bwp: quarrelings - Printable Version

Helga and Lucious had broken off from the rest of the herd early. Amara's bitching had been too much for either one of them to bear any more, and so the pair had stayed behind while the others had moved further north. They were smaller than their larger siblings and cousins, and from the scouts' reports of their previous trips into Relic Lore, they knew that the going only became more difficult the further north they went. The meadow, though, that was easy. Although it was covered with snow, the ground was fairly flat and the pair of pigs had delighted in running through the snow, leaving deep trails in their wake.

That day, they were busy rooting around the northeastern section of the meadow, where the grasses were interrupted by strange looking trees with long branches that fell down to the ground. They were mostly bare now, but Helga and Lucious had still managed to find enough to scavenge on beneath their roots. "Oy! Watch where you're going!" Lucious snapped at Helga as the smaller female got too close to where he was rooting under a tree root that was slightly raised above the ground. Helga snorted at him indignantly, but moved further away to find her own roots to scavenge through, out of Lucious' sight so he couldn't steal it.

Wouldn't miss this thread for anything :P

The decision to venture south down towards the willows had been made unconsciously, and the tawny female had found her paws swiftly taking her across Grizzly Hollow's border one morning while she had ben idly wandering around. It didn't take her long to make the trip, even though she stopped now and then to marvel at the beauty around her. While she may not appreciate the chilliness and hunger that came with winter, she could see the charm in the snowy world she currently resided in. But no matter how pretty winter could look, she was definitely not a cryophilic wolf, and would much rather live in a perpetual summer.

Bypassing the frozen marshland after checking to see if her darkly furred friend wasn't skulking around on the ice, Yvly set her sights on the willows. She wouldn't go too close to Willow Ridge's borders, wanting to keep at least some distance between her and the 'rival pack' as to not disturb the 'peace'. Hopefully she would cross paths with Wraith, but if not there was always the opportunity to hunt something and bring it back to ass to one of the pack's caches. However, the tranquilness of her trip was broken when a howl for assistance from the pack reached her. Tawny ears perked up at the danger warning, and the familiarity of the howl. Now prowling instead of idly trotting, the tawny female made her way to the source of the cry. Before she was even close a pungent smell plagued her senses and she recoiled, lips pulling back disgustedly. It reeked of a thick, musky scent that had her hackles raising. She hadn't come across a creature such as this before, but she wouldn't be deterred, and so she prowled forwards until said creature was in her sights. It looked absolutely hideous, and she couldn't help but gag slightly as the scent became stronger.

Not wanting to disturb the creature as it rummaged around in the roots of one of the many willow trees, Yvly backed up, looking for a way around it so she could meet up with the wolf that had raised the alarm. Slinking to a neighbouring willow tree, the tawny female kept one eye and ear on the creature, hoping it wouldn't notice she was there so she could bypass it without any problems. But for all she knew it had already spotted her, and so with bated breath she crawled out from behind the tree, slowly and carefully making her way past it and towards the wolf.

425 words

Yvly Doramor

imagine we are higher than the arrows,
casually we're breathing with the pharaohs,
tragically we fall just like the arrows.

Niles had been home for exactly one week and already he was back to his old self. Well, at least, to some extent. His sister was still missing and his father was still blind, but he had come to remember just how easy it was to lose himself within the wilderness of his family's domain... how it was to be careless and free with an appetite for all things familiar and new. When he had risen from the Infirmary (where he had been using the now useless, paper-like leaves as bedding), he immediately set out to look for something. Once upon a time, when Isolde had been his constant companion, it had been their game. Whoever found the most interesting find, won.

Just for kicks and partially in hopes that he would actually find his agouti-coated litter mate, he went in the direction where Isolde normally went - to the right. He kicked up the snow behind him as he went, his large and still cumbersome paws easily traversing over the frost. High and low, he began his search, skipping over frost-covered leaves and ignoring the spaces between the roots (he knew by now that there was usually nothing cool there no matter what kind of tree it was). He was about to start running in some random direction when an unfamiliar howl rang out closeby in the meadow, which was soon answered by his sister Morganna.

His little game was almost cast aside before he decided that what they were in a tizzy about was most likely adult things... Boring stuff. The youth started to continue on his way but that was when he saw it. A grotesque face with two sharp upward-pointed teeth, four short and stubby legs, followed by a large round rump that had a skinny, reed-like tail. Niles made a face, his nostrils flaring as he half-thought to go after it.

What would Isolde do...?

He squared his shoulders and held his breath as he crept away. The thing, by guess-timation alone, was easily larger than him - and he was steadily catching up to his older brothers - and he would definitely need to tell someone about it. He stalked out into the open, his gray eyes searching until he found Skoll and Morganna. He cautiously nudged his sister's haunch with his nose, folding his ears back as he realized that the other man beside her was not Skoll at all. His jaw opened as if he was about to say something but he clenched his teeth instead. He needed to tell Morganna that there was something out there... and it was in their woods!

A sharp inhale told of his anxiety as he looked at the two adults, highly oblivious to the other ginormous thing nearby.

storm the castle, guard the crown;
fire an arrow, bring you down

When Greer wasn’t out exploring the neighbouring territories he was usually out patrolling the borders of Willow Ridge, snuffing around the edges of the border searching for trespassers or potential recruits. Not that he would be of any use if there were wolves lurking at their borders seeking out acceptance into his pack—he’d simply call for someone above him due to his reluctance to speak. He didn’t really care why or how they were at their borders—he just wanted to know if they would be an asset. The Ridge wolves were a tight-knit, loyal family and they would not allow anyone but the best to join their ranks. It was due to their pickiness that they were successful.

It was as he meandered around the edge of the territory that he heard the call sound ahead of him, asking the other members of the willows to come forward. Confusion and curiosity immediately consumed him, driving him forward to see the obsidian male he had encountered only a few weeks ago. It obviously wasn’t a meeting, or else it would’ve been his sister or brother—perhaps even his mother—calling the wolves forward. Maybe a hunt of some sort? He grunted at the idea of hunting alongside his pack mates, but that was what being part of a pack was all about—doing things together. Another grunt, but with a shrug of his shoulders, he was off.

He was pleased to see his little brother at the scene once he arrived. A rare, lopsided smile appeared on his lips as he affectionately bumped Niles’ shoulder before he turned his attention to what his sister and Wratih were looking at. His nose scrunched at the stench that radiated off the creatures; what were these foul monsters? Swallowing his words, he glanced over at his older sibling with a questioning glance, hoping she would shed some light on the situation.

Though she had not heard the first summons, the alpha’s cry reached the subordinate’s ears. It was far off, and for a moment, the woman considered ignoring it altogether. Pack life had not been suitable for her, leading the redhead to withdraw – but even as she considered the possibility, she discarded it. Laziness brought a vile taste to the back of her mouth, and Capable shrugged off the idea. Turned about, the young female broke into an industrious lope, covering distance quickly as her long limbs stretched out into longer strides.

Several minutes later, she arrived to the site, finding several other packmates having appeared to answer their queen’s call to arms, as well. She recognized Greer, though not the younger wolf that stood near him. With a quiet chuff, she dipped her head to Morganna before settling near the youths, glancing between the wolves and the intruder not so far off.

“What do we do?” she hissed quietly, ears pricked forward as she trained her sienna eyes on the interloper. Where they meant to chase it away from the willow ridge? Or was this meant to be a hunt? The animal was large, but it didn’t look anything like an elk or a deer.

bring me home, bring back what's stolen,

Capable

like you're supposed to

Even if her brother was not interested in sharing, the forest was full of treats, and it didn't take long for Helga to find a tree of her own to rummage under. Barely had she cleared the snow though, before a bloodcurdling sound made her head veer up, pinpoint eyes quickly roaming the woods around her. But the howl had come from further away, somewhere behind her; oh no! As quickly as she could manage, the sow turned around, galloping back through her own tracks on short, fat legs. Despite her sizable corpus, she could run quite fine when she wanted, and it took only a few moments for her to reach her brother. Though in those moments another, and somehow even more ominous, howl resounded through the trees. "Lucious, look alive!" She squealed at the other boar, his head still buried between the tree roots, oblivious to the approaching danger. Good thing he had her to look out for him. This was them, the beast their scouts had warned them about.

Lucious lifted his tusked face, grunting angrily at his sister, though the sight of her obvious unease made him swallow any more complaints. Instead he looked around, trying to spot the threat, large, muddy snout quivering. While he couldn't clearly identify the enemy, he was getting a bad feeling in his belly, and he brushed close against his sister, lowering his head defensively. A few anxious grunts passed between the siblings. "Should we run?" Asked Lucious lowly, but Helga shook her head, determination on her face; Between the both of them, they could take these beasts. So instead they turned to look in opposite directions, standing side by side, Helga gazing into the depths of the forest, while Lucious was turned towards the open field, only a few trees away.