Wildflower Glade the silent escape

It was rare these days that the regal wolf went far from his pack lands, especially in the dead season of winter, yet his exploration was not unfounded. Scouting the lands to see where the herds were migrating gave him great relief – thus far, the northern parts of Relic Lore had been plentiful for the small pack, and the tawny male grew further encouragement that the pack would thrive with a litter this season.

Prowling through the thick foliage of the Thicket, the stoical male cast a frigid stare to the enclosed land. It had been his first thought to claim land here; he and Ranger had lived amongst the twisted trees and branches for many months together.. but the ebony she-wolf had abandoned him, and now his life was with Aeylen. Still, he had grown accustom to the territory during his time spent here, and the wolf finally emerged to the Glade.

Wildflower Glade still seemed untouched – a blanket of snow had fallen the previous night, though more curious to the large wolf was the dead fawn that lay in the middle. Completely untouched; the wolf stood, staring at the potential meal with oncoming uncertainty – how often was such a young creature left without being disturbed, especially after death? It was likely that the youth had been lost from its mother and perished in the cold.. yet still there was an inkling of hesitance that kept the Leader standing firmly where he was.

(This post was last modified: Jan 21, 2012, 10:59 PM by Corinna.)

And for all the roads you followed...

OOC: Sorry for lateness and overall ugliness, I'm tired >_<

It is said that touch brings affection. And concerning the narrow tie that bonded the relationships between good Akila and the implacable Thicket, it could be far more than true. She still remembered the first time she had dared to enter that unearthly place. The horrid feeling of asphyxia, the mossy branches touching and staining her immaculate pelt as she struggled to pass through the tangling of vegetation which gave form to such a baroque virgin forest. Her first sensation hadn’t been, to say the least, pleasant. And neither it was now, the yellow femme dared to come to the conclusion of. The young feeling that had firstly invaded her mind and soul still lingered inside of her, hiding under the thick mass of her winter pelt every time she put her thoughts and decisions into crawling inside of the greened Thicket. That unforgettable feeling. It wasn’t a pleasing sensation to have, and yet she was drawn to come once again, and again, and again, and one more time. There was something there that forced her to creep inside of it, diving among the branches and intoxicating with the scent of such an ethereal place.

This wasn’t even the second time she had found herself in the need of lose herself inside of the -now spotter with snow- brushes. And neither was the third, nor the fourth. No, she had reached a time in which she felt the moss of its earth almost every day. This one day being just one of those, she had decided earlier that morning, in which she was just passing her time inside of her secret place, in her hidden might to meet a new patch of terrain and trees, hoping to know more and more as each day passed away.

And it was like that how her rather slow pace had led her to a small clear her caramel eyes had never witnessed before. She crawled among the surrounding brushes, trapping every particle of scent she could manage to reach with her moving nostrils. There was a hint of uncertainty she could, for some reason or another, not fully acknowledge as of yet. And she soon reasoned her decision to stop her feet and have a better sight of her surroundings before making her presence any more obvious. Tail stretched, she nosed the air again, and the large femme could soon witness the instigator of such an agitated smell. She had smelt of death, the same trail a lifeless body left as soon as it fell to the ground; and then, she had smelt of wolf.

Amber pearls focused, her crown lowering to have a better sight from under the leafs. She wasn’t going to hide like that, she fully understood that the colossal height of her bushy body wouldn’t allow her such a privilege; but her mind warned her endlessly, and perhaps there was some kind of truth in her instinct. She gazed at the wolf from behind, exploring every patch of the tawny pelt that would show capriciously among the greenness of the place. He was looking at whatever had died there, and the strongest of smells revealed their own uncertainty.

Perhaps her mind was right, and she was neither in the right place, nor in the right moment.

And for all you did not find...

And for all the dreams you had to leave behind.

Time passed slowly; each second stirring the guard hairs of the regal wolf to bristle with his uncertainty and each moment pressing upon him the undesirable speculation that he was being watched. His gaze flickered briefly from the fallen creature to the surrounding woods, yet even as his eyes met no others gazing upon him, Ruiko Tainn still felt at unease. As if something was wrong.

His paws gripped to the frozen earth in his hesitance, his claws flexing as his muscles tensed. Within moments, the feeling of being watched fell upon him once more like a thick blanket, and this time the wind accompanied his confirmations to be true. His muzzle lifted then, swinging back over his shoulder to meet the watchful eyes of a pale she-wolf. He was not sure of how long she had stood there, yet the stature of her posture and the silence that enveloped her only hinted at the male that she seemed as uncertain as he. Pulling his large form aside to reveal the dead fawn to the rogue, his muzzle indicated roughly to the creature’s fallen form, his brown ears sliding back to his skull. “Does this belong to you?”

The question broke the eerie silence, and for that moment Ruiko Tainn felt like himself again. His chest puffed out lightly, his tail flicked in to the quiet of the winter. Had the prey belonged as a kill to the stranger, then it would seem the mystery would be sapped from this event.. Yet instinct told him it was not her kill; the body had fallen in silence.. untouched. The icy grasp of winter had claimed another soul, this time one that was young and innocent. The moment only served to make the male far more grateful for the numbers in his pack.. they could survive the long months of snow, ice, and famine.

And for all the roads you followed...

A faint shiver covered her hidden spine as she felt the sudden load of a pair of eyes staring at her form in vigilance. She gazed front with an unhidden unease, still half inclined to the ground as she approached closer to the enormous male, her mind aching to find out whatever was causing her unusual anxiety. Amber orbs observed closely as the stranger made a slight motion to walk aside of his position, her skull moving as a signal for her to look past his frame. She took a while to adjust her sight to the brightness of the layer of snow that covered the place, but soon she found out what he was pointing out. The source of the previously caught smell. A fawn whose dead body had been left there, perhaps abandoned by her mother, Akila concluded, as the thing seemed to be completely devoid of any scratch, and it wasn’t the scent of blood the one that covered the place.

A question was thrown to her, and as soon as she had finished in her task of recognizing the unusual sight, she responded with a serious tone. “It is not mine”. Akila kept her crouch, and regarded in secret her unwanted manners. Had they met in any other circumstance, she would have shown her politeness to her guest. But there was no place for manners at the moment, or at least that’s what she perceived. There was something in the air… something much different from the scent of the fallen creature. It was a warning. Not a scent, but more of a feeling. Akila breathed heavily as the fur of her rump stood to point at the air above them, and her head pivoted in search of something that could give her some explanation. Nothing. Perhaps it was, indeed, nothing, and the female was just showing herself as a fool next to the security of the large male.

“Perhaps we should take a closer look?” words were pushed from her body as an effort to maybe ease some of her disquietude. Finding out something more about the corpse would probably help a bit, after all. She quit her alert position, and almost forced her limbs to make her look as tall as she really was once again, standing only a bit smaller than the male, but with a rather less pronounced stance. A sudden realization of the lack of knowledge about him started to peer inside of her mind. He looked too tall, too proud to be just another wandering loner, but then again, that could have been part of her imagination as well. Nevermind. Insane or not, she wouldn’t find ease until the vibes were gone.

And for all you did not find...

And for all the dreams you had to leave behind.

This was not the first time Ruiko had stumbled upon a mysterious death in Relic Lore, yet he would not have expected such an event to occur within the serene Wildflower Glade. Of course, it would not be hard to deduce the cause of death to such an innocent and youthful creature with winter’s icy grasp threatening every soul that belonged to mother nature. Still, upon the ivory female’s suggestion, the large male offered a shrug before prowling forward.

Inspection revealed little to his suspicions; the fawn bore no mark nor was there a sign of any struggle. If anything, it almost seemed as if the baby had passed away in sleep.. likely believing itself to wake up within hours to view the world through rested eyes. Death was a strange concept to the wolf, but one he accepted as a natural way of life. This fawn would feed the mouths of others would go on to escape the jaws of winter.

Rolling his shoulders back, the tawny male regarded the she-wolf skeptically. Easily he believed he could overpower her, and yet the gentle nature she revealed to him had dissuaded such a thought. Even then, he had a pack to feed. “I would say it was a natural death,” he offered, as if to reassure her not to be afraid of any toxins or killers among them. The creature did not look sick, so he would rule such a thing out. “I have a pack to feed,” he began, his pelt bristling slightly in defense though he stepped aside from the creature lightly. “But take some for yourself. Such a gift is hard to come by for a lone wolf.”

With that, the male took a step aside, allowing the she-wolf to take a small share of what they had found. Satisfied she had enough (she was only feeding herself, after all) the male offered a nod to the unknown wolf, his muzzle dipping down before he grasped at the remains of the fawn and begun to drag the carcass back to his pack for a small feast. They would eat well tonight.

(This post was last modified: Apr 09, 2012, 09:34 PM by Ruiko.)