Larkcall Lowlands Left Some Teeth In Your Enemies

"Little beast, are you wild as me?
Left some teeth in your enemies.
We won't be broken,
There's no curse we haven't spoken.
There is no oath, there is no spell,
To deliver us, to make us well."
— No Oath, No Spell by Murder by Death

For @Rory. Aleksei has passed from Kingsfall into Larkcall Lowlands. Hopefully this works for you! ♥

Leaving his family’s pack lands had been easier than it had been the first two times. The moment his paws carried him further and further away, the less of a weight he felt on his shoulders—water off a duck’s back. He felt like he could breathe again. He pressed on, not bothering to stick around for the self pitying mob, marching through Kingsfall, until he left the forest behind and found himself in the open vastness of the lowlands.

He had sucked in a lungful of crisp night air as he thought about what Inna had shrieked in response to his farewell call, and laughed. How could he not? Whilst @Inna’s reply had caught him off guard initially, it was such a crock of bullshit that he couldn’t help but chuckle darkly, thoroughly amused. She thought he’d come back, did she? Fuck her. Aleksei felt no regret nor guilt over being relieved that he’d (hopefully) never see her or her miserable secret mate again, nor their little accident. His plain sister, with her boring way of talking (nothing but imitation of their parents) and holier than thou attitude. Even when she lied, Inna thought she was better than everyone else, thought she had a right to threaten people’s lives, cubs lives.

As if.

Coming to a stand still, Aleksei cast his gaze behind him. There were the trees of Kingsfall, in his past. He watched the canopy with a steely gaze for a moment, gulping in the sight of towering redwoods growing ever higher and higher before scoffing and turning his attention back to the tundra. There were no shadows here., and nothing stood above him. Good, he thought. Swinging his head to the west, he hummed thoughtfully. Perhaps … perhaps he’d pay @Askan that visit, see how he was doing. Aleksei needed a friend, and whilst he wouldn’t consider himself exceptionally close to the dark coated wolf, Askan was the closest thing he had to one. He didn’t need to think about it much, and found his feet walking before he willed them to do so.

Hopefully it wouldn’t take long to reach Wild Rye Fields.

(This post was last modified: May 22, 2017, 12:16 AM by Aleksei.)

Sorry for making you wait for this horrendous post @Aleksei! 

i don't even know if i believe

Aurora Thane

She'd lost track of where she was miles ago but her thick paws continued forward in hopes of reaching familiar ground, something, anything that would tug at her memory and make her feel alive again. Recently she'd been thinking of her father, she wondered how "@Ash" was fairing and whether he and his mate were fairing well without her. It was a strange thought, but she knew they were probably better off without her moping around; she'd be more of a burden than anything.

Her mind was everywhere and nowhere at the same time, a torrent of thoughts kept her occupied as she traveled through unclaimed lands and around the border of those that housed families and wondered if someday she'd be pulled into seeking their acceptance. In the back of her mind she felt that the curse of wanderlust had been passed down to her from her parents, the deserters, and her efforts to join anyone's pack would eventually end in their dismissal of her request. She was rusty and hardly worth trusting while discussing herself or her talents, nothing about pack life made her feel the excitement that being a loner did, they would eventually see through her facade. It was best if she remained where she felt most comfortable, until a dire situation drove her to their doorstep.

A scent reached her nostrils, the musk of male wolf, and her paws slowed in their progress ever so slowly hoping to widen the distance between them so that he could go about his business and she continue on with whatever she had to attend to. It didn't take long before she caught his outline in the distance, he was larger than she was with a pale agouti coat that clung to a hunched over stature--perhaps from anger.

She hesitated in her steps, but something tugged her onward, a curiosity that often left her in more trouble than she deserved but something intrigued her about his wolf. He seemed disturbed, "Are you lost stranger?" she asked casually, an effort to break the ice once she caught up with him. The silence that quickly followed was filled with a one fluid movement of her settling to her haunches for a well deserved rest, yellow eyes searching frantically for his own.

(This post was last modified: Jun 01, 2017, 05:59 AM by Rory.)

Graphics by Arya and Becuffin!

No worries ♥!

Aleksei’s attention was immediately caught by a voice and he turned. A wolf of white and cream, with a muzzle that looked as though it had been dipped in ash. He watched her for a moment, stewing on how he should respond to her question. Was he lost? In a lot of ways, yes. He felt painfully lonely, in an endless loop of reaching out for another, only to be yanked back before he could press his face into the fur of another by some invisible source. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do now, either. Aleksei knew where he was going to go, sure, but what would he do after that? He was a tiny boat without a paddle, and life was a churning river, tossing him around, teasing him with jagged rocks that would shatter his body and leave him to sink.

This girl, though … well, she wouldn’t care for the life problems of some angry, empty man. She only meant lost in the literal sense. “No,” he replied finally, watching her as she sat. “I’m all right, thanks.” He paused, letting his eyes catch hers. There was no hierarchy out here in the wild. Her eyes were like buttercups peaking through the snow. “Are you? I assume you’re local though, so that might seem like a stupid thing to ask.” Aleksei mimicked her earlier movements, lowering to sit for a moment, catch his thoughts and his energy (he’d been walking all night, after all).

His tail curled around his haunches and his head tilted slightly as he studied her. She was somewhat skinny. Or, at the very least, she held less weight than the Hearthwood women. No doubt that she was a lone wolf then—he couldn’t catch a solid scent from her even as he tried, nose twitching wildly. She smelt of the world, of freedom, of the hardships of the wild. He both pitied and envied the lifestyle, and, in turn, her.

Briefly, Aleksei wondered why she had approached him—could a wolf look lost? Maybe it was something simpler than random empathy. Perhaps, to this wildling girl, the prospect of company was serendipity. He wouldn’t deny the fact that he felt relief that someone had unintentionally forced him out of his toxic thought cycle.

Let the roots & soil drink of me
Whispering leaves & pointing branches will tell them where I'm lying

@Aleksei blah, getting back into the swing of roleplaying...

i don't even know if i believe

Aurora Thane

It seemed Aleksei was lost in his own thoughts--occupied with his own mission, and her interruption had taken him out of his zone. He hesitated in responding, perhaps searching for the right words to her bold question, or perhaps wondering why such a young wild wolf had even bothered to intrude in his personal space but he was friendly and answered her just as soon as he collected his thoughts. He confirmed that he wasn't lost, and Rory nodded her head in slow response but something about his answer wasn't convincing but she didn't dare push him. "Good." she said, attempting the widest, brightest smile she could muster.

"You can't be lost if you don't have anywhere in particular to go to," she started off in response to his own question, "so nope, I'm not lost either." than again she wished that she did have somewhere to get to, the biggest down side to being a loner was the constant loneliness. "where are you headed?" she wondered, remembering that the male had seemed to be preoccupied in his own head earlier as if his head and legs were in two different directions. Lately, Rory had been feeling torn to opposite ends herself. 

Graphics by Arya and Becuffin!