Stonewatch Timbers I only call you when it's half past five

AW!

Mid-afternoon. Light drizzle, 41 ° F, 5 ° C. RE: the sky is dark with storm clouds.

It was further than she'd ever been before, but when the rolling hills and tangled trees of the thicket eventually succumbed to steeper, winding paths and new heights, Lyanna was startstruck.

The forest that adorned the crags of Stonewatch Timbers was much the same as the one she knew and hailed from ─ dense and dark in places, secretive and alluring ─ but the air was thinner, fresher, and perhaps even colder. As the day wore on and her jagged, unforged path wound further up and away, the autumn wind that seemed to ricochet off the rocky faces of the weathered, old peaks cut across her face and ruffled up her tawny coat. Her paws were dirtied, stained brown with flecks of dried mud clinging to the fur of her legs. It was hard work, navigating the new world without a single soul there to show her or guide her or keep her feet from slipping on the stone, but that was exactly what fulfilled her.

It must have been her mother's blood coursing through her, calling her onward to places unknown and making her feel more alive than she'd ever felt before. In her mind, she could only envision what she thought @Kite looked like, a fabricated image composed of her own interpretations of her father's memories and the stories he'd shared with her. Even if her mother was very much a ghost, though, the young Tainn ─ with her courage and golden eyes ─ couldn't help but to want to know her, or be her. And so as Kite had once been the wayfarer, versed traveler, and earned scout, so did her only child strive to be, too.

The only difference was that Lyanna had it in mind to return home.

'Home' was a thought that had crossed her mind several times on this particular excursion. When her feet were worn and her mouth was dry, and as the afternoon sky faded from brilliant blue to muted silver and then to a churning, foreboding sort of grey, she considered turning back. Perched atop a rounded boulder that hung over the crooked, shadowed cracks and crevices of the wooded forests below, she tested the air with a flick of her rough, pink tongue. Soon it would rain, and no sooner than she chose to turn around would she save herself the grief of riding out the wet cold alone. She just wasn't ready to go home. Not yet.

(This post was last modified: Sep 28, 2015, 11:56 AM by Lyanna.)

She was tired, tired down to her bones. It was nothing like Marianna had ever experienced before – sleep was not the same comfort it was before her mother had left to join her father. No longer was she utterly content curled up between her brothers, sprawled on top of @Draven or stuffed underneath Kino’s bulk. She could be pressed up to her eldest brother’s side, and still she couldn’t find the same peace and wonder the dreams used to bring her. Now they were haunted by that hollow stare, the blank expression in Minka’s eyes after the life had all drained out of them. It was the same way their kills would gaze up after they’d been brought back for the puppies to eat, and she just couldn’t—

Huffing an irritated sigh, the girl continued to plod through the forest, intent on leaving Round Stone Crest for the day. She’d come back, she always came back – difficult as it was to digest the grieving all around her, the princess could not imagine a life without her siblings or her da. (Raela and Calanthe, she could most certainly do without, the jealous women who’d watched her mother die and done nothing to save her, but to part with them meant to part with the only company she favored, as well.) So these day trips would have to suffice to clear her mind, give her enough breath to last the night and stay until she could wander off the next day.

It was just her luck that it would rain while she was out exploring. Ari squinted up towards the sky, snorting softly as a drop fell directly into her nose. Shaking out her head and sneezing, the pup had half a mind to call it a day and return to the den a flash of tawny fur caught her attention. Not recognizing the shape as one of her packmates, the girl’s melancholy was lifted almost immediately as she turned, trotting closer towards the other pup. About the same size, it dawned on the princess that this was another girl her age, and she greeted the stranger with a bright yip.

“Hi!” she rumbled, only stopping a length or so away. A fear of others had yet to be instilled in her. “Hi, did you come to play? No one else wants to play.”

 

A wild dissertation appears!

There is a deer that was killed by a lynx nearby. +10 Health

The grief still hung all around them, laying like a fog over the Crest wolves. Kino crawled under it, belly to the ground and nose to the dirt to avoid inhaling the stinking stuff that was dragging down his packmates. He had grieved for his mother, cried for her in private. Screaming the unfairness of it into the sky until his throat had been sore and he’d wobbled into unconsciousness. He saw her everywhere, in the trees and in the sky, heard her voice on the wind and felt her warmth in the sun. It was strange that he found this to be a comfort, as if she weren’t really dead at all. He dreamed of her still with them, chasing them through the trees like in times before. Sometimes, he swore he felt her nose brush against his ear with the wind. The prince knew that Minka wouldn’t want them to cry over her, wouldn’t want them to waste away their days grieving over something that was out of their control. He didn’t want that to be her memory. His mother had tried everything in her power to instill only good thoughts of their late father into their minds, and he would do that with her. The image of her body, unmoving and unbreathing would be forever etched into the corners of his mind, but he was able to fight them back with exploration.

This day he was out as usual. He knew the entirety of the territory by now, knew it like the back of his paw and then some. There wasn’t a tree he hadn’t seen or a rock he hadn’t over turned at this point, and he grew rather bored with it at times. This was why he grew slightly excited when coming across the scent of his age-mate Ari. Both children had developed much the same mindset when it came to their mother’s death, preferring to not be around the grief and sulking. Neither really understood the need, and while they were sad they didn’t find it to be very…appropriate. Gent had told them that he wanted them to stay within the territory, which had become quite a nuisance to his adventurous spirit. It seemed that the man’s favorite child, Marianna, wasn’t quite feeling up to the declaration today. He had no problem with it, and decided to follow after the girl. If they were caught, he could simply say he had tagged along to make sure that Ari, who would never get in trouble, didn’t get hurt. With this in mind, he hurdled himself across the border with a small grin.

He quickly followed after the scent, strong legs pumping to cross the land that lay beneath him and his favorite sibling. Kino had recently begun to shoot up in height, his chest broadening and his shoulders widening to give him a broad looking frame. It was becoming clear that while Ari would have all the weight and muscle in their litter, Kino would have the stamina and the height. His sibling’s eyes had changed to grey and green, but the boy’s eyes had stayed with his de-saturated look and brightened to an even more striking blue. Of course, he didn’t much care for how he might look. Some might consider him handsome, but the term was lost on the wanderlust boy.

Soon he came upon his sister, auds swiveling forward as he slowed to catch her jumbled and excited words. Who could she be with, he wondered. Rain had startled to drizzle the land, and his gaze momentarily drifted to the sky to see the rolling clouds. A slight frown marred his maw at this, for it was no secret that soon they would be caught in a downpour. As he came upon the pair, he was thinking of areas to seek shelter already before he paused in slight shock. He had met a man outside of the pack already, so he knew of the existence of others outside of their territory but he had yet to meet another that was so close to an age-mate of theirs. He fixed his bright eyes bluntly on the girl, brows raised as he continued over to Ari’s side. “I would’ve played if you’d asked,” he muttered to the Lagina girl, moving to bump his snout against her cheek before sidling up next to her. His body was relaxed, and while he was standing next to his sibling there was no air of output or aggression toward the pale female with striking eyes and a creamy coat. “Who’s your friend?” he asked, peering at Ari. He felt rather offended by the thought that the girl wouldn’t have told him about meeting someone the same age as them. They always told each other about their adventures.

Delphi the Oracle, Designs.  

(This post was last modified: Sep 28, 2015, 12:49 PM by Kjors.)

Overhead and off in the distance a clap of thunder sounded, seemingly shaking the very ground she stood upon, and a short time later one the first of the storm's raindrops fell to her crown with a plop. She looked skyward, taking in the sight of the grey-stroked clouds as they rolled and plumed and were lit by lightning on the inside above her; a smile graced her dark lips. Lyanna always did like the rain, but experiencing a storm like this one in a new and exciting place made the moment that much more satisfying.

Hopping from the boulder that had served as her crow's nest to the grass-splotched earth below, the girl began to make her way deeper into the Timbers when she was stumbled upon and greeted by someone she'd never seen before ─ a pretty girl just her age. Having recently lost her friend, Daniel, who had been the only other wolf her age back home, she couldn't help but to feel a butterfly of excitement flutter suddenly in her chest. "Hi, did you come to play? No one else wants to play," the girl said to her, and, having no reason to fear her or want to decline such an opportunity to make a new friend, Lyanna naturally felt inclined to engage.

"Hello," she returned, curiosity and warmth in her amber eyes as she looked the girl over and searched her face. Before she could answer, the two were joined by a boy who no doubt was related to the russet-furred one. He was quick to inform who Lyanna deduced to be his sister that he'd been willing to play, to which she perked up with interested. Two new friends? Why, that was certainly better than one, and as the rain fell slowly, cold and wet and wonderful, she addressed the pair of them. "I'd love to play with you both," she offered. "I'm Lyanna, Lyanna Tainn, of Secret Woodlands ─ it's just south of here...I was exploring, didn't think I'd run into, well, anyone really. It's..." she thought of what would be polite and inviting to say, a contented and adventurous smile gracing her features. "...It's very nice to meet you guys. What are your names?"

(This post was last modified: Sep 28, 2015, 12:27 PM by Lyanna.)

The new puppy was met with a furious wag of tail – what would it be like to have another girl to play with? @Kino was terribly fun to play with, especially when they went exploring together outside of Round Stone Crest. Unfortunately, the alpha had barred them from leaving the territory after their mother had…gone, but it clearly hadn’t stopped the princess. Curiously, it had not seemed to hinder Kino’s since of exploration, either. Shifting her weight, she bumped into his side easily, head turned just enough to nip at her brother’s ruff gently. “Sorry,” Marianna mumbled, ears forward as she nuzzled his silver pelt. “Didn’t wanna look around.”

He would understand. They were of like mind, when it came to the state of their home, what was left of their family. Content to stand side-by-side with her brother the Lagina princess remained utterly relaxed before her new friend decided she’d play with them both, and her tail began to wag again. “Nice to meet you, too!” Marianna chirped, parroting the display of manners easily enough. “I’m Ari Lagina, and my brother is Kino. We’re from Round Stone Crest. It’s…really close to here!”

With the toss of her head, she indicated the general direction of the pack grounds, unaware of what direction they’d actually have to travel in to get back to the land. Lyanna had done an excellent job of getting this far, though, and she was sure their new friend would be able to find the timbers again if she wanted to. “We’d love to play! Never gotta play with another girl before. What do you wanna play? We know a few games. Like tag. Or wrestlin’. Or…what else do we know, Kino?”

 

A wild dissertation appears!

Kino had turned and had begun to watch the girl quietly but intently. Ever since the incident the silver boy had been quieter, more reserved but still as fiery as ever. He'd become his sibling's protector of sorts, though she was quite obviously bulkier than he was. He was her guardian, taking upon the roll because their mother was no longer there to play the part and he didn't trust anyone else within the god forsaken land to do so. All trust he had had within anyone besides Ari had been knocked out of him with Gent's head butt. 

"My name is Lyanna, Lyanna Tainn, of Secret Woodlands," she said, and his adds swiveled forward sharply in interest. So she was from another pack. Obviously the girl wasn't of the Crest, but there had been no garunteeing that she was with another pack. Perhaps she had just been a loner with her parents and they just weren't around, but she had proven that assumption wrong. This intrigued him greatly, and for a moment he wondered what it would be like to be in another pack. Maybe he would be respected more there, maybe things weren't as desolate and volatile there. Maybe...maybe things were better there. Anywhere had to be better than here. She inquired of their names, and he didn't even attempt to open his mouth. Ari would do the talking for them, she always did now-a-days. And as certain as he had been of it, he had been right and his sister set off in a rampage of words and wiggles of excitement and he gave a quiet laugh.

"What else do we know, Kino?" She asked in question to the games they played, and he tilted his head in thought and quiet hum coming from his closed lips. "Well, we can play I spy. Or hide and go seek," he suggested, looking at her with a raised brow then with the same look to the creamy female known as Lyanna. 

(This post was last modified: Oct 06, 2015, 01:07 PM by Kino.)

She committed their names to memory with a satisfied grin on her face. The last thing she thought she'd find up here in these old mountains was a friend, much less too, and with the sky darkened by storm clouds, she definitely didn't think she'd end up playing the afternoon away. "I like all those games," she added in, her tail swaying eagerly behind her. "...I don't really know my way around here, I bet that would make for a good game of hide-and-seek, or tag?" The only times she'd played either game previously were with Nina and sometimes her dad, and sometimes that was fun but mostly they were old and slow or didn't have to try to find her ─ because obviously they had both been around that block a time or two. Preemptively she scanned the hills with her golden eyes, wondering where would be a good place to sneak away to if Ari and Kino agreed.

A clap of thunder rumbled over the sky above then, the rain beginning to fall a bit harder, splattering hard and cold on the bridge of her snout. The mountain wind howled through the branches of the trees and it was cold and harsh but not discouraging at all. Lyanna licked the water that dripped down her face with a sweep of her tongue, bright-eyed and with her gaze on her companions.

Remaining pressed against her brother’s side, the child bobbed her head as he mentioned some of the other games they used to play. Sometimes, they’d even play with Draven, but neither of the two had any interest in their youngest sibling these days. He had become the center of everyone else’s attention, the darling, the apple of their collective eye, and for the life of her, the former princess could not understand why the sudden love had blossomed. Oh, he had screamed and cried for their mother, when Ari and Kino couldn’t stand the noise, but apparently that had won his position with the others. It hurt her head to think on it too much, and as her heart gave an uneasy lurch, the child gave her loose pelt a shake and turned her stormy eyes on Lyanna instead.

This was a good change, she thought. To meet someone new, someone happy, someone who saw her as another wolf and not the dung on the bottom of a paw pad.

After a moment of thought, the large, tawny puppy bobbed her head. “Let’s play tag,” she decided after a minute, glancing between her brother and her new friend. It wouldn’t do to get Lyanna lost just after they’d met her, and admitting to Gent or Raela that they’d lost a puppy somewhere sounded even worse. A slow grin curled onto the girl’s face and her nose darted out, beeping @Kino in the cheek before she sprung to the side, cackling with glee. “You’re It!” she announced, thundering away as quickly as possible. “You’ll never catch meeeee!”

 

A wild dissertation appears!

Thunder clapped above them and Kino raised his head to look above them, the sprinkling of rain falling upon the soft skin of his nose. The chaos that churned in the air only furthered the energy he felt within him and he turned to look at the creamy female, who seemed to be fueled even further by the brewing storm as well. He tilted his head curiously and briefly wondered if she could perhaps be more alike to them then he had previously thought, but before he could ponder on it any more he felt a sudden pressure against him. “Tag, you’re it!” Marianna cried then bolted, as did the female and for a moment he stood there in slight shock. The world moved slowly, then snapped back into place and he was off racing through the trees. His nostrils flared as he dragged in the scent’s around him, auds flickering this way and that as he leapt over and under shrugs and trees within the timbers. Most of the scents he caught were useless, until he caught a hold of the new girl’s scent. Indeed it might be rude to go after fresh meat such as her…but why not? She wanted to play, so play they would.

Kino peeled off in her direction, moving sleek and quiet in the storming timbers. The wind picked up and began to howl, buffeting his thick pelt and flashed of light illuminated his ghostly pelt. His lengthy limbs ate away at the earth as he tracked the girl, pausing here and there as the wind took away what he’d thought had been a lead. A few times he flew into a hold or the crevice of a tree, only to find it empty. He’d frown and then turn with a huff, taking off again. He did this for a little while until he saw a flash of cream fur. Rapidly he changed course, chasing after the sighting with vigor. The boy leapt up onto a log and catapulted off, landing just in front of the fleeing girl in a flash of light. He grinned, rushing forward and brushing past her, “Tag!” he called, then in another flash he was gone. Game on.