Bramble Falls surplus reprieve

For @Aiyana. As promised. <3

The secret impresses no one.

borden lyall

The trick you use it for is everything.

A fire a fire, you can only take what you can carry, A pulse, you're pulse, it's the only thing I can remember. / I break, you don't, I was always set to self-destruct, though / The fire, the fire, the cracks and the barks like primal music.

Snow Patrol - If There's a Rocket, Tie Me to It

- - -

April 12th; Late evening; Cloudy, some wind; 37° F/3° C

Feeling the the cool water's chill soak through his fur and into his bones felt nothing short of magnificent. The man who looked and smelled nothing like the Leader who had reigned over the wolves of Grizzly Hollow had crept to the edge of the pool at the base of Bramble Falls, dipping one paw in at first before submerging it up to its elbow. It took a few moments for him to shakily drag his other forelimb into the water, but nevertheless once it, too, was underwater, he sighed in relief. With his paws planted firmly against smooth river stones, he tried to heave himself fully into the water, but sharp twinges of pain shot down between his shoulders and down his back into his hind limbs. Having been a lord of cedar and fir trees, he had forgotten with the better part of two years just how taxing it was to climb the Mountain of Dire.

To even think that he had once been a Second of the Plateau, a vigilant guard of it gravelly slopes and snow-covered cliffs... it made him inwardly laugh. He had been two years younger than he was now, of course, but it was painfully amusing just how much he had aged. When the brief amusement had ceased, he came back to the present - his weary bones, his spent body, the emptiness in his chest. Somewhere, far away from here, he was sure Angier had kept his word and had seen his family - their family - to safety, and a part of him wished now that he had left with them... as if his early departure could have even come close to sparing him from the burdensome emotions that came with suffering from yet another loss.

Letting his head fall from its lofty position, he lapped at the rippling surface. The brisk sensation of the water quenched his thirst but did very little to douse what was left of the fire that blazed within him. He had to find {Taima}... He had to... He was just... so tired. If he could continue his search, he would have, but as he was... He would rather return to {Jaysyek}'s side, admit his defeat, and continue onward with the children he still had to rear. Perhaps if he made his way back now there would still be hope that maybe one day, he and Jaysyek would raise a litter together without the worries of Relic Lore's wilderness; the place {Angier} had supposedly found was secluded enough. All he had to do was replenish his energy and he would be off again. If only he could rest for a bit, then everything would be fine...

Taima would find her place with her other misplaced siblings - dead or lost - and everything would be fine once he had properly recouped.

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(This post was last modified: May 24, 2013, 11:40 AM by Borden.)

Well, what do you want from me?

kick me Grey, kick me HARD ;~;

Aiyana

I walk upon the river

She was a friend of the shadows, her angular frame merging easily with them wherever she went — especially now, that the sun was beginning to disappear, making her hiding place larger, deeper, longer and darker. Once more her restless feet had carried her away from the Grove, away from the familiar tinkle of river and the chirp of birds.. away, from the love of her family. Away, from her mother and siblings, from Ice, and the Swiftpaws. A few new faces had shown up, and the black girl had kept away, not wanting someone else's decision to force others into her life — force others into her leaking heart, so that their knives might pierce her more when they died, or left. In silent protest she spent more and more time away, ranging further and further, but always returning to the same spot — the densite — every day or so. Despite the way she chafed at everything, she had no desire to make them think she was gone, too, even though the threat had been eradicated. Ice, Corinna and Fenru had helped see to that.

Tonight found her further north, where the slope steepened and the trees lessened. Perhaps it was the sound of running water which drew her in, a familiar element in an unfamiliar forest, or it was some hidden working of fate. She did not know. She did not need to know. Paws, used to the flex of a forest floor, were worn from the climb over rocks, but she cared little for it, and pushed on, up the path. The scent of fresh water was tantalizing, but the closer she came, the slower she went, and the more her mind whispered no. Finally, she stopped, an oddly expressive frown across her dark face. A few bends in the path separated her from the pool, and her leathery nose worked, drawing the air in, her brain picking the scents apart. There, just underneath the one of water... a stranger.

Her first instinct was to get the hell out of there.

But curiosity kept her rooted, weighing the options, the risks and gains; finally she set off again, retracing her steps and scaling the cliffs. Her tiring muscles tensed and flexed, her natural elegance worn thin by the unfamiliar task, but as she doubled back towards the tinkle of the fall she knew it had been worth it. Two of three times a wolf's height above him she stood, her heart beating madly in her chest as she inched closer to the edge. The wind toyed with her silken fur, and she kept half a foot between her paws and the edge, unwilling to fall down on her face. Carefully her thin body leaned forward, and she peered over the edge; a wolf, a very regular wolf, stood at the pool's edge below, his limbs submerged in the cool water and his tongue lapping at the surface. Silently Aiyana watched him with golden eyes, wondering why it made her feel breathless.

like it's easier than land

Love is all, from what I've heard, but my heart's learned to kill

The secret impresses no one.

borden lyall

The trick you use it for is everything.

The Lyall patriarch let out a breathier sigh, closing his eyes as he stared unseeingly into the darkening trees. He knew he ought to keep moving if he wanted to make it back to his family as soon as he was expected to; he had already wasted more than enough time after coming to face the fact that he probably would not be able to find Taima. Relic Lore had proven to be larger than he had anticipated; it was as if going to the north as far as the Orchard, to the east on the heights of the Mountain of Dire, to the south near the Lagoon, and to the west where Grizzly Hollow now laid in Kade Attaya's care was not distant or far enough on the mental map of Borden's mind. The chatter of a traveling fox brought him back to the present and he listened as it was replied to with a softer bark that undoubtedly belonged to its mate. He inhaled sharply, his heartstrings tugging and pulling at the inside walls of his chest. Jaysyek was probably waiting, worried sick.

When he was at last able to pull himself from the water, he cried out briefly until he was comfortably capable of sitting down without aggravating his back. His ears lowered and his eyes closed; as much as he wanted to stand, he couldn't. Not just yet. He held his breath, counted to ten then opened his eyes to acknowledge his surroundings. The Falls still roared and the stream still babbled and he was glad it was enough to remind him that he was still within the Lore, daughter-less but still very much alive without his pack or the closeness of his family, and the acceptance of his failure had not defeated him.

His head tilted upward as the breeze continued to whisper past him, hopeful eyes searching for even the smallest window in the clouds to allow him the sight of the stars he had missed time and time again underneath his forest. When the blanket of gray denied him his astral guides, the masked man turned to look up towards the treetops then, in turn, the top of Bramble Falls. Upon first impression he had actually missed her standing there, but a double-take had him tearing his gaze immediately away from her as soon as he noticed the youth standing there, a dark being cloaked in shadow, perched along the stony ledge as black as the night itself.

Borden had to brace himself to keep from shuddering. Death had finally come. It had found him... and now, in light of all possibilities feasible in his solitude, he discovered, he might not be as lucky as he had been the last time when he and the dark-furred being had come face-to-face along the edges of the Cedarwood.

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(This post was last modified: May 08, 2013, 11:41 PM by Borden.)

Well, what do you want from me?

Aiyana

I walk upon the river

She wasn't sure what she felt - why her heart trembled in her chest so. How long had she been surrounded by her family, smothered by their love yet unable to fault them for it? She had never liked strangers, and less so when she knew what they could do, that they could steal her loved ones away in the night and leave them broken, cold corpses.. and when she knew that one day, she might come to love them as she had loved Rissa, and they might hurt her, leave her, disappear, or die. She would be better off alone - could not bring herself to break away from Swift River, from her mother and siblings and the ones not of her blood who sought to protect her and keep her happy... A doomed task, as she was just half a wolf, half a heart, half a soul; the other lay dead and crumbling somewhere east. Aiyana's jaws tensed, teeth locked firmly together. The monsters who'd done it were slain, but it would not have been as satisfying as drinking their blood herself. She had wanted revenge, too, to feel their flesh cool and watch their desperate eyes glaze over, but she was not stupid enough to not know that sheer stubbornness couldn't take her across the mountains.

There was something strange about watching someone else - something, private, and she felt like a thief, a sneak, a villain, yet it also set a fire in her blood, life in her lungs and veins. He did not know she was there; he pulled back and cried out, and she watched in wonder as he slowly sank down. Was he in pain? Surely he would not have made sounds if he knew she was there - what moment had she walked in on, spied on? Somehow, she could not get enough of staring at him - it was the closest she had been to someone not from her pack since the night she'd witnessed the grief of the white woman, and while it should've made her want to turn away.. slink back in the shadows.. it kept her breathless, rooted to the spot, mesmerized and fascinated.

His gaze traveled, and she fought the urge to scramble back - she wanted to, she didn't want to be seen, but the movement would surely draw his eye, and she forced her face to harden into something indifferent. Her edges blurred with the night beyond, but her muted eyes glowed; once, his gaze passed over her.. she almost breathed a sigh of relief, but then it snapped back, locked, saw her clearly as she stood upon the ledge above him. Lithe and angular, her proportions made her seem tall, long-legged as she was, and she stared down at him.. not sure of what to do. He was motionless, and she was, too, but her heart was beating fiercely, wondering if this would be the end of her - the death of her, too. Curiosity killed the cat; would this stranger whisk her away and leave her empty and hollow for the pack to find, and mourn?

like it's easier than land

Love is all, from what I've heard, but my heart's learned to kill

The secret impresses no one.

borden lyall

The trick you use it for is everything.

With as much courage as he could muster, he managed to keep his rounded ears high atop his skull instead of pinned back in fear. The bravado he tried to flaunt did little to make him seem impressive, but he slowly turned to allow his pale eyes to scour the heights once more. "I know you're there," he barked wearily, eyeing a shadowy place to her right and missing her completely for a second time. Coping with the aches and pains that pulsed through his skeleton, he eventually stood up, dragging his soaked forepaws around so that he was angled to face the Fall straight on. "I'm not afraid of you..."

Borden swallowed apprehensively, certain that the wolf could not hear such a nervous sound under the sound of the cascading water. His next words gave him away, though, his voice wavering as though it could have been easily swept away in the gentle wind, "W-What do you want?" His tail lifted then swung broadly around to one side, "Don't you 'ave somewhere else to be?" He held his breath as he took to searching the darkened perch, afraid that he would find himself startled if he realized the night-cloaked identity had kept at their post, watching and listening attentively while he continued to talk to someone he could not properly see. "Show yourself."

"Show yourself!" he repeated without delay, desperation accenting his words now. "I've had enough... I need to get back to my fam'ly, whatever you want from me take it and go. I have nothing left here..."

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Well, what do you want from me?

Aiyana

I walk upon the river

Taut muscles held her rigid, her tail stiff but limp; she could feel the tension rolling in and out with each breath, foreboding and curiosity, awe, clashing and mingling, keeping her dark paws rooted against the rocks. The shadows hid her effectively, ears flickering to the loud, sudden noise of his voice, and she wondered what she should do — what she was doing in the first place, anyway. Spying on strangers? I've not met many strangers before. Just a white wolf howling out her grief to the moon, and here was another, literally chasing shadows, his eyes trying to pierce the darkness which sheltered her. Aiyana felt something strange flutter in her chest, breath catching in her throat. Afraid? Why would someone be afraid of a slim child not even a year old? She held her breath, the fear she'd had for herself releasing its hold — he was afraid of her, but why? Another breath of hers slipped into the night as his queries rang against her alert ears. Bewildered and amazed she listened until the demand rang out, twice, that she show herself, and she wondered am I even hiding? How does a black wolf shed its coat?

The smell of water was thick in her nose, the wind tugging at her growing summer's fur, and amazed by her own idiocy Aiyana let the lure of his words draw her forward. Balancing precariously upon the ledge's edge she came to a stop again, wondering if it would've made any difference at all — she was still a shadow within shadows, a creature of the night. Gingerly she leaned in against the wall next to her, but the wet rock was deathly cold to the touch.

I just don't want to fall.

She swallowed her own bitter words, the lesson Triell had taught her still painful against her bruised heart. She wanted to let the venom seep from her jaws, tell him he should be thankful he at least had a family to return to, but her black lips remained sealed. Things were not always what they seemed. Strangers felt pain, too, and family suffered around you, maybe more than you. She would never forget her sister's smile, but just because the daggers pressed against her own heart it didn't mean they spared the others. I'm sorry, Triell.

"Why do you fear me?" She spoke from the shadows; the strain of youth in her voice had mostly been obliterated by pain and loss. Mystified she continued to peer down at him, the curiosity evident in her tone; she hated the touch of the cold wall against her damp shoulder, but with the edge beneath her paws and the two-and-a-half yard drop ahead of her she wanted what security she could have.

like it's easier than land

Love is all, from what I've heard, but my heart's learned to kill

The secret impresses no one.

borden lyall

The trick you use it for is everything.

"Why do you fear me?" her voice caught him by surprise. This was not the soul reaper he had been anticipating but, in fact, a young girl who might have been just as startled as he was. "I'm..." he began, stumbling on his words. "I'm sorry, I... I-I thought you were someone else." A grimace formed on his face, partially ashamed at his answer.

"I don't see very many dark wolves these days," he explained, a part of him soothed from the assumption that she was barely into her yearling days. His head craned downward and away, but when he turned his gaze back to the girl, he noticed where she stood on her perch and how stiffly she was propped up against he stone wall at her shoulder. Despite the soreness and what was the impending onslaught of developing arthritis, paternal instincts flared up and he drew closer to where she stood, peering up at her worriedly. The shape and build of her lissome figure made Taima's silhouette flash before his eyes, accompanied by a playful giggle. The fact that this girl was not laughing at all was quite possibly the only thing that kept him grounded aside from knowing very well that this youngster, whose coat blended very well into the shadowed landscape, did not look or sound like his absent daughter.

A concerned whine sounded from his muzzle. "Be careful," he fretted, his already frayed nerves unraveling even further. "Are you all right? Can you get down okay?"

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(This post was last modified: May 24, 2013, 04:50 AM by Borden.)

Well, what do you want from me?

Aiyana

I walk upon the river

Her voice changed everything, shattered whatever illusion clung to his mind. Like a rock breaking the ice apart the mood changed; she, still mystified and curious, he, no longer so agitated. No more harsh demands for her to do something nefarious and go came, instead a halting explanation that did nothing at all to quell her curiosity. Uncomfortable on her water-sprayed ledge Aiyana shifted, her paws slowly growing numb from the bitter combination of water and wind. Little bits of gravel were painful against her nerves, and just as she considered asking him who he'd thought she was he moved. Not one to waste words or chase away moments with them she held her silence, watching him as he drew near. It was strange, how quickly he'd shifted, from thinking her some monster to suddenly looking worried. She let their eyes meet for a moment, staring down at him from her lofty perch. His eyes were pale, tinted green; she blinked once, and then let her gaze sweep away.

"Are you all right? Can you get down okay?" His words had her eyes snapping back, her face unreadable but the corner of her mouth twitched, wishing to curl into a faint smile (it felt so strange). Was he worried for her? She'd got up here on her own, and she'd get down on her own, and if anything, wouldn't it be her asking him if he was alright, with the obvious pain he'd shown earlier? But — maybe he didn't know she knew. Or maybe he just couldn't help himself. On the tail of that thought came another, something akin to relief, or wonder at a change.. how nice it felt for someone to worry about her physical safety, and not the way she locked up her heart.

But she wasn't a fool, nor as naive as she had been.. as naive as Rissa, her poor, stupid, lovely sister, had been that fateful day. What lies had those dead mongrels spun to trick her away, to keep her bound as familiarity faded and the unknown became her world? Had she wished to turn back? Return to her sister? Aiyana could only remember the falling snow and frantic pulse roaring in her ears as she'd chased her into a snowstorm, and the bitterness of failure.

"If I come down," began her voice, stripping herself of all things she might say, and saying only the vital. "Would you hurt me?" She was not fool enough to believe him only because he said no, but having witnessed his moment of weakness she felt somewhat secure — she was fleet of foot, even if she was no real match for an adult yet.. but he was sore, he seemed tired, and if she just kept her distance perhaps she could disappear like a wraith into the night.

But what still mystified her the most, was why she bothered talking to him at all.

like it's easier than land

Love is all, from what I've heard, but my heart's learned to kill

The secret impresses no one.

borden lyall

The trick you use it for is everything.

His eyes, devoid of any malicious intent or determination to cause her harm, kept trained on her, concerned about how she stood on stone shelf. He searched for any sort of indication that it was all right for him to approach, but he did not look for long; right after he seemed to wordlessly question such a thing, she asked if he would hurt her if she came down from her lofty roost. Borden's brows lifted incredulously and he came forward to carefully brace a forepaw an elbow against the rock face, his hind legs shuffling forward before he sat for a brief moment. Then, as cautiously as he could, he slowly stood on his hind legs. With his free paw, he gestured openly to her, "Of course not, now come on... It's okay."

His furrowed brows made his face seem even more distorted under the dark markings across his forehead and muzzle. At 5'1" from nose to tail tip, the Lyall patriarch wasn't exactly lengthy nor tall (his brothers, {Angier} in particular, were several inches longer and much more muscular than he was) but, if anything at all, his sturdy frame seemed capable of handling the scenario at hand. "If I had the mind to hurt you, it wouldn't be in my nature to fret over you at all, now, would it?" The tone in his voice seemed to have evened out aside from the anxiety that had been sparked from the girl's current condition, and it was apparent now that he did possess a sort of protective (or fatherly) and appealing element beneath his initially shaken demeanor.

He braced himself, as he tried to encourage her to trust him further, "If you don't think you can get down on your own, just reach down towards me, use my shoulders as a support and gravity'll do the rest. Just make sure you're ready to land on your feet..."

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(This post was last modified: May 24, 2013, 08:44 PM by Borden.)

Well, what do you want from me?

Aiyana

I walk upon the river

If his facial expression was anything to go by, he hadn't been considering doing something evil to her — either that, or he was surprised she found him out.. maybe surprised she even thought like that at all. Distant and aloof she remained upon her ledge, burnished eyes blinking solemnly every once in a while as the wind brushed against her. His eyes, they seemed gentle, like they couldn't mask an angry, violent spirit within, but had not her blood-father seemed so too? Protective, loving, loyal, fierce and charming... Only to leave them all broken, the first rock to fall before the landslide thundered down, threatening to bury them all. Eyes could lie. Anyone could lie. It was a bitter, bleak prospect, a future like a wasteland of distrust and closed doors, but to her, it seemed strangely realistic.

He stood against the rock, one leg stretched up, bracing his own weight, the other gesturing for her to come down. That way? she thought, incredulous, but made no move. He reached more than halfway up, but nearly a yard still separated them. Why do you even care? she wanted to ask him, but her tongue remained lax within her lower jaw. Instead, she watched him with silent interest, abusing her physical position to trace the dark mask on his face, ears flickering to the sounds of the forest, and of his voice. He spoke like she was something flighty, maybe even wounded, and she wondered if maybe she was.. but maybe it wasn't a bleeding gash you could see, but a bruise on her soul. A soft sigh slipped from her lips, and as he invited her down.. to step on him... For a moment she entertained the idea, the feel of sort fur and firm muscles under her paws, but in the next she gave her had a small shake in the shadows. She could get down on her own, and there was no need to strain his body for it. Even as she cursed herself for meaning to go down, she knew that she'd known she wanted to from the moment she asked if he would hurt her.

"I have a way. Just wait." To the point was ever, and with a last mystified, curious look into his pale eyes she backed away from the drop, disappearing out of sight, but after only a yard she paused to glance behind. This defied everything she had told herself, every way she sought to protect herself, and yet nothing about it felt wrong. Unfamiliar, yes, and strange, the way his concern made her want to smile, albeit a tad bitterly. Giving her dark head a shake Aiyana retracted her route up, eventually coming down on the path leading to where Borden stood. Only a minute, maybe two, had passed, and to the ticker-tack of claws on wet rocks Aiyana came around the bends on the stony way, finally catching sight of the pool — and Borden — again. Still, she was cautious, and held her distance, stopping a few yards out and tilting her head. It surprised her she was as tall as he, if not taller. Somehow she hadn't expected it.

"Who did you mistake me for?" she asked, her voice quick, not wanting to give him the opportunity to start talking again. She was curious, and it needed to be satisfied.

like it's easier than land

Love is all, from what I've heard, but my heart's learned to kill