believe otherwise. It was so difficult not to ask the thousand questions that lay just on the tip of her tongue, but she used all of her strength to refrain.

“Excuse me, but -” she paused. “A monster?”

the staff team luvs u
[Image: m7jPOzS.png]
#6
Paladin
06-03-2022, 10:17 PM
Fuck. She was making bad impressions, "No, sorry, I just been told that a lot. I remember my life, before coming here, just not what everyone says — and seemingly knows me. Being told you once died is a bit off-putting." How the fuck was she supposed to process that, wherever she seemingly turned to, there was someone that once knew her? Acted like she was some sort of zombie. Whether she was the other Orlaith or not, it was starting to give her some mad feelings she didn't like addressing. The hope was everyone would forget, or.. She would remember.

If the Gods were nice they'd give her either one. At the very least, they, or something, tied her to the very peaks. A strong longing that let her ignore all that was weird about everything. If others disliked her in a previous life, maybe in this one she'd get along with others just a bit better.

"Ah, yeah, some foxes started sprouting nonsense of a monster," she gazed over to the forest of Vanderfell — the Ullacraig, where those same vulpines were at, "they never specified what, and I didn't see anything, but it's always good to be careful." She vaguely mentioned it to @Mordecai, but it was even more important for the other. She knew not what her rank was, nor' did the warrior really care — she was pregnant, a defenseless woman in the midst of the mountains with tigers and monsters roaming toward it's peak..

So obviously so, she was showing a more protective front, and glancing arounds for those same beasts that may lurking.

the staff team luvs u
#7
Visionary
06-05-2022, 10:20 PM
The poor woman seemed flustered - a strange look for someone like her, at least as she formerly was - and Valeska raised a paw to quell her apologies. “No, no, do not be sorry,” she said quickly, offering an awkward smile. “I honestly do not know which would be worse. I remember all of my past life, particularly the part where I died, and then awoke here in a terrible panic. Perhaps forgetting is a blessing. It is easier to start over fresh than to waken here with ugly last memories.”

Then again, sometimes the not-knowing was far more painful. It really depended on the individual, she thought, but for her, she would never forget the panic with which she first woke in this strange new land, wondering if this was heaven or a bizarre waiting room for judgement. She distinctly remembered her death and it was not something she liked to think about - what with her bones crunching and the weight of dozens of boulders crashing against her body as she fell in a great splitting of the earth.

She shuddered lightly.

Valeska followed Orlaith's gaze toward Ullarcraig, eyes widening slightly at the implication of danger lurking about. She herself had inducted a fox within her ranks, though @Valerie had yet to speak of any monsters in the general area. She mostly kept to herself, hunting small game and generally staying out of the other wolves' way.

“It is unsettling,” she said, “Not much troubles this part of the north, but I will keep a watch out. They offered nothing except for the general description of... 'monster'?”

The whole thing seemed odd, but far better to be safe than sorry.

Perhaps it would be wise to go back.

“You still smell of Vanderfell -” - while she knew vaguely of their hand in Kuhn's attack, Orlaith, as she stood before her, seemed innocent and untouched by the event. If he had slain her... she did not know it, and this Orlaith had not participated in his assault. Perhaps she was different. Maybe she would not repeat the same blind mistakes. “I am Valeska, High Priestess of Elysium, and I live directly to the northern-east of your claim. Would it trouble you to accompany me along the way?”

She smiled invitingly, but did not expect an immediate 'yes' to her offer.

If she agreed, they would walk, and she would venture a few more probing questions.

“So - nothing. You do not remember anything? A white light, the gentle voices of Holy Ones, the gods, any deity guiding you back to us? You may tell me to stop if you wish, but I have so many questions - I am a devout woman, and follow the Five closely in their steps. It is just... incredible. You must be a special wolf.”

the staff team luvs u
[Image: m7jPOzS.png]
#8
Paladin
06-15-2022, 11:09 PM
Her tail flickered, "I remember my past, my past family and friends. Just not the life others supposedly say I had. I don't think that's special." She cared not for the religion of others, believing slightly about the nordic gods and what not but nothing that caused her to be a devout woman. Though may it was as Valeska said, a good luck on the matter. From what she understood her death although was respected, was not particular one of old-age or an illness. Rather it was one that she would like to go out ; within battle. Yet remembering one's own death and pain was a shiver she didn't wish to have, "that's unfortunate. I have not heard much of others on the matter, such as.. Dying and re-appearing," there was a knit in her eyebrows as she said so. Was this common with others?

It made her feel slightly better if so. As much as she knew that was not good to say upon another, but if others experienced something similar.. Or another life and awakening altogether, maybe that would explain more of such incsistencies between herself, and everyone else around. But her heart thumped lightly, like an anxiety settled within her heart and she didn't know why. An anger following after.

She shook her head, both to answer and to keep her mind outside, "they didn't say anything else. Just kept repeating 'I brought it back,' something like that." Like an indication that she rode alongside with some fiend to the crag and was having a panic, "and that everyone was dead." Although that meant nothing what was the monster — for a bear could do that or even a tiger itself that roamed as an enemy of many packs.

"I didn't see any signs of any monster roaming about. Nor' crossing the border, much less anything. The other fox accused me though of doing something, so they may just be maniacs. Be careful about that." Would the warrior advise to the pregnant woman, and ever-so urge even more she should have a guard nearby. Who knew if those foxes were playing some sort of trick on pack wolves?

They were deviants, after all. Foxes weren't to be trusted.

the staff team luvs u
#9
Visionary
06-16-2022, 04:17 AM
They walked side by side, an odd-looking pair, fading in and out of the sun's brilliant rays as a series of clouds moved overhead. This version of Orlaith seemed a touch more subdued than her previous incarnation, and her lack of recent memories was most perplexing - what made a soul the same? Did her body, identical in every aspect, house the same spirit as her predecessor, or was a new creation born when its vessel took life for the second time here?

There were no rules, no guidebooks on how this sort of thing worked. Valeska had met enough characters to know that those who perished outside of this place and awoke here often retained their very same memories and general being; yet Orlaith had died here.

Was it different?

She frowned, thinking deeply, then shook the confusion from her face as her companion haltingly tried to answer her questions.

“So you remember what came before this world,” she replied slowly, thoughtfully. “But not anything that has happened since the first time you... she... awoke.”

A piece to the puzzle, but perhaps one she may never solve.

“When I first arrived, I thought I had been placed at last in heaven,” she said with a light chuckle. “But then this was not what I imagined it all to be - then more and more wolves came - good wolves, unbelieving wolves, terrible wolves, frightened wolves - and then I began to think perhaps it is a place of Purgatory, for souls waiting to be judged. I will say that if I am right, then the gods do take their time.”

Orlaith ventured on to describe what little she knew of the supposed monster roaming about, and the silver wolf tilted her head to the side curiously as she struggled to understand. Brought it back? That was nonsense. Some fool had likely seen an obscure shadow in the evening light and thought it a demon, and coupled with the warrior's sudden reincarnation, it made sense that everyone would be on edge. Valeska did not believe in monsters - demons, perhaps, but such beings worked their evil through mortals; they did not roam any mortal plane freely.

“The only thing you have 'brought back', I am sure, is joy into the hearts of your packmates,” she said with an air of absolute certainty, raising her chin in mock arrogance. “But I will take your warning to heart. Being with child, I suppose I take enough risks already. To think! With child. It is a terrifying thought.”

She swallowed a lump in her throat. It was still so difficult not to think of Kuhn in this moment, knowing in her heart that it was likely he who had landed the killing blow on her tall companion, but it was all so horribly complicated. He was desperate, trying to save his own life - and Orlaith had only been a pawn, bound by loyalty to her leader's bidding.

In war, no one truly wins.

“Have you always been a warrior? Even before here, I mean?”

the staff team luvs u
[Image: m7jPOzS.png]
#10
07-03-2022, 09:41 PM
"I walked here, with everything in-tact. Not a thought if someone else that was me here, or that I was any other. I don't think it's purgatory." Orlaith yawned lightly, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly. The fear of the other was valid, and yet the warrior was pretty solid within her responds that this was not that. She simply walked here (technically fell) after being banished and spent time roaming. Though.. She couldn't say she knew the way back, her directions felt a bit off. What should've been east should be more mountains, not the ocean. When she stood on the mountain, the great body of water stood for miles and miles, and the scent as well was of no mistake.

"A warrior in my homeland, a warrior in that whatever past, a warrior till now. Even though some look at be strange, I don't know if that's joy or not." And she grinned, her neck stretching lightly with an audible crack. Proud within her lineage to deem as a nordic warrior, and to death would it be. If she truly did die, at the very least she did on the plains of battle and not anything else, that is truly how she would want to go out.

Death by fighting.

"It is a risk to be alive. But that's why you have packmates and others. I can escort you back."

the staff team luvs u
#11
Visionary
07-04-2022, 10:52 PM
She walked here? The very idea was baffling. How could one simply walk into Mordor this otherworldly land, a continent which lay on no map ever known to wolfkind? She clicked her tongue, impressed, but not surprised. She supposed if anyone could walk into a world apart, it would be Orlaith the brazen, she who had already risen once from death. Valeska felt honored to be in the presence of one so favored by the gods, but chose to hold from further praise, realizing it had made the warrior uncomfortable earlier.

The tall woman expressed her unease at the number of strange looks she had been receiving of late. Valeska smiled, stifling a laugh. “I am certain it is joy. It is always a surprise to hear of how we have been loved, or missed, because we tend not to think very highly of our own selves,” she said reassuringly, venturing to give her a playful nudge with her shoulder. To the silver she-wolf, everyone was a friend, and by nature she was often much more comfortable with actions of closeness and camaraderie than most. “I am certain Vanderfell considers themselves blessed with you among their ranks. You are strong, and I do not only mean your muscles.”

She paused for a moment, looking up toward the gathering clouds overhead. The scent of summer rain grew ever stronger as they walked, and she supposed they had better hurry lest they be caught in a storm for the second time in their (collective) lives.

“Whatever the case, whether the Five have great plans for you or otherwise, it is very nice to talk with you. I am a devout believer - some might say, religious to a fault - but I believe there is purpose in everything, and your story remains clearly unfinished.”

Valeska smiled toward her, eyes twinkling.

“If you are ever on patrol and wish for some company, you are always welcome to visit the wolves of Elysium, Orlaith.”

 
{Exit Valeska}

the staff team luvs u
[Image: m7jPOzS.png]
scroll to top