Cedarwood Forest be friendly but cautious

<blockquote><i>Late night, hours before dawn; Clear — Current Temperature: 35° F/2° C</i>

While his first encounter with his children a few months ago had been a wake up call, a visit from Arlette two days ago had become the fuel to the light the fire within. If Borden Lyall would have it, the cedars around him would have all burst into flame... <i>anything</i> to find the newly reinitiated wolf into the pack.

<i>Kiche.</i>

His scent had been unmistakable; the pack's <i>favorite</i> "pastor" had returned. Prowling his way through the trees, Borden was careful to choose a spot in the forest where the cedars were spaced far enough to provide enough room for a proper brawl - not because he would particularly needed it, but just in case simple words did not help advance his intentions of earning his way up the pack hierarchy.

His eyes lifted to the star-filled sky before glancing about to ensure no one had followed him while he scouted for a secluded spot well away from the Hollow. Then, after taking a few deep breaths and gathering up every scrap of courage he possessed, he tilted his muzzle upwards and let out a beckoning howl.</blockquote>

(This post was last modified: Feb 14, 2012, 09:36 PM by Borden.)

Well, what do you want from me?

<blockquote><ul><span style='font-size:7pt;line-height:100%'>oh hay! i was going to ask for a thread. this works out great. xD But uhm. This is awkward. Kiche doesn't know Borden isn't the leader still.... also is this like... a rank challenge?</span></li></ul>
Nothing was the same, and no one would explain why. The puppies had grown, but Prosper and Theo weren't around... and he hadn't been told why. And then there were all these strange scents that belonged to strange wolves he had never met. This was the forest he had known once, but it didn't really seem to be the home he had known. But it was Aisling who had made it a home before, hadn't she? These thoughts kept him awake at night as he wandered through old haunts, searching for the familiar, hunting his former-self.

From the ashes of his memories a voice rose, climbing higher and higher like a reincarnated phoenix, setting the night on fire. <i>Borden</i>. His soul responded to the call with a mixture of emotions, only some of which Kiche recognized. Borden. <i>I lied to you. I manipulated you.</i> The overwhelming shame nearly knocked him off his paws. <i>You protected me, you respected me.</i> Part of him had genuinely <i>liked</i> Borden, who had at least tried to understand him. Nostalgia soon overcame the regret that kept him rooted to the spot. He could apologize, he could excuse, he could explain... he could... he could... But Kiche outran his thoughts, desperate to reach the source of the summoning cry.

But he stopped short when he came to the clearing.

Borden's presence was arresting. The time and distance that has grown between them only served to exaggerate the commanding air of what Kiche believed was his leader. Disillusioned by his shame, Kiche saw a creature ten times his size, ominous and impressive. Trembling with reverence, Kiche shrank to the ground, barely daring to whisper. "<b>Borden.</b>" That was all he could bring himself to say.
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<i>'eyyy! x) Yeahhh, I figured it might be a bit awkward; so I think Borden might try to do a bit of talking first, see how things are between them... And, heh, yeahhhh, this is kinda a rank challenge since Borden's attempting to /work/ his way up from his 'Lowest' position. :x</i>

<blockquote>The fur that had bristled anxiously settled over his nape and shoulders and he lowered his tail for a short moment before elevating it once more, keeping it from sweeping along his hind legs. The very being he had been looking for had appeared and Borden merely addressed the ginger man with his eyes. His left wrist trembled and he redistributed his weight with a simple shift as Kiche sank down before him.

It was somewhat of a surprise when the male trembled and addressed him by name, but the Lyall played his cards as though he had expected it <b>"Kiche... Long time, no see,"</b> he stated, his tone of voice as slick as oil. His head canted to one side for a moment as he thought of what else to say as a conversation opener. <b>"<i>Soooo....</i> how've you been?"</b></blockquote>

Well, what do you want from me?

<blockquote><ul><span style='font-size:7pt;line-height:100%'>LOL Kiche will probably just hand it to him. We'll see how things go. I have some interesting ideas :3</span></li></ul>He couldn't raise his eyes above the cold, hard soil, because he was scared to death of Borden. Some old fear of those eyes, those smoldering demonic eyes remained with him even now, although he pretended it was just the strange and the uncomfortable prickle in his skin. While Borden may have smoothed over his bristling fur, the unseen, imagined Borden was still on edge, a presence that radiated dominance and majesty with a terrifying sort of beauty. The feeble ginger wolf let his imagination run away with his reality, creating something vastly more grand and horrible, an alternate universe entirely.

Which was why the awkward, conversational question caught him off guard. Abruptly, Kiche flinched, and glanced up without looking. Behind the gauzy blindfold of his imagination he could not discern a familiar, friendly face. He saw a regal creature of unequaled, breathtaking power. He saw a God. Which was why he could not find his tongue or the words with which to answer Borden, not at first. <i>Where is this going? What is he doing?</i> He could not find a motive or meaning on the callous, dark landscape of the rusty, grey lord. After several, agonizing moments, the words stumbled out of his mouth haltingly, "<b>I've.... been better... Things have been pretty... tough... confusing, I guess. I don't really know what's going on anymore.</b>"

Then for some reason, after another tremendously awkward pause, he thoughtlessly added, "<b>I'm sorry.</b>"

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(This post was last modified: Feb 11, 2012, 06:50 PM by Kiche.)

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<blockquote>Leveling his head, the Lyall looked down at the ginger man, listening and observing. From the sounds of it, Kiche had also been left in the dark and something within whispered to Borden that something had to be done. <i>He</i> could be a sort of <i>savior</i> for once through simple words.

<b>"Oh, you're not the only one, I'm afraid,"</b> he offered in a low tone. <b>"Grizzly Hollow has slipped into ruins instead of standing as the empire I had left it as. <i>I've</i> been kept out of a few things myself and I no longer know what goes on within these borders anymore. I am requesting your aid in a few... certain matters."</b>

Borden's voice slid over his tongue in rather silky, smooth tones. Its overall tone might have been warming at first to the ears but as soon as they had been processed an eerie chill followed. He had no intentions for lashing out, however, and he hoped his appeal would be taken into consideration but before he could open his mouth once more to reveal he had several new pack members to keep an eye on (and overtake) Kiche apologized.

<b>"Sorry <i>for what?</i>"</b> The words could have easily flown from his lips in a harsh growl if he hadn't spoken them slowly enough and his eyes narrowed in suspicion. He took a calculated step forward and arched his tail over his back, the familiar stance drawing more confidence from the dusty corners of his mind... the memory of who and what had been Jaysyek's equal. Hopefully, the preacher hadn't made his quest more difficult than it should have been at this point...</blockquote>

(This post was last modified: Feb 16, 2012, 06:50 AM by Borden.)

Well, what do you want from me?

<blockquote><span style='font-size:7pt;line-height:100%'><ul>Me and my muse are not on speaking terms currently. I also pissed off Ability To Speak English, so they're ignoring me too. So. LOL THIS SUCKS.</li></ul></span>

Most of what Borden said confused Kiche. That Grizzly Hollow had collapsed in ruin had escaped his attention, he had not been back long enough to note the differences. Elettra was the same tight-ass bitch. Aisling and Vlar and half of the puppies were gone, but other than that, things hadn't appeared <i>that</i> different. There were new faces, but that was to be expected, and didn't necessarily indicate any sort of ruin intrinsically. Borden's choice of words, however, stirred a very concerned, very righteous part of Kiche. This piece of him was the older, pious fragment that had been chipped off and reattached more times than he could say. The movement, the reawakening of this half of his nature was volatile, quietly dangerous. No matter how he caged and fettered himself, he could not escape this fundamental element of his being. He let his demons back in, having missed them all along. He had only needed just a slight push.

In a word, he was released from his bonds. <i>He needs my help. Grizzly Hollow needs to be saved. It needs to be rebuilt.</i> Although, why it needed to be saved, what it needed to be saved from, and how it was supposed to be rebuilt were not questions that came to mind. It needed to be saved from the <i>heathens</i>. It needed to be rebuilt properly, <i>religiously</i>. Old began to meld with new, and his new-found desire to be a <i>part</i> of something, to help, to create began to mix with his misguided reverence, his addictive hunger for God.

But before he could leap to his feet and sign away his life to an undefined cause, Borden's sudden wrath struck him flat against the ground. <i>What.</i> What was it that he was sorry for? Desperate to help, desperate to make up for all of his wrong doing, desperate to cultivate a <i>real</i> relationship with Borden, Kiche could never admit the truth: that he was sorry he had manipulated and lied. That... that would get him no where. He spewed out the first thing that came to mind, his nose to the ground, "<b>For leaving. For being selfish and just abandoning the Hollow.</b>" It appeared that such few words could undo months and months of self-discovery, months and months of self-betterment. In a moment, he was the same wolf he had been: manipulative, lying, subversive. "<b>I want to help, Borden. I'll do anything. Just tell me what to do.</b>"
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<blockquote>The moment he realized he had bared his teeth while Kiche was apologizing, Borden quickly sealed his lips. The preacher was sorry for <i>leaving.</i> The Lyall gave a quiet nod as the male finally admitted that he wanted to help... that he would do <i>anything</i> he was told. <b>"I'm glad,"</b> he answered, peeling his gaze from his new ally to observe the forest. It all seemed too quiet now and the few minutes it had taken for their conversation to touch on what Borden had been pining for almost seemed like it had taken way too long.

He drew a breath then released it in a puff of moisture. <b>"The pack has grown,"</b> he revealed, hoping now that the subordinate was listening attentively. <b>"And I need your help in keeping an eye on Jaysyek, on Elettra... The dark lady seemed keen on having one of the new males around here to <i>take my place.</i>"</b> A pause separated his sentences briefly but when he continued a rather grave tone finished off his directions, <b>"I am working to stamp out whatever intentions Elettra may have; and, with your assistance I expect putting all <i>three</i> of those new recruits at the <i>bottom</i> of this pack will be child's play."</b>

The last of his words being said, he circled around Kiche before taking one step away from him. <b>"Do not disappoint me,"</b> he growled. <b>"If all goes well, I will see to it that you are nobly rewarded."</b></blockquote>

Well, what do you want from me?

<blockquote><ul><span style='font-size:7pt;line-height:100%'>had the HARDEST time writing this post for the past few days because I found it impossible to get into this mindset. However, The Stone Table from the Narnia soundtrack started playing and suddenly... <i>voila</i> <s>except it still sucks</s></span></li></ul>Crisis averted. Kiche, however, did not allow himself a sigh of relief. He was tense, expectant, waiting for an objective and orders. He clung to every word that fell from Borden's mouth, catching it before it fell to the ground and cradling it in his paws as if it were a precious gem. Reverence kept him prostrate on the ground as he listened. Ever so slowly, without Kiche truly being aware of what was happening, Borden assumed the position that had been vacated quite some time ago. Quickly, Borden ascended to a place in his heart that he had reserved only for Pangur, for his fearsome, terrifying, powerful God. With a secret awe, Kiche stole a glance at his new master as Borden spoke of Elettra. The state of the Hollow must have become more dire than he had realized. A deep, vengeful fire consumed him in an instant. The thought of someone else taking, <i>usurping</i>, Borden's place in Grizzly Hollow was horrifying. That seat of honor belonged to Borden and Borden <i>alone.</i>

If Borden had asked him to throw himself off of a cliff, Kiche surely would have done it without a second thought. However, all that Borden asked was that he keep an eye on Jayse and Elettra, and Kiche accepted the task within an instant, without question. It wasn't up to him, after all, to question the motive of his master. Failure and disappointment were also out of the question. "<b>I wouldn't think of it, Sir.</b>" Although, there was one thing he wanted to know. "<b>But who is this beast that Elettra wants to take your place?</b>" Kiche would want to keep an eye on him, too.

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(This post was last modified: Feb 18, 2012, 06:51 PM by Kiche.)

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<i>Gotta love instrumentals, soundtracks, and epic score music. 8D</i>

<blockquote>The fallen leader was about to make his leave when Kiche answered him obediently. <i>Sir,</i> he had called him. <i>Oh,</i> things were finally starting to look up. A dark smile crept up along his masked face as the preacher asked one more question, his inquiry cementing his intentions into place. <i>"But who is this beast that Elettra wants to take your place?"</i> Borden's grin widened and, after a few seconds of surveying the path before him, he turned to look at the auburn male. The name was merely a whisper alongside the gusts of wind these days but he had taken the time to pick it up and confirm it was the name he had been searching for since he had returned. The never-ending days of following three steps behind his children and pretending to dismiss the nearby conversations he heard on his way around the territory borders had not been in vain.

<b>"Kade."</b></blockquote>

(This post was last modified: Feb 18, 2012, 10:53 PM by Borden.)

Well, what do you want from me?