Cedarwood Forest Deep Thoughts

Hollow padded through the cedar trees with his mind ablaze he thought of the strange encounter with the wolf Djinn, as he contemplated life he came upon a strong scent, Wolves laced together to form a distinct scent he decided must be a pack, he grunted to himself <b>"Best stay well back"</b> he knew that they could be not so nice as he would hope, so he loped silently along jaws firmly clamped shut no howl would escape him. Several paces from the border he continued along until prey scent crossed his glands, it was mostly small game that he would veer away to catch, after a few small rodents he was satisfied and sought out a nice clear spot to sit. He wanted to be to far away to be scented strongly but close enough to run if he needed to.

After a few moments he found his prize a very small clearing of a few random trees with a shaft of light he sat and raised his head closing his eyes and then his memories would overtake. <i>Warm, Summer his parents murmuring was muffled by the trees but he didn't want to play in the glade today he would go to the river. He took off his long legs and over-sized paws throwing up dust. When he came upon it he pretended to be battling a bear and winning, until he heard the cries. Horrible pained yelps and snarls, screams almost to his ears, he ran, and ran until he reached the glade. he smelled something odd, other wolves he'd never scented, and fresh spilled blood! He tentatively stepped from the trees and felt the earth dip and sway beneath his paws, there they lay, dead throats torn viciously from them. His mother and father both his brother and sister eyes staring at nothing and glazed in death. He let a small yelp and ran, and ran until he could no more where he collapsed.</i>

He thought of his journey how he ate carrion as a pup to stay alive, and barley made it here, how he had to learn to fight the wilds bad tempered creatures on his own, yet he was still weak and young.
he let out a little whimper and laid his ears back, Softly he said, <b>"So lonely, why did they have to die?"</b> his broken heart cried out and his head dropped to his chest. silent grief held him for moment more before his vision cleared. he must never let his past effect his future, Djinn could have killed him and he would have welcomed it, but she didn't because life is not something to be thrown away, it is to be lived. he opened his eyes, brilliant blue with the ring of green in the right and just stared into the trees and hoped that someone would wander along and have something useful to say. but he still would not howl nor would he ask for entrance to whatever pack he had just stumbled upon, he was not worthy of that, he didn't even know how to prove himself so he sat and pondered life in silent thought eyes focused ahead ears pricked and alert, just maybe something would happen here.

Hunger nipped at her heels, like a sheepdog driving its flock. She was moving parallel to the pack's border. It was a half mile away, but with her sensitive nose the distance was insignificant. Though she didn't know the packs name yet, she still cataloged it mentally and added it to the map of the land that she was piecing together and memorizing.

Rapid footsteps and the sharp squeal of a small prey mammal broke through the silence. She paused among the regal cedars and listened. Shortly, the footsteps receded and Iopah followed curiously after them. She was not above scavenging from others. She would not have made it this far otherwise. As she padded along silently her nose gave her useful bits of information. <i>Wolf. Male. Young. Ground squirrel blood.</i>

Ahead of her there was only the occasional rustle of leaves to lead her on. She came within sight of the clearing just as the male's words faded into the surrounding forest. The tan female halted, unwilling to intrude in his current state of mind. It seemed everyone in Lore had a traumatic past. The young male stared intently into the woods, peering precisely in Iopah's direction. There was no sense in trying to hide if he knew she was there.

Iopah stepped quietly into the clearing. Her tail swayed loosely behind her. "Sorry for intruding. I'm Iopah."

(This post was last modified: Jan 09, 2013, 10:03 PM by Iopah.)

Hollow was stunned for a moment as she wolf materialized out of nothing in front of him, he shook his head and realized he must have been staring right at her without even realizing it. Hollow's ears perked up to the top of his head and it raised as well, <i>"Sorry for intruding. I'm Lopah."</i> She spoke, it had actually surprised him that one could "intrude" upon a loner's space, she was older than him by her scent which made him cock his head to the side to be addressed as an equal, but then he checked she was a loner as well.

However odd he was glad of the company, she seemed nicer than Djinn had been rather abrasive, he felt she may hold a conversation better. As Hollow's thoughts clarified he realized he must have looked like a wreck to this she-wolf with his head down and mind occupied.

<b>"Hello Iopah, my name is Hollow, don't worry you aren't intruding at all I was actually hoping for a little company, I've only met one wolf so far and she wasn't outwardly friendly, so finding one who is already polite is certainly nice. So what brings another loner out this way?"</b>

He truly truly hoped she did not see that lingering past floating in his eyes or the light tinge of fear and sadness still left on his southern accent. Though it was rapidly fading as it always did when another was around he didn't want to see pity in others eyes anymore, he was ready to move on, though he would always keep that time with him. He hoped he didn't look too distraught and that she wouldn't notice.

(This post was last modified: Oct 31, 2012, 12:36 AM by Hollow.)

Her name is Iopah. With a capital "i". I'm assuming that's what you meant to write, so I'll pretend that's what he said.

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Iopah took in his appearance. His posture, the down-turned eyes, the sadness that had not quite left his eyes. Hollow looked like she had felt several weeks ago. Iopah knew that there was nothing she could do to take that sadness from him. Wolves did not shed their past as easily as they did their coats.

"Good," She said at his words, nodding. "I have met several wolves, many of them civil at the least." Her honey-hued ears swept forward. "Was that wolf around here?"

Her gray shoulders shrugged, she grinned half-heatedly. "What a lone wolf does best, exploring." Her attempt at a grin slipped away. Lately she felt like a leaf in the wind. Sure she was free to go where she pleased, but it had little meaning without a home. Without an anchor. Iopah sighed. She looked at Hollow. "It can get monotonous. It's good to make friends every now and them."

(This post was last modified: Jan 09, 2013, 10:05 PM by Iopah.)

I feel bad now sorry :/
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She told him something he had been hoping to hear. There was hope for life itself after all, no need to run afraid of every wolf that approached. He could be at ease, His posture raised and relaxed, he no longer appeared sullen. He once again put the past out of his mind, and looked up to respond.

<b>"No,"</b> he let out a small snort of laughter. <b>"She lives in the wildwood, It's good to know I'll find civil wolves out here."</b>

<i>"What a lone wolf does best, exploring."</i> Hollows head bobbed in agreement, he saw her half-hearted grin and knew she was feeling just as empty as he, his ears lowered slightly as he sensed the underlying sadness of her tone. <i>"It can get monotonous. It's good to make friends every now and then."</i>

<b>" Yes it is, I often find myself thinking of finding a good pack, something to give me meaning."</b>

Iopah's tail gave a small wag when she saw the tension leave Hollow. He looked up and she was pleased to see the sadness in his eyes had gone. She nodded at his words. A physical confrontation just before winter spelled disaster for any wolf.

She listened politely to his hopes regarding a pack. A golden ear flicked as though shooing an irritating fly. This was a sensitive subject for Iopah. She chose her words carefully. "Sounds like a good plan. Wolves are social, pack life is instinctive for many of us." Iopah stopped to clear some burrs from her fur. "Sorry, I won't be much help, I've only met a few pack wolves and know little about the nearby packs. Whatever pack you choose be sure when the time comes. It's an important decision, a promise. It's not one to be made lightly." She didn't mean to lecture or make him reconsider, but she had seen too many wolves leave packs. "Maybe some day even I will learn to trust a pack enough again." She smiled and watched him, wondering how he would take her words.

(This post was last modified: Jan 09, 2013, 10:08 PM by Iopah.)

The black wolf let her words roll around in his mind, he wasn't one to decide in his head, his heart led him most places he had been weather good or bad. Hollow's ears flicked as she told him to be sure of himself, afraid yes, most of the time, being from his background, but unsure of his actions? Never. He remembered one thing his mother told him, one of the few, <i>No matter what Hollow, Follow your own, good, heart.</i> He lived by that, he lived by freedom and the wind, by purpose. He had roamed long and his heart ached for s true life, not just endless roaming. He knew as well at his young age and inexperience winter would be very harsh. But that would never make a decision for him.

<b>"It's true, But I've found in my travels to this place that if I follow my heart, not my head, that whatever happens, I'll be where I need to be."</b> He stopped for a moment to choose his next words carefully so as not to divulge to much of his past. <b>"Trust is hard to come by, you just hope to feel it when the time is right."</b> He lifted his left paw and ran it over his head. Hoping that maybe she would feel some stir at his words, as it had always done him when his mother would tell him the same thing. He returned her gaze with a small smile to show she hadn't offended him

Iopah watched patiently as he mulled her words over. She found herself enjoying his conversation more than expected. He was very thoughtful for one so young. Iopah wished she had been the same way when she was younger. When he spoke she sat upright, tail swishing lightly against the grass.

She smiled, "It is good to have trust it others," She paused before saying more, and as she did she finally digested what he had said. It hit her like a ton of bricks. She stared at him, her expression blank and her thoughts raced. Had I been following my heart all along? Why did I come here? She finally posed a question, haltingly, to the black wolf.

"Is it possible, I mean, do you think your heart can know where you are supposed to be? That it..." The golden wolf stopped and thought furiously for the perfect word. "intuitively leads you to where you are meant to be? Even if you have no idea where you are going?"

"I have traveled for so long, have come so far and seen so much." Her voice quavered as she summed up her life in those short, brief words. She paced rapidly as she spoke, pausing every few steps to look at Hollow. She had always thought she had been running away. Away from her guilt, away from Kele's death, away from humans. What if she had been running to something? The she wolf looked around herself with something like wonder. Had her heart really guided her here? She looked back to Hollow and her heart pounded against her ribs. It would be a wonder if Hollow couldn't see it under grayish golden fur. His words had struck a deep chord inside her. All her past memories where pushed down as she wondered incredibly, if she were home. Where her heart was meant to be.

(This post was last modified: Jan 09, 2013, 10:13 PM by Iopah.)

Hollows tail wagged as Iopah's expression went from mere idle conversation to a blank slate, he could see well enough he had found the right words for once.<i>"Is it possible, I mean, do you think your heart can know where you are supposed to be? That is... Intuitively leads you to where you are meant to be? Even if you have no idea where you are going?""I have traveled for so long, have come so far and seen so much."</i> Hollow studied her, as she almost became a grey-gold blur pacing, he could see it had struck home with her, and for that he was glad. Hollow saw something like wonder and revelation in her as she stopped and peered around. He met her gaze intensely and all of the pain and agony from when he was pup, the fear as he ran and scavenged to stay alive, and finally the happiness he found within himself when he arrived to what felt like a destination, Relic Lore, welled up inside his young heart. The ring of green around his right pupil seemed to light up with the fire of his belief as he responded solidly and surely.

<b>'Yes, I truly believe that as long as your heart has a beat, and your throat has a song, that you can find your way through the darkness and into the light, to a home, even if you don't know it."</b>Hollow paused, for a moment and decided to let her in just a little to show her why he believed this,<b>'I had a home that was taken from me, and I had to run, scavenge and hide, as I grew I asked myself, why would this happen to me? but then one day I came here and just stopped. Stopped running, stopped fearing, because somewhere deep down my heart told me I had made it, wherever I was going, this was it"</b>

Iopah had never believed in destiny. The idea that a higher power had control of her life was absurd. She believed in what she could see and hear, and very little beyond that. She believed that it was her own stupid decisions, or those of the wolves she lived under, that directed her life. But as she stood in the clearing with Hollow, she wondered. Had she been set on this course the day she left? It was a sobering thought that she was never meant to live under her parents rule. That she was never meant to live with Kele.

The thought sent a chill into her heart. She turned her head from Hollow quickly, not wanting him to see the raw pain in her eyes. She turned back to him, meeting his gaze directly. As they stared at each other Hollow seemed to burn with happiness. His eye appeared to glow with the fire that burned within him. His words softened the ache in her heart. Iopah said nothing, there were some memories too painful to drag out in the open. It was her own personal demon.

There was a pause. Iopah refocused her attention on Hollow, listened to his words. His story was not unlike her own. She nodded respectfully. "My family was in pieces. I left them."

It was her one great shame. She lowered her eyes in embarrassment. There was no way for the pretty she wolf to know that the decision saved her life. Had she stayed, she too, would have been rounded up and shot. Her faithfulness would have been certain death.

(This post was last modified: Jan 09, 2013, 10:09 PM by Iopah.)