Enter: Orlass (Open)

[wolfstar]

Orlass seemed to fade out of the mist, her silver body simply emerging as if she were mist herself. Her pale brown, almost gold eyes watched the world around her with a keen disgust.

Orlass had no time for life. She began to pad along once more, further into No Man's Land.

Her height wasn't that much. In fact, she was downright small. Her head and posture were painfully erect, and she dared anyone to mention it with her eyes, though no one was there.

Orlass hated other wolves. it was that simple. She'd rather they all died than she have to talk to them.

Her muscles were lean, and her body was an endurance runner's though you could tell that she was really fast. Intelligence glinted from her eyes, and you could tell that those were her weapons. She ran around other wolves in circles, with both her tongue and her speed. She was not a fighter, but she didn't run from fights. She just fought them her own way.

Orlass simply flowed on, as if she were the mist, wandering the land. She had done it for most of her life, and she wasn't about to stop now. She was in a bad mood this night, so heaven help any wolf that got in her way.

[Paint]

Esmerelda hadn't been in the Outlands much, since her run-in with Justyn and Roan. It was so strange, seeing those you thought were dead. If she hadn't spoken to them, and embraced them, she would have believed they were ghosts. The thought made her smile and shiver as she shot across the landscape.

For you see, unlike the wolf she was unknowingly in the vicinity of, Esmerelda was not a fighter. Not stupid, no, definitely not stupid. She could happily switch on her intelligence when she concentrated. Most of the time, however, she preferred to live in her dream world. Fighting wasn't an option for her. She'd rather be run right out of the valley than fight with another wolf, she was a pacifist to the core. Although she wasn't tiny, quite average sized in fact and not without muscles, and she could probably defend herself well if it came to a fight.

But running was a lot easier. No one got hurt, no blood, no mental anguish. You could just go somewhere new where other wolves didn't want to hurt you. Fighting was, in Esmerelda's opinion, a waste of time.

She rounded a clump of trees and bushes, stopping quickly when Orlass came into sight. As mentioned before, Esmerelda was in no way stupid. She offered a wary smile- an easy way to tell if the opposing loner was friendly. She didn't look happy, that was true, but Esmerelda wasn't doing anything wrong, right?

[wolfstar]

Orlass really wasn't in the mood for this. Another wolf. This late at night. Orlass was ready to snarl, so she did, knowing that it would make the other wolf angry, especially since the wolf was wary.

"So. Another wolf. What fun. Another victim."

She wasn't joking. A lot of wolves had become victims to her tongue over the years, and this would just be another one. She smiled maliciously, while feeling faintly bored and disgusted at herself. She needed other wolves for entertainment? She had sunk.

Orlass's pale brown eyes, eyes that weren't quite brown, weren't quite gold, looked into the other wolf's with searing intensity, never blinking, never turning. This was a mind game she had developed, and it drove the other wolf into making mistakes. She could look at the other female like this all night if she had to.

Orlass circled the other female, making it seem as if she were about to pounce. Another mind game. Her eyes didn't change their course.

[Paint]

Esmerelda knew instantly that this other wolf was one of those crazy loners who would seem as if they'd been locked up in a shed for years, and then released suddenly back into the blinding light. Strange, odd, crazy, a little sadistic- Es ran into a lot of these wolves.

Her smile faded, but she simply followed Orlass's eyes with her own. She wasn't angry or scared, no, in fact she was pretty sure she was larger than Orlass. Not that it would come to anything anyway, and if it did, she'd run. No harm had to be done.

"Hello, stranger," she said calmly, turning herself so she was always facing the other female as she circled her. She wasn't about to expose her back to any kind of sadistic wolf. "I mean you no harm, just passing by."

[wolfstar]

Orlass could tell that the other wolf thought that she was crazy. That was ok. It gave her the advantage.

Orlass could also tell that the fae thought that she was stronger because she had realized how small Orlass was.

The silvery wolf stopped circling suddenly, looking with icy precision into the other wolf's eyes, her own still having not blinked.

"Any wolf alive is a burden, to other wolves and me especially. Harm is a question of opinion. Bodily harm? That, I might do to you. Mental harm? That, you're doing to me, just with your presence."

Orlass's voice dripped sarcasm, but underneath, there was a haunting melody, a song of the soul, that sounded out through her voice, because she would not express it any other way.

Also laced beneath the sarcasm, was a raw, powerful intelligence, one that ached for knowledge, and one that was obviously not mad.

But the knowledge was hers alone. Others thought she was mad, and she encouraged that opinion, realizing how it could give her the advantage.

[Paint]

Esmerelda grinned, for some reason finding the situation funny. She couldn't take it seriously when other wolves threatened her. Frankly, the world was too big to even contemplate the idea of chasing another all the way through it. So, if anything too bad ever happened, of course Esmerelda would just run. She didn't need to be scared.

"Apologies, then. I guess I'll carry on passing through then," Esmerelda dipped her head politely and began to move away, keeping her eyes and body turned towards Orlass so as not to expose herself. "Unless, of course, you want me to stick around so you can 'get to me'?" Esmerelda asked sweetly, sblack personing slightly.

[wolfstar]

Orlass smiled. Not a nice smile. Not a wolf had been born that she couldn't outrun. Some of that knowledge dripped into her eyes, eyes that were glinting with grim satisfaction, and a malicious glee.

"If I wanted to get to you, it wouldn't matter where you were. I'd find you." There was no joke in her voice. It was true. No one had escaped, once Orlass had them on her list.

Orlass was simply watching now. It was the other wolf's move, though what the move would be was not Orlass's decision. One thing was sure. There was going to be something happening.

[Paint]

ooc. You can't really claim that Es can't outrun Orlass =P

Esmerelda rolled her eyes. She was totally aware of the threat in the other wolf's voice, but she wasn't going to take her seriously. If there was one thing Es was good at, it was disappearing and starting new. Frankly, there was no where she couldn't go. Orlass didn't know the whole world, there was always somewhere to go.

"And what would you do when you did 'get to me'?" Esmerelda asked, her normally sweet and friendly tone void of any innocence. "Whip me into a verbal frenzy? Doubtful. I'm not scared of you, stranger, I can be just as strong in defense as you are in opposition. You can't get inside my head." She smiled sarcastically. "There are a million places I could go that you couldn't find me, you are not Wonder-Wolf."

Esmerelda tensed, as if to run, and then relaxed again. Just teasing, at the moment. She tipped her head to one side.
"So you can't get in my head, you can't find me if I choose to run, and if if came to an actual physical fight, I'm pretty sure I'd be the last wolf standing," Esmerelda concluded. "Not to say I'm untouchable, sure, but I'm not going to be scared of you. You're just another wolf, although apparently you think it's your right to decide who's life is a living hell, right, Wonder-Wolf?"

[wolfstar]

Orlass just had to smirk. It was true, she couldn't go everywhere, and she liked the stranger's attitude.

"I think you'll find, if you try to fight me, that I have some tricks up my proverbial sleeve." And it was true as well. She wasn't a fighter, she was a trickster, but she could fight pretty well. Ritbant had taught her, another Loner, and he was one of the best in the valley.

"If I want to find you, I would. I'm obsessed with punishment, I'll admit. But, usually, if a wolf runs, I let them go. They usually thought that they could just walk right over me." Now her voice was faintly offended.

"But. I may be able to get inside your head, with time, but right now, I just don't feel like it." The fight had just gone out of her. SHe had relaxed. Not to say that she was trusting. No, she just was bored. "But I do ask that you use my name, Orlass."

[Paint]

Phew, Esmerelda thought, relaxing as well. Fight avoided for now. Hopefully. She felt better. It hadn't come to an outright confrontation, and she didn't ever want it to.

"Of course, I'm not denying that you most likely are very experienced in any type of fight," Esmerelda offered, shrugging. She didn't doubt that Orlass was probably quite dangerous if she wanted to be, any wolf could be. Esmerelda wasn't invincible, she knew this very well. She was far from bigheaded.

"Orlass," she repeated politely to show she wouldn't call her 'stranger' again. Es half-smiled again, a peace offering of an expression. "I'm Esmerelda."

[wolfstar]

Orlass watched the other wolf, no expression on her face. She never showed expression. It was a weakness, one her enemies could exploit.

"A pleasure Esmerelda." She nodded in return, not bothering to smile. The fight, the one that was never going to happen anyway, had been avoided, at least, to that wolf.

Orlass really didn't care what the other wolf was doing. But she was sore, from the wandering. She hadn't actually sat down in a day and a half. This she did, relieving her aching paws, and then proceeded to ignore Esmerelda as if she weren't even there. This was just Orlass's way.

[Paint]

Esmerelda sat down cautiously as well, a moment or so after Orlass did. She made herself comfortable, she didn't see why she shouldn't. Frankly, this whole end of the valley belonged to the loners. It was home, for now.

"Is there any particular reason you are... quite hostile?" Esmerelda asked curiously, just making conversation. As far as she could tell, Orlass was pretending she wasn't there. Esmerelda wasn't bothered, really, even if she ignored her question. The beauty of being a loner never failed to amaze her.

[wolfstar]

Orlass grimaced. The wolf was a chatter. But if she ignored her, she'd just pester.

"Why not. Living is harder when you're nice, and wolves do not hesitate to take advantage of each other. I never present the opportunity."

Her voice was short, an unsubtle hint that she didn't want conversation. Orlass laid her head on her paws, studiously ignoring Esmerelda once more.

She just wanted some rest. So Orlass stood up, ignored her pain, and kept on walking, hoping that Esmerelda wouldn't follow her.

[Paint]

Esmerelda watched as Orlass answered, if slightly irritably, and then turned away. She let her go. She had no ties to Orlass, it would be silly to go after her for any reason- and she could not think of a reason, nor think of why she'd want to think of a reason to push the conversation any further. What was done was done, and Esmerelda had made it out of what could have been quite a rough spot.

As if nothing had even effected her day -which nothing had, as far as she was concerned- Esmerelda turned in the opposite direction and a second later she was flying across the scree, her head once again in the clouds as any worries she might have had melted away into nothingness in the trail of dust.