VIDEO.

[okamichild]

[ The video starts and a young child can be seen: he is ten, but he looks more mature than that if only because he looks so serious. He is surrounded by trees, and to those who are familiar with the place, it's clearly Heropa's park. Next to him there is a bird that strangely doesn't seem to be afraid of him. In any case, Ame isn't sure how to start this, but he knows exactly what he wants to ask; being an introvert is hard, but he is trying his best!

He doesn’t speak, at first, and he doesn’t really look at the communicator at first. He seems to be focused on something else (smells, sounds). Eventually, he does speak, with a soft low voice and his eyes turn to the small camera ]

Tell me about your forests. And this world's forests. [ okay, that's not so bad. The bird nearby approaches enough so it'll land on top of Ame's head, but the kid doesn't seem to even notice its there. ]

And about the wolves, too.

Comments

video

[monge]

There aren't a whole lot of forests around here, the government people really want us to live in the cities, zura...

B-But the city I live in has a forest nearby, so it's not so bad, zura!

video

[okamichild]

[ s....tares...... ]

What are you? [ IMPORTANT THINGS FIRST ]

video

[monge]

[Why can't he just have a normal conversation without people asking what he is?]

Y-Youkai, z-zura...

video;

[leonized]

The wolves? Why?

[He hasn't seen any wolves around the cities, but he's always curious about people with apparent animal affiliations.]

video;

[okamichild]

I like them. [ and because his dad was a wolf, his sister is a wolf and he is a wolf. But he was taught it's better not to tell others, so he won't ]

There weren't many where I'm from.

video;

[leonized]

Ah... Well, I'm sure they exist. You'd just have to leave the cities to find them.

You're probably a little young for that, though.

voice;

[unwiseheart]

You have a, uh, friend.

[ Kid, there's a bird. See the bird? ]

I'm not sure what you want to know about forests. There's a lot of those. Not as many wolves, unfortunately.

voice;

[okamichild]

It's alright, I don't mind him. [ and he is also 100% it's male. ]

What kind of animals do they have, then? [ a pause. he said "unfortunately". ] Do you like wolves?

voice;

[unwiseheart]

[ Well, if he's sure. ]

Birds, squirrels, deer, rabbits. Small things. You won't find predators near the cities. [ Because humans. That story never changes. ] I do, though. Like wolves. I could say they are my favorite animal.

( audio )

[drizzle]

The forests from my country are filled with all kinds of trees and bushes filled with fruits, herbs, and spices. There's a healthy amount of animal life as well. It's rare to catch a glimpse of them unless you know their favorite eating and watering holes they frequent. Along with green and animal life, there's mountains, flowers, rivers, and waterfalls too. Actually, there's a cliff I enjoy visiting that has a view of the waterfall close by. I always went there whenever I felt down.

As for this world's forests, there is a nature preserve over at De Chima. It's more than a half hour away from the city. I don't know if you'll find wolves here. There are a lot of dogs that sorta resemble them. Do you like dogs too?

( audio )

[okamichild]

That sounds really nice. Did you have wolves, too?

[ he hums thoughtfully ] I don't mind them but it's not the same.

Can we visit that place? The nature reserve. [ Ame is half hour away from the city how are you even going to get there...... ]

( audio )

[drizzle]

There were. The grey kind. They usually keep their distances from us except during hunting season. They're good companions to have in helping us find the animals we were looking for.

I'm guessing they're your favorite animals, right? I like to think wolves are a bigger version of dogs. Just more skilled in surviving off the land than dogs are. They're survivors, aren't they?

[Then at the mention of visiting the nature reserve, her voice will sound soft as she realizes just how new he was.] Of course you can. No one will stop you. It'll be a long way to get there if you don't have a form of transportation though. Unless you don't mind using the bus, that is.

video

[momentaryspring]

The forests? Well, they're about the same as forests anywhere, I'd reckon. Trees, streams, the occasional cursed landmark or cultural artifact...

If anything, I'd say the wolves are more skittish around here. In fact, I haven't been attacked by a one of them.

video

[okamichild]

Wolves don't attack people. [ unless you did something bad to them ]

[momentaryspring]

Oh, I suppose I was just imagining the slavering beast out to eat me, then. Feast your eyes on... this!

[He pulled up the edge of his shirt to reveal what looked suspiciously like the bite mark from a large canid on his torso.]

video

[fastballspeciaaaaal]

[Wolves, you say? Well guess what, this response actually includes a wolf! And he's sitting peacefully beside the girl who's filming, even though they definitely appear to be indoors somewhere.]

I can't tell you about all the wolves, but I can tell you about this one! This is my friend Jackson. He likes raw steak and smooth jazz.

video

[okamichild]

[ AND NOW THERE IS STARING.

It's... not the same kind of wolf Ame is but- ]

How did you find him? [ wolves don't really like people. Or indoors. Or cities. ]

( audio. )

[aberth]

[ Cabeswater is his first thought, but Adam wouldn't talk about it with a stranger. He's protective of the forest even when it can't be reached. Still, his interest is piqued. ]

What do you want to know?

[ Randomly talking about trees is kind of a niche thing. ]

( audio. )

[okamichild]

Anything want to tell me.

The animals, the trees, who lives there. [ what lives there ]

[Video]

[renamaer]

[Oh no, he looks so young....]

The forests where I come from tend to have a lot of different monsters living in them; I haven't had a chance to explore the ones here though. Mostly everything seems to be very developed; maybe there are more forests in other places?

Re: [Video]

[okamichild]

Monsters? [ ... like youkais maybe? ]

they say there is one in De Chima. [ and he is totally going there ]

Voice;

[iamtetsuo]

Forests suck.

Voice;

[okamichild]

[ oh hell naw ]

They don't.

video; have a fellow wolf lady

[hasitsthorns]

[ It's the word 'wolves' that catches her attention. It isn't often people ask specifically of them and those that do usually have a connection. The sunny woman pops up on the screen, all smiles. ]

My world's forests are beautiful. Especially in my home country. Huge mountains and all the nature you could wish for. America's aren't bad either though!

There are still wolves in America, but not in Japan. People say they all died out, but... Who knows!

[ Well! Rose is one. Or, at least, she has the spirit of one. So she knows better than that. ]

video;

[okamichild]

Hm, they are extinct in Japan. [ that's what his father said ]

I will try to know more about the ones in America. [ face to face, even ]