Nuclear Nightfall: Wolves of the Wasteland (accepting!)

[Sonder,]

[Sonder,]

Glowing Eyes:
Some creatures, including wolves, develop eyes that emit an eerie glow in the dark, granting them enhanced night vision. As a character, you may find yourself relying more on your nocturnal senses and strategizing nighttime hunts to take advantage of this adaptation.

Exoskeleton Growth:
Insects and arachnids near the power plant have developed thicker exoskeletons, making them more resilient to physical damage. This could pose a challenge during encounters, requiring you to adapt your hunting techniques to exploit weaknesses or avoid direct confrontation altogether.

Increased Size:
Certain species, like rodents and birds, have experienced rapid growth due to the radiation. Larger predators pose a greater threat, forcing your character to be more cautious and possibly seek out alternative prey or form alliances with other wolves to take down larger mutants.

Toxic Secretions:
Some mutated creatures excrete toxic substances, either for defence or as a byproduct of their altered biology. This presents a new danger during hunts, as well as the potential for poisoning if not careful when consuming prey. Your character may need to develop ways to detect and avoid contaminated food sources.

Extra Limbs or Appendages:
Mutated creatures may possess extra limbs or appendages, granting them increased mobility or additional methods of attack. This means your character must be prepared to face unconventional opponents and adapt their combat tactics accordingly, focusing on agility and exploiting vulnerabilities.

Psychic Abilities:
A select few creatures may develop psychic abilities as a result of the radiation, such as telepathy or mind control. This introduces a new level of danger, as your character must navigate encounters not only based on physical prowess but also mental fortitude, guarding against psychic manipulation and deception.

Accelerated Healing:
Some mutants exhibit accelerated healing abilities, allowing them to recover from injuries at a rapid rate. This complicates hunts and battles, as your character may need to deal sustained damage or employ tactics that prevent the enemy from regenerating health.

Unnatural Camouflage:
Certain creatures develop camouflage abilities that blend seamlessly with the irradiated landscape, making them nearly invisible to the untrained eye. Your character must rely on keen observation skills and heightened awareness to detect hidden threats and avoid ambushes.

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[Sonder,]

Chameleon Fur:
Mutation: Your wolf's fur can change colour to match its surroundings, providing unparalleled camouflage for hunting and evading predators.
Drawback: However, maintaining this ability requires intense concentration and energy, leaving your wolf exhausted after extended use. Sudden changes in temperature or emotional stress can also trigger involuntary colour shifts, compromising its effectiveness at crucial moments.

Regenerative Healing:
Mutation: Your wolf possesses accelerated healing abilities, allowing it to recover from injuries at an astonishing rate. Wounds close rapidly, and broken bones mend within days.
Drawback: However, this heightened regeneration comes with a cost—your wolf's metabolism increases significantly, requiring a constant intake of food to sustain the energy needed for healing. Overexertion or prolonged starvation can slow down the healing process, leaving your wolf vulnerable during periods of scarcity.

Bio-luminescent Markings:
Mutation: Your wolf's markings emit a soft bioluminescent glow, illuminating its path in the darkness and mesmerizing prey during hunts.
Drawback: However, this luminosity can also attract unwanted attention from predators or rival packs, making your wolf a target in the shadows. Additionally, the glowing markings may inadvertently reveal your wolf's position to prey, making stealthy approaches more challenging.

Echolocation:
Mutation: Your wolf develops the ability to navigate and locate objects using echolocation, emitting high-frequency sounds and interpreting the returning echoes to create a mental map of its surroundings.
Drawback: While this skill enhances your wolf's perception in dark or obstructed environments, it also disrupts its natural hearing, causing temporary disorientation and sensitivity to loud noises. Extended use of echolocation can lead to auditory fatigue and impaired communication with pack members.

Psychic Empathy:
Mutation: Your wolf develops the ability to sense and manipulate the emotions of those around it, influencing the mood and behavior of both pack members and adversaries. By projecting calming or intimidating auras, your wolf can defuse tense situations or gain a strategic advantage in confrontations.
Drawback: However, prolonged exposure to strong emotions can overwhelm your wolf's empathic senses, causing emotional exhaustion and difficulty in distinguishing its own feelings from those of others. Additionally, the manipulation of emotions may strain relationships within the pack, leading to distrust and resentment if used excessively.

Venomous Fangs:
Mutation: Your wolf's fangs secrete a potent venom capable of incapacitating or even killing prey with a single bite. The venom induces paralysis and disorientation in the victim, making it easier for your wolf to secure its meal.
Drawback: However, producing and delivering the venom consumes considerable energy, requiring your wolf to regulate its usage to avoid exhaustion. Moreover, the venomous bite poses a risk of accidental poisoning to your wolf if not handled with caution, as exposure to its own toxin can result in severe illness or death. Additionally, the venom may provoke aggressive retaliation from larger predators or rival wolves, escalating conflicts and putting your wolf at greater risk.

Extra Tail
Mutation: Some wolves may develop an additional tail due to the mutation, providing them with enhanced agility.
Drawback: However, these mutations could also be cumbersome or cause coordination issues, if they use their mutation to move too sharply.

Chitinous Armor
Mutation: Some wolves might develop a tough, chitinous exoskeleton covering parts of their body, providing natural armour against physical attacks.
Drawback: However, this armour could also restrict their movements and agility, making them slower and less manoeuvrable compared to other wolves.

Elasticity
Mutation: Wolves with this mutation possess highly elastic muscles and tendons, allowing them to stretch and contort their bodies in ways that normal wolves cannot. This flexibility grants them agility and manoeuvrability in tight spaces or complex terrain.
Drawback: However, it may also make them more susceptible to dislocations or injuries if they push their bodies too far.

Bioelectric Charge
Mutation: Wolves with this mutation can generate and discharge bioelectricity from specialized organs in their bodies. This electrical shock can stun prey or adversaries, providing an advantage in hunting or combat.
Drawback: The uncontrolled discharge of electricity could also pose a significant risk to the wolf itself, potentially causing muscle spasms, nerve damage, or even cardiac arrest if not properly regulated.

Hydraulic-like Limbs:
Mutation: Wolves with this mutation possess limbs powered by natural hydraulic pressure, granting them exceptional strength and speed in movement. This adaptation allows them to leap great distances or exert tremendous force in combat,
Drawback; However it requires precise control to avoid injury or overexertion of their hydraulic systems, which can be easily done.

Omnivorous Diet:
Mutation: Radiation-induced mutations could lead to wolves with a broader dietary range, allowing them to digest and derive nutrition from a wider variety of food sources, including plant matter or scavenged carrion.
Drawback: While this flexibility in the diet enhances their survival prospects in resource-scarce environments, it may also result in competition with other species or conflicts within the pack over food resources.
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[Sonder,]

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ALPHAS [2]
Tiernan | male | 8yrs | Regenerative Healing | solyn
Elizabeth | female | 6yrs | Bio-luminescence | Furrydogs12

BETAS [2]
Arcturus | male | 4yrs | ecolocation | Sonder,
name | gender | age | mutation (optional) | user

HUNTERS [unlimited]
Amalie | female | 4.6yrs | Chameleon fur | solyn
Diablo| male | 2.3yrs | chameleon fur | Furrydogs12
Persephone | female | 3yrs | mutation (optional) | LunaClaw
Lunera| female | 3 yrs | mutation (optional) | Spiritstar3
name | gender | age | mutation (optional) | user

SCOUTS [unlimited]
Sibylline | female | 2.3yrs | bioluminicent markings | Sonder,
Sloane | female | 3.6yrs | Psychic empathy | solyn
Oliver | male | 3.11yrs | Venomous fangs | rogan
NightHawk| female | 4yrs | Accelerated Healing | Spiritstar3
name | gender | age | mutation (optional) | user

HEALER [1]
Agathi | female | 5.10yrs | mutation (optional) | rogan

ELDERS [5]
name | gender | age | mutation (optional) | user
name | gender | age | mutation (optional) | user
name | gender | age | mutation (optional) | user
name | gender | age | mutation (optional) | user
name | gender | age | mutation (optional) | user

ADOLESCENCE'S [5]
Callon | male | 1yr | mutation (none) | LunaClaw
name | gender | age | mutation (optional) | user
name | gender | age | mutation (optional) | user
name | gender | age | mutation (optional) | user
name | gender | age | mutation (optional) | user

GUARDIANS [unlimited]
Rainier | male | 3yrs | Venomous fangs | solyn
Maverick | male | 4yrs | mutation (optional) | LunaClaw
Abraxas| male | 5.6yrs | Regenerative healing. | lykos brethren
Arlowe | male | age | Chitinous Armor | Cammeraugepony
Saskia | female | 2.9 | mutation (undecided) | organ
Ire | male | 4yrs | Accelerated Healing | Spiritstar3
name | gender | age | mutation (optional) | user

PUPSITTERS [2]
Juliette | female | 5yrs | Psychic Empathy | Furrydogs12
Soliel| male | 3yrs | Accelerated Healing | Spiritstar3

PUPS [5]
name | gender | age | mutation (optional) | user
name | gender | age | mutation (optional) | user
name | gender | age | mutation (optional) | user
name | gender | age | mutation (optional) | user
name | gender | age | mutation (optional) | user

OMEGA'S [3]
name | gender | age | mutation (optional) | user
name | gender | age | mutation (optional) | user
name | gender | age | mutation (optional) | user

INITIATES [5]
Judiah | male | 3.5yrs | mutation (undicided) | Sonder,
name | gender | age | mutation (optional) | user
name | gender | age | mutation (optional) | user
name | gender | age | mutation (optional) | user
name | gender | age | mutation (optional) | user

LONERS [unlimited]
Seraphina | female | 4.3yrs | Regenerative healing | Furrydogs12
Astrid | female | 3yrs | mutation (optional) | lykos brethren
name | gender | age | mutation (optional) | user
name | gender | age | mutation (optional) | user
name | gender | age | mutation (optional) | user


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[RANK DESCRIPTION & HIERARCHY ]

Alpha: The leader responsible for strategic decisions and overall pack well-being.
Beta: Second-in-command, assisting the Alpha and leading in their absence.
Hunters: Wolves tasked with providing food through successful hunts.
Scouts: Stealthy wolves monitoring the territory for threats and opportunities.
Healers: Knowledgeable wolves treating injuries and illnesses within the pack.
Elders: Experienced wolves offering wisdom and storytelling to younger members.
Guardians: Fighters defending the pack's territory and den against intruders.
Adolescence's: Aged 6mths-1year. They learn everything they can before they find a role suited for them.
Pupsitters: Wolves caring for and protecting the pack's young pups.
Pups: newborn wolves under 6 months of age.
Omegas: Submissive wolves fostering social cohesion within the pack.
Initiates: Recent additions learning their roles within the pack.
Loners: Independent wolves roaming alone or forming temporary alliances.

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[Sonder,]

1. Respect others and their characters.
2. Stay true to your character and avoid overpowering them.
3. Get consent before involving others' characters in major events.
4. Collaborate with others and follow the plot.
5. Communicate openly with moderators and members.
6. Respect the established lore and world-building.
7. Each person is allowed one mutation per character.
8. Disable signatures on the main thread to maintain immersion.
9. Post all characters and discussions in the designated discussion and forms page.
10. Write clearly and have fun!

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[Sonder,]

Forest Territory:
The roleplay is set within a sprawling forest surrounding a defunct nuclear power plant. Twisted metal structures loom ominously amidst overgrown foliage, where nature has reclaimed the remnants of human civilization. The landscape pulsates with an eerie glow, a haunting reminder of the catastrophic leak that has forever altered the land.

Wolf Pack Den Site:
The pack's den site is situated above ground, nestled amidst the heart of the forest. Rocky outcroppings dot the landscape, providing natural shelter for the wolves. Within these rocky formations lie a few small caves, serving as sleeping quarters for the pack. Overhead, the canopy forms a natural shelter, filtering dappled sunlight and casting shifting patterns of light and shadow upon the forest floor.

Major Landmarks:

Contaminated Lake: Nearby, a stagnant lake shrouded in mist reflects the twisted shapes of the surrounding trees. This lake is believed to be the source of the wolves' mutations, its waters tainted by the lingering effects of radioactive contamination.
Ruins of Human Settlement: Further afield, a series of crumbling ruins mark the remnants of a once-thriving human settlement. Now reclaimed by nature, these ruins are overrun with mutated creatures, serving as a haunting reminder of humanity's impact on the world.
Glowing Clearing: Deep within the forest, there lies a clearing where the radioactive fallout has accumulated in the soil. Here, the ground glows faintly with an otherworldly light, illuminating the surrounding area with an eerie aura.
Collapsed Tunnel Network: Near the power plant, a collapsed tunnel network snakes beneath the earth, remnants of the facility's infrastructure. These tunnels now serve as dangerous traps, inhabited by mutated creatures and concealed hazards.
Overgrown Watchtower: At the forest's edge, an overgrown watchtower stands as a sentinel of the past. Climbing to its peak offers a panoramic view of the surrounding landscape, providing valuable insight into potential threats and resources.
Crystalline Grove: Hidden deep within the forest, a grove of crystalline formations sparkles with a mesmerizing beauty. These radiant crystals are believed to possess mysterious properties, drawing both curiosity and danger to those who seek them out.



Weather Forecast

Time of day: [ MID-DAY ]
Season [ AUTUMN ]
Weather [ MIST WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN ]

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[Sonder,]

Credits: [ Sonder, ]

[Sonder,]

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[ DISCUSSION AND FORMS ]






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[Sonder,]

x
zxxxxxxxxxxx›⊱ˊ ─ 𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐔𝐒 ⋅.━xxzxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
zxxxxxxxxxxxxzxxx ( rank: beta) . ( bio ) . ( location: outside the leaders den ) . ( tags: open ! ) . ( mutation: echolocation )
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Autumn spilt over the forest where Arcturus stood, heralding the season of inferno. The foliage transformed into hues of molten reds, fiery oranges, and feverish yellows, cascading like viscous droplets from their contorted boughs, enveloping the very trees that birthed them in a bloody deluge. Arcturus navigated through this tableau with a gaunt poise, his movements devoid of the rigidity of bone, fluid and meandering amidst the tree trunks. Above, the sun mirrored his presence with its frigid and pallid countenance, casting feeble shafts of light downward. Yet, these sun-spears failed to penetrate the dingy depths of the woodland's core, shrouded in a veil of nuclear gloom that accentuated his spectre-like face, with dark shadows pooling beneath sunken-slitted eyes.

Arcturus’ expedition led him to their densite, engulfed by the sickly crimson hues of the season as if nestled within a crimson lake of leaves. Here, his comrades lay in repose, each entangled in the intricate threads of their social hierarchy, their subtle gestures and idiosyncrasies betraying the woven web that bound them. The Beta, too, found himself willingly entangled in the silken embrace of their society, though his struggles against it were more fervent than most. Even amidst his recklessness, folly, or partial madness, his motivations remained elusive, his heart laid bare to the voracious appetite of his ambition. He would willingly surrender himself to the voracious maw of this society if only to ascend its ranks. Yet, why must he remain tethered by the leash of his desires? His needs, once dormant, now sprouted burgeoning fangs, hungering for fulfilment.

As the Beta slithered among the faithful packmates, his gaze inevitably sought out to locate Tiernan. There was something almost mythical about the old wolf. Despite his ancient, weather-beaten frame that creaked and groaned with every movement, Tiernan commanded respect and authority, his very presence a testament to enduring strength. How could such a figure still stand, much less lead with such vigour? The title of Alpha clung to him, stubborn and immovable. The audacity of Tiernan to cling to a destiny that should rightfully have been his! It was an affront, a theft of what was meant to be his by fate's own hand. But now, as he searched for the old wolf, Tiernan was nowhere to be seen—a ghost among shadows.

However, Arc’s newly afflicted ears—scarred by a sinister concoction of nuclear venom—told tales his eyes could not. They twisted and turned, grotesque yet fascinating appendages that captured the faintest whispers and the secrets that danced on the edge of silence. With each sinuous motion, they picked up threads of conversations not meant for him, conversations that swirled with intrigue and hidden truths. As he lurked outside the leader's quarters, his ears became his most trusted allies, guiding him to the muffled voices within. Tiernan's words, though spoken in hushed tones, were laden with forbidden knowledge, the kind that could upend fates and fuel revolutions. And there, under the cover of darkness, Arcturus drank in the secrets, each syllable a drop of sweet, intoxicating poison. Something within him—a dark, twisted thrill—quivered in anticipation of the chaos that might soon unfold.

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x
zxxxxxxxxxxx›⊱ˊ ─ 𝐒𝐘𝐁𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄 ⋅.━xxzxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
zxxxxxxxxxxxxzxxx ( rank: scout) . ( bio ) . ( location:outside the crystal grove ) . ( tags: open ! ) . ( mutation: bio-luminescent markings)
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Under the cloak of day, Syblline's figure carved a shadow deeper and more enduring than the gloaming that enveloped the crystalline grove. Here, amidst the sentinel-like trees coated not in leaves but in crystalline finery that mimicked the firmament’s stars, the sombre weave of darkness suited her. The grove was a silent, secluded chapel of nature's own making, a sanctuary where light was both prisoner and worshipper, refracted endlessly through the cold, hard beauty of crystals.

As Syblline wandered deeper into this strange crystal like cathedral, the air grew thick with the scent of mineral earth and the unremitting quiet of a place untouched by woes. The crystals around her, clear and colorless in the fading light, hung like specters. Their beauty, though stark, carried an undertone of something sinister, as if each gem held a sliver of frozen despair, a moment of agony forever captured within its icy heart.

With every step she took, her paws crushed tiny, unseen crystals beneath her, the sound a chilling symphony of breakages, whispering through the grove like the murmurs of the dead. Syb’s face, often animated by a sardonic twist of her mouth or the hard glitter of her eyes, now bore an expression of contemplative severity.

She stopped before a particularly magnificent crystal, larger than the rest, its surface a maze of jagged, sharp edges that seemed to fracture the light into a thousand mournful pieces. Her nose, pale and unflinching, hovered over the crystal, tempted by the destructive impulse that stirred within her.

With a deftness that belied her turbulent spirit, she snapped a shard from its moorings. The sound was a crisp, definitive crack, a liberation of sorts that sent a shudder through the grove. The broken crystal shard was like a piece of frozen tear, cold and hard between her fangs, a stolen sorrow she now owned.

The broken edge of the crystal seemed to bleed shadows, darkening the air around her, a visual sigh that deepened the autumnal sunlight into something almost eerie. Syb continued to carry the stolen shard, feeling its icy weight in her mouth, a secret shard of darkness to carry back into the mundane world.

As she exited the grove, the once vibrant lights of the crystals dimmed further, shadows stretching long and thin like the fingers reaching out to reclaim their dominion. The Scouts departure was quiet, a mere shifting of shadows, leaving behind the echo of her presence, a darker imprint on the already eerie atmosphere of the grove.

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x
zxxxxxxxxxxx›⊱ˊ ─ 𝐉𝐔𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐇 ⋅.━xxzxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
zxxxxxxxxxxxxzxxx ( rank: initiate) . ( bio ) . ( location: densite ) . ( tags: open ! ) . ( mutation: yet to evolve )
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[Flashback]

It's just blood on your hands, they told Judiah , as if the crimson could cease at the wrists, confined like a glove easily discarded. As though one might enact such deeds and yet remain unsullied beyond—unblemished where the eye fails to see…

[Present Day]

For but three moons, Judiah had haunted his new pack, a rat amid titans. Among them, none cast a shadow as profound as Arcturus. This spectral figure drifted through the throngs, his dark mane caught in the winds grip, with eyes—those narrowed slits of emerald—casting a fleeting, scornful glance that acknowledged Judi’s presence only to disdain it. Judiah understood the depth of his past wrongdoings, he felt the sear of the infernal abyss, his former self now shattered fragments trailing in his wake, echoing the dark secrets he kept.

With his muzzle turned upward, stained a hellish red and wide open as if to taste the bitter winds, Judiah surveyed the season before him. The enchanted trees of autumn, cloaked in a misty shroud, seemed strangled by the dragon’s breath of morning. The weak sunlight strained to penetrate the darkness, but after the clouds dispersed, the divine orb shone like a molten coin. The spiderwebs glimmered like metallic nets cast by fishermen, and the air, fresh with dew, was as invigorating as mint. The distant mountains, sharply defined against the sky and topped with monkish caps of snow, glittered in the newfound light.

In the depths of his den, where shadows clung as cobwebs and leaves fluttered like moth wings against aged stone, Judiah moved through his days barely noticing them fly by . As he drifted, a deep, hidden part of him began to detect a peculiar change within. It started subtly: a slight tremor in his paws in a heated conversation, or an unexpected sharpness in his sense of smell, making the mildew on the ancient stone walls almost unbearably strong.

Yet, Judiah dismissed these changes as mere figments of his imagination—a mind too long immersed in solitude and silence. However, when rare memories of his past were stirred, the suppression he had meticulously maintained cracked like thin ice underfoot.

It happened suddenly. A simple, seemingly harmless phrase overheard from a passerby about "the weight of one’s choices," and the barriers broke. The passion he had deeply buried—the intensity of a wolf once driven by his beliefs—exploded in sparky bursts of lightning that coursed through his veins. His heart pounded against his chest as if desperate to escape its bony prison, his breath came in quick, sharp gasps, and his vision flickered as as electricity played before his eyes.

In those moments, doubts tormented him, gnawing at the fringes of his mind like rats within the walls. Was this mutation real, or merely a delusion born from his mind? Was it divine intervention, a heavenly hand steering him toward redemption or destruction, or was it a punishment dealt by a vindictive universe? These questions swirled around him, blurring the lines between the tangible world and the shadows that danced at the edge of his sight, leaving him to ponder if he was truly undergoing these changes, or merely unravelling at the seams of his fractured mind.


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[Cammeraugepony]

. 𝔸𝕣𝕝𝕠𝕨𝕖 .

Gender: Male Rank: Guardian Age: 3.7yr Mutation: Chitinous Armour.
Scent: Cypress & Wild Bergamont Sexuality: Demisexual Panromantic.

Crush: X Mate: X Pups: X

Location: Densite perimeter | Tags: Open | Bio
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Over the past few hours, Arlowe has watched everything come alive; from the fridged pre-dawn dark, announced by what few birds have yet to migrate as they sang their hymms, to the sun's lazy yet steady ascent setting the blanket of morning mist alight. He takes full advantage of his otherwise unfortunate instilled habit of being an early bird. Afterall, what better time is there to quietly sit and stare at the world? Evening? Noon? Nah. Nothing compares to the sights of a new day, when the world is languid yet full of promise.

Now, the autumn wind calls the waking world to play, heaving up leaves that that set the sky ablaze in colour while the clouds dance and wheel even higher above. Though the sun is bright as it peeks between the shedding canopy, the wind's cold yet gentle caress chases away the light's warmth as of to exclaim it was its turn to play.

Arlowe inhales a deep breath of the heavy air, tasting the scents of bark and earth that, even with the fog, have the unmistakable dry smell of the fall season. From his spot on the ground, Arlowe takes it all in with a bone-deep contentment. He's no poet but in the young wolf's humble opinion, few things can rival the autumn sky—particularly in the morning, when the horizon glows red and gold across both its halves.

Soon, winter will come. But, its mischievous herald still has time to linger—it will make the most of its stay. Arlowe looks forward to it.

His idle thoughts come to a stuttering halt as his working ear twitches towards the sound of pawsteps on the dry grass. A moment later, Arlowe's eyes catch on the dark figure of the pack Beta slinking through the densite, seeming to form out of the mist. Arlowe stills against his spot on the ground, hoping Arcturus hasn't noticed him in exchange. Though they're far apart, the other wolf is observant; he'll likely have some opinions about Arlowe laying about on the fallen leaves. Especially since at this point he's been laying long enough that he is in the leaves—a no-so-freshly fallen blanket currently blends seamlessly with the faded warm tones of his fur.

It's not like he hasn't been working! Starting his watch before the sun had risen, Arlowe strategically chose this current spot; it's position along the edge of the densite offers a convenient vantage on most of the goings-on of both the dens and the world at large as it slowly awoke. He's pleased to say there's been nothing of particular note to report! Plus, its located in the sun's path in such a way that over the morning's course, the rays have managed to heat the dirt. Sorta. As much as the barely-warm light can manage.

It's less appealing now that the threat of reprimand hangs about. Best to avoid raising any hackles: time to adjust his plan for the morning. He figures its for the best, as the rest of the pack are likely to start stirring soon. Imagine if Amalie sees him.

Waiting until it seems like Arcturus is distracted, Arlowe closes his eyes and huffs a small sigh—giving himself a brief moment to bid farewell to his leisurely watch—before heaving himself upright. Arlowe combines the motions with unhurried stretches, enjoying the brief sing of muscles and bone as they warm and re-awaken. The affair is ended with a brief shake to remove accumulated foliage, scattering in a burst of rustling colour. The movement is chorused by the quiet clatter and scrape of the chitinous plates armouring his lean body.

A pause to let the weight settles along his back, plates stilling on his skin.

A bracing breath, his nose faintly tingling as brisk chill energizes him.

An exhale as Arlowe sets into motion. Intending a slow, easy plod along the site's perimeter, he plots his course so that his right ear faces out of the camp—all the better to hear potential threats with. Time to see what the world has in store this day.