Cedarwood Forest now you see me

KING OF CUT ROCK RIVER

IF YOU DO NOT FIGHT YOU CANNOT WIN

He raised his brow at Datura's words; Taima was born here. The girl confirmed it with a singsong hum, a wag of the tail. Judging by her age, it meant she was probably a pup of Grizzly Hollow. No harm could come from asking, would it? No doubt she knew Kade, perhaps even Ava. Maksim had been a Hollow wolf himself, albeit not for a long period of time. Before he could inquire about it, the silver girl spoke on.

She wished to do her father proud, something that the agouti leader could admire and empathise with. Even now, Maksim wanted to honour his family, especially the wolves who had raised him since a whelp. His father was a stoic, sturdy king—it was obvious where Maksim inherited his behaviours from—and his mother a thoughtful, collected spirit. She was the wind to Vaas' fire; she could fuel the embers, or put them out. Slowly, the regal king nodded his head at Taima's words. Datura was her escort, eh? Well, he had certainly been off the mark with his belief that these two were mated. Honest mistake, really. Seeing two wolves of such an age together immediately set off the thought.

Lifting his chin ever-so slightly and shifting his weight, Maksim's eyes darted between the two younger wolves. “Forgive me if I am wrong,” he began, “but you say you were born in this forest, which leads me to believe that you were one of Grizzly Hollow's cubs. Am I correct?” He waited for a response before continuing. “I was a friend of Kade and Ava Attaya, if you know them.”

we are shining in the rising sun, as we are floating in the blue

Name-dropping galore lol. Skipping Datura as per request by Sarah to keep the conversation running smoothly. <3

Taima continued to wear and flaunt her charm, though the Leader's next words caught her off-guard. "Forgive me if I am wrong, but you say you were born in this forest, which leads me to believe that you were one of Grizzly Hollow's cubs. Am I correct?” The Lyall wasn't sure where this was all going but she simply smiled and nodded, rather amused that one such as Maksim Baranski would know of her birth pack. "I'm Borden and Jaysyek's daughter," she practically whispered, wondering if her parents' names would mean anything to him. Then came the reason why he had asked: “I was a friend of Kade and Ava Attaya, if you know them."

It gladdened her heart from the inside out to hear a familiar name. It had been much too long since she had had contact with anyone who had been in contact with anyone of Grizzly Hollow. "Kade Attaya was my mentor," she said a little louder than her previous statement, the words briefly sour on the tip of her tongue. She had disobeyed him for the last time and now look where she had ended up, at the mercy of one of his friends. "Have you seen them by chance?" she then asked, beginning to become hesitant now that it felt like she was prying for information about those whom she considered as apart of her family. She allowed her tail yet another a small wag, hoping to continue their decently cordial conversation. "Kade was my father's Second-in-Command," she divulged, her voice returning to a quieter tone, "before my father went away. I had always wanted to be like him when I grew up."

mak is all sorts of intrigued ;)

KING OF CUT ROCK RIVER

IF YOU DO NOT FIGHT YOU CANNOT WIN

“I'm Borden and Jaysyek's daughter.”

The words were so hushed, Maksim almost mistook them for the wind speaking. The agouti king offered her a smile of his own, nodding his head ever so slightly. “Then, truly, it is a pleasure.” He need not divulge the fact he didn't know Borden personally—not unless she asked. Honesty was extremely important to the agouti wolf; how could he lie to this girl and her “escort” when he expected the truth from others? No, he simply could not do that. Not now, not ever. Sometimes, and it was an unfortunate fact, the truth hurt and other times it simply disappointed.

Kade was her mentor, she said, and the information warmed the Baranski's heart. The dark man had always seemed a noble fellow, someone who was respectable; compassionate beneath his stoic shell. “Have you seen them by chance?” Maksim shook his head, the memories of the flood still bitter in his thoughts. “Not for a while. He left the Lore with his mate and children.” Two of their children. Even then, one had returned and now? Who knew where the youths were. The cubs he had sworn to protect became lost in the vicious winter, one by one. “He said that the forest felt dead without your family.” Or so Maksim presumed that's what Kade meant when he had said brethren. “For some time the pack resided in the Eastern valley.” Before the storms flushed them out and separated the pack.

Briefly, the River leader's eyes darted to Datura. He wondered what the golden lad thought of this all. Perhaps he already knew. His verdant gaze returned to Taima. “I can see why; he was a good man and a good friend.” Kade and Ava both held Maksim's undying respect. Their departure circumstances were unfortunate—tragic, even—but when Mace had returned with the news that they were alive, it lifted a heavy weight from the male's chest.

we are shining in the rising sun, as we are floating in the blue

Datura was much less cunning than Taima, and thus much less appreciative of her swift appraisal of the situation and the things that needed to be said that lead to him reduced to an escort. He searched himself for enough restraint to maintain a neutral expression and nearly came up short. An escort? Certainly Datura was brawny and fearsome in the way a Guardian might have been, but surely his brilliantly maintained coat and noble birth would warrant something a little more dignified, a little more elevated than an escort. And if this whole encounter worked out as Datura and Taima hoped, the poor boy would be forced to perpetuate this image of "Taima's Keeper," to the rest of the pack. Such a thought was very hard to stomach for a man with an ego such as his, an ego that had been nurtured and encouraged to its bursting point. Oh, how he longed to chew off his mate's ear as she went prattling along, chatting amicably with the monarch about a bunch of wolves Datura had never heard of.

With great effort, the boy's eyes wandered the branches of the trees above him, trying to appear politely disinterested in the current conversation. He was, after all, just an escort. None of this stuff had to appeal to him. At some point, though, Datura was going to need an answer from this man. He didn't intend to stand here all day pretending to be his wife's babysitter while he was excluded from any and all conversation. Slowly his gaze drifted back down to earth. He broke in with a bashful smile on his face, "So, what do you say, Sir? Would you be willing to have us?"

(This post was last modified: Apr 26, 2014, 10:23 PM by Datura.)

:x Hopefully this is enough to wrap this up?

Maksim stated that he had not seen the Attaya clan for some time and that Kade, with Ava and their children, had left the Lore... just like the rest of her family had. Maybe her parents had a valid reason for leaving, but at the moment it was not in her best interests to be nostalgic or even curious about why or where they had gone. She and Datura were not here to find out what had happened to Grizzly Hollow or the pack that had risen in place of it. They were here to become apart of Maksim's pack and put some truth and dependability behind her words in hoping to find some purpose under the wolves of Cut Rock River.

Perhaps the bit of small talk and the tangents that had been explored were a little unnecessary but she was glad that Datura had eventually stepped in and diverted both her and Maksim's attention away from things that were now well in the past. She nodded quietly at the sound of her "escort's" words, ever more eager to hear what the ruler of the River had to see or think of the pair of them. Sure, they might have seemed like a curious duo with a past they were determined to keep "under wraps" for the most part, but Taima was determined to keep both of them on the Baranski's good side... even if the events that would soon come to pass gradually changed his mind and view of them.

short post! but, yep, this is it for this thread <3.
very slight pp at the end.
this feels so ooc for mak ... /sighs at fluctuating muse.

KING OF CUT ROCK RIVER

IF YOU DO NOT FIGHT YOU CANNOT WIN

Maksim could probably have divulged more about the Attaya family, about their unfortunate disappearance, reappearance and disappearance again, but it wasn't necessary at a time like this. The agouti wolf still held them in the highest respect. They were the ones who took him in when he had just arrived in the Lore, who had allowed him to grow as a guardian in Darkwater Rapids. He owed them so much, just being able to say thank you to their faces would ease his sorrows for not saying it sooner. He was a king now, one who had risen through the crumbled Attaya empire. A morbid thought flashed across his mind; would he be where he was now if they hadn't disappeared? He was snapped from the thought as Datura finally chipped in, dragging the conversation away from potentially troublesome small talk.

“So, what do you say, Sir? Would you be willing to have us?”

The River king remained silent for a moment, his gaze once again drifting between the two younger wolves. “Yes,” he began, “welcome to Cut Rock River. You should know this: this is a pack of hard working, honest wolves. They are family to one another. You will be expected to pull your weight. We don't ask much other than that, and loyalty. Though, judging by what Taima has said, I doubt that will be a problem.” Cut Rock River was not a temporary home unless the Baranski leader offered his shelter to those who needed it.

Wordlessly, Maksim stepped forward, sealing the deal with the transferral of the marshy, damp scent that belonged to the River wolves. As soon as the deed was done, the agouti regal gestured with a gentle nod of his head further into the territory. “I'll escort you both, show you where you can get settled.”

With the younger wolves following behind, Maksim Baranski led them to their new home.

we are shining in the rising sun, as we are floating in the blue