The beginning

A scruffy-looking coyote ambled along the side of the creek, examining the water. Seeing a flash of light under the surface he leaps forward, only missing the fish by inches. Sitting back, he shakes the water from his muzzle and looks arond, his tongue hanging out of his mouth as if in a laugh. Sensing a new presence, he looks across the creek spying another critter, this one of greater intrest.
as the new creature approached, the coyote seemed to shimmer and stretch, until a young man sat in its place. His brown hair tied back in a long pony-tail, his blue eyes were full of laughter and mischief. Brushing the dirt from his jeans, he stands up and hops over the creek, ready to greet the newcomer

true to a shy nature, she watches his approach. a proud wolf, clean and sleek, her gray coat shimmers in the dappled sunlight. in contrast to his bold change, she decides to wait him out in this form and see just who this stranger is.

Chuckling at the shyness, the man sits down and looks at the wolf for a minute. Giving a small chuckle, he cocks his head to the side.

"Come here often, fluffy?" he quips. Not waiting for a respone, he barrels on. "I usually come here for the sun, but the sight of a fish got me thinking of how long its been since I had a snack and then I thought it was funny at how I missed by so little and then I saw you padding closer so I thought you might like to talk but you might want to know who you were talking to and so I changed so you would know what I am and then I thought you might be currious to talk so I jumped over." Finally stopping he takes a breath and looks quizically at the wolf.
"So, do you come here often?"

'boy, you talk a lot' she thinks to him, wondering if he can hear her. so few people can, even shifters.

He sits back straight, one eyebrow raising. "interesting trick." Scratching his head he continues, "I can understand you in any manner, but I haven't learned to communicate that silently."
Chuckling to himself he sighs and takes another breath. "Yeah, I do tend to run on. I have spent a lot of time with humans lately and have missed talking with others like us."

'humans are strange creatures. but i've yet to meet one shifter with this...trick.' with a yawn, she stretches and shimmers into human form. only just enough brown cloth to make her appearance legal to humans covers her body. 'what do you call yourself?'

Blinking at the striking human before him, he gathers himself before continuing. "Yeah, humans are strange, but also interesting. they have many strange concepts and ideas, and weird ways of forming and running their packs."
Smiling at her appearance he brings himself back to her question. "I am called 'LakeJumper'. The humans call me 'Lake', but all the other shifters I know understand that it is because I once jumped across a lake. What name do you go by?"

'Reza.' She thinks for a moment. 'Did you have a bird-shifter carry you?' As she listens to his response, she contemplates the odd idea that humans might run in packs. As far as she is concerned, humans are a rather useless creature, and so she passes over that thought quickly.

Lake looks confused for a moment at her question, then bursts out in laughter.
After a few seconds he ragains his composure ad wipes a tear out of his eye. Smiling, he answers. "No, Reza. I actually used a series of tricks I learned from other shifters and spirits. Some I learned from ones like you."
Leaning closer, he whispers: "I actually did more running across the lake than jumping, but I wasn't going to correct everyones impression of my accomplishments. Their own fault if they couldn't see straight."

Reza cocks her head to one side in confusion of her own, then nods. 'That actually seems reasonable. What is your purpose here?' With her chin, she motions to the forest around her.

"Well, every so often I like to come back to these lands and remember what it is like to be myself." He pats his chest and then waves around. "I grew up here as a pup before my First Change. After that, it was weird being around non-shifters, as they didn't seem to understand me as well. After I learned about what I was from some others, and about what Coyote has in store for me, I felt I should investifate the humans more."
He chuckles at the memories. "Right now, I was wondering if I was alone in the area, of there were any others around to converse with, and possibly learn from. How about you?"

Reza nods. 'I was traveling through. I have met very few shifters in my time since a pup. My first change was painful and lonely. Now, I travel around, trying to see and know. It is rare when I deal with ... humans!' Reza practically jumps back into wolf form as her hearing discerns the sound of a human coming closer.

(Hiker 1) Stumbles out of the brush and undergrowth.

"Where is that damn trail?!" She startles as she sees the lone man sitting in the clearing. "Wow. Who are you?" She peers at him curiously.


(ooc - you can create a second hiker if you want. if not, no worries.)

Lake jumps back a bit, startled at the quick moving wolf and the suddenly appearing hiker.

"Uh..My name is Lake." He stammers a bit, climbing to his feet. "I was just relaxing by the creek, enjoying the sun and the breeze. What brings you so far out?"

He turns to face the hiker, trying to cover where Reza disappeared to.

"Oh! I'm looking for this rock shrine that supposed be around here and I can't find the trail and I think I'm lost." She smiles vapidly. "What's back there?" She tries to follow where Lake is moving.

Cocking his head to the side, he looks quizicly at the newcomer. "Rock shrine? What kind of shrine?" Trying to distract the light-minded girl he gestures towards the creek. "There are some rock formations and things across the creek a bit, if that is what you arelooking for...I'm sorry what did you say your name was?"

"I'm Lana. Sorry." She walks toward the creek. "I don't know. It's supposed to be all special, but I think I may have gotten the directions wrong. I'll just cross the creek here and try out there somewhere..." She sloshes across the creek and disappears with a farewell.

Lake scratches his chin, staring after Lana. "That was strange. I wonder what she is looking for?" A small smile comes to his face. "Nice tail, though."

Sensing the human moving away, Reza waited a minute longer and moves to the edge of the clearing. 'She hasn't got one...

"Well, she does have a sort of tail. The humans call their backside a "tail", but that is usually for purposes of mating..." Lake stops, realizing what he was saying. "Notthat I know much about human mating behaviours." He finishes lamely.

Reza snorts. 'I'm sure.' She pads silently out of the brush. 'I may know the shrine she's talking about. I've come looking for it myself.'

Lake's image shimmers as he shifts back to a coyote. "How about we follow her and see what she finds?"
He hops over the creek and turns to look at Reza. "Unless you're scared, of course."

'I have tracked more than my share of two-leggers in my time.' Reza follows him. 'Lead on, Puddle Puppy.'

Lake nodded at first, but then his head snapped around to look at her. A strange expression crossed his muzzle, as if he was trying to hold his jaws together.
Suddenly, his mouth bursts open in to a laugh as he sits back on his haunches.
It takes him a mintue to compose himself enough to talk. "heh heh. 'Puddle Puppy', is it?" Shaking his head, he continues to chuckle lightly. "Nice one. I'll have to make note that you have some wit as well as looks."
Getting back to his feet, smile still on his muzzle, he turnd back to the woods and begins to follow the human's trail. As he walks, a small chuckly seems to follow him.

As Reza follows, she settles into Lake's pace. The human hadn't gotten far and Reza looked forward to "the chase." It had been a while since she'd run with anyone.

'You know this terrain better than I do, what is around here?'