a crime so old as the sky and bone

A solid wall upon his features – Nios Tainn offered no insight to the fluttering panic that stole the very breath from his chest. The simple thought that something had happened to Vaeata haunted him.. after all, it made no sense for her to come to Whisper Caverns – to seek him out, and then disappear without word. There was little trace of her to follow by, and as his scouting had taken him further and further from Whisper Caverns, he began to wonder the retribution he would face for leaving for so long – would Narime assume he too had left? Surely she would understand.. his sister was missing, and he could not stop until she was found.

Unless she did not want to be found.

He had stolen over the mountain already.. no traces of his honeyed sibling evident. He had made no conversations during his passing through – though in retrospect, perhaps it would have been better suited to do so. Perhaps another had seen her. Vaeta was an endearing girl.. surely she would have drawn the attention from another?

His swarthy limbs glided smoothly up the rocky slopes he had stumbled across – the rapid waters of a waterfall being a point of distraction for the male. Edging the water’s edge, Nios strayed slightly in to the depths, not enough to fight the strength of the winding refreshment, but enough to allow his muzzle to snake down, his pink tongue lapping at the substance. Snow filtered down from the sky, indicating a snow storm could be upon him abruptly. Still, he loathed to have to trace his steps back.. but it was something that might need to happen. Vaeta had simply vanished it seemed.

@Nios -- sorry for the wait.
Word Count: 327

Having only recently been inducted into the Oak Tree Bend pack, Ceara wasn’t quite sure what to do with herself yet. She wasn’t much one for fighting, nor hunting. She didn’t have the stamina for such things. Therefore it seemed the only thing left to her was scouting. She went on daily patrols, of course, and hunted and smaller game she managed to capture. But there was something about this that was… unsatisfying. Her overwhelming, never-ending need to help her packmates meant she was constantly on the move, trying to find anything that could potentially be of service to them.

It was quite exhausting, actually. This forever-cycle of movement. She traveled far – but not too far – from her pack lands, in search of… well, she wasn’t quite sure. In fact, today she was the farthest from her pack lands that she had ever been since joining. She knew at this point it would take a few days to return. Like Nios, she too hoped her Alpha wouldn’t think she had abandoned them. It was just that… she had to do something. And so, she found herself following the sound of water – water pounding against rock. This was no simple stream or river she was hearing. This was a waterfall. Or, perhaps, waterfalls.

She followed the sound until suddenly she was at a break in the trees and stumbled upon a most secret place. Here there was water, water everywhere. Cautiously, she made her way closer to the edge of a pool, with the intent to drink from it. It was then that she noticed the male on the other side of said pool. She almost laughed, though she was a bit too nervous for that. Here was the second wolf she had met from across a body of water. First Spieden from across a stream, and now this… whoever this was. Unsure of what to do now, she simply stood there, waiting for him to notice her…

CEARA
The way she shows me I'm hers, and she is mine
Open hand or closed fist would be fine
The blood is rare and sweet as cherry wine

No.. I'm sorry for the wait. :(

His gaze would scant he rough surface of water, noting the chunks of ice that floated closer to the edges of the waterline. His thoughts were lost to the world, it would seem, and darkly, he wondered if they were lost to himself. Mirren was long gone – and just when he had found Vaeta, she too had seemed to disappear.. and it was hard to wonder if it had been with intent and purpose.

Whisper Caverns lacked the sense of home – spring would come soon, and the wayward ebony male knew he would be on his way.. but he was not quite ready to leave Relic Lore behind once more. The lure of it would not relinquish upon him so easily, and he knew he would find a home here once more.. whether it was in Copper Rock Creek, as had been the Tainn brothers’ original intent together.. or elsewhere.

The gentle crunch of snow pulled him from his reveries. Blinking, the swarthy male glanced upward sharply, his thick frame tensing as his bright amber eyes flashed over a svelte figure with a pelt that rivaled his own. He was enraptured by her for a stolen moment (as he was by most she-wolves in his youthful and carefree state), but it was her eyes that truly called to him. He had never came upon another with a mismatched gaze, and clearing his throat, the rugged male felt himself relax – his stance becoming neutral to reveal to this stranger that he intended no threat to her.

Little did he know that she was a member of a pack that held the only remnants of family he had left in the valley – and one he did not know of its existence. Afternoon, he greeted casually, his tail giving an idle swepe in the cool winter air behind him.

'cause its home, but it's gone