On The Trail Again

For {Maksim} <3

Light snow — Current Temperature: 32° F/0° C — Early morning

The golden yellow sun was barely over the horizon when a large dark grey wolf opened his light grey eyes. If any creature looked at the wolf, all that they would see would be those grey eyes, seeming to float aimlessly around. The rest of his body was shrouded in darkness from the trees' shadow. The wolf lay still for a few moments and all you could hear was the wind whispering as it wound through the trees. Then, the wolf rolled onto his stomach and put his front legs under him, placing each large paw firmly on the ground before doing the same with his hind legs. In just a few moments, he was standing at his full height, and was no longer in the shadows. His height was impressive, forty one inches in total. Abut three quarters the size of a fully grown deer.

The dark grey male scanned his surroundings, but there was nothing. Only the tweets and chirps of the birds in the trees. Satisfied everything was fine, the wolf padded forwards, deeper into the forest. The trees were very tall and widely spaced apart, giving his large bulk enough room to pass by easily. His grey eyes were constantly scanning everything, and his ears were flicking in every direction. He hadn't been in this part of the Lore before, so didn't know what dangers he might have to face.

He travelled like that for a few minutes, before his jet black nose picked up a taint on the wind. He lifted his white muzzle into the air and breathed in deeply. It smelled like a wolf, not one, more than one. He directed his course to intersect the source of the scent, and lengthened his stride into a slow lope.

Once the dark grey wolf was nearly upon it, he realized what it was. It was a scent border, but wasn't recently marked. He slowed down to a slow trot, staying close to the border. What if they had seen his sister? His face showed the hint of a sad smile, he had been looking for his sister for a few months, and hadn't seen her yet. But he had met a wolf who had seen her, and now he was trying to find her. But so far, he had found no leads.

He stopped at the edge of the border, close enough to be seen clearly, but far enough as to not seem as if he was invading their territory. He stood there, next to one of the large trees and closed his eyes. Feeling the wind coursing through his thick pelt reminded him of his old home. Back in Alaska. It had always been windy there, even during the summer.

It was only a few moments before he opened his eyes, and to his amazement, the dark grey male saw snowflakes falling from the heavens. They landed on his dark grey pelt in clumps, making it seem as if he had white spots instead of hues. A smile graced his handsome features as he stared at the falling snow. Right now, he felt like he was home, and that he could run back to the den site and greet his family. But he knew it would never happen, all of his family members had died, all except one. His sister. And now he was searching for her, she was his only link to his old home, his family.

Looking around, he saw the snow on the leaves of the branches and leaves. It looked like a snowy paradise. His light grey eyes went back to himself, and he saw that he was almost completely covered in snow. From the tip of his tail to the top his head. With a small grin on his face, he shook his head, then his body and tail. The snow flew into the air before floating down to the ground. But in just a few moments, the snow began to cling to his thick pelt again and he sighed. The dark grey male knew that it was useless to try and shake the snow off again, for it was just going to come back. But his light grey eyes took in everything, for when it cleared up, it would be all gone. And he would have nothing to remind him of his home.

740 Words

(This post was last modified: Apr 18, 2013, 01:06 PM by Ace.)

Maksim had finally settled into Grizzly Hollow. The pack was small, true, but they seemed to have heart. Besides, Ava and Kade had opened their home up to him at a dangerous time for the alpha female. Pregnancy usually meant beefed up security in packs. Then again, how could such a small amount of wolves could handle border patrol? They certainly needed the members to protect the young that would soon be gracing the ground they protected. So, he had decided that a little patrolling of the borders may be appreciated by the alpha pair. His gait was a strong one, purposeful. Perhaps some wolf would think twice before trespassing if they saw the Baranski.

It was during this little patrol of his, as he wove himself between cedar trees and trekked over mounds of dirt, that he raised his head up for a few seconds and saw little snowflakes, drifting down and through the canopy. It was nothing new to him, where he was born and raised snow was around for the majority of the year. It melted in early June and was back by late September. Summer was a pretty swell time of year in Maksim's eyes; a little less coldness in the paws and easier kills to fill the belly. He continued to trudge through the snow that lay on the ground - thankfully there wasn't much of the stuff here - until his nose caught a scent. He halted, swung his head around and located the figure not too far away from the border. The Baranski turned towards him and began his approach.

The wolf was the same size as him, it seemed, perhaps only slightly bigger. Not that Maksim minded. Maybe it'd be a nice challenge for him if the male decided he was here to attack. The Baranski's gaze and pace did not halter. Hues of grey, white with a tad of cream melted together on the stranger's coat that was dotted with the snow that fell. The eyes that peered back at the earthy male were almost silver. The Baranski gave a warning growl, a slight raise of the lip, as he adopted a dominant stance before finally he stopped in front of the grey male. "You're awfully close to the border, stranger, although I'm positive you know that already." The fact that the stranger stood so calmly meant that Maksim shouldn't see him as a threat, yet you could never know. The Grizzly Hollow wolf kept his guard up, regardless; he wasn't going to risk a sudden ambush from the grey loner. "What is it that you want?" He doubted that this big male wanted to join the pack - he would've called if that were the case, would he not? - and decided that the loner was simply scouting out the area.

maksim

we are shining in the rising sun, as we are floating in the blue

The dark grey male was so caught up in his snowy paradise that he didn't even realize there was a wolf nearby until it gave a warning growl. Almost jumping out of fright, he turned to face the other wolf, and paused, taking in its features. The other wolf was barely smaller than him, and had broad shoulders. The male's coat consisted of earthen hues, brown and a bit of black and grey. His underside was a mix of lighter colours; cream and beige and he had green eyes.

The dark grey male lowered his head to shoulder height and averted his light grey eyes from the brown male's face. His tail was tucked slightly beneath his belly, and his ears were lowered slightly against his skull. He was submitting to this wolf, showing that he meant no harm. All he wanted to do was to know if he or any others had seen his sister. When the brown male spoke, Ace nodded his head. He had known he was close, but made sure that he wasn't too close so that they might think he was intruding on their territory.

When he was asked of what he wanted, the dark grey male held a thoughtful expression on his face before opening his jaws to speak. "I mean no harm to you or your pack. I am just searching for my lost sister. She looks almost exactly like me, but is slightly smaller. Have you seen her around?" Ace gave a few hopeful wags of his thick, white and grey brush. Hopefully this male had seen her around, but if he hadn't, he would just continue on his way.

It was just then that the dark grey male realized that he hadn't introduced himself yet. A sheepish look crossed his face as he looked up at the wolf, although not directly into his green eyes. "Pardon me for not introducing myself before. My name is Ace Caravello, what is yours?"

340 Words

If I could have you in my heart, I
would protect you forever

As a pup, Maksim had always expected respect from those beneath him. That included, essentially, the entire pack. As the heir to Crooked Trees, the earth toned male was taught about rankings and how important they were to sustain the lifestyle of a pack, so Maksim wasn’t surprised that the grey loner who stood near the border’s posture immediately changed. The Grizzly Hollow member watched as they lowered their head and looked away from the pack wolf in front of them. Maksim himself kept a self-assured stance, ears perked and eyes trained on the loner before him. He had no reason to attack, no, but he wanted to remain wary and cautious. This male was barely bigger than him and could probably throw that weight in for an equally balanced fight. Then again, the Baranski had no idea if this man could fight well. He wasn’t going to let his guard down until the stranger stated what business he had.

There was pause, a moment of silence between the equally matched wolves, until it was finally broken by the vagabond explaining his reasons for arriving. He mentioned a sister–a lost one—and Maksim once again scanned over the male. He hadn’t seen anyone like him … then again, he hadn’t exactly been here for that long. No need to mention that though, hm? The loner’s question was accompanied by a wag of the tail, hopeful that the Baranski had seen her. “My apologies, I can’t say I’ve seen anyone who matches that description. I shall keep my eye out, though, and if I see her I’ll let her know her brother was looking for her.” A slight pang of guilt struck Maksim. Had he potentially severed the last lead of a man looking for his family? Maksim had lost his siblings when he turned one and, whilst he was told that it was “just life”, it still hurt to wonder where Arman and Anzhela could possibly be or if they were, god forbid, dead. He prayed that they were safe.

The loner spoke up again, a sheepish look on his features, as he introduced himself—Ace Caravello was his name—and asked for Maksim’s name in return. “Maksim Baranski. This pack border belongs to Grizzly Hollow.” He briefly gestured with a nod of his head to the sprawling forest behind him, trees shivering in the cold wind as snow continued to drift lightly from above.

maksim

(This post was last modified: Apr 29, 2013, 12:19 AM by Maksim.)

we are shining in the rising sun, as we are floating in the blue

So sorry for the long wait Mimi! Been extremely busy :/

While in his lowered and submissive form, Ace could see the the brown male take on a dominant stance, and both could see clearly who was the more dominant wolf. But the grey male knew that whenever he met a pack wolf, he should always show respect to them, or they may think that he is intruding on their territory. Such was the way of the wolf.

There were a few moments of silence after he questioned the brown male of his sisters' location, and when the male finally responded, he felt his tail droop and a slightly saddened expression crossed his face. So far, during his journey through the Lore, he had found no trace of his sister's trail, or that she had ever been in Relic Lore.But nevertheless, he would thank the other wolf and continue on his way. The only other place he had to go was over the mountain near Red Fern Forest, and that was where he was going to meet Shade.

Ace was jumped out of his thoughts as the brown male spoke again, this time to introduce himself as Maksim Baranski, and the pack he belonged to. Grizzly Hollow. He would remember that, for he may need to return here again. Although it was very unlikely as he was headed in the complete opposite direction.

"Thank you. And if she does pass by, tell her that I am travelling East, towards Red Fern Forest. The grey male lifted his head up slightly and was about to leave when he paused. Doing that would be quite rude, and he might as well chat to Maksim before continuing on. "If I may ask, how long have you been in Relic Lore?"

301 Words

If I could have you in my heart, I
would protect you forever

My goodness, so sorry for the delay, too! My muse just sort of wrinkled up and died but at least I got it out here.

Ace seemed saddened by the news that his sister was not in this land. It was to be expected, really. Maksim would have felt the same way if he was searching for Anzhela. There was an ache in his heart with thoughts of home, but he knew they would be proud of him and what he was doing. Maksim also knew there would always be a place for him back in Tall Trees. He nodded his head at Ace’s thanks and took note of what he said. East. Red Fern Forest. The Baranskis were a family that did not break promises and, to Ace, he promised silently to pass this message on to his sister should he see her. Maksim solemnly believed that family is the most important thing a wolf could ever have. Should you break the bond you have with them, well, you’re half the man/woman you were before.

The loner’s question regarding Maksim’s time spent in Relic Lore caused him to pause to think. How long had he been here? “I’ve been here since … late march, perhaps? So a month at least.” Specifically a little under a month but he was going to place a specific time frame down. He had gotten himself into a pack immediately and was pleased that he had decided to do this. Grizzly Hollow was a fine territory, if not a little empty at times. “And, could I inqure, how long have you been here?” Searching for his sister the whole time, probably. The trachle he must have placed upon himself walking around constantly, asking questions ... Maksim had to give him some credit where it was due; this was a dedicated man before him indeed.

maksim

(This post was last modified: Jun 06, 2013, 01:32 PM by Maksim.)

we are shining in the rising sun, as we are floating in the blue