A New Dawn

Anyone is welcome to join this thread, but it is preferable that Sibyl is allowed to post first and then anyone else can continue!

Forecast at time of post: Partly Cloudy — Current Temperature: 0° F/-18° C

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Destin had awakened earlier than Sibyl. When his eyes opened, he could see her still-sleeping form slumped up against that log she loved so much. There was an uncertainty about him and so he remained there, laying down, watching the female that had helped him reach his goal. The excitement from the previous day was back faster and larger than before, and as he blinked the sleep away he felt it in full force. There were butterflies in his stomach and jitters in his legs. He just couldn't wait anymore, he needed to go explore!

His past stopped him and prevented him from adjusting himself to stand. That bear was still in his dreams, and he knew that somewhere out there in this forest would be a similar animal waiting to strike. He trusted the wolves of Grizzly Hollow with his life already, though he hadn't even met more than two of them yet, but were there some things that they could not control? Patrolling twenty-four seven in all places was not possible. And so the nagging fear was still attached to his brain, whispering to him. Sure, he could go off on his own, but what if something happened? What if he was unlucky today too? This irrational fear might not have a basis and many would perhaps not have such a feeling, but Destin could not shake it no matter what he told himself.

So the large male remained laying against the tree he had fallen asleep on the previous evening. His gaze watched the forest in interest, his eyes passing and inspecting every tree he could see. There was no way anything could happen here, right? It was just too peaceful. It was just too quiet. For some reason this last thought made him stop. Too quiet. And then, he realized, it was so. There were no birds singing in the trees nor the shuffling of animals in bushes nearby. It was like time had stopped for all but the wolves of the forest, or all the other creatures had disappeared without a trace. It was a lovely winter's day, the sun shined behind clouds and was still a comfort in the sky. There was snow on the ground but not any amount that wasn't manageable. He had heard birds yesterday, but no music from them had reached his ears today. The silence wasn't peaceful anymore. It was unnerving.

The brown male's eyes moved back and forth and his golden eyes latched back onto the familiar form of Sibyl. He did not want to wake her from what appeared to be a deep slumber. Destin hesitated and still remained up against the tree, not being able to shake this new nervousness that clutched his being.

(This post was last modified: Jan 05, 2013, 04:20 PM by Destin.)

Sibyl cracked her eyes open, squinting in the bright white glare of the snow's reflection. With a toothy yawn she rolled onto her side, her back brushing against the log. Sibyl offered Destin a smile upon noticing him leaned up against a neighboring tree. Gradually her smile melted away, noticing how nervous the male seemed. Well, from what little she knew of him, he always seemed nervous. Sibyl had to wonder whether it was something else besides being unsure in a new place that was gnawing at him.

Hauling herself to her feet, she glanced about, her ears twisting in every direction seeking some sort of disturbance. Nothing rumbled in the forest, no growls or screeches that would signify anything dangerous. But there was a feeling creeping up on her. Something did seem... Off. Sibyl couldn't quite place it, but it was a similar sort of edginess like when a thunderstorm rolled in, or before a wildfire would roll across the plains. An imminent tone in the fibers of the world itself that heralded something terribly wrong. Her fur stood on end, and she gave Destin a somewhat baffled look.

"The birds are quiet," She murmered, realization dawning that it was their voices missing from the sky. Not even a raucous raven broke the stillness. At one point she would have wanted to hide away and wait for whatever it was to pass, and if it didn't, run until she was well and clear of the danger. But this was her home, her family even. She couldn't just leave them.

"I wonder why..." She started, her stout legs already carrying her away from her sleeping place without her thinking, wet black nose seeking ahead. She stopped short, nervous eyes flicking back to Destin's golden ones. "M-maybe it's just, too cold for them or something." She cautioned, not really believing her excuse, with her mind busily painting images of bears as big as mountains and cougars with teeth like trees just stalking outside the border. She'd promised Destin an a tour, but... "Well, maybe we can look around anyways? It's probably nothing." Sibyl had been shown time and time again, that a majority of her fears were unfounded. Maybe this one would be, too.

Despite his nervousness, the large male managed a surprised blink and a smile in return to Sibyl's sudden awakening. She appeared to be happy-go-lucky and did not notice anything wrong at first. This made the newcomer a little more relaxed, the fur fell back onto his back slightly. But then, her grin faded as the multicolored wolf took more time to inspect his own expression. He watched, fear in his eyes, as she looked all about the clearing as if expecting some kind of intruder. A sudden feeling of uncertainty and anxiety passed through Destin's form and his muscles tensed as he waited in silence. It took a few moments for Sibyl to get what unnerved the male so, but when she did it was like an epiphany crossed her features. The air was tense and the brown wolf waited to see what Sibyl would say to him. A confused look was exchanged between the two as their eyes locked. The birds are quiet.... that is what she said.

"The forest is not... normally this silent?" He asked with a slight hopeful tone. Could this be the usual? Maybe nothing was off after all! But even before he asked the question he knew it was not true from the way the female had reacted moments after she awoke from her dream state. Destin said nothing more as he watched Sibyl go about her work, sniffling amongst the foliage and the trunks of the trees that surrounded the duo. Then she stopped and once again their golden gazes met. There was no answer in her eyes that Destin could see. A theory emerged from her jaws and the male so desperately wished it to be true. Nevertheless, he knew it also to not be the case. "But.... they were here yesterday...." His eyes opened wide as he spoke, fear expressed in their depths as well as in his body language. Had danger followed him? Had he cursed the forest and this pack? An attempted deep, steady breath tried to be released from his jaws, but instead it was shaky and uncertain as if he was scared the world would crack and fall away around him if he did.

Sibyl tried to be reassuring, and Destin attempted to forget about it. "Maybe the birds are in other parts of the forest instead," he spoke tentatively, as he came to his full height in a stand. "I would still like a tour, of course, ma'am!" the male wolf grinned widely, almost completely forgetting the dangers that were so apparent before him. He knew something was off. Going exploring was probably the worst thing you could do in these situations... But he wanted to and nothing was going to stop him now! Anxiety was transformed into excitement as he basically ran towards Sibyl. "What way are we going to go?" he asked.

(This post was last modified: Jan 12, 2013, 05:55 PM by Destin.)

Oblivious to the darker forces at work in the land of Relic Lore, Sibyl quite liked Destin's theory of the birds simply being somewhere else at the moment. Such an easy solution, she felt it just had to be true. The tension eased from her black-flecked shoulders, a laugh escaping from her chest as Destin came barreling excitedly towards her. Oh, who cared where the birds had gone, when there was fun to be had? Her tail flailed behind her and she set off at a lope. "This way!" She laughed, a bouncy gait in her tread that sent her a few paces ahead of the larger wolf, where she waited a little until he caught up, to then walk at his side towards the east.

Her first stop was the pack cache, if not apparent by the pack's prominent markings, then from the bones that occasionally stuck out through the snow. It wasn't exactly an exciting location, but she thought it would be important for him to know of it given food might be hard to catch with his leg the way it was. "We keep the food here, between hunts you can dig up something to eat, or drop off anything for the pack you might find." She noted. She sniffed around the place, her nose subconsciously searching for any sort of disturbance. Nothing struck her as out of order, and with a look to Destin to see if he had any questions, she continued eastward.

Destin allowed himself to be pulled away by Sibyl and into the forest around him. The evil thoughts had since disappeared from his brain and he instead focused on the excitement before him. Sibyl seemed equally as enthusiastic as he was! Bounding after her, he attempted to keep pace. He tried to look around the woods for some landmarks that could help him, but every tree seemed to look the same. Seeing a particularly funny looking rock, the male's brain attempted to index its location. But, in a few minutes time, it would be quickly forgotten. Getting used to this territory would take a while, particularly when he would probably get lost every couple of moments, but Destin was ready to put in all the effort he could in order to pay back Jaysyek's kindness.

Soon they slowed for a moment and reached an obvious frequent meeting place. The area was surrounded by the bones of prey and, when sniffing the air, he could scent those that smelled like his tour guide. These were his family members now, and perhaps he would soon be identified similarly.

Destin nodded quickly at Sibyl's words. Everything made sense to him so far and he had no questions, only an itching in his feet and a feeling in his bones to just run and see everything possible. Soon the two were off again, going towards a different direction. The male wondered what they would see next and was all too overwhelmed, in a good way, to reply to his new friend. Racing after her, he felt his gait slow and knew he needed a break. All the running and jumping and bounding could really wear a guy out. Halting his pace, he said, "Can we rest for a minute please, ma'am?" Panting despite the cold air, he sat down and soon he was ready to go again. "Okay, I'm all set," he said grinning and standing up to full height once more.

Bounding along through the forest, it wasn't long until Sibyl heard Destin's paw-steps falling slightly behind. She looked back over her shoulder, unsurprised to hear him ask for a break. Sibyl could have kept going, but she didn't mind accommodating her friend. Patiently she sat until he was ready to set off again, and she energetically got onto her feet as well. This time she moved a little slower, mindful to not go too fast that Destin could still keep up.

Sibyl wanted to show Destin something interesting this time, and with this in mind she was headed towards one of the stranger spots of the otherwise uniform cedar forest. The pine-needle strewn ground gave way to a nearly vertical drop, layers of rough rock exposed along the cliff's wall if one dared to look down. Sibyl edged her paws as close as she dared to the edge, hunkered down low as to not suddenly tumble over. Trying not to focus too much on just how far down the fall would be if she slipped, she looked out over the snow-capped forest that stretched seeming infinity before them. It was a nice chance to catch their breath, at least.

Sibyl glanced to the brown male at her side, a little nervous but trying appear brave. "It's a nice view, huh? Kinda scary though," She admitted, slowly scooting backwards from the lip. "There are some little caves at the bottom, too." She added with a questioning lift of her brow, wondering if he'd like to see them.

OOC: Picture of the cliff (just add snow lol)
I was thinking they could run into something scary at the bottom/in the caves, if you wanted you could come up with it and lead the way? Or I can, your choice ;)

(This post was last modified: Jan 12, 2013, 08:45 PM by Sibyl.)

(you can lead the way since i don't think destin is too adventurous haha ;] and thanks for the pic! that helped)

Sibyl quickly continued on their adventure and Destin ran after her. From her expression it seemed she knew exactly where she was going, and was excited to bring him there. Whether interesting landmark or just an old pack meeting place, the male didn't care where he was going as long as it was with his tour guide exploring. He wondered how big Grizzly Hollow territory extended. He knew he would be guarding the pack as fiercely as a big softy like him could, though the thought of fighting someone else wasn't very appealing. Questions to ask Sibyl ran through his mind as he ran blindly after her.

The female wolf then quickly stopped in front of him unexpectedly. Skidding to a stop, his front paws just reached the tip of the cliff where it suddenly fell vertically. His eyes wide in sudden terror he took a few moments to calm down and compose himself. It was a very close call for the large wolf. Shuffling back slightly from the edge- a good couple of inches- he looked across the landscape that Sibyl presented before him. The land laid in front of him like a map on a table, sprawled across the horizon infinitely.

His golden eyes looked over at Sibyl beside him. She seemed more adventurous than he, or at least was nearer to the drop, though did move backwards slightly. "Scary, yes," he replied with a reassuring smile in order to tell her that he was okay. He listened to the brown female intently. Caves? "I've never been in a cave before," he admitted. "What are they like, ma'am?" Destin didn't really like standing at such a precarious position, and anywhere closer to sea-level would be fine for him.

Moving closer to the cliff, he looked down at the trees below. The dizzying drop caused him to recoil in shock and he moved quickly back again.

(This post was last modified: Jan 12, 2013, 11:07 PM by Destin.)

Sibyl realized she probably should have told him where they were going beforehand, seeing him quite shaken up by the ground suddenly disappearing before his paws. She listened to his question, glad to hear he didn't seem too aversive to checking out the caves.

"Oh, well, I've never gone in very far... But they're dark and drippy for one thing." She answered him, her face growing thoughtful for a second. "I imaging the water would be frozen now though, so probably just dark at the moment." She added with a nod of her calico face.

"We don't have to go in them, we can just take a look. Couldn't hurt, right?" With a reassuring smile and a wag of her tail she backed away from the ledge, rounding about the cliff and picking out a gentle slope to move downwards. Sibyl wasn't much for adventuring, but she'd walked the Hollow territory often enough to know all of its little quirks.

Down on more solid ground, Sibyl approached the limestone wall. Small holes where water bored through with the help of time were pocked into the stoney surface. Of the most interest to Sibyl was the largest holes that were scattered where the cliff met the earth. Some were small, barely enough for a pup to fit inside, but a couple of them were tall enough for a deer to easily move through, as long as the deer didn't have any antlers. Sibyl didn't know how deep they went, as she'd never been daring enough to travel farther than a couple body-lengths into the darkness.

Sibyl lead the way to one of the larger openings, standing just outside of it and peering her head in curiously. She ventured a curious glance to Destin, wondering if they should try actually going inside. Things were always less scary with friends, as she had learned with Aniu.

The idea of water dripping down on him didn't seem too appealing for the current temperature. His fur was warm, fluffy, and thick, though he knew he could still feel the cold. Then she added on that it was probably frozen and Destin warmed up to the idea of exploring the underground. "A quick look sounds good, ma'am," he replied to her with a smile. Yet he still didn't know how they were going to get all the way down to the caves when they were at the top of a cliff. Destin thought that skydiving from the top wasn't a very good idea and obviously did not appeal to his apparent fear of heights at all. The male was relieved as he saw Sibyl find a gentler slope to walk down in order to get to their destination. He wondered if Sibyl was looking forward to looking at the caves. Her body language wasn't as bouncy and excited as they were when they were bounding through the forests.

She continued on though, and the large male followed her down to the openings. His eyes looked about the area with interest. A wide, gaping mouth was there nearby in front of the two. It reached back far into darkness and Destin's golden eyes could not discern anything amongst the shadows of the cave. His gaze then looked about at the other openings and saw the curious little holes that covered the surface of the rock walls. There were different openings in the rock that seemed to yield endless possibilities.

Sibyl moved off to one direction and the hesitant male followed her. The caves contained the unknown and it made him extremely uneasy at the face of the many things that could be waiting in the darkness. He looked at his guide for comfort and felt more relaxed and was glad she was close by. Destin took a couple steps towards the entrance of the cave and stuck his head inside slightly. Sniffing, he could smell a strange scent wafting to his nose. Glancing over to Sibyl, he said, "Something is off here. We should investigate?" It was a question, not really a statement, and there was obvious uncertainty in his voice.

(This post was last modified: Jan 13, 2013, 12:22 AM by Destin.)

Sibyl poked her head further inside, black nose working to sniff out what Destin had detected. There was something odd inside... Something familiar, like the smell of an animal, but something about it was off and made it hard to place on her mental map of scents. The closest thing she could place it to was a fox, maybe just a smelly one, which didn't seem too awful. If it were a bear, or lynx, or cougar, she would have stayed clear out of the grotto. She was sure the two of them could handle a fox, though. With a decisive nod, she carefully tread into the darkness.

As quick as a candle being snuffed, the sunlight disappeared, unable to reach into the darkness of the cave. Sibyl's prediction of the water turned out to be somewhat true, the walls and floor were frozen solid and any moisture had been was trapped against the surfaces in an icy sheen. But somewhere, further along and echoing up from the depths -- however deep this thing went Sibyl could not tell -- water could be heard dripping and trickling. Fortunately the cave was wide enough for the two to walk side-by-side, and that Sibyl did. She practically glued herself to the side of the taller male's flank, head scrunched into her shoulders as she cautiously proceeded through the darkness. Her bronze eyes tried to search through the inky blackness, but it was only by her nose and ears that she could truly 'see'. "P-please, s-stay by my side," She stammered in a tiny voice, suddenly worried with a sense of foreboding, and unsure whether it was for her her benefit or his that she wanted them to stick together.

The sound of a small animal panting and wheezing bounced along the walls of the cave and towards them. Sibyl hesitated, then stopped, ears cupped forward as she listened and a little shiver worked into her limbs. She wasn't so sure about this anymore. Just as she was about to turn to Destin and ask his thoughts, she heard claws skittering on ice and rock, the huffing noise headed straight towards them. The strange scent accompanied the noise, distinctly vulpine yet rancid. A shriek came unbidden from Sibyl's throat, her scream amplified by the close quarters. Lightly she pulled on Destin's shoulder with her teeth, bidding him to retreat before she haphazardly bolted towards the entrance, only hoping that Destin followed. There was something wrong with that fox.