[Audio] / [Open Commentlog]

[sociopathicwolf]

[Sealed to Chloe]

I need to go to the forest. You don't have to come with if you don't want to. [He leaves 'but please come' unspoken.]

[Sealed to Alex]

Time for a Change. Gonna be out in the forest and on the grounds for the next while, if you feel like going for a run or something.

[After Changing, Derek can be found wandering around the

Comments

[Commentlog]

[rocklikerunaway]

[She's in the outer bailey, bending.

Bending is really the only thing worth doing around here.

She's made herself a nice little hollow in the ground and is now busy gradually building up stones around it to make a neat little stone tent.

Once, she'd've been able to do this all in one move, but she's been wary of overreaching since that whole wall thing.

Still, even she's not so preoccupied that she doesn't noticed the padding paws of a big something nearby.

Toph sits up.]

[Commentlog]

[sociopathicwolf]

[Derek slows when he picks up Toph's scent, debating. On the one hand, he's not sure he really wants anyone he knows to see him in his wolf form, given the option. On the other hand, he doubts she'd have any way of knowing it was him, and trotting around in wolf form by himself is getting kind of boring.

So he heads towards her, approaching slowly enough to make his arrival obvious, tail high and wagging slightly as he makes a soft whoofing noise.]

[Commentlog]

[rocklikerunaway]

[None of that means much to Toph. Animals are so much harder to read than people. All the little cues that people give away before they attack, all the ways they tense, animals do all that differently. And she's not even sure what this animal is. It's got paws like a wolf-bat, but it's not screeching or flying.

It's whoofing.

Toph gathers her feet under her, tense just in case it leaps. Did it come out of the forest? She extends a hand in a half-ready bending posture, but also in a kind of greeting.

If this thing's some kind of spirit animal like a badger-mole or something, then it could just want to say hello. And if not, she'll whoop it's butt.]

What do you want?

[Commentlog]

[sociopathicwolf]

[He can sense her tension, and it makes him eye that extended hand, but he refuses to allow himself to tense in response. If he didn't know her, he likely would, just to be safe, but he does. He trusts Toph enough to not actually attack him unless he shows himself to be aggressive.

So he plops down close to her, the picture of ease as he sits there, wagging his tail.

Derek tilts his head at her, because, yeah, he can't answer that, though he does give another soft whoof. Hi, Toph.]

[Commentlog]

[rocklikerunaway]

[So he's just some kind of weird dog-wolf... thing. And he's wagging his tail.

Whatever. If he's not bugging her, not her problem.]

I don't have any food.

[Commentlog]

[sociopathicwolf]

[He's not here for food, Toph, geez.

Although now that she mentions it, food does sound pretty good right now.

He steps forward, nosing slightly at her hand. Is she sure there's no food?]

[Commentlog]

[rocklikerunaway]

[His nose is wet whiskery. It's not quite the same as being licked in the face by a badgermole, but it still tickles!

Giggles escape her before she can stop them and she clamps her mouth shut straight away and scowls. But she doesn't withdraw her hand.]

I said I don't have any food, Fuzzball. Don't go getting any ideas.

[She isn't food either.]

[Commentlog]

[sociopathicwolf]

[Too late. He's already heard the giggles, and it makes his tail wag again as he gives her a wolfy grin.

He eyes her at that last part, tilting his head as if he's considering it, then he shakes his head. Nah. She probably wouldn't make very good food.]

[Commentlog]

[rocklikerunaway]

[Both gestures are lost on Toph.]

So if you don't want food then what's your problem?

Are you gonna start talking like everything else around here?

[Commentlog]

[sociopathicwolf]

[Derek snorts at her last comment. He wishes. That would make this kind of thing a lot easier.

Of course, it would probably make people a lot more suspicious if they heard his voice coming from a wolf. So maybe not.

Instead, he just pushes his nose further into her hand, so it moves a bit up his head.]

[Commentlog]

[rocklikerunaway]

[What, he wants petting?]

Yeah, yeah.

[Fine. Petting she can do. It's as good a chance as any to get an idea of what he is anyway.

Her fingertips brush between his ears and she scritches the fur there idly.]

[Commentlog]

[sociopathicwolf]

[Yeah, he's good with petting. Not that he'd ever admit that, but then again, it's not like she has any idea who he is.

He sits down at her side, tail continuing to wag, letting out a pleased rumble when she scritches a particularly good spot. That hadn't been entirely intentional, actually, and he shifts slightly, displeased with himself.]

[Commentlog]

[rocklikerunaway]

[Toph only laughs.]

Yeah, you better enjoy it.

[Because if there was anyone else around? This wouldn't be happening. Toph doesn't do fuzzy.]

So if you can't talk, what can you do? Beg? Fetch? How about flying?

[Commentlog]

[sociopathicwolf]

[Yeah, he's with her there. If it'd been anyone else, he would've hidden in the forest.

He snorts at beg - yeah, right - but fetch, he can do that. He gives a soft 'woof' at that.]

[Commentlog]

[rocklikerunaway]

Okay.

[It takes her a moment of foraging to find a stick with enough weight to throw. She'd throw a rock but... Well would he even fetch a rock?]

Go!

[And away it flies.]

[Commentlog]

[sociopathicwolf]

[No, he probably wouldn't fetch a rock. Like he really wants to pick up a stone and gnaw on it?

The stick, though, he'll chase after that, snatching it up and trotting back with it.]