The desert had been anything but pleasant for Ridley, well, except his run-in with the little female. That had been amusing to him at least. But outside of that? He couldn't get out of the desert fast enough. Fuck the desert and it's blistering sun and horrible, itchy sand. Fuck the sunburns and the lack of water and lack of food. Why in the world had he landed in that bastard place anyways? What had he done to tempt his Goddess' wrath? Or perhaps it was a temptation to test him? Gah, whatever the reason, fuck the god damn fucking desert.
Honestly, the volcanic lands hadn't been much better and as he had traveled through them, he had started to wonder if he had ended up in some hellish landscape where greenery and foliage and a normal semblance of life ceased to exist. Just like the desert, the volcano was hot and it dehydrated him quickly. Tack on the horrible sulfur smell that assulted both his nostrils and his tongue at the same time and it took all of Ridley's effort to stop himself from gagging at the taste and odor. The dark forest had shed some relief on Ridley, but he still pushed himself harder than ever to escape the territory. Fuck this place, too. So far, fuck this entire fucking world and fuck whoever had decided to put him into it.
After days of travel with a sluggish pace, there was finally a light at the end of the tunnel. In the distance his ears picked up the sound of rushing water. He prayed that it was fresh water, and not the crashing of waves that had lulled him towards the volcanic region the first time. He was severely parched and the water that ran near the volcano was putrid to the taste at best. He had drank it, but again, it was done with reluctance. When he saw greenery around the edge of the mountain with trees dressed up with fresh summer blooms and not dead like the prior forest he had found himself within, he nearly jumped with joy. Nearly. Better yet, the sound he had heard did seem to be fresh water. His tongue clicked with rapid flicks as he tested the scents in the area. No pack boundaries that he could tell. There were odors, but nothing defined.
Ridley stalked forward with his body held in an exhausted manner. He was hungry. He was thirsty. He could satisfy one of his basic needs here momentarily. He approached the calmer edge of the river and after taking a quick glance around himself to ensure there was no immediate danger, he lowered his head and drank at the edge. Sweet water. Sweet, clean, clear water. It went down his throat and cooled his entire being. Despite his desire to hydrate, he drank slowly and carefully. He knew that sucking down too much water too fast would twist his gut and cause it to come back up. He knew it could be dangerous and make him sick. So, after a few longing laps of the cool water, he lifted his muzzle to take another glance around himself. Thank fuck there was greenery somewhere on this forsaken world. Maybe it would be possible for him to resume his lifestyle here after all.
Unbeknownst to either, the creature approaching was also contemplating the present climate, but with notably less bitterness. It was too young to feel hate, maybe, or it simply had yet to encounter it. It regarded the frigid lands it had left as generally unpleasant to exist within, but it understood them as independent from its self. There were many things there, with thicker hide and better constitution.
It contemplated the hares in the snow, how ethereal they seemed in the chase. It could sense a kind of kinship in that instability, his own edges blurring in the glittering void. It imagined the rabbit was unaffected by its own nature, finding comfort where it could disappear - It had yet to find its own solace in being unknowable. But that was a farce, because every so often he'd catch one of them and feel that ambiguity give way in his teeth and dissolve with the blood spill. Life simply could not support that kind of change, only the illusion of it. The curtains were ripped away as he had eaten.
With warmer weather came more colours, more differentiation between plant, earth, rock and animal. It felt bare here, but in a different way - something more abstract rather than the constant discomfort of ice on skin. Its outer layer still clicked and grinded when it walked, the holes in its face claustrophobically small. Even in the light of day, something larger and hungrier could lurk beyond its sight. It noted that even fear wasn't entirely an unpleasant feeling - it could be inconvenient, yes, but the excitement it brought made it harder to overthink. Like most sensations, it could learn to enjoy it if it wanted.
It approached the rush of water it had heard from afar, intrigued by the force of the noise. Perhaps a little afraid of it; But a darker shape caught his attention. Canine. Larger. Strange. Despite the thrill of a new discovery, the caution extended to the stranger too. Antagonising the wolf, even on accident, could be bad for his future health. Something about curiosity killing cats.
It hung back like a patient scavenger. Invisible tendrils reached outward before it did anything, seeking a vision of the odds. Regardless, its mind hummed a Hello from where it lingered, behind and to Ridley's right, head lowered, covered in its white carapace.
----
[ ooc: Janus is casting empathy. ]
[ on a successful roll: Janus is able to sense the emotions Ridley experiences in his next post, and will react to them accordingly. It will also impart a subtle calming presence, if only to prevent immediate physical violence.]
[on a failed roll: Janus doesn't sense shit and the vibes Ridley gets from it are up to him ]
He had dipped his muzzle back into the cool waters of the river once more, slowly lapping up the fresh liquid and savoring the feeling of the cold as it went down his throat. He had dropped his guard for just a moment - a moment too long it seemed - so when a voice entered his head, he lifted his own with a jolt and stared around, trying to locate the source of the sound. It didn't at first register to Ridley that the voice had been inside his head. He expected to look around and see a creature standing beside him, staring up at him (or down, but that was far less common) with an expectant look on their face, waiting for the returned pleasantries. Pleasantries that Ridley never bothered with himself.
However, there was no creature in his immediate area. He was unfamiliar with telepathic communication, so he did not immediately put two and two together. His silver gaze shifted out further to see if perhaps someone had yelled the word and he had mistaken it's distance. Nothing across the river that he could see. Nothing to his left. Nothing to his ri- wait. There was a figure standing there behind him, a figure that hadn't been there before, or at least, he hadn't noticed it before. His silver gaze locked onto the stranger with intensity. With interest. With an incredible curiosity.
This must be the creature that had shouted hello to him, he concluded. He didn't return the word, and instead started to stalk forward, his gaze fixated on the white figure that kept a distance away. His approach was fully a stalk, his head level with his spine, his reptilian tail held out behind him and twitching with excitement. As he gained distance, he felt an emotion bubble within him, something that masked part of the curiosity that drove him to inspect the being. It was the feeling of calmness, something rather common within Ridley, and hardly needed encouragement.
As he approached the creature, his eyes deciphered it in full. It looked canid, but... something was peculiar with it. Namely, it's lack of fur and flesh. An immediate fascination grew within Ridley and the curiosity within him became near irresistible. Nay, it was irresistible. He approached the stranger, ignoring any sort of personal boundaries a normal individual may have, and leaned in closer to inspect the being. With a whisper of amazement, the only words that came from his muzzle were: "What are you?"
The felt its mind worm its way in, a quiet visitor. Through it, it experienced the effects of its own existence within another’s - the sensation sent a chill of excitement. In here it could find power again. He caught the moment before he was heard - A cool night after a hot day. The easing of tension. He had been desperate for this moment. How far had he travelled? How long had he waited?
It watched, expressionless as always, as the message was received. The relief halted [it regretted interrupting the stranger now, having felt it ruined the moment in its impatience] as the wolf re-evaluated his surroundings. Efficient. A cold blooded gaze. It noted the abnormalities in his tail as it twitched; It was not far off, it seemed.
Finally, he found it, and its hidden eyes locked with his silver. Its body stiffened under the gaze. A familiar shape in the mist. Strange symbols carved in rock. A path untrodden. Sight first seen. Even without hearing his thoughts, it knew the words that would come next.
Its head tilted with a tick, purring with amusement as its prediction was proven correct. Others seem fond of that question. I find I am too. It kept its airy tone, despite the test in its words. If I asked the same, would you answer?
More words echoed within Ridley's mind and this time, he put two and two together. He recoiled slightly from the strange thing as the resounded within his skull, his head tilting hard to the left, like a dog hearing a strange sound for the first time. Interesting. Very interesting. A creature that could speak directly into one's mind was curious, and it made Ridley wonder just how it was done. Magic? That was his first thought. Magic seemed to be everywhere and within everything. In his last world, all animals had magic. They were all sentient beings, and all lives had to be honored. Ha. Honored. Honored unless they were enslaved and then handed over to him and his laboratory. Oh, how he missed his laboratory and his experiments that he was able to do. He really should find a new place to settle down and rebuild. Though, he wondered if there was the same level of technology here, or if he would have to start with rudimental tools instead.
As the creature countered his question with one of his own, Ridley grinned, leaning further in once more to poke his nose at the beast - for what else could it be but a beast? "Of course I would." he spoke allowed, moving to try and circle the creature. It looked canid but... he sniffed and there was a strange odor he didn't recognize, or rather couldn't exactly place. "But will you?" he countered once more towards the creature, pulling back again to tilt his head the other way with his curious gaze as he completed his circle and returned to his original position. He was intrigued, and it showed in his body language. His long reptilian tail twitched with enthusiasm at the end, while his forked tongue flicked eagerly from within his jaws.
The unease lingered beneath, though tightly bound and tucked out of sight. The body understood the dangerousness of vulnerability more than the mind ever could. It was tempted to re-evaluate the stranger through a different lens . He hardly struck it as a feeling creature, as many often are, and if it simply reached for the thinking parts it would find some of that context it was missing so dearly. But wouldn't that be cheating? Wouldn't that be ruining the fun?
The wolf flinched again, and the construct laughed lightly like a breeze. Silent, of course, but he would feel it. He would know. He began a slow circle - Vultures overhead. Sharks underneath. Shadows with mouths. Its body interjected again, in reaction to the brush of soft tissue on porous 'stone.' It did not like being smelled, but it did not react. It simply watched with patient kindness, carved permanently into the shape of its hollow eyes. Perhaps the stranger did not realise how easily his curiosity could be mistaken for hunger?
Its contemplation sounded like stone on stone. I am a Watcher. I am a Wait-er. I am becoming something new. The tendrils in its tail flexed and relaxed. You are a - a lover of the material. The calculable. I will offer you what I can. I was not born. I was not created. The mind came before the body - it was not a smooth transition. I am still left in fragments. I assume you are not the same. What are you?
At last, there was an answer to his question and he felt a bit of his curiosity relax as part of it was sated. But, as answers tended to do, it caused more questions to arise. What was it watching for? What was it waiting for? What did it mean by becoming something new? It boldly spoke into his mind once more, claiming that he was calculable. Perhaps. Perhaps not, he mused within himself. Ridley did not do things carefully. He was rash, and lived to please no one but himself. Ah, the fine genes of his mother coursing through his veins, may she one day soon die and rot, only so he could torment her soul, never let it rest in peace. Ridley continued to listen as the being proclaimed that he was neither born nor created. Was, perhaps, he an experiment then? No, experiments were created being. He was something other worldy. He was something he wished he could pin down and pull samples from in his laboratory.
"No, I am not the same. I am a wolf, plain and simple. Born on a world far from here, transported to another, then ended up here." His whole life's story summed up all short and sweet, including a little bow on top, even. As he answered, Ridley ceased his pacing and relaxed himself down into a sit. He stared the creature over for the umpteenth time, then decided, fuck it, why not speak his mind? "You look awful." he started, eyeing the empty eye sockets and black drippy gook that was the creature's tail. "Is that why you dress yourself up with stone? Or is the stone part of you? Are your extra limbs useful, or are they just part of your fragments, put on all wrong and what not?" His reptilian tail curled around his body and rested loosely out beside him. "Where are you from? Is it common to be fragments there?"
