Poison Path The Sky is Falling

<blockquote> The heavily pregnant female hauled her way from the den and up into the fresh mountain air. It would be any day now. Every inch of her body ached, each step made her want to wince, but something was calling her out to view the stars. Rhysis hadn’t come back from whatever it was that Rhysis did these days. He would find her scent and no doubt follow. The night was electric with the energy of events to come. If only she knew the significance...

Climbing now, she made her way to the large flat outcrop on the northern edge of their territory. As always, the lights danced brilliantly above their home, flashing blues, pinks and greens. The hard granite still held some of the days warmth and she lowered herself gingerly to the calming warmth. It was doing wonders for her aches. She was too far along to be chewing herbs to ease her pain. She wouldn’t risk any harm on her little ones. She may have been reckless in the early days, but no more.

Her muzzle tilted upwards to take in the twinkling lights that lit the sky above her home. A shooting star made its presence known. The star that burned twice as bright burned half as long... but then there was another... and another. It was like a million fireflies had decided to race across the sky. Her face lit up with a fascinated smile as she tilted her head to the sky and sung out to her pack. Tonight was a night for family.</blockquote>

Oh, the sky awoke, on fire with the cold burn of blue and green, the haunting flash of pink. It danced across the glassy surfaces of Vafri’s eyes: such colour, unchained, feral, limitless. In silence then the lanky male ascended. He became a ghost on the mountainside, a creature of soft feet and toes splayed on the jagged stands of rock. A swift leap, and another, and he glided up on paths long memorized. Overhead the lights moved silent, and the stars blinked like a hundred eyes, like all the souls ever lost to cold winds and the teeth of loneliness. Vafri hesitated, turned to scan the emptiness beside him with dark eyes. As he turned the lights reflected in his eyes all fled and for all appearances he stared quite blackly at the water far below him: distant, cold and deep. It looked much like another bit of sky now and he wondered if once long ago great ancient things turned in the waters of the world, or if they slept now underneath thick northern ice. He blinked and shook his head and vaulted up the path again, content to dismiss notions of existence for the moment. Life was fleeting; life was terrifying. He preferred to look at the sky. As he climbed it seemed to Vafri that the sky bowed down to greet him; all the little fires skated down, their bright tails weaving through the night, and his steps slowed as the shower thickened. The white wolf’s tail waved silently behind him as he eased up behind his leader, steps loose and dark eyes glimmering with secondhand resplendence. ”Good night for watching,” observed the pale wolf, voice low and soft with awe. He sank to his haunches beside Naira, and for a brief moment he thought of nothing as he let his eyes sweep back and forth across the sky, chasing a thousand tiny fires as they fell to earth.

Slumber held her cradled like a newborn in its mother's arms. She lay curled up, tail over her dark nose. A melodic howl stretched through the night air, reaching her ears and awakening her. With slow blinks, her chocolate eyes opened, and the creamy woman slipped out from the den in which she was sleeping. With a quick stretch, she was off, loping toward the howl. Within moments, her eyes picked up two figures in the night- Naira and someone else. Who was he? Shaking her head, her eyes lit up with the lights around him. What was that?

Chantille began to slow now, eyes whirring about as she looked at the lights that fell from the sky. She had never seen such an event before. Knowing that it was nothing of worry, she let a smile place itself upon her muzzle. Approaching her leadess now, she dipped her head respectfully, ears and tail lowering. "It's beautiful" she whispered, her eyes glued to the sky now. She was too stuck on the lights to say anything to the male beside her.

Mist had been wandering throughout the new territory all day. She hadn't been a member of the pack for long, but she already felt an incredible sense of security that she hadn't felt as a loner. The howl reached her ears. She looked off into the distance, debating the idea of responding. She musn't let her shyness get the best of her, it was time to socialize.

She shook violently and inspected her coat. She was clean, her silvery fur was neatly groomed. Satisfied, she set off towards the howl. She noticed the three wolves already there. They were all..starring. She looked up at the night's sky, and the site that greeted her eyes was simply awe inspiring. She slowly sat down, continuing to stare at the sky. What a beautiful site. She was overwhelmed. So much had happened...she'd gone from not even talking to a single wolf in over a year to being a pack member within one day. And now this? A gorgeous welcome.
<b>"Does this happen often?"</b> she asked the others.

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never fear shadows, they simply mean there's a light sinning nearby

<blockquote>This was ridiculous. All day he had been patrolling the borders; all friggin’ day and nothing exciting had happened. No one had come, no one had gone. The forest had been quiet, so quiet in fact he hadn’t even seen another form of life and he didn’t count insects into that group. The dark leader was bored, utterly, painstakingly bored and at the back of his mind had been regretting shooing Naira away from border patrol, she loved it and he hated it; but he didn’t want her out there on the front lines- it only took one of the enemy to track them down and take her out and as much as he thought of her, little Athena wouldn’t exactly be able to take on a group of wolves with assassination on their minds. So, as much as he hated it, this was his role for now until Naira was fitter, the pups were older and only then would he consider letting her back on duty… if she was a good girl.

So when his females call echoed beautifully from the mountains, he could only curse himself. How had she managed to slip out this time?! He wasn’t angry at the sound however, it was peaceful, happy and a call for her family, her pack to come to her. It wasn’t distress and it wasn’t just for him, which hopefully meant she was not alone up there.
Without wasting further time, he abandoned his duties and scaled the now well worn path from their lake shores which would eventually wind up into the moutains. However, his pack wasn’t in the thick of it, they were perched upon an outcrop, sitting looking up at the sky. So intent was he on making good time to get here and answer his females call that he hadn’t even looked up at the sky. Following their line of vision he glanced up and took in the sight before them.

It was almost enough to make him forget the glance of a white male who sat near his female… almost. He made no judgement yet, and tentatively sniffed the air. He was marked, one of theirs but he certainly hadn’t met the wolf- that meant dear Naira had been sneaking out on border patrol. Again. Yes, the woman was going to be the death of him.
There were too many here already to show his frustration about it, and in truth they needed male strength. This wolf was sturdy, tall like him and seemed able enough. For now, he wouldn’t kick up a fuss.
He regarded each of the wolves gathered there with a glance, and made an effort, with gritted teeth, to nudge each one with his shoulder as he pushed his way over to sit with his female, though his focus wasn’t on the stars which were falling, but the male who was sitting too close to his lady for his liking. So, he made a point of walking right in between the gap between Vafri and Naira, wedging his way in as he pulled up to sit beside her, and made a very obvious point of leaning into her side with his own. Childish and rather jealously, he didn’t speak to the male he had just bumped shoulders with, but looked up and ignored him completely.
For now, silence fell from him as his steel eyes warmed in the radiance of the burnt and falling sky above them.
</blockquote>

Unlike most she had chosen to watch nature's majestic display not in the heavens above, but reflected across the surface of their Lake. She truly did love their home, for it was more beautiful than any forest and she reaped more rewards than she ever had before in her life of the mountains. In the forests the treetops would've hidden such a festivity from her awed amber eyes, but here the dark night sky was reflected so honestly on the calm waters. Only the occasional wind would disturb the surface and cause the lights of the sky to waver in its image - which made its dance even more beautiful. The black-furred subordinate was sure Athena was somewhere along the mountains watching it as well. She did love her sunrise and sunset, much the way Ava took to the stars that dotted the night sky, but likely both the females could agree this rare shower was a lovely sight in its own.

It appeared they weren't the only ones either: from an outcrop she knew came Naira's call to all the poisoned wolves. The female was more clever than any of them - she probably had the best view of the festivities as well. Immediately she got on her four and turned north, padding up the mountain trails she knew so well. Some short while after the howl echoed across the Poison Path dominion did she round the corner on to the flat protrusion. An immediate smile leapt to her face at the sight of Naira; her admiration and loyalty for her mentor knew no bounds. Seated at her side was of course, Rhysis, though there appeared to be little room between him and the white wolf beside him - which was, surprisingly, not Athena! Vafri was seated instead. He seemed the least skittish of the new ones and she appreciated that. Of course Ava would tolerate no dominance from any of the lowers, but none so far had attempted to gain her submission in any way at all.

Close to them was Chantille, whose beautiful cream-colored coat she would recognize anywhere. But also there was a new wolf, whose foreign scent she had spotted on the climb up. That silvery fur carried both Rhysis and Naira's blessing, which was odd but intriguing. Ava lifted her dark head, a bemused smile replacing her previous one. And she'd just been thinking about not needing to throw her seniority around for respect... regardless she held herself proudly as she approached, less for Chantille and Vafri than it was for the new girl. The black female snaked around to the opposite side of their gathering, taking her own place beside Naira. She gave the tawny leader a low whine, ears slicking back against her head as she nosed the female's cheek to remind her of her devotion. Rhysis received the exact same greeting, though she did not come so close as to actually brush fur with him. The black wolf remembered quite easily that he didn't enjoy physical contact and she figured he got enough of it these days, leading a pack. Her honest gaze told him more than a touch would that she was under his reign loyally. But afterward Ava gave the two leaders room - Naira's personal space was already crowded by the whelps growing so quickly in her belly and Rhysis did not like crowding; Ava decided the breathing room was as little of a gift as she could give to them.

So she sat just a little distance from them and glanced among the gathered so far, warmth in her gaze even she roved over each of them, even the new one. "<b>Ava,</b>" she introduced simply, knowing her name and pride stature would suffice for what the slender wolf needed to know of herself right now. The streaks of colors reflected over the golden depths of her eyes as she turned her head toward the sky once again.

art - threads

Kegan was looking around the pack territory for somewhat a while, until he had heard the loud, soothing howl of some other pack mate. Kegan had also not been a member for long, and had tried to get used to life with this pack. Kegan knew that he was a social butterfly, and wanted to talk to some other wolf, it didn't matter if he had met them before or hadn't.

Kegan had found the other wolves, he had noticed Mist, who had joined around about the same time as him. And a number of other wolves. Kegan had heard a female jet black wolf introduce her name, so Kegan thought he might.<b>"Kegan".</b> He said and bowed slightly. Kegan then sat down, and quickly looked up at the glimmering, beautiful sky most, or all of the wolves had been looking at.

Kegan thought it was probably the most beautiful sky he had ever seen, but Kegan hadn't really looked at the sky, probably to busy doing something, well until now. He looked at it again, so many colours, so pretty to him.

Athena was up in the mountains when Naira called for her family. She had been watching the sunset that evening and when she turned to leave a little bit ago, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye that made her stop dead in her tracks. It was a meteor shower. She has only seen one once with her mother when she was a young pup. Only vaguely, remembering what they were called, but they brought a lovely smile on her face. She had watched the “falling stars” with her mother and that memory would never be forgotten. So there, she was sitting on her outcrop watching the wonderful sight when Naira called.

Picking her rump off the ground she made her way towards Naira’s voice, swiftly maneuvering around bends and curves. When she finally approached the group, she saw she was the last one. A low growl of dissatisfaction rumbled in her throat. She used to be always early and one time, but now all these new members seemed to always love to beat her to these things. Lowering her tail and head respectfully, she approached Rhysis and Naira with a guilty look on her face. A low whine escaped her maw as she nudged Naira’s cheek lovingly. Her salmon tongue snaked out and planted a lick on the underside of Naira’s chin. She then turned to Rhysis giving him a light nudge on the cheek and a low whine too. Her loyalty towards the pair had no boundaries and she hoped that they knew that, even if she was always late for the meetings.

She turned back towards the group and headed towards Ava off to the side. She slightly some names being introduced, but she did not feel like answering. She gave Ava a lovingly nudge on the cheek and she sat down next to her, leaning into her for a moment. She glanced around towards the others and spotted Vafri next to Rhysis, which seemed quick odd, but she dismissed it for the moment. Then the two newest recruits, Mist and Kegan were in the group, along with Chantille. She then turned back to look up at the sky her fiery eyes filled with awe. Lying down silently, she glanced at the group briefly. ”It’s a meteor shower. I have only seen one in my whole life. A memory I share with my mother.” She said, staring back up at the falling balls of inferno.

|| Ash is welcome to make an appearance in any thread. ||

The she-wolf hurtled the rocky ground with ease, head totally tilted to the sky. She was awe-struck by the fiery colours, not watching where she was going. Her paws scrapped the ground, pushing her forwards without care. She didn’t need to focus. Her legs mechanically had a mind of their own, throwing her across even the most uneven ground. It was instinct for her body to overcome all obstacles, doing unbearable tasks were hardwired into her very soul. She was like a snake, snapping this way and that over each hill. It was so natural for her to push the limit. Her mind was free to wander, there was no challenge. The dark embraced the she-wolf, covering her like a blanket. She was no more than a shadow covering every inch of rock, drifting uphill, fighting gravity. Noticing her was like noticing the sky at that time, quick flashes of colour and shocking beauty, but you only got a glimpse as she raced into the distance, fading away. A closer look revealed a thoughtless face, as if she were asleep and free from worries. Her orange muzzle was high in the air, reaching for the sky. Her frosty gold eyes glittered with curiosity, for the wolf had never seen such magnificent colours in the air before.

She had not been asleep when she heard the calling. She had been wide awake, watching. Now, she was so involved with the sights around her she did not fear meeting the pack for the first time. She knew she was running late, but how the hell was she supposed to know where she was going? Everything looked the same, smelt the same, she’d be damned if any of it ever made sense to her. Finally though, she caught the trail, running full tilt in the proper direction. She wandered if the pact knew about her, if Rhysis had shared the news of the new arrival.

If not, they were about to find out.

She joined the group without realizing, noticing the wolves one by one. Keeping her head down she tried to slowly fit in, a unsure smile on her face as she looked up at the sky.

Chantille's soft chocolate eyes remained glued to the sky as the lights continued to fall. Her ears perked as Athena told them what it was- a meteor shower. "Incredible" the creamy woman replied, an awe struck smile lighting up her muzzle. Wagging her tail like a pup, she turned towards the wolves that had appeared before her family. She did not recognize them, but they now carried the scent of Poison Path, and it kept her hackles smooth. Eyes scanning the wolves, she dipped her head respectively "I'm Chantille, it's a pleasure to meet all of you."

The sky continuously lit up; her pelt appeared as a ghostly white as the meteors shot downward. Her eyes followed them as they fell, and she seemed to be almost hypnotized. A silence seemed to hush over the group for a few moments as they continued to watch the lights. Chantille wondered if other creatures were watching this occur- were some panicking? Looking back to the new wolves, her smile remained upon her muzzle "I look forward to getting to know you all." Her mood was boosted an incredible amount by this strange event.