The Fox and The Hound (Vulpesen)

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen's eye twitched, though only slightly as he heard the question. "My fiance. Or rather, ex-fiance. We separated a while back, but I never got around to getting rid of the stuff she left behind." He put a smile back on and turned to her as he made his way to the cockpit once more. "Lucky for you I suppose." He sat down in the chair, clearing his mind of the memories while looking over at the time until arrival. No need to focus on the past.

[member="Neshoba Nodi"]

 

[Slot 12]

Neshoba could tell Vulpesen was a little bit bothered by her question. She didn't press the subject further. Instead, she sat back down in the cockpit and started staring out the window.​

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I wonder if the Ashlans have ever seen anything like me before.​

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[member="Vulpesen"]​

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen looked back at her. "They've seen me. But otherwise, the conclave likely has no idea. Unless your kind has somehow managed to go on Myrkr and meet them. Which, while they've learned to trust me and a few others, they do try to stay rather elusive." He yawned and stretched a bit. "Well, we're almost there, so get ready if you nee any other preparations."

[member="Neshoba Nodi"]

 

[Slot 12]

Nesh's tail started thumping against the feet, wagging excitedly.​

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I need to come up with names! Girl could be Keylin, or Tema. Boy could be Grish or Ferun...​

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She almost babbled she was so excited!​

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[member="Vulpesen"]​

 

[Vulpesen]

He let out a laugh and lurched slightly as the ship exited hyperspace, coming up over the jungle planet of Myrkr. "They speak through ideas. When you give that name, every meaning you associate with it, is them. You are not just giving sounds that hail them. You are giving an identity to describe them." He smirked a bit. "So try not to name a male, princess." Guiding the ship down, he aimed for a small clearing that was mostly hidden by the foliage.

[member="Neshoba Nodi"]

 

[Slot 12]

Neshoba was close to bouncing in her seat as the ship began to land. She was so ready to go that she almost wanted to jump out the window for the sake of getting there faster. She practically ran down the landing ramp, letting her bare feet touch the soil. She took in every sight, every smell, every sound, and every touch.​

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[member="Vulpesen"]​

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen smiled and shut down the ship before following Neshoba out to the wilds. As he exited, he felt the small weight of Ace as the wolf leaped to his shoulder. "Try not to stray too far. The ashlans were kind enough to clear us a path a while back, so it should be a fairly easy walk. Which given this palce's reputation, is quite the blessing." Walking a bit faster, he did his best to take the lead from Neshoba, allowing him to travel through the small trail as the leader lest they go into the true wilderness.

[member="Neshoba Nodi"]

 

[Slot 12]

This place was colorful and dark at the same time. Neshoba's eyes were darting to the trees, and then to the ground. The plants were very strange and fantastic to her. She felt the urge to touch them. But she didn't want her hands to melt off, she she restrained herself.​

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The life here. EVERYTHING tries to kill you?​

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[member="Vulpesen"]​

 

[Vulpesen]

"Enough for it to seem like it does. And be careful, the force doesn't work, so we'll have to rely on other senses to make sure we don't get attacked." On his shoulder, he could feel Ace bouncing in anticipation, about as happy as Neshoba was it seemed. While Vulpesen still saw the hostility of the environment, Ace as always, saw it as his home. "We're almost there." Ahead would be a sort of tunnel made of foliage, the marked entrance to the commune.

[member="Neshoba Nodi"]

 

[Slot 12]

Neshoba followed Vulpesen through the tunnel. She found herself dragging her fingers through her hair, as if it would somehow matter in the long run. She was right next to him when they reached the end. Her excited whimpering couldn't be contained.​

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[member="Vulpesen"]​

 

[Vulpesen]

He couldn't help but chuckle a bit at her sound and excited actions. As for the area before them, the tunnel ended in what seemed to be a small natural platform, overlooking and expanse of trees and small dome shaped abodes and nests, two of which were obviously human sized Vines hung down in front of the cliff and a set of large tree roots and branches acted as a set of stairs down to the ashlan community. "Welcome to my home away from home. Ace, if you will." He smiled at his companion to jumped over to a branch and lifted his head to issue out a loud how from his deceptively small body.

Upon his howl, the forested area would fill itself with a chorus, of similar sounds, and the foliage came alive with shimmering lights. Reds, blues, and greens appeared creating the illusion of stars of the night sky surrounding them. "This would be the ashlan pack. One of only a few that have any sort of relations with sentient beings."

[member="Neshoba Nodi"]

 

[Slot 12]

Neshoba had to literally pinch herself to keep from howling with Ace. It was just a thing she did when she heard other animals make noise. When the lights rose into the air, she was awestruck. Her eyes grew so wide the the lights seemed to reflect off of them. She reached her hand up to the light closest to her. Even though she obviously couldn't touch it, she found herself trying to.​

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Beautiful... ​

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[member="Vulpesen"]​

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen smiled and took a vine in hand before leaning off to fall off the edge. Sliding down, he saw the lights around them start to run down to stand near where he would land. "Come on down.Bonding can't be done by afar after all." He smiled up at her then returned his attentions, who now seemed far more like wolves than stars, given their closeness.

[member="Neshoba Nodi"]

 

[Slot 12]

Neshoba took a vine and followed Vulpesen down. She landed softly behind him, peeking around him at all the little lights... Wait. They looked like puppies! Ashlan wolves glow?!​

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[member="Vulpesen"]​

 

[Vulpesen]

He gave her a grin and petted one, while Ace went to stand at her feet, his starry blue pelt shining with the rest. "I guess,all that you can do is meet them. So far, no bonding process has ever been completely the same. But you will know when it happens. For one, you'll feel it. Also, you'll then be able to hear them."

[member="Neshoba Nodi"]

 

[Slot 12]

There were several blue and green glowing puppies coming up to Neshoba's feet. They stared up at her and sniffed her feet. She grinned down at each of them. After a little bit, some started to wander to Vulpesen or toward other clusters of their kind. As this happened, Neshoba noticed a red puppy a ways away from her. It stared at her for a little longer than the others. She tilted her head in sudden curiosity. When she took a few steps toward it, it growled at her, backing up a little. But it continued to stare at her.​

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[member="Vulpesen"]​

 

[Vulpesen]

Walking to small hut, Vulpesen ducked in as he waited for Neshoba to make the bond, occasionally glancing out the glassless window as he conversed with what ashlans had come i to meet him, mostly those that had already bonded wiwth Myrkr's native fauna. Of course, there were also some that simply didn't have an interest in the newcomer.

[member="Neshoba Nodi"]

 

[Slot 12]

Neshoba walked toward it again. It growled louder, backing up more. Perhaps this wasn't the best method of approaching it. She slowly lowered to all-fours. She crept closer to it. Again, it growled. But it didn't seem to be because it was angry or anything at her. More like it was afraid. She let her body change into her Wolf Form right in front of the little red Ashlan. Now a massive white canine, Neshoba got even closer to the Ashlan. This time, the little red wolf didn't make a sound. She lowered her front until her jaw was touching the ground and her nose was at the red Ashlan's paws.​

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[member="Vulpesen"]​

 

[Vulpesen]

He leaned back a bit in his seat, resting against the wall as he observed the process. Certainly not the most usual one, but it was seeming to work. "Well, I suppose that's one way." His tail flicked into his lap and he smiled a bit. Even if it was a bit strange, she certainly did seem to be succeeding in the bonding process.

[member="Neshoba Nodi"]

 

[Slot 12]

The Ashlan looked at Neshoba's nose. Her ears perked up. What was that? It felt like... being impressed? But she wasn't feeling that way.... She looked into the Ashlan's eyes. Was that...?​

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[member="Vulpesen"]​