Puppy Pickup Lines -- finding Talulah

[Pookie]

((OOC: My apologies if this is a bit off, particularly near the end.  I was dozing as I wrote and wanted to get it posted before I managed to fall asleep on my keyboard and delete the whole thing.  :)  I just beefed up the back end of my bio since I wasn't sure where to go after being met by a person with golden eyes.  We're in a small town in Kandor, outside of town in a willow grove.  I actually don't know for sure if willows grow in Kandor, but hey, in my head they do!  Talulah's about average as far as height and weight go.  She's got long brown hair worn loose and her eyes have just started to switch from blue to gold.))

 

Talulah was breathing heavily by the time Dal Banyon's house was in view.  She wasn't entirely sure of what she was doing, running out here when her mother had told her specifically to stay in bed.  She couldn't decide if she was running away from where her mother might catch her or running towards the call of the wolf. 

 

It was ludicrous to believe that she really was hearing a wolf in her head.  Talulah thought she probably should have told her mother about that.  Maybe it was a symptom of something.  Maybe she'd get better and her mother would let her go back to her life if she turned around now and told her mother what she saw.  Tell her about the dreams.  Maybe her mother could fix it. 

 

She kept running.  It didn't make any sense, but she was certain that if she just continued on, her questions would be answered. 

 

It wasn't until she caught sight of the willow grove that she slowed her pace a little, her breath rasping in and out of her throat in a pleasant invigorating way.  She had been cooped up in the bedroom of her little house for much too long.  She had missed fresh air and the tingling of recently worked muscles.  It was relaxing.  She let her shoulders slump and then stiffened again when she realized it wasn't her own urges calling her on, but something outside of her.  There was something waiting for her in the grove and she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to find it.  She could hear excitement in her head.  The wolf certainly wanted to be found.

 

She stepped into the willow grove, gazing around until her eyes lit on the wolf.  He was the same color as the first one to come to her in her dreams.  He was sitting patiently until he saw Talulah noticed him.  Then he rose up and trotted over towards her, his tail swinging  behind him.  His pink tongue lolled out, flexing with his breaths.  As he sat down at Talulah's feet, he licked his nose and then returned to his panting.  Talulah could have sworn he was laughing. 

 

"You certainly seem happy," Talulah said to him, looking in his eyes and smiling.  Maybe she should have been afraid to be standing so close to a wolf, a wild animal after all, but she felt no need to be cautious.  She reached out to pet his head and he leaned into it, his eyes partly closing in pleasure. 

 

Her hand jumped on his head when she heard a voice behind her.  "He is," the voice said and Talulah whirled to face the person.

 

Her first impressions of the person were lost when her mind registered a very strange fact.  She gasped, "You have golden eyes!" before she could stop herself from speaking.

[Nynaeve]

Winifred laughed. ~ Seriously, you're giving me the silent treatment? ~

 

The wolf growled but didn't reply. Midnight could be really touchy sometimes. Or most of the times. Come to think of it, Winifred couldn't remember a time where he wasn't. Not that she'd have it any other way. It only made it twice as entertaining to torment him. Of course, he got his fair jibes at her as well, so it was a reciprocal transfer.

 

~ I just said that I thought you two look sweet together. Is that SUCH a horrible thing to say? ~

 

Midnight stopped in his tracks and turned to face her.

 

~ Yes! You humans are so nosy! ~

 

Winifred pursed her lips, trying very hard not to laugh again. No, that wouldn't be a good idea. She knew how to read Midnight well and he was genuinely put off. It wasn't the time to tease him further. At least not in an obvious way.

 

~ Very well, I will have a talk with my nose about it ~

 

The wolf blinked and then nodded. That comment seemed to appease him, for some reason. Even if it made no real sense. All that mattered though that he stopped grinding his teeth, which was getting rather irritating. They continued walking together, looking for the wanderer they set out to find. And find her they have!

 

She was standing next to a wolf, petting it. "You certainly seem happy," she told the wolf. Winifred exchanged courteous words with the wolf and smiled. It was the polite thing to do when coming across an unfamiliar wolf. "He is." The girl looked up, surprised, and exclaimed "You have golden eyes!".

 

Winifred's eyes widened. "What? I have golden eyes? That can't BE! You must be mistaken!" She whipped out a little mirror she had handy for signaling and looked into it. "OH! right, forgot about that. Yes. They are quite golden, aren't they, just bordering on honey colored but not quite. Wouldn't you say so, Midnight?" Lorelai petted Midnight as he looked up at her.

 

~ Are you talking to me in human speech gibbrish again? ~

 

~ Just be good and nod, Midnight ~

 

The wolf reluctantly nodded. "See, Midnight agrees. Oh, I'm Winifred... and you are?".

 

 

 

Winifred

Head Tracker

[Pookie]

Talulah was so startled by the woman's appearance that after her initial outburst about the woman's eyes, she just stayed bent over, her hand resting unmoving on the wolf's head.  The woman's response was odd, but it did stem the whisp of embarassment Talulah felt creeping through her dazed mind.  Her mother was often scolding her for blurting out the first thought that came to her head, especially with strangers. 

 

Talulah didn't even notice the woman was with another wolf until she turned and addressed it... him... directly.  Then, in an action that defied all that Talulah knew about animals, the wolf looked straight at her and nodded in response to the woman's question.  Did he understand her?  And why, of all things, did she think he was feeling a bit irritated?

 

The furry head below her hand gave her palm a nudge that helped her regroup.  She blinked and gave her head a little shake.  Then she ran her hand across the first wolf's head one last time before slowly pulling back to her full height.  She stood facing Winifred and trying to look calm and composed.  In a flash Talulah realized she had never met a stranger without her mother's presence before.  It was unsettling and she wasn't exactly sure what she should do.  Her mother would have told her to say nothing and just run home.  But then, if she was listening to her mother, she wouldn't have left the house.  She'd still be in bed with her mother fussing over her, biting her lip every time she looked into Talulah's changing eyes.  Will my eyes be that color one day?  she wondered, still gazing at Winifred's golden eyes. 

 

She didn't know if it was the eyes or the wolf that decided her, but she replied, "I'm Talulah," managing to keep her voice even and light.  She tipped her head and looked down at Midnight.  "He is a wolf, isn't he?  How did you get him so tame?  Oh, and is he yours too?" the last said with a gesture towards the wolf still at her side.  "I've never heard of wolves acting like them before."

[Nynaeve]

"I'm Talulah. He is a wolf, isn't he?  How did you get him so tame?  Oh, and is he yours too?" the last said with a gesture towards the wolf still at her side.  "I've never heard of wolves acting like them before."

 

Winifred couldn't help but laugh.

 

~ What has you so amused, Sunshine? ~

 

Winifred managed to contain her amusement and gave the wolf a dismissive pet that made him growl. If he knew that Talulah referred to him as a tame wolf he would have grown insufferable. If there was one thing Midnight was proud of was being a wild animal. Their understanding grew from mutual respect and while he did obey her when it mattered, he made it clear to her that they were of the same standing. Members of the same pack.

 

The girl seemed confused, most likely missing the cause of Winifred's amusement. "Yes, these are wolves, Talulah. They're their own masters, though. All animals are, in truth. The moment your think you have total and complete control over them is the moment they prove you wrong. A term we use, though, for a wolf that we connect with is a Companion. This here is Midnight. He is my Companion. And he would be... displeased to know that you think him to be tamed" Winifred grinned. "The one next to you hasn't given me a name yet. However, that is your Companion. The one that brought you here to meet me. Do you wish me to ask for a name?".

 

 

OOC: I wasn't sure if your wolf was male or female or what his/her name is so I couldn't take this further. If you feel like, PM me with the info and I'll edit in more.  :)

 

 

 

Winifred

Head Tracker

[Pookie]

OOC:  Holy long writers' block Batman!  I'm sorry for the extended delay.  :(  I've been less than stable lately and kept thinking about this but not actually DOING it.  Take as long as you like replying as I'm clearly in no hurry.  :)

 

IC:Winifred laughed at her questions and Talulah felt both a flash of embarassment and anger.  What did she say that was so funny?  Then she tensed as Winifred patted the wolf's head and he growled.  Was he less tame than she thought?  Would he attack now?  But Winifred didn't seem afraid as she looked back up at Talulah and answered.

 

Talulah listened carefully and thought about what Winifred was saying.  She felt her mind drifting a little as Winifred said, "The moment you think you have total and complete control over them is the moment they prove you wrong."  It was an interesting idea to consider, especially when she realized that until her escape from the house was discovered, her mother would have believed that she too had complete control over Talulah.  She shook her head slightly and tried to refocus on Winifred.  Once again she had to pull herself back to the moment when her mind started to fly away to consider who all Winifred was referring to when she said, "A term we use..."  There were more people out there like Winifred?  Like her?  She noted Winifred's introduction of Midnight and their relationship.  Companion.  What exactly did that mean? she wondered, but she stifled the question for later.  At least Winifred sort of explained why she found Talulah's questions so amusing -- she was suddenly glad that it seemed Midnight didn't understand speech.  But then, how did Winifred talk to him?

 

"The one next to you hasn't given me a name yet.  However, that is your Companion.  The one that brought you here to meet me.  Do you wish me to ask for a name?"

 

Winifred waited expectantly, but Talulah was at a loss.  This wolf was her Companion?  How did he become her Companion?  Why her and not someone else in the village?  She would have denied it outright, but there was something that felt right, that seemed to click into place, when Winifred said he was her Companion.  She only reinforced that feeling when she said that the wolf had brought Talulah here.  He had.  She had heard him in her head.

 

Maybe if she could hear him, he could hear her?  She looked at him and thought as hard as she could the words, Hi, can you hear me?  He just stared back at her, his tongue still lolling out of his mouth.  Then she remembered how he "told" her to come here -- she saw pictures in her mind of herself running here to meet him.  So she tried again, thinking real hard the picture of herself waving hello to him. 

 

This time she got a response.  In her mind she saw an image of him running towards the waving her, tail wagging.  He circled her once, then stopped, facing her.

 

Now she had to consider the question of how you could ask someone for their name without using words.  She pictured herself in the woods again, alone and calling out for the wolf, trying to infuse a questioning into it, and tried to capture the emotional flavor of "if I were to call you, what would you answer to?"  It felt awkward and rediculous, but she was rewarded with what she thought was an answer.

 

There was a gentle rain falling in a rich, green forest that smelled of earth and leaves.  In the center of a small glade was her wolf, twigs snapping beneath his feet as he lept into the air to playfully snap his jaws closed around raindrop after raindrop.  Talulah understood that the image was supposed to be a name, but how did that translate to words?

 

She hesitated before she stated, almost questioning, "He's named Rainlark..." but it sounded right when she said it, so she nodded and tried to look self-assured.

 

Another image filled her mind.  She was walking through the woods, the sunbeams and tree shadows casting strange shapes of light and darkness around her.  When she walked through the light she was smiling, alive and vibrantly happy.  When she walked through the shadows her face was blank and she was nearly transparent.  She could not change her pace or direction to linger in the brightness or avoid the shadow.  Talulah understood that this was a picture of how the wolf identified her, the name he had given her, but it was even harder to translate.  She wanted to cling to the part of her he had shown in the light, to give herself a shortened name that represented just that portion of the image, but she knew it didn't fit.  She would be ignoring a part of herself.  But she couldn't define herself by the shadows alone either.  Woodwalker.  It didn't neglect or focus on either aspect and in a way it pleased Talulah more than focusing on the happy side of herself would have.  Her mother had drilled into her that one's actions mattered and in the image she was doing the walking, even though she couldn't control where or how fast.

 

Talulah realized that Winifred and Midnight had just been standing there the whole time she worked on these personal revelations.  She felt the heat in her cheeks as they flushed a rosy scarlet and she stammered, "I'm sorry, it's been quite some time since I've met anyone new and I've never met a wolf before, at least not one I wasn't afraid would eat me, certainly not one who could talk to me, or not talk really, but think at me I guess.  Is that what it is?  Thinking?  Well, not in words, but in pictures.  Are there words eventually?  And will he read everything I think or just what I think at him?"  Her eyes widened and she gasped.  The silence lasted a whole two seconds before she blurted out, "You can't read my mind, can you?"  Talulah fervently hoped that Winifred couldn't or it wouldn't be long before she would find herself embarassed at every turn by her own thoughts.

[Liitha]

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