Wolves and Bats (Balthazar)

He drifted from the guild back out onto the streets; however, instead of exploring the town the creature would head towards the exit of the place and after a bit of walking he'd find himself in the forest again. With nature around him once more, the creature would drift off the dirt path and head into the lush grasses of the area. Making sure he was alone, he would hide his bags before shifting into his wolf form. It was time to get lunch and that meant hunting.

Sniffing the air, he would take in the various scents around the area picking out which ones were worth paying attention to and which ones weren’t. After a moment, he would pick up a familiar smell – the smell of a particular bird that liked to stay on the ground. Following the trail, the wolf would make its way into deeper grasses before crouching down like a cat and sneaking his way towards the area his prey was in.

Laying low, he would become still as he watched the opening up ahead. He could see a burrow up ahead where his prey rested, but he couldn’t just go up to it and disturb the place. No. He needed to wait. Wait for the bird to—Ah-ha!

A tan colored head would poke itself out of the hole and look around a bit before pulling itself out. Looking around once more, the bird would begin to waddle away in search of food completely oblivious that it was being watched. Holding his position for a moment longer, the wolf would wait for the bird to get a little ways away before following. He would continue to follow the bird until it decided to stop to peck at some bugs. Taking the chance, the wolf would move quickly from his hiding spot before attempting the pounce on the bird; however, the bird was quicker than expected and at the last moment it ran out of the way leaving the wolf with only a feather in his mouth. Spitting the feather out, the wolf would give chase not wanting to lose his meal.

He’d chase the creature for a good while before finally sinking his fangs into it near the river. Pleased with the catch, he’d pick it up in his jaws and head back towards the area he wanted to set up camp so he could prepare it and eat it.

He would continue to walk with his meal for a short period of time before his path was blocked by something rather tall and solid. Stopping in his tracks, the wolf would look up at the other and hear the sound, his ears twitching at the sound. Staying still for a while, he considered what to do. He could walk around the other, talk, stare, or act like a regular wolf. Though what he did instead was none of that as he responded back with a muffled bark for now before looking back at the other for a few seconds longer taking in the features of the other.

Outside of height, the other had fangs and strange ears and held a strange scent on him that seemed to be a mix of human and was that bat? Well that would explain the ears, but that didn’t explain what the other was. Hmm curious, but someone who was kind of in his way of lunch. Blinking a bit, he would eventually look away and turning slightly he would move around the man and begin to walk again though a few steps away, the creature would pause again.

“Who are you?” a voice that sounded both like a male and female speaking at once would ask, the sound coming from the other’s mind versus all around. As for where the voice came from? Well, the fact the wolf was turned slightly looking at him was clue enough of that.

The wolf would continue to watch the other as silence fell over the area for a short period of time and then there was a chuckle. "Are you always a smart ass when someone is trying to get your name?" the strange voice would ask as the wolf flicked its tail thinking. This one was indeed strange, but the wolf wondered if it had offended the creature somehow by simply walking around the guy and taking the few paces it did. Was this the cause of his behavior or had the wolf simply gotten unlucky today by not finding a friendly being like he had at the guild?

Hmm. Well whatever the case, the creature wasn't too bothered as it watched the other for a few moments before turning to look forward again. "Walk with us?" the creature would ask watching the forest around it for a few seconds as it kept the kill in its mouth. Then turning slightly again, it would look back at the other.

“This is true, but often times a name is given instead,” the creature’s voice would say as they simply observed the other. Usually remarks like the one given wasn’t expected from such a question. “Though since you want to be so specific, what is your name?” Was that better for the other? As for that other question. “Our booty has the right to look at whoever it pleases and it just so happens we were not exactly in the mood to turn around fully,” the creature would say before sighing a bit and then becoming curious it would ask. “What sort of butt are you interested in then?” A strange question maybe, but hey a valid one none the less.

Well whatever came from that one, the wolf would snort a bit at the last comment. “We are not interested in eating you, we have lunch right here,” the voice would say as the wolf turned enough for the other to see the bird in its mouth. “And don’t worry, we aren’t interested in visiting weird places right now. You are safe.” Or as safe as one could be with a creature such as itself. In any case, as the other walked to its side the wolf would shift its weight and begin to move once more towards its camp sight.

“So we see,” the voice would say as the wolf kept walking for the time being with the bird in its mouth. The creature couldn’t determine if this meeting was a good or bad thing, but at least for now they could potentially be entertained. Either way, the wolf would give a light "mph" at the name before speaking again. “Nice to meet you then Balthazar,” it would respond back before chuckling at the response it got from the booty comment. “Perhaps it is special and perhaps it is not.” Either way the point still stood. It had the right to face whichever way it wanted to when speaking to a person or thing. That aside, the creature would glance up at the other when it came to interest in butts. “Then perhaps you prefer scales instead?” it would ask mostly joking with that one though how it would be taken was up to the other.

“Ah. A fighter. Good. If you ever became my prey we have something to look forward to.” While the creature didn’t prompt violence, it did love a good hunt and tussle here and there even more so when said thing was a challenger or potential food. Perhaps it was weird in that regard, but it just felt so much more pleasing to win after a struggle versus having something just handed out. Though it wouldn’t refuse hand outs either. “Injuries come with the territory of a fight, but there is no reason for that right now. As for what we want with you, we suppose just to talk. You do seem like someone interesting to pass the time with.”

“Is there really a need for a straight answer when it comes to booties? They are what they are. It is as simple as that.” And if for some reason there was something that made it different, well the creature was pretty sure other things outside of words would clue the world onto it. Either way, the wolf had been amused by the topic more so than the statement itself. After all it wasn’t every day a conversations about asses came up. “Not necessarily. Some races aren’t really animals at all and may have scales in some places or perhaps just a really dry behind. Though why someone would be interested in either of those would be beyond us,” the creature would reply back as it gave a slight shrug with it shoulders as it kept walking for a bit longer.

“We don’t attack for no reason, so you have no concern there.” Honestly, despite being what it was, the wolf was non-hostile unless provoked and so far the man had done nothing to cause the creature to want to attack. It was honestly a waste of energy to attack without reason, so the wolf wouldn’t. In any case, the pair would walk a bit longer until they came upon a camp where some wood had been set up for a fire. Walking to one side of, the pile the wolf would pause to drop the bird on the ground as it looked at the other.

“Maybe. Or maybe your way of talking is simply more entertaining than the solitude we typically prefer,” the creature would say before shifting from wolf form to its male humanoid form. Looking to the wood the male would close its eyes a bit as a strange symbol drifted from his back and drifted towards the wood. As soon as the symbol touched the wood, it would catch aflame tearing up the symbol in the process before settling into a gentle crackle.

Sitting down before the bird, the creature would get to work on plucking the feathers off speaking as he did so. “We have simply spoken like this from birth, but perhaps it is suiting considering we are neither male nor female. Our form can be either we wish it to be,” the creature would state the strange twin voices still there at the time.

"We never said the matter was pointless. We simply asked what need was there for a straight answer. If it was pointless we would’ve said something different.” It wasn’t a non straight forward answer still an answer? The creature wonder just how the other had come to it being pointless from that. “We can see how that assumption can be made,” the creature would say with a snort. Scales alone could imply many things, but unlike others this one seemed to think more than others when it came to responding back. An interesting trait provided it didn’t get out of hand or he over thought everything.

In any case, back at the camp the man in white would look up at the other the black eyes watching the other for a moment before a smirk came upon those lips. “It is true we invited rather quickly and it is also true we cannot tell just how entertaining you will be based upon speech, yet our gut told us to give you whirl. So we did and so far we are not disappointed.” No one knew anything about anyone or thing until they interacted with it more than for just a few seconds, so why not take the plunge if you found something already interesting?

Speaking of interest, it would seem that the creature’s way of speaking had become a subject to be discussed. As it continued to clean the bird making sure all feathers were gone before it worked on the messier job of pulling the parts not needed off the bird, the creature’s white ears would twitch at the whistle before the creature would stay quiet for a bit as its eyebrows furrowed in thought.

“We do not see why addressing ourselves as such makes us mental. Yes there is only one of us and it is true we could use “I”, but why? What makes “I” better than “we” outside of saving one’s self from raised eyebrows and questions?” It didn’t quite get the point of this. Typically once something is explained people let it be so….what was the deal here?

“We suppose that is because of the way you translate it. To another there may have been meaning in it after all, even if the answer was not direct.” The wolf would respond before pausing and looking at the bird making sure all feathers were off before it began to work on cleaning it and breaking it up apart so it could cook it. “Would you have preferred silence over a response? And we don’t think the meaning is lost there. It just changes depending on who listens to it. For you it is pointless. To me it is a valid answer.” And so it was whether or not it made one wiser or not. An answer was an answer, it was as simple as that.

“A whim?” the creature would hum at that one as it was quiet for a moment before nodding. “We suppose so.” The creature supposed it could be called a whim considering it did not know the other or if he was really as entertaining as he seemed. For all it knew this could turn out to be an error on its part and he and it would not be able to get along at all. Though the creature hoped it didn’t come to that.

Though what it would come down to is odd conversations over how one choose to address themselves. “When someone is neither female nor male, but can be both. ‘We’ encompasses both the male and female. There is technically two even if the person is the same in either form. Just like ‘they’ or ‘it’ would fit too. ‘We’ is neither worse or greater than ‘I’. They both hold the same weight in the end. As for mental disorders we have none to be concerned about,” the wolf would say as it picked up some sharpened sticks and began to place the meat on them before hanging them over the flames to cook.