Realistic or Modern I N T O ❅ T H E ❅ F R A Y

[Peachfuzz221]

❝ once more into the fray. ❞

introduction.

This is my first attempt at a quest roleplay. I have a dream of one day publishing a choose-your-own-adventure text-oriented game in a vast world where a character could thrive with a plethora of different outcomes. But before I can consider making that a reality, I should hone my writing skills and gain experience in the field of questing and choice narratives. I have experience in roleplay with over a decade under my belt and write short stories in my free time. My goal is to make this quest an interesting story for all of us who wish to dive into the world of the wolf.

premise.

You are a gray wolf residing deep in the wintery forests of the Yukon. As part of a small pack of survivors, nearly decimated by a deadly case of rapidly spread canine distemper, you find yourself as well as your pack mates slowly starving to death as chaos begins to settle in the dens. You have no choice but to migrate with the caribou in hopes of finding a better home and filling your bellies as winter rages on without a standstill. However, life in the wilds of Canada is not easy and only the strong survive in such a harsh environment. You will come across dangers aplenty, obstacles that could leave you hurt or with an empty stomach, you will get closer to your packmates, perhaps find a mate and raise pups, or you may come to a grisly end where graves are few and far between. What will be your fate?

You will make your own character. All I require is a name, age, gender, and small blurb about their appearance. Every decision your character makes not only affects the world around them, but their relationships with the creatures they co-exist with and their overall personality. Action choices are critical. Depending on your decision your character could suffer a life-threatening injury, fail a hunt and go hungry, cause the misery of a friend, or perhaps worse.

So death is not random or surprises the players, each wolf character will have their own set of stats that include health, hunger, thirst, fatigue and relationship percentages, the last which will be important if your character seeks to mate and have a family or needs help. These bonds will come in handy just as negative ones will have consequences. Should your character's health reach 0%, they will die.

rules.

ACTIVITY.we all have lives outside the internet. i'm a married woman with a new baby, so what free time I have between her naps and chores I will be spending here to further your character's tale. out of respect for my effort, please do not disappear without warning or reason. i intend to carry the story out to a definite end for everyone.

LITERACY.my responses will be quite literate with plenty of detail for you to go off of. You may write brief responses under the choices you make if their are any important details about your character you would like to share or their emotions/feelings about NPCs or situations they find themselves in.

PLAYERS.there can be as many players in this quest as possible, however, all characters created will not be in the same universe. They are in the same story, but weave their own tales and make their own decisions without the influence or presence of other characters. i will respond to everyone and put the same amount of thought into the outcomes of their choices. multiple replies on my end will most likely be in one post, tagging the players i'm responding to.

TRIGGERS.as this is an unfair and violent world your characters are in, there will be mentions of blood and death. if this makes you uncomfortable in anyway, i suggest you steer clear of this quest.

characters.

AKAEDI.A male wolf of average height, Akaedi roughly stands at two feet at shoulder height. Though his underbelly is pure white as is the fur that rides along his snout, Akaedi bears a thick coat of white peppered with tawny browns and golden reds. His eyes are a deep gold, and he bears a blackened snout that has just a smudge of brown near the top.
- WOLFSOL

KELOKA.A female wolf and the ounterpart to the white surroundings of the snow, Keloka coat features neutral hues from white to black, a gradual transition of dark blacks tipped with brown grants begins on her backside that gradually fades to a light brown on her underside and legs. True to nature, the she-wolf stands at the lower end of female grey wolf height which is about 26 inches. She has light, golden eyes that shine various speckles of darker browns and lighter yellows under the sun.
- LIFE.

NAME.Vestibulum bibendum libero at est ullamcorper cursus. Praesent maximus, magna et tincidunt mollis, sem arcu fermentum nulla, sit amet ultrices massa libero et mauris.
- PLAYER

— into the last good fight i'll ever know.

 

[Peachfuzz221]

AKAEDI
HEALTH ▮▮▮▮▮▯▯▯▯▯ %50
HUNGER ▮▮▮▮▮▯▯▯▯▯ %50
THIRST ▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮ %100
FATIGUE ▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮ %00

KELOKA
HEALTH ▮▮▮▮▮▯▯▯▯▯ %50
HUNGER ▮▮▮▮▮▯▯▯▯▯ %50
THIRST ▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮ %100
FATIGUE ▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮ %100​

You feel the biting cold seep through your fur, reaching your numbing skin, long before you open your eyes. The pelt of the Grey Wolf was designed to withstand the rigid temperatures of the Canadian wilderness, but this season has fought against your biology, dipping below zero and dropping with each passing day. Its icy claws make you sluggish, forcing each painful breath from your lungs as you wake to a new day. Sunlight, weak and dim, hover just out of reach, the shelter of the den keeping its light from trespassing further. Beside you, curled in a ball against your side, is Nikan. A mix of beige, cream and black, the male snoozes quietly, every breath exhaling in a white puff. Peering behind you, the rest of the den is empty.

Rising to your paws, you slink between the low hanging branches of subalpine fir draped over the entrance. Instantly you are greeted with the aftermath of a case of rampant canine distemper. Like a bellowing storm, the sickness infected the pack with a vengeance. It began with sneezing and coughing. Then the older wolves started vomiting up their food. Subordinates couldn’t muster up the energy or strength to hunt and the den floor was smothered in foul-smelling diarrhea. The deaths came four weeks later. What was once a pack of twenty members quickly dwindled, leaving nine survivors in its wake. Mothers and fathers, pups and elder wolves, none were spared.

However, it seemed the pandemic had finally stopped. In the center of the clearing were the lifeless bodies of two wolves you knew all too well. Dyani and Wyome were the last of the pack to remain sick. They must have died during the night under the shade of a hollowed log. Any wolf who was contagious was not allowed to sleep in the warmth of the den, forced to stay out in the freeze. Perhaps a cruel sentence for a circumstance out of their control, but necessary all the same. It was a bittersweet feeling.

Over them stood Czar, the Funris. His black pelt was blanketed in snowflakes, his piercing golden eyes staring stoically at the females piled on top of each other. Tiva and Maikoh, sisters, were nearby. They appeared especially rough. Their long fur failed to hide their protruding ribcages and the brightness of their pale eyes have lost all their lively luster. The disease may have died with your pack mates, but it was still killing the rest. The probability of successful hunts was drastically low. Everyone, including you, were slowly starving.

Your ears perked at the soft crunch of snow approaching the densite. Nanook, the white she-wolf and eldest member, padded into view. A white hare was locked in her jaws. Our empty stomach rumbled at the sight, but you knew the kill would not be for you. Czar’s mate, Fala, was a victim of the disease, as were their litter. Only one cub survived, but without a mother his chances of survival were low. If you concentrated hard enough, you could hear soft whimpers coming from the alpha’s den.

Nanook dropped the hare, sides heaving and tail lashing. “This is all I could find”, she explained apologetically, clearly exhausted. “There are caribou tracks heading North and the Elk have already migrated South earlier this season. Even the bear have left for better feeding grounds”.

Czar growled. “We cannot continue to scrounge off measly rodents and half-eaten carcasses”. The pickings were slim. Even so, the Funris leaned down to grab the hare in his teeth. “Tiva, Maikoh, drag the bodies down river. The snow will bury them and, if we’re lucky, snuff out the contagion once and for all”. He turned tail, the arch of his back stiff as he disappeared into his den.

What will you do?

1. Lose yourself in memories of your past
2. Wake up Nikan
3. Help Tiva and Maikoh
4. Check on Czar
5. Assist Nanook

 

[WolfSol]

AKAEDI
His mouth waters at the sight of the hare, but he remains by the mouth of the den underneath a spell of silence. His thoughts wonder though, twirl like the snowflakes overhead. That hare would surely take the edge off this gnawing hunger. Yet he pulls back, his teeth pressing against one another as he finally draws his eyes back to the sisters in hopes to seek out a distraction.
3. Help Tiva and Maikoh

 

[Life.]

KELOKA
The appearance of the hare was a cruel blessing to the days that passed. It was clear from the moment Nanook walked up with the prey in her mouth that the meal would be presented to the alpha, Czar. Keloka's eyes watched as the interaction occurred, there was no excitement or thrill tingling through the wolf's body. Only a succumbing numbness in her stomach bothered her. She lifted her head up then once the rabbit was whisked away into the den. Despite its pathetic presence, perhaps there was still an inkling of hope in the wild.
5. Assist Nanook

 

[Peachfuzz221]

AKAEDI
HEALTH ▮▮▮▮▮▯▯▯▯▯ %50
HUNGER ▮▮▮▮▮▯▯▯▯▯ %50
THIRST ▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮ %100
FATIGUE ▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮ %100

TIVA [↑10%] ▮▯▯▯▯▯▯▯▯▯ %10
MAIKOH [↑10%] ▮▯▯▯▯▯▯▯▯▯ %10

KELOKA
HEALTH ▮▮▮▮▮▯▯▯▯▯ %50
HUNGER ▮▮▮▮▮▯▯▯▯▯ %50
THIRST ▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮ %100
FATIGUE ▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮ %100

NANOOK [↑10%] ▮▯▯▯▯▯▯▯▯▯ %10
​

AKAEDI
His mouth waters at the sight of the hare, but he remains by the mouth of the den underneath a spell of silence. His thoughts wonder though, twirl like the snowflakes overhead. That hare would surely take the edge off this gnawing hunger. Yet he pulls back, his teeth pressing against one another as he finally draws his eyes back to the sisters in hopes to seek out a distraction.
3. Help Tiva and Maikoh

Maikoh said nothing of your company, treating your existence as an able-bodied tool rather than a peer to engage with. She snapped her pearly jaws over the ratty tail of Wyome, nose crinkling at the repellent stench radiating from the freshly deceased body, and pulled backward in the direction of the nearby river. No doubt the winding serpent of water would be frozen thick, preventing you from bringing back a fishy meal for the pack. Again, the ache of hunger nagged at your stomach, but you ignored it to the best of your abilities.

Tiva mimicked Maikoh, the silver she-wolf with tips of chestnut and undercurrents of deep grey sinking her teeth into the tail of Dyani and jerking back. Unlike the neighboring corpse, Dyani's remains were bloated and heavy with chunks of ice dangling from patches of her pelt. Both the females were struggling to an extent, but Tiva was clearly at a greater disadvantage with her smaller frame. Her eyes darted to you for help. Maikoh stubbornly kept her gaze level with her objective, digging her heels into the snow.

What will you do?

1. Help Maikoh
2. Help Tiva
3. Help neither and lead the way

KELOKA
The appearance of the hare was a cruel blessing to the days that passed. It was clear from the moment Nanook walked up with the prey in her mouth that the meal would be presented to the alpha, Czar. Keloka's eyes watched as the interaction occurred, there was no excitement or thrill tingling through the wolf's body. Only a succumbing numbness in her stomach bothered her. She lifted her head up then once the rabbit was whisked away into the den. Despite its pathetic presence, perhaps there was still an inkling of hope in the wild.
5. Assist Nanook

You wanted nothing more than to creep back into the darkness of the den and nap the oppressing emptiness away, but one look at old Nanook kept you from following your desire. Shuffling over to her side, you offered support by letting her lean against your much sturdier frame. You noticed the ferocity in which her poor legs shook against her declining weight. Her breaths were desperate heaves for air and when she spared you a pitiful glance, her eyelids drooped as if she had not slept in many days. "Thank you, Keloka", Nanook wheezed, her head drifting southward. "It has been...a disheartening morning".

You felt a flash of anger. Could Czar have not awoken you or Nikan to hunt? Nanook could barely stand, much less spend the sunrise chasing hares through the snow. Encouraging the elder forward, you both began a slow trek towards the den. "If I were a much younger wolf..." the sentence nodded off into silence. Her ribs prodded at your side, a painful reminder that the pack mentality was falling into a despairing dynamic. Even old , weak and starving, Nanook was not afforded the luxury of retirement. Had their group not been ravaged by disease, the she-wolf would be resting comfortably at the den's entrance, contentedly watching cubs play and eating her fill of the freshest kill. But it was not to be.

Nosing your way past the dangling fir, you carefully brought Nanook to the back of the cave where it was warmest. Dropping into a bony heap, she rolled onto her side with a huff. She was a hapless sight; a walking skeleton with fur and so very miserably alive. Taking a seat next to her, you settled on your belly, watching the steadying rise and fall of her abdomen. An iota of fear that she may cease breathing ate away at your thoughts.

"I miss my sons", she exhaled. Her voice was full of unshed grief.

Ashkii and Lanu. Yes, you remembered them well. Handsome brothers, strong-willed and brave. On their own they were a force to be reckoned with, but together they could take down the entire forest. With them the pack was always overfed and happy. "I wonder how big my grandpups would be now? They were a feisty bunch". She croaked in amusement. "Gave their mothers so much trouble, the little furballs...I wish I remembered what they looked like". Your heart ached for her.

"Do you have someone you miss?"

1. I do miss someone
2. I have no one to miss

 

[Life.]

KELOKA
The morning of somber silence and tense frustration proved disheartening enough, but as Keloka helped Nanook over to the den, this scene of the weakened she-wolf added to the heaviness around. Her words of stolen futures struck Keloka's heart. There were many others who lost loved ones, Keloka included. The young wolf's mind wandered to images of a vibrant, cheery faced she-wolf who had one of the most brightest, brown pelts ever seen.
1. "I do miss someone."
"My sister Alluka."