[center][h3][color=darkgreen]Dalton[/color][/h3]
[@TheNoCoKid]
[sup]Bluff! BLUFF LIKE THE WIND![/sup][/center]
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[center][h2] [u] [b]Penrithe Forest[/b] [/u] [/h2][/center]
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Just like something out of his Japanese anee-mays, a glowing, data-green screen opened up in front of Dalton. At the same time, he caught a whiff of something on the air. It reminded him of a...dog? But somehow, maybe subconsciously, he knew it wasn't. His ears twitched again at a sound in the underbrush. Nonetheless, in that brief moment before his instincts screamed at him, he read what was on the screen.

[quote=STATUS][code]>> [SUMMARY] | SKILLS | MAP | INVENTORY
Name: __________
Race: Merrick (Omega)
Level: 1
Stats:
[*]Strength
[*]Magic
[*]Defense
[*]Resistance
[*]Luck
Active Effects: Reincarnation (Ends 00:02 > 00:01)

SUMMARY | >> [SKILLS] | MAP | INVENTORY
[*][Combat Sense]
Your keen senses allow you to detect and predict where potential attackers are hid--[/code][/quote]

In a single second, Dalton's reading speed proved its worth. He didn't have time to register the numbers beside his different stats, or the other two tabs, but "potential attackers" immediately contextualized the new smells and sounds he was picking up. His head was already turning when the brush in front of him parted--!

A silver-furred wolf, as graceful as she was deadly, leaped out in front of him! Fangs bared, the animal snarled and glared with storm-gray eyes as the fur on its neck bristled.

[i]Look big! Look big![/i] screamed Dalton's analytical side, its mental voice breaking and rising a few octaves in terror. Right, he'd always heard that if you made yourself look bigger than you were, and made intimidating noises, that animals would back off! Ambush predators like wolves and mountain lions weren't supposed to attack if the prey knew they were there and looked like it would put up a fight!

[i]HURRY IT UP![/I] yelled his emotional side, before dumping a load of coal on the fire surging up in Dalton's guts.

Dalton did not usually allow himself to have outbursts of anger or fear. Strict self control, a desire not to rock the boat, rigid courtesy training from his parents...for whatever reason, he'd allowed himself to be chained up all his life.

But he had just died. He'd lived his whole life without meaning, letting himself be trampled on at every turn. He'd allowed himself to be tied down by worthless rules that no one else followed. Some dumbass kid had been looking at their stupid phone, and some idiot trucker had been going way over the speed limit, and the freaking vice president had been on his ass all morning, and that rich bastard had heaped nothing but abuse on him over the phone, and then some Final Fantasy [i]reject[/i] had thrown him out here with [b][i]no pants--[/i][/b]!

>> [Primal Rage] activated!

Dalton [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI6p-Ts67Q0]screamed[/url] back at the wolf, at the top of his lungs. As he raised his arms high above his head, fingers curled into claws, and tried to make himself look as imposing and dangerous as possible, he screamed. Though he didn't know it, his pupils narrowed to slits and the whites of his eyes turned bloodshot red. His own fangs were bared wide. Though his body wasn't exactly huge and buff, he didn't have much fat on him either. Every muscle stood taut against his flesh, and veins pulsed in his forehead and along his forearms.

As his Skill surged through him, his muscles pulsed as if they were growing of their own accord. His skin flushed red and his voice rose in volume yet again. Something like steam, or maybe an aura, rose from his body as he shook with unbridled fury. A vibration, a thrumming resonance deep within his chest, caused his words to reverberate.

[h3]"BACK! OFF!"[/H3]

The wolf's ears suddenly flattened back against her head in surprise. The animal's tail, which was sticking straight out, lowered ever so slightly. She still snarled, but an unsure tongue darted out between her teeth as she crouched lower to the ground, hiding her vulnerable throat.

"[b]I WILL $%&@ YOU UP, BUTTERCUP![/b]" Dalton stomped one foot on the ground, and the impact seemed much heavier than it should've been, leaving an impression in the dirt under his sandal.

The wolf took a step back, and the snarl faded to a low growl...then a whine. Dalton felt relief wash over him--and then, a cold, nervous realization. What was happening to him? He'd triggered a Skill of some kind? He could barely think straight--it didn't make any sense for him to try and attack this animal unarmed. All he wanted to do was scare it and make it go away, but he felt like if it actually turned tail and ran, his first reaction would be to chase it!

Anyone else might've given into that rage, and damned the consequences. Dalton was certainly tempted. But his habit, the one he'd lived his whole life by, was one of self control. And so he was able to temper, just the little bit, this power that he had only barely tapped into before it could overwhelm him.

>> [Primal Rage] deactivated.

"Yeah, that's right!" He kept his arms upraised, and yelled loud enough to shake the leaves on the trees. But the red glow began to fade from his eyes as he wrinkled his nose at the wolf in imitation of its own hackles. "You don't hurt me, I don't hurt you! So walk away!"

The wolf blinked as it took another step back. Then, slowly, it nodded...and spoke.

"You're the one in [i]my[/i] tribe's territory! Identify yourself!" said the beast, in an unmistakably [i]female[/i] voice. This time it was Dalton's turn to blink as his ears flattened against the sides of his head, and both eyebrows flew up.

"What the hell!? You can talk?" he blurted out. The wolf looked at him in confusion, pulling back to a sitting position and tilting her head. Dalton relaxed as well, lowering his arms, but he still stared at her with his jaw gaping.

"What's wrong with you?" The wolf shook herself out--and then started to change.
[hider=INARA][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1028898624698064939/1163210635094523914/thenocokid_medieval_fantasy_werewolf_in_human_form_female_wolf__8ad18fec-92ad-4a73-9cc3-49bf79d428b7.png?ex=653ebf52&is=652c4a52&hm=8023c459fa1c8bf241ca9330368c3799432d64526eca1f974e2e6b76dc47f9f8&[/img][/hider]

Dalton's face changed as well.
[hider=OH MY GAWD...BOOBA!]
[img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/935994562026016780/1162014303881277471/scaredofboobs.png?ex=653a6527&is=6527f027&hm=4e17d1b21168623ace848099609924cce83bf2d5839503ad359dbb132dfda43d&[/img][/hider]

"WUUT THA HAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIL!?"

Somehow, this scream was even louder than the one powered by years of repressed rage and hatred. Above the treetops near the two Merrick, flocks of birds fled their perches and flew over the forest.

"Enough!" shouted the girl as she covered her ears--her actual ears, not the two tufts of hair on her head that [i]resembled[/i] ears. "J-just tell me who you are!"

"Uh. Oh. R-right." Dalton nodded dumbly. "I'm Dalton." His shoulders slumped as he pointed at himself with one thumb, as his voice had gone completely monotone.

"...Dah-ru-tun?" She tilted her head again, and the reincarnator gulped. "What kind of name is that? Where are you from?"

"Ohio."

The two of them stared at each other for a long time, as they each faced the difficult decision of whether they were more intimidated or confused by the person across from them.

[i]Okay, so how do we play this?[/i] Analytical Dalton pushed his non-existent glasses up. [i]Most isekai protagonists tend to keep their original background under wraps...[/i]

[i]I might have blown that already.[/i]

[i]Yeah, but she's first girl![/i] Emotional Dalton pumped his fists. [i]First girl is always on your side! And she's a WOLF girl![/i]

"...What? Do you hear something?" The girl looked at Dalton one way, and then another, but he just stood in place, staring at her. She gulped and stepped back again. "Hey! Are you listening to me?"

[i]The Status screen said we're something called a Merrick. Should we assume the omega is a reference to a hierarchy? If she's also a Merrick, and she turns into a wolf, then it's possible her tribe works like a pack--[/i] Normal Dalton interrupted himself mid-thought.

[i]Wolves don't actually have alphas and omegas and all that stuff, though. At least, not in the wild. The guy who did that study realized he messed up cause he used wolves that were raised in captivity.[/i]

[i]EARTH TO NERDS, SHE'S TALKING TO US![/i]

Dalton blinked and realized the girl had gotten closer. She was lowering her head and sniffing directly in front of him. He glanced down--then jumped backwards with a squeak. The girl, too, flinched in surprise.

"What?! What is the matter with you!?"

"I don't know!" He exclaimed in a panic. But, taking a deep breath, he tried to concentrate. "Okay, so look. It's not by choice that I ended up in your territory--I kinda got...dumped here, I guess? Long story. [b]So, if you're not planning to kill me...would you be willing to help me, instead?[/b]" He held out his hand--which was already starting to sweat--and gulped before smiling at her nervously.

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Quest(s): N/A
Action(s):[list][*]INVITE INARA TO PARTY
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[hider=INVENTORY]
Equip:[list][*]Grass Skirt
[*]Woven Sandals[/list]
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