Sacred Grove Say It With Me

Noon; Partly Cloudy (10° F/-12° C)

The clouds were revealing light. It might have warmed Belun's skin had the trees not been so grand and bulky over his head. They draped their long fingertips of conifer needles and branches over him, keeping the light just out of his reach. The morning had been frost-ridden and chilly, and the day was turning out to be no better.

"Reh-nuh-gayd," said the brown wolf. He could hear a raven from high above him. It crowed. "Rennih-gayd!" His voice was not as hushed the second time, but the syllables were all jumbled together. CRAWW! laughed the raven. "RENNEGAYD!" he yelled at the raven, and began to laugh light-heartedly when it flew away. As he chuckled to himself, he lay down on a bed of dirt and uncomfortable branches and ferns. "Not nice.. bird," he murmured, staring up at the canopy.

Practicing English was something he had been trying to do often since he had arrived in Swift River. Fenru had taught him many words, and had been very kind to him. But, Belun was well aware that it was tiring to have someone follow your every step the moment you arrived home; he remembered when his brothers and sisters were youngsters, and he was supposed to look after them on occasion. They were always full of questions like why this and why that. They would ask him why he was brown and they were grey, why the sky changed colors throughout the day and what strange noises came from the forest. He remembered their faces, and it pained him to know that they were never coming back.

Lately he reminded himself of a pup. He was certainly much bouncier than he had been in nearly a year, happy to have found a home, and what he hoped was a family. Belun wanted to communicate with them and yammer away the way they did. When they spoke, they spoke quickly, and to him it sounded like, takka takka takka, but he wanted to learn to do it too. "Renegade," he whispered.

you do not know who is your friend or who is your enemy until the ICE breaks. Ice had always been an avid guard, patrolling and making sure that all was in order.. so in a way, nothing had changed. He still patrolled the Grove relentlessly, scent marking, and socializing with his family. And in all the other ways, everything had changed. He was restless, he was haunted, and what Kisla had said earlier that winter was true: Aiyana was old enough to travel, so why did they linger? Corinna had been of a mind with him on that, but they had done nothing yet. Briefly he slicked his ears to his head, whining softly to himself. They needed to talk about it again, didn't they? And with the pack. And. Everything. Was it meant to be this terrifying to think, when you were a leader, or was it just because it was his first spring as the most dominant male in the pack? Trying to shrug it off, Ice set off again, realizing he'd ground to a halt. The day was cold and beautiful, a patchwork cover of clouds obscuring the sky and the serpentine mountain range to the east, but every once in a while the sun peeked through, warming his pale back. He knew that Fenru had found a new wolf for them, and that he'd been too far away to show up at the time. Who it was he had no real idea, though he'd picked up his scent a few times in the Grove - male, adult. But beyond that, Ice knew very little, so when he caught scent of the new family member it was with curiosity he turned his head in his direction. Just who was it? Fenru knew what they had gone through, Fenru had suffered as much as they all had, so surely it was not some mindless idiot. Corinna wouldn't have let it stay if it was so. Pausing only for a moment to mark a tree he set off, instinctively raising his tail as he trotted along, following his nose. And eventually, he saw him, a blur of brown against the early spring backdrop, the world still largely white but growing more colorful. At a glance, he seemed perfectly ordinary, and Ice gave a low bark to announce his presence. He slowed from his jog to a walk, sturdy legs bringing him closer until they were close enough to touch. The wild declared there were certain things they had to settle before interacting further, and Ice's ears swept forward as he reached out meaning to grab the male's muzzle in his mouth, to give him the assurance that they were pack, the promise that Ice would lead and protect him. .ice aesir

Ack, this was kind of terrible but I wanted to get something up for you, I'm sorry. <3 Let me know if you want me to change anything. :]

let the stars above shine in your soul

Everything had finally seemed to be blowing over her head and calming down. She had finally accepted that Hotei/Burn was gone but it did not mean that she accepted the hurt that she knew she did not want to feel. The woman had pushed the very emotions away from her, preferring to keep more to herself but still socializing with most of the pack and hunting around whenever she had managed to scent something. Lately, she had been pondering of Ice’s leadership, of how now she was even lower in ranking than him and how he dominated her so much more now. It aggravated her in some sort of a way, for she enjoyed being with the male, especially when he was in a grumpy mood, but it was just odd not being equal with him. Today, she had been contemplating similar thoughts to these when the soft caw of a bird graced her ears. Wagging her tail, she quickly set off towards where she heard the noise.

Unfortunately, it seemed as though the bird were in a high tree for the day, and an unfamiliar wolf screaming up a the bird would not have helped her chances of catching the prey either way. With a small sigh, she shook her head as the bird took off through the air as her big lump of snow graced the area. He moved with the power that any alpha would possess and for a second her tail instantly stopped wagging, before quickly starting up again. Making her presence known right after Ice made his position clear to their new pack mate, Jessie entered the area, her pepper-colored fur a clear stick out in the forest around them. Raising her tail to where it was a fraction lower than Ice’s own, Jess wagged her tail slightly, tilting her head slightly towards the newcomer. It was clear to her now that her friend had not been the one to accept him, but Corinna herself had done so. What was so special about this guy then? Clearing her throat, she quickly introduced herself, "I‘m Jessie…Jessie Swiftpaw." She nodded to him before strolling over towards Ice and bowing her head to him, licking his white shoulder in the process, before quickly settling down next to the large man’s side.

Sorry for the minor wait, this week has been a tad busy. And warm.

A low bark alerted him to the otherwise invisible presence of a large, white male. Belun had never seen him before, but remembered Fenru mentioning something about one of the leaders being big and white. He couldn't recall the name, he just remembered that it had been something very short and annoyingly easy to remember. He frowned for an instant before lowering himself down to the ground. Being new, Belun was quite low in ranking. He would have to prove himself to his new family before he'd be able to act normally around other wolves, especially ones as large and intimidating as the newcomer.

As he'd half expected, the big male took Belun's muzzle and clamped his jaws around hit for a moment. Belun squinted, cowering, but remaining quite still until he was released. It was a formality, especially for a first meeting between an omega and an alpha. The display didn't do anything to dampen Belun's spirits though, and he began to wag his tail lightly against the ground just before a female, young and smelling of spring, moved in on the pair.

She had lovely eyes, and lovely fur, and was in such good health that Belun felt quite embarrassed that the pair had seen him talking to himself. Or worse, they might have seen him talking to a bird. The very thought made him swallow his tongue for a moment as he dissected the girl's greeting, bowing his ears politely as he caught her name. He was still quite low-slung, as they both greatly outweighed him and were clearly much more established than he was. They sat together, as a family. A hint of jealousy brushed him.

"My name is Belun," he said, and there was a slight accent to his words. Still, the phrase was one of the only English ones he knew how to say well, as it had been one of the first one's he'd learned. "I ahm.. eh... new wulf," he explained, and gave a light-hearted grin, pawing at the earth in front of him. The trees in this little area had hidden the ground from later snowfall, and the dirt was becoming more moist as a result of the slight warming of the air. He liked the way it felt under his paw pads.

<3 No worries, I'm a bit slow sometimes too.

you do not know who is your friend or who is your enemy until the ICE breaks. At least the new wolf was a wolf who knew how to behave like a wolf. It pleased Ice greatly that he sunk down, respecting the white wolf's rank; he did not demand his pack members crawl at all times, but especially in spring, it was more of a relief to feel that his place was secure, and that the pack was as stable as it could be. Dominance, submission, was not about power to him, but about security, belonging, that each knew their place. And so, once he had asserted his dominance by holding Belun's jaws in his own, Ice rested his nose against the top of his muzzle for a moment, before giving it a lick, a mischievous glint in his pale eyes. Having let go, he straightened up again, and tilted his head towards the forest as Jessie picked their way over to them. His tail gave a couple of rougher wags, a pleased noise rumbling in his throat as he greeted her with a fond lick to the nose. Jessie was a good wolf, and her sister Cali too - why had he ever doubted them? None of them had run off, they had stuck with Ice, Corinna and Marsh through the heartache and the trial. She introduced herself as she sat down by his side, and briefly he leaned into her, pressing his white shoulder against her smaller body. Ice didn't know why, but she'd taken Indru's betrayal really hard, and for a while had been really out of it, but since Rissa's death she'd come back to life, just like Corinna.. but still, he was worried she'd fall back into the black pit of despair, and was always willing to offer her an extra nudge of comfort and encouragement. Giving her a quick wolf-grin his attention settled back on Belun, as he introduced himself, his voice rather.. different, from anything Ice had previously heard. Still standing, the River wolf gave his head a little tilt as he peered at him, trying to place it, but he couldn't. There was something distinctly off about it, though he was not impossible to understand. "I'm Ice," he said, following suit with the introductions, and a moment later a smile crawled over his dark lips, the skin on his muzzle smooth despite the slight hint of teeth showing - there was no aggression there. "Welcome to the family." Knowing that Jessie could very well sit on her own without falling Ice took a few steps forward, to run his muzzle down Belun's neck and spine, while trying to brush his own flank against the newcomer's, to fully mark him as a River wolf, accepted and claimed as family by both leaders. Passing him, he turned around and padded back towards Jessie on Belun's other side, before settling easily on the ground perpendicular to them both. He didn't want Belun to feel like he was being interrogated. "Where are you from, Belun? I've never heard a voice like yours." .ice aesir

let the stars above shine in your soul

The greeting she received from Ice lifted her spirit’s a tad and his body pressing into hers briefly gave her the small comfort that she wanted. One day soon she would leave the lands of Swift River to let her thoughts flow and so that she could sort out her emotions. Then returning a few days after so that her family would know that she had not abandoned them like so many others had. She took a deep breath, concentrating on the wolves in front of her, not taking her emerald eyes away from the new wolf in front of her. Ice’s deep voice resonated beside her as he too introduced himself. She wagged her tail behind her quickly, making a point to try and hit Ice on the sides just to aggravate him a little bit. A mischievous grin placed upon her lips as she did so, trying not to giggle. Since she had joined the pack and met Ice she had practically been begging to start a playful war between the two of them, and still the war had yet to have a winner.

The man in front of them introduced himself and Jessie had to restrain herself from tilting her head at the guy in front of them, trying to break down what he said in her mind quickly. His name was Belun…that much she could understand and then his other words quickly made sense to her. She smiled and nodded along with him, showing that she was paying attention quietly. It was not long before Ice made his way forward and welcomed the man into the family, his question catching even her off guard as her emerald eyes flew towards his face. Wasn’t his question kind of disrespectful? Instead of saying something quirky like she usually would, she remained silent and looked back towards the newest member of their family, awaiting his answer patiently.

Belun had sort of expected other people to be curious about him; he was curious about them, after all. So far their way of life and customs were close to the same, and that was likely because they were, indeed, all wolves. Still, there were certain things, especially body movements, that his new pack mates made that he had never experienced before. One of them was the way that the male, called Ice, swept his muzzle against Belun's neck. It was a subtle gesture, and didn't bother him, but he had expected Ice to nip the side of his face in play instead. His tail flopped awkwardly and he gave a rather goofy grin to the pair

He liked Ice immediately. The white male was large, intimidating and, well, large. More importantly he was friendly and inquisitive, two things that Belun and he had in common. The leader asked Belun where he was from, and Belun struggled to come up with an answer. He stared at the ground, and then at the trees, frowning and mumbling "eh"s and "ehm"s. Jessie sat quietly, her plush face making him all kinds of gooey inside.

"I ahm, eh... fruhm thaht way," he said, and pointed his nose and gestured a paw to what he thought was west. This time, he was right, unlike his first meeting with Fenru. "A long eh.. time I wuhs go-eeng thees way... family eh.. also go-eeng, yes?" He looked at them, and hoped they could understand his horrible, horrible English. He didn't like how difficult it was to communicate his thoughts in words, but he hoped that talking to other people enough would make it easier. He figured he was still young enough to learn to speak properly.

"Where I ahm come-eeng fruhm, eh.. a lot of.. wah-ter. A lot of.. bad theengs," he told them. The ocean. Part of him missed the coastline, but the other was thankful to be rid of the bears. They had made life impossible.

"Sor-ry. My tahlk is not good," he murmured, his ears falling a bit.

you do not know who is your friend or who is your enemy until the ICE breaks. Ice had no real concept of disrespectful, or rude, aside from someone blatantly refusing to acknowledge his rank. If something was asked without a snarky, mean tone, it wasn't wrong, was it? His tail wagged fondly behind him, his ears alert, forward, his silver eyes open. Nothing about him suggested he'd meant it in a bad way, and if Belun had taken offense, Ice would've been truly lost as to why. Fortunately, he didn't; at least, not that Ice could tell. It certainly seemed to fluster him in some way though, but the River wolf was the spitting image of patience. Ass plopped down on the ground, head tilted slightly to the side, tail sweeping the ground - each time another variant of ehm came out of Belun's mouth his ears pricked, but he didn't interrupt, sigh, or do any other thing. He just waited, thinking he had nothing better to do, and knowing what it was like to stumble over words and meanings and intentions and.. everything. Finally an answer came, though, and Ice's eyes looked the way he was pointing. West. What lay west? Ice didn't know. He'd come from the north. For a moment longer he stared through the trees, trying to imagine what it was like, then his attention went back to Belun. Jessie was uncharacteristically quiet, but he didn't let it bother him.. just sat there, trying to decipher the next sentence. It wasn't as straightforward.. going this way, yes.. but.. family going? Going where? Did he mean Swift River? Or his own birth pack? Swift River wasn't going anywhere (yet). He frowned slightly, his tail giving a few thoughtful twitches, but Belun plowed on before he had the time to fully figure it out. He'd come from a lot of water? Ice found that, by focusing on Belun's voice, he could hear past the thickness of his accent, but that couldn't make up for if he didn't understand what he was trying to say anyway. That he came from a lot of water and bad things was understandable, though, and Ice gave a small huff of laughter. "Water is bad," he said in a kind of dreamy voice. Most River wolves knew that Ice was the one who was the least fond of getting his paws wet, and that Triell had dunked him in it a few times .. and that Ice, if he was already wet and in the water, often retaliated by dunking Triell. One of his ears twitched, fell back slightly, then came forward again. "Don't worry! I uh understand.. most of it." He wasn't smart enough to think that maybe he should talk slower, though, just gave Belun a nod. .ice aesir

let the stars above shine in your soul

Ice and Jessie waited on for the male’s response to their questions. What they were met went sent the pepper and salt colored woman into a different area of thoughts. She found herself slowly breaking down what the newest member of their family was saying, finding it hard for her to understand every single word, for other parts of his speech seemed to be even more confusing. She had chuffed to herself silently, not happy with the fact that she couldn’t understand what he was saying. At least he could understand them well enough. She found herself watching him closely as he pointed in another direction, her own head cocking to the side slightly when he mentioned family. How the hell were they suppose to know what his family was doing?

At the mention of water Jessie couldn’t help but bark out in laughter with Ice’s short comment. The first time the pair had met had been near the falls and she clearly remembered how hesitant and disdainful he had been when crossing over a small portion of the area, it had struck a chord in her, a memory, one that she had wanted to hang onto. When Belun seemed to finish talking, Ice quickly reassured him that everything would be alright. Her own mind was on different thoughts, and a small grin graced her features as her small tail thumped lightly against the earthy ground beneath her. "So if you grew up around water…does that mean you know how to fish?" she asked him, her head cocking slightly to the side.

There was an almost hopeful glint in her eyes, as if she were begging him to give her the answer she wanted. There were no fishing partners that she knew of within the pack, Ice obviously not being an option. Watching him silently, she smiled at him, white canines peaking out from her lips as she did so. The gray woman watched steadily, stealing a glance towards her guardian before looking back over towards Belun. He was their family now and as curious as she was, she seriously wanted to know if he could pull his load on hunting. Besides, she was going to have to support another mouth to feed now. More frequent hunting and what not…it just wouldn’t be bad to have a partner tagging along.

"Water is bad," said Ice. Belun wasn't sure if either of them had really understood what he had meant when he said there was a lot of water, but it didn't matter much. He would have had quite the difficult time explaining and describing the ocean to either of them, and had no word for it in their native tongue. Jessie, the lady wolf, let out a short spout of laughter at the comment, for reasons Belun didn't understand.

The language barrier had already proved to be a difficult one. It was a little frustrating being in a place where he had to work so hard just to speak a sentence that other people could understand. Both Jessie and Ice appeared to be struggling with his words, and for that he was sorry. He wished that there was a translator in the pack, some person who would tell him what words he was missing from his severely limited vocabulary.

Still, they both remained positive as they spoke to him. Jessie asked him if he knew how to fish.
Belun thought for a moment, tilting his head and looking above the two wolves in front of him. He had figured everybody at least somewhat knew how to fish. It was one of the first things you learned as a pup; but then, that may have been because he had grown up on the coastline. The tide pools occasionally had delicious things in them, but more often, they were swimming around in the mouths to the ocean and the little saltwater streams.

"Yes, I know.. Eh, you don't know?" he wondered. Fishing wasn't exactly a precise means of hunting. Half of it was knowing which fish were safe to eat, and which ones had spines covering them. He supposed he was also capable of targeting them when the water was quiet, and they were swimming. To be honest he hadn't tried it much since he had left his family; it had been an activity they did together. "I like the feesh, yes," he nodded.