Sacred Grove men become kings

@Dalton <b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:12px; color:#D6C7B6;"> Within the couple days that she had lived within Relic Lore, she could already tell that this would be an adventure. It might even be the kind of adventure that Narcissa may never quench, but she willing to give it a try. Only a couple wolves had been met but neither were pack wolves, something that was slightly unsettling to the nomadic wanderer but she knew they were here. After all, she had scented them all over the southern region just north of Fireweed Rise. It was there that her family had decided to sleep for a well. To rest their paws and from her point of view, they were all unknowingly assigned to venture out and discover anything and everything that they possibly could. Narcissa wanted to know everything. Without wanting to disturb the pack’s position (the time would come, eventually) she skirted along the Mountain’s edge at dawn, breaking away from Luka so that she could get an idea of what lay north. She knew that a pack was situated between the Heights and the Lagoon, but none of the wolves were nearby leaving her somewhat disappointed. Perhaps on her way back to the Rise tonight she would try to call for one of them and get a read on their traditional ways. Cissa was determined to acquire the history of the land. The adventure was not over, it had only begun as she crossed over the Creek to the south of the Grove, pushing on into the territory and otherwise scenting for a trail. Any kind of trail would suffice be it prey or predator, either way she would opt for any interaction with the Lore locals.

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This was not going as well as Dalton envisioned it. He was sure that he would not have gotten so rusty in only a few months but it seemed either he had, or the fish in Relic Lore were immensely smarter than his homelands. He'd originally been overconfident in his fisherwolf capabilities and had strode towards the deeper water, and while there was plentiful fish to be caught, the whole situation had turned into quite the scrum of splashing, and paws and fish going every which way askew.

Once he had determined that wasn't going to work, Dalton opted for the more strategic approach, and waded down the creek to where the fish had a narrower passage between rocks to swim through and the water was shallower. This had proven much more successful, and although it hadn't been the most graceful dinner catch, it was enough to bring Dalton's ego back up to a comfortable level. Fish in maw, Dalton left the creek and began his meal on the creek-side. When it was mostly bones left, he licked remaining chunks from the skeleton and stood up to begin trotting into the nearby forest in case any other animals had been on their way to check out his meal.

Soon he caught a scent on the wind, and realized he was most certainly in the mood for company; his spirits lifted by his full stomach. Not to mention being alone for so long was rather.. well.. lonely. He parted his maw ever so slightly and let out a soft announcing howl to the passerby, as he wasn't sure he would catch them by mere eyesight in the forest. It was a quiet howl to catch their attention and to invite them to approach.

<b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:12px; color:#D6C7B6;"> Scanning the Grove she felt enamored by the presence of such green, luscious land that had yet to be settled upon. It was absolutely gorgeous here. Narcissa paused, closing her eyes for a moment as she heard every sound around her. The rush of the Creek behind her, the birds chirping, squirrel’s chattering, and a movement North. Apple-green eyes opened bright, looking around with caution. Spying nothing, she moved forward but a little bit carefully now. She knew there was something there and it was likely watching her move forward. While she welcomed the presence of another, she always liked to be on top of surprises in case this stranger was lethal or targeted her as prey. Luckily, Cissa didn’t have to continue searching because they personally made their presence known. Eyes scanned the area for a second time but now she knew where to look. Not too far from where she stood was another wolf, agouti wolf similar to herself but as they drew closer to each other, she felt as though she was watching herself approach. It was like a mirror image; dark browns, light browns and tans along with bright green eyes that stared right through her. Who was this stranger? With her head held at its normal elevated position (something that was natural to her as a lone wolf, she felt it was necessary to exert that she was not weak-minded) and her tail dangling along the ground, she moved towards the figure hoping to classify them within a couple minutes as a friendly, non-friendly or neutral partner.

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It wasn't long before the young wolf came into view, and Dalton noted that they were strangely similar in appearance, in both fur and eye color. The fae held herself confidently, as did Dalton by habit, but he found that this was the case with many a wolf he met around here. It was okay to be semi-dominant here, as no one had rank. The lone wolf rules were new to him, and he found it difficult to figure out, as there were no rigid guidelines to follow. Just feel it out with each individual you met. Dalton wasn't good at feeling much of anything out. He liked rules. Clear rules. He flicked his tail curiously, and decided not to try caught up in whose head was higher or whose tail was more curled, and instead he halted on the soft greenery and nodded in greeting.

His emerald eyes shifted slightly, unsure of how to proceed, however comfortable with the silence in these woods. It was more peacefully brilliant than some of the eery silent places he had recently passed through. He decided to muster up the courage to be the first to speak, after all, he was the one who alerted her of his presence. "Hello miss," he began. Why did he sound so awkward around this woman? He'd have to come up with something better than that. What fine whether we're having today? No. Some day for a dip, isn't it? No. My, this forest is green. Yeah, no. "I'm Dalton Hervok." Yeah, that would have to do.

<b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:12px; color:#D6C7B6;"> It was amazing how no matter how much she drifted from land to land or pack to pack, the social interaction between each individual wolf was somehow always different. They provided different facial expressions, different voices, different physical movement and it was astounding. However, was really knocked her tail off was the way that each wolf reacted to her. Once they got to know her it was either they were repulsed, intrigued, mystified or attracted—she accepted all forms of perception because who she was could never change, this she knew. Happiness was obvious within her posture as well as the semi-dominant pose that she had displayed. She was a confident woman, not in the least bit shy about her impression upon others. She was narcissistic; she was Narcissa. Looking upon the quickly approaching copy of herself she held a steady smile. The second he spoke she was enamored, it was a subtle voice yet it seemed perhaps a little wavering? As if he didn’t know what he wanted to say next. Sometimes it was pretty horrible that she could see into others’ behaviors by the way they talked and moved but it certainly did tell her more about them than they could tell themselves. Narcissa smiled politely, gingerly to him, and after a few quiet moments (her secretly analyzing this interaction already) he introduced himself as a Dalton Hervok. Narcissa usually didn’t mention surnames, as no one would ever know who she is—especially know that she had altered her name to completely forget the past she had had before the desire to travel had provoked her to change. <b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:12px; color:#D6C7B6;">“Narcissa Thanos,” though she didn’t think that telling him her last name mattered much he had offered his so she would offer her nonsensical one. <b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:12px; color:#D6C7B6;">“Do you live in a pack? Here?” for now, she was just going to play curious to see if he knew a few things. Since she was new there were very little things that she was actually aware of.

i’ve got lots of inspiration right now for narcissa so
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Worst WOD placement ever, sorry, haha.

Once Dalton got his awkward greeting from his lips, he decided to adopt a more relaxed stature about himself. He reclined to his haunches and wrapped his tail around to the side, it settling softly in the soft, green foliage that was everywhere in this grove. The four year old took a moment to appreciate the sacredness of this area, as it emulated a peaceful, yet powerful atmosphere. These lands had so much more to them than his homelands; he had grown up so comfortable with familiarity and now with every kilometer that he ticked off his list, he found somewhere even more new and even more different than the last. It almost made a wolf want to travel perhaps, if he didn't have somewhere else to be and someone else to be finding.

Mentally, Dalton snorted at the notion immediately. He had much more important roles to be filling than seeing lands. Additionally, the countenance of the lone wolf lifestyle was not for Dalton. He had been a couple of months now alone and searching for his brother, and he already knew that it was not something he would ever leave the safety and companionship of a pack for. He was a quiet wolf, but the structure and conviviality that a pack member brought was more than enough to sway him back from his foolish traveling bachelor ideas.

He sighed, but it was nice in these lands.

He refocused on the female in front of him, and he noticed her ginger smile. This put his awkwardness to rest a little more. He was glad that he could at least figure out some wolves while he traveled alone. The lack of rules and knowledge of rank always threw him for a whirl, as he truly knew nothing else than rank and roles ever since puphood. The woman spoke, and Dalton felt his personality flood back to him as he struggled to suppress a smirk at the fae's first name. Once he had his facial expression in check, he knew he couldn't hold back.

"Narcissa? What a beautiful name," he spoke softly and almost to himself, as to invoke truth in his words through the tone of his voice. Who would name their child so closely to the word 'narcissistic'? Wasn't that setting up the poor child for being a drama queen? Is that what was standing before him now, in this brown, apple-eyed look-alike? Or had she earned her name from an early age, perhaps? He certainly hoped she would prove him wrong, as he wished not to judge her so early, but it was too humorous not to at least think about. She spoke again and his thoughts quickly moved from her namesay back to his business reality. His maw opened and he paused before he spoke, turning his gaze to the side thoughtfully, avoiding any more awkward wavering voices. The last thing he wanted was to sprechgesang at the poor girl. "No, no I don't. Well I do.. live in a pack, that is, just not from here. I, uh, I'm searching for someone in these lands," he returned his emerald eyes to her apple ones again, pleased with the normalness and evenness of his voice now, "Business trip, you could say," he offered with a shrug and a smile.

<b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:12px; color:#D6C7B6;"> Narcissa had never been very good with boundaries, rules and standards. She could do it, if she put her mind to and felt that she was doing it for the right purpose. Otherwise, it was a little harder for her to bend her usual structure. She liked the way she was and felt that she shouldn’t have to change for anyone. Even Luka understood that and her children didn’t seem to criticize her choices, either. It was a somewhat normal family, except that their mother was a constant wanderer but she always came back. Unlike Dalton, she had every reason to visit all the lands. Knowing these lands made her more knowledgeable in knowing the wolves and more chances of running into them. She needed information from here, to know what pack was which and who led them and what they were like. She couldn’t just join one without knowing something—it had to be the right pack if she was going to stick her two daughters here. It had to have the right amount of protection and stability that they needed. Josalyn might not mind, but Nikoleta would be just as fine anywhere as long as they understood her likelihood to wander a bit. When he seemed interested in the name that she had been given in her last pack, she smiled. That was very sweet of him. <b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:12px; color:#D6C7B6;">“Thank you!” That compliment alone had brought her into a happy mood knowing that someone appreciated her name and felt it was beautiful. Of course, she had no idea that he was amused by its similarities to ‘narcissistic’ but it wouldn’t have mattered much anyways. She knew she was quite vain about herself and had no problem admitting to being confident about herself. <b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:12px; color:#D6C7B6;">“You’re searching for someone, huh?” Hopefully it wasn’t her—quietly wondering if she had ever had a fling with this guy and he was coming to get mad at her for ruining his life (even if it would have been his choice). <b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:12px; color:#D6C7B6;">“I wish I could help you with your find but I’ve only run into two other wolves here so far aside from yourself so I wouldn’t be of much luck.”

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The four year old blighter could not help but smile when the apple-eyed female took his sarcastic compliment sincerely. It was not the first time his words had been misconstrued due to his believable tone. Sometimes he liked it that way, so that he could come off more desirable than he felt by times. The female's reaction almost made him feel guilty for inwardly mocking her namesay, almost. Ah, we'll let her have that one, he complied. He let his tail wag lazily at her reaction; happiness was contagious he supposed, and he would take any mood lifter he could get. Even if it hadn't been sincerely for that cause.

Hi spirits lifted momentarily when she spoke about his search for his brother. Maybe he had found himself a scout in the fae or something that was familiar with the wolves in these lands. Certainly her age gave her the advantage of knowing many individuals. He would be certainly glad to be rid of this journey of his as soon as he could. It had been too long since he had left home and gone searching for his brother alone. His father was expecting him to come back with good news, that their traitor sister had been killed. That was all that Dalton wanted to know. That was his duty, and he still hadn't found any trace of his brother or half-sister, or even anyone who knew them. He sighed heavily at the thought, but raised his sights as he heard Narcissa speak once again.

Her words hit home. That was exactly what he didn't want to hear coming from her ebony lips. He let his disappointment show softly in his smile and features. "Ah well, such is the story of my journey. A whole lot of nothing," And such was his luck, he supposed. That must mean Narcissa was not from around here either. He looked at her inquisitively, moving from his disappointment. "Where are you from then, if not from here?" he asked. He supposed there could be a million reasons that a wolf could be passing through the vast lands of Relic Lore.. he was just one of the many.

<b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:12px; color:#D6C7B6;"> Very rarely would she felt like her traveling nature was shameful, but it did happen. Only time could heal her wounds and where she thrived, she knew her children would too. Narcissa had even concocted a plan for her children that Luka wouldn’t necessarily appreciate—to allow her two daughters to choose whether or not they wanted to join the pack that their parents did. It would be a strange experience for her and she was sure it might be to them as well. As far as he knew she could tell that Nikoleta would enjoy it much more than Josalyn, but it was just a theory. One that would likely not get the vote passed in her favor. Whether it was shown or not she could sense that her words were not exactly what he wished to hear. She had not expected it to be. After all, she didn’t have the answer he was looking for so she was altogether useless to the handsome look-a-like. <b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:12px; color:#D6C7B6;">“Well, you’re not a whole lot of nothing—you’re definitely something,” and this was her flirting stage. It wasn’t because she could or felt the desire, but because she felt drawn to the guy. If she couldn’t offer him answers then perhaps she could make him feel worthwhile in compliments? That might cheer him up. <b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:12px; color:#D6C7B6;">“I am from a lot of different places. I travel, almost constantly, for the fun of it. The road is a comfortable companion but I’m always waiting for a place to hold me down,” and maybe this place would do just that. But, then again, maybe it wouldn’t. It all depended on how comfortable she felt here and how much exploring she would be able to do. Would she feel at home here or would this be another stop on her journey?

i’ve got lots of inspiration right now for narcissa so
i'm looking for more threads,  message me if you'd like one!