Hush Meadow come take a walk on the wild side

Fenru first, please. <3 Grey, let me know if there's anything you'd like changed!

you do not know who is your friend or who is your enemy until the   ICE breaks. When the days were growing warm and summer still not in full bloom, many strange things had happened in Ice's life.. many things that changed many other things, and altered his perception of life: altered him, even. The realization that having a friend of a rival pack was troublesome hadn't come as a surprise, yet he'd been unprepared for how deeply it'd affect him - how it nearly risked his easy companionship with Marsh. And then, he'd realized how much he liked Fenru, how he felt like a younger brother, or maybe even an adopted child. He'd also realized how closeted Fenru was, shut up in the Grove all his life, and how insecure he was; Ice was under the impression that Fenru wanted to please everyone and do everything that was expected of him, yet afraid to let others down - and also that he had no real clue what to do. He'd come out of his shell a bit after their chat, though. Ice had caught glimpses of him patrolling, and at least he hadn't bolted when Torrel had tried to lick his maw off, though he'd seemed a bit concerned. Ice smiled at the memory as he trotted on at a leisurely pace. The yearling could already sprint faster than him, but he wasn't so sure about his stamina. Had Fenru ever had need to exercise, to keep walking until every muscle ached, every joint felt sore, and his pads nearly bleeding? The first years of a wolf's life was meant to be sheltered, and Ice knew that the pack brought home food, kept you warm and fat... but nothing prepared you for the void in your belly and the tired ache of your muscles when you desperately tried to push to catch up with a deer, yet all you got for it was its white backside disappearing like a beacon into the forest. Life as a loner was harsh, and the longer you were without a pack, the weaker you grew. The most wondrous thing, however, had been that night sitting by the River with Marsh. Things had changed, but to what he couldn't tell, just that it was .. pleasant. Ice gave his thick neck a shake, trying to get the copper wolf out of his head. It wasn't him he was here with, but Fenru! They'd left the Grove early that morning, when the air was still crisp and cold with the hint oncoming autumn, and taken off south. At noon he'd made a brief stop in the Drooping Willows, pausing by a brook to drink and rest for a little while. He'd chosen that spot for a reason: the new pack. While they were far from the actual pack territory itself, he'd pointed out its general direction and told the yearling that Willow Ridge had formed there, under the leadership of Elettra and Koda. What he hadn't mentioned was their bothersome politics, with Koda being mated to another female, nor the incident when their young huntress Narimé had mistaken him for her father. He felt a bit bad for the girl, though he'd felt mostly bad for himself at the time, trying to figure out if he'd somehow ended up having kids without knowing it. Something in her gaze had spoken of such joy, such hope and happiness, that he felt like a villain simply for being himself. Now, the willow trees were lessening around them, the afternoon sun high in a blue, cloudless sky. The winds whispered of the change of seasons, the heat not as oppressive as it was in summer. Ice liked autumn; a few trees here and there had already begun the slow change, their green tinted yellow, and it was with a thoughtful sort of joy in his eyes that he took in the sight. He'd been born far to the north in a land of snow, where it would've been heaped on the ground at the time of the pup's birth as well. That he'd for some reason been born when winter still was harsh was curious, but they'd survived all the same and when they first peeked out of the den, it was sparkling snow that met their curious eyes. Those were good memories, and Ice smiled as he came past the line of trees. A few willows and other broad-leaved trees dotted the landscape here and there, bushes and shrubs breaking up the sea of grass. Otherwise, it was just a wide, open expanse of lush green grass spreading out before their eyes, reaching the horizon without the forest in sight. To the west lay the Iridescent Lagoon, and to the east, Fireweed Rise. But here, all was green. The wind swept across the meadow, blades rustling and whispering, bending like waves on a sea. Smiling, he tilted his head to take a look at Fenru, to see not only how he'd fared from their journey, but also to see his expression. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" he asked quietly, fondness in his eyes. .ice aesir

let the stars above shine in your soul

Whooo! Back from vacation, let's start this! :D

Fenru had woken up early that morning with an itch, or rather a twitch in his limbs. Ice had promised him an adventure and, today, the yearling had finally cultured an eagerness and full-hearted excitement for it. The morning air was perfect for a stroll and while the Guardian kept a steady pace, every so often Fen lagged behind to inspect something or dashed forward to get to something before Ice could even get a whiff of it. The farther they trekked south, however, the boy's thrilled leaps became less frequent. Not only was the boy reminded of his encounter with Finn, the strange lady with a drawling accent, but every now and then the air carried the essence of willow leaves and the scent of a very dominant female lingered. It had never occurred to Fenru how intimidating Corinna's markers might have been to an outsider until now when he discovered himself to be on the other side of the territory lines. Apparently, this lady did not particularly enjoy others encroaching on her land; and, with her markers, every few meters or so, she made it very, very clear.

When he finally settled into a stride that fell a little more than a step behind Ice, Fenru's ears slicked back and he focused for a long while with his eyes on whatever he could see. By the time Ice found a suitable place to educate the boy about Willow Ridge, Fen merely nodded, quick to memorize Elettra and Koda by name... to stay clear of them in case they were not on good terms with Swift River. They continued onward and not once did the young Tainn even bother to ask to rest or stop. It could have easily been the now memorized patrol paths that lent the youth his stamina, but a part of him liked to think he harnessed his endurance from his mother and father himself. Tainns were built to survive, he realized, and would not even dare to think anymore of it. It made him feel proud to be a River wolf and that, in turn, helped him further cultivate the confidence he had been lacking.

The further they drew away from Willow Ridge the more Fenru's inquisitiveness resurfaced. The scents became more enticing, the view grew to become something pleasant and different (it was actually the first time Fen had ever been somewhere where trees did not tower directly over him), and the sound of it all, from the wind across the open meadow to the scattered rustle of long willow branches, eventually invited him to draw his ears forward again. To be openly curious. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Ice's voice sounded distant to his ears, muffled by the fresh, newly discovered sound of an autumn breeze, but, nevertheless, the yearling acknowledged him. "Yeah," he smiled back, his tail wagging about behind him. "I've... I've never been this far from home before. Did... Did you know all this was here? It's beautiful."

(This post was last modified: Jan 23, 2013, 06:03 AM by Fenru.)

Taekwondo (M, W, F) | Rapid-Response Day (Tu) | WoW Nights (F, Sat, Sun)

So sorry for the slow. <3 I give you my 300th post to make up for it!
Oh, and, anyone is welcome to join them :)

you do not know who is your friend or who is your enemy until the   ICE breaks. The further they went, the longer they traveled, the prouder Ice's warm heart grew. Not once did Fenru lag behind out of laziness, not once did he whine or beg for a rest. No - the yearling kept an even pace with Ice, sometimes lingering to smell a new thing or bounding ahead to inspect whatever caught his fancy. The silver Guardian had traveled far and wide, not only across Relic Lore but he had trekked across the continent. He'd seen a lot of things, and there was still much he hadn't see, or would never see. Things in the south, for example. If he'd been younger, his wandering paws might have taken him there, but he was content in Swift River. He had leaders he adored, a generation of pups to play with and guard - purpose, friends, and Marsh. No. His days as a stray were over, but his body would never forget nor would his mind stop wondering what lay around the next bend. Easily he trotted down south, a constant pace at which he could go for hours on end. That Fenru, despite his switches in tempo and rhythm, kept up, made him both proud and surprised; he'd always seemed a sheltered youth, until that day when Ice brought him along on a patrol. Since then, he'd frequently found his scent at markers, the lingering trail of his paw pads on the beaten paths. It was a transformation he would not have guessed at, but if he had needed more proof of its existence and meaning to the yearling, he had it now: for nearly an entire day, he kept up, without running himself ragged. Wolves were meant for walking, and it seemed that it was in Fenru's blood too. Slowly the older male drew to a halt on the outskirts of the large meadow, keen gaze sweeping across its waving surface before focusing on Fenru. He caught the wag of a tail, an alert gaze, ears swept forward, straining: a soft laugh escaped Ice at the picture of youthful yearning, as if his every sense wanted to burst free of his physical body and simply gallivant around in the long grasses. Behind him, his own tail wagged, pleased - he'd been afraid that Fenru would just get scared by this great unknown, but perhaps the patrols over summer had whetted his appetite for the new? He thought back on the troubled, quiet boy he'd brought on that first round, smiling fondly; everyone grew up, in the end. It was just amazing that he'd helped bring about such a change. That silent boy who nearly drowned in the den when the flood rushed in - that boy would probably not have been amazed by an open meadow and the unblocked sky towering above his head. But that boy was no more, and Ice thought that this was a good damn substitute to being their actual father. Was this how Indru and Corinna felt each time their children advanced? "I've never come here with the purpose of coming here," he answered, warm, amused. "I've skirted it a few times going other places. Over there, to the west-" His black nose pointed in its direction. "- there's a giant lake. A few of the willows have made it all the way to its shore. To the east-" And his nose went the other way. "- there's another meadow. In spring and summer its covered in wildflowers." Leaning in to give Fenru an affectionate nip to the shoulder, Ice set off at a trot again, moving out among the deeper grasses. At this time of the year it reached nearly to his belly, tickling the shorter hairs on his legs and waving gently in his wake. Giving a laugh, Ice pushed off one hind paw and launched himself skywards, laughing freely - unbound. "Come on, let's see what we can find!" Wolves, rodents, startled deer, colorful birds - a lot of things roamed the Hush Meadow, and with a spring in his step Ice began to bounce deeper into the green sea, flinging a look over his shoulder to see if Fenru was rooted at the spot, drinking in the beauty, or coming along with him into this new world. .ice aesir

let the stars above shine in your soul

<3

The boy eagerly drank up Ice's reply. His eyes scanned the scenery to the west, then to the east. A lake... Fenru amused himself with the notion that he had never seen one of those. He knew only that it was an expansive body of water but in his younger days he had been absolutely terrified by the thought of it. To wonder about what a lake actually looked like, to feel the water at his feet and explore the shallows... now that was something to be desired. Autumn was on its way, his mother had said, so as for the wildflowers, maybe the coming year would hold another adventure this far south of home and he would be given the chance to see the meadow in all its glory.

He blinked, grinning as the Guardian nipped at his shoulder and set off again. "Come on, let's see what we can find!" Though reacting a few seconds too late, Fenru followed, diving into the grass without a second thought about what he might land in or bump into or discover. He caught sight of Ice as he leapt into the air and laughed along, bounding to where he could at least be within the Guardian's reach. His tail waved wildly about the space behind him and as he focused back onto his traveling companion he bore a rather exhilarated grin. "Now where we're goin'?"

(This post was last modified: Jan 03, 2013, 12:21 PM by Fenru.)

Taekwondo (M, W, F) | Rapid-Response Day (Tu) | WoW Nights (F, Sat, Sun)

you do not know who is your friend or who is your enemy until the   ICE breaks. It was intoxicating, to see Fenru's face - the grin, the light in his eyes, the wag of his tail. The late summer sun beat down on their backs, slipping towards the horizon, but there was much to see, much to scent and to hear. A warmth mirroring it nestled in his heart, soft and warm and filling his entire body. He spared it few thoughts, not wanting to probe it too strongly.. for fear of what tenderness he would find beneath. That spring, the moment when he had so very nearly become the father of this year's litter - it had bruised his heart, though he had hidden it and healed it in silence, alone. So he would relish in the shallow layers of this warmth, and not look a gift horse in the mouth. The day was far too good to ruin with angst. At Fenru's query Ice slowly drifted to a stop, cocking his head up to peer at the distant speck of a hawk diving for its prey. Going? Did they have to go somewhere? He craned his head to look the way they'd come, the disturbed trail through grass, the willows and other deciduous trees coming in close. "Going?" he asked with a laugh, tongue hanging out between his jaws in a wolf's smile. "The goal matters not; don't get so caught up in it that you blind yourself to the journey!" And with that little bit of philosophical advice, Ice took off again, bounding like a pup through the tall grasses. Large paws and strong legs swept the blades aside, beating them down against the soft earth; he stumbled on occasion, hitting the holes of those who burrowed beneath, but never stepping deep enough into one to injure himself. Yard by yard he drew onto the open field, leaving the encroaching trees behind. It was only them and the meadow and the sky. Again, he stopped, sides heaving and eyes bright, youthful - he spun around to face his protege. "What do you smell?" he asked, breathless. He wasn't looking for a particular answer, just wanted to get Fenru's mind and senses going... to immerse him in this world, soul-deep. .ice aesir

let the stars above shine in your soul

Ice's words shed an even brighter light on him and the boy let out a string of barks, the adrenaline pumping through his veins. The Guardian bounded through the field and Fenru kept up, striding effortlessly wherever Ice had flattened the tall blades of grass. When he stopped, Fen came to a slow halt at his side. His thin, carnation pink tongue laid loose over his lower canine teeth as he panted. He was about to ask why Ice had come to a standstill when a question was pitched.

What do you smell?

That was easy. He didn't even take a second to think. "The trees," he grinned, closing his eyes briefly to take another whiff of the late summer breeze. "And the grass, mice and deer..." His plume-like tail took up a gentle sway. "I smell... I smell..." he babbled on, trying to construct a list of things he could distinctly pick up in an instant. "Birds... Birds. Birds." His eyes fluttered open and he sprinted off again behind a curtain of grass. His voice lifted up to the sky with a childish laugh, "BIIIIIIIIIIIRDSSS!!!"

A flock of ravens took flight upon his approach and, blindly, in his bliss, he landed in a shallow depression where a mud pit would have been if the weather had been wetter. He rolled onto his back, his tail sweeping aside the loose sand and small pebbles. He opened his eyes with a smile, amused for the time being that the world from his point of view was upside down. Turning his head to the side, his smile was swept away by the sight of a curious-looking green and yellow creature.

An intrigued smile formed on his face and he rolled back over to sit up. "ICE!" he hollered. "Ice, c'mere! Quick! LOOK AT THIS!!" He stared down at the odd, little thing with bulbous yellow eyes and tiny pupils. His lanky frame arched down into a play bow and he slowly inched his nose towards its outstretched barbed arms. He tilted its head and it did the same. Fenru beamed and sat back up; the praying mantis drew its arms close to its torso. "Ice, look!"

(This post was last modified: Jan 03, 2013, 12:21 PM by Fenru.)

Taekwondo (M, W, F) | Rapid-Response Day (Tu) | WoW Nights (F, Sat, Sun)

Come on guys join us someone! ;~;

you do not know who is your friend or who is your enemy until the   ICE breaks. "The trees," Fenru responded; did he carry that scent with him, in his nose, always? But it was not strange - the wind rushed in with its whispering sound, carrying the woodland on it. Willow tree, was what it smelled mostly of, and that new pack. Faint snatches of border markers carried, but would he have guessed it, if he'd not known what to look for? Perhaps not. Grass, mice, deer. Ice's tail was wagging, a grin on his face. Fenru was doing exactly what Ice had wanted him to - he'd begun to think, what is here? what can I do here?, when he suddenly found his call - in chasing birds. Laughing heartily, Ice watched as Fenru took off screaming and laughing, and as if on cue (maybe caused by his noises...) a murder of ravens lifted up, cawing and croaking their displeasure at being disturbed. Smiling broadly, Ice barked at them, watching them drift off across the sky, seeking a new perch. When did I become so burdened by thoughts? he wondered to himself as he trotted in the direction Fenru had gone. When did I forget to - breathe, and live? The world felt wonderful in his lungs, but something dark hung between him and true joy. Sighing, to himself mostly, Ice nearly fell over when Fenru screamed. His heart stopped in his chest for a moment, imagining Fenru running madly, his ankle getting stuck in a burrow and the bone snapping.. - but he wasn't in agony. He was just exalted about something. Life seeped back into the Guardian and he barked, rushing on and nearly falling over the yearling. What was he doing on the ground, all dirty? Having fun, old man, he told himself wryly, somehow avoiding a collision by, miraculously, drifting sideways and plonking down heavily on his hind end in the dirt. "Whatwhat," he laughed, following Fenru's movements as the younger male stretched out in a bow. There was.. something there. Something small. And bright, but camouflaged. Eyes going wide, Ice placed his paws beneath him, leaning forward as far as he could without falling over, straining to see it properly. What the hell was that thing? It mirrored Fenru's movements, but it had wayyy too many legs to be something normal. "Freaky," he muttered. It was standing on, what, three pairs of legs? Having more curled up against its chest? "What is that thing?" Was it one of those, agh, things that lived in the grass? It'd been too cold for most of them where he came from, and in the Grove, he'd not seen that many. He knew insects like these lived in grass and bushes and whatnot, but he'd never really seen one before... or one so bright... Slowly he mimicked Fenru, sitting back up again, staring at the tiny thing. "I wonder what it does all day?" His head tilted, tail sweeping thoughtful arcs across the sandy floor they sat on. .ice aesir

let the stars above shine in your soul

They're totally missin' out now. :P

His yells of excitement were quickly answered. "Freaky," Ice muttered. Fenru laughed, startling the brightly-colored creature. Ice continued to muse, "What is that thing? ...I wonder what it does all day?" The boy arched a brow, one of his ears swiveling to one side as the other kept forward. "HMMMMMM," he loudly pondered, the sound of his voice making the mantis flinch again. Ever so carefully, Fenru tucked his forelimbs to his chest and straightened his back, sitting rigidly on his hind legs with his tail curled behind him. "Well," he narrowed his eyes as he tried to keep himself steady by tucking his chin to his chest. "Maybe it... just... does this."

He placed one of his large paws atop the other and he kept them close to his torso, "All. Day. Long." His muzzle wrinkled as he slightly twitched and swayed. The pose felt unnatural, which made the presentation of the mantis' presence even more mystifying. "Maaaaaybe it's... uncomfortable?"

Fenru slowly planted his paws back onto the ground then looked to Ice after staring at the creature for a minute or so, "It's just sitting there." Turning his attention back to the mantis he stuck out his tongue and made to prod at it with one of his claws. It twitched and took a step back which made the boy immediately withdraw his arm. "Eeeeeeeeee," he sounded out in half-disgust and half-glee. "You try an' make it do something."

(This post was last modified: Jan 03, 2013, 12:22 PM by Fenru.)

Taekwondo (M, W, F) | Rapid-Response Day (Tu) | WoW Nights (F, Sat, Sun)

Yeap!

you do not know who is your friend or who is your enemy until the   ICE breaks. He felt his head taking on a distinctly philosophical tilt as he, for a moment, looked at the blue sky. What did a mantis do all day? For now, it was the Ultimate Question of Life: did it hunt, like they did, or did it... not eat? What did it eat? Grass, like deer? Could you eat a mantis (though, granted, that was not related to what it did)? With a slight smile on his face Ice felt his own vocal chords mimic Fenru's, though less loud, and for a moment longer he peered at the great vast blue as if it had an answer (as if stars could speak, even if they weren't out). But only the silence of the wind greeted him and Fenru's movements in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Together with the mantis, Ice watched him rock back, up, holding himself rigid with his paws tucked neatly against his chest. A grin broke out across his pale muzzle and he resisted the urge to give him a shove, just to see if he could hold his balance - instead, he merely watched, and then broke out laughing. It wouldn't surprise him if the thing did sit there all day long. "You've not got enough legs, Fen," he chuckled. "Perhaps there's something in those extra pairs that we're missing out on... Some ancient, mysterious, grass-sitting secret we're just not meant for." He furrowed his brow. "Damn unfair." Silence enveloped them for a while longer as both wolves were absorbed in staring at the unmoving thing: odd, for such a small insect to be so unfazed by having two predators stare intently at it, following its every miniscule twitch. "Well," he said a short moment after Fenru broke the silence, once more adopting his philosophical head tilt. It made him feel sophisticated. "So are we, come to think about it." Though his train of thought came to a stop soon after, as he became absorbed in Fenru's bold approach. Closer.. closer.. closer... the mantis held his ground.. closer.. and then it retreated, all those too-many legs shifting and sending a shiver down Ice's furry spine. "Those legs," he muttered, overshadowed by Fenru's more vocal exclamation. Then, "What, I?". He was supposed to poke the thing? Euhhh nooooo... Frowning, he sank down on his belly in the dust, his tail stiff in concentration. Fenru had poked it with a paw, having all the safety of his long leg between the weird thing and himself.. Ice was older. Ice had to be madderbraver. Taking a deep breath, trying to assure himself that neither of them had died in its presence (yet), Ice began to inch closer to the thing, which only seemed to regard him with the same confident curiosity - but how could you tell if the muscles in such a small thing were tensed, anyway? Scowling, he stopped where he was. Time for the mad move! Logic defied crawling all the way; he'd arrive paws first then. So. He had to get up, somehow, or just get his nose to grow longer than his legs. Wriggling closer like a white grassworm, he managed to spread out his front legs wider - uncomfortable, but it served the purpose. Grunting, he wriggled closer.. and closer.. taking care to not accidentally swipe the mantis from its strange position, and, ah! With his ears back, the lying Ice stretched out his neck, bringing his leathery nose close to the thing: he never got to touch it, though, as his hot breath drove it back a few more steps. The way it moved, so up close, was too much. With a squeal of sorts Ice bounced back up on all four, somehow bounding backwards the few paces to sit beside Fenru. "That thing is crazy," he muttered. He didn't trust those legs. Oh no. There were far too many of them. .ice aesir

let the stars above shine in your soul

"What, I?" Fenru excitedly nodded with the enthusiasm of a toddler who had just been asked if the adult at his side should buy him ice cream. "Yeahyeahyeah, yeahhh," he beamed. The Guard took a deep breath; the tip of the boy's pink tongue poked between his upper and lower fangs. He watched in suspense as Ice began to crawl toward the odd green bug. Inch by inch, the anticipation mounted until a squeal broke through the quiet, giving the boy quite a fright.

Ice drew back to sit beside him but all Fen could bother to do was topple over on his side in a fit of giggles. He curled up enough to have the pads of his forepaws touch the soles of his feet, his tail thumping about as he opened his eyes just enough to take in his companion's seemingly shaken being. He managed to stop rolling from side to side, laying on his back with his limbs in the air as he grinned widely. "You didn't even touch it!" he accused, laughing lightly again.

His canines poked out from under his upper lip, his facial expression plain on his face as one of pure joy as the corners of his mouth continued to draw upward. "Hurrrrrr," he sounded, a peal of laughter aborted as he righted himself into a more sphinx-like position. He clenched his teeth together and turned to look back at the mantis, but it had disappeared altogether. It had probably had enough of Fenru's ridicule and mocking. The boy turned back to Ice with a more thoughtful smile, the silliness subsiding as he studied the features that made up his hero's face.

"Hey, Ice?" he called to the man with a gentle tone, the boyish charm still apparent in his eyes. "You're cool." His tail swayed from side to side. The last time Fenru had played like this was nearly three-quarters of a year ago, when Indru had spent a couple months playing the role of a 'Dad.' "I wish we could do this eeeeeeeeveryday," he gave a nod at the end of his additional sentence as if the gesture verified its integrity. "My Dad isn't even half as fun as you." Sure, he and Indru had played and had some serious talks, just like how Ice had successfully brought him out of his shell, but somehow in the youngster's mind, Ice was much cooler. Part of the reason why, he deduced, was the singular fact that Ice, since his initiation into Swift River, had been a constant presence in his life. "Can this... Can this be something we just do? Adventure time, together?" he asked at random. After Ice had already promised to stay, it only made sense that this question came next. He did not want to share the Guardian with his siblings.

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