I'm a lonely boy

It helps to think of it as a mission. It's a hard thing to keep up when Ruslan knows it's not true, but it helps a little anyway, a small comfort in the idea of the familiar. When he was younger and their pack was brand-new, still stitching itself together, he was a little too focused on these things. He didn't yet know how to have fun, how to let go of the tension and fear of being taken captive once more. Reconnaissance was reassuring. Later on, it became a skill he could use to help his people, less of a personal crutch. Under Khan's leadership, he quickly realized his talent as a scout. He turns to those habits now to give him something to focus on.

Ruslan trusts Solon. He knows perfectly well that their Nightball rivalry is still alive and that Solon's as likely to toss barbs at his pack as most of the other vampires (some of them are far readier). They're unlikely ever to be true friends. But he also knows that, in the heat of battle, Solon saved Camill's life, at risk to his own. They stood for a common cause, even if they had different reasons to do so. When it comes to something as serious as this, when he has nothing to gain from lying, Ruslan knows he can trust the other wolf to be honest with him.

He wishes that weren't the case, really. The idea of being so far from his pack is upsetting. If he had some indication that Solon lied, that there's a way home if he looks for it, he could at least focus on that, but as it is, all Ruslan can do is wander Darrow, trying to learn it and to hide the occasional sniffle. He might rely on pragmatism to get by, but he can't help that he's still an emotional young pup. He didn't have a home for a really long time. Being without one now is scary.

Darrow is probably about the same size as Riverfield, he gauges, maybe a little bigger, but not by much. It's a city, if on the smaller side, and most of it doesn't stand out as especially unusual. He wanders down the central street, curious, taking it all in. The one thing that he notices as particularly strange — and especially worrisome — is the strong presence of vampires. They aren't even hiding, not all of them, and he can smell them in places all over the city. "I don't like this," he says softly, standing outside a bookstore and looking over the magazines and papers displayed on the rack outside. There are mentions of the mayor that note that he's a vampire in passing, as if this were ordinary and expected. He can't help thinking of what they found in Automnal. Though the mayor there was human, the city itself was a living trap.

He's on edge by the time he reaches the outskirts of town, clutching the packet he retrieved from the train station. At least the wooded area just beyond the edge of Darrow smells safe. It's clear that the werewolves here are outnumbered by the vampires, but that's nothing new to Ruslan. Stepping past the treeline, he looks for somewhere safe to hide his things. He's readying himself to change out of his clothes and into his wolf form when he hears something nearby. Cocking his head, he listens, sniffing the air intently. He's not alone. "Hello?"

[ Find Ruslan in town questioning Darrow politics and/or holding his packet or else out in the woods~! He'll be nosing around everywhere, so anywhere is fair game. The baby is new and everyone is welcome. Please come say hi!!! Open until this says otherwise.

November 29, 2025:

Ruslan notices the moment everything changes. He doesn't process what has happened for a bit longer, but there is a distinct shift between one step and the next. Maybe for someone else, all dirt is the same, and running through the trees would be no different no matter where those trees are. Not for a wolf, even one who's human-shaped. Not for Ruslan.

A wolf pup wanders into the wrong forest. Luckily for him, he smells a sort-of-friend.

[ HERE | in progress | wolfy stuff ]