turn off my mind, i beg you

Alabaster fur, the once soft and plush coat now a shaggy carpet draped over a rounded frame, became ruffled by the ebb and flow of a salty wind stirred as the wolf of pale began to awaken. First came the flinch of one forepaw, followed by a gingerly stretch as the roar of the coast engulfed every recess of her mind.

Stand, her brain ordered. 

Hurts, her muscles retorted.

Ambrose exhaled a low whine, her snout wrinkling in distaste at the salt lingering in the back of her throat. Every fiber of her being throbbed, having been thrown about by the tides that overcame her. There was little recollection before then. A traveling pack, a lineage of fine artistry and lorekeeping, a tainted brother. Her eyes opened, if only in a squint, as she stared at the dim sky above, a light rain dotting across the ends of her discheveled fur.

These foreign lands mocked her for impeding, when she had not been offered a decision to begin with.

Slowly, the battered wolf rose to her paws. Stocky legs trembled, and her head dipped low. A growl rumbled in her throat, a self-directed cuss to get herself moving. "Lazy," she hissed. "Weak." She added.  

Her head lifted, and scarlet eyes surveyed the land before her. Moss, rocks, foliage...and more moss. Great.

Ambrose inhaled, and exhaled a huff of frustration. The thought of tossing herself back into the ocean (though, this time willingly) was tempting, given the visible landscape fate had placed her in. But, nevertheless, she began her ascent from the shore. Pale paw-pads scraped against the wet moss, scrabbling at times to not slip and bruise herself in her efforts. Any attempt to inhale and taste the air yielded little success, the smell of salt dizzyingly pungent. 

Perhaps, if she walked far enough, trekked long enough, she would be able to pick up the invigorating scent of snow. Of home. For now, the gentle rainfall would suffice, but only barely.
 

---

@Ennis
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Ennis awoke to the sight of muted hues, the landscape draped in nothingness. Honey eyes were blurred at the edges as the scrawny wolf attempted to blink away the lingering shroud of unconsciousness. The air hung heavy with the briny scent of the sea, and the rhythmic sound of crashing waves echoed in his ears. Each gust of wind carried the faintest whisper of salt and seaweed, every inhale hot with the essence of the sea coast. 

Ennis’ sore frame shifted, a groan escaping his lips as he became aware of the dampness clinging to his fur. Cautiously, the masculine pushed himself upright, muscles protesting at the sudden movement. His eyes swept across the horizon and he was met with a mesmerizing sight. Vast hills stretched out before him, their slopes adorned with round, moss-covered stones that seemed to sprout like flowers from the earth. Each stone was a vibrant shade of green, as if the moss had claimed them in a timeless embrace. 

Ennis moved, and began a long walk towards what seemed like nowhere. He knew not where he was going, only knew the lull of the ocean waves as they spurred him onwards, and the feel of wet moss beneath his paws as it squelched like mud between his webbed toes. Occasionally, the brute slipped, to which he muttered a series of curses; inaudible beneath the roar of nature’s sounds. In the distance, he saw a flash of white, and he blinked in disbelief. Could it be… Another wolf. 

Ennis inhaled deeply, and let out a cry that traveled miles:  “Oi!” 

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Pale legs strained, carrying Ambrose with struggle up the inclines and across the tops of the mossy rocks. With every lunge forward, an irritated exhale left her, yet a sense of hope dawned on her the further she left the dreaded shoreline. Salt remained persistently pungent in the back of her throat, almost gag-inducing, and she could only hope that would wane the further she distanced herself from those terrible, terrible waters.

Eyes of red scanned the rocky horizon, noting how the plush foliage infested every crag and how the sun-kissed moss sprawled out across stone. These lands were definitely a new sight, for Ambrose, and some inkling of the artisan inside of her wondered what she might find, should she take time to merely dig around a bit. Then, came the saddening realization, that even if she did find some sort of trinket to call her own, there was none to share the spoils. None to bestow a crown of clovers, or necklace of shells. 

I'm alone. No friends, no pack. She thought bitterly, ears pinned back to her raggedy coat as she trudged along the boulders. Her eyes narrowed, mind akin to a vicious gale. I might have preferred company with a decaying crab over this complete isolation.

As if manifesting from the recesses of her mind, a foreign scent wafting through the air rendered the white wolf to freeze. With muscles tigthened, eyes widened and legs stiffened, her head lifted to push past the scent of the ocean her furs had been tousled by, a curious thought interrupting her brooding. Another wolf?

For a moment, she felt relief. Then, unease. She didn't know what to expect from a possible local of these lands, ones that might not have the most inviting of intentions with a "seafaring" traveler. She knew firsthand the pain of losing a battle, but to do so in this harsh of terrain and in such a sore condition was gut-churning to consider. She lowered herself to the boulder she had perched upon, claws scraping against the moss as she tried to catch a glimpse of the stranger through the landscape. If she could see them first, get a concept of what she was dealing with...

Oi!

The voice caught her off guard, and her head swiveled in its direction. There, no more than a few bounds away from her, stood a sable and ginger wolf, his golden eyes already trained on her. Judging? Sizing up? Her body shifted, tail out behind her as strands of pale fur grazed the moss-carpeted rock beneath her. Her ears lifted, intent on learning this lanky wolf's intentions, though not without assuming them beforehand. 

Perhaps, a friendly, casual chat would immediately quell any brewing tension between them, even despite her nervous posture. 

"Well," her red eyes flickered across his fur. "I don't suppose you're familiar with these lands, huh? I could really use some insight on discovering where I wound up." Her tone, lighthearted, couldn't help but be strained by the foul water that infected her lungs previously. Hoarse and scratchy, over her typically low and raspy voice.
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Despite the urgency in which Ennis addressed the stranger wolf, he personally made no fuss in reaching her side. Moving at an ample pace, paws occasionally slipping against the rocky surface layered in sea drenched moss, Ennis casually made his way towards Ambrose. His broody form trotted with cat-like grace, lanky physique rippling with the muscles of a scrapper; athletic and toned despite his thin, almost awkward, appearance. 
Ennis’ ears pulled upwards to catch the tail end of Ambrose’s speech and the wolf’s groggy stance shifted to one more alert, neck lifting to perk his head momentarily. He blurted out his speech before he thought too much on it, an amused brow lifted above one of his honey eyes, and his tongue blurring with that of intense sarcasm:  “You’re joking right?” The wolf retorted in question, tail swishing to and fro behind his thin physique. 

“Do I look like I know where I am?” If the wolf standing before him was any other type of degenerate, he might have just found himself getting mauled, life cut down before he could even live it. Given a second lease on life, Ennis was no more careful with it than he was the first time, flaunting about without a care. He practically scoffed in the face of the albino wolfess, who mind you, he would have hardly been able to tell was a wolfess had it not been for her dainty scent. Perfume upon his nose, it was. 

Ennis hauled his form upwards and turned, beginning to shove his way in the opposite direction, his long tail lashing with a sudden indifference. “Forget it! I’ll go my own way.”

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The lanky male, stride by surefooted stride, came to approach the heavyset wanderer with his ears pointed skyward. Ambrose remained steady where she stood, though slowly did her unconfident stance become more relaxed. Legs straigthened, tail lowered...all until his remark, which left his jaws in a most abrasive tone.

What a dick.

How dare he act so disorderly, when she spoke so kind in the directrion of this stranger? Her tail did raise again, and her ears bent back with the grating bark that rumbled from his lithe yet somewhat gangly frame. She had half a mind to snap her jaws around nothing, to silence him before he could start up on another comment. But, where was the fun in that? 

Some part of her wanted to start laughing, her disposition about this stranger changing like the ocean she had previously been ejected from. How quickly this golden-eyed wolf was to get on her nerves in a way that most excited her. She wanted to rustle the ends of his furs, make him peel his lips back at the mere mention of her name. All part of the game, that played in her mind.

While her eyes flashed with the thought, she remained steady. She had to remind herself that, at any given point, she may find long ivory fangs buried deep within the shreds of her moonlight pelt. He, however, seemed to be much less wary of her; she may even go as far as to think he was lacking an err of caution to begin with. 

Her thoughts were given confirmation, when he snarled his final retort to a remark she had never spoken. Red eyes were trained on his frame as he turned, the light rainfall threatening to disturb her vision. It resurfaced the faint, blurry memory of the storm that had whisked her into the ocean in the first place. Panic tugged at her heart, only if for a moment, and she exhaled after him in an effort to push it aside. 

"Where will you go, then?! I see not a forest beyond these rocks," a pause, as she stood. "I see not a mountain 'nor a moorland." She spoke loud and clear.

Ambrose felt it too soon to propose they travel within proximity of one another. She also felt it too unclear of his intentions-- he had presented such priority to come approach her, only to turn his back now with a snide comment of departing on his own. Could she weed it out of him, to offer it to her?

"So then, do tell me, friend..." she said in bitter tone, host to a teasing undertone. "Where might you figure you're off to?"
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Damn, damn, damn, damn! He should have known that he would be stopped.

Ennis' retreating, lanky form did not make it far before he was being accosted. The fat she-wolf raised her voice at him in question and the wolf paused in his traffic, body growing still. Slowly, but surely, the fur along his neck and his hackles began to bristle. He was not one for violence-- well-- no, that was not true. Yet, currently, he was too exhausted to engage in a useless battle. Instead, slowly, his head turned, honey eyes aflame with emotion as he cocked a crooked gaze at the albino wolf. 

“I know the boar isn't questioning the fox.” He seethed out behind his white bridgework, bearing his chipped incisors in her direction. If it was a battle of teeth, she wouldn't have it -- but if it was a battle of mind, oh, she'd get it. 

Ennis turned, one leg lifting in reply, paw pressing to the cushioned fur against his chest; like a snake, he slithered around, beginning to slink around her robust frame, eyes of scrutiny sizing her up. He was no fool, he knew exactly what the she-wolf was doing. Fishing for an invitation, an offer that even she would be an idiot to refuse. Ennis simply scoffed in return, jaws snapping, teeth clicking righteously. “Well I know there has got to be bloody something past these unbelievably hellish rocks. I intend to get as far away from here as I possibly can. You'd be smart to do the same, friend.” He shot back. 

He hopped down from one of the rocks they'd stood upon, landing gracefully at the bottom, chin lifting pompously as he gave her a glance over his shoulder. “If you are coming, then do hurry. And-” He looked her up and down. “Try to keep up...” 

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Boar? The pale wolf's jowls flinched at the insult. Boar?! 

Her eyes narrowed, and her posture stiffened as her lips lifted to unearth the ivory daggers that were nestled within. Tauntingly did his frame turn, long, spindly legs rising dramatically high to carry his lightweight build in a circle around her. Studying her for the benefit of his journey to somewhere, maybe. Judging her, definitely. Her body recoiled the moment their furs got close to grazing, lifting her chin and tail in defiance. "A fox with mange, maybe," Ambrose did utter under her breath in between the male's speech.

Her expression was one of disgust, disdain purposely written over her eyes as she rolled them when more superfluous words spilled forth from his parted maw. Just as she debated tuning him out entirely, the wolf's jaws snapped, clapping in the air over the light pitter-patter of the rainfall on the mossy stones that stretched out around them in every direction. Briefly, she considered kicking or shouldering him, just to test those stilts of his for any semblance of balance.

Her thought had been dismissed as he took a bound off of their shared rock, landing neatly on the other one nearest of them. With his back turned, Ambrose's chin lowered, and her eyes remained on his risen furs with a frown. The fubsy wolfess kept her pink nose pointed in the male's direction as his head turned over his shoulder, honey-gold eyes looking upon her form, and allowing a crude comment to leave him that strengthened her growing distaste (and rising entertainment). 

"It may do you best to keep your concerns to your own wellbeing!" Ambrose made way down the mossy boulder, her frame bobbing as she used any smaller stones in her distance to avoid a mishap that would give this man more reason to ridicule her. "After all," a smirk crossed her jaws as she came up behind him. "We will never know when the next slightest gust of wind will come about and knock you on your arse."
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Fleet of foot, Ennis wasted no time in hanging about the desolate landscape of moss and rock. He desired to feel his paws upon flat land, perhaps even snow or desert at this point; anything was better than stone. Gods, how he despised stone. Almost more than he hated nuisances, like the pale one that trailed behind him, reeking of attitude. How he despised wolves like her. And yet, when he turned to toss a glance her way, there might've been a sheen glimmer of respect that highlighted his honey eyes. Not many had the wits to take Ennis on in verbal warfare. 

“Oh! Oh! Aren't you fucking clever.” Ennis sneered, his lips curling back. He snapped his pearly teeth in her direction, an entitled scoff following -- he snorted, shaking his head. He couldn't. He just couldn't. “If I were you, tubsy, I'd follow and shut up. Please. At this point I would sell my good molars to not have to listen to anymore of your shite.” He found himself talking and talking, ranting on and on about his guest. 

No matter how long they walked, trotted, the landscape only blurred into more and more rocks. Ennis eventually stopped, inhaling a deep breath, eyelids fluttering closed. And then he screamed. Screamed angrily into the sky, allowing his legs to buckle as he writhed angrily upon the ground, kicking up a flurry of dust around him. He was exhausted. He was irritable. Fuck, he was hungry and no doubt this fatty wolf was going to eat all of whatever they caught. Ennis sat up, scowling around their surroundings. And then he saw it. 

Open land. He burned with sudden life as he hopped to his dainty paws. “There! I found it! Shit, am I good or what.” His smile turned into a light cackle, head tossing back in joy. 

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