Kingsfall second star to the right

@Aleksei <3

"That grumpy guy is your brother? Jeez. I feel bad for you, girl."

Trotting merrily through the snow, Everly felt so incredibly tiny compared to the absurdly tall trees all around her, and had done since first entering this forest. It had a kind of peaceful grandiosity to it, powerful but dignified. Not at all the kind of setting she'd expect to find her wayward sibling, but this was where she'd been guided, so this was where she'd come, and so it would be either until her (admittedly quite extensive) patience wore thin or she finally tracked him down.

"'e was 'eaded in tha' direction when ah lef' 'im, if'n ah recalled rightly. Didn' much care ta take note, though, sorry. Kinda just 'oped ah'd never 'ave ta fink about 'im again."

It had been hard getting used to waking up everyday in a different place, without the warmth and comfort and scent of her family all around her. She missed the den, how her uncles snored in tandem, how the sunlight bounced off the stream straight into her eyes as if in special morning greeting just for her.

"You're looking for Askan? Seemed like the type to be left well alone, really... had to stop myself from biting his nose off his face. My mate wouldn't have approved. He should be thankful she's so soft-hearted."

"Sel-what? No, sorry, I've not - wait, maybe... there was a guy, might've given that name, but he snapped at me to mind my own business so I left him alone. Could that be him?"

"Seemed in a sorry state to me. Pretty hungry. Was up for hunting together but my two kids are already miserable sods and I have to see them everyday, I didn't need more of that kind of negativity, I'll go mad. Seemed to be heading roughly south, if that helps?"

"Doing a grand job of spreading the family spirit," she muttered to herself, eyes bright and skyward as she gazed at the treetops far above. "Giving us such a great reputation. It's a good thing mam and me love you so much, twinkletoes." Or otherwise we'd let you sulk out here forever, she thought, but that was a lie; even if she wasn't biologically immune to her brother's charming ways, family was family, and they all agreed that he'd been enjoying this little 'I'm running away from home so don't stop me!!!' tantrum for long enough. Judging by the reactions of those wolves who had crossed his path, he'd hardly been out making friends. Not that that surprised anyone at all. Askan was a very particular brand, an acquired taste.

Just so long as he'd not managed to get himself killed, things were fine. Ignoring how awful that would make her feel - just imagining the look on her parents' faces at the news was enough to wipe the sunshine from her eyes.

But he wasn't that stupid. Pretty stupid, but not that stupid. Whistling a soft tune between her tongue and teeth, so the sound might keep herself company, she kept an eye and ear open and alert. She hadn't followed his trail this far without paying attention.

sorry for the wait on this! Also, @Lachesis, tagging to let you know I'm assuming that Lach would have updated Aleksei on pack goings-on (Naia's death, Karina's leaving, Atropos and Kyrios, etc). Happy to edit that if you're unhappy with that, though. ♥

On seeing the clear weather and thick snow covering the forest floor, Aleksei had left Hearthwood's borders with the intention of tracking down potential prey. Whilst he had been doing his bit to keep the caches stocked with hares, muskrat, and a few other rodents that remained active in winter, he couldn't in his right mind deny that they all needed a little more meat than the small critters provided, especially considering the worst of winter was just upon them. He was sure that Inna would be up for bringing down a deer, not to mention the pups—Lachesis' pups.


The two males may not have been related by blood, but Aleksei still saw the newest arrivals as cousins. Family, regardless of sire and dam, and he would do his best to provide for them now that they lacked their mother (adoptive and birth).

With his nose testing the air, ears swivelling in an attempt to capture any little noise that might hint at deer picking at exposed vegetation or digging through snow, he furrowed his brow as the sound of a soft tune caught his attention, head lifting as his nose twitched, picking apart the messages carried in the breeze. The slight trail of deer, the smell of rot beneath snow as twigs and leaves decomposed, and something stronger: wolf.

Turning slightly, Aleksei found himself stuck between alerting her that she was close to pack borders, that whistling could attract more than just his attention, or simply leaving her to her wanderings. It'd be easy to simply walk away, he told himself as he finally spied her between the trees. It'd save you hassle.

Instead, he just stood there like a simpleton and watched quietly. If she noticed him then fine, he'd have to say something, but for now she was a respectable distance from Hearthwood River's territory and there was no need for Aleksei to be bolshy and bark orders at her.

Let the roots & soil drink of me
Whispering leaves & pointing branches will tell them where I'm lying

@Aleksei

So used to the trails and territories of home, Everly was still getting used to having to really pay attention to pack markers and borders and all that stuff. It wasn't that she liked to trespass or deliberately disrespect anyone, but... she'd grown up knowing exactly who and where their neighbours were, where the neutral places were, where they weren't supposed to go. She very much enjoyed all this meeting-so-many-new-wolves business, but hadn't anticipated just how much a wolf on their own out in the big wide world had to pay attention to everything!

It was a good thing she was so smart, she thought with a pleased tingle which travelled down her spine and ended in a flourish of her tail. And if Askan could do it - he who had once tried to take cover in a supposedly-but-definitely-not-empty badger den because of his dumb nose - then she certainly could!

Chance could have meant that she'd have wandered on by without noticing her silent observer, merry and oblivious, but it was down to chance that she happened to glance in his direction and with a light "oh!" she spotted him.

What a handsome tawny man he was too. Her tail rose in pleasure to wave merrily behind her, paws lifting just that bit higher as she danced towards him, not giving two hoots about his silence. She was so used to starting conversation on a whim that it was utterly normal to her, even if she didn't normally talk to pure strangers with this frequency. The things she did for love.

"Heya!" she chirped, "can I be a pest and steal a heartbeat of your time? I think I've gotten lost again and turned myself around, could you be a total sweetie and help a girl out?"

Oh my god, I love her ♥

Well, Aleksei certainly wasn't surprised by her chipper demeanour—the way she trotted up to him, all smiles and sunshine, was certainly in line with her earlier cheerful whistling. Internally, he couldn't help but criticise such naivety; was she unaware of the dangers that her friendly attitude could welcome?

Honestly, Aleksei was becoming tired of warning people about how dangerous Kingsfall really could be. The blessings it offered were only extended those brave enough to stand against the fellow predators running rampant in the sequoia forest. Still, he couldn't not warn them; what if some poor sod died, and Aleksei had been presented with an opportunity to help them survive another day? He'd always been the dependable sort, even to strangers. And yet …

Didn't that make him essentially the same as this woman, so ready to offer his assistance to any wolf, damsel or bachelor, in distress?

Did it really matter? Was it not in the very nature of a wolf to be a social beast? Evidently so, because as her tail wagged during her approach, Aleksei's own began to sway left to right. Courtesy cost nothing, after all, and it could make you some damn good allies if you kept your dignity and respect.

“You're hardly being a pest, miss” he replied. “I'll do what I can to help you find your way again. Are you looking for somewhere in particular?” He knew the area surrounding Hearthwood relatively well, after all. Maybe he could point her to her final destination, or at least help her get back on track with her journey.

(This post was last modified: Jan 16, 2017, 04:32 PM by Aleksei.)

Let the roots & soil drink of me
Whispering leaves & pointing branches will tell them where I'm lying

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity

<33 @Aleksei

During her entire travels so far, Everly could count on her limbs the number of wolves who had been entirely unreceptive to her charms, and probably couldn't count high enough the number who had been more accommodating. As a wolf surrounded by others who loved her (and coddled her, not that she saw it that way) being able to be firm and forward and lovely and get exactly what she wanted was just something that Everly Selwyn took for granted.

So when the young man's tail rose to mimic her own, and he replied so nicely, she knew that sunshine prevailed once again, and grinned happily at him.

"I was supposed to find a tundra!" she said, coming to a stop a mostly-respectable distance from the man, her nose trying to tell her that he belonged to a pack in this area but she was far too busy to pay attention to irrelevant things like that. "And I've never actually seen a tundra before, but by the lady's description it certainly isn't... these are sequoia trees, right? Pretty sure that means I'm in the wrong place! Am I totally lost, though, or is there anything like that around here? I could go back and retrace my steps, but that's such a bother."

(This post was last modified: Jan 16, 2017, 02:20 PM by Everly.)

A tundra? Well, she certainly wasn't far from her desired location, and Aleksei nodded as she spoke. From what he could gather, his current company was most likely new to the Lore, considering she'd been essentially walking parallel to the territory borders. Kingsfall was right next door to the grassy plains. Aleksei couldn't help but feel a little twinge of amusement. Maybe she'd just been walking in a straight line west from wherever she hailed?

“I think so? I've only ever known them as redwoods.” He smiled sheepishly—perhaps he should have known that. “If you're looking for tundra, I'll assume that it's Larkcall Lowlands you're after.” Turning his gaze up, he squinted. It was late morning, the sun drifting from the east, which meant … “If you go north a while, that way,” he gestured with a bob of his head, “the trees will start to thin, and you'll find yourself in the Lowlands. It's hard to miss. It's wide and open.”

Satisfied that he'd given her the information she needed (really, if she got lost after that then she'd probably struggle finding her own tail), Aleksei considered maybe just leaving her too it. If she had somewhere she needed to be, then who was he to keep her from the end destination? And yet, curiosity got the better of him; what exactly was enticing her to go to the tundra? “If you don't mind me asking, what's your reason for going there? It's not exactly … sheltered this time of the year.” Unless you didn't mind ducking behind big rocks.

Let the roots & soil drink of me
Whispering leaves & pointing branches will tell them where I'm lying

@Aleksei

The woman hadn't given her a name for the tundra, only directions and a vague description (because how much detail could she be expected to offer other than 'it's huge and flat and open and covered in snow'?) so 'Larkcall Lowlands' meant nothing to Everly, but she nodded along with it all the same. If it was tundra, then that was right! She knew it had to be around here somewhere! Maybe once she was out of the trees, things would be easier to see.

She didn't waste much time wondering what she would do once she was in the tundra, for her directions ran out at that point, but she'd cross that fjord when she came to it.

North, thinning trees, lowlands... her head bobbed up and down with each new direction, a little dismayed at the idea of going back the way she had come, even if only a little. How many days of her life had she wasted looping back to try again after getting lost? Not to mention the ghastly number of days she'd lost on this search at all, even if she'd known exactly where her brother was hiding and had been able to go like the crow flies. And how many days ahead were there? Would she even find him before the snows cleared? Would she get back in time to see the daffodils bloom? What about the summer lilies?!

But she knew better than to get ahead of herself, because this encounter wasn't over yet! Just like so many polite, charming wolves before him, the young man inquired as to the purpose of her journey, and she smiled at him, sweet as honey. "Why, I'm looking for my brother," she said, and sighed a little sigh at her own gallant adventure. "I've been following his trail for nearly a whole moon, it feels like! He's dark-furred, a little bigger than me, but we've got the same eyes..." And she stepped forward and blinked her lashes at the tawny yearling so he might get a good look, before laughing and tilting her head with a coy wink. "Askan Selwyn, moon of my life. Don't suppose you've seen him?"

This wasn't the tundra so she didn't think it likely, but she hadn't gotten this far by being stingy about where she cast her net. At least when she was told 'no', she still had a solid direction to be travelling in from here.

@Everly, don't mind Alek. He's just a smelly dork.

It seemed she had a noble quest, one that Aleksei would soon relate to very strongly. Looking for a lost sibling, one who had just vanished it seemed. He had been that sibling once, hadn't he? One that had disappeared from the lives of his family. And so, he wondered, if only briefly, did any of them look for him?


Well, if a woman like this could brave the wilderness and look for her brother, then what was stopping Aleksei from doing the same and finding Karina? Or even Orren? He'd have to speak with Inna again, find out what she knew about his now lost litter mates. Surely they wouldn't have been able to go far? Well … at least, Karina wouldn't have. When it came Aleksei's energetic, fiery brother, he wasn't so sure. Orren had always been fast. Playing tag with him as a kid had been a pain in the arse. Sure, Aleksei had been able to wrestle his brother easily, but when it came to chase? No way was he going to win.

But both brothers paled in comparison to their sister when it came to hide and seek.

There was a grim sort of humour behind that funny prophecy.

Distracted by his own thoughts, Aleksei blinked awkwardly when the woman stepped forward and … and fluttered her lashes like some sweet maiden. He swallowed thickly, conjuring up an awkward sort of smile, as heat ran up the back of his neck and settled in his cheeks. Ever a sop for a pretty smile and a prettier laugh, he could only watch as she giggled, and it left him feeling a rather odd sense of deja vu—as if he wasn't good enough to be in the presence of someone so full of sunshine and light and life, but basking in their presence anyway. It made a nice change, after all, and the storm clouds that hung over his head felt a little less oppressive.

So caught up in the metaphorical break in the clouds that his current company presented, he almost missed out on the name of her brother. Almost. “Askan?” Selwyn at that. “You know, I'm not sure if it's the brother you're looking for but I do know an Askan. Seemed like an all right guy. A bit blunt with his words, if anything. But … not a bad sort of wolf. Sound like him?” And suddenly, the idea of being able to offer a least a little bit more information to this woman was inviting because, oh, she did have a lovely smile. “He took up with a pack called Wild Rye Fields, a fair bit east from here. I'd, uh, offer to accompany you, but …” I'm about to do something very stupid for a very long time. “I have duties here. Maybe I could escort you, though. Just for a while?”

Let the roots & soil drink of me
Whispering leaves & pointing branches will tell them where I'm lying