driftfleet | first one to make that doctor who joke loses

[ There's a creature on the prowl.

It takes a few moments for Lauralae to truly make her way outside the safety of the masses, but as soon as she does she turns, transforming and running free. Head tilted back, body shaped up and twisting into something else she almost howls, desperate to unfurl and find some kind of dark liberty in the wake of poison and suffering. All others need wear a mask to keep themselves alive but the poison does not bother her; she has felt it's cold touch before and lived to tell the tale.

(Or so she thinks).

It doesn't take her long to find a scent, a trail that seems to go around and around in circle upon circle, and she pauses as she trots along to follow it. When she steps out of the bushes and into the small grove she tilts her head, lowering her ears as she adjusts her weight, prepared to attack - even if the woman is familiar, recognisable from the network if nothing else.

Lauralae makes no move; simply stares, watching, like a shadow. ]

[ You expect certain things on an alien planets, like giant bizarre monsters with tentacles or something, or carnivorous plants that will suck the marrow from your bones. So it's strange, to say the least, when in her growing frustration Hawke finds herself looking at a creature that looks decidedly... odd from the location.

A wolf with no extra eyes or teeth or tails or limbs, just a seemingly normal black wolf. ]

That's just weird. [ Much is talking to herself but Hawke does that more often than she cares to admit. ] I though the wildlife would be a lot more slimey.

[ Still curiously piked she shifts slightly, thinks of jumping off her perch only to decided against quickly. Wolves generally aren't the friendliest of creatures and it seems that she has left her staff at home. ]

You're not going to try and eat me, are you? I will warn you now, I'm not that tasty.

[ There's a shift as Lauralae watches the woman, wondering, absently, if she'll be recognised. It's impossible to imagine it to be true, of course, and so she shrugs it off - not literally, considering her four legs, but she pushes it to one side all the same, shifting to drop down onto the ground with a tilt of her head.

Perhaps she is curious. Perhaps she is not. It is difficult to say.

Her ears, chipped and sliced at the tip, press down against her skull and she watches, not baring her teeth but keeping herself tucked around her own body, as if waiting to see if she will have to attack. She doesn't intend to, not really, but she's careful.

As soon as Hawke moves so does Lauralae, dodging back and twisting her body, baring her teeth as if to defend herself. When the woman makes no move to attack she calms, flattening herself down again before... She shakes her head.

Shakes her head no. In response to Hawke. ]

[ She expects to be attacked, expects to have teeth bite down on her arm and for the day to become a giant mess of fuckery but she isn't and her arm goes utterly unmolested. Huh.

So she keeps to where she stands, decides against trying to approach the strange wolf with it's clipped ears and surprising behavior. Like shaking it's head, as if responding to her question. Responding. A wolf responding to something that Hawke herself just said as though it has full understanding of every word that comes out of her mouth.

Weird, she has only seen that level of intelligence from her mabari. ]

You can't understand what I'm saying, right? That is ridiculous, I think the air is starting to get to me.

[ For now, Lauralae has no reason to attack. Most of the time she's more than happy to slink around without drawing too much attention to herself, but the fact that she's found this strange land that she can explore, the kind that others can't... It makes for curiosity, the kind she can't quite control.

Still, she's not the kind of canine to wag her tail and act like some kind of innocent creature. She's a wolf, still, and bares her teeth, careful as she pushes herself up and moves to step forward. No, she doesn't want to vocalise anything, has no reason to, but she watches Hawke with narrowed eyes all the same, careful and sure.

Again, she nods. She understands, stupid woman. ]i

Edited 2016-04-03 19:10 (UTC)

[ She takes it as some sort of sign, watching the wolf stand and move forward, that she's safe to move herself. Shifting slightly and taking a few steps forward before lowering herself down to the wolf's level, head tilted slightly to the right. Hawke hasn't had many chances to sit down and have tea with the things trying to kill her, commonly there is no time to try and do it. This... it's a unique opportunity and the wolf has her curious, unbearably curious. ]

Alright then, I'm not imagining it. That is good to know.

[ Still the possibility of her losing her mind is a high one and one that would not surprise her.

With some measure of hesitation she holds out of her hand, palm first, a sort of peace gesture of sorts. Permission for the creature to come closer if it wants, to scent her, decide whether or not she's amusement or dinner. It's what she'd do for a mabari not her own, before spoiling it with a treat - bereft of those at the moment, she didn't exactly plan on getting lost you see. ]

Don't belong here do you? Wouldn't be surprised, you're surprisingly normal for a wolf on an alien moon. You're the first one I've seen all day, too. Don't suppose you got yourself lost as well? [ A scoff and she shakes her head. ] No, no, no need to answer, I'm sure you didn't.

[ Lauralae is glad that the woman doesn't lean forward and go to pet her; she's not a common dog, she's a person that has the power to change herself. The idea of being petted and touched like some kind of pet makes her bristle, and she leans back for a moment before she huffs out a breath, ears flat against her head.

Leaning forward, she noses at Hawke's hand all the same, scenting her - mostly to remember for later. There's a feral, dangerous part of her that wants to bite and nip, to consider chewing - but she shoves those thoughts aside. She cannot. It's an ancient desire, one borne of age-old dreams and fantasies she cannot consider.

Huffing out a noise, she leans back, letting herself set. Tilting her head, she shakes her maw once before she picks herself up and turns. ]

[ She doesn't let go of her breath until a moment after the wolf pulls away, her hand clear from it's jaw. To say she is surprised would not close to feeling that grips her chest, swirling around with overwhelming relief. Regardless that is good, right? Not being chewed on or losing her hand, that is definitely good.

Score of Hawke, wolf friend and whisperer - or something to that effect.

Pulling her hand back to herself she watches the wolf shake and stand, turning as though to leave. A slight panic has Hawke scramble up as well though her feet keep her planted in place. ]

You wouldn't be able to show me the way back, would you? [ Maker, she is all but talking to herself right now, though not a strange behavior coming from her, but it is starting to feel a little weird. ] I'd be very thankful if you could. [ What has she to lose? ] I'll even find you a nice juicy bone to eat.

[ She could bite, really, but she doesn't; she keeps it to herself and she lowers her head, turning herself around and ready and fit to ignore Hawke. She has her own things to do, namely gathering as much poison as she can, and the idea of hanging around anyone for any length of time was itching at her free will.

Tilting her head back, though, there's a moment's pause before it seems as though the wolf almost sighs - almost. There's a huff of air and, then, she steps up and very deliberately nods at Hawke - yes, she can show her the way back. Even if she hadn't memorised the route her sense of smell was more than enough to guide her back towards civilisation.

She pretends that the promise of fresh meat isn't a factor in her choice.

Turning tail - literally - Lauralae heads back out towards the pathway back to the city, ignoring whether or not Hawke follows. ]

[ There aren't words to properly express her relief, so instead she simply exhales it in a short laugh. After she had almost resigned herself to being impossibly lost. ]

Wonderful! [ Talking to a wolf is still odd, though not nearly as odd as talking to oneself - something Hawke certainly doesn't (does) do on occasion. ] Perhaps now some of my dignity will remain intact.

[ Lets be honest she doesn't have any left, even Hawke knows that, but she's... well she is more or less trying to fill in the silence. Not much else to do, really, falling into step behind the wolf that is to be her savior. ]

[ It's not as though Lauralae is particularly inclined to help - honestly, she wouldn't if she thought herself entirely capable of escaping it. She's committed now, however, and she is no oath-breaker even if she had never spoken a word aloud; it's a personal thing and she must accept it, even if this woman appears nothing short of mad for it.

Lifting her head, Lauralae trots forward without hesitation, continuing to guide and lead the other woman through the bushes, her nose her guide and her ears flattened down against her head. She doesn't think there will be any danger here, but it doesn't hurt to be cautious, nor does it hurt to be prepared.

When they reach a particularly thick bit of growth, the bark of the trees practically screaming poison, she pauses, nose sniffing the air. ]

[ For the most part Hawke talks aloud, half conversing with a wolf that does not talk back and half conversing with herself - not that she talks to herself. The subjects... well they are little more than small talk and casual mentions of things like the droids she somewhat adopted as her own. Carver's been making a weird whirring noise, probably to get attention I bet. Always a tit that one. Fill the silence. Of course there is nothing wrong with Bethany, there never is.

It goes along like that until the wolf stops, Hawke's attention jerking from her useless prattling to the unpleasant looking trees. Not sure she wants to climb those, if she was so inclined, they don't look particularly fun. Or safe. Or good for her health. ]

Smell something?

[ She would talk back, if she had the right voice for it, but for all her magic and her strength there is no means to change a wolf to a woman in only half measures. Lauralae becomes a beast to hide in any case, and wasting her words on people that likely don't deserve it is not high on her list of things that she wants to do with her time. This feels tiresome enough and it's only her curious interest in the woman herself that keeps her nearby, listening to idle chatter and the whisper of the stranger talking to herself.

Lauralae-the-wolf approaches the tree and tilts her head, sniffing again without hesitation. It's certainly poisonous, and she turns her head back to Hawke and gives a low, rumbling growl, enough to warn her as she steps around it. It might not harm her - poison does little to her after Aramas' touch - but it would likely damage the stranger more than she would be capable of handling.

Slowly, she moves forward, giving the bark a wide birth. ]

[ Even without words the warning is pretty clear, there is only a few things that a growl can mean and normally it isn't good. So tree bad, tree will hurt if she goes near or is possessed by the insane desire to climb it. Thankfully she isn't. ]

Bad, I get it. Thanks for the warning, wolf.

[ Wolf, that doesn't sound great but what else is she suppose to call it? Wolfie? Fido? Nothing she thinks of really fits and mostly sounds like it might be insulting to a creature as intelligent as this one seems to be. ]

[ Given what she has heard of some of the strangers on this fleet - the people that have climbed trees and found themselves stuck or those that have ended up with some kind of poisoning due to their own folly - Lauralae did not intend to be too careful. Her own steps are more careful than most, and she only looks back when she hears Hawke speak, as if she needed to look at her to hear a single word.

Wolf. At least the woman has not attempted to give her some strange, foreign name yet, and it was better than 'beast' or 'demon'.

Walking around another set of trees and bushes, Lauralae peeks her head out through what seems like a gathering of berry plants, pushing through and shaking her fur off on the other side, bits of twig and leaves dropping to one side as she huffs out a noise, sounding oddly like some kind of sneeze. ]

[ The sneeze has Hawke jog over close, lips pressed together as though to fight off a smile. She certainly isn't smiling, nor grinning, definitely not because she thinks that sneeze was adorable. Not at all. ]

Hey, you got some stuff on you.

[ Question is will she get her hand bitten off to trying to help? ]

[ Dark eyes lift up and look over at Hawke, her ears flat down against her head before she turns her head and shifts to try and look back at herself. It probably is true, she probably has something on it, but the idea of being touched... She feels uncomfortable with it, but if she turns back she's not sure what effect being touched by poison on her skin might have on her. The air is fine, but having it against her hands...

Slowly, she turns back to Hawke and allows herself to lower her head, offering herself out with shaken legs. ]

first one to make that doctor who joke loses

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