Watch it burn, this fire you started in me.
The ground had grown cold, but the light snows hadn’t yet penetrated the redwood canopy - yet. Oectra watched as her breath clouded up in front of her and she laughed as pawed at the white cloud. It was early morning and the sun had just begun its ascent into the sky, but it was dark enough that her eyes still glowed beneath the morning darkness.
She uncurled herself from the bed of pine needles tucked away into a small alcove that pressed up against an outcrop of rocks. She shook her head, followed by her body and rear-end releasing what was left of her peaceful sleep. She was ready to go.
She dashed from her den, her paws hitting the hard ground with just enough force to leave only the slightest of tracks. Her only sign that she had been here. Her ears twitched back and forth as she darted across the giant redwood forest, her nose pressed against the gentle, cool, winter breeze.
When she caught its scent her icy blue eyes brightened and widened in anticipation as her stomach growled loudly. Hopefully that would stop by the time she tracked her prey. Her brown, wolf form moved swiftly over and under fallen trees and moved silently over the last living brush that littered the ground.
As she grew closer she slowed, her paws pressed gently to the ground as her body pulled in on itself readying for a pounce. Her tail stopped moving back and forth as all concentration focused on the small hare, nibbling unaware on a small piece of vegetation, in front of her.
 It is early. So early that the sun has not even remotely begun to penetrate the choking canopy of the massive redwood forest. Skeleton Ghoul likes it that way -- it is cool even in the hot summer months, and the forest limits how much sun reaches the ground, meaning the undergrowth is minimal at absolute best. It's easy even for an eighteen hand titan like him to get around at whatever speed he likes.
Currently, his speed is yawn. Skeleton Ghoul picks his head up from the soft bed of discarded leaf litter and pine needles, chewing on nothing and licking his lips, pale, empty eyes blinking as the remnants of sleep still clings to his mind. His belly swells with a massive breath that the stallion lets out in a deep sigh, huffing out a cloud of steam in the brisk morning air. He doesn't tend to lay down often, preferring to sleep in snatches standing up, but sometimes the call to rest his bones is too loud. Skeleton Ghoul grunts with every breath now; the reason he stays upright so much is that he is so heavy, that laying down for long periods of time tends to hurt his guts. It's about time to get up.
Thrusting his forelegs ahead of him, the giant heaves himself upright, greatly disturbing the leaf litter. He shakes off good and hard, ridding himself of clinging debris (mostly), sending his tangled white mane cascading over both sides of his neck haphazardly. Skeleton Ghoul licks and chews, steady himself, and rocks his weight back, upper body dipping down as his front legs stretch out and he lifts his neck and tucks his chin in a quiveringly good stretch that he finishes by sticking each hind leg out behind him as straight as them will go, in turn. Ahh, better.
Something moves, and it catches the stallion's attention. His empty moonlight gaze casts around, trying to pinpoint what he thought he saw -- and then he spots it. A wolf. A wolf. Skeleton Ghoul lowers his head and pins his ears back, nostrils pulling up and lips peeling back to expose his teeth. Where there is one, there should be more, but that one doesn't even seem to be looking at him. Is it a distraction? Are wolves even that smart? Either way, better show it who is boss and chase it out of here. There are foals in Taiga that would be prime food for a pack.
Bellowing, the stallion charges the brown canid, head down. "Beat it, dog!" SKELETON GHOUL the black tyton
@[Oectra] ooc; hE DOESN'T KNOW SHE'S A HORSE IM SORRY
This is what he's doing in case my description sucks lmao
Watch it burn, this fire you started in me.
Her morning "feast" was rudely interrupted as a hulking horse charged her way, why had she not noticed him before? With a frustrated growl she made a mental not to keep better aware of her surroundings while hunting. She had focused to much of her attention on the hare, which had by now been scared away - scurrying back to his own home she was certain.
Her eyes flashed to the giant, black stallion a flash of mischief gleaming in her eyes. She waited in her attack position until he was almost upon her before bounding out of the way but not far. With a series of playful yips she bounced around him in a curious circle.
Dog? Where? Where's the dog? she rambled in quick succession his way, a toothy, lopsided grin wide on her face as she spun around in a tight circle pretending to be non the wiser.
@[Skeleton Ghoul]
Oh, it wants to play this game, does it? Skeleton Ghoul nearly has the damn beast under his feet when it darts away, almost like it calculated the move. Ears still pinned, the stallion follows the wolf with his eyes, squatting back down on his haunches in order to do his best to spin with it -- he weighs near a ton, and the canid is quick and light on it's feet.
The stallion growls, lashing out again with his dinnerplate sized hooves, trying to keep it in sight so it can't bite at his hocks. He wants to feel it's fur in his teeth. "What dog? Idiot. You! Now scat!"
...
...Wait.
He can't talk to wolves.
Snorting, the giant stomps to a halt, heavy head still low and expression sour. Skeleton Ghoul bares his teeth and watches the stupid dog run circles around him.
"What are you? You're no wolf."
SKELETON GHOUL the black tyton
@[Oectra]
Watch it burn, this fire you started in me.
A joyous chuckle follows her as she darts away, evading the giant again, and again. She knew better than to tease her elders, but it had been a while since the young filly had gotten any sort of play - or any socialization at all.
It is true she had snuck off to Tephra and had met a really nice, pretty cute boy there. But she was home now, and the only cute boy her she had met was her twin brother. Imagine if she and her brother where here together, she in wolf form and he in lion.
Enough was enough though as the giant horse had guessed her game. She stopped infront of him to where he didn't have to hurt himself bending at odd angles to see her. Her icey blue eyes inspecting him for the briefest of moments, he had tried to protect Taiga - even if it was just from her- and so she decided she liked him... even if he seemed grumpy.
It didn't take her long to shift. Her brown and red fur replaced with a mostly white coat with some chestnut overo markings. Her brown mane draped across her shoulders, while her paws changed to brilliant blue, chalcedony stone. Her sides gave way to a rather overly large pair of white, fluffy wings which she tucked tightly against her sides.
"I'm Oectra.. Who are you? I haven't seen you around before. I dont think I would easily forget someone as large as you. she wanted to add cranky as well, but she simply adorned that girlish lopsided smile she had inherited from her mother.
@[Skeleton Ghoul]
"Grumpy" is quite possibly the best word in existence to call the giant stallion. It's true, he can be a little on the crotchety side, but Ghoul has been on the bad side of predators before, and he does not like pack hunters in the slightest. He is far too big a prey item for the cats he's come across, but a decent sized wolf pack could pose a significant threat.
Where does one think he got the scars on his face and front legs from?
But the "wolf" suddenly melts away in front of him, taking a new shape. That dour, vile look on his face loosens as the stud lifts his head slightly and unwrinkles his nostrils, dark ears tipping up in interest. The brown furry varmint is now a little chestnut overo filly with floofy white wings.
Skeleton Ghoul's empty stare casts skyward. Jesus Christ, everyone and their fricken magic.
"I am new ... ish," he replies gravelly. "I came here in the summer. Skeleton Ghoul. Skel, if you wish."
SKELETON GHOUL the black tyton
@[Oectra]
Watch it burn, this fire you started in me.
That explains it. Or maybe not.
Oectra had always stayed close to her brother and mother until late. Her mom, sarcastic and maybe a little petty. Never really considered Taiga her home, but she had grown complacent in hiding away amongst the redwoods. Who could blame her after her father (whom she had never met) dragged her here and then left just as quickly.
Oectra had giggled under her breath when she watched the giant stare at the empty sky as if he didn't care much for her dramatics, though she was sure he appreciated her more in this form then her wolf form. She could see how his face had eased, making the scars more noticable.
Hmm. She wondered. Could that be what his problem was? Did others like her do that to him? She had heard of other wolves running in packs, she had never been curious. She was happy being the only wolf around.
The thought only lasted for a moment before her face lit up at the mention of his name. Skel.. sounds like a bad ass name. her mother always got after her for throughing adult language around to casually, but she couldn't help it. Not in this moment anyways. He was a giant, placed amongst giant trees. It seemed fitting. I'm Oectra. I've lived here my whole life. Are you planning on staying? her ears stood in anticipation of Skeleton Ghoul's reply. She thinks it would be pretty neat to have him around, especially after all of the commotion she's heard of lately in Taiga.
We could use a giant.
@[Skeleton Ghoul]
Skel takes in a deep breath, ribs swelling outward with the force, letting the air whuffle out of his nostrils in a lazy snort. In a way, the black titan is jealous of her; a family, a home, though perhaps he is assuming a bit much as to the fondness of her memories. He cocks a hip, digging a hind toe into the dirt as the stallion relaxes entirely in his current company. He may not like wolves altogether much, but a sub-14 hand youngster (with shapeshifting, he reminds himself) isn't much of a threat, to him or to Taiga. Perhaps later he would go patrol for actual wolves, though. He's feeling twitchy and paranoid.
The comment on the bad assery of his name does earn Oectra a small, but genuine, smirk. "Where I come from, far away, one's name is meant to strike fear into the hearts of both horses and monsters. So my mother, Phantasma Ghoul, named me this. It has a certain ring to it, doesn't it?"
He takes in a deep breath once more, little white bob of a tail smacking against his haunches just briefly as a stray leaf falls and settles on his hindquarters. "I do intend to stay. I enjoy it here, though I do not know Taiga's people very well. A lovely lady by the name of Lilliana told me that there are no trespassers in Taiga... though I think that may be a little naive, so I keep an eye out." As if to punctuate the word, Skel tilts his head and opens the eye closest to her wide, white and pupiless; empty by all definitions of the word.
SKELETON GHOUL the black tyton
@[Oectra]
Watch it burn, this fire you started in me.
Oectra's posture did anything but relax. She was like a cannon of energy. The excitement only grew as Skell talked of his home "far, far away". What?! How is that possible? How did she not know? The words of his mother and the origins of his name were, admittedly, a bit of a blur as her mind tried to comprehend that there were places that were NOT Beqanna.
Her attention was roped in when he confirmed he was staying and if it was at all possible her smile grew. Yes! Lilliana was a familiar name he threw out, she was one of their leaders, at the moment anyways. She was pleased that Skel would be on the lookout for, hopefully just bad intruders. She matched him eye for eye, leaning in with one of her icey blues trying to get as wide as his, but .. well.. he was a giant.
His vacant eye may have put anyone else on edge, but for Oectra it only added to his bad ass self. I approve. she said matter of factly followed by a deep rumble from her empty belly. Suddenly she remembered that she had not ate breakfast yet. As if on cue, a small floofy pygmy owl fluttered down from a nearby perch to land quietly on top of Oectra's head. Her eyes went crossed as she tried to look up at her companion. I wonder if I should explain this to Skel too. Maybe he could give you a bad ass name!
@[Skeleton Ghoul]
She is practically vibrating with energy. It almost makes Skel's skin itch just looking at her, feeling the waves of it rolling off of her minuscule form. Absently, the titan wonders if everyone in this world is tiny and unbelievably hyped.
Oectra stares into his empty gaze with one of her baby blues, announcing that she approves of his behavior. Skel only chuckles -- he doesn't need her approval, of course, but it's charming in some bizarre way. Dark ears perk and tilt a bit, listening to the loud growling of the shapeshifter's gut, only for the joke he was about to make to die on his tongue as a teensy owl alights on her head. The stallion hasn't seen that sort of bird before. The owls he is familiar with tend to be larger, even if not by much, and forest-going, such as barn owls and great horned's.
"Companion of yours?" Skel inquires, shifting his hips to cock the opposite foot. He is reminded of a question he had. "Do you eat meat?"
SKELETON GHOUL the black tyton
@[Oectra]
OOC: HOW DID I FORGET THIS I'M SO SORRY
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