Drooping Willows Running from the past

Iopah's in a feeling-sorry-for-herself funk. I'm hoping somewolf can pull her out of it.
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Footpads making little noise on the soft turf, Iopah loped through the forest. The occasional breeze caused the willows reach out and brush against her lean sides. She was covering ground quickly, traveling ever north. She wasn't going anywhere in particular, but trying to outrun something she could never shake. A scent caught her attention. Her head went up and her feet stilled. Twisting in the breeze, a tuft of dark brown fur beckoned to her. Elk. Iopah stood considering, an intent statue. She turned in it's direction, placing her cream-hued feet carefully as she stalked. At a small clearing Iopah paused; It was close. Holding her breath the tawny and muted-gray female peered into the clearing. A young buck foraged, unconcerned. His antlers were growing, probably his first set. They were still sheathed in velvet and he handled them carefully, turning his head awkwardly to avoid brusing them on branches as he ate. He was healthy. No sickness came from him; He was too strong for her to take.

Suddenly the breeze changed direction, blowing into the small clearing. The result was instant. The young bull threw his head up. For a second predator and prey locked eyes. Wary brown stared into calculating golden pupils. As Iopah stared her memory coated one the bucks tines in blood. A single drop fell the grass below. Iopah shut her eyes tightly. When her lids reopened both velveteen tines were again clean. A bluejay screamed a challenge. At the cry the elk plunged back into the willows, leaving the unsettled wolf in his wake. Iopah slowly turned and continued north. As she passed through the swaying willows her mind kept replaying that moment.

The old elk galloped out the valley where he had been hunting. She remembered crouching in surprise. As the great elk swung by her a drop of blood landed on the her face. Her insides froze when she realized and entire tine was drenched in blood. The elk galloped out of sight as Iopah stared down the hill, desperately looking for him. She began to run...

With a shuddering cry Iopah was back in the present. She had come to a border marker. She stared forward and imaged the wolves that would gladly rip her to shreds. For several long minutes she stood, wondering how long it would hurt for. With a low drawn-out whine Iopah turned left and walked along the edge of the Willow Ridge boundary.

Gradually the ground under her paws became water-logged. The scent of marsh flowers permeated the air. She stopped when a front foot was submerged up to the wrist. Ahead of her a shed elk antler lay in the water, it's mate was wedged in a a tree. Iopah griped the antler with her teeth and tugged. It was anchored firmly and did not budge. Sighing Iopah turned and place her vulnerable side against a tine. She leaned into it. Suddenly the dying male's expression sprang to mind and Iopah let herself sink, unharmed, into the cool water. She rested her head a lower tine and waited. She could bring herself to travel no more. She was done.

(This post was last modified: Aug 11, 2012, 05:34 PM by Iopah.)

Narimé wasn't the usual wolf who ran around the borders marking them.
However she had been looking for Elettra to ask her about something, but
the young gray female couldn't find her alpha anywhere. Maybe she's out
hunting or something. Narimé sighed. She was bored and wanted to be doing
something. Narimé realized that she was feeling like this a lot lately.
Maybe I can check the borders and mark them like the others do... That should
help right? The girl smiled and trotted along with her head held high along the border,.


Every place where Narimé could sniff out Elettra's and Koda's scent marks she
added her own light perfume to the blend. Though It wasn't long until Narimé was also
bored doing this task. Hunting is so much more fun. You actually have to use
your mind when you hunt, Doing this is nothing. Just pissing everywhere.... She
laughed at her own comment then stood still. Her ears twisted forward searching
for any noise. The yearlings nose twitched as the scent of wolf swiftly passed over it.


Normally she would have just ran right to the scent. IF it had been a pack
mates scent. No this scent did not have Willow Ridge smell, and it was realy close to
the border. Narimé panicked for a second wondering if she should howl for back up or
not. As Narimé continued to scent the loner she began to realize that she shouldn't be
too afraid. By the smell the wolf was alone, plus it was a female. Chances were Narimé
could probably check the stranger out by herself until she knew the loner was dangerous.


This is my chance to show Elettra what I can do. Not just hunting but border patrols too!
Narimé could barely hide her excitement as she stood there.Then her face went
serious as she began to pad towards the edge of the border. What the young wolf found
was..well.. Maybe just a little odd.


The silver girl could see the stranger she wolf, but Narimé couldn't figure out what the
stranger was doing. She seemed to have dunked herself half way into the water.
"I mean come on there are easier ways to take a bath." Narimé spoke loudly with a
teasing tone. The yearling didn't realize that her joke might be taken the wrong way.
"So what are you really doing over there?" Narimé sat precisely on the border.
The female stranger was just beyond the border, but Narimé guessed Elettra would not like
her being even this close to it. The yearling would watch the newcomer warily
and keep her from stepping anywhere past where she sat, which was their territory.


Theme Song (Sloane With Narimé)

(This post was last modified: Aug 11, 2012, 06:59 PM by Narimé.)

Iopah was watching a pair of herons. They were hunting for minnows and shiners in the deeper water. Hunting successfully; This was a fertile wetland. Once a bird had a fish it would retreat to a thick patch of cattails, moments later returning empty-handed... so to speak. Young herons on a nest she surmised. The she-wolf envied them. They had a goal, a meaningful purpose. They hadn't had their entire lives ripped out from under them, chewed up, and spit back at them. Iopah was wrapped up in watching the birds and feeding the jealousy she felt towards them.

The herons noticed Narimé's arrival first, both silently lifted into the air and left in unison. Narimé's words broke the silence. Iopah did not react. Her ears did not twitch and her chin continued to rest limply on the antler tine. Only Iopah's eyes moved in response. They shifted to regard the newcomer. Iopah couldn't believe it. 'I didn't know there was a wrong way to bathe.' The sarcastic retort did not leave her mouth, instead she gazed blankly at the strange wolf. For a second it occurred to Iopah that her behavior was childish. A pup flopping down and refusing to move until it got it's way. The thought did nothing to rouse Iopah. She was weary, worn out mentally and physically. Everything she'd worked for and was a part of had destroyed itself, had withered away. Iopah was left with nothing. Sick of disappointment and heartbreak Iopah started walking, secretly hoping she would come to the edge of the earth and fall off.

Narimé's pointed question pulled her back. If Iopah had been asked this question two hours ago she would have said traveling, but now she had given up on that. Finally did Iopah raise her damp head to look Narimé square on. <b>"Nothing. I'm doing nothing."</b> If this wolf wanted Iopah farther from the border, she was going to have to drag her away.

Narimé cocked her head questioningly while watching the
stranger. She'd said she was doing nothing. How can you be doing
nothing and not be bored by it? I would rather be doing something useful.
She shifted from one paw to the other as the silvery wolf sat just watching
the wet wolf. Surely she would catch a cold being in the water for so long.
Standing back up Narimé took a step forward and looked down at the wolf
with worried eyes. She seemed very..not sad, but depressed even? The girl
wondered why she was so down. Maybe something bad happened to her
that I don't know about.. Narimé stepped into the water a little closer with a
wagging tail and a smile. She knew how to cheer the female up.


"Since you're in the water anyway. I can sing you a little song." Narimé
grinned from eartip to eartip and stopped a few feet away.


"Hey misses grumpy fur...You know what you gotto do when life gets you down?
Just keep swimming
Just keep swimming
Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming
What do we do we swim, swim, swim
Oh ho ho how I love to swim
When you WAAANT to swim you want to swim!"


Narimé was doing swimming motions in the water the whole while as she
sung her little merry song, and the yearling could barely keep herself from
laughing all the while. When she was finished she finally released a bunch of giggles
and tried doing aplay pose tot he female still in the water,but water got up her nose
so she started a sneezing fit instead.


Theme Song (Sloane With Narimé)

OOC, her flashbacks are occurring in sequential order
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Iopah turned her head away and stared out at the marsh. Still no sign of the herons. She thought back to the day this whole screwed-up journey began.

<blockquote><i>She stepped closer to him, although she wanted to flee screaming across the plains. She crouched down into the cut-up turf and mud, blood was already seeping into the grass. His ragged, irregular the only thing that drew her close enough to look into his face. His eyes focused on her. "Io"</i></blockquote>
Soft splashing drew her attention. The young wolf had stepped into the water, saying something about a song. Iopah was comletely unprepared for what followed. Clearly, though, Narimé found it entertaining. Ippah visibly winced at a high note and watched as Narimé collapsed into a sneezing fit.

<b>"That was very..."</b> Iopah searched for a truthful word that would not be insuting. <b>"It was very enlightening."</b> Bizarre as the song was, Iopah understood what she was trying to say. Iopah looked out across the marsh. Her ears were the only part of her that was completely dry and they swiveled as various marsh birds called to one another.

<b>"I've been 'swimming'... keeping myself busy. I have come so far from home. But I'm tired and weary. Everytime I stop. Everytime I start over, it happens all over again. I feel like my past is always on my shoulders, that I've been dragging it around this whole time."</b> Iopah stopped and faced Narimé. Her face was bedraggled and dark from the water, only her eyes shone their true gold. <b>"What do I do?"</b>

Narimé feld down again as her song seemed to have no
real effect on the female. The young girls tail stopped wagging and
she stood up straight listeneing intently to the wet wolfs depressed talk.


For a few seconds it seemed as though she was staring into
space. Frankly this kinda freaked Narimé out a bit. However then the stranger
began spouting words about her past weighing her down and Narimé began
to think of her past. How her father had whisked her away from their pack and brought
her out here. At first she had hated him for it. Especially since he never answered
her the whole trip. Plus she had to watch him slowly starve as he fed her all the food he
could catch. That time alone with him was not one of Narimés favorite times.


The lone female asked the yearling what she should do. Geeze why is she asking me
that? I'm probably too young to answer her question correctly. I haven't had many experiences
like she probably had. Narimé thought silently wondering how to answer.


"My father dragged me away from our family and brought me along north. The whole
while he wouldn't say a damn thing about why we were leaving the pack or where we
were going. Every time I asked him he would just mumble stuff and keep walking
ahead." She paused to collect herself then looked down at the soggy female.
"He starved himself to feed me as we continued north. I hated it. I hated watching him die
slowly. So I promised him I would learn how to hunt, and you know what. I did. I was
able to bring in a few rabbits for myself. " She growled a bit. "Even though I hate my
damn long legs they are the only reason I was able to survive." Stay on topic Narimé.


"We made it just before Serpents Pass. The row of mountains to the south of here." She
explained slowly starting to get caught up in her own memories.
"We found a nice meal, a deer carcass. I was soo. happy. Cause it meant dad
could eat." She was almost about to start crying herself. The yearling knew the odds of
her fathers survival. She'd been told by many loners she'd met to stop looking for him.
"We were attacked by a huge ass bear. Dada ran one way and I ran the other." She
growled again. "Those next few days even after it rained I searched for him everywhere.
I think I might have been nearly as depressed as you are now when I finally headed
over the mountains searching for him farther north. I knew he would continue traveling north.
Then when I found this place I realized that this was the place he was searching for.
This was supposed to be our new home. " She sniffled a bit but looked back up to
Iopah with a halfhearted smile on her muzzle masking the pain shown in her eyes.


"I still can't believe that he died that day. He's just too fast to get caught by the bear.
Plus it wasn't like I saw him get hurt." She looked down again.
"Other wolves keep telling me to stop looking for him, but...but I can't. I just know
he's alive somwhere out there. Alive and hoping that I'm taking care of myself." She snapped
her jaws shut. Narimé had said a little too much. the female was probably long since bored
of her little sad story.


"I'm sorry for taking your time I really am." Narimé padded back up the bank and sat
down beginning to dry herself. Then she looked back into the water towards the female.
"I just realized I never actually answered your question did I? I guess it's not something
that I can answer for you. Maybe it's something you have to answer yourself." The young
wolf dipped her head and continued drying herself. She wasn't in a good mood anymore.


Theme Song (Sloane With Narimé)

OOC: Sorry, bought my first saltwater fish this week. Kind of a big deal for me.
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Iopah listened silently to the story. Water dripped slowly from her ruff. The marsh was quiet and still as the young wolf spoke. Iopah said nothing, simply observing when Narimé growled softly. The damp wolf flinched inwardly. She turned her head away, unable to look the younger one full in the face. It was Iopah's fault the wolf had offered this story; It was Iopah's fault she was reliving this. The story ended abruptly. Iopah looked back at Narimé quickly as the wolf apologized. She was cleaning the water from her fur, the happy demeanor from earlier was completely gone. Iopah cursed inwardly.

<b>"No, I'm sorry. I did not mean to make you repeat a story that was so upsetting."</b> Iopah fell silent as a thought occured to her. A wry grin tugged at one corner of her jaws. <b>"Don't worry about wasting my time. All I have is time."</b> Iopah stood, dark water running off her pale fur in rivlets. Her pelt clung pathetically to her lean frame. She looked around absently, unsure of where to go or do next. Her golden gaze returned to Narimé. The wolf was still drying herself off. <b>"What I've been doing for the past 2 years hasn't worked, I'm going to have to do something differently... Can I ask you something?"</b> Iopah paused nervously, she didn't want to upset this young wolf, but the question resonated within her. <b>"Why did you stop traveling? I mean, how did you know you where meant to be here?"</b>

Iopah unconsciously took a step back and watched Narimé intently. She thought of the many miles behind her. Wondering how many of them were really necessary.

http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/230/6/f/6fdf36f22e24f95e36c07739cb8591a2-d5bkwky.jpg) bottom center no-repeat; background-color: #003377;"> Why did I stop traveling? Narimé had been asked that question once before, but she forgot who exactly had asked it to her. For a moment she thought about how to answer. <b style="color:#FFFFFF">"I guess I stopped traveling because I found friends and more family here." She answered with a smile in the corner of her mouth. <b style="color:#FFFFFF">"I also believed that this was the place my father had been taking me to I thought that this was supposed to be our new home.."With her paws almost completely dried the girl stood up and surveyed the land behind them. No other wolves were out to check the borders. Narimé was sure that the loner was trustworthy. She wouldn't have to worry about her crossing the border. Instead she would worry about whether the she wolf would be okay if she left. The yearling couldn't stand there all day unfortunately. She had to try and finish her border marking. Then try to hunt later in the day when the sun dips below the horizon. Looking back at the female she gave her a tail wag. Maybe she could go out and catch something real quick for her. Narimé knew she wasn't allowed totake stuff from their caches for loners, but that didn't mean that she wasn't allowed to catch food for a loner. Yeah but what if she won't accept food from a stranger like me? Or maybe someone finds her while I'm away. I guess it's best to stay here.. She debated quietly while<be>standing on the dry grass. But I do still have to go soon.. She wouldn't tell the she wolf this. Nope, she would stay for a little longer and try to get Iopah's mood to brighten.

code by bryony

<a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViKaGA0Isrc' target='_blank'>Theme Song (Sloane With Narimé)</a>

Iopah shivered involuntarily as a breeze drifted across the marsh, drawing with it the rich, musty smell of the marsh itself. She half-heartedly shook herself off, creating a spray of fat water droplets. She quickly stilled herself as Narimé started to answer. Her head tilted quizzically as she spoke. Her <span class='word'>primrose</span> eyes widened. <b>"You found wolves you knew here?"</b> The thought planted a seed of hope in her heart.

<b>"Everyone I know is either dead or hundreds of miles away."</b> Her gaze drifted down to the elk antlers by her feet. <b>"My friend was killed by an elk. If I'd been more stubborn, or persuasive, maybe we both would have ended up here."</b> She lifted a sodden paw to nudge it absently.

Iopah saw Narimé look behind her. Young wolf said nothing, but Iopah knew what she had been looking for. This young wolf was friendly, however Iopah could not expect her packmates to be as outgoing. <b>"Are you expecting company?"</b> Iopah packed up, moving away from Narimé and from the border. The border continued to be silent. Iopah stopped and looked at Narimé sadly. <b>"I wasn't always like this, I had dreams once."</b> A wistful expression slipped across her features as she remembered.

http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/230/6/f/6fdf36f22e24f95e36c07739cb8591a2-d5bkwky.jpg) bottom center no-repeat; background-color: #003377;"> The girl shrugged her shoulders at the females comment about expecting company. She really didn't know if someone else would show up on the border. When Iopah asked her about if she had found wolves she knew here Narimé nodded her head. She was lying. The silver yearling didn't know anyone when she first got here. But the gray female wanted to give Iopah hope. It was hope that Narimé had been running on all this time. Now it was her turn to try and give someone else a little bit a hope for their future. Much like how Chantille had helped her out and rose her spirit when she was feeling down. Besides. After being here for so long Narimé had indeed made friends here. You just had to meet others and hopefully not meet some nutcase or angry wolf. That was how she'd made friends. Narimé was curious about Iopahs dreams. She wondered what her dream had once been. Or if maybe that dream was still possible for Iopah to make happen. <b style="color:#FFFFFF">"If you don't mind my asking, what was your dream?" She tilted her head ever so slightly and watched the she wolf with bright curious blue eyes. Theme Song (Sloane With Narimé)

code by bryony