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
desert rose


Morning Overcast
#1
P
07-12-2022, 01:42 AM
A few weeks after this thread, which would be before Serenity's kidnapping. For @Oryx


It had been a number of weeks now and Ragnar had not forgotten the little wolf which had washed up on the northern shores of their home. Every so often, Ragnar would peek around Aarkon's healing chambers though he would not intervene. The little wolf had seemed bad off, both skinny and frozen and Ragnar had been uncertain someone like her would make it in these lands long enough to heal up and make her way back to wherever she belonged.

This morning, as the sun set high in the sky, clouds rolling overhead to block out the rays, Ragnar trotted the forest of Northfall. He could smell the desert rose ahead and finally with a hope to get to know their little visitor, Ragnar sought her out. A woof was made out to her. It was the first time he had seen her on all fours. He wondered how well off she was now.
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*Ragnar frequently has black feathers woven into his scruff, curiosity of his good friend, Krakarak.
#2
07-12-2022, 02:47 PM
 There were a few shocking things about her new life. For starters... she could remember nothing except glimpses and feelings. The warmth of the desert sun. The sand between her toes. Comfortable and comforting.

 The other thing... she had no idea where she was. Nor why she was here or even what she should be doing.

 The wolves here... the wolves of Northfall. Had rescued her and she stayed within the confines of Aarkon's den. The first few days had been miserable and the coldest she knew she had ever been in her life. Now, she'd gotten used to it... more or less. Although she still tried to avoid snow where she could. Although that was near impossible.

 Still, she couldn't stay cooped up in the healer's den and now that she was better. She figured she should start trying to learn this place. So, there she was, in the forest. A full-on forest. Even that wasn't something she was used to. She walked around in awe, watching the various birds and the leaves shaking on the branches overhead. It was quite pretty.

 It was the nicest she'd felt in weeks.

 Her ears twitched at the sound of a bark. She turned her head to see the large pale wolf, one of the ones who'd rescued her. The alpha, she'd come to find out. "Well hey there. Come to rescue me from the trees this time?" Her old humor and snark had returned to her now that she wasn't knocking on death's doorstep. Although, the words were clearly teasing as she wagged her tail a few times at him. "Are the trees here as dangerous and cold as the water?" She would be forever grateful to him and his pack.

 Even if this cold was a bitch to get used to.

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#3
Ecologist
07-17-2022, 01:45 AM (This post was last modified: 07-19-2022, 03:17 AM by Ragnar. Edited 2 times in total.)
She seemed to be admiring the place, looking to the trees fondly, her large, bat-like ears twitching to the sound of black birds ahead. Had she never seem a forest before, or at least not one like this? It made Ragnar all the more curious of this little woman.

“I sure hope not.” He spoke with a smile as he drew nearer to her. “I do not think I would win.” He says as his icy eyes move past her and draw upwards to the great, towering evergreens around them. “They are gentle giants, yet stronger then even the cold. These trees never die, never turn color from their vibrant green even in the coldest, deepest of winters. They are called evergreens. Have you seen them before?” He did not think she had, but it opened a doorway for her to speak of where she had come from.

Her tail was very long and ears large upon her skull which gave her a youthful look. She was a very small woman, slender and in these moments Ragnar was uncertain if she even was a wolf. She looked more coyote then wolf but he knew they often did not stray this far northward, not without being at least partially wolf and with it, running with the wolves.

She was extremely exotic to him and though Ragnar would always imagine a powerful Nordic woman at his side as queen, this one toyed with his desires of things beyond his knowledge.
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*Ragnar frequently has black feathers woven into his scruff, curiosity of his good friend, Krakarak.
#4
07-19-2022, 12:19 AM
[narrow width=450] "Pffftt, don't sell yourself short." She said back, light and carefree. Similar to her life when she had lived in the desert but that time was just a distant foggy memory. It was maddening and sad. It left her with feelings of melancholy for a life she could scarcely remember...

 He went on to speak more about the trees and just as his gaze lifted to the towering giants, so too did hers once more. Her large ears twitched towards him while she soaked in the knowledge he offered unto her. "Evergreens... eh?" She'd never heard of such a thing but she supposed they were aptly named. She rather liked the name, if she was being honest... "They sound like something out of a fairy-tale."

 And yet, she wondered if the desert would be like a fairytale to him. "So, there's your answer." She'd never heard of them at all. "No, where I come from the largest tree I'd seen was an Acacia... but, they were nothing like this and there were never so many all together." She looked around, spinning as she looked at their tall boughs and the snow that coated them. "I lived in the desert with sand all around... there was never very much water and the plants were... nothing like these. Nor was it so stinkin' cold." Would she ever get used to it?

 She stopped circling and then stopped, facing him with a frown. "But... I can't really remember much beyond that. I don't even remember how I ended up in that water... It's fuckin' weird." And scary... but she didn't want to admit that.
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#5
Adventurer
07-31-2022, 08:14 PM (This post was last modified: 08-11-2022, 03:21 AM by Ragnar. Edited 1 time in total.)
Her voice is airy, carefree and to her comment a small smirk toys at his features with an open laugh. A side glance is passed to her as his head remained lifted to the treetops, to see that she too is staring up at them in wonder, drinking in the information which he had given her. A pretty cute little thing, she was. Whatever she was and wherever far off she had come from.

Tilting his head back downward, he turns to her fully, golden ears cupping into her direction as she spoke of the trees she had seen before, though none together in so many as these here now. “Acacia...?” The word murmured past his lips, sounding foreign and odd on his tongue. So there wasn't any forests at all where she lived before, either?

Ragnar thought of places he knew that had not many trees- the open tundra, especially like The Badlands outside of Torbine. It wasn't at all a pleasant place. Then beaches and valleys, sands and open green with plenty of room to roam but little coverage from the elements or danger.

“A desert?” Ragnar had heard of them though had never thought to intentionally find one to live in. They were hot, dry, open, flat and with little to drink or eat. Something completely opposite of what Ragnar would call a perfect place as home.

She stops and looks to him, frowning and he does too, shoulders rolling up in a shrug. Maybe she had died too, only to come back to life on his shore. A possibility that Ragnar did not want to open her mind to. So instead, “I've heard deserts are extremely hot and the sands burn your paws like fire.” He guessed this was why her fur was so short, too. It was not hot here, completely oposite of what she was used too and while she looked like she was in awe of this place, he wondered if it would be dangerous for her to stay, especially when winter came...

“What is it you do for water, in these places? What do you eat?” Ragnar was most curious and he questions as he begins to walk again, hoping she would follow as he helped to tour her through Northfall.
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*Ragnar frequently has black feathers woven into his scruff, curiosity of his good friend, Krakarak.
#6
08-02-2022, 01:41 AM
 "Oh, really?" To be honest, it wasn't completely inaccurate though from the stilted memories she had she couldn't remember ever having trouble with her paws. "Maybe if you're not used to it but I don't recall ever having any trouble." She looked down at his very large paws. Her own probably seemed small and dainty compared to his but the pads underneath, they were hard and calloused from days spent wandering in the sands. "But maybe it's too hot for coldfoots like you." She poked her tongue out of her mouth as she teased him, her mouth that was every bit as fiery as the deserts from which she hailed.

 The slight desert lady moved to follow alongside him. One of his steps was easily two of her own but she seemed to easily keep pace, perhaps it helped that she liked his company so far. He took her jesting in stride and seemed to honestly be interested in her and where she came from. "The days are hot, the nights have temperatures similar to here." A bit of extra information, if he wanted it. She knew that she learned from a young age to avoid the nighttime. It was uncomfortable, much moreso than the heat of the day. "I ate prey, just like you do." The woman laughed, amused at his line of questioning. "Whatever you can catch with your own paws on your own or if you were fortunate enough, something large with a pack. Let's see... there were gemsbok, hares, antelope, peccary, meerkats... Oryx." She could imagine the beasts of the sands in her mind's eye. All sorts of interesting creatures that she named. "Or if you're unfortunate, vultures can always lead you to something tasty." And unfortunate, plenty of things couldn't hash it out in the harsh climates.

 "As for water... hope you can sniff some out and then don't forget where said water is." She lolled her tongue out, amusement glittering there despite the morbid topic. "Or else." It was a fact of life. Get good at surviving... or you didn't. "From what I've seen, water seems much more abundant in places like this? Just like all of the plants?" It was strange... but she didn't dislike all of the greenery. Just the cold.

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#7
Adventurer
08-11-2022, 03:44 AM
The little woman stuck her tongue out at him and Ragnar's nose wrinkled up in 'ew' face, a snort then given at her. He lifted a single large paw, “Coldfoots hu?” He feigned being hurt from her teasing. Alas, they both had hardened paws even if for very different reasons- hers being the hot sands, his being the frostbite territory and hard rock.

He continued on then, offering long smooth strides which had the little woman bounding in quick, light-footed steps at his side. She was a bouncy thing!

He listened as she mentioned the extremes of the lands- horribly hot during the day with temperatures plummeting at night. Ragnar knew then, if he had to, he could travel at night there. But where could he possibly hide to be cool enough during the day? Where did she hide at nights, to stay warm? So many questions he had when it came to this strange place.

She came to mention the animals then, teasing him once more. Icy eyes roll but it is clear as they moved that Ragnar's interest was peaking. “I'd not heard of any of these creatures before. Well, besides the hare.” He admits with a smirk and rolling of golden shoulders.

“So then maybe it is more then just endless sand and nothing else...” He murmurs, thinking of a desert as 'sand dunes' and nothing more. “There are places in the tundra, that are open and barren- flat hard surface with little to offer and the exposure alone will kill you. But then, there are places like this...” He mused, head scanning the area around them. “Water moves inland from the ocean. There are places where it spiders down the mountains and all through the territory, feeding the forests, which bring the herds. The goats and sheep live in the high peaks and fish abundant in the rivers and coves...”

He pauses, turning to Oryx, a desert creature which now he knew she was named after. “I think if I was in the desert, I'd call wherever water was my home.” A small laugh then for indeed if water was so rare, he would be reluctant to leave it, even if it meant a fight.
the staff team luvs u
*Ragnar frequently has black feathers woven into his scruff, curiosity of his good friend, Krakarak.
#8
08-11-2022, 08:10 PM
 "Yeah, made that up myself." She winked at him, amused and pleased that he was teasing back. "Like it?" And then she laughed because it was quite the silly situation. Plus, it felt nice to laugh and to be lighthearted. Especially considering what had gone on with her or not gone on with her. She still had no idea, really.

 "Well... maybe one day we can get you out there to see for yourself. With me as your guide, you'll be perfectly safe." She was quite confident in her abilities there... although here it was a completely different story. "So long as I don't die of hypothermia here first." Maybe she'd adapt before that happened.

 She fell silent then, listening as he answered her question. To be honest... she was quite impressed. "Can you show me?" Probably should be a bit more specific. "The falling water. If there's some of that here, anyway." It was hard to believe that there was so much that it just fell high from the mountains. And then, fish? "I'm not sure if I've ever actually seen a fish." She scrunched her brows together, thinking. She knew what a fish was, of course, but in the desert? The image sort of failed.

 She paused when he did, smiling one-sided and roguish, at him. "Well, you'd be smart then. You find a spot with water and a shelter nearby, you're living the dream. Prey comes to water and if you're at the water, you have food and drink." That's how you had to drink and you had to live life like it was your last, 'cause it very well could be. "Is that why all you guys here are so big then? Too much food and water everywhere?" She couldn't remember if she ever saw one so muscular and stocky as himself. Though, that could just be her sparse memories failing her but she knew being light and springy helped in the arid environment.

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#9
Adventurer
08-17-2022, 09:32 PM
@Oryx

“No.” He spoke flatly in answer to her question of the name of the northerners Oryx had made up. His expression betrayed his tone, however, as a smirk still tugged at the corner of the man's mug.

Then, she spoke of visiting there some day, with she at his side. Ragnar often traveled any number of lengths throughout the tundra and the northern reaches of the mountain ranges, but he had never strayed far enough to have seen even at a distance these deserts. The furthest he had ever gone was the Stone Mountains in the south but even that was before the founding of Northfall.

“Perhaps one day, I will...” But as his voice trailed off, it was clear that he did not know when that may be. Without a Queen to hold his placement whilst he was away, a viking could only voyage so far, lest he return to his kingdom with another having taken his place.

The topic of such a travel would be placed to the side, however, as Oryx brimmed with a curiosity of what lie here while Ragnar's attention had been placed to what was not here. She mentioned the falling waters and Ragnar nods, jutting his nose out back towards the mountains and turning their path this way.

“Never seen a fish??” He confirmed, head tilting to the side. “Well, that is definitely something you will have to see- and try.” As far as eating went. “There are times of year that there are so many they literally jump out of the water at you.” He says has he recalls spawning season. “And some, like those that come inland from the ocean, can be as big as you.” He speaks as he eyes up and down her short, streamline body.

You'll be living the dream. “Sounds like alot of competition.” He thinks, as naturally both predator and prey would be drawn to the one thing they both needed to survive - water. With little of it, keeping hold of a good piece of land must have been very difficult. Perhaps why Oryx had insinuated about always being on the move and having to find water.

He laughs aloud then, a lighthearted grin on his features. “Maybe so.” A comment upon the size of the northern wolves compared to the dwellers of the desert. “Some of our prey, like caribou and buffalo are quite large. We need large bodies to bring them down. In winter, hunting can become dangerous and herds move south... Many of us fatten up for the winter to survive it. Our bulk helps to keep us warm as much as our fur. Some, who cannot cope, move south with the herds.” And the way which Ragnar spoke of it, it could be obvious he did not move out of fear of survival.

“If you think we're large now, you should see us in our winter coats!” He laughs as he trots at her side. “Since you lot are always on the move and it stays so hot (and unknowingly to him much smaller prey) I assume all the wolves in the desert are much smaller?” They were burning mega calories and had to eat every little thing they could just to keep their bodies up to par, but the wolf did not know the terms for this.
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*Ragnar frequently has black feathers woven into his scruff, curiosity of his good friend, Krakarak.
#10
08-25-2022, 10:31 PM
 “Never seen a fish??” She shook her head in a confirmation. "Yeah! I'm always game to try something once! I mean, I already almost died. How much worse could it possibly get?" Actually dying? Naaahhhhh, she maybe her luck would never run out. One could hope... "Are you pullin' my leg? Fish that get that big and practically beg you to eat them?" She felt like she'd flourish here. Now, if only the temperature would warm up more.

 "Aw man, I can't freakin' wait for that!" She said with a laugh, imagining bit puffy wolves walking around the snow and ice. "Am I going to get a sick winter coat too if I stick around and eat 'buffalo'?" Not that she really knew what a buffalo was but it had to be some huge shaggy snow beast, right? "From what I remember, everyone was always pretty small. At least, leanness wise. I think I remember meeting one guy as tall as you but he was like a stick compared to your muscleness." It was weird and strange but she didn't dislike the way the tundran wolves looked. It was neat, interesting, cool. Their colors too were all over the place! "A lot of us were pretty fast 'cause you gotta be ready to catch any little thing." Hence her general bounciness and springiness. It was gonna be hard getting used to everything here, including the abundance of water.

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#11
Adventurer
09-01-2022, 02:04 AM (This post was last modified: 12-05-2022, 12:17 AM by Ragnar. Edited 1 time in total.)
He nods back, confirming the size of the fish he had seen before. He had even seen fish so large that they could feed this entire pack for weeks. Although these things which Ragnar thought of now, were washed up sharks or whale, none of which he knew to live in any lake or river no matter how large. Then again, this new world which they lived in now surprised him in many ways so far. “I will definitely have to show you then. But you'll have to be quite careful, the ocean is dangerous, as you well know.” He spoke, referring to her almost dying as she had mentioned it. Having washed up on shore, Ragnar did not understand how She had not died. Again, maybe she had.

It was summer here in Northfall- in the tundra. The lands were pleasant, sunny and with the breeze of the ocean always to keep them cool even on hotter days in the lower elevations. Up in the mountains it was still quite cold yet none of this was the freezing chill which surely would come when winter arrived. Ragnar was happy for he excitement to see it, but found worry still for her health, as one of the desert. A fear which he admits even through their light-hearted conversation. “For your sake I sure hope so! You won't survive here otherwise. This weather right now is warm for us.”

Then, a playful laugh, a single scarred brow rising as a smirk is pressed upon his mug. “Muscleness hmmm?” She had a way with words, didn't she? And as they moved, he flexed above flirty and playfully with his chin up and tail raised. “Although there are a few here bigger, quite so.” He was a heavy wolf and tall, but compared to tanks like Aarkon or Chantico, Oryx had yet to see just how big those in the tundra could get. “Outside our borders to the east are the Alpine Moors. It's grounds we use for hunting snd forging herbs. Your swiftness would do you justice there with the rodent pray.” Although the mountains and sea was far from what she was used to, perhaps she might find a sense of comfort and nostalgia within the open rolling hills.
the staff team luvs u
*Ragnar frequently has black feathers woven into his scruff, curiosity of his good friend, Krakarak.
#12
09-13-2022, 02:17 AM
 Oh yes, she knew perfectly well just how dangerous the ocean was. The last thing she wanted was to be washed up in it again... however she'd gotten there in the first place.

 "Warm? Jeez, I'm afraid to know what you think of as cold." That... that was actually a fear although she wrapped said fear in humor. As she always did with things she was worried about.

 Hmm... it seemed that he liked the teasing. She was happy to oblige, especially if it meant that she got to view his well-tone muscles more. "Are you sure? Hard to believe any could rival you." She said with a wink, and putting on a show with admiring him as he showed off.

 "Hmmm..." She said contemplatively as she looked off eastward. "I bet those little morsels won't know what hit them. I'm used to running on sand but I wonder if I'm quicker on solid ground." Her paws and stature were well-suited for running across the desert landscape but if she was here on solid ground where she didn't run the risk of sinking into the sand... was she faster? "Oh, I am so ready to see." She said with a grin. As much as she loved just sitting in Northfall and taking up resources... she didn't. She wanted to pull her weight and help the wolves that had literally saved her life. It was the least she could do to catch some prey and well... forage for herbs? "I don't make any promises on how good I am at getting herbs but if you give me a good description I'll try not to grab something that'll kill someone." A pause and then, "Unless you want some herbs like that." Hey, it could be a good method of felling the pack's enemies.

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#13
10-03-2022, 04:29 PM
Her words were teasing, but playful and lacking in any true sexual undertones. Not so much so that he would believe her to bend over backwards or offer herself to him on their first day together. Her presence was an airy and friendly one and he enjoyed to trot along her side now as they traveled throughout the lower elevations of the territory. He laughs and shakes his head at the display she gives regarding his 'muscles'. Her exotic-ness still drew him in.

Now, he watches her with pale eyes as she talks about visiting thr moors which he had so mentioned. Wondering if she was even faster on solid ground then the shifting sands of the desert. He felt she might. While her navigating the rocks of the mountains would likely he hard on her feet and hurt them quite a bit for a time, he trusted her agility. If she walked on constantly shifting sands, maybe she could learn the mountains in time? Ragnar had no doubt she would do well in the rolling hills which held solid but pleasant and comfortable earth.

“I think I'd like to be there for that, if you wouldn't mind.” He said with a grin, happy at the thought of seeing her at her best as she ran freely through the open fields of the Alpine Moors. With thr hardiness of the flora there, she would be certain to see the lands at its most beautiful state, too. Between the beaches, the Moors and the different sources of water in Northfall, there was much to show Oryx. It was something he had not the pleasure of doing before, as much of those in Northfall were quite accustom to the north even if they were new to its beaches.

“It would save us a whole lot of time, if it were so easy! Ive never been much for picking plants myself, either.” He laughs and grins at the thought of felling their enemy by simply poisoning their food. Obviously, Vendrussel wouldn't be so stupid as to take a kill from their enemy and even if it were poisoned by a spy there was a chance she would smell this and catch on, or, it would be placed in a cache for someone else to unfortunately meet their demise. “But it does lack the pleasure one would have by killing their enemy with their own teeth.” He says as he playfully snaps his jaws into the direction of Oryx, revealing the darker drive of the king.
the staff team luvs u
*Ragnar frequently has black feathers woven into his scruff, curiosity of his good friend, Krakarak.
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