Sacred Grove Grove of Silence

When Minka stepped into the grove the silence seemed heavy, suffocating, it was just past sundown and the weather was just below freezing. The silence seemed deafening, so quiet that the lack of noise seemed to almost become a noise within itself, though there was plenty of signs of wildlife around the grove. Minka has never seen an area quite like this before and she stopped in her tracks, looking around in awe at her surroundings. As a pup they had heard stories from their den mother about places like these, places where nature seemed to be personified and at her most powerful. The she wolf could remember clearly the story that had been told.

A yearling who had prayed to the earth in a grove and the earth answered his prayers, but the yearling grew drunk off the power. The young one had began to crave for more power, he had become greedy, he wanted to become more powerful tan earth herself. Instead of bringing small fresh game and letting the grove drink from the warm blood as he had been taught to do, he brought rotting corpses and he began to poison the earth. In the end the wolf had died, he had not thought that if the earth were poisoned so would be all the wildlife, he drank from a poisoned stream and died.

The story has terrified her as a pup, because she had taken it seriously, and she had been afraid to drink from streams for weeks, but now she realized the moral of the story. Even so, she wanted to leave a present for the earth, a present of small fresh game, and she began to take scents, he muzzle raised and eyes closed.

click!

Though her body was connected to the earthy ground, her mind was high up in the clouds, wrapping their white arms around her and keeping her up in the heavens. Ever since she had returned to the Grove she had been thinking to herself more and more. Was she satisfied where she was? She knew that the River territory brought her much pain when she remembered the times where she had played with Rissa and spent quality time with Hotei. She never communicated this to her pack mates though, it was non-important news for their ears and Jessie knew…or well, hoped, that she would be able to get over the fact that Hotei wouldn’t be returning to her ever. She wasn’t sure what hurt more though, not knowing if he was dead or alive, or actually knowing that he was alive and well, in another pack. She knew she could still feel the pain, but now she had finally found a way to block it out to make sure it never came back.

The snap of a branch stole Jessie’s attention away from the depths of her thoughts, her head tilted to the side and jaded eyes curious. The curves of her ears were noticeable, as they were pricked forward in the direction of the sound, her nose lifting slightly as she sniffed the air, a small grin playing on her lips when she realized that it was rabbit, her favorite kind of prey to bring down when she was by herself. Stealthily moving forward, she waited until the white blur was in view. With a quick wag of her tail she barked and both the prey and the predator was off. She sped along, her small body sprinting through the area with ease, her muscles rippling easily over underneath her skin. She was easily gaining in on her prey with every second that ticked by and slowly, she felt the adrenaline build up in her veins.

When the form of another of her species appeared, Jessie had to slid to a halt, her voice a high pitched shriek, "Holy shit! I‘m so sorry." She had been lucky to not have collided with the woman in front of her. Dancing back a few paces so that she was a safe distance away from her, she cleared her throat, introducing herself in a proper manner, "Excuse me, miss. I am Jessie Swiftpaw." She smiled, showing her pearly whites as she did so, her mood already light, even though she had missed her chance at a meal. Tilting her head, she asked, "What‘s your name?" Her tail then wagged behind her, a general nice demeanor about the female.

The scent of a pack reached her nostrils, from what Minka could tell they were fairly well developed in the area, their scent was quite strong. She could catch the scent of about 10 different wolves, but their exact numbers could not be determined as some were stronger than others, the most distinctive was that of a females, who might have been in the area recently. Then suddenly the female appeared through the trees, she was almost on top of the rogue and Minka was startled, her instincts kicking into over drive.

Her body leapt backwards, landing in a defensive position, torso low to the ground with her hind quarters raised, but all the fae could think was I do not know how to fight, if this is what this other females want I am sure to lose. Then almost as soon as she had landed the words of the pack wolf registered in Minka's mind, but if she does not want to fight, why did she charge me like that?. A branch cracked and instinctively Minka turned towards it, fast enough to see the disappearing hindquarters of a rabbit that had sprinted through the grove, and with that her previous question had been answered.

The other fae had slipped into a friendly demeanor, and Minka relaxed, her tail wagged in response and she dipped her muzzle to the female. "It is nice to meet you, Jessie Swiftpaw, I am called Minka Leigh, though you may just call me Minka," the rogue glanced around the grove, so shockingly beautiful to her still. "Are you part of the pack that occupy these parts?" She asked, though she already knew the question, she could smell the pack on her, but sometimes scents could be deceiving.

click!

Jess did not even feel bad when the female in front of her leapt into a defensive position, she simply just smiled as she returned to her relaxed posture. She wagged her tail behind her slightly; her eyes narrowed as she listened to the girl speak. Her name and greeting quickly lifted to Jessie’s ears. Minka was the girl’s name, she seemed healthy enough…for a loner. Amused by her own thoughts, a small grin crossed her features, her small body settling down and her tail curling comfortably around her paws, an old habit that she had never broken. Speaking quietly, she replied, ”It’s always a pleasure to see new faces.” It did not take long for the female to respond after she spoke and she tilted her head, slightly self conscious of her scent. Running her muzzle along her chest, as if she were flattening her fur, she inhaled her scent. Was Hotei’s scent still on her? Was it still clear as the river that was within her territory?

Looking back up and clearing her throat, Jessie quickly replied to her, ”Yes, I live nearby her. The Swift River pack.” Jessie was not one to like having new wolves within her pack, though she knew that they would soon need the members to help with hunting, considering she was the only huntress, that she knew of, within the pack. If it would have been towards her nature she probably would have offered a place within the pack. But times were different now, Jessie had changed and she no longer thought highly upon new members within the pack. Would never again appreciate new members and certainly not try to get to know them as well as she had tried getting to know Hotei…last time she had done that it had only turned into disaster and heart break, something she never wanted to go through again. The only wolves she was close to now, were the ones that were already deeply rooted to the Swift River family. Focusing her gaze back onto the loner, she spoke, ”Where did you come from?”

ooc. Hey just remember this thread is from before Minka had joined Whisper Caverns :)

The wolf in front of her seemed to be grinning slightly, though at what Minka had no idea and when the pack female sat down the rogue self consciously copied. She had no idea what had amused this other wolf, but she seemed friendly enough so Minka shook it off, no point in assuming things that I have no idea the answer of, she could be grinning about anything the she wolf reasoned to herself. She nodded her muzzle in agreement about meeting new people, it had always been something that the tawny wolf had enjoyed as well, though it was hard to do as a rogue.

When Jessie answered that she was in the pack nearby Minka nodded with a smile, "I thought you might be, but smells can often be misleading, especially when the scent of a pack is so strong in an area." This was true, sometimes you could pick up the scent of a pack just by being in the area, a very faint one yes, but enough of one that a stranger might get confused. A river could be heard gushing nearby, gorged from the water of melting snows, though now it was just above freezing and the wolves breath still occasionally appeared as a thin puff like smoke before them. This was obviously why the female's scent spoke so heavily of water, unlike many packs that spoke more strongly of earth or rock.

The fae had seemed self conscious about being asked about her pack though, and not wanting to cause any discomfort Minka shifted her weight slightly uncomfortable. Then the topic was hastily changed and the rogue breathed a slight sigh of relief, she had not known what else to say, not wanting to upset this female anymore, in any manner. She smiled at the pack wolf and quickly replied, "I'm not originally from relic, I was born in the Great Shields, about a two month journey from the northern tip of Eden." Then realizing that she might have meant where she had come from within Relic and how she had ended up down in the grove she hastily added, "I entered Relic in the blackberry fields and detoured up the mountain, trying to get a bird's eye view of the area, to best plan my route. This was a longer detour than I had planned however, and it seemed it would take much too long to follow the pass in its entirety so I followed the first peak down and ended up here. "

Minka shifted again, slightly embarrassed about her ramble, this fae was a stranger and she probably did not want all of this information. There was no taking it back now however, it was already out there and the rogue waited for the pack wolf to say something in response to her detailed answer. That was a stupid thing to do, now she probably thinks you're insane, which you're not, but packs don't want wolves near them who may or may not be crazy, she scolded herself silently. Then looking back upon Jessie she continued to wait for her answer.

click!

Still highly self conscious of herself, she flicked her ears at the words that escaped the woman’s mouth. Flushing slightly, she flicked her ear, glad that her multi-colored pelt blended easily and it probably was not completely easy to notice. Shifting slightly and quietly wondering if her pelt smelt more like Willow Ridge or Swift River, she was finally thrilled when the woman in front of her answered her question. Sure, it was plenty of information to take in, but Jessie would much rather most of the attention on the woman in front of her, rather than on herself. It made her uncomfortable to talk about herself and her family. If she gave out the wrong thing to the wrong kind of wolf then it could end badly for many, and that was something that Jess would not wish upon any pack: complete destruction.

Mapping out the woman’s course in her head, she nodded along, showing Minka that she was, indeed, paying attention to what she was saying. It had been so long since she had entered the Lore and she did not remember much from her time when she had first entered the Lore. She remembered most of the wolves, much like her hunting partner from long ago who had helped her accomplish taking down her first large kill since entering the lore. That had been a wonderful experience, and perhaps sooner, rather than later, Jessie would run into him again. She sure hoped she would.

Turning her attention back to the woman in front of her, she spoke clearly, "That is quite interesting! I have been here quite awhile, so I could not really tell you much of how I got here." She laughed slightly, amused with her own self. Thinking about it clearly now she could not believe how long she had been within Relic Lore. It had almost been a year! Much developing had been done on her part, as she had been formed into a completely new wolf. In some ways, she loved the new “her” and in other ways, she absolutely hated it. She still knew she had no one to blame but herself.

she doesn't care how she gets there, as long as she gets somewhere she knows... The other female seemed to be uncomfortable and this made Minka uneasy, she began shifting needlessly upon her paws, leaving imprints of her rough pads in the dirt. Yet she seemed to become more comfortable once the tawny woman had spoken, even if there had been too much information and at this she breathed a slight sigh of relief, she had done the right thing after all. Turning towards the mountain the fae noticed that it was mostly blocked by the trees of the grove, though the highest peak was still visible, she did not know why this came as such a surprise, you obviously could not see the mountain from all over Relic, though you could see all of Relic from the mountain. Minka gave a slight wispy smile, amused by her own riddle and her ponderings almost caused her to miss Jessie's own comment. Shaking herself back to reality she forced a slight chuckle, "Yes, it is easy when travelling to forget where you have come from, and even where you are going to," the words carried her own experiences clearly laid out. The wind like a thousand knives cut over the shields, and the snow that blew was blinding, with no vegetation of bluffs to stop or block the wind it was literally the worst kind of white out. The fae did not know where she was going or where she had left, she was probably wondering in circles her eyes watered from the flakes like daggers, and the tears froze almost instantly upon her fur. The unseen danger was the worst one she knew, chasms were hidden by seemingly firm rock or ice, one missed step could send you spiraling to your death before you even had time to shout. With a gasp Minka came back from her memories, and her body shook slightly from head to toe, the tiniest of tremors. She had known that leaving her pack in the winter was one of the most dangerous times, especially upon the shield, yet she also knew that if she could not find her way there was no way that they could find her. It had been a catch 22, yet in the end leaving during the winter had been the best decision, for there was no way that they could find her now, not after winter had wiped away all of her tracks. Everyone had a past, would Minka ever be able to put hers to rest?

table by mimi

click!

She waited in silence as the woman in front of her probably pondered about what to say to her words and when they came Jessie stifled a growl of irritation. That was not what she meant, but the woman was in no mood to correct the lady for what she said. Instead she nodded her head and listened to see if the other lady had anything else to add on before she decided to take her leave and go back towards her own pack, knowing that soon she would need to hunt for food for the rest of the pack. The distant look that formed in the girl’s eyes caused some concern to grow within the female’s heart, a surprise to her because she had not felt much pity, sympathy, or anything for anyone and awhile. The sprout of concern caught her off guard, but she remained silent, waiting for the girl to come back to herself.

She waited and waited and when the sharp intake a breath hit her ears, she opened her maw, the clouded look in Minka’s eyes fading. Clearing her throat she tried to ask a simple question, "Umm…are you…uhhh…okay?" She was not the best when it came to helping someone or comforting someone in need. She looked off into the forest before looking back towards the figure of the female in front of her. Tilting her head she let her eyes glimmer in the concern she was feeling. She let a small smile grow across her features, showing the female that she was trying to make her feel comfortable.

she doesn't care how she gets there, as long as she gets somewhere she knows... Embarrassment. That was all the fae could feel about what had just happened, she had come to Relic to escape her past and now she was bringing it into this encounter. Her cheeks flushed and she dipped her muzzle down as she answered in a mumble, "Yes, sorry, I'm fine, it's just....been a long couple of months." She tried to answer without rambling this time, as this was what had caused her embarrassment in the first place, she dug her front paw in the dirt trying hard to bury her emotions. The girl in front of her seemed uncomfortable with the situation but Minka appreciated that she was trying to comfort her, even if it did seem a bit forced. She returned the smile, trying her very best to display that she was in fact alright and was completely sane, though now the femme probably wouldn't believe that. Sighing she decided that the only possible way to salvage the situation was a honest explanation, "I left my pack in the dead of winter, and where I'm from there can be flat plains of stone for miles, nothing to protect from the wind and snow. I could have easily been killed and there were many times I honestly thought I was going to." The tawny girl shrugged and glanced down at her paws which continued fidgeting in the dirt, "Sometimes the past holds on even when you want to let it go." She shut her trap now, sure that the pack wolf would chase her off now for being so crazy, she only hoped they could part on neutral terms. She lowered her tail and her gaze, backing away slowly, though she nodded in respect to the other woman, and then she turned and took her leave.

table by mimi

(This post was last modified: Jun 06, 2013, 09:56 PM by Minka.)

click!

When the woman in front of her claimed that there was nothing wrong, Jessie knew she was lying. The woman did not pry though. If Minka did not wish to let her know what was going on in her head then that was fine. The lady’s past was none of her business anyway. Silence reigned over the pair and just as the Swift River woman was about to take her leave, the woman in front of her did break, telling her of what had happened. What the girl in front of her was saying made sense. Such a past would easily be something to be afraid of…but the danger was in the past and now it was time to live in the presence. For the most part Relic Lore was a safe place and Jessie was sure that in time Minka would realize this and her tension or anything that was bothering her would fade away from her mind.

Flashes and memories of Rissa Tainn’s bloodied body filled her mind once again. The moonlight so bright, showing Ice, Fenru, and Jessie the horrible sight of Rissa’s body, her skill gleaming in the night and the sickening look to her beaten and torn body. Swallowing the bile that she could taste at the back of her throat, the Swiftpaw’s faded jaded eyes stared at a spot on the ground, completely blank. When she spoke, her voice was emotionless and even, "Death is a scary thing." As soon as such a thing was said, she let her attention drift back up to the loner in front of her, and with a quick glance to the sky, she sighed, "I must go now. I must say, I am quite exhausted." Flicking her tail and nodding her head she turned on her way and started back towards Swift River…her home. Tomorrow would be an even better day.