Windsong Fjord Like a good 'ol fashion nightmare

Creamy hued limbs strutted aimlessly about the dense collection of mountain pine and spruce that littered the foothills north of his home, paws following one of many visibly scattered trails that weaved itself effortlessly in and out of the maze of timber to whom knew where. Already a solid week and some days had come to pass since Ember; a daughter of Iopah and former patriarch Koda, returned home from their failed mission at attempting to locate their missing father without her twin sister Bracken in tow. Rarely ever were the two twins apart from one another. Thus Eirian had set out to embark on yet another fruitless attempt to find the lost Reinier girl, this time broadening his search radius to beyond the island dappled surface of Turtleback Lake.

Citrus gaze cast skyward to peer through the canopy above a small noise reverberated against the back of his throat noting the position of the sun. Late afternoon was fast approaching and he still had miles of ground to cover on his return trip home that would take a few hours at least on top of securing a meal to fuel his already aching muscles. Another hour of searching and then he could call it a day and begin heading back. "Bracken, Bracken where are you?" The dark agouti brute called out in booming voice before pressing russet tinged ears forward to listen to the silence that greeted him in return. Nothing. All his ears picked up on were the trills and whistles of the local bird population and the occasional chatter of a squirrel. Clearly the missing child wasn't going to be found in these woods either or else he would have found a clue, or something by now.

It was supposed just a walk; a little trek to ease some of her stress and anxiety about the coming birth. It was still weeks away (hopefully), but Raela had hardly stopped worrying since they had moved; though the concerns were usually forced to the back of the Queen's mind. She hadn't meant to walk this far, but her idle thoughts were all-encompassing, and each bend in her chosen path seemed to promise even more stunning views. Their valley home was breathtaking, and the mountainous rivers here in the more northern reaches of the land simply begged to be seen.

Not the best time for her to be exploring, though. Even leaving the pack's borders was seldom done anymore, and in truth she wasn't that far away from the others. Far enough that her call wouldn't be heard though; and it was at that point that the woman's itching paws finally seemed to stop for real. Raela had followed the river; an activity she was beginning to grow quite fond of whenever she did need some fresh air. There was no getting lost that way. Her lolling tongue reached out to touch the rigid water; still chilled by winter. The air would be cold for some time yet as well; and the land lacked its usual beryl foliage. She was glad that the little ones would be born when the land was much warmer, and more alive.

The Notch matriarch's lapping came to an abrupt halt and her ears stood on end. There was a voice, echoing off of the steep mountainside and the great pine trees at her back. The water dribbled from her chin as she lifted her head; golden eyes glancing warily about. It was calling for someone, that much was sure, but who it was and who was seeking them remained unknown. On another day she might have investigated further, but maternal instinct demanded she consider the newly-formed lives within. She couldn't risk running into an unfriendly stranger. The thought sent a chill down her spine and Raela turned; padding back the way she'd come at as brisk a trot as she could comfortably manage with her growing stomach. Her slit ear cocked backward, waiting to hear the voice again, or worse, footfalls.

As she moved higher into the woods she felt the breeze against her face. Her scent would be blowing toward him, and that knowledge only made the woman's nervous paws move faster. With any luck, she could slip away unnoticed, but today was not her lucky day.

@Raela

Today's journey would not be entirely fruitless even if his findings weren't related to Bracken. Rustling of the underbrush in the distance caught the copper male's attention, gaze honing in on the horizon where the sound had come from only to catch a few stirred leaves bobbing on their thin branches, but there was no denying a nose full of someone's scent as the breeze picked up. Whomever the perfume belonged to Eirian couldn't be sure aside from a hint of familiarity to its scent, but there was no way the fiery pelted patriarch would let them go without a face to face encounter. He had to be sure whether or not it was Bracken's trail.

Ignoring the ache that licked at his muscles paws set into motion again as he began to follow the guidance of his nose, zigzagging along the provided scent trail further away from home in hot pursuit of its maker. Salmon tongue peeked from behind pointed teeth in a faint pant as he moved, silently cursing the extra bulk his bloodline provided in times where litheness was more necessary than brawn; and we all know he has plenty of that to his name, by allowing the smallest of growls to escape his lips. "Slow down!" He called out blindly ahead of himself, unsure still just who he was tracking if they even remained within earshot, while bulldozing his way through the vegetation to form his own path.

"Slow down!"

The fur on her neck stood on end. Raela cast a single fleeting glance backward through widening yellow eyes. A male voice, an irritated one, echoed off of the trees behind her. The mother-to-be felt her pulse escalating by the second. What on earth he could want, she had no idea. The tone wasn't immediately familiar, and there was no way to catch his scent from here. Perhaps she would engage him closer to the borders; closer to backup. Maybe by then he would stop chasing altogether. Her feet skittered on, now carrying her at a steadily increasing lope along the hillside.

Normally, outrunning danger was pretty easy. While the woman's pace started strong, it fell quickly. Her extra weight was a burden, and all the walking she'd done while carrying it had eroded some of her typically endless stamina. As much as she desperately wanted to, Raela wasn't going to escape anyone like this. Her tongue lolled, flapping in the breeze as she jogged on, feeling the exhaustion beginning to eat into her muscles and chanting no, no, over and over in her mind. The distant clatter of feet on pine needles and foliage barely reached her ears over the sound of her own heartbeat. Damn.

All of a sudden the Queen skidded to a stop, jaws parted and gaze searching the forest for a place to hide. It was her last chance now, even if her scent would certainly lead him straight to her. Her chest felt as if it might explode. The worried female's gaze locked onto the blocky outline of a couple large boulders set beside a short pine. At the very least, she could try to give herself a defensible position, right? She lowered her head and bolted from the open, scrambling up the incline and away from her previous path. Best case scenario, he continued right on by. Frantically the wolf pulled herself back against the lichen-covered rock and under the pine boughs. His footsteps were getting louder, and suddenly she felt the urge to try to bolt again. Is this what prey felt like?

Was this the right spot? Did it even matter? Should she still try to flee? The tired matriarch was still panting, though trying desperately to keep it quiet. She backed firmly against the stone, crouching like a cornered puma beneath the spikey branches. It felt as if she could hardly breathe against the pounding in her chest. Oh please be friendly...

Still up for it :) @Raela

Exposed twigs tugged Eirian's fur this way and that constantly as the muscles along his shoulders plowed through the thick vegetation on his pursuit, each tiny snag that threatened to hinder his pace met with an increasingly irritated growl or snort. Why couldn't anyone ever listen for once? He grumbled mentally, continuing his bulldozing. Had he not commanded whomever he was following to slow down not speed up, or was the tone behind his voice not convincing enough to convey his seriousness? All the copper coated male knew was that if this was indeed Bracken he was tracking, the young Reinier woman would get a nice lesson in listening to her superiors and elders; although Eirian never did like to consider himself elderly by any means.

Minutes continued to tick by with no signs of visible change in his situation, pausing for just a hair of a second to cast his citrus gaze over his shoulder back at the way he had come. A curse fell from his lips taking in the wreckage littered path his bulk had caused, signaling just how much further he had to travel to return home in comparison to that had he not started this pointless chase. Whomever he was pursuing was nowhe-- Oh? It was only by a stroke of luck had his nose picked up on the strengthening scent trail once his motions were halted and he could actually breath in the air around him. She was closer now, but he would still need to follow her trail if he wished to discover who this mystery woman was.

Nose to the ground the young patriarch zig-zagged in the ghost footprints of the perfume's maker, eventually finding himself at a dead end. Russet brows knitted together as his eyes scanned where his paws had led him. All there was was more trees and a couple of lichen cloaked boulders, but no sign of his target despite her scent screaming she was here. "Come out!" Eirian bellowed, creamy limbs pacing along the pine needle bedding while his gaze kept up a watchful eye for signs of any movement. "I know you're here. I can smell you."

Every inch of her body was tingling; her chest ready to explode from the indecision. The stranger was nearing her every second, his loping footsteps growing clearer than ever now that she was still and motionless. Raela's breath came as shallowly as possible, but there was no way she could escape detection now, even if she so desperately hoped so. The beat of his step came to a sudden stop, and chills of adrenaline wracked the expecting mother's frame. The man was trotting now, no doubt tracking her down like a cornered rabbit. The pine needles pricked at her skin, and Rae's hair spiked right back.

He was so close now. Golden eyes peered nervously through the interlacing boughs, able to see only a chaotic patchwork of her surroundings. The wolf was so close, and yet she couldn't see him. That knowing-but-not-knowing only made the Matriarch more uneasy. Her ears twitched timidly between forward and back. Right there. Raela's gaze fixated on the horizon of the hillside he had to climb. Had the ground have been flat, she might have seen him by-

The line of dirt and grass was finally broken, rising up in the shape of a dark-agouti man heading straight toward her cover. She froze, almost afraid to look at his face should he suddenly notice her. Well, he'd already noticed her. His eyes tracked along the boulder, the tree, but failed to penetrate its boughs. He lingered there long enough to give away the fact that she was still hidden, at least. His face was familiar, but in her rising panic it was the scent that really brought things home. Her heart spasmed.

He was back. He was back and he smelled of many others, and he was here, cornering her. Raela couldn't decide which fact was more frightening. “Come out!” She flinched, feeling the fur on her back spring up. Her lips twitched back into a defensive snarl. There was so little room for thought now. She had to protect herself and her unborn children. That drive overrode the desire to treat this rationally. His voice slithered into her cove again, more menacingly than before. He was nearly on top of her now. Eirian's closing steps finally did elicit a response, in the form of a low, quiet growl; the kind that said 'come any closer and I'll bite you' in a way that betrayed her fear, but was no less a promise. Crouched beneath the branches, the Queen of the Notch stared up toward his fiery orange eyes. He already knew she was here anyway.

Horrible post is horrible. I'll most likely edit this eventually. [dohtml]

Russet ears swiveled this way and that listening intently for the slightly rustle of a leaf, the faintest snap of a twig. Something, anything that would betray just where the woman was hiding out. Silence further greeted his command and a disappointed snarl erupted from beneath his inky lips, fraction of a second away from turning back the way he had come to start his trek back home when finally there was a sign. There was no mistaking that warning growl that resonated off the boulders making up; unbeknownst to him yet, his cousin's tombstone, revealing just where she was hunkered down. For a split second a smirk twisted the corner of his lips, citrus eyes narrowing in on the exact location the sound had come from. Despite the warning growl that for a second did come across like it would fulfill its threat, another step was taken toward the collection of boulders and low hanging pine boughs. Eirian's head lowering until finally through a small break in the needles came forth the shady silhouette of a wolf.

Sadly the colors were all wrong to be that of Bracken, but that hardly mattered. The Asurn brute recognized that distinctive pattern and look of fear tucked deep into those yellow pools. He knew just who was cowering before him. A rumble formed in his throat as the smirk that remained on his lips twisted back further to reveal the beginnings of his teeth, flashing in the fading sunlight. "Boo." Voice thick in bemusement as a laugh erupted from deep within his chest, but from this view point her curled up body hid her developing state and his nose had yet to pick up on the tell tale sign of pregnancy. Oh once she uncurled herself; if she did, and he got a good whiff.. He wouldn't be laughing for much longer.

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RE: Like a good 'ol fashion nightmare - Raela - Nov 14, 2016

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Seeing him freeze and register the sound was almost disturbing enough to her frazzled mind that she might have cut the warning short, but the deadly stillness that followed only made her beating heart sink further. Then he moved, straight at her, and Raela's growl rose in volume. Her golden eyes grew wider still, more and more fearful with every step. Then, those deep orange pools fixated upon her's, finally returning the stare. The rumbling began to quiet as she was pinned beneath his gaze and his own growl, but rose once more in warning when the man spoke.

He laughed through her threat, and Raela's face grew hot beneath her fur. Words formed over top of the growling. "Get lost Eirian," she dared retort bitterly, gritting her snarling teeth against one another. She was still in a more defensible position, tucked against the rocks and under the boughs, and she wasn't about to leave it and face him in the open. Not like this. There was a part of her that wished he would take the words and leave, but the rest of her knew better. There was little the matriarch could do if he decided to stick around a while and torment her. Running couldn't get her out of here this time.

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RE: Like a good 'ol fashion nightmare - Eirian - Dec 13, 2016

And Eirian just blew up in muh face.. @Raela And warning, minor foul language.

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Get lost Eirian came the bitterly spoken retort above the pathetic tones of her growl in response to his bemusement of having crossed paths with his exiled cousin for a second time since entering Relic Lore. Dramatically, a single cream paw lifted to be pressed against the pale fur of his chest, an equally dramatic gasp falling from his inky lips. "My, Raela, I'm so happy to see you too!" Deep voice saturated in a mock sense of joyfulness before another bout of laughter fell from the man's inky lips, the lively expression wiped from his face in an instant as if the emotion was never there to begin with. Instead, a more serious expression now claimed his facial features. "Why would I ever listen to a pathetic creature like you?"

Citrus irises narrowed as they continued to hold the golden hue of Raela's, charcoal dusted tail twitching behind his rump. "You chose to live with the very filthy creatures we were raised to despise, to exterminate if the opportu--" A chance breeze whipped through the thick timbers and a new scent was presented to Eirian's senses he had yet to pick up on, one that had his eyes widening not in fear, but of disbelief and disgust. There was no denying whom the scent belonged to for its maker was cowered before him, but what the scent entitled was what truly sent the Asurn's blood boiling. She was pregnant.

A thunderous roar erupted from the male's chest as dark tinted lips curled back to reveal the full extent of his tarnished teeth, clicking them harshly in Raela's direction while the copper fur along his shoulders and spine rose to stand on end in a fit of anger. "YOU FUCKING SLUT! YOU'VE BRED WITH AN ABOMINATION?!" Steam metaphorically bellowed out from his ears and flared nostrils, his entire body on fire now as he took a step closer, mentally imagining himself tearing her throat out right then and there to prevent the unholy beast that developed in her womb from ever seeing the world outside. An expression of utter disgust contorted the man's face where the wrinkled skin of his snout from his snarl did not already. Oh how lucky she was to be protected by the rocks and tree she hid behind.

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