Phantom in the Wild {Open}

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    ((OOC: This is my first advanced rp :) I would really like it someone would rp with me please.))


    Phantom erupted from the forest and bolted across the open meadow towards the river that ran through the middle. Wisps of misty breaths burst from his mouth as he panted hard as he crossed to the river. He skidded to a halt, his back legs lifting off the ground and he nearly fell over himself. He landed in a heap on the river bank, the sandy silt spraying into his eyes and getting lodged between his toes. He sighed and sat up then shook his brownish grey pelt, his large ears slapping the sides of his face. He groaned with embarrassment and hoped no one had seen that.


    Phantom reared up and looked around beyond the tall grass that blocked his view, he sniffed the air by taking in deep frosty breaths. He couldn't see or scent anything quite yet, then again the air was so heavy with icy dew that he doubted he could scent anything even if he tried. He sniffled and hopped towards the river, a thin layer of ice forming over the surface. With a powerful kick he broke the ice and started to lap at the freezing bluish liquid. He shivered but enjoyed every drink.


    The snap of a twig caused Phantom to sit bolt up-right, his ears standing to attention. His hazel eyes darted around in search of the danger or the source of the noise. His heart thundered in his chest and his nails sank into the ground as he prepared to flee if the mysterious creature turned out to be an enemy. Being a hare had it's downsides, he had predators to be careful of at all times hence why he rarely left the forest.

    Hackney froze as a twig cracked beneath his paw. He scowled at himself and carried on to the side of the river. Honestly, he was far too edgy these days. Maybe it was time to take a break...
    He sighed and smashed a paw through the ice, shaking glittering fragments off his leg as he lapped up the icy water. The fog and his tiredness combined had stopped the fox from noticing the hare just yet. Tendrils of mist curled round his ankles and he shivered, shifting his weight onto his back legs, ready to run. It was too quiet here - anything could be lurking in the rising mist...



    OOC: Is it okay for me to just jump in like this?
    Also, Hackney has the All Languages item, so he'll understand Phantom. Otherwise it could get awkward. :)

    ((OOC: That's quite alright :) Thank you for rping with me :D ))


    Phantom could hear nothing more than his heart thundering away inside his chest. His ears rang with the sound of the blood that flowed through them which was becoming unbearable. His muscles twitched eagerly as the blood was pumped around his body as he prepared to fight or flight. The whites of his eyes showed as the fear gripped him, his hazel eyes trying to focus on anything that was hidden within the thickening mist.


    The sound of cracking ice caused the hare to jump into the air with a loud high-pitched shriek. He landed with a thud and he panted heavily as he noticed the shadowy figure of a creature in the mist. "Oh my! Oh my! Oh my!" He whimpered, one of his back feet drumming on the ground. He was too terrified to move. What if it was a wolf or a big cat? He couldn't tell but he couldn't bring himself to flee.

    OOC: My pleasure!


    IC: Hackney jerked up his head as a terrible shriek perpetrated his ears. He sat up, rigid, listening. He soon heard a string of frightened exclamations, accompanied by a series of thumps. Who - or what, he thought, becoming more frightened - could it be? He jumped as a chunk of ice fell into the river with a splash, almost following it into the freezing water. He swore under his breath. Oh, well done, Hackney, he scolded, scrambling backwards. Advertise your presence to every living creature for the next three miles, why don't you?
    After some thought, he decided that it would be best to creep up behind... whatever it was... and attack it in surprise rather than be ambushed himself. Hackney slid stealthily along the river bank, relying on hearing - and what little he could see through the fog - as his only guide. Just a little bit further, he judged...

    Phantom panicked even more the longer nothing happened. He shrieked again as he heard another splash in the river and his foot drummed even more rapidly on the ground. His breaths condensed in the air in front of his nose and his ears were stood to attention, pointing straight up in the air. His hazel eyes were wide with terror and his fur prickled and rose up until it stood on end. "I should have never come to the river." He whined quietly to himself.


    He started backing up blindly into the mist, unknown to him he was heading closer to Hackney. Phantom's sides rippled like waves as he breathed quickly. He rose up onto his tippy toes and tried to look around in hope of spotting the danger. "Please don't kill me!" He cried out as he felt something jab into his back. He spun round, his eyes almost entirely white from fear. His heart froze from embarrassment as he stared at a stick. He felt stupid and settled down again, his ears flopping down lazily. "I'm a total idiot..."

    Hackney crouched closer to the ground as he heard a murmuring floating through the fog, warped and distorted into unearthly groans and moans. He shivered, and a burst of doubt flashed through his mind. He shook it away. He could hear them getting louder - surely he must be very close by now...
    Suddenly, he leapt forward, feeling his paws fasten around something covered in fur. "Got it!" he muttered triumphantly, then realised what he'd caught.
    "A hare?" he yelped, his cheeks burning, almost dropping it in embarrassment. He covered up his mistake with a cough. Lucky nobody had been around to see it, huh?
    Well, it could make a pretty good meal at least...

    The post was edited 1 time, last by worshipthesquid ().

    Phantom was just becoming completely calm again when suddenly something came out the fog and grabbed him. He screamed at the top of his voice as he was caught by the mysterious creature. At first Phantom jumped to the conclusion that it was a wolf due to the paws and also his overwhelming fear of them. "I don't want to die!" He wailed loudly, his eyes shutting closed and he writhed frantically beneath the paws of his attacker. His powerful back legs kicked out at the stranger as he continued to wail for help or mercy.

    Hackney winced under the onslaught of blows. He was just about to kill it then and there when he heard it speak and nearly dropped the thing.
    "Y-you can speak?" he stuttered, holding it at arms' length. He peered at the hare in wonder. "What kind of hare are you?"

    Phantom paused and stared at Hackney and realised it wasn't a wolf after all but did look a little like one, but smaller and a different colour. He gawked at the stranger and frowned. "Of course I can speak! Do I look like a mute to you?!" He squealed still terrified, then again he had to pause and process the fact that the fox could understand him. "Wait... you can understand what I'm saying?" He knew he didn't speak or understand any other language so it only left the fox who could understand other languages. Phantom tried to wriggle free again but mainly because he wanted to sit up and not be pinned.

    "Yeah..." Hackney replied, staring into space, his mind whirring. "So do all animals - I mean, mice and - and birds and things, do they all speak?" He glanced down at his paws, dazed. "Oh. Sorry," he said, putting the hare gently on the ground. How can this be? We eat these animals, he thought.

    Phantom didn't say anything until he was placed back down. He brushed his fur off with his fore-paws and gave himself a quick shake which cast dust up into the air. His ears stood up straight and pointed towards Hackney, he gave the fox a strange stare. "Of course all animals speak. Mice are really chatty creatures and birds won't stop with the singing. Just because we're smaller than everyone else doesn't mean we don't speak or have feelings as well you know." Phantom explained as he stood on his hind legs and made gestures with his front paws. "By the way I'm Phantom." He spoke in a more cheery manner, this was turning out to be a strange morning indeed.

    "Hackney," he replied, sitting back on his haunches and flicking his ears forward eagerly. "But this is amazing! How could I never have noticed before?" He answered himself almost instantly. "I guess there aren't so many creatures in the city... funny how you don't notice..." He frowned, then jerked out of his contemplation. "Can you speak to all foxes?" he asked.

    Phantom listened intently to the fox who was called Hackney. He twitched his ears and his hazel eyes were fixed upon the creature. Clearly the fox was nothing like a wolf who would have probably devoured him anyway without much thought. He settled down on all fours and bundled himself up tight due to the cold mist that continued to linger around them. "You're the first fox I've ever seen actually. Also I don't think so, I know I can't speak any language except that of hares but I do know how to use paws gestures to communicate with some other animals. It must be you is speaking hare at the moment. Also... what's a city?" Phantom spoke and he tilted his head a little to the left.

    Hackney latched onto the hare's last question, his words flowing too quickly for him to follow. "A city's a... a kind of massive Twoleg pack." His ears flicked in confusion. "Or warren, or leap, or whatever it is." He recovered his composure. "It's really noisy and full of Twoleg filth, which is why I came out here." His eyes became wistful. "Lots of free food, though..."

    Phantom nodded as he listened and found the whole concept very interesting, he even started to consider going there himself maybe as part of an adventure. "How very strange, maybe one day I could go there to see it myself. I do love adventures." He replied and smiled a little, his eyes glistening a little as he imagined the city in his mind. "What sort of food do you get there anyway? Is there still grass in this city?" He questioned, eager to learn more from Hackney.

    "Only in certain places, and they're quite risky to get to, although fairly safe once you're there. They're called -" he frowned, trying to remember - "'parks' and 'gar-dens'." He shrugged. "And no, I don't know what a gar is." He returned to the topic. "Most of the easy food is the stuff thrown away by Twolegs - as long as you can get to it before the cats and such, there's as much as you can eat and more. It tastes nothing like what you get out here, though."

    Phantom nodded and sat up on his haunches and pressed a paw to his lower lip as he thought deeply about what the fox had said. "I still wouldn't mind seeing the city though. I'm not bothered by cats though, I can fight them off easily." He chuckled loudly and fluffed his fur up a little with excitement, his legs just itching to do some running. The cold was starting to ease and the mist was steadily fading. "Could you take me there?" He asked politely.

    Hackney shrugged. "Don't see why not. I was going back anyway. Seems to me it's far too quiet and spooky out here with all this mist." He shuddered. "Not to mention cold. It's quite a way west of here, though, so it'll take a while." He looked down at Phantom. Even though they'd only just met, Hackney felt he could already count the hare as a friend. "You sure you want to come?" he asked.

    Phantom jumped up and down with excitement. "I'm going to the city! Yippee!" He cheered as he hopped around Hackney like some excited child, his white tail flashing brightly as he bounded around. He then came to a stop in front of the fox again and looked a little embarrassed about his little outburst of joy. "Sorry about that... anyway the forest is a lot better in the season of new-leaf. Leaf-bare isn't nice at all." He spoke as he flattened his ears to his back as a cold draft hit them. "I don't mind travelling great distances." He grinned and waited for Hackney to lead the way.

    Hackney raised his eyebrows and suppressed a laugh. Surprises coming thick and fast, he thought, loping towards the forest. Only a day's travel through the woods and he'd be back in the city - back home. He could already taste that heavenly spiced chicken on his tongue... He closed his eyes in rapture and hastened his pace, thinking of strangely-coloured sauces and warm, noisy nights. What had possessed him to travel to the countryside? The sooner he got back, the better.