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Though he had but an instant to respond to the swift creature, the tall man shifted, ever so slightly, leaning to the side and giving them room to retreat. He looked back towards them as they settled behind the monolith for a few seconds, and then turned back to face the wolf-men and child. Whatever his opinion of them, his attention lingered on the three as they conversed. After a moment, as things started to settle down, he returned as calmly as before to his second seat, to the side of the monolith.

With some idle interest he watched Jade and the wolves, wary, but not very concerned.

The boar-man, much like the visitor hiding behind the monolith, carried an aura of cold air wherever he went. The monolith, in contrast, seemed especially warm. It was a sunny day, but the fog had only just recently cleared. The stone's warmth was the sort that came after hours of sitting in direct sunlight. The bird atop it flapped its wings and flew to the nearest tree branch, peering down at all of them with tiny, beady brown eyes. It beat its wings again and chirped at them, as if in annoyance.

If Jade listened, she'd know that this was most certainly the case.

Still on edge and wary he tentatively sat down and looked around the clearing, ever keeping an eye on the wolf pair in particular and especially the little one staring at him. The situation had calmed to a degree but he still didn’t trust them enough to allow Rene to speak to them properly.

The boar man was finally acknowledged and given a brief look over. He was the only one that didn’t appear riled up by his presence. Was he some sort of keeper? he wondered. For his own sake he’d avoid being aggressive while in the clearing out of respect.

Looking at the images carved into the stone he tilted his head, carvings of the sun and celebration. The solstice perhaps? The wendigo cared little for celebrating summertime, it was hot and bothersome to a creature born in the harsh winters.

Overhearing the comment made by the older one with the pup he’d look over in their direction and shook his head, he wasn’t from around here, that was true. He’d travelled down from the north to avoid staying in one place for too long. Not that he could explain this as he was.

In a flash of inspiration they would mimic perfectly the sound of a person shivering in the freezing cold. It was the only thing they could think of to communicate where they were from.

He would’ve had the same response regardless of her tone- a snort, and the faintest twitch of his ear. “Nomads.” He grumbled- which wasn’t exactly true, but wasn’t exactly false either. Another twitch of his ear when the creature made that noise, and Xi raised an eyebrow- he understood the implications of the noise. So this thing was intelligent, huh?

“Not around here, that’s for sure.” Sora cut in, but he was inching closer to the boar man cautiously- his gold eyes flicked back to the creature near the monolith, then back to this other one, tail wagging slowly, “We’re hunting.”

“I brought my brother here. Important trip for me when I was a boy. Thought he’d learn a little something about patience and humility.” There was an edge to Xi’s tone that made it clear he wasn’t getting results he wanted- Sora frowned, but waved at the tall man. Not a friendly wave, more a check of if his eyes were actually seeing things, “Sora. Step away from him.”

“He ain’t human, with teeth and ears like that.”

“Didn’t ask. Come here, now.” The older one tapped his cane impatiently on the ground, but the boy stood his ground, wrinkling his nose.

“What’s a weirdo like you doing out here?” A funny statement from a boy with his own teeth that seemed a little big for him- he hadn’t grown into them just yet. But similar to the other girl, it wasn’t like there was much animosity in it, just a little bit of curiosity- if not a little harsh in its delivery. He didn’t seem to expect nor wait for a response, looking at the monolith, then at the beast near it, taking a small, very hesitant step forward, “Hey, I want to look at that thing.”

"A cold place...?" Jade tilted her head, then glanced up as she noted the bird. She held up her hand in a sign of peace. "S-sorry!" While she could understand most animals, speaking with birds was an even greater challenge than squirrels, as the way birds communicated was full of its own complexities that seldom translated for mammals. She hoped it understood her heart's intent regardless as she turned back to the others.

"Nomads?" She knew the word only from brief stints into a local village. "You mean you don't have a home?" What she knew of wolves made that strange, since they usually preferred a territory.

Still, everything else about them made them seem like wolves, especially the familiar way they bickered, and that put her at ease. It was easier to deal with wolves than men.

Everyone here seemed strange, but nobody seemed dangerous. She hopped from the branch, down to a lower one, and then onto the forest floor again, beside the huge boar-man.

Rene watched the small wolf creep closer to the boar man, beady orange dots in their eye sockets following the boy. He snorted in amusement as the little one didn’t do as they were told, more amused at Xi’s displeasure than Sora’s actions. Being head strong could get him into dangerous situations but then some had to learn in that fashion.

“Hey, I want to look at that thing.”

When the pup said it had the wendigo looking up at the monolith then down at the boy. If it was himself they were talking about he’d stand back up onto his hind legs. If it wasn’t for the weight of his antlers he would be able to stand up fully upright but as such he hunched forward, still reaching over 7ft tall and further with head decoration. Letting out a growl of annoyance that was far more human than beast.

The boar-man, just as before, watched the small gathering of unusual individuals talk without comment. He looked toward Sora as the boy drew closer. Seeing the reckless nature behind the boy's yellow eyes, his own narrowed, although he did not make any sudden movements as the other approached. Instead, when the younger brother grew just close enough, the tusked stranger extended his long, scarred arm in his direction; his palm was open, with his fingers loosely bent downward. The gesture a man might make when seeking to familiarize his smell with a wolf. Whether this was a genuine act of greeting or a mocking one could not be discerned; his expression remained the same.

He did spare a glance in Jade's direction as she stood beside him; having seen her first, the man seemed a bit more comfortable with her presence than the wolf-boy that sought to stare him down. At this point, even the creature, rearing up to stand to its full height, did little to cause him concern. That tiny, white-feathered sparrow soon after dared to land on the boar-man's shoulder, chirping with meaningless irritation and then fixing its beady little eyes on the boy as well. It was fluffed a bit, and ruffled its own wings against its body in a gesture of further annoyance.

“I have cabins. We move around them. Nomads.” His sentences were short and blocky, eyes narrowed at her- it wasn’t exactly coming across as friendly but he didn’t seem hostile. He just seemed, for lack of better descriptors, old- and tired. In fact Xi seemed more preoccupied with watching his brother.

Sora watched the stranger lift out his arm, and then holding it his palm out- he squinted for a second, and took a step back. Despite this, his ears had shifted, tail wagging a little faster. Mocking or genuine, the reaction seemed to be enough for him to relax, until that thing shifted.

“Hey, that means you understand me.” He grumbled, pulling on his rolled up sleeves, “So maybe move, you aren’t scary-“ Then the bird, this kid really couldn’t manage to focus on one thing. He wasn’t like the little human- he couldn’t communicate with beasts, aside from his own kind. But he flashed a grin full of teeth at it, and even snapped them in its direction. Birds like that didn’t exactly have a whole lot of meat but it didn’t mean he wasn’t against grabbing one up to spook it a bit. If he was fast enough, was a mystery, but it WAS on the boar man’s shoulder, so he’d have to settle with a little intimidation, if you could call it that.

Xi had approached, but did his best to make keep distant from these strangers. Instead, he’d shifted his attention to the monolith, and the creature beside it, “Be careful by that thing.” Xi called out to it, in a rumbling monotone. He’d never been to this part of the forest, but he knew old things were usually fragile, and damaging them would be offensive, or worse. And that thing was a little big to be moving around the way it did near them- his desire for Sora to stay away fueled by that. The last thing he needed was this one ruling that one up, and things being broken.

Her gaze flitted between the boar and the wolf. The boar seemed calm and at ease while the wolf was charged with energy, and they put her in mind of a steadfast rock against high winds. In imitation of the boar, she also held out her hand.

And promptly snatched it back with a yelp when the wolf suddenly attacked the little chittering bird. She was only scarcely conscious of the huge step she'd taken back. Glaring at the predator, she set her jaw and bunched her leg muscles, ready to roll to the side if he became hostile again. "Hey, what was that for?! We haven't done anything to you!"

Their ruckus began to draw more attention - more birds and squirrels around the trees, some of which Jade recognized. The squirrels sat silently watching what they must consider a rare spectacle, while the other birds kicked up riotous calls of their own.

“Be careful by that thing.”

Rene looked back up at the monolith he stood next to and took a wide side step away from it before setting back down into a squatting position. Fingers curled up and tucked inwardly to keep them out of the way. He too did not want to damage the stone ruins, these places tended to hold ancient magic that he wasn’t interested in disturbing or angering.

Head jerked back and inward into that thick mane of fur around his neck, the sunlight was not welcome so he’d slowly scoot out of the direct ray, keeping a close eye on the small bitey creature trying to scare the birds.

Huffing at the sun he settled down again, still debating if it was safe to change or not. The clearing and the ruins seemed to command some form of respect, no one save for the little one was being overly hostile. If anything, it was the pup that kept them hesitant.

The monolith retained its serenity, stability and warmth. Although it was a feeling which came gradually, Rene would feel a faint sense of warmth in his breast after touching it. It was the sort of warmth one may have felt in childhood, on a cold day, after finishing a fresh bowl of their favorite soup or tea; a comforting warmth.

The bird jumped where it was on the boar-man's shoulder when Sora snapped at it, chirping indignantly at a pace which would be difficult to comprehend, due to the sheer speed in which it was delivered. For those that could understand, it was easy to tell that the overall message was generally one of outrage, rather than pure fear.

It pointed its tiny head in the boy's direction, as if to lecture him. Then, the white bird adjusted its wings again and turned its head sidelong so that its beak rested close to the large man's ear. Its beak opened, but nothing audible escaped, besides the faintest whisper (which could only be barely detected by Jade, based on her proximity; it would not be comprehensible either.) Then, with a mixture of confidence and almost surreal shift in proportion, the bird tucked the end feathers of one wing under the other. It looked akin to a rich man reaching into a satchel, rather than anything a woodland creature might do. Despite the lack of fingers on its wing, the tiny creature pulled, and a white feather much larger than its own was drawn from the space beneath its other wing.

Sora's gesture of aggression was met only by the slightest knit in the boar-man's brow, as well as a steady withdrawal of his hand to rest again in his lap. But when the bird turned to whisper in his ear, his brow raised, and while it produced the unusually large feather he turned his head to look at it with complete focus, as well as some apparent surprise. The tiny thing struggled to keep pulling the large feather out, so he raised his hand and, as delicately as his thick fingers could, pinched the end of it between his fingers. Then he carefully removed it the rest of the way, causing the bird to scramble a bit forward on his shoulder. Immediately afterward the avian hopped back onto his head, pointing its beak at the boy again in a strange gesture of... annoyance? Contempt? In any case, the sparrow didn't seem too happy with him.

The boar-man turned the white feather between his fingers. Unlike the sparrow's feathers, it was long, loose and soft. It wilted slightly, leaning to one side under the gentle breeze which frequented the woodland grove. The stranger looked between all of them and, while holding the object still, reached to take a small bunch of his hair in his hand. He began gingerly braiding it, weaving the feather into it.

Sora flashed some kind of smile at both Jade and the birds reaction, seeming a little proud at the way he’d made them jump. Remorse wasn’t exactly something he seemed experienced in. And yet his devious glee was short lived when Xi’s lean hand got a good grip in his hair, forcing his head down into a bow. Sora let out a string of curses, but Xi seemed a bit too fed up with the behavior to have mercy.

“Apologize.” He barked, and Sora let out a loud grumble.

“Sorry for snapping at you, girl.”

“And the bird.”

“The bird?!-“ Xi tightened his grip on his hair and Sora flinched, before letting out a last few curses, and resigning himself to the apology, “Sorry for snapping, jeez.” Seemingly satisfied, Xi let his hair go, the boy straightening and rubbing the back of his head with a scowl. Sora glared between all of them but if anyone made eye contact, his eyes would drop to the ground, face heated from both anger and embarrassment.

“Forgive my brother.” He spoke with an edge of irritation in his deep voice, but his eyes moved to the strange feather the boar man had begun to weave into his hair. Clearly this wasn’t just a bird, and he was beginning to suspect the lot of them had a bit more going on than anyone had the chance to discuss. When Xi moved closer to the monolith, he did so without bothering to tell the others anything- he didn’t carrier himself as much of a predator or threat, his cane thumping alongside him. He wouldn’t touch it- he had no interest in leaving his scent on this strange stone, but he crouched down with a slight grunt, leaning on his cane. “A strange stone, isn’t it? This isn’t quite the same as the ruins I inhabited as a boy.”

Sora hadn’t left his position, glaring at the ground finally while his tail hung low, ears folded back and close to his head. He grumbled something about the rarity in finding ‘something older than you’, but if the man heard, he wouldn’t respond. The furs around Xi’s waist unfurled- they weren’t furs, but a tail with fur longer than one might expect, and it shifted as he leaned a bit closer, sniffing at the stone. It’d certainly have been easier to catch any scents in his other form, but he seemed content to avoid coming across as threatening. Not that he expected to smell anything animals and the empty fragrance of stone, “Wonder what it did out here. Humans perhaps?”

Though Jade heard the bird's indignation, which did give her the courage to stay her own ground against a larger animal, she didn't quite glimpse the exchange with the feather, as she was still watching the wolf.

Or rather, the wolf getting a scolding.

Though he'd been pretty rude, a part of her felt sorry for him. Probably the amount of times she'd been on the receiving end of an authority figure's lecture. She crouched down in front of him as he continued to kneel, meeting his eyes with a slight head-tilt. "Why are you so grumpy? Did you skip breakfast or something?"

She'd lost track of the huge looming shadow, but it hardly seemed dangerous now. Maybe it also hadn't eaten, and that was part of why it was so skittish?

watched with various head tilts the tiny bird pull out a feather larger than the bird that held onto it. The boar man didn’t seem at all fazed by this, or anyone for that matter.
He laughed, a deep, throaty cackle with his head tipped back at the boy being forced to apologise.

The little wolf seemed reined in for now and he’d watch the other with a curious gaze. At Xi’s idle comment about the stone he shrugged then pointed to the boar man. Believing they were probably the best resource for answers out of all of them.

It seemed safe enough now for the wendigo to get up and wander into the bushes on the edge of the clearing. He laid down in the shrubs to change. Once that was done what exited the bushes was a human man. Dressed in scruffy, dirty clothes that may have once been a color other than brown and black. He wore a dark blue cloak with a thick fur trim, much like the beasts mane.

He dusted himself off and then scanned his surroundings with colourless eyes. “I’ve never seen anything like this before..” he commented about the monolith as casually as one would speak about the weather.

Once the feather was thoroughly woven into the boar-man's hair he turned his attention back to the others, looking at each of them when they spoke. He watched the two young ones converse, primarily; as Sora sulked and Jade questioned him, the stranger's eyes widened and he leaned forward a bit.

The bird atop his head preened, watching the young boy with the closest expression it could make to smugness. Soon after, it flew onto one of the other branches, tilting its head here and there to observe the group from different angles.

The boar-man's brow knit, and he soon after pushed himself to his feet, walking around the two children so that he may approach the stone once again. He stopped near Xi while the other man smelled the stone; it would smell of very little, just as the shifter suspected, but its warmth did radiate somewhat off of its surface.

The figures and patterns on its surface were obscured by the wearing of time, small cracks on its surface, as well as patches of moss which found the stone an ideal place to grow. Centrally on the monolith, with an arm outstretched toward its height, was a feminine human figure. It had long hair, which seemed to flow behind other human figures surrounding it. It wore a dress which also trailed down part of the stone, made of what seemed to be... scales? Feathers? It was impossible to tell for certain.

With Rene's return, the stranger spared him another glance, but otherwise he focused on Xi and broke his silence once again. The words he spoke were not the same tongue as the local dialect, but were suddenly very understandable regardless. Just as before, his voice was deep rumbling. "A shrine. Made by holy men... from long ago." He looked between the two other adults. "...The bones of this time have faded, mostly, from this land. But... the gods protect this place."

Sora frowned at the beasts laughter, wrinkling his nose like he had more to stay but remaining quiet until Jade would address him, “I ate, I’m just supposed to be hunting.” He grumbled under his breath, finally standing, “Hunting isn’t time for being happy and playing, it’s responsibility.” Weird of him to handle his responsibilities like… this.

Now, Xi didn’t seem too bothered by Rene’s transformation. He’d seen enough in his time that it didn’t surprise him too much, although his eyes swept down him for a moment while he neared. Gauging the threat, and processing it as minimal, he looked back to the stone and the warmth it radiated. Xi extended a hand, trailing the pads of his fingers along the stone very faintly, the ghost of a touch to confirm the warmth- and he recoiled once he felt that deeper warmth, his brow furrowing.

Sora was however, gawking at Rene. And would’ve started yelling again, were it not for the boar mans slow approach to the others. He stayed quiet while the other spoke- words he didn’t know and yet somehow, managed to learn. It made both of them uncomfortable- their body language was easy to read when their ears projected their emotions, Sora’s folding back against his head while Xi’s perked up.

“The gods, do they?” Xi didn’t seem as troubled as Sora was by this development- he had glanced over his shoulder, eyeing this stranger with a slight frown, “I suppose a shrine would continue to attract attention of the powers that be.”

"Well, it doesn't look like you're hunting right now." Jade clasped her hands behind her head and leaned against the tree. "I don't think that sick-looking dear would've made a good..."

She trailed off just as she realized she'd lost sight of the strange monster completely. She scanned the shadows just beyond the gloom and spied no sight of it, but she did catch sight of another new face in the grove. Wait, how did he get here? He didn't come from any of the paths... Out loud, she mused, "Where'd it go?"

Then she heard the boar speak, and realized that she could understand him now. Was it because she was actively listening to everything around her? Or did he just switch to Common? Not that it mattered how she understood the words, since she only half-grasped their meaning.

"Gods?" She approached the huge monolith and fixed her eyes on the designs of the people, staring at the faded woman depicted above. "Are there really Gods here?" The figure was a bit high for Jade's reach, but she did rest her hand on a mossy patch that obscured part of the figure's dress. Was she supposed to be one of them?

She felt the warmth of the monolith through the damp moss and drew her hand back, staring at her palm and then the moss, blinking. She experimentally placed her hand on the stone again, in a different place than before. She again felt the same sensation. It was unlike the bright morning sun, and reminded her more of warm winter nights spent deep in fox or wolf dens, surrounded by furry creatures that all agreed to share body heat.

The memory put her at ease, and she stood there with her hand resting against the stone, looking about ready to lean against it and doze.

Rene didn’t understand the boar man but also at the same time he did which he found strange. A shrine? He walked around to the front of the monolith and looked at what everyone else was staring at. Not daring to touch it, he stood a good distance away from it out of hesitation. If there were active summer gods around he wouldn’t want anything to do with it if it all set off.

“Are these still active?” he asked the boar man. “Are you a regular here or a guardian?”

“And who you calling a sick-looking deer?” He glanced at Jade, sounding offended but letting go of it easily.

Why was everyone so attracted to the giant rock? It felt pleasant to the touch but it was all past feelings for him, long gone memories being dragged up from warm times.

(( Hey folks, I made a discussion thread for any potential OOC banter. EDIT: apparently this is against the rules now, so I want to know what everyone thinks. You can post your OOC thoughts here, dms or whatever you'd prefer. Would you guys prefer that we use a group DM or that we use the thread's tabs? ))

The stranger watched as the newcomers congregated to the stone and he hesitated to speak as they all asked their own questions. One of his ears twitched and he folded his arms, deliberating on who to respond to first. Then he turned his attention to Jade to say, "That... is beyond my knowing, little one." Xi's words seemed more a rhetorical acknowledgement than a genuine question, so he answered Rene afterward. "These will be here for as long as the realms foster life, I suspect. I am but a pilgrim, one of many... but I arrived early. Like you all." The boar-man looked up towards the canopy in thought.

"...It will not be long now before other pilgrims arrive, from the villages. Men-folk. It is close to midday." He looked back down toward those congregated by the stone. "This stone is blessed by the gods; it used to depict a legend, but it is too chipped and mossy to tell much anymore. This is the last chapter of... several." He raised one hand to scratch at his curly, black beard. "...Nine?" He wondered aloud.

The white bird, without a chirp, spread its wings and soared away. After giving the stranger that feather, it seemed the little creature's work here was done.

“The gods take interest in rocks now?” The boy hadn’t approached like the others, offering a skeptical glance towards the monolith. It wouldn’t exactly be surprising that the wolf shifters weren’t so connected to old religions and the powers that be, but he particularly seemed to have no taste for it. Sora had stood though, once that white bird was certainly gone, “Humans getting attached to rocks, I can see…”

“There are others, are there? Do the humans go those as well?” Xi ignored the words of his brother to pose more questions, seeming to relax a bit around the others. It helped he’d laid his hand on the stone again, letting it linger there. What a strange fondness… funny it would remind him of these woods. He could certainly understand why Jade looked so peaceful, this would be a pleasant place for a nap. It was small, but the corners of his lips had curled into the faintest of smiles, “Despite their condition, I wonder if I’d have time to find the others… what a story they could’ve told long ago…”

Xi’s behavior only made the younger one not want to get any closer, wrinkling his nose. Xi was antisocial and never talked this much… let alone planned out long journeys. All over a rock?

((Sorry I'm late. Got a little busy.))

"Um..." Jade opened one eye and looked up at the newcomer, her senses dulled by the feeling of peace. "There was this huge monster that looked like a deer. I guess you missed..."

There were two wolves here who could take on human form, and that cloak the newcomer wore put her in mind of the fur on the back of the creature. She blinked several times as she fully pieced together his meaning in both his tone and question.

Jolting alert, she rubbed the back of her hand with her head with an awkward smile. "Uh, you're that huge monster, aren't you?"