Ghastly Woods Nowhere to Hide

Cessair had never heard of a bipolar disease before, but it did explain Shadowstorm's odd behavior. It must be very strange having two personalities -- like being two different wolves, almost. Her aggressive personality must have been the one that almost caused her to fight here, and did cause her to fight a pack leader. Now Cessair knew of at least three packs in this land; the Poison Pack Shadowstorm mentioned, whatever pack Ice was from, and one other to the north. This place she had stumbled into had wolves in abundance!

When the black wolf abruptly announced her departure, Cessair was surprised, and only managed a feeble goodbye as she disappeared into the forest. Ice muttered something about helping her; Cessair agreed, but didn't comment. The large, pale wolf obviously didn't like Shadowstorm very much, so Cessair decided not to talk about her, lest she make him angry again. At least he seemed to have calmed down now. Haunting sounds persisted in being a disturbance, though, and the little girl knew that both of them would have a difficult time settling down completely as long as the noise was audible.

Thinking about their brief encounter with Shadowstorm, Cessair only managed a nod in acknowledgement of Ice's apology. He kept himself from fighting, so she had no trouble forgiving him. The black wolf had managed that too, but only after a personality switch. Not intending to be rude, Cessair pushed away her thoughts and looked over at Ice. He seemed a bit confused. <i>"So, uh... what do we do now?"</i> Good question. Cessair's head tilted up in thought for a moment before she gave her reply. <b>"I don't know about you, but I would like to get out of this creepy forest. I've had about as much as I can take of these noises."</b>

you do not know who is your friend or who is your enemy until the   ICE breaks. It was just the pair of them, and both seemed equally at a loss for what to do now. It was the kind of silence that was mildly uncomfortable, but not hostile - just the sort you had with strangers, the one that wanted to be filled but was hard to fill with something proper. The right word, the right sentence, and the silence would blossom into relaxed sound - the wrong, and it'd just deepen, until, fidgeting, the strangers drew back and disappeared, leaving the silence to return to its natural state. But his awkward question was on the right path, at least, and her voice was accompanied by another drawn-out moan of the wind. It smelled of hidden things, deep, musty earth and mouldering leaves. The Ghastly Woods wasn't called ghastly for nothing, and it seemed to always sit upon some deep, dark secret, smiling a predator's smile as its eyes shone. It was certainly not a place he enjoyed at times like these, when clinging vegetation brushed against his spine and the hedges reached out, trying to touch him, grab him, hold him and carry him into the soil. "Yeah," he agreed weakly, and then he was off, moving deliberately. He followed some unseen path that went around most of the bracken and hedges. "Let's get out of here." He had no quarrel with little Cessair, but knew that he'd made a bit of a fool out of himself with his own temper. He would like the opportunity to start over, but perhaps in a more peaceful setting. And so, he hoped that she went his way, going out of the forest with him rather than without him, in another direction. He still wasn't sure what he thought about her apparent lack of courage, but he'd never figure that out if he just ditched her, would he? Besides, Ice wasn't the sort of ditch lone females in a spooky forest and leave them to their own devices. He was far too gentlemanly for that. As he walked, pace swift to get out faster, he turned his head to her. His silver eyes had lost most of their iron-hard cast, returning to their normal state of gentle curiosity. Happiness seemed to always lurk just behind them, a pup-like look, as if enjoying everything he saw, everything he did. The only thing that kept him from bouncing was the tricky forest. It liked to trip you up. "Have you been in the Lore long?" he asked her conversationally. She smelled of no pack, and most loners got settled pretty fast, so he guessed she was a fairly new arrival. (Wrap this one up and move them to a "nicer" area (Blackberry Fields and Wild Cherry Orchard are both pretty close to the woods), or keep it going? :3 If you mind my assumption that she went along with Ice, just let me know and I'll take it out. ^-^ ) .ice aesir

let the stars above shine in your soul

(Blackberry fields is best, due to some other threads I started after this one.)

The little wolf hoped she could be heard over the din of the undying sounds. It was probably just her imagination, but they seemed to be growing louder with the way they filled her ears and blocked out everything else in her head. When the large male responded, his deeper voice more easily penetrating the wall of noise, Cessair was relieved. Perhaps he knew the way out of this labyrinth of growth, or, if he didn't, could at least provide some company to dispel the possibility of any more unwelcome apparitions. As Ice set off, Cessair followed without hesitation. She did find difficulty in keeping up with him, though, as he was going quickly on a path that she couldn't distinguish from the rest of the forest. The undergrowth also worked against her, tripping her up if she wasn't watching her step and thus distracting her attention from the pale wolf ahead of her, who could possibly disappear into this dark forest if she didn't watch <i>him</i> too.

Still, being small had its own advantages, as Cessair didn't have to worry about most of the clingy branches that tried to seize the larger male, and so she wasn't slipping behind too rapidly. She was still close enough when he glanced back at her to note the change in his features. What was hostility earlier had been replaced by a more sociable, friendly expression. Cessair mustered up enough volume to be heard in responding to Ice's inquiry. <b>"No, not very long. I came here looking for my brother, but I like what I've seen of this land so far, besides this horrible forest, and will probably give up searching to stay here."</b> While this decision wasn't settled quite yet, she was already leaning in favor of staying. This issue would be debated later, though, as a spot of light, maybe an illusion, but maybe an exit, appeared in the distance. Cessair picked up her pace to almost a gallop as her freedom from this unpleasant forest was suddenly before her. She imagined finally feeling the sunlight, the brilliant, welcoming sunlight, falling over her fur, washing away the evil this forest had shed on her. Just before she could discern the scenery outside of the ghastly woods through the blindingly bright sunlight, a mischievous tendril caught her paw and tripped her. As soon as she collided with the ground, she jumped up with one quick <span class='word'>incondite</span> motion, not really caring what Ice might have thought, and eagerly sprang out into the bright and joyous world.