Quiet is violent

Luckily the lynx was long gone by time the two had made their way to the awaiting carcass, its perfume beginning to grow faint from the lack of its presence around the deer. And it was for the best or else the feline would have ended up becoming a fur rug on the cave floor. The warmth its pelt would offer their paws and frames at night was almost a tempting enough idea to seek out the beast right then and there to begin his fur collection, but as soon as it popped into his head he dismissed the notion. Another time maybe he would venture after it, not now. Stepping forward a faint smirk caught the corner of his black lips the way the moon gazer approached the carcass with full intentions of eating before realizing it was not her place to eat first. Vespertio understood the complications of altering one's behaviors from living alone to suddenly being in a pack where there were laws and restrictions that had to be followed. If it was another member of the pack he would have put canines to their muzzle to remind them who was in charge, but Namid was quick to fix herself and step back until she was behind him. Although he wouldn't have used such measures to correct her yet. A stern voice would be his only weapon against her until she was healthier and sprained ankle healed.

Taking another step forward he situated his larger frame near the rump of the slain deer where the killer had already worked on, claw marks and jagged torn flesh dangling from the opening. This location made it easier for the lead male to reach the awaiting meat inside. The work was already done for him. Turning his gaze to Namid he gave her the go ahead nod before sinking his canines into the tender flesh, slicing the tendons and muscle with ease. A few bites in he reeled his pink stained cheeks back to allow the bite currently in his mouth to slide down the tunnel of his throat. Licking at the blood on his lips briefly he then parted them to answer the question she had asked a bit ago. "I wasn't born here, no. My place of birth is many miles away from here to the north." Precious information was now shared with the pale woman. Never before had he spoke of his home, but then again nobody had cared to ask anything about him. Not even Athena had taken the time to ask such basic questions about his life in their short time together.  "What about you? Were you raised here?" He still knew very little of the land beyond the mountain area and spectral woods and even less about any founding families that lived within the lore. Eventually he would need to change this and gather as much information as he could. Being left in the dark was not a good thing when war could break out at any point. Especially if you knew nothing about your possible enemies.

How lovely are the portals of the night Namid Macieo when stars come out to watch the daylight die Namid watched his movements carefully, seeing that he almost seemed…amused by her fumble. She wondered why he hadn’t reprimanded her for it, as he possibly should have. It had only been a step forward, but it could have been a step too many. He nosed around the carcass, settling on the shredded hind end of the deer. That placement, she knew, would make it easy pickings for the relatively fresh meat inside of it. Her mouth went dry, staring at the animal like it were a prized trophy. Her nose quivered and she swallowed, overwhelmed by a feeling of hunger in her belly that demanded to be sated. When he gave her the go ahead, she tried to limp as gracefully as she could to the fallen prey and hide the desperation she felt for it. Once she got there she dug in happily, nipping into the flesh and chowing down. Her rounded auds swiveled to catch his words, vague but to the point of her question. It was a start, she supposed, a good one. Gulping down another mouthful she paused to lap her tongue across her muzzle. “I was not born here, either. I was born in a land far different from this one, with creatures far stranger than the ones we know.” She replied. Her answer led on a bit more than his, but still left some to be told. Namid wasn’t afraid of telling where she came from, but she hoped that her cliff-hanger would catch the curiosity she’d seem gleaming in his golden gaze from time to time. She liked to understand other wolves, what their lives had been like and taking some of their burden from their shoulders. Sometimes, it just took talking about events to help someone far more than you knew. Plus, Vespertio intrigued her.

Ayelie-stock @DA

      

The silence between them was short lived as the she-wolf soon spoke to inform the tawny man of her own upbringing. Apparently she wasn't from these lands either, but also a place stranger than he could imagine. Now what kind of place could that be? He had come across some strange places in his travels, but the way she told him of this place so vaguely it left his mind curiously hungry for more. He needed to know more of this place. The bait was set and he was hooked. "Now you can't say something like that and leave me hanging. Details, details." He chuckled lowly and gave a small bob of his head to urge her to explain herself more before his head lowered to steal a quick bite while his ears waited to hear more of this mysterious place that was home to strange creatures. Were they giant bears with some weird genetic mutations for adapting to their strange home? His mind was going a million miles an hour with thoughts of what she could possibly be referring to.

His golden eyes held an almost childish look within their depths like a pup hearing the local tales for the first time. Sitting in a huddled pile of fur among their siblings, eyes wide with wonder and curiosity. Of course Vespertio never got to hear such tales as youngster. Being the runt of the litter he was often pushed out of the den by his larger siblings whom loved to bully their poor tiny brother. They got the best and he was left with the scraps and not once did his parents intervene for the youngest prince. The only time he received a lick of affection or attention in general was when he manipulated it out of them. Some parents they were. This was what had led him to escalate into a tyrant of a pup, all for the sake of compensating the lack of affection. Shifting his body into a sitting position his rump came to rest upon the cold ground, head giving a slight angled tilt. Hopefully Namid was good at weaving a story. Then again, he just liked listening to her voice. It was so pretty and airy.    

How lovely are the portals of the night Namid Macieo when stars come out to watch the daylight die Just as she’d hoped he would, Vespertio took the bait. No, he didn’t just take it, the man took it and did a swan dive off a cliff with it. A grin settled on her face at the expression that settled on his, so young and excited. If one paid attention, she swore she could see a little wag in his rump. He ushered her to explain her past, the creatures called humans that she’d grown up with and learned to love before they were ripped out of her life. If he wanted a story, she would weave him an entire movie. Taking another bite, purposefully idling her continuation she chewed thoughtfully before swallowing. She cleared her throat then spoke, “Well, I was raised in a land south of Relic Lore called a ‘reservation’. I suppose if you wanted to think of it as a sort of pack-land you could. The winters were never this harsh, always more mild. Everywhere there were giant maple trees, which would provide excellent shelter from the sun in the summer and whose leaves would turn all colors of the sunset in the fall. They excreted a sort of sap that tasted so sweet to your tongue, but it would stick to your pelt like nothing else. This was never a fun time when leaves were falling,” She chuckled, a fond remembrance twinkling in her gaze as she recalled the instances where the leaves would stick to one’s pelt. “We followed herds of bison that we called our own, big animals that are not quite as tall as Elk but huge in width, with big horns and mean tempers. We were not a pack, we were called a tribe. My family and I, along with other wolves, lived with creatures called ‘humans’. They are animals that walk up on two legs, with no fur other than on their heads and in small patches on their faces. They spoke a language we could not understand, but you understood their tone none-the-less. They were our family, their offspring like our own siblings. Humans behave much like us, though their methods of doing things are much stranger,” She finished, lost in a daze of memory with a small smile to her lips.

Ayelie-stock @DA

      

A playful glare flashed across the pools of his eyes at the way she dragged out having to tell her tale, opting to take a bite and chew on it for what felt like forever before finally beginning the opening line. He knew she had done so purposefully to keep him waiting, standing at the edge of his theoretical seat. But now he was finally getting what he wanted as the words formed and dripped from her lips like liquid in an iv to his imagination. As she spoke his head lowered to take another bite from the rear, letting the meat become mush in his mouth from the consistent grinding of his molars although his gold gaze never left her features. Reservation? The picture had begun to be painted in his mind the more she provided him details of this mysterious place she was raised. Surprisingly he knew what maples were after having passed a few of these sticky sweet sap creating trees on his travels from home. All around him he saw it now as his imagination went wild with her story. The tall trunks gathered in small clusters here and there to create a dense forest, but not so dense that no light could penetrate its canopy like back in the deep forest here in the lore. No, there was plenty of light to seep through and warm the darker hairs of his pelt while the large leaves fell in twirling patterns to the ground. Taking a step forward his coal tinted nose nudged the trickles of clear liquid that began to flow from cracks in the bark. A quick swipe of his tongue collecting the sweetly thick sap until his nose was clean again.

Then the story changed as he imagined himself in a giant meadow of sorts with grass as green as the spring leaves upon the newly budding trees. Imagining this bison creature his body gave a small shiver pondering what kind of damage one could cause to a wolf if caught in its path. That was something he din't want to find out. Upon the mentioning of these things called humans with the barest amount of fur on their bodies his head gave a curious tilt. Apparently humans walked on two legs but did things the same way wolves did except in their own way while talking in a way one couldn't understand fully. Namid and her family had lived with these stranger creatures and even came far enough as to call them family as well. It was all so strange to the Vuesain man. "You weren't kidding about your homeland being strange. These bison things though. Did they taste good?" Of course one would think his mind would try to wrap around the subject of humans more than the bison, but the agouti man was more intrigued by the prey as he filled his stomach on the deer at his paws. Another time he would make sure to stop by and ask further upon these two legged creatures.

An enthused wag of his tail followed as he awaited an answer before he realized how ridiculous he must look to her with his puppy enthusiasm when he was suppose to be this regal leader. Clearing his throat in embarrassment he adjusted his body language to slacken to a more relaxed and neutral position.

How lovely are the portals of the night Namid Macieo when stars come out to watch the daylight die Vespertio’s gaze was practically brimming with interesting, spilling over his face to create an expression of wonder. She could see the images flickering through his golden gaze, see him running through the fields with her and underneath the towering trees, inhaling the sap scented air. His interested seemed to especially peak when she mentioned the large bison that they farmed. In her mind she could still see them plain as day, even after so long. Huge mammals, with shaggy brown fur and muscles meant for power. She could see them in the heat season, the males bearing down upon each other and cracking their skulls together in a ritual she still didn’t quite understand. Through the air you could feel their power emanate, the strength they possessed palpable though they often passed as gentle giants unless provoked. Did they taste good? the tawny male inquired. A snort that she couldn’t help came from her nose. She’d just described creatures stranger than basically a big cow, and he was worried about the Bison? Any whom she’d told her story to had focused on the big picture, but this man was different. He paid attention to side detail, details that could benefit him or his pack. Namid stared at him curiously, brightly mismatched gaze quietly calculating him. Quickly, she shook herself out of it and spoke, “Yes, they tasted very good. Their meat tasted muskier than deer, and with the fattiness of Elk. It could easily sustain a pack for weeks.” But, as she said that, she thought of the hunts that were required to capture the beasts. Many went as planned, without casualties or injury and left them with a bountiful feast. However, there were times when such things didn’t quite go as planned. The pale woman remembered a day they’d gone out hunting. It was bright and sunny, and she’d been walking next to her brother and chief. When they reached the herd, the wolves set out to do their task which was to corral the weaker of the herd into solidarity so that the humans could come in for the actual kill. This process took a bit longer than usual that day, but in the end they had managed to separate a calf from its mother. As they’d closed in, leaping in an out biting at its heels to keep it in check for the men to come a loud bellow came from across the meadow. Namid had only time to glance over before a rush of brown was seen barreling toward them. Yips of panic filled the air and they scattered, but one of the wolves wasn’t fortunate enough to make it out of the path of the frantic and pissed Bison mother. It scooped its massive head, horns grasping and picking up the poor fellow and sending him flying into the air before landing many feet away on the ground with a sickening thud. Everything seemed to go quite after that, as if the birds had stopped their singing and nature itself held its breath. Their friend laid there, unmoving and slowly the scent of metal filled the air. Crimson liquid spilled from their nose and mouth and they breathed no more. They had mourned for their family member for a day or two afterwards, and the sight of it had never left her mind. While thinking of this incident, her expression had clouded into one of constriction, her chest squeezing with the familiar feeling of gentle grief after watching such a horrible incident. “But, without the help of humans I would never want a pack to go after one,” She commented mutely, taking another bite of the deer but feeling slightly less hungry at this point.

Ayelie-stock @DA

      

His embarrassment only grew with the sound of her snort that arose from her nose causing his ears to lay flat against his skull for a very quick moment. As a leader he didn't want his newest member to see his weaknesses, to see that he was just as human(wolf) as his members. He wanted to come across as a force to be reckoned with. To him he once thought the ruling pair were above them pack members. Untouchables in the way they kept the pack safe and well fed. Not a trace of emotion broke their mask that could arise uncertainty in the pack. They had to be strong like boulders. At least this was how his parents had acted when he was a pup. His mother and father stayed strong to let their strength and pride trickle down to the lowest member. There was no faults to be seen. Until Vesper wanted it all for himself then it all came tumbling down until there was nothing left to do but ban him in order to save the foundation they had built over the years. But now he saw how vulnerable even leaders could be. Something he didn't want to portray when he could help it.

The moon gazer as Vesper had come to quickly nickname her in the safety of his mind, spoke once more. Informing him of how delicious the meat of these bison were, but with it came a warning that laced her words stronger than the tone she used. Nobody was to go after such a beast without these human creatures to help. A new emotion washed over the gentle features of Namid's face. An emotion that caused his ears to lay flatly once more picking up the distressed emotion radiating off her pelt now. Had he asked the wrong question? Something had happened to make her mood drop. The agouti man even noticed the lack of enthusiasm to eat that she once had. Instead nibbling at the deer before them disinterestedly. "I hope I haven't upset you." Genuine concern filled his words as golden eyes scanned over her facial features. "We should keep moving." He added shortly after while giving his throat a subtle clearing, his pads moving away from the carcass. He would send someone out in the morning to collect the deer for the pack cache if not returning alone once he had his pale companion settled in to recuperate from her injury. Stopping he awaited the woman to join him at his side, allowing them to go at her pace.

How lovely are the portals of the night Namid Macieo when stars come out to watch the daylight die Namid’s mismatched gaze fanned up to the male’s face, startled with the sudden look of solidarity she found there. She had yet to see this expression from Vespertio, as if a wall was built between them at that moment. A wall that she didn’t like, and wanted to be broken down. Already she could tell that she liked him, not in anything more than platonic but she enjoyed spending time with him. It felt different than her normal shared time with others, with him the conversation flowed easily and was comfortable. The only other that she could compare it with had been Rook, but even then to her it had been a friendship of like-minds. An equal understanding of the world and the sharing of knowledge, and the movement toward a common goal. Here, it wasn’t just that. It was unexplainable and different and something she couldn’t quite put a paw on. Her maw curled into a small frown at his expression, wishing it would go away. As if her wills could do such a thing, his features melted and replaced itself with that of concern toward her. Confusion swirled within her mind at why he would be concerned for her, and how he could think that he’d been the one to upset her. Then, it clicked that she had let the sadness she felt from her experience trickle onto her face. Instantly she snapped out of it, her characteristic gentle smile etching its way onto her blackened lips. That was why she didn’t like to show anything other than a smile, she didn’t want others to feel sorry for her. She didn’t want others to feel the need to care for her, to feel the need to support her on their shoulders when they had enough to bear on their own. The pale woman was stronger than that, she could support herself as she had through the years and longer along with others. She was strong enough to carry the burden of others along with her, as long as it lightened theirs. In the metaphorical sense she was willing to become a pack mule. At his suggestion she raised herself to her paws, careful to divide her weight between the three that were uninjured. She gave her pelt a shake, riding it of any clinging snow that might have attached itself to her. “You have not upset me, I am fine. Do not worry about it, let us continue shall we?” She replied, making sure to put an extra pep in her hobble as she prepared to march on forward again toward her new residence.

Ayelie-stock @DA

      

Relief washed over his features when his golden eyes caught sight of the sadness that once plagued her face disperse and return the brightness it held only moments ago. He didn't know why, but he didn't like seeing anything but a smile and blissfulness grace her beautiful features. At this realization he tried his hardest to keep his cheeks from changing color beneath his winter coat, golden eyes adverting the pale woman beside him to keep from embarrassing himself anymore by revealing the pink tint of his creamy cheeks. The sooner they got back the sooner he could seek the solitude of the night and clear his head. This woman was holding some mystical force on him and he didn't know what to do about it. "We shall." He answered shortly in response but not withholding any friendliness in his voice to the woman. The last thing he wanted to do was make her assume he had suddenly grown to detest her presence in any way. Namid was pleasant to be around and the tawny man hoped she would stick around for a while even after her paw healed. It wasn't often he found such easy comfort in another soul. Trudging onward at the pace she had set with her cute little hobble he continued to offer his shoulder for support, the two fell silent for the remainder of the trek. They were finally home and soon there would be much to do and many new faces for the woman to meet and greet.

Fade.